1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:07,720 Good morning, Please be seated. We're in Epiphany Tide, and this 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:09,680 is when the church celebrates. The light of. 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,000 Christ shining in the darkness, all of our. 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,480 Texts. This morning are about the light 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,720 shining in the darkness and this epiphany. 6 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,160 We're doing a short sermon series on from Matthew's Gospel 7 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,400 on spreading the Kingdom to remember Our Calling as 8 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:30,280 ambassadors of Jesus. You'll find the Gospel lesson 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,880 which we'll be looking at together in the church. 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:37,680 Bible on page. 760 it's Matthew. Chapter 5 let. 11 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,560 Me pray as we begin. Thank you Almighty God that you. 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,320 Speak to us through Your word, We praise You for it. 13 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,000 Your word is marvelous and wonderful and full of life, full 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:53,240 of instruction and wisdom. Teach our hearts. 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,720 This morning what you would have us understand and guide our. 16 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,120 Steps. As we go from this. 17 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:03,000 Place give us courage to live faithfully according to what you 18 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,600 teach us. We pray in Jesus name, Amen. 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,160 So today's. Lesson from Matthew. 5 is a very 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,640 brief excerpt. From the Sermon on the Mount and 21 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,720 in it Jesus gives us 2 vivid images. 22 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,880 Of how his disciples will. Spread his Kingdom. 23 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,400 We're going to talk about. Both of those images. 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,960 But before we do, let me set the context. 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,640 For what Jesus is. Doing and saying here. 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:36,840 It's the early days of Jesus's. Ministry, his campaign, and 27 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,640 we're in the north of Israel, in the region of the Sea of Galilee 28 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,320 and what the prophets long. Foretold has. 29 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,160 Begun to unfold in Roman. Occupied Galilee. 30 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,440 It's along the Viamaris. The way of the sea the prophets 31 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,560 foretold. That something would happen 32 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,520 there, and now it seems to be happening with Jesus. 33 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,080 He's come, He's preaching, He's healing. 34 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,400 He's. Casting out demons and he's 35 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,400 calling. Disciples to follow. 36 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,479 Him and everyone is wondering could this? 37 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:14,280 Be. The Son of David, the Messiah 38 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,800 King that we've been long waiting for. 39 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,200 And what Jesus does next certainly confirms it. 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:23,120 He leads. The. 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,880 Crowd from down by the sea. Of Galilee, up, up, up. 42 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:33,640 The mountain up Mount Aremos, as it's sometimes called, and he 43 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,560 leads them up. To a place where he is able to. 44 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,840 Sit and teach this enormous crowd and he gathers. 45 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,640 His disciples. Around him and he begins to 46 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:49,120 proclaim to them what is now called the Sermon on the Mount. 47 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,640 And that's a, that's a particularly unfortunate. 48 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,280 Title because especially. For us here in the United. 49 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,000 States because we. Have a constitutionally 50 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,160 determined separation of church and state, and we know how to. 51 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,520 Sort the word. Sermon and the word sermon goes 52 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,560 in the church bucket and not in the state bucket. 53 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,560 But what Jesus is? Doing is something very 54 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,880 monarchical. Very regal. 55 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:17,920 Very. Kingly. 56 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:20,880 Because he is. Proclaiming a law. 57 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,040 So this. Is a sermon, but it is a sermon. 58 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,000 That is all. About government. 59 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:32,760 It's all about law. And he is crossing the boundary 60 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,080 from church into state. And. 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,440 This is just what you would expect a new king to do, isn't 62 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,720 it? And here's another confirmation 63 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,520 that Jesus is the long-awaited Messianic King. 64 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,600 His law is. The Sermon on the Mount, and it 65 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,200 is. All fresh. 66 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:56,160 Teaching and yet. It's all very. 67 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,080 Familiar. There's actually nothing new. 68 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,120 About what Jesus says. In fact, he goes on to. 69 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,520 Say that he. Has no intention of abolishing 70 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,080 the former law that. Is the law of the old. 71 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,240 Testament, he says. Instead, he plans. 72 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,200 To keep it to uphold. It and to. 73 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:21,079 Fulfill it. Through his reign only the Son 74 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:23,440 of God. Would do that. 75 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,200 Only the son of. God could do that. 76 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,800 And as Jesus begins to. Speak. 77 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,080 There's. Even more good news? 78 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,160 His law overflows with. Blessings. 79 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,400 With Beatitudes, that's how his law. 80 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,840 Begins. Like God had. 81 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:46,440 Promised through Moses to future kings. 82 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,640 Of Israel, if they kept God's law. 83 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,920 But instead, Israel's kings had turned away from God. 84 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,320 They had fallen into sin and instead of blessings. 85 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,760 Curses had. Fallen upon them, not least of 86 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:06,560 which was the Roman occupation, but now. 87 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,280 Here. Is the Messiah the son of David, 88 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,240 the long-awaited King, and he is proclaiming God's law? 89 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,280 Afresh. And promising not. 90 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:22,240 Curses, but beatitudes? Blessings once again. 91 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:28,520 So far so good. So Jesus calls these blessings 92 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,920 beatitudes, but they're. Surprising. 93 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,000 They're not what one would. Expect, he says there's. 94 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,360 Blessing upon blessing upon blessing. 95 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:45,680 For God's people. Who mourn, who are poor in 96 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,760 spirit, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on. 97 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,160 Doesn't sound like the good life, does it? 98 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,720 Everybody knows that the. Blessed are those who are rich. 99 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:04,160 And happy and stuffed with good food and drink, right? 100 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,320 Those are the blessed at. Least in the. 101 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,840 Cutthroat secular world. In which we Live Today. 102 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,480 But Jesus Beatitudes. Turn the world upside down 103 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:15,880 because. That's what his. 104 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,640 Reign is going to do. The law that he is. 105 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,960 Proclaiming is setting the stage. 106 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,480 For what he. Will do as king as he turns the 107 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,680 world upside down. Before he was born, his mother 108 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,520 sang a song. It was a prophetic song called 109 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,920 the Magnificat. And in that song she sang that 110 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,040 this king that she was about. To give birth to Will. 111 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,440 Bring down the mighty from their Thrones and exalt those of 112 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,440 humble estate. He will fill. 113 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,760 The hungry with good things and the rich he will send empty 114 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,040 away. In other words, the Messiah King 115 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,200 is going to turn the tables on those. 116 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,680 Who've rejected God? And who currently live luxurious 117 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,560 lives apart from God living on the backs? 118 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,160 Of the faithful poor. Good things will come to God's 119 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:08,320 people in due time at the great marriage supper of the Lamb, but 120 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:10,680 for now? While the world. 121 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,200 Is contested territory King Jesus? 122 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,840 Blesses those who. Follow him in spite of their. 123 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:19,000 Poverty. In. 124 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,360 Spite of their. Hunger and thirst, King. 125 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,440 Jesus blesses. Those who join the resistance 126 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:27,920 and. Suffer for their. 127 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,960 Allegiance to him, and here's how he sums it up at the end of 128 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,000 his. Beatitudes, the last Beatitude 129 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,320 pulls it all together, he says. Blessed are you. 130 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:40,000 When others revile you and persecute you, and utter all 131 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,400 kinds of evil against you falsely on my account, rejoice 132 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,600 and be. Glad for your reward is great. 133 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,600 In heaven for so. They persecuted the prophets. 134 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,160 Who came before? You, if you follow Jesus 135 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,000 faithfully, you will suffer because of it. 136 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,080 But don't think that God is angry with you. 137 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,480 You are eternally. Blessed to have. 138 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,880 Jesus as your King. You will live. 139 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,160 Forever with him in the Kingdom come and. 140 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,040 As Jesus. Goes on to say. 141 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,680 You will have the. Extraordinary privilege in the 142 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,880 present. To serve him to be a part of 143 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,600 what? He is doing right now, and 144 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,520 that's what the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. 145 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,640 Is all about. It's the law of. 146 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,080 How he is going to rule? It's the. 147 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:36,880 Plan of his administration and the Messiah King has chosen you. 148 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,200 To be a part of his. Administration to. 149 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,039 Play a strategic role. In his reign as king. 150 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,600 As with every other. Job in politics, this means 151 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:48,920 that. You will have. 152 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:54,000 Chosen a side and you are going to make enemies as well as 153 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,040 friends. Others will revile you, he says. 154 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,240 They will persecute. You and they. 155 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,840 Will utter all. Kinds of evil against you. 156 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,720 Even so, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. 157 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,880 It's worth it. Because the king has. 158 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:15,560 Called you. Into his service in his campaign 159 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:26,440 to reclaim the world from greed, from gluttony, from abuse, he's 160 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,600 reclaiming the world and remaking it. 161 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:36,080 As a place of peace. And harmony under his reign and 162 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,840 the way that it begins, the way he intends to. 163 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:40,960 Use you. In a nutshell. 164 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,560 Is salt. And light. 165 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,880 So looking at Matthew. 5. 13 I'd like you to remember that King 166 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,480 Jesus intends. To use you. 167 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,160 To preserve and. Flavor his world. 168 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,320 Verse 13. You are actually second person 169 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,680 plural here. Y'all are the salt of the earth. 170 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:10,160 Y'all are the salt of the earth. Prior to the invention of modern 171 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,520 refrigeration, people used. Salt as a preservative. 172 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:18,080 Against decay because. Salt draws water out of foods. 173 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,240 And makes them too dry for microbes to grow. 174 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,240 So when Jesus says. You are the salt of the. 175 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,920 Earth, he's saying something not only about you. 176 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,560 But also about the world. He's he's saying he's intending 177 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:33,880 to use you as salt on the rotting flesh. 178 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:37,520 Of the world. The reason why the world needs 179 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,040 the church according to Jesus. Is because the world. 180 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,440 Is like raw meat. It's filled with. 181 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:47,480 Death and decay, but thankfully we are uniquely equipped to do 182 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,600 something about it. Jesus sends us in to. 183 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,120 Cover over that. Decay and to. 184 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,520 Stop the spread. Like EMTs who were sent to the 185 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,840 scene of an accident, most people want to get away. 186 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,840 They want to flee. They don't want to be around all 187 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,960 of of that blood and mess. But the EMTs arrive, and they. 188 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,840 Rush towards. The accident they. 189 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,760 Rush towards people. In need, they come to cover over 190 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:13,800 them, to aid them and bring healing. 191 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:15,240 And Jesus calls. Us to do. 192 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,920 The same thing in our sick and dying world. 193 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,440 Early Christians did this famously when the. 194 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,160 Plagues broke out. And those who weren't Christians 195 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:30,880 fled, and the Christians remained behind, sacrificing 196 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,880 their own lives to. Care for those with the plague. 197 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:38,120 Who were dying? Today, many of you are deployed 198 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:43,600 in places of death and decay, caring for a dying world in 199 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,080 Jesus name. And you're probably suffering 200 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:46,960 for it. Jesus. 201 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:48,160 Said that would. Happen. 202 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,560 Don't be discouraged, King. Jesus delights. 203 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:56,200 In your saltiness. Blessed are you Beatitudes. 204 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,040 Upon you and. Jesus celebrates. 205 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:03,920 What you are doing? But he says. 206 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,480 Verse 13 if. Salt has lost its taste. 207 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:10,520 How shall? Its saltiness. 208 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,960 Be restored it. Is no longer good for anything 209 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,680 except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 210 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,000 Today we're able to purchase salt that's. 211 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:25,640 Almost 100% pure, but it wasn't so in ancient times when ocean. 212 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,960 Water evaporates it. Has a lot of impurities and it's 213 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,000 just it's not all sodium. Chloride that's left. 214 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,720 As salt, there are many impurities. 215 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,280 It's about like. 85% sodium chloride. 216 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,720 Or table salt. And the remaining 15% could have 217 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,480 things that are toxic to human consumption. 218 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,720 And in ancient Palestine, the closer you get. 219 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,640 To the Dead Sea the. Worse, that percentage gets 220 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,640 something like 15% of salt from the dead. 221 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,760 Sea is. Edible, and most of it is toxic 222 00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:01,160 one way or another. So in those days, impure. 223 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:06,680 Salt would go. Bad over time as the sodium 224 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:10,400 chloride washed out and the impurities remained, and 225 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,800 whenever that happened, the salt did more harm than good and so. 226 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,520 As Jesus said it would. Be better used on the road than 227 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:22,480 in the kitchen, and in the same way we can become so 228 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,720 contaminated. By the world. 229 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,640 We can become so impure. That. 230 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,760 That we no longer have any preservative effect in the 231 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,280 world. Think, for example, of all the 232 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,680 abuse scandals in the church in recent years. 233 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,560 People who were supposed to be. Preserving the world from death, 234 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,080 but instead became contaminated by the world and turned into 235 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,280 predators themselves. They lost their. 236 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,880 Saltiness and we're no longer good for anything. 237 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,920 But Rd. dust. The scandal isn't the only way 238 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,680 that we can lose our saltiness. What's more common, much more 239 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:00,080 common, is when we choose to play it safe in the eyes. 240 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,200 Of the world we choose to preserve our. 241 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:08,200 Standing instead of preserving the world from decay in a world. 242 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,880 That absolutely delights. In rebellion against God, we're 243 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,720 often tempted. To opt out of the risk. 244 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,080 Of being salty in order to save our own skins. 245 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:22,920 But remember how Jesus introduced? 246 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,760 His law Blessed are those who. Blend in comfortably. 247 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,160 With the world, he said. Not at all. 248 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,400 Blessed. Are those who hunger and thirst 249 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,840 for righteousness, not those who blend in, and again Jesus said. 250 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,640 Blessed are you. When others. 251 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,320 Revile you. And persecute you and utter all 252 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,120 kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 253 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:53,840 And then his very next point. Is to say you are the salt of 254 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,000 the earth. Blessed are you when they. 255 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,200 Revile you. You are the salt of the earth. 256 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,080 That's the context. That's why he. 257 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,720 Said don't lose your saltiness. He knew that opposition would 258 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,160 come and he warned us in advance. 259 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:14,400 So today. If you hear his voice, take up 260 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,400 your. Cross and follow the King. 261 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,720 Friends and neighbors, coworkers and classmates around us will 262 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:28,040 die apart from God's EMTs at the scene of the accident. 263 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:30,960 Take the. Risk be the. 264 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,840 Salt that brings them to. Jesus the Savior. 265 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,960 King, Let's look at the next verse. 266 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,920 Chapter 5 Verse. 14 and as we look at. 267 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:41,640 This I'd like. For you to remember that King 268 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,840 Jesus intends to. Use you to light the way. 269 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,200 To him. Chapter 5 Verse. 14 says you. 270 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,160 Are the light of the world. King. 271 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,440 Jesus poured out his. Spirit upon His Church, so that 272 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,240 his disciples might shine like. Stars with his light. 273 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:00,560 If you want to know what this should. 274 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:01,960 Look like. Just think of all. 275 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:07,160 The ways that Jesus. Is the light himself in the? 276 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,600 Gospels wherever Jesus. Went. 277 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,400 His light. Shone in a way that brought. 278 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,040 Both. Discomfort and comfort, and 279 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,680 that's instructive. For us, the light of. 280 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:25,320 His presence exposed sinful thoughts and actions that tend 281 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,840 to flourish in the darkness. People got. 282 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:31,280 Angry with Jesus routinely. Because he. 283 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,920 Caught them in the act. Yet He kept reminding everyone 284 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:40,520 that God prefers mercy over judgement, and He kept inviting 285 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,360 them to repent of their sins and follow him, turning back to God 286 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,040 on Good Friday. Jesus's light. 287 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,680 Went out on the cross, but on Easter, the son. 288 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,040 Of God rose. And his light shone more 289 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,280 brightly than ever. So in US. 290 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,160 The light of Christ should expose. 291 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:06,240 Sin and evil likely causing people around us discomfort, 292 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,680 but. Also it doesn't. 293 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,599 Stop there, and we can't stop. There as well the light of 294 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:15,800 Christ also. Points the way to. 295 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:17,319 Jesus or it? Should point the. 296 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:19,480 Way to Jesus. And then through US. 297 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,880 The light of. Christ should point people to 298 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,400 Him to provide them comfort for their discomfort. 299 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,400 Comfort. That will last. 300 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,800 For all eternity. Look again at verse 14. 301 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,280 Just as Jesus did with salt, so also would. 302 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,400 Light he added a condition to our vocation as light of the. 303 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:39,480 World, he said. A city. 304 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:43,480 Set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and 305 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,600 put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives. 306 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,440 Light to. All in the house in the same 307 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,560 way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see 308 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,840 your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 309 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,320 There are two lessons here for us in this warning. 310 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:03,760 First of all. Just as we shouldn't lose our 311 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,200 saltiness, so also we mustn't. Hide the light. 312 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:09,520 Within us, hide it under a bushel. 313 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,840 No got to let it shine right that's. 314 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,240 What we teach. Our kids to sing, it's very 315 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:16,880 important. For us as adults. 316 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,200 To think the same way, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said a community 317 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,160 of Jesus which seeks to. Hide itself has ceased to. 318 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,720 Follow him. Don't. 319 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,400 Hide the light, but there's a. Second lesson here that I find 320 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,120 very encouraging. Jesus didn't. 321 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,520 Say that a. City on a hill shouldn't be 322 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,760 hidden. He said. 323 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:46,120 That it cannot be hidden, and that's certainly the case if 324 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,480 you've ever been to this. Part of. 325 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:54,080 Palestine down by the. Shore of the. 326 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,760 Sea of Galilee and walked up this mountain to the place. 327 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,600 Where it's very likely Jesus. Taught from because on that 328 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,440 mountaintop you can see not only down. 329 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,320 To the sea. Below and the the fisherman's 330 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,400 boats and all of that. But you can also. 331 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,480 See. Up on the next mountain, the 332 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:19,680 city Zephat, that is up on that mountain, it's unmistakable. 333 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,640 It can't be hidden. You can see. 334 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:27,240 It very. Clearly from there, especially 335 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,000 at night, it can't be hidden. It's in Plainview for all to. 336 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,760 See. And in the same way, if you are 337 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,600 genuinely a Christian, then you are the. 338 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,960 Light of the world, you. Can't be hidden. 339 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,360 Try as you might your. Faith will out you. 340 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:51,520 Let it shine verse 15 Jesus says, nor do people light a lamp 341 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,920 and put it under a basket. And the Greek. 342 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,640 Word he uses. For lamp, here is a particular 343 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:58,640 kind of lamp. It's that clay. 344 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,080 Version of the Aladdin's lamp. Kind of looks like a gravy boat, 345 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,960 you know, and has a little ring on the side that you can put 346 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,600 your finger through and you carry it around like this. 347 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,960 That's the kind of lamp that he's describing. 348 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,200 He wasn't talking about something. 349 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,280 Heavy. You know, like a table lamp 350 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,080 sitting in the corner or a floor lamp or something. 351 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,440 He's talking about something small that can be carried 352 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,840 around. It's like a tool. 353 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,680 It's like a hand tool that you can take with you to different 354 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,880 places, and I think that's a very important way of of 355 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,080 conceptualizing what he's saying to us. 356 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:41,160 This is a picture of our. Relationship with him he intends 357 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,560 to use. Us as salt. 358 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,040 And light he intends to to. Carry us. 359 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,320 Around and to put us where he wants. 360 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,800 Us he holds. Us in his hand as he moves from 361 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,520 place. To place as he pleases. 362 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,440 To shine his light. Where he chooses because. 363 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:04,040 He is the king and he wants to shine his light in places. 364 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,320 And so it's a joy to wake up every morning and say, here I 365 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,520 am, Lord, I want to shine for you. 366 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,360 Where will you? Shine me can't be hidden. 367 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,760 He puts us on a stand here for a little while to light up. 368 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,160 The place. Where he's working, then he 369 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,080 moves us somewhere else, another place of his choosing in order 370 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:24,600 to shine the light where he wants it. 371 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,400 And on it goes. For the rest of our lives. 372 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:33,360 Shining for Jesus. So what no one does with a 373 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,440 candle, Jesus won't. Do with you? 374 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,960 He will not. Light you, bless you. 375 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,800 And put you under. A wastebasket. 376 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,960 Nobody does that. Jesus won't do it either. 377 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,520 Rather, he points. Us like flashlights. 378 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,640 Wherever he wants to shine his light. 379 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,400 So in closing. Let's recap. 380 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,760 King Jesus came to. Set our upside. 381 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,560 Down world, right when he began his public service as king, he 382 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,280 proclaimed a new. Law which deploys us his 383 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:10,720 disciples. In mission. 384 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,960 As salt. And light, but it's not really a 385 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:15,280 new. Law because. 386 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:20,440 God made nearly the same promise to Abraham many centuries. 387 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,000 Before he. Said that he would multiply his 388 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,560 offspring. As the stars, the lights of the. 389 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:33,880 Heaven, and that's the sand or the salt along the sea, and now 390 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:35,920 God. Calls us to be a part of this. 391 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,320 Great mission. So don't hide your light under a 392 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,120 bushel. You can't actually. 393 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,840 Rather, as Jesus says, let. It shine. 394 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,200 Before others that. They may see your good works and 395 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,200 give glory. To your father. 396 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,240 Who is in heaven? And Saint Paul follows up when 397 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,800 he writes. As we heard in the New Testament 398 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,680 lesson, do everything without grumbling or complaining, that 399 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,000 you may be blameless and innocent children of God without 400 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,840 blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation 401 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,680 among whom you shine as lights in the world. 402 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:16,000 Hold fast to that word of life. Jesus is the rightful. 403 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,840 King over all creation. He has. 404 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:21,600 Chosen to. Use us. 405 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,840 In his administration. As salt. 406 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,960 And life, we mustn't keep it a secret. 407 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,960 Go forth into the world to shine. 408 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,160 As his lights. Rejoicing in the risen Christ. 409 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,760 Let's pray. Thank you Almighty God. 410 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:44,000 For the gift. Of your son Jesus, thank you for 411 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:52,000 saving us through him, and thank you for using us to turn this 412 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,840 world upside down. With his love. 413 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,520 And his light. Give us the courage to live this 414 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,280 we. Pray in Jesus name, Amen.