World Conference Opening 2011 (Part 2)

Message - The Mask

The Mask

Masks come in many different shapes and sizes, some are very plain, and others are very fancy with lots of decorations. People wear masks for special events Parties or Special occasions. People will usually pick something out that fits their personality. Masks are good for disguising or changing a persons natural appearance, so much so that people might not even recognize a person they know very well.Some people pick out a mask to wear so that they can pretend to be someone that they are not, and others are just trying to hide their true appearance.You might be thinking, so why are you talking about masks? I think that we can learn something important from the concept of, The Mask. I want you to think about masks as it relates to Living Like a Christian and obeying Gods Word, as opposed to just looking like a Christian externally and not doing anything that reflects what you claim to be. I want you to think about this for a moment. You can claim to be a christian but if you don't live your life as the Word of God tells you to to then you are just deceiving yourself, and God knows the Truth. You have put on a Mask Spiritually speaking.I think that at times we all fall short and try to put on a mask. For instance lets say you work at a job for a year and nobody even knows that you are a Christian because there is no evidence of your Christianity. I am not saying that you must witness to everyone at your work there is a time and place for everything. If you are living as a Christian then you are not wearing a mask to disguise your true nature, which is the Light of Jesus Christ. Your Christianity will be self evident in how you live and treat other people and in the Joy of the lord. If you are wearing a mask just take it off don't try to hide the Light. The bible says this Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house Matthew 5:15 KJV. Don't try to hide your new nature in Jesus Christ and don't conform to this world. In other words don't change your true form into something else because that is another kind of mask. Romans 12:2 says And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. If we take off the false mask instead of acting and living as the world does, then we will please God. The renewing and changing is accomplished through reading and praying and Obeying Gods word. I want to examine a few scriptures that will help to clarify the picture of what it is to wear a mask. Lets talk about the word hypocrite. The word hypocrite come from the Greek word (Hypokrisis ὑπόκρισις)  The word refers to play acting or acting out, and  this was applied to the actors in the greek Comedies and Tragedies. Another meaning is coward or dissembling. The word hypocrite is a combination of two words, the word hypo and the word Krinein. The Greek prefix Hypo which means to come under, so it means to come under something else. The word Krinein is a verb and it means to sift or decide. I am explaining this to show you that we choose to be a Hypocrite it is something that we willfully decide to come under, and that it is a mask that we choose to wear. Jesus applied the word hypocrite to the Pharisees which were the Elite Religious Sect that ruled in the Times of Jesus. here is what Jesus said about Hypocrites Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:“‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.They worship me in vain;their teachings are but rules taught by men Matthew 15:3-9 NIV. Jesus condemned these men because they were pretenders they acted very religious yet their Words and their Motives were not the same and Jesus knew their Hearts. We also can say that we are serving the Lord and being obedient and just going to church but the Lord knows our hearts and our true motives and intentions. The Word of God says this, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart Hebrews 4:12 NIV. Here  is another illustration which might seem silly but its true you don't go up to a dog and expect it to meow like a cat and you don't go up to a orange tree and expect to pick apples. You get oranges from orange trees and apples from apple trees. The lord also expects to get the right kind of fruit from our lives he expects you to act like a christian and live like one as well . Don't tell people to do things you are unwilling to do, that is what the pharisees were guilty of. Don't raise your hands in praise just because everyone else is, but with a sincere heart give thanks to the Lord. Regardless of your current situation trial or circumstance give thanks and praise. Also don't do anything to bring Glory or attention to yourself but strive to imitate the perfect example of Jesus Christ who in perfect Humility took the flesh of a man, submitted himself in obedience to God, served and died for all. I don't think that all of you understand that the KING OF KINGS Jesus who is fully God himself  came down and served all that is almost beyond our comprehension. "The Mask"  is something that may look nice but one of its characteristic is that it can't move it is a frozen image likewise we can be a frozen image spiritually speaking as long as we choose to wear these masks. Here is a final scripture to consider,Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come 2 cor 5:17 NIV. Therefore take off the Old man and the old mask my friends, so that everyone can see the Light of the New Creation God Bless you my Friends.