21. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Losing Your Power

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. (Matthew 5:13)

How is it possible for salt to lose its saltiness? Jesus did not speak of salt as such, but He was comparing people’s attitudes toward the Kingdom of God to the qualities of salt. When we look at it that way, we see that He doesn’t beat around the bush.

I once cooked a few whole potatoes. As I took the potatoes out of the oven, they all looked alike: healthy, smooth-skinned, and light-colored. When it came to eating, though, I had a surprise. One of them was bitter. I wanted to spit it out, and I would have if my mother hadn’t taught me better manners. They all appeared the same, but the taste differed.

Psalm 34:8 says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Why does the Lord taste good? It is because He bears so much good fruit. Have you ever wondered what we must taste like to the Lord? Like salt that lost its savour or like that potato I ate? Or do we taste like the Lord?

In Matthew 5:13 above, the Greek word for “loses its saltiness” means both “tasteless” and “made foolish.” God has chosen Christians to deal with the supernatural, with spirits, good and evil, which we cannot see. These are the qualifications we must have in order to deal with this realm:

·         Born again

·         Filled with the Holy Spirit who is not of fear (timidity) but of power, love and a sound (disciplined) mind (2 Timothy 1:7)

·         Equipped with the Word of God

·         Praying much

·         Pure and holy before God

·         Dead to self

·         Humble

Without them, we are bound to be foolish in the spiritual realm. The seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13-16 made fools of themselves when they played with the supernatural. The man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

If we ignore the powers at work in the spiritual realm of this earth by playing at religion, not recognizing the devil’s power and our power to prevail in the name of Jesus, we are fools. 

If I say to a man, “I want to hire you for four times the normal rate to level that mound of soil with your bulldozer.” Won’t he be a fool if he refuses? He has the power available. He is equipped. God has so much He wants to bless us with if we are obedient, so many rewards in heaven if we employ His power to help heal this sick earth. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 that He has all the authority and that He will be with us as we go and make disciples. What more do we need? We need to believe.

1 Peter 5:8, 9 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

Our enemy is not to be underestimated. We are fools if we attempt to be the salt of the earth but reject the Lord’s equipping for the task.
We won’t become the salt of the earth by playing church on Sundays. We must constantly walk with God in faith, listening for His plans for this sick earth. We need to be instruments of His power in every situation. This involves much prayer and acute listening. If we pray and believe, great things will come our way. If not, we become fools, no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men (Matthew 5:13b).  

            What happens to the fool who got trampled? The Afrikaans language has an expression for such a man: “nog vis, nog vlees” (neither fish nor meat), meaning he stands for nothing. He is neither hot nor cold. He isn’t blessed of God, nor is he a favourite of the devil. It is like someone trying to walk through a milling crowd. He doesn’t get anywhere, has no direction because he first gets bumped in one direction and then in another, hopelessly out of control.

            The modern world probably laughs at the average, religious church. They don’t see much power or love. They mostly see materialistic, religious people attending boring, powerless church services. Why would they desire what the church has? While the followers of evil religions manifest all kinds of powerful sorcery which excite their people, the religious Christians hide their faith because of its lack of power.

The fool will be tossed about by life. He has no purpose regarding Kingdom issues and no effect on the spiritual condition of those around him. How could Jesus have been so harsh? Is there not a middle way? He said to the church of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:15, 16:

“‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are —lukewarm—neither hot nor —cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.’”

The Lord wants Christians to go all the way. His power and gifts are available to us. When we need to look after fellow servants during tough times and tribulation, our own power is not sufficient. The same applies if we want to change a sick world.

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