You are the Salt and Light of the Earth (Mt. 5:13-16)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” The title of today’s message is “You are the Salt and Light of the Earth.” Throughout the week, God has given us the Word that those who believe in and are with Jesus Christ and the ones who are blessed. We are the creation that confirms how God is fulfilling His Word. If I am not able to confirm God’s Word being fulfilled, then something is wrong with me or I am broken, because the Word of God does not change. God is the Word and He is moving the entire world with His Word even now.
When we’re able to confirm that Word, it is no longer an issue of the cancer that you have getting cured or not, but you will receive the strength to overcome that cancer. When God created our body, He created a chemical called endorphins that make us happy, and when we have them we receive strength. However, there is something that is 4000 times stronger than that, and it’s a chemical called didorphin. When is that chemical released in your body? It doesn’t get released in your body when you succeed in the world; it is not released when the work that you are doing is satisfactory or successful. It is released when you have some sort of realization and say, “Yes, this is true!” That means that God is invisible to our eyes, but when you are personally able to confirm that God fulfills and works with the Word that He gives to you, then you receive this didorphin chemical that allows you to overcome all the problems in life. May today be that time.
Last week, the Lord gave us His Word that those who live for the Lord and are with Jesus Christ are the ones who are blessed. Today, He is giving us His Word regarding our identity. He is telling us that you are the salt and the light of the earth. You must know the world, then, in order to see if you are the salt or light of the earth or not.
1. Salt of the earth
1) Taste of salt
If there is salt, there is the taste of salt, but the Bible tells us that if the salt loses its saltiness, it will be trampled on the earth.
(1) Salt of the covenant (Lev. 2:13)
There is the meaning of salt that is in the Bible. In Lev. 2:13, it says to season all your grain offerings with salt, this is the salt of the covenant. Salt has the meaning of the covenant of God that does not change.
(2) Salt of judgment (Mk. 9:49-50)
In Mk. 9:49-50, it says that everyone will be salted with fire, so salt also represents judgment in this case.
(3) Let your conversation be seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6)
Col. 4:6 says, “Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,” then what exactly is this salt? It also has the meaning of hell and judgment, and the other meaning is that it all talks about Christ. God sent us the unchanging covenant, the Christ, and He received the judgment for our sins.
When we make fermented cabbage, we season all the leaves of the cabbage with salt, which sucks out the water, and the salt goes into the leaves of the cabbage. So, as the salt goes into the leaves, it gives the taste of saltiness. So, the salt itself is Jesus Christ, then how can we have the taste of Jesus? We cannot become the salt. If you try really hard to be the salt, that is religion. “The Bible told me that I’m the salt, then I’m going to try to be the salt,” it will not work out.
2) Taste of the Gospel
(1) Death of the cross and with Christ (Gal. 2:20)
Only when I die on the cross with my Lord Jesus Christ and we are unified together through the resurrection does the salt become my Master within me. Then, the One Who is my Lord within me will reveal the taste of saltiness through me. That’s why we’re the salt of the earth. When Jesus Christ, the One Who died on the cross and resurrected for me, becomes the Lord of my life within me, then I will give the flavor of salt out into the world.
(2) Prayer – Enjoy
Prayer is enjoying the Lord Jesus, Who is the salt, as our Lord. We shouldn’t be asking for this or that because we are no longer the master, then God would be offended. The Lord is already taking care of everything, but if you’re asking Him to do this or that, then the taste of saltiness will disappear. Once the Lord becomes our Lord, it will naturally give the taste of saltiness, that’s what prayer is. But what is the prayer that religion teaches you? “Give me this, give me that,” you are praying to ask for something. That’s not actually Jesus being the Master. You are your own master, asking for this or that, then you can never be the salt.
(3) Taste in the world – Evangelism
Evangelism is the taste of this saltiness going out. If people think that evangelism is the hardest thing in the world, this means that Christ is not their Master, then of course, the result will be difficult. The Bible tells us that if the salt loses its saltiness, it is no longer good for anything. It means it has no usage anymore. Why is it that the people believed in God, but the Israelites suffered so much? It was because they were no longer useful. Mt. 5:13 says they are “thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
3) Not the taste of the Gospel
(1) No longer good for anything (Mt. 5:13)
(2) Thrown out (Mt. 5:13)
(3) Trampled underfoot (Mt. 5:13)
“I believe in Jesus Christ and have followed God, but why is it that my life is always looked down upon and trampled on by others?” Whether you’ve received salvation or not, it’s because you’re not giving the taste of saltiness. The answers will follow depending on what your identity is. If you become the president, then you will receive the answers and authority of being the president afterwards. If you become a nurse or doctor, then you receive the authority and ability to treat and diagnose patients afterwards. The Lord absolutely tells you that you are the salt of the earth. When you agree with that 100% inside of you, then answers that match with that will follow. God will begin to work so that all answers are fulfilling that Word.
If you say, “I will become the salt,” then you will work so hard just to lose strength, because we cannot be the salt ourselves; we are simply the ones who give the flavor of salt, but we ourselves are not the salt. Do you think the Sun creates light? The Bible does not tell us that. In Genesis 1:3, it says, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” and later on, He creates the Sun, which radiates light. This means that the Sun receives light from somewhere else and is simply radiating that light. However, the education we needed and received ever since we’re young is that we must shine our light and that we are the light, and they say, “In order to shine the light, we must do this and this and this,” and no matter how much you try, it won’t work because you go further into darkness. Why? Because the One Who is the salt and is the light must come into us and shine Himself.
Then, as God is fulfilling this Word, He will align all your business, your studies, and all the work you’re doing. If you think, “I have no answers even though I go to church. When I go to church on Sunday, I receive a bit of grace, but as soon as I go into the field on Monday, I don’t see God.” it’s because you cannot see God, however, God fulfills the Word He gives you. So, when you look at everything that happens throughout the week from the perspective of the Word that He gave you on Sunday, you will see the Word being fulfilled. At that point, everything within you will be restored.
You are the creation that receives something from somewhere else and reveals it. May you receive the answer to all of your problems–the problems of your diseases, your mental problems, your family problems, and your work or professional problems–here today. If you disagree with the Word that the Lord gives you, then at any point, you can stand up and leave, you can boldly say, “I no longer need God in my life,” and you can leave. However, when I see this as a witness, I know that God’s Word is true because I’m someone who originally washed my hands of this and left. I was someone who lived with the ideology that there is nothing above humans and that humans are the best. I lived a life where I said “If there is someone who is trying to put themselves above humans, then that is someone we should not obey, and that is someone we should actually break down.” I said, “No matter how weak another person is, we should never step on them.” How could someone like this believe in God? It’s impossible, but one day, I received God’s grace. From that point on, all of my hardened thoughts began to change. I have received life from someone and I live my life for someone. First the fact that I received that thought at all is a miracle, and little by little, He changed my life.
2. Light of the World
Next, He says You are the light of the world. We have light here. When you come at night and there’s no light, you cannot do anything. This world right now is in spiritual darkness. If you do not have the light of Christ, you cannot discern, you cannot discern your own life. I’m not talking about selling and buying things. I’m not talking about research and development. I’m saying you will not be able to escape the darkness and path of your life. No matter how many products you sell and buy, no matter how much you research and educate your children, you will not be able to escape the darkness of your life without this light.
1) Christ
(1) Life (Jn. 1:4)
(2) Light (Jn. 1:4,9)
Jn. 1:4 says Jesus Christ is the life, and in this life is the light of men. Everything begins from life. Just like for a fish, everything begins from the water. It doesn’t matter how large a whale is; if it is outside water, there is no life for a whale. The life of a human does not belong to the human, it is within Christ. The moment Jesus Christ comes within me, that is the source and beginning of all of life. From that point on, the life becomes light.
(3) Light that shines in darkness (Jn. 1:5,9)
As Jesus Christ, the Light, shines His light within me, then I shine this light into the world. Because we are in darkness, until the light comes into us, we are under the misconception that we are a correct human being. The longer the Apostle Paul lived his life until the end, he said that he was more and more wicked; at the beginning he just said, “I am a sinner of sinners,” and then he said, “I have been a sinner since birth,” and closer to death, he said, “I have been a sinner even in my mother’s womb.” As the light comes into us, this is how our confession changes. If the light doesn’t come into us, we think we can do anything we want, then it has not come into us yet. When Paul was the young adult Saul, he thought, “I can do anything,” and that’s all he could see with his eyes, anything he could do. But the disasters of sin, Satan, and hell can never be resolved by the abilities of humans. That is why Jesus Christ came to this earth as the true light of the earth.
Harvard University was raised up by a pastor, and he raised it up to be the light of Truth. But because the biblical knowledge escaped from this university, it is now changing into the light of Knowledge. What is the real Truth? The real Truth is the Bible, the word of God, but because the universities are losing hold of the Word of God, it’s changing into the truth of the academics of knowledge. The more the light of the Truth is disappearing, the more the world is getting trapped in darkness.
2) World – Darkness
This world is in darkness, but what is the state of the world?
(1) Me – God (Gen. 3:4-5)
In Gen. 3:4-5, Satan tempts humans and gives them this condition, “If you do this.” Without a doubt, heretics, as well as Satan, will always give you the condition, “If you do this,” and then they give you the result: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” They always give you a condition of what you can do as a human, and how you can be like God as a result. God only told us to believe; He never told us to do anything. The characteristic of all heresies is that they will use the basis of the law and tell you to do something. This fits more with our nature as humans. If you look at heretics and false Christians, they are always working so hard because they have to do something, they have that condition. It’s the same thing for all religions, and it would be great if the results came, but there’s nothing that follows.
(2) Me – Good things (Evil) (Gen. 6:2,5)
There’s nothing that follows because as soon as humans are separated from God, their standard of good and evil comes from themselves. The good and evil of America says, “If it’s good for America, it’s good; if it’s bad for America, it’s bad,” and that’s why we have no choice but to have more and more enemies. We might have temporary allies because they’re a benefit to us, but until the day of Jesus’ second coming, the conflicts and suffering will continue. Where does our suffering begin? It begins from the sin that is separated from God, that determines what is good or evil based on, “What I like, what is advantageous to me, and what fits well with me.”
In Genesis 6, it says “the sons of God married whomever daughters of men they liked because they were beautiful, and it was “whatever I like.” Because we already don’t care about what God thinks is right and we only care about what I think is right, that’s how we make our decisions. However, the Lord says that man’s thoughts were wicked all the time. If something is evil in God’s eyes, then the result is always evil. “Why is it that I’ve lived my walk of faith for so long but my life is continuously facing this result? I think I know the gospel well, but why do these things keep happening to me?” It’s because you yourself are already centered on yourself as the standard, making the judgment of what is good and what is evil, so no matter how much you listen to God’s Word, it doesn’t go into you.
(3) People’s power – Enemy of God (Gen. 11:4)
From a human perspective, the disaster of the flood did not come because the people did anything wrong, but they were evil in God’s eyes. It goes to the point where, in Genesis 11, they said, “Let us gather the strength of the humans to build a tower up to the heavens, and reject God so He can no longer scatter us.” Why was it a problem to build a tower? Why is it a problem to succeed? The real problem is the evil that we think that we can achieve something with our own strength, regardless of God’s power, and as time passes, that is bound to crumble.
Anything that is not good in God’s eyes is bound to crumble. As you look back on the life you’ve lived until now, only the things that have remained are what God saw as good; everything else crumbled. If something hasn’t crumbled yet, there will be a time schedule where it does. “Why does the Pastor keep telling us words that will destroy us instead of blessing us?” I’m just relaying the Word of God, and it’s true when I look at the experiences of my life. The only difference is that I experienced it more quickly and was destroyed more quickly, so I came back earlier than you. God gave me that ability so I can experience the life of True blessings.
(4) Religion, Idolatry, Shamanism, Meditation (Ac. 13,16,19)
People become their own standard and choose their own religion for themselves. For us, God gives us His grace and He chose us. But we are still doing everything, we choose our idol, and we ask God, “Give me this,” or “Give me that.” In America, the elites do transcendental meditation, there’s no reason for them to come to any church, because if they go to church, they have to meet a lot of people and do a lot of things at the church, it’s too bothersome, and if something is bothersome to me, I don’t want to do it, and if something is good, then I want to do it, so the transcendental meditation fits perfectly with Americans.
If they go to church, they have to tell people about things that are embarrassing, so they would rather stay at home, doing transcendental meditation, perfectly fitting with Americans, and because they close their eyes and listen to soft music, that in itself brings healing but the fundamental things will not change, and later on, even greater problems come. The Bible has already told us in advance, and I am telling you that Word. There is a method good for God, it is where God is the Master of our life, it must be good from God’s perspective. It doesn’t matter how much the church is applauding and how much democracy we have, it is not good in God’s eyes and it will fall.
(5) Life of Suffering
The reason why so many churches are closing down is because they are not good in God’s eyes. So it doesn’t matter how many people gather together and say, “This is great and this is to our benefit,” it is not good in God’s eyes. That’s why people have no choice but to live a life of continuous suffering. That’s not the fault of the president, that’s the fault of the church, because God only gave us this law in the church, but if the church doesn’t know this solution, they are wandering just like the world. That’s why the Word God gave us, “You are the salt and light of the world,” will be fulfilled exactly. When you agree with this fully, then you will receive the answers that are perfectly aligned with God’s Word.
Yesterday evening, my daughter asked me to buy her a pair of pants. Lately, my daughter has been buying really baggy pants. I said, “You can wear baggy pants and skinny pants rotating, you don’t need another pair of pants,” and she told me to get out of her room because she doesn’t need me anymore. I said, “Did you buy this house?” and she said, “I don’t need you anymore, get out of my room.” How is she able to be so bold to me? It’s because she’s my daughter, so she can do that. Because we are the salt and light of the earth, we receive the power and the answers of being that. You can see that God is moving the entire world according to these words.
“What portion of God’s Word is right and what portion is wrong?” That’s not true; God is fulfilling all of the Word that is Truth, and it is the Truth no matter where you apply it. From the moment, the fact that you are the salt and the light of the earth comes into you fully, God will align that and fulfill it through your school, business, and families, and everything that you’re doing and in everyone you meet. But if you have no sense of God’s Word, you will continue to suffer in darkness. Or, let’s say you come to church and you receive some grace, but you say, “Oh, I’m not the light and salt of the earth, that’s the pastor,” then those are the answers you’ll get.
For us, we are not the creation that does anything, but when we believe and confirm the Word that God gives us, then God does His work through us. There’s nothing easy about believing in Jesus. He never told you to do anything. The Lord fulfilled everything on the cross and said, “I will be with you,” so just let it be. He says, “You’re the light and salt of the earth, so there’s no need to think about or research about it a little more.”
3) Light shine before others (Mt. 5:16)
(1) To everyone in the house (Mt. 5:15)
Today, when we’re talking about the light, the Bible says, “We do not put it under a bowl, but we put it on a stand so it gives light to everyone in the house.” The light of Christ. When Christ becomes my Master, then He shines the light within me and you need to be led in order to shine this light to everyone in your family, so He emphasizes where you place this. In the past, they used to build cities on a hill in case there was ever a war or siege, on the top of the hill so it lights up the entire city. You need to have the correct posture so that the light of Jesus Christ that is within you will be shined on every person who is related to your life, because the people of the world don’t know why they’re suffering right now. They keep talking from their standards of what they did wrong or what they did right. It doesn’t matter what you did wrong; because you are your own standard, it’s not gonna work. You have to escape from yourself. You must die on the cross with Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ must become your Master in order for you to relay this flavor of the salt to the world.
If this Word doesn’t come into you, you’re bound to be worse off than a Buddhist believer. Buddhist monks will tell you that when you face a problem, “There’s no such thing as a problem.” But if you don’t understand what these words mean and you say, “I have this and that problem, even though I have God,” then you will be worse off than a Buddhist. Buddhists say that the “You” that you know is not the real “You,” there’s another “True you,” and they say, “That true ‘you’ is one with the universe,” so they make it so that the problem isn’t a problem at all; they make it so that you’re confused into thinking it’s only a problem because you think it’s a problem, so it seems like something is coming towards you, but they are continuously demon-possessed. But when Christ comes within me as my Master and as the true light, then I will change and discover the Truth.
Right now, Satan doesn’t work using religions. Satan says, “You, you are one with the universe.” He says, “Discover your unlimited potential of the universe within you,” and the method to do that is transcendental meditation. Buddhism is actually practicing transcendental meditation thousands of years ago to overcome the suffering of mankind, and now, Buddhist ideals have come into America, slightly transformed into transcendental meditation. Most of the leaders of transcendental meditation in America are the Jewish people. It’s very Americanized, it’s different from Eastern meditation. They don’t go to a pastor; they just transcend through meditation. Why am I telling you this? Because you’ve been called to save the world, but if you do not know the world, you won’t be able to save it, you’ll be dragged into it. Or if you don’t know how Satan is moving the world, then you will not be able to save it.
(2) See your good deeds (Mt. 5:16)
(3) Glorify God (Mt. 5:16)
It says, “Let your light shine so others may see your good deeds.” What are good deeds? It’s not talking about morals or ethics; there is nothing that is a good deed before God except for Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter how nicely you try to live; that’s not good, you’re centered on yourself and that itself is evil. So, if you look at the Bible, it’s possible to interpret this as morals and ethics. However, Phil 1:6 says, “He Who began a good work in you,” and in Acts 10, it talks about the good deed of casting out demons and saving souls, then what is the good deed? Jesus Christ is good, and the deed is that I have to believe in Christ, then you escape. Then it’s revealed that that is what’s good.
Otherwise, you think looking downcast and humble is how you can be a good person, so you’re always looking down, because we have to be kind whenever we go to church , right? That person isn’t able to make eye contact, they think that being humble and looking down is kind, so he’s going into a humility mode, but on the inside, they never listen to anybody’s words, and if they incur a loss, then they go to war. And “If I don’t like something, I don’t like anything,” but because they’ve gone to church for such a long time, they keep their eyes downcast because that’s how they think Christians should look. That’s not what a good deed is. You have to believe in Christ. When you believe in Christ as the Master of your life, then the result is good deeds flowing through you. Through this, shine the Light. If you don’t have this and you keep shining another light, that is not light.
3. My identity
1) Christ
Our identity, what is the church? We receive all our answers in the church, why? Because Christ is the head of the church and we are the body. In the Old Testament, they only needed one church, the Tabernacle, the Temple of the Old Testament. But people are under a misconception thinking the Old Testament means, “We have just one president of our nation,” and they’re under the misconception that if we have a correct leader, like King David, then the whole nation will be at peace. Has that ever happened when we got a Christian president? It’s because they’re looking at it with a perspective that is not aligned with the Bible.
(1) Head over everything for the church (Eph. 1:22)
From the moment that the Lord came to earth, died on the cross, and resurrected, He gave us His Holy Spirit and opened up the age of the church. It is no longer centered on the nation of Israel, that is led by one King, but now He pours His Holy Spirit upon each individual location church and does this work, so you have to understand the church to understand the Old Testament as well, because the Lord raised up the church of Mark’s upper room because that was his body, and now you have to look at the Old Testament to understand it. But if you don’t know the church, you don’t understand the Bible, then that’s why it won’t be an answer for you. It might seem like an answer, but it will not work out because the Christ is the head of the church and we are His body.
(2) Placed all things under his feet (Eph. 1:22)
He says He has placed all things under His feet. Christ is the head of the church and that means all things are under the feet of the church.
(3) Far above every name (Eph. 1:21)
He says everything is bound to bow down to Jesus Christ, everything with power, and name, and grandeur in the world. What does that mean? It means Jesus Christ will do this in the world, and that He fulfills all things, the filing of him. That means that all of creation is moving, centered on the church, because the head of the church is Christ. People who understand this will receive answers even if they stand still, however, people who are not like this will struggle so hard and not receive answers. So if you look down on the church, it means you’re looking down on Christ, and that person will be looked down upon in the world, it’s because they don’t know the Word of God.
2) Church
(1) Christ’s body (Eph. 1:23)
However, if someone believes the church is precious and the church is the body of Christ and they do everything for the church, they will receive continued answers. I think adults don’t believe this very much, so that’s why I ‘m telling this to the kids. I told them, “if you do this and that, God will work this way, and that’s why everything works out.” Joyce was applying to a few different hospitals, and I told her, “Don’t apply to the far away hospitals, apply to LA Children’s Hospital that is closest to church.” How dare a pastor say something so badly as if I’m some kind of fortune teller? I told her, “You have a role you are playing in the church, so don’t waste an hour or two on the road every day, get a job close to church,” and she got a job at LA Children’s Hospital.
God fills and moves all of creation, and He is centered on Christ. God moves all of creation according to the work that Christ is doing in the world through His body, the church. But if someone has heard the gospel but they don’t know what the church is, it’s not going to align, it’s because they’ve never learned what the church is. When they look at the church, they only see the strange people who are gathered here because of the scars they’ve received. However, if you receive God’s grace, your eyes will change, and you’ll think, “These are the people whom God has gathered together preciously.” So, God is moving everything in creation, including your business, studies, and work in order to raise up the church.
(2) Fullness of him who fills everything in every way (Eph. 1:23)
If there are any of you who come to church and leave immediately afterwards, you won’t receive any answers from this, but without a doubt, when God called you to the church, it’s because there is a role for you to play in the church. For that purpose God moves all of creation. That is the answer that naturally takes place. That’s how you need to run your business as well. You must be aligned with God’s Word. If you’re not aligned with God’s word, then you’re just running so diligently on your own, but it’s irrelevant to God.
(3) Church that saves the world
Then what does the church do? Play amongst ourselves? No, we must save the world as the light and the salt. Why does the church have to exist? in order to save the world. But if a church gathers together without a mission to save the world, that is why God destroys the church. If the church says, “For our name, to gather our glory and our power,” that is why God destroys that church. We are the light and salt of the world, and God fulfills that through the church. So, God gives you guys answers through the church. The reason God gave us the church is that is how He will save the world. If all your senses are aligned to this, then that is the answer your life will receive. Then, all of your mental suffering and physical diseases will be healed and restored because you are aligned with the direction of God.
3) Field
(1) World – Answer (Mt. 5:13-14)
(2) Sick people – Fundamental strength (Mk. 16:15-18)
The people of the world do not know why they are suffering, so we must give them the answer as the light and the salt. We must give them the strength of Jesus Christ, the fundamental strength that allows them to overcome their mental suffering, their diseases, and all of their suffering. What’s the point of getting healed if they’re just going to die? What do you think the Lord desires? Through this disease, help them to realize the fundamental strength and the light of Jesus Christ.
(3) To all nations (Mt. 28:18-20)
Then that disease is a blessing. Once you receive strength, this takes place automatically, therefore, do this for all nations. Your business must be aligned to every nation, then God will move it forward.
Conclusion
1. Strength to enjoy salt and light
Throughout this week, in order to be the salt and light of the world, you must be spiritually filled and content with Jesus Christ.
2. Answer within the world
3. Church within the world…
I believe you will receive the answer of giving the answer to the world, as the light and salt through the strength that God gives you, and raising up the church.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. Thank You for calling us as the salt and the light through Jesus Christ. May You give us the grace for these words to be one in our thoughts and our heart. Allow us to stand as the witnesses of the answers that will follow. We have returned our material blessings as offering. We believe You will work upon this offering to fulfill the Word You have given us. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the multiethnic people, and the remnants who desire to hold onto and enjoy and spread the Word You have given them as the light and salt of the earth to bless the field, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.