Grace the Power to Change Part 17

Grace The Power To  Change

Part 17

Grace to Change

How is trying to change in your own abilities, rather than trusting in God’s, in effective?

When you try to make changes by your own abilities you render Jesus non-effective by leaving the realm of grace. Very few people ever give up on God. They give up on themselves and their abilities. We get seduced back into entering into works, effort, and personal ability, which is unable to bring lasting change.

How do Christians gratify the flesh and what is the result of doing so?

We gratify the flesh by trying to be righteous in our own efforts. This removes us from grace and places us back in the realm of our own abilities.

When a person relies on personal ability, the “works of the flesh” listed in Galatians begins to manifest themselves in their life. Why is this?

Gal 5:19 now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity,

Gal 5:20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions,

Gal 5:21 envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Because your flesh is not able to resist gratification on its own. You will find yourself in sin if you try to live in your own ability.

I want to clear something up. Because of grace if a person who believes in the finished work of Jesus, goes out and commits a sin, that person doesn’t go to hell. All believers have sinned at some point in their lives.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Have you ever tried to change your life in your own ability? What was the result? On the other hand, have you made changes based on God’s ability in you to do so?

In what areas are you still trying to be righteous in your own efforts? Do you feel “tired”? Are you sick of struggling in this area? Can you or are you willing to surrender to the grace of God in this area?

Are their areas where you are trying to “work” your way to success, freedom, peace, righteousness? How is that working for you? Can you surrender to God’s ability?

For more information about this go to www.fambible.org. Click on the messages section. You can also watch live service on Sundays at 11:00am.