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.
(Read Daniel 2:28-30)
In yesterday’s message, we saw how Daniel emphasized that Nebuchadnezzar’s men (the sorcerers, warlocks, witches, and magicians) could not give him the answer he was looking for. Human power could not come up with the answer, and the powers of darkness failed. However, Daniel made it clear that “there is a God in heaven” who could provide the answer. Let’s pick up the story from there.
Daniel said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “But there is a God in heaven who tells secret things. God has given King Nebuchadnezzar dreams to show him what will happen later. This was your dream, and this is what you saw while lying on your bed: King, as you were lying there on your bed, you began thinking about what might happen in the future. God can tell people about secret things—he has shown you what will happen in the future. God also told this secret to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other men, but so that you, king, may know what it means. In that way you will understand what went through your mind.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God extends grace to all people; it’s just that most don’t acknowledge it.
— God gave King Nebuchadnezzar the dream as an act of His free grace.
— Nebuchadnezzar did nothing to earn or deserve God speaking to him in a dream.
— Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan who did not even acknowledge God, and God chose to speak to him.
— Grace is unearned and often even undeserved.
— Please don’t see grace as something God only provides those who are following Him. God showers grace on the just and the unjust. The only reason you came to God was because He extended grace to you when you were a sinner.
— It is the goodness of God that causes people to repent. Don’t forget that when you are trying to scare people into salvation.
2. God gives us “glimpses” into our future in hopes of preparing us for it!
— The dream was God’s attempt at preparing king Nebuchadnezzar for the future.
— Daniel said, “God has given King Nebuchadnezzar dreams to show him what will happen later.”
— If God spoke to a pagan in a dream to help him prepare for his future, don’t you think God will speak to you?
— God knows your future (you don’t). God has already been to your future (you haven’t). And the good news is that God is gracious enough to give you the “glimpses” into your future that you need to help shape your decisions and actions today.
— God will grace you to see what you need to see (i.e. divine vision) about your future, so you can make decisions today that will help you get there.
— You may not know what your future holds, but you can have peace when you know the one who holds your future.
— Part of learning how to become a success is resting in God’s finished work. Those who believe in God learn how to rest, even when things catch them off guard because they know that these things did not catch God off guard!
3. God still speaks!
— If God spoke to a pagan king, surely He will speak to you.
— God has a myriad of ways of speaking to you. God can speak to you in dreams while you sleep, visions while you are awake, through His Word as you read it, through His Spirit as you walk throughout the day, through other people with prophetic words, through circumstances that help drive you towards God’s best, and through many of means.
— God is always speaking. Are you listening? Open your heart to receive what God is saying to you today.
— Hearing from God is paramount. You can live a great life by simply doing what God said in the Bible. But I am convinced that you will never maximize your purpose and potential without hearing God’s voice. You read the Bible to learn what he SAID (past tense). But you listen to the Holy Spirit to hear what He is SAYING (present tense) to you in the moment.
4. The same God who provided the dream provided someone to interpret it.
— God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream by His grace, and He then graced Daniel to see it and interpret it.
— Daniel put all the emphasis on God. He made it clear that God provided the dream, and God provided the answer.
— The message of grace puts the spotlight squarely on God and His power.
— The Old Covenant was works-based. It focused on man, and it was about man working for God. The New Covenant is grace-based. It focuses on God and is all about God working for, with, and through man.
— When God graces you to do things you could never do without Him, please acknowledge Him and give Him credit. Daniel said, “God also told this secret to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other men.” Daniel wanted the king to know that what He was doing was all about God. It was only by the grace of God. When you live this way (always giving God the glory), there is no limit to what God can do through you!
5. God can create situations requiring divine answers and anoint you to provide them.
— Like what He did with Daniel, God can create a situation on your job that requires a divine answer, and He can then grace you to provide it.
— Don’t think God does not care about your success. God went out of his way to create an opportunity for Daniel, and He then graced Daniel to shine and get promoted. God can do the same for you.
— I have been presented with many situations where others have failed, and God has graced me to succeed. In those situations, I am always quick to acknowledge God and give Him the glory!
— God places us in difficult situations and then graces us to make the difficult looks effortless. That’s #TheGraceLife.
6. When God anoints you to perform the supernatural, it has nothing to do with your wisdom or power.
— Daniel said, “God also told this secret to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other men.“
— Daniel did not take any credit for what God was doing through him.
— Daniel made it clear that he was not special (per se), and he did not come up with the answer through personal brilliance. Daniel put the spotlight on God and His grace.
— God can anoint you to succeed by His grace. You may have gifts and talents, and He will use those. But then again, even if you don’t think you have the background, education, aptitude, intellect, or mental acuity, God can still do it through you, by His grace and for His glory!
Learn from Daniel:
— When he was told that he and his friends were scheduled to be killed, he did not take it lying down.
— He had a fighting spirit.
— He knew that the same God who showed up for him when he refused to eat Babylon’s food would show up for him in this situation.
— He knew that God graced him and his three friends to become the top 4 graduates of Babylon’s select 3-year training program, and that same grace would give him the answer he needed.
— When God’s grace is on you, there is no limit to what you can do.
— Launch into every day believing that you can do whatever is required of you because God is ON you, IN you, WITH you, and FOR you! This is how I live. I call it #TheGraceLife.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
You can grace me to do whatever is needed. I will never face something I cannot handle because You are with me everywhere I go!
You have placed people in authority over me. I honor and respect that authority. I know You can get involved in my work environment, creating situations that need inspired answers. These situations lead to the failure of others, and they create opportunities for me!
You grace me to walk through every open door of opportunity, to provide the answers that are needed by Your grace, and to get promoted and elevated. You do this so I can be in a position of greater influence and responsibility, so You can use me for Your glory.
You care about my business. You are interested in my personal success. You want to influence the people and systems of this world, and You want to do it through Your children.
I am Your child, I am called by Your name, I am graced to succeed, and You use me to impact and influence the people of this world and the systems of this world I am graced to operate in. This does not happen because of my personal wisdom, giftings, or talents. This only happens through Your amazing and unearned GRACE! Living this way, 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.
