Gifted By Grace |GRACE WINS AGAIN |Chad Veach

0:00 Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome to another message from Zoe Church, Los Angeles. Thank you for joining us today. So excited to be in part two of a series that we're in right now about the message and the person of grace. We're going to jump into Romans chapter three in just a moment. But before we jump in, I'd like to encourage you to give. If you'd like to give today, go to our website and you can give your tithes or your offerings there and help us make a difference here in the LA and around the world. Let's jump into this week's message. The title of it is Grace Wins Again. Romans chapter 3. We started a new series last Sunday about grace. That grace is not a principle. Grace is a person. In fact, we believe that the face of grace is Jesus. And we are so grateful that today, because of God's love, God so loved the world, that he gave us his one and his only son, that if anybody believes in him, they will not perish, but through faith in Jesus, they will receive everlasting life.

1:08 Come on, anybody believe in the good news today? we're talking about grace and how important it is for us to understand this free gift that all of us receive together. Romans chapter three, but now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known. Last week, if you weren't here, we talked about the difference between the law and grace. The law, the old covenant, what we used to be under, The law could tell you how bad you were, point out your sin, but could never give you the power to overcome your sin. In the New Testament, in grace, Jesus doesn't point out our flaws and our weaknesses. He puts our eyes on the cross, puts our eyes on the blood of Jesus, puts our eyes on the empty tomb.

2:03 I just love this because I said it last week, the first time the law is preached in the Old Testament, 3,000 people die. The first time grace is preached in the New Testament, 3,000 are saved. The law kills, but the Spirit gives life. Anybody thankful that we're no longer under the tyranny of the law, but we're under the canopy and the umbrella of Jesus? Come on, somebody clap if you're grateful to be under grace today. We're under grace. Read it again. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known to you, to which both the law and the prophets even testify of Jesus. The righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. I like that, to all who believe. So it doesn't matter your socioeconomic background. It doesn't matter the color of your skin. It doesn't matter what language you speak.

3:02 If you believe in Jesus, you receive the gift of righteousness. So it's not prejudice for a few or for the select or for the better than those. No, anybody that would receive Jesus receives grace. Oh, I like that so much. For all who believe, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. See, back in the day, Paul's writing to Rome because it used to be only the Jewish community was grafted in or loved or blessed. But now he says to the Gentile, the Gentile was in this context, anybody that was on the outside who should have never had a shot at grace, who should have never been invited into the kingdom of God. The Gentiles, I gotta be honest, people like you and I, we should have never been invited to the table of the Lord. But anybody thankful that both for the Jew and the Gentile, we've been invited to receive the free gift of grace.

3:55 Oh, come on, clap like you've been invited by God to receive grace. The righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There's no difference between Jew and Gentile. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his, what's that word right there? by his what? Yeah, there's more people than that. We're justified, justified in the courtroom of heaven today in front of our father. You are not found guilty, but because of Jesus, you have been made innocent. So you have been justified. You stand right now as the righteousness of God. I said it last week, but let me remind you, you've never been more righteous than you are right now, and you'll never be more righteous in the future because today you are the righteousness of God.

4:50 When God looks at you, he can't even see you. All he sees is his son, Jesus. Your life has been hidden in Christ. So when God looks, all he sees is the sacrifice of his son, the blood of Jesus that was shed for the sins of the world. So we have been justified freely by Jesus, by his grace, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. I want to preach a message in our second installment. It's called Grace Wins Again. Grace Wins Again. I like that. Grace wins again because the Dodgers are going to win again. it's so funny last Monday um I called my father in the morning I'm from Seattle and my dad you know is like the biggest diehard Mariner fan and they were getting ready to play game seven last Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jays and so I called my dad in the morning asking him like how do you feel about the game and my dad's like I'm I gotta be honest I'm nervous and my dad spoken like a true Mariner fan was like you know I gotta be honest he's like it's you know it's been such a good run. And if they don't win tonight, it's, it's all been, it's good enough and it's been fine. And, and, and, you know, I don't know if we will win, but man, it's been such an awesome ride. And I just said back to my dad, spoken like a true loser. Like you gotta be a loser to talk that way. You gotta live your whole life as a Mariner fan to get that defeated mindset to think, God's been good enough. A Dodger fan would never talk like that. A Laker fan would never talk like that. 17 championships and we never, we win or go home, win or die, win or lose. We're going to live to win. Come on, clap. All the Dodger fans in the house.

6:36 La vida loca. By the way, there's a lot of Dodger fans here today at church. I love it. But I think that the law has brought such a defeated mindset that some of us don't even know how to adapt to this new lifestyle of winning. We don't even know how to walk in the victory that is given to us in Christ. I want to just give you four things to write down today. Number one, write this down. Grace, through grace, we are made new. And I'm using the word we in this message today because I want you to delineate between the me thing versus the we thing. Grace is not for some of us. Grace is for all of us. Grace is not for you. Grace is for me and you. See, you got to understand this about church. God doesn't just want you to win. He wants all of us to win. God doesn't want to just give you victory. God wants everybody to have victory. There's not for some select few righteous chosen people here. No, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But for all who believe, we all have the gift of grace and the gift of righteousness. Anybody thankful today for what Jesus gave everybody here? I just want to tell you at church, don't just root for you, root for us. We're reaching youth. We're clothing and feeding people. We're getting people in connect groups. We're seeing people baptized. Clap for the 20 people that got baptized last Sunday at Zoe Church. Thank God they got baptized last Sunday, not this Sunday. This Sunday, you know, some people would have wussied out. They'd be like, it's too cold. It's like 64. I can't do this. It's your faith, man.

8:23 See, it's about we. Never believe in light that when somebody's light starts to shine that your light gets dim. No, if you win, we win. If you do well, we do well. If you get a Tesla, I got a Tesla.

8:44 Who am I preaching to? so it's about we never about me we're the church of jesus and sometimes you got to recognize when you show up in the house of god people might not look like me people not maybe not not act like me or vote like me but thank god the common thread is that because of jesus you're my brother you're my sister Thank you. Otherwise, you show up at church going like, yeah, they ain't that righteous. Well, they ain't righteous. Did you see what they posted? They are not righteous. That's called self-righteous. No, righteousness is a gift that comes from Jesus. And the common denominator that we all have is that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

9:38 So put it on the screen again. Through grace, we are made new. 2 Corinthians chapter five, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone. The new is here. All of this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God took all of our old broken patterns all of our old lusts and ways and all of our old issues and said out with the old and in with the new. You are not who you used to be. You have been transformed by the grace of Jesus. You're a new creation in Christ.

10:27 Last Sunday, I was talking about not getting my real ID yet, not going to get my real ID. I just, I refuse to go to the DMV because I believe it's ran by the devil. I think Satan lives there and he's running that place and lo and behold on Wednesday morning I look on the calendar and at 10 30 there's a DMV appointment I said what is this and so I messaged our team and said is this for real and they said um this is for Julia and I said she would it's disgusting long story short she didn't go because she's sanctified and we still don't have our real IDs. But we're trying to talk about that old life is not who you are now. You have been made new in Christ. Out with the old and in with the new. I got new cravings. I've got new passions. I've got new desires. All of this happened the moment I received the free gift of grace. He took me from my old life into my new life. That's why Jesus said, if you want to inherit my kingdom, you must be born again. They're like, be born again. How can a man go back into the stomach of his mom?

11:42 He wasn't talking about physical rebirth. He was talking about spiritual rebirth, that I'll have a new spirit and a new heart and a new mind and a new disposition. Come on, clap like you believe it today. I've been made new by grace. Ephesians 4, since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your old former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the spirit renew your thoughts, renew your attitudes, put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and truly holy. Now put off that old. Do you remember how negative you used to be and how selfish and unkind and how deviant and twisted? No, no, I'm telling you, that's the old you. The new you is pure. The new you is generous. The new you is selfless. The new you is forgiving. The new you, come on, clap, but you believe it today. That's all the power of what Jesus, Jesus will change you from the inside, it will affect how you live on the outside. Through grace, we are a new creation.

12:58 I'm not who I used to be. I'm not that old self. I'm not that old person. By the way, it's great to see my friend Monica right over here. We went to middle school and high school together. My friend Monica Chamberlain right here. I have memories with her in the sixth grade. I'm not who I used to be. praise the lord pray she never remembered anyways through grace through grace we are made new put it put on screen this is regeneration regeneration for those who come to jesus by faith are not merely forgiven they are radically changed i like that so you think you come to jesus and just get your sins forgiven and then he's like okay, good luck out there. Good luck finding your dad. no no grace would change you i appreciate i appreciate that that signs that you're at zoe church right there like if i was in missouri people would have been like

14:06 you are not, when you receive grace, you are not merely forgiven. You are radically transformed by the power of Jesus. He changes you. Put this next one. Regeneration is the result of grace, not human effort. Anyone who accepts Jesus undergoes a spiritual transformation. The old life is gone and the new one emerges. Grace unites you with Christ and raises you to live this new life. How do I live this new life, this Jesus life? I don't know if I can go back to my old friends and I don't know if I can go back to that old music and I don't know if I can go back to those old places. Yeah, you don't even crave that stuff anymore. I crave purity. I crave God's presence. I crave community.

15:00 I crave the house of God. I crave to be with the people. I crave to serve. Come on. Anybody got your cravings altered when you encounter the love of Jesus? The woman at the well got changed. The man in the tree got changed. The man with the withered hand couldn't stay the same. Because when you encounter my God, you'll never stay the same. Give him a praise if you've encountered the love of Jesus that will regenerate something new.

15:27 The law could never change you. All the law would tell you to do is you're bad and you're awful and you're wrong and what's wrong with you? Try harder, but grace will give you the power to overcome. Write down number two, I like this. Through grace, we have the victory. I like that so much because I love winning. Anybody else? Anybody just love to win? See, there's no participation trophies out here. I like my oldest boy. My oldest boy is a savage. My oldest boy will cut somebody to win. He does not care about if he gets the touchdown or if he gets the hit or if he makes the basket. He does not care. He's a hustle maniac just so he can win. We left his football game Friday night and he played great and he did a great job playing linebacker and he was all over the field. And I said, son, good game, good job.

16:20 He said, no, it wasn't, we lost. My bad, I'm so sorry, apologies. I take it back. my youngest could care less my youngest is there for outfits and capri suns my youngest just wants to make sure we're all looking at him the entire game if we're not looking at him we're going to get yelled at in the van on the way home this has happened before i have to put my phone down dad you were on your phone i'm so sorry i apologize he doesn't know the score in fact we were in the car yesterday and somebody asked him did you win your game he's like we don't keep score i said i kept score y'all lost my four you start keeping score like I do you're losing he doesn't care he's got a capri sun some of us have been losing for so long we don't even know what it feels like to win when you're in grace you overcome addiction you overcome unforgiveness you overcome abuse you overcome I feel like I'm preaching to somebody today I'm not gonna stay a victim I'm not gonna stay defeated.

17:29 I'm not gonna stay with my head in between my, come on, I'm gonna rise as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus because I am more than a conqueror in Christ. Give him a praise. I'm more than a conqueror. Look here, Romans 8. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us. I'm more than a conqueror. I'm more than an overcomer. I didn't just overcome the things that happened to me and the things that people said to me and the things that happened in my past and the dumb decisions of my past. No, I overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony. I made a mistake, but I am not a mistake. My real ID says chosen, graced, favored, anointed. I'm not trying to get a victory.

18:25 I have a victory because of the finished work of the cross, because of the blood of Jesus, because of the empty tomb. I'm already a winner. Oh, look at this one. I love this one. First Corinthians 15, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's kind of like, have you seen this on social media? When they say, you know, um, they, they make fun of like somebody on the team that was on the team. They're on the group project. They did nothing to help the group project, but they still get the A? You know, or they point out an athlete that's like, didn't do nothing to help, but they still got the championship. That's like you and I with Jesus. We did nothing to get the victory. Jesus did all the work on the cross, but we... but I'm standing in righteousness. I'm standing justified. I'm standing born again. I'm standing in victory. What did you do to earn it? I didn't do anything to earn it. Well, what did you, how, how come you deserve it? I don't deserve it. That's called grace. Grace is undeserved blessing and unmerited favor. I'm not trying to get a victory. I'm living from a victory. I already, come on, we already won. We know how the story ends. Come on, clap if you believe that the devil has been defeated and the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet like a Toronto Blue Jay.

19:54 Just sorry, I got excited. Romans 5. For if by the trespass of the one man, Adam, I said his Spanish name last week. Adam.

20:14 Death reigned through that one man. How much more with those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the free gift of righteousness. Look at these three words here. Reign in life. I wanna ask you a question. Do you feel like currently you are reigning in life? And I'm not talking about make it rain. It's not what I'm talking about. Not what I'm talking about. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's not what we're talking about. Do you feel like you are reigning in life? What is the connotation there? Ruling, dominating. Let's use this word, winning. Do you look at your life and do you feel like, I'm winning? No, you don't because you're under the law. And the law points out you're defeated, you're a problem, you can't overcome. Watch what the law says, what's wrong with you? When you're under grace, it says, look at what's right with you. You've got the power of the blood of Jesus to overcome any situation that you're in right now.

21:12 Those that receive the free gift of righteousness will reign in life. And some of us are like, oh, reign in life? I just, I don't know. I'm just happy I showed up to church today. No, grace will empower you so you can dominate whatever's come against you. So that you can be that, watch this, the head and not the tail. The law makes you feel like the tail. Grace makes you feel like, I don't know how I got here, but wow. And watch what grace will make you say, wow, God has been so good. The law says, what have you done? Grace says, look at what he did. That's how you get victory is getting your eyes off yourself and your eyes onto Jesus. put on the screen. You reign because you're righteous, not because you're perfect.

22:12 The demand for us to be perfect, you got to be, oh man, don't you say a bad word and watch a bad show and don't you dare, you better tithe and attend and you better pray and you better read and you better, ooh. It's exhausting. That is the law. Grace says you already have it, you cannot earn it. You already are grafted in to the victory of Jesus. Righteousness is not a goal. Righteousness is a gift. It's not a goal to be achieved. It's a gift to be received. So I am righteous, not because of my merit, my morals, my efforts, or my standards. I am righteous because of the free gift that came through the life, the sacrifice, and the love of Jesus Christ. Come on, Clap together, Zoe, if you're grateful for the free gift of righteousness. So grace, grace gives us a new identity. Grace gives us all the victory.

23:08 Write down the third one. I love this. Through grace, we can believe right, which leads to us living right. This is so good. Grace would teach you that right believing results in right living. The law says if you live right, then eventually we'll get you to go ahead and get your theology and you'll believe right. But grace is the opposite. The more you believe right, the more you're transformed by the love of Jesus and you become what is right. I wanna just encourage you and I wanna remind you what you already know. You are becoming whatever you are beholding.

23:44 So if you behold this person, you will become just like that person. If you idolize a lifestyle, you are going to become just like that lifestyle. Whatever you behold, you become. So we have made up the decision that in our church, in our community, we want to behold the perfect lamb of God. His name is Jesus. And the more I believe in Jesus, you are the way, you are the truth. I love your word. I love your teachings. I love your life. the more I look to Jesus the more I become like Jesus. And the more you believe right right believing will lead you will transfer you right over into right living. And I don't know about you but I'd like to live the way that God's called me to live. Anybody else? Come on clap if that's your prayer.

24:37 So, so, so, so, so, so watch this Titus two for the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness, the DMV and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. I like that so much because grace, the law just tells you what's wrong with you and that you're doing bad things. Grace will empower you to stay away from the wrong path. Grace will lead you to say, no, no, no, don't, don't, don't, don't go back there. Don't go, no, no, no, don't text that back.

25:33 That DM, leave that closed. Don't, no, no, no. Because we're gonna deny what would destroy you. We're gonna say yes to what will build you. and the more I believe, the more I believe I'm loved, I am accepted, I am approved, God is for me, God is with me, the more I believe these things, the more I become who God has called me to become. Shame, doubt, and fear will never alter your inner world. Remember, religion is all about fixing the outside so that you might look holy, but on the inside you're corrupt. Grace will impact your inside that will eventually get to your outside. You ever see someone smile and they got all the smile and they, and they got all the right charm and charisma, but some just don't feel right. Don't point at nobody. My guy pointed at somebody. He's like, it's like my guy, grace to your brother. My God. But, but have you, have you ever, love opposite, have you been around somebody and you can sense how genuine and sincere they are?

26:45 And you could feel, you could feel their heart. You could feel, whew, they feel right. I don't know what that is. Well, they feel kind and interested and compassionate and loving. In other words, religion will give you all the right stuff to do, but don't change your inside. Grace will mess with you so much on the inside, the result is life and love. You understand? Right believing leads to the right becoming or the right behavior or the right living. And God is more interested in doing a mighty work on the inside than he ever would be on the outside. Somebody clap and praise the Lord. He'll just mess with you on the inside of you. Romans 6 verse 4, we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we too may live a new life. I've got a new life that's found in Jesus and I'm going to live that new life. It was not a moment for me to just raise my hand in a service. It was a moment to set me down a path of God's plan and God's will for my life. I am no longer living for me. I am now living to follow Jesus. I am no longer praying what I want. I am now asking God what he wants. I am not doing my thing. I am now living for his thing. That's how you know you got swept up in grace. Not that you had a moment to say yes, but you continually are being transformed by the renewing of your mind to become who God has called you to become in your life. That's grace. And you just watch it in people. You just see it over time. If you're frustrated with somebody today, just pray for them. God will heal them. God will take care of them. God will build up their life. His kindness will lead them to repentance. Somebody say amen.

28:34 You don't got to worry about nobody. God is so good. God will speak to somebody in their dream. God will speak to somebody when they wake up. God will mess with them like he messed with you. and you watch grace starts changing on the inside and grace starts saying we don't talk like that we don't act like that we just and the more I behold him let me ask you when's the last time you looked unto Jesus because you're becoming whatever you're beholding when I was younger I don't know. not on the court really, but you know, in life, I look like Michael Jordan. tongue hanging out while I shot free throws because you become what you behold. Now I do my best to look at Jesus and Julia.

29:29 By the way, it's Pastor Julia's birthday this week. Can we honor Pastor Julia? Turns 25 this week. Come on, y'all. Clap for Pastor Julia. Hallelujah. Right believing leads to right living. Worship team, come join me. Here's the last one. Through grace, we can work from rest. We can work from rest. And if you don't have a job right now, if you're believing for a job, let me see your hand if you need a job right now. You're applying for jobs. Let me just see your hand. No shame if you're looking for a job right now. Amen, amen, amen. Some hands going up, some in the back over here. Let's pray right now. God, we pray for every person in our church that needs work. And we pray right now in the name of Jesus, you will open a door and make a way provide for them because you love them and you're with them we thank you for all these things in the name of jesus and everybody say together amen come on clap for everybody that's gonna find work when Jesus gets into your life, when Jesus gets into your world, you work from rest, not for rest.

30:41 from, not for. Everything about grace changes our premise. I'm not trying to get approved. I already am approved. do you remember when you were young, like in sixth grade, and you needed acceptance so bad? Now you're already accepted. You're already approved.

31:08 Do you remember when you wanted to be so blessed? Now in grace, I recognize I am so blessed. so all of my work even is from rest i i i've said this before jokingly and i i don't mean to it's kind of a cheesy one i'm really not that cheesy usually but you know I always joke like you don't need Cabo that's kind of always my joke you don't need a trip to Cabo you don't need a trip to Vegas you need to rest in Jesus my joke there is you know like chips and guac won't change your soul they do but they don't they do, but they don't. It's fun, but sometimes that's not a nap that you need. It's not a vacation that you need. It's not physical rest. It's spiritual rest.

32:15 Your soul needs Jesus. Your soul. Last scripture today, look here what Jesus says. This is beautiful. One of my favorite messages in the message translation. Are you tired? worn out burned out on religion come to me, get away with me, and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me and watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and how to live lightly. I think that if you were ever around Jesus, the thing that you take away is like, wow, we were hanging around Jesus.

33:09 The thing about him is that he was such a non-anxious presence. Like he just felt light. He just felt so, he was at ease. Law of opposite. Have you ever been around somebody and their nervous, anxious energy was just like, you're like, oh, I gotta get out of here. This is not good. I don't like this. I'm just like, I'm not nervous. They're nervous. They're making me nervous. This is me and Julia at sporting events. I'm like, you gotta go sit over there. I gotta go sit over here. That kid just wants eyeballs. This one wants to kill somebody to win.

33:43 Jesus says, are you tired of the law and religion? Are you exhausted from trying to earn it and deserve it? Are you so drained from living under the law? No, come on. come to me and I'll teach you how to get a real rest. I'll recover your soul on the inside. You'll never be the same. I'll teach you how to get swept up in the unforced rhythms of grace. See, because when you're in grace, you're just in a rhythm. The law is rigid, but grace has a rhythm. I'm walking with Jesus. I'm talking with Jesus. I'm worshiping Jesus. I'm surrendered to Jesus. I'm submitted to Jesus. It's a rhythm with Jesus. He said, if you walk with me, I'll teach you the unforced rhythms of grace. You can't force grace. It's a rhythm.

34:34 You walk with Jesus. And I'll teach you how to learn two words, freely and lightly. Grace wins again because this life sounds better than that life. The free and light life that I'm following and swept up into the love of Jesus, beholding how beautiful and radiant he is rather than looking at how awful and terrible I am. I say that we allow today grace to win in our life again. Amen? Come on, let's thank him one more time. Why don't you stand to your feet? Again, thank you so much for listening to this week's message. We pray that it brought you great strength and great encouragement. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button, share the message if you like and also leave a comment wherever you're streaming from we'll see you back next week at zoe