#justreachOUT 2021

Mountaintop Wisdom

Jesus usually taught with stories. We know the parables of Jesus well the Prodigal Son, The Wheat and the Weeds, The soil story is one of our favorites. He used stories and every day things to get very important deep and timely truth about how to be in a relationship that matters with God on a regular basis. The sermon on the mount is no exception. Arguably Jesus longest sermon it lays out what it will mean to be a follower of Christ going forward. In this very important passage, Jesus flips many of the notions of what worship, being a good religious person and all that is wrapped up in what faith is to them means. He changes the way people understand some of what Moses talked about in the law. Spanning three chapters in the book of Matthew, five, six and seven, he tackles everything from what shows true blessing, how to deal with people that you and I don’t like and people that don’t like us, what to do when you’re compelled to do things you don’t like, murder, divorce, adultery, giving, honesty, divorce, service to others, prayer, fasting, the stuff that we accumulate, anxiety, how to treat each other, how to get to heaven, and what kind of foundation all of this will take. This one sermon that Jesus preached dealt with so much, don’t worry we wont be dealing with all of those things today. One of the Telling things to me is what happens when the sermon is over. Jesus comes down from the mountain and heals a guy who has leprosy and instead of just telling him yeah you’re healed he proves the importance of all scripture, when he tells the guy to do what the Law of Moses says when it comes to being healed. It’s an amazing time and an amazing sermon and follow up action. There’s a reason that people talk about going to the mountain for wisdom. We need time away from the things that easily distract us to really be able to focus on what we need to learn. The important thing to remember is that while we need that time on the mountain to learn and be equipped ,we have to come down off the mountain and put the things we have learned into practice. It’s not enough to reach up and in if we stop there. We then have to reach out and this sermon that we are going to dig into a bit tells us some of the most important things we need to know about how to reach out.

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13–16 CSB

“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. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. 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.

The Newell house likes to watch cooking shows and cooking competitions. One of our favorites to watch, anything with Gordon Ramsey, and in every single competition there comes a point when food is brought back and the main complaint is no seasoning, no taste. So we know that Salt is used to add flavor. which brings us to the part that matters the most. This set of scripture that talks about Salt and light makes a very important point.

we are supposed to be in the world to bring flavor to it. It’s not enough to reach up in worship, it’s not enough to reach in to equip, coming to church be it in person or online just isn’t enough. Heading into bible study can’t be all you do, Having that great worship playlist just cant be the last of it. You and I are supposed to be flavoring our world with the truth of the gospel, so staying in the salt shaker is really not an option for us.

How salt loses it’s flavor. Salt is a chemical compound NacL is the element on the periodic table. The truth is the compounds that make up table salt like to be together. They are hard to break up and the only way to do so would be for a chemical reaction to take place. What causes salt loses it’s flavor when it’s diluted. Dump salt in water and it will be diluted and the original compound will not maintain the flavor adding salt to water is not a chemical reaction it just dilutes the actual salt. This is why worship and equipping is so important. We can only be the flavor of the world if we realize that the truth of the gospel is what we are supposed to be living. When we step into the world ill prepared, without the foundation of worship and the word, we tend to get pulled in all sorts of directions, we begin to allow things that sound good to replace things that are true. We can be led down paths that dilute our witness, make the truth of the gospel cloudy and ultimately cause us to be ineffective in our calling.

So we need to worry more about keeping our flavor through daily worship and being equipped to share the gospel. BUT...

We also need to remember we are supposed to be light. We are supposed to be the light of the world. Reading about being a lamp not being put under a basket but filling the whole room with light is a great thing to see. but how how do we fill the world with light. what are the tangibles.

Lets look at that verse in Matthew again..

Matthew 5:16 CSB

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.

Good Works for Glory

Tell the truth

Matthew 5:33–37 CSB

“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

Nothing kills our witness faster than not living up to what we say. People have a very clear understanding of what Christianity claims and when we say one thing and do another or say one thing and make a promise but don’t fulfill that promise we dim the light we are supposed to be....we dilute the salty flavor of the Gospel.

Do more than the minimum

Matthew 5:38–42 CSB

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

We live in the trap of fairness and rights. Especially in our country these things tend to grow bigger in our eyes sometimes than what Scripture says. Now let me pause here. When I say we worry more about whats fair and what our rights are I’m not advocating for giving up the things that are written out in our constitution as well as the bill of rights. What i am ttalking about is the realization that these are not what gives us our freedom. We as followers of Christ do not tie our freedom to the First Ammendment. On the contrary...

John 8:36 CSB

So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

That’s where our freedom comes from. We must remember and understand that governments will pass away, amendments can be made that’s the point of an amendment our freedom comes from our relationship with Jesus. Yes we are blessed to live in a country that guarantees our right to worship as we choose or not worship at all. We must be careful (expound a bit)

So we are supposed to understand that it’s important to do more than the minimum, to react in ways that the world sees and says wait what that’s not what i would have done, that’s not what makes sense.

Meet the need and then meet more than the need. Stick with a person when they need help even when everyone else would leave and even when they are not necessarily going to give you what you earned or deserve. Do More than the Minimum.

Love confusingly

Matthew 5:43–47 CSB

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

When we love the person that everyone else tells us we should hate, and that we would have a pre-disposition to hate we are shining our light/ When we stop insisting on our rights and start praying for the people that we feel are trying to rescind them God’s hand moves and we are shining our light. (expound)

This Week’s Challenge

Begin to think of ways that you can take all the things that you have learned out into the world. Find a place that you can write them and post them so that you see them on a regular basis and pray about those things every day this week.