Impression or Impact? - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, November 9th. Money and possessions can easily disappear, but there's something you can hand down that can endure for generations. Stay with us and learn how to leave a godly impact. Jesus made a very, very clear statement. In fact, if you'll think about it, He made this early in His ministry, and it's incredible that He would say to those this early in His ministry what He said. So, I want you to turn, if you will, to the Sermon on the Mount. In the fifth chapter of Matthew, notice what He said. He said, you are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world. And He didn't say, you are the salt of your family, and you are the salt of your friends.

He said, you're the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world, which was His way of saying, I intend you are the salt of the earth. You have received me as your personal Savior and follow me. I want you to be so connected to me that you will recognize that your responsibility is that throughout your life, you impact the lives of the people around you.

So, I ask you this question. Whose life are you impacting? The people who are the salt of the earth and the light of this world, that is, we have a commission. We have a responsibility to impact, to make a difference in the lives of people around us. People you work with, starting of course, people in your home, people in every outreach of your life.

We have a personal responsibility to impact them because we have a responsibility that salt impacts food and light impacts darkness. They may not like what you say. They may argue with you, but the truth is, listen, when you know what God has done in your life, all the arguments in the world are not going to change you. And when you live it out and you take your stand and you affirm and you're courageous because of who lives inside of you, you are not going to change your life because we're all making some kind of impact, either good or bad. Now, some missionaries have been on the mission field for years and years and years, and from all practical purpose, it may have looked like nothing was going on. And this is why I just remind you, I think about missionaries, for example, who went to China many, many, many, many, many, many, many years ago, and it looked like, what a waste. They decided to be like salt and like light, and that no matter how many years they had to go to prison, how much persecution, they weren't giving in.

And the whole world, listen, the whole world one of these days is going to be impacted by that nation. Because these people are living it out on the persecution and difficulty and hardship and trial and imprisonment and death, their salt. And their salt is transforming that nation. He said, you're the salt of the earth. Then he said to them, he said, I want to give you a warning about the salt of the earth. He said, I want to give you a warning about the salt. And he said, I want to give you a warning about the salt. He said, I want to give you a warning about the salt. And he said, I want to give you a warning about the salt. Now, he said, because if the salt loses its twang, then it's useless. And in other words, salt is salt, period. But what he was referring to, I believe, in the Scriptures, is that the way they gathered salt was evaporated seawater. And so, he said, they just throw it out and trample on it. When a child of God begins to live in sin, it has the same effect.

We lose the power to impact somebody else's life. He said, now, likewise, you're to be the light of the world. Now, somebody says, well, now, wait a minute. Didn't Jesus say, He was the light of the world? He did. He said, I am the light of the world. You say, well, how could He say, I'm the light of the world? And then say, you're the light of the world.

Well, God always has an answer for our questions. And here's what He says in John chapter nine, verse five. He says, while I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world. He said to them, you're the light of the world.

He knew in almost three years, He was going to be gone. He said, I am the light of the world. And when I come into your life, you become the light. And so, He left. But what He didn't do, He didn't leave us in darkness.

He left that band of believers with a little light on the inside. And the more they lived it out, the broader that light became until the whole world's been impacted by a handful of uneducated fishermen and tax gatherers and all the rest. So, look at your life and ask yourself this question again. Whose life are you impacting?

And how are you impacting them? I think about, for example, grandfathers who sit down with their grandchildren and talk to them. And I just had a wonderful opportunity this past weekend to sit down with my grandson.

And so, I said, why don't we just go to lunch together and just sit down and talk? And I just wanted to listen. And he just had all these questions. He couldn't listen enough.

I could just feel Him absorbing it. And I was sitting there thinking, God, I almost went up and I thought, what an awesome opportunity to impact this boy's life in such a fashion He will never forget it. It was about an hour and a half, but it was one of the best hours and a half I ever spent. Listen, you can never waste time sharing what Jesus Christ has done in your life and what you know He will do in someone else's life. You can't waste time.

That is an investment of time. And oftentimes, we're too busy. We think we're too busy to talk to this one or that one and so forth. And the truth is, he said, look, you're the light of the world, and there are people who are walking in darkness, groping in darkness. There are people who are living in total ignorance of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you know the truth.

And oftentimes, I think about people who say, well, I'm not interested in missions. And oftentimes in some churches when they have mission conferences, people don't come because they're not interested in that. I think you mean you're not interested in doing the one thing above all else that Jesus talked about, and that's impacting the people of this world.

And here's an opportunity for Christians to get together and become educated about what's happening and share the gospel all over. You're not interested in that? Then you don't know the Jesus that the Bible talks about. He says, you're the light of the world. He didn't say, you might be, you ought to be, you can be. He says, you are the light of the world. Now, what does that mean?

It simply means this. What does light do? It points the way. There are many people today, listen, who would receive Jesus Christ as their Savior if someone would just sit down and say, let me tell you what the Word of God says about the atoning death of Jesus and why He died on the cross and what He's willing to do in your life. Let me tell you that when you go through difficult and hardship and pain and trouble and rejection, tribulation, let me tell you how Jesus will help you and enable you to survive that, how He will enable you to forgive those who have hurt you and rejected you and wronged you. There are many people who are living in ignorance, living in darkness, that's where they are. Without Christ, the person's in darkness. That is the soul of man, the Spirit within us. It is either the light of Christ within us or it is dark. Now, people who are living in darkness, they don't want you to tell them that.

They'll tell you how educated they are and how smart they are and where they've been, what they have, and all the rest. But if without Jesus Christ, you're in darkness. And what does it do? It shows us the way. It points the way.

But something else it does, it reveals things. You can take a very small flashlight and put it in a dark corner and find out what's there. And the truth is, I can take one candle and light it right here and cut out all the lights. And at first, it would be really dark. But the longer you look this way and the longer you watched it, the brighter things again.

It wouldn't take a big candle for before long, everybody on the very back row back there would see the light. You see, you don't have to be somebody special. You are a light. Now watch this. The same Jesus that's in my heart is in your heart and her heart and his heart. Watch this carefully.

The only difference is this. We determine how bright that light's going to shine. We determine how salty and strong that light is going to be by our conversation, what we say, our character, who we are, our conduct, how we live.

We're the ones who make the difference. And that's why he gave us a warning about allowing the salt to be mixed with things that cause it to lose its power. Sin in the life of a believer causes that believer to lose the impact that God intends for them to have. So, when I think about light and the fact of what he said, you're the light of the world, then I think about the fact that light is pure and clear and it makes a difference. It reveals things that you cannot see otherwise.

It points the way that you're not to walk. And if you think about Jesus said, I'm the light of the world, and then you remember what he said? He said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, and I'm the life. That is, think about it, He's the way, the truth, and the light.

He is the light of humanity. And when he came upon the scene, there was a big collision. And that collision was with the Pharisees and Sadducees, as we said, because they didn't like that light.

And with Rome, He threatened their power. And the day in which you and I live, you can mark this down. There is a collision coming between Christianity and all these other religions, between Christianity and atheism in this country of ours.

There is a collision that's coming. And we have to decide, will we stand? Will we speak up? Will we be courageous?

Or will we compromise? God is still God. And He wants us to be salt and light no matter what's going on. Salt and light driving away the darkness. Come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord. He says, and James, remain unstained by the world. And Paul said, present your body a living sacrifice.

Stop being conformed to the lightness of the world. And when the church of the Lord Jesus Christ invites into the congregation, or whatever it might be, those things that sound like the world look like the world and smell like the world. What they're doing is compromising the truth. Listen, you do not win by compromising. And I think one of the reasons the church today is weak in many ways is because somewhere back there, we decide, look, if we are going to win the world, we've got to entice them in. Listen, we've got to be more like them so that when they come, they won't be uncomfortable. Does that sound like Jesus? I don't think so. And so, what happens, they begin to compromise.

And I've watched this, I've lived long enough to watch this. And that is, watch the church compromise its convictions about what the Bible is, it's the inerrant Word of God, compromise about Jesus, and say, well, you know, no, He's not the only way. Yes, He is. He is the only way. And so, when you've compromised truth in order to gain acceptance, you are, listen, what you're doing is you've cut your light down so low, you can hardly be seen. And you see, somebody says, well, I just don't like rejection, neither did Jesus. But He was willing to be rejected to save your soul for all eternity.

That's who He is. So, when He says, when He says, you are the light of the world, then what is He saying to us? We're going to make a difference.

Wherever you and I go, we ought to brighten up something. You say, well, but I just don't think I have the ability. Watch this, forget that. Are you listening to say amen? It's not what you do, it's who you are.

It's who you are. Now, what does sin do to our impacting power? Here's what it does. When you mix up enough dirt with salt, doesn't have any effect. And you know what a kerosene lantern is, and you trim it up so that it's just right, and the light's very bright, and the globe is still nice and clean, and you can see a long ways. And then you get the funnel around with it, and you cut it up too high, and what happens? It smokes it up. Now, you can still have the same light.

You just can't see very far because it's all black now with smoke, soot, that's what I would call it. Whenever sin enters your life, it's like darkening the globe of your life. It's like causing the saltiness in your life, the power in your life, to become weak and compromising. God said, you're the salt of the earth. I intend for you to change it.

You're the light of the world. I'm leaving, but I'm leaving you the light of myself within you, so that wherever you go and with whomever you talk, whatever it might be, you're going to make an indelible impact. How many young fellows will come by when I'm greeting guests on Sunday morning, and they'll say something like this, Dr. Stanley, my grandmother, she made me listen to you. And I'd say, well, did it have any effect on you?

Yes. And I think there are many wonderful grandmothers, and I want to say this, and you know me well enough to know what I feel about people, I love everybody. I'll tell you the folks who impressed me the most about that, a praying grandmother is one of the most powerful persons in America. I have heard, I've heard enough testimonies of young people saying, my grandmother this, and my grandmother that, and my grandmother read the Bible, and my grandmother made me listen to you, and she'd ask me if I did and if I didn't, and she got on my case. I've heard all kind of things, but over and over and over again, it's those grandmothers and the impact that they have in the life of their children, and the life of their grandchildren.

And I ask you again, whose life are you impacting? Now, these grandmothers, I couldn't, listen, I've never met any of them. I wouldn't know their name, but I'll tell you this, the light of their life and the salt in their life so shined in the life of their grandchildren, these boys and these young ladies who walk through this line and say, I just want to tell you, I start listening, you know, my grandmother is, my mother that, and sometimes they'll say, they used to take me to school, and they'd turn you on, I didn't like it, and I'd say, why don't we get some music? No, we're going to listen.

And after a while, for some reason, this boy would say, you know what, even I start liking it. You know what, it's the impact, it's the gospel, it's not the person, it's the message. And I spoke to a family a few moments ago, after the first service, three fine young men. And how God has used that father and mother to impact thoughts, gave them all a copy of the Word of God. They listened, He says, I'm telling you, we listen five times a week to your message.

Now, you say, well, who wants to listen five times a week? I'll tell you. Parents who care enough about their children that they're more interested in godliness in their children than the acceptance of their children.

That's the difference. So, if you think about your life and you think about who's impacted you and how, I ask you again, whose life are you impacting? Because the character of your life, the conversations of your life and the conduct of your life is impacting people all the time.

You want to see change? Live a godly life. That is, brighten up the life of Christ in your life, by walking in obedience to Him, you will impact somebody in your life.

So, if you just remember this, that the impact of your life is determined by the quality of life you live. And it's my prayer that if you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, I would never tell you anything but the truth. Here's what Jesus said, the Son of God.

That's who He is. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And here's what He said, no one comes to the Father but by me. You say, I don't understand all that.

Maybe you don't understand it, but look, you can trust Him and take Him at His Word. He says, I'm the light of the world, the salt of the earth. If you will ask Jesus Christ into your life, if you will accept Him as your personal Savior, if you will believe what the Bible says about His death on the cross atoning for your sin, He will transform your life. And, or maybe you are a believer, but what kind of impact are you having? Is your conduct, your conversation, your character, the type that would draw people to the Son of God or drive them away? What an awesome responsibility to be salt and light.

Amen. Thank you for listening to Part 2 of Impression or Impact. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia. .