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 am led to do something a little different today. Today is December 2nd, and I was talking to people yesterday, it dawned on me that this month we celebrate 25 years of Today’s Word. In December of 1997, the Lord told me to share His Word with people in their email inboxes so that they could start their day with a Word from Him. Back then, very few people even had email. So I started with eight of my friends, and now Today’s Word is what it is. To God be the glory!
I could say a great deal about this. For this morning, I am led to share a message with you entitled “Your Day Will Come,” and tie it to the level of consistency required to succeed in God’s Kingdom. For this message, we will look at the life of Abraham.
(Gen 17:21 CEV)
“But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.”
Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes for a minute and think about how awesome this conversation was with God. 24 years earlier, Abraham left his country and his family with a barren wife and a dream in his heart. Although he had been raised to worship idols he could see, he left everything he knew because he believed in a God he could not see. He believed this God he could not see would SHOW UP in his life in ways he could see. So he and his wife left everything and started their journey of faith.
24 years later, the Lord finally said what he was waiting to hear: he and Sarah were going to have a baby! I know what it is like to be waiting on God for something for years. It’s not that you are not already blessed, but you don’t have what you know God promised yet, and you are living in expectation, and patience, until that day comes. This is how it was for Abraham. He was financially prosperous, physically healthy, and socially established. He was blessed in many ways, but he was still holding on to the promise. And then God said what he was longing to hear. God said:
“Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.”
Imagine that. Abraham woke up that morning like every other morning. He did not know that he would hear the words he had been waiting on for 24 years. God changed both his and his wife’s names. God gave Abraham specific instructions on how to seal the covenant (circumcision), He pronounced a blessing over his living son (Ishmael), gave him the name of the son of the promise (Isaac), and then told him that Isaac would be born “about this time next year.” Wow! What a day. What a blessing. What a turn-around. God showed up and turned Abraham’s seemingly hopeless situation around in one day! He did it all by simply speaking words. Abraham had to have the faith to believe those words and receive God’s promise in his heart.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God wants you to believe Him for EVERY PROMISE He has spoken!
You may be blessed in many areas, but that does not mean that God wants you to relax your faith for what He promised. God wants you to believe Him for EVERY PROMISE spoken over your life to come to pass. Said another way, it’s okay to enjoy the blessings connected to your current situation. But you must never allow the blessings of today to cause you to lower your expectations of tomorrow. God is a God of progression. God wants you to learn how to be content today while still believing Him to manifest every promise He has spoken over your life. The Lord had made Abraham rich, he was very blessed, and his life had been transformed. But since he did not have the promised child yet, Abraham kept his heart in the position of FAITH. This is how we are supposed to live! I don’t know about you, but I want EVERY PROMISE God has spoken over me to come to pass BEFORE I DIE!
2. God is not offended by Your faith; He is actually pleased with it.
When you live with an expectation of God’s promises, you are not bothering God. You are actually honoring Him by showing him that you believe what He said. You believe in Him SO MUCH that you will never be satisfied until you become the man/woman He revealed to you that you are called to be. No matter how long it takes, and no matter how much you thank God for the journey, you will never be satisfied until you see (in your hands) what God said (in your heart). This type of consistent and relentless faith is what makes us successful in God’s Kingdom.
3. The vision may tarry, but it will surely come to pass!
(Hab 2:3 NKJV)
For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.
(Gen 17:21 CEV)
“But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.”
Abraham waited 24 years to hear those words from God. No matter how long you have been waiting, don’t give up. Your day is coming. It SHALL come to pass!!!
4. You must receive what God says by faith.
In Genesis 12, God told Abram to leave his family and everything he knew to embark on a journey where he would not know where he was going, but if he had the faith to believe, God was going to bless him, make his name great, and bless all the families of the earth through him. Abram believed God and started that journey. 24 years later, God said, “your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.”
All of this happened with words. God changed Abram’s name with a word, gave him the instructions for the circumcision in words, pronounced a blessing over Ishmael with words, named the son of promise with words, and told him exactly when Isaac would be born with words. Abraham did not physically have Isaac in his hands yet, but that made no difference. As far as Abraham was concerned, he could already see Isaac running around. God wants you to receive His words JUST LIKE it was the actual manifestation of the promise.
To live by faith, you must believe and receive what God says BEFORE it happens. If you could see it with your physical eyes, then you would not need faith. Faith believes in the UNSEEN. If you have the faith to believe the UNSEEN, if you can SEE what God said in your heart and believe it, then it is only a matter of time before everyone else sees it too, becuase your day is coming!
5. Faith believes it’s already done!
When you truly receive a Word from God, you start walking in it as if you already have it. God may not speak to you like He did to Abraham. But however God speaks, receive it! God can speak to you in prayer, while you read your Bible, in a dream while you are sleeping, in a vision while you are awake, while you are listening to a sermon, or while you are driving your car. No matter how it comes, believe and receive what God said! This is the life of faith! Your faith lays hold of God’s grace, and you get to experience the life God called you to have.
6. The life of faith requires consistency.
Abraham started his journey with God in Genesis 12. The conversation we looked at today, between God and Abraham, took place in Genesis 17. Those five chapters cover 24 years of Abraham’s life. The promised child would not come until the following year, 25 full years after God said what He said to Abraham. I bring this up today becuase I am celebrating 25 years of Today’s Word month. 25 full years of changing lives with God’s Word, grace, and power. Abraham had to believe God and remain consistent all of those years. There are many things God has spoken to me that have not come to pass yet. But I still get up every morning, seek God’s face, get His Word, and share it with you. Like Abraham, I am blessed. God has been good to me. But also like Abraham, I will never be satisfied until I receive ALL of what God promised. Anyone can serve God for a few days. But if you want to maximize your purpose and potential, you must be dedicated to serving God for the long haul… ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE! If you are still breathing, then God is not through with you! Purpose is still locked up inside of you, and if you keep going, GREATER IS COMING!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
Like Abraham, there are things I have been waiting on for a LONG TIME! No matter how long it takes, I declare that I shall never give up.
I refuse to cast away my confidence!
I refuse to relax the grip I have on my faith!
I know my day shall come. I know I will receive my breakthrough. I know it is only a matter of time!
I will never be satisfied until I see, in my hands, what I have seen in my heart!
I live in EXPECTATION of Your manifestation in my life. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
