Living faith means a thriving faith that gives an individual the opportunity to daily become all that God intends. It should be generally understood that one needs to live and flourish daily, otherwise one may not blossom weekly or even yearly, since the accumulation of days results in a year. God underscores the importance of this in Psalm 68:19 where Scripture informs us He loads us DAILY with benefits. In effect, once you keep missing out on daily benefits, you stand the risk of missing out on yearly benefits.

 I’ll repeat: it takes living faith to live daily. That’s why Romans 1:17 states “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” There are at least two implications here:  the facts that the just live by faith and that God’s righteousness can’t be revealed in an individual who has no faith or is unsaved. To say that the unsaved could be righteous is to say that our works or efforts could lead to God’s righteousness.  Far from it! It takes God’s grace through faith to be saved and become divinely righteous. Besides, without faith one becomes subject to life’s challenges and attacks. Romans 6:16 describes faith as “the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” The reason Peter didn’t fail was because Jesus had prayed that Peter’s “faith fail not” (Luke 22:31-32).

One other element from Romans 1:17 is “the just”. Who is “the just”? This is important to know in order to understand the advantage faith grants to the just. Romans 8:30 offers a clue “³⁰ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”  From this we see that the just is the one whose sins God has wiped away.  When we become Born Again- receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior- we become just-ified because whatever sin was imputed to us until then cease to matter no more. God’s clemency kicks in. Additionally, following justification, it’s a necessity to develop one’s faith since it becomes the basis of one’s living. Habakkuk 2:4 reinforces this, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” No longer may you rely on someone else’s faith. You need to personally work with and know God so that you may stand firm when challenges assail.

According to Romans 12:3, once saved (justification), God grants each person some degree of faith,  ³ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. In fact, salvation is unattainable without faith (Ephesians 2:8). But it’s not enough to maintain one’s measure of faith; God expects each Believer to build on his/her “measure” why else would Romans 17:1 says “faith to faith” ? Besides, unless one builds on one’s measure, one’s faith might die or falter that’s the reason Jesus had to pray for Peter (Luke 22:32). Moreover, faith is like seed (Luke 17). Just as every seed needs to be planted and nurtured to flourish, so does one’s faith! How might one’s faith grow? Adversities and challenges though tough are great opportunities to nurture and tend one’s faith for growth. And when faith grows, one’s victories equally grow. 1 John 5:4 attests, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

Hymn: Showers of Blessing (4 Verses)

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Refrain
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

Refrain

There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.

Refrain

There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

Refrain

There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.

As we congregate today to give God dedicated praise on behalf of Africa, we’ll focus on understanding the catalytic role of praise in prompting divine action. But before that, here are two quick pointers to the long-standing chummy relationship between God and the continent of Africa.

First, as early as the second chapter of Genesis, we see Africa feature prominently in God’s plan. Verses 9 to 13 account:

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

Second, in the thirteenth verse of Matthew chapter 2, we see Africa provide a safe haven to baby JESUS,

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Essentially, God believed so much in Africa that He let the continent provide Jesus protective custody! Let no one fool you, God LOVES AFRICA!

You may find that last statement a little difficult to wrap your head around especially if the prevailing state of the continent is your benchmark; but not to worry. The rest of this message should clear your doubts.

To the eleventh chapter of the Book of John we’ll turn for direction.  The chapter draws interesting, even striking parallels between the case of Lazarus and that of Africa.

The chapter opens with the sickness of Lazarus, a man loved by Jesus. When Jesus heard the news of Lazarus’s sickness, He stays action until two days later when He told his disciples of Lazarus’s fate. By the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus has been dead and lain in the grave for four days. Once they see Jesus, Lazarus’s sisters and their company while acknowledging Jesus’ ability and supremacy over situations seem to believe Jesus has shown up too late to make much difference in this case. In spite of this, Jesus requests to see Lazarus’s grave. Here’s how verses 38-44 capture the rest of the story:

Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Like Lazarus, Africa, as we saw earlier, has had a chummy relationship with God. Not unlike Lazarus, Africa’s ailment has been brought to God’s attention. Yet, the continent’s illness has been festering. Many countries have grown from bad to worse. Infrastructure has become nonexistent and poverty a given. Leadership failure has been prevalent and so has crime and corruption. The plea of saints on behalf of the continent seems to come to naught. But just as Jesus brought Lazarus back to life though he had been dead and buried for four days, when all hope had been lost, Africa, from the least to the greatest nation, shall resurrect again!

In case you missed how Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, here’s the meat of the story as verse 38-44 captures. Jesus, when he arrived at the grave, asked that the stone at the tomb be rolled away. Once rolled, Jesus resorted to invite God to the situation by praise.  Right after, the bound dead man came alive at Jesus’s pronouncement!

This should tell you that miracles and wonders are the consequences of praise. The reason is simple: When we praise God over any situation, we invite God to come down and take charge of that case. And when God comes down, liberty and solution take root (2 Corinthians 3:17).

As we praise God on behalf of Africa today, expect Africa to daily arise from the dead into life and prosperity. Expect the fortunes of the continent to begin to improve because God has arisen to take charge.

Hymn: O ALL YE NATIONS, PRAISE THE LORD

O ye all nations, praise the Lord
Each with a different tongue
In every language learn His word
And let His name be sung

His mercy reigns through every land
Proclaim His grace abroad
For ever firm His truth shall stand
Praise ye the faithful God

Oh praise the Lord all ye nations
Praise Him all ye people
For His kindness is great towards thee
Oh praise oh praise His name

Come bow all nations to your King
And worship at His feet
For He’s the lord, the king and God
He reigns forevermore

Hymn: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
lift high his royal banner,
it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict,
In this his glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Stand in his strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor,
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor’s song.
To those who vanquish evil
A crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.

As prophecy leads our way into a new month, it’s necessary to know that one’s belief is crucial to the realization of prophecy. Luke 1:45 substantiates, “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

 
Synopsis
By belief, I don’t intend an emotional state or abstraction since belief is by nature substantive. Here’s how 2 Timothy 1:12 captures belief as Apostle Paul demonstrated “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” From Paul’s emphatic statement, we clearly see the substance of belief come through.

You must, like Paul, be convicted about God. You must know that whatever He has spoken is a done deal, because only He can deliver on a promise 100 percent of the time.

Bearing the foregoing in mind, we’ll go ahead to understand the prophecy for May, “Our Month of Open Heavens.”  Using Mark 1:9-13 as guide

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

First, it’s instructive that while Jesus wasn’t the only one that was baptized on this particular day, nor was He the only one John baptized, yet only His baptismal case was noteworthy.

Second, Jordan represents a place where Jesus’s next steps needed to be under open heaven. Otherwise, there would have been no need for heaven to open at this location.

Third, Jesus “straightaway coming up out of the water” after His baptism in verse 10, foreshadowed His death and resurrection. It symbolizes the victory Jesus would have over Satan after his resurrection.

Fourth, because Jesus’ “heavens opened” in verse 10, necessarily his earth opened too.  Fifth, “the Spirit like a dove descending upon him” suggests that God was now firmly taking over Jesus’ situation while undercutting satanic influence. This is akin to what happened in Genesis 1 when the “Spirit of God moved“ to displace darkness (Satan). When God’s Spirit descends it equally means the presence of his fresh anointing. His anointing takes over!

Some consequence of the manifestation of God’s Spirit is what we see in verses 11-13; God addresses Jesus as His beloved Son showcasing the depth of their relationship. Next, we see that Jesus was led into the wilderness. This implies that Jesus was now mainly influenced or driven by the Spirit of God.  While in the wilderness for forty days, he was in the midst of wild beasts yet he wasn’t harmed. Even the presence of Satan became inconsequential.

What does this mean for you? Simply that as your heaven opens, the Spirit of God or His fresh anointing comes upon you and begins to lead or drive you. As a result, regardless of your circumstance or situation, like Jesus, you begin to triumph, shame and overwhelm Satan and his cohorts.

But don’t forget this, it’s necessary that you believe in order to gain access to the prophecy of open heavens in May. In addition, you must express your belief or desire through prayer as Jesus did before His heaven was opened according to Luke 3:21.

How to Convert God’s Promises to Reality (Blessings)

Waiting for the fulfillment of a promise is one of the greatest challenges of man whether in the secular or in the spiritual. The moment a promise is made or one becomes aware of its existence, the desire for the manifestation of that promise typically rises through the roof. This is because man is naturally drawn to promises.

Promises are as much a part of our existence as anything else. For instance, we’re in an election year, and if you’ve paid a wee bit interest to your TV you’d have heard all manner of politicians make all kinds of promises. They wouldn’t bother making these promises if they thought no one was paying attention. Another example, when my sister was a bachelorette, some 5 suitors had sought her hand in marriage, each laying claim to God’s leading. After she put their claim to a test only a duo remained. She eventually got married to the one that laid out a promise of a future that converged with the one she believed God had for her.

With God, promises separate one person from another. The cases of Isaac and Ishmael on the one hand and Jacob and Esau on the other serve as powerful reminders. Though siblings, the difference in the outcome of each life was that the one carried the Promise and the other didn’t. Similarly, promises differentiate one season or dispensation of life from another.  The “better promise” of the New Testament trumps the Old Testament’s. In essence (Divine) promises are important to have in order to lead an outstanding life.

Yes, promises are important; but who makes them are even more so. The force or person behind a promise determines its strength or importance and guarantees its fulfillment.  In this sense you may be better served looking to the president for the fulfillment of a national security promise than your mayor. By extension only God can fulfill all promises as 1 Samuel 15:29, Titus 1:1-2 and 1 Kings 8:55-56 attest. I ask, “Who else but God would you trust for the fulfillment of promises?” Additionally, as Abraham exemplified in Romans 4:13-21, we should be more concerned about the maker of a promise than the difficulty of its fulfillment.

How to convert promises to blessings
The following are five ways to make your promises manifest as blessings.

 
You must be certain the promises of God found in His word are yours. As a joint heir to God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ, you are entitled to His promises knowing that His promises are sure.

 
You must know God will fulfill every promise because of His glory. If this weren’t true, God would be a liar like you and me. God is bound to deliver on His promises because of His glory since He’s glorified each time a promise is met. In John 2:1-11, the disciples were present when Jesus performed his first miracle and turned water into wine.  Verse 11 accounts “11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” We see that by this miracle God’s glory was manifest and his disciples’ belief in him was bolstered.

You must know that God is able to fulfill any promise. What God can and will do is not necessarily limited to what He’s done in the past. So don’t just His promise by what He’s done because God is able to do what had never ever been experienced. It’s up to you to believe Him for that too.

 
There’s a time for the fulfillment of every promise. It’s necessary to wait for the manifestation of your promise. Otherwise you may lose out completely. That’s why Hebrews 10:23 encourages “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”. We must know that God makes things to happen when He wants. You can’t force Him to act (Hebrews 11:9; Acts 1:4-7). God made Abraham wait for Isaac; and Isaac was well worth the wait. In case you get weary while you wait, ask Him to renew your strength.

 
Faith is the anchor to promises. You need faith while you wait so you don’t get weak. You must be full of faith like Abraham as Romans 4:18-19 accounts “ Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:”

Pastor Niyi Akinsiku (House of Praise Mississauga, in Canada)

Video

Pastor Wale Akinsiku: Four Ultimate Purpose of God for Our Life from STP RCCGNA on Vimeo.

Sysnopsis

Revelation transforms a man like nothing else.  Regardless of your situation, condition or state, all you need to get your God-ordained results is a revelation.  Biblical examples abound of this truth. And so do present-day ones.  I will share with you today four of six principles God revealed to me that changed my life and ministry.

Eight years ago, the church I pastor [House of Praise Mississauga, in Canada] had to source $850,000 (eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars) to bring our $1,000,000 (one million dollars) property in compliance with code specifications. Given our financial situation, I was unsure how we would accomplish it. But there was popular support for the renovation project so we committed to sourcing the funds.

Before the government contacted us, we’d moved into and started holding services in the building almost without any major work done.  That of course was a no-no since codes forbade us from using the building as is, especially since the building used to be a (socks) manufacturing factory. In a bid to forestall incurring government sanction, we contacted contractors for the work. The best quote we got was for $850,000 (eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars).

We were able to convince the contractors to get started, hoping some solution would break as we progressed. Unfortunately, it seemed at the time, we could not raise the needed funds, so the contractors abandoned the work midway.  The church was now in dire straits. We could no longer worship at the building under reconstruction given the bare state of the property. This meant we had to keep our rented location while paying mortgage on the building under renovation.

The Saturday the contractors moved the last piece of equipment off our site, I was palpably panic-stricken. Failure and shame seemed inevitable. At meetings on Friday and even on that fateful Saturday, parishioners could tell I was out of it. But little did I know we were on the brink of our breakthrough!

With nowhere else to go, I went prostrate before God in the trailer I used as a temp office on the site.  In deep agony, I presented my case in prayers and sought His help. I told God specifically that we had run out of money. God immediately corrected me by saying we hadn’t run out of money but out of faith. And He led me to Mark 6:32-44.  From this passage I got six principles that have forever transformed me. By the time I came to service Sunday morning, members who had been in meetings with me the day prior couldn’t believe my makeover.  I preached a two-part sermon titled “Looking forward to a Glorious Future.” What followed was a miracle that has forever changed the story of the House of Praise Mississauga. We paid off our $1.2 million dollar loan in 3 1/2 years instead of 15, and we have paid $4 million dollars in cash for our next location!  In light of these, I make bold to tell you revelation is all it takes to forever change your story regardless of your present condition or situation.

Before we look at four of the six principles God revealed to me from Mark 6:32-44, please bear the following in mind:

Impossibility is a language of men not of God (Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17, 27 Psalm 118:23-24, Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:37). Impossibility exists simply because man has refused to transcend the limits of his capacity in the face of challenges. If anyone would choose to engage the divine capacity in adversity, such will certainly overwhelm impossibility.  You must know that God will not ask you to do anything that will take only your natural capacity, connection or ability to execute.  This means that To attain extraordinary results you must engage the combined capacity of your spirit man and natural ability.  This makes the development of your spirit man imperative. How would you do this? Knowledge holds the key (Proverbs 24:5; 13-14). The pursuit of knowledge is the greatest responsibility of a Christian (Psalm 29:40).  Knowledge separates man from other animals (Psalm 49:20). While animals are instinct-driven, man is both instinctive and knowledgeable.

The Four Principles

Principle 1:  Don’t assume you know what needs to be known. In Mark 6:30, we see the disciples in a new light.   They must have felt they had grown to the point where they could tell Jesus what needed to be done, “³⁰And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught”. These were the same people who in time past would have come to Jesus asking Him what to do. But as latter verses of Mark 6 showed, they might have grown in knowledge but they still didn’t know yet all that needed to be known. Truth is there’s always a gap between what we know and what we ought to know. We must be people who assume zero knowledge so we can know what we ought to know. Alvin Toffler in his book The Third Wave puts it this way “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” 1 Corinthians 8:2 more directly states “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” To operate in your maximum, you must make it your duty to know what you ought to know!

Principle 2: Don’t shift responsibility for the change you desire to someone else. It’s always going to be in your best interest to accept responsibility for your current state and stop explaining things away. It might be true that another person or a certain situation has contributed in some way to where you’ve wound up, but it hardly ever serves a productive purpose to shift blame on those.  Accept responsibility for where you are and build from there.

Principle 3:  Don’t Panic! I understand it’s difficult not to get panicky when certain situations arise but that’s never ever going to solve the problem. Panic simply leads you away from divine revelation. When Goliath came and started challenging the Israelites to war, he immediately worked on getting them panicky. He understood that once he got them in a fearful state, they could never summon courage to take him on. That strategy worked until David showed up and straight away sought to take down the giant. Many have lost battles not necessarily because the battle was tough but because they were frightened. Always remember that God has not given us the spirit of fear. So stand your ground and look to God, understanding that God has pre-programmed you as the main character in your life’s play and you shall not die until you have attained the height He intended for you.

Principle 4: Take stock of what you have. The case of the widow woman in 2 Kings 4:1-7 speaks to this principle and so does Mark 6:38-39. It’s always a necessity to take stock, so as to really know what is needed.  Many focus on what they don’t have to the detriment of what they do have. If only we’d learn to reverse that order! One of the greatest assets you have is your mouth. Luke 21:15 affirms this truth, “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.”  The problem here is we tend to undermine and misuse our mouths. We wrongly use it to elicit sympathy and describe our situation.  But to operate in your maximum, you need to stop describing your situation and start declaring your expectation! Start saying what you want; start speaking into life what is written in His word.  Don’t let your neighbors impede your declaration because God is your audience.

Hymn: Praise Him Praise Him
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.

Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.

Time: Sunday, May 6th, 2012 @ 10:00am

Date: April 8, 2012

See Photos from this Service. Video coming soon.

Easter is a time God fashioned to give the ultimate gift to all men. This gift is grace-induced salvation. Every real believer should have little difficulty understanding grace otherwise the salvation professed is suspect. Why is this the case? No one could of himself or herself be saved however pious or good the individual may be. If this weren’t true there would have been no need for Jesus to die so we may all have access to salvation.

Grace is equally a monumental consequence of Jesus’ death and ascension. Ephesians 4:8-10 and Ephesians 2:8 respectively bring us to this understanding

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:8-10)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)

From the foregoing we see that the gift Christ gave to all men (Ephesians 4:8) is salvation (Ephesians 2:8).

You may contend, and I add right so, that grace was present before Christ became flesh and dwell among men. For instance, as early as Genesis 6, scripture attests that Noah found grace with God. But rather than a contradiction, this contention only speaks to multiplicity of grace.  In order to understand this, we’ll explore 3 major operations or levels of grace. The scripture identifies three levels of grace. We’ll call these the Welfare grace, the Redemptive/Salvation grace, and the Grace to Become.

By definition, Welfare Grace caters to one’s welfare or well being.  An individual could get or access what (s) he needs through this grace. Notably, though, the grace is not transformative. That is, it can’t necessarily bring you to become a better person. This grace may bring you protection, favor, and all what not but not salvation. Lot, Esther and Noah are notable biblical personalities that enjoyed this grace (Genesis 6:4-8, Genesis 19:19, Esther 2).

Redemptive/Salvation Grace is markedly different from Welfare grace because it has the power to change a sinner to a saint. It could make a lost gain entrance to the kingdom of our God. Ephesians 2:5-9 speaks eloquently of this grace:

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 2:9-11 equally speaks to Redemptive Grace.

The Grace to Become is the third operation of grace. This grace makes you become what God has ordained you to be. Simon Peter was a skilled fisherman (Luke 5) who may have ended up in the fishermen’s Hall of Fame at his best, if there were any such recognition.  But because of the Grace to Become that he contracted through Jesus, God made him to become what He’d ordained: a renowned fisher of men! Apostle Paul was another who got hooked on the Grace to Become as 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 reveals.  The New Testament is rife with how much God was able to do through him. Without the Grace to Become, a man is ordinary, frustrated and prone to struggle.  May this not be your portion in Jesus name.

Hymn
All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall,
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all.
Crown Him ye morning stars of light
Who fixed the floating ball
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might
And crown him Lord of all

Ye seed of Israel’s chose race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail him who saves you by his grace
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace
And crown him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue
Before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song
The crowned Lord of all
And shout in universal song
The crowned Lord of all