Pastor Chuck Bernal – Part 1: MASK – Sunday, April 3, 2016 THE BIBLE VERSES THAT UNDERGIRD THIS ENTIRE SERIES!

Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me.

(Philippians 3:13 – ERV)You will experience the truth, and the truth will free you . . . and if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through. (John 8:32, 36 – Msg)

When I “forget” the past, I refuse to let it __________________________________, ______________________________, or ________________________my present life

TO FORGET THE PAST, YOU FIRST GOTTA REMOVE THE MASK!

It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious leaders, you are hypocrites who pretend to be someone you are not! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but leave the inside dirty . . . Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, merely to be seen by others . . . When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! . . . When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them . . . When you fast, don’t do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look tired and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. (Matthew 23:25-26 – NLV/ Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16 – LB)

HUPOKRITES = ONE WHO WEARS A MASK OR A DISGUISEIn Greek, the word “hypocrite” means someone who is pretending to be or acting as someone else (wearing a mask). It can be negative, as in someone who is intentionally trying to deceive by being a fraud, fake or phony or simply neutral as descriptive of a stage actor who is merely assuming the role for a play. In either case, a “hypocrite” was

someone who was pretending to be someone else and wasn’t who they appeared to be.

TWO REASONS WE WEAR MASKS: ______________ & __________Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

(Romans 12:2 – CEV)The temptation to substitute ______________ for ______________

The temptation to substitute ______________ for ______________

The temptation to substitute ______________ for ______________God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7 – CEV)

OKAY LIFEPOINTE, MASKS OFF!Then he told this story to some who boasted of their virtue and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, and the other a cheating tax collector. The proud Pharisee ‘prayed’ this prayer: ‘Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t commit adultery,  I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.’  “But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored.”

(Luke 18:9-14 – LB)

Not everything that is faced can be changed,but nothing can be changed unless it is faced. (James Baldwin)

We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes . . . Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2 – Msg)

STEP 1: __________________ your struggles (Remove your mask!)

STEP 2: ______________________ your struggles (Get some help!)

STEP 3: ________________________ your struggles (Look to God!)

Each time the Lord said,  “I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities . . . for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10- LB)