MAR 24 2019 | Guests | SnL: Salt ‘n Light

Sea Change Church · Guests · "SnL: Salt 'n Light" Pastor Bryce Maurer · March 24, 2019
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Good morning church, my name is Tony Gallegos. I am a volunteer here. My wife is Drea, for some of you that know. Today I am going to be reading Matthew 5, 13 through 16. Salt and Light. 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 people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. The word of the Lord. All right, Bryce, come up here, buddy. I'm just going to introduce Bryce real quick. He is actually one of our missionaries in Montana. He has known Pastor Adam for how long, roughly?

16 years. That's a while. That's a while. They did ministry up in North Coast Calvary Chapel. I met you when he led 3040, and you were preaching a long time ago then. He actually took over a church and is doing like a revitalization, a ministry of an existing church, and trying to reach that area of Montana. I'm sure you're going to say more. But he is well-trusted by the pastor. He's one of our missionaries. We want to give him respect and props.

And let me pray for you. Father God, thank you for Bryce. Thank you that you've called him to be a pastor, and you've given him a specific geographical area that he feels called to, to minister to. Thank you that him and pastor Adam are in an awesome relationship, and that he is going to bring the word, and that you have gifted him to preach the word, and to love people, and to love you. And we're just so stoked that he's here.

Empower him to speak to us your gospel. In Christ's name, amen. Amen. Siri set a timer for one hour. You guys are rocking. You guys have two services now. You guys have had new additions since last time I've been here. This is so exciting to see. Adam's like, dude, we had to go to two services. We're packing the house. It's like 200 people every service. I'm like, yep, that's pastoral counting for sure. But you never tell the congregation that there's a guest speaker because they'll take a Sunday off.

Um, it's one thing to give your pulpit up if pastor's sitting there. It's another thing to give your pulpit up when you're not even in the building. Um, and so I take this with a great responsibility, uh, but I also like to have a lot of fun when I'm here. Adam would never let me preach wearing a hat. So you know what? To heck with your man-made traditions. You're not here today. I'm going to do what I want. No, I'm just kidding.

I actually don't preach in hats either. But when Adam texted me this morning and said that he wasn't going to be here, I was like, that just makes it easier to crack jokes about you all day. But I do have a fondness for church marquees. Um, if you Google church marquees, there are many numerous things that are funny. Like that one. Do you know what hell is? Come here, our preacher. See, I don't feel bad because my church laughed at that too.

And I'm like, wait a minute. Are you laughing with me? Don't let worries kill you. Let the church help. Oh man, I hate this church. That's good. That's what Satan says about my church. Was that it? Those were, those were the only ones I had. So yes, I like to, uh, have fun when I preach, but there's also a seriousness to God's word. And so hopefully we can do both of those things today. Gavrio Princip. Anybody heard of him?

Turn to your neighbor, say, now you have. Yeah, this is how I like to do it. We will talk back and forth. Um, how about Mordecai Ham? Anybody? Okay, we got one. Okay, other than you, turn to your neighbor and say, you never heard of him. It's so interesting that these names don't ring a bell with us. And yet they change the history of the world. You would not be here in this environment today if it wasn't for these two people.

Gavrio Princip was a Siberian nationalist. And as a teenager, in 1914, he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That was the start of World War I. It changed the course of history. And today, in the 21st century, he's virtually a nobody. Nobody knows that name. And he had an impact on society. I am fascinated by Mordecai Ham. Because in 1934, during a revival meeting, Billy Graham came to know Jesus Christ. Amen for that.

Now, here's something really crazy about this story, right? Because there was a Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball, who helped lead Dwight L. Moody to Christ. You might have heard of Dwight L. Moody. Well, if it wasn't for Wilbur Chapman, he is the one that converted Dwight L. Moody during one of his evangelistic meetings. And if it wasn't for Billy Sunday, some of you guys might be familiar with that name. He was converted at a Chapman meeting.

And Mordecai Ham was converted at a Billy Sunday meeting. And Billy Graham went on to do great things for his father's kingdom. Friends, this world is hurting. And it needs you. And it needs you. And it needs you. Each and every one of you. This world needs you now more than ever. I'm born and raised here in San Diego. It is so good to be home. But at the same time, while I'm miles away in the great big state of Montana, I pay attention to the things that are happening here in California.

And it breaks my heart. And so that gives you a Christian mandate. That gives you a Christian responsibility. And we're going to look at Jesus' words today. And we're going to see what that entails for your life. Because it's part of who you are. So interesting that we sing those lyrics today. It's who I am. It's who you are. So we are then faced with two competing worldviews. And whether you want to be or not, you are locked into this showdown.

It actually is a spiritual battle that we need to be invested in. There's this biblical worldview held by those that follow Jesus Christ. And then there is a humanist worldview. And that is found in the commonality and sets the moral compass, which is governed by the powers of authority and human beings. And you are part of bringing hope and a future to a hurting world. And so we pray, Father God, that your name would be magnified today.

Your name is worthy of all our praise. And so we say, come, Holy Spirit, come. This morning, speak to us right where we are at. God, let us not stand on the outside of the courts, but let us come into the Holy of Holies and open up our hearts to receive your word today, God. Let us not leave here the way that we came in. I say, God, for those that need to be wrecked, you wreck them today. Speak to the depths of their hearts, their minds, their soul, and their strength.

In Jesus' name, have your way with us. Amen. So we read Matthew chapter 5. I like to actually hold the Bible and read out of it, but it's really hard to do that when you're holding on to a microphone. So you guys do things a little differently because you guys have an awesome team here, and they actually have written the scriptures in your notes. And so you can follow along there, and I'm going to use those notes as well, so then I don't have to fumble through.

Sometimes with a microphone, I feel like I should kind of hold it like this, like Stephen Furtick, one of my favorite pastors, Veron Ash speaks like this, and he really gets into the word of God. I don't know. That's why I wear a headset because I don't get out of control that way. But here we are in Matthew chapter 5, and Jesus is at the beginning of his earthly ministry. He had called his first disciples, and great crowds are flocking to him.

I love this because the chapter before this, Matthew chapter 4, says that he was preaching the good news of the kingdom, healing every disease and sickness among them. And so I went to Montana to revitalize a church, to refocus a church, to a church that was dying. And it breaks my heart that that is the church in America today. Churches are closing their doors. Great crowds were flocking to Jesus. So what's happening with our church today?

Why are people not flocking to our churches in masses like they did in Jesus' day? Who told you to be quiet? Because we have a great commandment. We have a great commission to partake in, and Jesus tells you who you are today in Matthew chapter 5. See, Jesus is at the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. And here, he is preparing his famous sermon on the mount. Jesus' moral and ethical standard for his followers is revealed to us here, versus that of a humanistic worldview.

Do you? Do you know that churches in America have actually stopped preaching Matthew 5 through 7? Shame on us. As if it's no longer relevant. If we preach Matthew 5 through 7, we might offend some people in the congregation. I fear grieving the Holy Spirit more than I do man by preaching the truth of God's word. Because let me tell you something I know about God's word. It's the same today, tomorrow, and forevermore.

Amen? Amen? Amen. Our influence, then, should be very intentional and part of our mission and part of our calling. Jesus never said to be the light of La Jolla Christian Fellowship. He never said to be the light in Surf Church. He never said be the light in children's ministry. He said be the light in the world. Your sphere of influence. The five places that you go to the most. How are you leaving God's fingerprint there?

Because what the Bible calls us is part of the ecclesia. And I love that word because that actually means the called out ones. That means that you have been called out. You have been called out. Not by the pastor. But by God's word. Because that's who you are. You know, let's be praying for the men that are coming down the mountain right now with the Joshua Project. This is not a mountaintop experience. This is something that's going to change their lives.

But they are called out. We go after it in the Joshua Project. You guys are familiar with the Joshua Project? It's a discipleship class that Adam started back in 2006. And that's how I got involved in this mess. I went through it and it rocked my world. It was amazing. And it's still going on today. And in 2011, Adam says, I was praying and I think you should run in. I said, oh, no. I can't do that. I'm a nobody. Well, I am still a nobody.

But it's changing the course of lives for men. And it's gone on to be a non-profit. And it's East Coast. And it's West Coast. And you know what? I'm proud to tell you guys it's coming to Montana. I really wanted to do a Joshua Project in Montana last year. And God told me, wait. My timing was then. And he said, wait. And so we're doing what we got. Two, three different churches involved that are going to go through it.

And that all started by me simply saying yes to Pastor Adam encouraging me to go. To be a part of the called out ones. Y'all know the first commandment, right? It's interesting to me as I go to different churches and speak at my own church, how quickly we forget our first commandment. So I want to take you guys back to the Old Testament. Deuteronomy chapter 6. And there it says, hear, O Israel. Hear, O La Hoya. Hear, Pacific Beach.

I'm from Oceanside. So hear, Oceanside. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Jesus adds one more description there in the New Testament. Matthew chapter 22. He says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Because the mind is a powerful thing to waste. There is a renewing of the mind that will change your day-to-day living.

When you get into God's word. And the second commandment is like this. You guys are familiar with your second commandment, right? It's interesting when I go to different churches, and I speak to my own church, how quickly we forget the second commandment. And the second commandment is like this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. That is such an important part of God's word that we miss out on. You can't love somebody until you love yourself first.

Because I'm going to cast all my hurts upon you. I'm going to cast my brokenness on you. But when I learn to love myself, not an egotistical kind of way, but the way that God views me. When I can be strong and courageous and throw my shoulders back because I'm a son of God. I'm an heir in his kingdom. And that makes me royalty. And when I can do that, I can love you better. Because when the Father's love hits your heart, when you get it out of your brain and let it sink 18 inches down into your heart, it changes everything.

See, there's a great problem that I see in the church today. And that's when we put the great commission. Go. Make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is what you are called out to do. It's not your pastor's job. It's not the worship person's job. That's our job. To go and make disciples. But the problem is when we put the great commandment, when we put the great commission before the great commandment.

Because I'm not up here so that you guys remember Bryce Maurer. I'm up here so that you remember God's word. I don't want my name to be remembered today. I want Matthew chapter 5 verses 13 through 16 to stick in your brain when you leave here so that God's name can be glorified and magnified. God's name can be glorified. God's name can be glorified. So what we see in scripture is that Jesus uses two elements that we're knowing in his day.

So here's a story written thousands of years ago to a different people in a different culture. So what does it mean to us today? We don't have time to get into all of that because I feel so over prepared and under prepared. I should have just went for a surf this morning. So I did go for a surf yesterday. I was so happy to do this. It's been 18 months since I've been in the ocean. And so I stashed a board at my friend's house.

I grabbed a wetsuit from another buddy and I'm staying a block and a half from the beach. God's blessing. And so I put on my wetsuit and I walked down to the beach. It's probably like walking from here to the corner perhaps. Surfed for a good 45 minutes. Came back and I started kind of walking on the sides of my feet on the way back. I mean come on man. It was what? 60 degrees yesterday? And my little soft Montana feet got sunburned on the bottom.

They like blistered. They got so hot from walking on the pavement they blistered. I don't know how that fits into the sermon but I just wanted to share that with you. You. Look at your neighbor and say you. Come on guys we're going to do this together. Look at your neighbor and say you. You. This is a very descript word that Jesus uses here. He's not talking about the world. He's not talking about La Jolla. He's talking specifically about you as a believer in Christ.

one who confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart that Jesus Christ has raised from the grave. He's talking about you. He says you are the salt and that would have meant something to the people in Jesus' day. See there was no refrigeration in those days and so it was used as a preservator. It was used to hold back the corruption and to retard the rot. Are you picking up on what I'm putting down? The way that we carry ourselves and the way that we live a life that reflects an undistorted word of God is an absolute essential in preventing and retarding the decay of morals in our culture today.

This is such a great responsibility and we can make a difference by the lives that we choose to live. Imagine if you would if everybody in this room if everybody that is sitting in a church pew in a church chair today would get to the polls and vote. I get it man. I'm not a I'm not a political person but if we went to the polls and voted as Christians God's moral compass for this nation we can change the course of this nation.

Do you believe that? you may not like the current president you may have voted for the last president I don't care because Jesus is and always will be on the throne and we should live a life that reflects that and if you didn't like the last president or you don't like the current president you're still on the hook as a Christian because you got to pray for your enemies tasteless salt represents what happens when we choose to remain silent do you know that there's scientifically no such theme as tasteless salt what Jesus meant is that they were mixing the salt in the day with impurities and that renders the salt useless it's useless for nothing so if you're trying to come to church on Sunday hey praise Jesus and then you're living life on Monday with a Facebook Jesus you're mixing the impurities into the true word of God light is another essential component are you just scratching your knee are you giving me five minutes okay light is an essential component to the Christian life life cannot exist without light so when the light of Jesus shines things begin to happen when your little light shines in your office cubicle things begin to happen and when you take your little light and you bring it to your school things begin to happen when you take it out into the lineup it changes the atmosphere of where you're at and this is because light reveals and exposes that which was previously unseen but it's a choice everybody say it's a choice what are you going to choose it's a choice you got to follow the path as the light begins to penetrate through the darkness Jesus never said to be a boring Christian where was Jesus first miracle was that a party yeah I love my Jesus see it's harder to do this with a microphone I always wanted to preach in this Adam probably wouldn't let me you were to bring flavor to the world salt promotes flavor light shines people are attracted to light so friends wake up nobody told you to be quiet go out and penetrate the world stand up against the decay of morals in our society darkness is only the absence of light there's no such thing as darkness it is only the absence of light but there is a darkness over this world there's a darkness over the state of California but we can penetrate it the problem is that this world is facing is that Christian citizens citizen Christians are being silent and one of the biggest lies destroying your voice is the lie that the majority of Christians are buying into and it's that there is no such thing as absolute truth you do you and I'll do me as long as you are not hurting anybody and it's the biggest scam that we're buying into we need to be defenders and revealers of the truth all the darkness in the world and hell itself cannot extinguish the light of Christ in the world and in our hearts so that makes you the light see Jesus says I am the light of the !

God is depending upon you and I to reach this world don't sit around and be silent because you don't want to offend somebody oh let's not get crazy here now well then I'm just going to get a bullhorn and a soapbox and stand on the corner on Friday nights and yell at all the people going into the bars it's not what I'm talking about you're forgetting the great to love the Lord your God to love your neighbor as yourself but what I am talking about is being bold enough to speak truth and do your friends life when you see them doing something that they're not supposed to do encourage them with the truth of God's word don't sit around and be silent when your friends when your family that don't know Jesus are going to hell it's worth having a voice for it's worth being the salt and the light so I wanted to leave you today with three takeaways okay let me take this off so you guys take me seriously I wanted to leave you with three takeaways today and the first one is to pray without ceasing first Thessalonians 517 says it the same way pray without ceasing and I'm not talking about like walking around just mumbling we had enough of those people in La Jolla and Oceanside but pray you know we borrowed a car while we're here and I drove here today and I don't know how to hook my bluetooth up to the stereo and so I drove in silence when's the last time you got into your car and made it a holy sanctuary pray without ceasing one of my favorite people in the world Virginia Stattmiller would say prayer is always the answer point number two one of my favorite scriptures that has really changed the course of my life when I open up God's word and I read it that is the life that I want to live Micah 6 verse 8 says he has told you he has told you la hoya what is good and what the Lord requires of you and that is to do justice to love kindness and to walk humbly !

your God ! I'll speak for myself we all got work to do there but that is God's requirement for you so examine your heart and how can you do that better and my third and final point you know this this is a pretty cool verse because years ago this verse jumped out to me so much to the point that on my phone I would have a timer set for 333 every single day to remind me of this scripture and I'd be in a job site and my alarm would go off and my customer would say hey your phone is going off and I just go oh that's my prayer alarm and I just leave it at that I will answer you and I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known I've been reading the Bible for a long time I've been preaching for a number of years and it amazes me when I open God's word and I say come Holy Spirit come open up my eyes to the things unseen new things are revealed !

to me and I'm like I didn't see that five years ago be willing to be used by God what you are and who you are will ultimately be self evident to those around you it will be revealed to us when we stand before the judgment seat of God each and every one of you will stand before the judgment seat of God to be judged for the things done on this earth whether good or bad I don't like that it's from the Bible but it helps me to live a life worth living there is so much work to be done and the workers are few so as we close today I really just want to ask you right where you're at right now are you ready to be used are you tired of being silent are you ready to stand up and represent Jesus everywhere you go those five places that you touch here in town they need your presence they need your little light to shine they need you to bring some flavor to the atmosphere and so I'm just I'm just going to ask that if that's you if you're ready if you want to be that person maybe you're not right now but you want to be just stand up this is not a show for anybody this is between you and God if you want to be the salt and the light to La Jolla as we close in prayer just stand up just let it happen God Jesus was not silent when he hung on the cross for you he said you're worthy you're worthy you are worth it you are my sons you are my daughters and you are worth dying for so let your light shine and let your speech be seasoned with love towards all just surrender it shine and represent for Jesus oh God you are so good how we love your word God and we want to stand and represent your love to a world that is hurting God so I say everybody here today God as we walk out these doors would they be encouraged would they be empowered by your Holy Spirit to be your representatives God as ambassadors for the kingdom they carry the same power and authority that you have and today God at the grocery store today God in the water would we show somebody the love of Jesus I pray a blessing over them today God that they would be filled with the truth of your word God that you would reach everybody right where they were at in the struggles of their marriage in the victories of their jobs from the highs and the lows God the high tide and the low people