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.
For the last few days, we have been looking at a passage in Hebrews 4. We are working our way through verses 1-11. Today we will look at verse 10.
(Heb 4:10 ERV)
God rested after he finished his work. So everyone who enters God’s place of rest will also have rest from their own work just as God did.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. As believers, we must learn to rest in the finished work of God. If something is done, we can rest in it.
— I already covered the fact that God rested from Creation on the seventh day. God did not rest because He was tired. God simply rested because He was done.
— Jesus rested when He completed His mission to the earth. He left heaven, came to the earth, lived as s sinless man, paid the penalty for what Adam did in the Garden, delivered humanity from sin and death, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. When Jesus got to heaven, after completing the mission, Jesus sat down and rested. He was not resting because He was tired. He was resting because He was done.
— The reason why I keep driving this point home is becuase you must learn to discern the things that are “already done” in your life so that you can rest in them. God the Father is not looking for you to do anything to earn or deserve eternal life. Your salvation was paid for with the blood of Jesus. So, where salvation is concerned, you must learn to rest in the finished work of Jesus.
Likewise, 2 Timothy 1:9 teaches us that God called you to a holy calling before the world began. He did not do this based on your works (or your performance). God did this based on His purpose and grace. So, if you are trying to work for or earn God’s approval, you are wasting your time, and your efforts are futile. You must learn how to rest in who you are and in what God called you to do. You don’t work (or perform) to try to get God to move. You work (our launch out) becuase you believe God already moved; you believe it’s already done!
2. To walk with God by faith effectively, you must learn how to rest in His plans and His grace for your life.
— The Father expects Born-Again believers to enter into His rest and to release the pressure to perform for His approval. You are already approved.
— When you make a mistake (and you will, becuase you are human), the devil will come and say, “You see, now you are not worthy to walk in what God called you to do.” But the truth is, you were not worthy before you did what you did. God called you by grace and not merit!
— God does not call the qualified. God qualifies the called by His unearned grace. And once He does, you can never disqualify yourself from something you never qualified for in the first place!
— When you enter into God’s rest, you enjoy a peace far exceeding human understanding, reasoning, or even explanation. When the world thinks you should be “freaking out,” you will be “camping out” in God’s peace.
3. God’s peace and rest are available to you today!
— God does not just offer us a heavenly rest that will be experienced “someday.” God offers us a present-day rest that is appropriated by faith. Using your faith, you can tap into God’s rest every day.
— The Hebrew writer said, “everyone who enters God’s place of rest will also have rest from their own work.” Prior to Jesus, the Jews attempted to receive atonement for sin through a series of rituals and routines under the Mosaic Law. Because the Law was cumbersome and taxing, it could never provide true rest, especially rest from our own works.
4. You must rest in the truth that you are righteous because of Jesus and what He did, not becuase of you and what you do or fail to do.
— Believers before Christ were actually working for justification and intimacy with God. Believers today understand we could never work our way to heaven. No amount of labor could ever provide justification or righteousness. We have been declared righteous because of what Jesus did (2 Cor 5:21), and now we can rest in our salvation in Him.
— I remember thinking I had to “work” for my salvation. I was always apprehensive, timid, and somewhat weary. Whenever I sinned (which we all do, by the way), I wearily asked for forgiveness and attempted to reconcile my wrongdoing with God. It was not until the Father revealed to me, through His Word and His Spirit, that my salvation had been purchased with the Blood of Jesus and that I was secure in Him that I was able to truly rest from my own works. Today I serve God because I love Him, not because I am trying to earn my way to heaven or because I am afraid of going to hell. Now I can enter into God’s rest.
5. Not only does God want you to rest in the grace He has provided for your salvation, but He also wants you to rest in the grace He has provided for your success.
— The same God who called you to a holy calling from the foundations of the world already knows everything you will ever do. God knows your thoughts before you think them, your words before you speak them, and your actions before you take them. God knows everything you will ever do, and He knew this before you were born. Guess what? He called you anyway! God called you according to His purpose and grace, not your own works (2 Tim 1:9). Therefore, you must learn to rest in God’s grace to become who and what He planned!
— The same God who provided you grace for salvation provided grace for earthly success. To access and enjoy this success, we, as believers, must use our faith and not rely on our works. When you pursue success by faith, knowing it has already been provided by grace, you can rest from your own works (human ability). This does not mean you will not work. It actually means you will probably work harder, just not by your strength.
— If you rely on your performance, you will never measure up to the size of your calling. Becuase God calls us to do things that exceed our goodness. So, if you want to maximize the purpose and potential God placed inside of you, you must learn to rest in your calling, receive God’s grace by faith, and allow God’s super to flow through your natural. At that point, you will work hard, but it won’t be you doing it. It will be the Father, living in you, giving you the words, and performing the work. Living this way, you can WORK and REST at the same time.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
You sent Your Son Jesus, who knew no sin, to be MADE sin FOR ME, that I might be MADE the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD by faith. For that, I am eternally grateful.
You declared me righteous because of what Jesus did for me when I accepted Him as Lord. I receive that righteousness by faith, knowing it was provided for me by grace.
I did nothing to cause You to want to send Jesus to die in my place. I did nothing to earn Jesus’ sacrifice. You did it because You love me.
I now access Your grace with my faith. I rest from my own works. I know I have been delivered from hell. Since I have been delivered from the worse possible thing that could ever happen to me, I have nothing to fear. Fear and satan have no power over me.
Not only did You provide me grace for salvation, but You also provided me grace for earthly success. You made plans for me before the foundations of the world, and You have already set up everything I need to fulfill those plans.
Just like I used my faith to access Your grace for salvation, I use my faith to access Your grace for success. My earthly success will not come with more TRYING; it will come with more DYING. I die to self, live by faith, and access all You want me to have, determined to DO all You have called me to do.
I do this with NO WORRY, NO FEAR, and NO STRESS. I am not the one who is performing. You, Father, are living through me. Therefore, 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.
