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Let's begin with 1 Corinthians 1:4. Paul writes: "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus."
There's something profound here. We often don't truly understand the value of grace, which is why our thanksgiving is limited. Imagine someone asks you for £500, and instead they give you £5,000. The gratitude you express becomes constant—almost automatic. You find yourself thanking them again and again because the gift far exceeds the request.
This is what Paul understood: grace is a commodity of value. It's not merely a pleasant gesture; it's a transformative force.
In verses 5-8, Paul continues: "that you were enriched in everything by him in all utterance and all knowledge. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you... so that you come short in no gift... who also will confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Grace is a currency that appreciates. Sin depreciates. Whatever sin touches will come short. But whatever grace touches appreciates in value.
Romans 5:20 tells us: "But where sin abounds, grace abounds much more." This means that regardless of the devaluation that sin causes, grace cannot be stopped. Whenever grace touches something—no matter how much sin has diminished it—grace replenishes it to a place of glory and beyond.
Grace is our advantage in the kingdom. The world is already depreciated because corruption is woven into it through sin. But you are not merely of this world; you are of Christ.
Jesus Himself said that in this world we will experience tribulation. As long as you are in this world, there will be trouble. It's not exceptional when things happen to you—it's the nature of the world. Yet
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The nature of grace is that it activates after disadvantage has tried to overtake you. If someone had no debt, they wouldn't fully appreciate receiving £5,000. The debt creates the context for gratitude.
In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul reveals this truth:
Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Notice what Paul is saying: the challenge didn't depart. The weakness remained. But grace overwhelmed the weakness without removing it.
A lot of times we pray: "Lord, let this thing change. Let the situation turn around." But the nature of grace is different. God says: "What you think can stop you will not stop you. It will be there, but it won't stop you."
For our church, the Good Land building project must move forward. But God can say to us: "You will flourish in spite of the obstacles." That is the nature of grace: it doesn't change the weakness; it renders the weakness redundant.
Grace doesn't turn weakness into strength. Rather, it overwhelms weakness. When Moses said, "God, I cannot speak," God replied, "It doesn't matter. I will do beyond what words can do."
In this kingdom, grace is an exchange currency with no equal value. You have pounds; you have nairas. The pound is stronger. The moment pounds are converted to nairas, they overwhelm the naira because the pound's value is greater.
Grace is divine—of God. The moment grace is applied, it overwhelms problems. When you pray, "God, heal me," and God answers, He doesn't just heal; He supplies. Because grace always overwhelms the challenge, whether the challenge remains or not.
You cannot work grace. Grace is the working of the Holy Spirit.
Let's look at Luke 1:30-41. The angel Gabriel tells Mary: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God." That word favor is actually grace—the Greek word charis. "You have found grace with God."
Mary was a young virgin with a natural sequence in mind: marriage first, then a child. But grace showed up and turned everything around. This reveals something crucial: when grace is working, you will often panic because grace does not work according to your mind.
In your mind, you might think: "I will get a job, I will get a flat, then I will get married." But grace brings marriage before everything else. You must learn to discern when grace is working, because when it is, it has nothing to do with you—it's the working of the Holy Spirit.
The angel continues in verse 31: "You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son." Whenever grace shows up, there will be conception and bringing forth. This applies not just to children, but to visions, ministries, and career paths. When grace shows up, grace always impregnates. There will be conception, and there will be bringing forth.
Verse 32: "He will be great." Whatever grace produces is great—beyond your problem. Your walk with God should never be determined by what you're going through, because the issues are too small compared to what grace produces. You've come to Him so that He can conceive in you and you can bring forth for Him.
Verse 33: "He will reign over the house of Jacob, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Whenever it is of grace, it will have influence, territory, and dominion.
In verse 34, Mary asks: "How can these things be since I do not know a man?" The angel answers in verse 35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you."
Notice: no man. When grace works, nobody can take the credit. There is no human element in it. All of us are elected of grace. If everything in your life can be explained to an uncle, an auntie, a husband, a wife—if everything has a human explanation—then you're not operating in grace.
There must be things in your life that you know, "I wasn't even asking for this, and yet it happened." Those are the reasons why God calls us to Himself. This church, the City of God, exists because of grace—this is not my idea of where I should be in my life. It is strictly a work of grace.
In verse 37, Gabriel declares: "For with God nothing will be impossible."
When grace is working, men will say it is not possible. Stop listening to man and pay attention to God. Even your favorite preacher has a human element. Not everything a man of God says is what God is saying. But always remember: For with God nothing shall be impossible.
There is always a pathway in God that no man has walked before, and you might be the first. Don't say, "But the pastor said," or "I know what churches say." Years ago, church growth experts declared that churches cannot grow outside the city center. Then the world's largest congregation—by attendance—emerged in the bush. Now the whole world wants to see it.
You are not your circumstances. You are Christ. That's why the word tells us: with God, nothing is impossible. The moment you step into the realms of grace, expect to walk in divine possibilities.
Verse 38 shows the proper response: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word." When grace is communicating its impossibilities, you can only respond by faith. By faith, you simply say: Let it be to me.
Romans 5:1-2 says: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand."
You don't access grace by works. Neither do you access it by intelligence, nor by thinking. Neither can you access it by your skepticism. You access it by faith.
How does faith respond? Romans 10:5-6: "For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, 'The man who does those things shall live by them.' But the righteousness of faith speaks this way..."
Most of us, when God speaks a promise, start thinking: "What do I need to do to make this happen?" But the Bible says the righteousness of faith doesn't work—it speaks.
You are not to do. You are only to speak. You don't have the capacity to do it anyway. If God says to you, "Your children will study at Harvard," you might start thinking about how to save money, how to prepare. But your mind will blow. The Bible says:
Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down). Or "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach). (Romans 10:6-8)
If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. With the mouth, man believes. The truth is: we are not speaking enough. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. Our words frame our reality.
What grace is delivering does not grow everywhere. You must choose the right environment.
In Luke 1:39-41, Mary arose and went into the hill country to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth. When she greeted Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped. The Bible says Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the baby (John the Baptist) was quickened to life by the words of Christ.
All you need is a greeting from someone in the right environment. Things in you will revive. But it has to be in the right environment.
Zechariah's house was the house of a priest—a priestly environment is an environment of prayer. The things that will grow in our lives must be in an environment of prayer and worship.
You don't want to hang around carnal, unbelieving people if you're going to bring forth what is of grace. Some of us need to move out of our current living situation. If it's your marriage, that's different—God will give you grace. But the Bible says, "Come out from among them and be separate."
In verse 42, Elizabeth "spoke with a loud voice" and began to prophesy. A prophetic environment is filled with the word of God.
Ezra 5:1 tells us: "Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel."
If you are going to bring forth, you need a prophetic environment. In Ezra 6:14, we learn that the elders of the Jews built and prospered "through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah." As they prophesied, resources came, skills came, contractors came. Everything hinged on speaking.
If the word here is not helping you, you shouldn't be here. Don't come to church just to wear nice clothes, look good, and sit with friends. If that's your reason, you're wasting your time. Life is short. The role of the preacher is to help you through the word. If you cannot say the word helped you, then it's not your church.
When all these things happened, Mary didn't just say "Amen." She had a new song. In verse 46: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."
Praise is not just singing. Praise is personalizing the song. The songs that mean things to you are the ones you personalize. When you sing them, it's as if they were written just for you.
Verse 49: "For he who is mighty has done great things." Note: He hadn't yet done it physically. But true praise speaks the manifestation as if it is already done.
Verse 52: "He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly." Grace never comes to the qualified. Grace qualifies the called.
When people see someone walking in the workings of grace, they often say, "But I'm better." Your qualifications may disqualify you. If you're looking for a miracle, you don't have to look far to see. I am a living testimony of what my God can do.
Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for your grace that is sufficient for us. Thank you because we have the advantage, and because of this, we are blessed in Jesus name. Amen.
