HOW TO RECEIVE AND APPLY THE GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY AUGUST 14, 2022.

SUBJECT:  HOW TO RECEIVE AND APPLY THE GRACE!

Memory verse:  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7 vs 7.) 

READ:  Luke 11 vs 1 - 4:

11:1: Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

11:2: So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come , Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11:3: Give us day by day our daily bread.

11:4: And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

INTIMATION:

In examining how grace or power of God can be received, and be applied to meet specific situations in life, the first thing is to look at our communion with Him in prayers. 

In the passage we read today, Jesus thought His disciples how to pray. Our Lord's Prayer clearly shows three things; (1) God our giver, (2) our leader, (3) our deliverer. Our duty then is to ask so that we can receive, as indicated in our memory verse. We are to do the asking and God brings His grace—His power to do the work. 

We need to pray to do the asking. Remember, "we have not because we ask not." (James 4 vs 2). Our job is to do the asking in faith, and in trust. That opens the channel for God to do our bidding. It is God who does the work, not us. How does He do it? According to the power (grace of God) that works in us.

Only God could bring about changes that you desire in your life. But our duty is to ask in faith. Get your face before the Lord on a regular basis and say, "Father, I can't help myself. I am coming to You like a little child. I am totally helpless. I lay this whole situation before You, asking for Your grace. I don't deserve Your help, Father, but You are my only hope. Please do for me what I can't do for myself."

The Lord constantly requires us to turn to Him. Why? Because when we do anything apart from Him, we take the credit and glory that rightfully belonged to Him. For this reason He will frustrate any of our own efforts to do things outside of Him. And anything done outside the grace of God will have no real lasting effect. Jesus said, "...For without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5).

 

However, our effort has a place in the Christian life. It does have a part to play. What then is our effort? Consider what Jesus said to the people seeking Him: “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  (John 6 vs 28 - 29.)

The people desired to know what is required of them to do to habitually carry out what God requires. Jesus told them that the work that God asks of them is to believe in the One whom He has sent, and in doing so they work the works of God. You can now see that the only work (singular) we do is to believe in Him, and that by that singular work of believing in Him, we have done the works (plural) of God. Therefore, the works are done by God while the only thing we do is 'believe'. 

We apply the grace by speaking out our faith and believe. You can't believe and keep quiet, but you must say it out. Jesus said in Mark 11 vs 22 - 24, "...Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea! and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." 

Why must we have that believe and assurance? It is because the believe is "...unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Ephesians 3 vs 20.)

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust and believe is in You. I am confident that You, who began the good work in me will complete and perfect it by Your grace that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all my expectations, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!