Extravagant grace and extravagant invitation
Movement one: extravagant grace
Read Psalm 106
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough?
There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.
Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people; come near and rescue me.
Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
Let me rejoice in the joy of your people; let me praise you with those who are your heritage.
Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds.
They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.
Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.
Even so, he saved them—to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate his mighty power.
He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.
He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.
So he rescued them from their enemies and redeemed them from their foes.
Then the water returned and covered their enemies; not one of them survived.
Then his people believed his promises. Then they sang his praise.
Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.
The people in the camp were jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. Because of this, the earth opened up; it swallowed Dathan and buried Abiram and the other rebels. Fire fell upon their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold. They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt—such wonderful things in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
So he declared he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.
The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord.
Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.
Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead! They angered the Lord with all these things, so a plague broke out among them.
But Phinehas had the courage to intervene, and the plague was stopped. So he has been regarded as a righteous man ever since that time.
At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord, causing Moses serious trouble. They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.
Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.
They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.
They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.
That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.
He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.
Their enemies crushed them and brought them under their cruel power.
Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.
He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his unfailing love. He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness.
Save us, O Lord our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Reflect
Psalm 106 opens with a declaration, “Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! But this Psalm quickly takes a turn. The Psalmist begins a historical review of the many blunders of the Hebrew people. The writer recalls many of the ways the Israelites failed to live into the covenant God had made with them. He uses language like:
Their desires ran wild.
They traded their glorious God for an image of a grass-eating bull.
They forgot his many acts of kindness.
They grumbled.
They mingled among pagans and adopted evil customs.
They worshiped idols and even sacrificed their sons and daughters.
The Psalm also includes language that recounts God’s extravagant grace for his people:
Even so, he saved them.
So he rescued them.
Again and again, he rescued them
Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.
He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his unfailing love.
Historically, Western Christianity hasn’t taught us to lament and grieve well. We’d rather embrace the grace of Jesus over all the places we’ve been disobedient. It is true. His grace does cover a multitude of sins. However, in exploring all the ways we have been rescued even as we’ve wandered away, we become more present to the extravagance of God’s love so that we can declare as Paul did in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”
Offer
What would your Psalm look like if you were to write it? Take a few moments to lament and grieve the places in your own journey where you, like the Israelites, walked away from God. Consider, “How did God step into these places with you, and instead of leaving you, he brought rescue?” Grab a journal or open a new digital note and consider writing out your Psalm. Offer him praise for his continued faithfulness in your life
Read Ephesians 2:1-9
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Reflect
This is a New Testament version of Psalm 106. Paul is writing to the Church in Ephesus and telling them that they (and we) are really no different than the Israelites of the Old Testament. We all pursue our passionate desires and the inclinations of our sinful nature. But just like the Psalmist records, “Again and again, he rescued them,” Paul reminds us that God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that he gave us life.
Worship
If your Psalm didn’t include space to worship God for his grace, take a few moments now to thank him for the life he gives to us. Stream some of your favorite worship songs. Write out a new prayer of thanksgiving. We could never celebrate our Father enough for the rescue he brought us through his son Jesus.
Movement two: extravagant invitation
Consider
Psalm 106 was probably written after the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon. But even in exile, the people of God had been invited to bring blessing to the world. You might have read this a hundred times, but read it again and be reminded of what God expected of his people in exile.
Read Jeremiah 29:4-7
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
Read Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Consider
We also have been invited into the story of restoration. Even as we look back on our story and examine the myriad of ways we have been unfaithful, God has never been unfaithful to us. He continually extends his grace and rescue. Even as we recognize that there was absolutely no reason for the Father to put his trust in Israel to, he continually invited them to join him in bringing blessing to the world. Even as we recognize that there is no reason for the Father to put his trust in us, we still read passages like Ephesians 2:10 that remind us he considers us his masterpiece. What a joy! This is the way he sees us. And he planned a set body of good works for each of us to do. We get to step into the story of extending Kingdom flourishing everywhere we go.
Pray
Today, we invite you to pray two specific prayers.
In light of Ephesians 2:10 pray that the Father will bring greater clarity to your set body of good works. Your prayer might be as simple as, “Jesus, show me where you are at work today, and show me how to join you.” Or, spend some time listening to prompts from the Spirit about where Jesus is calling you to make disciples and extend the Kingdom.
Pray for more disciple-making leaders in Kansas City to come alive to this invitation to join Jesus on a mission of restoration. Pray that they will be able to receive the extravagant grace of the Father and say yes to the extravagant invitation to embrace their own set body of good works.