Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most
recent sermons and more.
Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library if you'd like to automatically
receive new episodes each week.
Amen. Thank you, Berger. Good morning. If you've got your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew chapter 5. If you're a guest visiting with us online, we're so grateful and glad that you are here and that you have joined us, whether it's through Facebook or whether it's through YouTube, we're glad that you're here. And we hope that next week, and I said this last week, but we hope that next week, you'll be able to join us in person where we can worship together and we can meet you and we can thank you for joining us.
At the end of the message for everyone, if you'll just kind of hang around. So I'm doing a bit different than last week. I'll preach through the message or teach through the message. However, we're kind of looking at this today.
And then I'll pray, and then I've got a few announcements that I want to make sure that you're all aware of. It's important things that are coming up. So please hang tight because we want to make sure that we get those to you.
Also, I just want to thank you guys for enduring with us through all of this. I want to thank you for your patience. I know yesterday we waited. A lot of churches had canceled, and we just kept waiting and hoping that something would happen with the roads.
But we wanted to do the responsible thing. And then understanding if you're like me, you know, this morning, so you're in my office. And so you kind of see, I don't want you to think that I ever use that thing back there. That's a treadmill. I don't. That's what my kids run on.
My wife, she walks on it. But this is my office space that I work on or work in when I'm at home. But I've got a window that's right here that you guys can't see. And it looks out over into the backyard, and it's beautiful.
It's covered with snow. I see our chickens moving around back there and just all of the things. And as beautiful as this is, I would rather see the beauty of your faces and be with you.
And so if you're like me, and you're a little just kind of taking the day as it is what it is, but missing being together. Thank you for your understanding. And then guys, your flexibility.
This is different. You know, it's this isn't intentionally we prayed through how we wanted to do these services. And, and, you know, there's possibly ways that we could have really produced and clean things up.
But we just felt like, you know, we're at home together, even though we're separate. And so to be live and to be in the moment and to be authentic would be valuable in our worship and in our time together.
And so once again, you get Bo with a hoodie and with his coffee with a lid on it. So I don't spill it. Thank you, Grayson Howard, again for that.
But that's how you're getting us. And so I appreciate you guys with your flexibility and being willing to do that.
So we will be in Matthew 5, starting in verse 13. But before we pray, I would like to read verse 16 to you.
It says in the same way, let your light shine before others so that let me see your good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.
Let's pray. God, we thank you as we can come into the time with your word or teach us what you would teach us or remove any part of this that is of me.
And God, may you be glorified in all that is said and all that is done or just be with those today.
The first responders, the power company workers, Lord, people who who may have to travel right now for their jobs.
Lord, keep them safe on these dangerous roads.
Lord, keep the people who are for their other jobs who would be required to be out on the road right now.
God, keep us all safe. Keep everybody warm.
And God, we do. We thank you as we're reminded that this is much as it may inconvenience us or that you hold all of this in your hand.
And so there's a there's a purpose in your timing.
There's a purpose in your working, Lord, and we can lean in and trust that even on snow days.
So, Lord, be with us and may you be glorified in all that is said and done.
And it's in Jesus that we pray. Amen.
So we are we've been working through the book of Matthew since our Christmas series.
And so right now we're in a unique time, you know, in the Gospels, there there are those kind of day to day interactions and teachings that you see of Jesus.
And then there are going to be different sections that are marked right by the very specific events that are happening.
And they're kind of come a group within a grouping of, you know, a Gospel account.
And that's what we see in the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' longest recorded sermon.
It's by no means everything that Jesus said, but under the guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
It's how the Gospel authors record it.
And it's what we have.
And we believe that it is sufficient for what God would teach us.
And so for the next several weeks, we're going to be working through the Sermon on the Mount.
So it's important that we understand this sermon that Jesus is teaching.
And I talked about this a little bit last week in greater depth than I'm going to teach this week.
But just some reminders for us as we read through, at least for the next several weeks,
just want to kind of remind us how we are to understand, how we are to read, how we are to teach in the Sermon on the Mount.
So the Sermon on the Mount, remember Matthew's whole Gospel, is Jesus is King and the Kingdom of God
and what it means for us to be a part of the Kingdom of God.
So the Sermon is to be understood in the light of Jesus' King and His call of repentance of us
so that we can be a part of the Kingdom.
Now, this sermon is not how to become a part of the Kingdom, right?
Jesus has covered that.
Repent for the Kingdom of God is near, right?
Jesus is calling us to repentance for His salvation to be a part of the Kingdom.
But it is instead how those of us who are a part of the Kingdom should live.
So these are the Kingdom attitudes, the Kingdom hearts, the Kingdom character that we'll see draw from this.
And so these principles for Kingdom citizens should do two things for the citizens.
Number one, they determine our internal ethic.
It's who we are, right?
Like, we cannot separate ourselves from this newness in Christ of who we are now.
And that's why what we'll see today, and this is kind of a sneak peek in what we'll see here in just a minute,
but Jesus tells us that we are salt, we are light, right?
Not that we will become that, but that this is what we are.
So Jesus speaks to that internal ethic of who we are, our character of who we are in Christ,
but then also an intentional ethic, right?
How we will choose to live, right?
So under the leading and the guiding of the Holy Spirit,
are we choosing in our intentional ethic to be obedient to the call that Christ has placed on our lives, right?
And so with that, we understand like you and me, right?
That within there, there's still the continual call of repentance.
Because you and I, man, we're not knocking this out of the park.
We're not crushing it.
We're not experts in this.
We're not perfect in this.
We know what we need to know to be obedient.
We have what we need to have in the Holy Spirit in order to be obedient, right?
But we still sometimes choose not to be obedient.
And in that, God is still good, and he's still gracious, and he extends us grace, right?
So if you're reading this, and especially as we get into some of these things,
and you're like, man, I failed in that, I failed in that, I failed in that, but I love Jesus.
Does that mean that I'm not a Christian?
No, we're not saying that.
But what we are saying is that when we do fail, that our God is gracious, and he extends us grace, and he forgives us.
So, Sermon on the Mount, this isn't a small group that Jesus is sharing this with.
This isn't even Jesus' immediate followers or followers who are part of this group.
Jesus has attracted a crowd.
Matthew 4, 24 tells us that, that Jesus has been teaching in the temples and performing miracles and doing all of these things.
He's been healing people.
He's been casting out demons, and that it says that Jesus' fame has spread over the region.
And then in verse 25, it tells us that a great crowd has followed Jesus.
And so seeing the crowd, Jesus turns to teach them.
So most think that what's kind of happened, and this is really cool when you think about it, that Jesus is turning and he is speaking directly to his disciples.
So those would have been the, those that are closely walking to him that have responded to his call on their life, right?
Jesus is teaching them, but that the crowd is surrounding them, right?
So they're hearing all that Jesus is saying, and that Jesus is intentional in the way that he's doing this, right?
And so, so last week he tells them that what does it mean to be blessed in the kingdom of God, right?
They live in the kingdom of Rome, and Jesus is going to tell them what it means to be blessed, because they don't feel blessed in the kingdom of Rome, what it means to be blessed, to be a part of the kingdom of God.
But in doing this, like he turns their concept of blessing upside down, and he says things like, blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are the hungry, blessed are the thirsty, the merciful, the peacemakers, the pure, the persecuted.
And none of them are saying, man, like to be poor does not sound like what it means to be blessed, right?
But, but Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms, right?
Jesus is speaking not, not in the simple earthly terms.
And so he's connecting all of these to what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God.
So in Matthew 5, 1 through 12, this is the Beatitudes we looked at last week.
Jesus speaks of the blessing of God.
And now Jesus is going to speak in Matthew 13 through 16, we'll speak of the calling of God.
And here's the thing that you and I, we can't accept the blessings of God and not accept the calling of God.
We can't accept the blessings of God and not accept the calling of God.
I think the tendency in us is to want to live the blessed life, but not wanting to live in the call life.
Like we want to receive the good things of God that we want without having to live the life that God has called us to.
You know, one of the, um, one of my favorite types of restaurants, you guys probably know this about me, but, but I love a good buffet.
I absolutely love a good buffet.
My, my favorite buffet.
All right.
So I'm, this is free advertisement for them.
Um, all of you, you can think about them.
Some of you already know what I'm about to say, right?
My favorite buffet, um, that I've ever been to is Blossom over in West Columbia.
All right.
Right off of 378 and I-26 right over there, um, is, is the Blossom buffet.
And here's what I love about the Blossom buffet.
So, um, it's kind of branded and marketed as an Asian restaurant and it definitely is right.
Like there, there's Chinese food that's there, but, but they've got, um, other types of Asian food.
Like they got hibachi and they got all sorts of things.
Um, they got sushi.
The sushi is pretty good.
So like when you go there, you can get like sweet and sour chicken.
You can get sesame chicken.
Um, you can get beef and broccoli, right?
You can get the fried rice.
You can get the noodles.
You can get all those things, or you can flip over to the hibachi area.
I say, or, and not for, cause it's a buffet and you can get hibachi.
And so you can go over there and you can get your steak, you can get your shrimp, uh, you
can get all those things.
You can get the teriyaki.
You can get all that kind of stuff.
Right.
And then you can come out of there and you can like load up for sushi.
And so some of you are like, man, that, that is fantastic.
But some of you are like, but I don't like that type of food.
Like, like I like, um, I like other types of food.
Well, let me tell you about some of the other things that I got.
So you can get all of that.
Um, but then you can go over and you can get like meatloaf and you can get pot roast and
you can get fried chicken and there's pasta dishes.
Um, and there's usually like a taco bar and there's some quesadillas that are made.
Um, there's a salad bar.
If you really want to mess with anything like that, not really sure why you'd want to do
something like that.
Um, at a place like this, but you see my point?
Like, like there's all sorts of things and there's lots of ands that you can get.
You can get that and you can get this and you can get this and you can get this.
But when you go to a buffet, right?
Like you pass up on some things.
Like you walk in and you say, I don't want that, but I want this.
And I don't want that.
And I don't want that, but, but I really like this.
And I'm going to try this.
I might not like it, but I'm going to at least try it.
And then there's other things you're like, I'm not even going to try that.
So I use that silly illustration to talk about buffets, to say that I feel like a lot of
times that's how we approach God.
God, you know, I want this, but I don't want this.
God, I'd like to try this, but, but I might walk away from that.
Um, and that's not what God has for us.
You see, when God calls us, I mean, we look at the call.
It was the calling of the disciples.
It was leave everything and follow me.
It's your life.
It's your, it's your hopes.
It's your dreams.
It's your job.
It's all of it.
Now, I'm not saying that today that, that what God's calling you to do is to leave, um,
your work or leave your family or do any of those things that that's not what I'm saying.
But here's what I'm saying that the call of the gospel should be so strong on your life.
But what we're going to see and understand of what it means to be called by God is that the
gospel penetrates and permeates and shines on every area of your life.
You see, we can't just say, I want to do less and then reject the calling.
And so we see, uh, the, these pieces of this is what it means.
So, so Jesus is going to give, um, this call and the call that Jesus gives, um, this same,
this group of people is the same call that he's going to give us today.
That we are called as Christians to be in the world, right?
That God has placed us to be in this world.
That's why we are at where we are right now to be an influence for Christ in where God has
placed us so that in our world, others will come to know Christ.
Now in my notes right here on my iPad, you can't, you can't see that either.
But, but in my notes right here, like I've got like, like world in quotes because yes,
we are in the same world, right?
Like, like you and I were on planet earth.
Like we're here together.
We can even narrow that down a little bit.
Like we're in South Carolina.
Um, most of us, right?
Like we're in Lexington County, which is where a large majority of our church is.
But right.
I guess we start talking about our world, my world versus your world.
Like we, we branch out from that.
And so we can look at like the cities of where we from, like some of us, right, right now
you're, you're in Lexington, some are in West Columbia.
Some of them are, some of you are in Columbia, Irmo, Gilbert, Swansea, Gaston, Peelian, Red
Bank, prosperity, right?
We can continue to branch out and branch out.
And, and I know that I've left some of them off.
I believe my in-laws are even online with us right now in Jackson, South Carolina, right?
And so our world, right, it's, it's becoming a lot more diversified than when we just look
and say, oh, well, we're all Americans, right?
We're, we're all South Carolinians, right?
Like we, we begin to branch out, but even within there, right?
Like our world, our, our circle of influence that God has given us, right?
Where, where we can influence people for the gospel.
Our world expands even beyond that.
When we think of our jobs, our hobbies, our schools, our gyms, our clubs, our neighborhoods,
our families, right?
That God in his massive plan of mobilization is to take you and I and position us in unique
places to live for the gospel and to influence people for the gospel right where we are, right
where he's placed us.
And when we look, there should not be an area that's not saturated with Christians for the
hope of the gospel, right?
Everywhere, everywhere that he has placed us.
A few months ago, I was in a conversation with a group of leaders from different churches
churches and they were talking about like the different strategies that God gives us to reach
the world, but specifically to reach our community for the gospel.
And I noticed that, that a very unique thing was happening in the conversation is that we
were largely talking about programs, right?
Here's how this program reaches people.
And this is how this program reaches people.
And listen, guys, I'm not anti-programming.
Like I love programming.
Like we use programming strategically to help reach the gospel for people as well.
But the way we kind of turned the conversation though was like a program is not the greatest
way to reach people for the gospel.
Like every single Sunday, what we have is the greatest mechanism that God could give us to
reach people.
And it's not our worship service.
That the greatest thing that God has given us to reach people for the gospel are the people
who are gathered together, that every single week, God mobilizes us to our unique worlds so that we
can be influencers for the gospel exactly in God's sovereignty, where he has placed us.
Like, let's think about that.
And so that's what Jesus is calling us to.
That's the calling that he has for your life and my life.
We want to be blessed.
Great.
Let's be blessed.
But we've got to understand that the calling that comes with that is to go and
influence others for the sake of the gospel.
It's what Jesus is talking about in John chapter 17, verse 18.
Jesus is praying.
It's the high priestly prayer that Jesus prays.
And here's one segment of his prayer of what Jesus prays to the Father.
He says, as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
Right?
I get that.
Jesus equates with how the Father has sent him into the world, with how Jesus, the Son,
is sending you and I into the world.
Right?
We think about, like, the power of Christ sent into this world.
The picture, the person, the message, the means of the gospel, Jesus.
And he came and he lived and he served and he loved and he shared and he spoke and he proclaimed truth.
And he did all of that right where God had sent, right where the Father had sent the Son.
And now he's saying the same way he sends us.
So today, if you don't get anything else, understand that God has called you to influence and to be a person of purpose,
of a kingdom purpose, right where you're at.
So stop looking at where you're not.
Start seeing where you are and start beginning to cling to how you can live for the gospel.
So how can you?
How can you?
How do we influence the world?
And Jesus gives us, says that we are two things.
That we are two things.
We are salt and we are light.
So let's look at this.
Verse 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.
So the first thing that tells us that we are salt.
So there are three things.
We're going to look at the people, the purpose, and the praise of God this morning.
So, right, like very Baptist-y, three things we got here, the people, the proclamation, and the praise.
People, proclamation, praise.
So the first one is the people of God.
The people of God are the salt of the earth.
Here's what I want you to see.
This is so much important.
You are the salt if you were saved.
Jesus doesn't say, remember, this is the reminder from earlier.
Jesus doesn't say you will become salt if you just need to wait and mature a little bit,
and then you'll become this characteristic that is useful and good for the work of ministry.
That's not what he says.
Jesus looks at this group of followers, very much so following Jesus for a very short period of time,
and he says, you are the salt of the earth, so be this way, right?
There is no excuse for you and I as to why we are not being the salt that God has called us to.
Now, salt right now in our world kind of takes a unique thing, right?
Like, people are buying the salt, putting it out on the streets and getting rid of ice and doing all those things.
So I want us to think about, though, in Jesus' context, when Jesus said this,
when Jesus said you are the salt of the earth, what would have resonated in the minds of the people who would have heard that, right?
Like, we use salt for all sorts of things.
Like, people put salt in their pools now, right?
Like, these aren't the ways that Jesus is talking about that.
So let's look and see some things that Jesus would have been speaking to when it comes to salt.
Number one, salt during the time of Christ was extremely valuable and expensive.
Extremely valuable and expensive.
So right now, for you and I, like, salt is not the thing that breaks the bank, right?
It's not the thing that we're having to sit there and weigh out the cost factor of it, right?
If you need salt in your house, you go to the store, you buy salt, you bring it home,
and it's not really going to greatly impact what that number says.
But in the time of Jesus, it was extremely valuable and expensive.
And it was used as a monetary device in many instances.
In fact, the Roman government would oftentimes pay their soldiers with salt.
So, like, you came to get your paycheck, and then here's your amount of salt,
because this is the job that you do, and so this is how much that's worth in salt.
So have you ever heard the expression, right, that a person isn't worth their salt?
Well, this is where this comes from.
So if a soldier did not do what a soldier was supposed to do,
and so the statement would be made about the soldier that they aren't worth their salt
because they were getting paid by salt.
So when Jesus tells us, and we're going to look at some of the applications for this,
but when Jesus looks, Jesus takes, in our day, right, a very common,
every house has salt right now, right?
Go down to your pantry, it's there, it's sitting on your table, it's in multiple places, right?
Everybody has salt, you kind of think, well, that's, what is it, that's not a compliment, that I'm salt.
But Jesus is saying that, as he calls us salt, that there's an eternal, heavenly value placed on us as followers, right?
That he's saying that you're the salt, there's a value to that, that God is talking about your usefulness to him,
and your value, and your importance to him.
Like, God is not this God that is belittling us, that God could do it all, that God doesn't need us,
but in that, God still places value, right?
So, in salt, we're valuable, but in order for salt to be useful, salt must be intermingled with a substance, right?
In order for there to be influence or change, right?
Like, some simple illustrations for this.
So, yesterday, you know, we're in the house, and we don't want to be cold,
so we're watching the snow from out our back window,
and Erin decided she was going to cook a pot of chicken stew,
and I decided I was going to cook a pot of chili, and so now we can eat off of this,
we ate off of it yesterday, we cooked so much, we're eating off of it today,
and I'll be honest with you, we'll probably be eating off of it next week as well, right?
We cooked a lot of it.
But what we had to do is we had to put salt in it to give flavor.
Now, even though there's a salt shaker right beside it, right beside the stove,
we have a cooking one that we keep right there,
we can't just say, well, this needs salt, so let me put the salt shaker closer, right?
In order for salt to be effective, the salt has to actually be in the object that needs to feel the effect of the salt.
So, you and I, we can't sit back, right?
We can't sit back away, removed from the world, right?
Remember, Jesus called us to be in the world, but not of the world, right?
So, there's an element about us that we need to be saturating into the things of the world right where we are,
right, with our neighbors, with our coworkers, with people that we encounter, right?
We need to be saturated into that in order so that, right, we can be effective what God calls us to, right?
So, you're valuable, but this valuable is not a valuable that you're going to put in a safe and that you're going to hide away.
This value item of a salt of you and I as a saved, redeemed person of God now has to be mobilized into the world in which we live.
Now, we're going to look at some unique characteristics about what salt does so that we can understand how we are to be in this world, right?
And you, as a follower of Christ, whether you've been a follower of Christ for a minute or for a hundred years, right?
Like, you as a follower of Christ, that you have this capability through the power of the Holy Spirit, right, right, to be this in the world.
So, how can we be people of salt?
What does salt look like in the world today?
So, kind of some weird ways that I'm going to phrase this, but just kind of stick with me.
Number one, we'll be the flavor of the world.
We'll be the flavor of the world.
Very simply, right, like, salt makes food better.
Now, don't overthink these comparisons, right, because obviously too much salt makes it bad.
Too much salt makes it unhealthy.
But we do understand that no salt, right, no salt's bad.
A few years ago, we had a family who was at our church.
They've moved to Mississippi, but when they were there, they were from Illinois, and they came in.
They were at our house, they were part of our small group, and they had asked us to fix grits one night because they wanted to try grits.
So, we fixed grits, and we had the toppings and the different things out there, and so they went and they got some grits, and they put them in the bowl.
And the husband came up to me, and he's like, I said, man, what do you think?
He's like, I'm going to be honest with you, buddy.
This is the absolute worst thing that I've ever eaten in my entire life.
And I was like, oh, what do you got in it?
And so, he had cheese, he had bacon, he had some onions, he had some of those things in there.
And I said, well, did you put some more salt in it?
He's like, no, no, I didn't put salt in it.
It's like, all right, let's go, right?
So, the right amount of salt is going to make this good, right?
We're going to be the flavor of the world.
Salt makes food better.
And you and I, as Christians, I want to be honest with you, we should make things better.
We should make things better.
We should be the flavor in the room when we walk in.
That we should be the encouragers.
We should be the compassionate.
We should be the kind-hearted.
We should be the joyful, right?
This is who we should be.
We should be the people who, when someone, where you work, where you live, where you play,
like when they're hurting and they're broken, they should be coming to you looking for some love.
When they feel beaten up, they should come to you looking for some encouragement.
Like, guys, like, we need to be the flavor of the world.
Right now, the world is really good at yelling at one another.
Right now, the world is really good at being nasty to one another, right?
It blows my mind how, like, I'm looking on, and I'm like you, like, I'm following, like,
19 people on social media to try to figure out what in the world is going on with the snow
and with the ice.
And the number of people yesterday who were, like, yelling at poor Tim Miller on Facebook
because the snow had not quite reached their area of South Carolina in the time that he
said it should, right?
Like, guys, can we as Christians understand that we need to be the flavor in the room that
just makes things a little bit better?
That we need to be the calmness in the room.
Why?
It's not us.
It's Jesus.
It's Jesus doing it.
It's Jesus coming from us.
But why are we the people that are being divisive?
Why are we the people that feel like we got to be overly critical?
Why are the people that feel like we have to be negative?
Why are we the people that feel like we have to attack?
Why can't we be the flavor in the room?
Now, if you're here with me and you're annoyed with me because you think I'm being weak, hold
on for just a little bit, okay?
Because we're not weak, we're strong.
We're not weak, we're strong.
But you can be strong and be loving.
You can be strong and be compassionate.
You can be strong and you can be kind.
We can be the flavor of the world to make things better as we point people to Jesus.
Number two, all right?
Number two, we're to be the healing of the world.
Now, I know that Jesus is the ultimate healer.
I'm not trying to say that you and I are some second Christ.
There's plenty of cults that want to tell you that.
That's not what we are.
But Jesus says that we're the salt of the earth.
And so with that, you and I have the ability to bring a healing value to the world that
we live in, all right?
So salt.
Salt does have healing capabilities, all right?
In the Old Testament, it's something I found out this week.
I didn't know this, but you can read about this in Ezekiel chapter 16, I believe, verse
4.
But in the Old Testament, God's people used salt for a lot of healing purposes.
And even when a baby was born, all right?
When a baby was born, they would take the baby and they would rub the baby down with salt
in case there were any injuries or nicks or cuts that they would come and they would heal
the baby, right?
Salt heals.
But in order for salt to heal, right?
It has to sting.
When I was little, we would always go to the beach every summer.
And I remember for us, we would always go like the week after baseball season ended.
And growing up playing baseball, like it seemed like I would always have like, you know, some
of those strawberries on my legs from running and sliding and just having roughs and cuts
and running through the woods and doing all the things that boys did at that time.
And I remember, but I love the ocean, right?
So I would remember every summer we'd get there.
And no, and don't forget because we're in South Carolina, right?
All the mosquito bites and we'd get to the ocean and I would go out into the water and I would
feel the sting of the ocean water because of the salt.
But then like mosquito bites had been there for like weeks, you know, and you're, you're
scratching them and you're doing all the things that you're not supposed to do and the cuts
and all the stuff, right?
Like you'd go out to the ocean water and they'd sting, but then what would happen over a couple
of days, right?
Like they'd heal and that the, the medicinal, the healing ability that happens because of
the salt.
So when Jesus says that we're to be salt, that you and I, we have this ability to, to heal,
but sometimes healing involves a little bit of a sting.
So this is when, if you're like, but you're being weak because there's sin in the world and
we need to speak out against the sin.
Absolutely we do.
And Jesus doesn't back down from that either.
Remember what Jesus had just been proclaiming, repent, repent.
What do you have to repent of?
You got to repent of your sin.
Jesus wasn't shy of pointing out the sin in the world.
Jesus oftentimes did that.
And I believe that as Christians, that God has called us in being the salt of the earth
to point people to Christ.
And in doing so, we have to talk about, and we have to deal with sin.
The issue becomes, and this is what Jesus talks about.
The issue that comes when, when we become the hypocrite is not because we're speaking against
sin, but because we're unwilling to deal with our own sin.
But yet we expect our neighbor to deal with their sin.
So when it comes to the healing power of Christ, are we calling people to the same level of repentance
that we're also holding ourself to?
Like, are we dealing with our sin?
And then even like, how crazy would this be in the world in which we live to bring healing,
to be willing to walk, to let others see and know, right?
Like, people know your sin.
People know my sin.
They see it in us.
To know that we're working through, that we're dealing with, that we're struggling with that
as well.
Like, would we be willing to walk through that?
So the healing of the world.
The next thing, we're to be the thirst of the world, right?
We're to be the thirst of the world.
Salt, right?
Makes you thirsty.
And I was reading that this week that a guy said that when God designed salt, that he believed
that God designed salt in this way, right?
Because God doesn't do anything by accident.
And when we have salt, that we become thirsty.
And we become thirsty.
And so there's a dissatisfaction that we have.
And then the only thing that will satisfy us is the water that we long for and that we crave.
Here's the point.
Got a few things.
And I want to make sure that I'm being mindful of our time together, right?
And that this world isn't getting better, right?
Like, this world is getting darker and darker.
And we'll talk about that in a little bit with light.
But we as Christians should be pointing people to the only thing that is going to bring them
satisfaction.
But as we're the thirst of the world, that as we're like, yep, I know you're looking for
hope in this and you're not going to find it.
There's not a politician.
There's not a drug.
There's not a dollar amount.
There's not a type of alcohol.
There's not a job promotion.
There's not a relationship with anyone in this world that is going to ultimately satisfy
you other than Christ and to point people to him.
And then when people come to him, and this is clear from his teaching and from his word,
right, that there will be satisfaction found in Christ and Christ alone.
Here's where I think we fail as Christians.
We point people to other things other than Jesus for them to find their satisfaction because
we are looking for things other than Jesus to find our satisfaction.
You see, it can't be Jesus plus politics.
It can't be Jesus plus government.
It can't be Jesus plus alcohol.
It can't be Jesus plus finances.
It can't be Jesus plus a relationship.
It's Jesus.
And in him and him alone do we find our satisfaction.
And can we stop pointing people to the lesser things of this world and point people to Jesus?
The last thing, number four for this for salt, we are to be the preservative of the world, the preservative of the world.
While you and I cannot save anyone, I can't, I can't save them.
You can't save them.
We are called to be God's instruments of preservation.
You and I, we are living in a church.
We are living in a way that should point people to Jesus.
We fight against the decay.
We fight against the death the same way that salt does on a piece of meat.
We fight against that.
We don't give into it so that the one who does bring life and bring restoration and bring healing can do it.
Here's the thing about salt.
While a little bit can go a long way, salt is most effective when it's used in unison with other salt.
One grain of salt on a piece of meat.
I mean, there's some change that happens there.
But it's not like when it's seasoned like it should be.
Right?
And so you and I, I believe that Jesus is giving the picture of the church that will come.
This is why we belong to a body of believers and not simply attending an event.
You see, if church for you on Sunday morning is an event, I'm sorry, not an attempt.
If it's an event that you attend, you're not living as the salt God's called you to be.
Because we should be in unison with one another, saturating the worlds in which God has placed us.
Because the warning is salt can lose its saltiness during the time of Christ, right?
Jesus, during the time of Jesus, salt wasn't as pure as it is today.
And the things that have changed and things that happened in salt that wasn't used over time would lose its saltiness and then become useless.
And the fear is that if you and I are not doing and being who God's called us to be,
that over time we will lose the effectiveness that God's called us to be.
May we not be that church.
May we not be those people.
May we be the salt God has called us to.
So we're to be the people of God, but we're also to be the proclamation of God.
Look at verse 14 to 15.
It says,
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house, right?
The second thing that we are to be is the proclamation of God, right?
So let's talk about light.
Light is the enemy of darkness.
Light is the only thing that can eliminate darkness.
And wherever there is light, there is no darkness.
Light exposes what is hidden, but light can't be then hidden.
It has to be released so that darkness can be fought against.
Here's what Jesus is saying.
In a world that is dark and covered with sin, you and I are to shine the light, the light in us, the light that we have, the light that we are through the message that we proclaim.
So if we look at the salt as the people we are to be, then we see the light as the message that those people share.
The Bible tells us, gee, we look at this two weeks ago.
Jesus is the light of the world.
And here's the miracle, part of the miracle that happens at your and mine salvation moment is he passes that light onto you and I.
So this is what makes you and I a miracle, that we were once dark, but now we are light, that this is who we are, that you and I, we have the light of the gospel, we have the light of truth, but that we are this as well.
And is this who we are, are we shining the light of the gospel, just as salt can lose its saltiness, light can be hidden.
Just as you do not have to mature in order to be salt, you and I do not have to mature in order to be light.
This is who we are in Christ, in our calling.
But a lot of Christians, and I understand this, you feel inadequate about sharing with others about Jesus.
You feel like you haven't learned enough.
You feel like you haven't been taught well.
You feel like you haven't been mobilized.
You feel like you haven't been set up strategically.
You feel like you're unsure if you get asked certain questions.
Well, I want to share with you guys like four simple ways that right now you can have a conversation with someone about Jesus.
Right now, whether you've been saved for a minute or whether you've been saved for a hundred years,
how right now you and I can be the light that God has called us to be without some great maturing process.
So if you're not taking notes, I want you to write these down.
Four simple ways that you, if you are saved, if you were saved, that you can do this.
Number one, you can tell people how you were saved.
You can tell them your salvation story.
If you were saved, you might not be able to explain theologically all the things that would happen,
but you can explain how you felt.
You can explain what was being said.
You can explain what you walked through.
Right?
If you were saved, you can tell your story.
Right?
Just as if you went to Disney World, you can tell people about Disney World.
If you were saved, you can talk through that a little bit.
Now, can you sharpen it?
Can you make it a little bit cleaner?
Sure.
Sure you can.
I can.
We can all work on it a little bit of what this looks like, but you and I should be able
to tell people in just a few sentences the moments and events that led up to and that happened
with our salvation, the struggles we had and the things that we were going through and the
peace that we felt and the love that we felt.
Like, we should be able to tell people how we were saved.
And number two, you should be able to tell people what God has done in you.
Right?
You should be able to speak to, man, this is who I was and this is who I am.
Right?
This is how God has been working in me.
This is what God's been doing in me.
Right?
Like, this isn't hard for us to think about.
Like, look back at the moment that you were saved, look at where you are now and where
has God worked during that.
Maybe it's not as much as you'd like to have seen.
Maybe there are things that you forgot about, but you can see this pattern.
So you can tell how he saved you.
Number two, you can tell what he has done in you.
But then number three, you can tell what he's doing right now.
You can tell what he's doing right now.
Like, right now, this is what you're walking through.
Like, right now, God's working on your heart in an area of generosity.
Right now, God's working on your heart in an area of compassion.
You see, here's what you're doing when you say that.
You're communicating how God has fully saved you by telling your story.
You're telling how he's worked in your life to make you more like Jesus.
But you're also saying, but you're not perfect yet.
And so there's still some work that God has to do.
Right?
That's your story.
How he saved you.
How he's changed you.
And how he's still got work to do.
And that God can do this in their life as well.
But then the fourth thing that you can do.
Anybody can do this.
You can invite someone to meet Jesus.
And you're like, well, that's the hard part.
Let's talk about that.
Maybe for you to invite someone into a relationship with Jesus.
That means you sit down with them one-on-one and having an in-depth conversation.
What it looks like to give your life to the Lord.
Maybe for you that means inviting them to your small group or to a Bible study that you attend.
Maybe that means you inviting them to an event we're having at church.
In fact, one of our programs that we do, you're going to invite someone there.
Maybe it means just inviting someone to church.
Hey, you know what?
This Sunday, come and we'll sit together.
In all of those ways and in so many more, what are you doing?
You're inviting people to have an opportunity to hear about Jesus.
Because I guarantee you, I guarantee you, when you come to our church, kids ministry, student ministry, adult ministry, men's ministry, women's ministry, Hispanic ministry, every single one of our Bible studies, every single one of our small groups, I can tell you what people are talking about.
They're talking about Jesus.
And so don't think it's of lesser spiritual value.
If you're not quite at a point where you feel like you can walk through the steps of salvation with someone, don't think you're of lesser spiritual value than if you're just going to invite your neighbor to come to church with you.
Maybe that means you grab them some Bojangles on the way in, you know, but you can invite.
Don't hide your light, let it shine.
And when we're the salt of the earth, when we are the light, here's what happens.
Look at verse 16.
In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
So we sing about the people of God, we sing about the proclamation of God, and now we see the praise of God.
The praise of God.
This is so cool.
So that when you live for Jesus and that when you share for Jesus, here's what happens.
People don't come running and say how great you are.
People get saved and they start talking about how great God is.
That's the beauty of this.
That's the work that God is doing.
The work that God is doing in the hearts of others.
You see, because at the end of the day, it's not about building your kingdom or my kingdom or the church's kingdom.
It's about building the kingdom of God.
It's about people coming to Jesus.
And that, that is what we are living for.
That's why when you got saved, God didn't just bring you on home then.
That's why I left you here.
Because as the Father sent the Son into the world, the Son is sending you into the world.
To be the salt.
To be the light.
To point people to Him.
Matthew 5.16 is one of my favorite Bible verses.
It's a continual reminder.
And while I typically frown against changing the words of Scripture,
it is a verse that I give myself, I feel like the Lord gives me some freedom with to make it more personal.
So when I think about my family and I think about Emma and Grayson,
I'll often read the Bible verse this way.
In the same way, Bo and Aaron, let your light shine before others.
So that Emma and Grayson may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
When I think about my marriage, I'll read it this way.
In the same way, Bo, let your light shine before Aaron.
So that she may see your good works and give glory to God who is in heaven.
And when I think about when I think about when I'm at the grocery store.
When I think about when I'm at one of my kids' school events.
When I think about when I'm out with some of my friends.
When I think about when I'm in my neighborhood.
Bo, let your light shine before others so that it may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
What if we took the weight of this verse?
And whether you're a student.
Whether you're an adult.
Whether you're working.
Whether you're retired.
Whether you're a coach.
Whether you're a player.
Whether you're a store owner.
Whether you're a consumer.
Whether you're a government official.
Whether you're wherever God has placed you.
In your world.
Let your light shine.
Before others.
So they may see your good works.
And give glory to your Father.
That's it for this week's message.
Be sure to check back next week for a new episode.
And in the meantime.
You can visit us online at willowridgechurch.org.
Or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Thanks again for listening.