Grace to be Strong

Text: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done with love.

Topic: Grace to be Strong
Introduction: Weakness has taken over the church, but not the weakness that the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 12, rather this weakness we fine in the church is a weakness that derives from a lack to two things; faith and submission. This truth is evident in today’s text. As Paul lays out the logistics of his ministry itinerary he highlights to brothers, prior to our text of focus; Timothy and Apollos.

Look at verse 10 & 11 of chapter 16
10 And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.
11 Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.

Although, Timothy was serving the same God as Paul and in the same ministry, he still was focused more on his past, the people and the situations than on God himself.
We must have faith to know that the same God that saved us has the power to keep us, and the same God that gave us the vision will supply all we need to fulfill it.

Now check out verse 12
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

When you study the background of Apollos, you will find that he was a well to do and well educated Jew from Alexandria. He knew about God through his study of the scriptures but had no personal relationship with Him. After being lead to faith through Priscilla and Aquila, he join Paul’s ministry team. In the text we find him refusing Paul’s urging to join him in ministry @ Rome.
Despite what we know or how we feel God’s work must be done. All of us at times are unwilling to do what the Lord has required of us, but we must get over ourselves and submit to the will of God so that supernatural things can happen through us.

Now to the text of Focus;
Paul give his audience Five directives that will bring about excellence in life;
Watch - be alert and ready for what comes your way.
Stand firm in faith - Don’t let circumstances or opposition stop you from doing God’s will.
Be Brave - Go and do what others are afraid to.
Be Strong - Know that God has given you His ability.
Let love be the reason you do whatever you do.

Grace to be BOLD

Text of Focus: ACTS 4:23-31
Topic: Grace to be Bold

Introduction: It has never been the will of God that His children be; timid, fearful, unadventurous nor stagnant. The truth of God concerning the demeanor of His people is the exact opposite, in reality it is the purpose of God that His servants operate as those who are; intrepid, confident, audacious living in a spirit of BOLDNESS.

For far to long the enemy has projected this image of believer as those hunched over from the weights of life on one shoulder and on the other shoulder the burden of their past sin & present short comings. In reality there is only one thing that God has called us to carry and that is the cross of Christ; which is no longer a sign of guilt and shame, but now is a symbol of power and victory.

The truth of the matter is God has called his followers to be bold, regardless of the situation or opposition. Such is the case with today’s text.

In order to fully understand the response that is highlighted in our text of focus we must go back to chapter 3 of the book of Acts to view and understand the cause.

Acts 3:1-10 tells us that as the Apostles Peter & John were on their way to the temple to pray a lame man cries out them begging for alms, instead of granting his request they through the power of the Holy Spirit, give him something far greater, the ability to walk. As a result of this miracle, those who witness this phenomenon, filled with wonder and amazement, respond by praising God.

{Parenthetical note I:
The appropriate response to acts of God done through anyone is praise to God, not accolades to man.}

Pressing on to the commencement of chapter 4 of Acts, we find the Priests, Temple Guards and Sadducees so disturbed by what the Apostles did and how the people responded they place Peter & John in jail. On the following day a trial is held for the two “insurrectionist.” In verse 7 the question is asked of them; “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter replies in such a confident way, the prosecutors immediately realized that what this man knew came, not from schooling but, from God Himself.

{Parenthetical note II:
When you are doing great work for the Lord opposition will come, but you have to have the confidence to know that the same God that empowered you to do the work, will empower you to defend it.}

Fearing that this uncontrived, uncontested boldness would spread to all the people of the region, in verse 17 the Council orders them not to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus. As a testament their faithfulness to the call of God desire to see God’s kingdom advance they reply in verse 20, facing threats on every hand, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

{Parenthetical note III:
Preservation of self and resources must never trump your passion to please God.}

Now to the text of Focus

Acts 4:23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
The people spoken of in this verse were the believers who followed Peter & John’s ministry. It is awesome to note that they did not respond to the judgement of the Council or the threats to their leaders with violence, instead they peacefully at shared the news with those they confided.

{Parenthetical note IV:
Use wisdom in unfavorable situations and know who to confide in.}

4:24-30 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples devise futile things? 26 ‘The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

In response to the judgements and threats that had been made towards their leaders, the Church unified themselves a prayed to the Lord. This reveals the secret to personal and corporate boldness through the grace of God, its all about the proper acknowledgement, lets take a look;
They acknowledged the Trinity and its ability.
They acknowledged the futileness of the enemy.
They acknowledged the sovereignty of God.
They acknowledged the power of the word of God.

4:31And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
As a result of the unity, specificity and potency of their prayer, the Lord revealed himself in two awesome ways
He Shook the place where they were. This was a symbol of sifting; removing the thing of lessor value to reveal the thing of greater value.
He filled them with His Holy Spirit. This speaks of being endowed with supernatural ability to face and do all that God has set forth.
They used His Spirit to speak His word with with boldness, and time you use the Spirit of God to to the will of God, you can stand bold and know that you will be successful.

The Application of Grace

Lesson Premise
The grace which God has so benevolently showered on us as believers is amazing and life changing. However, if we as believers never proactively engage in that grace, sadly we will not see amazing things happen and our lives will not differ much from its current condition. As wonderful of a gift as it is, grace is not a prize to be admired, but a tool be used in our efforts to become who God created us to be. In this lesson we will study the logistics of God’s grace and the implications that it presents to the believer.

The application of Grace
Text of Focus: 2 Peter 1:2-11 NASB
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in(through) the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
Peter begins his missive by informing his audience that true grace and peace can only be multiplied
by the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God the Father. This knowledge which Peter speaks of is not
merely knowing God’s attributes through the study of His word, but knowing and reflecting His character which He only reveals to those whom He is in intimate relationship with.

3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and(then) godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Contrary to popular belief this verse has nothing to do with any carnal trappings. God would not squander His divine power on anything that could not transcend the physical realm. The life that the writer speaks of is the spiritual life of believers that is regenerated at the point of conversion. The godliness refers the ability to operate in carnal situations from a perspective likened unto God. As we grow in awareness of our spiritual livelihood and Godly abilities we will realize that the grace which we freely partake of was most expensive. Christ traded His glory for grace to share with us and because He was such an excellent steward over what Father God gave Him that He traded His Sonship for Lordship (Philippians 2:5-11).

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Through the glory and excellence of Christ we have been granted precious and magnificent promises, which are the objects of our faith that cause us to rely more on the spirit and less on the flesh, which the world was corrupted.

5-7 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
In light of the major moves that Christ has made on our behalf, the Apostle gives us our logistical expectations, that we are fully capable of carrying out if we operate through God’s grace;
Diligence - We must have a level of consistency in our relationship with God and his ministry.
Faith - Be confident in the fact that the same God that saved you, has the ability to empower you.
Moral Excellence - Strive above grace not beneath it. Example: “I don’t have to be entangled with because God has given me the grace to be holy, not We’ll even thought I mess up a lot God’s grace is sufficient.”
Knowledge - Learn God’s will then prove that you know it by living it.
Self-control - Only say and do what you have learned from the Lord, letting the God in you rule you.
Perseverance - Don’t give up, under any circumstances.
Godliness - Do what God would do even, when no one is watching.
Brotherly Kindness - Let wisdom and benevolence govern all your human relationships.
Love - Be willing to sacrifice all, only to satisfy the Godly longing of your heart.


8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you strive and thrive in these qualities you will enhance the persona of God in the faces of those who have yet to come into relationship with Christ.

9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
If you do not make these qualities a priority in your life, you will lose the ability to see yourself the way God created you to be, and be forced to rely on your past to chart your future.

10-11 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our bLord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Prove to yourself that you are saved, resurrected and transformed by acting like it. When Life on this side has concluded we will have the blessed heavenly reward for our faithfulness on Earth.

Grace to be HOLY

- Romans 6:12-14 (NKJV)

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Topic: GRACE to be HOLY
Holiness for the believer does not mean that you never sin, but that you sin less and you are integral about your sins / no cover ups / no blame games / no taking others down with you.

The 6th chapter of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome opens with him addressing a question that he believed to arise among the Romans after hearing of the abounding grace of God which was at the immediate deposal of every believer at the expense of Jesus Christ through His death, burial and resurrection. In essence the question was simply “since we have this grace that is given on an as needed basis, shouldn’t we sin more so the we can get more grace?”

Romans were indulgent by nature and Paul knew it, therefore he replied in such a way that would remove any attempt of carnal over indulgence at the expense of Jesus Christ. In His reply to the roman church he reveals an awesome truth regarding the new life of the believer. Paul declares that all who have been baptized into Christ have died to sin and have been resurrected to new life in Christ. This death to sin which the apostle speaks of indicates our freedom from the bondage and eternal sting of sin, which means we no longer have to sin habitually or be classified according to our sins, “I did what I did but I'm not what I've done!” -Dr. Todd Hall

This declaration can only be made by those who have been buried with Christ and resurrected in His glory, which means that you no longer live to please yourself but instead you live to please Christ.

Before we can bask in the riches of God’s grace, we must introspectively ask ourselves a question;
Have you been resurrected or merely resuscitated?
To resuscitate means to revive to a previous state from unconsciousness or apparent death. (some of us want to be saved from our situations but not from our sin)
To resurrect means to restore (a dead person) to life.
You know you’ve been resurrected when the things you used to do with ease not it kills you to do it.
As resurrected members of the body of Christ we have been given the access to the wealth of the grace of God which, if used properly will render us holy individuals.

To the text:
12: In this verse Paul implores us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, which means that we can render the lordship of our bodies to whom ever we chose. Your heart & soul may belong to God but who does your body belong to? Remember: A. King, no matter how powerful he is can only reign as long as his people are willing to be subject to him.”\

13 In the Geek text this verse reads “do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness.

I read this verse from the Greek to highlight the two different tenses in which the word present is used. In the first tense present is used as a present participle; which indicates that its continuous without out a definite end. If you keep on sinning you’re going to keep on sinning and sin only attaches itself to parts of you that you can’t control. “you may say no in your mind, but sin will attach itself to your flesh so bad that you body will start telling you mind that you got to have it.

The second tense that present is used is present perfect, which speaks of a definite complete action which happened before now. Which means its always been God’s will for you be free from sin and live in righteousness, He’s just waiting on you to embrace what He’s already done!

14: The Apostle culminates his statement by professing over the people, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Finally he reveals to us the sharp dichotomy between the former dispensation and the dispensation we now live in;

Under the law we were born in sin, but under grace we can be born again!

Under the law if we were was sick had to the priest, but under grace by His strips we are healed!

Under the law we had to pay for our sin, but under grace He became the ransom for many!

Under the law we couldn’t see God, but under grace He came to save us!

Under the law if we killed others we had to die, but under grace He died for us!

Under the law the sacrifices was burned up , but under grace our sacrifice JESUS Rose up!