To Be Seen By Men
Or
Seen As A Servant By God
Sunday August 21, 2022
Scripture To Consider:
“Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to the disciples, saying, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.’”
“But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’”
“But you do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23.1-12
Something To Consider:
By no means was Jesus giving praise to these religious pretending Pharisees for their do as I say, not as I do leadership lifestyles. For in all their increasing and extending of rules and regulations they bound unbearable burdens upon the backs of those who had a heart for God and a desire to faithfully follow Him and His Word.
The world does not need any more spiritual pretending hypocritical teachers who, love more to be seen by others as religious, than to be seen as true servants of God by their serving others. Even their clothing was that which attracted attention to their pretense of piety. These are still some of the religious trappings of those seeking to be seen or recognized as religious by other men, women, and young people.
What about us? Are we attempting to be seen by others as important, whether religious or secular? Or are we more interested in being seen as a true servant of God? At the circumcision of John, the Baptist, as a child, his father Zacharias prophesied; “Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, let us serve Him [God] without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him [before God] all the days of our lives.”
Something Else To Consider:
Therefore, true servants of God and of others should not seek the best seats, special greetings in public, special preferred treatment or special attention in order to appear religious. But rather they should according to Jesus, not seek to be called more than brother or sister, for we are all brethren of equal value in the eyes, mind, and heart of Almighty God.
And if we are chosen by God to become spiritual leaders, let us not seek to draw undue attention to ourselves or to be seen by others as anything other than a servant faithful in serving God and others. Otherwise, we risk becoming 21st century Pharisees. And there are many warnings spoken of by Jesus in the preserved written Word of God, to not be taken captive by that delusion.
The apostle Paul announced in Romans 12.1; “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Paul continued by stating in the next verse; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you [we] may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
In other words, for us to desire to be seen by men as important or influential is proof that we have been and are being conformed to this prideful world and its evil agendas. But, to desire to be transformed by the renewing of our minds by the truth of the Word of God, will prove our servanthood to God.
Is our goal to be seen by men, women, and young people as a pretending Pharisee-like follower of the ways of this world, or to be truly seen as a true and faithful servant of God? Our actions will prove or disprove our inner motives whether we are to be seen by men, or to be seen by God as a servant of the Most High God!
Something More To Consider:
In climbing the ladder of leadership according to Jesus, only those leaders in training who have learned to bow their knee to humble servanthood are those to be promoted to the spiritual status of greatest by God. Of course, many have been promoted to leadership positions in the much-organized ranks of the earthly church by men due to the completion of a higher educational achievement. But that is not the criteria that Christ uses to promote true spiritual leadership.
But the ironic aspect of being the greatest as a servant is that one is too busy serving to take notice of any position change. Therefore, when seeking to be seen, let us seek to be seen as a sincere servant of God while willingly serving others. It will put us as believers in a better eternal light every time from God’s perspective.
In other words, let us not be overcome by the evil of this world and by the organized so-called religious systems and earthly institutions based upon a handful of pretending hypocrites at the top of the ecclesiastical or corporate business ladders. But, rather let us overcome these evil and earthly concepts and unbiblical attitudes with good and sound biblical principles.
A Few Final Words:
The hour is late! The end times are upon us all. False prophets have greatly increased. Religious liberties are being abolished as the one world governing system moves ever closer to its goal of world domination. And with its completion, we will witness first-hand the crowing of a one world monetary system, a one world religious system, and a one world political system. Are we spiritually ready? Have we pledged our total allegiance to our heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and to the written and preserved for our benefit Word of God? And if not, why not?
False prophets have greatly increased just as Jesus and other truly servant-like spiritual leaders of both the Old and New Testaments. Many will become spiritually offended, also according to Jesus and others, having trusted those who proclaimed a pre-tribulation rapture escape plan. Do not put your trust in such unbiblical Americanized foolishness!
The earthly demonic end game has begun. Whatever we decide concerning our being seen by men as important, or our being seen as an end time servant of God; let us be reminded that we have been warned of the consequences by the King of kings and Lord of Lords. According to Jesus, “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
In closing, a do as I say, not as I do attitude, is by all means just the opposite of a servant-style leadership mentality, and not a wise spiritual or business plan. For also according to Jesus, “But he [or she] who is the greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, grant unto us servant hearts, not desiring to be seen by others, but to be seen by our servant-style Savior, Jesus. Enable us by Your Holy Spirit and by our being diligent to study the Word of God in order to not be ashamed, but in order to rightly divide or properly communicate the Word of God of whom is Jesus. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 