Pastor Dan Eddy
Matthew 5:13-20
Living the Happy Life
Part 2 - Showing off (in a good way)
2-13-11
THE GOSPEL READING…………………………………Matthew 5:13-20 ESV
P: The Holy Gospel according to Apostle, St.
Matthew, the 5th Chapter:
C:
Glory to You, O Lord.
Jesus continues with His Sermon on the Mount
13 He said: “You are the
salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be
restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trampled under people's feet.
14 “You are the
light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand,
and it gives light to all in the house. 16 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.
17 “Do not think
that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish
them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to
you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from
the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of
heaven. 20 For I
tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
P:
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C:
Praise to You, O Christ.
I.
Introduction - Showing Happiness by Salt and Light
Today
the Lord is using me to teach you how to show off true happiness.
You’re
asking yourself, “What is true
happiness?” Good question. If you pull out your bulletin insert. (Pull out bulletin insert) Here
is a list of traits happy people in Christ exhibit and the benefits that come
along with them. It’s a review of last week’s sermon.
So
for the next few minute put the troubles of the world behind you and like Bobby
McFerrin said in his 1988 #1 hit: “Don’t worry be happy.”
This
morning you are going to live true happiness through salt and light.
When
I want you to show true happiness through salt I’ll have you take your hand
like you are holding a salt shaker and shake some salt out. Go ahead and do
that right now. Shake some salt. Good. The cue to do that is “Show off happiness from Christ by shaking
your salt.”
When
I want you to show true happiness through light, I’ll have you take your cell
phone out and flip it open or hit the button to turn on the light. Or you can
give me a thumbs up with your thumb representing the light. Go ahead and give
that a try. The cue to do that is “Show off
happiness from Christ by shining your light.” I figure that was safer than
lighting candles.
II.
What is the salt and light
talked about in this text?
Okay
a few things you need to know about how Christ is using salt and light in this
passage.
First,
only believers in Him are considered salt of the earth and the light of the
world. That is the sense from the text. Christ is emphatic on these points. He
is the only source of this spiritual
salt and spiritual light. And the only
way you can shake this salt and shine light is if you have faith in Him.
By
ourselves we can not generate spiritual salt or produce light of salvation.
However,
if we lose our saltiness or our light grows dim it’s our fault. We are allowing
the blandness of our sins or the darkness of the world to rob us of Christ’s salt
and light, and therefore destroys our happiness in Him.
III.
How do we show off happiness
from Christ by shaking our salt?
So
how do you “Show off happiness from
Christ by shaking your salt?”
First,
by living and speaking in a way to create a greater thirst for others to want Jesus
or want Him more.
Let
me give you an example. Back in 1998 a good college buddy of mine called me up
and wanted me to go on vacation with him. Joe and I had gone on cruises, camped
together, traveled throughout the
It
was one of the best vacations ever… my faith grew because Joe’s shook some salt
and got me to thirst more for Christ as we walk the roads He did during His
earthly ministry.
“Show off happiness from
Christ by shaking your salt.”
That was Joe was doing. His flavorful witness spread to me and others…to
strengthen faith in the case of me and brought others into faith when he shared
his adventures with others.
Second,
salt is a preservative against the evil of society. As we shake our salt here
in this congregation we protect each other from the greed, guilt, idolatry,
adultery, and other sins out there that want to make our witness for Christ
bland.
Christ’s
salt at the cross was rubbed into the wounds of our sins to take away its
everlasting infection with death in Hell. As the Word of God, salt purifies us.
That what Christ did for you at your baptism.
And
that means we can’t live without the salt of Christ. And when you allow the
salt of Christ to be trampled…our faith in Him is thrown out.
And
that also means in our everday walk with the Lord sometimes His Word as
proclaimed in this sermon, or in a Bible study or by someone’s Christian
witness can be like salt being rubbed into the wounds of our unrepentant sins.
It may hurt but it’s for our own protection.
IV.
How do we show happiness from
Christ by shining our light?
So
how do you “Show off happiness from
Christ by shining your light?”
This
one is a bit easier to explain. When light shines it gives direction…like a GPS
device in your vehicle. You don’t drive at night without your headlights on…or
you will be a danger to yourself and others. Christ’s light keeps us from
stumbling in our sins. Light takes away fear of being in the dark. Light shows
us where we should be going. Christ’s light is a beacon of hope. As Psalm
119:105 says God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path. When
we are the light we give glory to God as verse 16 says.
So
when our fellow brothers or sisters in Christ’s light gets dim we step up and
recharge their batteries of faith and get their light going again.
We
don’t hid our light from another….whether it’s believers or unbelievers.
But
here’s the problem. Some people love living in darkness. In John 3:19…just a
few verses past the famous John 3:16 passage Jesus described Himself as the
light and then said, “the light has come into the
world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works
were evil.”
Have
you ever notice those who love the darkness, or have been in it for a while,
what do they do when you turn on the light?
They
squint. The light hurts their eyes even though it is needed to get them out of
trouble.
Christ’s
light looks the brightest when it surrounded by darkness. 90% of people in the
The
dimmer the light the more it looks the darkness. The less salty the more it
tastes like everything else. Neither, no longer stands out. That’s why Jesus
doesn’t want us to relax His commandments. That’s why He didn’t come lessen
Scripture’s teachings but came increasing His love.
That’s why God is saying in this text: “Show
off happiness from Christ by shaking your salt.” “Show
off happiness from Christ by shining your light.” The more you do this. The
more you’re considered great in the
I think one of the best ways to shake your salt and
show your light is just to be genuine in the way you live. My parents are
celebrating 57 years of marriage today. They have given me much salt and light
in their walk as believers in Christ. Now their marriage has been far from
perfect. There was a lot of financial stress, and arguing growing up, and some
very tense moments.
Being salt and light is not sugar and spice and
everything nice. If you never experience trials and tribulations in your life
how can you show true happiness by shaking your salt and shining your light? My
parents taught me that showing happiness from Christ is being committed to each
other through thick and thin. It’s forgiving one another when we’ve hurt each
other. It’s taking time to celebrate our blessings. It’s being there for family
and friends when they need you the most. It’s reaching out to new people to let
them in on your happiness in Christ. It’s knowing church plays a bigger and
bigger part of your life. That’s what 57 years of marriage from my parents has
taught me. True happiness is not always pleasant but its commitment shows real
love and joy.
True
happiness is found in following God’s commands NOT in ignoring them. This is
where salt keep us alive and light keeps us on the right path. It’s in
possessing Christ’s salt and light that we can truly experience this happiness.
It’s our own faith attitude toward God.
V.
Christ is the ultimate in
Salt and Light
Christ became incarnate a
Jesus, brought here on earth to perfectly fulfill the law. With the law, Christ
didn’t come to take away His Salt and Light, but to fill us up completely with
His happiness and love….His righteousness. That’s what fulfills means here in
this text.
He ultimately did that with
His suffering, death, and resurrection. He fulfilled the law by taking its
burden, seen in our sinfulness, and destroyed it. So that when we follow the
Law we do so in freedom.
Jesus was showing the crowd how to live the spirit
of the Law (in happiness) as oppose to the letter of Law (obligation). It’s the
difference between doing something because you have to…and because you want to.
Do
you know one of the simplest and most powerful ways we can show happiness from
Christ by shaking our salt and shining our light as a congregation?
Get
a group of people together, go visit some shut-ins and sing praises to the
Lord. Say a short prayer. And leave a gift behind. That’s what we are trying to
organize with the shut-in caroling event. Michael McWilliams has agreed to
oversee that effort and I would like you to join us to shake some salt and
shine some light. If you can’t sing…write a pray on a card. If you don’t want
to do that…call and organize dates and times with shut-in and nursing care
facilities. If you can’t do that…make a gift or buy one that’s appropriate for
a shut-in.
I
guarantee putting a smile on their face will put a smile on yours.
In
verse 20: Jesus said, “For
I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Only with Jesus forgiving love in your heart can
your righteousness by faith exceed the Scribes and Pharisees. So you can either
be better doing good works greater than the Pharisees and Scribes or grab onto
Jesus’ righteousness by faith.
Galatians 3:10a (ESV) “For all who
rely on works of the law are under a curse….”
Philippians 3:9 (ESV) “and be found in him (Jesus), not having
a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—“
John 3:5 (ESV) Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
V. Conclusion – Taste and see
that the Lord is Good
Remember the salt and light source is faith in Christ that stays
with us all of our lives. And I want to prove that point as I share this last
story.
Recently
when I was back in
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
for ever.
Nothing
brought tears of happiness more to me and Berta than when she said those words.
She still has Christ’s salt and light.
Show
Christ’s true happiness by shaking your salt and shining your light and as Psalm
34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord
is good.” Amen.