Sermon Notes - Cultivating Saltiness (Part 1)

Cultivating Saltiness (Part 1), Mark 9:30-37
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended October 4, 2009

Everyone who sees us should see Christ. We are called to Him to be conformed to His image. We are thus called to act differently and distinctly. We are aliens. We live in a different kingdom from the world. If you are a follower of Christ you must be distinct from the world, with a “flavor” no one else has.

Mark has two bookends here with related books in the middle.

1st bookend – Mark 9:30-34. The clueless disciples – they don’t get it.

Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples. He doesn’t intend this for the crowd or the religious leaders. He talks of His sacrifice and they talk of themselves. They are the most unlike Jesus they can ever be.

2nd bookend – Mark 9:49-50. Must be like salt to manifest Him.

Salt does things nothing else can do. Nothing else tastes like salt. Saltless salt is useless. Followers of Christ that look like Him are the only hope for the world. To be salty means to display the distinct character of the Kingdom.

To get from 1st to 2nd bookend He gives us three things we must do to cultivate saltiness. We must get from cluelessness to saltiness.

1. We are salty when we serve others – Mark 9:33-37

They never answer His question yet He knows what is in their heart. Doing all the right things with the wrong attitude is not what He wants.

He does not condemn their desire to be great – that desire was placed there by God. He wants to satisfy that desire. He does, however, redefine greatness. Being the last of all and the servant of all is how to be great. Christ manifests through us when others see humility of mind that says you deserve better than I. I am nothing so that Christ is all. Everyone else serves themselves. If we want to be tasty we must serve others. Take off your bib and put on your apron! Salty people live in such a way that they view every single person, no matter how insignificant they seem, as better than themselves. (Philippians 2)

2. We are salty when we focus on Christ and His Kingdom – Mark 9:38-41

They still have an attitude of superiority about them. The man was casting out demons and fighting the enemies of Christ. Everything points to the fact that he was working for Christ. John, however, thought he was doing Jesus a favor and Jesus rebukes him.

He was emphasizing that this isn’t about us. It is about Him and His kingdom. The Kingdom is bigger than us. Also be careful of being the “theological” police.