Peter Tan-Chi - Be Salt and Light
Today, we're going to focus on our special topic, which is so important to me, but before we get into our topic today, I want to ask you a question, if someone asked you, what is your purpose in life? What would you say? Why are you alive? You'd be surprised how many people don't even know their reason for living. They (live) have no purpose. For some, their purpose. Their purpose may be that I want to be happy. They live for happiness. They live for computer games, they live for sex. That is their purpose in life. For some, it's money. Everything they do is to make more money. They are never satisfied, that is their purpose. For some people, it's power and fame. That's their motivation. I live to be famous. What about you? Why are you alive?
Can I tell you, today we're going to talk about God's purpose for you and me to live. But before that, I want you to know the context of what I'm saying. Do you still remember what we discussed over the past few Sundays? It's about the Beatitudes, remember? ...Blessed, ...Blessed... How many principles are there? How many secrets are there to achieve true happiness? According to Jesus, there are eight in total. Remember? Which eight? First, blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit, what is Jesus talking about? Deep, deep humility, brokenness, admitting your own needs, brokenness.
Second, blessed are those who mourn because you can repent of your sins. Some people never repent, never show repentance, they don't admit their mistakes. You will not be truly happy unless you understand true repentance. Blessed are the meek... Some people always insist that they are right, and they insist on their opinions, but the Bible says, blessed are the meek, you are willing to surrender your will. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, remember? If you truly desire righteousness, you are truly blessed.
The Bible tells us that blessed are the merciful, and if you are kind to others because you have received mercy, that is the secret to true happiness. And then the Bible tells us, according to Jesus, blessed are the pure in heart... Friends, apart from holiness, without purity, you can never be truly happy, it doesn't exist. Apart from purity, apart from God, happiness does not exist. Blessed are the peacemakers, remember? When I speak this message, are you a troublemaker? Or a true peacemaker? Be a peacemaker.
And then the Bible tells us, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, because as you walk with the Lord, you may be persecuted, and you will be persecuted. Based on these eight principles, Jesus gave us the purpose of life. Why should you practice all eight principles (collectively called Christ-likeness)? I'm here to tell you why, because the purpose of life, I'm going to tell you today, the purpose of life, everybody, let's read together, the purpose of life, please read: Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It will be of no use in the future, but will be thrown outside and trampled on by others.
The Bible tells us, Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. He told us, you will be the salt of the world, you will be the light of the world. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, what is our purpose? Be salt and light. Again, what is the purpose of life? Be salt and light for Jesus. Live out God's will. Why is purpose so important? Let me tell you why this is so important. Someone once said that if you are aimless, you are like a boat, you are like a rudderless sailboat on the water. Some people (live) have no purpose. Purpose is crucial. Someone once said... Rick Warren said, the greatest tragedy in life is that there is no purpose in living. This is a tragedy.
If you don't know your purpose, I'm going to lay out my own version now: What's worse is having the wrong purpose. Let me repeat: It is bad to live aimlessly, but equally bad to have a wrong purpose, which is probably even worse. There was a son here who really wanted to make his mother happy. It was his mother's birthday, so he bought a very expensive bird. That bird could speak four thousand words. That bird could sing. He was very happy and gave the bird to his mother. The next day he called his mother: Mom, do you like this bird? His mother said: It tastes great! Friends, some of you are like that mother. You don't know the purpose of life. You are wasting your life. What a precious thing it is. Your life is precious, but you are not living according to the correct purpose.
What is our (life's) purpose according to Jesus? Everyone, look again, to live out God's will, what is our (life's) purpose? Be salt and light. What does it mean? According to Jesus, and I'm going to paraphrase this verse now, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. If you understand the grammar of Greek, the Bible (the New Testament) was originally written in Greek, and the point is this: you, you personally, emphatically, you are the light of the world, you, no one else, but you. So turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor: You are the salt of the earth. In Jesus' day, they understood the importance of salt and light. Today we think of salt as commonplace. I want you to imagine how important salt was in Jesus' day. Without salt, you cannot survive. How do you preserve meat and fish in the winter? How do you preserve food without a refrigerator?
So, salt is crucial for survival. In fact, there were wars over salt. The word salary, salary, Roman soldiers were often paid in salt, that's why it's called salary, salarius, comes from the Latin word for salt. Liverpool, operates England's largest port, Liverpool, where ships dock and depart. It was originally founded because of a nearby salt mine. Have you ever heard of the city Salzburg? Salzburg comes from the word salt. Salt is vital, without it they cannot survive. Salt is used for antisepsis and if you have an infection, you need salt. Of all the uses, I think we Filipinos understand that it is also used to make adobo. Do you need salt when you pickle adobo? Yes. Do you prefer food without flavor or food with a little salt added? You guys love pesto fried rice. Would you put a little salt on it? Will it? Season.
How do you apply this to your Christian life? The Bible says: You are the salt of the earth. The implication is that you are so important, why? Because the world is rotting. Don't blame the meat when the meat is corrupting, don't blame the world when the world is corrupting. You have to ask yourself, if the meat is spoiling, where is the salt? When the fish is rotting, you have to ask yourself, where is the salt? You don't blame the fish. The world today is fundamentally corrupt. What do I mean? We are making progress scientifically, but morally and spiritually we are corrupting. Jesus said, your job is to delay this corruption, to prevent it, and if possible to reverse the process of corruption, if possible.
Let me give you an example, the world is corrupting. People are surprised that we have made progress scientifically and economically, people's lives are more comfortable, people have more money, but look at the suicide rate, in the 1980s, it was about 500,000, today in 2015 Almost doubled. Why are people committing suicide more than ever? The world is corrupting. Divorce, in the 1980s, was 500,000, and by 2015, it had doubled. My friends, the reason it hasn't tripled is simply because many people are no longer getting married and are no longer reflected in the statistics. But the married are separating. Something is wrong. When the number of depressed people increases, when the number of suicides increases, the world is in a state of corruption. The thing is, don't blame the world, ask yourself, where is the salt?
Look at the number of people incarcerated. Historically, in the Old Testament, there were many years when there were no prison cells and finally there were prison cells. How many people are incarcerated in prison cells today? 2.2 million people. More people are behind bars, something is wrong. We have more education and technologically we are more advanced. How do people make such a mess (in the world)? What about HIV (AIDS)? My God, some people think we've defeated AIDS, my friends, look at the statistics, the numbers are growing. By the way, the Philippines is one of six countries in the world with a rapidly growing AIDS population. Is something wrong? You have to realize that the world is corrupt.
In the Philippines alone, the teenage pregnancy rate is close to 14-15%, which means that for every ten girls you meet, one is pregnant or is a single mother. The confusion of sexual relationships, by the time they reach their 20s, today's singles, I'm talking about teenagers, from elementary school to middle school to college, more than one-third have had premarital sex. How on earth do you convince your children, convince the next generation, not to do this, but everyone is doing it? Have you seen our challenge? The answer lies not in politicians, not in government. The answer is, according to Jesus, you, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Could you please turn to your neighbor, turn to your neighbor: you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. People don't realize the influence of Christians. The influence of Christians is due to the incredible influence of Jesus throughout history. For children, for women, for health, for education, for economics, for art, for music, for law, you will see the impact Jesus has through Christians. For example, children, children, you don't realize how lucky you are today, because in the days of the Roman Empire and in ancient times, a child could be killed by a parent at any time, and it was not a crime to kill your own child. In fact, when the child is born, for the first seven days, they don't even name the child. If you don't like them, put them out on the street and let them die. We fight against abortion and we feel bad about it.
Friends, in Jesus' day, things were even worse. What about women? Oh, women, please say to me: Hi, women. Hey women, say "hi" to me, I know who you are, women with long hair. You know, in the time of Jesus, you were not the second estate, you were the third estate, and according to Greek philosophy, which influenced the Western world, women were lower than men, just a little higher than animals and slaves. Can you imagine this? Women, you can be seen, but not heard. Men can take concubines for physical pleasure, take wives to have children, and have mistresses for showing off. These are crazy values. What about health? My friends, you and I regard our sanitary conditions as normal.
My wife and I, just a few weeks ago, we were in London, and we visited a palace, and I discovered some of the secrets of this palace in this particular part of London, there were no toilets. So I asked, how do they... you know what I mean, and he said, you better listen to me. It's true, I'm not kidding, it's true. Being king and queen, when the king invites you to the party, you go into that room, and as long as the king is there, you can't leave the room. So, what do you do if you feel like you need to go to the bathroom? The king is there, this party lasts four hours, it's a long party, they're eating, they're drinking, what do you do when you feel like you need to go to the bathroom? You can't leave the room because the king is in the room. There is no problem for men. I found that for men, there is a corner, OK.
For men, there are toilets everywhere, OK? Easy to solve. But what about women? What about women? Have you ever noticed that, at that time, women in England, the way they dressed, did you notice that the skirts were so wide? Do you know why it is so lenient? Many reasons. The wider the skirt, the more prominent you are, because you will add gold trim, lace, all kinds of decorations, jewelry, pearls, you add it all, you want to make it as wide as possible. In fact, this is how you walk as you walk through the halls. But how do they go to the toilet? Ah, there were these little boys, these were short boys, little boys, and they would take... you know, to catch the pee, and they would get under their skirts and put that between the women's legs, ha! That is true! Then, what happens? You tip this little boy, okay? Tip him.
I said, what about the underwear? They don't wear underwear. ah! That is true. Then I said, and the tour guide told us, sometimes they lack young boys to serve these women, so what do the women do? Very simply, they continued talking and peed at the same time. And then they started looking at the ground, oh my god! And then all the men would tiptoe away and you know why? Because what will happen to this place? You know, there is a beach here, there is a beach there, there is a lot of water. Do you know why? That's called peeing. My friends, the hygiene is terrible and it smells. Then, you have the followers of Jesus, who teach people about the dignity and sanctity of life, to be clean. Christians, the Bible says, you are the salt and light of the world. Education, oh my God! Education, the first school opened in Massachusetts, USA.
Do you know how this school started? It's called the Anti-Delusion Satan Act. What is the Anti-Delusion Satan Act? Just to prevent the people from being deceived by Satan, they decided to educate everyone. Only through education can you teach people to read the Bible. You see, they want people to learn how to read, so it's called the "Anti-Satan Deception Act" or the Old Deluder Satan Act. Do you realize that the top 10 schools in the United States, I've talked about it before, Harvard, Yale, Princeton … The top 10 universities, they were originally established in the United States as seminaries, where they trained people to know God and read the Bible. We have impacted the entire world, why? The Bible says, tell your neighbor that you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, and we will be a blessing.
Oh, I haven't talked about economics yet, my God! Economy. The principle of private property, the principle of hard work, it's all in the Bible. Art, music, art, music. Without Jesus, without Christianity, there would be no painting like this. Do you know Beethoven? Every time he wrote a tune, he would write at the end in Latin: For the Glory of God. Handel, Bach, my God, we've impacted the world, amen? But what I love most is the law. How do we affect the laws of the earth?
Have you ever heard of William Wilberforce? William Wilberforce was the youngest member of the British Parliament at the age of 21, and two years later he became a follower of Jesus. He began to have difficulties: Should I continue to be in politics or quit politics? One of his mentors was John Newton. Who was John Newton? The same guy who wrote "Amazing Grace". This person told him not to quit politics. God has raised you up for times like this. It was tough then. Praise God, there was John Wesley at that time, and he was taught to continue in politics. God said to him, what do you want me to do? Be light and salt. Do you know what his mission is? God gave him this burden: to abolish this terrible institution of slavery.
The United Kingdom was one of those countries that purchased and kidnapped people from Africa as slaves and engaged in the business of buying and selling people. But the problem is, the members of Parliament are controlled by many business groups, these are businessmen who control politicians, and businessmen own estates, and they need workers, so they don't want to abolish slavery. Do you see the problem? So he was laughed at, they laughed at him, they made fun of him, in the media, in the newspapers, but you see, being salt and light doesn't mean you're going to be popular, you have to stand your ground, but you're never alone. Among a group of believers and followers of Jesus, they formed a group, the Anti-Slavery League, to abolish slavery. He proposed a bill and it was vetoed.
The next year, he proposed a bill and it was vetoed. Twenty years later, half of the bill has been passed. What is the bill? The ban on the transport of slaves on British merchant ships was a partial victory. He is not done yet, he is not satisfied: we want to abolish slavery. what would you do? Be light and salt. He continued to do this. After another 20 years, can you imagine? Forty years later, and three days before his death, the British Parliament passed the most remarkable law that abolished slavery throughout the British Empire. This resulted in the British government paying 40% of national income for the slaves' freedom. My friend, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, amen? So, praise God for people like Wilberforce.
I know some of you are thinking, what can I do? I'm not a politician, my friends, if you study grammar, it's very simple, you are the salt of the earth. The Bible tells us, everyone read: Matthew 5:14 You are also the light of the world, and a city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. What do we mean? Can't hide? Well, the Bible tells us that the nature of light is not for self, but to help people see and reveal. The Bible says, you are the light of the world, you must be attentive. Do you know why? This is what Jesus tells us. Why is light important? Everyone reads: John 8:12 Jesus said to the crowd again, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". Jesus is the light. Why did he say, "You are the light"? Can I tell you? Because only when we have Jesus in us can we be light.
Let me repeat, how can you live a Christ-like life without Jesus? How do you live out these beatitudes? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. How can you be like Christ without Christ? Now you see, a true follower of Jesus, if someone is given the Holy Spirit of God, Christ in you, when people see you, they see Christ. Friends, can people see Christ in us? Look at this verse: I am the light of the world. Follow me... A Christian, a true Christian, is a follower of Jesus. The problem today is that there are so many so-called Christians who are not true followers of Jesus. They think that Christians are people who believe in their heads, but their lives and hearts have not been changed. The Beatitudes tell us that this is impossible. It is impossible to be a Christian and not follow Jesus.
Let me repeat: You cannot call yourself a Christian, if you are not a follower of Jesus. All you have is religion. To have Jesus is to follow Jesus. To have Jesus is to allow His power and His life to shine in and through us, transforming us from the inside out. Let me repeat, a Christian is someone who has Christ in him. He transforms you, He gives you strength, He gives you the will to live like Jesus. So Jesus told us, the people of this world are walking in darkness, look at me, John 8:12 He who follows me will not walk in darkness... In other words, now you have to keep it in your mind, if you are the salt of the earth, The world is corrupting, decaying, you are the light of the world, meaning the world is in darkness. Please don't always complain or always blame how dark and bad the world is. Do you know why? Jesus tells us that the world is in darkness.
Actually, the Bible is very clear, look what the Bible says: 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 If our gospel (good news) is deceived, and if people do not understand it, it is deceived to those who perish, to those who do not have Jesus On the body, on those who are perishing, they don't understand, why? The gods of this world have blinded the minds of these unbelievers. Ladies and gentlemen, who is the god of this world? louder please! Satan! The Bible makes no apologies, Satan is the king of this world, but one day he will be removed, but that time has not yet come, one day, but not now. So who is the king of this world? louder please! What is it doing? Let us read this scripture: The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. Let not the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, shine upon them.
The Bible is saying that Satan has blinded our spiritual eyes, so you don't understand. Let me show you why people reject Jesus? Why are people reluctant to follow Jesus? Because they don't see Jesus, they don't understand Jesus, because Christians, so-called Christians, don't reflect Jesus correctly. Why don't you want Jesus? If He loves you so much, if He has given you forgiveness of sins, why wouldn't you want God, the one who gives you eternal life, forgiveness, and peace? Why do people reject Jesus? Unless they how? blindness. They can't see, do you understand now? When people reject Jesus, they are not rejecting you, they cannot see it, they do not understand it. Let me show you a little video that I showed a few years ago, but maybe some of you have forgotten the reality of how blind people can be. Even those who are educated are spiritually blind. Are you ready to watch this short video? Well, look at the blindness of the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, you need to take this video seriously. That's exactly where it is today. People have lost their normal sanity. No one wants to say something offensive. By insisting on "political correctness" we have become blind. Why are we blind? The Bible says that the god of this world has corrupted the minds of unbelievers. So instead of blaming the world, ask yourself, if the world was in darkness, what questions would you have to ask? Where is the light? If the world is rotting, don't blame the meat, if the meat is rotting, if the fish is rotting, don't blame the meat or the fish. Ask yourself: Where is the salt? Jesus tells us: You are salt. So tell your neighbor: You are salt. You are the light.
You see, you are important. You are no accident, you have a great purpose, and you are salt and light after you come to know Jesus. The Bible gives us a warning. The warning is this. Read it: Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It will be of no use in the future, but will be thrown outside and trampled on by others. How can salt lose its saltiness? Chemically speaking, scientifically speaking, salt is a very stable compound, sodium chloride, but how does it lose its salty taste? Quite simply, when you allow dust, when you allow dirt, it loses its saltiness. Then it becomes useless, really useless at all.
In the early church, when people sinned, when they fell, after believing in Christ, and they went back to their old ways, the church would discipline them in order to turn them back, and once they turned back, you know what the person would do. ? In the early church, they would prostrate themselves at the entrance to the church. They would prostrate themselves, and they would have people trample over them. They said: I am no longer worthy. You know, if we implemented this in the church today, I think all of us would be on our knees. The Bible is warning you, warning me, don't conform to the world or you will lose your saltiness. To be like Christ is to be radically different.
Many of us want to be popular, we want to be recognized, we want to emulate the world. I feel sad for (many) churches who want to fit in with the world so much that people can no longer see the difference. To be effective, to be salt and light, you have to be pure before Jesus, you have to speak the Word of God, and you don't compromise. This is how we want to attract people to the world. This is how you should bring people to Jesus. Don't compromise on your moral life. People may not like you at first, but if you are gentle, if you are kind, if you are humble, if you are holy, they will be drawn to Jesus. I'm not talking about religion, I'm not talking about hypocrisy, I'm not talking about the spirit of judgment, I'm not talking about bad-tempered people fighting with others, no, look at this sentence: The reason why the ship sank was not because the ship was in the water. It's because the water is in the boat.
Christians are not dangerous in the world; it is the world that is dangerous in Christians. You see, God didn't call us to be monks or monks, you know those monasteries, away from the world. That's not what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is saying: You are in the world, but you are not of the world. Therefore shine as salt. The Bible is very emphatic, saying: Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world, and a city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. In other words, in that era, cities were usually built on top of mountains, like... Do you know how precious that is? Today you and I regard many things as normal. We regard light as normal. Do you know why? As soon as you turn on the switch, there will be light.
But I want you to imagine, 2000 years ago, how did you make light? How do you light a fire? I was in the Boy Scouts. do you remember? You do this. How have we tried to start a fire? OK, for those of you who have tried it, you see, it's really hard. Once you light something, you don't want the fire to go out. You will keep it forever. You know why? Because it's so hard to light a fire! Today, use a match to light it. Give them the match and it will light up immediately. Electronic, remember? Today, fire is nothing. But in Jesus' day, they understood. You are so important. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. People are in darkness and they need help.
That's why Jesus told us: Matthew 5:15 Let no one light a lamp and put it under a bushel, not for himself, but to reveal himself, and to help others. Rather, it is placed on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the household. In other words, you do not exist for yourself. Christians, look, listen to me, this is obvious, this is so important. Our problem is, we like to be together all the time. Look at me, you guys like getting together too. When you get together and look at me, you're useless, look at this, what is this? This is salt, do you understand? Do you know what this is? What's this? Salt, salt shaker, but if you are always in the salt shaker, how can you help others? You see, what many Christians do is: morning prayer meeting, evening prayer meeting, Bible study every night, where are you going? Bible study, where are you going? CCF. Where are you going? CCF.
My friend, please look at me. This is not church. It's just a building, a place where we gather on Sundays. But from Monday to Saturday, where are we? in the market. Salt has to be dispersed to be useful. You want to rub the salt into the meat. If we're always rubbing against each other, sorry, what good is that? If you put all the light together, what's the use? You must be the salt and light of the world and don't always gather together. I praised God, and I asked my friend for permission, and I said, can I use your life as an example? He said: OK. You know why?
My friend, please look at me. This is not church. It's just a building, a place where we gather on Sundays. But from Monday to Saturday, where are we? in the market. Salt has to be dispersed to be useful. You want to rub the salt into the meat. If we're always rubbing against each other, sorry, what good is that? If you put all the light together, what's the use? You must be the salt and light of the world and don't always gather together. I praised God, and I asked my friend for permission, and I said, can I use your life as an example? He said: OK. You know why?
Look at this verse. Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others. You must do it intentionally, so that your light can shine before others. So, pay attention. Do this intentionally, so that they can see your good deeds. In other words, you must intentionally let others see your good deeds, and do not glorify yourself. You know, some people always focus on themselves, no, no, what is our goal? Everyone, please read: Give glory to your Father in heaven. You want to point people to Jesus.
You know, one of my missions in life, and I tell you, the love of my life, I want people to have a correct view of who God is. One of the loves of my life, when I preach, I want people to know that God is good, I want to draw people to Jesus, and I want to use my life to draw people to Jesus. But the sad reality is that many Christians are not salt and light, they are vinegar. The Bible does not say, you are the vinegar of the world, we are not vinegar, we are not fish sauce. Some of us want to be honey, you are the honey of the world. My friends, I am not the honey of the world. I am salt and I am light. The world is corrupting and the world needs you. You are not the sugar in the world, okay?
Now some Christians are like vinegar, you know, vinegar, if they come near people, people will stay away. You are vinegar, you are sour. The Bible says, you are the salt of the earth. What is the salt of the earth? You add flavor to life. When you are in a group of people, are you the one who inspires them? Or the one everyone wants to escape from? Why? Every time you appear in front of people, you complain and complain, always whining, and no one wants to be with you. I'm going to teach you how to be salt and light.
Let me give you an example, okay? You have to do it intentionally. Can I remind you that you need to realize that the world is not coming to us. Let me repeat, as a rule, the world does not come to us, we come to them. Don't expect people from the world to come to CCF and knock on the door: Can we enter CCF? We want to know who God is. I don't think this happens often. Even if we had branches all over the world, that was not Jesus' plan. What is Jesus' plan? You are the salt, you are the salt of the world, you have to get out. What do I mean?
One of the most inspiring experiences I've had recently was when I asked his permission, my father-in-law, to allow me to use his name. Have you ever heard of Cecilio Pedro? Have you ever heard of the owner of Xile Toothpaste? Have you ever heard of Xile Toothpaste? OK. That's a good product by the way, OK. I have no choice, you know. For his 65th birthday, he invited his friends, bought them plane tickets, and paid for them to stay on an island called El Nido. He made an appointment with me a year in advance, and he said, Peter, it's my 65th birthday, and I want to witness to all my friends. This is a special group, they are businessmen, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they are elderly and have a lot of money. To become a director of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, you need to donate a lot of money. I said, did you tell them that I came to teach the Bible? he said yes! I told them ahead of time.
You know, this is a miracle. do you remember? There was a typhoon and heavy rain two or three weeks ago. I originally thought it would be canceled because I had just returned from Europe. But there was no cancellation, so we flew on Monday, can you believe it? When we landed in El Nido, the weather was sunny and perfect. The weather forecast said there would be flooding in Palawan, the city of Palawan. But El Nido did not, and the Lord parted the sky. Then, the most amazing thing was, I thought to myself: Who am I?! I went to share the gospel with this group of businessmen, and they didn't know me. How could they be interested? They believe in other religions. You know what surprises me? I realized that people are hungry for the true God, and people are interested in knowing who Jesus really is.
You know, this group of people, you can tell now, this is the ocean, it's dark out, the water in El Nido is nice, but we're like on a barge. Can you see this barge? The captive audience. They can't run away, they can't escape, I'm so touched by my friend, Cecilio Pedro and his heart. He gave of his own money so that his friends could hear the gospel. Do you know what he told them? To put it bluntly, he said, I'm 65 years old, I don't know how many years I have left, most of you are about the same age as me, he said, I don't know how many years you have, but I want you to listen. So I started teaching the Bible, in a very nice, relishing way, you know, salted, let your words be seasoned with salt, be gracious, you know, praise God! They're all interested, they're listening.
What's my point? People long for God. It 's just that they don't know who God is? Because they have a wrong idea about God. This is why, Christians, you may not realize it, you are the salt, you are the light of the world, and you are to lead people to Jesus, not out of any fear, but because it is a privilege. You know our privilege, you, yourselves, are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. For example, how do you put into practice the advice I gave you? Do it with your heart, you are the salt and light of the world. When I came back from Jakarta, three days ago, yes, three days ago, I was sitting next to someone, and the Lord moved my heart, do you remember our goal? 33, witness to 33 people, hello! 33 This year, I challenge you, 34, our 34th anniversary, okay? 34. Between now and the next anniversary, 34.
Anyway, that man sat next to me, and the Lord moved my heart to talk to him about Jesus, and I applied the content of our training. I asked him, what's the best thing that's ever happened to you? He talked about his family, his career. And I said, please allow me to share with you the best thing that has ever happened to me. Will you allow me to share it with you? do you remember? One minute testimony. I talked about how I had been afraid of death, of having no meaning, no purpose, and emptiness, and then someone told me about Jesus and how He died for me, and how my life was changed. remember? It was only 20 seconds, do you understand what I'm talking about? Then I asked him, are you interested in learning more about Jesus? I was surprised and he said: Yes! I have always wanted to know more about Jesus. Do you know what's going on? People crave. But no salt, no light. Because we always like to get together. This, my friends, is a salt shaker.
What's the use if we're always in this bottle? You should be salt and light in the world, at home, in the office, wherever you are, the Bible says, Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gentle, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer Everyone. When I talk about Jesus, I promise not to attack anyone's religion. Season my words with salt. You are the salt of the world, you are the light of the world. The Bible says that you, yourself, are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He was talking to his disciples, and the context was: Be like Christ. If you are not like Christ, you cannot be salt or light. In fact, you'll do more damage.
You know, there are many Christians who are not properly trained. They go to the office and they like to testify about Jesus. They like to bring people to Jesus. But they work poorly, they perform poorly. In fact, people in this world will tell you, I don't want to go to heaven with you, you are too lazy. I don't want to go to heaven with you. You know why? You are not drawing people to Jesus. So how can you be salt and light? Please listen to me. You have to work hard, not just work hard, you have to work beyond expectations and earn their respect. The world is looking for someone they can respect. If you want to be salt and light, you have to gain respect, you have to work well and exceed their expectations, and then when you speak about Jesus, they listen.
Two days ago, a banker came to see me at CCF's office. I asked him to come to me. You saw that I was so busy, so I couldn't visit you. This is my first time meeting him. He came from the same school my son graduated from, which was a good school. They won the basketball championship. So we have something in common. So I say, friend, have you ever reached a point in your life where you were convinced that you were going to heaven? He said: No. I said, would you be interested? Do you believe it? I asked the people in my office, I said, give me our copy of "The God-Ordained Road to Heaven," because I have that little booklet, remember? So I shared it with him. Praise God!
I've never seen anyone so interested. He prayed with us, he prayed with me, inviting Jesus into his life. I hope he can share this morning because I invited him and one other person. My whole point is this: people are hungry, and empty. They want Jesus, the real Jesus. The only problem? Where is the salt? Where is the light? My challenge to all of us. This week, between now and then, will you commit to being light and salt? Will it? I encourage you to take God's Word seriously. According to Jesus, you guys are the salt and light of the world. You know that the smallest light can drive away the largest darkness. So don't complain, oh, the Philippines is so bad, this country is going downhill. What can I do, I'm just one person.
Listen to me, you are the most powerful influence this world has. Because you are, everybody, you are the light of the world, you are the salt of the world, but please don't stay in the salt shaker. Go where God has blessed you to go. God bless you in some strategic points, in your home, in your office, in school, but never forget who you are, salt and light. Never lose your saltiness and never give in to the ways of the world, for according to Jesus the greatest privilege belongs to you and to me. What is the greatest privilege? Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others—for what purpose? and give glory to your Father which is in heaven. Please bow your head. If God has spoken to you, actually, you can be honest with yourself today and say: Peter, I am still in darkness, how can I be salt and light when I am still in darkness.
Would you please raise your hand if you want Jesus to be your Savior? I want to pray for you, lift me up, in other words, you are honest and you say: Peter, I feel like I'm in darkness, but I want Christ into my life, I need Christ into my life, You want Jesus, raise your hands, lift them high, and praise God. Please put it down. Next question, you are determined to be salt and light, do you understand? You want to be salt and light, you now understand your purpose in life. Not live for yourself, not live for each other, but to be salt and light and a blessing to the world. And you say, I will accept this challenge, please raise your hand. Praise God, please let it go.
Now I want you to do something. People who are raising your hands for the first time, you want me to pray for you, because you are not sure yet, you are walking in darkness, you want the light of Christ in you, you are raising your hands for the first time, then please stand. Get up, I want to pray for you. Yes, praise God, please stand up. You don't need to look left or right. You are walking in darkness. In fact, you are not thinking clearly because Christ is not yet in your life. And you are humble enough to say: I need Jesus. Please stand up. I want to pray for you. Is there anyone else? Don't fight with the Holy Spirit. When He tells you, you don't have Jesus, you don't have the Son of God, you want Jesus today, stand up. Praise God! I want you to pray this prayer with me right now. You want to make sure you have the life of Christ in you. Please pray this simple prayer. Say it like this:
Lord Jesus, I need you. I'm in the dark. I am spiritually blind, and I surrender my life to you. I invite you today, please come into my life and be my savior and my Lord.
Please continue to stand. Those of you who are determined to be salt and light today, please stand up. You want to be salt and light, because that's what Jesus asked you to do: You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, and I want to pray for you. Please stand up! I want you to do it willingly, I want you to start praying, I want you to start being sensitive to the people around you, maybe they are looking for it, but no one has ever told them, they are hungry for the truth, but no one has told them, because you always forget who you are? Be salt and light.
Please stand up! God has spoken to you. Praise God. If you have made the decision to be salt and light in the past, and if you want to re-commit yourself to be salt and light today, please stand up. I want to pray for you. Remember the goal for this year is to be salt and light. For me, I want to share Christ personally and share Christ personally with different people. To be like Jesus can lead people to Jesus. To live like Jesus is the greatest challenge. Is there anyone else? You have never lived like Jesus, but you want to be salt and light. The first step is to be like Christ, practice the Beatitudes, be humble, broken, and long for the truth. Is there anyone else?
Lord Jesus, I thank you for this group of men and women, for their willingness to be salt and light. Lord, what a privilege it is for us and for me to be salt and light. Thank you for reminding us that this is not for everyone, but only for those who are yours. You say: You, yourself, are yours, please help us to be faithful people, and we realize that to be salt and light, we have to spread out into the world, we have to spread out into the world. The world won't come, you want us out. You want to put light in strategic places. So, Lord, help us do our part. I pray that our lives will be like this: Drawing people to know You because of how we live. Because of how we live. Everything you say and do. Help us to be wonderful witnesses to your Son Jesus so that we can glorify your name on earth. I pray for everyone here that you will bless them. May you help us and help others realize how good and wonderful you are. But help us, Lord, to live a life like Christ. We all pray in the name of Jesus, Amen! Amen!