Celebrating Our Re-formation
Week 3: Grace Revealed

Psalm 121

 † In Jesus †

may the grace and peace of God our Father reveal to you the presence of Jesus in your life, as He watches over you!

Stirred, not Shaken

It is my prayer that this message and the grace it describes leaves your faith in God the opposite of a James Bond martini – that it is stirred, and not shaken!

That is, after all, the nature of being re-formed, of this reformation where we look to the scriptures for the promises we have faith that Christ Jesus guarantees, the promises we call God’s grace.

For that grace is our only hope – the intercession of Jesus into our broken lives, lives which needed to be recreated, an re-formed, re-formed lives that reflect Jesus’ love into a broken world.

This is what Luther was all about—how do we see ourselves in Christ?

Do we recognize our need to be re-formed?

Do we recognize the work of Jesus, that draws us to the cross, where we are crucified with Him, so that can rise with Him

That’s grace…

The grace that re-forms sinners into saints.

Why do we need such a Reminder

Last week I preached on a passage that was mostly law – showing mankind’s absolute need for God to intervene in the lives of men, or we stand condemned by our own thoughts and actions.

This week is almost exactly opposite! A passage that primarily is focused on the impact of grace, and God has intervened and is actively involved in the lives of His people.

But why do we need such a reminder, you think that such a treasured thing as grace would never be forgotten, that it could never be forgotten.

But we do – we are more shaken than Mr. Bond’s favorite beverage.

We need to know we have help coming, we need to know we aren’t alone, we need to know we aren’t stuck, forever broken.

So powerful is the sin, the sins that had its grips on us, the sin that has its grips on so many in this world – that we need to continually hear the good news, that Christ has died for us, ,that Christ has risen and we are raised with Him, and that Christ will come again!

In light of the power and reach of sin we need to know God reigns, that grace overwhelms.

For sin would shake our faith, our ability to depend on Jesus.

And we don’t need our faith shaken, but stirred as we are re-formed

The SMR God

Hear theses verses again, for they are the purest example of grace,

⁴  Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps

⁵  The LORD himself watches over you.

⁷  The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life

The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,

Five times this word, shows up – that God watches over you – that God guards your back, that God is there in your life!

The word means more than just observe – it means to guard, to treasure what in entrusted to you. It pictures the military of the time, protecting the family of the King.

It’s the kind of guard that Elisha knew that he asked God to reveal to his assistant, described

¹⁵  When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. ¹⁶  “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” ¹⁷  Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:15-17 (NLT2)

We don’t just have guardian angels, we have a guardian God, who brings His entire army to guard and protect us from sin, Satan, and the threat of death.

Back in the day, there was a show, “Touched by an Angel.” A Beautiful young Scottish angel, her friend Andrew- the angel who escorting dying people to heaven, and their “trainer”. Think two deacon angels and a pastor angel. The last episode had them questioning a disaster, and the worst thing – or so they thought- was that Andrew and his fellow death angels weren’t there to minister to the dying, and the grieving.

Until this other person, the new guy, revealed himself to be Jesus, and told them, “The angels weren’t involved because this job was too big for them – only he could handle it.”

Well, that was a television show, but it had a wonderful truth imbedded into it. We are to valuable for just an angel, or even ten thousand thousands to watch over. To heal, to help. And the promise is that have Jesus to do that… and always will.

He is our help, our refuge, our hope and healing, and He watches over us. AMEN!