Partakers of His Grace by Olabayo Boluwatife Victoria

 

 

 

 PARTAKERS OF HIS GRACE
by
Olabayo, Boluwatife Victoria
What if you were given a priceless inheritance but never claimed it?

Many people live as though they must strive for what God has already freely given. Man goes through life with anxiety, restlessness and self pity, thinking that by their efforts, they can acquire everything that has been promised to them by God. Oh yes, God does have great and precious promises for all men. His thoughts are thoughts of good and not evil, however, man seems to still be limited in enjoying those spiritual blessings in heavenly places. The sun continues to shine, the rain continues to fall, they even continue to eat everyday but still, the feeling of emptiness persists and no matter what good news they hear, the joy fades away in days. It doesn’t last. The most heartbreaking thing is the quest for living a holy life which they saw Jesus lived in the scriptures and other believers around them. Now, questions start to arise, “is Christianity fake?” “Can man truly live a holy life?” “Can a man truly have a relationship with this loving father?” These and other questions disturbs the waters of their mind, causing them to give up on living as God wants them to live.

The limitations formed in their hearts had brought them to a place where they’re unable to express and walk in the true identity they’re created with, bringing about the question ‘’Can man truly have a relationship with this loving father?” Having the thought as though, there are categories of people who are capable for this communion, leaving out themselves, but that’s not true. The loving father then looked for a way out of that mentality, offering man a hand of friendship, making them realize how important they are in his plan, bringing to men the knowledge of him, through his son as a point of contact between God and man. God has a nature which had been shed abroad to men, this same nature is what he uses to bring them into His space, giving man the freedom to partake and commune with Him with direct access. To the extent of knowing the secret to living the way He planned for every man.

What a loving God! He made man to be a partaker of this grace called “The Divine Nature.” Grace in itself is like receiving an unexpected gift. Imagine sitting alone, when someone approaches you and hands you a sum of money. You didn’t ask for it, and you may not have even realized you needed it. However, once you received it, you discovered that it met a need you didn’t know you had. That’s how grace works – man often don’t realize he needs it until it’s given to him. Grace is not something we can earn through good deeds or efforts. The Bible says that grace is a gift from God. It came from Him, his son being an intermediary between God and man. John wrote that he beheld the glory of the only begotten of the father, who is full of GRACE and truth.

The source of the divine nature is Jesus and it is effected by the work of the Holy Spirit in a man’s life. It is a nature where love consist. What a promise that is now being fulfilled in the life of everyone that experiences this divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4 talks about GREAT and EXCEEDING PROMISES. Throughout the scriptures, we saw these promises being made from God to man. It is far beyond the promises of food, money and clothes. It is far beyond the promises of yacht, real estate, supercars and enjoyment. It is not bad to posses them but that precious promises exceed the physical realm. It is the promise of the Son of God; the promise of the true Seed bruising the head of the serpent’s seed; the promise of the nations of the earth being blessed out of the seed of Abraham; the promise of a Branch growing out of the root of Jesse; the promise of the Anointed one that will preach good tidings unto the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, open the prison to them that are bound, proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to comfort all that mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, to make men the planting of the Lord… Is. 61:1-3.

How great, precious and exceeding those promises are, truly! What a rest this brings to the soul that continues to strive morning till night! What a joy will exude from a heart that finds these precious promises. What a hope it brings to the life that is almost giving up in searching for what will satisfy his soul. God truly cares for the man. For he loved the world so great that he would give his only begotten son to make man enter into these promises. For it is written in Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” What a relief, that faith is the password to entering these great promises. Jesus, who is full of GRACE and truth has handed to man, his finished works on the cross of Calvary. There is no more need for futile efforts, unfulfilled longings, and constant restlessness. “No eye hath seen, no ear hath heard, no mind hath conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” – 1Cor 2:9. This is how much man means to the father and it is beyond what the human brain can understand or grasp. Jesus did it all. Hallelujah!

When man now receive this grace, he gets transformed from inside out. His words, actions and thought pattern all become one that is inspired by God’s spirit. The grace now empowers him to set affection on things that are above, yes, sin is now totally dealt with in his life. Talk about a group of backbiter, you wouldn’t find him there again, talk about a group of drunkards, you wouldn’t find him there again, talk about the group of dishonor, you wouldn’t find him there again, talk about anything that has to do with sin, you wouldn’t find him there again. The grace of God has now empowered him to live above sin because he that cometh from above is above all. He has received the divine nature from above, thus, he Is now above all enticement of the devil. Not that he stays around to prove his strength but he flees from sin through the strength of the grace he has now received. Show him a man who is still in sin, his thoughts wouldn’t be to join him but to find a way to bring the sinner out of the bondage of sin and darkness, to translate him into the kingdom of light. He is free indeed, by God’s grace.

As regards his thought pattern, that same grace has gone through his mind to bring renewal in it’s full measure. Before, thoughts of sin, wickedness and envy runs through his mind. But as he continues to submit himself to God’s grace found in the scriptures, prayer time, fellowship with the brethren, those thoughts are put to a halt. They do not have a hold on him again. He doesn’t submit to them again. Even his emotions do not have a hold on him anymore. Yes, he may be offended and provoked, but the grace he has partook in has strengthened him to not allow anger, sadness and anxiety control his mood. The joy of the Lord is now always his strength.

Apostle Peter in his second epistle, at the first chapter, said, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. Apostle Peter was an eyewitness to the ministry of the Man who was full of GRACE. He saw the character of Jesus first hand, and he saw a life that is truly full of GRACE. All these simply means Jesus had unbeatable character values. He was the most kind, the most generous, the most patient and so on. So also, is he who has tasted of the life of Christ. He doesn’t become a drain to people around but becomes a blessing in all ramifications to them. The Lord is able to use such kind of people as his 911. A one-man team to rescue the perishing who might be one persecuting them. What a show grace would it be to look beyond the persecution and still show kindness by praying for the persecutor. Truly, the partaker of the divine nature.

It is this divine nature that separates a magician to someone who genuinely love people and wants them to healed, delivered and set free. Walking in the miraculous is a situation that tends to exalt a man among peers. Jesus himself said, “This signs shall follow them that believe; in my name, they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” So, definitely, for a life that experiences this grace of divine nature, it means that it becomes natural to cast out devils and heal the sick. He doesn’t necessarily need to run to his Pastor at all times for the miraculous, Jesus himself said that the signs would follow only if he believed. What a joy to know that, with the name of Jesus in your mouth, you can alter the negative writings of the devil in your life. The direct authorization has come to heal the sicknesses Jesus healed and even more.

Life can be stressful if man does not know how to walk in this divine nature of the miraculous. Man would only try his best which is as good as doing nothing. However, with this grace at work in him, he becomes fiery and untouchable to Satan and his angels. He becomes a terror to the kingdom of darkness. He becomes a constant menace in destroying their works. Souls are saved, the sick are healed, the lame walks, HIV healed, cancer healed, arthritis healed, any kind of condition becomes healed. This is the power of being one in divine nature with Christ.

A lot more can be written to describe this divine nature God has made man to experience freely. However, the height of it all, is the ability to fellowship with this heavenly Father. Oh, what a rare privilege to have the creator of heaven and heart commune with us. Salvation as a Pastor once said, is not just only what we are saved from (sin), but also what we are saved to (fellowship with God). Sin was just an hindrance to the unrestricted communication with the father, and since it has been dealt with by the blood, the next thing is to enter into the sweet fellowship with the father. It is only the divine nature that would make you seek God for who He truly is and not just for what you want to get for him.

When you pray, what happens there? Is it just about you? Do you only talk to God about your problems? How about ministering to the Lord as well? How about staying there in the secret place to worship him? How about determining not to request anything but to praise God everyday for a day or a week or a month. The true test of the divine nature is how you fellowship with the Father. If you missed a day without communing with the Father, would you hear “I miss you” from him? God loves it when you minister to him. Scriptures say that he inhabits the praises of his people. Would you continue to live out this grace you have been given? Would you continue to live out this divine nature? Don’t throw away the chance to be in Christ and for Christ to dwell in you abundantly – John 14:20. It is only when you abide in Him, that you can truly enjoy life. Shalom!