We need to beware of hypocrisy, pretending to be someone when we’re not, and hate the principle of Babylon; instead of this, we need to store up Christ as our treasure in our heart so that we may dispense Him as the treasure into others. Amen!
It is of utmost importance for us to take the Lord’s presence as the criterion for everything in our Christian life and church life.
Our “map” showing us what way to take is simply the Lord’s presence; we do not seek direction from others neither should we depend on others’ contact with God – rather, we should contact God ourselves and have His direct presence.
The only way for us to fully gain and possess Christ as the all-inclusive land for God’s building, we must take God’s presence as the criterion for every matter.
No matter what we do, no matter where we go, and no matter what we intend to do or say, we need to contact the Lord and abide in Him.
When we abide in Christ, He abides in us, and whatever we do will be out of the organic union with Him.
The governing principle of our Christian life should be the Lord’s smile, that is, having His smile, His sweet presence.
The Lord Jesus was such a One; He cared much more for God’s presence, for His time of prayer with the Father, and for the Father’s will and desire, than He cared for anything else.
Those around Him may have thought that it was better for Him to go somewhere or speak something to someone else, but the Lord was governed by the Father’s presence.
Wherever He was, whatever He did, and whatever He spoke was in oneness with the Father, to the extent that He told others that, when they saw Him, they saw the Father.
He was one with the Father, the Father was in Him, and He expressed the Father in everything. There was no discrepancy between the Lord Jesus and the Father: they were fully one.
The apostle Paul followed in the Lord’s footsteps to seek to be one with the Lord to the extent that, when he forgave a brother, he forgave him in the eyes of Christ (2 Cor. 2:10).
He was so one with the Lord that he looked in the index of the Lord’s eyes and, when the Lord forgave the brother, he also forgave the brother. What an organic union!
We who are joined to the Lord are one spirit with Him, and we should live in spirit.
We need to learn to be one with our God, live in the organic union with Him, and allow nothing to distract us from enjoying Him.
What we need is not to find a better way for us to be holy, to overcome, to be victorious, or to be spiritual; though these things seem so good, what we really need to is be one with the Lord and live in His presence constantly.
When we remain in the organic union with the Lord, whatever we do is His doing, whatever we say is Him speaking through us, and wherever we go, He goes in our going.
Beware of the Sin of Hypocrisy, Pretending to be something we’re not to get others’ Praise
When the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan and gained the victory over Jericho, the first person to commit sin was Achan (Josh. 7:21).
While they were destroying Jericho, he desired and took some gold, some silver, and a beautiful garment from Shinar, and he hid them in his tent.
Even though he did this secretly and no one knew about it, his sin caused the failure at Ai, and the entire people of Israel suffered.
The intrinsic, spiritual significance of Achan’s sin was his coveting a beautiful Babylonian garment (Shinar is the area that was later called Babylon) in his seeking to improve himself, to make himself look better for the sake of appearance.
And although it was only him who sinned, he caused the entire congregation to stumble and be stopped, even to suffer, for this individual sin affected the entire body of God’s people.
We shouldn’t think that it is just us who sin, and no one knows about it; the sin of one can affect the entire Body of Christ.
The Babylonian garment was so beautiful; it was to make oneself look better for the sake of appearance, as opposed to something real, truthful, sincere, and beautiful from within.
This is the principle of hypocrisy, of falsehood; it is desiring to be one way on the outside while we are different on the inside.
In this age of Instagram and TikTok, the whole world is going in the direction of putting on a mask and pretending to be someone they are not simply to get others’ praise and appreciation.
In the church life, however, we need to beware of the sin of hypocrisy, the sin of pretending to be someone we’re not in order to get other’s praise.
In the New Testament in the early church, we see that the first sin committed was by Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit; they sinned in the same principle – hypocrisy, pretending to be someone they are not, in order for others to appreciate them (Acts 5:1-11).
They wanted to be looked upon as being some who greatly loved the Lord, but they were not like that on the inside.
They had a portion of land, some real estate, and sold it; then, they put the money at the feet of the apostles – but not the entire sum, rather, they kept some for themselves.
They were not truthful but rather, even though they didn’t love the Lord very much, they wanted to be looked upon as those who greatly loved the Lord.
They were just pretending; God’s people need to be delivered from pretending before men.
Pretending to be someone we’re not in order to gain others’ praise and appreciation is the principle of Babylon, which is hypocrisy (Rev. 17:4, 6; Matt. 23:13-36).
Ananias and Sapphira were not willing to offer everything cheerfully to God, but before man, they acted as if they had offered all; they pretended to be someone they are not.
Whenever we put on a garment that doesn’t match our actual condition, we are in the principle of Babylon.
Whenever we pretend to be someone we are not, when we try to show others that we are more loving toward the Lord and more spiritual and caring, we are in the principle of Babylon, which is hypocrisy.
May the Lord save us from hypocrisy. May the Lord save us from living or behaving in the principle of Babylon.
Lord Jesus, save us from hypocrisy. Save us from pretending to be someone we are not. Save us from trying to show others that we are more spiritual or more loving, when inwardly we are not like this. Deliver us from pretending before men. Deliver us from the sin of hypocrisy and make us real men, those who worship God in spirit and in truthfulness. We want to gain Your praise, Your appreciation, and Your acceptance. We do not seek any glory or appreciation from men – we only want to be in the Lord’s presence and have His smile. Amen, Lord, keep us one spirit with You, enjoying You and experiencing You as the all-inclusive good land for the building up of the church!
Being Delivered from Hypocrisy by Worshipping God in Spirit and Truthfulness and Gaining Christ as our Treasure
Whether in the Old or in the New Testament, there’s the same principle – the principle of Babylon – which we need beware of that we would not pretend, we would not be hypocrites.
The principle of Babylon is that, even though there’s no reality, yet people act as if there is in order to obtain glory from man.
Many pretend to be spiritual by offering long prayers and doing great outward works for God, paying a great price to do this or go there for God.
Many today put on a garment that doesn’t match their actual condition. Even we ourselves, we don’t know how much falsehood we have put on in order to receive glory from man. Oh, Lord!
Everything done in falsehood to receive glory from man is done in the principle of the harlot, not in the principle of the bride.
We may offer God our consecration in front of others – this is false consecration, which is a sin. We may pretend to be spiritual for others to see and hold us to a high esteem – false spirituality is a sin.
However, God is looking for true worship, the true worshippers who worship Him in spirit and in truthfulness (see Rev. 17:4-5; 19:7-9; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 2 Cor. 2:10; 5:14-15; John 4:23-24).
May we be delivered from false spirituality and from false consecration.
May we be delivered from hypocrisy by worshipping God in spirit and truthfulness so that we may be made real men, true men before God and man.
May we be true worshippers of God in spirit and truthfulness, in sincerity, with nothing false but everything real, so that what is outside is also what is inside.
May He have mercy on us to expose the principle of Babylon in us and eradicate it from our being.
May God enlighten us so that, in His light, we may judge everything in us which is not absolute toward Him.
When we judge ourselves in this way, under His light, we will confess that we also hate the principle of Babylon, and we will not seek any glory and honour outside of Christ.
In 1 Sam. 16:7 the Lord told Samuel that, it is not how man sees that matters, for man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart.
Our heart is what matters; we need to be those who worship God in spirit and truthfulness, and we need to treasure up God’s word in our heart (Psa. 119:1).
Furthermore, we need to allow Christ to make His home in our heart (Eph. 3:16-17).
As we treasure the Lord’s word in our heart and allow Christ to make His home in our heart, He will become the good treasure of our heart.
We will then express what we are, for out of the abundance of our heart we can dispense Christ as the wonderful, good treasure into others (Luke 6:44-45).
May we be delivered from the sins of hypocrisy and falsehood and deceit, and may we be true worshippers of God in spirit and in truthfulness.
May what we are on the inside also be on the outside, that is, may God in Christ be our treasure and He would also be expressed through us in a spontaneous way.
May we remain in God’s presence, and may we worship Him in spirit and truthfulness, staying away from any hypocrisy or pretending to be something or someone we are not.
Lord Jesus, save us from false spirituality. Save us from hypocrisy. Save us from pretending to be someone or something that we are not. We come to You, dear Lord, to worship You in spirit and truthfulness. Make us true men; work Yourself as the true One into us and make us real, true, and genuine. May what’s on the inside be also shown on the outside. We come to You in Your word, for we treasure Your word in our heart. We open to You, Lord, that You may make Your home in our heart through faith. May Christ become the good treasure of our heart so that there would be an abundance of our heart – an abundance of Christ – that will overflow to others! Amen, Lord, become the treasure of our heart and flow out through us into many others as the wonderful and good treasure!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, The Glorious Church, ch. 5 (by Watchman Nee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 4, The Need for God’s People to Seek the Lord’s Direction and Have the Lord’s Presence to Display His Victory for the Building Up of His Body and the Spreading of His Kingdom.
- Hymns on this topic:
– O Lord our God, we worship Thee, / In Thee we have our all; / Thyself we treasure in our heart, / Thy Name we love to call. (Hymns #56)
– Low we bow before Thy face, / Sons of God, O wondrous place; / Great the riches of Thy grace: / Father, we adore Thee. / By Thy Spirit grant that we / Worshipers in truth may be; / Praise, as incense sweet to Thee: / Father, we adore Thee. (Hymns #49)
– In the secret of His presence / How my soul delights to hide! / Oh, how precious are the lessons / Which I learn at Jesus’ side! / Earthly cares can never vex me, / Neither trials lay me low; / For when Satan comes to tempt me, / To the secret place I go. (Hymns #553)
About aGodMan
