God’s Great Blueprint
Seasoning from the Word
Mark 9:33-34; 49-50: 33. And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that all of you disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 40. For every one shall be slated with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will all of you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace on with another.
After much time pondering this scripture that God placed for deliverance today what defines a Blueprint and how important is to be seasoned. Allow me a brief moment to set the stage and give you the history of the scripture in the Gospel of Mark is apparently well-founded that Mark derived his information mainly from the disclosure of Apostle Peter. As to the time when it was written the Gospel furnishes us with no definite information. Mark makes no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, hence it must have been written before that event, and probably about A.D. 63. In our passage today, Jesus gives us God’s blueprint for greatness. Notice the occasion for giving this blueprint, as I read Mark 9:33-34. The disciples argued about who was the greatest as they traveled; they were arguing, like kids in the back seat. When they arrive, Jesus asks, “What were you arguing about?” Everyone became silent and full of embarrassment to answer the Master when he asked the question. Realize that as children when our parents asked what the argument is about; we all got silent because we did not want to face the punishment for our behavior. This is such the same with the disciples at this time with Jesus. Keep that thought in your mind.
Allow me to point out to you this morning that there are several unique features in both words Blueprint and Seasoning. First let me provide you with some details when we look at the homes and buildings around us they are all structured by design from a blueprint. When we cook our food to prevent it from tasting bland we season it with salt. I know you trying to figure out how it is possible to bring to different words into one simple topic. We have to understand that in this process of designing a blueprint in Jesus Christ is a little different from a building structure or just as seasoning your food to eat. In this message God wants to provide you with his direction for rejuvenating the Word of God as our foundation to building up his kingdom. He also states in his word that we are to be seasoned spiritually in our lives in him. Now it is clear that in this message we all are a part of God’s Great Blueprint by which our father in heaven sets the foundation with his Love, his Patience, his Understanding, his Grace, his Mercy, his Favor, and his Salvation. In order to follow the blueprint that is given by our heavenly father we must marinate in his seasonings which is his word. Throughout the word of God there are several examples of how God drafted his blueprint and seasoned his prophets, leaders, and most of all his Son Jesus Christ. Therefore in this particular passage God wants us to understand that we have to be grounded by the foundation of the blueprint so the season does not lose its flavor. There are 4 key points that must be addressed in this message today:
1. Matthew 5:13-14 – Know your Flavor
2. Luke 14:34-35 – How to Season
3. Leviticus 2:13- Time to Season
4. Mark 9:49-50 – Be on Fire
Now allow me to shift gears as I begin to explain that in the Bible there only 3 Gospels that reference when Jesus teaches about being Flavorful for the LORD by holding firm to your SALT. Why because our values always expressed in our actions or behaviors which cause us to lose our Flavor and to abuse our foundation. Let us begin to consider the word Matthew 5:13-14 which is my first point in this message “Know Your Flavor”. Turn to your neighbor and say neighbor; you can wake up now the preacher just completed the introduction.
In Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hidden. Here is where we begin to combine the two words blueprint and seasoning into one point. First of all in verse 13 of our text is telling us that we are the salt of the earth in other words the seasoning that is to be used for the building of God’s Kingdom. Understand that the key word is YOU which in this scripture is clear ye are the salt of the earth in the Greek text it reads “you and you alone are the salt of the earth. Why is Jesus saying this statement to the small group of poor, humble, Galilean disciples and the uneducated to understand that they are the foundation in his blueprint? Let me expound on why because they alone were different from the world. Like the world, they had also been dead, but from their depravity and spiritual death they had been delivered by the power of GOD and made alive by their relationship with Christ. Catch this church do you Know Your Flavor? What that question asking is are you seasoned in your SALT for the Lord. Therefore let me explain this point. Among the enlightened people of the world in the final part of the nineteenth century there has been a great sense of optimism, mostly fueled by human’s evolutionary ideas on religion. For over time many have the expectancy that wars would abolish, diseases would be wiped out, suffering would be eliminated, and discrimination would cease. Furthermore look at it this way is this evolution way of thinking going to come to pass. Many have the mindset that there will be a loving kind gentle world where everyone gets along. Think about do we not have rumor of wars, is there still hatred among mankind, are people in this world still suffering from poverty and also is there still a thing called discrimination. Well my sisters and brothers let us grasp reality in trueness according God never said that this journey in life would be free of turmoil, struggle, discrimination, destruction, diseases, and suffering but he said in his word is clear that we will face some form of adversity in our Life’s journey. My question for you today is how salty are you? Are you lightly salted, medium salted or heavy salted. Let me change gears and direct you back to the blueprint which will give us the distinctiveness of our seasoning for the LORD. Well the same holds true to the fact that our blueprint is the word of GOD. Absorbing in the whole word not just by memory but writing the word in our hearts, minds, body and soul understand that when we begin to let the word fulfill our needs is when we understand our Flavor in our life. Allow me to empathize that the salt seasoning I am talking about today is valuable for when you are heavily salted in the Word of God and full of flavor is when Gods light begins to shine through you. For in Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Grasp this I am not talking about the artificial light that you can turn on with a switch. I am talking about the light from heaven that shines from the inside to the outside which brings a new FLAVOR. This flavor brings about a tremendous change in your life for when you face a problem or situation is when the flavor takes over and God begins to work it out in your favor. So understand in the first point we are to hold fast to our Flavor which gives each us the FAVOR of GOD.
We are going shift gears right now and gain an understanding as to How we are to Season ourselves with his word. In Luke 14:34-35 states “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He, who has ears to hear, let him hear. First of all as we all know the seasoning of salt never loses is saltiness. Salt cannot be made unsalty, what you can do is dilute it with other ingredients. Therefore what can make us unsalty as Christians is when we mix the lifestyles of the world into our life which takes off the path of righteousness unto our Mighty God. We have to understand that is important that we savor our foundation in the LORD because once we mix the world with Christ we become unless in building up God’s Kingdom. Knowing how to season ourselves is important to the blueprint that Jesus states to us in the word in book of Mark. Understand that being a Christian is not about a decision you make once, it is about a lifetime of dedication to Jesus Christ. Nevertheless God recognizes that we are human and will make mistakes but in order to season ourselves with the greatest flavor of all we have to be as Psalms 1:1-4 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, not standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his doth he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall proper. Therefore to walk in the counsel of God is to remove all contaminations from our lives and how we do this is by developing a stronger personal relationship with GOD. Think about it in life we have several relationships that we endure first our parents, second our spouses, third our children, work friends, and church family but my question are you allowing the light of GOD to shine everywhere you go or do you lose your seasoning by allow the ways of the world to contaminate your true relationship with GOD. For example when the construction of a building is stopped completely and not finished what happens to the material that is used to begin the structure. Understand that when it is exposed to the elements of the weather, animals, and so forth just like and empty house gets contaminated with the elements surrounding which affects the very structure of the house to begin to wither away and break down. Understand we have to guard our seasoning meaning that it is important that when we face adversities, or illnesses we need to go deeper in our Holy Word seeking God to sustain our current foundation and repair what needs to be fixed in the blueprint. This will begin to saturate our sprit by the anointing of the Holy Spirit beginning to rejuvenate our SALT. Let me put it this way “More GOD – Solid Blueprint; More Jesus – Great Salt; More Holy Spirit - On Fire”.
Now it is teaching time regarding when we are to season ourselves in preparation for the work of the LORD. Let me expound briefly on the work in Leviticus 2:13 and every oblation of the meat offering shalt thou season with salt: neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of the God to be lacking from the meat offering: with all thing offerings thou shalt offer salt. To clearly understand what this scripture is saying think of how when fresh is be prepared for cooking you take the time to marinade and season the meat thoroughly so that it does not spoil and in that process as you marinade the flavors, the seasonings combine together to create a savory moment when you taste the finished dish. Keep in mind that you already understand you flavor, and how to season now it is time to season. In Ezekiel 20: 41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. My brothers and sisters today I want you to gain a clear mind regarding how you are to put your seasoning in your soul. Here is God’s Blueprint for you God is commanding that we be fully committed to him forever therefore we must realize that God gave a covenant of SALT to DAVID. For In 2 Chronicles 13; 5 Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for Ever, Even to him and to his sons by a covenant of Salt. Henceforth we are to put our salt into action which means it is TIME TO SEASON. Therefore all throughout the bible there are many sacrifices surrendered unto GOD and they are prepared with the best seasoning which means we have to undergo a transformation in our lives which is be just those leaders and prophets that God used as examples for his people. Let me break it down like this it is clear that when wanted Noah to build the Ark he gave the best wood. When saved the land during days of Pharaoh through the young man named Joseph with a simple gift to interpret dreams he built the irrigation system, then God so far with King Solomon to build the Temple in Jerusalem. When I say to you today it is time to season this means it time for NO MORE EXCUSES. For excuses show lack of salt in your sacrifice before God; keep in mind that when we are not seasoning ourselves in the word we are not preparing for the spiritual warfare. But when we do season we can then put on the whole armor of GOD as stated in Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Understand He will stick with you in your time of trouble because you are seasoned with his salt. For the word clearly states Greater is he that is in me then he that is in the world , because he said he will never leave me realize in this scripture He put salt in his part of the covenant. Now God needs us to do our part of the Covenant and put salt in the sacrifice. Look at your neighbor and repeat after me I have my FLAVOR, I can Season, and now it is Time to Season.
Guess what with all of that we are now ready to be on FIRE in our SEASON for in the text Mark 9:33-34 and 49-50. And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that all of you disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 40. For every one shall be slated with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will all of you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace on with another.
It is clear that Jesus gives us God’s Blueprint for Greatness. Remember in my introduction in this scripture the disciples are embarrassed for arguing about who is the greatest. Not who is the greatest baseball player, Not who is the greatest football player; not who is the greatest hockey player and not even who is the greatest president of all times is, but which one of them is the greatest in rank with Jesus. Let me paint the picture of an idea of their arguing Peter, James and John – we got to go up the mountain! Andrew if it wasn’t for me, Peter wouldn’t be here. Judas I get to keep track of the money. This was a common fixation in their society. And so it is in ours when we view our status by our cars, jobs, achievements and who gets the bigger office and etc. So do we continue in this way and still be on Fire in our Season that my friends would be a NO! What we have to do is follow what Jesus displays in the word for in Mark 9:35 he shows the disciples that greatness comes from humility and service. Take note! God assigns status in the opposite way of the world such as if you want to be first this means you must be last. If you want to be on top this means you must be on the bottom. It is the servant of all who is most esteemed to God. This means that we have to be willing to choose to attend to the needs of others before self. Here is the good part about this message the key to being on Fire in your Seasoning is to ACCEPT all of those that are Devoted unto Jesus Christ by being inclusive not exclusive. Which brings me to this statement are you a salt shaker filled with salt or a salt shaker filled with rice and salt. Do me a favor and ponder that statement for a minute because when you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you know your Flavor, How to season, understand it is Time to Season… at this point it is time to be on Fire for Jesus. For what makes us salty is the fire of trail and suffering and we stand through the test through our Faith we receive a phenomenal experience.
As I shift to my closing in this message remember I asked the question are you a salt shaker filled with salt or a salt shaker filled with rice and salt. For there is a great difference in both the blueprint and the seasoning which means that you are to shake your salt to others by sharing the word of God and become a fisher of Men you are pouring out the Word of God everywhere you go; or Being a salt shaker with rice means that you have obstacles blocking you from being that living sacrifice for Jesus. Therefore we must realize that salt changes everything it comes in contact with but salt remains unchanged nevertheless today churches are the salt shakers that getting to much rice in it. Churches today are afraid to stand up to the world and come out of the comfort zone of the 4 walls and go out into the communities, with outside revivals going into the neighborhoods and reaching the people like they use to do in the old days; when it was not a regular church service but a service to reaching out to the people and spreading the word of God to all generations. And I quote “you have to reach one to teach one” It is time that we stop allowing the church to conform to the ways of the world for the sins of the world is death. For God is looking for a church that full of pure true Salt Shakers. Therefore Jesus is the light with a mighty flame for his flame is everlasting and it lights the whole world for on the hill called Golgotha is a place better known as the name skull --- and on that hill they tried to extinguish the light on an old rugged cross. They took his garments and cast lots that the prophecy would be fulfill which was spoken by the prophets. So remember he suffered for all of our sins and iniquities therefore to be in this great blueprint of Gods we have to be as Paul teaches in Romans 8:17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Therefore Stick with Jesus no matter what comes your way He said in his word he will never leave you nor forsake you. Stick with Jesus even in the persecution for Hope is evidence of the SALT. We are saved by having HOPE and Salvation which is our Faith. SALT must be in our HOPE and holds on no matter how the cookie crumbles. For in Titus 2:12-13 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly righteously, and godly in the present world looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore stand fast in this journey for this is only a temporary experience. As the Gospel song states I’m just a natural being having a spiritual experience. So Anchor your soul in Jesus Christ for in that anchor we are to be bold and stedfast in our Faith church. Before I take my seat I want you know that it is important that we follow GOD’s Great Blueprint and be season with greatest seasoning the word of God. Know that you are an ordinary person that God uses for extraordinary miracles. And that is word of God.
