“Remember Your Potential”
Text: Matt. 5:13-16
"There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle." - Deepak Chopra
The Bible says “Your life matters!” God has a vested interest in you. Your life is no accident. Your life has purpose and meaning, and God intends for your story to connect with his story and for that story to be making a difference in other people’s lives. Your life is like one piece in a puzzle that we are all in the process of constructing together. You look at this piece of puzzle and you say, “It’s not that big a deal.”
But here’s what Jesus said about you.
"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 by men. "You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)
You should be salt and light.
We know that salt and light make a difference in their surroundings:
Light dispels __________________ and salt adds______________.
Salt is a ______________________; light helps ________________________ things.
The challenge from Jesus is this: If you are a believer, you are either living in such a way to be valuable or “______________________- ______________”
If salt loses its saltiness he says, “How can it be made salty again? It’s no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under- foot.”
Here is the one purpose for being salt and light: (Jesus said) “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”. (Matt. 5:16)
It isn’t about you—it’s about ______________.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)
The Bible has a lot to say about this “life on loan”—about how you and I choose to live, and that our lives do matter and they do count.
You can make a difference!
S - Serving “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)
A - Attitude - Who being in very nature, God, didn’t consider equality with G as something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant. (Phil. 2:6-7)
L - Love - “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)
T - Time - Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
L - Listen - Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24)
I - Influence - “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
G- Graceful - Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
H - Hope - “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” (Hebrews 10:23)
T - Truth - “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
So, your “life on loan” matters.
Your piece in the puzzle may not seem important, but the truth is the picture is not complete without that part of the puzzle. In fact, God’s story can’t be told in the way he intended for it to be told if your piece isn’t part of the puzzle.
