Part 14 - Fasting

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 6:16 – 18 Fasting

16 "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.

17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

18 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.

I. WHEN YOU FAST

a. NOT IF…BUT WHEN

Daniel 9:34

"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications,
with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord God,
and made my confession... "

Matthew 9:14-15 (Luke 5:34-35)

"And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."

b. WHY FAST?

Luke 2:36-38

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Acts 9:7-9

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Acts 10:30

30 Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

c. HOW TO FAST

Jesus opens the scripture today with how NOT to fast…

16 "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.

17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

18 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.

The hypocrites in their Self-Righteousness…lifting themselves up, exalting themselves to a state of righteousness.

Luke 18:9 – 14

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down (LIT: despises the rest) on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Pharisee was ‘self-righteous’, not right with God, but making himself right with God.

The Pharisee told God how righteous he was.

But the tax collector, ask God to forgive his unrighteousness…

Thus, God MADE HIM RIGHTEOUS because of his heart!

We are warned not to be ‘self-righteous’ in anything we do!

When we tithe, when we do good deeds, when we give alms to the poor, when we pray, and when we fast.

Jesus said, “Do not be like the Pharisees, doing for the praise of men.”

II. FAST NOT FOR MEN

a. RENDER UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S

Matthew 22:21

“…he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

In this, Jesus was asked about tax, but replied about more than money,

b. IS IT FOR MAN OR GOD?

The Pharisees did everything for man….

Prayer – hands in the air, in the streets with loud vain words, and repetitive praying like the pagans.

Giving – so everyone could see their works and praise them.

Dress – With long robes and tall hats so all could see them in the town and know who they were.

Fasting – with drawn out unclean faces so everyone would know the fasting was going on with them.

In speaking to God – telling God how righteous they were.

Telling God and hearing from God are two different things.

c. EXAMINE YOURSELF

2 Corinthians 13:5

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

CLOSING

When you examine yourselves, do you pass the test?

Is Christ Jesus in you?

Part 13 - How to Pray

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 6:9 – 15 How to Pray

9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

This is known as the Lord’s Prayer.

I. MAN DOES NOT LISTEN VERY WELL.

a. 6:1 Do not do acts of righteousness before men…

b. 6:4 What you do in secret your Father will reward you in the open…

c. 6:5 Do not be like the hypocrites, they like to be seen…

d. 6:6 Go in your room and close the door…

e. 6:7 (LIT) When praying, DO NOT USE VAIN REPETITION AS THE HEATHENS DO…BECAUSE THEY THINK IN MUCH SPEAKING THEY WILL BE HEARD.

II. GOD IS ONLY FATHER TO THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM.

John 14:5-7

Jesus the ONLY Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

For God to be your Father in heaven, you must be His child. And that can only happen through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Kingdom of Heaven <> Satan’s Kingdom

Whether you choose or not, you belong to a kingdom.

To the Jewish leaders and teachers of the Law, Jesus said, “You are of your father, the devil” – John 8:44

If you reject Christ, you default to the devils Kingdom, because this is where we are born.

Mark 16:16

16 Whoever believes {commits to} and is baptized {with Holy Spirit} will be saved, but whoever does not believe {is not committed to} will be condemned.

Why…

John 3:17 – 18

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

To call God Father, we must be His children.

This can only happen through Jesus Christ and the New Covenant.

Otherwise, we are condemned by the Old Covenant in which we were born into.

Is God your Father? Are you committed to Christ?

III. HOLY IS HIS NAME.

In the beginning of how to pray, Jesus warns us about self-seeking prayer.

God is to have priority in every aspect of our lives.

When you say “Holy is your name”, you are signifying more that a long list of titles which could be attributed to God.

It represents His character, His plan, and His will.

Placing Him first in everything, even prayer!

Elohim – The Creator God

El Elyon – possessor of heaven and earth

Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will provide

Jehova Shalom – The Lord our Peace

Jehova Tsidkenu – The Lord our righteousness

But the greatest name of God, is Jesus Christ.

For there is only 1 God, and He has made Himself known to us as God the Father in heaven – who cannot be in the presence of sin.

And He has made himself to dwell within us as God the Holy Spirit, so as to teach, and empower us in this wicked world.

But most of all, God has made Himself known to us as Jesus Christ, which is God’s greatest name.

Jesus, while praying said,

“I have revealed your name to them you gave me from the world.” – John 17:6

When we pray, we must acknowledge God first, and that His name alone is Holy, and that in keeping Him first we are saying that when we pray, we are seeking His character, His plan and His will…not our own.

IV. HIS KINGDOM.

When the scriptures speak of the Kingdom, there are two it may refer to.

Kingdom of God, and Kingdom of heaven.

Both have been used interchangeably, meaning the same thing in scripture.

But there are two stages of the Kingdom to consider.

God’s spiritual Kingdom is HERE AND NOW…

It was ushered in when Christ died on the cross, and that is when the New Covenant began, in His blood.

But there is the physical Kingdom which is coming AFTER the Tribulation.

This is when Christ will come in the second coming, and physically rule on earth with all of us ruling with Him.

Although we have the spiritual kingdom now, we should still long for the physical kingdom.

When the physical kingdom arrives, His will is going to be done on earth, because He will be ruling physically.

But while the spiritual kingdom is here, God’s will is not always done on earth because of free will, and the devils kingdom being present.

At Christ’s second coming, there will be no other kingdom on earth but the Kingdom of God.

So Jesus is telling us, in our prayers, long for God’s will on earth, as God’s will rules in heaven.

This is what we should pray for, earth to be like heaven, full of God’s will.

V. HIS WILL.

What IS God’s will?

God has three main wills for you in your life.

1. It is God’s will that all come to a knowledge of Christ so they may be saved.

2. It is God’s will that once you are saved, you follow the Great Commission to bring others into God’s first will.

3. God has a specific will for you alone in HOW you are to do the second will, so that you may accomplish God’s first will.

Are you in God’s will today?

Have you discovered how God wants to use you so you can bring others into salvation?

Are you fulfilling the Great Commission given to us by Christ?

Are you in God’s first will? Have you accepted the New Covenant?

Can you call God in heaven Father?

That is where it all starts.

If you do not have Christ, you cannot call God Father.

If you can not call God Father, then who are you praying to?

God will not answer those who do not belong to Him.

Are you in the kingdom?

You can be.

Confess you are in sin…

Repent or stop living in that sin…

Ask for forgiveness…

The scriptures say that the Lord is quick to forgive those who ask.

Commit yourself to Jesus.

And let the Holy Spirit fill you and show you the way to live God’s will for you in your life.

Part 12 - Prayer

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 6:5-8 – Prayer

5 "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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

6 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.

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

I. WHEN YOU PRAY

a. 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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

b. WHEN YOU PRAY – Shows the necessity of prayer.

Ephesians 6:18 - Armor of God

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Acts 12:5 – 7 – Peter in prison

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.

c. DO NOT BE LIKE HYPOCRITES –

i. They pray standing for all to see them.

ii. In the churches and on the street corners. (not it does not mention in privately) So they can be seen by men.

iii. They have their reward – the praise of men. Just as Jesus mentioned about those who announce their good deeds with a trumpet for men to see, the only reward they receive is the praise of men.

iv. Here Jesus says – those who pray for men to see have already received their reward in FULL.

v. This means that there will be NO REWARD from God.

II. DO NOT BE LIKE THE HYPOCRITES

a. 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.

b. WHEN YOU – refers to the believers Jesus is addressing in His sermon.

c. Go into your room (enter into your closet) – close the door and pray to the Father.

i. The word ‘closet’ is not meant literally. But it means our praying MUST NOT BE DONE FOR SHOW.

ii. Again Jesus tells us, what is done in secret (not for the praise of men) will be rewarded by our Father.

iii. Because what is done in secret – meaning not for the praise of men – is done for the Father and His purpose, not ours, and when we fulfill His purpose to please Him and not for praise from others, THEN we are truly serving the Lord in righteousness and not selfishness or pride.

Luke 22:44 – Jesus in the Garden

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

III. PRAY TO THE FATHER

a. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

b. Do not babble like pagans (do not use vain repetition) –

i. The scriptures make mention of pagan temples and how the repetition of chants and babblings could be heard outside of the temple.

ii. This babbling was pagans attempt to mimic the speaking in the tongues of angles. But was nothing more than babblings.

iii. They would sometimes repeat a prayer over and over and over thinking that repetition would get their prayer answered.

iv. This pagan ritual is one of the many pagan practices that seeped into the Roman Catholic Church in the early years and is still practiced today. The repeating of prayers over and over.

v. Sometimes we think we have to have a lot of words, or beautiful words to be heard by God. But what He wants is an honest and earnest heart.

vi. Jesus says “They THINK they will be heard because of their many words.”

IV. DO NOT BABBLE ON

a. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

i. Our Father in heaven knows all things, past, present and future.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 - 13

7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Next week we will look at the MODEL prayer that Jesus gave us which quickly became a prayer vainly repeated by millions over the centuries. Becoming exactly what Jesus told us NOT to do with our prayers.

Part 11 - Giving

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 6:1-4 – Giving to the needy

1 "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.

2 "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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

I. JESUS ADDRESSES PRIDE

1 "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.

a. Alms and righteousness

LIT GRK

Watch out, your righteousness is not done in front of men in order to be seen by them.

A serious matter of righteousness and the reason for your giving.

Giving is part of our righteousness. We know this because Jesus is saying so.

But everything is dealt with in our hearts.

Salvation and sin both take place in our hearts.

This is why Jesus tightened the Law so men would understand this.

The words we speak come from the overflow of our heart. Luke 6:45

Isaiah 64:6

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

If OUR righteousness is filthy rags, then how can WE be righteous?

1 Corinthians 1:30

It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Because we act, not in OUR righteousness, because ours is filthy rags…But in Christ’s righteousness.

Our righteousness says “look at me everyone!”

Christ’s righteousness says … nothing. He does in the name of God.

b. Pride and giving

2 "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.

Giving in Christ’s righteousness or our own becomes a matter of pride.

As the Pharisees wanted to be seen…

Matthew 24:23-

23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

They tithed to God, but had no justice, mercy or faith.

Jesus said tithe to God is meaningless if you do not live righteously!

25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Selfishness and pride.

27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Jesus goes on and on about them…

They are an easy target for those spiritually minded.

They DID, but not in righteousness.

Everything was done for the approval and praise of men.

c. Pride and humility

Matthew 5:20 – Jesus said

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

II. GIVING

a. When you give

Jesus said “when you give”, in the Greek says “when you do your merciful deeds”

Two things to note here…

1 WHEN – Not “IF”

God expects you “TO DO”.

What fruit is coming from your heart?

2 MERCIFUL DEEDS – “this was meant as in addition to tithe”

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they tithed, but had no Justice, Mercy or Faith.

2 Corinthians 7:10-11 JUSTICE BECAUSE OF GOD

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

Hosea 6:6 MERCY BECAUSE OF GOD

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hebrews 11:6 FAITH BECAUSE OF GOD

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

b. How you give

3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (LIT – will repay you publicly.)

First you tithe…

When the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus about paying taxes to the government, because they were still trying to get Him to do something illegal so they would have cause to kill Him, He answered in Matthew 22:21

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

If you belong to a Kingdom, you support the operation of that kingdom in many ways. One way you support the kingdom is through financial support.

It is no different if you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.

But Jesus stated that there is more than just tithing.

He spelled it out in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.

Our behavior as citizens of the Kingdom.

And He spelled it out to the Pharisees, Justice, Mercy, Faith.

Remember, the Greek says WHEN you do your MERCIFUL DEEDS.

It’s not always about money.

It’s about showing mercy to those in their time of need.

c. Why you give

We must give out of obedience to God, and to have Mercy on others.

If we give for any other reason than Christ’s Righteousness, then we have our reward already on earth.

But God rewards those who are obedient, and committed to serving Christ and living His righteousness.

Those who show mercy for Christ’s sake will be rewarded by the Father.

CONCLUSION

What is the intent of your heart?

When you give, whether it be tithe or alms such as the Deacons offering, why are you giving?

10% is Old Testament

But you see, everything you have is God’s, that is, if you are committed to Him.

Some are required to give more, some are required to give less.

But more and less is relative to the individual.

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Many give out of their wealth…

But the widow gave ALL, having faith in God.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

The widow was more generous than those who gave out of their wealth.

She gave more in the eyes of God.

It’s not a question of “how much of my money am I going to give in tithe and for alms?”

The question is, “How much of God’s money am I going to keep for myself?”

Everything is a heart decision with God.

Salvation and sin take place in the heart.

Giving for the right reason takes place in the heart.

What you should give takes place in the heart.

And the Righteousness you do, must come from the heart.

For the right reason.

It must be Christ’s righteousness we live, not our own.

From the heart.

Luke 6:45

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks

If we are storing up good in our heart, then good comes out…

If we are storing up evil…

What is in your heart today?

Speaking on the parable of the sower and the seed Jesus said in Luke 8:11-13

…The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved…

The Word of God is what is stored up in our hearts when we read and study and pray…

If you have heard the Word, but the devil has taken that seed from you…

If you are having trouble being committed to Christ…

If you do not know if you are saved…

Come forward and I will pray with you.