Be Salt and Light

Good morning, Salt Church. Glad you're here with us once again. All of our online audience, we're so thankful that you could be with us today. If you're new with us, do fill out a connection card at saltchurch.org.

We'd love to connect with you, give you some information about our church, send something to you in the mail, also a free gift. If you're a regular attender, don't forget to download the Church Center app and connect with us there. Let us know that you're present. As usual, just type in the feed below, connect with us, let's interact, let's talk, and let's enjoy our time together here online. I know that many of you are asking about our permanent location or our semi-permanent location or where we will be corporately gathering.

Again, a few weeks ago, we lost the hotel location and that's why we're online here. Many of us are meeting at the beach today for a beach service while this is happening, but we do have a few places we're talking to. In fact, closer to the end of the week, we're having a meeting with some people to see about a certain location that we might be interested in. We're hoping to have some answers for you next week about where we will begin meeting, at least for the summer and maybe even into the fall. We're really excited because we are geared towards raising money for our permanent location.

We're also doing that. While we're trying to find a temporary location to get us through this little rough patch that's happening here, we're also raising money for our own permanent facility. Yes, you guys have already given close to $40,000 in the last few weeks to a new building. Guys, I believe that God has a place for us. As a church and as a family, let's lean in.

Let's give together. Let's make this building a possibility. Let's make this dream a possibility. God has a place, a home for us. He's ready for us to enter in.

I think that God is just going to do some amazing things in our city if we have a home base so that we can use it to reach more people here in Virginia Beach and beyond. We've got great vision, great dreams for our community. This is one of the first steps of being able to accomplish the vision and dream. If you could give above and beyond your tithe and offering to our building fund, you can just go to saltchurch.org slash give and select building fund and you can give to our building fund.

We are so thankful that you're a part of this. We already know that we've got letters in about what God's told people to do and to give. We're just seeing God. It assures us that God is actually in this process no matter if we lose a place that we we had. We thought we had for a reasonable amount of time until we had our own building.

This is just God moving us towards the vision that he has, the heart of the house that he has for Salt Church. So while we're doing this, we'll always be online and if you'll stay tuned, we'll let you know next weekend where we will be and if we will be in a facility that we can be at least for the foreseeable future. So guys, I'm excited about my message today because it really is the heart of our house in our Summer of Salt series as we continue down the road just talking about different things and different subject matters. Today I want to talk about salt, being salt and light, changing your world. If you've been at our church at any length of time, you know that I've talked about changing your world.

Not changing the world, but changing your world. Now when we give our lives to Christ, and I know when I first gave my life to Christ, this transformation took place inside of me and I got to carry it wherever I went. The people I interacted with, the people I associated with, whether it was work, whether it was my family, whatever it was, I had this new being inside of me. That's why 2 Corinthians says it like this. The Apostle Paul says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.

The old is gone and the new is here. And I had this new creation inside of me and it could not be taken away from me. It could never be taken away from me. But as I grew in maturity, I didn't really want to keep this transformational thing that's happening inside of me a secret anymore. I wanted others to be influenced by it.

I wanted others, I wanted to pass it on to others. I had this deep desire inside myself and we all, as we grow in our Christian walk, have this deep desire, this hunger inside of ourselves to share this transformation, to share this new person that others would actually experience the transformed life. And for me, I came to the realization that my story wasn't the ending, but it was the beginning of an overall greater story. It didn't end with me, it began with me. I was changed to be changed for others, to bring others to this changing, transforming life.

That it didn't just end with me receiving Christ and being transformed. That there is something happening, that something that continues to go out. And I wanted to change my world. I wanted to change the people around me. I wanted to use my influence and my abilities and whatever I could to share what happened to me.

Because where I was before, I would not want anyone else to be. But now that I know Christ, I want others to know Christ. That should be the hunger of our hearts as believers, that somewhere along that spiritual growth process, that we actually have this hunger inside of ourselves for others to be changed. That the kingdom of God would grow in our world. And people ask me all the time, what's God's purpose for my life?

What is God's want me to do with my life? What is the calling he has for me? Well, it's found in Matthew 5, starting with verse 13. And this is the very foundation of our church. This is why we call ourselves salt.

Salt is not just some cool hipster beach name for a church. It is actually something significant that we all can carry in ourselves. And Jesus is teaching his disciples. And I'm going to share with you, because I've never really taught it from the message perspective, the paraphrase of the message, but I love how they say this. You are here to be salt seasoning that brings out God flavor up to the earth or of this earth.

It brings out the God flavors of this earth. And if you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Another way to put it, he goes on. So he says here, you're the salt of the earth.

You salt the earth. You preserve the earth. You flavor the earth. You are the power to, you hold the power to transform this earth. You hold the power to bring out the saltiness, to bring out the flavor, to bring out the godliness of this earth.

And then he goes on and he says, let me give you another example here. He says, we're going public with this as a public, as a city on a hill. So he goes on to talk about us being a light on a hill. And if I make you light bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand, like a city on a hill.

You're a light stand. Everybody sees you. It's Even before that, he says, God is not a secret to be kept. He's not a secret to be kept. He's not this quiet thing we keep inside of ourselves, this transformation that's happened to us.

It's not something that we keep to ourselves, but we are light bearers. And I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I put you there on a hilltop, on a lamp stand, shine. So he's telling us to shine. Keep open house.

Be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. And when we read this, we begin to understand that God's plan, or God has a plan for you to change the world. That He wants you and desires for every person to change the world. Not the world, but our worlds.

It starts with our worlds. Together we can change the world, but we all have our worlds that we can influence and we can change. In fact, Mother Teresa even said it. She said, you know, I can't change the world, but I can start with one person. I can start with one child.

I can some kind of influence that I have in some area. Because mass movements begin with just a few people. Mass movements begin with just a few people with a desire and a hunger to do something inside of them that's more than themselves. It doesn't start with just a lot of people just going and doing. Mass movements don't start like that.

It starts with just a few people who are hungry. And I think we see that in Scripture. That usually anything that God starts, He starts with one or a few people. One or a few people. And that mass movement grows into something great.

Political movements start like this. It always starts with just a few people that believe in something and pull things together to make something happen. And that's what God wants for us. We are positive change agents. And it really does start with us.

Leaders lead people through positive change. And we make this world a better world. By virtue of us being here, this place is better. This world is better. We are a preservative of the entire world.

Salt is a preservative. And we are a preservative of the world. We are holding the world together. We are bringing betterment to the world. We make things better for others.

That's the picture that God's given us. That's our purpose. And it's challenging because we get in our comfort zones. It's challenging because it's easy to lose resolve. Resolve isn't there when we don't see things changing at the pace we want to.

Changing the world is uncomfortable because the desire is that we have to be different and we have to live different. And we focus on things a bit different than others. It isn't the same success that we would see that others would see. And it's hard for us to do that. That's why he says we are salt.

So we are salt. We aren't to be salt. We are salt. We are salt. And you make the world a better and brighter place just for you being here.

Just you being here. So we ask the questions. And first of all, we need to say this and think about this. What brings change to people? Because before I give you some points to help you be salt and light or really exist as salt and light, we need to first understand what is it that brings change to people?

There are a few things here. I've got a few things listed here. When someone hurts enough that we have to. When we hurt enough that we have to, people change. When you're backed in a corner and you're crying mercy and there's nowhere else to go.

Most people, a lot of people change that way. There's nowhere else to go. And we just say, you know, what more do I have, God? I need to change. I need to do something different because the way I'm doing it.

And many of you came to Christ that way. You were in the act in a corner. You didn't know where else to go. You tried everything else. And all you could do is reach out to God and say, I have mercy on my soul.

A lot of people change that way. And some people, they see enough that they are inspired to change. They see enough. We see people that make us say, I want to be like that. We see people that make us say, wow, I wish I could accomplish those things.

They're accomplishing. There's inspiration. People are inspired. Some people are inspired to change. Maybe your life change came from inspiration of somebody else just watching somebody else's life.

For some people, it's to learn enough that they want to. Somebody learns enough that we want to. We learn the values, the way someone lives, and they become more valuable as a result. The other person that they place value in becomes value as a result. We place value on things.

They look at our values. They look at our life. They look at the way we look at other people. And they start learning because we place value on those people and help them grow closer to God, even if they aren't far away from God. And then we receive enough that we are able to learn how to change, that we're actually passing down those values, that we're handing those values to others that we place so dearly in ethics and whatever it might be that comes from the Christian life.

So let me answer this question. How can I be salt and light? How can I help change the world? Three things I want to give you. The first one is, and you have to get this in your mind.

This isn't even an action step. This is just a matter of being. We've got to place value on people. We have to place value on people. It's connecting to people.

What do I mean by that? That it's connecting to whoever that person. It doesn't matter where they are, who they are. They might be weird. They might be strange.

They might not be at the same level you are. Whatever it might be, you have to place value on that person that God cares about. I might not care about that person, but God cares about that person. And if we want to be Christ-like, we value everyone. Not just some people, we value everyone.

We place value on everyone. In fact, Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 25, beginning with verse 35 and rolling through verse 40, I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was homeless and you gave me a room. I was shivering and you gave me clothes.

I was sick and you stopped to visit. I was in prison and you came to me. Then those who are going to say, then those sheep are going to say, Master, what are you talking about? In fact, the disciples were probably asking the question, like, what are you talking about? You weren't thirsty.

You weren't hungry. You weren't this and that. And they're asking that question. And when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did they ever see you sick and in prison and come to you, then the king will say, I'm telling you a solemn truth.

Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me. You did it to me. So Jesus puts a lot of importance in adding value to people. That was one of the most important things that Jesus had ever done. He added value to people.

And when you want to connect to Jesus, you got to connect with the people that he loves. You got to value all people, not just some people, not just people that are like you. You have to value people. Second thing is you have to add value to people. It's one thing to value to people.

It's one thing to value people and And see it from that perspective. But you're not taking any action steps. When you just value people, you need to actually add value to people. That means influence people. Influence people to want to change.

How do you do that? It's just not intentions. You can have good intentions to do things for people, but adding value desires action. When you value people, when you start valuing people, you take the next step and add value by thinking of ways to value the people. Look at ways to value people.

Do things that add value to people. Act on them. And encourage others to value people. Think about ways and be intentional about thinking about others. Why would one person say, well, I don't know how to add value to that person.

And the others say, well, I know exactly how to add value. Because they're looking for ways to add to them. To add value. To do things for them. To love them in ways that are actionable.

And not just good intentions. Because good intentions don't get us anywhere. So when we add value to people, we can only influence the world by adding value. Finding ways to add value to people. And ultimately, we gain more influence in the process.

Look at 1 Corinthians 9. Turn to verse 19. And it says, Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone. This is Paul speaking, by the way. He's talking about his way of ministering to people.

And he says, I am free of demands. I'm not doing anything. I don't expect any expectations. Or I don't expect others to have any expectations of me. I'm only trying to please God.

You need to know that first. Alright? You're doing this to please God and not to please man. Okay? If you're doing it to please man, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

If you're trying to please man, you're going to fail every time. Because you're going to be always running to try to please man. So all you can do is please God. So he says, I have voluntarily, I have done this on my own free will, to become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people. Religious, non-religious, meticulous moralists, loose living, immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized, whoever.

And he's saying, you know, it's just everybody. I'm not limiting my category. Or I've taken, he says, I didn't take on their way of life. Of course not. I didn't take on their way of life.

I kept my bearings in Christ. But I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. So he says, I looked at them. I added value to them by looking at themselves, looking at their lives from their point of view. Not that I was participating in the things because I'm a bearer of Christ.

And it's impossible for me to even have the desire to do that. But I add value to them because I want to see where they're coming from. And then he goes on to say, But I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. And I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saving life. I did all this because of the message, because of the good news.

I've done all, I've gone out of my way to try to reach as many people as possible. Adding value to everyone I meet. I didn't just want to talk about it. I wanted to be in on it. I wanted to be a part of it.

So our perspective towards people determines, get this, our attitude towards them. Our perspective of people, the way we see people, determines our attitude towards them. So how we view things is how you do things. How we view things is how we do things. And if we see people as weak, what do we do?

We help them. If we see people as broken, we fix them. But get this, if we value, if I see you as valuable, I serve you. We serve them. If we see them as valuable, we become less.

We become less and we serve. Because it's easy to put a Band-Aid on something and see somebody's broken or hurt or weak or whatever. But when I see them as a valuable gem, a gem that God has created, I start to look at myself and I put myself beneath so that I can serve. Number three, we need to live good values. We need to live good values.

This is the attractional nature. People are drawn to people who live out good values. This is what makes others attracted to you. And when we live out good values, it produces something in us. And people are like, I want that.

Have you ever met somebody that you're like, I just want what they have? This is what that is. Good values are important. People who don't carry good values, who don't have good ethics, it's not attractional. And people are drawn to others who live out good values.

Look at Galatians 5.22. I love how the Passion Translation puts it when he talks about the fruits of the Spirit. He says, But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions. Joy that overflows.

When we live out good values, we have a joy that overflows in our heart. Who doesn't want to be around somebody who has joy that's just overflowing? That joy is just coming out. You don't want to be around somebody who doesn't have joy. Nobody wants to be around that.

But when we live out what's inside of us, when what's inside of us starts producing things on the outside, when fruit just starts popping out, just coming out, people are attracted to that. Love that overflows. How about a peace that subdues? Peaceful things. Patience that endures.

Kindness in action. A life full of virtue. Faith that prevails. Gentleness of heart. A strength of spirit.

Spirit, never set the law above these qualities, he says, for they are meant to be limitless. Like the law, these just go beyond the law. The things they're producing inside of you, we don't set limits. We don't set laws on those. Those are things that go on and on.

So we need to live out those good values. And then number four, we don't only live out those good values. We share these good values. So living out attracts people, but sharing is where transformation happens. This is really where transformation happens, people.

Like when we share those good values with others. John Maxwell was sharing a story about his publisher contacted him and says, all these business people want you to write a book on Christian ethics because they're just grabbing your material and they love it and they can use it in their businesses and things. And he originally started off just training people in the church. It was about the church and pastors and how to be better leaders as pastors because we didn't know how to be better leaders. We didn't know how to be leaders.

We only knew how to preach the Bible and teach the Bible and things like that. We just didn't know how to be good leaders. So they catch on to this and they say, we want you to write a book on business ethics. He says, I can't write a book on business ethics. That's impossible.

I said, why? Because there's no such thing as business ethics. There's only ethics. There's only ethics. But ethics happens to work in business.

So God is about ethics. God is about right values. But they work out in business. And so salt and light is transformation. And transformation begins with good values.

About what's inside of us being so much bigger that it comes out with what we do in the public square. It creates in a stability. It anchors us to something greater than ourselves. It transforms us from the inside out. And we are able to share these values.

And when you have good values inside you, when you have good values, you don't need validation on the outside. You need less validation on the outside, I should say. But if you lack good values on the inside, you seek validation on the outside. So, how do we do this? I love how John Maxwell explains it.

Transformation tables. That people gather around transformation tables, hashing out and sharing the values with each other. One study showed that there was a school in Guatemala where they began teaching ethics and teaching values in the classroom. And in just a three-week period of time, just a three-week period of time where teachers were sharing values, were teaching values, they saw behavioral changes in the children, good positive behavioral changes in the children. In fact, they talked about there was this one young third grader named Ethan, one third grader named Ethan, and he comes up and he sits in the lap of one of the guys that was a part of this and said, You know what?

You know what? Do you ever get that feeling deep down in your heart, deep down in yourself? This is a third grade kid. This is a little boy that you really want to make a difference in the lives of people. That you really want to make a difference deep down inside of yourself.

You know why he said that? Because we are all created to make a difference in the lives of people. We all should have that desire. That's how God created us. He designed us to be able to bring value to this world and to pass on our values.

That we don't just hold on to our values and live out and attract people through our values, but we're actually passing those values down to our children, to the people that we're around, in our church, in our congregation, to people who are coming to Christ, sharing those values. That's how people change. This is how salt and light works in the world. The world is better off because we are here, because we are living Christ-like, because we are living out those values, and we're passing those values along. I love how Romans 15 says, and I'll end with this verse, First, strength is for service, not status.

Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, how can we help? How can we help? How can we make a difference? How can we do this? It starts with those four points.

Valuing people, placing value on people, living our values, and passing those values along. And we can make a difference in this world. I don't care who you are. I don't care where you come from. I don't care your education, your status in life.

You have a place of influence. You have value that you can pass along. You have values you can share with others. You have experience. You have abilities.

You have giftings. And you can change your world. It doesn't start with a mass number of people. It only starts with each individual person making a decision that they are going to make a difference in this world through Jesus Christ. Christ wants to use you to advance the kingdom of God.

And as a church, imagine a church full of people. Imagine a church full of people who know who they are, know their value, and know how to share values with others. To pass along this great transformational thing that we have. To change our world. Imagine a church that everybody has a sphere of influence in which they can change.

And they're operating in the spirit to make that happen. We could reach mass numbers of people. A movement or revival could start right now. But it really starts right here in our heart. Living bigger in here than out here.

Because when it gets big in here, there's no escaping what could happen outside. How we can change our world. So let me pray with you today. And I want you to just be open. Be open for the spirit to speak to your heart today.

No matter where you are in your walk with God. God, we just ask that you inspire us and move us to want to be hungry for more of you and your kingdom. And we want purpose, God. We all are designed with this purpose in our heart. This hunger in our heart, Lord Jesus, to do more for you.

Purpose is what we desire. But you've given us a purpose here. You've called us to be salt and you've called us to be light. You didn't say that's what we're to be, but you said that's who we are. That this world actually makes a difference.

Help us, Lord, to understand that and see that. That we are salt and light in this earth. And God, begin to prompt our hearts. Begin to tell us, speak to us, and give us and move us towards the things that we have before us now that we can use to really make a difference in this world. Don't let us hold back, God, what we have.

But that we would give all to you. That we'd have such a hunger and a surrender and a passion for you to build your kingdom and to grow your kingdom. For some of you, you're at a place where you don't have purpose and you don't have identity yet. Because you haven't placed your trust in Christ. I was with somebody not long ago that was sharing their testimony and they said, you know what, I had everything.

I had it all. But I was missing something right here. It was right here. And I just could not put my finger on it. I was successful in business.

I had a lot of friends. I had everything that I ever wanted. But I just wasn't. I was lacking purpose. And that's what Jesus is sharing with you now.

Through his scripture and through this message that he has a purpose for your life. That's bigger than even the things that are happening in your life right now. That you can have purpose because what you're missing is God. You're missing God here. So why don't you give your life to Christ today?

You can start today living with purpose. Living with identity. Knowing who you are. And being content. And filled with this overflowing joy that only the Spirit can produce.

And it's a free gift. All you have to do is say, Lord, I want it. I need it. It's a free gift. You just have to reach out for it.

He gives you the free gift of salvation. It's not by works. It's not by all the things I do well. It's a free gift. So if you want to receive that gift, let's pray together.

Father, I believe that you are the Son of God. And you died on the cross for my sin. And you have come to give me identity, life, and purpose. God, will you come into my heart. I did it my way for a long time.

But now today, I feel that emptiness in my life. Feel that emptiness in my heart. Come into my life, Lord. Make me a child of yours. In the name of Jesus.

Amen. If you meant that prayer, if you received that free gift, praise God. God, as you begin to walk out this new life, you're going to see things happen. You're going to see things start to change inside of you. You need to do a few things.

You need to get plugged into a local church, if not a part of our church, a church somewhere. Get into a local church. Get connected to some people to help you grow. Begin to pray. Read your Bible.

Download the Bible app. You need to be baptized. Get connected in baptism. And we can baptize you here at Salt Church right out the ocean. Or if you're near a church in your hometown, you can be a part of that.

God is just, as you begin to take these steps, you're going to watch God really change you and transform you. You're going to be, because now you're carrying a new being inside of you. And we're excited about that. Now let us know. If you need help, let us know.

Go to our website at saltchurch.org. You can email us and let us know that you gave your life to Christ. You can fill out a connection card. Let us know at saltchurch.

org. Let us know that you gave your life to Christ. Please do let us know. We want to be a part of that journey. And we want to know if we're making a difference in your life.

And we want to hear your stories, because we're so excited about what God's already done in our church and where he's moving us to. And we want, and we know that if we hear from you, we know we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. So we love you guys. And let me just say this. Salt always makes a difference, and a little bit of salt goes a long way.

You have a purpose, and you can change your world. So until next week, guys, I love you. I'm praying for you. Keep plugged into social media. Tune in on our webpage.

We're always updating our webpage to let you know what's going on with our church as we're in a very different season right now. But we're going to be back together very, very soon. We're working hard to make this happen and praying. Pray with us for a new location and the right location and the permanent location that God has for us. Love you guys, and have a great rest of your weekend.

We'll see you next week. We'll see you next week. Bye. Bye. You