SUFFICIENT GRACE
(week 09/13)
OLUBI JOHNSON
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Psalms 30:5 KJV: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
1 Peter 3:7 KJV: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Grace is God’s unmerited favour that causes Him to give a measure of eternal life to our spirits based on our faith in the sufferings, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we first accept and confess the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, it is this measure of grace that gives eternal life to our spirits and gets us born-again:
Ephesians 2:8 KJV: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Romans 12:3 KJV: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
However, as we grow spiritually, this measure of grace is to grow and increase and so increase the measure of the life and power of God that flows from God into our spirits and subsequently into our souls (mind, will and emotions), bodies and circumstances.
2 Peter 3:18 KJV: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
In fact the grace of God upon us is to multiply and abound:
Romans 5:20 KJV: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
2 Peter 1:2 KJV: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Now as we grow spiritually, God allows greater and greater measures of satanic power to come against us (this is to give God a legal basis (2 Th. 1.4-6) to eternally punish Satan and ALL his demons in the lake of fire forever (Mt. 25.41, Rev. 20.10)); but this satanic opposition should be overcome by greater increase of the grace of God given to us.
In other words, at every point in time of our spiritual lives, His grace should be sufficient:
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 KJV: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Observe here that God did not remove Satan’s messenger and his tribulations: He wanted Paul to grow in grace and receive and release the grace of God in sufficient measure to overcome Satan’s messenger. God expects us too to grow in grace to overcome our challenges and not to ask God to remove the problems but rather to use sufficient grace to overcome them!
In practice however, we see many Christians being defeated by Satan by sin, sickness, poverty and death; why is this so IF TRULY HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT?
This happens because many Christians do not grow in grace SUFFICIENTLY because of pride and lack the knowledge of how to receive and release the grace of God in SUFFICIENT measure: hence this message.
James 4:6-7 KJV: But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Hosea 4:6 NIV: my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
THE GRACE OF YESTERDAY WILL NOT BE SUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY: WE MUST GROW IN GRACE DAILY!
How then do we grow in grace?
By growing in humility and so increasing in revelation knowledge and wisdom.
1 Peter 5:5-6 KJV: Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Proverbs 11:2 KJV: When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Humility is submitting to the will of God when we do not feel like it, especially in prayer; so we should exercise humility daily by acting on God’s Word when we do not feel like it; and also by regular fasting.
Psalms 35:13 KJV: But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
As we do this as daily and weekly habits (Is.58.6-13), we will continuously grow in grace and find in practice that His GRACE IS ALWAYS SUFFICIENT TO GIVE US VICTORY OVER ANY SATANIC ATTACK.
2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
