Rooted in Christ – When nobody is looking

Matthew 6:1-6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly.”

Here is the tricky part to this whole passage:

  • Jesus seems to be saying that for any of these things to count they must be done in secrecy

Quoted from D.L. Moody:

  • Character is what you are in the dark
  • Character is what is left when the applause is removed

Here is what Achan said when caught and confronted:

  • I saw
  • I coveted
  • I took them
  • I hid them in the ground inside my tent

Here is the thing:

  • What you plant in the dark doesn’t just stay in the dark
  • It grows something
  • It takes root

Your public life and your private life are not two separate lives

Psalm 139:1–4 “You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.”

Daniel 1:8  “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine”

Two definitions for resolve:

  • Make a firm decision
  • Settle something in your mind beforehand

Iceberg flipping video – https://youtube.com/shorts/yELpzUKZDD8

When nobody is looking is not when your character doesn’t matter:

  • That is when your character is being formed
  • That is when your roots are being strengthened and deepened
  • That is when you are building bulk below the waterline

Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking, even when getting caught won’t hurt you

Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Here is one of the things this verse tells us:

  • When you received Jesus in your life
  • You were rooted in him
  • Past Tense

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