Entitlement.

In the Bible there are a group of people that get a lot of bad press called the Pharisees. The Pharisees where a group of people who were charged with the protection of the Jewish faith and were some of the most important people in society at the time. If you know much about ancient history you know that the Jewish people have been through a lot. They have been killed, enslaved, ruled over, transplanted, relocated, and the cycle has repeated several times.

The Pharisees were formed as a kind of natural backlash to all the outside influences they felt were poisoning their culture. After all, it was mostly the fault of the leadership turning to other gods or allying themselves with people who were not righteous.

Many times God would command His people to purge themselves of these outside peoples in order to keep His people holy and dedicated to Him. In the Bible this usually doesn't go well for the Jewish people and for whatever disobedience transpired God would turn the Jewish people over to what they wanted. This of course would lead to the cycle I mentioned earlier.

This is why to me it's strange that this would be the time that God sends His Son to tell the Pharisees; a people who have been entrusted with the protection of the Jewish culture, that they are hypocrites. Jesus goes so far as to tell them that prostitutes and tax collectors will enter the Kingdom of God before them, if they even get in at all.

This of course was extremely offensive because Jesus was showing the true nature of these religious people. He was uncovering them and showing everyone what they were really about. They were about being seen. They were about looking good, dressing up and giving money. They were about keeping the Law on the outside. They were about going to Temple every Sabbath. They were about tradition. They were focused on the outside, while on the inside they were dead.

The Pharisees had an obvious problem, they felt entitled to all that God had promised them. They were Jews and descendants of Abraham. How could they not feel that God was on their side? They had the Law of Moses, they were a people chosen by God Himself to be set apart and they would receive salvation.

However, somewhere along the way they had lost focus on what was most important and became more concerned with Religious practice than the Will of God. This I fear is the fate of many Churches.

We have seen God do some pretty incredible things and I believe God wants to give us even greater. But here is the problem, some of us can start to feel entitled. You may have been serving in a certain ministry for years and it's slipping out of your control. You may be a regular Church attender and feel that this gives you certain privileges. You may tithe regularly and think you deserve a ministry that fits your style. You may be a Sunday School teacher and think that you are the only one who can teach your class. You may be a Christian who hasn't given your all to God ever.

These ministry positions we hold and the leadership positions God has given us do not belong to us, and they are always temporary. When Gods Vision is no longer out front leading and guiding us the end is near. When the way we did ministry trumps what is effective, the end is near. When we look for reasons to not help our neighbor the end is near. When we think God needs us, the end is near.

This is a warning. God will give us over to our desires. He will let our ministry become about our entitlement and not about His Glory. He will spew our lives from His mouth and find us unfit for Kingdom work. Why? Because when we become more concerned with our Doctrine than we are with loving people we have become the Sons of Hell. When Doctrine trumps loving our Neighbor, the end is near.

If you don't agree with this you may need to read the Bible. Jesus said this to the Pharisees in the book of Matthew 21:43-44

Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the Kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.

Have you ever been to a Church like this? Have you ever been to a Church where it just felt dead? Have you ever been to a Church that felt like God held no presence there? Maybe God decided to take His Kingdom to another Church that was reaching the lost. Perhaps God can remove His Kingdom and all that's left is a building and a people gathering every Sunday.

Just because we meet every Sunday for Church doesn't make us the Kingdom. Just because we pray and take communion doesn't mean we are the Kingdom. Just because we have a worship band doesn't mean we are the Kingdom. God's holy spirit in us and the fruit that only He can produce through us makes us a part of His Kingdom.

If this doesn't disturb you than you may not be saved. If this doesn't make you wince than you may need Jesus. If this does trouble you than you have heard the call. Do Kingdom work, don't be entitled. Don't lose sight of the Will of God. Stay close to Him in all things. Place the word in your heart. Follow everything He says. Love God, love people, serve both.