Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] Hey, everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here with another weekday podcast. And on this Monday, I want to have a little follow up from my sermon that I preached at Sugar Hill Church on Sunday. And I want to talk today specifically about how grace is not a trophy.
[00:00:23] Good morning or good afternoon. Welcome to your run or your walk or your drive in or wherever you're listening today.
[00:00:31] Thanks so much for joining me on the weekday podcast. Let me tell you about the worst gift I ever gave somebody. I'm a kid, probably 9, 10 years old, something like that. My mom's birthday, didn't have any money. I did what any resourceful kid would do. I wrapped up something that I already owned. I mean, it was a toy, something that I thought was good, but let's face it, it was kind of, you know, was expendable. I wrapped it up in newspaper. I handed it to her like I was Solomon presenting treasure. I mean, it was like over the top.
[00:01:06] And here's the thing about that. Thinking back now, as a grown man, my mom hugged that toy like it was the greatest thing she'd ever received.
[00:01:17] My mom didn't look at me and say, chucky, this was already here. And she probably could have said, I bought this for you.
[00:01:24] She just received it. Because, friend, that's what grace does. It takes something small and undeserved and it treats it like it's everything.
[00:01:36] That's the picture that I think about when I think about grace and when I think About Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, especially from the new living that I love to teach from, because the text says God saved you by his grace when you believed.
[00:01:52] And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done. So none of us can boast about it.
[00:02:02] Sometimes when you slow down and look at it and you hear, wait a minute, it's not about how you save yourself. And God said, way to go. It's not about how you climbed high enough and God met you at the top.
[00:02:17] He saved you by grace. And here's the kicker. When you believed.
[00:02:23] So here's why I think Paul had to say it this plainly. Because we're all wired up, every stinking one of us, all of us humans, to think in terms of earning. You do good work, you get a paycheck, you train hard, you win the race, you show up on time, you keep the job. All the stuff that we do right, it's kind of like how the whole world runs.
[00:02:45] So it's not really a surprise when we walk into church thinking the same type of thing works with God. And we run it through our head and our soul. I need to do enough. I need to be good enough. I need to show up enough. I need to make God want me. I need to do all the right things.
[00:03:04] But Paul takes that whole scoreboard thing and he just throws it away. He says grace and works don't mix.
[00:03:12] Because the moment you add your effort, like grace plus anything, faith plus anything, it's like it stops being grace. It becomes a transactional issue. And Paul's word for it is beautiful. He calls salvation a gift. It's not a wage, it's not a trophy. It's a gift that's wrapped up and handed to you whether you had anything to offer or not.
[00:03:39] I think about my mom when I gave her that toy.
[00:03:42] She didn't need the toy. She had a house full of toys. I mean, probably much nicer toys.
[00:03:49] What she wanted was me. What she wanted was my heart. To be fully engaged with her and to love her.
[00:03:57] And friend, what God wants isn't your resume of righteousness. He wants you for fully present, fully engaged, fully in love with him. He made the way all by himself through Jesus. And all that's asked of us is to reach out your hands and receive his gift of grace.
[00:04:18] And can I just say, some of us are listening today, we're just exhausted from the pride involved or just the whole process of trying to prove our worth to God.
[00:04:29] Some of us have been trying so stinking hard for so long, we don't even remember what really resting in Jesus feels like. We keep on keeping score, replaying all the mistakes and wondering if we're. If we're just. Are we thoroughly disqualified now from grace? Folks, listen. Hear me. You can't work your way into a gift. And that's not an insult to you and your effort. It's should be, I hope, relief for your soul today.
[00:04:57] The pressure's off, y'. All. It was never yours to carry in the first place. And notice, none of us can boast. That's what the scripture says.
[00:05:05] Jesus did it this way so we couldn't boast. That isn't just some doctrine or theology. That's freedom for how we walk through today on this Monday.
[00:05:15] It means you don't get to look down on anybody because you. You didn't earn your seat at the table. And it means you don't have to look up in shame at anybody. Cause your seat was never about your performance to begin with. Grace levels, the whole room.
[00:05:32] We're all just folks who reached out our hands and received something we didn't deserve. So here's what I want you to take away from today's weekday podcast. Somewhere in this next few hours, on this Monday, you're going to feel that old tug, that voice that says you need to earn approval, you need to earn your worth.
[00:05:52] But today, friend, let your peace be with God.
[00:05:56] When you feel that urge coming on, just remember that little toy.
[00:06:00] Remember, it's already a gift.
[00:06:03] Jesus finished all this at the cross, and it's been handed to you, wrapped up with your name on it. You don't have to perform for love. That's already been given.
[00:06:13] Well, that's all I got for the day. I'll be back tomorrow. We'll talk a little bit more.
[00:06:18] So go easy on yourself, y'. All. Go easy on everybody else today, and let Grace do what only grace can do, which is move you closer to Jesus. I'll see you back tomorrow for another weekday podcast. God bless you, and thanks again for joining me.
