THERMOMETER OR THERMOSTAT: WHICH ARE YOU?
Mt. 5:16
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A Pastor told one of his faithful church members, “Mrs. Smith, I appreciate your devotion. You are present at all the services!”
2. Mrs. Smith: “Yes, it’s such a relief, at the end of a long, hard week, to come to church, sit on those soft cushions, and not think about anything for an hour!”
B. THESIS
1. If I had a carton of Blue Bell ice cream, would you be willing to eat a spoon of it? Just one spoon probably wouldn’t be enough!
2. But if I asked you to eat a spoonful of salt, how many would volunteer? No one! Why not? What’s wrong with salt? [would be too strong. Too bitter. Impossible to eat by itself]
3. Today we’re talking about whether YOU and I look more like a thermometer or a thermostat. As Christians, there’s 3 things we’re supposed to be doing.
WE’RE SUPPOSED TO...
I. CHANGE THE TEMPERATURE OF OUR WORLD
A. DEFINITIONS
1. A thermometer is a device that tells how hot or cold something or someone is. It doesn’t try to change the temperature, but just reflects what it is.
2. A thermostat, on the other hand, changes the temperature. If the room gets too cold, the thermostat goes into action and warms it up. Should the room get too hot, the thermostat cools it down.
3. There’s a huge difference between the two. One is passive, the other is active. One exerts no influence over its environment, but the other exists to change its environment.
4. A thermostat exerts control, while a thermometer does not. God wants us to be more like thermostats -- extending the Kingdom of God into their lives.
B. GOD’S IDEAL TEMPERATURE
1. Thermostats try to keep the temperature of a room at an ideal temperature. God’s ideal temperature is the fire of His Holy Spirit. We live in a world cold toward God.
2. Astronomers and physicists talk about a time, trillions of years away, when (if the Lord were to let things go on naturally) the last stars would burn out and the universe would experience “HEAT DEATH,” or would be absolutely cold.
3. That’s what it’s like now, spiritually; everyone around us is cold toward God. But God wants to use us to share the warmth of His love with them. What He has to do first is GET US HOT. Only when we’re full of God’s fire can we impart that fire to everyone around us.
4. Many Christians don’t change the temperature of our nation. Instead, they reflect the same incivility, fears, and discouragement as the lost people who live around them. They don’t channel the power of the Lord to the world.
II. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SHINE WITH GOD’S TRUTH
Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:16
A. SHINE TO GUIDE (Mt. 5:14)
1. Light is a common metaphor in the Bible for truth as opposed the darkness of ignorance. The world is “in the dark” about God, but Christians “turn on the light.”
2. Light allows people to see. Christians are supposed to show the world how much God loves them.
3. We are meant to be conspicuous to others; “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16. A light bulb has no other purpose, nor do we!
2. Lights mark the way to go; airport runway lights or harbor markers. We Christians are to mark the way to heaven/ Jesus.
B. TAKING THE MORAL LEAD
1. Christians also show God’s moral code by how we live. If someone suggests doing bad things, Christians should speak up and refuse to participate. We must take the lead and not remain silent. It may be our job, at times, to expose sin. We have to be open to that.
2. Many people in this world do not have the moral strength to take a stand by themselves, but if someone shows them the way, they will follow. It’s the Christian’s duty to take a stand.
C. EVEN DIM LIGHTS STAND OUT
1. One of the great things about camping out in the country is that you can get away from the city lights and really see the stars. Away from the city, a full moon is bright enough to find your way around in the dark. The sky is full of light from the stars.
2. In a world of darkness, we are those who reflect the light we have found in Jesus. [Turn off lights; light a candle. The turn a floodlight. In a dark room, even a candle matters.]
3. “[You should be] children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” Phip. 2:14-16.
D. WARNING LIGHTS
1. Lights are often used to warn us that danger is ahead. Intersections are marked with flashing yellow or red lights. When vehicles break down, we put flares in the road. Police cars, wreckers, fire trucks and ambulances are covered with warning lights. For airplanes, there are warning lights on top of all the tall structures so the pilots are alerted to the danger.
2. We Christians are to be the warning lights to unbelievers. This doesn’t mean we’re to be standing around with a flashing light, rather we’re to “speak the truth in love” Eph. 4:15.
3. It’s the Christian’s duty to warn those around us. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” Prov. 27:5. This means telling people they are sinners and need salvation. We must learn how to do this as unoffensively & unjudgmentally as possible.
E. ILLUSTRATION
1. It is said of Robert McCheyne, a godly Scottish minister of the last century, that his face carried such a Christ-like expression that people were known to fall on their knees and accept Jesus Christ as Savior when they looked at him. Others were so attracted by the self-giving beauty and holiness of his life that they found his Master irresistible.
2. When the French pietist Francois Fenelon prayed, onlookers say his face shined with divine radiance. An atheist, who was compelled to spend the night in an hotel with Fenelon, hurried away the next morning, saying, “If I spend another night with that man I’ll be a Christian in spite of myself.”
III. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ALTER OUR ENVIRONMENT
“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.
A. VALUE OF SALT
1. How valuable is salt? 40 million tons are required each year to fill our needs. More wars have been fought over salt than over gold!
2. Thousands of Napoleon’s troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal--their bodies lacked salt.
3. 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.
4. Without a doubt, salt is the essence of life. And Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth."
5. 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.
6. Our response? Often, it is to withdrawal from the world into our Christian subculture: Christian radio, colleges, books, TV, church, support groups, etc.
7. But Jesus shows us our place in the world and chose as His example to describe us: "salt."
8. Salt had many uses in Bible times, but what did the Lord mean when He said, "You are the Salt of the earth?"
B. SALT PRESERVES
1. In the days before refrigeration, 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. The righteous remnant preserves the world from judgment. Abraham helped preserve Lot (Gen. 18). "If I only find ten righteous, I will not destroy it."
C. SALT IS POTENT
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.
SALT INVADES & penetrates everything around it with its influence
D. THE OLD HERMIT
1. An old Hermit wanted to teach his apprentice an important factor of living life, and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the Hermit instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
2. "How does it taste?" the Hermit asked. "Bitter," spit the apprentice. The Hermit chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake.
3. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
4. As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the Hermit asked, "How does it taste?" "Fresh," remarked the apprentice. "Do you taste the salt?" asked the Hermit. "No," said the young man.
5. At this, the Hermit said, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in.
6. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Don't be a glass. Become a lake."
7. This reminds us to enlarge our lives; be a blessing to others and you’ll forget about your own troubles. That’s the secret of a happy life: serve & bless others!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: INFLUENCE
1. A group of men were carrying on a friendly conversation. One of them remarked that he had learned to be especially careful about small things.
2. “Would you believe,” he said, “that a little thing like a pair of socks changed the entire course of my life?” “I can hardly believe that,” replied another man. “Well, it’s true!”
3. “Once I planned to take a trip with some of my friends on a canal boat, but two days before we intended to leave, I injured my foot while chopping wood.
4. “It was only a small cut, but the blue dye in the homemade socks I wore poisoned the wound, and I was compelled to stay at home.
5. “While my friends were on their journey, a powerful preacher came to our town to hold revival meetings. Since I didn’t have anything else to do, I decided to attend.
6. “The message touched me deeply, and as a result, I surrendered my heart to the Lord. Afterward I saw that I needed to change my life in many ways.
7. “New desires and purposes took hold of me. I determined also to seek an education, for I trusted that this would enable me to live more usefully for my Lord.”
8. The man who made these comments was none other than the former President of the United States — James A. Garfield! Jesus inspired him to some changes and he impacted his nation!
B. THE CALL
Prayer for all of us to be thermostats – people who influence the temperature around us. “God, make us on-fire, so we can warm up the frozen people around us.”
