Making A Difference

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here, and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways. [00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. Well, welcome to church, everybody. I am glad that you're here. If no one else has told you, I'm glad you got up this morning. I'm glad you're still here. And I think God has something special to speak to you through His Word. So grab your Bibles, if you would. Open it up to the book of Matthew, Matthew, chapter five. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, don't worry about it. We're gonna have it on the screen for you, but hopefully we can get you a copy of God's Word. And you don't have to just take my word for it, but you can read it for yourself. So, Matthew chapter five. If you'll notice, as soon as you walk into our lobby, there are four big signs up on the wall, and they say, no, God, find freedom and discover purpose and make a difference. And more than just kind of fancy artwork, they. They mean something. They're. They're mandates that God has given his church, given his people that. That he wants us to follow and understand, to. To know more about him, to. To find freedom from our yesterdays and from our traumas, from the things that keep us from ever walking in, the freedom that God so graciously provides and discovering our purpose, who God has made us to be, and making a difference with the time that we have left. Those are wonderful, beautiful, powerful things. And we hung them on our wall because we liked them so much. And it's because we understand that what you put on your walls shows people what you value. They show you what you're all about. And your house might look different from mine. My house is full of dead animal heads. Because my wife loves me and she knows that I love to hunt. She said I could put anything up on the wall except for a pig. I'm not allowed to put any pig's heads up on the wall. And I'm like, that's a fair compromise. So we've got a couple of nice, big bucks up there. I have an alligator on my. Yes, I do. And yes, and I also have a buffalo head because I'm a fan of meat and I value great meat. Come on, somebody. The way that God intended. Subtle jab at vegans. I'M just kidding. But there's a great church for you. I'm just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding. We value that. Now I do remember also growing up in 80s and 90s and houses looked a lot differently than they do today. I remember there was a time where it seemed like every house had a VCR tape wall. You remember that? Like a whole library of all the walls just full of VCR tapes. And then, you know, you keep the ones at eye level that you want your Christian friends to see. And then you know the ones that you like, you know Rocky and Rambo and Karate Kid, the satanic movies were hidden, you know that kind of. No, there was a vcr. Some of you are like a VCR tape. You lost me. I could say DVDs, but I would still have lost you. You're like, no, I don't understand. Before there was streaming, let me just tell you, this was the closest that you could get. And so there was a, there was a time where it was VCR walls. And then for some reason we fell in love with silk flowers and fake fruit. What was that all about? We value silk, fake stuff. We want you to know that our fruit is always ripe, but you can't eat it. I don't understand what that's about. But there was a time where it was all about fake fruit and wicker baskets. And we've moved on, praise God. But on our walls it says, know God, find freedom, discover purpose, make a difference. It shows kind of what we, what we value. It shows us the things that we feel like are, are important for you to know you, you should know God. You should have a direct and a personal relationship with him. Where you know God, where he knows you, where you're, you're speaking to Him. You understand that he wants to get to know you. Jesus said many of you will say in the, in the last days, Lord, look at all the things that we did. And he'll say, depart from me. I, I don't know you. You didn't know me. You didn't have a relationship with me. And so there's something different about doing something underneath the name of Christianity and actually knowing God. It's important that you know God before you ever do something for him. He wants you to know him. He wants you to find freedom. He wants you to discover your God given purpose. And you have a purpose. God put you here on purpose so that ultimately you can make a difference, that your influence would have direct impact. Let's talk about what it means to make a difference. What does that. What does that mean? What does it look like? You know, today we have something that has kind of. It's been unique to this generation, and it's the influencers. Everybody on social media wants to be an influencer. We want to build our brand, build our following. We want to have massive influence so that hopefully we can get people to give us money to be able to do the things that we want by supporting the products that we have. There's a influencer call that we see that has risen to the top of kind of our society. These are. These are influencers, and they've become celebrities, just normal people with a phone that can become influencers. And I think in. In our. In our minds, when we talk about making a difference with our lives, we kind of confuse influence and influence impact. And we've kind of brought that into the church where we. We. We want to. To have great influence, and we've forgotten that that's not really impact. You see, influence is about how many people see you. Impact is about what happens because you were there. Did I make a difference in the time that God has given me? Have I. Have I made a difference with the. With the resources that he's given me? Have I used my life to actually make any difference at all? Or. Or have I just taken up space? You know, they don't make Netflix documentaries about people that spent 82 years taking their fair share of oxygen. Who wants to see that? Nobody. Some of you are like, I'd stay up and watch that. I would binge watch that. He breathed again. This is getting good. No? What is the point of our existence? What is the point of this great gift of life that God has given each of us? How do we use the time and the resources, the very breath given by your creator, to do something with our lives? More than just trying to be an influencer, more than just trying to make more money or have more toys than our neighbor, More than just building a kingdom for ourselves. What does it mean to live a life that makes a difference? Is it that important to God? And so Jesus kind of answers that question in Matthew, chapter five, and the. In the greatest sermon ever preached in the history of the world, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks directly to people. And he tells them, God made you for a reason. And then he tells them what that reason is. He begins to help them uncover years of bad misinformation, things that have been pushed onto them and what they're supposed to do. And he says, this is who you are. So you might have read This a thousand times. Let's read it 1001 and recognize some important principles that Jesus lays out for his people. What I'd like to do today is I think maybe something makes it a little bit more special. It'll help it to hit home. I want us to actually read this out loud together. Some of you are like, I haven't done that since the sixth grade. I didn't like it then. You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Matthew 5. Pick it up in verse 13. Read this with me, if you wouldn't mind. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So Jesus very quickly and very clearly says, this is who you are. You are salt and you are light. So you were not just called to be salty. This is who I am, who God made me to be. This defines me. I'm supposed to be salty. No, no, no. You are salt and you are light. And as Jesus is explaining this so clearly to his, to the people that were listening, he gives them some points that I think help illustrate it in our minds, help it change direction in our minds for what it means to make a difference. Here's the first thing I think that you should see. Number one, you were made to make a difference. You were designed, you were created. You have a purpose. Your life has meaning. It is not aimless, it is not pointless. No, no, no. You have a purpose. And you were designed. You were created, you were born. You were made to make a difference. God put you on the timeline that you're in. God surrounded you with people. God surrounded you with resources. He said, this one is to be used for this purpose. Now, unfortunately, many people will never walk into what that is because they don't want a relationship with Jesus. They say, I am my own creator. I. I am my own God. I will do what I want. It's my world. And they miss out on their God given purpose. They live a life that ultimately makes no difference. But God put us here. And he says, I want you to choose me. I want you to Have a relationship with me so I can show you why I gave you life, why you were born. We spoke a little bit last week about the two greatest days in a person's life. The day you're born and the day you figure out why. Why God put me here. So when Jesus is speaking about what it means to make a difference, notice this. He says you are. Long before he tells them, this is what I want you to do. So, yes, you were made to make a difference. But Jesus says, before you have to, before you walk into what you're supposed to be doing with your life, you need to know something important. You need to know who you are. He says, you are. And by the way, he calls them that directly after he has told them, I am the light of the world. What does that mean for us? Jesus is saying, you don't produce your own light. You don't generate your own light. You're a reflection of me. I'm the light of the world. And because I am, you are. This is why religion doesn't work. This is why the American version of Christianity doesn't work. This is why religion becomes dead. Works because we've got it in our minds. I'm important to God based on what I do. My anointing, my gifts, my calling, my talent, all the things that people elevate, it says, no, you're making a massive difference. If you don't understand who you are in Christ, you're missing the point. Jesus says, you are because I am. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. You are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. That means you're to have more than just people watch you. They're to look at you for the glory of God. You're to be a reflection of me so that people can see what it means to have real purpose, real direction, real meaning with their lives. You are the light of the world, the salt of the earth. And then Jesus says, but if the salt loses its saltiness, it's kind of good for nothing. Now, that's interesting to us because we. We only think of salt in the terms of table salt and what to avoid. And I need to cut out salt because I got hypertension and I got this, and I can't have too much salt. And we never think of salt losing its saltiness because our table salt doesn't do that. Our table salt is different than the salt that Jesus is talking about. If you understand what the Dead Sea is in the Middle East, Jesus is speaking about a different Kind of salt. The salt and the deposits that were collected was more than just to season food, necessarily had a lot of different properties. And so Jesus is speaking about something different than our Morton's table salt. You know, the salt that they pulled out of the Dead Sea could very easily become contaminated. It had all kinds of different chemicals and things. And if he didn't take care of it, if it wasn't purified, then it could very easily become salt looking but not salty. It looks right on the outside, feels right, but it's lost its purpose, it's lost its meaning. He said, then it becomes good for nothing, thrown out, trampled underfoot. So this is an important picture that Jesus is painting with salt. And as a matter of fact, let's go a little step farther. When Jesus says if it loses its saltiness in the Greek language, that it gets translated to us from English. That word losing its saltiness is the Greek word merante, which is where we get our word. Wow. So Jesus just straight went there. He says, you're the salt of the earth, but you get dumb, you make bad decisions when you don't know who you are, when you recognize that we are because he is and who we are in Christ, we become the salt that doesn't lose its saltiness, that's good for something that aren't living lives that are the life of a moron, good for nothing, waste of space. In our relationship with Jesus, we have purpose, we have meaning, we have direction. There's a reason why we're here. We can make a difference. We don't lose our saltiness because of our relationship with Him. Jesus warns us that we have a tendency to become foolish and ineffective, which is where we find the state of the American church very foolish, very ineffective. Let's call it what it is. For many people that call themselves believers, they don't truly know God. They know about God, they know some facts, they've never really found freedom. They just learn how to mask it better, how to say the words that everybody wants to hear. They've never really discovered their God given purpose. They've just said to somebody else, you tell me what I'm supposed to do and then I'll just do it. And then they end up serving somebody else's vision without ever knowing the vision that God has given for them. You were designed, purposed to make a difference, to influence the world around you. And you're never going to accomplish that by the way on your own. You see, salt and light never fulfill their purpose in isolation. Salt is pretty Tiny by itself. And light, if there's nobody there to see it, it doesn't illuminate anything. Their purpose is found by being a benefit for those that are using them. Salt doesn't do you a whole lot of good just sitting in the salt shaker. You gotta put it on something, right? It has to touch something. It has to influence something. You put on a good steak. Mmm. This takes it to the next level. A lamp has to be lit. It has to be elevated. So it brings light. It says to everyone in the house. So it doesn't fulfill its purpose in isolation. And God didn't save us so that we could hide, so we could just wait for the Rapture or wait for heaven. That's not the reason God saved you. God saved you. He set you free. He brought you out of the world so that he could redeem you. He could sanctify you and send you back in representing Him. We're not called out of darkness and called to be the light of the world, to never have to walk back into that darkness and say, I've been changed. Let me tell you what God did for me. We know this, that the goal of my life, the goal is for people to see God, not us. That's the point of my life. If it's only for me to bring myself glory, that's not making a difference. That's me making a career, a following, a name for myself. And lots of people do that. If it's not for his glory, it's a wasted life. Each of us, we were made to make a difference. Here's the second thing that I think is so important for us to see is that making a difference means responding to needs. If we're going to just define it down, what does it mean to make a difference? You responded to needs. Part of what God purposed you to do was not just to see it, not just to feel it, but to step in, to get your hands dirty, to humble yourself, to be willing to grab a towel, to grab a mop and say, this is not above me. I'm willing to serve. That's true Christianity, by the way. Not, come look at me, let's look at him through how we serve with the right heart, the right attitude. Jesus gives a fantastic story. Later on in the Gospels, he gives a story that we know now as the story of the Good Samaritan. You might have heard it a few times, but Jesus tells a story about a certain stretch of road that everyone knew was a very dangerous road. It's a road where it you only traveled during the day. You wouldn't travel by yourself. Cause that's inviting danger. It would be difficult if you were a female or if you were alone or you had to travel at night. The chances of you getting robbed are pretty great. It's known for its ambushes. So this is a very dangerous road that Jesus is speaking of. And he says there was a man that was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. And then Jesus says these people begin to walk past him and they cross to the other side of the street. And as I'm reading this story, it's obvious to me that Jesus is speaking right to people's excuses. First of all, we know it's a dangerous road, which means this could be another ambush. If I step in and try to help this guy, they could get me like, this is not safe. I don't need to do this. I have a ton of excuses to say, this is not my circus, not my monkeys. Right, Mind your business. We also know that Jesus specifically says there were some priests that walked by, they went to the other side of the road, and priests are not allowed to touch dead things. We know that they'd have to go through this massive process to ever be able to do their priestly duties. If they, if they were around anything that was, that was dead, do they have an excuse? Of course. But then Jesus makes an incredible left hand turn in the story. And he says the one that stopped and didn't just see the need, didn't just feel the need, but actually stopped and began to help someone was a Samaritan. And when Jesus would have said the word Samaritan, the crowd would have groaned because Jesus intentionally elevates someone from the other guys. Now I know that today none of you would say, there are people that I don't believe deserve to be in heaven. There are people that are absolutely cuckoo. Now I know that you don't have anybody like that. If Jesus was to make that person the hero of the story and said, you're supposed to be like them, you'd have been like, hey, I chick fil a opens in an hour. I can't be like, I'm hungry, I'll be back. Jesus, when you skip to the next part of the story, then I'll come back and listen. But let me just ask you, what about those that don't vote like you them? What about those that don't believe like you do? Like, oh, am I predispensation? Am I this, do I believe this theologically? Do I like, oh, no, that's them. They're heretics. Like, for Jesus to make that kind of person the hero of the story would have been a problem. But Jesus says, there's the difference between those that went to the other side of the road and walked around. The difference is they all saw it, but he stepped in. He had compassion. You see, biblical compassion is an emotion that responds with action. This is not just a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word. And this is where we find the great breakdown with many of us ever living a life that actually makes a difference. It's not that you don't see the need. It's not that you don't feel the need. It's not that you. It's not that you're ignoring it. It's just that biblical compassion says, I'll help choose. Choose me. I'll do it. That's the difference. We've turned American Christianity into a group of people that come and say, hey, you're here to serve me. But Jesus said, no, no, you're the light of the world. You're to use your influence to make an impact. The goal of the church is to mobilize you, to invest into you, so that you can become who God has called you to be out there. Notice, Jesus says, you're the light of the world. He didn't say, you're the light of the church. You're the light of the world. That means it's bigger than you. It's about more than you. It's about more than a feeling. It's something that actually responds. It doesn't just talk about it. Oh, did you see those poor kids? Like, wait a minute. If it's $10 a month, I can do that. So they no longer just see those poor kids. It's, I'm helping to support those kids. I'm doing something with it. That's a life that makes a difference. Not that you see it, not that you feel it, but you're actually willing to step in and do something about it. And so Jesus says, this Good Samaritan, he walks to this person that's on the side of the road that's beaten up and left for dead. And he says, he pours on some oil and some wine, and he binds up his wounds and he puts him on top of his donkey, and he leads him into town to a hotel. And he tells the innkeeper, he says, you know, would you take care of him? And I'm going to be back this way in a couple of Weeks. And if there's any extra cost, I'll pay it. Just make sure he's taken care of. Notice what he doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't say, what's the least I can do? But he leaves it open ended. If there's more, let me know. I'm in. And when Jesus tells this story, it's a big deal. And when this man uses the oil and the wine and the donkey and his finances, you know what those things aren't? They're not spiritual gifts, they're not talent. They're not calling the practical things that he has right here. Here's the question, not God, why did you not give me this gift or give me that gift? The gifts that you give me, I have right here in my hand. What do I have and can I use it to make a difference? That's a new way of thinking. You see, God never asks us to use what we don't have. I don't have that. God. God's not asking you for what you don't have. He's asking you for what you do. It's a difficult thing for many of us to ever surrender what we do have because we're afraid that God, God can't be trusted to replace it. You would never say that. But this is how we give. I'm afraid of letting the Lord use some of my money cause I'm afraid I won't have anymore. And you're telling God, essentially, I don't trust you. I'm a better steward of my finances than you are. And God's like, you're called to be salt and light. And I'm only asking you for what you have. Can I use it so that you can step into your purpose? You can find the life I've always meant for you to have. And by the way, from Genesis to Revelation, over and over and over and over and over again, multiple stories. God doesn't ask for people, doesn't ask people to give him what they don't have. He just says things like this to Moses. Moses, you're called to lead 2 million people out of slavery. Moses, like, I can't do that. I don't have those skills. Use my brother Aaron. He's got a lot of extra pto. He can take time. His, his wife will let him go. He's great. He can speak. He's, he's a good guy. I, I don't have those skills. And God says, what do you have in your hand? He's like, I got a stick. God Says, that's all I need. Throw it on the ground now. What if you'd have said in that moment, this is my stick. You own the world, Lord. You could have any stick that you want. But it's like a dog with a, this is my ball. You know, isn't it amazing how dogs want you to throw the ball, but they don't want to let go? I want you to throw it. But don't take this one. But that's honestly how we treat the Lord. I want you to do great things in my life. But no, no, no, no. Don't ask anything of me. This is mine. Moses just had a stick. David just had a sling and courage. And he changed the course of a nation with one swing. There was a widow that just had a little bit of oil for her and her son before she died. God says, give me what you do have. There's a boy that just had a sack lunch, and Jesus uses to feed 5,000 people. He's not asking for what you don't have. He's asking, what's in your hand and can I use it? And you become part of the story that's so much bigger than you. This is when your life begins to make a difference. And it's not consumed with just trying to make a point. You were made to make a difference. And making a difference means responding to a need. Not just seeing it, not just hearing it, not just feeling it, but actually responding. Ask yourself that question. When was the last time I did something about it? I didn't just complain about it. I didn't just cry about it. I didn't just have anxiety about it, but I actually did something about it. When was the last time I let God use what I have? Instead of complaining that he should use those people that are really rich, use those people that have a lot of extra time. They don't have the kids like I have. They don't have the schedule that I have. They ought to be doing more this Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, they ought to be taking care of this and take care of. No, no, no. What about you? God wants to use you with what you have to make a difference. God, can I really make that kind of an impact? Let me just remind you of this. This thing, and I'll close with this number three. Make a good difference. Start small, but never stay small. Not with. Not with the kingdom. It starts small. Sure, it looks insignificant at first, but it never stays that way. Because God can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine. One single act of obedience, one single act of kindness, one single step of faith, and God begins to multiply that exponentially with what he can do through your life. You would be shocked what God can do if you would trust him. You were made to know him. To find freedom, discover your purpose, and live a life that makes a difference. How crazy would it be for us to discover the purpose that God meant for us to have, discover what exactly he wants us to do, and then say, I don't really want to make a difference. And we step back. I feel it, I see it, I know it. It's right there. No thanks. God called you for more. You are more than just potential. You have a God given calling on your life, and it's not the same as the person sitting next to you. And it may seem small, it may seem insignificant, but when Jesus says, you're salt, remind yourself how tiny is a grain of salt. Seems pretty insignificant. But you put those pieces of salt together and then it begins to influence everything that it touches. It begins to preserve, it begins to bring flavor, bring exactly what it was designed to do. We're to do this together. We are a people. We are a family. We are not good in isolation. We're designed to be pulled together to accomplish our purposes. We can make a much bigger impact together than we ever could by ourselves. But one single act of obedience, one single step of faith, and then all of us are doing it together. And God begins to do things that aren't humanly possible. Salt is pretty tiny. A lamp is small. You know, when David says, lord, your word is a lamp unto my feet. It's a light to my path. The lamp that he's talking about is a hand lamp. It fits inside of your hand. It just gives you enough light to take the next step. Step. And that'll preach right there. Just enough light to take the next step. Said, you are the light of the world. I don't feel like the light of the world. Notice Jesus doesn't say, you're supposed to go to light up the whole world. What does he say to do? He says, you take a lamp and you put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. Can we just start there? God, what are you gonna do? Something great and huge with my life. When am I gonna make a major impact? When am I gonna make a major difference? When are you gonna elevate me? When are you gonna push me to these great things? And God says, turn on the light and start with Your house. Start with those that I've given you. I want to challenge and push every single father and husband in this place. Are you the lamp of your house? Are you, Are you the light of your house? Remind yourself, especially when your children are small, they don't have any other options. They can't tell you to shut up when you're telling Bible stories. Like, you're not going anywhere. This is my house. When you get them in the car, like, this is the things I learned, I learned to love to do. Like turn your car into a worship session. You have no idea what your children watching you worship at full volume in a car will do to them. Look at me. They're going to need it later. Oh, Dad's singing again. Mm. Until you get your driver's license, sit back and enjoy the concert of one. This is my time to shine, baby. I'm a lamp. I'm a light. I have influence if nobody else. I have a captive influence. I'll lock the doors. And we're talking about the things of God. Why? Because he changed my heart and I believe that he has called me to light at least my house. If you'll just start there. It starts small, it never stays small. It has a lasting impact that you would not imagine on your best days. If you've never trusted God to make an impact with your life, it's more than just building a kingdom to yourself for man's applause. It's more than being on a stage or a platform and people saying, wow, you're really gifted and talented. Look at me, it's dead. Works. If it's not for him and for his glory, it's dead. That's there to make you happy. When you live a life for him and for his glory, that's different. That's a life that makes a difference even if it seems small and insignificant. It may start small, but it never stays that way. Heard a story of a man named Mr. Kimball. Mr. Kimball volunteered to teach Sunday school at his church. And he ended up finding his sweet spot was like the 15 to 17 year old boys. He's like, I want to teach these guys. They seem to be hungry for God's word. And he started teaching the Sunday school class for the teenage guys. He noticed one particular Sunday they had a younger student in there that quite seem to understand the study that they were getting into. So he said, open up your Bibles to the book of John. And they all had their Bibles. And they opened it up and he was looking around and he grabbed a Bible and he didn't know how to find the Book of John. And so he could tell that this was gonna be kind of embarrassing for this kid, especially at that particular age. And so the pastor just grabs his own Bible, opens it up to the Book of John, and he hands it to the young man, said, here you go. Right here. And later on, that young boy, whose name was Dwight, by the way, said that that was one of the most incredible acts of kindness. Cause I was about to be real embarrassed. This is kind of my first time of trying to study the Bible. I was curious about it, and it was very kind to me. I'll never forget that. And so Mr. Kimball noticed that he was kind of behind and didn't want him to be embarrassed. So he started praying for him. And he thought, you know what? Maybe I'll just go. I'll go see him during his lunch hour. And he found out that Dwight worked at a shoe store. And so he pulls up and gets to meet him and says, yeah, I'm 17 years old. I've been working at this shoe store. And he says, well, I noticed that you've been coming to our Bible study. Are you curious to learn these things? I really am. He said, but, you know, it's all kind of new to me. He said, well, tell me your story. And he finds out that his Dwight's dad had passed away when he was, like, 4 or 5 years old. And so he had dropped out in the fifth grade and was forced to work to just try to keep his family alive and support his mother and his siblings. And so he didn't have a father, didn't have much knowledge of the Word, but he was curious. He was hungry for the things of God's word. And Mr. Kimball's like, Let me help you. I can step in. I can help just by showing up at the lunch hour to the shoe store and just taking some time to see if this kid needed anything, because God put it on his heart. He didn't just feel it. He didn't just sense it. He took some time during his lunch hour for one. He says, do you know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Do you know if you're saved? He said, I don't really know. He said, let's go back into the stock room real quick and let me introduce you to Jesus. And he prayed for him. He received Christ, said that I met Jesus in a shoe store. You know, Dwight, you might know him from another name. His name is DL Moody. And he changed the world, led millions to Christ and it all started with Mr. Kimball teaching a Sunday school class and handing him a Bible open to the Book of John, being kind to him, coming to his store on lunch and getting to know his story. Ask him, are you okay? Can I help? You know, through the process of DL Moody's ministry, he eventually leads another guy to Christ that ends up leading another guy to Christ that ends up leading Billy Graham to Christ. There are millions upon millions upon millions of believers all around the world because of one act of obedience. One person didn't just see a kid struggling. He said, I'm gonna help him. It's about one house at a time, one child at a time, one dollar at a time at a time. Never underestimate what God can do with one act of obedience. You were born. You were created. You were called by God to make a difference. And you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. But it starts in your home. It starts with what you have in your hand, with what you can do, with what you trust that God can do, with the little that you do have. When you determine that the goal of my life is for people to see, to see Jesus and not me, for them to praise Jesus and not me, things begin to change for you. And we believe it's so critical that we've put it on our walls so you can see it. This is what we value, that you would know God. Not just a set of facts, not just some stories that you heard that you would know him. He would speak to him. You would hear him speak to you. Look at me. He still speaks. And he wants a relationship with you. We want you to find freedom, to get out of the ditch, get out of the rut, get out of the same habits, the same bad relationships, the same things, the same addictions, over and over and over again. That ain't your life. You were born again. You were set free from that. We want you to find freedom. We want you to discover your purpose, your God given purpose, so that your life will make a difference. We believe it's the call of God. It's the heart of God. And you absolutely can do this. You're not here to just take up space. But God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son for you and for me. And let that never become too simple for you. Let it never become something that you take it for granted. God loved me that much. Not only did he create me and give me life, but he gave me hope through his son. He has called me to represent him. To a world that needs a better representation of who Jesus really is than what they see. We're to represent God in a. In a better way than the diversion of church that they see. That's so distorted, so gross, so money hungry and power hungry, turning out narcissists left and right. That. That's not the church. That's a comedy sketch. You're the church. I'm the church. We are the salt. We are the light. That's who we've been born and designed and created to be. Would you bow your heads? Father, we recognize that your word is life. Your word is light. We recognize that you're the light of the world. And because of that, we are light, we are salt. We are a city on a hill. You see more in us than sometimes we see in ourselves. So, Father, I pray that we would not underestimate the day of small beginnings. We wouldn't underestimate the simple acts of kindness. We wouldn't underestimate what you can do with one life that is submitted and surrendered to you. That we would never take it for granted that you loved us enough to not just create us, but to give us purpose, to give us hope, to give life meaning. And I pray that, Lord, you would forgive us for the times that we've taken this gift of life for granted. You have purpose for us. We're called to do more than just take up space. You have a life given to me to make a difference. And I pray that we would step into that this week, that we wouldn't just see the needs, but we'd respond. We'd step in, we'd give, we'd go, we'd serve, we would make room for what's most important in Jesus name. Now, with heads bowed and eyes closed, maybe you're here today and you're saying, pastor, I am so far from Jesus right now. I need that. I need a relationship with God. I need to get saved. I need to get forgiven of my sins, my friend. Yes, you do. And I'm going to help you. Or maybe you're here saying, pastor, I used to walk with God. I used to go to church, I used to do all the things, but I've gotten so far away from God. I've been running from him. I need to come home, my friend. Yes, you do. And so if you're in either one of those two places, I want you to know I'm so glad that you're here. I'm glad that you came today. But it is time for you to make a choice. And if you're ready to make Jesus the Lord of your life, if you're ready to come home, let me help you. The same way somebody helped me one time, one simple act of kindness changed my world. And today's, it's about you, your day. So I'm gonna lead you in a prayer, and I want you to pray these words right after me. As a matter of fact, so you don't feel embarrassed in any way, we're all gonna say this out loud. So saints, pray this with me. Just say, jesus, I believe you're the Son of God. I believe you came and died. I believe you rose from the grave so that I can have life and forgiveness for all of my sins. Please forgive me and I'll give you the rest of my life in Jesus name, with heads bowed and eyes closed with nobody else looking around. I'm not going to embarrass you in any way, but if you prayed that prayer and you say, pastor, that was me. I prayed it and I meant it. Can you just slip up your hand all across this place, say, I did. I prayed that prayer. I see you. Good. Good for you. You can put your hands down. And if that was you, there's a phone number that's going to appear behind me on a screen and I'm going to invite you to text me. You might be watching online as well. If you prayed that prayer, text me. Text the words I prayed to that number, and I'll send you back the link to some things that will help you understand what just happened in your heart and what to do next. I'm proud of you. How rich family. Go ahead and look up at me if you would. Then let's stand to our feet together today. I want to thank all of you who have joined us in from. From wherever you're watching from. You joined us online. And let me just say, it's a big deal when you determine that you're going to spread the light of Jesus and spread this message by clicking the share button, it's making a massive difference. I'm blown away every week by the amount of people that share this service, that share this message and say, hey, I think you need to hear this. It's a big deal. You never know how one act of kindness, one. One act of obedience can absolutely be the thing that the Lord uses to wreck a person's life in an amazing way. Some of us need to just get wrecked by God. Come on. So it's a big deal when you do that. I want to thank you in advance for not only supporting us faithfully and financially, but supporting us with things like just social media shares. It's a big deal. I'm going to invite our elders and their wives forward and these guys are going to be available to pray for you about whatever needs that you might have. We would love to pray for you. Also want to give you a couple of things to think about. We do have night of worship. Come on. Somebody coming up at the end of this week cannot wait for that. Also on September 5, on Saturday, at church on purpose, one of our friends, Pastor Eric, loves church. We're actually doing. We're bringing in a truck from Convoy of Hope. It's filled with all kinds of dry goods, all kinds of like Gatorades, Powerades, bottled waters, lots of household goods that we're going to be able to give away to a lot of people, especially to kids and teenagers or. Or to those at different college campuses. And so if you want to volunteer to help us get some stuff like that off the truck, we only need about 20 volunteers. And normally when I say that there's 200 of y' all that show up, which I love, by the way, but we're going to unload those off the trucks, break down those pallets and boxes, put that stuff into some bags. It's a great opportunity for you to have your kids serve as well. It's a good way to get involved as a family if you want to do something like that. September 5th, Church on Purpose, Pastor James and maybe Pastor Paul could probably help you get in contact with somebody that can tell you, like, exact details or how many you need to bring or get in contact with you if you'd like. But we would love to have you come and serve. And I just want to give you opportunities of things that you can do, like right here locally. It doesn't take a lot of. But ways that you can serve, you need to. It's good for you, it's good for your kids. By the way, that's Pastor James at the back. Can you raise your hand? He talks kind of funny because he's from. From England, but he's a good guy. Just trust me. This is one of the ways that you can get involved. Also, we have our UNITE concert coming up at Belcher Center. Tickets are available there. It's going to be absolutely awesome. We have seu worship coming. If you don't know who su worship is, they sing the song what a God kind of good. Just saying, just saying. Not mid. It's incredible. So that's coming up here in just the next couple weeks. I want to make sure that you get involved. It's a great opportunity for you to do that. So let me bless you and let me send you out and sign off here. Father, pray that you bless my friends with an incredible week, that you would show them exactly what to do and how to do with it. You let them walk in divine purpose. Help them to live a life that makes a difference. Father, pray that you would speak to them, that they would know you, that they would find freedom from their hurts and habits and from their yesterdays, from their wounds and from their trauma and that you would walk them into freedom and victory. I ask that you would bless them and their families. I pray in Jesus mighty name and all of us said together, Amen. God bless you as you go. Have an awesome week. [00:45:17] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. [00:45:28] Speaker B: If you want to be a part [00:45:29] Speaker A: of our online community, connect with us through Facebook, Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv. Or you can check out our [email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week and we will see you next time.