Introduction
In this series of messages we have been talking about powering up when our spiritual batteries get low. Matthew’s Gospel teaches… We establish a powerful connection to God in baptism. In addition, through the Spirit and Scripture we Overcome temptations. We share our influence to help others find light for life. Today we go further into the Sermon on the Mount to hear Jesus talking about three spiritual disciplines of the Christian life.
“I will maintain that the only road to Christian maturity and Godliness … passes through the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines. I will emphasize that Godliness is the goal of the Disciplines.”- Donald Whitney
To engage in habits that will help us grow in maturity and godliness - that is what the disciplines are about. In this text Jesus talks about three habits/practices that the Christian should engage to help draw closer to the Father. He begins with a warning in Matthew 6:1: “Beware of doing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” This is a main theme in this section.
Three disciplines that Jesus assumes his hearers will be engaged in: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting. Did you notice the pattern as he talked about each one?
“When You…”
Don’t do it to be seen of men.
Do it only for your Father.
You will be rewarded
The repeated pattern of this shows Jesus is consciously pointing us toward some important truths in each area.
1. When You Give
Matthew 6:2-4 “Therefore, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
His first instruction is to those who would give flamboyantly so that everyone would think how wonderful they are. Don’t sound a Trumpet! This was referring to their giving both in synagogues and streets. Swindoll: “As a kid, I saw people thump the bottom of the offering plate to ensure that others knew they had put something in. I’ve seen people wave large bills high enough for others to see before dropping them in the offering plate.”
Barnabas sold some land and gave the funds to the church. Ananias and Sapphire sold some land and gave only part of the funds to the church. That would have been ok, except that they lied about it and said they gave it all. (Acts 4:36-5:11)
Today I do not personally know of any givers in our church who seem to be making it about themselves. The teaching from Jesus here is that we are to judge our own motives. Whitney: “…the reason the use of money and the things it buys is one of the best indicators of spiritual maturity and Godliness is that we exchange such a great part of our lives for it. Because we invest most of our days working in exchange for money, there is a very real sense in which our money represents us. … as we use our money and resources Christianly, we prove our growth in Christlikness.”
When we give…
Do we take a secular view of giving - it’s just because we’re expected to?
Do we give with the recognition that we are in the presence of the Father and He is to be glorified by our giving?
Is God glorified in your giving? More than amount, I believe He judges the motive. Whitney: “Giving is much more than a duty or an obligation, it is an act of worshiping the Lord.”
There is a promised reward!
“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”- Luke 6:38 NLT
If our motive is impure, and the motive is the admiration of humans - then we have our reward. If our motive is to Glorify and please God, then our reward is coming.
2. When You Pray
Mt 6:5-15 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Foster: “Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. … Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us."
The focus is again on motive - why are we praying? Are we praying to be seen by others as spiritual? Another warning is that we should not babble with the idea that if we talk long enough God will hear us. (7) Bruner: Jesus first wants us to know prayer’s foundational truth: that it is not how much we pray that gets a hearing.
“The fact that God already knows the situation encourages us all the more freely to come and talk about it. Prayer is not an intelligence briefing for God; it is intelligent conversation with God.” - Frederick Bruner
Jesus then offers a pattern of prayer (9-13) - notice it is all directed to the Father, His Will, His Provision, His Grace, His Help. This is followed by an addendum to one of the phrases in the prayer about forgiving others: “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 5:15)
We should say that it is proper to pray the Lord’s Prayer - how can it be improved upon? But we again go to motive and intentionality - we would not want to just say it by rote without thinking about what we are praying! Wiersbe “I have noticed this not only in my own praying, but often when I have conducted prayer meetings. With some people, praying is like putting the needle on a phonograph record and then forgetting about it. But God does not answer insincere prayers.”
Bruner: We can therefore either pray this prayer…by using each phrase as a kind of handrail along which to proceed in forming our own words, or we can pray exactly this prayer…by using this very words thoughtfully. Christians over the centuries have come to appreciate that the Lord’s Prayer is on the short list of Jesus’ greatest gifts to his church. Calvin said that the Lord’s Prayer helps us when our ideas run out.
Each of the things that Jesus introduces into his model prayer are intended to point us to the Father. When we follow Jesus’ teaching about Giving and Praying we are promised a reward.
3. When You Fast
Matthew 6:16-18 “Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Wiersbe: “The only fast that God actually required of the Jewish people was on the annual day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). The Pharisees fasted each Monday and Thursday (Luke 18:12) and they did so in such a way that people knew they were fasting. Their purpose, of course, was to win the praise of men.”
It is not wrong to fast, if we do it with the right motive. Jesus fasted (MT 4:3); so did the early church (Acts 13:2). Bruner: Jesus did not make fasting a topic of his teaching. There is no reference to fasting in Paul’s letters… Jesus does not abolish the Jewish practice of fasting…but he demands no ascetic practice. Simply depriving ourselves of a natural benefit (food) is not itself fasting. We must devote ourselves to God and worship Him. Unless there is the devotion of the heart, there is no lasting benefit. If you are fasting and you want to look spiritual, it will work if you look pained and famished, so people will know you are suffering for your devotion to the Lord.
But Jesus encourages again a look at motive - do it for God - do it in secret - and there will be a reward.
Whitney: “Fasting can be an expression of finding your greatest pleasure and enjoyment in life from God. That’s the case when disciplining yourself to fast means that you love God more than food, that seeking Him is more important to you than eating.”
Whitney: “We think about missing a meal or two for the sake of becoming more like Jesus and we get anxious. And yet we willingly miss meals sometimes while shopping, working, recreating, or otherwise occupied. … We should not fear the blessings of fasting.”
Each of these three Disciplines.
Not for personal glory
In the Presence of the Father
Contains a Reward
3 motives for Spiritual Disciplines
God has blessed me - I want to help
God has Heard me - I wast to pray
God has Loved me - I want to draw closer
4. The Promised Reward
There is a reward promised in each one of these instances … when we give, pray, and fast - with the right motives. Keener “One of human religion’s greatest temptations is to act piously to elicit the praise of others. A secret atheist could practice religion in that form without the slightest element of faith…Such temptations were part and parcel of ancient religion.”
Swindoll: When our devotion becomes a performance, we lapse into hypocrisy. This can happen to any of us…”
Five rewards that come along with the power of the disciplines:
-Draw closer to Father for peace, joy, security, help, salvation.
-Part of a community that journeys together for encouragement, accountability, strength
-Extend the Father’s Love to the world around us
-Extend the influence of the Gospel to the next Generation
-Eternal Rewards
As long as religion remains external only, the interior life will remain barren. Jesus gives three externals that are conduits to the internal spiritual life. Are we open to these? If we are itchy about talking in terms of reward, two verses may help.
Hebrews 11:26b “he [Moses] was looking ahead to his reward.”
Revelation 22:12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”
Conclusion
Giving, Praying, and Fasting are three disciplines that impact our soul and draw us closer to the Father. Bruner points out that these illustrate righteousness in a person’s three main relationships:
Giving - toward others
Prayer - toward God
Fasting - toward oneself
All, of course, in the presence of our Father. I wonder if our spiritual batteries are running low because our motives for living the Christian life are too related to what others think instead of what the Father thinks. Although we are saved by Grace, we are given works to do - and when we participate in the spiritual life with actions that are meant to draw us closer to the Lord, we will find new energy and power for living.
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Resources
Bruner, Frederick Dale. Matthew: A Commentary, The Christbook Matthew 1-12. Eerdmans, 2004.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. Harper Collins, 1998.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Matthew. InterVarsity Press, 1997
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, Matthew 1-15. Tyndale, 2020.
Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Navpress, 1991.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Vol. 1 Matthew - Galatians. Cook, 1989.
