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?
n. ACC - A few points toward the north (of Tabor) appears that which they call the Mount of Beatitudes, a small rising, from which our blessed Saviour delivered his sermon in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew. Not far from this little hill is the city Saphet, supposed to be the ancient Bethulia. It stands upon a very eminent and conspicuous mountain, and is SEEN FAR and NEAR. Christ alludes to this city, in these words of his, A city set on a hill cannot be hid?
o. My prayer is for each one including myself, that our lives may be as the city on the hill, everyone can see that our lives radiates the light of Christ. It shines bright and overpowers the darkness of sin.
p. 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.
q. One writer, Marin explains - Palestinian homes were generally dark. Having one small window. They did not have electricity and light bulbs like we have. Their light consisted of a lamp which was a bowl filled with oil that had a wick. When they needed light the lamp was placed on a lamp stand. The most difficult thing of having this light in the house was in lighting the lamp.
As a result, no one wanted to let their light go out because It took to much work to get the wick lid again. But when people went out of the house it was dangerous to leave the light on so for safety reasons when they left their homes the lamp would be taken from its lamp stand and placed under an earthen vessel where it could burn risk free. As soon as someone returned they would put the lamp on the stand.
I am not saying that lighting our lives for God is difficult, but there is a world that is having a difficult time understanding that being a light for God is something “True Christians” do not want to hide.
r. Bill Wilson pastor of an inner city church in New York City which is a very violent place. He has been stabbed twice as he ministered to the people of the community surrounding the church. a Puerto Rican woman who had been led to Christ, came to Pastor Wilson and said, "I want to do something to help with the church’s ministry." He asked her what her talents were and she could think of nothing---she couldn’t even speak English---but she did love children. So he put her on one of the church’s buses that went into neighborhoods and transported kids to church. Every week she performed her duties. She would find the worst-looking kid on the bus, put him on her lap and whisper over and over the only words she had learned in English: "I love you. Jesus loves you."
She became attached to one little boy in particular. The boy didn’t speak. He came to Sunday School every week with his sister and sat on the woman’s lap, but he never made a sound. Each week she would tell him all the way to Sunday School and all the way home, "I love you and Jesus loves you."
One day, to her amazement, the little boy turned around and stammered,
"I---I---I love you too!" Then he put his arms around her and gave her a big hug. That was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. At 6:30 that night he was found dead. His own mother had beaten him to death and thrown his body in the trash......."I love you and Jesus loves you." ....Those were some of the last words this little boy heard in his short life---from the lips of a Puerto Rican woman who could barely speak English. This woman gave her one talent to God and because of that a little boy who never heard the word "love" in his own home, experienced and responded to the love of Christ.....
What can you give from yourself?...
s. Is your life being a light to the World around you, are you flavoring those around you for Christ?
Shining our light make it easier to share the story of God’s forgiveness
3. Sharing the Forgiveness of God vs. 16
t. Samuel Colgate, the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to walk down the aisle and kneel at the altar was a well-known prostitute. She knelt in very real repentance, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and meanwhile the rest of the congregation looked on approvingly at what she was doing. Then she stood and testified that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church. For a few moments, the silence was deafening.
Finally, Samuel Colgate arose and said, "I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We’d better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but the Lord apparently doesn’t understand that she’s not the type we want him to rescue. We’d better spell it out for him just which sinners we had in mind." Immediately, a motion was made and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership in the congregation.
God accepts us as we are. There’s not a sin too black, not a deed too awful, not a thought too horrible for him to forgive.
u. 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.
v. Steven Boyns - we were not saved to “prance” and “parade” our salvation, but we were saved for a purpose. And that purpose is to “seek out the lost” and “disciple the found”!
w. What Does Light actually do?
x. Boyns –
Dispels (scatters darkness)
Our lives should have such an influence that wherever we are, we make evil want to leave. Or if it does not leave, we should make it feel uncomfortable.
Discloses (reveals darkness)
(You never knew you were in darkness until someone disclosed you to the light.)
The light of Christ that is within every believer should reveal the darkness that is in others. Our lives should be made a comparison with the world, in order for us to lead others to Christ. There should be something different about you that would compel others to get what you’ve got!
Directs (leads you away from darkness)
Our radiance should lead people out of darkness into "The Marvelous Light."
He was hung up, for our hang-ups
He messed over, for our mess ups
He was nailed up, for our negligence
He was bloodied, for our blunders
He was crucified, for our carelessness
He gave up the ghost, for our eventual glorification
He died, for our destiny
Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Darrell Stetler Jr.
High Potency + Close Proximity = High Impact
High Potency
- “strong salt”
- A life that really is surrendered to God
- Strong beliefs, willing to state them
- A life that is always doing the right thing on display
Close Proximity
- a willingness to get close to people, into their lives.
- an attitude that says “watch, and I”ll show you.”
High Impact
- people who will follow you in the right direction
- people who will want what you’ve got
- you’ll have an impact for God.
John Maxwell says;
• Develop a top 3 list of ones you want to influence to Jesus
• Increase your influence. How? By saying, How may I serve them.
o Value People
o Know and relate to what they value
o Do the things God Values, By sharing our Faith with others
How is your light today…..is it a flavor that the world sees to be attractive?
God wants ones who are Faithful to the Faith!
