People That Influence Their World

PEOPLE THAT INFLUENCE THIS WORLD

Matt 5:13-16 (page 683) May 30, 2010

INTRODUCTION:

I came into my office Monday, went to check out my email and under the headings that scroll by was… "Believe it or not, celebrities are fat and zitty like the rest of us."

Well since I'm talking about people who influence this world I felt it was essential for my research to click on it.

And No I'm not going to show you the unflattering pictures of Faith Hill, Jouli Josber or the Argentineans president who demanded they remove his spare tire from a picture taken of him in a canoe.

But celebrities seem to have a secret weapon to fight flab and flaws that we mere mortals don't. It's called "Airbrushing" It's also called Photo shopping, retouching and its when a photo is digitally manipulated to make the subject look better. They can magically remove pimples, shave pounds, add color…One magazine insider said the practice is so common that you can assume that any posed photo you see in a magazine has been altered in one way or another.

But we have to ask ourselves if we had the same opportunity --the same celebrity power to retouch the photos of our lives…. would we do so..?

Wouldn't each of us deserve to present a perfect picture of ourselves to the world if we had the opportunity?

And yet Jesus lets us know as His followers, His disciples "You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world" It’s a statement letting us know that the picture we present to this world will greatly influence how people see God's Kingdom.

[George Barna writes " The majority of Americans claim to be Christians, most adults in this country say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives and nearly half are relatively active church goers. The size and scope of Christianity in America is massive-- It leaves an enormous footprint in the culture, but the depth of most Christian's faith leaves much to be desired. And there are so many flavors under the marquee Christianity that Baskin Robbins would be envious.]

The problem is that the organized Christian Church in American is on the decline…Barna says this is especially true among 16 to 29 years old….where 40% of this age group say they have no interest in the organized church or Christianity.

And before you say "Well they'd better straighten up or they can go to hell." We need to realize it impacts every age group. 37% of 29-41 year olds are unchured, 27% of people aged 42-60 are outside of Christ and 23% of those over 60 are disinterested in Christianity.

Christians are supposed to represent an authentic picture of Christ to the world, but according to the latest reports something has gone terribly wrong. In the book unchristian the author interviewed 1,000's of individuals from every age group and the top 3 words they used to describe Christians; Hypocritcal insensitive, and judgemental.

"You are the salt of the earth", "You are the light of the world" is our manculate from Jesus himself but many in our culture believe we've airbrushed the picture and they're not buying it.

So, O.K. why should we care…..after all

I JESUS WARNED THAT THE WORLD WOULD HATE US.

John 15:18 records his words…"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

When you have an unchanging moral standard it will grate against a culture whose morals are relative to the moment and the selection.

Christians are labeled judgemental because we address sin and its consequences. And Christians should be envolved in every arena of life, including politics because faith weaves itself into every aspect of our lives. Christians should use God's word as the litmus test for morally unacceptable behavior. And we should seek to be men and women of integrity, even if it grates against a "whatever you think is right is right society."

We are indeed Christ's representatives among people…salt to the earth..light to the world…and we carry life's most important message.

But the real problem occurs when we recognize God's holiness and airbrush" our unholiness. Truth is vital, but for us "Grace is just as vital

Jesus represented both truth and grace.

"The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full

of grace and truth" (John 1:14)

Demanding truth without extending grace leads to harsh legalism, just as grace extended without truth dissolves into moral compromise.

If the world hates us because we are teaching truth while embodying the compassion, humility, forgiveness and kindness of Jesus Christ… we're living as salt and light.