Devo Day 18: Whitewashed Tombs
Have you ever been in a place where everything on the outside looked right but you knew something on the inside was missing?
Story:
My junior year in High School I was signed up to go to Youth Convention. SO they day came and it was time to load up and go. We had a big group and we were taking 3 15 passenger vans. I was riding in my youth pastors van. He got each van 2 boxes of Shipleys Kolaches as my van of teenage boys were digging in to the kolaches He said “hey guys save 2 for me. I have to run inside real quick.” We said okay and He was off. Now, there was a younger boy by the name of Sam, Sam liked to pick with people. In this moment he decided it would be a great idea to steal the meat out of the kolaches but put the bread back and make it look like nothing happened. Now we are on the road going and my youth pastor opens up the box an gets his kolache and took a huge bit and realized what was going on. Imagine the sheer disappointment.
The only way to ensure that we are being faithful from the inside out is to know Christ’s ways. When we know Gods ways we are able to walk in Him where ever we go. On the day of judgement we are told one of two things:
Well done my good and faithful servant
Depart from me for I never knew you.
In order to know his ways there has to be a vulnerable exchange between God and man.
Declare Him lord without drawing close to him might make us feel like we are on the right path but it will ultimately lead to separation from him.
Matt 7:23-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Transition Question: How can we ensure that we know Gods ways to make an eternal impact?
Big Idea: Eternal impact comes from relationship with Jesus
John 5:19-23 New Living Translation (NLT)
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him
Jesus knee that he could only do the fathers will if he was faithful to intimately know the Father. If we relegate our faith in God to right and wrongs we are no different than the world. We must make sure that our choices come out deep and passionate relationship with Jesus.
Transition Statement: When we only focus on right and wrong we can easily switch our focus from looking at God to being to consumed with ourselves.
The Pharisees get a bad wrap. We want to paint them as bad guys but ultimately they believed they were protecting Gods ways. But their motivation came from keeping up appearances not being transparent with God and it lead Jesus to say this:
Matt 23:25-28
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[i] and then the outside will become clean, too.
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
This is the same thing that happens when we replace relationship with Jesus with Subjective Moralism.
At Bethel we have a Vision statement that says: Moving from religion to relationship.
Now before anyone gets upset understand we arent calling all religion bad but dead religion is. In our lives we must make sure that we aren’t trying to go around relationship with Jesus by having a religious system in our lives that is based off of moralism(doing things recognized as good but are hollow). Moralism doesn’t have lasting fruit, it’s a hollow excuse for religion that leads to people following away from a real Jesus for fake reasoning.
Transition Question:
Have you traded eternal impact for external praise?
When we do what man calls good it’s moralism when we do what Jesus calls good it’s submission.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
When we begin to put the good deeds of man on a pedestal we the sacrifice what is good in Gods eyes for moralism. Subjective Moralism is a lens we view life out of. It will say lying is bad, murder is bad, theft is bad, and so on and so forth. While these statements are true we don’t acknowledge the reason they are bad we can only come to a conclusion that they are bad.
I know many of you are thinking: “well God made it that way.” That is true! But if we aren’t acknowledging that these things are bad because the oppose Gods character then we are failing in our personal endeavors to know God. When we recognize the character of God we realize its is not about fighting sin but rather giving in to the Lordship of Christ.
It’s not until we submit to Christ and seek understanding of HIS goodness that we can go from a whitewashed tomb to spirit filled vessel.
3 Keys to step out of moralism and into relationship:
Let the word work in you.
Don’t go into your Bible time with your mind made up.
Do a deep study yourself. Just because a famous preacher says it doesn’t make it right.
Let the fruit of the spirit be a priority
If you have an attitude or behavior that opposes the fruit, figure out how you got there.
When we know Gods ways it is easier to walk in them.
Psalm 119: 33-40 33
Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
I will keep them to the end.
34
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35
Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
36
Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
37
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.[b]
38
Reassure me of your promise,
made to those who fear you.
39
Help me abandon my shameful ways;
for your regulations are good.
40 I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.
Meditate on Gods ways.
Think about his actions.
Ask God to teach you.