Don't gloat!
Kingdom instructions for Kingdom Dwellers • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 32:13
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From seen to unseen
From seen to unseen
As we enter into chapter 6 we have a shift that happens. From moral righteousness of the kingdom dweller that is blessed, to religious (or piety) that is demanded of the kingdom dweller that is to be done privately. Jesus is still dealing with His thesis (Mt5:20) so see how this develops in our passage today.
20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Righteous instructions for kingdom dwellers regarding
Giving (Mt6:1-4)
Praying (Mt6:5-15)
Fasting (Mt6:16-18)
Righteous instructions for giving
Righteous instructions for giving
Giving is good, right? Yes, of course it is, but giving for the right reason and the right heart is vital if our righteousness is to surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees.
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So 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 honored 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.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
I think it is important that we look at a phrase used (v.1) before going further.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men . . .”
Jesus had previously said to let our works (righteousness) be seen by men, now He seems to be contradicting it (Mt5:16; Mt6:1)? No, remember Jesus is speaking to the spirit of the law, he is expounding.
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
What is the intent here in (5:16)?
Now look at (6:1)
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
What is the intent of (6:1)?
A.B. Bruce says.
“Show when tempted to hide and hide when tempted to show.”
Or John Stott comments on this too.
“Our good works must be public so our light shines, our religious devotions must be in secret lets we boast about them.”
Jesus is not condemning the practices of giving, praying, fasting, he is cautioning the disciples to be sure their hearts, their motives are right.
While the Pharisees did these things to be seen by men (v.1, 2, 5, 16) they were trying to gain favor with God by doing it and men by being seen.
No amount of giving can earn, buy your salvation, for it is a gift by God (Eph2:8-9)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Giving with wrong motive robs ourselves of the blessings and reward and robs God of the glory He deserves.
Giving with right motive, to serve God in love, then we do it privately and the result is you grow spiritually, God is glorified, someone else is helped.
Don’t gloat about your giving (Act5:1-11) do it for God’s glory (Acr4:34-37).
Now there was some giving that was God pleasing that was done publically and you can look it up on your own. The gift from Barnabas (Act4:34-37) and that can be contrasted with the wrong giving of Ananias and Sapphira (Act5:1-11) that was dead wrong.
Motive and manner matter!
Righteous instructions for praying
Righteous instructions for praying
Jesus gives some good instructions to kingdom dwellers. Righteous instructions so to surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees (Mt5:20).
5 “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, close your door and 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 “So 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 evil. 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. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
Notice the pronouns in (vv.9, 11, 12, 13) all plural, so when we pray in this way (not these exact words) we are joining with the world wide church (body of believers) for these things for the church as a whole.
As many refer to this as the “Lord’s Prayer” it is really the Lord giving a type of prayer to the apostles who asked (you can look at Lk11:1)
1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
(expand on this for a minute; prayer was common; Rabbi’s would teach disciples certain prayers, types of prayers)
But again motive and manner matter so lets look at this passage more now. We are not focusing on the content of the prayer, but the instructions that Jesus is giving to kingdom dwellers regarding surpassing righteousness.
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Pray in secret before pray in public (v.6)
Public prayer is good, (1Tim2:1-3; Jn6:11; Jn11:41-42)
But it is wrong to pray in public if it is not your habit of praying in private first. Just follow Jesus example (Mk1:35)
Prayer must be from heart, must be sincere (vv.7-8)
Repetition in prayer itself is not bad, Jesus and Paul both did (Mt26:36-46; 2Cor12:7-8)
It is battling when it is not done with a sincere heart with a desire for God’s will to be done.
Prayer must be for God’s will to be done (vv.9-13)
The purpose of prayer has to be to glorify God and His name and to seek for His will to be done.
God knows our needs even before we ask (Mt6:8) but it is us being prepared for God’s answer and proper use of it.
Prayer as asking for God to guide us so not to step outside of His will
Prayer must have a forgiving spirit towards others (vv.14-15)
This really an add on to the end of the righteous instructions regarding prayer. Maybe consider it an appendix of it. Jesus is expanding on what He said (v.12)
Jesus is not teaching that we earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others, but that forgiving others will be a part of the kingdom dwellers character because they have been forgiven.
Prayer is part of our sonship and should be a heartfelt matter (Rom8:15-16)
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Pray in secret before pray in public (v.6)
Public prayer is good, (1Tim2:1-3; Jn6:11; Jn11:41-42)
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
Praying over food, blessings of food
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.
Or in time of need or direction
41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
But it is wrong to pray in public if it is not your habit of praying in private first. Just follow Jesus example (Mk1:35)
35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Jesus told them that when they pray; meaning they already had a habit of prayer
Prayer must be from heart, must be sincere (vv.7-8)
Repetition in prayer itself is not bad, Jesus and Paul both did (Mt26:36-46; 2Cor12:7-8)
Jesus in the garden prayed 3 times for this cup to be taken from Him
Paul prayed for thorn to be taken, but here I will give you that passage
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
Reciting memorized prayers, including the Lord’s prayer, can be vain repetition when not done with the right heart. Even the gentiles did that.
It is vain repetition when it is not done with a sincere heart with a desire for God’s will to be done.
Prayer must be for God’s will to be done (vv.9-13)
Jesus gave the prayer to be done in vain repetition but actually to prevent it by giving a pattern of prayer not a substitute.
The purpose of prayer has to be to glorify God and His name and to seek for His will to be done.
Robert Law said this
“Prayer is a mighty instrument, no for getting man’s will done in heaven, but in getting Heavens will done on earth.”
If we understand we are blessed, how we were blessed and why we are blessed then asking for the Lord’s will to be done should be second nature. We have no right to ask for anything that would not be character or the nature of God that would dishonor His name, or disturbing His will being done on earth.
God knows our needs even before we ask (Mt6:8) but it is us being prepared for God’s answer and proper use of it.
Exampled by provision, that we would use God’s provision properly
Exampled by knowing God does not tempt us (Jam1:13-17); but will show us a way out of our temptations (1Cor10:13)
Prayer as asking for God to guide us so not to step outside of His will
Prayer must have a forgiving spirit towards others (vv.14-15)
This really an add on to the end of the righteous instructions regarding prayer. Maybe consider it an appendix of it. Jesus is expanding on what He said (v.12)
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
So now comes the appendix and it has been awhile so here are the verses again.
14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
You can find that Jesus teaches, reminds on this principle again later (Mk11:19-26) you can just note that down in your notes for future reference.
Jesus is not teaching that we earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others, but that forgiving others will be a part of the kingdom dwellers character because they have been forgiven.
May we remember that the prayer pattern given is family affair, the family of God so, if we harbor unforgiveness towards someone it impacts the family. So that is why (v.12) is there and is expanded in (vv.14-15)
Prayer is part of our sonship and should be a heartfelt matter (Rom8:15-16)
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
While there are many other passages regarding prayer today is just looking at some kingdom instructions for kingdom dwellers who know that they have, the blessings they have.
This leads us to the third thing Jesus is giving instructions on.
Kingdom instructions on fasting
Kingdom instructions on fasting
Fasting the principle the practice and the potential problem
16 “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.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
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Jewish fasting requirement (Lev23:27)
Pharisees practice (Lk18:12) Lk21:34)
The Pharisees practiced fasting two times a week; on Monday and Thursday.
Jesus and another example (Mt4:2; Act13:2)
Reason for fasting (Lk21:34)
Fasting helps to discipline the appetites of the body and keep our spiritual priorities straight.
Heart of fasting; it must be done in devotion to have the blessed benefits of it.
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Jewish fasting requirement (Lev23:27)
the one and only place where God gives a demand, requirement, command for fasting; this is on the Day of atonement
27 “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord.
It was a part of a holy convocation, a time of setting part and sacrificing for the Lord because of all that He has done and will continue to do.
Pharisees practice (Lk18:12)
The Pharisees practiced fasting two times a week; on Monday and Thursday.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
In our passage we see the reason for their fast, was to be seen by men (v.16)
Fasting is not wrong, if it is done in the right way and with the right motive.
Jesus and another example (Mt4:2; Act13:2)
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
and then there was the early church
2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Reason for fasting (Lk21:34)
34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
Fasting helps to discipline the appetites of the body and keep our spiritual priorities straight.
Heart of fasting; it must be done in devotion to have the blessed benefits of it.
A proper fast is a matter of heart, a matter of devotion.
It is not a matter of command, but commune; we are not commanded to fast under the new covenant, but it is a way to commune with the Lord for a period of time and reap the benefits of the blessings from it.
(Encouragement slide: It’s a matter of heart)
As mentioned all of these things are a matter of heart. The problem with the Pharisees was they were going through the motions, they were acting. Jesus wants devotion not acting. For hypocrisy:
Robs us of reality in Christian living
Robs us of character and the spiritual blessings we have when we are people of Character as Kingdom dwellers
Robs us of our spiritual influence on others to lead them to the kingdom
So, the first step before stepping out is to step in, inside yourself, and do these things quietly, privately, personally and purposefully.
(Encouragement slide 2) prayer (Exit slide)