Sign #2 That You Might Be A Pharisee

If you have not sone so, read Sign #1 first.

Today, we see the second sign that you might be a Pharisee (by the way, are you, like me, having trouble not saying the phrase "You might be a Pharisee" in the voice of Jeff Foxworthy? Thought so!):

#2 - You Are More Worried About Building Your Own Kingdom At The Eternal Expense Of Others - Matthew 23:15. 

As we read this, we understand that Jesus was not chastising them for going to the far reaches of the world to make converts. The problem was what they were converting them to. They were not leading people to a faith-based relationship with the LORD, but were enlisting them in their own religious institution. They put in much labor, but not for the right reason.

Maybe it is just me, but I can see all around how this attitude has crept into many of our churches. We emphasis coming to church, but rarely do we push for people to come to Jesus. Our prayer usually goes something like, "Please pray for ____________ that they will come to church." And once they do, we rejoice...and do nothing else. Pretty soon, after many weeks and months of coming, they are entrenched into the membership roll of the church - but are not on heaven's membership roll.

Sometimes it is seen in the fact that we are guilty about proclaiming our own standards, way of doing things, etc. as eternal truth. We become more worried that people are formed to our mould of what is "God's way" at the expense of their own spiritual growth. Instead of making disciples who are Christlike, we are forming miniature versions of ourselves.

Too many pastors and Christians are trying to play the role of the Holy Spirit in every one's life. Our job is to declare God's eternal truth and allow His people to live as He directs them.

How have you seen this attitude played out today in the church?

What is the remedy?

Signs You Might Be A Pharisee? Part 1

If you gather a group of Christians together, especially so with pastors, and begin to talk about other groups who are not quit like you, you might hear the label "Pharisee" thrown out. Sometimes, you may say it about someone else. Sometimes, it may be said of you. Either way, I wonder how well we actually know and understand what it means to be a Pharisee? 

If you take the time to read the conversation that Jesus had first with a large crowd, then narrowing down to the Pharisees and Scribes (The scribes were the teachers of the law who usually get left out when we tell this story!) from Matthew 23, you will notice seven signs, or characteristics, of a Pharisee. 

Now, as you read the following seven posts on the Seven Signs You Might Be A Pharisee, please do me one favor: RESERVE YOUR JUDGMENT until the end. Your tendency may be to think ahead, but take the time to consider each sign and how it relates to you. And NO, I AM NOT TALKING PERSONALLY ABOUT YOU OR YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM. These are general statements taken from the words of Jesus Himself. My purpose is not to pick on you, your church, or your association/denomination/fellowship/non-fellowship fellowship (some of my readers will get that last one!).

After we see all seven signs, I think you may come to the same conclusion I have: I may not personally know someone who fulfills all seven signs, but if I am not careful, all of these attitudes have or could creep into my spiritual life.

So, without further ado,  7 Signs that you might be a Pharisee from Matthew 23:13-29.

Sign #1 - You are spiritually lost and preventing others from being saved - 23:13-14.

This is a pretty straight forward sign of a pharisee: you are lost and doing what you can to keep others from coming to a knowledge of saving faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus called this the "blind leading the blind." Easy enough. And of course, most who read my blog would not fall into this sign....or do we?

The pharisee's problem here was a two-fold one. Number One, they were religious, but lost. While we may not think this is an issue, truth be told there are many who spend much time in church but have never put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. If that is the case with you (and only you would know this), I invite you to go HERE and read more about what you should do next.

Now, assuming you are good with Number One, lets consider the Second problem the Pharisees had: they were keeping others from coming into a saving relationship with God. We often talk about how important it is to reach others for Jesus Christ, but are we effective at it in our church's? For many churches, one of the greatest tools for outreach that we have are our weekend services. Isn't this why we give people a chance to respond at the end of the service? And while we may be shocked, or disappointed, when no one does respond, do we ever stop to consider why?

Sometimes it is because we have done all that we are supposed to, but the hearer chose to ignore it, and/or they disagree with what God has told us in His Word. There is nothing that we can do about that. The response is between that individual and God.

But what might we be doing leading up to that point that is shutting the door on individuals who are genuinely seek a faith relationship and want to turn to God? Often times, new people have already made up their mind about a church and in turn God, well before the preacher ever stands to deliver the message. They base their choice on the cleanliness of a church, the friendliness of the people, the passion of the music program, the quality of childcare services, etc. 

At this point, you may be thinking, "Well, none of that really matters. They should just be interested in the message. Those other things don't affect me, so they shouldn't affect them." And while that may sound right, the truth is we should be willing to do anything possible to prepare people to hear the Gospel. When we allow things around the church to falter and our attitudes to sour, it gives off the impression to outsiders that we don't care and it is no big deal. 

But you do care, and you do think it is a big deal. If you didn't, you probably would have stopped reading a while back. So, while we may not be an actual Pharisee, we all must guard against allowing our personal preferences and likes, and even our complacency, to shut the doors of heaven to those who come into our churches looking.

The Eyes of A New Person

When was the last time you were the "new" person somewhere? For me, it has been a while...until our recent move. As the new pastor of the First General Baptist Church of Rector, AR, I have been reminded of a few things. One of this is this: it is a lot different viewing your church from the eyes of a new person.

I am sure it would be the desire of all of my readers for there to be new people in their church services each week. That is our desire, and it is the fruit of a church on a mission for God's mission (Matthew 28:18-20). Our new church is great, and there is a lot of excitement and partnership in what God is doing now and what we pray He will do in the future.

But (and isn't there alway a but?!), our family has noticed that there are some things that go on that, if you are new, you would never either know about it or you would not know how to get involved.
This is not done purposely, because it is the desire of the church to reach the lost and those who have fallen out of church over the years. The fact is, many churches, if not most, have this issue. We get so used to the routine of everything that we forget others may not know.

So, what is the solution?

First, we must always remember and assume that there are those listening to us for the first time and those who are sitting next to us for the first time. As leaders in the church, we must make sure every thing we say and do is communicated clearly so everyone knows and understands. We cannot take for granted what we assume everyone knows. This includes not only our announcements and welcome committees, but also our preaching and teaching.

Secondly, as church members, we can't forget what it was like to be a new person in a new surrounding. If someone is giving announcements and the information seems silly and redundant, remember that at one time you didn't know about it. Part of worship is sacrifice, and that includes sacrificing our time in making sure everyone is up to speed. Don't assume that new person knows where the nursery is at, what the purpose of Sunday School/Bible Study/Small Groups are, etc. Do your part to make the new guests welcomed and help them get "up to speed."

Lets view our church's and their services with the eyes of someone who is new.

My Trip To The Pro Football Hall of Fame

My brother and sister-in-law, who live in Dallas/Ft Worth, came up to Kentucky and Ohio for a vacation and to see some sights. Since Darci and the girls are in Texas visiting family, I decided to drive down on Memorial Day to see them and tag along with them as they went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. Growing up I remember watching on t.v. every year the newest Hall of Fame class get inducted. I can still see these men, standing on a stage in front of a very large crowd, wearing their yellow blazers, and telling us what an honor it is to be remembered while thanking their coaches, teammates, family, etc. 

After walking around for 3 or so hours and taking lots of pictures, I came away a bit confused about what I thought of the place. I had a lot of fun and was definitely glad that I got to go...but there was something. I don't know what it was, but there was something about it that didn't match up with what I assumed it would be. Part of the Hall was being remodeled for a new exhibit, and it seemed like there

Romo's in the HOF!

was a handful of items that were missing. It was interesting to walk around and see and read some of the history. The room with all the busts was unique. You could definitely tell it was an older building built during a different time. But...I don't know, it just didn't seem to measure up with what I had thought the place would be. That doesn't mean it was their fault. Even though I was glad that I got to go, it just was not what I had thought. 

All of this leads me to this thought: sometimes we build things up in our mind, only to be let down by reality. Has this ever happened to you? How do you handle the reality of un-met expectations?

That's Why

Have you ever had that moment, that event, that "something" that cements in your heart why God prompted you to do something? I had one of those moments last night (Tue. 5/21). 

All this week we have had Evangelist JC House, and his wife Wanda, with us (you can read more about him here). It has been a great week with many wonderful messages from God's Word on Stewardship. We had two adults walk the aisle and put their faith in trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior on Sunday morning. In the past, I had the privilege of hearing Dr. House for many years while I was in Texas. He would preach every year in the church I was saved in (Trinity Baptist Church of Grand Prairie, TX), which ran a couple hundred of people. I have heard him preach in churches and meetings that were 600+ in attendance. This week, unfortunately, we have had only around 20 for our evening services. In spite of that fact, you could not tell from his attitude in and out of the pulpit. He is the same preacher, preaching in the same manner, at our smaller church as he is at the much larger churches. And as a pastor, I have greatly appreciated that because I cannot say that about some preachers - which is a shame.  So, if that was all that this week was for us and for myself, I could tell you without reservation that it has been a good week. 

But it's not.

Last night, Dr. House preached from Luke 6:38 (KJV 1900) — 38 Give, and IT shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (emphasis mine). I am sure many who read my blog have preached, or heard someone preach from this verse many times. Often, the message is about our giving. Yet, as Dr. House unpacked this verse, he brought us the the realization that the immediate context was not about giving money (though there is the secondary application to be made for giving financially), but it is about "it." What is the "it" you ask? IT is given to us in the previous verses:

6:37 - Judgement (and 6:30-36 shows us that when we fail to give to those in need (money, mercy, etc.), we are judging them). Why are people unfriendly with you? Maybe because you are unfriendly to them? Why are people critical to you? Maybe because you are critical to them? etc. etc.

My point of this post is not to re-hash the entire message, but to share with you that "ah-ha" moment that I had. Sitting on that front pew soaking it all in, I realized that this night was the reason why God prompted me almost a year ago to call Dr. House and invite him to come. And for that, I praise the Lord. 

Have you ever had one of those moments?

Fighting For Motherhood

Proverbs 31:10 (KJV 1900) — 10 Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.  

As I (a son, a husband, and a father) consider the mother's of my life this week and how thankful I am for them (the mother who raised me, and the mother of my four girls), I thought about the virtuous woman of the 31st chapter of Proverbs. When we think of the word "virtuous," we often think of the following definition:

Adjective Having or showing high moral standards. (esp. of a woman) Chaste.

Synonyms chaste - moral - righteous - honest

But as I considered what the Bible means by "virtuous," I came across something additional. The Hebrew word translated "Virtuous" is:  chayil (298c); from 2342b; strength, efficiency, wealth, army. We can see here how the Hebrew word is translated:

Part of the word "virtuous" means to have valor in battle. So, when you put it all together, we see that the character of the virtuous woman is something that should be fought for. Motherhood means fighting and striving for what is right in you home, what is godly for your children, and with (on the same team, not against) your husband. 

As a mother, are you fighting for it? Are you striving to be a virtuous mother,a virtuous wife, a virtuous woman? Remember this - just because you are not fighting, does not mean you are not in a battle. It just means you are probably losing. 

A Whosoever Church For A Whosoever God

When you think of your church (if you don't attend church, that is okay, I have a question for you in a second. Just read on), what first comes to mind? The people...the building...the worship service...preaching...evangelism...helping others...something else? Those are good things, and needful things, but that is not what I am worried about at this time. 

My concern is this: what do "outsiders" think of first when they think of the church? The truth is, we often don't ask this question, and that is probably because we are afraid of what the answer might be. Week in, week out we sing great hymns such as, "Just As I Am," but do we mean it? Truth be told, many churches really mean, "Just As...Long As You Look Like Us, Talk Like Us, Think Like Us, etc."

When Paul wrote "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13)," there were no qualifiers for it. Paul did not say, "For whosoever shall fit into our church culture shall be saved," but WHOSOEVER. That included people who think differently, act differently, grew up differently, and have different backgrounds. Why is it that we often put more hurdles up for people to jump in order to get to God in our churches? Do sinners feel comfortable coming into our church buildings for worship? Before you get up in arms and try to tell me that sinners shouldn't feel comfortable in our churches, re-read the story of the woman at the well. She felt comfortable enough to converse with Jesus, even after He confronted her with the truth of the sinfulness of her life. 

Our churches are not country clubs filled with similar people - but a place where whosoever's can come and hear the truth that they are sinners who are loved by a holy God and His people; Jesus died for their sins just like He died for our sins; and they can believe the Gospel in their heart and call upon the Lord to save them (Romans 10:9-10) just like we did. The church today has politicized certain sins and spends more time ranting and raving about them then loving those people and sharing with them our faith. And then we wonder why people have such a negative view about Christians and the Church!

If you read this and don't attend church, would you please comment and let me know what is the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear "church"?

If you read this and do attend church, what can you do better in order to help your church be A Whosoever Church For A Whosoever God?