A look at the qualities of salt and relates it to our spiritual lives. God has chosen us to receive the Holy Spirit and be the salt of the earth. What characteristics of salt do we need to exhibit in our lives?
Sermon Notes
Notes:
God has used olive oil, bread, wine as symbols for us. Jesus Christ also used salt as a symbol
Qualities and Benefits of Salt. Salt is a flavor enhancer, a preserver, a herbicide, salt sustains life. Without salt, we would all cease to exist. If you removed salt from your diet completely, you would die a painful death in under 30 days.
Matt. 5:13 → Jesus Christ classified his people as the salt of the earth.
There was a great appreciation for salt in the time of Jesus Christ. The value was very important. Salt would be traded equally with gold.
What makes us the salt of the earth. It is because He has chosen us to have the Holy Spirit. We should be exhibiting the physical qualities of salt in our spiritual life today.
The Qualities of Salt:
Salt is a preservative. It extends life, prevents decay and corruption.
Salt has been a very important commodity during war as a food preservative.
If you have God’s Holy Spirit within us, it will preserve our life. It is the salt that is within us.
John 6:63 → It is the spirit who gives life and preserves us.
The flesh profits nothing.
Rom. 8:2 → Law of spirit of life in Christ frees us from the spirit of death.
If we are devoid of God’s spirit, we are under another law of death. There are 2 laws being worked out. If we repent, believe and become baptized - God gives us the gift of life.
Acts 2:38 → Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
We can hope for nothing more in our life than to have the Holy Spirit. What must we do?
Rom. 8:1-4 → Do not walk according the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Have the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit in our heart daily.
We know we are walking according in the spirit by the fruits in our life.
We need to dwell on the positive thoughts of one another.
Rom. 8:9 → We must make a habitable place for God’s spirit. We have a daily job to keep the evil thoughts down.
If you are led by the spirit, you are part of God’s family.
Salt Heals
Doctor’s use a healing solution that has salt as an ingredient. It is used in home remedies and in the medical profession
We should offer help and healing to our brothers and sisters. We can do this by not causing offenses or being easily offended.
Matt. 25:40
If we do cause offense, we need to apologize to the person we offended and also Jesus Christ.
Luke 4:14 → Jesus’ ministry was reaching its zenith. God’s Holy Spirit is upon Christ at this moment. He was sent to heal the broken hearted. Jesus Christ’s commission was given by His Father.
Healing and taking care of people is part of our duty. The acts of love we give to others will make a difference in their lives.
Salt is Pure
Salt is pure, but can lose it’s flavor when it is comprised. If our Holy Spirit is compromised, we lose our flavor.
Matt. 5:13 → If salt loses it’s flavor, what good is it?
We need to be the salt of the Earth. There needs to be a benefit of having God’s spirit in our life to the rest of the world. We need to help people everywhere regardless where they are in the world.
We are to live a life of purity and remaining vibrant. We need to maintain our flavor.
Matt. 5:8 → Blessed are the pure in heart. They shall see God.
How do we maintain that purity?
Phil. 4:8 → Whatever thing are pure, lovely, good virtue, etc - meditate on these things.
If you put junk in, you get junk out. If you do these things, you will live a life of peace and contentment. It is so easy to get caught up in a life of sin.
Salt season what it touches
We need to make sure we season the world we touch with a dash of salt.
Salt when used properly produces amazing results. Too often in the past, we approached the world by trying to dump salt on it.
We don’t want “dump” God’s truth on people, we want to do it in a balanced approach.
1 Cor. 3:1-2 → Paul carefully thought how to teach the truth of God to his people.
The world cannot handle the strong meat of God’s word, but the milk first.
Matt. 5:14-16 → We are a city set on the hill.
We are not to hide ourselves or shy away from this world.
Salt creates a thirst
God’s Holy Spirit will create a thirst in us as well. It creates a thirst for God’s way of life. God’s way of life produces fruits.
Gal. 5:22 → The fruits of the spirit.
God Spirit is powerful, but it is not automatically within us, only human nature is automatically within us. It takes work and everyday practice to gather God’s fruits of the spirit.
The fruits of God’s Spirit flavors us. It comes from God and it is our worth.
MP3 Audio (12.11 MB) 