352: Peter Davis – Exhortation: Hypocrisy

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Welcome to good Chris Delphian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

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talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

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Each week we post a talk that we
previewed from suggestions sent

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in by listeners from around the
world.

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Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

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recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

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And now let’s talk more about
this week.

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‘S talk.
Welcome to the good Chris

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Adelphian Talks podcast.
This is brother Brian.

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This week’s talk is a
recommended exhortation by

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Brother Peter Davis called
Hypocrisy.

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Or As I Hope it Catches On, Woe
to you scribes and Pharisees.

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Hypocrites.
Brother Peter takes a look at

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why such a rebuke was often
hurled at the religious leaders

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of Jesus Day and the very
interesting difference in what

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the word meant back then versus
how we use it now.

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And this central point is
incredibly interesting and gives

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us a really good chance to look
at our own actions and

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motivations and to check
ourselves.

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One of my favorite points was
about how all the things that

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the leaders were accused of
doing hypocritically were good

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and respected.
Things such as taking care of

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the needy and fasting and
praying.

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Things that would certainly fall
under the scope of letting our

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light shine before others so
that they may see our good

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works.
But where is the fine line in

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why we want others to see us
doing these good things?

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I find that this talk makes for
a good conversation starter and

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I certainly appreciated the
brothers candid comments.

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I think some honest self
reflection is necessary for all

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of us on our walk.
So as always, we hope that this

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strengthens your faith and
brightens your day.

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Brother Peter Davis.
Hypocrisy.

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So for the three years that make
up the majority of what we read

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in the Gospels, right, Jesus’s
ministry for those three years,

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Jesus faced a lot of obstacles.
Now, of course, there was his

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internal battle, right, with
temptation, which is, you know,

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the same struggle all of us face
today.

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You know, then he had one of his
closest friends betray him and

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hand him over to be crucified.
Right?

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There was his struggle in
Gethsemane.

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There was the mocking of his
accusers.

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And ultimately, there was his
death on the cross.

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But what’s especially
interesting to me is that the

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gospel writers, they don’t spend
nearly as much time detailing

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Jesus facing these obstacles as
they do describing a different

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challenge, a challenge that on
the surface is really quite

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surprising.
So throughout the Gospels, we

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read constantly of Jesus
interacting with a certain group

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of people who were well
respected in their day.

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They were in good standing in
their religious communities,

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They were people who looked to
be doing all the right things.

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And yet Jesus frequently is
warning his disciples about

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them.
So who the gospel writers chose

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to highlight as Jesus’s most,
most frequent antagonists were

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the Pharisees.
So the Pharisees, they were the,

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the religious leaders of the
day.

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They were viewed as as like the
authority when it came to

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interpreting the Torah, which is
is what the the Jewish people of

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the day would have looked to,
you know, whatever they had to

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say about the Scriptures, people
listened and and they took their

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interpretation as law.
And they also would, you know,

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would help to lead the people in
prayer and lead the people in

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general worship and the Jewish
people in the 1st century

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Israel, they looked up to them.
However, Jesus goes so far as to

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call them hypocrites.
Let’s turn to Matthew chapter

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23.
This is a chapter where where

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Jesus will see what is Jesus is
harshest condemnation that he

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gives and it’s given to the
scribes and the Pharisees.

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These are the the seven woes and
so starting at verse one.

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This is Matthew 23 verse one.
Then Jesus said to the crowds

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and to his disciples, the
scribes and the Pharisees sit on

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Moses seat.
So do and observe whatever they

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tell you, but not the works they
do.

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For they preach, but they don’t
practice.

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And skipping down to verse 25 of
the same chapter, Jesus goes on

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to say, woe to you scribes and
Pharisees hypocrites, for you

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clean the outside of the cup and
the plate, but inside they are

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full of greed and and self
indulgence.

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You blind Pharisee first clean
the inside of the cup in the

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plate, so that the outside also
may be clean.

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Woe to you scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites, for you

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are like whitewashed tombs which
outwardly appear beautiful, but

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within are full of dead people’s
bones and all uncleanness.

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And so you also outwardly appear
righteous to others, but within

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you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.

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You know, when we look at these
verses, it seems like a really

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clear take away is exactly what
Jesus said in verse three.

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They preach, but they don’t
practice.

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And when we think about how we
use the word hypocrite today,

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that is exactly what it is,
right?

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You know, you think about a, a
parent of a 16 year old who just

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got their license and going on
and on and on about safety when

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when you’re driving, you know,
go to the speed limit full stop

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at stop signs, buckle your
seatbelts.

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But then maybe the very next
day, maybe you get up a little

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late for work and then you’re
flying down the highway 20 miles

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over the speed limit right now.
This is like a textbook

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definition of being
hypocritical.

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You know you aren’t living up to
the the same standard that

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you’re setting.
You’re preaching, but you aren’t

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practicing.
However, when Jesus would have

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used this phrase in the 1st
century, the word actually had a

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different meaning than we know
of it today.

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You know, today we think of
that, right?

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You’re not living up to that
standard.

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You’re setting, you’re, you’re
preaching, but you’re not doing

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what you’re saying.
However, in the 1st century, the

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word hypocrite, it meant a stage
actor.

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And I think that the connection
with the word would have less to

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do with that idea of playing a
part, but it was more to do with

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playing a part for the audience.
And this is what Jesus goes on

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to explain in Matthew 23 and
verse 5.

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Jesus says they do all their
deeds to be seen by others, that

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that’s the hypocrisy that Jesus
is is calling out in the

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Pharisees.
It’s not that they were doing

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things that were inherently
wrong, but rather it was their

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attitude and, and, and their
motivation behind their actions

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that that was the problem.
And if we turn now to Matthew 6,

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we’ll see this idea expanded on
quite a bit.

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So looking at Matthew 6, we’re
we’re this is right in the

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middle of the Sermon on the
Mount, chapters 5-6 and seven.

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We’re right in the middle of it.
And it’s in this chapter that

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Jesus presents to the crowd
three, I guess we could call

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them case studies where he
describes very specific

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religious behaviors.
So first he’s going to talk

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about generosity, giving to the
poor.

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Then he’ll go on to talk about
prayer and you’ll have a bit to

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say about public prayer.
And then finally he’ll talk

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about fasting, right, Refraining
from food and drink as a way of

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of showing your devotion to God.
And so starting in verse one, we

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read this.
Beware of practicing your

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righteousness before other
people in order to be seen by

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them, for then you will have no
reward from your Father who is

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in heaven.
Thus, when you give to the

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needy, sound no trumpet before
you, as the hypocrites do in the

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synagogues and in the streets,
that they may be praised by

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others.
Truly, I say to you, they have

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received their reward.
The the NASB translation says

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they have received their reward
in full.

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So starting with generosity,
Jesus will continue in this

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chapter to warn the crowds
against what he says in verse

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one, practicing their
righteousness or, or performing,

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you know, their religious
service, whatever that may be

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specifically in order to be seen
by others.

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This is what Jesus says the
hypocrites do.

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It’s not that they’re telling
people to give to the needy and

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then they don’t.
It’s actually the opposite of

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that, right?
In this example, the hypocrites,

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they are giving to the needy and
they’re making a show of it.

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You know, now, I think when
Jesus says that they were sort

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of sounding the trumpet before
them every time they were giving

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to the poor, I think that that’s
for sure hyperbole, right?

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Jesus is exaggerating there.
But the reason that Jesus

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exaggerates this point is to get
across what they really intend,

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what they really intend with
their show of generosity.

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Jesus calls out their true
intention when he says so that

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they may be praised by others.
You know, to take this idea and

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kind of put it in a, a very
modern example.

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I, I kind of think about that
website, GoFundMe.

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If you’re not familiar with it,
GoFundMe.

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This is a site that people can
use to set up donations for a

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cause, you know, for example, a
family can request donations

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for, you know, expensive medical
bills.

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And this site has been used by
many members of our community.

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And, you know, it’s a wonderful
testament, I think, to the to

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the care and the generosity we
show one another as brothers and

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sisters.
But now when you make donation

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on GoFundMe, there’s an option
where you can mark or not mark

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your contribution as anonymous,
right?

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And so if you do or if you
don’t, it really doesn’t matter.

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But, you know, let’s say I make
a big donation and I leave my

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name down with the intention of
other people seeing oh, wow, do

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you see?
Peter gave a ton of money.

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Oh, he’s so generous.
Wow, good for him.

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I he how great is he?
I wish I was more like Peter,

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you know, if that’s my
motivation in my giving.

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And that is the point that Jesus
is drawing out, right?

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That’s the point Jesus is
making.

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And So what his counterpoints to
this sort of behavior and this

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sort of intention?
Well, it’s read in the next

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couple of verses, he says, But
when you give to the needy,

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don’t let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing so

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that your, your giving may be in
secret and your Father who sees

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in secret will reward you.
You know, in other words, it, it

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shouldn’t matter to you whether
anyone sees you or not.

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You know what, whatever
religious service you’re,

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you’re, you’re doing it.
It’s between you and God.

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It isn’t between you and other
people that they see you.

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And so Jesus goes on to
elaborate on this idea a little

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bit more with prayer.
He says in verse 5, And when you

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pray, you must not be like the
hypocrites, for they love to

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stand and pray in the synagogues
and at the street corners, that

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they may be seen by others,
right?

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And again, we see this key
phrase come up right so that

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they may be seen by others.
In 1st century Judaism, there

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was a practice known as fixed
our prayer.

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This is something which is still
done in certain traditions.

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And essentially what it was is
everybody would offer a prayer

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at a specific time of day,
typically multiple times

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throughout the day.
And for example, whenever the

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the bells in a clock tower might
ring, right?

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And So what this would have
meant is that Jesus’s audience

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here in the Sermon on the Mount,
they would have been familiar

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with this practice, you know?
And so whether you were, you

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know, if you were walking down
the street, right, and it came

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time to pray, you would simply
step to the side and offer a

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prayer and then continue with
what you were doing.

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However, the issue that Jesus is
presenting is that for some

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people, you know, maybe, maybe
you mapped out your route a

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little bit, you know, so that
when that bell rang, you know,

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maybe you were right in the
middle of a crowd downtown

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Jerusalem.
You know, that way they would

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see you standing there and
notice that you were praying.

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00:16:48,800 –> 00:16:53,840
But not only that, maybe you’d
offer an an extra long prayer.

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00:16:53,840 –> 00:16:58,320
Maybe you would keep up empty
phrases and vain repetitions and

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00:16:58,320 –> 00:17:02,560
think you’ll be heard for your
many, many words, right?

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00:17:02,560 –> 00:17:06,240
The issue wasn’t praying.
That is a good thing to do.

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The issue, however, was praying
specifically so that you may be

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seen by others, so that you may
be praised by others.

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That’s the problem that Jesus is
presenting here.

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And then finally, you know,
Jesus will conclude these three

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case studies with a short
passage on fasting, you know,

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00:17:28,200 –> 00:17:32,480
presenting the same idea again,
that key phrase will come up.

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00:17:33,160 –> 00:17:37,040
You know, they, they make their
faces gloomy and they look like

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00:17:37,040 –> 00:17:38,800
they’ve been fasting a long
time.

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So that they’re fasting, it’s
going to be noticed.

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00:17:42,040 –> 00:17:44,400
They’ll see it.
Other people will look at them

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and, and think more highly of
them.

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00:17:49,320 –> 00:17:53,920
And now it’s really important
here, I think, to note that in

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00:17:53,920 –> 00:17:57,800
this section of Matthew 6, in
this section of the Sermon on

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00:17:57,800 –> 00:18:04,960
the Mount, none of the behaviors
that Jesus is describing are

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00:18:04,960 –> 00:18:09,560
bad.
Giving to the needy, praying,

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00:18:10,200 –> 00:18:14,760
fasting, you know, these, these
were key characteristics.

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00:18:14,760 –> 00:18:19,160
They were they were the core
aspects of a godly life.

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00:18:20,760 –> 00:18:27,000
The behaviors weren’t bad, but
their motivation, their

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00:18:27,000 –> 00:18:31,520
motivation was.
And so This is why Jesus will

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00:18:31,520 –> 00:18:36,280
bring the Pharisees to Hosea
later on when he says, you know,

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00:18:36,280 –> 00:18:40,080
learn what this means.
I desire mercy and not

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00:18:40,080 –> 00:18:44,400
sacrifice, you know, because the
Pharisees, they were doing the

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00:18:44,400 –> 00:18:50,280
right things, but they were
doing it for the wrong reasons.

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So the behaviors weren’t bad.
And in fact, having people see

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00:18:58,800 –> 00:19:03,000
you do these things wasn’t even
bad because in the chapter right

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before this, Jesus tells the
crowd, he says you were the

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00:19:05,840 –> 00:19:10,320
light of the world, right?
He says, let your light shine

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00:19:10,320 –> 00:19:16,320
before others so that they may
see your good works and give

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00:19:16,320 –> 00:19:18,240
glory to your Father who’s in
heaven.

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00:19:20,040 –> 00:19:25,000
The difference, however, was
that the Pharisees, they weren’t

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00:19:25,000 –> 00:19:29,600
doing these things for God to
give glory to our Father who’s

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00:19:29,600 –> 00:19:33,640
in heaven.
The difference was that they

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were hypocrites.
They were stage actors.

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They were doing these things for
the crowd.

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You know, when it’s easy for us
to read a passage like this,

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it’s easy for me to read a
passage like this and to think

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00:19:52,240 –> 00:19:56,080
about those Pharisees in the
same way we can often think

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00:19:56,080 –> 00:19:57,840
about the Israelites in the
wilderness.

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You know, I would never act like
that.

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00:20:03,080 –> 00:20:07,000
How how could they do that?
Or seriously, they, they were

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standing in the presence of the
Lord Jesus.

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00:20:10,280 –> 00:20:14,280
How, oh, how messed up were
those Pharisees?

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Thank goodness I’m nothing like
them, right?

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And when I think like that, you
know, I may as well be thinking,

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00:20:22,840 –> 00:20:26,440
you know, I thank you, Lord,
that I’m not like other men, you

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00:20:26,440 –> 00:20:30,120
know, especially not this tax
collector, not this Pharisee,

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not those Israelites in the
wilderness.

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You know, when I look back to my
life, let’s say 10 years ago,

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00:20:41,760 –> 00:20:45,640
you know, the things that I
struggled with the most in my

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00:20:45,640 –> 00:20:50,240
discipleship, they were very
external things.

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00:20:51,240 –> 00:20:54,920
You know, I, I, I struggled with
lust and, and with, with alcohol

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00:20:54,920 –> 00:21:00,480
use and with swearing and things
that someone could see me doing.

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And it would kind of give an
objective look at where I am

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00:21:05,360 –> 00:21:09,760
spiritually, very external
struggles.

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00:21:09,760 –> 00:21:14,760
And if you Fast forward to
today, you know, it’s not like

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00:21:14,760 –> 00:21:17,640
I’m, I’m totally over any of
those previous struggles.

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00:21:17,640 –> 00:21:25,400
But but now what I find is that
I struggle with more the things

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00:21:25,400 –> 00:21:32,560
I struggle with more now they’re
more internal, you know, pride

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00:21:32,560 –> 00:21:37,360
and bitterness, acting for the
crowd.

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00:21:39,640 –> 00:21:44,040
You know, when I read the
beginning of Matthew 6, I very

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00:21:44,040 –> 00:21:49,920
much see myself in the text.
You know, it may as well say,

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00:21:49,920 –> 00:21:53,880
Peter, beware of practicing your
righteousness in front of others

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00:21:54,200 –> 00:21:58,080
in order to be seen by them.
You know, and I think if we, if

285
00:21:58,080 –> 00:22:01,680
we really looked at ourselves,
there’d be times where I think

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00:22:01,680 –> 00:22:06,880
we can all see ourselves here.
You know, when I’m preparing for

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00:22:06,880 –> 00:22:13,000
an exhortation, right?
Is my focus on how I can

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00:22:13,000 –> 00:22:18,920
encourage and, and, and help my
brothers and sisters on your

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00:22:18,920 –> 00:22:25,120
walk to the Kingdom?
Or am I trying to impress all of

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00:22:25,120 –> 00:22:28,800
you with my knowledge of the
scripture, with my ability to

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00:22:28,800 –> 00:22:32,120
make all these cool points?
You know, not that it’s a bad

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00:22:32,120 –> 00:22:35,640
thing to, to, for someone to be
a good speaker, but you have to

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00:22:35,640 –> 00:22:41,680
be careful that that does not
become our motivation.

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00:22:43,560 –> 00:22:47,000
You know, when this can happen
with anything, you know, it can

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00:22:47,000 –> 00:22:50,480
be doing our Bible readings, it
can be praying before meals.

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00:22:50,480 –> 00:22:54,880
It, it can be coming to meeting
or Bible class or going to CYC.

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00:22:55,640 –> 00:22:59,200
These things are all good.
They’re good and they’re

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00:22:59,200 –> 00:23:04,600
important to do.
But what Jesus is saying is that

299
00:23:04,600 –> 00:23:09,480
whatever our religious service
might look like, we have to be

300
00:23:09,480 –> 00:23:17,160
careful because it is so easy to
do the right things for the

301
00:23:17,160 –> 00:23:23,600
wrong reasons.
So then what’s the right reason?

302
00:23:23,600 –> 00:23:28,680
You know, I think Paul explains
it really clearly in Titus.

303
00:23:29,800 –> 00:23:32,400
This is Titus 2.
I really, I really like how the

304
00:23:32,440 –> 00:23:37,240
NIV puts it in it says this.
This is Titus 2 verse 11 to 14

305
00:23:38,960 –> 00:23:44,160
says for the grace of God has
appeared that offers salvation

306
00:23:44,160 –> 00:23:50,560
to all people and it teaches us
to say no to ungodliness and

307
00:23:50,560 –> 00:23:57,160
worldly passions and to live
self controlled and upright and

308
00:23:57,160 –> 00:24:01,760
godly lives in this present age.
While we wait for the blessed

309
00:24:01,760 –> 00:24:06,160
hope with the appearing of the
glory of our great God and our

310
00:24:06,160 –> 00:24:13,920
Savior Jesus Christ who gave
himself for us to redeem us from

311
00:24:13,920 –> 00:24:19,280
all wickedness and to purify for
himself a people that are his

312
00:24:19,280 –> 00:24:22,400
very own are eager to do what’s
good.

313
00:24:25,600 –> 00:24:32,720
It is because of God’s abundance
of grace and his love that he

314
00:24:32,720 –> 00:24:38,360
shows to us, you know, in
sending his Son for us, in

315
00:24:38,360 –> 00:24:43,320
working intimately in each and
every one of our lives, in

316
00:24:43,320 –> 00:24:48,160
giving us a hope.
Paul says if we don’t have hope,

317
00:24:49,240 –> 00:24:52,400
we’re of all people to be most
pitied.

318
00:24:54,800 –> 00:25:01,840
God’s love for us, it should
spur us on to give back to him.

319
00:25:04,320 –> 00:25:09,320
Paul calls this our reasonable
service in Romans.

320
00:25:11,480 –> 00:25:13,160
It’s reasonable.
It is.

321
00:25:13,160 –> 00:25:21,520
It’s the least we can do.
We love God because he first

322
00:25:22,040 –> 00:25:26,240
loved us.
And so we should want to show

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00:25:26,240 –> 00:25:32,240
God just how much we love him.
You know, Jesus tells this one

324
00:25:32,240 –> 00:25:38,440
parable about a, a man who’s
going on a journey and he leaves

325
00:25:38,440 –> 00:25:42,360
his servants in charge of his
house while he’s away and gives

326
00:25:42,360 –> 00:25:47,480
them each a job to do.
And it reminded me of when I was

327
00:25:47,480 –> 00:25:50,560
in high school.
My parents began going to the

328
00:25:50,560 –> 00:25:53,880
Palm Springs Bible School out
here, which is in February.

329
00:25:54,720 –> 00:25:58,160
And by this point, you know, my
brothers and I, we were all

330
00:25:58,160 –> 00:26:00,680
older and a bit more
responsible.

331
00:26:01,520 –> 00:26:04,720
And so my parents would would
leave us home alone for the

332
00:26:04,720 –> 00:26:08,040
week, sort of in charge of their
house while they were away.

333
00:26:09,840 –> 00:26:14,360
And I’m sure that we can all
think of a time when we were all

334
00:26:14,480 –> 00:26:18,480
kids and we were home alone,
right?

335
00:26:19,880 –> 00:26:25,000
And like me, I’m also sure you
can remember that mad dash to

336
00:26:25,000 –> 00:26:27,840
clean the whole house like an
hour before mom and dad get home

337
00:26:27,840 –> 00:26:33,200
right now to clean the house for
your parents.

338
00:26:33,200 –> 00:26:36,680
That’s a good thing to do.
You know, that’s a good thing to

339
00:26:36,680 –> 00:26:40,680
do.
But why did we do it?

340
00:26:42,320 –> 00:26:44,840
You know, it wasn’t just show
off to my siblings.

341
00:26:44,840 –> 00:26:47,640
I was like, oh, Dan, John, Paul,
see how much better I am at

342
00:26:47,640 –> 00:26:49,320
cleaning the house than all you
guys?

343
00:26:49,640 –> 00:26:53,720
Wasn’t that, you know, And it
wasn’t out of fear about what my

344
00:26:53,720 –> 00:26:57,040
dad would say when he got home
and he saw the house was still a

345
00:26:57,040 –> 00:27:01,840
mess.
It wasn’t that, but it’s because

346
00:27:02,200 –> 00:27:08,720
we love them.
You know, when asked which of

347
00:27:08,720 –> 00:27:14,960
the commandments is the
greatest, Jesus says two of them

348
00:27:14,960 –> 00:27:23,480
are one commandment. 2 of them
are first love the Lord your God

349
00:27:23,960 –> 00:27:29,080
with all your heart, all your
soul, all your mind, and also

350
00:27:29,600 –> 00:27:36,600
love your neighbor as yourself.
And then Jesus goes on to say,

351
00:27:36,600 –> 00:27:43,200
he says all the law in the
prophets, they depend on these

352
00:27:43,200 –> 00:27:49,480
two commandments, all of it.
It hangs on these two

353
00:27:49,480 –> 00:27:53,280
commandments on loving God and
loving our neighbor.

354
00:27:56,720 –> 00:28:00,800
And so as Jesus said in the
beginning of Matthew 6, we do

355
00:28:00,800 –> 00:28:04,800
need so beware of practicing our
righteousness in front of others

356
00:28:04,800 –> 00:28:09,360
in order to be seen by them.
You know, rather, when we do

357
00:28:09,360 –> 00:28:14,080
practice our righteousness, you
know, whether that’s giving to

358
00:28:14,080 –> 00:28:19,520
the needy or or praying before a
meal or or fasting, or if it’s

359
00:28:19,520 –> 00:28:22,480
coming to meeting, or if it’s
doing our Bible readings, or if

360
00:28:22,480 –> 00:28:30,600
it’s giving an exhortation.
Whatever it may be, be sure that

361
00:28:30,600 –> 00:28:36,600
we’re doing it out of genuine
love for God and a genuine love

362
00:28:36,600 –> 00:28:45,120
for one another.
Because God so loved us that he

363
00:28:45,120 –> 00:28:50,200
sent his only begotten Son, that
we shouldn’t perish, but that we

364
00:28:50,200 –> 00:29:00,280
should have everlasting life.
You know, it’s much easier, much

365
00:29:00,280 –> 00:29:05,360
easier to fix a behaviour than
it is to fix our motivation.

366
00:29:06,120 –> 00:29:14,200
It is hard to do.
And so I’m asking for your help,

367
00:29:15,200 –> 00:29:19,960
and I’m offering you mine,
right, so that we can all help

368
00:29:20,080 –> 00:29:28,760
one another to do the right
thing and to do it for the right

369
00:29:28,960 –> 00:29:46,540
reasons.
Thank you for listening to the

370
00:29:46,540 –> 00:29:48,140
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371
00:29:48,980 –> 00:29:51,420
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372
00:29:51,420 –> 00:29:53,780
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