Grace Chapel Podcast | Leipers Fork, Tn

The parable of the workers in the vineyard found in Matthew 20 is not actually about the workers or the vineyard, it is about a gift that you’ve been given by an extravagantly generous God in heaven, who kept seeking out the one’s that no one else wanted. The brokenhearted, the beaten-down, the overlooked, the forgotten.This story tells us that life is not fair, and thank God it’s not because when we deserved justice, God gave us mercy. When we deserved dismissal and rejection, He chose us and welcomed us in. He pursued us, He came down to invite us into His vineyard – to give us a place to belong, a purpose in life, and a home in heaven where we will be with Him for all of eternity. It is a gift that we could not earn, and do not deserve.

In Mark 2, Jesus is saying that you wouldn't use an old piece of cloth to patch a garment or put new wine into old wineskins. Similarly, we can't just patch God onto our lives. We can't combine our way of life and God's way – we have to be totally transformed. We cannot receive the gospel of grace and remain the way that we are! We need a whole new wineskin, we need to be reborn, and we need to be “refilled” with the Spirit of God.

Sometimes when we pray God says "yes." Other times, God says "no." And then there are those times when God says, "not yet" – those are the times that we're tempted to stop asking, seeking, and knocking. We live in a world of immediate gratification, and we’ve forgotten how to persist.It’s in the “not yet” where we find out if we really trust God, His character, and His timing.Is there something you’ve stopped praying for because you’ve lost sight of God’s purpose in it? Something you'd spent so long begging God for and it still hasn’t happened, and what began as a fervent prayer just began to fizzle out? Well today, God wants to breathe new life into those little embers, and reignite that fire. He wants to give you hope to begin again, to pray again, and not quit. He is a good, gracious, and just judge, and you can trust Him even when the answer is "no" or "not yet."

This morning Pastor Rob taught on the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 who was forgiven an enormous debt that he could never repay and then turns around and demands repayment of a much less significant debt from another man who owed him.Jesus uses this illustration because the reality is, we are all the first servant in the parable who owes a debt that cannot be paid. It's a picture of the sin that Jesus paid for us. Some of us refuse to forgive because we just don't feel like it or because we want the person to know how much they've harmed us, but some of us are unwilling to forgive others because we have forgotten how much we have been forgiven.The danger is if we do not forgive from our heart, and we hold onto bitterness, resentment, and grudges, we are the one who pays the price for it. We will experience the torment of being consumed by the thing or the person we are refusing to forgive.

At the end of Matthew 7, Jesus tells a parable of two builders – one who built his house on the rock, and one who built his house on the sand. Jesus says in verse 24 "Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." He's saying we have two options here...if we obey His commands and put His teachings into practice, we're wise. And if we don’t, we're a fool.The modern Christian is not suffering from a lack of information, but a lack of application. See, you could show up to church for your entire lifetime, binge all the sermons you want, and complete every bible reading plan, but that is not going to do a single thing in you, for you, or through you unless you put His words into practice!God’s invitation to us is to become active in our cooperation with Him as we live as people of the kingdom in a foreign land.

Fasting is not just self-denial, it’s self-denial for spiritual investment. You’re fasting in order to develop greater levels of intimacy, dependence, communion, and communication with God. This is why biblical fasting is always intimately linked with the practice of prayer.  In today’s message Pastor Rob outlines what fasting is, 7 benefits of fasting, and different types of fasting in preparation for our church-wide 21-day fast starting on Tuesday, January 10.Do you want to increase your faith this year? Do you want to see God work miracles in and through your life? Do you need guidance from Him for this next season? Fast and Pray with expectancy that God will speak to you. 

Maybe you've thought your entire life that being saved and accepted by God was about your behavior or your morality, but the good news is, it's not about what we can do for Jesus, it's about what He has already done for us.Christ came down from heaven for you, of all people. He came so that you would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is with you, He is for you, not against you, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine. Like the father in Luke 15, God is waiting for you to take a step towards Him, and when you do, He runs to embrace you. That’s the good news Jesus came down to bring to the poor.

Spiritual blindness in is an impaired ability to recognize Truth, and unless the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes, we will not be able to perceive or accept spiritual reality. Apart from the work of God in our life, we are blind to our own blindness, to the glory of grace, and to the purposes of God. We need the Spirit of God to give us Revelation so that we will be able to perceive and understand the glory of God’s grace.

The beauty of the gospel is that Christ came down, and entered into every aspect of the brokenness of the human experience, to heal the brokenhearted. His mission is to bind up the wounds of your broken heart, to gather you under the shelter of His wings, and to breathe life into your soul.He took on your brokenness so that you could be made whole. He was rejected so you could be accepted. He was ripped apart on the cross so that the fragmented pieces of your heart could be mended back together.He came so that you would have a life of purpose. Don’t waste the healing He came to give you. 

Jesus came down to bring us freedom from not only the penalty of sin but also its power over our life. He paid the price to set us free for a life of purpose. A life of Kingdom impact. We’re freed not only for our sake, but also for the sake of the people around us who need us to walk in freedom. Some of us aren't walking in that freedom from the power of sin in our lives, but it is available for us today because Christ came down to set the captives free – not partially free, completely free.

Extravagant generosity is born out of a grateful heart. Grateful people are generous people. And God always rewards His people that are generous. But the reward is not our motivation. Biblical Generosity is when you give without any expectation of receiving anything in return. No strings attached.God is the most extravagant giver, and when we’re generous, we become like Him.

This morning Pastor Rob taught on the difference in offerings from Cain and Abel found in Genesis 4. While the offering was not a priority at all for Cain, Abel brought his best to God – his first to God, withheld nothing from Him, and trusted God to provide for him.Only when we believe that God really is as kind, loving, and as generous as He says He is will we then be able to make a sacrifice that significant. God doesn’t need our money, but he asks us to give because we need to have a radical, deep, dependence, and trust in God as our unbelievably generous provider.

When we obey God with money, we are actively tearing down the idol that has more pull on the human heart than almost anything else. God is inviting us to trust Him with our money and to trust Him to be our provider.If we will trust God with the tangible, practical resources that He’s entrusted to us, and do it with cheerfulness, we believe God will begin to open doors that have been closed, soften hardened hearts, bring new life to those whose faith has long been cold and lifeless, and we’ll see revival again.

This morning we had the pleasure of hearing Bill Spencer, the Executive Director of Narrow Gate, teach on Mark 5, and the abundant life that trusting in Jesus brings. 

We live in a self-seeking culture of scarcity, but we believe in the God of abundance. There is nothing that you need that He can’t give. He’s a God of abundant, radical, overwhelming generosity toward those who trust in Him.When we truly grasp who God is, and trust that He will provide like He says He will, that enables us to live generously to those around us.

Walt Heyer shares his redemptive story of life transformation and coming to relationship with Christ after enduring years of trauma, sexual abuse, and also identifying as a woman for 8 years of his life. Now Walt travels all around the country to share his testimony and help others who also have sex change regret.You can learn more about Walt's story and find additional resources here: sexchangeregret.com

This morning Pastor Rob wrapped up the Disciplines of a Disciple series by talking about what it means to be faithful stewards of all God has entrusted to us. We do this by living submitted to God, living simply, and living generously.These practices that we've talked about throughout this series aren’t about earning something from God, but about delighting yourself in King Jesus, and living fully in the life of His Kingdom.Our encouragement to you is to listen to the Lord and ask Him what areas He’s wanting you to grow in, and be intentional about them.

In Kingdom Stewardship, Part 1, Pastor Rob explains the importance of understanding what Jesus means when He speaks about the Kingdom of God and how it impacts every single aspect of our lives.As followers of Christ, we need to know and understand what this Kingdom is so we can align ourselves with King Jesus, and measure success the same way He does. To live according to His value system, His will, His priorities, and His commands.If we’re going to see change in our world, we first have to honestly assess which kingdom is dominating our values, priorities, and decision-making, and if it isn't the Kingdom of God, we need to turn back to Him.

Shodankeh Johnson joined us from Sierra Leone to preach such a powerful message on the hope for the Church in America!

This morning Pastor David walked us through what it looks like to live on mission in a healthy way, which really means that you’re doing and saying what God tells you to do and say. Period. Oftentimes we say we want to live on mission, but we don’t want it to interfere with our comfort, our finances, and a whole list of other things. But if you are living on mission your life should and will look different. In fact, if you want your life to look like Jesus there will be a cost, but the cost of not living on mission is far greater.