July 12, 2020

Shalom, shalom; peace, peace in the name of Yeshua. This is Crystal Sharpe and welcome to the Ancient Scrolls program. I do have a website called ancientscrollsonline.com. I post prophetic dreams, prophetic words, visions, articles and sources; ancientscrollsonline.com. Let us begin with the Shema from Deuteronomy 6 Shema, O Israel, the Lord God, the Lord is One You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Psalm 24, this is the proclamation the earth belongs to God. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein. Father YHVH, You are the King of the universe; King over heaven and earth. Permit Your righteousness and justice to permeate the earth. We pray for our sins to be forgiven and forgive others of their sins against us. Help us to stay in a place of repentance. The days grow more lawless and more perilous. We are not sure how long this will last and are concerned about the remaining five months. You are shaking the earth and You are shaking the nations. There is nothing secure in this nation or in this life. We can trust nothing but You. We pray for a release of repentance over the nation. I pray for Your core of people that are fasting and praying at this time. We pray for them to be protected from physical and spiritual assault. We pray those that do not hear will begin to hear. I pray You will open the eyes of their hearts that they may understand where we are in this hour. I pray against the spirit of delusion that has saturated the peoples of the nations. We pray that You give Your people instructions, and directions; and release prayer strategies to Your core people, the remnant. You are still going to pour out of Your Spirit in these latter days. There will be many to come to You in these final days. Your Son, Yeshua, will have an inheritance. We thank You for Yeshua, for His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension and His soon return. Thank You that You are able to keep us in all situations. To You belong honor, praise and glory. Amen. I had been contemplating for much of the week on what to bring to the program. I thought on a couple of things and had been praying here and there about what He wanted discussed. The first words coming to me out of my spirit being was that His disciples are called to be the salt of the earth; and that now is the time to be salt. This is what He saying to those who have understanding—be salt. In these last days He is saying for us to be the healers in this broken world, the peacemakers, to be merciful, the seekers who thirst after righteousness and justice. Salt can be used as a metaphor for life, or for blood, it can be figurative for righteousness, it can represent the Word. In Matthew 5 it is joined with light. Therefore, the context gives us understanding it is representing the practice of righteousness, the practice of performing His Word before others. Light represents the teachings of God. Matthew 5, to become familiar with it. ESV 1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2. And He opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth (not of heaven or some other mystical place, but of the physical, material earth), but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world (to the Gentiles). A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. END Note: Jerusalem refused to be a light to the Gentiles and was trampled underfoot. In the ancient past salt was valuable and was traded ounce per ounce for gold; and was used as currency during Roman times. Salt is used as a preservative, enduring, it is pure and incorruptible. It can be figurative of the Word because like the Word it is incorruptible. Its preservative character makes it a particularly relevant token of quality relationships—it cannot be broken, it endures. Salt was also used to make covenants, treaties or agreements, between different parties. They would share bread with salt or mix their salt together and this would mean they could not take back was given. How would one know which salt grains belonged to them to retrieve, so this made the covenant irreversible; it could not be repealed. It set up an enduring covenant, a perpetual relationship. Salt was placed on the grain offering in Leviticus 2:13, And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. The salt gave it permanence, an incorruptible sacrifice. It is perpetual memorial. The savor of it would go before the LORD and He could smell the permanence, the incorruptible offering made to Him. This would bring life because it is life-sharing. It established the union of man with God and God with man. Numbers 18:19, All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you. This imagery is also used to articulate perpetual covenant between God and the Levitical priesthood that He would always take care of them. I don’t have the time to go deeper into this one. II Chronicles 13:5, Should you know that the LORD GOD of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt. Once more we see this covenant as perpetual, and one day Yeshua will reign from Israel over the whole earth. Elisha in II Chronicles 2:19-22 healed spring water with a bowl of salt. He said: “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’” As noted with Elisha, salt has medicinal properties. A doctor will flush out a wound with saline solution; it is a disinfectant. Doctors will prescribe it for sore throats. Salt in adequate amounts can be used as a fertilizer for the earth, for soil and helps the plants to resist disease and insects. But salt can also be destructive. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at Sodom on her flight out of there. It is interesting in Israel to go to the area of Sodom and see all the pillars of salt. They have been there for thousands of years. Judges 9:45. There Abimelech destroys Shechem. One of the actions which was part of the destruction of the city was sowing salt. This is a figurative expression for complete destruction-to be salted is to be destroyed. This is in Mark 9:49, the literal reading there would be: Every man with fire will be salted. Every man in hell will be destroyed. They are salted for destruction. In examining Matthew 5, it appears those mentioned in the verses at the beginning, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, those who are merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; these are the ones who are the salt of the earth. Yeshua is saying they are the ones who are blessed because they have found the meaning of life, which is God. This life is going to end and all its vanity, all its dysfunction, it is going to be salted and destroyed. Their sights, their hope is not on the things of this world, but looking forward, looking ahead to the reign and rule of God. The good news of Messiah was that the reign and rule had begun in their generation. It was His spiritual kingdom being set up in each individual. In Yeshua, their hope was realized. The poor, the mourners, the downtrodden, and persecuted cannot base their happiness or sense of contentment on temporal circumstances. Instead they rely on God, and because they rely on God, they are able to find inner peace. They come to terms that life is just dysfunctional and broken, but they are able to embrace His peace and inner healing. They can be contented, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who are wealthy set their delights and luxuries in this world, but those who lack set their sights on the world to come. These people realize their kingdom is not here on earth, but their kingdom is with Yeshua and He says as much. How could they be contented? Because He says theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Because they will be granted eternal, and perpetual life. Going to verse 13, Matthew 5 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. Yeshua called His disciples the salt of the earth. He warned His church to remain salty so as to continue preserving the earth, this means preserving life. Salt is flavorful, but sometimes it burns. Salt is helpful but in sensitive situations it hurts. Salt cleans but it is also abrasive. Salt in proper proportions is advantageous while too much salt is unpleasant. Salt rightly applied is useful. Finally, food without salt is bland and tasteless, and uninspiring. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world (to the Gentiles). A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works/deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Note: Jerusalem refused to be a light to the Gentiles and therefore was trampled underfoot by the Gentiles. As Christians we have an important role to play, our role is to be the salt of the earth. Salt preserves and Christians help preserve what is good in the culture. In a sense, you can bring the distinctive flavor of God’s values to all of life. You can make life more palatable; because the world is broken, it is dysfunctional, violent, and cruel. Christians, living under the guidance of the Word and Holy Spirit, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil (Luke 6:35). Believers in Christ are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin. Light is a metaphor for the Word and Holy Spirit and brings precise, correct knowledge, truth, revelation. The truth, the Word has the power to supernaturally regenerate and renew, the ability to transform us into new creatures. Light is a symbol of His presence. He commanded the lamps on the menorah in the Temple to always stay lit, so that people would be comforted by His presence. I am going to say these next verses and end the program Luke 2:25 Simeon was a just and devout man who lived Jerusalem who waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He came by the Spirit into the Temple and when Mary and Joseph brought Yeshua to Him according to the custom of the law. He took Him in his arms and said: Lord, now You are lettin Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people. I am going to end the program here. If it is God’s will, I will be here next week. Remember to walk by faith and not by sight. Ask God to cleanse you of all unrighteousness every day. Hunger and thirst after righteousness, so that you will be enriched in all His wisdom. Keep your spiritual garments clean from spot, wrinkle, and blemish. Do two things this week, love and forgive. Love God and love your neighbor. Rico Cortes will sing the Aaronic priestly blessing. https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/matthew/the-kingdom-of-heaven-at-work-in-us-matthew-5-7/salt-and-light-in-the-world-of-work-matthew-513-16https://www.gotquestions.org/salt-and-light.html Sacrificing salt expresses the idea that the covenant preserves its benefactors but destroys its violators. It has the capacity to bring the physical to the spiritual.