Grace For The Gap | Brandon Davis | City Light Church

Hey, what's up, everybody? Javen here, and we are about to jump into God's Word, and I am believing that it is going to be a blessing to you, a blessing to your world, a blessing to your life. The Bible says that at the entrance of God's Word, it brings light, it brings revelation and understanding, and I believe that's going to happen for you today in Jesus' name. Just before we go to the Word, our team is asking all the time for you to like and subscribe and hit the notification bell, all the things. I guess it helps with the algorithm. I don't know what the algorithm is, but I guess it's real, and that would help us, and it would help us get the Word of God to you. I also want to thank all of you for your financial support. Thank you for helping us bring the beautiful message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus right here to Las Vegas, the most unchurched city and the most unchurched state in America. We are doing everything we can to win souls and make disciples, raising up the next generation right here in Vegas, and if you are looking for good ground to sow into, this is it. If you want to help us reach more and more people for the Lord, this is a great place to do it. For you who are already giving, thank you. It means the world to us. I love you so much. Come on, let's jump into God's Word. Are you ready for the Word? Before we get into the Word, I just want to give you a little backstory. We're going to be out of 2 Corinthians, and if you don't know anything about Corinthians, it was a letter written by Paul to the church in Corinth, and if you don't know anything about Corinth, it was a party town. Let me know if this sounds familiar to anyone. It was a town where all the bachelor parties and the bachelorette parties went. It was popping. People were in and out of there. Does it sound like a city we live in? And there was an issue between the culture of the city and the culture of the church, and the culture of the city was seeping into the culture of the church. So inherently, 1 and 2 Corinthians isn't necessarily a good book to read when they open. They were like, oh, Paul wrote us a letter. Let's see what he said. And it's like, hey, stop doing whatever you're doing right now. Hey, guys who are married, stop sleeping with other people. That's a good idea. Hey, if you have arguments, keep it within the church. Hey, he was saying all this stuff. It was kind of like they were in trouble. But in 2 Corinthians, there's this beautiful moment where Paul kind of shows his humanity to the people of Corinth, and that's what we're going to read today. Open up your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 through 9. It says this, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me,

but he said to me, my grace. Everyone say grace. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. If you're taking notes tonight, the title of my message is Grace for the Gap. Would you pray with me? Jesus, thank you so much for tonight. Thank you so much for all that you've given us. Lord, speak to us. Our hearts are open. Our ears are open for all that you're going to do in this place. Let miracle signs and wonders fall on this house. In your holy and precious name we pray, and all of God's people said amen. Amen, amen. Hey, Caesar is going to stay with me just because I'm used to it at youth nights, all right? At youth nights, there's like kids spitting water at each other and kicking each other and like throwing, so like I keep the keys up just to like, so I don't get distracted. So I figured I'd just keep it. You get a little, you get a little bit of youth night, and he's so amazing, so he'll minister to you on the ivories, and I'll, no, okay, I don't know what's happening right now. Okay, so me and my wife love to travel. Who loves to travel in the house? Come on, traveling is the best. Take all my money. Other countries and cities. And so me and my wife got to travel to London a few years ago, and London is crazy because it's like America, but like not at all like America. I was like, oh, they speak English. It should be fine, but then they served me a crumpet, and I had no idea what I was going to do. And so we were on the train, and if you've ever been on a train or a subway before, you know how the doors open, and there's someone over the intercom that kind of speaks to you, tells you what stop you're on, tells you some directions. Well, in London, a sweet lady, a British lady, gets over the intercom, and she says this. Excuse my British accent. I hope this isn't offensive to anyone, but I am a youth guy. Okay, here we go. Doors open. Mind the gap between the train and the platform. Nailed it. I watch a lot of Harry Potter. No, the lady says, mind the gap between the train and the platform. When I heard this, I loved that phrase, mind the gap, because it acknowledges something that I don't think we often think about in our everyday lives. It acknowledges that there's something in our way, and there is nothing you can do to fix it. It will always be there, and whether the gap is larger or smaller to some people, or maybe that gap looks different. in some seasons, we just need to be aware that it's there. And it's fair to note that we don't exactly know what Paul's thorn was, but for whatever reason, Paul had a thorn in his life and God wouldn't remove it.

And whether that thorn was something Paul picked up from his community or his past or his own self-image or self-talk, it's worthy to acknowledge that Paul is in a vulnerable state. And watch this, instead of trying to fix the problem himself which I feel like we're all maybe guilty of, sometimes he brings it to God. And I would argue that for most of the problems that we have in our lives, taking matters into our own hands doesn't change how deep or wide the gap is. As a matter of fact, it only illuminates that we're broken and it only illuminates that we are in need of a savior and that savior can't be ourselves. So grace, we're talking about grace. John 1 16 says this, for from his fullness, we have all received, watch this, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. See, this was written Old Testament law. That means that the law was given through Moses and that was grace. But religion says to do, to work, to act, right? If you're messing up, you're gonna slaughter a pig and then you're fine and then the next day you're gonna mess up again and then you have to do something else. And I think in our culture, religion often says to do, to work, to try hard yourself

and you will get yourself out of the gap. But I think this verse so clearly illuminates that grace says to accept. Grace says to receive, grace says to slow down because we have a savior named Jesus who will always be there for us. So there's three texts that, there's three gaps that I feel like the text illuminates and I'd love to share those with you because we're a three point house, let's go. Number one is the relational gap, the relational gap. Often we feel like we are miles apart from those around us. I feel like when you're out in the world, you're often comparing yourself to people and I would argue that social media doesn't help that. I have a four month old son, so my TikTok feed is full of baby hacks. What diapers to wear, what wipes to use, what sleep time, sleep schedules, like basically all of the videos are telling me that I'm doing a worse job than everyone else at this thing. My back hurts, I can't tell my wife that. I actually, it's the 5.30, I can slow down. The second we were in like the postpartum unit and I was freaking out, we had like a 24 hour labor. We like got induced, it was like crazy. And the second day, dad's shout out in the room, you like are bending a lot. You're like bending and you're sleeping on the little couch and stuff.

I made the mistake of saying my back hurts, second day postpartum. Pray for me. Where were we? The relational gap. We feel a gap between us and everyone else. And that leads to come on anxiety, feelings of not being good enough, low self-worth, depression. So let's acknowledge that there's a gap here. And however we try to watch our step around it, it seems to always be there like a thorn in our side, painful and deep. So how do we mind this gap? And I kept it very simple, a five letter word called grace. See Ephesians chapter two says this, but God being rich in mercy. How many of you are thankful that we don't have a poor in mercy God? We have a rich in mercy God, a more than enough God because of his great love. Come on, not a little love, but a great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, even when we didn't deserve it, even when we didn't earn it, even when we got ourselves into this situation, he made us alive together in Christ by grace you have been saved. So the moment I feel insecure, the moment I feel broken,

the moment I'm in a cycle of comparison, I remember there's grace. I remember there's an abundant mercy. I remember that there is a great love. I remember what God thinks about me. That's why it's so important to read this Bible so the words of Jesus can wash over you. In Matthew chapter 10, it says this, what's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you down to the last detail. And this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, even numbering the hairs on your head. So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. Don't be intimidated by what people are saying around you. Don't be intimidated by this world's culture. You're worth more than a million canaries. Come on, the way you mine this gap is by not focusing on how deep it is, but turning your attention to the free gift of grace given to us by a perfect, never changing, endlessly merciful, always providing Savior named Jesus. Come on, somebody say the... gap. Point number two, the personal gap. Often we feel like where we are now is nowhere near where we think we should be. You thought you'd be further in your career by now. You thought you'd be married by now. You thought you'd have already fixed your marriage problems by now. I can't believe this happened to me and what am I going to do now? We have to acknowledge that there's a huge gap

between where we are and where we want to be. And can I acknowledge that whatever stage of life you're in, we all feel this gap. Maybe you're somewhere and you want to be somewhere else and maybe someone else in the room is where you want to be and they have the same issue. So let's acknowledge that this is a gap we all feel personally and it'll never change and it'll always be there. So how do we mine this gap? It's a five-letter word called grace. And I'm reminded of the story in Jeremiah 29 11. We all know it. All the teenagers in the room have it in their Instagram bio. Pray for all the students with Instagram bio verses. They need the most help. I'm just playing. You see a verse and then, whoa crazy! Okay, here we go. So it says this, for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Come on. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. And this is awesome. This is wonderful. We love to quote it but can I give you some backstory on the verse? So the backstory is this. The people of Israel were being held captive by the Babylonians. The walls of their city torn down. Their temples destroyed. And it seemed like there was an impassable gap between where they were and where they really wanted to be. And a servant named Jeremiah on their way out of the promised land said this, for I know the plans I have for you. Even though it seems dark right now. Even though this was promised to you and yeah you messed up and yeah now you're out of the land and now you don't know what is gonna happen next. I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. However you feel about the personal gap between where you are and where you want to be, understand that he has a plan for your life and it starts with grace. He has a purpose and a hope for your life and it starts with grace. So turn your attention toward the one who will never leave your side. Who will walk before you guiding your step. Who will watch over you protecting you and telling you he has a plan to prosper you and not to harm you. It starts with grace. So now when you realize that, I don't see my gap anymore. All I see is grace. And I had this realization maybe God never took Paul's thorn away to remind him to look up every once in a while. Because I think often in our lives we'll get comfortable.

Often in our lives we'll get the job and and get the finances and get the family and get the girl and then we stop looking up. We forget who provided all that to us in the first place. And I think that thorn in our side, I think sometimes the adversity of this world is just God's way of telling us that we can't be our own Savior. That there's only one that can sustain. That there's only one that can save and his name is Jesus. Come on. So now I don't see my gap anymore. All I see is grace. Someone say the personal gap. And the third point as the band starts to come up is the God gap. And often we feel like we'll never measure up sometimes. We feel like we are not good enough to deserve a relationship with God. Let's acknowledge that there's a gap here and it feels impossible to pass and dare I say even unfair to try to achieve. But friend can I remind you that every time you mind the gap you remember the grace. See when Christ died on that cross and he was buried and rose three days later and stomped the serpent's head it's like that old rugged cross was laid across the gap between us and God. And maybe that's what it's meant by you walk by faith and not by sight because the cross is acting as a bridge that is wide and open and inviting you into a relationship with him. So maybe all you need to do is take a step of faith and grace will run a mile. All you need to do is it take a step out into that gap and say I don't really know what's gonna happen here but God I know that you have grace and grace and grace upon grace for me so I'm gonna take a step and trust you like Peter walking out of the boat and maybe I'll walk on water because there's grace for you. Come on every time you mind the gap you remember the grace and I think Paul had this realization because he finishes this verse after he talks about the thorn and his side by saying this in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. So now I am glad to boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weakness and in the insults and in the hardships

and the persecutions and the troubles and the relational gaps and the personal gaps and the insecurity that I feel, the troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. See, the father knows that if you just have faith to take a step, you will start to understand that every time you face a gap, every time something bad happens to you, every time you're insulted or you're hurt or it doesn't go your way, it's another chance for you to look to Jesus, accept his grace and take another step. Can I submit to you that the only way you close the gap between you and God is you cover it with the cross. And I think sometimes we just haven't tried walking enough because we get into the world and it feels like we keep hitting roadblocks and we keep shrinking back into what's comfortable and what we can control. And we never really walk out our true purpose. If you have faith to take a step, grace will run a mile. And it actually reminds me of a story in Luke chapter 15. You may have heard of it, the prodigal son story. And if you've never heard the story, I'm excited to share it with you that there was a father and two sons and the youngest son said to his father, I want my inheritance now. And in Bible talk, that basically means

the son said to the father, dad, I wish you were dead. And I don't know about your dads, but my dad wouldn't have taken that answer very well. But this dad in the story gave his son his inheritance. And the Bible said, I love that it says this, the son went to a far away land, saying like he went as far away from his dad as possible. And it said that he spent all of his money on wild living. But there was a famine that came across the land and he had no more money and he was forced to hire himself out to a pig farmer. And so he was shoveling pig stuff and he was starving. And the Bible said that he wished he could eat what the pigs ate, but the pig farmer said, no. And friend, can I tell you that that's what the world offers you? It's a well that will run dry. It's a system that is broken. It's a system that is hurting. Actually, the Bible said that he hired himself out to a citizen of the land. I like that it said that because he hired himself out to an ungodly person, a person who was not worthy of God. He hired himself out to an ungodly person, a person that doesn't understand grace, a person that doesn't understand community. That's what the world gives you. And so he's sitting in the pig pen and he's like,

if I just go back to my father, at least I could be a servant and they get some scraps. At least I won't be starving. So he gets up and he, watch this, takes a step of faith. And it said that as he approached his father's house, he took the wrong way off. And watch this, he ran to his son. If you take a step, the father will run the rest of the way. And it said that he covered him, he held him, he rejoiced that he came home. And I love this image also in Deuteronomy. It says that a rebellious son who dishonors his father as grounds for death by stoning. So he deserved death in that moment. And oh, watch this picture. The father runs out to rejoice that his son is home, but also covers him from the debt that he had to pay. He was willing to absorb the blows of his son, the thing that he deserved, just so his son could come home. And he said to his servants, get the robe, get the ring, get the slippers, kill the fattened calf. We're having a party because it says the lost had been found. If you just take a step, grace will meet you where you're at. If you just take a step, the cross will cover you. If you just take a step, Jesus will say, come on home. My arms are wide open. Because friend, it's already done. He already died.

The blood has already been shed. He thought of you when he was on the cross and he's gonna continue to think about you because he loves you that much. It's called grace. Amen. Amen.