Bulletins - New Life Church of the Nazarene Boswell

When We All Get to Heaven
- - Deuteronomy 34:1–12NKJV
- - Joshua 24:14–25NKJV
Living for Jesus
- - 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8NKJV
Change My Heart, O God
Matthew 23:1–12 NKJV
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
The Danger of Looking Holy
When Looking Holy Becomes More Important Than Being Holy
There's something about human nature that makes us concerned about appearances.
We want people to think well of us. We want them to believe that we have our lives together, that we're respectable people who know what we're doing.
And so we spend a considerable amount of time making sure things look right.
We straighten up the house before company arrives. We put on our best clothes for special occasions. We try to make a good impression.
And there's nothing necessarily wrong with any of that.
But there is a danger when we're more concerned about how things appear than how things actually are.
Imagine driving past a beautiful house.
The lawn is neatly trimmed. The paint is fresh. Flowers are blooming along the walkway. Everything looks wonderful.
But suppose you walk inside and discover that the foundation is cracking. The plumbing is leaking. The electrical wiring is dangerous.
From the road, that house looks perfect.
But underneath the surface, something is terribly wrong.
And church, hear me this morning: You can put another coat of paint on that house, but fresh paint will never repair a broken foundation!
Now, here's the question.
Is it possible for our spiritual lives to look wonderful on the outside while something is terribly wrong on the inside?
Can we attend church, sing the hymns, know the Scriptures, and say all the right things—and still have hearts that aren't fully surrendered to God?
Jesus says we can.
And that's exactly what He confronts in Matthew 23.
Over the past several weeks, we've been following Jesus through His final days of public ministry in Jerusalem.
We've watched religious leaders challenge His authority, question His teaching, and attempt to trap Him with difficult questions.
But every time they confronted Jesus, He exposed something deeper than their questions.
He exposed their hearts.
Two weeks ago, Jesus challenged us to consider whose image we bear and reminded us that our entire lives belong to God.
Last Sunday, He declared that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind—and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
And now, in Matthew 23, Jesus confronts religious leaders who knew the commandments but weren't living the love those commandments required.
These were religious people.
They knew the Scriptures. They understood the traditions. They occupied positions of spiritual authority.
They looked holy!
But Jesus saw what the crowds couldn't see.
He saw the difference between their outward appearance and the condition of their hearts.
And what He saw troubled Him deeply.
Now, don't misunderstand what Jesus is saying.
He isn't condemning holiness.
He's not telling us that obedience doesn't matter or that spiritual disciplines are unnecessary.
Quite the opposite!
Jesus is calling us to something far greater than outward religion.
He's calling us to a holiness that begins in the heart and transforms the entire life.
And that's the wonderful message of holiness we proclaim in the Church of the Nazarene.
God's grace doesn't merely forgive the sins of our past. His sanctifying grace can cleanse our hearts, purify our motives, and fill us with His holy love!
We don't have to spend our lives pretending to be something we're not.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can make us what He's calling us to become.
But here's the danger.
We can become so concerned about looking like holy people that we neglect the work of allowing God to make us holy.
We can learn the language of holiness without developing the character of Christ.
We can defend the doctrine of holiness while failing to demonstrate the love that holiness produces.
And perhaps most dangerously, we can become very good at recognizing the spiritual failures of others while remaining blind to our own.
So this morning, I don't want us to listen to this passage and think about somebody else who needs to hear it.
I want us to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.
Because Jesus isn't simply giving us a history lesson about religious leaders who lived two thousand years ago.
He's holding up a mirror!
And the question isn't, What do other people see when they look at me?
The question is, What does God see when He looks into my heart?
As Jesus begins speaking to the crowds and His disciples, He identifies the first great danger of outward religion.
These religious leaders knew what was right.
They could explain what God required.
But there was a serious problem.
Their lives didn't agree with their message.
The Problem of Outward Religion
Matthew 23:1–4
Listen to what Jesus says in verses 2 and 3:
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
Now, that's a remarkable statement.
Jesus acknowledges that these religious leaders occupy a position associated with teaching the Law of Moses.
He's not approving everything they teach. Elsewhere, Jesus challenges traditions that distort God's commands.
But He's reminding the people that God's Word remains true even when those entrusted with teaching it fail to live by it.
And then Jesus identifies their problem.
“They preach, but do not practice.”
Or, to put it another way, they weren't practicing what they preached!
They knew what to say. They knew what to teach. They knew what God expected of others.
But when it came to their own lives, there was a disconnect between their words and their actions.
And church, that's a dangerous place to be!
Because it's possible to know what is right without actually doing what is right.
It's possible to become so familiar with the language of faith that we mistake knowing about God for walking with God.
You can know everything the Bible teaches about prayer and still neglect your prayer life.
You can explain forgiveness beautifully and still hold bitterness in your heart.
You can tell everybody how important love is while treating the people closest to you with impatience and harshness.
And here's what ought to concern us.
Knowing the truth is not the same as allowing the truth to change us!
James says in James 1:22:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Did you catch that?
Deceiving yourselves!
We can actually convince ourselves that because we know the right answers, we're living the right kind of life.
But God isn't simply interested in how much Scripture we can quote.
He wants His Word to shape our character, our relationships, our attitudes, and our decisions.
Now, look at verse 4.
Jesus says:
“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”
What a picture!
Imagine someone struggling beneath a heavy load.
They're exhausted. They're doing everything they can just to keep going.
And instead of offering a helping hand, somebody comes along and adds another weight to their shoulders.
That's what Jesus says these religious leaders were doing.
They placed demands upon people but offered little compassion.
They were quick to point out failures but slow to help people find restoration.
And before we become too critical of them, we ought to examine ourselves.
It's easy to tell someone what they ought to do.
It's much harder to walk alongside them while they struggle to do it.
It's easy to say, “You need to pray more. You need to trust God. You need to get your life straightened out.”
But are we willing to listen?
Are we willing to encourage?
Are we willing to help carry the burden?
Now, Jesus isn't suggesting that God's commands are unimportant.
There are times when love requires us to confront sin and call people to repentance.
But there's a world of difference between speaking the truth in love and using the truth as a weapon.
And here's where the gospel becomes such wonderful news.
Jesus never calls us to holiness and then abandons us to accomplish it in our own strength!
He offers us grace.
He forgives our sins. He restores our relationship with God. And through His Holy Spirit, He gives us the power to live differently.
Think about the contrast.
The religious leaders placed heavy burdens on people's shoulders.
But Jesus said in Matthew 11:28:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Oh, what a difference!
The religious leaders demanded that people carry burdens they were unwilling to help lift.
But Jesus came to bear the burden of our sin!
He went to Calvary for us.
And through His resurrection, He offers us new life!
Thank God, we don't have to settle for a religion that tells us what's wrong without giving us the grace to become right with God!
His grace is sufficient!
His Spirit is able!
And His power can transform our lives!
So here's the question this morning.
Is what we know about God's Word actually changing the way we live?
Is it changing the way we speak to our families?
The way we respond when someone disappoints us?
The way we treat people who disagree with us?
Because genuine holiness isn't simply measured by what we know.
It's revealed in the Christlike life that God's grace produces within us.
But Jesus doesn't stop with the difference between what these leaders taught and how they lived.
He goes deeper.
Because sometimes we can do the right things—and still have the wrong motives.
And that brings us to the second danger.
When Faith Becomes a Performance
Matthew 23:5–7
Listen to the words of Jesus in verse 5:
“They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”
Now, that's a searching statement!
Jesus isn't saying that everything these religious leaders did was wrong.
Many of their religious practices were rooted in God's instructions.
But here's the problem.
They weren't simply interested in honoring God. They wanted everybody to notice how religious they were!
Jesus mentions their phylacteries and the fringes of their garments.
Phylacteries were small leather boxes containing passages of Scripture, worn during prayer. The fringes were intended to remind God's people of their covenant responsibilities.
These were meaningful expressions of Jewish faith.
But some religious leaders had turned them into displays of spiritual importance.
What should have directed attention toward God had become a way of drawing attention toward themselves.
Now, we don't wear phylacteries in our church today.
But I wonder whether we've discovered other ways of doing the same thing.
We want people to know how faithfully we attend church.
We want them to recognize how much we do.
We want somebody to appreciate our sacrifices.
And listen, there's nothing wrong with receiving encouragement.
There's nothing wrong with thanking someone for faithful service.
But there's a danger when recognition becomes the reason we're serving.
Have you ever done something thoughtful for someone and nobody thanked you?
You gave your time. You made a sacrifice. You went out of your way to help.
And nobody noticed.
And suddenly, you were disappointed.
Maybe even a little irritated.
Now, that's a very human response.
But sometimes it reveals something the Holy Spirit wants us to examine.
Would we still be willing to serve if nobody ever knew what we had done?
Jesus continues in verses 6 and 7:
“And they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.”
Notice that word: love.
They loved the recognition.
They loved the important seats.
They loved the titles that made them feel significant.
And church, this temptation isn't limited to the Pharisees!
It can affect pastors, teachers, board members, worship leaders, and anyone who serves in the church.
We can become so attached to a position that we forget the purpose of the position.
We can become so concerned about receiving credit that we forget whom we're supposed to be serving.
But Jesus reminds us that God sees beyond the outward action.
Two people can perform the same act of kindness.
One does it because their heart is filled with compassion.
The other does it because they want people to think they're generous.
The actions may look identical.
But God knows the difference.
God sees the heart behind the action!
And that's why this passage speaks so powerfully to our understanding of holiness.
John Wesley emphasized that genuine Christian holiness is holiness of heart and life.
It's not merely doing the right things.
It's loving God with an undivided heart.
It's allowing the Holy Spirit to purify the motives from which our actions flow.
And this is the beautiful promise of entire sanctification.
Through God's sanctifying grace, our hearts can be cleansed and filled with perfect love.
Now, perfect love doesn't mean we'll never make a mistake.
It doesn't mean we'll never need correction or that spiritual growth comes to an end.
But it does mean that God can free us from the domination of selfishness and give us a heart fully devoted to Him.
And when God's love fills our hearts, something wonderful happens.
We don't have to be the most important person in the room.
We don't have to receive all the credit.
We don't have to spend our lives trying to impress everybody.
We're free to love! We're free to serve! We're free to live for the glory of God!
And isn't that what we really want?
Not simply a religious reputation.
Not merely the approval of other people.
But a heart so filled with God's love that serving Him becomes our greatest joy.
So let me ask you this morning:
If nobody ever noticed your faithfulness, would you still be faithful?
If nobody ever thanked you for serving, would you still serve?
If there were no recognition, no applause, and no special position, would Jesus still be enough?
That's a question worth bringing before the Lord.
And thank God, when the Holy Spirit reveals selfishness or pride in our hearts, He doesn't reveal it merely to condemn us.
He reveals it so that we can surrender it.
And what we surrender to God, His grace is able to transform!
Now, Jesus doesn't leave His disciples with a warning about religious pride.
He shows them a better way.
The religious leaders wanted the best seats and the important titles.
But Jesus is about to turn their entire understanding of greatness upside down.
Movement 3 — The Holiness of Humble Service
Matthew 23:8–12
In verses 8 through 10, Jesus reminds His disciples that they have one ultimate Teacher, one Heavenly Father, and one Lord.
He's not issuing a blanket prohibition against every religious title.
He's confronting the desire to use titles and positions to elevate ourselves above others.
And He's reminding His followers of something we must never forget.
No position in the church makes one Christian more valuable to God than another!
We may have different responsibilities.
We may have different gifts and different callings.
But we all stand before the same Lord.
We all depend upon the same grace.
And we all belong to the same family of God.
Even the disciples struggled with this.
On more than one occasion, they argued about which of them would be the greatest.
Imagine that!
They're walking with the Son of God.
They're listening to His teaching and witnessing His miracles.
And they're still concerned about who's going to be the most important!
But before we're too hard on those disciples, perhaps we ought to recognize that we sometimes struggle with the same thing.
We want our contributions recognized.
We want our opinions respected.
We want our positions protected.
And sometimes, without even realizing it, we begin thinking more about our importance than about the people God has called us to serve.
But listen to what Jesus says in verse 11:
“The greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Church, that's not the way the world measures greatness!
The world says greatness is found in power, prestige, influence, and recognition.
But Jesus says greatness in His Kingdom is measured by service.
Greatness isn't found in how many people serve us, but in how willingly we serve others!
And if you want to see what that looks like, look at Jesus.
Think about what happened on the night before His crucifixion.
Jesus was gathered with His disciples for their final meal together.
He knew what was coming.
He knew that He would soon be betrayed, arrested, condemned, and crucified.
John tells us that Jesus knew the Father had placed all things into His hands.
He knew who He was.
He knew where He had come from.
He knew where He was going.
And with all that authority, what did Jesus do?
He got up from the table.
He wrapped a towel around His waist.
He poured water into a basin.
And He began washing His disciples' feet.
Think about that!
The Son of God knelt before sinful human beings and washed their feet!
The One who spoke creation into existence took the position of a servant.
The One before whom every knee will someday bow was kneeling before His disciples!
And when He finished, He said in John 13:15:
“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”
Now, compare that with the religious leaders Jesus was confronting.
They wanted the best seats.
Jesus knelt at His disciples' feet.
They wanted to be recognized as important.
Jesus willingly performed the work of a servant.
They wanted others to honor them.
Jesus showed His disciples how to love one another.
That's the difference between religious pride and Christlike holiness!
And church, we need that kind of holiness today!
We need Christians who are more interested in serving than being recognized.
We need people who are willing to love when love is costly.
We need believers whose lives demonstrate the character of Jesus—not merely when they're standing in church, but when they're living in the world.
Sometimes we think Christian service has to involve something visible.
Teaching a class. Leading worship. Serving on a church board.
And those things certainly matter.
But some of the most beautiful expressions of holiness happen where nobody is watching.
It's the person who quietly checks on someone who's sick.
It's the individual who sees something that needs to be done around the church and simply takes care of it.
It's the family member who patiently cares for an aging parent.
It's the believer who chooses kindness when it would be easier to respond with anger.
Nobody may applaud.
Nobody may offer public recognition.
But God sees!
And those acts of love matter deeply to Him.
Because holiness isn't merely demonstrated by what we believe or what we say.
Holiness is revealed in the way we love and serve others!
And this is where our Wesleyan-Holiness message becomes so important.
We believe that God calls us to entire sanctification.
We believe that the Holy Spirit can cleanse our hearts and fill us with perfect love.
But listen carefully.
Entire sanctification doesn't make us superior to other people.
It doesn't give us permission to look down on those who are struggling.
It doesn't mean we've arrived at a place where we no longer need to grow.
Quite the opposite!
The more fully God's love fills our hearts, the more that love ought to flow outward toward others!
A holy heart ought to produce loving hands.
A surrendered life ought to produce humble service.
And a Spirit-filled Christian ought to become increasingly recognizable—not because of religious importance, but because of Christlike love.
Now, humility doesn't mean pretending we have no gifts or abilities.
It doesn't mean refusing responsibility.
Jesus Himself exercised tremendous authority. He confronted injustice, challenged hypocrisy, and spoke truth with courage.
But He remained humble.
Because humility isn't weakness.
Humility is strength surrendered to the purposes of God!
And then Jesus closes this passage with a powerful declaration.
In verse 12, He says:
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Church, God sees beyond our titles.
He sees beyond our positions.
He sees beyond the recognition we receive.
He sees the heart.
And here's the question I want us to consider:
Are we using what God has given us to make ourselves look important?
Or are we using it to make the love of Jesus visible to others?
Because sometimes, the most Christlike thing we can do is simply pick up the towel and serve.
Jesus has warned us about knowing the truth without living it.
He's warned us about doing religious things for recognition.
And He's reminded us that true greatness is found in humble service.
But He hasn't given us this teaching so that we can become experts at identifying hypocrisy in other people.
He's given us these words so that we'll allow Him to examine our own hearts.
Beyond the Appearance
As we close this morning, I want us to return to that house we considered at the beginning of the message.
From the road, everything looked wonderful.
The lawn was neatly trimmed. The paint was fresh. The flowers were blooming.
But beneath that beautiful appearance, the foundation was crumbling.
And no amount of fresh paint could repair what was wrong underneath.
Church, sometimes our spiritual lives can be like that house!
We can attend church, know the Scriptures, sing the hymns, and participate in worship.
Those are good things!
But none of them can take the place of a heart genuinely surrendered to God.
And here's what I want you to hear this morning.
Jesus didn't come to make us better at looking holy!
He didn't go to Calvary so that we could learn to maintain a more convincing religious appearance!
He came to save us! He came to cleanse us! He came to transform us by the power of His Holy Spirit!
And thank God, His grace is still sufficient!
He doesn't simply expose what's wrong in our lives and leave us to repair it ourselves.
He offers forgiveness.
He offers cleansing.
He offers the transforming power of His Holy Spirit.
Now, there's a difference between a sincere believer who struggles and someone who's satisfied with merely appearing righteous.
Jesus isn't condemning the Christian who stumbles and returns to Him in repentance.
He's confronting the heart that refuses to surrender while trying to maintain the appearance of holiness.
And church, none of us is beyond the need for God's transforming grace.
So this morning, I don't want us to think about who else needs to hear this message.
I want us to invite the Holy Spirit to examine our own hearts.
Are we more concerned about how others see us than about who we're becoming in Christ?
Are we serving out of love, or are we seeking recognition?
Are we depending upon God's grace to transform us, or are we simply maintaining a religious appearance?
And whatever the Holy Spirit reveals, here's the good news.
You don't have to leave here the same way you came!
The grace of God is sufficient to forgive.
The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse.
And the Holy Spirit is able to fill your heart with the love of God!
You don't have to settle for outward religion when Jesus offers inward transformation!
You don't have to spend your life pretending to be what God's grace can actually make you!
So come to Him with an honest heart.
Surrender whatever the Holy Spirit is asking you to surrender.
And allow His grace to do what religious appearances never can.
Because the goal of the Christian life isn't simply to convince the world that we're good people.
The goal is to become more like Jesus!
And may His transforming love be evident—not in how important we appear, but in how faithfully we love God and serve one another.
Because holiness isn't a religious image we maintain; it's a Christlike life that God's grace produces within us!
And thank God, He is still in the business of making people holy!
- - Matthew 23:1–12NKJV

Deuteronomy 34:1–12NKJV

Joshua 24:14–25NKJV

1 Thessalonians 2:1–8NKJV

The Danger of Looking Holy

When Looking Holy Becomes More Important Than Being Holy

The Problem of Outward Religion

When Faith Becomes a Performance

Movement 3 — The Holiness of Humble Service

Beyond the Appearance

Matthew 23:1–12NKJV