Functioning In Grace
Source
Grace is God's divine influence upon the heart that has the ability to cause success in life. The grace of God is beyond unmerited pardon, it is a divine enablement. The grace of God is what you need to have an effective and productive life of God's praise and glory.
Text:2Timothy2:1
1Thou therefore, my Son be strong in the grace that is in Christ jesue
These are the words of Paul the Apostle to his son in the faith-Timothy. To be strong in the grace that is in Christ means to take advantage or act on God's grace.
A lot of Christians are suffering for nothing; the sickness. poverty, low-level life is uncalled for, it is absolutely unnecessary. The bigger trouble they face is the inability to act on God's grace and take advantage of it!
Paul's case of suffering is a perfect example of what most Christians face. I like to read Paul's story for you on this particular issue.
Grace is the ability of God ready to supplant your weakness, it is the perfection of God's beauty amidst your Ugliness, and it is the victory that God gives at the point of defeat. This was Paul's perception of the grace of God from the bible portion we just read.
Most of the time we think we can win life's battles through human expertise, so we try all we can to make things work by our strength, the inability to bring about a change leads to frustration and confusion. This was exactly the same dilemma Paul went through in his thorn-in-the-flesh ordeal. Most bible scholars suggest that Paul actually battled with an ailment in this thorn-in-the flesh ordeal. I definitely agree with them because of what Paul said in
Text:1Corinthians 2:3
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling
Text:Galatians 4:13-14
13Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh l preached the gospel unto you at the first 14And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected but received me as an angel of God,even as Christ jesus
When you read from the New Living Translation, it plainly says Paul was sick.
When you come into Christ, prosperity is made available to you through the grace of Christ, and then it is up to you to put your faith to work and take advantage of it. You can do this by being a giver. Your giving is the way to put your faith to work and act on God's grace of prosperity. Giving is the key to your prosperity and of course you have to confess the word too.
God can cause his grace to abound towards us, so that we can possess enough and be fully furnished to every good work.