Don’t Underestimate the Impact God can make Through You

This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.”  If you have been following this series you already know what God, through David, was able to do.  I say it that way because I want to put the emphasis back on God.  While it was David, and not God, who flung the stone and swung the sword, God’s grace was unquestionably on David to kill the giant.  And we know that the victory that ensued, where the Israeli Soldiers attacked the Philistine army and won a great battle that day, can also be attributed to God, because it was God who was moving behind the scenes.

So was it David who did something great that day?  Yes.  Wait a minute!  But wasn’t it God who was at work?  Yes.  It was both.  It was David and it was God.  It was God through David.  In the scripture I shared with you yesterday we can see what I am explaining.  Paul said, “God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn’t wasted.”  Paul looked back and all he was able to accomplish in the Body of Christ and he acknowledged that he was not worthy of the assignment in the first place, and second, he was not a self-made man; God made Paul the man that he was.  Paul had no problem with saying that he was who he was by the grace of God.  But Paul continued and said, “I worked much harder than any of the other apostles.”  Wait a minute!  At first Paul clearly put the emphasis on God and now it seems like he was putting the emphasis on himself.  But he actually wasn’t.  Paul was just acknowledging the fact that it requires effort on our part to maximize our purpose and potential.  Walking with God and performing His will is not effortless, although with God’s grace it can be sweatless.  There is nothing wrong with Paul acknowledging the fact that he had a part in his success.  Paul was not arrogant or full of pride.  This is evident, because Paul continued and said, “Although it was really God’s grace at work and not me” (see 1 Corinthians 15:10).  And therein lies the dynamic.  It is you and God, God and you… together, making a difference in your sphere of influence.

Now think about the impact David had on the nation of Israel that day.  King Saul was in danger of losing his throne if David lost and the nation of Israel was in danger of becoming slaves to the Philistines.  The fate of millions of people lied in the hands of teenager.  It’s a good thing that his hands were resting in the hands of God.

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:
1.  Age is not a factor to God.  Abraham was 75 when he got started and 100 when Isaac was born.  You can make the argument that he was too old.  David, on the other hand, was just a teenager when the fate of millions of people rested upon his shoulders.  You can make the argument that he was too young.  But God is God is He can use anyone.  If you are still breathing, then God can still use you.  So don’t allow anyone to disqualify you from God’s assignment because of your age, race, gender, or anything else.  God can use you for His glory.  Now, will you let Him?

2.  One person submitted to God can make a tremendous impact.  David saved Israel from a national loss and later led that same nation to regional dominance.  Paul — a man who should have never been qualified to preach — went on five missionary journeys, changing the climate of Asia minor, and then wrote half the New Testament which is still a blessing 2,000 years later.  Moses — a man who committed murder and wound up exiled — came back later to lead millions of people out of bondage and help re-establish them as a nation under God.  So what is your story going to be?  God wants to be the central character in your life’s story and if you let Him, your story will be great.  You’re not too old, too young, too tainted, or too damaged for God to use you to make a tremendous impact.  If you are still alive, then God still wants to use you.  Please let Him.  Cooperate with Him so He can freely operate in your life!

Closing Confession:  Father, I thank You for this teaching.  I realize that You have been attempting to work through me my entire life.  You have been tugging at my heart and sending people my way to speak to me for years.  I have not always cooperated with You.  Partly because I did not see myself as worthy of being used by a holy God.  But I thank You that my perspective of me is now lining up with Your perspective of me.  I am not holy or righteous because of what I did or fail to do.  I am holy and righteous because of what Jesus did and I am settled in that righteousness.  Therefore, I am determined to maximize my purpose and potential while I am in the land of the living.  I am determined to die empty; getting out of me all that You have placed in me.  I am determined to make the impact that You desire to make in the earth.  Because I know I am not relying on my ability, but Yours.  It is me, but it is also You.  It is You, but it is also me.  I am who I am by You immeasurable grace and I enter this day confident that my God can and will use me for His glory!  I shall make an impact on my sphere of influence, by Your grace!  In Jesus’ name.