S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, we're discovering what
S1: it takes to be salt and light in this world.
S2: The way you live, it begins to create in the
S2: people around you a desire to say, hey, there's something
S2: that makes me want to know more about the God
S2: that they have. And so you become the agent that
S2: causes people to be thirsty to know more about the
S2: living God. You become salt and you become light.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life
S1: Community Church in Chicago. Well, we're starting the last message
S1: in our series, Step Up, and it's going to be
S1: a good one. Most of us have been taught to
S1: accept low potential, but we really want to squash that
S1: notion today. here, Mark.
S3: We do, Wayne, because God calls us to a high calling.
S3: And when I say high calling, I don't necessarily mean
S3: a platform calling or a spotlight calling.
S1: Good point.
S3: It's the calling that fulfills you. It's a calling that
S3: energizes you. It's a calling that God has gifted and
S3: empowered you to fulfill. And one of those, Wayne that
S3: all of us have, all of us are called to,
S3: is to be salt and light. Yes. And sometimes we
S3: think that our calling is within the four walls of
S3: a church, that that's where we do ministry.
S1: Not at.
S3: All. But, you know, there's a calling that every believer
S3: has to be salt and light outside. And that's what's challenging.
S3: But it is so compelling.
S1: The gospel is not to be hid, and we have
S1: a role to play. Let's listen to Mark's message now
S1: on bold steps.
S3: As I look at Matthew chapter five, I see that
S3: Jesus is challenging his disciples to be who God has
S3: called them to be, and to function at a level
S3: that may make them uncomfortable, but their calling in life.
S3: And I'm going to read verses 13 through through 16
S3: of Matthew chapter five. I'm going to ask you to
S3: stand one last time for the reading of the word.
S3: Jesus tells his disciples in something called the sermon on
S3: the Mount. And I've actually been on this mount near
S3: the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus delivered his most famous sermon,
S3: the Beatitudes, where he begins to talk about turn the
S3: other cheek. He talks about you've learned eye for an eye,
S3: but I teach you a different way. He's introducing to
S3: them a whole different way of living. And sandwiched in
S3: the middle of this message are a couple verses about
S3: being salt and light. Jesus looks at his disciples and
S3: he doesn't tell them, you need to become salt. He says,
S3: you are salt. You are the salt of the earth.
S3: But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it
S3: be made salty again? It's no longer good for anything
S3: except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You
S3: are the light of the world. A city on a
S3: hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp
S3: and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it
S3: on its stand and it gives light to everyone in
S3: the house. In the same way Jesus said, let your
S3: light shine before men, that they may see your good
S3: deeds and praise your father in heaven. The Word of God.
S3: You may be seated. I want to talk to you
S3: about stepping up to your new influence, or letting your
S3: influence come out, based on these verses found In Matthew
S3: chapter five. If you're taking notes, Jesus begins by telling them,
S3: and I'm going to. There's two main illustrations that Jesus uses.
S3: He uses the imagery of salt and the imagery of light,
S3: and he basically tells them, hey, if you're really going
S3: to influence a society that you live in, then you
S3: need to let your salt come out and you need
S3: to let your light shine. Notice he doesn't tell them
S3: you need to become salt and you need to become light.
S3: He says you already are salt, but it has to
S3: get out and you already are light and it needs
S3: to shine. This is not something that you're not. This
S3: is something that you are. But you need to let
S3: it get out. How many of you know, oftentimes we
S3: have things that we are but never come out. And
S3: Jesus is trying to remind them that you are salt
S3: and that you are light. And so I'm going to
S3: tackle these two images and really look at what they mean.
S3: First of all, if you're taking notes write this down.
S3: You step up to your new influence when you need
S3: to be salt and others will taste the goodness of God.
S3: Be salt and others will taste the goodness of God.
S3: When I talk about salt today, I just grabbed a
S3: little salt from our cupboard as I was leaving the house.
S3: This happens to be Morton. Iodized salt. Pretty much. Table salt.
S3: Salt in today's society is not as valuable as it
S3: was in the society in which Jesus was speaking. When
S3: Jesus was speaking about salt, people understood what salt did
S3: and they understood the importance of salt. In fact, you
S3: may not be aware of this, but Roman soldiers in
S3: the days of Jesus were often paid salaries in salt.
S3: The word salary comes from the Latin word solarium, and
S3: it's just a carryover from those days. And so we
S3: have the word salary, but its root meaning is comes
S3: from salt because people were paid in salt. And so
S3: it shows you it testifies to how important salt was.
S3: You've ever heard that expression? They're worth in salt. Um,
S3: anybody heard that expression? Okay. All right. Uh, they're worth
S3: in salt. In essence, it's coming back to the days
S3: where people valued salt so much. And you wonder, well,
S3: why was salt so valuable in those days? Well, it
S3: was valuable because it functioned in two primary purposes. The
S3: number one purpose of salt had to do with salt
S3: was a preservative. And when Jesus was talking to his disciples,
S3: they well understood that salt functioned as a food preservative.
S3: The salt has the power to kill bacteria that stops
S3: spoil the spoiling process. If you've ever watched the old
S3: war movies in the Civil War, when someone had an
S3: injury and an open wound, what is it that they
S3: put into the open wound? They would put salt in
S3: the open wound because it was salt that would help
S3: kill the bacteria that would cause infection. Don't try it
S3: if you have an open wound, because you will squelch with.
S3: It's painful to put salt in your wound, but nonetheless
S3: it all. It kills the bacteria. It's like alcohol that
S3: also kills the bacteria, but is very painful. In the
S3: days in which Jesus lived, there was no refrigeration. Obviously
S3: there was no electricity. And so when people went to
S3: the market and they bought meat, that meat in the
S3: arid temperatures of the Middle East would quickly Spoil unless
S3: there was some way to preserve it. Nowadays we just
S3: go down to the local jewel-osco, we buy our pound
S3: of ground beef, and we put it in our car
S3: so that the trip home, hopefully it won't spoil. As
S3: soon as we get home, we put it in the
S3: refrigerator and it's the temperature that preserves our meat. But
S3: in those days they would take meat and they would
S3: take salt, and they would rub salt inside of the meat,
S3: both on both sides of the meat. And they would
S3: make sure that that salt penetrated the meat, because that
S3: salt would, would kill the bacteria that causes rotting and decay,
S3: and it would stop the rotting process of the meat
S3: so that they could have meat in their home for
S3: quite some time. When Jesus was talking to his disciples,
S3: in essence, what Jesus was saying is you are the
S3: salt Assault of the world. He was letting them know
S3: that as believers, they have the power and capacity to
S3: stop the decay and stop the rotting of the world
S3: and society and culture that we live in. Because as
S3: the salt penetrates society, it stops the corruption, so to speak,
S3: that lives in society. And it has this changing, sterilizing
S3: effect on society. If the salt really gets out into
S3: the soul, the social fabric of a culture. It's interesting
S3: to observe, however, that salt that stays within a container
S3: loses its purpose. A salt cannot affect meat unless the
S3: salt is poured on the meat, right? There are two
S3: extremes in Christianity. And if you've been a Christian for
S3: a while, you may have observed these extremes. There are
S3: some people that are very much aware that we live
S3: in a culture that's full of temptation. There's a lot
S3: of bad influences. Uh, there's violence and bigotry and jealousy
S3: and greed and materialism and, uh, just there's all kinds
S3: of sexual perversion and deviation that's out there. And so
S3: there is a tendency in some Christian circles to feel like,
S3: since this world has so many dangers and so much
S3: pollution out there and so many places that we could
S3: be affected in a bad way, we should separate ourselves
S3: from the world, and we should isolate ourselves from the
S3: world because we don't want to be contaminated. And so
S3: we have groups that sometimes become very insulated from the
S3: world around them. I mean, what parent hasn't thought of that?
S3: How many of you, after reading the news, after reading
S3: the newspaper or watching television, have thought, I just need
S3: to pick up my kids and we need to move
S3: to Montana. No television, no radio up in the mountains somewhere.
S3: Get away from all this craziness. Because my poor kids.
S3: What kind of society are they going to live in?
S3: Come on. How many parents have thought about that? Sometimes
S3: I need to. I need to go somewhere else. I mean,
S3: you think about that, right? In the sixth century, the
S3: fifth and the sixth century, there was a movement. It's
S3: not the first time we thought about it. And down
S3: through the centuries of Christianity, there have been movements and
S3: theological thoughts where people believed that if they could just
S3: separate themselves from the world and the contamination of the world,
S3: that they could be more holy. In the fifth and
S3: sixth century, when a lot of corruption started coming into
S3: the church. There was a movement called the Monastic Movement.
S3: The monastic movement was basically groups of people that would
S3: live in community, and they would travel out to the desert.
S3: And there was most of these monastic communities were birthed
S3: in Northern Africa, and they would go out into the
S3: middle of the desert, away from all population, and they
S3: would build their houses there, and they wouldn't allow anybody
S3: to associate with the community unless you were a part
S3: of the community. And they would be self-sustaining, self-contained communities
S3: that would pray a lot, worship a lot. They had
S3: their own order. And and nowadays we know them, as,
S3: you know, monasteries and convents. And there's different orders that
S3: started out. But the idea behind it is let's separate
S3: ourselves from the world, let's cloister ourselves together. Let's let's
S3: separate ourselves from all the pollution that's out there so
S3: that therefore maybe we could become more holy. The problem
S3: with that is that if the salt separates itself from
S3: that which needs to be salted, then the salt has
S3: lost its purpose.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Today's message
S1: is titled step Up to a New You. Part of
S1: our series, Step Up Living Higher will continue in a moment.
S1: One of the ways you can continue to be salt
S1: and light to a lost and searching world is by
S1: partnering with us. When you become a bold partner, you'll
S1: be making a difference not only in the lives of
S1: those in your community, but in the lives of people
S1: all over the country. And we hear from listeners every
S1: day who let us know that this program makes a
S1: difference in their life. For instance, we recently heard from
S1: this listener who said, thank you for your encouraging words.
S1: We want to give more this year because of your
S1: sensitivity to the needs around us. Your faith increases our faith.
S1: God is good and faithful always. We agree. And if
S1: you'd like to join us in this mission this year,
S1: we'd love to partner with you. You can sign up
S1: online at Bold Steps. Org or give us a call
S1: at (800) 356-6639. That's 800. D.L. Moody. All right, let's dive
S1: back into the second half of Mark Jobe's message to
S1: discover what Jesus has to say about being salt.
S3: If the salt is no longer on the bacteria, if
S3: the salt is no longer rubbed into the meat, then
S3: the salt has absolutely lost its purpose. Because Jesus taught
S3: us we were to be in the world, but not
S3: of the world. Now, I think it would be a
S3: lot easier to keep your mind pure, to pray, and
S3: to live holy. If you were in some cloistered Monastery
S3: where everybody around you is Christian, and they chant all
S3: day and pray all day, and there's crucifixes all over.
S3: And so that seems like it's a lot easier to
S3: live spiritually there than it is to get up in
S3: the morning in Chicago, jump on the L, fight with
S3: people that are have nasty bad attitudes, get off the
S3: L people are pushing you swearing already. You see billboards
S3: of of of women that are almost naked. Get into
S3: your office downtown. People are crabbing about this and cranky
S3: about that and and and fussing about this and fussing
S3: about that and swearing about this and trying to lure
S3: you into this and talking about their weekend exploits. And
S3: your boss is down your throat and, and people are
S3: inviting you to celebrate and party on the weekends. I
S3: think it's a lot harder to live right for Jesus
S3: in the middle of a society that's luring us in,
S3: but that's exactly where Jesus wants us to live. See,
S3: your faith is tested. Not when you isolate and when
S3: you insulate. Your faith is tested when you're in the
S3: middle of it. But you're still salt and you're still light.
S3: Jesus never cloistered himself. In fact, you know what they
S3: said of Jesus. He's a friend of sinners. That's what
S3: they said of Jesus. He's a friend of sinners. Why?
S3: Because Jesus hung out with people that needed salt, and
S3: they needed light. And he was not afraid to be
S3: around them as he was influencing them. And so that's
S3: why we as a church have opted to embrace a
S3: salt and light mentality. I understand that people have a
S3: lot of different definitions of how to work and how
S3: to operate. But it's been part of our desire that
S3: this church would be a salt and light church. There
S3: are some churches that you walk into and you feel like, well,
S3: everybody there has been there for 40 years. They all
S3: know each other, dress the same, talk the same, look
S3: the same, and have the same hairstyles. I mean, you
S3: know what I'm talking about. Have you ever been in
S3: those cultures? I think a salt and light community is
S3: drawing people in from the outside all, all the time.
S3: I think a salt and light community is when people
S3: are mixing with the world out there, but maintaining their testimony,
S3: and people are visiting a salt and light community because
S3: they've been influenced and want to check things out. And
S3: so every Sunday at our gatherings, there are people and
S3: there are some here today. I'm sure this is your
S3: first time visiting here. Or maybe you're not a believer,
S3: or maybe you're just exploring Christianity, but you have contact
S3: with someone that salt and light, and because of them,
S3: you're here in a place of worship, listening to Bible
S3: teaching and just having endured some worship that maybe made
S3: you uncomfortable. I'm glad you're here. Praise God that you're
S3: here today. So not only does salt fight decay, but
S3: salt also is a flavoring agent. It brings out the
S3: best flavor. I'm one of the people I know. This
S3: is if we have any doctors in the house. Please
S3: forgive me. I'm not advocating this. I'm not encouraging you
S3: to do so at home and do so at your
S3: own risk. But for some reason, I like my suits.
S3: I like my food salty. So I'm one of those
S3: kind of guys. I go out to eat with my wife,
S3: and they'll put the plate in front of me and
S3: I'll salt it and she'll say, you didn't even taste
S3: it already. I said, I know it needs salt, though,
S3: just by looking at it. I know it needs salt. Well,
S3: I like salt. There's something about salt that just kind
S3: of brings it out, right? It's a flavoring agent. Have
S3: you ever tasted something that was just very bland and
S3: needed a little salt? What happens when something's bland? You
S3: lose your appetite. I don't want to eat this. It's nasty.
S3: If you're. If you're if you're eating at your mother
S3: in law's, you feel like you have to eat it. But,
S3: you know, if it's just a restaurant, you put it
S3: aside because something bland causes you to lose your appetite
S3: for it. But when something has flavor, when something has
S3: a compelling flavor, it makes you want to eat it more.
S3: And it's hard to stop eating it because it's so good.
S3: What Jesus is saying to his disciples is that you
S3: are the salt that flavors the message of the gospel
S3: in such a way that people taste it and they
S3: want more of it because they've tasted the salt that
S3: you are spreading out there. You are creating a spiritual
S3: hunger and appetite for God, for people that didn't even
S3: know they were spiritually hungry. In other words, what Jesus
S3: is saying is when you're out there, the way you live,
S3: the way you talk, the way you think, the way
S3: you move, the way you behave yourself, it begins to
S3: create in the people around you a curiosity, an appetite,
S3: a desire to say, hey, there's something about them that's different,
S3: something that's compelling, something that makes me want to know
S3: more about the God that they have and the peace
S3: that they have inside. And so you become the agent
S3: that causes people to be thirsty to know more about
S3: the living God. You become salt and you become light.
S3: Now I want to say that another part of Scripture,
S3: Paul says that all of our conversations need to be seasoned,
S3: seasoned with grace and salt. Have you ever had too
S3: much salt? I remember I went into a restaurant once,
S3: and I was about to do my regular salting of
S3: the food because I knew it needed to be salted,
S3: and I took the salt shaker and I poured and some.
S3: It had to be a teenager. Someone before me had
S3: unscrewed the cap of the salt, and so as soon
S3: as I went to pour the salt, the whole thing
S3: came out and it's just like, oh no. And then
S3: you try to wipe it off, but now it's just
S3: too much salt causes you to lose your appetite as well.
S3: If you're the person that did it to me, come
S3: and see me afterwards. You have to have a little confession,
S3: repentance time here because you really messed up my food.
S3: And I think some of us at times before we
S3: learn how to be real salt. Sometimes our approach is
S3: abrasive and actually turns people off to the gospel rather
S3: than creating a thirst for the gospel. Because how many
S3: of you remember when you first came to Christ and
S3: God had done something in your life, and you look
S3: around and you think, the whole world needs to be saved?
S3: How can they be so dark? And everybody needs to know,
S3: everybody needs to hear this. So you go to the
S3: birthday party, your family's birthday party, and you wear a
S3: t shirt that says, turn or burn, and you have
S3: a big cross with you and a big King James Bible,
S3: and people go to talk to you. You're slapping beers
S3: out of people's hand and saying, telling them what they
S3: need to do. And you have them cornered like this
S3: and they're looking, how do I escape? And you wonder
S3: why people scatter while you're after them, and they stop
S3: inviting you to things all over? Why you say, well,
S3: because they just are hard hearted and don't accept the gospel. No, no, no,
S3: you're putting too much salt on it If you're salting something, well,
S3: you know, you, you get a little salt and it's
S3: a little salt like that. But if next time you
S3: go to salt your corn and you go like this.
S3: You just spoil the corn. It's not that people don't
S3: want the salt. It's just you poured out too much
S3: at the same time.
S1: Mark Joe will pick up the message right there tomorrow.
S1: And you're listening to Bold Steps. Well, we ended today's
S1: message on a bit of a funny note, but our
S1: series is called Step Up Living Higher. And Mark is
S1: serious about you fulfilling your calling and reaching your highest potential.
S1: So if you joined us late, or if you'd like
S1: to hear the complete series, just head over to our
S1: website and explore our growing archive of messages. You'll find
S1: us at bold Steps. Org. Today's message is called Stepping
S1: up to a new you. And while you're online, be
S1: sure to sign up for our weekly email devotional. It's
S1: called The Bold Step or Weekly. We'd love for you
S1: to join with thousands of other listeners all across the
S1: country who are starting their week off, right. Get a
S1: behind the scenes look at the things that are on
S1: Mark's heart and mind, and hear ministry updates, and also
S1: catch up on highlights from the previous week that you
S1: may have missed. The Bold Steps Weekly is free, delivered
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S1: today at Bold Steps org. Well, you know, it's fair
S1: to say that the past few years have been somewhat
S1: unpredictable and filled with a lot of change. The world
S1: we live in today looks much different than it did
S1: even just a few decades ago, and sometimes it feels
S1: like everything we knew about leadership and ministry no longer applies.
S1: That's why the book A Non-anxious presence, is such a
S1: timely resource. Author Mark Sayers helps us understand how to
S1: lead effectively in a world where the old rules no
S1: longer work. He explains how periods of disruption often prepare
S1: the way for spiritual breakthrough and shows us how to
S1: spot signs of renewal even in the midst of turmoil.
S1: Request this bold step gift today and discover a fresh
S1: approach to leadership in changing times. We'll send you a
S1: copy of this relevant book when you give a donation
S1: of any amount. Call us at 800. D.L. Moody. That's
S1: (800) 356-6639 or give online at Bold Steps. Org. You can
S1: also send your gift through the mail. Our address is bold.
S1: Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Well,
S1: that's all the time we have today, but join us
S1: again tomorrow when Mark concludes this message called stepping up
S1: to a New You. You can hear it Thursday right
S1: here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is
S1: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.