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 hope you can see by now that it is God’s will for you to have and experience the life you were born to live. You do this by pursuing the accomplishment of your divine assignment by faith, knowing it can only be realized through God’s unearned grace. When you discover God’s will, you die to self daily, and you allow God to liberally flow through you, you are on the road to true Godly success and supernatural fulfillment.
Many times we, as Christians, struggle to manifest prosperity according to the world’s standards. We are overwhelmed by stress as we pursue bigger houses, more cars, nicer clothes, and more prestigious titles. However, Godly prosperity extends beyond any prosperity we can ever find in the world and does not come with negative side effects. Solomon said, “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no sorrow with it.” (Prov 10:22). Prosperity from God makes us whole in every area of life. It is a prosperity that goes beyond a dollar amount. Divine prosperity is Christ-centered. This type of prosperity is connected to your divine purpose, requires dependence on God and His grace, and is only manifested by God’s power (not human ability).
Last week I shared a message about getting your priorities in order. Today we will take a look at what happens when your priorities are in order.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s see.
1. When you make God’s purpose your #1 priority, and you embrace His grace to do it, you will be freed from the pressure of need.
— God is not moved by need; He is moved by purpose.
— When you are moved and motivated by need, in most cases, your focus is on YOU.
— I will acknowledge that some people, who love God, get caught up in all the things they believe they “need” in order to accomplish God’s will. Many of these people take on negative stress as they attempt to do what they believe God has called them to do. These are people who are attempting to do the right thing but the wrong way.
— God is not moved by need. Therefore, when your heart is in alignment with the heart of God, and you know you are pursuing God’s will, you will not sense any pressure where any need is concerned. Solomon said, “There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time” (Ecc 3:1 ERV). When you are doing God’s will and understand #TheGraceLife, you don’t have to take on any pressure to perform. You know it’s God’s will, you know it’s God’s bill, and you know God will release what you need when you need it. You know your gift will make room for you (Prov 18:6) and bring you in front of the people you need when you need to meet them, and you know God will give you favor with the people who are anointed to help you. Therefore, you are not focused on need. You are focused on God and His purpose, and you believe everything you need will come to you as you need it.
Today’s message is about priorities, and I want to be clear that there are many people who do not have God or His will as their #1 priority. They live their lives focused on their own selfish desires. Here are a few quick thoughts about this as I close out this point:
— A selfish heart can never access God’s abundance because God never signed up to give you whatever you want.
— Everything you need to accomplish what you were born to accomplish is stored up for you. However, if you pursue selfish desires, you are going to need things that are not prepared for you. As a result, you will spend time, energy, and effort pursuing these things, and your efforts will be fruitless.
— When you live your life focused on selfish desires, you will spend your days pursuing what you want instead of what God has already provided. If you do that long enough, you will die unfulfilled becuase God will not bless your selfishness.
2. God already made plans for the provision you will need to fulfill His purpose.
— God is a completely purposeful and intentional God. He never does anything by happenstance. Every move God makes on the chessboard of your life is a move made with intent and purpose.
— God did not send you to this planet by chance. God sent you to the earth when He did and where He did with a specific and tailor-made purpose.
— God will never send (or deploy) you into the earth with a purpose and give you specific assignments to fulfill without having ALREADY made provisions for all the resources you will need to accomplish His will.
— Jesus taught us to “count the cost” (see Luke 14) before starting a project so we don’t run out of money mid-way through. Well, if Jesus taught us to count the cost, don’t you think He did?
— God tallied up everything you will need to DO what He called you to do, and He already made ways for you to receive it.
— God already provided the provision for His vision for your life by grace. Your job is to discover what He called you to do and then live by faith in order to accomplish it. When you live by faith, your faith lays hold of God’s grace, and you gain access to what God has already provided for you.
— If your life has been lived in a cycle of continuous lack, it may be because you are out-of-alignment with your assignment because everything you need to do what God called you to do has already been provided. It is just a matter of discovering what that is and then pursuing it by faith.
— God does all He does by grace. We are supposed to do all we do by faith. When you understand this and live your life this way (your faith, God’s grace), you take on no pressure to perform, you only pursue the things God has already provided, and you gain access to what you need (wisdom, connections, relationships, money, equipment, etc.) at just the right time.
3. When you make God’s purpose your #1 priority, you position yourself to access the endless resources of heaven.
— Heaven is the resource center for God’s purposes. Wherever He leads, He feeds. Wherever He guides, He provides.
— Divine provision is freely available for divine purpose.
— You will only be resourced by heaven once you step into your assignment. Said another way, heaven will not resource selfish pursuits.
— Knowing who you are and pursuing your purpose by faith unlocks the door to all the resources you will need to do what God has called you to do.
— God is not opposed to abundance (it is actually part of His nature), but divine abundance is reserved for divine purpose, not selfish needs.
*** I have been talking about needs today, and when I do, many people allow their minds to go to money immediately. But let’s intentionally NOT think about money for a moment. Think about everything else you need to do what God called you to do. Let’s say you need wisdom, understanding, a certain level of experience, a certain type of education, and favor to get into a community that has been closed to you in the past. When you understand what I am teaching today, and you make God and His purpose your #1 priority, then you have to believe that all these things will happen for you at just the right time. God will bring you before the right people, you will make the right connections, you will gain the right experience, you will be offered the right education, and ultimately you will walk in the right level of wisdom. Why? Becuase you are doing what God sent you to this planet to do, and your #1 priority is getting it done before you die. This is #TheGraceLife, and I am convinced that it is how we are supposed to live.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
The more I learn about Your unearned grace, the more I realize how much You love me.
You made plans for me before the world began. You also counted the cost. You did the math Father, and You figured out everything I would ever need to accomplish Your Kingdom plans and purposes for my life.
You did not send me into the earth to fail. You did not send me unprepared. You set me up for success.
You already prepared everything I will ever need to do what You have called me to do. Some of the resources are here, on the earth, in the hands of other people. And you will bring me before those people, at the right time, to favor me with them, moving on their hearts to help me.
Other resources are in heaven, in spiritual realms, and You allow me to access those resources by faith. Just like a nation never sends out an Ambassador to a foreign land without access to resources, protection, and support, You have not sent me into this world to be Your Ambassador without the backing of heaven.
I am an Ambassador from heaven, assigned to the earth. I represent You in this world. I am here to accomplish Your will.
I willingly die to self, and I give Your assignment for my life first place. As I do, I know You will give me access to everything I need to be successful.
I am driven by purpose, not by need, and by living this way, You will see to it that all my needs are met, in an abundant way, so that I can BE the blessing You have called me to be. I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME because I don’t live for me! My life is ALL ABOUT YOU! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
