bro.rory, Author at FBC Spur

New Sunday Night Book Study!

February 13, 2014 By bro.rory

In Job 25:4, Job’s friend Bildad asked, “How then can a man be just with God?” We think that is an excellent question. And the answer is found only in the gospel. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

The gospel has always contained the blueprint for obtaining God’s righteousness, but the problem is that not everyone is preaching the true gospel. The Galatians were victims of such a problem. They had been “bewitched”, they had been hood-winked. Someone came and preached to them “another gospel” which Paul had not preached. And they had quickly deserted Him who called them by the grace of Christ in favor of this distorted gospel. It was not a message that spoke of righteousness obtained by faith, but rather a message that said righteousness is obtained by works of the Law; namely circumcision.

The letter to the Galatians is a furiously written letter meant to squash such a damning message. John MacArthur called this letter, “a flashing sword, wielded by a burning heart.” Others have called it “The Magna Carta of spiritual liberty” or “The Christian’s Declaration of Independence”. Martin Luther said, “The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am, as it were, in wedlock. Galatians is my Katherine (the name of his wife).” Merill C. Tenney wrote, “Christianity might have been just one more Jewish sect, and the thought of the western world might have been entirely pagan had it never been written. Galatians embodies the germinal teaching on Christian freedom which separated Christianity from Judaism, and which launched it upon a career of missionary conquest. It was the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation, because it’s teaching of salvation by grace alone became the dominant theme of the preaching of the Reformers.”

Come study Galatians with us on Sunday nights and see why it is such an important part of your theology and why it holds such a special place in the hearts of so many!

Sola scriptura! Sola fide! Sola gratia! Solo Christo! Soli Deo gloria!

Grace to You!

The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15)

February 13, 2014 By bro.rory

The Model Prayer

Matthew 6:9-15

We are presently in Jesus’ second point of His historic sermon.

Chapter 5 was GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED

Chapter 6 is FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

It addresses the type of person who would seek

To counter his obvious sinfulness by pointing out his apparent goodness.

“I may be a murderer, but I do give to the poor”

To which Jesus reveals a very troubling point.

WHAT IF THE GOOD YOU DO ISN’T AS GOOD AS YOU THINK?

And thus far we have seen two examples.

Giving & Prayer

Last week He showed us two types of prayer

That are not pleasing nor acceptable to God.

1) The Magnificent Prayer of the Hypocrite

A prayer that sounded great, but that came from a corrupt, self-glorifying heart.

2) The Manipulative Prayer of the Gentile

A prayer that was meant to manipulate God to give the response they desired.

Jesus emphatically stated that both of those types of prayer are wrong,

And will not please God let alone produce a desired response.

But before Jesus moves on to His third illustration of hypocrisy, He takes just a moment to teach us what a good prayer looks like.

And He gives us what is definitely

One of the top two or three recited passages in all of Scripture.

It is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”

That is really not an accurate title.

The Lord’s prayer is found in John 17 when Jesus intercedes for us.

This is actually THE MODEL PRAYER

This is our Lord teaching us how to pray.

IT IS AMAZING

On one hand, it is so extremely simple that a child can memorize it and even understand it.

On the other hand, there is such substance to it that the greatest theological scholars of all time could never plumb the depths of it.

Every time I study it, I determine my prior understanding was insufficient.

Most will tell you that Jesus outlines 6 things that we should pray express

1) Adoration – “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed by Your name.”

2) Submission – “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

3) Dependence – “Give us this day our daily bread”

4) Repentance – “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

5) Trust – “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

6) Intercession – “Us” “Our”

And they will tell you that your prayer should contain these things as well.

But the more I study I realize that this prayer isn’t as simple

As just identifying 6 requests and then making sure

Those 6 requests find their way into my prayer as well.

(That way be to pray with the same routine that Jesus just condemned)

This prayer is obviously more than something to memorize.

This prayer does not serve as a checklist to make sure you get it all.

And you realize that Jesus isn’t just telling us what to pray for,

But is showing us the heart of a righteous man as he prays.

The Model Prayer is given as the answer to the hypocrites prayer.

In contrast to the self-glorifying prayer that manipulates God, Jesus calls for a God-glorifying prayer that trusts Him.

And so (as is common throughout His sermon)

Jesus is addressing the heart and motives of a man

As He reveals how a righteous man prays.

He is intending to reveal to you who you should be.

There are few things more revealing about a man than His prayer life,

And so Jesus shows us how a righteous man prays,

Therefore we can help determine whether or not I am a righteous man.

2 points

#1 CONCERNING GOD

Matthew 6:9-10

“Pray, then, in this way:”

Since the Hypocrites pray wrong in that they seek to glorify self.

Since the Gentiles pray wrong in that they seek to manipulate God.

This is how you should pray.

Luke 11:1-4 “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.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ‘Give us each day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'”

According to Luke, this is what you should say.

And again that does not promote mindless memorization,

But it does reveal to us that there are certain aspects

That must be included in a righteous man’s prayer.

“Pray, then, in this way:”

(NOT WHAT YOU PRAY – BUY HOW YOU PRAY)

1) PRAY DESIRING GOD’S GLORY (9)

“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

And certainly don’t miss how Jesus addresses Him.

He doesn’t call Him God.

He doesn’t call Him Lord.

Jesus addressed Him as “Father”

Jesus reveals that when we come to God

We come to Him as His children.

No different than a child runs to his earthly father,

So we also should freely and quickly run to our heavenly Father.

It is a term that signifies COMPASSION and also AVAILABILITY.

I can talk to my dad just about any time I want,

And that is the same type of point Jesus is making here.

WE ARE HIS CHILDREN

And then Jesus reveals the desire of His children.

“Hallowed be Your name.”

(don’t you like it when people brag on your dad?)

JESUS PRAYED

John 12:28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

“hallowed” translates HAGIAZO

It means “to make holy” or “to sanctify”

Jesus is saying that the desire of a righteous man

Is that God’s name be set apart, be revered,

And be glorified above every other name.

The Jews certainly understood this.

They wouldn’t even say the divine name.

They wouldn’t even speak the name of God, because they thought the name to be too holy to be spoken on human tongue.

Furthermore names were highly significant in Israel.

Isaiah means “Yahweh is Salvation”

Ezekiel – “Strengthened by God”

Abraham – “Father of a multitude”

And this was also true of God.

Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord Provides”

Jehovah Tsidkenu – “The Lord is our Righteousness”

Jehovah Rohi – “The Lord is our Shepherd”

Jehovah Shalom – “The Lord is peace”

Jehovah Mekadesh – “The Lord who sanctifies you”

Jehovan Nissi – “The Lord is our Banner”

Jehovah Rapha – The Lord is our Healer”

Jehovah Shamah – “The Lord is There”

And so when Jesus says that the righteous man

Prays for God’s name to be set apart,

It indicates for God to be glorified for who He is.

He is the provider – He is the healer – He is our righteousness – He is our shepherd

The righteous man desires for God to be magnified above all else

Because of who He is.

So the first question is:

DO YOU DESIRE THE WHOLE WORLD TO GLORIFY GOD?

DO YOU LONG FOR GOD TO BE GLORIFIED ABOVE EVERY OTHER?

(Is that evident in your prayer life?)

2) PRAY DESIRING GODS REIGN (10a)

“Your kingdom come”

One of the main desires of a true believer

Is that God will reign upon the earth.

2 Peter 3:11-13 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

It is the wicked man who resists the coming and the reign of Christ.

The righteous man knows that this world is rightly His.

The righteous man delights in serving this King.

It takes the previous desire one step further.

Not only does He desire for God to be glorified,

But he also desires for God to be served.

That is the desire of a righteous man, IS IT YOUR DESIRE?

(Is it evident in your prayer life?)

Desiring God’s glory Desiring God’s reign

3) PRAY DESIRING GOD’S WILL (10b)

“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

In one sense this is quite simple to understand.

The righteous man wants God to have His way

Without any resistance whatsoever.

He wishes that people obeyed God here as quickly as they do in heaven.

In heaven there is no delay.

In heaven there is no grumbling.

In heaven there is no resistance.

The righteous man whishes it was that way on earth.

BUT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO IT THAN THAT.

The will of God is quite a confusing and tricky issue.

Think about it.

Is God’s will always done?

(You say – YES) Then why are you to pray for it to happen?

(You say – NO) Then is someone thwarting Him?

It’s tricky.

And I am not going to pretend to fully understand it myself,

Let alone be able to make you understand it.

BUT LET ME TRY AND HELP.

On one hand there is GOD’S VOLITIONAL WILL. There are things that absolutely will happen just as God desires regardless of the opposition.

1) Christ will return and reign.

2) Satan will be defeated.

3) The Elect will be gathered to Christ.

4) The wicked will be punished in hell for all eternity.

Then of course we have GOD’S PERMISSIVE WILL. Those things that He obviously does not delight in, yet He permits them happen. (They obviously do not thwart His eternal plan, but they are not His desire at all)

1) The sinfulness of man (God gave them over…)

2) The death of the wicked (“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked”)

3) The suffering of His people

But it also seems we have GOD’S DESIRED WILL. which are obviously seen in His commands. They are those things that God would will that you do, but obviously does not make happen.

1) That you love one another

2) That you abstain from sexual immorality

3) That you give to the poor

The reason this will is not accomplished

Is because there is a lack of righteousness in the world.

And the righteous man prays for this will to be accomplished.

He prays for sinners to repent.

He prays for the righteous to obey.

This is what Paul said:

Romans 1:5 “through [Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,”

And this is the desire of a righteous man, that all men

(including myself) would do what God wants.

IS THAT YOUR DESIRE?

(Is it evident in your prayer life?)

The righteous man points his prayer to God and prays

That God would be glorified, that God would reign,

And that God’s will be done by all.

Concerning God

#2 CONCERNING MAN

Matthew 6:11-15

We are no longer praying for things concerning God,

But we are now praying for things concerning man.

And as I alluded to earlier, don’t miss the implied INTERCESSION here.

Jesus doesn’t just personal pronouns “Give me this day”

Jesus uses plural pronouns “Give us this day”

Just as the first half of this prayer revealed a love for God,

The second half reveals a love for man.

And again we see how a righteous man prays.

1) PRAY NEEDING GOD’S PROVISION (11)

“Give us this day our daily bread”

The human body that God has given us, requires food to survive.

And while greed and gluttony can certainly be a problem,

Praying for sustenance is absolutely biblical.

But there is obviously more than that.

One would be foolish if he overlooked the use of the term “daily”

This is not a statement of greed.

This is a statement of trust.

Proverbs 30:7-9 “Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.”

Do you remember when God provided manna in the wilderness?

Enough for one day, and if they stored it beyond that, it ruined.

God was teaching them to depend upon Him every day.

THAT IS THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN

He isn’t manipulating God for riches…

He isn’t asking for carnal pleasures…

He is simply asking for God to provide what he needs in a way that will help

him maintain his focus on God.

He prays needing God’s provision

2) PRAY NEEDING GOD’S FORGIVENESS (12)

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

Now we are obviously talking about the prayer of a righteous man,

And so this is not a prayer of salvation.

We are talking about a man who has already been justified by Christ.

SO WHY DOES HE PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS?

Do you remember when Jesus washed the disciples feet?

John 13:6-11 “So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Jesus knew that even the clean needed to get a spit bath periodically.

WHY?

Because sin affects our fellowship with God.

Are we broken off? – No.

Do we lose our salvation? – No.

Do we forfeit our right to pray? – No.

Those things are secured in the atonement of Christ.

But sin in our lives does hinder our fellowship with God.

It steals the joy.

It steals the fulfillment.

It hinders the communication.

And to understand it better all you have to do

Is pay attention to what Jesus said.

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

Now, why do we forgive each other?

(obviously because Scripture commands it)

But in a practical sense, why do we forgive?

– to allow the relationship to function again.

Men has your wife ever been mad at you for no good reason?

You know that until forgiveness occurs the relationship will suffer.

You may still be married.

And divorce may not even be an option.

But the communication suffers.

So it is with God.

I’ve told people often, there are times when it is apparent to me

That there is something hindering my fellowship with God.

So I pray:

Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

That is the idea here.

I need God’s forgiveness, not because I am in danger of hell,

But because I desire to walk with God and sin hinders that.

That is what John had in mind when he wrote:

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

A righteous man comes needing cleansing, needing forgiveness,

Because he longs to walk in fellowship with God.

And all that being said, it is also worth noting that in verses 14 & 15

Jesus gives added commentary on this point.

(14-15) “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

And don’t get your theology out of whack here.

This is not a means to forgiveness.

“if I forgive others, God will forgive me”

No. God will forgive you when you ask Him,

Based upon the payment Christ made at Calvary.

This is not a means to forgiveness.

Forgiving others does not earn your forgiveness,

It proves that you have received forgiveness.

Jesus is teaching here that a righteous man has been forgiven,

As evidenced by his forgiveness of others,

And that he continually seeks forgiveness

Because he longs to walk in sweet fellowship with God.

You can see the righteous man’s prayer.

Needing Provision Needing Forgiveness

3) PRAY NEEDING GOD’S GUIDANCE (13)

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Now this can be confusing.

On one hand we know that God will never tempt us.

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

On the other hand we are told to rejoice in our trials.

James 1:2-3 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

So why would we pray that it not occur?

HE IS PRAYING THAT GOD WOULD HELP HIM WALK BLAMELESSLY

Remember what Jesus told the disciples?

Matthew 26:39-41 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

At that moment, the enemy was coming.

At that moment, the trial was on its way.

Jesus warned them to pray that they would be able

To overcome the temptations that were about to hit them.

Fear – Selfishness – Impulses to fight

There would be many temptations that night,

And they needed to pray that God would help them not fall to them.

And that is the idea here.

Any Christian knows that this life is going to have hardship.

Any Christian knows that this life will have temptation.

The prayer of a righteous man is that

God would help him spot those temptations for what they are.

“God help me walk right” “God help me not be deceived” “God help me overcome”

He knows the battle is too strong and he needs God’s help.

He needs God’s provision

He needs God’s cleansing or forgiveness

He needs God’s guidance

AND WHY GO TO GOD FOR ALL THESE THINGS?

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Because God is the only place to get those things.

And there again is the dependence and trust and submission.

And when you put it all together you see how

The prayer of a righteous man is far different

From the prayer of a hypocrite or a manipulative Gentile.

This man isn’t trying to impress God or other people.

This man isn’t trying to manipulate God into some selfish desire.

This man loves God, this man needs God,

And this man simply prays that God will help him live his life

In a way that sees God get all the glory.

SO HOW IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE?

Is it more about magnifying self?

Is it more about manipulating God?

Or is it all about coming to God in humility, praying that:

• God will be glorified

• God’s kingdom will come

• God’s will be done

• God will provide

• God will forgive

• God will guide

That is the prayer of a righteous man, and I encourage you

To use that to evaluate your life.

And simply let me say, if that does not describe your prayer life,

Then let me give you another one to try.

Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’”

And let God make you righteous.

If you have never trusted Christ, then cry out to Him today.

If you have, then make sure and live the way He intends for you to live.

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.”

Hypocritical Prayer (Matthew 6:5-8)

February 13, 2014 By bro.rory

Hypocritical Prayer

Matthew 6:5-8

As you know we have now moved

Into a new section of the Sermon on the Mount.

After previously showing us GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPLAINED,

We are now to point 2, which FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

And as we said a week ago,

Jesus knows exactly what He is doing in this penetrating sermon.

After spending time revealing how wicked we really are,

Jesus knows that the usual intention of man is to justify himself.

Some do this by denying the accusations made against them.

Others do it by revealing other actions that seem to cancel out the bad.

We called it The Doctrine of Exchange.

I may see that something wicked I do testifies against me

So I insert something good I do as a means of canceling out my sin.

And that mindset is really the basis for all works based religion.

People try to do enough good to counteract the bad they do.

I actually hear it all the time when talking with people.

They will admit they are sinners,

Many will even tell me the wicked things they do.

I will generally then ask them, what they plan to do about it.

And they will say, “I need to go to church”

You see in their mind going to church is a good action

That cancels out the bad action they did during the week,

And thus after church they are now once again square with God.

And many people follow this code.

But last week Jesus punched a massive hole in that argument,

With this piece of logic.

WHAT IF THE GOOD YOU DO, ISN’T AS GOOD AS YOU THINK?

And there again Jesus nails us.

In chapter 5 He revealed that just because you don’t physically do the deed,

It doesn’t mean you aren’t sinning.

Here he reveals that just because you do perform the good deed,

That doesn’t mean that you are righteous.

And to make His point Jesus presents Exhibit A, which is the hypocrite.

As we said, a hypocrite comes from the Greek word HUPOKRITES,

Which was the word used for a Greek actor who wore a mask.

So Jesus was talking about actors.

Not genuine people, but people who put on a show.

People who are playing a role, but it is not who they are.

And this by the way is very dangerous for one’s spiritual life.

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.”

Jesus even uses a theatrical term in that statement.

The phrase “to be noticed” comes from

The Greek word THEAOMAI (Thee-a-o-mahee)

It is where we get our word for theatre.

And so it is clear, we are talking about people

Who use religion as a means to put on a performance.

They turn the altar into a stage, and go through all the motions

So as to entertain or impress other people.

But this is dangerous for they

“have no reward with [their] Father who is in heaven.”

In other words, if you do it to impress people,

Then all you will get is their response, I hope it was worth it.

And Jesus is even kind enough to give us some examples.

Last week we saw the first example:

Hypocritical Giving

Matthew 6:2 “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.”

Jesus said, even if you give, but do so with the wrong motives,

You will not receive a reward for it.

And so Jesus taught us to safeguard against such temptation

By doing our best to give in secret.

And again, it is not that secret giving is better than public giving,

For it is all about the heart.

BUT, giving in secret is less of a temptation to glorify self.

And Jesus says if you want to make sure to be rewarded your gift,

Then do it in secret where the only possible spectator is God.

And then your reward is certain.

So be careful how you give.

This morning we move on to Jesus’ next example of hypocrisy.

PRAYER

And while this illustration does follow a similar pattern as the first,

There is a bit of a difference here.

Jesus doesn’t just give one example of bad prayer, He gives two.

We see a bad example from the Religious Hypocrite,

And we see a bad example from a Pagan Gentile.

#1 THE MAGNIFICENT PRAYER OF THE HYPOCRITE

Matthew 6:5-6

“When you pray”

Now, this is not a command of Jesus.

He is not saying here, that you must pray.

He is however pointing out the obvious

That prayer is an understood part of the religious life.

Now it is true, prayer doesn’t mean you are saved,

But you have a difficult time proving salvation without it.

And while Jesus isn’t commanding it here,

We do know that Scripture does command us to do so.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”

And so Scripture not only commands us to pray,

But actually commands us to never stop.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS PRAYER?

Well, it is obviously more than those moments when you stop to bow your head, and speak to God. (we can’t do that continuously)

Prayer is a state of how you live.

Christians don’t just pray, they are people of prayer.

It indicates that we are constantly in tune to His desire,

Listening for His guidance, and seeking His will in every moment of ever day.

(LIKE A HORSE WITH TWO EARS BACK)

Like that horse, the life of prayer is when our lives are literally

Continually focusing on God’s Word and subsequently God’s Will.

We are constantly in commune with Him.

It is more than just a ceremonial bowing of the head,

It is a constant state of mind.

But even that doesn’t fully explain prayer,

For prayer will always have a certain state of mystery to it.

Let’s say you offer a prayer request to God, and God grants IT.

What just happened?

And by the way that does happen. God does answer prayer.

James 5:16 “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

So God does answer prayer.

But in the instant in which God granted your request,

Have you ever pondered what just happened?

• Was God uncertain about what He wanted to do, just waiting for you?

• Did God have other plans, and only decided to change His mind based upon your request?

• Did God work in you to make you ask for what He already planned to do?

It is a mystery.

It is hard to understand how or why a sovereign God who sits in authority

Over all things would actually ask for our input or requests.

Yet He does.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

And so even though we do not know how prayer works,

We know that God desires that we do it.

And so it is obvious that

God delights in having our undivided attention.

God delights in being the first person we call upon in difficulty.

God delights in being the first person we thank after a blessing.

God delights in the relationship.

And there is nothing in your Christian walk that reveals your personal relationship with God like your prayer life.

And that is not a new revelation.

Even the hypocrites knew that prayer was important.

Even the people who were acting like righteous people

Knew that a part of the script had to include a certain amount of prayer.

Furthermore prayer was considered an essential part of the Jewish life.

William Barclay speaks of a prayer called Shemoney ‘esray (“The Eighteen”).

It was a set of eighteen prayers that Jewish man prayed 3 times a day.

(Perhaps you remember Daniel being faithful to this in spite of the law against it)

And while that could indeed be a great indicator of faithfulness,

It could also be a tremendous temptation for self glory.

And that is precisely what had happened to the Jews.

They offered their prayers 3 times a day,

They just made sure they were in the middle of Wal-Mart at prayer time.

And that is why Jesus said:

“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.”

Earlier Jesus said they like to sound a trumpet

When they give in the synagogue and on the street,

Well apparently their offering is immediately followed by a prayer.

They love to do it in public.

They love for people to see them pray.

Matthew 23:5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.”

Religious observance can be a reason for persecution,

But it can be the source of great accolade.

And that is how the Jews used it.

But again, there is a problem.

“Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

I don’t know if they got patted on the back, or their name in the paper,

But whatever they got, I hope it was worth it.

Because they will get no credit from God.

God is not pleased with such displays of phoniness.

God is not amused with an actor playing the part of a praying man

In order to entertain others.

The prayer God wants is genuine communication.

The prayer God wants is for you to be attune to Him.

The prayer God wants is for you to seek Him out and listen to Him.

He does not delight in some token prayer meant to impress other people.

That is why Jesus said:

(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.”

Now there again, don’t turn this into legalism.

Even Jesus prayed in public.

-Before the resurrection of Lazarus

-On the cross during His crucifixion

-Even in the upper room (how else would we know what He said?)

It is not that public prayer is wrong, after all, Daniel was rewarded for it.

Public prayer is not wrong, but it is a huge temptation.

It is a temptation to do it for the wrong reason.

If you are the only person in your house and you begin to pray,

You will only focus on your prayer and your time with God.

But if you are in public it is highly likely that you will begin to think about what other people think of your prayer, instead of what God thinks.

And that is not prayer, even though it holds the outward appearance of it.

And we all know what it is to pray, but not have our hearts in it,

Or to pray with other motives.

“Please nourish this food…thank You for everything”

And we’ve seen other examples of what was not prayer.

I’ve heard preachers preach sermons in their prayers.

I’ve heard others give announcements in their prayers.

We have all seen that, many of us have even been on the wrong side of it.

But that is not what God is looking for.

God wants you to commune with Him.

God wants you to speak to Him.

God wants you to listen to Him.

God wants your attention.

And let’s face it, it is easier to ensure that He will have your attention

In the closet than it is in the middle of Wal-Mart.

And that is why Jesus says to do it secretly.

Remove the temptation.

Remove the distraction.

Remove the opportunity for glory anywhere else.

And when you pray solely because you want to commune with God,

“your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

And so we see that the magnificent prayer of the hypocrite

Is not pleasing to God

Regardless of how magnificent everyone else thinks it is.

But the hypocrites prayer is not the only prayer Jesus warns against.

The Magnificent Prayer of the Hypocrite

#2 THE MANIPULATIVE PRAYER OF THE GENTILE

Matthew 6:7-8

There is another type of person who prays the wrong way

And Jesus warns against it as well.

“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.”

And you remember an example of this:

1 Kings 18:26 “Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.”

Morning until noon they shouted the same phrase, “O Baal, answer us.”

So much so that even Elijah saw the lunacy and began mocking them

To yell louder, for maybe Baal was asleep.

You see by keeping up with their vain repetition, it indicated they believed their god to be complacent and unconcerned about their situation

And that the only way to persuade god to answer was to pester Him.

They actually supposed that their repetition increased their odds.

First, you need to know that God doesn’t answer prayer

Based upon our persistent manipulation.

Now, I know some immediately say, “Wait preacher there are plenty of examples that say otherwise.”

TURN TO: LUKE 11:5-13

“See that man answered because his friend pestered him,

And Jesus says God will do the same if we pester Him.”

WRONG

(13) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

If you read the whole thing you will see that

God doesn’t answer because we pester.

God answers because He is good.

And that is Jesus point.

If even a carnal, wicked, sinful man can be persuaded to give what is asked,

How much more can we know that a loving, merciful God, will give what is good.

That parable doesn’t teach us to pester God,

It teaches us to trust God.

TURN TO: LUKE 18:1-8

“See preacher, that widow won because she pestered

And Jesus tells us to do the same.”

WRONG

(7-8) “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Did you notice the question Jesus ended with?

“when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

That indicates the point of this parable.

This woman was exhibiting true faith.

She continued because she believed the judge would do what she asked.

That was faith, not manipulation.

And Jesus says that our God responds to that type of faith,

Which will keep coming to Him and Him alone,

Even though it doesn’t see immediate results.

That is the same type of faith as the Sidonian woman.

Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

Jesus didn’t say, “O woman you are relentless!”

He said, “O woman, your faith is great”

And the point is that God responds to faith.

And so Scripture doesn’t teach us that

God can be manipulated by our persuasive tactics.

Scripture reveals that God answers because He is good

And He delights in those who wholly trust Him.

But you cannot manipulate God by wearing Him out.

Nor can you back God into a corner with technical rules

That you suppose He has to follow.

Let me give you another example.

Have you ever heard anyone say.

“Where two or more are gathered…it shall be done”

And people use that all the time as a way to manipulate God.

“Well God, You may not have wanted to do this, but that’s too bad because I found another believer and the two of us agree that You have to do it.”

Would it surprise you to know that when Jesus issued that statement

It was not permission to turn God into a Genie in a bottle.

He gave that statement to support the authority of the church

In following the commands of God.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 18:15-20

Jesus knew that if you discipline a brother to the extreme

And the church determines to kick him out, that he is likely to turn to you and say, “Who do you think you are? You don’t have the right!”

To which Jesus said, “Oh yes you do!”

In fact, anytime that two or three are together obeying My will and following My commands you can bet that I am in agreement.

It is very similar to another misconstrued statement on prayer.

John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

DO WE REALLY SUPPOSE THAT BY ADDING “In Jesus name” TO THE END OF OUR PRAYERS THAT GOD IS NOW OBLIGED?

Like God is saying, “Oh, they got Me again”.

And so I can ask for a new Cadillac as long as I ask in Jesus name,

And can get you to agree to ask for one too.

NO – you can’t manipulate God.

Those passages indicate that when you are following the will of God,

And seeking the will of God, and are living according to the will of Christ,

Then you can rest assured that God will support and aid your work.

But the fact that so many make such claims

Indicate that there still a part of us like the prophets of Baal

Who suppose that there are word gimmicks or manipulative tactics

That make prayer more effective.

And Jesus is unequivocally saying here not to use those gimmicks.

“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.”

In short don’t suppose you can manipulate God with a ceremony,

That is “meaningless.”

As we learned earlier God answers prayer because He is good,

And because He delights in those who trust Him.

And that is what Jesus is saying here.

(8) “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

God is not some sort of mystical being that requires you

To know the magic code, and then convince Him of your need.

God is good, and He is aware of your needs long before you ask.

Just trust Him, and speak to Him, and seek His face.

SO WE ASK OURSELVES

Why do I give?

Why do I pray?

And this morning, just determine to be real.

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.”

Hypocritical Giving (Matthew 6:1-4)

February 13, 2014 By bro.rory

Hypocritical Giving

Matthew 6:1-4

You may recall that last week in our study of the Sermon on the Mount

We finished the first point of Jesus in this great sermon.

Point 1 – THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD EXPLAINED

It covered all of chapter 5

As Jesus began to explain to us what God’s righteousness looks like,

And how much higher it is than anything we have attained.

His righteousness is so high

He considers anger to be murder and lust to be adultery.

And obviously when we apply the standards of that righteousness to our own lives we are found deficient, in need of a Savior.

Well this morning we begin POINT 2 of Jesus sermon.

FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

A chapter in which we see:

Hypocritical Giving

Hypocritical Prayer

Hypocritical Fasting

Hypocritical Commitment

And this is a very fitting direction for this sermon to go.

Because as soon as Jesus revealed to us that we have major sin issues. (anger, lust, lack of integrity, revenge)

He knows that it is the natural inclination of man to try and even the score.

You might call it the Doctrine of Sin Exchange.

It is where we don’t necessarily justify the evil things we do,

But we do try to even the score by revealing the good things we do

For example:

My anger my prove that I am a murderer, and my revenge may prove that I am merciless, BUT I give to the poor and so I must not be all bad.

Or:

My lack of integrity may prove me a liar, and my lust may prove me an adulterer, BUT I pray continually and so I must not be all bad.

Or:

My propensity to break covenant, or the fact that I am not pure in heart may show that I am not righteous, BUT I do fast periodically so I must not be all bad.

We do that don’t we?

God’s word convicts us of sin in our life,

Maybe even to the point of revealing spiritual death and lostness;

And instead of accepting what Scripture says we are

We try and plead our own case by listing all of our good points.

And Jesus knows that we do it.

But I’m sorry to tell you, He is ready for you.

Because now comes the second point of the sermon:

FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED.

And what Jesus does here is reveal that maybe the good we do

Really isn’t all that good after all.

What if you found out that everything good about your life

Really wasn’t as good as you thought?

That is what chapter 6 of the Sermon on the Mount does to us,

And once again it pushes us to the Savior.

And so let’s look at this second point of Jesus.

It begins in verse 1 with really what is the point of the entire chapter,

Especially the first 24 verses.

(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.”

I sincerely hope you noticed the first word.

“Beware”

Words like that are used when there is an inherent danger

You we would not ordinarily be aware of.

When I was a kid, every time we would go out playing in the pasture

My mom would say, “Watch out for snakes”.

That is the same type of warning Jesus gives here.

There is a danger that will creep up on you and catch you unaware.

You must be alert to it.

WHAT IS THE DANGER?

The temptation of “practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them;”

We as humans are those who enjoy recognition and praise.

We like to be recognized as those who do something well.

And many have learned that even good deeds

Can earn a certain type of recognition.

And that is a danger.

WHY IS IT SO DANGEROUS?

Because if you do that “you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

To put it plainly, if you do a good deed on earth,

And you do it to be recognized on earth,

Then you can forget about getting any type of reward from God.

Other scriptures allude to this concept:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

1 Corinthians 13:3 “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

You see it is clear that there is a very real possibility

Of doing the right things on earth and receiving absolutely nothing for it.

Imagine thinking you were saving your whole life for retirement,

Only to find out when you retired that there had been an error

And you had actually already spent your retirement.

And yet that is happening to people in an eternal sense all the time.

They leave this world after a lifetime of service,

Only to find that they have absolutely no treasure in heaven whatsoever.

Some even find that they don’t have a home there, let alone an inheritance

What a tragedy!

And yet is a real threat, so much so that Jesus says “Beware” of it.

When you practice your righteousness to be “noticed” by men

You will receive no reward for your effort.

WHY?

Because that is idolatry.

That is glorifying self over God.

• And while we know God’s mercies are new every morning.

• And while we know God’s grace is sufficient.

• And while we know God’s lover never fails.

We also know THAT GOD’S GLORY IS FOR HIM AND HIM ALONE.

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Isaiah 48:11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”

And when you do deeds on this earth to receive the glory for it,

That is idolatry and God does not reward that.

In fact your fortunate He does not instantly crush you into a fine powder.

This is a real danger and one that must be avoided.

So before you start presenting to God

All the good things you do in the church or in the community,

We first have to find out why you did them.

And that is Jesus point here in the 6th chapter of Matthew.

This morning we see the first example, and that is GIVING.

And even more specific, giving to the poor.

And before we dive into the specifics of this text, might I remind you

That giving to the poor is an absolute command of God.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. “Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘ The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’”

In fact for all the talk we do about titheing has anyone ever noticed why God demanded the tithe?

Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

Giving is commanded by God,

We see this also in the New Testament.

Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Furthermore those who do give are promised a blessing from God.

Psalms 41:1-3 “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

And on the flip side, those who do not give to the poor

Are condemned by God as wicked and evil people.

Psalms 109:6-16 “Appoint a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, And let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; Let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes. Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder the product of his labor. Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; In a following generation let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, That He may cut off their memory from the earth; Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness, But persecuted the afflicted and needy man, And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.”

1 John 3:16-18 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

You see giving to the poor is an absolute command.

And according to the passage here

We learn that it is something EVEN THE HYPOCRITES DO.

And so friend, if even the hypocrites give to the poor,

What does that say about you, if you don’t?

Jesus clearly says “So when you give to the poor”

Not “if” but “when”

Giving to the poor is an understood application of Christianity.

It is impossible to claim to be a Christian without it.

But the point Jesus makes here is that just because you do it,

That doesn’t guarantee that you are a Christian either.

Amy Carmichael said in that mission’s video.

“You can give without loving, you cannot love without giving.”

And that is precisely the point that Jesus will make here.

As giving is understood,

Jesus is going to let you see if your giving is legitimate or not.

There are two points to be made here.

#1 GIVING IN HYPOCRISY

Matthew 6:2

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do”

And so it is obvious that we learn that there is a way to give to the poor

Which is hypocritical.

WHAT IS A HYPOCRITE?

My dictionary tells me that hypocrisy is “feigning to be what one is not”

The word “hypocrites” translates HUPOKRITES

Which was the word used for a Greek actor

Who wore a mask to better play a role.

And so when Jesus spoke of them,

He was essentially calling them mask wearers.

BUT THE INTERESTING THING IS THIS.

Everyone knew what a hypocrite was,

But very few realized who the hypocrites were.

That is what Jesus came to expose.

Luke 12:1 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Or you can read all of Matthew 23 in which

Jesus calls them hypocrites 7 different times.

And so it is obvious that these men gave,

But they did so in a way that was not pleasing to the Lord,

And in a way that Jesus specifically tells us to avoid.

And so let’s look at how hypocrites give.

1) THEY SOUND TRUMPETS

“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”

And that is obviously a strong statement from Jesus.

It is probably not likely that they carried a literal trumpet with them

In which they blasted it every time they gave.

But what is extremely clear is that they “tooted their own horn”.

They might as well have blasted a trumpet,

Because they made sure everyone knew about it.

And if you think this type of thing

Is foreign to the church today you are mistaken.

Our churches are filled with the “anonymous giver”

Who is really good at leaking the information.

“Don’t tell anyone this, but I…”

Other churches don’t even try to hide it.

• How many churches still put plaques on their pews to forever commemorate who donated them?

• Did we ourselves not have a plaque that hung in the foyer commemorating the donations of people in the past?

How can you possibly read this passage

And think that something like that is ok?

God is not the least bit concerned with how much you give,

But He is concerned with HOW you give it.

Mark 12:41 “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.”

And those who gave with self serving motives

Were considered hypocrites by Christ.

They sound trumpets

2) THEY SEEK GLORY

“so that they may be honored by men.”

They give like they give because they want the recognition.

They love to have people praise them and honor them for their “sacrifice”.

Was that not the Pharisees?

Matthew 23:5-6 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,”

They give so people will notice.

They give so they can have a certificate.

I just love every time we get a new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, some article will be written about how much his church gives to the Cooperative Program.

And you can’t help but wonder if this is why he led them to do it.

And it is not at all what God requires.

Which leads to the final aspect of hypocritical giving

3) THEY SUFFER LOSS

“Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

I remember one time when I was in high school.

I bought the hamburger – “You have your reward in full”

Today, I would rather have the treasure in heaven, but I already lost that.

“I hope it was worth it”

Don’t expect God to honor you for your “selfless” act.

Don’t expect God to reward you for stealing His glory.

You have gotten all the reward you will ever get.

That is hypocritical giving.

#2 GIVING IN HOLINESS

Matthew 6:3-4

Here Jesus speaks of just the opposite.

SO HOW DO THE HOLY GIVE?

1) THEY GIVE IN SECRET

“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

Again, just as the trumpets were an analogy so is this.

The idea being, that if you can give so secretly with your right hand

That your left hand is unaware of it, then you are giving secretly.

If you can give that secretly then obviously no one else will know about it.

You see, that is how the righteous give.

Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

Did you notice that the righteous didn’t even remember doing it?

You see at the time they weren’t even thinking about themselves,

They were only thinking about glorifying God.

That is how the righteous give.

That is why giving in holiness looks like.

It is to give so secretly that no one notices that it was you.

But to that the hypocrites say, “But if we give like that, no one will see.”

THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT

“so that your giving will be in secret;”

You are trying to keep from being glorified.

The righteous give in secret.

2) THEY GLORIFY GOD

Now this is not explicitly stated, but it is heavily implied.

If the wicked give publicly to glorify self,

Then obviously the righteous give secretly to glorify God.

If you give to the poor and the poor man doesn’t know who did it,

He has no other option but to thank God for it.

And by the way, regardless of what you think,

It really was God who gave it to him.

After all, who gave it to you?

And so we secretly pass along what God has given to us

So that God is the only possible One who can be glorified.

You see, that was the real point of shining your light.

Matthew 5:16 “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.”

Jesus didn’t tell us to shine our light so people could glorify us,

He told us to do it in a way that glorifies God.

And to that, let me ask you.

WHO DOES YOUR LIGHT SHINE ON?

It seems more and more today, whether at funerals or wherever,

We hear this phrase. “He was a great man of God” or “She was a great woman of God”.

But understand me here.

My goal is not to be a great man of God.

My goal is to be a man of a great God.

My goal is for people to see me and say, “Man he must serve a great God! How else can you explain how such a sorry human can do what he does?”

The Righteous give in secret and they glorify God

3) THEY GAIN REWARD

“and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

You see, you do it in secret,

Because there is only One who can see what is done in secret,

And that is God.

And God does not let the righteous fail to receive reward.

Matthew 10:42 “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

And that is clear.

You could give a million dollars to Lottie Moon

And not receive a single reward.

Yet you could give one cup of water to some kid in Sunday School

And be rewarded for it.

THE DIFFERENCE IS WHY AND HOW YOU DID IT.

And so do you see Jesus point here?

I know after being beaten up in chapter 5 about how unrighteous you are,

You were eager to counter with all those good things you do.

But what if all those good things really aren’t as good as you thought?

What if you have already received

The only reward you will ever get for those actions?

THAT IS AGAIN WHY WE NEED JESUS!

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.”

Loving Like God (Matthew 5:43-48)

February 13, 2014 By bro.rory

Loving Like God

Matthew 5:43-48

As you know, we have been studying through the Sermon on the Mount.

And if you are one of those people who really like structure and outlines,

Especially in regard to sermons, then let me give you some here.

With these verses Jesus is concluding

What would be considered His first point in this historic sermon.

Point #1 could be called: – GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED

And thus far as we have examined God’s righteousness

We have learned 4 things about it.

1) The Personality of God’s Righteousness

We saw this in the beatitudes (1-12) as we saw a detailed description of the character of God. All of those attitudes are the attitudes of Christ.

2) The Purpose of God’s Righteousness

We saw this in the analogy of light and salt (13-16). God is light to a dark world and taste to a flavorless world. The purpose of His righteousness is to lead sinners to salvation.

3) The Passion of God’s Righteousness

This of course was verses 17-19 in which we saw Jesus’ passion not to annul or remove even one small speck from the Law.

God is passionate about perfect righteousness, as outlined in His written Law, and He is not interested in lowering the standard one single bit.

4) The Picture of God’s Righteousness

This started in verse 20 and goes through 48, where Jesus told us that unless our righteousness “surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees” we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Which then led into these 6 “You have heard…but I say” sermons,

Where Jesus shows us how God’s righteousness applies to everyday life.

Without a doubt it has been a difficult section,

Meant to show us that we are not like God.

And this morning this first point of His sermon comes to a close

With the most amazing aspect of God’s righteousness yet.

And of course that is LOVE

You simply cannot begin to talk about God without talking about love.

In fact John simply said:

1 John 4:8 “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

And again

1 John 4:16 “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

And of course we are all well aware of that all encompassing verse

That hinges upon the magnificent love of God.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

God’s love is truly a fascinating topic.

But many times (as is common with all His attributes)

God’s love gets reduced to a level that is not accurate at all.

Instead of patterning their own love after God’s love,

People pattern God’s love after their own

And needless to say, this is a grave mistake.

Many times we hear illustrations like:

“You know how much you love your children, well God loves you like that.”

WRONG!

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

Scripture is clear, we are evil, God is holy.

And therefore our love is NOTHING like His love and vice versa;

His love is nothing like our love.

His is infinitely greater.

The love you feel for your children is nothing

In comparison to the love God has for His children.

And so this morning, just by way of introduction

Into this final “You have heard” sermon,

Let me just remind you a little about the love of God.

Scripture actually gives us AN EXPLANATION OF GOD’S LOVE

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 13.

This is a chapter dedicated to letting you see t

He actual descriptions of God’s love.

And we learn all sorts of truths about God’s Love.

1) IT’S VALUE (1-3)

So valuable that without it, nothing else has any value.

2) IT’S DESCRIPTION (4-7)

We learn how God’s love responds in various situations.

3) IT’S ENDURANCE (8)

“love never fails”

The explanation of God’s love is clearly seen in Scripture

And such an explanation helps us evaluate the love we claim to possess.

Scripture also gives AN ILLUSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE.

Luke 10:25-29 “And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

DO YOU REMEMBER THE ILLUSTRATION JESUS GIVES AS THE ANSWER?

– The Good Samaritan.

A man who looked past his own agenda…

A man who looked past his own race…

A man who looked past his own safety…

A man who looked past his own well being…

A man who gave his time, his money, and his plans to minister to a person that

would have hated him, had he not been in need.

That is the love of God illustrated.

Finally Scripture gives us A DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE.

Far be it from God to simply talk about love or explain it,

God practices what He preaches and demonstrates His love.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

And when we see those concepts of God’s love in Scripture

SOME SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS FACTS IMMERGE.

LOVE IS A CHOICE

It is not a response to the feelings of another, it is a deliberate decision to give love to another.

LOVE IS AN ACTION

If love stops only at words or sentiment it falls far short of the love of God, for God put His money where His mouth was.

LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL

Never do we find an incident of love in which it was doing what was best for itself, but always where it sacrificed self for the good of another.

This is the love of God, and therefore if we are to be like God,

This is the love that we must exhibit.

Now, at this point in the Sermon on the Mount,

I probably don’t have to tell you that this was yet another area

Where Israel was failing miserably.

• We’ve already seen they were murderers.

• We’ve already seen they were adulterers.

• We’ve already seen they were covenant breakers. (divorce)

• We’ve already seen they were liars.

• We’ve already seen they were spiteful. (eye for an eye)

And this morning we learn that their concept of love

Was way off the mark as well.

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:43

There again we see Jesus observation of the basis for Jewish theology.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

While to some degree all of the commands Jesus has mentioned have been maligned, none have been maligned more than this one.

Not only did they ANNUL a great portion of this command,

But they also ADDED to it, something that was never there.

The command is actually given:

Leviticus 19:15-18 “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD. ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”

This passage is extremely clear.

IT SPEAKS OF ACTION

“You shall DO not injustice…”

IT SPEAKS OF JUST LOVE

“you shall not be partial to the poor, nor defer to the great.”

IT SPEAKS OF TOUGHT LOVE

“you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.”

IT SPEAKS OF THE DEGREE OF LOVE

“you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

IT SPEAKS OF THE AUTHOR OF LOVE

“I am the LORD.”

Now after reading that command

It is obvious how maligned this command actually was.

They had omitted the “as yourself” part.

They had added “and hate your enemy.”

And so whatever their concept of love actually was,

It is clear that it is a far cry from God-like love.

AND WE UNDERSTAND THIS TODAY.

We live in a world that thinks love is somewhere between

An emotional response and a heated attraction.

Today’s kind of love is best described on a Jr. High girl’s book cover.

Which today will say, “I Love so &so” and tomorrow the word love

Will be marked out and the statement will read “I hate so & so”

We are constantly plagued with people who fall in and out of love.

All the time forgetting that if you claim to no longer love a person,

All you are saying is that I am the most selfish person on the face of the planet.

And our world is plagued by that type of love.

But really love is not the proper name for it.

We have a more accurate name for that emotion: LUST

Lust is that tingly feeling you get when you want more of a person.

Lust is that self-serving emotion that wants what another person has.

And the second that person ceases to offer it, lust says, “Forget you”.

I’ll go on to someone else who can meet my needs.

Our world has a whole lot of lust, and very little love.

• Lust feels good, love seldom feels good.

• Lust gratifies self, love gratifies others.

• Lust devours, love builds up.

• Lust abandons, love never fails.

We know all about the type of “love” the Jews were offering.

Jewish love was a love that could turn to hate at the drop of a hat.

It was selfish and it was not God-like.

And that was Jesus’ observation.

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:44-47

Here Jesus explains to us what God-like love is.

It is again a test to evaluate ourselves to see if we love like God loves,

Or if our love is really just lust in disguise.

Let’s break our explanation down into three points

1) THE LOOK OF LOVE (44)

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Now that is a turnaround isn’t it?

I know what it is to love my momma.

I know what it is to love my sweet thing.

But love my enemies?

That does not mean we condone the action of our enemies.

That does not mean we even desire the company of our enemies.

But it does mean that we sacrifice self for the good of our enemies.

• We do without, so our enemies can enjoy.

• We suffer, so our enemies don’t have too.

• We give so our enemies can receive.

It is us desiring blessing for our enemies

Even though they do not deserve it.

That is why Jesus said, “and pray for those who persecute you,”

I don’t have to remind you of the day our Lord passed this test.

“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Love comes when we sacrifice self for the good of another,

And Jesus says it extends even beyond your neighbor

All the way to your enemy.

That is what the Good Samaritan was exhibiting.

(Jews and Samaritans hated each other)

Today it would be you helping a muslim or a drug dealer

Or someone from Jayton.

He showed love to his enemy.

That is what true love looks like.

Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

John MacArthur shares a story of this type of love:

“In 1567 King Philip II of Spain appointed the Duke of Alba as governor of the lower part of the nation. The Duke was a bitter enemy of the newly-emerging Protestant Reformation. His rule was called the reign of terror, and his council was called the Bloody Council, because it had ordered the slaughter of so many Protestants. It is reported that one man who was sentenced to die for his biblical faith managed to escape during the dead of winter. As he was being pursued by a lone soldier, the man came to a lake whose ice was thin and cracking. Somehow he managed to get safely across the ice, but as soon as he reached the other side he heard his pursuer screaming. The soldier had fallen through the ice and was about to drown. At the risk of being captured, tortured, and eventually killed – or of being drowned himself – the man went back across the lake and rescued his enemy, because the love of Christ constrained him to do it. He knew he had no other choice if he was to be faithful to his Lord.” (cited in MacArthur, John “The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7” Moody Press 1985, pg. 346)

That is what love looks like.

The Look of Love

2) THE LINEAGE OF LOVE (45)

“so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Jesus says that we must love like this

Because this is what God-like love looks like.

God loves those who don’t deserve it.

Every morning He shares “His sun” even with the people who hate Him.

Periodically He “sends” rain even on those who live wicked lives.

And God never fails to do so.

He continually gives of what is His to those who hate Him.

And when we do the same,

It is obvious we are chip right off the old block.

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

So Jesus tells us to love our enemies because that is what God would do.

In fact Scripture even says that love is an indicator of righteousness.

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

God loves those who don’t deserve it.

We display God-likeness when we do the same,

And we show ourselves to be His children.

The Look of Love – The Lineage of Love

3) THE LOGIC OF LOVE (46-47)

“For if you love those who love you, what reward to you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

And man, doesn’t Jesus cut to the heart here?

You see, He knows us very well.

He knows we all say, “I’ve got You on this one Jesus, I love all sorts of people. I’ve got a long list of the people I love.”

To which Jesus responds,

“Yes, but how many people are on that list who do not love you?”

The challenge is for you to make a list of all the people you love,

Then to mark off everyone on that list who loves you,

And then to see what is left of your list.

Jesus says loving people who love you is nothing special.

“Do not even tax collectors do the same?”

“Do not even Gentiles do the same?”

If you want to be like God,

Then show me the people you love who hate you.

This is what separates a godly man from a worldly man.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus spoke a similar truth.

(Similar in the sense that we reach out when it benefits us nothing)

If you claim to be like God, then you have to love those who hate you.

If God had only loved those who love Him,

Then He would have never loved anyone, because none loved God.

God didn’t love anyone because they first loved Him.

1 John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.”

It was God who looked down upon this sin infested world.

This world that at one point had grieved Him so much

That He actually sent a flood to destroy it.

This world that was filled with idolatry and sorcery…

This world that was filled with adultery and lust…

This world that was filled with murder and hatred…

This world that was filled with hypocrisy and false religion…

And God looked at this world which hated Him

And chose to demonstrate love

In the sending of His only Son to die in their stead.

God loved His enemies.

So before we start comparing ourselves to God

Simply because we love our momma,

You had better ask yourself how many of your enemies that you love.

(Mr. Schaupffner and “The Dirty Japs)

That is God’s love.

The Observation, The Explanation

#3 THE EXPECTATION

Matthew 5:48

And this is more than just the final point to this sermon.

This is the final statement of a point Jesus started back in verse 20.

Remember that eye-popping statement?

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

At the time that seemed like an unthinkable statement.

How could Jesus expect you to be better than those guys?

Because He expects you to be as good as God.

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

And please let that sink in for a moment.

In a world that praises people who “Do their best”

Please understand that God does not grade based on effort.

He is a holy God who demands absolute perfection

If a person is to dwell with Him in eternity.

You do not enter His presence apart from absolute perfect righteousness.

And that has been Jesus’ point as He told us

You are a murderer.

You are an adulterer.

You are a covenant breakers.

You are a liar.

You are vindictive.

You don’t love people.

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU WILL BE GRANTED THE RIGHT

TO DWELL WITH HOLY GOD FOR ALL ETERNITY?

And so again we ask:

Are you ready to hear about Jesus?

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

If you are to be declared righteous as God is righteous,

Then you must accept the righteousness that Christ will give you.

He was perfect.

He never murdered, not even in His heart.

He never committed adultery, not even in His heart.

He never broke covenant.

He never deceived.

He never sought revenge, but remained meek.

No one ever showed greater love than He did

He was righteous, and He will share it with all who trust in Him.

So again this morning let me ask you to give your life to Jesus Christ,

You will never make it to the Father without Him.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

New Sunday Night Book Study!

The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15)

Hypocritical Prayer (Matthew 6:5-8)

Hypocritical Giving (Matthew 6:1-4)

Loving Like God (Matthew 5:43-48)

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