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That's code 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.320 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.280 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.800 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.880 We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.319 leave Inspire. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.360 every week. We appreciate your support. It helps keep the 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:45.240 ministry going. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:57.840 Enjoy the message. 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.960 God bless you. It's always a joy to come into 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.600 your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.000 stop buying. Be a part of one of our services. 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:09.440 I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.239 These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.560 right here at Lakewood. But thanks for tuning in. Thank 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.880 you again for coming out. And I like to start 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:20.880 with something funny. And I heard about this mom. She 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:24.320 was cooking breakfast for her two young sons, Ryan was 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.799 five and Kevin was three. They begin to argue over 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.880 who should get the first pancake. She saw it as 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:34.280 an opportunity to teach them a lesson. She said, boys, boys, 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.440 if Jesus were here, he would say, let my brother 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.880 have the first pancake. Ryan turned to his little brother 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:46.120 and said, Okay, Kevin, you be Jesus. Hold up your Bible. 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:48.720 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:51.360 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:53.760 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.520 I can do. Today I will be talked the word 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:00.480 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:04.720 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.560 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:12.760 about being real. It's easy to go through life. We're 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:16.080 in different masks. Instead of dealing with the issues that 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.040 we know are holding us back. Too often, we keep 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.639 them covered up, pretending that everything is okay. We're more 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:27.120 concerned about the outside, what people are going to think, 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:31.000 our image, than we are the inside. It takes a 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.560 lot of work to deal with the inner issues, our character, 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.160 our motives, our attitude, our behaviors, things that we know 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.240 are not right. It's much easier to put on a 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:45.120 mask and pretend. And some people have a mask for 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:50.600 every situation. They're professional pretenders. They have a mass for work, 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.880 a mass for home, a mass for this friend, even 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.360 a mass for church. They come in on Sundays, they're 0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:00.480 not speaking to their spouse, mad at their neighbor, can't 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:03.120 pay their bills, greet or ask how you're doing. Blessed 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:07.240 in highly favored. Couldn't get any better, And I'm all 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:11.760 for having an attitude of victory, not being controlled by circumstances. 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.400 But in order to get well, you have to get real. 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.359 You have to take that mask off, get honest with 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.680 yourself and say, okay, I have some things to deal with. 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.440 This is not normal. When you get down to the 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.080 real you, not to pretend you. That's when God can 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.440 turn things around. But it's tempting to go around. We're 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.360 in different masks. We don't want people to think less 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:38.360 of us, so we hide behind that mask of pride. 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.440 I don't have any issues. I don't need any help. 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:45.800 God will not bless who you pretend to be. God 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:49.640 blesses people who are real, not people who are perfect, 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.279 not people that don't have any issues, but people who 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.800 are honest enough to say, God, I have this bad habit. 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:00.120 I need your help. I'm taking off the mask that 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.560 everything is okay or God, I'm struggling with my temper. 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.280 I made a mistake. I blew it. 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:06.640 God. 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:10.680 I need your forgiveness. When you're honest, you opened the 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.680 door for God to come in and begin to change things. 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.279 But as long as we're pretending, not dealing with the 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:20.919 real issues, it's not going to improve. This is what 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.760 happened with the Pharisees in the scripture. They were the 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:27.520 religious leaders. They did the right thing, but they didn't 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.480 get a reward because they did it for the wrong reason. 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:33.680 They went to the temple each week like they were 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:37.120 supposed to, but they didn't go to worship. They went 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.800 to be seen to be well thought of, to impress people. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.960 They would pray these long, fancy prayers out loud, not 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:49.479 because they were sincere. They wanted everybody to hear them. 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:53.480 They gave their money, they supported the poor, but it 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.720 was only to make them look good. They were doing 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.560 the right thing, but they had wrong motives. They were 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:05.120 wearing masks. Here's the key. Your inner life is more 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:08.680 important than your outer life. It's easy to put on 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.599 masks and disguise what's going on on the inside, but 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:17.080 Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart. On a 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:21.080 regular basis, we should ask ourselves why am I doing this? 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.600 Why am I being nice to this person because I 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.240 like them and I want to help them? Or do 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.240 I want something from them? Am I trying to impress them? 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.000 Why am I working eighty hours a week because I 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:36.839 need the funds? Or am I trying to prove to 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:40.279 people that I'm successful trying to gain my self worth 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.600 by what I do? Well, Joel, I've been volunteering in 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:47.000 the nursery for six years. Nobody's told me thank you, 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:50.760 nobody's given me any credit. Well, somebody should thank you, 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.279 But the bigger issue is are you doing it for 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.279 the applause, for the credit, or you're doing it to 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.279 be pleasing under God. You got to pull that mask 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:04.559 back and examine your inner life. Don't go like the 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:08.240 Pharisees year after year doing the right thing, giving serving, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:12.160 helping others, but not receiving a reward because you're doing 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:16.280 it for the wrong reason. Facing truth about ourselves can 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:20.360 be uncomfortable. It's hard to admit. Maybe I didn't have 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.480 the right motives. Maybe I am playing up to this 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.840 coworker so they'll put in a good word for me. 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:30.320 Maybe I am smiling on the outside telling my friends 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:34.320 congratulation on your big promotion. On the inside, I'm thinking 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.360 you didn't deserve it. That depresses me. You're just lucky. 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.400 You got to pull that mask back. If you look 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:44.160 inside and get honest, you can overcome the things that 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:48.040 will hold you back. I know people that are very talented. 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.200 They work hard, they're doing the right thing, but they 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.120 can't seem to get ahead. It's because there's a problem 0:07:55.240 --> 0:08:01.280 on the inside. They're not addressing the hidden issues motives, character, pride, jealousy, 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:05.640 things like that. Paul said in Second Corinthians four, we 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:10.120 refuse to wear masks and play games. We keep everything 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:14.360 out in the open, the whole truth on display. That's 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.240 the kind of people we should be. Our life is 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:21.240 an open book. We're not wearing any mask, thinking one 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:25.160 thing and saying something else. Our motives are pure. We're 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:29.000 not perfect, but we're dealing with the issues, not pretending, 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.320 not disguising it. We're real. When you live like that, 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:37.560 open and honest, God will make you and muld you 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.640 into a vessel of honor used for his highest purposes. 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:45.400 He'll take you further than you ever imagine. In the 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.679 parable of the Prodigal Son, the young man asked his 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:52.080 father for his inheritance. He went out and spent all 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.679 of his money partying, living wild, hanging out with the 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.840 wrong people. He blew his inheritance. What should have lasted 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.880 years only lasted a matter of months. There came a 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:07.640 great famine in the land. He had no money, no 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:11.319 place to live, and nobody to blame. It was only 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:15.280 his fault. The only job he could find was working 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:21.040 at a hog pen, feeding the hogs. It was hot, dirty, smelly. 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.560 To make matters worse, he ended up having to live 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.560 in the hogpen, eating hog food to survive. That could 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.240 have been the end of the story. Too bad, he 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.920 brought the trouble on himself. He missed his destiny. But 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:40.800 the scripture says when he came to himself, that means 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.000 when he took off the mask, when he quit pretending, 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.960 when he quit making excuses. In other words, when he 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:52.600 got real. He said, my father has servants that live 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.120 better than me at home. I would arise and go 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:00.200 back to my father's house. When the father saw him 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.560 a long way down the road, the father took off, 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:07.680 running toward him, gave him a hug. He told his staff, 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:11.880 let's have a party. My son has returned home. The 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:16.640 father represents God. He saw him coming a long way off. 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.200 That means he was looking for him. When you take 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:24.079 your mask off, God will come running towards you when 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.720 you get honest to say God, I need help with 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.360 this addiction. I need help with this anger, this temper 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:32.720 or God, I've made a mess of things. I need 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.800 help in my marriage. God won't say I'm not gonna 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.320 help you. You made the mess. Just the opposite. He'll 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.800 come running when you're humbled enough to say, God, I've 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.280 come to the end of myself. I can't break this 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:49.680 addiction in my own strength. I can't straighten up my 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.760 life just in my ability. When you acknowledge you need 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:57.160 God's help. He'll make things happen that you could never 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:02.280 make happen. Are you wearing any mass today, hiding behind 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:05.520 a mask of pride, not wanting to ask for help, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:09.920 too embarrassed to admit that something is wrong. God is 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:13.000 not going to fault you for where you are. He 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:16.160 knew every mistake we would make before we ever made it. 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:20.199 He knows our flaws. Our weakness is our failures. You 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:24.559 don't have to pretend you can be honest like the prodigal. 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:27.040 When you go to God, you take off that mask. 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.520 That's when you'll see things begin to turn around. This 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.280 is what David did. You remember he made a pretty 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:38.360 major mistake. He committed adultery with Bathsheba. He tried to 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:41.800 cover it up, It only made matters worse. He sent 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.600 her husband out to the front lines of the battlefield 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.120 and he was killed. Now that her husband was gone, 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.600 he took Bathsheba as his wife. David acted like nothing 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.600 was wrong. Life is good, no big deal. He was 0:11:55.640 --> 0:12:00.000 wearing the mask. Only he and Bathsheba knew anything about it. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:00.319 It. 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.760 David tried to ignore it, go about his business. But 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.679 the problem is when you're wearing masks. You step out 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:12.320 of God's favor, you step out of his protection, his blessing. 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:17.120 For one year, David was miserable. He was sick, He 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:21.480 became weak. All kinds of things came against him. Normally 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:25.520 he could overcome them. He had defeated Goliath, he had 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:30.160 survived Saul chasing him through the desert. He'd overtaken great armies. 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:35.280 But now the tables have turned deep down. David knew 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.480 what the problem was. He was smart enough to get 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:43.079 honest with himself. He took off the mask Psalm fifty one. 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:48.040 He said, God, I acknowledge my transgressions. I'm not covering 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:52.360 it anymore. I admit that I've done wrong. The first 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:57.360 step to recovery is you have to accept responsibility. You 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.080 have to own it. You can't over what you want 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.200 it meant. And it's easy to go around hiding things, 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.240 hiding an addiction, hiding a failure, hiding an area that 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.760 you're struggle in, Like David, what you hide, all that's 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.280 going to do is eat away at you on the inside. 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:17.360 It's like poison. It's much better to be real and 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.400 go to God and say I acknowledge that I've made 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.920 this mistake or God, I acknowledge that I'm still struggling 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.640 in this area. David went on to say, God, you 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:31.840 require truth in the inward parts. He was saying, God, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.400 you require us to be real. You require us to 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:40.040 take off the mask. You can't pretend and have God's 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.640 blessing at the same time. If you're covering the issues, 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.040 not dealing with them. It's not going to magically go away. 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:51.880 But there is a way out. God is not holding 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:56.880 your faults, your mistakes against you. He has mercy, forgiveness, 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:00.640 new beginnings. But you have to do your part. Take 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:04.920 off the mask, quit pretending, and go to God and 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:09.360 be real. He already knows what you're dealing with. It's 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:13.040 not a surprise to God. When you ask for his help, 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:17.760 his forgiveness, his mercy, that's when he'll begin to restore 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.760 you and put you back on the right path. This 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.600 is what David did. He said, God, create in me 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.080 a clean heart, restore under me the joy of my salvation. 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:31.320 He got it out in the open, asked for forgiveness. 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.120 God forgave him, restored him. He went on to do 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:38.040 great things. God will do the same thing for you. 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.400 Not only did David. Take off the mask of pretending 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.240 everything was perfect when it wasn't. Under that mask was 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.280 a mask of shame. I can't believe I did this? 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.600 What was I thinking about? I'll never become who I 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.360 was created to be. The mask of shame can keep 0:14:56.400 --> 0:15:00.880 you from your destiny. Voices will constantly wish. You can't 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.800 take this mask off. You're paying God back for your mistakes. 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:10.120 You're showing him that you're sorry. You should live guilty, ashamed, embarrassed, unworthy. 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:14.240 Look what you've done, friends, The price has already been paid. 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.760 You don't have to pay God back. You don't have 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:23.360 to live guilty and condemned. God has mercy for every 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:27.720 mistake you've ever made. He didn't disqualify you. He can 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.680 still get you to where you're supposed to be. Take 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.760 off the mask of shame. A friend of mine was 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:37.840 raised in a very dysfunctional home. His father was an alcoholic, 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.800 and when he would drink too much, he would become 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.920 angry and violent and mistreat his mother, bring all kinds 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:48.040 of turmoil in the home. My friend, this young man 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:52.600 grew up just like his father, addicted to drugs, angry, violent, 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.040 couldn't hold down a job, But in his mid twenties, 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:58.640 he gave his life to Christ and he had this 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:02.600 major turnaround. He ended up becoming the pastor of a church. 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.520 It's well respected in the community. He'd go around telling 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:10.040 people what God had done his story, but what people 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:14.000 didn't know is he still had this anger problem. He 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:17.320 was free from the drugs, from the addiction, but the 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:21.400 smallest things would set him off. Just like his father. 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.160 He would go into fits of rage and mistreat his wife, 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.560 his family. He knew it was wrong, but he was 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.800 too embarrassed to ask for help. His wife told him 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.800 again and again, honey, you can't keep living like this, 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.720 pretending everything is okay. He would answer, I know, but 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.160 I'm supposed to be the example. What are people going 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.160 to think of me if they find out I have 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:49.080 this anger problem. Sometimes we're more concerned about what people 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.960 are going to think than we are about what God thinks. 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.680 One day, like the prodigal son, he came to the 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:59.880 end of himself. He got tired of pretending. He found 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.320 trusted friend and went and told him everything that was 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.840 going on. The scripture says to do this, confess your 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.840 faults one to another, and you will be healed. But 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.080 if you keep hiding things, ignoring it, covering it up, 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.280 it's not gonna go away. You have to take off 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:20.520 the mask. Well, Joel, what are people gonna think if 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.360 they find out I'm dealing with this issue? What if 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.840 my coworkers learn that I'm struggling in this area? Can 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:31.000 I tell you everybody is struggling with something? There are 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:35.879 no perfect people. Don't be embarrassed by it. The enemy 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:40.920 would love for you to go your whole life wearing masks, pretending, 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.560 not dealing with the real issues. There is a freedom 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.440 when you take that mask off and you get real. 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.560 That's what my friend did. He got involved in a 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.439 good support group, something like Celebrate Recovery that we have 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.480 here today. He's totally free, one of the kindest, most 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:02.000 gentle people you'll ever meet. But he would still be pretending, 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.400 still be dealing with that anger issue if he hadn't 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:09.120 made the decision to take off the mask. Paul said 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:14.920 in Second Corinthians three, we see God's glory with unveiled faces. 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.959 As long as your face is veiled, as long as 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.560 you're wearing that mask, you won't see God's glory. If 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.600 you're wearing the mask of perfection, pretending everything is okay 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.320 when it's not. Or like my friend, wearing a mask 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.679 of pride, not wanting to ask for help. That's going 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.480 to keep you from God's best. I'm asking you to 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:39.120 take off the mask. You don't have to pretend. When 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.720 you're real, you'll see God's favor. When there's truth on 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:46.760 the inside, you'll see things begin to turn around. That 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.000 same verse goes on to say God changes us from 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:54.359 glory to glory. Notice God doesn't change us from shame 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:58.040 to glory. If you're wearing the mask of shame, you're 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:01.320 gonna get stuck. You gotta take that mask off. He 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:04.760 doesn't change us from pride to glory, but from glory 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:08.119 to glory. When you're not wearing any mask, you have 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:11.439 God's glory on your life. When you're open and honest, 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:14.119 that's when God can change you and take you to 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:18.119 the next level of your destiny. But maybe, like my friend, 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.320 you've been wearing a mask for a long time. You 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:23.960 have some issues you're not proud of. You don't want 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:27.760 anybody to know. The easy thing is to keep covering it, 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:32.560 pretending everything's okay. But the problem with wearing a mask 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.560 your whole life is you will miss your destiny. God 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:40.000 will not bless who you pretend to be, but he 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:44.480 will bless who you are false in all when you're real. 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.479 An unveiled face doesn't mean that we're perfect. We're not 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.160 struggling in any area. Simply means we're an open book. 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:56.119 We're not pretending we're real. There was a man in 0:19:56.160 --> 0:20:00.440 the scripture named Zachiss He was a tax collector. They 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.760 were known for being dishonest and for cheating people. They 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:07.920 were looked down on, despised, nobody liked them. Zach Kius 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:11.199 was the chief tax collector. That means he was in 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.680 charge of all the dishonest people. You can imagine how 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:18.040 disliked he was. But Zachias was very good at what 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:21.520 he did. He was a wealthy man. One day he 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.399 heard that Jesus was coming through his city, and he 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:27.560 was so excited and couldn't wait to see him. But 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:31.320 the problem was Zachius was very short. He couldn't see 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.840 over all the people in the crowd. But being at 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.440 a disadvantage had never stopped him before. He knew how 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.760 to manipulate things and get his way. He went over 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:45.840 to a tree and started climbing up wasn't easy. He 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.239 had to work hard to strain, put forth a law 0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:52.440 of effort. Eventually he had the best seat of anyone. 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:58.480 Zakius was not only short physically, but symbolically. You could 0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:02.720 say he came up short. He wasn't making good decisions 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:05.439 in life. He was a fraud. He had made his 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:09.360 living by deceiving people. Now he was up in this 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:13.200 tree to make up for his weaknesses. He looked good 0:21:13.320 --> 0:21:17.720 up there, impressive. Once again, he had positioned himself for 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:21.159 an advantage. People may not have liked him, but they 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:25.280 couldn't argue he had the best seat around. His whole life, 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:28.320 he had pushed others down to get what he wanted. 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.679 He didn't care about people. He cared about position, about 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:35.000 what's in it for me. He was an expert at 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:40.080 getting the upper hand. Finally, the big moment arrived. Jesus 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.960 came passing through the city. There were hundreds, maybe thousands 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:48.199 of people there, everybody screaming, waving, trying to get his attention. 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:53.000 About that time. Out of all the people there, Jesus stopped, 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.800 looked up in the tree and said, Hazac Kiss. They 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:01.080 had never met before, but Jesus called him by name. 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.240 Isn't it interesting that Jesus knew the main sinner in 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:09.359 the crowd. This shows us the heart of God. You 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:11.919 may think that God would never have anything to do 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.639 with you. You made too many mistakes, you have too 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:17.679 much negative baggage, too many hang ups, or just like 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.159 Zachia is, God is calling your name. He has a 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:25.720 destiny for you to fulfill, an assignment for you to accomplish. 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.280 God will pass over all the people that have it together, 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.639 all the people that everybody else would write off, to 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:37.359 find that one person that's struggling. That's why you're here today. 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:40.320 That's why you're listening. It's not by accident. God is 0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:45.200 calling your name. God looks beyond the failures are mistakes. 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:48.080 He looks beyond our mask what we pretend to be. 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:52.920 God knows who you really are. He's the one who 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:56.679 breathed life into you. He puts seeds of greatness on 0:22:56.720 --> 0:23:01.000 the inside. He sees your potential, what you're capable of. 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:04.240 No matter what you've done in the past, God has 0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:06.960 not written you off. He can still get you to 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:11.159 your destiny. Zach Kus was shocked. He looked down and 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:15.240 asked somebody. Did he just call my name? They said, yeah, 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:19.040 he said, zach Kis. He scratched his head, thinking, how 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.359 does this man know my name. I'm not a religious person. 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.600 I haven't lived an upstanding life. I'm a fraud. I've 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.960 made a living cheating people. Yeah I look impressive, I 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:32.000 look important up here, but I know this is not 0:23:32.080 --> 0:23:35.960 who I am. He had worn that mask for so long, 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:39.560 for so many years, he had convinced himself that's who 0:23:39.560 --> 0:23:44.679 he was. When Jesus called his name, he felt a conviction. 0:23:45.160 --> 0:23:48.640 Something down in here said, this is not who you are. 0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:52.960 You're better than this. What was happening, The mask was 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:58.040 being exposed. See, God knows who you really are, not 0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:01.280 who you pretend to be. There will be times, like 0:24:01.400 --> 0:24:05.080