As many of you know, America is going through a very tragic time in our history right now. We are experiencing a time of deception, corruption and division like nothing I have ever seen before. I have seen many things in my life and many battles and hardships, but never anything as vile and as wicked as what I am seeing taking place right now. There is an evil that has permeated our nation…it has slipped in while we weren’t paying attention, while we were looking the other way…and it has pretty much overtaken our land. Many of our nation’s young people have been brainwashed into becoming rebellious young men and women…full of hatred and violence. There is an attitude of entitlement that we are seeing…that if you have something and they want it…it is completely within their rights to take it from you simply because they want to. And then there is the “cancel culture” that basically says “if your opinions don’t agree with my opinions, then you have no right to speak”. In recent months, there have been riots, looting, arson, destruction, assaults and yes even murder…while political leaders are nodding their heads in approval and giving full assurance that there will be no penalty for their actions. In some cities, the mayors and governors have even called to eliminate law and order, and their streets have turned into a cesspool of despair.
To be honest friends…I never imagined I would ever see such tragedy in my lifetime. And I am going to say something right now that I am sure many of you will disagree with, but I am going to say it anyway. We want to blame the politicians, we want to blame the media, we want to blame anybody and everybody…but Friends, I believe the bulk of the blame lies right within the Body of Christ in America! What do I mean you might ask? Church…It’s OUR job…it’s OUR responsibility to be salt and light in this world. It’s not the job of the government…it’s not the job of the media…it’s not the job of the corporate world…that responsibility belongs to us…The Church!
I want you to know Friends that corruption of this magnitude does not just happen overnight. It happens slowly and progressively and because of our complacency, the country has been growing increasingly dark and evil. But the problem is that we were so busy holding our “worship services”, our “Christian concerts” and our “fellowship gatherings”, our “meet and eats” that we did NOTHING to stop the evil from spreading across the land!
I want you to think about this…in 1962, when the Supreme Court banned school-sponsored prayer in schools…it was our job to HOLD BACK DECAY! In 1973, when the Supreme Court decreed that Abortion was legal…it was our job to HOLD BACK DECAY! In 2015, when the Supreme Court decreed that same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states…it was our job to HOLD BACK DECAY! And Friends let me tell you, just last week, the state of Oregon decriminalized small amounts of Heroin and Cocaine, and four states legalized the recreational use of Marijuana and if we don’t stop it in its tracks right now Friends…this evil will also spread all over the country in very short order. But I have a few questions for you. Where is The Church? Where is the Salt? Where is the Light? As we have seen in the past, once you open the door to 0 kind of wickedness or perversion, the Enemy will take full advantage of our weakness…and the corruption, and the decay will grow more and more intense…which is EXACTLY what we are seeing in our nation right now.
And let me just say this, up until now, I have been speaking only of the situation in America, and believe me, we have definitely failed to stand against the evil in our culture. But for those of you who live in other countries, let me just say this. I have been in some of your countries and experienced some of your cultures and even religious practices…and I can tell you for a fact that evil and wickedness is NOT just an American problem. The CHURCH all over the world is FAILING to be the Salt and Light that God has called us to be.
And so with that in mind, I would ask you to turn with me in your Bibles if you will to Matthew chapter 5, and I am going to read verses 13 through 16.
“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.
“You are
the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do
they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, 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.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
I want to spend the next few minutes examining these few verses.
First of all, I want to talk about Salt. Just what did Jesus mean when He said “You are the salt of the earth”? Well let’s compare this verse with some other portions of scripture. In Luke 14:34-35 Jesus said, “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”” And in Mark 9:50 He said, “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” So what can we gain from these scriptures?
First, remember that before the invention of modern-day refrigeration, the way that people kept their meats and poultry, from spoiling, is they would rub the meat with salt to preserve it…or in other words, to hold back decay. When Jesus told us to “Have salt in yourselves”, what He meant was that our very presence in a society should function to hold back decay. We, those who are called by His Name, are the people He has chosen to prevent our societies from growing “rotten” to the core! THAT is one of the jobs of The Church. And Friends when I say The Church…I don’t care what denomination you are…I don’t care what your theology is…if you call yourself a Child of God, you are supposed to be contributing to the function of the Church that Jesus said He was going to build, and one of those functions is to HOLD BACK DECAY!
But as I have visited different churches over the years, one thing I’ve notice is that we are doing everything EXCEPT holding back corruption. Most of the church folks I know don’t even have anything to do with the people of the world. Notice…in order for the salt to hold back corruption on the meat it is intended to preserve, the salt MUST come in contact with the meat! In fact, it has to be rubbed into the meat. So, does that mean we are to mingle with unbelievers? Well…yes it does! Look at Jesus…you see the example He gave us to follow…how He would have dinner with the tax-collectors, and He mingled with the Samaritan woman at the well, and He went into the tombs where the demon possessed man was, and He was at the Pool of Bethesda where a multitude of sick people were. He never separated Himself from the sinners of the world. In fact, He purposely went to where they were, He hung out where they lived. When Jesus was on the earth, you could generally find him right in the middle of the very places where the “religious crowd” refused to go. He mingled with the same people the Pharisees considered “unclean”, and He preached the Kingdom of Heaven to them, and He brought them hope and comfort. Why did He do that? How can salt hold back decay, if it never comes in contact with the meat it is supposed to preserve? We need to come out of our “church cliques” and get out into the world where the lost people are, so we can help them to find hope for their lives.
And then another function that is attributed to salt is that it improves the flavor of whatever you add it to. Imagine enhancing the quality of life for people everywhere you go. Imagine being able to encourage people, to give people hope, to give them dignity and improve their quality of life just because you chose to be around them. That is what Jesus meant when He told us to be the Salt of the Earth. It’s what Jesus did and that is what He intends for us to do too. We are to make this world a better place just because we are here.
In this scripture, Jesus told us that we are not to put our light under a basket, but we should put our light on a lampstand so that it shines it’s light for everyone to see. Friends, for far too long, we have been hiding our light behind the four walls of our church buildings. We have built beautiful “houses of worship”, we have hired the best musicians, we have demanded the best and most qualified preachers, we have provided wonderful programs, professional theatrics, everything looks so organized and professional inside our cathedrals. We demand the best because, after all, “God deserves the best”!
But Jesus said NO! Do NOT hide your light under a basket…do NOT hide your light behind the walls of your great cathedrals. He said you are to shine the Light of the Gospel for EVERYONE to see. You are to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ into all the world. Jesus did NOT command us to build social clubs. He did NOT command us to bring in great music groups, He did NOT command us to have great programs…He commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. He commanded us to let our lights shine before men so they could see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.
But we have ignored His commands…and while we were busy “entertaining the troops”, the Enemy has come in and he’s overtaken our homes, our families, our schools, our businesses, our governments, our children and our nation! Why? Because we REFUSED to shine the light of the Gospel for EVERYONE to see! We REFUSED to get involved. We REFUSED to discipline our children and teach them Godliness at home. We REFUSED to talk to our co-workers about their need for salvation. We REFUSED to pray and declare Jesus as Lord over our institutions. We REFUSED to stand in the Name of Jesus and take authority over the wiles of the enemy. And rather than come together as the Body of Christ to pray and seek the face of the Lord, we came together to meet and eat. Instead of discipling our people and teaching them to be obedient to God, we winked at sin, and some even blatantly embraced the sins of the people in their churches. Instead of calling sin by its proper name, we’ve condoned it. And to make matters even worse, some pastors even twisted the Word of God and taught a lie by deceptive doctrine, instead of teaching the Truth of His Word. Shame on us, Church!
And now Church…it’s time to REPENT before the judgement of God falls upon us. It’s time to turn around and obey God! Friends, time is closing in on us. We need to realize that if God turned his back on Israel and allowed their enemies to overtake them, why would we ever think He would not do the same with us? Why would we ever think that God would not judge America?
And right now, as we are battling for the future of this nation, I would implore every born-again child of the Living God to fall on their faces before a Holy and Righteous God and repent. Repent for your own sins…repent for the sins of your children…repent for the sins of your church…repent for the sins of your government…repent for the sins of our nation! While we may still have time Church, REPENT…and pray desperately for the fate of this nation. Stand in the gap for our president…he needs our prayers right now. Stand in the gap for our nation’s leaders…stand in the gap for our schools, for our businesses, for our children. Pray like you have never prayed before Friends. And get involved in the things that are going on in the world. NOW is the TIME, Friends…now is the time for the Church in America to turn from our wicked ways and turn back to God, before it’s too late.
A scripture that is very familiar to all of us, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Amen…
I’d like to
pray…if you will bow your heads with me:
Father, we
come to You in the Blessed and Holy Name of Jesus. We see the problems in our
cities, our state, our nation…and even our world. Lord, we realize that the ONLY
way You have given us to hold back the decay in our world is to be the Salt and
Light You told us to be. Jesus told us to go and preach the Gospel, but instead,
we stayed in our comfy church buildings and had times of entertainment and
so-called “fellowship”. We stopped praying, we stopped seeking Your presence,
we stopped studying Your Word. We stopped being the Salt and Light that we have
been called to be. And because of our lack of obedience, much evil has
overtaken many of our homes, our families and our cities. Forgive us Father.
Forgive us for our disobedience. Forgive us for our lack of concern, forgive us
for not realizing the power of the Gospel to change the hearts and lives of
those around us. Help us Father, to be more diligent to obey Your Word. Help us
to care about the eternal lives of those around us. Help us to go out into the
world and tell them that Jesus Saves. Father, we love You and we want to honor
You with our lives, but we need the power of the Holy Spirit every day. Give us
the boldness to do those things that we need to do to turn our communities and
our world around, and please help the people to see the reality of Who You are.
We give You praise and glory and honor today. In Jesus Name we pray…Amen
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