Your Capacity To Receive
FOUNDATION STATEMENT: Your capacity
to receive from God is determined by your faith
I. In the Kingdom of the
currency is faith and the goods are grace
A.
The more proficient u are at receiving grace
from God the more useful you are to Him
1.
Apart of from God’s grace you are nothing, you
have nothing, you know nothing & you can do nothing; everything you are,
everything you have, everything you know, and everything you can do is by His
grace
B.
W/O faith you can do nothing in the KOG b/c
w/o faith you can’t access any grace
1.
If faith is how I access grace, grace is what
makes me useful to God, then there should be a premium on growing in faith
2.
The more faith I have, the more grace I’ll
walk in & the more I can do in the KOG
C.
In the Kingdom of God the currency is faith
1.
To do anything in the KOG it requires grace
which requires faith
a.
You cannot do that which u do not believe b/c
you will not have grace to do it
2.
In the Kingdom what you can or can’t do is
not based on your race, your education, your background, or your past, but it’s
based on what your capacity to
receive grace which is your faith
II. God is no respecter of
persons and yet people are experiencing different levels of grace
A.
2 Corinthians 9:8-God is able to make all grace
abound towards you
1.
This does not reveal what he is doing in the
life of every believer, but what He is capable of doing and willing to do in
the life of every believer
B.
People are experiencing different levels of
God’s grace/blessing in their lives
1.
Proverbs 19:12-The King’s favor is like dew
upon the grass
a.
Dew can be so light that its unnoticeable or
so heavy u can see it from miles
2.
Acts 4:33, James 4:7, Luke 17:10-There’s
different degrees and intensities of this grace
C.
God’s not the one who’s deciding the level of
grace that you see in your life
1.
Acts 10:34-God is no respecter of persons; He
is a “whosoever will” God
a.
NLT-In every nation he accepts those who fear
him and do what is right
b.
MSG-Peter fairly exploded with his good news:
"It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites!
It makes no difference who you are or where you're
from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open.
2.
The level of grace that you see in someone
else’s life God will give to you
3.
Why do some people seem to be walking in more
grace than others?
III. The level of God’s grace you
see in your life is not based on God’s capacity to give it, but on your capacity
to receive it or what you are able to receive; You determine the level of
grace that you see in your life based on your capacity to receive it
A.
Psalm 78:41-They limited God; they couldn’t
receive all He wanted to do
1.
32-This is the KEY ISSUE in many situations:
What do you believe? They didn’t believe
a.
THEREFORE-Because of their unbelief vanity
and trouble manifested
1)
Vanity-Useless, Producing no good-Believers
who won’t believe are useless (not worthless) to God and will produce no good
and yield no good fruit
a)
The more a man believes God the more useful
He becomes to God
2)
Trouble-Unbelief will get you in trouble
b.
36-“I believe Lord” – Yeah Right
c.
37-There has was not right-fixed, firm, established, stable
d.
37-They weren’t steadfast-faithful in His covenant
1)
This is why they had no faith-Romans 10:17
e.
40-They provoked-rebelled
against God b/c they didn’t trust Him
2.
41-They turned
back-draw back-Hebrews 10:35-38
a.
If you throw away faith, you throw away grace
that is attached to it
1)
Grace is attached 2 ur
faith (grace 2 be saved is attached 2 faith 4 salvation; if you throw away
faith for salvation you throw away grace to be saved)
b.
Grace is the fruit that results naturally
from the endeavor called faith
c.
Recompense-In the eyes of God where faith is,
grace is due
d.
You need patience-steadfastness,
endurance, constancy, perseverance
e.
Faith never draws back-Hebrews 11:6-Faith
pleases God & drawing back doesn’t
1)
39-Utter destruction awaits the person who
draws back in unbelief
3.
41-When they drew back they limited God
a.
Limit-To pain, to wound, to trouble, 2 set a mark,
To confine within certain
bounds
b.
God is
confined to operate in your life within the boundary of your faith
1)
He can
want 2 do more, give more, but He can’t go outside that boundary
c.
You
set the mark or the boundary in which God can operate
d.
Unbelief
pains God faith pleases Him-Hebrews 11:6
e.
You’re
unbelief wounds God in your life (the wounded are limited)
4.
They
turned back when they were on the outskirts of the promise land
a.
The
ones who didn’t go in didn’t have the capacity to receive it
B.
We got to enlarge our capacity to receive
from God by developing our faith in Him
1.
You have an actual capacity to receive
a.
1 Corinthians 3:2-I have fed you with milk,
and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
b.
John 16:12-I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
c.
Num 13-God wanted the promised land 4 them,
but it was too much for their faith
2.
Whatever you want to receive you have to have
faith big enough to receive it
a.
God wants to do some things in our lives, but
they’re too big for our faith
b.
Whatever you won’t believe you don’t have the
capacity to receive; whatever you will believe you have the capacity to receive
3.
When you come to God the level of your faith
determines the level of his grace
a.
EX: The man with unlimited water and Dixie
cup faith-Psalm 23:5
b.
Why aren’t you seeing more grace? Because
when it was time to do Kingdom business and make the exchange you brought Dixie
cup faith
4.
His doing is according to your believing
(Centurion, Jairus, Worman)
a.
Jesus asked what do you want b/c it’s
according to their faith
1)
Matt 9:28-29-Believe ye that I am able to do
this; according to your faith be it
2)
Luke 18:41-What do you want me to do? Receive
your faith saved you
3)
Matthew 15:28-Be it unto you even as you wilt
b.
Jesus’ doing was according to their believing
1)
Woman with issue of blood-If I touch the hem
of his garment I’ll be whole
2)
Jairus-Lay your hand on her and she will live
3)
Centurion-Speak the word only and my servant
will be healed
4)
Jesus’ Hometown-No believing no doing
C.
The word of Grace doesn’t begin profiting
until its mixed with faith-Hebrews 4:2
1.
So they could have kept hearing the word and
hearing the word and hearing the word, but until they mixed it with faith it
wouldn’t profit them
a.
God won’t add faith for you; that’s your
part; you have to add the faith
2.
EX: Concrete and water (Concrete is
profitless until water is added)
3.
You can limit this limitless Word with your
unbelief
a.
This Word of Grace will only profit it to the
degree that you allow it to w/ your faith
D.
People don’t understand this about the
exchange; you’re receiving isn’t up to God
IV. Mark 9:17-27-Faith is your
part of the exchange
A.
17-God’s grace is more than enough for this
situation
1.
2 Corinthians 12:9-God’s grace is sufficient
(enough, ample stock, adequate power, able, fit, competent power or ability,
qualified for any purpose) for any situation
2.
We see the grace of God heal people of this
(Matthew 15:30-31, 12:22)
a.
Acts 10:34-God’s no respecter of persons; if
he did for these he must do it for him
3.
Heb 4:16-In the time of need we need grace to
help & grace needs faith to function
B.
18-The disciples could not do it
1.
They tried; How
would they have known they couldn’t do it, if they hadn’t tried?
2.
If the disciples couldn’t do it that reveals
there was a lack of grace/power because if they had enough grace or power they
could have done this
C.
19-Jesus said the problem is your lack of faith
and that’s why you lack grace
1.
Mt 17:20-Jesus said you couldn’t do it b/c
you lacked the currency of the Kingdom
a.
In the Kingdom of God the more you want to do
the more faith you need
2.
The devil wasn’t too big (God’s grace was
enough), their faith was too small
a.
Their capacity to receive wasn’t big enough
to have this level of grace flow through them
3.
You can do something the word says, but not
do it in faith and it’ll yield no profit
D.
20-When that spirit encountered Jesus,
immediately it began to act up b/c it recognized the God in him and that spirit
is trying to intimidate Jesus out of his faith
1.
If Jesus is going to get the devil out of
him, he’s going to do it by grace through faith
a.
There’s some things that you just need to
ignore
2.
The boy is over here rolling on the ground
foaming at the mouth & Jesus doesn’t respond to it because he’s not going
to let what he sees affect his faith
E.
22-He’s wanting to sit back and believe
nothing and have Jesus be responsible for it
1.
IF THOU; that’s questioning,
not believing - 1. If Jesus is - 2. If Jesus can - 3. If Jesus will
a.
Faith would have said, “The spirit cast him
into the fire & into the water to destroy him, but you are the healer, you
can heal him of this, and it’s your will to heal b/c you did it for every sick
person that’s been brought to you, so get to going!”
2.
“If” praying is not acceptable (If you can,
if you will, etc)-There’s no faith in “IF”
a.
Luke 18:42-What do you want him to do? Take
it what you need
b.
It’s ur
responsibility to know who God is, what He can do & what His will is-Eph5:17
F.
22-23-He tried to put his responsibility of
receiving on Jesus and Jesus turns around and puts is right back on this man’s
faith
1.
If THOU canst-He’s trying to make Jesus responsible
for his receiving
a.
You can’t put your responsibility to receive
over on God (What if the sinner said, God if you want to save me I know you
will)
b.
Your responsible for believing and God won’t
do your believing for you
2.
Jesus is saying, “You’re trying to put this
on my power and my compassion; I can do it, I want to do it, so now it’s just a
matter of can you believe because what I do in this situation is going to be
determined by what you believe?”
a.
Jesus is saying I’m read to do something, but
you got to make the exchange b/c I do what I do by grace and grace needs
something to flow through
b.
Jesus asked for this boy to be brought to him
(He wants to do something here)
3.
God’s power, compassion, and grace, is not on
trial here
a.
Psalm 18:30-The word of grace, the word of
power has been tried and it’s perfect
b.
You can’t throw this over on God b/c He can
do it and He wants to do it, but the level at which His power, compassion, and
grace work is determined by your faith
c.
1 Peter 1:7-Your faith is on trial; That’s
what we’re not sure about; we’re sure God loves you, we’re sure He wants you to
have it; we’re not sure if you will believe it
G.
The swing vote in a man receiving from God is
not God’s power or compassion, but it’s the man’s faith
1.
The man’s faith is like the thermostat; no
matter what the thermostat is set at the furnace or a/c will go to work to meet
the demand of the thermostat; in the same way no matter where your faith is set
the power of God and the love of God will go to work to meet the demand of your
faith
2.
The administration of God’s love and power in
your life gets their instructions from your faith
3.
U can’t put the responsibility of what u
didn’t get on God b/c he didn’t set your faith