Get Salty

Intro:

Most of the time when we talk about being salty, you are mad or upset about something. Like someone stole your man, you get salty. You get grounded for something dumb, you get salty. But what if I told you that being salty was what we are told to be by Jesus. In fact, Matthew writes in this passage that if you aren’t salty, your life is basically worthless. Now, I’m not talking about walking around mad all the time, but I am speaking about being the salt of the world, which means something completely different.

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1. Get Salty

We see in the passage that being salty is not always the wrong thing, but it has to be the right kind of salt.

In Old Testament times, people used salt as a purifying agent. (; ), so with that in mind, Jesus is telling his people that in order for us to be effective for the Kingdom, we have to live a life of purity. And that we are called to live a life that would purify the lives of broken and corrupt people.

But if we lose our salty, (Say don’t loose your salty) then we are essentially worthless. Then we should be thrown out to be trampled on.

The verb translated “to lose its taste” indicates foolish and immoral behavior.

Salt that was not good to be used for purification, was thrown on the ground to kill vegetation.

Verse 13 basically states that if you aren’t living for Christ, that nothing grows where we go!

Yet we wonder why everything we touch goes under, or we are constantly living in anxiety or depression. It’s our lack of faith and our unwillingness to live for him that defeats us.

2. Quit Hiding

How could will we ever change the world around us if we are unwilling to do anything about it? One of the biggest issues in our society today is racial injustice. Yet all we do as people is point fingers and blame the world around us. What if we stood together, hand in hand to do something about it. Prayer is the most effective form of ministry that we could ever hope to accomplish just like we learned last week.

Want to hear about change? Do something about it.

Bring the change that this would needs!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

3. DO SOMETHING

Peter Fleming, 27; Jim Elliot, 28; Ed McCully, 28; Roger Youderian, 31, and Nate Saint, 32 took our plane ride on January 8, 1956 that would be their last. The group along with their families moved to Equador in order to reach the unreached, an indigenous indian group that lived deep in the jungle that were known to be extremely dangerous. The group had been dropping care packages for months to try to gain the people’s trust. 2 days later when the group was supposed to radio in for a safety check, the radio remained silent. When a rescue team landed at the last known location of the missionaries, they found 4 men dead, with spear wounds all over their bodies.

This is a picture of Nate Saint, the son of Nate Saint, along with 2 of the men that helped kill his father.

This is what the Gospel looks like in real life. Steve Saint is no super Christian nor is he a bible scholar. He is a man who understood that in order to reach real life people, he must believe in a real life God. It is only through the power of Christ living in us that we could possible change the world.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20