- Prayer/devotions
- Giving
- Fasting
Matthew 6
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.
"When" is repeated over and over. None of them are conditional. These are behaviors expected of us as followers of Jesus Christ.
Do our motives matter?
We do many things because of the people around us instead of because of our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is not something that should be put on display to bring attention to us. Life is not only what you do, but also why you do it. It matters to God why we do the things we do.
As followers we shouldn't advertise our giving by drawing attention to yourself.
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.
As followers of Christ, we should keep our giving on the "down low". Jesus tells us not to make our devotion a display.
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.
We should be diligent in devotion when no one knows about it but you and God.
15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
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.
Fasting is a time going without food and focusing on God. Some people take time without media. Fasting is not a spectator sport. Instead we should make our chosen sacrifices a secret between us and God
We tend to grumble about the commitments we have at church so other people can know how faithful we are.
Why do all these things if no one is going to give me credit?
God didn't put us in church family so people could see how awesome we are, God put us in a church family to serve one another and glorify Him. No one is ever going to come to Jesus if all they see if me lifting myself up. It's about us lifting up Jesus Christ by faithfully serving Him.
Show who God is when we're tempted to hide
Hide when you're tempted to show
Glorify God instead of ourselves
4 So that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
We want our interactions with people to show us in our best light
God sees the intimate secret details of your life
If we want to avoid hypocrisy, we need to cultivate that secret place in our life
Who are you when it's just you and God?
Who are you in the secret place?
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.
Everybody is living for a reward. As we live for a reward, we have a choice to make. Many of us live for a reward of public opinion. For people around us to think we're a great person.
Jesus calls us to a higher reward. If you live a life of integrity following Christ, He will reward you openly
You can trade your life for the reward of public approval, or you can accept the Reward who traded His life in public for you.
Are you going to live a life based on Jesus Christ or will it be based on what other people think of you?
