Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17.
(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.
I have several passages of scripture I want to walk through with you in this series. Today we will begin to walk through our first. As is my custom, I won’t get through this passage today. We will take our time and seek to glean golden nuggets as we go through it.
In the opening paragraph of the Apostle Peter’s second letter, he said:
(2 Peter 1:1-4)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. You are already the one God loves.
One of the most liberating aspects of God’s grace, especially when you have a background that was formed in performance-based religion, is realizing that God loves us despite our performance (not because of it).
In the video version of yesterday’s message, I mentioned the song “THE ONE YOU LOVE,” by Maverick City Music. I have mentioned this song before. I woke up this morning with the song on my heart. I want you to read these lyrics.
THE ONE YOU LOVE Lyrics Chandler Moore
Maverick City Music Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I can be Real with You
Say anything and not be afraid
You made me
And You like what You made
You made me and
You don’t make Mistakes
I can be Real with You
[Chorus]
You Take me just as I am
You’d Choose me
All Over again
I am the One You Love
I am the One You Love
I don’t have to Prove anything
There’s Room
At Your Table for me
I am the One You Love
I am the One You Love
[Bridge]
Your Love,
Your Love never Fails
Your Love never Fails
Your Love,
Your Love never Fails
Your Love never Fails
— This series is about God’s grace and our faith. I teach it in that order becuase it must be lived out in that order. Grace precedes faith.
— Your faith will never be strong or effective if it is not based on your understanding of God’s grace towards you.
— You must be convinced that you are already loved by God, that He already made plans for you, and that He did so simply because He loves you. Remember, faith works by love (Gal 5:6).
2. We are called and commanded to walk and live by faith.
Grace is awesome. Grace is free. Grace is amazing. But God did not call us to live by grace. He called us to live by faith.
— Peter started his second letter by acknowledging the fact that his fellow believers have been given like-precious-faith.
— God has dealt to every believer “The” measure of faith (Romans 12:3).
— God’s great and precious promises are freely offered by grace (unmerited and undeserved). His promises are already done within the halls of eternity, and for us, on earth, it’s only a matter of time. But to see the manifestation of God’s promises, we must release our faith.
— You can’t just sit back and say, “Well, it’s already done. So there’s nothing I need to do!” No! Taking possession of the promises of God requires faith. Faith is something you say, something you do, or a seed you sow based on what God revealed (that is already done).
— Walking with God is not always easy. When the pressure is on, you must surround yourself with people of like-precious-faith. Don’t surround yourself with dream-killers. Surround yourself with encouragers, people of faith, people who will build you up and never tear you down!
— Not everyone operates in like-precious-faith. This is why you can’t share God’s dreams for your life with everyone. Be very selective about who you open your heart to. And be extremely selective concerning who you allow to speak into your life.
— The power of death and life are in the tongue (Prov 18:21). So the people you give “license” to speak into your life can either influence you in the right direction or they can lead you down the wrong path. What you want is people who can discern what God is doing in your life and who will speak to that. Those people help you live the life of faith.
3. Grace and peace are multiplied through your knowledge of God.
— To grow in grace, you must grow in your knowledge of God. You must grow in your understanding of His ways. This is why the Bible is so important. The Bible contains the character, attributes, and nature of God. The better you know the Word of God, the better you will get to know the God of the Word.
— In this series, I have been driving home the point that God’s work is already done. So when Peter tells us that grace and peace can be multiplied in our lives through our knowledge of God, he did not mean that the more you know about God, the more God will give you grace and peace. No! God’s work is done. God has already made grace and peace available to you. It’s not like God is waiting for you to learn more about Him, so He can dole you out more grace or peace. The truth is, God has already doled it out. He has already made it available. The more you walk with God, and the more you learn about Him, the more you realize what He has made available to you. At that point, you simply LAY HOLD of what God has already done. Your faith reaches out and takes what God has already provided!
— Growing in grace requires you to grow in the revelation of God, His love, and His purpose for your life. This is why I teach Today’s Word on a daily basis, and this is why I put so much time into the topics God leads me to teach. The more you grow in your knowledge of God, the more you will discover what He has already provided for you!
— The more you get a revelation of the sovereignty and foreknowledge of God, the more you will realize that God is not waiting on you to do something before He moves. He already moved. He already provided. God is waiting on you to simply LAY HOLD of what He has freely made available to you. You do that by faith. Your faith receives what God’s grace has already provided.
*** I will stop here for today. Tomorrow we will see that God has (already) given us ALL things that pertain to life and godliness. It’s already done! While you were thinking you were waiting on God to provide it, He has been waiting on you to take possession of it!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your unearned and empowering grace and my requirement to live by faith.
The more I walk with You, the more I learn of You. The more I learn of You, the more Your grace and peace are multiplied to me.
You are revealing to me all You have already provided. My spiritual eyes are now open to things I had not seen before. I was waiting on You to do it. But now I realize it’s already done.
You are now waiting on me to take possession of it. I declare that I will. My faith receives what Your grace has already provided! Living this way, my progress will have NO LIMITS, and I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
