There’s a “Why” in the Road
Matthew 6:1-6 "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. 2 "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. 5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Intro: As we get into Matthew 6, we’re going to be talking doing good things, such as prayer and benevolence. Three marks of Jewish piety or spirituality were prayer, giving to the poor, and fasting. A devout pious Jew was one who was generous to the needy and faithful in praying to God. But before we say too much about, prayer, or giving, I’d like us to think about why we do these things. What do we hope to accomplish by our prayers or by giving to those in need? What’s the point? What result are we hoping for? If we fail to find answers to these questions, one of two outcomes is likely: either we won’t waste our time giving or praying, or we might do these things, but miss any real benefit because we are doing them for the wrong reasons. Those who do right things for the wrong reason will get the wrong reward. Cashing in for man’s applause makes us miss out on the Father’s applause. You might get what you’re after, but it holds very little value, and will not benefit anyone in any significant way.
-Here is the main point of the message today.
Prop: True worship is all about God, not about us.
Interrogative: How important is it that we serve God and communicate with Him in a way that takes the focus off of us?
TS: Let’s look at a few thoughts about our motivations for serving Jesus and getting closer to Him.
I. Motivations for giving to those in need
A. Misplaced Motivations (Attention, Admiration & Honor from others- feeding pride, ego, self-centeredness, personal advancement- political ambitions, etc.)
B. Proper Motivations (Meet a need, Share God’s love, Obey God’s Word)
-Giving should be expected of those who follow Christ. That opens us up to being taken advantage of through guilt and manipulation, but we are still to give. Jesus said, “When you give…,” not IF you give.
-Give, and w/ the right motive. Not to prove you’re a Christian, but because you want to, and find hilarious joy in it! God knows if we have a wrong motive.
-Vandals cut down 6 huge royal palms along a major Miami Blvd. The city wasn’t sure if they could pay to replace palms that large. But then someone donated 6 more…even bigger ones. They had them planted even. The old ones were 15 ft. high and were a nice foreground to a billboard which said, ‘Fly Delta’. The new ones were 35 ft…completely hiding the sign. The new donor: Eastern Airlines!
1 John 3:17-18 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
-The OT urges giving to the poor all throughout it. Remember, Jesus said He did not come to do away with the Law and the Prophets (the OT), but to fulfill them.
Acts 20:35 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
II. Motivations for praying to God
-A little boy was saying bedtime prayers w/ his mother. “Bless mommy, daddy,” and then he shouted, “God, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!” His mother said, “God’s not deaf, son.” “I know,” he answered, “but Grandma’s in the next room, and she’s hard of hearing!”
-Sometimes we use prayer as a means to communicate with other people rather than with God. That isn’t always a bad thing, but be careful about using the precious gift of communication with God as a battering ram attempt to preach-pray a certain agenda on someone.
A. Misplaced Motivations for prayer (Same- Attention, Admiration & Honor from others- feeding pride, ego, self-centeredness, personal advancement- political ambitions, etc.)
-When Lyndon Johnson was President, he had several guests in for a meal at the family room of the White House. LBJ had given the honor of giving grace to journalist Bill Moyers (an ex-Baptist minister). As Moyers began to softly say grace, LBJ - who couldn’t understand what was being said, interrupted Moyers, "Speak up man." Without looking up and barely stopping in mid-sentence, Bill Moyers replied, "I wasn’t talking to you."
-Moyers wasn’t trying to impress the President. He was trying to honor God. It wasn’t about getting attention or gaining admiration from others. It was about keeping God at the center. Remember, it’s all about Him, not us.
B. Proper Motivations for prayer
-John Bunyan said, “In prayer it is better to have a heart w/out words than words w/out a heart.” Again, prayer should be a given for a follower of Christ. Jesus said, “When you pray,” not IF you decide to pray. So, when we pray, what should be our motivation? –Prayer helps us Connect with God, Honor & Worship God, It changes us, It changes situations, It changes people.
-“Prayer is vitally linked to the outworking of God’s kingdom purposes in our lives and in our world. Prayer releases God’s power and moves Him to accomplish what we could never do on our own. Prayer is not manipulation; it is collaboration (partnership based on relationship). In order for God’s blessing on our lives, our families, our churches, our communities, our nation, and our world to increase, our prayers must increase. Praying well provides strength to the spiritual life just as breathing well provides strength to the physical life” (John Maempa).
-“Gaining victory over life-controlling issues, fears, habits, or whatever else creates bondage, requires seeking God’s help through prayer and becoming a person of prayer. There is power in prayer. There is deliverance from every kind of bondage through prayer. Forgiveness and peace come through prayer. Help with life’s decisions comes through prayer. Healing comes through prayer. Provision for life’s basic needs comes through prayer. Restored relationships with God, a spouse, children, or coworkers will come about through prayer” (John Maempa).
-“Prayer is vital also because it keeps us in alignment.” (John Maempa)
-Someone wrote a poem about the need for prayer in our daily lives. It keeps us on track and helps us be more productive than we would be otherwise.
I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
I didn’t have time to pray.
Troubles just tumbled about me
And heavier came each task.
Why doesn’t God help me, I wondered,
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
I tried to come into God’s presence,
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
“Why child, you didn’t knock.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray and bleak,
I called on the Lord for the reason—
He said “You didn’t seek.”
I woke up early this morning
And paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.
Conclusion: As we close, we all need to help those in need and we all need to pray. However, we may need to revisit the “Why” in the road from time to time. What is your motivation for giving to those in need? What is your motivation for communicating with God? Is it for attention so people will think well of you? If so, ask God to help you realign your motivations with His purposes. He wants to use you to bless others, and He also wants to be as close to you as the breath you breathe when you speak out a prayer to Him.
-Let’s pray and ask God to help us become the spiritual people He wants us to be, yet be real about it.
[Some thoughts borrowed from Richard Tow, sermoncentral.com]
