And let's read God's Word together from Matthew 6, verses 1-4.
In the New Testament, the first Gospel, Matthew 6, verses 1-4.
This is the Word of the Lord.
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 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.
This is God's Holy Word.
Well, I want to say a huge thank you to Corey for the opportunity to be with you tonight.
And thank you all so much for your warm welcome this evening.
It is always just a massive joy to be with you here in Sincise.
And it's a joy for two reasons.
One, because, as Corey said, so many of you are such dear friends to me and my family.
And I love the opportunity to come and see people who we love so much.
But it's also a joy because we live in a very small community in an area where our churches are small and struggling.
And I love coming to the very middle of our capital city and seeing a full church with many new faces, with Jesus' name being praised and honoured right at the heart of Edinburgh.
So it's a joy for me to be here.
And thank you so, so much for the opportunity and for the warm, warm welcome.
We're going to look together at the words that Corey read from Matthew chapter 6.
And you've been going through the Sermon on the Mount, which is such a wonderful passage of Scripture.
And it's a section of the Bible that's so important for us as disciples.
Because here, Jesus is teaching what God's kingdom, what life in God's kingdom should look like.
And I think you've just gone through chapter 5.
It's teaching you so much about what our character should be like as Christians.
It's guiding us about how we are to bear witness and be a light to the world that's around us.
It's teaching us about how we should understand God's law, how the Old Testament fits into the new, how we should see our response to that in our lives.
And it teaches us about how we should react to situations, especially when other people teach us badly.
And as I'm sure you've heard this many times, it is vital to remember that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not teaching you how to become a disciple.
He is teaching you how to live as a disciple.
In other words, this sermon is unpacking what being a disciple of Jesus should look like.
And these opening verses of chapter 6 are teaching us some more crucial lessons.
And I want to think about them under the heading Discipleship Unmasked, which I hope will make sense as we go through.
The great theme of this sermon is that disciples are to be different.
Disciples of Jesus are to be different.
And so at work, at school, in our communities, we are to stand out from the brokenness and the selfishness and the hostility and the cruelty that we see in the world around us.
As we follow Jesus, we are to be different in a beautiful way.
But being different can be hard.
And one of the reasons why being different is so hard is because if you're anything like me, you are constantly plagued with pressure and anxiety about what other people think of you.
I want to share a story with you.
I may have told this story before, so some of you might have heard it before.
Back in Carloway, where I live, the house where we live in is close to the football pitch.
And there's a local football team that we love to go and watch.
So a few years ago, I went to watch the football team.
And I took a football with us because Tom was wee then and the other, John and Annie were also small.
So we took a football so they could play at the side while we watched the game.
That was all fine.
They went home early.
And so I stayed on to watch the rest of the football match.
And I still had the football.
So I was taking the football home as I walked home like a quarter of a mile down the road.
And I was walking home carrying the football.
I thought, well, actually, I'll just maybe just kind of dribble the ball along.
I was kind of once played football a little bit.
And so I walked along and I had the ball on the pavement, just going along like this with the ball.
And at some point, I don't actually know what happened.
But I put my foot on top of the ball and in a second, I was on the ground.
I'm so convinced somebody shot me with something from somewhere.
But anyway, I fell flat on the ground.
I hurt my shoulder.
My shoulder has never been right since.
This is about eight years ago.
And so I fell on the ground.
And so like that, I was in pain.
Confused as to what had happened.
But I immediately stood up, not thinking anything about my pain or about what had happened.
The only thought in my mind was, did anybody see me?
Thankfully, I don't think they did because not many people live in Carlyway.
But that was the immediate thought that came to my mind.
And we're often plagued by that.
You know, what do other people think?
To give you another example, imagine you were wearing your pajamas right now.
Would you feel comfortable?
There's nothing uncomfortable about pajamas.
They're actually very comfortable.
So you could be sitting here.
It would all be super comfortable.
Would you feel comfortable in your pajamas?
Well, I would not feel comfortable in my pajamas entirely because of what other people would be thinking.
In so many ways, this plagues us.
We worry about what people see and think.
It applies in every area of life, in work, in school, in our community, in social media.
And as Jesus highlights in these verses, that can have a huge influence on us as disciples.
And Jesus wants us to think about this.
And so we're going to look at these verses together.
And we're just going to go through three headings.
We're going to think about contrasts, constants, and a question.
And I'm delighted because all my headings begin with C.
So, first of all, contrasts.
Question I'd like to ask you.
What's the opposite of a disciple?
And you might immediately think, well, an unbeliever.
And in so many ways, that is true.
And in many ways, that's the key and ultimate and only distinction that will matter on the day of judgment.
Whether you're united to Jesus by faith or not.
Whether you are with him or against him.
Whether you're on the path to eternal life or to eternal death.
And so, at one level, you're absolutely right if you thought opposite of a disciple is an unbeliever.
But for us as Christians, and so for those of you who are Christians or if you become a Christian,
if you start following Jesus,
in terms of how we live as disciples,
the focus is a little bit more narrow.
In this passage.
And I want to suggest that according to these verses,
the opposite of being a disciple is being a hypocrite.
And that's the key contrast that Jesus is drawing before us in these verses.
And so, in verse 1, he's got that great warning.
Beware of practicing your righteousness in front of other people in order to be seen by them.
And then he goes on to give three examples in this little section and the first following.
He talks about giving.
He talks about prayer.
He talks about fasting.
And in each of them, if you were to look down beyond verse 4,
you'll see that Jesus says the same thing.
Don't be like the hypocrites.
Now, you'll maybe know that the word for hypocrite in Greek, it is the word hypocrite.
It's a Greek word.
And it's the word for an actor.
And that's starting to help us to see and understand what we mean by this term.
Because an actor is somebody who's pretending to be somebody else.
And in the Greco-Roman world, stage acting actually very often involved putting on a stage mask.
And you can Google Greco-Roman stage masks and you'll see them for yourself.
And that's just a very vivid image of what hypocrisy is.
You're kind of putting on an outward appearance, an outward mask that's hiding who you really are.
And it's giving the impression that you're something else.
And so in terms of our relationship with God, and in terms of our life as disciples,
to be a hypocrite is to put on a mask of righteousness or anything else
that is trying to give a good outward impression that will impress people.
And Jesus describes here, sounding a trumpet whilst you give money to those who are in need.
In the next verses he'll talk about standing in the synagogue or on a street corner,
making a really eloquent prayer in front of everyone.
And then he talks about disfiguring your face while you're fasting
so that everyone can see that that's what you're doing.
All of these are just drawing attention to yourself so that other people will be impressed.
And Jesus makes it absolutely clear that is not the kind of discipleship that he's looking for.
And for the hearers of the Sermon on the Mount, this would have been astonishing for them.
Because the people that Jesus is being critical of were the people who everybody would have thought
they are the most religiously devoted people.
They are the experts in what it means to be spiritual.
And they are at the level that the rest of us is trying desperately to match.
And Jesus says, they're hypocrites.
Don't be like them.
That kind of outward show is not what Jesus wants us to live out in our discipleship.
And I think there are many people here who can probably think of examples of this.
You've maybe seen it.
And people who have grown up in the church, I'm sure, will have seen it.
Where you'll have seen somebody in one context, and then you'll have seen them in another context.
And you're thinking, these don't match up.
And it's something that people can find very off-putting and very disappointing when they see it in others in the church.
But that's true.
We will have seen it in others.
But I've got to acknowledge that it's a trap that I've fallen into as well.
It's an incredibly easy trap to slip into because we're worried about what other people think.
All of this is coming back to some of the stuff that chapter 5 highlights.
That as disciples, Jesus wants us to be men and women of integrity.
That idea that our whole lives are integrated together, all of which are under the lordship of Christ.
All of it is shaped by the gospel so that what we are in private, what we are in public,
what we are to one person, we are to everybody.
Jesus wants our discipleship, in other words, to be unmasked.
And Jesus brings that out very clearly by drawing another contrast between the secret place and the public place.
He does it in these verses.
He does it in the verses that follow.
Jesus is saying that these acts of righteousness, whether it's giving here, praying, fasting,
they're actually things that should be done in secret.
Here he's saying, look, don't broadcast what you're giving.
Instead, just keep it secret.
Now in these words, Jesus is touching on two things that we care about a lot.
He's touching on our money and our reputation.
And these are massively influential on us, both in the public place, among colleagues, friends,
and also in the secret place of our hearts.
I am quite sure that this week we won't even be able to help it.
We will think and worry about our money and our reputation.
In fact, these two things are very closely connected.
Today, our reputation is massively influenced by how much money we have and by what we do with it.
So it's money that's going to give you the clothes or the phone or the car or the address or the watch
that will make people think, wow, wow, they've made it.
They've done well.
And our culture cannot break that connection between money and reputation.
So if you're minted, then you're admired.
Now, often in instances, you get some very, very cultured movie references.
Now this was two years ago.
It continues today.
So you get great references to things like Lord of the Rings and all these kind of epic films.
So my film taste operates at a different level to that.
So this, what I'm describing here, is illustrated magnificently in that outstanding epic movie,
Dumb and Dumber.
And that's my level of movie.
Forget Tolkien.
Dumb and Dumber.
Awesome.
Remember Dumb and Dumber?
Two guys not that smart, hilarious,
but they are taking this briefcase back to this girl that the guy likes.
And they have no idea until the briefcase gets opened by mistake that it's full of money.
And so these guys who are kind of mocked and ridiculed,
and everybody thinks they're just idiots,
all of a sudden they're loaded.
And everyone thinks they're great.
Because there's always just this massive connection between money and reputation.
It's interesting that in biblical times,
there is a fascinating kind of connection and a fascinating contrast,
because money and reputation are connected in biblical times,
but in a different way.
So today money and reputation are very much connected in terms of how much you have.
In biblical times,
it was more the case that your reputation was shaped by how much you gave.
And so you can think back to the Old Testament,
where a king that was just massively powerful and wealthy,
they would demonstrate that wealth by giving lavishly to those who visited them.
And so people who could give a lot,
you know, were gaining a huge amount of reputation.
There was the whole idea in that kind of culture
of being like a benefactor and a sponsor of things in your community
and things like that.
And here, in this example,
the religious leaders are kind of doing a similar thing,
making a big public spectacle of what they're giving.
But whether it's the kind of flamboyant generosity of biblical times
or the extravagant spending of today,
the dynamic behind all this is actually the same.
It's all driven by the question,
what do other people think of me?
And as disciples,
we want to swap that question for another one.
Instead of asking,
what does everyone else think?
We need to ask,
what does God think?
And as we contrast those two questions,
which one matters more?
And so for all of us here,
especially for those of you who are studying,
especially those who are stepping into the workplace,
and especially those who in a few years are going to be loaded,
just let that question of what does God think?
What does God want me to do?
Let that always be the one that shapes you.
So lots of contrasts for us to think about.
There's also some constants
that we want to draw out of this passage.
Jesus, as we said,
is exposing the hypocrisy
of the religious leaders around him.
He's got no interest in this kind of lifestyle
where we're kind of one thing here,
another thing there.
In certain situations,
we'll act one way.
In others, we'll act differently.
And all just for this outward show
to impress people.
Jesus has just got no interest in that.
And I love the fact
that Jesus has no interest in that.
And I think one of the big reasons
why Jesus has no interest in that
is because that kind of hypocrisy
is in total contrast
to the constantness of God.
And that's the crucial point
I want us to draw out here,
that hypocrisy
and that kind of inconsistency
is the absolute opposite
of all that God is.
If you ask the question,
how do we define God?
You're probably asking
the most profound question
that anyone could ever consider.
Defining God is just like
a mind-blowing topic.
How would you define God?
But the amazing thing is that
even though that's possibly
the most complicated question
that we could ever ask,
the Bible's answer to that question
is incredibly
and beautifully simple.
Because the Bible sums up
the definition of God
with two of the smallest words
in the English language.
The Bible defines God
with the phrase,
I am.
And that is actually
the foundation of all our theology,
all our understanding of God,
that He is who He is.
And that speaks of the fact
that God is there,
that He's eternal,
that He's true,
and that He is absolutely consistent.
So He is unchanging.
At every moment in eternity,
at every moment in history,
at every moment in dealing with humanity,
God is who He is.
He's utterly consistent,
unchanging,
the same yesterday,
today,
and forever.
Never lies,
never deceives,
never says one thing
and does another,
never pretends,
is never inconsistent.
In other words,
God is never,
ever a hypocrite.
Instead,
in God,
there is magnificent,
majestic constancy.
Now,
there are several big theological categories
that lie behind this.
Divine simplicity,
the fact that in God,
there is just thorough,
undismantleable,
unrearrangeable,
eternal simplicity.
He is God,
forever constant.
Divine immutability,
God does not change.
He's utterly stable,
utterly consistent,
utterly reliable.
Divine omniscience,
the fact that God knows all things,
sees all things,
understands all things.
Divine righteousness,
the fact that God conforms
to an impeccable standard,
an impeccable moral standard,
always maintaining
what is right
and true
and good.
All of these massive
theological categories
are pressing home
the magnificent stability
and constancy
of the God
who is
who He is.
No wonder Jesus says,
don't be a hypocrite.
Because to be that
is to be the opposite
of what God
is like.
And a key part
of all of this
is that
our growth
in discipleship
is the desire
to become
more like Jesus,
to bear the image
of our Creator
more and more.
And as part of that,
we want there to be
a constant correspondence
between our inward lives
and our outward lives.
That's what chapter 5
has been speaking about.
That's what's been highlighted
and emphasized
again here.
And interestingly,
again,
that applies to God.
when you see God,
there is a beautiful
correspondence
between the inward
and in some ways
secret life of God
that is bigger
and more mind-blowing
than we can take in.
There is a
perfect correspondence
and integration
between the inward life
and being of God
and His outward acts.
Now,
this is why
it's so important
that our theology,
these big categories
of theology,
need to become
the lens
through which we look
at our lives
and we look at the lives
of everything
around us
as disciples.
So,
the constant
unchanging truth
about God
needs to be
the constant lens
through which we,
as followers of Jesus,
look at everything
in our lives.
because if our theology
is buried in the back
of our minds,
then we could easily
fall into the trap
of thinking,
well,
I can kind of be
one thing at church
and I can be
another thing at work
and I can be
another thing at home
and I don't really
need to think too much
about how the Sermon
on the Mount
and the other ethical
instructions of the New Testament
affect me
because,
well,
you've just got to kind of,
you know,
got to do what's best
for me
and I've got to do
what works.
And so,
when theology is in the back
of your mind,
you can fall into these traps.
When your theology
becomes the lens
through which you look at life,
the minute that you pull
these great theological truths
about the constantness
of God
into your thinking,
our hypocrisy
becomes exposed
and the gospel does
what it always does.
It blows up our nonsense,
transforms our perspective
and places us
on a much,
much better
intellectual
and ethical foundation.
In other words,
what am I saying?
Well,
it's just basically
the fact that
your theology tells you
that God sees everything
and cares about everything,
whether it is in secret
or in public,
at church,
at work,
at home.
As we said,
God is omniscient.
He sees
and knows everything
and what we do,
whether it's in public
or in secret,
it makes no difference
to God.
He's always watching us.
And it's a great reminder
that in terms of being
disciples of Jesus,
it's reminding us
that actually
who we are
when no one's watching
is who we really are.
And that's why,
you know,
that's why
it's complete theological nonsense
and it's like,
I don't know if it's a good phrase
to use,
it's like evangelistic
self-destruction
when Christians live out
their lives
where we kind of come to church
and we're one thing
and then we go to work
and we're horrible
and difficult
and selfish
and arrogant
and whatever.
It's so,
so damaging
because
that masked
discipleship
that maybe you have
encountered
in your lives,
that masked
discipleship
is theologically absurd
and it's really,
really damaging
because people
can see through it
so easily.
And so,
you know,
it's again like
Jesus,
you know,
he's so wise
because
I've seen so many times
people
who have been put off
because,
they've been put off
the gospel
because they've seen that.
They've been hurt,
treated badly.
They've seen Christians
behave in a way
that they're like,
I can't,
I don't understand that.
And it's so damaging
and then you go to
the New Testament
and Jesus is like,
don't be a hypocrite
because he knows
the damage
it can cause.
There's two warnings
here that arise.
The first is that
we need to be very careful
about financial showing off
and so that's kind of
part of what this is touching
and that's just a,
that's just a wise
and important lesson.
Some of you may,
may well,
already or may go on
to be blessed
to do very,
very well
in your lives,
you know,
and praise God
if you do,
that gives you opportunities
to do wonderful things
for the gospel
but,
you know,
we don't want to,
you don't want to sort of
show that off.
Yeah,
you just don't,
you don't want to do that.
but even more importantly,
what this is really
pressing home to us
is that we have to be on guard
against religious showing off
and that can happen
so easily.
It can happen in church,
it can happen online,
it can happen in books,
it can happen in Bible studies,
it's so easy
in a kind of church setting
to want to say
and do things
that you think
are going to impress
other people.
And there's a massive
social media world
of
Christian,
religious,
desperately trying
to impress people,
ism.
the one person
who is never impressed
is Jesus.
And,
I mean,
I guess I feel a bit
embarrassed saying this
but,
you know,
I'm sitting
this week
writing this sermon
thinking,
I really hope
it's a good sermon
in St. C's.
And then I read,
Beware of practicing
your righteousness
before others
in order to be seen by them.
So we're all
battling this,
we're all battling this
because,
you know,
Jesus gives us
such wise
and helpful warnings
and I want my prayer
and your prayer
to be that our biggest
concern
is always be,
what does God
constantly see?
We spend a lot of time
thinking,
who's watching us?
You're not wrong,
you're not wrong
to think about the fact
that someone
is watching you.
The problem is
that we pick
the wrong someone
to worry about.
So,
this passage
exposes contrasts,
it teaches us
about some constants,
final C,
question.
So,
the Sermon on the Mount
presents us
with a lot of
direct,
challenging,
practical instructions.
That's one of the things
that's beautiful about it,
it's just,
it's quite,
Jesus is quite
hard-hitting in it,
which is actually
helpful.
And because of that,
we can often think
that the Sermon on the Mount
is hitting us
with the question,
will you do this?
So,
will you turn
the other cheek?
Will you guard
your hearts
against lust
and anger?
Will you pray
for those
who persecute you?
Will you go
the extra mile?
And those
will you do this
questions are good,
they are helpful,
they're important,
ask them.
But as we come
into chapter 6,
Jesus is not so much
asking you the
will you do this
question,
in fact,
he just assumes
that you'll do
these things,
because he says,
when you give,
and he'll go on
to say,
when you pray,
and when you fast,
he's not even,
he's just assuming
that we do it,
because these are
core things
that we should
be doing.
So he's not really
asking the
will you do
this question,
he's asking the
why are you
doing this
question.
And so if we
ask the question,
why were these
people putting
on this outward
show of
religious devotion,
why were they
doing that?
And so we might
say,
well,
they were arrogant,
they were show
offs,
they were proud,
they loved their
own status,
they were selfish.
And that's
probably true,
to a greater or
lesser degree.
But I think that
the biggest reason
why they were
doing all these
things is because
they were insecure.
And exactly the
same is true in
all areas of life.
People show off,
people try to put
on a good impression,
people make a huge
effort for their
outward appearance
to look good,
whether that's by
talking about your
salary or your
job or your
grades or making
sure you've got
the right clothes,
car, watch,
whatever,
whether it's your
social media page,
it has to look all
picture perfect,
or whatever it is.
Why do we do
these things?
Is it because we're
confident and strong
and self-assured?
No, I think it is
almost always because
we are insecure
and scared.
And that's where we
discover that you can
actually get two kinds
of hypocrisy.
You can get arrogant
hypocrisy.
So somebody who just,
you know, somebody who
does not care about
integrity, quite happy
with inconsistency in
their lives, and is
only interested in
serving themselves.
And you do get that
from time to time, and
maybe there's occasions
in life when we've
slipped into that trap.
You get that kind of
arrogant hypocrisy
sometimes.
I think far more
common is the second
kind of hypocrisy,
anxious hypocrisy.
And that's the trap
that I fall into,
and that I have to
battle against.
Because when I've been
a hypocrite, it's not
usually because I'm
just a kind of
uncontrollable, arrogant
idiot.
More often than not,
it's because I'm
nervous.
Or scared.
And that's why I'll
do one thing in one
context, and another
thing in another
context.
And that's why I'll
maybe hide.
So when I was an
engineer, you may be
like, oh, you're
reluctant to talk about
the fact that you were
at church, or at
school.
At times I was
reluctant to tell
people and speak about
the fact that I was a
Christian.
Why did I do that?
I didn't do that
because I was arrogant.
I was arrogant in
different ways.
But that wasn't, I
did that because I was
scared.
And so being anxious
can make you a
hypocrite.
And it's a great
reminder that the
mask of hypocrisy is
not actually a public
display.
It's a public
hiding.
thing.
And of course, the
Bible explains why
that's the case.
It's one of the
massive consequences
of the fall.
Sin makes us want to
hide because it makes
us feel ashamed.
You see that in Adam
and Eve?
I see it in my own
heart.
And so many of us
today, as you go into
tomorrow, this new week,
you're in this pressure.
pressure.
Pressure to put on a
public face to make a
good impression.
And the result is that
you can live a double
life.
And so you can have the
double life of, you
know, who we are at
work compared to who we
really are.
The double life of who
we are on social media
compared to who we
really are.
And we can have the
double life of who we
are at church compared
with who we really are.
This weekend, I had the
amazing privilege of being
at the youth conference,
the pre-church youth
conference.
There was 200 people
there on Saturday.
It was amazing.
So good to see.
But I know that for
some of the people who
are at that conference,
they are struggling with
a double life.
Because there's pressure
on them to conform to
what their friends are
doing and everything.
They are being pulled
in two directions.
And we do that because
we're scared.
We put massive pressure
on ourselves to put on
this outward mask in
order to make it look
like we're okay.
The whole thing is
utterly exhausting.
And the last thing I want
to press home to you is
that the whole thing is
utterly unnecessary.
We struggle with hypocrisy
because we struggle with
insecurity.
And the magnificent thing
about the gospel is that
grace addresses both.
So there's been times
when I've been a hypocrite
because I'm almost always
anxious and insecure
and grace deals with both.
So grace deals with your hypocrisy.
So if you can sit here right now
and if I have guilt-tipped you
for the last 34 minutes
where you're thinking,
as a Christian,
I have been living a double life
and I have failed to kind of
be who I really am
in front of my friends
or my colleagues
and I have not lived out
the Sermon on the Mount
and I can see that sin
and I feel so guilty
about that sin
and I am so annoyed
with myself.
Do you know what grace
is saying to you?
Grace is saying
that is forgiven.
Your hypocrisy
is washed away
with all your other sins
by the blood of Jesus.
Grace deals without hypocrisy
but grace also deals
without insecurity.
Because God in the gospel
wants to pour reassurance
into your heart
that you are His.
So we are talking about
discipleship unmasked.
So I'm sure all of us here
feel like we kind of have
a little bit of a mask
on us as disciples.
And you know,
we can say that
because we're like,
well,
we don't really want anybody
to see what's really in us
and what we're really like.
So if you imagine
that you really were
unmasked
before us tonight
as a disciple,
you're a follower of Jesus
and you are absolutely
unmasked,
what would we see?
And you might be thinking
you'd be seeing
the biggest failure
out there.
And you'd be seeing
somebody who doesn't have
anything like the Bible
knowledge they should have.
And who was like,
actually barely even
made it out of church tonight
because I was feeling
too tired.
And you think,
oh, you'll see all these.
So you think,
that's what's getting exposed.
If you are unmasked tonight,
what would you actually see?
What would you actually find?
You would find
the beloved child of God.
You'd find the bride of Christ.
You'd find the eternally redeemed.
Bought with the blood of Christ.
You'd find someone
whom God has loved forever.
Do you need a mask?
Of course you don't.
And that's why
as we follow Jesus,
we want to just live out
the life that he has blessed us with.
And for this beautiful gospel
to shape
all that we do.
And the result is
an amazing reward.
And I didn't have time
to talk about this.
And I've already gone on
for too long.
And those of you
who were here
when I was here
will have thought,
well, that's just normal.
But there is just
this talk of a reward.
And the beautiful thing
is that in our hypocrisy
we're looking for
that kind of instant reward
of people approving of us
and being impressed with us.
And it fades so quickly.
And God is saying,
and Jesus is saying
in these words,
Luke,
that the gospel
is giving us
an eternal reward.
And that's asking you
the question,
can you be content
with an eternal reward?
And you know,
my hypocrisy
isn't content with that.
Because I want
the instant reward.
But if I
focus on that
and on what all
that God has promised us,
my need for a mask
of hypocrisy disappears.
And as an unmasked disciple,
I can bask
in the beauty
and the fullness
of everything
that Jesus
wants to give me
and that he wants
to give you.
So as we go on together,
let's go on as disciples
unmasked.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we thank you
so, so much
for your amazing wisdom
in seeing through
the reality of hypocrisy.
but as we
also see in these words,
we thank you
for the way
in which the gospel
deals with our hypocrisy.
And we're sorry
for the times
when we have
felt the need
to put on a mask
and try to put on
an impression to others.
Thank you
that the gospel
deals with all of that.
And so for everyone here,
may they know
anew
just the cleansing,
healing,
renewing,
wonderful power
of the gospel
in their lives
and may their hearts
be filled
with the security
and the peace
and the hope
of knowing
that we have
been loved by you
and will be loved
by you forever.
We pray that everybody
here would see
and understand that
more and more.
Amen.