Study Notes

FOUNDATION STATEMENT: Grace and faith is the system by which Heaven and Earth do business.  Money is the currency in the world and the buyer gives money to the seller and in exchange the seller gives the buyer worldly goods.  In the same manner faith is the currency of Heaven.  The believer gives faith to God and in exchange God by grace gives the believer Heavenly goods in exchange for the Heavenly currency called Faith to be experienced in the Earth. You exchange the currency of the world for the goods of the worlds; you exchange the currency of the Kingdom for the goods of the Kingdom. Grace and faith is the system by which the believer experience Heaven on Earth.

 

I.      Anything that you receive in the Kingdom of God from God is given to you by grace and received through faith

A.    Ephesians 2:8-This “salvation” that comes by grace through faith refers to every area of your life spirit, soul, body, socially, and financially

1.      Rom 4:16-Any promise you inherit for any area of life is by grace through faith

2.      What does saved mean?

a.      To save a suffering one (from perishing)

b.      To sum up all the benefits & blessings given by God to men in Christ; make whole

c.      Delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, & protected and is now safe & secure

3.      Examples of sozo (saved) in different areas

a.      Matthew 1:21-For he shall save his people from their sins (Spirit)

b.      Matthew 8:25-And his disciples came to him & awoke him saying, Lord save us (protection)

c.      Matthew 9:22-Daughter be of good comfort thy faith has made you whole (healing)

d.      Matthew 14:30-Peter cried saying Lord save me (preservation, suffering)

e.      Luke 8:36-He that was possessed with a devil was healed (saved)

f.       2 Timothy 1:7-For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, & of a sound (saved) mind

g.      Luke 18:42-Your faith has saved you (the blind man)

h.      Romans 10:12-13-For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

B.     Grace is the giving side; faith is the receiving side

1.      God is going to give it to you for free on the basis of what Jesus did-Grace

2.      You have to receive it by faith and without faith you can’t receive

3.      James 5:15-The prayer of faith will sozo the sick

C.    Matthew 6:22-33-All these things are added to you by God are by grace through faith

1.      22-24-To receive from God you got to look to only Him (Isaiah 30-They went to Egypt)

2.      27-Fear will not get 1 thing added to u from God b/c it takes faith 2 receive from Him

a.      You weren’t saved by grace through fear; being afraid that you’re going to hell won’t get salvation added to you; Faith is required to receive from God-Heb 11:6

3.      33-The just (righteous) live by faith-Heb 10:38, Gal 3:11, Rom 1:17, Hab 2:4

II.     Grace is always a free gift; grace to be healed, to be prosperous is always free-Eph 2:8

A.    When you come into the Kingdom all the Heavenly goods have already been paid for.  You can’t earn them, work for them, or pay for them.  The Kingdom doesn’t operate on buying and selling, but on giving and receiving.  So you don’t have to pay for what you need, you just have to receive it; Salvation is the gift (present, offering) of God

1.      Everything you need in the kingdom has already been paid for by the blood of Jesus

a.      Ephesians 1:7, Galatians 3:13-My redemption is through the shedding of his blood

1)       Redemption-Releasing/liberation effected by payment of ransom

2)       What was the payment? Through his blood

b.      I was released and liberated b/c somebody paid for my freedom

1)       If something is free for you it’s b/c somebody paid for it

c.      1 Corinthians 7:22-23-I was bought with a price  

2.      As powerful as the blood is, it alone is not enough to cause u to overcome-Rev12:11

a.      The blood has bought you out of sickness, but if you’re don’t add your words to it you won’t receive what the blood did

b.      Grace is the blood; faith is the word of your testimony

c.      In the Kingdom everything is free you just have to receive it with your faith

B.     Grace (or things that come from God) are received through faith, not through works  

1.      It is not through works b/c u can’t pay for what’s already been paid 4, u can’t earn what has already been earned, & u can’t work 4 what’s already been worked 4

a.      Jesus already earned it, worked for it, and paid for it so you can’t

1)       It’s not that you shouldn’t work for it, you can’t work for it

2)       I can’t pay for your car if it’s paid for; I can’t earn your paycheck

b.      Salvation is not for sale or hire; it’s not available to be worked for; it’s a free-gift

2.      God wants to give based solely on His love & not based your working & His owing

a.      There’s no love/grace in you getting your paycheck from your boss; where that paycheck is concerned we can’t talk about the love of your boss we can only talk about what hard worker you are  

b.      If your boss doubled your paycheck out of his own pocket and you didn’t earn it, then you’re going get a stronger revelation that your boss loves you

c.      God wants love to be magnified, in the Kingdom love is king (John 13:34)

d.      If what God gave to you were based on works, you wouldn’t get much, but if He gives it you based on grace He can overflow your cup

C.    Not of works doesn’t mean that you do nothing to receive grace; Not of works means what you do doesn’t earn you anything, what you do doesn’t pay for anything

1.      I can do nothing to earn it, but I have to do everything to receive it

a.      What I do, I do to simply receive what is free

b.      My faith isn’t earning something, it’s receiving something

2.      “If you have to do something, then it’s not grace.”

a.      EX: I bought you an 80,000 car but it’s in Saint Louis you just pick it up; is that grace

3.      Faith vs. Works

a.      Faith is not works-If you’re in faith you’re not working to earn something you’re believing to receive something-Mark 11:24

b.      Works is not faith-If you’re in works you’re not believing to receive something, you’re relying on your works; It’s not my doing, it his doing & my believing

4.      Faith is work and faith without works is dead (Faith is believing only & it is work)

a.      Labor (exert oneself, endeavor, give diligence) 2 enter rest by faith-Heb 4:3,11

1)       Real faith rests because it realizes the work has been done

2)       When you have entered into this rest you’ve stopped doing your own works

b.      1 Tim 6:12-It’s the fight of faith and the fight is to get to the place of rest with an adversary out there who is using everything he can to get you to not believe

1)       You have to meditate the Word, cast down thoughts, speak the Word, encourage yourself in the Lord, be thankful, and act like you have it not to earn something from God, but to stay in faith

D.    Having a revelation that grace is a free gift, will keep it strong in your heart that all you have to do is believe (receive by faith)-Hebrews 4:10-All I’m doing is believing

1.      Jesus worked for it, paid for it the work is done; I’m not working, I’m believing

2.      That takes all the pressure off of me puts it on the Word of God

3.      The moment u start working for it can no longer be given to you by grace-Rom 11:6

III.   If it were solely up to grace you’d have it by now, right now

A.    Isaiah 30:3, 12-Your unbelief will keep the grace of God waiting

1.      He’s not waiting on the account of His grace, but of their unbelief

B.     Inheriting the promise is by grace through faith-Romans 4:16 (AMP)

1.      The promises you inherit are connected to what you believe from this Word

2.      People who walk in less faith will inherit less promises (Hebrews 6:12)

3.      Not generic faith, but specific faith where your situation is concerned

C.    Inheriting the promise is so heavily dependent upon faith b/c if it were solely up to grace you’d have it by now; grace wants you to have it the moment it offers it

1.      If it were solely up 2 grace everybody would be saved, healed, & rich-2 Pet 1:4

2.      God’s not alone in his dealings with man; he needs man’s faith

a.      This is an EXCHANGE of faith and grace and it takes two people to exchange

b.      A giver has to have a receiver

D.    Grace could not give it, until faith would receive it; before faith would receive it grace could only make the offer, it can’t force you to receive

1.      Without faith God cannot give you grace; He can only offer it (sozo is a gift offered)

a.      Gifts that are rejected digress to an offer made, but not received

2.      Titus 2:11-Grace is always ready to do it, but can’t do it until faith will receive it

a.      MSG-God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone!

b.      YLT-For the saving grace of God was manifested to all men,

3.      Any promise u need 2 manifest is dependent on faith so it can be given by grace

a.      Where faith isn’t functioning grace cannot be given

4.      Mark 6:1-6-This is the only place in he couldn’t do these works

a.      Grace could not function where there was no faith

b.      Faith gives grace grounds upon which to work; Grace needs faith

E.     Jesus credited the person’s faith b/c grace was ready to do it for every person; it wasn’t his graced that changed it was their faith that changed

1.      Mark 5:34-The woman with the issue of blood (Mt 14:36-As many as touched him)

a.      24-There’s a crowd of people out there and Jesus was read to do it for everybody

b.      30-Jesus didn’t even have to consciously release grace to be healed to; grace is always on, it’s always available, and it’s always being extended to those in need

c.      34-Her faith was in the doctors, but then it changed and was in Jesus

2.      Luke 17:19-If it were solely up to grace all 10 would have been made whole

3.      Luke 18:42-Receive your sight; Thy faith has saved you  

IV.   Romans 5:2-We access grace by faith (NIRV-Through faith in Jesus we have received God's grace---NCV-who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy.--- Phillips-By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise---WE-Because we believe, Christ has brought us to the place where God can do us good.)

A.    A part from faith we have no way to access grace; No faith = No access

1.      John 14:6-Jesus is the way and faith in the Way’s words is our way in 

2.      Because you determine what you believe you are the only one who deny or grant yourself access to the Grace of God-(John 20:25)

B.     Your own unbelief works like a wall to keep you out of the grace of God

1.      It’s not that grace isn’t available, it’s that you’re unbelief is keeping you out

a.      Unbelief walls you off from grace that is available; faith grants you access

2.      Numbers 13:2, 14:31-God offered them “grace-land” but they rejected it

a.      It wasn’t that the land was unavailable or God didn’t want them to have it; it was their own unbelief that shut them out (Heb 3:19 AMP-Unbelief kept them out)

C.    Faith is the solitary way to get into grace; there is no other way; that tells me to receive grace I HAVE TO BELIEVE something

1.      You don’t get into grace by begging God-2Cor12:6

a.      He’s tormented (fear), he’s got this thorn (cares), he’s begging, he’s not in faith

2.      Faith is the only thing moves the needle-Hebrews 4:14-16

a.      This force of Grace only responds to the force of faith

b.      Grace wasn’t created to respond to anything other than faith

D.    Until we make an unwavering commitment 2 live by faith we will never live by grace

1.      Psalm 84:11-12-Those who live by faith will not see grace withheld

a.      The upright/just live by faith-Habakkuk 2:4, Hebrews 10:38, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11

b.      The way you walk uprightly is to walk by faith and not by sight-2 Cor 5:7

2.      Those who stay in faith WILL see grace-Galatians 6:9, John 8:32

a.      No matter what attack you are bombarded with always CHOOSE faith in doing so you choose grace

V.    Eph 2:8-Grace flows from God into the life of a believer through a channel called faith

A.    Through-The channel of an act, noting passage, from one end to the other, from beginning to end

1.      Channel-A passage; a place of passing or flowing; That through which anything passes; means of passing, conveying, transmitting

B.     With no faith grace has nothing to pass through & can’t be transmitted to your life

1.      Everything that comes to you from God has to come through the pipe called faith

2.      Ex: If we took all your water pipes would you be surprised when you turned the faucet and no water came out---Of course not because I have no pipes

a.      Then why would you be surprised when no grace is showing up and you’ve given God no faith pipes to flow through

C.    Increase your faith

1.      God has dealt to every saved man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

2.      Faith levels-Mt 8:10,6:30-Great faith, Little faith, Rom 14:1-Weak faith, Mk 4:40-No faith

3.      The bigger or greater your channel is, the more grace can flow through it-Rom 10:17

a.      Ex: Unlmited money, but small pipe