Who We are Week 3- Inside and Out

CAPTURE (Why should students pay attention to and care about your message?)

The year was 1984. Humanity was still 10 years away from the first PlayStation and 23 years away from the first iPhone. In fact, most video games at the time consisted of little dots and lines moving around on a screen.

And I kid you not, the best-selling toy of the year was…

[show slide]

The Hacky Sack. (Have soccer player kick)

Yeah, the best toy the entire human race could come up with was a small bag made out of yarn and filled with beans.

It was the most amazing thing ever… until this came along:

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VIDEO CLIP: Transformers G1 Optimus Prime Commercial, 0:30

Show Transformer Toy*

Transformers were game-changing… they were magical… they were most certainly “more than meets the eye.”

Transformers were totally unique compared to regular action figures because they could change (or transform) into something totally different than what they originally appeared to be. In a lot of ways, having a Transformer was like having two toys in one because, with a few twists and turns, they could transform from a car or plane into a robot, a dinosaur, or even a bird.

I know!! I can hardly believe it myself!

And it wasn’t just Transformers, either. You see, the Transformers were the good robots, but there were also “evil” robots called… wait for it… Decepticons.

Ok, so the 80s are only known for having awesome toys, not naming them.

I have a question for you. Have you ever met anyone that’s kind of like a Transformer or a Decepticon? You know what I’m talking about, right? They present themselves one way, but in reality, they are something completely different.

Sadly, it’s probably not that difficult to think of at least one person you’ve met who seemed really nice only to be really mean behind your (or someone else’s) back. Here’s a more difficult question, though… have you ever been that kind of person to someone else? I’m not proud of it, but I know I have.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about what it means to be part of the church and why it’s such an important part of our identity as Christ-followers.

Pastor Sterling shows us the basics: Loving God and Loving Others

Ms. Patti shows us how we are better together and can grow in Christ through Small Groups

Today, I want to take a look at who we are when we’re here… and whether or not that matches the people we are when we’re out there.

SCRIPTURE (What does God’s Word say?)

For the final three years of His life, Jesus was a traveling teacher called a Rabbi. As a Rabbi, He would often travel from town to town and teach anyone who was willing to listen. Unfortunately, we only have a few instances in Scripture where someone wrote down what Jesus taught during His sermons. The longest one we have is the Sermon on the Mount, which is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7.

The Sermon on the Mount is by far the most famous—in part because it’s the longest, but also because of what Jesus actually said on the hillside that day. You see, whether He was speaking to one person or thousands, Jesus didn’t hold back. His style was definitely to say what needed to be said.

And that’s exactly what He did, starting in Matthew 5:13:

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Matthew 5:13 NIV

“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.

He starts by talking about salt. What are some things we use salt for?

*Show Celtic salt*

[Teacher note: invite a few students to respond to this question.]

Sorry, that wasn’t a trick question. Today, with a few exceptions, we use salt mostly to make our food taste better. In Jesus’ day, salt wasn’t just used for flavor. Since they didn’t have any means of refrigeration, it was also used to preserve meat and fish so that it didn’t spoil. And they would actually put salt on wounds (OUCH!) because it would be able to clean the wound and prevent infections.

In the 1st Century, salt was extremely important… and extremely valuable. Some even think that in some regions, it would have been as valuable as gold. So, as soon as Jesus started talking about salt, it’s likely that everyone around would have suddenly started paying pretty close attention to what He was saying.

Let’s continue…

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Matthew 5:14–15 (ESV)

Matthew 5:14–15 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Matthew 5:14–15 MSG

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.

Ok, now He’s talking about light. Again, not a trick question… What is light used for?

Show bright lights on stage

[Teacher note: invite a few students to respond to this question.]

Ok, this one is a bit more straightforward. We use light to help us see in the dark.

Up to this point, Jesus hasn’t said anything that anyone in the crowd doesn’t already know. Thankfully, He didn’t stop there…

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Matthew 5:16 NIV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Do you see what He did there? One minute, He’s talking about salt and light, and the next? Suddenly, we realize that it’s not about salt or light at all. He’s talking about us. We were made by God to do good things so that when people see those good things, they shouldn’t just see us. They should see the God that made us.

But honestly, I’m still left with a number of questions: What about the salt? What about the light? And what do those things have to do with us?

INSIGHTS (What might this Scripture mean?)

One of the best ways to answer questions like this is to imagine yourself in the shoes of someone who was actually there. So, if we were living near the Sea of Galilee in the 1st Century CE, listening to Jesus as He taught, there are at least two things that would have jumped out to us right away.

The first is…

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1. There’s no such thing as salt that has lost its flavor.

Jesus asks the question, “What good is salt if it has lost its flavor?” and then He asks, “Can you make it salty again?” These questions have always puzzled me a bit because I’ve always had trouble imagining the scenario that Jesus is describing. How exactly does one make salt lose its flavor in the first place?

Are you ready for the answer?

You can’t.

Both questions are 100% most definitely trick questions. Salt that has lost its flavor would be useless if it were even possible… but it’s not. And since salt can’t lose its flavor, it’s equally impossible to make it salty again.

Jesus knows this. And so do the people who are listening. They would have heard this and immediately thought, “What absurd questions!”

And they would have been right.

Okay, but what about that lamp? Well, that leads to the second thing that would have jumped out to the people listening…

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2. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Ok, for this one to make the most sense, there are a few things we need to realize about what it was like to live in the 1st Century CE:

First, there’s no electricity. That might seem obvious, but since we’re literally surrounded by electricity 24 hours a day, it can be pretty easy to forget.

Second, since there was no electricity, lamps involved burning fuel. It’s thought that the most common fuel used would have been olive oil since Jerusalem was known for growing olives.

Third, baskets would have been made out of wood. More specifically, they would have been woven from very thin pieces of wood or dried fibers from a palm tree.

Fourth (and this one is a big deal), 1st Century baskets were EXTREMELY flammable. Yeah, if you put a burning lamp full of olive oil under a basket, you know what you’re going to get? You’re going to get a basket that is on fire. And you can’t put an oil fire out with water. That will only make things worse! The only way to put it out would be to smother it with a really heavy blanket, which would ruin the oil, the basket, and the blanket.

Again, Jesus knows this. And so do the people who are listening. They would have heard Jesus say, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket,” and their first thought would most likely have been, “What an absurd idea!”

And they would have been right.

So, now Jesus has asked two absurd questions and made one absurd statement, right? I would have to imagine that if I were in the crowd, I would have wondered, “What absurd thing is Jesus going to say next?”

And then He says this…

[show slide]

Matthew 5:16 NIV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I think that Jesus wanted the crowd (and us!) to realize that…

[show slide]

3. We are all valuable and made for a specific purpose.

Salt is valuable and made to make food taste better. It can’t stop being salt. If you try to make it something that it’s not, you just can’t.

Oil is valuable and, when used properly, is useful for helping people see at night. However, when you try to make it something that it’s not, it is incredibly dangerous.

You are valuable and made for good deeds. If it’s absurd to try to change salt or use olive oil in a way it’s not meant to be used, why should we think that we are any different?

Jesus is saying that it is just as absurd to see ourselves as anything other than incredibly valuable and made for a purpose.

And what is that purpose? To worship God and do good deeds so that others will see the goodness of the God who made us.

ACTION (How could we live this out?)

So, I know what you’re all thinking: What does this have to do with Transformers??

The thing that made Transformers and Decepticons so incredible in the 80s was that, at first, they looked like one thing (again, usually some type of car, boat, or plane), but when you took a closer look, you realized that they were something completely different… they were robots in disguise.

And as revolutionary of an idea as this was for kids’ toys, appearing one way but really being someone completely different is a terrible way to go through life.

It’s not only potentially damaging to your relationships and your reputation but also incredibly difficult to maintain two different versions of yourself. It’s not good for you, and it is EXHAUSTING.

Plus, as Christ-followers, it’s really difficult for us to allow our “good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise [our] heavenly Father” if we are not the same people in here as we are out there.

So, what can we do to help ourselves be the same person, the person God created us to be, no matter where we are? I have a few ideas that might help.

But before we get to those ideas, I want to remind you that we have an opportunity next Sunday afternoon to show the love of Christ outside these walls at Sunday Funday.

There will probably be some people

The first is…

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1. Choose who you want to be.

One of the interesting things about Transformers is that it’s actually kind of difficult to answer the question: “Are they robots, or are they cars?”

[Teacher note: Feel free to edit this story to more closely align with your own experience of being called out for not being the person people thought you were. If you don’t have a specific personal story you can use, feel free to preface this story by saying something like, “I know a person who…”]

Listen to this story from another Youth Pastor:

When I was in high school, I vividly remember telling a group of my friends a joke that was fairly inappropriate, definitely something that I’m not proud of today. And even though it wasn’t appropriate, they were all laughing, so I told another… and another.

It wasn’t until after the third or fourth inappropriate joke that someone said something that felt like a punch to the stomach:

“That’s hilarious! And all this time, I thought you were one of those church kids!”

I wanted so badly to say, “Wait. I am one of those church kids,” but I realized immediately that it wouldn’t make a difference. The damage had already been done. I got caught being two different people.

I made the mistake of not choosing who I wanted to be. Don’t make my mistake. It didn’t make me look very good. And what’s worse, it didn’t make God look very good either.

The Apostle Paul spoke of this issue in believers:

Romans 7:21–25 MSG

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Full reliance on Christ will help you overcome a two-faced life.

You need to stay connected to Him all through His Word, through prayer, through fasting, and through the building up that others in this church body can give You.

You were born with a sin nature that wants to pull you away from God to do evil, but with God’s help and your willingness to surrender to Him, You CAN and WILL overcome sin and live the holy life Christ is calling you to.

You can be a servant of Christ or of sin, but not both.

Joshua 24:15 ESV

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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2. Be on the lookout for times when you might be tempted to be someone else.

Have you ever noticed if there are specific places you might go or specific people you might hang around that make it more likely that you’ll feel like you need to become a different you? If so, I really want to encourage you to pay attention to those triggers so that you can start to prepare yourself to remain consistent no matter where you are or who you’re around.

Here’s an idea that I realized the other day. Did you know that the Reminders app on your phone has a location setting that can remind you of something based on where you are? So, if you realize that you tend to become a different version of yourself whenever you go to the football game with your friends, you might try setting a reminder that goes off whenever you arrive at the football field.

Or, if you know that the toughest time for you is after you get off the bus in the morning, maybe you’d find it helpful to just set an alarm to go off 10 minutes before school starts.

For me, I’m planning on setting up a few reminders this week that will just say “Salt & Light” so that I can remember what Jesus said about how we are valuable and made for the purpose of doing good deeds.

And if you mess up and suddenly realize that you’re not being the person you want to be, you can always…

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3. Apologize and move forward.

Getting caught being two different people is awkward and embarrassing, to say the least. But here’s what I’ve learned. One of the best ways we can show that we’re trying to be the people God created us to be is to admit when we’re wrong and then do something about it.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though.

In moments where I’ve messed up, I wish I had always said, “You know what? You’re right. I’ve been trying to be better, but I guess I missed the mark this time. I really appreciate you saying something.”

Admitting you were wrong is never easy, but it’s important because it gives you a way to move forward… and moving forward is what a relationship with Jesus is all about. Here’s how the Apostle Paul describes it in his letter to the Ephesian church:

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Ephesians 5:8 NIV

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

By admitting you’re wrong and choosing to leave the darkness behind, you’re actually showing others that it’s possible.

Before we head to our small group conversations, I want to pray that God will help all of us be the same people here as we are when we’re out there.

Let’s pray.

[close in prayer.]