Sunday 8 April WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO GRACE?

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.          1 Corinthians 15:10                                        

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

At the first Holy Communion service organised by the Lord, not one of His disciples was born again because Jesus was yet to go to the cross. In spite of this, He broke the bread and gave them wine too. He did it even when He knew that same night they were going to be scattered from Him and their leader was going to deny Him. Grace first gives a helping hand. Every time you partake of the Holy Communion, remember you are there only because of grace and do not fail to thank the God of grace. However never let the grace be in vain. Don't abuse the grace too.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Romans 6:1   

Sin does not make God to release more grace but rather hinders Him. Use God's grace to aggressively win souls to Christ.

One person who never took God's grace for granted was Paul. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, he says:

But by the grace of  God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of  God which was with me.

Many people respond to grace differently. Some frustrate the grace, some ignore it while some waste it. Thank God for someone like Paul who, having looked at his past and present, realised there was no way someone with his antecedents could ever become an apostle, much more an apostle of apostles other than by the grace of God. On this realisation, he resolved not to waste any iota of that grace but to optimally exploit it for the benefit of the Giver of grace. What a right response! What is your response to grace today? One place where I perceive that people know how to use God's grace well is at the festival of life in London. Each time this programme is held together with the Holy Communion, we meet about 2,000 workers and exhort them to use the grace maximally. By the time the main programme starts, we would have a crowd. We may have to add about 5,000 extra chairs while some people will still stand. Are you optimising God's grace upon your life?

KEY POINT:

Grace is the oil that helps you to operate God's gifts. If you have the gift but lack the grace, you will be frustrated and stranded.

Bible in one year:  Isaiah 46-48