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Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.
Well, good morning Ridgecrest. Aren't you glad you came to church today? Amen. I was thinking about a friend of mine who got up one Sunday to preach and they had committed the service to prayer. And he said you know, we've already prayed that the Lord would be with us. The music has been glorious and now a message from God's nerd. Yes, he got it confused. I hope you won't think that by the time you leave this place this morning.
But we get to look at God's Word, and music and worship stir our hearts and cause the Word of God to be received, and so open your Bibles, if you will, to Matthew, chapter 5. We'll read our text in just a bit. You know, the entire theme of our current series could be expressed with the statement that God has created you to live intentionally for His purposes, and the Word of God is very insightful about that. Like today's message, jesus makes clear that you and I are to be salt and light. There's no ambiguity about it, it's very clear, and the essence of being salt and light is all about living our lives influentially for God. We just returned from Nashville, of course, and Chase did such a wonderful job. We listened on the way back from Nashville last Sunday to the service as best we could. It was dropping in and out. You know how that does along the road, but we listened and so grateful again for the message that Chase brought and the music was what we were able to tune in was so good and so encouraging as we traveled back. But we had a great time in Nashville and with our grandsons who have started playing soccer.
We have a three-year-old. Can you believe they let three-year-olds play soccer and the five-year-old's kind of getting it. You know he's beginning to get it. Every time he scores a goal he begins to scream I scored the winning goal, but the little one just doesn't. He doesn't really get it and it's like squirrels, those three-year-olds. They put them on the field. It's just like a bunch of little squirrels looking at the ball and somebody will yell, a parent will say kick it, and one will kick it. And ours, when he would kick the ball and do something good, he'd get excited about that and we're cheering him on and he would have to exit the field every time, run over to my wife, allison, his yaya, jump up in her lap and give her a hug and then jump down and give all of us high fives before he went back out on the field, and this happened repeatedly. My wife loved every minute of it we all did, to be quite honest, but we were there for a few days and so grateful we could do that.
But while there, I'm talking to my daughter about some things and our daughter has become what is referred to as a social media influencer, and not on a grand scale, some of them it's incredible what they do but on a significant scale she's become what they call an influencer because of her photographic product features of some of the most popular and trendy products produced by major retail companies around the country, and they include everything from food items to women's clothing, to famous watch companies, furniture to infant children's clothing. All of these and others send her products to feature, and she showed me her living room room which has been taken over by product. And ladies, they send her these purses, all kinds of purses I mean just everything you can think of and and it's all for her if she will feature them in photo shoots. She's a pretty good photographer and she this all began as a hobby and it's become so effective that now she has these customers she doesn't contact them. They contact her and say would you feature our product? We'll send you our newest products in bulk. And if you'll just feature them, and then she gets paid for that, some of them I mean even things like drugstores One of the major drugstore chains has contacted her and then, while we were there, a major shoe company made an agreement with her if she would feature their new casual line of shoes. It's just, it kind of blows my mind how they do that, but it's called influence. Influence and people see it and want it and buy it.
And I said to her I said well, sweetheart, how do you determine what you featured? She said, daddy, I got more offers and I'm having to turn companies away. I just can't do them all. And I said so how do you determine what you feature? And she said oh, dad, it's very simple. She said I will only feature stuff that I will actually use. She said I'm not going to just take stuff just because it might mean a paycheck or just because I get those items, or they'll ship me those items. She said, daddy, if I don't use it, I don't feature it.
And I said well, that makes me feel a whole lot better from the perspective of what you're doing, but I have to tell you I don't understand completely. I'm getting it. I'm beginning to understand a little bit about this social media influencing kind of thing. I don't fully understand what it means to be a social media influencer, but I tell you what I do understand. I understand what Jesus says about being a social and cultural influencer, because he makes it very clear in his word. And the question is how do we do it? How do we become a biblical kingdom, social media, cultural influencers? And that's the question I want to answer this morning.
If you're physically able to do so, why don't you stand with me this morning as we read our text beginning in Matthew 5, verse 13, coming from the Sermon on the Mount you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You're the light of the world. A city that is 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 In the same way. Let your light shine before others, father. Help us to be salt and light. You've told us to Father. You've told us it's our responsibility. Help us to take it seriously. If ever there were a time in our history that we need to be salt and light, it is today. Lord, help us to shine brightly for you. Help us to season and preserve, father, what you have entrusted to us, so that your glory may be known and that lives may be changed, including our life. Speak to us this morning from your word. We are listening, father, to what you have to say and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, you can be seated Now.
As I said, these words come from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. So I have a log for everything I've preached ever, and I will go back often when God puts a text on my heart and say have I ever preached that or when did I preach that? And I'll be honest, there are a few texts now that I haven't preached multiple times in over four decades. And so I thought, well, god, surely this is such a popular text? Right, salt and light. You've all heard that. You've read the Sermon on the Mount most likely, and most of those watching probably at least, have heard the phrase salt and light, and be salt and light and that sort of thing. Don't put your light under a bush. All of that kind of stuff is pretty familiar and so you know. You would think in over four decades I would have probably preached on that passage a few times. Right, in reality, when I went back in my log and look when was the last time I preached on this passage? I think it was seven or eight, maybe nine years ago, and that's the only other time I've ever preached on this passage that I can find in my log of messages thousands of messages through four decades and I thought, wow, god, that's such a now. I've referenced it many times, but actually preaching from it only one other time.
It's such a significant passage that we need to hear it. And we need to hear it again and again and again because it is part of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount are these practical and powerful principles that Jesus gives us for living our life according to the kingdom purposes. It's all about living for the kingdom of God, it's all about living for the king. And so, when Jesus gave us the Sermon on the Mount, it's full of these insightful, powerful truths and principles that not only change our life. But listen to this. They'll change the life of a culture, and so that's why we're called to these things to be an influence for God on purpose.
And there are several things I want to show you this morning. From your outline You'll see those. We'll talk about those in just a minute. But let me just kind of set it up with a couple little you might say footnotes about this passage. There are a couple of things you ought to know.
First of all, what Jesus told us in those few verses is personal. It is highly personal. He noticed that he says you, you, you are the salt, you are the light. This is personal. It means that these things apply to each of us individually. Sometimes we're not effective in the principles that God gives us because we see them more as a corporate kind of thing. This is what the church should be, and truly the church should be salt and light.
But what Jesus is saying there is that you're to be salt and light if nobody else is salt and light. It's personal and you must take the assignment personally. You and I must look at these things as if we were the only one being so instructed by Jesus. It is your personal responsibility to be salt and light, if you're the only one who is. The second thing I would tell you is not only are they personal, they are global. You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. These principles are global. Both salt and light are needed everywhere, amen. And they make a difference everywhere, not just some places. These truths you and I, being salt and light make a difference everywhere. It's why Jesus said this go into all the world, global and make disciples, and it was personally told them to do these things, and so it's important to kind of set the backdrop by understanding that these are personal, these are not for the people around you.
Take this message and say this is for me, me, this is about me being salt and light. Now listen, you understand how powerful that becomes then. If everyone that is in the kingdom of God becomes salt and light right, can you imagine the impact? I will tell you something our culture wouldn't be in the mess it's in if, if just the believers in the church of God understood their responsibility to be salt and light, it would make that kind of impact. So let's look at these things that will help us be salt and light.
There are three of them I want to give you this morning. The first is this. It's found in verse 13,. You are the salt of the earth, and that is that you and I must be lives that safeguard the truth. You and I are to safeguard the truth, and if you want to be salt and light, you've got to safeguard the truth. Now there are Bible teachers that have debated a bit about what Jesus is referring to here. Is Jesus talking about salt as a preservative, or is he talking about salt as a seasoning? I don't think you have to settle on one or the other. I think it's both and, and so let's first talk about what it means to be preservers of the truth.
Jesus is talking about our responsibility here. We have been entrusted with the truth of God and we are to rightly handle the truth of God, and we are to protect and preserve the truth of God so that we can pass it on to those who come behind us. And in order to safeguard the truth, you must know the truth. In order to safeguard the truth, you've got to know it. You can't safeguard something that you know nothing. Truth In order to safeguard the truth, you've got to know it. You can't safeguard something that you know nothing about. I wouldn't be a great social media influencer because I don't know anything really about it, but my daughter's effective at it because she does. If you're going to guard the truth, you must know the truth.
And notice that I said the truth, not just a truth. Why would I say the truth? Because Jesus uses that term about himself I am the way, the truth. It is the definite article. In the Greek, it means I am the truth. There is no other truth beyond me and we need to preserve the truth. That's because our world is in a state of truth decay.
There is a great deal of confusion today about what is true, and the confusion stems from this demonic idea that everyone can have their own truth, and nothing illustrates this like the current campus protests and anti-Semitism that is occurring on many campuses across this country that is rooted in lies that are masquerading as truth. By the way, never in the history of America has there been this kind of anti-Semitism, never, never in the history of America has there been this kind of anti-Semitism. Never, never in the history of America has there been this kind of anti-Semitism. There have been pockets from time to time, but nothing like this and it is birthed out of hell. It is demonic and it's rooted in ignorance and a lack of knowledge of the truth.
For example, I saw a couple of interviews with college students from Columbia University this week and in the first there were two co-ed girls and they were asked about how we should respond to the fact that Hamas started this event back in October, this event back in October. And these two young ladies were asked how do you respond to the murder of innocent civilians by Hamas? How do you respond to the brutal raping and how do you respond to babies being burned alive and some of them decapitated right in front of their parents? How do you respond to those things that we know happened? By the way, the New York Times of all places did an investigative research. I read the whole thing of several pages in the New York Times and documented these things from eyewitness accounts and first responders documented these things from eyewitness accounts and first responders. When the New York Times says it happens and they're not bent toward the truth, then you know something happened. And these young ladies, when they were asked about that, one looked at the other and said, yeah, but that's been denied, hasn't it? To which the other looked at her and said yes, it's been denied, as if the denial nullified the truth. Because it was denied, then it's okay.
Well, another couple of Columbia University co-eds decided to go and join the protest at New York University and they interviewed them. They had left Columbia to go to help protest at New York University and when they were asked why they were protesting against Israel, the first of these students said well, honestly, I don't know why we are protesting Israel. And then turns to ask her friend Do you know why we are protesting Israel here? To which the friend answers and says, and I quote I wish I were more educated about it. Why is this happening? It's happening because we have lost connection to the truth, and when you lose connection to the truth, you can believe anything.
I think about what Paul wrote in Romans, chapter 1. He said that, exchanging the truth for a lie, they became deceived and God gave them over to a reprobate mind that could not process the truth. The fact is to guard the truth and to pass the truth on from generation to generation, and these students may suggest that we haven't done a good job there. We have to know what the truth is and, by the way. The truth's not subjective. The truth is not a matter of personal opinion. You see, what's interesting is if you've heard the terms of DEI diversity, equality and inclusion that have been bantered about in this woke culture, if you've heard that it's being propagated and one of the major propagators of this ideology has come from the major elite universities in America who have set up whole divisions of their administration to cater to diversity, equity and equality. And yet these are the people who are saying destroy a whole race of people. So much for diversity, equality and inequity. It only works when it works on your side.
If you want to know why our nation is in a mess, it's because the father of lies has infiltrated our culture with lies and the culture always believes a lie over the truth. You know why? Because lies remove the boundaries or restraints so that every man can do what is right in his own eyes. God erected boundaries on purpose to protect us, because we're too ignorant to understand what protection we need. But the reason a culture will always chase lies is because lies break down all the barriers and lies enable a person to live the way they want to live. And that's the reason the devil's always used lies because they're so effective, because lies appeal to the self-centered nature of our flesh.
Go back to the garden of eden. It's how it all started. There was a lie, it was a half truth, that was a whole lie and it led to the fall of humanity. Now, to be salt that preserves, we must protect and safeguard the truth against the lies. Our age is characterized by lies. Would you agree with that?
Historical lies are now being told and propagated through education. Where we came from, evolution is propagated in that sense. You have the historical lies about how we were not actually founded on a Judeo-Christian foundation. All of these things now are being taught so that to remove any restraint, teach the lie, get the student to believe the lie and guess what they'll grow up and they'll distance themselves because the lie always runs from God. They're historical lies, they're biological lies Again, evolution, that you're not an intricate design crafted by God, you're just a freak chance of nature.
Or there's gender and there's sexual orientation lies. You know, we're told that the gender matter today is a matter of choice. Just how do you feel? Just go with how you feel. And then the homosexual community argues that I didn't choose homosexuality, it chose me. So on one hand, you've got people saying it chose me. On the other hand, you have people saying I choose my gender based on how I feel, and so one is subjective, one is I had no choice. Which one is it? It can't be both. In both cases, human science and biology are simply thrown out the window and, for all intent, are called lies. Biology is called lies, science is called a lie, except unless it comes to COVID, and then we're all told to believe and follow the science. Do you hear what I'm saying? If you want to know why we're in this position, this is why we are there because we believe the lies.
And then there are political lies. Lying and denying has become so prominent in government that no one knows who's telling the truth anymore, and that's on both sides of the aisle people. We don't know what to believe or who to believe or who you can trust anymore. Why? Because of the lies. And then there are theological lies. No, the pulpits are not exempt. The pulpits are not exempt from knowingly and unwittingly failing to guard the truth. Many of our pulpits today have become nothing more than success seminars or therapy sessions instead of biblical standard bearers and theology that doesn't teach the full counsel of God's Word, but only the parts of Scripture that will not offend people or call for repentance. That itself is a subtle abandonment of the truth by the pulpit, and our pulpits are guilty of not saying anything. Do you know? There's a time when quiet is a sin.
Listen, let me get on the pulpits, because I stand behind one and I believe that I will be held to a higher standard for what I tell you. What I say, we're not hearing it. We're not hearing it from the pulpits. Our preachers are just simply trying to ignore it. Not all, not all. I don't mean everybody, and you know it's dangerous when you say that, that you're dumping everybody. Not that I've always got it right. That's not what I'm suggesting. My goal is to stay and to give you what the Word of God says.
But the Bible also says that those who stand before the people are to be watchmen. You pray for the pulpits in America that God will give them the fortitude to speak an uncomfortable message. I think I've told you this before. To speak an uncomfortable message. I think I've told you this before. I'd rather have a different message. I'd rather have a different message, but I know that right now, this is the message that I am to deliver.
One of the things in four decades of preaching I have learned is that there are seasons, even for the preacher. There are seasons, some messages. There are seasons of encouragement. There are seasons of just pure instruction. Sometimes there are seasons of just pure instruction. Sometimes there are seasons of warning. This is a season of warning. This is a season to say understand the times, know what's happening and understand what is going to happen if God does not move.
Listen, in 2022, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University did a survey on pastors and their worldview. Y'all know what a worldview is. It's how you see the world, it's the lens through which you see the world and, essentially, for us, there are two kinds there's a secular worldview and there is a spiritual worldview, a biblical worldview. In 2022, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University did a survey of pastors on their worldview and here listen to this. They found that just slightly more than a third of evangelical pastors just slightly more than a third of evangelical pastors possess a biblical worldview and the majority 62% of the evangelical pastors in America right now hold what they consider to be a hybrid worldview, which is also known as syncretism. You know what syncretism is. It is what isretism is. It is what is my belief system. I borrow a little from this and a little from this, and a little from this and a little from this, and I put them all together and that forms my theological and worldview perspective. 62%, according to this survey.
This should concern you, this survey, this should concern you. This should concern the people that are sitting in our pews and the seats in our churches. But I have to tell you, tragically, it doesn't. Because did you know that most of those sitting in our churches today don't themselves have a biblical worldview? According to Barna research, only 9% of all born-again Christians have a Christian and biblical worldview. I'm not sure we've done a very good job of passing the truth along from generation to generation, and now our children are being taught lies about everything, including God, and then we wonder why they demonstrate and protest on campuses literally for the death and destruction of a whole race of humans. This is why the Bible tells us something in Jude Hold your place here, go to the book of Jude.
Would you turn to the book of Jude? Jude is the book right before Revelation. It's just one chapter. Keep your place, but go of Jude. Jude is the book right before Revelation. It's just one chapter. Keep your place, but go to Jude, and I'm going to read you a couple of sections from this one chapter, verse 3.
Verse 3, beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Why, for certain, people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designed for this condemnation? Ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, jesus Christ? This is happening in pulpits. Go over to verse 17. But you must remember, beloved, the prediction of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you in the last time, there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passion. It is these who cause division, worldly people devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life, and have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others, show mercy with fear hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Did you get the message of Jude? Did you get it? He said I want to just write to you and just talk about our common salvation, which is a wonderful thing. That's what he's saying. So that's what I wanted to, but he said I couldn't. I couldn't stop there. He said I had to address something else, and that is I had to remind you to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. This book is not progressive. It's not progressive. What God delivered then is still what God delivers now. And what does Jude say is contend for that. Hold on to that. Protect the truth, contend, do what you must do. You are salt when you preserve the truth on purpose. But let me hurry on. Next number two be a life that seasons the planet. Notice verse 13,. It says but if salt has lost its taste Now, not only is salt a preservative, as we've just talked about preserving the truth, but salt is also a seasoning, and thank the Lord for it.
I, from time to time, usually once or twice a week, I will end up at Bojangles down the road here for lunch or for breakfast, and when I get lunch and several of our staff will go down there and I'll order their fries. I like their fries because they put this seasoning on it. Y'all had the seasoning before. It's good. By the way, I think Bojangles and Krispy Kreme should give me some kind of certificate, don't you? But at any rate, I love that we go down there and so when I order, I order just about the same thing every time I go in there and they kind of know me now. Well, they don't kind of know me, they know me now in there, and sometimes they'll even. I always say extra seasoning on the fries, but they call the seasoning salt. And sometimes, now they know me so well'll, just, they'll just say large fry, extra seasoning or extra salt. I don't even have to tell them, you know, I just you know. And so they'll do that. They'll either put it in a tub.
But some time ago one of the one of the managers, I presume, who I see in there frequently, when I made my order, I'm standing there at the counter waiting to pick up my highly seasoned salted fries. She comes out from the back and says here you go. She gave me my own jar, famous seasoning right there. There it is. I got it right. There, it's mine. Chuck, can you handle this? Take care of it. Chuck got my own bottle of seasoning because I like it so much.
Why salt seasoning gives flavor, doesn't it? It changes whatever it comes in contact with. But you notice, he said, if salt has lost its taste, well, what does he mean by that? Well, some scholars say he's probably talking about the salt that comes out of the Dead Sea, and when the water would evaporate from it after time, it would lose its salty flavoring. It would lose its salty flavoring.
Salt that loses its flavoring is pointless, is what he's saying. But it's also the idea of salt that has been corrupted, that is, that other elements have been mixed in with it that change it from what it is or from what it's designed to do by itself, and so it becomes corrupted. And this is the idea that we're to be pure salt and uncorrupted or undiluted by the world. Now, in the previous point I talked about knowing the truth. That is how you preserve it, but this is about how you use it. This is about what you do with it. The seasoning in this jar of famous seasoning that I have is pointless unless it comes out of the jar right. I mean, I can sit it on the shelf and say that stuff is good, that stuff makes a difference. But if I don't pour out the seasoning on whatever it is I want to season, it's not going to make any difference whatsoever. And this is the point that Jesus is making that you can be salt, but unless you are out of the salt shaker and into the world, you're not going to make any difference. It has to be used to make an impact and to season the planet. You must speak the truth, not just know the truth, but you must speak the truth.
Aaron Edwards was a theology professor at Cliff College, a Methodist school in Derbyshire, england, until he lost his position for posting the biblically correct view of sexuality on social media and calling some evangelicals to task for compromising on this biblical teaching. And in an article I read by him in Decision Magazine, this is what he wrote he said how easy it is to keep quiet and try to save our own skin. How easy it is to warm our hands around the fire and disassociate ourselves from less respectable Christian beliefs. And disassociate ourselves from less respectable Christian beliefs. But the Hebrew passage continues to exhort us do not throw away your confidence, for we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but we are of those who have faith and preserve their souls. You see, in order for salt to make a difference in your friends and your family, your children, the truth must not just be known, the truth must be declared without fear or without shame. Listen, if I could say anything to us in the Christian community today, it would be this stop apologizing for the truth and don't be ashamed of the gospel. Paul said in Romans 1, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
You know, israel has been in the news since October 7th, hasn't it? But strangely, it has not been much in our pulpits. Interestingly, the radical, progressive, woke culture has been loud and even hostile about Israel. And yet, by and large there are exceptions, of course by and large, our pulpits have been silent about Israel, about what's happening and about the biblical implications. And I know this to be true because I've had a number of people come here and say to me why haven't I heard about these things at my church? Now, I'm not fussing at other churches, don't hear me say I'm not fussing at preachers, but I am saying that we must be diligent to address with Scripture, the importance and the relevance of things that are happening all around us.
This is a season of warning. This is a season of warning and we are obligated to speak the truth. And now more than ever, we must not, as the writer of Hebrews said, shrink back and lose our seasoning effect. Doctrinal erosion does not happen overnight. It happens gradually. That's how apostasy occurs gradually, year by year, compromise by compromise, and then one day we wonder what happened. And so we must speak the truth, we must season the planet, but then, last, if we're going to be salt and light, we must be a life that shines in the planet, but then, last, if we're going to be salt and light, we must be a life that shines in the darkness. Verses 14, 15, really in 16. You are the light of the world. Let your light shine. You know and nobody lights a candle, then puts it under a bushel or a bucket, you know where it can't give its light out. We are to be light that shines in the darkness.
Jesus said in John 9, we must work the works of him who sent me while his day. Night is coming when no one can work. And listen, he adds this I've never thought about this until I was working on this message as long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world. Now we all know Jesus is the light of the world. But did you notice? He said we must work the works of him. Who sent me? While it is day, the night's coming when no one can work. And he says while I'm here, I'm the light of the world. As long as I'm here, I'm the light of the world.
And then Jesus went up and ascended to the Father. He sent the Holy Spirit back to dwell in us. And then he tells us in Matthew you are the light of the world. You see what Jesus is saying. I've gone to the Father. I've sent the Holy Spirit to be in you. He will help you, he will guide you, he will be in you. He will give you the capacity to be the light of the world, to replace the light. You will be the reflection of me. You will be the light in the world. It's dark out there and listen, it's getting darker. But the darker, here's the positive. The darker it gets, the more revealing the light is. You are the light of the world.
As I said before, that's personal, but it's also emphatic. That means you are the light of the world. Take it seriously. Your responsibility is to reflect God to a world that is in darkness, and in so doing, he says, jesus said it will reflect God and bring glory to God. So what does it mean to shine in the darkness? It means you must live the truth, know the truth, speak the truth, live the truth.
And the question is not can you shine for God on purpose? That's not the question. The question is will you shine for God on purpose, on purpose? That's not the question. The question is will you shine for God on purpose? And the fact is because Jesus tells you that you're a light and that you can shine. It means you've been enabled to shine in the way that you live the truth. But listen to this He'll not make you, he'll not force you. You have been designed to shine, but it is a decision that you make. And to not live for God is to take the truth of God and to hide it under a basket. I've got it, but I'm not going to show it, I'm not going to live it, I'm not going to speak it, I'm not going to know it, I'm just going to put it there on the shelf next to my Bojangles seasoning and do nothing with it. This entire passage that we've read this morning is a reminder that your life matters, that your life was created to make a difference, but it's also a reminder that you and I have a choice. We have a choice to be salt and light. Jesus will not force that upon us.
So do you want to live the truth? Do you want to practice the truth? Do you want to let your light shine? Let me close by giving you three things. If you want to let your light shine, let me close by giving you three things. If you want to do that, if you want to do that and I can't presume anything about any of us, but I assume that we all do, we all really do want to take seriously our role then how do we do that? Number one let the Word of God fill you. This isn't on your outline, so write these down. Role. Then how do we do that? Number one let the Word of God fill you. This isn't on your outline, so write these down Let the Word of God fill you.
In Colossians 3.16,. It says let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs, psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. You're going to have to spend time in the word if the word is going to get inside of you, but let it dwell there and that way, when truth, when you're questioned, when you're hearing things out there, what do you have? You have a way to say. But what does the Bible say? The Bible, the scriptures, the word of God dwells within me. You want to practice these things.
Number two let the Word of God filter you. Let it fill you, but let it filter you. In 2 Corinthians, 10, 5, paul says we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God Hello, culture. And then we take every thought captive to obey Christ. Let the Word of God filter you. In other words, because you know the Word of God, let it become the filter through which you form your view of truth. Let the Word of God fill you. Let the Word of God filter you and last, let the Word of God fill you. Let the Word of God filter you. And last, let the Word of God facilitate you.
James says be doers of the Word, not hearers only. You're just a hearer. You're deceiving yourself. James says Let the Word of God facilitate you, let it fill you, let it filter you and let it facilitate, let it cause you to act, to be a doer of the word. If you'll do those things, guess what you'll be? You'll be salt and light and you may be part of the catalyst of a great move of God. By the way, I said, this is a season of warning. It's also a season of great hope, because every time, if you look back through history in the darkest hours of our history and there have been some really dark hours in history and world history and guess what A move of God would change everything. Nineveh was dark, it was wicked, but a move of God turned it around. So this may be a season of warning, but it's also let it be. A move of God turned it around. So this may be a season of warning, but it's also let it be a season of hope and prayer and opportunity to shine brighter than ever before. Because you can, because of the one who lives inside of you. But I'll leave you with this. Before you can be the light of the, before you can be the light of the world, you must know the light of the world.
There was a boatman and a scholar who were both traveling on the same boat and during the journey, the scholar asked the boatman I ask you, do you know philosophy? To which the boatman replied no, ask you, do you know philosophy? To which the boatman replied no, sir. Well, do you know psychology? The boatman said no. Well, how about geology? The scholar asked. The boatman said no, not that. To which the scholar goes on and said well, I guess you know nothing about accounting either? Huh, no, I don't know anything about that either. Hmm, the scholar said life must be pretty boring for you.
And just then a storm erupted and the waves were beating furiously against the boat. The boatman asked the scholar do you know how to swim? No, the scholar replied that's too bad. The boatman said Then, do you know God? No, I don't, said the scholar. The boatman replied well then, that's even worse. You'll have no hope after you die. And then he lifted up a lantern and he said to the scholar do you believe this light can save you? Do you believe this lamp can save you, to which the boatman said I don't understand. And the man began to wave the lamp in the dark, sending a signal through the night to the surrounding boats for help, and eventually they were rescued. The light saved them.
Dear friend, if you want to be a light, you got to know a light and it is the light. No amount of ologies will save you, only the light of Jesus Christ. And if you've never put your trust in the light, today is the day of opportunity for you. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? No one's looking about? If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, if you've never called on the light of the world?
Right now you can do that, your heart of hearts, you can call out to Him sincerely, say Lord Jesus, I need you in my life. Nothing else has worked for me. I want to be new and made new. I invite you to come into my life, forgive me of my sins. I know I'm a sinner and I know I need you and I receive you. I invite you to come in and be my Savior. He'll hear that prayer. He'll hear it. We know, because he said in his word whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. You call on him today For those of you who have forgotten that you are to be salt and light. Why don't you just tell Jesus today God forgive me for not taking serious my responsibility in the darkness to shine and my responsibility in a decaying culture of truth to reveal what truth looks like. Father, would you hear these prayers I know you do and I thank you for that and Father, in these moments, before we're gone, move in our hearts and our lives so that we will be people of salt and people that shine In Jesus' name. Amen, would you stand? Well, I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's Word. It sure has been a joy to share it with you.
And even now people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ. Perhaps as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ. The prompting of the Spirit. It's caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior, and the good news is you can receive Him right where you are. The Bible says Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, right where you are. The Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, right where you are, you can call on him. Say something like this from your heart to him Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins, and right now I invite you to come into my life, forgive me and be my savior. I can assure you, if you call on him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that he'll hear that prayer and he'll answer that, and he wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into his image.
We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen and if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say I need a church family to belong to. I already know Christ as my Savior and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also. If you will scan that QR code That'll take you to a location and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions, like becoming a member here or, if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today and I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means contact us. May the Lord bless you.