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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Sebastien Braxton

Let’s Be Real

Heavenly Father, it is this is why we come.

This is why we are here this afternoon because we love Jesus and the book that testifies of him.

And so Lord we have not come to hear a man.

And that I have no wisdom above any other man that is on this earth but that there is a God in heaven that reveal his secrets and Lord we pray that this afternoon you would open down our eyes that we may behold the wonders things from your word we pray Lord that that which we see not that you would teach us And father we need a message that will never leave us the same and truly we can say because of this time together we are more prepared to meet our Savior when he comes.

It is our prayer in Christ's name Let all of God's people say amen.

So this afternoon, we're going to be looking at the message that was humanly intentioned for this morning and that message is entitled.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Matthew, the sixth chapter.

As God grants me the opportunity to gallivant across the face of the earth preaching his word, calling hearts to make decisions for Christ, and being able to encourage souls that are downtrodden by Satan and caught in the bondage of sin.

There's 1 thing that I found amongst not just religious communities, but even in the secular world, that there is something that everyone hates.

And that 1 thing that everyone hates is hypocrisy.

I don't think you can insult a person deeper than calling them a hypocrite and when a person calls you a hypocrite It's the very like it's the it's an attack on the very essence of who you are That you and your deep down you're not who you're presenting yourself to be you're an actor.

So every accomplishment, every accolade, every compliment, it's not real.

And so we live in a world where people want to just be real.

And whenever that phrase comes up in conversation, that's when we're about to speak what's really in our minds We'll start talking.

What'd you think about the food at potluck?

Oh, yeah, you know God provides you know It's always good to be fed and the Lord provides all things that pertain to life and to godliness.

And you come to a place where a person keeps pressing the issue.

You know I made that pie that I brought to potluck.

And there comes a point in time where you have to say, hey, let's be real.

There comes a time when we get to a point in a conversation where we recognize that a person is not understanding us.

Perhaps I'm coming to you about a fault I'm approaching you about something you did to me or something that I did to you and the person says why would you say that?

Or why would you tell this person this you know?

I didn't want them to know and At that point in time in order to relieve the tension The thing that has to happen there must be a shift in our minds where we say look let's be real you just like her That's why you're behaving that way.

Let's be real Let's put all cards on the table So that if there's brokenness that needs to be healed, let it be healed.

And in this sense, I find that there's nothing amongst ministry to young people that young people see right through hypocrisy.

And I don't know how many young people I can think of who grew up in the church who are no longer in the church Because of this thing mom can say whatever she has weeping at the altar Every Sabbath, but when she comes home, it's a different story The elder can say whatever he wants up front and the pastor can preach a Paul for someone but it's a different thing at home That's why pastors kids struggle Because they need a pastor who's not just a pastor at church Who's also a pastor at home the pastor Who's so quick to stop for the church members ears, but he's too busy to hear the cries of his children.

Let's be real Let's be real So in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus begins to attack in his sermon on the mount which I found interesting The fact that Jesus felt that it was important in a public sermon to talk about hypocrisy I must believe it must have been a very pervasive problem.

You see Jesus never gets up in a public sermon and says I'm the Messiah He never gets up and just gives us and hey, you know what?

Outside of Luke chapter 4 when he announces this thing in Isaiah 61 the Spirit of the Lord is upon me Outside of this we find Jesus telling individuals, but when it comes to his public discourses he hits hypocrisy in his first sermon.

So therefore I can only conclude that there in the multitude that we find in Matthew chapter 5, it says there was a multitude there and Jesus went up in the mountain to preach.

This must have been a pervasive problem in amongst believers.

Hypocrisy coming from the Greek word, Hupokrites, you're just an actor, you play to the crowd, depends on the audience kind of lifestyle.

So when I'm around Adventists, I'm vegetarian but when I go out with my college friends, I can eat some fish now and again Let's be real When I come to Avin hope potluck, oh, yeah, I'm fine, you know We can eat the vegetarian stuff and whatever but then when I leave campus and I go somewhere else then I'm gonna eat this stuff let's be real why pretending why acting why playing to the crowd before I get ahead of myself Matthew 6 verse 1 Jesus says take heed be warned pay very close attention listen to what I'm saying that you do not your alms that is your your gifts of charity and of kindness before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your father which is in heaven.

Therefore when thou doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory of men.

Verily I say unto you they have their reward.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be how?

And thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Jesus says, take heed that you do not your alms before men To be seen of them so many people take this verse and say well I don't want people to know that I'm helping sister sister sister such-and-such out with her tuition So I'm gonna go ahead and write a check to season and ask season to write a check to this person So she thinks that season is the 1 who actually paid for a tuition when it was actually me That's what people get from the text.

That's not what Jesus is saying He says don't do it before men to be seen So he gives an example and apparently in verse 2 there were some hypocrites who would sound a trumpet before they did a kind deed.

Now I'm trying to picture this in my mind.

So I'm thinking to myself you're walking down the streets of Loma Linda and I haven't seen any homeless people but where I grew up in Chicago and in Boston there's a lot of homeless people.

So you're walking down the streets and Massachusetts Ave is a big street Harvard, MIT is on this street so you're walking down Mass Ave you see this guy who's sitting there, and they usually sit in front of the CVS or by the train station, by the subway stations, you know, with the cup or whatever, and you come out the station and guy says, hey, you got a couple dollars?

Oh yeah, hold on, Let me pull out my trumpet that I carry with me everywhere I go Everyone looks here's your $5 And he gives him the money, but he says that this wasn't just happening in the in the streets it was also happening in the synagogue.

So as to make sure, I want you to see how kind I am to be seen of men.

And he says, you have no reward of your father so there's a reward for doing kind deeds with the motivation of self-glory and to receive the glory of men so perhaps you can illustrate with me we have Christian A who is a hypocrite and Christian B who is not a hypocrite and Christian A likes to in the synagogues and in the streets make sure that he's seen doing his gifts of charity but Jesus says in Verse 3 but when thou doest thy do when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth that thine alms may be in secret and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee how Openly do you see a contrast there?

Your father sees in secret, but you get rewarded Openly yes, but if you do things to be seen openly you get nothing What do you think?

No reward from God Now I want you to follow this.

Jesus says if you're struggling with hypocrisy, if you are dealing with the fact that you want to do alms to be seen of men, the answer is not stop doing alms.

The answer is do it in such a way to be seen by God that I'm doing it for different eyes.

Every good deed should be done for somebody's eyes.

So follow the situation you talk to young people you talk to college students, and they're like nah I'm just trying to be real.

I don't want to go to church I'm not interested in outreach I'm just trying to be real and we think that that's what it means because they're saying I don't want to go to church.

I'm not interested in outreach I'm just trying to be real and we think that that's what it means because they're saying I don't want to go to church Knowing that in my life.

I'm still engaging in certain sinful things Knowing that deep down when I go back home.

Like I'm so gung-ho about finishing the gospel in this generation.

I'm tired of doing that, so I just stop preaching.

That's not what Jesus' recommendation is.

To the Christian this afternoon, who knows in their heart of hearts that when you go home you got stuff going on in your life That's of the devil For that Christian God says the answer is don't stop taking positions in the church Don't stop getting involved with Sabbath school.

Don't stop showing up at outreach because you got things going on in your life He says guess what keep doing the alms just go deal was happening in secret See the problem of hypocrisy is not an issue of the outward, it's an issue of the inward.

A hypocrite is not a person who comes out front and yet has things bad in their life.

It's a person who comes out front and has things bad in their life with no desire to change what's going on at home.

So then when I talk to young people, they're like, you're brother Sebastian, I'm just trying to be real.

I'm not trying to be up there faking it like these people who stand for every single appeal that a preacher makes, knowing that they're not going to change their life.

That means you need to deal with the hard work.

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Let’s Be Real

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