Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most
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Amen.
You guys can be seated.
If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew chapter 6.
If you do not have a copy of God's Word, we have some black Bibles right back here at the
connection table.
They will be there for the entirety of the service.
They'll be back there after the service is over with.
So if you do not have a copy of God's Word and you want one, please go back there, take
one of these.
This is our gift to you.
We want to make sure everyone has a copy of the Bible.
Now, last Sunday was great.
It was great for a lot of reasons, right?
Wonderful being able to come together for Easter Sunday and worship together.
Last week, if you weren't able to be here, we did have baptisms, and the baptistry is still
out.
And so I would like to share for us to be in prayer and praise our Spanish-speaking service,
which happens 1230.
They will be baptizing today, and I believe eight people will be getting baptized.
So we celebrate and we praise God, absolutely, for all that He is doing.
Would you pause with me for just one moment as we go to the Lord in prayer?
God, we thank you for today.
Lord, we thank you for this time that we could gather together, Lord, and open your Word.
Lord, may I be faithful to you and to what you have for us.
Father, if any of this is not of me, Lord, remove it so that you will be glorified.
Listen, Jesus, let me pray.
Amen.
We are continuing on in studying of the book of the Gospel of Matthew, and specifically
over the last several weeks, we have been working through the Sermon on the Mount.
And when we get here to Matthew chapter 6, there's a little break in the flow of how Jesus has
been teaching for what Jesus will teach.
Before we get there, I would like to share a common criticism of the church, a common criticism
from the outside world, people who are not Christians, about the church.
I've heard this criticism more times than I can think of.
You know, the church is full of hypocrites.
The church is full of hypocrites.
Well, my question for us this morning is, is this a fair or unfair assessment of the church?
I know oftentimes, right, when we feel like someone is attacking those or something that
we love, we tend to want to defend.
We tend to want to be biased in our assessment.
And so if you were like me, when you hear someone say that the church is full of hypocrites,
it can cause within us a defense mechanism to well up inside of us to say, oh, no, we aren't.
But when we are honest about ourselves, myself included in this with you, right?
Praise God, the church is full of sinners saved by the grace of God.
None of us in here are deserving or worthy of God's grace, but praise God that he gives it to us.
So we are saints, but sinners saved by grace, not through our work, but through his.
And if the church is full of sinners, and sinners are defined sinners because we sin, and hypocrisy is a sin,
then it would be fair to come to the assessment that churches can be full of hypocrites.
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus is going to address this in the Sermon on the Mount.
And I believe 11 different times in Matthew's gospel, Jesus addresses hypocrisy from those who would think of themselves or see themselves as spiritual.
In Matthew 6, Jesus is going to call those who long for and desire to be a part of the kingdom.
Remember, Jesus came, repent for the kingdom of heaven is here.
He's called us to follow him through repentance and faith, and now he's going to call to reflect the kingdom ethic.
To be the people of God that he's called us to be.
Not out of sense of self-righteous religious practice, but out of a true heart for God.
God who saves us, God who transforms us, and God who sanctifies us.
I praise God that he has saved me.
I praise God that in salvation he has transformed me.
The old is gone, the new has come.
But folks, I, like you, we are a work in progress.
And it is not through our own religious might that we are changed,
but it's through the working of the Holy Spirit in us.
So we begin this in Matthew 6, verse 1, with a warning against hypocrisy.
Now Jesus will not mention hypocrisy in verse 1, but he will mention it several times throughout the passage that we are going to look at this morning.
So let's see what his warning specifically is.
Jesus says in Matthew 6, verse 1,
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.
Now this morning we are going to look at three different religious behaviors that Jesus addresses.
Three religious behaviors that were commonly practiced.
Sorry, the pollens get to me a little bit this morning.
There we go.
Commonly practiced and commonly practiced in public by the religious elites of Jesus' day.
Jesus talks about the practice of giving to the poor, of prayer.
And then we're going to jump down and read verses 16, 17, and 18 and talk about one of our favorite things, fasting.
All right?
Now, a couple of things about these when we look at these.
Number one, number one, these are not sinful practices.
Don't look at this as an opportunity this morning to stop giving.
Don't look at this as an opportunity to stop praying.
And don't look at this as an opportunity to continue to no longer fast, right?
Jesus is, in fact, assuming that these practices are happening in the lives.
He will say, when you give to those in need, when you pray, and when you fast.
Jesus is not releasing them from being obedient to God.
Instead, what he's working on, what we will see, is the heart condition.
So we'll get there.
We'll get there.
Number two, we are called to display our faith.
We are called to display our faith.
My faith should be something that I believe in, and then there should be evidence of my faith coming from me in my life.
That's why in Matthew 5, 16, Jesus says, in the same way,
let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
You see, Jesus isn't saying that our faith is this personal practice away from everyone else.
That Jesus is calling us, both within a context of body of believers and also within the context of the lost world,
to live out our faith in real, tangible ways.
So this isn't, spiritually speaking, to become a hermit.
It's not what Jesus is challenging.
The challenge Jesus is giving is not if you should do them, but why do you do them?
Not if you should give, if you should fast, if you should pray, but why are you doing these things?
Is your obedience to God from a heart of obedience or from a heart of hypocrisy?
So a hypocrite.
What is a hypocrite?
Sometimes I feel like we throw out words, I throw out words,
and we don't have a clear understanding of the word that is being used.
So Jesus will say, don't be a hypocrite.
And I think when we understand this word, especially in the context that Jesus uses,
it'll help us understand.
You see, a hypocrite is a theatrical term.
A hypocrite refers to the process by which an actor,
and oftentimes within the time of Jesus and moving much forward all throughout the Roman Empire,
there would not be enough actors or actresses, largely actors,
to play all of the roles that were going to happen.
There wasn't the makeup.
There wasn't film.
Everything had to happen in front of them.
So what the actors would do is they would practice a form of hypocrisy.
They would take masks and put them on so that you could see who they are
or the character they are playing by the mask that they wear.
So if you're playing one part, or if you're playing two different parts,
you may have two masks.
You put this mask on, and then you put this mask on,
and then you put this mask on.
So a person is determined by who they are
and the theatrical performance they are playing by the mask they wear.
One of my favorite actors of all time is Morgan Freeman.
If you don't like Morgan Freeman and Morgan Freeman movies, I don't understand.
I love Morgan Freeman because specifically of his ability
to display many different masks as he performs.
Let me throw out some of my favorites to you.
Now I'm going to say the name of the character
and see if you can come with me on these, all right?
Hoke Cloburn.
That's from Driving Miss Daisy.
Sergeant Major John Rollins from the movie Glory.
One I threw out to Josh Nix this morning,
and he didn't get it.
But if you were a teenager in the late 80s, early 90s,
like I think you should know this movie.
He played the character Azeem.
You might know.
He's the sidekick of Kevin Costner.
Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.
Thank you, sir.
Alex Cross and Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.
But my favorite, my favorite Morgan Freeman character,
of all time, hands down, greatest movie that's ever been made.
Ellis Boyd Redding.
Shawshank Redemption, otherwise known as Red.
I didn't know we'd get into a dialogue about this,
but I love it, right?
I love it.
Right.
Here's what makes Morgan Freeman a great actor.
I'm sorry.
What did he play in Lean on Me?
Who is this character's name?
Principal Joe Clark, right?
Right.
How did I leave that one off?
Right?
Phenomenal work.
What makes Morgan Freeman a great actor?
Is he's not a principal?
He's not a chauffeur.
He's not a sergeant major.
He's not a warrior.
He's not a detective.
He is not a prison inmate.
But he can convince you in a movie that this is who he is.
I'm going to let this question resonate with you.
Are your acts of obedience,
are the religious workings that is displayed in your life,
are they done with a motive to convince others
that this is who you truly are?
Are they done with the motive of this is who you are in Christ?
And your obedience is reflective of the one who has saved you,
the one who has transformed you,
and the one who has sanctified you.
Jesus says,
beware of practicing righteousness
before other people
in order to be seen by them.
Jesus is addressing
the motivation
of the heart.
Is it a heart
of flesh
or a heart of God?
So the first that he speaks to
is the heart
the heart of giving.
Would you join me in reading verses 2-4?
Thus, when you give to the needy,
sound no trumpet before you
as the hypocrites do in the synagogue
and in the streets,
that they may be praised by others.
Truly, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give to the needy,
do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing
so that your giving may be in secret
and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.
Here's what Jesus is saying.
Don't be the person
whose goal and generosity
is to draw attention to yourself.
Don't be a person
in manners of generosity
to be followed with
with a heart
and a posturing
and a mindset
of look at me.
And if you do,
your reward
is found
in the moment
in the praise of man
and not in the glory of God.
The religious hypocrites
of the day
enjoyed
flaunting
both what they gave
in the synagogue
and on the streets.
Their means of sacrifice,
their means of giving
was not out of obedience
to the Lord
but off their own praise.
We give to God
because we trust Him.
We give to God
because we love Him.
We give to God
because we understand
that all that I,
not just all that I am,
but all that I have
is His.
And God,
I trust You.
I don't trust You
just with my salvation,
but I trust You
with my right now.
I trust You
with every part of me.
I trust You
with my bank account.
I trust You
with my wife.
I trust You
with my kids.
Lord,
I trust You
with it all.
And God,
I am not giving back
to You
a portion that is Yours
and keeping for the rest
the part that is Mine,
but I'm giving it all
to You
as You've called me to.
Every dollar
that is spent
is Yours.
Every dollar
that's given
is Yours.
But also,
we give to others
so that we can show
the compassion
and love
that was bestowed
upon us.
So I give
and I'm generous
because I'm compassionate
to You
and where You are
and it's not that
I pity You,
it's that I love You.
Not because You've
earned it
or You've deserved it
because it's desperate
what you need
in the same way
that God
gives to us.
And so if the warning,
it is the warning
of the heart
that seeks
self-glory.
and this
when we seek
our self-glory
is the reward
instead of
the glory
for God
that He's called us to.
The second
is the heart
of prayer.
We'll read
verses 5 through 8
next week.
We will look at
specifically
how Jesus instructs us
to pray
starting in verse 9
but let's look at
the heart of prayer.
Jesus says,
when you pray
you must not be
like the hypocrites.
Again,
here we go.
Must not be like
the hypocrites
for they love
to stand
and pray
in the synagogue
and at street corners
that they may be
seen by others.
Truly,
I say to you,
they have received
their reward.
But when you pray,
go into your room
and shut the door
and pray to your Father
who is in secret
and your Father
who sees
in secret
will reward you.
And when you pray,
do not heap up
empty phrases
as the Gentiles do
for they think
that they will be heard
for their many words.
Do not be like them
for your Father
knows what you need
before you ask Him.
This week,
I read prayer
defined as this.
A child of God
talking to His heavenly Father,
and listening to His Father
by His Word
illuminated by the Spirit.
I love,
I think oftentimes
that you and I
approach prayer
like a job interview.
I'm here to impress.
I've got to use long words.
I've got to give
complicated thoughts.
I've got to impress God
with who I am
in my prayers
or in a religious sense
like what we see here.
I don't want to impress
those who are around me
instead of the beautiful picture
of what we see,
of what is defined here,
of the simplicity
of a child
talking to their father.
A child crawling up
in the lap.
A child whispering
in the ear.
A child sharing
the affirmations
and the adoration
of their heart
to their father.
You see,
the prayer
for the hypocrite
is not a sincere
conversation with God,
but instead
is an opportunity
for them
to try to prove
and try to show
how spiritual
they truly are.
Who they are
in their public prayer life
is not who they are
in their private prayer life.
The issue
is not just that
their prayers
are too eloquent
or too long
or too spiritual.
The issue
is that
their prayer
is a public
performance.
Their prayer
comes from a heart
that seeks
spiritual prominence
before others.
Let me prove
how much more
spiritual
I am
than you.
I think
when we
take on
attitudes like this
that what we do
instead of impressing
is that we
discourage
those
who were
desperately
and earnestly
trying to grow
in their faith
and in their obedience.
And as a result
they feel like
their prayer
is less than
because it can't
meet the standard
of the Oscar
winning performance
that they just saw.
Jesus said
don't be
in this
performative mode.
Don't be
like the Gentiles
who babble
empty phrases
over and over
and over
again
to gods
who do not
even exist.
But let
your public
prayer life
reflect
your daily
private life.
Number three
number three
the heart
of fasting.
Drop down
with me
to verse
16 through
18.
And when
you fast
do not
look gloomy
like the
hypocrites
for they
disfigure
their faces
that their
fasting
may be
seen by
others.
Truly
I say
to you
they have
received
their reward
but when
you fast
anoint
your head
and wash
your face
that your
fasting may
not be
seen by
others
but by
your
father
who is
in secret
and your
father
who sees
in secret
will
reward
you.
Praise
God for
you and
me
there's
probably
enough
conviction
in the
first
four words
and when
you
fast.
so let
me
confess
here
right
this
I don't
know if
you can
tell
this is a
practice
that I
need to
have more
for many
many reasons
in my
life.
But what
is fasting?
What is
biblical fasting
and why
do we do
it?
Simple
for needs
for this
morning
fasting
consists
of
abstaining
from
eating
drinking
or another
activity
for a
dedicated
set period
of time
for
purposes
of
prayer
devotion
mourning
repentance
and
obedience.
It's
setting this
aside
saying
Jesus
you are
enough
and so
I'm going
to give
up this
meal
I'm going
to give
up this
time
I'm going
to give
up this
activity
find my
satisfaction
my purpose
to set
my mind
and my
heart
on you.
Now
one thing
to note
about
fasting
it's
hard
when
fasting
is done
well
it
should
be
difficult
you see
the call
is to
fast
from
things
that
you
feel
like
you
need
or
that
you
do
need
or
that
you
desire
and
that
are
a
consistent
part
of
your
life
so
an
example
for
me
right
a
proper
fasting
would
be
for
me
to
fast
from
food
I
love
food
I
love
a lot
of
food
I
love
all
the
food
I'm
thinking
about
lunch
right now
right
I
love
food
now
an
improper
fast
for me
I may
do this
this Christmas
would be
to fast
from
lifetime
Christmas
movies
improper
fast
why
not a
fan
not a
fan
I can
watch the
first five
minutes
in the
last five
minutes
and
know
everything
that
happened
in
between
right
if
you
love
them
great
for
you
they're
not
my
deal
okay
fasting
is
intended
to be
hard
fasting
is
intended
to be
difficult
fasting
is
intended
to
challenge
the
physically
of
who
we
are
within
this
as
we
spiritually
lean
in
and
trust
him
more
and
people
fasted
then
and
maybe
even
now
they
loved
to
make
a
big
deal
about
it
the
picture
that
I
think
of
and
the
picture
that
I
see
would
be
like
seventh
grade
Bo
waking
up
on a
weekday
morning
remembering
he has
a science
test
and
the
only
way
out
is
to
convince
mom
and
dad
that
I'm
sick
so
what
do
you
think
seventh
grade
Bo
would
walk
in
there
with
a
smile
on
his
face
hey
guess
what
I
feel
terrible
today
no
I
wanted
to
convince
them
that
there
was
something
wrong
with
me
that
I
would
struggle
so
I
would
walk
in
usually
having
pressed
a
light
bulb
on
my
forehead
so
I
could
right
go
in
the
bathroom
for
a
few
minutes
make
some
noises
to
think
that
I'm
getting
sick
in
there
right
people
would
fast
they
would
come
out
and
they
would
mess
up
their
hair
they
would
dirty
themselves
up
they
would
walk
and
look
miserable
within
their
countenance
what's
wrong
with
you
brother
and
sister
I'm
just
fasting
for
the
Lord
today
isn't
he
so
good
put
the
mask
of
hypocrisy
on
they're
doing
this
for
the
approval
of
others
Jesus
says
when
you
fast
don't
be like
the
hypocrites
clean
up
clean
up
your
face
anoint
your
like
look
good
is
what
he's
describing
look
like
you're
ready
for
the
day
and
as
you
walk
in
the
confidence
of
who
God
is
the
reflection
is
not
for
them
to
see
what
you're
doing
so
that
they
can
praise
you
but
the
reflection
is
because
I'm
dependent
on
God
for
all
that
he
is
you
see
it's
the
heart
that
seeks
spiritual
superiority
and
not
the
heart
that
seeks
God
right
Jesus
challenges
us
in
her
hypocrisy
of
why
we
do
what
we
do
even
if
it's
perceived
obedience
you
see
the
questions
that
Jesus
raised
is
not
a
question
of
should
you
or
shouldn't
you
yes
you
should
God's
word
commands
generosity
God's
word
commands
prayer
God's
word
commands
fasting
the
question
is
why
do
you
and
who
do
you
do
it
for
maybe
for
you
giving
prayer
fasting
aren't
the
concerns
when
I
think
of
the
modern
day
church
I
think
of
the
struggles
of
what
Jesus
may
have
said
if
we
were
the
ones
gathered
around
the
sermon
of
the
mount
would
he
challenge
the
reasons
why
we
serve
would
he
challenge
the
reasons
why
we
attend
would
he
challenge
the
motivation
of
fellowship
would
he
challenge
our
pursuit
of
discipleship
would
he
challenge
our
acts
of
worship
this
week
I
wrestled
with
these
two
questions
in
my
own
heart
sharing
with
you
folks
who are
you
here
for
who
are
you
here
for
are
you
here
for
him
are
you
here
for
other
reasons
and
when
we
go
from
here
folks
who
are
you
living
for
who
are
you
living
for
whose
name
is
on the
heartbeat
of your
life
whose
glory
are
you
seeking
whose
story
are
you
telling
I'm
going to
ask the
worship
team
if they'll
make their
way up
onto the
stage
ask our
prayer
encouragers
if they'll
move to
the side
of the
auditorium
are
your
acts
of
obedience
done
to
convince
others
that you
are
someone
that you
are
truly
not
or
are
your
acts
of
obedience
reflective
of
the
one
who
has
saved
you
the
one
who
has
transformed
you
and
the
one
who
is
sanctifying
you
would
you
join
me
in
prayer
God
we
come
to
you
we're
thanking
you
for
all
of
who
you
are
or
for
all
of
what
you've
done
help
us
remove
the
masks
that
we
place
help
us
remove
the
evil
pursuits
of
our
hearts
that
seek
our
glory
above
yours
it's
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
amen
that's
it
for
this
week's
message
be
sure
to
check
back
next
week
for
a
new
episode
and
in
the
meantime
you
can
visit
us
online
at
willowridgechurch.org
or by
searching for
Willow Ridge Church
on Facebook
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and YouTube
thanks again
for listening
and YouTube