Cleaning the Inside: Righteousness Beyond Appearances

President McDowell: All right you got the slides let's look at this text. "For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Let's pray. God we thank you for
this day I thank you for this place we invite your spirit to be here with us
and to move among us and open us up to hear a word from you in Jesus' name amen.
So who loves coffee? Let's run through these slides. I'm a coffee aficionado.
Let's see them. That's the shrine right there that's the corner of the kitchen. I
got the big coffee pot my son got me fancy schmancy if I got to go heavy on
that if not the Keurig one cup at a time and of course that's a French press to
the left in case you really want to get stout coffee you go with that. Next slide.
I've got a dear friend who is a dealer a coffee dealer with Community Coffee
keeps me hooked up. Next slide. But there's the Holy Grail Starbucks and
that's an old-school canister you can't get those anymore. Next slide. And of
course you know this is one of the sweetest things I shouldn't tell this
but if you don't buy all the coffee at Christmas time they put it on half price
and I stock up so pay no attention to that that's nothing for you to know
anything about. Next slide. And of course you got to have the right thing to drink
out of there's quite the collection little shout out to Collier
Construction there for that nice cup but the Stanley on the right and then next
one now we're going old school right there. Yeah that's got me through many
hunting trips and makes it kind of difficult you don't stay in the woods
long if you drink one of those I'll tell you. Next slide. Oh yes the Been There
series from Starbucks and I'm still working on that one but a couple of
editions from the international trip this year. Next slide. And of course my
favorite cup of all right there and last slide. Oh next one. Oh this this is
the cup right here my dear friend Sarah Keith Gamble gave me this years ago and
do what? Dear friend yeah. I didn't intend that but I will next time. And
then next slide. Okay that's the inside of the cup. Here's the deal I I want a
righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of law. I want
that for me I want that for you. Nothing is important at this institution as our
Christ-centered mission. Nothing is as important as you not just looking good
and you do. Shout out it's not 12th day yet but we're way up in students and we're
excited about that we're thrilled that you're here. Our faculty want to pour
into you. In fact all if you are a faculty or staff member that is willing
to help these students in any way would you stand for just a moment if you're
willing to help these students. Yeah. Now stay stay up.
Stay up. The Dr. G said at the beginning when he was talking to parents the two
biggest problems you students will face are pride and fear. That you'll be you'll
be afraid maybe you can't cut it and you'll have too much pride to ask for
help. You can look at these people and they will help you. Y'all can be seated
thank you. But what we're really concerned about is what you are on the
inside and so the righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers law is really captured in this next verse. If they'll put that one up
there. Woe to you teachers law Pharisees you hypocrites you clean the outside of
the cup and the dish but inside they're full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind
Pharisee first clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside will
be clean as well. So when I shared that that picture of all those cups I have I
have in the past really had a bad habit I'm trying to get better at it that's
why I have one cup now but I would I would have a half dozen cups in my
office and especially oftentimes they would be the covered cup and you know my
real vice black coffee has two calories two cups is five calories but the venti
dark roast is 55 calories and it's magnificent a little little cream thrown
in there it's magnificent unless you let it sit in one of those sealed cups for a
few weeks and I've done it and what happens when that happens is you get a
science project right inside that cup. I got a husband wife here she's elbowing
him on the side he's Toby's evidently a kindred spirit with the science project
and let me see that back one more for that inside the cup thing if we can get
that slide up again one more back there the inside of the cup you can just
barely see it's a brown cup my dear friend was really smart about that you
can't quite see the stains but you know what it's like if you do have the
science project or you do have the ring inside or if you do have just that
little bit of film in the bottom you got to get in there and scrub it and if it's
a real mess you got to scrub real hard but here's the magical thing if you
really clean the inside of the cup the outside gets clean automatically and my
prayer for each of us is that we would listen to the psalmist when he said may
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight of
the Lord my rock and my Redeemer and I would agree with Paul when he wrote in
second Corinthians 10 casting down imaginations and every high thing that
is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ more than the way we look our thought lives
matter what we fill ourselves up with matters and if if you are like me you
want to be real on the inside and the out that's my prayer for you and those
people that stood a while ago we're not perfect but we're in this with you and
we will walk with you to try to clean the inside of the cup and what a
wonderful thing then to have you in four years you freshmen walk across that
stage as somebody who is righteous from the inside out and what a difference
that can make in our world have a blessed day
(applause)