John Bevere - The Most Powerful Scripture for Believers
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I’m going to open up tonight with the scripture that everybody in this place knows if you’ve been saved for over two weeks. All right, Ephesians 2:8-10: «For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God—not of works, so that no one can boast.» Stop right there! It’s true, other than John 3:16, this is probably the most quoted scripture among born-again believers. We know this teaches us that our salvation is by grace and only by grace. You cannot find a place or a position with God in His kingdom or in His family by your own good works, right? But what I don’t understand is why so many stop right there. Because if you look at verse 10, it has the word «for,» and as an author, I understand that «for» is a conjunction. It means the thought is not finished.
The word «for» means, «because of this.» So you cannot quote verses 8 and 9 and leave out verse 10; you are cutting the sentence off, and you’re doing what mainstream media does—you’re giving half the truth. Yeah, I said it! «For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do—» everybody shout «to do!» Shout it again! Shout it again! «Good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.» Verse 8 shows that it is by the grace of God that you were created to be a child of God, but verse 10 shows that it is by that very same grace that you are empowered to do something. So tonight, I want to talk about the verse 10 aspect. I want to talk about that work that God has prepared for you to do in advance.
So tonight, in order to really establish what I want to say, I’m going to go through a boatload of scriptures in the beginning, but I will complete it with the second half of when I speak to you with a lot of stories that will solidify and illustrate the scriptures that I’ve given you. So basically, if you want to put this in your notes, you were not just saved by grace to be somebody; you were empowered by that same grace to do something. That should come out of your mouth as quickly as who you are in Christ Jesus. What you are called to do should come out just as strong! Jesus made the statement, «My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work,» and He said, «As the Father sent me, I am sending you.» So «meat» is what strengthens us, and I find a lot of people backslide.
A lot of people do not fulfill what God has put them on this Earth to do—or, excuse me, a lot of people do not live a successful Christian life because they’re not engaged in what they’re called to do. Amen? Guys, don’t get quiet on me tonight! So to open this up, I’m going to highlight three very important words quickly at the beginning of this message, and I’m going to open up with Romans 12:6, which says this: «Having then gifts—» everybody shout «gifts!» Shout it! Shout it like you mean it! Say «gifts!» That’s good! That’s the first word; we’ll talk about it in a minute. «Differing according to the grace—» everybody shout «grace!» «—that is given to us, let us use them.»
Now, let’s talk. The first word I want to identify is grace, and I want to ensure we are all on the same page. Most of you at Victory here know that the grace of God is not just salvation. Although I shouldn’t even say «not just"—thank God for salvation—but it’s not only salvation. It’s not just a free gift; it’s not only forgiveness of sins. Grace is God’s empowerment. The sad thing is, you’ve heard me say this for years. Back in, I think it was 2009, a survey was done all over the United States. Over 5,000 Christians were polled; they were asked to give definitions of the grace of God. Only 2% of those who were polled—2%—said that grace was God’s empowerment. Yet this is the way God defines His grace. He says to the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, «My grace is sufficient for you, for my power…»
God identifies His grace as His power. «My power works best in your weakness.» Your weakness is your human inability. Peter says, «Grace be multiplied to you"—this is 2 Peter 1; look it up later—"Grace be multiplied to you as His divine power has given us everything we need to live a godly life.» Grace is God’s empowerment! Are you seeing this? His divine empowerment. If you look at the definition of the Greek word «charis,» the Greek word is «charis» (c-h-a-r-i-s); it is defined as gift, favorable benefit, all those things. But if you look at what Strong’s defines it as, he says it is the divine influence upon the heart with its reflection in the life. There is an outward empowerment, an outward reflection of what is done in the heart!
That’s why in Acts 11, it says that Barnabas went to the church in Antioch; he saw the grace of God on the people. He didn’t hear it; he saw it! In the modern-day American church, however, you have to hear it many times before you see it. You still with me? Why is that? Because you can’t have anything from God; nothing from God works unless you believe. You can’t believe what you don’t know. So if only 2% of the Christians in America know that grace is God’s empowerment, that means 98% of the Christians in America are trying to live godly and trying to live their Christian life in their own ability. You fail if you do that! You walk in the grace of God; you walk on water. If you don’t walk in the power of the grace of God, you sink, even though you love Jesus! Good preaching, John! Thank you; I really appreciate it! Thanks for the encouragement!