Don't be a pharisee...

You're probably thinking "I'm not a pharisee... what are you talking about??!!"... and I guess there's a high probability that you're right, you're probably not a pharisee. But here's where you are like a pharisee, when you look at Christ through the eyes of the law...

It's so easy for us to fall into this trap, we often don't even realise it.  Check this story out:

“On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit of eighteen years.  She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.  When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from you infirmity.”  Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised GOD.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people.  “There are six days for work.  So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites!  Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  Then should not his woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

[Luke 13:10-17]

I don’t know about you, but I think that if anyone were to believe in Christ, a miracle would do it?  Here we read of the temple leaders, face to face with a beautiful, life changing act of GOD, and they don’t believe!  Why don’t they believe?

It’s important for us to take a look at this because there are times, whether intentional or not, that we find ourselves in the same camp of as these people that Jesus called hypocrites!  Scary, maybe, but true.  We try hard not to, but there are some traps that these non-believer fell into that I know, for myself and I’m sure for you, I’ve found myself in.

I think, initially, the biggest issue facing these temple leaders was this:   They looked at Christ through the eyes of the law/religion.  Join me over the next few articles as we journey through the eyes of a non-believer...

INTELLIGENT LOVE

 “So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”

Phil 1:9-11

  

If worship doesn’t make GOD attractive, then I believe we’ve missed the boat, we’ve crossed a line that has taken our worship out of His presence and into the realm of the flesh.  Things that we can see, that we can control, that we can glory in - and that’s where things fall short!  We start to glory in our worship, instead of glorifying GOD.  It’s a fine line between experiencing GOD’s joy and glorifying ourselves. It’s a fine line between loving GOD and loving ourselves...

Careless campers

How often do we shoot our mouths off without thinking about just how much hurt it might cause? When I was in high school, I found it so easy to say things and then, if I'd hurt someone, just say "I was only joking..." I would test the waters with people, see how far I could push, just for the sake of it. As I look back, I thank GOD that He gently drew me away from that bad habit and convicted me of a way of behaving that was destroying my life and my friendships!

In church, if we want to really learn how to encourage each other, then we need to hand our words over to GOD. The only way that our words will build into the lives of others is if they are filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to speak in GOD's power and GOD's authority.

There's a beautiful proverb, 26:18-19, Eugene Peterson puts it like this:

"People who shrug off deliberate deceptions, saying, 'I didn't mean it, I was only joking,' are worse than careless campers who walk away from smoldering campfires."

The Bread, man

“It is only when [we] begin to worship that [we] begin to grow”
Calvin Coolidge (30^th American President)

'Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never grow hungry...'

John 6:35 

My family and I were out at a café recently and the twins were sitting in their pram whilst we were having coffee. A man walked passed and said “Don’t feed them, because they’ll grow up.” What a dumb, yet truthful statement!

We forget that in order to grow, we need to be fed. It’s such an obvious truth that we don’t even process it on a daily basis. Sure, we may watch what we eat in order to watch our weight, but does it ever sink in that food is what makes us grow? I’m not sure that it does because I constantly hear people in church talking about growth in many different ways. “I want to grow our youth group.” “Why aren’t we seeing growth in our men’s ministry?” “How can I grow in my knowledge of the Bible?” Have you heard these or similar comments? I have, countless times.

GOD's Presence above His Purpose

“My life needs GOD’s presence to work GOD’s purpose.”

Jack Hayford (jackhayford.org)

Eph 6:7: Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.

There is a trap that we all fall into, the trap of trying to keep people happy. When we try to please people, we fill our lives with their expectations and try our best to live up to them. Some of us are more prone to this than others, but even if there’s only one person, I’m sure you can think of someone that you would move mountains for!