Transformative Power of Grace in Our Lives

I think Mark web hit it right on the head may great grace fall upon me you know how many times the word power came up in that song you might want to notice it the next time we sing it great grace and continuous references to power I wonder do we think again Paul pulls the example and just stick with me this last point here Paul what do you think about Grace when you think about grace and it's personal given to me see Paul didn't leave that word power out of his sentence if you're asked to define grace I would just ask you this do you imitate Paul this way when you're asked to define grace do you put power in the definition [00:42:46]

listen to this the Freiberg greek lexicon here's the definition of grace the exceptional effects produced by god's favor see we like to say unmerited favor but even when you look at the lexicons the exceptional effects produced by God's favor by God's ability by God's power by God's enabling I'll tell you this honestly when I hear grace defined as unmerited favor I immediately think to myself and every time it comes from this pulpit I think to myself you left power out I think every time that way simply defining grace is unmerited favor and my estimation is a rather bland definition it's lacking something of the fullness of the enablement that God gives to his favor the power the the fullness and glory of grace is missing [02:03:00]

but by the grace of God I am what I am and His grace toward me was not in vain listen Paul has an idea in his mind that grace is vain unless it produces something and he says grace isn't vain and the way you can know it's not vain is because of this he says on the contrary it wasn't vain on the contrary it was effectual I worked harder than any of them though it was not i but the grace of God that is with me you see what he's saying about grace grace caused him to run harder to work harder to advance beyond others he he doesn't see this as somehow grace can be defined as just unmerited favor unless you say that that favor has some kind of powerful effect in your life [03:18:57]

do we want powerless favor do we want that which doesn't do anything do we want a favor that has no expression do we want favor that doesn't accomplish anything I don't want that better than you know as well as I do prayer meeting after prayer meeting after prayer meeting what are we asking for god help us help what what's that do we want his favor yes but not a favor that's indistinct undiscernible ambiguous but that nobody can define or see or measure that isn't what we want is it aren't we praying that God would give us such responses that when his grace comes it would be great grace and there would be power demonstrations of power and the Spirit is that not what I oh that's what I want is that now what you want we want that we want that do we want favor that's without energy favor that's without strength without change without force [04:19:59]

look grace manifests itself and demonstrations of power it always does we can say that we're saved by grace through faith but the evidence of God's grace is that there's a demonstration of power scripture over and over ties these two things together listen to this 2nd Corinthians 12:9 you remember Paul has a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan and what does he say he asked three times for it to be removed and the Lord came back and said this my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness you see that power Paul I'm gonna give you grace and if you want to know a synonymous way of saying that power 2nd Timothy 2:1 you then my child be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus [05:19:49]

listen if that grace doesn't turn your life upside down it is in God's grace why because there's always a demonstration of power there that's why Paul could look at somebody and say you need to examine yourselves if you're yet trapped in your sin there's a problem examine yourselves you can't be saved don't be deceived you see you see brethren when it talks about tearing out the eyeball and chopping off the hand or you don't go enter the kingdom that isn't works what that saying is that grace gives an individual power to be radical in the fight for sin that's what it's all about it's power and we say oh I'm saved by grace but your life isn't changed you're not a new creation you're still the old dead thing going along in the old dead ways following the old dead path the course of the world and following the Prince of the power of the air [06:41:03]

look you may you may convince people around you but it's going to be very unconvincing in that day the only kind of Christianity that holds any weight in Scripture is that where there is power Paul talked about it Paul talked about his preaching he talked about the kind of preaching that raised people from the dead he talked about preaching that gospel and that there was a demonstration of the Spirit and power that's what we want in the preaching that's what we want in the Prain that's what we want in the evangelization that's what we want in the church life Craig was talking about what do you think it takes to take an old dead unforgiving hard-hearted stiff-necked wretch and make them able to forgive one another in bear upon and others burdens that doesn't happen by man-made means that happens by the power of God that's the kind of grace we need we need grace that turns people's lives upside down [07:37:49]

great grace fell upon the early church there was power they went to pray in the place shook what do you think brings that it's power that's that's ought to be the desire that ought to be what we want and brethren think with me here look we got people that are deceived because there's no demonstration of power in their life there's no demonstration of transformation but on the other hand just remember this just because you suffer more greatly in this church than others do you say why am I made to bear this when other people aren't that is no evidence that you are grace less scriptures very plain you know there's there's a place inscription well you could think of the Apostle Paul Jesus said to him when he asked that that thorn be taken away he specifically said my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness [08:58:21]

do you know his power flows through us when we're not strong we think of it the other way around we want it we want to feel strong but you know what's belphin it's when we feel weak and we know we're weak and we're desperate with God but he makes his power flow through weakness and you know there in Romans chapter 5 he says we stand in grace it's like we stand in the realm of grace and you know what he says there he he takes us down this path and he says that we rejoice in our sufferings see this is standing in grace we rejoice in our sufferings why what happens well because they produce endurance what's that what's endurance endurance is what you call it when you suffer longer without complaining you have more endurance you know how it is you suffer you complain greater endurance is you don't complain as fast greater endurance you don't seek away out of the suffering that's sinful you don't seek away out that's gonna dishonor God [10:08:41]

our greatest growth our greatest refining has always been when we're in the fire and how does that work power because think about this you take a loss magnin you put them under suffering and it doesn't make it more enduring it doesn't produce character what's character that's the proven Worth and then what follows out of that Hope why is there hope because when we suffer we look and see I didn't give way I endured somehow God held me up and I continued going I continued trusting Christ and I see that there was a proven quality and a proven worth that was worked in me how does that happen how to suffer and produce that because God is doing something that man can't do and that doesn't happen in the lost man you put a lost man under suffering he will curse God you put a man under suffering he will seek all manner of unlawful ways to escape that suffering it's it's supernatural [11:48:23]

it's power power our greatest advantages and our greatest purifying have always occurred in the fire and there's no other way to explain that than the power of God so Christian don't don't believe yourself graceless simply because God calls you to suffer more in fact you may find in the end you have to remember there's actually a kind of a tying together this momentary light affliction is working for me it's eternal weight of glory [12:49:56]