When You Fast… (Matthew 6:16-18)

Intro / Review:

What is fasting?

Abstaining from food (and/or other things) for measured periods of time in order to heighten my hunger for the things of God.

Fasting is NOT:

Fasting IS:

One question to evaluate your fasting (Matthew 6:16-18):

1. Am I hungry for ATTENTION ? (Mat 6:16)

2. ...Or Am I hungry for GOD ? (Mat 6:17-18)

Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  00:18-00:22

  Open up your Bibles with me please to Matthew chapter 6.

  00:23-00:28

  This is part 3 of a 3-part message from Matthew 6 that we started I think in January.

  00:28-00:33

  And next week we will be back in Revelation for 2 months and finish that book.

  00:33-00:38

  And that will take us all the way to July when we have the Fantastic Four coming in and preaching.

  00:39-00:43

  So people from our own church will be bringing the messages in July.

  00:43-00:52

  In Matthew 6, "When you fast..." And the key to all three of these sermons is really Matthew 6.1.

  00:52-01:23

  Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." That word for "seen," reminder, is the Greek word "theotomi," which is where we get the word "theater." Jesus is saying, when you do religious actions, for lack of a better phrase, so that people see you doing them, not for God, but so that people see you, Jesus said you're putting on a performance.

  01:24-01:27

  You want applause, you want pats on the back, you want attention.

  01:27-01:33

  And specifically, Jesus goes after three things that God's people are expected to do.

  01:33-01:36

  And the first one is giving to the needy, right?

  01:36-01:38

  I don't have to give much of a sales pitch for that, do I?

  01:38-01:42

  We see someone in need, it's our responsibility to give to the needy.

  01:42-01:46

  And the second one is praying. I don't have to give much of a sales pitch for praying, right?

  01:46-01:48

  God's people are expected to pray.

  01:49-01:52

  But the third thing on the list is fasting.

  01:53-01:55

  And I gotta be honest with you, I feel like I'm playing from behind here.

  01:55-02:03

  Because while people recognize that giving and praying are normal things for Christians, fasting? Like, really?

  02:04-02:05

  Well, look at verse 16.

  02:05-02:09

  Jesus said, just his first phrase here, but look at his phrase, this is huge.

  02:10-02:17

  Jesus said, "And when you fast," same phrasing he used for giving and praying.

  02:17-02:20

  And it's just as expected.

  02:20-02:24

  Fasting is just as expected as giving and praying.

  02:24-02:29

  We're going to talk about fasting and what it is and what it means, and it's going to be easy for people to tune out.

  02:30-02:34

  But I want you to see what the Bible actually says about fasting, all right?

  02:35-02:42

  It's a hard sell in this culture, because we are absolutely obsessed with food in our culture.

  02:43-02:43

  True or false?

  02:44-02:45

  We're obsessed with food.

  02:45-02:51

  We don't like to eat something unless we first take a picture of it.

  02:52-03:00

  Like, "Oh, this alphabet soup looks so alphabetty." And I know my friends want to know that I'm eating alphabet soup.

  03:00-03:01

  And we take pictures of it.

  03:01-03:04

  And look, if that's your thing, I'm not criticizing you.

  03:04-03:07

  I'm just saying true or false, that's a reality of our culture.

  03:07-03:07

  Don't we do that?

  03:08-03:09

  We do that.

  03:09-03:14

  That's only the thing that completely baffles me about our culture, eating contests.

  03:15-03:20

  And I think, you know, one time I think it was on ESPN, there was an eating contest.

  03:20-03:22

  And I'm like, this is a sport really?

  03:22-03:27

  And what must other countries where you have starving people what must they think when they see that?

  03:28-03:32

  Like we don't have enough money to feed our, or enough food, excuse me, to feed our family.

  03:32-03:35

  But these people are having eating contests.

  03:36-03:39

  I looked this up this week, 'cause I'm familiar like you are.

  03:39-03:44

  We're probably most familiar with the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, right?

  03:44-03:47

  How many of you have at least heard of the Hot Dog Eating Contest, right?

  03:47-03:50

  Most of us have heard of the Hot Dog Eating Contest.

  03:50-03:55

  But you know, that's not the only eating contest that we have in our culture, our food obsessed culture.

  03:56-03:57

  There's a taco eating contest.

  03:58-04:00

  There's a chicken wing eating contest.

  04:01-04:04

  There's a guyoza eating contest.

  04:04-04:05

  Does anybody know what a guyoza is?

  04:06-04:07

  I had to look this one up.

  04:07-04:09

  It's a meat and vegetable filled dumpling.

  04:11-04:18

  There's a gyro eating contest or gyro for the cultured among us, I guess.

  04:18-04:22

  Okay, how about the, there's an oyster eating contest.

  04:22-04:26

  Oysters, Matthew Gates, how many oysters do you think you can get down?

  04:26-04:29

  Three, oh, zero, I thought you were like three.

  04:29-04:31

  He's like, no, no, no, this is the part you look at.

  04:32-04:33

  I was like, wow, that's three more than me.

  04:33-04:35

  Okay, deep fried asparagus.

  04:36-04:38

  There's a deep fried asparagus eating contest.

  04:38-04:42

  And there is a slug burger eating contest.

  04:42-04:44

  And I know what you're thinking.

  04:44-04:45

  What is a slug burger?

  04:46-04:47

  You look that one up on your own time.

  04:47-04:48

  I don't care to know.

  04:49-04:52

  But there is a slug burger eating contest.

  04:52-04:55

  But of all these eating contests, here's the one that really got my attention.

  04:55-05:02

  There's an eating contest for the consumption of a 72 ounce steak, a 72 ounce steak.

  05:03-05:12

  And I read of this individual who took this challenge, a woman, oh, it gets better, a 120 pound woman.

  05:13-05:15

  Yeah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second, Pastor Jeff.

  05:15-05:19

  You're telling me that 120 pound woman ate a 72 ounce steak?

  05:20-05:22

  I'm not telling you that, she ate three of them.

  05:23-05:25

  Oh, no, no, it gets better, it gets better.

  05:26-05:27

  You're like, "She ate three 72-ounce steaks.

  05:28-05:32

  She ate three 72-ounce steaks in 20 minutes." Oh, no, no, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait, wait.

  05:33-05:36

  I'm gonna give you time to get your gasp out like for all of it.

  05:36-05:47

  She ate not only three 72-ounce steaks in 20 minutes, but with that, she ate three baked potatoes, three shrimp cocktails, three salads, and three buttered rolls.

  05:47-05:50

  Yeah, we have a food-obsessed culture.

  05:50-05:53

  They're like, "We're gonna talk about fasting today." You're gonna talk about what?

  05:53-05:55

  We have so many TV shows about foods.

  05:56-06:00

  We have TV shows about people that just travel around and eat stuff.

  06:00-06:06

  Look, again, I'm not criticizing if this is your thing, but have you ever sat and watched somebody else eat?

  06:06-06:07

  It's disgusting.

  06:07-06:12

  And we watch people traveling around, you know, eating these weird things.

  06:12-06:16

  And then we have all these TV shows about people that make cakes.

  06:16-06:23

  And so we have this one channel where people are traveling around and eating and they're making all these, you know, cakes the size of a Buick.

  06:24-06:25

  and we have on that channel.

  06:26-06:36

  And then we wonder why the other channel has a TV program on it called "My 600-lb Life" about people that, sad people who can't stop eating.

  06:36-06:42

  America is taught that life is about consuming, not refusing consumption.

  06:43-06:50

  And then we open our Bibles for a word from Jesus, and he says, "When you fast." Notice he didn't say, "If you fast," right?

  06:50-06:51

  He didn't say that.

  06:51-06:57

  He said, "When you fast." assuming that his people were going to fast.

  06:58-07:02

  And we're going to see what Jesus says about fasting.

  07:02-07:08

  The real question isn't even if you fast, the real question is for God's people, how you fast.

  07:09-07:09

  That's the real question.

  07:10-07:12

  Let's all get on the same page definition-wise.

  07:12-07:12

  What is fasting?

  07:13-07:23

  Fasting is abstaining from food and/or other things for measured periods of time in order to heighten my hunger for the things of God.

  07:23-07:26

  Okay, so we're abstaining from food and/or other things, we'll talk about that in a second.

  07:27-07:30

  For measured periods of time, why would I do such a thing?

  07:31-07:34

  This last phrase is huge and you've got to get this or you're going to miss the whole sermon.

  07:34-07:38

  In order to heighten my hunger for the things of God.

  07:39-07:40

  There's different kinds of fasts.

  07:40-07:45

  There's a partial fast where you, maybe for a season you just have vegetables and juice.

  07:46-07:55

  There's the absolute fast where you say, "I'm not going to have anything at all." There's corporate fasts where we are going to fast together.

  07:56-07:59

  Now yes, it is true that you can fast from other things.

  08:00-08:02

  Look, I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV.

  08:02-08:09

  I'm not a doctor, so I can't give you medical advice if you're like, "Well, Pastor Jeff, I have this health condition.

  08:10-08:13

  I'm not sure it's good for me to fast." Talk to your doctor about that, okay?

  08:13-08:21

  But if you have a health condition that you're like, "I absolutely cannot go without eating," you can certainly fast from other things, okay?

  08:21-08:27

  But primarily today, with that said, primarily today, we are going to talk about food.

  08:27-08:33

  Because that's what Jesus is talking about, and that is really the most common expected kind of fasting.

  08:33-08:35

  Through the Bible, fasting is connected with prayer.

  08:35-08:37

  We have so many examples throughout Scripture.

  08:38-08:39

  Jesus Himself fasted.

  08:39-08:43

  It's mentioned over 77 times in God's Word.

  08:43-08:45

  Fasting, various occasions.

  08:45-08:47

  Maybe it's repentance from sin.

  08:47-08:50

  Maybe you're in mourning over the loss of a loved one.

  08:50-08:53

  denying yourself to give to others.

  08:53-08:55

  That's Isaiah 58 type fasting.

  08:55-08:58

  Seeking God's wisdom at critical times.

  08:58-09:01

  That's what the early church did in the book of Acts, chapters 13 and 14.

  09:02-09:04

  We need God's wisdom and direction.

  09:05-09:07

  So we're going to church, we're going to fast.

  09:08-09:12

  And right now, somebody's thinking, I came to church on the wrong day.

  09:12-09:17

  I don't know where he's going with this because fasting is never commanded in the New Testament.

  09:17-09:18

  And that's true.

  09:18-09:21

  fasting is not ever commanded in the New Testament.

  09:21-09:24

  But Jesus just assumed that we would.

  09:24-09:25

  You can't get around that.

  09:26-09:33

  Jesus said, "When you fast." And the Greek tense of that phrase is habitual, customary.

  09:33-09:35

  Jesus says, "This is going to be part of your life.

  09:35-09:41

  So when you do it, our Lord expects that we're going to fast." And the early church did, okay?

  09:42-09:45

  So fasting is not, let's talk about that.

  09:45-09:47

  Fasting is not, everybody say fasting is not.

  09:48-09:52

  Fasting is not, first of all, if you're taking notes, fasting is not self-punishment, okay?

  09:53-10:01

  Like, oh, I was really bad and I committed these sins and I'm going to fast and like it's some sort of a self-punishment thing.

  10:01-10:03

  That's not what fasting is.

  10:03-10:09

  All of the punishment that you deserve, Jesus Christ took that on himself on the cross, okay?

  10:09-10:13

  There's no more punishment to be doled out if you're a born-again believer in Christ.

  10:13-10:15

  So fasting is not self-punishment.

  10:15-10:19

  Fasting is also, it's not, everybody say not.

  10:19-10:21

  Fasting is not self-serving.

  10:22-10:25

  Meaning somebody could hear a message on fasting and say, "Hey, you know what?

  10:26-10:27

  I could stand to lose a couple pounds.

  10:28-10:33

  So maybe I'll do a fast and there are some health benefits." And that's absolutely true.

  10:33-10:41

  There's tremendous health benefits from fasting and you might lose some weight, but that's not a motivation to fast biblically, okay?

  10:42-10:45

  We're talking about spiritual reasons for fasting.

  10:45-10:49

  And if you're like, well, two birds with one stone here, I'm just saying you gotta check your motives there.

  10:49-10:50

  It's not about self-serving.

  10:51-10:53

  The focus is on seeking the Lord.

  10:54-10:58

  Now fasting is not, everybody say not, it's not a bargaining chip.

  10:59-11:00

  Fasting is not a bargaining chip.

  11:00-11:03

  Like, all right, God, look, I really need this job.

  11:04-11:05

  And I'm going in for this job interview.

  11:05-11:07

  So I'm going to fast.

  11:07-11:09

  Now you make sure I get that job.

  11:10-11:20

  Almost like we're bringing some offer to the table and God's like, "Well, I guess I gotta get him that job because he's fasting." That's not what fasting is about.

  11:20-11:21

  It is not a bargaining chip.

  11:22-11:26

  Like, "Look, God, you have to cash in for me because I'm doing something for you." That is not what fasting is about.

  11:27-11:29

  Fasting is not, everybody say not.

  11:29-11:32

  Fasting is not something that makes you holy, okay?

  11:32-11:34

  Fasting does not make you holy.

  11:35-11:36

  Just a little bit of review from last Sunday.

  11:37-11:38

  Jesus Christ makes you holy.

  11:39-11:41

  He gives you his holiness.

  11:41-11:46

  You know, what was the sermon? He was raised for our justification.

  11:46-11:50

  So this idea that fasting makes me a holy person, it does not.

  11:51-11:53

  Jesus Christ makes you a holy person.

  11:53-11:58

  Fasting does not... Everybody say "not." Fasting does not get God's attention.

  11:59-12:07

  Okay, catch this. Fasting is not, "Hey, notice me, God!" Fasting is about me noticing God.

  12:07-12:09

  Fasting doesn't make your prayers more powerful.

  12:10-12:11

  Fasting makes you more focused.

  12:11-12:13

  So that's what fasting is not.

  12:13-12:15

  Here's what fasting is.

  12:15-12:16

  Here's what fasting is.

  12:16-12:20

  First of all, fasting is saying no to the flesh and yes to the spirits.

  12:20-12:23

  It's a way of preferring God over the gifts that God has given.

  12:24-12:25

  This is so important.

  12:25-12:29

  Fasting is, write this down, fasting is a means to an end.

  12:29-12:31

  Fasting is not an end.

  12:31-12:35

  In other words, we don't fast just for the sake of fasting.

  12:36-12:41

  They're like, "Well, then why do we do it?" Because we sort of give for the sake of giving, and we sort of pray for the sake of praying.

  12:41-12:43

  Why don't we fast for the sake of fasting?

  12:43-12:45

  Fasting is a means to an end.

  12:46-12:47

  What end is that?

  12:47-12:49

  Well, here's our problem, Christians.

  12:49-12:53

  Mine too, all of us, individually, Christians.

  12:53-12:55

  We want to focus on God in our lives, right?

  12:56-13:00

  Don't we want to live a God-centered, God-focused life?

  13:00-13:01

  We all want that.

  13:01-13:08

  But the problem is oftentimes, myself included, We want to focus on God, but we want other things more.

  13:08-13:19

  The question is, what do I do when what I want, which is a God-centered mindset, what do I do when what I want isn't what I choose because of all this other stuff?

  13:20-13:21

  Well, fasting is the answer.

  13:21-13:27

  Fasting is stopping the feeding of ourselves with other things in order to focus on our relationship with God.

  13:28-13:32

  Because you only have the capacity to consume so much every day.

  13:33-13:37

  You only have so much capacity for satisfaction.

  13:37-13:40

  So, that was a really long introduction.

  13:40-13:43

  But that's okay, because the sermon is one question.

  13:44-13:49

  One question to evaluate your fasting, because like Jesus, I'm assuming that you're fasting.

  13:49-13:55

  So one question to evaluate your fasting, and we're going to look at the question in two parts, as Jesus presented it.

  13:55-14:01

  Number one, first question is, "Am I hungry for attention?" "Am I hungry for attention?" Look at verse 16.

  14:02-14:11

  Jesus says that when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.

  14:12-14:15

  Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.

  14:16-14:18

  See, fasting was a part of Jewish culture.

  14:18-14:19

  It's certainly not part of ours.

  14:20-14:22

  You're like, well, then how relevant is this stuff?

  14:22-14:33

  And I would suggest to you, maybe a little more, because since it's not a part of our culture, Even more so today, people who fast are going to stand out.

  14:34-14:37

  Then we become tempted to fast with the wrong motive.

  14:37-14:39

  Like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hang on a second.

  14:40-14:48

  Jesus said, "Don't look gloomy like the hypocrites." I have a question about this. Why in the world is this hypocrisy?

  14:48-14:55

  Okay, like, if you are fasting, and you look like you're fasting, how in the world is that hypocrisy?

  14:56-14:59

  Because fasting is supposed to be about seeking the Lord.

  14:59-15:02

  Fasting is not supposed to be about seeking attention.

  15:02-15:03

  That's the hypocrisy.

  15:03-15:06

  Let's be honest. We love the attention.

  15:06-15:08

  Let's be honest. We love attention.

  15:08-15:10

  That's the whole basis of social media.

  15:10-15:12

  That's the whole basis of selfies.

  15:12-15:14

  We love attention from people.

  15:14-15:17

  How many likes did I get? How many shares did I get?

  15:18-15:20

  How many comments did I get?

  15:21-15:23

  Look, I'm not condemning it. I'm just saying this is a reality.

  15:23-15:28

  And Jesus knew this is a reality, which is why He taught what He taught.

  15:28-15:32

  One of the problems with hypocrisy is how successful it is.

  15:33-15:34

  I mean, we've all been there.

  15:34-15:39

  Someone makes a comment about how devoted we must be to the Lord, and we're so proud of ourselves.

  15:40-15:48

  We're walking around the rest of the day like, "Yeah, I'm like the greatest thing since the Apostle Paul to ever happen to Christendom." And we love the attention.

  15:49-15:51

  And the people in Jesus' day, boy, they made it a show.

  15:52-16:00

  That's why Jesus said, "Don't look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces." Their fasting may be seen by others.

  16:00-16:09

  "They disfigure their faces." They, with their facial expressions, wanted people to know that they were fasting.

  16:10-16:10

  Okay?

  16:11-16:19

  So I want you to turn to your neighbor right now and make your best, "I haven't eaten in six hours and I'm starving to death" face.

  16:19-16:20

  Go ahead.

  16:20-16:22

  Looks like some of you have been practicing this week.

  16:24-16:41

  But Jesus was like, "Don't be like these people, they walk around..." "What's the matter with you?" "I'm fasting." "Oh, why are you making that face then?" But Jesus said that's what they did.

  16:41-16:48

  In fact, I read this week that a lot of Jews would actually take ashes and smear ashes on their eyes when they were fasting.

  16:48-17:02

  It's like, "Dude, why do you look so horrible?" "Because I'm so spiritual, that's why." Jesus said when you do that, when your goal is to make sure that people know that you're fasting, and they notice, there's the reward.

  17:02-17:03

  There's the reward.

  17:04-17:12

  "What's the matter? You look sickly. You look like you're dying." "I'm fasting for spiritual reasons." "Wow, that's really cool." And there it is. There's your reward.

  17:14-17:14

  Yay!

  17:16-17:16

  Pretty lame, right?

  17:17-17:19

  Isn't that lame? It's lame.

  17:19-17:22

  But it's like giving, and it's like praying.

  17:22-17:29

  If you do it to be seen by others, and they applaud you, they pat you on the back, that's all you get. Enjoy that.

  17:30-17:32

  You're like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hang on, Pastor Jeff.

  17:32-17:37

  You said there were examples of corporate fasting, like the church fasting.

  17:38-17:42

  I mean, when you're doing that, other people obviously have to know about it." Right on. Right on.

  17:42-17:44

  There are New Testament examples of that.

  17:44-17:48

  Again, Acts chapter 13, Acts chapter 14, you see the church fasting.

  17:48-18:00

  They're like, "Ha ha ha ha, other people had to have known about that." Yeah, but you see, it's not about whether or not they knew, it's about whether you wanted them to know.

  18:00-18:01

  You see the difference?

  18:02-18:05

  It's not about whether they knew, it's about whether you want them to know.

  18:05-18:08

  In other words, it boils down to your motive.

  18:09-18:09

  What's your motive?

  18:10-18:17

  There's a difference between being seen fasting and fasting in order to be seen.

  18:17-18:18

  Huge difference.

  18:19-18:21

  When I fast, I tell Erin.

  18:22-18:22

  Why would I tell Erin?

  18:23-18:25

  Because I want her applause, right?

  18:26-18:28

  Now, next week we will have been married for what, 17 years?

  18:29-18:32

  And I know at this point she's not going to applaud me.

  18:33-18:34

  She deserves applause.

  18:34-18:45

  When I tell her, I'm like, "Hey, I'm going to be fasting starting on Monday." It's not for her attention or her applause or her to, "Oh, let me get on my social media and tell..." It's not that at all. Why would I tell her that?

  18:45-18:47

  Because she feeds a family, right?

  18:47-18:57

  and it's going to get really awkward the next few days if she's making a meal and I'm trying to concoct some sort of excuse why I'm not going to eat it because I don't want her to know I'm fasting.

  18:57-19:08

  She's like, "What's the matter?" I'm like, "Um, all of a sudden I don't like pizza." No, I tell her that because, not for applause, but because she feeds a family.

  19:09-19:11

  It boils down to the motives, church.

  19:11-19:15

  Just like giving, just like praying, applause for man equals no reward from God.

  19:15-19:15

  All right?

  19:16-19:18

  So am I hungry for attention or secondly, am I hungry for God?

  19:19-19:21

  Am I hungry for God? Look at the next two verses.

  19:21-19:27

  Home stretch here. Jesus says, "But when you fast..." Oh, there it is again. That assumption that you will.

  19:28-19:36

  "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret.

  19:37-19:57

  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." So Jesus makes a contrast. Instead of making yourself look sickly, "I'm so gloomy and disfigured." Instead of doing that, Jesus said, "Anoint your head and wash your face." In other words, don't leave any physical clue, okay?

  19:57-20:11

  He wasn't, let's say you want to picture this as somebody might misunderstand this and think, "Okay, instead of the sign of a disfigured face, the sign that I let people know that I'm fasting is I'm just constantly washing my face." Like, what are you doing?

  20:11-20:16

  "Oh, Jesus said to do this when I'm fasting and that's exactly what I'm doing because I'm so spiritual.

  20:16-20:17

  No, that's not the point.

  20:18-20:25

  To draw attention to your fasting, the point is, as far as anybody else knows, nothing's different, everything's the same.

  20:25-20:26

  The obvious point, right?

  20:27-20:29

  Like giving, like praying, we've already studied.

  20:29-20:32

  Make fasting a secret between you and God.

  20:32-20:34

  And He sees, and He rewards.

  20:35-20:39

  Again, reward does not mean, "God, You owe me.

  20:39-20:43

  I did this for You, now You have to do this for me." That's not what the reward is.

  20:43-20:45

  Because you know God never works like that.

  20:45-20:48

  Everything that God gives is grace. Everything.

  20:48-20:52

  God never, ever, ever works on some kind of a reward system.

  20:53-20:59

  God doesn't show up at a swap meet and say, "Here's what I'll give, now here's what can you give." God does not work that way.

  21:00-21:06

  So when Jesus says God rewards, we're going to talk about what that means, but it's not a swap meet.

  21:06-21:14

  Your salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, your growing sanctification, all of that, It's a gift from God.

  21:14-21:18

  And the reward for fasting is connecting with God.

  21:19-21:28

  You see, with fasting, God is the reward because you are seeking Him in a very deliberate and focused way.

  21:28-21:37

  And you say, well, you're telling me that something spiritual happens if I choose not to eat or if I abstain from something else for a season.

  21:38-21:44

  And instead, I use that time and I use that appetite to seek the Lord.

  21:44-21:48

  You're telling me if I do that, something spiritual is going to happen.

  21:48-21:50

  Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you.

  21:51-21:55

  And if you've never done it, it's very hard to understand somebody talk about it.

  21:55-22:02

  But you will understand it better after you do it, if you do it for the right reason.

  22:02-22:04

  And I want to encourage you to try it.

  22:04-22:06

  And you say, "You know what, this week I'm going to skip lunch.

  22:07-22:10

  and instead I'm going to spend that time praying instead.

  22:11-22:16

  You try that for a few days, and tell me there's not an awesome reward of connecting with God during that time.

  22:17-22:18

  Or maybe you say, "You know what?

  22:18-22:36

  I'm going to go one or two days this week with nothing but water, and instead of eating and mealtime, I'm going to spend some time in His Word, and I'm going to spend some time praying for my family." If you do that, and you will see that there is no greater reward that God can offer than the reward of Himself.

  22:36-22:47

  The reward of an experience of sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ that you don't normally have because we're so used to filling ourselves up with this other stuff.

  22:48-22:51

  And pardon the pun, but food is a sacred cow in our culture.

  22:52-22:56

  And as soon as you talk about fasting, some people say, "I just don't think I can skip a meal.

  22:57-23:05

  I hear what you're saying, and I don't have any health issues, but I just don't think I can go without eating for a day or two." I'll do respect.

  23:06-23:12

  If that's what you're saying or thinking right now, that might be a commentary for what appetite really controls you.

  23:12-23:22

  I ask you, are you hungry enough for God that you're willing to forego consuming food and consuming other things to focus solely on seeking Him?

  23:22-23:24

  Are you that hungry for God?

  23:24-23:32

  If you're in a season of your life right now where you've been finding that, you know, focusing on my walk with Christ has been so difficult.

  23:32-23:34

  It's just, there's so many distractions.

  23:34-23:45

  at work and at home and I have sick parents or sick grandparents and my kids require 24 hour attention and there's just so much stuff happening in my life.

  23:45-23:51

  I just feel like in this season of my life, my walk with Christ has not been what I want it to be.

  23:51-23:55

  I'm just gonna be honest, I haven't felt like I've had this appetite for prayer.

  23:56-23:59

  I haven't been seeking God in this season of my life.

  24:00-24:03

  If that's you, I got some wonderful news for you today.

  24:03-24:09

  God has given you a gift to help you get back to a place of sweet fellowship with Him.

  24:10-24:14

  He's given you a gift that allows you to redirect your appetite.

  24:14-24:17

  So when you give, don't blow the trumpet.

  24:17-24:19

  When you pray, don't make it a performance.

  24:19-24:22

  And when you fast, don't look like you're dying.

  24:22-24:25

  Jesus said, don't let the left hand know what the right hand's doing.

  24:26-24:29

  Jesus said, go into your room and shut the door when you pray.

  24:29-24:35

  And Jesus said, "When you fast, wash your face." I gotta confess something to you.

  24:35-24:41

  When I was preparing these messages, maybe this is considered cheating, I don't know.

  24:41-24:43

  I just have to confess this to you.

  24:43-24:47

  With these Matthew 6 sermons, I basically just gave the same sermon three times.

  24:48-24:50

  Just swapped out giving, praying, and fasting.

  24:50-24:51

  You swap out those words.

  24:52-25:00

  But I basically just gave the same exact sermon three times because in all of our religious actions, It's in the text.

  25:00-25:01

  It follows the same formula.

  25:02-25:10

  Jesus said, "If you give pray fast to be seen by others, you're going to miss God's reward." Same formula with all three.

  25:11-25:20

  But same formula, "If you do these things in secret, then God sees and God rewards." And there are rewards, church.

  25:20-25:25

  There are rewards for a faith that says, "I'm not looking for man's applause.

  25:25-25:35

  I'm getting alone and I'm getting real with God And fasting brings the greatest possible reward, and that's drawing closer to God Himself.

  25:35-25:36

  Let's pray.

  25:36-25:40

  Father in heaven, we thank you for the gift of fasting.

  25:40-25:47

  You've given us the gift of giving and the gift of prayer, but Father, we confess in our culture the gift of fasting seems very strange.

  25:48-25:49

  But I pray, Father, for ears to hear.

  25:50-25:51

  These things are spiritually appraised.

  25:52-26:02

  And Father, I know that I have some brothers and sisters right here who are in a period of their life where they feel like they're in a desert place, that their walk with you has been dry.

  26:02-26:11

  They feel like you've been absent when we all know in our heads, God, that you promised to never leave us or forsake us, that when you feel absent, that's on us.

  26:11-26:16

  Father, I pray that we would be a people who fast with pure motives.

  26:16-26:22

  And Father, I pray for the people here that are sitting here right now and say, you know, I need to get closer in my walk with Christ.

  26:23-26:23

  I need to fast.

  26:24-26:30

  Father, I pray that this week they would see the fulfillment of Your Word unfold before their eyes.

  26:31-26:38

  When Jesus said, "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you," I pray they experience that sweet fellowship this week.

  26:39-26:45

  And they might not understand it now, Father, but I know that they will understand it because of the integrity of Your Word.

  26:46-26:48

  They will understand it after they do it.

  26:49-26:50

  Manifest Your glory.

  26:50-26:55

  Draw us closer to You, Father, and teach us how to fast.

  26:55-26:57

  We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:16-18

GROUP

1. What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?

BREAKOUT

Pray for one another - to grow as prayers in these areas.

When You Pray… (Matthew 6:5-15)

Intro / Review:

When You Pray… (Matthew 6:5-15)

Four Marks of Real Prayer.

PRIVATE (Mat 6:5-6)

PERSONAL (Mat 6:7-8)

PROPORTIONED (Mat 6:9-13)

PRACTICAL (Mat 6:14-15)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  01:04-01:08

  Open up your Bibles with me, please, to Matthew chapter 6.

  01:08-01:12

  Matthew chapter 6. We are taking a little break from our series in Revelation.

  01:13-01:20

  With part 2 of our three-part series on Matthew 6, we're going to be talking about giving and praying and fasting.

  01:21-01:32

  If you think about it, just think about those three things. Giving and praying and fasting to the world. To the world, those three things look absolutely insane.

  01:32-01:52

  Right? I mean think about it. How does that sound to the world? I believe that when I give money to God, he's going to give money to me. Or I believe that I can anytime I want, I can just talk to the one who created all of this.

  01:52-01:58

  I can talk to him anytime I want. That sounds insane. We're gonna talk about fasting down the road shortly.

  01:58-02:02

  I imagine in the American culture that that might sound the most insane.

  02:02-02:06

  For spiritual reasons, I'm going to stop eating for a while.

  02:07-02:10

  Stop eating? That doesn't sound American at all!

  02:10-02:11

  Especially in the church.

  02:12-02:21

  So those three things, giving and praying and fasting, I thought, you know, to the world, that sounds insane, but in the church, in the community of faith, it's different, isn't it?

  02:21-02:31

  Instead of it looking insane, inside the walls of the church, These things are revered. These things are looked at as great things.

  02:31-02:36

  So in the church, we want to look in doing these things.

  02:36-02:39

  We want to look pious. We want to look faithful.

  02:39-02:50

  We want to show people that, "Yeah, I'm all about these things. I'm a person of faith." We want to look faithful. And that's the problem, is thinking about how we look to others.

  02:50-02:54

  And that's exactly what Jesus is addressing in Matthew chapter 6.

  02:54-03:03

  You see, we saw in verse one last time, Jesus used the word "seen" and that word is used in verse five, again, in order to be seen by others.

  03:04-03:26

  That word for "seen" is "theotomi" which is where we get the English word "theater." And Jesus is pointing out to his listeners then and to us today, he says, "You're just performing your religious acts for people, for applause, for pats on the back, for attention." And all three of these messages from Matthew chapter six have us ask the same question.

  03:26-03:29

  Do we do this for God or do we do this for people?

  03:30-03:33

  Are we doing this for God or are we doing this for attention?

  03:34-03:36

  So today we're gonna talk about prayer.

  03:36-03:37

  Today we're gonna talk about prayer.

  03:37-03:41

  How many sermons have we had about prayer in this church?

  03:41-03:43

  Dan and Alicia, how many would you say?

  03:44-03:47

  More than two, right?

  03:48-03:48

  A lot more.

  03:49-03:59

  We have preached about prayer a lot in this church, but today we're not going to be talking about who, whether it's who do we pray to, we pray to God the Father, the Bible's clear about that.

  04:00-04:00

  Who do we pray for?

  04:01-04:02

  I don't think we need to talk about that today.

  04:03-04:05

  We're not gonna talk today about when to pray.

  04:06-04:08

  According to the New Testament, when do you pray?

  04:08-04:11

  Well, actually you pray once a day for 24 hours.

  04:11-04:13

  According to 1 Thessalonians 5.17, right?

  04:13-04:14

  You pray without ceasing.

  04:14-04:17

  Prayer should just constantly be happening.

  04:17-04:22

  But today we're going to focus specifically on the how, and we're gonna touch on why, all right?

  04:22-04:27

  This is real simple to understand, extremely difficult to apply.

  04:28-04:29

  Here we go, four marks of real prayer, you ready?

  04:30-04:31

  Four marks of real prayer.

  04:31-04:40

  And even alliterated this for us all, for those of you that are like, you know what, I love this church, but Pastor Jeff just doesn't alliterate enough for me.

  04:41-04:43

  We are going to alliterate the heck out of this sermon.

  04:43-04:43

  You ready?

  04:44-04:45

  Number one, let's talk about private.

  04:46-04:47

  Let's talk about private.

  04:47-04:49

  Look at Matthew 6, verse 5.

  04:50-04:54

  Jesus said, "When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites." Look at this next statement.

  04:55-04:57

  Jesus said, "For they love to stand and pray." Stop.

  04:57-05:02

  "For they love to stand and pray." That sounds great if you stop there.

  05:02-05:04

  But look at the rest of the verse.

  05:04-05:10

  "For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others.

  05:10-05:14

  Truly I say to you, they have received their reward." So there's the problem.

  05:14-05:20

  The reason they pray is in order, according to Jesus, in order to be seen by others.

  05:20-05:24

  What looks like prayer often is not prayer.

  05:25-05:27

  This is going to be a tough pill for all of us to swallow.

  05:28-05:30

  Oftentimes, prayer is not actually prayer.

  05:30-05:32

  Prayer is often performance.

  05:32-05:34

  You're like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, come on.

  05:34-05:36

  I would never do that.

  05:37-05:40

  I would never pray for the benefit of others, Pastor Jeff.

  05:40-05:44

  You're speaking to somebody else here, but I'm going to tune out right now.

  05:44-05:51

  Well, hang on a second. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been praying in a small group setting or in a Bible study setting?

  05:51-05:54

  Ladies Bible study, men's group, whatever.

  05:55-05:59

  In your prayer with other people you think, "Well, you know what?

  05:59-06:56

  I have a good phrase right here that I'm going to use and I bet you I'm gonna hear some amens when I say this." Have you ever done that? You'd be praying, you'd be like, "God we worship you for your transcendent people in the group like, "Oh, amen." And you're just like, "Yes." Like, "I'm gonna say another sentence. I'm gonna circle back to that." I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand, but if I said, "Raise your hand if you've ever done that," we've all done it. Have we not? Or, have you ever done this in a prayer? Have you ever complimented somebody in a prayer? You know what I'm talking about. You're praying in a group and that person's there. You say, "Father, I'd like to thank you for my brother Peter." That's one of the problems sitting in the front row. "I'd like to thank you If my brother Peter, his example of piety is such an inspiration to me, his rugged good looks, the right amount of cologne that he wears, his shirts always look ironed, great singing voice.

  06:57-06:59

  I'm like, wait a minute, am I talking to God?

  07:00-07:03

  Or am I flattering him in the prayer?

  07:03-07:04

  Have you ever done something like that?

  07:04-07:05

  Yes you have.

  07:05-07:07

  Yes you have.

  07:07-07:11

  That you're saying things about a person in a prayer for the benefit of the person listening.

  07:11-07:23

  Hey, your intentions, in a sense, in a sense, your intentions might be good to think, "I want this person to know how I really feel about them." And you know what? If that's you, that's great. Send him a card or tell him.

  07:24-07:38

  Let's not try to like go around a direct compliment by mentioning it in a prayer as if we're saying it to God. So church, if you've ever said something in a prayer for the benefit of the other people listening, then you are not praying, you are performing.

  07:38-07:39

  Look at verse 6.

  07:40-07:53

  "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Interestingly, Jesus says to go into your room or to go into your closet.

  07:53-07:57

  The interesting thing is that Greek word was used of a place where you stored your treasures.

  07:58-08:03

  It was like a private room that you kept isolated, shut away.

  08:03-08:06

  You didn't just let people walk through this room, right?

  08:06-08:08

  Because you kept all your important stuff there.

  08:08-10:26

  So that place was very private to you. I don't want people walking through there because all of my valuables are in there Very very very private and Jesus said that's the kind of place you need to go and talk to God now, please hear me Yes, there is power in praying with other believers. There is the Bible is clear about that There is there is a power in Congregational prayer there is a power and small group prayer There is a power in the elders praying together before an elders meeting There is power in the ladies praying and ladies Bible study. There is power in that there is Absolutely power in praying with other believers. Okay, making that clear but Jesus in this passage is clearly addressing private prayer because your Secret prayer life is your real prayer life. I want you to write that down make it personal My secret prayer life is my real prayer life. My secret prayer life is my real prayer life You know, you can say whatever you want about prayer. You can tweet cute little sayings about prayer on Twitter You can get on Facebook and post pretty sunsets With a verse about prayer over it or maybe a picture of a kitten hanging from a clothesline Hang in there keep praying and you can have everybody that follows you or friends with you or whatever think wow She is all about prayer. Wow. He is he is a prayer warrior But here's the reality what you really believe about prayer is proven when you pray Privately because your secret prayer life is your real prayer life proven when it's private because private that's when prayer is real business Listen to me church That's when prayer is real business because it's just you and God and no one knows what you're saying to God Except God and there's nobody there to be impressed by what you're saying. There's nobody there to applaud what you're saying It's just you and it's God and that's when it's pure. That's when it is I actually believe that I'm talking to God your secret prayer life is your real prayer life That's why he says the end of verse 6 and your father who sees in secret will reward you and it's just like giving It's like the same sermon you have a choice Do you want to be rewarded by man or do you want to be rewarded by God?

  10:26-10:42

  I have to say prayer when you when you hear rewarded by God prayer isn't merely God give me stuff and if you look at prayer as simply asking for stuff from God That is a really immature view about prayer. We're gonna talk about that in a second you'll see it very clearly in the text.

  10:42-10:51

  But we do have to say this, for some people, the reason that you haven't seen answered prayer in your life is you haven't really been praying.

  10:51-10:52

  You haven't prayed in secret.

  10:53-10:55

  So your father hasn't seen in secret.

  10:55-10:57

  So he hasn't rewarded you.

  10:57-11:09

  It is the prayer who is rewarded, who has that faith-fueled private conversation with God, who sees the prayer in the prayer closet answered outside of the prayer closet.

  11:09-12:12

  You see it answer you're like God we were just talking about that. That is awesome I see what you're doing how many people would want to see God move in your life like that It's available for all of us You just have to get with God privately and see how he rewards And I would like to remind you here as I have so many times through the years when we talk about prayer People like oh, I just wish I had time to pray. I just I hear what you're saying pastor Jeff I just wish I had time I have to remind you that the most important things in life have to be done intentionally Everything right everything in life has to be done Intentionally, you can't wake up in the morning and say gosh I sure hope I stick to my diet today if you're not intentional about doing it It's not going to happen if you wake up and say I I hope that somehow I exercise today Well, if you don't get to the gym or the place where you work out or whatever if you don't do Intentional activity to get there. It's not going to happen. I sure hope I get my finances straightened out. What's your plan?

  12:12-12:17

  I'll go to bed and the finance fairy will show up and put money in my checking account. No, how does it happen?

  12:17-12:23

  You have to be intentional. I sure hope I spend time with my kids today. If you're not intentional, it's not going to happen.

  12:24-12:26

  Now, do you see where I'm going with this? It's the same thing with prayer.

  12:27-12:33

  If you don't intentionally carve out a time to get alone with God, it's not going to happen.

  12:33-12:36

  It has to be a priority and it has to be intentional.

  12:36-12:41

  Carve out the time, get alone with God, turn off the electric distractions, and pray privately.

  12:42-12:43

  Fundamentally, prayer is very easy.

  12:44-12:46

  But somehow for the Christian it becomes the hardest thing to do.

  12:47-12:48

  First thing Jesus says, you've got to make it private.

  12:49-12:50

  Secondly, it has to be personal.

  12:51-12:52

  Prayer has to be personal.

  12:52-12:54

  Look at verses 7 and 8.

  12:54-12:55

  We'll start in verse 7 here.

  12:55-13:03

  Jesus said, "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they They think that they will be heard for their many words.

  13:04-13:11

  Now Jesus is not talking about passionately repeating a prayer, passionately crying out in a repeated way.

  13:11-13:15

  What Jesus is talking about very clearly here is mindless repetition.

  13:16-13:18

  It's mindless repetition.

  13:18-13:23

  Interestingly, the Greek word here is tied into the word barbarian.

  13:23-13:37

  In those days, the Greeks would look at these uneducated foreigners, And to the Greek, it sounded like all they said was "Bor, Bor, Bor, Bor, Bor, Bor, Bor." And that's where that name came from. They are "Barbarians." It was actually kind of making fun of them.

  13:38-13:42

  But that's, this word here is connected to that. It's mindless repetition.

  13:43-13:47

  Jesus said, verse 8, "Do not be like them." Do not be like them.

  13:47-13:55

  Like, okay, Pastor Jeff, you might have got me on the complimenting people in my prayer in the previous point, but I certainly don't do the mindless repetition prayer.

  13:55-13:58

  For some churches, the mindless repetition prayer is the thing.

  13:59-14:10

  Some churches... "Oh, did you sin?" Well, in order to get right with God and be forgiven, what you need to do is go recite this prayer ten times.

  14:11-14:15

  And then we go and we recite the prayer ten times, and that's what makes God happy.

  14:16-14:19

  And here's some beads to help you count how many times you repeat.

  14:20-14:25

  You're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're not just picking on that church." Because this principle is much broader than that.

  14:25-14:28

  I see it happen across the board.

  14:28-14:29

  Maybe some people in here have done it.

  14:29-14:33

  We teach our kids to pray one of the most morbid things I've ever heard.

  14:33-14:36

  "Now I lay me down to sleep." Again, don't raise your hands.

  14:36-14:37

  Have you ever taught your kids that?

  14:37-14:40

  I grew up learning that when I had to pray that every night.

  14:40-14:43

  Have you ever thought about that prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep"?

  14:43-14:52

  I remember as a kid, absolutely true story as a kid, I remember praying that prayer and then just one day it hit me like, "What the heck am I praying?" Now I lay me down to sleep.

  14:52-14:55

  You know, the next line, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

  14:55-14:56

  OK, we're good there.

  14:56-15:01

  If I should die before I wake, I'm like, Mom, are you trying to tell me something like through the prayer?

  15:02-15:03

  I pray the Lord my soul to take.

  15:03-15:07

  I was like, I was like scared to go to sleep because God might take me.

  15:08-15:11

  But we learn to repeat the prayer, repeat the prayer.

  15:12-15:17

  And it's interesting that I'm repeating this prayer for a long time before I even stop to think about what the words even meant. Right.

  15:18-15:19

  Here's another one.

  15:19-15:20

  Stay with me if you know it.

  15:20-15:21

  God is great.

  15:22-15:22

  God is good.

  15:23-15:25

  Let us pour our food.

  15:25-15:29

  Do you know the extended version, the director's cut, the album version?

  15:29-15:33

  By his hand we all are, so give us, Lord.

  15:34-15:35

  You do know that.

  15:35-15:37

  Doesn't it feel good to confess these things?

  15:38-15:45

  But on a serious note, I just have to ask us, church, when we teach our kids these prayers, are we teaching them vain repetition?

  15:46-15:48

  I mean, imagine if you had an appointment with the Lord.

  15:48-15:58

  Imagine, imagine if Jesus Christ was coming to your house for dinner tonight, personally walking into your home and sitting at your table for dinner.

  15:58-15:59

  I mean, how awesome would that be?

  16:00-16:01

  What would you do?

  16:01-16:04

  Jesus sits down and can I get you something to drink, Lord?

  16:04-16:07

  And you get him, you know, a glass of water or whatever he asked for.

  16:08-16:13

  And Jesus says, he looks across the table at you and says, would you like to talk to me about anything?

  16:14-16:16

  And you say, yes, Lord, I would.

  16:17-16:17

  God is great.

  16:17-16:20

  God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.

  16:20-16:23

  Is that the level of conversation we're having with our Lord?

  16:23-16:29

  You wouldn't just mindlessly repeat phrases where Jesus says, is there anything else you would like to say?

  16:30-16:31

  God is great. God is good. Let us thank him.

  16:32-16:35

  Prayer is conversation with God.

  16:35-16:37

  You see, God wants your heart.

  16:37-16:43

  And that's why private prayer is to be a very personal thing, because look at the second half of verse eight here.

  16:43-16:46

  Jesus said, for your father knows what you need before you ask him.

  16:47-16:49

  It's personal with God. Prayer is personal.

  16:50-16:51

  That's what Jesus is saying here.

  16:51-16:54

  God knows what you need. He loves you.

  16:54-16:55

  He cares about you.

  16:55-17:01

  And how many times, church, and I have been so guilty of this, I've probably been more guilty of this than anybody in this room.

  17:01-17:05

  How many times have we said our prayers, but we didn't really pray?

  17:06-17:21

  Oh, I've been down on the ground, and I say my God bless grandma prayers, and I go through the list, and I get up only to get back down and say, God, I'm gonna talk to you about some stuff and you know what's really on my heart.

  17:21-17:26

  That's what I need to talk to you about. So see, prayer is a very personal thing with God.

  17:26-17:33

  Make it personal to you. The four marks of real prayer according to Jesus, first of all, is private, second of all, it's personal, thirdly, it's proportioned.

  17:33-17:39

  It's proportioned. In this passage, this is one of the most familiar passages in the whole Bible. Jesus gives us the Lord's Prayer.

  17:39-17:44

  He gives us ingredients to show us a right balance of what to pray about.

  17:44-18:39

  You know, what's absolutely baffling to me is that Jesus literally just got done saying no vain repetition and then he lines out Lays out, excuse me things to pray about and we're like, oh, okay So we'll just memorize this and pray this and I don't think that that was the intention of the Lord's Prayer To say just memorize and mindlessly repeat I think Jesus was showing us the subjects the kinds of things that we should be praying out for sure But also something I want you to see here is the balance the proportion I could preach a thousand sermons on this passage in ten thousand different ways But for today just quick breakdown sticking with the alliteration Which is see the balance first of all praise write that down praise verse 9 Jesus had prayed in like this our Father in heaven. How it would be your name talk about vain repetition I prayed that prayer for probably two decades before I knew what Hallowood meant, right?

  18:39-20:10

  Holy holy is your name praise your prayer time should include worship for who God is as we're praying back to God Concepts from his word That's that's where that becomes so powerful that when you start your prayer time to say God Your word tells us that you are a good shepherd and that you care about your sheep and God I'm just a weak sheep in need of you. I I need God your your your guidance and and God I need your wisdom and praying concepts back to God's Word spending time and praise secondly purpose Purpose verse 10 your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven We're praying for God's purpose to advance and we're praying that our purpose would be God's purpose God made things happen on earth as quickly and readily and joyfully as they happen in heaven May your kingdom advance and may you use me here to serve you when we're praying for provision We're gonna get to that in a second. We're praying about this expansion thing across the road That's what we should be praying about that God use this building to make disciples Use this building to be a place where Jesus Christ is lifted up and worship the praise Jesus said your prayer should have praise your person of purpose Thirdly praying for God's provision praying for God's provision Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation deliver us from evil and we can break that down because even in provision there's balance in that right? Even praying for provision is balancing that.

  20:10-20:40

  First of all physical provision. Give us today our daily bread. We're asking for physical provision. We're asking for relational provision. That's the whole forgiveness thing. We're asking for spiritual provision. Lead us not into temptation. Okay so pop quiz here. Let me ask you when we talk about the ingredients of prayer that Jesus lays out. Praise, purpose, provision. Which one of those usually gets the most attention in our prayers? Shout it out if you think you know. Provision, right? That usually gets the most attention.

  20:41-20:58

  God, I need. God, please provide. God, please help me. Often it's the first thing and sometimes it's the only part of our prayers. True or false? And absolutely we pray for provision. Jesus was clear about that. But do you see a a problem when that's all we pray about.

  20:58-21:01

  You see, prayer is about communion with God.

  21:01-21:01

  That's what it is.

  21:02-21:05

  It's about that loving relationship with your heavenly father.

  21:06-21:07

  It's communion with God.

  21:07-21:12

  And we gotta get out of our minds, American church, that prayer is not about getting things.

  21:13-21:14

  God is not a genie.

  21:14-21:19

  I get down on my knees and I rub the lamp and I give him my three wishes and God's not a genie.

  21:19-21:20

  God's not a vending machine.

  21:21-21:22

  God's not Santa Claus.

  21:22-21:27

  And I wanna challenge you, church, if you're bored with prayer, Maybe it's because you've been praying boring prayers.

  21:28-21:30

  Maybe you've been lopsided in the way that you pray.

  21:31-21:34

  There's so much deep truth found in this example prayer that Jesus gives.

  21:35-21:41

  But today church, I just want you to take one giant step back and I want you to look at the big picture that Jesus was teaching us.

  21:41-21:43

  When we pray, our prayers should be proportioned.

  21:44-21:45

  And finally, practical.

  21:46-21:48

  Practical, look at verses 14 and 15.

  21:49-21:53

  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you.

  21:53-21:58

  But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

  21:58-21:59

  What's the point?

  21:59-22:05

  Well, Jesus showed us that there's obviously to be a connection between our prayers and our everyday lives.

  22:06-22:14

  That we don't pray some holy sounding words that have nothing to do with life at work, life at home, life at wherever.

  22:14-22:16

  And for some people, that's what prayer is.

  22:16-22:18

  It's just detached, right?

  22:19-22:24

  I beseech thee, oh Lord, hithertofore, to bestow on thine servant." What?

  22:25-22:26

  What are you talking about?

  22:27-22:30

  Prayer is not detached from real life.

  22:30-22:33

  Prayer is the spiritual lifeblood of real life.

  22:33-22:37

  Like, okay, well, what did Jesus mean by forgiving others and God forgives you?

  22:38-22:39

  And what was that all about?

  22:39-22:47

  Well, you can find the answers to that question and many more in "Forgiven People Forgive" by Jeff Miller.

  22:47-22:54

  And you're like, "How do I get a copy of that book?" I'm selling this one today for, How much more do we need for the renovation?

  22:54-22:56

  I'm kidding, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

  22:56-23:03

  If you're interested in a subject like what did Jesus mean by the whole, you know, forgiveness thing, I sum it up, if forgiving people, forgive.

  23:03-23:05

  If you're interested in more study, you can have that.

  23:05-23:06

  Just take it, all right?

  23:07-23:09

  And if you wanna give to the building, that's between you and God.

  23:09-23:09

  But here's the point.

  23:10-23:14

  What happens in the prayer closet has a direct bearing on what happens outside of it.

  23:15-23:16

  That's why prayer should be practical.

  23:16-23:20

  So once again, church, as I close, as with giving, you have a choice.

  23:20-23:23

  you have a choice on who you want to reward you.

  23:24-23:26

  You have the option of getting the reward from man.

  23:26-23:38

  Just get in a group, maybe rehearse a little at home, but get in a group and just lay out some King James verbiage with D. James Kennedy tone of voice and you will wow everybody that you pray with.

  23:39-23:41

  And they will applaud you and they will pat you on the back.

  23:42-23:45

  And truly I say to you, they have received their reward.

  23:45-23:48

  Or you can pray in such a way that God rewards you.

  23:49-23:55

  And for that to happen, again, very simple to understand, sometimes we make it harder to apply than it needs to be.

  23:55-24:00

  Pray privately, make it personal, keep it proportioned and make it practical.

  24:00-24:05

  Watch your prayer life take off as God rewards you as he moves by your prayers.

  24:06-24:06

  Let's pray.

  24:06-24:10

  Father in heaven, I'm kind of guarding myself praying right now.

  24:11-24:18

  Yes, there is power, Father, in praying as a church, but Jesus very clearly was addressing private prayer and I pray this, Father, for myself.

  24:18-24:22

  I pray this for my brothers and sisters here, that we take a look at our prayers.

  24:22-24:29

  There's no secret formula, except just praying in secret.

  24:29-24:34

  God, you know in our pride, we want other people to think super spiritual thoughts about us.

  24:35-24:37

  But really, the only thing that matters is what you think about us.

  24:38-24:43

  I thank you that through the cross of Jesus Christ, you have reconciled us to yourself.

  24:43-24:48

  And through the cross of Jesus Christ, Father, You have given us access to Your throne of grace.

  24:49-24:53

  Without hypocrisy, Father, I pray that we would all grow as real prayers.

  24:53-24:55

  In Jesus' name, amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:5-15

GROUP

1. What was your big “take-away” from this passage / message?

2. “Your secret prayer life is your real prayer life” (v5-6). Do you agree or disagree? Why?

3. How balanced are your prayers (Praise, Purpose, Provision)?

4. What do you think motivates people to pray in a way to be noticed / applauded by others (v5)?

BREAKOUT

According to Jesus’ instructions (the 4 P’s in the sermon - Private, Personal, Proportioned, Practical), rate your prayer life so far in 2019 on a scale of 1-10. What do you need to do to give yourself a better score?

Pray for one another - to grow as prayers in these areas.

When You Give...

Intro:

The Secret to Giving is Giving in Secret.

1. When You Make Giving KNOWN, People Reward You. (Matt 6:2)

   ACTION

   AMOUNT

   ATTITUDE

2. When You Make Giving SECRET, God Rewards You. (Matt 6:3-4)

   SPIRITUAL

   MATERIAL

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  01:04-01:07

  Alright, open up your Bibles with me please to Matthew 6.

  01:10-01:12

  Matthew 6, are you there?

  01:13-01:18

  I read a story this week, it blew my mind, I had to read it a couple of times.

  01:19-01:24

  67-year-old carpenter, Russell Herman. Have you ever heard of him?

  01:24-01:26

  Well, he died in 1994.

  01:29-01:35

  What was staggering about Mr. Herman was his will.

  01:36-01:46

  In his will, he left more than $2 billion for the city of St. Louis.

  01:47-01:52

  He left a billion and a half dollars for the state of Illinois.

  01:54-02:00

  His will also outlined that $2.5 billion was to go to the national forest system.

  02:02-02:20

  But most remarkable of all in his will, is he indicated that $6 trillion, $6 trillion was to go to the federal government to help pay off the national debt.

  02:22-02:23

  Pretty generous, isn't it?

  02:24-02:26

  Oh, there was a slight problem.

  02:28-02:35

  When Mr. Herman passed away, the only thing on the earth that he owned was a 1983 Oldsmobile.

  02:37-02:42

  And if anybody has a blue book handy, I would be really curious as to the value of that.

  02:44-02:46

  We're going to talk about money today.

  02:47-03:06

  And right now, somebody's like, "Oh, I knew it! I knew it!" and rope us in with the baptism, and then the pastor gets up because it's the beginning of the year, and he's going to be like "Arr, arr, arr, you need to give more," and "Arr, arr, arr, arr, come on, people, we need to up our offering." Not at all.

  03:08-03:08

  Not at all.

  03:10-03:14

  In fact, we're not even going to be talking about church-giving today.

  03:15-03:16

  You'll see in a second.

  03:18-03:27

  You know, Mr. Russell Herman He's like a lot of us, even though in his case it was posthumously.

  03:27-03:32

  He's like a lot of us, that we want to be known for being generous.

  03:32-03:38

  And you know what, this guy, his problem isn't in what he actually owned.

  03:39-03:42

  His problem isn't in what he actually gave.

  03:42-03:46

  His problem is, he wanted to be known.

  03:48-03:52

  posthumously, He wanted to be known as generous.

  03:54-04:00

  And when it comes to giving, that's exactly what Jesus warns us against.

  04:00-04:01

  Look at Matthew 6.

  04:02-04:03

  Just the first verse here.

  04:03-04:09

  Jesus said, "Beware!" "Beware her!" You might want to underline that.

  04:12-04:18

  "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.

  04:20-04:26

  This passage we're looking at today is in the Sermon on the Mount, and this is the greatest sermon ever preached.

  04:27-04:28

  Matthew 5, 6, and 7.

  04:30-04:35

  In this sermon, Jesus set a new standard that was absolutely unheard of in those days.

  04:37-04:47

  Because the Jews in Jesus' day and before that, they had taken God's standard in the Old Testament into a man-centered thing.

  04:49-04:58

  In other words, when it came to God's Word, many of the Jews taught and believed what matters is what you do, not who you are.

  05:00-05:03

  And wrong theology always leads to wrong living.

  05:04-05:06

  We saw that in Matthew 5.

  05:08-05:27

  You know, the Jewish mindset was, "I can hate people as long as I don't murder." Jesus comes along and says, "Murder is the same as hatred, because it starts in here." And you had people that said, "Well, I can lust as long as I don't commit the physical act of adultery." And Jesus said, "No, no, no.

  05:27-05:38

  Adultery starts in here." You had people that said, "Well, I can get a divorce as long as I do the paperwork properly." And Jesus said, "No, no, no.

  05:38-05:39

  This is a heart matter.

  05:40-05:41

  This is a heart matter.

  05:42-05:44

  It's not about what you do, it's about who you are.

  05:46-05:51

  Jesus comes along and He blasts them, and I would suggest to you He blasts us too.

  05:53-05:58

  And He says to them, "Your religion is a show." It's a show.

  05:59-06:01

  And you try to pass it off as real.

  06:03-06:03

  That's a problem.

  06:04-06:12

  That's why Jesus said in verse 1 here, "You are practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.

  06:13-06:16

  That word "seen" in the Greek is the word "theotomi".

  06:17-06:20

  That's where we get the English word "theater".

  06:21-06:23

  You see the picture that Jesus was painting here?

  06:24-06:31

  He says when you do religious acts, you're performing for people.

  06:32-06:37

  It's like you're on stage in a theater and you're wanting applause.

  06:37-06:39

  You're wanting pats on the back.

  06:39-06:40

  You're wanting attention.

  06:40-06:41

  You're wanting acclaim.

  06:42-06:46

  And specifically, Jesus goes after three things.

  06:47-06:52

  We're going to do these three things over the course of three messages sprinkled out over the next few months.

  06:53-07:00

  But He goes after three things that God's people are naturally expected to do.

  07:00-07:05

  And the three things are giving, praying, and fasting.

  07:07-07:13

  And all of these messages are going to ask the same question.

  07:15-07:16

  And the question is this.

  07:18-07:19

  Are you doing this for God?

  07:20-07:22

  Or are you doing this for attention from people?

  07:25-07:28

  So who wants to do what God has called you to do with the right heart?

  07:29-07:29

  All in favor?

  07:31-07:32

  All in favor?

  07:33-07:34

  Okay.

  07:36-07:36

  All opposed?

  07:38-07:43

  You're like, "I'm not going to say it out loud." How about we start where Jesus started?

  07:44-07:44

  Let's talk about giving.

  07:45-07:46

  Here's the sermon, right here.

  07:47-07:50

  The secret to giving is giving in secret.

  07:51-07:52

  That's the sermon.

  07:54-07:54

  You are loved.

  07:56-08:02

  For those of you that would like me to elaborate a bit more upon that statement, the rest is for you.

  08:02-08:03

  Jot this down.

  08:03-08:05

  Number one, just two points.

  08:05-08:08

  It doesn't get any easier than this, as far as understanding.

  08:08-08:10

  It's the application that is extremely difficult.

  08:11-08:15

  Number one, when you make giving known, people reward you.

  08:16-08:19

  When you make giving known, people reward you.

  08:19-08:20

  Let's get back to the text.

  08:20-08:24

  "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.

  08:25-08:29

  For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

  08:32-08:43

  "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.

  08:44-08:49

  Truly I say to you, they have received their reward." Let's stop there.

  08:49-08:57

  Notice Jesus says, "When you give to the needy..." When you give to the needy.

  08:58-09:01

  At this point in the sermon, "Oh, Jesus is going to talk about giving.

  09:02-09:07

  I wonder what He's going to say." You know what I found so interesting here?

  09:09-09:16

  When Jesus goes into this portion of His sermon about giving, He doesn't give a sales pitch for the act of giving.

  09:16-09:17

  He doesn't do that.

  09:18-09:22

  I thought the sermon might go something like this, "Let me tell you why it's important to give.

  09:23-09:31

  Let me tell you why it's important to recognize a need and be able to meet the need." I thought that's where He was going with that, but you know, He really doesn't.

  09:34-09:38

  Because Jesus just sort of assumes that you already get that as God's people, right?

  09:38-09:40

  He doesn't go after the action.

  09:41-09:47

  He says, "Thus, when you give..." I'm not going to address the action.

  09:47-09:54

  "When you give." Jesus knows His people just know that you're supposed to give to the needy.

  09:54-09:57

  And again, specifically, that's the kind of giving we're talking about today.

  09:58-10:00

  We're not talking about church giving.

  10:02-10:04

  We're talking about charitable giving.

  10:05-10:06

  Giving to the needy.

  10:08-10:23

  1 John 3:16 says this, "If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" It's a rhetorical question.

  10:25-10:25

  Right?

  10:26-10:31

  Jesus doesn't make a sales pitch for the action, nor does He address the amount.

  10:32-10:39

  And some people might think that's where Jesus was going, and there are some people that might think that's where I'm going with this message, though we are not.

  10:41-10:44

  Like, oh, He's going to start guilting us into tithing.

  10:44-10:45

  Here comes the guilt trip.

  10:45-10:48

  Here comes the sales pitch for tithing.

  10:48-10:49

  No, not at all.

  10:52-11:02

  Actually, tithing is an old testament New Testament giving is not an act of the law.

  11:03-11:04

  It's an act of love.

  11:07-11:11

  And again, specifically, Jesus is talking about charitable giving.

  11:12-11:17

  And 2 Corinthians 8.3 basically says everything you need to know about New Testament giving.

  11:17-11:19

  We've done a whole sermon series on this.

  11:20-11:25

  Alex and Stacy Gianetti are firing up Financial Peace University again.

  11:25-11:31

  So if you want a more exhaustive view of the Bible and money and things like that, you guys are going to be available after service.

  11:32-11:34

  You have a table set up, and they're going to be back.

  11:35-11:37

  If you want more information, you've got to take this class.

  11:37-11:40

  If you've not taken FPU, you've got to sign up for it.

  11:41-11:42

  It will change your life.

  11:43-11:46

  So, here's the short version.

  11:47-11:58

  2 Corinthians 8.3, "For they gave according to their means, as I can testify and beyond their means, of their own accord." And if I was doing a sermon on this, the points would be something like this.

  11:58-12:02

  New Testament giving is to be proportional, sacrificial, and volitional.

  12:02-12:04

  That's what the Bible says about giving.

  12:05-12:06

  Proportional - what's in your wallet?

  12:06-12:08

  You give according to what God has given you.

  12:09-12:10

  Right? It's sacrificial.

  12:11-12:14

  You go beyond what you think you're able to give.

  12:15-12:16

  We're going to talk more about that.

  12:18-12:20

  And it's volitional. It's purely a choice.

  12:21-12:24

  So Jesus doesn't address the action or the amount.

  12:24-12:26

  Jesus goes right after the attitude.

  12:26-12:27

  Did you see that?

  12:28-12:46

  He says in verse 2, "That's when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets." That word "hypocrite," interestingly, Jesus is sustaining the illustration here because the word for "hypocrite" in the Greek literally refers to a person who wore a mask.

  12:47-12:50

  Not Batman, but an actor on stage.

  12:51-12:53

  Well, maybe Batman, I guess, technically.

  12:54-12:56

  An actor on stage, that's what a hypocrite was.

  12:57-13:05

  So in our vernacular, we would say something like, "Harrison Ford is one of my favorite hypocrites." And I know that sounds weird, but that's what the word was.

  13:05-13:06

  He was an actor.

  13:07-13:09

  He pretends to be something that he's not.

  13:10-13:11

  He's not really Indiana Jones.

  13:13-13:15

  He's pretending, right?

  13:15-13:23

  And Jesus said, "Don't be an actor!" So what's a hypocrite in the church?

  13:24-13:33

  Well, it's either somebody that's pretending to be a Christian, and they're not, or it's somebody who is a Christian that's not acting like a true Christian.

  13:34-13:38

  Not acting like a spirit-filled, walking by the Holy Spirit.

  13:40-13:44

  You're not being who God has called you to be, who God has empowered you to be.

  13:44-13:45

  In that case, you're a hypocrite.

  13:46-13:48

  So Jesus said this is what they do.

  13:48-13:49

  They sound trumpets.

  13:49-13:50

  This is why they do it.

  13:51-13:52

  and they do it to be praised by others.

  13:52-13:53

  And this is what they get.

  13:54-13:54

  They get a reward.

  13:56-13:56

  Do you see that?

  13:57-14:03

  "Sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.

  14:04-14:15

  Truly I say to you, they have received their reward." Now, depending on who you read, some people say in Jesus' day, this was a literal thing.

  14:16-14:21

  That some of the religious people actually had a little silver trumpet.

  14:22-14:31

  And when they would go in the streets, they would play this little trumpet, and that was to alert the poor people, "Hey, somebody's about to make a donation!" And they'd come running.

  14:34-14:40

  And they did it not only to get the attention of the poor people, but they did it to get the attention of everybody else.

  14:40-14:46

  "Hey everybody, look how generous I'm about to be!" I want to talk about trumpets for a second.

  14:49-14:54

  I don't know. I wasn't around in the first century, so I don't know if they had a little silver trumpet or not.

  14:56-15:00

  But either way, the point is the same, isn't it?

  15:01-15:08

  The point is, some people do charitable acts hoping that people see it.

  15:10-15:14

  secretly longing that people see it.

  15:15-15:29

  And Jesus pointed out that people will even do things to draw attention to themselves to make sure that people see it.

  15:31-15:38

  And right now, some people are sitting there going, "Shame on them, Pastor Jeff.

  15:39-15:42

  Shame on people that do that.

  15:42-15:47

  Shame on people that give and let people know that they're giving so they get a pat on the back.

  15:47-15:49

  Shame on those people.

  15:49-15:54

  But today, I want to suggest to you...

  15:56-15:57

  (trumpet playing)

  15:58-15:59

  I took lessons...

  16:03-16:05

  I took lessons in elementary school.

  16:07-16:08

  I'm 43 now.

  16:10-16:15

  But I would suggest to you today that there are a lot of trumpets being blown.

  16:16-16:17

  Even in our day.

  16:19-16:20

  You're like, "What do you mean, Pastor Jeff?

  16:20-16:23

  I don't have a trumpet." Well, here's the thing.

  16:26-16:29

  Maybe you make a donation to the needy.

  16:29-16:31

  Maybe you do some charitable act.

  16:32-16:33

  Let's just be honest with you.

  16:33-16:35

  How many of us have done that?

  16:35-16:49

  We did this charitable act and we are just waiting for something to come up in a conversation with somebody so that we can interject and let them know about our awesome act of charity.

  16:50-16:52

  Come on, how many people have done that?

  16:53-16:53

  How many?

  16:53-16:54

  I've done it.

  16:54-16:55

  It's wrong.

  16:55-16:56

  I've done it.

  16:57-16:59

  I'm just hoping they say something so I can bring it up.

  16:59-17:24

  You know, they're like, "Hey, I think this desk needs a new coat of paint." And you're like, "Speaking of coats, I gave some coats to the coat drive for the cold people." True or false?

  17:26-17:27

  Or we get on social media.

  17:29-17:32

  And I think social media is our biggest trumpet.

  17:32-17:34

  Social media is not even a trumpet.

  17:34-17:38

  Social media is the sousaphone, right?

  17:40-17:46

  I better post this picture on Facebook so people see how charitable I am.

  17:53-17:57

  Or you're walking to some sporting event downtown.

  17:59-18:01

  There's a homeless person there, begging.

  18:02-18:03

  Like, I'm gonna help this person out.

  18:05-18:07

  But you're reaching for your cell phone first.

  18:09-18:11

  And you're like, dude, I'm gonna give you some money, but get in the shot.

  18:12-18:13

  Get in the shot.

  18:14-18:14

  Get in the shot.

  18:14-18:17

  Can you look more homeless and/or hungry?

  18:17-18:18

  Are you ready?

  18:19-18:20

  (trumpet music)

  18:26-18:26

  (sighs)

  18:28-18:29

  What's on my agenda today?

  18:30-18:31

  Oh yeah!

  18:32-18:34

  I'm going to the Light of Life mission today!

  18:36-18:37

  [trumpet fanfare]

  18:37-18:40

  Let me put this on Twitter so everybody knows what I'm doing today.

  18:41-18:42

  [trumpet fanfare]

  18:43-18:44

  Oh, wait a minute.

  18:45-18:46

  I've got to make it sound humble.

  18:47-18:51

  So I'll say something like, "Gone to the Light of Life mission today.

  18:56-18:57

  #SoHumbledForTheOpportunityToGiveBack"

  18:58-18:59

  [HONKING]

  19:04-19:05

  True or false?

  19:06-19:08

  Then we got to get on our phone.

  19:08-19:10

  How many likes did I get on that post?

  19:10-19:11

  [HONKING]

  19:12-19:15

  How many comments did I get on that--

  19:15-19:15

  [HONKING]

  19:16-19:17

  Did anybody retweet it?

  19:18-19:18

  [HONKING]

  19:22-19:45

  We want people to think that we are generous and thoughtful and giving and their acknowledgement of that, those likes or loves or comments on Facebook, a verbal comment to you, those are like those little comments and likes and things, those are like M&Ms for our self-centeredness.

  19:47-19:55

  "Mm, yeah, mm, mm, mm, I am pretty awesome, huh?

  19:56-20:03

  God probably is so glad that I'm on His team." Well, that's the problem.

  20:04-20:15

  Jesus said, that little acknowledgement that you get from others, that like, that comment of, "Wow, that was really generous of you." That comment? Jesus said that's all you get.

  20:17-20:26

  You get a passing comment and barely an afterthought from someone who's going to forget all about it in 45 seconds.

  20:28-20:29

  You wanted people's attention.

  20:31-20:31

  You got it.

  20:34-20:34

  And that's all you get.

  20:36-20:37

  Now listen closely.

  20:39-20:45

  There is nothing wrong with receiving a comment.

  20:45-20:59

  Like if somebody somehow finds out that you did something charitable, or somebody finds out somehow not from you, but they find out somehow, and they come up to you and they're like, "Dude, I thought that was great what you did." And you're like, "Shut your mouth!

  20:59-21:02

  They're going to take my reward from me!" It's not like that.

  21:02-21:13

  There's nothing wrong with getting the comment, but please hear me, There's absolutely something wrong with you looking to get the comment.

  21:13-21:14

  Do you see the difference?

  21:15-21:16

  Where's the difference?

  21:16-21:17

  The difference is right here.

  21:19-21:20

  The difference is here.

  21:22-21:23

  It's a hard thing, right?

  21:23-21:26

  So when you make giving known, people reward you.

  21:27-21:28

  Ho-hum.

  21:30-21:31

  Here's the good news.

  21:31-21:35

  When you make giving secret, number two, When you make giving secret, God rewards you.

  21:36-21:40

  When you make giving secret, God rewards you.

  21:42-21:46

  The secret to giving is giving in secret.

  21:48-21:50

  How secret? Well, let's get back to the text here.

  21:52-21:54

  Jesus got the negative out of the way here.

  21:54-21:55

  Here's the positive. Verse 3.

  21:56-22:09

  "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret." How secret?

  22:10-22:15

  Jesus said your giving should be so secret that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing.

  22:16-22:18

  That's pretty secret, isn't it?

  22:19-22:19

  That's pretty secret.

  22:20-22:30

  You know, these two guys have known each other their whole lives, and they're never more than a couple feet away from each other.

  22:31-22:34

  Jesus said that's how secretive giving should be.

  22:35-22:40

  That this guy's over here giving, and this guy has no idea what's going on.

  22:42-22:47

  A part of you doesn't even know that giving is happening.

  22:47-22:48

  You go, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second.

  22:50-22:51

  Pastor Jeff, how is that even possible?

  22:53-23:00

  That you can give, and a part of you doesn't even know that you gave?" I'm going to tell you exactly how you do that.

  23:02-23:03

  Write this down.

  23:04-23:07

  You give and you forget about it.

  23:09-23:11

  You give secretly, yes.

  23:11-23:14

  But how do I do it without my left hand knowing?

  23:14-23:17

  You give and you forget about it.

  23:18-23:19

  What do you mean by that?

  23:19-23:20

  Here's what I mean.

  23:21-23:28

  When we give to the needy, when we give to charity, oftentimes we dwell on it, don't we?

  23:28-23:32

  we think about it, we roll it around in our heads.

  23:32-23:39

  Maybe we saw this person in need and we had the means to give and we gave that person money and we just keep thinking about that.

  23:39-23:43

  Like, yeah, that was pretty nice that I did that.

  23:43-23:44

  I'm not sure.

  23:46-23:49

  I'm not sure if I'm gonna have budget problems now 'cause I was kind of counting on that money.

  23:49-23:54

  Or I was gonna buy a new something with that money, but I guess I'm not gonna do that now.

  23:54-23:56

  Maybe I'll have the money for that next time.

  23:56-24:01

  And we just keep thinking about it.

  24:03-24:05

  You know, that was pretty generous what I did.

  24:08-24:09

  But you know, I gave to that guy.

  24:09-24:11

  That guy had a need and I gave to him.

  24:11-24:12

  And you know, he really didn't seem that grateful.

  24:14-24:16

  You know, I gave that guy.

  24:16-24:18

  I just gave that guy $700.

  24:19-24:23

  And you would think he'd be treating me differently now, and he's not.

  24:25-24:26

  I'm a little disappointed.

  24:27-24:29

  I would think that he'd be a little more appreciative.

  24:30-24:33

  Or shouldn't there be some sense in which he kind of owes me now?

  24:33-24:35

  Why isn't he treating me any different?

  24:37-24:38

  You have to let that go.

  24:40-24:42

  Giving to the needy - listen to this.

  24:43-24:44

  How do I let that go? How do I forget about it?

  24:45-24:47

  Giving to the needy is giving to God.

  24:49-24:51

  Not my idea. Look at Proverbs 19.17.

  24:53-25:07

  "Whoever is generous to the poor," look at this, "lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed." Can you wrap your brain around the magnitude of that verse?

  25:07-25:13

  When you give to a needy person, it is like you're handing that money directly to God.

  25:15-25:17

  Proverbs says that God's going to pay you back.

  25:17-25:18

  Do you think He's good for it?

  25:19-25:20

  Do you think He's good for it?

  25:22-25:39

  So, the expectations - listen to this - the expectations from those that you give to - the needy, the people that you give to - your expectations from them have got to be a hard zero.

  25:41-25:49

  When you give, do not expect anything from the person that you give to for good or for bad.

  25:52-25:57

  give with zero expectation to the person that you're giving to. Is that clear?

  25:57-26:02

  But we're so worried that no one's going to know. I mean, I didn't post a picture. Did it really happen?

  26:03-26:04

  Or what if...

  26:04-26:15

  Oh, oh, oh, what if I live my whole life and no one knows about this generous act that I performed?

  26:15-26:20

  What if nobody ever knows what I did for that guy?

  26:22-26:23

  Forget about it.

  26:24-26:27

  Because God knows.

  26:28-26:29

  And God remembers.

  26:31-26:34

  And most exciting, God repays.

  26:36-26:37

  He does.

  26:38-26:43

  That's why in verse 4, look at the rest of the verse.

  26:46-27:00

  Jesus said, "And your father who sees in secret will reward you." Jesus said, "God will reward you." When you give to the needy, when you forget about it, your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing, it's done, it's gone, I gave, I gave to God, I'm done.

  27:01-27:03

  It's in His court now. It's in God's court now.

  27:04-27:11

  and he will see to the reward." You're like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

  27:12-27:13

  Wait a minute, Pastor Jeff, there's a reward?

  27:15-27:19

  Are you telling me that I give to get something?

  27:20-27:21

  Is that what you're saying?

  27:23-27:27

  I give to get something?" Yes.

  27:28-27:30

  That is exactly what I'm saying.

  27:32-27:33

  I don't want there to be any misunderstanding.

  27:36-27:37

  Giving is about getting.

  27:39-27:44

  Somebody right now is like, "I don't think that's a very good motivation, Pastor Jeff, quite honestly.

  27:44-27:50

  I don't think that's a good motivation." And I would say, "Well, you're going to have to take that up with Jesus.

  27:51-27:54

  Because He's the one who put us up to it." Right?

  27:56-28:01

  Listen, the desire for a reward is a good thing.

  28:03-28:07

  If God didn't want you motivated by the reward, why did He mention it?

  28:09-28:18

  Why didn't Jesus just say something hallmarky like giving is its own reward, something you'll feel nice inside?

  28:18-28:19

  He didn't say that.

  28:20-28:27

  He says, "My Father is going to reward you when you give in secret." If He didn't want you motivated by that, why did He say it?

  28:29-28:39

  Here's the thing, when it comes to giving to the needy, when it comes to giving a charitable gift, here's the thing, this is the whole point.

  28:39-28:43

  You have to choose who you want to reward you.

  28:43-28:43

  That's all.

  28:45-28:55

  I can tell people what I've done and get a pat on the back, or I can keep it secret, an awesome, eternal God He's going to give me a real reward.

  28:56-28:57

  You get to pick.

  28:58-28:59

  By the way, it's one or the other.

  29:01-29:07

  If you get a reward from people, you forfeit your reward from God.

  29:09-29:12

  Like, okay, well, Jesus said it. What is the reward from God?

  29:12-29:17

  Quickly, two things. Material and spiritual.

  29:17-29:20

  Material and spiritual. Let's unpack that real quick.

  29:20-29:22

  Spiritual. Let's talk about spiritual first.

  29:23-29:27

  Luke 16.11 is the parable of the dishonest manager.

  29:27-29:35

  And Jesus said, "If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth..." And the context in that passage is money.

  29:36-29:38

  Unrighteous wealth just refers to cash, money.

  29:39-29:46

  "If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" You're like, "Well, Pastor Jeff, what are the true riches?

  29:46-29:52

  What are the true riches he's talking about?" I don't know.

  29:53-29:54

  But don't you want to find out?

  29:55-29:57

  Don't you want to find out what that is?

  29:59-30:02

  I mean, think about it.

  30:03-30:08

  Have you seen the kind of gift-giver that God has proven Himself to be?

  30:09-30:11

  God gives gifts like eternal life.

  30:12-30:21

  God gives gifts like, "Here's my Son. He came to the earth, and He died for you so your sins could be forgiven." What an awesome gift!

  30:22-30:25

  Here's my son, he rose from the dead so that you can have eternal life.

  30:26-30:27

  What an awesome gift!

  30:27-30:30

  My son purchased your way into heaven.

  30:31-30:32

  What an awesome gift!

  30:32-30:35

  And if those are the kind of gifts, how about the gift of the Holy Spirit?

  30:35-30:38

  God Himself will indwell and reside within us.

  30:38-30:55

  And I'm suggesting to you, church, if those are the kinds of gifts that God has this track record of proving Himself to be, Don't you want to find out whatever these spiritual gifts are that are rewards for faithfulness with the money?

  30:57-30:58

  That's spiritual.

  31:00-31:02

  And there's a material reward too, by the way.

  31:03-31:05

  What's the material reward?

  31:06-31:06

  It's more money.

  31:08-31:11

  The material reward for faithful giving is more money.

  31:13-31:20

  2 Corinthians 9.6 says the point is this, In the whole passage, like I said, we did a whole sermon series on this a few years ago, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

  31:20-31:29

  It's on the website. It's called "I Love to Give." But 2 Corinthians 9.6 says, "The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

  31:30-31:37

  And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." You see, it's a sowing and reaping principle.

  31:38-31:39

  I have some seeds up here. Can you see them?

  31:40-31:41

  I have some seeds.

  31:41-31:46

  And there's a principle of agriculture that Jesus said applies to money.

  31:47-31:51

  And that Paul in 2 Corinthians 9 applies to money.

  31:52-31:53

  And here's the principle.

  31:54-31:55

  With seeds, just think about seeds.

  31:55-31:56

  What do you do with seeds?

  31:56-32:20

  You sow the seed, and it grows, and then you reap, and then you take that, and you sell, and you get money to buy more seeds so you can sow more, so more grows, and you reap more, You sell more, and you get more money, which you use to buy more, so you can plant more.

  32:21-32:21

  Do you see what's happening?

  32:22-32:24

  It's called a cycle of increase.

  32:25-32:28

  The more you sow, the more you reap.

  32:28-32:33

  And the Bible says this principle is true with money.

  32:36-32:36

  And sowing.

  32:38-32:43

  Sowing starts with a very simple thing, and it's just letting go of the seed, right?

  32:44-32:46

  I'm like, I've got five seeds here.

  32:47-32:52

  Five seeds, and I'm sure hoping that I reap a harvest with them.

  32:53-32:58

  Well, here's the thing, as long as I hold them in my hand, they're not going to do me any good, are they?

  32:59-33:00

  What do I got to do?

  33:01-33:02

  What do I got to do?

  33:03-33:06

  I've got to be willing to let it go.

  33:08-33:09

  Right?

  33:10-33:11

  You've got to be willing to let it go.

  33:12-33:16

  And do you know, that's how it is with money?

  33:17-33:19

  I don't have five seeds this time, I have five coins.

  33:23-33:24

  Some of you think you know where this is going.

  33:27-33:28

  But it's the same principle.

  33:30-33:43

  If I, by faith, trust God, what He said about money is true in His Word, then I've got to be willing...

  33:44-33:45

  I'm not going to throw it.

  33:45-33:48

  I've got to be willing to let it go.

  33:50-33:52

  I've got to be willing to let it go.

  33:53-33:58

  Somebody's like, "Man, I am still sitting in that seat next week." What was that? Thirteen cents?

  34:00-34:01

  That's worth sitting in the front row.

  34:03-34:04

  It does no good until you let it go.

  34:05-34:06

  That's what God says about money.

  34:07-34:08

  "Give to me, I'll give you back more.

  34:08-34:20

  And you'll have more to give me, and then I'll give you back even more." And God knows who's giving it away, and He's going to make sure that money is being directed to the people that are faithfully giving it away.

  34:20-34:21

  He does that.

  34:22-34:27

  We could line people up here on this platform and give testimony to seeing God's hand at work that way.

  34:27-34:33

  We could line people up and we could tell stories until Easter the way we've seen God make that happen.

  34:35-34:39

  If you hand money over to God, He hands you back a bigger amount.

  34:41-34:45

  So the secret to giving is giving in secret.

  34:46-34:52

  It's expected that God's people are going to have a heart for giving to the needy.

  34:52-34:56

  And we should expect a reward.

  34:58-35:00

  Again, the question is what reward do you want?

  35:02-35:19

  Oh, you can make sure that people I know you give, and you can get the underwhelming reward of their applause, or you can purely make it a thing between you and God, and get a God-sized reward.

  35:21-35:26

  So today, at Harvest Bible Chapel, we just want to simply encourage you...

  35:33-35:34

  (trumpet playing)

  35:34-35:34

  Let's pray.

  35:35-35:35

  Who's with me?

  35:36-35:37

  Who's with me?

  35:37-35:38

  All right.

  35:38-35:39

  Let's pray.

  35:40-35:41

  Let's pray.

  35:41-35:51

  Father in heaven, we are oftentimes no different than the people that Jesus was speaking directly to in this passage.

  35:52-36:00

  God, I confess to you, there's times I want people to think I'm such a great pastor, and I'm such a great example, and look at what Jeff did.

  36:00-36:02

  And there's no reward in that.

  36:05-36:09

  God, I'm sure there's some brothers and sisters here in these seats that are in the same position.

  36:09-36:14

  Sometimes they feel like, "I just did that so people would notice.

  36:14-36:19

  I didn't do that so God would notice." I pray that today's a day of repentance, God.

  36:20-36:37

  I pray that today is the day that we put the trumpets away and we stop being so focused about People noticing our charity, and you alone noticing our charity because you promised to give a reward.

  36:39-36:40

  We thank you for that, God.

  36:42-36:52

  And I know some of the things that your Word says that we have looked at today, I'm sure there are people here today that think this is crazy stuff.

  36:54-37:18

  Father, I also know there's many people sitting here today that are going to say, "I know this is true, because I have done it, and I have experienced it, and I've seen God's faithful provision when I've made giving a thing between me and God." Father, for the people today that might be questioning, might be struggling, I pray that by an act of faith, they would put this to the test.

  37:20-37:31

  That they would secretly find a need, and secretly give to that need, doing everything in their power to make sure that you're the only person it knows about.

  37:32-37:43

  And God, I know based on the integrity of Your Word and the power that You have to back it up, that You're going to reveal Yourself mightily to the person that does it.

  37:45-37:54

  Increase our faith in all areas, especially in the area of giving to the needy.

  37:55-37:58

  We praise You and we thank You, Father, in Jesus' name.

  37:59-37:59

  Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:1-4

GROUP

1. Be an armchair psychologist: Why do you think people naturally want others’ attention when they give? Be honest - have you ever given, hoping that someone would know?

2. Do you think “giving to get a reward” (Matt 6:4) is a wrong motivation? Defend your answer.

3. What are the rewards God gives “secret” givers? Be specific.

BREAKOUT

Pray for one another to give as Christ commanded - secretly.