Making a Difference in the World

(Matt. 5:13-16; 1 Cor. 1:26-31; 2 Cor. 6:4-7:1)

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 (collectively) are a “sanctuary” of the living God (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor.
6:16; 1 Pe. 2:5)

naos {nah-os'}Gk. = the gathering place of the priests/saints, the inner temple or
holiest of holies, the place where the Spirit of God dwells, where man meets God
for the purpose of sacrifice, prayer and worship.

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)

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

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.”

Our values are not compatible with the world’s values

Values: guiding constructs or ideas, representing deeply held generalized

behaviors, which are considered by the holder, to be of great significance.

Navigating the complexities of a situation ... requires a reliable compass. We can

plot that "north" by determining clearly our own core values. We have to identify
- and articulate - what we believe is important to us and to our companies. Our
core values drive our behaviors, and our behaviors tell the world who we are and
 what we stand for. ...Identifying and adhering to a core-values compass point
provides a standard that will make decisions easier, consistent and justified.” -
Parkinson, J. Robert, “Thinking clearly, remembering values key to making the
call”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 22, 2004.

Integrity is demonstrated by not merely by espousing your values, but by living

according to them.

Likewise, our God is not like our gods and should not be put on the same plane as
them

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”.

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.”

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.

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

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)