This morning we continue our series, “Maximizing 2015 by God’s GREAT GRACE” by continuing to teach on prayer. Yesterday I taught you from Ephesians 1:3-6. Today we will pick it up from there and continue to flow in the same vein.
The Apostle Paul said, “In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace. God gave us that grace fully and freely. With full wisdom and understanding he let us know his secret plan. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. God’s goal was to finish his plan when the right time came. He planned that all things in heaven and on earth be joined together with Christ as the head.
In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people. God had already planned for us to be his people, because that is what he wanted. And he is the one who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants.” (Ephesians 1:7-12 ERV).
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. In Christ we were made free because of God’s rich grace.
a) Jesus came to get us out of everything Adam got us into.
b) Because of Adam, sin and death were introduced into the world.
c) Jesus delivered us from the power and penalty of sin.
d) Jesus delivered us from the sting and fear of death.
e) God offers us freedom from sin and death in Jesus, and He offers it to us fully and freely, by His unearned grace.
2. God had a plan from the beginning.
a) God had a secret plan, a plan to redeem through world through His Son.
b) Had the princes of this world known what they were doing, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory. Satan thought he was winning when Jesus was going to the cross. But when that first drop of blood hit the ground, it sealed his fate.
c) God planned to bring the power of heaven to the earth through His Son Jesus.
d) Because of Jesus, the Kingdom has come and God’s will can be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
3. God’s plan was manifested in God’s timing.
a) The Old Testament provides types and shadows of things to come.
b) The Old Testament had the New Testament concealed, but in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed.
c) In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit lived inside the Temple, where he could only be visited by the High Priest, once a year. In the New Testament we are the Temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives IN us!
d) In the fullness of time God sent His Son Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself and to restore the Holy Spirit to mankind.
4. You are just like Jesus in so many ways.
a) God had a plan for you, just like He had a plan for Jesus.
b) God made His plan for you before the world began, just like He did with Jesus.
c) God did not bring Jesus into the world before the proper time and the same can be said of you. You were born in God’s timing, for God’s purpose.
d) In Christ you were chosen for a specific purpose.
e) God already planned to use you for His glory, because that is what He wanted.
5. When you pray from the position of grace you are praying from God’s perspective of you.
a) Don’t pray as if God doesn’t already know what you are facing. It’s not news to God.
b) Don’t pray as if God hasn’t already equipped you to face and overcome every challenge. He has already given you the grace for it.
c) Don’t pray as if God is not in the fight with you. Don’t ask Him to come, His Word promises that He is already there. You are never in a fight that God is not in with you.
d) Don’t pray as if what you are facing is going to destroy you. When you do this you show God you have no faith, no trust, and no confidence in Him or in the plans He made for you before the world began.e) When you pray from a position of grace you are praying from God’s perspective and your prayers will be full of faith, hope, confidence and peace, regardless of the situation you are facing.
I have more to say, but I will stop here for today. We will pick this up next week.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Great Grace towards me. I also thank You for teaching me to pray and to pray from a position of grace. I see what You did in and through Jesus by Your rich grace. You made plans for Him before the world began. You already knew what Adam would do and You made a plan to redeem mankind from everything Adam got us into. In Christ Jesus I am redeemed from the power of sin and the string of death. Sin has no power over me and I am not afraid of dying. You made plans for Jesus and You sent Him into the world in the fullness of Your timing. I am just like Jesus. As Jesus is, so am I, in this world. You made plans for me before the world began. You sent me at the right time. You have given me an assignment. You have already given me the grace to fulfill the assignment. I will face opposition, because I have a great assignment. But nothing can stop me, because You are ON me, IN me, WITH me and FOR me! There is no way I will lose. I will accomplish all I was born to accomplish, by Your grace, for Your glory. So when I pray, I pray from a position of grace, with my full confidence in You, to bring to pass all You planned to do through me, in the earth, as it is in heaven. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
