Grace. More than a blessing over a meal. More than beauty or charm. More than a sense of what is right or proper.  Not just an act of favour or kindness.

Grace is the very power of God Himself.  In fact, it is not only what got us born-again . . . . grace is the power that will see you through the rest of your life, to do all God has called you to do and lay hold of everything He has promised.  “through [Him] also we have access by faith into this grace IN WHICH WE STAND, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” – Romans 5.2

Grace is the staying power of every believer – and it is our responsibility to take our stand firmly in that grace. 

The Apostle Paul said, “I am what I am by the grace of God!”   (I Cor. 15.10)   It was God’s grace working in and through him that enabled him to do everything he did and lay hold of everything he needed.  And it will do the same for you.

Romans 5.17 says that “….much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

When you embrace the abundance of His grace, you will reign in life through Him!   “I take my stand in the grace of God!”   

By keeping your attention flooded with His grace and keeping words of grace continually in your mouth – it will change things.  It is not us,  but the grace that is in us that changes things.

Grace comes from God. Every believer is justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus when they are born-again.  (Romans 4.24)  Grace is the reason that faith is so important.  And it answers the question why it is impossible to please God without faith.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  (Hebrews 11.6)

The reason for faith is so He can meet us in grace.  Let us explore this grace.

Romans 4.1-5, 16 (MESSAGE)

“If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it.  But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story.  What we read in the Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point.  He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.  If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift.  But if you see that the job is too  big for you, that it’s something only God can do,  and you trust Him to do it – you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and how long you worked – Well, that trusting- Him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God.  Sheer Gift!

This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does.  God’s promise arrives as pure gift.  That is the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it.  Those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them.  For Abraham is father of us all.  He is not our racial father – that’s reading the story backwards.  He is our faith father.”                                                                                             

Verse 16 in the Amplified Translation says that “….[inheriting] the promise is the outcome of  faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace….”

Faith is the door to grace.  If we could get everything we needed, and do all that needs to be done on our own, there would really be no purpose (cause) for God in our lives at all.   But , the fact is, we can’t do it on our own.  We need God, and we need His grace.

Hebrews 11.6 in the Message Bible says, “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith.  And why?  Because anyone who wants to approach  God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.”

Glory!  He cares enough to respond!  This is why we can come boldly to the Throne of Grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need – because we are confident that He will always respond.  ( Hebrews 4.16)

Inheriting what  God has promised depends entirely on faith – our trust in Him – so that it can be given as an act of grace, a free  gift and not something we earn.  Grace is a giving  power.  And God gives it freely to all who trust Him.  Grace is not only given to save, accept, adopt, and wipe out all blame –  but also to give help and supply all you need.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work.”   -II Cor. 9.8

Grace abounds so we can  abound.  It abounds so that we can have all sufficiency in all things –  and have an abundance left over to give into every good work.  Grace is giving – God giving to you, and you giving to others.  That’s why it is sufficient.

Grace is the power of sufficiency for everything you need – be it physical need, financial, emotional, relational, or spiritual.  As with any provision of God, you must flood your attention with His Word about that provision in order to experience it in your life.  (Joshua 1.8)  His word of grace is able to give and to supply.

It is important to constantly feed our spirit with what God’s Word says about grace.   And it is equally important to keep your mind filled with His grace – because that is where most struggling takes place when you are trusting God for a promise to be fulfilled.  That’s why in I Peter 1.13 we are instructed  “….gird up  the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Rest your hope fully upon the grace….   That phrase rose up in my spirit one day in prayer some time ago.  When I first heard it, I wasn’t sure I knew where it was in my Bible – But I knew it was words straight from the heart of God!

It’s not our responsibility to try to make happen what we need to happen.  Our responsibility is to rest our hope fully upon His grace.   There is such peace in that revelation.

By keeping your heart and your mind continually immersed in the grace of God, you are protecting them from vulnerability  to the lies of satan.  When the enemy tries to  implant thoughts or words into your mind, resist him immediately.  Answer every doubt immediately with the Word.(II Cor. 10.5)

Refuse to speak anything except words of grace.  Refuse to speak words contrary to what you believe you have received.  Speak words of grace continually.  Keep them in your mouth at all times. (Ephesians 4.29)

“Grace is abounding toward me now! I am all sufficient!”  Decide once and for all that because His grace is in you, you will not be defeated.  You are more than a conqueror through Him Who loves you.

There have been times in my life when I obtained something I had believed God for, only for it to be short-lived or lost soon after I got it.  I knew this was not God.  But I didn’t know what to do about it either except to pray that it wouldn’t continue happening.  Many times, it could seem like those prayers were in vain  -  but God “always responds” to those who seek His help and trust Him to do it.

One day He opened my understanding to Hebrews 11.28 – “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptable with reverence and Godly fear.”

The Kingdom of God represents the whole of our Covenant with God – including every promise and provision of that Covenant.  So basically, this verse could also mean – “….since we are receiving a gift (from God) ….let us also receive grace to sustain that gift….”

Notice that the text also says that we are receiving a Kingdom, which cannot be shaken.  Grace will set you firm, make your path unshakable, steady.  You belong to that Kingdom.  Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within you.  So grace is the sustaining power that will preserve every gift we receive from God, if we will lay hold of it and let it do its work in us.  You cannot be shaken when you are operating in  grace.

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”    - II Timothy 2.1 

We must be strong in grace.  And we must continually grow in  grace.  “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”  -  II Peter 3.18

“May the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while [or resisted satan], perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle.”     - I Peter 5.10

The verses preceding this one in I Peter 5 address the importance of walking in humility because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble – humility resulting in  “casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Then in verses 8 - 9 we are instructed “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion [ it doesn’t say he is one], seeking whom he may devour [or better stated – deceive].

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings (or testings) are  experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

The God of all grace has given us His grace to resist the devil and every evil device he would attempt to send our way.  Through grace, we can stand steadfast, immovable, in the faith, and God will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us – build us up and put us over through that grace in which we stand.

It has been stated that grace is “God’s power, His equipping, and His Anointing.”  You will see all four of these words (grace, power, equipping, anointing) used interchangeably in the New Testament, especially by the Apostle Paul.

I love that definition for the word “grace” – because it really gets it across more clearly its true meaning and application.  When you are full of grace, when God’s power, His equipping and His anointing are working in you – there is no obstacle you can’t overcome, no assignment you can’t accomplish, and no victory that cannot be attained – because it is God Himself moving and working through you – His Grace!

God has raised us up and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Jesus “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  FOR BY GRACE you have been saved through faith [ not just to be born-again but to be saved from anything you need saving from] , and that not of yourselves; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD!”

“through [Him] also we have access by faith into this GRACE IN WHICH WE STAND, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”   - Romans 5..2

By His grace we have been saved….   and BY GRACE  –  we stand!                                                                                                              

Copyright  © November 2005  

Sharah LaGail Wyatt  / First Love Ministries International

P O Box 163974  Ft Worth, TX 76161 / www.ps27fr.org