HAND THE WORLD A SHAKER AND TURN ON THE LIGHT
THE SIMILITUDES, PART 2
MATTHEW 5:13–16 “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. 14 “YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A CITY ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN. 15 NEITHER DO PEOPLE LIGHT A LAMP AND PUT IT UNDER A BOWL. INSTEAD THEY PUT IT ON ITS STAND, AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE. 16 IN THE SAME WAY, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.
PROPOSITION: BE WHO WE ARE
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: IN 1833, HORATIO GREENOUGH WAS PAID $5,000 TO SCULPT A HEROIC STATUE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON FOR THE NATION’S CAPITAL ROTUNDA. HORATIO WENT TO FLORENCE, ITALY, EMERGING SEVERAL YEARS LATER WITH A 20-TON MARBLE STATUE. WHEN LONGSHOREMEN STARTED TO HOIST THE STATUE ONTO A BOAT, THE ROPE BROKE AND THE GIANT GEORGE WASHINGTON SANK IN THE MUD. SO U.S. NAVY SENT A BATTLESHIP TO ITALY, FISHED POOR GEORGE OUT OF THE DRINK AND TOOK HIM TO NEW YORK.
BECAUSE RAILROAD TUNNELS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON WEREN’T BIG ENOUGH, THEY TOOK THIS HUGE STATUE ALL THE WAY DOWN SOUTH TO NEW ORLEANS AND FORWARDED HIM BY VARIOUS ROUTES, WITHOUT TUNNELS, TO WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS ARTISTIC ENTERPRISE NOW HAD GONE FROM $5000 TO $26,000.
THE UNVEILING CEREMONY FINALLY CAME TEN YEARS LATER ON GEORGE’S BIRTHDAY, 1843. THE NAVY BAND PLAYED AND LAWMAKERS MADE SPEECHES TO THE CROWD THAT HAD GATHERED FOR THE WONDERFUL OCCASION. THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PULLED THE STRING TO UNVEIL THE STATUE, AND THERE WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON, TWICE AS BIG AS LIFE, SCANTILY CLAD AS A ROMAN SENATOR!
OVER CAPITOL HILL ROSE A HORRIFIED GASP. AFTER WEEKS OF BITTER DEBATE, CONGRESS DECIDED TO BUILD A WOODEN SHED FOR $1,600 TO NOW HIDE THE STATUE. BY 1908, AROUND 65 YEARS LATER, THE SHED WAS SO WEATHER-BEATEN, AND THE LAWMAKERS SO MORTIFIED, THAT THEY APPROPRIATED A FINAL $5,000 TO TEAR THE SHED DOWN AND HAUL THE SEMI-NAKED WASHINGTON, IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, TO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE. SO, FOR DECADES IT LANGUISHED IN THE WEST WING OF THE MAIN BUILDING, ALONG WITH A ROW OF ANTIQUE PRINTING PRESSES. ALL THAT EFFORT, ALL THAT EXPENSE, ENDED UP BEING GOOD FOR NOTHING.
INTRODUCTION: WE, AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST HAVE THE DIVINE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A CONDUIT FOR RADICAL CHANGE IN OUR WORLD – FAR MORE THAN BEING USELESS OR GOOD FOR NOTHING. THESE TWO DECLARATIONS BY JESUS TO HIS DISCIPLES AS TO WHAT WE ARE SHOUTS LOUDLY THAT IN THIS WORLD WE ARE TO BE SOMETHING. THAT TO BE NOTHING CARRIES WITH IT DIRE CONSEQUENCES THAT ARE ETERNAL
THIS WEEK, WE CONTINUE OUR STUDY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, WITH THE STATEMENT OF CHRIST THAT WE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
TRANSITION: AS WE GET INTO THIS PORTION OF SCRIPTURE, LET US TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO REVIEW WHERE WE WERE TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE FIRST SIMILITUDE – “YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
I. RECAP OF OUR MINISTRY AS SALT
a. SALT IS OUR DEFAULT CONDITION – “YOU ARE” IS MORE ABOUT WHO WE ARE THAN WHAT WE DO
i. WHAT WE DO PROCEEDS OUT OF WHO WE ARE
ii. THE AMERICAN DIPLOMAT AND WRITER, ELIHU BURRIT WROTE THIS, “NO HUMAN BEING CAN COME INTO THIS WORLD WITHOUT INCREASING OR DIMINISHING THE SUM TOTAL OF HUMAN HAPPINESS, NOT ONLY OF THE PRESENT BUT OF EVERY SUBSEQUENT AGE OF HUMANITY.
iii. WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY IF WE WILL EMBRACE OUR SALTINESS
ILLUSTRATION: WOODROW WILSON TOLD THE STORY OF BEING IN A BARBERSHOP ONE TIME. “I WAS SITTING IN A BARBER CHAIR WHEN I BECAME AWARE THAT A POWERFUL PERSONALITY HAD ENTERED THE ROOM. A MAN HAD COME QUIETLY IN UPON THE SAME ERRAND AS MYSELF TO HAVE HIS HAIR CUT AND SAT IN THE CHAIR NEXT TO ME. EVERY WORD THE MAN UTTERED, THOUGH IT WAS NOT IN THE LEAST DIDACTIC, SHOWED A PERSONAL INTEREST IN THE MAN WHO WAS SERVING HIM. AND BEFORE I GOT THROUGH WITH WHAT WAS BEING DONE TO ME I WAS AWARE I HAD ATTENDED AN EVANGELISTIC SERVICE, BECAUSE MR. D. L. MOODY WAS IN THAT CHAIR. I PURPOSELY LINGERED IN THE ROOM AFTER HE HAD LEFT AND NOTED THE SINGULAR AFFECT THAT HIS VISIT HAD BROUGHT UPON THE BARBER SHOP. THEY TALKED IN UNDERTONES. THEY DID NOT KNOW HIS NAME, BUT THEY KNEW SOMETHING HAD ELEVATED THEIR THOUGHTS, AND I FELT THAT I LEFT THAT PLACE AS I SHOULD HAVE LEFT A PLACE OF WORSHIP.”
JOHN F. MACARTHUR JR., MATTHEW, VOL. 1, MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY (CHICAGO: MOODY PRESS, 1985), 236.
b. EMBRACING THE BEATITUDES MAKES US SALT
i. RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
ii. RIGHT ENVIRONMENT WITH GOD
iii. UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF PERSECUTION
IF YOU MISSED THIS MESSAGE, I HAVE IT POSTED IN MY ACCOUNT ON SERMONCENTRAL.COM
c. FOUR USES FOR SALT
i. KEEPS THINGS FROM PERISHING
ii. ACTS AS A PURIFIER
iii. GIVES FLAVOR
iv. CREATES THIRST
d. THE DANGER OF ALLOWING OUR SALTINESS TO LEAVE – SPIRITUALLY IRRELEVANT
NOW LET’S MOVE ONTO OUR POSITION AS LIGHT
II. OUR IDENTITY AS LIGHT
a. JUST AS WE SAW WITH BEING THE SALT OF THE EARTH TWO QUALITIES STAND OUT
i. “YOU” – THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CONDITION
1. WE ARE INDIVIDUALLY RESPONSIBLE TO BE SALT, AND IN THIS CASE LIGHT
2. OTHERS MAY HELP AND DISCIPLE US, BUT WE ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BEING LIGHT
ii. “ARE” – THIS IS A PRESENT CONDITION
1. WE DO NOT GROW UP TO BE LIGHT
2. WE DO NOT RETIRE FROM BEING LIGHT
3. AS LONG AS WE ARE HERE WE ARE LIGHT.
ALTHOUGH IT CANNOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO ONE PERSON, MANY HAVE QUOTED THIS PHRASE – “IF YOU HAVE A PULSE, YOU HAVE A PURPOSE.”
OUR PURPOSE IS TO BE SALT AND LIGHT
b. WE ARE NOT JUST ANY LIGHT, BUT THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
i. LIGHT IS ALL ABOUT REFLECTION AND CONNECTION
ii. JUST AS OUR MOON REFLECTS THE LIGHT OF OUR SUN, WE ARE TO REFLECT THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
JOHN 8:12 WHEN JESUS SPOKE AGAIN TO THE PEOPLE, HE SAID, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.”
iii. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE MEN LOVE DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT.
iv. LIGHT IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTION
1. A LIGHT BULB IS NEVER TO BE CONGRATULATED ON ITS ABILITY TO SHINE! IT BEARS SOME RESPONSIBILITY OF COURSE, FOR IT MAY FAIL TO GIVE EXPRESSION TO THE ELECTRICITY TO WHICH IT IS CONNECTED, BUT THE VISIBLE LIGHT THAT EMANATES FROM THE BULB HAS ITS ORIGIN IN THE ELECTRICAL SOURCE. TAKE THE SAME BULB AND DETACH IT FROM THE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY AND THERE MAY BE NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BULB IN ITSELF, BUT IT IS COMPLETELY INCAPABLE OF SHINING. TRYING TO SHINE BY IMITATING OTHER LIGHT BULBS WILL NOT HELP. IT WILL ONLY SHINE BY DERIVING ITS LIGHT FROM ANOTHER SOURCE. WHETHER IT IS THE LIGHT THAT COMES FROM THE WICK IN AN OIL LAMP, OR A WICK IN A CANDLE, THE CONSISTENCY OF LIGHT DOES NOT COME FROM THE WICK ITSELF. LEFT TO ITS OWN RESOURCES THE WICK WOULD BURN ITSELF OUT VERY QUICKLY. ITS CONSTANCY COMES FROM THE OIL OR THE WAX FROM WHICH IT DERIVES ITS ENERGY. THERE IS ONLY ONE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ‘THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD’, AND THAT IS THROUGH A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST WHICH ALLOWS HIM TO BE IN US, WHAT HE WAS HIMSELF, HERE ON EARTH.
III. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE CHOOSE TO BE LIGHT
a. WE GIVE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD
i. OUR TEXT TELLS US TO SHINE BEFORE MEN SO THEY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY GOD!
ii. TWO REASONS TO SHINE
1. WE BLESS MEN – WHAT WE DO AS LIGHT POINTS THEM TO GOD
a. THIS BLESSING COMES WHEN WE “SHINE BEFORE”. THE SENSE HERE IS TO SHINE WITHOUT HINDERANCE.
b. THINGS THAT HINDER OUR LIGHT
i. BEING QUIET WHEN WE SHOULD SPEAK
ii. GOING ALONG WITH THE CROWD
iii. DENYING THE TRUTH
iv. LETTING SIN DIM OUR WITNESS FOR CHRIST
v. NOT EXPLAINING THE TRUTH TO OTHERS
vi. IGNORING THE NEEDS OF OTHERS
2. THE GLORIFY OUR FATHER – THEY REACT TO OUR WITNESS FOR HIM
a. RECOGNITION OF GOD’S PRESENCE
b. RECOGNITION OF GOD’S ACTIVITY
iii. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
1. THE DARKNESS OF THE WORLD IS INTENTIONAL
JOHN 3:19 THIS IS THE VERDICT: LIGHT HAS COME INTO THE WORLD, BUT MEN LOVED DARKNESS INSTEAD OF LIGHT BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL.
2. WORLD LOVES DARKNESS BECAUSE IT DEEDS ARE EVIL
3. BY BEING THE LIGHT, WE EXPOSE THE TRUTH AND GIVE MEN THE OPPORTUNITY MOVE FROM SPIRITUAL DARKNESS TO SPIRITUAL LIGHT
b. WE GIVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF DIFFERENT WAY OF LIVING
i. BEING LIGHT DOES NOT ONLY EXPOSE THE DARKNESS FOR WHAT IT IS, IT GIVE S NEW WAY OF LIVING
ILLUSTRATION: A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION JUST OUTSIDE BOSTON, MASS., A YOUNG GIRL KNOWN AS “LITTLE ANNIE” WAS LOCKED IN THE DUNGEON. THIS INSTITUTION WAS ONE OF THE MORE ENLIGHTENED ONES FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE MENTALLY DISTURBED. HOWEVER, THE DOCTORS FELT THAT A DUNGEON WAS THE ONLY PLACE FOR THOSE WHO WERE “HOPELESSLY” INSANE. IN LITTLE ANNIE’S CASE, THEY SAW NO HOPE FOR HER, SO SHE WAS CONFINED TO A LIVING DEATH IN THAT SMALL CAGE WHICH RECEIVED LITTLE LIGHT AND EVEN LESS HOPE.
ABOUT THAT TIME, AN ELDERLY NURSE IN THE INSTITUTION WAS NEARING RETIREMENT. SHE FELT THERE WAS HOPE FOR ALL OF GOD’S CREATURES, SO SHE STARTED TAKING HER LUNCH INTO THE DUNGEON AND EATING OUTSIDE LITTLE ANNIE’S CAGE. SHE FELT PERHAPS SHE COULD COMMUNICATE SOME LOVE AND HOPE TO THE LITTLE GIRL. IN MANY WAYS, LITTLE ANNIE WAS LIKE AN ANIMAL. ON OCCASIONS, SHE WOULD VIOLENTLY ATTACK THE PERSON WHO CAME INTO HER CAGE. AT OTHER TIMES, SHE WOULD COMPLETELY IGNORE THEM. WHEN THE ELDERLY NURSE STARTED VISITING HER, LITTLE ANNIE GAVE NO INDICATION THAT SHE WAS EVEN AWARE OF HER PRESENCE.
ONE DAY, THE ELDERLY NURSE BROUGHT SOME BROWNIES TO THE DUNGEON AND LEFT THEM OUTSIDE THE CAGE. LITTLE ANNIE GAVE NO HINT SHE KNEW THEY WERE THERE, BUT WHEN THE NURSE RETURNED THE NEXT DAY, THE BROWNIES WERE GONE. FROM THAT TIME ON, THE NURSE WOULD BRING BROWNIES WHEN SHE MADE HER THURSDAY VISIT. SOON, THE DOCTORS IN THE INSTITUTION NOTICED A CHANGE WAS TAKING PLACE. AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, THEY DECIDED TO MOVE LITTLE ANNIE UPSTAIRS. FINALLY, THE DAY CAME WHEN THIS “HOPELESS CASE” WAS TOLD SHE COULD RETURN HOME, BUT LITTLE ANNIE DID NOT WISH TO LEAVE. THE PLACE HAD MEANT SO MUCH TO HER, SHE FELT SHE COULD MAKE A CONTRIBUTION IF SHE STAYED AND WORKED WITH THE OTHER PATIENTS. SHE FELT SHE COULD ENCOURAGE AND GIVE HOPE TO OTHERS. THE ELDERLY NURSE HAD SEEN AND BROUGHT OUT SO MUCH IN HER LIFE THAT LITTLE ANNIE FELT SHE COULD SEE AND HELP DEVELOP SOMETHING IN OTHERS.
MANY YEARS LATER, QUEEN VICTORIA OF ENGLAND, WHILE PINNING ENGLAND’S HIGHEST AWARD ON A FOREIGNER, ASKED HELEN KELLER, “HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR YOUR REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LIFE? HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE BOTH BLIND AND DEAF, YOU WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH?” WITHOUT A MOMENT’S HESITATION, HELEN KELLER SAID THAT HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR ANNE SULLIVAN (LITTLE ANNIE), THE HOPELESS GIRL THAT WAS HEALED AND STAYED TO HELP OTHERS, THE NAME OF HELEN KELLER WOULD HAVE REMAINED UNKNOWN.
IT’S NOT TOO WELL KNOWN, BUT HELEN KELLER WAS A NORMAL, HEALTHY BABY BEFORE SOME MYSTERIOUS DISEASE LEFT HER ALMOST HELPLESS AND HOPELESS. ANNE SULLIVAN SAW HELEN KELLER AS ONE OF GOD’S VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE, TREATED HER AS SHE SAW HER, LOVED HER, DISCIPLINED HER, PLAYED, PRAYED, PUSHED AND WORKED WITH HER UNTIL THE FLICKERING CANDLE THAT WAS HER LIFE BECAME A BEACON THAT HELPED LIGHT THE PATHWAYS AND LIGHTEN THE BURDENS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. YES, HELEN KELLER INFLUENCED MILLIONS AFTER HER OWN LIFE WAS TOUCHED BY “LITTLE ANNIE,” WHO IN TURN WAS LOVED, AND ENCOURAGED BY AN ELDERLY, ENCOURAGING NURSE. THE LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT WE GIVE TO OTHERS HAS A DOMINO EFFECT. LIKE LIGHT, DO YOU GIVE WARMTH AND CHEER TO OTHERS?
c. BEING LIGHT DELIVERS A POWERFUL MESSAGE
i. NO SHAME ABOUT THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST – THE GOSPEL
ii. NO SHAME WITH EMBRACING THE GREAT COMMISSION
JESUS GAVE HIS DISCIPLES THIS GREAT COMMISSION FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
NOW I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT GOD DOES NTO DO ANYTHING BY ACCIDENT AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES IS ALSO CALLED THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT:
1. FIRST, BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST TO CATCH THE RAYS OF LIGHT OF THE SUN EACH DAY.
2. SECONDLY, THE LAMPS OF THE TEMPLE LIT UP THE WHOLE WESTERN SIDE OF THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
3. THIRDLY, THIS WAS THE MOUNTAIN WHERE THE GREAT FIRE WAS LIT BY THE PRIESTS FOR BURNING THE RED HEIFER SACRIFICE.
4. FOURTH, THE OLIVE TREES PROVIDED OIL FOR LAMPS IN THE TEMPLE.
IS IT ANY WONDER THAT JESUS GAVE HIS GREAT COMMISSION TO HIS DISCIPLES FROM THIS PLACE – THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT?
d. LIGHT PRODUCES FRUIT
i. OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE WE SEE THE IMAGE OF FRUIT
ii. VINE AND THE BRANCHES
iii. FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
iv. FRUIT THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE REFERS TO MANY THINGS
1. ATTITUDES – FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
2. ACTIONS – FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS
3. ADORATION – FRUIT OF OUR LIPS
4. ADDITION – PAUL REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO COME TO KNOW JESUS AS FRUIT
e. LIGHT ALSO WARNS OF DANGER
i. A LIGHTHOUSE, OCEAN BUOYS, POWER TOWERS, RADIO TOWERS, POLICE OR EMERGENCY VEHICLES, ROAD SIGNS, ETC., ALL USE LIGHTS TO CAUTION AND WARN OF HAZARDS. A LIGHT IS OFTEN THE WARNING WHICH TELLS US TO HALT WHEN THERE IS DANGER AHEAD. IT IS SOMETIMES THE CHRISTIAN’S DUTY TO BRING TO HIS FELLOW MEN THE NECESSARY WARNING.
ii. SOMETIMES THOSE WARNING GO UNHEEDED BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE SHOULD STOP WARNING PEOPLE
WHEN THE UNSINKABLE TITANIC SANK, WARNING AFTER WARNING HAD BEEN SENT TO TELL THEM THEY WERE SPEEDING INTO AN ICE-FIELD, BUT THE MESSAGES WERE IGNORED. IN FACT, WHEN A NEARBY SHIP SENT AN URGENT WARNING, THE TITANIC WAS TALKING TO CAPE RACE ABOUT THE TIME THAT CHAUFFEURS WERE TO MEET THE ARRIVING PASSENGERS AT THE DOCK, AND WHAT MENUS WERE TO BE READY. PREOCCUPIED WITH TRIVIA, THE TITANIC RESPONDED TO THE WARNING: “SHUT UP. I AM TALKING TO CAPE RACE. YOU ARE JAMMING MY SIGNALS.” IF SOMEONE IS WARNING YOU ABOUT SIN’S CONSEQUENCES OR HELL, DON’T BE ANGRY WITH THEM. THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU.
f. LIGHT ALSO DIRECTS
PSALM 119:105 YOUR WORD IS A LAMP TO MY FEET AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
PSALM 119:130 THE UNFOLDING OF YOUR WORDS GIVES LIGHT; IT GIVES UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE.
IV. HOW WE ARE TO BE THE LIGHT
a. LIKE A CITY ON A HILL
b. LIKE A LAMP ON A LAMPSTAND
c. BE VISIBLE – WE ONLY HAVE SO LONG ON THIS EARTH, MAKE YOUR TIME COUNT
d. OUR LIGHT NEEDS TO BE SEEN WHERE OUR INFLUENCE CAN BE FELT
i. WHERE WE LIVE
ii. WHERE WORK
iii. WHERE ENGAGE OTHERS
e. OUR LIGHT NEEDS TO BE EVIDENT ON OUR HOMES – EVERYONE IN THE HOME
i. TOO OFTEN OUR ACTIVITIES AT HOME ARE “LIGHT UNDER A BOWL”
1. THE OBJECT REFERRED TO HERE WAS A COMMON ITEM FOUND IN EVERY HOUSE
2. THIS WAS A BUSHEL, WHICH WHEN PUT OVER A LAMP WOULD QUICKLY EXTINGUISH THE LIGHT
ii. OUR LIGHT AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST NEEDS TO BE SEEN AT HOME AS WELL AS ANYPLACE ELSE
ONE LAST THOUGHT:
IN THE EARLY DAYS, A PRODUCT KNOWN AS VASELINE, HAD A WIDE RANGE OF USES. FISHERMEN GLOBBED IT ON THEIR HOOKS TO LURE TROUT. STAGE ACTRESSES PUT IT DOWN THEIR CHEEKS TO SIMULATE TEARS. SINCE IT DID NOT FREEZE, ROBERT PERRY TOOK THIS JELLY WITH HIM TO THE NORTH POLE TO PROTECT HIS SKIN FROM CHAPPING AND HIS MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT FROM RUSTING. SINCE IT DOES NOT TURN RANCID IN HEAT, THE NATIVES IN THE AMAZON COOKED WITH VASELINE, ATE IT AS A SPREAD ON THEIR BREAD, AND EXCHANGED IT FOR MONEY. BASEBALL PLAYERS PUT IT ON THEIR GLOVES TO SOFTEN THEM AND MECHANICS PUT IT ON THE CAR BATTERIES AND EQUIPMENT TO PREVENT CORROSION AND RUST.
THE JELLY WAS DISCOVERED BY A YOUNG BROOKLYN CHEMIST, ROBERT CHESEBROUGH WHO WENT TO PENNSYLVANIA FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENTERING THE PETROLEUM BUSINESS. HIS CURIOSITY WAS AROUSED BY A PASTY PARAFFIN-LIKE RESIDUE THAT STUCK TO THE DRILLING RODS AND GUMMED THEM UP. THE FIELD WORKERS DISCOVERED ONE GOOD PURPOSE FOR THIS STUFF. IF THEY RUBBED IT ON A WOUND OR BURN, IT WOULD ACCELERATE THE HEALING.
WHEN ROBERT RETURNED TO NEW YORK, HE DID NOT HAVE AN OIL PARTNERSHIP. INSTEAD, HE RETURNED WITH THIS MYSTERIOUS OIL WASTE-PRODUCT. HE EXPERIMENTED AND PURIFIED THE PASTE WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE A CLEAR, SMOOTH SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS PETROLEUM JELLY. HE BECAME HIS OWN GUINEA PIG, INFLICTING WOUNDS AND BURNS UPON HIS BODY, APPLYING THE JELLY, WHICH QUICKLY HEALED THE WOUNDS. THE STERLING PURPOSE OF THE JELLY FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES WAS DISCOVERED AND MARKETED IN 1870, AS VASELINE PETROLEUM JELLY. VASELINE COMES FROM THE GERMAN WORD WASSER (WATER) AND ELAIION (OLIVE OIL). THIS WASTE PRODUCT BECAME VALUABLE WHEN ITS TRUE PURPOSE WAS DISCOVERED AND IMPLEMENTED.
IF YOU TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO EMBRACE THE BEATITUDES JESUS TAUGHT TO HIS DISCIPLES, THEN YOU HAVE VERY THING YOU NEED TO BE WHAT JESUS SAY YOU ARE TO BE – SALT AND LIGHT
AND JUST LIKE VASOLINE, WHEN WE FULFILL OUR PURPOSE AS CHRISTIANS IN BEING LIGHTS, WE BECOME VALUABLE, EFFECTIVE, AND USEFUL IN SERVING THE LORD.
