Grace Is the Vehicle; Faith Is the Key!

A few years ago, when I was still in college, studying in my apartment, I heard God clearly tell me “Grace is the vehicle, Faith is the Key.” For years, I’ve pondered what this means and have been getting fresh revelation on this one statement time and again.

I’m a pretty visual person, so when God told me that, I actually envisioned a car with a key in the ignition. I started looking for parallels in the analogy. For example, you cannot unlock or start a car without the key. In the same way, we cannot access or operate in the vehicle of God’s Grace without the key of Faith. Grace and Faith work hand in hand to fulfill God’s promises in our lives.

Faith activates what God has already apportioned to us by His Grace. Faith is our part and Grace is His. Instead of carrying the key of faith in our pockets, we carry it in our hearts.

So how do you get faith in your heart? Easy! Romans 10:17 states: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When we listen to bible-based messages, read, and speak the Word of God, His promises and teachings enter our mind. As we meditate on His Word over and over, it drops into our hearts.

When our faith mixes with God’s Word in our hearts, they work supernaturally together to manifest the promises of God in our lives! This process operates under the principle of Grace. The reason why it can only work by Grace is because God does not fulfill His promises to us on the basis of our human effort or merit, but rather God supplies these promises based on the riches of His mercy and Grace.

The only way to obtain the Grace of God is to place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have to understand that God is satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus, which allows us to come boldly to the Throne of Grace, confident that we have right standing with God based on what Jesus has done for us.

Satan, the accuser, will try to fool you into thinking God is still angry with you because of sin. Thankfully, God is not looking at us; He’s looking at the blood of Jesus, which totally redeems us from His wrath. God is a just God, and He will not judge us for the same sin twice. When Jesus died on the cross, all of our sins were imputed to Him and the fullness of God’s wrath was poured out on Him. When Jesus rose from the grave, our sin debt was paid in full!

God may turn His back on sinful man, but He will never turn His back on the precious blood of His beloved Son. As believers, we are covered in this precious blood, and we have full access to Father God as a result!

Once we release our faith in Jesus Christ (who is God’s Word in flesh), God’s Grace carries us to wherever we need to go to fulfill His perfect will and advance the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Grab your keys and hop in God’s Grace; we’ve got places to go and things to see!

Water and Wine

“Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.” ~ 1 Timothy 5:23

At first glance, one might think this scripture is encouraging us to drink alcoholic beverages, but I think it has a much deeper meaning:

God’s Word is often represented as “water” in the scriptures. For example, Ephesians 5:26 states: “So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word.”

Similarly, “wine” represents the Holy Spirit. As illustrated in Acts 2 when God poured out the Holy Spirit on the multitudes, they were actually accused of being drunk: “But others in the crowd were mocking. ‘They’re drunk, that’s all, they said’” (Acts 2:13). While the people were not drunk with physical wine, they were “under the influence” of the Holy Spirit.

So if water is the Word and wine is the Spirit, what is Paul urging Timothy to do in the above scripture? I am convinced he’s showing Timothy how to correctly approach God’s Word and how to develop and mature in the faith in a healthy and wholesome way.

Although God’s amazing Word is like pure and undefiled water that cleanses our souls, sometimes people can twist the scriptures to suit their own selfish desires. When that happens, you can become “sick with sin.” This sickness can hinder our Christian walk and cause our hearts to harden towards our loving Father.

A proper remedy for this sickness and a good way to avoid it altogether is to include God’s Spirit with His Word. Notice Paul didn’t say to drink only water or only wine. He said to drink both. I believe the only way to extract life and Truth from the scriptures is by yielding to God’s Holy Spirit. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:5: “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” Essentially, Jesus was telling Nicodemus that we can understand things on earth because we were born here. By the same token, we can understand the order of God’s Kingdom by being born of the Spirit.

The office of the Holy Spirit is to reveal and exalt the Person of Jesus Christ in the written Word. There is no way we can understand the true meaning of God’s Word without the help of our close friend, The Holy Spirit. As you prepare to get a dose of God’s Word, be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the person of Jesus to you as you read the scriptures. Expect it! There’s nothing He loves more than to exalt and magnify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Sweetest Sound

Lord, Your Word is nourishment to my soul.

It can lift me out of any pit, the deepest hole.

Your wisdom is more precious than rubies; her wages, better than gold!

What can come close to the value of Your Word?

It is the sweetest sound these ears have ever heard!

Your Word is the substance and Your Spirit gives it life!

It is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword.

Your promises are true, every single one!

You are completely satisfied with the sacrifice of Your Son.

He gave it all on the cross; it is finished, it is done. 

When He rose out of that grave, the battle was won!

Now, we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. 

By His Power & Love, He calls us His friends!

Forever as One with Christ, we co-rule & co-reign.

He has given us the authority to use the Power of His Name.

We dare not sit back for He has given us the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We are clothed in Love and armed with Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, the Spirit & His Word.

He has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, so rise up in boldness, confidence, and fearlessness. 

We will prevail; we will overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony.

The Gospel is so sweet. It has joined us to our mighty King.