Give, Pray, Fast | Sermon on the Mount Week 5

Giving to the needy, praying and fasting are essential practices in the Christian faith. So much so that Jesus talked about them as a given that we would do them; saying "When" not "If" we do them. And the way we do them matters to God. Adam continues our series by going through how Christ looks at our motives for these spiritual practices.

Give, Pray, Fast

Sermon on the Mount | Week 5

June 24, 2018 | Adam Barnett

Refugee in Egypt

Burmese Refugees at Redeemer

Matthew 6:1 (NIV)

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

RIGHT THINGS can be done with WRONG MOTIVES.

Righteousness that is SELF-SERVING or SELF-PROMOTING is competition with God for glory.

Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)

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 others. Truly I tell you, 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 6:5-8 (NIV)

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then 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.

If you pray in PUBLIC but never in PRIVATE, you’re missing the PURPOSE of prayer.

Matthew 6:9 (NIV)

This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:11 (NIV)

Give us today our daily bread.

Matthew 6:12 (NIV)

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:13 (NIV)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, 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 others 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.

Six Values of Fasting

The sacrifice of physical to activate the spiritual.
The value of self-discipline.
The release from slavery to habit.
The increase of the ability to do without things.
The positive value for holistic health.
The enhancement of our gratitude.

CHECK your MOTIVES, and eagerly ANTICIPATE the reward that is to come.