Sermon by Mike Mazzalongo
Video Title: The Impact of Grace — Mike Mazzalongo
Creator: Bibletalk.tv
Original Video: The Impact of Grace — Mike Mazzalongo / Bibletalk.tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_5pldoPk9g&t=1s
License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)
Video Title: The Impact of Grace — Mike Mazzalongo
Creator: Bibletalk.tv
Original Video: The Impact of Grace — Mike Mazzalongo / Bibletalk.tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_5pldoPk9g&t=1s
License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)
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Estilo de vidaTranscripción
00:00This is the last lesson in the Amazing Grace series
00:05tonight that we're doing. And the title of this lesson is
00:10The Impact of Grace. The Impact of Grace.
00:16People's lives are changed or impacted by many things good
00:22and bad. There are two events from my own life that I'd like to share very
00:27briefly to give you as an example of how things can kind of
00:32drive your life in one direction or another.
00:37I remember as a 15 year old boy living in Montreal with my
00:42mother and dad. I was an only child. My mother coming into my room at
00:47about two o'clock in the morning saying that my father was ill.
00:53That was a surprise to me because I had seen him at supper time and he was well with no problem.
00:58And I had said goodnight to him before I went to bed and he had to go out and came back a little later.
01:04And now a few hours later he lay dying in his room
01:09victim of a heart attack at 53 and just he just died right there while I was
01:14watching he just he died.
01:17That event at 15 impacted my
01:22life in many many ways and it changed its direction. Even at 15
01:27I had a certain direction where I thought I was going but once my dad died
01:32boy it changed everything for my mother and for my
01:37for myself. Not wanting to just
01:41cite an unhappy event that can change the direction of your life.
01:46There was also a happy event. 15 years later now I'm 30 years old. I remember
01:51sending this girl that I knew a postcard.
01:56We had been friends and I hadn't seen her for a couple of years because
02:01she had moved to France living in Paris
02:05working in Paris and I remained in Canada and I had been traveling
02:10around for a couple of years. And so one Christmas I decided
02:15to send her a postcard to her address the old address
02:20that I had in Paris. Now what I didn't know is that
02:25during the few years that I hadn't seen or heard from her this girl had left Paris
02:30and moved back to Montreal. Well that little postcard
02:34it went from Canada to France and when it got there the
02:39building janitor where this girl used to live in Paris got a hold of that postcard
02:44and forwarded it back to Montreal where the
02:49girl had moved to. You see on the day that the postcard arrived
02:54my postcard the janitor had also received a Christmas card
02:59from that girl with her forwarding address. So you got a Christmas card from
03:04her with the forwarding address and you got a postcard for her from me. So he just took
03:09the postcard readdressed it and sent it back to Montreal.
03:15Well when that girl received the postcard forwarded from France she looked me up
03:20and about a year later that girl Lise and I were married.
03:26And we still have that little we still have that little postcard in
03:31our scrapbook. That small act
03:36of sending a greeting a little postcard to this girl I once
03:41knew eventually had a tremendous and I might say a
03:46wonderful impact on my life.
03:51Now I tell these stories from my own life to underscore the idea that there are certain
03:56events or people that have a lasting effect on our
04:01lives. Not every event of course not every person
04:06but some events and some people come into our lives and change our
04:11lives forever.
04:14Well my final lesson tonight on this series I'd like to build on this idea
04:20and explain to you how one's life is changed or impacted
04:25by the grace of God. When the grace of God enters your life
04:30it has a certain impact. It changes it in many
04:35ways and I'd like to share that with you. Now the Bible is
04:40filled with all kinds of information and stories about God and His chosen people the
04:44Jews the coming of Jesus and the establishment of the church by the
04:49apostles. But what the Bible is about is
04:54God's effort to impart His grace to every person
04:59through Jesus Christ. That's what the Bible that's what the story is
05:04about. Yes there are descriptions of the creation lessons about faith
05:09teachings from Christ and His apostles.
05:12However when you bring all of this information together what the Bible
05:17ultimately gives us is this incredible story of God's love for
05:22man and how that love or that grace changes
05:27or impacts a person's life for good.
05:32Obviously I don't have the time or the ability to detail every change brought
05:37on by God's grace in a person's life but I can give you three
05:42main ones that represented one way or another most of most of
05:47the others. OK so three ways that the impact of God's grace
05:53changes our life. Number one grace makes
05:58us eager to obey.
06:02Grace makes us eager to obey. The fleshly man the worldly
06:07person celebrates and applauds disobedience
06:12and rebellion. I mean just look at our heroes they're the guys and the gals that
06:17break the rules that bend the rules or they make their own rules to get what they want
06:22they take you know they take justice into their own hands and so on and so forth and we applaud them.
06:27Those are our heroes aren't they. But when a person comes into contact
06:32with the grace of God they are the ones who are broken.
06:37They are the ones who are humbled. Jesus
06:41describes the feeling in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6 when he says
06:46blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be
06:51satisfied. It's a hunger it's a thirst it's a constant
06:56desire to know what is right. And the desire to
07:01do what is right. John nails
07:06the experience when he says in First John 3 verse 6 no one who
07:10abides in him sins no one who sins has seen him
07:15or knows him. Now some people here think that John is saying that
07:20Christians never sin or they never make a mistake or they never they never
07:25fail. Well we know from experience that that isn't true.
07:30John's point is that those who have been impacted by God's grace
07:35do not want to sin. Their spirits
07:40yearn for purity. Their souls desire
07:45righteousness. Those who know Him cannot
07:50practice sin. They want the very opposite. They want to quit
07:55sinning and they want to practice obedience.
08:00I'm going to ask you a question. Is it your flesh sometimes when you think about it just
08:05tired of sin. Don't you wish sometimes boy I wish I could just
08:10unload the sinful flesh of mine and just get through a single day
08:15with it where every thought is pure or where every intention is righteous and good where
08:20every action can be can be applauded by God. Could I just
08:25have 24 hours of perfection please.
08:29Don't you ever get to that point.
08:33I'll tell you something no law no
08:37meditation practice no exercise no philosophy or book
08:42can make you want to obey.
08:47Now this desire is the result of God's grace in
08:52our lives and because of it our character and our actions
08:57and our directions in life are changed forever.
09:02Before I became a Christian I kind of wanted to
09:07sin. I wanted to avoid doing the right thing by figuring out a
09:12way to sin without feeling guilty about it.
09:18But after the grace of God entered into my life.
09:24I began to see in myself a desire to do it right
09:29and to get it right and to please God.
09:34Something that a sinner something that a non-believer doesn't spend two minutes
09:40ever thinking about is what would God want me to do. But for the believer
09:45for the individual impacted by grace a lot of prayer time is spent
09:50asking God Lord what will you have me do.
09:55That's grace that has done that in your life in my life.
10:01Another change brought on by the impact of grace.
10:05Grace makes us work hard in
10:10the Lord. Now I'm not saying that anyone who works hard has been
10:15impacted by grace. I mean lots of people work hard for various reasons
10:20people work hard to care for their families and some work hard to get
10:25ahead or to get rich. Some work hard because they like to work or they
10:30have a dream of accomplishing something.
10:34But those who have been impacted by grace work hard in an area where these
10:39others would not invest a single minute.
10:42And that is in the building up of the kingdom of God here on earth what we
10:47call the church. Paul describes this labor of
10:52love brought upon him by God's grace in First Corinthians
10:56chapter 15 verse 9 and 10. Let's look at that
11:01one please. First Corinthians. I sent you to the second scripture I'm going to
11:06read. First Corinthians chapter 15 verses 9 and 10.
11:11Listen to what he says. He says for I am the least of the
11:16apostles and not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of
11:21God but by the grace of God I am
11:25what I am and His grace toward me did not prove vain but
11:30I labored even more than all of them yet not I but the grace
11:35of God with me. And then a little further on
11:40Paul describes the effort and the sufferings that he has endured
11:45because of God's grace. And that passage is in Second Corinthians
11:50chapter 11 verse 23. And I read for you.
11:55He says are they servants of Christ. I speak as if insane.
12:01I more so in far more labors and far more imprisonments beaten times without
12:05number often in danger of death. Five times I received from the
12:10Jews 39 lashes three times I was beaten with rods once
12:15I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked a night and a day I have spent in the
12:20deep. I have been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers dangers
12:25from robbers dangers from my countrymen dangers from the Gentiles
12:29dangers in the city dangers in the wilderness dangers on the sea dangers among
12:34false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights
12:39in hunger and thirst often without food in cold and exposure
12:44apart from such external things there is the daily pressure on me of the
12:49concern for all the churches.
12:53You think this guy worked hard.
12:56Do you think his life was easy.
13:00And in this passage you know Paul doesn't even mention the
13:04thousands of miles that he traveled the lessons and sermons given the epistles
13:09written and the men trained not to mention the ministry to the poor and to the
13:14ill.
13:17What would move a man who was a religious leader with a comfortable
13:22position and a bright future to abandon it all and
13:27earn his living as a tradesman from day to day and endure such a
13:32difficult and a demanding and thankless life.
13:38Well Paul said it back in First Corinthians 15 10 he says
13:43by the grace of God I am what I
13:48am. He could have also said by the grace of God I
13:53do what I do I work as I work I
13:58suffer as I suffer.
14:02I can always tell the difference between those people who have been educated in
14:07the doctrine of grace and those people who have truly
14:12experienced the power of God's grace in their lives.
14:16Those who've been indoctrinated they know the church traditions and they can
14:21spout the lingo but there's no fire in the belly.
14:27They don't volunteer they don't try to know or help others they're pretty
14:32cheap when it comes to giving.
14:35They think Christianity is about coming to church.
14:40I've said many times that attending worship or Bible study this is not serving
14:45the Lord this is when the Lord is serving you and me with His
14:50word with His people with His presence.
14:55Now those who have truly been impacted by God's grace show it by their
14:59desire to serve to work to give to sacrifice.
15:04They may not say much but their work and their contribution says it all to
15:09the world and to the church and especially to the Lord.
15:14Jesus said that those who are forgiven little love little
15:19and those who are forgiven much love much. Luke 7
15:24verse 47. Perhaps that's what separates the men from the
15:29boys when it comes to hard work in the name of the Lord.
15:34Perhaps it's just that people who are less motivated are that way because
15:39they don't realize what kind of sorry sinners they really are and they
15:44figure that they don't you know they don't owe God a whole lot and I wasn't so bad
15:49I never killed anybody.
15:54And those who bear the heat of the day and the sweat of the heavy spiritual
15:59lifting in the church maybe they just know themselves a little bit
16:04better.
16:07Maybe it's a question of personal honesty. Maybe it's a question of self
16:12awareness. All I know is that those who are painfully aware of their
16:17true condition before God are usually the most productive and those
16:22who are spiritually nearsighted don't usually operate much operate on a whole
16:27lot of spiritual horsepower. I mean didn't Paul the Apostle say
16:32I am the chief of sinners.
16:36Do you think there's a relationship there between his awareness of his sinfulness
16:41and his desire to serve God?
16:45Maybe that's the connection between grace and the desire to work hard for the
16:50Lord.
16:53Well that leads me to the third change that results from the impact
16:58of grace. Grace makes me
17:02feel thankful.
17:06It makes me feel thankful. No other gift to us in life is
17:11more precious than the grace of God. That's why I feel thankful.
17:17Do we realize how precious grace is? Listen to what the Bible says. I'm going to
17:22run through some scriptures. Don't try to follow I've got too many in a row.
17:29The Bible says that it is by grace that Jesus was sent to die
17:34for our sins. Hebrews 2.9. It is by grace that the world came
17:39to know about Christ. Titus 2.11. It is by grace that we
17:44personally have received the truth. John chapter 1 verse 17.
17:49It is by grace that we are saved. Acts 15.11.
17:54It is by grace that we are justified and forgiven for sin. Romans 3.24.
18:00It is by grace that we receive the promises of God. Romans 4.16.
18:06It is by grace that we enjoy peace with God. Romans 5.2.
18:11More? Do you want more? It is by grace that we are made free from the
18:16demands of the law. Romans 6. It is by grace that we have hope for the future.
18:21Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 16. Are you getting the feeling for how
18:26precious God's grace or God's favor is for us?
18:31There's more. It is by grace that we become who we are in Christ. First Corinthians
18:3615.10. It is by grace that we receive gifts so we can minister to
18:41others. Romans 12. It is by grace that we have the courage to speak out.
18:45Romans 15. It is by grace that we are able to give thanks. Second Corinthians
18:514. To give generously. Second Corinthians 8. To give joyful praise. Colossians 3.
18:56To go boldly before God in prayer. Hebrews chapter 4.
19:00More? It is by grace that we have each day what we
19:05need and when we need it. Hebrews 4.16. And then finally it is by
19:10grace that we are perfected, confirmed,
19:15strengthened and established so we can live together with God in
19:20Jesus Christ. First Peter chapter 5 verse 10.
19:25Just in case we doubted the value of
19:30grace. And so because of these and all other blessings
19:34showered down upon us by grace our hearts are tuned to
19:39gratitude. You know like a radio you've got your radio tuned
19:44to you get into the car you turn on the radio you've selected certain stations
19:49that you like. Well grace tunes,
19:54presets our heart to thankfulness. A heart impacted
19:59by grace is preset for thanksgiving.
20:04A life impacted by grace finds a reason to give thanks in everything
20:08seen, everything heard, everything felt. What a marvelous
20:13thing it is. And what a wonderful spiritual
20:18experience to have that throughout your day the things that you see
20:23and the things that you experience you relate them to God's gracious
20:28gift to you. Thank you Lord. The sunrise was beautiful this morning.
20:33Thank you for giving me that. Thank you for giving me eyes to see and thank
20:38you for creating the world in such a way that simply the rising of the sun
20:42gives me joy.
20:46That's grace that does that. Can you imagine living your life seeing the grace
20:51of God in the smile of your grandchild?
20:57The breeze that goes through the trees and makes that marvelous sound.
21:02The birds that sing.
21:06The wonderful talent that God has given to some to sing or to dance
21:11or to whatever play musical instruments or to write poetry.
21:17To be able to see your life in the world through the prism of grace
21:22is a wonderful wonderful gift. For this reason Paul says
21:27to Titus that grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness,
21:33passion, to live upright and godly lives. Titus 2, 11 and 12.
21:39Eventually just saying thank you is not enough. The feeling of
21:44gratitude spills out into joyful praise, holy and dedicated
21:49living and a genuine love for other people as a response of gratitude for
21:54this grace.
21:57Have you never felt so grateful for a favor that someone did for
22:02you that you wanted to do something for someone else? That impulse.
22:08That's the impulse that we work from as Christians.
22:14In speaking of God's grace in terms of the kingdom the Hebrew writer
22:18summarizes it best when he says,
22:21Therefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us
22:26show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable
22:30service and reverence and awe.
22:35Hebrews chapter 12 verse 28.
22:39The single most recognizable characteristic in the lives of those
22:44who have been impacted by grace of God by the grace of God is a
22:48thankful and appreciative heart. When I hear people
22:53sometimes that don't see the good in anything.
22:58That all they see is things that they can criticize or be crabby
23:03about and unhappy about. I mean I get it if you're in the world if you don't know the Lord I
23:08get it.
23:11But if you're a member of the Lord's body if you've been impacted by
23:15grace that your entire day and outlook is negative something's
23:20wrong there there's some sort of disconnect going on.
23:25Whether times are good or bad these brethren are always sensitive
23:30to and grateful for God's grace in Christ
23:35Jesus. All right so let's let's kind of bring this discussion home shall
23:40we. Ask yourselves has the grace of
23:44God had an impact on my life.
23:51Let me help you answer that question.
23:54Grace has impacted your life if doing what the Lord wants
23:59you to do is continually growing in importance in your
24:04life. In other words you may not be perfect
24:09but you'd like to be. You'd like to be.
24:15And getting rid of sin is a joyful event not a sad
24:19nostalgic one. In other words
24:24when in the various ways that the spirit works in our hearts whether it's through the word of
24:29God through the spoken word through an admonition so on and so forth when
24:34a sin that you are doing is pointed out in some way.
24:40You are happy to get rid of it because it means you are now going to draw that much
24:45closer to God rather than be angry and upset and
24:50fretful that you have to give up some worldly habit or some sinful
24:55practice.
24:59And grace has impacted your life if more of your time and resources
25:04have been devoted to the Lord this year than last
25:09year. You know sure we get sick we get busy
25:15but in all honesty is the time and effort and money that you're investing in the Lord
25:20and His church is that growing or is that shrinking.
25:24You know Paul's life in ministry wasn't meant to be a monument
25:30or a one time thing.
25:33It was meant to be an example for us to follow. He said to imitate
25:38him as he imitated Christ.
25:42Jesus did what he did because he wanted to give us grace.
25:48Paul did what he did because he received grace.
25:53The question is what do we have to show for the grace that has come
25:58into our lives through Christ and the grace that Paul the
26:03Apostle received is exactly the same grace that you and I
26:08have received through Jesus Christ.
26:12And then finally grace has impacted your life.
26:17If much of your prayer life and much of the motivation for what you do
26:22is based on gratitude and not fear or guilt.
26:28The virtue of being grateful is the first one to be cultivated in
26:33order to be pleasing to God.
26:36Oh we can be weak in many areas we can be struggling with bad habits and sinful actions
26:41but if we can begin to be grateful for God's kindness and grace all of these other
26:46things can be conquered.
26:49If you can't say thank you you can't overcome sin.
26:53If you don't know how to say thank you then you don't know how to overcome sin.
27:00In Romans chapter 1 verse 21 Paul says that an ungrateful heart is the first
27:05sin that sends man headlong into the darkness of every other sin.
27:11Grace has made a difference if thankfulness is on your lips
27:16and in your heart each day of your life regardless of the
27:21circumstances of your life.
27:25Now if you can't relate to what I'm saying this evening if grace has not impacted your life
27:30it may mean one of two things.
27:33One well perhaps you have not let the grace of God into your heart.
27:38You've not allowed God's grace into your life. You've not allowed the
27:43blood of Jesus Christ to wash away your sins in the waters of baptism.
27:48You've not allowed the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in your soul. That's how the grace comes in.
27:54It could be something as simple to understand as not having obeyed the gospel.
28:01You might be a believer but are you an obedient believer.
28:06Maybe the obedience part is missing. Maybe you have not confessed Christ. Perhaps you have
28:11not been buried in the waters of baptism. That's how the grace comes in brothers and
28:16sisters. And maybe maybe it's not a
28:21question that you haven't let the grace come in. Maybe you've let the grace
28:26go out. You know you've resisted Christ's
28:31grace and His spirit by being unfaithful or living outside of His commands
28:36or refused to feed on His word. I can tell you with confidence
28:41that God is anxious to fill you with His grace.
28:46If you will let Him for the first time through repentance and baptism
28:51or for a refill if you wish as you're restored to faithfulness.
28:59Won't you think about that as we close out our series on grace.
29:05Won't you think about do I have to let the grace in
29:11because I've never obeyed Christ or do I have to ask God to come back
29:17because I've abandoned Him in one way or another. We have an opportunity to respond
29:22directly to His invitation of grace as we stand and as we
29:27sing this song. Please consider the things that we've spoke of this evening.
29:41Thank you very much.