AN OVERVIEW OF MAN CAVE AT THE SUNSHINE RESCUE MISSION 11-17-20
Some people have secretly entered your group.
They have already been judged guilty for the things they are doing.
Long ago the prophets wrote about these people.
They are against God.
They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way--
to do sinful things.
They refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
Jude 4 ICB
In a beautiful place like the Sunshine Rescue Mission, there are guys in various stages of the "Rescue-Process." Some men have just arrived from places like prison, or being homeless or just needing a fresh start in life. From what I've witnessed, most of the guys who come to the Strong Men Great Dads class earnestly desire to experience all that God has planned for them.
A few other guys come into the Mission and are just playing "The Card." They only come in for "three hots and a cot." (3 meals and a bed.) Especially when it's cold outside, guys who aren't serious about changing their lives come in and disrupt the "Grace-Process."
The Mission has rules and guys break them. Because the men are in various stages of their walk with Christ, falling from grace is not a surprise. Problems arise when the guys who are serious about changing their lives get affected adversely by the "Grace-Breakers."
This week we examined the "Twenty-Five Man Cave Key Words 4 Life." The entire list is posted below, but for now we'll focus on Key Word #24 - "Grace." Grace is a beautiful thing when given Gods way. The definition of grace is "unmerited favor" or receiving something we don't deserve. By giving the world His Son as a gift of salvation, God gave us grace and truth through Christ. Grace in Christ is freely given to those who accept it with the knowledge that its tied into our repentance and life change.
A few other guys come into the Mission and are just playing "The Card." They only come in for "three hots and a cot." (3 meals and a bed.) Especially when it's cold outside, guys who aren't serious about changing their lives come in and disrupt the "Grace-Process."
The Mission has rules and guys break them. Because the men are in various stages of their walk with Christ, falling from grace is not a surprise. Problems arise when the guys who are serious about changing their lives get affected adversely by the "Grace-Breakers."
This week we examined the "Twenty-Five Man Cave Key Words 4 Life." The entire list is posted below, but for now we'll focus on Key Word #24 - "Grace." Grace is a beautiful thing when given Gods way. The definition of grace is "unmerited favor" or receiving something we don't deserve. By giving the world His Son as a gift of salvation, God gave us grace and truth through Christ. Grace in Christ is freely given to those who accept it with the knowledge that its tied into our repentance and life change.
And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us;
and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father,
[the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is]
full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).
John testified [repeatedly] about Him and [a]has cried out [testifying officially for the record,
with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me [b]has a higher rank than I and has priority over me,
for He existed before me.’” For out of His fullness
[the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace
[spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing,
favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].
For the Law was given through Moses,
but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth
came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:14-17
The guys at the Mission do a good job of trying to balance grace with accountability and responsibility. It's a constant juggling act that requires disciplined prayer and good ears to hear what the Spirit is saying.
We told a story loosely paraphrased from the Book "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo. A man was locked away for almost 20 years doing hard labor. His crime? He stole a loaf of bread to feed his family. When he was finally released, he had to wear a tag that said, "THIEF." Unable to get a job, he had to beg to eat.
A priest took pity on the man and invited him into his home. The man was very bitter and saw no way out of his miserable circumstances. He made a plan to steal the silver candlesticks when the Priest went to sleep.
Some guys revert back to the only way of life they've ever known. The thief did the same. After stealing away into the dead of night with his pilfered bag of silver, he was caught by the police. They took him back to the priest and said, "Father, we caught this thief with your silver!" The Priest smiled and replied, "Oh no my friends, I gave this man those things as gifts. In fact. wait here while I bring you one of the silver candlesticks you forgot!"
That could be viewed as God's grace given and directed through the heart of a grace filled man. The life of that thief was forever changed by grace. He went on to duplicate that grace many times over.
The Sunshine Rescue Mission is a place of grace. When God's grace is given, man's grace speaks of our need of our Savior. We're proud of the men at the Mission, they're working hard on moving away from judgement and into grace.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
#ManCave #SRM #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW
We told a story loosely paraphrased from the Book "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo. A man was locked away for almost 20 years doing hard labor. His crime? He stole a loaf of bread to feed his family. When he was finally released, he had to wear a tag that said, "THIEF." Unable to get a job, he had to beg to eat.
A priest took pity on the man and invited him into his home. The man was very bitter and saw no way out of his miserable circumstances. He made a plan to steal the silver candlesticks when the Priest went to sleep.
Some guys revert back to the only way of life they've ever known. The thief did the same. After stealing away into the dead of night with his pilfered bag of silver, he was caught by the police. They took him back to the priest and said, "Father, we caught this thief with your silver!" The Priest smiled and replied, "Oh no my friends, I gave this man those things as gifts. In fact. wait here while I bring you one of the silver candlesticks you forgot!"
That could be viewed as God's grace given and directed through the heart of a grace filled man. The life of that thief was forever changed by grace. He went on to duplicate that grace many times over.
The Sunshine Rescue Mission is a place of grace. When God's grace is given, man's grace speaks of our need of our Savior. We're proud of the men at the Mission, they're working hard on moving away from judgement and into grace.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
#ManCave #SRM #ywap4Christ #JLYASDW
For it is by grace
[God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ]
that you have been saved
[actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life]
through faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves
[not through your own effort],
but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;
not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law],
so that no one will [be able to] boast
or take credit in any way [for his salvation].
Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP
YWAP empowers people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth is a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. Man Cave is a place of transparency and accountability. A fatherless generation is lacking the knowledge of a Father’s Love. Our goal is to help guys become Christ-centered men who respect women and accept the responsibilities of becoming a dad. We don’t hibernate in the Man Cave, we believe in Community Engagement through good neighborliness. Women Set Apart is a Women’s Bible Study focusing on hearing the heart and voice of Jesus. “And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.” John 17:3 AMPC The YWAP Directors serve in Pastoral Leadership by ministering to Youth Ministry Teams and Prayer Teams. We teach Biblically based best practices from a 25 year background in ministry. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
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