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Beware! Religious Performance Now Showing Msg 17 24 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: It was the prophet Jeremiah who exclaimed in an ecstatic moment,
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  Speaker 1: Your words were found and I did eat them. And
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  Speaker 1: your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of
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  Speaker 1: my heart. For I am called by your name, O
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  Speaker 1: Lord God of hosts. It's a beautiful picture found in
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament. Eating the word of God. It's a
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  Speaker 1: picture of personal joy. assimilation. Wasn't interested just in admiring
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  Speaker 1: it and tasting it here and there, but I wanted
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  Speaker 1: to consume it. I wanted it to become a part
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  Speaker 1: of my nourishment, my energy, my drive. Paul writes over
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  Speaker 1: in Romans 15, for whatever was written in earlier times,
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  Speaker 1: referring to the Old Testament, was written for our learning
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  Speaker 1: that we, through comfort and patience from the scriptures, might
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  Speaker 1: have hope. Often we think of the New Testament as
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  Speaker 1: being that special part of the Bible that really addresses
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  Speaker 1: where we are. But, you know, those who lived in
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  Speaker 1: the days of the New Testament didn't have a shred
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  Speaker 1: of the New Testament. The only Bible they had was
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament. And that is what Paul refers to
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  Speaker 1: when he refers to that portion of the word that
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  Speaker 1: gives us hope, reassurance. We want to look at both today.
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  Speaker 1: I'd like you to take the outline from your worship folder,
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  Speaker 1: pull it out, place it at Micah chapter 6. Micah
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  Speaker 1: is one of the least known of the books of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible. It's the seventh Book from the end of
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament, working back, Micah chapter 6. I'll begin
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  Speaker 1: my message there. So I want you to have that
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  Speaker 1: ready with the outline available. And once you locate Micah 6,
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  Speaker 1: leave your outline there and then turn to Matthew chapter 6. Interesting,
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  Speaker 1: we'll look at Micah 6, 1 through 8, and then
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 6, 1 through 8. You find the passage in
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  Speaker 1: Matthew out of respect for the word of God and
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  Speaker 1: the God who wrote his word. May we stand together
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  Speaker 1: for the reading of the scriptures. I'll be reading from
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  Speaker 1: the New American Standard Version. Jesus' words. Beware of practicing
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  Speaker 1: your righteousness before men to be noticed by them, otherwise
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  Speaker 1: you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
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  Speaker 1: So when you give to the poor, do not sound
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  Speaker 1: a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the
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  Speaker 1: synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be
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  Speaker 1: honored by men. Truly, I say to you, they have
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  Speaker 1: their reward in full. But when you give to the poor,
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  Speaker 1: do not let your left hand know what your right
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  Speaker 1: hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret,
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  Speaker 1: and your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
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  Speaker 1: will reward you. When you pray, you are not to
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  Speaker 1: be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and
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  Speaker 1: pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so
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  Speaker 1: that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say
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  Speaker 1: to you, they have their reward in full. But you,
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  Speaker 1: when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door,
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  Speaker 1: And pray to your Father who is in secret. And
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  Speaker 1: your Father who sees what is done in secret will
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  Speaker 1: reward you. When you are praying, do not use meaningless
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  Speaker 1: repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they
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  Speaker 1: will be heard for their many words. So, do not
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  Speaker 1: be like them. For your father knows what you need
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  Speaker 1: before you ask him. Please be seated. Let us for
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  Speaker 1: the next few moments transform this large worship room into
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  Speaker 1: a private place Will you bring your needs to the Lord?
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  Speaker 1: Lay your burden there. Lay it out. Refuse to take
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  Speaker 1: it back. In a few moments, I will close the
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  Speaker 1: time in prayer. May we bow together. Today, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: we have sung to you our words of praise. We
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  Speaker 1: have heard from you in the words from your book.
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  Speaker 1: Now we speak to you. It is with deepest gratitude
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  Speaker 1: that we thank you for helping us through the week.
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  Speaker 1: Some have traveled many miles. Thank you for protection on
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  Speaker 1: the journey. Some have sat beside those who were dying,
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  Speaker 1: showing compassion and care for them. Thank you for the
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  Speaker 1: strength you gave to do that. Some have ministered to
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  Speaker 1: those families who have been left following the death. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for their words of hope and renewal and refreshment.
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  Speaker 1: Our Father, we need you throughout our day and into
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  Speaker 1: and through the night. When darkness falls and often weeping
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  Speaker 1: accompanies the darkness, Fears. Uncertainty about what lies ahead. But
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  Speaker 1: joy comes with the rising of the sun in the morning.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps for this reason, David would write evening, morning, and noon. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I pray and cry aloud. And you will hear my voice.
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  Speaker 1: All the prayers that have been sent up from this room.
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  Speaker 1: You have heard. And you know what is best. Help
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  Speaker 1: us we pray our father to have ears to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Now that we will be sitting and listening. May our
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  Speaker 1: minds not wander. May we be able to focus. as
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  Speaker 1: if we were among the group who sat there along
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  Speaker 1: that slope where Jesus taught and heard words they had
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  Speaker 1: never heard before. Give us that kind of interest and attention.
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  Speaker 1: And as a result, may our giving and our praying
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  Speaker 1: as it falls in line with what he has taught. Finally, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we uphold those who fight for existence, who look at
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  Speaker 1: a place that was once home and they see nothing
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  Speaker 1: but a pile of stones, who walk streets that are
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  Speaker 1: now split apart, who face the barrenness Of a future.
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  Speaker 1: Where their lives have been shattered. Feed the hungry. Give
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  Speaker 1: drink and relief to those. Who are starving. And remind
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  Speaker 1: us again our father that. We hang the very heavy
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  Speaker 1: weight of our security. On the thin wire. Of our
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  Speaker 1: trust in you. Keep it strong, we pray. We give
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  Speaker 1: now for your greater glory in the matchless name of Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: our Savior. Everyone said amen. Biblical prophets never messed around.
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  Speaker 1: They said what they meant and they meant what they said.
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  Speaker 1: False priests were not like that at all. As someone
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  Speaker 1: else has put it, the false priests had a way
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  Speaker 1: of comforting the afflicted, not the prophets. They afflicted the comfortable.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, they would tell the truth regardless. And even
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  Speaker 1: though the gullible are always ready to listen to the lies,
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  Speaker 1: which fly like lightning all over, the truth stands, the
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  Speaker 1: truth stays. Prophets are great about standing for truth and
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  Speaker 1: declaring it. They were rough and rugged men. I think
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  Speaker 1: that's why J. Bernard McGee said there's no surprise the
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  Speaker 1: lions never ate the prophet Daniel. He was three-fourths gristle
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  Speaker 1: and the rest backbone. What's left to eat? Telling the truth,
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  Speaker 1: speaking it, declaring it. And there's something intimidating about being
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  Speaker 1: around a man of God who declares the truth of
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  Speaker 1: God without any apologies. Especially if he is, as the
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  Speaker 1: original prophets, the very mouthpiece of God. They wouldn't lie.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, there was a statement made in the Old
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  Speaker 1: Testament that if the prophet lied, you are to stone him.
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  Speaker 1: When that's written in the job description, it tends to
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  Speaker 1: get your attention. And you know there's one thing you
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  Speaker 1: cannot do and that is lie. Even though lies are
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  Speaker 1: always more popular. I read this past week that Mark
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  Speaker 1: Twain wrote, a lie runs around the world while the
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  Speaker 1: truth is still putting on her boots. If you stand
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  Speaker 1: for the truth, stay there. That's what prophets did and
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  Speaker 1: it certainly worked for them. As God's mouthpiece, the people
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  Speaker 1: heard what they often didn't expect and didn't want to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Take Micah's message, for example, in Micah chapter 6. Look
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  Speaker 1: for yourself. If you wonder if Micah spoke as God's mouthpiece,
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  Speaker 1: the very opening line of verse 1 tells you. Hear
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  Speaker 1: what the Lord is saying. Not what I've heard him say,
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  Speaker 1: and now I'm passing on. This is what the Lord
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  Speaker 1: is saying. So prophets spoke ex cathedra, opened their mouth,
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  Speaker 1: and from their vocal cords came the voice of God
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  Speaker 1: in human terms and tones. You look again at verse 2,
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  Speaker 1: the end of it, because the Lord has a case
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  Speaker 1: against his people, even with Israel he will dispute. And
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  Speaker 1: then you see quotation marks beginning at verse 3 in
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  Speaker 1: the version I'm using. And at the end of verse 5,
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  Speaker 1: they close. So from verse 3 down through verse 5,
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  Speaker 1: we hear the indictment from the Lord. And he doesn't stutter.
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  Speaker 1: My people, what have I done to you? And how
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  Speaker 1: have I wearied you? Answer me. Then he reiterates some
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  Speaker 1: things he's done for them. I brought you up from
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  Speaker 1: the land of Egypt. That would be the Exodus. Your
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  Speaker 1: forefathers came from bondage out into the wilderness because I
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  Speaker 1: broke the walls of bondage and brought you out of
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  Speaker 1: the land of Egypt. And I ransomed you from the
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  Speaker 1: house of slavery. Over 400 years they were in slavery.
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  Speaker 1: And I came in through Moses and Aaron and Miriam
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  Speaker 1: He says at the end of verse 4, I led
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  Speaker 1: you there and brought you into the wilderness. I've done
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  Speaker 1: this for you and I've done so many other things.
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  Speaker 1: And now they get the message. And they are feeling
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  Speaker 1: the sharp point of the dagger. And so they answer
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  Speaker 1: in verse 6, with what shall I come to the Lord?
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  Speaker 1: How can I make up for the way we have acted?
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  Speaker 1: What do we have to do to reconcile in light
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  Speaker 1: of the long history of our disobedience? We bow ourselves
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  Speaker 1: before the God on high. Shall I come with? And
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  Speaker 1: they begin a litany of things and the crescendo only
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  Speaker 1: gets greater. They begin small and they get larger. Look
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  Speaker 1: for yourselves. Shall I come with burnt offerings? Or how
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  Speaker 1: about with yearling calves more expensive than the offerings? Or
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  Speaker 1: does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams? How
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  Speaker 1: about 10,000 rivers of oil? Will that do it? Is
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  Speaker 1: that what I have to do to make up for
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  Speaker 1: all of these years that we've failed you Shall I
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  Speaker 1: present my firstborn for my rebellious acts? Think of that.
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  Speaker 1: Shall we pick the firstborn from our family and sacrifice him?
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  Speaker 1: Is that what you want, Lord? And the ultimate, how
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  Speaker 1: about the fruit of my body for the sin of
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  Speaker 1: my soul? You know what that's saying in poetic form?
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  Speaker 1: You want my life? Shall I give it up for you?
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  Speaker 1: The questions end as the Lord steps back in the
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  Speaker 1: scene through the words of the prophet Micah. He has
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  Speaker 1: told you what is good. What does the Lord require
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  Speaker 1: of you? If you haven't ever marked this verse, here
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  Speaker 1: are words to mark. To do justice, to love kindness,
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  Speaker 1: and to walk humbly. As we say today, it doesn't
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  Speaker 1: get better than that. Oh, it can be more complicated.
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  Speaker 1: It can certainly be more expensive in earthly goods. But
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to character deep within, it doesn't get
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  Speaker 1: any better than doing what is right, showing kindness, compassion
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  Speaker 1: and care for others. And especially Walking in and modeling humility.
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  Speaker 1: I love it when the Lord gives simple answers to
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  Speaker 1: complicated questions. Perfect case in point. If you're wanting to
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  Speaker 1: begin a scripture memory program, I suggest Micah 6.8 as
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  Speaker 1: the starting point. Don't leave it too quickly, even after
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  Speaker 1: you learn it. Repeat it over and over. I would
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  Speaker 1: suggest it every morning when you rise. And through the day,
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  Speaker 1: use it as the grid to filter your life. Am
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  Speaker 1: I doing what is right? Would this be called showing
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  Speaker 1: mercy and kindness? Is mine a life of humility? When
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  Speaker 1: we turn to Matthew chapter 6, we arrive at the
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  Speaker 1: greatest of all priests, prophets, and one who would be king,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus himself. Interesting, he begins the sermon at chapter 5
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  Speaker 1: by sitting down among those who were sitting around him.
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  Speaker 1: Folks often don't think of the Sermon on the Mount
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  Speaker 1: delivered while the speaker is sitting, but in those days,
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  Speaker 1: rabbis sat as they taught And it wasn't long before
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  Speaker 1: the teaching turned into the fire of a prophet, especially
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  Speaker 1: when you get to the center section of the sermon.
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  Speaker 1: And he begins with a word of warning. Beware. Look
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  Speaker 1: at it. Beware. Take heed. Watch out. Caution, you're about
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  Speaker 1: to enter the no-spin zone. I know what you've been watching.
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  Speaker 1: But he really means it. There's no spin with Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: Interesting word translated beware. A.T. Robertson, the great Baptist scholar,
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  Speaker 1: tells us that the Greek idiom uses or includes mind,
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  Speaker 1: which is understood, though it really isn't a term in
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  Speaker 1: the root of the word translated beware. It means, however,
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  Speaker 1: to hold the mind on a matter, to take pains,
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  Speaker 1: to take heed, to pay attention. We say, mind that.
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  Speaker 1: If you're ever on a large ship, you will see
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  Speaker 1: at low openings a little sign that reads, in naval terms,
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  Speaker 1: mind your head, meaning duck. Watch out or you'll bump
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  Speaker 1: your head. If there's something you have to step over,
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  Speaker 1: you'll see a little sign that says, mind your foot
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  Speaker 1: or mind your feet. Watch out or you'll stumble. Here,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus says, mind your motive. Mind your heart. They don't
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  Speaker 1: know what's coming, but he now has their attention. He
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  Speaker 1: begins to talk to them about religious performance. Look at
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  Speaker 1: his words. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to
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  Speaker 1: be noticed by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with
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  Speaker 1: your Father who is in heaven. If you're a show-off
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  Speaker 1: with all your religious piety, you've just at that moment
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  Speaker 1: gotten your full reward. Their applause is all you'll ever
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  Speaker 1: get from that act. Their being impressed, that's the limit
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  Speaker 1: of the reward. In fact, other versions render this interestingly.
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  Speaker 1: Because of, beware of practicing your piety before men, The
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  Speaker 1: RSV reads, the New International or the New English Bible says,
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  Speaker 1: be careful not to make a show of your religion. J.B.
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  Speaker 1: Phillips paraphrased, beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to
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  Speaker 1: catch others' eye. I especially like Eugene Peterson's The Message.
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  Speaker 1: Be especially careful when you're trying to be good so
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  Speaker 1: that you don't make a performance out of it. It
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  Speaker 1: might be good theater, but the God who made you
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  Speaker 1: won't be applauding. And with that, he moves into the
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  Speaker 1: three most public, often public, and the most obvious expressions
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  Speaker 1: of devotion. Look at it for yourself. Verse two, so
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  Speaker 1: when you give, he covers that down through verse four.
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  Speaker 1: Verse five, when you pray, he covers that down through
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  Speaker 1: verse 15. And when you fast, covered in verses 16
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  Speaker 1: through 18. Learn when you read your Bible to observe
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  Speaker 1: the structure of the verses. Jesus' words are very logical.
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  Speaker 1: Begins with giving, and I've marked that in a bright
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  Speaker 1: color in my Bible, so I won't overlook it. I've
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  Speaker 1: marked when you pray in verse five, and I've marked
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  Speaker 1: when you fast in verse 16. Interestingly, following each of
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  Speaker 1: those settings, he adds, do not do something. Verse 2,
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  Speaker 1: when you give to the poor, do not sound the trumpet.
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  Speaker 1: Forgive the voice. It's the best I can do. Do
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  Speaker 1: you know that Pharisees would carry with them or bring
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  Speaker 1: with them trumpeters who was there on their way with
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  Speaker 1: their gifts to the box, the offering box, would have
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  Speaker 1: the trumpeter blast the sound like ringing a bell. Now
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  Speaker 1: today we look at it sitting in this place and
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  Speaker 1: we roll our eyes thinking, how in the world could
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  Speaker 1: a person do that? What a show off. When I
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  Speaker 1: was a kid, I saw them thump the bottom of
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  Speaker 1: an offering plate to make you think that they're putting
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  Speaker 1: in a big coin. I've even seen people kind of
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  Speaker 1: wave a large bill before they drop it in. Please. Please.
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  Speaker 1: That's all the reward you'll ever get. I don't care
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  Speaker 1: if it's a million dollars. When you give to the poor,
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  Speaker 1: don't sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do in the
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  Speaker 1: synagogue and in the streets so that they may be seen.
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  Speaker 1: They may be honored by others. Don't do that. Don't
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  Speaker 1: do that. In fact, there are several do nots. Do
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  Speaker 1: not do that, verse 2. Do not let your left
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  Speaker 1: hand know what the right hand is doing, verse 3.
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  Speaker 1: Do not pray using meaningless verbiage, verse 7. Verse 8,
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  Speaker 1: do not be like the Pharisees. Stop following those who
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  Speaker 1: are show-offs. Stop being enamored of those who love to
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  Speaker 1: display their piety. Don't follow leaders like that. They're not
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  Speaker 1: walking humbly with their God. I don't care how famous
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  Speaker 1: they may be. Be discerning. Men and women, learn from Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, he says in verse 16, when you fast,
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  Speaker 1: don't walk around in tattered, dirty clothes. Making people, oh, why?
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  Speaker 1: How much he's been giving up. Please. We'll know by
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  Speaker 1: your life if you're sacrificial. We're not looking at your clothing.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus certainly didn't. We're looking at the heart. So, now,
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  Speaker 1: let's go to this matter of giving and let's analyze
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  Speaker 1: it a little bit more carefully. Because I don't want
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  Speaker 1: you to get the wrong impression. He's not against giving. Please.
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  Speaker 1: God's work is supported by God's people. Not by unbelievers.
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  Speaker 1: Nor should it be. But we who are God's people
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  Speaker 1: participate in the financial support of his work. We who
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  Speaker 1: have hearts for the poor give to the poor. We
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  Speaker 1: who hear of some disaster find our hearts unable to rest.
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  Speaker 1: to remain restful. We're uneasy until we help with that need.
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  Speaker 1: It's just part of being a believer in Christ. None
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  Speaker 1: of it is to be done to get our name
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  Speaker 1: etched in bronze or our picture on some wall or
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  Speaker 1: an announcement made that so-and-so gave so much. That's all
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  Speaker 1: a part of what this is about. Don't sound a trumpet.
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  Speaker 1: When we were in Los Angeles for almost 25 years,
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  Speaker 1: back when the Los Angeles Lakers used to win, they
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  Speaker 1: had a great basketball team, and they had incredible athletes,
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  Speaker 1: and Chick Hearn was the announcer. I mean, you didn't
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  Speaker 1: even need a television. You listened to Chick on the radio,
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  Speaker 1: and it was just like being there. I heard some
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  Speaker 1: people say that they have a friend who was without sight,
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  Speaker 1: and he'd rather hear Chick Hearn than anyone. He could
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  Speaker 1: see the whole game. Every once in a while when
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  Speaker 1: those athletes would flash down that court, and there'd be
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  Speaker 1: that fast break, and they'd fire that ball over to
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  Speaker 1: one of those great athletes, and he'd jump and smash
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  Speaker 1: that down in a slam dunk. Chick would say, Showtime!
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  Speaker 1: Of course! That's what you do when you send out
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  Speaker 1: all the hype about a basketball team. It fits. It
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  Speaker 1: doesn't fit giving. It isn't ever showtime. And I say
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  Speaker 1: this to all of you, whatever may be your status financially,
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  Speaker 1: and I give thanks for every one of you who
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  Speaker 1: gives with the right motive. But I warn all of
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  Speaker 1: us about That motive. Why? Look closely. The repeated statement.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 4. Your father who sees. What is done in secret.
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  Speaker 1: The original simply says. Your father. Who sees in secret.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: And that's not the only time. Verse 6, your father
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: who sees in secret. Verse 18 closes, your father who
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: sees what is done in secret. When you see something
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: repeated like that, listen, look. Believe it. In the margin
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: of your Bible, you could write Hebrews 4, 13, which says,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: among other things, all things are naked and laid bare
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: You live your life naked before God. There is no
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: such thing as a hidden sin. There is no such
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: thing as an unspoken motive. He sees and hears. Here's
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: it all. See, you can't fake it. You can't act
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: like you're a little more holy, which is an impossibility,
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: than someone else. You're either holy or you're not. And
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: giving publicly, well, that's all the reward. The father who
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: sees in secret would love in secret to reward you.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: And he does. Those of you who give and often
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: give sacrificially, and I tell you, I haven't the words
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: to describe my gratitude for you. It's not important. My
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: gratitude is the Father's delight in you. You have rewards
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: that you can't even put into words. You have a
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: great sense that a need has been met. And you
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: were able to participate in that. You had the joy
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: of realizing that your occupation provided you with a sufficient
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: amount that you could give to this and you hear
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: of the results and you just are so grateful. That's
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: a reward. Not to mention rewards awaiting you. Your father
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: who sees in secret is ready to take note of that.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: In fact, it is Look at verse three, it's so
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: secret your left hand doesn't even know the right hand's
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: about to do that. Sort of a rundown, when you give,
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: don't display it. When you give, don't keep remembering it.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: When you can, do it anonymously. And always do it
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: with purity of motive. That's what verses 2, 3, and
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: 4 are teaching. Your giving, which is done in secret,
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: will be seen in secret. I love the way one
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: man writes this. The only reward any gracious giver wants
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: is seeing the need met. The situation relieved. The naked clothed.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: The sick healed. The disabled healed. encouraged, the building built
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: and furnished, the broken mended, the lost saved, the forgotten found,
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: the wayward and disobedient restored to wholeness and dignity. Such
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: acts of generous love and action bring with them their
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: very own private rewards. Doesn't get better than that. So
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: it is forgiving. Now we're ready for the second one
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: which is even more convicting. Beginning at verse 5 when
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: you pray. Look at what it says. You are not
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: to be like the hypocrites. John Stott writes this about
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: the hypocrites. In classical Greek, the Hippocrates was first an
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: orator and then an actor. So figuratively, the word came
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: to be applied to anybody who treats the world as
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: a stage on which he plays a part. He lays
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: aside his true identity and assumes a false one. He's
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: no longer himself, but in disguise impersonating somebody He wears
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: a mask. And Stott clarifies it. Now, in a theater,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: there's no harm or deceit in actors playing their parts.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: It is an accepted convention. The audience knows that they
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: have come to a drama. They are not taken in
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: by it. The trouble with the religious hypocrite, on the
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: other hand, is that he deliberately sets out to deceive people.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot of that that goes on. I
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: want to speak to my fellow minister friends who are
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: hearing me right now. Some in this audience and some
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: in an audience later on. We have to guard against
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: this kind of hypocrisy stuff, deliberately. We have people trusting
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: us to be who we are. not playing a part
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: behind a mask, acting like something we're really not. Jesus
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: rebukes such hypocrisy. In fact, he says, look at it,
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: verse 5, they love to stand and pray in the
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: synagogues and on the street corners. Why? So that they
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: may be seen. Wow. Look at that. Holy person. Really?
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: That's holy? Can I share with you some places that
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: you ought not be praying? The end zone of a
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: football field. Please. If you're an athlete and you're gifted
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: enough to run that ball without getting killed all the
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: way over the line, just drop the ball or give
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: it to the referee. No. Please, please. If you're in
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: the pro ranks, they're paying you a lot of money
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: for every yard you run. We're not impressed with the piety. Furthermore,
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: you ruin your testimony when you show it off. Well,
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: how am I supposed to respond? Exactly like Tom Landry did.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: The late Tom Landry did. no longer to be seen
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: along the sideline with a heart for God, but an
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: interest in the game. If you're going to play the game,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: play the game. Faithful in church attendance, regular in service,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: served on board of corporate members with him in Dallas Seminary.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: It was an honor to be sitting at the same
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: table with him for lunch. He's one of the few
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: men that the better you got to know him privately,
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: the greater he was. That is true spirituality. Save your
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: end zone prayers. When you're in a lunchroom surrounded by students,
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: isn't a good time to go, and now may I pray?
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: Dear Father, forgive these people who have started eating without praying.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: And on and on and on and on and on
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: we do. That's what we're thinking. Nobody came to lunch
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: to hear you pray. You want to pray at lunch
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: in a public place? Pray. Just keep it to yourself.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: Do it in secret. Sometime you don't even have to pray.
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: It's okay. I mean, the Lord is not going... That
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: first bite is going to make you vomit because you
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: didn't pray. Please. We're not serving a God who demands perfection.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: We worship a God of grace who understands sometimes he's
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: in a flash hurry and you're doing your best to
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: choke it down before that next meeting or whatever may
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: be the reason. And on the street corner in lots
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: of traffic, Don't choose that place. He even mentions it.
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: They love to stand on the street. Why would anyone
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: love to stand on the street corner and pray? To
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: be seen. Pray only to the Lord and have your
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: best prayers reserved for privacy. You have a place in
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: your home, maybe where you study, your own desk or
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: or kind of a quiet spot for your quiet time, great.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: That's the spot. That's the place. Pour it out. Don't
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: tell me about it. I don't need to know how
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: long you prayed or what you said. Maybe you could say,
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: this morning you came to mine and I prayed for you.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: I appreciate that. That's not showing off. That's encouraging someone
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: else that you have them on your heart. Oh, one
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: of my favorites. I've heard this done. Dear Lord, I've
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: got this 78 Chevy. And you know, Lord, I've been
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: trying to sell it. And I realize there are some
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: people here that could give $ 750 for it. But maybe
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: you'd move on their hearts to give maybe $ 800 so
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: I can use it. Don't advertise in prayer. Please. I'm
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: being facetious, of course, but that's what this is all about.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: People I've admired in my life, and there have been
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: many mentors who have shaped my thinking and changed my
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: direction and rebuked me for so many things in my life.
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: They were men whose prayer life It was a private thing.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: One comes to mind, and he doesn't know to this
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: day that I happened to see him. I was on
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: the island of Okinawa, and I was at the bottom
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: emotionally and spiritually, and I went by to see Bob Newkirk,
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: who was the navigator representative on the island, lived in Naha,
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: and Norma came to the door, and I said, is
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: Bob here? And she said, No, I'm sorry you missed him.
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: It's kind of a rainy night. And she said, I
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: think he might be at his office. But I said, well,
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: I don't want to bother him. She said, you know,
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: he had a lot of things on his mind, and
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: he said he's going to shoot down there for a while.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: So I picked up the local jitney and took a
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: ride over to his spot and walked through a few
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: mud puddles and came to his little office. It's a
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: great moment. It was made of bamboo. So it kind
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: of had cracks in it. And I saw a candle
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: lit inside. And I heard Bob singing. Come thou fount
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing thy grace.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Streams of mercy never ceasing called for songs of loudest praise.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: The rain was dripping off my nose and I heard
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: him prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: leave the God I love. He was weeping. It's the
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: most sacred moment In that man's life, I had the
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: privilege of catching him in that moment. Changed my whole
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: concept of the man. There was a depth there that
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: I'd missed. There was a heart that he never displayed,
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: never showed off. But I realized then, The kind of
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: man I wanted to be when I grew up. I
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: would love it if one of my children would remember
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: having seen her daddy pray and I never knew about it.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: It's a very special thing to do it God's way.
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: And when you witness it, all the masks are thrown away.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: And you ask the Lord, give me this kind of authenticity.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: May I be that. May I do what's right. May
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: I love compassion, kindness, and mercy so genuinely that When
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: I walk with you, it's in humility. And when you pray,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: verse 7, don't keep repeating the same words. In fact,
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: it says they do it thinking that they'll be heard
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: for their many words. Elijah was bringing fire down on
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: the altar and The prophets of Baal had tried and
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: they had screamed over and over and over and over
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: and over and over and over. Oh, Baal, hear us. Oh, Baal,
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: hear us. Oh, Baal, hear us. Oh, Baal, hear us. Oh, Baal,
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: hear us. Oh, Baal, hear us. No fire fell. And
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: Elijah came. He called out to the Lord God. Fire
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: and the water consumed the altar. All of it consumed.
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: Water and all. Give up all the extra words. Just
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: come to him as a father. Just tell him what
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: you need. Pour it out in all honesty. If you
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: want to sing to him, he loves your song. He
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: loves to hear your heart. He loves that you will
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: level with him on things that you maybe would level
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: with no one else about. That's intimacy. Those are not
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: meaningless words. No one will applaud them. I slipped away
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: that night, and Bob never knew I was outside his office.
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: It would have probably been uneasy, lest I think anything
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: but the truth. Simplicity, originality, brevity, authenticity. They all go
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: together and they're all the things the Pharisees were not.
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: So that's why he says in verse 8, don't go there. Now,
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: you may have been taught by a Pharisee. They still live,
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: you know. You may have formed habits because you're a Pharisee. individual,
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: I don't even want to give them a title, whoever
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: that person is, you need to break that habit. Get
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: that out of your mind. That's not your model. You
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: were taught wrong. This is how you do it. We'll
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: deal with the further part on prayer and fasting next time.
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: But don't try to look holy. Don't try to be seen.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: I have a friend who went to a Christian boarding
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: school in his high school years. True story. And he said,
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: you know, Chuck, the thing we learned as students that
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: there was a path where all the faculty walked on
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: their way to class. He said, you know what? I'm
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: going to tell you something now I would never have
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: admitted back then. We kind of jockeyed for position to
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: be along the path so that Dr. So-and-so or Professor
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: so-and-so would see us as they walked by, as we're praying.
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: They weren't praying. They were showing off. He said, I
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: look back on that now and I'm so embarrassed I
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: can hardly admit that we did that. I could imagine
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: it happening. math teacher coming, oh Lord, you know how
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: hard math has been for me these days. Pray the
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: professor will be full of grace, great on a big curve.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: That's not prayer. If you want to say that, say
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: it to the prof. If you want to say to
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: the Lord, the only way I'm going to get through
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: it is if you help me. I'm going to prepare
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: as best I can. But I'm going to rely on you.
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: That's how you do it. Okay, three warnings and I'm through.
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: Very simple. Number one, when our devotion becomes a performance,
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: we lapse into hypocrisy. You know what? Only you know.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: If you are self-aware, you will know, I'll not be
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: doing this. I'm going to stop doing this. But when
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: our devotion becomes a performance, we lapse into hypocrisy, even
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: though we may not literally have a mask. We're faking it.
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: Good time for me to mention a book everybody in
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: this place ought to read. Here it is. Paul David Tripp, T-R-I-P-P,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: Dangerous Calling. I don't even know Paul. But I mention
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: his book because it's one of the best books I
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: read last year. Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling. And I
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: say to you who are ministers, serving in whatever capacity
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: you need to read the book, especially the chapter on familiarity.
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: Number two, second warning. When our giving lacks secrecy, we
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: miss the reward of deep satisfaction. The deep feeling that
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: we participated in a need and God has used our
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: giving to relieve the need. There's an enormous sense of
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: pleasure that we're rewarded with. You miss it all when
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: you Do it to be known. Here's a third. When
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: our praying is to impress, we fail to tap into
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: God's power. Please don't reach for your keys and please
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: do not leave as I read the final statement to
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: you from Paul David Tripp. Hear it all. I would
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: simply ask that you deactivate your inner lawyer and consider
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: with an open heart what I'm writing. Be so bold
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: as to ask God to reveal in you what needs
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: to be revealed and to give you the grace to
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: address what needs to be addressed. And as you do
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: these things, celebrate the grace that has been lavished on
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: you that frees you from the burden of having to
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: pump up your righteousness and parade it before others. Because
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: your standing before your Lord is based on the righteousness
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: of another. You can stand before a holy God and
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: admit your darkest secret and own your deepest failures. and
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: be unafraid. The one to whom you confess will not
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: turn his back on you, but will move toward you
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: with forgiveness. Rescuing, transforming, empowering, and delivering grace. This is
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: the good news that you and I need to preach
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: to ourselves and to one another day after day. Lord,
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: this is called soul surgery and we've been through it
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: without anesthetic and it's hurt. You've cut deeply. You've exposed reality.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: And for once you found us quiet, not wanting to
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: excuse ourselves or rationalize around it. Where we have been phony,
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: forgive us our Father by your grace. Where we have
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: done things for the motive of being known and seen
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: and impressing others, oh Lord, break the habit. starting today.
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: And by your grace, make us real, real to the core,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: in spite of what anyone else may say or do
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: or think. In the name of our Savior, the most
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: authentic one who ever lived, we pray. everyone said. Amen.
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: commercial use is strictly prohibited.