Lightly Seasoned for Jesus
Matthew 5:1-16
Song: Shine on Me
Prayer
Thanks / Tribute
[v. 13] Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
[v. 14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hidden
[v. 15] Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house
[v. 16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in Heaven.
Before we get started with out text -- allow me a brief moment to set the stage and give you a brief introduction as to what has taken place thus far in the Book of Matthew.
You see – The Gospel of Matthew was viewed as the most important Gospel by the early church, and is the Gospel most frequently quoted by writers of the first three centuries. During my research, I learned that the Gospel of Matthew [at that time, mind you] was directed primarily to the Jewish people. It contains at least 130 direct references or allusions to the Old Testament. The book shows that Jesus truly is the messianic King of Old Testament prophecy.
I want to point out to you this morning that there are several unique features of Matthew:
· Of which in 1,068 verses, 644 contain words of Jesus. That is why when you flip thru your Bible you with find that most of the pages in the Book of Matthew are in red.
· Three fifths of the Gospel is a report of Christ’s sayings.
· Among them 35 are parables.
The Gospel of Matthew also emphasizes both Jesus’ ethical teachings, and His es-cha-tological teaching (teaching about the future). Matthew’s Gospel records 20 of Jesus’ miracles, 3 of which are found only in this Gospel (the story of two blind men healed are recorded in Matt. 9:27–31, 9:32–33 records the healing of a man possessed by a devil; and 17:24–27 teaches us about the miracle of money in the mouth of a fish.
Perhaps -- the most striking feature of this Gospel, however, is the fact that while it affirms Old Testament prophecy of Jesus as Israel’s promised King, it also presents Him as -- a Servant.
Read your Bible for yourself and you will discover that “In Jesus, and only in Jesus, glory and humility, power and gentleness, are perfectly combined.”
I discovered that Matthew was concerned that his readers acknowledge Jesus as the promised Messiah of Israel. That is why chapter 1 traces Jesus’ genealogy and human ancestry back to Abraham, through David, whose offspring was promised an eternal throne [and you we learn more about that promise in two weeks in Sunday School, it’s known as the Davidic Covenant]. The purpose of the genealogy in chapter 1 was to show that the details of Jesus’ birth were in full harmony with the Old Testament.
Matthew Chapter 2 records the birth of Jesus -- then notice that the Gospel skips over Jesus’ childhood and adolescence. From the birth story it moves directly to introduce Jesus’ ministry.
Matthew chapter 3 records the preaching of John the Baptist, who announced the approach of the Messiah, and shouted in the wilderness, Repent, Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.
We also find in chapter 3 the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. After which, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, ... and a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Matthew chapter 4 tells of the personal preparation of Jesus. It starts by saying that Jesus was led by the spirit [mind you] to be tempted by the Devil. I don’t know about you, but that is why I think that it ever so important that you constantly pray – as Jesus taught, Lead us not into temptation but deliver us -- from evil.
After fasting forty days and forty nights -- Jesus overcame His three temptations by the Devil, which demonstrates to us His sinlessness and His complete commitment to God.
Chapter four closes with the beginning of Jesus public ministry where it records Him traveling all about Nazareth, Capernaum, Naphtali, Zebulum and Galilee, teaching and preaching the gospel – telling men, women, boys and girls to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and healing all manner of sickness and disease.
Now -- all of this preaching, teaching and healing created a whole lot of excitement. So the Bible tells me that great multitudes started to follow Him.
Which leads us into Chapter 5 – and what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.
Notice in Chapter 5:1 -- those of you who have your KJV lets read it together:
(1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he as seated [set], his disciples came unto him:
(2) And he opened his mouth and taught, saying, STOP
You see -- before we go any further I need for you to understand what is going on here. You see -- This ain’t no exercise in reading. You see – I need you to understand, that Jesus came to set the record straight. You cannot understand this until you understand this.
Walk with me drop down to verse 20 -- read together
“For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Sound’s to me like a whole lot of church folk is going to be left behind.
You see -- Jesus came to set the record straight – well preacher, why is (v.20) so important?
Well you see, being a master Teacher, our Lord did not begin this important sermon on a negative note, criticizing the scribes and Pharisees. But, He began with a positive emphasis on righteous character and the blessings that it brings to the life of the believer.
You see – (v. 20) is important because at that time the Scribes and Pharisees was teaching folk that righteousness was an external thing, a matter of obeying rules and regulations. According to the Scribes and the Pharisees, righteousness could be measured by praying [long prayers with grade big old words, in the middle of the town center]. According to the Scribes and the Pharisees, righteousness could be measured by giving [not giving to God but giving for the applause of man and not the approval of God]. According to the Scribes and the Pharisees, righteousness could be measured by fasting [were by they were walking around town looking like death, and telling everybody they were fasting, not combing your hair and washing your face.]. Does any of this sound familiar. So Jesus had to set the record straight.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus paints a different picture for the believer. Jesus described a Christian character that flowed from within. Hello somebody.
Take you minds back to Bible days; imagine how the crowd’s attention was riveted on Jesus when He uttered His first word:
“Blessed.” (The Latin word for blessed is beatus, and from this comes the word beatitude.) I tell you that because; this was a powerful word to those who heard Jesus that day. To them it meant “divine joy and perfect happiness.” This is important for you to understand because – in that day, blessed was not used for humans; it was only used to describe the kind of joy experienced only by the gods and / or the dead.
You see -- “Blessed” implied an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that did not depend on outward circumstances for happiness. And I stopped by to tell you this morning that – that is what the Lord offers those who are willing to trust in Him and only Him for deliverance from any circumstance!
But, I must warn you though. The blessing of the Sermon on the Mount is not for any old body. It is for men and women who have chosen to be Jesus’ disciples and have freely submitted themselves to Him.
Yes watch this – chapter 4, verse 25 – does say, “Great multitudes followed him,” but watch this:
Notice 5:2 says “and when he was seated [set], [who came unto him] his disciplines came unto him: And He opened his mouth, and taught [who] them, saying...” So make no mistake about it – it’s not any old kind of message for any old body. It’s for His disciples.
In the Sermon of the Mount -- Jesus explains to His disciples of every age what living as a citizen of heaven’s kingdom involves.
Based on the bad example that they had received before from the Scribes and Pharisees – Jesus was telling them that becoming a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven would require new values; values by which His people are to live.
Yes – Jesus sets the record straight – tearing down the values which lie at the core of human civilizations and which shape most of our personalities.
And what are some of those values – you see, we admire this world’s “beautiful people.”
Oh yes we do -- we have magazines that pay tribute to the countries top ten most eligible bachelors and bacheloretts. Men admire the likes of Holly Berry. Women squirm when they see Michael Jordan chewing his gum and licking his lips or Billy Dee Williams doing Colt 45 commercial where he said “Don’t let the smooth taste fool you.”
Yes -- We admire their sophistication; we admire their looks, pleasures, and their importance in society draws us closer to them. Which in turn cause us to appreciate the values, which their lives express.
That whole package of values is appealing to us because we tend to associate those values with fulfillment. No matter how many times Elizabeth Taylor get married and divorced – we will still ignore her value system on Holy Matrimony and buy her Passion Perfume. No matter how many time Michael Jackson carves on, cuts up and bleaches his God given body -- that the Lord brought him into this world with – we will still turn a blind eye to his values “of not being satisfied with what God created him to be” by buying his latest album.
Church -- something is wrong, Kids see Nelly walking around with a band-aid on the side of his face, platinum jewelry, diamond studded earrings, and pants down to his ankles – and singing songs like “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes”. But, the saddest part of all of this is the fact that parents turn a blind eye and say – it just a part of growing up.
I feel like busting lose – busting lose and tell you that
To be and behave like the people who have status in our society is in essence -- allowing their vales to become -- our dream.
Jesus shatters such dreams and rejects such goals in the Beatitudes. He sets up a whole new package of values, proclaiming that in these you and I will find fulfillment.
Not in pleasure, but in longing. [Yearning]
Not in satisfaction, but in hunger.
Not in popularity, but in commitment to an unpopular cause.
Not in competition and “winning,” but in helping others win their way to peace.
In the first twelve verses of Matthew 5 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we find these blessings--"Blessed are the poor in spirit.... " "Blessed are those who mourn.... " "Blessed are the meek... " "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness," and so on, these blessing are descriptions of what I like to call 8 interrelated quality characteristics of a Christians.
Now -- I want to shift gears and talk briefly about new behaviors. Why – because our values are always expressed in our actions or behaviors. What is truly important is the way values find expression in our daily lives.
So that ends the introduction – so let us reconsider our text Matthew 5:13-16
Turn to your neighbor and say neighbor: You can wake up now; he’s finally done with the introduction.
Matthew 5:13-16
[v. 13] Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
[v. 14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hidden
[v. 15] Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house
[v. 16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in Heaven.
In our text we see, Jesus telling h is disciples, "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world."
Therefore, I would like to use as a subject this morning:
Lightly Seasoned for Jesus [repeat]
Among the civilized people of the world in the latter part of the nineteenth century there was a great sense of optimism, most of which was fueled by man’s evolutionary ideas.
Many people expected that in the near future wars would be abolished, diseases would be wiped out, suffering would be eliminated, and discrimination would cease. They fully expected that in the twentieth century they would see one loving, global society whose citizens would become progressively enlightened as knowledge increased.
Yet, despite the optimism, the twentieth century was the bloodiest of all centuries. People did not improved in their nature and behavior despite enormous increases of knowledge in almost every sphere.
When Jesus spoke on the mountain to a bunch of insignificant and unlearned men of Galilee, telling them, "You are the salt of the earth," he was saying in essence that the world was rotten and rotting like decaying meat.
But my question to you this morning is -- isn’t this still true today?
You see -- the people of this world are wicked, sinful, and against God. They glory in their shame and even today many are coming out proudly declaring their lesbianism, homosexuality and other deviant lifestyles. This season on prime time television you are able to use the Lord’s name in vain and say the “B” word.
In our world today -- Evil has become good and good has become evil.
Walk with me
In verse 13 of our text we read, "Ye are the salt of the earth," and in the Greek text it reads "You and you alone are the salt of the earth. Why did Jesus say that to this small group of uneducated, poor, humble, Galilean disciples?
He was in fact telling them that although the world was rotting, they as Christians were to function like salt in the earth.
Why, because they alone were different from the world. Like the world, they had also been dead, but from their depravity and spiritual death they had been delivered by the power of God and made alive by their relationship with Christ. This is true of all Christians. Turn with me if you will to Ephesians 2:1-5 [read together]
Paul also reminds us that as Christians we are different from the world in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
(v.17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
This leads me to believe that all Christians, then, are the salt of the earth. Why, because we have been given a new birth and a new nature – a divine nature -- through union with Christ. Therefore, we must also live for the benefit of this rotting and decaying world.
Lightly Seasoned for Jesus
Lets shift gears again and talk about a few minutes about the Distinctiveness of Salt
Well -- What is salt? It is a preservative, it can also be used to purify. It is an antiseptic that makes things clean.
Salt is also valuable. So valuable at one point that it was used to pay a portion of a Roman soldiers salary. That is were the term – he is not worth his salt derived from.
Let me put it to you like this -- How many of you have gotten a cut on your fingers or hands, or perhaps a paper cut on your lip when licking and envelop. Well -- what happens when sweat hits that wound. It burns; well the salt in the sweat is helping to clean the wound. It is purifying it.
Salt also gives flavor to things. You know like the things that we love, Chips, French fries, ham, fat back. Well, what happens when you eat a lot of these things? Not only will we get fat, but it will also make you thirsty. So another characteristic of salt is it make you thirsty.
I don’t know if you knew this or not – back in the day when you were shaking you groove thing at the bars and clubs around the city -- there was a reason why bar tenders put peanuts and pretzels on the bar for you to eat, and it wasn’t because he thought you was cute. And I hope that you didn’t think that it was free – because, nothing in life is free, it was designed to make you thirsty so that you would buy more to drink.
I’m not from the country – but I do remember a story or two that was told to me about salting down hog, you know -- fat back and ham. I’m told that the salt had to cover every inch to keep the flies from laying eggs and ruining the meat.
Folks, that is what Jesus Christ is saying to you and me when He said, “you are the salt of the earth.” Therefore we as Christians are a preservative; we are purifying agents, we should be helping to make things cleaner.
You know as Christians, we should also add flavor to the world around us. As Christians we should make those around us thirsty for the things of Christ, and thirsty for salvation. However in this day and age, we find more and more that the salt of the earth has lost is savor.
I don’t know why but Christians seem to have lost their backbone. They have lost their savor. They are too tolerant of evil activity and sin around them. And in so doing they destroy the witness of themselves and of the church.
A brief History Lesson: In Jesus day salt was not as pure as it is today – we have an advantage because of all of our technological advantages. But in the Bible days when salt came in contact with something that contaminated it, it lost its savor and was good for nothing so it was literally thrown into the streets.
Well the same holds true today, Christians allow contaminates to come into their lives, and in the same way they lose saltiness, they lose their savor; and they also loose their effectiveness for Christ. Take fat back, one pocket on the meat without salt could ruin the entire side of meat. America is in the same boat today.
Pockets of infection, pockets of the country where Christians have lost their savor have created influences in our society that are causing the whole country to go down the drain. If it continues, our country will be thrown out in the street of the world to be trampled underfoot of all men.
Now lets shift gears talk about our own little piece of the meat, our little piece of country. Here at 2629 Lamar Avenue.
Monument of Love I have a few rhetorical questions –
· How many of you in this room has lost or has started to lose your savor?
· How many of you have lost or have started to lose your effectiveness as a witness for Christ?
· How many of you make people thirsty for more?
· How many of you just don’t care anymore? Or as Rhett Butler, said in Gone With the Wind, frankly, my dear I don’t give a %#@&.
Now, hold on a minute, the preacher almost said a cuss word.
Well let me tell you I did that on purpose. You see -- many of you may be more concerned over what I almost said, than you are over the lost souls sitting right next to you or around you that are dying and going to hell without Jesus Christ.
Some of you may be saying – well Preacher I don’t know how to talk to someone about Jesus.
Well I stop by to tell you that – the greatest testimonies of your witness for Christ is not when you tell someone you are a Christian. Not when you have to tell somebody that you are a preacher, not when you have to tell somebody that you are the Superintendent, not when you have to tell somebody that you are Sunday School Teacher.
No -- The greatest testimony is when they approach you and ask if you are a Christian because of the way you act and live in front of them. Folks that is what’s called flavor! That is being salty! That is making someone thirsty. That can also be the beginning of a deep inner thirst, if that person is lost or out of fellowship with God.
· So why is the church trampled underfoot today?
· Why are the gay and lesbian groups, the ACLU and countless others gaining ground for the cause of Satan, as the church losing ground for Christ?
It is because we Christians have been so influenced by the world instead of allowing ourselves to be influenced by Christ that we have lost our saltiness, we have lost our savor, and we have lost our effectiveness for Christ.
Too many people instead of doing and being what Jesus told them to be – salt. They instead have mixed worldly values with Christianity and as a replacement for being salt are now the Paprika’s of the earth.
They in stead have mixed worldly vales with Christianity and instead of being salt – are now the Sage’s and Garlic Salts of the earth. Then there are those who do not know who they are or what to believe in and have accepted just about every and anything thrown at them – I like to refer to them as McCormick Season All, Seasoning Salt, they are also know as the Closet Christian. (Read bottle)
Plain and simple -- We don’t make people thirsty for Christ anymore. In order for salt to flavor something what has to happen? It has to get out of the shaker right? It has to come in contact with the meat to share its flavor.
Well brother Pastor – let’s look at the church as a big saltshaker for a moment. The salt is in there but it doesn’t get shaken out much. It doesn’t make contact with anything but each other, so it can’t spread its savor.
Now if salt stays in a shaker long enough, and is exposed to temperature and humidity differences, it clumps up and eventuality loses its flavor.
Now – what do most black folk do to prevent their salt from clumping so that it will stay fresh and flavorful?
· You guess it -- they put rice in the shaker to absorb the moisture, to help the salt keep its flavor and to stay fresh.
Now I want to switch gears again for just a moment and deal with this rice. Now the rice cannot get out of the shaker.
Now if the shaker has too much rice in it [ya’ll ain’t going to help me] I said if the shaker has too much rice in it then the salt will be able to get out.
Oh, I’m going to teach this thing.
Now it seems to me – that a lot of Christian folk have decided amongst themselves that they were going to be rice and stay inside of the shaker. Not only do they stay in the shaker, they hinder those who try to get out of the shaker – saying things like, I don’t know why you bother going down there on 5th Saturdays they ain’t goanna be doing nothing but handing out flyers to the same old folks. But, let me pause for a moment to set the record straight.
You see -- the rice is supposed to represents those Christians who are not able to get out of the shaker – not those who are tried, lazy and disgruntle. Yeah the rice -- represents those who are not able to get out of the shaker, not those and can and refuse to. The rice represents the Mother Hudson, the Hattie Williams, and the Sister Deberry of our congregation. They are allowed to stay in the shaker, and pray for those who can get out. Isn’t God wonderful? No matter what shape or how old, you can always have a ministry.
You see -- the rice helps the salt keep its savor.
Folks -- I see churches as saltshakers that are getting too much rice in it. I see churches in a comfort zone, that if left unshaken too much longer, it is going to be detrimental to the health our community.
Those of us who are able -- need to get out and make others thirsty for what we have. That includes the lost and those Christians who don’t come anymore.
If they don’t come, they cannot have the relationship with Christ that they ought to and it is our responsibility to show them that they can regain what they once had.
Questions:
· Why have so many forsaken the fellowship of the believer?
· Why have so many just quit coming to church?
Ø Maybe it’s because they failed to see the salt in other Christians lives.
Ø Maybe its because some Christians act too salty. They pretend to be something that they are not and those folks knew it and just stop going to church.
· Why is Sunday School Attendance not growing as it could?
Ø I believe it is because the salt is staying in the shaker.
· Why are Christians not blessed as they could be?
Ø Because they are losing their savor.
· Why are so may church being trampled underfoot?
Ø Because the church has lost its savor.
Look around you this morning. Whose face is missing yet again?
Question:
· Have you called to check on them, to let them know that they are missed?
· Have you prayed for them?
· Have you taken the time to find out if they are ok?
· Have you taken the time to spread your flavor? Trying to make them thirsty once again?
Well -- you might be sitting there saying to yourself, well that’s your job Mr. Superintendent. No as Christians – it’s everyone’s responsibility. It is a shared responsibility.
It is like teamwork.
· If 4 people are carrying a load of 400 pounds and one quits, the other three have to pick up the slack and the job gets harder.
· Now if another quits, the other two may move the object with great difficulty and lots of straining.
· But if a third quits, the last one has a near impossible task.
· He will not come close to accomplishing what all four could have done together.
It is the same thing in winning a community for Christ. One Pastor cannot do near as much as the entire team of Christians in the church can. Folks we have got to get shaken up, and we’ve got to get out of the shaker. The rice needs to stay and pray -- as they never prayed before.
We need to stop giving lip service to getting people into church, and start putting a little effort into it. And in order for the effort to get there, we have got to get out of the shaker.
How can we regain our flavor? It is so simple, it is so easy, it is just a matter of setting your mind to it, and not let anything hinder you from it. How:
· By making a commitment to attend Wednesday Bible Study.
· Making a commitment to increase your Church attendance.
· Commit to improving your Prayer time and Fellowship with God.
· And committing to take the time to fellowship with other believers.
Christians, then, are the salt of the earth and they should benefit the earth while they live in it. Then Jesus also told his disciples, "Ye are the light of the world." In the Greek text it is, "You and you alone are the light of the world."
Well -- what is light? Here we see Jesus Christ on a mountain speaking to a bunch of poor, humble, fisherman. What is he telling them? "You and you alone are the light of the world." What a great compliment this was! What great dignity God bestowed upon them! And this is true of you, if you are a Christian. If you trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, you alone are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Who is the light of the world? Christians. Jesus was not saying that light is found in Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato. Light was not found in emperors, politicians, philosophers, plutocrats, technocrats, artists, or scientists.
No -- the poor, humble Galileans who trusted in Jesus Christ and confessed that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God -- and all true Christians throughout history -- are alone the light of the world.
Well preacher -- what about all the books written by the wise people such Darwin and his theory of evolution. Let me tell you, based on my understanding of the Bible his theory is just that, his theory. My Bible tells me that God said, “Let there be Light: and there was light.” And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
You see -- God gives Light
In Ephesians 5:8,9 Paul says, "For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."
We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. How are we supposed to live? Scriptures tells us that we are to live as children of the light.
Jesus said He was the light of the world and then he told his disciples that they are the light of the world. In other words, the world is deep darkness -- this world of professors, politicians, scientists, technocrats, plutocrats, movie stars, and religious gurus. But in this world of deep darkness, God planted his church as light.
Now – know all of that, do you understand the absurdity of Christians wanting to become like the world? It is absolute foolishness!
· Should we tell lies because the world lies? By no means!
· Christians are not to retreat from the world into monasteries, but neither are we to seek to become like the world by following its fashions and darkness.
· We must be in the world and function as its light as we proclaim and practice the gospel of Jesus Christ.
· We must realize that although the world is sinful and dark, God loves it and sent his one and only Son to redeem it.
In John 3:19-21 Jesus said,
· (v. 19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
· (v. 20) For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
· (v. 21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
So God loves the world, and he sent his Son to be its light. He has purposed to save a people from their sins, and he will save them. He saves them through the church as Christians proclaim and demonstrate the gospel in every aspect of life. Whether in the workplace or the marketplace, whether in the political sphere, the family, or the school, as we demonstrate the light of Christianity, God will save the blind out of darkness just as He saved us.
Let me shift into forth gear – and tell you as light of the world we are required to be different.
Why, then, are Christians placed in the world? They are to benefit the world. But we benefit it only when we live as light.
· Questions: If the people of the world fornicate and we fornicate, what is the difference?
· If they lie and we lie, what is the difference?
· When they do a sloppy job, and we do a sloppy job, what is the difference?
· When they complain and murmur against their bosses, and we complain and murmur against our bosses, what is the difference?
· When they don’t love their spouses, and we don’t love our spouses, what is the difference?
· When they divorce and we divorce, what is the difference? When they are lazy and we are lazy, what is the difference?
Monument of Love -- we cannot benefit the world when we are like the world. As Christians we are called to reflect the light of Jesus to the world.
And what is this light?
· It is the light of salvation
· The light of eternal life
· The light of the knowledge of God
· The light of the joy of salvation
· The light of hope
· The light that shines in darkness
· It is the light that opens the eyes of the blind and causes them to see
· The light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
Our mission – if you choose to accept it, is to be light to the world.
When the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned the apostle Paul, he told him, in Acts 26:16-18
(v. 16) But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
(v. 17) Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
(v. 18) To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith, that is in me.
1 Peter 2:9
(v. 9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;
As I shift into our fifth and final gear – I must tell you that Shining Is Not Optional. Just as salt is known for its saltiness, light is known for its shining, and this shining is not optional.
If we are Christians, shining is our business -- our only business in the world. But how do we function as light?
First, we must expose the reality of evil. The way of the wicked is deep darkness and they are stumbling, but they do not know why. They are confused and have no understanding of reality. But in Ephesians 5:13 we read, "Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible."
Jesus -- the light of the world exposed the rottenness of the world. The Bible as the light of the world also exposes the sinfulness of this world.
The Bible says, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). What people value and hold dear is exposed as evil by the light of the gospel. This is reality. It is Jesus who declared that the world is in darkness and that man is basically not good but evil. So the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ exposes the evil of the world.
The Devil did not like this exposure. So he and his cronies tried to get rid of that light, they tried to exterminate that light by crucifying Jesus Christ.
But I’m glad; I said I’m glad -- that my Jesus light is a mighty Flame. That want blow out at the first sign of trouble.
I’m glad -- that my Jesus light is an eternal flame – that still lights the world.
I glad – I said I’m glad; Friday morning they took our Lord and Savior to a hill called Golgotha.
That is to say, a place called of a skull -- and there they tried to extinguish the light on an old rugged cross. They parted His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophets.
I glad – because the scriptures tell me that it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour -- The physician, LUKE tells me that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and said, Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit, and having said this, He gave up the spirit.
Well the devil got happy, his cronies got happy; because they thought that they had extinguished the marvelous light.
Well I’m Glad – I said I’m Glad -- because when Jesus was buried in Joseph’s borrowed tomb -- He laid there all night Friday, all Day and all night Saturday
The Devil – thought that he had turn out the light.
But – I got one thing to say. “Before you turn out the light, let get one thing understood.
Early. You don’t hear me -- I said early Sunday morning.
He got up and shook His grave cloth off and said O death where is thy sting and O grave where is thy victory.
He got up -- how many know that he got up.
I glad -- early [repeat] Sunday morning -- He got up with all power, not some power, but all power in his hand.
I glad -- He died, how many know that he died -- He died to save you and me -- I don’t know about you, but I’m glad about it.
Salt speaks of inward charter that influences a decaying world; light speaks of the outward testimony of good works that point to God. Our task is to keep our lives pure that we might “salt” this earth and hold back corruption so that the Gospel can get out. Our Good works must accompany our dedicated lives as we let our lights shine.
As Christians, we must always remember that we alone are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. As we represent Jesus Christ to the world, we are the hope of the world. May God help us even this day to be different from the world, that the world may benefit by our difference and come to glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
