These are notes on the sermon, Activate Your Grace Gifts, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince began his sermon by reminding us of our Lord Jesus' warning in one of His parables: take heed what we hear (Mark 4:24) and how we hear (Luke 8:18). In the world today, there are those who do not wish to hear about Jesus. They are fine with mentions of God, but when it comes to our Lord, they prefer to skip mentioning His name, or will shift the focus to self-effort, freedom, or what they feel is right.
First of all, we have to make sure that when it comes to doctrine, what we hear, the subject matter, is Christ and His finished work. Under the old covenant, when someone needed to atone for their sins, they were required to bring an unblemished lamb as an offering to God. For us believers living under the new covenant today, Jesus Christ Himself is our perfect, spotless Lamb. He became the ultimate sacrifice, settling our sin debt once and for all, and forever eliminating the need for repeated offerings.
What this means for us now is that when we come to God, we don’t come on our own merits. Instead, we come “bringing” Jesus with us, lifting up His name in worship to the Father. This thrills and delights God’s heart.
And here’s the amazing part: When we come to God this way, through faith in Jesus and identifying ourselves with Him, the Father doesn’t see us in our flaws or shortcomings. Instead, He sees us in Jesus—His perfect, beloved Son.
Proverbs 8:30 gives us a beautiful glimpse into the eternal relationship between God the Father and our Lord Jesus. It tells us that even before the world was created, Jesus was already the Father’s daily delight. We see how deeply and eternally the Father loves the Son. This also shows us how profound God’s love is for us, because He gave up His one and only begotten Son for us!
Next, we take a look at how we are to hear.
When we hear the preaching of the gospel, the good news, and when we listen to preachers who point us back to Christ, we who believe will begin to receive into our spirits, souls, and bodies, the effects of His perfect and finished work in us.
Every blessing and gift we have is from the Lord (James 1:17, 1 Cor. 12:1–11). Through His finished work, He has purchased for us salvation which encompasses wholeness, health, well-being, provision, and more. So whatever we have and whatever we achieve is not about us at all, but all about Jesus!
When we receive Christ, we’re not just receiving salvation. We’re also embracing our heavenly Father’s vision and dream for us. And that is for us to be transformed into the likeness of our Lord Jesus—to reflect His character, His moral excellence, and His beauty in our lives.
This transformation isn’t something we achieve through our own efforts or “works.” It’s not about striving or trying harder to be good or better. Instead, it is a gift to be received when we focus on Christ’s finished work.
John 1:16 offers us a profound insight into how freely God’s abundant grace abounds toward us because of our Lord’s finished work. It says, “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.” In the original Greek, the phrase “grace for grace” carries a very rich meaning, and actually translates to “grace in place of grace” or “grace upon grace.”
This revelation paints a vivid picture of how God’s grace is unending, like the waves on a beach, rolling in continuously, one after another. As one wave recedes, another comes in to take its place. This is how God’s grace operates in our lives—constant, unceasing, and always abundant.
This picture is also expressed in Isaiah 48:18 that says, “Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”
There is never a time in your life when God’s grace stops flowing to you! In every aspect of your life—in your successes and failures, in your strengths and weaknesses, in your obedience and even your shortcomings—there is always a fresh supply of God’s grace available to you. When you use up one measure of grace, there’s more coming to replace it.
Remember, this grace isn’t just about forgiveness. It’s also about God’s power strengthening us and equipping us to live righteously, to overcome challenges, and to become more like Christ. It’s the very essence of God’s love and power working in and through us.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
—Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV
In these verses, our Lord was speaking to people who were living under the law, describing them as laboring and heavy-laden. They were laboring not only to be accepted by God, but also to provide for their families, cope with health issues, and deal with the vicissitudes of life.
The law was a yoke that no man could bear (Acts 15:10), but at the cross, our Lord Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and invited us to be yoked with Him instead. In essence, our Lord was saying, “I understand all the burdens you carry—from trying to please God to trying to make ends meet. Come to Me, and I’ll give you rest in every area of your life.”
And what a difference this divine exchange makes! For the Lord’s yoke of grace is easy, and His burden is light.
Through His finished work at the cross, our Lord gave us complete rest, both in our conscience and our soul. As the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, He atoned for all our sins—past, present, and future—and set us free from sin forever (Rom. 8:2). Today, we no longer have to strive to earn God’s forgiveness or favor. Instead, we have peace with God and can go boldly before our Father, unburdened by any guilt or condemnation in our conscience.
But more than just rest for our conscience, Jesus also came to give us rest in our souls. And we find this rest when we take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from Him. The rest in our conscience is something we receive when we accept the Lord’s finished work for us, but the rest in our souls is something we find when we continue to come to Him each day for His grace and to spend time in His presence!
In John 10:10, we see that when we come to Him, we will discover the abundant life He came to give us. This abundant life isn’t just about material prosperity but is a rich, full life overflowing with His peace, joy, love, and provision in every area.
When you are yoked with Jesus, you will no longer struggle under the weight of impossible demands imposed by the law. Instead, when you walk in step with our Savior, learning from Him, you will experience His rest and the unforced rhythms of grace. There will be nothing heavy nor ill-fitting when you are yoked with Christ. Instead, you will find true freedom, peace, and the strength to face each day.
On the outside, it may look as if nothing has changed and that you are doing a lot, but it is all done with a rest from our Lord Jesus. This is the beauty of operating in God’s grace—you can accomplish much more without the stress and strain that comes with exercising your own efforts.
Now, being yoked with Christ is not about being inactive and expecting things to be done for you. Being yoked with Christ means that, like the young oxen alluded to in this illustration of being yoked, you still have to pull your weight, but your reliance is on the Lord and His grace.
So keep on doing what God has given you the grace to do, what He has given you a special anointing for! Whether it is working in finance, or running a business, or working with children, when you operate in your grace gift, you will flow with a supernatural ease and effectiveness that surpasses your natural abilities, and there will also be a rest for your soul.
Consider Pastor Prince’s journey from being someone who had a problem with stammering to becoming a powerful public speaker pointing millions to Christ. As a youth, he would stammer and stutter when he had to speak in front of any audience, but when God’s grace came upon him for the specific purpose of preaching the gospel, Pastor Prince found he could speak with ease and impact. This transformation didn’t come through his own effort or by “trying harder” but through resting and yoking himself with our Lord Jesus.
So when we trust in Christ and operate in our grace gifts, supernatural fruits manifest, and results come with remarkable ease and even more rest. Remember, these supernatural fruits and results come not through adherence to the law or our own striving and struggling, but through the knowledge and application of grace, and in allowing God’s power to flow through us. As we continue to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, more and more, we will find ourselves accomplishing things we never thought possible—and doing so with peace, joy, love, and rest.
In addition to the picture of God’s grace coming upon us in wave upon wave, His grace also operates in our lives in a beautiful cycle of giving and receiving—the more we receive and use His grace, the more He gives to us.
In His infinite love and wisdom, the Father first bestows upon us His unmerited favor—His grace, which comes with specific gifts, abilities, and callings tailored specifically for each of us. As we receive, embrace, and use our grace gifts in our careers, ministries, and personal lives, God blesses the work of our hands and He rewards us for using the very grace He first gave us.
This is how our Father sets us up for success! He delights in seeing us operate in the areas where He’s specially equipped us. So when we step out in faith and flow in that supernatural enabling that comes from Him, He celebrates and imparts even more of His grace to us.
And friend, no matter what your grace gift is (whether you think it’s awesome or small and insignificant), it comes from the Father, is unique to you, and could be the very thing He uses to bring about His divine purposes in your sphere of influence! Just as Joseph was called to serve Pharoah, God has positioned you right where you are for a purpose. Are you a teacher, an accountant, a businessman, or a student? God has given you the grace to be a good success in the specific season you find yourself in.
Living by grace is not all about feeling good alone without any works. On the contrary, it produces supernatural results in us and through us! This divine empowerment doesn’t mean we become passive or idle. Rather, it’s the opposite. When we operate in our grace gifts, we tap into God’s supernatural power and strength, allowing us to accomplish far more than we ever could in our own might.
Consider how Apostle Paul, by the grace of God, labored more abundantly than all the other apostles. But he was quick to clarify, “Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” This is the paradox of grace—we work hard, yet it’s not us, but Christ in us.
Another Bible example of how God’s grace produces results in our lives is in Daniel 6:3: “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.”
This excellent spirit made Daniel stand out among his peers and caught the attention of those in authority. King Nebuchadnezzar, King Belshazzar, and King Darius all recognized something special in Daniel. And here’s the key: Daniel’s excellent spirit was a result of God’s grace working mightily in his life!
Today, God’s grace is available to all believers, and we, too, can develop an excellent spirit that produces supernatural results in our lives. If you are a business owner, you can use this same principle to assess and reward your employees. Just as how a happy employee produces positive results, an employee filled with God’s grace will produce supernatural results!
Remember, it’s not about the position you hold but about operating in your grace gift. When we are faithful to use the grace that God has given us, we not only allow ourselves to receive more grace, but we also position ourselves to be used mightily by Him.
When our Lord Jesus called His disciples, He didn’t go to the religious schools or the halls of power. Instead, He went to ordinary places where people were faithfully working in their everyday lives. He called fishermen while they were fishing, tax collectors while they were collecting taxes, and farmers while they were plowing their fields. Why? Because these individuals were already engaged with the gifts and abilities God had given them.
Peter, James, and John were casting their nets when Jesus called them. Matthew was at his tax booth. They were diligent in their work, using their skills and talents. And it was in that place of faithfulness that Jesus found them and said, “Follow Me.”
Even in the Old Testament, we see this principle at work. Look at Joseph’s life. When he was serving in Potiphar’s house and later in Pharaoh’s court, his attitude was, “My job is to serve and do my best.” He recognized that where he was at that moment in his life, God had placed Potiphar or Pharaoh as his boss. This didn’t mean Joseph accepted their religion or compromised his faith in God. No, Joseph knew his God, and he faithfully exercised the grace gifts that God had given him. Through his faithful service, God used Joseph to save not only Egypt but also the nation of Israel!
In the end, at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), the criterion is not a person’s salvation or sin, but whether you have faithfully used the grace gifts that the Father has given you. It’s about stewardship of the abilities and giftings that He has entrusted to you.
For instance, if you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, your business acumen, leadership skills, and innovative ideas are all gifts from your Father in heaven. When you use these gifts in the marketplace, you see results and feel a sense of fulfillment. But imagine if you also use these gifts for the Lord and His house in your ministry, to further the kingdom or to mentor young believers in godly business practices? That is when your grace gift multiplies its impact and has eternal effect!
If you are at a place where you are not sure what your grace gift is, or if you’re doing something at work that you don’t find fulfilling, speak to the Lord. Bring your concern to Him and let Him light the way for you. In the meantime, continue to be diligent and faithful with what is in your hands. Trust that as you do, the Lord will honor your faith and open doors of opportunity for you at the right time.
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2024
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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