“Graced”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Jeremiah 18:1-10
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
Ephesians is about Salvation:
1) Understanding it from God’s perspective.
2) Salvation from the human view.
3) A description of the human’s life before Christ.
4) And what happens to humans after a relationship with Christ occurs.
~D. Moore
We were dead in our sin, but now we are alive in Christ. We went from slavery to freedom, from being condemned by God because of our sin, to being adopted into God’s family, all because of what Jesus did on the Cross. ~D. Moore
New Testament reading: Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The path: grace leads to faith which leads to works, a lifestyle of being God’s servant when we are placed by Him. ~D. Moore
What matters is we understand the order; first grace which leads to faith and then to works. It is grace that comes to us that begins the journey. ~D. Moore
Real grace transforms people; we are accepted purely out of grace, and that has to change us, our perspective, ourselves within, everything changes. ~D. Moore
God sees our sin and offers us grace and love anyway. We are in need of a Savior, we have sinned and cannot make up for our sin. ~D. Moore
Grace leads to faith, grace from God is always the first move on our spiritual journey. ~D. Moore
The Holy Spirit is moving, otherwise, you wouldn’t worry about whether God was doing something. ~D. Moore
If you want grace from God, the Holy Spirit is working on your soul. So hang on; keep moving forward; hang on and keep seeking Christ—it will get better. Don’t despair. ~D. Moore
Take the faith you have—maybe even as small as a mustard seed—the gift of grace and exercise it, because more grace will come. We have faith in Jesus. ~D. Moore
John 6:37-38: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me.
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint. ~Oswald Chambers
Christianity is a concrete belief; faith in Christ produces good works. ~D. Moore
Grace leads to faith, the good works are: healing, gentleness, self-control, peace, patience, love, and joy all will become more evident in our lives. ~D. Moore
God’s workmanship causes good works to naturally follow from our lives. The precept is being before doing. If we are going to do good works, we have to become God’s workmanship. God gives a new nature that is oriented towards good works. ~D. Moore
You were created in God’s image. When Christ died for you, He died for His artwork, YOU (US)— for it to shine and to be seen that way it was intended to be seen. ~D. Moore
You are artwork, you are in process. God Himself is gently changing you. Put yourself in the hands of the artist. You are secure in Jesus, don’t fear the shaping chisel. It is for your good and His Kingdom.
God bless, put yourself in the hands of God.