Let's open them up to Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter five. As brother Ronald prayed in his prayer that we ought to be salt and light. And that's the first message in our Sunday school book that I began this study probably six months ago. Maybe even longer because I've been having to miss so many days like every other day. But anyway, I thought about this this morning when I went to work, and I said, you know, the second time around, you remember things that you should have said the first time. You know, that's the thing about trying to be used of God as a teacher. You can study that thing and get an hour's worth of work done, and in 10 minutes, it's all gone when you try to tell somebody. was laid on your heart. So maybe the second time around we'll glean some more of this message about salt and light in the world. In Matthew chapter five, let's look down at verse 13 and we'll read verses 13 through 16. It says, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing. but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. As we think about this tonight, we can realize here that our Lord often used illustrations to teach these great truths. And he tells us in this passage that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And how can we be that? Have you ever thought about the goodness of salt? I mean, you ever tried to eat eggs without salt on it? You have to now. The doctor said, no, no, no, no. My wife used to get on me. She'd pick something, a nice meal. And I hadn't even tasted it yet. I'd grab that salt shaker and start putting it on there. And so it got so bad that she warned me. I accidentally put salt in it. And I think that was just her way of trying to get me to cut back on salt. But man, that makes food taste good. But notice what it says, we are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of men. When we think about salt, it's got many qualities. And the first thing is salt preserves. You know, the goal of preservation is twofold. It's to seal the good and then to shut out the impurities or the decay. You know, back in the day, in Bible times, they didn't have refrigerators. You know, in Nehemiah chapter 13, there was some, he was getting on the folks about selling their goods on the Sabbath day. There in the churchyard. And there were some men from Tiri who would bring fish to Jerusalem and sell them. And of course, when you look on a map, by the way, the crow flies, it's about 100 miles from Tiri to Jerusalem. Now, would you like to be buying some fish that somebody caught and rode on a camel for 100 miles in the Middle Eastern hot sun, and then Buy some fresh fish. You know, you see them signs beside the road on the coast down there. Fresh fish. How fresh you reckon that fish is? Well, they had ways of keeping them preserved. They used the salt out of the Mediterranean Sea. And they packed that salt on it. You know, salt preserves. It has that quality. You know, in the early days of America, settlers used salt to preserve the meat. They didn't have grocery stores. And meat markets, if they wanted meat, they had to go out and kill an animal and dress it or skin it out. But they would rub it thoroughly with salt and hang it over a fire in their smokehouse to dry. And once that smokehouse, that heat got to it, and that salt was all over it, it was just like smoked ham. You know, that little song that Bill Monroe sang. They used to go on the road for days at a time, and his wife would fix up a bunch of ham biscuits. country ham smoked ham biscuits and after a few days the old bread would start molding. And old Bill Monroe said, just throw that bread off of there, that ham don't go bad. You know, and they wrote a song about that and that's kind of how it is with salt. That's how good salt works in order to preserve meat. But think about this, as Christians, God wants us to act as an agent of preservation in this world. We are the salt. of the earth. We live in an evil and corrupt world today. Yet I believe God is mercifully withholding his final judgment because there's still some people who love him and who desire to make a difference for him. Think about Sodom and Gomorrah. Didn't Abraham say, if there's just 10 people, would you not destroy it? He said, if you find me 10 people, it started with 50. but just 10 people, just think about that. We're waiting on the Lord to return. Maybe there's just 10 people left that's still trying to work for the Lord and he is long suffering to that end. We need to be those 10 people. We need to be hundreds of people who have the salt of the earth that the Bible is talking about here. Living righteously before God and help others to be right with God so that there can be more salt in this world. In Roman times, salt was so important from preserving food that soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. And from this came that phrase, a man who is worth his salt. A salty Christian would help to protect himself, his family, and his church from the damaging influences of the world. Salt will help thwart the entrance of sin and compromise that brings about an undesirable change in the life of a believer. You know, many passages command us to guard against the damage of sin. Jesus instructed in Mark chapter nine, he says, have salt in yourselves. And that characteristic he's talking about of that salt is the preservation, to preserve us, to keep us from sin and a life that displeases God. James 1.27, pure religion, And undefiled before God and the Father is this, to keep himself unspotted from the world. Proverbs 4.23, keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Psalms 34.13, keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. 1 Timothy 6.20, keep that which is committed to thy trust. Neither be partaker of other men's sins, keep thyself pure. 1 John 5.21, little children, keep yourselves from idols. If we're the salt of the earth, then that's the example we should be setting. We should be the ones applying salt to those that need to be preserved. And that comes from our actions. But not only does salt preserve, salt purifies. I'll tell this story. It's kind of gross, but it's about broccoli, and I don't eat broccoli anyway. But it says here, a friend once told me about a huge head of broccoli about the size of a soccer ball he cut from his garden. Upon the instructions of his wife, he immersed it in a solution of salt water. Over an hour later, he took the broccoli out of the salt water and rinsed it thoroughly. He was quite surprised to see that about a dozen green worms of various sizes and various stages of death had come out of that broccoli. See, that's what salt did. It purifies. It gets rid of the bad things. Salt water purifies by killing germs. How many of us older folks, when you had a sore throat, did your mama make you gargle in warm salt water? Y'all remember those days? Salt purifies. No matter what we are or where we are and what we're doing, God expects us to have this purifying influence. The spiritual environment ought to be cleaner and more wholesome because we're there. Think about this. What kind of influence do you have on those around you? Are people directed toward God by your presence or are they dragged down? That's a beholden question there. When you walk into a room, does it gain a godlier atmosphere or does the spiritual temperature drop? As Christians, we are purified through time spent with God and his word. And the Bible gives several illustrations of those who fulfilled the purifying role of salt because of their time in God's presence. Remember Moses when he went to see God on the cliff of the rock? And he come down, his face was glowing so bad, or glowing so good, I might say. that the children of Israel said, Moses, put a veil over your face. You've been shining so much, you've been hanging around God. Well, people should see us shining as if we've been around God. Peter and John, they were changed men because of their intimacy with the Lord. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. And they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Think about that. They saw him and they knew they were unlearned and ignorant men. Peter and John, they just old fishermen. Who were they to be preaching? But when they listened to him because of the word and because they had met with Jesus, they marveled. And they could tell by their speech and by their actions that they had been with Jesus. Can others tell that you have been with Jesus? What about the Philippian jailer? You know, jail can be a gloomy and fearful place. So I've heard, I haven't had the privilege yet of being on the county dime. But in the presence of God and the lives of his people, it completely transformed that atmosphere. When Paul and Silas were in jail, that Philippian jailer even got saved. Do you have a purifying and cleansing influence in your daily life? You know, everybody can have a bad day. But I've always heard it said that tomorrow, you'll be a little step closer to God than you were yesterday. And that should be our goal as a Christian, we should be the salt of the earth. You know, think about the the purifying effect that salt has on wounds. We hear that phrase, rubbing salt in the wounds. But in Civil War days, they didn't have the medicine sometimes. And a lot of the wounded soldiers, gangrene was set in. So those doctors, just as soon as they got a wound, they just crammed salt right in there. just to keep the gangrene out so they saved the legs sometimes. Even the days in the English Navy, sailors who'd been beaten because of disobedience, they would have salt rubbed in their open wounds to clean those wounds and speed the healing process. And sometimes they would actually be tied to a rope and hung over this boat and dipping down in the salt water. You know, that was some of their punishment. They beat them so bad, but they do that too to make the wounds, they just give them the heal faster. And even sometimes when the seas were too rough, they would get a barrel of brine salt water and take a rope and dip them down in that. But those were the old days when they didn't have medicines. But that was the purpose of salt, how it purifies. And if we are the salt of the earth, we should have that purifying effect on those around us. Not only does it purify, it also pleases. Without salt, some foods wouldn't taste good at all. Job 6, 6 says this, can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? See, even back in biblical times, they knew you had to have salt on something to eat. But, you know, chefs, these culinary schools turning out these chefs, they know just how to put a pinch of salt and a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make that food taste great. But think about this a minute. Just like salt pleases, God's people are also to please. We can be a great encouragement to others by using our words appropriately. Proverbs 25, 11 says, a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pitchers of silver. 15, 23 says, a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season, how good is it? The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him That is weary. If we are the salt of the earth, we should be able to talk to people like Malcolm in times of grief and be able to say something that's pleasing and to help that grieving process. You know, if we're the salt of the earth, that's our job. When people need a smile and a kind word, can they count on you for that? We've all heard the statement sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. But we all know from personal experience, albeit how false that statement is, words can truly hurt. But words can also be soothing. Words can also be powerful in that respect. You know, Adolf Hitler, he used words in a bad way. You know, he's made all those speeches, we're gonna eradicate the Jews and this, that, and the other, and he created a whole army of people based on his words, but you turn that over, Winston Churchill, before the United States got into it, it was just him against Hitler. And he used words of encouragement to keep his soldiers up. You know, even when times seem hopeless, the words that come out of our mouths are flavored by the condition of our hearts. You understand that? The words that come out of your mouth are flavored by the condition of your heart. If your heart is right with God, then you'll say the right things. Matthew 12, 34 says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And if our hearts are what they ought to be, we will say what we ought to say. The wise in heart shall be called prudent, and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and addeth learning to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones. So there's your salt of the earth. Are you a pleasing soul to someone? And finally, it's about salt. Not only does salt preserve and purify and please, but salt also prods. You heard the saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. So ranchers, they give them blocks of salt, and they feed that to the horse. And after a while, he'll be thirsty, and he'll drink. Farmers with livestock, they provide those salt blocks the same way, 25 or 50 pounds for their animals. They have a natural craving for that salt, but it creates a thirst as well. When the hunters go out and they don't have to walk all over the fields and the woods to find the deer, they just put a block of that salt out there and sit back and wait. Sooner or later, that deer come to that salt. Y'all can throw your corn out now. But that's what it was used back in the day, the deer came to lick the salt and the hunter would get an easy shot. You know, as God's people, though, our saltiness for God attracts others to him. If we have a peace and joy and strength that carries us through all circumstances, others will want what we have. Think about that. Think about the struggles you go through. And you're at peace about it. and you have a joy in your heart and a strength to go through it, that's gonna attract others to God. They're gonna want that. You know, God uses us to create a thirst in them. One who gives them, so that they too can know the one who gives them the living water so that they'll never thirst again. That should be our goal. Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give shall never thirst. Salt. We are the salt of the earth. But not only are we salt, we're also light. We're the light of the world. We don't have our own light. All we are is a reflection of the light. God has placed us in a dark world, and we are to reflect the light of Jesus, who is the light of the world. Jesus spake in John chapter eight, verse 12. He said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The intensity of the darkness around us makes great our responsibility to be bearers and keepers of God's light. You know, light, the first characteristic of light is it attracts. You know, you go to these big ballparks, you got these big lights up there, lighting up the ballpark, you look up there, what do you see? All them flies and bugs, you know, that's what the lights attract. You know, multitudes of insects, they get to watch the game for free. They're attracted to those lights. John Wesley, the preacher, Years ago, he says, I light myself on fire, and people come to watch me burn. They've been truly lights for God. But God tells us to make our lights visible. Let your light so shine before me, and our text says, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. You don't have to live a lifestyle of a monk or a priest or something for your light to shine. You know, the word of God tells us to be in the world, but not of the world. So even in the shoes you're in right now, you can reflect the light of God. Think about that. Like you should be an attraction. First John says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You know, God left us here to be a reflection of his light so that others can be drawn to him. Look at John the Baptist. He said he was a burning and shining light in John 5, 35. Many came to know God through the ministry of John the Baptist. We should have that same attraction to the Lord. John 3.21, but he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. If you reflect the light of God to others, they're not gonna see you. If they do, you'll just be in the background. But the light they're gonna see is God. And we could ask ourselves that question, do people see Jesus in me? If not, you need to shine up a little bit so you can reflect the light a little better. Not only does light attract, but light also repels. You know, before the days of electric lights in Victorian England, the streets were lined with gas lamps. And so men called lamplighters, they had the job of going down each street and lighting that lamp when it come dark so that the streets would be lit up. And then when it come daylight, they had to go back and put the lights out. And they were called lamplighters. And Charles Spurgeon, he observed these lamplighters and said that we Christians are to be the lamplighters for God, poking holes in the darkness of this world. Y'all know what the speed of light is? What, it's like 180,000 feet a second or something? When light comes on, buddy, the darkness flees. And that's what light does, it repels. God commanded us to make a difference in the environment in which he has placed us. Here's another one of them gross stories. It says, one of my college roommates, Rich, told me about the rats that ran rampant in the restaurant where he worked. And anyway, he says, because I grew up in Southern California and had never seen a rat running around our home, I thought this would be a great adventure. So Rich unlocked the back door of the restaurant and threw a piece of cold fried chicken into the corner of the stairwell. And then he waited a few moments. And when he turned on the lights, he said, I almost screamed in horror as I saw rats scurrying from the cover of darkness, you know, running. You know, roaches are the same way. You turn the light on, but if roaches are there, they take off. You know, light should have that repelling effect of darkness. You know, we should attract others to God, but we should also repel the darkness. Christ's light has that power to repel darkness, and he has given us the responsibility to reflect his light. Not only does it attract and repel, but it requires a source. If we're gonna reflect that light, we need to know where it comes from. God himself is that source, but how do we get it? We realize that every good gift, in James chapter one, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness and no shadow of turning, neither shadow of turning. You'll never see anybody cast a shadow on God. He's the source of our light. This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. When we walk with God, we have all the light we need. It's our source. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. Even the Apostle Paul on his conversion on the road to Damascus, the light was so bright it blinded him because that was God's light. When we walk with the Lord, some people will be drawn to the light we reflect, while some is gonna hate it. Light always has the quality of being pleasurable to some and irritating to others. The closer we are to our Heavenly Father, the more we will be like Him. How many times have you been home with your wife and you're in the bed and one of you gets up and turns the light on and the other one says, turn the light off. Think about that a second. Whenever somebody ridicules you because you're a Christian, and you're reflecting the light of Christ, and they reject you, that's the same thing as saying, turn the light off. But usually I'll leave it on for a few more seconds. It is vital then that we understand and that we read and memorize and meditate on the word of God. If we're gonna be the light of the world, We have to use, thus saith the Lord. Memorize it, hide his word in our hearts that we might not sin against him. Thy word is a lamp under my feet and a light under my path. Salt and light, that's who we are. Well, that's all I've got right now. Any questions or comments? All right, I think I'm gonna leave here and go get some french fries and pour all the salt I can get on. Let's be dismissed in a word of prayer. Father, we do thank you for this privilege to be in your house on a Wednesday night in a midweek service. Father, we just thank you for these that have come out. Lord, help us to realize that we indeed are the salt of the earth and we are the light of the world reflecting your light. And so, Lord, I just pray that as we leave here tonight, Lord, that maybe something has been said that stirred our hearts, Lord, that we might try to enjoy a closer walk with Thee, Lord, that we might reflect that light on someone else, Lord, that others can see Jesus in us. Lord, help us to be the ones that when we enter into a room, Lord, the light gets brighter. not let the spiritual temperature drop, but Lord, help us as your children to have that effect on those around us. Lord, help us that others may see Jesus in us. We thank you for all that you do, Lord, and be with us as we go our separate ways, and help us to be back at the next appointed time. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen.