When you . . . .
Matthew 6:1-21
January 14, 2024
I can’t tell you how many people have mentioned to me the number of times they say “Seriously” or “are you serious?” Sometimes I don’t think there’s a day that goes by when I don’t say it or whisper it to myself.
Actually, I wonder if that’s a constant mantra for God, when He looks at us. “Seriously, Michael, how could you do that?” And on and on and on it goes.
Well, we’ve started a series called ARE YOU SERIOUS? And the question is based off a question from one of my sons who asked why aren’t we serious about the seriousness of God? In other words, why aren’t we really serious about God and who God calls us to be.
Last week we started looking at Zechariah 8, with my hope being we would start to ask ourselves that question and we would also realize the immense love God has for us. It’s easy to get lost in the difficulties of life, but I truly believe in the midst of the world’s chaos, God loves us and sent His Son to die for us.
He wants us to have faith and be changed, become a new creation because He’s made that difference in our lives. That’s part of what we say a little earlier with the baptisms. Some young people who have experienced a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and they wanted to make that statement to you and the world that they are a new creation in Christ. They are cleansed, purified in Christ. It’s the verse we actually talked about last week in Bible study,
9 If you confess, God is faithful and just and will forgive you of your sins, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9
That’s part of the great hope we have in Jesus. But it just doesn’t happen, does it. It takes work, and sometimes that’s the rub. I mean, I’d like to get my cholesterol lower and not take medicine and not worry about my diet. I’d like to get stronger, but would like to stop lifting weights. But that’s not going to happen, is it?
It’s true when it comes to growing in who Christ calls us to be. Because, again, if we’re really serious about Jesus, then we need to take action. Today, is going to be super practical, but it’s going to be tough! I’m just warning you.
We’re looking at Matthew 6 today. Jesus is in the middle of the most famous sermon ever, it’s called the Sermon on the Mount. It’s found in Matthew 5-7. In the middle of this sermon, which could take us a year of sermons to break apart, Jesus makes some assumptions about who we are called to be. Beginning in verse 1, He tells the people - - - -
1 “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.
I think we all know people who do things for show. We see that a lot on social media, people who take a 100 pictures of themselves everyday and really believe that we want to look at them. People who do things for others, but need and want the adulation of others. If they aren’t validated by others, then their efforts were worthless. Their hope and desire is to get credit for being a good person and helping others.
But God says this is NOT the way to go about it. When you do that, you’ve already received your reward and there’s a far better reward coming, if you have the right motivation. Jesus said ----
2 “Thus, WHEN YOU GIVE to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus talks about WHEN YOU GIVE TO THE NEEDY. Do you hear what Jesus is saying? He assumes that noticing and then giving to the needy, the poor, the persecuted, the vulnerable, will be part of our Christian practices. He’s going to name 2 more in a moment. Giving is part of what happens in the church. We give because God has given to us. We’re blessed to have whatever it is we have, and we seek to give back to God to build His kingdom.
It the church world we call it offerings and tithes. Tithes simply is another word for 1/10. That’s kind of the goal, we give back 10% of what God gave to us. We keep 90%, and give back 10% for the ministries. And . . . according to Paul, we do it cheerfully, we do it with joy, because we recognize we’re blessed. So, Jesus makes that first assumption, that we give.
Now jump down to verse 16, and Jesus said - - - -
16 “And WHEN YOU FAST, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But WHEN YOU FAST, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 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.
Again, Jesus assumes we will fast. Fasting can help us give our attention to God. Fasting is really very simple. Here’s all you need to do: just don’t eat.
So it’s simple, but here’s the problem: It is so hard! Within a few hours your stomach starts complaining to your brain: Hey, I need some attention down here. Give me some food. Give me some sweets. Give me some meat. I need, I need, I need. But fasting is a way to say, “hunger, food, snacks, that juicy Jimmy John’s #13, I hear you demanding my attention. But I choose to attend to something more important. I want to pay attention, I want to experience God.
The hunger becomes a prompt for prayer. As you turn your attention to God you can pray, God, I am hungry, but even more, I’m hungry for you. God, I need you to show up in my life. I need you to show up in my marriage and in my parenting. I need you to show up in my temptations. I need you to show up in my anger and my craving to have my will be done.
Fasting is a difficult but simple way to re-capture your attention and focus it on God, the God who loves you and sees you.
Remember, from last week, Zechariah said - - - -
19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the 4th month and the fast of the 5th and the fast of the 7th and the fast of the 10th
shall be to the house of Judah seasons of JOY and GLADNESS and CHEERFUL feasts.
Last week I spoke about this and we all agreed fasting isn’t necessarily fun. But God tells us these 4 fasts are to be seasons of JOY and GLADNESS and CHEERFUL feasts.
Isn’t that a strange statement from God? How can a fast be a joyful feast? A fast is giving something up, not indulging. Yet, God wants these fasts to turn into feast days, seasons of joy and gladness, celebrating the salvation and transformation that the Lord had accomplished for them.
That’s what God wants for us when we fast. It becomes a season of joy and gladness because we’ve discovered something new about God and ourselves.
And as Jesus said in Matthew 6, when you fast, don’t advertise it to the world, because that will be your reward. Wash your face, wear normal clothes, don’t do it for others to see, but do it so that you can draw closer to God.
There are lots of different ways to fast. You can just skip a meal, give up snacks, give up carbs, or sweets or pop. You can do a water fast or only drink juice. Ultimately, it has to be something that will get your attention. Not God’s, because God is already there, but are you there? Are you taking God seriously, serious enough that you’re willing to take action to experience His joy and gladness?
Now, we’re going to go back, and look at the 3rd thing Jesus assumes for us. He says - - - -
5 “And WHEN YOU PRAY, you must not be like the hypocrites.
For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But WHEN YOU PRAY, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
It’s not IF, but WHEN you pray, when you fast, when you give. Jesus assumes we will make a decision and do it. Stop saying, “if I get around to it.”
Think about anything you do in life. It moves from a thought to action. We have lots of thoughts, lots of things we think about doing, but don’t do. The only way to move forward is to take action. It’s to take the first step, make the first move.
Only you can decide to pray. Nobody can do this for you. In a great short book, called Prayer for Beginners, Peter Kreeft wrote,
“The single most important piece of advice about prayer is one word: Begin!” Or begin again, I would add. Begin haltingly. Begin awkwardly. Begin stumblingly. Begin with baby steps. But as we begin this journey together, make a decision right now to begin or to begin again.”
That’s really great wisdom from Kreeft. Just begin, or as Nike tells us - - - -
NIKE SLOGANS - Yesterday you said tomorrow . . . just do it!
How many times have we said that?
Jesus tells us to go into a private room and shut the door! Again, the purpose is to spend time alone with God. Think about how many times the gospels tell us Jesus went off alone to pray. The same is true for us. Find that place where you can silence all of the distractions. That’s why you close the door!!
And that includes closing the door on your phone and social media, the television and music. Find that place where you know God is waiting for you . . . to meet you and talk with you.
Sometimes we don’t have all of the time in the world. We have kids and busy schedules, but it’s to cultivate that into your life. Maybe it’s just a few minutes here or a few minutes there. And maybe your kids are old enough, that they can respect your time in prayer. Tell them, give me 10 minutes of silence while you and God talk. Isn’t that a great way to teach your kids as well. Help them to see that in you.
And then pray with the kids, help them to know prayer is simply talking to God. Let them hear you and then let them try. And don’t be hard on them, don’t correct them. Let them laugh and make crazy requests. That’s their heart at work.
What Jesus instructs us is remarkable. Go into your storeroom. Shut the door. And what do you find on the other side of that door? Not just an abstract God, but your heavenly Father. He was already waiting for you.
Three times in this passage Jesus says, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” What is the reward? In this context, the reward is simply being with your heavenly Father. It involves hearing God say, “It's good to see you. I’ve been waiting for you.”
It’s intimate. It’s you and God, alone, together. You may be wondering . . . God is seeking me in all of my sin and distractedness? Yes, that’s the gospel.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:6). He loved you before you even thought of loving Him. He was looking for you before you ever experienced Him. Go to your storeroom. Shut the door. He’s waiting for you!
Prayer doesn’t have to be long. I love when the 16th century Christian reformer Martin Luther said about prayer - - - - it should be “brief, frequent, and intense.” I love that!
Jesus said, “When you give to the needy … When you fast ... When you pray ….” Not if, but when.
In the end, Jesus continued and said - - - -
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
That’s part of being of what I’m talking about when it comes to the seriousness of God. God is the great giver. He gave us Jesus and I believe He promises to always be with us. It’s a question of what we treasure.
Because whatever it is we treasure, our heart will reside right there.
When my heart is distracted, I can’t focus on Jesus. But it’s when I spend that time alone, it’s when I read the word, it’s when I give of myself and my money and truly seek God, I experience Him. It’s not a loud, in your face experience. Sometimes it’s so soft, so quiet that I miss it. But I realize when I look back that God was there.
So, again, as we get ready to close - - - - how are you doing when it comes to being serious about God? Are we giving Him lip service, playing the game, pretending to be dedicated. Are we here each week, but going out in the world and cheating our neighbors, spreading hatred, but doing it so subtly that nobody even notices.
Or are we serious about serving and worshiping and giving and drawing closer to Jesus. It like those Nike sayings - - - -
don’t ever get to the point that you wish you had started what you could have started today!
My hope is that the Spirit of God stirs us up for the journey. It’s life, and long, but it’s great. Know that you’re not going through this alone. We’re in this together. We will walk with you, side by side, seeking His presence, and celebrating the joy of Jesus.
Your heavenly Father who sees in secret is waiting to meet with you and reward you.
