Feb 9, 2020 Grace to Live for God

and It's in the same a discourse that Jesus. raises a further idea to us about the kingdom in about Who We Are any Begins by saying? You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and Trampled Under Foot by men. I'm in verse 13.

You are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in Heaven. Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill for assuredly I say to you until Heaven and Earth pass away one jot or one Tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these Commandments and teaches men. So shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does and teaches them. He shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven for I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. You will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Amen, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

so Hear Jesus as he always does. He's dealing with the condition of our hearts. And what he's trying to get us to see here, obviously, he says we are the salt of the earth. He says but if the salt loses its flavor how shall it be seasoned? so when we hear these words Jesus just saying you are the salt of the earth. But what is it about salt that makes a difference. It's disability does to flavor to the season to actually salt is used to cure things to wear made up of salt. Our bodies have so much salt in them without salt. We wouldn't we wouldn't be healthy. We wouldn't be able to survive. We need salt sodium. It's a part of creation. It's a part of everything and what the Lord is saying is that you are the salt of the earth. So he's saying it if you lose your flavor. How show if you season? So what is your flavor? What is your flare? What is it about you that that to bring to the world? What is it that makes you season the pot? Easy easy. He wants us to recognize that we're not Bland. We're not supposed to be Bland. Peter says that we are peculiar people there supposed to be something about us so that when we show up it adds flavor to the situation. So this is what God is telling us and so I think it's important that we begin to understand that and to look for that answering to own that that that thing that God has created and put in you your your your your personality whatever it is that he's put in you he wants to take those things and use those things for his glory. This is way you can use to bring God glory. See here's the problem that a lot of people run into is they get an idea in their head that they should be this or they should be that Anime want to try to be something that they're not. Or else they're not they're not satisfied. They're not happy with who God created them to be and so they're unstable. They can't they can't they can't get settled in any purpose or any situation. They can't bring anything to to the situation because they're not comfortable within their own skin. They haven't been able to receive the idea that God loves you and he created you the way you are see the read the reason that things we get a little bit sideways sometimes is because we're in a fallen World a fallen nature. and Because of this following nature the Lord has sent his Spirit His Holy Spirit and we can be filled with that Spirit. We can follow that Spirit. He's giving us the word of his word so that we can follow these things that we have a framework just like he's told how to be blessed. Well if you noticed in the in the Beatitudes the blessings that he was talking about earlier a lot of them have to do with the condition of the heart towards God man and things and yourself.

And so in order to operate and who God created you to be you want to stay blessed you want to be blessed you want to understand what it means to be blessed. It's a condition of the heart. And so out of this condition of the heart he can begin to work on you so that these things that that aren't positive aren't good in his will he can begin to reveal those things to you? And if you will allow him, he will work on those things and straighten those things out and make you better that's called a sanctification. We begin to be renewed regenerated the old person before we knew him before we knew Jesus before we've got born again. It's those things should begin to change and we should begin to sometimes it's a fight it's a struggle to to to to confront those things into work with those things. But here's the here's the point. Is that you are the salt of the earth and there's a certain flavor that you have and that is that is in your personality that is in your the things that you like the things that you like to do. That's part of what gives you your saltiness? I know.

You see some people and they just had they just have a great smile and they light up the room. You see some people there just always giving always just anything anything you need. You got some people are just encourage others. You got some people that are just full of information. It's just all different kinds of people and when people bring that to the situation it flavors the pot if you will and so this is what the Lord is saying, but he gets to bring him glory and not ourselves. And so then if you lose your flavor, how in the world are you going to be if if you lose your your your flavor? How are you going to be giving flavor? How is it going to how's that going to happen? If you don't have anything in you, if you're dead inside, if you don't have any idea of what you can what you can give or who you are you begin to lose your flavor, because what are you what are you going to do? I mean, what are you going to do? You're probably not going to do much of anything. You're going to become immobile and people become immobilized for a lot of reasons but to become immobile, that's not what God wants for us. He wants us he wants us fruitful. He wants us multiplying remember the effect tree that he cursed. There is a fig tree in Jesus was hungry and he was walking through the nearest Victory and you looked at the fig tree and it it was in season, but it didn't have fruit on it. The Lord said what why doesn't this big tree have fruit on it, you know any cursed it because it didn't bear fruit. And where does he wear told the same thing is basically going to happen to us if we don't bear fruit.

I don't think that it's it's something that you have to worry about in terms of how you do things are at it's not your words, but it's it's opening up and letting God work through you. Any when he works through you he will work through you in a way that is unique to your gift things and you need to you a way that you have a piece and excitement. Enjoy about operating because it is who you are and who he created you to be and so what he saying is is is be fruitful and if you if you're not if you're stagnant in your fruitful what What good is it? And so he says you're the light of the world. He's reminding us that we carry his light inside of us. and

if you look at the next statement, he says a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. If you look at that think about it. How easy is it to hide that you're a Christian?

Is it easy to hide?

Have you tried to hide it? I mean it's getting harder and harder to hide and as as as the darkness. Grows as time goes forward as the as the end of this age nears, its going to get more and more difficult to hide it because in the darkness light stands out. And so you won't want to do a lot of the things that people are doing you won't be interested in a lot of the things that people are talking about. You will stick out you'll find out that when people want you to go here want you to do that and you're saying no when when when when you're standing for something and for Christ and and people around you aren't there going to ask you? What why don't you want to do that?

You know and they're going to find out where you going Sunday you going to church?

Who's that? Who's that person at that that that just called you your pastor?

Well, why don't you why don't you have why don't you have any money to go to the movies? Utah diving

I thought you I thought you had I thought you had I thought you had extra turkey. I thought we were going to have a meal why I thought we was going to have a party or something. What happened to the well, I gave it away you gave it away. Well, yeah. After while people are getting start to notice. You can't hide it they're going to notice. It's going to be little things and has anybody has anybody not had the experience of not

not walking with the Lord and then walking with the Lord and you have friends around you. And when you when you when you become born again, when you give your life to the Lord people around you notice that something changed if you're really walking with the Lord people around you know, that there's something different because guess what, you know, you're different don't you when you're looking around and you're watching what they're doing you're listening to what they're saying. You said what they're getting excited about and your and you're thinking to yourself. Wow. You know your different trust me. They know you're different too and a lot of times they can spot it soon as you walk in. They can spot and so what he saying is is that this that that that you're the light of the world and and and a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Why is titty because we are a people of God, he calls us together. He doesn't call us to be alone. He is a god of relationship. People say well, you know him I don't I don't need to be be a part of the church or I can I can I can sing some songs. I can worship on my own I can watch the watch the service is on internet on TV or whatever and and and do my own thing and all that what you can and that's what the children of Israel used to do. They would get called together and and and and

Moses with speak over them or Samuel or somebody would speak to them. And then what would they do? They would all leave and they would go back to their own on houses and they would all do what was right in their own sight. It was still God's people but see Jesus came and he did a greater work. And so now that relationship that he has with us. If he is he's in us he's going to call us to relationship to be with each other think about it is he died so that we could be in right relationship with him. He died knowing he could he could take his life back again. And he rose again just so we could be back in relationship with him. He loved us now if he's in us how much should we want to be in relationship with each other if Christ is in me, and he's in you shouldn't you want to be in relationship with me? Shouldn't you shouldn't you feel something?

Christ working in you should call you to relationship. And so he's saying it a city so we are his kingdom in this world. And you saying that cannot be hidden and he says you don't hide it. You don't put a lamp under a buck is so what you're saying is is that we want the world to see it and we want the world to know it. God wants the world to know it. And then he gives us a commandment. He says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. And so we're we're doing what we do. Why because we love him and we want to bring him glory. We want people to see what we do, but we want him to get the glory and we want them to come and worship him. See this is what it means glorify Your Father in heaven mean to worship Him.

To worship him. We calling people into relationship with him and we want them to worship him. And so how do we do that? You be who you are?

And see the things that you do you do them so that people will glorify God and there's the there's the thing is we get into in the world tells you hey, you know, you handle your business you take care of your at you have to take care of you. Do you? And it says you get promoted and you live your best life for you. You deserve it.

And it's about you but the kingdom is not that way. The Lord is saying that you are the light of the world why so that you can bring people to Christ?

This life is a vapor. We're only here for certain minute and and people. People are dying right now as we speak young babies. Old older people and everyone in between not the next moment is not promised to us. And then guess what then the next thing is the judgment. And we should we come before the Lord and we're we're not we're not appointed to wrath. We don't come to judgment for wrath. We come to judgment for the works that we did.

See because he's going to say who did you live for? It's going to be obvious. And I believe in that time is when we're going to look and we're going to say wow. boy I missed out on this I missed out on that. I was thinking that this life was all it is. I wasn't Living For Eternity. I didn't have any Turtle mindset. I was just thinking about the good times here on Earth and I was just struggling for that that moment in that season of life that I had on the earth. I wasn't thinking that I was going to pass into eternity and I was going to sit before the father. And that I was going to receive crowns and I was going to receive receive rewards for everything that I did.

I didn't know.

I didn't I wasted my time.

and so we're create. We're bought into relationship with Christ for one reason. And that's to live for him to bear fruit in the Kingdom. To bring him glory to bring other people into the kingdom into relationship with him. Why would we live like that?

Why because God so loved the world. He didn't want anybody to perish. See you next time is going to come just like Noah's Noah's Ark soon the door is going to close up and there's not going to be any more chance for salvation.

We have been saved. We understand that.

Let me see. Let's go to I believe it was first Corinthians, and I'm going to close up with this first Corinthians.

through 16

1st Corinthians 2:1 through 16 Nnn and now hear Paul is talking about being who he was being authentic he's talkin about.

He's talking about what it means. To be the salt in this light this in the way. He describes it for himself. He says in our Brethren when I came to you.

Did not come with excellence. And I Brethren when I came to you did not come with Excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of guy for I determined not to know anything among you accept Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you and weakness and fear and it much trembling and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and a power that your face should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God

Amen. Wow

You know, they'll tell you listen. There's all different kinds of ways to speak. They have neuro-linguistic programming. They have persuasive speech hypnotism, Mass hypnotism. There's power of suggestion all different kinds of ways to speak to use words to use body language and people can be manipulative. Why do you think the other president than and different people have speech writers? These people aren't just someone that says oh you write nice. You wanted to write a speech know these people that are trained in it. They know how to use words. They know how to evoke emotion. They know how to be persuasive and manipulate.

And Paul is saying hear you saying listen, I didn't come playing games with you. I can't being who I am. And what I recognized was I didn't come and try to try to Blind you with science and and show you how all of my wisdom and how smart I was. Because I want to bring God glory not me.

And see if I would have done like that and I would have come talk to you and try to play smart and be all of this and all of that then you were looked at me. And and you would have got into the thinking of of of of wisdom and how smart people are and how smart you are and everything then we would have went off on the wrong track. He said, but only thing I wanted to wanted to talk to you about was Christ crucified. I wanted to talk to you about salvation. I wanted to talk to you about relationship with Jesus Christ, so that You would not rest in your own wisdom or the wisdom of men, but you would begin to learn how to operate in the power of God.

And so he says he says.

Let's back up the verse 5 that your face should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God, however, we speak wisdom among those who are mature. We speak wisdom among those who are mature. You know, you can you can talk over people's heads and it doesn't do them any good.

You can talk to a person that can't receive and it's not going to do him any good. Sometimes you have to know the difference. And he says yet not the wisdom of this age. Nor of the rulers of this age were coming to nothing they seem You think you think in heaven, there's going to be a Democratic party or Republican Party.

I don't need her. No, it's going to be a monarchy if there's going to be a king.

And and we're all going to be serving that King. We're not going to have divisions and philosophies and all our little groups and and sub-groups and and and and all of that stuff that's not going to be there.

There's only going to be one denomination.

And it's got to be the Church of the Nazarene.

But you guys know that this world is coming to nothing. And this is what Jesus was saying is that this is us all coming in all this stuff. So we're supposed to be living for him. And the goal is is to live totally for him because we're called out of the world. The Bible says God told the P his people be holy for I am Holy And so when we're holy what does that mean? Does that mean that we're perfect or does it mean that we are separated? t'god

see we're supposed to be Sanctified. We're supposed to be holy. The total sanctification is saying to ourselves we are set apart and and and we're totally set apart for God God use we prepared for God's use. And then when we're holy God is setting us apart and he's using us.

and so All this is going to come to an end. And Paul was talking about this and he's talking about weird. He didn't want the people to to to get drawn away by their own wisdom of the wisdom of the Aged and ore the rulers of this age a lot of the rulers of our age and the wisdom of our age boy goes right against God and he say that are coming to nothing. Some of them were good. But still they're ruled there rain in their Authority is coming down and guess what? Our King is God. It doesn't make you know, I got a mean one time. It said doesn't make any difference whose president is. Jesus is still King. You know and it's the truth, you know, dude can can we really really live into that says but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our Glory. Which none of the rulers of this age new for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord Of Glory but as it is written I Has Not Seen Nor Ear heard nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.

Wow, so you don't even know you can't even imagine. You can if you can't you can't even desire. The things that God has in store for you. Only thing you can do is is allow him to work in you because you know what he's able to do better than it is better and above anything that you could think or imagine. So when you have a good idea in your head and your thinking this that new you other and you want to do this, even if it's for the glory of God, do you know that he can do more and he can do better?

NN so it but he's appalled is reminding us that no Eye Has Not Seen Nor Ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man the things with God has prepared for those who love him. Do you love him this morning? That promise that promise is yours. But God has revealed them to us through his spirit for the spirit searches all things. Yes, the Deep things of God for what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him even so no one knows the things of God, except the spirit of God. Now, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

I think that's a wonderful wonderful promise. So we don't have to be confused. We don't have to be stagnant. We don't have to we don't have to worry about being who God created us to be.

That's what we're supposed to do. But we want to make sure that we're operating by his power. We want to make sure that is his Spirit alive in us.

And we want to understand that what the reason? Christ died for us was not just to keep us out of hell. but it's so that we could bring him glory with our lives and hopefully It'll eat others to do the same. So what do we got to do? We have to have some flavor. We've got to bring some flavor to the pot.

and sometimes sometimes I

saltiness is a is an unfamiliar taste in certain dishes, isn't it? Like why you put salt in that sometimes there's salt and things and you don't know it but it's there.

you know, so and we're lights and so the ideas let your light shine. Don't hide it God has set you apart and he has created a separation between light and darkness. He's created it that way. And so you're meant to stand out. You're meant to be different. But it's all supposed to bring him glory.

amen, so we should be

we should be getting him glory. We should bring it be bringing others to glorify him. Heavenly father. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for your word this morning.

By the way, just can't say thank you enough for all the good things that you that you do that you've done and that you're going to do because you've already said that. Note 8. No eye has seen no ear has heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love them. But you've given you your spirit father so that we know you're mine and so that we can receive and we can see you working in our lives. Thank you for that father. We thank you. Holy spirit so alive and so gentle is so full of power.

Thank you Lord for opening up your word revealed in your word. Thank you for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear father. Father we just pray for strength and power to live out what you ever feel to us. And we thank you in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Hey Ma.

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