The Blind Leading the Blind

In Matthew 15 Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for promoting their traditions above God’s Word. The disciples reported to Him that He had offended the Pharisees. Jesus said, “Let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind, and if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (15:14).

Leave them alone? Didn’t He care about their destiny? For the longest time I couldn’t understand why Jesus said to ignore them. Sure, the Pharisees were set in their ways and wouldn’t change, but didn’t Jesus care about all those lost people who were following them? His statement makes it clear that the followers are just as accountable for their actions as the leaders. Even though they saw Jesus perform miracles, the people who followed the Pharisees chose to follow the false leaders.

Multitudes of people in Germany during WWII enthusiastically followed a demon-possessed dictator. Not one of them can say on the Judgment Day, “Lord, how can you blame me for following a dynamic leader? He was so magnetic and produced so many great military leaders. No one dared to question his leadership. I didn’t know that he was wrong.” Many pastors today are emphasizing leadership in church to the point it has become an idol. (If “leadership” were that important, Jesus would have taught us how to be great leaders instead of teaching us how to be servants and slaves of others!)

What can we learn from this? Be extremely careful about the spiritual leader that you choose to follow. Is that person feeding you spiritually or are you starving to death? Some people will follow a pastor who isn’t feeding them spiritually simply because they have been a member of that church for a long time. Is it your goal to become like that leader? Jesus said, “Everyone, after he is fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Life is too short to blindly follow a blind leader. If you aren’t growing closer to Jesus through that person’s ministry, take off your blindfold and find another church.

Some church members will blindly follow a rebellious deacon to overthrow a godly pastor. (See Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:1-3, 31-33). I know of an associate pastor who orchestrated a rebellion against his senior pastor and split the church. The associate pastor led a group of his friends out of the church to start a new church in that town, appointing himself as their pastor. God will not only hold the associate pastor accountable for his rebellion but also the members who chose to blindly follow him.

What about you? Are you blindly following a blind leader? Have the courage to change course if necessary, and follow someone who is living a godly life and teaching the truth of God’s Word. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net

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The Hands of Jesus

Many of the people in Nazareth were astonished by Jesus’ teaching and asked, “How are these miracles performed by His hands?” (Mark 6:2). Here are some of the miracles that came through His hands.

1. Provision through His hands. Have you ever wondered how Jesus turned 5 loaves and 2 fish into enough food to feed over 5,000 people? At some point in time the multiplication had to take place. Mark 6:41 gives us the answer: “He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them.” As the food was passing through His hands it multiplied!

2. Healing through His hands. He touched the leper with His hand and healed him (Matthew 8:3). He laid His hands on a blind man’s eyes and he could see everything clearly (Mark 8:25). He laid His hands on a woman who had been bent over double for 18 years and immediately she stood up straight (Luke 13:13). How was God’s healing power transferred to others to make them well? Through His hands.

3. Salvation through His hands. When the Romans crucified Jesus, they drove nails into His hands. As they did this, the blood He shed purchased salvation for all who will place their trust in Him (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 1:18-19). After He rose from the dead, He showed Thomas the imprint of the nails in His hands and said, “Reach here your finger and see My hands” (John20:27). He will have the nail scars in His hands for all eternity to remind us of what He did to obtain our salvation.

Although Jesus is not physically on earth anymore, His hands can still touch you. He promised to be with us (in Spirit) even until the end of the world (Matt. 28:20). Do you need a touch from God? Call out to Him in faith and those same hands that fed the multitudes, healed the sick, and paid for your sins can still touch you.

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Listen to the song “One Pair of Hands”

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Who will be #1 in Heaven? Part 2

Jesus said the way to become greatest in the next life is by being a humble servant to everyone during your time on earth. You'll view everyone in a higher position and you'll consider it a privilege to joyfully serve them. You'll never get offended when you aren’t appreciated. All glory and thanks goes to God alone. Just do this every moment of every day for the rest of your life and you might be a candidate for #1 in heaven. (I have a sneaking suspicion that the #1 position will go to someone we never heard of). Last week we listed 3 qualifications. Here are 3 more:

4. A “servant of all” is willing to do any job no matter how undignified it may be. 

E. Stanley Jones told a story about a man in India who became a Christian. The man was a Brahmin convert from the upper caste in India. Stanley asked him to clean the latrines, which he had never done before. The Indian man replied, "Brother Stanley, I'm converted, but not that far.” To be the servant of all we must be converted “that far.” No job is beneath you, including cleaning toilets, because you are serving God.

5. A “servant of all” doesn’t seek to be recognized. Many times we want others to compliment and recognize us for what we have done. Jesus said, “He (the master) does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded of you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:9-10).

In case you’re wondering, it’s not wrong to be thanked for your service. If someone serves you, you should show your gratitude by thanking that person. And if you serve others and they thank you, you can humbly and graciously say, “I’m glad I was able to help you.” Keep in mind that we live to please the Lord and one day He will reward us for our service and “each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).

6. A “servant of all” sees everyone as more important. In God’s eyes the homeless man out on the streets is just as valuable as the most admired movie star who lives in a mansion (see Prov. 22:2). Philippians 2:3 says, “With humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.” This does not mean that others are more important than we are, but that we are to regard them as more important. That means that the “servant of all” will not look down on anyone but will look up to those who are considered unimportant by this world’s standards.

Now you know what it means to be “the servant of all.” All that’s left is to put it into practice.

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NEW BIBLE STUDY: Are all sins equal or are there degrees of sin? The answer might surprise you!

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Who will be #1 in Heaven? Part 1

How would you like to be the greatest person in heaven? Before you blurt out "No!" (due to your great humility), let's find the answer in Scripture. It’s not wrong to want to be great—but it needs to be in the next life. Jesus told us how to be #1 in eternity, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:44-45).

If Jesus had told us how to great in this world—how to be a famous actor, a rock star, or a successful athlete—everyone would be scrambling to follow His instructions. But when He tells us the secret of being great forever, we don’t listen to His advice. We don’t care about what will happen in eternity because it seems too far away. But to those who wisely listen, the key to being promoted in the next life will be determined by how well we served in this life. Here are some qualifications for being a “servant of all.”

1. A servant of all has a heart of humility. Servanthood requires humility. Proud servants don’t exist in God’s kingdom. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). A humble person cannot be humiliated, no matter how undignified the job may be. Elisabeth Elliot said, “The best way to find out whether or not you really have a servant’s heart is to see what your reaction is when somebody treats you like one.”

2. A servant of all will cheerfully serve in every job. Being a servant of all doesn’t mean you have to quit your profession and take a minimum wage job. Some people serve in lowly positions but still have a proud heart, while others serve God in high positions with a humble servant’s heart. You can have a servant’s heart even if you are a CEO or President of the United States, but you will also cheerfully serve in menial tasks as well.

3. A servant of all always views God as the boss. The apostle Paul said, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather from men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (Col. 3:23-24) If you are a servant of all, you will always do your work to please the Lord. God promises to reward you in the next life for your cheerful service.

To be continued…

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Listen to Song of the Month (with lyrics) "Sovereign Over Us"

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Why did Jesus say, "TRULY I say to you"?

Have you ever wondered why Jesus said, “TRULY I say to you”? (KJV says “Verily”). He always told the truth and He even called Himself “the Truth” (John 14:6), so why would He need to say “Truly I say to you”? He said it because He wanted the listeners to grasp the significance of the statement they were about to hear. To paraphrase Him: “What I am about to tell you might be hard to believe, but it really is true!” Although He repeated the phrase “Truly I say to you” many times, here are three hard-to-believe statements that Jesus said were true.  

1. A mountain can be cast into the sea by speaking to it. Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him” (Mark 11:23). Jesus chose the most ridiculous example we could ever imagine to assure us that humanly impossible situations are possible with God.

2. A secret act of worship would be known around the world. (This would be done without the means of TV or the Internet.) After Mary poured costly perfume on Jesus’ head, He said, “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13). Although this seemed impossible to everyone who heard Him say it, what she did is recorded in the Scriptures that have gone all over the world.

3. An offering of two copper coins was worth more than all the other contributions combined. After a poor widow put her last two coins into the treasury box, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury” (Mark 12:43). This shows that our sacrificial offerings can be huge gifts from God's point of view, even if they appear insignificant in man’s eyes.

Faith is thinking like God thinks. Jesus had to keep repeating the phrase “Truly I say to you” because God sees things very differently than we do. Our faith must not rest upon human reasoning but on what God has revealed as truth, which requires us to think outside the box. Do you need to make any adjustments about what you believe? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  

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Lessons from Cain, Balaam and Korah

Jude, who was the half-brother of Jesus, warned us about three ways that worship can be corrupted. He wrote, “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude 11).  

1. The Way of Cain (Worshiping apathetically)  Cain was the first religionist and didn’t understand how to worship God correctly. Cain went through the motions of worship but didn’t have true faith in God (Heb. 11:4). He didn’t live righteously like Abel but was evil in his behavior. First John 3:12 says, “…Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” Cain represents the person who regularly attends church and goes through the motions of worship, but his heart isn’t right with God and lives an unholy life.

2. The Error of Balaam (Misusing authority for financial gain)  Balaam was a prophet who tried to use his prophetic gift for personal financial gain. He compromised his integrity because he “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). Balaam was so despicable to God that he is mentioned in eight different books of the Bible (Numbers 22, Deut. 23:4-5, Josh. 24:9-10, Neh. 13:2, Mic. 6:5, 2 Pet. 2:15, Jude 1:11, Rev. 2:14). Balaam represents deceptive pastors, evangelists, and ministers who use their positions of authority to manipulate their congregations to gain personal wealth. God will expose their motives on the Day of Judgment.

3. The Rebellion of Korah (Usurping godly authority)  Korah led a rebellion against God’s leader Moses, who was the most humble man on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3). He wanted to overthrow Moses as leader because he refused to submit to godly authority (Numbers 16). Korah represents rebellious church members who try to overthrow godly pastors and force them out of the church. This is a very serious sin and will bring harsh punishment from God. 

Make sure that you stay away from these three traps and worship God in Spirit and truth (John 4:24). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  

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NEW SERMON--Jonah Part 4, “The Pity Party” by Kent Crockett 

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Every Marriage Needs Four Things

A party was thrown in honor of a couple’s 50^th wedding anniversary. The husband wanted to honor his wife, who was hard of hearing. In the presence of all, he said, “My dear wife, after fifty years I’ve found you tried and true!” 

Everyone clapped but his wife looked bothered. She loudly asked, “WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

He spoke louder, “After fifty years of being married I’ve found you tried and true!” 

The upset wife shouted back, “And after fifty years of marriage I’m tired of you, too!” Four things will keep you from getting tired of your spouse and will insure a happy marriage.

1. Commitment—holds your marriage together. A marriage is only as strong as the husband’s and wife’s commitment to the Lord. If your spouse is faithful to the Lord, he or she will also be faithful to you. A study on marriage revealed that the divorce rate for a married couple who attended church every week, regularly read the Bible, and prayed together at least once a day was 1 in 1,015.

2. Caring—keeps the love alive. If your marriage has lost its love, the Lord can resurrect it because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He will show you what to do because we are “taught by God to love one another” (1 Thess. 4:9).

3. Compromise—minimizes your differences. Compromise doesn’t mean that you violate your integrity but that you negotiate your differences and come to an agreement. “Do not merely look out for your own interests but also for the interest of others” (Phil. 2:4). My wife and I used to argue about where to set the thermostat in the house. I like it 76 degrees and she wants it 72 degrees. We agreed to set the thermostat at 74 degrees. End of argument. If you are arguing about issues, figure out how to meet in the middle and quit fighting about it.

4. Communication—makes marriage run smoothly. Communication stops when yelling begins. If a husband and wife don’t enjoy talking to each other, they will drift apart and the marriage will slowly die. Learn to talk positively about what interests your spouse.  

It will take both spouses doing these four things to make your marriage work, but change usually starts with one spouse taking the initiative. You make the first move and let God deal with your spouse.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net 

Thank you to all who support this discipleship ministry. 

Contributions to Making Life Count Ministries are tax-deductible.