020: Richard Morgan – Exhortation: Motivation Behind Our Behaviors

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Welcome to the good Christian
talks podcast.

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I’m Levi.
And I’m Chris.

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Thank you so much for joining us
this week.

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On this podcast, we select one
taco week to help each one of

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us.
Get the Bible in our daily news

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feed.
We post at the start of each

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week for you to listen.
With a short intro beforehand to

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kind of set the stage for the
talk here about to here.

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And now, let’s hear more about
this week’s talk.

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This week marked episode number
20 of the podcast which is

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incredible.
And I want to personally again,

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say thank you to everyone who
has been listening and sending

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us feedback.
We have had several really

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heartfelt messages about the
talks from people about how

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easily these talks are available
to people and how much people

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are enjoying them.
Even some messages from members

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of smaller, Ecclesia as where
they don’t have access to as

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many speakers, and they’ve been
really enjoying them and

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appreciating them and hearing
that means so much to us and So

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glad that people are finding
these talks to be useful for the

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podcast this week.
We are again drawing from the

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Verdugo Hills, Ecclesia.
Sorry, it’s the Ecclesia.

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I’m from based on a suggestion
from a listener.

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Actually, not me for an
excitation that was given their

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last year in 2018 by our
brother.

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Richard Morgan from the Simi
Hills.

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Ecclesia in California in his
excitation brother, Richard

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examines, why we do the things,
we do every Sunday and

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throughout the week and what are
our motivations behind those

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things.
He really forces us to take a

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hard look at why we do the
things we do.

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And the traditional sometimes
almost ritualistic way that we

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approach our worship, Brother,
Richard is trying to drive us to

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not be like the Pharisees not to
be checking off the boxes, every

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Sunday and on midweek, Bible
class and every day when we say

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prayers and do readings.
But instead looking at the

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motivation behind what we’re
doing and the faith that should

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be driving those actions rather
than Than just doing it because

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we’re supposed to or out of
habit.

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I found the talk was really
powerful and similar to last

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week’s talk gave me a lot to
reflect on, after listening to

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it without giving away.
All the little nuggets that

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Brother, Richard brings out in
his talk in the middle.

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I really like the point that he
made, where he said, we know the

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things that were supposed to do,
go to bible class, say prayers

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before meals, do daily readings,
go to Sunday school, go to

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meeting all those things, but if
those behaviors aren’t driven,

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Reinforced by underlying faith
and a love of God.

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Then, as our brother put it,
they are Hollow actions with no

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substance and not what God
desires from us at all near the

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last third of the excitation
Brother.

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Richard really gets going, you
can feel the passion and the

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enthusiasm that he has as he’s
driving through the end of the

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excitation.
I won’t spoil any more about it,

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but make sure that you’re paying
attention, you’re the end

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because he he really gets going,
he makes some awesome points.

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I hope you’re as excited now to
hear this talk, as we are to

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share it with you.
You.

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So I will now turn it over to
her brother.

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Richard Morgan for his
excitation on the theme of the

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motivations behind our
behaviors.

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Very good morning.
To you all my beloved brothers

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and sisters.
Very happy to be with you here.

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This morning to share this time
together and we bring with us

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the love of your brothers and
sisters in see me, and it’s good

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for us to be here this morning.
Isn’t it?

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Brother and sisters.
It’s good for us to remember our

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law.
To break bread together to sing,

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hymns, to read the word of God.
Meet in Fellowship.

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Brothers sisters, there’s
something far more important

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that we need to understand that
simply doing that which is on

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the surface something which is
good and right.

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And that’s Paul’s concern in
Ephesians and at the end of

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chapter 4 of Ephesians and the
beginning of chapter 5, Paul

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lays out a series of moral
imperatives for us things which

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are good for us to do.
But he underlines that behavior,

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with what should be far more
important than the behavior

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itself?
What is it?

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That drives our Behavior because
in one sense it’s very easy for

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us to do at least outwardly that
which is right.

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But this morning brothers and
sisters as we meet to remember

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our Lord and as he has commanded
us to do to examine ourselves, I

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want us to be honest with
ourselves as Paul counters us to

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do in Ephesians.
He he counsels us to be people

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of Integrity, people of honesty.
People of Truth, people of

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faithfulness.
So let’s look deep into our

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hearts and examine.
What is the motive behind the

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things that we do?
Each day of Our Lives, not just

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here on a Sunday morning, but
what is the underlying

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motivation behind our Behavior?
That’s, that’s really what Paul

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is concerned with here as he
lists a series of ways in which

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we put off the old man by
putting on the new man.

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As I said, he underlines that
behavior with a sort of attitude

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of mind the motivation.
What is it?

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That drives us to do that, which
is right in the sight of God.

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So if we look at these very
well-known words, Words in

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chapter 4 and verse 22.
He says put off your old man,

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which belongs to your former
manner of life and is corrupt

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through deceitful desires.
So so how do we do that brothers

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and sisters?
We know that mere suppression of

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sin does not work.
If we try to overcome sin just

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by the law, Thou shalt not kill,
Thou shalt not covet, we know

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that does not work.
It simply highlights in and

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makes in even more tempting, so
suppression in itself, does not

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work.
Work.

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And the way in which Paul tells
us to put off the old man is

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through distracting ourselves
with that, which is positive.

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By replacing the old man with
the new.

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So he says in verse 23, there be
renewed in the spirit of your

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mind and put on the new Man
created after the likeness of

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God in true righteousness and
Holiness.

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So we put off the old by putting
on the new, we don’t just sit in

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the corner and say, I will not
sin.

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We have to replace that
sinfulness with that, which is

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positive.
And then, in the next few verses

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starting in verse 25, through to
the the beginning of chapter 5,

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Paul gives a series of examples
that we can follow in which he

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illustrates this principle, put
off the old man by putting on

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the new But each time what I
want us to notice this morning

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brothers and sisters, is this
underlying motivation behind the

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behavior that is expected of us?
So for instance, in verse 25, he

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says, therefore Having put away
falsehood.

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How do we put away falsehood by
each of one of you speaking

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truth with his neighbor, if
we’re so busy.

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Speaking, the truth that pushes
lies away, doesn’t it?

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We can’t speak falsehood at the
same time of speaking truth.

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Truth replaces falsehood.
So we overcome the old by

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putting on the new.
It is a very simple exhortation.

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But he says, at the end of verse
25, what is it?

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What is the reason behind us?
Speaking the truth?

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Because ultimately speaking, the
truth, doesn’t necessarily

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Express what we’re truly like we
can kid ourselves.

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We can fool ourselves into
thinking we’re doing the right

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thing, but if our underlying
motive is all wrong, it’s

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meaningless.
And so Paul says, the reason why

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we speak the truth, at the end
of verse 25 is for, we are

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members one of another That’s
the sort of attitude that should

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drive us to want to speak the
truth.

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Not just to say the truth for
the truth sake.

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But because when members of each
other because we’re in a

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community were in a family and
we’re looking out for each other

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and we want to be people of
integrity and faithfulness to

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each other because we love each
other. and so, because when

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members of each of one another
in one family that drives us to

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want to speak the truth, Let’s
look at the example in verse 28,

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he says that the thief no longer
steal and we stopped stealing

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well.
We replace what our hands were

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previously doing by laboring
doing honest.

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Work with our own hands.
But again why is it that we do

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this kind of behavior is it for
the behavior sake so that we

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might give an appearance at
least of righteousness but then

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he says at the end of verse 20,
E8.

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The again, the underlying
motivation so that he may have

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something to share with anyone
in need.

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That’s what drives us to do.
What?

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Paul counsels us to do in that
verse because we want to share,

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we are compassionate.
We see somebody in need and that

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drives us then into this
positive behavior.

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Have a look at verse 29 For your
next work.

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Verse it says let no corrupting
talk come out of your mouth.

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How do we stop this – Behavior
by doing the positive, but only

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such as is good for building up
as fits the occasion.

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But why, why do we do that?
Why do we speak in a good

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manner?
And again, he gives the the

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reason behind their behavior,
the end of verse 29, that it may

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give Grace to those who hear
that’s the motivation brother

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and sisters.
We want to build each other up.

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We want to give Grace to each
other.

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That’s what drives us to do
these things.

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And so we could summarize the
the motivation that Paul

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outlines in those that first set
of moral imperatives by saying

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that it’s love for our neighbor,
which is the underlying attitude

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of mind that drives us.
We know that’s the second

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greatest commandment under the
law.

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And you’ll guess what the other
moral imperative is, it’s the

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greatest commandment under the
law.

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What is it?
That drives behavior in the next

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few verses.
It’s our relationship with God.

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And the fact that God loves us
and we love God and that should

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be the motivation behind our
Behavior.

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So he says, for instance, in
verse 32, Be kind to one another

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tender-hearted forgiving one
another as God in Christ.

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Forgave you So, being kind to
one another is a good outward

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behavior, isn’t it?
But the motivation behind it, is

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because we’ve developed this
relationship with God, we’ve

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experienced the love of God,
we’ve experienced his Mercy, his

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forgiveness, and that is what
drives us to do the right thing.

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And again, in chapter 5 and
verse 1, therefore be imitators

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of God.
And the motivation behind that

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is as beloved children.
It’s all very well being an

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imitator of God, but if it’s not
based on our relationship with

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God, that were a child of God
and we love our Father in

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heaven, and we want to do his
will out of love for him.

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Then that imitation of God
should could be just a charade.

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And then verse 2 and walk in
love as Christ loved us and gave

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himself up for us.
A fragrant offering and

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sacrifice to God.
So that love that, God has for

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us, that has been exhibited to
us through his son that we

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remember.
Now in the table that should be

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the fourth.
The power that drives Us Now to

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respond in a similar way.
It’s all about no motivation

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isn’t it?
Brother and sisters we need to

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examine ourselves.
What is it that causes me to

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behave in a certain kind of way.
There’s something very much

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higher, much more important than
merely coming to meeting.

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Merely reading our Bibles
saying, our prayers and even

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being kind to one another and
being generous we can do all of

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those things brothers and
sisters, but unless the

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motivation behind it is, right?
It matters.

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Nothing at all.
What God is looking for is

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character, what God is looking
for is attitude?

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Or God is looking for is the
right kind of motivation.

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Vision.
That’s a illustrate this a

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little bit more brothers and
sisters.

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As we examine ourselves this
morning, come back with me to

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chapter 4 verse 25 and as Paul
often does in Ephesians, he

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quotes from the Old Testament,
seemingly, sometimes quite

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random some of these quotations
are.

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But when we look at the context,
we can see what was going

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00:14:08,300 –> 00:14:09,200
through.
The Apostle.

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00:14:09,200 –> 00:14:15,600
Paul’s mind, when he quotes this
time in 4:25 from the prophet of

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00:14:15,600 –> 00:14:18,100
Zechariah, Shh.
So it says, therefore having put

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00:14:18,100 –> 00:14:20,300
away falsehood.
Let each one of you speak the

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00:14:20,300 –> 00:14:24,300
truth with his neighbor for.
We are members one of another

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00:14:25,200 –> 00:14:30,000
now that phrase there to speak
the truth with your neighbor is

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00:14:30,000 –> 00:14:35,700
a quotation from the prophet
Zechariah and chapter 8, and we

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00:14:35,700 –> 00:14:38,200
need to turn back to Zechariah
to figure out what is going

228
00:14:38,200 –> 00:14:39,600
through the Apostle, Paul’s
mind.

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00:14:39,900 –> 00:14:48,400
So if you come back to Zechariah
8, The context of Zechariah it’s

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00:14:48,400 –> 00:14:51,700
a vision ultimately of the
kingdom of God is a vision of

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00:14:51,800 –> 00:14:57,000
Jerusalem in the future, which
is described as a city of

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00:14:57,700 –> 00:15:02,100
righteousness, Holiness and
faithfulness.

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00:15:04,900 –> 00:15:09,100
Characteristics, which should be
the Hallmark of us.

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00:15:09,100 –> 00:15:18,400
Now, as we journey toward Zion,
And so, in that context, the

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00:15:18,400 –> 00:15:21,900
prophet says, if that’s what we
look forward to, ultimately, the

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00:15:21,900 –> 00:15:28,800
city of righteousness, Holiness
and faithfulness, what sort of

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00:15:28,800 –> 00:15:31,400
people should we do, what should
we be doing?

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00:15:31,600 –> 00:15:35,900
And yes, this question in
chapter 8 here in verse 16, the

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00:15:35,900 –> 00:15:39,700
word of the Lord of hosts came
to me saying sorry verse that

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00:15:39,700 –> 00:15:42,500
was Verse 18, verse 16, these
are the things that you shall

241
00:15:42,500 –> 00:15:44,200
do.
You ever ask yourself the

242
00:15:44,200 –> 00:15:46,300
question?
And what is it that I should be

243
00:15:46,500 –> 00:15:48,100
doing?
Well.

244
00:15:49,700 –> 00:15:54,700
We should as it says there in
verse 16 speak the truth to one

245
00:15:54,700 –> 00:15:57,100
another.
Those are the words that Paul

246
00:15:57,100 –> 00:16:01,800
quotes in Ephesians, very simple
commandment for us to do, we

247
00:16:01,800 –> 00:16:05,500
ought to say things to each
other, which are true.

248
00:16:06,200 –> 00:16:09,800
The speak the truth to one
another and then rendering your

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00:16:09,800 –> 00:16:12,400
gate.
Judgments of the true and make

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00:16:12,400 –> 00:16:15,800
for peace.
So it’s good advice, brother and

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00:16:15,800 –> 00:16:17,400
sisters but look what that he
says.

252
00:16:17,400 –> 00:16:21,500
In verse 17, look at the
juxtaposition of these two

253
00:16:21,500 –> 00:16:24,800
principles, speak the truth in
verse 16.

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00:16:25,000 –> 00:16:29,100
But for some reason and the
prophet says in verse 17, the

255
00:16:29,100 –> 00:16:34,100
very next verse, do not devise
evil in your hearts against one

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00:16:34,100 –> 00:16:39,600
another and love, no false oath
for all these things, I hate

257
00:16:39,700 –> 00:16:42,200
declares the Lord.
Now why do you suppose the

258
00:16:42,200 –> 00:16:45,600
prophet puts those?
Those two things together and on

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00:16:45,600 –> 00:16:48,000
one hand, he seen speak the
truth with each other.

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00:16:49,900 –> 00:16:54,000
Render judgments that make for
truth and peace.

261
00:16:55,200 –> 00:16:58,400
But then immediately reminds us
not to devise evil in our heart

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00:16:58,400 –> 00:17:01,400
against one another and don’t
love any false oath.

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00:17:01,400 –> 00:17:06,300
God hates that I think the
reason why the prophet says this

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00:17:06,300 –> 00:17:10,700
is because it’s so easy for us
because of the deceitfulness of

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00:17:10,700 –> 00:17:14,599
our hearts to exhibit this
outward Behavior.

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00:17:16,000 –> 00:17:23,000
Even speaking the truth.
But our hearts are far different

267
00:17:23,000 –> 00:17:26,099
from what that behavior
represents.

268
00:17:27,400 –> 00:17:30,000
We can even in the midst of
speaking.

269
00:17:30,000 –> 00:17:34,900
The truth at the same time being
devising evil in our hearts

270
00:17:35,200 –> 00:17:40,500
against one another.
And seeing Oaths, which are

271
00:17:40,500 –> 00:17:43,800
actually false and God hates
that.

272
00:17:45,000 –> 00:17:50,100
God hates that hypocrisy.
God, hates that outward behavior

273
00:17:50,100 –> 00:17:54,600
that has this veneer of
righteousness if our hearts

274
00:17:54,600 –> 00:17:59,700
aren’t true to what we are
seeing and what we are doing.

275
00:18:01,300 –> 00:18:03,500
And it was a problem with the
children of Israel in these

276
00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:06,200
days.
If you turn back one chapter to

277
00:18:06,200 –> 00:18:19,100
chapter 7, when the question
here of good religious behavior

278
00:18:19,200 –> 00:18:22,800
of a sort here comes out in
chapter 7 and if you turn to

279
00:18:22,800 –> 00:18:26,900
verse 2, it says, the people of
Bethel had centuries are and

280
00:18:26,900 –> 00:18:28,700
reg.
Amelia can they meant to entreat

281
00:18:28,700 –> 00:18:31,500
the favor of the Lord saying, to
the priest to the house of the

282
00:18:31,500 –> 00:18:35,000
Lord of hosts, and the prophets,
should I weep and abstain in the

283
00:18:35,000 –> 00:18:38,300
fifth month as I have done for
so many years?

284
00:18:40,300 –> 00:18:46,100
So the question is here, should
I carry on with this ritual of

285
00:18:46,300 –> 00:18:48,900
fasting weeping abstaining, and
so forth?

286
00:18:50,300 –> 00:18:53,900
the answer comes back in verse
4, then the word of the Lord of

287
00:18:53,900 –> 00:18:57,400
hosts came to me, say to all the
people of the land and the

288
00:18:57,400 –> 00:19:01,600
priests, when you fasted and
mourned in the fifth month, and

289
00:19:01,600 –> 00:19:09,600
in the seventh for the 70 years,
was it for me that you fasted

290
00:19:11,800 –> 00:19:15,900
For God is asking.
He’s asking them to examine

291
00:19:15,900 –> 00:19:19,100
their true motives behind their
outward Behavior.

292
00:19:20,000 –> 00:19:22,800
Yes.
It was good that you wept and

293
00:19:22,800 –> 00:19:26,500
abstained that you mourned that.
You fasted.

294
00:19:27,200 –> 00:19:34,800
But was it for me?
Then he says in verse 6 and when

295
00:19:34,800 –> 00:19:40,100
you eat and when you drink, do
you not eat for yourselves and

296
00:19:40,100 –> 00:19:44,400
drink for yourselves?
And what the the prophet here is

297
00:19:44,400 –> 00:19:48,200
doing really is he’s exposing
their hypocrisy.

298
00:19:48,400 –> 00:19:52,800
They had all the outward
Behavior, right?

299
00:19:54,500 –> 00:19:57,800
But they weren’t doing it for
God, they were doing it for

300
00:19:57,800 –> 00:20:00,200
themselves.
They were doing it for selfish

301
00:20:00,200 –> 00:20:02,800
motives.
I don’t have love for God.

302
00:20:02,800 –> 00:20:07,600
No, no love for their neighbor
they maybe just wanted to look

303
00:20:07,700 –> 00:20:11,800
righteous and at the appearance
that they were doing the right

304
00:20:11,800 –> 00:20:16,400
thing.
You see brothers sisters we can

305
00:20:16,400 –> 00:20:20,600
get the behavior right?
And sometimes that’s the easy

306
00:20:20,600 –> 00:20:24,400
part.
But God is not concerned with

307
00:20:24,400 –> 00:20:28,500
our Behavior so much as what is
the motivation behind the things

308
00:20:28,500 –> 00:20:31,000
that we do.
Now, of course, when we come

309
00:20:31,000 –> 00:20:33,500
back to the New Testament, if
you come with me to Matthew,

310
00:20:34,100 –> 00:20:38,800
this was a common theme in Jesus
interaction with the Pharisees.

311
00:20:39,600 –> 00:20:46,600
And when you look at the
Pharisees they are, As a group

312
00:20:46,600 –> 00:20:51,200
like a caricature of this
problem of people having the

313
00:20:51,400 –> 00:20:55,700
right outward Behavior, but the
motivations were all wrong.

314
00:20:57,200 –> 00:21:01,100
And Jesus as he interacts with
these men over and over again,

315
00:21:01,100 –> 00:21:07,000
exposes their hypocrisy opens up
their hearts for examination and

316
00:21:07,000 –> 00:21:09,600
finds that their behavior might
have been right.

317
00:21:10,800 –> 00:21:14,000
Well, had this veneer of
righteousness?

318
00:21:15,700 –> 00:21:17,900
But their attitude of course is
all wrong.

319
00:21:19,100 –> 00:21:21,800
And that’s not for us just to
Simply point the finger at the

320
00:21:21,808 –> 00:21:25,000
Pharisee.
We all have this problem.

321
00:21:25,000 –> 00:21:31,600
Don’t we brother and sisters we
all tend to have our outward

322
00:21:31,600 –> 00:21:36,900
behavior that can be a veneer
for the truth that lies within

323
00:21:36,900 –> 00:21:39,700
our hearts.
So let’s have a look at this

324
00:21:39,700 –> 00:21:43,200
example here.
In Matthew chapter 9 And verse

325
00:21:43,200 –> 00:21:47,500
10.
This is Jesus replied at table

326
00:21:47,600 –> 00:21:51,200
in the house.
Behold, many tax collectors and

327
00:21:51,200 –> 00:21:55,000
sinners came and were reclining
with Jesus and his disciples.

328
00:21:55,000 –> 00:21:58,400
And when the Pharisees saw this,
they said to his disciples, why

329
00:21:58,400 –> 00:22:02,100
does your teacher eat with tax
collectors and sinners?

330
00:22:04,100 –> 00:22:07,900
But when he heard it, he said
those who are well have no need

331
00:22:08,000 –> 00:22:11,900
of a physician but those who are
sick and of course there’s some

332
00:22:12,100 –> 00:22:16,100
underlying irony in the word
Shiva, Jesus uses that the

333
00:22:16,100 –> 00:22:19,400
Pharisees of course, didn’t
think that they needed a

334
00:22:19,400 –> 00:22:21,300
physician.
They were already righteous,

335
00:22:21,300 –> 00:22:29,600
they did all the right things.
But then he says, in verse 13,

336
00:22:29,600 –> 00:22:33,600
go and learn what this means and
what he’s doing here.

337
00:22:33,800 –> 00:22:36,300
Brothers sisters, he’s given the
Pharisees a little bit of

338
00:22:36,300 –> 00:22:39,200
homework.
He says go home.

339
00:22:39,300 –> 00:22:44,700
Open up your Scroll of Hozier.
And read what this and try to

340
00:22:44,700 –> 00:22:46,600
figure out what this verse
means.

341
00:22:47,300 –> 00:22:52,500
Go and learn what this means in
verse 13, I desire mercy and not

342
00:22:52,500 –> 00:22:58,400
sacrifice for a key not to call
the righteous but sinners Oh, go

343
00:22:58,400 –> 00:22:59,600
home.
You Pharisees.

344
00:22:59,700 –> 00:23:03,500
Open up Hozier.
Find where it says, I will have

345
00:23:03,500 –> 00:23:07,300
mercy and not sacrifice and try
to figure out what that means.

346
00:23:10,400 –> 00:23:11,900
Well, let’s do the homework for
them.

347
00:23:11,900 –> 00:23:17,300
Let’s go to Hosea and the
reading that we had Hosea

348
00:23:17,300 –> 00:23:30,800
chapter 6, And if the Pharisees,
who listen to Jesus really

349
00:23:31,000 –> 00:23:34,800
contemplated what Hozier is
saying here, it should have been

350
00:23:35,100 –> 00:23:37,300
absolutely mind-blowing for
them.

351
00:23:38,400 –> 00:23:42,800
Because their religion was all
centered around that ritualistic

352
00:23:42,800 –> 00:23:46,300
behavior.
Of things like sacrifice and

353
00:23:46,300 –> 00:23:50,200
burnt offerings and fasts and go
in a meeting on a Sunday morning

354
00:23:50,200 –> 00:23:53,600
and reading the Bible and saying
your prayers before meals and

355
00:23:53,600 –> 00:23:55,400
breaking bread and drinking
wine.

356
00:23:55,500 –> 00:24:00,100
All those things that we do
which are right and necessary.

357
00:24:01,400 –> 00:24:10,400
But look what Hosea says in
chapter 6 year I desire Mercy or

358
00:24:10,400 –> 00:24:14,200
steadfast love.
Loving kindness and not

359
00:24:14,200 –> 00:24:19,900
sacrifice.
The knowledge of God rather than

360
00:24:19,900 –> 00:24:23,000
burnt offerings.
And what the prophet says here,

361
00:24:23,200 –> 00:24:26,900
on behalf of God is, I’m not
interested in sacrifices.

362
00:24:27,000 –> 00:24:29,800
I’m not interested in burnt
offerings.

363
00:24:31,100 –> 00:24:35,900
What I want is character.
And what I want is knowledge in

364
00:24:35,900 –> 00:24:38,300
the kind of knowledge.
Your of course is that intimate

365
00:24:38,300 –> 00:24:41,400
knowledge that we have that
we’ve developed this

366
00:24:41,400 –> 00:24:45,100
relationship with God and we
know truly who he is, that’s

367
00:24:45,100 –> 00:24:49,700
what God wants.
And ultimately doesn’t care

368
00:24:49,700 –> 00:24:52,200
about the sacrifices of the
burnt offerings and all this.

369
00:24:52,400 –> 00:24:56,300
This outward stuff that we do,
which is completely meaningless

370
00:24:56,700 –> 00:24:59,400
without the right motivation
behind it.

371
00:25:00,500 –> 00:25:04,800
And that’s of course what the
Pharisees should have learned by

372
00:25:05,200 –> 00:25:09,700
going to who Hosea.
Insert.

373
00:25:10,100 –> 00:25:14,400
Sorry character in verse 6 and
knowledge of God.

374
00:25:14,600 –> 00:25:17,300
This is a theme that runs all
the way through the book of

375
00:25:17,300 –> 00:25:20,100
Hosea Hosea keeps hammering.
This point home.

376
00:25:20,500 –> 00:25:23,800
It’s not about the sacrifices,
it’s not about the outward

377
00:25:23,800 –> 00:25:29,800
Behavior.
It has its place but as useless

378
00:25:30,200 –> 00:25:36,300
pointless without Mercy and
knowledge of God.

379
00:25:38,500 –> 00:25:40,800
Let’s come back to chapter 4 of
Hosea.

380
00:25:44,200 –> 00:25:46,300
Look What God Says through the
prophet here.

381
00:25:48,100 –> 00:25:56,100
And verse 19.
What the Hosea says in, leading

382
00:25:56,100 –> 00:26:00,200
up to chapter 6 in chapters 4
and 5, he lists the sins of the

383
00:26:00,200 –> 00:26:04,100
people sins that they they try
to cover up.

384
00:26:05,400 –> 00:26:08,800
They have this kind of fig Leaf
religion, as I like to call it,

385
00:26:08,900 –> 00:26:10,800
they were just like Adam and Eve
in the garden.

386
00:26:10,800 –> 00:26:15,400
Who when their sin was exposed,
instead of Simply admitting

387
00:26:15,400 –> 00:26:17,800
their sin, they try to cover
over there.

388
00:26:17,900 –> 00:26:20,900
Shame of your nakedness with fig
leaves and that’s what we tend

389
00:26:20,900 –> 00:26:22,400
to do, isn’t it?
Brother and sisters.

390
00:26:22,400 –> 00:26:28,700
We like to present ourselves as
righteous and holy people hiding

391
00:26:28,700 –> 00:26:30,500
away.
The fact that when we go to our

392
00:26:30,500 –> 00:26:34,900
homes, that were not quite as
righteous and holy as we appear.

393
00:26:36,800 –> 00:26:40,700
So he says, in verse 19,
ultimately, at the end of the

394
00:26:40,700 –> 00:26:46,500
verse, they shall be ashamed
because of their sacrifices.

395
00:26:46,600 –> 00:26:50,100
They tried to cover their Sheen
by this fig.

396
00:26:50,100 –> 00:26:53,800
Leaf religion, by doing all the
outward, right things.

397
00:26:54,500 –> 00:26:56,800
But ultimately they shall be
ashamed.

398
00:26:57,000 –> 00:27:00,100
Their nakedness shall be
exposed.

399
00:27:02,800 –> 00:27:05,100
No, what was the problem?
Well, let’s look at the first

400
00:27:05,100 –> 00:27:08,900
couple of verses of chapter 4,
hear the word of the Lord O

401
00:27:08,900 –> 00:27:11,800
children of Israel for the Lord
has a controversy with the

402
00:27:11,800 –> 00:27:16,800
inhabitants of the Land.
There is no faithfulness or

403
00:27:16,800 –> 00:27:21,300
steadfast love.
And no knowledge of God In the

404
00:27:21,300 –> 00:27:24,500
Land.
There is swearing lying, murder

405
00:27:24,500 –> 00:27:26,100
stealing, and committing
adultery.

406
00:27:26,400 –> 00:27:29,100
They break all bounds and
bloodshed follows Bloodshed.

407
00:27:29,200 –> 00:27:33,400
So yes, they were doing the
rituals they I would perform in

408
00:27:33,400 –> 00:27:36,000
the sacrifices they were going
to the temple.

409
00:27:36,500 –> 00:27:38,300
That would go in a meeting on a
Sunday morning.

410
00:27:38,300 –> 00:27:41,400
They were going to bible class.
They were going to cyc, they

411
00:27:41,400 –> 00:27:45,100
were doing their readings.
They were saying their prayers

412
00:27:45,100 –> 00:27:49,900
before their meals.
They were writing cards to those

413
00:27:49,900 –> 00:27:54,800
who are sick, they were doing
all the things that are good and

414
00:27:54,800 –> 00:27:58,900
right?
And just, but without the

415
00:27:58,900 –> 00:28:01,800
character and knowledge of God,
there was no faithfulness, no

416
00:28:01,800 –> 00:28:04,500
steadfast love, no knowledge of
God.

417
00:28:05,500 –> 00:28:10,000
And instead the list of sins in
verse 2, so that was the problem

418
00:28:10,000 –> 00:28:12,800
with the people, and that’s why
it leads up into chapter 6, that

419
00:28:12,800 –> 00:28:18,300
where God says, I have no use
for your sacrifices, no use if

420
00:28:18,300 –> 00:28:21,800
you go into the temple and
performing a sacrifice, it’s

421
00:28:22,000 –> 00:28:25,900
it’s meaningless to me because
your hearts are not in the right

422
00:28:25,900 –> 00:28:31,900
place and then quite eerily in
this verse that Jesus quotes,

423
00:28:31,900 –> 00:28:35,900
back in chapter 6, verse 6,
accordingly, then goes on to

424
00:28:35,900 –> 00:28:42,700
say, In a prophecy of the, the
very thing that Jesus was

425
00:28:42,700 –> 00:28:48,000
experiencing as he battled with
these Hypocrites in verse 7.

426
00:28:48,200 –> 00:28:52,400
But like Adam, they transgressed
the Covenant, there, they dealt

427
00:28:52,400 –> 00:28:55,500
faith.
Faith Leslie with me, Gilead has

428
00:28:55,500 –> 00:28:58,700
a city of evildoers tract with
blood as robbers.

429
00:28:58,700 –> 00:29:03,900
Lie in wait for a man.
So the priests band together,

430
00:29:04,200 –> 00:29:06,400
they murder on the way to
shechem.

431
00:29:06,400 –> 00:29:10,300
They commit villainy.
That’s exactly what Jesus was

432
00:29:10,300 –> 00:29:15,400
going to experience as the
priests did band together and

433
00:29:15,600 –> 00:29:19,600
murdered him.
So let’s come back.

434
00:29:19,600 –> 00:29:24,200
If you would to Matthew, Jesus
has given the Pharisees this

435
00:29:24,200 –> 00:29:29,100
this homework to do. a little
while later, if you go over to

436
00:29:29,100 –> 00:29:34,000
chapter 12, He meets up with
them again.

437
00:29:34,000 –> 00:29:42,900
Three chapters later, Matthew,
chapter 12, And this time, it’s

438
00:29:42,900 –> 00:29:47,800
on the Sabbath.
And at least according to the

439
00:29:47,800 –> 00:29:52,500
interpretation of the Pharisees,
these men were disobeying the

440
00:29:52,600 –> 00:29:56,600
rules of the Sabbath day as they
were hungry.

441
00:29:56,600 –> 00:30:00,400
And the disciples in verse 1,
began to pluck, heads of green

442
00:30:00,500 –> 00:30:01,900
and to eat.
And we know the rest of the

443
00:30:01,900 –> 00:30:06,000
story that Jesus get into this
argument, where the Pharisee

444
00:30:06,000 –> 00:30:08,300
say, look, what your disciples
are doing their eat, they’re

445
00:30:08,300 –> 00:30:11,500
working on a Sabbath day.
This is, this is ridiculous.

446
00:30:13,800 –> 00:30:15,400
Jesus gives the answer in verse
3.

447
00:30:15,400 –> 00:30:18,400
Have you not read what David did
when he was hungry and those who

448
00:30:18,400 –> 00:30:21,300
were with him, how we enter the
house of God and ate the bread

449
00:30:21,300 –> 00:30:25,300
of the presence which was not
lawful for him to eat and for

450
00:30:25,300 –> 00:30:27,300
those who are with him but only
for the priests.

451
00:30:27,300 –> 00:30:30,600
And and what Jesus is doing
among other things, here is tell

452
00:30:30,600 –> 00:30:34,800
him the Pharisees that you, you
fail to understand that

453
00:30:34,800 –> 00:30:39,000
sometimes one principle is
higher than another.

454
00:30:41,600 –> 00:30:47,900
And the fact that David was on
the run from the enemy here and

455
00:30:47,900 –> 00:30:52,300
needed some bread was more
important than the fact that

456
00:30:52,300 –> 00:30:54,600
strictly speaking.
He should not have partaken of

457
00:30:54,600 –> 00:30:57,600
the showbread and likewise in
verse 5.

458
00:30:57,600 –> 00:30:59,600
Have you not read in the law on
the Sabbath?

459
00:30:59,600 –> 00:31:02,100
The priests in the temple
profane the Sabbath and a

460
00:31:02,108 –> 00:31:06,000
Guiltless that the priests
worked on the Sabbath.

461
00:31:06,300 –> 00:31:09,700
But that’s because one principle
here is higher than another

462
00:31:11,400 –> 00:31:14,200
Those who are mixed up in a
Farah sale gorillas, and just

463
00:31:14,200 –> 00:31:16,800
simply do not understand this
point.

464
00:31:17,800 –> 00:31:21,000
So, he says, in verse 6, they
tell you something greater than

465
00:31:21,000 –> 00:31:26,700
the temple is here.
Something greater from the

466
00:31:26,700 –> 00:31:32,000
temple is here, there is
something more important than

467
00:31:32,000 –> 00:31:37,200
sacrifices and burnt offerings.
And here was the one who was

468
00:31:37,200 –> 00:31:40,600
full of grace and truth standing
before them.

469
00:31:43,000 –> 00:31:46,600
And the things that he
demonstrated and exhibited in

470
00:31:46,600 –> 00:31:50,700
his way of life were more
important than the temple.

471
00:31:52,100 –> 00:31:56,500
And so he says, in verse 7, if
you had known what this means I

472
00:31:56,500 –> 00:32:00,200
desire mercy and not sacrifice.
He would not have condemned the

473
00:32:00,200 –> 00:32:03,400
Guiltless for the son of man is
Lord of the Sabbath.

474
00:32:03,700 –> 00:32:05,900
And what Jesus says to the
Pharisees there, I told you

475
00:32:05,900 –> 00:32:09,900
three chapters ago, go home,
open your Scroll of Hozier

476
00:32:09,900 –> 00:32:13,400
Reaver 6, look at the context,
figure it out, they haven’t done

477
00:32:13,400 –> 00:32:15,300
it.
You can in one ear out the other

478
00:32:15,500 –> 00:32:17,700
and they didn’t have a clue, did
they brothers and sisters?

479
00:32:18,300 –> 00:32:21,600
Because they were so caught up
in this outward.

480
00:32:23,200 –> 00:32:31,400
Righteous veneer of a religion.
and he says, in verse 8 the law,

481
00:32:31,400 –> 00:32:37,500
the son of man is Lord of the
Sabbath and The principal lab

482
00:32:37,500 –> 00:32:40,500
runs is this is not to let
rituals rule over us.

483
00:32:40,500 –> 00:32:45,800
They’re meant to be a tool, not
a master And sometimes, as I

484
00:32:45,808 –> 00:32:48,500
said one, sometimes one
principle is more important than

485
00:32:48,500 –> 00:32:51,000
another just in passing is
interested in Jesus.

486
00:32:51,400 –> 00:32:56,700
Illustrates this whole principle
by going to the law, the

487
00:32:56,700 –> 00:33:00,200
writings, and the prophets, the
three areas of the Old Testament

488
00:33:00,200 –> 00:33:02,800
that were sacrosanct to the the
Jews.

489
00:33:03,200 –> 00:33:06,900
He goes to the law by saying the
priests worked on the Sabbath.

490
00:33:07,200 –> 00:33:10,700
He goes to the writings in the
illustration with David, and

491
00:33:10,700 –> 00:33:13,600
then he goes to the prophets
with a quotation again from

492
00:33:13,600 –> 00:33:16,500
Hosea.
So the Old Testament taught this

493
00:33:16,500 –> 00:33:20,300
principle.
So brothers sisters, then what

494
00:33:20,300 –> 00:33:24,600
is the lesson for us?
As we now perform a ritual?

495
00:33:25,900 –> 00:33:30,100
We come here to partake of the
bread and the cup in this

496
00:33:30,200 –> 00:33:35,400
ritualistic way. and here we
are, all are doing as we do

497
00:33:35,400 –> 00:33:40,500
every Sunday, everything
decently and in order, We’ve

498
00:33:40,500 –> 00:33:44,900
come dressed up, we’ve prepared
everything, everything’s going

499
00:33:44,900 –> 00:33:49,900
according to plan and here we
are as we do things in the right

500
00:33:49,900 –> 00:33:54,900
way.
Well that’s two into two more

501
00:33:54,900 –> 00:33:57,600
passages to just to hammer home
the point for us brothers and

502
00:33:57,600 –> 00:34:00,000
sisters.
If you go over to chapter 23,

503
00:34:00,700 –> 00:34:07,400
this is the classic chapter in
which Jesus gives the series of

504
00:34:07,400 –> 00:34:10,699
woe to you scribes and Pharisees
hypocrites.

505
00:34:12,100 –> 00:34:15,900
And he says in this chapter that
there is a place for ritual.

506
00:34:17,900 –> 00:34:20,199
It’s not that we go from one
extreme to the other and say

507
00:34:20,199 –> 00:34:23,600
Well since it’s all about
character, an attitude then

508
00:34:23,600 –> 00:34:26,900
let’s just do away with baptism
and breaking of bread and saying

509
00:34:26,900 –> 00:34:28,500
prayers before meals and all
the.

510
00:34:28,699 –> 00:34:31,600
The ritualistic things we do
know Jesus says, no there’s a

511
00:34:31,600 –> 00:34:36,199
place for it.
But again, they’re useless these

512
00:34:36,199 –> 00:34:40,100
things without the underlying
motivation behind them.

513
00:34:40,400 –> 00:34:45,100
So he says, in verse 23 of
chapter 23, woe to you, scribes

514
00:34:45,100 –> 00:34:49,300
and Pharisees Hypocrites for you
tithe mint and Dill, and cumin

515
00:34:49,800 –> 00:34:53,600
and have neglected, the
weightier matters of the law,

516
00:34:54,000 –> 00:34:58,300
Justice, and mercy and
faithfulness.

517
00:34:58,700 –> 00:35:03,800
These you ought to have done
without neglecting the others.

518
00:35:04,800 –> 00:35:07,300
Please note that we neglect the
bread and the cup.

519
00:35:08,700 –> 00:35:11,300
But that we do it with the right
attitude of mind.

520
00:35:12,700 –> 00:35:15,300
And so as we come here this
morning brother and sisters, let

521
00:35:15,300 –> 00:35:19,400
us examine ourselves.
Why are we here?

522
00:35:21,000 –> 00:35:25,000
Do we do it for ourselves?
Or are we doing it out of love?

523
00:35:25,000 –> 00:35:28,600
For our neighbor and love for
our God, one more passage

524
00:35:28,600 –> 00:35:31,900
brother and sisters come with me
to another famous passage in 1st

525
00:35:31,900 –> 00:35:42,700
Corinthians chapter 13.
I desire mercy and not

526
00:35:43,300 –> 00:35:47,400
sacrifice.
Do you ever look at your life in

527
00:35:47,400 –> 00:35:51,800
the truth brothers and sisters
as a sacrifice.

528
00:35:53,600 –> 00:35:57,100
They ever catch yourself saying,
huh?

529
00:35:57,100 –> 00:35:59,500
I’d rather stay in this morning.
Sunday morning.

530
00:35:59,500 –> 00:36:02,000
I have to get up.
It’s my one chance in the week

531
00:36:02,000 –> 00:36:04,800
to sleep in but no, I’ll go to
meeting.

532
00:36:04,800 –> 00:36:09,600
I got to make that sacrifice or
well.

533
00:36:09,600 –> 00:36:13,400
I’d rather watch my show, but I
ought to do the readings with

534
00:36:13,400 –> 00:36:16,000
the family.
I think I’ll make that sacrifice

535
00:36:16,900 –> 00:36:21,800
and everything is just a
sacrifice Now, if we get into

536
00:36:21,800 –> 00:36:25,200
this attitude of Mind, brothers
and sisters, everything is just

537
00:36:25,200 –> 00:36:29,000
a sacrifice.
Then I think we’re missing the

538
00:36:29,000 –> 00:36:35,400
point life in the truth.
Should not be a sacrifice life

539
00:36:35,400 –> 00:36:37,300
in the truth.
Should be a joy.

540
00:36:38,600 –> 00:36:41,200
Because we love our brothers and
sisters were members of each

541
00:36:41,200 –> 00:36:42,700
other.
We want to come together because

542
00:36:42,700 –> 00:36:46,700
we love each other so much that
we meet together out of love for

543
00:36:46,700 –> 00:36:49,200
each other.
Not because it’s a sacrifice,

544
00:36:49,200 –> 00:36:51,300
I’d rather be doing something
else.

545
00:36:51,400 –> 00:36:54,200
And if that’s the if that’s our
attitude of Mind, brothers and

546
00:36:54,200 –> 00:36:58,700
sisters that has coming here,
this morning is simply a veneer

547
00:36:59,200 –> 00:37:00,800
hiding.
The fact that our hearts are

548
00:37:00,800 –> 00:37:07,900
somewhere else And my walk
towards the kingdom, in which I

549
00:37:07,900 –> 00:37:12,600
put off the old man, should not
be a sacrifice because I love

550
00:37:12,600 –> 00:37:15,500
God so much, and I want to be in
his kingdom more than anything

551
00:37:15,500 –> 00:37:17,900
else.
And it’s a joy for me to say

552
00:37:18,200 –> 00:37:24,500
goodbye to that old way of life.
So, let’s not think that life is

553
00:37:24,500 –> 00:37:27,700
a sacrifice brother and sisters.
Look what the Apostle Paul says

554
00:37:27,700 –> 00:37:32,800
here in 1st Corinthians 13:1.
He says, if I speak in the

555
00:37:32,800 –> 00:37:35,900
tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love.

556
00:37:36,400 –> 00:37:38,400
I am a noisy, gong or a
dangling.

557
00:37:38,400 –> 00:37:42,200
Singer, clanging cymbal if I
have prophetic powers and

558
00:37:42,200 –> 00:37:45,100
understand all Mysteries and all
knowledge and I have all Faith.

559
00:37:45,300 –> 00:37:47,700
So as to remove mountains, but
not have love.

560
00:37:47,700 –> 00:37:52,600
I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, if I

561
00:37:52,600 –> 00:37:57,300
deliver up my body to be burned,
what greater sacrifice but have

562
00:37:57,300 –> 00:38:00,700
not love.
I gain nothing.

563
00:38:02,700 –> 00:38:04,800
So, ultimately brothers and
sisters, it doesn’t matter how

564
00:38:04,800 –> 00:38:09,800
much we sacrifice.
In our lives.

565
00:38:11,400 –> 00:38:15,200
If it’s not motivated from love
of God and love for our

566
00:38:15,200 –> 00:38:21,300
neighbor, it is nothing.
Is he brother and sisters?

567
00:38:21,300 –> 00:38:28,700
God doesn’t just want us to do
loving things, he wants us to be

568
00:38:29,200 –> 00:38:41,800
loving people.
Thank you for listening to the

569
00:38:41,800 –> 00:38:44,900
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570
00:38:44,900 –> 00:38:48,000
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573
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574
00:38:57,100 –> 00:39:00,000
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575
00:39:00,000 –> 00:39:02,000
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576
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579
00:39:13,600 –> 00:39:17,700
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00:39:20,000 –> 00:39:23,200
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582
00:39:23,200 –> 00:39:26,700
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583
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