January 12
Gen 26:17-27 | PS 10:16-18 | Prov 3:9-10 | Matt 9:1-17
It was said about the life of Moses that he spent his first forty years thinking that he was a somebody, the next forty years learning that he was a nobody, and the last forty years learning what God can do with a nobody. We find ourselves in a world of "somebodies". Education for most puffs up individuals to inflate self-esteem. Social media applauds so many. Even within the church, many state humility, but revival is often prevented through a spirit of self-righteousness. In every grouping there are "insiders" who are "in the know" and outsiders (who also think they are "in the know", just a different "know" then your "know"). In my sixties, as a physician, most of the ears of the young physicians and students around me are already closed to any wisdom that I want to impart to them through my years of practice. Armed with the latest article or newest guidelines, filled with self-righteousness most are deaf that there actually may be a different way of seeing things. In the church many come to a faith in Christ acknowledging their own frailty and sinfulness before our holy God, only to grow in a church, gain knowledge, little by little, perhaps imperceptibly growing in self-righteousness, though not saying it aloud seeing themselves as morally upright, who now find faults in others, and point their self-righteous fingers at others who don't measure up to their self-imposed standards.
The self-righteous religious individuals could not see Jesus for who He was. When He healed the paralyzed man in Matthew 9:1-7, the crowds were amazed and praised God, but the religious were angered because of statements made by Jesus. They could not even take in the miracle because Jesus did not fit into their mindset. So, Jesus calls a tax collector, named Matthew, to follow Him. Understand that tax collectors were hated, deemed traitors, and held in the eyes of society to that of the worst of lawbreakers such as murderers, adulterers, and thieves. With that we read 9:10-13, "Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”" The "scum" as the religious leaders saw it were open, while the elite, the learned, as they saw themselves were completely closed. Jesus goes on to explain in Matthew 9:16-17, " “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”" The religious leaders did not realize that a dramatic change was needed, but "safe" in their self-righteousness, they were not even open to the slightest change from their pre-conceived ideas of right and wrong.
We are all on a journey. We must constantly remind ourselves that even after years of study we never graduate past being a child of God. Once we think we got it, once we feel we have all the answers, we stop listening and learning and move to the point of seeing fault in others: with their walk, with their theology, with their commitment. Jesus couldn't do much with self-righteous people then and He can't do much with them now. Revival can only take place when we see ourselves rightly before our Savior. Most know the right things to say, but does their heart truly believe the words coming out of their mouth. God's Word was completed nearly 2000 years ago, but we need to approach it with fresh eyes. We need to rely less on commentary and more on His actual words. One day those of us who have entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ will arrive in eternity, but while on this earth we must all remind ourselves, none of us have arrived. It doesn't matter what title you have, what level of education you might have achieved, the number of years that you have been in the faith, we are merely children, and we should be more impressed by how vast we are from the standard of Christ and less impressed by any perceived status or knowledge we believe we have attained.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: