Jesus did not like many of the religious people of His day. He said that the Pharisees and Sadducees made a show of observing the Law of Moses but lacked love in their hearts. He called them hypocrites in Mark 7:6-7 - He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'
Those of us who believe in and follow Christ cannot afford to follow in the footsteps of those He despised and expect to enter heaven. We cannot use our mouths to proclaim He is Lord but ignore His teachings and the instructions of His Father, God Almighty. He expressly warned in Matthew 7:21-23 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Proverbs 20:27 tells us God sees straight into the spirit of every person therefore no hypocrite can deceive or lie to Him. We are even told that hypocrites cannot come before the Lord in Job 13:16. He will not indulge their petitions and that says a lot because the only people whose prayers His ears are closed to are the wicked. These individuals will not have their names in the Book of Life and no amount of intercession on their behalf will change God's determination about them, until they choose to change.
The wonderful thing is that God is in the business of forgiving those who turn from their wicked ways. He is an expert in forgiving and forgetting the sins of those who genuinely repent and choose to behave differently from that moment on.
If the Spirit of the Lord is burdening your heart and pointing to areas in your life where hypocrisy reigns, today is the day to rid yourself of that issue. Allow the Lord to reveal the hypocrisy you've been carrying so you can drop that burden at His feet. Yes, this process may hurt. After all, nobody enjoys confronting their shortcomings. Nevertheless, God reveals problems to redeem His people. So, this is not the time to beat yourself up. This is the time to accept what the Lord highlights as an issue, repent for it, and ask God for a strategy to not return to that sin. The Lord is faithful and has promised to save all who call on Him (Joel 2:32). Let Him save you as today is the day of His salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Acts 3:19 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord...
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CLOSING PRAYER
Father, please take all the glory for this hour of fellowship. Thank You, once again, for bringing us together today. I call on You to please receive our praises as a sweet-smelling incense and may our prayers be pleasing to Your ears. IJMN, Amen.
On behalf of today's participants, I lift up 2 Peter 1:2 - Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Father. I pray for Your grace and peace in the lives of Your people. That despite what they experience, Your blessed presence will enable them to hold onto You and come out as a worthy vessel for Your glory, IJMN, Amen.
LAST 10 MINUTES
This issue of hypocrisy is one that we believers don't consider enough. Nonetheless, it is crucial to live a life that pleases God both in our private moments as well as in our public affairs. Hypocrisy was so disliked by Jesus that we can't afford to stumble into that category, even by mistake.
Let us pray for God's guidance so we are steered far away from this condition.
Lord, please help me to never be a hypocrite. Grace to serve You in humility all my days. That I may walk with You and remain pleasing. A vessel that You can use for Your purposes and Your glory. Lord, search my heart, remove everything that is not like You. I submit to Your authority and control in all things, that I measure up to the servant You created me to be for You. IJMN, Amen.
fROM JIR - Please Lord look over all widows and orphans. Please turn their mourning and sorrow into joy and gladness. Please bless them with the strength and courage to keep pushing through and bless them with the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Please touch their hearts Lord to turn to You and rely on You for strength and guidance. IJMN. Amen.
From JIR - I pray for those looking for shelter and their next meal to be blessed with libations and shelter. I pray that You Lord lead them to a safe place so that their needs can be tended to. I pray that You watch over them Lord and they take You as their refuge. I pray that You give them the strength and courage they need to keep going and You provide them with opportunities to heal and get back on their feet. IJMN. Amen.
From JIR - Thank You Lord for shielding my auntie B from Covid. Covid has left her facility and I give all glory to You Lord for protecting her and those at the facility. Thank You for blessing my auntie to show signs of improvement day by day. You have kept her strong and I thank You for doing so. Please Lord, please continue placing Your healing hand on my aunt so that she continues improving until she fully recovers. Please bless her to be surrounded by those who have love and compassion for her and are doing what they can to treat and help her. Please touch my aunt’s heart to repent and ask for forgiveness and call on You. Please bless her to give her life to You and live for You Lord. Thank You for giving her so much grace and mercy Lord and making an impossible situation turn into a possible recovery for her. IJMN. Amen.
God, You are the great and mighty King. He who owns everything and controls everything (Psalm 24:1). You know what each person needs and in accordance with Philippians 4:19, I call on You to please meet them at their points of need. Smooth every wrinkle, straighten every crooked path.
Lord, we know satan wants to stand in the way of Your purpose and plan for those You created and claim.
However, nothing can thwart Your plans, Lord for You have an eternal dominion over all that we see and
don't see. Hallelujah!
Father, take all the glory in their lives. Let the world see Your hand in their situation as it transforms to Your glory. Let their tests become testimonies by Your grace. Be glorified, oh Lord! IJMN, Amen.
Open the eyes of Your children, dear Lord, that they may see what You want them to see.
Open the ears of Your children, good God, that they may hear what You want them to hear.
Open the mouths of Your children Almighty Redeemer, that they may say what You want them to say.
Guard the sheep and keep them, marvelous God, from the wolves in sheep's clothing. Lead them to true shepherds that will lead them and keep them in You. Just as Jesus did for the disciples, keeping them safe, save for the one that was prophesied to fall.
IJMN, Amen.
PRAYER TIME
It is time to pray for at least one person. If not a specific person, then pray for people who are dealing with a problem and need God's help.
Thank You for life, good God. You who are worthy of our praise go out of Your way to bless each of us and we are grateful.
Thank You for Your grace and for being the Lord who allows His "sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45).
Thank You for showing kindness to all!
Hallelujah!
Thank You, God, for my life is full of joy!!
Thank You, Lord, for this opportunity to pour that joy into You with my praises!
Thank You for those who are worshiping You this moment.
Increase their joy, Lord.
Glory to God!!
Proverbs 11:9 - With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.
Psalm 119:98 - Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.
Father, hypocrites open their mouths and use their tongues to destroy others but Your word makes it clear that the righteous will escape this through knowledge.
So, Lord, I thank You for it is through Your word that we receive the wisdom we need to escape from the destruction of the godless, the wicked hypocrites.
Glory be to You, my King. The Wise One who knows all and has all power in His hands.
Hallelujah!
From JIR - Lord, I can’t express the awe and reverence I have for You. Thank You for revealing so much knowledge to me. The more You reveal the more in awe I become of You. I just want to thank You for being the amazing God that You are. The Sovereign, One and Only True living God Who is in control of all things. What an honor it is to get to know You each and everyday and to be Your servant. I fall at Your feet and bow before Your throne to thank You and praise You for all that You have done, do and continue to do. All glory belongs to You. I can’t articulate my gratefulness and awe for You so I will say thank You for being my God. You are becoming my everything. Thank You Lord. IJMN. Amen.
From JIR - I thank You Lord for shining Your light on me. IJMN. Amen.
From JIR - Thank You Lord Father for sending Your only begotten Son down from heaven to earth in the flesh to show us how we should love each other, put others before ourselves, help those in need, not judge others, serve others, be obedient to You and spread the Good News of the kingdom. Thank You Lord for the sacrifice You made and the precious blood that was shed for our sins to be forgiven and to overcome death. We thank You Lord for being with us at all times and guiding us and molding us to do Your will for our lives. Each one of us were created by You for a specific purpose and I thank You and am so grateful that You love us each individually and want us to all be reconciled to You through Jesus Christ.
You are utterly amazing and we thank You Lord for the grace and mercy that You bless us with which starts anew each morning. I live for You my King, my Lord, my God. Thank You for showing me that the seen is temporary and the unseen is realer than the seen because it is everlasting. I look unto You Lord and just thank You for everything You have done in my life. You are everything. IJMN. Amen.
Lord, we thank You for sparing our lives so we could gather this day. So many are no longer around to give You the glory You deserve.
We are grateful for this opportunity to celebrate You, dear God. What mercy You have shown us. What grace You have granted us. What a privilege to be able to breathe, dance, sing, and gather on this platform to Your glory!
Job 33:4 - The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Acts 17:25 - And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Thank You, Jehovah!
PRAISE TIME
Let us hold hands and worship the Lord God Almighty!
From SF - I know a few. Its like they can only point out my flaws but think of themselves as 100 percent perfect. I know someone who blames all their problems on other people, another who loves to criticize everything. But when you tell them that they aren't God or how God wants people to be mindful of what they say- they get very mad.
I try to have compassion but I'm at a point where I'm losing that for them. I'm not God. I cannot fix their issues, I have to focus on my own. Hypercritical people cannot be satisfied. When you make a mistake- you meant it. When they make a mistake- nobody is perfect. Madness.
I like to keep my distance from people like this because it's like they desire to see you fumble your walk with God.
From EC - Amen and good morning ladies!
From L105 - I’d love to know if it’s possible for someone who seems to serve God can really be a reprobate? This person that I know is a narcissistic Christian and throws everything back in my face. No matter what, they can’t see their hypocrisy. Is it possible this person is not going to enter heaven because they never seem to change? They see me as the problem rather than them. They always ask for forgiveness for their sins but they never change in the way they treat me. Even right now they're doing it. But I know they won't change.
From m22 - Thank you Heavenly Father for another beautiful fellowship day. I bless you for grace, mercy and love over us. Father Lord I pray you continue to strengthen, renew and transform us for your purpose and glory. Father Lord forgive us of our shortcomings and help us to walk with you in spirit and in truth. IJMN Amen.
Thank you for today's word sis @FFJ . Today's message is so insightful and a reminder for us to be accountable in our walk with Jesus. The goal is to repent when we fall short and not make excuses as to how it was intentional or not. Another reminder is that our lives are representation of God's word for a lot of people that need the conviction to come to God. So we should always walk by faith o they can be encouraged to come to God. I just pray that God continues to strengthen us as we walk with him daily and for the holy spirit to continually wax stronger within us. IJMN Amen