When I began the first part of this article, I talked about the indispensability of grace and the word as far as greatness is concerned and how that we need to know that coming to Jesus is what forms the basis for which we must begin our journey into greatness.  And I concluded that episode by saying when you come to Jesus, you will be revealed to yourself; this is the process where you interact with the word of His grace before you are ultimately being revealed to the world; talking about who you are and who you will become in Christ. So, revealing Jesus to the world first begins with Jesus being revealed to you; in other words, Jesus being revealed through you is a function of Jesus being revealed to you.

So, we must understand that Jesus is the access, the door, the means through which we can be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  So, true greatness, or becoming the man of your dream is not in the absence of light but in the presence of light. It begins with you coming to the one who is full of grace and truth. And receiving of His fullness grace for grace.

Having established that, let us look at this verse again; John chapter 1 verse 18, it says; "No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]". Amp.

The beginning of this verse says; No man has seen God or can see God at any time.  Did you see the connection between the last statement in that verse and the statement that began the verse? Although God cannot be seen, Bible says He dwells in an unapproachable light, but the Son, revealed Him. Jesus became like the authorized system through which the Father should be revealed. So, seeing Jesus is as good as seeing God the Father. Did you see why Jesus said as long as I am in this world I am the light of the world? It takes light to reveal light.

So, because He needed to reveal the Father, He became light to the world so that those who follow His light will see God the one who is the Father of light. (Meditate on this). This is the very core of leadership. So, in His light we see light. He said whoever follows Me will not stumble in darkness. The Bible says He is the express image of the invisible God. Jesus said have I been with you all these while and you say show us the Father? He that has seen Me has seen the Father. This statement was made after Philip had said show us the Father and it will be sufficient us. This is why God said this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him. That is the revealing.

This verse says He is the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, --He is God and was with God in the beginning. He is the brightness of God’s glory, the express image of the invisible God.  It says; He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out to where He can be seen."  Jesus said you are the light of the world. A city set upon the hill that cannot be hidden. So, we also have the mandate to bring Him out to where He can be seen, to manifest, to reveal, to interpret, to shine forth and to reveal or to make Him manifest.

What does this mean? Although God cannot be seen, Jesus has revealed Him. So, if you see Jesus, you have seen the Father. So why did we have to have this understanding about Christ revealing the Father? we must first find Jesus, we must first see Jesus, something happens when you come to Jesus? Remember we are talking about greatness. Every journey of greatness begins with you first seeing or coming to Jesus. And you can’t come to Him except He draws you to Himself. That brings us back to the subject of grace and favor. See what John 1 verse 16 says; “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift." (Amp) Peter asked a question, Lord we have left all and have followed you, what shall we have? This is the question this article will answer; the light and consciousness that this article will bring. Coming to Jesus and partaking of His grace takes you from smallness to greatness, from mediocrity to excellence, from a nobody to somebody.

So, number one: When you come to Jesus, what He will first give to you is called the gift of grace. Bible says come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.  Bible says of His fullness we have received grace for grace. Generally, by reason of categorization, you will receive two kinds of graces when you come to Jesus and in your faith walk. The first is the saving grace, we all have been saved by grace through faith. This is the kind of grace that got you saved. But this is not automatic, something is required of you. You must first believe in Jesus when you are drawn to Him by the Father.

This is why salvation is free but not for everyone; except for those who believe. The first pathway to greatness amongst others is your believe in Jesus. As simple as this may sound not everyone believes in Him.

As a matter of fact, some may believe in God but would have issues believing in Jesus. The Bible didn’t say as many as believe in God will never perish but have everlasting life. It says as many as believe in Jesus the Son will not perish but have everlasting life. It says he who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son does not have life. Those who refuse to believe in the son are condemned. You may choose to believe or not believe in God or the Holy Spirit but your believe in Jesus is what gives you access to God and the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus is so important to us. He is the way to the Father. So the question is; Who do you believe? As much as you believe in God, you must also believe in Jesus Christ. 1John 5:10 says; “He who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] has the testimony [possesses this divine attestation] within himself. He who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him out to be and represented Him as a liar, because he has not believed (put his faith in, adhered to, and relied on) the evidence (the testimony) that God has borne regarding His Son.”

So, as far as greatness is concerned, who you believe matters. And what you believe matters. This implies that when you have a dream, carry a dream or dream a dream, when the word of the Lord comes to you, you must believe it for it to become your reality. Jesus said believe in My Father and believe also in Me. Those who come to God must believe that He is. Your greatness is to the degree of who you believe and what you believe in. So, when you have believed in Jesus, believe in yourself that you will be great, believe that you can do all things through Christ and become all things through Christ that strengthen you, then believe in the people that believe you will be great and are willing to partner with the Holy Spirit to make your greatness a reality.

As regards this discussion, there are four kinds of people and the character or nature of their beliefs.

Number one: There are those who once believed but are no longer believing, hence they have strayed from the path of faith loving and conforming to the world. This is what I call the looking back syndrome. Do you remember Lot’s wife? Do you remember Demas? Bible says those who put their hands to plough and looking back is not fit for the kingdom. It says we are not of them that draw back to perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)

Number Two: There are those who do not believe at all. You can talk to them about other things but definitely not about Jesus. They fondly call passionate lovers of Christ religious fanatics. They deny the existence of God. Bible says only a fool will say there is no God. They are either non-believers or disbelievers or unbelievers whatever term you choose to use. These are those who tone down or deny His existence and reality. They underestimate and scoff at those that take God and the matters of God seriously.

Number Three: There are those who believe but following partly or following Jesus from afar. This is also not a healthy kind of believe. They wear a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. The religion is more comfortable for them to practice rather than spirit and life. These are the ones that come to Jesus secretly like Nicodemus; what shall we do to have eternal life? They desire the results of Jesus but they still prefer to remain and practice religion. Ever learning but not coming to the knowledge of the truth.

Number Four: Those who believe and are following wholeheartedly and closely. This is the perfect alignment of a heart grace picks up or locate for greatness. This heart looks unto Jesus the author and finisher of his faith, his focus is Jesus. Knowing that the quality of your experience in life is a function of your sight and gaze. You become like what you see.  So if Jesus is the object of their focus, Jesus becomes their experience and expression. Bible says but we beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord we are being changed.

Number two: The second thing you will receive when you come to Jesus is the Spirit of grace. This is the strength and the ability of God in a man both to will and to do according to God’s good pleasure. Romans 6:14 for sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under law but under grace. This is the power to make wealth, this the capacity to both please God and to make exploit for the kingdom.  There is a grace that saves, but there is a grace to do. This is the grace that keeps you on the path. To be consistent though you fall, he helps to rise up tall. When you come to Jesus, He is able to make all grace abound towards you, making you have all sufficiency and abound unto every good works. There is no greatness outside of grace, remember when I began this article I talked about the fact that it is one thing to desire greatness, it is one thing to dream, but without grace it is impossible to accomplish it. Grace is the fuel you need to burn for God, if there is no grace you will burn out. You will doubt your calling.

It is grace that makes you abound unto every good works. It is grace that makes you do good works. Do you remember what Elijah gave to Elisha? The double portion of the Spirit. Do you remember what Moses gave to Joshua and the 70 and 2 elders? You remember what God filled Aholiab and Bezalel with? Do you remember what God gave to Solomon? The Spirit of wisdom. Do you remember what Jesus gave to His disciples? The Holy Spirit. They said, Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said it is not you to know the times and seasons that the Father has put under his own authority but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. This is the extraordinary advantage of a believer.

When we come to Jesus we receive the Holy Spirit. He is also called the Spirit of grace. In other words, when we come to Jesus we receive the Spirit of grace. Bible says He is full of grace and truth. And of His fullness we have received grace for grace. To show you how valuable the gift of grace is, Jesus spoke to Apostle Paul when he prayed three times that a thorn be taken out of his flesh. Jesus said My grace is sufficient for you. Everything Apostle Paul could ever need was embedded in grace. So, Apostle Paul was bold to say I am what I am by the grace of God.

So, the sufficiency of His grace is what every man need for greatness. No genuine greatness or exploit in the kingdom is done outside of grace. Grace is God’s ability working in and through us. Bible says it is God who is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Apostle Paul said the grace of God has appeared to all men teaching them to deny all ungodliness. Just has it has appeared to Apostle Paul, it has appeared to you and I. Will you maximize the Spirit of grace?

 When God pours on you the gift of grace, you become an extraordinary man. Grace is both a channel or vehicle to receiving from God and it is the ability of God working in and through a man. David didn't defeat Goliath because he was very skillful, there was something operating within his members. It is called grace. For the sake of context, and in order to narrow down this discussion,

What does grace do for you haven received it when you come to Jesus?

Number One: Grace will enable you to do two things: firstly, It helps you to complete obedience. Apostle Paul said when your obedience is complete then you can punish all disobedience. The question is; obedience to what? God’s instructions and alignment to God’s will. Secondly, Grace helps you to fulfill all righteousness. How? Firstly, by giving you a right standing before God by the virtue of the gift of righteousness and by leading you in the path of righteousness by the virtue of obedience, alignment and the fear of God.  Jesus said it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. While the heavens will be open only for those who fulfill all righteousness, those who complete obedience will walk in authority and power. What this means is that they will be able to punish all disobedience, displaying the glory, splendor and majesty of God.

These two factors are the same although separated by numbering. When your obedience is complete it is the same as fulfilling all righteousness.

What Is the significance of this? It means that when grace becomes your drive, it propels or drives you to greatness. By walking in the following consciousness:

Number One: The drive to live a life that fear and please God; not men. This is a life that trembles at His word. This is the desire to be God’s one audience. i.e. to stand for and with God even if the crowd go contrary. Apostle Paul said if I seek to please men I cease to become a bond a servant of Christ. Bible says “Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, [Let us serve he Lord] offer to God, a pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe.” Hebrews 12:28 (Amp) Emphasis mine.

Number Two: The drive to do, and to establish the will, the purposes and the counsel of God. In the realm of God there is a will, a desire, a purpose; but in the realm of man that will translates to an assignment, a mission or a task. When the assignment is complete, then it translates to the will of God just as it were in the thoughts, in the realm of God; just as it is in heaven, your will be done on the earth. When God desires His will be done on the earth, He comes to the one that has been saddled with the responsibility of tending and keeping the garden. Grace enables you to do the will of God. And greatness is not far from those that seek to establish His will, purpose and counsel on the earth. Bible says all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.

Number Three: The drive to be guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. To be guided by the Spirit of truth is to be guided into greatness. Those that are guided by the truth are the sons of God. And God does not have any dream or vision less of greatness of His sons. Bible says; “As many as are led by the Spirit of God of grace, they are the sons of God.” Jesus said when He is come, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you into all truth, He will take of what is mine and declare it unto you. True greatness is for those who know the truth, keep the truth and guard it jealously.

This is how to become a man of your dream, this is the dynamics of greatness. Nothing is impossible with God, instead of wondering how shall these things be seeing that I do not know a man? Believe that you have found grace in the sight of God just like Noah, just like Moses, just like Mary, just like Esther, just like Elizabeth, just like Hannah; and say let it be unto me according to Your word. So, irrespective of who we are, or how big or less our dreams are, we require grace to function adequately and effectively; meaning that completing obedience and fulfilling righteousness is a function of the help, the strength and the grace of God. When you find a man walking on this path such a man is heading for greatness it’s only a matter of time.

Thanks for the gift of your time, Apeh Francis Abah!
Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond as soon as possible!