Today we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians? ?9?:?8? ?TPT??
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
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??Galatians? ?5?:?4? ?TPT??
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans? ?6?:?14? ?ERV??
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.”
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1 Corinthians? ?15?:?10? ?NIV??
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Additional scriptures for today:
Romans 4:17-21 NIV
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Hebrews 4:9-11 NIV
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
Romans 5:2 NKJV
“Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Setting the Stage:
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring practical aspects of THE GRACE LIFE, culminating yesterday with my personal testimony about Isabella’s journey to becoming an Army nurse. This powerful experience taught us the importance of standing firmly on God’s promises, regardless of circumstances. Today, I want to take us deeper into understanding the relationship between God’s grace and our faith. I have taught you this before, so today will be a “refresher” of sorts.
Many believers struggle unnecessarily because they don’t understand how God’s grace and our faith work together. Some emphasize grace to the point of passivity (where you do nothing), while others stress faith to the point of striving (where there is too much emphasis on you and what you do). But when properly understood, grace and faith create a divine synergy that alleviates the pressure to perform while empowering us to live victoriously.
Think of it this way: Grace is God’s part; faith is our part. Grace is what God provides; faith is how we receive it. When we truly grasp this relationship, we enter into a supernatural rest that becomes the highest expression of our faith.
I got a text last night thanking me for three key things I said in yesterday’s message. I will repeat them for you today before we get into our message. First, when God speaks, there is no Plan B. What God declares will come to pass–period. Second, whoever calls you has to keep you. If God has called you to something, He takes responsibility for sustaining you through it. And third, if you can see it, then it’s not blind faith. True faith isn’t about seeing with your physical eyes but seeing with your spiritual eyes what God has already declared.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Faith Must Be Rooted in Grace, Not Performance.
The foundation of strong faith is not your performance but God’s grace. When your faith is anchored in how well you’re doing spiritually, it will inevitably fluctuate because your performance fluctuates. However, when your faith is rooted in God’s unchanging grace, it remains steady regardless of circumstances.
How this applies to you:
— If your expectation from God is based on your performance toward God, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment because your performance will always fall short of God’s standard of perfection.
— Many believers live on a spiritual roller coaster–high when they think they’re doing well, low when they feel they’ve failed. This inconsistency drains your energy and diminishes your faith.
— Your faith should never be contingent upon your performance. It should be contingent upon God’s performance, which was completed through Christ Jesus. Your faith needs to be anchored in what Jesus has already done, not in what you’re trying to do.
— When God makes a promise to you, He makes it knowing every mistake you will ever make. His promises are not dependent on your perfection but on His faithfulness.
— Living THE GRACE LIFE means you stop evaluating your worthiness to receive from God based on your recent spiritual performance. God’s grace has already qualified you to receive His best.
— Religion keeps you focused on your performance; grace keeps you focused on Christ’s performance on your behalf. The difference is life-changing!
— The enemy wants to keep you focused on your shortcomings so you’ll have weak faith. God wants you focused on His grace so you’ll have strong faith. Where is your focus today?
2. The Highest Form of Faith is Rest.
Contrary to popular belief, faith is not primarily about striving or working harder. The highest expression of faith is actually rest, a divine rest that comes from complete confidence in what God has said and done.
How this applies to you:
— In Hebrews 4, we’re told to “Make every effort to enter that rest.” The way I say it is, “We have to work on not working.” This seems contradictory, but it’s not. What it really means is that we must put effort into ceasing from our own efforts and/or relying on our performance.
— When you truly believe what God has said, you stop trying to make it happen in your own strength, especially when you learn that your actions may get in God’s way. So, you learn to enter into God’s rest and do ONLY what He leads you to do. Sometimes, the breakthrough will come after He leads you to do something. Other times, God will tell you to stand by and watch Him work.
— Remember the story I shared about Isabella needing a 92 on her final exam? I wasn’t stressed about it because I was resting in God’s promise. True faith produces rest, not anxiety. Now, we have to work on it, though. When you are believing God for something, and you know He spoke, while you are waiting (believe me), satan will do all he can to get you to TAKE ON THE CARE of it. The enemy will try to get you stress, while God wants you to rest. If you can truly rest, you are showing God that you trust Him without a doubt, without wavering. We have to work on this.
— Your capacity to rest in the middle of a storm is a direct indicator of the strength of your faith and trust in God. Jesus slept in the boat during the storm because He had perfect faith. Are you tossing and turning or sleeping peacefully through your storms?
— Many Christians are exhausted because they’re trying to earn what grace has already freely given. They’re climbing a ladder that’s leaning against the wrong building. THE GRACE LIFE invites you to stop climbing and start resting.
— Abraham “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.” Why? Because “he considered not his own body now dead.” He refused to focus on the impossibility of the situation and instead focused solely on God’s promise.
— Living in divine rest doesn’t mean becoming passive or irresponsible. It means you work from rest, not for rest. You operate from victory, not for victory. You genuinely believe it is already done and the manifestation of it is just a matter of time.
3. There Can Be No Faith Where There Is No Grace.
Faith cannot exist in a vacuum. For faith to operate, it must have something to latch onto–and that something is God’s grace. Faith doesn’t create grace; it receives what grace has already provided.
How this applies to you:
— Faith does not begin with you. It begins with God. God has to speak first. Faith begins where the will of God is known.
— If you don’t know what God’s will is in a situation, the best you can do is hope. But once you know God’s will, you can exercise faith to receive it.
— Faith doesn’t convince God to do something. Faith is what happens when God convinces you of something. As I often say, “Faith is not about you convincing God to put a ‘YES’ on your plans. Faith is about God convincing you to put a ‘YES’ on His plans.”
— Faith doesn’t move God; faith receives from God. Many believers have this backward, thinking their faith is what causes God to act. No–God has already acted through grace, and faith simply receives what has been provided.
— In the testimony I shared about Isabella, our faith was strong because we knew what God had said. The grace for her to become an Army nurse was already there; our faith simply accessed what grace had already provided. And remember, whoever calls you has to keep you–God took responsibility for her success.
— When God speaks to you, whether through His written Word or by His Spirit, He’s revealing what He has already provided by grace. Your role is to believe and receive it, not to try to earn it.
— Many prayers go unanswered because people are believing God and taking stands on what they think is faith, but they are asking for things God did not promise to them. James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” If you make a demand on God for something that is not yours to have, all it will do is lead to frustration. True faith prays according to God’s will, accessing what grace has already provided.
— 1 Jn 5:14-15 teaches us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” This passage confirms that when we pray according to God’s will—not our own desires—we can have absolute confidence that He not only hears us but also grants our requests. True faith isn’t about convincing God to give us what we want; it’s about aligning our desires with what He wants for us; what He has already planned.
4. Faith That Refuses to Consider Contrary Evidence.
Strong faith, the kind that accesses God’s grace effectively, refuses to be distracted by contrary evidence. Like Abraham, we must learn to “consider not” the obstacles that stand between us and God’s promises.
How this applies to you:
— Abraham “staggered not” because he “considered not.” He made a deliberate choice not to focus on the impossibility of the situation. Similarly, when you’re standing in faith, you must choose what you will and won’t consider.
— When Peter walked on water, he was fine until he “considered” the waves and the wind. The moment your focus shifts from God’s promise to the problem, you begin to sink.
— In Isabella’s situation, we could have considered the statistics (she hadn’t scored above 77, but needed a 92), the money we had invested, or the potential consequences of failure. Instead, we chose to consider ONLY what God had said–that she would be an Army nurse.
— Living THE GRACE LIFE means training your mind to focus on God’s Word rather than on circumstances. This doesn’t mean denying reality; it means acknowledging a higher reality–God’s promise.
— Your faith will be tested precisely in the areas where you’re standing on God’s promises. When those tests come, will you consider the obstacles, or will you consider ONLY what God has said?
— Practically speaking, this means when the doctor gives a negative report, but God spoke something else in your heart, you choose to consider God’s promise over what the doctor said. Or when you are looking at financial statements, and they are telling you one thing, but you know what said to you about your business or personal finances, you choose to ONLY consider what God said. Or when your children are doing one thing, but God spoke to you about them and what God said does not match your present-day reality, you choose to ONLY meditate on what God said. Listen, if you start considering, you will start staggering. To stagger NOT, you must consider NOT!
— THE GRACE LIFE empowers you to live in two realms simultaneously–you’re aware of earthly realities, but you choose to operate according to heavenly promises. This is what it means to be “in the world but not of it.”
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I declare that Your grace and my faith work together in perfect partnership.
I root my faith firmly in Your grace, not in my fluctuating performance.
I enter into Your divine rest, confidently trusting in Your promises regardless of what I see with my natural eyes.
I am not moved by what I see. I am only moved by what You said and are saying!
I choose today to consider not the obstacles, but only what You have promised in Your Word.
I refuse to waver through unbelief, but stand strengthened in my faith, giving glory to God.
I am fully persuaded that You have the power to do everything You have promised me.
I know that when You speak, there is no Plan B — Your Word will not return void.
I am living THE GRACE LIFE in 2025, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
