Salt & Light

Today we're gonna um wrap up the conversation with creatives.

And I thought about when I was doing this, uh preparing slightly for this.

We were talking about, I was listening, we'll remember, I'm sorry, a conversation from Brandon Lake.

And I want to say, I don't know if it's at the Dove Awards or the Grammy, it's probably the Dove Awards.

He was talking about how a lot of um opportunity is there for uh faith-based musicians to I don't I don't know if it's necessary to integrate or to share the platform, or that there are a lot of opportunities for faith-based musicians now, more so than there were in times past.

And it's interesting because you see a lot of um, particularly on social media, a lot of people who are expressing their faith in their creative outlets.

And you seem to have a time of acceptance.

And I don't believe that's necessarily a coincidence, particularly in a time where a lot of um people are coming back to church of various age groups.

Um some people say we're in the midst of a revival in different in different regions.

Jesus' words in Matthew chapter five reign more true.

Matthew chapter five, um, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.

Thirteen, you're the salt of the earth.

You are the salt of the earth.

He's talking to his people.

But what good is the salt if it has lost its flavor?

You can make it salty again.

It will be thrown out and trampled under foot.

It's worthless, verse 14.

You are the light of the world, a city that sits on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

No one lights a lamp that puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father.

And thinking about those in creative, it's very easy to go with the flow.

Honestly, there's pressure to conform, to capitulate, to compromise.

But Jesus is saying, Hey, you are salt.

And I don't know about you all.

In food, salt has elements that it can overpower or take over.

And so Jesus is like, hey, we are additives.

We are, we we have within us as believers components that stand no matter where you go.

And it should.

You should stand out, not necessarily because you're the loudest, not necessarily because you know it's gotta be my way.

No, no, no.

But because of our good deeds, of our good works, and the way we go about working.

What comes to mind as I'm saying is Daniel.

Um, in the book of Daniel, what happened is Israel was in a time of judgment.

And during this time of judgment, they were, their country was invaded and they were taken to a foreign land.

Daniel and a few of his friends were placed in the king's palace for service.

And so they were asked, they were given the choice food, but the food had been offered sacrifice to idols.

And so Daniel said, Look, I'm not going to dishonor my beliefs.

I'm not going to dishonor my God by eating that particular type of food.

It was unclean food.

And so what Daniel did, they were like, okay, look, let us eat the way we eat.

Let us glorify God with the way that we eat.

And test us after 10 days.

And so the way that they were still going about their business, they were still going to going to the classes, they were still being taught, they were still doing that.

But the way they went up, they were still going about their business, the mundane tasks of their business, their tasks.

Take all of us, do we have coworkers?

We have colleagues.

If you're the business owner, you have things that you're looking for in your day-to-days.

They were going about doing that.

But the way that they did it, they did it in a way that glorified God.

So as a result, after the 10 days, they were like, okay, test us.

And they were their light shined brighter, they were smarter, they were more mentally sharp, they looked better than the other people.

Why?

Because the way they went about their work was in a way that glorified God.

So no matter what field you're in, do it, Colossians, do it as unto the Lord.

Because if God, even if you're whether you're you're you're in your place called there or you're on your way, meaning that you have something God placed on your heart and you're on your way, but you have something you're working on in this particular moment.

Do it as unto the Lord.

Because if you don't do it as unto the Lord, then what happens is you are turning down your light.

You are losing your effectiveness, you're losing your saltiness that God allowed you to bring to the place that you're in right now.

And selfishly, the blessing that's upon you that will cover and bring value, for lack of better terms, to where you are is being diminished.

Because as opposed to you laying your life so shine, you're going in there and you're being a thermostat.

I mean, at the moment, not a thermostat.

Be a thermostat.

Be a thermostat.

Why?

Because of whose presence you carry.

Yes, you have tasks like everybody else, probably the same task.

But because you go in the name of the Father, you go about doing it.

We go through it without complaining, griping.

Yes.

Oh my gosh.

Why?

As unto the Lord.

And even the way for success.

There's a way.

And there's a way.

Oh, if you do it like this.

No.

Uh-uh.

We come in the name of the Father.

And we glorify him in how we go about doing this.

Even the pressure comes to cheat, still lie.

You fill in the blank.

No.

No.

Why?

We are the soul.

We are the light.

And if you're at the bottom, you are the light.

You are the light.

And so here, this is why it's important.

The last verse, verse 16, let your light so shine, so that they may see your good works and bring glory to the Father.

So if is the does the way that you work, go about your work, point others to God, or they make you question the God in which you serve.

Think about it all the time when I have my Christian students.

Most of y'all know I'm a high school counselor.

It's always fun when I have my Christian students and they come to my office and we talk.

And like, yeah, Mr.

Hearns, I was in um I was at church on yesterday.

I'm like, why are you in ISS today?

Yeah, Mr.

Hearns, you know, I sing in a choir.

Why are you failing every all of your classes?

Yeah, Mr.

Hearns, I do this.

Why are you the main why are you the main one that doing everything but what God told you to do?

Your light not shining.

This is one guy I think about, uh, he's a singer now.

I was uh talking to him.

Um he's called a ministry.

He is, he knows he is, if from even from your age.

And I was uh I was mentioning something, some somehow I was talking to him about him, somebody, another student.

Those two were like, mm-mm, Mr.

Hearns, nah, for real.

Like, what you mean?

Mm-mm.

Mm-mm.

Why?

His light wasn't shiny.

As into the Lord.

His light wasn't shiny.

The way he went about it wasn't shiny.

He was hiding under a bushel.

Or worse, in that area he lost his saltiness.

Think about it.

Does your light shine in whatever industry that you're in?

The way did you go about it?

As into the Lord?

Or should you just another one?

Just another one.

Just somebody just here.

Not not with purpose, not with intentionality, not living since.

Just another one.

I'm I'm gonna wrap it up with it on the back side.