GRACE TO WIN THE RACE – Witness Kenpaul Obieke

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all but one receiveth the prize? So run,that ye may obtain.” I Corinthians 9:24

Life is a race and as long as you are alive, you are in that race already whether you know it or not. It is amazing that majority do not know they are in a race, and this is not an excuse before God. In the portion we just read, the bible says: “…..so run, that ye may obtain.” It is the desire of every athlete to win the prize. As a child of God, you are called to win only through the grace of God.

Grace is God running your race. That is, doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. It is God’s riches at Christ expense. Grace is the unmerited or undeserved favour of God. It qualifies the unqualified, justify the unjustified and glorify the unglorified. Everybody is in a race but only few will win the prize, so you must run to win the prize. Until you hand the batten over to grace, you can never win the prize.

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happened to them all.” Ecclesiates 9:11

The preacher said, “ I returned, and saw under the sun…… Which means that he had gone through a research and found out that no man makes it in life by power and might, but by the grace of God. “……time and chance happeneth to them all”. The grace of God makes out opportunities for success. Whatever you will achieve on earth is dependent on the grace of God in your life. Stop leaning on your own understanding, depend on grace and you will win the race.

Elijah outran Ahab that was on a chariot when the hand of grace came upon him. A chariot is like a jet plane in this time but a man on foot overtook one that was on it because God’s hand came upon him. So grace can be described as the hand of God coming upon you to do for you what you or nobody can do. There are things you can do without any one’s help. There are things you can only achieve with the help of others. But there is something God alone will achieve for you without your help or that of others. Elijah won the race by grace against one on a chariot. The bible says that it is not he that willeth nor he that runneth but God that showeth mercy”. You can will and run but if there is no grace, you will run out. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength says the scripture. Your strength must give way for God’s grace, if you want to make it.

The eagle is the king of the air because it knows how to depend on grace. Other birds go under when there is whirl wind but the eagle knows how to position its self for the whirlwind to enter under its wings and make it soar instead of flying. You can depend on grace to win the race. This was the secret of all that made it in the bible. God must take His glory. He is not ready to share it with any man. You must acknowledge His grace, appreciate it and activate it to win the race of life. Those who do not must drop out. Heavenly race is different from rat race. In rat race you are in trial and error but in Heavenly race you are sure because you are depending on what Christ has already done. Grace as described to be GOD’S RICHES AT CHRIST’S EXPENSE is a gift not what you work for. Christ paid the debt. He did not owe because we could not pay the debt we owe. How amazing grace can be. When we sing “Amazing grace how sweet thou art”, there will be a whole lot of fulfillment if our singing is with adequate understanding.

Everyone has a goal he or she wants to score, and a target to meet in life. Challenges of life bow to the grace of God. It does not matter what you think, grace remains the ultimate. Grace is supposedly the most powerful word in the bible. David pursued, overtook and recovered all that he lost because grace was made available for the race. In the midst of total frustration, grace came for him to pursue, overtake and recover all. That is your portion from today in Jesus name. To win the heavenly race, financial race, marital race, the race against any challenge in your life, it is grace and more grace.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God not of works. Lest any man should boast’. Ephesians 2:8-9

Salvation which is a total package came by grace through faith and not of works but as a gift from God. Nobody became born again because he wanted to, but it was because the grace for salvation was released on him or her. The same grace that saved you from sin which is the root of every problem is well able to save you from every obstacle in life and make provisions for the supply of all your needs. It is called “the saving grace.”“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;……But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”. Genesis 6:5-8.

This was the first place the word grace was ever used in the bible, and it had to do with Noah and his family been saved from the flood. Indicating that grace is what saves. The bible said: but Noah found grace….. You do not find what you do not seek after. The grace of God saved Noah and his family from the flood that destroyed the whole earth. There are different types of flood today that are destroying people. It may be flood of sin, sickness, poverty, unfulfilment and their likes. The only way of escape is through the grace of God. Where there is no grace, disgrace is inevitable. Majority of the disgrace in the lives of most Christians today is as a result of lack of grace. Demons are only operating in a lesser percentage. If the time and energy used by Christians in binding demons are focused on seeking and activating the grace of God, things will turn around for the best. The grace of God must be activated for you to enjoy it in your life.

“…….Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah activated grace through righteousness and walk with God. That is, he obeyed and trusted God totally, even when God told him to build an ark that He was going to destroy the whole earth with flood, he obeyed despite that rain had never fallen before on earth. What a great faith and absolute obedience to God. Grace is meant to save you from any kind of destruction. It does not matter what the situation looks like, grace has the saving power if only we can activate it.

God wants us to enjoy the wonders of grace. The grace of God saved shedrack, meshack and Abednego from the furnace of fire heated seven times. No matter how hot any fire of life can be, with adequate grace you will not only survive it but you will be promoted like these Hebrew boys. Grace saved Israel from Egypt made the Egyptians to favour them with all the gold of Egypt. A person without grace is already in the grave. There was this story of a man attacked by robbers of his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. A journey of life without grace will end in disgrace. This man left Jerusalem for Jericho. This is like walking in the opposite side of grace. When the robbers finished with this man and probably thought he was dead they abandoned him on the way. The bible said a priest came and passed without caring. When you have no grace even people you think will help you will not. If not for the grace that showed up and a Samaritan was used to save him, he would have died. Some people are stranded in life not because of satanic attack but because they have no sufficient grace. The bible says that when a

man’s ways pleases God, He will cause his enemies to favour him. When God’s grace is upon you, the enemy will even work for your good. Joseph moved from prison to palace by grace. Have faith in the grace of God and put it to work and you will be saved and remain safe. Saul the first king of Israel was met by three people on his way back from seeking the father’s ass and was blessed with things he needed without request. Grace is powerful. The ark of grace built not by an architect saved Noah and the family. It stood the flood that destroyed a whole generation. Your saving grace has come and even flood of life will bow to it in your life in Jesus name.

When a whole generation of the time of Noah was doomed, those who joined him in the ark of grace boomed. I do not know what is happening in your family or around you now, there is grace to be saved. I do not know the sin that easily overcomes you; there is grace to be saved from it. Sin is deadly and requires deadly blow from grace. The grace that carries your salvation has appeared, believe it, act on it and you will be saved with those around you like Noah. You are saved from disgrace from today in Jesus name. Say thank you father for your saving grace.

CALLED FROM GRASS TO GRACE.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

An invitation has been made for us to come boldly unto the throne of grace, that is, we must come with confidence and full assurance before the throne. A throne is a seat of power and authority. The grace to exercise authority over the situations of life is obtained at the throne of grace but the problem is that most Christians do not have full understanding of what grace is all about and as a result do not answer this call, instead they are busy with religion and denominational doctrines that bring more confusion to them.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” Titus 2:11.

The grace of God that brings deliverance, freedom from every challenge prosperity and their likes has appeared unto all men but ignorance has blinded the eyes of many from seeing it. To see grace is to have full understanding of it. We are called to grace, and to live by it. There is no need you can meet through struggling. Your entire focus and goal should be on the grace of God that makes all things possible.

“For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: and profited in the Jews religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, to reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” Galatians 1:13-16.

Grace works far more than zeal. Here Apostle Paul was explaining to this Galatians church how he was working outside the grace of God, being zealous in following Jewish religion, thinking he was serving God without knowing he was frustrating the grace of God. In the same way, many in the church today have not answered the call of grace even in their so called zeal for the things of God. It has pleased God to end your struggles; that is why this revelation knowledge