Richard Ellis Talks

Announcer: Today, on Richard Ellis Talks.

Richard Ellis: How do you avoid being a hypocrite?

Some people don't even go to a gathering of a church because they don't want to be a hypocrite. The best way not to be a hypocrite is don't be a hypocrite.

Talk about what's really going on. Don't act like you're okay when you're not okay. Don't say you're doing a bunch of stuff when really from your heart, that's not what you're doing.

Announcer: Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. So many of you have shared how important this program is to you, and how Richard's messages have impacted your life. We also know that there are many others who have positively influenced your life, and how to be a better Christ follower.

We are devoting this entire month to celebrate and give honor to those in our life who have made a great impact, and how we want to do the same in the lives of others. So, we're introducing a new feature on our website to help you share that story.

More on that later, but for now, with today's talk, here's Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today's message is "All Hat, No Cattle."

So, this particular hat that I'm wearing right now, I ended up doing a conference up in Montana, and I told them I wanted to go fishing, if possible, and go horseback riding and something else. Play golf. And so, they accommodated all, but I couldn't go up there with just any old hat. So, I bought this on Facebook Marketplace. So, now I have me a straw hat.

I also have a brown felt hat. There's a lady who used to work up in Jackson Hole, who, a girl, really, and she's in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. My daughter pitched in, took me over there at the top of a barn, and she makes these custom hats. It was such a personal, crazy experience. I mean, you pick the hat, she shapes it like you want it, the feathers, the branding, everything on it you want.

So, I was very grateful for that. But, I'm all hat, no cattle. I can wear the hats, I got the boots. I didn't wear the boots today. I do have cufflinks with cows on them. One of them is a bum steer and the other one is a holy cow with a halo on it. So, technically, I do have some cattle.

So, Abraham Lincoln is the person that said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." So, let's start in Isaiah 29.

So, in Isaiah, the Lord said, verse 13, "Therefore the Lord said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths, and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'"

"Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden." So, what's His beef with these people? I try to bring beef into it as much as possible.

They draw near with their mouths. I'm pretty highly trained at this as a kid. I learned my lines. Some of you know what I'm talking about when it comes to lines. If someone, and I don't want to turn this into some kind of ethnic thing, but, you know, I didn't grow up with this. If a person walks up to you and says, at church especially, "God is good."

And I say, "All the time." Right? So, you say, "Okay, well, anybody can recite those words, but do you have cattle to back that up?" Are you just all hat? They draw near with their mouths, honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.

So, they're not taught to fear God because He's God. They're taught to fear God by a bunch of people who say, "Well, that's what you're supposed to do," so act like you fear Him. Act like you fear Him, but it doesn't matter if you really live that life.

Go to Matthew 23. Now, if you go back in scripture and want to find where Jesus lowered the boom, who He just dropped the hammer on more than almost anybody, it was the religious leaders. I've referenced these recently, but I didn't get into all of this.

So, Matthew 23, verse 1. "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you, now look, you got to pay attention when you read this, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not according to their works.'"

So, it's not that what they're saying is not true. He says, "If they tell you something, that observe and do, but don't do it the way they do it, which is what? For they say and do not do."

And this drove these people crazy, like it drives us crazy today. When someone tells you you should be sharing your faith, but they never share their faith, you go, "Dude, what are you talking about?"

I tell these stories for a reason. A buddy of mine said, "Hey, do you want to play golf?" I said, "Sure, we haven't in a long time." I walk, carry my bag, and we never know who we're going to get paired up with. So, the guy that I called to schedule this made a mistake and he said, "It's you and your guy," and he named the guy I was playing with.

So, I whiteboarded this guy. In other words, found out who he was and what he did. When we got on the first tee box, I said, "Are you still in the mortgage business?" And his eyes got like that big. He's like, "What?" He said, "How do you know what I do?" I said, "Well, I don't play golf with people that I don't know their background." He's like, "What?" You know, nobody does this.

So, a few holes later, I said, he asked me what I did, and I told him, and I said, "You know, when I found out your name earlier today, I started praying for you." And then he really freaked out. "You praying for me?" I said, "Yeah, what's going on? I don't end up anywhere randomly. Why am I with you? What am I praying for you about?" And kaboom, the conversation went.

Now, either I'm just some kind of religious nutcase or that is really the way I live my life. It's not just a hat, there's cattle that goes with it. And what I'm trying to communicate to you, can I be a hypocrite? Yes. Can I tell you what to do and do something different? Yes. Can I tell you to walk in the spirit and then love, joy, peace, all that stuff will manifest? And then the next minute, I'm in the flesh and it's crazy town, just like it is with you.

But at least there's some honesty from me, hopefully, and some honesty with you. Earlier in the service, a woman gets up and says her struggle. During the prayer time, she gets up and says her struggle is smoking weed. Okay, that's real. Then she said it had been cocaine, heroin, meth, she rattled some out, other stuff.

You go, "Well, who would get up and say that?" Maybe someone who's trying to survive and is tired of playing like they're a cowboy but they're not a cowboy. They're cowgirl, not a cow... just tired of acting. And then we go, "Wow, that's been my struggle." Some of you stood up to stand with her.

So, Jesus isn't saying what they're telling you is wrong. He's just saying, "Don't do what they do," because they tell you what to do and then they don't do it. Verse 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." Load you up with all this fear and guilt and whatever, and then they don't do a thing.

Verse 5, "But all their works they do to be seen by men." They make the phylacteries, these things they'd wear on their clothes, on their head, broad, and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men "Rabbi, Rabbi."

"But you do not be called Rabbi." He gets into all this, go down to verse 12, we'll skim through these. "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." And then he starts, the boom comes down with specific words, verse 13. "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees," and what does he call them? "Hypocrites."

How do you avoid being a hypocrite? Some people don't even go to a gathering of a church because they don't want to be a hypocrite. The best way not to be a hypocrite is don't be a hypocrite. Talk about what's really going on. Don't act like you're okay when you're not okay. Don't say you're doing a bunch of stuff when really from your heart, that's not what you're doing.

Don't say you love people and then you don't give a, you know what about anybody. And people watch it and go, "Dude, you're full of it. You're supposed to be full of Him, you're just full of it."

"Woe to you scribes, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers."

Now, I'm okay, this one bugs me crazy as a little kid. When you're six years old, seven, eight years old, and someone gets up at church, and they say, "So and so's going to come pray." And you know them, and you know how they talk, and then all of a sudden they break into, "Dear God!" And you're a little kid, like, "Oh my gosh, that guy's possessed. They need to do an exorcism or something."

Like, "Dude, I just want somebody that's going to have a conversation with God, and we'll listen." Right? But these people would pray, make long prayers as a pretense, just like they're impressing people.

"Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he's won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

Go down to verse 23. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith."

So, this is how this works. You have a garden. We got a garden at my house, and our tomatoes end up to $75 a tomato. So, if you want to come by. It's an inside joke, but she's having a lot of fun, and I get to play in the dirt. So, you get cumin, and you take the cumin and you chop it up very carefully and make sure a tenth of it goes.

He says, "Okay, yeah, you're chopping up the spices and all that, but then what does he say to them?" "But you've neglected," so you're weighing all these little light things and separating them out, "but you've neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith."

Verse 25. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also." He's not saying, "Don't clean the outside," but start with the inside.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

He blasts them again down at verse 33. "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" So, you say, "Well, who is He hard on?" He's hard on religious hypocrisy. So, don't be that.

So, if you're struggling, tell someone you're struggling. I have people come see me, they'll say, "I need to come talk to you because I can't take this anymore. I don't want to live this life." And so, they finally say out loud what the struggle is. And now we're getting somewhere. Because they're not acting like nothing's going on.

They say what's going on. They say, "Can you help me?" "Yeah, I'll help you. Let's get some accountability or some encouragement. I'll pray with you and let's do this together." That's why when wolves attack sheep, they try to peel you off, get you isolated, and pounce on you. We never do well alone.

I'm not going to read you all the verses on this, but one of the scariest ones in the whole book to me is Judas Iscariot. And Jesus picked him, one of the 12. And he's in the middle of everything. Turns out God makes him the accountant of the group, and he's stealing from the ministry. And he betrays Jesus for money.

And somehow he's given authority to do all these miraculous things and yet he is this close to Jesus and nothing. He's all hat, no cattle. No connection.

Luke 15, it's one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. And I can't get into all this. Lost sheep, first story, lost coin, but look at Luke 15, verse 1. "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to hear Him." So, it's this combination of tax collectors and sinners to listen to Him. Verse 2, "And the Pharisees and scribes complained."

So, the people that needed Jesus really bad, tax collectors and sinners, they came to listen, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." So, go down to verse 11. "Then He said, 'A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.'"

And I remind you of this often. This kid was a son when he left. He did not come back in the story and was then made a son. A son left and a son came back. Go down to verse 21. So, I'm skipping over. He loses everything, ends up feeding pigs. For a Jewish boy to be feeding pigs, it's the worst scenario in the world, this story.

And he rehearses his speech, "I'll arise and go to my father, and I'll say to him, 'I'm not worthy to be your son.'" Gets into this speech and then it says in here, "He arose and went to his father." So, he actually followed through. He's had a great way off, the father sees him, runs down the path, throws his arms around him, kisses him, and he starts, the son starts to rehearse his speech. He goes, "No."

"This my son was lost and is found. Get the fatted calf, put a ring on him, shoes on him, robe." This is my son. He's back. Now, then in verse 21, "The son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son."

And so, the father says what I just said. Verse 24. "For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry." Then verse 25. Now, I am also of the opinion. You say, "Well, which would be worse, to be the older brother or the younger brother?" There's part of me that believes being the younger brother, you're better off than being the older brother who never left home.

"Now his older son was in the field." What does that mean? He's out working. "And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing." Clearly not a Baptist family. Verse 26, "And so he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come. And because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'"

It's not just a hat family, it's a cattle family. And briefly, why is there a fatted calf in that family at that point? What do you do with fatted calves? You slaughter them and barbecue them for some kind of rejoicing, a festival of some kind.

Verse 28. "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him." He's begging his older son. "So he answered and said to his father," now look at the bitterness of this older brother who never left home, is upset that his brother is back, and without even talking to his brother, assumes he's been with harlots, and it doesn't say that anywhere in this.

"Lo, these many years I have been serving you." In other words, "I've been serving." "I never transgressed your commandments at any time." So, I've been serving you and I keep all the commandments. Sounds familiar to the rich guy before. "And yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends." And here's my contention on this.

This guy had no friends to party with. Who wants to be around this guy? One of the worst things in the world is a bunch of religious people get with a bunch of religious people, and they're all hypocrites, and they're all angry and bitter at God, and they're miserable. I don't want to be around those people.

And then we wonder, "Well, where are those people?" And then we try to talk to people about Jesus. You know what? They don't want your Jesus, because look what your Jesus has done to you.

I grew up in a family where my dad was a pastor, an evangelist, and a missionary. And we were little kids, there's nobody on the planet alive, my sister and brother and myself, we get together and talk about this. My dad was a singer, made multiple albums. It was either go into music or into the ministry, and God called him to preach, and that was true.

But we were a certain age, and he decided that we would be a great Von Trapped Family Singers. Now, I operate the word "trapped." So, we went to some old Mexico town, I can still see the store, we go in there, and believe it or not, he bought me one of these. So, the three of us, I have a picture in my house, I have one on, my sister has one on, my brother has one on. And we got fringe jackets, plaid shirts, pearl, we got the whole costume.

And his plan was to get us to sing for Jesus. Be his little dog and pony show that people would, "Oh, look at those kids, they're so cute. No one bothered to ask me if I cared at all about any of this. So, I get angrier and angrier at God. So, the more angry. The three of us knew we were angry, we didn't want to be doing it, but if we didn't do what he told us to do, we'd get almost whooped to death.

So, we're singing for Jesus and crying, and now the audience would think, "Oh, look at those sweet children. They're so emotional about Jesus." I didn't give a rat's anything about Jesus. I was just terrified he'd beat the whatever out of us if we didn't perform.

And then he discovers, "Oh, they can sing. Well, now they're going to learn guitar and trumpet and and and." And then the dog and pony show is going to add cats, and it's going to be a circus. So, if you see me in this room, and we're singing, I was not raised this way. But some of these songs, even I got both hands as high as I can reach them.

Because I got a song not in my head for fear. I have a song in my heart out of love for Him and gratitude for Him in spite of my loss.

Audience: [Applause]

Richard Ellis: In spite of my own hypocrisy, knowing that in a given week, I may be rude or mean or fall to temptation in some way, but I get back up and I keep chasing Him.

And I never knew that you could sing to Jesus. I sang songs about doing it, but it was not from my heart. So, back to the older brother, Luke 15. "I've served you many all these years, never transgressed your commandment any time. You never gave me a goat, I might make merry with my friends."

"But as soon as this son of yours," didn't even call him his brother, "as soon as this son of yours, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him." "And he said to him, 'Son, you're always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead.'" For all we knew, he was dead. "And is alive again and was lost and is found."

Philippians chapter 3. And this is Paul, verse 1, writing to Christians. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation."

"For we are the circumcision, we worship God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more."

So, what confidence for me personally? I got saved at six. Question that, but saved at six. Called to preach at 14. I was informed that I was the sixth generation of preachers in my family. So, I had all this lineage, but all of that, listen to me, all of that doesn't matter if you don't have a personal walking, working relationship with Jesus.

And I'm off at seminary preparing to do what God called me to do, and I'm trying to figure out how not to kill myself because I don't understand. Because they taught me how to wear the hat but they didn't tell me about the cattle. They didn't teach me how to have a relationship with Him.

Yes, my father taught me to fear a father, but not the way you're supposed to. When I ended up in counseling, my fear with my dad was not being hurt, it was being killed. He was six foot nine, about 280, I guess. And if he got angry, you could die.

And then somebody come along and say, "But God loves you, and He's your Father in heaven, like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." It doesn't make sense. If He's going to treat me the way this man at some point has, I can't trust Him. I can't risk it. So, I didn't kill myself. I'm so glad I didn't kill myself.

And an old man came along and helped me and loved me and taught me how to forgive my daddy, and discover that God was not my daddy, He was my Father.

Audience: [Applause]

Richard Ellis: So, I'm not a religious person. I'm not trying to turn anybody into a religious person. I'm trying to tell you God loves you. I didn't know that about me and Him. He loved me, He loves me, and will always love me. And He died on a cross, suffered, was buried, raised from the dead for me, and He wants a relationship with me. He wants me in heaven with Him forever. And He will never leave me or forsake me. And even when I don't understand why things are happening, I know I can trust Him. I just got to hold on till I get there and I go, "Oh, that's what you're up to. I knew it was a good thing to trust you."

So, if you're looking for that kind of Jesus, He's a good Jesus. It doesn't mean He doesn't discipline us. It doesn't mean that He doesn't care enough to correct us. He's not just on my inside, He's on my side. When Paul in this chapter goes through, boom, circumcised the eighth day, stock of Israel, tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of the Hebrews, Pharisee, zeal, persecuting the church, righteousness, which is the law, blameless.

"But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." So, all this stuff I thought that mattered, I would trade it all in to have Him. Who cares about all that? I know Him, He knows me, I have a relationship with God.

Anybody ever heard of a guy named Trace Adkins? He actually has a song called "All Hat, No Cattle." Anybody heard that song? Oh, we got some fakers. Here we go. "See that boy standing there by the dance floor, he's looking like the Marlboro man. Starched shirt, starched jeans, big trophy buckle, and an empty Copenhagen can. He's talking cowboy, this and cowboy that. Well, I'll bet one thing's for sure. The only stampede that he's ever seen is the clearance at the Western store. All hat, no cattle, that boy just ain't real."

Now, listen to this. "That boy just ain't real. All boots, no saddle, don't know how to make a cowgirl feel. Think I'm going to tell him to pack up his act and go back where he came from. Because all hat and no cattle ain't going to get it done. He's just a smooth talking, long tall, slow walking, drug store made up dude. So, honey, don't you fall for that fake Texas drawl, he ain't right for you." And he goes on that same thing.

Here's all I'm telling you. Don't be all hat and no cattle. If you say, "Okay, I'm going to follow Jesus," then it's going to be messy. You're going to make mistakes. And you're going to need other believers. You cannot do this by yourself. You're not supposed to.

So, you're going to have to get real. But I'm telling you, it works. And you think, "Well, the older you get, the more the devil backs off." That has not been my case. Because the older I get, the harder I push to take the planet, and that doesn't go over in hell.

People say to me, "Well, I believe in God." And I quote him the verse, "The demons in hell believe in God, right?" That's what the Bible says. But what does it say after that? "And tremble at His name." What I did not see is that when I speak the name of Jesus, the demons start shaking. Trembling, trembling, trembling.

I used to think, "Oh, it's just the demons and the angels, they're fighting each other, and there's a war," blah, blah, blah. No. I speak the name of Jesus and the demons close to me start going, "Oh, crap. He said the name. We're in trouble."

Because that's a name above every name. And at that name, every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and they know their days are numbered and they are trembling at His name.

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