Phil contined looking at look at God's lavish grace and how Peter's first experience of Jesus was full of grace.
Over the last few weeks we have considered Gods grace in saving us being sufficient for all our lives and how we live in the light of Gods Grace
Today I am looking at grace multiplied
2 Peter 1:2
Peter suggests here that grace and peace are multiplied as we grow in our knowledge of Jesus
It says in John 1:14 he, Jesus came full of grace and truth, and again in John 1:17
The underserved favour of God has been given us and demonstrated to us by Jesus.
We could not earn and we certainly don't deserve it, a free gift just because he loves us.
Back to Peter
If we can have grace multiplied what does that look like?
To find our let's take a look at Peter,
Peter was a Jewish fisherman, was not educated we would say a working class family man as we know he was married as Jesus healed his mothering law.
He would have heard the teaching of Moses and about the messiah to come.
But I want to look at Peters first encounter with Jesus. Luke 5:1-11
Peter was a proficient fisherman, it was the family business, he knew how to fish.
Caught nothing that night and as they were cleaning their nets after catching no fish Jesus showing.
Jesus has a habit of showing up when things aren't going so well (that's grace)
Jesus gets in peters boat and having taught the people and knowing Peter hasn't had any success fishing that night, he gives the instruction to go a bit deeper and cast the next again.
Peter could have thought
I'm the fisherman
Who does he think he is?
Don't need him telling me how to do my job!
But he agrees and the result is more fish than his boat can carry and another boat too.
Gods grace multiplied, more than you can manage
Peters knowledge of grace want textbook knowledge, it wasn't from bible study or theology.
Peters first encounter with gods lavish grace always experiential.
Grace is to be experienced, as someone once said to me “better felt than tellet”!
In other words Gods intention is that we have head knowledge or good theological understanding it’s that in everyday life we experience God’s grace in every moment and grace more sufficient than we need.
Peter’s first encounter with this grace started him on a path that changed his life forever and as you look more at his life you see he needed more grace.
Peter knew experientially what it was to live with grace and peace multiplied to him and wants us to experience the same
We are going to look at this story, this is taken from the Chosen, a series availed on Youtube about the life of Jesus and we would highly recommend it to you
Fishing sene from The Chosen
At the end of that screen When Peter recognizes who Jesus is and what measure of grace he has been given he claims I'll do anything and Jesus invites him to follow him.
That invitation is for you today it's for everyone one Christian and none Christian he's calling us to follow him.
I felt there were people who compartmentalized their lives and in some areas they are following Jesus but in others they aren't.
Peter response to the invitation to follow Jesus was in everything, he left everything and in leaving everything he experienced graced multiplied to him.
The invitation is to follow Jesus completely.
Questions
1. In the story of Peter encountering Jesus how did Peter experience Gods grace?
2. How have you experienced Gods grace?
3. How can we experience Gods multiplied grace,what would that mean for you?