OUT OF THE SALT SHAKER & INTO THE WORLD!
Matt. 5:13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: QUITTING
1. A man was shoveling snow from his driveway when two boys carrying snow shovels approached him.
2. “Shovel your snow, Mister?” one of them asked. “Only two dollars!”
3. Puzzled, the man replied, “Can’t you see that I’m doing it myself?”
4. “Sure,” said the enterprising lad; “that’s why we asked. We get most of our business from people who are half through and feel like quitting!”
5. LESSON: “It’s always too soon to quit!”
B. TEXT
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Mt. 5:13.
C. VALUE OF SALT
1. How valuable is salt? 40 million tons are required each year to fill our needs. Homer called it divine. Plato called it a "substance dear to the gods." Shakespeare mentioned salt 17 times in his plays.
2. When painting "The last Supper," Leonard da Vinci wanted to highlight the loss of Judas’ purity in betraying Christ. How did he do it? He painted an overturned salt container in front of Judas.
3. More wars have been fought over salt than over gold!
4. Thousands of Napoleon’s troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal--their bodies lacked salt.
5. The human body contains about 4oz. of salt. Without enough of it, muscles won’t contract, blood won’t circulate,
food won’t digest and the heart won’t beat a beat.
6. Without a doubt, salt is the essence of life. And Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth."
D. THESIS
1. The world poses a threat to our spiritual well-being. Anti-Christian elements don't understand us. The media often stereotypes us as ignorant or hypocritical.
2. Our response? Often, it is to withdrawal from the world into our Christian subculture: Christian radio, colleges, books, TV, church, support groups, etc.
3. But Jesus shows us our place in the world and chose as His example to describe us: "salt."
4. Salt had many uses in Bible times, but what did the Lord mean when He said, "You are the Salt of the earth?" We’ll look at four applications of ‘salt’ to the Church.
5. The title of tonight's message is "Out of the Salt Shaker & Into the World."
PART I: SALT = CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE
I. SALT PRESERVES
A. DAYS BEFORE REFRIGERATION
1. Salt was the only way to preserve foods. Salted food didn’t rot or decay.
2. Jesus’ followers are to preserve the world from the rot of sin. We work to reverse moral deterioration. Who will, if not us?
3. Salt blocks the growth of bacteria, and keeps away corruption.
B. PRESERVES THE WORLD FROM JUDGMENT
1. Abraham helped preserve Lot (Gen. 18). "If I only find ten righteous, I will not destroy it."
2. In 2 Thess., Paul discusses what hinders the Antichrist
from being revealed and the total takeover of the world by evil: it is the Holy Spirit in the Church. The church is a preserving force in the world.
C. SALT IS A SYMBOL OF PRE-JUDGMENT
1. “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt….Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” Mk. 9:49-50.
2. The word “fire” is used as a synonym for “salt.” Normally fire is used as an emblem of judgment. Since salt is put on what goes in the fire, i.e., sacrifices, and that everyone will pass through judgment, then it stands to reason that salt too is an emblem of prejudgment.
3. If we judge ourselves now, we shall not be subject to judgment (1 Cor. 11:31). If we have salt now, we won’t have to have fire/salt later.
II. SALT IS POTENT
A. STRONG TASTE PER WEIGHT
1. As far as its chemical composition, salt is NaCl, sodium chloride; either element taken individually would kill you, but together they’re fine to digest.
2. Why so strong tasting? Because it’s potent/ pure/ concentrated. Salt is just salt. It has no additives involved. It’s strong because it's simple and concentrated
3. In considering Purity, we’re not supposed to be like other people, but like Jesus. No compromise.
B. SALTLESS SALT? MUST MAINTAIN PURITY
1. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Mt. 5:13.
2. Sodium chloride cannot lose its saltiness. So what did
Jesus mean? In His time salt used by the common people was not pure; it was a mixture of minerals taken from the marshes surrounding the Dead Sea.
3. When this mineral mix was exposed to water, the sodium chloride would leach out leaving a white residue that looked like salt but had none of its flavor. That residue was thrown on the path in front of the house to keep down the dust.
4. “Becoming a Christian isn’t merely fire insurance, it’s a relationship that affects every aspect of our lives; values, lifestyle, sexuality ....” (Rebecca Pippert, pg.46) Becoming a Christian requires that change takes place in our life. Making Jesus Lord will be one of those changes.
5. It’s Christ in our lives that’s the salt. We must have Him! There is no substitute.
C. WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE TOP PRIORITY
1. Phip. 3:13, "but this one thing I do;" Luke 10:42, "only one thing is needful;” Mark 10:21, "one thing is lacking."
(maybe you have too many pursuits: choose one chair.
2. Hebrews 10:25 talks about "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together." Some would say, "You don't have to go to church to be a Christian."
3. Well, technically that's true. But I doubt the Christianity of a person that willfully, deliberately neglects church.
4. Some say, "Well, I get just as much by listening to someone on TV." You may, but you don't just come to church for what you can get; you're supposed to come for what you can give, and I don't mean money.
5. We get encouragement from other believers; we live in dangerous and deceptive times. We need the church.
6. Do you know what you're saying to your neighbors and friends when you come to church services? You're saying: a. “God is important to me.” b. “You, Pastor, are important to me.” c. And to the person next to you, "You are important!"
7. We need to be faithful to the Fellowship!
PART II: SALT = EVANGELISM
I. SALT INVADES/ IS OFFENSIVE
A. SALT IN SALTSHAKER -- USELESS
1. Salt is only useful when it is used. With "salted pork," you can taste the salt throughout the meat.
2. The context of Matthew 5:13 is that we are to reach out; "invade your world with My Nature;" "Show them what Jesus is like."
3. HUMOR.
a. A little boy was in a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get the last brownie. His mother overheard the loud discussion in the kitchen and came in to resolve the conflict.
b. Her two children were obviously very distraught about getting that final treat. Sensing the need to teach a deeper truth, the mom asked her children that ever-relevant question: "What would Jesus do?"
c. The older sibling immediately answered, "That's easy. Jesus would just pray over the brownie and make 5000 more!"
4. The Gospel should penetrate into every area of our lives, consuming every part. There should be no secret compartments.
5. Do we hide our lights? We need to let them shine into the darkness!
B. SALT SPREADS A FLAVOR
1. Salt dissolves into the food, but keeps its uniqueness (like yeast). Salt permeates the food.
2. So are we to spread abroad the Savor of Christ:
14 “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” 2 Cor. 2:14-16.
3. A greatly beloved medical missionary was Dr. Fred Douglas Shepherd of Aintab, Asia Minor. Once a poor Arminian came to the missions station; "I have never seen Jesus, but I have seen Dr. Shepherd." That was the next best thing to seeing Jesus.
4. We should be known by our honesty, sexual purity, kindness, generosity.
C. THE “SALT” OF YOUR TESTIMONY
1. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” Col. 4:6.
2. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 1 Pet. 3:15.
3. “We often feel clumsy when it comes to sharing the gospel. Admitting mistakes, taking responsibility for our actions and looking to God for answers can have a dramatic impact on those around us.”
4. Evangelism isn’t a program—it is a lifestyle.
5. GIVING REASONS FOR OUR FAITH
a. Historical evidence - We need to have answers ready for some basic questions (Perhaps a 3x5 card with a question on the front and the proof-answer on the back would be helpful).
b. Philosophical evidence: We need to able to answer some of the questions such as ‘How could a good God allow such evil in the world?' 'How can God allow children to be abused?'
c. Personal evidence: You need to be able to share how God made a difference in your own life. People need to be able to see His work and you need to be able to verbalize it, always with the emphasis on what God has done.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: HE WANTS YOU!
1. A young man used to make deliveries to a night club run by a woman named Iris. She was an older woman, and was used to running places with gambling and prostitution.
2. He used to regularly share the Gospel with her. Although she wouldn't respond, she used to like him. One day he said, "This is my last day. I want to give you one more opportunity to respond." She did.
3. He explained that getting to know Jesus was like getting married. You give yourself to the Lord for life. He also told her she had to pray and give her heart to the Lord.
4. When they prayed he said, "Lord, do you want this woman to be Yours?" Then he looked at Iris and said, "The Lord says yes."
5. Then he said to her, "Iris, do you want Jesus to be your Lord?" She was a bit nervous, but she said, "Yes".
6. Then he said to the Lord again, "Lord, are You sure you want this woman? She's got nothing to offer You." Then he looked at Iris again and said, "Iris, He really, really wants you." He really wants YOU too!
B. THE CALL
1. "Have salt in yourselves" Mark 9:50. We're supposed to have grace in the form of kingdom virtues.
2. PRESERVE! Voice your convictions and hold back the wicked from wrongdoing.
3. INVADE! Be offensive for Jesus; go into your world to change it.
4. Be POTENT! Maintain your purity and full power in Christ.
5. Salt in salt shakers does no good. Let's get out of the "salt warehouse" (the church) and share our new life!
[The book, “Out of the Salt-Shaker and into the World” by Rebecca Manley Pippert, was used as a source.]
