Christ Exposes Prideful Spiritual Leaders (Matthew Sermon 116)

Introduction

We turn to a new chapter, in our study of Matthew today, Matthew chapter 23. And as we do so, we come to a potentially very disturbing chapter, a very unusual chapter in Matthew’s gospel, and in the gospels in general. We see Jesus just letting loose on his enemies, in just a stream of criticism, of conviction, a prophetic denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. It’s very powerful. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites,” he says again and again. We’re not gonna get to that section of Matthew 23 today, but this is what’s in front of us, as Jesus just lets loose on his enemies, and speaks the truth to them.

Often, I think, just in my own personal life, as I think about being a spiritual leader, I think about my role as a pastor, and just as a man, I think of that vision of Christ that the Apostle John had and recorded in Revelation chapter 1. The resurrected, the glorified Christ, who the Apostle John, in his exile in Patmos, saw, and a vision of Christ that is just stunning and overwhelming. And something captures me. It speaks there, in that picture of the resurrected Christ that he has on the island of Patmos, that his eyes are like blazing fire. And later, in his letter to the churches, his letters to the churches, Jesus, speaking about each of the seven churches that he seeks to address, he says this, “I am he who searches hearts and minds.” And I just put those two together, Jesus, the resurrected Christ, the glorious, the holy one, the one with the eyes of blazing fire, he searches our hearts and our minds. He knows us. As the psalmist said, “Search me, O God, and know me, and try me and see if there’s anything unworthy in me.”

So I think about that as I come to Matthew 23, as he just turns those eyes of blazing fire on the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites who are spiritual leaders in Israel. And there are just a number of dangers as we come to this chapter, and there’s just dangers that are uncovered in the chapter for us. And just the dangers of the chapter itself.

And the danger is when, if you come to a passage like this, say, “I’m so glad I’m not like them.” Aren’t you just so glad that we’re not like the scribes and Pharisees? Danger, dear friends, danger. You should never do that. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” We’ve got to come to the scribes and Pharisees and say, “Oh God, show me how I am like them, and teach me to not be that way. I don’t wanna be like that.”

And as pastors, as elders, spiritual leaders, we can come and say, “I’m just so glad that I’m not a leader like the scribes and Pharisees.” Woe to us then, if that’s how we come to it, we need to humble ourselves before this text and say, “God, make me not like this. I don’t wanna be a spiritual leader who is a hypocrite, I don’t wanna be a white-washed tomb.”

Church people who are not spiritual leaders can say, “I’m glad I’m not in that position of leadership, and I can just assess those who are, and I can just look at the scribes and Pharisees, and if need be, our own pastors or elders, and say, ‘There it is.’” Woe to you if you do that.

We need to all be under this chapter, don’t we? We need to let it search us, because, frankly, we all struggle with the sins that are exposed here. Hypocrisy, pride, worldliness, these are the sins that Jesus is dealing with. And can we really say, “Thank God I’m free from all of those”? “Thank God I don’t need to worry about hypocrisy. I am exactly what I appear to be. Thank God that I don’t need to worry about pride, I’m the most humble person I know. Thank God the world holds no attraction for me. I’m free from any concern for worldly praise or worldly positions or worldly possessions and pleasures. I’m free from all that.” Oh, you know yourself, don’t you? Say instead, “God bring it to me. Bring me Matthew 23. Search me, Lord Jesus, with those blazing eyes. Teach me who I really am.”

Now I come to another danger, and that’s just the danger in ministry for me, as a pastor, anybody in spiritual leadership, and it’s just something that’s standing there all the time. And the danger is this, is that, at some point, we will turn away from a central desire to please God and turn to earthly things instead, that we will seek, through ministry, to please ourselves in some way, in some worldly way. That’s a great danger, and it stands over me, over all the elders, the pastors of every church, that at some point, you’re gonna turn away from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ and seek to get something earthly out of your service to God.

I. Tragic History of Arrogant, Selfish Spiritual Leaders

In the Bible

It’s a great danger. It’s been around a long time, and it’s exposed here in this text, we’ll see it, in these 12 verses we’re gonna look at. It went back in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 34 talks about these shepherds. “Woe to you, Shepherds of Israel, you shear the flock and you eat the meat and you tear them apart, but you don’t tend the poor and the needy. You don’t go after the strays.” It’s been that way a long long time. Those who, like Paul says, we never put on a mask to cover up greed, God is our witness. Greedy people are idolaters, Paul tells us, and so people in spiritual leadership can become idolaters. They can look for something earthly out of their service to the church, been going around a long time.

In Church History

It was going on in the Middle Ages with the Roman Catholic Church, and then on into the time of the Reformation. Right before the Reformation, there was a pope, Pope Julius II, a fascinating individual. He was a warrior Pope. I mean, not spiritual warfare. I’m talking, he got on a horse with a sword and with armor and went out and led a Catholic army out onto the field to battle his enemies, and fought them, and he wanted to be seen as a warrior.

As a matter of fact, he commissioned Michelangelo to do a number of works of art there in Rome, and Michelangelo, one of the works was of himself. Julius paid for money to have a sculpture of himself. And so, Michelangelo made him holding a Bible. He said, “What’s that under my arm?” “It’s a Bible, your Holiness.” “A Bible.” “What do I know of Bibles? Put a sword in my hand.”

Erasmus wrote, after Julius died, wrote a very humorous piece called “Pope Julius Excluded from Heaven.” It’s actually very funny to read, as the Pope is there knocking on the gates, and they won’t let him in. But very, very incisive to how this man had traded, if he ever had it, I don’t think he ever had any piety, but traded it for earthly things.

In Our Present Day

And it’s been going around a long time, it’s going on in our day, in the 21st century. In 2008, World Magazine did an exposé on six televangelists and their private jets. I don’t know if you read it. The name of the article I thought was clever: “What Would Jesus Fly?” What would he fly? What corporate jet would he fly? What private jet? Of all the various options, which one would he choose? And so, it named the names: Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, these men who have private jets.

Jesse Duplantis, in particular, had a support letter that he sent out, in which he was talking about the Falcon 50 jet that he was going to purchase. It’s a super-medium or long-range plane, able to go 3,000 miles between refueling, can fly from coast-to-coast. This is a private jet, it’s pictured on the cover of your bulletin. You are wondering what in the world does that have to do with the sermon? But there it is. There’s the Falcon 50. And he called it “a great tool for world evangelization.” It can sell for up to $50 million.

I was thinking, as I was reading this article, about Jesus’ original instructions to his twelve apostles, when he sent them out two by two, you remember in Matthew chapter 10, he said, “Do not take along any gold or silver in your belts, take no bag for the journey or extra tunic or sandals or a staff even,” but get on your Falcon 50 and fly wherever the Lord leads you to go, and they’ll supply you with everything you might need there. Alright.

But again, danger, danger for me, danger for me to judge these men for what they’re doing and not say that there’s something here in Matthew 23 that exposes me, as a pastor. Can I really say that there are no earthly motives in my service to First Baptist Church? That there’s nothing earthly in my heart as I seek to get up to preach or as I minister here? Can I really say that? Can pastors really say they’re free from being addicted to pastoral perks, like the pastor’s parking spot? I do have a parking spot here, and if you park in it, it’s gonna be a problem for me. But we haven’t chosen to put a little plaque on it yet so, because nobody seems to want it, but at any rate, there it is, pastoral perks.

And I tell you this, there’s not a pastor that doesn’t have danger in this area, can get addicted to earthly benefits that come from serving Christ. One simple one is just the praise and encouragement that you get. If you’re in a loving congregation, you’re gonna get encouragement. Now, don’t overhear what I’m about to say, don’t go too far the other direction. It is a good thing to encourage faithful servants of any type in a church. I don’t just single out elders or pastors but anybody who is doing something for the Lord, there should be some stream of encouragement going toward that individual, should be.

Okay, but it can easily become addictive for a pastor, can easily become addictive. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, spoke more generally about what it means to store up treasure on Earth. He said, “Our Lord’s injunction means to avoid anything that centers on this world only. It applies to people who, though they may not be interested in wealth or money at all, are yet interested in other things which are entirely worldly in the last analysis. They cannot be tempted maybe by money, but they can be tempted by status or position, promotion into positions of power has done endless harm in the Church of God to men who have been quite honest and sincere but who have not been on guard against this danger. They have been laying up treasures on earth without knowing it, their interest has suddenly been moved from that one center of pleasing God and working for his honor and his glory and it’s turned, almost without their knowing it, to themselves and their own engagement in his work. In such ways,” says Lloyd-Jones, “a man can be laying up treasures on earth and it is so subtle that even good people can be a man’s greatest enemy. Many a preacher has been ruined by his congregation, their praise, their encouragement of him as a man, has almost ruined him as a messenger of God, and he has become guilty of laying up treasures on earth. He tends, almost unconsciously, to be controlled by the desire to have his people’s good opinion and praise, and the moment that happens, that man is laying up treasures on earth.” End quote.

Again, I’m not saying that you should never encourage me or other brothers or sisters in Christ. I’m not saying that. I’m talking about what’s going on in my heart while it’s happening, what’s going on in our hearts as we receive that praise and that encouragement. You can start living for those material benefits to ministry, and there are deeper issues of pride, control, demanding more and more control in the church, more and more influence.

And so, for all of these reasons, the great dangers here the Lord Jesus spends his final public sermon in Matthew’s gospel, not on a salvation theme directly, but on a sober warning against false spiritual leaders whose arrogance severely damages the people of God, the scribes and Pharisees.

Context: Christ and His Enemies

And so we’ve seen Christ dealing with his enemies here. They have been coming at him. They have been seeking to trap him, they’re trying to get him in trouble, they wanna kill him, they hate him.

Jesus ends Matthew 22 with a question, which we covered last week, about whose son is the Christ. And they couldn’t answer a word in reply, but that didn’t mean Jesus was done with them. Now here, in Matthew 23, he turns his guns on them, so to speak, prophetically, and he exposes them, these scribes and Pharisees. Who were they?

Well, the Pharisees were one of the major religious sects of the time. They were extremely conscientious, and they felt that their good standing with God was in relation to their obedience to God’s commands, even down to the minutiae of the Mosaic Law. They were the Pharisees. We’ve seen them again and again.

And the scribes, the NIV, has “teachers of the law,” they were copyists, and they would stand at desks and they would copy the scriptures and make them available to people. And so they were the ones that counted the letters, they were the ones that knew how many letters there were. They were also well-trained then in the scriptural things, and found themselves to be teachers of Israel.

And in a good way, that is a tremendous blessing, you’ll get Ezra, and Ezra was a scribe, that’s what he was. And he was a godly scribe. It says in Ezra 7:10, “Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the Lord into teaching its decrees and laws in Israel,” that’s good. And in Nehemiah 8, Ezra faithfully instructed the Jews, just a great chapter of expositional teaching of the law, and just how faithfully he unfolded the Word of God. That’s Ezra.

But in Jesus’ day, the scribes, the teachers of the law were some of his bitterest enemies. They became arrogant and selfish. As we’re gonna see in this chapter, they thought that they were righteous because they knew more of the Bible than anyone else. And the worst part of all was that they had missed the whole point of scripture.

The whole point of scripture is Jesus Christ. The whole point of scripture is to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And these are the ones about whom it’s said in John chapter 5, “You diligently study the Scriptures,” Jesus said, “Because you think that by them you possess eternal life?” Just ’cause you have a Bible? “These are the scriptures that testify about me,” said Jesus, “and you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” These are the scribes.

II. Christ Exposes False Spiritual Leaders

False Spiritual Leaders Lack Genuine Authority

So Jesus exposes them, and he begins by saying, in verse 2 and 3, “The teachers of the law, the scribes, and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.” Now, this is really quite fascinating. It causes commentators some difficulty. They’re really bad people, as we’re gonna see in this whole chapter, but Jesus is telling us to kind of obey them and do everything they tell us.

It’s problematic because, in another place, in Matthew 15, he says, “These teachers of the law and these Pharisees were hypocrites, whose teachings were just rules taught by men.” In Matthew 16, he warned his own disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” and came to understand that meant their doctrines. Be careful of what they teach. And yet, here he’s saying the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, so you must obey them and do everything they tell you.

Well, there are two different ways that commentators go on this. One is that Jesus is actually being somewhat sarcastic, because the Greek actually implies they have taken it upon themselves to sit in Moses’ seat. They have taken a place that really wasn’t given to them, but I actually don’t go that direction. I’m gonna go a different direction.

I’m gonna say it this way, I don’t really care who tells you the truth from the Word of God, you need to obey it. I don’t care if a donkey opens up its mouth and brays that you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit adultery. Doesn’t really make a difference who the messenger is as long as they’re speaking the truth, according to the Word of God. When they teach according to the Mosaic Law, then you must obey them and do everything they tell you.

But the problem with them, at this point, at least, in Matthew 23, wasn’t their teachings, other places, yes, but not here. The problem was how they were living. You must not follow their example, Jesus said, “Don’t do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” You’ve heard that before. It was Jesus that said it first. They don’t practice what they preach.

And so they’re exposed here not for false teaching, but for false living. Jesus is gonna call them hypocrites seven times. A hypocrite is an actor, a hypocrite is somebody who presents something that they’re not. And so these scribes and Pharisees were presenting themselves to be something they weren’t.

They did not practice what they preached, Paul uncovers this, not focused so much on the scribes and Pharisees, but just the Jews who had the law and didn’t keep it. In Romans 2:23-23, it says, “You then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” Dealing with the same issue here.

Therefore, what I take out of this, my application for this, I need to practice what I preach, and that’s shattering for me. I’m a verse-by-verse expositor. Dear friends, I see more in the text than I can preach well, and I can preach better than I can live. What do I do then? Do I give up my ministry? Do I go take my talent and hide it in the ground until Jesus returns? No, you can’t do that, I’m stuck. In James, it says I’m gonna be judged more severely, but in Matthew, if I take the talent and hide it in the ground, I’m going to be judged very severely. And so, what can I do except seek to live up to what I teach? But you know something? You’re really not much different. I don’t know if you notice this, but most of the commandments and the requirements for spiritual leaders are not much different than the Christian life, generally. And none of us can afford to be hypocrites. None of us can afford to espouse the standard of Christianity and not live up to it.

And so Paul told young Timothy, the young pastor, “Watch your life and your doctrine closely.” Persevere in them, in both the life and the doctrine, because if you do, you’ll save both yourself and your hearers. So we’ve got to put the two together.

False Spiritual Leaders Lack Compassion

Jesus also spoke of the scribes and Pharisees and said that they lacked compassion for sinners. Look at verse 4, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they, themselves, are not willing to lift a finger to help them.” Scribes and Pharisees here are exposed as cold, unfeeling, uncaring people, spiritually. And this, I believe, is a direct connection with – comes as a direct connection from spiritual pride. They see themselves as spiritually superior to everyone else, they’re just better than everyone else, and therefore they just have no sympathy for anybody under them.

They believe that they have achieved this high level by their own efforts, they’re spiritual athletes. So you wanna be as good as me? Then work as hard as I did. They have no sympathy whatsoever. They just don’t see themselves properly. That’s the whole problem. Truly genuinely converted people know the source of their salvation, don’t they? They know who they really are. They really are actually spiritual beggars, Matthew 5:3, who had nothing to offer to God except sin, who could expect nothing from the justice of God, apart from the promises of the gospel, nothing but wrath, and they come to God as beggars and say, “Be merciful to me, the sinner.” They won’t even look up to heaven, but beat their breast and beg for forgiveness. And they haven’t forgotten that. And so then, when they go find other spiritual beggars, they know exactly how they got saved. And there’s a mercy that goes out to them, there’s a brokenness that connects with them, a yearning that they would know forgiveness because they’re just like them, just like them. There’s no difference.

But these scribes and Pharisees, what do they do? “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders.” This is talking about legalism, it’s talking about legalism, that the burden, the oppressive burdens, of the Pharisaic way of getting to heaven. They were just relentless. The religion they set up was a cold-hearted relentless machine that just destroyed everybody except hypocrites, who said, “I keep it. I’ve kept all the laws of God.” They were the ones that said, “I can do it.” And they’re arrogant, and they fly above everybody else, like a tax collector or a prostitute or just an average sinner. They can’t get anything from the scribes and Pharisees, they’re hopeless. They tie up heavy loads and throw them on men’s shoulders, but they won’t do anything to help them.

A genuine pastor, a genuine elder, a genuine spiritual leader is gonna have a broken-hearted compassion for sinners, and want to see burdens lifted. How different is Jesus than this who said in Matthew 11, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus lifts burdens. He lifts the crushing burden of a guilty conscience.

Maybe you came in here that way today. Maybe you came in here crushed by your guilty conscience. You know you’re a sinner. You know you have no hope before the judgment seat of God. You know that you’re heading for hell, but you don’t know what to do. Woe to me if I don’t tell you how to get that burden lifted. Come to Jesus. Let Jesus lift that burden from you. He lifted it from me. He lifted it from me, and I’m free of my sins not because of my own righteousness, ’cause I worked harder than anybody else, but because Jesus was merciful to me and gracious to me. Oh, find mercy in Christ. Come to the cross, find it in Jesus, find it in his blood, so you understand that Jesus is the Son of God, and he shed his blood for you, to take your burden off of you.

But you see, these folks, they just put burdens on people, and made people feel guilty all the time. The Apostle Paul didn’t do that. He said in 1 Thessalonians 2, “We were gentle among you like a mother caring for her little children. You know that we dealt with each one of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting you, urging you to live lives worthy of the Lord.” That’s the ministry right there. It’s not crushing burdens thrown on people and, “Good luck with that. Hope you can do well.” It’s not that at all.

False Spiritual Leaders Lack Faith

We also see, and this is fundamental to the rest of the chapter, verse 5, “Everything they do is done for men to see,” do you see that? What’s the problem with that? You know what it is? They’ve lost God focus, if they ever had it. They are not focused on God. They don’t have faith, that’s a whole thing.

True spiritual leadership has to do with faith. It has to do with seeing the invisible, seeing God and pleasing him and ministering invisible things for the benefit of people. You’re in an invisible realm, you’re ministering invisible things. It’s a faith ministry here, but these folks, everything they do is done for men to see. They lack faith. They’re not God-centered. They’re self-centered and they’re world-centered, so they put their religiosity out as a badge for everyone to see. They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. These phylacteries were just leather boxes that they put on their foreheads and on their arms, and they wrapped them up with leather straps, and they were literalistically obeying the command to tie them as symbols on your foreheads, and bind them on your hands, and put them on your doorposts, and all that.

So they literally did that. And I’m not necessarily against that, but I think, it’s actually I have just a physical problem with it, because what they did was they wrote the scriptures that said tie them up, etc., they wrote those actual scriptures and put them in a box. I would think the Lord would rather have them open and read every day, read multiple times. It’s the reading of it. So I think I’m actually against the literalistic obedience of this. I don’t actually think Jesus had the box on his head. I think, instead, he sought to live it out by having it in his mind, saturating it in his mind.

And so everything they did was done for men to see, and so constantly, in Scripture, praise from men is pitted against praise from God, as if you cannot seek both, and you can’t. You can’t desire both. You may have both, but you can’t seek both. Do you see the difference? I mean, I’m sure Paul received plenty of praise in his life. Jesus received praise in his life. There’s nothing wrong with praising an individual.

The problem’s reversed, what’s going on in the heart of that individual? Do you seek it? And you cannot seek both praise from God and praise from men, you can’t seek both. And so Jesus said, in John 5:44, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another and yet you make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” You can’t go horizontal like that, just all I care about is what people think about me. You’ll forget the vertical. You’ll forget God. Or in John 12: 42-43, “Many, even among the leaders, believed in him, because of the Pharisees, however, they would not confess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogues, for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12. Many other verses.

Paul rejected this, Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Now, again, a pastor can go too far with that, just like the congregation can go too far, earlier in this message. “I don’t care whether you’re ever pleased with me or not.” That gets a little weird actually, tyrannical. I become a sociopath at that point. But the point is what am I seeking? I am seeking to please you by pleasing God. And I actually want the ministry to be pleasing to you, because it means your hearts are being moved, but that’s not my goal, is that you be pleased with me. Do you see the difference? And Paul says I can’t both seek praise from men and praise from Christ. Can’t do it.

Instead, Christ commanded somewhat of a secret religion in some way, “Do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full, but when you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your father, who’s unseen, and your father who’s unseen sees what is done in secret and he will reward you. That’s the religion that pleases God.”

False Spiritual Leaders Lack Humility

Now, these false spiritual leaders also lacked humility. Look at verse 6 and 7, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them, ‘Rabbi.’” Pride reeks from everything about them. Their one thought is themselves. They’re the center of all their thoughts, and they want, one of the earthly perks here is, societal recognition, places of honor, titles of honor, positions of prestige. It’s not just money. These things are very tempting. The head table at the banquet, front and center. “Oh, come right this way. Oh, come.” They pull out the chair for you, and you got the name right there in the front, and all of this honour coming on you, and it’s just addictive and intoxicating. And if it becomes your goal in ministry, get out of the ministry. That’s God’s word to me.

Seats of honor. As in most churches today, synagogues had raised platforms, like I’m up on right now, and they would have seats, and you’d sit up there. And at the right time, you would come, as an honored visiting Rabbi, and you’d get to read some scripture, and all that kind of thing. I used to sit up here. There used to be chairs up here. I didn’t move down out of any great humility. I just liked being with my family, and plus, I didn’t like you all watching me while I was singing. So there was actually… Probably there was some pride in going down off the dais up here, or whatever. But they love to be elevated and to be seen and to be greeted and to have those honorific titles.

I think about this often, with the whole Dr. Davis thing. Look, I’ve been Andy my whole life. I’ve been Dr. Davis for 11 years, okay? I understand the desire that people have to honor. Some of I’ve been working on for 11 years, and you’re still calling me Dr. Davis, and that’s fine, okay? And I think there’s a place for it. There’s a certain thing, just as long as I don’t seek it and yearn for it. I understand that, ’cause I call other people Dr. So and So, and I do it with a clear conscience. But I’m Andy, I’m just a man, I’m just a sinner, saved by God’s grace. You understand that? And so, therefore, I think there’s an appropriate level. Children, I think, need to honor those older. I think there’s a place of honor. I think that has to be taught, but there’s a different theme here, and that is a yearning for these kinds of titles of honor.

III. Christ Commands Humility from His Leaders

Reject Prideful Titles

Instead, humble yourself and make yourself low. Christ then commands humility from his leaders. He’s talking, at this point, to his disciples, and he says, “You are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one master, and you’re all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father and he’s in heaven, nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.”

Remember the Lessons on Greatness

This is just very, very humbling. The bottom line here is we have to learn these lessons of greatness. The greatest among you will be your servant. The one who goes lowly, the one who is mindful of the fact that there’s an infinite gap between the most exalted human being, other than Jesus, I mean, most exalted, and God himself, there’s just an infinite gap.

Fear the Humbling God Threatens

And if you need some humility, then just go stare into the face of God, and go to the cross and stare at the work of Christ on the cross, and get humbled that way, because it says in verse 12, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” We should fear the humbling of God, the inadvertent humbling, you know, the humbling that God does to arrogant, uppity people, we should fear that.

Look what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. You don’t want that happening to you. Seven years as an animal, eating grass. God can do that. Those who walk in pride, he is able to humble, and everything in your life is fair game, material possessions, your health, everything. God can use anything to discipline you if you get prideful. We ought to fear the humbling of God. We ought to instead humble ourselves.

IV. The Consistent Remedy for Pride: Godward Focus

CJ Mahaney’s Definition of Humility

1. J. Mahaney, in the book we’re studying in home fellowship on humility, “Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness.” How about that? Go and see how great God is. Go and see the fact that God created heaven and earth with the word of his power, and sustains all things by his powerful Word. Go there and humble yourself. Go to the cross of Christ and see how Jesus’ blood shed on the cross in three hours atones for the sins of all of God’s people throughout all of time, every tribe, and language, and people, and nation. In one afternoon, he took care of that. That’s humbling, isn’t it? And that’s a good thing. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

V. Applications

So how can we apply this to ourselves? Well, first of all, I think you just need to come, again and again, to the cross of Christ. I have already appealed to you, who are unbelievers here, to do so. We are all, to some degree, hypocrites. We don’t present ourselves honestly. We need to instead come and be humbled.

And we ought to understand true spiritual leadership. True spiritual leaders are going to shun accolades, words of praise. They’re going to do menial tasks of ministry. They’re gonna preach and teach unpopular doctrines, but do so with humility and brokenness, not arrogance and triumphalism, as though they’re proud of being able to preach on such a dangerous theme. They need to persevere in difficult ministries, despite apparent lack of worldly success. They need to speak in humble words and humble tones, praising others and making little of themselves. They need to be good listeners, and they need to be prayer warriors. Alright.

So, church, pray that for your elders. Pray it for me. Pray that that’s the kind of man I would be, because I believe that you need godly spiritual leaders. You need good shepherds, under-shepherds under Christ, who will help you finish the race of salvation, and you need these kind of leaders, not the false kind. Pray that you’d have them. Pray for me that I would be this kind of man that the other elders would be these kinds of men. But while you’re doing it, pray for yourself, because other than the specific roles of leadership and the teaching ministry, and all that, God’s calling these same things from you as well. He wants you to be genuine in who you are, present yourself to be a sinner saved by grace. Be a broken-hearted spiritual beggar who understands that only by the grace of God are you saved.

And one final word, don’t corrupt your elders by fawning, praise and flattery, but don’t stop encouraging us either, okay? So continue to pray for us, encourage us, but pray that God would do that work of humbling in our hearts. Let’s be the kind of church God wants us to be, okay?

These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.

I. Tragic History of Arrogant, Selfish Spiritual Leaders

A.  In the Bible

Ezekiel 34:2-4  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?  ³ You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.  ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

Jesus warns again and again against false spiritual leaders

Matthew 7:15-16  “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them.

The Apostle Paul warned the Ephesian elders about the same thing:

Acts 20:29-31  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  ³¹ So be on your guard!

So also the Apostle Peter:

2 Peter 2:1-3  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them– bringing swift destruction on themselves.  ² Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.

B. In Church History

1. In the Roman Catholic church

After the conversion of Constantine, the church began to take on an institutional feel patterned after the Roman Empire itself;  over time, the bishop of Rome, called “The Pope” rose to assert his supremacy over all other Christians and over the world itself

The culmination of this doctrine of papal supremacy came on November 18, 1302, when the Pope Boniface VIII issued a papal bull in which he argued that the whole world must submit to his authority:

we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff

Medieval Catholicism:  During the last half of the Fifteenth Century the papacy plunged into its darkest period since the Tenth Century. Popes were politically ambitious and, it seems sought for nothing more than the advancement of themselves and their relatives. Some were grossly immoral, flagrantly maintaining mistresses and displaying their illegitimate children. The papacy was procured by bribery. The papal court could rival that of any temporal ruler in its extravagance and luxury. In order to maintain such a court the popes taxed heavily and even sold ecclesiastical offices

·      Pope Julius II, a medieval Emperor riding through the streets of Rome in shining armor

Giuliano della Rovere was elected Pope on November 1, 1503

He fought and intrigued like a worldly prince and was famous for his long and bloody wars. He was constantly in the field leading his army, firmly convinced of the rightness of his frightful battles. He led his Catholic troops into combat dressed in full armor and at one stage was almost captured

One historian of that time remarked that Julius II had nothing of the priest but the name, writing that he was “…a soldier in a cassock; he drank and swore heavily as he led his troops; he was willful, coarse, bad-tempered and difficult to manage. He would ride his horse up the Lateran stairs to his papal bedroom and tether it at the door”

He is acknowledged to have had three or five children while he was a cardinal and was confidently accused by the leading nobles of Rome of unnatural vices

The pope advised his secretary to take three mistresses at one time, “in memory of the Holy Trinity”, and frankly admitted that he loved the title “Warrior of Rome” applied to him by the populace

In the summer of 1508, Julius commissioned Michelangelo to create an array of works for the Vatican. Michelangelo subsequently carved a marble statue of him, and Julius II examined it with a puzzled expression, asking, “What is that under my arm?” “A Bible, your Holiness,” replied Michelangelo. “What do I know of Bibles?” roared the Pope; “I am a warlord; give me a sword instead”

C. In Our Present Day

·               Ministry leaders with private jets and lavish lifestyles

In 2008, World Magazine did an expose on six televangelists whose ministries had invested in private jets

Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth Copeland. Their organizations are among more than 30 churches and Christian ministries with luxury jets

The flight records of Jesse Duplantis allow a glimpse into this jet-setting ministry world. The Louisiana-based televangelist has a shock of silvery-white hair, a Cajun accent, and an exuberant style—in his youth he was a guitarist in heavy metal rock bands—has been preaching since the late 1970s. His current vehicle of choice is a Falcon 50, the only plane in its class with three jet engines.

The Falcon 50 is considered a “super-medium” or “long-range” plane, one able to go almost 3,000 miles between refuelings. When Duplantis bought the plane in 2006, he wrote in his ministry’s magazine that it was an “amazing tool for world evangelism.”

Used “entry level” jets can be found for less than $2 million, while new top-end jets can sell for more than $50 million.

The “fully loaded” costs for these jets (including insurance and depreciation) can easily go over $10,000 per hour, and even for the low-end jets are almost never less than $2,000 per hour. For most owners, that translates to a cost of several million dollars a year, even with minimal usage.

When Jesus first sent out the Twelve Apostles, he said

Matthew 10:9-10  Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts;  ¹⁰ take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

·      Run of the Mill Pride in Spiritual Leaders

o   Pastors can get addicted to “pastoral perks”

o   Most pastors get encouraged by their congregations, “That was a wonderful sermon” etc.  Pastors can get addicted to the praise and start living for it and measuring their effectiveness by human means

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, spoke of how pastors can unwittingly be “storing up treasure on earth”:

Our Lord’s injunction means avoiding anything that centers on this world only. . . . It applies to people who, though they may not be interested in wealth or money at all, are yet interested in other things which are entirely worldly in the last analysis. . . . They cannot be tempted by money, but they can be tempted by status and position. . . . Promotion has done endless harm in the Church of God to men who have been quite honest and sincere, but who have not been on guard against this danger. They have been laying up treasures on earth without knowing it. Their interest has suddenly been moved from that one centre of pleasing God and working for His honor and His glory, and has turned, almost without knowing it, to themselves and their own engagement in the work.

In such ways a man can be laying up treasures on earth, and it is so subtle that even good people can be a man’s greatest enemy. Many a preacher has been ruined by his congregation. Their praise, their encouragement of him as a man, has almost ruined him as a messenger of God, and he has become guilty of laying up treasures on earth. He tends almost unconsciously to be controlled by the desire to have his people’s good opinion and praise, and the moment that happens a man is laying up treasures on earth  [Studies in the Sermon on the Mount,  Section II, p. 82]

o   Pastors can start living for material benefits to ministry… the “Pastoral Parking Space” in the lot, the titles of honor, [in the past Anglican churches use “Right Reverend” and other honorifics

o   Deeper issues of pride in spiritual leaders:  demanding more and more control in church issues, disdaining people who don’t have their level of biblical knowledge, playing the power game in the church

For all these reasons, Jesus Christ spends His final public sermon in Matthew’s Gospel, not on a salvation theme, but on this sober warning against false spiritual leaders, whose arrogance severely damages the people of God

D. Context:  Christ and His Enemies

1. The “Scribes and Pharisees” are the focus of this overpowering diatribe by Jesus

2. Who were they?

a. The Pharisees were a sect of the Jews who were extremely conscientious about keeping every detail of the Law

b. The “scribes” were responsible to copy the Law of Moses by hand

i) They would stand at desks for hours and copy the Scriptures, letter after letter, line after line

ii) They knew the letter of the Law literally backwards and forwards… they counted the letters in a book they were copying, and knew the middle letter of that book;  they would count the letters from the front of the book and from the back and had to arrive perfectly at the middle letter

c. They were trained for several years at the foot of an established scholar in Israel and would become scholars themselves

d. Ezra…the quintessential Scribe

Ezra 7:10  Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra faithfully instructed the Jews who had returned from exile in one amazing day of Bible teaching

So, at their best, the Scribes could have been a tremendous blessing to Israel

The problem came when they became arrogant and selfish and thought they were righteous just because they knew more of the Bible than anyone else

Worst of all, they rejected the Christ who was the CENTER of the Scriptures:

John 5:39-40  You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,  ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

II. Christ Exposes False Spiritual Leaders

A. False Spiritual Leaders Lack Genuine Authority

1. Literally “they have seated themselves in Moses’ seat”

GOD NEVER CALLED THEM TO THIS POSITION

a. They claim to speak for Moses, and they do not

“Who died and made you boss?”

John MacArthur:  “False leaders… lack divine authority in what they say and do.  They are self-appointed ministers of human ideas and traditions, and as they promote their false notions, they obscure God’s truth and pervert God’s righteousness for their own selfish reasons.”  [Commentary on Matthew 23:3]

1. It seems possible Jesus is speaking with bitter sarcasm when He says

Matthew 23:2-3  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  ³ So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.

2. This may be the only way to make sense of all that Jesus has said about the Pharisees and Scribes in other places, and the missile launch He’s about to throw at them in this chapter

In Matthew 15, speaking directly of the Scribes and Pharisees:

Matthew 15:7-9  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  ⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  ⁹ They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'”

a. But I actually think He is saying that, insofar as they rightly teach Moses’ Laws, you ought to follow them

b. But He immediately limits that by exposing their hypocrisy

B. False Spiritual Leaders Lack Integrity (vs. 3)

“…but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”

1. The Scribes and Pharisees here are exposed not for false teaching but for false LIVING

2. Jesus will call them “hypocrites” seven times in this one chapter alone!

a. A hypocrite is an actor, someone who falsely presents themselves to be something they are not

3. They do not “practice what they preach”…

Romans 2:21-23  you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  ²³ You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

4. Those in spiritual authority over God’s people MUST teach rightly and live rightly

1 Timothy 4:16  Watch your life and doctrine closely.

C. False Spiritual Leaders Lack Compassion (vs. 4)

Matthew 23:4  They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

1. Here the Scribes and Pharisees are exposed as cold, uncaring, unfeeling people

a. This is a direct corollary of spiritual pride… they see themselves as spiritual superior to everyone, and have no sympathy for those underneath them

b. But truly converted people recognize one simple fact:  I deserve eternity in hell for my sin, and if I am in the end saved, it will only be because God lavished grace on me!

c. Such a person is a “spiritual beggar” (Matthew 5:3) and thus will not be arrogant toward other beggars

d. Furthermore, they will feel deeply the brokenness of other sinners, and desire to help them

2. “Tie up heavy loads” = binding the conscience with laws no one can keep

a. The Pharisees religion was a relentless machine… absolutely relentless!!

b. Day after day they commanded the people to keep all the minutiae of the Law of Moses, including tithing mint leaves

c. Salvation by works is a burden NO ONE CAN CARRY but a hypocrite, who claims to be keeping all the regulations perfectly

d. Later false teachers would make strict moral laws

i) They would forbid marriage AND forbid sexual immorality (like Roman Catholic monasteries and convents)

ii) Some false teachers would enslave people to financial calls for generosity, relentlessly using guilt manipulation to pry more money out of people

iii) Some “soul-winning” type churches relentlessly drive people in the area of evangelism, as though we are only saved ourselves by how many people we can bring with us

3. They themselves will not lift a finger to help them

a. Cold, unfeeling, judgmental… they stand over the helpless sinners with NO REMEDY AT ALL for their sin

b. They readily consign them to the wrath of God

4. HOW DIFFERENT IS JESUS!!!!

Matthew 11:28-30  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

5. How different was the Apostle Paul

1 Thessalonians 2:7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12  we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,  ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

D. False Spiritual Leaders Lack Faith (vs. 5)

Matthew 23:5  “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long

1. What a damning statement:  “Everything they do is done for men to see…”

a. They really lack FAITH, the ability to live for an invisible God, and His future praise

b. Only by faith can anyone live free from earthly praise, free from earthly success

2. They lack a genuine desire to please God, to live for God, to love God, to store up treasure with God

3. They are spiritual Easu’s, living for THIS LIFE, THIS WORLD

4. This is especially true on the issue of seeking PRAISE FROM MEN, and NOT PRAISE FROM GOD

5. Religiosity is the badge by which they expect to be praised by men

a. Phylacteries were small square boxes made of leather from a ceremonially clean animal

b. After being dyed black, the leather was sewn into a box using twelve stitches, each stitch representing one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel

c. Placed into each phylactery were copies of Exodus 13:1-10 and 11-16 (the Passover Regulations) and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 (the Shema and the reward list, blessings for obedience… each of those four passages stated something like this:

Deuteronomy 11:18  Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

d. The Pharisees took that literally

e. They tied the box to their foreheads by means of leather straps, and wrapped those straps around their arms and hands

f. BUT they also made them as wide as possible, so that the human audience would not fail to see them

6. The tassels on the garments were commanded in Numbers 15 as reminders to remember all the commands of God

7. They were to be a constant reminder for the people of God… so also the phylacteries… but these hypocrites did it for MEN to see… “Look at me!!  Look how holy I am!!  Look how righteous!!!”

8. Consistently in Scripture, praise from men is pitted against praise from God, as if you CAN’T have both

John 5:44  How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?

John 12:42-43  Many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;  ⁴³ for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Romans 2:28-29  A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  ²⁹ No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God

9. Paul rejected living for praise from men… that had been his outstanding goal during his days as a Pharisee… but he learned to seek only praise from God

Galatians 1:10  Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:6  We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

1 Corinthians 4:3-4   I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.  ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

10. Christ commanded a secret religion in which the only audience was GOD

Matthew 6:5-6  “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

E. False Spiritual Leaders Lack Humility (vs. 6-7)

Matthew 23:6-7  they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;  ⁷ they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

1. Pride reeks from everything about them… their one thought is for themselves… they are the center of all their thoughts

2. Part of that is SOCIETAL RECOGNITION… places of honor, seats of honor, greetings of honor, titles of honor

3. Place of honor at banquets:  like the “head table” at a wedding, there would be a pecking order at their banquets… they were happy to sit in those seats of honor and secretly gloated in their prestige

4. Seats of honor at the synagogues:  as in most churches today, synagogues typically had a raised platform in front where the leaders would be seated;  visiting rabbis and dignitaries would be asked to participate by reading Scripture;  these hypocrites delighted in these ceremonies and privileges

5. Greetings in the marketplace:  out in public, even away from the synagogue, they would delight in the honor that came with their office;  their heart attitude is the focus here:  they LOVED this,

6. To have men call them RABBI, a title of honor:  “Supreme one, excellency, most knowledgeable one, great one” etc.

Illus.  One rabbi insisted that he be buried in white garments, because he wanted the world to know how he would appear before God!!!

7. Rabbinical writings laid out a whole system of protocols on how common people should address exalted rabbis

8. According to one passage in the Talmud (the Jewish commentaries on Scripture), it was considered more punishable to act against the words of the Scribes than against the words of Scripture

9. Christ commanded humility above all else

Luke 14:8-11  “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.  ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.  ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.  ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

III. Christ Commands Humility from His Leaders

A. Reject Prideful Titles (vs. 8-10)

Matthew 23:8-10  “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.  ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.  ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.

1. There’s Only One True Master… Christ

a. Don’t ACCEPT exalted titles from others… urge people to see you as you really are, a sinner saved by grace

b. The essential equality of all believers is taught here

c. In our standing before God we are all BROTHERS… complete equals, spiritual beggars who have been invited to a royal banquet

2. There’s Only One True Father… God

a. Don’t exalt someone else in your own mind

b. Don’t think of them as if they were more important than God

c. The gap between ALL humans and God is infinite

d. Which is closer to the sun… a man 6 feet tall or a man 6 feet, one inch tall?  Answer:  it is a ridiculous question… the sun is 93 million miles away from BOTH

3. There’s Only One True Teacher… Christ

a. Again, the issue here is human pride, human exaltation

b. God has given to some people the role of teacher, and it is not wrong to be called a teacher

2 Timothy 1:11  And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

c. But Christ is again looking into the heart, its motives, its goals and aspirations, its pride

d. There is not a single bible teacher in the world worth anything who is not really taught by Christ first… he is merely a table waiter, bringing meals to the people of God cooked by the Master Chef, Christ

B. Remember the Lessons on Greatness

Matthew 23:11  The greatest among you will be your servant.

1. These false spiritual leaders measured greatness by earthly standards

2. Jesus here reminds His own followers concerning true greatness

3. The lesson was captured earlier in Matthew 20, and it bears constant reminders

James and John had asked to sit at Jesus’ right and left hands in the Kingdom:

Matthew 20:25-28   Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–  ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

4. WHO IS THE GREATEST??? It is not the biggest, or smartest, or most successful, or most acclaimed, or most famous, or most anything…  it is the most HUMBLE, the LOWLIEST SERVANT who is the greatest

5. The church deeply needs its leaders to believe this and live it out… the church needs leaders who see themselves as the servants of all

C. Fear the Humbling God Threatens

Matthew 23:12  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

1. People who tout themselves, push themselves forward, proclaim their own achievements, those people God will humble

2. That humbling should be terrifying to all spiritual leaders… for God has the power to abase ANY arrogant man anytime

D. Desire the Exaltation God Promises

1. Conversely every spiritual leader should deeply yearn for the praise that God will give on Judgment Day

2. That is the only accolade that really matters

Well done, good and faithful servant.

IV. The Consistent Remedy for Pride:  Godward Focus

A. CJ Mahaney’s Definition of Humility

1. “Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness.”

2. If anyone is struggling with pride, all we need do is take our sinful selves into the presence of the radiantly holy, perfectly good, infinitely mighty God of the Universe… have His holy eyes search your divided and changeful heart, have His perfect knowledge remind you of all that He’s forgiven in your case… and little by little your pride will shrivel and die

3. Go back into the Scriptures and see the greatness of God

a. The God who created the heavens and the earth in six days by the word of His power

i) Who spoke “Let there be light” and there was light

ii) Who crafted the sky, the sea and the dry land

iii) Who made the earth come alive with vegetation of astonishing variety

iv) Who created the sun, the moon, and the stars

v) Who made the water teem with fish and the filled the air with birds

vi) Who made all the land animals

vii) Who crafted a man and woman in His image—the man from the dust of the earth, the woman from the man’s rib

WHERE IS YOUR PRIDE NOW??

This is the precise way that God humbled Job

b. Or look at God’s achievements in Redemptive History

i) How God destroyed the entire world with a flood, but rescued Noah and his family

ii) How God called Abraham to follow Him, and gave he and Sarah a miracle baby, Isaac, in their old age

iii) How God rescued the Jews from slavery in Egypt with ten plagues, and with the overpowering Red Sea crossing

iv) How God did miracles again and again to establish Israel in the Promised Land, and to deliver them from their enemies

v) How God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, born of a virgin

vi) How Christ did astonishingly great miracles:  the feeding of 5000 men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish;  how He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, stilled the storm, and raised Lazarus from the grave after four days

vii) How Christ atoned for the sins of all of God’s people from all eras of human history in one afternoon

viii) How Christ was raised from the dead on the third day

ix) How Christ ascended to heaven and now sits on the right hand of God Almighty to rule the universe

WHERE IS YOUR PRIDE NOW???

B. John Calvin on a Humbling Vision of God

John Calvin:  “It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”

C. Marks of Humility in Spiritual Leaders

1. 19^th century Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar said he knew a Christian was growing when he talked more of Christ than he did of himself;  according to Bonar, the maturing Christian sees himself growing smaller and smaller until, like the morning star he gives way to the rising sun

2. True spiritual leaders will

a. Shun accolades

b. Do menial tasks of ministry

c. Preach and teach unpopular doctrines

d. Do so with humility and brokenness, not arrogance and triumphalism

e. Persevere in difficult ministries despite apparent lack of worldly success

f. Speak in humble words and humble tones, praising others and making little of themselves

g. Be good listeners

h. Be prayer warriors

D. Disciplines of Humility

Thomas Shepherd, founder and first president of Harvard University, wrote in his diary for November 10, 1642:  “Today I kept a private fast to see the full glory of the gospel and to seek the conquest of the remaining pride in my heart.”

V. Applications

A. Pray for Your Elders

1. Pray that we will develop this kind of humility

2. Pray that we will seek true humility and servant hearts, not merely the appearance of such

3. Pray that we will lose the fear of man and the yearning for human praise

4. Pray that we will live toward God and God alone

5. Pray that we will spend time humbling ourselves in the presence of God

B. Pray all these same things for yourselves

C. Don’t Corrupt Your Elders by Fawning Praise, but Encourage them with genuine biblical encouragements