Dr. Evan Kane ... was the chief surgeon ... of Kane Summit Hospital ... in New York City.
He had practiced his specialty ... for 37 years.
Over the course of time, ... he came to question the wisdom of using general anesthesia ... for every surgery.
He believed people would recover quicker ... if they only used ... local anesthesia.
Yet, ... no matter how convinced Dr. Kane was about his theory, ... he had one problem.
No one wanted to go under his knife ... while they were awake.
Everyone he spoke with ... had the same fear.
They did not want to feel the pain of the scalpel ...while they were awake ...during the surgery.
After much searching, ... Kane finally found a willing subject.
It helped ... that it was a relatively ... common procedure.
According to Dr. Kane's own records, ... during his practice ... he had performed around 4,000 appendectomies, ... so the procedure was almost second nature to him.
The patient was prepped ... and brought into the operating room.
The local anesthesia ... was carefully administered.
As he had always done, ... he cut into the right side of the abdomen ... and entered the body cavity.
He tied off the blood vessels, ... found the appendix, excised it, ... and finished ... by sewing the incision.
To his own credit, ... he proved himself right.
Throughout the surgery ... the patient felt very little discomfort.
In fact, ... the patient was up and about the very next afternoon, ... which was remarkable ... since this occurred in 1921.
At that time ... when you had your appendix removed ... you had a hospital stay of 6 to 8 days.
This was a milestone in the world of medicine.
However ... what made it particularly noteworthy was that the patient ... and the doctor were the same person.
Yes ... Dr. Kane operated on himself. (Pause)
Believe it or not, ... that is what I'm going to ask of you today.
What I want us to do is something like ... "spiritual exploratory surgery."
I want us to root around a bit ... in our souls, to take a hard and honest look at our spiritual health, ... and to see if our faith walk ... is as healthy ... as it should be.
Our Gospel reading this morning from Matthew ... is near the beginning of Jesus' most famous message ... often called, ... "The Sermon on the Mount."
In this message, ... Jesus called his followers ... to the highest standards ... of conduct. (Pause)
He challenged us to ... "turn the other cheek." (Matthew 5:38-40)
He commanded us to love our enemy, to forgive those who do us wrong, and to be sure we act with the purest motives. (Luke 6:27; Matthew 6:14)
He said there were two roads, ... a wide road that leads to destruction ... and a narrow one that leads to life. (Matthew 7:13-14)
And here in today's Gospel text ... he calls those who choose to follow Him ... to be a godly influence on the world in which they live.
Those are tough commands.
Jesus clearly expects the world to be transformed by our presence.
Hear Jesus words to us: BIBLE "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." END (Matthew 5:13)
Now at first blush ... this is a little difficult to understand.
There is no such thing as ... "unsalty salt."
If you pour the granules out of your saltshaker ... and it's not salty, ... well ... somebody played a trick on you ... because pure salt does not go bad.
Sodium Chloride, ... table salt ... like Morton's that you buy at the store is ... pure.
But the Morton Salt Co. ... did not exist ... back in the first century.
Then ... When they mined salt from the quarry or pit it was never ... completely pure.
Occasionally the salt they gathered ... was so impure that it was not very salty ... at all.
When that happened ... they would cast it out the door .... to harden the pathway ... that led to their home.
What Jesus is saying in this text is ... that if we as His followers are going to change the world ... we have to be pure salt, ... we have to be the real deal.
We must be ... the real deal.
Our lives must not ... in fact ... cannot be a mixture of impurities.
We have to be uncompromised, ... pure, and yes ...authentic.
That is the word I want you to remember.
When Jesus says: "You are the salt of the earth."
Jesus is saying "Be Authentic."
Be the Real Deal!
One thing that has limited the influence Christians have ... on the world; ... is that many who claim to be followers of the Christ ... are not authentic.
Beloved, ... an inconsistent lifestyle ... repels people ...from the church.
It repels people ... from coming ... to Christ.
I can not tell you how many times ... I heard someone share ... they know someone who says they are a Christian, ... but their life doesn't show it.
Beloved ... We may be the only Bible ... the only bible ... that our neighbor may ever see.
Our life needs to portray grace.
Our life ... our actions may be the only Scriptures that others ... will ever encounter.
So, ... how authentic is your walk?
Are the people around you ... drawn to faith ... by your life?
Do people who cross your path ... recognize that there is a difference ... in the way ... you live?
In the letter to the Galatians Paul informs us what a life looks like when the Holy Spirit is active.
You will be filled with love - You will be filled with joy, with peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Do the people you interact with, ... your family, your neighbors your friends see the ... "fruit of the Spirit," evident in your life?
Are you authentic?
Are you the real deal?
Or is there so much impurity mixed in with your faith that it has lost its saltiness?
The key is to be authentic;... the key is being real, ... not trying to appear ... to be perfect.
Nobody likes a phony, ... and if you think you are fooling everybody, ... than the truth is the only person you are probably fooling ... is yourself.
And you can be assured ... you are not fooling God.
If you want people to think you never struggle, ... that sin is only a distant memory in your life, ... then you are not authentic.
You are just wearing ... a mask. (PAUSE)
In Ancient Greece ... they had great theatrical events, ... and plays in large amphitheaters.
They did not have microphones ... to make their voices heard, ... and they did not have cameras ... to magnify their images, ... so they invented a unique system.
They developed large masks.
The masks made them look like the characters they portrayed.
And Built into the masks were ... megaphones to amplify their voices.
The actors on stage, ... got behind their masks ... and they became somebody else, ... someone different ... than they really were.
These actors were called the ... "hypocrites." (Pause)
There are many people ... whose lives are nothing more then a big act.
They too are the ... "Hypocrites".
Listen to Jesus warning. Hear God's Word:
BIBLE. "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. END (Matthew 23:25-28) END
You see, God wants to change us, ... but not superficially.
He calls us to be conformed ... to the image of His Son.
He does not want to just change ... the way we look.
He wants to clean us from the very core ... of our being.
We must have faith and trust in Him ... and allow him to change us ... from the inside out.
Beloved ... You will make a difference ... you will be able to influence people for Christ ... if .... If they can see that Christ ... has made a difference in, ...you.
"Christians are to be the good news ... before they share ... the good news." (Pause)
"A Peanuts cartoon, ... showed Peppermint Patty talking to Charlie Brown.
She said, ... "Guess what, Chuck.
The first day of school ... and I got sent to the principal's office.
It was your fault, ... Chuck."
He said, "My fault?
How could it be my fault?
Why do you say everything's my fault?"
She said, "You're my friend, ... aren't you, Chuck?
You should have been a better influence ... on me." (Pause)
While Peppermint Patty was seeking to pass the buck, ... she was in a very real sense ... right.
We should be a positive influence ... on our friends.
We all ... certainly do have an influence, ... all be it for good ... or for bad."
We are always some type of influence ... to those in our lives.
Much like the preacher who was building a wooden trellis ... to support ... a climbing vine.
As he was pounding away, ... he noticed that a little boy was watching him.
The youngster did not say a word, ... so the preacher kept on working, ... thinking the boy would leave.
Yet he didn't.
Pleased at the thought that his work was being admired, ... the pastor finally said, ... "Are you trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?"
"No," the young boy replied.
"I'm just waiting to hear what a preacher says ... when he smashes his thumb ... with a hammer." (Pause)
We are always influencing others ... either positively or negatively.
We are called to be ... the Salt of the Earth.
Salt is a seasoning, ... a preservative, ... but unless it is BROUGHT INTO CONTACT with another OBJECT its influence ... is wasted!
Salt becomes Invisible ... to have a Visible effect. (Repeat)
Salt by itself is nothing more than little fine particles ... and in that state ... it is worthless.
BUT when it is rubbed onto and into meat, ... or added to food ... it becomes INVISIBLE ... and THEN becomes what it was intended for ... -- INFLUENCING THE FLAVOR!
Salt that just sits in the shaker ... is of no use.
It is much like believers, ... who become complacent, who no longer share grace; ... who refuse to take a moral stand; ... who refuse to share grace or to share ... their faith.
They are sitting in a shaker!
Now, the Holy Spirit may be doing a little surgery on you today, ... and He might be making you uncomfortable ... because he is working ... to cut out the compromise ... in your life.
Are you authentic ... are you the real deal ... or are you wearing a mask.
Are you too often ... playing the role ... of the hypocrite.
Is your salt sitting in the shaker ... or are you in contact with ... and bringing flavor ... to those that God has placed in your life? (Pause)
I recently heard about a business owner who became interested in Christianity, ... but he maintained a distance ... and just observed for a while.
He employed many Christians in his company ... and he watched them... like a hawk.
He said, ... "You know, I was naturally drawn to God by observing Christian workers... who were conscientious and kind.
But I'll tell you what really impressed me.
One day a guy who I knew to be a fresh convert asked if he could see me after work.
I agreed to meet with him, ... but later in the day I started to worry ... that this young religious zealot might be coming ... to try to convert me."
"I was surprised when he came in my office with his head hanging low ... and said to me,
'Sir, I'll only take a few minutes ... I'm here to ask your forgiveness.
Over the years I have worked for you I've done what a number of other employees do, ... like borrowing a few company products here and there.
And I've taken some extra supplies; ... I've abused telephone privileges; ... and I've cheated the time clock ... now and then."
He went on, "But I became a Christian a few months ago and it's real ... not the smoke and mirror stuff.
In gratitude for what Christ has done for me and in obedience to Him, ... I want to make amends to you and the company ... for the wrongs ... I have done.
Could we figure out a way to do that?
If you have to fire me for what I've done, ... I'll understand.
I deserve it.
Or, if you want to dock my pay,... dock it for whatever figure ... you think is appropriate.
If you want to give me some extra work to do ... on my own time, ... that will be okay too.
I just want to make things right with God ... and between us.'" (Pause)
In the end they did work it out.
That business owner said that one conversation made a deeper spiritual impact on him ... than anything else ever had.
That employee did not influence the owner because he had some clever presentation of the Gospel.
He did it ... because he was living out a faith ... that was both authentic and available.
Beloved we can do that.
But to do it, we have to be willing to be the good news.
What you say and do ... influences those God puts into your life.
You are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world.
Let me end with these words from Jesus to those who call themselves his followers:
Beloved ... Hear Gods Word BIBLE "Let your light (your life) so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." END (Matthew 5:16)
Amen! And Amen!
I received much insight from Tim Bond's Sermon "Influence Your World For Christ". I commend this Sermon to you.
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal gift: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Homily was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings.
