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Transcript

The Salt Life · Wilder Whispers Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friend, welcome to Wilder Whispers, a space where we slow down and listen for God's voice in the ordinary moments of life.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Shay Wooden, and I'm so glad you're here.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We often expect God to speak through big moments, a sermon, a breakthrough, a perfectly quiet prayer time, and he does, but so often he chooses quieter ways, in the middle of everyday life, in the unnoticed moments, in gentle whispers that invite us closer.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Each episode, I'll share one simple story and the quiet truth God revealed through it, not because it was extraordinary, but because he was present.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So wherever you are right now, take a breath, let's slow down, and listen together.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: There are some brands you recognize almost immediately.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: You see the logo on a shirt and you know exactly what it represents.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: In a way, the things we wear and display become little billboards.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Without saying a word, they tell people something about what we identify with.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, while we were visiting family in North Carolina, there was one particular brand I seemed to see everywhere.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Salt Lai.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We weren't too far from the outer banks, and those words were everywhere.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: On the backs of cars, on t-shirts, in store windows.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Being that close to the coast, it made sense.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: The ocean, fishing, boating, spending time on the water.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was part of the culture there.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the more I saw those words, the more I began to hear them differently.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Salt life.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And almost immediately I thought about the words of Jesus.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: You are the salt of the earth.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I had read those words many times, I had taught them, but standing there in North Carolina, they became personal.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: You are the salt of the earth.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Those words come in the Sermon on the Mount.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus had just described the character of those who belong to his kingdom, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then he tells them who they are.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: You are the salt of the earth.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think we should rush past the order of those words.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: The character he forms in us becomes part of the influence he brings through us.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The mercy, the purity, the hunger for righteousness, the peacemaking.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Those things don't stay hidden inside of us.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: They begin to affect the people in places around us.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Salt would have been part of everyday life for the people listening to Jesus.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: They understood its value.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: They understood its purpose.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus chose salt to describe the influence his people would have in this world.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: The way we speak, the way we treat people, the way we respond to the circumstances of life.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: All of it carries influence.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Paul even uses the same picture when he talks about the way we speak.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: In Colossians 4 6 he says, Let your conversation be always full of grace and seasoned with salt.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I love that picture.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Even the way we speak can give people a taste of his grace.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: So much of our influence happens in ordinary places with people who simply encounter our lives.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: At home, at work, in our neighborhoods, in conversations that seem insignificant at the time.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus has already placed his salt throughout the earth.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: He placed us there.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And wherever he has placed us, our lives carry influence.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So what kind of influence is salt supposed to have?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: First, salt preserves.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: For centuries, salt has been used to slow decay and preserve what would otherwise spoil.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And our lives should help preserve what reflects the heart of God truth, holiness, mercy, justice, faithfulness.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes preserving what matters looks very ordinary, simply continuing to live according to the Word of God.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And there's something important about salt.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: It can be present without becoming what surrounds it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus has called us to live among people, to love people, to serve people, and still remain distinctly His.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that distinctiveness is part of what makes salt useful.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Salt also adds flavor.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: A small amount of salt can affect the entire dish.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know when it's there because it changes what you experience.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that makes me think about the fruit of the Spirit.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Those qualities carry the flavor of Jesus.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: When his spirit is producing those things in us, people experience something of him through their interaction with us.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: But there's another thing salt does that really challenges me.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Salt makes you thirsty.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's one of the most important questions we can ask about our influence.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Does the way I live make anyone thirsty for Jesus?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: When people encounter the peace he has given me, does it make them wonder where that peace came from?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: When they experience grace from me, does it awaken something in them?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: When they see hope that survives difficult circumstances, does it make them want to know the source of that hope?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus told the woman at the well that he could give her living water, water that would become within her a spring welling up to eternal life.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: There are thirsty people all around us.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them may not even know what they're thirsty for, and God has placed his people among them.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: What if the saltiness of our lives could awaken a thirst that eventually leads someone to the living water?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because the salt isn't the destination, Jesus is.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe one of the greatest things my life can do is make someone thirsty for Jesus.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a story in 2 Kings chapter 2 that gives us a powerful picture of that.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: The men of Jericho came to Elisha with a problem.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: They said the situation of the city is pleasant, as my Lord sees, but the water is bad and the ground barren.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Something at the source was affecting everything downstream.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Elisha told them to bring him a new bowl with salt in it.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Then he went to the spring, threw the salt into the water, and declared the word of the Lord, I have healed this water.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the water was healed.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And God is very clear about the source of the healing.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I have healed this water.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: The salt didn't heal the water, God did.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's important for us to remember too.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: We can love people, we can serve them, we can speak truth.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: We can carry the character of Jesus into the places he has put us.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: But only God can change a heart.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And notice where Elisha took the salt.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: He carried it directly to the source of the problem.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's freedom in that for us.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are responsible for being salt.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: God is responsible for what happens in the water.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: But salt can't influence what it never touches.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: God has already given each of us a circle of influence.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: There are people within our reach every day.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Some may never walk through the door of a church.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: They may never listen to a sermon.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: They may never open a Bible.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: But they may encounter someone who knows Jesus.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: They may encounter you.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So who is already in your circle of influence?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Who keeps crossing your path?
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who has God given you an opportunity to know, to love, to serve, to listen to?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we're looking for the place where God wants to use us and we're already standing in it.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: The salt in Elisha's hands was carried right into the place where something needed to change.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Salt has to make contact, and when it does, we trust God with what happens in the water.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus also gives us a warning about the salt itself.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: He continues in Matthew 5.13, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus had just told his disciples, You are the salt of the earth.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then he immediately warns them about salt losing its flavor.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Salt that has lost its flavor is no longer useful for what it was intended to do.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that brings the question close to home.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Am I still salty?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because everything we've talked about depends upon the salt remaining salty.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Salt that has lost what makes it distinct is no longer useful for its intended purpose.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where we have to allow the Holy Spirit to examine us.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: There can be a lot of activity in our Christian lives.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: We can know scripture, we can attend church, we can serve, we can say all the right things, but the question Jesus raises reaches deeper than activity.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Is his character still evident in me?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I want my life to remain useful in the hands of God.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: I want his character to continue shaping who I am and how I live.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's the saltiness I want to protect.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think back to North Carolina and how often I saw those words, salt life.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: The brand was everywhere.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And now I find myself asking, Am I living the salt life Jesus called me to live?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm 34 and 8 says, Taste and see that the Lord is good.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Can people taste something of his goodness through my life?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: When life is good, is his goodness evident in my gratitude?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when life is hard, when things don't turn out the way I hoped?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: When prayers seem unanswered?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm walking through something I don't understand, does the way I live testify that God is good?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: What evidence of Jesus is visible in my life?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: How do I respond when I'm mistreated?
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: How do I speak about someone when they aren't in the room?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: When someone needs compassion, am I willing to be inconvenienced?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: When integrity costs me something, what do I choose?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that brings me right back to the question that started all of this.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Am I being the salt of the world that I'm supposed to be?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment and let the Holy Spirit answer that.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a follower of Jesus, his words are already settled.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: You are the salt of the earth.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let those words become personal today.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Ask the Holy Spirit to continue forming the character of Jesus in you, and then be faithful with the life and influence he has given you.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Live as who Jesus says you are.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you're listening and you don't know Jesus personally.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Living the salt life begins with him.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus came to do something in us that we could never accomplish for ourselves.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: He took our sin to the cross, died in our place, and rose again so that we could be forgiven and made new.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: When we repent and put our faith in Jesus, he gives us new life.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: He changes us from the inside out.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And as his followers, he calls us to live as salt in this world.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can begin that life with him today.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for calling us yours and for allowing our lives to carry the presence of Jesus into this world.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, search us.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Show us where our saltiness has grown weak and continue forming the character of Jesus in us.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Keep us sensitive to the people around us.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Give us eyes to see the opportunities you give us, courage to step into them, and wisdom to know how to love people well.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let there be something about our lives that creates a hunger and a thirst for you.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And Father, wherever you send us, use our lives for your glory.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus we pray.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the next time you reach for the salt, you'll think about Jesus' words a little differently.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe when you see those words salt life, you'll hear them a little differently too.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Today's whisper to carry with you is this: you are the salt of the earth.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Stay salty.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And wherever God places you, live the salt life.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending this time with me on Wilder Whispers.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: I hope today's story reminded you that God is closer than we often realize and that He's still speaking, even in the ordinary moments of life.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Whispers are the language of closeness.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: They invite us to lean in.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: As you go about your day, whether you're working, resting, driving, or just trying to catch your breath, stay attentive.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: God is not far away.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's not silent.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: He's near.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And he's speaking.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep listening.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is Wilder Whispers, and I'm Shay Woodley.