The Enemy of great grace

Messages for May 2018: Our Month of Great Grace

Message for Sunday 27^th May, 2018

Theme: Understanding the heart of man in relation to the grace of God

Topic: The Enemy of great grace

Introduction:  So far in this series we have seen what great grace is and what the right heart is and we also saw how we can enjoy the grace of God with the right heart. Last week, we concluded with engaging the grace of God. We were able to see that it takes grace to do everything right in the Kingdom of God including all the steps we need to take to cultivate the grace of God to start the race of life and remain in the race until the end.

The enemy of great grace:

However, in the race of life there is an enemy that threatens the quality of life we live to honor God. This is what I call the enemy of great grace because God has given us eternal life and great grace to enjoy it.  This enemy comes to rob us of these graces so that instead of running our race with ease to the end, it tries to stop or hinder us from doing so. The best description of this enemy is found in this statement of Apostle Paul in Romans 7:19-25 thus:

“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” 

The flesh the enemy of Great grace: This is what Apostle Paul calls the old man. See Eph.4:22; Rm.6:6 and Col.3:9. For us to be able to understand this enemy, we need to know that the means by which we live for God as new creations is the grace of God which we already defined as divine favour and divine ability to do what we cannot do naturally.

As natural men before we got born again and became new creations in Christ, we were controlled by the flesh and lived as natural men. The flesh is a thought pattern that is essentially selfish. The natural man thinks of himself and his interest and puts them above God and his interest.

The manifestation of a flesh ruled man even if they are born again: These manifestations are listed by Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:18-20 as follows:

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control); idolatry; sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dispute, dissention, factions (that promote heresies). Envy, drunkenness; riotous behaviour and other things like these.

Note that we learn from Gal.5:21 that people who practice these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The New Creation Man: On the other hand, anyone who truly repents and is converted to the faith, is called the new man in Christ. They bear the following fruit as proof of their new creation status:

The result of His presence within us is Love (unselfish concern for others); Joy (inner) peace; patience (not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law against anyone living this way.

The Law of the Spirit of life and the Law of sin and death:

When we are saved there are two laws at war in our individual lives contending for our souls. Our spirits are saved because that is what is born again. [Jn.3:1-7 and 1Jn.3:9] Our souls and bodies remain the same. Thus a person is only delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God at new birth. The soul and the body remains the same except the person takes the responsibility of the new creation person to save the soul and submit the body to the spirit. See Col.1:12-13; Jn.8:31-36; 3:8-11 and Rm.8:1; 5-8.

How to save the soul:

1.     Read the word – 1Tim.4:13; Deu.6:6-8 and Prov.4:20-22

2.     Believe the word – Mk.5:4-7

3.     Do away with all filthiness – Jas.1:21

4.     Receive the word with meekness – Jas.1:21-25

5.     Meditate on the word day and night – Jos.1:8 and Ps.1:1-3

6.     Do the word. – Mt.7:24-27

You now have the power to put off and to put on: When you get born again, you become a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. As a new creation, you are now a living spirit with a soul and body. Your spirit is your real you and God expects you to be ruled from your spirit. So your soul is expected to take orders from your spirit instead of your body as it used to do. When your soul is ruled by your spirit, you will be described as walking in the spirit. The result is that you will not fulfil the lust or desires of the flesh. Then you can bear the fruit of the spirit listed in Gal.5:22-23. When this is your case, then you can easily put off the old man just like you undress from a dirty cloth to wear a clean and better one. See Col.3:8-11 and Eph.4:22-32.

The battle of the new creation man is actually the struggle for the spirit to control the soul while the flesh desires to maintain the status quo before salvation. This I the real war we fight – we do not war it against flesh and blood even though flesh and blood may be instrumental in the hands of the devil to further the devices of the enemy of our soul – the thief! See Eph.6:10-18; Jn.10:10, 27-28. We can make it because God gave us mighty weapons to win. See 2Cor.10:3-6.

We shall close with this encouraging text from what the Lord said in John 10:27-29:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” 

If you are yet to become His sheep, this is your opportunity, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you can come into the ark of safety with Him at once and receive the power to live for him and win in the race of life all the time as you cultivate an intimate relationship with Him:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.