Jeff Miller

June 29, 2025

The Heart of Religion

The Secret to Fasting

Jeff Miller

June 29, 2025

The Heart of Religion

Introduction:

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.

What Am I Really Hungry For? (Matthew 6:16–18)

Am I hungry for ATTENTION ... (Matt 6:16)
...or am I hungry for GOD? (Matt 6:17–18)

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

00:50-00:50
Matthew chapter 6. Are you there?
00:52-00:53
Look at verse 1.
00:54-00:57
This is the greatest sermon ever preached.
00:58-01:01
And here Jesus is talking about the heart of religion.
01:02-01:05
And this is how this whole section starts.
01:06-01:13
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.
01:13-01:16
For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
01:18-01:25
Jesus says, beware of trying to impress people with your religious acts.
01:27-01:35
Beware of doing your church stuff in a way that you want people's attention.
01:37-01:42
And specifically, Jesus goes after three things here.
01:42-01:52
He goes after giving and praying and fasting.
01:57-02:05
And you know, anytime that I teach or preach about fasting, I always feel like I'm playing from behind.
02:08-02:21
What I mean is, you know, people recognize giving and praying as normal religious things that God's people do.
02:22-02:24
Those are kind of no brainers.
02:27-02:28
But fasting?
02:32-02:34
Well, look at verse 16.
02:36-02:42
Look at the first phrase, Jesus says, "And when you fast," stop there.
02:43-02:45
When you fast.
02:46-02:47
You know what that phrase tells me?
02:50-02:57
That phrase tells me that fasting is just as expected as giving.
02:59-03:04
Fasting is just as expected as praying.
03:07-03:08
Let's bow our heads.
03:08-03:21
I'm gonna ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful, to communicate a passage and a concept that's very simple and very hard at the same time.
03:21-03:27
Pray for me and I will pray for you that our hearts would be open to receive what God wants to tell us today.
03:34-03:36
Transform us, Father, by the power of Your Word.
03:37-03:40
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
03:43-03:45
Let's talk about fasting, shall we?
03:48-03:52
Our culture is obsessed with food, have you noticed?
03:54-03:55
Turn on the TV.
03:57-04:03
If the commercial's not about a pharmaceutical, what's the commercial about?
04:04-04:05
Food, right?
04:07-04:09
Food, get on social media.
04:09-04:11
You'll find somebody took a picture of their hamburger.
04:14-04:15
Right? We're obsessed with it.
04:15-04:17
You know the thing that always fascinates me though?
04:18-04:19
These eating contests.
04:20-04:21
You ever seen those eating contests?
04:23-04:26
You know, the most famous one, like the hot dog eating contest.
04:27-04:29
How many people here, show of hands, have been in a hot dog eating contest?
04:31-04:31
Nobody.
04:33-04:36
You're like, well, Pastor Jeff, have you ever been in an eating contest?
04:36-04:39
Yeah, and I won.
04:40-04:48
It was eating a pie as fast as you can, hands-free, and I won.
04:49-04:51
I won a Shop-Vac.
04:52-04:54
That is a true story.
04:56-05:02
And I needed that Shop-Vac to clean up when I got sick after eating a pie that fast without my hands.
05:04-05:06
There's all kinds of eating contests.
05:07-05:09
A taco eating contest, I think I could win that too.
05:10-05:12
Wings, how about this one?
05:12-05:14
An oyster eating contest.
05:17-05:18
How many people would be up for that?
05:20-05:22
A couple of you would.
05:22-05:24
All right, Pastor Taylor, game on.
05:27-05:28
(laughing)
05:29-05:31
Or here's an eating contest.
05:32-05:34
I have no idea what this even is.
05:34-05:37
Slug burger, a slug burger eating contest.
05:38-05:39
Does anybody know what a slug burger is?
05:40-05:40
Anybody?
05:41-05:43
All right, we'll have to Google that one later.
05:43-05:45
Not now, later.
05:46-05:48
But I'm always fascinated by these eating contests.
05:48-05:49
This one caught my eye.
05:50-05:51
There was one eating contest.
05:51-05:55
It was eating a 72 ounce steak.
05:55-05:58
Do you know how much a 72 ounce steak is?
05:59-06:02
That's four and a half pounds of steak.
06:04-06:16
And I read of this woman, a 120 pound woman, ate the 72 ounce steak.
06:19-06:21
And then she ate another one.
06:24-06:31
And then she ate a third in 20 minutes.
06:34-06:54
And with that, she also ate three baked potatoes, three shrimp cocktails, three salads, and three buttered rolls in 20 minutes.
06:54-06:56
I read that.
06:56-06:58
I'm like, "You put butter on the rolls?
06:58-06:59
Does that seem excessive?
07:05-07:08
But there's TV shows all about food.
07:10-07:13
Like you see these shows, they have all these shows about cake.
07:14-07:15
You've seen this?
07:17-07:19
And it's not just like, what's the best tasting cake?
07:19-07:32
It's like, oh, I made a cake that looks like a football or whatever, like, And then there's these shows where they travel all over the world and they eat these exotic foods from all over the world.
07:33-07:36
And we're sitting at our TVs watching people eat.
07:38-07:50
And then you turn the channel and on the other channels, a show called "My 600-Pound Life." We're obsessed with food.
07:50-07:57
And we live in a culture where we are constantly, constantly taught that life is about consuming.
07:59-08:06
But how much talk is there really about refusing consumption?
08:10-08:18
So with that horrible backdrop, we're gonna talk about fasting because this is what the Word of God addresses.
08:19-08:20
So what is fasting?
08:20-08:21
We have a definition here.
08:22-08:23
What is fasting?
08:24-08:27
Fasting is abstaining from food and or other things.
08:28-08:29
We'll explain that in a minute.
08:30-08:38
Abstaining from food and or other things for measured periods of time in order to heighten my hunger for the things of God.
08:40-08:41
That's fasting.
08:45-09:03
Staining, measured periods of time in order to heighten my hunger for the things of God." You see, Jesus, when he talks about giving, praying, and fasting, it's really three categories of things.
09:03-09:07
Giving has to do with what you do with others.
09:08-09:12
And praying is what you do with God.
09:12-09:18
And fasting is what you do with yourself, right?
09:20-09:21
So there's different kinds of fasting.
09:21-09:25
There's a normal fast that's just no food, right?
09:25-09:31
There's a partial fast where you only have maybe vegetables and juice.
09:33-09:38
And there's an absolute fast where you have absolutely nothing.
09:40-09:48
But you can and should also fast from other things.
09:50-09:51
And we'll talk about that in a moment.
09:52-09:57
But primarily, primarily, biblically, fasting is about food.
09:59-10:06
Oh, speaking of biblically, fasting is mentioned more than 77 times in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
10:06-10:11
And it is almost always connected with prayer.
10:13-10:19
You see fasting throughout the Bible, different occasions, like for example, repentance.
10:20-10:23
I need to, I'm guilty of this sin.
10:23-10:25
I need to turn from this sin.
10:26-10:28
I'm going to fast and I'm going to pray in my repentance.
10:29-10:40
In the same line of thinking, fasting accompanies mourning over sin, my personal sin, the sins of our culture, our country.
10:40-10:47
We should be mourning and part of mourning is, is fasting and praying.
10:48-10:54
You see fasting in the Bible, at seeking God at critical times.
10:55-10:59
We need to fast because I really need to seek the Lord right now.
10:59-11:02
Think Jesus in the wilderness, right?
11:03-11:06
Think the early church in the book of Acts.
11:09-11:19
Now, when you're talking about fasting, you always have the person that comes along and says, "Well, you know, Pastor Jeff, Fasting isn't explicitly commanded in the New Testament.
11:20-11:22
And that's absolutely true.
11:25-11:33
But something we can't get around is this, Jesus obviously assumed that we would fast.
11:34-11:47
I mean, right here, you're going to see in this passage today, twice, he says, "When you fast." He says it again in Matthew 9, verse 15.
11:48-11:52
He's assuming that his people would fast.
11:52-11:57
Oh, and then, as I said, by the way, the early church did.
11:57-11:58
They fasted.
12:02-12:10
Fasting though, to clarify our definition here, we're going to make sure we understand what it's not.
12:12-12:13
Fasting is not self-punishment.
12:15-12:15
Okay?
12:16-12:17
It's not self-punishment.
12:18-12:20
Fasting isn't like, "I've sinned.
12:20-12:20
I've messed up.
12:21-12:21
You know what?
12:23-12:30
I'm not going to eat because I don't deserve to eat." And like you're sort of punishing yourself.
12:30-12:32
That's not what fasting is about.
12:33-12:33
It's not self-punishment.
12:34-12:37
But fasting also is not self-serving.
12:38-12:52
somebody could walk away from this service going, "Oh, you know, Pastor Jeff was talking about fasting "and I could stand to lose a couple of pounds, "so I'll fast." That's not what it's about.
12:56-12:58
Fasting also is not a bargaining chip.
12:59-13:01
Like I need something from God.
13:02-13:02
Oh, okay.
13:05-13:08
I'll fast and then God will have to give me what I want.
13:10-13:11
Talk more about that in a minute.
13:13-13:16
Fasting is not something that makes you holy.
13:18-13:18
All right?
13:19-13:24
Listen, fasting is not even about getting God's attention.
13:26-13:27
Understand that.
13:27-13:29
Fasting is not, "Look, look at me, God.
13:29-13:30
"I haven't eaten.
13:31-13:34
"Look at me, look at me." No, that's not what it's about.
13:34-13:37
Fasting isn't about me trying to get God's attention.
13:38-13:39
God noticed me.
13:39-13:44
Fasting is about me noticing God.
13:48-13:49
You see the difference?
13:53-13:55
Fasting doesn't make your prayer more powerful.
13:57-14:00
Fasting makes you more focused.
14:02-14:15
Fasting is what I do when I need my entire concentration, all of my being, every cell in my body focused on God.
14:19-14:29
That's what fasting is, because Christ follower, listen, I know, I know, you want to focus on God, you do.
14:31-14:37
But the problem is sometimes, if we're honest, and we should be, we wanna focus on God, but sometimes we want other things more.
14:42-14:51
You're like, what do I do when what I know I should want is not the thing that I'm going after?
14:51-14:52
What do I do?
14:54-14:55
You fast.
14:57-15:07
Fasting is stopping the feeding of ourselves with other things to focus only on our relationship with God.
15:08-15:09
'Cause here's the reality.
15:11-15:18
Every day, every day of your life, you have the capacity to only consume so much.
15:20-15:28
The capacity that you have to satisfy yourself is limited.
15:30-15:31
Here's what I mean.
15:33-15:38
Let's let this table here, this tabletop, let's let this represent you.
15:39-15:48
Okay? Let this table represent you, your heart, your spirit.
15:49-15:56
Do you realize every day of your life You are filling yourself up with stuff.
15:58-16:04
Obviously as we talk about fasting, one of the things that we fill up or we satisfy ourselves with is food, right?
16:07-16:09
This isn't just life.
16:10-16:12
This is mighty life. Cereal.
16:13-16:19
That's how we roll in our house. We fill ourselves up, right?
16:19-16:23
with food, this I need to tell here and we need to get more pretzels.
16:26-16:27
But we fill ourselves up, right?
16:28-16:32
We're filling ourselves up, but it's not even just food, right?
16:32-16:35
Think of how much stuff we fill ourselves with every day.
16:36-16:39
For some of us, it's maybe it's sports.
16:39-16:42
Like I'm on the church softball team, right?
16:42-16:46
That's one of the things that I'm filling myself up with.
16:46-16:48
I'm consuming myself with every day.
16:50-16:54
Maybe it's not even just eating the food, maybe it's preparing the food.
16:55-17:02
So we have our magazine with the latest recipes and we're filling ourselves up with this stuff.
17:03-17:07
And oh, maybe some of us, we like to grow our food, you know, in the garden.
17:07-17:10
So, you know, we have our seeds here, right?
17:10-17:13
So maybe we're filling ourselves up with that.
17:16-17:18
What else are we filling our hearts, our minds, our souls with?
17:18-17:23
For some of us, we're like, "Well, I gotta do my recreational reading, right?
17:24-17:30
So I gotta make sure I get that into me." And oh, here's more seeds.
17:32-17:42
And for some of us, it's like, "Well, I like to paint, so I gotta take time out." And that's something that I fill myself up with, a hobby that I do.
17:42-17:44
For some of us, it's exercise.
17:45-17:47
You gotta make sure you get your reps in, right?
17:48-17:49
Right, right, Dr. Andrew?
17:49-17:51
We gotta make sure that we get our exercise in.
17:52-17:53
That's something else.
17:53-17:57
This, this is 6.6 pounds.
17:59-18:01
That's why I'm, this is why I'm so ripped.
18:03-18:05
The first service laughed when I said that.
18:06-18:07
Can you believe those jerks?
18:09-18:12
For some of us, you're on the golf course, right?
18:13-18:16
That's something that we fill ourselves with, right?
18:16-18:24
For some of us, maybe you're a gamer, you spend time during the day playing your video games, it's something you're consuming.
18:24-18:29
I don't mean to show off, but this is a Pac-Man from PlayStation 2.
18:31-18:35
Not the old PlayStation, this is PlayStation 2.
18:35-18:36
That's cutting edge, right?
18:37-18:39
We fill ourselves up.
18:39-18:40
You see where we're going with this?
18:41-18:42
We're constantly filling ourselves.
18:43-18:47
Oh, and it's not even just that, because we gotta make sure, you know, we entertain ourselves, right?
18:49-18:50
With movies.
18:52-18:53
This is a DVD.
18:55-18:57
I had to explain to the first service what a DVD was.
18:58-19:05
Before streaming, this is a shiny circle that you stick in a machine that plays a movie.
19:06-19:08
This particular one was a gift.
19:09-19:14
It's called "The Masked Saint." It's about a pastor who becomes a pro wrestler.
19:15-19:17
I mean, have you ever heard of such a stupid thing?
19:19-19:23
But we gotta get our intake of entertainment, right?
19:23-19:25
Do you see how much stuff we're taking in?
19:25-19:26
Do you see all?
19:27-19:28
And that's not it.
19:28-19:30
I mean, how much time do we spend on our computers?
19:31-19:33
Right, we gotta get that in, don't we?
19:34-19:38
And am I forgetting anything?
19:38-19:39
Oh yeah.
19:43-19:44
How about this little guy?
19:46-19:53
How much time a day do we spend filling ourselves with content from this?
19:58-19:59
Do you see the point?
20:00-20:05
Over the course of a day, How much are you filling yourself with?
20:06-20:13
Your body, your mind, your belly, your spirit, you're constantly, constantly, constantly, constantly consuming.
20:14-20:21
Now, we're going to let this glass cross represent our walk with Jesus.
20:22-20:27
This represents your relationship with Jesus Christ, your personal walk with Him.
20:28-20:29
Now, do you see a problem?
20:30-20:42
We have to, well, that's, you see a problem?
20:45-20:55
Now we're so full of stuff that we don't have any room left for the thing that really matters.
20:55-20:57
And that's our walk with the Lord.
20:59-21:02
So do you see the purpose of fasting?
21:03-21:04
You know what fasting does?
21:05-21:27
Fasting, just, fasting takes everything off the table and says, the only thing that I'm going to focus on is my walk with Christ.
21:31-21:39
The only thing that my heart, my mind, my attention is getting is my personal walk with the Lord.
21:41-21:43
That's the purpose of fasting.
21:46-21:49
So on your outline, I want you to jot a couple things down here.
21:52-21:54
The question is, what am I really hungry for?
21:56-21:58
What am I really hungry for?
22:01-22:05
Number one, am I hungry for attention?
22:09-22:10
Am I hungry for attention?
22:11-22:24
Look at verse 16, Jesus says, "And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.
22:24-22:50
I say to you, they have received their reward. My hunger for attention. Jesus calls us the Pharisees. He says when they fast, they look gloomy. They disfigure their faces. You know the Pharisees and Jesus, they fasted twice a week. Like, why did they do that? Well, That wasn't commanded in the Old Testament.
22:52-22:53
Like, well, why did they do that?
22:54-22:55
Jesus tells us why they did that.
22:57-22:58
They were putting on a show.
23:00-23:00
That's why.
23:01-23:04
He tells us that they may be seen by others.
23:06-23:18
Actually, the Pharisees and Jesus, they would literally put ashes over their eyes because they were all in on the performance.
23:19-23:23
They wanted to make sure that people knew.
23:25-23:31
And when people knew that they were fasting, they'd be like, "Oh, you don't look so good.
23:31-23:33
What's going on?" "Well, I'm fasting." "You're fasting?
23:34-23:34
Wow.
23:36-23:41
Wow, you are really, you're a really devoted believer.
23:41-23:42
You're a really religious person.
23:43-23:43
Wow.
23:45-23:45
Wow.
23:47-23:58
And that little pat on the back there, that little, as Pastor Taylor calls it, the attaboy, that little thing, Jesus goes, "There's your reward.
24:00-24:06
Have fun with that." It's like giving, and it's like praying.
24:10-24:17
We can become tempted to fast with the wrong motive.
24:20-24:26
See, the fasting is supposed to be about seeking God, not human applause.
24:31-24:33
And look, let's just be real.
24:34-24:35
We love the attention.
24:36-24:44
There is something deep down in every one of us that loves the attention, and that's the problem with hypocrisy.
24:45-24:49
The problem with hypocrisy is it works.
24:55-24:56
I mean, we've all been there.
24:59-25:02
Someone makes a comment about how devoted we are.
25:06-25:13
Someone sees how religious we must be, and we start to feel pretty good about ourselves.
25:19-25:25
Jesus says, "Beware, beware." What about corporate fasting?
25:27-25:30
I mean, others have to know about that, right?
25:32-25:37
Oh yeah, there's New Testament examples of corporate fasting, Acts 13, Acts 14.
25:39-25:42
Now look, here's the thing with that.
25:43-25:47
It's not about whether or not other people know.
25:50-25:53
It's about whether or not you want them to know.
25:56-25:57
See the difference?
25:58-26:07
There's a difference between being seen fasting and fasting in order to be seen.
26:10-26:12
That's how it is with corporate fasting.
26:12-26:13
That's how it is with private fasting.
26:15-26:16
When I fast, I tell Erin.
26:17-26:17
Why?
26:20-26:25
Not because I want her applause, but because she feeds us, right?
26:25-26:32
Oh, and by the way, it'd be a pretty impossible thing for me to hide from her, right?
26:34-26:36
She's going to notice if I go days without eating.
26:40-26:42
But the point Jesus is driving us to is the motives.
26:42-26:44
The motives, it's a heart issue.
26:45-26:48
And it's the same as giving, and it's the same as praying.
26:50-26:51
It's the same point.
26:51-26:57
If you're looking for praises from man, don't look for anything from God.
26:59-27:01
So what am I really hungry for?
27:04-27:10
Am I hungry for attention or am I hungry for God?
27:12-27:14
Look at verses 17 and 18.
27:19-27:51
Jesus said, "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, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." So here Jesus is saying, look, on the other hand, instead of making yourself look like you're dying, anoint your head and wash your face.
27:52-27:54
Oh, by the way, it goes without saying, right?
27:58-28:02
You don't make that a show, right?
28:02-28:09
Like I shouldn't come to church and like catch you in the men's room at the sink, washing your face.
28:10-28:12
Like, Joe, why are you washing your face?
28:12-28:16
Oh, I'm fasting and being obedient to our Lord.
28:17-28:20
Like you could make that a show.
28:24-28:26
Obvious point, right?
28:26-28:29
Jesus says don't leave any physical clues that you're fasting.
28:30-28:36
It's like giving, it's like praying, make it a secret, make it between you and God.
28:40-28:45
And he sees, and he rewards according to Jesus.
28:49-29:22
rewards. Listen, reward does not mean that God owes you one now. Like, "Look, God, I starved myself for you. I sacrificed eating for you, God. Now you have to do what I want." So, God never works like that.
29:24-29:31
Do you realize anything at all that we have from God is grace?
29:33-29:34
It's all grace.
29:34-29:47
Your salvation in Christ, believing that Jesus died for your sins, believing he rose to give you eternal life, if you've received him, if you are saved, It is only by the grace of God that you are saved.
29:49-29:56
The gift of the Holy Spirit, God indwelling His people, it's a gift, it's grace.
29:56-30:03
You know, God does not run a swap meet to say you do for me, then I do for you.
30:03-30:04
That's not how it works.
30:04-30:06
And that's not how it works with fasting.
30:08-30:09
So like, what is the reward?
30:11-30:13
The reward is connecting with God.
30:15-30:20
You're worth connecting with God because you're seeking Him in a very deliberate way.
30:20-30:31
You have taken off anything else that could distract you because you want to focus solely on your relationship with Him.
30:36-30:39
And someone would say, "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, time out.
30:40-31:04
You're telling me that if I choose not to eat or I choose to abstain from other things and instead use that appetite and use that time to seek the Lord, you're telling me that if I do that, that something spiritual will happen?
31:07-31:13
Yeah, yeah that's exactly what I'm telling you.
31:16-31:26
Look, I know I could never fully explain it.
31:31-31:40
And it's hard to understand, but you will understand it if you do it.
31:45-31:47
If you do it for the right reason.
31:49-31:51
I just want to encourage you.
31:53-31:58
I'm sure there are people here that have never fasted for spiritual reasons in their lives.
31:58-32:00
I want to encourage you, try it.
32:03-32:14
Can you just as a simple act of obedience, as a simple, "God, this is what your word said, so I want to respond in obedience." Can you do that?
32:16-32:19
And look, you can modify.
32:21-32:29
Like maybe you say, "You know what? I've never done this before, "But this week, I'm gonna take a few days "and I'm gonna skip lunch.
32:29-32:38
"And instead of eating at lunchtime, "I'm gonna spend that time reading "a passage from God's word and praying to God.
32:38-32:40
"I'm gonna do that instead this week.
32:40-32:42
"Can you do that?" You can do that.
32:46-32:48
Or maybe you say, "You know what?
32:48-32:50
"I've never had an extended fast, "but you know what?
32:51-32:53
"This week I'm going to spend one day.
32:53-32:59
I'm going to spend just two days with nothing but water.
32:59-33:03
And instead I'm going to seek the Lord over something very specific.
33:08-33:09
You can do that.
33:12-33:19
Because look, if you're sitting here going, "Oh, I hear what he's saying, but you know what?
33:19-33:24
I don't know if I could skip a meal." Like, "I don't know.
33:25-33:37
I don't know if I could go without eating." Well, that might be a commentary on which appetite really controls you.
33:41-33:54
Are you hungry enough for God that you're willing to forego consuming food and/or other things to focus solely on seeking Him?
33:58-35:11
Because if you're finding that focusing on your walk with Christ has been difficult, if you're finding that lately you really haven't had much of an appetite for prayer that you know you should. If you're finding like, you know, in this chapter of my life right now, this season of my life that I'm in, I haven't really been seeking the Lord as I know He calls me to. If any of these describe you, I want to encourage you to use this gift that God has given and redirect your appetite. This is the heart of religion. God wants your And true religion comes from a heart that wants God.
35:14-35:28
I'm sure some of you have picked up on this, but you realize for the last three weeks between Pastor Taylor and I, we've basically preached the exact same sermon three times.
35:34-35:34
Why?
35:36-35:49
because our goal is to represent the text and really it's the exact same formula and all three things that the Lord calls us to. It's the same sermon.
35:50-36:02
Here it is. If you give, pray, or fast in order to be seen by others you're going to miss God's reward.
36:05-36:16
But if you do them in secret, God sees in secret and he will reward you.
36:19-36:30
There are rewards for a faith that says, I'm not looking for man's applause.
36:32-36:37
All I'm looking for is God's reward.
36:40-36:44
And with fasting, God is the reward.
36:46-36:47
Let's pray.
36:50-37:02
Father in heaven, we confess before you as a church that we don't seek you as we should too often.
37:03-37:18
But Father, we've allowed other things to crowd our hearts and our minds and our bellies and we very diligently distract ourselves from what's most important.
37:23-37:32
So Father, I pray that we would be hit with, for some of us it's an old concept that we need renewed.
37:34-37:56
And for some, I'm sure this is a brand new concept, but Father, let us take a serious and honest and hard look at Your Word, and that we would fast as our Lord assumed that we would, but with motives that honor You.
37:58-38:00
Father, put it in our hearts and minds.
38:04-38:09
Make us feel how desperately we need You.
38:12-38:18
Let us match that desperation with how hard we seek after You.
38:19-38:22
We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:16-18

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What is the purpose of fasting? Why do you think that fasting isn’t more common in the American church?
How would you describe the spiritual benefit of fasting to a believer who has never done it?
How would you respond to someone who says “Due to my health issues, not eating is impossible for me.”?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

June 22, 2025

The Heart of Religion

The Secret to Praying

Jeff Miller

June 22, 2025

The Heart of Religion

Introduction:

Four Marks of Real Prayer (Matthew 6:5–15)

PRIVATE. (Matt 6:5–6)
PERSONAL. (Matt 6:7–8)
PROPORTIONED. (Matt 6:9–13)

Three Ingredients of Prayer:
1. PRAISE. (Matt 6:9)
2. PURPOSE. (Matt 6:10)
3. PROVISION. (Matt 6:11–13)
PRACTICAL. (Matt 6:14–15)

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

00:59-01:05
Matthew chapter 6. Let's turn to God's Word together.
01:06-01:10
I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful to communicate it clearly.
01:10-01:15
I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive it.
01:19-01:39
Father in heaven, we humble ourselves before you and ask that you would make us the people that you've called us to be so that you may accomplish the purposes you want to accomplish through us.
01:45-01:53
Thank you ahead of time, the transformation that comes when we come under the authority of your word.
01:55-01:57
We pray in Jesus' name.
01:58-02:05
And all of God's people said, "Amen." Matthew chapter 6, are you there?
02:06-02:13
While I was going to college in Ohio, I was working at Walmart, among many other places I was working.
02:13-02:18
But at Walmart, I worked with this man named George.
02:20-02:36
And I was trying to think of how I could describe George to you, but I think the only phrase that really encapsulates who he was, was a phrase they use in the South, bless his heart.
02:38-02:39
You know what I mean?
02:40-02:40
Okay, enough said.
02:41-02:49
But George, when I would go to work and we were on the same shift, George would always say, I'm awfully tired today.
02:50-02:54
He said I drove, he drove truck, that was his other job.
02:54-02:58
He goes, I drove the rig down to Alabama and back last night.
02:59-03:02
Like you went to Alabama and back in one night?
03:03-03:03
He's like, yeah.
03:05-03:07
So I'm trying to calculate, I'm like, is that possible?
03:07-03:09
Are you driving a jet?
03:09-03:13
Like can you make it to Alabama and back from Ohio in one night?
03:13-03:15
I don't know about that.
03:16-03:32
I said, "Well, you must be tired then." He goes, "Yeah." He goes, "My other job driving truck, they got me working 200 hours a week." And he was not being hyperbolic, by the way.
03:32-03:39
I said, "You work 200 hours a week driving truck?" He goes, "Yeah." So how many hours you working here?
03:41-03:55
He goes, "40." I said, "You worked 240 hours last week?" He goes, "Yeah." And bless his heart, I just, I couldn't tell him.
03:55-03:57
I just didn't have it in me to tell him.
03:57-04:00
But he was always telling me this story.
04:01-04:06
But I'm somewhat of a armchair psychologist, I guess.
04:08-04:14
But I wonder what was it in him that made him want to tell me that story every time we work together?
04:15-04:16
'Cause I heard it a lot.
04:19-04:21
What would possess a guy to say something like that?
04:24-04:26
And there really is only one answer, right?
04:27-04:29
He wanted to impress me, right?
04:30-04:37
He wanted me to be like, wow, George, you're such a hard worker, you work more hours than there are in a week.
04:38-04:40
Like, that's what he wanted from me.
04:40-04:42
He wanted my attention.
04:45-04:51
And church, what is it in us that we want the attention from other people?
04:52-04:54
Why are we like that?
04:58-05:28
Then we bring that mindset into the church where we encounter the words of our Lord when he says in Matthew chapter six, Verse one, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." Jesus very clearly warned us, look, we are to do religious acts.
05:28-05:29
I mean, that's a given.
05:29-05:30
He talks about prayer.
05:31-05:34
He talks about giving and he talks about fasting.
05:34-05:40
And you're going to see Jesus just assumed that his people would do those things, right?
05:42-05:52
But the caution he gives is trying to do these things in a way to get attention from other people, to try to impress other people.
05:54-06:13
So the question Pastor Taylor addressed last week, we'll look at this week and spoiler alert next week too, Because it's the same question for all of these things, giving, praying, fasting, whose attention do you want?
06:15-06:16
Do you want God's attention?
06:18-06:20
Or do you want other people's attention?
06:24-06:29
Excuse me, today, we're going to talk about prayer.
06:34-06:37
Why is prayer so hard?
06:45-06:53
In the Christian life and discipline, why is prayer the hardest thing?
07:00-07:11
Preparing for this message, that was the question that was just like constantly running through my mind this past week.
07:11-07:12
Why is it so hard?
07:15-07:19
I think there's three overlapping reasons the prayer's hard.
07:19-07:22
One is we are bored with it.
07:23-07:30
As one author put it, "We're bored with prayer because we pray the same old things about the same old things." True.
07:31-07:35
Boring, we're bored with it.
07:38-07:39
That's why it's so hard.
07:41-07:58
Number two, second overlapping reason why prayer is the hardest thing, is we don't see God moving in our lives, or we don't trust that He will.
07:59-08:02
I mean, who wants to set themselves up for disappointment, right?
08:02-08:06
We're on our face, we're crying out for something, and He doesn't do it.
08:08-08:09
How fun is that?
08:13-08:18
Third reason is we don't really know what to pray about.
08:19-08:20
Again, these all overlap.
08:20-08:21
We just don't know what to pray about.
08:23-08:25
Somebody's got a health issue, somebody's got a relationship problem.
08:26-08:40
We're like, "What exactly do I say about that?" Why is, excuse me, why is prayer so difficult?
08:47-08:52
I mean, here Jesus is talking about the religious acts that his people do, right?
08:53-08:54
Giving to the needy.
08:54-08:56
Pastor Taylor talked about last week.
08:59-09:02
Come on, pagans do that, right?
09:04-09:16
People that have never opened a Bible in their lives will contribute when they see someone of need, right? Or next week we're going to talk about fasting. Let's talk about self-discipline.
09:17-09:41
I know non-Christians that have much better self-discipline than me in like diet and exercise and time management. Non-Christians. And then I thought about like preaching a sermon. There church that can do that.
09:41-09:47
I'm like the sixth or seventh best preacher in this church, in this church.
09:49-09:51
Or whether it's preaching or like leading a Bible study.
09:53-09:54
Many people do that.
09:55-10:03
But you know, the question that really hits us is why is talking to God harder than talking about God?
10:07-10:09
God wants your heart.
10:12-10:15
And this is a tough pill to swallow, but swallow it we shall.
10:17-10:22
Prayer is the test where your heart really is with the Lord.
10:27-10:28
Do you get alone with God?
10:28-10:35
I mean, do you really spend time alone with God?
10:38-10:48
When you do, if you do, do you have something to say to God?
10:51-11:19
Well, prayer is the screw that always needs tightened, Christians, true or false. And idealized prayer, and we talk about prayer, but let's be people that actually pray.
11:20-11:21
How about that?
11:22-11:24
So on your outline, four marks of real prayer.
11:26-11:33
And if you, like me, are an alliteration nerd, boy, are you in for a treat.
11:36-11:38
Where marks of real prayer, number one.
11:38-11:40
Real prayer is private.
11:42-11:44
Real prayer is private.
11:44-11:45
Look at verse five.
11:47-12:08
Jesus said, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues the street corners that they may be seen by others." What looks like prayer often is not prayer.
12:11-12:12
It's performance.
12:15-12:25
See, Jesus was calling out the religious people of His day, "Praying on the street corner." And the picture here is, "I just couldn't wait to get to the temple to pray.
12:25-12:36
I just, my heart was so bursting with wanting to pray, I couldn't wait, so I'm just praying right here and look how holy I am, everybody, and it's...
12:38-12:44
It's performance, and you're like, I'd never do that.
12:50-12:50
Really?
12:53-12:57
Let me ask you this, have you ever been praying in a group?
12:58-13:06
Like you're in a Bible study, you're in your small group, or you're in one of your little prayer groups at one of our prayer services?
13:07-13:20
Have you ever been praying in a group of people and in your prayer, you know you're about to, you're about to come up to a phrase in your prayer that's gonna sound so good?
13:22-13:27
So good in fact that you're planning for a little pause because you just know people are gonna amen that.
13:27-13:31
You know I'm talking about and you're praying and here comes the phrase,
13:31-13:32
(snorting)
13:32-13:35
we're gonna ratchet it up, wait for amen.
13:36-13:37
Okay, and then we keep going.
13:37-13:38
Have you ever done that?
13:40-13:41
Or how about this?
13:42-13:44
Have you ever complimented a person in your prayer?
13:45-13:46
Have you ever done that?
13:48-13:49
Oh, come on, you know what I mean.
13:50-14:06
Like we're praying and I'm like, Father in heaven, I wanna pray for my brother Chuck because Chuck is, he's so handsome and God, he's such a great dad and he's such a devoted husband and God, I just, I love Chuck so much and I just thank you.
14:07-14:10
God, he's a fine figure of a man, Lord.
14:10-14:13
Like, who is that for?
14:17-14:18
But don't we do that sometimes?
14:23-14:25
Have you ever given somebody a subtle rebuke in a prayer?
14:31-14:32
Getting warm in here, isn't it?
14:37-14:39
Partly the temperature of the room and partly conviction.
14:40-14:42
Have you ever rebuked somebody in a prayer?
14:43-14:54
that you're praying and you're like, you know, Father in heaven, Betsy asked for prayer for this relationship she's entering into, but Lord, I pray that you would teach her patience.
14:57-14:59
Like shot blocking people in their prayer.
15:02-15:04
Have you ever made a need known in your prayer?
15:07-15:08
You ever done that?
15:09-15:23
You're praying and you're like, "Oh Lord, I'm just praying you provide me $1,100 to fix my '94 Honda Civic." And then you're looking around, seeing who's reaching for their wallet.
15:27-15:30
Have you ever tried to turn prayer into teaching time?
15:32-15:35
Like, I'm about to lay out some doctrine in this prayer.
15:39-15:40
As if the Lord doesn't know.
15:42-15:44
as if the Lord's like, wait, let me write this down.
15:44-15:45
This is fantastic.
15:48-15:49
All right, here's the point.
15:50-16:01
If you have ever said something in a prayer for the benefit of the other people around you, then you're performing.
16:04-16:07
And Jesus said, you have received your reward.
16:08-16:11
After the prayer, they're like, wow, that was such a great prayer.
16:11-16:13
That was, wow, that was a powerful prayer.
16:14-16:20
You know, that little, you know, half a second of warm fuzzies you get from that, there's your reward.
16:23-16:23
Enjoy.
16:27-16:29
But look at verse six.
16:30-16:43
Jesus says, "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret.
16:46-16:48
Go to your room, shut the door.
16:49-16:52
Private, the secret to prayer, you know what the secret to prayer is?
16:53-16:53
Praying in secret.
16:57-17:02
It's private, it's shutting out other people.
17:03-17:07
Now listen, this is not an excuse to skip prayer service.
17:08-17:11
We're having one tomorrow night at the property.
17:11-17:13
Talk about that in a few minutes.
17:14-17:18
But you don't like no show me, and I'm like, hey, didn't see it's a prayer service.
17:19-17:22
Well, you know, prayer's supposed to be private.
17:24-17:30
Now, there are many examples of people praying in groups, the church praying together in God's word.
17:33-17:35
There's power in praying with your small group.
17:36-17:41
There's power and the elders coming together to pray before elder meetings, all right?
17:43-17:59
But all that said, Jesus here is specifically and clearly addressing private prayer because your secret prayer life is your real prayer life.
18:05-18:29
I mean, you can say what you want about prayer, and you can get on Twitters or X or whatever it's called and tweet your pithy little sayings about prayer, or you can get on the Facebooks and post a picture of a pretty sunset and a duck and some verse about prayer.
18:33-19:22
Here's the truth, my friends, what you really believe about prayer is proven when you pray privately. Because that's when prayer is real business. Because then it's just you and God, and no one knows what you are saying to God except God. And there's no one around to be impressed by your prayers applaud your prayers. It's just you and God. And that is when prayer is pure, because that is when you are proving by faith that you really believe that you're talking to God.
19:24-19:29
Your secret prayer life is your real prayer life.
19:30-19:41
Jesus said, verse six, "And your father who sees in secret will reward you." Like giving, you have a choice.
19:41-19:43
Do you want rewarded by man?
19:44-19:45
Or do you want rewarded by God?
19:49-19:53
I could guess most of us here would probably say, I want rewarded by God.
19:53-19:55
So the question is, well, what is God's reward?
19:55-19:58
What do you think the reward is?
19:59-20:02
What do you think is the reward that God gives?
20:06-20:07
I think it's answered prayer.
20:09-20:11
That's the reward.
20:12-20:18
You see, for some of you, the reason you haven't seen answered prayer is you haven't really been praying.
20:22-20:30
When's the last time in your life you can point specifically to say, I was praying specifically for this thing.
20:30-20:31
Nobody knew about it.
20:31-20:33
I was praying specifically for this thing.
20:33-20:37
And then I saw God answered the prayer very specifically.
20:37-20:39
When's the last time that's happened to you?
20:42-20:46
Because if you're a follower of Christ, that should be happening on a regular basis.
20:51-20:55
Some of you haven't seen prayer answered because you haven't really been praying.
20:56-20:57
You haven't prayed in secret.
20:58-21:02
Your father hasn't seen in secret, so he hasn't rewarded you.
21:05-21:15
Because it is the rewarded prayer who has faith-fueled private conversations with God.
21:16-21:22
It is that person that sees prayer answered, and you're like, "God, we were just talking about that.
21:23-21:27
"God, I specifically was talking to you "about this very thing, "and I see what you did.
21:30-21:36
"Thank you." You wanna see God move in your life like that?
21:40-21:41
Then you're gonna get with God privately.
21:43-21:44
And you'll see how he rewards.
21:47-21:48
Like, well, how do I do that?
21:50-21:56
I have to remind you again that the most important things in life are intentional, right?
21:58-21:58
You gotta be intentional.
22:01-22:03
You can't hope that it accidentally happens.
22:03-22:05
That doesn't work with anything else in life, does it?
22:06-22:17
You don't roll out of bed and say, "Well, I hope I exercise today." If you don't intentionally try to make that happen, it's not gonna happen.
22:17-22:19
You're not gonna accidentally exercise.
22:21-22:25
You can't get up and say, "You know what, I hope I stick to my diet today.
22:27-22:42
"Hope that Oreos and Funyuns don't find their way "into my mouth today." If you're not intentional, it's not gonna happen.
22:44-22:54
Parents, you can't say, "Oh boy, I sure hope I spend time with my kids today." It's not going to happen by accident.
22:55-22:59
The most important things in life are done intentionally.
23:01-23:02
Same with prayer.
23:02-23:13
Carve out a time, get alone with God, and by the way, turn off all the electronic distractions and pray privately.
23:15-23:16
That's real prayer.
23:17-23:21
Number two, four marks of real prayer, it's personal.
23:23-23:24
It's personal.
23:24-23:25
Look at verse seven.
23:26-23:31
Jesus says, "When you pray, do you not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do?
23:31-23:43
For they think that they will be heard for their many words." Jesus here isn't talking about this need that's on your heart that you keep bringing before the Lord sincerely crying out.
23:43-23:46
Jesus is talking about mindless repetition.
23:48-23:56
That's why verse eight, he says, "Do not be like them." Don't be like them.
23:56-23:58
In some churches, that is the thing.
23:59-24:00
Canned prayers.
24:01-24:02
Oh, you've sinned?
24:02-24:08
Well, what you need to do is recite this prayer 10 times.
24:09-24:20
And I've talked to people in those churches, and what they do is they go out They just spit out the words as fast as they can, not thinking about what the words even mean.
24:21-24:23
That's exactly what Jesus is talking about here.
24:24-24:25
Empty phrases.
24:27-24:28
Like, yeah, that church, right?
24:28-24:29
Know what I mean?
24:29-24:30
How about this church?
24:31-24:36
You know, sometimes we teach our kids to recite canned prayers.
24:38-24:40
You know the first prayer I remember learning?
24:42-24:43
Now I lay me down to sleep.
24:43-24:45
How many people knew that one?
24:45-24:47
Raise your hand if you're familiar with it.
24:47-24:48
Now I lay me down to sleep, okay.
24:51-24:52
Then you get to that.
24:52-24:54
I'll tell you how young I was.
24:54-24:57
I learned the words to that before I knew what the words meant.
24:57-25:05
Because I remember at a point in my childhood when I was saying that, like if I should die before I wake, I was like, what?
25:07-25:08
Like that can happen?
25:10-25:12
Seriously, I was freaked out.
25:12-25:14
My parents had to come to my bedside.
25:14-25:15
I was like freaked out.
25:15-25:20
I'm like, "What if I die before I wake?" I had no idea what was going on.
25:21-25:21
Canned prayers.
25:22-25:23
Here's another canned prayer that we teach.
25:25-25:27
Before dinner, you know that one?
25:27-25:30
God is great, God is good.
25:31-25:31
You know the rest of that?
25:31-25:32
How many know that one?
25:33-25:34
Okay, all, okay.
25:35-25:39
Let us thank him for our food, amen.
25:40-25:43
We always had to find out what mom was making before we thank God for it.
25:46-25:47
I'm not so thankful for this one.
25:52-25:54
That's what Jesus talked about, empty phrases.
25:54-26:12
I mean, if you had an appointment with the Lord, if it was like in the spirit of the Zacchaeus event, that the Lord was like, "I'm coming to your house for dinner." And Jesus is sitting at your table, How would you talk to him?
26:13-26:21
If Jesus sat down and said, "What would you like to talk about?" Would you go, "Now I lay me down to sleep.
26:21-26:22
I pray to the Lord my soul to keep.
26:22-26:30
If I should die before I wait." You wouldn't just go into some empty poem thing that you heard as a kid.
26:31-26:33
Wouldn't you just want to talk to him?
26:37-26:38
That's what prayer is, it's conversation.
26:39-26:40
It's conversation.
26:41-26:42
God wants your heart, have you heard?
26:43-26:48
And private prayer is to be a very personal thing.
26:49-27:01
Look, verse eight, he says, "Do not be like them "for your father knows what you need before you ask him." It's personal with God, he knows and he cares.
27:02-27:04
Prayer is personal to him and you gotta make it personal to you.
27:05-27:14
But this part of the verse is troubling for a lot of people because your father knows what you need before you ask him.
27:16-27:17
So why ask him?
27:22-27:24
Luke chapter 18, you don't have to turn there now.
27:24-27:27
I'm gonna paraphrase it for you for the sake of time.
27:28-27:29
But you can look this up later.
27:29-28:02
But to paraphrase, Luke chapter 18, Jesus is walking and there's a group of people following him and there's this blind guy on the side of the road and he hears all the commotion. He's like, "What's going on?" They're like, "Well, Jesus is coming and there's a lot of crowd with him." And the blind guy's like, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." And people with him were like, "Shut up." And he's like, "No, Jesus, son of David, "Have mercy on me." And Jesus stopped.
28:04-28:11
He goes, "Bring that guy here." So they brought the guy to Jesus, the blind man.
28:11-28:14
They brought the blind man to the Son of God.
28:16-28:20
And Jesus asks him the strangest question.
28:23-28:40
Jesus says to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" Now, I got to confess to you, I'm not proud of this, but I got to confess, there's a little smart-alecky side of me that imagines the blind man going, "A pizza, that's what I want from you.
28:40-28:42
A pizza, do you have any?
28:43-28:44
What do I want from you?
28:44-28:46
I want the Pirates to win the World Series.
28:46-28:48
Can you make that happen?" Like, what do you want?
28:49-29:21
"Look, I'm not the son of God, but I think even I, in 10 guesses or less, could probably guess what a blind man would want from God." He said to Jesus, "I want to see, I want my sight." I have to ask you, church, do you think Jesus knew that?
29:29-29:37
I would suggest to you that Jesus saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" is not such a crazy question.
29:37-29:39
I think it is infinitely profound.
29:43-29:49
Because, you see, what Jesus was saying is you need to be specific.
29:52-29:53
But Jesus already knows.
29:55-30:00
Oh, yes, that stirs up the question, "Well, why do we pray if He already knows?" Right?
30:01-30:01
Why pray?
30:01-30:02
God knows, right?
30:02-30:03
So why pray?
30:06-30:06
Here's why.
30:08-30:14
Like the blind man praying specifically, praying specifically is an act of faith.
30:17-30:19
Praying specifically is an act of faith.
30:22-30:23
Let's be honest, church.
30:24-30:24
Can we be honest today?
30:26-30:27
Can we be honest?
30:31-30:32
I'm not sure you want to answer that one.
30:33-30:34
Can we be honest?
30:35-30:36
Don't we pray vague?
30:39-30:39
Don't we pray vague?
30:43-30:44
This guy prayed vague.
30:44-30:46
Have mercy on me.
30:48-30:48
What does that mean?
30:50-30:59
Church, we do the same thing when we do things like, "God bless Grandma." "Bless Grandma how?
31:00-31:09
What am I asking for for Grandma?" The other one we do is we say, "I pray for." I caught myself doing that.
31:10-31:17
I'm like correcting myself when I pray sometimes because I'm like, "No, God knows I'm praying for him." But we're like that, we're like, "I pray for Pastor Rich.
31:17-31:18
"I pray for Bethany.
31:19-31:27
"You know, I pray for Lord." Like, "Yes, you're praying for them." It's almost like the Lord's like, "I could tell you were praying for them.
31:28-31:32
"You were on your face and they're on your prayer list." Praying what?
31:35-31:36
You know, I think we do that.
31:40-31:42
I think sometimes we don't have enough faith to pray specifically.
31:44-31:50
I mean, if we say, God bless grandma, anything that happens to grandma, we can just say that was the blessing I prayed for.
31:51-31:53
Grandma won bingo, her gout went away, whatever.
31:57-31:57
I prayed for her.
31:59-32:00
I think we're afraid.
32:01-32:04
I think we lack the faith to pray specifically.
32:07-32:15
Maybe you don't see answered prayer because you haven't received a specific answer because you haven't prayed specifically.
32:18-32:19
Four marks of real prayer.
32:21-32:23
Number three, write this down, proportioned.
32:26-32:29
In this section the Lord gives us what we call the Lord's Prayer.
32:30-32:32
Look, this is a pattern prayer.
32:32-32:36
are principles that show us the right balance in how to pray.
32:36-32:44
I'm going to go through this quickly because, truth be told, I could preach 10,000 sermons on this passage in 10,000 different ways.
32:46-32:50
But I don't want us to be so caught up in the individual trees that we miss the forest here.
32:52-32:57
When you pray, our Lord is showing us your prayer should be proportioned.
32:58-32:58
There should be balance.
33:00-33:04
There should be three things in your prayer, three ingredients in your prayer.
33:06-33:08
So take your prayer time, divide it up into thirds.
33:09-33:11
These are the three things you should be going after.
33:12-33:23
The first one is praise, letter A. Look at verse 9, "Pray then like this, 'Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.'" Hallowed, that's holy, that's praise.
33:24-33:29
that's first, you're worshiping God for who He is.
33:30-33:36
That's why I encourage you, we're teaching the youth group this, praying God's word back to Him, praying concepts.
33:36-33:40
God, you said this in your word, therefore I'm praying that back to you.
33:40-33:48
When you do that, especially like in the Psalms, you will find yourself worshiping God with concepts that you don't even normally think about.
33:50-33:52
But your prayer time should start with praise.
33:52-33:55
Secondly, purpose, verse 10.
33:57-34:06
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We should be praying for purpose.
34:07-34:08
Whose purpose?
34:08-34:12
His and therefore ours.
34:14-34:21
May your kingdom advance, use me however you wanna use me to advance your kingdom.
34:22-34:23
gospel purposes.
34:27-34:30
Letter C, third ingredient of prayer is provision.
34:31-34:48
Provision, verses 11 through 13, 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, but deliver us from evil.
34:50-34:54
Provision, and there's balance in provision, right?
34:55-34:56
Balance in provision.
34:58-35:00
Physical, right?
35:00-35:00
Bread.
35:01-35:04
Relational, forgiveness.
35:05-35:10
Spiritual, lead us not into temptation.
35:11-35:12
See the balance in that?
35:14-35:21
Most of our prayer requests have to do with so-and-so sick, pray for them.
35:22-35:29
And I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for them, but I'm saying it's concerning to me when that seems to be all that we pray for.
35:30-35:31
Where's the praise?
35:32-35:32
Where's the purpose?
35:33-35:35
Where's the other provision things?
35:36-35:44
Because usually when we pray, between praise, purpose, and provision, provision gets the most attention, true or false.
35:47-35:57
Sometimes it's the first thing we pray, and embarrassingly, sometimes it's the only thing we pray.
35:58-36:03
God, I need, God, please provide, God, help me.
36:06-36:10
Look, prayer is about communion with God.
36:11-36:14
Prayer's not about getting things.
36:16-36:21
I think too often in the church, we treat God like mall Santa Claus.
36:22-36:27
We show up, we tell him what we want, and then we leave and hope he cashes in.
36:30-36:31
That's not prayer.
36:34-36:43
Look, if you're bored, if you're bored with prayer, maybe it's because you've been lopsided in the way you pray.
36:45-36:50
Take these ingredients that the Lord has given us, incorporate these into your prayer life.
36:50-36:53
Our prayers should be proportioned.
36:54-36:54
One more.
36:57-37:01
One more, finally, mark of real prayers, it's practical.
37:01-37:02
It's practical.
37:04-37:06
Look at our last two verses for today, 14 and 15.
37:07-37:13
It says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, "your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
37:13-37:21
but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
37:23-37:27
Again, we don't wanna get too deep into weeds on the subject.
37:27-37:29
I want you to see the overall point.
37:30-37:38
Jesus is showing us that there is to be a connection between our prayers and our everyday lives.
37:42-37:55
You see, too often we pray holy sounding words that have nothing to do with life, at work, at home, at school, wherever.
37:56-37:58
We pray things like this.
38:00-38:17
Heavenly Father, I beseech Thee hithertofore to bestow on Thine servants a bountiful hedge of protection What? What are you even saying?
38:20-38:43
Prayer isn't detached from real life. Jesus is showing us that prayer directly connects to real life. Prayer should be practical. For example, the example that the Lord gives us. Verse 12, you pray for forgiveness and you pray to be a person who forgives others.
38:45-39:03
Jesus is showing us that when you do that business with God, now you're motivated and empowered to forgive others. Jesus was not saying that the basis of salvation is forgiving.
39:06-39:16
Forgiving others isn't a plan of salvation, it's the proof of salvation. Salvation comes through God's grace alone.
39:19-39:24
And that topic is a whole other sermon series, but here's the point Jesus is making right here.
39:24-39:31
What happens in the prayer closet directly affects what happens outside of it.
39:36-39:37
Are you having trouble forgiving someone?
39:42-39:44
How much time have you prayed about that?
39:47-39:48
Maybe for someone else it's your temper.
39:50-39:52
Like, "Yeah, I just have a temper, man.
39:52-39:56
It's just something I struggled with for a long time." How much have you talked to God about that?
40:01-40:02
Maybe for somebody else it's anxiety.
40:04-40:06
Like, "Oh, you know what, Pastor Jeff?
40:06-40:16
I'm just like so nervous and anxious, and I just, I know I shouldn't, but I just, have you really talked to God about that?
40:17-40:22
Like really spent time in the presence of the Lord talking about this?
40:23-40:31
For some it's lust, like I just can't, I just can't seem to, you know, figure out the self-control thing, Pastor Jeff.
40:33-40:35
How much have you really prayed about?
40:36-40:45
Because my guess is if you're still struggling in a particular area, you probably haven't been praying too much about it at all.
40:47-40:53
Because Jesus says what happens in the prayer closet affects what happens to you outside of it.
40:56-41:00
Our worship team would make their way back up front.
41:04-41:09
Prayer is the screw that always needs tightened.
41:11-41:12
That's true for me.
41:15-41:17
And I imagine that's true for a lot of you.
41:22-41:27
Look, over the years, I have read so many books about prayer, so many.
41:28-41:33
I've read so many blogs from so many amazing preachers about prayer.
41:35-41:40
I have listened to so many sermons about prayer, podcasts.
41:40-41:45
I've been to conferences where they've talked about prayer and taught on prayer.
41:48-41:49
But you know what I've learned?
41:50-41:57
There's just really only one way to grow as a person who's sincerely praised.
41:57-41:58
Do you know what that is?
41:58-41:59
Do you know what that one way is?
42:06-42:28
Today I just want to encourage you to take a few pointers from the One who did it best, Jesus Christ, who told us, "Pray privately, make it personal, keep it proportioned, and make it practical." Let's pray now.
42:29-42:40
Father in heaven, as we come to this teaching of your Word, I know it really hits me between the eyes.
42:40-42:47
And I imagine there's a lot of people in this room, in the first service, and they'll be listening to this later, it hits us all.
42:51-42:58
I'm just asking, Father, that we would be a people who would, in a fresh way, be renewed in our prayer lives.
43:01-43:05
Maybe we've been filling our time with lesser things.
43:05-43:08
Maybe we've been discouraged or despondent.
43:10-43:12
Father, bring a fresh conviction.
43:12-43:14
Bring a fresh enthusiasm.
43:14-43:26
Bring just a fresh excitement in all of us to privately and sincerely come before You.
43:29-43:32
Father, I know you're going to reward when we do that.
43:34-43:36
Let all glory and honor and praise be unto your name.
43:36-43:39
We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:5-15

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
“Prayer is the screw that almost always needs to be tightened for the Christian.” Why do you think this is true? Why do you think prayer is so difficult for many Christians?
Explain Jesus' teaching in verse 6 in your own words. Why is secret prayer so important?
What are the 3 ingredients of prayer in “The Lord’s Prayer”? Which one do you need to work on the most right now? Why?

Breakout
How is your prayer life these days? What have we learned from this passage that we will apply to grow as pray-ers?

Taylor Brown

June 15, 2025

The Heart of Religion

The Secret to Giving

Taylor Brown

June 15, 2025

The Heart of Religion

Introduction:

Watch Out... (Matthew 6:1–4)

Because your MOTIVES MATTER. (Matt 6:1a)
1. Wrong Motive – TO GLORIFY YOURSELF.
2. Right Motive – TO GLORIFY GOD.
Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

1 Corinthians 10:31 – So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Because your REWARD IS AT RISK. (Matt 6:1b–4)
1. Worldly Reward – THE RECOGNITION OF OTHERS.
  
  James 1:27 – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…
  
  James 2:15–16 – If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
  
  2 Corinthians 9:6–7 – The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart...
2. Eternal Reward – THE RECOGNITION OF GOD.
  
  Matthew 25:23 – “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

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

00:54-00:58
Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter six, verses one through four.
00:59-01:02
Matthew chapter six, verses one through four.
01:03-01:09
You know, 12 years ago, my friends and I took a road trip down to the middle of nowhere, Tennessee.
01:10-01:19
My one friend promised us a free stay in a spacious cabin that his dad built right next to a scenic lake.
01:20-01:22
Only one of those guarantees end up being true.
01:23-01:27
The stay was free, but it was free for a reason.
01:27-01:29
It was not a spacious cabin.
01:29-01:30
It was a glorified shack.
01:31-01:33
It turns out we weren't even allowed to sleep in the beds.
01:33-01:37
We had to sleep on the floor because his dad didn't want us to mess up the beds.
01:38-01:40
We were also not right next to the lake.
01:40-01:42
It was a mile walk through hilly woods.
01:43-01:48
And once you got to the beach, this is the site that greeted you.
01:50-01:52
Warning, dangerous water.
01:53-02:02
Because nothing says, come on in, the water is fine, like a do not swim here sign in the foreground and a nuclear power plant in the background.
02:02-02:10
You can't really see it, but there was a fenced off area where dozens and dozens of people were swimming and splish-splashing around without a care in the world.
02:10-02:13
I kept thinking to myself, what are you people doing?
02:13-02:14
Don't you see the sign?
02:14-02:16
I mean, can you even miss this sign?
02:16-02:17
Is that even possible?
02:17-02:19
It is unmissable.
02:19-02:42
dismissible I Guess people saw this sign, but they just didn't care They thought it was a harmless joke and not a serious warning You know how you respond to warnings Says a lot about who you are as a person The waitress brings you your food and says hey be careful. The plate is hot What do you do in that moment?
02:43-02:47
Do you believe your nice waitress or do you touch it to see if she's telling the truth?
02:47-02:56
I don't know what's in it for her to lie to you about the hot plate or you pass by a wet paint sign And you think to yourself is this this actually wet?
02:57-03:18
I do decide to touch it right or here's a new one. I learned this week Did you know in bold letters on the q-tip box? It says do not insert into ear canal. I Was blown away I've been doing it wrong for all these years Now that you know, are you gonna keep exploring your ear like it's a cave or are you gonna stop doing it?
03:20-03:24
Or you come to a red light, at the top of the red light it says no turn on red.
03:25-03:29
But you look both ways and there's no one coming so you go anyway.
03:32-03:36
Let's move beyond these somewhat funny examples to something much more important.
03:37-03:46
God's word is filled with hundreds and hundreds of warnings you can either ignore or take very seriously.
03:47-03:53
This is the first week in a new section of our study of the Sermon on the Mount, the heart of religion.
03:54-04:07
In Matthew chapter six, Jesus gives a three-part warning of how you should and should not approach the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting.
04:08-04:14
According to Jesus, these disciplines are not just external things that you can check off your to-do list.
04:14-04:21
They are internal indicators of who you really are and who you are really worshiping.
04:22-04:25
Because Jesus cares how you give.
04:26-04:29
Jesus cares how you pray.
04:29-04:32
Jesus cares how you fast.
04:34-04:45
The how of these disciplines reveal if you are a religious phony or a religious follower of Christ who is faithful from the heart.
04:47-04:59
So this morning we're gonna dig into Matthew chapter six, verses one through four, and focus on the warning of our Lord when it comes to giving of our time, talents, and treasures.
05:00-05:07
And before we get started, I want to plead with you to not ignore this warning from Christ.
05:08-05:10
Take it very seriously.
05:10-05:11
Be on guard.
05:11-05:15
Watch out for what he is cautioning you against.
05:16-05:19
Do not close your eyes to your own sin.
05:20-05:29
Do not think you have it all figured out because Jesus has a not so secret secret to share with you this morning that you often lose sight of.
05:30-05:34
The secret to giving is giving in secret.
05:35-05:38
So before we continue any further, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help.
05:39-05:41
Please pray for me and I will pray for you.
05:45-05:51
Father, we come to, once again, a very challenging and convicting passage in your word.
05:53-05:57
Where once again, we are being exposed, not just on the outside, but on the inside.
05:59-06:09
I pray for every single person in this room, including myself, Lord, may we truly listen to what your word has to say and take this warning with the utmost seriousness.
06:10-06:16
We thank you in advance what you are going to do and we ask all these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, amen.
06:18-06:19
All right, so watch out.
06:20-06:22
Number one, because your motives matter.
06:23-06:27
Watch out because your motives matter.
06:32-06:35
Let's read the first half of chapter six, verse one.
06:36-06:55
Jesus says, "Beware, watch out "of practicing your righteousness before other people "in order to be seen by them." It's important to note that Jesus doesn't say it's bad for other people to notice you practicing your righteousness or doing the right thing in public.
06:55-06:56
What does he say?
06:56-07:04
Watch out for practicing your righteousness and doing the right thing in public in order to be seen by others.
07:05-07:11
In the original Greek, that phrase, in order to be seen, it comes from the word for theater.
07:13-07:14
You're putting on a show.
07:16-07:20
You're pretending to be someone that you are not.
07:20-07:24
You are putting on an insincere performance.
07:24-07:28
So once again, Jesus zeros in on the internal.
07:30-07:33
He focuses on your heart's greatest desire.
07:34-07:36
It's all about your motive.
07:38-07:40
So let's check out the wrong motive first.
07:40-07:41
So what is the wrong motive?
07:42-07:44
To glorify yourself.
07:45-07:48
To glorify yourself.
07:51-08:00
I'm not proud of this, but in the past, I've done chores around the house in the hopes that my wife will notice my hard work.
08:01-08:03
Is anyone else guilty of this kind of behavior?
08:04-08:06
Jonathan Trent, thank you so much, I am so appreciative.
08:06-08:07
It's just you and me, buddy.
08:08-08:14
To be fair, all the guys should have their hands raised as high as humanly possible whenever asked that kind of question.
08:15-08:29
This is so lame to admit, but I've done the dishes, taken out the garbage, laid down mulch, cut the grass, done long past due house projects, hoping that my wife will see it and award me husband points.
08:30-08:38
And husband points are a form of currency in marriage that aren't worth as much as you would hope and go as bad as quickly as unrefrigerated fish.
08:41-08:43
All the husbands in the room know exactly what I'm talking about.
08:44-08:56
In those moments, my motive was not to honor my wife, but to glorify myself, to show off how great of a husband I am.
08:57-09:02
And when Kate didn't notice what I had done, I began to pout and feel disappointed.
09:04-09:08
But I only felt that way because I had a bad motive.
09:08-09:16
I wouldn't have felt that way if I had the right motive, which is to be a loving husband who took responsibility for his own home.
09:18-09:20
And this proves an important principle.
09:20-09:26
Self-interest and self-glory always lead to self-deception and self-defeat.
09:28-09:35
Without fail, the most miserable person in every room is the most selfish person in that room.
09:37-09:43
The more you make life about you, the more unhappy you will find yourself.
09:45-09:49
Maybe that is why you feel so depressed this morning.
09:50-09:54
Maybe that is why you feel so empty right now.
09:56-10:03
You want to be the sun at the center of your solar system, but the problem is nobody else cares about your desired position.
10:03-10:07
No one wants to orbit around your preferences.
10:09-10:15
And you may be wondering, how can I tell if I am this kind of self-glorifying person or not?
10:16-10:21
Well, first of all, you are this kind of person to some degree, and so am I.
10:23-10:27
This problem does exist within your heart at some level.
10:29-10:32
You have to figure out how serious and far-reaching the problem actually is.
10:34-10:36
Here are some things to be on watch for.
10:37-10:40
Do you check out what other people share about their problems?
10:43-10:49
Do you have a hard time being happy for someone else when they achieve a goal that you've always wanted to accomplish?
10:50-10:54
Do you ever receive a blessing that you've always wanted?
10:55-10:59
Do you always try to one up people and have a better story than someone else?
11:01-11:10
Do you always bring the topic of conversation back to you, what you've done in the past, what you're doing right now, and what you plan to do in the future?
11:12-11:16
Do you get annoyed and even sulky when you don't get your way?
11:19-11:24
You push away opportunities to serve and help if you don't see what's in it for you.
11:27-11:35
Even though there are telltale signs, it can be extremely difficult to spot your own narcissism because you are often blind to it.
11:36-11:38
But other people around you are not.
11:39-11:54
It would be a good exercise to check in with your family and your friends after church today Ask if they see any of these tendencies in how you speak, in how you talk, in how you act.
11:55-12:00
And if you ask that question, please shut your mouth and open your ears.
12:01-12:04
Stop inserting your opinion, stop justifying yourself.
12:05-12:11
You will not grow if you are more interested in defending yourself than dying to yourself.
12:13-12:17
Start dealing with your problem because I guarantee you that you do have a problem.
12:19-12:24
Stop glorifying yourself because you are not worthy of this act of self-worship.
12:26-12:28
So that's the wrong motive, to glorify yourself.
12:29-12:30
What's the right motive?
12:31-12:32
To glorify God.
12:33-12:34
To glorify God.
12:38-12:43
So Jesus provides the right motive for doing the right thing earlier in the Sermon on the Mount.
12:44-12:46
Listen to what he has to say in Matthew 5, 16.
12:47-12:58
"Let your light shine before others "that they may see your good works "and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Compare that to chapter six, verse one.
12:58-13:05
"Beware of practicing your righteousness "before other people in order to be seen by them." Do you see the difference?
13:06-13:15
Instead of shining the spotlight onto yourself, you shine onto the only one who's actually worthy of it, the Lord and Him alone.
13:16-13:19
Because this is the reason for which you were created.
13:19-13:26
You exist to honor God and show a watching world how awesome He truly is.
13:27-13:29
This must be the goal of your marriage.
13:30-13:32
This must be the goal of your parenting.
13:32-13:35
This must be the goal of your job.
13:35-13:38
This must be the goal of everything that you do.
13:41-13:58
1 Corinthians 10 31, Paul says this, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, "do all to the glory of God." Because any worldly glory that you collect for yourself will be snuffed out when you pass on from this life.
13:58-14:04
But the glory of God is an unending fire that can never ever be put out.
14:06-14:10
In 100 or 200 years from now, you're gonna be long forgotten.
14:11-14:13
No one is gonna be thinking about you.
14:14-14:18
But the name of Jesus Christ will stand the test of time.
14:18-14:21
His name will be forever high and lifted up.
14:23-14:34
I'm not a betting man, but I can guarantee with 100% certainty that you will be rewarded for throwing your chips in with the victory of God's name and reputation.
14:35-14:39
That is the only motivation that will truly fuel you.
14:40-14:45
That is the only motivation that will get you across the finish line of life.
14:47-14:50
So watch out because your motives matter.
14:52-14:55
Secondly, watch out because your reward is at risk.
14:56-14:58
Because your reward is at risk.
15:05-15:11
Jesus lays out the consequence for doing the right thing for the wrong reason at the end of verse one.
15:12-15:23
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.
15:25-15:35
If you are dominated by the desire to rob God of his glory as you do good deeds, you will receive a loud and clear message from God.
15:36-15:43
It is the same message that Willy Wonka gave to Charlie and his grandpa at the end of the Chocolate Factory tour.
15:43-15:46
You get nothing, you lose, good day, sir.
15:49-15:51
That may seem extreme, but it's what the text says.
15:52-15:56
That may seem harsh, but it's even better than what you deserve.
15:58-16:01
With that in mind, Jesus continues on with his warning in verse two.
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By revealing the emptiness of the worldly reward that you often settle for.
16:08-16:21
Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may be praised by others, truly I say to you, they have received their reward.
16:23-16:28
The worldly reward that is most tempting to seek after is the recognition of others.
16:30-16:32
The recognition of others.
16:35-16:41
And notice that Jesus doesn't say if you give to the needy, he says when you give the needy.
16:41-16:51
And he says that again in verse three, which means that you are expected to help those in need with your time, with your talents, and your treasures.
16:51-16:56
You are expected by God to care for the orphan and the widow.
16:58-17:05
James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled "before God is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.
17:06-17:12
You are expected by God to not ignore the poor, especially those within the body of Christ.
17:13-17:16
Once again, let's read what James has to say, James 2, 15 through 16.
17:16-17:28
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17:28-17:30
It is worthless.
17:32-17:39
You're expected by God to be generous with the money in your account, not hoard it for yourself.
17:40-17:47
Second Corinthians nine, verses six through seven, the point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
17:48-17:51
And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
17:51-18:00
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
18:02-18:06
Harvest, you are expected to make these kinds of sacrifices.
18:08-18:20
But as you make these expected sacrifices, you are also expected to not sound a trumpet before you like the scribes and Pharisees did 2,000 years ago.
18:21-18:24
Now they didn't literally sound a physical trumpet.
18:24-18:30
They didn't pull a Miles Davis and blast a physical trumpet did a nice thing or made a donation.
18:31-18:36
Jesus is using an over-the-top and funny illustration to prove a simple point.
18:37-18:43
Do not be an obnoxious jerk who draws attention to himself or herself whenever you do the right thing.
18:45-18:55
You know, while you were doing whatever you were doing over the past week, I was racking my brain to think of a modern-day example of sounding a trumpet before you.
18:57-18:57
and I came up short.
18:59-19:03
So I'm gonna ask you guys to silently brainstorm because I actually have something I need to do in the meantime, okay?
19:04-19:06
So just be using your brain to think about an example.
19:09-19:10
Alright.
19:11-19:12
Don't mind me, guys.
19:16-19:17
(audience laughing)
19:20-19:21
Oh, you know what?
19:22-19:25
I don't want to interrupt your brainstorming time, but you know what?
19:25-19:26
This sermon's going really well.
19:27-19:30
You guys are all just laughing at my stories.
19:31-19:34
I guess really tell me, you're dialed into my spot on teaching.
19:34-19:36
I really think Facebook needs to know about this.
19:38-19:41
Oh, by the way, have you guys had any luck with your brainstorming?
19:44-19:44
Wait a minute.
19:46-19:50
Maybe I did stumble upon the 21st century version of sounding a trumpet before you.
19:50-19:51
What do you guys think?
19:52-19:53
All right, I guess I'll put this away then.
19:56-20:03
You know, seeking after the affirmation and praise of others is the heartbeat of the virtual world.
20:03-20:07
People put on a manufactured version of themselves.
20:07-20:09
They put their best foot forward.
20:10-20:16
You can post about your best day to accumulate the affirmation and adulation of others.
20:17-20:30
Maybe you post a status on Facebook, a picture on Instagram or a reel on the TikToks as Pastor Jeff calls it, that highlights a mission strip, a service project or a charitable event that you took part in.
20:31-20:41
Now you can certainly do this in a godly way with godly intentions, but you can also do it in an ungodly way with ungodly intentions.
20:42-20:50
You just bask in the glory of the likes and the comments and the heart emojis as human praise begins to pour in.
20:52-20:55
You make a sizable contribution to a GoFundMe page.
20:56-21:01
And instead of remaining anonymous, you put your name right next to the amount that you donated.
21:02-21:06
And you don't do that to show support, you do it to show off.
21:07-21:11
You want others to be amazed by your big-hearted generosity.
21:12-21:17
Some of you are feeling pretty safe and sound right now because you don't leave much of a digital footprint.
21:18-21:20
You don't post anything anywhere.
21:21-21:25
Well, let's move beyond the bounds of social media because I don't want to leave you out of all the fun.
21:26-21:35
Maybe you conceal a prideful remark of something kind you did as a praise at a prayer service or at small group.
21:36-21:50
Maybe you accidentally slip in a reference something nice you did while in conversation with someone else and you inwardly hope that they'll take the bait, they'll ask a follow-up question so you can get to add a boy or add a girl that you are so desperate for.
21:52-21:57
Maybe you like to brag about your family's accomplishments in the yearly Christmas letter.
21:58-21:59
That's right, I went there.
22:01-22:02
'Cause some of you may do that.
22:03-22:11
You say that you wanna keep everyone informed about your life, but you actually wanna keep everyone impressed with your life.
22:12-22:19
All of these examples are sounding a trumpet, pulling out the selfie stick, so that everyone will notice you.
22:21-22:24
'Cause you wanna be the recipient of admiration.
22:26-22:44
You know, whenever I was a full-time youth pastor for eight years, I went to a countless number of musicals, track meets, games, graduation ceremonies, graduation parties, and before, during, or after the event, I would track down my student and their parents and let them know that I was there.
22:44-22:50
Because how could I bless them with my presence if they were totally unaware of my presence?
22:50-22:57
It's kind of weird to admit, but if I didn't make myself known or receive credit, it didn't really seem to count.
22:57-22:58
Does that make sense?
22:59-22:59
Does that seem reasonable?
23:02-23:09
But you often feel a very similar way when it comes to your acts of good works, to your acts of service.
23:10-23:15
If others don't recognize what you did, it doesn't really seem to count, right?
23:16-23:23
It may even seem like a complete waste of time if you do not receive immediate praise.
23:25-23:31
Jesus says you can blow that trumpet, you can pull out that selfie stick if you want to, knock yourself out.
23:32-23:38
If you do, you will receive the reward of human praise, but that's all you'll get and nothing more.
23:38-23:41
you will get nothing from your Father in heaven.
23:42-23:42
Because you know what?
23:43-23:45
You don't really care about what he has to give you.
23:46-23:50
What other mere human beings have to offer seems much more appealing.
23:53-23:55
But that is so short-sighted.
23:56-24:02
Because compliments, thank yous, and awards feel good for about 15 minutes.
24:03-24:05
And then you're just jonesing for the next dose, right?
24:07-24:10
leaves almost as quickly as it arrives.
24:11-24:17
And you so quickly forget how little it satisfied you the next time you desire it.
24:19-24:24
In verses three through four, Jesus warns you to long for that which truly lasts.
24:25-24:34
He cautions you to walk the path of delayed gratification so that you can receive the eternal reward of the recognition of God himself.
24:35-24:39
That is the eternal reward, the recognition of God.
24:41-24:42
Let's read verses three through four.
24:43-24:59
But when you give to the needy, there it is again, not if, when, 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, and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you.
25:02-25:06
As I said earlier, the secret to giving is giving in secret.
25:07-25:14
Jesus says, "Not even let your left hand "know what your right hand is doing." I just wanna give a warning up front.
25:14-25:18
I don't wanna offend all the left-handed people in the room with this explanation of the illustration.
25:18-25:21
I love all of you just as much as the normal people in the room, okay?
25:21-25:39
So don't be offended. (congregation laughing) Moving on, about 90% of Americans are right-handed, not left-handed.
25:39-25:41
Again, don't hate me, it's just the facts.
25:41-25:47
Which means that the majority of people use their right hand way more than their left hand.
25:48-25:51
So just go with this over-the-top funny illustration from Jesus.
25:52-25:55
Imagine that your hands can actually speak to each other.
25:57-26:05
In that scenario, your right hand shouldn't constantly brag about all the things that it was used to do over the course of the day to the left hand.
26:05-26:07
Instead, it should be quiet.
26:08-26:14
It should be satisfied that it was used instead of broadcasting how it was used.
26:16-26:21
Jesus is calling us to a very serious type of self-denial here.
26:21-26:27
He is saying, serve me, serve others, and then do your best to forget all about it.
26:28-26:29
Don't keep track.
26:29-26:31
Don't keep score.
26:31-26:34
Don't manage your own personal scoreboard.
26:35-26:43
Don't comb through your mental file of successes and think, yeah, I'm doing pretty good compared to most people at church, compared to most people in my small group.
26:43-26:47
That is a complete waste of time and energy.
26:49-26:55
It is not your job to keep score because you cannot accurately evaluate yourself.
26:56-26:58
Only God can do that.
27:00-27:04
But this kind of self-forgetfulness is so counterintuitive to us.
27:05-27:12
Because we all live in a culture that tries to ram self-worth down our throats every single chance that it gets.
27:12-27:15
Oh, your self-esteem matters more than anything else.
27:16-27:18
If you don't put yourself first, other people will put you last.
27:19-27:21
Don't forget to love yourself.
27:22-27:24
Give yourself pep talks and tell yourself how awesome you are.
27:27-27:27
Is any of that biblical?
27:29-27:31
Why do we often fall for it?
27:33-27:36
The Bible doesn't teach you to have high self-esteem.
27:37-27:41
The Bible also doesn't teach you to have low self-esteem either.
27:41-27:48
The Bible says to have no esteem, which means that you're not focused on your self-image.
27:48-27:52
You're not obsessed with what other people think and say about you.
27:52-28:01
Instead, you focus on what God thinks and says about you because his authoritative opinion matters the most.
28:03-28:09
Listen, it does not matter if other people recognize and acknowledge your faithfulness.
28:11-28:13
Let me say that again because I really need to hear it.
28:13-28:20
It does not matter if other people recognize and acknowledge your faithfulness.
28:21-28:26
What matters is you hear these words from the Lord when you stand before him one day.
28:27-28:30
Well done, good and faithful servant.
28:30-28:33
Enter into the joy of your master.
28:35-28:39
That is the reward you should long and live for.
28:42-28:48
Jesus says that if you give in secret, your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
28:50-28:55
Jesus isn't saying that you can earn right standing before God or work your way to heaven.
28:55-28:56
That's not possible.
28:57-29:02
Salvation is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ and nowhere else.
29:02-29:10
Forgiveness of sin and eternal life are gifts to be received by faith, not earned by works.
29:10-29:12
Scripture is so clear on that.
29:14-29:21
But scripture is equally clear that rewards in heaven are diligently earned, not automatically received.
29:23-29:26
If you honor God in this life, he will honor you in eternity.
29:27-29:37
If you reject temporary rewards that you cannot take out of this world, you will be given eternal rewards that can never be stolen away from you in heaven.
29:38-29:39
What a promise.
29:41-29:45
That is a heavenly check that will never bounce, and it will clear every single time.
29:47-29:50
So let God keep score because he will reward you.
29:52-29:54
What are these heavenly rewards?
29:54-29:58
I wish I could tell you, but the Bible doesn't give us specific details.
29:59-30:07
But I can tell you this, God has never given you a lame gift in the past, and he will not give you a lame gift in the future.
30:07-30:12
If God promises it, trust me, you want it and you will love it.
30:15-30:21
Right now you may be thinking, okay, what do I do when someone else does praise me?
30:22-30:23
Is this gonna happen at some point?
30:25-30:28
Do you just shut them down and say, "Whoa, whoa, I didn't do this to be praised by you.
30:28-30:30
"You're gonna make me lose my eternal reward.
30:30-30:33
"La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la." Is that what you should do?
30:35-30:38
That'd be super weird and awkward with the other person, so please don't do that.
30:39-30:50
You should humbly accept this person's compliment and then redirect their praise to the source and supply of your good works, the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
30:53-30:56
Point the complimenter to God himself.
30:57-31:02
And this kind of redirect will not lead to a forfeiture of heavenly reward.
31:02-31:14
If anything, it will lead to even greater reward because you have rightly handled praise and you have put it in the place where it truly belongs, which is the hands of Almighty God.
31:17-31:25
If you compare to some of the weighty topics we've covered during the Sermon on the Mount, this passage may seem kind of light and inconsequential to you.
31:26-31:34
But I can assure you that it's not because your giving and serving in public speaks volumes of who you are in private.
31:35-31:37
This is serious business.
31:38-31:42
You have received a personal warning from Jesus himself.
31:45-31:50
He just warns you to watch out for the motive of glorifying yourself.
31:51-31:57
To watch out for the worldly desire to receive worldly rewards.
31:59-32:01
And there are only two responses to this kind of warning.
32:03-32:05
Indifference or humility.
32:06-32:10
Maybe you don't see any problem with your motives right now.
32:11-32:17
You don't see any issue for the reward you're living for, You just wanna move on with your day.
32:19-32:23
Well, you're free to make that choice if you want to, but it is the wrong choice.
32:24-32:32
Because until the day you die and are in the presence of Christ, your motives will always be tinged with selfishness.
32:33-32:37
Even as I stand before you to preach this sermon, there is selfishness in my heart.
32:39-32:45
Your motives will never be 100% pure, you will desire the wrong reward.
32:46-32:51
So please do not choose ignorance because too much is at stake.
32:52-32:58
And maybe you do see major problems with your motives and the reward you are living for.
32:59-33:04
You know that you have to make a change but you don't know how to make that change.
33:05-33:07
Well I have good news and bad news for you.
33:08-33:09
Let's start with the bad news.
33:10-33:13
You cannot change your motives and desires.
33:15-33:17
Are you ready for the good news?
33:17-33:21
God can change your motives and desires.
33:22-33:35
But this will only happen if you humble yourself before him, admit that you need his help, submit to the master motivator and the richest rewarder in the entire universe.
33:36-33:39
Go to the Lord in prayer and do that right now.
33:40-33:41
Let's take some time in prayer.
33:46-33:50
Father, we come to you to lay our motives before you.
33:52-33:55
To lay down the worldly rewards that we are living for.
33:58-34:03
Lord, help us to remember the only thing that will truly last is your glory and your name.
34:05-34:09
Lord, help us to live these rewards that last forever.
34:10-34:13
and not these worldly rewards that fade away so quickly.
34:16-34:33
And Lord, if there's anyone in this room who is not a follower of you and is just stuck in this cycle of glorifying themselves and living for themselves, may they for the first time submit to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior so that they can fulfill the purpose for which you've given them, which is to make much of you.
34:35-34:38
And for the rest of us, Lord, help us to remember that biblical goal.
34:39-34:45
to remember who we are living for, to remember why we exist.
34:46-34:49
And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:1-4

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why do your motives matter so much to the Lord?
In what ways do you see yourself struggling with self-glorification? How can you fight against this sinful trend?
Why isn’t the worldly reward of human praise worth pursuing after?
Why does the Lord want you to be motivated by eternal rewards? Explain why this motivation isn’t legalistic or self-centered.

Breakout
Pray for one another.

The Secret to Fasting

Introduction:

What Am I Really Hungry For? (Matthew 6:16–18)

The Secret to Praying

Introduction:

Four Marks of Real Prayer (Matthew 6:5–15)

The Secret to Giving

Introduction:

Watch Out... (Matthew 6:1–4)

Upcoming Small Group Questions CLICK HERE

How much of the Bible have we covered since 2011?

Introduction:

What Am I Really Hungry For? (Matthew 6:16–18)

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Introduction:

Four Marks of Real Prayer (Matthew 6:5–15)

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Introduction:

Watch Out... (Matthew 6:1–4)

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT