Sundays serman Matthew 5:14-16

The Lord made away for Pastor John to visit Israel and he will be gone from Saturday July 30- August 19. If you have any needs or questions during that time, please reach out to Danny Lonai, Kevin Griffith, or Jim Goodenough and they can help you out.

Introduction

Good morning and welcome to FCC where we worship God in Spirit and in Truth, one verse at a time and one book at a time!

We are currently in Matthew and we have come as far as Matthew 5:13, so let us open out Bibles there and dive into the Word and see what the Lord has for us today.

Read Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13–16 NKJV

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Prayer

Lord Heavenly Father, we are so privileged to be here today to worship you in Spirit and in Truth this Lord’s day. And why we come together corporately for worship in Bible study and in song, our heart is that our public lives would match up with our private lives. Father we all have come with many joys and yet burdens, but for now can you through the power of your generous Holy Spirit direct our thoughts, can you give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us and may you help us to practically apply the lessons. Lord our hearts are grieved over the death of Chaplain Gil Alden from WSP and we ask the your would immerse his wife Angie in your grace and love, that you would comfort, give peace, hope, and healing to the family during this time. Lord, please help us all to remember that life is but a vapor and that heaven is near. So please Lord, may we all be ready for that Day. Please make us more like Jesus today, than you did yesterday we pray…

In Jesus Name, we Love You! Amen and Amen

Review

Last week we closed out the beatitudes with blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness and for Name sake and not our own.

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven and what is interesting is we started with blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom had come because Jesus came of the scene and when we surrender our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, therefore the Kingdom lives in us and through us.

But the Kingdom is yet to come and when the consummation of God’s Kingdom happens this brings the end of the curse that came about in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve entered into rebellion against God.

The consummation of God’s Kingdom will bring about the destruction of all evil and the end of this “present evil age.

It is interesting we started the beatitudes with the poor in spirit and ended with being persecuted.

But the greatest thing we can take away is if we have all 8 in our lives, then we will be blessed to be like our Savior and we will be fragrant to those around us.

When Mary poured that alabaster jar of perfume on Jesus there was a fragrance that filled the room.

And I believe that if these our operating in our lives, we will be fragrant and that we will draw men, women, and children to the Lord.

But wait, I also think there will be those who walk in darkness and will reject the fragrance of Christ in our lives and thus persecute us.

Matthew 5:13 NKJV

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Having seen what the Christian is, we now come to consider how the Christian should manifest this. Or, if you prefer it, having realized what we are, we must now go on to consider what we must be.

In other words, in these verses that immediately follow, we are told very clearly the relationship of the Christian to the world in general.

The Christian is not someone who lives in isolation. But they live in community.

It is importnat for us to remember that this is the Sermon on the Mount, therefore, verse 13 followed verse 12. The beatitudes are connected to being salt and light church.

This sermon was spoken to the disciples of Jesus Christ then, but this is also written for our admonition now.

YOU ARE, the salt of the earth is written as a statement of fact ( indicative), not an imperative ( a command to be something).

Church, Jesus didn’t tell us we should Be salt & light. He tells us we Are salt & light

However, the implication here is that we are to be what God has made us.

What you have in these very simple four verses is the picture that our Lord gives of the Christian in the world, the function of the believer in the world. And if I could reduce it down to one word, it would be the word “influence.” Our Lord is saying that the Christian who lives according to the Beatitudes is going to influence the world as salt and light.In all that a person does and that a person is, or is not, the sum total of our character, consciously or otherwise, affects other people.

As Jesus continues his teaching he uses 2 important elements in their day (salt & light) to paint a picture of what it is to be a faithful christian witness.

Metaphor-a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else.

Salt- why did Jesus choose salt?

Salt was a valuable commodity when Jesus walked on the earth and I would like to share with you a few things regarding being a salty saint.

Salt was used as a preservative. There was no refrigeration and they used it to preserve the meat and other things of the day from decay.

When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth he is teaching his disciples church that even though the world is decaying, that we are God’s preservatives because he wishes not one shall perishes, but that all would come to repentance and ever lasting life.

Salt was used as a flavor enhancer. It enhanced food, like it does for us and kingdom people should be flavor enhancer in a world that is rotten.

Colossians 4:5–6 NKJV

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

So our speech needs to be graceful and seasoned with salt.

Is our speech full of grace and seasoned with salt or pepper?

If we were to ask our brothers and sisters, our spouses and children, our bosses and our co-workers if are speech is full of grace and seasoned with salt, what would they say?

See salt and later we will discuss light are terms of influence church and if we are not salt, then we are pepper and pepper is an irritant.

We will not draw others to Christ, but rather away if we have lose lips.

BACK DURING WW1 or 2 I believe they said loose lips, sinks ships.

And church, to be honest, I have seen men and women not be able to enter the ministry because of their tongue and I have seen some disqualified.

God desires our tongues to be full of grace and seasoned with salt.

President Woodrow Wilson told this story. He said, "I was in a very common place. I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself, to have his hair cut, and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done for me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D.L. Moody was in that chair.

“I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They didn't know his name, but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts. And I felt that I left that place as I should have left the place of worship. My admiration and esteem for Mr. Moody became very deep indeed." Influence. Influence.

What message do you leave the world?

When you pass by, what are you saying?

Years ago, Elihu Burritt wrote this, "No human being can come into this world without increasing or diminishing the sum total of human happiness, not only of the present, but of every subsequent age of humanity. No one can detach himself from this connection.

So salt is a preservative and flavor enhancer.

3. Salt was used to pay the Roman soldiers.

Being so valuable, soldiers in the Roman army were sometimes paid with salt instead of money. Their monthly allowance was called "salarium" ("sal" being the Latin word for salt). This Latin root can be recognized in the French word "salaire" — and it eventually made it into the English language as the word "salary."

He is not worth his salt!!

Are you worth your salt?

It was a valuable commodity. In fact, it was so valuable during the time of Jesus that if you wasted salt, your were shamed by the culture you were surrounded by.

When Leonardo da Vinci painted the last supper, he put an overturned salt cellar in front of Judas...

Matthew 5:13 NKJV

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Can salt really lose its flavor?

Pure salt cannot lose its flavor or its effectiveness.

But scholars believe Jesus shared this because of the salt in the Dead Sea that is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals.

It had a flat taste and did not enhance food or preserve anything.

Such salts were used for keeping footpaths free of vegetation church!

So when Jesus shared that salt can lose its flavor, he is referring to being contaminated by the world.

Being contaminated by false teaching.

I know a guy that is absolutely amazing, but he holds dear to the evidence that you have the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues and you know that this is holding him back form being used mightily by God.

4. Salt penetrates. It inserts a new quality, substance, and life. It changes that upon which it is put.

Believers are likewise to penetrate the world and insert a new life into it.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

5. Salt creates thirst church. If we are the salt of the earth, then everywhere we go there will be a thirst created in those we come into contact with for the things of God.

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Actually you can if you rub his tongue w/salt.

John 4:13–14 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The bottom line is this:

The human body can't live without some sodium. It's needed to transmit nerve impulses, contract and relax muscle fibers (including those in the heart and blood vessels), and maintain a proper fluid balance. It doesn't take much to do this.

You are the salt of the earth church because Jesus said you are.

Matthew 5:14–16 NKJV

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Note: You ARE the light of the world.

The word light is mentioned 272 times in the Bible.

Jesus never called himself the salt of the earth church, but he did call you the salt of the earth.

However, he did call himself the light of the the world.

John 8:12 NKJV

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

LIGHT is first mentioned in Genesis 1:3 and is threaded all the way through the Bible into Revelation.

If there is light, then there is darkness, right?

If Jesus is living in us and through us, then light is going to dispel the darkness.

Before the light showed up in Genesis church, the earth was dark and void.

When light came, God divided the darkness form the light and he does the same if our lives.

People cannot live long without salt and light church.

Over and over God refers to us as lights.

Ephesians 5:8–10 NKJV

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

But the questions we must pose is, “What kind of light are we?”

Are we a bright light?

Are we a flickering light?

Are we a dimmer switch disciple? This is the type of Christian who says their Christianity is private and they do not let people know. They are dimmer switches church.

When we think of being salt and light church, I think it is important for us to realize that Jesus is calling us to be the same in private as we are in the public.

Matthew 5:14–16 NKJV

When Jesus is talking about a city on a hill cannot be hidden, he is talking about a specific city that sat about 3000 ft above the rest and it could not be hidden.

Its like coming down 12 into Walla at night time and seeing the WSP lights.

They cannot be hidden.

This means that is we are actually disciples of his, he does not want us isolating church.

He goes on and teaches us to not hide our lamps under a basket or be dimmer switch Christians church.

A “city on a hill” is a phrase used to refer to America's supposed standing in the world, as a “beacon of hope” which other nations can look to for moral guidance.

NOTE:

Where is the light to shine first?

In your home!!!

We are to be the same person in private, that we are in public.

There are some Christians church, that are not the same people inside their homes that they are in public.

They treat their spouses and kids poorly and when the leave their home, they become someone different and they have everybody but God and their family fooled.

Listen, if this is you, please do not be condemned, but please here what I am about to say. If you are struggling with not being the same in private as you are in public, please go the the Father and confess the sin of hypocrisy and any other behavior like anger and a sharp tongue, or laziness and lack of love. As him to empower you through his Holy Spirit to repent and then welcome a brother or sister in your life to walk out your repentance.

After, you do this, I beseech you as your brother in Christ and pastor that you have a sit down dinner with your family or those you have hurt and share you heart. Share humbly about how you have failed God and failed them and then ask for the forgiveness and for them to help hold you accountable as well.

How do you think this would go over? Do you think they would be surprised?

Church, our lights are to shine in private first, then the public because guess what happens?

THEY WILL SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY THE FATHER IN HEAVEN.

Jesus loves you more than you can think or imagine church and he desires nothing but good for you.

Are you the salt of the earth and do you light up the room when you walk in?

Prayer

Lord, thank you for such a rich text a text of encouragement and admonition! We have all fallen short Lord of being salt and light on the earth and we ask that you would forgive us. For those that are here today or listening online that struggle with being the same in private and public, we pray that you would grant humility, repentance and accountability. Lord please you said that we are the salt of the earth so please sprinkle us across our town, God, across our world, to bring the flavour of your Kingdom wherever we go. You said"You are the light of the world." Uncover the radiance that is within us, God, to shine the truth of your love wherever we go."Let your light shine before others" that everyone we meet may see our lives of worship and glorify you!

In Jesus name we love You! Amen.

Benediction

Romans 13:12 NKJV

The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

THE LORD BLESS YOU!

YOUR MISSION STARTS NOW!

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