Intro/Welcome PRAY

Transition: Ch. 5  Intro, Beatitudes (who really is well off), Thesis (Salt/Light, righteousness must exceed), 6 Illustrations of Kingdom Heart. Ch. 6: Two main pitfalls/things that will block or hinder a life of constant interaction with God (=healthy, consistent growth in the Kingdom) Chapter can be divided into two sections: vv1-18 deals with the first and vv19-34 with the second.

The first pitfall: Desiring the approval of others (more than God, alongside God) Mt 6:1 ““Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” What follows: 3 examples of current practice to illustrate the point and three directives to avoid this trap. (Giving, Prayer, Fasting) Must balance with Mt. 5:14-16 ““You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

The second pitfall: Seeking Security through material wealth. Discuss in detail with two messages in a couple of weeks. For now: Mt. 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Main focus of both warnings/accompanying illustrations: Kingdom hearts paly to an Audience of One: God alone. Not seeking recognition from others, content to work behind the scenes, willing to give/serve anonymously. Shakespeare: All the world’s a stage…ultimately only one person in the audience. Like many of the illustrations in Ch. 5, not talking about doing a good deed and being seen, but rather about doing a good deed in order to be seen—there’s a big difference, but it’s primarily internal…

First illustration of how to avoid desiring the approval of others (starts with money!) Jesus talked far more (proportionately) about money in his ministry than most if not all pastors do to day! Mt 6:2-4 ““So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

The Kingdom Heart will always give out of a pure motive where God’s divine love is the source of charity—not a desire to win approval or impress others. Jesus often points beyond the action to its true source. There are so many wrong ways to give, but the giving that receives a reward from our Heavenly Father is the giving that is done with a pure heart and with true generosity. As Prov. 19:17 says, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done.” Not letting the right hand know what that left hand is doing is to not make a big deal of your giving in your own mind, let alone in regards to others. DW: when the ego swells, the soul shrivels (and vice versa). “Hypocrite” (originally just actor) took on negative moral connotation with Jesus: one who practices deceit. Jesus: repeated distinctions between our face to the world and our person before God. Basically: Stop acting like a Christian and Be one!

Must remember: Kingdom Hearts are surrendered to God, see everything as His and themselves as stewards, not owners. This posture of surrender makes obedience in all areas, but especially in giving, much easier. 2 Cor 8:1-5 “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” They excelled in the grace of giving because they surrendered themselves first to the Lord. Surrendered giving really is different than force, compulsory, or other types of giving. Jesus our example: though rich, became poor that we might become rich (spiritually)

Sacrificial giving costs us something beyond what we are comfortable in parting with. When we can’t do something we want to do or can’t have something we want to have, we are starting to give sacrificially. As the cartoon illustrates, we can give a couple of eggs out of our abundance or we can make a real sacrifice. Luke 21:1-4 “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.[a]3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” One is possible out of our own resources, the other is only possible with God’s supernatural involvement. The question is, do we trust Him enough to follow His lead in this area, to surrender to Him, to Give sacrificially and to do so to an audience of one, desiring a heavenly reward far more than a human or earthly reward. Reaping/Sowing. Not wealth & prosperity gospel.

Skipping prayer to deal with giving and fasting this week. Next week: entire message on prayer (vv5-15) Mt. 6:16-18 ““When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Emphasis on WHEN (all three: giving, praying, fasting) not IF. These activities are presumed. (Illustration of woman “not called to fast”) Story: Juice fast. Object: not misery (but will be different), seeking to be sustained by spiritual resources  Sweet and pleasant even when we don’t get what we want.

Again, like giving, our audience is God alone. David speaks about the concept of a heart inclined to God Alone in Ps. 62, would like to read vv5-8: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;    my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[a];    he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people;    pour out your hearts to him,    for God is our refuge. 

Mt. 4:4 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Verse 2: AFTER fasting…not during? satan appeals first to his stomach—basic human need (we usually operate in the realm of want/desire, not need)…after 40 days: NEED. Deut. 8:3 “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Image of birds being fed by their mother…

Earlier: mentioned physical sustenance from spiritual resources. Jn. 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Fast from food  feast on Christ. Opportunity to draw close to God, to feast on Him and His presence in our lives. Direct our appetite for food towards an appetite for God. Fasting as a prayer trigger. Paul, Phil 3:17-20 “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Summarize these principles: much value in seeking privacy or even secrecy in our spiritual disciplines (not just giving, prayer and fasting  silence/solitude, journaling, meditation, study, simplicity, confession, worship, service, etc.) All could be done to be seen by men or from the wrong motivation. DW: The decisive motivation for acting as well as not acting must be our regard of the Kingdom of God in which we live as Jesus’ people.

Discipline can have a negative connotation, too often = punishment. That’s certainly an element of it, but when talking about Spiritual Disciplines, very different meaning. 1 Cor 9:24-27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Best definition  DW: A discipline is an activity in our power that we do to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort. The discipline of secrecy will help us break the grip of human opinion over our souls and our actions. Similar to discipline of giving breaking the grip of materialism, discipline of fasting to break the grip of our appetites, etc. Back to 5:16 “et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” No inconsistency: Jesus’ teaching leads to a discipline, not a law. A discipline that prepares us to act in a way that fulfills the law of the whole-person love of God. Not telling us to hide it—authentic Kingdom living is highly noticeable, but definitely telling us not to do IT for the purpose of being noticed.

Another way of putting this is to avoid/kill the motivation of “Image Management” Christians are not after a carefully constructed image…reputation ought to match character—always. In Col. 3:22/Eph. 6:6 Paul says: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” That phrase: Gr. Word Opthalmodoulian: eyeservice (i.e. lipservice)

Finally, practicing the discipline of privacy/secrecy helps us avoid what DW calls “Religious Evasion”. This is using religion (outward acts of piety) to avoid being truly inwardly connected to God/Christ  transformed. Consider how much time spent in church thinking about what others think rather than what God is thinking. I’m a pastor—more guilty of this than any of you!

Extremely inward application. Even if I knew…don’t know why in most cases. What I think is irrelevant! Not a list of things to do, but changed people do things differently… Who can you share this with? To whom would it be Good News?

Featured Resource? New People…run through website slides that follow…

Two Main Pitfalls to Avoid (Mt. 6:1, 19)

a. Desiring the Approval of Others

b. Seeking Security Through Material Wealth

c. Playing to an Audience of One

II. Investing in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt. 6:2-4)

II. a. The Source of Charity

II. b. Surrendered Giving

II. c. Sacrificial Giving

III. “WHEN You Fast…” (Mt. 6:16-18)

III. a. Fasting to God Alone

III. b. Manna from Heaven

III. c. Feasting on Christ

IV. Privacy as a Fundamental Discipline

IV. a. Understanding Discipline

IV. b. Opthalmodoulian: “Eyeservice”

IV. c. Avoiding “Religious Evasion”

What is YOUR next step?

Questions???