The more we begin to understand about grace, hopefully the more we will grow in learning to live in grace. So today we will talk about living grace.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

There are three things we can learn from that verse about how to live in grace. Put off the old, put on the new, and renewing our minds. Let’s look at them one at a time.

1. Put off the old

The old is what used to be. We have tried a lot of things that haven’t worked and we need to let them go. We have tried to make life work by doing good. Performing. And yet we fail.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NIV)
20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

We have tried to make life work by following rules and again we fail.

Hebrews 13:9 (NCV)
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods, which do not help those who obey them.

It’s not by obeying rules that my heart’s strengthened. It’s by God’s grace.

We have even tried to learn to live by beating ourselves up over the things that we have done, as if hanging on to our guilt and shame will somehow bring life. And again, it doesn’t work.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

What should we do?

2. Put on the new

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

This new life in Christ is an amazing thing. We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it, we aren’t good enough to somehow maintain it on our own, it is all based on the grace of God. Our only part in the process is to put it on. It is a choice. Do I want to continue to live in the old ways that I am familiar with, or will I out on the new life in Christ, which is made possible by his living grace.

And yet we often struggle. It’s like we have an old coat and a new coat. The old coat doesn’t really work any more but there is something so familiar about it that I choose to put it on sometimes. The new coat seems almost to good to be true, like maybe I need to be a little farther along to put it on, or maybe I should save it for a special occasion. Sometimes we even try to wear both of them at the same time, but that is just awkward and uncomfortable.

We need the third part of the process

3. Renewing your mind

This step of God, renewing our mind, empowers us to take off the old and put on the new.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The real power of God’s living grace is that it helps us to change the way we think. To see the world as God sees it. To see other people the way that God sees them. To see myself the way that God sees me.

The Christian walk is not a life full of rules. Living in Christ is about a life of new power. Real faith in Christ is built on God’s grace. Grace and faith, grace and faith, grace and faith, not rules and works.

There are two great promises about this living grace that assures us that it is God who is working in our lives and empowering us to change and grow by His grace.

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13 (NIV)
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Continue to live in Him each day in His living grace. Don’t return to the old, the guilt and shame, the performance and the legalism, but instead choose to live in the new. A new life in Christ based on God’s grace. Grace and faith, grace and faith. And at every point of struggle between the old and new, remember it is God who is at work in you to change you and the way you think and the way that you see, so that your mind can be renewed b y His amazing living grace.

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In our series on validating our trust in God, we have talked about the v-ision, the v-enture, the v-ariables and today we will talk about the v-alleys. The v-alleys are those difficult times and seasons that we all face. Jesus told us these v-alleys would be a part of our lives.

John 16:33 (NIV)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We are going to use as our background for this message a story from the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul dealt with a lot of v-alleys in his life.

Here are a few examples:

2 Corinthians 11:24-27 (NIV)
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

After going through all of those situations, Paul is able to write this:

2 Corinthians 6:4 (TEV)
4 Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God’s servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.

The story we are going to look at is found in Acts 27. Paul was being transported as a prisoner to Rome and they have faced some delays and Paul warns the Captain and crew not to keep going, but they decide to go anyway. Often times when we are impatient we head right into a storm.

Acts 27:9-10 (NIV)
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”

This story of shipwreck can teach us a few things about dealing with the v-alleys of life. Some of your difficulties feel like shipwrecks anyway.

1. What caused it?

Was it me? Was it others? Was it the enemy? Was it some combination of all of the above?

When we are trying to establish the cause of the difficulty we need to go to God in prayer.

Psalms 73:16-17a (TEV)
16 I tried to think this problem through, but it was too difficult for me 17 until I went into your Temple.

We need to be connected with God or we will make the same mistakes that the people on Paul’s ship made. Paul had told them not to go because God had warned him about the consequences. Rather than listen to God they:

a. Listened to bad advice

Acts 27:11 (NIV)
11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.

God told them not to go through Paul, but they chose to listen to their “expert” instead. Our expert is often the person who says what we want them to say.

b. Followed the crowd

Acts 27:12 (NIV)
12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

The majority is often wrong. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right.

c. Relied on circumstances

Sometimes we decide that because the right circumstances seem to be in place that somehow trumps the wisdom of God.

Acts 27:13 (NIV)
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

Always ask God if these are the steps you should take. It doesn’t take long for a nice breeze to turn into a hurricane

2. What can I learn from this v-alley?

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Rather than try and find someone to blame for our problems we need to see what we can learn from the situation. God can use even the worst situations to teach us things we need to know for life.

Romans 5:3-4 (TLB)
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.

3. What should my response be?

Start screaming it’s not fair over and over while stomping your feet? Pout? Turn to your addictions?

Back in our shipwreck story we can get a few clues.

a. Don’t start drifting

Acts 27:15 (NIV)
15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.

We sometimes let the storms and valleys of life push us a long and we start drifting off course.

b. Don’t start throwing it all away

Acts 27:18 (NIV)
18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.

When things get tough one of our reactions is often to start throwing things away. Things like our values and our relationships. I’m throwing in the towel. I’m checking out.

c. Don’t despair

Acts 27:20 (NIV)
20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

Despair causes us to give up hope. They forgot that even in the midst of a storm, God is in control.

One of the most fascinating things to me about this story is that while everything in the story is falling apart, Paul is doing fine. His trust was not in the ship, it was in God. When you are going through the storms and valleys of life you need to remember that God is in control and you can trust Him.

PS.

Two little things I thought were funny in the story. One of them was Paul couldn’t resist a little I told you so:

Acts 27:21 (NIV)
21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.

The second this is this:

Acts 27:34 (NIV)
34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”

Sometimes when you are really stressed, you absolutely need God, and a little pound cake might not hurt either.

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We are in this series called “V-alidating our trust in God” Last week we talked about the v-ision that God gives us for life. Today we are going to talk about how we take that v-ision and we v-enture out, we make a decision to go for it. But making decisions is often a difficult process for us. The Bible has a lot to say about decision making.

James 1:5-8 (NIV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

God gave Moses the v-ision of leading the children of Israel out of 400 years of bondage and slavery to Egypt, but Moses had to decide to confront Pharaoh.

God gave Noah the v-ision of saving the world from the flood, but Noah had to make the decision to build the ark.

God gave Abraham the v-ision that He would be the start of a great nation, but Abraham had to decide to leave his home town.

We have to make a lot of decisions in our lives and since we have all made some bad decisions along the way, we need to look to the Bible for some answers on how to make good decisions.

How do you make wise decisions?

V-

E – Embrace God’s guidance

You need to get God’s perspective on whatever it is you need to make a decision about.

Proverbs 28:26 (TLB)
26 A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe.

You need to ask yourself, is this what God wants or what I want?

N – Need Knowledge

You need to gather as much information as you can. This is a lot easier today that it has ever been in history. You can just “Google” what you would like to know, and you have instant access to all sorts of information.

Proverbs 13:16 (NIV)
16 Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly.

You need to ask yourself, what do I need to know before I make this decision?

T – Talk to others

You need to talk to people who have had to make similar decisions. You need to talk to people who know you and might be able to shed some light on the difficulties you might face.

Proverbs 24:6 (TEV)
6 After all, you must make careful plans before you fight a battle, and the more good advice you get, the more likely you are to win.

One thing, however, don’t just talk to people who you know are only going to tell you what you want to hear. Talk to people who care about you enough to challenge you.

One of the problems we all face is that we care more about “looking” wise than “being” wise.

Ask yourself, who should I talk to about this decision?

U – Understand there is a cost

There is always a cost for every decision you make, even the smallest ones. Anytime you decide to give a minute of your life to anything, that is a minute of your life that you can’t get back. You only have a certain number of minutes. Each one is worth something.

Your decisions will cost you time, money, energy, reputation, etc.

Proverbs 20:25 (NIV)
25 It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.

You need to ask yourself, is it worth it?

R – Ready yourself for problems

There will always be problems that arise in every decision. Don’t be surprised by them. Get ready to deal with them as they arise. Ignoring them won’t make them go away.

Proverbs 22:3 (TLB)
3 A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

You need to ask yourself, what might go wrong and what might happen if it does?

You need to know that making a decision and solving a problem are two different things. If you try and solve all the problems before you make a decision, you will never make a decision. Just be ready with the knowledge that there will be problems that arise that will need to be solved.

E – Excuses have to stop

Sometimes we let fear stop us from making decisions about anything. What if it doesn’t work out? What if I fail? What if people laugh at me?

Moses said he couldn’t talk.
Abraham said he was too old.

What’s your excuse?

God has a v-ision, a purpose and plan for your life. Some of you are waiting for the perfect set of circumstances. When this happens and that happens then I will.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (TLB)
4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.

Don’t let fear stop you from v-enturing out into the life that God has called you to.

What’s the antidote to fear? Faith.

Romans 8:31 (NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

You trust God and start to v-enture.

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We’re in the series V-alidating our trust in God. Today we are going to talk about the v-ision.

If you don’t have a v-ision, a dream, a purpose for your life you feel like you’re just existing. “Why am I here? What am I here for? Why do I get up in the morning? Why do I go to work? What’s the purpose of life?”

After coming to know Christ, getting God’s v-ision, dream, purpose for your life is one of the most important things you will do.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God’s v-ision, dream, plan, purpose for my life. What is my part?

V-

I – Invest time in my relationship with God

You have to make time to just hang out with God. To just STOP everything else, the busyness, the distractions, the stresses, the things that are constantly pulling at you and you get quiet in order to hear God speak.

Psalms 46:10 (NIV)
10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Pascal said, “Most of man’s problems come from his inability to sit still.”

Take time to pray, read your Bible, journal, sing, think, all in His presence. God speaks to people who take the time to listen.

S – Statement of Faith

You start sharing your v-ision with others. Just by telling other people, you’re making a statement of faith. You get a v-ision from God and then you verbalize the dream saying “This is what I believe God wants to do in my life.” It establishes a goal and goal is a statement of faith.

Hebrews 11:1 (TLB)
1 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

I – Inventory my abilities

God will give you abilities, talents, gifts, to help you with your v-ision. What are you good at? What do you like to do? What is that people often say to you, “you are a natural at this”. Of course, God will also often use in situations where you feel you don’t have any natural abilities as this helps you to learn to trust in Him, but the abilities and gifts He has given you will be a part of your v-ision.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I have told you before that the word for workmanship in the Greek is “poema”, where we get our word poem from. You are God’s poem, His work of art. And he has designed and created you for a purpose. A ministry. Using your talents and gifts to help other people.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

O – Offer myself as a living sacrifice

You’ve got to be willing to do whatever God wants you to do. Please don’t send me to Africa. I want to know God’s will for my life, as long as it doesn’t mess up my life or make me step out of my comfort zones.

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What is His will like? It’s good, it’s pleasing and it’s perfect. In the Greek, perfect means that it fits me.

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
God has marked out a race for you, and adventure, a life of fulfillment, and nobody else can run it, but you have to choose to put everything else aside and follow after Him.

N – Need to fellowship

You need to be with people who are also trying to live out God’s purpose for their lives. Without fellowship, it is easy to just give up and slip into complacency. You need to be with people who will encourage you and bless you and give you advice and pray for you.

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

As our trust in God is v-alidated He can use us for His purposes. I love the first part of this next verse.

Acts 13:36 (TEV)
36 For David served God’s purposes in his own time, and then he died, ….

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One of the most important things in our Christian walk is learning that we can trust God. That He is faithful and true and has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Sometimes, when things seem to be all messed up, we want to go to the big question “Why Me Lord?”

God will take the situations in our life (both good and bad) and use them to help us learn to trust Him more and more. He V-alidates our trust in Him. How does He v-alidate? That is what we will explore in the weeks ahead, but for today we will say that He v-alidates with the following:

1. V-ision

God has created you for a purpose and He will also give you a dream, a vision, about what He wants you to do, about your part in His story.

Imagine how Noah and Abraham and Joseph might have felt when God gave them the v-ision He had for them

Noah was to build an ark.
Abraham was to become the father of a great nation.
Joseph was to be a world leader that would save his people.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

2. V-enture

The v-ision by itself is not enough. At some point you have to put it into action. You have to v-enture out. You have to make the decision to go for it. A lot of people have a vision but they never v-enture out.

Matthew 14:28-29 (NIV)
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.

3. V-ariables

One thing that you can always count on is that there is a time lapse between receiving the v-ision and seeing it fulfilled. Waiting is probably the biggest v-ariable you will have to deal with. And we are not good waiters.

Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV)
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Generally, dealing with the v-ariables will have you asking the question “When?” For a people that don’t like to wait, waiting on God can be very frustrating and yet God is never in a hurry. When you read the Gospels you will not find a situation where it appears that Jesus was in a hurry. He was on God’s Daytimer, and God’s Daytimer and your daytimer are not the same.

120 years went by from the time that Noah started building the ark until the rain started.

Abraham didn’t have Isaac until He was 100, fourteen years after he had gotten tired of waiting on God and went and had Ishmael

Joseph’s path to leadership after years of slavery and prison.

4. V-alley

Not only will you have the v-ariable of waiting, while you wait, you will have problems that arise, you will go through v-alleys. These v-alleys are usually of two kinds, circumstances and critics.

Joseph’s brothers were critical of Joseph’s dreams and sold him into slavery. He is then falsely accused of rape and tossed into prison.

Can you imagine what Noah must have gone through building the world’s largest floating zoo?

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

And there is usually a point, when you have waited and waited and dealt with critics and circumstances and it seems like you v-ision …..

5. V-aporize

Things go from difficult to impossible.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

This is actually a pretty good place to be. As you can see, even the Apostle Paul had to go through this process. We often need to be at the point where we no longer rely on ourselves, but only on God who raises the dead.

6. V-ictory

2 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

At the end, God comes through and there is v-ictory. Abraham and Sarah have Isaac even though they are way past the age of childbearing. Joseph is taken from prison to becoming the de-facto leader of Egypt, and on and on…

God loves to turn vaporizations into victory, the same way He turned a crucifixion into a resurrection. Because He gets the credit. He gets the glory.

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