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Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Revelation 22

Make-believe is not new to our day and age. Some of the biggest actors in the world are not in Hollywood, but in our churches. The Bible calls them hypocrites, people who pander to a phony world.

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus has compassion and forgiveness for the sinners, thieves, and prostitutes. However, Matthew 6 shows us He saves His most severe words for the hypocrites.

First, Matthew 6:1-2 illustrates the shameful display of hypocrisy:

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them…” (Matthew 6:1).

We are most susceptible to hypocrisy in our areas of deed, devotion, and discipline. When helping others, we must always examine our manner and motive, being careful not to do things for our own glory and praise.

This same principle is true for prayer. The length or the language of our prayers don’t impress God (see Matthew 6:7); we are not informing Him of anything He doesn’t already know. Rather, prayer invites God into our lives and grants us the privilege of fellowship with Him.

Adrian Rogers says, “Prayer is one of the greatest acts of love and kindness God could ever extend to you. God allows and enables you to join with Him in the administration of the Universe and the affairs of men.”

We must also be sure to fast for the right reasons, without posing (see Matthew 6:16). Our goal in fasting is not to draw attention; it is to get a word from God.

This passage also addresses the sinister danger of hypocrisy.

Hypocrites deceive themselves and others; they are blind leading the blind.

Hypocrites defraud themselves and others; in receiving glory here on Earth, they rob themselves of glory in eternity.

Hypocrisy destroys; it takes the form of godliness but denies the power of it.

We must evaluate our own lives with serious discernment. Hypocrites don’t realize they are hypocrites. Knowing this, we must check our motives, live rightly before the Lord, and serve Him out of our love for Him.

Apply it to your life

Take some time to ask yourself, “Is there a little Pharisee in me? Have I been playing a role without realizing it?”

Hypocrites are not always vile, wicked people; they just haven’t lived in the reality of knowing God. Be sure to check your motives and serve God with your whole heart.

It’s easy to let fear keep us quiet about our faith. But in this message, Dr. Tony Evans takes us to a mountaintop moment in Nehemiah when joy silenced the critics—and faithfulness spoke louder than words.

We can put up a good front—but sometimes we find ourselves harboring deep resentment towards others. Our anger and hurt can make us indignant. In times like these, we need to remember how much we’ve been forgiven. Philip De Courcy talks about the power of forgiveness as modeled in the life of Joseph.

What does "born again" mean? Can you be a Christian without being born again? Rabbi Schneider of Discovering the Jewish Jesus shares what born again means, how it's possible, and that God is still in the business of doing miracles. Jesus loves you and will manifest Himself through witnessing those miracles. Being born again is not a certain type of Christian. To be born again is to be born of God's Spirit and receive His nature. We can't physically see the Spirit, but we can see the effects of the Spirit as we cannot see the wind. We need to release ourselves of only what we can see so that we can be moved by and led by the Spirit. He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Do you have ears to hear? Do you have a spiritually sensitive heart? Come learn how to be born again.

TITLE: Born Again (What Does "Born Again" Mean?)

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