Four weeks ago, I started the kingdom system series with us, and the Lord in His mercies has been teaching us by His Spirit and He has been taking us from one step to another, growing lips and bound in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and the revelation of His word to us. Today I will be concluding on that series— The Kingdom System Series. We started by looking at how that the kingdom system (the kingdom of heaven) is an interconnected system where there are several subsystems within that system that makes for the believer’s dominion because when we go back to the book of beginnings, in Genesis, and we read chapter one, the statement that God made concerning man was as follows: “let us make man in our image, according to our likeness”, in Genesis 1:26, and then He said “let them have dominion.”
That was the first statement that God made about man, “let them have dominion.” So, the kingdom of God, the system that God instituted for man to function in is the system that produces dominion. Any system that does not produce dominion for man is not a system of God. God created man for dominion, He said let us make man. So, we looked at the LIFE SYSTEM, which introduced us to our DNA, our cell structure, you have been made in the image and in the likeness of God. So, you are not a product of accident or scientific evolution, you are a product of God. God made you in His image and in His likeness. So, in the life system the Holy Spirit exposed us to our DNA structure. How we looked at four different bases in which living organisms are categorized into kingdom. And one of it majorly is the cell structure.
So, what is the cell structure of man? Simply put; God! So, the DNA of man has God in it, until you understand who you are, you don’t understand where and how you should function. So, we were made to see that God has given us eternal life, in Christ Jesus and that’s why we qualify and have access by the privilege of mercy to be able to attain what Adam lost in the garden of Eden. And further in that system, we were made to see the FAITH SYSTEM which is our mode of nutrition, how do you grow been born in this kingdom? You grow by feeding on the word of God. So, God gave us the word as our mode of nutrition and that’s why the Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God. And the Bible also says that faith comes by hearing and hearing, and hearing the word of God.
So, the word of God is our mode of nutrition in this kingdom. And we went further to look at the LOVE SYSTEM which is our mode of reproduction, how do we produce God? How is God perpetuated? How is the continuity of God possible on the earth? It is by the Love system. So, God is expressed and produced in us by love. Because the Bible says God is love. So, anyone that is born of God is born of love and he necessarily must express it. And we saw that the love system is the state of maturity in the kingdom. So, if you re growing into it, it talks about the fruit of the Spirit which is love. And we were made to see the features of the fruits of the Spirit which is love. And we mentioned peace, joy, long suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. We saw that all these things are the features of love. And we went to 1 Corinthians 13 by the help of the Holy Spirit and we saw that if we will produce anything in this kingdom that will last and be eternal in nature it must be produced with love.
So, today we are going into the final system called the grace system. Why is the grace system so important? It is not enough that you have come by the life system, it is beautiful that you have been born into this kingdom by Christ Jesus, by believing Jesus with your heart and confessing Him with your mouth and you are saved. You have come by the life system, it’s wonderful that you are feeding on the word of God, through the faith system and your faith is being built, so you are moving from the measure that you received when you became born again to another deeper measure in God by the reason the word. It’s also beautiful that you are now inculcating the nature of the kingdom which is love, you are now becoming God on the earth, you are now having that nature of God, but it doesn’t stop there, haven had the nature, how do you express it? How do you demonstrate it? How is that nature, how is that faith, how is that life going to make a difference on the earth? And that’s why we are looking at the grace system.
The grace system happens to be like the pinnacle of the entire system. Until you function in the grace system, you can’t walk in dominion. You can have the nature of God, you can feed on the word of God, you can actually be born of God; it’s beautiful, but until you start functioning by grace and in grace, you cannot lay claim and demonstrate your dominion on the face of the earth. So, the grace system is based on our body organization. How are we organized on the earth? The organization of the children of God on the earth is done by grace. The organization of the body of Christ on the earth done by grace, so if you as a church of God, the body of God, and you as a member of that body don’t function in grace you cannot have dominion and demonstrate the God you carry on the earth. So, we are going to be looking at these this morning by the help of the Holy Spirit.
We are going to start by looking at John 15, Jesus made an important statement and its good for us to start with the word of our master. John 15, we will read verse 4 and we will stop at verse 11. “Abide in Me, Jesus said; and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” Now this John chapter 15 that we are reading is like a summary of the kingdom system. I am sure as you are reading, you are seeing how the life system comes to play here. You are seeing from the pages of the Scripture, how the faith system comes to play, and you will see how the love system comes to play and you will see the place of grace.
So, I want us to follow with an open heart, allow the Holy Spirit to minister life to you this morning. So, we stopped at verse 6. It said; If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. Verse 9, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. From this John 15 from verse 4 to verse 11 that we read, we saw that Jesus mentioned that we can’t have life outside of Him.
He mentioned that if His words do not abide in us, we cannot grow, you don’t have a part in this kingdom. He mentioned that we should remain and abide in His love. So, the love system is very important and when Jesus was going to cap it up, He said in verse 11, I have spoken these things to you to an end, I have allowed you go through the life system, I have allowed you go through the faith system, I have allowed you go through the love system, to an end. And what is the end? He said “that My joy may remain in you.” How does the joy of Christ remain in us? It is not just because we are sitting pretty, having the life of God in us, being fed by the word of God, and being in the love of God, having the nature of God.
He said “that My joy may remain in you and that your joy”; so, what brings about this love of Christ remaining in us? What brings about our joy being full? Many at times the reason why so many believers are frustrated with the life they have in the kingdom is they have truly operated in the life system, they have truly operated in the faith system, they have truly operated in the love system but the grace system is missing. And Jesus said for this to happen, for My joy to remain in you, because the issue is Jesus always wants to have His joy with us, He wants to have His Home with us, He said I stand at the door of your heart and I am knocking, anyone that opens to Me, I will come in and dine with him. And many of us have received that life of Christ, we have received that nature, we have received but we are not having joy in Christ, why? Because in every man, as God has created every man, whether the person is a believer, or an unbeliever, there is a quest for dominion.
Every man wants to dominate because it is inherent in the nature of man. God said let us make man in our image and according to our likeness and let them have dominion; so it was something that was given to man from the beginning. You can’t sit down as a believer and sit pretty and tell yourself this dominion thing, it’s okay if I don’t have it. You will never have your joy full without dominion. Dominion is what makes the joy of Jesus to be in us and for our own joy to be full. Every man on earth is in search for dominion, some will look for it through money, some through power, different men are on the quest of finding dominion but where does true dominion lie? What is the system that God has instituted to hand man dominion? Grace!
I want to show us a Scripture in 2 Corinthians 8:7, then we will see other Scriptures. How grace is the system instituted in the kingdom to give every man dominion. 2 Corinthians 8:7. When I saw this I was excited in my Spirit because this actually gives concrete evidence to this. This is not a product of any man, this is the product of God. This is a system that has been instituted by God. But as you abound in everything, [as you continue to increase in everything]—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. This grace that he is talking about is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This grace is the grace that hands every man dominion. This grace is the grace we must abound in, so it’s not a joke. Apostle Paul was saying to them here, he said you have been abounding in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, beautiful things, but see that you abound in this grace also. So, see to it.
It’s not enough as beautiful as the life system, the faith system, and the love system is; it will not be useful, it will not give you satisfaction until you enter the grace system, you bring all these; it’s like a bride that is being adorned, after you have worn your beautiful white dress, and you put your make-up on, and you have done all those things and they put a tiara on your head and you can’t walk to the alter, what’s the use of the dressing. So, the life system, the faith system, the love system dresses us up for the grace system. When you have dressed up, you have fully kitted you must appear. There is a place you must appear. Your appearing as a child of God is in grace. Your appearance to the world is in grace. Until you appear in grace you can’t do the works of Christ.
So, I was looking at the body organization, and it was said that the human body is structured in this way. The structural organization of the human body starts with molecules, then molecules are combined to form cells, then cells are also combined to form tissues, and tissues are combined to form organs. It is the organs that now become the organ system. So, you now have the digestive system, reproductive system. All these systems start from molecules, then cells, then tissues, they are now a combination of organs. So, your body will not function except it is organized. The same way in the kingdom, you will not function until you are organized.
I want us to see a Scripture in Hebrews 4:16. What organizes us is grace. It says; Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, why is the throne of God called the throne of grace? “Let us come boldly”, the reason why you can come boldly is because you have come by the life system, because you have had nutrition by the faith system, is because you are now in the nature of God, in the love system, so you come boldly. And when you come it’s like a bride that is dressed up in the kingdom spiritually by the life system, by the faith system, by the love system; so you appear before the throne of grace. The Bible says we should come boldly that we may obtain [that we may receive, that we may connect, that we may collect] mercy. Why mercy? We have come by the life system, we have come by the faith system, why are we coming before the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy? and find grace to help in time of need.
We are going to understand this Scripture. This Scripture is bundled; we are going to unbundle it. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy.” We are going to see a Scripture in 2 Corinthians 12, and we will read it from verse 7 to 10. It’s about what happened to Apostle Paul so that we can use that Scripture to interpret this Scripture and unbundle it. When Apostle Paul went through an experience, you will understand that place of mercy to obtain grace. “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations lest I be exalted.” What will make him be exalted above measure? Apostle Paul was mentioning something, he said the things I want to do, I find myself not doing them, the things that my spirit desires, I am finding it difficult to do them, but the things I don’t want to do, I find myself doing them even though I have come by the life system, even though I have come by the faith system and the love system. I still find a war within my members.
He said lest I should be exalted, because there is an issue around pride, [lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations] by the kind of spiritual deposit that are in my life, by the kind of resources that God has deposited in me, he said a thorn in the flesh was given. Some of us will wonder, if truly I have come by the life system, if truly I have come by the faith system, and this love system I am getting it, how come I am still struggling with some things. How comes some things are not just going, it looks as if I am not just getting it. This thorn in the flesh happens to everybody, it’s not just peculiar to Apostle Paul. Because we are looking at kingdom system, this is the system that has been instituted by God for every man.
In John 1 the Bible says Jesus is the light that lights up every man that comes into this world, so, God instituted Jesus, Scripture says there is nothing that was made outside Him including the devil. In Him all things consist. So, Apostle Paul was helping us understand something here, He said a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. What is God trying to do? Making sure Apostle Paul was not exalted above measure but who did He send? Satan! I want us to follow the Holy Spirit, so that when you are asking questions about certain things in your life, understand that God is not a man that would lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. And God is ever present no matter what you are going through.
So, Apostle Paul said a messenger of Satan, a thorn in the flesh was given to him. He said concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord, when he was pleading with the Lord, where was he going to? The throne of grace. Just follow the Holy Spirit because this Scripture is unbundling Hebrews 4:16. He said therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy. Why should we need mercy at the throne of grace? Because there would always be something, there would always be the inadequacy of man. So, you will understand why grace is important for us in this race. Grace is the God factor for every destiny. Without it you can’t have dominion, you can’t lay claim on it. So, he said concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times, so I was appearing before the throne of grace. What was I looking for? Mercy.
God take this thorn in the flesh away, for some of us the thorn in the flesh are different things, God has put inherently in every man a thorn in the flesh that will make you come to the throne of grace. The inadequacy of man is the reason why God is adequate enough to help. And what is the system He has instituted to help every man in their inadequacy? Grace! So, grace is beyond unmerited favor, it’s a wrong definition. Grace is the God factor in every race. The race of your life requires grace because there must be God in that race for you to have dominion. That’s why when God created man in Genesis 1, man was created in God. If you go back to Genesis 1 and 2, you would realize that man was created in God.
God released man out of Himself to a body He made. So, your life can never be outside God. the grace system is what brings us to that point where you know that for you to do the things ahead of you, there is a God factor required for this race. God will make sure that your inadequacies are evident. You see why Apostle Paul saying concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me, and He said to me, what was the response of God? did God say I will take away the thorn? No! He said My grace, not the grace of the world, not the grace of any system. He said My grace is sufficient. What is the meaning of sufficient? Enough, adequate.
So, God is saying to you when you come by the grace system, it will look as if you never walked the life system, the faith system or the love system, you will come to the point of inadequacy, where you feel you are not enough, where you feel what God is showing you can never be done. And God would say come to the throne of grace, and what would bring you there? Is that you are looking for mercy. Can we go back to Hebrews 4:16? So that we can further unbundle this thing, so that we would understand what the Lord is saying. We are coming back to that 2 Corinthians but the Holy Spirit is doing something interesting with us, if this is where we are going to stop today, I believe its fine. Hebrews 4:16; “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy.” But while we are trying to obtain mercy what happens? We find grace. We come looking for mercy, because it is at the throne of grace that we find grace. The Bible says God is the God of all grace, and He gives grace, because His throne is the throne of grace.
The Bible talks about Jesus, it says He is full of grace and truth. So, when you come saying God I am inadequate, God have mercy on me, the things I am going through, this life looks so hard, the things I am going through they look so difficult. It looks as though I can’t bear them. because what will make Apostle Paul come three times? He came the first time, he came again, so it was a matter. That matter that will make you keep coming to the throne of grace, the Bible says God will make sure that matter that you are trying to find mercy on, you will find grace. Because in every inadequacy of man, is the adequacy of God. We are never complete without Him.
That is why every man has the vacuum of God. without God we are never complete, without God we are never measure up to your assignment, without God you will never measure up to your destiny. But He said when you come with that matter to obtain mercy, He said you will find grace. Let’s go back to that 2 Corinthians so that we would understand what that place also means. It says My grace is sufficient for you, that’s what God said, for My strength is made perfect; what’s another word for perfect? Complete. My strength completes your weakness. My grace is enough for you, and understand what my grace will do for you, my grace will complete your weakness, my grace will perfect, will make your weakness perfect, it will look as if you know what you are doing. It will look as if you have it all figured out, why? Grace. And see the revelation that Apostle Paul had from that experience, He said “therefore most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ.”
So, what’s the power of Christ here? Grace! That the power of Christ may rest upon me. Another word for that power of Christ is grace. So, grace is the power of Christ, stop belittling grace calling it unmerited favor. Grace is the power, the strength of Christ. It said I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me, that the grace of God may be sufficient for me, that His strength will be made perfect in my weakness. Verse 10, “therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities.” Those things that used to be point of disgrace I am bold to talk about them. Because now the strength of Christ is available, the power of Christ is seen in them.
So, the things that looks as if they are my weakness, God has glorified them by grace. It said I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs in persecutions, in distress for Christ sake. For when I am weak; every time it looks as if I am just weak, I am inadequate, I am not enough, it said inside that place, what I am trying to obtain mercy for I have found grace over. It said then I am strong. Is it my strength? No! it is the power of Christ resting in me. The power of Christ is resting on my weakness. So, grace is the preordained journey where the inadequacy of man meets with the adequacy of God. God’s grace is given and I want to show us a Scripture also that will help us to understand this better.
Let us go Isaiah 40:28-31, so that you will understand what grace is for. Grace is for a race, you can’t just sit down doing nothing and your weakness will show. No! nobody will know you are weak when you are doing nothing. It is because you are doing something that it will show. Because you are doing, people can spot your weakness but because you stopped doing at the degree that you were doing. So, because you are fulfilling the will of Christ is when the weaknesses will show. And that’s the same place where grace is needed. Because the power of Christ will rest on your weakness and it will be evident to all that God has His hand on you.
When we receive grace we must acknowledge that we have received it, because that’s the only time where grace is multiplied. Because the strength you receive yesterday is not enough for today, that’s why the Bible says that we must come boldly, we must keep appearing. Romans 12:2 says present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable, so you must present. The body you are presenting, is it a strong body? No! you are presenting your weakness to God that the power of Christ may rest on you. So, the reason why many people are not walking in grace is because they refuse to present. Is grace not available in God? scripture says He is the God of all grace, He gives grace, He doesn’t withhold grace, but it is for those that present.
That’s why the Bible says when you come, you present, you come boldly, that’s your presentation to the throne of grace, do you come? How do you come? Do you come weak or you come strong? Do you come hungry? Isaiah 40:28-31. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. So, there is nothing you are presenting that He doesn’t have understanding of. He understands your terrain more than you yourself, so let’s stop the complaining. Why not present, why not come and obtain mercy so that you can find grace, and say God it’s alright you are telling me to do this, but Lord I can’t do it on my own, in fact I don’t understand this terrain, in fact I don’t what you are asking me to do, can you help me? Can you come humbly like that with your weaknesses and see whether His power will not rest on you.
It said His understanding is unsearchable. See what the Bible says in verse 29, “He gives power, [He gives grace] the Bible says God resist the proud but He gives grace to the humble. So, there is a posture to receive grace, it’s called humility, because in humility you acknowledge your weakness. In humility you come as you are, you are not boasting about anything. It says He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.30 Even the youths shall faint. So, don’t think that you have it all figured out because you are young, the Bible says even the youth shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,31 But those who wait [those who come boldly to the throne of grace, those who present themselves] it says those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength.”
So, don’t ever feel you have it all figured out, the Scripture says Jesus spoke the parable to this end; that men always ought to pray and not faint because inherent in your human vessel, is weakness. So, you can’t run this race in your strength, you need God. you can’t do it in your power, you need God. It says; “those that wait on the Lord, He shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings” [is it in their strength? No! because He gives power to the weak. And those that have no might He increases their strength.] It says “they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” I have been reading this Isaiah 40 verse 31 but I never knew that was the definition of grace. It defines what grace does for a man. You receive grace in the presence of God, that’s why His throne is called the throne of grace. So, as you wait on Him you are waiting before the throne of grace. It said He will renew your strength. The power of Christ will rest upon you, it said you will mount up with wings as eagles, whatever your age bracket is, you will run and not be weary, you will walk and not faint.
All these talks about action. So, what race are you running that you are feeling tired? Are you running the race of your marriage in your strength? Are you running the race of parenting in your strength? Are you running the race of your business in your strength? Are you running the race of your life in your strength? Are you walking this life in your strength? The Bible says you will be weary, and the reason why a lot of people are weary and tired is because its been their strength. They have been running in their strength that is weakness. The best of the strength of man is weakness, inherent in every man is weakness. Grace is the adequacy. Grace is what makes you enough for the assignment. Grace is what makes you manifest. The Bible says the earnest expectations of creations are waiting for the manifestation, the revealing of the sons of God. Grace is what reveals us, because God will not reveal you in weakness, He will reveal you in strength, but what makes you qualify for that revelation, that manifestation is because the power of God, the grace of God, is resident upon you.
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of grace, why? He is the power of Christ. Have you been trying to run this race in your strength? It’s not about I can do it, you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you. That is the motto of a graced individual, a graced individual will not say I can, he will say I can do all things through Christ. Who is Christ? The fullness of grace. no matter how you want to do it in this system, in this kingdom, you need grace. grace is so important, grace is so vital, you need grace, you can’t do it without Him. God has made that vacuum inherent in any man, you need God.
