Today we continue our series entitled, “Pursuing Grace-Based Success!”
Here are our 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.
I said some things in the video version of Friday’s message that I feel led to elaborate further on today. I will talk to you about the life Adam had before the fall and how Jesus came to redeem us to that type of living.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Adam had sweatless victory.
(Gen 2:25 NLT)
Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Friday, I talked to you about Adam’s curse. Because of Adam, mankind was cursed to have to work hard and earn provision by the sweat of our brows. That was in Genesis 3, after sin. This morning let’s take a closer look at Genesis 2, before sin and the fall.
The Bible describes Eden as a beautiful place. It had not rained yet, so the Bible says, “water came up from the earth and spread over the ground.” God put in His own underground irrigation system to ensure the garden was fed with enough water to bloom and flourish.
The Bible goes on to say, “A river flowed from Eden and watered the garden. The river then separated and became four smaller rivers. The name of the first river was Pishon. This river flowed around the entire country of Havilah. (There is gold in that country, and that gold is pure. A kind of expensive perfume and onyx are also found there.) The name of the second river was Gihon. This river flowed around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river was Tigris. This river flowed east of Assyria. The fourth river was the Euphrates. The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to work the soil and take care of the garden.”
Notice how big the Garden of Eden must have been. This plot of land had four rivers, and look at all the ground it covered. Adam was charged with “working the soil” and “taking care of the garden,” but as you can see, God, by His unearned grace, had already set up Adam for divine success. Adam was NOT working for provision. He was working to complete His divine purpose. There is a difference.
The Bible goes on to say, “The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name. The man gave names to all the tame animals, to all the birds in the air, and to all the wild animals.” Adam didn’t go to school. Where did he come up with the names? I will talk more about that in a minute.
Lastly, the chapter closes out by saying, “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.”
a) God put Adam in charge of an amazing property, and God Himself ensured it was flourishing and lively. Adam did nothing to earn or deserve his assignment. It was all given to Adam by God’s unearned grace.
b) While God charged Adam with “working the soil” and “taking care of the garden,” Adam’s work was grace-based. God put a natural irrigation system in place, so Adam’s work was not stressful or taxing. In other words, it was sweatless. He was working, but not because he needed to “make ends meet.” He was simply working becuase it was part of his divine purpose.
c) God gave Adam divine insight and revelation. God made the animals, brought the animals to Adam so he could name them, and then gave Adam the wisdom to provide the names. Adam did not go to school. Adam received his insight from God. Once again, this was sweatless.
d) When Adam realized all the animals had a companion, and he was all alone, God met the need by giving him a wife. Once again, by grace, without Adam doing anything to earn the blessing. In other words, Adam woke up one morning and realized that he had power, purpose, and parameters, but he did not have a partner. So God met that need by grace!
e) By the end of Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve were so blessed, so connected to God, so Spirit-conscious, and so focused on their divine assignment, that the Bible says they “were both naked, but they felt no shame.” The picture of the grace-life we see in Genesis 2 is one with no guilt, shame, worry, stress, or fear. All of these things were introduced later because of sin.
f) The life Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden, prior to sin and the fall is a picture of the grace-life He wants us to enjoy today. A life where sin does not rule over us; where we work, but our work is based-on and fueled-by God’s grace and not human effort alone; and where we hear from heaven on a consistent basis in order to accomplish our divine assignment in the earth. This is the sweatless victory I am talking about today.
2. Jesus came to redeem us to the sweatless nature of God’s amazing grace.
(Luk 5:5 AMP) And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].
Last week I told you that having to earn your provision “by the sweat of your brow” is part of the curse God spoke over Adam. I also told you that Jesus came to get us out of everything Adam got us into. So now, post-Jesus, as New Covenant believers, it’s not that we are not supposed to work; it’s just that we are not supposed to work relying solely on the arm of the flesh. Now we can work, as we are led by the Holy Spirit, with God’s grace on our work, and we can experience grace-based success.
One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee, and a crowd gathered around Him to hear the Word. Jesus sought a platform from which to preach. He noticed two boats tied up, with the owners of the boats (fishermen by trade) scrubbing their nets. Jesus got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon (later known as Peter), and asked him to set out a little from shore.
Jesus used Simon’s boat as a pseudo-pulpit and taught Bible study from his water platform. When Jesus finished teaching, the principle of sowing and reaping kicked into action. Simon had given up his boat and his time. Now Jesus would allow him to reap a harvest.
Jesus told Simon to launch out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. This is where Simon almost missed his blessing. After all, Simon was the fisherman, and Jesus was the preacher. Simon knew better than most that the fish of the Sea of Galilee were not easily caught in nets during the day. He had toiled (sweated) all night long and caught nothing. Although he was a professional, his expertise and sweat had produced NO RESULTS.
Simon’s head was telling him that Jesus knew nothing about fishing, but his heart was telling him to listen. Simon made the right choice and followed his heart. He told Jesus that he would let down the nets again, based solely on His word. Guess what happened? Peter caught a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. There were so many fish in his net that he had to call for his partners (James and John) to help. Both boats were filled to the point where they began to sink. This caused Simon to fall down on his knees and worship Jesus.
Here are some takeaways from this:
a) Even the best natural efforts are sometimes met with poor results. Peter had toiled hard all night long, putting in human effort and lots of sweat, and by morning time, he had NOTHING to show for it. I am sure we can all identify with tireless efforts that wound up being fruitless.
b) While the world’s economy is based on buying-and-selling, the Kingdom economy is based on sowing-and-reaping. I taught a series on the Biblical Principles of Sowing and Reaping (click here to visit it online). Simon Peter sowed from his fishing business into Jesus’ ministry. Peter sowed his time (while Jesus was ministering from his boat), his talent (positioning the boat and keeping it in place for Jesus), and his treasure (the equipment he used was from his fishing business). When you sow your time, talent, and treasure, the Lord will see to it that you reap a harvest.
c) Don’t let your intellect keep you from your blessing. We sometimes overthink our way out of a blessing. Simon Peter knew a great deal about fishing, and his knowledge almost caused him to miss his harvest. I am a very rational person. I believe I possess a good deal of common sense. But I also know that when it comes to the things of God, I must be led by the Spirit and not my senses. God is not sensual; He is Spiritual. So listen to God, no matter how irrational His instructions may seem. God’s wisdom is greater than your logic. Your obedience, especially in the face of logic, is often the key that unlocks the door to your blessing.
d) Your victory is not effortless, but it can be sweatless. While Peter’s harvest was not effortless — he still had to launch the boat and let down his net — it was clearly sweatless. The underlying point of this series is to teach you how to pursue and obtain Godly success. If you allow God to lead you, you will succeed in this world. It will not be effortless, but it can be sweatless. You will still have to work, but it will be work led by the Holy Spirit, with the grace of God on your life and the Blessing of the Lord all over the work of your hands.
*** The bottom line is that under the curse, people work hard to earn everything by the sweat of their brow because they are producing their own results. Under the Blessing, we work to do what God leads us to do, and He blesses the work of our hands. So we are not alone. It is us + God. It is God + us. So we are not MAKING everything happen. God favors us and MAKES things happen FOR us. That, my friends, is part of #TheGraceLife.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
You are teaching me the value of hard work and the difference between working hard on my own and working by Your grace.
The picture I see in Genesis chapter 2 is the picture of Your original intent. Prior to sin and the fall of man, I see a life that was based-on and fueled-by Your grace. I agree with that picture. My heart says Amen. Jesus redeemed me to that type of life!
Godly success is much better than worldly success. Your success comes without the trappings of this world. As I walk with You and You with me, You can bless the work of my hands to the point where I experience success without stress, struggle, or strain.
You want me to work, but You want me to work Your way, with Your grace, doing the things I was born to do. This way, my life will not be filled with sweat and no fruit. Since I am led by Your Spirit, and I seek to do only the things I am led to do, my life and my work are not effortless, but they shall be sweatless!
I experience Your sweatless victory every day and in every way! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
