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.
Today I will discuss my favorite Biblical character, the Apostle Paul. Paul had a tremendous assignment from God, and he embraced the grace to do it. God called him to write over half the New Testament, minister to the Gentiles, and preach all over Asia minor. Financially, the challenge was that Paul left everything behind when he was Born-Again. Paul was living on the wrong side of the Christian movement, so when he converted, he went into isolation and was cut off from his friends and connections. This forced Paul to truly rely on God.
In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul thanked the believers there for donating to his ministry. In the 4th chapter, the Apostle wrote, “I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little.” Paul lived through situations where he had more than enough and others where he was barely getting by. But Paul said he learned “the secret of how to live” through it all. What was this secret? It was this, he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!“
Paul went on to say, “You Philippians also know that in the early days, when I left the province of Macedonia to spread the Good News, you were the only church to share your money with me. You gave me what I needed, and you received what I gave you. Even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs twice… Your gifts are a soothing aroma, a sacrifice that God accepts and with which he is pleased.” Paul was thankful that God used the believers in Philippi to help finance his assignment. Since they were his ministry donors, Paul’s prayer for them was, “My God shall supply ALL YOUR NEED according to His riches in glory!” (see Philippians 4:10-19). I hear many Christians misquote Paul and say, “My God shall supply all my need.” While that might be true, that is not what Paul was saying. Paul was saying that HIS God would supply all their needs because they were supplying his needs and financing God’s assignment.
So what does this mean for you today? I will share a few things about success, resources, and trusting God.
1. There are very few people who actually have more resources than their calling requires. In other words, most people have a greater vision from God than the provision they have direct control of. One of the reasons why God calls us to do things we don’t have the resources for is because it forces us to rely on Him, and His grace, to get it done.
2. To live by faith, God requires you to be moved by His purpose, not earthly need. When Jesus sent out the team in Matthew 10 to do ministry, he forbade them from taking any money with them. Why? Because these people were being sent out to cast our demons and lay hands on lepers. If they could not believe God for the common things required for their daily sustenance, then there is no way they would believe God for the supernatural. If they could not believe God for food and a place to stay, then they were going to run from leprosy and demons. Money is the least of all riches. Jesus wanted them to know that He knew; when you are led by God’s Spirit, the Father will see to it that you gain access to whatever you need to perform His will!
3. If you wait for all the conditions to be right BEFORE you step out into your purpose, you will be waiting forever. You will never become a success if you need everything to line up before you start.
Paul ministered during the times of plenty. But he also ministered during the lean times. The point is that Paul never allowed the amount of money he had to dictate what he did in ministry. His ministry was based on God’s purpose, and he knew God would provide along the way. There were times when he had plenty. There were other times when things were lean. But through it, he knew God was his source!
If you are the type of person who has to wait until all the conditions are right in order to do something, then God won’t be able to use you mightily because there will be many times when the conditions will not be right. God is looking for faith. God is looking for you to be moved by faith (what He is saying) and not by sight (earthly conditions).
4. Solomon said, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant (they don’t sow). If they watch every cloud, they never harvest (they won’t reap)” (Ecc 11:4). If you want to be a success, you have to build Godly habits (like sowing and reaping) that will keep you through every season of your life. Times change, and seasons shift, so if you are living your life based on how the conditions are, your life will be full of ups and downs. It’s hard to become a success that way becuase you will never be consistent.
Success requires consistency, and to be consistent, you cannot be moved by conditions. Remember, I told you a few days ago, “Successful people don’t wait for all the conditions to be right. They SET the conditions for their own success!“
5. God will not put all the resources in your hands the moment He gives you the assignment. If He did, you would not need faith. The money will come AFTER you start doing it!
The people in Matthew 10 had to launch out, in faith, with no money, BEFORE God provided. Many times, that is precisely how God works. So you can’t sit around just dreaming of what God said, waiting for the money to come. If you want to do what God said, you are going to have to launch out in faith and watch God provide AS YOU GO! Here is something I learned: You can dream all your want, but God can do more with you AFTER you get started!
6. Here was Paul’s secret; this is what he learned: Whether you have little or much, you can still do all things through Christ. You should not be moved or motivated by money. You should only be moved and motivated by God! Where He leads, He feeds! Where He guides, He provides! If the vision came from God, the provision is already stored up.
7. When you help fund God-ordained projects, God will see to it that all your needs are met. When the believers in Philippi helped finance Paul’s ministry, his prayer for his donors was, “My God shall supply ALL YOUR NEED according to His riches in glory!” That’s my prayer too.
Our ministry is good ground. I know we are doing what God called us to do. To get it done, God connects us with ministry partners, like He did with Paul. When people connect with our ministry, then they become part of it. In heaven, they are seen as part of the team. The believers in Phillipi were partakers of the grace that was on Paul’s ministry becuase they were part of it. Those who partner with RIPMINISTRIES are partakers of the grace that is on ours.
Here are two things I tell our partners: 1) we are better together, and 2) you will reap a harvest on every seed sown! God will never be in debt to you!
There are two sides to this point, and you can benefit from each. If you are the one people are partnering with, then welcome the help because two are better than one. You need help to do what God called you to do. If you are the one helping someone do what God called them to do, know that what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!
*** This is how we can do ALL THINGS through Christ!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
I have embraced my divine assignment. It is too big for me to accomplish on my own. I am looking to You as my source.
I know You will use people, down here, on the earth, to help me do what You have called me to do. You will raise up people to use their power, their ability, their resources, and their finances to help me accomplish what You have called me to do.
As You do, I trust that You, as my God, will supply all THEIR needs, according to Your riches in glory, through Christ Jesus!
I thank You for all the people You use to help me. But my focus is not on them. They are not my source. You are my source!
So I look to You every day and in every way. I am not moved by need. I am only moved by my purpose.
Whether I have little or I have much, I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
I don’t wait until I have everything I need, and I am not deterred by what I don’t have yet. I live by faith, and I believe that You will see to it that Your assignment gets done through me, by Your grace, for Your glory!
You are ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
