SALT AND LIGHT

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Salt/Light | Week 1
1
Have you ever been thirsty? REALLY thirsty? What is the thirstiest you have ever
been?
[AUTHOR NOTE: Here is my story. I recommend coming up with your own
example.]
Mine was probably at San Antonio working on a ranch and painting in the
blistering hot sun. I was so thirsty that I would have drank anything. Well, maybe
not anything. But it felt like I going to die of thirst! The only thing available to drink
was a very expired Country Time lemonade, so I had no choice. It was gross, but
at least it was wet!
Do you remember (or maybe you still do this) drinking out of a garden hose? It is
just one of the best things when you are out playing and hot and really thirsty.
Now, I want you to imagine being very thirsty… put yourself in that mental
framework for a second. Everyone there? Now, you’re going to drink something,
but you decide to drink salt.
[AUTHOR NOTE: Show the video of the guy drinking salt. It’s included in the
Week 1 PowerPoint presentation file or you can find it in the Week 1 folder; it’s
the “Salt Video.mp4” file.]
You’ve probably guessed by now that tonight we are talking about salt.
Let me drop some facts on you about salt
 The first written reference to salt is found in the Book of Job, recorded
about 2,250 BC.
 There are 31 other references to salt in the Bible, the most familiar
probably being the story of Lot’s wife who was turned into a pillar of salt
when she disobeyed the angels and looked back at the wicked city of
Sodom.
 Thousands of years ago, animals created paths to salt licks, and men
followed seeking game and salt. Their trails became roads and beside the
roads; settlements grew. These settlements became cities and nations.
 The widespread superstition that spilling salt brings bad luck is believed to
have originated with the overturned salt cellar in front of Judas Iscariot at
the Last Supper, an incident immortalized in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous
painting.
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 Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt – which is where the word
‘salary’ comes from. (It’s difficult to spend salt in restaurants today though.)
 Every cell in the body contains salt – an adult contains about 250 grams,
equivalent to a box of Maldon Salt.
The Many Uses of Salt
Most people probably think of salt as simply a tiny, white, granular food
seasoning. In reality, only 6% of all salt manufactured goes into food. Salt is used
in more than 14,000 different ways from the making of products as varied as
plastic, paper, glass, polyester, rubber and fertilizers to household bleach, soaps,
detergents, and dyes.
The truth is: everyone uses salt, directly or indirectly.
In what we commonly know as Jesus’ “The Sermon on the Mount,” He knew that
His disciples as well as the crowd who gathered to listen to Him teach would
understand the imagery and power of salt when He said as he taught His
disciples: (which includes you and me:
Matthew 5:13
“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. (NIV)
Here, Jesus compares His followers (us) to salt and tells us we need to remain
salty (aka useful), reminding us that if we aren’t salty, we actually become
useless to further His kingdom.
But why? What’s the purpose of our being salty or useful?
The clue comes in the next few verses in the Sermon on the Mount. Let’s take a
quick peek now:
Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  15  Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house.  16  In the same way, let your light shine before
others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(NIV)
Salt/Light | Week 1: Be Salt | Grant Byrd
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We’ll look at this passage in more detail next week. But for now, I just want you
to take note that, here, Jesus changed His imagery from salt to light. Everyone
listening knew what light was and what light provided. But the answer to the
question “Why be salty?” is actually found right there in verse 16. His followers
are to be salty (useful) in everyday life so people will recognize their saltiness
(good deeds) and as a result, glorify God.
You and I are called (as Christians) to be salty so others will see our lives, in
other words, taste our saltiness and become thirsty for the LIVING WATER.
This idea of “living water” comes from John 4. This concept comes from the
account of when Jesus met with a women at a watering well, and Jesus
referenced living water.
John 4:3-14
3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the
way.  5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the
long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.  7 Soon a Samaritan woman
came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”
8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy
some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do
with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan
woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are
speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very
deep. Where would you get this living water?  12 And besides, do you think you’re
greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better
water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty
again.  14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It
becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (NLT)
Jesus talked about “living water” – so powerful that whoever drinks it will never
thirst again. Think about that! Never being thirsty again is an amazing concept!
Salt/Light | Week 1: Be Salt | Grant Byrd
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Jesus is the living water who spiritually quenches whatever one is thirsting for.
This woman was spiritually needy and thirsty, and Jesus took her physical desire
(“I want water”) and turned it into a conversation about spiritual matters.
[AUTHOR NOTE: To drive home the point, I gave an illustration from my life. You
can take it and just say, “I know someone who had an Aunt Marzie, and,” or you
can come up with your own story that illustrates how food can look great, but
without the salt it can taste gross.]
I had an Aunt Marzie who would occasionally cook for us. She truly made a
beautiful meal. I mean the whole spread looked amazing, but she couldn’t cook
with salt due to her own medical issues. So, even though the meal looked
stunning, it didn’t contain any salt. When I sat down and took a bite, I realized
that my eyes and my mouth were not in sync. My eyes saw beauty and my
mouth tasted nasty. It was so bland… so gross… but it looked so good.
This is similar to people who know about Jesus, perhaps they go to church, or
maybe they are students who come to youth group and enjoy the social
interaction, the games, the food, and the fun events, but they don’t know Jesus.
They haven’t yet established a personal relationship with Jesus. Maybe it’s that
they haven’t yet tasted enough of your saltiness (your usefulness) in order to
create within them the thirst for Jesus, the living water.
Remember, Jesus said to His followers (you and me):
Matthew 5:13
“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.
Jesus is basically saying, “Be salty.” So, the bottom line question for us to ask
ourselves is, if Jesus calls us to be the salt of the Earth, what does our saltiness
need to look like?
Only you can know exactly what that looks like for you. But here are some
possible ideas for how you might be salty.
 Maybe being salty is you standing up for what you know to be right.
 Maybe being salty means that the words you speak need to be filled with
things that you know Jesus would want you to say. And it doesn’t have to
be ‘preachy’ but just think about what it would sound like to speak words of
Salt/Light | Week 1: Be Salt | Grant Byrd
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love, kindness, mercy, grace, and forgiveness into the hurt and rudeness of
this world.
 Maybe being salty means finding ways to serve others in the same way
Jesus served others.
 Maybe being salty means encouraging your friends who are discouraged.
 Maybe being salty means standing up for those among your peers who are
unpopular, weird, or bullied.
Jesus is saying: to us, “Be salty” in what seems to be a very simple way yet you
have just as many ways to live it out everyday as the 14,000 different ways that
salt is used.
Like I said, only you can come to the conclusion on what Jesus’ call to be salty
looks like for you. So, I want to invite you to start the journey to discover this with
a simple prayer: Lord make us salty so others might thirst for you.
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