Mission Sent
Thanks so much for your time as you hear from Mission Sent in Florida. Our mission is to Serve Others, Share the Gospel of Jesus, and Live our Lives on Mission! Let's make the world better one Mission at a time.
Mission Sent
Be Salty
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Jesus doesn’t start with a to-do list. He starts with a name. After the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:13 hits with a direct identity statement: “You are the salt of the earth.” We wrestle with what Jesus actually means, why so many popular interpretations miss the point, and why the real issue in the text is usefulness. Salt that never touches anything can’t preserve anything, and salt that gets mixed into compromise stops acting like salt.
We dig into the first-century context where salt was valuable, sometimes used in payment and covenant language, and most importantly used to preserve food in a world without refrigeration. That historical lens turns the metaphor into a challenge for Christian living today: are we reducing rot in our homes, friendships, workplaces, and city, or are we just sitting safely on the table? We talk about the temptation to retreat, Jesus’ prayer in John 17 to keep His people in the world, and the call to engage with courage and wisdom rather than fear.
Then we get practical with a simple framework you can try immediately: daily, weekly, and monthly ways to “be salt” through prayer, encouragement, conversations, generosity, time, and service. If you’ve ever asked, “What is God’s will for my life?” this will re-center you on mission, discipleship, and real community impact. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review with one concrete way you plan to be salt this week.
Identity After The Beatitudes
JoshEverybody else, we're gonna jump into Matthew 5.13. It is our first week. I'll have to fix this after service. It is our first week coming out of the Beatitudes, right? So Jesus has been spending a lot of time in the Sermon on the Mount talking about what we should look like if we are followers of His, right? We're gonna be poor in spirit, we're gonna be meek, we're gonna be mourning our sin, we're gonna be pure in heart, we're gonna be all of these things, just like Jesus is all of these things. And now what he's gonna do is he's going to start elaborating on if we are these things, then this is what our life will look like. Alright, and I'm gonna kick it off by reading this passage from John MacArthur in the commentary about the passage we're looking at this morning. And it says this the church cannot accept the world's self-centeredness, easy solutions, immorality, amorality, and materialism. We are called to minister to the world while being separated from its standards and ways. Sadly, however, the church today is more influenced by the world than the world is influenced by the church. And I'll tell you the passage we're gonna look at, I was blown away at the amount of interpretations that people are trying to gain from it. But we are gonna start with this, and it is our big idea that Jesus in this passage is telling us who we are. And when we know who we are, when we have our identity and we go, hey, this is who I am, the what we do flows naturally out of that. See, we we try to do it backwards and we go, the what I do matters to make me who I am, where Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've already given you an identity in me. And because your identity is in me, these are the things. You guys have heard me say this for years and years and years. The disciples aren't church people doing church things. The disciples are followers of Christ, and everything they do flows out of that. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump in. Father, we thank you so much for your word, and I ask and I pray that as we go through it this morning, God, that it be just your word. That Father, we are transformed from the inside out to look more like your son. That God, by the end of this, we can be salty. And Father, I ask and I pray that you give us the courage and the boldness to do this. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
What Salt Means And Misreads
JoshAlright, so Matthew 5, 13 says this: You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under feet. So, like I said in my opening, right, Jesus has already came out of the Beatitudes. If we are these things, then we should have an impact on people around us. For example, if you are poor in spirit, what should that cause you to do with people around you, but be more humble in how you treat them? Because if you recognize your need for a savior, then why are you not extending grace to other people for their need of a savior? Why are we trying to beat people over the head like we're perfect and we got it all figured out and we know all the right answers? And if you just shut your mouth and listen to me, then this just goes better. Because listen, you don't do the same thing with Jesus. How do I know that? Because raise your hand if you're perfect in here. And see, what Jesus is doing is he's sitting here going, if you're these things, if you're a follower of mine, you are the salt of the earth. I don't know about you, but I love salt. Now, this is kind of where these interpretations go off the rails, though. Because one of the major interpretations of this passage is this salt is pure white. And that means that we as Christians need to be pure as salt is white. That is not what this passage is talking about. And although there is some truth in this, right? Exodus 19, or yeah, Exodus 19.2 shows us, right? Be holy as I am holy. So God tells his people that. However, Jesus goes on to talk about salt's taste. So is he honing in on the appearance of salt? No. Just like us as Christians, you know what we shouldn't hold it, uh hone in on? What we look like. Because, see, a lot of us, and I saw it a lot as a deputy, you would pull up to a house, and the front yard would be like very well manicured. They would have like landscape lighting and rocks and flower beds, and it would look really, really, really good. And then you open the door. And it's like cockroaches running all over the place, and there's clothes everywhere, and stacked up newspapers, and and one, it and obviously I'm not gonna tell you names, but like I walked in one lady's house one time, and like you could hear the floor as you were walking, going, quick. And I looked around and noticed she had like 19 cats. And I went, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're gonna we're gonna handle this outside because I'm not gonna stand in here. This is a health hazard, and you really need to get your house cleaned. That's how most of us can be, though. On the outside, we look really good. We look like we got it all together. But man, when once we really get inside the heart and we start seeing all of those issues, uh oh. At that point we kind of fall apart. See, and that's not what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus isn't sitting here going, hey, let your outward appearance shine before men. Another interpretation of this passage is that it talks about salt, and we use salt nowadays to what? Season our flavor. Oh, who said flavor? Because that was actually the interpretation. Flavor our food. And as Christians, that means it's our responsibility to flavor the world with the gospel of Jesus. Nah. Nah that ain't it either. Because Jesus is actually sitting here talking about how salt loses its taste. Well, would you put things that don't add flavor on your food? I mean, no. What kind of sense would that make, right? Now, is there truth in that? Are we to preach the word? Well, yeah, Romans 10, 14 tells us, right? How do they believe in him of who they have never heard? And how are they to hear if there is no one to preach? 100%. Every single one of us in this room is called to share the gospel, to tell people about Jesus in deed and in word. But that's not what Jesus' focus is here. Because he's sitting here going, if it's lost its taste, well, can the gospel lose its taste? No. I mean, think about this. This has been going on for 2,000 plus years. And what we're we're now getting to the point where it's like, oh, well, maybe it maybe it is time. Like the church has existed for 2,000 plus years, why would we think that the church is just done and over with now? Obviously, it can't lose its faith or its taste. So if this isn't what Jesus is driving at in this passage, what is he?
Salt In The First Century
JoshWell, let's talk about what salt is actually used for in the first century. And hermeneutics this week, high schoolers got to learn that the passage can't mean something to us that it didn't mean to them. In other words, there can't be a new interpretation of the passage now because we have modern things. So, what was salt used for in the first century? Does anybody know any uses for salt? And if you say preservation, that is the last thing we're gonna talk about. So, what about anything besides that?
unknownEmbalming.
JoshEmbalming?
unknownWho said that?
JoshI'm sorry, all right. Did anyone know this? Salt in the first century was used to pay Roman soldiers. You ever anybody you ever heard the term worth their salt? That's where it comes from. So what what they used to do to help pay the soldiers was to give you salt. You would get X amount of salt as part of your pay. Because salt to them was more than just a seasoning they would use for their food. Salt was also used as ceremonial covenants. We see in 2 Chronicles 13, 15, and I know it's a page turner, and everyone's familiar with this, right? Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt. That's how important salt was to these people. It was like so important that your paycheck would be salt. It was so important that they would make covenant with salt. Because here's why salt mattered so much to them. Salt is a preservative. In the first century, they didn't have refrigerators, they didn't have freezers. Like me, I recently learned, and when I say recently, it was like this year, that if you vac seal things and put it in a deep freeze, it is good for almost indefinitely. At least a year. We had shrimp in our freezer that we caught during 2025 that we wound up using for bait that felt just like we caught it last week. Like vac sealing and putting things in freezers is amazing. They didn't have that though in the first century. So, okay, you you went out and you slaughtered a goat or a bull or whatever animal you had access to. Okay, great, you have like 300 pounds of meat now, but unless you're gonna sit down and eat 300 pounds of meat, how long is that gonna last in a desert? I mean, some of y'all are hunters in here. You know meat doesn't last that long, right? Especially out in the sun and the elements. So what they'd do is they would take salt and they would pack the meat. And that salt would kill viruses and bacteria and all of that stuff so that that meat would be able to last long enough for them to actually use it. Salt would preserve it so that it would be useful to the people eating it.
Are You A Blessing To Others
JoshSo when Jesus sits here and he goes, hey, you're poor in spirit, you're mourning your own sin, you're meek, you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you persevere through persecution, when we do all of these things, we get to become a preservative for the world around us. Let me ask every single one of you are you a blessing in someone else's life? Like, think through everybody you know. Are they better off because you're in their life? Or if we're honest, are they worse off because you're in their life? Like, really, challenge your heart with that. Because I know everybody is in here and is like, people in my life are lucky I am in their life. I went to a memorial service yesterday, and I was actually blown away by the amount of people that were in this building to pay their respects to my uncle Donnie. I mean, there were people I seriously I haven't seen since I was probably like five years old. And every single person said the same things, right? He was amazing. He was a good man, he was a hard worker. Were there bad qualities mixed in there? I'm sure. He wasn't perfect. But on the same hand, no one was gonna sit there and bring that up. Why? Because the good's gonna overshadow the bad. How many people in here people are gonna have to lie at your funeral? Like how many of us are living a life that are causing our loved ones to one day have to stand in a room full of people and lie about you? You know we control that, right? We don't have to hope. We can sit here and go, am I salt? Or am I useless and good for nothing but to throw it out and trample it under people's feet? See, this is a litmus test. How many of us in here we have the ability to preserve the world? To bring preservation to the world, to rid the world of corruption and immoral and self-centered and all of the things. See, too many times we as Christians we think, okay, now that we're saved, we need to withdraw and retreat from the world.
In The World Without Retreating
JoshWhat kind of sense does that make if you look at this in the grand scheme of the Bible? In John 17, we get Jesus literally praying, right? We call the Lord's prayer, you know, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, right? That's not really the Lord's prayer. That's Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. In John 17, we get what is called the high priestly prayer. And in verse 15, Jesus says this, I do not ask that you take them out of the world. In other words, don't let them just eat at Chick-fil-A and shop at Hobby Lobby. Because it's kind of hard to be salt to the world if you never go into the world. It's kind of hard to preserve the world if we're never entering into those conversations with people to preserve the world. It's really easy for us to get into our ivory towers and look down at the world and go, you guys are crazy. Like, look at this, this doesn't even make any sense. You guys are heathens, you're all of these things. But how is the world gonna hear you from that ivory tower? But what if we sit down and we have a relationship with people? Were we so afraid of getting a stain on us? Remember last week we talked about it. What'd they call Jesus? A drunkard? Crazy? A glutton? Friend of sinners? The only reason they can call them all these things is because that's who he hung out with. Why? Because those are the people he came to save. But yet, us, especially the longer we do this, we tend to look at those people and we go, stay away from them. And listen to me. Be wise, use wisdom. Again, I gave you this analogy yesterday, I'll give it to you again today. You're an alcoholic, Jesus isn't calling you to a bar ministry. Use wisdom. But he's also calling you to be in the world. Because you can't change anything if you're not willing to get in the muck in the mire with it. See, in too many of us we separate and we go, no, no, no, no, no, we're gonna keep that stuff over there. That's not what we're called to. Show me one Bible verse that shows that. Well, we're in the world, not of it. A hundred percent. You know how you're not of the world? You walk and follow Jesus, which is what we started with, right? You're poor in spirit, you're meek, you mourn your own sin, you do all of these things. That's how you're not of the world, but you're still in it. In fact, Jesus says, do not remove them from the world, because how are they to believe in him of who they've never heard? And how are they to hear if there's no one there to preach? And see, when we start this class system, this is where we run into it. See, Jesus is showing here the same thing that he prayed for in John 17. Be salt. Yeah, that's why I told you these shirts would make more sense. Because on the back, here's what it says. Turn around real quick. Shake your good deeds like a salt shaker. And if you're a millennial in here, you understand that like a salt shaker, that was the first place my mind went when I heard was like studying. I'm not gonna quote it because it's not appropriate, but shake it like a salt shaker, right? See, that's what we're called to be. To go into the darkness and kill the bad things. Think about it. Think about elections nowadays, right? We just had our primaries a couple of weeks ago. No one I voted for won. Like awesome. But how many conversations did I have with other people about the election? One. One conversation. With Amanda. That was it. That was the only person we discussed issues or anything like that with. Why? Everybody, well, not everybody, I was actually shocked at how few people actually voted here in Deltona. But think about this, like, you guys understand, like, our mayor. Like, you're talking about a difference of 40 votes? 40. From one candidate to the next. You mean to tell me I don't know 40 people I could have had a conversation with and went, hey. What are we voting for? See, that's how we become salt. That's how we enter into the darkness. This is why I take people out fishing because once you're in the darkness on a boat, I can promise you're not jumping off. And we can have all the conversations in the world. The question is, is are we doing that? Are we having people over for dinner and having these conversations? Are we talking to people that we see at the store? We went uh bowling for those of you that have students here right the week before we came back to school, right? And I was talking to my buddy uh Adam, and and like watching him at the bowling alley was like one of the most awe-inspiring things I've ever seen. Because if you don't know anything about me, I am usually not the first person to come up and tell you hello, right? Like once I know you, I will talk for hours. But I am very, very bad about if I don't know someone, right? Adam, on the other hand, was like working this room. I mean, he was just like, hey, what's going on? I'm Adam. Like, like he might as well have been like campaigning for office. And I told him, I was like, dude, I am so jealous of you. Like the ability you have to just go up and start talking to people and find that common ground. And he went, what's stopping you from doing that? Can you talk? And I went, yeah. He's like, you could do it too. I was like, oh, but you don't understand. Like inside, he's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, you can do it. You're choosing not to. You're literally sitting here going, I have the ability to do all these things. Like, think about it. You inside of you, 1 Peter 3.15, which isn't going to be up here, says this, always be prepared for a defense for the hope found in you. That's where we get the word apologia and apologetics for, right? Here's how you argue your faith. And Peter is sitting here going, you should always be ready to do this. Why? Because you should be interacting with the darkness and doing that. And that's why Jesus is sitting here going, be salt.
How Salt Loses Its Power
JoshNow he does say, if it loses its saltiness, what good is it? See, and here's where we run into a problem if we look at this like through a chemistry mindset. In high schoolers, this is really where you get your turn to shine. What's salt?
unknownSodium and chlorine?
JoshSodium and chlorine, right? Sodium chloride. When you take sodium and you take chloride and you put them together, you get salt. Now, I am not telling you, especially if you have a pool in here today, to go home and find some sodium and get your liquid chlorine and mix them together so you can make your own salt. Not how it works. However, how does sodium and chloride change? How does it lose its saltiness? The answer is, for those of you that have not done chemistry in a long time, it doesn't. There's only a handful of ways to change it. Number one, it can be corrupted. So, in other words, if I add other things to it, those other things are gonna stick to it. So, for example, what I used to do for fun, and I heard someone talk about sugar earlier, is at Denny's, late at night, you would take the lid off the sugar and the salt, and you would mix them together, put the lid back on, shake it up really good, and then people wonder why their coffee doesn't taste right. Okay? I don't know why people would do stuff like this, but when you look at it, would you be able to tell the salt from the sugar? No. But that's corrupting it, it has now lost its saltiness. Same thing if it if it like got dropped in the dirt. If you like poured dirt, like if you went to the beach, right? Especially up in Port Orange where it has like white sand, and you dropped all of your salt and then just picked up a handful and put it back. Are you still gonna get some saltiness from it? Yeah, especially at the beach, right? Because you got the waves coming in and They're depositing salt and all of that. But are you going to taste the dirt and sand in it? Yes. That's why when you take a drink, when you're out at the beach and you're like, and you're like, this is the first time I've ever had to chew water. That's the salt or the sand. So those are ways it can be compromised by adding stuff to it. And we've looked at this a lot over the past two weeks. There are a lot of people who are Christian in name only. They're not pushing it back against the darkness. They're not making like waves. They don't want to shake, they don't want to rock the boat. They're just like content with, I have my faith. It's my personal faith. Do you see that anywhere in Scripture? No. We have this idea where it's just like, oh, as long as I, you know, as long as I stay quiet. Dude, the Bible calls us to something different, though. The Bible calls us to be loud about our faith, to share our faith, to not be made fun, or not be scared to be made fun of, to not care if we get pro uh persecuted. Like that's what we looked at for two weeks straight, right? We're not afraid of the persecution. Bring it on. Call me whatever names you want to call me and unfollow me on Facebook. Oh no. I promise you, if you lose a couple of followers, your life will continue. I bet you money if you delete your account, you can still live. Your lungs will still work and your heart will still beat. And then you can go outside and do things and actually enjoy life. See, the salt that has no saltiness has no power and therefore has no use. I'm trying to like remember where I'm going, and all I can hear is the toilet running. So salt can lose its saltiness through compromise. The other way salt can lose saltiness is this. Never use it. Like you guys remember, like when you get older, you start getting those heart troubles. What's the first thing the doctor tells you?
unknownLower your salt intake.
JoshLower your salt intake, right? And everybody struggles with it. Why? It's yummy. And you can notice when you're eating food that doesn't have salt on it. Like it just tastes what? Bland or bad, yeah, right? You're like just kind of forcing yourself because you know you gotta eat. Prime example, just take Kayla out to dinner. Kayla lives with the salt shaker next to her like plate. Kayla, when she was little, used to take and she would like lick her hand and then dump the salt on her hand, get a nice pile, and then go like it's candy. But if I don't use salt, does salt have a use for me? No. There's this this concept, and and some of you I'm sure have done it, especially if you like barbecue. So I know Uncle Joe's has done this. It's called brining. Does anybody know what brining is? What?
unknownIt's like you cover it with a bunch of salt.
JoshYep, you just you just hammer food with salt. You put it on a drying rack and then you throw it in the fridge. You let it sit at least overnight, if not a little longer. And what happens is, is as that salt sits on that meat, it permeates deep into the meat. This is why some of you, if you've had really bad barbecue, what happens is, is when you take the first bite and you get the bark, you have all of the flavor and you're like, oh, this is amazing. But then when the bark's gone, you're like, I don't taste anything. It kind of just is there. Happens a lot like on um porks, right? Like when we do pulled pork. If you're not hitting it with stuff inside the meat, by the time you get deep down, there's nothing there. So salt can be corrupted with other things, and salt can also use its effectiveness if we don't use it. And so which one are we in? Because see, when we put that brine on, what it's doing is it's pulling the moisture out, it's permeating deep into it, and then guess what? It's also killing any bacteria that's there. Is that what we're doing with the world? Like, are we permeating deep into the world so that we can pull out all of the impurities? Or are we like, no, I'm good, I got my ticket, I'm ready to go. Now I just kind of gotta wait in line until Jesus comes and gets me. And so I'm just gonna kind of sit over here on the bench and I'll people watch. Because a lot of us, that's what we like to do, right? I feel bad for our kids nowadays because malls aren't a thing anymore. Some of you, we're you're old enough to remember what it was like, right, on a Friday night, to just sit there in the food court and just watch people. Not in a weird stalker way, but like and you would you would see like, what are they wearing? Did you see who she's with now? Ooh, like, but some of us that's how we treat our Christian life too, right? We're just sitting on a bench watching people. We don't engage with it. We don't want to fight back again. Some of us fight back too much, and no one wants to talk to you because you fight back with everything. But then other of us, we're on the other side, right? Where it's like we never want to fight with anything because we don't want to rot the butt. KB has a great line. I don't want to rock the boat. I want to sink it. And see, some of us, that's where we need to understand that's what salt's for. When Jesus is sitting here going, You're the salt of the earth, he's sitting here going, it's your responsibility. I left you here for this reason. Go seek and save what is lost. If the whole point of salvation was that one day you get to go be with God, guess what would happen the day you became saved? You would go be with God. But that's not how God set it up. And he could have done this any way he wanted to. But here's what he did: he went in Acts 1.8, as he is ascending back to heaven, Jesus goes, but you will receive power to be what? My witnesses. You're the ones that are supposed to go tell everybody about me. Think about all these fast-growing religions in the world. What do they all do? What do they all have in common? They're not afraid to tell people about their God. Like if you look at like Islam right now, they are not afraid to argue with, to push on. We literally have cities here in America that are falling under uh Islamic law. Why? Because they go, we don't care about the separation of church and state. We're going to preach. Christians, on the other hand, we're sitting here going, oh, well, you know, there's the separation. What if I get sued? Who cares? You ain't got money, what are they gonna take from you? And if you have money, start giving. But do one or the other? Jesus sits here and goes, I don't even have a house to lay down in. If you want to follow after me, what's he tell the rich young young ruler? What was it? If you're gonna answer it, answer aloud. What was it? Give it all away. How many of us are on that boat? No, these are my things, right? We're like, what's his face? What's his name? The executioner. And Thor Ragnarok. Behold, my things. Like that's gonna get us into heaven. See, we're called to be salt. We're called to not lose our saltiness. We're called to be used. This is how Jesus set it up, and Jesus is showing his disciples who they are and what their purpose is. You know one of the biggest questions I get asked as a pastor all the time? I just want to know God's will for my life. Okay, you want you want to know God's will for your life? You ready? Tell others about him. Go make disciples. That is God's will for your life. No, no, no, no, no. Like what job does he want me to work? He doesn't care. Go make disciples. God doesn't care whether you own a Fortune 500 company or you hold a sign by the interstate. Go make disciples. That is God's will for your life, that others may know who Jesus is. That is God's will for your life. It is not a certain job. It is not, did you find the one? Like I had a whole conversation this week with a young lady about marriage and how to find the one. And I gave her the same answer that I've given you guys all the time. You know how I know Debbie's the one? Because when I asked, she said yes. That's how I knew. God did not show up to me in a dream and go, hey, this five-foot Puerto Rican, that's who you're gonna marry. Here's how it worked. Troy, me, and Debbie went to Walmart and I went, Deb, do you want to get married? And she went, yes. And I went, okay, go get your ring. She ain't got the romantic. Well, I take that back. We got back to drop her off at her parents' house. It was raining, and I was like, oh yeah, before I leave, will you marry me? And then you know what she said? Yes. Hence why we're married. See, that's how you know who's the one. If you ask a thousand different girls to marry you, young men, and one of them says yes, she's the one. It's that easy. Why? Be salt, because that's what we're called to be. God isn't sitting here going, hey, you gotta live in this city. You gotta do this, you gotta do this, you gotta do this, you gotta do this. You know why? Because he's already established all of that. You are where you are because this is where God wanted you to be. You went, oh no, it's I wanted to move closer to family, or I got a new job, or whatever the case may be, and God went, yeah, sure, it could be that. It's because I wanted you there. You don't have to guess it. Here's what he calls you to do be salt. That is God's will for your life. Be salt. It is the entire reason we are here.
The Church Pushes Back Evil
JoshTo be the church, to do the things that the church is supposed to do. Like love our community. Like, think about it when Israel goes into exile, what does Daniel tell them? To seek the what? The welfare of the city you're going to. He doesn't go, hey, do your best to get back to Israel. He goes, hey, you're gonna be in Babylon? Might as well make Babylon look good while you're there. I remember again when I was a cop and I would go to these rental houses, and and like the people that were moving out, you know, because it was always to do a report for the insurance company, because I've literally seen where like people would take outlets and grab the copper out and just yank it out of the wall to where you could see it go all the way up and then across the ceiling. And I would go, why would you do this? Yeah, it's not yours. I get that. But it's still where you live. Why would you not take care of it? This is where you sleep every night. We're sitting here in Deltona, why are we not trying to take care of it? This is where we sleep. This is where your house is. That is what salt does. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2. And it's funny because someone asked me about this verse at the end of service last week. Paul says this that the he talks about this mystery of lawlessness that's already at work in the world. Paul mentions a restraining force holding back the absolute flood of evil. What is that restraining force? Who? God? What is that force that God uses? What keeps you safe at night, every night? Like, why can you go to sleep tonight and you're not afraid that someone's gonna break into your house? What?
unknownA lock.
JoshA lock? Okay, guns? Something happens at your house, who do you call? A guy with a gun or the police, right? That mystery force that Paul's talking about here, that's the church. Yes, through the power of the Spirit, through God, but it's the church sitting here going, hey, we're left here to push back against darkness, to keep darkness from getting to the flock. That's why God left us here. Just like the police are given to us as a common grace so that we can walk down the street and we're not worried about always being attacked. That's why when you go into cities that go, hey, defund the police, how's their crime rate look? Because no one is there going, hey, someone's going to take us to jail. There are consequences for our actions. And see, and this is why Jesus left the church here, because he went, hey, push back against the evil. Do the things that are gonna lift your community up. Because listen, if we lift everybody up, our community is a better place. Well, does that include, I don't know, crackheads? Yeah, it does. It includes everyone who is found in bondage and in chains. Because listen to me, there are some people that we look up to that are in way more bondage and chain than that person that's holding the sign out here off of Deltona Boulevard. Just because you can't see their chains, doesn't mean that they're not there. And the Bible is sitting here going, be salt, be a preservative, kill the spiritual bacteria and viruses. Keep the world safe. Because when the church fails to do this, like we have been doing, you know what runs rampant? Evil. We are put here to push back against evil in any way we can. We are here to push back against a culture that is constantly pushing back against us. And it doesn't care if you want to fight or not. Again, at this memorial yesterday, I we we were talking and I realized, like so many of my cousins are teachers, I did not realize how many teachers were in my family. And one of them is a teacher over in Orange County, and so we got to talking about all of the closures in Orange County and how they're shutting down schools and they have to lay off teachers, and that's a sad thing, right? People are losing their jobs, that's a sad thing. But why are they having to shut down schools? Anyone? People are pulling their kids out. Why? Because the church is sitting here going, hey, stop. That's not okay. Those are our children. And so what the church does is the church raises up schools. I don't know. Um, I've heard of one, right? Like this is how Mission Academy came to be. Both Debbie and myself were both public school teachers before we came here. And we went, this doesn't work. Like there are seniors graduating that can't read. That's a bad thing. How are you giving them a diploma going, hey, you know everything you need to know? Now go out into the world and do the things and you can't read. And then we wonder why we have the problems we have. So the church, us, we went, hey, let's start a school and let's do it in a way that is going to be beneficial. That is called bean salt. Going, that doesn't work, so let's do it in a way that does. Now, could that translate to everything? Yeah, y'all want to know? Like one of the craziest facts you can understand, especially if you follow business. Does anybody know the second most profitable fast food business in America?
unknownMcDonald's.
JoshOne of y'all got it right. JT, what was it? Who said Chick-fil-A? Chick-fil-A. Now, does anybody in here know of a 24-hour Chick-fil-a? McDonald's is 24 hours, which literally means they can sell food around the clock. Is Chick-fil-A cheap? No, it's not, right? If you have a family of five, I mean it's just as much to go there a longhorn. Get a steak or get a Chick-fil-A. Like, same thing. Is Chick-fil-A open seven days a week? So on paper, a company that is closed one day a week, that closes at 10 p.m. every night, how are they the second most profitable fast food chain in America?
unknownCharge too much.
JoshBecause they charge too much? They make more per customer? Well, supply and demand would say that they would close because of that. What was it?
unknownCustomer service.
JoshCustomer service. Because they went, hey, our product that we're selling isn't a chicken sandwich. Our product is my pleasure.
unknownWhat's the experience?
JoshLike Debbie, I remember when Debbie was home with the kids and they were all little. Like they would make day trips up to Chick-fil-A because, like, as a single mom, they would literally be like, hey, you know, we'll watch the kids. Like, why don't you just take a nap right here in the booth? Like, you want us to rub your feet? Like, what do you need? And of course, then, guess where she's gonna go? Like, when she's like, it's a rough day, let's go get a peach shake and a foot rub.
unknownNo feet.
JoshBut see, Chick-fil-A went, hey, we're gonna do this different. And became the second most profitable fast food restaurant in America because they understood what Jesus says in Matthew 16. That when we are the church, even the gates of hell will not prevail. In other words, the devil isn't strong enough to fight against the church. The problem is, is the church stopped fighting. The church decided, hey, we're done with that. So let's shift gears real quick and talk about what this means practically for all of us in this room.
The Salt And Light Challenge
JoshWell, to start with, if you were to only use one grain of salt, would your food be salty?
unknownNo.
JoshWhy not? So listen to me real quick, church. The church isn't the professional guy up here with a microphone who talks. The church is all of us. Which means all the grains of salt actually have to be used. Which means if you're the people that are just showing up on Sunday and this is all the pushback you give, you ain't shaking your salt shaker. You're sitting on the table. And that's great. When you set the table, you're supposed to put salt and pepper out, right? But again, if you're not using it, it does no good. So stop sitting on the table. We need all the grains working together. And that means each of us has to be salt. Another thing it means is listen, I'm gonna up the ante on our challenges. This week and next week, because this week is salt. Does anybody know what next week's gonna be? Light. Good job. I don't even know why I'm up here. We got some theologians. So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna actually kick off a new challenge as we've kicked off a new school year. Ready? It's called Be the Salt and Light Challenge. And it's broke down into three different things every day, every week, and every month. Alright? And I'm gonna give you some examples. Are the lists that I'm gonna give you, do you think these are exhaustive lists? No, they're not. These are just to get your brain going, okay, those are the things he's talking about, right? So, up first, how can you be the salt every single day of your life? These are gonna be things that are like real easy to do, they're not gonna take you a lot, they're not going to like be super intensive, put up every day, JT. Things like this. Pray for people by name. We start every service with prayer requests. The fact that no one in here takes notes of who's asking for prayer kind of hurts my heart. Because are you telling me you remember all of the prayer requests? I know I don't, and I have a pretty good memory. Take notes. That's why we do it corporately. So you know throughout the week, hey, I need to pray for Gracie and Connor's dog. That's why we do it. Pray for people by name. Number two, send texts. It could be this simple, you ready? Like, and I'll tell you, and I I know people love when I call them out from up here. Tom does an amazing job of this. I know at some point this week I'm gonna get a text from Tom that says nothing but, hey Josh, hope your week's going good. You know what that lets me know though? At least one person in here, outside of Debbie and my mom, who their texts are much different, right? They're like, hey, I need you to end your mind. But it then lets me know that I have one person in here who's sitting here and going, hey, I'm thinking about you. I hope you're doing good. And it probably doesn't take them that long. And listen, guys, if you have the new updates on your iPhone, you can go home today and schedule out all your texts throughout the week. It's sitting here and go, you know what? Today I'm gonna talk to everyone who comes within 10 feet of me. Would that cost you anything? No. Would it be super easy? Probably. And listen, I'm not sitting here going, find out everything you can about this person. I'm literally sitting here going, oh, hey, how's it going? Do you really want to make them uncomfortable? They won't stop talking, just go, is there anything I can pray for you about? Shuts the conversation down and you can move on to the next one, right? But these are like examples of everyday things. These are just things that are real quick and easy for you to do every day. And then every week. Alright, these are gonna, these are gonna ante up, right? Because you only got to do this one every week. Number one, pay for the person behind you in line. Right? You go to get something to eat, and they're like, I don't know if they want me to call them out or not, but I like I heard a story the other day, and like there was a person they were like, yeah, we we told them we took the little machine in the drive-thru and like scrolled through their orders. I'm not sure if you're allowed to do stuff like that, and was just paying for the cars behind them in line. Think about what that person that just drove up to the window thinks now. Oh, it's already been taken care of. And I'm not even saying now get out of your car and go, and it was already taken care of the same way that Jesus already took care of your sin and payment for death. Okay? But think about how nice their night was going, hey, my meal was free. That car in front of me, whoever they were, oh, crazy idea. We sell bumper stickers. So they could even look and go, oh, mission sent. That person paid for me. They must be the salt of the earth. Number two, have coffee or tea with someone. Is that gonna cost you something? Yeah, it is. Even if you're not buying, it's still gonna cost you time, right? Because it takes time to sit here and go, hey, let's get together this week. Let's sit down and have coffee and just kind of talk about our life. I'm telling you, some of the deepest discussions I've ever had with JT are on the way to, or well, usually not to, because he's usually asleep in the truck, but definitely on the way home from fishing. Like we went down to Sebastian Inlet Thursday. It's a two-hour drive, which I really did not remember it being that long. But that's two hours that I get to just sit and talk to him. And if you're sitting here going, oh man, that's why he's so well discipled and knows the things of the Lord. No. Half the time it was like me going, why do you watch that? Like, that's stupid. And then him explaining to me how well you used to watch Dragon Ball 2 and anime isn't that bad. But make time to sit down and have coffee or tea. You families in here, pick a day of the week and go, hey, shutting the Wi-Fi off. Uh-oh, now we gotta do things like talk? That's crazy. Like our kids know, dinner comes, like, no, I don't want to see your phone out. I want you to look at me in the face and I want you to use like make eye contact and let's get awkward. Right? We're gonna like we're gonna have like deep conversation here. Why? Because one day they they may have their own family, and I want them to be able to do the same things, right? Some of you, I teach your kids, and listen to me, they can't talk to an adult in their face. They will constantly look down like this because they lack confidence in what they're saying to begin with. Well, if you lack confidence in what you're saying to begin with, how are you gonna go, hey, here's who Jesus is? Probably not, right? And then every month, now these are gonna be big ones. I'm asking you to do this once a month, volunteer somewhere. If you're sitting here going, oh, I don't know where to volunteer at. Really? How do you want to do it? Do you want to work in the Sharon Center? Do you want to come into Mission Academy and read to kids? Because I'll tell you right now, you have a free Friday sometimes, they need all the help they can get on a Friday. Volunteer. Go, yeah, I'm gonna give up my time. Well, I can't, you know, those hours don't work for me. Cool. Let me know when you're off. I will find something for you to do. We'll open the Sharing Center on Saturdays if you need me to. I won't be here, but volunteer somewhere. And if you're sitting here going, oh, I can't volunteer, give up a day to go fix someone else's car. Like, how do you think it would go if like you went over to so-and-so's house and you were like, hey, I'm gonna do an oil change for you today? Some of you guys in here, I know you know how to do an oil change. Some of you teenagers in here, I know you know how to do an oil change. Give up some time. Go cut someone's lawn. My mom and dad used to like just pull up randomly to our house. And they'd have their little trailer behind them, and mom would get off and mow, and dad would walk around in weed whack and tell me everything that was wrong with my house and why I'm so lazy and can't fix it. I had to explain to them all the time. It's not laziness, Dad. I have no money. Like, I'm a teacher or a cop. Neither one are high paid. But the whole thing is. But the whole thing is, is give it up. You have 168 hours in your week. Be selfish uh in in like 56 of them. Why would I say 56?
unknownBecause 56.
JoshWhat was it, Shelby? 7 times 8 is 56 for sleeping. You can be as selfish as you want when you're sleeping. But in the rest of the hours, don't be selfish. Go, my life isn't given for me. My life is given so that I may pour out to others. You got a boat? Take people out. You got fishing poles? Take people fishing. You don't have either? Go to the beach. Like, y'all don't think that the Carls would love if you were like, hey, I'll take all five boys and go to wherever so you guys can have some quiet time? I'm sure they would. Think about this, guys. What about your neighbor? You know how many conversations I've got to have with my neighbor simply because I went over and mowed their lawn? You know how many times I've told one of my kids, go mow so-and-so's yard? Why do you think I tell them to do that? Because I don't want them in the house? Or because I'm sitting here going, your life isn't for you. Go be salt. Go over to the neighbor's house and mow their lawn. And when they come out and they go, hey, can I pay you? Go no. I didn't do this for money. My parents have money if I need something. And if they don't, I'll text Nana. And you will hear it. But see, this is what we gotta do. This is why Jesus left us here. To be salt. I'll tell you, my biggest, biggest joy in life is going to the beach. You know why? Because the first wave I go under, everything right in here just kind of drains out. And I go, oh my God, I can breathe finally. This is what this is like. The world needs that, guys. You're supposed to be that. But if we're just sitting on the table not doing anything, how are we the salt? We've lost our saltiness, and guess what? The only thing that's useful is to get thrown out.
A Warning About Looking Like Salt
JoshTwo chapters from now, which will probably be like two years from now, when we get there, Jesus says this many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't I? Didn't I prophesy in your name? Didn't I heal people in your name? Didn't I cast out demons in your name? And I will say, Depart from me, for I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. Now understand when Jesus is talking about that, those aren't atheists. Those aren't people who reject the gospel. Those are people that would show up and be salt on the table. See, it's possible to look the part, it's possible to look like salt, it's possible to be in the same jar as salt, and at the same time not be salt. Cocaine, sugar. Can anybody else baby powder?
unknownBaking powder?
JoshBaking powder, baking soda, flour. All of it could be mistaken. Well, maybe not flour, but the other stuff can be mistaken for salt, right? Which one are you?
unknownCocaine.
JoshSo, Father, I ask and I praise as we leave here that no one comes to the conclusion that they are a cocaine. Father, I just pray that as we move through this week, that God, we do so going, I'm gonna be the salt every day, every week, and every month. That God, I'm gonna give them my time, my talent, my treasure, that God, I'm gonna I'm gonna sacrifice and stop being self-centered, and that God, I'm gonna live a life where I count others as more than myself. So that way we can preserve, that way we can be the church, that way we can push back against darkness, that way we can add more to your kingdom. Father, I just ask and I pray that each and every one of us that right now is sitting here resolving to go, I'm gonna be salty this week. Father, you give them the strength and the courage to do so. Father, I ask and I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.