Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Last week I addressed a few of the attributes needed to find the grace of becoming the salt and light of heaven to the world around us. We must demonstrate what it means to know we are lost without Jesus. We must be hungry for God and eager to receive Him in all things. We must know our need for God. We are in a place of loss without Him. Because of this, we are willing to receive His fullness. We have to know that God is our true comfort and that no earthy thing can truly satisfy. We have to be humble. To be humble is to be teachable.
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
We must see righteousness as food and drink. True righteousness is a right relationship with God and men. Without a right relationship with God we cannot have a right relationship with men. Connection with God and His family is like food. Without this righteousness we starve. It is like drink. Without it we will die of thirst.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
To be the salt and light of heaven to the world we must be merciful. We need a revelation that all that has been given to us is because God is merciful to us.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Mercy is a judgment of love to those who are bound to a justice system of law. It is the testimony of love being triumphant over all judgment. As leaders we cannot seek to excel in judgment. We must excel in mercy. In our hearts we must know our own need for mercy so we can show mercy to others also.
We must be pure of heart. To be pure of heart is to have a concern for life. To be pure is to expect life and to be expectant with life.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
In order to truly see God for who He is we cannot have preconceived ideas as to who He is. We must be like little children in our hearts. We know He loves us, we know He is great, and we know He is good. Leaders lead others into being pure of heart. Being pure of heart also includes a willingness to forgive others and to think the best in all things. We must be wise to all that is good and innocent to all that is evil.
We must be peace makers. To be a peace maker is not to be someone who avoids conflict or confrontation. We must be willing to face conflict and confront anything that seeks to separate us from God.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Peace makers see reconciliation as most important. They seek to resolve issues that create separations between them and God. They do not hesitate to put to death works of the flesh and judgments of the flesh that divide relationships.
We have to be willing to be persecuted for righteousness. We can even expect to be persecuted for righteousness. True righteousness is doing right for others. It is standing fast to do all that God desires. We cannot be quick to compromise in our relationship with God and others. Pressure and all manner of persecution will arise to weaken our resolve, but to be salt and light we must endure persecution and not bow our knees to other life sources. We must not bow to any idol.
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We can even expect to be lied about and taken advantage by others at times. When we are lied about, we must not lie about others. When we are taken advantage by someone, we must not do the same to them.
Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
These are all keys to being salt and light to the world around us. We are the gate of heaven and our character, nature, way must not be like that of the world. Only God’s grace can empower us, but God’s grace can only be found by those who are eager and willing to seek for it and find it.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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