Sermon Tone Analysis

Robert, you have staying power!

Proverbs 24:16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

Counselors, encouragers, and people who offer care to others often encounter those whose past failures threaten to define them and hinder their development, healing, and sanctification.

Our enemy capitalizes on our failures and regrets, pressing home the current influence of what we could have, would have, or should have done, if only we were wiser, more courageous, honest, or godly.

There is, however, an internal posture that is invincible against the pile of regrets and accusations the devil's crew levels at us.

Its basis is the new foundation on which we stand and live: the righteousness of Another, a perfectly righteous and holy Savior, whose righteousness is imparted to us by repentance and faith.

Although the above passage is from the Old Testament, its reference to the "righteous" carries exponential significance in light of the New Covenant.

The LORD God clearly defines those who identify with Him as individuals who "keep getting up, keep trying, keep pressing through, seven times over; (7, the perfect number)."

It seems that true righteousness inspires perseverance.

You may have seen it in your own life...

Imperfection has been infused into our world since the Fall.

Our mortal bodies will not in this life cease to be prone to failure, stumbling, and missing the mark, giving plenty of opportunity for regret, dejection, or self-pity.

And while genuine mourning, godly sorrow, deep contrition, and pouring out our hearts to Him are blessed and appreciated by our compassionate Lord, He does not leave us to abide in depression or defeat.

In fact, He assures us that "All things work together for the good of those who love Him..."

Friends, take note again of the source of your staying power.

You are a new creature, whose past or present failures cannot define your identity.

God is faithful who will inspire and reward your persistence in pressing through even the most difficult challenges and circumstances, past or present.

Only believe and press on...He "is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding great joy..." [Jude 1:24]

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah

Knoxville, Tennessee

Worship call 0700

Tuesday August 2, 2022

Salt of the Earth

Man will have to first deal with his own weaknesses of the flesh.

the Carnal nature, for we are sinners all coming short of the Glory of God.

many if not all of us can look back on our lives with regret to how we had failed the Lord in so many ways but yet the Lord says that we are Salt and light.

Throughout history there would be many humbling times for those of faith.

There would exist trials, tribulations, confiscation of property burning at stakes, fed to hungry beasts, abused, and tortured in every conceivable way.

There would exist underground churches, worship in hiding, even in catacombs where the dead were laid.

When caught or identified as Christians many, young and old, would be lined up and shot.

And despite it all, Jesus says to His followers.

Matthew 5:13 (NASB95) — 13 “You are the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:14 (NASB95) — 14 “You are the light of the world.

While the Satan Lord’s over a fallen world, and over a fallen race of man, God uses man as a channel for his blessing.

through the believer the Lord would channel the hope of Salvation, blessing by association, compassion, grace, mercy, and the goodness of God.

Salt was used for many applications

1. Preservative

2. Flavoring of food

3. Cleaning

4. It was used by a conquering force to make a land barren Judges 9:45

5.

It was a symbol of Hospitality

6. it was rubbed on newborn babies

7.

All meat offerings were seasoned with salt

8. Used on Manure piles

9. Medical uses in treating wounds

10.

Payment to roman soldiers

11.

And much more

We could probably go in many directions as we equate disciples of Christ to being Salt, but in this study I will go with Salt as it is used to flavor and used as a preservative.

Salt would be a blessing which would both preserve life to salvation and add flavor to a tasteless life and world.

Believers, namely disciples,’ learners and keepers of God’s word.

Followers of the Lord are conduits of God’s blessings to a lost a world.

Yes, the very creature that Satan accuses and seeks to destroy, God uses to channel blessings to man and to creation.

It will be the man and woman of faith that God will use to be a blessing by association.

The world after the flood found its way back in short order into rebellion against God.

At Babel man once again declared his own independence from God (Genesis 11)

When God confused the language of the people they were forced to spread out throughout the world.

they took with them their paganism.

The Lord then called a man out of the Ur of Chaldeans that he would use to channel Gods blessings.

His name was Abram.

Genesis 12:1–2 (NASB95) — 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Abraham’s name became great in the land which God had place him.

That is the Land of Canaan.

A land of no faith and full of idolatry.

Abraham would be the first missionary who took God’s blessing into the pagan Land.

Note that God removes the conduit from Babylon and places it elsewhere in Canaan.

However, the conduit will return when Daniel is taken into Babylon.

Abraham became a man of faith.

and that faith touched those in the world in which Abraham sojourned.

Peter calls Lot a Righteous man(2 Peter 2:8), no doubt that Lot benefited and was blessed by association because of his Uncle Abraham.

It was Abraham who fought for the people of Sodom, had communion with the King of righteousness, Melchizedek.

It was the ruler and his captain that visited Abraham seeking to enter a covenant with this man.

Genesis 21:22–23 (NASB95) — 22 Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do; 23 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.”

Other Patriarchs would be recognized as blessing as was Isaac and Jacob.

Even by a pagan people it was recognized by others that these men were God’s men and through them would come blessing.

Who but the believer would God channel his blessings?

Joseph, Sold into slavery by his brothers, a God’s man, moved along by the providential hand of God went from slave to king and saved countless number of people from a horrible death through famine.

There was Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon who was blessed mightily by not only Daniel but Daniels friends who were faithful to the Lord, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Nebuchadnezzar because of his contact with Daniel may himself had become a believer in Daniel’s God.

God blesses on the basis of a believing remnant that he places within the world and nation.

Through that conduit of blessing by association a member of a family can steer the whole family into salvation.

Because Noah obeyed God he was a conduit of blessing to his family preserving them from destruction.

Acts 16:14–15 (NASB95) — 14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.”

And she prevailed upon us.

That blessing by association extends to the nations.

And to the world.

It is due to the church that we have Orphanages and hospitals.

The care for elderly and so fourth.

As Salt influences the food that we eat giving it flavor, the learner disciple the follower of Yeshua influences the culture and the nation in where God places him and her.

Salt as a preservative is rubbed on meat.

It dehydrates the meet protecting it from harmful bacteria.

Thus, it is salt that is used as a preservative.

The world is dying under the curse of sin.

But as salt was used to preserve meat which is a dead animal it is the believer who is the preservative of a dead world dead under the curse and under universal condemnation.

The remnant of God is that which preserves a people and culture a nation and even the world from evil.

It is the remnant that holds back evil setting up a barrier.

As salt and light within a society it retrains evil from reaching its full take over.

In the antediluvian period there was another man of great faith blameless and righteous.

And that was Noah.