Published by admin on 19 Apr 2013 at 11:20 am
MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT
Today let’s explore “grace”. Exactly what IS grace, anyway? Looking at 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, we can get an idea. The Apostle Paul was speaking here of his experience:
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Many look at that passage and say, See, God wants us to be sick and endure it. But the Lord Jesus gave Paul a major revelation that WE would do well to understand. I got hold of this back in 1993 and have never had a sick day since. Today, I’ll try to explain WHY, but first, you’re going to have to forget everything you THOUGHT you knew about grace, and look at this with an open mind and spirit. I know religious traditions are hard to overcome, and even the Lord Jesus had to deal with people’s religious traditions before He could get through to them.
There are a couple words we need to understand here: graceG5485 is sufficientG714. , GRACE: graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): – acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy). IS SUFFICIENT: Apparently a primary verb (but probably akin to G142 through the idea of raising a barrier); properly to ward off, that is, (by implication) to avail (figuratively be satisfactory): – be content, be enough, suffice, be sufficient.
Paul asked God three times that the “messenger of Satan” who was a devil sent to harass and torment him, depart from him. The Lord Jesus answered Paul that His favor, His gift of raising a barrier to ward off the devil was enough to get the job done for Paul. One Greek translation breaks it down very nicely, “The Authority of ME (Jesus) granting grace unto YOU is sufficient for you.” Once Paul understood that, using that authority of Jesus granted unto him, HE ran that devil off. You see, we spend much of our time begging GOD to do something for us instead of using the authority He granted us as believers. Remember how Jesus gave the seventy power over devils to cast them out and to cure sickness? Let’s look at it in Luke 10:16-20:
Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Have another look at verse 16. Here Jesus establishes a line of authority straight from His heavenly Father, right unto YOU, the believer! Oh, the seventy returned with joy, EVEN THE DEVILS ARE SUBJECT UNTO US THROUGH THY NAME! That didn’t seem to surprise Jesus any, did it? But believers today sure don’t seem to believe the devils are subject to them through His name, do they? No, they beg and plead with God to get the devils to leave them alone, when all the time THE BELIEVERS HAVE THE AUTHORITY to make the devils leave them, granted unto them from the Father through Christ Jesus. I imagine it must be frustrating to the Father to see us acting so pitifully, when we’ve been granted unstoppable authority from Him. Look at verse 19 and 20 again, LOOK AT OUR BIRTHRIGHT!! Why aren’t we using it to the full? Uh, maybe it’s because of UNBELIEF??
Is the grace of God appointed unto us sufficient for us? Well, I don’t know about YOU, but is sure is for ME! I got hold of these verses back in 1993 when I was dying of liver cancer and melanomas and used the authority granted me to remind the devil that I was healed by the stripes of Jesus, and I wasn’t going to let him put his junk on ME. And I haven’t had a sick day ever since! Is that grace sufficient for me? You bet’cha!!
Now, is that grace sufficient for me as long as I see I’m well? No, that’s backwards. I’m well because I saw His grace is sufficient. When you use how you feel or what the circumstances look like to determine if His grace is sufficient, then you’ll never get settled in the fact that HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT IN EVERY SITUATION! I keep telling people over and over and over, you MUST settle FIRST that God is not a liar. THEN everything else falls in place.
Likewise, everything in the devil’s kingdom falls like dominoes once you know the truth. You’ve played dominoes, right? You stand a domino on its end, and place many more on end in a row next to one another. Once you’ve knocked down the first domino, the others keep falling down until they are ALL fallen down. Once you’ve established and SETTLED that God’s Word is always true, every time the devil lines up his helpers to afflict you, the SETTLED in you Word of God knocks over that first devil, and all his helpers fall with him, and you walk away unscathed. Every time, too. So, what does the devil try to do? He tries to get you to doubt the integrity of the Word of God, and then you are rendered absolutely powerless. Many a person who says they love Jesus have allowed the devil to kill them with cancer and other diseases, because they either never learned to settle themselves that God is not a liar, or else no one ever taught them so. You can’t say I’m not teaching you, BECAUSE I AM!! What you do with it is up to you, though. As for me, that barrier that Jesus put up in my behalf to ward off the enemy by granting me the usage of His name is sufficient for me, OH YES!! I use it daily, and if YOU will do the same, you will have victory over the devil every time.
The right to use the name of Jesus against the enemy comes by virtue of your relationship with Him. The disciples had a relationship with Jesus, as did the seventy, and all those who were in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. But we can see the flip side of that coin in Acts 19:13-20;
Act 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
Act 19:14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
Act 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Act 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Act 19:17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Act 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
Act 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Act 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
You see, all devils are subject unto the name of Christ Jesus, and the devils knew it. But they ALSO knew the sons of Sceva had no right to invoke it upon them because they weren’t followers of Jesus! So the devils overcame them and hurt them badly and shamed them in front of many. Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? That’s not something you want a devil that you are confronting to say to you!! No, you want to have a SETTLED relationship with Christ Jesus, and that only comes by BELIEVING HIS WORD. You doubt, you have no clout! Simple as that.
Just how sufficient is God’s grace? Here’s a mighty example in Acts 14:
Act 14:19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Act 14:20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Imagine the shock of those in Antioch and Iconium, when after stoning Paul to death, he came back again and preached the Gospel to them! Was God’s grace sufficient? You tell me! That’s the same kind of grace available to YOU if you’ll just get hold of the truth!
Is His grace sufficient for you? If not, WHY NOT? Let me give you a clue: His grace is not the problem. If there’s a problem, it’s YOU. Yeah, I know, that isn’t what you want to hear. But there is a simple cure: quit calling God a liar, and believe His Word. Then, and only then is His grace sufficient for you. Once you are settled in believing God, no matter what the devil throws at you, no matter how bad it looks or how bad it feels, or what the doctor pronounces against you, you’ll find the devil is nothing but a liar full of hot air. And the grace of God will be not only sufficient, it will put you abundantly over every time! And you will smile! So will God! He will say, Now THAT’S one of MY kids!
Stephanie on 19 Apr 2013 at 10:21 pm #
thank you for this message Pastor Jerry!