Made for More

Matthew 5:13-16

Being called to do more

All Star Team

When I was 5 I was at home playing one day and my mom received a phone call from my baseball coach.

All the options

Kicked off the team

In trouble for something

Asked to be on the all-star team

Those were the cool kids

12 kids out of all 5 year old little league players were asked

And I was one of them

This is the team that goes to district tournament

Then if you do well enough you can go to State Tournament

This lead to a childhood filled with playing baseball

This team turned into a tournament team

It was on this team that I found my best friends

Taught me hard work

Taught me team work

I played with these guys for the next 13 years

Camped together

Stayed in hotels together

See them occasionally

Lawson

Justin

Memories that will last a life-time that goes back to a coach calling me

I’ve seen you

I’ve seen your potential

I have a job for you

You were made for more than just league ball

Kidz Kamp Staffer

When I was 13 I was at home playing one day and mom received another phone call from Doug

All the options

Doug’s asking my mom to teach a sunday school class

I’m in trouble for something

Asked to be a staffer at Kidz Kamp

Explain staffing back then compared to now

He was asking if I wanted to be a part of leading and teaching a group of boys at Kidz Kamp

Clint Felts

Out of the youth group not a lot of students were asked

It wasn’t like he was calling all parents begging kids to come

I was chosen…

Me

The quiet kid

Kept to himself

Relatively new to this youth group

I’ve been watching you

I see your heart

I see your desire to follow Jesus

I have a job for you

You were made for more than just Wednesday night attendance

The Lord wants to use you to have an impact on others

This was my first venture into the ministry world

Being called and pushed to do something

I got a little emotional thinking back through this story

I don’t know what Doug saw in that little shy kid

The phone call that Doug made that day, changed my life

Hearing… “I see something in you.” And “I have a purpose for you.” changed my life

You were made for more

In the next paragraph of the sermon on the mount Jesus says something very similar to his followers

I see something in you

I have a purpose for you

You were made for more than just sitting back and letting life happen

I created you to have an influence on the world that you live in

The excuses we make

Me? (Disciples)

Are you sure about that?

None of the Rabbi’s wanted me

That’s why I’m here

Jewish education

Work your way up

Once you make your way through the basics, some students (the best students) were chosen to spend their time with Rabbis

The students who weren’t chosen had to go get a job

I don’t have a lot of money

I didn’t come from an influential family

The identity that we’re given

Jesus looks at them and says…

You are salt.

You are light.

I have a purpose for you

You’re not a nobody

You were made for more

Salt and Light

Tonight we’re going to talk about being salt and light

Likely a familiar passage for many of you

Approach this passage in humility

Read it as though you’re reading it for the very first time

Take in what Jesus is saying to his followers

If that is what Jesus said to them, then what does that mean for me?

Before we open up the scriptures, I just want to invite you to pray

Clear your mind of any anxiety or worries

Prepare your heart to hear from God

Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes to behold the wondrous things of your law

Matthew 5:13-16

Setup:

Sermon on the Mount

Remember this is a speech or a sermon that Jesus is giving

He’s explaining what it means to follow Him

Beatitudes

The good life

Here’s what heaven applauds

Character that is bent toward God and becoming like Jesus

Passage: Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Followers of Jesus make things better

The value and importance of salt in the 1st Century

Today we’re taught to be careful with salt

Don’t eat too much

Raise your cholesterol

In the 1st century, salt was a highly valued commodity

Roman soldiers were often paid in salt

It was called a salarium

It’s from there that we get our word salary

Have you ever heard the phrase, “He’s not worth his salt.”

Old people say it

He’s not worth paying

Throughout the Roman era and throughout the middle ages salt was known as “white gold”

For us…

It’s what we put on our potatoes and eggs and chips and salsa and pretty much everything else

While we do use it often… I don’t know that we place the same amount of value on it, as they did in the 1st century

One of the most valuable things you could possess

You… are valuable

Outcast

Forgotten

Feel as though you don’t have much to offer

No skills

No talents

No product

You are the salt of the earth

What was it used for?

Flavor

Just like we use it today

Eggs. Baked Potatoes. Tomatoes. Popcorn. Salad.

My grandpa put salt on watermelon and cantaloupe.

Why do we put salt on things?

It makes it better

The calling of the Christian is to make the world better

Sin ruins societies

A lack of faith ruins societies

It’s the Christian that fights for justice

It’s the Christian that fights for peace

It’s the Christian that fights for authentic love

It’s the Christian that makes the world better

Every major push to assist those in need have been lead by Christians

The fight to end slavery

The fight to end segregation

The fight to end the killing of millions of babies in the womb

The fight to protect families

The fight to end sex trafficking

All lead by Christians

Why do you think Ace Hardware keeps hiring Church members?

Because Christians make things better

They work harder

They’re respectful

They make good employees

They make your company better

Some of the greatest places to eat are Christian owned companies

Chick-Fil-A

David’s Burgers

Tacos for Life

Like salt, Christians make things better

Your company should be better because you work there

Your school should be better because you go there

Your family should be better because you’re in it

You group of friends should be better because you’re in it

Preservation

Salt wasn’t just used to flavor things, it was primarily used to preserve things

They had no refrigerators

They had to come up with a new way to preserve their foods or they would spoil before they could eat them

Salting

Salt removes the moisture from an item

Stops bacteria from growing

This drastically extends the longevity of your foods

Allows you to keep certain meats for weeks or even months

Lemons, in the middle east are still preserved using salt and they’re kept for up to a year

Why do you think Beef Jerky last so long?

Salt

What about Pickles?

Butter?

They last so long because of the salt content within them

The calling of the Christian isn’t just to flavor the earth. They’re called to be a preserving agent in the earth as well.

The earth is rotten and it is rotting

Society is getting worse

Civilizations are getting worse

We see this played out in the book of Genesis

Adam - Noah

Noah - Sodom

The calling of the Christian is to prevent decay

That we would step in stop things from getting worse

The tendency of some is to try to escape the broken world

We see it in Monks

We see it in others that isolate themselves in a circle of Christians

That becomes their comfort zone

That’s where they spend all of their time

The calling is not that we would remove ourselves from the broken world

But that we would be used to have an impact on this broken world

Followers of Jesus bring light to the darkness

The function of a light

Reveal what’s in the darkness

Shows the way out of the darkness

Darkness is a dangerous place

Very few crimes happen in the light of day

It’s after dark that people break into homes

It’s after dark that people get into trouble

Prostitute - A lady of the night

“Nothing good happens after dark.”

Old fashioned phrase

With some wisdom to it

Evil things happen in the dark

The bible describes the world as being in darkness

Darkness - metaphor for sinfulness

Evil

Blind

Ignorant

The world longs for enlightenment

For the longest time they thought education would get us there

The Enlightenment

17th and 18th centuries

In the US and in Great Britain

Push for education

Move away from Religion toward Science and Philosophy

They were convinced this was going to fix things

They thought it would fix all evil

Drunkenness

Immorality

Adultery

War

All of this would be done away with once we begin to emphasize education

If we study enough

If push education

We make sure every child goes through school

We push them to go to college

Finally the world would be better place

No more wars

No more hate

These things are the result of a lack of education

It fixed nothing…

It’s the Christian with the fix

Reveals the danger of walking in darkness

Shows the true way to live

You

Simple

Unimportant

Not chosen by a rabbi

Uneducated

It’s you who is going to show everyone how to live

It’s you who is going to lead the way in revealing the works of darkness

It’s you who is going to bring the enlightenment that everyone is searching for

The context

Jesus has spoken this after the teachings of

Plato

Socrates

Aristotle

Some of the greatest philosophers the world has ever seen

Their work…

Laid the groundwork for critical thinking

Resulted in some of the first places of higher education and colleges

Influenced the way people view and run politics

Laid the groundwork for the scientific method that everyone still uses today

Such an impact on the world

These teachings aren’t what’s going to lead to life

It’s you…

You have the wisdom

You have the influence

You have the power

A city on a hill

The Christian is called to be so different from everyone else that he cannot be hidden

Light of the world

A city on a hill

A lamp in a room

Stand out

Bring light to the darkness

There’s too much a desire to fit in

Influences so much of what we do

What we wear

How we talk

Where we go

What we do

May I remind you that God has called us to be holy

Set apart

Different

“There are no under the radar followers of Jesus.” - Jason

To follow Jesus means that you will be different

The 3 places where the Christian is going to stand out

Light of the world

In the world

City on a hill

In their city

Lamp in a room

In every room you go into

Your office

Your house

Restaurant

Walmart

How do we stand out?

Beatitudes

Poor in Spirit

Mourning

Humble

Desire for righteousness

Merciful

Pure

Peace-maker

While we may be persecuted we do not give in or flee… but instead we stand strong and have impact on those around us

Followers of Jesus point others to Jesus

The goal is the glorification of God

Shift our focus

We sometimes do good things for glory of self

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see you.”

The goal is that they would see our works and worship our Father in Heaven

Salt is not salt for itself

Salt does nothing on it’s own

It’s only purpose is to make something else better

If you eat salt by itself you’re a psycho

Salt exist to make baked potatoes better and to keep the butter that you put on it from going bad

Light is not light for itself

Light does not exist for itself

You turn on a light to illuminate a room

Not so that you can see the light

But so that you can see the room

The Christian is not salt and light for himself…

He’s salt and light so that he can point people to his savior

A question of uselessness

It’s the purpose of salt to be salty

Salt that ceases to be salty

Useless

Serves no purpose

Thrown into the streets

It’s the purpose of light to illuminate

A light that’s covered up

Useless

Serves no purpose

Is of no benefit

Might as well not be a light at all

So it stands to reason that a Christian that ceases to behave as a Christian

Useless…

“There is nothing more useless than a man with the name of a Christian without the quality of a Christian.” - Martin Lloyd Jones

Summary

Salt

Makes things better

Adds flavor

Preserves

Light

Reveals the works of darkness

Provides wisdom and guidance

Lives so different from everyone else that he’s noticed in society

Focus

The purpose of all of this is to point people to Jesus

Closing

The urgency

You… and you alone

I know what you’re thinking

Me?

Quiet

Small

From an insignificant town

From an insignificant family

We have no money

You don’t know about the things that I’ve done

The dumb things that I’ve said

I just don’t think that’s me

It’s you and it’s you alone

You are the salt

You are the light

No one else can make the world better

No one else can keep the world from decaying

No one else can bring light to the darkness

It’s you

Made for More

You were made for more

More than just coasting

More than just fitting in

More than just going with the flow

You were made to have an impact on those around you

To influence society

To influence your school

To influence your workplace

You were made to live in such a way the people would look at you… and they would worship God because of you.