Amazing grace

Hymn-
Amazing grace

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
  That saved a wretch; like me!
  I once was lost, but now am found,
  Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
 And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
 The hour I first believed!

The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
 As long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
 Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
 Than when we first begun.

Grace is undeserved favour, receiving unmerited honour or undue credit for what you have not done. Amazing grace is astounding, breathtaking, spectacular or phenomenal favour, honour or credit that is bestowed unto an underserving or condemned individual.
In Acts 19 vs 1- 41; Paul was sent to the Ephesian church by God to minister unto them. God started his work of grace through the disciples that Paul met because they were not effective till Paul came to Ephesus.
  • The Ephesians were idol worshippers until Paul went to minister unto them.
  • The disciples in the church were limited because they only believed in the baptism of water which was only unto repentance.
  •  After Paul’s message they believed in the name of the Lord Jesus and entered into the dispensation of grace.
  • They received the ministration of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
  • The Ephesian church lit the flame of revival and it spread like wildfire.
  • The surrounding area was deeply stirred by God’s message that came through Paul’s teaching.
  • God displayed his power through Paul as he performed miracles, healed the sick and delivered the oppressed.

Ephesians 2 vs. 1 – 10; (Living Bible) Once you were under God’s curse, doomed forever for your sins. 2 You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. 3 All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God’s anger just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much 5 that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again[a] when he raised Christ from the dead—only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved— 6 and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms—all because of what Christ Jesus did. 7 And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.
8 Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. 10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

In the above passage, Paul is admitting what had happened in the past both to himself as well as the Ephesian Church. He was reminding the church about the grace that was received. We are being reminded this morning from the above scripture about
  • When we were living under the full control of the enemy before we were delivered.
  • Where we are coming from, when the old man was in full control of our lives.
  • The fact that there are still people in bondage by the enemy and are not yet escaped from a life of destruction.
  • The precious love of our Lord Jesus Christ that located us and saved us from eternal damnation.
  • How we received the salvation of God unto abundant life.
  • How the amazing grace of God located us and saved us from destruction.
  • Our new position with Christ just because of the grace that was bestowed unto us as a result of the ultimate price he had to pay for us.
  • We are the product of God’s rich mercy whereby we have been given access to life by His grace.
  • The fact that this amazing grace is a gift not an entitlement nor a right.
  • We should never take credit for what we have received.
  • We need to spread the message of grace not just by saying it but by doing it. 
Prayer points;
  1. Lord I thank you for your salvation and your deliverance upon my life.
  2. Lord I am grateful that I have been set free from the bondage of the enemy.
  3. Lord thank you for choosing me as a recipient of your amazing grace.
  4. Holy Spirit help me to never forget nor take for granted what I have received.
  5. Lord I repent of the times I have dwelt in self-righteousness, please have mercy on me.
  6. I receive the mandate to spread the message of your mercy and grace everywhere the sole of my feet thread upon. In my home, in my family, in my church, in my nation, in my neighborhood, among my friends, among my colleagues and wherever I find myself in Jesus name.

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