Jesus called them together and said..”You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you, instead, whoever wants to become greater among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 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.” Matt 20:25-28
It is amazing to me how quickly some pastors ignore one command of God and gravitate to another such as Hebrews 13:17 (“Obey your Leaders and Submit to their Authority”) They love the words obey and submit but yet reject the words of service to Christ and others. They love having the title of pastor but do not want the assigned responsibility of Godly leadership and service. They love taking the scripture 1 chronicles 16:22 (” Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm”) out of context, by using it to manipulate biblical illiterate people. The apostle Peter called all born again believers priests of God. If you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, you too have an anointing, not just the preachers or pastors. There are many preachers and pastors who are Not Born Again and are not Anointed, therefore they have not received the gift of the Holy Spirit, which means this scripture does not apply to them. Yet they will use this scripture if a person questions their character, decisions that they make or their ability to preach, teach and the apply God’s word to their lives.
There have been many people wounded by ignorant, arrogant and disobedient visible church leadership. However, there is a way to prevent this… Know what the word of God instructs and hold leadership accountable: Not accountable to you… but to God and his word. If you do not seek to learn the word of God for yourself you are a great candidate for false prophets and pastors to lead you straight to hell. Hell is the only place a false prophet or pastor has the power to lead his flock. The purpose of this message is to encourage you to seek to know God for yourself through his word and develop a personal intimate relationship with him through his Son Jesus Christ.
Who are you following? God’s obedient pastor or Satan’s fool?
Prayer: Thank You Lord for your word and the gift of the Holy Spirit which leads us into all truth. You have given us your word and your Holy Spirit to help us to descern between the true and the false, Prophet, Pastor,teachers and followers of Jesus Christ. Give us the faith to choose you Lord, (The Truth). It is in the powerful name of Jesus Christ that we pray and give you praise. Amen.
