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The Secret Life: A Call to Authenticity 0:01 Welcome to the men's global livestream. If you have a Bible, I want you to hold a couple spots. 1 is in Colossians chapter 3, and the other is in Matthew 6. If you are joining us for0:13 the first time, we're in the middle of a series called Secret Life, and the big idea of this series is that every man has a secret life known0:24 only to God. And that life can be something you hide, or that can be a life that you pursue intentionally with God. Those are our only 2 options, and they're very0:36 different, and they have very different outcomes and consequences. 1 life is invisible and hidden to man, but is visible to God, and0:48 that life is going to be exposed and judged in the end. The other life, similarly, is hidden to man, not hidden to God, and that life1:00 is lived intentionally. It's encouraged by God, and God wants to reward and bless that secret life. Alright? Now, just by way of review,1:12 in part 1 we laid a foundation for this discussion by focusing on what the Bible says about our secret lives, and we learned that our secret life before God1:24 reflects our view of God. In other words, we live out our secret lives based on who we think God is, how we perceive him1:36 in our minds. Right? And we came to some, well, perhaps uncomfortable conclusions about the 2 different types of secret lives. And we discovered1:49 how God's man can work with God on his secret life versus what? Versus fear God's judgment of it. In part 2, we talked about Jesus's2:01 call to a secret life of generosity and giving. And what are the decisions that go into that kind of life? What's the thinking, biblically, that goes into that kind of life that we2:12 need to integrate? And then we saw how God wants to reward a secret life of generosity and giving. In part 3, we're building, guys. We're building on our2:24 mindset about the secret life, and and in this session, we're gonna apply that toward Jesus's call to a private and powerful prayer life that2:36 is seen and rewarded by the Father. Alright? And so to get you thinking in the right direction and toward this discussion in the Gospels, let me ask you a question. Have2:48 you ever changed your behavior in front of other people to put your best foot forward or to make an impression?3:00 See, my my guess is that you have. I know certainly in my life, meeting my then girlfriend and future wife's dad for the first time, you can count on3:12 I was on my best behavior. Right? What about maybe in the professional setting, you know, when your boss visits your region or the president of the company is I mean,3:23 everybody's running around for that. Or maybe there's a board meeting. Right? Everybody's putting their best foot forward. Everybody's trying to make an impression. Or what about maybe more on the the, the the3:35 personal level? What about when you're meeting a group of guys for the first time and someone says, so what do you do? Right? I just know because I know3:47 myself that there's this character that comes out, and I call him impression man. Right? He kind of takes over, and he comes out of the gate hot, and he might stretch the truth a little bit, but3:59 he definitely wants the people around him to think or perceive him, listen, in a certain way in order to make an4:10 impression. Right? Impression, man. Now what about if you're in a group of believers? Do you think impression4:22 man comes out or stays hidden? Well, the the reality is because of human nature. We're all trying to put our best foot forward, but there's this tension between4:35 impressing people and walking with God. There's what we know about ourselves, and there's what people know. Then there's what we know about ourselves and what God knows.4:47 Well, if you haven't experienced impression man in circles of believers or Christians, don't worry. You will. Now let's head to4:58 today's session. Jesus wants us to know something in light of what I just discussed. And here it is. You can abandon trying to impress5:11 men spiritually. Specifically, you can abandon trying to impress people around you when it involves the discipline of prayer.5:24 Now why? Why can we just forget about people and focus only on God? Because with God, you're already known. You're already loved. You're already5:37 cherished. You're not like some unknown dignitary. Right. Talking to a foreigner. You're his son talking to5:49 your dad. And so we're gonna explore that, but first, let's lay more foundation. Let's fortify our mindset on our secret life in God, and then we'll explore Jesus's6:01 call to a secret life of prayer. In the book of Colossians, in chapter 3, there's a theme, and it's gonna come out as we read Colossians 3 17 and 23 together. Ready?6:13 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him. Work willingly at whatever6:25 you do as though you were working for the Lord, listen, rather than for people. Okay, so do you do you pick up the tension there right?6:37 Whatever you do you know do it do it for the Lord and then whatever you do do it for the Lord rather than people6:48 right so it's talking about this connection that we we have to God It's it's you and the Lord, but it's among men. And sometimes7:00 there can be a split in who your focus on is on. And the Bible says, keep this focus. Keep it trained on God whatever you're7:12 doing and let's make some some really easy observations from These 2 verses from Colossians chapter 3 the first observation is this God's man is a7:23 reflector of God's presence. Right? And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, that's outward. Right? That's outbound energy in words and deeds. Do it all7:36 in the name of the Lord. Now when you when you see that phraseology, do it all in the name of the Lord, the translation is reflect his character. Right?7:47 Like reflect his light. Right? Reflect his righteousness. Reflect his love. God's man is a reflector of God's7:59 presence. The second observation that we want to make is that God's man is grateful for God's presence. Right? Do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks8:11 to God the Father through him. So as we're reflecting, there is this driver, and it's an attitude of gratitude. Right, in the relationship that8:23 we have with God, and and that's a source of energy and motivation. Our gratitude to God makes us want to reflect his presence8:36 when we're with others. And then the third observation is really simple. God's man is singularly focused on God's presence. Right?8:48 Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord. In other words, that's in the back of your mind the whole time rather than for people. And so there is this8:59 theme in Colossians about conscious contact with God, conscious awareness of his presence to be a reflector of God's presence,9:12 and the attitude that's driving it is just gratitude that you're in relationship with God and you have his presence. And then just that9:23 that's the way we live. That's our rhythm. That is the driver for our energy and our expression. We're singularly focused on God's presence. And as we're learning, I think in parts 1,9:35 2, and now 3, fortifying our mindset on the secret life is that our secret life is really a mindset of God's presence and9:47 being aware and in conscious contact with God's presence as we go through our day, no matter where we are, where we live, where we work, where we9:58 play, where we pray with other believers. We are living in this private connection with God. And this is a10:10 theme. You know, we have our next verse, which is Micah six:eight. It says this, He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of10:22 you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. I want you to circle and to walk humbly with your10:34 God. You see, if walking humbly with God, if there's this conscious awareness and conscious contact and private connection between you and God, guess what follows? You'll be doing10:46 justice, and loving kindness will follow you in your thoughts and your actions. So what's a little headline we can write over10:57 our secret life in God? Write this down. My secret life before God is me actively practicing God's presence. My secret11:09 life before God is me actively practicing God's presence. And so let's just kind of sink that in to our mindset, practicing God's presence. And11:21 now let's bring more specificity to this idea of practicing God's presence through looking at how that relates to Jesus's call11:34 to a secret life of prayer. And the headline there, again, practicing God's presence, is this. God is relational. Can we say that together? God is relational.11:46 Now, if I asked you, tell me some words that describe God, we might bring up some of the words that that we've mentioned in the series. Wow. He's he's everywhere at all times. He's all11:58 knowing. He's all powerful. He's loving. He's merciful. And we would say a bunch of words, but you know a word that many times is often never said when or thought of when you're talking about God is12:10 that God is relational. And that's going to inform what we talk about about next because the best way to build relationship with God, the best way to12:22 build a conscious contact with him is having a secret life of prayer with him. That's why I started off in12:33 Colossians chapter 3. But as we're going to learn, God loves it when it's just you and him. He digs it. And in Matthew 6, we're12:45 gonna unpack God's desire, verse by verse, that's gonna create a clear picture of God's man and his secret life of12:57 prayer with God. Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 through 8, this is Jesus talking. He says this, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and13:09 at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they've received their reward. But when you pray, go into13:20 your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you.13:32 And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them,13:45 for your father knows what you need before you ask him. So there's some strong words and some strong direction and some13:56 strong insight into relationship with God and what he wants in the relationship. Number 1, what God wants is I talk to God with right14:08 motives. He wants me to talk to him with the right motives. When Jesus says, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners,14:20 that and that's a key word whenever you see the word that in scripture circle it because then the predicate and pay offers comes after me that they may be seen by14:32 others truly I say to you they have received their reward. What's Jesus saying? That if impressing other people is your motive14:44 when you're praying in a group, right, that motive itself kills all spiritual momentum. You might impress other people14:56 around you in that setting, but you're not impressing God, and that kills spiritual momentum. God's not going, Man, that was a really15:07 super religious prayer, or That was just so spiritual. If that's your motive, it kills all momentum in prayer. In James,15:19 chapter 4, verse 3, kind of builds on this theme where God's word says, You ask and you do not receive because you ask with what? Wrong motives. So that,15:31 circle that, you may spend it on your pleasures. So it's the same principle that there are mixed motives in prayer. And we're beginning to see the15:43 lens, right, of the secret life. God sees past our externals. He sees past our image. He sees past impressions. He's got his eye on our heart15:55 and our affections and our motives and that's what he's really dialed in on. Right? And again, if your motives are off, if your motives in prayer or any16:07 spiritual activity in the name of God are there, if they're selfish, you're killing all momentum. And you know the only person who knows that is16:19 you. You are the only person that knows the motive behind why you are doing what you're doing and the motive behind why you're doing16:31 it the way that you're doing it. And there are good motives and not good motives and There are motives that kill God's power and there are motives that Accelerate God's16:42 power you see how our secret life the 1 that that's known only to God is so important to life in God alright look at second Corinthians 4 516:54 building on this theme of I talk to God with right motives it says this therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes17:06 who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. Then each man's praise will come to him from God. A lot of times17:18 we think that God is going to call our behaviors and actions to task when we see him face to face, but we all know people and just read the17:30 headlines. We all know people that we thought were 1 kind of person, but we realized privately in their secret life, they were a totally different kind of person and their17:42 motives were off in terms of what they were publicly doing because they had a selfish motive behind what they were doing publicly. And man, let me tell you, evil17:54 loves religion. Right? Where you can hide in front of men behind religion, religious phrases, religious behaviors, and then you can18:05 Trojan horse an evil motive and selfish motives and self benefit behind religion. I mean, you think if you're Satan, the ultimate way to get back is just like, yeah, use the name of18:17 God to fool people and then reveal the evil and then connect it to man who was living a double life and not the grand orchestrator18:29 of all of that. Wow, right? Well, when you meet God face to face, you might have gone on a missions trip, you might have read your Bible every day, you might have been in church, you might have been in a men's group, you18:40 might have. God's not looking at the actions that you did, he's looking at the intentions. Right? God weighs intentions. Man weighs18:52 actions. We gotta get that right. You want a positive, healthy, secret life that is rewarded and blessed by God. You must know that God is looking at19:03 your motives behind your actions and your intentions over your actions. Alright. Number 2 from Matthew chapter 6 looking at verse 6.19:15 I talked to God after with right motives. I talked to God personally and privately. Look at Jesus's phrasing. He says, but when you pray, right, versus in public, doesn't mean we don't19:27 do public prayers, but Jesus is expressing the heart of God. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your19:39 Father who sees in secret will reward you. Oh my gosh. I want rewards. Do you want rewards? I love my dad. I love my heavenly Father. I love Abba, my father.19:51 Right? And I want his blessing on my life. Jesus is telling us how to receive blessing from our heavenly Father. Right? Go into your room,20:03 shut the door, and start having a conversation with Him. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. There's the promise. Take it to the bank.20:15 Guaranteed. But you see that there's this concept of separation. It's sort of like if you and I were at a wedding and I really wanted to talk to you, and there was all this noise and there's all these people around20:27 and, you know, and and I said to you, Paul, can can we can we step outside and have a conversation? I need that separation20:39 from everything else. A, so I can focus my total attention on you and so that you can hear me, and I can hear you,20:51 and we're having the highest possible fidelity of communication. It's me. It's you. It's a private place. That's what God's saying to us. That's what Jesus is saying21:03 to us. There there are all kinds of communication, but you know the 1 he prefers in this relationship, because he's relational, is he loves to be alone, just you and him21:15 face to face, him looking at you in the eye, and you looking at him in the eye, and being really interested physically, mentally, and emotionally in what is21:27 being said. Can we blame him? Those are the most intimate. Those are the closest communications that we have. Those are the kind of communications21:39 with peep friend that we have with friends who who know us. You ever said that to any of your friends? Man, you know me. You know who they are. Like, there's no impressing them. There's no21:50 errors. There's no trying to say the right things. You're just you're the rawest version of yourself, and you're cherished and you're secured in your love. That's what Jesus wants in22:02 prayer. So we talk to God with right motives. We talk to him personally and privately. Look at Psalm 46 10 on your downloaded notes. God speaks into this more. It says this.22:14 He says, be still and know that I'm God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the22:26 earth. Okay. So before we unpack that, have you ever seen, like, a movie where 2 men are walking, maybe it's a military situation and 1 goes like22:37 this? What does that mean? Well, it means a few things. The first thing it means is stop. All the military guys are like, stop. You know, they're they're they're yelling at their screen. It's like, it means stop.22:49 Right? Stop. But stop for what purpose? Right? To know the environment. To know what's going on. To know, like, okay. I might have heard some steps. I sense23:01 movement. I gotta get a sense of my environment. For many of you listening to me right now, God is in the journey with Him. He's holding up His fist, and He's just23:13 going, stop. And that involves slowing so that there can be knowing. You gotta slow to know. Right? Just like in the23:25 noise of motion and movement, we stop. We slow to know the environment. Spiritually, God's saying, be still. When something is still, it stopped.23:37 They've they've they've slowed, and they've stopped in order to know. So God says to you and to me, be still and know that I am God. And there's23:49 an interesting little tagline to this. A lot of us know, be still and know that I'm God, but we don't read the rest of the verse. The rest of the verse says, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted24:01 in the earth. What happens when we're we're running fast? What happens when we don't slow down? What happens when we're moving fast, we're in a hurry,24:13 and really kinda running our own life is that we're acting as if we don't need God because we've replaced him.24:25 And that's the sentiment behind God saying, be still, know that I'm God. I'm the vine, you're the branch. I'm the potter, you're the clay. I am the24:37 creator. You're the created. I am the shepherd. You're the sheep. But you see, if we don't slow down, actively, consciously connect with God24:49 in our secret life with him, in our our relationship with him. Right? We can get those things mixed up. And the model for this, the good news, on this theme of talking to God25:01 personally and privately is that Jesus is our model and mentor. Look at Mark 1 35. Okay? Says this, very early in the morning, while it was still dark,25:13 Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed parenthetically, personally, and25:25 privately with his father. Wow. So you hear this all the time on this livestream. This is Jesus.25:37 Jesus is in you. This is increasingly you, because the Holy Spirit, which was deposited into you, it's His25:49 mission to make you more like Jesus. So when we read Mark 1 35, well, good enough for Jesus, good enough for me. He got up when it was super quiet.26:02 He left where it was noisy to get to a solitary place. Keyword, solitary. It was he alone, wasn't the disciples, wasn't26:14 all everybody following him, so he's creating separation for connection where he prayed. Now he starts talking to God. Can I see a question? How is that26:25 going in your daily life? Alright. Number 3. I talk directly and simply26:37 to God. Right? I I talk to God with the right motives. I talk I talk to God personally and privately.26:49 Now, in my secret life of prayer, I talk to God directly and simply. Next verse from Matthew 6 verse 7. Jesus says, and when you pray, do not heap up empty27:01 phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Circle that. For their many words. Right? With men and27:13 among men, sometimes we we fill the space so that we can be heard. Right? We have to get it all out and or we have to take27:25 control of the conversation. Right? So we keep talking. Right? Or we wanna make an impression, so we keep talking. And, you know, man hasn't changed as long as he's been on planet Earth. Right?27:36 As long as there have been this awareness. And so Jesus, you you know, knows that usually it's not a sign of security when you hear a lot of words being said.27:49 It's a sign of fear and insecurity and immaturity, you know, in Proverbs where it says, you know, the fool uses many words. And28:01 there's a a warning in the book of Proverbs that when you hear a lot of words, you can dial that right in to the person's maturity level and their heart.28:14 Listen. My third grade report card said Kenny's a bright student, but he had diarrhea of the male. And, you know, at that time, it's true. There was a lot of fear and insecurity on the inside because28:26 stuff at home wasn't going good, and I felt pretty much invisible. So I would get to school. And because I was afraid that I wasn't worth talking to anybody or I had I wasn't worth anybody's28:38 time, I talk. And man, anybody who would talk to me. Why? Because no 1 was talking to me at home. A lot of stuff going on that we can't get into now. But do you see the connection28:50 between a lot of words and immaturity and a lot of words and insecurity? Right? We don't need to heap up a lot of phrases, because it goes to our motives.29:01 Right? Instead, we need to be authentic and not religious and synthetic. That's what Jesus is looking for. In29:13 Ecclesiastes 5 2, you know, it talks about this. Says, don't shoot off your mouth or speak before you think. Don't be too quick to29:25 tell God what you think he wants to hear. God's in charge, not you. The less you speak, the better. I love the phrasing in the message translation. In29:37 your Bible, it it might it might say, God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Either picture communicates the same29:49 truth, which is this, there is God and there is you. There is creator and created, vine and branch, potter and clay, shepherd and sheep. Right? And30:01 that assumes, really important, a humble posture, a listening posture, a quiet posture, and a waiting30:14 posture Because you're the branch not the vine. You're the clay not the potter You're the sheep not the shepherd and you're the created 1 not the creator and the30:25 gap demands a humble posture, a listening posture, a waiting posture, a patient posture. I mean, let's bring it to a human30:37 level. If I got 30 minutes with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors to learn how to shoot a better perimeter shot, you30:49 can bet your bottom dollar that I have a humble posture, I have a listening posture, and I have a waiting posture, and I have a learning posture31:03 before him. That's the gist of Ecclesiastes 5 2. You acknowledge the separation between who God is and who you are based on your view of God,31:15 which we're talking about in this series Secret Life, and then you adjust your inner self. Right? And if I were to ask a question of Steph Curry, it31:26 would be short, it would be meaningful, and it would be to the point. Because I know who he is, I know who I am, I31:38 had a question in my mind. I wouldn't be going on and on about how great I am or or, you know, giving him tips or right? Look at31:50 Job 38 verses 1 and 2. You can see God has a lot of energy in terms of this whole idea of, hey, get me right, then let's talk direct, and let's talk simple.32:03 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 'Who is this that darkens my counsel, listen, by words without32:15 knowledge?' Wow. What I don't have on your notes is verse 3, which says, Then God says to Job, now brace yourself like a man and I'll question you and you'll answer32:27 me. So what you've got is a lot of that, and it's a lot of talking without insight. It's loving your own32:38 opinion versus actually getting God right. And there's a lot of this, and God just intervenes. When it says, The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, the whirlwind in scripture, and you can see this in 3 or 432:50 different places, is, indicative of God's presence. So God's presence shows up. Right? Like a whirlwind. You ever seen 1 of those things that whirlwind whips up? It's33:02 a sign of God's presence. And you see that God has energy. It's like, Hey, you're claiming to know me and speak for me like you know me. And you know33:14 where that happens most of the time that I've seen is in prayer. And, you know, that's why it's so important. The word of God is so important that when we're talking about our33:26 heavenly father, when we're talking about the Lord, when we're talking about God, that we get it right. And if that's your desire, man, keep coming back to the men's global livestream because that's our focus.33:39 So God has energy. He has energy about how we communicate with him, the space we create to communicate with him, that we use fewer words rather than more words, that we talk to him33:51 directly and simply. I love Charles Spurgeon's quote. It's on your downloaded notes. It says, Christians prayers are measured by weight and not by length. Many of the most prevailing34:02 prayers have been as short as they were strong. Now, to illustrate, in our core passage in Matthew 6, Jesus goes on34:14 to describe, when you pray, pray this. You know how many sentences that the Lord's Prayer is? 4.34:27 4 sentences and there's a lot there but when you're talking to God because he already knows what your needs are who he is who you are that there's spiritual34:39 warfare that his rule and realm prevail, his kingdom, that there's a tension between your will and his will, and and you're concerned about your daily bread and your needs,34:51 because he already knows all that, we can recognize that he's that he35:03 sees, he knows, he's able, he loves us, and he has our best interest in mind. And when you know that, you can say less. Lastly,35:15 I talk to God to build relationship and exercise trust. So we talk to God with the right motives. We talk to God35:27 privately and personally. We talk to God directly and simply. And then lastly, we talk to God to build relationship and exercise trust. Right? Verse 8 of Matthew 6, just going right down the line. Jesus says,35:39 do not be like them. K? The people who heap up empty phrases. For your father knows what you need before you ask him.35:51 Right? Again, the emphasis is on possession of relationship. For your father knows. Just let36:03 the paint dry on that, for your father knows. He knows what's going on in your marriage. Your father knows. He knows what's going on in your finances. Your father already knows that. Your36:15 father knows, right, what's going on in the workplace. He knows what's going on in your job. He knows about your boss. Your father knows. Your father knows that you feel like porn is chasing36:26 you like a fox chasing a rabbit through a field. He knows that. Right? So when we talk to God, that should have an impact. And it's and the purpose when we go to36:38 God, knowing that he knows and that he's ahead of our our needs, just like like you are, dad, or like your dad was with you. Like, he had a greater36:50 arc of awareness of what was going on in your life than you thought he did. But he was taking steps to be ahead of your needs and he knew that you would come and37:02 ask and then he would take this all into consideration in moments. Sometimes you'd get what you needed right away. Sometimes there was a delay. Right? And37:14 this this relational to build relationship and exercise trust, this is at the center of your secret life of prayer in God. Look at what it says in Mark chapter 737:25 verses 11. Right? It says this. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give what37:37 is good to those who ask him? Again, to this point of, hey, you know your kids. You actually kind of know what they want before they want it. You know37:49 what their needs are based on their level of age and maturity and capacity, and you're moving on their behalf for what is best for them. Right? You know what is best.38:01 Mom mom and dad know what's best, and you move in that direction of what is best. That's the point. If you can do that as an earthly dad,38:13 how much more? And this is the space we want to live in, men. We want to live in terms of how we perceive God in this how much more space, where if we feel certain things that are positive and38:25 good toward our own children, how much more does our heavenly father, who is infinite, feel those very same things and exercise the very same38:37 wisdom toward us in our best interest and knows the right time, consistent with our inner maturity and capacity to receive what is good from38:49 him and not abuse what is good from him. How much more will your father, who is in heaven, give39:00 what is good to those who ask him? So ask and trust. Ask and trust because you have this relationship with God. You know Him. You know who He is.39:13 You've seen His commitment to you in Jesus Christ and in His death on the cross for you. And because you've seen that love, that level of love toward you39:24 and the results of what trusting in his love through that work has done for you, you can wait. You know that God loves you. You know that he cherishes you. You know39:36 that he's wise. This is what a secret life in God is all about. Now, when you think about kids, if you're a dad,Show more In this video 0:01 The Secret Life: A Call to Authenticity5:34
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