Come and Be the S.A.L.T.!

(A Message to the Multitude)

(Preached Sunday Morning, August 30, 2020)

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

(Matthew 5:13)

I. Savior’s

“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)

A. Who is our Lord?

“And we are his witnesses of these things;”

B. What is his mission?

“And so is also the Holy Ghost,”

C. Why is his mission important?

“Whom God hath given to them that obey him.”

II. Ambassador

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

A. Who are you?

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,”

B. What is your mission?

“As though God did beseech you by us:”

C. Why is your mission important?

“We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

II. Laboring

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

A. Who is your community?

1. Where is your harvest?

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;”

2. Where are your fields?

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35)

B. What is your mission to your community?

“That he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

C. Why is your mission to your community important?

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,”

IV. Together

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

A. Who are we together?

“For where two or three are gathered”

B. What is our mission (you in your community and we in ours)?

“Together in my name,”

C. Why should we join together (you in your community and we in ours)?

“There am I in the midst of them.”

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)

Conclusion

Ah but hear what Jesus, what our Savior saith:

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13)

Do you see? He did not say that you might be the salt. He did not say that you should or could be “the salt of the earth.” He said, “Ye are!” “Ye are the salt!” You were meant to salt “the earth!” But you cannot. You cannot… because you “have lost [your] savour.”

Tasteless! Useless! Worthless! Dead! “Dead in tresspasses and sins!” (Ephesians 2:1) “Thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13, the second half of the verse)

Who could save you? No one can! No Superman, Iron Man, Wolverine or Hulk. All of them are fake and phony and false: inventions from the mind and heart of man, and they will do nothing for you on the Day of Judgement when you stand before God.

Last night and today, we pray for the family of Chadwick Boseman, the man who portrayed my favorite comic book character, the Black Panther. We mourn the loss of him, here on Earth. My son and I sat mourning together last night, silently, when we learned of his passing. My son prayed for his family to be comforted by God, and then led me in an even more important prayer for the world to see the emptiness of life contrasted with the fullness of salvation found in Christ only; in Jesus Christ alone.

But you… You are already “dead.” “Thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Dead! “Dead in trespasses and sins.”

And yet… it is written, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

“Quickened.” Quickened? That means to be given life. Like a dead corpse sitting up from a table: then standing up, walking away; risen from the dead. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

“And you hath he quickened.” Who is “he?” He is Jesus! He is the only “Savior of the World!” (1 John 4:14) He is the one, the only one of whom it was prophesied 700 years before he was born that…

“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. … he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession [prayed, stood in the gap, made a way of escape] for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:11-12)

OUTLINE:

Dear House Church, Please Connect With Us!

We are the S.A.L.T. We are the Savior’s Ambassadors Laboring Together.

Savior’s – “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)

Ambassadors – “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Laboring – “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Together – “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

We are the S.A.L.T. We are the Savior’s Ambassadors Laboring Together; and…

You are not alone!

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

(Psalm 34:3)

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

“Let us exalt his name together!”

“Exalt his name… together!”

WORSHIP:

Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul (0)

Opening:

Have You Any Room for Jesus (308)