WHO AMONG US IS THE GREATEST?
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
" Who among us is the greatest?" This is one of the questions that the disciples were not only debating among themselves but which they asked of Jesus personally. Mark 9: 33-35 " And He came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, what was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace for they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And He sat down and called the twelve, and said unto them, "if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and the servant of all."
It was then that Jesus took a small child who was there with them and said whosoever receive a small child in my name receives me. There are accounts in scripture that show that even those who were thought of then as the first among the Apostles were not necessarily so in God's eyes from the continued disputes found in scripture like in Galatians 2: 11-24 where Paul had to deal with Peter snubbing the Gentiles while eating with the Jews. In Christ own words Matthew 5:23-24 a statement is made about reconciliation being so important that it should b =e done before we do any kind of service to our God. This is so important to Christ that it is mentioned again in His directives on church discipline in Matthew 18:15-20. Again in Matthew 23:11-12 " But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted."
There is so much that can be said about the concepts that Christ gives us here in the development of our trust in people who fit into these guidelines, and it all comes down to our personal experiences we have had with those teachers and leaders whom we follow spiritually. The accolades and praises that given to these people by the ministries that surround them; do they come from the many people who have personally seen God at work in them or is it a manufactured kind of attitude that others simply follow along with because of what is visually going on and being promoted by the ministry? We can tell right away about the walk of those who are close to God because of the intimate drawing of the soul to Christ instead of in support to the public ministry involved. Do we see the direct teaching ministry of Christ in the individual or to do we see a popular theme develop for the masses to cling to in a false hope of an ideal or philosophy becoming the answer for their life?
The true teachings of Christ do not come from what looks smart or what the world around us embraces, but from the personal experiences that we have with these leaders in the teachings of Christ. We may feel good with some of these people for a time, and as long as it is easy to believe in what they are saying, but when it comes our time to put these teachings into effect in our lives much time the well of living water from Christ Himself is not to be found. Even those who are most sincere can be sincerely wrong unless they have the power of God's complete good news as their basic foundation. After that we need to watch carefully what the materials are that we use to build our lives upon; for they should be from the very best we have to offer God and not from the materials we have that are left unused and laying around us. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
" Who among us is the greatest?" This is one of the questions that the disciples were not only debating among themselves but which they asked of Jesus personally. Mark 9: 33-35 " And He came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, what was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace for they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And He sat down and called the twelve, and said unto them, "if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and the servant of all."
It was then that Jesus took a small child who was there with them and said whosoever receive a small child in my name receives me. There are accounts in scripture that show that even those who were thought of then as the first among the Apostles were not necessarily so in God's eyes from the continued disputes found in scripture like in Galatians 2: 11-24 where Paul had to deal with Peter snubbing the Gentiles while eating with the Jews. In Christ own words Matthew 5:23-24 a statement is made about reconciliation being so important that it should b =e done before we do any kind of service to our God. This is so important to Christ that it is mentioned again in His directives on church discipline in Matthew 18:15-20. Again in Matthew 23:11-12 " But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted."
There is so much that can be said about the concepts that Christ gives us here in the development of our trust in people who fit into these guidelines, and it all comes down to our personal experiences we have had with those teachers and leaders whom we follow spiritually. The accolades and praises that given to these people by the ministries that surround them; do they come from the many people who have personally seen God at work in them or is it a manufactured kind of attitude that others simply follow along with because of what is visually going on and being promoted by the ministry? We can tell right away about the walk of those who are close to God because of the intimate drawing of the soul to Christ instead of in support to the public ministry involved. Do we see the direct teaching ministry of Christ in the individual or to do we see a popular theme develop for the masses to cling to in a false hope of an ideal or philosophy becoming the answer for their life?
The true teachings of Christ do not come from what looks smart or what the world around us embraces, but from the personal experiences that we have with these leaders in the teachings of Christ. We may feel good with some of these people for a time, and as long as it is easy to believe in what they are saying, but when it comes our time to put these teachings into effect in our lives much time the well of living water from Christ Himself is not to be found. Even those who are most sincere can be sincerely wrong unless they have the power of God's complete good news as their basic foundation. After that we need to watch carefully what the materials are that we use to build our lives upon; for they should be from the very best we have to offer God and not from the materials we have that are left unused and laying around us. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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