Good day all and welcome to overcoming temptations, my name is Oyisi Okatahi today I will like to share with you on a topic titled GRACE part 1. Again just to remind that this program is not to judge or condemn anyone but to encourage you that it is possible to live a life free from sexual immorality by the power of Jesus Christ. If you noticed my messages are centered around only one thing- and that is you can overcome sexual immorality.
So what is GRACE, Webster dictionary defines grace as “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their sanctification”, while the Oxford Dictionary defines grace as “unmerited favour of God”. Unmerited means that we do not deserve something, but God in His love and mercy gives us certain blessings and privileges.
To overcome fornication or sexual immorality you need grace, it is not by power or might. There are many Christians who love God, pray, fast and yet they find out that they are unable to overcome fornication. Some of them are even pastors or church leaders. After preaching to others, they find themselves performing one immoral act or the other, they cry and weep because they cannot understand why their flesh keeps betraying them. They tell themselves that they will not fall again into temptation, but each time they find themselves in immorality. Now if you are in this category, I have good news for you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ has the power to deliver you. The reality is that we humans are programmed to sin, if you study little children, you don’t need to teach them how to do wrong, inherently they are jealous or greedy, but you have teach them what is right. So it is only by grace we can live a victorious life over sin.
I read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, from the New living translation- even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This was written by Apostle Paul, he was greatly anointed and wrote 13 books of the new testament and yet he had a weakness a thorn in his flesh, we don’t really know what this thorn was- it could be a disease, demonic oppression or sexual weakness. But what we know is that Paul did not like it and wanted it removed and because he was very close to God, he begged God three times to remove it but He did not rather, God left it there to humble him to make Paul depend on God and not on his own strength, God said my grace is all you need, King James version says my grace is sufficient for you. So with this new understanding, Paul turned around and said he is happy to be weak, because Gods power and strength is only evident in his weakness.
So if you are sexually weak then it the grace of God that makes you strong and live above immorality, if you have tried everything and it did not work, then try grace. Grace cannot fail, you may have been relying on your own power and strength, it is now time to rely on God, God loves people to rely on Him, so that he can show His strength in your weakness. I pray that may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, give you power over sexual immorality, may you stand not by your own power but by his divine power in you. Don’t worry all will be well, you shall overcome by His grace. Next episode I shall talk on grace part 2. Wish you graceful day and God bless you.
