Page 7 - Demo

Kingdom Influence
Matt. 5:13-16
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching us what its like to live in His kingdom. After describing to us who the blessed ones really are when seen from the perspective of the kingdom, he describes the influence that kingdom members have, the role that kingdom citizens are supposed to play in the world at large.
We are used to rival kingdoms sharing a border. You enter one by leaving the other. But the kingdom of Jesus and the kingdom of this world don’t work that way. The citizens of the kingdom of Jesus exists within the kingdom of this world. We have been strategically placed in order to transform this world from the inside out. We are to be in the world, but not of the world.
In this passage, Jesus shows us the influence we have as members of his kingdom. He shows us the role we play for the kingdom in the world. He shows us how we can influence our culture and in doing so, reveals what is wrong with the culture as well.
You are...
This passage starts with two words that are easy to overlook: You are. When Satan attacks us, one strategy he uses is to make us feel small, insignificant, like we don’t have a part to play or are incapable of making a difference. Jesus starts this section by saying “YOU, the people I just mentioned, the poor in spirit, the gentle, those who mourn, peacemakers, you are the ones I have chosen to use to change the world.”
Most of us think that real important stuff in life is happening someplace else. We spend most of our time trying to get there or feeling sorry for ourselves for not being involved. We need to realize that God has put us where He wants us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:18, “God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” We have a hard time appreciating our own effectiveness or the importance of the role
we play. If you could only see things from heaven’s perspective, you would realize that you play a pivotal and central role in God’s massive plan. God doesn’t need you, but He has chosen you and wants to use you in changing the world. And He has placed you right where you can do the most good.
Don’t think you don’t make a difference. Don’t think you don’t matter. We all have an opportunity to influence the world around us and see it transformed by our influence.
The Salt of the Earth...
Before the advent of electricity and refrigeration, one of the chief ways of preserving meat was to cover it in salt. Because of this, salt was an extremely valuable commodity. People were even paid in salt. The Latin word for salt (“sal”) gave us the word salary. One of the reasons that the Romans wanted to hold on to the province of Judea so much was because of the salt in the Dead Sea region. They would divert the salt water in the Dead Sea into shallow pools, evaporate the water out, then gather and export the remaining salt. It was like printing money.
By calling his followers “the salt of the earth,” Jesus is also showing us what is wrong with the world: it is in decay. Sin decays and corrupts the world. The kingdom of God is designed to prevent the decay that sin naturally causes. God’s laws and commands are not arbitrary rules intended to spoil our fun. They are the instruction manual for living a healthy life. God hate sins because sin causes death. Sin breaks the good things God created. Evil is a twist in reality, a distortion of a thing originally created good. God sends us out to be a part of His great plan to undo this decay, to untwist this world and put it back into its originally intended form.
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