1.
God’s Annoying Grace and Truth (The ultimate winning combination?)

2.
<ul><li>Have you ever been annoyed or bothered by someone who you knew was telling you the truth, but you just weren’t ready to hear it at that moment? What was you’re first response? Anger? Stop listening to them? Do the opposite of what they are saying? All the above? </li></ul>

3.
<ul><li>“ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth . For of His fulness, we have all received, grace upon grace . For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” </li></ul><ul><li>John 1:14, 16, 17 </li></ul>

4.
<ul><li>1. God’s Grace (greek: charis - unearned and undeserved favor and kindness) </li></ul>

5.
<ul><li>“For by God’s grace, you have been saved, through faith; and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not a result of works, that no one should boast.” </li></ul><ul><li>Ephesians 2:8,9 </li></ul>

6.
<ul><li>a. Believe that God’s grace has already provided the solution for your life. </li></ul>

7.
<ul><li>c. So then we have received God’s grace, God then expects us to give of His grace and kindness to others. (we are ‘stewards of God’s manifold grace’ 1 Peter 4:10) </li></ul>

8.
<ul><li>2. God’s Truth (greek: aletheia – the clear and verifiable essence of a matter) </li></ul>

9.
<ul><li>“ And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. Jn 8:32 </li></ul><ul><li>(v.34…Jesus was talking specifically about being free from sin.) </li></ul>

10.
<ul><li>It was Pontius Pilate who uttered the famous “what is truth?”, ironically, as he was standing face to face with the Truth, Jesus. (John 14:6) Illustrating how we can be in the very presence of truth without knowing it. </li></ul>

11.
<ul><li>In Ephesians 4, Paul says that as “mature believer’s who aren’t easily fooled, we’re to speak the truth in love , growing up in Him.” (Brian’s paraphrase) </li></ul>

12.
<ul><li>The problem arises when we separate the truth from love and grace. By itself, truth is cold and unfeeling. It’s overwhelming and too heavy to bear. This is why God chose to personalize truth, eternally connecting it to grace in the person of Jesus. </li></ul>

13.
<ul><li>When it comes to sharing the truth with unbeliever’s, remember what worked </li></ul><ul><li>best in your life. It was God’s love and grace through a friendship or family member or co-worker, that drew you, then you trusted God and could accept His truth about yourself, that you were a sinner….that you needed a Saviour. </li></ul>

14.
<ul><li>Jerry Cook who wrote the book, ‘Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness’, said this: “We need to trust what God is doing in the lives of people, much more than we do. We often have a tragic distrust of the inner life of Christ in other believers. We are scared to death that they will ‘goof’ things up. We don’t really believe that the power of God is in the gospel itself, as the Bible says, we think it’s in perfect performance. God help us.” </li></ul>

15.
-Finally- <ul><li>We need to first receive God’s grace and truth into our own lives, then we can begin to share it with others as we build relationship with them. When you’re reading God’s Word or a brother or sister in Christ shares a truth with you – maybe one that’s a bit annoying, consider what it is. Don’t be angry, it may be that God is trying to refine you. It may be a great opportunity for you! God wants you to grow in His grace and truth. </li></ul>