LIVING ON GRACE

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" 2 Corinthians 9:8
"For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed." Romans 15:18
"With great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33

There is a saying that I have used over the years that personally means more to me than ever. It simply states: Christian living is either supernatural or it is nothing. I have been a Christian for 37 years. I believe that the call to deny ourselves, to love God and others,to do the works of Jesus like healing the sick, to return good for evil, to forgive seventy times seven, to endure one another, to obey His commands, and to keep doing this with joy for fifty, sixty, or seventy years is just not possible to the natural human. It is only possible to do this supernaturally.

I am thankful that the scriptures affirm this.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Colossians 1:10-11 that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy;

It truly takes supernatural power to live and endure for Christ until we die. So we must seek the supernatural power of God’s sovereign grace daily in order to be the church and to be a Christian. Paul confirmed with his own words the absolute necessity of God’s grace for his ministry. He said, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not 1, but the grace of God with me" (I Corinthians 15:10).

Paul realized that the first part of this verse might be misunderstood. Someone might say, "See, he is telling us that God gave him grace in the past and now Paul is simply responding to that grace, out of gratitude or a sense of duty, by working for God as hard as he can." {This is exactly how some look at the Christian life!} That would be a partial, but very distorted, truth. It is not the picture of Christian living Paul wants to leave in our minds. So he goes on to say, "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

Paul says that, at every moment, the grace of God enabled his work. Does it really say that? Doesn't it just say that the grace of God [worked] with Paul? No, it says more. We have to come to terms with the words, "Yet not I." Paul wants to exalt the moment-by-moment grace of God in such a way that it is clear that he himself is not the decisive doer of this work. "Yet not I. "

Now the paradox is that nevertheless, Paul is a doer of this work. "I worked harder than any of them." He worked. But he said, it was the grace of God "with me." If we let all the parts of this verse stand, the end result is this: grace was the decisive doer in Paul's work.

This means that, as Paul faced each day’s ministry burden, he had a firm conviction and lived out that conviction with a humble, dependent posture and attitude that unless God’s grace was given for that day’s work, he would not be able to do it. He recalled the words of Jesus, "Apart from Me you, can do nothing’ (John 15:5). So he prayed for fresh supernatural grace for the day, and he trusted in the promise that it would come with power. "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Then he acted with all his might. And when he came to the end of the day, he called his might the might of grace and gave God the glory. "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me." Or, with different words, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13); ""I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"(Galatians 2:20). So, God’s grace did not replace Paul's effort; it enabled and carried it. No wonder Paul could say His grace toward me did not prove vain! Grace made Paul what he was. Grace gave him the courage to be who he was. Grace energized him to accomplish what he did. Grace was the silent partner and his constant traveling companion.

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Heb.13: 20-21

God himself, graciously arriving each moment, brings grace into the present moment. So when Paul describes the effect of the grace of God that was with him he says, "I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed" (Romans 15:18). The power we need for today’s ministry is the today grace of the omnipotent Christ, who will always, be there for us..

So how do we tap into this grace that we need to live supernaturally? Prayer connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for today's living for Christ.

Hebrews 4:16 tells us, "Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” The Greek original behind the phrase "grace to help in time of need" can be translated literally, "grace for a well-timed help."' The point is that prayer is the way to find God’s grace for a well-timed help. This grace always arrives from the "throne of grace" on time. The phrase, "throne of grace" means that grace comes from the king of the Universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:8). His timing is perfect, but it is rarely ours: "For a thousand years in [his] sight are like yesterday when it passes by" (Psalm 90:4). At the global level, he sets the times for nations to rise and fall (Acts 17:26). And at the personal level, "My times are in [his] hands" (Psalm 31:15). When we wonder about the timing of grace, we must think on the 'throne of grace." Nothing can hinder God's plan to send grace when it will be best for us. God’s grace is always well timed.

The need for grace is the constant plea of the praying psalmists. They pray for it again and again to meet every need. They leave every minister a model of daily dependence on grace for every emergency. They cry out for grace when they need help: "Hear, 0 Lord, and be gracious to me; 0 Lord, be Thou my helper" (Psalm 30:10). They cry out for grace when they are weak: "Turn to me, and be gracious to me; 0 grant Thy strength to Thy servant" (Psalm 86:16). They cry out for grace when they need healing: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, 0 Lord" (Psalm 6:2). They cry out for grace when they are afflicted by enemies: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord; behold my affliction from those who hate me" (Psalm 9:13). They cry out for grace when they are lonely: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted" (Psalm 25:16). They cry out for grace when they are grieving: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief" (Psalm 31:9). They cry out for grace when they have sinned: "O Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee" (Psalm 41:4).

Once we are persuaded that the normal Christian life is supernatural, if we desire to “be” Christians, we will be on our knees. His grace is available to each of you.

1 Corinthians. 2:1-5, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Habakkuk. 3:17-19, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.


Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
John Newton

Learning to live on grace,
Pastor Bill