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 have done a great deal of teaching on entering into God’s rest. For the next few days, we will look at what the writer of Hebrews taught us about entering into God’s rest, and I will connect it to your pursuit of success.
(Hebrews 4:1-11)
God’s promise that we may enter his place of rest still stands. We are afraid that some of you think you won’t enter his place of rest. We have heard the same Good News that your ancestors heard. But the message didn’t help those who heard it in the past because they didn’t believe it (it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it).
We who believe are entering that place of rest… Those who heard the Good News in the past did not enter God’s place of rest because they did not obey God. So God set another day. That day is called “today“… If Joshua had given the people rest, God would not have spoken about another day. Therefore, a time of rest and worship exists for God’s people. Those who entered his place of rest also rested from their work as God did from his.
So we must make every effort (we must labor) to enter that place of rest. Then no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. Opening your heart to God’s rest can significantly change the way you live your life.
I just shared Hebrews 4:1-11 with you. In the third chapter of this letter to the Hebrews, the writer quotes the 95th psalm at length and speaks of the Israelites who were cursed by God to die in the desert because of their unbelief. The writer then juxtaposes the unbelief of the Israelites in chapter 3 with the faith of believers in chapter 4. That being the context, the writer raises this question: is the promise of entering God’s rest (given to the Israelites but forfeited because of unbelief) still valid in our time? The answer is a resounding YES!
The offer still stands, the rest is still available, and the blessing is still there waiting for us, but only “we who have believed enter that rest” (verse 3). The believing part (faith) is the key, which is why the writer tells us that some may fail to experience it. I would venture to say that many today fail to experience it because of the hustle and bustle of modern-day life. But whether we have failed to experience it in the past or not, the fact is that God’s rest (a supernatural rest) is available to us today, and if we take Him up on His offer, His rest can change the way we experience life forever!
2. The grace of God empowers you to work, and it enables you to rest at the same time!
— I have been teaching you that God has (already, past tense) given you the grace to operate in your divine purpose. When you pursue your purpose in faith, you access God’s grace and work with the benefit of God’s supernatural power and favor.
— When you are aware of God’s grace, it’s almost like you are resting in God while you are working. You acknowledge that a part of you is working hard, but at the same time, another part of you is resting in peace. Living and working this way does not mean your work will be effortless, but it surely can be sweatless.
— When you know you are not working to attain anything in God, you are then in a position to live the life of faith you are called to live. Faith believes, receives, and pursues everything God has already provided by grace.
— Don’t mistake the message of grace to mean that you don’t have to do anything. You have lots of work to do to accomplish your purpose. The difference is that when you know you are working BY God’s grace and not by human effort, you will work harder than you ever have, but it won’t be you doing it. It will be the Father living in you; He will give you the words and perform the work.
— The Apostle Paul understood the grace of God. He knew he was not worthy of being an Apostle, but Jesus was worthy for him. He knew he worked harder than all the other Apostles, but he also knew it was not him doing the work. He said, “I worked harder than all the other apostles. But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace working through me” (1 Cor 15:10). When you understand what Paul understood, you can work and rest at the same time.
3. The life of faith has a rest component.
— You are called to live by faith. True faith has a rest component to it. When you are in faith, you are also in rest, knowing God did whatever He promised by His grace from the foundations of the world, and the manifestation of His promise in the earth is merely a matter of time.
— Receiving God’s peace is great, but entering into God’s rest is another level altogether. When you enter into God’s rest concerning something, then that’s it! As far as you are concerned, it’s a done deal — no matter how long it actually takes to manifest here on earth.
— Sometimes, your victory does not require more trying but rather more dying. The more you die to self, and the more you rely on God, the easier it will be for you to enter into God’s rest.
— You have to stop stressing over your life and whether or not you will become a success. Once you enter into God’s rest, the pressure to perform will have no power over you.
— Once you enter into God’s rest, you feel no pressure to perform to earn or deserve God’s best. You simply believe and receive what you believe God has already provided for you. Once you enter into God’s rest, you receive a supernatural peace that empowers you to remain fixed, focused, stable, and consistent. All of these things help you become the success God has destined you to be. But stressing will rob you of your peace, and it is hard to remain consistent, day in and day out when you have no peace in your heart concerning your pursuits.
4. God offers us rest, but you require faith to take God up on the offer.
God freely offers His supernatural rest to you by grace — unearned and unmerited. You did nothing to earn the offer, and all God requires of you is faith that accesses His grace. If you don’t tap into God’s rest by faith, you will fail to experience it, and it won’t be God’s fault. The Father has done His part. He has sent His Son to die in your place, He left you his Word and filled you with His Spirit so you can know what is available to you, He dealt you the measure of faith (Rom 12:3) you need, and He stands by ready to work through you if you allow Him to. God’s part is done; will you do yours? God has provided the grace. You must now engage your faith to lay hold of what He has already provided.
5. You can rest and fight simultaneously (and you will need to understand this to become a success).
— God offered the nation of Israel supernatural “rest” in Canaan. Canaan was God’s best for the Israelites. Canaan was the land of Blessing, set aside for God’s people. But they were still going to have to fight for it.
— The land was inhabited by giants. If the Israelites wanted the land, they were going to have to take it by force. However, God did not require them to rely on their own strength. God was prepared to bless them to take the land, by force, by His grace.
— God was prepared to apply His “super” to the Israelite’s “natural.” This way, they could fight for the land and actually be IN GOD’s REST at the same time. Guess what? The same offer applies to you. When God offers you His rest, it does not mean you will not have to work anymore or will not have to fight for your success. The difference is that you will work and fight BY GOD’s GRACE and not just your human effort. This way, you can actually FIGHT and REST at the same time.
— God wants you to get up in the morning, to enter into His rest, and to head off for work while you are resting in Him. When you live this way, you can get done all you need to get done, pursuing your purpose by faith and resting in God the entire time. This is #TheGraceLife. You get more done than you ever imagined, but you are not stressed becuase you are not alone. God is ON you, IN you, WITH you, and FOR you!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
As I read and meditate on Hebrews 4, the message of this passage gets down in my spirit. Your rest is possible for me, and from this day forward, it shall be my reality!
I learn to enter into Your rest concerning my life and the pursuit of success. As I do, the enemy’s attempts to get me into fear, worry, doubt, and unbelief will all fail.
Not only do I receive deliverance from the enemy, but I also receive deliverance from self and self-effort. Human effort is not enough. Your grace is always enough! I need Your power to do what You have called me to do. Therefore, I enter into Your rest.
No more sleepless nights for me! I live in a place called REST! Once I am there, the world’s stress, struggle, and strain have no power over me. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
