Different: Following Jesus in a World That Isn't | Sermon 2 | Pastor Derek Berry

I want to look a little bit deeper.

Last week we began to look at a thought um from the Sermon on the Mount, the the the sermon that Jesus preached to his disciples.

We'll find it in Matthew chapter five.

And we're looking at this thought about being different because you and I are to be different, following Jesus in a world that's not.

And the scriptures teach us that.

And last week we saw as it began, he uh Jesus called his disciples up on top of the mountain and he set them down and he had a conversation with them, and it began to teach them some characteristics and the character that it is to be a follower of Christ.

And the beauty of it is that it comes to life as we go deeper and deeper.

And what I want to find in our text that we'll read here in a moment is the next little section of the verses that we'll start in verse number 13.

But I just want to make a statement or two and ask you a question, then I'll read the scriptures.

You know, followers of Jesus don't blend into the world.

They're supposed to influence the world.

And I know that's hard sometimes with the culture that we have.

It seems easier to blend into whatever's going on versus being an influence to it.

But Jesus is teaching these characteristics on the Sermon of the Mount so that you and I realize that we're not supposed to just blend in.

We're supposed to influence it for the better, for to be more like Christ.

And I began to write some thoughts down and I ask myself this question, I want to ask it to you.

Has anyone ever made a difference in your life?

Some of you can think right off the top and think of a teacher that perhaps saw something in you that nobody else did.

It could have been a coach when you were playing ball growing up, it could be your parents who faithfully pointed you to Jesus.

Anybody that's made a difference in your life, it could have been a youth pastor or a youth leader, a Sunday school teacher growing up, or even a faithful church member that just was faithful to point you back to Christ and to influence you for good.

When you look back over your life, you can probably honestly say, man, if it wasn't for that person investing into me or speaking truth into my life or to pushing me a little bit further than I needed to be pushed, if it wasn't for them, I may not be where I am today.

I know a lot of us can think of somebody or two right off the bat.

Here's another question I want to ask you: whose life is different because of you being in their life, meaning you influence them.

And therein lies where I think Jesus is getting to in this next section of scripture.

How have we influenced others for good?

Now I can name somebody or a lot of somebody that have influenced me, but I want to name somebody that I can name.

That question's tougher.

It sums a little bit harder because it's like, do I really have that ability to influence somebody?

I think we all do.

God places us in certain spots so that we can influence others.

As we look at these verses, I want to read some thoughts together.

Verse 13.

Here's what Jesus says as notice that the sermon continues.

Now we stopped, but it continues on.

Look what he says.

You are the salt of the earth.

But if 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.

Verse 14, you are the light of the world.

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, 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.

Verse 16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Those four verses I want to look at this morning are very impactful.

Last week Jesus was teaching on character and having the right character.

Now he goes a little bit deeper and tells us why it's important to have those characteristics of Christ.

He showed us be poor in spirit, be to mourn, to live for him, and he shows us why that's important because our job is to influence, is to make a difference in somebody's life.

I want them to see Christ in how I act, how I run my day-to-day life, no matter if it's in public or if it's in private in my home, either way, I should make a difference in somebody's life because of the characteristics of Christ within me.

So remember this, and I might repeat this throughout today or this morning.

Jesus didn't call us to fit into culture.

So notice in the text, and I want to look at this and break it apart, a couple things that just pop out to me right off the bat.

This is before I'll give you my course, and you know, I got to have a three-point outline, but before that, notice what he says in verse 13.

It says, you are.

Verse 14, you are.

He says right off the bat what you, as a follower of Christ and a believer, are.

He notice he didn't say you'll become salt eventually.

No, he says you are salt.

He doesn't say that, man, you'll eventually become the light.

No, he says, verse 14, you are the light.

Now listen, he's sitting the disciples down, having a conversation.

He is preaching the greatest sermon ever, the Sermon on the Mount, and he's telling them the truth.

He just got finished in 12 verses, telling them the characteristics of a Christian, and he's saying now why it's important, because you are the salt.

You are the light.

Take that personal as if he's speaking directly to you.

These are not commands, these are declarations.

He's not commanding you to be the salt.

He says you are the salt.

He's not commanding you to be light, he's saying you are the light.

Jesus is telling his followers what they have already become.

Now, whether they're effective salt or effective life is uh light is not necessarily what he's talking about yet, but he is making a declaration, telling them right off the bat what you are.

You are salt, you are light.

You are salt, you are light.

Now, are you effective?

That's only for you to internalize and figure out.

And hopefully you are.

I want to go a little deeper.

Here's another thing.

If you think about this, remember where these guys are at as they're sitting there.

Jesus has just got finished describing the characteristics of Christ, and he doesn't change subjects.

He doesn't stop and say, okay, guys, we're gonna turn the page and go a little bit deeper into something else or to even change tunes.

No.

He just got finished characterizing what they are, poor in spirit.

We went through it last week.

If you didn't see it, you can watch it or hear it online.

Those that mourn, those that are hungry and thirsty for righteousness.

He just finished laying all those things out, peacemakers and being merciful, pure in heart.

And then without changing subjects at all, Jesus says, Now let me tell you why those qualities matter.

You are salts, you are light.

Why God has produced something in you, and now this world desperately needs you to shine and to be uh be on full display for the world to see.

He transforms us, you know why?

So he can use us.

See, a lot of people have certain mindsets thinking, man, they'll never be used by God.

But I have seen God use people that were, the world would say, would be unusable.

And honestly, I can take characters within scripture.

Paul would be somebody that the world would cast away.

Who could Paul influence?

Look at the harm that he did before he got saved, but God used him in a mighty way.

Or I can take you back to the Old Testament and show you how Moses had lived in the desert for 40 years because he was nothing, right?

But God used him in a mighty way.

Why?

Because he made himself available, he was broken for the Lord and said, God, I'm here.

And then after 40 years of development on the backside of a desert, and yes, he had done some bad things, killed a guy, and all these things, God restored him and used him in a mighty way.

And that's what he's speaking about right here.

He's saying, You are Saul.

God transforms you to use you, not to put you on a shelf.

Now, I want to look at three things this morning, and hopefully, as you sort of internalize them and take them to heart, you'll see some truth pop out, and hopefully it'll be an encouragement for you to do what Jesus is talking about.

Here's the first thing I'll show you.

We'll see it right here in 1 verse 13.

Salt makes a difference.

Salt makes a difference.

And listen, I know that ain't a hard one to teach right here in the good old South, right?

Without salt on some green beans, are they any good?

Anyone go to the doctor and their doctor says less salt?

You know what I do?

I'd go find me a new doctor.

You understand?

I ain't listening to that.

I'm gonna get me a new doctor.

I like a little salt on my stuff.

Now, now listen, you can overdo it.

Oh, this one guy used to go out to eat with a preacher guy.

He's kind of, I think he's retired now.

But we'd go down here and get a hot dog.

I think it was over at the uh Fred's or get a yellow jacket hot dog.

I mean, that thing, I don't do anything but eat it.

You understand?

And I'm telling you, this guy gets salt, and I'm talking, he spread it all.

I'm thinking, you're ruining it, brother.

What are you doing?

This thing was white.

And then he gets the pepper and puts it on, and then it's black.

I said, man, you have got so much pepper on here, I can't even see the hot dog.

And he ate it like it was good.

I'm like, bro, that's messed up.

That's messed up.

Now, he probably should have listened to his doctor with less salt, okay?

But not me, all right?

Salt makes a difference.

We know that by how we eat and we need things to taste a certain way.

Jesus, as he's comparing his followers to, to, to, to salt, notice, he could have used anything else.

He could have said, Man, you're the gold of the earth.

Well, I can get that.

I can understand that.

He could say, man, you're the diamonds in the earth.

And I'm a man, I appreciate that.

But he uses salt.

Why did he use salt in this uh example?

Because everybody that heard it, those disciples knew exactly what salt was.

It was very common.

And it wasn't like it is today.

Everybody in that moment understood the value of salt.

In the world that you and I live in, we have all kinds of different salts.

And if I don't have it, I can go buy it at Publix or the grocery store or Cut Kroger's or Walmart's or whatever.

I can go do it.

Why?

Because it's so easily accessible.

But I think about it, in my house alone, I have a salt shaker right there in the cabinet that I can use when I'm cooking my eggs in the morning.

I have these little fancy things that you grind the salt and pepper that Megan likes because it looks nice, and I can use it because it's on the table.

Man, I'm telling you, it when it's summertime, like right now, that ice cream salt, man, I can go get me wine.

I make some good ice cream.

I got to put that thick salt, that coarse salt, ice cream salt.

There's all kinds of variety of salts.

And if you don't have that variety or you need this specific salt for this recipe, I can go to the grocery store and buy it.

So therefore, we might look at this and think, man, what does he mean by salt?

Because I've got 10 different salts just in my pantry alone.

He's sulking about salt, and they understood it because salt was super valuable to them in that moment.

There was no refrigeration.

They didn't have grocery stores that they could run to.

Salt was valuable.

And salt in that moment wasn't just used to flavor their green beans, okay?

No, salt in that day was used to preserve food.

Can you imagine no refrigeration?

I can't imagine no air conditioner.

Even after yesterday it was like 800 degrees outside.

I'm just gonna be honest with you, hot.

I couldn't imagine not having air conditioning in the house.

Uh I mean, I don't know how we did it before air conditioned seats, to be honest with you, when it's when it's 800 degrees outside.

But the truth of the matter is, is I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't keep my food cold and preserving it.

But they did.

They got it, they understood.

When he said salt, they got that salt would be put on food to keep that food from spoiling.

How about like this?

To keep that food from decaying.

Imagine taking a slab, a cut of meat, a big old thick steak.

I'm talking and just lay it on the counter with nothing on it.

It's gonna rot, it's gonna be nasty.

But they understood because there was no refrigeration, they could coat it in some level of salt, and it would protect that meat from spoiling because they did not have refrigeration.

Guess what, followers of Christ?

That's your purpose in this world too.

Let me show it, let me break it down a little bit different.

Salt is different, it's supposed to be.

Salt is different.

Salt is different than everything else around it.

If it was exactly like the food that you're putting it on, it wouldn't make any sense.

It wouldn't be usable, it wouldn't be distinct.

It is there to influence whatever it is put on, whether it's food, whether it's anything, it's there to change something.

The effectiveness of salt comes from how distinct that it is.

So as it's placed on whatever you're placing it on, it changes the taste of it.

It influences it for good.

The same should be true as followers of Christ.

Listen to me.

As a follower of Christ, Jesus has never called you and I to just blend in.

If we were blending in, we would lose our effectiveness to what God has transformed you and I to be.

I think about what Paul said, Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

You can write it down and study it later if you so choose.

Romans 12, verse number 2, Paul says, and uh do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Paul said that in chapter 12, verse 2, because by default you and I will blend in and thereby for uh therefore be conformed to this world.

But Paul reiterates by saying, but but yet be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And Paul's talking about the word of God transforming us in our mind.

That's why it was so important to read the word of God.

It transforms us and it re-it gives it like it almost rekindles our fire.

It gives us encouragement, it gives us some enthusiasm to be different for this world, and that's exactly what Christ has called you and I to be salt.

To be different.

Don't blend in.

Be different.

Now, as you think this through, I think people around me should know that I'm different.

I don't mean just by looking at me, but by how I act.

Now, if somebody looks at me, they might think I'm different because of my hair being spiky.

Sometimes I get that.

You know when I go out to these little preaching conferences, sometimes you know what they think?

They think I'm the music guy.

Just to be honest with you, okay?

One time I was going to get food, they said, we're taking bets over here.

We can't figure out if you're the youth pastor or the music pastor.

And I was like, look, I listen, I tell them I can play the guitar, I can sing, let me just get up there and do it, right?

Man, I'm gonna show them I ain't no singer.

I ain't I can't play no instrument, okay?

But but on the outside, they may think that, and then but when I'm being serious now, when I'm out in public, when I'm helping my son's ball team, when I'm at the grocery store, when I'm in in line and waiting for the doctor to call me or wherever I go day to day, I want people to say there's something different about him.

And that's the salt that he's speaking about.

I don't want to just blend into society.

I want the the my being genuine, being kind, being nice, being just be just being myself because of what how Christ has transformed me.

I want that to be on full display because that may be the only gospel that somebody reads.

You understand?

Is how we live our life.

That's why he went from character to the why.

Verses 1 through 12 to the here's why.

You're the salt.

You are the salt.

What else does salt?

Salt's different, I get it.

I've checked that box, I understand.

What else?

Salt slows the decay.

Okay, as it preserves food, uh as they understood it in that text, in the in the context of they were sitting there, how they used it, salt slows decay.

So, what other purpose did it have?

It was a preservative.

It preserved whatever food that it was placed on before refrigeration, before they could throw it in their frigid air or whatever you got.

People would rub salt on their on their steak or on their ham or whatever it was they were eating, and it would keep it from spoiling, from rotting, from falling apart.

It would delay corruption.

Listen to me.

It would delay corruption.

Listen to me, our world's broken.

We all know that.

I don't have to debate that with you.

Most of y'all would could give a story as to something that you've experienced lately where this broken world has messed with you.

I've heard it all.

With my kids in school and they come home and tell me some stuff, I'm like, Lord, have mercy.

I can't believe they didn't have that when I was in school.

Sometimes I had to Google it one time and I was afraid it was about to pop up, to be honest with you.

You understand?

It was bad.

We know we live in a world that's broken and falling apart.

And if if I get that and understand that, who what's caused of that?

Sin.

We understand that.

Sin from the first sin and in the garden now to what it is today.

What's caused this world to fall apart?

Sin.

But Jesus has left you and I in this world for a reason.

I'm not here in this 2026 by chance or coincidence.

He didn't lose track of where his folks were, and man, I just wandered in and wondered.

No, that's not it at all.

I think he's strategically placed me in the area with which I am to be the salt, to preserve, to delay corruption around whatever it is that I get to touch.

Now listen, I can complain about the darkness, I can complain about the world falling apart, or I can make a difference.

That's my choice, right?

Everybody has choices to make.

I could sit around and cry about it and think, man, this is this world falling apart.

What are we gonna do?

Or I could realize, man, God just told me through his son Jesus that I am the salt.

Why don't I make the difference?

That means every act of kindness, every word of truth that I could tell somebody, every time I wake up and say, I'm gonna live with integrity no matter who's watching, every time that I have an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus, I can actually do it.

In that moment, I'm actually acting as the salt that I am, delaying the decay and the corruption of the world around me.

You and I are called to faithfully preserve what is good and to point people to Christ, and that's what I want to live for each and every day.

See, what I realize is that he's not asking me to change the whole world.

No, he's just asking me to influence those that are around me.

See, sometimes I think we think the mission at hand is too robust.

I'm not gonna be able to do this.

But when I look at it in the right perspective and realize my job is to influence those around me, not to change the entire world.

By me doing what I'm supposed to do and you doing what you're supposed to do, we will change the world together, but not by ourselves.

What else about salt?

It's different, I got it.

Uh it's it's not only different, but it is a preservative.

It slows the decay.

What else?

Salt must never lose its distinctiveness.

It must never lose being different.

If it does, then it thereinfore would never actually be used like it should altogether.

Jesus has given us a warning in the text.

You are the salt of the world.

Right?

This is what he says in verse 13.

You are the salt of the earth.

Then look at the latter part.

But here's the warning.

But if the salt loses its flavor, if it loses its distinctiveness, how shall it be seasoned?

How is it ever going to be used?

Because if it's just like what you're putting it on, then there's no point in putting it on there.

It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

He's saying, man, salt that no longer functions as salt is useless.

Salt that no longer functions as salt is, therefore should just be thrown away.

It's no good.

Listen to me.

When the Christian around us become uh indistinguishable, oh, that's a good word, and I used it in the right context.

Praise the Lord.

Yeah, Rex coached me on that with my English teacher, okay?

When the believers are when we stop being indistinguishable, we lose, we lose the power of influence that God has called us to be.

You are the salt.

Jesus didn't call us to fit into culture, no, he called us to influence it.

Let me give you this little thought, and then we'll move on to the next two verses here.

Here you go.

Throw it up for me, brother.

You can't change the world by becoming like it.

You change the world by living different in it.

Now, what does the cultural teach us?

The world says, be just like us to fit in.

But what does Jesus say?

You are the salt.

Every time that I try to be like the world, then I lose my ability to influence those around me.

Let's move on to verse 14.

Not only are you the salt, what does he say in verse 14?

You're the light.

Light pushes back darkness.

Light pushes back darkness.

He says, You are the salt, verse 13, verse 14, you are the light.

Why does he go from salt to light?

And the communication is the same truth, but why does he change it from salt to light?

I think he's trying to add another layer to it.

He he really, he, I think, shifts, Jesus is telling us the same thing, but he shifts the focus from your salt of preserving something to now your light illuminating something.

He wants us to brighten something up.

Light, you're illuminating.

So we'll let that think on that for a moment.

I've seen light used all over scripture before, and we know that light has one purpose, and that purpose is to overcome darkness.

So I can be in a dark room and have A really small flashlight, and what's going to happen?

That light's going to be seen from all over.

It doesn't matter if I have the brightest flashlight ever invented, which I do have, by the way, okay?

Somebody gave me that.

I think it was Julie Bull brought me a flashlight that was the brightest flashlight ever to be invented.

And I'm telling you, I take the dog out at night and I can see probably your house from there.

I'm saying it's bright, okay?

I can see all kinds of stuff.

It's a lot of illumens or whatever it is, okay?

It's nice.

But I can take the smallest flashlight in the world and shine it in the darkest place, and that light will still shine.

Light has one purpose to overcome darkness.

Verse 14, you are the light.

You are the light.

Jesus says, that's who you are.

Now notice this.

We reflect the light of Christ, okay?

There's something I want to show you about light.

You and I are a reflecting, uh, we're reflecting the light of Christ.

Now notice the word here, what he used in verse 14.

You are the light of the world.

But Jesus also said, and I remember in the book of John, chapter number eight, it's a great little text to read.

He says, Jesus' word says, I am the light of the world.

So I can read in John 8, when Jesus said, I am the light of the world, and now I can now read in our current text where we're studying this morning in the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5 and verse number 14, you are the light.

So when I think about that, I say, how can Jesus be the light of the world?

And how can I also be the light, verse 14?

I know that the scriptures uh complement each other.

There's no scripture that contradicts the other scriptures, but scripture complements scripture.

So I know that there's some validity to this and truth.

I just need to understand what it is so I can understand it and be the light that I'm supposed to be.

See, Jesus is the source of all light.

My job is to reflect his light.

That's the difference.

I don't, I'm not supposed to be light.

I'm supposed to be the reflection of his light.

Now think about this.

Let me use this illustration as an example.

You understand the moon at night.

You see it at times, right?

I'm trying to think the last time I saw it real bright, a couple maybe last week.

I took the dog out and I could see the moon.

It was bright.

So you understand that the light is not, the moon is not a source of light.

So what is it that I see?

If I can see the moon and it's bright, what is it?

It is a reflection of the sun.

The sun essentially reflects off the moon, and therefore that's how I see the moon.

So the moon is simply a reflection of the sunlight that's already there that you and I can't see because it's on the other side of the world.

Why is that important?

That's our calling is to be a reflection of Jesus' light.

We're not the source of hope.

Who is Jesus?

Now I get it.

Every little bit of hope that I point for this world, I take it from him and reflect it off of me and point it back to him.

Listen to me, Jesus is the source of all hope, but my job is to reflect that hope.

So what else is there?

If you think about all the attributes of him, Jesus is the source of truth, not me.

If I was the source of truth, I would mess up it from time to time.

Listen to me, he is the source of truth.

I have to point that truth to y'all, to y'all.

It reflects from him.

This is the source of all truth.

It reflects off of me onto you.

Think about it.

Am I the source of salvation?

No.

Jesus is, but I use it as a reflection as I tell somebody about Christ or lead somebody to Jesus.

It's a, I'm using his truth, reflecting it off of me and pointing it back to him, saying, This is how you get saved.

I'm not the source of salvation, I'm not the source of hope, and I'm not the source of truth Jesus is at all.

But my job is to be the light, to reflect it back out so that you can see it and back to him.

My job as the follower of Christ, you're the light, is to reflect.

Reflect him in every avenue of life.

When I'm at church, it's easy to do it here.

You know where it's hard?

When people get on your nerves.

Anybody ever get on your nerves?

I know we're in church, it's okay.

You ain't got to give me church answers, let's be real.

Sometimes folk get on your nerves.

That's hard to reflect Christ then because I want to slap him.

Just be honest with you, right?

I don't, but I did- I'm just saying I wanted to one time, okay?

But listen, I'm telling you, my best thing I can ever do is reflect him to others.

The brighter our lives become, the brighter our lives become, the more influence I can have.

I was reminded of this text that Paul used in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

He said this, that you may be a Philippians 2 to 15, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

Among you shine as lights in the world.

Paul understood what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

And he is telling the people there at Philippi, listen to me, you're going to be around some crooked and perverse generation, but the greatest thing that you can ever do is be the light of Christ.

Reflect him to others.

God placed you in the darkness that you're in so that you can be a light for him.

It's one of the prayers that I pray almost every morning when I'm driving the kids to school.

Lord, let my kids be a light in whatever environment they're in in this school, because I want them to point people to Christ by how they act and interact with each other.

What else about light?

Light was never meant to be hidden.

Look in the text.

You are the light of the world.

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

He's saying, you as light are not meant to be hidden.

Some of us are shy, right?

Anybody shy?

Mm-hmm.

Some of us, not me, right?

Anybody scared to speak?

Yes, not me.

Okay, so for you that are, listen, you're not supposed to hide that light.

He's got he placed you where he's placed you for the reason.

Think of that matter in total darkness.

Sometimes we will drive from somewhere over in Kennesaw, and you can drive down uh uh 120 and you can look up and see on top of over there by Laos Mountain those neighborhoods, those houses.

It can be totally dark all around those houses.

Yeah, we have our headlights on the vehicle, and of course, there's some street lights around us from the commercial buildings, etc.

But as you look up, you see darkness until you get to the very top of that neighborhood up there, and you can see a lot of light.

Listen to me.

There's no, if they turned all the lights off, if yes, I wouldn't see it.

But even one light up there, I would look up and see it, it cannot be hidden.

That's what Jesus is talking about.

He is gives you and I another illustration and says, You can't hide it.

And then he follows up in verse 15.

Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket.

But on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

It wouldn't make any sense to turn a lamp on and cover it up, would it?

No?

I wouldn't think so.

I turned the lamp on and now I make it where it can't be.

No.

No, no, no one lights up a lamp and then covers it up.

That the reason it would be contradiction as to why you would cut the light on to begin with.

Okay, think about this.

God didn't save you for you to hide your faith.

God saved you so that you can shine for him.

And he's not finished with you.

If he was, then he'd have taken you to heaven the second you got saved.

He saves you to shine in your faith.

I think about like this.

Uh you know, through my life, volunteered to help coach one of the boys' football teams or baseball teams.

I can always tell like this.

Sometimes you'll be at a practice or a season, and one thing that I've always noticed is that sometimes there's usually at least one player that is influential to the whole team.

Maybe that one player I can get and push a little bit harder.

And I know that if I push him a little bit harder, the rest of the team will follow suit.

Sometimes I push him to practice harder or to encourage others or to refuse to quit or to just play and do it all right.

And before long, I have seen that individual influence the rest of the team to try harder, practice harder, never quit, never stop, have a positive attitude, even when all things are not working out for them.

Listen to me, don't ever overthink the ability of influence that you have.

I have seen one kid, a kid, eight, ten years old, influence an entire team to be better and influence them in a positive way that would benefit the whole team.

It wasn't the loudest kid, it was the person that naturally had leadership abilities within them.

That's exactly how light works.

I don't have to be the brightest or the loudest.

I just have to not cover up my light.

Some of us are nervous and we're shy.

And yes, we are a light.

We know that according to verse number 14, but maybe I've hidden it.

Maybe I've covered it up.

Jesus isn't asking every Christian to be a famous person and tell the world, no, he's asking you to just let your light faithfully shine in the realm of influence that he has for you.

Never underestimate what God can do through one faithful light.

One more thing about light, and then I'll dig in a little bit deeper to the last verse.

Darkness is never the final word.

Darkness is never the final word.

Here's something I love about light.

I don't have to argue with darkness when I turn my light on.

What I mean by that is when I get home and all the lights are off, I don't have to yell and say, get out of here, darkness.

No, I just gotta go turn the light switch on.

When I come in here, there's sometimes during the week I'll come in here, and it's pretty dark in this room, and sometimes I don't turn the lights on, I'll pray.

I'll pray for the coming week.

I might pray for y'all.

And sometimes I gotta look around and see some things, and I don't yell, lights! No, I don't say darkness, leave.

No, I'll walk over there and turn the light switch on.

That's what's interesting about the way lights work.

I don't have to yell for darkness to leave.

I just turn the light on and immediately the darkness goes away.

There's no delay, it's immediate, it goes away.

Our world, listen to me, doesn't need any more angry Christians.

No, what we need, this world needs, is people who truly love the Lord, who truly live for the Lord, who truly give grace, compassion, integrity, and hope.

That's how we as followers of Christ push darkness away by shed by shedding light in the darkest place.

This week, instead of maybe talking about how bad the world is, how about this week?

You might ask yourself, how can I bring the light of Christ into one person's life?

That might change everything.

You can ask yourself, how can I bring light into one person's life?

Listen, the worse our culture becomes, the brighter the gospel actually shines, to be honest with you.

God has not placed you here by accident.

He's done it strategically for a reason to reflect the light of Christ.

Jesus didn't call us to fit in, remember?

He called us to influence.

Let me give you this last thought and then I'll move into verse 16.

You don't have to be a famous, you don't have to be famous to shine.

You simply have to be faithfully to reflect Jesus where he has placed you.

You don't want to be famous?

No, everybody, it seems like everybody wants to be famous.

My eight-year-old said, Dad, I want a YouTube channel.

I'm like, nah.

We ain't no telling what you'd put out there, you know?

He's get this video, there's he'll he'll take the phone and video, and I don't even know where these video is.

He's like, Dad, this is good right here.

I'm gonna put it on YouTube.

I'm like, dude, nobody's gonna watch that.

All right?

But but like, in their mind, they think that they will, right?

So we want to be famous and uh and be uh to go viral.

You don't have to be famous to shine for Christ.

You just simply have to be faithful to reflect Jesus everywhere that you go.

Let's look at the last thought, verse 16.

Verse 16 lets you and I know that you and I should live so that others see Jesus.

So verse 13, you are salt.

Verse 14, you are light.

Verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

This verse 16 concludes everything that Jesus has been teaching.

He says, Man, I want you to be Saul, I want you to be light, I want you to live differently for him.

And it all comes down to one purpose.

He actually gives the reason, the purpose behind everything that he said up to this point, so that people would see God, not you, not me, see him.

If I want to make it so that I'm seen more, then I've missed the point.

My job is to reflect them back to him.

And he says that in verse 16 let your light so shine before man that they see your good works and then they glorify your Father.

Jesus doesn't say let people hear your opinions.

He doesn't say, let people admire your accomplishments.

He says, Let people uh see Christ in you.

That's what he's telling us.

That's where it all comes.

And our lives should be windows, not mirrors.

Listen to me.

You think about that for just a second.

Our lives as followers of Christ, we're salt, we're light, I'm there to reflect.

I want to be a window and not a mirror.

What does a mirror do?

A mirror reflects back to what's there.

A mirror reflects attention back to itself.

So when I looked in the mirror this morning, I saw what I saw, I fixed what I wanted to fix, and it brought attention to me.

But a window allows somebody to see in.

Now I know sometimes we close the blinds at the house.

We don't want somebody to see in when we're gone.

I don't want them to see that I didn't make the bed, or I didn't pick my shoes up, or I didn't do this, or I didn't do that.

But I'm telling you, how about if we're a window?

And when somebody looks in my life, they see Christ in all that I do.

In the integrity of life that nobody sees, or even in the day-to-day operations that I live by day in and day out.

A window allows somebody to see beyond the surface.

Followers of Christ should be windows, not just mirrors.

If I want everybody to see me, that it's I've missed the point.

He says in verse 16, I should make it all about him.

People should see Jesus in the way I live, according to verse 16, that they may see your good works.

Good works don't save.

You know what they do?

They reveal what God's done on the inside.

I can do good works all day long, but if I'm not saved, I've missed the point.

Jesus says the character of Christ should be visible for others.

People should see my kindness, my integrity, my compassion, my generosity, my forgiveness, and my humility.

That's what people should see.

And I don't want them to think, oh, Derek's just a good old guy.

No, I want them to say, man, Christ is in him, it's making the difference, and that is popping on the outside.

That's what our goal should be.

That's what the gospel becomes believable when I live it out.

I love what James said in James, write this down, study it later, verse 2, or excuse me, James chapter 2, verse 18.

James 2:18

It says, Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Essentially, he is saying, Man, I can live my life on the outside.

What you see is what ultimately comes from within here.

And that's what he's speaking about.

Our life often preach, preaches long before our mouths ever say a word.

By the way, we carry ourselves, hold ourselves, and live day by day.

What's the goal?

The goal is God's glory, not our own.

This world we live in makes it all about us.

What I've done, what I've accomplished.

But that's not what Christ says.

Verse 16, he says, to glorify your Father in heaven.

That's the goal.

Everything points back to Christ.

Jesus isn't calling you and I to build a better reputation.

He's calling you and I to build the kingdom of him, not us.

I mean, John the Baptist understood this really clearly.

If you look in the book of John, chapter 3, what did John the Baptist say?

John 3 · chapter mention

He says, He must increase, but I must decrease.

Meaning he knew right then it was not about him.

It was all about him.

And that's how you and I should live our life each and every day.

What a blessing to read that.

I think the greatest compliment anybody could ever give me is not that man, you're an amazing person, no.

It's because of your life, I wanted to know more about Christ.

And that'd be awesome if somebody said that.

Because that lets me realize that's influence.

That's influence.

Tomorrow morning, you're gonna wake up.

God is sending missionaries all over Pauldon County tomorrow morning.

Wherever you go, he's sending you.

Some of you in the house are teachers, some are students, some are business owners, some are construction workers, some are nurses, right?

Some are at home raising children, some are retired.

Wherever you go tomorrow morning, you're being sent by Christ to be salt and to be light, to influence the people he's placed around you.

Don't ever underestimate your ability to influence who God has placed you around.

The greatest influence you'll ever have won't come from a stage or a platform or even a microphone.

It'll come to whoever God's placed right around you.

Let me give you this, and I want to uh put this on the screen, and then I want to ask you a question before I close in prayer.

The greatest compliment your life can receive is that it points somebody to Christ.

And that's something that I uh aspire to have, and I hope that you do as well.

And as I close in just a second, let me go back to where we began.

Who's made a difference in your life?

I know earlier I asked that, and maybe you thought about it a couple times.

Most of you probably thought then and realized it.

It probably wasn't somebody that was famous, that had a huge platform.

It was somebody that faithfully lived for Jesus.

And right where God's placed them, they influenced your life.

Whether it was a teacher, a coach, a coworker, a neighbor, uh, uh, uh, the your pastor, your friend, your youth pastor growing up, they maybe never realized they had the sphere of influence they had on you, but God used them to shape your life in a mighty way.

Who is God asking you to influence?

Who is God asking you to influence?

Because this week somebody's watching.

This week your children are watching, your co-workers, your teammates, your neighbors, they're watching.

Those people that are watching you may never open their Bible to read it.

But by you living your life through his character and by his character, that may be the only Bible they see that sparks within them the want what you have.

Followers of Jesus don't blend into this world, they influence it.

Would you pray with me?

God, I come.