NLBRA 10/2/11 …. Who Are You When You Think God Aint Looking
Over the years country music sure has changed a lot. Todays country music is more of a pop country. Not like it used to be when some of us where growing up. I guess things have to change with the times. But the one thing that we can agree on is that country music tells stories. Some of them good and some not so good. They've got a lot of life lessons in them. A lot of reality in the world. A lot of been there done that stuff in them. From theres a tear in my beer, to momma got ran over by a train, Amarillo by morning, Crazy Girl, to chicken fried, to who's cheat'n who, who's being true, and who don't even care anymore. And the list could go on and on. But there is a song recently that has been stuck on my mind because of a few words in the lyrics. I guess it has been out within the last year or so, but the words go like this...No I aint going to try and sing it for, cause I don't want ya'll to get up and leave, but it goes like this My, oh, my, you're so good looking
Hold yourself together like a pair of bookends
But I've not tasted all your cooking
Who are you when I'm not looking
Can you guess what few words really got my attention? Who are you when I'm not looking?
Have you ever wondered who your spouse, child, parents,your best friend really are when nobody is looking?
What kind of person are you when you think nobody is looking? Are you the same in a crowded room as you are when you think nobody is looking? Or do you have a coat of many colors?
When no one is looking, do you kick the tire on the tractor, throw the dust broom, spit and cuss, do you watch things you shouldn't, do lust after someone else?
Who are you when no one's looking?... Hmmm a question we should all ask ourselves. And be honest, does it make you proud or ashamed?
But folks I am here to tell you that, no matter where you are or what you are doing there is always somebody looking. You can be out in the back forty, or hiding in an underground storm shelter. But know this friends, He is always looking...and that He is God.
Most of our parents and many of us now raise our kids with the understanding that God knows and sees everything. Many times that phrase is used to scare us into doing what is right and behaving. But I am telling you the Bible tells us that He really does see and know everything. You can't hide from God.
I've tried it. It don't work.
OPENING PRAYER........................
The Bible clearly says so in Psalm 33:13-15 it says:
“The Lord watches from Heaven; He sees all people. From the place where He lives He looks carefully at all the earth's inhabitants. He is the one who forms every human heart, and takes note of all their actions.”
So now the question is... “Who are you when you think God aint looking?”
Do you put a little something on the rocks, slide down the hall way in your socks. Do you break things when you get mad, eat a box of chocolates cause you feel sad? Who are you when you think God aint looking?
The first part of vs13 and the last of vs 15 say The Lord watches from heaven and he takes notes of all our actions.
Wow he really does see and know everything.
As a kid growing up you wanna be just like mom and dad. You act like them, talk like them, do the things they do. You watch their every move.
As a parent we want the best for our kids, we want them kept safe, make sure they are doing the right thing. We watch their every move.
God is the same way with us. He wants the best for us, He wants to know we are doing the right things. He watches our every move.
There are a couple of things we can do to make sure that we don't have to worry about who we are when we think God aint looking.
Proverbs 27:19 says ' As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.”
Our heart is our biggest problem. That thing is so full of deceit and pride and envy and lust and greed that it has ruined many a good men. Just like the Proverb says your heart will reflect who you are. Are you a man or woman of God with honor, respect, and loyalty? Or are you a prideful and selfish person? Are you ashamed of what your heart reflects? Does it bother you when I ask you “Who are you when you think God aint looking?”
If it does then it maybe time for a heart transplant for ya!
Jeremiah 17:9 says “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it.”
David prayed in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a stead fast spirit within me.
David prayed exactly what we all need to pray. What he meant here was not just clean my heart O God, But give me a new heart. He wanted a heart transplant.
And let me tell you the doctors can give you someone else heart to keep you alive for a few more years, but only God can give you a new heart that can give you an eternal life.
And that my friends is what we need a new heart, one that will replace the hopelessness, desperateness, and shamefulness that we are born with. David didn't want his diseased heart fixed, he wanted a clean new one!
When we get that heart transplant like the one David is talking about, then we will not have to worry about...
Who are you when you think God aint looking......
And when your heart is right then it's time to get your mind right. The second most corrupt part of our body is our mind.
And as long as our minds control our lives we will always be on the losing end of the gun.
Ya'll remember the movie My heroes have always been cowboys? With Scott Glenn who plays HD. HD was an old rodeo cowboy that returns home to mend a relationship with his dad and ex girlfriend. And when he returns home he finds his dad locked up in an old folks home. So he busts him out of there and takes him back to the ranch. Then he has to start rodeo’n again and compete in a big rodeo to win enough money to support his dad. And he has a nagging sister and brother in law that try and trip him up the whole way. Now his ex has a son that wants to be like HD. He wants to be a bull riding cowboy. The kid has an earring and is dipping snuff. And old HD tells him that he needs to get his mind right if he wants to be the best.
Friends that is what God is telling us. We need to get our minds right to be the best. To not have to worry about who we are when we think God aint looking. You've got to renew your mind. You've got to turn away from your way of thinking and turn to Gods way of thinking.
Colossians 3:2 says:
And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.
In today’s times it is so easy for us to get distracted. Because our hearts and our minds are not always where they need to be. They're set on earthly things and not God. We have too much selfishness and pride to give it all to God. We like to think we are still in control. That’s why when asked Who are you when you think God aint looking, makes some of us a little uneasy.
But there really is way we can feel good when asked that. A way we don't have to be ashamed of. We don't have to worry about trying to hide anything.
Matthew 22:37
Jesus replied:“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Friends it all starts with a heart transplant that only God can give, not one from a doctor, and a mind change, you've got to change your old way of thinking and get your mind right. Then you can really love God and give all of yourself to Him. Your heart and your soul and your mind. When you do that you'll never worry anymore about “Who you are when you think God aint looking.”
Closing Prayer:
