Beware! Religious Performance Now Showing, Part 2

Today on Insight for living a lesson on integrity from Chuck Swindoll. There is no such thing as there is no such thing as an unspoken he sees and hears Frank back like your little more holy, which is an impossibility that someone else the father who sees in secret would love in secret to reward you many times.

Generous acts of go hand-in-hand. Christian faith from inception, providing for the poor has been a central theme in our mission and yet Jesus made it clear that those who lend a helping hand should never do so with fanfare helping the marginalized.

Jesus taught us was not an occasion to show off today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from Jesus sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus warned his followers about practicing their righteousness in order to be seen. Chuck titled today's message beware religious performance now showing letters for the next few moments for this large worship room into a private place where you bring your needs to the Lord, let your burden. There lay it out refused to take it back. Few moments I will close the time in prayer about together today, our father, we have sung to you our words of praise we have heard from you in the words from your book.

Now we speak to you. It is with deepest gratitude that we thank you for helping us through the week. Some of travel many miles thank you for protection on the journey Somerset beside those who were dying showing compassion and care for them. Thank you for the strength you gave to do that.

Some administered to those families who have been left following the death. Thank you for their words of hope and renewal and refreshment are father we we need you. Throughout our day and into and through the night when darkness falls, and often weeping accompanies the darkness fears uncertainty about what lies ahead. The joy comes with the rising of the sun in the morning, perhaps for this reason David would write evening morning and noon when I pray and cry aloud and you will hear my voice all the prayers that have been sent up from this room. You have heard and you know what is best help us. We pray our father to have ears to hear.

Now that we will be sitting and listening masterminds not wonder he would be able to focus as if we were among the group who sat there along that slope where Jesus taught and heard words they had never heard before.

Give us that kind of interest and attention as result may are giving and are praying change as it falls in line with what he has taught.

Finally, Lord, we uphold those who fight for existence, who look at a place that was once home and they see nothing but a pile of stone walk streets that are now split apart to face the barrenness of a future where their lives have been shattered. Feed the hungry, give, drink, and relief to those who are starving and remind us again our father that we hang the very heavy weight of our security on the thin wire of our trust in you. Keep it strong pray.

We give now for your greater glory in the matchless name of Jesus, our Savior every once study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll sure to download is searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies another message from Chuck titled beware religious performance now showing telling the truth speaking at declaring it something intimidating about being around a man of God who declares the truth of God without any apology, especially if he is as the original prophets, the very mouthpiece of God they wouldn't lie as God's mouthpiece.

The people heard what they often didn't expect and didn't want to hear Michael's message. For example, in Micah chapter 6, he is told you what is good.

What does the Lord require of you. If you haven't ever walked this verse. Here are words to Mark to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly, as we say today, it doesn't get better than what can be more complicated, it can certainly be more expensive than earthly goods. But when it comes to character deep within. It doesn't get any better than doing what is right, showing kindness, compassion and care for others and especially walking in modeling humility when returned to Matthew chapter 6. We arrive at the greatest of all priests, prophets, and one who would be king Jesus himself interestingly begins the sermon to chapter 5 by sitting down among those who were sitting around folks often don't think of the sermon on the Mount delivered while the speaker is sitting, but in those days rabbis set as they taught and it wasn't long before the teaching turned into the fire of a product, especially when you get to the center section of the sermon begins with a word of warning, beware look at beware take key watch out what's coming, but he now has their attention because the talk to them about religious performance. Look at his words. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your father who is your show off with all your religious piety. You just at that moment got your full reward their applause is all you'll ever get from that I there being impressed. That's the limit of the reward factor. Other versions render this. Interestingly, because of beware of practicing your piety before men.

The RSV reads the new international or the new English Bible says be careful not to make a show of your religion JB Phillips paraphrase. Beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to catch others I especially like Eugene Peterson's message.

Be especially careful when you're trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater. But the God who made you won't be applauding. And with that he moves into the three most public often public and the most obvious expressions of devotion look at it for yourself.

Verse two. So when you give. He covers that down through verse four, verse five when you pray he covers that down through verse 15.

And when you fast, covered in verses 16 through 18 Lord. When you read your Bible to observe the structure of the verses Jesus words are very logical begins with giving and I marked that in a bright color in my Bible so I won't overlook it by Mark when you pray verse five and I marked when you fast, in verse 16. Interestingly, following each of those settings, he adds, do not do something verse two when you give to the poor do not sound the trumpet Pharisees would carry with them or bring with them proper terms was there on their way with their gifts to the altar. The box the offering box would have the trumpeter blasts the sound like ringing a bell when you give to the poor sound the trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the street so that they may be seen, they may be honored by others to, in fact, there are several do not do not do that. Verse two. Do not let your left hand know what the right hand doing verse three do not pray using meaningless verbiage. Verse seven verse eight do not be like the Pharisees stop following those who were showoffs sought being enamored of those you love to display their piety don't follow leaders like that.

They're not looking humbly with your God famous they may be the concern men and women learn from Jesus. In fact he says in verse 16 when you fast no walk around in tattered, dirty clothes, making people know why how much you been giving me will know about your life. If your sacrificial were not looking at your clothing. Jesus certainly didn't looking at the heart. So now is go to this matter of giving and let's analyze it a little bit more careful what you get the wrong impression is not a disease, not against getting please God's work is supported by God's people, not by unbelievers nor should it be.

But when you are God's people participate in the financial support of his work we do have parts for the poor give to the poor. We who hear of some disaster have on our hearts unable to just to remain restful. We we were uneasy until we help with that. Need just part of being a believer in Christ. None of it is to be done to get our name etched in bronze our picture on some wall or an announcement made it so and so gave so much. That's all part of what this is about don't sound the trumpet nothingness to all of you.

Whatever may be your status financially and I give thanks for everyone of you who gives with the right motive, but I warn all of us about that motive why look closely the repeated statement verse for your father who sees what is done in secret. The original simply says your father who sees in secret is not the only time verse six.

Your father who sees in secret. Verse 18 close as your father who sees what is done in secret.

You see something repeated like that little bully in the margin of your Bible, you could write Hebrews 413 which says, among other things, all things are naked and laid bare before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

You just you live your life naked before God, there is no such thing as a hidden sin. There is no such thing as an unspoken movie he sees and hears secret thinking. You can't act like you're a little more holy, which is an impossibility that someone else, you either wholly or not, and giving publicly. That's all the reward the father who sees in secret would love in secret to reward you many times those of you who gave and often give sacrificially and I tell you I have the words to describe my gratitude for you is not important. My gratitude is the father's delight in you.

You have rewards that you can even put into words's you have a great sense that Anita has been met and you were able to participate.

You have the joy of realizing that your occupation, provided you with with a sufficient amount that you could give to this end, and you hear about the results and you just are so grateful that's required not to mention rewards awaiting you your father who sees in secret is ready to take note of that. In fact it is. Look at verse three. So secret you're left-handed. Even though the right and it's about to do. Sort of a rundown when you give don't display it when you give don't keep remembering it when you can do it anonymously and always do it with purity of motive. This would versus two, three and four are teaching your giving, which is done in secret will be seen in secret will of the way. One man writes this.

The only reward any gracious giver wants is seeing the need met the situation relieved the naked Claude the sick healed, the disabled, encourage the building built and furnished the broken amended the lost see the forgotten found the wayward and disobedient restored to wholeness and dignity and dignity. Such acts of generous love in action bring with them their very own private war get better so it is forgiving, never ready for the second one which is even more conviction beginning at verse five when you pray, look at what it says you are not to be like the hypocrites. John Stott writes this about the hypocrite in classical Greek, the Hippocrates was first and orator and then an actor so figuratively. The word came to be applied to anybody who treats the world is a stage on which he plays a part.

He laid aside his true identity and assumes a false one is no longer himself.

But in disguise, impersonating somebody else. He wears a mask.

Stott clarifies now in the theater.

There's no harm or deceit in actors playing their parts. It is an accepted convention, the audience know that they have come to a drama. They are not taken in by the trouble with the religious hypocrite on the other hand, is that he deliberately sets out to deceive people. There's a lot of that goes on to speak to my fellow minister friends who are hearing me right now, some in this audience and summoned an audience.

Later on, with guard against this kind of hypocrisy stuff deliberately. We have people trusting us to be who we are not playing apart behind the mask acting like something were really not Jesus rebukes such hypocrisy that he says look at it verse five they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners live so that they maybe see how look at that holy person really that's holy, can I share with you some places that you will not be praying the end zone of a football field. Please, if you're an athlete in your gifted enough to run netball without getting killed all the way over the line just dropped the ball give to the referee. No, please, please, if you're in a pro ranks are paying you a lot of money for every yard you run were not impressed with the piety. Furthermore, you ruin your testimony when you show it off when I must force to respond exactly like Tom Landry did the late Tom Landry no longer to be seen along the sideline with a heart for God, but an interest in the game to play the game play the game faithfully church attendance, regular in-service served on the board of corporate members within the Dallas seminary. It was an honor to be sitting at the same table with him for one you want a few men that the better you got to know him privately, the greater he was that his true spirituality Savior in his own prayers when you're in the lunch room surrounded by students into good time to go.

And now, may I pray dear father, forgive these people who have started eating without praying and on and on and on and on and on.

We do thinking nobody came to wants to hear you pray the prayer lots in a public place, pray just keep it to yourself secret. Sometime you don't even have to pray it's okay Dolores is not going that person by going to make you vomit because you didn't pray please when serving a God did who demands perfection. We worship a God of grace, who understand sometime is/hurry and you're doing your best to choke it down for that next meeting or whatever may be the reason on the street corner lots of traffic choose that place even mentions it. They love to stand on the street. Why would anyone love to stand on the street corner to BC. Pray only to the Lord and have your best prayers reserved for private. It's helpful to overlay Jesus first century sermon on the Mount and to visualize its application to life in 2021. There's much more Chuck Swindoll wants to show us. He titled his message.

Beware religious performance now showing. This is insight for living. To learn more about this ministry or these messages, please visit us online at insight world.or we hope our current study about Jesus renowned sermon on the Mount has piqued your curiosity to learn more.

If so, we invite you to request Chuck's book on this topic is called simple faith. In addition to the issues he addressed on today's program. Chuck also explains what it means to keep our walk with God. Very simple, and he writes about the dangers of putting on a show to impress our friends and family with our spiritual virtue. After all Jesus expose the dangers of hypocrisy and he made it very clear that we can easily replace performance-based religion with a far better joy based kingdom living. So to purchase a copy of simple faith give us a phone call if you're listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or using your mobile device or computer go directly to insight.org/store insight for living ministries is a nonprofit organization made possible not by the purchase of study tools through the voluntary gifts of grateful friends to help us continue providing these daily programs and all the related resources give a donation by calling us listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888.

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So can call us listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or give online@insight.or right here insight for living. The preceding message. Beware religious performance now showing was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited