“WHEN YOU…” Matthew 6:1-21
FBCF – 10/27/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Nov 3 – Sweet celebration
Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7
- Kingdom Manifesto – Jesus’ declaration of the principles of the K’dom of God that He introduced into the world as He taught & preached & healed in His earthly ministry.
- Made this clear: If you want to live as a K’dom-minded Christ-follower, this is how you live.
- Teaching us, His disciples – If you want to follow Christ, go after these things!
- “Greatest sermon ever preached. Prove me wrong!” – Hunter Twiford
- Starts w/ Beatitudes – “Blessed are…” – “Blessed” means “spiritually well; fully satisfied & blissful”
- Ends w/ the parable of the wise man & the foolish man – What will be the foundation of your life?
- In between are those truths that ARE the foundation that will totally & radically change the way you view & live your life. Truths like:
o Salt of the earth” (5:13) – Salt preserves, irritates, flavors
o Light of the world…Let your light shine…” (5:14-16)
o Necessity of reconciliation w/ a brother or sister in Christ (5:23-24)
o Radically deal w/ sin in your life – tear out your eye – cut off your hand (5:29-30)
o Love your enemies (5:44)
o Seek 1st the K’dom (6:33)
o Ask – Seek – Knock (7:7-8)
Right in middle, we find 3 “When you” statements:
Matthew 6:1-21 – Of all the things that Jesus could have talked about related to K’dom living, He gave these 3 the greatest prominence – Giving, Praying, & Fasting.
APPLICATION – If you want to live a revived life that matters long after you’re gone, these must be at the center of your life.
The 1st thing He made clear about these 3 practices – Don’t do them to LOOK spiritual! – v. 1
- Not to be seen by others as the greatest giver or pray-er or fast-er.
- Not doing them for show or recognition or accolades.
- Doing them simply b/c of a deep desire for God.
o Desire for stronger passion for God
o Desire for a closer walk w/ God
o Desire for greater use by God in His K’dom work
o Don’t want to live out my life in a “ho-hum” existence, just existing, just taking up space on a church pew, just going through the socially acceptable motions of being a good, religious person
o Don’t want to live out my life expecting others to serve & cater to me. I want to live a life like Jesus & serve others, sacrificing my life, giving my life away for His glory.
- We do these things – give, pray, & fast – b/c we want GOD! We want to make a difference for the K’dom of God w/ the short life that we have been given by God.
o Remember last week’s sermon? 1 Chronicles 29:15 – “…Our days on the earth are like a shadow…”
o James 4:14 – “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” (NLT)
Why did Jesus magnify these 3 practices in the life of His followers?
- Giving shows our dependence on God
- Praying shows our desire for God
- Fasting shows our desperation for God
They are not optional for the Christ-follower. Listening to Bill Elliff teaching on this passage this week. Said it’s like if Jesus wore glasses, He’d say, “When you give…”, then look over His glasses & say, “You DO give, don’t you?...When you pray…You DO pray, don’t you?...When you fast…You DO fast, don’t you?”
They are expected practices for those who truly desire to live for Jesus. We don’t get to alter what He said or do them to suit our desires. We want to try to do things our way, or do just enough to get by & feel good about ourselves – Soothe our consciences – “Well, I’ll give a little, pray a little, but I’m not sure about that fasting thing, except when I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.”
Let’s talk about these 3 “When You” statements:
WHEN YOU GIVE – v. 2, 3 – Not going to spend a lot of time here since I’ve been hitting that pretty strong the last few weeks. Couple of statements:
“When you give…” – The right response to someone who has received Jesus is to be a giver. God gave the greatest gift of all to us. Our response is to give back to Him out of deep heartfelt gratitude.
Drop down to v. 21 – Where’s your heart? Who has your heart? Are you holding on to your heart? Or have you given it to Jesus? B/c whatever has our heart is displayed in our willingness or lack of willingness to release.
- Kyle Reno – “When some person or group of people find themselves off-center in their rel w/ God, often what you’ll recognize is that they’ve lost this generosity of spirit. But when God moves upon them, one of the things that is restored 1st is their willingness to be generous – to give.”
WHEN YOU PRAY – v. 5,6,7 – I know we talk a lot about prayer in our church. And there’s a reason for that – WE MUST BE A PEOPLE OF PRAYER! Challenged pastors in Exec Committee this past week to be men of prayer. Amazed at response I got from those guys.
- PRAY FREQUENTLY – “w/out ceasing” 1 Thess 5:17 – “never stop praying” – Spend lots of time in prayer – Pray w/ & for lots of people. We need dedicated time in prayer w/ the Lord every day.
o Rom 12:12 – “persist in prayer” “keep on praying”
- PRAY FAITHFULLY – Do you have a plan for your prayer life so that you can have be faithful in prayer? Is your plan a hit/miss plan? Or do you have a plan that leads to consistency & faithfulness? Jesus said to “go into your room & shut the door” (v. 6).
o Logan Williamson
- PRAY FERVENTLY – James 5:16 – “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV). Epaphras – Col 4:12 – “always wrestling in prayer for you” – “struggling” (ESV) – agonizomai
- PRAY “FAITH-FILLEDLY” – Know & believe the truths of W of G about prayer. Know that God our Father “sees” us when we pray & “rewards” us (v. 6). Base your prayers on that truth & other truths. Pray those truths back to God. Call truths of W of G to mind in prayer
o Phil 4:6-7
o Prov 3:5-6
o Rom 8:28
o Ps 56:9 – “This I know, that God is for me.”
o Isa 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace…”
WHEN YOU FAST – v. 16,17 – Jesus wants us to know that He has a K’dom life for us, a revived life, a life w/ no anxiety. But there are some things we need to participate in – giving, praying, AND fasting. Lots of people just check out when we start talking about fasting – “That’s just not for me.” And yet, it’s another one of those not “if” but “when” – a look over the glasses from Jesus. Fasting is a KEY to a revived life & to spiritual power & to movements of God. Fasting is the normal practice of a faithful Christ-follower. So, question is: Is it YOUR normal practice?
- We fast out of a desperation for God – “GOD, I NEED YOU!”
o When you need a fresh season from God.
- We fast when we need direction from God.
o When you need clarity from God.
- We fast when we delight in God.
o When you need GOD – PERIOD!
o You lay aside other things so you can encounter Him! – food – media – phone – even temporary intimacy w/ your wife or husband
When you decide to fast, you are making a declaration to God – “God, I need you more than I need this next meal.” You’re telling your flesh that it’s not in charge. You’re putting it to death so that the life of God can come alive in you.
- “Fasting is another way of feasting.” (Kyle Reno)
- I love a great meal, but I love delighting in you even more.
- Psalm 34:8 – “Taste & see that the Lord is good!”
- James 4:8 – “Draw near to God & He will draw near to you!”
- “Fasting w/out prayer is starving.” (Kyle Reno) Be intentional! Don’t just skip lunch but skip lunch so you can spend that hour in prayer & in the Word.
James Dobson & wife – When children were born, fasted every Tue to pray specifically for their children. Daughter asked: "Why are you not eating dinner with us tonight, Dad?" "This is Tuesday and I'm fasting today." "Oh, yeah—what did you say 'fasting' meant?" "Well, some Christians go without food during a short time of special prayer. It's a way of asking God for a blessing, or of expressing love to Him." "What are you asking for?" "Your mother & I are praying for you and your brother, today. We're asking God to lead & direct your lives; we want Him to help you choose a profession & to find the right person to marry, if that is His will. We're also asking Him to walk with you every day of your lives." "You must love us a lot to fast & pray like that." "We do love you. And God loves you even more."
CONCLUSION – “When you…” – So, question is: “When are these 3 things going to start in YOUR life?”
