This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. Yesterday we looked at Philippians chapter 4 and we focused primarily on verses 13 and 19. Today I feel led to go back to verse 13 and drive home the importance of the grace of God.
Verse 13 reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” If you are not careful, you can put the emphasis on the “I” in the verse and not the “Christ” in the verse. While there is an ‘empowering’ aspect of God’s grace — where He empowers you to do what you could never do on your own — don’t mistake the message of that empowerment to then put the emphasis on YOU and what YOU must then do. Grace keeps the spotlight on God. In Philippians 4 Paul was saying that there were times when he had plenty and times when he did not have enough. Paul endured periods of prosperity and poverty, of abundance and lack. And what did Paul learn through it all? Paul learned that he could do all things through Christ; that his ability to do was not contingent upon his earthly conditions. Christ was his source. Good or bad, up or down, abundance or lack, Paul could always look to Christ to get done whatever the Father wanted done. If God led Paul to do something, then He would empower and favor Paul to get it done, whether the earthly circumstances were favorable or not.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Don’t focus on what you can see with your natural eyes, but rather what God shows you with the eyes of your spirit. What you can see with your natural eyes is subject to change. What you see with your spirit is eternal, it will not change, and it shall come to pass in the earth (see 2 Cor 4:18).
2. Your ability to perform God’s assignment is not limited to what you can see in the natural. God can grace you to get things done in a way that far exceeds human ability.
3. Paul did not limit himself to natural circumstances. Had Paul relied solely on the natural, he would have never accomplished what he did.
4. The Spirit of God will enable you to see the invisible. Once you see it and believe it, the grace of God will empower you to perform the seemingly impossible.
5. We are not called to live only by earthly limitations. We are called to perform the impossible, by the grace of God.
6. We are not called to operate as mere men, trusting solely in the arm of the flesh. We are called to surrender to God and to allow His power to flow through us, so the world can SEE the manifestation of God’s love and light.
7. Jesus was the only human perfect enough to rely on His own ability, but He refused to do it, to give us an example of how to live. Jesus completely relied on the Father. He only said what He heard the Father say. He only did what He saw the Father do. If we follow Jesus’ pattern and live the same way, the power of God will flow through us, by His grace, for His glory.
8. You can DO ALL THINGS by the grace of God. If God is leading you to do it, then you must believe that He has already given you the grace for it. Your part is to surrender to His will, to accept it by grace, and to attempt it by faith. This is how we are supposed to live!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. I have embraced my divine assignment. It is too big for me to accomplish on my own. I am looking to You as my source. With my own strength and by my own power, I could never do what You have called me to do. Human ability is limited, but Your ability is limitless. I die to self and I accept Your grace to perform Your will in the earth. I look NOT at the seen, but at the unseen. What I can see with my natural eyes is limited and subject to change. What You allow me to see with the eyes of my spirit is limitless and eternal; it will not change and it shall come to pass. So Father, I walk by faith and not by sight. I live by what You allow me to see. I see the naturally invisible. I attempt the humanly impossible. I die to me, so that You can freely live THROUGH me. I decrease that You may increase. As I live this way I am not limited by natural circumstances. I simply do what You lead me to do and I am not moved by whether or not the circumstances are favorable. There are times when I will have all I need. There are other times when I won’t. But either way, I know I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST, because I will be doing them by Your grace. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
