Father, We Consume & Consume-Food, Money, & A Host Of Other Things Without A Second Thought. If Only We Consumed Your Word As Steadily As We Do Those Things. Increase Our Hunger For Your Word Until We Consume It Without Fail.
Father, I pray that You increase our hunger for You. When that hunger is increased it is only natural that we would then thirst after the righteousness of Christ Jesus. His righteousness allows us to represent Your kingdom with love & power.
- Let me tell you why you are here. Matthew 5:13 (King James Version): Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Let me share a little story as my intro. One thing I can honestly say is that I do not love to cook, but I do cook! However, one thing I hate to cook with is salt! To my credit, in my last two decades of life, I became an expert at seasoning, so you would have no idea that salt was ever missing from my meal preparation. But prior to that, was a whole different story! I remember cooking dinner for my daughter and my friend Bernice came over to join us. She took one bite and screamed, “where the heck is the salt!?” I reminded her I did not cook with salt (as I laughed hysterically at the faces she made!) Well, even though I do not cook with salt, I always have my trusted saltshaker full and ready for use for those who prefer it. So, Bernice, jumps up and heads to the kitchen for the flavorful seasoning and comes back with the comment, “now we’re in business!” She did a few shakes then tasted the food again. She repeated the action three times! And yet, her facial expression let me know she was still not happy. By now, I am a bit discouraged thinking, “I know I know how to cook, it can’t be that bad!” Bernice, always the candid one responded, “I’m telling you I don’t taste a difference.” Now I am stressed because the amount of shakes she did with that salt will give her a heart-attack before dessert! But then my daughter in all her wisdom, decided to enlighten us. Her comment, ‘are you sure the salt is coming out?’ Sure enough, we looked at the saltshaker, and as fancy as it was, you needed to move a little button from closed to open on the bottom of the saltshaker! Bernice was shaking her little heart out, and nothing changed, because nothing came out! Without TOUCH, there was no change to the TASTE!
In reading today’s Scripture for my morning message, the above memory is what immediately came to mind. Bernice had the salt in her hand, what she needed to put it on was right in front of her, within reach, and she even put in tremendous effort to get the salt out, and yet, because it stayed contained in its little bottle, nothing was affected, nothing was changed. Sounds a lot like Matthew 5:13 doesn’t it?
“Let me tell you why you are here. You are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” (MSG)
The whole reason we are here is to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. But if the salt never touches anything, how does it change anything? Which makes me think of the evangelism that has so greatly halted in our churches. Oh, we go to church week-after-week, Sunday School; Sunday worship; prayer; bible study; meetings; rehearsals; revivals; special services and the like, and we are quite comfortable sitting in our sanctuaries (aka “saltshakers”), well contained! Problem? Salt is touching salt but touching nothing else! Selah…
For you to TASTE salt, it has to TOUCH something! In order for salt to change something, it must touch something. In order for us salty Christians to change something, or someone, we must touch it and them! We cannot remain in the saltshaker, where we are useless because we are touchless and tasteless.
Therefore, we cannot sit in our churches and complain about the world and the way it is, while we sit in the salt-shaker sanctuary touching nothing and no one. Just imagine if we actually left the salt-shaker sanctuary and went to shake some salt in the nursing homes, in the hospitals, in the prisons, in the homeless shelters, at the soup kitchens. What change might we bring about if only we would leave the salt-shaker sanctuary? If we shook some salt while standing in the grocery aisle, in the barbershop, or at the nail and hair salon? What if we shook some salt at our jobs, in our families and in our communities? What if we shook some salt on that drug-infested park, or gang-infested territory? What if we shook some salt as we walk the streets from day-to-day, passing countless ‘tasteless’ individuals on the way? I mean after all, the Bible says that is what we are here for, right? Isn’t that our purpose? Isn’t that our charge? Isn’t that our call?
Is it possible that people have not tasted God because we have not touched them with Him? With His unconditional love, His sufficient grace, and new mercies. With His forgiveness, kindness, compassion, and encouragement. With His protection, provision, and presence. With His unspeakable joy and reassuring peace. I reiterate, is it possible that people have not tasted God, because we have not touched them with Him?
James 4:17, “REMEMBER, IT IS SIN TO KNOW WHAT YOU OUGHT TO DO AND THEN NOT DO IT.” (NLT) Disobedience is Still Sin! Selah…
Do you remember when you opened your life to Christ how dependent you were on Him; how hungry you were to get into His Word; how boldly and frequently you prayed; how trusting you were? Well, you see, these verses are necessary to talk to us about our roots because we tend to get lazy about those spiritual roots! There was a time when you could not kick us out of the church; we left school, work and anywhere else to be in the House of the Lord…and now people do not even know if we are still members because they rarely, if ever, see us in attendance. Many believers today behave like unbelievers, we have become annual holiday visitors to church! But when we first believed, we lived to be in the church. We were at every meeting; every rehearsal; every lesson; every sermon; every outreach program. We had a hunger and thirst to be in the House of the Lord, building the House of the Lord! There was a desperation that has since evaporated! What happened? There was a time when we were so close to the Living Waters, digesting every drop, flourishing, and waving our leaves of victory…and then suddenly everything evaporated!
And by no means, think that once you have gotten a little growth under your belt that you are allowed to become stagnant. No, the Bible goes on to say: “…BEING CONTINUALLY BUILT UP IN HIM, BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE CONFIRMED AND ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH, just as you were taught, and ABOUNDING and OVERFLOWING in it with thanksgiving.” In other words, our work of growth, maturity and development never stop this side of heaven! We then must “CONTINUALLY” which is defined as, “NON-STOP and TIME WITHOUT END,” be built up in Him.
Church, what has happened to us?
Makes me think of 2 Corinthians 11:1-3, “…The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I am afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.” (MSG) How did we go from being presented to Christ as a pure virgin to her husband, to being beguiled and tricked into having an adulterous affair with Satan via his ‘smooth patter’? And what does ‘patter’ mean? It is defined as, “rapid continuous talk, such as used by a salesman; trivial jargon.” Satan pitched us a quick line of flattery about all he can offer us in this world, and just like that we traded the Kingdom for a cheap earthly thrill! How unfortunate that Christians are not more like their Christ when tricks of temptation rear their ugly head?! Because the Bible reads: “Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights HE WAS TESTED BY THE DEVIL. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up, he was hungry. The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: “Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.” JESUS ANSWERED BY QUOTING DEUTERONOMY: “It takes more than bread to really live.” For the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, “They’re yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I am in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they’re yours, the whole works.” JESUS REFUSED, AGAIN BACKING HIS REFUSAL WITH DEUTERONOMY: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.” For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?” “YES,” SAID JESUS, “AND IT’S ALSO WRITTEN, ‘Do not you dare tempt the Lord your God.’” That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.” (Luke 4:1-11 MSG)
JESUS WASN’T LURED BY THE SMOOTH PATTER OF THE DEVIL’S TONGUE…SO WHY ARE WE (WHO HAVE HIS POWER WITHIN) SO EASILY BEGUILED?
Which is why I reiterate; how did we get here Church? How did we reach such heights, with no depth? How did we get to this place of importance that we traded it for significance? When did we become so engrossed in becoming the same, that we have forfeited making a difference? When did entertainment supersede education, encouragement, and empowerment? When did our calendars become busier than our calling? When did our fruit began rotting?
I find this most terrifying because in the same breath, we can look around us at what is happening, and listen to the radio and see all that is going on in the news and in our government and still we will say, ‘we’re living in the end times.’ But if in fact we are, is this what the church should look and live like? Is this what we as believers should reflect in our public and private lives and lifestyles? Makes you wonder, when the trumpet sounds, can we honestly say that we have made the people aware, and that we have lived in a state of readiness? When He returns, are we sure that we will return with Him?
Do you know some things about the Lord that you did not know a month ago? Have you given Him some new ground that He did not have a month ago? Are you praying in fresh, new ways? Is your relationship with God mostly vertical…not horizontal, just when you are with His people? In the right social settings and circles. Can you say that you are growing in God daily and not just giving the appearance of growth?
Today, is a great day for us to begin again. A day to repent, turn and change. A day to restore, revive, renew, and redeem the remainder of our days that we will have made an impact on the world, instead of just an impression. Let today be the day that you go deeper in God. Not just Sunday services, but personal devotional services with just you and God in your prayer closet. I know in this day and age; everything has to be seen. But sometimes you need a moment away from the limelight and spotlight, and simply spend quiet time with God in your dim prayer closet. Ask Him to develop your negatives in the darkroom so you can become the light of the world that you should have been all along.
Instead of being a show for the world, let us show the world Him. No personal glory, just God. Let us show them what humility looks like. What servanthood looks like. What discipleship looks like. What growth, maturity and development looks like. What faith, hope, trust, and obedience looks like. What unconditional love looks like? What accountability and responsibility looks like? What change looks like. What depth and roots look like? Today, let us Not Worry About Going Higher, But Going Deeper!
1 Corinthians 3:1-2, “However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!] I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it]” (AMPC).
Luke 8:14-15, “And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection). But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just (noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.” (AMPC); When you read Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower in the Message translation it brings a real sense of what happens concerning the Word that God gives. I must look at what I am doing with the seeds God places in my heart.
How can people “taste” how good God is, if we are His salt, but we never leave the saltshaker?
I am sure God would love to hear His salt getting out of the shaker more often! The work salt is supposed to do is not inside the saltshaker, all clustered together with the other salt. It is supposed to get out and change the flavor of something!
Now, how are we to make disciples OF ALL NATIONS, if we never leave the pulpit or the pew? How is it God said GO, but we have YIELDED to the point that we have STOPPED? How can we MAKE something without ever touching it? How are people to LEARN of our God if we are the TEACHERS who are never in CLASS with our STUDENTS? How can they BELIEVE Him if we do not tell them ABOUT Him? How can they be expected to OBEY HIS WORD, when they have not HEARD HIS WORD?
Romans 10:14, “But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)?” (AMP)
Furthermore, how are they to be BAPTIZED, without us touching them?
And how do we use anything as an excuse, when God Himself said, “…AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS [REMAINING WITH YOU PERPETUALLY – REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE, AND ON EVERY OCCASION], EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.” What can we use as an excuse for why we have not done what He “COMMANDED”?
According to Jesus, “You are the salt of the earth… “, not of the sanctuary! But of the entire Earth! Which means we must leave from within the church walls. We must operate outside of our comfort zones, our pulpits, and pews. We must leave the meeting and the auxiliaries. We must leave the Fellowship to go Fellow-Ship before they all Drown!
Can you imagine the horror on the face of an individual who’s fighting with all their might, absolutely terrified that they may die any minute while trying to stay afloat in the troubling waters of life…and yet, we, the church, Jesus’ Life-Guards, are standing on the shore, watching…equipped to help…but just watching…knowing how to save…but choosing to just watch…having the Word that will deliver from destruction…and yet we remain, just watching.
People are struggling at sea because the saints are only concerned with their safety on shore. This should not be!
You do not keep salt stored up together in the shaker any more than you stand as a lifeguard on shore and watch someone drown. No, you scatter salt around so it will be in contact with the things that need their flavor changed. No lifeguard just stands on the shore and yells, “see if you can make it over here to me, then I can help you.” No, it is the lifeguard’s job to look out for those who may need him, and he goes out to them, he does not wait and hope they will come to him. And unfortunately, that is what we have been doing as a church. We see people struggling to stay afloat in the troubling waters of life, and instead of going out to help them, we are standing on shore, yelling, “see if you can make it over here to my church, my service, my program, then I can help you.” That is not how this is supposed to work saints.
Listen, Jesus left Heaven to get to us, Satan left Hell to get to us, and yet we won’t even leave the church to make disciples?
As Christians we were never meant to be all clustered together in a spiritual saltshaker, just salting each other and soaking up more blessings, miracles, and the like for ourselves. The salt’s got to be in direct contact with the meat or the vegetables that need it. So, guess what? You and I must be in meaningful contact with the people who really, really need our Jesus. We are not supposed to be hiding out, playing defense all the time, trying to keep from being contaminated by avoiding the world that Jesus left us here to change! We need to have the world testify about us as they did about some of Jesus’ more effective disciples:
Acts 17:6,
“…PAUL AND SILAS HAVE TURNED THE REST OF THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN, AND NOW THEY ARE HERE DISTURBING OUR CITY,” THEY SHOUTED.” (TLB) – Now, when is the last time you touched the world, and unbelievers, in such a way that you disturbed them? Disturbed their sin, their wickedness, their unbelief, their habits, and addictions. When is the last time you disturbed the devil? When is the last time you turned the city upside down? When is the last time you gave someone a taste of God by giving them a touch from God?
(MSG) When is the last time we have made an impact like this on the world as the church?! When is the last time we went door-to-door letting them know Jesus is King? When is the last time we have attacked sin, the very thing the unbeliever holds dear? When is the last time we touched the world in such a manner that they could not deny the taste of God?!
We must do more than rub shoulders with each other in the saltshaker sanctuary! Think about it, salt on top of salt is dangerous and deadly to our physical health…could be just as dangerous and deadly to our spiritual health as well?!
If the last days are really upon us, what are we doing sitting in saltshakers?
This is what we should be doing in these last and evil days. Preaching the gospel truth message to the masses as God’s servants! Not to each other! But to others! If we do not touch, they do not taste, they will just settle for tickling! Do you really want to be held responsible for that?
Like it or not, but if your time is spent with Christians, well you are missing your mission! We will do that in heaven! We will spend time together all the time, for all eternity! But right now, we must be involved with some people who are not going to heaven yet! It is time for you to take all that you have been storing up spiritually and start taking it to places and people where it is really needed.
It is time to be intentional about building relationships with that neighbor of yours, you know that lost co-worker, with some of your fellow students who need Jesus. It is time to look around your community and find some human needs that you can be involved in meeting in Jesus’ name; to build some bridges into lives. They are all around us waiting for a touch and a taste, let us not let them down!
Remember: “…If You Lose Your Saltiness, How Will People Taste Godliness?” They Cannot Taste Godliness Without First Touching Your Saltiness. So, Are You Within Reach? Are You Salty? Are You In Use? Are You Available? Are You Touchable?
We need to be actively involved in the life of our church no doubt. God wants that. Hebrews 10:22-25, “So let us do it – full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let us keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His Word. Let us see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” (MSG) See, we are to spend some time in the saltshaker together, but we cannot stay there indefinitely! There are people waiting to get a taste of God from a touch of us, we must come out!
You need time together, but not to the exclusion of connecting with the world that God so loves. You are the spiritual salt where you live. Get out of that saltshaker! And what is the danger if we do not? “… You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” (MSG)
Luke 10:1-2, “Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every city and place where He was about to go. He was saying to them, “The harvest is abundant [for there are many who need to hear the good news about salvation], but the workers [those available to proclaim the message of salvation] are few. Therefore, [prayerfully] ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (AMP)
Let today be the day that you challenge yourself, your family and friends, your community and certainly your church to come out the saltshaker and touch the world with a taste of God! Many are waiting, be counted in the number with the few, who are in fact available to proclaim the message of salvation to the masses! Remember: Salt With No Touch Has No Taste! Reach Them Today!
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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