You are the Salt of the Earth | Pr Stephen Kong

You're listening to a message to go from acts church. We hope this message

will light up your day today. My message is actually on the salt of

the earth. Okay. So somebody says salt, So I'm gonna say to

you, you are the salt of the earth. Okay, So you are

the salt of the earth. Okay, So let's let's begin. Why don't

you turn your bibles with me? Uh to Matthew chapter five, verse thirteen.

Okay, So verse thirteen is the main verse. But for today,

I'm gonna read four verses. Okay, I'm gonna read thirteen to sixteen.

Okay, and maybe X we can help me with that. Matthew chapter five,

verse thirteen to sixteen. But I want all of you to turn your

bibles. Okay, if you have, why don't you flip your bibles to

Matthew chapter five, verse thirteen. Okay, all right, if you're there,

say yeah. And if you don't have a Bible, don't worry.

Just not your neighbor and tell them can I share with you? And I'm

sure they will share you. Amen, hallelujah. Okay Matthew chapter five,

verse thirteen to sixteen. Okay, just one short passage. Let me read

it to you. Verse thirteen says you are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It

is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Worse fourteen, you are the light of the world. A city that

is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor did they light a lamb

and put it under a basket. But on a lamb stand and it gives

light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before

men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

A man. The Lord blessed the reading of his word. A man.

All right, So I just to you that the Bible says that you

are the salt of the earth. The first one and the second one is

you are the light of the world. Okay, And so today I'm gonna

focus just on one verse, which is you are the salt of the earth.

Because there's one thing I realized, right the more I study about this

verse you are the salt of the earth, I realized that there's a lot

of things we can learn about salt. So I went quite deep. Okay.

So I hope to present some of it to you today. Okay.

So let's begin with salt. Okay, I want to I want to tell

you a few interesting facts about salt. Okay. They may that you may

have known or may not have known, but I'm gonna tell it you now.

Okay. So let me give you five interesting things about salt. Number

one, taste good. Let not say it tastes good. Yeah, sure

of course it tastes good. Okay. The first thing is this salt used

to be very precious in those days. Okay. In fact, salt was

used as a currency of trade in those days. Okay, in ancient days.

Okay, in the twentieth century, Roman soldiers were paid with sort.

Did you know that? Interesting? Okay, so much so that the word

salary was derived from the word sort. That's why you get the sa l

sort. So salary the root word comes from the word sort. Because in

the twentieth century they were the soldiers were paid with salt. Right, there's

there's. Today we look at it salt on the god, you wouldn't wanna

pick it out, you know, But in those days it was it was

a form of a payment, you know. Or a currency or trade.

You know. That's the first. Soon the second thing is that so used

to be a very expensive commodity, Okay, so expensive that they used to

call it white gold, white goal gold, not gola, but white color.

Okay, they really believe there was. It was white goal. Uh.

And in the eighteen hundreds, beef was cheaper than salt. Beef,

the meat beefer was cheaper than salt okay, rainestinger okay, And so some

salt was so expensive they would never use it for cooking. Them was running

what to use it for? They will only use it to sprinkle on the

food. They won't use it for cooking. They won't use it. They

won't put it into the dish while cooking. They will only sprinkled on the

food. That's how expensive it is a okay in those days. So but

today it's like it's like readily available. Okay, so very different now.

Okay, what else? Salt is essential for the human health or the human

body? Okay? Did you know that if we drink too much too much

water, it could flash out a lot of salt from your from your body,

and it could be fatal. Okay. That's that's there's a scientific word

for you, I do not pronounce it, and I won't try by Basically,

it's fatal, okay. If you drink too much water, uh,

salt gets flashed out and you could die. Okay. On the contrary,

if you eat too much salt, you also can okay. Uh. You

know because studies show that majority of heart attacks or heart problems come from salt.

Okay, So too much is no good to litter, so no good.

Okay. We need a good balance. Okay. So salt is essential

for our health, for human body okay. Number four in the in the

history times wars, you wars are used to happen over salt. Okay,

they used to fight over salt. Re finally okay. Uh. And so

there's a history regarding wars that that that relate to salt. Very interesting okay,

because you was sorry receive in those days. And one more last one

for you is that the date see the date seer is ten times salted and

the regular sea ten times saltier. Okay, So if you ever go to

the date sea, maybe try the water and see. Uh. I think

I think one sip and you won't take it again. The family is ten

times. I don't know, I haven't tried it. That's what that's what

online says. You can affect check that, okay. But it's ten times

saltier. Wow. Okay, all right, So the Bible says you are

the salt of the earth. Somebody says salt. Okay. So now let's

turn to the Bible and find out what does the Bible say about salt?

Okay. So I looked at the concordance Okay. In case you don't know,

you can actually find the rut word of the different words using the Bible.

Okay. So the rude word the concordance number the next side. Okay,

you can go to find it. It's called G two one seven now

okay, on the con cordens. You can find it online okay. And

the word is actually called alas okay. That's what salt is alas okay.

And you will find that the meaning of salt is basically, uh, food

seasoning. Okay. Of course we all know that, right, food seasoning.

Other than that, it also means wisdom and grace exhibited in speech.

Wow. Okay, Later i'll show you that. I'll show you are okay.

I'm just giving you the meaning first, and also it's a symbol of

lasting concord. Most commonly used as a preservative. Okay. So salt is

also used as a preservative. Okay. In those days when they had very

hot climate and they didn't have a fridge like we have today, they would

use salt. Right since the it's red practical use. They will use salt

on meat to prevent it from decaying. Okay, it's very practical use of

salt. So that's actually what the meaning of salt is. Uh. If

you, if you're cann't find the root word. Okay. So I have

three three points for you, and they all start with the S, because

salt starts the s. The first one is this seasoning okay, seasoning uh,

and which is equivalent to add flavor or taste. So, first of

all, I want to say to us, you are salt. You are

the salt of the earth. Okay. And what is sort? What's the

salt to add flavor? We know that, right. I told you that

salt is is a form of seasoning, is to add flavors at taste,

right. Uh. And when we add salt into a dish, okay,

today it's common for us to assort into the dish right. In fact,

I think almost every dish, when if you cook, you would ad salt.

Right. Even if you don't add salt, you will add some form

of seasoning. It can come in other forms. It could be a herb,

it could be a sauce or whatever it is, right, But salt

is something so common that we add into our dish. Right. And every

single time you add salt into a dish, what happens. It gets tastier,

yes, right, it disappears right, it dissolves into your dish,

right and becomes tastier. Right. It penetrates into your dish. And so

likewise, you and I, as believers, we are placed in the world

to penetrate into the world and to add flavor into the world. Amen.

We are to penetrate the world with the love of God in every level of

society. We believe that, from the lowest rank of society, even to

the highest rank of society, even in our government. You and I,

as believers, we are called to add flavor and taste unto others and into

our society with the love of God. Amen. So, as believers we

ought to be flavorful people. Can I say that, Okay, don't start

going around and liaking of friends, I don't mean in that sense, okay,

And I say flavorful people, meaning that the question is do people love

being around you or not? Come on, because have you met have you

met friends whereby every single time you see them, right, they're smiling twenty

four hours for seven Yes, So if I ask you to name some names,

right, you will be able to stay it out right. There's so

much joy and happiness in them, right, every single time you see them,

you're happy. You know, even though you had a very very bad

day, right the moment they stand next to you, you become happy again.

You know, you joy just just lights up your heart, you know.

You know, there are people who enter the room and they're always excited.

They're always happy, and they will always bring joy and light and happiness

into the room. You know. And even though they walk into a library's

quiet, you will hear them from one corner shouting, you know, because

they're always happy, you know. So, so we are called to be

people with flavor, you know. And the big question is this, when

you leave them, people miss you. You know. That's it's it's a

good health check, uh, you know, and and and so in your

marketplace, or in your in your school, in your campus, in your

group meetings, you know, your group assignments. You know, what kind

of spirit do we carry? You know, do we carry a heaving spirit,

a tied spirit? Or are we always cheerful? Do we add flavor

into people's life? The question is do people love hanging out with you?

Right? That's a good question we should ask ourselves as as a health check.

You know, do people love hanging out with you? Or when you

walk into the room, everybody goes like quiet, you know, try to

hide somewhere or you know, avoid you. I pray, I believe none

of us here like that. Amen, none of us here I like that

because we are people with flavor, because we enjoying the people's lives. Amen.

What else? Salt? One thing I realized about salt is that salt

can really be a lifesaver in when I'm cooking. Uh, so I basically

cooked soup yesterday. Uh And so when when you cook soap, right,

you know, some of ords we use that chicken stop right, the but

I avoid using the chicken stop right, so use chicken bones and whatnot.

Right, and then right at the end of the cooking of the soup,

then only we add the salt. Right. So you know, I would

taste the soup and it's like it's tasteless. Right, it's tasteless, So

you add salt, so sot it's like a like a last minute thing.

You can do the job. You know, it can totally transform your dish

from something that is tasteless to become tasteful. Right. I call it like

a live saver, you know, or something that is transformation. Right.

So likewise, as believers the Bible says that we are salt, right,

we ought to carry that same characteristic, that transformative characteristic in us, of

course, in a good way, good change, amen, So that when

you you are in society, right, you will bring a good change and

transformation towards others, just like how it transforms your cooking or your you know,

however you use saw right. Uh. And I pray that you and

I will be will be like that, that we will bring good change and

transformation to those who are around us. The question is how do we treat

people? You know? Do we treat people with respect? Do we treat

people you know the way they ought to be treated? Uh? You know,

I think that's this thing called the Golden rule, right, treat do

to others what you want others to do to you. You know, you

know the Golden rule. Did you know they even practice that in them in

the in the working world, in the marketplace. Where do they learn it

from? Ny? From the Bible? Actually is there? Okay? So,

so how do we treat others? You know? People pople will always

feel appreciated, uh, and and and and feel good if you if you

treat them well, you know, if you if you love people, it

really really feels good, you know. And that's saying that people may forget

what you said or what you did, but they will never forget how you

made them feel because that leaves an impact in their lives. And man,

there is an impact when you love somebody, When you appreciate somebody, it

will make them feel good and they will remember that for the rest of their

lives. So some of us can remember our teachers from high school, either

for a good reason or the opposite. Either want right, we remember it.

You still remember, you remember the face in fact, because you remember

how they made you feel, either the good side or the bad side.

Okay, because that's that's how we're wired. Right, You remember Okay,

what else did you know that when we cook steak? Right? So recently

recently okay, I know, I know someone was getting hungry or day.

So recently I went to eat a really really good steak, right and uh,

the the same you know, the waiter told me, okay, you

know this meat is cooked with nothing except salt. I stand for a moment,

got tastes. I didn't know that they cooked steak with nothing except salt.

I didn't know. Maybe start of you cook a lot, maybe you

know that, right, but I didn't know, you know. Uh.

And and I when I say it was such a powerful ingredient, you know,

it was the only thing that they used in in in the the steak

that I was eating, and I've got it still tasted good, so you

know, so I want to say this, Uh, you know, our

flavor or our taste, right, can also be likened to something that I

call our cutting edge. Cutting it flavor can be likened to our cutting h

as disciples of quite come on, what is a cutting age? Cutting age

is what we are extremely good at or something that sets us apart from the

others. So when you go to the working world or even in you know,

even as you volunteer as an intern, or even as you you know,

do your assignments or your exams, whatever it is, What is your

cutting age? You know when when you do something exceedingly well, how many

of you know that people will always notice it? It will not go on

notice one. It's very very obvious, you know. Uh. It speaks

about our character. Right. Let me give you some examples of our character

that has a cutting as in it. Okay, trust is one example.

If your boss gives you a million dollars right to manage? Right, will

you come back with more or less? You know? Will you be faithful?

Even if your boss? Are you to manage one dollar instead of a

million dollars? Because one dollar seems like very small? Right? Like will

you take the wonder boy in the gown or you you know, multiply it?

Will you make use of it? Make good use of it, and

take care of it? You know, diligence, you know, excellence in

our work, right, going the extra man? Come on? You know,

attention to detail, giving your best. You know some of these things

talks about our cutting age? Right as believers? Right? Being on time?

Come on? Can I say that being on time? Right? If

you have an appointment, if you have a time they're supposed to meet somebody,

be on time. Right. Of course, I understand there are days

that you know, the traffic gets bad, or maybe you woke up on

the wrong side of the bit, or maybe you know your your cat pet

on the floor or something like that. It happens, right, uh and

and but I pray it would happen all the time, right, and even

if you're late, just remember to tell somebody, or tell tell your boss.

You know. I feel really, very very bad that when when my

boss waits for me, and happened before. I'm sitting in my office and

I was so busy my work was discussing some work with my colleagues. Right,

I was so cut on the meeting, right, I was supposed to

meet my boss at three pm and I'm two fifty I'm still sitting in my

office. Right. And then after that, I quickly rushed out. Of

course, the meeting place is quite near ten minutes away, thank god.

And on the way, my boss calls me and I'm a sorry, sorry

service. I'm on the way, you know. And it feels very really

bad to be to reach later in your boss. Uh. So I prayed

it we will have the cutting age you know, to be on time and

then whatever it is, come on. How about this non compromising This is

a tough one, I pray to you and I will not compromise our principles

in life when you get pushed to the age. I want to give you

one simple example. Uh. And and many of you maybe can relate to

this. As a student, right, there are days whereby you struggle to

handy in your assignment on time. Have you been there before? Anybody?

Has anybody handy assimon late before anybody? Okay? Do me shat away and

churched my hands araser? So I wow, okay, so yeah, very

honest. Thank you for your honesty, because I also raise my hands.

Okay. So in my in my foyp right. Uh. Basically, in

my final year, I could select some modules, right, and I selected

all the models with the assignments with the most assignments, okay, because I'm

a person who likes to do assignments. I do like the exams, Okay,

I love the assignments. Okay, maybe some of you are the opposite,

But I chose all the modules with the assignment okay. And somehow I

couldn't finish in time. So when the time came for me to submit my

FIP, I was about I think about maybe a couple of days left to

my final submission, the date the deadline, and I knew that I couldn't

finish in time. Okay. By the way, I'm already sipping like four

hours okay, And the last final days to my submission, I didn't sleep

at all. I was awake for at least a good thirty to forty hours

finishing it. Okay. So I went to my tutor or my is it

called tutor or supervisor supervisor, and I told my supervisor, I can't finish

in time, okay, I just want to ask for maybe a couple of

days extension, just a few days. Just give me like three days or

one week and I'll be good, right, And I told them that I

have a good excuse. I have a lot my modules are deferend than my

friends, and I took more assimon modules. It's a good excuse, right,

quite legit excuse. So my my supervisor said, I'm sorry, I

can't you know, I don't think so it's allowed. Why not you go

to the clinic and ask the clinic for an MC and just turn that you

drink too much coffee and you're sick, and then we can give you the

extension. I'm like, what kind of answer is there? So I'm like,

no, sir, I won't do that. Like, sorry, I

just told my my supprisor okay. I mean that's a great idea, but

I'm sorry. I'm a Christen and I can't lie that way. So I

said, don't know, way, if you can't give me the extension,

it's okay. I will give my best anyway, and I will submit okay.

And so as me, it's okay to just submit your work on time

and it's fine you don't finish, it's okay. And I told him,

you know what, I'd rather submit late and give you a complete job then

give you a half big work, you know. Uh. And it's gonna

cost me some marks, so be it, because I want to give my

best. And believe me, I already get my best, Okay, I

already pushed to my limits already, And so that's what I did. So

I submitted about to the three days late, and thank god, I still

did quite well with my FI people, Jake, even though I got Marx

deducted for the late submission. About I think to a three days to a

three days is a lot. No, I think I got deducted how many

marks? Fifteen marks are? Yeahs quite a lot. Okay, of course

they don't do that from the percentage. They did that from the points right

the points. Yeah, so it's quite a lot. But I said,

no, man, if I'm going to submit, I better give you a

good, good work done well rather than just submitting it for the sake of

submitting it. And so will we compromise when you push to the age you

know? Or alway stand firm with our principles? Amen? The question is

this, can others count on you or not? Come on? Can others

count on you? If a boss gave you a task, can he count

on you? Can he trust you? Then you will be faithful to it

until it is finished? How many of you know we learn most of our

cutting asia from church? Actually I realized that right like, where else do

you learn how to give your best if it's not in church? Right?

Where else do you learn how to be on time? If it's not in

church? Because, to be honest with you, many of us will be

late to class on if you're honest with us ourselves, right. But we

learn how to be on time in church, and I pray, I pray

that you will reflect in your outside in your daily life. Amen. So

we learn our cutting age here in the church, right. It gets sharpened

here, and then we send you out on a Monday to a Saturday to

be a blessing to the world. Amen. So come on, sharpen your

your ex or your your sword, whatever it is, right, and maybe

continue to be maybe, continue to be believer us with the cutting edge.

Amen. And we were at flavor to those who are around us. Amen.

All right. My second point is this speech, So the meaning of

thought that's not you said. It was wisdom and grace, right, wisdom

and grace in our speech. Right. And so this is my second point,

which is a speech season with grace. Would you turn with me to

callotions chapter four verse one? Okay? Callations chapter four verse one. Okay.

If if you're wondering where is that you can find Galations, efficients,

GBC, Gallicians, Embesions, Philippians, and after Philippines is Collosians. Okay,

Collosians shutter four verse one to five. And I think I have you

on the slide okay. But for those of you who don't have you can

look at the slide. Okay, Masters, give your born servants what is

just and fair, knowing that you have a master in heaven. Continue earnestly

in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Meanwhile, praying also for

us that God would open a door so open to us, a door for

the word to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in

chains, in chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought to

speak. By the way, this is Paula. This is paul speaking her.

Okay, walk in wisdom towards those who are outside, redeeming the time.

Let your speech always be with what with grace, season with salt.

There you go, season with salt. That you may know how you ought

to answer one another. So he says, let your great, let your

let your words, let your speech right always be with grace, season with

salt. Now I know, right when you and you use the words salt,

right, there's actually a bad connotation to with la. Right when you

say, oh, people are salty or their words are assaulted, there's a

bad connotation to it. But when you look at the Bible actually talking about

let your speech always be with grace, season with salt. Okay, So

I'm referring to the good Okay, So don't don't let your minds wonder.

Okay. The Bible actually says, right, you know, as I ought

to speak, walk in wisdom towards those who are outside with dimming the time,

and let your speech always be with grace, season with salt. Now,

these words actually talks about evangelism, actually, right, It actually talks

about sharing the gospel right, especially to those who have not yet believed.

Right. But I really believe that you can also be applied to our our

daily life, Okay, our daily life on how we treat people or the

words that we speak. Okay. So I'm going to break this versus in

the two parts. Okay. The Bible says walk in wisdom. Okay.

If you're gonna look at another version, you will see say live wisely.

Okay. So basically, walk in wisdom means to live wisely, talks about

your actions, how you live your life. Okay. And then the second

part of it says, let your speech be with grace. Okay. If

you go to the NLT version, it says, let your conversation be gracious

and attractive. Wow, gracious and attractive. You know, gracious and attractive.

So there's two different parts. Okay, So first of all, you

and I need to live wisely because that's a saying that actions speaks louder than

words. Right. How many of you know that people will read your life

before they read your bible. Okay, they will look at your life before

you have an opportunity to share about God's love to them. They will always

look at your life first, and action will alwayspeak louder the words. So

first of all, live wisely, fers. If you can live well,

if actions are well, then you can share the love of God or the

Gospel with grace, with grace. Amen. So talking about speech, right,

the question is this, when people hear you speak, or when people

come into a conversation with you, do they live encourage or do they leave

discourage? Do they live inspired or they live uninspired? Do they come to

you and talk to you and live happy or they live said? Do they

come and talk to you and live rejoy in their hands or they live tired?

Come on, that's a question that we need to ask ourselves, right,

because the Bible tells us that your words be filled with grace. Amen.

So you can lift another brother up, live another system up. As

iron shapens iron, we can shopen another but shapen another system and live them

up when they are tired. And then, you know, don't gossip,

you know, don't put another person down, because if you'll put another person

down, you know that they leave. Discourage, you know, or if

someone comes to you and say why it's just like that, don't say Yalla,

I think so. So you know, we can make a difference.

Right, Your words can really really change because the Bible reminds us that life

and death is in the power of the tongue. Right, if you speak

life, then you will find life and you will speak death. And so

it is, you know. So I pray that we will have grace in

our words, in our speech. Amen. And so I want to share

you a simple story. So I I hang out with my colleagues quite a

bit lunchtime and everything I'm sure you do, lah. Right, lunchtime you

go out with your colleagues to macca in you in Uni, you also go

out with your friends, go eat together, right uh, and and over

the lunch table and dinner table, right, conversations always happened. Okay.

I hope that you're not the kind that will sit down on the table and

then and then go on your phone, like right, Otherwise everybody's talking to

their phones, you know. But when I when me and my cliques go

to lunch, we often talk, okay, we talk a lot about life,

okay, And so I got it's one of my clique who's been in

a company for very long, like seven eight years okay, and he's tired.

He will tell me things like, oh, you know, I mean

I've been this company for a long time. You know, things never change.

All I know, it's the same five years ago, this now is

still the same. I already say five times, ten times, it's still

the same, you know. Then he will tell me, oh, you

know, then he used to work. He used to look at the way

I work, right, and I'm quite aggressive aggressive at work. Aggressive meaning

that not aggressive meaning physical aggression. I mean aggressive meaning that I pushed quite

hard when I work right. And so he picked it up. He picked

it up, and he used to tell me this. You know, I

used to be like you last time. He said to me, La,

I used to be like you last time five years ago. But I realized

that I'm the only one working like that. So I feel like I don't

have too So I just do what I can enough for you now, So

I encourage him. If you think that you used to be like me last

time, and you feel that you were alone, then now you know how

I feel. I'm not alone now, right, like join me, like

you know, like you know we can do this together, you know,

like you know, we've believe in giving our best right and and we can

push together. And and so I encouraged him, you know. So the

questions how, what would you say in a situation like that, right?

Or would you hear from somebody who is discouraged and go like you I used

to feel the same, you know, you know, you know use no

matter how much I do, it's still the same. You know. What

would you say, you know, encourage somebody which will leave someone up?

Or you also like join them in the conversation. And I'm speaking death,

So I pray, I pray that you and I will be like salt of

the earth. Amen. Remember if we sawt okay, you're supposed at flavor

right, You're supposed to practice wisdom and grace in our speech, you know,

and it first starts with us. It first starts with us, because

you can never teach somebody else to do something that we ourselves first cannot do.

It's like a crab mother teaching the sun how to walk strait. Did

you get that crap walks sideways? Right? And the parents trying to ask

the sun to walk. Shit, It doesn't work right, So you gotta

start with us, right. So I pray that you and I will be

It will begin with us. Remember I said our cutting age, and when

we have that we can share with others and encourage others to also do the

same. Amen. And I pray that you will happen optunity. I really

believe it. You will always have an opportunity to witness for God when you

have that kind of testimony. So my friend, my my CLEU was say

things to me. I is, oh, you can do it because your

kisten It's true and certain extent. But I'm like, you also can do

it. You know, all of us can do always can give our best,

always can be nice, can can be kind, can be helpful to

one another. Amen? All right? My third as is this save God,

Save God. Another word for that is preserve or a preservative. Okay,

So sult is used as a preservet I told you that, right,

And it's used on meat to prevent it from decaying. So likewise, for

us as believers, we are called to have a preserving influence over our society.

Do you believe that we are called to have a preserving influence over our

society? Next? Life? And what are we called to preserve? We

are called to preserve God's kingdom here on earth, his ways, his love,

his righteousness, his ways, his truths, and then his truth.

I really believe that today you and I have a very huge responsibility to preserve

the truth of God in our day and age and time, because times are

getting more and more challenging. The world is decaying so quickly, you know,

so much so that some things that used to be wrong now seem to

be right. Okay. In fact, can I say this even right and

wrong? It's very subjective, you know, because in some places it could

be normal, right, but in some places it's not. In some places

it could be accepted. Something can be right in a certain culture, but

when you go to another culture is wrong right. So it's very subjective.

Where do you draw a line? And as believers. We know that we

have we always have a compass, or we always have a guiding point,

right, that is eternal the word of God. Bible says heaven and the

earth are passed away by my word will remain right. So the word of

God will remain It's sure, it's stayed fast. We have a guide that

never moves according to time. Right, the Bible is still the same.

Two thousand years ago, it was still be the same two thousand years later,

it's still the same. There's got to be a guide that never moves,

right, So there we are something to refer to. Amen. And

so now we have this issue. You know, you have issue getting gender,

you know, or even using the right pronouns, misgendering right. And

recently I feel out a form and to my surprise, the form had male,

female and both or something like that or mixed. Look at it.

I got it shocked, you know, because as far as I checked my

Bible, the Bible says male and female. He created them. I don't

see a third gender in that, okay, And I will make no apology

with that, because that's what the Bible says. Again, I told you,

because society will changed. Times were changed, right, it will keep

evolving. Now with Ai coming in, robots coming in, it's gonna be

worse. It's gonna be even more difficult. What are we teaching the robots?

You know, one day they may turn on us. I don't know.

But the Bible is very clear. I was very clear. Male and

female. That's it. There's no there's no other, you know, So

I look to the Bible. Amen, And what else? What else do

we need to preserve? Friends? You and I need to guard the unity

of the church and fellow believers. And the answer to that is love.

Let me show it to you. John chapter thirteen, verse thirty four.

Things on a slide, A new command I give to you that you love

one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this, all will know come on our team this year right. By

this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have loved for

one another. So the answer is simple, love love one another. By

the way, if you look at this verse, it says a new commandment.

Did you do you do? You know why it says a new commandment?

Okay, Because in the Old Testament, Uh, in the Law of

Moses, uh, they are called to love one another as they love themselves.

Right now, Jesus saying, the new commandment I give you is to

not love one another as you love yourself, but love one another as I

have loved you. There's a difference, fans, that's a difference, okay,

because if someone doesn't love themselves much, then they wouldn't live as much,

because it's a love others as you love yourself. Right. But now

the new commandment is simple. Now, Jesus says, love one another as

I have loved you. How did God love us? Friends? Christ loved

us unconditionally. He loved us even when we did not deserve it. Did

you know that? That's called grace. Loved us even when we did not

deserve it. So that's how we ought to love one another. That's how

we can be assort and like in the world. Of course, I didn't

cover the light part. Okay, I'm only covering the salt. But I

realized that so much in the salt and man. All right, let me

go to my last lap. Okay, the worst Matthewshapter five right, verse

thirteen says you are assault the earth. But if the salt, losers is

flavor, how shall we be seasoned. It is then good for nothing but

to be thrown out and tempered under foot by men. Now, what does

the Bible mean when he says salt losers its flavor? Okay, if you

go and search the meaning on on concordance, right, you will find that

the literal meaning of salt losing its flavor is to be foolish. Okay,

you can find it. We won't find on the concordance. You can go

and find a blue letter Bible. Okay, you can. You can find

it. It literally means to be foolish, or to act foolishly, or

to become tastes. So fans, as believer us, we must not lose

our saltiness in the sense of flavor. Flavor. Okay, we must not

lose our flavor, because it's like saying that you lost our Christian faith in

our cutting age. We must never lose our purpose. We must never lose

our importance, our influence in the world today. Come on, don't act

foolishly, because if you act foolishy, the Bible actually says that we have

lost our flavor. But here's the thing. How can Jesus say that salt

can lose its flavor. Have you ever tried to make salt lose his flavor?

Now, if you have tried, you will know it's impossible. Okay.

So call asked this question. Right, did Jesus make a mistake when

he said salt can lose his flavor? Okay, I'm gonna show it you

today. Okay. If you are familiar with chemistry, you will know that

salt is sodim chloride okay, and sodim claw is extremely stable. Okay.

It does not decay okay, and it does not get diluted over time.

Okay, go back and check your salt. Right, Your salt can be

your same salt can be there five years ago, and he's still there in

your kitchen cort. As long as it's dry, it will still be there

for five years. Okay. Because pere salt almost never expires, almost never,

as long as it doesn't contain water. Okay. So how why did

Jesus say the sort can lose his flavor? Okay? Let me give you

a history. In those days, salt was mine defuelling than today. Okay.

Today's salt is mine by evaporation of water from salt water and they get

the residue of salt. In those days, right, they had something called

salt marshes, salt marsh or salt pit. Right, It's a coastal wetland

that is flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tide. Okay.

What happens is that because there's a lot of impurities and salt is more

soluble than the imperioities, salt could get washed out by the tide in the

water, hence leaving behind only the impurities. So when they gather these impurities,

is useless, that's what it means. By losing its flavor, that's

actually what it means, okay. And then the Bible says they will then

be thrown actually Jesus said it will then be thrown upon the ground and trampered

under foot by men. So what they do is that this remaining residue,

which has very little saltiness, losing its flavor. I told you, right,

because the saltiness has been flashed out, left with the residue behind very

little Saltinus's quite useless. The only practical use of them is that they would

take it. And in those days, right, the houses, they on

the top of their houses, their roofs. Right, they used to plant

a glass one. They use to use it as a as a balcony,

as a terrace. Uh, they will put as a gathering place, as

a place for kids to play. Okay, so they will put they will

put salt, and they'll plant grass or whatever it is. Right, So

they will use this, use the salt and sprinkle on the on the salt.

Why because salt actually helps to reinforce the salt or the or the or

the concrete to pre reny from leaking. Now I work today, I work,

and then that shy that involves waterproofing, and I found it to be

true because we actually plant salt and crystals into concrete to p reny from leaking.

Now you may not know that, but I'm telling you that we do

that. We actually plant the salt into the concrete. Right, and so

started and realized that the buyer comes to life. So that's why. But

Jesus says that once the salt loses its flavor, it gets flashed out right

left the residue. They will trow you on the ground. And what do

what did you even do? On a playground? The stee they're playing one,

right, that's why it says it gets shampered, food tampered underfoot by

men. Now I realized that's what it actually meant, you know, And

you see the actually the Bible comes alive. Amen. So when we understand

the context of that time, why did Jesus give that analogy, it makes

sense. Today we don't do that, right, We don't do that,

you know. But as I said, I told you, right, we

actually still plan sorts into concrete like actually we do okay even today. Okay,

all right, So I'm gonna in mind the worship team as I close,

you know, maybe I'll continue with the light of the World as the

second part. We'll see. But I, as I studied, I realized

as so much richness even to this part of the salt, you know,

and you and I are thought of the earth and light of the world.

I want to say this thing to us. Jesus didn't say that. Didn't

say it as a challenge. Okay, Jesus didn't challenge us to be sort

of the earth, because the Bible says Jesus says you are the sort of

earth. He didn't say, I challenge you to be sort of hearth.

It's not something that we might be. He didn't say that you will be

sort the earth. He didn't say that you might be the sort of earth.

He didn't say that you would be sort the earth. Friendish Jesus said

you are sout of the earth. So it's a mandate giving given to us.

We either fulfill it or we are failing. It's either one. The

message is very clear, not about salt. When the salt loses its salting

us, it's fifty much useless. Right. So even for us as believe

us as Christian we need to go all the way in our faith. If

we lose our faith or our saltiness, we would then be useless and thrown

away. We are called to live out the full strength of what the sort

is meant to be amen, to add seasoning to a flavor, to have

grace and wisdom in our speech, and to be a preserving influence in our

society. That's what we are called to be amen. And how many,

ever know we could never do it in our own never. That's why Christ

send his Holy Spirit to be our helper. X one eight says you shall

receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be

witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all of ju there, Samaria and to

the ends of the earth. Power you willas sive power. Do you know

what kind of power this is? If you're going to find a meaning,

it means donamis dynamite power. You will receive power. Friends, we could

never be the sort and life thort of the earth on our own. So

and like we could never be on our own, we need the help of

the Holy Spirit. Amen. We are merely His vessels ready to be used

by him. Are you ready to be salt of the earth? Church?

Come on, are you ready to be sort of the earth? Yeah?

We are saut of the earth every day, but more importantly, from a

Monday to a Saturday. You come to a Sunday, be sharpened again and

be sawt in light of the earth. From Monday to a Saturday, coming

to church, be refresh again and go out and do the same again.

Amen, And so that people will see your good works and glorify your Father

in Heaven. Amen. We hope you've been blessed by this message. For

more information on our church, please visit as Church Org. We are also

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a good week. I hit for you, God bless