From the Heart - Live by Faith

From the Heart: The Power of Authentic Faith

We are taking a one-week break from our study in Hebrews, Pastor Jason will finish that up next week, and our focus this morning is going to be on “serving from the heart.”

Our text for this morning is going to be Matthew 6, if you will go ahead and turn there in your Bibles.

I like aphorisms, a short sentence that captures a large truth. I think that’s because I’m simple-minded. I like things that are simple and easy to remember. One simple truth I keep in my mind is, “Saved people serve people.” I could easily do an entire message with the amount of Scripture that backs that up. Like Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). Whoever abides in Christ ought also to walk just as He walked (1 Jn 2:6). Scripture is very clear that “saved people serve people.”

If you’re a believer, this should be true of your life. But, we are going to dig even deeper this morning, because as we will find out from our text, the motivation of why you serve, matters.

Matthew 5-7 is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Great multitudes of people were following Jesus (Matt 4:25) as He was going around the region of Galilee teaching and preaching in the synagogues and in other places, and healing all kinds of sicknesses and diseases of the people. Jesus “went up on a mountain” (Matt 5:1) and began explaining to His disciples, and those in the crowd, what the kingdom is, how it works, and what it ought to look like.

As we come to chapter 6, we are one chapter into His sermon. You’ll see as we go through this that Jesus is confronting the issue of people going through the motions of religion, but they don’t have a real relationship with God. They’re just going through the motions. They’re just checking the boxes. Jesus gives us some examples, some spiritual disciplines, of Giving (1-4), Prayer (5-14), and Fasting (16-18).

People who do this look good, don’t they? They are always serving, they’re performing these spiritual disciplines; giving of their money and time, praying and fasting. This looks good to others. And these are good things, right? Let me ask you a question: Is it a good thing for Faith Bible believers to give, pray, and fast?

It is, but when it’s all being done to be seen by others, and not by God, there’s a problem. (pause) This is what Jesus is addressing here. Why? Because motivations of service are important to Him. Let me say that again; motivations of service are important to Him. The reason you are serving matters to Him.

Jesus is communicating to His followers that there are some, like the Pharisees and other “religious” people, who are serving hypocritically; they’re doing it for the wrong reasons; they’re doing things to be seen by others.

So we can classify people who serve into two groups. Remember, I like to keep things simple. From those who serve—those who serve and have pure motives, and those who serve and don’t. I want you to be challenged about that this morning. Ask yourself, “What group do I fall under?” Because those who serve, most of the time, are going to be praised and applauded, regardless of their attitude, regardless of their motives. The question you must ask yourself when you are serving is this: “Who am I serving? Who am I serving?” (pause) If the answer to that question is anything but Jesus, then your motives are wrong—and that’s exactly what Jesus is addressing in Matthew 6.

Giving (1-4)

Read with me Matthew 6:1, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Jesus mentions “charitable deeds,” or other translations say “righteousness,” but the righteousness is referring to charitable deeds, or literally the giving of alms to the poor. Jesus is giving a warning here: don’t do your good deeds to be seen by others. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

The first good deed He mentions of the spiritual disciplines is giving. Jesus says, “be careful what your motive is when you give.” Don’t give in such a way as to draw attention to yourself; to draw the praise of people and the applause of the crowd. If that is why you’re doing it, to attract attention, to be seen by men, that is the only reward you will receive.

Judgment Seat of Christ reference. (1 Cor 3)

Now before we go further, I’d like to point something out that I think is important and will help our study. Remember that we are in the middle of a sermon, and not long before this Jesus had just told His disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14), and you can’t hide a light. So what we do is going to be seen; it’s going to be noticed.

So how does this balance, or work together?

But look at how Jesus finished that thought in verse 16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Mt 5:16). We are to do our good works in such a way that when people see what we are doing, they won’t be glorifying us but they’ll be glorifying God. This is the key to having the right motive. The reason I serve is to bring glory to God because I love God. I want to serve God. I’m doing it for Him, that is the motive that God honors and rewards. But if my motive is to receive glory and praise and credit from man, then that is all I will get as my reward.

This is the same thing that Jesus is saying in Matthew 6:1, if you do things to be seen by men, you have no reward from God; that is your reward.

Now I like the way that Jesus teaches. He gives us a principle and now He will give us three illustrations to help us understand the principle. Jesus gives examples to show us that there is a right way and there is a wrong way to give, pray, and fast.

First, we see the wrong way in verse 2: “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

I’ve never heard of someone blowing trumpets before they give, I picture a fanfare, and there is no record of say the Pharisees doing this, it’s most likely just a metaphor, but I understand what Jesus is getting at. You don’t make a big scene; you don’t draw attention to yourself. And He compares such a person to a hypocrite, an actor, someone putting on a show for people. This, the Pharisees did often. They gave alms to the poor to gain favor with God and attention from men. They enjoyed showing people how religious they were. Jesus says, assuredly, those people have received their reward. This is the wrong way to give.

What is the right way? Look at verses 3-4, “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

In contrast to the showiness of the Pharisees, Jesus says to give in secret, and to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. The right way of giving is by not drawing attention to yourself. As I researched what does it mean the “left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing,” commentaries seemed to say the same thing, one is to give readily and then forget what they gave. There is no reason to dwell on it.

Barbieri, Louis A. Jr., “Matthew,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 32.

Jesus says to give in secret. I had to ask the question: “Is it wrong to give openly then?” or “What if my giving isn’t in secret? What if it’s discovered, or somebody else knows?”

I think you have to answer this question within the context of this passage. The point Jesus is making is that our deeds are to be done with the right motives. He’s addressing our motives. Here is a good example: in the early church, in Acts 4, the believers were selling everything they had in order to share with one another. Barnabas “openly” sold land that he owned and gave the money to the apostles to be used. Next, we see Ananias and Sapphira who gave with the wrong motives. God cares about our motives.

So why do you give? Jesus presents two types of people: the person who gives to be seen by others, they draw attention to themself, and the person who gives in secret, with the pure motive of “I’m doing this for God. I’m motivated by my love for the Lord, and not so others can see.” God is the only One who sees in secret, who truly knows the motives of why you give, He has revealed how the rewards work.

Prayer (5-14)

Jesus is now going to show us that there is a wrong way to pray and a right way to pray.

Matt 6:5 ““And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

Jesus begins with “and when you.” He says this phrase 7 times in Matt 6:1-18. He knew His disciples would give, so He told them how to give. He also knows His disciples will pray, so He’s telling them how to pray.

Prayer was a very important thing in the life of the Jew. Twice a day, Jewish males had to say the Shema, which consists of three Old Testament passages: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41. Then they also prayed the Aridah (Air-ih-dah), which were 18, later 19, silent prayers prayed three times a day, 9 am, noon, and 3 pm.

So Jesus knew His disciples were going to pray, and He wanted them to pray the right way.

Jesus mentions that they are praying hypocritically in the synagogues and on the street corners. What would happen is people would time their prayers to be noticed by others. Oh, I just so happened to be on the street corner at 3 pm when I need to pray the Aridah. They would stop, cover their head, and pray. Everyone around them would see how spiritual they were; how holy; how dedicated to God. They would do this for man’s attention.

Now think about if you had to do something every day, the same thing over and over again. How quickly would it become meaningless to you? How quickly would it turn into just a duty or a task you needed to complete? I think I would at times try to say those 19 prayers as fast as I could. I’m busy, I have things to do. It would just be an empty repetition of words. I wouldn’t actually be thinking of what I’m praying.

Something that was meant to be a positive thing, focusing on God and giving Him praise, quickly turns into religion, just going through the motions.

Again, it’s not that we can’t pray publicly, it’s the motive that’s being questioned. Warren Wiersbe made an interesting statement: “It is wrong to pray in public if we are not in the habit of praying privately. Observers may think that we are practicing prayer when we are not, and this is hypocrisy.”

Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 25.

Why would you pray in public when you don’t pray in private? I can’t think of any other reason than to be seen by men, the very point Jesus is making. This is hypocrisy; it’s an act.

This is the wrong way to pray, what is the right way? Look at Matt 6:6-8 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

Jesus says that when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray in secret. The word for “room” refers to a storeroom or inner room of a house. This was most likely an inner room of a house, windowless, and possibly the only locked door in the whole house.

France R. T., Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 137.

Can you see the contrast Jesus makes, between the public synagogue or street corner and your private inner room? Jesus makes it clear that praying in a way to be seen by others is wrong.

Then Jesus mentions not using vain repetitions as the heathen do. He is now switching over from the Jewish world and showing what is wrong with the way Gentiles pray. It was normal for Gentiles to use long babbling prayers to get the attention of a god. They used meaningless repetition, they uttered chants and magical incantations.

Jesus is saying here that it’s quality over quantity. Mean what you’re saying. A short meaningful prayer is better than a long meaningless prayer. It’s not the length of prayer that makes it valid. Most of the prayers in the Bible are short. It can be brief and concise if it is meaningful.

To help with this, Jesus reminds His followers that the Father already knows what they need before they ask. cf. Matt 6:32 as Jesus repeats this again by the end of the chapter. You don’t have to inform God or explain to Him what is going on; He already knows. You don’t have to tell Him all of your needs, He already knows.

So Jesus is showing us the wrong way to pray: doing it to be seen by others, and praying empty words; vain repetition that has no meaning.

Now He will give an example of how to pray the right way: (v 9) In this manner, therefore, pray.

This is the well-known Lord’s Prayer. Jesus gives us a model, and it’s unfortunate that many people have taken this model prayer and they use it in vain repetition. They’ll say it over and over again. Just repeating the Lord’s prayer over and over again has no value. If they would just read two verses before the prayer, they would understand that God does not want this. God presents this as a model; an example of how to pray.

I don’t have the time this morning to really break the Lord’s Prayer down, but I’ll go through it quickly and just highlight some points.

Our Father in heaven. We pray to God the Father. He can only be your Father if you are a child of God, if you have been born again, you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

Hallowed be Your name. Hallowed means to make holy. We have a reverence for God and His name. We know He is holy, sinless, and perfect. It keeps us in the proper perspective.

Your kingdom come. We are praying that more people would come to saving faith. We pray that we, as believers, become more and more sanctified; more and more like Christ. We pray that we would be the light of the world.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray for His will to be done on earth; that believers would choose to obey Him; that believers would pursue His kingdom and not their own.

Give us this day our daily bread. We pray for God’s provision, that He’ll take care of our needs. I know growing up in America, I’ve never once needed to pray for my next meal. But we are to pray for our provisions for today.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. We need to repent and confess of sin in our lives.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. We pray for God’s guidance. There is a spiritual battle going on. Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour (1 Pe 5:8).

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. God alone is to be praised, worshiped, and celebrated. He alone is King who rules over all.

Imagine praying like that! If you want a boost to your prayer life, learn to pray as Jesus instructed. I encourage you to study the Lord’s Prayer because there is so much you can learn from each part.

So why do you pray? Pray like this, being intentional, meaning what you’re saying to God. This isn’t just meaningless repetition or I’m not just saying these words in front of others to be seen by them so they can think “how spiritual.” It needs to be from the heart. It needs to be meaningful.

Fasting (16-18)

The third spiritual discipline that Jesus addresses is that of fasting.

Matt 6:16-18 ““Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Fasting was also something regularly done by the Jewish people. They would fast once a year on the Day of Atonement (one day a year when the high priest entered the inner sanctuary of the temple to make reconciling sacrifices for the sins of the entire nation) (Lev 23:27), and they would also fast for other reasons such as mourning, repentance, and seeking God.

Church, Chris. “Day of Atonement,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 396–397.

David Seal and Kelly A. Whitcomb, “Fasting,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Jesus knew that His followers would fast so He gives a third example of the wrong way to fast. He again mentions hypocrisy. The Pharisees fasted at least twice a week, on Monday and Thursday (Lk 18:12), and they made sure those around them knew they were fasting. They wanted the praise from men. They wanted people to think how spiritual they were.

He says don’t be like those who are fasting and have a sad countenance, which means to look sullen; to have a sad, downcast, gloomy demeanor. You know what I mean, right? An Eeyore.

He says they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. They would also make their faces dirty with ashes, and have a disheveled appearance with their clothes and hair, to make sure others knew. Again, it’s hypocrisy; it’s an act, and they have their reward.

Instead, the right way to fast is this: anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place. Anointing a head with oil was commonly done for good grooming. There would be a scent to the oil, to be used almost like a perfume. Washing the face was just something that people normally did. Extra care should be taken to make sure people don’t know you’re fasting.

So why do you fast? So again, don’t draw attention to yourself; don’t try to show people how spiritual you are. Cry out to God during your times of fasting. That should be your only concern. And go above and beyond to make sure people don’t know. Then your heavenly Father will reward you.

From the Heart

So in Matthew 6, Jesus has taught that the motivations for why we serve are important to Him. He gave us three illustrations. The wrong way to give, pray, and fast, and the right way to give, pray, and fast. And these are just three spiritual disciples. This applies to all of our good deeds.

I asked a question at the beginning, “Who are you serving?” If you are a believer, your life should reflect that by the way you live, by the way you serve. But we’re going deeper this morning: “Who are you serving?”

When you do something, when you give, why are you doing it? Think about it, what are your motives? I was challenged to think this week: Why do I do discipleship? Why do I spend so much time at FaithBound basketball and with those guys? Why am I helping with Fall Fest? Why did I preach this message to you this morning?

God has made it very clear in His Word. If you do things hypocritically; if you do them to be seen by men, to receive praise from men, you have received your reward. You will get nothing from God, nothing of eternal value. But if you do your good deeds in secret, do them with the right motives and intentions at heart, God, who sees in secret, will reward you.

I encourage you to get below the surface and search deep into your heart to find what your true motives are. Get alone with God this week, maybe even today, and ask the question, “Who am I serving?” Which group do I fall under: those who serve with pure motives, and those who don’t? Our motivation for serving must be rooted in pleasing Christ and Him alone. We should be serving for only an audience of One.

Prayer

Pastor Jason’s surprise party announcement.