Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

Today we pick up in part 3 of our series Your Move. Here are a few high points for what we learned in the first few weeks.

‌The aim of believers is to live according to the kingdom of God and not prevailing culture.

‌Critics are willing to live at the expense of others, but front row leaders pay the price of discipleship for the benefit of others.

‌Your Testimony represents your reputation, and it is a reflection of your character.

‌Reputation and Godly character are built through consistency and discipline over time.

‌Today we are going to dig into how God uses ordinary people to advance His purposes.

What does it mean that we are the salt of the earth?

‌First, we must remember that Jesus was speaking to a specific group in a specific time period. This reference would have had great cultural relevance to His audience. Jesus was a master at using everyday items to explain the truth of the kingdom.

‌During this time period salt was so important and valuable that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. This is where the expression He is not worth his salt came from. Salt on its own was used for clearing roads and preserving food, but it also enhances the taste of everything its added to. Salt was also a major tool for preservation.

‌Jesus uses this everyday item to describe what should be the effect of the believers life. The apostle Paul also uses the reference of salt in Colossians 4:6.

When Jesus uses this reference you can see that believers are intended to influence and add value to everything around them.

‌We are to preserve the essence of the Gospel adding flavor to all of life. If we loose the saltiness Jesus says its good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot.

‌If we are chasing our own goals, plans, and ambitions, or even allowing the world to determine what we are chasing, we lose our saltiness.

‌Our focus drifts away from Him and our impact and influence diminishes. Disciples of Jesus Christ do no lose their saltiness. We use it to influence the world around us for His kingdom.

‌The Second part of this passage Jesus says, You are the Light of the World. A City on a hill that cannot be hidden.

‌This verse is a little bit easier to understand. We know that light reveals.

In Jesus was life. Jesus is the word. The life in Jesus was the light (revelation) of men. The word of God illuminates the darkness of mankind by exposing sin to remove it. Disciples of Jesus Christ are the light of the world. We are to reveal Him to the world.

‌He even says, we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. We need to understand something. There is no room for closet christianity. You don’t lite a lamp and put it under a basket. NO! You lite it and put it on a lampstand so that it give light to all the house. The days of seeker sensitive christianity are over. We owe the world an encounter with Jesus.

‌We can’t afford to hide the light that is in us. We cannot be afraid of what people may think. If you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord you have the hope of mankind living on the inside of you. We can’t hide from the world and we shouldn’t. We must be salt and light.

To be most effective I want to share with you something else that we need. If your taking notes write this down.

‌We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Charisma and talent will never substitute for the anointing.

What was it that allowed 12 disciples to turn the world upside down? The anointing. The anointing is what allows God to use your story for His glory.

‌Remember that last week I shared how the disciples had a lot of growing up to do. They had wrong mindsets, were selfish, didn’t know how to pray, didn’t know how to walk by faith, struggled with doubt, peter cut a guys ear off, and then denied he even knew Jesus.

‌What was it that changed them to soul winning, kingdom establishing people who were willing to lay down their lives even to death?

‌It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

‌The effectiveness of the early church seen in the book of acts is the direct result of the infilling of the Spirit.

‌What they were able to accomplish was directly related to the Acts 1 & 2 experience. The infilling of the Spirit was so important that Jesus said do not leave town until it comes. In shortened terms You and I need the anointing.

‌Just like the disciples, you and I can not be salt and light to the world without it.

The Holy Spirit is the treasure in earthen vessels (US). The excellence of power is of God, not us.

‌‌The Bible defines the anointing as “God on flesh doing those things that flesh cannot do.” In other words, it’s God doing through people like us what we can’t do on our own.

‌‌The Hebrew word Messiah and the Greek word Christ both mean "the anointed." For centuries the Jews waited for the Promised Messiah (the Anointed One).

‌It was through this anointed one that the yoke of Satan’s oppression would be destroyed.

‌If you are “in Christ,” there is an anointing for everything you are called to do, no matter how small or how great the task. That’s why the Apostle Paul could say, Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

We will never be able to fulfill the purposes of God to be salt and light without the anointing. The anointing only comes as a result of being connected to Him continually.