WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.300 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:37.990 Lifehouse Church. just by getting all of us to 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:40.590 stand. And I want to go to prayer one more time. 00:00:40.649 --> 00:00:43.049 If I could just get you to stand one more time. 00:00:43.909 --> 00:00:47.310 I'd feel very remiss if we didn't pray for those 00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:50.670 who are in Texas. You've been watching the news. 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:53.509 You've seen the news. I checked the report this 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:55.969 morning. And as of this morning, there are 51 00:00:55.969 --> 00:00:59.369 that have passed away, 28 adults, 15 children 00:00:59.369 --> 00:01:01.770 in the flash floods that have taken place in 00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:04.909 Texas. And there are dozens that are still missing. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:07.819 And Dixie and I have been watching reports throughout 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.560 the week, and our hearts break every time we 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.620 watch it. We can't imagine what the families 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:15.099 are going through there. So we need to pray for 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:17.260 those families. Amen. We need to do that this 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:19.439 morning. So if you'd bow and just pray. Father, 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.480 we come before you grateful, thankful that we 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:23.859 can call on you. And, Lord, we bring brothers 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:27.620 and sisters and families. God, we bring them 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:29.920 before you. God, they're suffering right now. 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:33.459 They've had tremendous loss in Texas from these 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:36.709 flash floods. hearts are broken. God, lives are 00:01:36.709 --> 00:01:39.310 shattered. And Lord, hundreds and thousands of 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:41.870 people are grieving this morning. So Lord, we 00:01:41.870 --> 00:01:43.730 ask that you would be with them. And Lord, if 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:47.129 there's those there who don't know you, let them 00:01:47.129 --> 00:01:49.450 look to you, God, as the only hope, because you 00:01:49.450 --> 00:01:51.930 are, Lord, in their lives. And Lord, as they're 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:55.870 in this time, in this moment of deep grief, deep 00:01:55.870 --> 00:01:59.310 sadness, surround them, Lord. God, move upon 00:01:59.310 --> 00:02:01.469 them with your spirit that they might know that 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:04.329 you're there and walk through these hours, these 00:02:04.329 --> 00:02:06.250 days, and these weeks. And Lord, we'll just give 00:02:06.250 --> 00:02:08.909 you praise and glory in Jesus' name. And amen. 00:02:09.449 --> 00:02:12.270 Amen. Thank you. Pray for them each week. If 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:14.490 you may be seated this morning. Throughout the 00:02:14.490 --> 00:02:19.050 week, just continue to pray for those folks that 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:23.140 are stepping through in the state of Texas. Well, 00:02:23.140 --> 00:02:25.780 I am starting a new message series this morning 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:30.280 called Salty. Say salty. Salty. Salty, yes. And 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:32.159 I'm going to do something a little bit risky. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:34.860 I'm going to start off giving you a statistic. 00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:37.419 And how many know half of you go to sleep as 00:02:37.419 --> 00:02:40.120 soon as you hear the word statistic, right? So 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:42.360 you're like, that's why I'm only going to give 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:44.439 you one. But I want you to hear what I'm about 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:47.139 to say because this should matter. This should 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:49.120 get a hold of us. This should grab us. This should 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:53.729 move us. And it's this. 90 % of Christians have 00:02:53.729 --> 00:03:01.370 never told someone else about Jesus. 90%. Nine 00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:04.750 out of 10 people who say they follow Jesus as 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:08.810 Lord and Savior have never whispered his name 00:03:08.810 --> 00:03:12.300 to someone else. Nine out of 10 have never told 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:14.740 another human being on the face of the planet 00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:17.060 about the one who saved their lives, about the 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:20.139 one who raised them from the dead, who gave them 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:23.780 a future, rescued them from hell, have never 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:28.060 said the name of Jesus to someone else. 90 % 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:31.419 of us who claim that Jesus is our Lord and Savior 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:36.900 have never told another person about him. 90 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:41.439 % of us. As soon as I heard, that statistic, 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:44.900 Scripture began to run through my mind. As I 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:48.740 began to look in God's Word, and I hate to start 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:51.900 this message series off super heavy, but this 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:55.199 is a heavy thing. And what God says in Mark 8, 00:03:55.259 --> 00:04:01.460 34, when Jesus speaks, and Zach, he quoted some 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:03.259 of the Scripture I'm going to use today, this 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:05.319 morning, and him and I haven't talked, but you 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:08.620 got to hear this. portion of scripture and listen 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:12.580 to what's being said in light of 90 % of us never 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:16.620 telling anyone else about Jesus. Mark 8 34 says 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.879 this, when he had called the people to himself 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.959 with his disciples also, he said to them, whoever 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:25.100 desires to come after me, let him deny himself 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:28.379 and take up his cross and follow me. Whoever 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:31.089 desires to save his life will lose it. but whoever 00:04:31.089 --> 00:04:33.730 loses his life for my sake and the gospel will 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:36.329 save it. For what will it profit a man if he 00:04:36.329 --> 00:04:39.569 gains the whole world and loses his own soul? 00:04:39.889 --> 00:04:43.509 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 00:04:43.949 --> 00:04:46.089 Now listen to this next verse. This one should 00:04:46.089 --> 00:04:49.230 grab us. For whoever is ashamed of me, in my 00:04:49.230 --> 00:04:51.930 words, in this adulterous and sinful generation 00:04:51.930 --> 00:04:56.250 of him, the son of man also will be ashamed when 00:04:56.250 --> 00:04:59.009 he comes in the glory, comes in the glory of 00:04:59.009 --> 00:05:03.339 his father. with the holy angels. If I'm ashamed 00:05:03.339 --> 00:05:08.480 to speak Jesus' name now, Jesus will be ashamed 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.720 of my name one day when he comes in his glory 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.660 and returns to this earth as he's in the halls 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:17.839 of heaven. If I'm ashamed of Jesus' name now, 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:21.920 he'll be ashamed of my name in the future, right? 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:24.620 This is a place in scripture where we need to 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:28.370 stop and gulp. We need to gasp. We need to get 00:05:28.370 --> 00:05:31.149 just a little bit nervous, right? We need to 00:05:31.149 --> 00:05:34.629 take serious pause at this portion of Scripture. 00:05:34.990 --> 00:05:37.649 And we've got to stop and ask ourselves, what 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:40.689 in the world are we doing, right? What are we 00:05:40.689 --> 00:05:44.350 doing? What are we not doing in the kingdom? 00:05:44.589 --> 00:05:47.550 And I pondered this thought, and I had to remind 00:05:47.550 --> 00:05:51.089 myself of this thing, you know, that's in Scripture. 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:55.529 And I reminded myself also as I was looking at 00:05:55.529 --> 00:05:58.420 this, and I want to remind you, We need to see 00:05:58.420 --> 00:06:01.500 the big picture in God's kingdom. Take a look 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:03.540 around you right now. Take a quick look around 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:06.300 360. Just go ahead. Go ahead and turn your head 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:07.620 and stare at the person behind you. Just do it 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:09.959 awkwardly, all right? Just go ahead and take 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.819 a peek at them, all right? But here's the thing. 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:14.860 All of these things that we see around us, this 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:17.720 beautiful sanctuary, the drums, all the things 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:20.439 around us, the sound system, if we're in our 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:22.660 homes, our homes, all those things are temporary, 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:25.850 right? All those things are fleeting. All those 00:06:25.850 --> 00:06:28.490 things have to do with this life, which at best 00:06:28.490 --> 00:06:32.709 might run you 80, 90, if you're very fortunate, 00:06:32.850 --> 00:06:37.110 100 years, which is so small in comparison to 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:40.269 all of eternity, to all the time that we're going 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:43.889 to spend, which will be endless in the next life, 00:06:44.089 --> 00:06:48.129 right? And everything I do now has to do with 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:52.920 that time. And speaking the name of Jesus translates 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:55.699 to what Jesus is going to, how he's going to 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:58.899 speak my name in the future. And if we're ashamed 00:06:58.899 --> 00:07:02.139 of him now, he'll be ashamed of us in that kingdom. 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:05.420 If we're ashamed in this temporary place, right, 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.259 this temporary time, with all these temporary 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:12.439 things around us, he'll be ashamed of us in eternity. 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:16.259 That should shake us. That should get us nervous. 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:19.120 That should haunt me, right? It really should. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:22.600 It should haunt us. And Jesus was so clear when 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.139 he said it, right? He said, for whoever is ashamed 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:27.300 of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:29.879 generation, of him the son of man will also be 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.620 ashamed when he comes in his glory of his father 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:36.699 with the holy angels. The whole idea behind this 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:39.959 message series called Salty is that we are going 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:43.300 to unashamedly speak the name of Jesus in our 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:46.670 generation. Amen? Are you with me? We're gonna 00:07:46.670 --> 00:07:49.370 change the statistic in this church. We're gonna 00:07:49.370 --> 00:07:52.189 shift things, right? We're gonna unashamedly 00:07:52.189 --> 00:07:55.269 speak the name of Jesus in the house of God, 00:07:55.350 --> 00:07:57.850 and we're gonna speak the name of Jesus outside 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:00.529 the house of God. We're gonna unashamedly proclaim 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:04.110 the name of Jesus in every place that we go. 00:08:04.750 --> 00:08:07.490 And if I can be completely honest this morning, 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:10.949 I personally need to improve in this area of 00:08:10.949 --> 00:08:13.529 my life. Okay, is it okay to be honest? Amen. 00:08:14.089 --> 00:08:15.290 How many of you should be honest in the house 00:08:15.290 --> 00:08:19.430 of God, right? This week, I blew it completely. 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:22.790 I was at a coffee shop. I go to a coffee shop, 00:08:22.870 --> 00:08:25.209 the Crackpot, you should visit. A little plug 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:29.269 there. I was at the Crackpot this week and I 00:08:29.269 --> 00:08:31.189 left the Crackpot and I go there sometimes to 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.870 study or read and just to get away in that setting. 00:08:34.029 --> 00:08:36.330 And I walked out of this place and simultaneously, 00:08:36.350 --> 00:08:37.909 I don't know if you've ever gone out into the 00:08:37.909 --> 00:08:40.190 street, but simultaneously you kind of run into 00:08:40.190 --> 00:08:41.769 a person that's walking the same direction as 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:44.710 you. And this young man was walking the exact 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:46.750 same direction I was heading back to my vehicle. 00:08:46.970 --> 00:08:48.909 And he's walking right beside me. And it was 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:50.250 kind of awkward because we didn't know each other, 00:08:50.330 --> 00:08:51.929 right? So I just, of course, said something. 00:08:51.970 --> 00:08:53.570 I was like, hey, what's your name? You know, 00:08:53.590 --> 00:08:55.129 and he said, Jared. And I said, well, my name's 00:08:55.129 --> 00:08:56.990 Kip. It's nice to meet you. I'm just heading 00:08:56.990 --> 00:08:59.049 towards my car. You know, I said, you know, I 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:02.309 just started some small talk going back and forth 00:09:02.309 --> 00:09:04.370 with him. And we're walking the whole way down 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:07.320 this street. And we get to the end of the street 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:10.039 where we got to split off and go different directions. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.299 And I said, it's nice to see you, Jared. It was 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:14.759 nice to meet you. And I walked this way and cut 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:17.259 across the street, and he headed straight on 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.639 down the street. And I didn't get more than across 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:22.480 the street, and I realized I didn't say one thing 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.980 about the Lord Jesus Christ to this young man. 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.539 I had a golden opportunity. The conversation 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.000 was such that I could have interjected just the 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.419 smallest of things. I could have just said, man, 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.360 didn't the Lord give us a great, beautiful day 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.950 today? Wasn't it awesome? Look what Jesus did. 00:09:37.370 --> 00:09:40.169 I didn't say one thing. And as soon as I got 00:09:40.169 --> 00:09:42.830 across the street, I felt it in my spirit. How 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:45.330 many of you just know when you blow it? You know, 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:47.710 when God gives you a golden opportunity and you 00:09:47.710 --> 00:09:50.309 just completely blow it. And I knew it, you know, 00:09:50.309 --> 00:09:52.909 and I held my head low and shamelessly walked 00:09:52.909 --> 00:09:55.210 the rest of the way to my vehicle. I didn't, 00:09:55.210 --> 00:09:57.129 I should have ran back maybe. I don't know, jog 00:09:57.129 --> 00:09:59.070 back. I mean, that would have been awkward, right? 00:10:00.009 --> 00:10:05.350 But I had zero impact, zero eternal impact on 00:10:05.350 --> 00:10:08.509 Jared's life in that moment. Anybody could have 00:10:08.509 --> 00:10:10.049 come up and said, hey, how's the weather, right? 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:14.049 How's it going? I didn't pray for Jared. I didn't 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:16.350 offer to pray for Jared. I didn't do any of those 00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:19.830 things. Why didn't I say something? Why didn't 00:10:19.830 --> 00:10:24.029 I do something? You know, and as I thought about 00:10:24.029 --> 00:10:27.289 this. Oh, failed this week on my part. I thought 00:10:27.289 --> 00:10:29.230 about something else that took place in my life 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:31.669 way back in the eighth grade. How many of you 00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:34.320 remember the eighth grade? Yeah, about six of 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:36.980 you, okay? I remember the eighth grade, and I 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:39.379 remember being in a cafeteria at my high school, 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.620 and I was sitting beside a good friend of mine 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:44.019 who was named Darren, and Darren and I were just 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:45.600 eating lunch. We were just chatting it up like 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:47.559 we always do, and Darren was kind of like me. 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:49.899 I was a quiet kid, believe it or not, and so 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:51.820 was he, and we were just hanging out there, and 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:53.659 our eighth grade in the public school system 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:56.059 where I was at has just about what every eighth 00:10:56.059 --> 00:10:58.220 grade public school system has, and that's a 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:01.210 bully, amen? There was this one kid. How many 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:03.250 know there's always the one kid? And there was 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:05.230 this one guy and his name, our bully's name was 00:11:05.230 --> 00:11:07.850 Harry. And Harry liked to bully people. And I 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:10.710 remember in that particular lunch, one, you know, 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:12.269 as we were sitting there just eating, minding 00:11:12.269 --> 00:11:14.730 our own business, Harry decided to pick up a 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:16.830 tray of food, bring it over. And he did this 00:11:16.830 --> 00:11:18.830 kind of stuff just to get attention. He came 00:11:18.830 --> 00:11:21.710 over and he dumped the entire tray of food on 00:11:21.710 --> 00:11:24.690 my friend's lap. Just dumped it on him. Of course, 00:11:24.750 --> 00:11:27.090 you know, the whole cafeteria erupts and something 00:11:27.090 --> 00:11:30.440 like that takes place. And I remember how I felt. 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:33.379 I remember the anger that welled up inside of 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:35.500 me. I remember thinking, I need to do something. 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:38.279 I need to say something. And you know what I 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:43.200 did? I sat there. I didn't do anything. Darren 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.559 didn't do anything. We just kind of froze in 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.639 place. And I remember walking out of there thinking, 00:11:49.779 --> 00:11:52.940 I don't ever want to do that again. I don't ever 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:55.639 want to be the one who sits and just doesn't 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.950 say anything. I don't want to be the one that 00:11:58.950 --> 00:12:02.710 never does anything. When an injustice takes 00:12:02.710 --> 00:12:04.629 place, when somebody needs to hear about God, 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:08.649 I don't want to be that guy. Jesus is the greatest 00:12:08.649 --> 00:12:11.769 name that will ever fall out of these lips. Amen? 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:15.649 It's true. Jesus is the name that moves heaven 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:19.129 and earth. Jesus is the only name whereby men 00:12:19.129 --> 00:12:22.850 and women can be saved. Jesus is the only name 00:12:22.850 --> 00:12:26.509 that will rescue anybody from death, hell, and 00:12:26.509 --> 00:12:30.269 the grave. Jesus is the only name that holds 00:12:30.269 --> 00:12:35.049 power. And Jesus is the only name that everyone 00:12:35.049 --> 00:12:38.690 you bump into needs to hear. They don't need 00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:42.029 to know my name. Amen. They don't need to know 00:12:42.029 --> 00:12:44.450 your name. They don't need to hang their hopes 00:12:44.450 --> 00:12:47.570 on some politician's name. They don't need to 00:12:47.570 --> 00:12:52.269 hang their hopes and dreams on a sports figure's 00:12:52.269 --> 00:12:56.230 name. They need his name. They need to hear Jesus. 00:12:57.210 --> 00:13:01.250 So this message series is all about being salty. 00:13:02.129 --> 00:13:05.509 We're going to be salt for Jesus. We're going 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:10.490 to bring people to Jesus by becoming salty. Turn 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:11.750 to somebody and tell them, I'm going to be salty. 00:13:12.110 --> 00:13:14.029 I know you don't even know what it means. Say 00:13:14.029 --> 00:13:16.470 it anyway. I'm going to be salty. I'm going to 00:13:16.470 --> 00:13:19.190 be salty, right? You're saying it in faith. You're 00:13:19.190 --> 00:13:20.450 like, well, I don't even know what that means 00:13:20.450 --> 00:13:24.830 yet, right? Jesus said this in Matthew 5, verse 00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:30.370 13. He said, you are the salt of the earth. You 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:32.509 are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has 00:13:32.509 --> 00:13:35.289 lost its taste, how shall the saltiness be restored? 00:13:35.570 --> 00:13:38.210 It is no longer good for anything except to be 00:13:38.210 --> 00:13:41.399 thrown out. and trampled under people's feet. 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:45.220 Jesus was talking to his disciples. He was talking 00:13:45.220 --> 00:13:47.779 to those who futuristically would follow him, 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.860 right? Anybody who professes the name of Christ 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:52.940 and says that Jesus is my Lord and said, and 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:55.639 he said, you're gonna be the salt of the earth. 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:57.899 He didn't say you're gonna act a little bit like 00:13:57.899 --> 00:14:00.159 salt. He didn't say you're gonna have some attributes 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.679 of salt. He didn't say you're gonna have, you 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:04.840 know, it wasn't just this cute analogy that he 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:06.980 was bringing just to drive a little point home. 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:11.080 He said, you're gonna be the salt. And Jesus' 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:14.659 analogy that he used for salt, he did it for 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:17.320 good reasons. Because salt is a substance that 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:20.879 is used virtually around the globe and every 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:24.759 place around the globe and almost every single 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:28.720 day. Actually, daily. Right? It really is. Salt 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:32.980 is used daily in almost every household. Right? 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.779 My guess is, my guess is this. If I came to visit 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:39.259 your house today unexpectedly, How many know 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:42.279 that would be fun? People love when the pastor 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:45.000 shows up unexpectedly, right? But if I showed 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.740 up at your house unexpectedly, you got home, 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:50.220 we dismissed from church, you went home, you 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:52.620 got in your house, you put on your favorite pair 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:54.340 of shorts, your favorite pair of sweatpants, 00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:57.139 whatever it is, right? Pajamas, because you aren't 00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:59.220 going anywhere for the rest of the day, right? 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:01.799 And you're in your PJs and you're making pancakes 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.419 and sausage, right, for lunch. And all of a sudden... 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:09.440 on the door, right? And there I am. Surprise, 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:15.659 right? Now, if you let me in the door, if you 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:17.899 happen to let me in the door and you would allow 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:20.519 me to wander around your kitchen, your pantry, 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.080 your dining room somewhere, do you know one of 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:25.919 the things that I would probably find? Salt. 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:30.220 I'd find salt. If I looked around, let me ask 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.100 a question. Let's do a survey just so I'm not... 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:34.700 Telling untruths up here. How many of you have 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:37.659 salt in your house? Raise your hand. Look at 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:41.000 that, right? You got salt somewhere in your house. 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:43.080 I'm coming for lunch, all right? Just be ready, 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:47.980 right? You have salt. What am I saying? Jesus 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.500 said you're the salt of the earth. Jesus said 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:53.279 you're going to be everywhere, right? It's going 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.759 to be a daily thing. You're going to show up 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:58.559 daily in different places and in different spaces 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.899 and in different corners of the globe. And God's 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.899 got uses for salt. He's going to use you in some 00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:07.639 way in those places and spaces. Do you know how 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:10.240 many different uses there are for salt? Can I 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.559 give you just a couple of them? Flavoring, for 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.179 one. Food preservation. Brining. Baking, pickling, 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.360 cleaning, de -icing, water softening, countless 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:25.200 industrial processes use salt. Personal care, 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:29.019 medicinal reasons, right? Insect repellent. You 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:32.159 can extinguish a fire with salt. Next time there's 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:33.659 a fire in your house, get the salt shaker out, 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:36.940 right? Stain removal. It goes on and on. You 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:39.539 can go to any restaurant in Carlisle, walk in, 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:40.820 and what's going to be sitting on the table? 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:44.820 Salt, right? Salt and pepper shaker. Well, unless 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:47.259 you go to one of those really expensive restaurants 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:49.259 that give you a little tiny food. I don't know 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:51.440 why they don't put salt and pepper on the tables, 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:53.879 right? But if you go anywhere else, you're going 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:58.519 to find salt and pepper. Jesus said, you're going 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:02.610 to show up. My point is this, that salt is everywhere. 00:17:02.789 --> 00:17:06.349 It is in everything. If you eat, right, we salt 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:08.390 our natural food, and how many know what's in 00:17:08.390 --> 00:17:11.509 the processed food? Amen? Sodium, tons of sodium, 00:17:11.630 --> 00:17:16.970 right? It's used. It shows up daily. Say daily. 00:17:17.849 --> 00:17:23.430 You almost can't get away from salt. And Jesus 00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:26.740 looked at his disciples. And he looked futuristically 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:30.599 to us, right? And he said, you're my salt. You're 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:33.420 salt. You're going to be salt for me. You're 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:35.339 going to show up everywhere. You're going to 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:37.299 represent me. You're going to be ambassadors 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:40.799 for me. You're going to spread the gospel wherever 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.319 you go. If you're following Jesus and you call 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:48.559 him Lord and Savior, you're salt. You're salt. 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:52.859 Say it to yourself, I'm salt. I'm salt. Say it 00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:55.210 like you mean it, like you believe it. I'm salt. 00:17:56.789 --> 00:18:01.269 I take Jesus every place my feet travel, right? 00:18:01.950 --> 00:18:05.410 I should be flavoring every environment. These 00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:08.009 are salt. Come on, these are good. I'm going 00:18:08.009 --> 00:18:10.829 to flavor every environment that I get into, 00:18:11.049 --> 00:18:15.890 right? You're salt. And once Jesus drives this 00:18:15.890 --> 00:18:19.369 point home to his disciples, he follows it up 00:18:19.369 --> 00:18:23.289 with some more in verse 14. He says this. After 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:25.289 he gives the untowardment, they're salt. He says, 00:18:25.410 --> 00:18:29.009 you're the light of the world. A city on a hill 00:18:29.009 --> 00:18:32.329 cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:34.190 and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. 00:18:34.390 --> 00:18:36.990 And it gives light to all the house. In the same 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:39.490 way, let your light shine before others so they 00:18:39.490 --> 00:18:42.089 may see your good works and give glory to your 00:18:42.089 --> 00:18:45.890 Father who is in heaven. Our mission as followers 00:18:45.890 --> 00:18:50.150 of Jesus is to be salt and light to the world 00:18:50.150 --> 00:18:54.470 around us. Salt and light to those who are far 00:18:54.470 --> 00:18:57.609 from God, to those who are close to God, at our 00:18:57.609 --> 00:19:02.029 school, at work, at home, wherever you play, 00:19:02.329 --> 00:19:05.710 right? Wherever you go for hobby, wherever your 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:09.269 big feet or little feet take you, right? We're 00:19:09.269 --> 00:19:14.089 to be bright and savory for Jesus. Easy to see 00:19:14.089 --> 00:19:17.430 and favorable on the palate is a good way to 00:19:17.430 --> 00:19:20.279 put it. That's what we're supposed to be. And 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:23.180 what I love about this passage that Jesus gives 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:26.519 when he talks about salt and light, that he gives 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.980 us a formula or he gives us an answer or he gives 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:33.279 us a measuring stick in this passage for how 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.420 bright we should shine and how much salt we should 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:39.410 give. He doesn't leave it to chance. He doesn't 00:19:39.410 --> 00:19:41.750 leave it up for our interpretation, right, of 00:19:41.750 --> 00:19:44.170 how brightly I should shine for him or how salty 00:19:44.170 --> 00:19:46.809 I should be. As a matter of fact, he says the 00:19:46.809 --> 00:19:49.210 combination needs to be just right. And if it's 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:51.609 just right, this is what it's going to look like. 00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:53.809 He says, in the same way, let your light shine 00:19:53.809 --> 00:19:55.769 before others so that they may see your good 00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:59.250 works and give glory to your fathers in heaven. 00:20:00.029 --> 00:20:03.690 Jesus said the combination of light and salt. 00:20:04.190 --> 00:20:06.910 should be so mixed that someone, when they have 00:20:06.910 --> 00:20:09.569 ears to hear it and eyes to see it, right, and 00:20:09.569 --> 00:20:12.430 they experience the flavor of God in you, that 00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:16.529 it causes them to look right past you and give 00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:21.069 glory to God. Amen? That's the right combination 00:20:21.069 --> 00:20:23.650 with all this. And if it looks like anything 00:20:23.650 --> 00:20:27.289 else, if it appears, if your light and salt that 00:20:27.289 --> 00:20:29.369 you're shining for Jesus appears as anything 00:20:29.369 --> 00:20:32.630 else, the mixture's not right. It's off, right? 00:20:35.280 --> 00:20:38.059 And here's what some of that means. And I don't 00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:39.700 know if you've ever experienced this. And if 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:42.279 you did, you should say good hearty amen. How 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:44.420 many of you have ever ran into an obnoxious Christian? 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:49.200 Oh, a couple of you have, right? Go ahead. It's 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.460 okay to say amen. Don't look at anybody, but 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.920 you can say amen. How many of you have ran into 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:56.859 an obnoxious Christian? All right. All right. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:59.119 You guys are so nice. You don't want to say anything. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:03.039 Right? Do you ever meet an obnoxious Christian? 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.119 They're just obnoxious with their faith, right? 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:10.640 They got the light and the salt portion all out 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.140 of whack, right? And they're just all over you. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:15.819 Sometimes they don't even see you. They're just 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.140 up in your grill. They're up doing whatever they 00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:21.460 gotta do, right? And they just like, they kind 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.579 of explode. How many know they spiritually barf 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:25.119 all over you and then they just keep on moving? 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:27.500 Anybody know what I'm talking about? You ever 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:29.890 meet someone like that? Yeah, they'll just spiritually 00:21:29.890 --> 00:21:32.410 barf on you, and then they'll just keep on trucking, 00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:35.069 right? Glory to God. That's what they're doing, 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:39.029 right? Or you can meet the person that kind of, 00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:41.450 you know, is burning for Jesus, and they're burning 00:21:41.450 --> 00:21:43.650 so hot, they just want to burn you in two, right? 00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:46.730 There's that person, right? And then there's 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:48.490 other times that you can meet people that are 00:21:48.490 --> 00:21:51.369 salt and light for Jesus, and it's so weak, you're 00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:54.450 not even sure they're a Christian. You meet them, 00:21:54.450 --> 00:21:56.609 and you're like, you ever have somebody walk 00:21:56.609 --> 00:21:59.109 away, and you're like, I think they know Jesus. 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:05.210 I think. I'm not sure, but they kind of talk 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:09.910 like it, right? Years ago. had this really short 00:22:09.910 --> 00:22:12.250 stint and season in Amway. I don't know how many 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:14.670 of you know what Amway is, right? And there was 00:22:14.670 --> 00:22:17.210 this guy who used to come to my house from Amway 00:22:17.210 --> 00:22:19.970 and the guy was always, and he knew I was a Christian. 00:22:20.009 --> 00:22:22.109 So he like would try to quote scripture to me 00:22:22.109 --> 00:22:24.250 and he'd always messed it up, by the way. You 00:22:24.250 --> 00:22:26.089 know, it was never quite right. And he would 00:22:26.089 --> 00:22:27.750 only do it at certain points in time. And I'm 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:29.950 like, I don't know if this guy's a Christian 00:22:29.950 --> 00:22:31.190 or not, if he's just trying to get me to sell 00:22:31.190 --> 00:22:34.569 something. It was that kind of thing. It was 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:37.509 all out of balance. To this day, I'm not sure 00:22:37.509 --> 00:22:38.910 if the guy was a believer or not. I couldn't 00:22:38.910 --> 00:22:43.170 quite figure it out. Or if the salt and light 00:22:43.170 --> 00:22:47.630 highlights me and not Jesus. Me, me, me, me, 00:22:47.750 --> 00:22:51.109 right? False humility. Look at me, look at me, 00:22:51.150 --> 00:22:54.130 look at me. Oh yeah, here's Jesus too. Right? 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:57.430 You can't get lopsided in this salt and light 00:22:57.430 --> 00:23:00.299 thing. You can have so much light and it's warm 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:03.039 and fuzzy and you never get any salt in the mix. 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:05.160 Or you can have so much salt, you never get any 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.640 light, right? It's all just kind of frying them 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.319 the whole way. Jesus said we're going to be light 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.119 and we're going to be salt for him. And the mixture 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:15.519 has to be just right. And when you know it's 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:19.660 right is when you tell someone about Jesus or 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:21.799 you mention the name of Jesus. You know it's 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:23.480 just right when they kind of look right past 00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:25.539 you, right? It just deflects right off you and 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:28.759 goes right to him. All the glory doesn't go to 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.940 you. It just goes right to him. It bypasses us 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:35.500 and it heads right to the Lord and Savior. And 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:37.259 I wanted to give you a little physical example 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:39.279 of this this morning. So I got a volunteer. Sean, 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:40.920 thanks for coming. Give Sean a hand. Come on. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:46.579 All right. Yeah, this is Barefoot Sean. And I 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:48.599 asked Sean to come up here today because his 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:52.059 feet are dirty. Okay. He kind of came into church 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:54.359 with cruddy feet. I won't tell you who told me 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:56.519 that. No, actually, nobody told me that. All 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:00.599 right. And so today I want to wash Sean's feet. 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:02.480 All right. So, Sean, if you just put your feet 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:03.940 in there. Now, how many know this is a biblical 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:06.940 thing, right? Jesus washed the disciples' feet. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:09.339 He went and washed his feet. He was trying to 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:11.140 teach them servanthood. He was trying to teach 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:13.299 them what it is to serve. So I'm going to wash 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:15.200 your feet just a little bit. They are actually 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:16.819 clean. I was just messing with them. All right. 00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:20.660 All right. All right. Thank you. All right. Now, 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.809 so what if you do this for somebody? What if 00:24:23.809 --> 00:24:25.789 you go and wash their feet? Now, I know some 00:24:25.789 --> 00:24:26.930 of you are thinking, well, if I go into somebody's 00:24:26.930 --> 00:24:28.009 house and wash their feet, they're going to think 00:24:28.009 --> 00:24:30.750 I'm weird, right? They're going to think I'm 00:24:30.750 --> 00:24:34.349 strange. And that would probably be true, right? 00:24:35.009 --> 00:24:36.890 I'm going to actually take your feet out. Got 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:38.410 them good and cleaner than they already were, 00:24:38.549 --> 00:24:41.269 right? I'll let you dry them off. I'm going to 00:24:41.269 --> 00:24:47.809 dry those for you. Now, what if, what if I said, 00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:52.579 Sean, I want to wash your feet today. and I wash 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:56.240 Sean's feet, and I never say one word about Jesus. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.720 I never tell him why I want to wash his feet, 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:02.000 because how many know I personally just won't 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.279 go around washing someone's feet? I won't do 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:07.599 it. I probably would never say, hey, can I wash 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:11.980 your feet? Except Jesus did. And Jesus taught 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:14.339 us to wash one another's feet, and we're to serve 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:16.339 one another, and the Word of God tells us that, 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:20.039 right? So if I didn't tell him that and his feet 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:21.759 were actually dirty, he's like, oh, cool. You 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:23.920 know, you washed my feet. Guess who gets the 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:30.680 glory? Me. Right? That's not what salt and light. 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.140 If I wash his feet, I need to tell him why. And 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:36.660 it's not because of me. It's because of him. 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:40.359 It's because of what Jesus did for me. It's because 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:43.019 Jesus washed my feet and he served me. Thank 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:50.180 you. Would you give him a hand? Outreach, getting 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:52.500 out into our community, being salt and light. 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:57.940 Outreach equals prayer plus hands and feet plus 00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:02.160 gospel, okay? Outreach equals, if you're going 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:03.259 to reach somebody, if you're going to be salt 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:06.440 and light, it is prayer. You need to pray that 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:08.980 the Holy Spirit goes ahead of you, prepares somebody's 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:11.720 heart, gets them ready. Then you go hands and 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.339 feet. You go serve. You do whatever you need 00:26:14.339 --> 00:26:16.140 to do to reach somebody. Sometimes that's going 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:17.960 to be a conversation. Sometimes that's going 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:19.640 to be going and helping them clean up their backyard. 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:21.619 Sometimes it's going to look a thousand different 00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:24.400 ways, right? You go and you meet them hands and 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:27.440 feet, and then you share the gospel. You cannot 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.200 leave out the gospel. We cannot leave out the 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.680 name. of Christ. We cannot push him off to the 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:34.640 side and take on the glory because that's what 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:36.799 it is, right? If we're just going and serving 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:39.380 him, we never breathe the name of Jesus in all 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:44.640 of it. All the glory goes to us. It should deflect 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:48.000 right off us and go right past to Jesus. They 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.259 should know the only reason I'm here is because 00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:54.200 the one who saved me, I'm in the same boat. Don't 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:57.000 look at me, right? I got nothing. How many know 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:01.329 I got nothing? I got nothing. It's all It's all 00:27:01.329 --> 00:27:05.170 him. It's the worship team would come. Jesus 00:27:05.170 --> 00:27:10.710 said this, that the right combination of salt 00:27:10.710 --> 00:27:15.630 and light, his salt, his light, will produce 00:27:15.630 --> 00:27:20.450 a response that points right back to him. It 00:27:20.450 --> 00:27:23.769 reminded me of a story that I read. This story 00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:26.410 is actually quite old. It's from over 25 years 00:27:26.410 --> 00:27:28.450 ago, but it drives home this idea of salt and 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:32.039 light. In the days leading up to 9 -11, fighting 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.720 in Afghanistan between local groups and the Taliban 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:37.240 resulted in thousands of refugees pouring down 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:41.380 into the neighboring Peshawar, Pakistan. There 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:43.920 they were squished into tents and mud hovels, 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:47.220 in refugee camps and in tents and poor sanitation. 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:51.220 Jay Dudley Woodbury and his wife Roberta were 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:54.839 working in the refugee camps at that time. Woodbury 00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:57.339 described what happened in the camps. And in 00:27:57.339 --> 00:27:59.180 one of the camps in particular where conditions 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:02.799 were very harsh, more so than the others, Roberta 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.559 and her class took school supplies to the students. 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:09.920 They also had brought blankets for these children. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.519 And another group of aid workers imported thousands 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:15.039 of sandals for the children who ran around in 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.180 their bare feet on the rough, parched ground. 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:20.799 They decided that they would also wash their 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:24.670 feet as Jesus had. Now Dudley goes on to say, 00:28:24.750 --> 00:28:27.470 my daughter -in -law joined the group. And for 00:28:27.470 --> 00:28:31.430 a solid week, they washed every foot with antibacterial 00:28:31.430 --> 00:28:35.269 soap, anointed with oil, and quietly prayed for 00:28:35.269 --> 00:28:37.710 the child. And then they gave each of them a 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:42.230 pair of sandals, a quilt, a shawl, plus a small 00:28:42.230 --> 00:28:45.910 bag of flour for every family. At first, the 00:28:45.910 --> 00:28:50.329 sores and the pus from the infection, the pink 00:28:50.329 --> 00:28:53.779 eye, the smell. and the dirt were revolting. 00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:56.619 But then our daughter -in -law felt a deep love 00:28:56.619 --> 00:28:59.660 as she prayed, Dear Father, this little girl 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:02.160 looks like she does not have anyone to care for 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:06.140 her. Let my touch feel to her as if it was your 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:09.720 touch to her. May she remember how you touched 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:13.039 her this day, and may she see you hereafter. 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:15.940 Thank you for those who seek you because they 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:20.200 will find you. Sometime later, A teacher in one 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:23.359 of the tents used for the refugee school asked 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:25.240 her class where one of these little girls were 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:29.319 at, who are the best Muslims? A girl raised her 00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:33.339 hand and replied, the Karafs, or I'm sorry, the 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:37.980 Kafirs. That's a term that Muslims use for unbelievers. 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:41.220 They actually use that to label Christians. And 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:43.420 after the teacher recovered from her shock, she 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:46.279 asked why. And the young girl replied, the Muslims 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:50.019 fighters killed my father. but the kefirs washed 00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:56.539 my feet. Deflected to Jesus. This is salt and 00:29:56.539 --> 00:30:00.000 light that points people to Jesus. And honestly, 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:02.759 after I read stories like that, sometimes I don't 00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:06.000 feel very salty in my own life. Sometimes I remember 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.779 back to how I blew it this week, right? Sometimes 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:10.660 my light, how many know I'm about, sometimes 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:13.079 I feel like I'm about a 15 watt bulb and I'm 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:15.420 kind of fading fast, right? That's where we're 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:18.740 at sometimes. But I got to ask myself, how do 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:21.519 I make the right combination of salt and light? 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:24.619 How do I make sure that Jesus is oozing from 00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:29.359 me and somebody else is feeling God and it deflects 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:35.579 right past me and the glory goes to God? And 00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:37.880 if you're writing something down, and you should 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:39.220 be, right? You should be taking notes during 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:41.420 the message. And by the way, we got notebooks 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:44.480 on sale out in the square, all right? Five bucks 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:47.140 for one. 10 bucks for two, and today's special, 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:52.380 I'll give you four for 20. All right? But you 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:55.599 should be writing this down. How do I get it 00:30:55.599 --> 00:31:01.039 right? As I start to move to be salt and light 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:03.339 in the right combination. And I can tell you 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:06.539 that it starts with a decision. It starts with 00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:08.619 a decision. You can softly play if you would. 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:15.009 It starts with a decision. Change always starts 00:31:15.009 --> 00:31:19.410 with a decision. Now, it takes more than a decision. 00:31:19.750 --> 00:31:22.369 How many know you make a decision usually at 00:31:22.369 --> 00:31:24.329 the 1st of January that you're gonna go do something 00:31:24.329 --> 00:31:26.269 that you haven't done all year long, right? We 00:31:26.269 --> 00:31:28.230 call that a New Year's resolution. Do you know 00:31:28.230 --> 00:31:30.690 why most New Year's resolutions fall to the ground? 00:31:31.269 --> 00:31:33.690 By the end, actually by the 19th of January, 00:31:33.930 --> 00:31:36.269 they say that most New Year's resolutions are 00:31:36.269 --> 00:31:38.529 just completely by the wayside. Do you know why 00:31:38.529 --> 00:31:40.630 that is? It's because somebody made a decision, 00:31:40.750 --> 00:31:42.190 but they didn't take the next steps with that 00:31:42.190 --> 00:31:45.150 decision. It takes more than just a decision. 00:31:45.789 --> 00:31:48.710 One, you got to decide, right? We're going to 00:31:48.710 --> 00:31:50.289 decide today. That's what today's all about. 00:31:50.470 --> 00:31:52.470 We're going to get on mission. We're going to 00:31:52.470 --> 00:31:56.049 win one. Say win one. We're going to win one 00:31:56.049 --> 00:31:58.009 for Jesus. We're going to win one for Jesus. 00:31:58.190 --> 00:32:00.349 We're going to personally take responsibility 00:32:00.349 --> 00:32:02.470 and lead someone. We're going to change that 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:05.430 statistic. It's not going to be 90 % in this 00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:07.109 church. It's not going to be 90 % in this house, 00:32:07.230 --> 00:32:09.240 right? We're going to get on mission. By the 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:11.039 way, that's in our mission statement. We exist 00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:13.160 to connect people to Jesus and to each other. 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:15.599 It's the very first part of our statement. You 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:18.380 got to make a decision to do that. But here's 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:21.220 the second step. You got to rely on the Holy 00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:25.259 Spirit. We are people of faith. We are people 00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:28.079 of the Spirit. And we need the Holy Spirit to 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:30.839 guide us, to direct us. If you're going to get 00:32:30.839 --> 00:32:33.140 in a conversation with somebody and you need 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:34.779 the right words, how many know a lot of times 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:36.890 we don't have the right words? We don't always 00:32:36.890 --> 00:32:38.509 know what to say, but the Holy Spirit knows what 00:32:38.509 --> 00:32:42.390 to say. He'll guide you. He'll direct you. Man, 00:32:42.450 --> 00:32:43.589 if you're going to make a New Year's resolution 00:32:43.589 --> 00:32:45.450 to go to the gym, you need to take the Holy Spirit 00:32:45.450 --> 00:32:48.410 with you. Convict me, Lord. Get me to the gym, 00:32:48.549 --> 00:32:51.490 right? Take care of this body. You need the Holy 00:32:51.490 --> 00:32:53.970 Spirit. And then third, you need to implement 00:32:53.970 --> 00:32:56.990 a plan. So you need to make a decision. You need 00:32:56.990 --> 00:32:58.970 to rely on the Holy Spirit, and then you need 00:32:58.970 --> 00:33:02.990 to implement a plan. Salty is the plan. The next 00:33:02.990 --> 00:33:05.309 five messages are going to give you a simple, 00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:09.500 simplistic, easy plan where you can share your 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:12.339 faith with others. I'm going to walk you through 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.680 one week at a time. One week at a time, we're 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:19.180 going to go through. But today is about the decision. 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:34.619 It's about the decision. We pray that you were 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:37.880 impacted powerfully by this message. If you have 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:40.460 been personally affected by our ministry and 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:42.759 you would like to partner with us as we love 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:45.920 God, love people every day, visit our website 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:50.519 at www .lifehousecog .com.