WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:03.189 It's great to be with you this morning. Let's 00:00:03.189 --> 00:00:06.730 pray. Let's ask God for help as we dig into his 00:00:06.730 --> 00:00:10.250 word. Heavenly Father, we want to thank you that 00:00:10.250 --> 00:00:12.869 you speak to us. We want to thank you that you 00:00:12.869 --> 00:00:15.929 love us. Please, Father, would you help us to 00:00:15.929 --> 00:00:18.510 listen carefully to everything that you have 00:00:18.510 --> 00:00:21.730 to say to us today. And we ask this in the precious 00:00:21.730 --> 00:00:27.350 name of Jesus. Amen. Well, my kids love playing 00:00:27.350 --> 00:00:31.920 dress up. We've got a big bunch of costumes at 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:35.679 home, big costume box, and it is full of everything. 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:38.920 We've got masks, we've got outfits, we've got 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:41.799 props, a lot of lightsabers, I think, from memory. 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:45.719 And we've got everything. We've got pirates, 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:50.299 princesses, and Darth Vader. You can't go through 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:52.979 life without a good Darth Vader mask. If you 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:55.439 want to see me model it later, please come chat 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.380 to me. But my kids, they love playing dress -ups. 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:01.719 And that's a good thing. You know, there's something 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:04.359 good about kids pretending to be someone else. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.719 You know, it's a fun form of play and imagination. 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:12.900 It's good for their development. But for us, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.439 us grown -ups who are here, in society, we do 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:21.239 a bit of dress -up too, don't we? It's for a 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:22.900 different reason though. It's good when the kids 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:25.180 do it, not so good when we do it. And I'm not 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:28.980 talking about costume parties. See, what happens 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.560 is we get so concerned about what other people 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:36.939 think of us, we wear costumes. And actually, 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:42.299 especially in church, don't we? We come to church, 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.579 we go out into life and we dress up as what we 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:49.959 think we ought to be. Dress up as the mature 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.760 Christian. Dress up as the spiritual person. 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.400 Dress up as the virtuous Bible study leader. 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:04.079 We go through the right religious motions and 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:09.800 actions to look the part. And we can often do 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:14.080 this when inwardly things are not okay. When 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:19.210 our hearts are far from God. Now, such play -acting 00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:23.509 is what Jesus calls hypocrisy. You know, when 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:25.729 we think of hypocrites, we tend to think, oh, 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:27.889 a hypocrite, you know, that's someone who says 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:31.189 one thing and does another. But in Jesus' day, 00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:34.370 a hypocrite was an actor. It was about being 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:37.610 a mask -wearer. You're pretending to be someone 00:02:37.610 --> 00:02:43.469 else. And this kind of hypocrisy, especially 00:02:43.469 --> 00:02:48.659 this religious hypocrisy, that creeps into many 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:54.099 hearts and many churches yet it's one that we 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:59.580 can often be so clueless and careless about but 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:02.280 jesus won't let us stay oblivious to this danger 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:05.360 and that's why over the next three weeks jesus 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.080 is going to expose our religious hypocrisy so 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:12.180 that we can be rid of it And there's one big 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:14.819 thing he's going to repeat as we go through the 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:17.460 next three weeks of passages. Here's the big 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:21.500 thing we'll keep seeing. Who you are in secret 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:28.159 is who you really are. Who you are in secret 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.159 is who you really are. If there's one thing you 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.199 remember from today, I hope it's that. Who you 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:38.830 are in secret is who you really are. And so today 00:03:38.830 --> 00:03:43.729 I want to ask you, who are you really? Where 00:03:43.729 --> 00:03:48.349 is your heart really at? Are you truly virtuous? 00:03:48.430 --> 00:03:52.250 Are you righteous? Or are you doing a lot of 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:56.729 play acting? Over the next three weeks, Jesus 00:03:56.729 --> 00:03:59.789 will apply this principle of who you are in secret 00:03:59.789 --> 00:04:03.469 is who you really are to three areas. These were 00:04:03.469 --> 00:04:07.300 the three kind of pillars of Jewish piety. giving 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:12.180 to the poor prayer and fasting and today we're 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:15.500 going to see how this applies generally to kind 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:18.439 of virtue and righteousness but especially to 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.319 giving and there's three things we're going to 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:25.519 see as we look at this passage firstly guard 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.439 against hypocrisy that's what jesus is telling 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.259 us to do guard against hypocrisy secondly give 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:33.339 up public recognition stop caring what people 00:04:33.339 --> 00:04:38.410 think and thirdly give to others in secret so 00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:40.750 let's take them in turn let's start with the 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:45.709 first one guard against hypocrisy be great to 00:04:45.709 --> 00:04:47.689 have your bible in front of you and if you've 00:04:47.689 --> 00:04:51.550 got it there come with me to verse one jesus 00:04:51.550 --> 00:04:55.610 says be careful not to practice your righteousness 00:04:55.610 --> 00:05:01.410 in front of others to be seen by them if you 00:05:01.410 --> 00:05:06.000 do you will have no reward from your father in 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:15.360 heaven jesus says be careful be aware don't neglect 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:21.399 this this is important what is well it's not 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:25.620 to practice your righteousness to be seen by 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:31.220 others so jesus is actually anti -virtue signaling 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:34.310 You know, virtue signalling, that idea of, yeah, 00:05:34.329 --> 00:05:36.550 I'm trying to signal to the world how virtuous 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:40.029 I am. Jesus is saying, no, don't be like that. 00:05:40.129 --> 00:05:42.670 We're not on about showing off our righteousness. 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:50.029 Being righteous, that matters. Looking righteous 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:56.509 does not. When appearances are your focus, when 00:05:56.509 --> 00:05:58.689 you care so much about what other people think, 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:02.300 That's often when your heart is not in a good 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:07.939 place. The other day, Steve gave me a lift in 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:11.980 his MG. I don't know if he's picked a name for 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:13.819 it, like Kermit or something would be a good 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.740 one. It's a great little car. We had a lot of 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:20.000 fun, went out for coffee, and Steve had been 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.079 fiddling with the engine. It was really great. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.300 It ran really beautifully, ran really well. We 00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:30.639 felt the wind blow through our scalps. And it 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.439 was awesome. We had a great time. But imagine 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.759 if Steve was the sort of guy who ignored the 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:40.160 engine and just went, I'm going to only focus 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.079 on the outside of the car. I'm going to wash 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:49.120 it, polish it, buff it, wax it, cuddle it, whatever 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.560 he needs to do to make it look really pretty 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:55.910 on the outside. But if he did that and ignored 00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:59.230 the engine, what would happen? The car would 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:03.089 clonk out, wouldn't it? The engine matters far 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:07.829 more than mere appearances. And it's the same 00:07:07.829 --> 00:07:11.629 with us as people, isn't it? It's easy to forget 00:07:11.629 --> 00:07:18.110 that. Because play acting seems so small. It's 00:07:18.110 --> 00:07:19.930 not a big deal if I'm just keeping up appearances. 00:07:22.089 --> 00:07:24.649 But actually, Jesus is saying it's deadly serious. 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:31.490 Why? Because when we engage in this sort of hypocrisy 00:07:31.490 --> 00:07:35.009 that Jesus is talking about, we're being deceptive. 00:07:35.970 --> 00:07:40.589 We're masquerading as virtuous and just papering 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:45.550 over the sin that's actually in our hearts. We're 00:07:45.550 --> 00:07:49.610 being idolatrous. We're saying, my public honour, 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:54.019 my status. matters more than enjoying and knowing 00:07:54.019 --> 00:08:00.540 God. It's actually corrupting of us. If our motive 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:05.120 is human praise, well, we're actually prostituting 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:09.600 acts of giving and worship for our own personal 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:16.120 gain. And as Jesus says in this passage, if we're 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:20.069 here performing for others, you'll have no reward 00:08:20.069 --> 00:08:25.649 from your Heavenly Father. Can you see why hypocrisy 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:30.730 is something that we need to be alert to? So 00:08:30.730 --> 00:08:33.129 I want to ask you, when was the last time you 00:08:33.129 --> 00:08:35.710 stopped and checked your engine? You know, lift 00:08:35.710 --> 00:08:38.470 the hood, have a look in your heart, see what's 00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:42.330 going on. Where do you think your heart's at 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:46.970 right now? Have you been trying to play the part? 00:08:47.870 --> 00:08:52.830 when your heart is not in a good place? If so, 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:56.370 can I suggest grab your phone now, not to play 00:08:56.370 --> 00:09:01.710 Candy Crush, but open your calendar, pick a time 00:09:01.710 --> 00:09:07.850 this week, put in time to do heart work, connect 00:09:07.850 --> 00:09:10.230 with God, something like that, and spend some 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:14.509 solid time this week going under the hood and 00:09:14.509 --> 00:09:18.720 working things out. Because it's so important. 00:09:19.299 --> 00:09:23.399 Hypocrisy is dangerous. We need to guard against 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:28.980 it. But Jesus wants to show us some key ways 00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:32.000 on how we do that, especially when it comes to 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.299 giving. And that's the second thing we're going 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:39.500 to see. Jesus says, give up public recognition. 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.779 Give up public recognition. Have a look with 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:48.710 me at verse 2. So when you give to the needy, 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.710 do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites 00:09:51.710 --> 00:09:54.529 do in the synagogues and on the streets to be 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:58.409 honoured by others. Truly, I tell you, they have 00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:03.330 received their reward in full. So take yourself 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:05.529 back to the ancient world. This is a world with 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:08.769 no centre link. And so giving to the needy was 00:10:08.769 --> 00:10:13.039 very important. And the hypocrites say they're 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:15.019 doing a good thing. Giving to the needy is a 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:18.879 good thing to do. But they warp this good act 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:24.500 by announcing it with trumpets. It's all about 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:27.460 gaining human approval and honour with their 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:32.419 giving. But doing that means they're exchanging 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:38.200 heavenly rewards for human ones. They get what 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:39.659 they wanted. What did they want? They wanted 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:44.080 public recognition. but they get no spiritual 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:49.559 gain from their giving. And sadly, this hunger 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.799 for human recognition is alive and well today. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.899 I don't know if you remember Wave Aid. going 00:10:57.899 --> 00:11:01.139 way back to the Boxing Day tsunamis. You remember 00:11:01.139 --> 00:11:03.580 Wave Aid? They had like a big telethon at the 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:07.019 SCG to raise money for all the stuff with the 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:10.620 Boxing Day tsunamis. And many businesses and 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:15.059 rich individuals gave big bucks to help. A good 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:18.799 thing to do. But do you know what happened? Those 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.220 that did got their name broadcast on the scoreboard 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:26.460 at the SCG. It got put out on the media. It was 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:31.039 broadcast everywhere. Now, it's hard not to think 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:36.019 that their giving wasn't just about getting some 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:40.759 good PR and some good advertising. I don't want 00:11:40.759 --> 00:11:42.960 to be judgmental, but maybe there was a good 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.659 side to it too. But it's hard not to think that 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:48.000 when you're doing it that way, there's not a 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.080 PR element. If they were genuinely generous, 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:54.940 they would have given without the recognition, 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:59.480 wouldn't they? Yet Christians aren't immune. 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.259 I remember years ago when I worked in Perth, 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:05.799 there was a church down the road from us and 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:09.860 a factory next door to it caught on fire. So 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:12.580 this church did something really good. They went 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:15.340 out and they gave water bottles and helped out. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:17.440 The fireman helped out with people coming out 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:22.179 of the factory. And then it got twisted. They 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.600 took a bunch of photos and posted it all over 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:27.259 Facebook. Look how good we are, we're giving 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:32.059 water bottles in this fire. Or I think of another 00:12:32.059 --> 00:12:35.379 church I worked at in WA where up the front of 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.159 the church there was a bunch of Bibles and if 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.600 you opened the front cover you'd find there was 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:44.779 a stamp on each one. This Bible had been given 00:12:44.779 --> 00:12:49.279 to the church by such and such a family. A great 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:53.019 thing to give the church Bibles. But why did 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:56.269 they need the recognition? Why do some churches 00:12:56.269 --> 00:12:58.789 have plaques everywhere giving people the recognition 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:03.750 for all the things they've done? But it's easy 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:08.090 to point the finger, isn't it? What about us? 00:13:09.610 --> 00:13:12.590 How do we announce our giving with trumpets? 00:13:15.070 --> 00:13:18.649 Maybe it's the humble brag. I struggle with that 00:13:18.649 --> 00:13:21.750 one. Oh, how are you going, Brendan? Well, you 00:13:21.750 --> 00:13:23.830 know, I'm so busy this week. I've been giving 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:29.789 so much time and serving at the church. Maybe 00:13:29.789 --> 00:13:33.870 it's carrying around a tote bag for our favourite 00:13:33.870 --> 00:13:36.769 charity or a bumper sticker. Hey, look at me, 00:13:36.850 --> 00:13:41.690 I'm giving to this thing. How good am I? I'm 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:45.370 sure you know in your heart what it is for you. 00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:50.120 But today I want to encourage you, Just stop. 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:57.000 Stop caring about what other people think. Care 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:03.659 about what you really are. Care about what God 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:08.059 thinks. That's far more important, isn't it? 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:15.740 That needs to be our focus. But that's not all 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:18.610 we need to do to guard against hypocrisy. Here's 00:14:18.610 --> 00:14:21.730 the third thing Jesus tells us to do. He says, 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:26.669 give to others in secret. Come with me to verses 00:14:26.669 --> 00:14:31.929 three and four. But when you give to the needy, 00:14:31.929 --> 00:14:35.529 do not let your left hand know what your right 00:14:35.529 --> 00:14:38.789 hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. 00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:42.289 Then your father who sees what is done in secret 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:46.669 will reward you. Now you've got to ask, what's 00:14:46.669 --> 00:14:49.590 the reward that God gives here? What's the reward 00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:52.509 that God gives to those who give to the needy? 00:14:53.129 --> 00:14:55.870 And I reckon with any sort of righteousness, 00:14:56.049 --> 00:14:58.850 it goes back to the Beatitudes, doesn't it? Remember 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:01.269 at the start of the Sermon on the Mount? And 00:15:01.269 --> 00:15:03.149 when you sort of look at the Beatitudes and what 00:15:03.149 --> 00:15:07.250 they're all about, it's about getting God. That's 00:15:07.250 --> 00:15:10.919 the reward you get. You get God himself. You 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:13.220 get to become more and more like God. That's 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:15.000 what we've seen in the Sermon on the Mount. Be 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.220 perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. It's 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:20.559 that you get to spend an eternity with God, where 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:26.259 you enjoy and live with Him forever. That's the 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:31.720 reward of faith. If you believe this reward is 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:35.139 better than status and recognition, then you 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:38.950 will give in secret, won't you? You won't let 00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:41.830 your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 00:15:41.970 --> 00:15:44.070 Now, what's that about? That means just complete 00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:48.690 secrecy. Think James Bond. Think secrecy of a 00:15:48.690 --> 00:15:51.789 covert spy. That's what Jesus is saying. That's 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:55.029 the sort of secrecy you need to have. And when 00:15:55.029 --> 00:15:58.830 we give that way, we do it because our giving 00:15:58.830 --> 00:16:03.970 has no ulterior motive. See, when we don't let 00:16:03.970 --> 00:16:05.649 our left hand know what our right hand is doing, 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:10.039 it guards against... Hypocrisy. Because it means 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.600 that Christians have an audience of one. They 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:20.039 only let God see what's going on. I don't know 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.720 if you're a big fan of The Simpsons. I love watching 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.460 old Simpsons episodes. And there's this Simpsons 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:29.860 episode years ago where Homer is at church and 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:32.019 he's actually become one of the ushers at the 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:34.820 church. And they do the collection with those 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:39.230 long stick and the giving baskets where they 00:16:39.230 --> 00:16:41.570 sort of and he's you know putting the basket 00:16:41.570 --> 00:16:43.490 in front of people and people are putting big 00:16:43.490 --> 00:16:46.309 wads of cash in and then he comes to mr burns 00:16:46.309 --> 00:16:49.370 the stingy billionaire and he puts in like one 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:52.730 little coin you know well homer then goes gives 00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:55.710 him a little nudge and he puts in a bit more 00:16:55.710 --> 00:17:00.809 and another nudge and puts in a bit more and 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:03.980 it's it makes sense isn't it that We want to 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:06.980 have giving out in the open because, hey, then 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:09.559 we can kind of pressure people into giving more 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:12.920 and, you know, the old collection plate, maybe 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:15.079 that's the Australian way of doing it. I don't 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:19.200 know. But here Jesus is saying, no, it's so important 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:21.420 that whatever giving we're doing, it be done 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:24.160 in secret. Because as soon as it's out in the 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.099 open like that, we're all looking around at what 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:30.019 everyone's thinking of us, isn't it? It's no 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:32.640 longer genuine. It's no longer a response to 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.720 God's generosity to us. That's the heart of giving. 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:37.799 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.440 that though he was rich, yet for your sake he 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.960 became poor, so that you by his poverty might 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:47.660 become rich. 2 Corinthians 8, 9. Our giving should 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:52.839 be in response to God and his giving to us. And 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:56.230 so when we give in secret, We're not compromising 00:17:56.230 --> 00:17:58.829 that in any way. It's true worship then, isn't 00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:02.970 it? And that's why I'm so glad here at Northern 00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:06.529 Hope people give electronically. I mean, unless 00:18:06.529 --> 00:18:08.529 you take a screenshot and flash it up on the 00:18:08.529 --> 00:18:10.029 internet, no one's going to know what you're 00:18:10.029 --> 00:18:12.930 doing, isn't it? Please don't go and do that, 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:16.210 by the way. Or there's envelopes up the back. 00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:20.049 That's a great way to do it. But it's crucial 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:24.250 that we're secretive as we give. And not just 00:18:24.250 --> 00:18:26.309 a church, whether we're giving to a friend in 00:18:26.309 --> 00:18:29.769 need, whether we're giving to the homeless, whether 00:18:29.769 --> 00:18:34.269 we're giving to a charity, we mustn't use giving 00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:40.950 as a tool to elevate our standing. Because it's 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:44.869 a tool for something far better. It's a tool 00:18:44.869 --> 00:18:47.730 for us to grow in our love for God and our love 00:18:47.730 --> 00:18:51.970 for others in response to how he first loved 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:57.819 us. All right, well, let's draw some threads 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:03.039 together. We started by asking today, who are 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:07.460 you really? And I reckon there's three types 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:14.279 of people here today. See, there we go. Three 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:17.339 types of people here today. There's the authentically 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:21.539 unrighteous. So you're not wearing a mask, but 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:23.890 you don't care about all this stuff. You're going, 00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:26.410 hey, I'm here. I'm not wearing a mask. I'm not 00:19:26.410 --> 00:19:30.190 pretending. I just want to live my life for me. 00:19:31.829 --> 00:19:34.690 Well, if that's you, I want to say to you, thanks 00:19:34.690 --> 00:19:38.009 for coming. We're really glad you're here. But 00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:39.950 you need to think about Jesus' death and resurrection 00:19:39.950 --> 00:19:43.150 because he shows that there really is a reward. 00:19:43.430 --> 00:19:46.970 He died on the cross for our sins. He rose again 00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:49.950 as Lord of all, showing that there is life after 00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:56.869 death. The reward from God is real. And if you've 00:19:56.869 --> 00:19:59.230 got this attitude of, hey, I don't care about 00:19:59.230 --> 00:20:01.990 this stuff, I want to ask, how about you and 00:20:01.990 --> 00:20:05.029 I catch up for coffee? Let's have a catch up. 00:20:05.589 --> 00:20:07.349 I don't know if Steve can give you a lift in 00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:10.369 Kermit, but let's have a catch up for coffee. 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.450 Secondly, there'll be people here pretending 00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:19.349 to be righteous. You know, you're the person 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:24.529 who... is wearing the mask and i want to say 00:20:24.529 --> 00:20:26.730 to you you too need to remember jesus death and 00:20:26.730 --> 00:20:31.470 resurrection because the hypocrites who put jesus 00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:35.549 to death they did get their reward they got some 00:20:35.549 --> 00:20:39.470 approval from the crowds but in the end they 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:45.009 lose don't they and all who persist in hypocrisy 00:20:45.009 --> 00:20:51.180 and won't repent of it will lose If that's you, 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:52.819 I want to suggest to you this is the week to 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:55.759 do some heart work on it. If you need to talk 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:57.900 to someone, come talk to me. Talk to someone 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:00.900 here at church, but do some heart work on yourself. 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:05.599 And then finally, there's many of us here who 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:10.240 are authentically righteous. We trust in what 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:14.480 Jesus has done. We repent of our hypocrisy when 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:19.500 we see it pop up. We're not perfect. But we're 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:23.359 seeking to follow Jesus in this. It's kind of 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:25.619 like what Jesus says in the start of the Sermon 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:28.160 on the Mount. Do you remember what he says? Blessed 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.640 are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:35.319 of heaven. Here's the foundation for the whole 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:39.319 Sermon on the Mount. To be right with God, to 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:42.500 be rewarded by God, you have to be real about 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:46.839 your spiritual bankruptcy. To depend on him for 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:50.369 grace. When you fail in a whole range of ways 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:55.829 and when you fail with hypocrisy as well. You 00:21:55.829 --> 00:21:57.950 need to be someone who believes that Jesus died 00:21:57.950 --> 00:22:01.069 for you, that Jesus is a sin magnet and a hypocrisy 00:22:01.069 --> 00:22:04.329 magnet, taking all our sin and hypocrisy on himself 00:22:04.329 --> 00:22:07.589 at the cross so that there will be none on us. 00:22:09.730 --> 00:22:12.569 And when you depend on Jesus' death like that, 00:22:12.690 --> 00:22:18.099 it changes everything. It changes your identity. 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:23.980 You start going, I'm justified by Jesus. What's 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:27.579 justified me? Just as if I were Jesus, that's 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:30.759 how God sees me. Just as if I'd never sinned, 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:34.460 that's how God sees me. And when you see that 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:36.519 that's how God sees you, you stop caring about 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:38.799 what people think. I don't need to justify myself 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:41.000 in front of other people because I'm justified 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:47.569 before God. And it changes our hearts. It moves 00:22:47.569 --> 00:22:50.230 us to stop pretending. We go, I want to be someone 00:22:50.230 --> 00:22:52.009 who's real. I want to be someone who's authentic. 00:22:52.210 --> 00:22:55.529 I want to be someone who's generous, just as 00:22:55.529 --> 00:23:00.829 God was generous to me. And it moves us to change 00:23:00.829 --> 00:23:05.950 our outlook. The cross exposes how hollow earthly 00:23:05.950 --> 00:23:08.529 rewards are. And we go, you know, I'm chasing 00:23:08.529 --> 00:23:13.339 something better. See, when the cross grips your 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:16.880 heart, it changes you so that you're different, 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:23.299 actually different when no one's watching. So 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:25.779 if you're here today and you trust Jesus, I hope 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:28.500 you walk away today, I'm praying you walk away 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:32.140 today with renewed zeal to do the things we talked 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:36.579 about, to guard against hypocrisy. To give up 00:23:36.579 --> 00:23:39.880 public recognition. To give to others in secret. 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:42.380 And to do these things because you believe what 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:46.960 Jesus says. This idea that who you are in secret 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:53.079 is who you really are. If we believe Jesus, we're 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:59.960 going to protect and cultivate the real us. But 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:03.619 sadly, churches can often become the exact opposite, 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:07.859 can't they? Churches often become breeding grounds 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:13.839 for hypocrisy. Everyone wearing their mask, probably 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.259 not Darth Vader, but wearing their mask to impress 00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:22.039 each other. And I want to say let's not be like 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:25.980 that here at Northern Hope. Let's throw the masks 00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:29.880 away. Let's be raw and honest with each other 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:35.079 and let's value what's inside. More than just 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:42.140 looking the part. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:44.180 we want to thank you so much for Jesus. Thank 00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:47.759 you for all that he's done for us. Thank you 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.980 that we are forgiven of our sins and our hypocrisy 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:56.440 by his death on the cross. Please help us to 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:59.119 trust him. Help us to follow him. Help us to 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:02.359 throw away our masks and to be raw and real with 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:08.609 one another. Help us to grow in generosity. And 00:25:08.609 --> 00:25:12.390 may we do these things, may we do our giving 00:25:12.390 --> 00:25:18.190 in secret so that our motives will be pure. And 00:25:18.190 --> 00:25:20.670 we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.