Sermon Notes 2-4-2018

The Sermon on the Mount! (12)

Are you Salty

Matthew 5:13 (ESV)

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, this is one of those things that Jesus say’s that is very cryptic and that can go any a lot of different directions. Because of that it can go in a multitude of ways. I have heard this preached and interpreted a lot of ways, and Today I really want to talk about Salt and the many different things that it is and break down the meaning behind the example that Jesus gave us comparing our lives and how we live it out to salt!

So, what is Salt? 

·      Preserves

·      Seasons

·      Seals Covenants

·      Salt Cleans

·      Salt Creates Thirst

Salt has many different uses, and that’s what makes this so confusing. What aspect of salt was Jesus talking about? in my opinion he was talking about it all! Our lives need to be a balance on several fronts if we are to be effective!

Salt seals covenants!

Numbers 18:19 (ESV)

¹⁹All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.”

2 Chronicles 13:5 (ESV)

⁵Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

In the ancient world, ingesting salt was a way to make an agreement legally binding. If two parties entered into an agreement, they would eat salt together in the presence of witnesses, and that act would bind their contract.

The Old Testament Law commands the use of salt in all meat offerings and makes clear that the “salt of the covenant” should not be missing from the meat offerings (Leviticus 2:13).

The idea of a salt covenant carries a great deal of meaning because of the value of salt. Today, salt is easy to come by in our culture, and we don’t necessarily need it as a preservative because of refrigeration. But to the people of Jesus’ day, salt was an important and precious commodity. So, when Jesus told His disciples that they were “the salt of the earth,” He meant that believers have value in this world and are to have a preserving influence (Matthew 5:13).

The salt covenant is never explicitly defined in the Bible, but we can infer from the understanding of salt’s value and the contexts in which a salt covenant is mentioned that it has much to do with the keeping of promises and with God’s good will toward man.

Salt cleans and purifies 

As a Cleaner

·      Clean sink drains.

·      Remove water rings.

·      Clean greasy pans.

·      Clean stained cups.

·      Clean refrigerators

·      Clean brass or copper.

·      Clean rust.

·      Clean a glass coffee pot.

·      Attack wine spills.

Around the house

·      Brighten colors.

·      Remove perspiration stains.

·      Remove blood stains.

·      Tackle mildew or rust stains.

·      Clean a gunky iron bottom.

·      Extinguish grease fires.

·      Kill poison ivy.

Personal Care 

·      Extend toothbrush life.

·      Clean teeth.

·      Rinse your mouth.

·      Ease mouth problems.

·      Relieve bee sting pain.

·      Treat mosquito bites.

·      Treat poison ivy.

·      Have an exfoliating massage.

·      Ease throat pain.

More importantly Salt cleans wounds!

·      Salt kills bad bacteria

·      It acts as a scrub to clean the infected area

·      And prevents the would from becoming infected

So, the moral of the story

·      Jesus wants his people to be a high level of concentration to stop the wounds of the world

·      To be a multi-use product

·      Not one sided

·      And to be a help to the people of the world

·      Followers of Jesus should be like salt and have many useful properties

·      Salt was treated like Gold, and sometimes more valuable

·      To be the salt of the world means we will wear many hats to bring light to a dark world

Salt is a preservative 

·      This doesn’t mean as much to us in the day of refrigerators and processed food, but Twinkies that can withstand a nuclear blast haven’t always existed.

·      When Jesus preached this sermon the first time, people used salt to help preserve their food. Salt kept the food from going bad and enabling it to last longer.

·      When Christians exert their influence in everyday situations they keep the world from going further bad than it already is.

·      Make no mistake – judgment is coming. The fact that the sun rose this morning isn’t evidence of God’s apathy; it’s evidence of His patience.

·      Sin and evil continue not because God doesn’t care but because He, in His love and mercy, desires men and women from every part of the world to come to know Him.

·      In the meantime, though, Christians help preserve the world and culture they live inside of.

·      They display integrity, goodness, and honesty, and as they do, they hold up a society whose trajectory is headed lower and lower.

·      Salt keeps things from going bad, spoiling

·      And this world is spoiling

·      It’s our Job to keep the balance

•       Followers of Christ are the only thing keeping the world from total destruction

•       Gods People—even as minority—serve as a preservative in the world, for a little bit of salt goes a long way.

Salt Seasons 

Salt is a tricky seasoning! Too little and food taste bland, too much and it over powers everything making it taste bitter, but just the right amount and it makes food taste amazing! And everyone has a different taste buds and the perfect amount is different for everyone!

Too little! 

·      When there is not enough salt, things taste bland

·      We rarely go back for seconds

·      And it’s just not appealing

·      The gospel is no different

·      When we are not salty enough people don’t get excited

·      They are not offended, but don’t see the benefits

We are not salty enough when we:

·      Sometimes when our lives don’t match our words

·      Or we complain about our church

·      We gossip

·      We just don’t live out what we believe

·      We are not salty enough

A chef is constantly tasting his dish to check the saltiness of his dish, we can check our saltiness by constantly looking in the mirror and looking at how we are living out our faith!

Too Much Salt 

·      Salt can quickly ruin a dish

·      Too much salt makes us just not want to eat it at all

·      Salt is a powerful tool in the right hands

·      But can be devastating if over used

·      A pinch here and a pinch there can make all the difference in the world

·      Christian’s as well can be too salty sometimes

·      A pastor I admire called them “over saved”

·      The thing that came to mind was this 

·      Being overzealous with unbelievers can be too salty

·      We can always add too, it’s hard to take away

·      We season the world best through our actions, living out the Gospel

·      And sharing Jesus without over powering this with judgement and rules!

When Christians exert their influence in the world, we season the world with the gospel. Throughout history, we see how this has happened as followers of Jesus have contributed to the overall good of the world. Amazingly, God has used His people to extend His love to the world, and not just through sharing the gospel. In fact, most of the major social innovations the modern world has known have come as a result of the work those who love and follow Jesus. Health care, education, and most other social programs are the result of Christians seasoning the environment they live in with their influence. God is even today loving the world through the work of Christians as they season it.

The right amount of salt makes you thirsty for more! 

·      Think about the last time you ate something that was well seasoned and it made you thirsty. Along with enjoying the dish, you probably needed your glass refilled several times.

·      That’s because salt makes you crave water to quench your thirst.

·      Whether the world knows it or not, it is thirsty for something more. Something lasting. Something eternal.

·      When Christians exert their influence and display what they have found to be uniquely satisfying, it salts the palette of everyone else.

·      Suddenly, their thirst is more acute; they are more aware of something missing in their lives.

·      When people see the way Christ-followers react to trouble, hardship and difficulty as well as prosperity, the difference in what they have in Christ rises to the surface.

·      And it makes people thirsty.

·      Christians in turn are ready to show them the way to Jesus, the fountain of life that never runs dry.