Wow. And everybody said amen, right? Thank you so much, choir, orchestra, and Joshua for leading today. Well, I want to continue our conversation today as we are spending this fall exploring what it means to be in relationship with each other. And here’s where we’ll begin this morning.
It’s my conviction, theologically, that God has created all of us with an innate desire for significant and meaningful relationships. In fact, we find fulfillment and meaning as we live in relationship, first of all, with God. That’s where it starts. With our families, with our friends, and with our church family. We’ve talked about every one of those already in this sermon series.
We began with theological reflection, where we looked at what the scripture had to teach us about the fact that we’ve been created by God for relationships, that God himself exists eternally in relationship. We’ve also talked about what it means to be in relationship with him, with our families, with our. Our friends. Last Sunday, we talked about being a part of a church family. I want you to notice that last part of that note.
We’re Christians, so we’re in a church family. We’re part of the body of Christ. And so with that comes an added layer of blessing. I would say an added layer of opportunity. Maybe I would even say an added layer of responsibility.
Since we’re not just humans. We are Christians or followers of Jesus. So as believers, we are also called to be disciples and to make disciples. So that means we are to live purposefully in our relationships, because here’s what we are trying to accomplish. We are trying to help other people know God, experience God, and serve God.
So think about your relational contexts. A part of my responsibility. Part of your responsibility is to be a disciple within those relational webs. But there’s another step. We’re also supposed to be making disciples.
We’re supposed to participate in what it means to help other people know God, experience God, and then see the blessing of serving God. Here’s what I know about everybody in your relational network. So just think about all the people you’re connected to. Obviously your family, but I mean your friends, people that do live in your neighborhood, as we heard Kyle and Rachel talk about people that you just encounter. Some of you go to the same grocery store like I do.
I’ve gotten to know the clerks there and those folks. Some of you go to the same pharmacy I do. Some of you go to the same shopping places. Some of you are involved in athletic endeavors, coaching, going to see your grandkids play. Depending on what it may be, we all have those.
Here’s what I want to tell you about every single person in your relational web. No matter who they are because of sin, they are all less than who God designed them to be.
Every single one of them. And those who are outside of Christ within that web, here’s what I tell you about them. They do things that they wish they wouldn’t do. They say things that they wish they hadn’t said. They hurt the people that they love.
They struggle with certain issues because of sin, and they don’t know what to do about it. And so they repeat things. They find themselves in cycles of brokenness. These are people that you know and I know, and because of their sinfulness, just like us, they need help. And so we have an opportunity to live purposefully among them.
Because here’s what I’m convinced about. Every person, every person in our web, no matter who it is, they need to be saved. They need to be shepherded. They need to be shaped, and they need to be sent. Every person.
You know, you got people in your relationship web right now who are outside of the family of God. And you know what they need? They need to be saved. Many of them don’t know they need to be saved. They’re not exactly sure what the problem is, but they know that it’s less than if you really were to talk to them about something serious.
They know. They know things are less than what they could be. And they need to be redeemed. They need to be rescued from their sinfulness. They then need to be shepherded into the body of Christ.
They need to be shepherded in the community of faith that they don’t know how to live in a church. They don’t know how to relate to the body of Christ. They need to be shepherded past their past. You’ve got people right now in your world, friends of yours, maybe in your family, neighbors. They are weighed down with their past, and they don’t think they can get past their past, and they struggle with it.
Well, they need to be shepherded. They need to be shaped into becoming disciples. They need to learn the beauty of what it means to be sent into giftedness. See, you already know about that. You know what it feels like to serve God faithfully, meaningfully, purposefully.
You know how that feels to you when you believe that you’re doing something? You believe God’s called you to do whatever it is, wherever it is that you serve. You know that sense of blessing and fulfillment that you experience, that you can only experience when you do that. Think about what people in your world are missing because they just don’t know. They want to know.
They just don’t know. And so with that said, I want us to think about how we live among them as the people of God. Because that’s what you’re doing right now. When you leave here today, wherever it is that you go, until I see you again, either on Wednesday or Sunday, you are living among them. You just are.
And so how well are we doing it is the question. So with that said, I want us to look at this text from Matthew 5. We’ve looked at this text many times. You’ve heard a lot of sermons from this text. I’ve preached a lot of sermons from this text through the years, but it’s found in Matthew 5.
I’ve entitled the Message Today. It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. That is obviously original with me. I came up with that years ago, and I’ve been using it a long time. Jesus is preaching this very famous sermon, and Matthew has been our guide all year long.
At some point or another, we’re studying Matthew on Wednesdays at the pastor’s Bible study. We’ve been reading different passages from Matthew. We’ll visit Matthew again during Advent. And this gospel is built around five great sermons. Five great discourses.
They’re called by scholars because Matthew’s Gospel is thoroughly Jewish. And so he’s sending everybody a message. The books of the Law. There are five of them under the Old Covenant. This is now the New Covenant.
So there are five landmark sermons from Jesus that connect to the five books of the Law in the Old Testament. Matthew is communicating something about who Jesus is. This is the first one of those sermons. We’ve looked at it, but today I want us to look at what he says at the conclusion of the Beatitudes, which we have already studied. Here’s Jesus application, and it begins in verse 13 of Matthew 5.
You know, it’s our custom to stand and honor the Lord Jesus when the Gospel is read. So if you’re able, we invite you to do that. Hear the words from Jesus. You are the salt of the earth. I want you to notice he doesn’t say, I would like for you to be.
You may choose to be. He just says, you are. This is who we are. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
It’s no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. We can all say, ooh, when we read that. Feels harsh, doesn’t it? Verse 14. You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in he. Amen.
Right? Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.
Let me give you another line that I came up with. This is for all the lonely people.
It’s crazy how original I am, isn’t it? Some of y’ all in the, you know, in the next service, nobody will respond to that because they’ll have no idea. I’ll have to explain it. You know, in 1966, the Beatles wrote a song. Eleanor Rigby, you remember that song.
Some of y’ all are Beatles fans. You remember them. You remember how that song starts. Ellen Rigby, look at all the lonely people. Paul McCartney said, Where do they all come from?
Look at all the lonely people where they all belong. And it’s a song about this lady who worked at a church. I remember the song on the Rigby Ride. And this priest who attends her funeral. It’s a very gripping, moving song, has lots of tentacles to it.
Well, a few Years later, in 1973, Dan Peak, he and his wife Katherine, they were a part of the group America. Do you remember America? He wrote this song, this is for all the lonely people, in response to Eleanor Rigby. He told his wife, Eleanor Rigby is too sad. He said, what about all the lonely people?
He said, so this is for all the lonely people, he says. He says, thinking that life has passed them by, don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup. All this silver hair.
You know what he was saying? There are a whole lot of people available for you if you’ll just access them. So don’t give up. Take advantage of all that wisdom that’s available to you. In other words, he wrote a hopeful song because he was so burdened about the testimony of all the lonely people.
Interesting, isn’t it? As y’ all know, we’ve been talking about loneliness. I watched a segment on CNN about loneliness. Harry Entin is the data analyst for cnn. He just produced a couple of little vignettes that were broadcast on cnn.
Here’s what we’ve discovered. Americans were asked, do you have at least five close friends?
In 1990, 63% of Americans said, yes. Today, 40%.
So in 1990, the majority of Americans said, I have at least five good friends. Today, the minority says, I have at least five good friends, which means the majority says I don’t. Another question was asked in 1990, how many of you have zero good friends? In 1990, 3% of Americans said, I have zero friends. Today, 17% of Americans say, I don’t have one good friend.
We spend more time alone than any other generation in the history of the U.S. here’s what’s really shocking. 12th graders. They’ve been tracking 12th graders longitudinally since 2003. In 2003, they asked 12th graders, how often do you feel? Do you feel lonely?
Often is the question. 28% of them said yes in 2003. Today, 40% of 12th graders say, often I feel lonely. Isn’t that interesting? You and I probably think that 12th graders are the most connected group of human beings on the planet, right?
And it’s fascinating. Right now, according to the research we’re reading in the US they’re the loneliest age group. So what is going on and what can we do about it? How do we address it? Well, obviously, one of the answers to me would be relationships.
Wouldn’t you agree that’s the antidote to loneliness, to be in relationship with people? Well, let me remind you of what Jesus said in this text, Salt and light. Here’s what I hear Jesus say. He’s challenging us to live what I would call influential, inspirational, and informational lives in the various relational contexts of our lives as disciples. I believe that the Lord has you in this web of relationships, and you’re to be influential in those that web.
I think you’re to be inspirational information. The Bible says we’re always supposed to have a defense, right, for the hope that’s in us. We have some information, but our lives should be inspirational. And because of that, we should have a measure of influence in our various responses. Relationship webs.
So Jesus uses a couple of metaphors that were very, very familiar to the ancient world, not so much to us. I don’t know about your use of salt. Not sure how you do it. I know that if you’re sitting out in public and you use too much of it, people will judge you.
You know, you start salting things and people look at you going, that’s too much salt. Or some of us will actually salt our food before we even taste our food, because we don’t trust the cook, right? You know good and well by looking at it. That ain’t salty enough. Not for me.
What is it about salt? Well, we’re not quite as familiar, though, with how it was Used in the ancient world. In the ancient world, salt was everywhere. It was just everywhere. They used it as a preservative.
They didn’t have refrigeration. They used it for seasoning. They used it to keep their animals healthy. They even had what you and I today would call salt licks out in the fields for their animals because it would help their diet. They used it for healing.
There were even people who went to the Dead Sea. What an interesting name for the sea where people went there for healing. But the salt content is incredibly high. In other words, it was just everywhere. So what does Jesus mean when he says, you’re the salt of the earth?
Is he saying you’re a preservative? Is he saying you’re to season things? Is he saying that you’re supposed to be healing? Is he saying that. That you’re supposed to be there to help other people find their way to things that are healthy for them?
Well, the answer to that is yes. As a matter of fact, our word salary comes from the word salt. It was even used as a payment for Roman soldiers sometimes in some contexts. In other words, salt was everywhere. So what is Jesus saying to you?
You’re everywhere. Be everywhere, and be who you’re supposed to be while you’re everywhere. Because, see, we scatter on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, we scatter all across this community, all these neighborhoods. We scatter across them, and we’re supposed to be everywhere, but we’re supposed to be a certain kind of presence. Salt, Jesus said, or light.
Now, in the ancient world, light was powerful because the world was so dark, nobody had lights. So Jesus said, when people build a city and it’s up on a hill, and the people who live in that city have little lamps all in their homes, you can’t hide it. Everybody can see it. It just glows because it’s so dark outside of it. And in the scripture, light refers to pushing back darkness.
The kingdom of God is now present, and it is filled with light, and it’s pushing back darkness. So what is Jesus saying to us? Well, we are light in this world. We’re supposed to be pushing back the forces of darkness. We’re supposed to be illuminating the pathway for people to find their way to God.
In other words, Jesus is saying to me, and you live your life in your context. Represent me as you do it. Think about it. You can bring seasoning and hope. You can be a preservative, a preserving influence.
You can cast light into the darkness of people’s lives. We all can do it, and we’re all called to it. And so let’s let that soak in a little bit this morning and think about how we apply it. Because Jesus says, if you will do it, it’ll point people to the Father and then he will draw people to me. See, that’s how it works.
It’s not that we are drawing people to Him. He’s really doing it through us. Does that make sense? This is spiritual work. We can’t force it.
We can just represent it and reflect it and then trust God to do what only he can do, because he’s the one that draws people to Himself. Now, let’s think big picture first. Big picture, James Davison Hunter. He’s a sociologist in Virginia. He’s written a book called To Change the World.
Let me give you a quote from his book. He says, where and to the extent we are able, faithful presence is what he calls it. Commence us to do what we can to create conditions in the structures of social life we inhabit that are conducive to the flourishing of all. James Davison Hunter says the name of his book is To Change the World. And he begins his book by saying, I did some research on numerous Christian organizations in America.
And he said, I was shocked to find how many times to change the world is in the mission statement of Christian organizations in America. And he says, I’m going to ask the question, are you really changing the world? Can you change the world? He says, perhaps maybe a more realistic goal and challenge would be instead of thinking we’re always going to change the world, because that sounds massive. He says, what if we said we’re going to be faithfully present and let God be the one that does the changing?
Be faithfully present. And if you’re faithfully present in the areas where you now are connected, one of your goals is the hope of flourishing for everybody, not just for yourself. That’s what faithful presence is. It’s not just about you being blessed. It’s about helping provide flourishing for everybody.
In his commentary on Matthew, Michael Wilkins calls it intentional sojourning. It’s the same concept in my world. I’m supposed to care about everybody, not just myself. It means that somehow you do this commensurate to your sphere of influence. So let me give you an example of a big picture way of happening.
Some of y’ all are in this room are old enough to remember Watergate, right? There was a certain lawyer connected to Watergate that had an office in the White House next door to President Richard Nixon. And he Became Richard Nixon’s hitman is what he was called. His name was Charles Colson. Colson was this brilliant attorney, Turned down a scholarship, a full ride to Harvard, ended up getting his degree from Brown.
He ultimately got his law degree and he began work as an attorney. And through various connections, he was hired by Richard Nixon. He actually moved into the White House for his office in 1969, and he became implicated in the Watergate scandal. Y’ all remember that story. Once everything came down and it looked like there was going to be folks who were going to have to actually go to prison, one of his friends gave him the book mere Christianity by C.S.
lewis. And he read it, and this brilliant attorney was converted to Christ. He was then sentenced to federal prison, and he served time in federal prison in Alabama. While he was in prison, he found the life of prisoners to be deplorable. And he was shocked at how many repeat offenders he met in prison.
And his question was, why do y’ all all keep coming back to prison? Why can’t you find life on the other side? When he got out of prison, he decided, I’m going to do something about that. And he started a ministry called the Prison Fellowship. And it was aimed at helping prisoners find hope for their future and not live in repetitive cycles of behavior.
He also had the aim of improving the conditions of all prisoners so that all of them could find hope, regardless of what their future was. And when he first started, it was suspect because people said, you’re just trying to redeem yourself because of what all you’ve done to this country. Fair enough. But you know what? Over time, the proof’s in the pudding, right?
And over time, he proved to be an authentic disciple of Jesus. He’s dead now. Died in 2012. But do you know that Prison Fellowship now exists in 120 nations around the world? And you know, that is the principal instrument that is used still in the justice system to help transform prisoners lives so that they won’t be guilty of the same offenses once they’re set free out into the free world.
And they have the best statistics yet of any program we have, helping prisoners, once they get out of prison, find a new life for themselves. That’s an example to me of being salt and light commensurate to your sphere of opportunity. Now, I can remember when I first started preaching, all of my sermon illustrations were like that. I mean, they were like, Martin Luther, Chuck Colson. And my people in the pew were going, that’s great, but I am no Martin Luther.
I’m no Chuck Colson. I get it. So here’s what I’d say. That scale might not be relatable to me and you. So let’s bring it down closer to where we live.
Can we do that? Let’s talk about our individual everyday life through our relational webs, our neighborhoods, our civic groups, our athletic organizations, our schools. We have numerous opportunities to practice faithful presence and Christian hospitality. You don’t have to be Chuck Colson and start an international prison fellowship. You can just host somebody at your house in your neighborhood.
You can do what Rachel and Kyle just exhibited. You can come up with some creative thing to do on Halloween. You can improve your neighborhood. It’s in the everyday of life. That’s where you live.
You can learn just faithful habits. You can tip that server maybe a little more than you thought. You might see what happens. You might even ask him or her, how’s it going? You may ask that clerk at the store, how’s your day today?
I always do. Sometimes it freaks people out in the drive thru at McDonald’s, that little door opens, they tell me how much it is. I said, how you doing today? I went, I’m sorry.
How are you doing today? I’m okay. Good. You like working here?
Yeah, I’m just acknowledging them as a human being. They’re not there. Just take my money and give me my food. They’re actually working for a living. I have no idea what’s going on in their life.
It’s the little things. My brother Emerson’s so good at it. He answers every phone call, every spam, answers them all. Here’s what he tells him. I’ll give you five minutes if you give me five minutes.
And what I have to say is way more important than what you have to say. You’d be shocked how many conversations he has. Thank that clerk. Write a note. Volunteer at school, Coach a ball team.
When I was younger, I coached my kids sports. Josiah and Hannah. I was. I remember I was coaching Josiah’s little baseball team and it was our first coach pitch game. You know, where the coach actually pitches it.
Very first batter, I hit him square in the back.
Still a lot of confidence in my little guys. Every one of them stepped out after that for about a week. But it’s the little things, y’. All. That’s really where you and I are really going to make a difference in our world.
It’s in your everyday. Infuse your neighborhood with salt and light. You just heard Luke. Remind us of the challenge from Elijah Brown. Be a neighborhood chaplain.
You may Think, well, I don’t know how to be a chaplain. You know how to pray, and you know how to care about people. That’s all it takes. That’s where you start, just praying for your neighbors. You can expand your definition of neighborhood.
It might be you want to do that at the recreation level or in community groups that you’re part of. It doesn’t just have to be where you live. But here’s the thing. Think about it. What I’m hearing is that 60% of my neighbors are telling me they don’t have good friends.
Well, that ought to say something to me and you. So the likelihood of anybody I meet in America right now who’s an adult that has a good friend, guess what? It’s just diminished. Most of them don’t. Can’t name five friends.
And so you and I have an incredible opportunity now. How do you do it? Well, it’s not rocket science, but it requires something of us, I would say. We’ve got to be inclusive and invitational in our relationships, in our web, in our matrix, whatever that is. We’ve got to learn how to include people in our circles of relationships and invite them to a life with Jesus.
That’s really what it takes. You know, Justin Whitmill early. Remember, we had him at Faith at Home. He’s got this little book called Made for People. And what he says is, we should live.
We all have circles in our lives. We should make sure that these circles of friendships remain open. Now, you can only have so many friends, but you can introduce friends into your circle who might become friends with others, and then they might become friends with others. And we can address this epidemic of loneliness one circle at a time. We can find ways to invite people in, include new people, be welcoming, be hospitable.
Not rocket science. There are people who’ve inspired me along the way to help me understand how valuable it is, you know? In 1988, I was attending the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, Texas, and I saw in a hotel lobby a famous preacher. He was famous to me. He was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Alabama.
At the time, he had been a huge leader in the Alabama Baptist Convention. I had heard him preach revival at Southwestern Seminary. His name was Ralph Langley. I was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Mertens, Texas. And I went up to Dr. Langley.
I said, Dr. Langley, I just want to meet you. I’ve heard you preach revival at the seminary. You’re pastoring in my home state. You’re very well known. And I just wanted to Come up and meet you.
He said, what’s your name, son? I said, my name is Dennis Wiles. And he said, are you living in Alabama? I said, no, sir, I don’t live in Alabama anymore. I’m from Alabama.
He said, well, where do you live? Said, well, I live in a. Just in a small town. I live in a small town here in Texas. Where at in Texas?
I said, well, it’s a little small town that’s right outside of Hillsborough, Texas, in Hill County. Well, we’re at right outside of Hillsboro, Texas. I said, well, it’s in a little community in Hill County. And he said, what’s the name of it? I said, mertens.
He said, mertens. He said, did the Perry’s still go to that church? How about the Belews? Are they still in that church? How about old Mr. Watson?
He’s still alive. And I went, you know people in Mertens, Texas? Dr. Langley, pastor of First Baptist, Huntsville, Alabama, he said, when I was in seminary back in the late 40s, I pastored in Malone, Texas. He said, now that’s only eight miles from Mertens. I preach revival in Mertens, Texas.
He said, I know the Perrys and blues and the Watsons. How they all do it. He said, son, next time somebody asks you where you’re from, you tell them you’re from Mertens, Texas. Quit beating around the bush.
Got it?
He said, give me your card. I said, well, I don’t. I’m in Mertens. I don’t really have a card. And he said, what’s your address?
I said, well, it’s Mertens Baptist Church. Got it. I got home, had a letter from Dr. Langley, handwritten. He started writing me regularly. I ended up moving to Garland, become pastor of Calvary Baptist Church.
Cindy and I were in Garland yesterday. We went and visited Calvary. Hadn’t been there in many, many years. Got to garland. I invited Dr. Langley to preach revival at my church.
He came. I went to pick him up on Sunday morning. He was standing there at the hotel with his suitcases. I said, everything okay? Nope.
I’m not staying here. He said, this hotel’s too expensive. I’m not staying here. He said, I looked on the back of that door, saw how much money it costs every night for a room. I’m not staying here.
And I was thinking, what are we gonna do? He said, I’ll just stay with you. And Cindy. And I went, mm, That’s going to be fun.
And you know what he did? I had no idea that years later I’d Moved to First Baptist Huntsville, Alabama, and he’d be my pastor emeritus. I asked him after I moved to Huntsville, I said, Dr. Langley, why did you take an interest in a little boy from Mertens, Texas? He said, I always have room for one more friend. You should, too.
Now, he wasn’t my neighbor, but he taught me something about being neighborly. Always have room for one more friend, don’t you? Come on, y’. All. We’ve got to be inclusive.
Here’s what. Here’s what Justin Whitmill early says. He used to be a missionary in China. He said, when I was in China, he said, we argued with people, strangers. We practiced apologetics.
We shared the gospel with them that way, and we won a number of them. He said, but I don’t live in China anymore. I live in America. Let me read to you what he says about that. He says, in a world where our neighbors do not understand our language, friendship, not argument, will become the place of evangelism in the West.
Secularism is not an argument. It’s a mood. The functional atheism we experience is not something most of us have ever thought out. It’s just the way we feel. Anyone who knows relationship knows you cannot disrupt a mood with an argument.
You must disrupt it with a presence.
In other words, don’t think you’re going to argue your neighbors into the kingdom. Try being a friend. That’s what he’s saying. It works. I want to show this photo of Rosaria Butterfield.
She’s in this photo. She’s with Pastor Ken Smith. Interesting journey. Rosaria Butterfield was a professor at Syracuse University, tenured English professor, Ph.D. from Ohio State. She was an active lesbian, ardent political activist in all kinds of ways.
Excuse me, ways. In the late early 90s. Sorry, I mean the late 90s, rather. She began researching the religious right. And in early 2000s, she wrote an article, a scathing article, about the Promise Keepers, and it was published in their local paper.
Ken Smith, the pastor in the town, she got several letters from Christians just as scathing as her article. She got one letter, though, from this guy. He invited her to dinner at their house, he and his wife, Floyd. He said, I’d just love to know how you found all this out. Would you be willing to come for dinner?
She thought to herself. She told her partner that she was living with, and they were both very active in the LGBTQ rights and all kind of political activism. She told her partner, I’m going to go meet this preacher. So she did, went over and had dinner. She went back Again.
She then went back again. No condemnation, no judgment. Just friendship and understanding, Just listening, talking about things. Finally, it led to her asking questions of them. And eventually she converted to Christianity.
She resigned her position at Syracuse University. Today she’s married to her husband. Kent has children and grandchildren. She’s written a book called the Gospel Comes with a House Key.
Now, I’m not sharing that story with you to make to pick a fight with you about a political topic. I’m sharing that story with you to let you know that this preacher, all he did was invite her into his home. He and his wife, that’s all they did for conversation. Ended up being life transformative for them. It’s not rocket science.
You and I, we all have a house key and we have an opportunity to invite other people into our lives. I’m just encouraging me and you, let’s keep the circle open and let’s invite people in. And I would say if enough of us do that, then every day when we go home, our whole little area can say, it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. May it be so. Let’s pray together.
Father, we love you. We thank you for your love for us. Thank you for how you’ve created us so that we can be in relationship with you and with each other. And right now, Lord, we have people all around us who are lonely, people who are not in significant relationships, people who are struggling and they need friend. I ask you just to lead us to them.
Then give us the sensitivity to notice it when we’re there. And give us the courage to reach out and offer an invitation to be a friend. And we’ll let you take it from there. And Lord, I just pray that neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood will be incredibly beautiful because you have called us to be salt and light. And we pray in Jesus name, Amen.
