Your relationship to Jesus is like any other relationship. It has to be maintained because no relationship ever stays the same. You’re either growing closer to the Lord or you’re drifting away. We all know people who have drifted away from the Lord. We all know the struggles of our own heart, the temptations, the ups and downs. The good news is that when we blow it, when we walk away or stumble in our walk with God, the Lord says we can come back to Him. It’s a grace that restores.

Click here to watch a powerful video about Peter’s Denial of Jesus.

 

GRACE: THE GRACE THAT RESTORES

Message by Todd Lester – July 30, 2017

Lamentations 5:21 Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!

 

WHAT CAUSES BELIEVERS TO FALL AWAY?

Peter’s Denial of Christ – Mark 14:27-72

1. OVERCONFIDENCE

Mark 14:29 Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”

1 Corinthians 10:12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

2. LAZINESS

Mark 14:37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?”

Matthew 26:41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

3. FEAR OF DISAPPROVAL

Mark 14:54a Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance …

Proverbs 29:25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

4. CONVENIENCE

Mark 14:54b There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

 

GOD’S RESPONSE TO OUR FAILURE

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

WHY DOESN’T GOD REJECT BELIEVERS WHEN WE SIN?

1. BECAUSE HIS LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL

Lamentations 3:22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

2. BECAUSE SALVATION ISN’T BASED ON MY PERFORMANCE

Romans 9:16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

3. BECAUSE JESUS HAS ALREADY TAKEN MY PUNISHMENT

1 John 2:2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

4. BECAUSE JESUS UNDERSTANDS MY HUMAN WEAKNESS

Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

5. BECAUSE GOD DOESN’T HOLD ON TO GRUDGES

Psalm 103:9-13 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve … The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

Jeremiah 3:22 “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.”

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN I SIN?

Isaiah 1:18 “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”

Isaiah 54:7 “…With great compassion I will take you back.”

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

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