The Most Expensive Gift

Presented by Dr. Marty Baker / John 13:35-36 / December 17, 2006

A couple of weeks ago we began this series Christmas with Grace. We said that there was something missing in our relationships, in our churches and in our world. What’s missing? Grace. Grace is the willingness or the ability to give to people exactly what they do not deserve.

Last week we talk about how one man’s decision to go against God’s directions resulted in grace walking out the back door. The reason that God sent his son into the world was to bring GRACE back into the world. In fact:

At Christmas, we celebrate the reintroduction of

GRACE back into the world.

That first Christmas was God’s way of announcing from this point forward, I will no longer give you what you deserve, but when you receive the gift of GRACE from Jesus Christ, God promises to give you what you do not deserve.

When Jesus Christ came into the world, he brought GRACE with him and now we can have a relationship with our Heavenly Father not based on our performance, not based on our obedience, not based on our consistency, not based on our righteousness, but through Jesus Christ..

That’s the recap. Let’s tackle today’s lesson. I hope that you have enjoyed your week. Well, today the home-stretch begins. We are about one week away from Christmas. If you are like me, you are still in the hunt for that perfect Christmas gift for that oh so special person.

Do you every set a budget for gifts or do you all your feelings to drive the train? Patty and I typically set a budget and we are relatively faithful to that budget unless we cannot find the right gift at the right price. Then, for me, that’s when practicality sets in. I am not going to drive across town to save five dollars. Patty will. She will cut coupons, go shopping early, stay out late … whatever it takes to get the best deal.

How many of you are like that? It’s not that I don’t like to shop, but my shopping typically takes place on a laptop in the comfort of my living room.

Speaking of budgets, what’s the most expensive gift that you are going to give this year? Have you considered a Nintendo Wii or a Playstation 3? Have you thought about jewelry for that “oh so special person?” What’s the most expensive gift on your list? Who are you going to give it to? Maybe your kids, or your souse or maybe your parents?

At Christmas our Heavenly Father gave us what was for Him the most expensive GIFT. It was the perfect gift. In fact, it was what we really needed the most, but deserved the least.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

He gave us exactly what we needed the most and deserved the least. He gave us a relationship with Him based not on our performance or our obedience, but based on the obedience of his Son, Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sin.

For those of us who have chosen to receive God’s gift, through faith, we now have a relationship with our Heavenly Father not based on our obedience, but based on the one act of obedience of the son, Jesus Christ. Now we are forgiven. We are accepted. We are covered in His GRACE.

Has this gift changed our lives? Do we act differently? Here’s the question of the day.

What are forgiven, accepted, grace-covered, loved people to do about all of the unforgiving, ungraceful, un-accepting, unloving people in our lives?

This is where the rubber meets the road. If you are a Christ-follower, then how should you respond to the unforgiving, ungraceful, un-accepting, unloving people in your life?

Tomorrow you will probably come in contact with someone that is ungraceful, un-accepting and unloving. This person may work in the cube next to you. This person may be your neighbor or just happen to be the person ahead of your in the express line at Wal-Mart. You’ve been there. You carefully counted your items to make sure that you did not break the rule … no more than twenty items. She, on the other hand, ignored the sign and has sixty-eight items in her basket and one of them does not have a price tag on it.

What does she deserve? What are you going to give her? Where does GRACE fit in during this holiday season? Grace is giving people what they do not deserve.

Do you ever struggle to extend GRACE to other people? I do. I know that God has given me what I don’t deserve, but some times I have a hard time giving someone what they don’t deserve.

So what are forgiven, accepted, grace-covered, loved people to do about all of the un-forgiven, ungraceful, un-accepting, unloving people in our lives?

Turn in your Bibles to John 13. In this section of the Bible Jesus tells us what to do with the Ryans and the Graces in your life. You know how a person like Grace is. They are exacting and unforgiving. This person has a file box full of all of the wrongs that you have done and is not about to let you off the hook. You always feel judged whenever you are around them. Anybody have a person like Grace in your life?

What about Ryan? You know that person that you have given and given to. You have done for them and you have done for them. As far as you are concerned you get nothing in retrun. You bend over backwards to make their lives as easy as it can possibly be. Then, they turn around and stab you in the back. There seems to be no recognition of the sacrifices that you have made.

When you think about extending GRACE to the Graces and GRACE to the Ryans in your life, everything inside of you wants to cringe.

Then, you read John 13. Jesus said:

John 13:34a

"A new command I give you:

Now remember that Jesus was speaking to an audience that knew the Old Testament frontward and backward. They knew the law … all 613 of them. When Jesus said that I am giving you a new command, they all sat up in their seats. They had their pencil and paper ready to write it down. This was history in the making. Let’s read.

John 13:34b

"A new command I give you: Love one another.

They probably said, “Wait a minute Jesus!” This is not a new command? Love one another … that’s not new. “I thought that you were giving us something new.” Jesus continued.

John 13:34

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Noticed the emphasis. You must love one another. This is a command. This is something new. You must love one another.

Now truthfully, I don’t have a problem with loving one another as long as I can define who that one another person is? If it is my kids or my wife, I can love one another. If it happens to be my extended family or my close friends, I can love one another.

Jesus is not telling us to love the people we already love. He is not asking us to love the people who are easy to love. He is not asking us to embrace the people who are embracing you. This is something different. This is love of another kind.

Jesus’ original audience started to get the message. They eventually figured out what he was talking about. Matthew remembered. Matthew was a tax collector. In those days, people considered tax collectors as traitors. Nobody liked Matthew. Jesus walked up to Matthew and said, “Follow me.” As Matthew remembers that day, he understands this new kind of love.

Later on, Peter pondered these verses and re realized that Jesus put him in the gang know that one day he would betray him and walk away in the hour of need. Peter thought, “Oh, that kind of love.”

Noticed Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” It’s time to expand our definition of one another. It’s time to broaden our view of people. It’s time to see people as God sees them. So the question begs to be asked:

What are forgiven, accepted, grace-covered, loved people to do about all of the unforgiving, ungraceful, un-accepting, unloving people in our lives?

How should we treat these people? We are to love them as Christ loves us.

This is where the rubber meets the road. You would think that I would have this one down. But, many times I struggle with extending grace to people or a certain type of people. As much as I know and as much as I have learned, there is still something in me that says, “I know that God has given me what I don’t deserve, but I am having a hard time giving you what you don’t deserve.”

Jesus said that we must love one another. He continues.

John 13:35

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Here at the Creek we invest hours and hours in conversations that involve sharing the message of Jesus Christ. Every week we encourage you to be open to spiritual conversations with people in your neighborhood, people on the job or people in your family. Christmas Eve is next Sunday. This is the time to extend the invitation once again.

But, Jesus is saying that there is something better than buying a banner ad in the Augusta Chronicle, there’s something better than running spots on the radio or television, there’s something better than wearing Stevens Creek t-shirts, there’s something better than putting a Bible on your desk at work; there’s something better than your bumper sticker. If you want people to know that you are his disciples, love one another.

It’s all about GRACE. Jesus gathered his group and said, “As I have love and extended grace to you, you must love the one anothers that you don’t normally love.” Just as you did not deserve it, neither do they. You must extend grace to them. You must love one another.

I realize that we are just a few days away from Christmas. Many of you are like me, you are still looking for that perfect gift. It’s not at the mall. You are not going to find it online. That perfect gift that you need to give is GRACE. The reason that you resist is because GRACE is very expensive.

At the first Christmas, God gave us

his most expensive gift, his son.

Every time we extend GRACE, it is expensive. To extend GRACE this Christmas means that we are going to have spend some time. You are going to have to spend some pride. You are going to have to extend some emotion. You are going to have to extend some forgiveness. You are going to have to extend some patience.

You already dread it. You dread the long car ride. You dread the same old stories. You dread the tension.

God brought GRACE into a GRACELESS world. God brought GRAE into GRACELESS relationships and you must do the same.

But you say, “Marty you don’t know my situation. My parents are divorced. I have to spend Christmas Eve with my Mom and Christmas Day with my Dad. I feel like a volley ball being tossed back and forth. To make matters worse, my Dad remarried this year. It’s awkward.”

You are right. It’s awkward. Here’s the question: What does your father or mother deserve least from you? Would you wrap that up and give it to them? Would you give them the gift of GRACE. Would you be willing to accept them as they are just as your Heavenly Father accepted you?

“Marty, you don’t know how bad it is.” The whole idea of trying to extend grace to them is like scaling a wall. They are cold and unfeeling. It’s not going to do any good. They are not going to change. It’s pointless.

That’s why it requires GRACE. You’ve got ot give htem exactly what they don’t deserve, but what they need the most. Just as your Heavenly Father did for you.

Maybe you’ve got to deal with an ex-spouse this Christmas season. It is so painful. You wish that you could go back and erase the first day you met them from your life.

Maybe you have to deal with your in-laws. You walk into the room and sense the tension in the air. It’s so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

How do you bring grace inot a relationship that is filled with pain and filled with huyrt. What does that look like? What does that feel like? What exactly is it that they do not deserve, but need the most from you?

Who is it in your life? Who in your world? Where in your world is there a need for grace? Everything in you is saying, “NO!” But God is saying, “Yes.”

Maybe this year God is saying, I want you to spend more than you have ever spent. I want you to give the Gift of GRACE to that individual who expects it the least and needs it the most.

What’s does the gift of GRACE look like? Could it be that …

Somebody needs physical touch.

Somebody in your life needs you to listen.

Somebody needs to be understood.

Somebody needs to be forgiven.

Somebody needs eye to eye contact.

What is it they need? What is it that you could bring to the equation?

We know the deal. They may never change. They may never know that it was done. It may not register with them. Just as God grace and love did not register with us for years in some of our cases.

Every times you extend GRACE to someone. Every time you extend GRACe to the people who are GRACELESS, it is like God peels back one more layer of gracelessness from your heart and your soul and we become more like our Heavenly Father.

If you are like me, when you hear this, you automatically start thinking about your excuses about why you don’t have to extend grace. All of your excuses begin with the word, “But”. But, he, but she, but they.

All of our excuses are overshadowed at Christmas because at Christmas it is not but he, but she, but they, it is But, GOD. But, God.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God did something. God did something that the world did not deserve. God demonstrates his own love. God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While I was still unforgiving, ungrateful, unloving, while I was still in my sin, Christ died for us. Do you know what that means in the 21st century? Jesus Christ died for your sins before you were born. Jesus died for your sins knowing every prayer that you would pray. He knew every time that you would not follow through. He knew every time that you would walk away from Him and His Church. Yet, he still loves you enough to die for you.

Suddenly, all my but he, but she, but they dissipates under the canopy of God’s grace.

So we close this talk with two questions to ponder:

· Where in your world is there a need for GRACE?

· Would you be willing to be an instrument of God’s grace this Christmas season?

Remember our today’s verse:

Romans 13:34

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Next week, here’s how we are going to close this series. At the end of the service, we are going to give you a little card and it is going to be shaped like a gift.

On the card, it’s going to say Who? How? We are going to ask you to write in someone’s name, someone in your world that needs GRACE. Then, we are going to ask you to write how you can extend GRACE to them this holiday season.

What specifically needs to be carried in that relationship? Is it listening? Is it patience? Is it understanding? Is it forgiveness? Is it time? Is it touch? Is it service?

We are going to all write something down and by God’s grace we are going to carry that into the Christmas season. For some of us, this might be the most expensive Christmas ever.

Prayer

This message was inspired from the writings and ministry of Andy Stanley