#4 - To Make a Difference
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Opening
Opening
• Welcome
• Boudreaux Joke
• Recap of Week
Message Opening
Message Opening
• PRAY!!
• Want to talk to you a bit today on:
To Make a Difference
To Make a Difference
• Lot going on in the world around us today
• Sickness
• Disease
• Unrest
• Dissatisfaction
• Storms - devastation, loss, many lost everything they worked for all their life
To Make a Difference
To Make a Difference
•
• Would like to start with a scripture this morning:
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
• There are some points in this passage that, in the face of what’s happening in the world around us, we need to keep in mind
• Some things, that if we remember them and what they mean to us and our relationship with God AND this messed up world, will help keep our heads on straight
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
• Who is the “you”?
• Jesus is talking to his disciples here - not necessarily the chosen 12, but those who have chosen to shape their lives by his teaching.
• What do we get out of this verse?
God made me special
• God doesn’t just intend for me - you - us to be special - he MADE us special. So special that the world NEEDS US
• The world in that day DEPENDED on salt
• If it loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? In other words, how can it get its effectiveness back? Our seasoning comes from the one and only God. The creator, the maker, the ONE who knows what all mankind needs. No one else and nothing else can give to us what God can give. And no matter how good you are, you can’t be good enough with out God.
• If you lose your “God flavor” you’ve lost all hope
• Not only that, but the world (no matter what they think) loses all hope as well.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
God make me to stand out.
• If you truly have God in you, you WILL stand out. You were MADE to stand out
• jLike the city on the hill, You CANNOT be hidden
• But not your preaching, not your bible knowledge, not your holy appearance
• Your truly GOD qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, mercy, grace
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
God made me to bring hope to others.
• Darkness means despair and desperation - no hope
• Light helps them see that there is a future and a hope
• God put his light in me so that I could help bring hope to someone else
• I can’t just keep my God to myself
• I can’t keep Him contained in this little body
• I have to give Him leave to MOVE this body to bring hope to someone else
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
• The idea that others will see God through the things I do (or not) is truly heavy to me
• When this passage says that others will “glorify” my Father because of the works that I do, it is saying that they will recognize Him and WHO is is by the things that I do
• You see:
God made me to point to Him.
• In fact, God re-made me to point to him
• What I do, the life I live, should point to the One who made me these things: special, to stand out, to bring hope, and to always point to Him
• Is the life I am living today doing these things?
• AM I making a difference?
• Perhaps you are asking this question today:
How Do I DO It?
How Do I DO It?
• Someone once said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do."
• That’s what I want to do. I want what I do in my life to point to the goodness and glory of God.
• I want others to see how HE loves them through what I do
• In fact, the Bible tells me that IF I have faith, I WILL do these things:
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
• I express my faith by the good things I do for others
• I BUILD my faith by the good things I do for others
• I STRENGTHEN my faith by the good things I do for others
• And I want to help you do the same
Salt & Light
Salt & Light