Ash Wednesday, Baptism, & Live it

Live it

Did you know that you are needed?

Matthew 5:13–16 NIV

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. 14 “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.

Jesus makes two identity statements in this passage:

You are the Salt of the Earth

You are the Light of the World

You DO NOT BECOME the salt of the earth and light of the world, YOU ARE the salt and light.

As amazing as those statements are, here’s the problem: we struggle to believe that its true.

How could I be the light of the world and the salt of the earth if I’m still living in sin? (Struggling in sin)

Matthew 5:13 “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.”

Can Salt loose it’s saltiness? - rhetorical question - NO - it’s a stable compound. It doesn’t decay, it’s a preservative.

It cannot lose a quality that is inherently associated with its identity - IT IS salty because it is salt! A pregnant lady cannot become less pregnant - she either is or isn’t - You cannot become less Christian. And as a Christian you are meant to be SALTY!

In ancient times, salt was used as a form of currency - it had value - do you know YOU HAVE VALUE? so much so that Christ was willing to exchange Himself for you.

What is the purpose of salt?

In ancient times it was also used as a preservative. Today we use it to melt the snow!

Salt is meant to retard decay - we are meant to push back evil and darkness!

BUT HOW?

For the last two months there’s been this massive salt chunk on my door step - so solid it hasn’t broke. Nor has it been useful to dissolve snow.

This morning I smashed it to pieces, and SPREAD the salt all over my driveway!

Salt’s ineffectiveness doesn’t come from a depreciation in it’s inherent value or nature

Salt looses it’s effectiveness when it becomes so consolidated that it doesn’t make a impact!

Translation: WE LOOSE OUR IMPACT when we STAY in a holy huddle!

We HAVE TO DISPERSE! WHY? BECAUSE THE WOLRD NEEDS JESUS!

Salt has to be spread

But dispersion is something that is not only needed when it comes to salt, this is also true of light.

Could you imagine trying to drive at night, if the photons of light that emanate from your headlights didn’t penetrate the darkness?

Matthew 5:14–16 NIV

14 “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.

The calling isn’t to shine in secrecy - it’s to shine in public.

Yet there’s a tension here.

We are to do good deeds that glorify God not ourselves.

Pharisees: Did good deeds in public for their own glory.

We are to do good deeds in public for the glory of God.

Example: Tell story of Jacob at the restaurant last week (his speech glorified God and the customer next to him noticed how he treated the server)

Who’s glory are you after?

Story me doing dishes

Here’s the stark reality: Blandness necessitates salt. Darkness necessitates light.

You are wanted. YOU ARE NEEDED! You are essential.

God has designed you with eternal purpose!

There is someone this side of heaven that needs your presence in their life.

God has given you purpose and equipped you for it.

Ask yourself—On a daily basis, do I intentionally put myself in places that are bland or in need of preserving? On a daily basis, do I intentionally put myself I places that are dark and in need of God’s life-changing light?

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Render your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” — Joel 2:12-13

Ash Wednesday is the first day of a 40-day spiritual journey. It marks the beginning of Lent and lasts through the Saturday before Easter, when Jesus was resurrected just days after dying on the cross to save us from our sins. But what is the significance of Ash Wednesday, and what do people do on this day?

The symbolism of Ash Wednesday—and how we observe it

Ash Wednesday (it’s also called the Day of Ashes) is a day when we focus our hearts on repentance and prayer. On this day, Christians around the world confess their sins and express their devotion to God.

In the Old Testament, ashes were often used to denote mourning, mortality and penance (which is basically a feeling of regret for wrongdoing or a punishment someone gives himself to atone for sin). On Ash Wednesday, ashes are applied to one’s forehead in a cross pattern in many churches today to symbolize death and repentance. When applying the ashes, the pastor or priest will say, “From dust you came and to dust you will return,” or “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

So, Ash Wednesday symbolizes two main things: death and repentance.

At Wooddale, we hold a special Ash Wednesday service that serves as a time of worship, reflection and teaching as we prepare our hearts for the next 40 days when we observe Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. And while we don’t apply ashes to people’s foreheads, we enter into this special day with a heart to acknowledge our sin and mortality and worship a merciful God.

With this focus, Christians can enter into the Lent season solemnly while also looking forward in greater anticipation and joy to the message of Easter and Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death.

What happens during Lent?

In the early days of the Church, the season of Lent was a time of preparation for new believers as they readied their hearts to enter into Christian Baptism on Easter Sunday. Since these new members were becoming a part of a living community of faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Also, this was when those who had been separated from the Church because of explicit sin would prepare to rejoin the community of faith.

Today, the season of Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, self-examination and confession for all Christians as we prepare to celebrate Easter. Through this 40-day journey, we are reminded how much we need grace in our lives to live a transformed life that reflects God’s love. We are called to renew our commitments and faith as we continually acknowledge our need for God’s life-changing presence with us.

I invite you to observe Lent by self-examination, repentance, prayer and reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. Take this time to make a right beginning by confessing your sins and expressing your desire to know God more.

Baptism Talk:

Heather’s Version:

The Good Life | Sunday, March 2 | Live it! | Matthew 5:13-16

I don’t know what kind of waker-upper you are, but I would put myself in the category of a slow waker-upper. I don’t wake up before my alarm. When my alarm does go off, I don’t “pop right out of bed.” For me, it’s a slow, groggy, grunting and challenging process. Every day. Always has been and, I suspect, it always will be.

When I was little, waking up from my nap, my mom would sit me at the kitchen counter with graham crackers and frosting sandwiches. She would work in the kitchen, preparing the goulash for supper, while I washed my treat down with 2% milk, slowly coming out of my stupor.

In my teenage years, she would quietly say up the stairs, “Honey, it’s time to get up!” Ten minutes later, she would say, “Honey, you need to get up” and turn on the hallway light. If she heard no words, just grunts, she would wait five minutes and come up the stairs to my room and gently rub my back until I became coherent. Mom of the year award, right?!

But this was just normal for me—until I heard friends talk about their parents flipping on their bedroom lights without warning or bringing boom boxes in, blaring Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” What?! I can’t imagine how jarring and offensive that would have felt to me!

As we settle into Matthew 5, let’s remember the setting. Though relatively new to the scene, the news of Jesus had spread. As he moved from town to town with his recruited disciples, people began to follow. They brought their sick, lame and demon-possessed friends with them to be healed by the one said to be a healer. The religious leaders were there, as well, looking for ways to frame and accuse Jesus of heresy.

It was that kind of crowd that gathered and Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV) says: Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

Did you notice anything interesting in those two short verses? It says “he went up on a mountainside and sat down.” As a teacher and someone who often is gifted the microphone, I am amazed when I read “he sat down.” It was the custom in Jesus’ day for the teacher to sit and those listening to gather around, and stand, as he taught.

I thought maybe we could try that today? I feel like there’s enough space up here in the choir loft and around the sides? We could bring out my chaise lounge chair from home and you could change into a comfy pair of tennis shoes? Maybe next time.

As Jesus sat, the large crowd gathered around him. He first declared what the Good Life looked like, starting with being poor enough in spirit to know you don’t have what you need. What you need is the mercy and grace only God can give.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus shifts from declaring the Good Life to instructing his disciples, those who were serious about experiencing the Good Life, on what life will look like.

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.

14 “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.  Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

Jesus makes two bold statements to his disciples:

You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

Notice he doesn’t say “you spread my salt or you carry my light”—he said You ARE the salt of the earth. You ARE the light of the world. As my disciple, this is who you are.

Last week, as Kyle kicked off our series, he gave us three unhelpful ideas and two helpful ones. I want to bring our attention back to helpful idea #2:

Helpful Idea #2: The Good Life happens through our relationship with God.

He explained that the Beatitudes can feel confusing and overwhelming. We can look at them and think, “I don’t know if I want to live that way.” Or others of us think, “I can’t live that way!”

Then he told us of his miraculous transformation—from a man who defined a salad as the single leaf of lettuce on his burger with lots of ranch, which to be fair is a SALAD dressing… that kind of a man… to a man who eats and actually enjoys vegetables.

Do you remember what caused the miraculous transformation? Spending significant time with his wife, Stephanie, who holds vegetables in high regard. By spending time with her and being influenced by her, he changed.

Pastor Kyle said this is what happens to us in our relationship with God. His Holy Spirit starts to help us like what he likes.

The fancy, theological term for this is sanctification—when the Holy Spirit begins to mold us and shape us to become more and more like Jesus. He works to remove the parts of our lives that don’t look like Jesus and add what does look like him.

Tigger is my earthly hero. Our guest room is dedicated to him and has, currently, 151 Tigger items in it. I love to go to Epcot in Disney World and see this joy-filled guy! (Show Tigger photo) How in the world does one sculpt a masterpiece like this? The artist starts with a large, overgrown bush and trims away everything that doesn’t look like Tigger. This is what the Holy Spirit does in us.

It is only because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in us that we are able to be salt and light. It’s who we are! Being salt and light are our natural outpourings of shifting our lives to match the Beatitudes—it is what happens when we allow the Spirit of God to transform us, through our relationship with him.

I want us to approach these two bold statements of Jesus with that same kind of posture. We are able to BE these kind of people because of the One who lives in us.

You are the salt of the earth.

In our modern culture, we mostly think of salt as something to flavor our food. Some of us LOVE our salt! We add salt to everything! Some of you even salt your fries, eggs, mashed potatoes or veggies even before you taste them! Salt is important to you.

You may know that, in the ancient world, salt was even more important. It was so important it was used as currency as merchants traveled across the seas. Instead of counting out cash, writing a check, or tapping their credit card, people would exchange purses of salt for goods.

Practically speaking, people in the time of Jesus had no option for refrigeration, so they rubbed salt on meat and fish to keep it fresh longer and to prevent it from decaying.

Here is something you may not know about the importance of salt… In the Old Testament, salt was required in certain sacrifices to symbolize the covenant between God and his people. Leviticus 2:13 (NIV): Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

Why would God require salt with sacrifices?

The salt covenant is never directly defined in the Bible, but from what we understand of salt’s value and the contexts in which a salt covenant is mentioned, it’s meant to communicate God’s everlasting, rich commitment to his people.

Also, since the priests, who came from the tribe of Levi, didn’t have land of their own, God promised to provide for them. His provision for them and their families came from the sacrifices of the people. God called this promise an “everlasting covenant of salt” (Numbers 18:19).

So, it’s also possible God instructed the use of salt so the meat would last longer and taste better—a blessing to the priests who depended on it for their daily food.

Do you remember the demographics of those who would have been listening to these words of Jesus? His dedicated disciples, religious leaders AND everyone else—the commoner, the lame, the sick, the farmer. The religious leaders of the day may have known about the salt covenant, but I am certain everyone there knew salt was expensive, needed and an essential part of their diet. It’s to all that Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” For the commoner, this would have been empowering.

In his book, The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard wrote: “These “little” people, without any of the character or qualifications humans insist are necessary, are the only ones who can actually make the world work.”

Let me translate for us today: You are essential. Wanted. You are who God is choosing to influence this world for good. Do you believe it? God has positioned you—designed you—called you—to add the kind of flavor only you can add to this world.

Often when I talk about this kind of Christian discipline, people often say, “That’s easy for you, Heather, because you’re so extroverted… energetic… out there.”  Don’t think for a minute that in order to bring flavor to this world you have to be like me. Dear Lord, help us, if everyone in the world was like Heather Flies!

Our God crafted each of us with purpose and on purpose to be just who we are—he desires we bring just who we are into every room, situation, and interaction. When we are who he created us to be, we bring flavor to life.

What kind of flavor can you bring to a situation?

·      Joy

·      Wisdom

·      Peace

·      Energy

·      Humor

·      Steadiness

·      Depth

·      Strength

Whatever your variation of flavor is, BRING IT to this world!

After telling His disciples they are the salt of the earth, Jesus goes on to say, “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.”

Can salt become less salty? Strictly speaking, no. My Science friends tell me sodium chloride is a “stable compound” and can’t become less of itself. So, what was Jesus getting at?

Biblical scholars tell us there are several possibilities: 1) Jesus may have been referring to the “salt” that was collected from the Dead Sea by evaporation—it looked like pure salt, but it wasn’t effective for preservation or for seasoning. 2) He could have been referring to the rock formations in which people would store their meat. Once the salt leached out of the rocks, the rocks were no longer effective to preserve the meat. 3) Others think Jesus was referring to the salt blocks bakers used in their ovens. Eventually the heat would make these salt blocks useless. 4) Yet others think Jesus was referring to a saying of the time: “Can salt lose its saltiness?” It’s a rhetorical question because salt can’t become less salty.

This last option makes sense to me because when you have experienced the love of Jesus, it changes you. It transforms you. The Apostle Paul says the old has gone and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17).

True disciples of Jesus cannot lose their saltiness, it’s who we are!

You are the light of the world. 

We see light as an important element all throughout Scripture. In the very first words of the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, we see God creating light and calling it good:

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

As the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land, he used light, a pillar of fire to guide them by night. When Jesus came, he declared “I AM the Light of the World!”

I love that Jesus basically says in these verses it would be crazy to hide your light— the purpose of light is to be shown, thrown, dispersed!

14 “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. Matthew 5:14-15 (NIV)

I don’t have many regrets in my life, but one comes from my time working at Nelson’s County Market in Owatonna. I started out at the entry level of bagger. I learned to smile as I asked “paper or plastic?” and how to make the conveyer belt my friend… I struggled with discerning how much made a bag too heavy… little old ladies often called the store to complain that I loaded too many cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and Bisquick into one bag.  Despite this negative feedback, or maybe because of it, they advanced me to cashier.

During one of my coveted 15-minute breaks, I was sitting outside on the curb with a co-worker, enjoying a Diet Coke. As we chatted, he said “Wow, you are so energetic and happy. All the time. What’s up with that?” In that second, I had a choice, to give credit to the One who made me to be an energetic spazz or to give credit to the caffeine. I am sad to say that I gave credit to the caffeine. And it haunted me… so much so, that I have never done it again.

You can imagine, people are still confused by my energy and what they call happiness… now, I don’t skip a beat and say, “Well, God has given me extra amounts of energy and joy and I love it! AND I haven’t even had caffeine today, isn’t that crazy?!” My answer, along with my willingness to scatter the salt and disperse the light, have sparked some great conversations!

I think we all realize just how much darkness has settled over our world today. So many walk around with dark clouds of sadness, anxiety, fear and anger above them. Never has there been a time, I believe, more desperate for the light of Jesus!

Listen to what biblical scholar, Michael J. Wilkins says about being the light of the world:

Jesus’ disciples are called to be the light of the world. They cannot be hidden, for their very nature, the kingdom life within them, is living testimony to those in the world who do not yet have that light. Michael J. Wilkins

I was blessed to be born into a family of faith and surrounded by believers for my whole life. Here is what I noticed growing up… we Christians like to be together. Whether that was family game nights where we played Rook, the card game Jesus approves of, going out to Bridgeman’s for ice cream after the Sunday night service, or going to Trout Lake Camp with all my church friends each summer… we loved to be together. You could call it the Holy Huddle.

Here's what I know: In order to be effective, salt has to be scattered. What good is it to have one big pile of salt? Salt doesn’t need more salt to make it saltier. In the same way, light is intended to be brought to dark places. What good is it to have all the light in one room?

Ask yourself—On a daily basis, do I intentionally put myself in places that are bland or in need of preserving? On a daily basis, do I intentionally put myself I places that are dark and in need of God’s life-changing light?

I know we need time together as believers. Time to fill up and strengthen one another. But what is the filling up and strengthening for if we don’t take into the world what the world so desperately needs?

Here's what else I know: As we bring salt and light into this world, we need to be intentional and kind. Like waking up someone who is not a good waker-upper. Peter, a disciple of Jesus that would have been feet away from Jesus when he was delivering the Sermon on the Mount said this in I Peter 3:15-16:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

“But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Sometimes, I feel like we flip on the bright light and blare our faith into the world in a way that makes the world take a defensive position, like someone begin jerked out of a dead sleep. We can do better because of the One living in us!

When we add just the right amount of flavor, that tastes so good, people want more. When we slide on the light to take away the confusion in a dark room, people are drawn to the light… We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world.

[transition to Logan’s video]

I want you to see a tangible way that a disciple of Jesus is being salt and bringing light to his world. Logan Merritt is one of our 8th grade guys here at Wooddale. He is an avid Vikings’ fan, tall enough to help you get that cereal box on the top, top shelf, and athletic—but first, and foremost, he is a follower of Jesus who wants to be salt and light in his world. Check out his story. (Logan’s VIDEO)

We say all the time in the Junior High ministry that “students are capable of so much more than most adults give them credit for.” Logan is living up to that in a beautiful way. He’s taking Jesus’ words seriously—you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. And he’s 14 years old. What am I doing?

·       What is one change Jesus is asking you to make this week?