What a Difference You've Made in My Life

How many of you know Ronnie Millsap's song, number one, many years ago, What a Difference

You've Made in My Life?

Raise your hand.

Most people here.

Most people here.

He recorded that song to be what most people would call a secular song.

What a Difference You've Made in My Life.

You could sing it or play it for just about anybody who had made a difference in your life.

That's probably why it was him.

He did a great job with it, but it was such a good song that had a good message.

What a Difference You.

You could sing it to your spouse.

You could sing it to anybody who had made a difference in your life.

Well, a few years later, B.J. Thomas recorded that song.

It went way up in the chart on gospel stations.

And B.J. Thomas sang it as a Christian song.

And when he was singing What a Difference You've Made in My Life, everyone knew.

He emphasized, he was talking about the difference that Jesus made in his life.

That song was written by Archie Jordan.

Archie's a Christian, but he's not really what you would call a writer of Christian songs.

He wrote that song because of something that happened at a small group Bible study he attended.

He tells the story.

You can look it up.

He was at a Bible study with his wife.

And the man was there who gave his testimony.

And the man's testimony was that not too many years before that,

he had everything in life that a person could desire.

He had a beautiful wife and just a great family.

He had a dream job.

And he made a lot of money.

But he couldn't handle the success.

And he started drinking a lot.

He started using recreational drugs.

And before he knew it,

he lost his wife and children.

He lost his job.

He went through all of his money.

He was broke.

And in that Bible study with that small group,

he said,

it took me losing everything

to come to the place in my life

where I knew I needed a relationship with Christ.

And the last thing he said in giving his testimony was,

what a difference Jesus has made in my life.

Well, Archie Jordan,

he was moved by that story.

He couldn't get it off his mind.

And the next morning,

he got up and he wrote

or started writing the song,

what a difference you've made in my life.

And he was writing about

the difference Jesus makes

in people's life.

Now,

I want us to apply this personally.

There's two lines from that song

I'm going to put on the screen.

The title of it,

what a difference you've made in my life.

And then,

what a change you have made in my heart.

Could you sing that song?

Maybe not out loud,

but could you sing that song

as it was originally intended

to describe the difference

that Jesus has and is making in your life?

Could you recite those words

and mean it this morning?

Just talking about Jesus.

What a change you have

and are making in my life.

Can you sing that song

and mean it

because it's your testimony?

Last Sunday,

we celebrated the most important event

that has ever taken place in history,

the resurrection

of the Son of God,

Jesus Christ.

We looked at some of the details

about the resurrection

in 1 Corinthians chapter 15,

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

and I want you to turn back with me

to that chapter today

and look at the last verse

with me in a moment.

But I want to quickly summarize

one of the main points

of last week's message like this.

The resurrection of Christ

should comfort us

as we face death.

The resurrection should give

every Christian comfort

as we think about

our own death.

Death will not be

the final winner

in any believer's life.

Paul says in verse 54,

death is swallowed up

in victory.

That describes how

Christ won the victory

over death

by his resurrection.

If you have a real relationship

with Christ,

you should not fear death.

His resurrection guarantees yours.

We will die,

but the Lord will give us

a new body one day.

We'll live eternally

with him one day.

The death and resurrection

of Jesus has removed

what Paul called

the sting from death.

Look at the statement

he made about that

in verse 55.

It's as if he is

taunting death

after the resurrection.

He says,

oh death,

where is your victory?

Oh death,

where is your sting?

If we are truly Christians,

death is like a yellow jacket

without a stinger.

We may not like it.

I'd still spray that sucker

with spectricide,

wasp and hornet killer.

But it couldn't hurt us

without a stinger.

Christ has removed

the sting of death.

So we need to think

of death today.

It's not something you,

you know,

you get excited about,

but we should think of death

not with fear,

but with confidence.

It's just going to be

the process we go through

to get from this life

into the presence of Jesus

in paradise

where we'll live forever.

The resurrection of Christ

means that we should not

fear death.

Our sins are forgiven.

We are children of God.

We have eternal life.

And that is so very important,

isn't it?

But it's not everything.

The resurrection means more

than that.

It means something about

the way we live,

as Michael so beautifully

sang a moment ago.

I want you to look

in verse 58 now

and see that the resurrection

of Christ

should make a difference

in how we live today.

The resurrection

that so many people

came here

and went to churches

last week

to celebrate,

as important as it is,

it's not everything.

It should make a difference

in the way that you

and I live each day.

I want you to look

at verse 58.

Therefore,

my beloved brothers,

be steadfast,

immovable,

always abounding

in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord

your labor is not in vain.

The word therefore,

you know that's

an important word

in anything you read.

It's recalling

what has just been said

and in some ways

going to apply it

or elaborate on it

in the words that follow.

That's what Paul does.

It calls us to recall

what has just been said

about the Lord's victory,

his triumph

over death

and sin.

We certainly need

to remember

what the Lord

has done for us

but not stop there.

We need to think about

what the Lord

has done for us.

He loved us so much

that he gave his life.

That it motivates us

to live now

in a way

that demonstrates

our love for him

and our gratitude

to him

for what he's done

for us.

Paul points out

some of the ways

we can and should

do that

in the rest of this verse.

He uses three words

to describe

how we need to live.

Look at them.

Be steadfast,

be immovable,

abound in the work

of the Lord.

Look at the first two first.

They sort of go together.

Steadfast means

to be steady

as you move forward.

Keep on going.

Don't quit.

Don't stop and start.

Start and stop.

Steadfast.

Firm.

Strong.

Moving.

And then the word

immovable is similar

but it's stronger.

He's talking about

standing strong

and not being moved

like a tree

that has deep roots

that go way down

and hold it

strong and secure

in the bad winds

that come.

Never gets blown down.

That's what he tells us.

This is how

we should live

as Christians.

We should be people

who are steadfast.

We're not up and down,

on and off

as living the Christian life

and we don't let things

just sway us

the winds of adversity

that we all have to experience.

You know,

these two words

recalls what Paul said

in the same chapter

verses one and two.

If you've got your Bible

open to 1 Corinthians 15,

look up verses one and two.

It'll be on the screen as well.

He says,

Now I would remind you,

brothers,

of the gospel

I preached to you,

which you received,

in which you stand,

and by which you are

being saved,

if you hold fast

to the word

I preached to you.

Unless you believed in vain,

it's possible

to believe in vain.

You know,

there's a lot of people

who make a profession

of faith,

even become baptized.

They just don't

continue in the faith.

They don't

act like anything happened

and what Paul is saying here,

nothing did.

It was

in vain.

We're,

we are as Christians.

We are to hold

to the truth

of God's word,

especially the truth

of the gospel,

firmly.

The reason he says that

is because

some people don't.

We're all tempted

not to,

but we all know people

who started out like

what I just described

a moment ago.

We all know people,

maybe it's people

you grew up with,

went to church with,

were baptized with,

went to Sunday school with.

Maybe some people

that you work with.

At one point in their life,

they confessed faith.

At one point in their life,

they would talk about

the things of God.

But after a period of time,

it just seems that

they didn't care.

They didn't continue

because they had no

desire to continue.

Their life never changed.

They appear to have

believed in vain,

is what we're talking about.

We're talking about people

who are easily blown over

when difficulty comes in life.

Now,

you're here this morning

if you say,

I'm a firm believer.

I've gone through a lot in life

and I've never wavered.

Good.

That's a sign

of God's hand on you

and you've cooperated with Him.

That's good and great,

but don't be prideful.

All of us

are tempted

to give up at times

and all of us

do give in

to the temptation

at times.

All of us,

all of us

fail the Lord

at times

in our lives.

and I want you

to be honest

with God about it,

honest with yourself.

There are no

super saints

in this room.

There's no one

in this room

who doesn't know

what it's like

to be tempted

and to give in

to that temptation

and to fall

flat on your face

before God

in guilt

and shame.

Even Peter,

the leader

of the Lord's disciples,

the apostle Peter,

he failed

the Lord

miserably

on more than one occasion.

But Peter

always came back.

Sometimes he was down,

but he was never out.

That's the sign

of a true Christian.

The sign

of a true Christian

is never

they live

flawless lives.

They never fail.

The sign

of a true Christian

is how they respond

after they failed

by getting back up.

When a true

child of God

falls or stumbles

into sin,

sooner or later

they're going to be

convicted of their sin.

They're going to be

made aware of it.

The Spirit of God

living within them

will do that.

Understand what

we're talking about here.

If you're a true Christian,

let's say,

if we,

I don't know what you think,

just you,

all of us,

if we're true Christians,

we can fail

the Lord

miserably.

We can bring

shame to ourselves

and our families.

We can do harm

to the name of Christ

by some of the things

that we say

as well as some

of the things

that we do.

But sooner

or later,

if the Spirit

of God

lives within us,

and the Bible says

the Spirit of God

lives within every Christian,

sooner or later,

we're going to

feel the guilt

and the shame.

And as children

of God

being disciplined

by God,

we're going to

confess it.

We're going to say,

yes, Lord,

it's true.

We're going to

change our,

we're going to repent

of it.

We're going to change

our mind about it.

We're going to turn

from it.

We're going to come

back to Christ

in faith,

trusting Him

that He's paid

the penalty

for our sins.

We're right with God

through faith in Him.

That's what's going

to happen

if you're a true Christian

when you fail,

when you fall

into sin

sooner or later.

That's why,

for an example,

John describes

the importance

of Christians

admitting

and confessing

their sins.

Look at it

in 1 John 1

1 John 1:8

verses 8

and 9.

We've looked

at verse 9 a lot.

Let's look at verse 8

to begin with.

If we say

we have no sin,

we deceive ourselves

and the truth

is not in us.

Stop for a moment.

I know

there would be

very few people

who could possibly

be here

who would deny

that,

but every now

and then

I have come

across a Christian

who just really

doesn't want

to admit,

deal with the

reality that

they sin.

It may be

an attitude,

it may be

words,

it may be

actions,

it may be

something small.

But every now

and then

I run across

someone who

gives the

appearance

or acts

like they're

a little bit

above others,

a little bit

condescending

toward less

faithful Christians.

If you don't

understand the

seriousness of

your sin as a

Christian,

look at that

verse.

If you say we

have no sin,

you take it

lightly even.

You're deceiving

yourself and the

truth is not in

you.

But read on.

But if we

confess our

sins, he is

faithful and

just to forgive

us our sins

and to cleanse

us from all

unrighteousness.

That's the good

news about when

God disciplines

us, when he

breaks us, when

he humbles us.

It's all for the

purpose of making

us come back to

him and this is

the way back.

This is not all

John said.

There was a

verse 10 that

we're going to

skip.

Then I want you

look at chapter

2 verses 1

and 2.

He writes,

my little

children.

He likes to

write that way

to the church.

My little

children, I'm

writing these

things to you so

that you may not

sin.

That's the goal.

I'm emphasizing

we all do.

But we

shouldn't accept

that in

ourselves.

We should

seek to obey

God, not

disobey him.

We should

seek to live a

holy life, not

an unholy life.

I'm writing

these things to

you so that

you may not

sin.

But if anyone

does sin, we

have an advocate

with the

Father, Jesus

Christ the

righteous.

He is the

propitiation for

our sins.

Some translations

say he's the

sacrifice of

atonement.

What that means,

he's the

propitiation for

our sin.

He's the one

who stands

between God

and us.

He takes the

blow.

He absorbs

the wrath of the

righteous wrath

of God against

sin so that

we don't have

to.

He is the

propitiation for

our sins and

not for ours

only, but also

for the sins of

the whole world.

A true

Christian will

never overcome

all sin in

this world,

but we should

see progress.

We should see

signs that the

Lord is making a

difference in

our lives.

So let's just

pause here and

you make it

personal.

Do you see

some signs?

Can you

sing what a

difference he's

made in my life,

what a change

he's made in my

heart?

Because you see

it, well now

in your mind I

want you to list

it.

what are some

specific differences

that the Lord has

and is making in

your life?

What are some

specific changes

that he has and

is making in

your life?

If you can't

list some,

there's a

problem.

If you can't

see that there's

progress being

made, maybe you've

been a Christian

for 20 years,

maybe you've been

a Christian for

only 20 months.

If the Spirit of

God lives in you,

which the Bible

says he lives in

every Christian,

he comes to live

within us when

we're converted.

If you can't see

signs of what he's

doing in your life,

you're not

perfect, but you

are growing, you

are maturing, you're

overcoming some

sinful habits, you're

developing some new

godly character

qualities, that is a

sign of being a

Christian.

And there's

something terribly

wrong if we can't

identify and list

some changes that the

Lord has and is

making in us.

I want you to look

at the next phrase

in verse 58.

Abounding in the

work of the Lord.

Look at it

together.

Therefore, my

beloved brothers, be

steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in

the work of the

Lord.

Abound means to

overflow with.

It means to do

things that count for

Christ and do a lot

of them.

What are you doing

that counts for

Christ?

How are you abounding

in the work of the

Lord?

I want to emphasize

something here that I

failed to emphasize in

the early service.

Just about everything

we do in life, just

about everything we can

do and actually do

can be done in a way

that brings glory to

honor and brings glory

to God.

You can do your job in a

way that brings glory to

God, that honors Him by

your attitude, the way

you treat people, by what

you do on your job.

If you can't, you ought

to change jobs tomorrow

and I'm serious.

We can glorify God by the

way we treat our spouse,

our children.

We can glorify God by the

way we act at a wreck.

Some people lose their

mind at the Y and the

wreck and other children's

sports events.

Act like pure fools in

front of everybody.

I forgot who the

conversation was with.

It was somebody in the

church.

What we talked about

years ago, there was

someone that used to sit

in the stands down here

at Bruceville for

football games.

Oh, known, active

Christians, all I'm

going to say.

Some of you, whoever we

talked about this, you

were grinning because you

know who I'm talking

about.

This person yelled and

screamed at officials in

such a way he destroyed

his witness every single

JV and varsity football

game that I was sitting in

the stands with him.

It matters how we live.

It matters.

And we can do anything and

everything we should be

doing in a way that

pleases God, that honors

God, that's a good

witness, that impacts

people's lives in a great

way.

And we all need to be

doing that first in our

homes, with our family

members, and where we work,

where we play, where we do

anything.

It all matters.

But now let's come down to

this.

How are you abounding in the

work of the Lord in some

aspect of what I'm going to

call gospel ministry?

Making disciples, as Jesus

told us in the Great

Commission.

That doesn't mean by any

means everybody's got to be a

missionary or a preacher or a

Sunday school teacher.

It takes all kinds of

people using their gifts and

talents and abilities to

serve God's purpose.

Some people are out front.

They're preaching.

They're teaching.

They're singing.

They're doing something.

And they're seen.

There's a lot of people who

are involved in the worthwhile,

meaningful ministry of the

church privately, behind the

scenes.

For years, we had a group of

men and women sometimes that

worked in the kitchen on Friday

mornings preparing breakfast

for Pickens High School FCA

students.

Most people in the church

didn't know who they were.

Most of the kids that came

through the line and got the

pancakes and bacon.

Most of them didn't pay

attention to who was back

there unless they knew some

of them.

They prepared that breakfast.

They prepared that environment

for those high school students

to come.

And somebody taught the Bible,

shared the gospel every Friday

morning.

And for some of those students,

that was the only exposure they

got to the gospel or to

biblical teaching.

A lot of people would know who

was out front, who the speakers

were, who the singers were.

But we wouldn't have had an FCA

breakfast for all those many

years without those men in the

kitchen, men and women in the

kitchen, cooking, working early in

the morning.

And that just applies to just about

every single thing we do as a

church.

Every Christian is called, we're all

called to be involved in ministry

according to the way God has gifted

us, opportunities given us, the

abilities that we have developed.

They can all be used in some way.

So let me ask you, how are you

helping us as Pickens First

Baptists to be well, to be a

worshiping, evangelizing, learning

and loving family of faith for the

glory of God?

How are you doing it?

What are you involved in?

Name it.

It doesn't have to be a lot.

It doesn't have to be where people

see it.

How are you involved?

What are you giving?

What are you doing for the glory of

God and the good of others, the

promotion of the gospel, helping

Christians to grow?

What are you doing behind the

scenes?

What are you doing that makes

things that are more visible

happen?

Now, if you are involved, don't be

smug.

Don't pat yourself on the back and

ask another question.

Are you doing it willingly,

lovingly, for the glory of God and

the good of others?

You know, sometimes we could just

do something because it's sort of

expected of us.

We could do something because we

like to be seen.

We like the attention.

Are you doing what you're doing

out of a sense of, this is what I

know God wants me to do because I

can do it.

He's given me what I need to do it

and I'm doing it.

It's hard work.

It takes time away from doing some

things that I would sort of like to

do.

But the Lord gave his life for me.

I'm going to give something to him.

If you're doing the right ministry for

the right reason, the right heart, it'll

be rewarding even if it's hard, even if

it's tiring, even if it's taking more

time than some days you want to give to

it.

Our Lord is worthy of us giving of

ourselves, of our time, our energy, our

money, our whatever to serve him.

You know, we've got a problem in this

country and it's not just in the church,

not just among Christians, but it's

among us too.

We are basically a selfish people who are

entertaining ourselves to death with all

kinds of technological toys, hobbies, or

what some people would call leisure

activities.

I want you to look at something John

MacArthur said along this line.

It's eye-opening, convicting.

Look at it.

Leisure and relaxation are two great

modern idols to which many Christians

seem quite willing to bow down to.

In proper proportion, recreation and

diversions can help restore our energy

and increase our effectiveness.

I want to stop there.

If you're a workaholic who takes pride

in the fact that you never take time

off, never take a day off, never take a

vacation, you are not commended.

You are not wise.

And God is not honored.

Everybody needs rest, recreation,

socialization.

The bow needs to be unstrung sometimes

for every human being.

It's important.

Go on a vacation.

Take time off.

Play with your kids.

Do something that doesn't make you money.

Do something fun.

Having said that, don't make that what you

major on.

Look at what he says.

But they also can easily become ends in

themselves, demanding more and more of our

attention, concern, time, and energy.

More than one believer has relaxed and hobbied

himself completely out of the work of the Lord.

Could that be describing you?

Have you allowed your hobbies, your leisure,

your technological toys to take all of your

attention, your attention, your

concentration, your time?

And it's preventing you from serving the Lord in any

kind of meaningful and consistent way.

Most Christians need to get more serious about giving to

themselves, as he says, fully to the Lord's work.

It's worth it.

The day's coming when we'll see that serving the Lord is

worth it in a big way.

I want you to look at something Jesus said at the end of the

book of Revelation, the last chapter.

Behold, I am coming soon.

My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to

what he has done.

What kind of reward will that be for you?

If the Lord comes today, or you die today, and you stand

before him, what kind of reward do you expect to receive based

on your faithfulness?

Now, you're not going to misunderstand this.

Salvation, everything about our relationship with God is based

on his grace.

We don't earn it.

We can't deserve it.

It's all a matter of grace.

Salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, period,

plus nothing.

But the Bible tells us over and over again in various kinds of

ways, the faith that saves changes us, purifies us.

The faith that saves continues.

It produces good fruit.

God's not calling any of us to burn out in serving him.

But at the same time, he is calling us to be active, to be

involved in some aspect of gospel ministry.

What difference has Christ made in your life?

What difference is he continuing to make?

What would be on your list in terms of character development?

What do you need to grow at?

What do you need to develop more?

What would be on your list in terms of ministry involvement?

Could there be some things that you need to add to that?

There could be something you need to take away from that.

What I want us to hear is 1 Corinthians 15.

The Lord gave his life for us.

He arose triumphantly over sin and death and the devil.

Look at the last verse one more time.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Father, show us all how we should respond this morning.

If there are people in this room that you have shown that while they profess faith,

there's no evidence that you have done a work of grace in them.

There's no evidence of the Holy Spirit's action in them.

If that's true, Father, convict them of their sin, of their fact that they're not Christians,

and call them right now to be honest with you,

to forsake their selfish way of living,

and to put their faith and trust in Jesus wholeheartedly,

and call upon him to save them.

Help them do that right now.

Father, if there are Christians here that they see evidence,

but it's not recent.

Father, if there are Christians in this room who know

you have made a difference in their life,

but you are not making a difference now like you once did,

because they're disobedient.

They're rebelling.

They're indifferent.

Lord, wake them up and call them back to you.

Call them to get serious about being sensitive to

and obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their life,

about developing Christian character,

about serving you in meaningful ministry in and through this church.

Father, I pray for Christians in this room who do see

not just the difference you have but are making in their life.

There is a list, and it's real.

It's genuine.

Father, affirm them.

Bless them.

Help them to hear,

well done, my good and faithful servant.

But Lord, help them not to become complacent.

Help them not to quit regardless of their age.

Help them to be faithful as you give them the ability and the opportunity to be faithful.

And just in an attitude of prayer,

you listen to the Lord and you obey Him.

Whatever it is He's calling you to do,

to start,

to stop,

then you do that as we pray.

And if I could pray with you during the time,

this time here at the front,

I'd be happy to do that.

I'll be right here at the front of this podium here.

Thank you.

Thank you.