it’s not about the rules, it’s about…

It’s about Jesus

It's about how his life, his death, and his resurrection sets us free from the rules and the lies that we think keep us from God.

It’s about People

It's about the people who follow Jesus taking his message of life and hope beyond our walls to a broken and hurting world.

what if we did what Jesus said?

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:19–20, NLT)

what if there was a life available to us that looks much different than what most of us experience, but is exactly what God made us for, and exactly what our hearts long for?

what if this life is not a life that constrains and restricts, but a life that is itself truly life– life outside the box

A LIFE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

life outside the box

candidates for kingdom life

• persecuted for living the un-grieved life• makers of peace• pure in heart• merciful

• hungry for God’s character• willingly forgotten

• suffering and mourning brokenness• broken and spiritual bankrupt

when your heart is in the kingdom, your life will make a difference

Matthew 5:13–16, (NLT)

““You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its

flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled

underfoot as worthless.

Matthew 5:13–16, (NLT)

“You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:13–16, (NLT)

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT)

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

a life that makes a difference

“You are the salt of the earth,” (v. 13)

“You are the light of the world,” (v. 14)

• discipleship demands a difference

• the essential nature of the disciple is to make a difference

• where there is no difference,

there is no disciple

“world”

the arena of our difference is not the church pew but where there is the potential for decay and darkness

Matthew 5:13, (NLT)

““But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled

underfoot as worthless.

“lost its flavor”

• diluted by impurities• inherent nature as agent of

permeation is now jeopardized• becomes worthless

diluting forces

• selfish attitudes• busyness• sense of entitlement• unmerciful attitudes• unconfessed sin

James 1:27, (NCV)

“Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.”

James 2:20, (GW)

“You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?”

the great scandal of Christendom

“…the great scandal of Christendom today, [is] so-called "nominal Christianity." In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable,” (John R.W. Stott, Basic Christianity).

YOUR PURPOSE IS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

a life that makes a difference

salt - agent of preservation

the presence of a true follower of Jesus acts as a force against the decaying forces of sin

light - agent of illumination

the presence of a true follower of Jesus guides a world groping in darkness to the only source of true salvation

Power of Light

the human eye can see the light of a single candle for up to 30 miles

http://www.livescience.com/33895-human-eye.html

DIM SANCTUARY LIGHTS

Matthew 5:15, (NLT)

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

Isaiah 49:6, (NLT)

“I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE BRINGS GOD GLORY

a life that makes a difference

Matthew 5:16 (NLT)

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

the honor of God – the point of it all

character of the kingdom

life of the kingdom

witness of the kingdom

honor to God

John 15:8, (NLT)

When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

God’s glory or our reputation

• the secret is in the motive

• “…don’t do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others,” (Matthew 6:1 NLT)

word and deed

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17, NLT)