Set Up for Greatness - Pastor Sam Kayode
- rccgvictoryhousewi
- Jun 12
- 7 min read
Sermon Notes
Title: Great Grace: Set Up for Greatness
Theme: Great Grace
Speaker: Pastor Sam Kayode
Service: May 17th, 2026
Main Scriptures: Acts 4:33, Romans 9:15-16, Genesis 25:29-34, Genesis 39, James 1:2-4, James 1:12-15
Main Message
Great grace is more than ordinary favor. It is the large, vast, intense, and superior grace of God at work in the life of a believer. This grace is God’s unmerited favor, love, mercy, kindness, compassion, and enabling power given to people even when they do not deserve it.
The sermon emphasized that great grace often sets people up for greatness. Sometimes the challenges, delays, temptations, and uncomfortable seasons we face are not meant to destroy us, but to prepare, prove, and position us for the future God has prepared.
Key Scriptures
Acts 4:33“And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
Romans 9:15-16God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” It is not of him who wills or runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Genesis 25:29-34Esau sold his birthright for bread and lentil stew, showing how temporary appetite can cause a person to lose something greater.
Genesis 39Joseph was tested in Potiphar’s house, but he refused temptation and remained faithful to God.
James 1:2-4Believers are told to count it joy when they face trials because the testing of faith produces patience.
James 1:12-15Blessed is the person who endures temptation, because after being tested, they will receive the crown of life.
Key Points
1. Great Grace Is Large, Vast, and Powerful
The sermon began by explaining the word “great.” Great means something large in size, vast in extent, high in intensity, excellent, wonderful, superior, marvelous, and outstanding in quality.
Acts 4:33 does not simply say grace was upon the apostles. It says great grace was upon them. This means they experienced a higher dimension of grace.
Lesson: God does not only give grace; He can release great grace in a greater measure over a person’s life.
2. Grace Is More Than Favor
Grace is often described as unmerited favor, but it is also God’s unmerited love, mercy, kindness, compassion, and enabling power.
Grace is God loving us, helping us, and showing mercy to us even when we do not deserve it. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Lesson: Grace is not based on human qualification. Grace is based on the goodness, love, and mercy of God.
3. God Chooses Whom He Will Show Mercy
Romans 9:15 says God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion.
The sermon compared the house of Saul and the house of David. God removed mercy from Saul, but promised David that His mercy would not depart from his house.
Lesson: The mercy of God is precious. A believer should pray that God’s mercy will remain established over their life and household.
4. Mercy Enlarges and Increases
When mercy was removed from Saul, his house began to diminish. When mercy remained with David, his house increased.
Mercy enlarges. Mercy increases. Mercy is connected to great grace.
Lesson: When God’s mercy is established in a person’s life, that life begins to increase instead of diminish.
5. Great Grace Can Set You Up
The sermon taught that some difficult seasons are not signs that God has abandoned us. They may be setups for greatness.
When God wants to release great grace, He may allow situations that test our character, discipline, patience, obedience, and faithfulness.
Lesson: Not every hardship is destruction. Some hardships are divine setups for the next level.
6. Esau Failed the Test of Appetite
Esau sold his birthright because he was hungry. He treated something spiritual and valuable as if it had no worth.
The sermon warned that some people trade their future for temporary pleasure, appetite, desperation, or compromise.
Lesson: Do not sell your birthright for temporary satisfaction. Greatness requires discipline.
7. Do Not Despise Your Birthright
Esau despised his birthright. In the same way, believers can despise their spiritual birthright through sin, compromise, fornication, lying, desperation, and living only for the moment.
Lesson: What looks like a small compromise can affect a great destiny.
8. Joseph Was Set Up for Greatness
Joseph’s dreams showed that he had a great future, but the path to that future included rejection, betrayal, the pit, slavery, Potiphar’s house, temptation, false accusation, and prison.
Each stage was part of the process that moved Joseph closer to the palace.
Lesson: The pit is not the end. Potiphar’s house is not the end. The prison is not the end. God may be using every stage to move you toward your palace.
9. Obedience Can Position You for Great Grace
When Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, Joseph responded, “Here am I.” He did not complain or refuse.
The sermon emphasized that even simple errands, assignments, responsibilities, and acts of obedience can be part of God’s setup for greatness.
Lesson: Do not despise small assignments. Obedience in small things can lead to greater destiny.
10. Do Not Stay Where People Do Not Dream
Joseph found grace in Potiphar’s house, but Potiphar’s house was not his final destination. The sermon noted that there were no dreamers in Potiphar’s house, only tempters.
God moved Joseph to prison, where he met dreamers. There, his gift of interpretation was activated.
Lesson: Be careful who surrounds you. People without dreams can kill your dream.
11. Temptation Can Be a Setup for Promotion
Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, but he refused to sin against God. His refusal led to prison, but prison was the place that connected him to Pharaoh’s dream.
James 1 teaches that temptation and trials can produce endurance and lead to reward when we overcome.
Lesson: Temptation is not meant to destroy you. Overcoming temptation can move you closer to your promotion.
12. Lust and Compromise Can Abort Great Grace
The sermon strongly warned that lust, pornography, fornication, lying, and sinful compromise can delay or abort the process of great grace.
What may seem like a moment of pleasure can cause spiritual delay and damage destiny.
Lesson: Do not trade your future for a temporary feeling.
13. Great Grace Moves You From Dreamer to Interpreter
Joseph began as a dreamer, but through the process, he became an interpreter of dreams.
The sermon connected this to the sons of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32, who understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do.
Lesson: Great grace does not only give dreams; it develops wisdom, interpretation, timing, and leadership.
14. Your Dream May Be Bigger Than You Think
Joseph thought his dream was only about his brothers bowing down, but God’s plan was much bigger. Joseph was called to preserve nations during famine and sit in a place of authority in Egypt.
Lesson: What God has shown you may be bigger than your current understanding. Keep following Him.
15. Great Grace Brings Recovery and Restoration
At the altar call, the sermon emphasized that grace restores what has been lost. Grace saves, sanctifies, delivers, and helps people recover from aborted processes and missed opportunities.
Lesson: Even if you have missed it before, God’s grace can restore you and bring you back to His path.
Prayer Points
Father, do not take Your mercy away from me as You took it from Saul.
Father, do not take Your mercy away from my household.
Father, let Your mercy be established in my life.
Father, I receive great grace to excel.
Father, I receive great grace to stand out.
Father, I receive great grace to fulfill destiny.
Father, I receive great grace to pass this stage of my life.
Father, I receive great grace to overcome every challenge confronting me.
Father, I receive great grace to leave these struggles.
Father, I receive great grace to come out of the pit.
Father, I receive great grace to come out of hostility and betrayal.
Father, I receive great grace to come out of prison and enter my palace.
Father, help me not to abort the process of greatness through sin or compromise.
Father, give me grace to overcome temptation.
Father, restore everything I have lost through Your great grace.
Declarations
I receive great grace in the name of Jesus. I receive great grace to excel. I receive great grace to stand out. I receive great grace to fulfill destiny. I receive great grace to overcome every challenge confronting me now. I receive great grace to come out of every pit. I receive great grace to come out of betrayal. I receive great grace to come out of every prison season. I receive great grace to enter my palace. God’s mercy is established over my life and household. I will not sell my birthright for temporary pleasure. I will not abort my greatness through compromise. The grace of God is setting me up for greatness.
Closing Blessing
Go and excel. Go and dominate your world. Go and glow. Go and stand out. Be favored. May the great grace of God be bestowed upon you. May the glory of God return to every area where you lost your shine. In your career, you will shine. In your destiny, you will shine. Everything that has been paused is removed. Those who laughed at you will celebrate with you. Those who mocked you will see you in the forefront. The glory of God will be upon you.
Final Takeaway
Great grace is God’s mercy, love, favor, and enabling power working beyond what we deserve. But great grace also trains, tests, and positions us. Like Joseph, believers must not despise the process. The pit, the betrayal, the temptation, and the prison may all be stages God uses to prepare a person for the palace. Do not sell your birthright. Do not abort the process. Receive great grace and allow God to set you up for greatness.
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