“An
Audience of One” By General Pastor Peter F.
Paine February 3rd,
2013 The idea is that we go through life
with an audience of one. Now, when I was
packing for my trip, well, when Debbie was packing for my trip, she asked me if
I wanted to take my blue suit (it’s just come back from the cleaners), and I
said, “That’d be fine.” She asked if I
wanted my blue shirt, and I said, “That’d be fine.” She asked if I wanted my red tie with the
blue stripe, and I said, “That’d be fine.”
In other words, if she had asked if I wanted my black suit, my white
shirt, and my green tie, I would have said, “That’d be fine.” It doesn’t really make that much difference
to me. Now, if she had said, “Do you
want to wear an old sweat-shirt,” I would have said, “No, I’m going to church; I
have an audience.” It would be
inappropriate for me to stand before you today in a sweat shirt with holes in
it. The point is, “Who is my
audience?” I dressed for the occasion,
because I’m here with you. In life, who is our audience? Yes, we should accommodate circumstances and
situations, and we should be polite, and we should do all those right things in
our interaction with other human beings.
In fact, I could do a whole sermon or a whole study on how we should
treat each other. That’s all good and
proper, but, for the purpose of today’s message, I would like to bring focus on
the point that we really go through life with an audience of one. Do I want to please my wife? sure. Do I want the love and respect of my children?
sure. Do I want to interact with you in
a way that’s pleasing? sure. Do I want
you to love and respect me as opposed to the alternative? sure. That all makes sense, doesn’t it? I think that’s universal, isn’t it? If any of us showed up this morning and
someone scowled at us and said something mean, or ugly, or hurtful, we would be
concerned about that, wouldn’t we? It
could even ruin our whole day, depending on the nature of the relationship with
that person. I texted my wife this
morning, “I love you,” and she texted back, “I love you.” What if she had texted back, “So what?” That would have affected my attitude. I would have called her immediately, and
said, “What’s happening, honey?” Of
course I care about my interactions with people I like; I care about my
interactions with strangers. Don’t you? Let’s, for a moment, remember there’s
something bigger at play here, and that’s that we have this relationship with
God Almighty. We have this relationship
with Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior.
When you look at the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus speaks to the
multitude, He talks about, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
He talks about people that way, but then we come to Matthew Chapter 23. He speaks in what is going to be, really, His
last big public sermon. He speaks to
those that are there that day, and He makes reference to the Sanhedrin (the Sanhedrin
were 72 men, made up of Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees were born into it, the
Pharisees had to ‘learn’ their way into it.
They think differently, they believed differently, they have some
different opinions, theologically. They
don’t generally like each other. As I
drove here this morning, I noticed a lot of signs, in both North Chicago and
Waukegan: You’ve got a mayoral race not
too far away, and there’s some people who don’t like each other. I think that’s kind of the way it was with
the Sadducees and the Pharisees, and that’s as much into it as I’m going to go
this morning). Now what I want to do is tell you
the words of Jesus: Matthew 23:3 …do not ye after their works: for
they say, and do not. Jesus just said they say one thing
and they do another. They say this and
do that. Here’s what I’m going to
challenge you with before I read on; I’m going to step right on your feet ,now,
not just your toes. Here’s the prayer
that all of us will go right to that spiritual mirror and we’ll ask, and get an
honest answer to the question, “How many times in my life; how many times in a
week, do I say one thing and do another?”
“How many times do I say the right thing because it’s the right thing to
say, but it’s not what my heart is saying?”
I understand that there’s politics and office politics, and you can’t
always say to the boss what you’re really thinking—and that’s a good thing, or
I’d be preaching to a whole bunch of unemployed people (do that for long enough
and we’d be outside!). We have to be
careful that we don’t fall into the trap of doing that with the Lord. Let’s see what He says about these folks: Matthew 23:4 …they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers. They make rules that are so hard to
keep, and they’re not doing them; they’re not living them. Oh, they look like it. Let’s see what He says: Matthew 23:5 But all their works they do for to
be seen of men… Jesus knows their hearts. He said, what they’re doing, they’re not
doing it to please God. What they’re
doing, they’re not doing it because of their spiritual relationship. What they’re doing, they’re doing it to
please you! Matthew 23:5 … they
make broad their phylacteries… Those are the borders of their
garments. It’s on their sleeves, and
their lapels, and their hats. They make
these borders bigger and bigger, and that’s so people will know how important
they are. It’s a symbol; it’s like
stripes on a military uniform, in a sense, I mean when you see these borders,
you know, right? There’s a place in
society for all that. Those of you that
were in the military, there’s a reason why people in the military wear uniforms
that distinguish what rank they are. I
get all that. He said they do this why? Matthew 23:5-7 … to
be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. Should you give honor to where honor
is due (Romans 13:7)? If I came here
today, and you didn’t show some honor to me, it would be wrong. Depending on the context, it would displease
God. You should do that, to a certain
extent, but if it ever gets to the place where you show me more honor than you show
God, we’re in trouble. If it ever gets
to the place where you’re telling me everything I want to hear, and you’re
giving me the welcome, but you’re not welcoming God, we’re in trouble. If I said “Hi,” to Jeff and stuck out my
hand, and he said, “I don’t feel like shaking your hand today,” then we’d have
to have a church meeting. We’re supposed
to treat each other certain ways, aren’t we?
What I’m talking about today is, what’s the title of the message? an
audience of one. Are you living that
way? Are you constantly saying, “God,
how do You feel about this? Does this
please You?” I’m not saying to stop your
interactions with humans being pleasant—keep doing that—but make sure that the
first thing you’re seeking is your relationship with God, is it pleasing to
God? Matthew 23:6-9 …call no man your father upon the
earth: for one is your Father… This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t
refer to your biological father as father; it’s talking about your relationship
with your heavenly Father, that you don’t put a rabbi or a pastor in place of
that relationship. Does that make
sense? Saints, we need to live our lives
with the understanding that if we don’t live a life that is pleasing to God,
everything else is hypocrisy. The root word of hypocrisy really means to be an
actor. The way that they used to do
plays back in this time, when Jesus was speaking, is different than what we’re used to seeing
now. We’re used to modern plays and
movies where there’s a different actor or every role. The way it was then, there were different
masks, and one person would have several masks. So, the actor would come out on stage with a
mask, and later would put down that mask and pick up a different mask. Generally these masks were on sticks, and
they could hold them in front of their face, and there would be a different
mask for each character. So, when you
called someone a hypocrite, you’re calling them someone who uses a mask to be
whatever they want to be, but it’s the same person! You can put a different mask in front of your
face, but it doesn’t change who you are.
What I’m asking today, is, “Is God
pleased with your life? Is God pleased
with how you’re making decisions? Is God
pleased with how you treat Him?” Brian,
I didn’t say that you shouldn’t treat your wife good; you’d better. Don’t treat your wife better than you treat
God, amen? Don’t treat your children
good and treat God bad. When Jesus said,
“Drop your nets and follow Me,” you know, there’s a whole study on the subject
of what it means to follow Christ as
opposed to just acknowledge who He is.
That’s the Lord going by. Whose
Lord? Whose Lord, huh? Is it your Lord? Is
that your Lord going by, or is just someone else’s Lord going by? Do you treat Him like Lord? If He’s your Lord, do you ask Him, should I
do this or do that, or do you tell Him what you’re going to do? What did He say about these guys? Let’s go on. Matthew 23:10-13 … woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites!... When Jesus says, “Woe unto you”
that’s as big as it gets. I wonder if
there’s any place in your life, I wonder if there’s any place in my life where
Jesus is saying, “Woe unto you.” If
that’s the case, then I’m in trouble. If
that’s the case, then you’re in trouble.
But, you know what’s good? if you’re still breathing, then there’s still
time to make changes. Yes, I came here today to give you a
hard message. Look for the ‘woes’ in
your life. Look for the places where
Jesus is saying, “Woe unto you.” You
say, “Who are you to come and tell me that?”
I’m just preaching, prepare ye the way of the Lord. The day is going to come when we’re all going
to be at judgment, and I want all of my ‘woes’ to be out of the way. Any pace in my life where Jesus is saying,
”Woe unto you…” Are you harboring any
hatred? Any lack of forgiveness? Some of you have said, “I forgive you,” but
you’re still holding a grudge. Oh, don’t
go there preacher! Oh, I did it; yes, I
did go there. When we were kids, and mom
and dad used to say, “Go tell your brother you forgive him,” and we would say,
“I forgive you, because mom said I had to.”
Some of us are adults, and we’re doing it like that. Did you forgive in a way that pleases God? What did Jesus say on the cross? Did you ever feel like you had too much to
forgive? Hey, I’ve been there. Did you ever feel like you had too much to
forgive? Did you ever feel like it’s too
big and you deserve a pound of flesh? Think
of Jesus on the cross. What did He say? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do.” They knew what they were doing
in one sense, and they didn’t in another, because they didn’t know who He
was. They knew that they were driving
nails into His feet and hands, they knew they were spitting on Him, they knew
they were jeering at Him, they knew they were casting lots for His clothes, and
yet He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Some of you are living with weight of
unforgiveness that Jesus wants to help you let go of. It’s not just unforgiveness; what else? Some of you might think that I know what
you’re dealing with. If it feels that
way, then good, but it’s not me that knows, it’s God. If it feels that way, then good, I’m going to
jump right in the middle of that. If you
think, “Uh oh, I know what he’s talking about,” deal with it. Not with me, with God. What did He say about these guys? Matthew 23:14 … for
a pretence make long prayer… He said, “You are using your religion
to look good, but you’re not doing it to please Me. You’ve forgotten that I’m your Lord. You’ve forgotten that your relationship that
matters most is with me. When I talk to
you about this relationship first thing, let me just talk to you husbands for a
minute and well see how far this goes, I might talk to wives and children in a
minute, too. Husbands, don’t be so
stupid that you tell your wives that you can’t worry about your relationship
with her right now, because you’re worrying about your relationship with
God. That’ll make a long, cold winter. That’s not how I’m preaching this message. She should be your first human relationship. Tell her
that when you get your relationship with God right, you’ll be better at being a
husband. Some people want to make
everyone else feel like they’re out of the picture because they’re working on
their relationship with God. If you’re
working on your relationship with God, it won’t hurt them, it will help
them. If you’re really working on your
relationship with God. Andy says, “Sonya,
I would take out the garbage, but I’m praying.
I’m working on my relationship with God.” Bonehead.
Are we okay with the idea that there
are personal ‘woes?’ For some of you,
it’s a secret sin, and you hope you’re never caught—I don’t know what it is,
but something you hope the church family doesn’t know. We can start with the easy ones: alcohol, tobacco... I’m not saying you would go to Hell for
those, but you would sure hope that our church family doesn’t find out
about. Pornography. In a crowd this size, judging by the
statistics I’ve read, somebody is struggling with it. It’s one of the worst rip-offs in the
world. I talk to people all the time
that tell me they got snared into it; never thought it would hook them that
far. It becomes an addiction. Now, you don’t have to go buy it. It’s on the internet, and most of us have
internet access. Boy, did it get quiet
in here. Where’s the ‘woe unto you’ in
your life? Am I digging deep
enough? Am I prying hard enough? Don’t just look at the Scribes and Pharisees
and say, “Boy, I’m glad I’m not a scribe; I’m not a Pharisee.” Sure you are.
You carry this, don’t you? I went to McDonald’s this morning
and bought a cup of coffee. I had
already had coffee. In fact, that
McDonald’s coffee is in the cup holder of my rental car right now; I think I
took one sip. You know why I went there?
I went because I wanted to see if somebody would be there that I could invite out
to church. I didn’t bring them. You say, “Well then, what kind of lousy trip
was that to make?” You know what,
though? that’s what I wanted to do this morning; I wanted to go out and at
least be available. Now that I’ve told
you that, I guess I’ve lost my blessing, because now you say, “Oh, he didn’t do
something.” I didn’t tell you that so
you’d be impressed with me, I told you that so that you could ask God, “What
would you have me to do this morning?
What would you have me to go somewhere a little early to…?” You notice I didn’t say that God spoke to me
and said go—if He had, then I would be able to introduce you someone. I just said that I thought if I went out a
little early, and made myself available, then I could be available. Amen?
All I got was a lousy cup of coffee.
Actually, it’s pretty good, McDonald’s coffee. What is the ‘woe’ in your life? What is it that you wouldn’t want your church
family to know? That’s a great place to
start, because if you know that, then you know that you have to go to Jesus
with it, and say, “I’ve gotta stop. I
don’t want to have a secret life.” Some
of you are wrestling with thing that you can to wrestling with if you’ll deal
with it right now. Do you know that you can change the
way you feel about something? My wife
Debby is the prettiest woman in the world to me. Let’s talk factually—and I would say this if
Debby were here; she’s heard me say this—the reality is, of course there are
prettier women, in the world, in terms of what our society calls
beautiful. She’s in her
mid-fifties. She’s not the prettiest woman
in the whole world to society, but she’s the prettiest woman in the world to
me. I said that so that I can say this:
How’s your relationship with Jesus? They
get to do this, and they get to do that, and they get to go here, and they get
to go there, but, because I’m a Christian, I…
Your relationship with Jesus ought to be the most beautiful relationship
in your life. Yes, you’re going to have
to give up something to get it; that’s the nature of relationships. Do you still want it the way that you wanted
it when you got it, or have you become lukewarm in your relationship with
God? That’s what happened to the
Pharisees and the Sadducees that we’re reading about here, right? they got to
the point where they were more concerned with how people saw them than how God
saw them. So, this message today is simply titled,
an audience of one. That’s all I’ve got
for you today; just a simple, simple message.
Take that twenty-third chapter, and I encourage you to take some time
and read it. Pray, “Lord, where am I
guilty of those in the scripture where you said, “Do as they say and not as
they do?” Where am I guilty of being
like that? If the newest Christian that knows me did everything I did
instead of just everything I said, would that be pleasing to You? Am I stepping on your toes hard enough
today? Does it make sense what I’m
trying to do today? I’ve slipped lots of
times. If you could follow me around
with a magic microphone and listen to my thoughts, you’d hear me repenting of
all kinds of things: “Oh, God forgive me
for that thought.” “God, forgive me for feeling that way.” “God, forgive me.” “God, help me to have a pure heart.” “God,
forgive me for letting my mind go there.”
Amen? God can deal with
that. God can’t deal with it when you
get to the place where your conscience is seared, and you think God doesn’t know
what people don’t know. Write that one
down: God knows what they don’t. Some of you…
These guys here, you know what their problem is? they think they’ve got
secrets that God doesn’t know. Maybe
this is what I came to tell somebody:
You don’t have a secret that God doesn’t know. The secret that you hope nobody else ever
finds out about; God already knows it.
You say, “You’re being mean to me, Pastor.” No, I’m not.
You know why it’s not mean? you've still got time to change it. What would be mean is if I came to you today
and said, “I love you people, don’t change a thing.” It’s just like your high-school yearbook,
“Don’t ever change. You’re awesome! Always stay just like you are.” I had people write that in my high-school
yearbook; I’m thinking, “I hope I change.”
“Don’t ever change!” I didn’t
come here today to tell you, “Don’t ever change!” I came here to tell you to search out those
things in your life where Jesus is saying, “woe unto you.” And I didn’t tell you that I don’t have any
areas like that in my life; I told you that I do. That’s why Apostle Paul said, “When I would
do good, evil is always present…” (Romans 7:21)
It’s not a battle that you fight once and it’s over. Let’s recap and see if we can make some
sense out of what the preacher said today.
I came to say today that God is an audience of one. That doesn’t mean that you don’t want to have
good relationships with everyone else.
Of course you do! But the
audience that you really want to have the best relationship with is Jesus. That’s what matters more than anything
else. If you have great relationship
with every person on earth, but Jesus is saying about you, “don’t be like this
person because they say one thing and do another…” “Pastor, you’re being mean today.” I want to get back on that a couple more ties
today; I’m being hard on you today because that’s what Jesus is trying to help
us get. This isn’t a game; we’re not
just supposed to come to church and look good and smell good. By the way, y’all are some pretty good-looking
folks, and you smell pretty good, and I’m glad of that. I don’t want you coming in here looking bad
and stinking. But some of you look good
and smell good on the outside, but you’re stinking to God! I have a feeling that I have to get just a
little more plain for somebody. You say,
“I don’t stink to God.” Good. Keep it that way. If you’re saying, “Well, I’ve got this one
area of my life that’s sure smelly,” change it.
Change it by saying, “Lord, help me.”
Maybe you can do it alone, just you and the Lord, and maybe you need
help. I’m not quite there yet—somebody needs
just a little more prying, so stick with me.
I had a person came to me (general ministry, no names, no locations),
and said, “I’ve fought this battle for a long time; it’s alcohol. I’ve prayed; I’ve come to the altar for
prayer… I’ve asked, but it’s still
there.” I said, “What do you think you
need?” He said “I think I need a support group.” He and I did some research and found a
Bible-based support group for people struggling with alcohol. More recently, he told me that’s the longest
string of sober days he’s had in his adult life. He said, “I’m thankful that I got the help I
needed.” I’m telling this to you today,
because some of you believe that if you go outside your church family for help,
that somehow you’ve violated the grace of God.
What I’m saying is, if you’re struggling with something, get help and
get it dealt with. I have a
brother-in-law who is a counselor for people with a gambling addiction. That’s one I don’t understand; I’ve never had
a problem with that. I’m not mocking it,
I’m not belittling it, I’m just saying I don’t get it. Some people have lost everything they own
because they have a gambling addiction. He’s
a counselor for that. Now, if somebody
came to me with a gambling addiction, I might share with them a few Scriptures,
but I might suggest to them to find somebody who understands that dynamic. Now, did I say, “Don’t go to Christ for your
answer?” Get that thought out of your
head quick. Jesus is the answer. But I had to go a little deeper on that one
point to help somebody who’s struggling with something and they haven’t got the
victory yet to understand that it’s okay to ask for help if you need help, but
don’t live any longer with the ‘woe unto you.’
Am I getting through to somebody today?
Am I helping somebody today say, “You know what? it’s time for me to
honor my most important relationship and that’s with Jesus.” The title of the message today is, “An
Audience of One.” So you’ve got an
audience of One; make sure its pleasing.
If you’ve gone astray, read Luke 15.
Remember that when you come home, He’ll receive you. Luke 15:11-32 … Father,
give me the portion of goods that falleth to me… I had somebody criticize me not too long ago. They said to me, “It seems to me all you do is preach about love, love, love.” He said he had a bone to pick with me, so I waited to hear what it was he disagreed with; I didn’t get it. He said, “God isn’t all love.” I said, “Let me see your Bible; I want to see if there’s a page missing here.” He said, “What about judgment?” I said, “Yeah, what about judgment? Either you’re pleasing to God come judgment Day or you’re not. What’s wrong with that? That’s not a lack of love.” He said, “You’ve got to preach a little more hellfire and brimstone.” How am I doing today, church? Judgment’s coming, and if you don’t get the ‘woe unto you’s out of your life, it’ll be a sad day. I didn’t come to condemn you. If that’s the way it sounded, let me apologize, if it sounded that way. What I’m trying to say is, if there’s anything that isn’t pleasing in your relationship with God, change it while you can. If you need help outside this body, get with your spiritual leader and get some counsel and prayer and make the changes. Stop living like secrets are kept from God. You don’t have a secret kept from God. You just don’t. He knows what you hope nobody else finds out. Today I came to tell you if there’s something that offends in your life, take a step in the direction to change it. That’s what I came to say today. I just said, take a step in the direction to change it. Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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