Home for Christmas pt.3

INFLUENCE = the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone

(Matthew 5:14-16 NLT) “You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 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.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.Why we hide our light…..

√  Never truly met JESUS. 
(Luke 2:32 NLT) He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!

√  Live under the weight of CONDEMNATION.

– INADEQUATE (1 Ptr 2:9 NLT) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

  – UNEQUIPPED (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NLT) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

  – TO LATE (Psalm 104:33 NLT) I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!

 

√ Your MANNER.
(Colossians 4:5-6 NIV) Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV) and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders………

√ Your MOMENT.
(Psalm 37:23 NLT) The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
(Proverbs 16:9 NLT) We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

√ Your MESSAGE.
( 1 Peter 3:15 NIV) ……. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…..

(2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.