The fact that Adam sold us out really ticks me off. I m not saying I could have done any better, but it s mind-boggling to think that one man s choice to choose Satan over God ushered in all sickness, pain, hurt and loss in this world. And ever since then, mankind has been dealing with the aftermath. Hebrews 2:17, NIV For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. The problem is we often try to overcome the wrong way. For example, many religious teachers try to shame the sin out of people. This just brings judgment and condemnation, and it actually exasperates our efforts. Why? Because judgment doesn t free us; the grace of God does. For years, I counseled inmates. I met men who were filled with regret because they had hurt people they loved while they were drunk, high or angry. When you look into their eyes, you see broken men some so filled with shame and condemnation that they are in danger of taking their own lives. Jesus knows what that feels like because He took the nature of sin upon Himself on the cross. And no matter what we ve done, He offers us an exchange in place of our shame: the nature of God, a relationship with Him, forgiveness, healing, peace, joy, strength and so much more! That s His grace in action the grace that freed you when you gave your life to Christ and continues to free you today and every day. When you struggle with temptation, turn again to God s grace. He sets you free! Over the years, I ve talked to many people who were struggling to overcome something in their lives. Some have such trouble handling anger that they are tempted to commit murder. Others worry to such an extent that it has taken over their lives.
Some struggle with addiction and don t believe they re ever going to be set free. They feel like they re always going to want it so badly that it s all they ll ever think about, day in and day out. They think that even if they drum up enough willpower to stop doing it, they re still going to want to do it. While that kind of willpower can cause you to resist what tempts you, that s not freedom. It s a great start, but a higher level of freedom is possible, and it s summed up in Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. God doesn t just work in you to do good things. He also works in you to want to do good things! There s a big difference! If you partner with Him, God can change what you desire. You need to trust and believe that you have His grace His power and ability, His full provision for your life and you have it free of charge (you don t have to earn it). The more you understand and believe this, the more you experience the effects of this grace in your life, and it doesn t just give you the power to walk away from wrong things. It causes you to actually want good things, and that s true freedom. Keep trusting in the fact that God s grace is yours as a believer, and you ll be empowered to live life His way...and love it! Hebrews 2:18, AMPC For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering]. Hebrews 2:16 18 is a great piece of Scripture to study. First it mentions the fact that God made a plan to help mankind out of the fallen state we found ourselves in (which was the result of Adam s decision) and into right standing with Him. Although a group of God s angels had also fallen, he didn t make a similar plan for them. He only did that for us! Then it talks about Jesus in verse 17. It says, So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect. Many believers don t walk in grace simply because they don t understand it. Discover simple keys to walking in God s grace listen to Leon s 3 message series, Understand Genuine Grace.
Who are his brethren? We are! It was essential that Jesus be made like us to enact God s plan to save us. He needed to become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people s sins (AMPC). Jesus isn t judgmental, legalistic or angry. He isn t going to nail you if you get out of line. He s merciful and sympathetic. And, as it says in verse 18, because He was tempted (tested and tried) just as we are, He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering] (v. 18, AMPC). Isn t that great news? If you re suffering today, you can turn to Jesus turn to His grace and know that He will always help. You can go boldly to God as a believer, even when you mess up. What do you get when you go to Him? Well, it doesn t say that you get judgment. When you come boldly to God s throne of grace, you get mercy. What is mercy? When you mess up, instead of the punishment you deserve, you get forgiveness instead. You re a child of God, and He isn t your judge, Hebrews 2:16, AMPC Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. condemner or punisher. In fact, Jesus didn t come to judge the world; He came to save the world (John 3:17). This is why you can always come boldly to the throne of grace. And why is it called the throne of grace? In the Greek language, grace is interpreted as unmerited favour. If something is unmerited, that means you didn t have to earn it. But what is the favour you get? It s the power you get to be set free.
So mercy and grace are about being forgiven... but also empowered to do better. You have this grace and it s there whenever you need it. Maybe you want to take your business or your marriage to the next level. Maybe you re dealing with personal temptation or trouble with overspending. No matter what it is, there s one common answer: come boldly to the throne of grace. Talk to God about what you re dealing with; you ll get compassion and the power you need to overcome. Ephesians 3:12, NIV In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Many believers are hesitant to pray because they feel like God is judging them. When they do something wrong, they avoid talking to God about it. They feel like they should be hanging their heads in shame, not asking for help. But today s verse says that we should come to God with freedom and confidence. If you ve made a mistake, you can say, Father, I need mercy because I ve messed up, and you can know that you re forgiven. At the same time, you can say, Father, I m thanking you for grace, because I want to change this. I m relying on your power to be the kind of person I want to be, and you can trust that He is not only helping you to have the self-control and willpower you need, but He s helping you to change your desires, so you actually start seeing results. You re still going to need to put some effort in, but as you do that, be aware of His phenomenal grace. It s God s ability within you to make great choices and carry them out. Too many Christians struggle because somebody has taught them the old covenant mixed with the new covenant. They ve taken the old deal, which was before Christ, and they ve mixed it with the new deal, after the cross. They ve mixed law with grace. When you mix the two, you get nothing but confusion.
The truth is you can be confident. You can approach God anytime and know that He s on your side. Serving Jesus is the best way to live. Many people think that they need to resist temptation to suffer for Jesus. Although resisting temptation may be hard at first, it s not a life sentence! God wants you to enjoy life, not live every moment craving things you can t have! Romans 5:20, AMPC But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded. God designed us to experience pleasure, and we can learn to meet every desire we have in ways that are healthy, God-honouring and more fulfilling. Many destructive habits stem from legitimately healthy desires. For example, someone who loves to party and get drunk every weekend may just be trying to meet a desire for fun and adventure. God placed those desires in us; they re not unhealthy. However, getting drunk every weekend is a poor way to fulfil those desires. It takes a toll on the body and leads to poor decisions. You can have more fun and adventure living God s way, and the bonus is you ll actually remember the fun you ve had! Whenever you feel tempted to do what you know you shouldn t, meditate on today s verse. Where that temptation abounds, grace superabounds! God s power and the ability He has given you as a believer is much greater than any temptation. Whenever you feel tempted, tune in to Holy Spirit for direction on how to meet that desire in a healthy way. Believe that God s grace is empowering you. Not only will you begin to exercise the power God has given you to stay away from that temptation, but as you study His Word and spend time in His presence, you will start to desire good things in place of what tempts you.
Your beliefs have great influence over your life. Each belief you hold has an accompanying result. If you believe you can t trust anyone, your ability to build close friendships will be limited because you won t let anyone in. Believing that money is evil limits your financial growth, which reduces your ability to fund your kids dreams and prevents you from financially supporting the causes you value. On the other hand, having the right beliefs influences your life in a positive way. As you grow in your understanding of who God says you are and what He says you can have through Jesus, you become equipped and empowered to overcome whatever life throws your way. Another way to say this is that you gain victory through faith. If you ve been trying to overcome a problem for a while and it feels like God hasn t been listening to your prayers, don t search out reasons for why you re not getting your answer. There are all kinds of books and theories that try to explain why some people s prayers aren t answered. Some even say that God wants us to have certain challenges to teach us things. The problem is that these why not theories are all true if you believe them to be true. They become self-fulfilling prophesies. John 8:32 says that when you know the truth, that truth will set you free. So instead of worrying about why some don t seem to be answered, focus on why many do! Get fully persuaded of the truth of what God has promised you in His Word you ll love the accompanying result of these biblical beliefs! Study His promises specifically, develop your faith and you ll have your victory! You can overcome anything life throws at you through knowing what God has promised you. We all want this overcoming kind of faith. We want faith that can move mountains... but there are two specific concepts we need to understand before we can confidently believe. We need to understand grace and righteousness. You can use the name of Jesus with complete authority and trust because you ve been given all authority. For your gift of $30 or more, we ll send you 3 messages that will give you a better understanding of God s grace.
First, let s talk about grace. The grace of God became yours when you gave your life to Jesus, and this grace encompasses so much more than you may realize. Grace is God s mercy and favour in your life, but it s also the power and ability He provides you. It s His full provision for every part of your life. It s the blessings, amazing strength and overcoming power you now have in you because of your decision to follow Jesus. Romans 5:17, NIV 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! Understanding grace is vital because it elevates your life to an entirely new level. You see, when you begin to understand God s grace, you start to realize that you truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). You have all you could ever need inside of you! God doesn t expect you to handle this life on your own strength. You have His grace in you always, and you can choose to look to that grace for help. It can empower you to become all that God says you can be, and it can help you to tap into God s joy in the middle the most stressful times of life. God s grace provides you with His miraculous, life- transforming power. Don t forget it s yours! You get what Jesus deserves! When you give your life to Jesus, you get in on God s grace. Understanding grace powers your faith because you realize you have everything you need within you to live the awesome life He has promised you. However, there s something else that you need to understand to develop unshakable faith. It s called righteousness, which is your right standing with God. You see, whenever you try to believe you can have what God says you can have whether it s health, prosperity, guidance or peace your biggest enemy will be doubt. All your faults and failures will come to mind, and you ll think you haven t been good enough to deserve God s help. Even if you believe God does miracles, you won t be fully
persuaded that miracles will happen in your life if you don t understand righteousness. You need to realize that God s promises don t depend on your perfect behaviour. Righteousness isn t based on what you do. It s based on what Jesus has done. Romans 5:18-19, MSG Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! You re right with God because you trust in Jesus. As a result, you re entitled to all the blessings and promises that Jesus deserves. Focus on developing a confident belief in the fact that through Christ Jesus you have everything you need within you to have the kind of life God says you can have, and that you fully qualify for that life because of Jesus. As you grow in your understanding of grace and righteousness, you will develop an unshakable faith that sees the miraculous! Because of Jesus, you re in right standing with God and you re entitled to every promise! When you re praying about a need in your life, you might question why God isn t doing anything about it. Meanwhile, He did do something about it! When Jesus died on the cross, an exchange was made. He took our place and paid the price for our sin. In exchange, He gave us all that He deserves. If we choose to trust in Him, we have access to His love, His health and healing, His confident sense of purpose and His intimate relationship with God. Why are you looking at Him, waiting for Him to make a move when He has already moved? Recognize the beauty and power of what Jesus Christ has done for you.
Through Him, you have God s forgiveness and His power, and you can come to Him anytime without ever feeling condemned. Even when you mess up, God is not angry with you. You may have to make it up to the people you ve hurt before they ll let you back in, but your relationship with God is unshakable. It s based on what Jesus has done, so you re always in right standing with Him! If you try to make things right with God or try to earn miracles through your behaviour, it s actually a type of arrogance. You re basically saying that God has to do something for you because you re doing things for Him. Meanwhile, you couldn t qualify to get yourself healed of a headache! Realize you have the right to ask, not because you re perfect, but because Jesus is perfect. A new agreement and how to qualify for it. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they separated mankind from being able to have a relationship with God. God responded by promising to send a Saviour to set things right, and He chose to bring about this Saviour from a chosen group of people, the Israelites. Romans 3:21-22, NLT But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law...we are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. God struck a deal with the Israelites that we refer to as the Old Covenant. In this deal, God promised a relationship with Him and access to His blessings if they obeyed Him, but it wasn t meant to be a permanent solution. People were trapped in endless cycles of failure and attempts to make up for those failures...that is, until God cut a new deal. This new deal, which we call the New Covenant, occurred between Jesus and God. Basically, God said: I promise to bless and restore my relationship with people through you, Jesus. If people trust in you, Jesus, and your finished work on the cross, I ll count it as though they have your perfect record. The name of Jesus unlocks the blessing, protection and power of God. With your gift of $30 or more, you ll get 3 messages that will help you understand the power found in Jesus name.
Some people are living as though they are bound to the old agreement. They think that they need to behave a certain way to get God to love and bless them. Meanwhile, we re living under the new agreement! Jesus already fulfilled His part of the deal perfectly! You don t need to focus on trying to make anything up to God. Nothing is standing between you and a close, loving relationship with your Father God. You can ask Him for what you need knowing that your deservedness is irrelevant. Jesus deserves whatever you re asking God for, so you re entitled to it through Him! As you stand strong in your understanding of grace and righteousness, the miraculous will begin to invade your life! It s important to be clear on the fundamentals, and grace and righteousness are two of the most important fundamental concepts to understand. Righteousness, which is your standing with God, is a gift you receive when you trust in Jesus. His grace is yours, which means He s provided you with everything you need to live the amazing life He s promised you. There s no way I could be the kind of husband and father my family needs without God s power at work in me. The good news is I don t have to! Jesus said that His yolk is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). It s like He s saying, I ve given you my ability and I ve qualified you to be in right standing with God. You can rise up out of any mess you get into because my ability is yours! You don t just have access to it when you re doing everything right. Actually, you need my power in order to do right! My power, love and ability are with you always, even when you don t measure up. Don t fall for the lie that you have to deal with your bad habits and wrong behaviour before you can go to God for help. God s power and ability is yours to help you with every issue, so come boldly to Him the way you are.
With this understanding of grace and righteousness, your faith can t falter. No one can make you double minded when you re solid on what Jesus did for you. To experience God s grace, you have to believe. But what do you need to believe in? When you made Jesus the leader of your life, you became a member of God s family. God s ability and power became yours because of your relationship with God made possible by Jesus. Jesus actually causes God s 2 Peter 1:2, AMPC May grace (God s favour) and peace... be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. favour to reign in your life (Romans 5:17). You gain preferential treatment with God without earning it because Jesus earned it for you. Grace doesn t eliminate all frustrations and difficulties in life. You still need to work hard, learn and grow in wisdom, but grace becomes your solid foundation. It s your secret weapon; it enables you to have peace and joy even in the most difficult situations. Although you have God s grace, you can increase your experience of it. Grace is multiplied in your life as you grow in your knowledge of Jesus and what He has done for you (2 Peter 1:2). Hebrews 13:9 calls this having a heart that is established by grace. This little e-book is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning how to walk in God s grace in your life. As is true of every believer, you need to keep growing in your understanding of how blessed and empowered you are. When you grow in confidence of what you have and who you are in Christ, you begin to experience the benefits of His grace more fully. Things you used to struggle with begin to lose their grip on you, because you realize how to walk in the power you ve been given the power to overcome! Grace involves walking in Christ s power to overcome anything. Develop your ability to walk in God s power! We ll send you 3 audio messages with your gift of $30 or more.
At Miracle Channel, we ve seen how life-changing it is to understand grace, which is why we ve put together a powerful three-part audio series called Understanding Genuine Grace. In this series, Leon Fontaine spells out keys we all need to understand to walk in grace: 5 things that took place at the cross (get empowered to walk in all of God s blessings), 6 ways the name of Jesus is used (including how to exercise confident authority over sickness and disease), 11 practical and powerful benefits Holy Spirit brings to our lives (including how to receive guidance and wisdom, and how to walk in peace and joy). We ve been given so many benefits in Christ, and God wants us to grab hold of all that He has for us. He wants us to walk in His power and provision with unshakable confidence every day. Start the journey toward walking in genuine grace in every area of your life by getting this powerful series today. Just click the link below, and let s get started! For your gift of $30 or more, we ll send you Understand Genuine Grace, a 3 message audio series! Get this offer
Leon Fontaine Leon is the CEO of Miracle Channel, host of The Spirit Contemporary Life, and the Senior Pastor of Springs Church, one of the largest churches in Canada. His weekly messages broadcast across North and South America, Asia, Africa and other far reaching parts of the world. Leon s daily devotional, Devoted with Leon, is sent by mail and email to thousands of readers. Miracle Channel Miracle Channel is television with purpose. It is reaching people with the hope of Christ through contemporary, life-changing programs. In addition to airing programming from popular ministries such as Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and Joseph Prince, the channel airs documentaries, talk shows, movies, news, live programs and children s shows. Miracle Channel has been leading the Christian television industry in Canada since 1996 as the first and still the only all Christian broadcaster.