Serving God
Notes
Transcript
Serving God!
Serving God!
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
pray
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name
Intro
There is so much in this little parable, but the main thrust is about being distinctive!
Distinctive
One definition of distinctive is the
Characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others.
Salt is so different from the thing that we put it on.
This is by nature and by purpose !
As believers by nature and by purpose we are so different from the world we have been put on
By nature
We are new creation, born of God
17 If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!
23 You have been born again, and this new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever.
Now are purpose is to penetrate and change the very taste of the earth.
Just like salt.
Salt:
Salt:
As men and women of God our character is like salt.
We are called and designed (made) to be the salt of the earth.
When Jesus spoke about salt he is telling us that
Salt is different .
Salt is different .
The power of salt lies in this difference.
The power of our lives and
The power of our testimony resides in the fact that in our second half we are different,
In our second half we are distinctive from the world
27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Refusing to let the world corrupt you.
2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
17 That is why the Lord has said, “Leave them; separate yourselves from them; don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you
18 and be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.”
15 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.
16 Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.
Salt preserves.
Salt preserves.
Salt keeps things from going bad and decaying.
Salt cleanses and disinfects.
We are called to clean and preserve the world
We are called to disinfect the world
We are caused to keep the germs of the world from causing things to go bad.
22 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.
23 Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself!
24 That’s why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop,
25 God’s Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Salt penetrates.
Salt penetrates.
Salt inserts a new quality in the world
Salt gives a new substance to the world
Salt brings new life into the world
Salt changes that which it is put on
Serving God means we must penetrate the world and insert new life into it!
17 When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!
24 Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.
10 Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.
Salt flavors.
Salt flavors.
Salt influences the taste of things.
Salt takes a bland, tasteless food and makes it delicious
As Believers we are to so flavor and influence the world for Jesus Christ.
22 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments,
23 not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.
3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Salt is quiet.
Salt is quiet.
Salt is visible, but it works silently,
Salt makes no noise during its work.
Believers, just like salt we , are to work quietly and discreetly.
4 No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.
Salt spreads.
Salt spreads.
The flavor of salts spreads all over.
A sprinkle of salt has a widespread effect.
As A believer's Your salt spreads far and wide.
20 But we [ourselves] cannot help telling what we have seen and heard.
13 I’ve watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
15 But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have,
11 Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts.
12 We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.
Salt is not able to be controlled or restrained.
Salt is not able to be controlled or restrained.
Salt once it is applied, it cannot be stopped.
A believer's salt, your testimony, cannot be stopped
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Where are the Salt Shakers!!!
We are here to change the flavor of your family, change the flavor of your community, change the flavor of your cities, change the flavor of your states , change the flavor of your country, change the flavor of this world for Jesus Christ!
We are serving God - as Salt Shakers!!