“Remember, remember the 5th of November,  The gunpowder treason and plot”
That quote was going through my head as I scanned the crowd at youth convention and one person in particular caught my eye. He was wearing a Guy Fawkes (pronounced F.O.X.) mask, while simultaneously worshipping God with arms outstretched.  I was not expecting to see this and it caught me off guard.
 
A little background on Guy Fawkes:
Guy Fawkes and a group of plotters attempted to blow up Parliament in England.  The group placed barrels of gunpowder in the basement of Parliament to assassinate King James and his leaders. Guy Fawkes was found in the cellar of the House of Lords guarding the gunpowder.
 
As you can imagine, I was surprised to see this passionate display of worship from someone wearing a mask that symbolizes upheaval of government and social norms.
 
But the more I thought about it, the more I thought this might be a truer representation of you and me than meets the eye.
 
Let me explain.
Author Paul David Tripp said “be aware that the kingdom of self is a costume kingdom. It does a perversely brilliant job of masquerading as the kingdom of God” (new morning mercies)
 
He goes on to show how we wear costumes that appear like the kingdom of a God.
-”personal control” can masquerade as using God-given leadership gifts
-”Anger” can masquerade as having a heart for what is right
-”Fear” of man can masquerade as a sensitive heart towards the needs of others.
-”Gossip” can masquerade as a prayerful concern for others.
 
So what do we do?
The first step is understanding our hearts are fickle and are easily idolatrous. The thrones of our hearts are often times filled, not with Jesus, but with someone far less. OURSELVES. And the masquerading we do is to get approval acceptance and value from others.
 
The second step is seeing Jesus as the only one to deliver us from this mask wearing masquerade. He is the only one to free us and fill our hearts. He is the only one who can give our hearts exactly what they need, approval acceptance and value.  Because all those things are found in the treasure that is his grace. When we see that the masks start to come off.
 
This week let’s remove the masks and see God for who He really is.
 
Take a few moments and read Jeremiah 10:1-16. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate this passage and make it come alive.