Appearance and Reality: Part 4 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning.

As we head into this Thursday, we want to hear what God has to say and how it has a bearing on our lives today. We’ve been talking all this week about appearance and reality, and we’ve been working through Matthew chapter 6, which is right in the middle of Jesus’s sermon on the Mount.

And here he is talking all about this difference between appearance and reality. And when you say that when you come across someone in your life, and they are just real, you know that what you’re seeing, what you’re experiencing as you spend time with them is real. It’s who they really are.

They aren’t putting on some kind of show or some kind of performance for you to make you think that everything’s great or that they’re super spiritual or a great Christian. No, they’re just real. That’s so refreshing, isn’t it? It’s so appealing. You want to be with that person, whether they’re doing great today or whether they’re struggling today, you know they’re being real with you.

Well, don’t you want to be that kind of person as well if you’ve been living kind of this performance kind of life and feeling like as a Christian you have to perform a certain way and pray a certain way, be very public about your giving of money to different causes.

Look, just let that go and live out the reality of your relationship with God. And here’s the thing. Don’t say, OK, then it doesn’t matter about my relationship with God. I just need to be real. No.

Build your relationship with God and live that reality.

Focus on God. Listen to Him. Spend time with Him. That’s why every weekday morning we’re opening the Bible together here on the radio and hearing from God what He has to say to us. And the idea here is, as God speaks to you in these times, you just focus your mind and respond to him.

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Don’t just say, Oh yeah, that’s a good idea. I like that thought. No, recognize that God is talking to you about your life and respond to God. Say, God, I hear you. I hear what you’re saying to me, how you’re challenging me, and here’s how I’m going to respond to you today and just make your prayer a conversation as God talks to you and you respond to Him.

Well, we want to go on in this chapter today and read a few more verses. Jesus started out saying, don’t live a performance. Live reality in your love for God. He went on to say, then don’t give financially just to gain recognition from people or to get control of situations.

Then yesterday we saw that he said, don’t pray just to be noticed for how good a prayer(er) you are, or don’t hold back from praying because you don’t think you sound good enough. Just pray reality – pray what’s on your heart, whether you’re happy with God or frustrated.

And we go on in verse 16, and Jesus says, and when you fast – that means not eating for the purpose of focusing on God in prayer – when you fast, do not look somber and serious as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly, I tell you they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head, wash your face 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.

Well, really, all of these different challenges Jesus gives us are making this point.

What matters is who you really are. And that comes out when nobody’s looking. When nobody’s watching, when nobody’s noticing, when you’re on your own, who are you then?

What’s your relationship with God like when you’re not at church, when you’re not with your Christian friends, when you’re not at your small group meeting, but it’s just you on your own.

Then what are your prayers like? Then how are you responding to God? Then what are your priorities? Then what do you put into your mind and what you allow to go on in your mind and heart? That is your reality of your relationship with God. And if even as I ask those questions, it challenges you and you know that things aren’t right in that private life.

Then come to God. Take some time right now. Talk to him about that. Ask his forgiveness and start to rebuild your relationship with God.

I’m John North.

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