Real Self Esteem! - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ is now you are light in the Lord. So notice he picks up Jesus saying you talk.

Talk about a lady saying you are like you were darkness. You are like the seven children. The for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Notice goodness and righteousness has to do with how you live and truth is what you say joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us how God's word meets our work. The rest most of the saltiness of the time was that Cecil that Cecil is not back is not. All has a lot of minerals in it, that's one of the things, but also ice gypsum has lots Egyptian. If you have gypsum Ingersoll you can eat it won't preserve you see it's of no value at all.

It becomes tasteless and even when they use salt sometimes as part of their fertilizing process. You can put Gibson 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 that's that's well sorted when he says he says except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men so as 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 when I find interesting about that is it what is implying 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 and many says yeah but if you become tasteless good for nothing. See you in that sense were God's plan. The whole idea is how is God going to influence a simple dark world's with the plan, he says, yet you 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 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 doing these walls and not having to do with them out there 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. There were sweet sugar and salt is this so irritates and if you don't believe me next time you get a cut. Don't worry about Mercurochrome or anything like that just puts himself and you find out just how irritable it is so can irritate handsets white told them Blessed are you when you persecuted because when you act assault you to be an irritant and you will be persecuted. That's okay.

You see, he said later and Johnny says the roadway because at 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 creation's 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 gotta 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. When 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's who you were. Exhibit now you are light in the Lord.

Live as children. The life, so notice he picks up Jesus said he didn't see you talk you talk about the lady saying you are like 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 to 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. Was like there is a rich thing. Our job is to expose what Stark were to shine like things with truth but were to be an example with our lives, how exactly do we do this with me now to first Peter chapter 2 first Peter chapter 2 and if you haven't felt good about yourself for the son of God calling assault like maybe now you will Chris peters going to tell you a bunch of other things about you that you will say I know is true but I just can't believe Peter writes this in verse nine. You are a chosen race. You are a royal priesthood, you are a holy nation, you are a people for God's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who is called you of darkness and into his marvelous light. How did that happen. For once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, you had not received mercy, but now you receive mercy while how does that work. You see, God called us we are a holy nation, set apart by God.

We are salt and we are light when it comes the life I think an analogy that kinda works is think of the sun without the sun. There is no life on earth okay and in fact if you read enough about it. If the sun were exactly the distance away and the angle of the earth axis exactly the angle of the earth that you go on and on with this will be no life. None. So don't ever believe that when they say anywhere there is a just a global online any kind of a star son to be life. The amount of conditions it have to happen from an astronomical point of view are immense, but the sun gives us life was the moon. Do with the moon gives us a little light I was before electricity.

The moon give us a little light in the darkness is at the moon's only I wanted. I hope you're not shocked by this. The moon doesn't have light.

Okay, the moon doesn't generate any like it's just a mere it just reflects light from the sun under the earth, so the moon's job is to reflect on its own light but the light from the sun into a darkness that describes us.

You see, we are to reflect his light in the darkness. That's how this works. This is the analogy salt is a negative to prevent some bad from happening lights a positive because of something good to happen to find our way in the darkness.

Then he gives us some characteristics about the light. Matthew five notice verse 14 you are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid. What's he saying about light cameras chemist doesn't matter, they actually built a lot of their cities on hills not only because it was core in one way more altitude so the people would find it at night easily.

No electricity again so was sitting on a hill so I know this is that it's on the hill, so he says you can't miss it. In a sense, he says that about us what to say. There are no Christians in the Secret Service or not. You can't claim to be a Secret Service should not be able to miss you matter where you are. You should be able to be seen. You should actors like those in darkness. Secondly, he goes on and says this he says nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket put on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In other words, light helps people see but has to be has to be used as light.

How many of you have ever bought a lamp you really like in an icebox brought it home, carried in your house put in the closet in the box close the door. You see it's almost funny to us right but that's a picture of a lot of Christians. They don't like their one only they don't seamlessly procure lamp. Your job is to produce light where you are.

I give you one analogy I hear often Christians will say things like this whole passage you need to pray for me because it is Kimberly where I work there unsaved. The balder language is bad. I just pray that the little provide another job for me.

I'll be honest, I'll pray, but probably not about that. I'll pray that you realize how strategic you are.

I've heard people say hate to get together with my family there all lost. I just want to get away from them what you think. You therefore your there to be light. Who needs light darkness so your job is to be light. I felt comfortable with that. You shouldn't be but you should be light you should live in the light, and you should be able to speak in the light. You see, that's the whole point. God loves us to be lights in darkness the home missions movement worldwide missions movement was what they want. The places were completely, spiritually dark, many of them were executed and met with her light shine what's happening among the countless now Muslim believers who come to Christ, especially in places like Iran and let the light shine in our hideout is no hiding there gonna proclaim it and when you read the testimonies, most believe within 2 to 3 years of the dead intervention be known enough and they'll be executed may say that's okay with me but I'm not going to hide my like I'm not going to pretend like I just got a fit and I don't want you see, you have to act like light Chris you have to. When I sent help people see what the truth is sold is given because our culture is rotting in light is giving given simply because our culture is in the dark.

That's what Jesus said were both of these things and then he goes on the commands it let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your fathers by the way this the command that the Jews of Israel ignored completely. God told them in the Old Testament there like the world to see. The analogy was the same in the Old Testament. The Jews quite like the world know they isolated.

In fact they did wanting to do with what they called Gentiles with a cold, filthy gleam willing to do with those people so they never were, like the world she met was the problem they were to be the light, we make the same kind of mistake. You see, we singled so dark out there. I want to be any part of that. With that, you'll never result light. If you're not, you see, God needs us in the world, but he doesn't need the world and thus and sadly enough from most of the more neutral people and posters they believe in the last 30 years in America. The world is had way more influence on the church and the churches had on the world were picking up worldly practices you see in the church is not in the world is not really reacting to us much at all. So when he ends up saying here is that I command you to do this and notice it's more than just our words because here he says something.

It's really interesting to me.

He says in such a way that they may see your good works.

This wasn't just our words, this is how we live our life's. It's an interesting thing if you're in the business world. By the way you speak the truth and honor your word. Your unusual during usual. You know it's interesting that that the whole I became a respectable basic weight weight is. I gave my word if I give my word. That's it. Once I say this is that this is it.

You see that. Just imagine if we were known, and I hope we are in many cases as truth tellers. She got so much in our world and you run into it all the time someone says something to you. There's a misunderstanding and then no I think they never said you knew they did. That's the way of the world you know and it's an interesting thing and sometimes not big on business here, but I know as a church we deal with people in business. A lot of the people use words that give them room and if you listen carefully to the word I we gone through an insurance adjusting situation. In the words were very carefully crafted, but they gave wiggle room. They were just straightforward words. These words are designed to make sure you campaign me into a corner so he says he's to be your good works and has two Greek words are used for good.

The one word would be the quantity of our works. That's not the word Jesus uses uses cow loss callous means the quality of our works. The beauty of the word means beautiful or attractive are beautiful attractive works give a classic example of use the before and the Romans in in Rome at the time of the early church. Romans had a custom that if you after you've had at least if you had one daughter for sure you want to have a son is in there, but if you had a second daughter.

All you did is take the baby from the mother afterwards, born late in the city dump and let it die. Just let them all die, all the girls died. They didn't want anymore just with Christians. Their 24-hour surveillance in the city dump. They picked up the baby they adopted him and care for their own and newly Roman historians to say I just don't understand how they could do this, not even their child. That's let your light shine. That's a pretty wonderful thing to do is see that that that's the degree of sacrifice and direction can be in a case like this and he says, look what happens to it. He goes on and says, and they will glorify your Father who is in heaven. Well it's all for God's glory. The words broke so we get the word doxology doxology is just sing praise to God for his attributes.

That's been God being glorified. That's what this is your glorify the father in heaven also notices. We do have a right to brag about being light it. It's only his light to see if this reflectively.

From that point of view so God needs are light in the darkest places I had darkness cannot put out light just to think of it, you could have a small flashlight and going to a place as big as a Superdome it's pitch black can all that darkness.

Put the light out. Can darkness be put out by like yes see in that's what you saying you can. Darkness can't do it. So Jesus says to you and to me you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world and that's what you really are that's what you really are and the person that said it can't be wrong.

How should that make you feel, see, how should that make you feel. I hope pretty good pretty important. This is God speaking this in another person's assessment. This is God speaking about you what I really hope is it makes you motivated.

See, I don't want to be tasteless, worthless, all good for nothing but ferment to walk on son of God call me this all the earth, and there I am being walked on by men because I'm tasteless.

I don't want to hide my life. I want people to see my reflected light and come to my Savior. My life is just as important as my words. See that's such a wonderful thing are being so we can preserve God's judgment on this country are being sold not been please this one of my pet peeves. So many Christians are upset because unsaved people are living like unsaved people. I just can't believe what they're doing. Of course you can. What would you expect them to do. You see there's darkness out there, we can preserve judgment based on the character in here in our giving of light can result in people coming to Jesus Christ and I know that's true because Jesus said, the way you live in the word you say can bring people to me, and that's the solution so you are salt in your light now act like spring father. Ironically, there are so many of us that have such bad self-esteem. We don't feel special. We don't feel that we have anything to offer.

We feel that we could do better, Jesus Christ our Lord is told us who we really are the salt of the earth light of the world. Father what a magnanimous thing to say about each and every one of us. I pray father we take this to heart. I pray we understand your assessment of us in the responsibility that you've given us. We are thankful that you have saved us through your son, but we are also thankful that you will not use us to bring others depressed, thankful, useful. That's great is preferable.

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