This morning we continue our new series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation.” Yesterday we looked at the following two scriptures. We will circle back to these scriptures today.
God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
(Eph 2:10 ERV).
Jesus said, “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.”
(Mark 8:34,35 ERV).
This is a time of the year where believer seek God for direction for the entire year and they then attempt to “launch out” in faith to attain the vision and goals they have laid out. As these scriptures (and many more like them), teach us, God already made plans for us. God planned out our lives before the world began. Therefore, true success is more a matter of discovery than it is of decision. Our goal is not to necessarily come up with the plan, but rather to discover the plan. I keep driving this home because it is critical. God’s grace is already allocated for to us to do what He called us to do.
When we discover something God has called us to do and we start doing it, we don’t have to ask God to bless the project. The project is already blessed. It’s blessed because it is God’s will. Further, we don’t have to ask God to give us the grace to do it. The grace is already there. The favor has already been prepared. God’s part is done (by grace) and He is simply looking for us to provide our part (by faith). This year I will spend a lot of time teaching on faith, because you and I will not experience the victory and supernatural manifestation of God’s best that I believe is appropriate for this season if we don’t access God’s grace with our faith.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- It’s okay to come up with ideas. God has graced us to be creative. I am not telling you to do nothing, or to not develop any plans. What I am teaching is that we, as believers, must present our ideas to God. We must ask Him for clearance before we move out. We need to know if the idea we have in our mind lines up with His will for our lives. We need to know if the idea was birthed in His heart or if it is a distraction that will take us away from His best.
- Adam and Eve were drawn away by good and not evil. When Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they were not looking for evil, they were pursuing the “good” part of the tree. They wanted to be like God. (As a side note, they already were like God, but they were deceived to believe they were not). My point is that Adam and Eve missed God because they pursued something they thought was GOOD, but it was not GOD! Unfortunately, satan traps many believers with the same trick today. Countless believers pursue GOOD projects, but just because the project is GOOD, it does not mean it is GOOD FOR YOU! If the project is not part of your purpose, it belongs to someone else and if you get involved, you are going to waste valuable time, energy and effort in something you were never supposed to be doing.
- Living by faith does not mean you get to pursue anything you want and then add a scripture to it and an “In Jesus’ Name” to the end of it. No. Living by faith means you are led from the inside-out to release your faith for the things God has already provided by grace. If God’s grace is not there, your faith cannot be there. You can try, but it won’t be faith, it will be self effort.
- Where there is no grace there can be no faith. Faith begins where the will of God is known. In order for you to release your faith you must be able to discern what God has already given you by grace. Grace precedes faith!
Closing Confession: Father, I am excited about 2017! I believe this year shall be the best year of my life. I am ready to release my faith to experience Your best. I thank You for teaching me the importance of discerning Your will before I launch out into any project. I am led of Your Spirit. Like Jesus, I only do what You lead me to do and I only say what You lead me to say. Living this way I pursue GOD projects, and not just GOOD projects. Once I know something is Your will, I also know Your grace has already been allocated. I release my faith, my faith taps into Your grace, and I experience supernatural victory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
