Best Gifts Ever - Week 3 - The CORE - Pastor Mike Novotny
Best Gifts Ever
Week 3 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
Welcome to week number three of our sermon series called Best Gifts Ever. Before we jump into today's message, I just want quick correction update. I actually said something last week in a sermon that wasn't entirely true. And two really good Bible-knowing Christians called me on it. So I need to correct it. I was talking about the glory of Jesus and the humility of Jesus. I was thinking about that night where Jesus washed his disciples feet and no one washed his and I said in the sermon, I think the quote was and no one ever washed Jesus's feet
And two people said, well, that's not true. The stories in the Bible of a woman who anoints Jesus feet dry his feet with her hair. So I hope that didn't throw you off story for the inaccuracy. Pastor Michael is going to teach us next week that Jesus was full of truth, so Pastor should be too, so sorry for falling short of that.
We're in week three of a sermon series called Best Gifts Ever. Want to talk about God's grace today.
Can you remember in your life, the best church service that you've ever been to?
Was just a normal Sunday, there was something about it, something about the message, something about the music, something about something that happened in your heart, that just made it better if not. The best Sunday you've ever experienced.
Now, if it's your first Sunday ever in church today, Congratulations. All right. Best church service ever. This is happening right in front of your eyes. But if you've been around church a while just like I have you might have to think about that question, what? What makes Church not just good but better than most Sundays, if not the best you've ever experienced.
And for some people, they think about that question. Yeah, it might be the, the music of a service or just one song spoke to your heart. Then the next song, got your heart and the song after that. You know, you just left moved in a way that you had never been moved before.
Further people something about the topic or the message that just hit home it was so relevant. It was like exactly what you is if God orchestrated the whole Sunday just so you could have that boost of encouragement that you need.
For other people, it might be the candlelights. Singing Silent Night, the Nostalgia of a Christmas Eve service, like you grew up with as a kid.
I know some people love kind of the grittiness and the honesty and the rawness of a Good Friday service. Where we don't sugarcoat it. We just talk about sin and guilt and shame in the amazing love that brought Jesus to a cross.
For some people, it's the service where the light first went on about who Jesus really was, and what Jesus was really all about,
And for other people, it's the Sunday, maybe it was your thousandth Sunday, but it was someone's first Sunday sitting next to you.
You're dating that guy and he finally came to church. You were thinking about your sister for years, praying for her and she finally showed up.
It might be the person you're sitting next to it. Might be a song. It might be the topic. I'm not sure what makes something really good when you come to church.
But I was thinking over this question personally. Um, I grew up in the church, I honestly can't remember missing two Sundays in a row, my entire life. My mom raised me and then I became a pastor, which means, I have to come to church. Every Sunday, a bunch of times where I get in trouble. All right, so I try to do the math. Um, I've been to church. I think over 3 000 times probably close to five thousand times.
And this dawn, I mean it's going to feel kind of weird to say, but I want you to write this down because I think it's true. And it's a big thing. I want to talk about today in my experience that there are thousands of church services. Here's what I've learned.
The church is at its best when I’m atmnmy worst.
I think what the Christian church, what Christianity and what Jesus Christ has to offer is really the best. When you are not at your best.
Now, I'm not sure if you can relate to this, but when everything is going great in my life,
When is that portion of the service where you're supposed to like confess your sins and think about God? And it's kind of hard to think of something you're really messed up.
Um, when our body is healthy, when my family is happy, when I come to church on a Sunday like that, to be honest, it's really easy to step into a space like this. With a casual heart.
You know, grab a coffee. Coffee's delicious. I'm talking with you. You're good, fun people to hang out with, you know I sit down. I probably don't even pray before the service begins. I sit down and listen to the amazing music. And a bit casual about it.
It's really easy to be kind of a consumer of a church service. You know, what do you got for me today? Pastor. Sometimes think that when I'm not the pastor stand up here,
Even to be critical of a church service. Did I like it? Did I not? Did I find the preacher Long-winded or boring? Like, when life is good, it's easy to be casual even critical.
And those Sundays, I can even come to the Lord's Supper. This amazing sacrament that Jesus gave and I can Confession time. Sometimes I just think about how chewy the bread is or how the wine tastes Instead of like the actual meaning of the thing that Jesus gave us the words and and what they're intended to convey.
But I'll tell you what, when my life is not good. When I can think instantly if something I messed up in the last 24 hours,
When things are falling apart, when my marriage is strained. When I'm living with pain.
When I'm far from my best, in fact, when I'm closer, if not at my worst,
That's when I think church is that's very best.
I can't step into a place like this as a consumer or a Critic. No. When my heart is just hungry aching for Hope for healing. For forgiveness for restoration when I walk just feeling the weight of my own decisions, my shame and my guilt, and I step into this, then The singers could be off pitch as long as they give me just a crumb. Of what my soulmos needs.
And a preacher could stutter as long as he tells me, this is for you. It's for the Forgiveness of your sins.
It's going to learn that after thousands of services the Christian church really shines. It is at its best when people like us, or far from our best. And are at our worst.
Now, I say that and I hope you can relate to it.
I hope you're happy. You're healthy. I hope you didn't do anything yesterday that you'll really regret.
But I wanted to share that with you because there's something that happens often in life when we are not at our best, and we've really messed up and we feel like, why did I do that? How could I say that? Why did I give into that? We tend to run from church. Instead of run, to church.
Favorite happened to you. Well, that's a mess when you can barely hold the tears back.
But sometimes, people avoid church.
When we're not all put together when the family and the marriage isn't as happy and perfect as it used to be, when you're terrified that, someone's going to ask you. Oh, how's your husband?
Because he's not sitting next to you anymore.
When you're in the middle of divorce court, when you were sober for a year and two months until yesterday.
You ever sat in a church parking lot with the ignition running?
Just thinking whether you're going to turn it off and come inside or go back home.
Ever been just frustrated and mad at God, wanting to run away from all this because just think you didn't get it. What was happening to you?
Now, when the wheels are falling off the bus, it is so tempting to run. From God, from the Bible from pastors, and from places like this.
And that's why today I just want to say something. So clearly, I want to spend the rest of my time trying to prove that Jesus Christ and the Christian church and a place like this, we are at our best when your life is at its worst.
My goal is that if this happens to you the next time it happens to you when you can really relate to this instead of staying in your car or staying at home, instead of avoiding pastors and Christian people, you run to us
Because we will offer you. The one thing that your soul most needs
Can't promised to be the coolest place in town.
Uh, maybe you can find better food and drink in people. In other spots, we can consistently and guarantee to offer you. Is the one thing that your soul most needs.
And I said that because today we're talking about Grace, The amazing Grace of God.
It's shocking, it's surprising, it is illogical and it is Supernatural. And today, I want to help you understand it. So that, you know, that a religion, a Christianity that is built on the grace of Jesus, is the one thing you need. When life is not what you want.
Look at this, amazing passage from John chapter 1, we're learning about Jesus. Where John writes the word? That's a nickname for Jesus. The word became flesh. And made his dwelling Among Us, that's Christmas. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one, and only son who came from the father.
Would you say the next three words with me full of grace and Truth?
Now Jesus was full of Truth. We're going to talk about that on another day. He was full of high standards pursuing Holiness, and repentance for the Forgiveness of sins. But today, would you forgive the imbalance? I just want to focus on those three words that when Jesus came, he was full Of Grace.
I want to help you unwrap that gift and enjoy it today.
So let's start with the definition. Well, what exactly is biblical Grace?
This time in Christianity, we talk about saying Grace, like, saying a prayer before we eat. Our baby girls Grace but what is what's the word Grace actually mean…what's so amazing about it?
Look this up in a dictionary, the base root definition of Grace, is a good disposition towards another person.
Like if I'm kindly disposed towards you, if I don't scowl at you, if I don't turn my face away from you, if I look at you and smile at you, if I'm nice to you if I give to you. That's the root definition of Grace. It means to give because something moves you inside.
But the Bible takes that concept to a whole another level. Because biblical Grace is not just being nice and it's not just giving a gift. It's not just being loving towards another person. I love you to write this down. Biblical Grace is undeserved, love.
It's when someone is nice to you and you're you're thinking Why would you do that?
If I give you a Christmas gift and you give me one back, I would say thanks.
But if I've been a total jerk to you and then you give me a gift, I would say.
What?
Why are you doing this?
If it doesn't quite make sense in your head.
You're pretty close to Grace.
Grace is the kind of love, that makes you say no way.
Or what? Or Oh wait. Or.
Wire.
It's this next level of that. We learn what defines the ministry of Jesus Christ.
When you see Grace up close, it will not just confuse you. It will also inspire you.
In fact, if you would study some of our favorite stories, books and movies, you would find out that often what makes a hero into a superhero. Is an act of Grace.
So this is this trope. If you know that word this repeated theme in literature and movies called, save the villain, Ever heard of it before.
You know story starts and we meet the hero who we’re for and then we meet the villain who we’re against and we hate but there comes a moment in the story where the villain is in desperate need. And a hero, instead of giving the villain what he deserves, he saves the villain.
And after that epic moment of the story that hero who we loved before we start to really, really love and respect. Who would who would do that? Who would love someone that didn't love them back. Only the greatest heroes are full of grace.
For example, anyone read any of the Harry Potter books, seen the Harry Potter movies, Yeah, some of you are like, this is a church. Can I say that I've read Harry Potter? I'm not sure if I could Uh, do you remember the story? Uh, Harry Potter is the hero? In the villain in the story is his snotty. Terrible. A classmate named Draco Malfoy.
And for all these books you know, Draco is just a jerk back to Harry until the end of the story. Remember the scene Harry and his friends and Draco on his friends are in the room of requirements. One of Draco’s goons accidentally starts a fire. The whole place is lit up. Everyone's about to die until Harry and his buddies, find a broom to fly their way out of the room.
That's when Harry notices that Draco's stuck.
Stuck in the Flames. He's about to die. So what does he do?
He saves the villain.
I think Ron says to him, if we die trying to save Draco Malfoy I'm going to kill you. It's a pretty good line. And after they zip out, just in the nick of time, it makes you love Harry about 10 times more. Who would do that? To someone who did something terrible first.
If you can't relate to Harry Potter, anyhow Mario fans in the house. Yes, and if you see the Mario Brothers movie, Yes, many of you. Look at this. We've seen more Mario Brothers than Harry Potter. Remember DK Donkey Kong? He's this chest-thumping, arrogant always on Mario's case, until Mario and DK, get blown up as they zip along the rainbow road, they plunge down into the water but DK gets bonked on the head by a falling tire. He passes out and he's going to drown in the darkness of the water until Mario saves the villain.
And I don't know, you love, Mario Moore, but something starts to change in DK's heart when he receives, Grace.
Any Broadway musical fans in the house today? Yeah, I was raised with lots of Broadway. Best musical in my opinion of all time is, Les Miserables. Best moments of the best musical of all time is the moment where Grace changes a man's heart.
Jean Belgian is the hero of the story. He's a convict, he's on parole, just out of prison after many years and he's so sick of the system, he's so sick of being, poor and grinding it out. And this one scene, the priest of a church opens the doors. Lets him sleep inside. Feeds him, blesses him, but John Belgian is so mad. He sees all the silver, the Precious silver in the church. It takes it.
He steals from the Priest, he runs into the night, gets caught by the cops.
The Drave came back. Hands are full of stolen silver and they say to the priest he stole from you.
The priest that moment saves the villain.
He defends John Belgian, gives him even more a man who robbed him and so confused. This is not the way the world is supposed to work, that it changes his heart and changes the whole direction of a story. When we see someone get love that they don't deserve it gets to us.
And that's why Jesus gets to us.
I love what John wrote about the Jesus. He saw up close for all those years back to verse 14. He said that Jesus came from the father.
Full of grace.
It wasn't just that one time. When Jesus, forgave people wasn't just that one gift that he gave. No, Jesus was
Of Grace. He was brimming. With undeserved shocking illogical, love for the people that he met.
I can't prove it what the words of the Bible.
But I think the most common word shared among the followers of Jesus was What?
I speak to James and John, you know, the brothers, just like side, eyeing, each other. Like are you see a tax? What? Jesus dude. Do you know what tax collectors have been doing to our people? Jesus said, Yep. From full of grace.
We caught a woman in the act of adultery. Do you know what adultery does to the families. Jesus says. Yeah. Yeah, that's why I came up with the rule.
Why would you why would you stand up for her? Why would you save her?
Because I'm full of grace.
Jesus, people have questions of why you eat with these people? What should we tell them? Grace.
The disciples were confused, shocked, amazing. It was so hard to process because that's just not the way the world works.
What made Jesus so stunning was not his absolute commitment to truth. To right a wrong, to Holiness and repentance, what blew people's mind, what their minds could not grasp, was this simple fact that he was so, so full Grace.
And maybe the best biblical example is this guy.
This is a picture of what some people think, the Apostle Paul looked like.
So some of the early Christian writers, the church fathers, in the first few centuries passed on physical descriptions of Paul. They're not super flattering this. He was kind of a crooked, short man with a large nose and a giant forehead. So this is what we think Paul is like.
And Paul, if you'd read his writings in the Bible was infatuated with Grace.
That you might know the story before Paul became a follower of Jesus. He was trying to murder the followers of Jesus.
If Paul had an Instagram page, it would have been a knife next to a cross. Next to a heart and a bunch of clappy hands.
He killed Christians as a job and as his favorite hobby, and so, one day, Jesus showed up.
I was marching his way off to Damascus, hoping to catch Christians of the act of worshiping Jesus when Jesus shows up in the sky.
Paul's confronted by the voice of God and he finds out it's Jesus. Happens to be God which means that Paul is in a whole lot of trouble.
Adjustment. We expect Mighty Jesus to put his sandal on Paul's persecuting throats.
Is that he loves the villain.
Saves the man who was killing God's children.
For days, Paul can't even process it. He just sits by himself and thinks and prays until a man comes puts his hand on him and calls him brother. Because Paul wasn't out of the family, just yet.
And after that happened to the Apostle Paul, his life and the words that he would write would never be the same.
Here's a fun fact for a long time, Bible readers, the New Testament is about this long.
Now, Paul in these Pages writes, I think I got this right. 23 of the total words in this part of the Bible.
But if you want to read every single passage here, that uses the word Grace,
Got so many times. It comes from Paul's pen.
70 of the time.
This guy who wrote a minority of the words of the New Testament. 70 of the times was the guy who would bring up Grace.
It's like you can get over it. It was stunning, shocking, beautiful, life-changing. That God would love the villain that God would love him. Despite being villainous that God would keep loving him when he knew the truth but struggled to live up to it. That was so incredible to Paul. He could not stop gushing that we are saved by Grace and through faith. As a gift, that comes from above.
So, let's talk about you for a second.
Do you believe in Grace?
Do you believe that God loves you? Not because you've earned it. And not, because you've deserved it. But just because God gives it.
Now, if you're new to church, this might be all new to you and you'd say, oh, this is interesting. I've never thought about it, but here's the crazy thing. Even if you're not new to church, its a fairly easy thing to believe when you're good.
And a super hard thing to believe when you're not.
To actually believe that God's acceptance of you, the fact that he is disposed kindly towards you, that he wants to bless you. Save you bring you to heaven. That simple concept is so hard to believe when you've blown it.
It's so hard to just, get up and believe that you're good with God. The morning after you mess up.
It's so hard actually to believe that Jesus. Forgives sins applies to you applies to that applies to today.
Now, we struggle with Grace and I think we do because it's just not the way the world works.
I think if your parents gave you an allowance back in the day,
You only got the good thing. If you did the good thing first and clean up after the dog, make your bed and I'll give you five bucks.
And then you go to school and what happens with grades, we got to come to class and you got to participate. You got to do well on the test and I'll give you a good grade. I mean tryout for sports. And if you show up for practice and if you work hard, and if you're a good teammate, and if you perform on the court, well then you get the starting position. Then you get your first job. We got to show up and do the work. You got to make the company money. And if you do, we'll give you the promotion, we'll increase the paycheck like in everything in life. Do good. Good things will happen to you, do bad.
Good things will stop happening for you.
And that's why I think when people start to, you know, process, what is God, like, they take that same concept, you got to earn it, you got to deserve it, you got to work for it and the impose it on God, Just makes logical sense.
So if you've heard of karma before, where does that come from?
Well, this idea that's how the world works. You better be good. Or it's going to go bad for you.
When people talk about Santa, how do they describe him?
He's making a list.
Oh, Santa doesn't forget about his list. No, he checks it twice. He's gonna find out if you're naughty so be good for goodness sake. I think a purgatory, if, if you've heard of that before, what is that come from? Well if you're really bad, we can't let you get right into heaven. I mean, you have to suffer for it, for a little, get a sweat it out for a bit, right?
I think of reincarnation.
Who comes back is the good people.
The good people.
Who comes back as like a toilet brush at a Taco Bell with people who weren't good at their job, although the bad people so be good for goodness sake like all of life.
It might be effective for behavior, modification, would not.
I mean, we just assume if that's the way it works, like here on Earth, that must be how it works with the god of Heaven.
Uh, there's maybe no more vivid example of this than what ancient Egyptians believed.
Let me show you a picture.
Um, this is a piece of art discovered by archaeologists called The Weighing of the Heart.
Egyptians believe that when you died the gods and goddesses would gather around, they pull out a giant scale and your heart would be put on one side.
And a feather would be put on the other.
The feather represented truth and justice and goodness.
And if you're heart was as light as a feather, the gods would accept you and the afterlife would go good for you. But if, if your heart was weighed down by sin, by mistakes.
That's where that little lady came in.The one with the crocodile face is a demon goddess named Amit. And her job was to devour Hearts that were weighed down by sin.
This was their Church art. So be good for goodness sake.
And we don't believe in. Crocodile faced demon goddesses anymore. But that old idea sticks around, isn't it?
If you live a good life, well you expect to have a good life. If you mess up, you expect God to be mad. To get back at you somehow in this life or the life to come.
So, let me just say, Clearly, as I can. That is not how Jesus is.
Jesus is not just full of Justice. No passage says here is how it's going to work in the end. Instead, we learned these words that Jesus came from the Father full of grace.
He loved people not because they were good. He loved them because they needed someone to love them because they were not good.
The whole story of Christmas is God coming down from Heaven to walk among us. Not to settle the score or to send down lightning bolts on the bad. But instead to give his life so that we could be good with God.
Jesus showed shocking, surprising amazing unfailing and unconditional love to real Sinners who really needed his forgiveness. He was known as the friend of drunks and gluttons prostitutes and Sinners because he was so full of grace and just overflowed out of his heart towards his people that make you say, what?
And Jesus hasn't changed.
And yes, let me repeat, truth still matters. Repentance still matters. You can't just do whatever you want and say, hey free ticket to Heaven.
But I can't tell you this. Jesus will love you. When you least expect the operating system of Christianity is Grace.
And every single Sunday we preach and Proclaim it, because Jesus, Was full of it.
In fact, just two verses later in John, chapter 1, John said this, out of his fullness, Jesus is fullness of Grace. We have all received Grace. In place of Grace already given
You imagine being that family Christmas and you open a gift and like, oh this is great. And then you open another gift and it's the same thing.
That's what Jesus does. It's like yesterday, you open the gift and he forgives you
And then today, you're like well what is this? And you open up. Oh, more Grace.
I thought you were the God of second chances.
She's like, nah. No, you'd be in trouble with the second chance. Instead, how would I just overflow with Grace, so that every single day, and every single hour, every single moment, when you know how badly you need it. I just give it.
Jesus ran a restaurant. He'd seat you at a table.
He bring out a complimentary basket of sliced, seasoned grace.
The clergy plate. Bring out a fresh Grace salad. He served the entree grilled Grace with a vintage bottle of Sauvignon Grace.
Come from any slice of triple chocolate grace and he graciously picks up the check. That's what Jesus does. Just surfing after serving day after day. And we come to him with sin after sin. And he overflows with amazing Grace.
So Frenzy is that time comes when you really mess up.
When there are consequences that you're living with.
When you know that you need help, when it feels like everything is falling apart when you realize that you're not deserving and you're not worthy.
This is the place that you come because this is where you find repeatedly. Guaranteed this message of a god who is so full of grace, you don't have to fix it first and you don't have to fake it. You don't need to wipe away the tears and act like it's all put together. That is not what the Church of Jesus was ever meant to be.
Smarter Christians have said it better than I that the Christian church is not a country club for Saints. It's a hospital for centers.
If you pull up to a hospital and you're sick, if your arm is broken, you don't sit in the car and wait till it's better.
You go inside because that's what the place is for.
And so this is what the church is for. If you ever got the impression that the Christian church is about, Impressing. Other people while you wear khakis.
Is not Christianity. If you ever think you have to fix it before you, you show up, that is not Christianity. This is the place where you limp and crawl and get carried in so that your soul can receive the one thing. It most needs a simple message of unconditional love. For the guy who gives you what you don't deserve.
So, if you've got a court date coming up,
Come to church.
Is your wife said? She's not sure if she even loves you anymore.
Come to church.
If you haven't got drunk in years until Thursday.
Come at church on Sunday.
And I pray that the songs we sang and the message, you hear will just Give your soul. The one thing it needs.
The Rock, Solid Foundation of a God, whose love? Is not conditional in your behavior.
And when that moment happens, friends those of us who attend church, who hear such confessions we must respond with Grace.
Yep, people are going to need help.
Yes, there are consequences to actions you often do reap what you sow.
No, no, it's not. Okay. Just to do whatever you want. That's not Christianity. Jesus was full of Truth too. But what people need most in the moment. Is love.
When they walk into a church and they're afraid,
Fire will burn the place down. That every other Christian will scowl at these Sinners who somehow snuck into our service. No,
Please, please communicate with your words and with your expression. What Jesus was full of.
The unconditional love that we call Grace. I need that. I bet you do too.
Years ago, there was this Lutheran Pastor named Chad.
Self-Destructed, his own life.
You know, someone of a pastor prodigy.
Incredibly intelligent, incredibly personal actually in some of the books he wrote he told the story when he graduated from his Seminary, one of his seminary professors wrote on his paper. I can't wait until you and I are colleagues.
My seminary professors did not write that on any of my papers.
But Chad they did, he was a brilliant mind and that's exactly what happened. He became one of the youngest seminary professors, ever at the Seminary and he wasn't just a brain on a stick. He had a way with words that made publishing houses drool to sign contracts for his books. He was a sought after speaker. He was witty, funny, biblical, deep and committed to the teaching of sin and Grace until
Things aren't great at home. Temptation came.
There's another woman in secret.
And the consequences of his actions when it came to light.
The contract, the speaking engagements dried up like that, his wife filed for divorce and he saw his own kids only every other weekend.
You put his pastoral planner away, the Hebrew book stayed on the dusty bookshelves, as he drove truck 70 hours a week with oil under his fingernails.
He's mad.
He was mad at himself that he had given in. Mad at himself that he had thrown so much away. Mad at his ex, mad at the World. Mad at God who let all of it happen, he's just boiling over. Avoiding churches, struggling with God. Until one night.
Six years after the divorce was finalized, one of his daughters, who was eight, was now 14. He was tucking her in to bed and something was on her mind.
What's wrong, sweetie?
And for minutes, she couldn't speak.
And so the question she had been wondering about for six years. Came, bubbling out of her heart and out of her mouth. She looked her own father, in the eye and said, Why did you cheat on Mommy?
And he was so tempted to run.
To run from the awkwardness to, To run from the truth to make excuses. To tell his daughter, his side of the story but instead,
He just confessed.
Confess to sin. His shame.
And when his baby girl, acted a lot like Jesus.
When she wrapped her arms around her own father, when they embraced when she spoke words of forgiveness to him. This man stopped just believing in Grace up here it finally got here.
When he was up close with the consequences of his own sin, and yet there was still undeserved love. There was something that shook him and changed him.
In my prayer is that what happened on the edge of that girl's bed is what happens every Sunday here at this church?
Where the truth. It hits us in the gut and we might be tempted to run, but instead we confess all of it.
And the response is something we never saw coming.
The arms of Jesus and his people.
The fullness of his grace in place of Grace already given.
Friends, if we can do that, this will not just be a Sunday hobby, this will not just be a church. This will truly be a Christian church that imitates Christ. The Savior was full of not just truth, of truth and Grace.
That's what just might make next Sunday your best Sunday.
