Morgan Teruel: Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message.
Melody Workman: So a couple of years ago well, actually, it's been more than a couple of years ago. I think Addison, my daughter, was about six or seven, and we were out on a little mom daughter shopping trip. And we picked up some things, and we took them back to the fitting room. And I've told you guys a lot of Addie stories, but hang on for this one. And, we go back in the fitting room, and, now that she's a little older, she's kind of busying herself while I'm trying some stuff on, and there's other people milling about.
And, she comes over to me in a very hushed tone and looks at me and says this, do not try anything else on. We are leaving this store right now. I'm like, are you gonna have an accident? Like, you're too old for that. What are you talking about?
She goes, mom, put it back. Let's go. And I said, have you forgotten who the mom and the child is with that tone? And I said, what is the problem? Why are you so upset?
And she brings over something I was gonna try on and shows me the tag, shows me the label. And I go, yes. She goes, we are not buying clothes made out of marijuana. Couple thoughts running through my mind. First thought was, Addie, keep tracking during phonics and spelling in school.
Like, you're so close. You had a lot of it right. Not all of it. But the second thought I had was, wow. The power of a label.
That struck her. That impacted her. The power of that label made her say, we're not staying here. We're not buying these clothes. Labels are a very powerful thing.
I mean, think about some of the labels that maybe you've heard or someone's put on your life. I know that when I was at elementary school, almost every one of my progress reports said Melody is bossy. And I wore that label proudly. And one day, my mom said, are you being bossy? I said, no.
My teacher just doesn't know what she's doing. I got a little older and I heard a lot. Melody's too much. Like Melody be less. I was like, if there was a way.
My early twenties, newly married, ready to charge the hill for the kingdom of God in a in a really traditional church and trying ministry in some unconventional ways, I heard Melody's a liability. That hurt and I carried that for a long time because isn't that what we do with labels? Labels stick and labels sting. Maybe someone's told you that you're too big or you're too small. You're too loud.
You're not smart enough. You'll never be good enough. You're too whatever. And we hold on to that until at some point in our lives, we usually start to think back and go, I'm gonna reject that label and I'm gonna replace it with one of my own. I'm gonna decide who I am.
I'm gonna decide who I'm gonna be. And that feels good and that sounds good. Right? Modern psychology says you're the boss of you. So now you get to decide how you identify, what you like, what you don't, who you are.
You're the boss. The problem is, while their labels are often painful, our labels are often prideful. And the truth is they don't get to label you but you don't get to label you either and I don't get to label me. Do you want to know why? Because you didn't make you and I didn't make me.
I mean think about it. Who gets to title or name a new song? The songwriter. Who gets to label or title the beautiful piece of art hanging in the gallery but the artist? Who gets to tell you about the entree you're about to enjoy in the restaurant other than the chef?
It's no different with you and I because you and I, we have a label maker. Psalm 139 says this, you made David talking to God all the delicate and inner parts of my body and you knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. Isaiah 60 four:eight says, still God, you are our father, We're the clay.
You're our potter. All of us are what you made us. Not only did he make us, he bought us. First Corinthians six nineteen says, you do not belong to yourself. God bought you with a high price.
We were made and bought by God. So it's a good question for us to ask, well who do you say that I am? Who does he say that you are? And I think that that's pretty important to know. My question is, do you want to know?
Do you want to know how you've been labeled? Because you have been and I have been. And I think once we know, once we find out the labels on our life, here's the question we should all ask ourselves. How is my life living up to my label? How is your life living up to your label?
Here's what's beautiful about Jesus, he speaks plainly. He speaks clearly and we're still in Matthew five and I want to read to you the passage that we're in today. It's Matthew five thirteen through 16. I want you to listen. Jesus saying, you are the salt of the earth.
But what good is salt if it's lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. And you are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and is placed on the stand where it gives light.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father. There are some labels in there. And here's what I love about Jesus. Do you notice how Jesus didn't offer a suggestion?
Hey guys, I'd like for you to pray about being salt. I'd like you to pray about being light. Jesus didn't suggest it. I think it'd be I think it'd be pretty good. Jesus didn't create a real powerful slide deck and say we're gonna circle back to this on Monday.
Jesus spoke plainly. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. These are labels on our lives. And I have to tell you, it's really really important when we read scripture to understand what this meant in the context of its day.
These disciples are listening to Jesus. They've been with him for several months to a year at this point. They understand salt, but of the earth, these guys walked everywhere. They have no concept of the earth. Okay?
They've run they walk a few miles in a few miles back. Jesus, what are you saying? It had to have felt mind blowing to them. But also what I love about Jesus is he uses language they understand. They understand salt.
Let me tell you what those disciples understood about salt. They knew that salt was simple, but very significant. It's ordinary, but incredibly valuable. Salt in those days, one of the main uses was to preserve meat. They didn't have refrigerators.
Okay? Imagine trying to live that way. I couldn't. Right? So when they had meat, the way that they preserved meat for days, even weeks, was to salt it.
And when they would salt it, it kept the meat from becoming rotten or spoiling. Tell me if you've ever eaten something that's gone bad. What that was like. When I had a brand new baby at home, I mean, Addison had just been born and I had a toddler. Adam was able to stay home a couple days and help me kind of figure life out.
But you guys know young parents, you know that that time is like chaotic. And on Adam's first day back to the office, he's rummaged around in the kitchen to try to find something to eat. We hadn't slept all night. And I'm out there with the baby and the toddler, and he goes, hey, do you think this French toast is still good? Bro, I don't even know how we have French toast.
Okay? I didn't make it. I haven't been in the kitchen. I was like, yeah, probably. You know, I just call out.
I hear him, you know, doing what he's doing, and then a few moments go by and he comes around the corner and the look on his face told me that I don't think it was good. Because the French toast had been left out on the counter, covered, but not preserved. And my sweet husband ran past all of us in the living room to the end of the hallway, shut the bathroom, and had a time. Okay? He just threw up.
It made him so sick. It had spoiled. It had gone bad. Isn't this how we feel sometimes when we look at the world? We see the stuff that they're doing, the stuff that they're saying, the things that they're wearing, the things that we're posting.
And then we go, that makes me sick. That's so sick. It's so vile. It's so rotten. It's how we feel sometimes.
McKay Vandenberg: Hey, Sandals Church. Thank you so much for joining us for today's message. I just wanted to take a brief moment to invite you into the work that Sandals Church is doing. One way that you can do that is by going to give dot s e. For now, let's
Melody Workman: get back into our message. Here's what here's what's interesting. When Adam was finished being sick, he didn't walk back out into the kitchen and scream at the French toast. You see, the French toast had been left to itself, so it had spoiled. Meat in those days for the disciples, if it were left to itself it would have spoiled.
That's why Jesus said, you're salt. Listen to this quote by one of my favorite authors and and pastors Daryl Johnson. Listen to what he says. He says the world cannot stop itself from spoiling. As human society disintegrates, we are asking the question what has gone wrong with the world?
And we're pointing the finger at the unbelieving world but in light of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, ought not the question be where is the church? The world left to itself is left to decay. That's why Jesus said, you're salt. You're salt. Amen.
Salt preserves. Salt enhances. How do you even know what salt tastes like? Because you've had it. You've tasted it.
You could tell me about the flavor and what it does to a dish because you have experienced it. Listen, salt does not exist for itself and neither do we. Put your salt as close to your stake as you want to until that salt touches the stake, it's done nothing. It can only be valued once it's been experienced. But here's what we often do, church.
When we see the decay in the world, we want to get as far away from it as we can. So we run over here and we form our holy huddles and we high five each other for how good we're doing at keeping sin away from us. Here we are over here, so salty. And occasionally, we work up the nerve, we link arms, we link hands, we say we can do this, and we hurl a gospel grenade into the decay. Is that what Jesus said?
Matthew nine thirty five through 36. Notice the proactivity in these verses. Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the good news about the kingdom and he healed every kind of disease and illness. And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Don't miss this, salt goes out.
Salt goes out. I follow this guy on X. He's a really brilliant guy. He's a former nuclear scientist for the Department of Energy. He is not a Christian.
He is not religious in any way and he lives in North Carolina and he just tweeted this last week. He said this, I am not a religious person. Again, he lives in North Carolina. You guys remember what happened with hurricane Helene. But I see Samaritan's Purse, a devout Christian organization in North Carolina.
I see them everywhere in Western North Carolina. They've literally been here for five months straight helping us and have asked for nothing in return. He says say what you will about religious groups, but they a % show up when it counts. Salt goes out. But now I'm gonna be real with you.
I feel like my response to physical decay in the world tends to be compassion. Like that's great. Like even the way we were able as a church to serve during the wildfires was great. But as I was writing this message, you know what God said to me? Melody, your response to physical decay is often compassion, but your response to moral decay is often condemnation.
And we need salt everywhere. Here's what Jesus is teaching me. When I look out there and see the moral decay, when I look out there and see the things that make me feel disgusted because they're rotten and they're spoiled, when I get ready to raise my fist or get on my keyboard and decry the decay, Jesus taps me on the shoulder and says, Melody, your label, your salt, Your salt. That needs preservation. That's why your salt.
You know what else salt does? It purifies. It cleanses. Have you ever heard the phrase before, it's like pouring salt on a wound? You know what someone is saying when they say that?
You made a bad situation worse. You got an open wound and someone just pours a bunch of salt. That is not helpful to you. Right? It hurts.
There's times where Christians, we're a little too salty. You know, like the billboard that says, repent or go to hell. I'm just salt. Your starter conversation with someone who may be far from crisis. Do you wanna die in your sin and spend an eternity facing the wrath and judgment of God?
I'm just salt. I want you to think about something. When we were newlyweds, I I tried to impress Adam one day by making a meal by myself, and it called for, like, two teaspoons of salt. And so I made the I made the dinner. I set the table.
I was so proud of myself. I was trying to impress him with my culinary skills, but I don't have any. And, he does. So his his his opinion matters a lot to me. So we sat down and I'm looking at his face.
And again, we're newly married and he doesn't wanna be newly divorced. And he's eating it and I watch his face, I watch his eyes, something's wrong. And I'm like, what? What is it? He goes, it's good.
He's trying so hard, you know. He goes, how much how much salt did the recipe call for? And I frantically go over and find the recipe, and I was like, two teaspoons, and I realized
McKay Vandenberg: I
Melody Workman: had done two tablespoons. Yeah. It made a big difference. My man was not okay, but he said, but you're gonna eat that because I made it. No.
I didn't. I didn't. It was too salty. Adam couldn't get through the meal. There's times unbelievers can't get through our presentation because it's too salty.
So how how should we think about salt when it comes to purifying? Listen. Do do you know what happens when you mix salt with warm water? It makes a saline solution. Do you know how they describe a saline saline solution?
Like a gentle cleansing agent. I want you to think about something. Jesus sits with the woman at the well. A woman, what it seems from what we know, a woman entrenched in some moral decay. Jesus had an opportunity to go, you're a sinner.
He could have said a lot of choice words to her, but instead, Jesus starts talking about living water. Mhmm. So Jesus, who is salt and who is living water, sat there with her and acted as a gentle cleansing agent with her. He was compassionate. He was kind.
He didn't shy away from talking about sin. He didn't avoid it. He didn't resist getting into that. But the way that he moved into it was gracious. I want you to listen to what Colossians four six says.
Let your conversation be always what? Full of grace, Seasoned with salt. Not saturated with salt. So that you may know how to answer everyone. Jesus acted like a gentle moral disinfectant to the world and he's caught us to do the same.
Salt preserves. Salt purifies. And listen, I'm not saying that when we see things out there, it doesn't stir up a response in us. That it doesn't stir reaction in us because we love God and we hate when he's mocked or disrespected, but can I offer us a prayer to pray so that we can be the salt he's called us to be? God help me see past their worldliness to their woundedness.
Because what does sin do? It destroys. Think about the power of sin in your own life and what it's done. Think about what it's done to the world. That's why Jesus says, we're salt.
It's a good time to ask yourself, how salty am I? Am I living up to my label? And then he says, you are the light of the world. The light of the world. The disciples understood the power of light but again of the world, Jesus what are you talking about?
They didn't have electricity. I love how Jesus says like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Where he's talking to the disciples, cities are on hills, travelers that are traveling in the night and weary would look up and see a city lit up and go, oh that's where I'm headed. There's something about light that makes us feel really good and there's something about darkness that can make us feel really bad. I mean, just think about what it's like at your house when you lose power.
You go through your house all day every day and you never run into anything. You lose power, it's like you never lived there a day in your life. You can't see. Or like for us, because we're both over 40, there's times in the middle of the night where my husband and I have to get up and use the restroom. Okay?
And sometimes because we're trying to be kind, we just do we just go in the dark so we don't turn a light on and disturb the other person. But there have been times, you guys, where he's gotten up to use the restroom and I haven't heard him, and he leaves the light off so he doesn't wake me up. Well then I realize I have to go. So I get up and I go around the corner and there's this hulking man coming out of my bathroom. I'm like, what are you doing?
He's like, I'm using the bathroom. What are you doing? And we're we're all because darkness gets confusing. Everything gets scarier. Right?
What what darkness in the world has you feeling scared right now? Anxious, fearful, confused, maybe even angry. Do you know that darkness was the very first problem that God ever addressed? Go to Genesis one. Genesis one one gives us the summary of creation and then after that verse it tells us what happened.
Genesis one one says what? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Wasn't that nice? And then verse two goes and here's how it happened. Listen to verse two.
The earth was formless and empty. You know what that means? The earth was in a state of chaos without form. And does the world feel chaotic to you? Imagine what it was like then.
And listen to the next phrase, and darkness covered the deep waters. This sounds like a scary movie that I don't want to watch. It's chaotic. It's dark. It's without form.
It's without order. And I wanna zoom out right now and talk to the person who's walking through something right now, and they feel incredibly fearful, incredibly anxious, incredibly afraid because it's dark and it's chaotic and they can't make sense of anything and everything feels out of their control. Please don't miss the next phrase of verse two. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Before He changed anything, His Spirit was there.
Before He changes anything in your situation, don't you ever forget that He's there. That you're out of control, but he's not. Listen to what he says in verse three. And then God said, let there be light. And there was light.
And God saw that the light was good. Light was the first solution to the first problem. Think about your life. Think about the problems at your school, at your job, in your home, with your family. Think about the darkness that resides in some of those places.
The darkness that makes you feel afraid or out of control. The darkness you want to run from and not be a part of. Think about that and ask yourself this question. Have you ever thought about the light of your life being a solution to the problem of darkness? Have you ever thought that maybe God having placed you where you are and the darkness you're around hasn't looked at you and said, I see that darkness.
Let there be Brian. I see that darkness. Let there be Ashley. I see that darkness. Let there be Lindsay.
Why would he do that? Because light is a label on your life. It's who he's created you to be. It's who you are. And Christians, could we please spend less time bemoaning the darkness and spend more time being the light?
Because God didn't curse the darkness, he just changed it. And since the beginning of creation, light has been a change agent for good in the world. Light is always good. It's pointing people towards the good. Think about the way that light is used in scripture.
Psalm 1nineteen ten5. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Jesus speaking in John eight, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life. You know what else light does?
Light invites. Light attracts. It comforts. It guides, but light is attractive. You know what it's like to well, I was gonna say you know what it's like to be attractive.
I'm sure you do. I'm sure you know what that's like. Made by the Lord. But but what I'm saying is, you know what it's like to feel attractive. Right?
I found out that my husband existed as a person on this planet when I was only 12 years old. K? Now, I noticed him. He did not notice me because bro was a little older. Okay.
It would have been weird. I didn't care if it was weird that I noticed him. But I noticed him at church. I was only 12 and that day I went home and do you know what I announced to my family at lunch? I was gonna marry the new guy at church.
Did I do what I said I was gonna do? Come on. I'm a woman of my word. I'm both in. My dad says, you don't know anything about him.
I said, well, I like what I know so far. I saw him and I walked by him and I smelled him and I liked it. You know what I was saying to my dad? I'm attracted to him. Something about Adam drew me in.
Christian, it's a good question. How attractive is your faith? Do people that are far from God get around you and go, I want what you have. That's attractive to me. Students and young adults, let me talk to you specifically for a moment.
How much time are you putting into growing your faith so that you can be a light in the darkness? I'm gonna I'm gonna be real with you. Some of you, you're too dim to be in the dark. Your light, it's there but it's not making any difference. You just you're just blending in.
You're just going along and you say things like this, well, I'm not called to judge. Okay. And like where in the bible does it even say that like drugs are bad? Like, can you show me that verse? And and aren't Christians, like, don't aren't we just supposed to be loving?
Like, aren't we just supposed to love everybody? Like, no matter what? Like, that's all I'm trying to do. I'm not saying there's not validity to some of those questions, but I'm gonna give it to
McKay Vandenberg: you
Melody Workman: straight. Jesus didn't call us to blame the darkness, but he didn't call us to get in bed with it either. He didn't call us to curse it and blame it and move away from it, but he also didn't cause to crawl in bed with it and be a part of it. He called us to be light in the dark. In fact, I want you to hear in the very last prayer we have, the very last prayer where Jesus is praying for us before he goes to the cross.
Listen to what he says, Jesus talking to his father, he says they, that's us, do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth. Teach them your word which is truth. And then he says just as you sent me into the world I am sending them into the world. Too often, we like the idea of being saved and being settled.
Jesus, thank you for my salvation. Now leave me alone and let me live my life however I want to. That's not why we are saved. We are saved by his grace, but we are saved to be sent. We are saved to be salt and light.
And parents, let me just level with you. This is really, really hard with our kids because we do look out there and we do see the stuff in the world that we don't like, that we don't want, affecting our kids in a negative way. And so we pull them in to protect them as we should, protecting them and guarding their hearts and minds. But it doesn't end with protection. It also means equipping them to be who they already are, which is salt and light.
Parents, I wanna I'm gonna dig here because I think it matters. If you think that discipling your kids is bringing them to church, you're at one zero one. That's good. That's important. Please don't stop bringing your kids to church, but it needs to move way past that.
McKay Vandenberg: You need
Melody Workman: to be showing your kids how to be in God's word. You need to be giving your kids answers from God's word for what they're facing because they don't know and if you don't think the enemy is out for your kids you gotta wake up. He knows the label on their life. He knows the world needs less salt and less light and he's coming for them. And our job as parents isn't to change their label into what we want it to be.
It's to equip them to live up to the label they already have. Protection and equipping them Because we're salt. Because we're light. Can you just step back for a moment and imagine that the disciples are taking all the sin going, Jesus, like what are you actually saying? You being salt and you being light of the world, of the earth, all make sense.
We've seen your miracles. We've seen everything that you've been able to do, but now you're saying it's us? Now he's saying to us that it's on us to be this song? I'm like Jesus. How?
He gave us the what before he gave us the how. But don't miss this because I think this is the most beautiful part of the whole thing. Tucked away in Matthew five sixteen. Listen to what Jesus says. He says, in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise, listen to this phrase, your heavenly father.
Why is that a big deal? Because it's the first time in his ministry that Jesus has told the disciples that his father is their father. You see what he's done through me? He can do it through you. You've seen the power that I have?
That power comes from him and I'm telling you right now, you've got a direct connection to that power. I just can't imagine what that was like for them to hear. It's all about the power of the connection. In case you guys didn't know, a few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. I'm only telling you in case you didn't know.
I'm smiling because I was happy. And as is customary, a few days after the Super Bowl, there was a parade in the city of Philadelphia. Over a million people showed up for this parade in the freezing cold. Not me. They were there.
They put fencing all along the streets. They kept the ordinary fans on that side of the fence so that the players could walk down the street and get applauded and get cheered. And some of them would go over and high five and hold babies and and do the whole celebratory thing. Arguably, the most powerful or well known player on the Philadelphia Eagles is Saquon Barkley. He was our main running back, broke a ton of records this year, won offensive player of the year.
Everybody in that crowd knew Saquon Barkley. They know who he is. He's a powerful powerful guy. And as Saquon Barkley is walking through the parade, he walks over to the fencing and he's high fiving with some of the fans and he sees one of the ball boys for the Eagles. Now if you don't know what a ball boy does, it's because they what they're doing is so insignificant.
We don't know their names or anything. They're just throwing the referees new balls and getting the old ones and throwing them new ones and that's what they do. They don't get paid. We don't ever know their names. They're just ordinary guys and girls.
But Saquon looked over and he recognized him. And the ball boy, who's a full grown man, by the way, comes up. He's like, call me whenever you want. Saquon sees him, and he recognized him and he smiles at him. And then Saquon Barkley does the most amazing thing.
He lifts this full grown man over the fencing, pulls him into where the players are, puts his arm around him, and they walk through the rest of the parade together. Uh-huh. See the power of the connection? That's right. Just an ordinary guy on the side.
Nobody knows me. Nobody cares. What's the value of my life, what value do I bring to this team, no one is asking for my autograph, no one but the moment he got attached to Saquon Barkley, everything changed. You wanna be the salt and light that you are, you get yourself attached to the power of Jesus. Jesus is the God who searches the crowd and sees your face and says, hey, you're salt, you're light.
Come on. We got work to do. It doesn't matter if you think you're ordinary. I know just how vile you are because I made you. And you come attach yourself to me and I'm gonna show you that you can change the world.
In Sandals Church, let me just remind you of of this, this truth. The potential lies in us but the power lies in Him. It's attaching ourself to the person and power of Jesus. Why? What can Jesus do?
Listen to Ephesians three twenty. Now all glory to God who is able, He's able through His mighty power at work. Where? Within us. To accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
You want to be the soft that you are? You want to be the light that you are? Then you stay connected to Jesus and watch him change lives through you. Can you even imagine what would happen across Sandals Church if everybody decided I'm gonna live up to my label? I'm not gonna try to change it anymore.
I'm gonna be salt. I'm gonna preserve. I'm gonna purify. I'm gonna be light. I'm gonna illuminate.
I'm gonna I'm gonna work on making my faith attractive so that it draws people in. Salt goes out. Light draws in. This is how we make a difference in the world. So you know what I want to tell you today?
Don't go out and try to be the best that you can be. Go out and be who you are. Because your label is already etched on your heart and soul, that you are salt and you are light. And if you attach yourself to the power of Jesus, he can change people through you. And just imagine if he did it with those disciples and it's the same God working today, imagine what he can do through us.
Jesus, may we all aim to live up to the label on our life that we're called to be salt, that we're called to be light, that you must believe in us because you didn't ask us if we felt up to it. You just told us this is what you are. Maybe some of us need to borrow your faith, Jesus. Maybe some of us today need to be reminded that the darkness isn't going to win, but that in the meantime you've called us to be sought and you've called us to be light. And the reason why is because as John three sixteen says, you so love this world.
Those people that make us angry and upset and frustrated, you so love them like you so love us. Would you make us able to see past their worldliness to their woundedness? God, that we would pay more attention to growing our faith instead of criticizing those who don't have it. That every day when we get up, we would attach ourselves to the power and person of Jesus so that you can accomplish through us more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine. Jesus, that heaven would be so full because we decided to live up to the labels on our lives.
And you are worthy, Jesus, of nothing less. In your name we pray. Amen.
Morgan Teruel: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you want more content from this series, we have a YouTube playlist linked in the description. And if you want more information about who we are and what we do, you can go to sandalschurch.com.