HT @JesusNeedsNewPR

Your father, leaves behind his former life in search of power.

He kills your mother, leaving you and your sister orphans.

He then kills your mentor and attempts to take your life as well.

Could you still see the good in him?

Darth Vader – the ultimate Hollywood bad guy – and perhaps one of the ultimate stories of redemption.

In the end, we all end up cheering for Darth Vader as he sacrifices his own life to save his son.

And if there’s a second chance for Vader — don’t you think there’s a second chance for you too?

And if there’s a second chance for you — don’t you think there’s a second chance for those around you as well?

Sure, Darth Vader and his story are all the brain child of George Lucas. It’s fiction. But at the heart of the story is a real struggle.

The struggle of good and bad and second chances.

We all have Vaders in our lives.

Those who have betrayed us.

Who have hurt our families.

Who have hurt us.

Who have caused us so much pain and grief.

And Scripture reminds us – none of them are beyond a second chance in the eyes of God.

None of them.

No one.

And yet, we still hold on to our “right” to judge.

It’s no wonder Jesus spent so much time reminding his disciples to love and forgive.

At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.”

And the call remains today.

Who in your life needs a second chance? Or perhaps a third? Forth? Or even 50th?

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For more on the Darth Vader poster and the Who would you give a second chance too? Visit the People of the Second Chance.

We’re all moved by something.  I’m not talking about being moved emotionally. I’m talking about the big picture – the big decisions in life.  In those moments we have something we use to gauge our decisions.  Where will we live?  What career will we choose?  When & who will I marry?  How will I live my life?

Those are big decisions.  Our motivations and desires at that level are what really move us.

Today at encounter, we hear the story of a couple and their journey with Christ.  As they face some big decisions, we’ll hear what moves them.  Come be part of the experience we call encounter and find grace that meets you where you and can move you to where you’ve never been before!

Fruit grows by the life that is inside the vine, tree, or plant.  It cannot be forced, threatened, shamed, or produced by any outside force.  Jesus said there was only one way that the fruit of life grows in us – by abiding or resting in Him.  From this humble place of accepting His forgiveness, favor, grace, love, and mercy we have produced in us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness for others.  We have fruit formed in us from what He first gives us!

Today, at encounter we celebrate and learn more about how to abide in Him and have His fruit produced in our lives.  The heart that is truly set free has the fruit of worship, serving, and giving from a place of grace.

We relate to people in our lives based on how we have been related to.  If we have experienced forgiveness we will have a greater capacity to forgive.  If we have been genuinely loved, then we will have a greater capacity to love.  The opposites are true as well.  If we have found little acceptance in life, we will have a greater tendency to not give acceptance.  If we have been treated harshly, we will have a greater tendency to treat others harshly.

These are true of how others have related to us.  They are also true of how we believe God relates to us.  Those who see God has demanding, will often be demanding of others.  Those who see Him as hard to please will often pass that on to others.

The opposite is also true.  Those who have experienced the reality of His grace, acceptance, and love in their lives, will have a greater capacity to relate to others with that same kind of grace, acceptance, and love.  Those who have been served by Him will have a greater capacity of serving others.

This Sunday at encounter, we dive into what it means to love and serve others – not out of duty or command; not out of force or manipulation.  We’ll discover how to serve out of humility and love.  We’ll see how to give away what we have received.

How is a person made right with God?  What does it take for the heart of a man to be changed and forever made clean and whole with his Creator.   How a person answers that question speaks volumes about how they see God, how they see themselves, how they relate to others, and how they live life, and where they find their joy.

Placing them in the wrong order will drive a person to frustration, emptiness, and despair.  The Bible gives a clear answer for which comes first and what happens next.  That answer that confounds the wisest of men because it is the opposite of everything that seems right and natural.

How would you arrange them?  In what order do they happen for someone to be made right with God?

Struggling with anger, resentment, frustration, emptiness, and broken relationships?  Not seeing others influenced by what you thought was Good News from you?  Finding that your approaches to making others feel guilty and reminding them of “the rules” to follow God not working?

Just as guilt, shame, condemnation, and rule-keeping only end in lifeless pool of frustration for ourselves; Scripture reveals they don’t work for helping others change either.

Unless genuine desire is ignited in the heart of another person to seek after God, any other efforts through pressure, laws, and rules fall flat.  There is only one way for desire to be ignited in another person’s heart – through grace.

To show that grace our hearts have to be resurrected and filled with a new kind of desire and love.  That resurrected love has the power to infuse life and desire into others.  It also has the power to free me from the pressure to have to make others conform and obey when I say.

The power of the resurrection is far greater a power than any of us have ever tapped into or understood.  In this series at encounter we cry out with the apostle Paul when he said, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!”

You would think you had just said you were a terrorist.  Instead you mentioned you that you celebrated grace.  For some the reaction is the same – fear, anger, attack, excommunication.  They say, “There is grace, but there is also responsibility.”  Immediately, many attach conditions.  ”If you believe in grace, then you will…”  and “We can’t let people feel too free with God or they’ll do whatever they want!”

They said the same thing to Jesus. “Who is this man who eats (shows favor) to sinners?”

Grace is frightening.  It is something greater than we will ever understand; it is what we will forever admire and adore in heaven; and it is the only thing that can only real desire in our hearts to love God.

Let’s be clear what grace is.  It is not overlooking sin.  That is a weak, diluted, and misunderstood view of grace.  Grace is the unparalleled  passion of God for man.  We see it as He gives His Son on the cross to become sin so that we can not just be free from our guilt, but so that we can enjoy His favor, intimacy, and right-ness.  That’s right – so that we can enjoy right-ness or righteousness with Him.  Not in the some day, or in “that” day, but in the moment we allow that grace to intersect the specific sin and guilt of our own life.

Grace is so overwhelming and freeing that when we do receive it, it ignites within us a desire to repent, love, serve, and worship the One who frees us!  Grace received ignites desire!  It is so overwhelming and freeing that it strips us of all control, ability to repay, and ability to claim any justification for receiving it.

All we can do is stand in awe.

There is something inside us that wants to work for it, earn it, pay it back, beat ourselves up about, fear that one sin could make it all go away, or that it is now our task to live in such a way to keep it flowing to us.

Then grace is no longer exciting, free, or overwhelming.

It becomes common, under my control, and something to manage.  I end up with fear, guilt, uncertainty, and with a list of rules connected to my grace.   I also pass that version of grace onto others.  Gone is the joy, awe, and freedom.

Welcome to Christianity in the 21st century – impotent, weak, rule-based, tradition-driven, condemning, and angry.

Which grace do you celebrate?  The one that puts my right-ness with God in my hands or the one that is rests squarely in Christ crucified and resurrected for our complete freedom, forgiveness, and favor?