Today we continue our series entitled, “Grace and Truth” by continuing to look at by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our main scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Let’s look at them again.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In this series we studied Galatians 3, 4, and 5. We finally got to the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are going through all the fruit of the Spirit. We have been dealing with “faith that prevails” for a few days. We will continue today.
(Galatians 5:22,23 The Passion Translation)
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:
joy that overflows,
peace that subdues,
patience that endures,
kindness in action,
a life full of virtue,
faith that prevails,
gentleness of heart, and
strength of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
There is so much to teach on when we deal with faith, that I am not led to move on from this fruit yet. Let’s look at two more scriptures that pertain to today’s message.
(Hebrews 11:6 New International Version)
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(Romans 12:3 New International Version)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God gave you what you need to please Him.
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Let that sink in for a minute. If you are not living by faith, you are not living a life that is pleasing in God’s sight. Your initial reaction to this thought could be, “that’s not right” or “that’s not fair,” if God had not GIVEN YOU the faith you need to please Him. Romans 12:3 tells us that God has given every man faith. Now the question is: what are we going to do with it? Will you only pick up your faith when you need something from God, or will you literally LIVE BY FAITH every second of every day?
2. God has done His part.
God made plans for you before the world began. These are good plans. Once you are Born-Again, God gives you His Spirit and the Holy Spirit begins to reveal His plans for your life. God is so good that He did not only made plans FOR you, but He then gave you the faith you need to access them. God offers you everything by grace and you are supposed to accept, believe and attempt what God reveals by faith, even when you have no sense-realm evidence to support what God said. So, God gave His Spirit, His Spirit reveals the plans He made for you by grace, and God also gave you faith you need to access His grace. God has done His part. Your part is to be crazy enough to believe the invisible and attempt the impossible.
If it were easy or believable it would not require faith! Remember that. God won’t give you all the answers up front. He won’t give you all the details. Because if He told you everything you would not need faith. God gave you faith because what He planned for you FAR EXCEEDS what you could accomplish without Him. His plans are greater than your ability. That’s why you need faith to believe and receive them.
God did His part. He called you to an amazing life, He gave you the grace you need to perform it, and He gave you the fatih you need to access His grace. Now what are you going to do with it?
3. You don’t need more faith, but you need to develop the faith you have.
God gave you “the” measure of faith you need to live a successful life in this world (Rom 12:3). You have faith. You actually have the same faith Jesus had. God the Father gave you the same Holy Spirit and the same faith He gave His own Son. But like a muscle, your faith must be exercised and developed. Like anything else, faith requires practice. When the Holy Spirit reveals something to you, faith demands that you SAY SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING or SOW SOMETHING in response to what God revealed. The more you do this, the more natural it will become to you. This is how you live by faith. You are living in response to what the Holy Spirit is revealing about your future.
4. Think about how good God has been to you!
Think about it… You did not pursue God without God first pursuing you. You could not love God until God first loved you. You did not pursue the Word until God went out of His way to send people to bring the Word to you. God even gave you the faith you need to receive His promises.
God gave you His love. He sent His Son to die in your place. He forgave you of your sin. He filled you with His Spirit. He gave you His Word so you can better understand who He is and how He operates. His Word contains His character, attributes and nature. Through the Word of God you get to know the God of the Word. Through the Holy Spirit God reveals the plans He made for you before the world began. And since you cannot believe or receive God’s Word or His plans without faith, God gave you faith too! God gave you everything you need. Your part is to simply use the faith He gave you to access His grace. If you do, you will become the man/woman you were born to be. Not because you are so good, but because God is!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me to walk and live by faith. You gave me Your Son as a sacrifice. He died for my sin. You gave me Your Spirit when I accepted Your Son as Lord. You gave me Your Word so I can get to know You and better understand how to function in Your Kingdom. And You gave me the FAITH I need to believe and receive what the Holy Spirit reveals. Your part is done. My part is to walk and live by faith. I declare that I do. I will become the man/woman I was born to me. I will do this by Your grace and for Your glory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
