Lets Pray…
So we just finished going through the Beatitudes.
Where Jesus told us what a Christ follower looks like.
Here’s a quick review.
Once we have truly come to recognize our sin, our need for a Savior — and as we turn away from that sin and toward God — we will begin to take on the attributes or characteristics that we saw in Jesus while He was here on Earth and the attributes of God the Father as He has revealed Himself in Scriptures.
— We will be gentle and humble toward others, even those who come against us.
— The more we discover about God, the hungrier we will get for more of Him (Think of the old Pringles Advertisements).
This hunger will be filled as
We seek to know more about Him in the Scriptures, As we pray and meditate on the word,
And this hunger will be filled as we find and foster relationships where we can serve.
— We will show mercy to others because we will have a glimmer of understanding about what God has done for us.
— We will become purer by God’s grace — first through the work of Christ on the Cross — and then by the continuing work of the Holy Spirit who is sanctifying us and progressing us toward perfection (Sanctification is a lifelong process).
— If we are His, we will seek to bring an end to confusion and disorder (be peacemakers) in our spheres of influence, and by doing so, we will be recognized as God’s children.
And Jesus closes out the Beatitudes by teaching that once people see a resemblance to Jesus (even a very slight one) in our transforming lives, the world will treat you and me the way they treated Jesus (at least to a degree).
So the question comes up, at least it does for me.
Why? What for?
Why are we going to take on these characteristics of God? What are we going to do with these characteristics of God?
“Why?” is a question I asked all the time when I was a kid
It’s a question that still rises up in me at least once a day.
“Why do I have to do this?” “Why are they doing that?” “Why do we need to go here?” Why? Why? Why?
My parents used to answer the question as well as they could up to a point before the answer became, “Because I said so!”
God knows that I am built that way, with that curiosity, and since our next passage is in the Bible, I’m guessing that He knows I’m not the only one who wants to know why.
Here’s the questions I hear and they’re the same questions I have asked more than once, “Why doesn’t God just take us up to Heaven as soon as we come to faith?
Why do I have to deal with this broken world? Why do I have to wait on Heaven?”
Jesus’ answer is, I’m going to let you stick around to show others the true answer to all their questions.
He’s going to keep us in to the world to bring others to the Kingdom.
Please read with me:
Matthew 5:13-16
Why are we still here?
I. We are here to be the salt of the earth. V. 13
a. Salt was used for flavor food.
i. We all get that. If you add salt to your food, it brings out the best flavors of the food (that is, as long as you don’t over do it)
b. Salt was used to dress wounds.
i. When men would come in from the battle, they would rub salt into the cuts and scraps as a way to fight infection and speed up the healing process.
c. And salt was used as a preservative.
i. There were no refrigerators back in the day, so if they wanted their meat or fish to keep, they salted it.
d. So if we are to be the salt of the Earth. If that is why He’s keeping us around, then when we go out into the world tonight and tomorrow morning, as we go back into the “real world” this week remember we are to season the situations and people we encounter with God flavor
i. This will bring out the best in the situation and person just like a sprinkle of salt will make a fresh tomato taste its best.
ii. But remember to salt to taste.
iii. Some people will not be ready for the “on fire for the Lord” experience that we sometimes feel like putting out there.
iv. Some people need a few shakes of salt at a time, before they’re ready to take the cap off the shaker.
But, if you feel the Spirit telling you to go nuts, I’m not going to tell you not to. Just make sure it’s the Spirit.
(Moving on)
e. We should also be like the salt that they used back in the day to rub into the wounds.
i. God will put us into situations to be that shoulder to cry on for a hurting friend, to be that comforter when someone has been wounded.
f. Finally on this point, we are to be like the salt that preserves
i. We are to help one another as we work to preserve one another. In this we aid the Holy Spirit, we keep one another on track — that is, focused on Christ — lovingly correcting one another in humility and kindness so that we might all be in a closer walk with Him.
g. If we do not do these things as the opportunities arise, if we are not being the salt of the earth we risk becoming good for nothing.
i. The salt from the Dead Sea was good for a time, but if it sat too long without being used it began to degrade because of the other minerals that were found in it.
ii. So what was gathered, had to be used. It couldn’t just sit around for years and years.
iii. In the same way, we are to distribute what God has given us, out to others.
iv. We don’t get saved and then lock ourselves in a church waiting for Jesus to come back.
v. We go out and pour out as much salt as we can.
h. But don’t worry, He will keep refilling us. We won’t run out of what we’re are giving away.
i. One other risk we have to look at — the risk to the usefulness of salt — is dilution.
i. We need to make sure that, in trying to be the salt of the earth, we don’t become diluted with the world.
— That means going back to the purity of heart piece in the Beatitudes. For example:
— It’s hard to be the salt of love, or compassion when we’ve got hatred or malice, or unforgiveness in our hearts.
— It’s hard to be the salt of self-control when we dive into that same old sin at the drop of a hat.
— If there is sin in us that is diluting our saltiness, we need to purge it by giving it up to God, by pleading with the Holy Spirit, by working with a brother or sister in Christ to heal that brokenness so we represent Him better.
Lets move on and ask the same question again because Jesus answers it in two ways. Why are we still here?
II. We are here to be the light of the world. Matt. 5:14-16a
a. This is something we talk about all the time here at the Church in the Grass. We believe that we are to reflect the light of God into the world.
b. This was God’s original reason for choosing a people, Israel, to be His chosen ones.
Look with me at: Genesis 12:1-3 and turn to Isaiah 60:1-3
c. The nation of Israel was chosen to lead others toward God, but they didn’t do to well at this, by the time Jesus came around, most of the Israelites were practicing a strict exclusiveness that shut them off from the rest of the world.
d. Now, those who trust in Jesus as their Savior and Lord, are to walk out that faith so that the world can see His light, be drawn to it and come into a saving relationship with Him.
e. A pastor from Georgia named Andy Stanley points out that people who are in the darkness will respond in one of two ways to a bright light after life in the dark.
i. They will squint and eventually adjust to the light.
ii. Or they will be shocked by the brightness and turn back to the darkness.
iii. The outcome is not up to us. We have no control over someone’s reaction. We are called to simply be the light and it will draw in those who are His.
iv. So we are to go shine the light in the dark places.
f. So many people say they will shine when they figure out where God wants them to go, what their mission field will be.
i. Maybe it’s Kenya, or maybe Haiti — if God would just show them where to shine then they’d shine for sure.
ii. But, I’m here to tell you — We are in our Mission Fields right now.
iii. Whether that be at home, at work, in the coffee shop, around our friends, wherever God has placed us in each moment is where He wants us to shine.
So Shine!
Finally, remember that we are God’s salt and God’s light in our mission fields.
We are not salt or a light unto ourselves.
So, once and for all, why are we still here? Why doesn’t He just take us up to Heaven right away after we are saved?
We are here to do everything for the glory of God. Matt. 5:16b
— The problem I face is I like to be praised. It is a constant sin in my life. So even when I begin with pure motives I tend to drift back into my pride — I say, look what I’ve done, look how well I’m doing this or that.
— This verse doesn’t say, do these things, be a positive influence so that people will give Ken the glory or Andy the glory.
— All of the Glory is to go to God!
— It seems to always go back to the idea of making Him ultimate. God is to be ultimate in every aspect of our lives even in who gets the credit for the work of our hands.
There’s an old story that a man moved into England in the 1800’s and he visited a church where the pastor brought it. He was up there at the pulpit, in front of thousands of people and He had the visitor and all of the congregants on the edge of their seats.
When the man left the church he said, “What a great preacher!”
The next week, he had gotten settled in and had his apartment situated and a man at work invited him to another well know church where a guy named Charles Spurgeon was preaching.
In a similar fashion, Spurgeon held the attention of the crowd with his proclamation of the Word of God.
But when the man finished listening and made his way outside, he didn’t say, “What a great preacher!”
Instead he said, “What an GREAT GOD!”
That should be our goal. Not to puff ourselves up, but to put the attention, hope and expectation on God.
Whether you are singing and playing guitar, or caring for a struggling family member, or loving the unlovable co-worker, or leading a business, or serving up french fries, or working on the assembly line, or teaching a class, or whatever God has given you another breath and a continued heartbeat to do today, do it for His Glory.
Let’s pray…
