Good morning and welcome everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from The Book of Matthew, but before we do that I wanted to ask you a little question.
How many of you have gone shopping online? A lot of things have changed during my lifetime, because when I was young, most of the shopping was done via the newspaper. Over the years, the advertising industry has utilized a creation that has been credited to a French inventor approximately 200 years ago, whose name I humbly will not attempt to pronounce. He created the photograph. When I was a boy and sat in the rocking chair to read the newspaper, pictures of all kinds of inserts of items that were for sale would fall right into your lap. You would find advertisements from local businesses, food from the grocery store, and leaflets that were filled with pictures of vehicles from the local car dealership. Pictures seem to be everywhere, and people tend to rely on them when they are purchasing something.
Have you ever seen some nice pictures of a home, displaying the beautiful interior and the well kept lawn? It was absolutely gorgeous in the photos but when you finally paid for the home and moved in, you realized that it wasn’t anything that was contained in the pictures. The walls are filled with dry rot and bugs. The septic system would have to be completely replaced. Last of all, the roof leaks terribly, and will need new plywood and shingles.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
People tend to buy what they see. Things can sure look good in a photograph, but you should never judge anything just by the appearance. You need to take a good look inside.
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
We live in a world that walks by sight, not by faith. It judges things based on the outward appearances, rather than looking into the heart. Making judgments based simply upon what you see can be very deceiving. Many people feel that they can trust somebody because they are dressed in a suit and tie. They judge someone as righteous based upon their outward beauty or appearance. They judge the rich as blessed by God, and then treat the poor as sinful wretches. Today, in numerous forms of modern-day Christianity, the same thing is going on. If they see a cleric’s outfit, or a fancy robe, then it must be Christianity. If they see a huge building with a cross on top, then it must be Christianity. If they see a huge parking lot filled with cars, then it must be Christianity. There is an old saying that history repeats itself. There are modern-day forms of Christianity that are led by people who are no different than the Pharisees of old. They really don’t love the truth in Christ, they love to walk around in robes and priestly garments. They love the attention and high places of spiritual authority, but in all reality are blind leaders of the blind. Some people would judge John the Baptist based upon the way that he looked, but it didn’t change the fact of what he was in his heart. He was a humble servant of the Lord.
Matthew 3:1-4 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Luke 7:24-26 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
Many people judged the Apostle Paul based on appearance.
2 Corinthians 10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s
How many times have you been to a restaurant and ordered a meal based upon the picture that you saw in the menu. It was a photo of a mouth-watering meal of steak and potatoes, or a hamburger and french fries, but when you finally got the chance to eat it, it was absolutely terrible on the inside. People can be the same way. Many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day appeared beautiful on the exterior, but the truth is that when you peeled the layers away, it was all for show.
Matthew 23:25-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
There were some people who came to hear Jesus preach, and appeared publicly as righteous men, but it was only a facade. They were only there for one reason, to hear something out of the mouth of Christ so that they could condemn him. They appeared on the exterior as decent men, but were anything but.
Luke 20:19-25 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?
Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
Many people really don’t love God from their heart; they just love to be seen as a religious person. Over 20 years ago, I was at a church service where they actually put digital delay and reverb on somebody’s voice to make them sound more prominent during the service. Welcome to modern day Pharisaism.
Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
In the carnal nature, people judge by appearances. You must always remember that when they came to take Jesus in the garden, they couldn’t even identify who he was, because Judas had to give him a kiss. He appeared just like everybody else, yet they took Him, judged Him, and crucified their Lord and ours upon a cross. Judge not lest ye be judged. The devil is alive and well in many places that profess the Christian faith. He hasn’t changed in thousands of years, and continues to be enamored with himself. He doesn’t love Christ, he loves attention, appearing like an apostle, but it’s the devil underneath.
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Don’t judge anything by appearances, God judges the heart. Before accepting the things that you see or hear, you need to first take…..
……..A Good Look Inside.
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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