Title
Who’s Leading the Crowd?
Scripture
You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
(Exodus 23:2)
Devotional
Every teenager has mourned at one time or another, “But, Dad, everybody is doing it.” To which every parent has ingenuously responded, “If everybody jumped off a bridge, would you follow?” And we all with a sigh say, “Amen!” We shouldn’t do that which we do not want our children to do. We senselessly follow the crowds who follow popularity, style, trends, and fads. We buy it just because it’s fashionable. Isaiah rightfully said, “All we like sheep have gone astray”. We are all so quick to follow the oddity of the day, whether it is in clothing, cars, or even religion. We are a fickle people. We so quickly turn aside from the things of God, as we’re duped by the perversion of justice. My friends, this ought not be so. If we’re going to follow a crowd, we should follow the crowd that’s following Christ.
Text For The Day
Exodus 23:2: “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.”
Thought For The Day
“More than a hundred years ago, Soren Kierkegaard warned that the age of the crowd was upon us. In such an age, said Kierkegaard, people would not think of deciding for themselves. They would follow the advice given to children going off to a party: ‘Look and see what the others are doing and then behave like them.’” Kenneth Hamilton, The Irrelevance of Relevance. Christianity Today, March 1972. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher whose ideas about the human nature made him one of the founders of the modern philosophy
Questions To Ponder
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Why did Aaron follow the crowd and erect the golden calf? Why did Saul follow the crowd and spare that which God said to destroy? Why did Judas follow the popular crowd of Judaizer and betray the Christ?
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What or who are the crowds that the church may be tempted to follow today?
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How can we distinguish the crowd from the congregation?
Morning Study Guide
Defining: “The crowd” is the current trends, fashions, and styles. In themselves they may not be bad, but they are not to be followed to do evil. What may be in with man, may be out with God.
Referencing: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God,” 3 John 11
Applying: Follow the crowd that is following Christ; or lead the way.