The Transparent Life Mountain Life Church/Life Pack/June 15, 2014
The Transparent Life Sermon Notes June 15, 2014 I. First of All... (Luke 12: 1-3) A. The difference Jesus desires in His disciples 1. He yearns for pure hearts 2. Jesus disciples are to be transparent people a. What you see is what you get b. No dark secrets B. The scary truth 1. Secrets will be made known 2. I must chose humility or be humiliated C. Hiding from God 1. When I hide from God, I also hide from people 2. What I do not acknowledge to men, I try to hide from God D. Exposure 1. Sin that I expose to light will lose its power 2. Sin that I hide will metastasize II. Confess Your Sins (James 5:16) A. The healing power of confession 1. The involvement of prayer 2. Healing comes through transparency B. Friends that live transparent lives 1. Confession is not required before all of the church 2. Confession must happen with those you trust 3. This requires relationships that are intimate Quotes about Hypocrisy Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it s someone else s witch being hunted. Walter Kirn Godliness is more easily feigned in words than in actions. Jonathan Edwards Hypocrisy is a tribute that vice pays to virtue. François de La Rochefoucauld It s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Noël Coward One thing you can t hide is when you re crippled inside. John Lennon The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons. Ralph Waldo Emerson The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available. Theodor W. Adorno When one s unconscious is full of vice, nothing realizes inner potential like hypocrisy. Bauvard Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy. Warren W. Wiersbe For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit. Noam Chomsky, 2 19
Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves? by Oswald Chambers If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death 1 John 5:16 If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says,... he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. Be careful that you don t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself. III.The Father of Light (James 1: 17-18) A. Every good gift 1. The nature of God a. Giving b. Pure c. Unselfish d. Loving e. A father s heart 2. He has no hypocrisy B. The first fruits of creation 1. We are God s masterpiece 2. He yearns for us to share His character 3. Character and transparent community One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, life for those who commit sin not leading to death. It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede. Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors. 18 3
Life Group Questions for June 15, 2014 Message = The Transparent Life Ice Breaker: Tell about your favorite ice cream. Read Luke 12: 1-3. 1. What sticks out to you about this passage? 2. What is it about the crowds around Jesus and His disciples that spawns Him to warn the disciples about hypocrisy? 3. What is the significance of the statement, First of all...? 4. Does Jesus seem to imply that all my secrets will be made known to the public? How does that make you feel? Read James 5: 16. 5. James wants us to confess our sins to one another. Verbally paint a picture of what you think that means to you? 6. Do you have friends in your life that you can be completely transparent with in regard to your private sins? Please explain. Read James 1: 17-18. 7. Tell how this passage speaks to you. 8. In your own words, describe God s character as painted by James words. 9. Has God shown Himself to you to be as James portrays Him to be? 10. Pray for one another. IV.And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors A. Acknowledge my sin and thank God for forgiving me through Jesus sacrifice on the cross B. Forgive and release others for their sins against me 1. Acknowledge that someone sinned against me and hurt me 2. Give the memory of the violation to God 3. Cut them loose from all debt they owe me 4. Acknowledge that bitterness has NO HOLD on me 5. Lavish love on them and pray for God to bless them V. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil A. Put on the whole armor of God (Put on the Lord Jesus Christ) 1. The belt of truth (Mentally accept God s truth over lies I have been hearing) 2. Breastplate of righteousness (Thank Jesus for giving me His righteousness which enables me to boldly enter His presence) 3. Shoes of preparation (readiness) of the Gospel of peace (Take time to digest the scriptures - committing them to memory) 4. Shield of faith (Step out on God s truth for my situation) 5. Helmet of salvation (Thank God that He has saved me and remember that I am different than the world. Satan has no power over me except the power I give him by believing lies.) 6. Sword of the Spirit (Apply the Word to the lies I hear, and the situations I find myself in today.) B. Run to the Lord for protection (You are my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust!) 1. I set my mind on things above, not on things of the earth 2. God has set His love upon me 3. He knows my name and will never leave me or forsake me VI.For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever A. Make your faith declarations B. Return to praise 4 This outline inspired by Henry Blackaby & Larry Lea 17
Prayer Guide I. Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name A. Picture Calvary and thank God you can call Him Father by virtue of the blood of Jesus B. Hallow (lift Him above everything in your life) the names of God corresponding with the five benefits in the New Covenant and make your faith declarations Benefit Sanctify Spirit Soundness Success Security Name Jehovah-Tsidkenu Jehovah-M Kaddesh Jehovah-Shalom Jehovah-Shammah Jehovah-Rophe Jehovah-Jireh Jehovah-Nissi Jehovah-Rohi Meaning Jehovah our righteousness Jehovah who sanctifies Jehovah is peace Jehovah is there Jehovah heals Jehovah provides Jehovah my banner Jehovah my shepherd Personal Devotion Pages The following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom. LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God. BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol: INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol: II. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done (God, what are you doing? How can I (others) get in on what You are doing?) A. Myself Give me awareness of how to meet others needs today I choose to take the initiative to love others B. My family (spouse, children, other family members) C. My church (pastor, other leadership, faithfulness of people, the harvest) D. My nation (city, state, and national political and spiritual leaders, the harvest) III.Give us this day our daily bread A. Believe that God desires to provide for me B. Be specific C. Be tenacious D. Talk openly about my worries and give them to Him E. Today s needs - Tomorrow will care for itself ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him. These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming. Enjoy! 16 This outline inspired by Henry Blackaby & Larry Lea 5
Day One 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Slowly read Luke 12: 1-3 3. This week, we will ask the Lord to bring us into a deeper level of community and love within the church. Ask God to show you your hidden life. Ask Him to show you people of trust that you can let into your hidden life. Memorize Luke 12: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into the meaning of this verse. Memorize Luke 12: 1-3. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into the meaning of this passage. Memorize Luke 12: 1-3, and James 1: 17-18. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into the meaning of these passages. Day Five Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. ~James 1: 17-18 The Message Because every desirable and beneficial gift comes down from our benevolent and nurturing Father of Light, we have no need to hide our true selves from Him. Hiding from Him keeps us from receiving His perfect gifts like healing, redemption, and salvation. Hiding from Him is manifested by hiding from others. When I don t want others to see my unvarnished self, I must admit that I don t want God to see it either. At the core of things, I really don t believe that He has a good gift for me. I ve believed the lie that my sin really is positive, healthy, and good for me. Hiding my sin from God, though silly and foolish, is something we all do because we are descendants of Adam and Eve. They believed the lie that God s word was not truly true and His character was not sterling. Satan convinced them that God was two faced and deceitful. He uses the same old ploy with us today and we bite hook, line, and sinker. Father, I stand before you naked with nothing to hide. I acknowledge my hypocrisy, my sin, and my hidden life. I ask You to lead me into human relationships that are transparent, healthy, holy, and redemptive. 6 15
Day Five 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Meditate on James 1: 17-18. 3. Ask the Lord to show you His deep, unchanging, loving character. Ask Him to show you how He has been this way in your life in the past. Day One Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and crushing each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees--beware of their hypocrisy. ~Luke 12:1, NLT The context of Jesus teaching in this passage is vital to understanding it. People are everywhere. The crowds have come to be with Jesus and for Him to minister to them. Jesus takes the time to make this a teachable moment. He gathers His disciples around Him and with His eye on the crowds, warns them against the addictive power of people pleasing. Crowds have that affect on most people. The crowds of Jesus s day had that affect on the Pharisees. The Pharisees enjoyed the favor of the people, even if their favor carried with it no respect. Crowds have that affect on the politicians of our day. Jesus knew, and still knows, that popularity is the drug of fashion for all cultures. But Jesus was no hipster. A careful study of His life shows Him unchanged by crowds. He would often say hard things to crowds in order to cull them. He would sometimes avoid crowds, and at other times, He even rebuked them. He was not mesmerized by the magnetic power of popularity. Jesus came to be Lord, not president. He came to save, not to be a celebrity. 4. Finish your Bible memorization today. More importantly, Jesus was the same person in front of a crowd as He was alone before His Father in Heaven. His character was not one way in front of people and another way when alone. At its core, hypocrisy is an addiction to people pleasing. It s putting lipstick on a pig and hoping everyone sees the lipstick rather than the pig in the background. Father, show me where I am a people pleaser. 14 7
Day Two 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Slowly and carefully read Luke 12: 1-3 again today. 3. Meditate on what impacts you about this passage. 4. Write down in this space the things you hide from others. 5. Continue memorizing and meditating on the scriptures for this week. Day Four Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. ~James 1: 17-18 The Message In these two small verses, we see something beautiful and desirable about God and something awesome about our identity as well. James defines God as absolutely transparent, unchanging, and lavishly kind. He never has one ounce of deceit in His dealings with us and He never wears a mask. He is never self serving, manipulative, or conniving in His purposes. He brought us into existence so that we could share His nature. That s why Jesus told His disciples, FIRST OF ALL, beware of...hypocrisy! Hypocrisy is absolutely antithetical to the nature of God and He yearns for us to think, act, and be motivated like our overtly kind Creator. Even His desire for us to be like Him is unselfish! He knows that the more we think, act, and love like He does, the more free and joyful we are. Take some time to allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light on all the hypocrisy in your life. Ask Him to empower you to be willing to let Him completely eradicate all darkness in your life. 8 13
Day Four 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Meditate on James 1: 17-18. 3. Take time to ask God for deep friendships that are transparent, gracious, and mutually encouraging. 4. Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. Day Two The time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! ~Luke 12:2, 3, NLT Have you ever had a nightmare come true? If you have, it s a dreadful experience. In this stunning narrative, Jesus promises that my hypocrisy will be found out. Those ugly secrets hidden deep down within will be found out. He says it with such surety and authority that the event seems guaranteed. So, without saying it in black and white, Jesus gives me two choices. I can acknowledge my sin openly to God and to those I ve sinned against, or I can wait for it to be exposed at some point. And it WILL BE exposed. My choice is humility or humiliation. One is driven by brokenness, the other is the reward of pride. I can respond with meekness to the Holy Spirit, or I can react with quiet stubbornness. Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. ~Psalm 138: 6 12 9
Day Three 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Meditate on James 5: 16. 3. Bring at least three friends or loved ones to the Lord and ask Him to bring them to repentance and faith. Ask Him to show you how you can boldly love them and speak the words of Jesus into their lives. 4. Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. Day Three Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. ~James 5: 16 James invites the people of the early church to be transparent with one another. In order to place this injunction in context, we must understand that their version of church and ours are quite different. When you and I think of confessing sin to others, we may have awkward visions of people standing before the congregation on Sunday morning and confessing lustful thoughts and selfish motives. That doesn t sound like a real aggressive model for church growth. The early church didn t have buildings. They didn t start having buildings until three hundred years after Jesus resurrection! The early church met in homes. The members of each church probably didn t surpass fifteen people. In these kinds of numbers, people became intimate friends and co-laborers in Kingdom ministry. Confessing sin with such a small number probably sits a little better with most of us today. Father, would you please give me a small group of friends who will be willing to be transparent with one another? Help me to walk in an honest way with those who are close in my life. 10 11