TEXT: Acts 5:1-11; Ephesians 2:1-10
TITLE: Removing the Mask in Church
SERIES: Identity Part 1
TOPIC: Genuine Christianity
OCCASION: Burnside Christian October 26, 2008
PROP.: Let’s take off our masks with one another and be real as together we figure life out.
INTRODUCTION: Good morning! Today we begin a new sermon series. The name of this sermon series is simply called: IDENTITY.
Two questions we will hit hard this month are:
1. Who am I?
2. Who am I created to be?
Do you struggle to be the same person on Sunday morning that you are during the rest of your week? Does it drive you nuts that you are you different when you walk into this place and then out “there” you are someone else?
Halloween will be approaching this weekend. A time where kids will travel with parents around neighborhoods dressed in costume and masks for the sole purpose of candy.
(Some have speculated that the origins of Halloween are satanic. I did my own research and have found that the origins are not satanic at all. In fact, the origins may surprise you. Halloween was first invented by a dentist. A pretty profitable holiday if you ask me!!!)
Many of us have grown too old to travel door to door asking for candy. But we have never outgrown the need for wearing masks. Oh, your mask may not be visible or physical. But it’s there. And the question of: “Who are you? I mean…who are you REALLY?” has you totally frustrated and confused. I believe many are struggling to be the same person on Sunday morning that they are during the rest of the week. And so wearing their mask has them totally content.
There are only two purposes of wearing a mask:
1. To change your identity. At Church, you look like a Christian. Around non-Christians, you blend in just fine. and so you wear a mask to ‘fit in’. And like a chameleon, you secure your mask in place because you want to blend in to your surroundings.
2. To hide your identity. You don’t want people to see the ‘real’ you. So you put on a mask as a way of hiding who you REALLY are.
Let me tell you two truths about the masks you wear:
1. None of the masks I wear are remotely close to who I am!
2. None of the masks I wear are remotely close to who God created me to be!
Our text is found Acts 5:1-11
In our text today, you are going to meet two people who wore masks to become something that they weren’t.
Let’s read the familiar story of Ananias & Sapphira.
Acts 5:1-11
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said, "that is the price."
9Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
Scripture is so wonderful isn’t it? So meaningful! So practical! I believe that scripture has one meaning…but that it has several applications. Today, we are going to apply this familiar story so that it will help us be willing to remove the masks that you and I occasionally wear.
Do you see what happened? Ananias and his wife Sapphira were wearing masks. They wanted everyone to see what they wanted them to see. And the problem was, Peter saw through their mask.
Are you here this morning wearing a mask? I want you to remove the mask. Be real. Be YOU!
But you’re saying, “I can’t take off my mask. What will people think about me if they knew what I was really like?”
T.S. Let me give you some facts about yourself that might make removing the mask a little easier.
Fact #1:
I. You are not perfect!
And further more, you never will be perfect! I know this comes as a shock to you.
A. Sin is UGLY
--Sin is ugly and embarrassing. Sin is the blemish that we don’t want to face! Sin is the stain on our new shirt that we are we trying to cover over! We don’t want anyone else to see it! So what do we do? We hide it!
B. We are all sinners
Oh if someone just would have shared this thought with Ananias and his wife Sapphira, their story would have had a much different ending!
--trying to mask the ugliness of sin
Ananias and Sapphira were not perfect. So Ananias and Sapphira over compensated. They did something so generous and wonderful that they were hoping to get recognition and praise. And so they had this scam that would still leave them some money but also make them appear holy in the eyes of everyone at church.
Sin is UGLY. And because it is so ugly, many of us try to hide it. We need to know that we are not perfect people!
I think we know this in our head. But do we know it in our heart? Christians across America still have this strange idea that when we walk through the door on Sunday morning we better have it all together! Your hair better be spiffed and gelled. Your clothes better look presentable. Your kids better not make a peep. You better have a smile on your face! And for goodness sakes - You better not come forward at invitation time because then people just might know that you AREN’T perfect!!!!
ILLUSTRATION: Mark Yaconelli in his book Messy Spirituality has this to say:
“For a period of time we were lucky to have a house keeper. She would come in once a week to dust, vacuum, and clean every little out of the way corner of our house. I dreaded the day she came, because my wife and I would spend all morning cleaning the house for the housekeeper! We didn’t want the house to be dirty or what would the housekeeper think?? He continues to write:
We act the same way with God. We talk our way out of the spiritual life by refusing to come to God as we are. Instead, we decide to wait until we are ready to come to God as we aren’t. We decide that the way we lived yesterday, last week, or last year makes us ‘damaged goods’ and that until we start ‘living right’ we’re not really the kind of material that God is looking for. Some of us actually believe that until we choose the correct way to live, we aren’t chooseable, that until we clean up the mess, Jesus won’t have anything to do with us. The opposite is true.
Until we admit we are a mess, Jesus won’t have anything to do with us. Once we admit how unlovely we are, how unattractive we are, how lost we are, Jesus shows up unexpectedly. According to the New Testament, Jesus is attracted to the unattractive. He prefers the lost ones over the found ones, the losers over the winners, the broken instead of the whole, the messy instead of the un-messy, the crippled instead of the non-crippled.
Isn’t this what Jesus Himself taught? “It is the sick that need a doctor; not the healthy.”
It’s time we put to practice -
1st John 1:8-10
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
You may not say with your mouth that you are not a sinner…but with your actions and attitudes.
YOU ARE NOT PERFECT! Take off the mask!
Fact #2:
II. You do not have all the answers!
It’s ok to admit you need help! It’s ok to not have it “all together”.
Listen to what Proverbs says:
Proverbs 3:5,6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
A. LEAN ON GOD!
So when you’re struggling and life is tough; lean on your own strength. Lean on your own knowledge. Lean on pretending that everything is ok?
NO! LEAN ON THE LORD!
We just spent an entire month reminding you that God is BIG! And compared to the universe, compared to the things even in this world…I AM SMALL!
B. LEAN ON GOD’S PROVISIONS
God is the God who provides! When life seems to be coming unraveled, you need to get help. Help can come in various forms:
1. Family & Friends
2. Sunday school teacher
3. Youth minister
4. Elder
5. Counselor
6. Preacher
But your help should ALWAYS be based on God’s word!
So take off the “I know it all…I have it all figured out…life is simple…I have it managed” mask and realize that you do not have all the answers…But here’s the encouraging thing: You know the one who does! You know the one who DOES have it all figured out!
Fact #3...
III. You aren’t like anyone else!
We want to wear a mask to fit in. So we have this idea about what a Christian is supposed to look like and we put on the ‘CHRISTIAN MASK”. Listen, you are unique!
Let me ask you:
What motivated Ananias and Sapphira to come up with this scheme?
For the answer, you need to flip back to the end of Acts 4:32 - 37
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
A. the Barnabas effect…
Barnabas has just sold some land, and gave all the money from the land to the church.
They saw how much praise and attention Barnabas was receiving…and they wanted what he was getting!!! So they invented this scheme to look like Barnabas.
The problem was: they weren’t Barnabas! And no matter how hard they tried, they were never going to be Barnabas.
B. The danger of imitation
There comes a real danger in imitating someone’s actions when you haven’t imitated Jesus’ heart. You get counterfeit Christianity. You go through the motions without really ‘meaning’ it.
Jesus had plenty to say about those who were ‘acting’.
Matthew 6 Jesus is preaching his famous sermon on the side of a mountain. He gives a warning to those who are just going through the actions trying to be like everyone else…he calls them HYPOCRITES.
The word HYPOCRITE appears 17 times in the New Testament. All 17 times it used by Jesus.
In Matthew 6:2, Jesus warns against giving just to be seen by everyone
In Matthew 6:5, Jesus warns against praying just to be seen by men
And In Matthew 6:16, Jesus warns against fasting for the attention of everyone else.
Jesus makes it plain that those who just go through the motions of being holy just to be recognized by men have all ready received their reward…IN FULL!
Have you ever tried to imitate the spiritual actions of someone else? How’d that work out for you?
ILLUSTRATION: I like what Mr. Reese has to say in his Commentary on Acts: He says, “Hypocrisy is ‘play acting’. Hypocrisy consists in attempting to imitate the people of God, or to assume the appearance of being religious - without actually surrendering wholly to the will of God.
REALIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE…SO STOP TRYING TO BE! We are all at different spiritual levels. Some are more mature than others. If you’re not as far along in your faith as someone else, that’s ok. Faith takes time to grow! Take off the mask and be you! And to those who are more spiritually mature, you need to give grace to those who may not be as far along as you are!
Fact #4:
IV. You are an unfinished product!
Take off your mask. It’s ok. We know God’s not finished making you into the person He wants you to be.
If we were to conduct one on one interviews with everyone present here today and I was to ask you this question:
Are you satisfied with your spiritual life?
(in other words, “are you satisfied with where you’re at today in regards to spiritual growth?”
I have a sneaking suspicion that the massive majority would say “nope.”
And that’s ok. Because you understand that becoming Christ-like is a never-ending journey! So, go on…take it off. The mask you’re wearing. Show us how far you‘ve come. But show us how far you have to go. Show us the real you!
You are a masterpiece in the making!
The Bible has much to say about being ‘unfinished’.
Philippians 1:6 Paul writes:
6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
You’re not done yet. You’re not quite baked all the way through…you’re still gooey in the middle. But give it some time. You’ll become who He made you to be.
Philippians 3:12
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
No matter how much we’ve grown, we still need to grow more. No matter how mature we are, we never stop maturing. And no matter how unspiritual we are, as long as we want to grow more, Jesus will show up in the life of even the messiest of disciples!
(ILLUSTRATION: I want to end with a story that Mark Yaconelli shares in his book, “messy spirituality”
Every month, the youth group at river road church visited the Holcomb Manor, a local nursing home, to hold church services for the residents. Daryl, a reluctant youth group volunteer, did not like nursing homes. For a long time, he avoided the monthly services. But when a flu epidemic depleted the group of sponsors, Daryl agreed to help with the next month’s service, as long as he did not have to be part of the program.
During the service, Daryl felt awkward and out of place. He leaned against the back wall, between two residents in wheelchairs. Just as the service finished and Daryl was thinking about a quick exit, someone grabbed his hand. Startled, he looked down and saw a very old, frail and obviously lonely man in a wheelchair. What could Daryl do but hold the man’s hand? The man’s mouth hung open, and his face held no expression. Daryl doubted whether he could hear or see anything.
As everyone began to leave, Daryl realized he didn’t want to leave the old man. Daryl had been left too many times in his own life. Caught somewhat off-guard by his feelings, Daryl leaned over and whispered, “I’m…uh…sorry, I have to leave, but I’ll be back. I promise.” Without warning the man squeezed Daryl’s hand and then let go. As Daryl’s eyes filled with tears he grabbed his stuff and started to leave. Inexplicably, he heard himself say to the old man, “I love you,” and he thought, Where did THAT come from? What the matter with me?
Daryl returned the next month and the month after that. Each time, it was the same. Daryl would stand in the back, Oliver would grab his hand, Daryl would say he had to leave, Oliver would squeeze his hand, and Daryl would say softly, “I love you, Mr. Leak.” As the months went on, about a week before the nursing home service, Daryl would find himself looking forward to visiting his aged friend.
On Daryl’s 6th visit, the service started but Oliver still hadn’t been wheeled out. Daryl didn’t feel too concerned at first, because it often took the nurses a long time to wheel everyone out. But halfway into the service, Daryl became alarmed. He went to the head nurse. “Um, I don’t see Mr. Leak here today. Is he okay?” The nurse asked Daryl to follow her and led him to room 27.
Oliver lay in his bed, his eyes closed, his breathing un-even and labored. At forty years of age, Daryl had never seen someone dying, but he knew that Oliver was near death. Slowly he walked to the side of the bed and grabbed Oliver’s hand. When Oliver didn’t respond, tears filled Daryl’s eyes. He knew he might never see Oliver again. He had so much he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. He stayed with Oliver for about an hour, then the youth director gently interrupted to say they were leaving.
Daryl stood and squeezed Mr. Leak’s hand for the last time. “I’m sorry, Oliver, I have to go. I love you.” As he unclasped his hand, he felt a squeeze. Mr. Leak had responded! He had squeezed Daryl’s hand! The tears were unstoppable now, and Daryl stumbled toward the door, trying to regain his composure.
A young woman was standing at the door, and Daryl almost bumped into her. “I’m sorry” he said, “I didn’t see you.”
“It’s all right, I’ve been waiting to see you. I’m Oliver’s granddaughter. He’s dying you know.” She said.
“Yes, I know”
“I wanted to meet you,” she said, “When the doctors said he was dying I came immediately. We have always been very close. They said he couldn’t talk, but he’s been talking to me. Not much, but I know what he is saying. Last night he woke up. His eyes were bright and alert. He looked straight into my eyes and said, “Please say goodbye to Jesus for me.’ and he laid back down and closed his eyes.
“he caught me off guard, and as soon as I gathered my composure, I whispered to him, ‘Grandpa, I don’t need to say goodbye to Jesus; you’re going to be with him soon, and you can tell him hello.”
Grandpa struggled to open his eyes again. This time his face lit up with a smile, and he said as clearly as Im talking to you, ‘I know, but Jesus comes to see me every month, and he might not know I’ve gone.’ He closed his eyes and hasn’t spoken since.
“I told the nurse what he’s said, and she told me about you, coming every month, holding grandpa’s hand. I wanted to thank you for him, for me…and well, I never thought of Jesus as being as chubby and bald as you, but I imagine that Jesus is very glad to have had you be mistaken for him. I know grandpa is. Thank you.”
Oliver Leak died peacefully the next morning. If a reluctant follower like Daryl can be mistaken for Jesus, maybe you and I can too.)
CONCLUSION: So I want to ask you again this morning? Who are you? Who has God created you to be? We come now to our time of decision. Won’t you decide today to remove the mask and be real?
