Sermon Cloud

4/13/2008

Garfield Community Church

Pharisee or Christ Follower

Matthew 6:1-8

Think there aren't any Pharisees left today? Think again! Pharisaism---the tendency to measure righteousness by outward appearance and rigid lists of "do's" and "don'ts"---is alive and well in today's church.

Let's watch a short video clip that is funny, but also very insightful.

Let's look at our text.

1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Our text today is a portion of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus went and preached this message, His message to the people. He explained the difference of the outward and the inward in many ways. He was teaching the people that just living within the black and white of the law and doing all the right things didn't matter. It was only an outward sign. He taught that what God sees, what God values, is the inward man, the inward being. He taught that as they lived according to the Mosaic Law, they needed to follow it in their hearts first. In this particular passage He identifies two things that need to be watched out for.

He spoke first about charitable deeds. We should do them “in secret” He says, not for recognition. We've talked about that before. We know that. Now don't get legalistic on this either. Jesus is not saying that it is wrong to be noticed doing a charitable deed. He is saying don't do it for the attention, because God already knows the deeds you do. Do we see folks today doing things and wanting to be noticed? There's no humility there. There's no glory for God there. When we take the credit and glory for the charitable things we do, we are robbing God of what is rightfully His. We see folks who are living the life of a Pharisee every day. We see folks who are more concerned with the outside than the inside.

He then spoke about prayer. He said when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. Boy, nobody wants to be identified with the hypocrites, and then to be identified with the hypocrites by the Lord. Yikes! Again, the lesson is to not be outwardly pious. Be inwardly pious, and it will show on the outside in humility with grace.

Have you ever tried to make something look good on the outside but the inside is all broken or dirty. I remember a teenager when I was a Youth Group volunteer. He had this rust bucket of a car. I mean this thing had holes big enough for a cat to run through. He had pieces of wood across the floor to rest his feet on, because the floor boards were all rusted away. This guy wanted a new car and had to sell this one first. He didn't have the money to do the body work, so he did it himself. He duct taped cardboard on the inside of the rust holes in the fenders and such. He then used spray paint to paint the car. You could tell this thing was in terrible shape from 100 yards away. He tried to cover up the ugliness on the inside with something pretty on the outside. The problem was the ugly showed right through.

When we are more concerned with the outside and the outward appearance than our heart, our ugly heart starts to show through. When we are more concerned with doing the work of the Lord without looking for recognition or looking all pious or holy, our hearts show through and it is beautiful.

It is a daily battle to cast off the old sinful man. I'm talking about our own sinful nature that we are born into. We naturally lean toward the sinful side unless we are cognizant of where we are and why we are doing what we are doing. If we are doing charitable deeds because we love the Lord, that will show through. If we are praying earnestly, not to sound high and mighty or super holy, but to truly intercede, that shows through, and it's beautiful.

Unfortunately that's not always the case. We get hung up on outward things. We get hung up on whether we are dressed good enough for church. Sometimes we get hung up on whether someone puts something in the offering plate each week or not. Sometimes we get hung up on who we associate with, or who we are seen associating with. “I can't go over to Hilde's house to see how she's doing after coming home from the hospital. You know she's having those health problems because she smokes and drinks. What is someone sees me over there?” I have one word for that. It's PHARISEE.

You know the Pharisees in Jesus' time would stand on the street corners and yell their prayers. They would walk around with oversized pouches to hold their scriptures. They wanted to be noticed for their piety, their holiness, their righteousness. God's word tells us that He gives us His righteousness. Our own righteousness is nothing. It's self righteousness and worthless. If you don't believe me, ask your neighbor who doesn't go to church why they don't go to church. More often than not, they'll say it's because the church is full of hypocrites (aka PHARISEES).

Are you leaning towards being a modern day pharisee today?

Buddy Greene wrote a song that I love. I have it on a Gaither Blue Grass CD, and it fits this message well. The song is titled “Recovering Pharisee”. I'm not going to sing it, but I want to read you a few lines of it.

RECOVERING PHARISEE - words and music by Buddy Greene

I'm a pharisee in recovery

With new eyes I can see a big sinner in me

But it's the way of my human heart

To confess other people's sin,

Reluctant to admit my part or the deeper problem within.

But, thank God, He won't let me be, or remain in my hypocrisy

Sooner or later I'll be on my knees

honest to God a recovering Pharisee

I'm a sinner and a saint simultaneously

I'm not what I was or what I'm goin' to be

Still I've got that ol' tendency to be all a wicked man can be

It takes more than knowin' right from wrong

It takes more than singin' gospel songs

It takes the life of the Great I Am to produce any good in me

He's the Vine I'm the branch and I'm learnin’ to be

Honest to God, a recovering Pharisee

I need the God of all grace each and every day

If I'm to run his race if I'm to walk in His way

I don't have to be a slave to sin I don't have to let the devil win

Cause the Son of God lives in me and He promises to set me free

So, Jesus, help my unbelief so I can follow you faithfully

You're the Shepherd I'm the sheep and you're helpin' me be

Honest to God, a recovering Pharisee

Are you a recovering pharisee today? Do you need to be?