When I help a family with a funeral, I sit with family members and ask questions like, “How did your dad or mom impact your life?” Afterwards, I sometimes wonder, “What will my boys say about me someday? Will they say that they love Jesus more because of me? Or will they love Jesus less because of my example? I wonder if my family members actually see Christ in me. What will my legacy be? What will I leave behind?”
I’m guessing that I’m not alone in asking these questions.
Questions like these are especially haunting when we have blown it with others. Some of us may not have kids, but we still influence others at work, at school, in the community. We’ve all blown it with others… way too many times.
I’m discovering what I’m sure many of you have discovered. That we don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be real. But being real is difficult. Let me explain…
See the masks? We all wear them.
You’re on the way to church. In the car, you’re having a heated discussion with your spouse. Maybe you’re arguing about who made who late. Then, a greeter in the parking lot says “Hi.” And you’ve put on the mask.
We’ve all worn the mask at times. But, listen carefully. Pretenders create pretenders. Kids learn what they live.
The number one reason people give for not going to church is this: The church is full of hypocrites. Now, think about this: Lots of kids who grew up in church quit going once they are old enough to decide for themselves. Why? Could they be thinking: “My home is full of hypocrites who go to church, so I’m not going any more”?
One reason so many Christ-followers leave such a lousy legacy is because we wear masks. We need to learn to live with no masks.
God wants me to be the real deal. My family and friends need me to be authentic. This is needed especially in the home. If the way you follow Jesus is not working in home, it’s not working!
Next week, we’ll begin a new series called “Biggies.” The faith is under attack in our high schools, on our college campuses, and around the coffee bar at work. So, we are going to see that our faith can stand up to any attack. We’re going to answer three questions. 1. What about creation? 2. Did Jesus really rise from the dead? 3. Is the Bible really true? Bring a friend!
Today, we wrap up our Extreme Makeover series. We’ve described this extreme Makeover in several ways. You might call it a spiritual renewal. The Bible calls it a revival. God is looking for a revival of reality. No masks, especially in the home.
For this series, many of us have been reading a little book together called Calvary Road. Let me read just a few sentences… (pp. 68-69)
We’re going to learn something about a first century home where people lived without the masks. One of the great leaders of the first churches was Paul. And Paul mentored a young man named Timothy by writing to him. In the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy, he made some observations about Timothy’s family.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
II Timothy 1:5 (ESV)
Look at the verse. What was it that was sincere about Timothy’s mother and grandmother? Their faith! Notice the progression.
Lois had “sincere faith.” That’s the grandmother. The verse says that’s where it first started. Then, Eunice had “sincere faith.” That’s the mother. She passed the baton to Timothy. The verse says that “sincere faith” dwells in Timothy, too.
Sincere faith. Some versions translate it this way:
genuine faith (CEV)
honest faith (Msg)
true faith (NLV)
Sincere = anupokritos
In the original it’s a compound word. “An” – which means “not” – combined with hupocritos. The word “sincere” could be translated literally as “not hypocritical faith.”
The word is used in Romans 12:9. “Love must be sincere.” Clearly, God is interested in a sincerity, a reality, a freedom of hypocrisy in the lives of all Christians.
Don’t miss this simple point. Sincere faith – that non-hypocritical faith – first existed in the lives of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. They knew some things: “Who you are is more important than what you say.” They knew that genuine faith – sincere faith – is more “caught” than “taught.” And so their faith left a legacy in the soul of Timothy.
If we live genuinely – sincerely, with reality – before God and one another, then we will leave a good legacy.
Now, I know that some if you are here because you want some warm “fuzzies” on Mother’s Day. Billy Graham’s mother said about Mother’s Day that she didn’t want to be congratulated. She wanted it to be a day of soul-searching in her life so that she could gain a new awareness of what God had called her to be and do.
So, these three areas of authenticity that we will cover today might be challenging. They are not just for moms. They are for anyone who wants to leave a legacy.
I will be authentic…
… about my sin.
Did you know that admitting that you are wrong will actually give you more credibility, not less?
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
Proverbs 28:13 (NASB)
Interview with Brian…
I’ve called these the seven most powerful words in a relationship: “I was wrong. Will you forgive me?”
In his book, Calvary Road, Roy Hession says… (p. 75)
I will be authentic about my sin. No masks needed to cover my sin. That’s the way to leave a legacy.
... with my life.
We’re going to revisit some principles we’ve already learned in this series.
Last week, we talked about how we want to Holy Spirit to rest on us – to live His life through us. Why? We need His peace, patience, and power.
(Start the video clip now, please.)
What’s it going to take for us to really live this way in our homes? It will take an ongoing dialogue with God. It will take a life of prayer – day-by-day, moment-by-moment praying.
Real life praying
Father, search me.
Jesus, cleanse me.
Spirit, fill me.
Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done.
James 4:8b-9a (NLT)
Rick, why do you keep talking about this? It’s because I have this sense that not enough of us are praying this way as a way of life! This is the way to have a constant revival in your heart and in your home.
The people around us need to see real peace and real patience and real power in our lives. And the only way that’s going to happen is if we stay in constant contact with Jesus so His Spirit overflows through us to others.
I will be authentic with my life. No masks needed in my life. That’s the way to leave a legacy.
... in my worship.
God is looking for people who will worship Him with great delight. Our families will see it if we are faking it. And they will reject worship for themselves if all they see is a façade. God has always been looking for people who have an authentic passion for God.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV)
Do you love God that way – with all your heart and soul and strength? Or do you just go through the motions because you feel like you have to? Dawn Dickow is in our community group. God has taught her something about being authentic in her worship.
After I returned to Cleveland I began coming to CVCC. God had told me He was going to heal my marriage and my family and I was trying real hard to cooperate with His plan.
At a Sunday service, Rick talked about giving his wife roses. He said that if she asked him why he was giving the roses, he could say he was giving her the roses out of duty. He said, “That would not go over very well!” Or if she asked him why he was giving the roses, he could say he was giving her the roses out of love.
This message about the roses was really convicting me and I didn’t know why. Several months went by. Rick was still talking about the roses and I could not find any peace within me. I only knew that if I kept hearing the same thing over and over again I was to do something. The question was” What did God want me to do?”
The next time I heard Rick talk about the roses I was beside myself. When I was in my car I said “Father, what’s up with Rick and the roses?” I began to hear the words of my past coming out. I started to see that I had been complaining to God. I had told Him that the only reason I was in Cleveland and in my marriage and dealing with my family was out of duty to Him. I began to cry and ask forgiveness for my sin.
I had to get the Lord some flowers and just begin to praise and thank Him for being so good to me. So, I purchased some flowers and brought them to the prayer room at CVCC. When I took the flowers in to the prayer room, I said to God, “I give these because I love You. And I’m here in Cleveland because I love You. And I’ll do whatever You ask because I love You. Not because it’s my duty.”
God has been so good to me and has provided for every need. He has healed my marriage and is working on my family. But more then anything He is delivering me from my sin which is the cause of all the trouble in the first place. I spend my time helping others as God leads me. God wants up to show big love through the little things we do for Him and each other. My whole perspective on life is changing.
So, that’s what’s up with Rick and the roses.
She gets it. Do you?
I will be authentic in my worship. No masks needed as I worship. That’s the way to leave a legacy.
As I thought about this talk this week, I felt guilt. Why? I wear masks sometimes, just like you do. My faith isn’t always as genuine as I’d like for it to be. But there’s hope for people who want to take off the mask. I’m praying we will become more and more a church filled with people who don’t need the masks any more.
When taking off your mask…
… think grace, not guilt.
If you’ve not been authentic about your sin and you want to be, Jesus has made a way for you to think grace, not guilt. God is passionate about glorifying Himself by forgiving you. That’s the cause for the cross.
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)
God is interested in lifting you up, not pushing you down. Think grace, not guilt.
… think progress, not perfection.
If you’ve not been authentic with your life – if you haven’t been truly living out love and joy and peace – then fight the temptation to be discouraged. God wants you to think progress, not perfection.
I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize…
Philippians 3:13b-14a (CEV)
Don’t give up if you haven’t lived life right yet. Don’t quit. Keep on. Think progress, not perfection.
… think delight, not duty.
If you’ve not been authentic in our worship – if you have been trying to live for God just because you feel like you have to – then God wants you to know that there’s a better way.
Delight yourself in the LORD.
Psalm 37:4a (ESV)
There’s a way some people try to live for Christ that is joy-less. But don’t settle for that. Keep asking God for grace to help you live for Him in a way that is joy-ful!
* * *
In your worship guide, there are three boxes beside three commitments. I will be authentic about my sin. I will be authentic with my life. I will be authentic in my worship. It’s time for a reality check. Check the box beside the point where you feel the greatest need to grow. That’s you reality check. Will you make a point to pray about that?
A truth to take home: My authenticity in Christ comes before my legacy with others.
A verse to remember: Let love be genuine. (Romans 12:9a; ESV)
A question to consider: Am I really living the life that I want my family to live?
There’s a mom who has found herself yelling – yes, yelling – at one of her kids. She’s in the kitchen washing dishes. And her kids are just starting up a food fight. Now, she’s yelling at them. And the phone rings. And she found her voice changing as she painted on a smile. “Hello.” Her kids have this confused look on their faces because she’s put on the mask.
But this mom is growing in her faith. She’s told her kids, “You know, I was wrong when I yelled at you and then smiled on the phone. Will you forgive me?” And now she’s thinking, “I will be authentic in my worship. I will delight in the Lord as I wash these dishes and raise these kids. I’m doing it out of love.” She sees the food fight starting up again. And right at that moment when she feels herself starting to lose it, she says, “O Lord, search me, cleanse me, and fill me. Let Your peace and patience flow.”
And you know… she’s using those old masks less and less and less. That’s what God wants for me and that’s what God wants for you.
“O Lord, I will be authentic for You.” Will you pray that with me?
