Matthew 5, 13-16 says,
Before we jump into Matthew 5, I'd like to remind you all of the context of Matthew 5, the verses 2-12 that we've been going over the last eight weeks.
The text has gloriously explained to us what the kingdom of God looks like, how it is radically distinct from this world.
It is counter-cultural.
But the context here is not as a sermon is preached to thousands of people, as commonly believed, but it's preached to Christ's disciples in this context.
It says in Matthew 5, 2,
And he opened his mouth and taught, or Matthew 5, 1, sorry.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
So the audience here in this sermon is his disciples, not massive crowds.
And further, we see that the kingdom of God has come because the king has come.
So in Matthew 4, 17, it says,
From this time forward, Jesus began to preach, saying,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
So the context here is talking about what a citizen of the kingdom is like.
What is the kingdom of heaven like?
So in Matthew 5, 3 through 12, that's what this text is explaining is,
What is the nature of those who are of the kingdom of heaven?
But the nature of those who are of the kingdom of heaven are those who are, as verse 3 says, poor in spirit.
Those who come before God in realization of their sin, and of their state before God,
They are desperate.
They are spiritually broken.
They are bankrupt.
They are impoverished.
That apart from the abundant and marvelous grace of God, that they have no hope.
But praise God that the king has come, and through his life, death, and resurrection,
We are not helpless, and we do not stand condemned in our sins.
Verse 4 says,
Blessed are those who mourn.
We are to mourn over our sins, over other sins, and the world's sins.
We should be people who weep over the wickedness of the world,
And over the lack of worship to our king.
That God is so glorious and deserves to be praised, but so often he's not because of the sin in the world.
We are meek.
Verse 5, blessed are the meek.
We cannot do any good apart from God.
We should humbly approach God, and humbly approach others.
We should be less concerned about ourselves, and be more concerned about others.
Verse 6, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Because God has taken our heart of stone, and given us a heart of flesh, we can now praise him as he should be.
We have hunger and longing and thirst to know Jesus Christ more.
And because of this conditional heart, that from verse 3 to 6, this orientation of the heart goes from ourselves to Christ.
And from that, there is an overflow of God's grace and abundance in our lives.
We see in verse 7, blessed are the merciful.
Because Christ came and died for us, we have been given mercy.
That we are not rightly judged for our sins, but Christ's mercy was washed on us.
And because of that, we should be people full of mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, that our lives should be blameless before a watching world.
And the world sees us, they should see purity.
They should see the king represented in us.
And then verse 9, blessed are the peacemaker.
We should be people full of peace, preaching peace to others.
Because Jesus Christ came and died for our sins, there's no longer a chasm between God and man.
We're no longer lost in our sins, but God has reconciled us to himself.
He has brought peace between God and man.
Because of that, we have the gospel.
This is the ministry of reconciliation, that we can preach peace to others.
And ultimately, because of this life is so unusual, and so odd, so counter-cultural,
those who are poor in spirit, those who are weeping, those who are humble,
those who are thirsting for God, not themselves, those who show mercy and peace,
those who are pure in heart, because it's so unusual in the world, they won't like it.
And they might hate you, they might persecute you.
As 2 Corinthians says, we are an aroma of Christ.
Our presence is either life to those who believe, or death to those who don't believe.
The way we live is a testimony to others.
It's a display, you could say.
So as Caleb greatly encouraged us to remind us last week that a citizen of the kingdom is a citizen of the kingdom,
but we're also rewarded for the way we live and the way we act and who we are,
that one day we will be face-to-face before God,
and that we are sojourners and exiles in this earth heading toward a promised land,
that we have an inheritance from this temporary transient world.
So in light of us being children of God, let us live confidently in the life to come.
We are bound for a promised land, we have an inheritance.
So that's the context we're coming to in Matthew 5, 13 through 16,
is that we are citizens of the kingdom.
This kingdom is radically different than the kingdom of earth.
This is radically different than the world.
But we are to live in the world.
We're supposed to be in the world, but not of the world.
So that's what we're going to be discussing here.
Here, my main point or purpose statement, you could say, is not,
we can't break it up and say, here's the points of the sermon,
but I think every part of the sermon brings us to what this statement says.
Those who are citizens of the kingdom of God are to be salt and light of the world
by experiencing, proclaiming, and displaying the supremacy of Christ in all things to all people.
I'll repeat it one more time.
Those who are citizens of the kingdom of God are to be salt and light of the world
by experiencing, proclaiming, and displaying the supremacy of Christ in all things to all peoples.
So let's read, hold on.
With this in mind, let us dive into Matthew 5, 13 through 16.
As we approach this text, pretty much the flow of this sermon is,
I'm going to discuss what the you are statements are, where it says,
you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world.
I'm going to talk about what's important about using you are,
and the way the statement is constructed.
Then I'm going to talk about the importance of the use of earth and world,
and how these are meaning the rottenness of the world,
that the world is ultimately opposed to God,
and we're in a world where we're trying to witness to a world that hates us.
And then I'm going to talk about the statements themselves,
because that's ultimately what this sermon is about,
is that you are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world.
How does that affect the world?
So first, the way the statement is constructed says,
you are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world.
In this passage, the two you are declarations,
are modifiers of the phrase,
or the phrase of the world and of the earth modify the you are statements.
But the you are statements are emphatic.
In that saying, it means, you and you alone are.
So in this text, you can read it as,
you and you alone are the salt of the earth,
and you and you alone are the light of the world.
Also, the you are is not stating what we should be like,
it's stating what we are.
So John MacArthur points out,
our stress is rather being than doing.
So we are not to be the salt of the earth,
and to be the light of the world.
As disciples of Christ,
we are the salt of the earth,
and we are the light of the world.
So if we are not being the salt of the earth,
and the light of the world,
then we are not being disciples.
Let us sink in.
If we're not being the salt of the earth,
we are not being disciples.
The terms earth and world imply that of all of fallen humanity.
1 John 2, 15-17 says,
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and the pride and possession, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
And the world is passing away along with its desires.
But whoever does the will of God abides forever.
In John 17, Jesus prays,
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
What we see is that in 1 John and in John, he's warning us that the world is going to hate us,
and we should resist from loving and desire the things of the world, which are ever before us.
That the world does not like God.
The world hates God.
The world is opposed to God.
We should take that and heed that, that we're living in a world that is rotten, that has a tendency to pollute and become correct,
that is sinful and bad.
The desires of the world tempt us every day.
So, how did this begin?
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and then he created man.
At the very end of creation, he said, this is very good.
Then he put in creation, he put man in the garden to live before him, to worship him and obey him.
But the serpent, the cleverest of all the creatures, comes in the garden.
And the serpent tempts Adam and Eve.
And Adam and Eve are tempted by three things.
They're tempted by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
They desire the fruit, they want to take part in it, and they want it to be like God.
And what they did was they desired it, they took part in it, and they wanted to be like God.
And because of that, they fell.
Because of that sin entered the world, they corrupted everything.
And since the sin corrupted everything, from that you see in Genesis 3, Genesis 6, with Noah in the ark,
you see in Sodom and Gomorrah, you see in Babel, that this corruption continues.
And it continues today.
Today, we are tempted by the things of the world.
So, the question remains, if we're living in a world with all these temptations,
how do we resist conforming to them?
How do we stay holy, completely separate from the world, and devoted to our king?
What do we do?
How do we continue those things?
The world's vision, the world's dream, is to get rich, marry the perfect spouse,
and to retire early and enjoy life.
That is the vision.
That's the American dream.
How do we resist these lies?
How do we interact with the world and not become part of it?
I think Jesus describes well,
I think Jesus describes well in Luke 14, 26 through 27,
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers,
yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
I think that's a commission almost for us that, not even just family, but those who don't hate Netflix,
those who don't hate Facebook, those who don't hate school, those who don't hate our work,
if anything takes precedent over God, if we love anything over God, then we're in sin.
That is idolatry.
And I think the command here is that we're not disciples when we love things over sin.
We're disciples when we love God above all things.
So, these things, I don't think are necessarily bad.
I think family is wonderful.
Books, school, work are great things ordained by God.
But that's the problem is when we put them in the place of God.
I think a good statement in the morning we should pray is,
Christ, you are more valuable and more important in my life than dot, dot, dot.
Whatever that struggle is, whether that is social media, whether that is friends, whether that is spouse,
whether that is whatever is in the place, fill in the blank.
Because in our lives, Paul describes it well,
Whatever gain I had, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because it's surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
So with that, we have the you are statement.
That we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
And that the world hates us and the world is tempting us to conform to the simple desires of the flesh.
Now let's come to the first you are statement.
You are the salt of the earth.
In history, salt was seen as something very valuable.
The Greeks called it theon.
I think I said that right, theon.
And it means divine.
The Romans saw it as the second most important thing.
The only thing above that is their God of Son.
And then the Romans actually paid their soldiers in salt for their work.
The idea of you're not worth your salt is from Roman society when they would pay their workers, their soldiers.
So obviously we see that the people hearing this sermon would process that when Jesus says,
You are the salt of the earth.
That they're saying that you're valuable to the earth.
But there's so much more impacting in that statement of, You are the salt of the earth.
I read John MacArthur's commentary in preparation for this sermon.
And he gives four reasons.
And he says one of them is the primary.
And I read a few other things.
I think his was the best way of saying it.
So I'm going to borrow, if you will, from him the four things.
First off, salt has a strong flavor.
It is flavorful.
You put salt on food, and that food that's kind of tasteless becomes stronger.
In the same way, Christians bring a divine flavor to the world to bring blessing to them.
In Matthew 5, 44 through 45, Jesus says,
Love the world.
Love your enemies.
And in that, you'll be bringing a blessing to them.
And God uses the analogy that both the righteous and the unrighteous get rain.
Salt, when placed on a wound, stings.
Christians, in their obedience to God, and in their representation of God,
it can be an aroma of death.
It's condemning in some way because Christians are living holy before the world,
and the world's living completely opposite of them.
John MacArthur says,
Christians are to sting the world, prick its conscience, and make it uncomfortable in the presence of God's holy gospel.
When the world hears of the holy and just creator,
create the heavens and the earth,
and that man, every man, has sinned against God and turned from him,
it hurts.
It stings.
Because they don't want to submit to the Lord.
They want to live for themselves.
Because most people, their own idol is themselves.
Their own image they're making is of themselves.
So it stings.
It stings because at the end of the day,
they're going to be judged for their sin,
or they're going to believe in Jesus.
And they're either going to reject that truth or accept it.
Third, salt, when consumed, causes thirst.
When you have salt, it gives a natural thing that you want water.
In the same way, when Christians are testifying of what they believe,
they're proclaiming the good news.
It is salty to those who hear it in the fact that they see their spiritual dehydration
and pressing danger of death.
That they haven't had water in a long time,
and without this living water, they will die and perish for their sins.
And finally, which I believe is the primary use of salt in this passage,
is salt preserves food.
We live in a world where we have a refrigerator,
so we're able to preserve stuff just by opening a door and putting it in there.
But they had to put salt on things to preserve their food,
to keep it lasting longer.
I believe in Matthew 5.13, this is the primary use,
that as salt of the world, our influence matters.
As we go from this church building,
and as we go our separate ways to our jobs, to our schools,
that our influence in the jobs and schools has an effect.
We're a preserving,
we have a preserving effect on these people.
We deter moral degradation.
We help prevent the world's rotting more and more because of our influence,
because we stand for truth,
we stand for righteousness,
which can help have effect to change things in this world.
So, we are to prevent the world's rottenness
to have a powerful influence here in this world.
We are God's children,
and we are temples of the Holy Spirit.
We represent and manifest God's presence to the world.
So, as we experience God personally,
He is experienced by those who interact with us.
We are to represent God's presence on this earth
through the power of His Holy Spirit.
So, in the way we interact with all those we see,
we should be a fragrance, a smell.
Our influence in this world should be a blessing of our selfless love.
It should be a sting of our bold witness.
It should cause others to see their desperate need for salvation.
And ultimately, it should preserve humanity
by deterring moral and spiritual corruption and improve society.
We are God's salt.
So, the best example I've ever, I think, seen of this is,
as I was growing in my walk with the Lord,
it was probably around 2010,
I met this one young man, he was like 8.
I watched him grow up, but as he's grown up,
he's like 18 now,
but when he was 16, I watched his influence change in business.
Because he'd go into business,
he'd live righteously before the people,
and people would notice when he comes.
He'd walk in the door,
and people would start modifying their language when he walks in the door,
because, not that they just don't want to offend him,
but they felt wrong talking bad around him.
So, in the same way,
when we walk in the room,
people should know what we represent.
We shouldn't be undercover,
or hiding under a basket.
We should be salt.
They might not like it,
and we can still honor them in how we live our lives,
but we can't hide what we stand for,
who we are.
God's presence lives in us,
and should shine through us.
So, my question is,
in light of what it means to be salt,
does your life embody saltiness?
Would you say your influence in the world is salty?
Do you have a tendency to conform to the world,
rather than stand for truth?
Do you hold your brothers and sisters accountable
for being salty to each other,
or to the world?
And, what impact does your presence have
where you're at right now?
The rest of verse 13 says,
But if salt has lost its taste,
how shall its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown away,
and trampled under people's feet.
This is used three times in the Gospels.
It's used in Mark 9.50 and Luke 14.34.
And then, each time it's used,
it's an exhortation for a Christian to be a Christian
by resisting temptation,
by loving God above all things,
and by having an impact in this lost and broken world.
In our walk with the world,
we're supposed to resist temptation,
resist the enticement of our evil desires.
We're supposed to turn away from the things the world offers.
But sometimes,
we fall in seasons where we experience temptation.
We experience those seasons where we fall,
and we start doubting the love of God.
And sometimes,
we turn from our first love,
and start living completely counter-cultural
to what it means to be in the kingdom of heaven.
But brothers and sisters,
what is great news,
is that we have a Savior.
We have one who mediated for us.
He walked before us.
He came,
he lived perfectly,
he died,
and took our sins on him,
and he rose again from the grave.
And because of that,
we have the privilege of confessing our sins.
1 John 1.9 says,
if you confess your sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins,
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So,
if you're there,
if you're at that point where you are struggling,
be encouraged.
We have a Savior who died for us,
and if we run to him,
and pray,
and confess our sins,
he can cleanse us,
and move us forward,
to act more like a citizen of the kingdom.
Second,
you are statement.
You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
So here,
the author uses two illustrations
to help us understand this example.
First off,
he says,
you are,
so our being is light.
We are lights.
But then he said,
he describes in two illustrations.
My goal here is to come back to those.
I think it will help us
really understand
what it means to be light to the world
after we understand
what it means to be a light.
So I'm going to chase the trail
of what it means to be a light,
and then use these illustrations
to better support that.
The Bible uses light and darkness
to represent righteousness
and unrighteousness.
It talks about light being truth.
It talks about light being righteousness,
light being life-giving,
peace,
godliness.
Then it talks about darkness
being blind,
lost,
wickedness.
The emphasis here
in the text
of you are the light of the world
is you and you alone
are the light of the world.
There is a singular light,
not multiple lights
in this text.
Ultimately,
light is from God.
First John says,
God is light.
So all light is derived from God,
but it's ultimately manifested
in Christ himself.
Christ is the light of the world,
John 8, 12.
Jesus perfectly manifested
the light of the glory of God
in himself,
and it is his light
that offers the way of salvation.
So in some sense,
we're not the light,
but we are the light
because the light lives within us.
We have the spirit of Christ.
So the way we live
should shine Christ's light
in our lives.
Christ should be shining
from our living.
So he,
but ultimately,
Christ is the light
that shines in the darkness
and darkness cannot comprehend it.
It is by his light
that those who are lost
are found.
We were once lost.
We were once captive
to our sins.
We once believed
the lies of the world
and we identified
with who he used to be.
But that light
shined in our hearts
and opened our eyes
to the glory of Christ
and realized that
when we believed in Jesus,
we died in him
and now we're identified
in him.
The spirit of God
has caused us
believers of Jesus
to be born again
and the power of spirit
has made us lit,
if you will.
So now we have the spirit
inside shining from us.
God's presence
has come and dwells in us.
We are God's temple
and as the light of the world,
our job is to make
the gospel known.
We are to make Christ known
to the world.
So now we come
to these two illustrations
that will help us
better understand
what it means
for the light
to shine out of us.
First illustration,
a city on a hill
cannot be hidden.
When you think
of building a city,
you think of
building it on a river,
building it on the ocean
so you can do trade
or building in the middle
of a state
so people can get
into and from it
to do their business
in America.
In Israel,
they would build
their cities on a hill
because they were
in a place
that was often invaded.
They were kind of
the bridge
for all the other nations
around them
that were superpowers
to go through.
So in building this hill,
it gave them
a superior advantage
when an army came,
though the armies
are usually a lot bigger
than the Israelites.
But why does this matter
to the text
is that when you're
a traveler
and you're going
to this city,
if it gets night
and you can't see,
if one person
lights a light
at that city,
it can be seen
from miles away.
People can see
that light
and they know
that they're heading
in the right direction.
It's like the light
at the end of the tunnel
after a long journey.
In the same way,
this text uses
the word city.
It's not talking
about a soul light.
It's talking about
all these different lights
in one place
shining so bright
that from miles
and miles away,
people can see
this light
and know that
that's the way to go.
In the same way,
we are the city
of God.
We are the city
here at Christ's family
shining our lights.
Each of us individually
have been lit
if we are believers
of Christ.
And if we move forward,
we are those
who proclaim
the ecstasy of him
who called us
out of darkness
into this marvelous light.
So let us shine
our lights brightly
into the world,
whether it's our workplace,
whether it's our school.
And I just imagine,
like, think about
if we all,
to the best ability
we're pursuing Christ
and shine our light,
it could have
such a massive impact.
But I also want
to encourage you right now.
I've never been
part of a church
that is so gospel-oriented,
shines our light
so bright already.
There's people
new coming here
almost every Sunday.
Either they've been
witness to
or someone's
bringing to church,
but the effort is
that our church
is mobilizing.
Our church is going out
and telling people
about the hope
they have in Christ.
So be encouraged, guys,
that you guys
are a church that shines.
And that is a beautiful thing.
It is something
that's filled my heart
with so much joy
to see a church
that is growing
because we shine
such a bright light.
Second illustration.
Nor do people
light a lamp
and put it under a basket,
but on a stand
and it gives light
to all the house.
In the first century,
surprise,
there was no electricity.
But they had clay lamps.
The way they lit their house
was they had a lamppost
right in the middle of the house
and they'd get a clay lamp
and they would fill,
it was like,
it wasn't really big,
but they'd fill it with oil,
put a wick in it,
light it,
and they'd bring it over
to this lamppost
and put it in
and that lamppost
gave light to the whole room.
So the whole room
was lit up
because it's one little lamp,
but it takes effort
to do that.
So the author's
just analogy is
people don't light this light
to put it in a basket.
I have to spend some time
putting oil on a lamp,
putting a wick in it,
wasting my wick
and lighting the lamp.
So because of that,
it's not something
that's going to be done
for no purpose.
In the same way,
as Christians,
we're not called
to become saved,
enjoy the blessings
of being a Christian
but not tell others
about Jesus Christ.
If Jesus Christ
has came
and changed your life,
if you've been lit
by the Holy Spirit,
we're not saved
to not go,
we're saved to go.
Going is our purpose,
and shining bright
is what we're called to do.
We are lights of the world.
But also,
Synology brings
an even more abundant
part of it
is that
this one little light
lit the whole room.
So as a Christian,
are you the only Christian
in your workplace
or in your school
or in one of your classrooms?
Is there somewhere you go
that you just don't feel
like you have much
encouragement
by fellow brothers
and sisters?
Well, be encouraged
because the light of Christ
is in you,
and that light
can light the whole room,
and the darkness
cannot comprehend that light.
The darkness
cannot overcome that light.
It might be able
to tempt you away from Christ,
and then you're putting
your light under a basket.
But if you're following Christ,
you're in this workplace,
you are shining.
So be encouraged
that you can shine bright
no matter where you're at.
You are the lights
of the world.
Verse 16 says,
In the same way,
let your light shine
before others
so that they may see
your good works
and give glory
to your Father
who is in heaven.
In this section,
I think the text
offers us a command
and then offers us
a motivation
why we do that command.
The command I see here
is that
we are to shine
our lights before others
so that they may
see our good works.
The motivation
is that
they would see
these good works
and they'd give glory
to God.
So first,
the command.
As Christians,
we are to
shine our lights
that by
our lives
that our lights
are shining.
So in our gathering
here today,
in our singing,
in our preaching,
in our living,
in our breathing,
in our cups of coffee,
and whatever we do,
our light should be shining.
Another way you can put this
is in our experiencing,
proclaiming,
and displaying
the supremacy of Christ
in all things,
all people.
That's how we should
live our lives,
that whatever we do
and whatever we say
should be that
of sharing Christ
to the world.
We should shine
so brightly
that the world questions
why do you act like that?
Why are you loving?
Why are you doing this?
Why are you doing that?
It should bring curiosity.
And again,
they might hate that curiosity,
but it should be there.
If you will,
turn your Bibles
to Philippians 2,
14 through 17 with me.
Philippians 2 helps us
better understand
the how of it.
The text commands us
to shine our lights
before the world.
How?
How do we shine our lights?
We are light,
we're supposed to shine a light,
but how does that happen?
I think this text offers us
some insight on how.
Philippians 2,
14 through 17 says,
do all things
without grumbling
or questioning
that you may be
blameless and innocent
children of God
without blemish
in the midst
of a crooked
and twisted generation
among whom
you shine
as lights in the world
holding fast
to the word of life
so that in the day of Christ
I may be proud
and that I did not run in vain
or labor in vain
even if I am to be poured out
as a drink offering
upon the sacrificial offering
of your faith.
I am glad
and rejoice with you all.
Paul first commands
the Philippian believers here
that their life
should be one
of good conduct
that represents him well
in our attitudes
and in our living.
So when people look at us
they're not like
that guy has a bad attitude
at work.
He's always grumbling
and always complaining
about how
all the things go wrong
but we should do things
even when we don't feel like it
even when things do go wrong
in a way that honors Christ.
Further
what we see
is that
when the world
sees this conduct
when they see that
we are honoring Christ
even in the worst situations
why is he doing that?
It gives a testimony
that we are children of God
and it makes us look blameless.
They can't point fingers
at us saying
well that guy cussed
three times the other day
or that guy is
over there
yelling all the time
is he really representing Christ
or that guy is doing this.
The point is that
when we're not grumbling
and complaining
the world will see us
and they will be
wow that guy
handled that situation so well
he really is different than me.
Why did he not cuss
in that situation?
Why did he not do this
or that in that situation?
And in our conduct
we shine light
in the world
but the text goes further
it says
you shine as lights
in the world
holding fast
to the word of life.
2 Corinthians says
3.18 says
And we all
with unveiled face
beholding the glory of the Lord
are being transformed
to the same image
from one degree of glory
to another
for this comes from the Lord
who is spirit.
We have been given
the word of life
and this word
serves as a window
into the glory of God.
When we get in the scriptures
and when we meditate
on who the Lord is
in the scriptures
we get to know him more
and we get to know
his promises more.
And in the text
it talks about how
we are transformed
by beholding God's glory.
As we experience
God in the text
and know he is
more and more
an object of our affection
the object of our faith
grows
our affections grow
but we also
start shining light better
and we are transformed
more and more
into Christ likeness.
2 Peter 1 says
And we have something
more sure
the prophetic word
to which
you will do well
to pay attention to.
In this text
Peter
is reflecting
on the time
he spent with Jesus
and there was one day
that Jesus took him
and two other disciples
up a mountain
and Jesus
transfigured
he changed
and glory shined
all around him
and when he did this
from the heavens
roared the voice of God
talking to Peter
and Jesus
and then appeared
the prophets
but during this time
Peter is reflecting
back on that experience
and saying
that was wonderful
there was majestic glory
but
he now has something
more sure
the prophetic word
which will do well
to heed to.
This copy of God's word
is so beautiful
and glorious
that it is more sure
that Jesus
or Peter's experience
with Jesus
on the mount
of transfiguration.
That is such
a marvelous truth
and it should humble us.
Further in the text
2 Corinthians 3.18
says the word
transformed.
That is the exact
same word
which only appears
three times
in scripture
that is used
on the mount
of transfiguration
that when Jesus
transfigured
into the glory
his heavenly glory.
So this idea
that we're being
transferred
one image of glory
to another
and we're being
conformed to Christ
is the way
in which
we become more
like God
more representing
him well
but ultimately
we're going to
shine his glory
shine who Christ is
in our lives more.
So let us come
to the word
and let us behold
our king
and let the word
transform us
from the inside out
and change the way
we live
and make us love
our Lord more.
If you'll take
your bulletin
the quote on it
is by Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon says
nearness to God
brings likeness to God
the more you see God
the more of God
will be seen in you.
So brothers and sisters
let us see God
let us be like Paul
who said
that his life
was poured out
as a sacrifice
offering
of his faith.
Let us be like
Romans 12 1
that our bodies
our lives
are being presented
to God
as a living sacrifice
that the way
we live and think
is to honor God
that our lives
our breathing and being
is for Christ.
Finally
the rest of Matthew 5 16
says
so that
they may see
your good works
and give glory
to your father
who is in heaven.
The word
here
glorify
is the word
doxodzo
and
what it's saying
here is
this word here
is the same word
we get the word
doxology from.
And Stephen Lawson
has a really enlightening
description of it.
He says
the word glorify
doxodzo
is the word
from which we get
doxology.
your life
becomes a worship
service.
Your life
becomes a living
doxology to God
when the light
is shining from you.
We are made
to worship God
in spirit and truth.
Also
John Piper famously
said
mission exists
because worship
doesn't.
Worship is ultimate
mission not missions
because God is ultimate
not man.
When this age is over
and countless millions
of the redeemed
fall on their faces
before the throne of God
missions will be
no more.
Therefore
our motivation
in our mission
to be the church
and our mission
to be salt and light
and our mission
to experience
and proclaim
and display
the supremacy
of Christ
in all things
all people
should be
the glory of God.
Should be
that the one
who came
and died
and saved us
is one we're
living for.
That because he's
deemed it worthy
that a sinner
should be saved
because of his
life, death
and resurrection
in the same way
that he is worthy
to live life for.
Ultimately
our breath
our living
our motivation
to be salt and light
in this broken world
is to bring everlasting
praise and honor
and glory to our king
who we will be doing
in eternity past
or eternity future.
So ultimately
one day
when we die
and we are believers
in Christ
we'll be raised again
and we'll be with Christ
eternally
praising our king
and worshiping him
eternally.
So let's do it now
let's praise him now
and let's shine brightly now.
So in closing
when we realize
our spiritual poverty
before Yahweh
and the wickedness
of the world
we come humbly
before Yahweh
hungering and thirst
and be solely
satisfied in him
and not wickedness.
From our exclusive
love for God
we'll be merciful
pure in heart
and peacemakers.
People will hate us
for sharing about
the peace of God
brought about
through the blood of Christ
but take heart
our Lord Jesus
has overcome the world
so let us be encouraged
and bring about
a salty preservation
to the rottenness
of this world
and let us
individually
and corporately
shine bright
the light of Christ
in his dark
and perverse world.
Feel prayer with me.
Pray with me.
Sorry.
Let us pray.