Cold Open Defining Hypocrisy

Ken Claytor

Hypocrisy is pretending to be something on the outside that you're not becoming on the inside. In the classical sense, it's stage acting. I am performing. I am posting myself like I'm happy on Instagram, but I'm battling the pressure. I'm presenting myself one way, but that's not the reality of this game.

Tabatha Claytor

Take that mask off, throw it on the ground, step on it, annihilate it, throw it in a trash can, burn it, everything.

Ken Claytor

I don't understand the people who come to Jesus but still act like the world. I mean, I don't want to play those games. We gotta get step free from that, because that's fine.

Tabatha Claytor

God has created you to shine. He loves you with an undying love. Nothing that you've ever done or ever will do separate you from the love that He has for you.

Welcome And Why It Matters

Ken Claytor

Hey, what's up everybody?

Tabatha Claytor

Hey everyone.

Ken Claytor

Welcome to Doing Life with Ken and Tabitha. So happy to have you with another episode. We got a great one for you today. We want to talk about the dangers of hypocrisy. And before you turn the channel, you might say, What does this have to do with me? I believe it has a lot to do with many people, okay? And there are some real dangers with stage acting and pretending. And um we live in a day and time where a lot of people don't understand what hypocrisy is and how it can be so dangerous. And so I believe this is just going to help you kind of grow spiritually and some things to kind of look out for. Maybe this is not your thing, but this is still an episode that we believe is going to bless some people. And so if this is your first time um hanging out with us, make sure that you hit the subscribe button, hit the alert icon so that you can be the first to get the content. We release a new episode every Thursday, 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. We call it doing life with Ken and Tabitha because we, you know, one of our vision is to help a million married couples. And so this is primarily a marriage podcast, but it's not just that, it's also a personal growth podcast. And so, regardless of your relationship status, some of the things that we share just help you be better. It will help you grow. And we believe that when you get better, your relationships are gonna be better as well. Are you ready for this one today, sweetheart? I am. Are you ready? Are you ready, ready? Ready, ready.

Tabatha Claytor

Ready, ready.

Ken Claytor

All right, the danger.

Tabatha Claytor

Steady, ready.

Ken Claytor

And we want to talk about not just the dangers of hypocrisy, but also how to be free. And there's something about liberty, like when it comes to like we were like this and now we're not like this, freedom is found. And so um talk about let's talk about freedom first.

Freedom And Hidden Bondage

Ken Claytor

All right. Um, do you think that it's important? When you hear freedom, what do you think of?

Tabatha Claytor

I hear um the ability to live your life, make decisions, uh, laugh, cry, be angry without guilt and shame.

Ken Claytor

When I think of freedom, I think of the opposite of bondage. I think that there are some people who are bound to certain things, and there are some people who are free. And I feel like God's called us all to be free. For the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, you know. And so, but there's a lot of people that I think are not living, they're called to be free, but they're living bound. Do you feel like that there's um a lot of people are bound and know it, or people are bound and don't know it? And what do you think is the most common bondage, so to say?

Tabatha Claytor

I would say maybe there are a lot of people that are bound and don't know it. And um there are a lot of people who are bound and know it. I mean, equally. I think maybe in the Christian world, in the church, there are a lot of people who are bound and don't know it.

Ken Claytor

Okay, give me some examples.

Tabatha Claytor

Uh so you know, they're dealing with issues of shame, guilt. They're presenting themselves one way. They have inner um insecurities. Those are bondages. Yeah, that's bondage.

Ken Claytor

Addiction.

Tabatha Claytor

Uh addiction, um, fear, bondage is bondage.

Ken Claytor

Meaning that you're not free to be who God's called you to be. Yes. And I think one of our goals today is to get you set free. You know, and we can go down through a list of bondages, but I think one of them is hypocrisy. And people who are hypocritical in nature, they are bound and many times don't know it, you know. And so what is hypocrisy

What Hypocrisy Is And Isn’t

Ken Claytor

to you? Like, how would you define it?

Tabatha Claytor

I hear stage acting first, you know, it's acting one way. Classic definition. Yeah. Stage acting. Um, but I think if I had my own definition, it would say presenting yourself a way that you're really not.

Ken Claytor

Okay. Stop right there. How many people nowadays present themselves in a way that they're really not? Okay. Now, one thing that we want to do, now we know we have a podcast and we have, you know, cameras, different things, but we're not trying to pretend. One thing that I think that people really enjoy about our ministry is that it's authentic. And I would rather, and here's the honest truth, I would rather be real even if you don't agree with it. I would rather be real even if you don't like it. I would rather be real even if you disconnect me. Because I think realness is actually what really helps people grow. It's not the fake me. So I am, and you can tell me if I'm um, if I am lying at all, please tell me. I am the same person in the pulpit and on podcasts as I am in private.

Tabatha Claytor

Yes, you are.

Ken Claytor

Any am I lying at all? You're not please tell the truth.

Tabatha Claytor

You've said things in the pulpit, not not a lot, that it'd be like, oh wow, you said that because you're the same person. It's not like, you know, you're you, oh, I'm in the pulpit. I can't say that here.

Ken Claytor

I thrive off of authenticity. I only want to listen to people that I think is giving me their authentic self. But somehow, somehow, especially in the in the spiritual world, people give you what they think you want. They they give you what they want you to see. And then they have this whole other thing going on. And it's dangerous. So hypocrisy is pretending to be something on the outside that you're not becoming on the inside. It's pretending to be something on the outside that you're not becoming on the inside. And so, in the classical sense, it's stage acting. I am performing. I am posting myself like I'm happy on Instagram, but I'm battling depression. I'm posting on TikTok that my marriage is great, but we just put in papers to divorce. It's it's stage acting. I'm posting myself like I'm a man of God, but I still am hateful and curse people out. I'm I'm I'm presenting myself one way, but that's not the reality and it's dangerous.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah. I think that, you know, there's a fine line that goes here uh when it comes to faith and what you're believing, because the Bible talks about we walk by faith and not by sight. And the just are called to live by faith. Now, that doesn't mean that if I'm uh going through, like maybe I have a challenge with fear. And and man, I just uh I didn't know this, but I'm now finding out that there's a lot of fear in my life. And I know that God hasn't called me the spirit of fear, but love, power, and a sound mind. So now as a believer, I'm going to stand against fear. And right now I have a lot of fear, but in the name of Jesus, I am free from fear. I walk by faith and I and I have love in my life. That's different. That's different. You know, that's not stage acting, that's not pretending. That's you being a believer and doing the word. And so I just want to say that.

Ken Claytor

I think that's important. I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you said that. You know, for me, um, it's really hard for me to be around um those who are hypocritical. And actually, it's hard for me to catch that they're hypocritical because because I'm not that way, it's hard for me to catch when people are acting. You know how the scripture says to the pure all things are pure, and to the unpure, all things are unpure. And and that's an interesting take on life. So when you're a pure person, everybody good. You just, you know, you're that gullible. Not in a bad way. I'm discerning and I'm wise, but also like, no, I just believe the best in people. But to unpure people, everything's unpure.

Tabatha Claytor

Right.

Ken Claytor

Because they're unpure. So everybody else is lying. Everybody it's all about conspiracy theories. It's all about who's not telling you the truth. It's all about that pastor and that preacher and how they're lying and how they're trying to get money. And it's not that the pastor wants the money, it might be because you want it.

unknown

Wow.

Ken Claytor

And many times what people do is that they have problems on the inside and they project that onto other people. Right. And that's not my problem. It's actually yours.

Tabatha Claytor

I think that, you know, as believers, when when we you first started to talk about this, I was thinking, wow, it is really easy for hypocrisy to slip into anyone's life, especially in today. You talked about social media. And I'm just thinking about myself as a woman. How I present, if how do I present myself in a way that's really not true? And I would hope that that's zero. And so then I begin to examine myself, well, what are times that it could be? Could it be me covering my face in so much makeup that I look can I not leave the house without? I know, I know that's not what you're talking about. I'm just saying for me, I'm I'm I'm running myself through filters because you know, sometimes I could, and I've been there in my life where I didn't want to go outside and be seen. Maybe it was after I just had a baby. And I remember feeling like, oh my gosh, I have 60 pounds of baby weight, but there's no baby in me. What, you know, like I feel crazy, I look crazy, like none, all everything that I put on looks crazy. Like, so I wanted to be able to cover up everything. Let me put on these clothes, let me put on this makeup, let me do my hair so I can present myself. And then, like as a woman, you know, well, this isn't who I am. This I went back and forth with all of these, you know, these, these scenarios. But that's not what we're talking about, right?

Ken Claytor

No, that's not what we're talking about. We're not talking about not looking your best. We're not talking about you not, um, you feeling a little sad one day, but putting it on so that you can do your job or get online. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about when you're trying to make people believe that there's something different about you than what actually is.

How It Harms Church And Marriage

Ken Claytor

And so this is important because um hypocrisy doesn't just hurt you. It hurts your marriage, it hurts your kids, it hurts your friendships, it hurts your future, and most importantly, it hurts your witness.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Ken Claytor

There are many people that don't come to church because they met other people who do go to church, and because they've decided that those people are hypocrites, now they don't want anything to do with God. It's actually one of the reasons that some unsafe people won't come to God is because of the way that the safe people act. Now, people will throw around, well, everybody in church is hypocritical. Well, it's you're not a hypocrite because you have problems in your life and you're coming to church and saying, I'm a sinner and I'm in need of a savior. That's not hypocritical. So if you're a person who's listening to this and you're like, well, all the church people are hypocritical. No, all of the church people are just people. People are not perfect, they're broken, they have problems going on, so forth and so on. Because a person has problems in their life, or even if they have sin in their life, that's not necessarily you're hypocritical. Right. Hypocriticalness or being hypocritical is when you are actually stage acting and you have problems and you have sin and you acting like you have none. That's what's hypocritical.

Tabatha Claytor

That's that's what it is.

Ken Claytor

Yeah.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah. So when people come to church, you say often that the church is like a hospital.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Tabatha Claytor

Like people who are um, you know, sick emotionally, physically, spiritually, they come. It's like a spiritual hospital. And um, we tend to those people. That doesn't make you a hypocrite, hypocrite because you're coming to church.

Ken Claytor

No, no, no. Matter of fact, you are really, I love, I love when people are real. Pastor, I'm here, but man, I got this going on and that going on. You're not a hypocrite. You know what I'm saying? You're just honest, you're just truthful with where you are. Um, do you feel like hypocrisy is mostly a church thing or like a human thing?

Tabatha Claytor

Probably human.

Ken Claytor

Yeah, it's probably a human thing. But it shows up a lot in church.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah.

Ken Claytor

Because in church is the place you're supposed to. There actually are standards. Like in the world, it's not really standards. I mean, there are some some, but in church there's a lot of standards because we're supposed to live by the word of God. So hypocrisy can be a lot more seen in that environment. But um, how how do you feel like hypocrisy shows up in marriage?

Tabatha Claytor

Probably expecting your spouse to live one way, do one thing, and not putting those same expectations on yourself or the same requirements on yourself.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Tabatha Claytor

Like, why are you asking me to um respect you and to love you and to be kind to you and you don't do the same? You talk to me any kind of way and you don't, you know, like you sow the seed.

Ken Claytor

So good. So hypocrisy is not just making mistakes because we all make mistakes. Hypocrisy is when your image becomes more important than your integrity. It's when you preach one thing, but you practice another, or you demand something from somebody else that you yourself is not doing. So over to the marriage context, when you demand something from your spouse, but you yourself isn't doing something. It's the classic speck in your eye, blank in mind. You know what I

Acts 5 Warning Story

Ken Claytor

mean? But Acts chapter five is kind of my motivation for today's podcast because um there's a story about Ananias and Sapphira, and many of you guys know this story. And the story goes down like this. Help me out with the story.

Tabatha Claytor

I love this story, but it's crazy.

Ken Claytor

Yeah. Ananias and Sapphira. Um, so people are selling their land and their possessions, and they're coming and taking some of the proceeds and they're laying it at the apostles' feet. Acts chapter 5. And so, for whatever reason, Ananias and Sapphira, they have this sale, but they decide not to bring all of the money. They bring a portion of the money, but they act like they brought all of the money. Now, once again, they brought a portion of the money, but they acted like they brought all of the money. Now, they didn't even have to give in this offering. This was a free will offering. They didn't have to give all of it, they didn't have to give portion of it, but what they didn't need to do was lie to the Holy Spirit. So Ananias comes in and he's like, Hey, we're giving this amount this much because this is what we sold before. And he lied. And the Bible says that Ananias dropped dead on the spot. Then his wife comes in and they ask her a question, hey, did you sell the property for this much? And she lies and says, No, we sold it for this much, and we're giving this much. And then she drops dead. And I think that this scripture is so interesting because number one, it's in the New Testament. Number two, it's under grace. All right. Number three, it seems like a pretty um sharp judgment for somebody who did give in the offering, but they didn't just give it all what was happening. God was judging hypocrisy. It was all about the stage acting. It was that they lied to the Holy Ghost and they tried to make everybody believe that they were this big, generous person, but they really wasn't. They wanted everybody to believe that I'm doing this, but I'm not doing that. So God judges it sharply in that moment to send a message to the early church that hypocrisy will not be tolerated. And then everybody has the fear of the Lord and the church explodes. Talk to me about this story. Is there anything that jumps out to you? It's an interesting story. Especially in where it is in Acts.

Tabatha Claytor

Really? Yeah, it really is. There's so much about this story. I think what you know, when it comes to marriage, the thing that sticks out to me is that the Bible says that they conspired together. Okay. And then they so so they sold the land and they came together and talked about how, you know what, we made this much, but let's just give this much and let's not tell them how much we got. Let's just act like this is everything.

Ken Claytor

So a husband and wife conspire together. It reminds me of, you know, I've had couples do that with us. And many times the wife is thinking that she's protecting the husband. And the husband's doing something, or there's something in the marriage that really they need counsel, they need help, but nobody's saying anything. And I've had people literally say, Well, we're going to this meeting at the pastor's house, don't say anything. Or we're going over here to church, don't say anything. And you better not tell people what's going on in the house. What are you doing? You're conspiring together. And sometimes, can you talk about that for a minute? Because I've seen this with wives. It's almost like the husband is in a sin and doing something he shouldn't be doing. Like let's say that he's drinking and he has a bad background of drinking, and we all know he shouldn't be drinking, but she ain't telling nobody because she wants to cover her husband. Or maybe there's something happening in their intimacy life and they ain't having sex like they should be having sex, but let's not tell anybody. Let's just keep this to ourselves. Right. That's like a conspiring together, in my opinion, especially when it comes to It's hiding sin. Yeah, you're basically hiding stuff. And I've never seen those situations work out good. Right. I've always seen those marriages, they end up in a really, really bad place. And it really reminds me there's a direct kind of parallel to what's happening to Ananias and Sapphira right here. Yeah. They are conspiring together just to lie to the Holy Spirit. And I've seen couples do that. They're conspiring together to kind of paint a picture that we're good, our sex life is good, our marriage is good. And you know y'all not even talking at home.

Tabatha Claytor

Right.

Ken Claytor

And they're dropping dead. Not literally, but in their marriage, they're dropping dead.

Tabatha Claytor

I think that's the thing that we don't realize. Number one is that we're lying to the Holy Spirit. Like we think that we, oh, it's just people, but it's like we're forgetting about God that is with us, never leave us or forsake us all the time. He's here in the room with us. Yeah. So he's here when you're whispering and conspiring together. He's there when you're acting like you're someone that you're not in front of so many people. He is there. And I just think you open up so many doors to the enemy for you, your children, for generations. And when it comes to uh wives and or husbands, but we were talking about wives not wanting to tell on their husband, not wanting to expose their husband, not wanting just trying to protect or cover their husband. I think that this is where big basic marriage principles come um in play, where you have one, you have at least one couple. You have at least a pastor, you know, that you would say two or three people. Yeah.

Ken Claytor

I would say two or three people.

Tabatha Claytor

A pastor, somebody else, a mentor, two or three people that you can Yeah, that you together conspire together for this husbands and wives. Okay, let's get together and let's find uh one or two couples, two or three couples, um, and that we can be accountable to to. So, babe, if there's anything, you can go to them for anything, okay? And and you have my permission, okay? I have your permission to go to them for it. Only those people, like that's how you conspire together.

Ken Claytor

We're not saying tell everybody, we're not saying tell your your your your family and your mom, but here are one, two, maybe three people that are mature and have fruit that I know will keep our stuff confidential and help us through painful seasons in our life. If you ever see anything in me, you have my permission in advance to go to them about anything. We all need that.

Tabatha Claytor

Because here's the thing if you don't and you keep it together and you conspire the opposite way, it's gonna end anyway. It's not gonna be good anyway. So let's do it the right way. Let's conspire for good, not for evil.

Ken Claytor

That was a word. That was a word. I mean, no, like we literally just have this. We are right now ministering to someone whose marriage is about over. Like the papers of divorce are signed, they have not been issued yet. And at the end of the day, I can trace this back to just hypocrisy. Not evil people, great people, but been pretending too long, been pretending too long. And by the time the stuff hits the fan, so to say, I'm like, we could have helped you years ago.

unknown

Right.

Ken Claytor

We could have helped you years ago. Years ago.

Tabatha Claytor

Why are you here?

Ken Claytor

Well, hypocrisy.

Tabatha Claytor

That takes me back to another point with Ananias and Sapphira. Okay, so you said this was a free will offering. They didn't have to give anything, right? But they chose to act like or they chose to give. Like, how about just not give?

Ken Claytor

Don't give. Hey guys, we sold our property, but you we kind of want to go on vacation.

Tabatha Claytor

I can only think that they wanted, um, maybe they did they wanted people to think a certain way of them.

Ken Claytor

That's it. They wanted the notoriety. Oh, we did that. We wanted to pretend.

Tabatha Claytor

Who can't nobody cares? Nobody cares. We would love you if you give zero and we'll love you if you give 100%. We'll love you if you give 50%. We don't have to.

Ken Claytor

Nobody cares. Nobody cares about your objective sex life. Nobody, you could be an axe murderer and I'll be like, oh, we'll pray for you and you know, don't bring your axe around here, we'll call the police. But God bless you, let's cast the devil out of you. We don't care like that.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah, it was like in in our own world, we're these big, huge, like we're on this huge stage. No, take yourself, dethrone yourself.

Ken Claytor

Dethrone yourself.

Tabatha Claytor

You're not all that Jesus on the throne, okay?

Ken Claytor

Yeah, you can tell on yourself. It's gonna be okay. Yes. People, you know, they

Accountability Over Conspiracy In Marriage

Ken Claytor

kind of do this thing. Well, well, if you would have just said this, or if you would have just um uh asked a few more questions, because people who are stage actors, sometimes they get in trouble and they need some help, but they almost talk to you in uh what is the word called when it's not like straightforward?

Tabatha Claytor

Circle around.

Ken Claytor

It's almost like they're so vague about what they're saying that you don't pick up on it as a busy person and as a pure-hearted person. Like if they have problems in their sex life, they'll say, Oh, yeah, well, this is going on and that. And you don't know how deep it is and how bad it is. And so when they really get in trouble, well, I was trying to talk about it. No, you wasn't. Yeah, no, you wasn't. Just say, this is where I am. I need help. Yes, please help me.

Tabatha Claytor

Yes. And don't over-spiritualize things. Don't be like, oh, the pastor is prophetic and I'm just gonna sit down before him and he's gonna read my cards and tell me all this. That's not how God works. God covers, God, you know, does all these things. Right. And so if you're not willing to admit things, if you're not willing to seek the wise, wise counsel and do all that the Bible that God tells you to do in the Bible, you have to do those things on your own.

Ken Claytor

This is a good podcast.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah, this is not the podcast. Old Testament, where prophets are coming out and pulling your cards and being like, God says that you're in sin and you need to do all this. Like, that's this isn't it. This is New Testament. We're here to love you. We're here to help you. You can tell us of your sin, and we're not going to judge you. We're going to love you and help you through.

Ken Claytor

Oh, I got to move on. So hypocrisy, here's some examples. You have church hypocrisy. You shout and worship, but you treat people bad in the parking lot.

Tabatha Claytor

Or how about you shout and worship, but you don't shout at home?

Ken Claytor

That's a good one too. Example two, social media hypocrisy. Online, your life looked perfect. At home, it's chaos. Um, marriage hypocrisy. You want your spouse to change, but you don't do your part. You got parenting hypocrisy. You tell your kids, watch your attitude, but you're always angry and impatient and stressed out 24 seconds.

Tabatha Claytor

Or you tell your kids, don't say that cuss word, but you say it yourself.

Ken Claytor

Example five, money hypocrisy. You say you trust God, but you live in fear. You never tithe, you never give, and you have lack thinking. And it's all just hypocrisy. And we just want to say, this is where I am. I don't want to be a hypocrite. Let me come out. Yes, sir. Let me come out and be who God's called me to be. Here's a few scriptures. Tell me what you think from these. Let's look at the word. Matthew 22 and 23 and 27. Jesus says, You're like what whitewashed tombs outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead man's bones. That's strong, right? But Jesus didn't play with hypocrisy or anything.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah. Yeah, that's it. I don't know. I just stay away from stuff like that. I'm like, Lord, help me.

Ken Claytor

Yeah. Matthew 7, 16, it says you will recognize them by their fruit. Fruit doesn't mean perfection, it means direction. It means growth. So it's very important that we don't have, we don't have the title, but we don't have the fruit. Um, Luke 6, 46 says, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and you don't do what I say? You you it's this like, like, I don't know. Like, I'm not like a super churchy person. I I think y'all can tell. I'm in church. I love the bride. I'm called to be a pastor. I give my life for the sheep. I love this, but I'm not a churchy person, like a churchy person. So I don't know the whole like stage acting thing. I think some people come up where everybody

Signs You Are Slipping

Ken Claytor

say one thing and do something different. That is strange to me. Like, I would rather just be in the world. I was in the world.

Tabatha Claytor

Right.

Ken Claytor

I party Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. When I get saved, I don't want to do that no more. Right. I don't understand the people who come to Jesus but still act like, act like the world. I mean, like, I don't want to play those games, but I know that that's like a popular thing to present yourself a certain way. Man, we got to get set free from that because that's bondage. Then you slip up. People catch you on camera doing something that you said you was this way, but this pastor over here with this woman, right? And this person over here and Steep cheating and stealing, that's complicated. You know what I'm saying? Like, if I'm like I'm not a cusser, I don't use profanity. Life and death is in the power of your tongue. The scripture says, why would bitter and sweet water come out of the same well? Now, you grown people, you can say whatever you want to say, but if I was a cusser, I would cuss in the pulpit. Because it's just hard for me to take off hats. It's just really, really hard for me to get in the pulpit and say, Oh, I got 35 minutes that I can't say what I've been saying at home. So, no, I'm gonna be the same person. It's just not, it's not, you understand, it's not like in my makeup.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

Ken Claytor

You know?

SPEAKER_01

Right.

Ken Claytor

But anyway, here's some signs you could be slipping into hypocrisy. You care more about how you look than how you live. You hide instead of heal. You get defensive when corrected. You judge judge others harshly, but excuse yourself. You act differently around different people. You talk spiritual but live carnal. You love the platform more than the process. You're more concerned with reputation than repentance. You avoid accountability, and you keep wearing the mask even though you're tired. And we don't want you to be tired no more. We just want the real you. With the real slim shady, please.

Tabatha Claytor

Yeah, take that mask off, throw it on the ground, step on it, annihilate it, throw it in a trash can, burn it, everything.

Ken Claytor

Come on. We want to help you get free. You ready to get free? Here's a few things you

Practical Steps To Get Free

Ken Claytor

can do to get free. Number one, you gotta admit where the gap is. You cannot heal what you do not face. Number two, stop performing. God is not impressed. He wants honesty. And honestly, we all do. Number three, repent quickly, not just sorry, but change. Number four is get accountable. Everybody needs someone who can ask real questions. Number five, choose integrity over image. Even if you lose applause, live your life for the audience of one applause. Number six, don't isolate when you struggle. Isolation is where sin grows. And number eight, replace perfection with progression. You don't need to look perfect. Just let people know you're growing. Hypocrisy is exhausting, but freedom is honest. Those are eight things that I wanted to give you because I believe it's going to be a new beginning. Eight represents new beginnings. Any final thoughts, sweetheart?

Tabatha Claytor

Um, I would say that, you know, hypocrisy, um, look at it as a sin. It's a sin. Hypocrisy is lying about yourself. You're lying not only to the world around you, you're lying to the presence of God. But I think the worst part is that you're, I don't know if it's the worst, but you're lying to yourself. And that's where the weight comes in. That's where the shame comes in.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Tabatha Claytor

The guilt comes in, the self-condemnation comes in, the self-hatred comes in. When you lie to yourself about who you are, that God has created you to shine.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Tabatha Claytor

God said that you're like a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. He says that you're fearfully and wonderfully made in his express image, that you're the head and not the tail, above only and never beneath. He loves you with an undying love, and nothing that you've ever done or ever will do can separate you from the love that he has for you.

Ken Claytor

Yeah, so good.

Tabatha Claytor

We have

Renouncement Prayer And Freedom Blessing

Tabatha Claytor

to live the truth.

Ken Claytor

I have a prayer of renouncement. And, you know, the word renounce means to break up with, and sometimes you got to use your God-given authority and break up with stuff like hypocrisy. I'm going to have you repeat after me if this bears witness with you, and then you can pray or prophesy or whatever God gives you to kind of close this out. But just say this after me. Say, Father God, in Jesus' name, I repent for every place I live with hypocrisy, saying one thing, but doing another, honoring you with my lips, but not fully with my life. And I renounce all double-mindedness, people pleasing, pride, and hidden sin. And I ask you to cleanse my heart and make me pure before you. I choose integrity and truth, and I surrender every area of my life to the Lordship of Jesus. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, strengthen me to walk uprightly, and let my life bring you glory in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Tabatha Claytor

So good.

Ken Claytor

Um, anything you want to pray over the people?

Tabatha Claytor

Yes, I would love to pray.

Ken Claytor

Okay.

Tabatha Claytor

Father, in Jesus' name, I release a spirit of freedom upon everyone listening, even those who have been struggling with hypocrisy, those who just said that prayer of renouncement, Lord, I just pray freedom upon them like never before, that they will walk in truth and the spirit of truth. And I pray in Jesus' name that you will begin to open up their eyes to levels of bondage that they didn't even know that they were walking in, that hypocrisy was bondage. And Lord, I pray that they'll be able to see with clarity things that they need to turn away from, things that they need to repent from, relationships that they need to end, not their marriage relationships, but friendships and coworkers that they've been on this, this, this, this uh boat of um just jumping on the bandraging with negativity. And we just break all of that bondage off in the name of Jesus, and we declare freedom. And he who the sun sets free is free indeed. Jesus' name.

Ken Claytor

And as you were praying, I just saw a woman who's just so tired. Someone who's just so tired. She's tired of the game. She's tired of acting.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

Ken Claytor

And she's tired of acting like everything is good when it's not good. And I want to encourage you just to get some help. I want to encourage you to find a pastor or a mentor, somebody, counselor that you can open up to to lead you out of that place so that God can begin to strengthen you and you can figure out what to do. And so we're out of time for today.

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Ken Claytor

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