The Three Wins of Matthew Chapter 6
Summary Outline
I. When you give: Matthew 6:2-4
II. When you pray: Matthew 6:5-8
III. When you fast: Matthew 6:16-18
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Introduction
Dime Store Cowboy
Each summer, during our tourist season, our streets, stores and hotels are filled with visitors from all over the world. Many are passing through our small town to visit Yellowstone National Park; however, some purposefully come to our community to experience the great American West.
Yes, we have great hunting and fishing. The scenery that surrounds us is simply breath-taking. But, we are best characterized by the image of the cowboy: “Home on the range.” The wide open spaces, large cattle and horse ranches, the Buffalo Bill museum, nightly rodeos, evening gunfights at the Irma and pick up trucks pulling horse trailers sets the ambience tourists encounter when entering our town…during the summer. Take a walk down Sheridan Avenue any summer night and you will notice nearly every parked car is from out of state and the sidewalks are lined with people wearing new cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans and boots. For a brief moment, those from out of state step into the Wild West and begin a fantasy role play.
Place a real cowboy next to a weekend, “dime store” cowboy and the differences become very clear…you all know what I am talking about, e.g., store formed verses hand shaped hats, sweat stained rings verses ornamental fluff, etc. One is and the other wants others to think they are. There is no difference regarding Christianity: One is and the other wants others to think they are; however, line the two up and the “real deal” is clearly evident.
This morning, I want to provide for you three disciplines of our spiritual life that we can “win” with proper motives and a right relationship with God. The three areas we can “win” are “when” we give, “when” we pray and “when” we fast.
Scripture Text
Hear the Word of the Lord:
“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. 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. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4; N.I.V.).
I. When You Give.
In our first reading today, we are not talking about the tithe and we are not talking about “if” we give, but “when” we give, what is the motive for our giving?
Giving is hard enough, but giving anonymously is very difficult. Do we desire the attention or perhaps, the fifteen minutes of accolades and positive affirmation by announcing our good deed? Something deep inside of each of us does desire to be known as a generous person. It feels good to be the “savior” of another and have the spotlight turned in our direction.
However, I submit to you that these feelings are not of God, but of our flesh which is constantly at war against the Spirit of God that lives inside of us. There is a pastoral secret about giving I want to share. Your giving is in direct proportion to your relationship with God. I can tell if you walk the walk or just talk the talk? If you believe God’s promises, you will give generously because you know He will provide for you and that you cannot out give God. However, if you really don’t believe God’s promises, then you will feel no need to give, but will throw in some pocket change and “tip” God as the offering bag goes by.
We can discover our motives behind giving by carefully examining our hearts. It is not easy, but through practice and a conscious effort, i.e., purposefully living, one can obtain a right motive. David asks God to renew a right spirit within him…and that is my prayer for you today. Let us exalt the One who is, instead of exalting ourselves.
Scripture Text
Hear the Word of the Lord:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But ‘when’ you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8; N.I.V.).
II. When You Pray.
Once again we are confronted with another “when.” Jesus says, “When you pray” not “If you pray.”
The least attended service in the church community is a prayer service. People will attend business meetings, planning sessions and even my sermons, but announce a prayer meeting and not even the most faithful Sunday attendee will come. Is this unique to our church? No, I have seen this phenomenon in Pentecostal churches and Main-Line churches. I have seen this in the east and in the west. I have seen it in the south as well as in the north. Throughout the 20+ years I have been involved in ministry most ministers I have spoken with regarding this topic will tell me the same thing: “Our prayer meetings are the least attend of our services.” Jesus says, “When” not “If.”
Our text does not specifically focus on corporate, community prayer, but the motives behind our prayers. What are the motives behind our prayer life? Do we enjoy praying because we use well rehearsed phrases and repetitions of filler words? Do we pray in order to capture the attention of those within hearing range? Do we enjoy praying because we have memorized key passages or formulas perhaps, we have learned to carefully articulate Biblical concepts for the purpose of “thinking more highly of ourselves” or allowing people to think we are more spiritual than we really are?
I have fallen into this pit before. While in a prayer meeting, I heard someone praying some wonderfully phrases and words and thought, “Cool…this person is truly reaching God’s throne room with this prayer, I’ll try that one out sometime.” Or, when praying, like in life, we cannot sit in silence, so we ramble? What I mean is when we are in a quiet time, we feel awkward so we use filler words, e.g., “praise you, hallelujah, thank you Jesus” and never take a moment to think about what we are saying? Please don’t get me wrong, the examples I just gave, with the correct motives are perfectly acceptable; however, meaningless words go no where.
What are our motives? Are we more concerned with what people around us hear than just talking and listening to the One we love? When I pray, I use the same vocabulary as I use when talking to someone face to face. I also try to remember, God knows what is going on in and around my life, He loves me and He doesn’t need to be reminded of things.
When reading this text, I ask, “Should I then only pray alone?” No, this isn’t what Jesus is saying, but praying alone is a safe place. Praying alone will give one the freedom to “put all the cards on the table” without fear of unwanted ears. However, corporate prayer is good too; but again, one must examine their heart and check their motives before allowing audible requests to pass beyond one’s lips.
Scripture Text
“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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 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” (Matthew 6:16-18; N.I.V.).
III. When You Fast.
Fasting, as most of you know, is the voluntary abstaining from food or other fleshly desires for spiritual reasons. In Scripture, fasting is usually done to express grief, a sign of repentance, or to control the desires of the flesh.
Notice: Jesus again says, “When” you fast, not “If” you fast. He expects His followers to fast. But most of us would have to admit that fasting is not even a part of our vocabulary.
Does food, alcohol, drugs, television, sports, shopping or sex have more control over your life than the Spirit of the living God? In a culture filled with a multitude temptations and things fighting to control your mind and body, fasting seems out of place and irrelevant.
From the text, it is clear the Father rewards fasting. But like giving and praying; fasting as Jesus said, is a sign of spiritual maturity. Fasting is hard. We’ve trained our flesh to growl and demand things. For example, when we refuse to satisfy our flesh, it makes us miserable. We feel sick and weak; moreover, fasting anonymously is extremely hard.
Remember God’s Word, and how Jesus used it during His 40-day fast and temptation by Satan in the wilderness: “Man does live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Once again Jesus is telling us that God wants our hearts and not just a group of people who can talk the talk with outward and inward actions. Jesus said, “Do not be like the hypocrites, for they love the praise of men. But I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” No one can serve two masters! Choose you this day who you will serve. When you do these three things (give, pray, fast) with the right motives, you will always WIN…where your motives are, there your rewards will be…Amen.
Let’s pray….
