THE TRANSFORMING CHURCH
SUNDAY SERVICE
May 26th, 2024 (2nd Service)
YEAR OF FLOURISHING AND THRIVING SUPERNATURALLY
Minister: Pastor Sunday Adebamiro
Text: 1st Corinthians 15:9-10 (NKJV)
Topic: FLOURISHING AND THRIVING THROUGH THE GRACE OF GOD
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Grace is undeserved and unmerited favor of God. It gives you what ordinary your qualifications cannot give. Grace is God’s uncaused goodness and love at work through you and in you. Grace is all the riches of God that is enveloped in Christ Jesus.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GRACE:
- Grace gives Access:
We have access to everything that Christ represents. It gives us special treatment.
- Grace gives Advantage:
Ecclesiastes 9: 11 (NLT)
“I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.”
Grace can make you be at the right place, at the right time. Essentially, grace makes the difference. There are some things God gives you access to not because of your skills, talents or intelligence but because of His grace.
Ephesians 3: 8 (NKJV)
“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,”
Paul admitted to the grace of God for all his accomplishments. Do not try to venture into something that you have not been graced for. The reason people feel frustrated or do not flourish sometimes is because they are doing things that the grace of God does not cover them for. We must ensure that we do not step outside what God has given us grace for.
Romans 11: 5 (NKJV)
“Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”
The reason we are selected is simply because of grace. God does not choose the way the world chooses. The world gives power to the most influential, but our God gives and increases power and strength to the weak, that is what grace is.
Isaiah 40: 29 (NKJV)
“He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.”
Romans 11: 6 (NKJV)
“And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.”
As a child of God, some things would come to you by work and some by grace. There is a place for hard-work and also a place for grace. You cannot depend on work alone. A graced man is not threatened by the grace of others. Know what you are graced for and stay in it.
- Grace makes you standout:
Genesis 6:6-8 (NKJV)
“And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
Every living thing was wiped out by the flood, but Noah and his household, by the grace of God, were spared. Grace is what will exempt you or make you stand out in life. Whatever negative pattern that trails others, grace could make you an exemption towards.
Daniel 6: 1 – 3 (NKJV)
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.”
Daniel stood out from the other governors not because of how he dressed or spoke, but because of the excellent spirit of God found in him. It is not about where you were born or how you were raised, but a matter of grace that turns the ordinary into extraordinary. A graced man cannot be confined or limited.
- Grace empowers:
It empowers you to prosper in what God has called you to do. Grace enables and it is an empowerment.
Proverbs 10: 22 (NIV)
“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”
In grace is embedded salvation, financial prosperity, favor, wealth and other blessings associated. This means that grace should reflect in everything that you do. It should be an invisible force in your life that produces visible results. Grace should be for you to carry out extraordinary exploits.