I CHOOSE TO BE AUTHENTIC
MATTHEW 6:1-8, 16-24
THERE IS AN OLD SAYING, “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET”, AND QUITE FRANKLY, I FIND IT QUITE DECEITFUL. IN MANY CASES THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE, THOUGH WE STRIVE TO BE LIKE THIS, WE FEAR THE VULNERABILITY THAT COMES FROM ALLOWING PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT WE REALLY THINK AND FEEL. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF OR HURT, AND SO WE CHOOSE TO OPEN UP TO ONLY A FEW PEOPLE.
WE DECORATE OUR HOMES WITH ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS, AND BOWLS OF ARTIFICIAL FRUIT, HOPING TO ACHIEVE THE BEAUTY THAT THE AUTHENTIC ARTICLE BRINGS. WE PAINT A ROOM A PARTICULAR COLOR TO DECEIVE PEOPLE INTO THINKING THE ROOM IS BIGGER THAN IT ACTUALLY IS.
AUTHENTICITY IS A BIG ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO THE CHURCH. A BIG COMPLAINT OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T GO TO CHURCH IS THAT THEY CAN’T STAND THE HYPOCRISY IN IT. THERE ISN’T AN ORGANIZATION THAT DOESN’T HAVE SOME FORM OF HYPOCRISY IN IT, AND THE CHURCH IS NO EXCEPTION. SOMETIMES, IN AN ATTEMPT TO REACH PEOPLE, THE CHURCH SACRIFICES IT’S OWN IDENTITY AS DEFINED BY THE SCRIPTURES.
OPPOSING HYPOCRISY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT JESUS AND THE PEGANS ACTUALLY AGREED ON. THE BIBLE IS CLEAR THAT WE ARE TO BE AUTHENTIC IN OUR LIVING.
JAMES 1:6-8:
BUT WHEN YOU ASK, YOU MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT, BECAUSE THE ONE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA, BLOWN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. 7 THAT PERSON SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD. 8 SUCH A PERSON IS DOUBLE-MINDED AND UNSTABLE IN ALL THEY DO.
THE PERSON WHO IS DOUBLE-MINDED SEEKS TO PLEASE GOD, BUT ALSO WANTS TO BE POPULAR WITH PEOPLE, THUS THEY WILL BEHAVE ONE WAY WITH A CERTAIN GROUP, AND ANOTHER WITH ANOTHER GROUP. IT IS TO BE “SUPER-SPIRITUAL” ON SUNDAY, AND ANYTHING BUT “SPIRITUAL” THE REST OF THE WEEK. JESUS HATES THIS FORM OF LIVING.
MATTHEW 6:1: “BE CAREFUL NOT TO PRACTICE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IN FRONT OF OTHERS TO BE SEEN BY THEM. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL HAVE NO REWARD FROM YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT WHAT AUTHENTICITY IS, AND SOME GUIDELINES TO HELP US BE AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANS IN A NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD.
POINT ONE: WHAT IS AUTHENTICITY?
TO BE AUTHENTIC MEANS TO BE GENUINE, OR NOT FORCED. WE OFTEN REFER TO PUTTING ON A “BRAVE FRONT” WHEN INVITED TO SOME OCCASION, WHICH REALLY MEANS IT’S THE LAST PLACE WE REALLY WANT TO BE. BUT IT MAKES ME WONDER, HOW MANY OF US ARE PUTTING ON A “BRAVE FRONT” HERE AT CHURCH. HOW OFTEN DO WE SAY:
I HAD TO GO I HAD TO BRING SOMEBODY
I HAD TO GO I HAD TO TAKE PART IN THE SERVICE
I HAD TO GO TO FORCE SOMEONE ELSE TO GO
NOTE IN ALL OF THESE SITUATIONS THE PERSON HAD TO GO, THEY DIDN’T SAY “I WANT TO GO”. NOW A SECOND QUESTION FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, IF ALL THE REASONS YOU “HAD TO GO” TO CHURCH WERE REMOVED, WOULD YOU STILL BE HERE? IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “HAVING TO” AND “WANTING TO”.
JAMES MacDONALD WRITES:
“TAKE OFF THE MASK AND LIVE FOR CHRIST BECAUSE YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT HIM. AUTHENTICITY FLOWS FROM WHAT IS TRUE. IT’S BASED ON FACT. AN AUTHENTIC PERSON IS SINCERE, WITHOUT PRETENSE, WITHOUT PERFORMANCE – REAL”
OUR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LIVES SHOULD REFLECT THE SAME PASSIONATE DEEP LOVE FOR GOD AND THE SINCERE RESPECT FOR HIS WORD. TO BE AUTHENTIC IS TO TRULY SAY “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT I AM.”
POINT TWO: DEFINING MOMENTS OF AUTHENTICITY:
DEFINING MOMENTS OF AUTHENTICITY ARE THOSE TIMES WHEN WE MAKE DISCOVERIES BASED ON OUR LIMITATIONS AND OUR CAPABILITIES THAT CAN LEAD US TOWARD AUTHENTICITY.
A) I CANNOT PLEASE EVERYONE:
A HINDERANCE TO AUTHENTICITY IS THE INNER DESIRE TO PLEASE EVERYONE. WE TRY TO DEFINE OUR CHRISTIANITY BASED ON OUR OUTWARD PERFORMANCE, BUT IT IS ALWAYS WRONG IN SOMEBODY’S VIEW.
THE PHARISEES OF JESUS DAY DID MANY THINGS RIGHT, BUT IT WAS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WATCHING THEM. THEY SOUGHT THEIR OWN GLORY.
MATTHEW 15:8: THESE PEOPLE HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME.
NOW THE LESSON IS CLEAR. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE TO BE KEPT PRIVATE. WHEN WE STUDY THE BIBLE, WITNESS, OUR PRAYER LIFE, OR WHEN WE PERFORM A SERVICE FOR THE LORD, WE ARE TO DO IT FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE.
MATTHEW 6:2-4:
“SO WHEN YOU GIVE TO THE NEEDY, DO NOT ANNOUNCE IT WITH TRUMPETS, AS THE HYPOCRITES DO IN THE SYNAGOGUES AND ON THE STREETS, TO BE HONORED BY OTHERS. TRULY I TELL YOU, THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEIR REWARD IN FULL. 3 BUT WHEN YOU GIVE TO THE NEEDY, DO NOT LET YOUR LEFT HAND KNOW WHAT YOUR RIGHT HAND IS DOING, 4 SO THAT YOUR GIVING MAY BE IN SECRET. THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU.
THE ONLY ONE WHO NEEDS TO KNOW OF AN ACT OF SERVICE DONE IN HIS NAME, ALREADY KNOWS IT, AND WILL REWARD YOU FOR DOING SO.
WHEN WE ACT TO BE NOTICED BY OTHERS OUR ULTIMATE REWARD WILL BE THE PRAISE GIVEN BY THE PEOPLE. GOD WILL NOT ADD FUTURE BLESSINGS TO IT. IN GOD’S EYES SUCH ACTIONS RESONATES THE THEME OF COUNTRY SINGER SHANAI TWAIN’S SONG, “THAT DON’T IMPRESS ME MUCH.”
B) OUR VIEW OF REWARDS CAN BE A DETERANT TO AUTHENTICITY. THE CONCEPT OF REWARDS AND SERVING GOD FOR REWARDS IS A DICY ISSUE. WE ARE ALL PRONE TO SAY, “GOD HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH, I DON’T NEED FURTHER REWARD.” AND WHILE THIS IS TRUE, IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT GOD CHOOSES TO GIVE US BLESSINGS AND REWARDS FOR OUR EFFORTS.
MATTHEW 5:12: REJOICE AND BE GLAD, BECAUSE GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN, FOR IN THE SAME WAY THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU
I HAD A FRIEND IN MINTO NAMED RONNIE TYLER. RONNIE WAS A GREAT MAN OF GOD, AND IS NOW IN GOD’S PRESENCE. WHEN HE WAS ALIVE THOUGH HE WAS ALWAYS WITNESSING. EVEN WHEN HE WAS HOSPITALIZED HE WOULD WITNESS TO HOSPITAL STAFF. HE LOVED TO WITNESS ABOUT GOD’S LOVE AND GRACE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HE SHARED WITH HIS CHURCH FAMILY THOUGH WAS HIS DESIRE TO RECEIVE A SOUL-WINNERS CROWN. HE WANTED TO LEAD PEOPLE TO CHRIST IN THIS WORLD, AND RECEIVE THE REWARD FOR HIS EARTHLY LABORS IN GLORY.
THEN HE SAID IT REALLY DIDN’T MATTER, BECAUSE HE WOULD TAKE THAT CROWN AND LAY IT AT JESUS FEET. IT WILL NOT BE THE ONLY CROWN HE WILL RECEIVE, AS HE COULD ALSO CLAIM AS PAUL DID:
2 TIMOTHY 4:7-8:
I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH. 8 NOW THERE IS IN STORE FOR ME THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH THE LORD, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, WILL AWARD TO ME ON THAT DAY—AND NOT ONLY TO ME, BUT ALSO TO ALL WHO HAVE LONGED FOR HIS APPEARING.
C) DIVIDED DESIRES AND OUTWARD APPEARANCE CAN BE A DETERANT TO AUTHENTICITY.
PAUL DEALT WITH THE ISSUE OF DIVIDED DESIRES IN ROMANS 7:14-24. IT’S A VERY DIFFICULT PASSAGE TO READ BUT WHAT HE IS SAYING IS THAT WHAT HE WANTS TO DO TO PLEASE GOD HE DOESN’T DO, INSTEAD HE DOES WHAT PLEASES HIMSELF EVEN THOUGH HE KNOWS IT’S WRONG.
WE DO THE SAME THING AT TIMES. WE WILL SETTLE FOR JUST LOOKING LIKE WE WANT WHAT GOD WANTS, TO GAIN PEOPLE’S APPROVAL AND COVER OUR OWN DARKNESS. WE TRY TO DEFLECT DISAPPROVAL FROM OTHERS BY CHANGING THEIR FOCUS FROM US TO WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING. ONE AUTHOR REFERRED TO THIS AS “RESPECTABLE SINS”. WHAT WE ARE DOING IS A SIN, AND TEN OR TWENTY YEARS AGO IT WOULDN’T BE ACCEPTABLE, BUT NOW IT IS BECAUSE SO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE DOING IT. SOMETIMES WE COMPARE IT TO OTHER SINS AND FIND IT IS NOT BAD AT ALL. WE IGNORE THE BOTTOM LINE THAT SIN IS SIN.
POINT THREE: JESUS TAUGHT US TO BE AUTHENTIC:
JESUS USED THE PHARISEES ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS TO TEACH ON THE ISSUE OF AUTHENTICITY.
IN MATTHEW CHAPTER 6 JESUS GIVES INSTRUCTIONS ON FASTING.
MATTHEW 6:16-18:
WHEN YOU FAST, DO NOT LOOK SOMBER AS THE HYPOCRITES DO, FOR THEY DISFIGURE THEIR FACES TO SHOW OTHERS THEY ARE FASTING. TRULY I TELL YOU, THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEIR REWARD IN FULL. 17 BUT WHEN YOU FAST, PUT OIL ON YOUR HEAD AND WASH YOUR FACE, 18 SO THAT IT WILL NOT BE OBVIOUS TO OTHERS THAT YOU ARE FASTING, BUT ONLY TO YOUR FATHER, WHO IS UNSEEN; AND YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU.
JESUS INSTRUCTIONS THEN ARE TO FAST IN SECRET. WE ARE NOT TO LET OTHERS KNOW THAT WE ARE FASTING, AND USE THAT TIME IN PRAYER.
THE PHARISEES WERE INTO FASTING BUT IT WAS TO THEM A SHOW OF THEIR RELIGIOSITY. THEY WOULD COME TO ASSEMBLIES LOOKING PATHETIC WITH HUNGER, WANTING EVERYONE TO KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
JESUS WANTS AN AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH US, ONE THAT IS GOING TO BRING GLORY AND PRAISE TO HIM, NOT BASED ON OUR OWN. HE WAS ANGERED AND SADDENED BY THE PHARISEES AT THEIR HYPOCRISY AND THE COST IT WOULD BRING IN HUMAN SUFFERING.
IN MATTHEW 23 JESUS SHOWS THE SPIRITUAL SIGHTLESSNESS OF THE PHARISEES. HE SHOWED HOW THE PHARISEES DIDN’T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DISCERN THEIR SPIRITUAL NEED.
SOMETIMES WE CAN FALL INTO THIS TRAP AS WELL. WE ARE SO IMPRISONED BY A SATANIC TRAP THAT WE DON’T REALIZE WE ARE IN IT AT ALL. IT IS PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES. TAKE OUR BODIES FOR EXAMPLE. MANY TIMES AILMENTS ARE DISCOVERED WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF SYMPTOMS. “I FEEL FINE” YES THE DOCTOR SAYS, “BUT YOU NEED A HEART BYPASS RIGHT AWAY.”
THERE WAS A COMMERCIAL ON T.V. ABOUT ODOURS AND ONE OF THE LINES IS “TO YOU IT MAY SMELL LIKE THIS, BUT TO US IT SMELLS LIKE ROTTON FISH.”
POINT FOUR: GUIDELINES TO AUTHENTICITY:
I WANT TO SUGGEST THREE GUIDELINES THAT JESUS GIVES US THAT WILL HELP US WITH MAINTAINING AUTHENTICITY IN OUR LIVES.
1. I CHOOSE TO BE AUTHENTIC – BY NOT JUDGING OTHERS.
RIGHT NOW IN LOS VEGAS THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE TRYING IN VAIN TO FIND THE MOTIVE FOR THE RECENT MASS SHOOTING. THEY CAN COLLECT MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION, BUT WITHOUT THE SHOOTER’S VOICE TO CONFIRM THEIR CONCLUSIONS, ALL WE HAVE IS AN EDUCATED GUESS.
DON’T JUDGE MOTIVES – IT IS GOD WHO JUDGES THE HEART.
DON’T JUDGE APPEARANCE – YOU CAN’T TELL A BOOK BY ITS COVER
DON’T JUDGE HARSHLY – WHEN A JUDGMENT IS NEEDED PRACTICE
COMPASSION
MATTHEW 7:2: “DO NOT JUDGE, OR YOU TOO WILL BE JUDGED. 2 FOR IN THE SAME WAY YOU JUDGE OTHERS, YOU WILL BE JUDGED, AND WITH THE MEASURE YOU USE, IT WILL BE MEASURED TO YOU.
2. I CHOOSE TO BE AUTHENTIC – BY JUDGING MYSELF
AN AUTHENTIC PERSON EVALUATES HIMSELF HONESTLY.
MATTHEW 7:3: “WHY DO YOU LOOK AT THE SPECK OF SAWDUST IN YOUR BROTHER’S EYE AND PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PLANK IN YOUR OWN EYE?
PART OF BEING AUTHENTIC IS THE REALIZATION THAT WE ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS. WHEN WE REALIZE THIS WE WILL DEVELOP A GREATER COMPASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS.
PSALM 139:23-24:
SEARCH ME, GOD, AND KNOW MY HEART; TEST ME AND KNOW MY ANXIOUS THOUGHTS. 24 SEE IF THERE IS ANY OFFENSIVE WAY IN ME, AND LEAD ME IN THE WAY EVERLASTING.
3. I CHOOSE TO BE AUTHENTIC – BY PURSUING AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS.
NOTHING CAN MAKE YOU MORE AUTHENTIC THAN SPENDING TIME WITH AUTHENTIC PEOPLE. INVEST YOURSELF IN PEOPLE WHO ARE SINCER AND GENUINE IN THEIR LOVE OF GOD.
CONCLUSION:
JAMES MacDONALD WROTE:
“MY CHOICE IS TO BE REAL, TO BE AUTHENTIC DOWN TO THE CORE OF MY SOUL, WHICH WILL CHANGE ME FOREVER. I DON’T WANT TO POSE, I DON’T WANT TO POSTURE. I DON’T NEED A PAT ON THE HEAD OR A SLAP ON THE BACK. I’M NOT LOOKING FOR APPLAUSE. I WANT TO BE REAL.”
WOULDN’T IT BE WONDERFUL TO BE A PART OF AN AUTHENTIC CHURCH, BUT NO SUCH CHURCH WILL EVER EXIST IN THIS WORLD. WHAT WE CAN BE IS AUTHENTIC WITHIN AN IMPERFECT CHURCH.
LET US CHOOSE TO PURSUE AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND INVEST OUR TIME WITH GENUINE PEOPLE TO HONOR AND PRAISE GOD.
