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This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our new mini-series entitled, “Growing in Grace.” A few days ago we started walking our way through 5-9 of Peter’s second letter. The Apostle Peter wrote, “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books” (2 Peter 1:5-9 MSG). Today we will focus on the statement, “complementing your basic faith with… spiritual understanding.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Understanding helps you live in-faith in order to access God’s grace. In this series we have made it painstakingly clear that God made plans for you before the world began, and that He made those plans by His unprompted and unearned grace. However, you will never discover, develop, or deploy your actions in support of those plans without spiritual wisdom. While writing to the believers in Colossae, the Apostle Paul said, “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col 1:9). Knowledge of God’s will is one thing, but you need spiritual wisdom and understanding in order to perform His will in the earth. The good news is that the same God who made plans for you will also give you the understanding to maximize those plans.
2. Understanding positions you to maximize your purpose and potential. There is a level of knowledge you have when you are simply aware of something, but you require a level of understanding in order to make the most of it. In other words, you will never maximize what you do not understand. That is why Solomon, the wisest man to ever live (outside of Jesus), said, “The first step to becoming wise is to look for wisdom, so use everything you have to get understanding” (Prov 4:7 ERV).
3. Understanding will help you resist the attacks of satan. While explaining the parable of the sower Jesus said, “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart” (Mat 13:18,19 NIV). You can be in a setting where a powerful Word of God was released, but if you did not hear with spiritual ears, and you did not understand what God said, then chances are that satan will easily be able to snatch that Word out of your heart. But when you hear the Word of God with your spiritual ears open and with your heart ready to receive, you will be able to hear the voice behind the voice, and the Word behind the Word. This divine hearing will give you spiritual understanding and once you have it, satan cannot take it away!
4. Have you been seeking understanding? You can go to church every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night and not grow, if you are not gaining understanding. You can read your Bible and listen to great preaching, but if your understanding is unfruitful, your life will be unfruitful. God does not just want you to know that He called you for a divine assignment, by His amazing grace. No, God wants you to understand His will for Your life to the point where you live with a level of functional understanding. Without understanding you will loosely stumble and meander your way through life. With spiritual understanding you can live your life on purpose, focused, and spiritually productive, because you will intentionally perform God’s will daily.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for making plans for me before the world began. I also thank You for making me aware of those plans. But I am seeking more than simple awareness. While discovering my purpose is good, I also want to develop in my purpose, so that You can deploy me into the world, to make the impact I was born to make. Therefore I seek Your wisdom and spiritual understanding concerning my purpose. I grow in grace as I grow it the knowledge of You, and I also grow in grace as I grow in the knowledge of ME. The more You reveal to me about ME, and about the assignment You gave me, the better equipped I am to live my life on purpose, with a functional understanding of Your will and the ways I am to pursue it. My heart and mind are open to receive from You daily. You pour into me, I receive it, I have an ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me concerning it, and I am able to understand Your words to me, to the point where satan cannot snatch away what has been sealed in my heart. So by faith I declare that I have perfect knowledge of Your will for my life, and I also have the spiritual understanding to maximize my purpose and potential while I am in the land of the living. I will make the most of my life. Not because I am so good, but because You are! I declare this by faith. I Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
