THE DISCIPLE’S INFLUENCE

THE DISCIPLE’S INFLUENCE Matthew 5:13-16 Introduction Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor (Missionary to China) with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s devout character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior. Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others. People tend to underestimate their influence. Gideon, a great leader for God once said, “15 so he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." (Judges 6:15-16) Moses once said, “1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.' (Exodus 4:1). Jeremiah once said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." (Jeremiah 1:6) If these great men of God thought that their efforts would be useless, how often do we feel that way? Jesus knew the power of influence. He spent three years with his disciples, influencing them by word and life. You are spending your life surrounded by people - and you are being an influence in their lives! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives three principles of influence. I. YOU ARE SALT! (Matthew 5:13) A. Salt has several properties that we are familiar with! *Salt is connected with purity. The Romans said that salt was the purest of all things because it came form the purest of all things, the sun and the sea. (Barclay) Christians are to be holy people unstained from the world (James 1:27 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.). *Salt is a preservative. It is used to keep things from going bad - it preserves from corruption. We are called to be people who defeat corruption and make it easier for others to be good! *Salt makes things taste better. Sodium Chloride Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach it offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride—common table salt—the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we’re able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. B. Jesus calls us to be a good influence! It would be a sad thing for a Christian to live in such a way that others were turned away from Christianity rather than turned toward Christ. You are salt! Be salty! II. YOU ARE LIGHT! (Matthew 5:14-15) A. Jesus is the light of the world, and so are we! *Light must be seen to be effective. Philippians 2:14-15 "14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” God has given you some measure of influence. You may be a teacher, a coach, a mom, a dad, a boss, an officer in a club, a captain of a team, a big brother or sister, or some other kind of leader. Wherever your life takes you each day, are you a light in that context? *Light is a guide - it makes clear the way. Christians are to make the way clear to others. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. *Light can be a warning light. In order to be a good influence sometimes we have to bring a warning. We may think that no one will listen, but we cannot possibly know that. What seems a small influence can really be more than we imagine. Our alphabet has only 26 letters, and every poem, great work of literature, novel, history book, letter, essay and every other work of English literature has been composed with combinations of them. Our worlds of influence may be small, but we can make a great impact on that small world. Henry Ford said, "My best friend is the one who brings out the best out of me." B. You are salt and you are light! III. YOU ARE BRINGING GLORY TO GOD (Matthew 5:16) A. Men are to see our good deeds. These are not things done in secret! "Good Deeds" could be any godly thing that we do - and serving others is an excellent way to let our light shine. Galatians 6:10 "10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” B. Our good deeds are to bring attention to God. Acts 2:4747 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. By being salt and light people will come to know and bless God's name! Conclusion 1. You are Salt! You are Light! You are Bringing Glory to God! 2. What an incredible power is at your fingertips! And though we might think it small, God has always used the small things to accomplish the greatest things. 3. The truth is that our influence is mostly unknown to us. Let us be salt and light in the world to bring people to praise our Father in heaven!