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Today we are looking at Matthew.
Chapter 513 to 16 is a part of 

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our series on the Sermon of the 
Mount. 

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And this is a setting of 
identification of who we are. 

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And then the rest of the next 
three chapters are are going to 

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be a process of of finding out 
how God wants us to live. 

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So this is to identify who you 
are. 

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And he starts out in verse 13. 
You are the salt of the earth. 

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But if the salt loses its 
savour, how shall it be 

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seasoned? 
It is then good for nothing but 

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to be thrown out and trampled 
under foot by men. 

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Verse 14. 
You are the light of the world. 

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A city that is set on a hill 
cannot be hidden, nor do they 

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light a lamp and put it under a 
basket, but the lamp about on a 

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lampstand stand, and it gives 
light to all who are in the 

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house. 
Let your light shine before men,

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that they may see your good 
works and glorify your Father in

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heaven. 
When we first got to Japan, we 

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couldn't read Japanese, which 
made it difficult for us to go 

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shopping. 
But we stayed in a Center for 

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Christian for missionaries 
during the first six months of 

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our language study, and we were 
excited that there was a little 

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grocery store on the main floor.
When we were given a tour of the

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store, Lydia tried to memorize 
where all the items that she 

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knew she would need to pick up. 
Lydia picked up some salt, but 

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we couldn't figure out that it 
didn't seem to be all that 

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salty. 
We figured out Japanese salt 

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must not be the same as Canadian
salt, and it just tasted bland. 

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No matter how much we would dump
on it, it didn't seem to get 

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salty. 
Maybe this is what Matthew 513 

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is telling us about here we 
thought. 

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I thought at least. 
But when we asked one of the 

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more seasoned missionaries 
whether Japanese salt was so 

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bland, they kind of were puzzled
and and she said she'd never 

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experienced this, so she asked 
if she could see the package 

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that that he had picked up. 
And then started to laugh. 

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We had been flavoring our food 
with laundry starch, not salt. 

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Oh yeah, maybe you've gotten 
mixed up at times. 

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I needed others to help you sort
a few things out, but that was a

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interesting experience for us 
last Sunday. 

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Our passage ended up with 
talking about being persecuted 

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for righteousness sake. 
Matthew 5 verse 12 tells us 

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rejoice and be exceeding glad 
for great is your reward in 

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heaven for so persecuted they 
the prophets which were before 

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you. 
So why do you think Jesus spoke 

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of being salt and light after 
just talking about being 

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persecuted for righteousness 
sake? 

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When we face struggles or even 
persecution our character is 

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tested. 
How will we respond to the 

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challenges of persecution? 
Will our character be able to 

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depend on Jesus as we grow in 
our spiritual life or will we 

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buckle under the onslaught? 
The church is it is being 

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attacked in the world today. 
According to a report released 

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on August the 10th, but a month 
ago, more than 7000 Nigerian 

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Christians have been killed in 
2025 in the 1st 220 days days of

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2025. 
That's an average of 32 deaths a

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day. 
Additionally, 7800 followers of 

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Jesus have been abducted, have 
been abducted by for their 

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faith, and over 1100 Christian 
communities are now dealing with

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what's happening in their 
community. 

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Persecution is happening in the 
world. 

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How do we respond in our cozy 
homes to what our brothers and 

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sisters are experiencing in 
Nigeria, in China, in Pakistan, 

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in Afghanistan, in Syria, and 
many other places where 

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persecution is real? 
Jesus tells his followers what 

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their response to persecution is
to be by telling them who they 

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are. 
Jesus reminds us that we are the

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salt of the earth and the light 
of the world before he explains 

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in the rest of the Sermon on the
Mount how we are to live our 

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lives. 
So how does Jesus see you? 

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How do you identify yourself? 
Are you an agent of the evil 

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one? 
Or are you going to make a 

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difference in this confused and 
aggressive angry world? 

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You will not make much of a 
difference in this world Just 

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coming to church here on Sunday 
morning for an hour. 

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You are a little bit like that 
light that is hid under the 

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basket. 
Yes, there's a light, but it 

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doesn't do any good under a 
basket. 

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In the passage we see that our 
Creator Jesus has declared that 

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you are salt and you are light, 
not becoming, but are. 

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That is your identity today. 
What does that mean for us then?

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Well, 2000 years ago people 
would create shallow ponds and 

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those ponds would hold seawater.
The heats from the sun would 

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would evaporate the water and 
leave behind salt crystals that 

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they would have to rake up into 
piles and then put into bags for

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sale. 
This was a long and arduous 

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task. 
Today we have discovered huge 

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salt deposits under the ground 
and we can mine it very cheaply.

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The biggest salt mine in the 
world is Godrej, Ontario. 

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The salt mine in Windsor has 
been in operation for over 100 

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years and pulls out hundreds of 
tons of salt each year, not just

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a few pounds of evaporated salt 
water. 

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So salt had a lot more value in 
Jesus Day, not only because it 

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took a lot of work to get it, 
but because they didn't have any

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refrigeration. 
Now I'm just old enough to 

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remember the ice chest. 
Have some of you know about the 

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ice chest? 
OK, we would get a big and I, I 

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can still remember my parents 
having one of those ice chests 

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where we would get a chunk of 
ice and that would go into our 

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refrigerator and that would get 
changed out when it went down to

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the bottom. 
But in today's age, we have 

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refrigeration. 
We, we, we don't even think 

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about it anymore. 
I can remember the freezer being

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at a cold storage in town. 
And anytime we wanted to get 

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some meat that we had in the 
cold storage, we'd have to go 

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into town to pick it up. 
So things have changed 

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drastically. 
So things are very the the salt 

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that we have today is very 
cheap. 

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Before the refrigeration we have
today, salt was the main way 

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they preserve preserve food. 
Meat, fish, peef, pork was 

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packed in salt and dried much 
like our beef jerky is today and

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just kept for years. 
But just as the meat was dead 

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and could putrefy, so the world 
around us is dead. 

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But if we treat the meat, it can
be preserved. 

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Some foods just taste better 
with salt. 

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Could you imagine opening up a 
bag of potato chips and it 

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didn't have any salt on the 
chip? 

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You can buy them by the way, but
somehow salt just brings out the

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flavor in foods. 
Colossians 3 verse sorry 4 verse

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6 says let your speech always be
with grace as those seasoned 

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with salt so that you will know 
how you should respond to each 

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person. 
A person that is following Jesus

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has joy and peace. 
Jesus said in John chapter 15 

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verse 11 that if we abide in him
we will have complete joy. 

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Joy that remakes makes our 
relationship so much better. 

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When we bring that joy into our 
relationship we bring hope and 

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transformation. 
But some Christians are 

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tasteless. 
They lack wisdom and class. 

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They might be vulgar and 
insipid. 

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We don't want to be those kind 
of Christians. 

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The salt as salt of the earth. 
We preserve society from 

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destruction. 
Just like in the days of Noah or

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Sodom and Gomorrah. 
Noah witnessed for 120 years and

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sought to keep his neighbors 
that mocked and jeered him from 

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the destruction that was coming.
He kept going, obeying God, and 

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in the end saved his family and 
mankind. 

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Whenever there's a revival in 
society, like the Welsh Revival 

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in Britain or the revivals that 
took place in New England in the

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1700s, there were 
transformations of society. 

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On February 8th, 2023, a routine
50 minute Chapel at Asbury 

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University in Kentucky turned 
into a 16 day revival that 

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captured attention around the 
world, transformed the lives of 

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students and the community. 
They even made a movie on that 

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one. 
Back in the 1970s, there was a 

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revival in Leamington here. 
When the Cetera twins came and 

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visited for several weeks, it 
changed the hearts of people. 

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Salt also disinfects and 
destroys harmful bacteria and 

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germs. 
Salt keeps disease at Bay. 

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When people are sweating in 
intense heat, they take salt 

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tablets to keep from muscle 
cramps, dizziness and fatigue. 

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Salt replenishes the 
electrolytes in our body, and if

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someone is dehydrated and taken 
to the hospital, one of the 

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first things they do is to give 
them an IV of a saline solution.

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So what do you do? 
Do you preserve? 

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Do you stop decay or do you add 
flavor or all of the above? 

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Salt that stays in the shaker 
doesn't do much good. 

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And when you salt others with 
the love of Jesus, you could end

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up preserving them for eternity.
Salt doesn't do anything sitting

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in the sea or the ground. 
Are you working for the Lord or 

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just sitting there? 
We need to get out of the shaker

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and create some thirst so that 
people will drink from the 

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fountain of Jesus's love and 
forgiveness. 

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Lot's wife became a pillar of 
salt for looking back at the 

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lifestyle that they had enjoyed 
in Sodom. 

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Gomorrah, Never look back to 
your old lifestyle with regret 

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or go back to it. 
We are never to live like the 

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world, but we are to bring a new
kind of life that radiates and 

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lifts up those around us. 
God wants us to live a pure life

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that looks forward to the 
future. 

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God has an eternity. 
Look forward to the life that 

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God has for us in eternity as we
live our salty life here. 

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Can you preach and say nothing? 
I think you can. 

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Have you ever been around others
when they said, oh, he's a 

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Christian or she's a Christian? 
We should watch our language. 

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Yeah, you can be salty in that 
kind of an environment too. 

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Matthew 5 verse 14 goes on to 
say you are the light of the 

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world, your salt and light. 
But Jesus also said in in John 

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chapter 8 verse 12, I am the 
light of the world. 

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He who follows me shall not walk
in darkness, but will have the 

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light of life. 
That sounds like a bit of a 

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contradiction, but if we 
consider that we are a little 

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bit like a moon and we are lit 
up by the sun and we reflect the

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light from the sun. 
Jesus, if we think of how the 

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moon reflects the light of the 
sun, the moon has no light of 

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its own, but can light up a 
landscape in on a clear, dark 

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night. 
Every morning the sunflower 

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turns its face to the sun. 
It rotates slowly as the sun 

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moves to the West. 
It was very interesting going 

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through, I think it was Manitoba
area, southern Manitoba. 

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There were fields of sunflowers 
and it was really kind of cute 

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to see all those sunflower heads
pointing toward the sun. 

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We should be focusing our face 
on Jesus so that we can absorb 

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his goodness throughout the day.
The Bible also compares us with 

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a city that is built on top of a
hill, one that cannot be hid. 

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It's very difficult to hide some
of the castles in Japan. 

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They're not built in the valley,
but on top of a high hill. 

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They could see the enemy coming 
from afar. 

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On the other hand, the enemy can
see their target from a long way

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off, but they have to climb a 
steep hills and on one side 

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usually is a Cliff, so that it's
impossible to attack from the 

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back. 
In our Modern Warfare today, the

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enemy is trying to hide deep in 
tunnels in the ground. 

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They hide because their deeds 
are evil. 

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How does it feel to be in the 
dark? 

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You can't see anything. 
You can stumble on anything and 

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fall and scrape yourself, hurt 
yourself. 

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You might even feel lost. 
We are to bring the light of 

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Jesus into the darkness in the 
souls of the people around you. 

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When Moses went up on Mount 
Sinai and spent 40 days with 

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God, he returned with his face 
aglow. 

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Does not does our countenance 
glow with a joy and radiate 

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God's glory when you spend time 
with Him? 

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Perhaps we are not spending 
enough time with God for a hymn 

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to transform us. 
How much light does it take to 

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light up the darkness? 
One photon, and that's just one 

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small particle of light, is all 
that is needed. 

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Darkness is the absence of 
light, and so when light enters 

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darkness, darkness is dispelled.
God created light even before he

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created the sun and the moon and
the other stars in the universe.

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You know, it doesn't take a lot 
of light to light up the 

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darkness. 
I've seen stories or pictures 

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of, of people getting out their 
cell phones at a dark stadium 

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when the lights went out one 
time and they all turned on 

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their got their cell phones out 
and, and started to shine their 

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lights out so that soon the 
whole place was lit up with cell

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phones. 
So we can, it doesn't take a 

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whole lot, but we can light up 
the world around us. 

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If the electricity, electricity 
goes out at your house, what do 

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you do? 
Some of you get out your cell 

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phones now. 
But in the old days, which I am 

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part of, we used to, well, we 
still do. 

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We have candles, right, and most
of you probably have candles at 

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home and you find a match and 
and if you're having trouble 

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finding out where it is, you get
yourself went out and use a 

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flashlight, right? 
But we we grab a match or a 

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lighter and we get that that 
candle lit. 

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Now what if you would grab a 
container and put it over top of

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that candle? 
It would be foolish, wouldn't 

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it? 
You would be back in the 

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darkness and in reality that 
candle would go out is the 

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oxygen under the can under the 
container depletes and the light

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then goes out. 
You suffocate the light of the 

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candle. 
Taking that container and 

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putting it over the candle is 
like going back to your old ways

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when Jesus, the light of Jesus, 
wasn't shining in your life. 

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Some people live in darkness so 
that they cannot see the chaos 

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around them. 
When the light shines brightly. 

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Even dust on the table is seen 
and reminds us that we need to 

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do some dusting in our life to 
get good air quality. 

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You are the light of the world. 
How does God shine in this 

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world? 
He needs lights like you and I 

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God wants us to use. 
God wants to use us to be His 

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light in this Dark World. 
God works through His people and

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His word. 
God's light can be hidden if 

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your lives don't reflect. 
His character Joe Stowell told 

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the story of a stressed out 
woman who was tailgating a man 

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as they drove down a busy St. 
When he slowed down to stop at a

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yellow light, the woman hit the 
horn, cursing and screaming in 

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frustration and gesturing 
angrily. 

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As she was still in her rant, 
she heard a tap on her window 

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and looked up into the face of a
police officer who ordered her 

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to exit the car with her hands 
up. 

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He took her to the police 
station and placed her in a 

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holding cell. 
An hour later, the officer 

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returned and said, I'm sorry, I 
miss this has been a big 

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mistake. 
When I pulled up behind you, I 

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noticed that you're What would 
Jesus do license plate holder 

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and follow me to Sunday school 
bumper sticker and I assumed 

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that the car was stolen. 
So letting our lights shine 

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might be illustrated with the 
idea of a lighthouse. 

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Lighthouses have saved many 
ships from being destroyed on 

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dangerous rocks. 
Light from a lighthouse is used 

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as a warning and as a guide. 
Today, lighthouses guide ships 

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along the coast of the sea to 
find a harbor or to mark the 

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way. 
Are you like a lighthouse 

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shining forth with a brilliant 
light into The Dark World? 

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Sailors can see light from afar,
but you know that the light 

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itself isn't very strong. 
Actually, the first light that 

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lit up lighthouses were candles.
These candles were magnified by 

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the use of mirrors and lenses. 
Thus, the light was focused to 

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shine out to the sea. 
And by this means, even a weak 

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00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:30,120
light shines a long way. 
With reflectors, they can double

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the power of a lighthouse lamp. 
The Bible can be likened to 

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those reflectors which make our 
light shine even brighter. 

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The brighter, the bigger the 
reflector and lens, the brighter

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the light, and the farther away 
it can be seen. 

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If we use the God Word of God 
wisely, we can let our light 

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00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,080
shine and our testimony is 
magnified. 

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00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,360
Now light needs a source of 
energy. 

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00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,840
As believers, the Holy Spirit 
empowers us. 

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00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,520
We can run out of power if we 
don't feed on the Word of God. 

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00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,880
The more we immerse ourselves in
Jesus, the brighter we will 

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00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:32,640
shine. 
Also, since we're reflecting the

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light of Jesus like the moon 
reflects the sun, the purer the 

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reflector, the stronger the 
light that shines from you. 

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00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:51,480
Some people's light is going 
out, but they're not aware that 

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00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:56,240
their lamp is getting dimmer and
dimmer because they're asleep. 

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00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:03,000
Jesus told the story of the five
virgin, foolish virgins waiting 

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for the bride, and they fell 
asleep. 

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And when the announcement came 
that the bridegroom was coming, 

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they awoke, but their lamps were
going out and they couldn't join

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00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,600
in the procession to the 
bridegroom's house. 

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00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:22,920
I trust that you have plenty of 
oil in your lamps and that 

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00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,280
you're on fire for Jesus. 
Being asleep, being at the 

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00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:33,040
sleep, being asleep at the wheel
is a dangerous situation. 

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00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:42,560
Now, Peak Fair taught me that 
the more sunshine there is, the 

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healthier that the healthy 
plants. 

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I'm sorry. 
The more sunshine that healthy 

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00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:52,160
plants get and if they are is 
adequate water and fertilizer, 

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they will produce more fruit. 
You can always see Pete checking

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00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,800
his phone. 
What is the sunlight like at the

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00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:06,520
greenhouse? 
He has sensors there and seeing 

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00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:11,680
how much light the plants are 
getting. 

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00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,000
If he knows how much light 
they're getting, he knows how 

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much they will have to pick how 
much crop there will be. 

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00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:25,720
Light gives life to the plants 
and they turn that light into 

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00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,720
energy which is stored in the 
fruit of the plants. 

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How much fruit are you 
producing? 

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00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:42,240
Who can you be a light to in 
your family or in your 

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00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,720
community? 
I'd just like to take, have you 

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00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:52,920
reflect just a moment and say to
yourself, who is it that I can 

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00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:56,360
be a light to? 
Is there somebody that God has 

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00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:02,480
brought into my sphere of, of 
influence that I can possibly 

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00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,680
share Jesus with? 
I'd like to write, I'd like you 

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00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,600
to write that person's name on 
your heart. 

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00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,560
I'd like you to pray for that 
person and wait for 

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00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,760
opportunities that God will give
you. 

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If you really are desiring to be
a light to that person. 

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00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,960
Use your assets to transform the
society around you. 

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00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:35,080
If God reveals truth to to you 
and gives you an idea to 

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00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:40,440
explore, research it, develop 
it, and share it with others. 

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00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:46,160
Let's make this a very different
community and a very different 

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00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:53,360
world. 
We've been going over those who 

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00:29:53,360 --> 00:30:02,040
call LEMC their home church, but
how can it be a home church if 

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00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:08,360
you are never at home? 
It pains the leadership and 

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00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:13,640
Jesus when the light is so dim 
that no one can see it. 

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00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:24,520
For a while we had major problem
with different colors lighting 

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00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:29,880
the skies over Leamington from 
the greenhouses at night. 

338
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,360
We need your light to be shining
in the darkness so that others 

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00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,880
actually know that you are 
Christian and you love the Lord.

340
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:51,360
Jesus said to his listeners. 
You are salt and you are the 

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00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:57,600
light of the world. 
So ask the question, have you 

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00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:03,960
believed what Jesus said? 
Are you salt and light? 

343
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:09,680
If not, why not? 
What's holding you back? 

344
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,720
It's very simple. 
Believe that Jesus died for your

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00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:21,320
sins, Admit that you're a 
Sinner, repent, change your 

346
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:26,680
ways, and Jesus will flood your 
heart with His love and 

347
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,120
forgiveness. 
He will send His Holy Spirit to 

348
00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:34,960
cleanse you and to make your 
light shine for the world to see

349
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,200
that you have become a radiant 
believer. 

350
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,960
Let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good 

351
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,080
works and glorify your Father in
heaven. 

352
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:55,240
If you are truly salt and light,
become pure, tastier, preserving

353
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,960
your family and community, 
shining the light of Jesus in 

354
00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:08,480
the dark corners of the sinful 
world, and the whole world can 

355
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,160
know that you are a believer in 
Jesus Christ. 

356
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:18,640
When they see what God is doing 
in your life, they should give 

357
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,040
God glory. 
Let's pray. 

358
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:33,160
Lord, thank you that you made us
salt. 

359
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:40,120
You made us light as followers 
of Jesus. 

360
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:47,480
I pray, Lord, that if there's 
anybody here today or watching 

361
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:54,200
on TVI pray that your spirit 
will be at work in their hearts.

362
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,880
And if they have never made that
commitment to follow Jesus, I 

363
00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:03,720
pray that they can become salt 
or light today, become a 

364
00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:08,000
follower of Jesus. 
Thank you, Lord, that You've 

365
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,720
worked in our hearts, many of 
us, and that you are 

366
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:18,600
transforming us, making us taste
better, allowing us to shine 

367
00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:23,320
your light into the world around
us and bring hope and joy. 

368
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:30,600
Thank you that you guide us into
the truth, and I pray that the 

369
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,240
truth will set us free. 
Amen.