Sermon on the Mount (Part 3) Salt and Light
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning my friends, I hope you are doing well today.
Here we are at the beginning of the last few days of March, and April is right around the corner. I absolutely love this time of year.
Next week will be Easter Sunday morning and we will take the Lord’s Supper/Communion.
Also, this coming Saturday, 10am April 3rd we will have a East Egg Hunt for the kids…Its a fun time, Easter eggs filled with candy and some special prizes in each age group up to 5th grade.
So there will be some special events happening as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Today we come back to Matthew chapter 5....
Last week we finished the Be-attitudes of Jesus, as we considered what is means to have the joy of walking with Christ as we exhibit His ways for living in every situation for life.
And today we explore the next topic that Jesus will address for His children in this world. It is here that Jesus calls for us to have a lasting and changing effect upon this world, we are called to be salt and light.
So lets look at how we are to be influencers in this world....
Look with me at chapter 5 and lets look at verses 13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Now this morning as we examine this text, I want to share 3 thoughts with you about what it means to be salt and light in our world. So with that in mind, the text compels us to:
1. Godly Purposes…, 2. Holiness Matters and 3. Divine Mission
I think we all understand that God desires to use each of us for His purposes.
We are created for more than just this physical life, don’t get me wrong, God has created us for families, and relationships. But beyond that God has created us to be influencer’s in our homes, communities and world.
So with that in mind, we are created for Godly purposes.
1. Godly Purposes...
1. Godly Purposes...
You know when we look back at the be-attitudes, you might think Jesus is calling His followers to a separatist life, like a nomad existence, all huddled together…staying away from the evil of the world. But that is not the case, While we are called to be separate, a peculiar people. We are also called to action
As we walk into this text, Jesus is calling His disciples to permeate society, not to huddle together. We are to be agents of change...
You are created for the higher purposes of God in Christ Jesus.
Consider Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God desires to use your life to impact, to touch and reach others in so many ways.
In doing so God is calling for us, His children to be both “Salt and Light” in this world.
So lets look at verse 13 again..
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
But what does that mean? .... What does it mean for us to be “Salt and Light” in our world today? Lets examine that this means.. Salt and light.
A. Salt.....
A. Salt.....
So we know that salt is a naturally occuring mineral, it is found in many different places in our world. And it is a mineral that people have used for centuries.
But in the New Testament period salt was something that couldn’t be purified as we know it today.
It was often contaminated with other impurities, other minerals and as such it could often be described as less salty....it could see its taste diminish as it is exposed to the elements and impurities.
Now salt could be used for many purposes in this world.. Lets consider its properties...
1. Salt could be used to enhance the taste of foods.
1. Salt could be used to enhance the taste of foods.
It was a necessary seasoning to make foods more palatable.
I remember when I was a kid, I had a aunt and uncle who were on a salt restrictive diet because of some heart issues. And this is long before other seasoning blends that were salt free. So the food while cooked well, it just didn’t have a very good taste. It has no salt or seasoning with it.
So we would have to pile the salt on top of it just to make it tasty… So salt is meant to season and affect the taste of food. It was to make it pleasant.
So we are to season the world with our presence, and His message.
Now let me ask you a question.... Have you considered that you are called to have such a presence in this world that you season it, to make it better. A Christian presence should effect the flavor, the essence of this world.
2. Salt was used as a preservative…
2. Salt was used as a preservative…
In the past people tried may different ways to preserve food, to extend its shelf life and keep it from spoiling. But what people discovered, was large amounts of salt placed on meats could actually preserve it.
We understand that in items like salt cured hams. When dried, salted and even smoked the meats shelf life could be extended for long periods of time.
Now again, let me ask you a question… Have you considered that your presence in this world could be described as a preserving effect. You are here to help prepare people for the world that awaits us.
You see from this life there is only two places, heaven and hell. IN hell people perish and in heaven people are preserved from punishment.
You have the gospel message to change peoples lives...
And finally ...
3. Salt could be used as an antiseptic....
3. Salt could be used as an antiseptic....
The very natural of salt has a antiseptic quality or nature to it. The compound that God has formed can be used in ways from ritual worship, cleansing and to prepare areas for ceremonies and so forth.
But also, it can be used to help cleanse and purify wounds, to help stop infection and help areas to heal faster.
Salt is also used in a variety of ways but the general idea is to purify.
Consider your life, Is your life being lived in such a way that you can help lead people to Jesus and calling them to live in a way that is holy before Him. Your work enables them to find forgiveness and peace with God.
We are the Salt of the world and we are meant to have a good presence in this world.
And then Jesus describes His followers as Light..
B. Light.
B. Light.
Light is a wonderful thing, it illuminates and reveals the true nature of all that we see and view in this world.
Lets look back and see what Jesus says…verse 14
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
So what is Jesus telling the people and us as well here in this verse. What does it mean to be the light of the world?
Well lets begin with Jesus. Jesus declared that He was the light of the world in John 8:12
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
In the OT, God promised the world the coming of a Savior, and with the prophecy of Jesus birth in the OT book of Isaiah. Isaiah 9:2
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
The prophecy of Isaiah promised a light was coming, it had been seen in the distance and was coming .... but now Jesus was on the scene. The light , the true light was present.
And those who followed Jesus would bear that same life. We have the light of life, His light in us.
Jesus confirms that in verse 14, You (the followers) of Jesus are the light of the world.
So what does light do? It pushes back the darkness.
You have heard me say before going into a large cave system, you where were miners, if the lights go off, you cannot see your hand in front of your face. darkness prevailed. But the smallest light pushes the darkness back and allows you to see..
When people are allowed to see, they know the direction they should take, where to walk and go to and from...
When I was much must younger we used to go squirrel hunting every Saturday morning, we would walk into the wood and find a place to sit down in the dark, as the sun rose you began to see things differently, the trees, stumps, down timber so as we began to get up and move around, we could see clearly..
You are the light of the world, Your light shines before the rest of the world illuminating the way so that people can see the way to God, so people can see how to come to Jesus, the Savior of the world.
My friends, in being Salt and light we understand that we are created for godly purposes to make a difference, a lasting difference in this world.
Are you living in a way that promotes God’s ways in this world?
Now, consider this second thought today...
2. Holiness Matters...
2. Holiness Matters...
Clearly we have seen that those who follow Jesus are called to be both Salt and Light. Those positions bear a great deal of responsibility.
There are expectations for those who follow Jesus. We are called to live a holy life in the world we live...
Lets run back to our text...
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
So lets start with the first one Salt!
A. Salt
A. Salt
Remember, Jesus says right off the bat that we are the “Salt of the earth”… And we have examined the possible purposes, and uses of salt. Ideally we know salt is meant to enhance and season the world.
So likewise a child of God has a responsibility to enhance the world they live in.. we are called to season, to give flavor to affect the world in a positive way.
BUT: what happens if salt losses its taste…its saltiness? Can it be resorted.
Understand in the days of Jesus it wasn’t so much that salt stopped being salt, but it was so impure, so many other impurities combined with it that it would not season or preserve food adequately..
So can it be changed? Can it be brought back to a purer form? The answer is no.. it is only good to be walked upon…it is no better than soil at that point.
My friends your purity matters. You can either stand with Jesus or stand with everything else in the world and your life can be so polluted that it is of no value to the world.
Consider a very public Christian who is in the public eye that has a moral failure, is there witness, the way people look and view them lost. Yes… And they are never seen in the right way again.
You my friends are called to live in such a way that you continue to be salt. That you continue to be pure, holy and righteous.
Protect your life, be careful with what you allow in your life and who you let in your life.
Be careful how you live.. the Scriptures tells us Be holy for I am Holy...
Be salt my friends, be salt..
And what about light.... well lets examine it.
B. Light...
B. Light...
You are the light of the world, that is what Jesus told us. We are to be a light that is reflected into every known place to drive back the darkness.
Lets go back to verses 14-15
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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.
So Jesus makes two points here… You cannot hide light nor would you really want too.
So Jesus gives us the analogy of a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Consider just over there a way from us.... Wallens Ridge State Prison up here on the hill, as you drive down the mountain from Norton, you cannot miss it.
Why?
It is lit up like nothing else, they want to make sure they can see every inch of those compounds at night so nothing happens in the cover of darkness. They was to see what is happening...
Even down here in the valley, if there is some cloud cover, you can see the light reflected on the clouds so that even though it is out of our line of site, we can still identity its location.
You can see it. Because the light can not be hidden..
And then, Jesus speaks about a candle or light in the home. You do not light it and then hope to cover it up… No, not at all, you want the light to been seen so in turn we can see in the dark rooms.
We want the light on in the house, I like them all on! I hate darkness...
Tell the story of being at seminary after Hurricane Fran and using oil
lamps for light at night.
We needed light and we wanted light and so we worked are hardest to stay out of the darkness in the days following the storm.
My friends… how we live in front of others matters, We are compelled by Christ to live in such a way that we that our light shines before others so that they see Jesus and nothing else.
Now just one last thought my friends, are you ready...
3. Divine Mission.....
3. Divine Mission.....
There is always one truth that must be considered when we think about our relationship and walk with the Lord.
He has called us and given us a divine mission.
Look at what Jesus says to those who how are following Him.. Look back with me at verse 16
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Our mission is to live in such a way that our light, our witness and our Lord is seen by all those around us.... Why
That those around us might see the work of God and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Please understand it says “your good works”, but yet what we do in service for God is not our works, they are really His work.
We have been blessed to be used of Him, they are gone for His glory and people have the opportunity to see this.. they praise the Lord God above.
If we live for Jesus, the whole world will see Him.
So there is also a question we must ask ourselves.
Are we living for Jesus? Is our life, actions and yes our words ( and thoughts ) being conducted in such a way that God is honored, blessed
And does it reflect Him to others?
First off if we confess there are things I need to divest ourselves of, get rid off, in order to live for Him.. then do it.
Shovel the jump we have hoarded in our hearts out.... Like the be-attitudes taught us, make sure you are aligned with God.
And strive each day, make the commitment to God… I want to live each day so that others see nothing but Jesus in me.
What decision will you make today.
It always comes down to the decisions we make......
We will do so for ourselves or We will do so for God.
Make your decision now...