Week 2 | What Difference Can Our Lives Make?

You You He said you are the salt of the earth and My mind went to a single solitary grain dropped into the blandness of the world strain Just one person a flicker of God's grace a lonely witness in this crowded place But then I Saw the truth in a different way He wasn't just speaking to a single soul. He was addressing all of us You Me We are that salt a collective called to make the broken whole He said you are the light of the world and I imagine my little lamp a tiny glow fighting back the darkness a single beacon against the world's dark shadow Just me and my small faith fighting to be seen a quiet protest against the obscene One small light can illuminate the pitch-black But it takes all of us to push all the darkness back God is not interested in simply rescuing individuals. He's not just pulling me out of the abyss He's forming a new community a new humanity a congregation a kingdom a New reality Salt doesn't work as just one grain a lot of it is needed Shaken out together enhancing goodness a new taste leaving no crumb of flavor to waste We are that shaker that brings the flavor the preserving grace representing a holy Savior The light isn't just one lamp

It's a bright city on a hill a radiant display calling people closest still It's the love of many outshining the darkness, it's not my flicker alone that the world sees It's the collective radiance of a people on their knees So when he says you are the salt and light He's not just talking to me But to you And you And you We It's a call to community a holy fusion his people forged in his love a sacred Union We are the salt and the light Resisting darkness Preserving what's right, but only if we learn his way The Jesus way And may it begin with me You will you pray with me Holy Father The light of the world Search us As we open our hearts before you and your word, God, I ask that you would speak in a way that would meet us and transform us. Lord, we need you. We don't just need information, Lord, we need you. We pray in all God's children said, amen. It is a good 24 hours to be in Chicago, huh? Okay, anyways, let's go. Bears. Okay, Harry, it feels nice.

Yeah, let's go. I almost lost hope, you know? I love sports, I really, I enjoy watching sports. Love playing them, enjoy watching them. My kids love sports. You know what else I really enjoy? The new year. Anyone else like the new year? Isn't it wild how, we were like, kinda. Have you noticed something happens at the new year where suddenly you just get this motivation to like try again? And then now we're at January 11th. How are we? It's going good? Yeah, Bible in a year. How's it going? No? Bible plan, reading, memory? The new year is really sweet because suddenly you come into it with all this anticipation. I think I know why. My friend Alan made this comment, he goes, I think we're all looking for the same thing, whether last year was hard or really good. I think the reason we like the new year so much and where the motivation comes is I think all of us long for like a fresh start somewhere. We wanna learn, cultivate new rhythms, but we also wanna like stop doing some things. And kind of the new year gives us that jolt to try. Now while the new year is great and all, it is great, I enjoy it. I have great news. With Jesus, you don't have to wait for a new year for a fresh start. He even shows up in February.

And for you, His mercy is new. Watch this. When? Every morning. That's why I love this series. The Jesus way. Because while a new year is great, while the Bears winning a playoff game is shocking, and great, and great, did I not say that? And great, great, so great. Let's put our hope in Jesus this year and enjoy the gifts that He gives. Surely, enjoy the new year, enjoy the new rhythms, enjoy new motivation, enjoy your sports teams. But let's put our hope in Jesus because only in Christ can you be entirely satisfied, sustained, and fulfilled all year long. Amen? So we open ourselves to His word, we turn towards Christ, hope that He turns His face towards us, illuminates us to walk out transformed. I hope you come to church not just looking for information, you can get that anywhere. We show up to huddle around the light, to allow His face to shine upon us, and His grace to come into the places we need to know it the most, that we might look more like Him on the way out by His grace. And so here's what Jesus has to say as we continue week two learning the Jesus way. He says this, beginning in Matthew chapter 5 verse 13. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. These words from Jesus come immediately after following where Sean took us last week.

so walked through the blessed life, how it's utterly a dependence upon the Lord Jesus. And then we get to this next chunk, and what he does is he tells you who you are before he sends you out, before he talks about some of the hottest topics. He reminds those who are following him. So this word is given to his disciples. Remember the context. He gathers his disciples and says, you are salt of the earth. Verse 13, let's read it together. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. We are salt of the earth. And I say we there, even though I just read you, because the you here is plural. He is speaking to his disciples, followers of the way, who by the way aren't referenced as Christians until later. These are followers, they're actually referred to as followers of the way. That's why we're studying the way of Jesus. And he clearly articulates, followers of the way, let me tell you who you are. You are the salt. And they had maybe a different understanding than we do of salt.

See, salt in this context was before refrigeration, so it had a different use. While it did add flavor, yes, you add flavor to your neighborhood, yes, it actually primarily was used as a preservative. So something like meat that they couldn't refrigerate, they would add salt to it, which would actually slow or preserve the meat, slow the decay. It by the way also was incredibly valuable. It was used as currency. It was so valuable. So now hear the words of Jesus, you're valuable. You are meant to preserve. I did not save a group of people in order to escape the earth. No, no, no, I saved a people to preserve it. God names who we are and his words are powerful just like he created all words to be powerful. How do I know? I think I'm not the only one that had someone say something to me before sixth grade that still has stuck. I know exactly where I was when that girl said that thing. Do you have that phrase by the way? Isn't words so powerful? My family started tradition. It was actually my brother-in-law, Steve, who came up with the idea because he was studying the scriptures and realizing, gosh, names are so powerful.

It doesn't just speak to who you are, it's also to who you can become. And what he realized and what we all realize is really names, oftentimes they can be hurtful. There's like no neutral words. Either brings people closer to life or death. That's what the Bible says. And so we started a little tradition in our family on people's birthdays. You should steal this. But here's what we do. We show up and we give each other true and strong names. Now, of course, you have the names that are given you at birth, yes. But the problem is we get named all sorts of things, right? All the time by people. And we have to be really careful with our words because even in how we encourage people, sometimes we encourage people, encourage, give courage, we give courage to people based on things that put them in a box of what they have to be. For instance, you're so funny. Now you have to be funny, right? Or you're so stylish. Put you in a box. It's not a bad thing and it might even be true. But here's the thing. If to encourage someone is to give someone courage, then if you only give people courage with how they look, then guess where they're gonna run to find their courage?

Their closet or a mirror. Huh, so we gotta be mindful. So we started this birthday tradition and my brother Steve gave the illustration and it blew me away. He said this, my whole life I was named shy. And I hear people do this all the time, especially with young kids. And you've done it. If you have a young kid, you do it. You go, sorry, they're being so shy. So sorry, they're so shy. And someone at Steve's birthday said this. It's not that you're shy. You're wildly observant. It opened the box. So much so that he became a psychologist and he's really good at it. You wanna know why? Because God made him that way. This isn't just for Steve. I remember my birthday, one person named me this. She goes, it's not just that you're crazy. I was like, this is my birthday. What are you doing? She goes, it's not just that you're crazy. No, she goes, you're passionate. It's almost like I'm crazy on purpose. Brother Steve is hesitant on purpose. God made you that way.

Now listen to the words of Jesus. He wants to name who you are. This is who you are. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are salt meant to prevent decay in a broken world. That's who you are. I was a waitress for seven years, and I remember at one point, some girl walked up to me, one of the other waitresses, and she says, you know what's really weird? None of the waitresses cuss around you. And I was almost offended. I'm like, are they not willing to be free? They're like, I want them to feel comfortable around me until I understood who I was. Because guess what? For an eight-hour shift, I preserved their mouth. Thank you, thank you. Where do you see decay in the world? Or in your world? And I'm gonna tell you who you are. You, and by you, I mean we. And the reason I say we is because he's speaking to many people. The mission of God was never meant to be a me mission. It's always been a we mission. We are meant for life. There's a famous sea that borders the Jordan and Israel and it's called the Salt Sea.

It is highly saline, which is a fancy way of saying lots of salt. And something really interesting about it, I went to see this sea. It has another name. Do you know it? The Dead Sea. Wait, what, we're called salt? And it's called, no, no, no, no. Here's why it's called the Dead Sea, because nothing alive can live in it. What? It's called the Dead Sea because nothing alive, not fish, not aqua things, can live in it. And the reason that matters is because when Jesus tells us who we are, we are the salt, he immediately goes into a warning about being useless. The Salt Sea has become the Dead Sea because no life can live in it and here's why. It has a lot flowing into it, but nothing flowing out of it. That's how it became the Salt Sea. Hear the words of the Lord. You are salt. Oh, hear me. You can come to church and get a lot of information. Here's my question. Is it pouring out of your life? Salt is useless if it just sits in the container.

Do you ever have that big chunk of salt that just gets stuck in it? Do you ever have that? And then you're like, ah, it's what? Useless. Fact, let me go even a step further. Salt that never touches anything, never changes anything. I know that distance makes you feel safe, but I'm gonna tell you this. It cancels out your purpose as salt. We are not rescued from the earth. You are the salt of the earth because you are sent into it. The power of salt is not in its gathered state. It's in its scattered state. Jesus is naming who we are. Who we are. People meant to touch, make impact on the world. That's who you are. And he doesn't stop there. You are salt. Who else are we? We are the salt of the earth, number two. We are light, so let your light shine. Verse 14, you are the light of the world, Jesus says. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. That wouldn't make sense. We're not gonna let Satan, phew, it out. Remember that, huh? Instead, they put it on its stand,

and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Light doesn't just highlight things. Here's the truth about light. It exposes what's in the dark. And I was sitting with this pastor, and I was like, I think most people in the audience probably have heard this part of the Sermon on the Mount. It's like, you know it, you know you're light, why don't we shine, genuinely? And I kept wondering, I wonder if we're scared of the dark. Or maybe we look too much like it to actually notice that there's a difference. Or maybe, this one got me good, I wonder if we complain about the darkness more than we show up as light in it. Yeah, me too. So much more comfortable to be on fire here, right, than it is sometimes on Monday morning there. And I love that we can receive these words, not, you have to make your light shine, that's not what he says, verse 16 says this. In the same way, what's the next word right there? Let. This is key. He right here says this, he goes, you are the light, we light. He does not say, so go make yourself shine. Listen to the really good news. Here it is, good news, understand it, let your light shine. I've already had a lot of illustrations so far, but let's add another one. Here, I'm going to check this out, how cool is this, I think I could probably even get it.

Yeah, right on the screen, yeah, isn't that good? This is us. There's a difference between making your light shine and letting your light shine. A mirror does not create light. If we were in a dark place, this would be useless, unless there's something to reflect. Jesus uses John to articulate this beautifully and explains it in John chapter 1, verses four to five, how it's possible for us to shine in dark places. In him, by the way, this is his, this is John's words describing the incarnation, God himself coming to us because we couldn't get to him, we are people living in darkness, and suddenly we see a great light. What is that great light? And the reason I say light there, and also I want to go all the way back to the very beginning, because in the beginning, God said, let there be, but guess what? The sun, moon, and stars weren't for a few days. What was the light? John writes, in him was life, and that life was the, of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Did anyone need to hear that this morning? Light wins. Light is more powerful than darkness. Darkness isn't, here we go, ready? It's not even a thing, it's the absence of the thing. And what's our job? Let. To let is a little bit of a different posture. It's not running frantically to try to shine. It's turning your gaze to become the reflection. Do you see the difference, right in your face? Do you see the difference? The question for us changes from, how can I shine to, where are you facing?

Who are you staring at? Because honestly, I think a lot of us are just staring at ourselves. We're just staring at other people in comparison. We're just staring at our mistakes. We're just letting the darkness be the thing that surrounds us without the hope of the light. And that's the good news of the entire passage, as Jesus is telling us who we are. Our job, like the mirror, is simply to turn to the light and let it expose. If you have regret already in New Year's, let the light of his light that exposes it in his presence. I know it's uncomfortable, but let me tell you, if you have your faith and trust in Jesus, looking at your mistakes is a whole lot different than looking at it without him. Looking at it without him turns to despair. Looking at it with him looks a lot like you really are. We are loved not just when you're good. It's that good. You are not just loved when you perform well. When you look at the light, he exposes, yes, but let the light shine, because when you are met with grace you don't deserve, you begin to look like it to others. When you see Christ's compassion towards your story, you can reflect his compassion as you witness the effects of someone else's story and their behavior. Do you know what I mean? So what do we do? We turn toward the light. Our work is not to produce the light. It's positioning ourself toward the life. It's orienting our life, our time, and our energy

toward God's presence, his truth, his love, his people, and his service. Because one thing about people, you guys are so funny. You wanna know why? Did you know that people, sometimes, some of my favorite people in the whole wide world, you know what it brings out in me? It exposes some of the worst in me. You kinda wish it was the opposite. Why is it that strangers get the best of us? Because people, God uses people. That's why all the things we talk about in here actually make sense. People expose, Christian people expose, and the safety of being exposed in a Christian community is we have the chance that Christ in them might respond to our brokenness, too. So how do we orient ourselves to the light? Many ways. Number one, be a part of a Christian community. When they make the announcements for small groups, we're not doing that. We're not adding more work to ourselves, because it's fun. We're doing it because we know it's what you need. These challenges we're putting before you get into God's word, why? Because you can find out who you are here. Because you can hear a voice that loves you. You can read a story of people who screw it up,

and God's grace finds them and transforms them and uses them beyond their wildest imagination. Thanks, girl, I'm gonna keep looking at you. We go to prayer, not to try to rile God up a little bit. We go to prayer to hang out with the one who loves us the most, who can settle us again. So you can walk into the crazy scenario called your life with peace. We look at the light. Scripture, prayer, community. Another one, service. Service is not to make you bright. It's the space where you reflect the light. That rhymed. We are the salt of the earth. We are light, so let your light shine. And then Jesus ends the passage explaining why. And this is key. Verse 16, in the same way, let your light shine before others that you might be pretty impressive. Try again. In the same way, let your light shine before others that people might, I'm trying to think of all the things that I'm tempted by, of why I wanna shine. Why do you wanna shine sometimes? Let your light shine before others that you would feel good about yourself. No, this is key. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven. Friends, here's another weird one I'm gonna encourage us toward. Let's start bragging on how God has used our life because it's never been about your glory anyways. Let's start telling those types of stories. Let's start telling those types of stories because how God uses you is not even meant for your glory. The way I learned this best was through a kid's book I was reading to my kids. And since we've done many illustrations, let's end with one more. Because I'll tell you this, the temptation for me and also the temptation for my kids who had their baseball tryouts yesterday, which is funny that they call them tryouts because everyone makes the team, they're just trying to make the teams fair. But anyways, my kids felt the pressure of making it. They did. So, the temptation is to try to be the star, right? At your job, as the sibling. You know? But God calls us to be something very different. He calls us to be what? Do you know what that is? The moon. One of my favorite kids' books. We're gonna go back to elementary school. You guys ready for a minute?

Doesn't matter. This one's called Full Moon Rising, written and illustrated by Christy and T. Lively-Fuarty. You guys ready? Dear God, I heard a cosmic story and wondered if it's true. The moon was stealing glory, and this is what he'd do. He bragged each night that his great might could make the darkness flee. And like a kite, he scaled the heights and said, hey, look at me. The pompous moon would only croon the songs that praised his name. He hoped that soon the cosmic tunes would bring him greater fame. It's really strange, but he could change his shape throughout the year. His face would change, then rearrange, and sometimes, I heard one of you go, disappear. You got it. He loved the thought that astronauts had danced across his face, and cosmonauts and monkeynauts would visit him in space. He bragged that he could cause the sea to rise and swell each day. Then all could see how mightily he'd pull the waves away. He'd boast away and loved to say, I am the greatest light. Until one day, a piercing ray showed him a shocking sight. He saw his pride, and then he cried for all that he had done, for he had lied when he denied.

His light came from the sun. Picture that being in your face. So now, each night, a new delight is what he loves the most, reflecting reflecting light with all his might. The sun is now his boast. So God, I pray for grace each day to find the joy that's true in all my days, in all my ways, and making much of you. I have an odd challenge with the few minutes we have remaining. I think we've gotten out of the habit of boasting in Jesus and what he has done, and also how he has used us. I want to give a minute. And in fact, in groups of two or three, and if someone's left out, that's your fault. Would you just boast in what God has done in you? Or boast what God has done through you? We did this during the brainstorm for this message, and one gal told this story, and it was like all glory to Jesus. And it's almost like we're shy away from telling how God uses us. They'll tell you this, if it's about you, yeah. But if it's all about him, I think we might need encouragement to look at each other and go, let the light shine. Let the light shine. Let the light shine. So just in a little pocket of the people around you, if someone could speak up.

You got one minute. How have you experienced the light of Christ lately? One minute. Let's go. 30 seconds. You don't have to switch. You got the rest of your lives. ♪♪♪ Let's wrap that up and we'll bring it back. You're so obedient. I got one more challenge to put in front of you. First of all, light is meant to be seen so that God can be known, church. Light will only affect that which it touches. And Jesus made sure he let his disciples know he's doing a work and it begins with us. On our way out, I hope you keep telling stories. If you didn't switch during that time, you can on the way out. And if you don't know, good, take it as a good challenge. And here's the best part. On your way out, there's something today that Sean's going to explain a little bit more called a team's invitational. It's this. It's simply an opportunity for you to shine and to be salt here and to touch people through the church. Why? Because you're the church. I can't help it with metaphors today. You're the church. You're the body. You're it. And so team's invitational is this.

Basically, it's an all play. Why? Because the church is us. It's all of us. This language is for us. We are the light. We are the salt. This is our invitation to be it, to practice it. Not in order to become it, but to live up to who we already are. We don't give service opportunities in order for you to become light. No, we give service opportunities for you to shine, for you to discover where that ache within you. And I wonder this, where is God breaking your heart for the decay around you? In the world, I see so many people. Maybe you're someone that complains about the younger generation. I wonder if God's breaking your heart for it to show up there. Maybe God's breaking your heart, and that's why I love about the wide, wide array of local, global, different ministry opportunities for you to step into. And I know there's so many reasons why you wouldn't. It's risky. It's vulnerable. But I want to challenge you with this. This is the all play. You're going to have to choose to ignore the booths and exit. Because. We're not inviting you to serve because we need the help. We're inviting you to serve because it allows you to live up to who you already are. We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. As you exit into the lobby, you can see what we are up to.

Be encouraged, church. Willow touches the world. Oh, and by the way, when I say Willow, I'm talking about you. I'm talking about you. And if you don't feel like you're a part of Willow, you're invited. Will you pray with me? Father God, have your way. Use us. Break our hearts. Shine your face upon us. Be gracious to us. That we might reflect you this week, we pray. And all God's children said, amen.