Living For Your Own Glory Series

INTRODUCTION

• ME CHURCH VIDEO

• SLIDE #1

• That is some kind of church!

• Can you imagine what kind of church we would have if we all had that type mentality. WOW!

• Today we are going to look at the second of 8 things that we can do to be a bad Christian.

• I believe we can easily forget why we are here, and who we are to live for. We have such a natural bent toward focusing in on ourselves that we can ever so subtly slip into living for our own glory instead of living for the glory of God.

• If we are not careful everything that we do can be done for the wrong reason.

• The religious leaders of Jesus day had a problem with this. Jesus on several occasions tried to deal with them about this problem.

• Over time they must have got caught up in all the accolades that came with being the positions they were in.

• There are a lot of bad things that can come from forgetting who we serve, in forgetting there is a God in heaven and it is not us.

• Before we get into our text, I want to share a passage from Paul from Galatians 2:20 that should reflect the perspective that we should be coming from.

• SLIDE #2

• Galatians 2:20 (ESV) 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

• Today we are going to look at three ways that we can tell if we are living for our own glory or for the glory of God. We will also look at a sad truth that we will face if we choose to live for our own glory.

• Let’s turn to Matthew 23:5-12 together as we begin our journey this morning.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

We are living for our glory when we:

I. SERVE TO BE SEEN. (5)

• Let’s look at verse 5 together.

• SLIDE #4

• Matthew 23:5 (ESV) 5They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

• One of the difficulties we have is the fact that we cannot look into the heart of a person. Most of the time we really do not know if a person is serving just to be seen.

• Jesus on the other hand could look straight into the heart of a person to know what they were really motivated by.

• I bet that was such an uncomfortable feeling for the religious leaders that Jesus was speaking of. Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be for you? Jesus exposed their true heart and they hated Him for it.

• The Phylacteries which Jesus speaks of were little black leather boxes containing scriptural passages from Exodus or Deuteronomy which were strapped either to the forehead or left arm.

• CONTENTS Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21.

• Evidently, the practice reflected a literal reading of Exodus 13:9, 16, and Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18.23-18

• Fringes or Tassels referred to the fringes at the four corners of the outer garment.

• The practice was in literal compliance to the commandments found in Numbers 15:37-39 and Deuteronomy 22:12.

• There was nothing necessarily showy in wearing tassels; even Jesus may have worn such ornamentation (cf. 9:20; 14:36).

• The dimensions for these items were dictated by rabbinical rules; however, the Pharisees made their phylacteries extra wide, and their tassels long, so as to flaunt their holiness.

• Such outward displays are not true barometers of the depth of one’s religious devotion.

• Jesus made it clear that there was a public show every time these religious leaders did something. In other passages Jesus tells us that even when they prayed, they made a public show of it.

• SLIDE #5

• Matthew 6:1-7 (ESV) 1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.