Mission Possible, pt 6
Notes
Transcript
There is a tavern in a small college town that — every Parent’s day — runs this ad in the campus newspaper: “Bring your parents for Lunch Saturday. We’ll pretend we don’t know you!”
The campus chaplain came up with a brilliant ad of his own: “Bring your parents to chapel on Sunday. We’ll pretend we know you!”
Why does it seem that we always seek to be something we are not?!
Why do we spend so much time investing ourselves in lies? In masks? In convincing people that we are something that we really are not?
There is a story about Bartholomew Roberts.... Does anyone know who he is? (Good, that’ll make this story better!)
Bartholomew Roberts was one of the greatest sea captains in history. He commanded 3 ships: The Fortune, The Good Fortune, and the Royal Fortune.
In his day, the ships musicians were called on day and night to provide music in order to keep morale up on the ships… But… On his ships, they were given Sundays off as a day of rest and religious observance.
Roberts strictly enforced temperance, and gambling was forbidden.... God forbid anyone attempted to sneak a woman on board… because they would be hanged!
Roberts ran a tight ship.... He was one of the most disciplined sea captains ever, which made him the best at what he did.... The problem was, he was a pirate!
Do you see the issue within his story?
Hypocrisy!!!
All of his religion, morality, discipline, and efficiency were for one end — evil.
He pretended to be a “good, Godly” man, while committing some of the most unGodly acts imaginable…
The number one “complaint” against the Church is hypocrisy…
What is Hypocrisy?
The root word that we get the word Hypocrisy from means “actor”. An Actor is someone who puts on a mask.... puts on make up.... and pretends to be something he is not!
We’re all guilty of that though, aren’t we?
Think about it — How often do we put on one face in public… or at church… but at home we “let our hair down” and act completely different?
How often do we “talk a good game” about living “Kingdom Minded”.... while our work life tells a completely different story?
Why do we do that? Why do we feel the need to wrap up our lives in fresh, new, pretty wrapping paper?
Acceptance.... We ant people to like us… to accept us… to think we are good people… so we put on a mask and pretend to be something we are not!
Think about it — How many of you have seen the videos on Facebook and YouTube of people giving large sums of money to “homeless” people… or rescuing animals from “life-threatening” situations?
Why do they post those videos?
— They want recognition!
But, that’s not what the Gospel is about!
1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
We need to GET this!
Our nation needs us to GET this… Our city needs us to GET this… Our church needs us to GET this… Our families need us to GET this!
We CANNOT glorify God by seeking the approval of people!
God has called us to BE WHO WE ARE! Yet… all over the world, we see pastors… churches… Christians trying to be something else… all for the sake of popularity!
Just take a look around… We have church movements attempting to “rebrand” Christianity… we have pastors trying to be “relevant” by dressing differently… using light and laser shows… showing off tattoos, beards, man-buns… adapting cultural and political “hot topics” to scripture… all in an attempt to be “relevant” and “popular”....
Our feeble attempts to make the gospel more “palatable” only result in “watering it down”!
The gospel does not need our help!
The gospel message is beautiful in and of itself!
Think about it — God loved you… He loved me… so much that He Himself stepped out of Heaven… stepped out of His perfect power and position… to become the Son! To become the perfect sacrifice and scapegoat… to carry our sins… ALL so we could have a relationship with Him!!!
This is what makes Christianity different from every other religion in the world — God reaches out to us!
What could be more beautiful than that?!
And yet… We feel that we somehow need to HELP it… to make it easier to accept… to mold it around popular culture in order to get people to accept it… So, we pretend…
Let me tell you — The Gospel does not need our help! God does not need our help!
The gospel message of forgiveness and restoration through Jesus Christ is not compatible with worldly ideas!
You cannot mix the gospel with any religious system.... It does not mix with cultural and political ideas… It does not bow to denominational theologies, or church and political movements… The Gospel is absolutely exclusive!
All God needs is for us to be us!!!
Christianity is not about religious piety and popularity… it’s about a personal relationship with the God who loves us and created us!
Our faith must be lived out in only one direction… towards God. Our “religious activity” must come from our love and desire for God, not from selfish ambition to be recognized by people…
Let me tell you — Worship that seeks recognition from people is not worship at all!
11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;
13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation— I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
God does not desire religious activity… He desires us!
Religion is man-made.... It misses the mark, and causes us to miss the rewards of heaven because we miss the Gospel message...
You see — Religion seeks popularity… recognition… praise… it is man trying to climb the ladder of his own self-righteousness in order to be seen reaching God…
But the truth is — God has climbed down the ladder of salvation — that is Jesus Christ — and met us “sinners” on the lowest rung!!!!
Religion causes us to miss that truth!!!!
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
God does not desire our religion… he does not desire our “pious” activities… He desires our hearts.
“What’s important is not what we think, but what God thinks.” — Muhammed Ali
If our desire is to be “seen by others,” to be “heard by others,” or to be “praised by others,” then we lose touch with the very foundation of our faith: “Communion with and glorification of God.”
We cannot share the message of Hope, Redemption, and Restoration through the Love of God if we are seeking selfish worldly popularity!
If we want to experience the rewards of God… the rewards of seeing people won to the Kingdom… then our acts of piety — even in public — must be done for no one but God!
18 For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.
5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.
God has created each of us for a special, unique, beautiful purpose in His Kingdom.... He has called us to be fruitful… to share His gospel… to experience the Joy of “seeing” others find salvation… to “store up” treasures in Heaven by fulfilling His purpose for us… Self-righteous religion will cause us to miss that!
1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.