Sermon Notes

Grace to Glory - Sunday – 01^st October 2023

Overview

1. Introduction – Grace to Glory
2. Glory of God
3. Anything we are lacking; God will fulfill it through His Grace
4. Through Grace, we can approach Father God
5. Grace may cause thanksgiving to abound to the Glory of God
6. Through Grace, we have been justified freely
7. Blessings of having the Revelation of God’s Grace
8. Conclusion

Introduction – Grace to Glory

October is the month of Grace. The Revelation of Grace in our lives will help us know Jesus Christ more intimately and we will move from grace to Glory. The Word of the Lord says

“…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God…”

Romans 5:2 (NKJV)

We were not worthy to be called the Children of God to worship this Holy God because the Bible says ‘…for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God…’ (Romans 8:23 NKJV). Sin made all of us lose the presence of God, the fellowship that man had with God and the favor of God in our lives. But when Jesus came into this world, Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:2 that ‘by faith in Lord Jesus Christ, we have Grace which will take us back into the Glory of the Almighty God.’ The Salvation that we received through the accepting and declaring of the Gospel was the greatest plan of God to assist us in getting the lost Glory back into our lives.

Glory of God

We all have read and heard about the Glory of God. The Glory of God means having the full personality of Jesus within us. Our notion about God before salvation was that God would be found in some objects or places. But when we got born again and when the Holy Spirit came inside us, we understood that God is not anywhere outside, but Christ, the hope of God's glory, lives right within us.

Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19 wrote, ‘Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.’ We are the church, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus is in us, He manifests His personality through us in real-time and that is Glory.

• Anything we are lacking; God will fulfil through His Grace

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His Glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

John 2:11 (NKJV)

When Jesus turned water into wine, the writer says Jesus manifested His Glory. Turning water into wine was not just a miracle, but the Person Jesus was fully manifesting himself as God making the imperfections, perfect, the impossibilities, possible and He fulfilled the lack that was there. This is the same thing that will happen in our lives when we move from the realization of God's grace to God's Glory.

Paul says in Romans 5 that our Faith must be triumphant in times of trouble. Troubles can come in any person's life, But God does not want us to be a loser, He wants us to have the revelation of the Glory that is in us which will make us triumphant in every challenge. The revelation of the Glory of God that is in us makes us special and different.

By grace, we are saved, by grace we walk in the Christian life, by grace we walk with the Holy Spirit, but it is not enough. God has called us to be victorious to manifest this glory in all the areas of life. Almighty God.

• Through Grace, we can approach Father God

For through Him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:18 (NKJV)

The Word of God says that by grace, we have access to the Father God. This life that we have received through grace should grow more and more. We have to walk closer to this Grace to get used to that access, we have to spend time in that access, pray, worship, and listen more to what the Father God has to tell us.

• Grace may cause thanksgiving to abound to the Glory of God

For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:15 (NKJV)

And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

The moment Jesus started His ministry in the earth, His Glory started manifesting in this beautiful world. Our Salvation is a manifestation of the Glory of God in our lives. And as we move from grace to grace, we will move from one degree of God's glory to another degree of God's glory.

• Through Grace, we have been justified freely

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Romans 3:22-23 (NKJV)

The best part of the Grace of God is that we are justified freely. This realization will always help us stay humble before the sight of God. We did not do anything to get saved, but it is through His Grace that we have been saved through Faith. The Bible says, freely God has justified us. It is Jesus who kept the ninety-nine safe and came after the one sheep.

And of His fullness, we have all received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16 (NKJV)

And from the overflow of his fullness, we received grace heaped upon more grace!

John 1:16 (TPT)

The Glory of God means having the full personality of Jesus within us. Out of Christ’s fullness, we are made perfect and we received grace heaped upon grace. The secret to living as a Christian is that God will continually extend more grace to us as we receive, appreciate, and stand on the revelation of Grace. But if the revelation of Grace is not received, we will eventually start to become legalistic. We are in God's presence only as a result of His grace. Therefore, the more we are made humble by the revelation of God's grace in our life, the more we shall approach God with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and God will extend His greater grace to us.

No human being is a hundred perfect but as he draws nearer to the light, which is God's Glory, even minor transgressions will become more obvious. When that manifestation occurs, God does not expel us from His presence; instead, He will show us the areas that need to be improved, and since we already have the revelation of grace, Jesus will extend us more grace so that we might stand nearer to the Glory of God.

• Blessings of having the Revelation of God’s Grace

Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:13-14 (NKJV)

Moses, the greatest pastor that the world has ever seen with at least 40 lakh people in his Church is having a conversation with God in this passage and we can see four distinct blessings listed here:

• • God will show His way and we will find grace in His sight.
  • We will be able to know God in person.
  • We will have His presence
  • There will be rest

When we have the Revelation of the Grace of God in our lives, we will have four privileges in our lives. As God heard the prayer of Moses and promised him, in a similar way God will show His ways to us to where we must proceed and we will find grace in His sight. We will know God, His love, and His character intimately. There will be a great meaning to our lives. Third, we will have the presence of God in our lives. Everywhere we go, the Holy Spirit will speak to us and guide our paths. And lastly, we will have rest. Many a time it is the Lack of Revelation of Grace that makes us believe the lies that are not from the Word of God. The devil will say, we have no future, we will die, and we will not be blessed and sometimes even tough challenges may come. But because we know God, we will be at divine rest in the midst of every problem and we shall declare the wonders of God.

Conclusion

Dear Jesus,

We are embracing this Grace of yours that you have given us freely to abound in our gratitude and love towards you so that by every word, action, and deed, we shall bring Glory to your name.

In Jesus’ name

Amen