Bob Woodward Carl Bernstein won the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Watergate scandal back in 1973. The New York Times calls Bob Woodward the most famous investigative reporter in America. And as an investigative reporter, the one thing Bob Woodward is above all else, he is a trained skeptic. Most journalist would agree that in this day and age, you need to be a skeptic because everybody is faking it in one way or another. They say, “never take anything at face value. Everybody is insincere and just out to get something for themselves.
But when the famed Bob Woodward was recently asked about President George Bush’s religious conviction and what role it plays in his presidency, Bob Woodward said, "it’s sincere and genuine…he exudes an earthy sincerity that extends to his religious beliefs. I accept it at face value." It seems that the genuineness of Bush’s faith had disarmed the skepticism and caused even the best trained investigative reporter to accept it at "face value."
Now how about your faith? Does your life exhibit that genuineness, that sincerity where no one doubts your motives. What would happen if an investigative reporter were to examine your faith. Would he find it to be genuine and true or would he identify you as a fraud?
Often times, the sincerity of our faith is questioned. Why is that? It is partly to blame because of the fact that there have been so many who have used the guise of the Christian faith to push there own agenda. Politicians will get religion when they’re trying to get your vote. Or somebody pretends to be a Christian to get a date, or to make a business deal. You might remember the scene from the movie “Blue Chips” where Nick Nolte plays a college coach trying to recruit some players, and each time he went to visit a player, he took on that person’s faith. When he was in Indiana trying to recruit, he was an American Baptist, when he went to Louisiana, he became Pentecostal, all to get what he wanted.
Sometimes its someone who preaches not to advance the kingdom of Christ, but rather to advance the size their own pocketbook. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” And when people see those who peddle the Christian faith for their own gains, they automatically lump all Christians together and thus meet everything we say with skepticism and can you truly blame them? Others may use the Christian faith as a way out of trouble. The other day our oldest girl Clarissa broke a rule in our house and for her discipline she was going to be put in time out without her infamous pillow buddy. She immediately started to cry out, “I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Now do you think she was really repenting of her misdeed or simply trying to fool me into thinking she was to avoid the discipline. And it’s not simply little girls who do this. We see it all the time.
When people are in trouble, they get religious. When a president gets caught in a lie, he comes out and says he’s sorry and that he has repented of his sin and its now between him, his family and his God…but this is only after months and months of denial and only comes when evidence is found that refutes his story.
Mike Royko wrote that most spiritual transformations often happen while people are awaiting sentence or seeking parole. He said, “Theologians might consider studying the relationship between loving God and fearing a judge." And he then adds, “When the going gets tough, the tough get religion."
Another reason why people tend to doubt the sincerity of many Christians is because of the hypocritical lifestyle many Christians tend to live. We spoke about this this past week, and its sad when the church acts holy come Sunday morning, yet returns back to the normal way of life come Monday through Saturday. It hurts the church when those who profess to be a Christian neither follow Christ nor do they hold to His teachings. The apostle Paul told Titus about such people in Titus 1:16 when he said, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” I know of a few Preachers who match that verse.
Perhaps the most popular musical act out there right now is Britney Spears. In an interview with Teen People published in February 2000, Britney Spears said, "I’m a Christian, I go to church." Yet E! Online on Jan 25 of last year reported that the then 19-year-old princess freaked out prior to her performance at the "Rock in Rio festival." Unaware that her microphone was on, she asked who dropped the "blankity-blank-bomb" back stage and was caught on tape.
At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears wore a see through body suit that left very little to the imagination. Yet she claims to be a Christian. Nadya Labi, in a feature article for Time magazine in the February 5, 2001 issue wrote: "And while continuing to promote her wholesome attitudes, she is enticing a legion of young fans into a world that is anything but G-rated."
Now does it bother you when someone is insincere. Whether it’s a young blonde headed playgirl who marries a 95 year old billionaire and says it’s out of love and not for money, or when a person comes to church for the sole purpose of trying to make a business deal it bothers us when people are insincere. And if it bothers us this much, imagine how it must make God feel, when we are insincere in our dealings with Him.
The ancient Greeks and Romans made fine porcelain vases that were very expensive. Sometimes, when a vase was heated in the furnace, it would crack,. Dishonest merchants would often pour pearly white wax over the cracks, which would hide the flaws unless the vase were held up to the sunlight. Honest merchants would advertise their porcelain as “sinacera”-without wax-no cracks and no covering up of flaws. When sincerity flows from our lives, there is no deception. There’s no embellishing the truth for our own advantage.
As a Christian, our attitude toward God and others should be marked by sincerity, integrity and honesty. When we say or do something, no one should doubt our intentions. Our life should be one that is characterized by sincerity. Our life should match our words.
Now this morning I want us to take a look at a parable of Christ dealing with sincerity in our prayers, and as we do I want us to apply this to our spiritual life and I want us to pull from this some applications on how to develop this since of sincerity.
Let’s start by looking at the insincerity of the Pharisee’s prayer, then we’ll look at the sincere prayer of the tax collector and take from these two prayers some application to apply to our lives. Luke 18:9-12, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
Now the first thing I want you to see is the motive behind the Pharisee’s prayer. Now prayer is meant to be a conversation between you and God. When we go to our Lord in prayer, we do so because we want to communicate with God, to share our burdens to give thanks and give glory to God…but this Pharisee wasn’t concerned about God, he was only concerned about himself. His goal was to exalt his already inflated ego. He was convinced in his own righteousness, and he bragged to God about that. In fact our text says that he prayed about himself, but some translations have it as saying, “He prayed to himself.”
There was a little boy who was kneeling by his bed with his mom to say his nighttime prayers. He began to shout to the top of his lungs, “Dear God, I’ve been real good this year so please let me get a new bicycle for my birthday.” His mom said, “Son, God’s not deaf; you don’t need to yell.” He said, “God’s not deaf, but Grandma is and she’s in the next room.”
Prayer should never be about exalting yourself or about impressing others. It should never be about belittling someone else or even comparing yourself to others. Prayer should be a conversation between you and God. It’s not about who can pray the longest or have the most eloquent prayer, but its about who is sincere.
So often we tend to do things for the wrong reason. We pray only to be heard by others. We give to the church, not because we’re cheerful givers, but because it’s a tax break. I’m always amazed that when a person wants to make a contribution to some charity, they always have to call a press conference. Often times, when pride and self-glorification come to the forefront, it’s often sincerity and integrity that get trampled upon.
Phil Donahue tells of the time that he was a young television reporter, and was sent out to cover a mine disaster. It was late at night, and there was frost on the ground, the temperature below freezing. The rescue team was down in the mine. The relatives were gathered at the opening of the mine, hoping for some word of hope.
Someone began to sing, "What a friend we have in Jesus." Then other people joined in, "All our sins and grief to bear." Finally everyone, all the relatives and friends joined in, "What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer."
Then it was quiet. A minister stepped out of the crowd, and said, "Let us pray." He prayed very briefly, but very eloquently, for the people gathered there, and for the safety of the miners. Donahue said that it was such a moving moment, that he got goose bumps. The only problem, he said, was that the camera had frozen because of the below freezing temperature. He rubbed it against his coat with his gloved hands, until it began to work again. He went to the minister, and asked, "Would you please repeat that prayer?" The minister said, "No."
Donahue said, "I’m a TV reporter. I represent 200 stations. Millions of people will see you. Millions of people will hear that prayer." The minister said, "No." Donahue persisted. "You don’t seem to understand. I’m from CBS. The whole nation will see this. The country preacher said, "No," and turned around and walked away. Donahue was dumbfounded. He had never encountered anything like this before. He couldn’t understand it. He wrote in his autobiography that, a year later, it finally hit him. He realized that he was witnessing something called integrity. He said, "The man wouldn’t showbiz for Jesus. He wouldn’t sell his soul for TV. Not even for national TV. Not even for CBS." Would you have done the same? Or would you have taken the chance to be on television?
Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” That’s sincerity. When the prayer isn’t for the camera’s and its not for the show, but when it’s an honest attempt to reach the heart of God.
Friend, God cannot be mocked. He knows your motive, He knows if you are sincere or not. When we prayed earlier, was your prayer sincere? Or did you simply just close your eyes and think of something else. Did you talk to God, or did you mumble something to yourself. You can pray the most eloquently prayer, say all the right words, but if your motive is not to reach the heart of God, then your prayer will not get passed the ceiling.
And this goes not only with our prayers, but with every aspect of our Christian life. God knows why you do what you do. You can put on the best exterior, and you can fool some of the best, you can even fool the preacher and it may get you far, but God knows not only what you do but He knows why you do it.
Warren Wiersbe in his book, “On Being a Servant” said, “If our motive for serving is anything other than the glory of God, what we do will only be religious activity and not true Christian ministry. A counterfeit bill can do a great deal of good when it passes hand to hand, but when it hits the bank, the final place of judgment, it will be rejected.” God knows if you are authentic or not in your prayers, in your giving, and in your worship. Worship…how sincere is our worship. That’s a good question isn’t it.
Let me ask you, what is your motive for being here this morning. Did you come to church to worship God, or did you come to see what so and so was wearing. Did you come to hear the word preached and to be made into a better disciple, or did you come so that others would see you and say how good of a person you are. You know, eventually the insincerity shows through. I wish you could see what I see from up here. And if I can see it, than surely others can see it as well. They can see if you truly care and if you truly love the Lord.
I came across this letter that a young girl wrote to a friend of hers who said she was a Christian. It really hit me about how the service must look to those who are not Christians, and how they can sense the insincerity of some of its members.
It reads, “I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me, you were not there. I looked for you, hoping to sit with you. I sat alone. A stranger, I wanted to sit near the back of the church but those rows were all packed with regular attendees. An usher took me to the front. I felt as though I was on parade.
During the singing of the hymns I was surprised to note that some of the church people weren’t singing. Between their sighs and yawns, they just stared into space. Three of the kids that I had respected on campus were whispering to one another throughout the whole service. Another girl was giggling. I really didn’t expect that in your church. The pastor’s sermon was very interesting, although some members of the choir didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. One kept smiling at someone in the congregation. There were several people who left and then came back during the sermon. I thought, "How rude!" I could hear the constant shuffling of feet and doors opening and closing.
The pastor spoke about the reality of faith. The message got to me and I made up my mind to speak to someone about it after the service. But utter chaos reigned after the benediction. I said good morning to one couple, but their response was less than cordial. I looked for some teens with whom I could discuss the sermon, but they were all huddled in a corner talking about the newest music group.
My parents don’t go to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a place to truly worship and feel some love. I’m sorry, but I didn’t find it in your church. I won’t be back.” When you’re insincere it shows. People notice, and above all God notices and He is not fooled.
In your worship, in how you carry yourself, in your prayers, and your relationships with others, you be sincere. You be authentic. You be real. Look at the tax collector. When he prayed, he was sincere. He didn’t brag about himself, he didn’t pretend to be somebody he wasn’t he simply prayed. Luke 18:13 says, “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It wasn’t a pretty flashy prayer, but it was sincere.
How sincere are you this morning? If Bob Woodward was asked to investigate your faith, would he accept it at face value or would it be met with skepticism and would he have reason to? This morning I invite you to commit your heart to Christ to make your faith sincere.
