Grace and Faith

Grace and Faith

By Apostle Felix

8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 
9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 
10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Ephesians 2: 8 – 10

God is all powerful and able to do that which is impossible to man. The angel visited Mary to announce the conception of the son of God. The announcement did not sit well with Mary because the conception needed a man in order to realize it. And besides, she was a virgin that was engaged to be married to Joseph. The Jewish culture was very strict against the issues of sexual infidelity. She did not know how the suggestion of conception will be. But the angel assured her that the conception will not need a man, but the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon and she will conceive. Of course, Mary was trying to look at how possible would that be. The angel again assured her that what may be impossible with man, is possible with God, because nothing is impossible with God.

34  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 
35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God

Luke 1: 34, 35

37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1: 37

Upon receiving the message, Mary believed God for the impossible. The impossible is made possible by believing God. She believed what God had said before she saw the pregnancy. That was faith at work. Mary found favour with God to carry the incorruptible Seed of God. Favour is grace. Mary was handpicked by grace, not because she was the only virgin girl in the community or she was more righteous than any other girl. No, it was grace that handpicked her, just like grace handpicked Abraham and Sarah. However, Mary had to receive the gift of God by faith.

38  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. 

Luke 1: 38

Mary accepted the offer despite the consequences. She was engaged to Joseph and yet accepted to get pregnant. She took the risk of been ostracized by her family and the community. Faith, sometimes can be risky. You are putting life on the spot light for believing God for something you have not yet seen. The world says, seeing is believing, but we are not of this world. In the kingdom of God, believing is seeing. That in it self is a risk. How can you go around announcing that you are building a Royal Complex that will seat one thousand and two hundred people. It is a risk to believe God for something that has never been done in your area or town. It is a risk to establish a business with limited resources. It is a risk to obey God to plant churches in a country like Namibia. It is a risk to believe God for a mega church in Namibia. That is faith. We need faith to see the impossible made possible. The Lord has provided all that we need for life and godliness, but we need faith to manifest that which the Lord has already provided.