In Matthew Chapter 23, Jesus calls out the spiritual hypocrites of His time. Rabbi, Priest, Pastor it mattered not. If you were a spiritual leader using religion or the church as a cover for unChrist-like behavior, He was going to expose you. Jesus also called on Christians to expose those who mislead their followers.
Matthew 23:5 "Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others." Community outreach is about more than placing a frozen turkey in a box while the local newspaper takes your photo! A true spiritual leader should be actually handing the gift of food and hope face to face. Holding out a hand to the receiver, saying God loves you! Pastor Jerry Johnston are you listening?
Matthew 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Today, if you call yourself the "First Family" and are followed by bodyguards within the walls of your church; you have given yourself too much credit. Your arrogance is so great you believe you are exempt from the laws of God. But beware Pastor Jerry Johnston, God sees past the large salary, expensive clothes, and fancy words. HE sees your true heart. You cannot hide from Him.
Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." Yet again you disregard the laws of God and biblical principles. Organizing a lynch mob without all the facts is not justice. Firing someone based on hearsay (also known as gossip) is not merciful. Betraying them after years of loyal ministry is a violation of faith. Pastor Jerry Johnston, Dan Galindau, Board of Elders of First Family Church in Overland Park are you listening?
Beware church leaders! We all must be diligent in our walk with God. We must continue to look inside our "cup" to make sure it is clean. Without a clear path to God, we are likely to veer into oncoming traffic and the crash can be devastating!
