Impacting Our Community For Christ

Impacting our Community for Christ

It is about our attitude toward the World

Mt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mt 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mt 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house

Mt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

In our reading we have a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus spoke regarding issues such as, the fulfilling of the Law, Murder, Adultery, Divorce, Oaths, Retaliation, Love, Giving, Prayer, Fasting, Wealth, Judging and even more, but I want to focus on verses 13 thru 16 regarding our life and how others see us.

1. Showing the Flavor of God vs. 13

2. Showing the Light of God vs. 14, 15

3. Sharing the Forgiveness of God vs. 16

(Hand out CD’s)

1. Showing the Flavor of God vs. 13

a. J. Dwight Pentecost – Salt is used today as a preservative, it does not seem to have been so sued in biblical times. It was the function of salt to create a thirst so that the body might retain the proper amount of fluid to maintain its health. Salt created a thirst which, when satisfied, would maintain life.

b. Mt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

c. It is our job as Christians to create a thirst in the life of the sinners. In our words and our living. We need to create a desire for those who look upon us, knowing we are calling ourselves Christians; we need to wet their appetite for Christ.

d. Salt – it was the chief economic product ot the ancient world, and the Hebrews used it in a variety of ways: Flavoring for foods, preserving fish, curing meat, and pickling olives and vegetables. It was also used in anointing oil and ritual sacrifices. Infants were covered in it to ensure good health. The use of salt in sacrifice symbolized God’s perpetual covenant with Israel Num. 18:19.

e. Job 6:6 speaks of salt being used to flavor food

f. Job 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?

g. Bishop Alexander - As the reappearance of the appetite in someone who is ill serves as the first sign that he is beginning to recover, so the desire for righteousness is the first indication that a sinner is beginning to heal. While in sin, a person hungers for riches, money, honors, and physical pleasures. He never considers spiritual riches, or may even disdain them. But when that soul is freed from the illusions of sin, he begins to long for spiritual perfection.

h. Mt 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

i. Clark Tanner - So we have a weak and largely empty church, piddling a small band of devotees out onto the pavement of our city streets, whose idea of ‘witnessing’ is wearing a cleverly worded t-shirt, putting a fish on the back of their van right next to the arrogant little sticker that declares at which school their baby is an honor student, and wearing the latest fad bracelet, and silently praying that no one will ask them to explain any one of these items because frankly, they don’t have a clue!

j. Is your life creating a hunger for Christ for those you are around you?

If our lives are wetting the appetites of those around us for Jesus, it is easier for us to show the light of God

2. Showing the Light of God vs. 14, 15

k. Mt 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

l. Jose Marin - Light is described as a form of energy it is always moving. “When light energy ceases to move, because it has been absorbed by matter, it is no longer light” Light has been a symbol of divine presence. Jesus said that He was the light of the world.

m. Light Exposes darkness: Darkness is expelled as soon as you hit the lights. People are not aware of the darkness they live in if they don’t see the light. Mt 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. The question is does my life help people see more clearly?