Have you ever had a problem with your “want-to-edness?” This may be a new word to you—want-to-edness. I looked it up in the dictionary and discovered that this word is not there! When it comes to the things of God and His kingdom, I always prefer people’s motivation to “want to” do something than ‘having to.” Take worship. If your worship experience is always motivated by ‘duty’ then your worship experience will be dull, boring, lifeless, and a major drag. I call this the “have-to-edness’ attitude. I have to go to church. Don’t really want to. Would rather be golfing or fishing or sleeping. But I have to go and so we go, but we go grumbling, complaining, moping, sullen, unhappy and our whole demeanor says “This is such a drag! I’d rather be anywhere else but in church on Sunday morning!” How do we change from the have-tos to the want tos?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone would invent a gizmo to put inside of us that would do this very thing? Think about the implications for parenting? We ask our son to mow the lawn, reach over turn the dial to “want to” and the reply is, “Sure Dad there is nothing I’d rather do right now than to mow the lawn…or wash the car…or clean my room.”

Sometimes we have had the desire to do the right thing but just couldn’t pull it off and get it done. We have the desire, the want-to-edness, but didn’t have the power to do it. This happens a lot at the New Year. We have the desire to lose those extra pounds, but can’t get beyond a couple days. As we have been Seeking Him this past fall, it just may be that you are seeing some sin, some short-coming, some failure in your life and you see the need to change, but you are having a great problem with the desire and the power to change.

God’s answer to this dilemma is grace. It is God’s grace that changes the have-tos into want-tos. We often think of grace only in terms of our new birth experience, of being saved. It is God’s prevenient grace, unmerited favor that pursues us and draws us to Jesus. It is God’s grace that shows us our sin and brokenness and reveals to us that through the cross of Jesus that our sin is forgiven and our broken lives made whole and complete. It is God’s grace that gives us the ability to have faith in Christ and brings us into right relationship with Him. The Apostle Paul said it this way,

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Grace is God’s supernatural supply for all that we lack! Grace is more than saving grace because grace is the power through which we are able to live fruitful lives and overcome sin on a daily basis. Let’s look at a few verses that help us to better understand grace.

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)

So we see that grace is not only active in salvation, but is necessary for us to live the Christian life faithfully and successfully. Grace enables us to abound in good works, have dominion over sin, and receive help when we need it. Here is a good working definition of grace: Grace is…the dynamic quality of God that gives us the desire and power to obey Him.

It is grace that saves us, but it is also grace that sustains us and empowers us. The ‘want-to-edness’ comes from God’s grace. It is both the desire and the power to live right and do right before God. So, how and why does all this work?

1. What is God’s purpose for your life? Romans 8:29 tells us, “For whom God foreknew, He also predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son….” What Satan messed up in the Garden of Eden, God desires to restore us to our His original specifications—made in God’s image. The word Christian means ‘little Christ.” (Who can tell me where followers of Jesus were first called Christians? Antioch—Acts 11:26) Through His Word, His Spirit, and His Church God plans to remake us into His original design and to prepare us for His new kingdom. In fact Paul tell us in Phillipians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

2. But what is it that keeps God’s purpose from being fulfilled in your life? Before we can answer that we first need to understand how we became so unlike Jesus and so unlike God. In a word, the problem is sin. God clearly states, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) In fact the whole world is fallen and full of sin. All through life we face difficult circumstances and people. Our normal response, without Christ, is to respond in PRIDE, ie to try to handle it by ourselves. But when we respond in PRIDE, we get NO GRACE (no divine desire or power to obey). Therefore, without God’s grace, we have no desire or power to obey. Every time we respond in disobedience to God, we become more and more unlike Him, more and more ungodly.

3. However there is good news: God has a procedure for fulfilling His purpose in your life. How does God plan to reverse this cycle and develop us into His image? How does He plan to make us like God? The path to Godliness is obedience. The Bible teaches that every time we are confronted with a choice and we respond by listening to the Lord and obeying Him, we become more and more like Jesus.

But, and here is the rub: the reality is that our first response is “That is impossible! I have tried and tried, but I just can’t seem to find the desire and the power to obey God.” So, what is it that you need? What is it that supplies the desire and the power to obey God? You need grace. And how do we get that grace? The primary way to get grace is found in James 4:6, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Last fall we discovered that humility is that proper view of myself that leads me to quickly admit my sin and acknowledge my need. Grace is given freely and fully to those who respond in humility.

Now get this. God is so committed to making us like Jesus that He does something incredible and really unbelievable. Here it is: God leaves you and me in a world full of sinful people, including us! He leaves us in a broken and messed up world. Everyday we get bombarded by the world’s garbage and through that we realize everyday how much we need Jesus and His grace. Every time we respond in pride, the cycle makes us less like God. But, each time we choose to respond in humility, we begin the process of experiencing grace, obedience and godliness. The ‘grace’ diagram looks like this: Man—humility—grace (desire and power)—obedience—godly.

The irony is that the very things that we often see as keeping us from being like Jesus probably are the very things that will make us most like Him! One of my favorite verses is found in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul knew that the more extreme his circumstances, the greater he would realize his need for grace. The greater the need, the greater the requirement to be humble. The greater the response of humility, the more grace he would receive and the more grace he would receive, the more he would become like Jesus.

If we are to become like Jesus, then we need to understand that life’s garbage are merely stepping-stones to God’s power being displayed in our lives.

Where are you in this process? Are you having trouble with your “want-to-edness?” Rather than being duty-bound, try God’s grace that is the source of both the desire and the power to be like Jesus. The way is often hard and difficult, but God’s grace is sufficient.

John Newton understood God’s grace well. A former slave-trader, a scoundrel and hellion, a mean and nasty wretch, he was saved by God’s amazing grace. He wrote the words of the world’s most famous and beloved hymn sung to an African tune. We know the first verse well: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. Listen to the 2nd verse: ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. The 3rd verse speaks of God’s keeping grace: Through many dangers toils and snares, I have already come; ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

This is not only John Newton’s testimony but also the experience of people down through the centuries from every tribe and every nation. God’s grace is abundantly available to all who admit their need and come to Jesus.

Are there specific areas in your life that you need God’s grace? Would you humble yourself in His presence and seek His amazing grace for your situation?

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.