Please take your Bibles and turn to the book of Matthew and chapter 23. The book of Matthew and chapter 23. And this morning we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 12, but I'm going to read verses 1 to 15. Matthew in chapter 23 and picking up in verse one and we read, then spake Jesus to the multitude and to his disciples saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not ye after their works, for they say and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased. And he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. For ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer. Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Let's ask the Lord's blessing upon the message this morning, let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, Father, for the instruction contained therein. We pray now that as we look at this passage before us, that you would speak to our hearts, Father, that you would apply the lessons that need to be applied to our hearts individually. And Father, we pray that you'd help us not to be as these scribes, these Pharisees, the religious leaders of this, the day in which Jesus lived, who were indeed hypocrites. and we pray for your help now as we look at this passage, we pray for your blessing and we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. The title for, well, really for this whole chapter is Hypocritical Religion. And when I first looked, well, first read through this chapter and considered the text for at least one message, I realised that there was more than just one message contained in this chapter. So I've broken it down a bit further. And so there are four sections that I've divided this chapter into. First we have verses one to 12, hypocritical holiness exposed. Then verses 13 to 23, hypocritical service reproved. Verses 24 to 33, hypocritical sanctification rebuked. And then verses 34 to 39, hypocritical religion judged. So we're just going to be looking at the first 12 verses under the title hypocritical holiness Exposed. And that's exactly what we have in the verses before us. At this time in the Lord Jesus' ministry, he's in Jerusalem only a short time before his crucifixion. In chapter 22, he had the Herodians, the Sadducees and the Pharisees come to him with questions that they were attempting to essentially either trick or coerce him into saying something that they would then be able to twist or use against him to try to discredit him. And of course the Lord Jesus answered all of their questions perfectly. And he even presented the Pharisees with a question that they could not answer for fear of the people, because they didn't want to look bad in front of the people. And so as we come to chapter 23, the Lord Jesus Christ begins to expose these religious leaders as the hypocrites that they really are, who put on a great religious show, but in reality, they're living for themselves, and they're not living for God. They're living for the praise of men rather than to please God. So, picking up in verses 1 to 3, first we're going to look at the exhortation to holiness and there's a biblical exhortation to holiness and there's a hypocritical exhortation to holiness. The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not ye after their works, for they say and do not." So, the biblical exhortation to holiness. First, just the context for this exhortation, as I mentioned, The Lord Jesus has just had these religious leaders come to him and try to trick him up with their questions and so forth, and trying to present themselves as being these intellectual thinkers, these religious leaders of the day, and trying to essentially bring Jesus down to try and discredit him in order to bolster their own status as religious authorities in the community. And so immediately following this, the Lord Jesus begins to expose the hypocrisy behind their questions and behind their lifestyle. And verse 1 of the next chapter, if you just quickly look there, it says, and Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. So, That verse clearly indicates that at this point in time, the Lord Jesus is at the temple in Jerusalem. So this is the seat of religiosity of the day. This is essentially, it's kind of like going into the strongman's house, as it were, and breaking it up. That's where Jesus is. He's at the seat of religious power and authority for the day, and right there, he's going to expose the hypocrisy of their religion. of their religiosity, I should say. So right there at the temple, the Lord Jesus will begin to expose these religious leaders for the hypocrites that they really are. Now the Lord Jesus, he didn't go on the attack just to, you know, in a display of one-upmanship, you know, like we would tend to do if someone, you know, sort of came and began to try to, you know, verbally attack us. We go on the defence and then we want to attack them and it becomes a fleshly debate. That's not what's going on here. The Lord Jesus is looking to expose their hypocrisy to warn others about the same thing. So he even goes on and says, the things that they command you to do but what they actually do in practice, don't copy that, okay? That's what he's trying to get at is don't be hypocritical like them. So he's not, this isn't a display of one-upmanship, but he's exposing their hypocrisy for the benefit of those watching on so that they would know not to be like these religious leaders. Next we see the content of this exhortation. They're in verse three, all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do. The religious leaders had a certain religious authority in that day, which is described as being in Moses' seat. And this was a term that references the book of Exodus chapter 18, it says in verse 13, and it came to pass on the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. So Moses' seat was a place occupied by men of eminent rank or influence, such as teachers and judges. It was a seat in the synagogue where the law was embellished upon and came to be known as the Moses' seat. And though they stood for the reading of the Torah, they sat to teach from it. And so this was a place of some level of religious authority, a place from which the people were meant to be instructed from the word of God. So it was in the synagogue that the Torah would be read and then the religious leaders of the day were meant to expound upon the scriptures what God would have for the people to do with the reading that they've just heard. How do you apply it? That's essentially what the goal is. In the preaching of the word today, we read the passage before us and then we desire to make application. And so when the word of God is expounded upon, it is the responsibility of the hearer to then take that and apply it to their own life. And that's what was meant to occur. And the Lord Jesus instructed that when the religious leaders taught from the Torah, they should be listened to and their instruction should be followed. This is the exact opposite to the response that most people would give to hypocritical religion. Let's be honest, how many times have you heard someone say that they wouldn't attend church because churches are full of hypocrites? And sometimes you wanna say, well, one more won't hurt. Okay? And of course we understand, look, nobody's perfect, and I'm not defending religious hypocrisy, okay? But the approach that the people were to have to the word of God, the reading of the word of God, was not to sit back and go, oh well, yeah, okay, but this fella, he doesn't live it out in his life, so why should I bother? That's what most people do. Oh well, he doesn't live like a Christian, so that excuses me. I don't have to do that either. Okay, well the pastor doesn't always speak 100% civilly with me, sometimes he's a little bit harsh in his wording, so that's it, I'm just going to let go, I'm going to give him both barrels next time I see him. And you excuse your own hypocrisy based on the way you view another person, whether or not you feel that they are following 100% what they preach. That was not to be the approach of God's people. They were to attend to the reading of the Word of God and to the exposition of the Word of God and then to apply that without hypocrisy. That's the correct response. Okay, someone else might be hypocritical in the way that they are living, they might not be following the Word of God the way they ought to be, but your response should be, but if God shows me something in His Word, I'll follow that. That should be your response. Okay, well, that doesn't excuse me. I should seek not to be a hypocrite in the way I live. That's the correct response. We're never in favour of hypocrisy, but we mustn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, as they say. Our natural response is, of course, to ignore those who appear to be hypocritical teachers, to simply ignore them or excuse our own failures by pointing out someone else's faults. But Jesus clearly commanded that when they taught from the law, their instruction should be heeded, but their actions should not be emulated. That's the response. You're not to excuse yourself from your duty to be a genuine Christian just because others are hypocritical in their Christian walk. Your response ought to be that you will be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, no matter the failures of those around you. It's very important. Many of you would have heard the phrase, do as I say, don't do as I do. And generally, we think, okay, there is a hypocrite right there. But that was essentially the approach that had to be taken with these pretentious religious teachers. When they expounded upon the Word of God, when they were teaching the Word of God to the people, that was to be heeded, to be observed, but their actions had to be ignored. Now, that's a pretty sad state when your so-called religious leaders are the people who you cannot follow their actions. You can't look at them and say, oh, well, there's a good godly example of what I ought to be. You look at them and you say, okay, well, they're not, they're really off base, but what they're teaching is direct from the word of God. So I will give respect under the word of God, but not respect to their lifestyle. That's the correct approach. Do as they say, don't do as they do. Okay? Heed what they have to say, but don't follow their actions. Next we see the hypocritical exhortation to holiness. So that was the Lord Jesus' exhortation to the people that they should live a holy life regardless of the lifestyle of these religious leaders. And then in the latter part of verse three there, it says, but do not ye after their works, for they say and do not. That's hypocritical holiness. These religious leaders failed to lead by example. And the Lord Jesus called out the false religiosity of the scribes and Pharisees, who were more than happy to tell other people how they ought to live for God, but they themselves were unwilling to do the same. They exhorted others to holiness, but they disregarded holiness in their own lives. That's real hypocrisy right there. These men were a real picture of hypocrisy and they remind me of the children's song that, I can't remember how long ago I heard it, but it says, hypocrite, hypocrite, you say one thing and do the opposite. That's what a hypocrite is. Someone who says one thing but does the opposite. And that can go one of two ways. You could be someone who says you ought to do this, but then doesn't do it themselves, or someone who says you ought not to do that, but then does that anyway. So you have to be careful, it doesn't just go the one way, it's not just in relation to the command to live holy lives, but it's also in relation to the command to abstain from sin. That there can be these two aspects to this hypocrisy. But that's exactly what was going on here. They said one thing, but they did another. For they say, and do not. That's hypocrisy and we have to be aware of falling into this trap ourselves. It's easy to tell someone else how they ought to behave while we ourselves act differently. it's easy to tell someone else that they ought not to be so easily offended by the preaching while we go home in a huff every Sunday because the pastor was preaching at me! I don't think he was preaching at you, I think he was just preaching faithfully from the Word of God and the Holy Spirit applied that to you individually and that's where the challenges come from. But sometimes people get in a huff when it feels like the past is preaching at me and then someone else says the same thing, oh don't be ridiculous, you know, the past is not preaching at you, it's hypocrisy. They're happy to tell one person how their heart should respond to the preaching of the word of God but personally their heart responds in a carnal way. It's easy to tell someone else how they ought to respond with patience and grace in their trial When we have a whinge anytime things get a little bit rough for us. Aussies love to have a whinge, don't we? It's just the Aussie mentality. Experience this, particularly in the workplace. Anything outside of the ordinary, and you've got to whinge about it. I mean, it's just, it's practically mandatory. Okay, you know, the boss asked me to do something a little bit beyond what I'd usually do. So I'm going to go around and let everybody else know this extra work I'm having to do. I'm going to have a little whinge about that to everybody. But we don't enjoy it when other people come and whinge to us. And we would happily tell them that they should have the right attitude and they should respond with grace and with patience in their difficult situation, while we ourselves have no such intention when it comes to our own lives. We respond with the least grace and the least humility, the least patience. That's hypocrisy. It is. Next we see, in verses four to seven, the rebuke of showmanship. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all of their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues. excuse me and greetings in the markets and to be called of men rabbi rabbi frog in the throat there the rebuke of showmanship first we see there's hypocritical expectations here there was some hypocritical expectations in verse 4 they bound heavy burdens and grievous to be born and laid them on men's shoulders but they themselves would not move them with one of their fingers They created what is described as heavy burdens and grievous to be borne. And the word burdens comes from the Greek forshon, which means an invoice, service or task. So essentially what they were doing is they were creating tasks, services that were expected of people as sort of their religious duty. And they put all these religious duties on people like a heavy burden that people then had to bear around. And it says that they were grievous to be born. And they made, essentially they made the law to be a burden to the people, but they themselves wouldn't lift one of those burdens at all. That's hypocrisy right there. They made the law just to be a burden. These expectations went well above what was required under the Mosaic Law and these burdens consisted of just extra tasks and services which were to be done as part of their religious observances. And then they put them on people's shoulders as an expectation. And it says that these burdens were grievous to be born. These religious leaders were supposed to teach the Jews the law of God and instruct them in what God expected of them, but these leaders had instead created expectations beyond the scope of the law and caused the people to be weary in serving God. That's a tragedy. when expectations are placed on people that go far beyond what is contained in the word of God, to the extent that people become weary in serving God. They're worn out, not in service to God, but in service to these traditions that were placed on their shoulders. It's a tragedy. We ought never to go beyond what the word of God instructs us to do. We have to be careful, of course, of the error of license where we just, we don't take the word of God seriously and we live however we please. But these religious leaders have gone the complete opposite direction to where they just piled more and more and more rules on top of what God expected of his people to the point where the people were just carrying these grievous burdens that were just exhausting them Where do you have time for actual genuine service to God if you're busy running around doing all these extra bits and pieces that God never commanded? That is a tragedy. The cults do this as well, like Seventh Day Adventists who place dietary requirements on people, other religious groups demanding fasting and prayer at certain times in certain ways and oftentimes, I mean I was discussing this with someone recently, how oftentimes in the cults where they have days of fasting and they bend over backwards to make it as easy as possible on themselves, to shorten the time of fasting, or they, you know, they, okay, fasting starts at this time in the morning, finishes at this time of night, so we have a big feast in the morning, so that'll tie us over to the evening, and we have another big feast to make up for it, and the time of fasting is just a show. That's all it is. It's just a religious burden that's been placed on somebody's shoulders. It's an expectation, but what's it doing for them? A, they don't have a heart for it. If you are going to enter into fasting and prayer, your heart needs to be in it, or you are just doing it as a religious duty. It accomplishes nothing. It's just a burden. But also, what's the point if you're gonna spend all your time trying to work around all the nitty gritties of the rules? That's essentially what happened. There are all these rules, and then they go around working, if we just do it this way, we'll soften that for ourselves, and we'll soften, and there's no heart for that. It's just a religious burden. And that's all it was for these people, was religious burdens. That is what true legalism looks like. It's just a religious burden but it accomplishes nothing for God. You can't produce holiness in your own life by piling rules upon yourself. That doesn't sanctify you as a Christian by piling these rules and religious observances upon yourself but that's what was going on here and it was just legalism. just a burden on the people. But beyond that, it was a hypocritical exhibition as well. But they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers, but all of their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues. These religious leaders They were holy in word only. Again, they said one thing, but they did another. They were happy to place burdens on other people, but they were unwilling to lift those same burdens themselves. I like the end of verse four there. It's got a phrase that we've modernized, and we would usually say it's something like, he wouldn't lift a finger to help you. That's how we would modernise that. They themselves will not move these burdens, they will not move them with one of their fingers. They wouldn't lift a finger to bear the same burdens that they placed on other people's shoulders. That's true hypocrisy. And we have to be careful. We often have high expectations of other people as well. And how often do we fall short of the expectations that we have of other people? We expect other people to act in a certain way, but we ourselves wouldn't do that. It would be hypocritical for for a man to stand here in the pulpit and say, nobody in this church is above doing the menial tasks. Everybody should be willing to serve in the cleaning ministry and so forth. And then someone says, oh, by the way, we're putting together the new cleaning roster. Can I put your name now? I'm above that. I mean, we all just see that clearly as pure hypocrisy. If nobody is above doing those menial tasks, nobody means not anybody. So even the preacher standing in the pulpit should be ready to go out and sweep the floors and whatever needs to be done. Do those menial tasks. It will be hypocritical to say one thing but then do another. We see it so clearly but we have that same hypocrisy oftentimes in our expectations of other people. And we have to be very careful because sometimes we get We get our attitude right out of place with somebody. We've got our nose out of joint over something because we had an expectation of that person and they didn't meet that expectation. And the question is, was your expectation a right expectation, or was that just something that you made up in your own mind, this is an extra thing that you expected them to do, and because they didn't meet your expectations in that area, you've got a problem with them? Well, is that something that's commanded in the Word of God? Is it a scriptural expectation that you have of that individual, or is this an extra burden that you've placed on them? Secondly, do you meet that expectation for other people? Because if you yourself wouldn't live up to the standard that you attempt to hold other people to, that is the same hypocrisy that these religious leaders have. And I'll tell you what, nothing stinks worse than hypocritical religion. I mentioned it before, how many people have you heard say, I won't go to church because it's full of hypocrites? And do you know what? They're right. More often than not, the churches, not just in this country, all around the globe, are full of people who give lip service to the Bible, but they wouldn't lift a finger to follow what the Bible actually commands them in their personal life. They won't, they're hypocrites. They're more than happy to agree with the preacher, oh yes preacher, we know the word of God teaches that we should not have anything to do with alcohol. And by the way, I've got this brand new job in the local pub, I'm just a bartender, the Lord provided the job for me, it's great. You know the world can see that hypocrisy from a mile away. they know it. I mean you see it in the workplace and I'm not trying to talk myself up okay but I've been in workplaces with other professing Christians who will tell you that they agree with you on these principles, that they agree with you, oh, you know, you shouldn't be, you know, you shouldn't be, you know, abusing Baptists and, you know, that sort of thing, you know, we ought to be faithful witnesses for Christ and all this sort of thing, and they agree with you in principle on all those things, but then you see the way they live, the way they act in the workplace, the way they talk, and you think, Sorry? You call yourself a Christian, but you talk like that? You call yourself a Christian, but you're just verbally abusing the boss over here. What sort of a testimony is that? It happens. And churches, unfortunately, are full of people who say one thing and do another. It ought not to be so, beloved. It shouldn't be like that, but that is exactly the problem that the Lord Jesus was addressing here. Hypocritical religion. These religious leaders were fakes. To put it simply, they talked a good game, but their actions said another thing altogether. You know, they were the ones who set up the goals. They set the goals for everybody, in effect, but they themselves never scored a goal in their life. That's essentially what's going on here. They were the ones who set the expectations, but they didn't meet the expectations themselves. Hypocrites. False leaders. Fakes. James chapter one verses 22 to 24 says, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. What sort of a Christian are you? Are you a hearer of the word and not a doer? Do you expect others to attend to the word of God while you're content only to hear it in passing? But not really apply it. Not really pay close attention to it and seek the help of the Lord in living it out. These were religious actors. In verse five it says, but all their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues. The phylacteries were boxes in which the Jews would place portions of the law. And the idea that they took on here was that the larger the box, the more spiritual the wearer, of course. It was a display of supposed holiness to enlarge their phylacteries. It was a similar thing with the enlarged borders in their garments, which the tassels in the garments there signified or they felt signaled that they were of great devotion to the law, that they were these great religious men. but they did it to be seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is that he does everything to be seen of men, but not to be seen of God. But God is the one who's watching at all times. And you know, you might fool a man into thinking that you're a real religious person, that you're a real holy Christian, you're a spiritual individual, you are, look at you. Every Sunday, this brother, he comes into church every Sunday with a smile on his face and he always has a word from the Lord for you. He's just such a diligent student of the word and boy will he tell you about it. To be seen of men. But I tell you what, you can't fool God. He is watching you at all times. He sees you when you're not out in public putting on a display for everybody else. He sees you when you're at home. He sees you when you fly off the handle and you lose your temper at your wife or your kids. Kids will test your sanctification, I'll guarantee you. Or maybe your work colleague. just he shouldn't talk to me like that I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind God sees you at all times and the Word of God instructs us that we're to live in a way that is approved under God not men and that was the problem they lived this way to be seen of men and not to honor God They love to have the places of prominence at public gatherings and the chief seats in the synagogues and no doubt this would have appealed to their pride to make them feel more important to have the chief seat, the place of prominence in the synagogue. I'm not saying that all positions of importance are wrong, by the way. If you, by a diligent effort, acquire a position of leadership in the company you work for, that's not a problem. Praise the Lord that your hard labours and your faithfulness in your workplace are being rewarded, but to desire a position just so you can look and feel good in front of others, that is a point of pride. That's what that is. They loved to be greeted in the marketplace where people could see them and appreciate their importance, and they were especially fond of being called by the title of rabbi. In his commentary, David Sorensen says, in modern parlance, that would be similar to being called reverend. Theirs was a religion of outward externals, and they did so ostentatiously. Hypocrites they were to the core. Externals, that's it. A religion of externals, to be seen of men, but not to honour God. And we can have that same approach, even in the local church here, we have individual ministries that we work in, and whether it be someone who's playing an instrument in the orchestra, or someone who's serving in the Sunday school, or a youth group leader, or whatever it might be, And we can put on this show of external religiosity, to be seen of others, just to be seen, to be somebody. And sure, that appeals to your pride, and it'll make you feel good. When other people come up and say, oh, you know, you're such a blessing, brother. Oh, I really enjoy speaking to you. You always encourage me. Oh, you know, well, thank you. I try. It'll make you feel good, but it's not honoring to God. It won't bring the blessing of God upon your life if all you ever do in so-called service to God is to be seen of men. God's blessing isn't upon that. There's no reward for you if all you seek as a reward is the praise of men. You have it now and then it's gone. That doesn't last for eternity. Lastly in verses 8 to 12 we see the instruction there for humility. But be not ye called rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. They were to have a humility in name. Be not called rabbi. Be not called father. Be not called master. So firstly, they were to have a humility in name, and then they were to have a humility in service. But firstly, a humility in name. be not called Rabbi. The name Rabbi is a title that was given to the teachers and spiritual leaders of the day, it was a title of official honour and it means my master. So to call someone Rabbi was to distinguish that person as someone who should be listened to and followed. These religious leaders were someone who you could listen to their exposition of the scriptures to a degree, but you couldn't follow them. But they loved to be called rabbi. They loved the prominence of being called rabbi in the marketplace so that people could observe them and consider them to be a person of importance It's particularly clear from the biblical accounts that this was actually a big part of why the religious leaders hated Jesus. They had realized that people gave more attention and respect to Jesus, and this no doubt hurt their pride. You know, if you're someone who is going around in the marketplace looking for people to pay heed to you and to call you rabbi and to come and listen to you speak, If that's all you're after, well, you're gonna get your nose out of joint when people start talking of, oh, no, no, Jesus is coming, and they all flock to Jesus to hear Jesus speak, and these religious leaders, they go, well, hold on, uh-uh, he's taking the attention away from us. The people are going to listen to him rather than us. We're gonna have to do away with this fella. That was their attitude. They did not come to listen to Jesus and hear the words, the gracious words he spake and say, oh, this one, he is a teacher from God. They came and they said, how can we get rid of him? They loved the prominence. They loved the position. It appealed to their pride. That's all it was, just a display of religiosity, just for the praise of men. be not called father. The Lord Jesus also made it clear that we shouldn't call any man father in a religious context. In his commentary, David Sorensen writes, there is little difference philosophically between rabbinical and pharisaical Judaism of that day and the Roman church later. The emphasis upon rites and rituals and externals, along with a professional clergy in their distinct garb, is strikingly similar between the two. So he's drawing a comparison there between the religious leaders of this day and the Roman Catholic Church and saying, look at their rituals. Look at the rites and the positions within the clergy that they've come up with, their distinct dress, their garb, the way that they present themselves. See how similar they are. It's a form of religiosity. And that's all it is. It's empty religion. Be not called master. The word master refers to a religious teacher. When Jesus told his disciples not to be called masters, he was making it clear that they were to be distinct from these religious leaders of the day and exercise rather humility rather than pride. Likewise, we ought to be humble as servants of Jesus Christ and not try to present ourselves as something greater than we really are. Don't try to present yourself as being something more than God intended you to be. Something greater than you really are. We all like to be seen to be someone who is devoted to Christ. We all want to be seen to be as someone who's ready to help you whenever you need it, who's going to be there and love and support you. We all want to be seen to be these good things, but how often is it a presentation but not a practical reality in our lives? I preach to myself, I know. There are areas in which we can all grow as Christians. And how often do we try to just whitewash those areas though? Rather than seeking the Lord's help in dealing with those things and in growing in those areas, we'd rather just whitewash it and present it like it's nice and clean and shiny. Later on in the chapter, the Lord Jesus talks about these religious leaders as being as whited sepulchres. Whitewashed, presented nice and sparkly. But underneath, there's just a dead body. Let's be honest, that's all that was under there. We like to present ourselves as being something. Often what we think other people expect us to be is exactly what we'll try and present. Instead of thinking, well, what does God want me to be? We think, oh, well, what does this person expect of me? What does this person expect? How would they expect me to speak to them in this situation? And that's how we respond to them. And it's a presentation of something that isn't a practical reality in our lives. It's false religion, it's hypocrisy. Lastly, humility in service. They were instructed to be humble in service. Verses 11 and 12, but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. From the greatest to the least. The greatest shall be least. The instruction of verses 11 to 12 make it very clear that every disciple of Jesus is to be a servant to his brethren. There isn't a single person in the church today who should feel like they are too important to help his brother or sister in Christ. Every one of us should have the approach that we desire to be a help to our brethren. to be an encouragement to them, to be, if needed, to be a shoulder that they might weep on at times. We need to be servants to our brethren. That was the approach that the Lord Jesus was instructing us to have. You see, if we try to exalt ourselves and make something out of ourselves, then the Lord will bring us low. Proverbs 16 verse 18 says, pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. When we try and lift ourselves up and make ourselves out to be somebody, then God has to come and humble us so that we might learn to be a servant. Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. The humble will be exalted. At the end of verse 12 there, we're instructed to be humble. As Christians, that should be our approach. James chapter four, verse 10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Don't try and exalt yourselves. Don't try and be somebody in the church. Oh, I just need to be somebody. Well, you just need to start by just being the person, the servant that God wants you to be. Start there. And if you will humble yourself, the Lord will lift you up in his time. The problem with these religious leaders is that they went about trying to exalt themselves and make themselves seem more important, more spiritual than everyone else. But in reality, it was all a show and their actions were actually devoid of any godly purpose. They were supposed to be the religious leaders, the ones that people looked to as an example of godliness, and in reality, they were devoid of godliness. Their actions were for their own selves. What is your approach to the Christian life, to service for God? Is your approach that you are just here to be seen to be religious? That you're here to be seen to be someone of importance? But in reality, your heart's not in that. In reality, it's just a show. What is your approach to service for God? Is it to be seen of men or to please God? There's nothing that people find more disgusting when they look at the church that professes to be the upholder of the truth, that professes to have the biblical standards. There's nothing that disgusts them more than to see that within the church, there's just rampant hypocrisy. And it's no wonder that many churches have closed their doors because the people give lip service to the word of God, but they will not follow it. They won't lift a finger to do the will of God in their own personal life. They don't desire true holiness in their personal life. They want to present as holy, but they don't actually want that personally in their own personal life, outside of the church, in their home. Holiness extends beyond the church doors. What sort of a Christian are you? Are you someone who says but does not do? Are you someone who hears but doesn't follow? Or are you desiring to be that Christian who is taught by the word of God and follows the teachings of the word of God in a practical way in their personal life? Nothing worse than hypocrisy in the church. Let's close off in prayer this morning. Heavenly Father we thank you again for the passage before us this morning. Father we pray that it would not be the case that we as your people would be found to be hypocritical in our service, in our walk as Christians, Father, we pray that we would indeed have a genuine desire to be made holy by your power in our lives, that we would have a genuine desire to conform our lives to what you would have for us, to your will for us and to your word, we do pray. And might we not be found to be hypocritical Christians. but that we'd be genuine in our love for you, in our service for you, for your glory. And we pray and ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.