“Salt & Light”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Isaiah 2:1-22
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. You, Lord, have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and embrace pagan customs. Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. So people will be brought low and everyone humbled—do not forgive them. Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty! The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, for every trading ship and every stately vessel. The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear. People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?
Theme today is about what it means to be salt and light in this world, comparing and contrasting to a dominate world view today based on “the enlightenment movement” (the age of reason) is the belief man is evolving and getting better.
Matthew 5:13-16
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 by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before me, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Christianity says humanity’s future is desperate, and at the same time, potentially more glorious than we can imagine, because God has broken into the world. When Jesus is our Savior, God’s power, ideal power, comes into our lives and transforms us. ~D. Moore
Salt is about describing what happens to us (world). When God is not part of people’s lives.
1. The world is in decay (salt is a preservative)
2. Jesus is alerting the world of an outside force (try to save and change the world)
3. When we associate with Jesus, we become salt and light, (from the ideal to the real)
Christianity isn’t about shallow ____________________.
Or the opposite, _________________.
It isn’t about the ideal (__________) or the real (__________).
Jesus is the __________ who has become ___________.
1. The world is subject to __________ and salt is a ________________.
2. There is an _______________ force trying to save and change the world.
3. If we associate with Jesus, we become __________ and __________ that comes from the ideal into the real.
Jesus light means (John 1 & John 8):
1. Jesus is the _______________
2. Jesus is wonderfully _______________
3. Jesus guides us to _______________
Some people bring joy to wherever they go, and some people bring joy whenever they go. ~Mark Twain
Why People are Afraid of the Light. Light exposes things and reveals their true nature. “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:13)
This week:
Think about all the areas of our lives. Government, entertainment, schools, legal system, health care, and our current pandemic and how the Age of Reason thought has pervaded our country’s thinking and separated us even more from God.
Ask God for help as we develop a clear view of our lives and to see what extent of salt and light is present in our lives. As we share our belief of Christ with love and compassion to those in our lives.
May your salt be strong and your light be bright. God bless.