There is an exchange that happens when you give God your weakness and He turns it into your strength. There’s a change in how you see yourself and a responsibility to show up as that better version of you. The Bible says, “by the grace of God, I am what I am”. It’s giving #retweet! ___________________________________ Watch the full “The Mystery of Grace” Sermon on the TD Jakes Ministries Youtube page. REGISTER for WE23: womanevolveconference.com Stay plugged into the Woman Evolve community: www.womanevolve.com www.womanevolve.tv download the app from any mobile device’s app store, first 7 days are FREE! Want to support this ministry? Text GIVE to (833) 611-9066 or click here FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIALS: Instagram: Women Evolve and Sarah Jakes Roberts Twitter: Woman Evolve and SJakesRoberts Facebook: Woman Evolve and Sarah Jakes RobertsWoman Evolve TV app!
one of the things that I have heard
almost my entire life as it relates to
my mother
is that she is the embodiment of Grace
everyone says if they’ve had an
opportunity to meet her or just watch
her for any amount of time that she just
embodies what it means to have Grace
because she’s so classy and she’s so
petite and she’s just so she Whispers
And
and Grace feels like a whisper and
that’s why she would I think that’s why
she does it I think that Grace is just a
whisper
down in her spirit
I recognize that when most of the people
say that she is the embodiment of Grace
that they are not necessarily talking
about Grace as we know it in the Bible
there is a definition of grace that is
more I’ll say westernized something that
doesn’t have much to do with faith at
all and this definition of Grace relies
on us to really lean into a person’s
Elegance their beauty they say that when
a person has Grace they’re not always
talking about her embodying the
attributes of being in relationship with
Jesus but rather someone who just has
elegance and Grace and certainly my
mother fits that bill
as I was defining what Grace is I
couldn’t help but start at that surface
level definition of grace
however when we dig deeper into Grace we
recognize that there are so many other
definitions many of them that we have
become familiar with especially if
you’ve been in church or around church
for any number of time and that is the
unmerited favor of God
when we Define grace theologically or in
the context of church we see it as the
unmerited favor of God or something that
you may have heard a Divine influence of
the heart
so when we say that God’s grace is with
us or God’s grace is what empowered us
we’re talking about God doing something
in our heart that allowed our heart to
turn even when we didn’t realize that we
needed it to turn or that God turned his
heart to us in ways that we didn’t
deserve or could not have earned that is
what Grace is when we talk about it in
the context of church and Theology and
yet when I was studying Grace I went
even deeper and recognized that the word
that is translated into Grace in the New
Testament of the Bible is a Greco-Roman
word
this Greco-Roman word that was
translated actually is Charis
Karis is the word that is translated as
Grace
and when I looked at Charis apart from
our you know christianese Church version
of what Grace is when I just looked at
it purely in the historical context of
Charis what I learned is that Charis was
a system that was used in the
Greco-Roman area era and in this system
of Grace called Charis it is when one
person gave a gift to another person
the only thing is that the person who
gave the gift often had a higher value
gift or a higher value position than the
person who was receiving it
so Charis is like a king and a servant
and a servant gives a gift to a King and
though his heart is well intended though
it has high value based on where the
servant is from the king’s perspective
it is a lesser value but still because
they have engaged in this relationship
this system of Grace Just because he
gives him something of lesser value it
doesn’t mean that he is disqualified
from being in relationship with him
because Karis allows for us to give
something on a lesser value and still be
in relationship with the person who
we’re giving the gift to
when we see Charis in the text
really we have to look at it in this
cultural historical context if we want
to accurately determine what it means to
really experience God’s grace
because Paul the writer a Roman citizen
cannot separate the context of Charis
from what he is translating into our
relationship with God
so when he says in First Corinthians
when he talks about Grace I put a text
as an example in First Corinthians
15.
nine through ten put it on the screen
for me he says for I am the least of the
Apostles he starts off already setting
his value low I am the least I have less
value I’m not like some of the other
apostles who actually walked with Jesus
I’m not high and mighty I’m the least of
the apostles who am not worthy to be
called an apostle because I persecuted
the Church of God
but then it continues as it says but by
the grace because I made an exchange
with God it’s not that I don’t have the
least amount of value but by the grace
of God I am what I am you could appraise
my worth based off of what I did and you
would be right to say that I have no
value but if you would Praise My worth
by who I am connected with then you
would recognize that who I am connected
with automatically took my Stakes up it
is by the grace of God that I am who I
am you’re right I’m not educated enough
you’re right I don’t have the right
connections you’re right I have no
business being in this Pulpit but by the
grace of God I am what I am you’re right
about it I shouldn’t be here I shouldn’t
be raising the family I shouldn’t be
starting the business but by the grace
of God I am what I am some people are
jealous of what you did they don’t
realize that what you did was done by
the grace of God you and I are actually
no different but by the grace of God I
am what I am you could act cute in this
place if you want to but I know there
are some people in this room who are
only in this room because Grace said I
will align with you and no you’re not my
best option and no you’re not my best
choice but if you’re willing to give me
an exchange
I made an exchange
there’s some people in this room
who made an exchange with God
and the exchange they made with God
didn’t even have any value to God God
Gave You addiction and he gave you a
Ministry God gave you you gave God
addiction and he gave you a Ministry you
gave God low self-esteem and he gave you
a business God gave me an exchange it
don’t even make sense because what I
gave him doesn’t match what he gave me
in return I gave you Disobedience and
you gave me another shot I gave you
Reckless and you ordered my steps I wish
there were some people in this room who
knows that God what I gave you wasn’t
nothing compared to what she gave me
you see I know what I gave them
see I tell other people no no I studied
for this no I went to school for this
but when it’s me and God in the prayer
closet God’s able to help me understand
now you know you didn’t really give me
much to work with you know you was lying
your face off you know you were sleeping
with anything that would walk you know
you didn’t give me nothing to work with
but by the grace of God when God’s grace
breathes on you it takes short nothing
and turns it into something the grace of
God is why I’m in this room the grace of
God is why I have another chance the
grace of God is why I know I’m gonna see
the goodness of God the goodness of
messing with me every time I think I’m
giving them something of value he says
that’s nothing to me let me breathe on
it and expand it
[Music]
I didn’t give him nothing to work with
I didn’t give him nothing to work with I
didn’t have no ingredients but God says
if you just give me what you have if you
just give me what you have I know it
doesn’t seem like a lot I know it looks
like broken pieces I know it may look
like abortion I know it may look like
you’re dying I know it may look like you
should be locked up but if you give me
something to work with
we could enter into an alliance
where my grace
and what you offer
aligns in such a way
that it is undeniable
that Grace went ahead of you
yeah
Grace
is in exchange Grace is not just about
consumption
Grace is not insurance for you to do
whatever you like
I know I’m sorry
I wanted to keep I wanted to preach
something real cute but God told me I
gotta really break down what Grace is
because some of us do treat grapes like
it is insurance and Grace is going to go
ahead and I’m gonna make the mistake but
I believe Grace is going to cover me
when you really get a revelation of
Grace you understand that if God ever
gave me what I truly deserved
if God ever lifted his grace off of my
life then imposter syndrome would be
right because I have no business being
where I am but God’s grace
oh
was
the grace of God
that made the difference and so when we
see Paul
talking about Grace and he says it is
the grace of God I am what I am and his
grace towards me was not in vain
but I labored more abundantly than they
are
there’s I see exchange here
I am the least of them but God gave me
the grace of God I am what I am he
changed my identity
and then when he changed his identity
when he changed my identity says Paul
when he changed the way that I saw
myself when he changed the way I saw
what he was doing in the earth I decided
that his grace toward me would not be in
vain
because Grace comes with the
responsibility
because I don’t feel entitled to Grace
just because you allowed me to have
Grace on credit
God help me
some people in this room got Grace on
credit
Gus says I’m Gonna Give You Grace first
and then when you step into the grace I
want you to live in such a way that I
know that my grace was not in vain that
you recognize what this is because if
you recognize what this is you won’t do
that again that’s why we can love people
with grace for real I don’t have to
condemn you to make sure you don’t make
the same mistake over and over again I
just gotta be so good to you that you
never want to be bad to yourself again I
just gotta be so good to you that you
never want to go back to who you were
before it is the grace of God the
goodness of God that kept showing up in
his life that says now I feel obligated
what can I Render unto you God for all
that you have done to me I feel
obligated I am a slave to the gospel not
because I did everything right not
because he actually chained me but
because he kept chasing me with his
grace and I finally turned around and I
said God don’t you know I’m raggedy God
don’t you know I’m bad God don’t you
know you could get somebody else but you
keep chasing me into this bar you keep
chasing me into this strip club God what
is it that you want with me God what is
it that you can do with these
[Music]
[Applause]
foreign
Corinthians
chapter 10 verse 9.
that’s my scripture right there
Paul is
expressing right before this
how he’s got this thorn in his flesh
oh God I feel like you want to do
something in this place
God I could almost be used but I got
this Thorn In My Flesh God I could
almost be of use but there’s this thing
that’s is piercing my soul I could
almost be like them I could almost be
perfect I could almost hold my head up
high I could almost be in Ministry I
could almost lay it down and Jesus says
to him my grace once again we’re not
talking about Grace the way we’ve come
to know it in church we’re talking about
in exchange this exchange that I made is
sufficient for you because my strength
is made perfect in weakness that means
that if you make this exchange the right
way it won’t matter what the thorn is it
won’t matter where you’re weak all
that’ll matter is that you made an
exchange with me you give me weakness
and that gives you strength you give me
three freedom and I will give you a real
call and a purpose if you give it to me
I’ll Transform it God says I want to
marry your weakness
[Music]
yeah
put it back on the screen for me I want
you to give me your weakness
I want you to give it to me
don’t give it to them see the reason
that most of us end up with our hearts
broken is because we were given our
weakness to other weak people and we
were hoping that if I give you my
weakness I’ll finally feel strong but
Jesus says the reason why you needed him
to walk away the reason why you needed
her to disappoint you is because you
wanted her to do what only I could do
you wanted the job to be what only I
could be you wanted the check to do what
only I can do and that’s why you’re rich
and still upset and that’s why you
drugged out and still ain’t got no peace
there is no drug greater than my grace
there ain’t that shrink on Earth that
can make you strong in the area you’ve
been weak it can help you forget it can
help you walk away but if you want to be
strong for real you gotta take that
weakness and say God Here I Am Lord here
I am with my weak self here I am with my
broke self here I am with my shattered
self the moment they call me I’ll go
running out the door I don’t want to be
weak anymore
I don’t want to be weak like this
anymore this weakness is messing up my
destiny this weakness is messing up my
family this weakness is changing the way
as see myself this weakness is about to
keep me from being who you’ve called me
to be you gotta go to war with your
weakness cause your weakness gonna mess
you up but when you decide that I won’t
let a weak think keep me from a classic
[Music]
the weakness
[Applause]
it’s in the way
it’s in the way
that weakness is in the way
and you don’t just get it out of the way
by ignoring it and you don’t get it out
of the way by pretending you’re gonna be
confident in the place where you are
weak you can’t affirm yourself out of
this weakness you can’t post yourself
out of this weakness the only thing you
can do with a weakness is joke it up to
something stronger than the area where
you’re weak business his name is Jesus
oh God I didn’t get his name
[Applause]
thank you
pause this
I knew I was weak
but when I got this revelation
that my weak head can have a companion
my weakness can have a companion and
that companion is his strength when I
got that Revelation I did something
crazy I started boasting in my
infirmities cause the more I post about
it the more he prays on it and the more
he brings soon it is the power of God
rests upon
[Music]
I don’t know about you
but I’m trying to live a life that
confuses the enemy how in the hell did
all of the hell I put her through did
not keep her from being a handed out of
hell then all of the hell
[Music]
let me send hell to keep you from being
who God has called you to be
I know it’s confusing but the hell
didn’t work I know it’s confusing but
the hell actually works for me not
against me his strength was made perfect
in the place where I experienced hell
you standing in evidence
oh God that’s not even that’s not my
message and I’m trying to calm down but
I just gotta let you know that you
standing in the room where hell tried to
attack me you standing in the room where
hell said imma get her pregnant so she
never opens her mouth at 13 years old
I’ma put her in a room and tell her
you’ll never have access to the gift of
God you see in everybody else and Heaven
said aha one day she gonna give me all
that hell she went through okay
okay hold on I’m sorry
I’m sorry I’m sorry
I’m sorry I’m sorry if you visit him for
the first time I’m sorry you don’t even
know me like that but let me tell you
something I know something about the
grace of God and and something about the
goodness of God I know
and that’s in this place
okay
okay
[Applause]
I’m a boss in my infirmities that the
power of Christ May rest upon me I’m not
going to whisper about these infirmities
I’m not going to ignore these
infirmities
foreign
[Applause]
Exchange
[Applause]
I give God
my weakness
my doubt my
insecurity
my need to perform
my need to be polished I’m gonna give
him
my weakness I’m gonna give him that
broken little boy I’m gonna give him
that broken little girl I’m gonna give
him my weakness my my weakness I’m gonna
give him this addiction I’m gonna give
him my weakness you see we came in here
and we looked the best that we can look
part of it is because I’m trying to
cover up some of this weakness you think
you got decree on top of degree because
you really wanted education and yes that
was it but some of you were trying to
cover up your weakness and I hear God
saying you’re trying to cover up the
very thing I want to partner with I
don’t want to partner with what looks
good I don’t want to partner with the
part of you that makes everyone feel
good I want to partner with the part of
you that nobody wants not even you God
says that’s the part that I want I want
your weakness I want your Brokenness I
want your bitterness he left 20 years
ago you’re still bitter God says give me
that you’re not angry you’re hurting
you’re not in pain you’re broken I want
laughs
I want
your weakness