Evening Service for 8/9/2009
Matthew 6:1-6, 16- 18
Introduction:
Did you grow up in an openly “religious” home?
WBTU:
A. Jesus has been talking about superior righteousness (Matthew 5:20- Righteousness exceed the Pharisees), now he warns them of the danger of religious hypocrisy.
B. Matthew 6:1 talks about outward righteousness or appearing pious. The emphasis should not be on outward applause but on inward righteousness.
C. Jesus goes beyond just the letter of the law or even the letter of his own words in chapter 5. He now begins to talk about motives.
D. A question I had, does this verse contradict Matthew 5:16?
E. The emphasis here is who gets the credit? We should not be concerned about that; we should just be concerned that God gets the credit. Matthew 5:12 should be one of our concerns. However, even this can be a less than holy motive.
F. Put a smile on God’s face.
G. (John 5:44 NIV) How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
Thesis: Jesus gives three examples of this kind of hypocrisy.
For instances:
1. In our giving vs. 2-4
A. We give checks so that we can get tax credits. Gay and a few others know who gives what. This can be bad. “Why are you spending so much time with so and so, they don’t give anything?” Need to be as anonymous as possible and it needs to stay that way.
B. Another practice, something to consider, if you give a donation then your name will be on a pew or on a window or on a piano, etc. This is probably not a good practice.
C. Did they announce their giving with trumpets? No, probably figurative language
D. At the temple they had horn shaped collection boxes to discourage theft. Only problem was that the rich had many coins and this made a louder sound than someone with a few. (Mark 12:41 NIV) Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.(Mark 12:42 NIV) But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.(Mark 12:43 NIV) Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.(Mark 12:44 NIV) They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."
E. Don’t be an actor on a stage. We are not to get the applause of men but the applause of God. They have received their reward (applause of men) and will not receive a reward from God. (Psa 17:14 NIV) O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
F. Left hand does not know what the right is doing. How is this done?
Most of the people at Chicago’s Children’s Hospital did not know her name. They just knew her as the sweet elderly lady in the red suit who wanted to make sure that every sick child had a teddy bear to hug and caress. She kept bringing the stuffed animals, purchased with her own money, to give to ailing children. That is why she was simply called the “Teddy Bear Lady.”
Her name was Gladys Holm, a retired secretary for an insurance company, who lived alone in a tiny apartment. It wasn’t that she could afford no better place, although no one except her attorney and stockbroker knew she was quite wealthy.
When she died at age 86, she had a portfolio worth over $18 million. She had never married and had no heirs. Her will simply directed that the bulk of her estate be given to the Children’s Memorial Hospital. Her gift was to go to medical research so that new methods of treating sick or disabled children might be developed.
The hospital authorities were absolutely shocked by the news. No one had the slightest idea that this woman delivering the teddy bears to ailing children had such wealth. As they began to piece together more of her life’s story, they discovered something else. They learned that the teddy bears were really a ruse. She gave away teddy bears to learn more about the financial resources of the families of the children. When she learned that parents did not have insurance or enough to cover the expenses, she very quietly took care of the bills.
G. Do our giving and then forget it. Somebody knows but do it as quietly as possible.
G. How could we do without?
1. Individuals who, by telephone call, express concern at the absence of another.
2. Families who provide transportation for those who otherwise could not come. 3. Those who prepare the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s Day.
4. Those who visit the shut ins and send cards to the sick.
5. The secret giver who can always dig a little deeper to help some individual in need, or increase his contribution to see that the Lord’s word can go forward.
6. Those that are called in emergencies, and say, “I’ll do the best I can.”
7. Those who go around giving words of encouragement to their brothers and sisters in Christ who are using the talents God gave to them.
8. The list could go on and on who secretly serve. We see the benefits but not the benefactors.
2. In our prayers vs. 5-6.
A. Where and when is your prayer closet?
A. Does this prohibit public prayers? Not to pray in church or especially in public. The early church did pray openly and out in public. Well, the motive is talked about.
C. (Luke 18:9 NIV) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:(Luke 18:10 NIV) "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.(Luke 18:11 NIV) The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.(Luke 18:12 NIV) I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’(Luke 18:13 NIV) "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’(Luke 18:14 NIV) "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
C. Why pray alone?
1. To remove distractions and focus on God.
2. God wants our undivided attention.
3. God is deserving of our unique worship and adoration.
4. God lives inside of us. We can talk to him in our spirits.
5. God wants our companionship, like our spouse.
6. We can pour out our hearts to him.
7. God has promised to answer our prayers.
D. (Psa 20:5 NIV) We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
1. David is praying for someone to have the victory. Would he be recognized as one who secured this victory? No not just by prayer. But what about those who pray for others and that is all they can do? In the victory celebration, we can see Jesus Christ comes along with this one and winks at the intercessor. Then the intercessor smiles and blends back into the crowd. We find it difficult to be nameless and faceless in a crowd.
2. When the breakthrough happens, the person for whom we’re praying gets the victory. God gets the glory. And the intercessor cheers from the sidelines. An intercessor’s reward doesn’t come from the person being prayed for. Nor does it come from the crowd. The reward is from God, and it is deferred until we get to heaven.
3. In our fasting vs. 16- 18
A. A tradition fast is to abstain from food to commune with God.
B. Under the Law of Moses, fasting was commanded only on the Day of Atonement.
C. In Jesus’ day the Pharisees fasted twice a week, probably on Monday and Thursday. Many times they did it not to commune with God but to show off their piety.
D. Do normal hygiene and appear like nothing different is happening.
E. The point is not to draw attention to yourself. Jesus desires honesty, not deception. I caught my wife praying late at night.
F. Jesus never abolished fasting. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 9:15, look up.
G. We need to covet God’s blessing not man’s blessing.
H. Barbara Gordon tells about her first time fasting. (I don’t want to loose my reward) She fasted one day a week for 9 weeks. She was lead to pray for 9 individuals that had requested prayer. At the end she said, “God moved in many ways during that time. While most of the answers didn’t appear during the 9 weeks, God increased my faith that they would come. Within a year of that first fast, my lost friend came to Christ. Another friend was delivered from a long standing addiction. A couple who marriage seemed doomed is still married several years later. My unmarried friend is still single, but I see her enjoying new peace. I learned that fasting is not a guarantee that every request will be answered. It is, however, a way to prepare ourselves to pray more in line with God’s will. The most important personal result of my first fast was that I felt more in love with my Savior. Circumstances were indeed changed, but more importantly I was changed.
