Christian Influence
Good morning everybody! I am so glad to be here serving with you all. The Lord has brought us together for a reason, His reason! It is to learn, to receive, to give, and to praise!
Matthew 5:13-16 says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
This morning I have been led to talk about the impact we have on our community. Believe it or not, we have a very dramatic effect on those we live by, work with and associate with. Even those that we meet in passing! We directly effect everyone we come into contact with. That’s right, everyone. That stands true for us a s individuals as well as us as a community of believers.
Knowing that, we need to decide what type of impact we make on them. Do we want to be just another face they see, someone they may not want to be around, or do we want them to see His impact on our lives?
A pastor in Texas was in a hurry after work. He had to get to the mall for some items, go to his daughter’s school to pick her up, take her home, get to a Deacons meeting, and then to spend the evening in counseling sessions. Once in the mall, he saw an advertisement on a music store window that said, “2 CD’s for $9.99”. He loved music so much he decided he just had to take advantage of it. He went in and picked up 2 CD’s he really had been wanting, and went to the register to pay for them. He threw down with his money while talking to everyone around him- as pastors do.
Then he picked up his bag and his change and went out of the mall. When he threw the bag in the front seat of his car, he noticed for the first time that the clerk had charged him $1.99 instead of $9.99 for those CD’s. His first thought was that he didn’t have time to go back in to get it fixed. But a small voice kept saying, “You don’t have time not to.”
So, he went back in, stood in the same line until it came his time to talk to the clerk once again. He said, “Look I’m in a hurry. You made a mistake. The sign says $9.99 and you charged me $1.99. Please make this correct so I can get on with what I have to do.”
She said, “Sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He said, “Sure you did. There is the sign, here is the receipt. Please make the correction.”
She said, “No, sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He said, “What do you mean?!!”
She said, “Can I tell you the rest of the story. Will you let me finish, please?”
He said, “Yes I will.”
She said, “For 17 years I’ve been out of church. Recently, my life has been falling apart and I needed to get back into church. I looked around at what was closest to me. I found the name of the church and I went there Sunday and slipped in and sat on the back row. The pastor that day was speaking on integrity. Sir, it happened to be your church. And when I saw you in my line, I wondered if this was something you preached on Sunday or lived on Monday. And I determined to find out.” Then she said, “Sir, I don’t even know the right questions to ask, but I know that whatever you’ve got I need. “ And then she began to cry. The manager, who happened to be a Christian, stepped in and took over the register, dismissed the pastor and then he led her to the Lord. Do you think she would have ever darkened the doors of a church again if this pastor had not gone back in?
Christians are the salt of the earth!
In today’s modern-day society, salt is often considered an enemy - at least where our health is concerned. How many times have you heard someone warningly say, "Don’t put too much salt on your food!" My very own doctor has told me that the number one problem concerning high blood pressure has to do with salt intake. However, my brothers and sisters, salt wasn’t always looked upon as such an enemy. When Jesus, the Christ, said: "Ye are the salt of the Earth...," He meant it as a compliment. His compliment included the warning to stay true to our "salty" nature!
In His day, salt had a very important role in everyone’s life! Salt was the most commonly used preservatives! That’s right, I said preservatives. They used to rub salt on their meat to preserve it! We just go to Fry’s and buy meat and take it home and throw it in the freezer. Sometimes we take the freezer for granted. Sometimes we forget that old steak, or chicken we put in there several months ago, only to find that it is now outdated and has probably gotten freezer-burned, or went bad, right?
Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth! We are the preservative of the world?! Why would he call us preservatives? Let’s see what he meant.
We all know that people we meet each and every time we leave our home are lost. They are “spoiled”, or “unacceptable” in the eyes of God. Their sin has caused them to become unable to enter His Kingdom. Just like we as Christians once were. We accepted Christ as our savior and now we are heirs to the Kingdom, Amen?!
My point is that someone shared the love of Christ with you. They were a “salt” or “preservative” of the earth. They did not save you, they just carried His love to you!
Another point, what do we use salt as now? A spice! We are the spice of the world! We make it tastier! We help Jesus spice up this world. He is the “chef” if you will, but he added salt, spice, us for a reason! We are here for one reason only, and that is to bring the message, His message to the rest of the world! We are supposed to be that light for all others to see!
But we all know that is sometimes a difficult thing to do. Sometimes we are “not-feeling” it. We are afraid, or unsure of what to do, or say. We can talk all day long to a stranger, or friend, or relative about the weather, news, the local gossip, but when it comes to talking about salvation, we have a much more difficult time, right?
You are not alone. Most Christians today are what I call a “closet-Christian”. They pray at home, or when they are alone in their car. Maybe just a “silent” prayer before eating. They are relieved to find out a work buddy is a Christian, but never say anything bout their faith around non-believers.
You see, they are afraid of the way the other person will respond. That is human instinct, a need for acceptance. A “human-instinct.” What we as Christians need to do is give up the human instinct for a “Spiritual-Instinct.” How do you do that? I am glad you asked!
Turn in your Bibles to Acts 1:8 where it says,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
You need to ask the Holy Spirit to lead you! I Then you need to step out on faith. Just begin to share what Jesus has done for you in your life. You need to show how you have a “personal” relationship with him. You do not need to push. No need to ‘slam’ the person into conversion. Just simply share what Christ has done for you. Then just be there as a friend.
You see, the Spirit works on them as well. They are convicted of their sin. They have a real need and deep down inside, they know it. They know something is wrong, or missing in their life. They know there is darkness in their life.
That is why we read, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men”
Mark Lennon wrote, “ Have you ever been in a cave when the lights were turned out? The darkness that overcome you, being able to see nothing. Picture this… they turn out the lights and said “See Ya!” Then your begin to remember the deep canyons and step cliffs that went straight down and you realize I can’t get out of here on my own and you start to grope around in darkness. If you can picture that then you have an idea of what lost people face every day. The only difference is that it is the only way of life they have ever known!
Webster’s Dictionary will tell you that ‘light is that which makes it possible to see.’ Wow, we as light, are that which it makes it possible to see?! I bet you had no idea you were that important and vital in the Ministry, did you? You are the Salt, and the light of the world! You help preserve and make it possible for others to see!
Joke—2 guys were carpenters, and 1 always was teasing the other, not repudiated to be very smart. One night he shined his flashlight up to the 2nd story of a house and said, ‘would you mind climbing up this light beam and get my hammer for me?’ The nitwit said, ‘hah, how dumb do think I am?’ ‘I’m sorry,’ he replied. ‘You’d better be, I know you too well…you’d let me get halfway up and then turn the light off!’
The Bible says that God is light. Intellectually that means the knowledge of God is light. Morally that means the holiness of God is light. Physically that mean the glory of God is light.
When Jesus says that we are the light of the world, it means God has deposited His nature inside of us, and we are to let it out. It’s in there! It just needs to be allowed to shine forth.
Christian, you aren’t the only person ever called ‘the light of the world.’ Who else? Yes, other Christians, but who else? Jesus!
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
So, Christ is in us, and we aren’t really, in and of ourselves, the light, but the light is in us! We are to carry this light to others!
By a show of hands, how many people came to know Christ because someone else cared enough to share Him with you? Ok, how many people accepted Him without ever reading about Him, hearing about Him, or never been told about His love?
How many people are in this Church today because someone else invited them at one point in time? A poll was conducted by a church directory service a few yrs. ago. Asked: "Why did you choose to come to this church?" Results: 18%--Prior denominational ties; 9%--Pretty bldg.; 3% because minister came to visit; That is 30%. 70% came for one simple reason--somebody invited them!
I heard a story some time ago of a missionary in Africa who gave a Bible to one of the African men. When it was given to him, the man hugged it close & expressed great appreciation for the precious gift of God’s Word that the missionary had given him.
But when the missionary saw him a few days later he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, & that many of its pages were missing. The missionary asked him, "What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession."
The man replied. "Indeed, it is a very precious possession. It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is so precious that when I returned to my village I very carefully chose a page & tore it out & gave it to my mother. Then I tore out another page & gave it to my father. And I tore out another page & gave it to my wife. Finally, I gave a page of God’s Word to everybody who lives in my village."
We may smile at that, but what a testimony! The message of God’s Word was so wonderful to him that he wanted to share it with everyone he knew!
Verse 13 says, ”You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
This morning, I want you each to look into your life, your heart. I want you to ask yourself, “Have I lost my spice?” Sometimes, we as Christians tend to lose our ‘zeal’ if you will. We still love Christ, and all He has done for us, but that spark is not as intense as it once was. Maybe our torch has been weathered through some storms. Maybe we have not kept it fueled up with the Word of God. It could be many things, but it still needs some rekindling.
God’s love for us has not wavered, nor has it weakened. His love is eternal and without boundaries. Is our Passion for Him still on fire? Are we still the 100 watt, or down to a 15 watt?
I know it easy to lose track of what we need to do, but the grace of God and the power of the Spirit calls on us to get back on track. To reignite that passion. As an individual Christian, and a community we need to take that light out into the world! Amen?!
His Light must not be hidden, or it ceases to shine!
His salt must be kept salty or it ceases to preserve!
