Arise to Make a Difference

Greeting

Good morning Lighthouse!

Tell your neighbor, “I made it!”

For some of you that means you made it to the end of your fast - and we want to say to you, well done! Especially if this is your first time.

For others of you, that means you made it to church - and I know that can be a lot. You made it, but it was a struggle with your kids, perhaps it was a struggle with your spouse, or maybe just getting yourself here because in your mind you believe that there are other places you need to be this morning…

But can I tell you that you are in the right place this morning, because I know that God was waiting for you to be here today.

Our prayer for you today is that you’ll give yourself the space to meet God today.

He sees you.

He loves you.

He’s so glad you are here today.

And the reason He wanted you here is because He’s not just interested in saving you—He’s interested in sending you.

Reading

Ephesians 2:8–10 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Paul tells us we are saved by grace, but he also tells us we are saved for purpose.

Arise to Make a Difference

We want to talk about that today…

Arise to Make a Difference

Introduction

A couple of years ago I was coaching my son’s flag football team.

In one of our games, one of our players was having a really, really bad game. And what I mean by that was he lost his temper, and went after a kid on the other team. This boy’s Dad wasn’t there and I could see the look on his moms face that she was completely overwhelmed by her son. So when he had this outburst and was about to get physical on another player I not only grabbed this kid, but I lifted him up and off the field and carried him to the sideline.

I know adults aren’t supposed to handle kids like that anymore, but I’m a kid from the 80’s. Back then not only was that allowed it was almost encouraged…

So we take him out of the game, and honestly, I’m pretty fed up with him. I’m also upset because I’m just wondering where his Dad is, I’m a volunteer Coach, and I’m thinking, I don’t have time for this.

My family had already made plans for after the game and I did something after the game, I invited this player and his Mom to dinner with my family.

Then, I had him come with us in the car to the place we were going to eat at.

I just felt this need to not let this kids night end on that note…

We ate at a restaurant that my friend owns and he happened to be there, which was a little out of character for him on a Friday night, but there he was. He ended up joining us as we ate and I introduced him to this kid and his Mom, and long story short, he ends up giving them lots of food to take home. This is very in character for my friend because not only is he a follower of Jesus, but he’s a very generous person.

As we wrapped things up and head out I could see the gratitude in her face. She was taken back by not only the dinner invitation, but also the gesture from my friend.

And as much as that meant to them given the night they were having, do you know who felt even better about how that went down?

I did.

I felt so much joy being able to be used by God in that moment to bless that family. And it also got me thinking about this; God didn’t just bless me so I could feel good. He positioned me so I could be a blessing.

I felt a sense of gratitude that we were able to be a blessing to that family and help turn around what could have been a very rough night for them.

Transition

Last week I talked about discovering your purpose and discovering your gifts. Well, now that we did that, I need to tell you the rest of the story…

The truth about purpose is, if it stays private it eventually becomes frustration. God never reveals gifts just to admire them—He reveals them so they can be released

You discover your gift to give it away.

To bless others with it.

To use it not for your personal benefit, but to be in service to other people with your gift.

Pastor Chris Hodges put it this way:

The purpose of life is to discover your gift.

The meaning of life is to give your gift away.

And today as we close this series I want to give your life meaning. I want to share with you that this is the one thing that changes everything.

The GOAT

One of the things I enjoy about parenting young kids is picking up on their lingo.

All the brain rot words like skibbidi and sigma… Those are all old by the way. I was told those words died in 2025…

One word that gets tossed around kind of flippantly now is the word THE GOAT.

We used to only use that word when we talked about Jordan or LeBron.

I hear more kids using that to describe anyone who is good at anything… It’s being overused in my opinion…

[Transition]

But this isn’t new information and it actually describes the human condition - that we all want to achieve and we want to be great.

What we call ‘great’ reveals what kingdom we’re living in. And Jesus had something very clear to say about greatness.

In the gospels we read about the disciples actually arguing over who was the greatest among them.

Think about the irony for a second. You’ve got the son of God with you, and they’re arguing about who the GOAT is.

Listen to what Jesus says to them about what it means to be the greatest.

Mark 10:42–45 NIV

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus took this idea of being the greatest an flipped it upside down.

While they postured the idea of great as someone with power and authority, Jesus tells them that the person who is great is the person who serves other people. It’s the person who uses their power and authority not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of other people.

In God’s Kingdom, greatness is measured by how low you’re willing to go

It’s these teachings of Jesus that makes His kingdom the ‘upside down’ Kingdom. It’s counter cultural. It’s the uncommon path. It’s the way of Jesus and it’s the life that he asks us to walk in.

[Application]

Think about the things that you are pursuing for just a moment. As you pursue these things, are you thinking only about how they elevate you and your ambition, or are you pursuing things that can be used to serve and to bless others as well.

As we’ve said before, you need to think about yourself, and you need to think about those that you are to provide for and care for. But are you thinking only about yourself?

This is why as we entered our time of prayer and fasting I said that if we fast but we ignore the needs around us, our fasting is lacking.

God is calling us into greatness. He wants you to be the GOAT. But understand the measure of great in the God’s Kingdom is not the same measure in the kingdom of this world. Let’s ensure we are using the right standard.

Eternal Reward

Serving isn’t just meaningful—it’s a measurable in eternity.

In order to unpack that we have to look at the two judgments that await humanity in the future.

The first is the Great White Throne Judgment, which most scholars believe is the judgment only for non believers. These are people who are judged for not bending their knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Believers hear that and they let out a sigh of relief, but many don’t know about the second judgment.

The second judgment is what the Bible calls the judgment seat of Christ and this is the judgment of the believers.

Listen to how Paul writes about it.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Who is the ‘we’? Paul is writing to the believers in Corinth. This is his letter to the church; not his letter to the people of Corinth, but to the believers in Corinth. He’s saying us believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and we are going to receive what is due us for the things done here on earth.

Here’s the big idea - this judgment is us to receive our reward for what we did with the gifts that God gave us.

Did we use them to our benefit or did we use them to serve others?

What you do for others is never wasted—it’s waiting for you in eternity.

Let’s look at what John heard in heaven out of the mouth of Jesus:

Revelation 22:12 NIV

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

When Jesus comes with his reward in hand, will we have made a difference that is worth rewarding?

This may be new information for you, but I need to make sure you hear this… salvation is about so much more than knowing Jesus, receiveing Jesus, praying the prayer, and plugging into a church. ‘Yes and Amen’ to all of those things, but when you’ve done that, are you making a difference? Are you serving the least of these? Are you chosing to be great by becoming like the very best servant of all?

(Conclusion) Change the World

Lastly, God calls us to change the world.

That’s a pretty big statement, right? How can I change the world?

Hears how you do that…

You see a need, and you meet that need.

You see a kid having a really hard day and you see his Mom starting to also lose control of the moment and you step in and serve them.

These seemingly small acts that in the big picture of all that is going on with the world seem so small; how can they change the world?

There is a saying that goes, “The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.”

That’s how we change the world.

And that day I didn’t change the world, but I changed someones world. My friend Luis didn’t change the world by giving away food, but he changed someone’s world by receiving that kind of generosity.

What would this world look like if we all started changing someones world?

If you want to change the world, begin by changing someones world.

Call

Let’s come back to our scripture… We are God’s handiwork, created to do good works.”

Which means this—until you start serving, something in you will always feel unfinished.

Some of you have been asking God for more purpose, but He’s been waiting for more obedience.

You do not need to pray about what you’ve been commanded to do.

You will go through life with a longing and a desire that there has got to be more to life than what you are experiencing, and I am telling you that the only way to find your life is to give it away.

That’s His Kingdom.

And he is inviting you to this life.

This week, don’t try to change the world. Just ask God one simple question: ‘Who’s world can I change?’