Matthew 6:1-6
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Do you need the famous work “ok,” do you need to hear that word often to make you fit in your surrounds? Do you need a pat on the back after you’ve finished that job or task you were assigned to do? Do you surround yourself with people who always give you compliments? Are you constantly in need of encouragement? Do you really care about what people say about you? If you were able to answer yes to any of these questions, then its time for you be self built up in your most holy faith, without the need or the “ok” or the validation of anyone in your life to make you feel secure about you in you Christian walk, without you having the need to lift you up or give you praise.
Matthew 5:13-16
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
You are the salt of the earth. Salt is to make something better, taste better more palatable. When you look at that understanding, God has made you the salt of the earth. If you are the salt of the earth, what does He expect from you? It only takes a little salt to change something from what it used to taste like to make it better. It is a savory taste used to enhance, change or preserve something after being changed. Once it has been placed in the food or seasoning, that salt will preserve what was changed from one taste to the other. When you see that, understand this when the Lord said you are the salt of the earth. We were sent here to changed the direction things were going and preserve it. Once Christ gave us walking in the good news of what HE came to bring, He has placed that inside of you. You don’t need to be validated by any man, child, woman, or thing. He has made you the head and not the tail of somebody. If you’re not made the tail of somebody and you are the head, then why does the head need to talk to someone else other than Christ who is the head? You don’t need to go to any other individual to get God’s will of what He promised He said He’d do for you. Can you not count on other people? He will send you pastors after His own heart for you, leading and guiding to individuals in your own life, there to support you and keep your mind focused on the purpose that God has given you for your walk in Christ, mission in Christ and more than that for you to stay strong in His will.
God has not given us the spirit of fear. Some of us go around allow fear to dominate what God has placed into our lives to help us go forth in ministry so that we can do our part, touch the hearts minds and lives of individuals to bring them into the understanding of who Christ is. So when you allow salt to be the structure that you form yourself after, and do what it does, it will change the taste of, or change the heart of, it will make every change and preserve the change that is made earlier because of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that keeps us and gives us purpose.
If you don’t know your purpose in Christ, taking advice from men, without consulting God first, then you will be lead down a false road of security until you run into that first bump in the road. If you don’t believe in something, you will fall for anything. That is why its so important that you fail not to assemble yourself together, because someone may be going through the same thing you are. God has not given us the spirit of fear but of a sound mind. You can’t have a sound mind if you are listening to every individual who you think may have a word from God. If you’re not aware of how you are affecting your surroundings by your stability in who you are, and what purpose Christ has for you if you’re not aware of that, and you have no focus, how will you be an effective child of God?
The Bible says an unstable person is unstable in all his ways. If you don’t have focus and balance in your life, everything around you will not have focus and balance. What purpose do you have and serve, what good are you for? You are not up to par on being a Child of God. How can you be the salt of the earth? If you are allowing individuals to esteem you, validate and extol you, praise you and pat you on the back, that becoming your lifestyle looking forward to those things, then how effective of a Christian would you be? You’re waiting for validation from things around you. No, no, no. Christ can not use you because you need something other than Christ, other than the Holy Ghost, that strengthens you and guides you. If you have no stability what kind of example are you setting in your own house? If you are not sure what God’s perfect will or purpose for your life is, how can you be an example for those in your own home? Do you want everybody in your house to look up to you, and you go looking for someone else to check your validation of what you are doing and saying is correct? That has been the problem with a lot of people in this day, they look so much of what people are saying about them, looking at them, and they are allowing that to control what they say, do, and how they act.
As a Christian, you can not allow individuals to guide you or lead you for their own purpose. You have to make sure that it is coming from the Holy Ghost. The Word said it will lead you and guide you into all truth (John 16:13). Its time out for waiting to hear from a prophet, from an apostle, from a pastor, from a Bishop, from a friend, from a boss, from a loved one, its time to listen and read your word because God said He will lead and guide you. No don’t get it wrong, I’m not trying to say don’t get away from the leaders, if they are men of God, they are going to enhance and encourage and push you forward in what God has ordained for your life. If you have a mentor, whether Bishop, Pastor, friend or loved one, always check what they tell you with the Word of God, and the Holy Ghost that is in you will lead you to the right understanding. The Word of God says lean not to your own understanding, acknowledge Him and he shall direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6). Don’t look for anyone else, to your own understanding, but lean to the Word of God, through prayer and supplication, God will give you the answer, and to every answer, He gives there will be a witness to that answer.
Don’t show yourself off to the world to validate that you are a Christian. You need not be on national tv with a banner in your hand or any such thing alike declaring that you are against this and you are a Christian, so others will see you and say “oh that is a Christian.” The world doesn’t know what a Christian is, all they know is what a Christian does. So when you have an issue with a particular thing, take it to God and pray about it, or get together corporately with a group of baptized believers where you are all standing in agreement. Where there are two or three touching and agreeing on a thing, He is in the midst (Matthew 18:19).
Romans 6:12
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
By us operating and doing things using our hands, ears, nose, arms, legs, for the purpose of Christ, he said remember you should act as though you’ve just risen from the dead. Before when you were in the world, you were dying. Now you are alive in Christ, and if so, don’t exemplify the deeds of someone who was dead, but exemplify yourself and one being alive from the dead of the world, alive in Christ. Behold you are a new creature old things have passed away.