Mensa Otabil - Grace to Complete
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This is our 19th day of our Fresh Start. We started a couple of weeks ago, and we are winding down to the end of this process of praying and seeking the face of the Lord for the new year. So we go to First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse number 10. «But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.»
The Apostle Paul is giving us the reasons for his success in life and in ministry. He has labored for the Lord; he has done great things for God, and he’s telling us how he got to do the things he has done. It’s important for us, as we think of doing things for God, to learn from Paul and ascribe honor in the right places. He talks about the grace of God and his labor.
The first thing he says is the grace of God is what makes us who we are. He says, «I am what I am by the grace of God,» and all that we are as Christians and all that we achieve is by the grace of God. In other words, it is by the enablement of God; it is God empowering us, God giving us the strength, God giving us the ability. So I am what I am by the grace of God. You are who you are by the grace of God. The grace of God turned Paul into a preacher and made him a real gift to the body of Christ. The same grace can take our negatives into positives and help us to do great things for God.
The second thing that Paul says is that the grace of God enabled him to work. He said, «I labored more abundantly,» and that’s a very important notation because many times when we think about the grace of God, we only think of God doing something for us, but we never think of our part in complementing the grace of God. Paul is saying here that labor, hard work, and effort are part of the grace of God.
So I cannot say that God’s grace is toward me, so I’m going to be lazy. The grace of God does not make us lazy; the grace of God helps us to work very, very hard. So in addition to God’s grace that is available to us this year, we are going to put in labor, we are going to sweat, and we are going to put in sweat equity. We will labor towards our goals and towards our assignments. Don’t just sit, fold your arms, and say, «Oh, the grace of God is sufficient; everything will be all right.» Paul said God’s grace was there: «I am what I am by the grace of God,» but he also said, «I labored.»
You know, there are Christians who have a conflict between favor and labor, grace and labor, and they think that if you work hard, it’s not a sign of God’s grace. But Paul is telling us my hard work actually is a sign of God’s grace. So if God has so graced me, then I have to complement that grace with effort, with hard work, and with putting in the work that is required for me to do the things I have to do. This year, we are going to work extremely hard, each one of us, toward our goals and our targets.
And then the third thing he says is that even though I work hard and I achieve success, he concludes by saying, «Yet not I, but still God that was working in me.» In other words, although I work hard with the grace of God, in the final analysis, I’m not going to take the credit for myself; I’m going to pass the credit on to God. That’s how Christians live our lives. We start with the grace of God, we work extremely hard for what we need to achieve in life, and after we’ve achieved it, we lay all of it back at the feet of the Lord because He gave us the grace to begin with. Actually, our hard work is a product of His grace; He enabled us to work hard. May the Lord help us this year to achieve success to His glory.
Let’s pray. With me: Heavenly Father, Your grace makes me who I am. Let my labors produce a great harvest this year. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.