Making a Lasting Impact

In touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, next on In Touch, making a lasting impact. Who has had the greatest impact on your life? By impact, I mean the strongest influence, the most powerful effect upon your life. Was it somebody close to you? Who was the person? Who is the person who's having the greatest impact upon your life? And I want to ask you, would you like to have the same kind of impact on someone else's life? And has that impact been the kind that has made you a better person? Or would you say that the impact they've had has hindered you in your life? And what is it about your life that has impacted you? That is, what about your life has changed as a result of that person's influence in your life? Is it your sense of direction in life? Is it the way you look? Is it the way you dress? Is it your whole perspective on life? Is it your belief system? And I want to ask you this question. How did they impact you? Was it a personal relationship? Was it something you read that they wrote? Was it something you heard that they said? What is it about that person? How did they impact?

Now, how are they impacting your life today? Well, what I want to talk about in this message is making a lasting impact. Because that is God's purpose for every single one of us. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter five and the Sermon on the Mount. And the title of this message is making a lasting impact. That is, how do we influence strongly someone else? And this is the first part of two messages. And the second one is gonna be the circle of our impact. But today, how to make this whole idea of making a lasting impact. And Jesus said all of this in just a very few verses in this fifth chapter of Matthew. And so he begins in verse 13. Listen, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket. But on the lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. It's clear from this passage, something that Jesus said and then Paul picks up on

in the first Timothy, the second chapter. Listen to what he says. He says, this is good and acceptable in the sight of our Lord who desires all men and women to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And so he designed that all people become saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. How is he gonna bring that to pass? Well, how he brings that to pass is what this scripture is all about. And that is God's people making an impact upon the world in which you and I live. And this is what he's saying when he says you're the soul to the earth and you are the light of the world. This is his message for doing so. So let's think about this whole issue and let's start with something right up front. First of all, get rid of the idea that you can't make an impact on anybody else. Get rid of the idea that you're not this and you're not that and you're not the other. And remember, here's what Jesus said. He didn't say I suggested, he didn't say you ought to, you must you should, he said you are the salt of the earth. You are, not you ought to be, not you should become, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. So oftentimes when we begin a message like this, somebody says, well, but you know, but me.

Let me say something about you. You're a unique person created by God for his purposes and here's what he said, you are the salt of the earth. Which simply says, it is the will of God that every single one of his children live in such a fashion that you and I impact other people for good, that is have a spiritual impact upon their life. That is not, that's not an option on our part. It is a command, it is the expectation of our Lord and it is a responsibility. That in some fashion in some way, we're to have an impact that is a strong influence in somebody else's life for good. And when I think about that, I think about the fact that that's a mission that every single one of us has. And if you'll think about whether it starts, of course, it starts with those closest to us and then it goes as far as our Lord will allow us to influence our impact on other people's lives. So I wanna ask you again, who has impacted your life but on this earth, somebody that you know, heard, whatever it might be, who has impacted your life in the strongest fashion? It may be one of more people who've impacted or influenced your life strongly. But who is that person? Who are those persons? How have they impacted you? And what are you doing in your life? And how are you impacting or influencing other people?

And you see, part of our problem is that so often, we're so self-centered and so centered about what we want to do, what we want to accomplish and me, myself, and I, we forget that we have a mission from God to impact the people around us in some fashion that is good. And we say it is a spiritual impact because that's what he's referring to primarily here. So let's think about it. The power of our impact is going to be determined by the character of our life. You can mark it down. The power of our influence and the power of our impact is going to be determined by the character of our life. And I think the reason that Jesus used the terms he used is because he wants to make that point more strongly. He used two very distinct words in order to illustrate this mission that you and I have. Two words that are just sort of normal for us. Salt, which is a very commonplace thing, and light, which we take for granted. And so using these two words, and he uses salt, for example, because it is something different from what you put it on. In other words, salt is going to make a difference. And the power lies in what that salt is composed of. And so when we think about this, God has called all of us to be different. And you recall he says in second, like when he was the sixth chapter in the 17th verse, he says, "Come out from among them

"and be separate, saith the Lord." That is, God expects his children to live a different kind of life than the world lives. He says, "We are to live a pure life." And you remember what he says in Romans, chapter 12, he says, "Stop being conformed to the likeness of the world "and be transformed." That is, we are to be different. And because we're different, we will attract, we will attract, you say, "Well, I know some folks "who don't particularly not attract the Christians, "but you know what, in a way they are. "Whether they come to Christ or not, "there's something about the believer who is different." And so he uses the term salt to say, "This is your mission, you to be like salt." So let's think of a few moments. How do we relate to this idea of being salt and light? Well, let's think about some things that you, of course, will be very much aware of. And the whole issue, for example, salt flavors things. And so, I don't know about you, but you try eating eggs without salt and a few other things without salt, for example, and the flavor is not there. So what happens is we put salt on something that is sort of flavorless and sort of neutral in order to give it some taste, so it's much more enjoyable that way. A believer is to be salt.

That is, we are to flavor the lives of people around us in such a way, listen, with the Lord Jesus Christ in us, we have to flavor them in such a way that they too will begin to enjoy our life in a way that they've never enjoyed it because they will know the Lord Jesus Christ is their personal savior. If we are like them, they're not gonna be attracted. If we're like them, we're not gonna change them. Salt doesn't change salt. Salt flavors that which is insipid, that which is sort of empty and void of any real taste. And so, what we wanna do is we want to have the kind of godly impact that we genuinely flavor the life of someone else. That is, they begin to be different as a result of you knowing them, relating to them, or whatever it might be. So, what you have to ask is this. Whose life are you impacting? Are you just sort of walking on people and never thinking about the fact of what kind of influence or testimony you're having? Now, I wanna look at one thing right here because when you look at this, you think, well, no, what in the world does this mean? Listen what Jesus said, you're the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be what? Thrown out and trample on the men.

Now, here is the warning. Now watch this, he says, you are the salt of the earth to make an impact, whether you're a student, or whether you're a mother, a father, a businessman, whatever, he says you are the salt of the earth. And then he gives us this warning. But if you lose your saltiness, he says salt that loses its taste is good for nothing, but to be cast out. Now, how could salt lose its taste? That's what it means. In those days, they gather salt by, of course, evaporating the water, evaporating the sea water, and they gather salt. So they scraped it up and it had all kind of impurities in it. Sometimes it was dirt. it lost its twang, its power to salt. Impurities cause it to lose its power. What he's saying to us here's this, when you and I allow sin in our life, those things in our life that make our life impure, that listen, lessen the strength of our witness, cause our impact to be absolutely useless. Here's what he says, when they gathered salt and it was so full of impurities, they threw it out in the path where people walk and they trampled on it because that was all it was good for. And what he's saying to us is this, we have to be careful about the way we live our lives, our testimony, we have to be careful about

how we live before the people, because if our impact is gonna be strong, then listen, it must be the way we live and not just what we say. And so he gives us a warning and that warning is, watch out, listen, watch out for the impurities that can slip into your life, whether it's dishonesty or whatever it might be. And the pressure of the world, because you see, if we allow the pressures of the world to penetrate our life, what happens is that little by little, we begin to do what? We begin to act the way they act, then the world is not interested in what we have to say or what we have to do for the simple reason, we're too much like them. And see, you think about this, what happens to the whole body of Christ? What happens to a nation, to a family? What happens to a whole nation when the church loses its power to impact? Listen, when the members of the fellowship or the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in a nation become so much like the world that you can't tell the difference between the church, the body of Christ, the salt, and the things that are impure, whether you can't tell the difference between the sand and the salt, there's no influence and no impact. So what you have to ask is this, Lord, is there anything in my conversation, anything in my action,

any aspect of my life, that before those whom I walk and with whom I fellowship or work, do they see and are they hearing anything within me that would cause the saltiness of my life to be so weak that it's making no difference and no good impact whatsoever? That's what he's talking about. When he says, he says, trample, listen, trample under the foot of men, and that means it is absolutely of no value. So I'd ask you again, who are you impacting and who are you influencing? Who's life, who is watching you, listening to you and whose life is being impacted, changed for the good as a result of the way you live and how you live it? Then you'll notice he said something else. He said, you're the salt of the earth and then Jesus said something else. He said, not only are you the salt of the earth, he says, you're the light of the world. Now, remember what he said in 1 John? He said, God is light. Then Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Then Jesus said, you're the light of the world. So is that a contradiction? No, I'm gonna show you what he says in a few moments, another verse of scripture, but what I want you to say is this,

think about the awesome compliment that he is to us, that God says, I am light. He says about Jesus, my son is light. And then he says about all of us who trusted Jesus as our savior, sinners saved by the grace of God and the process of being sanctified day by day. What does he say? You are the light of the world. Think about that. You are the light of the world. He cannot have given us a greater compliment than to say that. So notice what he says here now. Look at it again. He says in verse 14, you're the light of the world. A city set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket that is to hide it, but on the lampstand, and he gives light to all who are in the house. Then he says, you're the light of the world. Then he says, let your light shine before men and women and young people in such a way how, that they may see you good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. That is, our light is not to shine in order that people see us and glorify us and magnify us, but what? But rather that they would see Christ living within us, see the works in our life, our actions and our deeds.

And as a result, see the living Christ living He doesn't draw people to us, He draws them to Himself. He may use us to some degree, but He draws them to Himself. Now, let's think about light like we thought about salt. How do we impact people? Well, think about this. First of all, certainly, light is clear and pure. That is, when you look at light, it just shines. And so, we are to be that kind of a believer, a light that's pure and clear. That is, when somebody sees you, and you see this, and you hear people say, "When you see Him, that's what you get." That is, when you see her, you get what you see. That is, that's the way it should be in all of our lives, that whoever knows us, where they know us in private, in secret, they can say, "I know Him. I know Her." Because what you see is what you get. I see Him here, and I've seen Him there, and I've seen Him over here, doesn't make it as always the same. Because you see, light doesn't change. That is, light is clear and pure. And they should see in us a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ. When your light is shining as bright as God wants it to shine, they're going to feel closer to God when they're with you. Now, you and I have to determine how bright this light's going to shine. What do you think about this? The average person gets up and goes to work and does their thing. They try to steal and seek all the, all the pleasure out of life that they can. When do they stand and sing to the top of their voice? When did they ever praise God? When did they ever release on the inside of their spirit? You know what? They live under the burden of making and living and trying to, trying to find some happiness and peace and joy and accumulate and prestige and prominence and all the rest. And you know what? You're not going to let all that stuff go, and we can praise the Lord in sing, rejoice to Him. You know what happens? The lost person in the midst of this kind of light is going to be impacted. That's why they come and that's why they get saved. They're impacted by your life, your smile, your countenance, your joy, your friendliness, your handshake, whatever it might be, the Word of God, the music, all of this impacts them. Our light needs to shine very, very brightly. Now, again, of course, I think we have to have a little warning at this point because when I think about that, I think about the fact, what is it that causes that light not to shine is bright? Same thing. With salt, impurities, make it useless. When you darken, what is it that darkens the light, sin? I'll tell you what it's like. It's like having a lantern and you cut it on

too much and it just fills the globe with so solid black. How much light comes out of a lantern when the whole globe is black, not much? How much light comes out of the lantern when you cut the wick down very, very small so it's just glowing, not much. God wants, listen, He wants a high wick and He wants a clean, listen, He wants clean glass around us. He wants our light to shine bright. You're the light of the world. You're to make a difference. That is, He's left is here to make a difference. Why would He leave us here otherwise? Why didn't He just save us in the morning and then take us home to heaven that night? It's all over. It's finished. Why? He says, I'm the light of the world as long as I'm in the world. I'm not in the world. You're the light of the world. Ask yourself this question. If you're the only Christian somebody new, would they ever want to know Jesus Christ is our Savior? Buy your actions, buy your words, buy your countenance, buy what you don't say what you do say, by the way you carry yourself, by the way you look at them. If you were the only Christian they knew what they want, who you know as your Savior. You see, watch this. We're not talking about anything that's optional. We're talking about what He said. Nothing's you're going to be. You already are. You are salt. You are light. It can be a very dim light or it can be very impure salt, but we're all salt and light. Either that's true or Jesus lied. He said, you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. So if I recognize that, I have to recognize the fact that I have responsibility and it's not anything that I can step out of and say, well, I'm going to get saved and I'm going to join the church and be baptized. That's it. No, it's not. What you've said is my life's full of impurities. All this little light of mine, we sing that song, "This little light of mine, "I'm gonna let it shine." It ought to be this big beam of mine. I want to beam out across the world so that nobody can miss who we represent. And I think about the world stumbling in darkness and groping, looking and searching for truth, hungering and thirsting and yearning. And you think about all the other religions in the world,

they don't have what we have. They don't have anything close to what we have. And you know what? This is why it's so important that God's people live godly lives. What gets their attention is the difference. Listen, what's the difference in something that is salted and something that has no flavor? What's the difference in darkness and light? He could not have used two words to more graphically describe the kind of influence and impact you're not to have on people's lives. And what we have to ask is, is that true of us now? Whose life are you influencing strongly? Whose lives are you impacting? Well, every father and mother would have to say, "Well, I'm sure my children." Is it the best light that you can shine? Is it the purest salt that you can give them? Well, I think about the two people who most impacted my life down the years, my mother and my grandfather. Brilliant lights, very salty. And sometime I thought my mother was real salty. But you know what? She was teaching me the truth, telling me the truth. Thank God for two people whose light and whose salt was so powerful in my life. Absolutely affected everything I believe

and everything I see in the Christian life. Believe God's Word, never doubt it. What kind of influence and impact are you having upon the people who are the closest to you? Then the people that you work with, and the people who you're friends. What I'm asking is, how bright is your light? And how salty is your salt? You see, the one thing you can't say is, "Well, I don't have an influence on anybody." Well, let me just say this, if that's your attitude, you have a very, very negative, poor, bad influence. Because what you're saying is, I'm not anybody. I'm not important. God hadn't blessed me. It's not worth it. Or you can say, "I'm a child of God. I've been so blessed. God's strengthened me, blessed me, kept me, protecting me. This is what God does in my life, and I'm so happy to share this with you." You see, what you have to ask is this. The first question, who has impacted your life the most? And was that impact good? Or was it not so good? Because all of us to some degree of the product, of the influence of other people in our lives, it may not be just somebody who's close to you. It can be other people who are distant.

Maybe some professor or some teacher or whoever it might be. I think about the two men who most impacted me preaching wise. God lay men whom I watched and listened. And what I heard was this, not how they prepared this sermon. I watched one man's passion. And I thought, "God, this man is excited about you." I watched another man's passion for God, for the word of God, to get the truth to people. I don't know that they ever realized how much they impacted my life, but they did. The man who impacted my life, as far as the way I would go about living my life, my grandfather, he never knew what an awesome impact he had on my life. And you know what? You don't know whose life you're impacting. What I want you to ask yourself this morning is this. God, by the life that I'm living, am I pure salt? Am I really making a difference? Isn't it amazing how much Jesus could say in two verses and it takes me 50 minutes to explain it? I just want you to be sure you get it. Did you get it? Amen. The Bible says, "You're what?" Oh. And what? Light. Amen. Father, we bless you and praise you this morning and pray the Holy Spirit. Let's sync this so deep. We cannot escape it. Then we'll walk out of this place knowing that we'll salt and light today. And we want to be pure salt and pure light.

We want to flavor everything it touches us and that we touch. And we want to shine as bright and as far and as wide as you'll give us the privilege in Jesus' name. Amen. [Music]