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Status or Surrender? · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Good morning everyone, welcome back.
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  It is friendly and I'm so happy that y'all are joining me today
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  for another episode. Today we're going to be in
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  Matthew chapter 23 verses one through 12.
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  And before we jump into reading, I want to say that this is kind
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  of the grand finale of lessons that are aimed directly at the
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  religious leaders. We've been sitting with these
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  passages and it has not been accidental.
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  Jesus is really wrapping something up for us today.
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  So I do want to say, too, that before the passage I'm going to
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  read, he completely shuts down their questioning.
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  And they've been debating him back and forth, trying to trap
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  Jesus with theology, technical questions of the law.
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  And here we see, instead of continuing the arguments, Jesus
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  asks one final question. What do you think about the
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  Messiah? Whose son is he?
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  And that's not just a debate question.
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  That is the most important question that you'll ever
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  answer. Who is the Messiah to you?
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  And so after that the debates are over.
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  So Matthew 23 isn't just Jesus repeating himself, it is him
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  slamming the door shut on the arguments and turning to the
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  crowds and his disciples to expose what was really driving
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  all of this. So we are going to begin in
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  verse one. Then Jesus addressed both the
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  crowds and his disciples and said, the religious scholars and
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  the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat as the authorized
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  interpreters of the law. So listen and follow what they
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  teach, but don't do what they do.
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  For they tell you one thing and they do another.
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  They tie on your backs an oppressive burden of religious
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  obligations and insist that you carry them, but you will never,
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  but they will never, lift a finger to help ease your load.
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  Everything they do is done for show and to be noticed by
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  others. They want to be seen as holy, so
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  they wear oversized prayer boxes on their arms and foreheads with
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  scriptures inside and wear extra long tassels on their outer
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  garments. They crave the seats of highest
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  honor at banquets and in their meeting places, and how they
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  love to be admired by men with their titles of respect,
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  aspiring to be recognized in public and have others call them
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  reverend. But you are to be different from
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  that. You are not to be called Master,
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  for you have only one Master, and you are all brothers and
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  sisters. And you are not to be addressed
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  as Father, for you have one Father who is in heaven, nor are
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  you to be addressed as teacher, for you have one teacher, the
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  anointed one. The greatest among you will be
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  the one who always serves others.
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  Remember this, if you have a lofty opinion of yourself and
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  seek to be honored, you will be humbled.
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  But if you have a modest opinion of yourself and choose to humble
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  yourself, you will be honored. OK, so Jesus begins talking
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  about the teachers of the law, the Pharisees, and he mentioned
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  something called Moses's seat. Now Moses's seat was where the
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  distinguished elders, they sat in the ancient synagogue to
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  teach, and it symbolized authority and responsibility to
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  handle God's law faithfully. Jesus is very clear here.
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  He's not rebuking the law itself.
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  He says to follow the law that they teach, but he's rebuking
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  the people that are teaching it. Here's the thing.
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  These leaders, they had made human traditions and laws equal
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  to God's commands. They told others to obey what
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  they themselves would not follow.
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  And they practice religious rituals to be seen not to
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  ultimately honor God. And he exposes their heart
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  behind all of it. They did not want surrender.
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  They wanted status. They didn't want to be holy.
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  They wanted to appear holy. They desired the position of
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  leadership, not loyalty to God. And they put their own identity
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  on this pedestal and they ended up serving themselves in their
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  own authority and their name instead of their ultimate
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  authority in heaven. So I don't want us to think that
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  this just stops at this point in time because this still applies
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  today. Y'all, We can know the Bible,
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  people can quote verses, you can show up to church or be involved
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  in Christian environments and still not allow Jesus to
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  actually change you on the inside.
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  Some people, they follow Jesus, but selectively you might listen
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  to what's comfortable or ignore what truly rebukes and
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  challenges you. And honestly, some people might
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  would rather be a quote and quote someone, be known or
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  respected and impressive instead of the quiet surrender of your
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  heart to God and giving him the glory.
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  Now I also do want to be clear that having nice things, having
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  influence or privilege, this is not automatically simple.
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  Some people are given more by God and honor him through how
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  they steward their resources. But just consider how if you're
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  not super careful with those things, they can become
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  distractions. We see in Job 1/21 he says the
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  Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
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  So he might bless you with a lot, but in an instant he can
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  also take that away. So our identity and worth cannot
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  be in what we have. And the real question is, are
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  you using what you have to honor God or are you using it to
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  elevate yourself? Because y'all, God is so much
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  more concerned with who has your heart than what you have access
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  to. Jesus goes on to say not to
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  elevate titles like Teacher or Father or Leader above God.
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  This doesn't mean that we don't respect our earthly authority.
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  I talked about this in a few episodes ago.
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  We owe our authority respect where it is due.
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  But we answer to one name above all.
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  Jesus is the name above every name.
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  His is the only one that lasts. And to put it into perspective,
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  just think about the most powerful leaders from 100 years
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  ago. This could be a commanding
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  officer in the Army or a president in like the 1800s
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  authorities. But y'all, how many of us
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  actually remember all of those names?
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  That's not meant to be disrespectful, but for me at
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  least it put it into perspective that earthly titles, they fade,
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  they're so fleeting. But God's glory in Jesus name is
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  the only one that is sustained throughout centuries.
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  So if you desire leadership, Jesus makes it clear check your
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  intentions. Because in God's Kingdom,
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  greatness does not mean being elevated or superior.
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  It means willingly lowering yourself for the good of others.
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  So here's a few heart shack questions that I'm going to
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  leave y'all with #1 Are you living to appear superior or to
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  live as a servant? 2 Do you desire to be truly holy
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  on the inside or just look holy on the outside?
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  Three, do you value position more than a right heart posture
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  before God? And four, say you're given the
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  choice. You can have a big title with
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  shallow intimacy, or you can be more hidden, be a quote UN
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  quote, more normal person, but with a deeper intimacy with the
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  Lord. Which one would you choose?
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  Because Jesus says what is inside a person eventually
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  produces fruit. Good fruit comes from a good
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  tree. Bad fruit comes from a bad tree,
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  and God will bring what's hidden into the light.
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  First Corinthians 4-5 He will bring to light what is hidden in
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  darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.
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  This is not to shame, but it is to reveal the truth.
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  And we have to analyze our motives because they will be
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  revealed. So let's go to the Lord in
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  prayer right now. Heavenly Father God, you see
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  what is beneath the surface. You know the true fruit that our
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  lives are producing and what our intentions are behind them.
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  Lord, where our hearts have leaned toward image instead of
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  utmost obedience to you, would you bring clarity to that?
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  Where we've chased recognition rather than an intimate
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  relationship with you, would you bring correction?
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  Father, help us to live for what lasts, to honor Your name above
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  our own, to walk in humility just like Jesus did.
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  Because our names, when we pass away, they will not last, but
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  yours will forever and forever. So let our lives reflect hearts
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  that are truly 100% yours. We ask this all in your name,
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  Jesus. Amen.
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  OK, well praying that y'all have a great rest of your day.
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  Happy Tuesday and I will see y'all on the next episode.