¶ Wordplay and Freestyle Madness
You know this pretty amazing quote by this teen and I think he was born in August .
Augustine said I was born in May .
Yeah , augustine said it is not the being seen of men that is wrong , but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men . The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation . He does not want to be holy , he only wants to seem to be holy . He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous .
The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God . Pretty heavy .
Welcome to the all-new Name . As Many Things as you Can . Game where we name . As many things as we can .
All right , gentlemen , Name as many things , words or phrases as you can with the word French in them French toast , french fries , french people , french frogs , a French boy , a French girl , french dog .
French country .
French vanilla , french toast , french fries , french poodle , french bulldog , french braid , french bread , french onion soup , which you love .
Mark . French dressing , french horn . You can put French in front of anything .
French saying French horn . You can put French in front of anything . French elbow why are all ?
these things called French jokes , Except French victory . Oh , sorry to our French friends who listen in France because we do have French listeners . All right , Mark . By the way , why do you like French onion soup ?
That's so disgusting . Oh , it's so great With the melted cheese and the caramelized onion and the rockiness .
I wrote a letter to a restaurant once because they changed the recipe of their French onion soup .
Oh really , I'll tell you , I love it so much I really you told me the story . I felt like doing more than just writing to a restaurant . But when Pickup Six got rid of hot and sour soup , which is a real soup , not a soup with onions Onion soup no soup , not a soup with onions Onion soup , no , it's French onion soup .
Have you guys tried hot and sour soup ? Hey , get that bottle off the table .
Hey , don't be a hypocrite , you have one in front of yours .
Oh , hypocrite Boy a hypocrite . We should do an episode on hypocrisy .
Did you put that there , Oscar ? Look at him . Call out Ray .
Look at the size of that plank .
See for those that can't see Ray had a water bottle hidden behind his iPad . These guys don't believe in a nice , clean table .
Easy called out Ray , but then Easy had a water bottle hidden behind his .
Yeah , because some terrible person put it there . All right , anyway , french honey soup's disgusting Name . As many words or phrases as you can with the word pop in them , go Corn pop tart .
Can with the word pop in them Go Popcorn Pop-Tart , pop-pie , popsicle , k-pop , pop-pie . The Sailor man , k-pop Dad , pop Music , it's Pot Pop Culture .
Pot-Pie Not .
Pop-Pie , pop-pie , pop-pie , the Sailor .
Man , pop-pie , the Sailor man , that works Very good . Pop Quiz , popcorn , poda Pop , soda Pop , blow Pop , pop Culture , pop Music , pop , star , pop Pills . Pop Pills that sounds terrible Pop Up , pop Tent , pop Gun , pop Luck , pop Lock .
Pop Fly .
Do you know what Pop Locking is ?
Pop Locking . It's where you kind of move your hands , oscar , you knew Pop Lock .
Look at you . No , that's not pop lock . Did you ever pop lock ?
Once or twice .
Mark , did you ever pop ? No , have you ever danced ? I dance , but I , yeah . You never tried popping when you were a kid .
I mean I danced at celebrations and stuff . But yeah , no , I'm not a Popping .
Popping , did you say .
Pop-Tarts .
Yeah , was that on .
There .
Yeah good one Cinnamon and brown sugar .
Pop-Tart Okay .
One more that's to do with Hinduism . I wouldn't do that on this program .
Name as many things , words and phrases as you can with the word mad in them .
Mad easy .
Mad , easy Go Mad . Mad dog Mad lib , yep , good Hopping mad Mad man , mad dog , mad money , mad hatter , raving mad Mad sign . Does Mad cow disease Gone mad Like mad ? Mad max , mad libs , oscar Madre Think about mad libs , oscar , sion Madre , mad max , mad about you , ray , didn't ?
You used to tell me that you used to play a game with your friends where someone was given a word or a topic for 30 seconds and they had to talk about it ?
No 60 seconds . Was it Inside of a ping pong ball go ?
Oh yeah , that was really good , okay , so let's try it .
No , I couldn't do that . There's nothing inside a ping pong ball . Easy , give you a word .
Easy , give you a word . Easy , give Ray a word .
Okay , ready , Ray .
No , here we go . No , I'm not ready . Ready , here we go . He's ready , I'm ready , he's ready Woman's bike .
Why is that funny to us ? That is a horrible thing to do . On the podcast I actually purchased a woman's bike once . I thought easy won't notice it's a woman's bike . It was a good bike . I don't like men's bikes , they're dangerous .
Wow , good job Ray . That was a story of his bike life , bike life .
No , that was actually a story that bar across a man's bike is dangerous for men . Okay , Oscar watermelon .
I planted a watermelon plant because I wanted to eat watermelons . I planted a watermelon plant because I wanted to eat watermelons , and so then a watermelon grew and I ate the watermelon .
Wow , look at that .
Okay , Mark , give us a rap with the word what ?
happened ? What happened ?
Did you do ?
something .
Oh , it's the sort of gravity . Again , I drank a drink of the drink and it spilled on my shirt and there's a big blob on my shirt , by the way .
Listener , here's the thing is by listening , you're actually only getting half the story , because we are video recording all of this and there's just a bunch of ludicrousy that's happening all the time , Constantly , that you can't see .
Especially those two . Man , they're constantly doing stuff , those two like they're seeing who you're pointing to they know I'll give you a rap .
Give me a subject Cheese , cheese . How is that even possible ?
Chili cheese no .
I'm going to give it a try . You ready ? He's AI-ing . Yo , listen up . I got a tale to tell about a food that's creamy and oh so swell . It's yellow , it's gooey , it's got that funk , yeah , funk . Yeah , I'm talking about cheese . It's the king of the junk . Can you do it ? Can you do an ai one ? Oh , that was it . Yes , it was . Oh , that's amazing .
Cheese , cheese . It's the bomb melting on nachos in your mom's parm , cheddar , swiss or maybe brie . Any way you slice it , it's the mvp . Oh , look at that . Yeah , it's nothing really have you guys ?
have you guys ever tried freestyling , like ever , like seriously . Opening up reaching is freestyling Pretty much . I can't do it . I'm out . Yeah , don't try . All right , friends , we have a comment . This is from Josh at Living Waters Huh , josh at LivingWaterscom .
That's some stuff .
How did that happen ?
¶ Avoiding Hypocrisy in Everyday Life
The podcast has brought so much transformation to my heart . Hey guys , my name is Josh and I want to say thank you so much for the fine words that you continually bring every episode . I listen to four or five every day while I work Forty-five .
The way you have such a joy and fire from the Lord has helped me so deeply with the current work the Lord is doing in my heart . It is helping me to become a better husband , worker , friend and spiritual leader . You all have helped me to recognize and desire a deep and personal love relationship with the Lord .
Me and my friends are having incredible conversations based off topics on this show and we leave feeling so much joy from the amazing Christian community we are able to enjoy together . Wow , thank you for everything you do .
Thank you , Josh . That's from Joshua . That's from Josh . You should have read it in the last program .
Oh , I know I should have , yes , but , man , thank you so much . And , guys , I mean when people say that they're fellowshipping over the things that we're sharing and it's drawing them to a deeper , close relationship with the Lord . That's why we do this and so to get feedback .
Oh , I wondered why we do no that's , I'm letting you know why , why we do this ? right , that's why we do this , yeah , so , anyhow , um , josh , yeah , thank you , josh , so much . Thank you , josh . Thank you , josh , thanks josh . Hey , josh , real quick , I just wanted to say thank you , oh . Hey , josh , thank you .
Oh , now you're reminding me of hey , phil , thank you for finding my wallet . What a torment . What are you guys doing ?
I'm having a drink , hey , but you guys are like great school kids , I'm going to spill it down my shirt , you're just going to get there .
anyway , just go get some soap . It's a wash day .
Oh , that's terrible . Every day Ray he tries to drink , but whenever he tries to drink .
he don't think that's why he spills the water all the time , and that's why I'm busting this crazy rhyme . Yeah , yeah , it means I'm running out . All right , friends , this podcast is brought to you by Jesus in Red 365 meditations on the words of Jesus Ray .
probably one of my faves of yours it's imitation leather . Unfortunately 384 pages .
But it looks and fells and smeels . Hell , look , even a cow couldn't tell the difference Seriously . But it's a beautiful book . I used to work with leather and I cannot tell the difference between modern imitation leather and leather when I feel it . If I saw the back , I could tell you what is fake leather . Yeah , Fake leather is plastic .
Really it's a soft plastic , but how does it have a ?
smell of leather , they probably put it on there . They get a cow and rub it on there .
Really no , I'm not even thinking .
Really . There's a line of cows .
They get a cow and they just rub the cow on that plastic . This will fool them . This will fool them .
Imagine having that job . What do you do ? Rub fake leather on cows .
Just a conveyor belt .
Oh man , All right friends , but check it out , I mean this is a daily devotional 365 meditations .
And the reason it's called Jesus in Red is because there's no other words , just the words of Jesus . When Nicodemus came to Jesus , it doesn't say . And Jesus said to Nicodemus it's just his words .
And then you do a little commentary on it . They're one-pagers . I mean , just a little boost of truth , yeah , so good . So , anyway , make sure to check it out , friends , along with the living waters . M-u-g , that'd be a cool rap name . What's your m-u-g homie mug ? Uh , make sure to get the mugs , guys . These mugs are nice . This is my favorite one .
You like it because you're missing a tooth , because you removed my tooth on it and the evidence study biblecom all that yeah , oscar , we mimed it today .
Livingwaterscom . All right , frant . Today we are talking about how to avoid being a hypo crite . Why don't we call it hypo crite ? That's not the pronunciation . That sounds smoother . Yeah , how do you know who wait ?
hold on stop no , just move forward .
No , no , no move forward no yeah , no , don't even get me who determines how words right now .
Seriously , there's some stupid words , like , like stupid . I can't think of them , that's just so annoying . I can't , I just don't want them in my mind , like , like psychiatrist . What's the start with a p4 ? I know stop it seriously .
Well , I love english because obviously I speak it , but but it is weird . Yeah , some of the different things are going on yeah , anyway , forget that . Hypocrisy . Um hypocrisy , guys . Hypocrisy , hypocrisy , hypocrisy , hypocrisy . Just get home with it . Why do we do this ? But hypocrisy is disgusting , yeah , and all of us have seen it in ourselves .
All of us battle with it if we're honest with ourselves and , ray , this has stood out to me , with you , for years .
He's a hypocrite .
Yes . Yes , very much so , but that you really hate hypocrisy and you're always trying to guard against it . Is that what fuels you oftentimes , when you're struck with the fear of sharing the gospel with someone , the thought of I want to be a man who's faithful to God and to be a real Christian and not a hypocrite ?
Oh , yeah , that's a good thought . Yeah , I'd hate to call myself a Christian and not share the gospel , because that's what a Christian is someone who's filled with enough love to share the gospel with people that are going to hell . So for me not to do that , I'd be playing the hypocrite Hyp . So for me not to do that , I'd be playing the hypocrite .
Hypocrite means pretender , Is that correct ?
Yeah .
I'm putting a mask on . That's where it comes from .
Yeah , yeah . The dictionary definition is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform .
And it's amazing how hypocrisy seems to the world to be confined to the church . The words are synonymous . There's hypocrites in the church . There's hypocrites everywhere , people pretending to be something they're not . Wow , that's the end of that statement .
And scene . Well , you know , this is a good place to camp out on real quick , because a lot of people do use that as an excuse . Mark right , I'm not a Christian . You guys , because a lot of people do use that as an excuse . Mark right , I'm not a Christian . You guys are a bunch of hypocrites .
Right , the church is full of hypocrites , and I think we need to walk people through that a little more than we do , I think , to kind of help shed some light on it and just to simply ask them what do you think about lying ? What do you think about stealing ? What do you think about ?
You know , and you could obviously bring in the commandants to do this and then just ask them have you ever done any of those ? After they tell you , oh , those things are wrong , well , you're a hypocrite .
Yeah , there's a way to be on the offense or the defense concerning this conversation , right ? I mean , the only person who could possibly be a hypocrite is somebody who sets up a moral value system . If somebody doesn't have a moral value system , then it's impossible for them to be hypocrite .
So an atheist , who perhaps has no moral value system , could never go against the system that he sets up . Right ? But there's a difference here , right ? Because we're not saying that you need to act a certain way and then never be able to attain to that system . That's why we have an advocate who steps in for us and he intercedes on our behalf . Right ?
Hypocrite comes from the word actor , and William Shakespeare said the world is a stage . We are the actors and we put a different mask on depending on who's in front of us , right ? And that's really not the case for the Christian , though . The Christian is who he or she says .
They are the other 135 genders , but you are who you claim to be , and when you mess up and you will mess up you ask for forgiveness to those who you have done wrong . To . An atheist claims that there is no God . A practical atheist claims there is a God , but then acts as if there is no God , and nobody likes a hypocrite right .
Spurgeon said that the thing that stinks the most in the world is a hypocrite right . We understand that Nobody likes hypocrisy , so become a Christian and there will be no hypocrites in heaven , because we've gotten right with God and we confess when we mess up .
So good . You know this pretty amazing quote by this teen , and I think he was born in August .
Augustine said I was born in May , yeah .
Augustine said , it is not the being seen of men that is wrong , but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men . The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation . He does not want to be holy , he only wants to seem to be holy . He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous .
The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God . Pretty heavy , but yeah right , ray . It's that attitude of wanting to appear a certain way that will oftentimes lead people to being hypocritical . What are you caught up in ?
Yeah , I'm caught up in my own thoughts . Nothing scares me like hypocrisy . I never want to be a hypocrite , and because hypocrisy has with itself deception , David played the hypocrite when he committed adultery , committed murder . Nathan came to him and he used a parable to bring light on his own hypocrisy .
Because David stood up and said the man that stole the other man's lamb he will restore fourfold and he will die . And that's when the finger of Nathan came straight to his faith and said you are the man You're saying . You're playing the hypocrite , you're being a pretender .
And the thing is that it'll guard us from hypocrisy is the fear of the Lord To understand . The eye of the Lord is in every place , beholding evil and the good , and so if we've got a wrong understanding of God's nature and character , then we'll play the hypocrite . Long understanding of God's nature and character , then we'll play the hypocrite .
If we do understand that he's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and that he sees the middle atom of the sun , because he made it that should take a breath away and think boy , this God is to be feared . I can't fool him and I dare not fool myself with hypocrisy . Wow , that's really good .
Yeah , you know , oscar , when Peter was rebuked by Paul in Galatians 2 , he said the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him , so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy . And man , first of all , I just love God's word . It's honesty .
But no wonder Paul had so many scars .
Peter probably beat him up after that . But you know what I'm saying , that Peter was playing the hypocrite . His hypocrisy influenced others and the hypocrisy was that they would eat with the Gentiles . But when certain brethren from James came who were opposed to that , then he stopped , he pulled away and Paul called him on it .
He confronted him to his face and again , like in keeping with what Augustine said , augustine said there is that desire to appear a certain way before people and that's what leads to hypocrisy often .
Yeah , absolutely . I'm thinking about Thomas Watson's book on repentance , which is one of the best books you can read on repentance . He points out that hypocrisy we often create this caricature of hypocrisy , like there's this self-righteous snob out there that thinks he's got no sin , just staring down everyone else's sin .
But he points out that hypocrisy , hypocrites don't claim to be perfect , they just claim their sins aren't that bad . Listen to this quote by Thomas Watson . That's a good way to put it .
And he was a Puritan he was a Puritan .
yes , he says a gracious soul labors to make the worst of his sins , but hypocrites make the best of them . They do not deny they are sinners , but they do what they can to lessen their sins . You see , hypocrites , yeah , their response to sin is to lessen it , to minimize it , and then to maximize the sin in other people .
Wow , it's a good way to put it , because , yeah , I mean , I think subconsciously , our minds default to . Well , hypocrites are people that , yeah , act like they're perfect but they're not .
But no , it's like , oh , yeah , yeah , but there's that justification , that lightning , that elevating themselves above others , because that's how you make yourself feel better about yourself . I'm not as bad as them , or this wasn't that bad right .
And it's in our nature . We want to feel safe , we want to feel in , we want to feel closer to God .
And so what we do , instead of repenting , finding the sin in our own lives , at some point in our faith journey , we start to compare ourselves to other people Well , at least I'm not like that guy , at least I'm not like my neighbor , at least I've repented of that and we stop focusing on how the Lord means to work in our own hearts and instead focus on
others .
Right Mark Romans 2 , 21 to 22 . You therefore , which that teaches another ? Do you teach , not what ?
That's not what it says .
That's not what it says . Thou that preachest a man should not steal , dost thou steal . Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery , dost thou commit adultery . Thou that abhorrest idols , dost thou commit sacrilege .
Perhaps you shouldn't have gone with the King James , I know .
I don't know how I ended up with the King James here . It sounded like a tape deck .
Yes , I believe that should be canon it's the hesitation version .
Yeah , what's ?
your question . Should that be canon ?
Yes ,
¶ The Dangers of Hypocrisy and Sin
so , but that I mean , here's Paul pointing out really the essence of hypocrisy , of also coming at it from the standpoint of not just , you know , pretending to adhere to a certain moral conduct , but even teaching , even proclaiming , but then living opposite .
Yeah , I think preachers , especially teachers , pastors , should take note of this , that , as Moody said , the outflow should be the overflow . He said fill me with your spirit because I leak , right that I walk in places , perhaps that I shouldn't walk and my feet get dirty and they need to be washed .
So we need to ideally have the outflow of what we share with people be the overflow of what we are receiving . And oftentimes preachers get inside this rut where the Bible just becomes a teaching book and they don't stop and introspectively examine to see where they're at .
That they don't allow the work to happen inside of them so that the work can happen through them to the people that are listening . But we need to be careful of that , because it's easy for a preacher to become a hearer and not a doer , and he knows the word better than anybody else inside the sanctuary .
Spurgeon said serve God with integrity and if you achieve no success , well , at least you will lie upon your conscience free and clear . Wow .
I love that word integrity . It reminds me of the glasses that I'm wearing . They're made of titanium . I've mentioned it before . Have I mentioned this before ?
Yeah , they don't break Watch .
Yeah , a lot . You can actually twist them like that and they always go back to their integrity .
That's what I'm saying . They maintain their integrity .
They maintain their integrity . So there's a right way and a wrong way , and you go back to the right way .
Yeah , yeah , it's such a scourge , especially for children growing up in a home where there is hypocrisy . And you know , ray , we had some pastors here at the ministry yesterday and we all went around and kind of shared different things with them and I asked Daniel to weigh in because he's been here the longest . He grew up in your home .
He's my son .
Yeah , daniel , your son , but it was such a joy to hear him say that my dad is the same person you see publicly as he is in private .
How does that make you feel right when your son says that Short , he's been the same height ever since he was a kid .
Yeah it was thrilling , it really was .
It was very kind Because , yeah , it was thrilling , it really was . It was very kind Because Daniel's kind of conservative and he's New Zealand , he's not American in that sense . So for him to bring his feelings out like that was just great yeah .
Very heartwarming . Recently , rachel and I were at a conference where we were doing a marriage conference and someone asked her about you what was it like growing up in Ray Comfort's home ? And I often hear her say these words when she talks about it . But she says he is the real deal and that's such a joy to hear that .
And those of you listening right now ask yourselves what would your kids say about you if they were asked about you Like honestly and sincerely ? Would they really be able to say look , my parents are far from perfect . They make mistakes , but even when they sin , they make it right with us . That's good .
Mark , wouldn't you say that that's a hallmark of someone that really seeks to avoid hypocrisy is that they genuinely repent .
Is that the whole book ?
You know , todd Friel says that your kids should know that you're the biggest sinner inside the house , not because you're sinning more than anybody in the house , but they hear I'm sorry more than anyone else in the house , that you are leading by example and when you mess up you fess up . So yeah , I agree , good stuff .
Yeah , yeah , oscar Romans 12 , 9 . Selah , let love be without hypocrisy . Abhor , what is evil cling to what is good . You know , often we'll hear the other part quoted abhor , what is evil cling to what is good .
But it's preceded by let love be without hypocrisy , because it really does come down to love for God and other people and avoiding what's evil and clinging to the things that are good in connection with man , isn't it ?
Absolutely . And two , we often make little our sin , we think it's not so bad , and then it escalates , it gives birth , ultimately to death .
And Thomas Watson , going back to his book I think he actually references Romans 12 , leading into this but he talks about King Saul and he points out that Saul , when he conquered the land , he was called to destroy everything . But then he holds some things back and when , when Samuel approaches him about the spoils , saul's is , I'm keeping it for the Lord .
And Samuel's response to Saul is very interesting . He basically accuses him of witchcraft , which seems like whoa , samuel , calm down . Like he said , he's keeping it for the Lord , you know . But you fast forward in Saul's life and at the end of his life , what does he do ? He visits the witch of Endor .
And so , in other words , the point is this is that what seemed like the smallest of compromises that was excused away so quickly ended up becoming a grave sin in his life . To abhor what is evil is to not think little of your sin , but to see it in light of the way God sees it , which is something to kill , wow , wow .
I love that . Yeah , and you know , Ray , I want to touch on Are you writing a book , Ray ?
Yeah , yeah .
I'm predicting your question .
You are Give it a go . Look at that . So you're Okay , go ahead predicting your question . You are Give it a go . Okay , go ahead answer my question .
Yeah , the answer is Judas was perhaps the greatest of all hypocrites . Oh good , Because , he was such a pretender , but it wasn't evident . What would Judas' mother think of Judas Nice kid ? What would his friends think of him ? What did the disciples think of him when he went out to betray Jesus ? They said he's gone out to give money to the poor .
He was trusted as the treasurer and his hypocrisy was confined to his heart . It wasn't evident , and that should scare us Because it's self-delusionary , it's self-deceptive and sin is deceptive and that's why we need the fear of God to bring it out , and that's why we need to cry , I think . Psalm 139 . Search me , O God , and try me .
Know my heart there's any wicked way in me , let it be known .
Man , that's so good . You know like there are those times when just dumb thoughts , you know , pop into our mind .
All the time .
As you guys know very well and you know . But there's that consolation because , right , we do talk about the aspect of people saying God knows my heart like it's a good thing that's a problem and it's like , okay , well , you got a problem there .
But for the Christian , though , there is that consolation that God knows my heart , in the sense that when a thought pops into your mind , obviously it's coming forth from your sinful nature . But , like Paul said in Galatians , the flesh lusts against the spirit , the spirit against the flesh .
These are contrary to one another , so that you may not do that which you wish .
The you is a regenerated spiritual man that longs and seeks to please and honor the Lord , so there is that consolation , like when thoughts that I abhor and detest pop into my mind , there's a consolation the Lord knows my heart , the regenerated man , that I don't want that , and I don't have to freak out and flip out .
I can just , lord , forgive me of my wicked heart . But thank you that you know I don't want that Lord .
Peter had that same sort of encounter with Jesus , didn't he ? When he said do you love me ? You know , feed my sheep . And they were going back and forth . And then finally , when Jesus finally asked him , you know , do you love me ? And he says , lord , you know all things . Like I don't even know my heart .
Right , you're switching up the words love , the gape and phileo back and forth . And you know , I don't even know . And I say that continually to the Lord . I go , lord , you know , I don't want to be deceived . When I was in school I got voted most polite but what I wanted was to become a con man . And inside my yearbook , a Christian wrote .
Inside my yearbook because I claimed to be a Christian when I was in high school , because I made a profession of faith in eighth grade . And he wrote inside my yearbook , and I'll never forget it , he said you were the most rebellious christian I've ever met , whoa , and it struck .
It struck my heart and it was really a catalyst to what would happen just a few months later when I became born again .
Man , that's heavy you wanted to become a ? What comic con a con man ? Oh , a con man , wow well , yeah , that's terrible , terrible took a minute to sink in .
I watched a , a movie called Pacific Heights with Michael Keaton , where Michael Keaton was a con man and he would con old ladies out of money and stuff and I'm thinking I could do that .
I like the idea of Mark being in kindergarten . What would you like to be little boy ?
I want to be a con man , I was about to say the exact same thing . That's funny , yeah . So all right . So , ray , here's a good point . What I want us to do , I want us to jump into Matthew 23 , where Jesus is talking to the hypocritical Pharisees , and I want to just touch on a few of those things and get your thoughts on them .
But , ray , I want to kick it off , because this is also key . This is the beginning . It says . Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and his disciples saying the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat . Therefore , whatever they tell you to observe , that , observe and do , but do not do according to their works .
For they say and do not do , that's pretty interesting and pretty heavy . But for those who say I don't , you know , I don't want to go to church because pastors are hypocrites , or whatever , jesus here is effectively saying hey , do what is truly preached , but don't follow the example of those who do it .
Yes , Thank you .
No .
I agree with Ray . No , no , no , yes , no Oscar thoughts . I'm going to side with Ray , sorry , ez . Yes , no Oscar thoughts . I'm going to side with Ray , sorry EZ , I'm on Ray's side on this one .
It's like a flight attendant telling you how to jump out of a plane , how to put the parachute on , and they're not even listening or thinking what they're doing . But listen to what they're telling you . Look at the sheet , the instruction , because your life is on the line here .
And says , and not worry about the lifestyle of the person that's giving it to them . Yeah , I mean , you know , I've heard stories of people that got saved by hearing a faith preacher who happened to be preaching the death and resurrection of Christ , repentance of sin , and it's that saying right .
God can draw a line with a crooked stick , a straight line with a crooked stick . Again , this in no way endorses or justifies false teachers , but the point is that someone can speak truth and that truth should be obeyed
¶ Avoiding Hypocrisy in Religious Practices
despite the person .
Yeah , like the word despite despite them .
Yeah , I do like the idea of you . What did you just use Endorsing my preaching ?
by saying the Lord can draw a straight line with a crooked stick . That's right . That's you , oscar , pretty much so .
Anyway , that's important to keep in mind and this sets the tone basically for everything that Jesus is about to say , all of his rebukes of their hypocrisy , because he went on to say they say and do not do according to their , they say but do not do , and then he says for they bind heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on men's shoulders .
Man , I love Matthew 23 .
Yeah , Because it gets rid of the whole thought that Jesus meek and mild . Yeah , you know when people say oh , jesus just says love one another . Well read Matthew 23 . It was scathing , yeah . How should they escape the damnation of hell , hypocrites ? Yeah , yeah man it's just incredible .
I know it's powerful . And again it goes to show that if there was anything that Jesus despised , it was hypocrisy . I mean , he was hanging out with sinners , tax collectors , the down and outs , the overtly sinful .
Arabs .
Lebanese people like me , but he hung out with them because they weren't hypocrites in the sense that they were people with religious influence , but were just wicked in their hearts and abusing people . All right , so let's start with the first woe . But woe to you , verse 13 , scribes and Pharisees hypocrites , for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men .
For you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow those who are entering to go in . Woe to you , scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , for you devour widows' houses and , for a pretense , make long prayers . Therefore , you will receive greater condemnation . Ray , I'm putting myself like in their shoes here right now .
This is the Son of God speaking .
Full body shiver .
How would you give a synonym for the word woe ? I mean , it's not horse woe .
Yeah . What does it mean ? I would say , oh , you're in big trouble . Yeah like dare you , yeah like man , that's the best way to put it . You're in big trouble , woe unto you .
If and you're in , yeah , that's the best way to put it You're in big trouble . Whoa unto you If you say that to your kid because he had burned the house down when you get home , whoa , whoa , whoa , yeah .
So , oscar , here he's saying you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men , for you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow those who are entering to go in . Wow , you're not going to heaven , but you're barring others from God's kingdom .
Yeah , and that's actually one of my favorite verses in a weird way , because it reminds me of , as a communicator of God's word , to be careful on how I preach , because often we can lay the burden of the law of God on people and not provide grace and not point them to the gospel , and rather just have people like I don't ever want people to walk away from
our servants going man . I don't pray enough , I don't read my Bible enough , I don't preach the gospel enough . I want people to walk away , going man . God has done enough for me , therefore I can go and do these things right . It's the difference between I obey , therefore I am accepted , versus I am accepted , therefore I obey . Wow .
Love . That you know . Randy Elkron said the worse we realize we are , the greater we will realize God's grace is .
That's good , that's true , it is . I mean , ray often talks about that . Right , you have to have that black backdrop to appreciate the diamond that's placed on it and you have to see the wretchedness of your sin to appreciate the grace of God .
Those Pharisees he was rebuking actually didn't just live hypocrisy , they despised others , which shows the wickedness of their heart . They look down and condescension upon quote sinners without any grace in their heart .
Yeah , and at the root of it is this yeah , it's this intense selfishness , it's love for self , it's wanting to be better than others , it's wanting to exercise power and authority over others . You know , and that's so despised by the Lord , verse 15, .
Woe to you , scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , for you travel land and sea to win one proselyte , and when he is won , you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourself . Mark , you don't often hear this quoted at Nice Seeker Senses .
Well , I had to make friends and influence people .
Twice a son of hell as yourself . I mean , what do you say to that , Mark ?
Ouch , right , I mean take heed . You know , we got word today a couple pastors have fallen into sexual sin , whatever that means to fallen right . They were long gone , long before it was ever exposed . But it's like you know , take heed . Take heed lest you fall , lest you stumble , attempt to restore such a one .
My heart is obviously burdened for something like this , and I want to be a man of integrity in all that I do , and the only person who hates integrity is the one who loves hypocrisy , who loves deceit and deception , and I don't want to be that person . I want to live my life in an honorable way .
I want .
When that day comes and God says well done , good and faithful servant , I want him to mean it .
Yeah , jesus is saying to them you make twice the sons of hell .
You reproduce after your own kind , right , that's what's happening , yeah , yeah , because you're winning them to your ways and , in essence , they're , they're even further down because now you're adding , you're adding hypocrisy to them , you know , and , and , man , you just think of the load of excuses people are going to give on the day of judgment .
Yeah , do you think they'll actually give any excuses ?
Mouth will be stopped . The Bible says they won't be able to say a word . I mean , what are you saying when you're facing lightning coming towards you ? Sure , Go ahead .
Ray , you were going to say something .
Yeah , I was going to say I don't care what people call me , as long as they don't call me a hypocrite . You can call me anything you want . Stumpy , yes , stumpy . The banana man , apple man whatever you want , gorgeous . Yeah , go for it . Handsome , it doesn't worry me .
You're more of a plantain , but hypocrisy would cut me in half if someone says you're a hypocrite because , I never want to do that ?
Yeah , you know , I often think of what Jesus said .
Thank you , mark , for those no Debonair , good-looking athletic . None of it's true . So , right easy , you're gonna say something and I want you to say something , but I'd love for us somewhere along the last few minutes here to how do we avoid hypocrisy ? Yeah , yeah . What are some parameters that we can set up ?
Yeah , that's where I wanted to go with that . Yeah , I think that you know we . I think that we need to first recognize that God knows our hearts , and so that should , as we mentioned earlier , both terrify us and relieve us , but it should also remind us of the fact that God can't be deceived .
It's like , mark , you and I have dealt with a couple situations where I knew the actions of a person and I was very well aware of what they had done , and I had them on tape recorded having done it , and they sat before me and they denied it and I gave them what seemed like 500 chances to come clean and they wouldn't .
Which seems like the most uncomfortable situation I've ever been in is watching you put somebody through a wringer . I've been through it a couple times with Easy waiting for the recorder , because you would obviously remember if you did this sort of thing , wouldn't you ? Yeah , you know right .
Of course . Now you're sure , like it's not possible , like you made it forgotten . Made it forgotten ? Oh no , of course not . This guy was getting mad . He had basically he had called the girl and cussed her out on a , on a recording .
It was back then , it was answering machines , so there was actually a tape and so you know , he's no way , absolutely not no , and he was like getting vehement , like angry that I kept pushing it and pushing it .
So you were wanting him to humble himself and come clean . If you're honest , yeah , and oh , she's a liar .
I would never use those words , I would never do that , but he asks the same question like in 20 different ways and you're sitting there knowing he has the case , I'm not saying a word . This is easy as gifting . Well , this is when Mark and I were pastoring together , you know , and this , this guy , so anyway .
So I so I just reached behind my back what and the ? You know , I was sitting in a chair and I had it behind me . I pull out a recorder and I just pull the pen out and you toss and I just hit play . What did the guy do ? And you know it was you blankety blank on the recording . You blankety blank , blank , blank . I mean it was , it was bad .
This is like a nathan moment it was like his , because he he's I mean his mind . Yeah , right , the girl , how would Easy know , right , like she's going to come and give him the tape we didn't have . You can , you know , just send it an email or send a file , mark , he like went , white man , did he ?
Easy . You've done that , like a handful of times that I'm like that's not my gift .
Because you want someone to come clean , but when they don't , you want them to feel the weight of what they've done . Easy is good at bringing that weight , yeah , so , anyway . So I think we need to recognize God sees all and we're going to give account for all . He's going to bring out the tape , yeah , ooh , amen . And we need to lay it out , right , ray ?
I mean , we need to understand . We're going to give account , yeah .
That's why you've got to look in people's eyes . Let me just share something from Exodus 3 , where Moses didn't . So Exodus 4 , moses didn't know what to say when he was going to Egypt and God says what's in your hand ? He says it's a rod . Throw it down . He says , turn it into a serpent . And he picked it up by the tail .
And Moses was terrified until he picked it up by the tail . This is a threefold strategy that God is giving to reach the lost . Throw down the law . You can grab it by its tail . It can't bite you . Jesus likened that law in John 3.16 . He says , as Moses lifted up the serpent , the law is a biting serpent .
Paul said that law , the commandment which I thought was ordained to life , was death to me . It bit me . The wages of sin is death and you and I can take it by the tail . It won't hurt us , and use it in evangelism as a schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ . Second strategy God gave . He says put your hand in your bosom and your breast .
Pull it out , leprous . Put it in again . It's clean . That's their own testimony , right , unclean heart , leprous heart . And god cleansed us . And he says if they won't listen to you . Then he said pour water on the ground , let it turn to blood , which is the judgment of god . And that's what I often go to . I go to the law .
People say I know my friends are in hell . Give my testament . He said this is true , I know what I'm saying is true . And then , if they won't come , they won't't humble themselves . I say well , if your eyes meet my eyes on judgment day and you're still in your sins , I'm free from your blood .
So I'm not held back from telling you the truth and you're going to look back and say that day in California , when you spoke to me , why didn't you slap my face ? I said I can't slap your face because you'd be offended . All I can do is is slap you with words , because we're talking about your eternity .
This is your life Amen .
And that's what we've got to do . That's the issue that's at stake , especially with a hypocrite , he's deceiving himself .
Yeah .
And so we must do all we can to awaken the hypocrite and say to him whoa , to you , you know , come to the cross and be honest with God .
Right , amen . Another important thing to do to avoid hypocrisy is to ask those who are closest to you to tell you the truth about what they see .
It takes too long .
Absolutely , I think , to be known . You talked earlier about leaders who fall .
I've read a few books on leadership and one of the common things that they've talked about is how leaders will tend to become isolated and at first it becomes like this thing where it's like well , I just , you know , I'm in this position , people look up to me and I don't want them to know this small little thing and the problem with that is that small little
thing , as we talked about earlier , becomes bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and it becomes a grievous , disqualifying , harmful thing . Something that starts as a temptation gives birth eventually to death . And one of the ways whether you're the leader of a church , an organization of your own home , it doesn't matter
¶ Avoiding Hypocrisy Through Devotion
wherever you are if you aren't known , if you aren't truly known by a local church , if you aren't known in such a way that guys are invited in to go . Man , like I'm starting to see this in you , because and that should be a welcomed thing , as Christians , man , we should welcome friends and people in our lives are going . Hey , you know what ?
I'm starting to see this , because then we get to run in repentance back to Christ . Our hearts are deceitful , they're not deceitful and wicked towards . They don't deceive God . Our hearts deceive ourselves .
We hide our sins from ourselves , and often the Lord uses people in our lives to find those little cracks and to reveal them to us before they turn into something bigger . Wow .
That's good yeah , and , mark , also , another remedy to hypocrisy is a real devotional life , like where you're really , really sitting with the Lord . We mentioned it , I think , on another podcast of the importance of meditation .
You know , not just like I read the Bible , or you know , or I just even I think Oscar talked about meditating in prayer , like you know , thinking on the things we're bringing before the Lord , but how key is that to avoid hypocrisy .
Yeah , devotional life really is a focus of devotion , that it is a moment-by-moment reliance upon the King of Kings for your marching orders . You know , the first thing I do when I wake up is I reach over for the Word of God and I want the Word of God to be the flagship inside of my life and to lead me into murky waters . I'm relying upon Him .
I need Him . I don't know how bad I need him . My prayer as of late has just been Lord , protect me from myself . I don't know what I'm capable of doing and I've seen different things that I've done and I've been surprised with those things . We need not be surprised when we do things because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked .
Devotional life will take that away , realizing you need to be devoted to Him . He's devoted to you . Pause , don't just live life . Don't go from activity to activity , show to show , game to game . Just pause and take it in . Is this honoring to the Lord ? I went to put on a movie the other day with my wife and I and we watched through VidAngel .
But we put on VidAngel and we're looking at the different things that are wrong with the film and I go no , this is not something that I would normally watch , even if it didn't have these things that we're going to take out . It's just not right . When you have something that has , say , 30 F-bombs inside of it , what am I even considering this for ?
This is not right . And so , yeah , there's just a devotion and everybody's watching us make those decisions , especially our kids .
Yeah and Ray , our devotional life . Like Mark is insinuating , it's the catalyst , our devotions meaning the times when we're in prayer and in the Word , that segregated time or time of seclusion . It should be the catalyst for a life of devotion where we're in communion with the Lord throughout the day .
Yeah , life devoted to His will and His honor and His ways . You know , I often think of that Bible verse If any man loves not our Lord Jesus Christ , let him be anathema . That's got to be powerful , because that's the essence of what a Christian is , Bible verse if any man loves not our Lord Jesus Christ , let him be anathema .
That's got to be powerful because that's the essence of what a Christian is . Do you love Jesus or do you not ? Do you live for him or do you not ? Amen ?
There is this book on marriage that I read and they simplified it down into these very common acts , like habits that you would have with your wife , and they statistically said if you do these things , you're more likely to stay married to your wife . And there was a few simple ones . There was like don't leave the house in the morning without kissing her .
Don't go to bed at night without having a conversation with no screens .
That's similar with our Having a conversation with no what With no screens ? Okay , don't scream at no what ?
With no screens , okay , without . Don't scream at . Each other Screams . You know you're not watching TV . Yeah , yeah , ice cream is okay , but anyways , the point that I'm trying to make is why not do the same with the Lord ? Why not start every morning out ?
You know , kissing the word of God , spending time in his word every day , spending time in meditative prayer ? Those are ways in which it enriches our love and our adoration for our savior .
Amen , kiss the sun . Yeah , I see being angry . Yeah , and you know , friends , I think it's summed up with these last couple of woes that Jesus gave . Woe to you , scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites . For you are like whitewashed tombs , which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness .
Even so , you also outwardly appear righteous to men , but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lousiness . The previous verses he said woe to you , scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , for you . Clean the outside of the cup and dish , but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence . Blind Pharisee .
First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish that the outside of them may be also clean . Well there's so much , there isn't there so much and basically , hypocrisy is again dealing with the externals , pretending to be a certain way when the inside hasn't been dealt with .
And you have to come under the light of God to reveal those things to you and be determined to repent and turn from them so you can be a faithful witness . All right , friends , that's all we have time for . Don't forget Jesus in Red , 365 Meditations on the words of Jesus and Living Waters Mug . That one is Study Bible , all at livingwaterscom .
And thank you for your support . Keep listening , keep sharing , keep commenting . Remember podcast at livingwaterscom with your thoughts and guys . By the way , why not wait until we're done to start putting all your stuff ?
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Thank you for joining us , friends . We'll see you here next time on the living waters podcast , where we have no idea what we're doing . Still and forever , I'm in .