NOTE: Before I get into the message, I want you to know that I have a SPECIAL Livestream tonight at 7pm. It is a conversation between me and Dewey Mosley. It’s called “Let’s talk about grace!” In the conversation, I address how the revelation of God’s grace has changed my life. You don’t want to miss it. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/O1quif0B7aw
I could have included what I am about to teach in the “God’s Grace & Our Faith” series, but I was led to just make this a new series. I am not sure how long the series will be, but today we will start to look at the Word of God concerning the following: Pursuing Grace-Based Success!
Here are some foundational scriptures:
(Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV)
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
10 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.
(1 Corinthians 1:30,31 NLT)
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
(2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Your perspective of life and how to measure success should be based on God’s perspective of you.
The Bible teaches us that:
— God saved us by grace and not by our own works.
— Our eternal security is based on God and God alone, so we have nothing to boast about.
— “Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”
— Not only did God save us from sin, but He called us to a holy calling. We all have a unique (tailor-made) divine calling that we are supposed to fulfill before we die.
— God did not give us this “calling” based on our own works. He called us according to His own purpose and grace. This purpose and grace were given to us, in Christ Jesus, before the world began.
— “God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.”
— When you understand all of what I just said, it is easy to see why I preach #TheGraceLife. We are who we are and what we are by the grace of God. We have nothing to boast about, in and of ourselves. Our boast is in God and in His amazing grace towards us.
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2. How do you measure success in life?
— If it is true that God made plans for you before the world began, that He made those plans according to His purpose, by His grace, and He has also given you the grace to do what He called you to do, then can never be a success in God’s eyes doing anything but what He planned.
— From God’s perspective, success in life cannot be measured by what you drive, where you live, or the size of your bank account. In society today, many equate success to fame or fortune. Having money or being known is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is far from being the “only” thing. The dictionary defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” In the case of your life, the aim should be the accomplishment of God’s divine purpose for you.
— You were born for a reason, and your job is to FIND, FOLLOW and FINISH God’s purpose for your life before you die. If you do, if you accomplish what God brought you into the earth to accomplish, then you succeeded. If you don’t, you fail. That’s it. It’s that simple. Either you are going to get to heaven to discover that you did what you were sent to this planet to do, or you are going to get there (if you are Born-again) to realize that you spent the ONE LIFE God gave you on selfish desires and pursuits.
3. Is it possible to “succeed” at the wrong thing?
— If you spend your entire life doing something you were not supposed to be doing, but you were really good at it, then did you succeed? In God’s eyes, the answer is “NO.”
— Wouldn’t it be a shame to think you were “winning” at life, enjoying what you thought was a success, only to get to the end of your life and find out that you spent it doing the wrong thing?
— God is not going to favor and bless the work of your hands when you are doing it on your own, and you are determined to live a life you were not intended to live, but make no mistake, you can WORK your way to earthly success at something you are not supposed to be doing, and if you do, you will have to work hard and your labor, at least in God’s eyes, will be in vain.
4. Are you succeeding?
Since I gave you a simple definition for success (accomplishing your divine purpose before you die), I can now ask this simple question. Are you doing what you were born to do?
— Are you living the life God intended for you to live?
— Is the path you are on taking you incrementally closer to God’s overall desired destination for your life or is it leading somewhere else?
— If the path you are currently on is taking you towards your divine destiny, then you are succeeding in life. It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank, what you drive or where you live. If you are doing what God placed you on the earth to do, you are succeeding, and you should enjoy every minute of it. However, if you are not, then don’t allow the trappings of this world (money, fame, position, prominence, etc.) to keep you on a path you know is wrong.
— If while you are reading this, the Holy Spirit is reassuring you that you are on the right path, then REJOICE and give God praise. However, if while you are reading this, the Holy Spirit is convicting you to go a different route, then REPENT immediately. Don’t delay your repentance. Delayed obedience is disobedience!
— If you believe you are on the right path, give God praise and ask the Holy Spirit to help keep you on it. You don’t want to veer to the left or to the right. But if you believe you are NOT on the right path, and the Holy Spirit is speaking to you [right now] about it, then ask Him to lead you back to God’s best! Don’t worry about money. If you do what God purposed you to do, the money will be there, and you will always have more than enough to meet your needs and to be a blessing to others. Money makes a great servant but a poor master. Don’t chase money; chase God, and money will chase you.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for dealing with me concerning my definition of success. I know You made plans for me before the world began. I know I was born for a reason, and that reason is Your divine purpose for my life.
I know I am not a mistake. I know I am here on purpose. I know my calling is calling me daily! I also know that there was a time when I did not know Your purpose for my life, so I came up with my own plans. Back then, I was the Captain of my own ship. Those days are over!
I came in contact with Your Son Jesus and made Him my Lord, You gave me Your precious Holy Spirit, and He now reveals ME to ME! My knowledge of You has led to Your knowledge of ME!
Based on Your revealed knowledge, I have rearranged my priorities. Now what is first and foremost in my life is the accomplishment of my divine purpose. I don’t chase money or fame. I pursue Your purpose, and I do so by Your grace!
My life is no longer about me. My life is ALL ABOUT YOU! This is how 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.
