Note: Before I get into the message, I want to share a link to a sermon I preached yesterday entitled, “Passing the Test(s).” This message was powerful. Here is the link if you are interested in watching it: https://youtu.be/Ed7UGjb1Njk
Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Yesterday we also looked at 2 Peter 1:1-4. We will look at these again today.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:1-4)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Today I will focus on this line: “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Jesus did not live like a God while He was on the earth, which is why He is our example.
— Jesus was God in the flesh. He was a God-man. But to be very clear, He did not live like a God while He was on the earth. He lived like a man who was filled with God. He did this to be both an example FOR us and an example OF us.
— If Jesus had come to the earth as a God and operated like one, then He would be a good example for us to emulate because we are not Gods. What we are is humans who have the ability to become conduits of God on this planet. So Jesus, who was and is God (without question), came to the earth and lived like a man. He lived His life as a human.
— While Jesus was on the earth, He was not omnipresent (meaning that He is everywhere at the same time) as He was when He was in heaven. This means that Jesus was limited to operating in the physical vicinity He was in, wherever He was.
— While Jesus was on the earth, He was not omniscient (meaning that He knows everything) as He was when He was in heaven. The Bible tells us that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). While Jesus was in heaven, He did not have to grow in wisdom becuase He knew everything. But as a man, He had to grow in wisdom, like every other human.
— If you are Born-Again, Jesus is your example. You are a God-man like He was. You are a man (male or female) who is filled with God. You have all it takes to live like Jesus in this world. You don’t have to wait on anything else. It’s already been provided.
2. We have the opportunity to live by the same faith Jesus lived by.
— Jesus lived by faith and not by sight. This means He chose to live by the reality of revelation He received from the Father, through the Holy Spirit, over the information he received through his physical senses. We are capable of doing the same thing; living the same way.
— The information you receive through your senses naturally “makes sense” to you because you can validate the information by human means (see, hear, touch, taste, and smell). Faith requires a different type of validation. Faith is the evidence of the things you cannot see. Faith believes what it receives from God in the spirit realm, even though these things cannot be validated with physical senses. Therefore, living by faith means you choose to believe God’s revelation over worldly information, even when what God is telling you makes no “sense” at all.
— Jesus was in many situations where His natural eyes (sight), ears (hearing), and hands (touch) were telling Him one thing, but the Holy Spirit inside of Him was telling Him something else. When posed with the reality of this world and the reality of what heaven was speaking to Him in Spirit, Jesus chose to believe, speak and operate in heaven’s reality. The UNSEEN was MORE REAL to Jesus than the SEEN. Do you know what this is called? It’s called faith!
— Guess what? You were given like-precious-faith. You were dealt the same faith Jesus had (Rom 12:3). You must now choose to live by it.
— Faith is a choice. Faith is not about you coming up with something and then trying to convince God to give it to you. Faith is not you convincing God of your plans; it is God convincing you of His plans!
— Faith is what happens when you get so convinced of God that you choose revelation over information, you choose what you discern over what you have learned, and you choose to live by instinct (your heart) over intellect (your head). You live this way because you know that what God has revealed is already done in eternity, and for you, on the earth, it is only a matter of time!
3. We are made righteous by faith in what Jesus already provided.
— I thank God for delivering me from religion years ago. When I was religious, I focused on my performance, and my life was about what I did for God instead of what He has already done for me. Religious people, in their hearts, want to be pleasing to God. The issue is that they are going about it the wrong way. They are trying to WORK their way to righteousness, and no amount of work can ever make you right with God.
— Righteousness cannot be earned. Righteousness can only be received. Jesus already provided righteousness. If you are Born-Again, then you are righteous, RIGHT NOW! But you are NOT righteous because of what you do. You are NOT righteous because of what you fail to do. You are only righteous because of what Jesus did. Jesus already provided. Your role is to believe and receive His finished work and to enter into His rest.
— When you know you are righteous because of what Jesus did, you perform works, but you don’t perform them to BE righteous. You perform them because you already ARE righteous!
— In Christ Jesus, God the Father reestablished your innocence. It is in this place of innocence that you can believe Him for anything. Your sin has been forgiven, God is not holding your past against you, and your performance is not limiting you. You are now in a position to believe God with childlike faith. A child sees the invisible and believes the impossible. That’s how God wants you to come to Him today!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith.
By faith, I have received the revelation of who Jesus is, and learning who Jesus is has exposed me to who I am. I am because He is. As Jesus is, so am I in this world.
I have the same faith Jesus had, and I live by it. I am the just, and I live with childlike faith. My faith has NO LIMITS!
I am righteous right now, by faith. As the righteousness of God, I open my heart to all You have already planned. I believe and receive all You reveal! I then pursue it by faith. When I do, I am not trying to make it happen. I believe You already made it happen. My heart receives what Your Spirit reveals. This is how I live.
I am forgiven, I am righteous, I am filled with You, and I am called for such a time as this. Therefore, I boldly declare that GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
