121 - Reigning in Life by Grace#
121 - Reigning in Life by Grace
(JP Text Group - Organized by Grace Grass)
Brothers and sisters, peace be with you. The topic of sharing today is: Reigning in Life.
Romans 5:12-21.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. 13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone's account where there is no law.
14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us first pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for giving Your children the power to overcome the world and reign in life. When we accept Jesus and allow You to reign in our lives, we no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus, and our lives become different, and we can overcome all things.
In everything, we can glorify the name of Jesus, because it is not by our own strength, but by the strength that Jesus gives us. Every day we receive Jesus' abundant grace and live in Your blessings. By faith, we are all justified. When we know our identity, we can live a righteous life.
Lord, we bring those who are burdened and troubled into Your gracious hands. You are in our midst, and at this moment, You will touch their hearts, giving them rest, and those with problems can find answers before You. Bless this time, and may the Holy Spirit guide everyone. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!
What is the purpose of believing in Jesus? Some say it is to enter the kingdom of heaven. If it is just to enter the kingdom of heaven, we are already people of the kingdom. Believing in Jesus is not just for entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said He came to give life to the sheep, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jesus wants to give you abundant life while you are alive. What is abundant life? Some Christians often fail, are often defeated by sin, or are used by the devil, feeling guilty and condemned, or are troubled by illness and anxiety. Some are worried about finances and relationships. Such people are not living abundant lives. How can one live an abundant life? God's word is that you will surely reign in life.
Verse 17 says: "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace..."
Is this referring to us? We are the ones who receive abundant grace and are granted righteousness. Brothers and sisters, do you know your identity in life includes these two things? The first is that all who believe in Jesus Christ are recipients of God's marvelous, or rather, great grace. Amen! Grace is what we do not deserve, but God pours it out upon us, giving us His blessings without reservation. This is called abundant grace, not a little grace, not a small favor, but God's abundant grace, like a waterfall, like a flood, this grace is given to us from the kingdom of heaven.
The other is that we are granted righteousness. We are called righteous and justified by faith, which is also God's grace. It is not because our behavior is better than others, nor because we have believed for a certain period that we are called righteous. At the moment you believe in Jesus, by faith, believing that Jesus Christ is your Savior and the Lord of your life, God says: "By faith, you are justified."
Christians have these two things in life: First, they have received abundant grace. Second, they have received the righteousness given by God. That righteousness is not our own; it is that of Jesus Christ. Just like the traditional Chinese character for "righteousness" (義), how is it written? The bottom part is "I," and the top part is "sheep." When are we called righteous? When Jesus is above you, when Jesus is your head, you are called righteous.
Do not let other things reign in your life. If other things reign, you will often fall into failure. Reigning in life is a blessing given to every child of Jesus Christ. You can reign in life through Jesus. Amen! To reign means, in the original Greek, to rule over the things you encounter, to govern your environment like a king. Brothers and sisters, if a country's president handles a small matter, is it simple? Very simple. You worry every day about your child's schooling. If a king were to handle the matter, wouldn't it be very simple? For some, they have the power and ability to handle certain matters, so it becomes very easy, right?
Brothers and sisters, Jesus wants you to understand that you can reign in life. Jesus can handle all matters, no matter what you encounter; Jesus has the ability to handle it, and He has given that ability to you. Jesus wants you to face life like He does. How did Jesus face life? When Jesus was on earth, did He encounter difficulties? Yes, He did. But how did Jesus handle them? In the Old Testament, when someone had leprosy, it was a desperate situation because there was no way to heal it, and no one could heal him. He could only choose to stay away from people, lonely, and slowly die. But when Jesus came, the person who was originally in despair came to seek Jesus, and when he was willing to believe in Jesus, his life would turn around and regain hope. Amen!
When the leper came to seek Jesus, he said: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Did Jesus say, "Stay away from me? I can't solve your problem; go find a leprosy doctor"? Jesus did not push him away. Jesus said, "I am willing; be clean." This is how our Lord Jesus Christ handles matters. All who seek Jesus, He does not reject them but instead gives His grace to these people. Amen! Many problems that appeared before Jesus were very simple for Him, and He had the faith to handle them.
When the storm came, the disciples were very afraid and said: "Teacher, we are going to die!" But what did Jesus say? "Be still! Be quiet!" He often lived a reigning life because He knew He was the Son of God, and He lived a reigning life. Unfortunately, many Christians are deceived by the devil and do not know they are living as princes; they think they are insignificant and owe much. Therefore, they cannot live a reigning life.
How can one live a reigning life? It is just as we said earlier, to rule over the matters and environments you encounter like a king. Look at how Jesus handled these matters; you need to learn from Jesus' example and recognize the authority of the Lord Jesus in your life. Amen!
If you do not see yourself reigning in life, what will you see? You will see many failures, many problems, and many deaths. In your life, there is either life or there is certainly death. Open the news, turn on the TV, and you will see many terrifying things, some diseases, natural disasters, and man-made calamities. These are all messages about death. You come to church, and here it tells you that Jesus Christ reigns. You can live this reigning life.
The scripture we read tells us that sin entered the world through one man.
Romans 5:12: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."
"Sin" entered the world through one man; who is that one man? It is Adam. When I looked up the original text, it mentioned that "sin" is a noun, not a verb. It does not say we commit sin; it refers to a noun.
So why are people called sinners? Because Adam sinned. Why are we called sinners? Is it because of Adam's sin? Brothers and sisters, can this be avoided? No matter what your identity is, once you are born, you have already become a sinner because of the sin Adam committed in the Garden of Eden; death reigned. After Adam sinned, what is the wage of sin? The wage of sin is death. So the scripture we just read says, (Romans 5:21) "Just as sin reigned in death..."
Brothers and sisters, if sin reigns, the result is that death comes to all. It later mentions, "In the same way, grace also reigns through righteousness." Grace reigning brings eternal life. Amen!
Will you let sin reign in your life, or will you let grace reign in your life? This is particularly important. Many people enter the church and are constantly asked to confess their sins. It seems that apart from confessing sins, there is nothing else.
Someone told me: "Teacher Ren, our church basically goes from confession to confession."
I said: "Don't you know what kind of life Jesus wants us to live?" The Christian life should not be a life that goes from confession to confession; it should be a life that goes from faith to faith. Amen! Many Christians still do not dare to call themselves righteous, saying it is because they are still constantly sinning.
Let us read 1 Corinthians 15:45, "So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit."
Do you see the difference? Adam was created by God, while Jesus, the last Adam! He was not created; He is Spirit Himself. Was Adam created by the Spirit of God? In the beginning, there was no one; the Bible tells us that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. This means that the Spirit itself is not bound by time and will not perish.
But Adam is a man, and life has a time limit. If he did not sin, he would have eternal life, but unfortunately, he sinned, so life has a time limit. However, the last Adam, our Jesus Christ, became a life-giving spirit. So when you accept Jesus, the living spirit enters your heart. Amen!
Do not think that we are called sinners because we are still sinning. In the past, it was believed that because we sinned, we became sinners; this is what the laws of the world determine. You commit a crime, and you become a sinner. But in the Bible, it is not like that. The Bible tells us that it is because Adam sinned that you are a sinner. Does a sinner doing good deeds stop being a sinner? No. If you are a sinner, doing good deeds does not change that. Can you understand, brothers and sisters? You can do good deeds your whole life, and you are still a sinner. Because your identity cannot change; life is like that.
How can one become righteous? By relying on your good behavior? By believing in a religion? That is far from possible. Only through the death of Jesus Christ can one be justified by faith. Amen! The wage of sin is death. If you want to pay off your sin debt, there is one way: you die and accept God's judgment; that is the wage.
But God does not want sinners to die. He wants people to live. God allowed His Son—Jesus Christ—to die for our sins. When He shed His precious blood, all your sins were forgiven. When He rose from the dead, you were justified. This is how we are called righteous by God.
Let me ask you another question, brothers and sisters: You were originally a sinner, but now through the death of Jesus, you have become righteous. Do righteous people make mistakes? Yes. If they make mistakes, are they still righteous? Yes. When a righteous person sins, are they a sinner or a righteous person? A righteous person. Brothers and sisters, you must understand this. Just like your son can make mistakes, but he is still your son. You cannot say that if your son makes a mistake, you will sever the relationship and only restore it when he admits his mistake.
Our relationship with God is established when you accept Jesus. We are God's children, and He is our Father. This relationship cannot be severed. Do not forget who connected us; Jesus, with His own blood, established peace between us and God. The Bible says, what can separate you from the love of God? Nothing! Not even death, brothers and sisters.
Many brothers and sisters cannot reign in life because they do not feel what Jesus has done for them; they feel they are still sinning, that God will punish them, that God will discipline them, so their relationship with God remains distant. If grace does not reign in your life, then sin will certainly reign in your life.
Many Christians focus on sin every day, saying, "Lord, please tell me if I have sinned..." If you focus on your shortcomings every day, is sin reigning in your life? It brings death. So this person is often confused and often has problems because sin reigns in their life.
Verse 21 says, "Just as sin reigned in death..."
I hope our brothers and sisters are messages of life. Eternal life is not the same as entering the kingdom of heaven; eternal life refers to the abundant blessings of God. Jesus hopes that your life is filled with His abundant blessings. Under the New Covenant, we are called righteous, not because our behavior is righteous, but because Jesus' behavior is righteous. As mentioned earlier, through one trespass, all were condemned; it was Adam's bad behavior that led to our condemnation. Likewise, through one righteous act, who is the one righteous act? Yes, it is Jesus' good behavior that satisfied God's conditions, and you are blessed by God because of Jesus' good behavior.
Therefore, in your life, there should not be "I, I, I..." but "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus..." Always let Jesus fill your heart, and you will surely reign in life because Jesus represents grace and truth. Letting Jesus fill your heart is equivalent to letting grace reign in your life. Or simply put, letting Jesus reign in your life is actually letting grace reign in your life, letting eternal life reign in your life.
Thank God, the righteousness we have received is entirely because of the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus, on the cross. Therefore, the secret to reigning in life is to accept what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Accept this life-giving spirit, brothers and sisters, this is not just a person; you are accepting a life-giving spirit, which means you are allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you in your life. Everything about you will change.
I emphasize again that we are not under the law but in the Spirit. Amen! Although we do not keep the Ten Commandments, the Holy Spirit will guide you. The Ten Commandments cannot give you the strength to overcome sin, but the Holy Spirit absolutely has the power to give you strength to overcome sin. Because the last Adam became a life-giving spirit, relying on ourselves always leads to death, but relying on Jesus will surely lead you to victory.
Brothers and sisters, the first thing to believe is that we can reign in life through Jesus. What does reigning in life refer to? In fact, God wants you to prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. This means that your physical health and prosperity are related to your spirit. Whose spirit is inside you? The spirit of Jesus Christ, which is the Holy Spirit, wants to guide you, and you will surely prosper in all things and be in health.
Is Jesus prosperous in all things? "When a person gets sick and goes to the hospital, some doctors say: 'I'm sorry, we did our best.' But Jesus never says such words; Jesus says: 'I'm sorry, I did my best.' This will never come out of Jesus' mouth because He is the life-giving spirit. What kind of God is He? The God who makes the nonexistent exist and raises the dead.
Whatever aspect of your life has encountered death, Jesus can resurrect it. Thank and praise the Lord, just as mentioned earlier, if you believe Jesus can heal you, Jesus can heal you. Illness is meant to bring death. Deuteronomy 28 clearly tells us that the purpose of illness is to bring death, but the spirit of Jesus Christ is to give you life. God wants you to prosper in all things and be in health.
God does not want you to live in poverty and failure; He wants you to be the head and not the tail. If you are in business, God wants your business to be the best; if you are a housewife, God wants the family you raise and the children you bring up to be the best. Thank the Lord! If you are a student, God hopes you excel in all subjects. Amen! God does not want you to work just for the sake of working; He wants you to know you are already blessed. You are to manifest God's glory in your work because God wants to bless you in your position, and you are to become a blessing to others.
No matter what you are currently engaged in, you can reign in life through Jesus. When He reigns in your life, you can overcome sin. Amen! You can also overcome all dark powers. Thank the Lord for overcoming discouragement; overcoming poverty; overcoming all kinds of insults, and overcoming all kinds of weaknesses and illnesses.
Accidents do not come from God, but Jesus can help you overcome all of this. How to do it? It is actually very simple; you must focus your eyes solely on Jesus. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not good because it makes you self-centered and separates good from evil, leading to self-righteousness, no longer centered on God's righteousness. This is the terrifying aspect of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the past, Adam's standard was God, but after he ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the standard became himself. How do conflicts arise between people? It is because the standard has become oneself, and everyone thinks they are right, and problems arise.
First, restore God's reign in your life. Let Jesus' standard become your standard. Keep your eyes on God's goodness, and you can overcome evil by God's power. Do not always think: "How can I overcome evil?" Why think about this? Just keep your eyes on God's goodness and say: "My God is a good God, a joyful God, a God who gives peace; a victorious God." By constantly declaring God's power, you will naturally overcome evil.
People say: "You always talk about grace; talking about grace means people will sin intentionally, right?" Where is their focus? On sin. You see, they always think that if you talk about grace, people will sin. If I don't talk about grace, will people still sin? It has nothing to do with what is being said; the key is what you believe.
I am just telling brothers and sisters how to reign in life, which is to focus your eyes on God's goodness, and you can let goodness overcome evil. If you focus your eyes on God's grace, you can reign in life. Grace reigns through what? Through "righteousness." Amen, you are righteous before God, and you can reign through God's grace, through righteousness.
Many churches disagree with declaring that we are righteous in Christ. "Why do you always declare that you are righteous? Aren't you sinning?" They always want to direct people's focus to sin, but God tells us that we are justified because of Jesus, because of the last Adam. When you declare: "I am in Christ; I have been justified by faith; I am righteous, holy, and loved by God," you are declaring God's goodness upon you, and Jesus' power upon you, and you will naturally overcome evil and sin.
Is Jesus greater or is sin greater? Of course, Jesus is greater. The law was added so that trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace increased all the more. Do not fall into another extreme. That is, to sin vigorously and let grace abound! It is not like that. The meaning of this statement is to express that if sin reigns in your life, it will inevitably bring you death. Willing grace to reign in your life will certainly bring you abundant life. It does not mean to sin intentionally; always keep your focus on God's grace.
What is grace? It is what you do not deserve, what you are unworthy of, what you should not receive. God says, "I give it to you freely." Amen! No matter what kind of work you are engaged in, you can reign in life because Jesus is in your life, and you can overcome all the devil's schemes through Jesus. The power to reign does not depend on your family background, your level of education, how beautiful you are, or how much money you have in the bank. These are not the strength and basis for your reign; it is solely based on your belief in Jesus. Amen!
Last night I watched a movie that had a story about a young Jewish rabbi. This young man made a mistake, and he told this young man how to make choices. There was a very outstanding young man who had lived in the Jewish rabbi's church since childhood, following the rabbi's teachings, influenced by the rabbi, very smart, and read the Bible at a young age. By the time he was twenty, he could explain the Bible better than the forty-year-old rabbis. All the rabbis said, "This young man, your ability is truly remarkable; your explanations of the Bible are so beautiful that we all admire you. We suggest you become our rabbi."
But this young man refused. His parents were very angry and said, "Do you know how many people want to become a rabbi? Why don't you go?" This young man said: "I understand the Bible very well and can explain it perfectly, but one thing: I do not have this God in my heart, so I cannot do what a rabbi does."
Brothers and sisters, can you understand this meaning? Even if you understand the Bible well and know everything, if you do not let God reign in your life, that is important.
If there is no Jesus in life, the knowledge you have cannot save you; experiences cannot save you. Only when Jesus reigns in your life will you be different. Believing in Jesus is absolutely not just knowledge, or an experience, or saying "I already know," but every day, let Jesus fill your life, fill your daily life, and in everything, let Jesus take the lead. Let the last Adam, this life-giving spirit, guide you. Your life will no longer be the same.
Reigning in life through the Lord Jesus is completely different from relying on your own wisdom. The former is based on God's eternal promise. The term "reign" in Greek in ancient Rome refers to the royal court. This means you can rule your life like a king. It is not about how many years later you will be like Jesus. It is about today. Amen!
At this moment, let Jesus rule your life. You already have the power of a king. Those who believe will have miracles following them; they can cast out demons, take up serpents, and lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. This is present tense; it means that if you believe now, He can accomplish things in your life now. Amen! Simply look to the Lord Jesus for provision; He can pull you out of all kinds of predicaments, diseases, and pains. Do not rely on yourself; do not rely on your own wisdom and efforts. Let God save you. Amen!
This is similar to a person who cannot swim falling into the water; the only one he can rely on is someone who can swim to save him or someone on the shore to rescue him. He absolutely cannot rely on his own efforts. The more he relies on himself, the worse the problem becomes. Amen! How does the person on the shore save this person? He tells him to give up his efforts. Amen! What will happen if he keeps trying to save himself? Someone says, "I have a book of quick swimming techniques," and throws it to him. Can he save himself? No. You say, "I will tell you the secret of swimming." Is that useful? Not at all. What he needs is for you to reach out or use something to pull him out of the water. He cannot save himself.
In life, when do you need Jesus? First, acknowledge that you cannot, and then you will rely on Jesus. If you feel you can, if you think you can do it this way or that way, you are still relying on yourself. A person who is about to drown, if someone goes to save him, he is thrashing around in the water, which is very dangerous; he might drown the rescuer too. What can he do? Stop all his movements and simply let that person pull him up. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, can you give up your own thoughts and solely rely on the power of Jesus Christ? If you say: "Lord, I truly cannot do this; please help me, save me." Amen! Only then can you come out of such pain and difficulties.
The Bible clearly tells us that reigning in life is what we receive from Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, your victory comes from what you receive. What do you receive? Abundant grace and the gift of righteousness. Your grace is received from Jesus, and your gift of righteousness is also given to you freely by God.
God's way is different from man's way. People think that to receive blessings, they must work hard and strive. Many Christians still live in such an environment, relying on their own efforts, striving hard. But even after working hard, they still fail. Only when you realize that Jesus is your wisdom and strength and rely on Him can you overcome your circumstances.
Let me give you an example of what it means to be a hardworking Christian. Many people pray, saying: "I have prayed; I have read the Bible; I have fasted; why doesn't God fulfill my requests?" In fact, they treat these as efforts. They believe that if they do this, God will bless them. We need to renew our thinking. Their problem lies in their belief that they must use self-effort or some tricks to reign in life.
For example: "If I don't believe God will bless me, I will fast for a week. If I don't get anything after a week, I will fast for two weeks." In fact, this is self-effort, trying to threaten God with some means to get something. This is personal effort. Brothers and sisters, give up these self-efforts. Just believe that God loves you and wants your life to be abundant.
In life, Christians do not need to use tricks or obey some unspoken rules to achieve their goals; this is the way of the world. May we all use Jesus Christ's way. Amen! Thank the Lord, because the wisdom of the world relies on knowledge and has some unspoken rules that must be followed. Most people believe that to live in this world, they must follow these rules; if not, they will inevitably fail.
Many people ask me: "Teacher Ren, do Christians need to evade taxes? Many people do this; if we don't, we will suffer great losses."
I said: "Many of the top 500 companies in the world are run by Christians, and they do not rely on these methods to achieve that." Some people are too clever, relying on tax evasion, but they still do not make it.
Where is the reason? Because they rely on God's power, not on human ability. Once caught, what will happen? They may be fined even more. Using some means, they think that if they do not do this, the result will be terrible. This is the way of man. May we brothers and sisters live by God's way. Amen!
Proverbs 3:5-7,
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
This tells us to trust in the Lord with all your heart because He wants to bless you, wants to give you strength, and wants to heal you. That is enough. Amen! Do not rely on your own understanding; people actually have no wisdom, at most they have cleverness, and still only a little cleverness. God tells us that in all your ways, you should acknowledge Him, and when you acknowledge Him, He will make your paths straight.
It is important to acknowledge God. Just say: "Lord, I rely on You; I will trust You for the rest of my life. I will not live by my own ways but by Your ways." When you acknowledge God like this, He will surely make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. How can you shun evil? As mentioned earlier, when you look at God's goodness every day, you can overcome evil. Every day, fear our God, and you will naturally shun evil.
If you are rolling around in evil while trying to fear God, it is impossible. Fear of God gives you the strength to shun evil. Amen! People always focus on doing, striving, and working hard, but the Christian life should actually be about receiving, receiving, and receiving... Amen! Receive from God; the world tells you that as long as you do enough, work hard, and spend more time, you will succeed more easily. It makes you keep working hard, but even after working hard, there may not be good results. But God gives you the ability first and then lets you do. Amen!
Let me give you an example of what it means to reign in life as a Christian. People think they must work hard to receive blessings. Many parents say, "Child, you must work hard, strive to be first, and then you will have a future." Will there definitely be a future? Not necessarily. There are many high-IQ people who are low achievers. In the past, it was believed that as long as you reached a certain point, there would definitely be a result. But God says it is not like that.
How should we live? When you go to work, do not work hard, waiting for your boss to give you a salary. Change your thinking: God has already blessed you; that blessing is already there; you just need to receive it. God wants to bless you through your boss; you are just bringing that blessing to work. You say: "In the name of Jesus, bless my boss, bless the business he is doing, and let everything turn around because of me."
You, like Joseph, wherever you go, God's blessing will be there. Believe that you are already blessed; you bring the power of blessing to work. This is what it means to reign in life. The same goes for doing business; believe that this month or today, God has already blessed you. When you see a customer coming, you say: "God, this is the one." God has already prepared it, right?
Live with this mindset, not saying, "Lord, when will You bless me?" as if you have to do something for God to give you something. No, you have already been blessed by God. God is just gradually letting you see the real situation. Just like a child, first believe that God has given him wisdom and blessings, then with wisdom and blessings, he studies, and finally wins first place and receives an award, thanking God. Because he knows everything is given by God. You cannot say, "I worked hard to study and got an award, so God, look, here is the award; please bless me." That is not how to obtain God's blessings. Amen!
You can receive God's blessings, His gifts, and His power supply solely because God loves you. You can be accepted solely because Jesus Christ died for you; you are completely accepted by God. Amen! This is the life of reigning; at any time, in any situation, you believe that you are different from the world; you carry God's blessings. Amen! So, this is the life of reigning.
Ephesians 2:4-6:
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved— 6 and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Do you see it? God has great mercy; does it have anything to do with you? Yes. Why does He give it to you? Because of His great love for us. Amen!
If you say that God has abundant grace and blessings, but you cannot receive them, what does that have to do with you? God said, "Because of His great love for us, when we were dead in transgressions, He made us alive with Christ." When God loved us, we were still in transgressions, gradually walking towards death. But God still loved us; He let us be resurrected from the dead. Amen! We can receive God's salvation entirely because of His grace.
God wants us to stop our efforts and start receiving His grace, receiving His blessings, receiving His healing. This is what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross. Before you do anything, first believe that God has already blessed you, and then go do it. Prayer is the same; before you pray, you must first believe that God has heard and answered your prayer, and then pray! It is not about saying, "Lord, I have prayed for an hour," turning prayer into effort to exchange for God's power. It is not like that. Before you even open your mouth, you must first believe that God is already listening. Amen!
So when you have not prayed yet, you must first believe that God is willing to listen and has already accomplished it. You are praying before God with that result. Hallelujah! Although this analogy may not be very appropriate, it illustrates this point. In my family, I used to often buy a bag of candy and put it in the cupboard. When my daughter wanted some, I would give her one. Did she know I would give it to her every time she asked? Yes. She knew it was there, so she would ask. Until one day, when I gave her the whole bag, she did not want it anymore because she knew it was gone. But before I gave her the bag, she believed that there was something there, and she believed that when she asked, I would definitely give it to her.
This is how we pray to God; you must believe that there will never be a situation where God says, "We are out of stock; please come back later." That situation will never occur, brothers and sisters. Whenever you come to God to ask, first believe that God is willing to give you and has already prepared it.
So it says that we are made alive with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly realms. It is not that we will sit with Jesus in heaven after we die. It is now. Amen! This is the life of reigning; it is you sitting down and enjoying heavenly power with Jesus. This is what people often refer to as living on earth as it is in heaven. Do not wait until you die and go to heaven, saying: "At that time, we will reign with Jesus."
Today you can be resurrected with Jesus; the resurrected life is within you, and you are seated with Him in the heavenly realms, seated at the right hand of God. What does the right hand represent? It represents glory and victory. First, you must have a victorious life; this is not yours; it is Jesus Christ's.
When you understand that all of this is beneficial to you, you can stop relying on your personal efforts to win God's blessings. It is not about winning; it is about believing, and God will give it to you. Thank the Lord, many people misunderstand and say, "So talking about grace means doing nothing and just asking God to drop blessings." No, brothers and sisters, that is absolutely not the meaning. You should glorify God's abundance through your work.
You believe that God has already blessed you. How does God bless you? Through your work. Amen! Or through what you are doing now, God wants you to have a hundredfold harvest. If you are planting crops, with this faith, before you plant, believe that God has already blessed you, so you sow the seeds, believing in a hundredfold harvest from God. When you go to work, believe that your company will turn around, and God will give you a hundredfold harvest. Our methods must change; it is not that we do nothing, but that you bring God's blessing and then go to work.
Before Paul did his ministry, he said: "I worked harder than all of them." In fact, Paul worked very hard and diligently in his ministry. Many people did not understand Paul, and several times he was almost killed. But Paul believed that God's blessing was upon him; he was the messenger of the gospel, and he wanted to bring God's blessing to many people. Today, indeed, because of the gospel preached by Paul, many families have been changed. Amen!
So God's way is to bless you first and then let you manifest God's glorious abundance. Amen! Many Christians fail because they still want to earn God's blessings through their own work. In fact, it is not earned; it is received. Continuously receive God's abundant grace. Amen!
How can you be sure that God will bless you? Because God has already given you His righteousness. You possess God's righteousness, and God will surely bless you. Amen! Think about it, the best in the kingdom of heaven, God did not withhold from you. Will God withhold what you lack in your life? Healing, prosperity, family relationships, and even greater miracles, which is Jesus Christ. If He has given you the greatest, He will surely give you the small problems in your life because they are all freely given grace. Amen!
So brothers and sisters, Jesus has already accomplished all this for us on the cross. What we need to do is believe in what He has accomplished. He was nailed to the cross, actually opening His arms to welcome sinners. So do not try to cover up or hide anything before Jesus. If you have made a mistake, you have made a mistake. Bring your problems to seek Jesus; He will surely accept you because He knows we are all imperfect and aware of our shortcomings. Come and receive His completeness. Hallelujah!
Be willing to believe that His abundant grace and the gift of righteousness are given to you every day, and you can rely on Him to reign in your life. He is our provider; all grace, physical health, and family harmony are given to us by Jesus. Stop your own efforts to earn God's grace; let the Holy Spirit guide you, and start relying on His grace!
Let us pray together:
Jesus, we are willing to follow You for a lifetime. When our lives are in Your hands, they will be different. We do not want to rely on ourselves, as we often fail. Jesus, we are willing to let You fill our hearts. When grace reigns in my life through righteousness, my life will be filled with Your abundant grace.
Lord, I also believe that my life has been changed because I am in Christ, in Your abundant blessings, renewed once again by Your word. I solely look to Your grace, leading me to repentance, enabling me to overcome the sins in my life, to overcome all bad habits, and to live out a glorious life in Christ because You will help me. Hallelujah! Bless this church. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!