outside of the cup and of the platter, but within there full of extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside
of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like
unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of
dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous
unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
And at the end of my sermon this morning is the outward appearance, the outward appearance.
I'd like to pray before we get going with it. Father thank you for your word, thank
you for, well the teachings you give us Lord, the clear teachings you give us, and the principles
and the standards that you'd like us to...
So like I said this might be a bit of a toe-treader at times, and you know so be it right, I'm
going to preach the word of God from behind this pulpit. There's some truths that I want
to preach about today and some standards etc, but it's one of those truths, the outward
appearance is one of those truths in the Bible where there are extremes on both ends of the
scale with this topic okay. So on one hand you've got those that focus massively on the
outward appearance, they worry more about what's on the outside okay, so for them it's
just well how do I look on the outside, who cares about the inside, they don't even need
to know what's going on the inside, how do I look, let's make sure I look good in front
of everyone else, how they appear, how holy they look to other people, there are people
that sadly that is probably one of the most important things in life to them and in their
Christian life and around other Christians, but then you've also got the opposite, those
who say things like God only cares what's on the inside, often whilst outwardly showing
rebellion to God okay, and there are ways outwardly that you can clearly show that you're
in rebellion to God where it doesn't sound like the inside's going too well then either,
and as is also often the case okay, the truth, the right way is somewhere in the middle okay,
always is with the, or usually is with these things, you've always got extremes, the truth
is going to be somewhere in the middle, see if your outward appearance is all about uplifting
yourself to others okay, if that's what it's about, it's about impressing those around
you, well the inside clearly needs work okay, because you've got issues on the inside then,
but on the same hand if your outward appearance is contrary to God's commands, well then the
inside clearly needs work as well doesn't it okay, if your outward appearance is contrary
to how God wants you to be, then the inside needs work, and there's a truth with this
okay, if your outward appearance is good, it doesn't mean that the inside is necessarily
good okay, so you might look good on the outside, that doesn't mean the inside's good okay,
however if your outward appearance is bad, when being measured by God's standards that
is, then the inside is definitely a problem too, it's definitely something that needs
work here okay, so if you get what I'm saying right, the outward appearance doesn't mean
everything's fine, but if the outward appearance is bad, well then there's stuff that definitely
needs work here, and just to add though okay, just to add this quickly, if you're unsaved
or maybe you're not unsaved, maybe you're new to the Word of God, maybe you're new to
biblical preaching okay, think of this sermon as helping you to understand what God does
and doesn't care about on the outside, then it's up to you to respond okay, so this isn't,
I'm not sitting here thinking right, I need to smash, you know, smash some people that
are new to the Word of God, new to biblical preaching, new to some of these truths okay,
no, but you know, it is my duty to show you what God does and doesn't think we should,
you know, how he wants us to appear on the outside, but ultimately it should be a reflection
of what's on the inside.
Look down at Matthew 23, it says in verse 25, Matthew 23, 25, woe unto you scribes and
Pharisees hypocrites, for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter but
within there full of extortion and excess, thou blind Pharisee cleanse first that which
is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also.
So the title is the outward appearance and point number one and the first couple of points
can be pretty quick okay, who cares about the outward appearance, so question number
one you could say who cares about the outward appearance and you will have heard different
flavors of Christians saying that God looks on the inside, that God only cares what's
in your heart and of course God does look on the inside okay, God does care what's in
your heart but to say that he then discounts the outward appearance is absolute nonsense
okay it really is.
Here in Matthew 23 Jesus Christ is preaching against the hypocritical religious leaders
of the day, they're false prophets and what do false prophets have fake exteriors okay
so he's preaching against their fake exterior, he says in verse 25, woe unto you scribes
and Pharisees hypocrites for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter
but within there full of extortion and excess, so they look good on the outside but these
guys are full of extortion and excess so they're ripping people off and excess would be probably
just indulging in sin in various ways okay, he said thou blind Pharisee cleanse first
he said first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be
clean also, so there are a few interesting words there aren't there in that verse he
didn't say cleanse only that which is within did he, he didn't say forget the outside cleanse
the inside I don't really care what the outside looks like, he said to cleanse that first
he said focus on the inside first that's what we should be focusing on that the outside
of them may be clean also, so the goal is that we focus on the inside and the result
is that then the inside and the outside is clean yeah, yeah I think everyone would hopefully
agrees with that when you see that there, so who cares about the outward appearance
well God cares about the outward appearance isn't he, he's just said cleanse that first
so that the outward is also clean God cares about the outward appearance now these guys
are blind okay he said that they're blind he said he said they're thou blind Pharisee
but he's using them as a bad example for those that are listening he's actually preaching
to the squires of Pharisees here not what I could see from the beginning of the chapter
where it says then to make Jesus a multitude and to his disciples but he's preaching against
these false prophets to people that he wants to respond to the message he's using them
as a bad example for those that want to hear the message right he said in verse 27 won't
woe unto you scribes of Pharisees hypocrites for ye are like unto whited sepulchres which
indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness
so he agrees that they appear beautiful outwards doesn't he they appear to be beautiful on
the outside so there is an appearance on the outside God can see what it looks like on
the outside he said in verse 28 even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men but
within ye full of hypocrisy and iniquity now what appears beautifully outwardly according
to this appearing to be righteous so the appearance of righteousness is a beautiful outward appearance
right yeah that's what he said ye even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men
and he just said in the verse before which indeed appear beautiful outward that's what
he's talking about and as we go through today okay you're going to see some standards that
God has that show whether or not you're attempting righteousness basically we're going to see
verses from both the Old and New Testament that show that God has outward appearance
standards he does you can't escape that okay and instead of going through them all now
okay just to prove this first point this point is getting proved throughout the sermon okay
so if at the end of the sermon you're like God doesn't care about the outward appearance
well then you I don't know what to do okay okay but we're going to see that he does but
like I said however the inside is more important the outwards should be a reflection of the inside
and it and like I said I'm not going to go through them all now we're going to go through
this as we go through the sermon this this point is going to be well and truly proved by the end
of it Matthew 23 said in verse 25 let's look at that passage again woe unto you scribes and
Pharisees hypocrites for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter but within
they're full of extortion and excess thou blind Pharisee cleanse first sat which is within the
cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also well once you scribes and Pharisees
hypocrites for your like unto white sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outwards but are
within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity the title is the outward
appearance point number one is who cares about the outward appearance clearly God does a point
number two why does God care about the outward appearance then why does God care about the
outward appearance well firstly because you have the outward appearance should be a reflection of
the inside like I've already mentioned okay it should be showing what's going on on the inside
unless you're just a fake and you're just trying to be fake on the outside he said in verse 26
now blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of
them may be clean also now just be clear again okay working on the inside is more important I
just want to keep making this gig I don't want people to go away for this time and go I really
need to look at outside okay work on the inside is important but a result of the inside being
worked on will be an improved outward appearance that's that's what we clearly see in that passage
there and we're going to see it as we continue a result of working for example on that rebellious
spirit on working on what sadly a lot of people have is a rebellious spirit will be an outward
appearance it does it show open rebellion to God's commandments won't it yeah if you're if
you're if you're working on that rebellious spirit the outward appearance should be a lack
of rebellion a result of wanting to please God which is something we should all be working on
in our Christian life we'll be trying to avoid displeasing him with our outward appearance
wouldn't it a result of putting God up here in your life which God should be up here in your
life shouldn't it yeah if that should be what's going on in the inside is on the inside I know
that God's up here that's how we should be right well therefore putting your standards up here
should be something that we do as well shouldn't it that would be a result of that but there are
other reasons to said in verse 28 even so you also outwardly appear right son to men but within you're
full of hypocrisy and iniquity so of course the scribes and Pharisees were fakes you know
on the whole okay they focused on the outward appearance instead of the inward however God
does want us to appear righteous unto men but not because we're pretending to not because our goal
is to appear righteous just to men but because it glorifies God it glorifies him it shows our
respect it's it sets us apart for the right reasons it can be a testimony to the power of
the Word of God could be a testimony to God to our love of God and wanting to follow how he wants us
to live how he wants us to behave turn 1st Corinthians 6 1st Corinthians chapter 6 obviously
keep a finger here we're going to be coming back here where we're reminded that we're temples of
the Holy Ghost so if you're saved if you've put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to have paid
for your sins you put your faith in that death, burial, resurrection to have paid for all your sins
past, present, future sins you've trusted Christ for salvation the the second that happened that
you put your trust in Christ you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise okay the Bible says
talk about Christ who have you also trusted after that he heard the word of truth the Gospel of your
salvation whom also after that you you believe you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
so you you if you're saved you have the Holy Ghost inside you you have the Holy Spirit you have God
living inside you God is living within you and he said in verse 19 in 1st Corinthians 6 what know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God in you
not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit which are God's and aside from abstaining from fornication which is the primary sort of
subject here in this passage there are other ways that we can glorify God in our bodies
and there are other ways that we can also do the opposite and not glorify God in our bodies
2nd Corinthians 6 3 that of Turner says giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not
blamed so we don't want to offend in anything we don't want the ministry to be blamed and that's
not talking about preaching the word of God um that's not talking about just preach the word
it's not like okay the ministry is someone who's preaching if if look it's not just talking about
giving no offense when preaching so it's not saying oh well you know when you preach the word
of God you've got to you know make sure you don't offend anyone no look the word of God's going to
offend okay but what that's talking about is that well goal shouldn't be to just cause offense
that's not our goal and with that there are ways we can do it for example if I was up here preaching
with a Baphomet t-shirt on okay just say I did just say I I didn't come up here in the suit today
I just had my my Baphomet t-shirt I don't have a Baphomet t-shirt so I did I had my Baphomet
t-shirt on what would people say about this church what would people coming in here say
what would people watching online people coming into this church say about what would they say
about similar churches even God one of those soul winning churches you know you see it the pastor
there he wears he wears a t-shirt with Baphomet on the front of it so obviously I think everyone
here would agree that there is there are standards aren't there there are things that would cause
offense that would cause offense to the ministry to to proper King James Bible Bible believing
Bible preaching soul winning churches people are desperate to blame the ministry of reconciliation
okay you start to learn that pretty quickly people want any reason any excuse any way to blame
churches which are out there so winning they're looking for anything right of finding fault in us
because then when they find fault in us what they're really doing they're finding fault in
the Bible they're finding fault in a Bible believing Bible preaching gospel preaching church
so they're desperate for anything and our outward appearance in various of in various ways is one
ways one way that they do that so how we behave on the outside is something that they can observe
and grab and use to then blame ultimately God really because that's what it comes down to
turn to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 where we're not only told but we're actually pleaded with
we're pleaded with by God through the apostle Paul to be a good testimony
he's pleading with us he says in Romans chapter 12 Romans 12 and verse 1 Romans 12 1 he said I
beseech you so he's not saying I tell you I command you and look he commands us to live right to live
holy be holy for I'm holy but here he's beseeching he's pleading really he's saying look just please
I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercy of God that you present your bodies your living
sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service so look having a wash
wearing appropriate clothing hair and even speech isn't exactly much to ask is it really is it I
mean it's like that I mean that's that's a bare bare minimum he said it's your reasonable service
to be holy acceptable unto God I'm not even going to go into all like the different sins and
everything else which is obvious yeah just some clear outward appearance stuff or is looking
exactly like your favorite trend in the world too important for you because for some people
that's too important it's like nah forget all that this sounds unreasonable it sounds unreasonable to
try and look and act and behave how God wants me to he said in verse 2 and be not conformed to this
world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God so if I was standing up here with a pink mohawk anyone think
that that's a good and acceptable and perfect will of God anyone I had a pink mohawk one of the real
high top ones as well yeah so I'm not just saying it was a little bit like shave everyone's oh I'm
not sure well I just said like a high top pink mohawk everything else shaved up the side would
you be going well what's the what's the problem is that God's good and acceptable and perfect will
or am I trying to be conformed to at least some version of this world I'm trying to be conformed
oh no you might go well not many people are like I saw a guy down the road with a pink mohawk I
might have seen that and thought that's a good look yeah okay but why not why not so can someone
give me a chapter and verse on pink mohawks anyone you can't can you where's the chapter and verse
on pink mohawks oh it must be all right then because that's what people try and do they go
well show me a chapter and verse on whatever because if not it's all fair game now even
without a chapter and verse everyone I'm guessing here unless you're just a bit shy to put your hand
up and go no I have been thinking about the pink mohawk okay most people here probably agree right
so if I give you a chapter and verse for other things you'll definitely agree won't you if I
give you the chapter and verse for other things surely you'll do it because with the pink mohawk
I reckon everyone here is agreeing anyway and I ain't got a chapter and verse for pink mohawks
okay I looked I couldn't find it I did word searches pink I tried mohawk just wasn't coming
out all I came up with was not eating you know hawk and that was the old testament archery law
you want to eat hawking some hawk all right okay but but you know the principle I would go with
okay would be that the pink mohawk is to be seen of men though isn't it it's attention seeking
it's ultimately prideful isn't it it's a hey look at me haircut right and james 4 6 says but he
giveth more grace wherefore he said god resisted the proud but giveth grace unto the humble so there
is a there is a principle there but we know that just because we know if you're reading the bible
you know that's probably quite a clear principle there you'd be amazed there are people out there
be like what's the problem there'll be some liberal churches out there where people are
turning up with pink mohawks and other just and that's probably like that's the least of it right
okay but he said back in matthew 23 back in matthew 23 he said it like this in verse 25
well on to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites so you make clean the outside of the cup and of
the platter but within they're full of extortion excess now blind Pharisee cleans first that which
is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also well onto you scribes and
Pharisees hypocrites for your like unto whited sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward
but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness even so you also outwardly appear
right sentiment but within you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity the title is the outward
appearance point number one was who cares about the outward appearance and the answer is god okay
point number two why does he care about the outward appearance well because it shows what's
on the inside it glorifies god and it glorifies the ministry ultimately yeah if we get the outward
appearance right again just a reminder as a reflection of the inside and point number three
though okay and this is a long point that we're going to go into now what does god care about
with the outward appearance okay so what is it exactly that god cares about and look i could
go through a hundred things today i'm going to just focus on some obvious stuff today and just
to remind you again okay it should be a result of wanting to please god of wanting to cleanse first
that which is on the inside but we see that cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter
that the outside of them may be clean also so if we're responding to the word of god and the inside
is saying yeah i want to live how god wants me to live i want to get my standards right i want
to behave in a good way i want to be a good testimony to to god to a believer to soul winning
to to the king james bible to all the things that we believe we stand on in this church
then hopefully therefore the outside will be a reflection of that and and like i said aside from
obvious sin i'm not going to go into that i'm going to start with something that's just obvious here
that's clear here i believe on the topic of cleansing let's just start with that you said
in verse 25 why don't you scribes of Pharisees hypocrites if you make clean the outside of the
cup and of the platter but within they're full of extortion excess thou blind Pharisee cleanse first
that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also so yes the clean
cup and platter are symbolic of the outward appearance okay but god wants us to be clean
doesn't he god wants us to be clean turn to genesis chapter 35 and of course there are those with
manual jobs okay mums can get dirty running around after kids especially especially if you're running
around after boys they just seem to find everything dirty and filthy and everything else to to to get
into usually but if there are a couple of obvious places to be clean okay if if there were look aside
from your job aside from the stuff you're doing at home aside from when you're manual i'm not saying
you have to be one of those people that say oh i wouldn't touch that because it looks a bit dirty
okay especially you know you shouldn't be like that but if there are a couple of obvious places
it would be in the house of god and went out representing the god wouldn't it so when you
come into the house of god and when you go out to represent god we should be clean shouldn't we
shouldn't we yeah i i believe we should look at genesis chapter 35 and it says in verse one in
genesis 35 and god said unto jacob arise go up to bethel and dwell there and make there an altar
unto god that appeared unto thee when thou fled us from the face of esau thy brother so bethel by the
way literally means the house of god so i mean god made it even easier first for anyone who doesn't
get the clear pictures we see with bethel in genesis being so many pictures and and and
teachings about going to the house of god how we behave when we go to the house of god etc
jacob is being told to go to the house of god on the back of what seems to be a pretty godless time
for the family okay with the chapter before with dina and sheikham and they've just slaughtered a
whole kind of a whole family village whatever you want to call it over this kind of this mess
whether his daughter dina's gone out to hang around with the children with the with the
women of the land and ended up you know fornicating with this guy she ends up you know the brothers
get upset get annoyed end up slaughtering them all it's just an absolute mess okay at this point in
their lives so after this he's told straight on the back of this god says to him go up to
bethel and dwell there he said get out of here and you need to go to the house of god you need
to go and dwell there okay and make there an altar unto god and we're also commanded to go
up to bethel okay and this is how we should respond he says it says in verse 2 then jacob
said unto his household and to all that were with him put away the strange gods that are among you
and be clean and change your garments so jacob said get rid of your idols okay he said get rid
of your things that are more important than god's house on a sunday he said get rid of that stuff
trash it bin it whatever it is it's more important than god get rid of it that's what idols are
they're things we put above god he said get rid of them get rid of your live football plans on a
sunday he said get rid of them you know maybe look maybe there was a local derby it was jerusalem or
maybe then it was salem versus ephrata yeah bethel heaven it's like i don't care if that's
what he said get rid of that yeah i don't want you watching the locals i don't want you watching
local football you need to get to the house of god yeah and maybe he said he said get rid of
your sunday exercise routine you know i bet there are a lot of people out there don't go to church
on a sunday or maybe you know they minimize what they do do when it comes to church because sunday
is when it's gym day or when it's running day or when it's sports day or he said get rid of that
stuff that stuff shouldn't be above god should it god should be up here he said get rid of your
family feast because sundays for a lot of people traditionally is feast day isn't it that's the day
when we eat till we're full up and you know and people are like lying on the sofa comatose
after they've stuffed their faces on a sunday because that's sunday lunch day he said get rid
of all that stuff yeah have a wash and change your clothes so get rid of it all get rid of the strange
gods and be clean and change your garments and for me that should be standard when coming to god's
house be clean and change your clothes that's what i believe okay now that that means okay and let's
put it in modern terms that means have a shower a bath use some soap get clean and put on some
clean clothes and this might you might sit there going look this is a bit this is going a bit basic
now yeah look i'm not i'm not trying to be mean okay but we've had people in the past that have
sadly just just failed at basic hygiene okay and you come into the house of god so if you
come to the house of god the obvious starting point would be make sure i'm clean before i
come to the house of god wouldn't it yeah that should be something and make sure i put on some
clean clothes cover the house god oh well wait a second we shouldn't judge people for what they
wear no no we're not looking at people going wow he's got an amani suit if i see someone with and
no offense someone has got an amani suit on but if they did i'd probably look at them go what a waste
of money you should have gone and got the cheapo from marks and sparks or even or even even cheap
you could have gone there's just a supermarket you got the own brand yeah you wasted your money on
the amani suit okay but that's not what we're talking about we're just talking about wearing
something clean because everyone if you can't afford a washing machine you can clean something
in your bath or if you can't afford the bath you clean something in the sink i have some clean
clothes make an effort to come to the house of god right same with your body right we should just be
clean and again i'm not trying to have a go at people but here's a checklist just and this some
people might just need this right because look different people come from different backgrounds
and raise different ways come from different cultures and everything else here's a checklist
for come to the house of god wash your whole body brush your teeth yeah that's a good thing
you don't want people stinking up morning breath in your face on a morning at church put on some
clean clothes pretty simple right don't put on the nasty old stuff that you you wore for the whole
week before don't put it on that you wore for the last month before just clean clothes wash body
brush teeth okay now does it mean that we'll all survive someday without smelling like a sewer
no you know some people are gonna get you're gonna kick up a bit okay sometimes especially
it can be stressful sundays yeah it could be a long day sometimes you'll be that soul winning
you've had a real stressful one you come back you're thinking man i'll probably smell a bit
all right okay and when that happens i generally just keep my arms a bit closer to myself
okay that can happen okay however and some fabrics can be bad i don't think any of the guys notice
this especially some fabrics just smell a bit more don't they you know for whatever reason sometimes
the cheaper clothes do stink a bit more okay there is a there is a truth there but here's the thing
is that at least in the mornings if you come in in the morning and you're stinking then you probably
there's either you didn't wash yourself or you didn't put on clean clothes and if you did all
that and it's still all deodorants a good fallback as well and i'll use that anyway but some people
have issues okay whatever okay but you get what i'm saying right you come to the house of god
and i often use this example of people because people get a bit upset about this stuff yeah
they're like i should just walk in the church in what i rolled out of bed in and should come in
like the school mum in her in her pajamas you know with her slippers on what's the problem yeah well
the problem is that you're coming to the house of god and here jacob is clearly giving his household
and uh well he's giving him an order here he said not just to his house at all that were with him
so he just said look anyone coming with me you put away the strange gods be clean and change
your garments now some people go well what type of clothing okay well he said change your garments
now it might just have been to put on clean clothing but are we to believe that everyone
here was dirty do you think that the whole household everyone here was just caked in filth
and dirt and was just p would have had you know had to peel off their clothing because it was
stuck to them i don't think so i think it was to change from day to day clothing
change out of the day-to-day clothing and make some sort of effort for church
he said he said to all of them be clean and change your garments now i'm sure there were some people
there that had some clean clothing on i'm sure there's some people there that maybe just had a
wash but he said be clean and change your garments and i think it was to make some effort for for
going to the house of god and just to be clear on this okay we're not here raising eyebrows
if you don't have a suit on okay honestly we're not okay i'm not looking at people going you
don't have a suit on you must be you know so disrespectful we're not if you don't have a
sunday dress on ladies we're not i'm not standing here you know making a little note going home
with my wife going thing we both didn't have a dress on today look like what she probably wears
every day can you believe it okay that we're not we're not into that sort of thing okay we're happy
to have you here as long as it's decent okay as long as you're dressed decently okay in terms of
it's not you know something that would be an offense to people okay we're happy right but
let me put it another way if i was up here preaching in that baphomet t-shirt people
that have an issue wouldn't they yeah understandably i'm sure most people here probably would walk
straight out and be like what's up with this guy if it wasn't some sort of uh some sort of prop
to preach from you know you soon soon after a few minutes of preaching it hasn't been meant to be
you probably get up what you're doing and understandably right because there are standards
aren't there so everyone agrees there's a standard what about if if i what about if i got up here in
in joggers and a vest i got the guns out made sure i did some press ups before a few bicep curls
got a bit vascular yeah that's what looked really good yeah get up here i've got my joggers on i've
got my vest top on you would all understandably be a bit shocked when you be like what is going
on there now say you'd never come in here before in uh before in your life so so it's not because
you've already seen me wearing a suit and there's a difference you've just never come in here you
walk in a church and the preacher's wearing a vest and a pair of jogging bottoms most people here
would wonder what on earth is going on wouldn't they most people here probably would turn straight
back around and walk straight back out like here's the pastor and i come up with my vest and my joggers
and my nike max's oh hello you'd be like what on earth right yeah because there are standards
people have standards now what about if i was in skinny jeans and a skin tight top
again i reckon i'm not going to ask for a show of hands here but i reckon that still the vast
majority of people in here would be like what on earth why is he preaching up there behind the
pulpit in skinny jeans and a skin tight top please don't imagine it okay
where's your line because everyone has a line i think we're proving everyone has a line don't
they yeah everyone has a line so how about the song leader so forget me because yeah well okay
he's preaching the world he got how about some leader how about junior let's let's get junior
now you can start imagining junior and he's up here in skinny skinny jeans a skin tight top and
he's got his cap on backwards although i went for the cap i just went for the cap backwards what
do you think you'd be like i don't know about this this is a bit weird this is a bit it's not
very it's not very respect it's not very reverent is it it's not really reverent worship agreed
yeah yeah standards okay well that's the song leader okay what about the ushers what about
you come to go into this church and the ushers standing out there with let's come up with a new
one the ushers there with a leather jacket okay uh the old james dean look he's got a skin tight
white t-shirt leather jackets and blue jeans and a little bit turned up at the bottom and he's got
and he's got a pair of plimsolls on
again let's be honest a lot of people here would have issue with that wouldn't they
oh you're so wicked no because you have standards because you're coming to the house and gone you
expect some respect don't you don't you now what your standards are again i'm not going to go to a
verse go with this exactly what you got to wear but there are standards right and here's the thing
though okay so aside from those what about the congregants coming from for an audience with the
king you're and no i'm not talking about myself okay we're coming here to hear the word of god
aren't we to be in the house of god where god is amongst us where we're gathered together and god
is amongst us and we're coming here to hear his word preached to reverently worship him
i would say probably a bit of an effort wouldn't go far amiss with it it would it would be expected
don't you think just some sort of effort now what what that effort is well god knows doesn't he so
again i'm talking about what's on the inside so what's on the inside will then be manifest on the
outside maybe maybe what you wear yeah is you changing your garments if god knows that you've
changed your garments so good on you maybe he knows it yeah that's not what they wear every
day of the week and look i don't know what that is that no you don't have to go out and buy a suit
i mean what what's that what's the limit because you might go on past tabular hands and got a three
piece suit on where's the bow tie you know so look there's it's look god knows if look i don't
i don't knock about the house in suits you ask my family they don't get up in the morning and
put a suit on so for me this is a change of garments to come to the house of god and
i don't think that's too much to ask for god but again it's not of all of our church but it's
something to think about isn't it what's on the inside what how do we feel when we come to the
house of god but again wouldn't that extend to soul winning times now we have a rule here which
is collars when you're soul winning some people don't like that i'm sure some people i should be
able to sell win in my in my graphic tee and you know in my shorts and everything else it's like
well look you can you know and you can you know if if you can you can dress down if you want but
we do have a rule of collars yeah it can be a polo shirt or something but we just think we try to
look respectable we're ambassadors for christ we represent the lord look however churches do it
that's up to them they're in different countries different cultures different heat different
temperature and everything else how we do it in england is we go out and we try and look respectful
when we so win we're ambassadors for christ aren't we if you're an ambassador for a nation i don't see
many ambassadors around the world in the world for example going out in in you know in in the
string vest and the and the board shorts to go and have an important meeting about you know about
something which is much less important than eternal life okay and you know what you get
treated a bit differently when you're dressed smarter as well by the way but beyond soul
winning okay beyond that just don't be an attention seeker okay don't be an attention
seeker in whatever you do so we're not no one's trying to i think get attention in a suit but in
the same way you know whatever you want to wear it's just what's on the inside you want to like
change your garments for for church but how about um how about the ladies as well how about the
ladies so do we have a dress code so again no but there are some principles that god wants you to
have in mind and look if i tread on toes here i don't really care i'm going to preach you what
the word of god says what i believe the word of god says so turn to first timothy two first
timothy chapter two which is a very clear scripture where where god sets out the importance
of the outward appearance okay so god sets out the importance of our outward appearance
in many places like i said you're just going to see that as we go through this in first timothy
two and verse eight it says this first timothy two eight i will therefore that men pray everywhere
lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting he said in like manner also so in like manner
being that having holy how basically being holy okay in like manner also that women
adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame face sickness and sobriety not with broidered hair
or gold or pearls or costly array but which becometh women professing godliness with good
work so the key point here is that women wear modest apparel or clothing isn't it okay that's
a clear point modest now let me give you some dictionary definitions for modest because some
people think well does it mean this does it mean that i would say it means a whole lot number uh
number one okay so definition number one properly restrained by a sense of propriety hence not
forward or bold not presumptuous or arrogant not boastful as a modest youth a modest man
number two not bold or forward as a modest maid the word may be thus used without reference to
chastity so it's not necessarily about chastity the blushing beauties of a modest maid is an
example number three not loose not lewd so the example is mrs ford the honest woman the modest
wife number four moderate not excessive or extreme not extravagant as a modest request
modest joy a modest computation and you could apply all of those really like i said not arrogant
boastful bold not lewd not excessive not extravagant he said in verse 9 in like manner
also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame face in this and sobriety not with
broidered hair or gold or pearls across the array so that's not what adorns them that's not what
beautifies them yeah they can wear the jewelry sure they can wear that stuff yeah they're
broid the hell whatever that you know and that seems to be actual sewing things in their head
if they want to do that stuff they want to wear that stuff but it's not what adorns them it's not
what they're trying to beautify themselves with but it's with the modest apparel it's with shame
face in this and sobriety so you don't have to get fashion tips from the armish okay you don't
have to cover every millimeter of skin like the muslims it's just not showing off or looking like
a harlot okay it's pretty simple it's not actually that complicated turn to deuteronomy 22
and this is biblical terminology by the way in case you're wondering why i use the word harla
proverb 7 10 says behold they met him a woman with the attire of an harlot and subtle of heart
just because this wicked world okay has in very recent history decided it's good to look like a
prostitute that's what a harla is that doesn't mean god thinks that god hasn't changed his
mind because now we have just girls everywhere i mean literally uncovering their bums that is
ridiculous i mean here i think it's i think essex is as bad as i guess maybe it's not maybe it's
everywhere in the uk but i know when we had a you know our recent visitors from the us they were
saying it's worse here than anywhere they've seen and i mean just unbelievable right well but does
that mean that god wants us to behave like that oh it's our standard what the world does do we
just kind of lower our standards because the world's standards have plummeted or do we go by
god's standards well we need to understand what god's standards are don't we now remember that
that romans 12 2 said and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind that you may prove what is that good and accepted perfect will of god so we don't need
to conform to the world with clothing standards let's see what what god would expect now something
that i want to explain okay for those who get confused by this okay is that what is it about
the skirts and dresses because some people and i want to explain this and again you know a lot
of people just don't know this stuff because people haven't preached this stuff for years
because standards have massively changed so i want to explain this just so you understand what the
word of god says about this um deuteronomy 22 5 okay there's another verse where the outward
appearance is shown to be important to god just another one of those verses deuteronomy 22 and
verse 5 says the woman shall not wear that which potateth unto a man neither shall a man put on a
woman's garment for all that do so of abomination unto the lord thy god now of course this applies
to all these freaks and you know and and whatever you want to i don't even know what they call them
now what's the latest terminology for for geezer birds men that dress like women i mean it's freaky
but on the same hand women that dress like men and and there are some pretty butch disgusting
looking women out there where you're double taking was that man or was that a woman invite
i mean that is that's an abomination that is a disgrace but there this applies to other things
as well i've made the point before if i turned up here in a skirt or a dress if i was preaching now
in the sky if you hadn't seen me i'd started up here for whatever reason then i walked out now
and i was in a skirt or a dress and i include a kilt by the way that's always okay because he's
got a bit of scottish blood in him that's all right you know he's just he's wearing a skirt
but it's it's a tartan one look kilts used to be blankets they just they're just over years they
turned into a mini skirt which happened to interestingly time with our world's blurring
of the genders yeah over the last you know however many hundreds of years maybe but okay if i turned
up here in a skirt or a dress you wouldn't be too happy would you again i think but i possibly get
lynched at the least you'd probably turn turn around and leave right well what's the equivalent
for a lady because throughout even fairly recent history trousers were never worn by women okay
they were even illegal did you know that oh that was horrible you know those horrible misogynists
of the past oh i just can't believe that was your standard that was normal okay now again i'm not
getting on people if look it's up to you we don't have a rule on that or anything i just want to
explain to you why you're going to see a lot of women here in skirts and dresses down to the knees
okay i'm going to explain it uh i'm going to explain it for you so total wise i chapter 47
let me give you another one and please don't get an image here okay i'm not going to use
myself because i'm feeling a little bit in the spotlight here okay say one of the men here turned
up in a pair of skin tight leggings anyone think that would be okay skin tight leggings shirt
tucked in no put your hand up if you think that's all right okay because i'm going to kick you out
i'm kidding i'm kidding you can disagree we'll just laugh at you okay
okay okay what about guy here walks in yeah one of the men here comes in he's in the skin tight
leggings but he's got a fairly long shirt and it's it goes down to the top of his thighs
is that okay anyone think that's okay
what if he does it anywhere what if he's out in the street is that okay
okay now what if he was in the leggings but he had some shorts down to the knees you see some
sports people do that probably most people would say yeah maybe it's a bit weird that these guys
like to wear leggings but whatever maybe some chafing issues or you know something to do they
think that it's going to help their sports performance or something yeah however just
because they're covering maybe like down to the bottom of their their buttocks yeah you wouldn't
go well that's okay because you're still looking at some skin tight thigh and you're thinking that
looks freaky right yeah agreed well why because the thighs are nakedness that's why because the
bible teaches the thighs are nakedness look at isaiah 47 isaiah chapter 47 isaiah is preaching
of judgment coming to the caldeons of babylon he says this in verse one of isaiah 47 and verse one
come down and sit in the dust oh virgin daughter of babylon so he's preaching his judgments coming
to them he says sit on the ground there is no throne oh daughter of the caldeons for thou shalt
no more be called tender and delicate take the millstones and grind mill uncover thy locks
make bear the leg uncover the thigh notice he makes this point of uncovering the thigh pass
over the rivers thy nakedness shall be uncovered yea thy shame shall be seen i will take vengeance
i will not meet thee as a man now it's not just women either by the way so in case you're going
okay right well thighs nakedness for women yeah i kind of get that i'm sure a lot of men understand
why the thighs nakedness for women excess 28 42 you don't have to turn it says of the priest's
attire and thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness this is men from the loins
even unto the thighs they shall reach he didn't say just the loins he said for the loins to the
thighs being covering the thighs okay so the thighs of nakedness and like i said most people
i think would agree with that like i said if i was here and uncovering my thighs you would think
yeah that looks a bit it looks a bit creepy at the least it looks a bit naked and it's the same
it doesn't suddenly change when it's women contrary to what the world does out there
and due to body shape okay there are two options when a woman puts on a pair of trousers these are
two options either they're immodest and they highlight her body her body shape so either
that she's dressing immodestly and and and showing her nakedness and usually they're tight around the
thigh and everything else or they're so baggy that you can't tell where she's a man or woman
option one or option two which one do you want to go with
and because some because oh no no because they're female trousers you're not female trousers are
they're tight they're tight and they're not much different to wearing a pair of leggings
and if a woman is and anyone here thinks that that's modest walking around a pair of underwear
and look that's just reality now look i'm not trying to get at people here okay i've got
nothing and look i've got nothing against leggings either but they're undergarments
they need a skirt or dress over the top so why because you're just showing your body
and it's not modest now by the way Deuteronomy 22 wasn't just about winning the house of god
either was it okay so look again if if your whole thing is well okay we're in the house of god
i'll put my skirt and dress on but when i go home straight in the trousers and everything
else well look then you ain't sort it out on the inside because it ain't about just when you come
to the house of god he said it's an abomination he said it's an abomination to cross dress
a clean inside would hopefully result in someone not wanting to be an abomination to god
in both ways it's the same way i ain't walking around in my short shorts when i'm outside of
the church because i consider that i consider that nakedness and you know what i change on
this a lot and i'm not trying to give myself an example but i i'll get look i'm i'm sure
i've got plenty of work to do in many areas of my life we all do okay we're all sinners right
but you know what i i used to coach tie boxing and if anyone knows anything about tie boxing
they wear some pretty short shorts like shorts like they look a bit queer it's quite a tough
sport but it does look a bit queer so but you know what i did as soon as i i understood this
as soon as i read my bible i was like yeah i could see that thighs are nakedness i heard
it preached i compared it with scripture i was like yeah i can see that how can i how can i be
saying to my family to my daughters to my wife look i don't want short skirts and all this stuff
how can i and then go to work oh well it's all right because i'm at work and put on the old
short shorts rolled up because it makes my legs look a bit stronger well i just wore long shorts
how people even sometimes comment aren't you hot in those longer shorts like yeah but you know i
don't want to i don't want to show my thighs they look like a queer really i look like some sort of
some sort of rent boy in a pair of short shorts god doesn't want me to look like that so look
whatever the fashion is for that sport and and i think that should be pretty that that hopefully
should be you know i think a lot of men here would be the same okay so i'm not trying to put
myself on a pedestal here i'm just trying to explain that even in something like that even
when it's like it's not that i'm just hanging around down the short shops like that that was
something for a sport where people wear them like that i was like no that's not right and with my
son who does tie boxing he wears a pair of cycling shorts under his shorts down to his knees so that
he's able to kick or he wears longer shorts when he trains depending on depending on what we've got
at the time but he covers up those sides okay so he said it's an abomination okay a clean inside
like i said would result in that now turn to first corinthians chapter 11 and if you're sitting there
go how would i do this look you know what it's pretty simple okay it's pretty easy and throughout
history women just wore skirts just they wore leggings sometimes for things like riding and
things like that sometimes with horses and they just put a skirt over the top okay or a dress over
the top um and and here's the thing just last bit on that just because i know that people find this
stuff hard okay but look the reality of it is we're in a day and age where the lines are so
blurred it isn't now a more important time than ever to make it clear that that where the lines
the different the different way we dress the different genders the different ways we behave
isn't it oh no no because oh because the world says that that's okay now who cares what does
god say well turn to first corinthians 11 because we're going to see another example on the same way
where he wants us to define to show that difference he so god cares about defining the sexes it says
in verse 13 judging yourselves is it comely that a woman pray unto god uncovered we're in
first corinthians 11 13. now some people look at this and go oh okay he's talking about veils
berets little woolly hats perched on your head anyone ever been in the church like that before
okay quite a few okay where they've looked at this and they've gone
better get the hats on okay i mean it's just so bizarre okay do you know why i know that it's
not talking about hats because you might go how do you know that if some people try and say how
do you know that the head being covered i'll tell you how i know because i bothered to read the next
verses verse 14 says does not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair it is a
shame unto him but if a woman have long hair it is a glory to her for her hair is given her for a
what a covering so clearly the covering is the hair is the long hair and we're being told through
the apostle Paul here that a woman praying without the covering of her hair is uncombly
he said earlier in the chapter that she might as well just have it all cut off
he said in verse six for if the woman be not covered let her also be shaun but if it be a
shame for a woman to be shaun ashamed let her be covered for a man indeed ought not to cover his
head for as much as he is the image of glory of god but the woman is the glory of the man
so it wouldn't make sense any of this if jesus looked like the effeminate catholic inspired joke
would it how on earth what a hypocritical bible if jesus really had long flying locks if jesus
really did wear a dress like some of these people trying to pick to me none of this would make sense
but you know what because that's all a lie because jesus was in the image of god and we've just seen
here that that for as much for a man indeed ought not to cover his head or we've just seen a covering
his long hair for as much as he's in the image and glory of god so no that's a load of nonsense
don't get sucked in by that okay that's not cool so as much as for a woman yeah the bible teaches
that a woman shouldn't have you know shouldn't have basically the buzz cut yeah shouldn't have
the old you know nowadays some of them think it looks really cool and to have this like you know
man's haircut and everything else if a man has long hair it's a shame that's what verse 14 says
it said in verse 14 does not even nature itself teach you don't even need the word of god to tell
you this we know deep down that if a man have long hair it is a shame unto him so maybe you're being
conned by the swati sorry the sweaty and swati warriors of hollywood yeah maybe you've watched
that and you've seen every warrior's got this like sweaty locks across his face and stuff i
mean how would you even fight how are you gonna fight when it's all in your eyes yeah you know
what i mean it's a load of nonsense now don't get me wrong i'm sure cultures of the past yeah some
of them probably had long hair and did weird effeminate stuff like that that's not how god
wants him us to have it i'll tell you what samson samson when they go oh well you know about cutting
the hair that was a nazirite vow okay samson made a nazirite vow and it was to not and you know what
it was it to do it was also not to shave it off okay but regardless the men of the bible weren't
running around with long sweaty locks in their faces okay god cares about hair length clearly
here doesn't he but what they want to do is try and push and promote it because it's the opposite
to what god what god wants the world is always inside out upside down he cares about the outward
appearance he doesn't want men to look effeminate and he doesn't want women to look masculine it's
pretty clear isn't it i mean he said if any man seemed to be contentious you want to argue about
it we've got no such custom neither the church to god you can argue all you like but we don't act
like the gender line blurring weirdos out there okay we're we're a house of god here we we we act
we want to try and act and get right with how god wants us to behave and how god wants us to appear
he clearly cares about appearance doesn't he but why because it shows that we care about what god
wants because that's a bit of a test of yourself because some of these things are hard for people
some of these things are strongholds sometimes the trousers can be a stronghold for some women
i'm sure for some scots out there that the the kill thing is a stronghold and i'm and i'm sure
for some the hair length is a stronghold now some will go well how long is too long for a man or how
short is too short for a lady well if you're wondering if you're sitting there going i don't
know if my hair is growing a bit long just cut it off better be safe than sorry isn't it why sit
there going well i just don't know you know if it's starting to become a covering over your head
it sounds like it's too long if if you're if women out there it's getting so short it's no
longer recovering it sounds like it's too short pretty simple and that's what god wants and i'm
sorry to be the bearer of bad news to anyone that feels that this is really hard for them but that's
just what the Bible says no we're not sitting in here we're not doing it the ushers aren't looking
out for haircuts on the way in okay they're not looking out for you know women dressing in certain
ways on the way unless they were literally came in obscene okay then sure but that hasn't happened
yet and hopefully never will but look it's up to you guys what you want to do but it's between you
and god isn't it and and i'm preaching this because look it does matter to god and it does show what's
on the inside especially once you've started seeing it and you're seeing it spelled out you're seeing
it in the word of god you know what it's quite liberating as well you know a lot of women they
find it so hard at the beginning and then eventually they realize actually going around with
my bum on show everywhere with my thighs on show everywhere with people you know just knowing that
i everywhere i go the way the world dresses is that i've got to basically show my show my my
curves and show everything else once they realize they don't have to do that it actually is quite
nice it's quite nice to not have to dress not feel like they have to dress like that to fit in
and it's ridiculous dressing like that to fit in when god makes it so clear
and lastly i want to mention today when it comes out with appearance okay we're nearly done
is how we talk okay how we talk turn to ephesians chapter 4 when i read colossians 3 8
you turn to ephesians 4 and i'm going to read colossians 3 8 colossians 3 8 says but now you
also put off all these anger wrath malice blasphemy filthy communication out of your mouth
ephesians 4 we're looking at verse 29 i just read colossians 3 8 which said to put off filthy
communication out of your mouth ephesians 4 29 says let no corrupt communication proceed out of
your mouth but that which is good for you to redefine it may minister grace unto the hearers
and look because the world deems certain words as rude and certain as not okay we don't have to go
overboard with this okay so with that okay some people question salvation with this stuff i knew
a guy a pastor of a church who is a repent of your sins who basically was talking about people
he said you should hear how they talk i mean are they even saved he said to me what on earth he
took and this guy was clearly you know in hindsight eventually it came out that he is a work
salvationist but there are people that think that they think well if you'll say how would you ever
use foul language okay no we don't have to go overboard look there's much worse things than
not being able to control your tongue sometimes and saying something which the world deems is a
swear word and on that as well i'm going to use biblical words as i see fit so i'm not going to
have the world tell me that biblical words are swear words and you're going which words are you
talking about bloody for example yeah and i'm going to look how could i if you could it should
use those words behind a pulpit well how would i read the bible otherwise piss it's in the bible
yeah hell it's in the bible they're biblical words however okay however a lot of rude words
okay in inverted commas and what the world deems as rude words okay aside from the biblical words
are often toilet talk or anatomy or even worse aren't they let's be honest that that's what they
generally are which is why they're considered rude words because they're either talking about
things which are unclean or they're talking about things parts of the body which you don't really
need to just add in as a random adjective in the middle of your conversation or they're talking
about actions of the body which usually aren't things that you just want to suddenly just just
bring up in the middle of a conversation for no reason and those of you that know the words i'm
thinking about you think like yeah that doesn't really fit with most of the times it's being used
really it had nothing to do with the conversation you know and it's like suddenly
it's a word that's got nothing to do with it now do you think that's the outward appearance of
god wants from his people is it look you can go overboard and be like someone's completely wicked
because they they didn't control it no i'm not going to go that far but what i would say is that
that's something we should all make an effort with isn't it we should try and try and at least talk
in a way that doesn't offend people is it edifying because we've said let no corrupt communication
proceed out your mouth at that which is good for the use of edifying look some of those adjectives
sometimes there's extreme situations maybe you think this is edifying i would probably
question that okay does it minister grace unto the hearers
but worse than that yeah worse than that okay so that's one thing and that's something that
look some people will be better with than others some people will blurt out things more than others
but i would say that that's something that we should try and control because it just doesn't
make us it ultimately is that is that the outward appearance god wants and are people then
criticizing the word criticizing the message criticizing god's people because our mouths are
just full of you know all sorts of words that they consider to be very rude if someone is offended
by those words why are we using them do you really need to yeah we could go i don't care
i'm going to say what i want but is that how we should be no where possible again i'm not going
to stop using biblical words because i'm reading the bible and preaching the bible but you know
what in front of certain people in certain situations i'll probably be careful i probably
would avoid using the word piss why because it's going to offend them now not if i was reading i
wouldn't go right i'm going to cut this bit out of the bible but just because some people do if
someone gets offended by saying if someone here gets offended by something and it's got nothing
to do with the bible you're going to probably try you should try and avoid offending them shouldn't
you so we should be aware of that because people do still get it does because it does hurt you
sometimes sometimes it feels disrespectful doesn't it i don't know if you how about if you've been
out with your kids and you're around you're with your kids you're on the train you're on the bus
you're somewhere and someone's just effing and blinding right by your kids and is it because
you're thinking my poor little kids is because your kids are probably some of them a lot of the
time they would have heard that how about with your wife and you and it might be a pride thing
but you get offended why because you think that's disrespectful you're using those words it doesn't
matter whether they've heard them before it doesn't matter whether you think they're going
to repeat them or not you're basically using language and talking about things and vulgar
things and stuff in front of me because you're basically saying i don't care and i'm going to
use it anyway and that's disrespectful and and it's not and and we shouldn't be like that with
anyone should we really yeah but worse than any of that worse than that by the way it's taking
the name of the lord in vain okay so you know what you show me someone that f's and blinds
and i i much prefer to be around that than someone that's that's using the lord's name as a swear
word that every other word is an at least in vain and oh my you know and for the purposes of this
sermon oh my god and all those things people say or or or worse they're just going using
jesus's name like he's some sort of swear i mean that's that's offensive that is offensive isn't it
and that's what and then we as christians and sadly there are believers that do that stuff
and and that that is that's much worse from the excess 20 verse 7 says thou shalt not take the
name of the lord thy god in vain for the lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in
vain that's a pretty strong warning isn't it that's a strong warning don't take the name the
lord in vain he's not some swear word he's not a name that you just use because you can't think
of anything else he's not a name to swap for what the world considers a rude word you'd be better to
use a rude word than god's name and that sounds serious doesn't it he said for the lord will not
hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain a lot more serious than whatever's on the world's
rude list right now okay so however clean language is still an important part of the
outward appearance wouldn't you say it's still an important part of the outward appearance
back in matthew 23 we're just going to finish off of matthew chapter 23 it says in verse 25
actually 23 25 says but woe unto you woe unto you scribes and pharisees hypocrites if you make
clean the outside of the cup of the platter but within they're full of extortion excess
okay so this sermon again just to remind you i really just want to hammer this point as well
this isn't about forget everything else i just want to look good in front of people
it's not it's about assessing yourself and thinking like do i want to please god or not
do i want to try and live how god wants me to live do i want to be what god wants me to be or
am i looking at this and going yeah but i'm going to make an excuse i'm going to kick it you know
that's what it's about isn't it what's on the inside he said within they're full of extortion
excess our blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the
outside of them may be clean also why aren't you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for your
like unto white sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within
full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness even so you also outwardly appear righteous
unto men but within you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity so yeah don't be a hypocrite however
he did say that that if you cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter the outside
of them may be clean also the title was the outward appearance point number one was who cares
about the outward appearance the answer is god point number two who why does god care about the
outward appearance it shows what's on the inside it glorifies god glorifies the ministry and point
number three what does god care about with the outward appearance and we've looked just for now
at hygiene at clothing at hair length at speech to name but a few and it starts with the inside
but let's not neglect then the outside right okay let's let's bear in mind how god wants us to live
and want to live in the right way and want to behave and want to act and want to appear outwardly
in the same and the right way and on that we're going to finish it away
father thank you for your word thank you for um well the the the the clearance structure you
give us some things like this lord you know things such as you know being clean being
dressing you know appropriately um lord having our hair appropriately speaking appropriately
lord and help us to get right in this help us uh everyone here not to be offended by your word
lord and not to you know feel that people are you know looking at them in a in you know down on them
if they're you know maybe either maybe new to this sort of thing or maybe they just don't really care
about this sort of thing you know haven't done until now and help everyone to just be convicted
lord that we just want to we want to be like you want us to be lord and and you know not to not to
let the world influence us to them be more likely to rebel against your word help us to live right
but help us to to you know with that make sure it's because what's on the inside is is what
we're trying to correct we're trying to not be rebellious we're trying to be you know more in
line with how you want us to be lord that we want to put you up there put your word up there put
your standards up there lord and um and get that right and that will then hopefully show on the
outside too lord help us to um to to get out this afternoon and get people saved with the soul
winning and into return for the proverb series this evening