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You know, they get some pretty strange names at times. On average, there's 12 a year, but some years there's more and some years there are less. When they're going on, they're the focus of attention, but, but usually after the fact, unless you were directly involved, they're just forgotten. But some of them, some of them are widely remembered because of how powerful they were. How destructive they were. Maybe they went through an area where it didn't normally happen before. Give you an example of what I'm talking about. If I say to you the word Katrina, what comes to mind? Hurricane Katrina. You see, hurricanes is something that had been at the forefront of everybody's mind with Helene and and Milton just come through almost back to back. But Hurricane Katrina was was one of those storms that just stands out for a lot of people. 2000 and five. Of course, every time there's a major natural disaster like this, one of the things that almost immediately begins to to be sounded out is calls for help. People lose everything. They lose their homes. Many lose their lives. And when those calls for help go out, many people answer them. People stop their lives and they load up all the supplies and equipment that they have and they, they basically put their own lives on hold and they go to an area for people that they have no idea who they are and they help. And it's a wonderful and beautiful thing. But not everybody has the ability to do that. For a lot of people, they can't uproot their lives. Or maybe they don't have a truck and an enclosed trailer and all the tools and equipment that it takes to do, you know, remove brush and lint and do these things. So the next best thing is what? Well, we'll donate money. We'll give money to a group of people with the idea and the intention that they're going to take that money, those funds, and they're going to go into an area and help. You see, in 2005, when Katrina hit millions and millions and millions of dollars was given to the United States, the American Red Cross. And of course, when you know how people are, If you go into an area, one of the things they did for, for disaster victims was is they would load money on to, on to like prepaid visas, debit cards, if you will, and they would give those out to people so that they could buy supplies and things that they need. And of course, human beings being what they are, if you go into an area and start handing out some form of cash, people are going to abuse that system, right? They're going to be the wanty as well as the needy. We kind of expect that. But what if I told you that it wasn't just people trying to play the system? What if I told you that people actually from the Red Cross itself took, took money that was donated to help Hurricane Katrina victims and they stole it and they put it in their own pockets? How would you feel about that? You'd be outraged. These people who who put on the vest and they go down there and they say, we're here to help. And in reality, some of them, not all of them. There's always a few bad apples in the bunch, right? But some of them turned around and said, instead of we're here to help you, they're here to what help themselves. This is a real story. Of all the millions of dollars that was given to Hurricane Katrina, about 200, 000 of it wound up in a few employees pockets. And you say, well, 200, 000 versus a couple million. That's that's not a lot of money, but it's not a money problem, is it? It's not a money problem. It's a principle problem. You're gonna go down there and you're gonna put on the vest and you're gonna pretend to help. And instead You're not only stealing money from donors, but you're stealing it also from what? From people who need it. You're stealing from both sides of the pot. It's manipulative. It's sorry. We could come up with all kind of words to say about it this morning. But in reality, there's there's one word that we kind of used to describe this. Someone who would take aid that's supposed to be given to hurricane victims. and stealing and put it in their own pockets. We call them what? Hypocrites. You see that word hypocrisy or hypocrite comes from a word that means to play a part. You put on the vest and say, I'm here to help. In reality, you're not. Of course, Halloween's almost among us. And, you know, some of us little kids and some of us big kids like to put on, put on mask and costumes and pretend to be somebody else. That's fun and all. I don't like to, I did Tin Man one time and that face paint nearly itched me to death. I don't ever see Tin Man making a resurrection if I can help it. I just said that and I'll have to do it this year. But it's one thing to pretend to be somebody else for a few minutes for Halloween. What happens when somebody wants to pretend to be somebody else indefinitely? What happens when somebody wants to pretend to be a Christian? in the middle of the church. That's a much more serious matter. And this morning, what I want us to do is I want us to look at one of the gospel accounts. I want to steal the book of Matthew, got your Bibles. Go ahead and be turning there with me. That's where we're going to go and spend the entirety of our time this morning. I didn't realize it until I did this study for this lesson. But Matthew says a lot about hypocrites. And I want us to look at what, what Matthew has to say. about about hypocrisy and hypocrites. And I hope that we can learn from these things. I hope that we can learn to be better. I know I need to be better. And I bet if I need to be better that you need to be better too. So that being said, we're gonna start out in Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter six right here in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus in Chapter five starts out with the beatitudes. Blessed are those and go through that list of all those characteristics of how to be a Christian. And then as we get out into Chapter six, Jesus is going to begin to talk about people who perform religious acts and he's going to call them hypocrites and notice what makes them a hypocrite. All right, Matthew Chapter six beginning verse one. Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people. in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received the reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you're giving may be in secret in your father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, where they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they might be seen by others. Really, I said to you, they have received the reward. But when you pray, go in your room and shut the door and pray to the 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. Pray them like this. Our father in heaven, how will be your name? Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day or daily bread and forgive us our debts as we're also forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, Your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive other their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 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 the reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but your Father who is in secret. and your father who sees in secret will reward you. So you see all these things here, fasting prayers, all these things. They're good things. They're righteous things. But what made these people hypocrites? They were doing the right things, but they were doing it for the wrong reason. You see, hypocrisy It's a motivation problem. Hypocrisy is a motivation problem. You know, why are you doing what you're doing? If you go when you, you know, we think about First Corinthians 13. If I give everything that I have to the poor and I get my body to be burned and I have not what love it's worthless. If I try to do the right thing, but I'm doing it for a wrong reason that that nullifies the whole thing. You go and give to the poor. You go and you say these big long prayers. You go when you fast and you're doing it for. Hey, look at me. Look how good and holy and righteous I am. Look how I can float three inches above the ground and I'm better than you know if I was the whole thing. Motor hypocrisy is a motivation problem. Everybody's motivated by something. Everybody does what they're doing for a range. And when we talk about hypocrisy, if we think about, if we think about somebody who would put on a Red Cross vest and go down in the middle of a hurricane and take gift cards that are supposed to be given out to people who are hurricane victims and take those and put them in their own pocket, why did they do that? Whatever their reason is, it all boils down to one thing, selfishness. You see, when you look at hypocrisy, usually whatever the specific situation is, whatever the details are, you know, we think about in Ron, we think about all these other situations where where people have taken these great sums of money and taking it back to other people. You boil it all down and it comes down to selfishness. And you understand why this is such a huge problem. Not only in the workplace, In the school place, but in the Lord's body, because if selfishness rules my life, then what? I have no room for God. If selfishness rules my life, then I'm trying to what I'm trying to be God. I want to make the rules. I want to do what I want, and I want to do it the way I want to do it. Think about Ananias and Sapphira. They went and sold that piece of property. I don't know what it sold for. Let's say 100, 000. They wanted to look good in front of the church. They wanted everybody to think, well, we sold this piece of property and gave all the money. So they give 75, 000 to the church. They keep 25, 000 back in their, in their back pocket. And they come and lay it in. Say, here you go. Look what good thing we've done. And the Lord struck them dead for it. hypocrisy. They could have done a good thing. They could have said we sold this piece of land and we're gonna keep a little money for ourselves. But here's 75, 000. You know, if somebody gives 75, 000 church day, we go. But the fact that they wanted the glory and the credit like Barnabas did, like these other people did, they wanted their cake and to have it and to eat it, too. And it don't work that way. Never has. Hypocrisy is a motivation problem. And the problem with selfishness is, as we continue on into Chapter seven, here's, here's the problem with selfishness. Here's the result of selfishness. If you will, you chapter seven with me judge, not that you be not judged for the judgment that you pronounce You will be judged and with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the spec that's in your brother's eye? But do not notice the log that is in your own eye. Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye when the log is in your own eye. You hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's. You see, selfishness and hypocrisy. makes you blind to yourself. It makes you blind to yourself. You so focused on everybody else. Well, they got this. They got a promotion. They got a new this. They got the house and all these things and reality. What is wrong? The real problem is not the speck in their eye. It's the two before sticking out of hours. You ever you ever get hung up sometimes Over in the Parsonage, there's a, there's a hook on the wall. Best I remember, I put up a thing to hang the backpacks on, and I come through there one day, and I hung a belt loop on it. You ever hung a belt loop on something? You know, you've seen the airplanes when they hit the aircraft carrier, and they hit that cable, and they go, You hang that hook, and it kind of, kind of jerks you back. You didn't see it coming, did you? You can't see. Your own problem. You got a two before sticking out of your eyes and everybody else can see it. But you can't see it. And oftentimes with hypocrisy, it's not just that you can't see it. You don't want to see it. It's really easy to blame other people for my problems. Well, they did this and they did that. My heart. What could be the log that you have in it? No, it can't be that. It's It's something else. It makes us blind to ourselves. And here's the problem. Nobody really wakes up one day and says, you know what? I'm like, I want to be a hypocrite. It's a slow progression. It's bit by bit. Little by little. Little by little. And eventually you wind up all the way over here in the corner and because you can't see yourself, you know, how'd I get here? Oh, I got over here. Cause you're blinded to yourself. You can't even consider for a moment. What if it's me? What if it's me? What if I have, you know, somebody does something to us and we can't even begin to ask ourselves, what part did I play in that? Yes, it doesn't excuse what they did. But what about me? What part did I have to play in this? But being able to self examine ourselves and kind of back up and say, you know what? I need to change something. That's important. Hypocrisy blinds us to that. Let's skip ahead now to chapter 15. If we can't, if we're selfish and we can't see what's going on with us, then hypocrisy begins to affect other aspects of our life and our soul as well. Look at Matthew 15. The Pharisees came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? Get your popcorn out. Here we go. Well, they do not wash their hands when they eat, and he answered them. Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded honor your father and mother and whoever reviles father and mother must surely die. But you say if anyone tells his father and mother what you would have gained from me is given to God. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. I can't, I can't help you because I've donated all the money that I would use to support you in the assisted living in the nursing home and whatever it is, I've given that to God. You're just gonna have to fend for yourself. He need not honor his father and mother. So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites. Well, did Isaiah prophesy you when he said, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me in vain. Do they worship me? Teaching his doctrines, the commandments of me. You understand that hypocrisy carried out to its ultimate end begins to destroy our worship to God. It makes sense. If it's all about me. Then I walk through those back doors and I come in here and I sit down and I don't come in here and sit down for God. What do I do? I come in here and sit down for me. And when I have a better idea about what God said and what God said, what happens? I start replacing rules. You heard about the Torah. They made up, God give them, God give them a handful of commandments on the mountain. God didn't give them a hundred commandments. How many of them? 10. I mean, Adam and Eve couldn't handle one in the garden. God give them 10 and what they do. They developed hundreds. Yeah, that's a great idea. Let's see how that works out. You see, hypocrisy begins to destroy our worship to God because slowly, bit by bit, piece by piece, we look at God and say, you know what, I know better. I know what you said, but you probably meant this. I know what you're saying, but we don't really like you. I mean, that's, that's first century. We do it a little bit different here in America in the 21st century. We're, we're a little more progressive than that. We're, we've learned better that that's not really that big a sin. That's not really that big a deal. He destroys our worship. And once again, the danger of this is it's not one big sweeping transaction. Nobody comes in one day and says, All right, who wants to be a hypocrite? All in favor. Hi, the eyes have it. It's a slow progression. It's a slow transgression. You know, Roman chapter 12, right? Talks about being transformed by the renewing of your mind. We have to examine ourselves. We have to ask our questions. You know, one of the things he talks here about is traditions and some traditions are great. There's nothing wrong with traditions, but when traditions become elevated to the point of gospel, that's a problem. When you can't ask a point, when you can't ask a question of a tradition, then it becomes your gospel. Traditions are fine, but Should they not be examined if they're not healthier or helpful, right? Something that may have worked great in one situation does not automatically mean it's gonna work great in another. We're not talking about violating doctrine here, but he says what traditions, these traditions about washing the cup and honoring their father and mother and this situation where they're that stuff they made up. It's not the word of God. They could have looked at that and say, you know what? We, I know, I know we got here and I don't really even know how we got here, but this is wrong and we should change it. They had that ability, but they didn't hypocrisy can destroy our worship. But lastly, if we can destroy our worship, then it shouldn't be any surprise that hypocrisy can also destroy souls. Matthew 23. We were exhausted himself will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. Can you imagine that? Shutting the kingdom of heaven in somebody's face? Hey, come on in the church, buddy. Glad to have you here today. Bam! Shut it in their face. Can you imagine? For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. What do you blind guys who say? If anyone swears by the temple, it's nothing. But if anyone swears by the gold on the temple, he is bound to his oath. You blind fools for which is greater. The gold on the gold or the temple that is made the gold sacred. And you say, if anyone swears by the altar, it's nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath. You blind man. For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple, swears by, by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and him who sits on it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe men and deal in cumen and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You want to go tie the spice rack? Go ahead, but don't neglect the real matters of the law, right? You blind guides. Straightening out a gnat and swallowing a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they're full of greed and self indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and plate, that the outside may also be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also appear Uh, outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you're full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, if we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would have not taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. We're better than they are, you know. Thus, you witness against yourselves that you're sons of those who murdered the prophets. Feel up. Then the measure of your father's you serpent, you brood of vipers. How are you going to escape being sentenced to hell? You see here, hypocrisy destroy souls. It doesn't just destroy my soul. If I'm being a hypocrite, it destroys those around me who have influence. You think about Paul and Peter and Peter, you know, later on in Galatians, Paul said Peter would take when the Jews would come around, he would withdraw from the Gentiles. And it talks about how even Barnabas began to be carried away in this foolishness because Peter and his influence was affecting negatively those around him. Apocrypha virus. It spreads. That was one of the things when coronavirus hit. It wasn't just the fact that there was this virus that could kill you. It was that in the beginning, we didn't really know how it was spread. We lost all everything. It turns out didn't have nothing to do with surfaces. It was droplets in the air. How do you how do you scrub the air? We don't know, right? The unknown of it was what was so scary. You see, this spreads just like a virus and it's so dangerous. That's why the truth is so important. God has given us all things that we need for life and godliness, right? We can, we can come to this book. We can study Hebrews 10 24. We can stir up one another into love and good works. We can encourage one another. We can take those who may be falling away and we can, we can go to them and help bring them back. You talks about snatching the one out of the fire. Who's about about who's in danger, right? That's what this is about. Hypocrisy is the enemy of all this. And it's a danger for each and every one of us. Now, as we end up here this morning, there's one more mention about hypocrisy and I, I just want to end there. Matthew twenty four verse thirty four. Therefore, you almost, you also must be ready. For the son of man is coming in an hour. You do not expect. Who then is faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom the master will find doing so when he returns. Truly, I say to you, he will set over him all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, my master is delayed and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect an hour. He does not know and he will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites in that place. There'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I didn't teach this morning, this lesson this morning to accuse anybody, but you gotta understand where hypocrisy leads. Yes, we all make mistakes. Yes, we all act the hypocrite. The problem is not the problem is not. How did you get here? Right. If you find yourself this morning, you think I've been acting hypocritical. That's not the problem. The problem is, what are you gonna do about it? We're often judged in life, not on the mistakes that we make, but how do we recover? How do we recover? If you don't get anything else from this lesson this morning, I mean, I've acted hypocritical at times in my life. Everybody has. We're not none of perfect, but you have the opportunity today, right here, right now to change. to be better. You have a God that loves you. You're surrounded by his people who love you. And if we can help you in any way we want to do that now while we have that invitation. So
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