(Galatians 5:6 KJV) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. For the last two days we looked at Galatians 5:6, where Paul tells us that once we are IN Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. I still have more to say about this verse, so let’s get to it.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s see:
1. For years many preachers (myself included) have preached against emotions, teaching that we must rule our emotions and not allow our emotions to rule us. However, if we are not careful, we might lead people to temper their emotions to the point where they serve God more with their head than with their heart. This is why I believe many Christians today, in an attempt to live by faith, stand on God’s Word and declare it over their lives, more as a matter-of-fact, than as a reality; more with their head than with their heart. This kind of cold-hearted, mind-centered faith is void of true power because it is more head-acknowledgement than heart submission.
2. Faith is not about you telling God what to do, because believe me, you can’t. Faith is not you grabbing a scripture and declaring it over and over, commanding God to perform it in your life, as if God is your servant and He is at your beck-and-call. No, faith is about agreement with and submission to God’s will.
3. Truly living by faith is more about you dying to self daily, submitting your will to God’s will, giving His will first place in your life, accepting what He wants to do in you by His Grace, and then seeking to pursue it by faith. This cannot be done with your head. You don’t die to self in your head. You die to self in your heart.
4. Faith works by love, because faith works when you are convinced that God loves you and that He wants to use you for His glory because of His Grace and not your performance. It is because of His unrelenting love towards you that you willingly die to self, that you accept His will over you own, and that you attempt to perform His will by faith.
5. Jesus was so convinced that the Father loved Him, that He trusted the Father enough to say, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” With those words, Jesus died to self in His heart, to the point where He willingly accepted going to the cross for us, trusting the Father’s plan, even though it was going to cost Him much natural pain.
6. Do you trust God enough to put His will above your own? Are you so convinced of God’s love for you that you willingly accept His will and pursue it by faith, even when it goes against what you wanted to do? That, my friend, is living by faith.
7. Living by faith is about surrender and submission. You surrender and submit with your heart. Is your heart submitted to God? If it is, you are poised to accept what He wants to do by Grace and attempt to cooperate with God (by faith) to bring it to pass in the earth.
8. When you are convinced God wants to heal you because He loves you, you speak words of faith from your heart that enable you to access God’s Grace for healing.
9. When you are convinced God wants to deliver you because He loves you, you speak words of faith from your heart that enable you to access God’s Grace for deliverance.
10. When you are convinced God wants to do what He wants to do in your life because He loves you, you speak words of faith from your heart and you pursue His will with fearless confidence because at that point your faith will be rooted and grounded in God’s love for you.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your love and Grace. By faith I declare that I get to the point where I am convinced that You love me. The revelation of Your love for me has changed me from the inside-out. I am Your beloved son/daughter. You love me just like You loved Jesus. You love me with an everlasting love. I did nothing do anything to cause you to start loving me, and nothing I do will ever make you stop. You love me because You are so good, not because I am. You love me because You are Love and Love emanates from every part of Your being. I accept Your Love. I believe Your love. I embrace Your love. I am changed by Your love. I become Your love. I am Your child, I live my life by faith in You, and my faith is rooted and grounded in the fact that You love me. When I am sick, I know You want to heal me because You love me, therefore I exercise faith for healing based on Your love. When I am bound with a situation or issue, I know You want to deliver me because You love me, therefore I exercise faith for deliverance based on Your love. When I am facing whatever I am facing, I know You want to help me through it, to give me the victory, because You love me. Therefore I exercise faith for the victory based on Your love. I live by faith with my heart and not just my head. This is a faith that is birthed from LOVE and that works by LOVE! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
