Real Self Esteem! - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ relative and that's their image.

All you know my mom told me this and I guess that's why this is God speaking to be wrong saying it exactly the way it is.

You are the salt of the earth joining us today on this additional fellowship of the word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now again he shows us how God's word meets our work is a five-year-old. Any II actually going to be a cowboy eye of the Lone Ranger and one to be a cowboy. Then I moved to being willing to be a football player and and then eventually as I got older I realized all I want is a job be able to support a family with what it is I'll do it. Who would've ever thought I never had past radar at all. And here I am, there's another thing it happens many of us live our lives with regret that we never became what we thought we should be.

You see it over and over again.

People are upset because they never became what they could've been due to circumstances and all those kind of things and end up being disappointed when I'm here this morning to tell you this, that if you're Christian you need to drive those thoughts of your mind, because not true. See is not true at all.

Jesus Christ, God incarnate has told you what you are.

That's what will look at this morning.

He'll tell you what you are and I want you to consider this. He can't be wrong. Jesus can be wrong is the son of God and how he described you will be probably the single greatest description of you ever given.

Even better, but then your mother gave in your self-esteem and your self-image should be through the roof when you really understand what the son of God is said to you. So open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5 Matthew five I called this whole series. The disturbing sermon on the Mount because the audience who heard it, they were really disturbed. It really bothered reading like caring what they are at all.

We read it, see a lot of good things in it that we read on this facet of the cross Jews did not necessary.

Like almost anything that Jesus said, in fact, the section were looking at today is one of the most positive things in the entire sermon and Matthew dealt with this whole idea of the Beatitudes and that we went over those last week. You have to see yourself if you're going to be blessed by God.

Yet to see yourself as spiritually bankrupt, totally dependent on him.

You have to mourn over your falling short of the standard that God has for you mourn over your own sins. You have to be meek and submissive to the father, you have the hunger and thirst for God's presence in your life you have to give mercy to those who are undeserving just like I gave you mercy and you need to use the gospel to bring peace between God and man. And then you have to accept being persecuted by an unsaved world and then everything changes at that time.

What really happens I find is to change the pronoun changes he's talking about.

They and those blessed are those and all of a sudden he changes and goes to one word you just you.

I want to talk about you and it's even more so than you think. In Greek is upset, often in the past when you want to put in! By something for sentence to really emphasize it.

They don't have punctuation that way. So what they do is they change the world order and they put the word they're going to emphasize is the first word in the sentence and this is a double emphatic that Jesus Christ uses here to describe and he says you are the salt of the earth. Next verse you are the light of the world while you he means it this way is you you you you you is the son of God speed you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world and he says are its indicative mood.

He didn't say might be. Could be you could become your the salt of the earth. You're the light of the world while showing that change. When we think about ourselves. Name anything you've ever done. It makes you this important God's assessment of you as you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world is not blowing smoke he's telling you this is a fact is interesting in that the so many people, especially those lined up in counseling. Somebody said some derogatory bottom a long time ago. You know, a relative or some and they that's their image.

All you know my mom told me this when I was way back when. And I guess that's who I am.

This is God speaking. It can be wrong saying it exactly the way it is. He said you are the salt of the earth who were these guys only know for sure source for fishermen with right now. This is very early on. They are not nobility. They are barely religious then no political power, and are not educated. God says you're the salt of the earth and the light of the world from the world's point of view. If used one word to describe these men to be the same word to describe many of us.

They were ordinary from our point of view, the just ordinary people, but that's not from God's point of view and he calls them salt now in the ancient world that be quite a bit different than it is today. The ancient world. Salt was revered of the Greeks actually said that that there's something of the divine and salt. It was necessary for life, especially in the near East. Roman soldiers were paid with salt. That was the waves they got they would be paid with salt. Hence, if you were terrible Roman soldier. They use the phrase back in Rome you're not worth your salt and that phrase is still with us today. Your say to someone that you're just not worth your salt is interesting. Not only that I today even we call people salt of the earth about the salt of the earth person.

These are all descriptions that show how soldiers revered and probably for a lot of reasons.

I mean, what does Saul do I mean, it's a seasoning agent I will use some salt, some of you excessively and I mean there are people that I don't think it matters what you put in front of the have to solve it every bit of food I can still remember the years ago were at the Cooper housing project and doing ministry with the kids in the project and even ladies in our church and make spaghetti for them before they eat any spaghetti they all one of the salt shaker and just covered it. Salt, that's just what they were used to eating Job oldest book in the Bible as far as authorship, Job 66 says 10 flavorless food be without salt, and you know that you that favor flavorless food in your mouth and say what you got some salt.

Let's try to give it some taste at all.

So it does act as a seasoning agent may be that he said maybe that's what he meant. Maybe were to bring joy among the sorrowful mate may be where to give hope to the depressed. Maybe were to give peace to those who are frightened. Maybe that's what he has in mind maybe were to make life palatable for people possibly. Secondly, it's a symbol of purity is a purity idea with salt, so much so that if you read Leviticus 2 at verse 13 and offering that you brought the Godhead to have accompaniment salt.

The idea that that that sort of set it apart from that would mean that we are to represent purity and a decaying culture that makes some sense. So it also creates thirst Arabs still today carry salt and give themselves salt and mix in Thursday so the drink water so they don't dehydrate living in the desert and those are all possibilities, but I don't think that's what Jesus had in mind already talked about salt with us.

I believe the primary use of salt Jesus viewing hearers as a preservative. You and I are the preservatives of the earth.

We preserve or withhold God's judgment wherever we live based on us is a biblical support for that short, you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and you know what happened to it. If it is an interesting that that before it happened. Remember Abraham's discussion with God. He bargains with God.

He keeps trying to say to God, if there are this many righteous people being salt with you withhold your judgment. That's again and he thought were my acumen and Abraham got on the 10.

He finally said look after 10 righteous people inside were you withhold or judge in got to get, but there were 10 righteous people fact when even close to 10 righteous people is a God judge in Romans chapter 1, you begin to see what happens when the preservative the salt of the earth. People us starts becoming absent of being salt.

In a culture and you see what happens to mankind.

You see, the decline just keeps coming more and more and more of a decline in the culture and he says Paul finally writes there without excuse. They have done all these things, they are declining. God gave them over, God gave them over and they refer they so even think about it from this point of view.

If you think of the end times in the great tribulation. What happens in beginning of the tribulation the church ladies skull, the rapture the church leaves this earth.

Now, how well does the world do without the church year. What happens in the world. Unbelievable chaos system believable.

You don't have the antichrist and all that they have God pouring our judgments on the world and the reason is the salt line and so he says you are the salt of the earth.

Maybein a make a little more contemporary as this in the 1700s and early 1800s and there was a great French Revolution and the king of France just when this is beginning.

He had a quote any and he simply said this after me. The daily news he knew it was company was prophetic, and after that unbelievable what happened in France. The culture became extremely ill and extremely secular humanistic became very anti-religious and extremely violent guillotine.

You tried to eliminate all your enemies and they went into complete, disruptive way. 20 miles across the channel is England and they have the same problems they have a king. You see, they have a monarchy. They have people facing that. Don't they facing economic challenges and find themselves without any power, but there was no revolution and you wonder why was that the case at least in one person's opinion.

I read this week. His name was Woodrow Wilson.

He was a president United States and they ask Woodrow Wilson why did England follow France in the revolution and he said all because of one man.

He said one man was born in England in 1703. The change John Wesley.

He said John Wesley lead so many people in England to a revival in a relationship with Christ that England never suffered what France did it all. It's interesting if that's true, there's something amazing about it. One grain of salt will be doing to creating a lot of other grains but England then face the saving effect.

They still have a monarchy that they honored today doesn't have political power but they didn't have the problems of France at all. So, what must be due the second question, what must we do to this preserving agent in our culture. He warns us. You are the salt of the earth, but at the soldiers become tasteless. How can it be made salty again. It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men first things logical. You have to be in touch with the culture yet to be in touch part of the culture have to be seat. If you have salt.

If you have salt and you don't apply it to something. There's no preservation. I mean if you think about it from the point of view of the disciples, for example, they were fishermen they knew exactly what to do. They cut the fish in the sea of Galilee. Their big market was Jerusalem.

How do you get the fish from Galilee to Jerusalem back in salt. It has to be in touch with you have to have contact in one of the problems of the church is that even in America as we became me. Salt warehouse that's not right will not we should not be assault warehouse, we got sold everywhere yet we are not applying it anywhere not interacting or interfacing with the culture of the people of the culture.

So that's one thing you have to do absolutely for sure. Jesus kind of understood this. Remember, he said to I send you is she out among rules this the super salt piece again I send you out among rules, since it would be easy.

We can imagine she'd get together see what we come we need to do what we need to go find a wolf back we need interact with these people but that's the analogy that Jesus used, and I think it's a good one, but more importantly here I think as he said, you have to maintain your saltiness. If the see your life that way or see who you are that way.

Notice he says if the soldiers become tasteless kingmaker salty again. Now in their world. There were two kinds of salt sea salt, which is pure, I fact we still see restaurants of Pepsi salt, that's pure. We got Cecil but the most of the salt in Israel. The time was dead. Cecil Betsy salt not appear fact is not pure at all has a lot of minerals in it, that's one of the things, but also as gypsum has lots of gypsum. If you have Jim Singer salt you can eat it won't preserve you see it, it's of no value at all. It becomes tasteless and even when they use salt sometimes as part of the fertilizing process.

You could put gypsum on the field. You kill everything on the field and run the soil for a period of time afterwards. So the only thing you can do with tasteless salt is he saying is you can make a sidewalk out that's that's well sort of what he says.

He says, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Salt is not doing what it should be doing and he says there's a warning that I have for you.

That's the warning about this completely.

Now what I find interesting about that is it. What is applying here is that if we lose our unique qualities of salt. According to Jesus, we become tasteless and good for nothing. That's an interesting assessment. He just told us to the most wonderful things about where the salt of the earth and with the light of the world in any city of it. If you become tasteless you good for nothing see in that sense were God's plan. The whole idea is how is God going to influence a simple dark world's where the plan he says he is, because you are the salt of the earth. If you really beatitude people. He says you will be salt their culture you have to interact with the culture.

The American church is not been very good at this, the American churches become more often than not a sequestered group of people. Everything about the idea of the church is how much can we do in these walls and not having to do with them at their that's not a good thing is not what Jesus has in mind. Notice he also doesn't call sugar and see I met and I think it's pretty interesting, nursing, sugar and salt is this. Salt irritates and if you don't believe me next time you get a cut. Don't worry about Mercurochrome or anything like that. Just put some salt and you'll find out just how irritable it is so can irritate. Hence that's why told them Blessed are you when you persecuted because when you act assault to be an irritant and you will be persecuted. That's okay. You see, he said later and Johnny says the world will hate you because he first hated me what was Jesus.

He was salt.

He said that's what I want you to be just as well. I want you to be salt so then he moves on in verse 14, you are the light of the world. One of the definitions Webster uses for light. Is this something that enables you to see the simple definition like think about get a perfect eyes, but if you don't have light. What you can't see there's no there's no value having site if you don't have light. The only thing he gives it is like in first John 15 he writes and says God is like that. The essence got a slight first Timothy 616 God dwells in unapproachable light, God is like creations dark. It's blue light is of God. Christ is called in John the light of the world.

In Psalm 119 is word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path and then Paul goes in and says look you gonna be like, hold your place and go with me to Ephesians chapter 5 verse eight Ephesians chapter 5 verse eight, the apostles, both Peter and Paul picked right up on this. They never forgot what Jesus said about light so in chapter 5 of Ephesians, Paul was warning them about falsity, immorality and all that and he says in seven therefore do not be partakers of them and then he says this for you were formally darkness about what's interesting is he didn't say you were formally in darkness.

He said you were formally darkness that you you were exhibit now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light so notice he picks up what Jesus said he didn't see you talk you talk about the lady saying you are light you were darkness.

Now you are light, he said, live as children of the light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Notice goodness and righteousness has to deal with how you live in truth, this what you say trying to learn what is pleasing the Lord do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but instead even expose them for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light for everything that becomes visible. There is a respect drug timeline truth but were to be an example with our lives. Pastor Bill give her the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcasting or maybe you just think of a smoother message one more time.

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