GRACE AND PEACE TO YOU__________________
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3 KJV
In many of the epistles we find the greeting in the opening verses “grace be unto you, and peace.” We cannot enjoy peace unless we understand grace.
Many believers are frustrated in their Christian experience because they don’t understand how to freely receive grace, favor, and mercy. They are always working at something, trying to earn what God only gives by grace through faith.
First Peter 5:5 teaches us that He gives grace only to the humble. The humble are those who admit their weakness and total inability to truly succeed without God’s help. The proud are always trying to get some credit. They want to think it is their ability that accomplishes what needs to be done. Proud people have difficulty asking, and even more difficulty receiving.
GROW IN GRACE__________________
But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)!
2 Peter 3:18
Once we understand grace, we must grow in learning how to receive it in every situation. Trusting God fully is something we grow into. The more we trust God, the stronger we are spiritually. The more we trust ourselves, or even other people and things, the weaker we are spiritually.
I had to practice trusting God for finances. At one point in my ministry, actually at the very beginning, God asked me to trust Him to provide for my family financially without my working outside the home. I knew I needed time to prepare for the ministry He had called me to. Working a full-time job plus being a wife and mother to three small children did not leave me much time to prepare to be an international Bible teacher. As an act of faith and with my husband’s consent, I quit my job and began learning to trust God to provide for us. Dave had a good job, but his salary was forty dollars a month less than our bills. This meant we had to have a miracle from God every month just to meet our regular expenses, let alone have anything extra.
I remember what a struggle it was not to go back to work. Each month God did provide, and seeing His faithfulness was exciting, but I was accustomed to taking care of myself — all this “walking by faith” was crucifying my flesh “big time.” It was difficult for me to keep practicing trust, but eventually I learned to walk by faith in this area. Gaining that strong foundation in the beginning of our ministry has helped us many times not to panic when we have financial needs in the ministry.
I also had to practice trusting God concerning submission to authority. I had been hurt and mistreated by authority figures in my life, especially male authority figures. Those experiences had left me quite determined to do things my own way and not trust other people. Of course, the Word of God says that wives should submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22 KJV; Colossians 3:18 KJV), and I found this to be very difficult. Like most married couples, Dave and I have very different personalities, and I did not agree with many of his opinions and decisions. However, none of this changed God’s Word, so I had to learn to submit whether I wanted to or not. Once again, practicing faith in these areas crucified my flesh.
I vividly recall saying to the Lord in a particularly difficult situation for me, “How can You ask me to trust people after the things that have happened to me in my life?”
He replied in my heart, “I am not asking you to trust people, Joyce, I am asking you to trust Me.”
He wanted me to trust Him to bring justice in my life in each situation and to realize that if I did not get my own way, then perhaps I was wrong, or perhaps He had a better way or a different timing in mind. Finally, as I practiced over and over in this area, I gained victory.
We only learn to trust God by doing it. We grow in grace by practicing putting our faith in God and receiving His grace in situations that are difficult or impossible for us. Sometimes we put our faith in God, and He gives us grace for a deliverance. At other times we put our faith in God, and He gives us grace to “go through.” We must leave that choice to Him and know that either way we can have victory, but only by grace through faith.
If you are struggling with something right now in your life, ask yourself honestly if you are putting your faith in God that His grace will meet the need. Remember, grace is unmerited favor to us sinners. It is God’s power coming into our situations to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
GRACE GIFTS__________________
For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.
Romans 12:3
Earlier in the book we discussed the diversity of gifts that God gives to people. These gifts (abilities and talents) come to us by His grace, not by our merit.
In 1 Corinthians 15:10 the Apostle Paul wrote, But by the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God I am what I am…. If we do not realize that we are what we are by the grace of God, then we will think more highly of ourselves than we should.
Proud people compare themselves to others and feel superior if they are able to do something others cannot do. As Christians, we are to judge ourselves soberly, knowing that without God we cannot do anything of value and that whatever we are able to accomplish is only by His grace. He gives us a measure of His own faith to do whatever He assigns us in life. He gives us abilities by His grace and favor, not by our earning it.
When God revealed to me His call on my life, I was a big mess. I was born again, but very carnal. I had many emotional dysfunctions due to abuse in my past. I had difficulty maintaining healthy relationships, did not walk in the fruit of the Spirit and was very selfish and self-centered, manipulative and controlling, among many other things. There was no visible reason why God should have chosen me to teach His Word and head up an international ministry. He called me by His grace! I still continue to be amazed at His goodness in my life, and I am very thankful.
We cannot be truly thankful or amazed if we don’t understand that we are called by God’s goodness, not ours.
The grace of God is multifaceted or many-sided as we see in 1 Peter 4:10: As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].
God’s grace manifests in each of us in a different way. For example, I am very disciplined in many areas. I believe I need a gift of discipline to help me fulfill the call of God on my life. I have to discipline myself to work sometimes when others are enjoying entertainment. I have had to discipline myself over the years to study for many thousands of hours in order to teach the Bible accurately. I am very aware that I need to discipline my behavior and emotions at all times because of my love for the Lord and the position He has privileged me to hold.
Moses was not permitted to take the Israelites into the Promised Land due to his unbridled emotion of anger. (Numbers 20:12; Psalm 106:32,33.) In James 3:1,2 the Bible says that teachers are judged by a higher standard and with greater severity than other people:
Not many [of you] should become teachers (self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].
For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.
I have a strong
conviction that I need to “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk.” As a leader, I must be an example that other people can follow. I have a flesh just like everyone else, and it does not always want to cooperate with me; therefore, I have to discipline myself. It is not always easy, but discipline for me is probably easier than for someone who has a different personality and is called to do something of a different nature.
Grace manifests itself in different ways in different people, but whatever we are good at or successful at is due to the grace of God. None of us is gifted in every area, and even in those areas in which we are gifted we are rarely perfect.
For example, I believe I am gifted by God with a strong will, but there are times when that strength also becomes my worst enemy. It is good when I need to press through something difficult, but not so good when I want my way, and my strong will keeps pushing for what God is not giving. I find the same thing to be true with my mouth. My mouth is my greatest gift; it is the part of me that God uses all the time. Yet, over the years it has also been one of my greatest weaknesses, one that I have had to pray about continually.
These things keep us dependent on God and not ourselves. In order to succeed at being ourselves, we must understand how to receive grace, favor and mercy. We cannot receive something if we do not even understand what it is. It is vitally important to remember that grace is God’s undeserved favor which we receive through our faith. It leaves us thankful and living our lives with an “attitude of gratitude.”
BELIEVE IN THE FAVOR OF GOD__________________
But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.
Genesis 39:21
There are many people spoken of in the Bible who received favor. Since God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), we can believe for and receive favor in our daily lives.
In Genesis 39 we read how Joseph was unjustly accused and imprisoned. But the Lord was with him and showed him mercy and grace. He gave him favor in the eyes of the prison warden, who put Joseph in charge of everything that went on there. In fact, the warden looked on Joseph so favorably that he paid no attention to what Joseph did, and the Lord caused his efforts to prosper even in that dismal situation.
Favor is available to us also, but like many other good things in life, just because something is available to us does not mean that we will ever partake of it. The Lord makes many things available to us that we never receive and enjoy because we never activate our faith in that area.
I needed a lot of favor to get to where I am today in ministry. I believe I have succeeded at being myself, the person God originally intended me to be, but it could never have happened without favor. For example, when we began our television ministry in 1993 practically nobody even knew Joyce Meyer existed. I knew we would need a lot of favor from God if we were to get on quality television stations around the world. I knew God had to open doors for us. I was willing to walk through them boldly, but He had to open them and not only give me favor with television station owners and managers, but also with television audiences.
I am a very bold, straightforward, tell-it-like-I-see-it woman. Many people don’t handle that type of personality very well, so I knew I needed favor. I needed God to show people my heart and help them believe that I wanted to help them.
I think we all have some personality quirks that can turn people off, so praying for favor is a wise thing to do. When God gives us favor, people favor us — and often for no reason they can even explain. If three people applied for the same position and were all equally qualified, the one living under the favor of God would get it.
Favor is actually a part of grace. In the English New Testament the word grace and the word favor are both translated from the same Greek word charis.1 So the grace of God is the favor of God. And the favor of God is the grace of God — that which causes things to happen in our life that need to happen, through the channel of our faith — the power of God doing something for us that we can neither earn nor deserve.
When we say to someone, “Can you do me a favor?” we are asking that person to do something for us that we have neither earned nor paid for. We are depending on that individual’s goodness to manifest in the form of a blessing, even though there is no natural reason for it to be given.
Esther, Daniel and the Hebrew children, Ruth and even Jesus Himself received favor from God that caused them to be accepted instead of rejected in specific situations. They may have been rejected in some areas, but they were accepted regarding the thing God had sent them to do.
I do not experience total acceptance and favor everywhere I go, and neither does anyone else. But I have experienced great favor as far as people receiving my teaching ministry. I have been invited to speak in some of the finest conferences in the world today, alongside great men and women of God whom I respect and admire. I know it is a manifestation of the favor of God, and I appreciate it.
Esther needed favor with the king. She was selected by God to bring deliverance to her people who were in danger. She stepped out in faith and went into a place that was hard for her in the natural. God gave her the favor she was believing for, and she fulfilled the call on her life.
Ruth was a Moabite, so there was no way for her to be accepted by the Israelites without favor from God because the Moabites were idol-aters. God gave her that favor because she loved and trusted Him. She did nothing special to deserve it, but her heart was right before God. Due to favor she married Boaz, a man of great wealth (Ruth 2:1 NKJV), and their ancestral line brought forth David from whom Jesus Himself was descended.
I think we can see that favor is very valuable and necessary in order to succeed at being all God intends us to be. We should pray for supernatural favor on a regular basis and expect to receive it. To be very honest, it is just plain fun to watch God favor us in certain situations.
I know you have had times of receiving favor, and I am sure you enjoyed it very much. I am encouraging you to release your faith in this area in a greater way than ever before. Don’t be afraid to ask God to give you favor.
I believe there are many things God would do for us, if we would be bold enough to ask. Boldness in prayer cannot be obtained without an understanding of mercy. We all make mistakes, and our reward should be punishment, not favor. That is exactly why boldness is required to go before the Lord and ask first for forgiveness and then for mercy. Forgiveness takes care of our sin, and mercy blesses us even though we don’t deserve it. Forgiveness is actually a manifestation of God’s mercy. He forgives us because He is merciful and long-suffering.
MERCY! MERCY! MERCY!__________________
It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22,23
I frequently say, “It’s a good thing God’s mercy is new every morning, because I have used up all of yesterday’s supply!”
Mercy is another word that is in close relationship and even interchangeable to a degree with grace and favor. In Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language he defines mercy as:
“That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.”2
I don’t know about you, but I am extremely happy about God’s mercy. I cannot possibly imagine where I would be today if it were not for it. I know for sure I would no
t be anywhere pleasant.
We all deserve punishment, but instead God gives us mercy. What an awesome God we serve! The psalms are filled with references to His mercy. Psalm 107:1 is an example: O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
David was a man who loved God very much, yet he made serious mistakes. His passions gained the mastery over him and caused him to commit adultery and have a man murdered. I believe David talked so much about the mercy of God because he had experienced it firsthand in his life and ministry.
God’s mercy forgives and restores, and only a person like David who has been honest in his evaluation of himself can truly say, O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
MERCY AND MINISTRY__________________
But Paul selected Silas and set out, being commended by the brethren to the grace (the favor and mercy) of the Lord.
And he passed through Syria and Cilicia, establishing and strengthening the churches.
Acts 15:40,41
It is obvious from this Scripture that believers in the early Church knew their success in ministry was dependent upon God’s grace, favor and mercy. We would do well to remember that fact in our own ministries. We make much greater progress depending on His grace, favor and mercy than we ever do depending on our own good works or efforts to deserve His help.
Our ministries do not grow and prosper due to our goodness, but to God’s. He is all goodness, while we must say with Paul in Romans 7:18, …I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh….