4 May 2008, 10 AM

Apostle Andre Pelser

Ephesians  2:8-10  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus  for good works, which God prepared beforehand  that we should walk in them."

The secret is to learn to live by grace through faith. How have you come so far in life? By grace through faith. How have you overcome things in your life so far? By grace through faith. How have you been saved? By grace through faith. How have you been healed? By grace through faith. How do you receive guidance? By grace through faith. How do you receive provision? By grace through faith. How many times in your life did you think that you won't make it? And how did you get through it? By grace through faith.

Not always according to what you have, but by grace through faith. That is how you hear. By grace through faith. How have you been able to make the payments you have made so far? By grace through faith. How do you manage to still serve God after all the disappointments you have had? By grace through faith. How have you been able to forgive people who have harmed you? By grace through faith. Not because they deserve it, not because you feel like it, but by grace through faith. How have you been able to support the work of the ministry financially? Not because you have it, but by grace through faith.

There is never a perfect state of existence with no problems, no attacks, no setbacks, no disappointments and no frustrations. That world does not exist here. It is called heaven and you are not there yet. We expect heaven on earth. It is part of life to learn to go through these things by grace through faith. He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Paul says to God that he does not like the thorn in his flesh, whatever that was, and he asked God three times to let this thing depart from him. And the Lord just answered Paul and said, "My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Paul just had to accept that. God wants us to learn grace, how it operates, what it is. If His grace is sufficient for you, it means that every situation you face has  sufficient grace for you.

Faith works on all levels and under all circumstances. Grace releases the substance of faith for you. By grace through faith.  Hebrews 11:1- "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good testimony." How are you going to obtain a good report at school? By grace through faith? How do you obtain a good report where you work? By grace through faith. It takes a lot of strain away from us when we realize this simple truth. Because we think we have to obtain it. We think that we have to earn it. Whereas there is a how new ball game, a whole new dimension of living, which we cannot take any credit for. "Not that any man should boast." It is by grace through faith so that none of us can boast.

Grace gifts you. It gives you something that you can use by faith. You are gifted by grace, God's grace. Grace obviates any obligation to gain merit or favour. It rules out all human merit. There can be no inter mixture of human merit because it will violate grace. It is either all grace or no grace. It requires only faith. Grace bestows Christ's merits and Christ's rightstanding before God, forever, on all those who believe on Him, in His death and His resurrection. For in Him the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily and we are complete in Him. Grace places us in an entirely new position, out of Adam in Christ.

If you stand on a table and you walk off a table you will fall because of gravity. If you are in a plane, 36 thousand feet above the ground, and get up out of seat and walk in the isle, do you stay 36 thousand feet above the ground or do you fall? No, because you are in a plane. Gravity does not have any effect on you, because you are not going down, you are walking on the same plane. If you are in a plane you are above gravity. You are in another dimension. In Christ, if you you are translated from in Adam where everything sinful drags you down, every temptation defeats you, every evil things attracts you… you move into Christ by grace through faith, you are in a different dimension. It doesn't mean that you are perfect yet, you are al least in a different dimension to cope with it. But we need to understand this. we need to see it clearly. The Holy Spirit must reveal it to us. To be baptized into Christ. Learn to be dead to sin and alive to God.

Grace, kindness, favour, pleasantness, in the Greek word, charis, means divine influence on a life that changes the heart. Can you change someone's heart? Only God can change the heart. Only God can change your core value system, the things that drives you and motivates you. God does not force you, but it is divine influence. He'll change your heart so that it will be reflected in your actions, that your heart is changed. It makes you acceptable to Him to obtain all His benefits for you to live simply in gratitude. It is a miraculous quality that makes you liberal. It gives  you special honour and make you highly favoured. That is what grace does.

Proverbs 3 says that He gives grace to the humble but He resists the proud. Zehariah 12:10 talks about the spirit of grace and supplication. John, he was man full of grace and truth. Acts 4:33 "and great grace was upon that church." I pray this for our church and for the churches relating to us, that great grace will be upon us so that we can have a divine influence on people everywhere we go that changes their hearts and that will be reflected in their actions. Acts 14, the Lord gave testimony to the word of His great grace.

The word that we preach got to have some graciousness towards it and about it. Acts 20, they testified to the grace of God when they came back from their journey. "The grace of God kept us." Romans 3:24, "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." It didn't cost you a thing, but Somebody payed the price. Christ paid with His life. Romans 5:20 where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. We shouldn't continue in sin. we are nit under law we are under grace. But how many of us make new laws for ourselves, for others to walk in and if they don't we judge them and put them in prison. We should actually get people free. Religious traditions creates new prisons. Romans 11 says that it is no more of works but of  grace. 1 Corinthians 15 says I am what I am by the grace of God. What you are at the moment is by the grace of God. 2 Corinthians 9, God is able to make all grace abound towards you that you might be liberal. That you might be able to give to others. 2 Corinthians 12:9- My grace is sufficient for you."

How to live under grace:

– Decide that you live under grace and not under the law. Don't let anybody put their laws on you. Fight to stay free under grace. Don't even make new laws for yourself. Let your speech be gracious and seasoned with salt. Respect disarms a person. By grace through faith. Grace provides and faith appropriates. Faith is the channel through which we appropriate what grace provides. Grace is the environment God creates for you so you can operate your faith. By grace through faith we obtain a good report. By grace through faith we understand. By grace through faith we pass through our Red Sea and conquer giants. By faith we inherit the promises of God. Grace releases the faith through which we can do these things. I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Faith has substance. It is pliable and flexible and can take on enormou