“Then Jesus addressed both the crowds and his disciples and said, “The religious scholars and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ throne as the authorized interpreters of the Law. So listen and follow what they teach, but don’t do what they do, for they tell you one thing and do another. They tie on your backs an oppressive burden of religious obligations and insist that you carry it, but will never lift a finger to help ease your load. Everything they do is done for show and to be noticed by others. They want to be seen as holy, so they wear oversized prayer boxes on their arms and foreheads with Scriptures inside, and wear extra-long tassels on their outer garments. They crave the seats of highest honor at banquets and in their meeting places. And how they love to be admired by men with their titles of respect, aspiring to be recognized in public and have others call them ‘Reverend.” (Matthew 23:1-7, TPT)
It’s is very interesting to see that this is even more prevalent in our day. The sin of such is very much like leaven for is we do not allow Holy Spirit access to search our heart, a little morsel of pride un-detected will ultimately cause ones down fall.
Man has a habit of putting those they admire up on a peddle stool, and in such they begin to desire to become like them. In a day when access to these individuals through media and social networking is larger than ever, we see our fair share of “super-star” puffed up religious personalities out there. The question is why are so many attracted to them? Is it due to their popularity or that they have huge crowds and within the philosophy of this world, that translates being accepted, admired and almost (in some case they are) worshipped?
Sorry America, Heaven has one star and His Name is Jesus, and His Father will not tolorate any idols before Him, no mater how popular they are or how much the resemble the American way, or any other nation or culture for that matter.
Let’s continue on with Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew Chapter 23:
“But you are to be different from that. You are not to be called ‘master,’ for you have only one Master, and you are all brothers and sisters. And you are not to be addressed as ‘father,’ for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be addressed as ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Anointed One. The greatest among you will be the one who always serves others from the heart. Remember this: If you have a lofty opinion of yourself and seek to be honored, you will be humbled. But if you have a modest opinion of yourself and choose to humble yourself, you will be honored.” (Matthew 23:8-12, TPT)
So, what’s up with all the titles people?
From Prophet so an so, Apostle so an so to Apostle-Prophet-Teacher so an so. And the list goes on and sadly it’s fueled by a generation that feeds into their ego, puffing them up. What’s really scary is that many who do such are falling into the trap of pride themselves. It’s as though they feel a perverse entitlement in that if they are following such titles, they are:
a) Better than others who don’t have leaders of such “Great Esteem” and or b) If they follow close enough, why the blessing and favor of God on these leaders lives will somehow have splatter on them.
Need I say anymore? I think not, as I believe Holy Spirit has all the power to remove the scales from peoples eyes and the Word speaks with power as well, so let’s see what Jesus has to say next;
Jesus gives us a 7 stern warning’s here….
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and you Pharisees—such frauds and pretenders! You do all you can to keep people from experiencing the reality of heaven’s kingdom realm. Not only do you refuse to enter in, you also forbid anyone else from entering in!
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and you Pharisees—frauds and pretenders! For you eat up the widow’s household with the ladle of your prayers. Because of this, you will receive a greater judgment.
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and you Pharisees—such frauds and pretenders! For you will travel over lake and land to find one disciple, only to make him twice the child of hell as yourselves.
“You blind guides! Great sorrow awaits you, for you teach that there’s nothing binding when you swear by God’s temple, but if you swear by the gold of the temple, you are bound by your oath. You are deceived in your blindness!
Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that whoever takes an oath by swearing, ‘By the altar,’ it is nothing. But if you swear, ‘By the gift upon the altar,’ then you are obligated to keep your oath. What deception! For what is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Whoever swears by the altar swears by the altar and everything offered on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by God, who sits upon it.
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and pretenders! For you are obsessed with peripheral issues, like insisting on paying meticulous tithes on the smallest herbs that grow in your gardens. These matters are fine, yet you ignore the most important duty of all: to walk in the love of God, to display mercy to others, and to live with integrity. Readjust your values and place first things first.
What blind guides! Nitpickers! You will spoon out a gnat from your drink, yet at the same time you’ve gulped down a camel without realizing it!
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and imposters! You are like one who will only wipe clean the outside of a cup or bowl, leaving the inside filthy. You are foolish to ignore the greed and self-indulgence that live like germs within you. You are blind and deaf to your evil. Shouldn’t the one who cleans the outside also be concerned with cleaning the inside? You need to have more than clean dishes; you need clean hearts!
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and imposters! You are nothing more than tombs painted with fresh coats of white paint—tombs that look shining and beautiful on the outside, but within are found decaying corpses full of nothing but corruption. Outwardly you masquerade as righteous people, but inside your hearts you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and imposters! You build memorials for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors murdered. Then you boast, ‘If we had lived back then, we would never have permitted them to kill the prophets.’ But your words and deeds testify that you are just like them and prove that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started! You are nothing but snakes in the grass, the offspring of poisonous vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell if you refuse to turn in repentance?
“For this reason I will send you more prophets and wise men and teachers of truth. Some you will crucify, and some you will beat mercilessly with whips in your meeting houses, abusing and persecuting them from city to city. As your penalty, you will be held responsible for the righteous blood spilled and the murders of every godly person throughout your history—from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, whom you killed as he stood in the temple between the brazen altar and the Holy Place. I tell you the truth: the judgment for all these things will fall upon this generation!” (Matthew 23:13-36, TPT)
This is as stern a message to the Body today as it was in the day it was spoken. Several months ago, Holy Spirit took me make to these passages to remind to stay the course. Several years before, He led me here to show me that I was lifting up men over Jesus Himself. That I had fashioned my eyes and ministry aspirations on an imposter imagine of what a true follower of Jesus looked and acted like.
In both cases I had to repent for Holy Spirit showed me how I had been drawn away by the bling bling of popularity and sought-after false images. I had to turn my eyes and thinking back to the simplicity of the “Gospel of the Kingdom” and especially back on Christ my Lord, King and Messiah.
Let us, who have in one form or other fallen for the leaven like snares of the enemy repent and turn back to the truth, return to the Highway of holiness and pursue Christ Jesus, His Righteousness and His Kingdom alone, for then we shall indeed be sons & daughters of God.
For my brothers & sisters, I believe we are about to enter a time-period when the Bride is being awoken, that which has been spots and blemishes on her beauty is going to be removed. We are in an hour when we shall begin to see the Fulness of the Kingdom break-forth. Those things which are not part of the Brides adornment will begin to be exposed and removed quickly.
We’ve been teetering for several generations and due to the Great mercy of our Lord, He has held back His hand, but we are about the enter the 3rd 3rd, the fullness of the Kingdom where the spiritual resurrection of the Bride is going to take place. The earth’s groans for the manifestation of the sons & daughters of God have filled the bowls in Heaven and are now being tipped over.
It is an exciting day for the Bride, but it’s going to be a dreadful day for the Harlot.
So let us close this with a prayer,
Holy Spirit lead us in a way which humbles us and prepare our hearts for the purposes for which the Father ordained for our lives before the foundation of the world. Let our hearts be baptized with Your Holy Fire, let our hands be cleansed by Your holiness, may we be washed clean from the muck of religion and worldliness.
Father, have Your ways in our lives to the Glory of Your Name, Amen
~Russ Welch
Russ is currently part of the Leadership team at the RiverHouse in Jacksonville Florida which has been hosting the Presence of the Lord in demonstrations of power and glory since 2015 and also houses the Healing Rooms of North Florida where they have witnessed many healing’s and deliverance’s to the Glory of the Lord.
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 