Salt and Light
Notes
Transcript
“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.
Dr. James Stewart, a great British preacher, once said: The greatest threat to Christianity is not communism, it's not atheism, it's not materialism, its not humanism.
The greatest threat to Christianity is Christians trying to sneak into heaven incognito without ever sharing their faith, without ever living out the Christian life, without ever becoming involved in the most significant work God is doing on planet earth. This is exactly the problem Jesus was trying to remedy with this sermon.
I. SHAKE THE SALT ON A DECAYING WORLD
I. SHAKE THE SALT ON A DECAYING WORLD
The Kingdom Life is a distinct Life. Different
“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.
salt flavors, and preserves, and creates thirst.
Not your the honey or sugar of the earth.
Whenever you remove the salt, decay begins to set in. Schools, entertainment, government.
Not salt of the church, but the salt of the earth.
Salt was so valuable in Bible days that it was often traded ounce-for-ounce with gold. Roman soldiers were paid in salt. In fact, the word salary is derived from the word for salt. If a Roman soldier didn't do his job, he wouldn't get all of his salt. That's where we get the phrase, "He is not worth his salt," if someone does not do a good days work.
When we conform to the culture, instead of transforming the culture, we lose our seasoning.
Evangelicals account for one in every six abortions in America.
Over half of Christian teenagers (55%) have engaged in sexual activity by the time they reach 18.
II. SHINE THE LIGHT TO A DARKENED WORLD
II. SHINE THE LIGHT TO A DARKENED WORLD
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Light shines, light reveals!
Kalos- teaching, serving, sharing, and giving
Light gives hope!
A single candle is visible 1.6 miles in the dark, would be 30 miles without curve and obstruction.
Missions
III. SHARE THE TRUTH TO A DYING WORLD
III. SHARE THE TRUTH TO A DYING WORLD
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
"The real mark of a saint is that he makes it easier for others to believe in God."
I heard a story one time about a duck who broke his wing during the flight home for the winter. A sympathetic farmer retrieved the fallen duck and took him home. The farmer's children adopted the duck as their pet and began to feed him from the table and take him along as they performed their daily chores. By next fall the children were heartbroken as they watched the duck look at the other ducks who were flying south for the winter, but his wing still wasn't strong enough for the flight. Every time a flock flew south, the duck would look longingly into the sky and then return to play with the children. Well, the second year the duck's wing had grown much stronger, but the children had fed the duck so well that when he attempted to take off he was too fat to get off the ground. After one or two attempts he gave up and returned to play with the children. The third year the duck was completely healed. But as the other ducks quacked their call to go south, the duck never even looked up as they flew over. He had become so accustomed to the comfort of his new existence he had lost his focus on the true calling and meaning of his life.
Conclusion:
God has not called us to be fat ducks, satisfied with a world that is going to go up in smoke.
There are two pictures of the Christian in closing: salt and the light. Salt speaks of inward character that influences a decaying world; light speaks of the outward testimony of good works that points to God. Our task is to keep our lives pure that we might “salt” this earth and hold back corruption so that the Gospel can get out. Our good works must accompany our dedicated lives as we let our lights shine.
Warren W. Wiersbe