High-Impact Believers

(Matt. 5: 13-20)

God can use ordinary people (like us) to do extraordinary things

Through are weakness He can show His strength (1 Cor. 1:27-29)

Our good works give glory to God (1 Cor. 5:16)

We live in a time and place where immorality is accepted (Rom. 12:2)

Our values are not compatible with the world’s values

We should not be conformed to this

Gk. Suschematizo: conform, be similar to, in line with, in agreement with

There is no room for compromise with the world (2 Cor. 6:14 & 17, Eph. 5:11-12)

Separation is essential to consecration (2 Cor. 6:17; Rom 12:2)

We are called to be holy/sanctified “set apart” (1 Pe. 1:13-16, 1 Thess. 5:23)

We should make our sanctification complete

Our “old person” was corrupted by deceitful desires, deceitful in the sense that they promise
joy and fulfillment but deliver pain and emptiness by enticing us into sin.

Which includes avoiding relationships that are likely to turn our hearts away from God’s
calling. (2 Cor. 6:14)

George Barna’s, the church statistician, says that research shows that, “… the average Christian
in the average church is almost indistinguishable from the rest of society. The fundamental
moral and ethical difference that Christ can make in how we live, is missing. When our teens
we claim to be saved, get pregnant and do drugs at the same rate as the general teenage
population - when the marriages of Christians end in divorce at the same rate as the rest of
society - when Christians cheat in business, or lie, steal, and cheat on their spouses at the same
statistical level as those who say they are not Christians - something is horribly wrong.”

We need to be transformed

[Transformed by an Elevator, Citation: Owen Bourgaize, Castel, Guernsey, United

Kingdom] A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city. They
checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. Leaving the
reception desk they came to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before,
and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for. An old lady hobbled towards
the elevator and went inside. The door closed. About a minute later, the door opened
 and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman. Dad couldn’t stop staring.
Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."

Gk. Metamorphoo: transform, completely change or convert in character or

condition

How? By the renewing of the mind

Renew: restore like new

Break sinful patterns

Those who practice habitual immorality do not belong to God’s kingdom

(1 Cor. 6:9-10)

The Bible, clearly and unquestionably, condemns homosexuality (Gen.

19:1-25, Lev., 18:22, 20:13, Rom. 1:26-27)

Churches & church leaders that tolerate homosexuality are “conformed”

not “holy” (Isa. 5:20) We should love, not tolerate, and love involves
standing up for what is right and proper in the eyes of God.

C. S. Lewis said, “We’re all either helping people toward God or away from him”.

Sinful thoughts make us impure (Matt. 5:27-30, James 1:14-15)

Right living is based on right thinking (Matt. 7:17, Col. 3:1-5)

The Law of Concentration states that whatever we dwell upon grows in our life
experience. Whatever we think about on a continual basis becomes a part of us.
Yes, we become what we think, and the more we dwell on something, the more
we have of it in our lives (see Prov. 23:7a)

The Law of Substitution states that our conscience mind can only hold one
thought at a time. It makes no difference to our mind whether the thought is
"negative" or "positive," it can only hold one at a time. However, we can choose
to substitute "negative" thoughts with "positive" thoughts, thus changing our
mental state of being.

Flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18)

Gk. Pheugo: flee, shun, avoid, escape from ( Example: Joseph,

Gen. 39:6-12)

Why? To discern what is good, pleasing and the perfect will of God

No worship is pleasing to God that is only inward

Our worship must be expressed in acts of service (Matt. 20:28, James 2:20)
 We are to influence our culture, just as salt impacts food and light dispels darkness

Salt must contact food. If it stays in the shaker, it can neither flavor nor preserve.

Just a little salt can make a significant difference.

We are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13; Mar. 9:50; Luke 14:34) to:

Season - when applied, enhances the flavor, makes more appealing (Lev. 2:13; Col. 4:6)

In Titus 2:9 the Apostle Paul tells Christian servants that they must act in such a way
“that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” “adorn” is the Greek
word that we get the word cosmetics from and is used to describe the arrangements of
jewels in a manner to set off their full beauty – the idea is here is that Christian servants
(any Christian for that matter) have the power through their exemplary behavior to
make the Christian life and faith beautiful to those outside.

Preserve - life, slows decay, preserves from destruction

According to Scripture, one day prior to our Lord’s return the Church will be removed
from this world, and when Christians are finally removed from the world scene, all Hell
literally breaks loose. In 2 Thess. 2:7 we read, “For the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

Heal/Purify – Purifying agent

Elisha used salt to purify the water of Jericho (2 Kings 2:20).

Often in the Bible the land of a defeated enemy was salted. This prevented agricultural
regeneration for a time, often as a symbolic representation of the purification of the land
in connection with its separation from its corrupt past.

Cause to thirst - after God’s Kingdom

Melt – Melts that which is hard, frozen

Provides traction – a salted path helps to prevent us from slipping and falling

Symbolize a Friendship/Covenant Relationship –

“It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with
you.” (Numbers 18:19)

There is an Arab saying “There is salt between us”.

Salt is associated with grace (Col. 4:6)

Note also that salt was considered something of great value and worth!
 The word “salary” comes from the Latin word salarium which referred to the practice
of paying wages of Roman soldiers in salt.

We still use the phrase that someone is, or is not, “worth their salt.”

Salt can salt lose it’s saltiness?

Technically speaking, salt cannot lose its saltiness; sodium chloride is a stable
compound. But in the part of the world where Jesus lived, salt was collected from
around the Dead Sea where the crystals were often contaminated with other minerals.
These crystallized formations were full of impurities, and since the actual salt was more
soluble than the impurities, the rain could wash out the salt, which made what was left
of little worth since it lost its saltiness. When this happened, the salt was thrown out,
since it was no longer of any value either as a preservative or for flavoring. When the
salt was leeched out it still looked like salt, but it lost its taste.

If we loose our saltiness, our Christian character, then our ability to impact the
world for God diminishes.

When Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual leader of India, he was asked by some
missionaries, “What is the greatest hindrance to Christianity in India?” His reply was,
“Christians.”

Martin Luther once said "A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers
nothing, is worth nothing."

We are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14)

Light exposed darkness

We must boldly stand up for the truth!

We can be beacons, lighting the way to God’s truth.

Light helps us to clearly see the path before us and thus to avoid traps and stumbling
blocks

John. 8:12 Jesus says, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in
the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (see also Psalm 27:1)

We are not the source of the light, we merely reflect/or bear witness to the light of
Christ (John 1:6-9)

The Light is Not to be Hidden (Phil. 2:15)

With acts of kindness & compassion.

Give Light to Everyone in the House = Good Deeds Attributed to Our Father
(Eph. 5:8-9; James 1:27)
 The light is radiated through our example, or our good works.

People want to see a sermon before they listen to one.

Almost every one of the first 123 colleges and universities in the United States
had a Christian origin, founded by Christians for Christian purposes. The same
could be said of orphanages, adoption agencies, humane treatment of the insane,
the list goes on and on of dramatic impact of Christianity in our world. [D.
James Kennedy. “What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?” (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Pub., 1994) pp. 3- 4]

With demonstrations of integrity.

Courageously shining the light of truth draws those seeking after “something
more” and “something real” to the Christ (Isa. 60:1-3)

How can YOU be salt and light in YOUR community?

How to share the “Good News”

Be prepared (2 Tim. 4:2)

How?

Be cautious & innocent (Matt. 10:5-16)

Paul's approach:

a) Deep concern for the person themselves (Rom. 10:1)

Concentrate on loving ministry and “soul-winning” will naturally follow

b) Humble reliance on God instead of on self (Rom. 10:1)

c) Deep understanding of position of people (Rom. 10:2)

Be all things to all men (1 Cor. 9:22, Loyola & the Jesuits)

The time to reach out to others for Jesus is now! (John 4:35-36)

We have only to give the invitation “Come and see”, based upon our own personal
witness. (John 4:29)

Jesus himself will be the one to change the hearts (John 4:42)