"Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
Good Morning my beloved,
Since the onset of Covid-19, wearing a mask in public has become a fairly a normal part of life. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wearing masks in the general public, can help to provide if you're in an area with a high number of people with Covid-19, if it is spreading in your community, whether you're vaccinated or not. According to the World Health Organization wearing a mask alone is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection, that you must clean your hands before you put your mask on and after you take it off, or you touch your mask at any time. While wearing a mask may make people feel a little bit better, and it could even provide a certain degree, the conclusion is that it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is.
As opinionated as our society is, you have undoubtedly heard someone express their "expert" opinion. In fact, it's not uncommon to find people actually fighting and arguing over their opinions. Politicians and celebrities wanting to impose their opinions on others, oblivious to the possibility that their personal opinions have no more value than anyone else's.
This may come as a shock to some of you, and you know who you are, pastors do not know everything. In fact, a very essential important part of shepherding the people of God, is having the humility to take the time to search the Holy Scriptures for answers. I believe there is absolutely no reason for teacher of the Word of God to claim that God's Word is far too complex for anybody to know with any certainly what God really means. Furthermore, I do not believe it within the privilege of being a teacher of God's Word to express His opinion. God, in His Word, has revealed His Divine Truth in such a way that it can be not only be known, but comprehended with clarity. If He had not done so, I assure you, that I would be incapable of preaching and teaching the Bible. That said, because the Word of God is comprehensible, all men, whether they believe or not, are held accountable to it.
A true teacher of the Word, does not deny the absolute authority of Scripture or teach with ambiguity, looking to human rational in interpreting the Word. Is it any wonder who so many pastors who have drifted away from the centrality of Scripture lack certainty and clarity about anything, substituting the Word of God for personal opinion, immoral theories, worthless human psychology and philosophy, manipulating the text to say something it clearly doesn't say, fortifying themselves against God. Lies are never a foundation on which trust can be built. Dishonesty destroys unity.
The only way I am ever be dogmatic about anything is to approach each and every portion biblical text with careful study and accuracy, within the clear parameters of Scripture. I strive to keep my own personal opinions out it, as much as possible. Quite frankly, I’m not smart enough to have opinions that people would actually care about. A practice, I believe, all pastors would do well to implement from the very outset of their ministry. Humility help to keep our priorities in proper order, whether we are speaking to an individual or a congregation.
There are many people standing in the pulpits,who pretend to represent God, proclaiming faithfully the Word of God, when in fact, their messages are straight out of Hell. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:5, "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Spiritual church leadership is a critical, if ever we needed pastors who speak the Truth, with power authority, I strongly believe that time is now.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we humbly thank You for Your Word, may it cause us to humble ourselves with gratitude, bringing about conviction leading to repentance. Lord, we confess that we have allowed ourselves to be conditioned by the world to believe we are more worthy and deserving of benefits from sacrifices we haven’t made. We humbly ask You to reshape our lives, and renew our minds. Thank You for this reminder that if we are to know You as You are, we must turn to Scripture. I pray that Your under shepherds would be marked by humility, seeking no reputation, no titles, for themselves but live as faithful servants.
In Christ’s name we ask and pray.
Amen
Today's Message: A Warning To Pretenders
Have you ever been involved in a situation where things appear to going well, maybe even fun, or at least cordial, and then all of a sudden something changes? Well, that is perhaps the best description of the interactions between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders.
As we come to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 23, Jesus seems to have reached the point where He’s had enough. He’s about to bring the thunder to the stormy conversation. J. Vernon McGee, the great Presbyterian pastor, who served as pastor of Church at the Open Door in Los Angeles, for 21 years rightly said, Jesus' Words are some of the most scathing words to come from the lips of our Lord. I can't help but to believe there's a very valuable lesson here for all of us in the church today.
There has always been a lot of counterfeit teachers, proclaiming a counterfeit doctrine. I believe that's why so many pastors avoid teaching the difficult passages, not because
they are difficult to understand, in fact, the Word of God is very
clear. But because the Word of God is deeply penetrating, especially
piercing to our own hearts and convicting us of the sin in our own
lives, bringing the authority of God to bear heavily on our lives. Never has one walked on this earth who had more authority than Jesus Christ. He upheld the truth, never compromising, seeking to find a common ground with those who disagreed with Him, though He did seek to find where those who truly wanted to know God could agree.
In my years of ministry, I have found when you teach the truth of God with authority, you will always run the risk of driving Christ rejecting unbelievers away, counterfeit Christians and those who are deceived by false religion, but you will attract the people who want to know God, through knowing and accurately His Word.
Open
your Bibles to the twenty-third chapter of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 23:1-12.
I invite you to follow along with me, as I read these eleven verses to
you. There's a lot of information packed into these verses. So let's get started with the Spirit leading while we open our hearts and minds, and hear what
the Spirit of God has to say to each of us today.
"Then
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes
and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do
according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They
tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they
themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they
do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their
phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the
place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and
respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by
men. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are
all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your
Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your
Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your
servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles
himself shall be exalted."
This has been a very long week and it's only Wednesday, which began in the morning when Jesus came into the city from Bethphage,
riding on a donkey, being hailed "Hosanna to the Son of David." One
Tuesday, He cleansed the temple, overturning the tables of the money
changers and driving out those who were buying and selling, saying "It is written, ‘My
house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a
robbers’ den." Then He healed the blind and the lame in the temple, and
the children were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of
David."
As
He was coming into the city on Tuesday morning, from the city to
Bethany, where He spent the night , probably with Mary, Martha and
Lazarus, He saw a lone fig tree by the road, with nothing on it except
leaves, He cursed it saying, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit
from you." And, it died immediately.
When
He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders came to Him
while He was teaching, and confronted Him asking Him, "By what authority
are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" To which
Jesus responded to them with a question of His own, "I will also ask you
one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority
I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from
heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying,
“If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not
believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they
all regard John as a prophet." And answering Jesus, they said, "We do
not know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what
authority I do these things."
Let's look at verses 1 and 2, "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses."
In every synagogue throughout Israel, there was a special seat called "Moses’ Seat," from where the leading expert in the law and religion sat to teach. This was seat of authority, instruction, and of knowledge. This would be the modern equivalent to the pulpit in the church today. The point is, they were not put there by God, they seated themselves there as it if belonged to them with a counterfeit authority. Fraudulent spiritual leaders are not called by God, they're always self-appointed experts, whose teaching is straight from the mouth of hell. In any given period throughout church history, there has always been false teachers.
In John 16, Jesus said "These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me."
This is the last week of our Lord's life, He knows on Friday, He will be heading to the cross. His apostles will soon be on their own, He’s setting up for their ministry and He wants the people to be ready to listen to them. But today is still Wednesday, and Jesus is in the temple teaching the crowds and His disciples and He pulls no punches as He is warning them about the scribes and Pharisees. This is His last public message, a strong denunciation of these false religious leaders and a warning for the people to stay away from them. These false spiritual leaders are wolves in sheep’s clothing, who exalt themselves, and damn men’s souls to hell.
This isn’t the first time that He has denounced them, He has confronted them before, saying some very similar things. I believe this is an essential message, a harsh warning, for pastors never to put words in God mouth! Never teach God's people, something His Word doesn’t say and never neglect to say something that He did! When I teach something, I teach it directly from the Word of God to you. There is a reason for that, I have committed my life to obey the Scripture, to teach with the authority of God's Word. That's the reason for ordination, we must be trained and understand the severe and serious nature of what we do. I don’t ever want to put words in God's mouth, nor do I want to take any words out of
His mouth. We live in a day and age, where self-appointed, self-motivated pastors, are free to say whatever they want to say with no accountability. In fact, it's become quite popular today to say, "God spoke to me and gave me a new revelation!"
His mouth. We live in a day and age, where self-appointed, self-motivated pastors, are free to say whatever they want to say with no accountability. In fact, it's become quite popular today to say, "God spoke to me and gave me a new revelation!"
That's why James says in James chapter 3, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."
Today, false spiritual leaders manipulate the text and will give you a message that you are fine, your sin, no matter how vile and wretched is fine, because God loves everybody, just say a prayer and everything is just fine. They speak on their own usurped authority, from deception of their own minds. They have a "word," it's just not the Word of God! Christians should read, study and rigorously apply God's Word to their lives
In verse 3, He says, "Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them."
When they speak the Word of God, from the Law of Moses, do it. The problem is, they taught so much more than that as if it were God's Law. But, don’t do as they do, they are religious phonies, spiritual pretenders, adding many man made traditions to the Law. They preach, but they do not practice what they preach. We’ll see in these coming verses that Jesus calls them hypocrites! I believe it was well-known, throughout the Jewish community, just no one dared to talk about it. Pay attention to the accusations that Jesus levels against them.
Verse 4, "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger."
They have no love, no care and no sympathy for anyone but themselves, they just keep piling on regulations and rules and rituals, traditions, and financial demands adding over 600 hundred laws to the burdens on peoples shoulders, and they wouldn't even lift a finger to alleviate them. The Pharisees were not interested in talking about grace, forgiveness and mercy. It was unbelievable! There were 50 volumes of regulations invented by the scribes and Pharisees, most of which were impossible to follow. Can you imagine the guilt of missing the mark your entire life, believing that God's up there keeping score, and in the end, your good out weighs the bad, you can come into heaven. If not, you're going to hell. The bad pile just kept getting bigger and bigger, that's the way it was in their religious system. People had no hope, just more and more demands. They were not only abusive, they were cruel and heartless. If we desire the highest regard for God's word, then we must practice
what we preach!
This reminds me of a time when I was younger and was moving, I was carrying a stack of boxes and the person who came to help, just kept stacking more boxes on the top, until the load was so heavy I could barely carry it. They followed along side, telling me to watch my step, turn this way or that way to get through the door ways, never lifting a finger. I believe that's the same kind of vivid picture Jesus is painting for us here.
That’s a far cry from what our Lord intended when He said in Matthew 11:29-30, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." How foolish it is for men who want to supposedly desire to serve the Lord to turn aside from His teaching. I've often been asked, "What's the hardest thing about being a pastor, a teacher of God's Word" When you teach the Word of God expositorily, it's not hard. You just teach what's in front of you, one verse at a time. However, some passages do require more research. The most difficult part about teaching the Word of God for me, is the same as it is for all of you, is putting what you hear into practice.
People today, like to invent their own version of Jesus Christ, derived from their own interpretations, the problem with that is, that Jesus does not exist in Scripture. It's unfortunate that so many Christians today have such difficulty understanding that grace is not a license to sin. I cannot imagine why anybody having been fully exposed to Scripture, would disregard the call to live holy and righteous lives, lacking any moral restraint. Grace is such a precious gift, would want to abuse it.
Jude 1:4 is clear "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long
beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn
the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." They are without the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 5, in speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus goes on to say, "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men;" Let's stop there for a moment.
Everything they do is for show, they throw ashes on their heads to appear meek, they pray out loud so everyone can hear them; they do their alms in public, and blow a trumpet, it’s all a display of the
flesh. They may mask it publicly, but they are corrupt inside. Their self-righteousness is despicable in the
eyes of God.
flesh. They may mask it publicly, but they are corrupt inside. Their self-righteousness is despicable in the
eyes of God.
Then He says, "For they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments."
Phylacteries were little boxes, covered with black leather, that they placed on their body, because the Mosaic Law commanded "Write My law on your forehead and on your hand." The intent is to make sure that everything you think, say and do is to be first put through the Word of God. The Word of God dominates your thoughts, your speech and actions. It was symbolic. But because they wanted to publicly display their virtue, they actually put the law of God on their forehead and put the law of God on their hand. The bigger your box, the more spiritual you were. In fact, they even taught that God Himself, wore these little black boxes, since God is Spirit, I have to wonder where He carries it.
The tassels at the bottom of their robes was a wonderful distinction to remind them they belonged to God, they were God's people. Unfortunately, it was the same thing, eventually they started making them bigger and bigger, so that they would appear more virtuous and more committed to God. Sadly, there was no authenticity to their claims, it was all for show to gratify an earthly appetite.
Verses 6-7, "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men."
The point is, they thought a lot of themselves and they wanted others to think a lot of them as well. The seat of honor would always be on the right and left hand of the host. The chief seats, were up front on
raised platform at the synagogue, facing the people belonged to those who were the revered
teachers. They considered themselves to be worthy of the places of honor. Though they did occasionally speak the things that are written in the Word of God, they themselves did not represent the truth.
raised platform at the synagogue, facing the people belonged to those who were the revered
teachers. They considered themselves to be worthy of the places of honor. Though they did occasionally speak the things that are written in the Word of God, they themselves did not represent the truth.
Verse 8, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers."
The religious leaders loved for the people to greet them with honoring titles because the had over inflated ego, elevating their own self-importance. In fact, the Mishnah says, "It is more punishable to act against the words of the scribes than against the words of the Scripture." Jesus says that we are to serve others, not to be served. The antidote for false spiritual pretending is spiritual servanthood.
It's not much different today, many pastors like to be referred to as Dr. "So and so," with a host of acronyms after their name. They want to feel important, having more authority with their endless titles and degrees. They lack humility and they lack integrity. That's why I do not list my degrees or titles, I’m not more worthy and anybody else, I'm just a servant, the same as you or any other true Christian. Jesus, the Son of God, repeatedly said throughout His ministry, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." True teachers of the Word, are called by God, set apart by
God, not self-appointed. He told His disciples, "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first." Our job is to faithfully feed the flock, not to exalt ourselves and get fat off them. We are called to glorify God, honor Christ, not to seek no honor for ourselves.We have absolutely no right to brag!
God, not self-appointed. He told His disciples, "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first." Our job is to faithfully feed the flock, not to exalt ourselves and get fat off them. We are called to glorify God, honor Christ, not to seek no honor for ourselves.We have absolutely no right to brag!
In Philippians 3, Paul wrote, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Verses 8-12, Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
If you put yourself in a position of authority, when Christ returns, and believe me, He will return, you're going to be right back to square one again. Jesus warned there is going to be tares that settle in with the wheat. The true with the false, and exactly what we have today. It bears repeating, ministry should be all about serving others, not ourselves. We are not to be full of pride but humility. If we faithfully serve God, He will exalt us in His timing. If you are a pastor that is led by pride and arrogance, I beseech to find another pastor to talk to about it. At the end of the day, God will judge us by the motivation of our heart. Ask yourself, "What is my motivation for doing what I do?" You can be the best preacher on the planet, but it doesn't matter if your heart isn't right! God is more interested in your heart, than in just what you do.
1 Corinthians 4:5, "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God."
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
In Closing..
The focus of ministry should be importance of God and His Word in your life, serving Christ through serving others. Don't forget to let the Word influence you and teach you while you teach others. There are many who call themselves pastors and preachers, serving in churches, teaching in religious schools and colleges and seminaries, that are spiritually dead. They fail to put everything they preach and teach through the Word of God. Their behavior is governed by the world, rather than the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. He is sympathetic to sin and endeavors to call others to live and love what it is he himself lives and loves, rather than God. How many people have been lead astray by self-appointed religious charlatans? Sin is so powerful, but we don't look carefully, we won't see it. When we love the things of this dying world, we soon surrender to it's fate of torment without end.
Hypocrisy is nothing more than superficial holiness, something you just put on for others to see and admire. Beloved, that's deadly! An unregenerate heart can never love God, can never serve God.
Only when we really understand the Gospel, confess our sins and truly repent, believing in Jesus, that God gives us a new heart, that will ignite our passion to faithfully obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We're not here to be celebrities, praised or admired by men, affirming the immoral behavior of sinners. We're here to humbly serve the Lord Jesus Christ, to lead others by our example, calling sinners to repent and accept God's generous gift of grace, inviting them to come to the Kingdom of God. The Gospel is not just for sinners to be saved, but for saints to continue to lay down their lives and follow Jesus!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved