Don't Be a Hypocrite

by Marc Backes

Thanksgiving is always a good time to be around family. Most everyone will return home sometime during the four-day weekend. And one of the things I think about is how being around family always allows me to unwind, unplug, and just be me. It’s a good feeling. It’s a freeing feeling. But then I wonder why I’m not like that all the time. Do I act the same way when I’m at work? What about when I’m at church? Why is it that I’m someone different when it’s just me and the family?

As we look at the Gospel of Luke, we’ll find in chapters 11 and 12 that Jesus is dealing with this problem head on. He first addresses it in a very stern and confrontational way with the Pharisees and lawyers in Chapter 11, and then deals with it amongst his disciples in the early parts of Chapter 12. Jesus says:

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.

Jesus here issues a strong warning to his disciples to guard themselves from even the slightest hint of hypocrisy. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word (hupokrisis /hoop·ok·ree·sis/) which means to “play act” or “play a part.” He uses the leaven analogy as a way of reminding them that the tiniest bit of hypocrisy will make them complete hypocrites through and through. You can’t compartmentalize hypocrisy. It’s either not there at all. Or it permeates your whole life.

Jesus then reminds them:

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

There are really two reasons why hypocrisy is pointless. The first Jesus points out here is that you’re not fooling anyone. Sure you may fool people here on Earth, but your life, your heart, your mind, your motives, everything about you is on full display for God and always will be. You’re not fooling God. He sees it all. You will be exposed. And we see this all around us in the world today. People are being exposed every day for who they really are and Jesus said as much. The second reason Jesus gives for the pointlessness of hypocrisy is:

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

What Jesus is saying here is that it’s not man you should try to impress anyway. God is the one who matters. Not man. And oh by the way, you can’t impress God. There’s no amount of acting that will fool him. It goes back to the first reason. God knows exactly who you are, so there’s no point in acting. But there’s also no point in trying to impress man, because they are not the ultimate reality of the universe, God is. His opinion matters.

Have you ever thought of some of the ways we care more about what people think than what God thinks?

• We pour ourselves into our work to the neglect of our focus on Jesus and our families because we derive our value from our success at work rather than the progress in our hearts.
• We avoid having / adopting more children because others would think of us as unwise to have a “house full of kids” late into our forties and fifties.
• We go into a certain line of work that even though it makes us miserable and grumpy, it’s impressive to the outside world.
• We avoid deep relationships with people because we’re afraid if they get to know who we really are, they may not like us anymore.

Jesus then gives us a comforting assurance of why we can drop the act before God and simply be who we are:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We are valuable to God. We were created in his image. We are precious in his sight. He knows our faults. He knows our weaknesses. He knows our ugliness. And yet despite all of that, he still sent his Son Jesus to the cross to take the punishment that you and I deserve for our hypocrisy. Jesus died the death we should have died and he lived the hypocrisy free live we should have lived. We don’t have to DO anything. Jesus did it all already. Now because of that, we can live in freedom, love, and peace. We can live as who we truly are and as we were created to be. We don’t have to act anymore. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. We can be transformed by what Jesus has already done for us. We can stop the charade. All that is required is:

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

All that is required is that we acknowledge (confess) Jesus. And all that means is that we look to Him instead of ourselves. That we look to what he has done and not what we are doing. If we will repent (turn away) from our sin, and bank on Jesus as our only hope, then and only then, will we be at peace with God.

It’s not our pretending that gives us peace, it’s the reality of Jesus that won our righteousness before God.

So will you be who you really are today? Will you come to Jesus and admit you don’t have it all together? Will you say to Him “Jesus, I don’t have it together, but you did, and that’s my only hope”?

Or more simply, will you quit being a hypocrite?

Thank You from Pastor Lane

Christin and I thank you for your generosity and gracious words of encouragement to us. What a blessing to serve the Lord among LifePoint! Your words of encouragement, your gifts of generosity and your support of love are great blessings to us not only at this time of year, but throughout the year as well. I pray God continues to richly bless LifePoint as a gospel-centered community of faith. I pray God continues to strategically use LifePoint in his kingdom mission. I pray God continues to reveal his glory among us in power and in might as he transforms lives. May this thanksgiving season be a blessed time for you and your family. ay you know God’s richest blessings on your life.

—Pastor Lane

Thank You from Pastor Dennis

Sue and I thank you so much for your generous pastor’s appreciation gift and cards of encouragement. You are so good to us. We are extremely thankful to serve in such a loving church. We have been overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness and generosity with both the incredible baby shower you threw for us and the pastor’s appreciation gift and cards you gave us. We look forward with anticipation and excitement to what God is going to do in the years to come at LifePoint. It is an honor to be your worship pastor. We pray you have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. We love you!

—Pastor Dennis

Picture This—God

The elders have recently begun a study together and one of the issues we are considering relates to the second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, of that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations to those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. —Exodus 20.4–6; English Standard Version

The primary questions for our consideration: What visual imagery breaks this command and what imagery is acceptable in Christian worship? So often we think solely of a golden calf that was crafted by the Israelites under Aaron’s leadership while Moses was on the mountain with God. While this is surely the most obvious example, we should also consider the “practication” (a standard Laneism that means practical application) of this commandment for our modern day context as well. How are we to interpret this commandment in a God-honoring way while implementing visual creativity into our worship experiences? Or should we not use visual images at all in worship? One other great question for our debate is when do images become idols?

I offer some points and quotes from chapter four of the book we are reading, Knowing God by J.I. Packer for your consideration. First,

• “Images dishonor God, for they obscure his glory.”
• “Therefore, to devise any image of God is itself impious; because by this corruption his majesty is adulterated, and he is figured to be other than he is.”
• “The heart of the objection to pictures and images is that they inevitably conceal most, if not all, of the truth about the personal nature and character of the divine Being whom they represent.”

Second,

• “Images mislead us, for they convey false ideas about God.”
• “The positive purpose of the second commandment becomes plain. It is a summons to us to recognize that God the Creator is transcendent, mysterious and inscrutable, beyond the range of any imagining or philosophical guesswork of which we are capable—and hence a summons to us to humble ourselves, to listen and learn of him, and to let him teach us what he is like and how we should think of him.”
• “The positive force of the second commandment is that it compels us to take out thoughts of God from his own holy Word and from no other source whatsoever."

Why is this an important issue for LifePoint, the elders, and me? First, I’m a visual person. (Ironically, I’m color-blind too.) I am attracted to that which captures my eye. Most all of my first impressions are solely visual and (as much as I hate to admit it) if the situation is right, my final impression may well be visual also.

On a side note, allow me to digress and illustrate for a moment. I mean, let’s be honest,ugly is hard to forget. Now before you think I’m being cruel and shallow, I’m not just talking about people, but anything that is ugly: clothes/outfits, landscaping, decorations, etc. The list could be endless. You’ve heard it said, “Ugly is as ugly does.” I must kindly disagree. I hold to “Ugly is as ugly looks.”

So understand, I hold in high regard the visual presentation of our church because I believe it matters not only to me, but to people.

Second, the aesthetics of our church represent our values. Close your eyes for just a moment and imagine yourself entering LifePoint. That is the image many people see when they think of LifePoint. What would you have them to see and remember?

Third, the visual impression we present to people when they come to LifePoint can help break down many barriers to the gospel that may have been built up through past experiences, preconceived ideas, and generalized perspectives of what church should look like.

Fourth, art is important to me and to LifePoint. We have a high concentration of people who are extremely gifted and talented in many different artistic disciplines and hold a strong passion to use this talent to glorify God: classical artists, graphic artists, musical artists, decorators, sculptors, and craftsmen.

I love the song that we sing entitled “The Beauty of the Lord.” I love it NOT because I have a perfect visual image of God, but rather because everything about him is beautiful: his character, his creation, and all his work. I pray that we will be quick to praise the beauty of God, careful not to diminish it through our images or activities, and in all desire to obey his command to not worship him through any image other than the One he has given to us—Jesus Christ, the Living Word. He is the image of the invisible God (Col 1.15).

I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback…

—Pastor Lane

The Skinny on RSS

If you've been around LifePoint the last few weeks, you know that we've been switching up our E.notes format so we can offer our weekly announcements by both e-mail and RSS. Until about a year ago, I hadn't the slightest clue about RSS, but once I learned what it did and how powerful it is, I was on the RSS train.

So what exactly is RSS? It stands for really simple syndication. By using an application called a reader and adding subscriptions from your favorite news sites and blogs (hmm...E.notes, What Is the Point?, and the LifePoint Journal come to mind), the new content from those sites comes to you in your reader. You no longer have to remember all the sites you frequently read, go to them, and hope for new content; if a site has been updated, the new content will appear in your reader.

Still confused? Watch this little video produced by Common Craft.to see how you can start using RSS within minutes. We'd have made our own video, but we hate reinventing the wheel, and this one is super easy to understand.

Click To Play

To summarize the video, to get started with RSS, you need a reader (e.g. Google Reader, NewsGator, Bloglines, My Yahoo!, etc.). Once you have a reader, add subscriptions to your account by looking for and clicking on the orange RSS logo. That's it! Just start reading!

If you have any questions about RSS or need help setting it up on your computer, don't hesitate to e-mail me your questions.

— Sarah Austin
saustin@lifepointozark.com

P.S.Not ready to jump on the RSS train but still want to stay in the loop? No problem! You can subscribe to e-mail updates from every LifePoint blog. Just navigate to the blog's home page, and enter your e-mail address in the right column under "Subscribe to E-mail Updates."

For the Men

I had the great privilege of eating lunch with my dad last week. I don’t use the term “privilege” loosely. I consider my father the greatest man in my life. He has influenced me in ways I will not fully grasp this side of heaven. So in this blog I honor a great man and hopeful give insight into being Godly men who lead our homes as Christ has called us to do.

1. Man of God
My father places God above all else in his life. I grew up seeing my dad in prayer. He prayed with us and for us. He prays about the smallest details in life and the greatest decisions to come. I’ve seen him pray for the lost, skip meals to pray, and thank God for blessings during some of the most difficult times. I’ve heard him say “in Your will” more times than I can count. He studies God’s Word openly in front of his family. He speaks often about God and his love for Christ. Most importantly He lives out his relationship with Christ everyday. The Gospel of Christ made alive in his life is clear for all to see. He has always shared that Gospel with those he comes into contact.

2. Man of his marriage
I’ve never questioned the love my dad has for my mom. They have been visibly in love with each other for more than 50 years. He shows a love that is far more deep than mere emotion. It is a passion based on knowledge of my mom’s most intimate needs. He understands a Godly commitment to her for life. He understands sacrifice and selflessness in marriage.

3. Man of his children
As a pastor my father has always lived under the incredible burden of leading a church. I never felt that I was less important than his ministry, as many of my PK friends felt. Being a pastor requires a huge amount of time and emotion, but my dad kept his priorities straight – God, marriage, children, and then all the rest. Even through the most hurtful circumstances, he carried the burdens without placing it on the family. He showed me that no matter how noble or Godly the job, it means nothing if your relationship with God and family suffers.

4. Man of strength, boldness and humility
In my father I see strength and boldness to stand for what is right. I’ve witnessed this over and over in my life. He is a man of integrity wrapped in humility. He is a humble servant, but by no means a push-over. He tells it like it is not out of pride, but from a deep resolve and confidence in what is good and right.

5. Man of kindness and wisdom
My father is a truly kind and gentle man, a man of great wisdom and discernment. People enjoy being around him. He treats people with respect and gives them time and attention. He cares about their lives. His wisdom is based on the ways of God and not selfish motivation or vain conceit.

6. Man of forgiveness
My dad both gives forgiveness and seeks forgiveness. From all the things listed above you might think my view of my father is one of perfection. He is a great man not a perfect man. One of his greatest attributes is to seek forgiveness when he has been wrong. I’ve seen tears in his eyes when he has asked me to forgive him for a misstep in parenting. I’ve seen him ask forgiveness from my mom. I’ve heard him pray for forgiveness from Christ. I’ve been taken by his hand and led to ask forgiveness from someone I’ve wronged. I’ve also seen him forgive others. People who have hurt him deeply, like the drunk driver who killed his only brother or close friends who betrayed him. He didn’t allow us to harbor angry feelings toward others. I’ve learned more from watching him forgive than probably anything else.

Thanks for allowing me to honor my father with this blog. These are just a few of the ways I’ve been shaped by his life. As I look forward to my own son’s birth next month, I realize the awesome responsibility of influence as a father. As men we have been given the task of leading and molding our home. We are not just positively influencing our child. We are answering a command to lead generations to come “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Thanks, Daddy!

—Pastor Dennis