[SUB12] QUEM É VOCÊ QUANDO NINGUÉM ESTÁ OLHANDO - Luciano Subirá

Hello everyone, I’m here in the city of Jundiaí, in São Paulo, at the Botanical Garden, passing by to bring another word to your heart, a moment of reflection. They say this is one definition of character that you don’t find in the dictionary, although it is quite popular, it is a question and this question will be the theme of our reflection. Stay with me in the next few minutes because we will develop this based on the word of God.

The question is: who are you when no one is looking? The word of God says, there in the book of Exodus, chapter 2, verses 11 to 15, regarding Moses and is always really transparent not only about the virtues, but also the deffects of each person, of each character we encounter troughout the biblical narrative. And there we have a sad episode when Moses killed na egyptian.

But what calls our attention is the word of God declares that Moses, before killing that egyptian, trying to help one of his brotheren, a opressed hebrew, the Bible says he looked both ways and not seeing anyone, killed him. Before committing the crime, Moses made sure no one was watching. However, we know the story and know that the truth came forth, exactly in the way that Jesus declared that nothing hidden that won’t be revealed later.

But, the lesson we have according to this passage in the Word of God, involves specially the question they use for the definition of character: who are you when no one is watching? Thomas Paine once said: "reputation is what man thinks of us; character is what God knows about us. " Because many times the way we behave is very conducted by surveillance, so, if we are under the surveillance of other people maybe we’ll contain ourselves and give up doing some things that are wrong.

However, when we certify that no one’s watching, sometimes we feel free to transgress and we need to evaluate our heart. In the first place, when we look to the atittude of Moses, that is not exclusively his, this has actually been a repetition of a human behavior and unfortunately even in the life of those, who like Moses, know and fear God, we need to understand some truths. The first of them is that we should live, the word of God teaches us that we shouldn’t live in function of man’s survaillance.

For example, in Colossians, chapter 3, verses 22 to 24, Paul the apostle says: "servants, obey in everything those who are your masters not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but in all you do do it heartedly, as for the Lord and not for men. " In other words he is saying: "it doesn’t matter if someone’s watching you. " In a modern language we could say: "it doesn’t matter if your boss is watching, your productivitu should not increase only when you’re under surveillance, you should have, actually, a conscience that the Lord Jesus is seeing you all the time, even when your boss is not.

So, this mentality of not moving by eye-service, but rather with the conscience that there is a God who sees it all, should be a track that defines our conduct, that defines our behavior. The Word of God says in Genesis 39 regarding Joseph with Potiphar’s wife that would "hit" on him everyday. The word of God says that Joseph’s attitude, his response reveals the attitude of his heart, he says: "how could I commit such wicked thing, such a sin against God?

" In that moment he is saying to that woman: "we may be alone in this house, maybe no one will know, no one can see what is happening, but there is a God who sees everything. " By the way, one of the names of God in the Bible is exactly this, "Johova Rohi" the Lord that sees all. The Bible says God’s eyes are everywhere.

Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 13 says that all things are naked and patent before the eyes of Who we all are accountable to. So, not only we need the conscience that there is a God that sees all things, but we need to have the conscience that this God who sees it all will one day require from us all that we’ve done. There will be a reckoning day of judgment and accounting.

There will be a day where each and every one of us will answer fot our actions and exactly by what God saw us doing. We need to look to this Biblical perspective that character has to do with the fear of the Lord I carry in my heart and in a life that I decide to live before Him and not only before men. Because who decides to be righteous, just, correct only when under surveillance, should never escape surveillance, because when that happens he’ll also leave behind his righteous and whole conduct.

Because this conduct is not based on fear of the Lord. This attitude is merely to keep an average reputation, a good image with men. We neet to go beyond men’s surveillance.

We need to learn, in fact, to act and conduct ourselves in a way that honors the God who sees us. Jesus himself confronted the pharisees saying the reason why you are praying, fasting, giving to the poor is because you want to be seen by men. " Probably what Jesus is showing them is that those fellas, when there was no crowd involved, they wouldn’t show the same devotion or mercy.

So, if what we are before men and what we are in their absence is another, what we are doing is simply drama. God wants, in you and me a type of conscience that He is the God who sees it all. I like when in the book of Revelation the Lord Jesus reveals Himself in one of those letters to Asia saying: "I am the one with the eyes like blazing fire.

" He is saying: "I am the one with eyes that all peer, that sees all things, there is nothing that escapes my capability of perception and, visualization" and we could say "surveillance toward you. " When we have the conscience of a God who sees all things and are concerned about pleasing this God, not men, I’m not saying we should not worry about our reputation before men, because the word of God says in the book of Proverbs that a good name is better than many riches. Having a good reputation is something important.

A good reputation brings credibility before men and people and God expects us to maintain a good testimony. The Lord Jesus says that our light should shine before men, the problem is not if they see us doing what is right, the problem is when we only do what is right when someone’s watching. If we do what is right always, in the moment they see, we’ll build up a good reputation, we’ll give a good testimony, but if we only do that when we are being watched, then we are pretending, it’s mere drama.

I believe we should take care of our reputation, but we also need to understand that reputation is what I am in the light, it btings credibility, and here I cite a phrase of a pastor, a dear friend of mine, pastor Danilo Figueira, character has to do with what I am in the dark when no one is watching. And this, more than credibility, brings authority in the spiritual. The concern each heart must have is, firstly, not only to please God, because I believe our greatest goal in understanding God’s surveillance is not fear from punishment, but the desire of pleasing Him.

However, the word of God brings a teaching for you about the God who sees all, and God does not expect us to live in function of surveillance of men, but that we understand and comprehend that His eyes are upon us, He also brings awareness that one day there wil be judgement, the things that are hidden will be exposed, just like the homicide Moses commited ended up being brought to the light. A phrase that God uses in the book of Nahum, speaking against the nation of Israel is: "I will lift up your skirts over your face” God was saying "I’ll expose your shame. " And many times phrases of judgment start harmonizing throughout scripture with one message: One day God will bring all things to the light.

The Bible says, in the book of Romans, that God will judge secrets of all men. Paul says: "this is the gospel I preach to you, God will judge the secrets of men. " So there will be a day where we will be before the Lord, there will be a tribunal, there will be reckoning, there will be judgment.

Many times people believe they’ll escape judgment because it didn’t happen immediately here on earth. But the word of God teaches that there is immediate judgment and judgment that is not necessarily mannifested in an immediate way. When Paul wrote to Timothy he said that there is judgment that is manifested here on earth, but that some will only happen later.

But the truth is, either it happens now, either it comes to light later, at some point it will be exposed. When Ananias and Sapphire were judged, God was bringing up the truth quickly, but not all will be judged in such a quick way, not all will have judgment mannifesting instantly in an immediate way, at least not in all that you do. However, the fear of the Lord should involve our hearts when we understand there will be a reckoning day, there will be a judgment day.

I, honestly, decided to live to please God. The reason why I want to walk on God’s principles, I want to walk in integrity, in first place is to have his smile not only because of fear of reprisal. However, I also need to have the good sense of, in my heart, balancing together with my will to please God the comprehensing that if I don’t do that I will also be judged.

The conscience of a future judgment and this is one of the rudiments of Christ’s doctrine presented in Hebrews 6. The Bible speaks of the last things involving not only the resurrection of the dead, but the coming judgement. The concept of judgment, the awareness of the consequences of our choices will help us determine well our path here and now.

My prayer is that you can make a decision the choice of schedule your ways, your conduct, your way to live, even to work and serve people not only in function of when people are seeing, but under the conscience that there is a God who sees it all. The question is: if you had absolute certainty that no one would see what you decided to do from now on, would that change what you do? If your answer is yes, you should review your conduct.

If your answer is no, you need to police yourself so that behavior never changes. May god give us grace, may He help us live in a way, that will glorify him in that reckoning day and so that we may find, besides His smile, a great reward, instead of judgment. In the name of Jesus.