Beware Of Hypocrisy - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ, that smart sacrificial gift someone to notice the terrible that will notice and be very careful.

He said, physically doing the wrong motive and upcoming monies is an amazing thing when you New Testament is loaded with this idea.

The private second Corinthians chapter 9 says, just as a person that you get for joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is again he shows us how God's word meets our work and that was enormously successful at several printings he sold millions and millions of copies and of the book deals with how because of our own internal inadequacies.

We try to draw our significance by doing outward actions and then trying to get opinion some other people. His formula and the book was self worth equals performance plus others opinions and he said virtually everyone in America is on the same treadmill were all trying to do this that we think we do somewhat outwardly and people think well of us with a good opinion that somehow that makes us feel better, but he said the truth of it is.

This is the satanic life is not the way we should operated all as all believers and as I thought about that is nothing new about the concept.

I mean people been trying to press one another with how they do things for all time and all over the world. I most of the religions in the world are purely external and the whole idea is to impress people with your external things that you accomplish well when Jesus Christ came as Israel's Messiah when he came here to be their Messiah.

He found out that that that's exactly what was going on the nation Israel and the irony is this Jesus didn't call these people significant people.

He called these people hypocrites and it was probably exactly the opposite of what they thought the kind of response they were going to get signed by an open Bible listed Matthew chapter 6. As we continue a series on the sermon on the Mount, I've told you before, but I call the series. The disturbing sermon on the Mount, we look back at it certified me the Jews who herded did not look at it that way, they would've hated everything he said he is saying things so bluntly and so forcibly that they not only didn't believe him, but their parents didn't believe their grandparents and believing there was a whole different view of how you get right with God and Jesus comes in just a ataxic and he's about as blunt as he could possibly be as he deals with these things and so starting in six he starts out with an interesting word. He starts out with me where now that that to me is fascinating process echo is the wordprocessed psycho and it means grab a hold of this, it means that really take hold of something, grab a hold of this and it's not a typical rabbi responding. He didn't sound like a rabbi sound like a prophet.

She doesn't sound like he's teaching year is more like prophesy teacher wants to do with information but a prophet, once a deal with transformation and so he's very blunt a lot like an Old Testament prophet. He said beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them while with the mean I think he knows the human heart, we do so many things outwardly so that other people will see it and it's an interesting thing because by the time Jesus shows up here it's an art form in Israel.

They're all doing it.

Notice then what he says though. Must've been perplexing to them.

He says otherwise. He said you have no reward with your fathers and have if you practice your faith outwardly to be noticed by other people.

The reward you get from God at the end your life is zero. That's amazing, you get nothing in sight what nothing but I did this and I did that get nothing.

All has to do with her motive.

You can see your practicing to be noticed by other people.

So then what Jesus does is he takes three things that are absolute bedrock part of the Christian life. Three disciplines in a part of every Christian's life.

Three things we all assume giving praying and fasting. He says you know what you can do all those is a hypocrite doesn't. That's the warning that's why he says beware you can do all these things so he starts out and he says so when you give to the poor.

That's giving do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do so when you give to the poor.

His assumption here is, and if he didn't say if you give to the poor.

He said no. If you are part of God's family. You give to the poor. So when you give to the poor, but you do it to be noticed by man. See, that's a very different thing. I think in the day.

We live in. We struggle with believers and followers of Christ.

With this this idea of giving to the poor. A lot of Christians have a very John Desai when it comes to giving to the poor, weeping condition for that. I mean why would I give to the poor. How do you know what they're going to do with it. You know what those people do with why would I do that that's the government's job, not according to God. It's our job. Christian should be people that are always willing to help poor amending. Snyder wrote a book in the 1980s that I thought was interesting and I read in the title of the book was rich. Christians in a hungry world and he was talking about how self-serving we are with her own money, but were not helping. Hardly anyone but Jesus assumes it, and then he uses hyperbole. He says do not sound the trumpet before you knob as hyperbole, but interesting picture in it anytime you want to give something like the poor blogger trumpet first. Now you know the piercing sound of the trumpet gate so you get the hearing aid is and I think what happens is that was part of the giving we went to the temple grounds. For example, one of the areas where you could give was an area that had so look like trumpets to start narrowing to get wider and then they go down into the ground and you could walk to that area and dropping offering will. Apparently the Pharisees would not drop your offering an era unless it was a big crowd and if there was a big crowd. It was sort of excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me while go over to get your money and looked everybody in and put it in nearly all the figures again.

Look what he did while he looked lovely, gave so Jesus is mocking it.

Obviously with the hyperbole.

No doubt about that. He said that he says as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets. This is anywhere they help the poor Temple synagogue streets were never streets, not the typical word for small street there's a lot of narrow streets of Jerusalem. This is the word for Boulevard after going to help a poor person I want to be. I want to do it on a big streetlight so everybody sees what I'm doing. See that. And obviously, Jesus is calling this hypocrisy. He then says, and so that they may be honored by man. So they may be honored by men.

Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. That's all they get so the key in giving us and giving her help. The key in giving is what your motive is not always. Even your own fault you sometimes men, one auditing honor you when you it's not part of your motive at all. We had a situation particular situation with our own church and up.

We gave a large gift of money to Dallas theological seminary and by the way, we've been supporting on a monthly basis for 25 years sending money to Dallas theological something 25 years. Never heard a thing. I mean, you know that never heard a thing. This one large check got to Dallas and I got a phone call and they wanted to do.

Assume call with me and they wanted me to put me on the website for what was I large check became see that's the opposite.

But it's the same thing I want to be but I want to be noticed by man been doing for that reason, and we been faithful supporters for 25 years, then everything and now you see that there's recognition not get that if I ran a nonprofit organization I would want to recognize certain givers like I did all that, but it's not just that some people want to be honored. Sometimes people want to honored you. You see, and that's the danger here in the giving is why do you do it is not a map something you can't do anything as a servant of Christ for others and for the Lord some people would notice.

He's not saying no one should notice anything but a senior motive better be as private as a motive can possibly be goes on explains he said when you give to the poor do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So that's that's pretty private right-handers. The action hand of the Jew.

He said don't like the left and no. In other words, you just between you and the Lord do it and forget about it as soon as you can, he said, so that your giving will be in secret, and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you see the whole question. It is talking about here is pretty simple when he is talking about here isn't the fact of what do we give or not give the whole point that he's talking about here is that what your motive.

By the way that's hard something for moment that's easy now might be easy for some of us because we never given it in order would give almost nothing that makes it easy, but if you give a large sum of two of money to a good cause. Be honest, don't you want some of the notice.

You gotta be honest with yourself.

You see, I guess you see that I have large sacrificial gift someone should notice this should be careful with that. Don't notice it for you but be very careful on what you do.

He said as if you do with the wrong motive you end up becoming what he said is a hypocrite is an amazing thing when you think about it you know I New Testament is loaded with this whole idea of our giving being private. In fact, our second Corinthians chapter 9 says, just as a person purposes in her heart. That's how you give, but we have to be careful with this whole idea. It's something Jesus assumes as part of every Christian's life. Okay now I have had over the past people tell me, as a complement to the church and on. I understand the motive, but the say after dinner while one of things I like most about the church is never a talk about money and that's an interesting thought. You never talk about it.

But the question is why does you like that purely could be a good thing so many churches are trying to raise money constantly. They never stop every single time they get together they going to be the same drum until you better get more. You gotta get more. You gotta get more and we don't do that because if you give us purpose in your heart coercing you into giving is of no good at all because it's gotta be what your motive, but the purpose of your heart. But if you like it because now I don't have to give.

This is the great church to go to if you want to get to see if you do that that's completely false. That's not what Jesus saying Jesus saying look when you give do it in a sense is not as anonymously as it can possibly be.

Then he moves the prayer he said when you pray he said you not to be like the hypocrites like did you realize that a lot of your prayers to be hypocritical in the God when recognize that's an interesting thought.

So he says don't be like the hypocrites they love the stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. And truly I say to you, they have their reward in full for people perk pray like that yes at the time of Jesus Christ. The tradition in Israel would have been the Shema hero, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one out of Deuteronomy 6.

They had a pray that wherever they were at nine noon and three wherever they were. They prayed that they prayed to Shema, the Pharisees indebtedness or the Pharisees always wanted to make sure that it nine and three. They were out there were a lot of people were. And then they would bellow out there prayer so that all the peeps at all.

Look at the Pharisee localities praying, look at that look at how spiritual this man must be so Jesus is that this epoxy.

That's all that is there's nothing else. He said they have their reward in full. Now we wouldn't ever do that when we let me put it this way and have had it happened to me in a couple occasions, your small group. All of a sudden, the leader of the small group sues tenant and the leader of the small group says okay here's ever going to cause you to start with Ralph and end with Ernie and Robin to go around and pray. So you the growth.

Five. To me for your youth. Your thinking. Now these guys are praying and you're not listening or all what you think about how I'm going to pray that if you grip on number two took what I was going to say I was going to say that now, he took it. How can I sound you see. Oh great God, who lives in the glorious who has you gotta think I got a sound right, if on frame that's hypocrisy. Praying this is talking to God even in that setting.

There's a temptation, but they did it so they could actually be heard by men. And that's the point of it.

He said they love this dinner pray in the synagogues on street going to be heard by men. I see the rewards in full when you pray, go into your inner room, close the door, pray to your fathers in secret. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you know Christians have taken that verse and it was big back in the 80s. The whole idea by now versus every Christian needs a prayer closet, you have to have a closet and that's the only way you should pray, go to your closet, pray that you have a prayer closet in your own that's great I don't there's nothing wrong with that but it's put it this way, how many times in the Gospels is Jesus in a prayer closet is not what's Jesus, how would Jesus not have a prayer closet, not what he means he means a private place is between you and God did Jesus ever wonder waving the disciples and pray on his own all the time.

It was a pattern of his he pray privately. I don't have to pray publicly, I don't have to pray eloquently a mentor pray honestly and transparently and that's what he means and he says look father were here in secret and he knows what to be done here. Reward you. That's an interesting thought a sidebar on this prayers an act of worship whenever you pray you worshiping God and has all the elements of worship. That's why you praise God, thank God for who he is and that he'll give us a short example of this in a moment, and then you may talk about your own needs and only God can meet in your life that that's all part of her life incident is an act of worship. Do you need to be verbose to get God to listen the engine emphatically know why is God okay before you started praying that God know what you needed before you started praying to God know every word you say. So what's the point I'm been impressed with how many things I can say keep saying so don't do that. God knows what you need is God. He prayer was conversation between me and my heavenly father.

You see, that's his point. That's what prayer is ESA so don't get caught up in that notice. The next one. He said, and when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they supposedly will be heard for their many words. That's very common in pagan religions repeat prayer no sidebar shoes were Christians could be like sidebar Jesus in a moment going to give us the disciples prayer the Lord's prayer the Lord's prayer is in John 17 that temporary. This is telling. The site was how to pray publicly, as the Lord we call the Lord's prayer.

So what did the church do with his prayer, he just said to me read them. When you do not use meaningless repetition. So when we do, let's repeat the Lord's prayer and some disciplines are some views think of this on the basis of what you did your gonna have to do. 17 our fathers like what you just keep repeating this prayer he just said don't repeat prayers he said that's meaningless to repeat prayer the church got a hold of exhibits repeat the prayer.

I mean it it's it's it's almost dunning that we could interpret as words and come up with a conclusion he said, so don't be like them. Your father knows what you need before you even ask him to resist book pray in this way, our father was in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors and do not lead us into temptation, deliver us from evil and noticing your Bible for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen is in brackets.

That means it's not in the oldest manuscripts that was added by a scribe later. Nothing wrong with the words. The words are fine. It's not in the oldest manuscripts of all this one sidebar. This might help you. The earlier translations is seeking the King James on the earlier translations are built on the newest manuscript evidence, so the King James is based on newer manuscripts. Now the translations today are based on over manuscripts and so consequently that's what they put brackets around us. Those manuscripts were found by archaeologists and others. After the first translation of the King James version.

So when they say when it says it's not in the oldest manuscripts. That's what it means it's not in the closest the Christ manuscripts so you will see sections like this. Nothing wrong with the words. Words are fine, but there were likely added. He says by a scribe. So when he talks to his hearers okay were going to show you how I give you a model of praying.

Now this is interesting there's less than 70 words or Jesus said want to pray in public use less than 70 words you want to model the/tortoises. This is not long at all now. He's not talking about a public prayer is not talking about interacting with God fact, if you remember what did Paul say about this on prayer did he say pray without ceasing. Now some Christians take that wrong.

You mean all I should do every day is get up in the morning and start praying to go to bed now. It's not what he saying pulses pray without constantly constantly interact with God as you live your life constant. Just as I don't need a prayer time for this.

Is this constant communication. God has communicated his word. I communicate pastoral government on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you dislike listen to the message one more time.

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