Faith Alive Church: Welcome to the Faith Alive Sermon Podcast. This is a replay of a past sermon from Faith Alive Church. Whether you missed it, want to hear it again, or share it with someone you know, we're glad you're here. This sermon is by Rich Casanova, Director of Church Operations. I'm super, well, you know, I'm super excited, right? I say that every time, but I am, because here's the direction we're taking Wednesday nights. I want you to hear me on this, okay? So Pastor Jordan gives a tremendous sermon on Sunday. Whoever the Sunday preacher is pours it out, pours it out. But then on Wednesday, we want to take that and break it down a little bit more so we're not just flying in all kinds of different directions. And now we can take that, break it down, and make it applicable to us so it continues out throughout the week. So really, I really think this is a wonderful way for us to keep connecting with the word and keep sending the same thing home. Because it's so important. We don't come here just to come here and consume. We come here to be fed. We come here to take this from here and and take it out there. Right? So I'm I'm I'm really fired up. And you know, we are elevated for his glory. So tonight we're going to be talking out of Matthew chapter five, verses thirteen through sixteen. I just want to read this here. 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 underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built 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 give its light, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. And that's a that's a lot. That's a big mouthful. But I'm telling you. It's time to let Jesus shine through you. It's time for us to let the world see that there's something more to us than the surface. That we have we have Jesus glowing through us. And we're gonna talk about this because God doesn't elevate us so people can see more of us. He elevates us so people can see more of Jesus. And that's that's that's the that to me, that's the amazing part. And and I'm living it, right? And I I you know I I don't say this to be like facetious or to have a platform. I'm telling you, this is an unexpected part of my life journey. And thank God he has me here right now. I don't know what he has for me in five years. Maybe me and Tina will be riding around in the big RV in five years, spreading the word throughout the country that way. I don't know. But right now, he has me here. With this church family. So I want to dive right into this because you weren't given influence to waste it. There are certain things that become more visible the higher they go. Put a light on the floor in a crowded room, it doesn't reach very far. You elevate it, and suddenly it begins to affect the whole room. The light didn't change, it's the same light, but the position of the light changed. I wonder if sometimes we kind of misunderstand what God is doing when He gives us greater opportunity. Or greater responsibility, greater influence on a larger platform. We think God is elevating me. And that can be scary sometimes. But maybe what if God isn't primarily elevating me? What if he's elevating the light that he's placed inside of you so that others can see? See, Jesus didn't say try to become the light. He didn't say work hard to become the light. He said, You are the light of the world. You don't have to manufacture the light, but you have to to stop hiding it. And we all do that. We all do that. Maybe you don't, but I know I do on occasion, sometimes on lots of occasions. And that's where this gets a little bit uncomfortable, right? Because Jesus isn't talking about what happens in church. He's talking about what happens in your house. He's talking about what happens in your place of employment. He's talking about what happens every time you're out with other people. Right? And that's not to put pressure on you, or you have to be this, you have to be Jesus is already doing it for you. You're already the light. Smiling is showing the light of Jesus. Being kind to somebody. See, we can all do that on church. We have our church face, right? Hey, how you doing? Good to see you. Praise the Lord. Right? Then we leave and somebody's on us, and we're like, yeah? You think you can bully me? Well, you ain't seen nothing, boy. Right? Praise the Lord. Right, whatever, right? He's talking about your neighborhood, your conversations, your social media. What are you feeding your mind? What are you feeding your soul? He's talking about all those things, right? And that's why we gotta kinda watch those things. Even the restaurant when the order is wrong, or the workplace when somebody gets on your last nerve. Now I'm pointing at me. Not here. This workplace, nobody ever gets on nobody's nerves. This is such a fine place to work. It's wonderful. No, it is. It's a great place to work, right? But look, anybody can shine when the music's playing and we're worshiping, right? The question is, can people see Jesus when life isn't going your way? Can people see Jesus on your hard days? That's the hard thing, right? And and and look, I'm not saying I've got this all figured out because I don't. But this was a good reminder to me. Can G people see Jesus through me on my hard days? Because Jesus says you are the salt and the light, that means wherever God puts you, something should be different because you're there. Salt should change what it touches. Now I'm a s I like salt on my food. I do. I crave salty things. Right? My wife likes ice cream a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. That's not a bad thing. When she pulls into DQ, they're like, the usual? She's like, Absolutely. Right? No. But for me, like I like I like popcorn and salt on it, right? People tell me. Popcorn isn't bad for you if you don't put salt on it. Well, this is America. It's getting some salt, baby. I don't know where you eat it with no salt, but yikes, right? I I like those things because of the flavor. And Matthew 5.13 says, You are the salt of the earth. Jesus chose an incredibly practical picture. Salt was not decorative, especially in these times. Salt was very important because it did something, it preserved, it seasoned. It affected whatever it touched. And it was incredibly important to the everyday person. They didn't refrigeration. So salt preserved, it had value. It was more than just for flavoring, outside flavoring. It preserved, it permeated. And, you know, I I love when Jesus says my people should have an effect on the environments that I put them in. I know he didn't say that in particular, but that's what he's saying to us. Wherever Jesus puts you, wherever God has you, you're not there by happenstance. And so we need to remember who we represent, and not in a pressure way, not in trying to be a perfect way. God had mercy on me. God saved my life for eternity. The least I can do is try to reflect Him in those around me. That's the least I can do. You know, I get I get kind of fired up because I I love this. I I I want to make sure that we are Christians outside of the building. We shouldn't have to announce everywhere we go, I'm a Christian. I have a big poster above my desk. I'm a Christian. They should know that by the way you act. Right? They should know that when when gossip starts and you say, you know what, I don't I don't like to do that. That person's not here. I don't feel comfortable doing that. When somebody's talking and they're using some language. Right? And they're going bang bing bing. And and sometimes we get tempted to join in or we laugh. We don't have to be holier than thou. This isn't about spiritual arrogance. We just don't participate. Right? We don't shun them. We just don't participate in everything. People should be able to see, right? My my guys that I worked with, they were they were awesome, man. These are people that would they would put their life on the line for me. And they would they and not everybody was in their walk, right? But these are honorable men. And we'd be talking. And somebody might let a little spicy thing go. But if they went too far, one of my teammates would say, hey, Kevs don't like that too much. Paint that down. I'd have to say nothing. I'm not nobody. And I'd be like, that's right. Right? But they'd be like, he said that before. But he doesn't now. Something has changed in him. And that's what I'm talking about. It isn't, don't make it so hard and so like they have to be perfect. We're not perfect, we're people. But somebody should say it should just show, right? Because if Jesus has changed you, then Jesus should change something around you. Right? And sometimes it's not always easy, but notice that Jesus didn't say, You are the salt of the church. He said you're the salt of the earth. And that's where we're gonna be. We're gonna be out amongst, right? We love God. We love others and we serve the world. So, so be out there, right? Salt doesn't accomplish anything sitting in a salt shaker. Sometimes Christians can spend so much time gathered with other Christians that we forget why Jesus sends us back out. Sunday fills up your salt shaker. Monday pours it out, right? Yeah. So just be thinking along those lines as you work through, as you start to study Scripture. What do people see? When they look at me, do they see me or are they starting to see Jesus? Here's the other thing. Man, there's a lot, right? Here's something we can easily miss. Salt works through contact. Salt doesn't do any good unless you put it on there. You can't influence people you're unwilling to get close to. We like to be around the people we know, we like to be around the people we like. Right? We have a normal family. You know what mean? Sometimes we find ourselves kind of we just we we get uncomfortable around other people, people that don't follow into the same social circles that we do. Jesus wasn't like that. He ate with people who other people looked down upon. We're the hospital near the hospital. Sick people need a doctor. I need help. Salt works through contact. So here's our action step. First and foremost. We need to think about ourselves. Am I following Jesus? That's good. But here's another thing we need to ask: who is experiencing Jesus? Because I'm following him. Hmm. Who's experiencing Jesus through me? So here's our action step. First of all, notice where God has placed you, right? So instead of looking for a bigger opportunity to make a difference, I'm gonna lead this or I'm gonna join that or I'm gonna speak at this. Hey, just recognize the opportunity already in front of you. So ask yourself, who has God placed around me? This is how God worked on me. So I can speak to this. He put He kept putting people in my life that just kept pointing me that way. He knew I was hard headed and it would take a long time. My wife's like, Amen, Amen. But he just kept putting people in my life that showed me grace, that showed me mercy, that showed me acceptance, showed me patience. They showed me how they handled problems. And I say, Man, they have the same problem I have. How come they don't do it the same way I do? How come they don't lose their temper like me or whatever the case, right? So, hey, be aware. Notice where God has placed you, right? Who needs encouragement, compassion, help, or simply someone willing to listen to them. Then ask, what atmosphere am I helping to create? Am I creating a positive atmosphere where I where I edify and I build up? Or am I creating negativity where I tear down? Am I joining with the crowd to look at that person? They don't think the same way I think, so they must not be very good, whatever the case, right? We gotta be thinking, what am I doing here? When I walk into my home, my workplace, my classroom, do I bring peace? Or do I bring tension? Do I bring encouragement or criticism? Do I bring hope or negativity? And and I'm not saying I always do everything the right way, because I don't. I'm just a human. But it's important that we sometimes look at things. Hey, what am I bringing here? And I I think that's that's something we have to ask ourselves, and then we need to ask ourselves: what can I intentionally change? Try to change everything. Right? I remember somebody telling me one time when I was a very young police officer, they said, Look, kid, you can't change the world. And I listened, and then he said, But this is the clincher, you can change the little piece of the world that you're in at any given time. I thought, man, that's good advice. Because I almost tuned him out when he said, You can't change the world. I thought that speech was coming, right? Don't trust anybody. You know, whatever, right? It wasn't like that though. You can change. The little piece of the world you're in at any given time. I thought, man, that's good. That's good information. So remember that. So here's my challenge to you. Before asking God to send you somewhere new, ask him how he wants to use you where you already are. Don't just go through your day, change the atmosphere of your day. You are in control of how you handle your day. You can't always choose your circumstances, but you can always choose how to deal with the circumstances you're in. And I've been around people who have been dealt some really difficult circumstances. Life-threatening and life-changing. You know, I have a very close friend, and and and God healed her perfectly, but before that, he healed her, and for 12 years, because she was only supposed to live one year. Maybe less. They said, Go home and get your affairs in order. Now I I'm not gonna go into a big thing, but I will tell you I I observed, I watched. We watched a healing. And then we watched for twelve years while this person changed the atmosphere where they were at. They didn't fall into the identity of their diagnosis. They fell into the identity and embraced the identity of a lover of Christ and a lover of other people. And and and Looks that if that inspired me so much. If they can do that, facing that, then I certainly can do something with whatever little problem I have, right? So, man, I just challenge you, right? It's not always easy. Think about where you're at. Hey, light was never meant to be hidden. Matthew 5, 14 through 15 says, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Then Jesus says, Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. That's almost funny, right? Turn the light on and then you cover it, right? Think about that. Nobody lights a lamp and says, quick, somebody find me something to cover this up with. Defeats the entire purpose of the lamp. Yet spiritually, we do that all the time. We do that all the time, right? And please don't think I'm admonishing you because I'm not. I'm just talking to you, right? As somebody who puts a bowl on my lamp. Often, right? So just be thinking about that, right? We do that. God changes our lives. God gives us a testimony. God gives us opportunities. God peep puts people around us who need hope. Yet we cover the light because we're afraid that somebody might judge us. We don't think we're good enough. We don't have the words to say. We don't have the influence. Let me assure you that you do. Let me assure you that the same spirit. That rose Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you. It lives in you. It lives in me. There's nothing more powerful than the love of Christ. Nothing. And so when we're able to kind of to remember that, God's word won't return void. If you are in obedience, don't worry about what to say. You just let God have your heart. Lord, lead me, lead me, and I will follow, right? So don't cover up your light. That's what I'm talking about. God didn't light you up so you could blend in. You stand out. John chapter 1, verse 5 tells us that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Here's what's powerful about light. Light doesn't argue with darkness, light doesn't negotiate with darkness. It doesn't complain how dark the room has become, it just shines. Right? Some of you, maybe, maybe many of you have, if you've ever looked through night vision goggles or night vision equipment or nods, whatever you want to say, right? When you look through the old ones, like when I was in a long time ago, everything was two-dimensional, right? And it was really green. And if somebody turned on a light, you were blinded, right? Now though they're so much nicer, right? You go into a room, light comes on, it just is a wash. You can see very well, you can make out contours. I mean it's a lot better than when we first started, right? So I gotta tell you, I love it that the light just shines. Doesn't argue, doesn't negotiate, it doesn't make excuses. Well, I don't know if I'm good enough. It just shines. Bing and on it goes. You have never met anybody in your life that has more flashlights than my wife. She has more flashlights, more vacuums, and more running shoes than most people I know, right? Yeah. That's not a bad thing, right? But we have flashlights. I ain't kidding you. We have them all over. So let me tell you just a quick story about flashlights. I'm a b I'm a big believer in having lights here, there, all this stuff, right? So one night I got up in the middle of the night and I didn't know it, but there was a big bear in our bird feeders. And so I knew something was out there, so let me go see what's going on here, right? I thought it was a raccoon, to be honest with you, right? If I knew it was a bear, I stayed right where I was. But I went out like a big man. I took a flashlight, we have many. I went out, click, click, batteries are dead. Went back in. Now the bear knows I'm coming again, right? I go out with the light. Right? And you guys ever see that like that that little meme or whatever where the baby comes around the corner and then it goes like that, right? That was me. I went out there, it's going on out here. I woke Tina up, my gosh, there's a bear here, right? The light just shines. Right? The light just shines. That's a true story. That fat thing, he broke the two the four by four in half, blap, and then laid on the ground and was scooping sunflower seeds in his mouth. Excuse me, sorry about that. Yeah. Light just shines, right? We spend a lot of time talking about how dark the world is. But see, Jesus already knew the world was dark. That's why he put lights in it. So perhaps the church's response to darkness shouldn't be: look how dark everything has gotten. Look how dark the world is. Maybe our response should be: then it's time for us to shine brighter. Yeah, right? Shine brighter. It's no surprise that the world is dark. Jesus told us it would be. Maybe it's our time to shine brighter. So, how do we do that? See, shining doesn't mean being obnoxious. It doesn't mean winning every argument or beating people over the head with scripture. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about compassion when everyone else is critical. We're talking about integrity when dishonesty permeates a place you work in. We're talking about grace. When retaliation would feel better. We're talking about being courageous when everyone else stays silent. And here's what I love. I love this one. We're talking about hope when everyone else sees no way forward. So let me let me just challenge you tonight, right now, right here. Remove what's covering your light. Jesus said, people don't light a lamp and put a bowl over it, so make it personal. Name your bowl. What's covering your light? Maybe it's fear. Gosh, what will people think? Maybe it's comfort. I don't want to get involved. Maybe it's busyness. I just don't have time for that. Maybe it's compromise. Mmm. Well, I still really like to be in this part of the world, and I I just can't let that go. Hmm, right? Maybe compromise is hiding that light. So here's my challenge to you. Right? Don't be daunted. Don't be like, I can't do this. You can do this. Because here's the thing, you're gonna start with small steps. Because you're gonna do one thing this week that pushes against whatever is covering your life. One thing. If fear has kept you silent, speak. If comfort has kept you uninvolved, serve. If busyness has kept you from people, then intentionally make room. If compromise has dimmed your witness, then make it right. So here's my challenge. Don't spend another week asking God to make you brighter while holding on to the thing that's covering the light. You have to let it go. You don't need more light. You have it. Just remove the covering. Remove the bowl. See, the goal isn't that they see you, it's that they see him. So Matthew 5, 16 says, in the same way, let your light shine before others. That they may see your good deeds, and here's the important part it's not about your deeds, and glorify your Father in heaven. That's the whole thing. You want to satisfy your soul, then stop doing it for you. Do it for God. That's where the reward is, that's where that feeling is. Don't do the good deed or whatever it is, don't let that light shine, expecting something in return. Shine it to God, let him have the glory. I'm telling you, your soul will be fulfilled. When I went to the mission trip in Honduras, when I went down there, I remember thinking, we're here to bless all the people here with our American benevolence. Come get some of our American benevolence. Didn't work that way. Man, the blessing came to us. These people gave us a blessing so many times over and over and over. Their light was not encumbered by other things. This is all they had. And that was very humbling. It was very humbling. And I have to tell you, their light shined so we could see him. Because this is where the entire passage lands. Jesus says, Let them see something in you so they'll glorify someone above you. That's the difference between kingdom influence and personal agenda. Right? We want to give the light out, not for our sake. For other there's people out here that have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. Someone in this town is hopeless and hurting right now. And one of us is gonna come across them. And we're gonna have an opportunity. And that light can shine, but we can cover it and miss the opportunity. Not for our own sake, but for their sake. Right? So be bold. I joined, I'm telling you, I this you can think this sounds corny or not. I joined the state police, I became a Marine because I was you know my background, you know how I grew up. I was gonna defend the defenseless and speak for the speechless. That's what I was going to do. Now that's a bit idealistic, but I don't care. That's where I hung my hat. And and did I always live up to that? Probably not, but I that was where my heart was. And I'm telling you, you have a chance to speak for the speechless. You have a chance to defend the defenseless simply through your actions, simply through letting your light shine. So I would encourage you with that. You know, the spotlight may land on you, but the glory belongs to God. The glory belongs to Him. There's nothing inherently wrong with influence. Being a person of influence, that's part of leadership. Influencing people. That's not a bad thing. What can make it bad is what your motives are. What are we influencing them for to notice? Me or to notice God. And that's what we need to kind of keep, that's what need to keep that straight. So remember, there's nothing inherently wrong with success, promotion, opportunity, responsibility, or even being noticed. The question is, what happens to the attention once it gets to you? Does it stop with you? Or does your life redirect it towards Jesus? Look, there's nothing wrong with being but it feels good when somebody tells you you do you did this well. There's nothing wrong with, you know, thank you. Right? That's good. But then what do you do after that? Redirect that to God. Thank you. God has been very good to me. Right? Our kids were under much threat when they were young, whenever they went into public. You better behave yourself. And then they would be good for the ten or fifteen minutes we were out in public, right? And people would say, You're very lucky, your kids are good. We'd be like, it's not luck. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, right? And and and thank God that you know he gave us children, thank God that we have grandchildren, which I will tell you is much better than children. Nothing against your children. I'm sure they're wonderful human beings. But my grandchildren are amazing. So just remember that. What happens to the attention once it gets to you? Does it stop or reflect? So think about a road sign. Nobody stops at a road sign and celebrates the sign, right? The sign exists to point beyond itself. That's us. Our marriages should point to Jesus. Our leadership should point to Jesus. Our generosity should point to Jesus, not to us. Boy, I sure gave a lot this week, I'll tell you. All right. I give because God gives to me. It's not about the amount, it's about where your heart's at. Don't let that point to you. Our entire lives should keep saying, Don't stop here. Look at Jesus. Here's something very important that we can miss in Matthew 5 16. Jesus actually expects people to see our good works. That's okay. The problem isn't being seen. The problem is when we don't give the proper glory or the proper you know, response to Jesus Christ. That's what that's where the problem is. And that's an important distinction. We're not called to hide good works. We're called to surrender the glory that comes from them. We're called to give our testimony because you weren't delivered for you. You were delivered so you can share that testimony with someone else. I haven't walked the same walk that you've walked. How important is it when you're walking this walk? Somebody else that has been there says, I've been there and I was delivered this way. That really means something. If I haven't walked that walk and I'm trying to tell you how to navigate it, it doesn't land the same way. Right? So, man, you've been given so much, don't hide it. So here's our action step. First things first, redirect the credit. Every time somebody notices something good in you this week, practice turning the attention toward what God has done in you. It doesn't mean you have to be self, you know, beating yourself up, you know what I mean? You did good on that. No, I didn't. No, that's okay to celebrate that. Hey, you did good. Thank you. God has been very good to me. Right? It's not bragging. That's not being too much. Right? Whatever the case might be. Man, you did a good job on that. Thanks. I prayed about that a lot. You prayed about it. Now we're talking. I did. Yeah? Hmm. Right? Someone compliments your generosity, redirect it. Somebody notices how you handle a difficult situation? Redirect it. My good friend Dan. I hope he's watching. He's camping right now. This is him. I say, how come you did it that way? How come you don't get mad like me? He's like, I do. But I don't let that consume me. I give it to God. I'm like, what? Show me how to do that. Teach me how to do that. God put him in my life for a reason. Redirect the credit. Look, you don't have to make it awkward or overly spiritual. Just say, God's been really good to me. That's something God's been working on me. Matthew 5:16 doesn't end with that they may see your good deeds. It ends with and glorify your Father in heaven. So this week, don't just ask. Did people notice what I did? Ask, did this help somebody notice Jesus Christ? When God elevates your influence, elevate his name. Here's your last challenge notice, remove, and redirect. Maybe God has elevated you. Maybe he's given you great responsibility. Maybe he's opened a door. Maybe he's expanded your area of influence. Maybe he's placed you in a position that you never expected. Then understand something. Elevation just isn't an opportunity. Elevation is responsibility. When I was a sergeant, I wore sergeant stripes because my men did not. They needed me to buffer for them, they needed me to train them, to protect them. It wasn't for me. Stripes weren't for me. It was for my Marines or my troopers. So this week remember three words: notice, remove, and redirect. Notice where God has already placed you. Stop waiting for a bigger opportunity. Start seeing the people God has already put in front of you. Remove. Remove whatever has been covering your light. Fear, comfort, busyness, compromise, silence. Whatever the bowl is. Take it off. And then redirect. When people begin to notice something different in you, redirect the attention back to Jesus. Let your life continuously say, Don't stop at me. Look at him. Because the higher the lamp goes, the farther the light travels. I'm gonna do a little demonstration here. We're gonna turn the lights off. Don't get nervous. It's not a power outage. We're gonna cut all the lights down. It's gonna take a second. Don't start snoring when them lights go down. Okay, here's my light. If I shine it straight out in front of me, it illuminates a few people, right? I'm trying not to shine it in your eyes. If I point it right at me, it illuminates me. When I hold it up here, look how much power it has. I can now see the entire sanctuary. We can bring the lights back up. Thank you. Let that lamp shine high, so that all can see. Maybe that's got why God has you here. He has you. Not so people can say, Look at them, but so eventually they say, Look at him. You're the salt of the earth, you're the light of the world. Change what you touch. Shine where he's placed you. And when people notice, give the glory back to Jesus. The higher you go, the more Jesus people should see. Or perhaps maybe an even better way to say it would be: the higher God takes you. The clearer Jesus should become. So maybe your prayer tonight shouldn't be, God elevate me, maybe or deliver me. God, maybe our prayer is, Jesus, wherever you place me, make yourself impossible to miss. Look, my prayer tonight, before we close in prayer, is that this practicality, that you got some some challenges and some action steps. Such a good message on Sunday, such an important and powerful message. And now we take it a little bit deeper. We start to put it into application. And I hope that that's my prayer is that that's what you saw out of this. You still had the information, but now you took some practicality from it. Not that the sermon wasn't practical. It's important that we hear the word of God. It's important that we hear it, we hear all of it. But it's also important that we continue with that so it stays with us. So Sunday, we wouldn't charge our phone on Sunday and expect it to still be working on Friday. So Wednesday becomes an extension of Sunday, just breaking it down a little bit more. That's my prayer. So will you join me in prayer tonight? Father, thank you for reminding us tonight that you have called us to be salt and light. Thank you, God, that you have Placed us exactly where we are for a purpose. Lord, we don't want to simply go through our days occupying space. We want our lives to make a difference for your kingdom. Lord, help us to notice. Open our eyes to people you have already placed around us. Help us see the person who is hurting, the person who needs encouragement, the person who needs hope, and the person who simply needs to see Jesus through the way we live. Don't let us become so focused on where we're going that we miss who you've placed in front of us. Lord, we don't want people to be impressed with us or impressed with how we live. We want them introduced to the one we live for. And that's you, Jesus. The very breath in our lungs. So, Father, remove anything, anything that's covering our light. If it's fear, give us courage. If it's comfort, move us toward obedience. If it's busyness, help us make room. If it's compromise, then Lord, help us become back in alignment with you. And Lord, if we've been silent when you've called us to speak, help us to speak out boldly. Give us the boldness of To remove that cover and let the light of Jesus shine. Lord, help us to redirect, always point people toward you. Heavenly Father, when you elevate us, keep us humble. Wherever your position is, make us faithful. Wherever you send us, make us useful. Wherever our light shines, may you receive the glory. Heavenly Father, I just pray to you tonight that our homes will be different because Jesus is there. May our workplaces be different because Jesus is there. May our schools, neighborhoods, relationships, and community be different because you're willing to have us live as salt and light. You've given us the ability to be salt and light, so help us to be obedient in that. And Father, may this be the prayer of our lives. The higher you take us, let the clear that people see you in us. Don't elevate our name, Lord. Elevate your name. Make you high. Make us low. Don't build our kingdom, Lord. Build yours. Make Jesus, Lord, this. Just make you impossible to miss. Lord, we just we declare we surrender our influence, our opportunities, our gifts in our lives to you. Use us for your glory. But I pray right now, right here. you speak to all. Show us, give us the wisdom and discernment to be influential in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our places of employment. Not influence through charisma, not influence through what we say, but influence through how you shine through us. Pray, Lord, that everyone here, everyone hearing online, everyone we come in contact with, Lord, this week. We'll see you. We'll see you in what we do. Lord, I thank and praise you for the powerful testimonies that will come out of this because you are who you say you are. You're the beginning, you're the end. Everything we have is because of you. And I thank and praise you for what you've done, what you will do, and what you are doing today. In Jesus' mighty name. We all agreed and said, Amen. You guys have a beautiful night. Thanks for listening to the Faith Alive Sermon podcast. We hope this message encouraged you. If it did, be sure to subscribe or share it with someone else who may need it. If you want to get connected or reach out to one of our pastors, go to our website at faithalive.church. We'll see you next time.