In the last couple of weeks, I published post, "Jesus Said The Temple Area Had Become A Den Of Thieves Has The United States Become That Too?", and I preached a sermon, "The Salt Of The Earth". This post is the perfect bridge between them.
My text for the sermon was the statement that Jesus made about those who follow him.
Matthew 5:13 NIV “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Where "the salt of the earth" is in the form of Christian influence, people will be aware of it. It will not always be welcome, but it will be recognized. But unless Christians are pure, they cannot demonstrate the power of Christian influence. If you show that you are the salt that Jesus says you, are you don’t have to announce it people will see it.
In my blog post I wrote that whether you believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, this might be a suitable time to consider and work toward a system that reflects Christian values. We not only tolerate ideas contrary to Christianity, but openly embrace and celebrate them. Racism, sexual immorality, including pornography, homosexuality, and premarital sex, are widely accepted as normal in the U.S. Vulgarity, drunkenness, drug use, promiscuity, and other abuses of freedom are also celebrated as forms of entertainment. In fact, the United States has come to the point where some of these sins are not merely accepted and those who do not endorse fashionable behaviors are vilified and ostracized.
Editor's Note: The following is based on "A Prayer for Revival in our Country" by Chelsey DeMatteis
Jesus' statement about believers being "the salt of the earth "shows the influence that Christians should have. When we look around though what we see is that people have chosen comfort over boldness and passivity over truth. Fear over faith and pleasing man over pleasing God.
We as believers are at a pivotal point when it comes to our hunger for the Lord. We have turned from godly desires to be embraced by the world. Choosing to be loved by the world has come at the cost of losing our saltiness. That is, they could sacrifice their influence.
Salt, pure sodium chloride as we know it, does not lose its saltiness. But the Palestinians got their salt from the Dead Sea, and that salt was not pure. It was mixed with other minerals that often affected its flavor. In time it could become tasteless. When this happened, it was good for nothing but “to be thrown out and trampled.”
So, Jesus gave the disciples were given a solemn warning. They were to preserve their society or be pulverized by it. None of us are immune to losing our own savor. If we are not fulfilling our purpose, we are on our way to becoming useless. The final word of caution that Jesus gave concerning the end of salt that has lost its saltiness is that it would be thrown out and trampled indicating that neither God nor people have any use for it.
We know full well that we cannot claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and while we dance with the devil. There is no such thing as entertaining darkness behind a closed door - the Lord sees it all. It’s time for us to stop wanting popularity in the world and start living on fire for the truth. We can no longer ignore the way culture has fought to remove the Lord from everything, and not only remove Him, but usher in the darkness.
We must start leading in truth and loving in truth. It is time to get ourselves girded up in God’s Word for our own walk. Then through this pursuit of our hearts, we can begin pouring into the next generation. We can teach them who God is, we can help them to understand what He commands and why. We must teach them why God the Father sent Christ to the cross for a relationship with us. What an honor it is to know we can be the ones who get to lead a generation to know these truths and live them boldly.
It's time to surrender what we wish things looked like and start being the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around us. This will create a change, this will create the ripple effect that comes from the Great Commission, this is how we live out being "the salt of the earth".
Too many people have been left behind, and we have it within our power to end preventable suffering. There is more than enough to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, and so many other essentials for everyone to live with dignity if we are willing to share — and willing to work to create the political will to make it happen. We can do this, and in fact, this is the perfect time to start.
Pray with me,
Lord, lead and guide us as we walk boldly for you in this world. Cover us with your mercy and grace as we step out in faith to combat the messages that have tried to delude you. Create in us pure hearts that want to honor you above all.
Let us, as bold believers of Christ and Your Kingdom, lead in truth, love in truth, and uphold the truth. Let the men of God in this nation rise to train up younger men to know what You command of them. We pray you would show them what it means to be men who honor You with their whole lives, and who desire to lead and protect those entrusted to them.
Let the women of God rise to teach the younger women to love You and Your word. To be women who want to obey You and honor You; to be women of the Word and not women of this world.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
My text for the sermon was the statement that Jesus made about those who follow him.
Matthew 5:13 NIV “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Where "the salt of the earth" is in the form of Christian influence, people will be aware of it. It will not always be welcome, but it will be recognized. But unless Christians are pure, they cannot demonstrate the power of Christian influence. If you show that you are the salt that Jesus says you, are you don’t have to announce it people will see it.
In my blog post I wrote that whether you believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, this might be a suitable time to consider and work toward a system that reflects Christian values. We not only tolerate ideas contrary to Christianity, but openly embrace and celebrate them. Racism, sexual immorality, including pornography, homosexuality, and premarital sex, are widely accepted as normal in the U.S. Vulgarity, drunkenness, drug use, promiscuity, and other abuses of freedom are also celebrated as forms of entertainment. In fact, the United States has come to the point where some of these sins are not merely accepted and those who do not endorse fashionable behaviors are vilified and ostracized.
Editor's Note: The following is based on "A Prayer for Revival in our Country" by Chelsey DeMatteis
Jesus' statement about believers being "the salt of the earth "shows the influence that Christians should have. When we look around though what we see is that people have chosen comfort over boldness and passivity over truth. Fear over faith and pleasing man over pleasing God.
We as believers are at a pivotal point when it comes to our hunger for the Lord. We have turned from godly desires to be embraced by the world. Choosing to be loved by the world has come at the cost of losing our saltiness. That is, they could sacrifice their influence.
Salt, pure sodium chloride as we know it, does not lose its saltiness. But the Palestinians got their salt from the Dead Sea, and that salt was not pure. It was mixed with other minerals that often affected its flavor. In time it could become tasteless. When this happened, it was good for nothing but “to be thrown out and trampled.”
So, Jesus gave the disciples were given a solemn warning. They were to preserve their society or be pulverized by it. None of us are immune to losing our own savor. If we are not fulfilling our purpose, we are on our way to becoming useless. The final word of caution that Jesus gave concerning the end of salt that has lost its saltiness is that it would be thrown out and trampled indicating that neither God nor people have any use for it.
We know full well that we cannot claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and while we dance with the devil. There is no such thing as entertaining darkness behind a closed door - the Lord sees it all. It’s time for us to stop wanting popularity in the world and start living on fire for the truth. We can no longer ignore the way culture has fought to remove the Lord from everything, and not only remove Him, but usher in the darkness.
We must start leading in truth and loving in truth. It is time to get ourselves girded up in God’s Word for our own walk. Then through this pursuit of our hearts, we can begin pouring into the next generation. We can teach them who God is, we can help them to understand what He commands and why. We must teach them why God the Father sent Christ to the cross for a relationship with us. What an honor it is to know we can be the ones who get to lead a generation to know these truths and live them boldly.
It's time to surrender what we wish things looked like and start being the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around us. This will create a change, this will create the ripple effect that comes from the Great Commission, this is how we live out being "the salt of the earth".
Too many people have been left behind, and we have it within our power to end preventable suffering. There is more than enough to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, and so many other essentials for everyone to live with dignity if we are willing to share — and willing to work to create the political will to make it happen. We can do this, and in fact, this is the perfect time to start.
Pray with me,
Lord, lead and guide us as we walk boldly for you in this world. Cover us with your mercy and grace as we step out in faith to combat the messages that have tried to delude you. Create in us pure hearts that want to honor you above all.
Let us, as bold believers of Christ and Your Kingdom, lead in truth, love in truth, and uphold the truth. Let the men of God in this nation rise to train up younger men to know what You command of them. We pray you would show them what it means to be men who honor You with their whole lives, and who desire to lead and protect those entrusted to them.
Let the women of God rise to teach the younger women to love You and Your word. To be women who want to obey You and honor You; to be women of the Word and not women of this world.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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