Show Real Love

 Romans 12:9, 10
  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good...Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another,
Don’t pretend to love or try to act like you care when you really don’t. It is hypocritical to say you love someone, then treat them unkindly. Stay away from anything that is bad, hold tightly to everything that is good. Put others before your wants and needs, show others what love is really about by being kind, go the extra mile to show your love. Be an extension of Christ and let love reign in every part of your life.

True Worship

Matt. 2:8 “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

God was not fooled by Herod hypocrisy. Neither is He fooled by our fake worship. Saying we love Him and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, yet our lives don’t reflect His loving spirit. Selfishness still dwells within the heart. We may call ourselves “Christians” but it is only lip service. We may even go to church, the place of worship and sing songs of praise, but our heart is far from living our life in the word of God. Herod never did find Jesus, because he really was not a true seeker after God. To be a worshiper of God, one must be a seeker after Him and desire to live in His presence. Seek Him with all your heart, and you will find Him. When you truly find Him, you will surrender your life in full obedience. He will be Lord of all, and your knees will truly bend in worship.

Come Now To God

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Yes, no one is perfect. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away from his own desires. Satan walks around seeking whom he may devour. Everyone is subject to temptation and even good people in a moment of weakness can succumb to temptation. And if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is faithful and just to forgive all who come to him in humility and confession. Such is the love and promise of God who is full of grace and mercy. We also have a way of escape when tempted if we avail ourselves to the grace of God. Allowing the Holy Spirit to help us make choices that will lead us in the light. The grace and mercy of God extend even to those who have left the path and now walk in darkness. To the hypocrite, who outwardly appears to be religious, but is full of dead men’s bones. God says “Come now”. No matter your condition, no matter what you have done, He wants to make your heart as white as snow.

Unfeigned Faith

2 Tim 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

The current political tread is all about “Fake News” News that is fabricated that may have some bases of truth, but is often twisted to serve someone’s point of view. Information that is often taken out of context or sometimes just plain made up. Fake faith is pretending to believe, but not willing to stay true to that belief. Saying you are a Christian, but not keeping His commandments or willing to follow in His Word. Fake faith is shelf serving, it wants others to perceive that they are righteous and upright. It desires to be seen of men and be praised. Unfeigned faith is true and genuine. It seeks to know God and desires to have a closer walk with Jesus. It believes that God is the maker of all things and controls the affairs of men. Unfeigned faith is sincerely believing that God is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him. Unfeigned faith does not live for this world. The journey is important, but it is not what we live for. Unfeigned faith lives for things that are eternal where moths and rust cannot destroy. Many people have fake faith, but God has a remnant that is His true church, and their unfeigned faith will see them through.

The Silent Witness

1 Thess 1:8b “…but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad, so that we need not speak anything.”

The silent witness. Spreading the Gospel of the Word is more than just audibly speaking. The greatest witness we can have for Jesus is to be an imitator of Him. Our faith in God is seen in the way we show others the love of God by the way we treat our neighbors and by the things we do and don’t do. Others seeing how we live will see that there is more to serving God that just talking about it. We are the living Bible to many who know not Christ. When we claim the Name of Jesus as our Lord and Savior and walk contrary to His Word, it speaks of hypocrisy. Being a true witness for Christ must first be seen in the way we live. God opens doors for us to speak and the Holy Spirit is there to help us speak the truth of the Gospel, but the real witness we show the world need not speak anything. The silent witness speaks volumes. 

True Christianity

Mark 12:28-34, 38-40

Truth is defined as a verified or undisputable fact. Jesus proclaimed to be the truth. He not only spoke words of truth, but He himself was the essence of truth. True Christianity is to know Him. This goes beyond following a creed of rules or rituals. True Christianity is a relationship that is then manifest by the religion we live. Following the Christian faith or religion in truth requires a prerequisite. One must first be born of God through the Spirit, made a new creature through the sacrificial death of Christ. Accepted and adopted into the family of God. It is only through confession and believing that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all sin that one becomes a true believer in Christianity. The commandments of Jesus to those who follow Him are given to us here in the scripture, to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors. It is not possible to do this without first coming to Christ, and accepting His forgiveness for the sins of our past. It is only then, can we truly start to serve God and live the religion that Christ taught.

Seeker of Truth vs.28
• Desire to know the truth
• Concluded that Jesus spoke with authority
Serving One True God vs. 29
• There is only one way to God
• He alone is truth
Selfless Love vs.30
• All your heart, soul, mind, strength
• Our affections, being, thinking- intellect, physical body
Second Command vs.31
• Love your everyone as you would want to be loved
Sincere Answer vs. 32-34
• Discreetly- caution, and good judgment, as well as wisdom in looking ahead. Carefully thought out.
Shunning False Religion vs.38,39
• Look out for those who claim to know everything
• Lift themselves up
• Appear to be dressed Holy
• Strive for power and position
Semblance of Righteousness vs. 40
• Take advantage of those who are helpless or easily manipulated
• The focus of their religion is keeping rules
• They have the talk, but not the walk
• They will be judge by God, who knows the heart.

The Religion of The Pharisees

Mark 7:1-13

Religion can be define as, “something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience”. In respect to a religious organization, religion is seen as, “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects”. The beliefs and practices are generally derived from a source that is believed to be from some higher power. Often this source in spoken through some human who proclaims to be God’s messenger to mankind. The essence of a true religion is based on the validity and authenticity of the messenger. Is he truly God’s mouthpiece, or is he a false prophet that is diluted and full of self grander?
The Pharisee’s proclaim a religion that originated with Abraham and Moses. Based on the veracity of God’s Word, the messengers were true men of God. But, the Pharisee’s twisted their words to serve their own purposes. Jesus, undaunted by the Pharisee’s accusations faced them with their hypocrisy and called it for what was, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own traditions… Making the Word of God of none effect”.

Fault Finding (vs.2)
• Remove the beam from your own eye first
• Often practice to excuse one’s own failure to live right
Faithful to Traditions (vs.3)
• Understanding the rightful place of traditions
• The hands are clean, but the heart is dirty
Far from God (6)
• Giving only lip service
• Motives are self-centered- not done to the glory of God
False Worship (vs.7)
• Vain worship- pretense of worship
• That they may be seen of men
Failure to Keep God’s Commandments (vs. 8)
• Laying God’s Word aside for a rule book
• The power of God’s word is non existent
Forgetting the essentials (vs. 10, 11)
• Substituting “Corban” as an excuse not to follow the essentials
• What does God require? “Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly
Freedom from the Yoke of Bondage (Galatians 6:1-14)
• No longer in bondage to regulations- Not saved by works
• Freedom to follow the check of the Holy Spirit
• Love and liberty to serve God unhindered by the root of Sin

The Power of the Tongue

James 3:1-18

Review: Faith and works are both essential. Faith and faith alone in the atonement of Christ is the only things that will and can wash our sins away. Works are the fruit that manifest to God that the work of salvation is truly sincere. The life of Abraham demonstrates to us how important Faith and works are both needed to keep the smile of God on our lives. “Enter in thy good and faithful servant”
Mastering Lives
• Seek power and control over the lives of people
• Let the office seek you, not you seeking the office
• We must seek to be servants and not power
• Be care how you use words to manipulate

Control the Lips (tongue)
• The bit in the horses mouth- words are powerful
• The governor of the ship- Words can sway the ground to change their minds- Pulpit manipulation

Danger of a Loose Tongue
• Ruin the influence of a good person
• Dispel discourse among the believers
• It can weaken the confidence of the body of Christ
• Bring down a church
• Brings the displeasure of God- set on fire
• It is the devil’s greatest weapon –destroys outreach
The Lie and hypocrisy
• Double talk
• Water fountain- Bitter or Sweet, fresh or salty- not both
• Fig tree/vine- Can a Christians speak evil? No! He should be bearing the fruits of a Christian. If he says he is a Christian and does not give Christian fruit, then he living a lie and is a hypocrite.
• Self examination- Don’t deceive yourself
Living after the Wisdom of God
• Pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to approach, merciful,
• Not partial, not living a lie (Hypocrisy)
• Sowing peace- What are we sowing?