Mount Of Beatitude Part 5

Well, so how are we? That's the way. We are continuing and I believe today is the last sort of part in our little journey in the gospel according to St. Matthew and chapter 5. So we'll be finishing this little mini-series of talks or lectures on chapter 5 which was from verses 1 to 16 inclusive. Today we'll be taking, we'll be reading from Matthew 5 verses 13 to 16.

Matthew 5 verses 13 to 16 and the Holy Bible says, Yeah, that's the Holy Bible, this is the word of God. God is infinite, His word is infinite. There is no end to the meaning behind those words you read.

Okay, so today we are in the last sort of phase of these 16 verses. Last time we spoke, it was about, we've covered verses 10 to 12, I believe, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake and then blessed are you when you are reviled and everything nasty said against you for my name's sake, rejoice and be glad, exceedingly glad for your reward is great in heaven. So if you're persecuted for righteousness sake, the kingdom of heaven is yours.

But if you are persecuted for the sake of Christ, then heaven is yours. And heaven, we said, is God himself. So when people go against you in the name of Jesus Christ, don't ever be angry, don't ever be upset, don't ever be offended when you show them love of Christ and they give it back to you in absolute opposite to it.

Don't retaliate for Christ is your reward in the end. Pray for them, bless them and walk away. Come back next time and give them a hard time.

So we spoke about that. But today, today we want to speak about you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. These are the verses for today's session.

You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Now, verses 1 to 16 of Matthew 5 is the plan of Christ for the kingdom of heaven. This is the plan of Christ for the kingdom of heaven.

We said previously that there are nine Beatitudes, nine Beatitudes. The first three of them, they are called the foundational Beatitudes. The first three are the foundational Beatitudes and they are blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn and blessed are the meek.

These three are referred to as the foundational Beatitudes. The next three are called the leadership Beatitudes and the leadership Beatitudes are blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart. These three are referred to as the leadership Beatitudes and there is one that falls between two circles and that one is part of the last three Beatitudes.

They are nine, so we can divide them into four categories. The first three are foundational Beatitudes, the next three are the leadership Beatitudes and there is one which is verse nine. It is called the objective or the goal.

This is the objective Beatitude and that is blessed are the peacemakers. The peacemakers is the objective and the goal of all of it and this blessed are the peacemakers falls between the two circles and those two circles are the last two Beatitudes. One circle is referred to as the Christian circle and the other one, the world circle.

Now the Christian circle is verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is the Christian circle. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

We said righteousness is everything that is of good deed. Therefore, who is righteousness? Christ is our righteousness for Christ is the good God in him, through him, by him and with him we are able to do good deeds for he is the only good God. When you hold on to the good God, the good God by grace will give you the ability to do good deeds.

So righteousness is not only deeds but it is more so Christ himself is our righteousness. Now why is blessed are the persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Why is this the Christian circle? Because Christians persecute one another.

Why? Because there are Christians who are fruitful and there are Christians who are fruitless. Those who are fruitless look at the ones who are fruitful become jealous and envy. What happens? The Christians who are fruitless attack and persecute the Christians who are fruitful.

This is the Christian circle. Blessed are you when you are persecuted by your own Christian family for the kingdom of heaven is yours. The kingdom of heaven is yours.

I want to talk to you more than preaching. A fruitful tree you will always see people casting stones at it. But an empty tree you don't see people casting stones at that empty tree.

But you see that fruitful tree when it gets struck by those stones, if the tree had a mouth and a tongue would have yelled and would have screamed from pain and would have said to those who struck that tree enough hurting me. But you see it is only those who are fruitful get attacked not the fruitless. It is only those who do good things get attacked by their own family and close colleagues.

When you are faithful at work, your own colleagues go against you. When you are faithful at home, your own family go against you. When you are faithful in the church, your own church can go against you.

Because they see the fruit of Christ in you, they become jealous and envy of that. They will attack you. What you need to do? Don't ever be angry or hold any grudges against those who are against you.

Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Forgive them. See it takes God to open one's eyes.

It takes God. So what you need to do? Pray to God to open their eyes to see what you see, to perceive what you perceive, to realize what you are realizing by the grace of God. And this God is Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

The Son was revealed in the flesh over 2,000 years ago. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. God revealed in the flesh.

So when you are persecuted, when you are cast with a stone, don't be angry. Don't be upset. Now what I'm about to say, I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying or put it in a different perspective.

There is not one perfect church. If you are looking for the perfect church, you will never find it. Don't get me wrong.

If you are searching for the perfect church, you will never find this perfect church. Why? Because the church is resembled by the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven, in it, there is good fruits and there is bad fruits.

In every church which is resembled by the kingdom of heaven, in that kingdom of heaven, there is good fruits and there is bad fruits. Now what is the church according to Saint Paul? We are the church. We are the church and Christ is the body.

We are the church. We are the church and Christ is the body. In the kingdom of heaven, which is the church, you'll see good Christians and you'll see not so good Christians.

You'll see fruitful Christians and you'll see fruitless Christians. This is why, my beloved, what is the difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God? In the kingdom of heaven, the Lord Jesus gave parables. He said, the kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins, five wise and five unwise.

My question to all of us, is there unwise people in the kingdom of God? Of course not. But is there unwise in the kingdom of heaven? Yes, because there are Christians who chose Christ from the heart and became wise through Christ and those Christians who chose Christ through lip service and became ignorant, unwise. So in the Christian world, there are wise and unwise.

But in the kingdom of God, you can't have ignorant people there. All those who make it to God's kingdom, they have to be wise. Otherwise, there is no room for you there.

And I could go on and on in this. So the kingdom of heaven are the Christians. The Christians are the body of Christ, the church.

Christianity is the largest in number worldwide. Christianity comes first. Not sure what the percentage now or the number is, but it's around anywhere between 2.5 to 3 billion Christians worldwide.

But the Lord Jesus, even though it comes number one in volume, but the Lord Jesus says to Christendom, to the Christian world, He says, do not be afraid, O little flock, for your heavenly father has chosen to give you his kingdom. Do not be afraid, O little flock. Even though we are the largest in number worldwide, but the Lord Jesus comes and addresses the Christian world by saying, do not be afraid, O little flock.

Because the Lord loves the little, not the great. The Lord does not look at quantity. He looks at quality.

It is not the number that matters to the Lord. It is the heart that matters to the Lord. What is the point of having the church filled with people, but their heart is not for the Lord Jesus? What does it benefit the Lord? Nothing.

The Lord wants your heart. The Lord, he'd rather have 10 people in the church wholeheartedly for him than 10,000. And their heart is as cold as Chicago's winter or Antarctica.

So the Lord is looking for your heart. And the Lord says, no matter how big you grow, I want you to remain little. I want you to remain small.

Don't ever boast about your success. Don't ever be pride about your achievement. Remember, without me, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you are nothing.

So the higher I take you, the lower you humble yourself. Do not be afraid, O little flock. This little flock, Lord Jesus, is the biggest in number worldwide.

He says, I don't care about the number. I care about the heart. I care about the heart.

Because the Lord says, my way, my way is, narrow is the gate and difficult is the way. Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way. And few people find it, but this way leads to eternal life.

But the world, it is a wide gate. And so wide is the way, and so many people find it, but that way leads to absolute destruction. That's why you see majority follow the world, minority follow Christ.

Because there is a prize tag here, to give in order to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Christianity is not a story I read, a book I read. It is not a song I sing.

Christianity is the person of Christ whom I need to live. I need to live this person. I need to embrace this person.

I need to breathe this person. I need to know this person. When am I going to know him? Just because I fulfilled my duty and I went on Sunday to church, you think now you've known Christ? No, Christ is life.

I ask myself, is life only on Sunday morning or evening? No, life is every moment. So Christ is every moment of life. He is that every moment.

When you wake up, when you go to sleep, when you are while asleep, when you go out, when you come in, when you get up, when you sit down, when you are quiet, when you talk, Christ has to be in it every single moment. Every single moment. If you search for the perfect church, Satan will laugh at you.

You know, some churches become too fanatic and say, we are the only way to Christ. Oh Habibi, no tabbouleh for you. If you search for the perfect church, Satan will laugh at you.

What will happen for the person who is in search for the perfect church? They will be going from one church to the other, to the other, to the other, and they will go in circle searching for the perfect church. You know where they will end up? They will end up at home. No more church.

No more. If you jump from one to the other, from one to the other, you lose track of the Lord. You need to find the one that is nourishing you, and the Lord will tell you, because the Lord never lies.

The Lord shows the way. He is the light of the world. When the Lord touches your heart, when the Lord fills you up, when you come, remain in that church.

Stop jumping from one to the other. You will end up without a church at the end. But rather, instead of looking for the perfect church, go into that church and look for the perfect one who is the head of the church.

Look for Christ. Look for Christ. When you see a servant, when you find a servant all for Christ, maybe you should stop and listen.

But if that servant is giving Christ 20% and 80% about worldly achievements, we've got a problem here. We've built 100 churches now, and we have investments everywhere, and we've got schools, and we've got this, and we've got that. What is this? Is this what Christ died for? Christ died for you, my dear friend.

Not to build him 100 churches and 100 schools, and have 100 million or billion dollars in the bank account. You are after the wrong Christ. You are preaching the wrong Christ.

Some of these preachers are called prosperity preachers. Prosperity preachers are mainly found in America. Prosperity preachers, they will make Christianity so easy, like the path is paved with sapphire and precious stones.

It is so easy. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants you.

Just love him and do whatever you want. No. The Lord said, narrow is the door, is the gate, and difficult is the way.

Few people find it. Narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way. My way is not paved with sapphire and precious stones.

My way, in fact, it is laid with thorns, because unless you carry my cross, you don't find the true Christ. You don't. So enough of this lie.

They live in 100 million dollar mansions, and they come and lie to people about the Lord. They will be barbecued in the next life. Shish kebab with hot pepper.

Enter the church and search for the perfect one who is in that church. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This is the first circle, the Christian circle, where you are being persecuted by your own Christian family.

The fruitless attacking the fruitful. And you see that everywhere, don't you? You see that everywhere. Why are you going against me? Aren't we all Christians? No.

The second circle, which is the external one. This is the internal one, the Christian circle, internal. The second circle, the external one, it is the world circle.

The world circle. The world circle, we find it in verse 11. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. This is the outer circle, the world circle.

The world will attack you, will persecute you, will revile you. The moment you come and preach about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the world will hate you. The world will hate you.

Sorry, what's wrong? Is it on? No, it's not. Okay. The world will hate you the moment you speak about Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

However, remember this. You are not the first one that is being persecuted. There were prophets before you who were persecuted, and church fathers before you who were persecuted.

You're not the first one. So don't take it too much and too hard, you know. Relax, take it easy.

You are not the saint of all saints. Other people were persecuted before you. You are no special.

So don't think of yourself you're someone too much, too big, too precious, too special. You're not. Many other people were persecuted before you.

Is there something wrong with the aircon? Isn't it hot? You see, the enemy doesn't like it, eh? Now, the outer circle is the world. Now, what is our situation on earth as Christians? Today, today's topic is you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This is your graduation day.

You see, when we first came, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. All those other blessings, the nine, all those nine blessings that we went through, and we remained faithful to the Lord Jesus throughout those nine blessings by being persecuted by our own Christians and by the world, and we still remain faithful.

Graduation comes. What is your graduation? The Lord will make you salt of the earth and light of the world. If you go through the nine beatitudes and remain faithful to the Lord Jesus, He will make you the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

This is your graduation day. Congratulations. You are now a doctor in theology.

Receive your certificate. What is my certificate? Christ made me salt of the earth and light of the world. Not university.

Not my PhD in theology. Don't be boastful about your certificate, my dear church leader, or whoever you are. So what? You're a theologian.

Have you graduated from the university of Christ or not? Don't tell me you went to Oxford and Notre Dame and whatever university. With all love and respect, but those unis don't give you Jesus Christ. Don't.

Sometimes they will lead you to Satan. You need to graduate from the school of Christ. You need to be taught by the master, the teacher.

None but Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In order to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Now, are you ready? Good.

What is our condition on earth as Christians? The Lord gave us two examples. One earthly, the other heavenly. Verse 13, which is our topic today.

You are the salt of the earth. This is an earthly example. You are the salt of the earth.

The true Christian, the true believer of Jesus Christ, resembles salt in six points. The true Christian resembles salt in six points. Number one, salt comes out of the water.

The believer comes out of the holy baptism, water and spirit. Unless one is born of water and the spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus.

So, the salt comes out of the water. The true faithful believer comes out of the holy baptism. Salt is snatched out of the water.

And the believer is snatched out of the baptismal font. Out of the water. Salt comes out of the water, white.

And the believer comes out of the baptismal water, dressed up in white. And the dress should be white. Not beige.

It's got to be white. Yes. No other color.

So, next time you want to get one of those gowns, make sure they're white. So, the salt comes out of the water, white. And the believer comes out of the baptismal font, white.

Dressed up in white. I.E. a new creation. A new creation.

The salt gives taste to the tasteless. And the true believer gives taste to the tasteless people. You see, when other people encounter, have an encounter with you.

They say, I've never felt this way before. I've never experienced this before. I've never heard anyone talk this eloquently and beautifully and so touching than you before.

I feel different. I feel revived. Revitalized.

I feel afresh. Because I tasted Christ in you, through you. I am now different.

The tasteless now has taste. Through the believer. Salt is very cheap.

And the true believer of Christ is very cheap in the eyes of the world. The greatest born of a woman, John the Baptist, was beheaded for one dance. For the sake of one dance, John the Baptist, the greatest born of the woman, was beheaded.

You see, the true faithfuls of Jesus Christ are extremely cheap in the eyes of the world. He was beheaded with one dance. Man, is this your price, John the Baptist? He says, that's how the world perceived me.

A true Christian is a nobody to the world. The world always put that Christian down. And they say, oh, he is a judgmental person.

He discriminates a lot. He thinks he's someone special. But he's nothing.

Well, who said that I'm special? All I'm saying is, Jesus Christ is the special one. I'm nothing, but I'm giving you the one who is everything. What's your problem? But you see, the world looks for the mighty ones.

They don't look for the weak ones. They look for the mighty ones. But the mighty ones are evildoers.

The weak ones are the ones who do the will of God. But you see, those who do the will of God in the eyes of the world are nothing, are weak. Ignorant.

They must be dumb up here. What do you mean you go to church every Sunday? What do you mean you pray? What do you mean you fast? This is news to me. Isn't that sick? You only live once.

Have fun. Enjoy life. Go out.

Do whatever. Try everything. It's a free country.

If anybody tells you this is wrong or this is right, none of their business. You do as you please. So clubbing, here we come.

Star City Casino, here we come. King's Cross, here we come. The White Powder, here we come.

Somewhere in a room in an overtale overlooking the Darling Harbor, here we come. And the Subwoofer Habibi in the back seat going, Here we come, brother. What fasting? I'm not a nun.

I'm not a monk. I want to live. I want to have fun.

I want to dance with somebody. Oh, what a crazy world. What a crazy world.

Honestly, it's a sick world. If the world had accepted the Lord Jesus, the world would have accepted those who follow the Lord Jesus. So do not be dismayed and shocked.

Why is the world going against me? Because the world went against your Master, your Lord, your Savior, your Redeemer. And if the world hated the Lord, guess what? They will hate you because you are following in His footprints. So what is so shocking about this? Nothing.

So enjoy it and smack the world in Jesus' mighty name and say to the world, Be gone, Satan. And in our secular terminology, get lost. Don't worry about the world.

The world will always hate you. Who cares? Focus on the Lord Jesus. Do not be disheartened.

Do not be troubled. Christians hate me. The world hates me.

So what? I'm here for my sweetheart. I'm here for my Jesus, not for the Christians, not for the world. I'm here for the Lord.

I'm here for the Lord. Focus on the Lord. People will always either love you or hate you.

It's okay. Don't be a big balloon when people love you. And don't be a flat tire when people despise you.

Remain you. Steady. Don't go up.

Don't go down. Don't be a mountain. Neither a valley.

Be a straight line. See, John the Baptist, when they came, those priests and Pharisees, to question him, they said, who are you? He said, with no hesitation, I am the voice crying out in the wilderness. I am the voice, because the one who comes after me is the logos, is the word.

I am the voice to the word. And this voice is saying to everyone, warning everyone, the mountains will be lowered, the valleys will be filled and raised up. Why? Because the one who comes after me, who is before me, the logos, his path is straight, even.

If you wish to meet him, if you wish to be touched by him, to be changed by him, to have an encounter with him, If you are a mountain, i.e. living in false pride, come down from your high horses, and sit on the ground. And if you are living in a valley, losing hope, saying, it's too late, nothing will fix my situation, come out of that valley of losing hope, raise yourself up, and stand even. For the one who is coming, his path is straight.

If you stand straight, neither boastful nor losing hope, you will meet Jesus, and he will say, what can I do for you? You'll cry and say, Lord, I want to see. And he will say, your faith has healed you. See my child.

Then you'll see him. Then you'll see him. See my child.

The salt, number five, preserves, preserves things from corruptibility. There is meat, you put salt in it, preserves that meat, from corruptibility. The faithful, preserves, the people of that town, or that city, or that country.

Give you an example. The Lord God was going to burn Sodom and Gomorrah, L-G-B-T-Q-R-S-T-U-V-Y-W-X-Y-Z. So the Lord God was going to burn Sodom and Gomorrah.

Same sex. And maybe in between. No, it's even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.

What are you, a male? No. Are you a female? No. I'm in between.

I'm none of the above. I'm an it. When the Lord God was going to burn Sodom and Gomorrah, he said, how can I do such a thing, and without speaking to my friend, Abraham.

So he went to Abraham. He said, Abraham, I'm about to burn Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin has reached my heaven. They're living in filth.

Abraham said, Lord, if you are merciful enough, if there is 50 families in that city, please be patient. Don't burn it. He said, if I find 50 families, I will tolerate and I will be more patient.

I won't burn it. But he said, I can't find 50. He said, what about 40? I can't.

30, 20, 10, 1. The house of Lut, his nephew, Abraham's nephew. He said, because of Lut, the Lord God said, I will be patient, because there is one faithful in the entire rotted city. Wow.

So God delayed his plan in a way, to burning Sodom and Gomorrah, because there was one faithful. God is patient with the world, because there are faithful still living in the world. So don't ever say, why is God not doing anything? He's not doing anything, because he has his own still in the world.

That's why he is patient with the world. But the day he takes his own, he will decimate the world. Will you burn a house, when your own child is in that house? Of course not.

Then how much more our Heavenly Father, will not hurt his own children, that are still remaining in the world. That's why God is patient. So the secret societies, don't ever think you're getting away with it.

No. Because there are good Christians, that's why Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is being patient with you. Otherwise, who do you think you are? A piece and a minute piece of dust.

Who do you think you are? That you can call yourself gods. You are nothing. Wake up to yourself, before Jesus comes, with full steam ahead.

Then you'll realize you are nothing. But that realization, will be too late. Will be too late.

See today, even Christians, are tolerating everyone, in the name of love. What a joke. What a joke.

A church leader comes out and says, we need to love everyone. What? Listen, church leader. You need to love everyone, yes.

But you cannot tolerate, every evil act of everyone. Because when you tolerate that evil act, you are in denial of your Messiah. How dare you? How dare you speaking, in the tongue of deception.

Because that deceptive tongue, belongs to Satan. Be careful my dear friend. Be careful.

In the name of love, embrace everyone. Well done. There is no more room, for discipline.

There is no more room, for teaching. There is no more room, for punishing. There is no more.

Might as well just go out naked, and do whatever you want to do. So where is your Christ? What are you going to say, when the Lord Jesus sent his disciples, to the entire world. And he said, go, disciple them, baptize them, and teach them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

What you are going to say, to this verse, Matthew. Matthew 28, 19. Even though I'm old, but I still remember.

Matthew 28, 19. My dear church leader. What are you going to say to this? What are you going to say to this? Embrace everyone.

How can you embrace everyone? But the Lord is patient, because he has still good Christians, on earth. That's why he is patient, with the world. Once those good Christians are gone, no more world.

The Lord will wipe it. He cannot tolerate, evilness, being done in his sight. He cannot tolerate it.

Number six. Salt. Once it loses its flavor, becomes like a rock.

When salt becomes corrupt, becomes like a rock. Now what does that say? A Christian person, the moment they start, searching for their own soul, for their own selves, they'll become like a rock. When you as a Christian, start searching for your own, personal benefits, you'll become a rock.

When you say, I'm doing this. I'm saying this. I'm building this.

It's all about me, me, me. This me is the rock. Salt has gone bad.

And when the salt goes bad, it cannot dissolve anymore. The salt is good for nothing anymore. The moment the salt is corrupt, they throw it in the bin.

You can't do anything with it anymore. And if you put it in the food, it doesn't dissolve anymore. It becomes like a rock.

That's when the salt has gone bad. Lost the flavor. The moment a baptized soul, a Christian soul, purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God, the moment that soul goes in search of its own self, becomes bad.

Bad salt. Rocky. Good for nothing.

Gets thrown out and trampled underfoot. Now, why do we need to dissolve? See, the graduation from the school of Christ is you need to be the salt of the earth. And you need to be the light of the world.

Now, the salt, when you put it in the food, what happens to it? It dissolves. Yes? You can't see the salt anymore. But what do you do? You taste the salt in the food.

When you eat that food, you say, oh, this food is so tasty. What gave it taste? The salt that is no longer vivid, is no longer seen, but it has perished in that food, dissolved in that food, gave that taste. A true Christian is the one who allows other people to taste the Christ who dwells in him, not himself.

You see, a successful church leader is the one who makes people love Christ, not love him. Yes? A successful church leader is the one who makes the flock loving Christ, not him. You see, there are some church leaders in the name of Christ, they make you love him.

When you love him, he's gone, you're gone. All of you going to hell. Because the one who saves, the one who delivers, the one who gives life, is this sweetheart.

His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So when you go to the bishop, to this bishop, and you say, bishop, we love you, add to this sentence and say, we love you in the name of Jesus Christ. Now you're talking.

Don't say we love you. I'm no good for my own self. I can't be good for you.

It is the good God who dwells in me and you. It's the one who makes the entire difference. Love the Lord, and through the Lord, love the church leader.

Not outside the Lord. So if the church leader teaches you something wrong, don't listen. Don't say, oh, but they know what they're doing.

No, sorry. Church leader, come here. You just taught me something against the Lord.

Get out of my sight. But I want you. You are not leading me to green pastures and still waters.

Then you are my enemy. You're my enemy. You were placed in the church to lead me to Christ, not to you, not to your pocket, not to your throne, not to your own glory, but to the glory of Christ.

This is the dilemma of the church. There are some church leaders, not all, some church leaders are leading the flock to themselves, not to the Lord Jesus. They have become that foul salt, that bad salt that became a rock, good for nothing.

It needs to be cast out and trampled underfoot. Now why do we need a salt? You are the salt of the earth. Why do we need to dissolve? Because when I dissolve, then Christ is seen, not me anymore.

When I dissolve, then you see Christ, no longer me. I should hide behind the Lord Jesus, not before Him. I'll give you this example from the Holy Bible, what I mean.

When you read in the Gospel according to St. John, chapter 11, where the Lord Jesus goes to the tomb of Lazarus to raise Him from the dead. Now, Lazarus was already dead 4 days. That means He's rotted, everything in Him is dead.

Every organ, the blood, everything is dead. Clinically, medically speaking, impossible to be resurrected. What is impossible to man, is possible to God.

So He goes to the tomb, look at the Lord. He says to the 12 disciples, He says, move the rock from the face of the tomb. They move the rock.

And then He says to Lazarus, Lazarus, come forth. Lazarus is wrapped, from head to toe, with clothes. He gets up, after 4 days being dead, fully wrapped, sealed.

He walks, fully wrapped. He walks out. The Lord says to the disciples, go and loosen His head cover.

See, when you tie someone's head, usually, the knot is made from the back. Yes? You tie it from the back. So to untie it, what you need to do, you need to go behind that person, and untie that knot, in order for that cloth to fall off their face, their eyes.

So the disciples went behind Lazarus, to untie the knot. Why? Because the Lord says, when the cloth falls off his eyes, Lazarus must see me first, not you. Because if Lazarus sees Peter, Simon, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, if he sees you, he is dead, like you.

But he needs to see the Living God, in order to be alive. So next time, Simon, Philip, and Andrew, when you raise the dead, you better stand behind the dead, for the dead to see Jesus Christ, not you. Church leader, you better let people see Christ, not you.

You are a salt, and the salt must do one thing, dissolve, and say along with Saint Paul, I live, but not I, but Christ who lives in me. I need the people to come and see Jesus, Jesus is not this old piece of wreck, called Bishop Murray. You need to see the Lord.

You need to see the Lord. This is why my beloved, in order, we need to dissolve ourselves, in order for Christ to be seen in us. And this will lead us to the next graduation, you are the light of the world.

If I don't dissolve, and Christ appears in me, I cannot be the light of the world. Because the light of the world is Christ, is not me. But when I dissolve, when I disappear, when I hide myself, and bring Jesus at the front, then the world will see the light of the world.

For Christ is the light, not me. But for the light of Christ, to be seen by people through me, I need to be the salt, that dissolves, in order for Christ to be seen through me. Are you with me? This is the way all of us need to be.

Mom and Dad at home. If mom and dad, you do not give Jesus Christ to your children, you will have no control over your children. Period.

Because the one, who controls everyone and everything, is the Lord Jesus. Not you mom, not you dad. So what is your role? Your role is to give Christ to your children, thus you need to dissolve, in order for Christ to be the head of the household.

And how are you going to dissolve? You teach your children, son, daddy is talking to you. Now, I want you to know one thing son, this house, I couldn't have done it without the Lord Jesus. This food, I wouldn't have been able to put on the table, without the Lord Jesus.

Your mom, I wouldn't have married her, if it wasn't for the Lord Jesus. And this beautiful family, I wouldn't have ever had, if it wasn't for the Lord Jesus. Son, remember this, without the Lord, dad, mom, and all of us are nothing.

That's why, I thank the Lord, every single moment, for this family. Because He gave it to me, it wasn't me. When you teach your child this, you've won Him forever.

You've won Him forever. You've won Him forever. And parents, since I'm mentioning parents, do you know what your inheritance in the next life is? One thing, your children.

In the next life, you cannot say to the Lord Jesus, I brought with me a million dollars. You cannot say to the Lord, I built ten houses. You cannot say to the Lord Jesus, I've got a mansion, I drove a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Mercedes Benz, a BMW.

The Lord Jesus says, this is all material. I want to see, what have you brought as an inheritance into my kingdom? You will say, when you're faithful, you'll say, Lord, I came with my family. Now, this is your inheritance, mom and dad.

When your children are saved, and sound, and are in the presence of the Almighty God, in the kingdom of God. That's your inheritance. Yes.

So, what are you doing with your children? What are you doing with your lives? What are you doing with everything God gave you? Are you gambling with it? Be careful. You may lose it. Or are you thankful for it? Thanking God always.

Always, my beloved. Now, when I dissolve, then I can be the light of the world, because Christ now is revealed, not me, to the world. Now, the Lord gave us two examples, one earthly, from below, and one heavenly, from above.

Salt of the earth from below, and light of the world from above. Why are we the light of the world? Because the moment the Lord Jesus left this world, the light left the world, the world remained in darkness. But now Christ is dwelling in us, therefore He's saying, when I was on earth, in the flesh, I am the light of the world.

But this light of the world went up to heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father. But now I dwell in those who are true children of mine. When I dwell in them, they dissolve like that salt, and let me shine forth once again through them, in this dark world.

I shine through Jesus, now I'm shining through my children, who are on earth, the Christian world, but the faithful ones, not the fruitless ones, but the fruitful ones. Jesus now is shining, once again to the world, through those who are true Christians, true followers of Him on earth. The Lord says, a little while longer, the light is with you.

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. As long as I'm with you, you're in the light. But when the light goes, darkness will overtake you.

And who is darkness? Satan. If Christ is the light of the world, then who is the darkness of the world? Satan. This is why the world lives in darkness, because the world is placed in the bosom of Satan, who is darkness.

Satan controls over darkness. Every time we do something wrong, we enter darkness, Satan is in control. We need to come back and repent.

Say, Lord, I'm sorry, I've sinned. I've made a mistake. I stole, I killed, I swore.

I did this and I did that. Sorry, Lord, I want to come back to the light again. I entered darkness through my foolishness, through my ignorance, through my weaknesses.

But Lord, I'm coming back repenting. Bring me back to the light. To your light, Lord Jesus.

To your light. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. How did God illuminate the night? He illuminated the night with the moon and the stars.

How did the moon and the stars became illuminative? When the sun reflected its light on them. So when the sun shines on the moon and the stars, they become illuminative. It is not them who have the light, it is the light of the world who is shining on them.

And this is the way it goes with the Christians. When we allow Jesus Christ to shine on us, we will be like the moon and the stars, shining in this dark world. Who are the saints? Stars.

The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, It is not good for you, if I remain with you. I need to go in order for you to progress. Why? Because the Lord was literally saying, You are the stars, I am the sun.

S-U-N. The sun, the light of the world. As long as the sun is walking, do you see the stars? When the sun shines, do you see stars? No.

Who cares about the stars? What, did the stars go somewhere? No. But the light of the sun overshadowed everything. He said, as long as I'm walking in the midst of you, the whole world will be focused on me.

Who gives one penny about Simon, Andrew and Philip? But when I go and hide, and my light shines on you, you will be enlightened by this light. The star will be shining in the heaven of this dark world. The world will look at you and say, Wow, what a beautiful star.

What a beautiful saint. What a beautiful Christian. What a beautiful child of God.

Don't be boastful about that. Because what gave you the beauty is the light of the world, not you. Without Christ, we are dead, dark objects.

If it wasn't for the sun, we wouldn't have seen the moon, nor the stars. But the heaven is beautified by these stars, which receive their light from the one and only Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You are the light of the world.

Verse 14. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Which city is set on a hill? The city is the church.

The city of God is the church. This church that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. This city is the church itself.

And this church needs to be the light of the world, because the one who dwells in it is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the true light of the world. So when the church truly reflects the Lord Jesus, the church becomes the light of the world. When the church truly reflects the Lord Jesus, it becomes the light of the world.

Why is it set on a hill, on a mountain? Because this church is supposed to be heavenly. You see, when you look at a mountain, what do you see? You see heaven after mountain. And the mountain normally is elevated.

Meaning, the Lord is saying, My church is heavenly. My church is elevated. My church should not be ever worldly.

Chasing money, chasing fame, chasing positions, chasing power, chasing authority, chasing leadership and dictatorship. This is not the church of Christ. The church of Christ is heavenly.

There is no competition in heaven. Nobody steps over nobody's toe. Nobody chases no one else's throne.

Brothers don't fight. Brothers don't excommunicate each other. In heaven, they are all brothers in Christ.

They love each other perfectly. Everyone in heaven gives their throne to the next one. Not taken away.

Here they fight over the throne. My throne is greater than yours. You need to follow me.

Why should I follow you? You follow me. And they start fighting. And then they say, this is the true church of Christ.

When the church dissolves like that salt, the light of the world shines through that church to the rest of the world.