Pete McKenzie 0:08
Last time we were here we talked about your the salt of the earth. And we go into the Beatitudes. And once you get to the Beatitudes, the rest of the chapter five, and six, and seven are telling us this is how it works. This is how the lifestyle in My Kingdom works. And it’s really difficult for us to get a handle on lifestyle in his kingdom. It’s so different from the lifestyle that we’re used to that we grew up with the habits that we formed, the values that we had. And everything changes when you come to know Jesus Christ. Pay man’s in Christ, he’s a new creature, all that other stuff. That’s why all your plans, all your schemes, all your habits, of your hopes, everything changes when you come to know Christ. But it changes in a healthy way, when you’re doing the five things that we talked about up here that bill does every week. When you’ve decided to make Jesus Lord of your life, you see a lot more change in the God’s life, who when Jesus is Lord. When the guy is becoming a man of prayer, you see that guy, and thanks chanting. When men become prayer warriors, when you see men that are linking together with like minded men, like you got this morning, that they’re different guys. iron sharpens iron. so one man sharpens the wits of another, we need each other. You must never be the man of God, you can be or should be without other godly men in your life. Of course, our man code puts us on an island. And we have a hard time with that women don’t have a hard time with that. You get a tablecloth on the table and flowers and they’ll come. But you got to have doughnuts or guys. We don’t even have donut someone brought some breakfast goodies today, and we appreciate that. But you know, Jesus gets through saying, you know, you got to be poor in spirit. That’s the start. You got to understand you have nothing to offer God, you got to be desperate. And in your desperation, you got to mourn over your sin. We were talking yesterday in our team meeting, and we were having a little Bible study on confession and prayer. And we were talking about, you know, sometimes we are mourning over our sin. And we’re mourning not because we heard her God or disobeyed Him. But because we failed. And it’s very subtle and insidious. We make it about us. We’re sorry that we got caught. We’re sorry for the consequences of our sin. But we’re not sorry that we’ve sinned and broke God’s heart and violated his values. And I think we have to be very careful about that when it comes to mourning, and then the blessing of the humble and the meek. And that follows the important spirit in mourning. As you become humbled and make your learner you’re eager and hungry, to learn what it means to be right with God to be a man of God to be a mature Christian. So you hunger and thirst for righteousness. And then once you come through that door, and those four doors, three doors, you come to merciful. You’ve been showing mercy Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. But that sort of the pure in heart for they will see God bless it other peacemakers, for they should be called sons of God. And then after all that, he says, Now, that’s the road that you’re on. And here’s where it leads, but sort of those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness when men persecute you and say all kinds of men or people against you. Rejoice and be glad for that’s the way they did the prophets that came before you. I don’t know about seeing many guys that rejoice in persecution. But I think we have to understand that persecution, not because you hadn’t been vaccinated. But persecution, because you’ve been standing up for Christ. He said, Blessed are you when you’re persecuted for my namesake for the sake of righteousness. Not because you didn’t get vaccinated or you’re not following the rules. So you’re a complete jerk. And you get persecuted for those things, but that’s not what he’s talking about. He’s talking about now standing up for Christ living the life being the light of the world. And that’s what he said. After he said that being persecuted you’re the soft For the earth, it’s interesting to me, we talked about you the salt of the earth, but in any had a big butt. But
salt can lose its flavor. Salt can not be soft anymore. And when the salt loses its flavor, it’s good for nothing. You can’t use it for anything, except to be thrown on the ground and trampled underfoot by men. And it’s interesting to me went ahead when he said, now you’re the light of the world. And, and amazing that God would say, look at a guy like you and me and go, You’re the light of the world. The world the implication is the world is in darkness. I was in darkness before I came to know Christ. I didn’t know what it was up. I knew I was a sinner. No one had I went to a Baptist church we heard about sin every week, sin hell death in judgment, wrath to come. I didn’t know about grace. So I didn’t know what to do with sin and where to go with it. But I knew I was a sinner. I was in darkness stumbling around, not knowing how to overcome sin, where to go with it, what to do with it. And then I came to know Christ that came out of the darkness into the light. You’re the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. So the first thing he said when he said You’re the light of the world is Don’t hide your light. If you’re a light of the world, the light is supposed to give house light to everything in the house. You’re supposed to let your light shine, light is to be seen. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket. But on the lampstand and it gives light to all go in the house. So he gives a warning about salt. They said salt can become flavorless. And when you when you claim to be a Christian and you’re not salty. People make fun of you. They call you a hypocrite. They laugh, they mock for good reason. Because you’re a hypocrite. You’re claiming to be one thing, but you’re living like another thing. You’re backsliding. You lost your flavor. You respond to life the way everybody response. You don’t respond to life and life circumstances and the trials and the difficulties and the pain and the things that happened to us that losses. You’re not responding like a Christian, you’re not soft, making people wish and thirsty for what to have soft as a preservative. Then like, like to me hidden under a bushel basket. Your light needs to shine, he said don’t hide it under a basket that God’s entrusted you with light and that light has borrowed light. It’s gifted like it’s not a light that you had. It’s not like that you could have it’s not like you were born with. It’s not a light you earned or even learned. It’s a light that gave the Holy Spirit when Jesus opened your eyes and called you out of life in your chosen people, a royal priesthood of people from my own possession, that God has called you out of darkness into my marvelous light. And so it’s not a light that emanated from you. It does when you come to know Christ with His light. He came into the world, and he gave light to the world. And that was light of hope and grace and forgiveness. Because the world being in darkness was in misery. And that’s what darkness is. Darkness is ignorance. Darkness is thinking you’re wise but you’re not. Darkness is following the things in the world and you end up in a pile and all the promises haven’t worked. And nothing is working out. And so your light is supposed to be seen. But you know, none of this makes any sense about your the light of the world unless you’re understood. It’s about the gospel, sweat Bill set of men to go it’s about the gospel. You’re the gospel light of the world. You’re the good news light of the world.
People are lost, you know, philosophers have been able to look at life and history of life and civilizations. And they just see wars and more wars and brokenness. and misery in trials and difficulties and losses and hurts and pains. They see people hurting people. I see marriages break up and don’t work. They say evil, it’s done one man to another and, and they can analyze that. And they, it’s pretty easy to analyze evil, because you see it right before your very eyes. But what they can’t do is say where it come from. The world believes that man is basically good. If you believe man is basically good, you can’t figure out all the evil that goes on in the world. But if you understand that the Bible teaches that man is born with a sin, nature, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And if I understand that I have a sin nature, then it’s no big strain for me to figure out that I’m the problem. That I have a sin problem. In that sin problem causes me to sin, to be selfish. Everything in life is about being selfish will make power for yourself. And that’s what’s going on in the world today. Men are just scrambling for power and do anything to get it run over anybody killed any baby in the womb. make up lies, breakdown cultures and marriages, education and median and all about power all about greed all about money. That’s the way it’s been. It’s always been that way. But if you believe that man is basically good, inherently good, then you’re confused. Why there’s so many broken marriages, why there’s so many kids on drugs, why they overdosing, why they committed suicide. Wow, these always have wars and rumors of wars. It’s because man is inherently evil. He has a sin nature. And that happened in the fall. So when Jesus says You’re the light of the world, it doesn’t make any sense. Unless you understand the gospel, the good news that God is calling me out of the darkness into His marvelous light. And he said, I’m using you to do that I’ve given you my light can you be entrusted with the light that I’ve given you? Are you nurturing that light in your life? Have you made me Lord of your life? Or your man of the word? Are you made a prayer? Are you like him together with men that are chasing after Christ? Are you committed to be in the light of the world and the gospel and the Great Commission? It begs all those questions to be the light of the world. I mean, how much of Jesus Do you have? Because you have as much of Jesus as you want, you’re as close to Jesus right now, as you want to be. And sometimes God has to break us. Sometimes God has to let us go. Let us go our own independent way. Let us see how smart we really are or not. Let us see how wise we are. Let us see what kind of choices we make and how that works out on our own. Left of myself, I’m set to self destruct. So the worlds in darkness. In John one, it says In him was life in the life was the light of men. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to His own. And those who were His own did not receive him. But as many as did receive Him, to them, he gave the right to become children of God even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God. Nicodemus, you must be born again. Nicodemus couldn’t figure it out. As a guy like this to do what he does, how does he do the miracles he does? How can you be the man that he is? So we came to him at night and said, I know that you must be a man of God because no one can do the things you’re doing. He’s not a man of God. And Jesus has turned around and cut to the chase a Nicodemus, you need to be born again. And Nicodemus was the Teacher of teachers with the Pharisees. He was the most well respected guy.
And he was in the dark. He couldn’t figure it out. He was in the works. He was in the doing things to gain favor with God. He was in the ritual and doctrine, legalism and he was really good at it. Not as good as Paul.
But he was good at it. But when he saw Jesus some stirred within him. He said, What can this man do this? This carpenter from
Nazareth, Nazareth was, like an Alabama take bread city. Bread city was not where you want to live. Now as Nazareth was the same way, and the answer, Can anything good come out of Nazareth. But look, what he’s doing is carpenter from Nazareth. And he got straightened out that night, because Jesus turned around and looked at Mark Twain guys and said, You must be born again, Nick edemas, I could not be born again go back in my mother’s womb, that makes no sense at all. born of the Spirit, now, the flesh, not the will of the flesh, but born of God, he must be born again, you need a new light, you need to be called out of the darkness into the light. You won’t understand unless you do. And so Christians understand things and see life from a point of view that the world doesn’t see. Because we’ve been called out of darkness into the light and the light came into the world, and the world hated it. So we’re in John three, the world would not receive it. The world hated the light. You know why? Cuz deeds are evil. If you’re called into the light, and that’s where he said, listen to you if you’re persecuted for my namesake, because when you’re walking in the light as He is in the light, men are gonna love you, they’re gonna hate you, some will admire you. But many will hate you. They want to put out the light. That’s what the devil does. He thought when he put Jesus on the cross. He thought it put out the light. When Jesus died, the light was out. What he didn’t know as Jesus was gonna be resurrected. And the light came out of the darkness of the tomb into the light of day and into men’s hearts. And he changed the world.
And that’s when John asked him he says, What are we gonna do? Peter?
said, what are we going to do do this and said, Follow me? What are we going to do? And he said, we’re going to change the world.
That’s what light does, it brings light into the darkness light is to be seen. I don’t know. But if you’ve ever noticed that in my house, if light come shining through the atrium, into the living room, and the thing it does is show me all the dust under the shows me all the dust underneath the cabinet shows me all the dust on top of dust on every level thing in the house. It’s okay when there’s no light shined on it. When the light shines on it, no dust is it. Who’s gonna do this? You know, I never saw any deaths when Susan was around. But now see does everywhere when the light shines on it. And that’s what light does, it shines on. And so you’re a Christian and you’re living a godly life. That made your light to shine into the hearts of men who are living in darkness. And they hate it. They love their darkness, they don’t want to leave their darkness, but your light of your life and the discipline you have and the discipline yourself for godliness and holiness. It shines into their life and they’re gonna they’re not gonna invite you to their parties, they’re not gonna want to hang around you. Because that light is their post. And that’s where persecution comes. That’s where the devil tries to say, I’m going to put your light out what I got to do to put your light out Ron, I got to do to put your light out. Because he’s in he’s out to put our lights out and put them under a bushel. He’s out to make us not salty, in those are saltiness. And we live in, we’ve always lived in a world and probably more so now than any time in American history. Where we need light out there in the darkness. But to be the light of the darkness, it requires something to make that light shine. We got to do some things. Paul put it this way, I’m crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. If that light is gonna shine and you you have to be crucified. Jesus was crucified on a cross and Jesus said we have to crucify ourselves. We have to give up our right to ourselves. And that’s a hard thing for God to do to lose control. Some have more control freaks and others. But if we’re going to be the light of the world, if we’re going to be the salt of the earth, there’s gonna have to suns gotta go so that salt can be salty. Somebody may have die, my plans,
my ego, my prophet. My right to myself. And that’s what lordship means. It means the same God you can help yourself to my life.
We talk about that a lot. But that’s when you get there and bow over next 20 He was on his way to Jerusalem, he told us elders from Ephesus were down at the Mediterranean and he was saying goodbye to him. He said, I’m heading for Jerusalem. He said, Don’t go to Jerusalem. They’re killing pig Christians in Jerusalem.
They’re throwing them in jail. He said, Don’t break my heart. By asking me not to do what God’s calling me to do.
Don’t you know that I consider my life is no account is dear to myself. That I may accomplish that mission that God had given me the gospel, to preach the gospel. Don’t break my heart. I don’t consider my life is it any account is dear to myself. If you’re gonna lie, if your light is gonna shine, you got to be like Paul. Like Jesus. And that’s what light means. Light means that you’re living a life that reflects Jesus Christ. That’s what light does, it will reflect His light. We transmit it. It’s light from one person to another. That’s what we do we transmit.
And God’s called us to be transmitters. He’s called us to be liked. He’s called us to show him by our very lives what
Jesus is like. So when you’re slapped on one cheek, what do you do? What Jesus did what he said he was reviled here about not when he suffered he under no threats, that’s when your light is gonna shine
when you miss that three foot, but you put your light under a bushel, or you can let your light shine. Now I have to admit I’ve never rejoiced when I
missed a three foot putt. But I hadn’t broken few clubs, or at least one. So when I was doing that, I had the wrong motive, wrong
purpose. I forgot who I was. I wanted to be a single digit handicap guy. But I didn’t want to practice and have to work to get it. So I never got I never practice. Granted, put a few before round. But I want to make Jesus Lord my God. I wasn’t anything I was hanging out with guys that could really play. I couldn’t play like them. And so I had to change my whole motive, my whole reason for playing. And that’s what we have to do in life. You have to change your motive, in reason for playing for being a Christian for letting your light shine. If your lights gonna shine, some things have to go. You got to get it out from under that basket. And we put a light under a basket or light as when we’re backsliding. That’s when we’re loose with our tongue. We’re watching pornography and things we shouldn’t watch. We’re skipping their quiet times. We’re not men of the word and meditating and memorizing the word. We listen to music, it’s good music, maybe, but it’s not the best music. It’s not the music that nurtures your soul and your spirit.
Because you have to discipline yourself for godliness if that lights gonna shine. So God has called us to the gospel He’s called us to be light in a dark world.
But you know we have some enemies. In doing that one is humanism. secular humanism is defined it was seeking a middle position between a dogmatic belief in God and militant atheism. Seeking to find a common ground and love between all people. If you think there is basically good, do you think that we could get love going among people. But in the most intense relationship that we could have, and that’d be marriage, we find it not working. You can’t be a culture that tells you everything is about you and you deserve everything. You’re the main you’re your own main person. Take care of yourself. We have a world that tells us to be selfish. get what you deserve. Take up for yourself. And all that leaves is selfishness and you can’t be selfish and be friendship relationship. And with our wives, we want to be a friend to our wives and them to be a friend of us. But when it’s all about you, it’s kind of hard to pull off. When you want to your way, your timing, you’re set on the thermostat. When you want to be neat, and they’re sloppy, or vice versa. You want your way. And that just breaks up relationships. We can have phileo for a while. That’s friend, friendship, love. We can have store gay, we can have family love. But look at the man’s family, sir. And today. Look at the separation and the kids are rebelling, and wives and husbands breaking up. What’s the problem? They miss a line. They tried to do it on their own. And they, they bought into a culture that tells them it’s all about you. And so all you can possibly have when it’s all about you is wars and rumors of wars, family wars, marriage wars, parent, Kid wars, nation against nation. Politics, is all wars, it’s all selfishness.
And Jesus says that’s how you put your light under a bushel. And there’s no better place to let your light shine than in your own home.
There’s where your biggest challenges come are on the golf course. Materialism. I don’t need to instruct you about materialism, this inordinate money and possessions and material objects. The feeling that you never have enough money to buy what you need, not what you want. But what you need. The feeling is that more you have, the more successful you are. There’s never been a country that’s had more to be materialistic and has become in our country. I don’t know any other nation that has storage units on every corner. We can we fill up our house, we fill up our garage. We don’t have basements and attics in California like I do back East. So we have to get storage units. And we have to pile stuff in storage units. And if you and I have just this group this morning, we’re gonna take all the clothes we had more than a year out of our closet and put it in the middle of the floor here would have a hard time getting through the door. And so we got materialism. And then we got hedonism.
When you got a lot of money and you got time you want to have it’s in pain parks, we have sports, we have plays, we have movies, we have television, we have video games,
and they all get more technology added to them all the time. And so we become slaves to materialism and humanism. In our lifetime this as a hard time shiny. He gets Damn. It’s easy to forget who we are and why we’re here. But you know the thing about light is when when light is meant to be seen. Light can be a guide, a light into my path is what the word is a lamp unto my feet.
Is not only does light shine into the darkness is show us our sin. Light shine. It also shows us away out of darkness. Nicodemus, you must be born again. That’s a light it brings me to darkness it’s that light it says from refuse foolish, ignorant speculation that only leads to quarrels, lords. bondservant must not be quarrelsome.
Lords bondservant must be kind to all that’s a light. All meaning people that are unkind to you, as well. Kind of all able to teach by your life and your example. Kinda all able to teach patient when wronged. See this light shining? Someone wronged you and you’re patient with them. You don’t have have to get back out on you don’t have to get even your patient gently correcting those in opposition. So you’re not hammering them and reading them the riot act and reading your offenses against him in your resentment bank. You’re gently correcting them. And he said, Now if you’re gonna accomplish a great commission, this is what how you got to live. You got to be that kind of person. You can’t let foolish ignorant speculation make you quarrelsome. God takes a fight out of you. When God starts taking the fight out of you, the light starts burning brighter. You have perhaps God may grant them repentance. It’s a gift repentance is one day you mourn over your sin, you repented, you came to know Christ, but that was a gift. It wasn’t something that came from you. That’s another gift that God gives to repentance. Seeing that your sinner mourning over that not knowing what to do with it and going to him and asking forgiveness if perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth. When your light is shining, people are led to the knowledge of the truth. When they see Jesus in your life, they see his character. They say mercy and purity. In peace, your light is shining. But to do that, you have to die to yourself, can’t be easily offended. can have a tough skin, tender heart. That’s what you gotta have, instead of a tough heart and a tender skin. easily offended, easily quarrelsome. Here, perhaps God may grant him grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth that they may come to their senses. And that’s what God has called us to do. We help people come to their senses. Makes sense out of life, to understand why they do what they do, understand what the answer is, how they can have peace, and love and joy, and goodness and kindness in gentleness and self control. That’s what the light is, and they’re called into the light that they may come to their senses into what escaped the snare of the devil. And that’s and hold your captive to do is well. So God has called us to help people come into the light and escape to scare the devil who holds us captive to do as well. You’re the light of the world now let your light shine and that’s what I mean every week when I say get out there and give them heaven. That’s what it means get out there and shine your light. Get out there and be the salt of the earth. Get out there and show him what Jesus looks like. Go out there and be a man of God. Go out there and turn the other cheek and go the second mile be patient with those who are not friendly to you. Gently correct him turn the other cheek go the second mile Bless those who persecute you pray for your enemies give them heaven shine your light in the salt of the earth. In your own home start there you can be a glide in your own home you can be alive anywhere you can be the salt of the earth with your wife and kids and grandkids
and you can be salt anywhere God has called us to be light in salt. Salt to you today. How bright is your light shining? What’s keeping your light from shining today? What’s what’s bettered under a basket
you’re angry you’re resentful Are you bitterness if you’ve been taken advantage of you’ve been slighted if your rights been violated go like that preach it brother he finally hit on something I can understand cuz all that’s happening in there all opportunities, every slight every neglect, every sarcastic thing said about everything that they’ve done to attack you. It’s all opportunities to shine your light. Or you can respond like the world become bitter and upset and they hit you you hit them. They saw the wind you read they read the whirlwind with you. So be alert to your opportunities. Forget yesterday. Forget when you even came over this morning. Now you’re going out there to give them haven’t take advantage of the opportunities God gives you to shine your light and usually it’s in pain and suffering. Turning the other tickets pain and suffering they’ve been hit on one cheek
You’ve been persecuted blessum They don’t wish you well and they’ve been harassing you great far. Takes a tough man who’s died to himself to be a man of mine
to be a man of salt. If you want to humble yourself, God will humble you.
Would you rather have if you’re a guy that only preys on a crisis go give you plenty of crisis. So you got a crisis going on now in your life, that it’d be an opportunity to shine the light. Amen. punch your brother on the shoulder and say he’s talking to you
because we all need to hear Can I get an amen from the congregation. So we’re gonna go out of here today, and we’re gonna do what we’re gonna give them happen because we have the power in our life to do it. And I’m not telling a bunch of guys that don’t have power. You got the power of the Holy Spirit and he’ll hold without nothing from you to shine your light today. Now if you need to repent, repent. I have been chatting my life I’ve been resentful and bitter. I’ve been getting even ignored. I’ve been build bridges. Go back and make restitution. If you need to repent, repent. That’s the thing I love about Christ. He always gives me a new start. They’re always new beginnings. I can always repented he’ll forgive me and put that sin behind him and give me a new day and a new way and a new opportunity. And that’s what he’ll give you today.
If your life yourself has lost its flavor, he will give it back to you. He’ll make you salty again. No trace sheets. If your light is become dim, he’ll give you a new light.
You’re burning a lot brighter than ever. Just repent. father, I’ve sinned. I’ve been selfish. I’ve been bitter. I’ve been unforgiving. And you’ve forgiven me. And here I am forgiving others you’ve given me mercy and I’m not giving mercy to others. You pray for me at the throne of your Father’s right hand. And I haven’t prayed for them repentant, receive its forgiveness. Let your light shine and follow. That’s what we do today as men of God. We want to let our light shine in such a way that people would see our good works or good deeds and things that we do that reflect your nature and your holiness and Your goodness and Your Grace. We want to reflect that. We want to be the man of light in this dark world. Thank you for calling us out of the darkness into the light thank you for your forgiveness and mercy. May we be men do reflect that. Even today in Jesus name and all God’s men said getting heaven guys