This morning we continue our series, “Maximizing 2015 by God’s GREAT GRACE” by continuing to teach on prayer. Yesterday we looked Jesus and how the Father has given Jesus all authority and power. We are now IN Him and He is now IN us. When we understand Jesus’ position and power, we are able to pray from the position of Jesus’ finished work. As we continue to flow in the same vein, today we will look at what the Apostle Paul said in the opening words of Ephesians 2.
Paul said, “In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. Yes, in the past your lives were full of those sins. You lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.
But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.” (Ephesians 2:1-7 ERV).
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s seek to glean a few golden nuggets from what Paul said.
1. We all deserved to go to hell.
a) We were all born in sin, we all lived the way the world lives, and we all disobeyed God.
b) Paul made it clear that in the past we all tried to please our sinful selves.
c) Paul said, “We deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.”
2. In lieu of punishment, God chose to give us mercy.
a) Grace is God giving you what you do not deserve.
b) Mercy is God withholding the punishment you do deserve.
c) Our God is rich in mercy.
3. God gave us new life together with Jesus – we were raised from death to life.
a) Jesus was raised from physical death and we were raised from spiritual death.
b) Sin has no power over us, because we have been declared righteous by the Blood of Jesus.
c) Death has no power over us, because Jesus took the sting out of death and He robbed the grave of its victory.
4. God ascended us into heavenly places – we are seated together with Jesus in heaven (right now).
a) Paul said, “It is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places.”
b) You have been translated OUT OF the Kingdom of darkness and INTO the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col 1:13).
c) You have been — already, right now — made to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.
5. God wants you to now pray from heaven’s perspective.
a) When you go to prayer, where do you see yourself? Do you see yourself down here, on earth, disconnected from God, not knowing where God is in your situation, hoping He will show up? Or do you see yourself IN GOD and GOD IN YOU, hearing His heartbeat, enjoying His presence, and seeing your situation from His position? Your answer is critical.
b) God wants you to see your life — the good and bad, ups and downs, challenges and victories — from His perspective and reality.
c) God seated you in heavenly places so you could pray from a position of heaven.
d) The Father wants you to live your life from His reality.
6. Pray from the position of God and His grace.
a) If you are sick and you look at it from an earthly perspective you will focus on your sickness and call out to a distant God to help you. But if you see your sickness from heaven’s perspective you will see the healing Jesus already provided for you, the remainder of the days God has already assigned you to, you will realize God is not through with you, and you will access God’s grace for healing and victory with your faith.
b) If your marriage is in trouble and you look at it from an earthly perspective you will focus on the challenges, surround yourself with people who have given up on their marriage, and you will wind up in divorce court. But if you look at your marriage from heaven’s perspective, you will see God’s assignment for you as a couple, you will see the grace made available to you for peace and reconciliation, and your faith will access God’s grace for a great relationship.
c) If your career is not going the way you wanted and you look at it from an earthly perspective you will focus on everything you don’t like, all the mistakes you have made, and all the people you think are against you. But if you look at your future through heaven’s lens, praying from heaven’s reality, you will see what God has called you to do, the grace He has already provided you to get it done, and the favor He will release with others to open doors no man can close and close doors no man can open.
*** You are on the earth for God’s purpose. When you realize that and you start praying from heaven’s reality for your life, you will no longer be selfish, immature or impatient. God has too much to do IN and THROUGH you for you to simply see your life through the realities of this world.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Great Grace towards me. I was born in sin and iniquity. I lived like everyone else in the world. I disobeyed You and lived from this world’s reality. I deserved punishment for the way I was living. But instead of punishment You gave me mercy. And along with Your mercy, You have poured out Your best in my life by Your grace. You saved me from both sin and death. Sin has no power of me. I am the righteous of God in Christ. Death has no power over me. I am not afraid of dying. I have died to self and that is all the dying I will do. When I die physically I will simply move from earth to heaven, from time to eternity, from mortal to immortality. If that were all, it would be enough. But You have also ascended me into heaven and given me the opportunity to sit with Jesus in heavenly places. I can now abide in Your presence. I can now enjoy our fellowship while I am still living in this world. I get to spend time with You, enjoying the reality of another world, before I even step into the day and face the challenges of this world. And since I spend time in Your presence, I am able to see things from Your perspective and reality. I am never afraid, because You are with me. I am never hopeless, because I am never helpless. I abide with You and You abide with me. My intimacy with You enables me to pray from the position of heaven, to see every situation through Your lens, and to access Your grace for the victory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
