09/11/23
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
Today’s Scripture
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
2 Corinthians 4:17, ESV
The Weight Of Glory
Glory means honor, favor, and influence. We like those things, but we don’t always realize there’s a weight that comes with it. If you’re not prepared for it, the favor won’t be a blessing, it will be a burden. We have to pass some tests before God will trust us with the weight of glory. The delays, the disappointments, and the bad breaks are tests ordered by the Lord. Will you be good to people who are not being good to you? Will you stay in faith when you’re overlooked for a promotion or a setback slows your dreams? These are all opportunities to prove to God that you can handle the weight of glory.
***When you understand that God uses difficulties to get us prepared, to stretch our faith, to change us, you don’t complain when things don’t go your way. You realize it’s serving a purpose. When you do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening, you’re getting ready to carry the weight of glory. That’s why God doesn’t remove everything instantly, so be patient.***
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that the difficulties I face are temporary and are working in me an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Thank You that Your plans for me are for good, and greater is coming. I believe I’m going to make it through and come out better. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
SECTION TWO
To understand the grace of God, it is essential you understand the differences between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace.
To help you accelerate your understanding of law and grace, I want to share with you one of my favorite scriptures. I have preached this verse around the world, from Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia, to Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas.
“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.—John 1:17″
The law was given through a servant. Grace and truth came through the Son. The law talks about what man ought to be. Grace reveals Who God is.
In the first miracle of Moses, he turned water into blood, resulting in death. In the first miracle of grace, Jesus turned water into wine, resulting in life and celebration. The letter (the law) kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).
Under the law, God demands righteousness from sinfully bankrupt man. But under grace, God provides righteousness as a gift. Now, which covenant would you like to be under? The answer is obvious!
The truth is, through the cross at Calvary, all who believe in Jesus and acknowledge Him as their Lord and Savior are under the new covenant of grace. Yet today many believers are still living in confusion, and get law and grace all mixed up by holding on to some aspects of the law and some aspects of grace in their Christian beliefs and walk.
Jesus said you cannot put new wine into old wineskins. The new wine will ferment and break the wineskins, and you will lose both (Matt. 9:17). In the same way, you cannot put the new wine of grace into the old wineskin of the law. One will cancel out the other (Rom. 11:6).
Under the law, God said, “I will by no means clear the guilty, but I will visit their sins to the third and fourth generations” (Exod. 34:7). But under grace, God says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 8:12).
There has been a change! Can you see with absolute high-definition clarity that there has been a radical change and it is all because of Jesus?
Choose to live wholly under the new covenant of grace today, where through Christ’s perfect finished work at the cross, you have God’s righteousness as a gift, and God’s own Spirit of life leading you to victory over areas of defeat.
Dara Network TV 