Matthew 5:13-15(NKJV) 13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
It is important for us to understand how important it is that we grasp what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us today. There is so much that the Lord wants to do in us, for us and through us that we are failing to receive because of complacency. I wonder if we are rising to the standard this scripture sets forth for us.
I recently returned from a trip to Kenya. Every national church has its own issues that it must deal with. In many ways, the church in Kenya is far behind the church in America when it comes to the level of Christianity practiced. We have so many more resources available to us that it is inevitable that the level of teaching and bible understanding far exceeds that of places like Kenya. I teach things there that are quite common here, but to them they are very deep revelations.
On the other hand, it seems that what they learn they put into practice more quickly than we do. They have to. They face a different level of opposition than we do in America. While I was there, an Islamic extremist group from Somalia was targeting Christian churches with hand grenade attacks. In other areas, thieves were breaking into churches and robbing them in the middle of services. The economic conditions are not the same as they are here and many have no choice but to trust God for their daily needs.
I would not trade my home in America for any other place in the world, but I believe that we must begin to understand that it costs something to have what we have. It costs something to be a true believer in Jesus Christ. Even with the problems we face today, I wonder if we really understand what is at stake in our Christian walk. The Lord wants to bless us. More importantly, we need to rise up and take our place as the beacon light of salvation that Jesus intended us to be.
Jesus has called us to be salt and light to the world, but I wonder how salty we are right now. I wonder how much light we are really shedding on a world that is in darkness all around us. Jesus makes it clear that if we are not salt and light, we are not very useful to the kingdom of God. Neither salt that has no flavor nor a light hidden under a bushel is worth much. What good does it do if have all the revelation in the world, but we do not walk in it. If we do not allow the revelation to shine through us nor to make us “salty” to the world we are failing in our calling.
As I have been praying recently, the Lord has been dealing with me again that we need to become much more aggressive in many areas of our Christian walk. Last week we looked at Matthew 11:12. In this verse, Jesus says the Kingdom of God is suffering violence and it will take violent action on our part to take it back from the devil. If Jesus is our example, we know that this does not mean violence in the way terrorists use it. We are not called to kill or destroy. Our calling is to heal and build up. What is the nature of this violence?
I believe it is in aggressive action against the influence of the devil. However, I am not talking about politics or demonstrations against those we feel are threatening what we believe in. We certainly should be bold to stand up and declare what the bible teaches. I believe we need to exercise our right of free speech and be willing to say so when we see something that goes against what the bible teaches. However, none of that will be affective if we do not get violent and aggressive in some other areas first.
As I have been preaching, the Lord keeps bringing me back to our own personal walk with the Lord. I am not “talking at anyone.” I am sharing with you what God is sharing with me. We have to begin to get more aggressive in dealing with our own flesh and the influence of the World in our lives. If we will not do that, than what we say in opposition to the forces that want to strip the bible and Christian influence from our society will carry very little weight.
From 2000 through 2008, conservative forces controlled the American presidency and, for much of that time, both houses of congress. In the 2004 election cycle, it was reported that morality played a significant role in the conservative victories. Even though our culture seems to preach that morality is a relative term and it is not really important today, the polls said something very different. The liberal press reported this almost grudgingly, but it simply could not be ignored.
In the years that followed, many of those who were elected on moral grounds were caught in various kinds of immorality. Whether it was sexual, financial or in some other area, it seemed we heard weekly about conservative politicians caught in things they should not have been doing. Some even went to jail. It is true that much of the media is looking for a way to discredit any conservative voice, but we cannot use that as an excuse. There should have been nothing to find. Whatever the liberal voices came up with against the conservative politicians should have been easily debunked. However, if there is enough evidence to put some in jail, something is rotten behind the scenes.
The result of this behavior was the disillusionment of many with the conservative message. We cannot say we believe in morality and not be moral. The world will see through that. In 2008, forces with a liberal agenda took the White House and both houses of Congress. I believe we can chalk that loss up to one major thing: Hypocrisy. What does this have to do with the church?
If we are going to preach the gospel to the world, we are going to have to be real. Our saltiness must be genuine. Our light must be bright. We cannot have public salt and light if we do not have private salt and light. We cannot stand for biblical truth in the public or political arena and not live biblical truth in our private lives. It will not work. We must first get violent in our personal walk with Jesus, and then we can be the salt and light to the world.
We need to take an honest look at our lifestyle and be willing to make the changes that are necessary for us to be real salt and real light. We are going to have to stop excusing things that we know are wrong and really repent. We are going to have to get a little more violent with our flesh and with the influence of the world if we want to be salt and light.
Maybe that is part of our problem. Do we want to be salt and light? Do we want to affect our world for the Lord or are we so caught up on our personal issues that we simply do not care about the commission Jesus gave the church. Please understand that I am not judging anyone except myself. How you answer that question is between you and the Lord. I do know that we cannot continue to be passive in our personal Christianity and expect to see change in our world.
Look at your own life. I am not saying you should submit to the condemnation of the devil, but we must be willing to receiving the conviction of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. If you are dealing with the things you need to deal with, great. I expect most of would say that we can do better. Most of us have some sins or weights that are still holding us back from a pure walk in the Lord. (Hebrews 12:1-3) We can ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in overcoming those things. We do not have to do it alone. However, if we are going to be salt and light, we must deal with the things that will keep us from that role. A great deal depends on our success.
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