Shake And Shine! Series

A couple of years ago (May 2017), Eugene Romanovsky wanted to sell his old car, a 1996 Suzuki Vitara. It had certainly seen better days, but that did not Romanovsky, who is an Israel-based visual effects artist. Using his skills, he developed a full-blown, Hollywood-style action trailer to make the sales pitch. Take a look... (Show Video: #BuyMyVitara)

The 2-minute video includes a barrage of dramatic “footage” of his Vitara traversing exotic terrains, from the sand dunes of the Sahara to valleys filled with dinosaurs to the craters of the moon behind some astronauts.

The clever promotion succeeded in gaining some attention, quickly achieving over 3 million views online (now over 6 million). Ironically, however, the eventual buyer of the car didn't know about the video. “He saw it on the street,” said Romanovsky. (Lee Moran, “Visual Effects Artist Creates Breathtaking Trailer to Sell His Old Car,” The Huffington Post, 5-10-2017; www.PreachingToday.com)

Some Christians think they have to sensationalize the old Gospel to “sell” it to an unbelieving world, or at the very least, put together a polished presentation. But more often than not, the Gospel impacts people simply because they “see it on the street”. They see it displayed in the lives of people they know.

Do you want to change your world for the better? Do you want to influence people to follow Jesus? Then I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 5, Matthew 5, where Jesus tells His followers the simplest and most effective way to have a positive impact on the people around them.

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. (ESV)

Impacting your world for Christ is simply a matter of being who you are. Jesus says to you, and only to you, who depend on Him...

YOU ARE SALT; DON’T LOSE IT.

You are seasoning; don’t diminish it. You are also a preservative; don’t waste it. You are wise; don’t become foolish.

You see, the 1st Century rabbis used salt as a symbol for wisdom. So to lose your saltiness means to become foolish, to become a moron, literally.

In fact, Jesus uses the same word at the end of this Sermon on the Mount to describe “the fool,” who builds his house on the sand (Matthew 7:26-27). He hears, but doesn’t heed what Jesus has to say; so, when the storms of life come, he falls apart.

Jesus is addressing His followers, i.e., those who humbly live their lives in dependence upon Him. And He says to them, “You, and you alone, unlike anybody else in the world, are the salt of the earth.” The “you” is emphatic in the original Greek.

You, and you alone, are a preservative. You, and you alone, are seasoning. You, and you alone, are wise. Don’t diminish who you are! Just continue to live your life in dependence upon the Lord, which is the essence of wisdom, and in that way...

Keep the culture from further decay. Be a preserving influence on the world around you to cleanse some of the decay that naturally occurs.

Salt was used in Bible days to clean and preserve things. Elisha used salt to purify “bad water” (2 Kings 2:20-21). And midwives rubbed newborn babies with salt, after washing them with water, to protect them from disease (Ezekiel 16:4). In the same way, those who depend on Jesus, are a cleansing and preserving influence on the society around them.

I think of what is going on in Hong Kong these days. Millions of people have mobilized to protest a proposed extradition bill, which would expand the jurisdiction of the Communist-controlled courts in Mainland China.

In June (2018), a group of Christians sang the chorus, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” and it caught on with the rest of the crowd. In fact, Reuters reported that the song has become “the unlikely anthem of Hong Kong’s protests” even though only about 10 percent of Hong Kong people are Christian.

The protests have been largely peaceful; although at times police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Even so, one protester held a placard which said, “Stop shooting, or else we sing ‘Hallelujah to the Lord’”.

Protesters say the religious song has often helped defuse tension with the police. “It has a calming effect,” said Timothy Lam, 58, a pastor at Grace Church Hong Kong, who has attended the protest with other churchmen to promote peace.

Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government leader, Carrie Lam, postponed the introduction of the extradition bill and apologized in the face of the huge show of opposition. Carrie Lam is Catholic, and some protesters said they thought their adoption of “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” might have helped sway her. (Jessie Pang, Marius Zaharia, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord' an unlikely anthem of Hong Kong protests” Reuters World News, 6-18-19; www.PreachingToday.com)