Quick Note – Leviticus 26:11-12 – This Greatest Blessing

Leviticus 26:11-12 – “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

A few years back I watched Gone with the Wind, one of the all-time greatest movies to ever be made.  This movie is on the top 100 lists of movies that people should watch before they die of so many different lists that it isn’t even funny.  This three-four hour movie was released in 1939 and starred both Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable, two of the greatest actors/actresses during that time, and some would argue of all time.  The movie is centered on the life of Scarlett O’Hara, a Southern belle who had fallen madly in love with a man named Ashley Wilkes.  Unfortunately for her, Ashley was already happily married with another woman.  Scarlett would then get into a total of three different marriages (since her husbands would die one after the other) all the while still loving Ashley.  Her third marriage was to a man named Rhett Butler who actually loved her dearly, but instead of returning that love, she still constantly had her eyes on the married Ashley (who really did not love her).  Of course, like any normal man, this type of behavior, led to jealously, and Rhett, unable to take it any longer, left just as Scarlett realized her mistake and called back to him to return.  But by that time, it was too late, the damage had been done, and Rhett was already gone.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)).  Scarlett had spent her whole life longing for the one thing that she couldn’t have and didn’t realize the blessing she had right in front of her.  She is a perfect example of how many people today, especially Christians, get caught up chasing after the temporary things of this world while forgetting the greatest blessing they could ever have right in front of them – the presence of the LORD.  In our passage today, God reminded the people of Israel that one of the greatest blessings they could have was His presence in their lives.

In Leviticus 26, the Lord presented the people of Israel with a choice to obey Him and reap the multiple blessings He had in store for them (vs. 3-13) or disobey Him and reap the curses (vs. 14-39).  The numerous blessings ranged from bountiful harvests to victory over enemies to multiple children to protection.  There is clearly no doubt that these were blessings that any nation would desire, especially a one that was about to enter the Promised Land.  But interestingly, God did not stop this list at material blessings but extended it to something even more valuable – the spiritual blessing of having His presence in their lives.  In vss. 11-12, He finishes the list of blessings with this statement, “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.  And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”  God would dwell among them.  Imagine that, having the presence of God before you all the time – watching over you, guiding you, comforting you, and even just being there with you.  Imagine the security you would feel, the love you would feel, the power you would feel just knowing that you were backed by the God of the universe.  And even more than that, they would be considered His people, not just a random object, but His treasured possession.  He would also be their God, a personal God; the Creator and God of the Universe, Yes! but also one intimately associated with them.  That last blessing was actually the best and most important one, as demonstrated by Moses’ statement in Exodus 33:15, “And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.’”  This happened right after the people had worshipped the golden calf (Exodus 32), and God let them know that instead of Him personally guiding them, He would instead send an angel.  They would still be given the protection and guidance, just not His direct presence any longer.  But Moses knew that what set the people of Israel apart was not just a ton of blessings from God, but it was His presence among them, and he would not let it go.  He begged Him for it, and God went with them.

As Christians, we have been promised God’s presence in our lives.  We find it throughout Scripture from the end of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:20, “…and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” to the promise of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”  It is even found in other passages like Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  God has promised His presence in our lives.  But it is sad to see, that many Christians do not hold this blessing dear and instead continue to vie for the things of this world.  They long for more money, nicer houses, better careers, and even on the spiritual side, a growing ministry.  They live their lives as if they are still empty and missing something, when the greatest blessing has already been given to them – God’s presence.  They are covetous of the world and all its material blessings, when they have a personal relationship with the Lord of the whole universe.  Let us take heed of this great blessing we have and obey, for God will not tolerate sin His presence; therefore, we must follow Him and live in a way that will glorify Him.  The relationship we have with Him must be treasured like the incomparable gift it is.  Rejoice and be content that you have this greatest blessing.

Matthew 23:29-36 – The Eighth Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:29-36 – “29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

In the lab where I work, I have a co-worker who I constantly pestered about eating in the lab.  It is not that she would eat in the actual place where we performed experiments because that would certainly be a safety hazard, but she would sneak in a bite or two of candy in the office space right next to the lab, the office space where our computer stations are which has no separation from the bench space where we do the experiments.  I would tell her over and over, “Don’t eat in the lab!” but she would still do it.  One day, she got really annoyed (or at least that’s what I think) and called me out for being a hypocrite, because I would tell her not to eat in the lab but I would drink water from my water bottle in that same desk area.  Her poignant words definitely hurt, but they forced me to reevaluate what I was doing and switch my practices.  From now on, I place my water bottle in a designated area outside of the lab so that I wouldn’t be a hypocrite, although occasionally, I will still take a sip from it in that same desk area before I take it over there (if I am being lazy).  Nonetheless, that day taught me a simple but important lesson, I need to do as I ask people to do, and I should never judge another person for something I am also doing.  Often, we like to judge other people, when we clearly have some issues in our life that need correcting first.  Why do you think Christ made it a point to tell His disciples to first take the log (like a giant tree log) out of their eyes before trying to take the mote (a speck) out of another’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5)?  In a way, by asking us to examine our own hearts before passing judgment on others, He was guarding our hearts against hypocrisy.

The eighth and last woe to the Pharisees that Christ spoke in Matthew 23 focused on this final act of hypocrisy – they would judge a person for the same act they were doing.  These religious leaders thought of themselves as more holy than their fathers, who condemned instead of listened to the prophets of old (i.e. Jeremiah).  They acted like they would do differently by building beautiful tombs and monuments to these prophets, but in reality, they were just like their fathers unwilling to listen to the truth and ready to condemn a prophet of God.  Jesus Christ called them out on their hypocrisy and reprimanded them for pretending to be anything more than the unrepentant, unhearing people they were.  In reality, they were even worse than their fathers, because their fathers rejected the prophets but they rejected the Messiah Himself.  They said that they would have listened, yet they put Christ on the cross and eventually would persecute those who would carry the message of the Gospel, the disciples.  They would do exactly what vs. 34 states, “…Some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.”  Just look at Saul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, who actually went from town to town to persecute Christians until he met Christ on the road to Damascus and became Paul.  Look at what they did with Christ’s resurrection, as they tried to cover up the fact of His resurrection by blaming the disciples for “taking the body” something they clearly didn’t do (Matthew 28:11-15); this ultimate sign of His Godship was rejected by them.  These Pharisees although they acted like they would listen and obey God’s Word were actually just like their fathers – a brood of vipers that were hard of heart.

There are many people today who are just like the Pharisees, stating that they would listen to God if He revealed Himself yet still continue to utterly reject Him when He does.  They say that if God would provide and protect them, then they would follow Him; but they refuse to acknowledge His hand watching over them each day and giving them life.  They say that if God would make Himself known, they would follow Him; but they refuse to trust in His Word, the Bible, God’s revelation of Himself to us.  They say that if God would show them His love and compassion, they would love Him in return; but they refuse to see His love on the cross as He poured out His blood for us.  Like the Pharisees, they pretend to desire God, but they are just a brood of vipers who will continue to refuse the Gospel.  To these people, Christ calls us to dust off our feet and move on, for there are people around the world who desire to hear the Gospel who have yet to hear it.  In the same boat are many Christians, who say that if God would speak to them about a certain issue they would obey.  It could be about getting rid of some idols in their lives or finding new friends or becoming more active in ministry – whatever the situation, they say they will obey God when He speaks.  But when He speaks through His Word or His Spirit or His people, they just chock it up to a wrong interpretation and ignore it.  Like the Pharisees, they pretend that they will obey, when they actually just want to rule their own lives and yet appear holy.  What is funny is that these people actually have the nerve to judge others for disobeying as well.  That is complete hypocrisy.  As Christians, we must seek Christ with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths – that means a fully committed obedient heart which will obey no matter what.  It is a heart that does not seek to condemn others but to encourage them to pursue Christ too.  It is a heart that not only feels but turns those feelings into actions.  Let us not only speak about our obedience to God but actually obey.

Matthew 23:25-28 – The Sixth and Seventh Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:25-28 – “25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

I have never worked at a restaurant, but I have been told one of the hardest things to do as a waiter/waitress is to put a smile on your face and pretend you are happy when everything in your life is literally crumbling.  I can imagine the difficulty of putting on that mask as your heart is tearing at you from the inside out, for I had a similar ordeal when my parents left me in Maryland for my internship.  That day I had to go into this new workplace with people I did not know, pretending that everything was okay, when my heart was longing to go home with them.  I tried as hard as I could to hold back my tears, but when they called to tell me they were boarding the plane and would see me in a few months, my heart broke and those tears flowed.  Fortunately, I was able to muster a little decorum and get back to work, but I wouldn’t doubt if all my colleagues knew that I had just been crying.  It was hard to put on that mask of happiness when my whole world was changing.  I am definitely not good at putting on a mask, because I am a person who wears his heart on his sleeve.

The thing is though most people are actually pretty good at putting on masks in front of other people.  Just look at all the celebrities who appear to have their lives all together but are struggling with depression and other mental issues.  No one would suspect any of that just by looking at how they are in public.  Take an example from reality shows like “The Bachelor” where some girls put on a mask of kindness, care, and love in front of the guy but then when he isn’t looking lash out at all the girls.  Look at all the politicians who say they are for defending your rights and helping people but are just in there to make the biggest buck.  It’s just a mask.  They look one way in front of one group of people and another in front of another group.  It is all a lie.  If only we could see what a person was really feeling on the inside, what they were really thinking, what they were really dealing with, then maybe we could actually know the person.  For what we see outside means nothing; what matters is the heart.

Jesus’ sixth and seventh woe to the Pharisees focused on this exact issue – the Pharisees appeared righteous, clean, and pure on the outside, but they were actually devils in their hearts.  They looked good but were full of “hypocrisy and lawlessness.”  We must remember that the Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day; people looked up to them to understand and teach the law.  They were held with great esteem and were likely treated the same way society treats actors and actresses today.  Nobody would have thought of them as filled with wicked thoughts and motives, when they seemed to uphold all the laws and traditions.  Christ rebuked them for this hypocrisy twice in these two woes, using different metaphors to help them get the picture.  In the sixth woe, He compared them to what appeared to be a clean cup and plate on the outside but were filled with unwashed filth on the inside.  He rightly accused them of being filled with greed and self-indulgence, for all they were concerned about was their wealth and power.  They cared nothing for the people.  They faked like they cared by creating additional laws to prevent people from breaking God’s laws, but they were really just placing burdens on them that they did not intend to keep either.  They acted like they wanted to find the Messiah, but they would rather reject Him if it meant power for them.  They acted like they loved the law but did not follow its foundation.  Just look at all the times in the Gospels that they would compromise the law to fulfill their evil deeds.  They would look for false prophets to accuse Jesus when it is clear that they should not bear false witness against their neighbors.  They would try to trick the Lord into entrapping Himself (which they never could do), which they knew was wrong.  They even took a part in putting the Lord on the cross, making them an accessory to murder if not the actual perpetrators, since they planned it.  They were appearing clean, when they were actually filled with filth.  They cleaned the outside appearance, but the heart was wicked.  The seventh woe compared them to white washed tombs, which appear clean and beautiful when looking outside but are filled with dead men’s bones inside.  According to Jewish law, being around the dead, would make you unclean; therefore, when Christ said this woe, He was basically letting them know that just like a tomb, they looked beautiful on the outside (We can all agree that some cemeteries look beautiful.) but were only filled with the dead and unclean inside.  To help you better picture this, think about the Taj Mahal; it is a beautiful piece of architecture, but it actually is a mausoleum for a king’s dead queen.  These Pharisees did a great job of appearing righteous, but their hearts were filled with wickedness, which Christ called them on by calling them hypocrites.

Although living righteously through our actions and examples are very important, what is more important is our heart behind it.  It matters nothing if all we are trying to do is use righteousness as a ruse to gain power or fame.  If all we want is to gain the attention and praise of people, then it is nothing but wickedness, deception, and hypocrisy.  Christ came not to teach us to live holy lives but to make us holy.  He did not come just to set an example but to change our hearts so we cannot help but be that example.  He did not come to give us new laws but to make us new creatures.  Unlike the Pharisees, who had to constantly try to upkeep their mask of righteousness in order to hide their truly wicked hearts, we as disciples of Christ have been given new hearts that are overflowing with Christ’s love and Spirit.  Yes, we must live for Him.  Yes, we must be wary of the example we put out in front of people.  Yes, we must do all these things.  But, first and foremost, we must make sure our hearts are right with God, for we can do all these actions, but if we have no relationship with Him, it means nothing.  But if we do have a thriving, growing relationship with Him, those fruits cannot help but come out.  Christ did not rebuke the Pharisees for being clean outside but for not being clean inside.  He wanted them to not only live righteously but be righteous.  As Christians, we must always examine our hearts and make sure that it is in the right place with our Lord.  That all begins with the acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior (for only He can make a heart clean) and moves into discipleship, growth, and Bible reading and prayer.  There is nothing worse than being a white-washed tomb or a semi-clean cup, for those are still dirty; so let us not only live righteously to be seen by men, but because we cannot help but do so due to what Christ has done in us.

Matthew 23:16-24 – The Fourth and Fifth Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:16-24 – “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”

I have been working at my current job as a lab assistant in a biological research lab for almost a year and a half.  At the start, I was quite hesitant to speak out and give my opinion on anything from lab safety to how a specific experiment should be run.  But as I spent more time there, developed my skills, and gained confidence in my abilities, I began to assert myself a little bit more and more, until finally, I acted almost like a pseudo-lab manager, handling the safety of the lab while taking a more involved role in planning and executing my experiments.  The only problem with that is that I had a tendency to “sweat the small stuff” or in other words, blow small things out of proportion.  This tendency to focus on the nuances rather than important issues gave me problems not only in my experiments but my relationships with my colleagues.  It messed up my experiments because it slowed down my work efficiency, for I was “too careful” with things that I often did not accomplish all that I set out to do, just because I was being “too careful” and in reality slow.  It also messed up my relationships with my colleagues because it turned me into an irritant who constantly gave them trouble over things that literally didn’t matter much but were “rules” for the lab.  I lost sight of the big picture of general lab safety and achieving the lab goals and got caught up in little insignificant details.

The fourth and fifth woe that Christ mentioned to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 focused on this exact issue – the Pharisees got caught up in the little details and forgot the overall goal of drawing people closer to God.  The fourth woe is found in vs. 16-22 and focused on the specific action of making oaths; people in that day did the same things we do now they swear by various things to indicate the seriousness of their oaths.  At that time, the Pharisees gave value to certain oaths and not to others; if the oath was by the gold in the temple or by a sacrifice given in the temple, then it was a serious oath, but if the person swore by the temple or by the altar by which the sacrifice would be given then it could be ignored.  They gave value to the gold and the sacrifice because it was holy but did not even consider that the things that made them holy were the altar and the temple.  Jesus rebuked them for this wrong placement of importance and corrected their viewpoint on oaths, reminding them that if they swore to anything in the temple then they were swearing by the One who dwells in it, and if they were swearing by heaven, they were doing the same as swearing by God, for heaven was His throne.  He was trying to help them realize that an oath is serious no matter what it was sworn by and should never be taken lightly.  Just look at how Christ’s words on oaths in Matthew 5:33-37, “33 ‘Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply “Yes” or “No”; anything more than this comes from evil.’”  Oaths if it could be avoided were not supposed to be taken.  The religious leaders lost sight of this and instead gave different weights to different oaths, a big mistake.  They got caught up in the details of oath keeping and lost sight that all oaths should never been taken lightly.  They looked to the sacrifices and money instead of to God and ended up placing glory and honor on the wrong things.  They missed the big picture.

The second woe the Lord directed at them dealt with the weight that they had given to tithes and offerings while ignoring the parts of the law that involved justice, mercy, and faithfulness (vs. 23).  Because they were so enamored with money and offerings and tithes, they forgot to focus on more important matters like showing God’s love and care for people and teaching God’s laws.  All they cared about was what they could use to line their pockets.  They forgot what Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15:22, “…To obey is better than sacrifice…”  Instead of teaching God’s laws to the people so that they could have a closer relationship with Him, they used it to gain power and money for themselves.  They basically turned the laws of God into burdens for the people instead of instructions and guidance for life.  Christ once again rebuked the religious leaders for missing the more important points; it was not that tithes and offerings were not important but that they had ignored the more important parts of the law about loving God and loving people.  They sweat the small stuff and lost sight of what was more important.  Christ summed both these woes up in vs. 24, “You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”  He was basically letting them know that they were trying to fish out something so small while allowing big things to get away from them.  It is like trying to remove a fly from a pool when an elephant is sitting in it.  They were sweating something so small when they needed to concentrate on the big problem right in front of them, the attitude of their hearts.

We as Christians can easily get caught up in the little things and lose sight of the more important things, especially when we have been invested in the faith for a long time.  Just look at how so many of us are invested in our traditions instead of the Word of God; sometimes, we have even lost sight of why we do certain things and just do it because it is the way things have always been done.  We need to remember that the Christian walk is not about a bunch of Do’s and Don’t’s but having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  This is what we must emphasize when we disciple another person.  It is not to say that these things are not important but that they are less important than the weightier matters that the Lord places before us.  The Lord is not looking for more tithes and offerings from us.  He is not looking for us to sacrifice a bunch of our things.  He is not looking for the little additional rules we add to help prevent people from even coming close to sinning.  No!  God simply wants His disciples “to do justice, and to love kindness [mercy], and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).  We should never lose sight of this lest we become consumed with things of little importance.  To avoid that fourth woe, remember who God is and place Him first, nothing else; nothing else should ever be raised to His level and glory.  To avoid that fifth woe, remember Micah 6:8.  Let’s stop sweating the small things and start focusing on God.

Matthew 23:15 – The Third Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:15 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”

When I was in junior high, I took debate as a class during my elective hour.  In this class, I was taught to eloquently defend my viewpoints by providing well-thought out arguments that proved the statements I was making.  Although I managed to get an A in the class, I wasn’t very good at it, for I did not understand how to logically defend my points while rebutting my opponent’s.  I thought that all I needed to do was find some ideas off of the Internet that would defend my case and put it together in a three to five minute speech.  But of course, with that attitude, I certainly didn’t win much of my debates, because I did not make the arguments my own; instead, I would just borrow and rehash some unfounded research.  I would not listen to the counter arguments very carefully, and I certainly had no way of responding back well, for I had not thought about what I was saying, I was just playing a record of someone else’s ideas.  If I had identified with whatever the issue was, turning a removed idea into a personal belief, then I would have certainly defended it with more rigor and care.

We can all attest to how passionately we will defend our beliefs/opinions no matter how trivial they may be.  There are times when we have almost thrown friendships away just because we don’t agree on a favorite movie or song or political candidate.  We will fight and fight until our “opponent” submits and admits that we are right and he is wrong.  This is even true in the church, for there are many denominational and “non-denominational” churches that will not even recognize another church that does not agree with every one of its “rules.”  Be careful to notice that I did not write the word doctrines, which should not be compromised but “rules” like how to handle church government or how communion is taken.  Occasionally, we even take our opinions and assumptions and turn them into doctrines like with the idea of the Rapture.  Some people believe that it happens after the Tribulation, others believe it happens before, and some believe it happens during.  Although we still don’t know which it will be for sure, some people will not move on the issue, holding to their own beliefs and treating anyone who disagrees with them as heretics.  There are issues with which version of the Bible to use to the point where some people say that if you don’t use a specific version then you aren’t a Christian.  These are all interesting things to discuss and talk about but should never be a point of contention in which we cause division in the church.  For the focus for all of us should simply be Jesus Christ and salvation coming from Him and Him alone.  Everything else is just toppings on the cake.  Sadly, too many Christians are too busy trying to make people converts of their opinions instead of disciples of Jesus Christ.

This third woe that the Lord spoke to the Pharisees was to address this hypocritical attitude that the Pharisees carried.  They were supposed to be the religious leaders of the day, teaching and encouraging the people to follow the Lord; but instead of doing that, they tried to convince people to follow them.  They wanted to create disciples of their beliefs not the Lord’s.  They were more concerned about creating proselytes of their opinion not the Lord’s laws.  Jesus reprimanded these religious leaders for losing sight of what they were supposed to do and getting caught up in their own pride, for it was pride that got them more interested in creating followers of them.  At that time, young students would flock to great religious leaders to learn from them.  They would sit under their teaching, follow them around, and serve in hopes that one day they would be able to take that same position.  This system led to many religious leaders becoming more concerned about getting more of their own students than teaching God’s laws.  Then those students who climbed up would follow that tradition and keep on escalating this new sect instead of lifting up the name of God.  Eventually, they formed groups like Pharisees and Sadducees and Herodians.  They became followers of tradition than God.  Christ at one point even said, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3).  They were more concerned about washing hands and following their additional laws and keeping their traditions than teaching people how to have a relationship with God.  It became about them not God.

We as disciples of Jesus Christ must take a note from this passage and watch our own hearts when we make disciples, for we can easily get caught up trying to create converts of our own opinion instead of followers of God.  We must always remember to point people to Jesus Christ not ourselves, especially when we are involved with more public roles of ministry.  Paul made it a point to preach nothing else but Christ crucified.  He kept his speech from beautiful oratory, so that people will look to Christ not to himself.  That is not to say that we should not speak well, but that we must keep in mind that our goal is to glorify God not ourselves.  If people are starting to follow you instead of Christ, then you need to step back and let God have the limelight.  Let us seek to lift up the name of Christ not our own, lest we be found creating proselytes instead of disciples.