Impact, What Mark Are You Leaving

Impact

What mark are you leaving

I believe that God expects you and me to be more than ordinary. In fact, to live a life of impact. We are to be light in the darkness, salt to the world, and ambassadors of Jesus Christ so that we can impact the people around us.

If Jesus is, the Lord and love of your life, then you have power, resources to live a life of impact. God will bless you in eternity and use you for His glory here on Earth. You can enjoy life and have it in abundance. And so, to be used by God you need to start over, begin afresh. If you haven’t yet turned from your sin and asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, you need to do that first.

I have yet to meet a Christian who walks in the power of God, we can raise the dead, heal the sick, cast out demons by this power, yet…. Do we?

Question: So…. How is your life right now?

Are you living an extraordinary life or just average at the moment?

Are you satisfied with where you’re at in your life’s journey, or are you asking God to open a new door?

Are you living for God’s glory, or for you?

Turn with me to

1 Peter 2:11-12

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us”

All of us want to make a difference. We want to make an impact while we are on planet earth. Life is so short, no one lives forever. We want to be sure that we didn’t waste it on things that don’t matter.

In Mark 8:36 , Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” now that is a frightening thought because it means you can be rich and famous and popular by the world’s standards, you can be at the top of the career ladder, and come to the end of your life only to hear God say, “It didn’t amount to anything.” If the soul is lost, the whole person is lost. You can’t make a deal with God to get your soul back after it is gone. There will be no crossing over from hell to heaven as we have previously said. When you forfeit your soul, you will never get it back.

So much is at stake; we need to hear what God has to say. Peter says, “Don’t be surprised if times are tough. You are aliens and strangers in the world. It’s not supposed to be easy here.”

Since unbelievers watch us all the time and draw their own conclusions, we need to:

- Abstain from sinful desires.

The phrase “sinful desires” in verse 11 refers to the temptations that arise because we are still living in the flesh and we all struggle daily choosing between good and evil. If you are a Christian, you are living in a war zone and the real battle is not on the outside; it’s on the inside. Every believer is at war with the desires of the flesh that drag us down. All sin starts in the mind. If you can win the battle on the inside, you can win the battle on the outside. As resident aliens, we cannot and must not accept the world’s standards. As citizens of heaven, we will always be square pegs in round holes. The danger is that we will try to look and act like everyone else. The heart is where the real battles of life are fought. And if we are to make a difference in the world, we must abstain from fleshly desires. That leads me to ask some pointed questions:

- Do you ever feel like hating someone because of their skin color?

- Do you ever think about having an affair?

- Are you ever tempted to cheat at work?

- Do you hold grudges against those who mistreat you?

- Do you ever think, “I wish I weren’t a Christian just for a few minutes so I could do whatever I wanted to do?”

Don’t do it! Don’t surrender to sinful desires. They are out to destroy you. Note that this is a warning to believers. Becoming a Christian doesn’t end the battle. In many ways, the battle doesn’t even begin until you come to Christ. And it doesn’t end until the day we die. Maybe we need to pray:

Lord, don’t let me become bitter. Lord, deliver me from arrogance. Lord, don’t let me become cranky. Lord, teach me how to love others. Lord, free me from a critical spirit. Lord, I want a merciful heart. Lord, use me to win others to you.