LORD, PREPARE OUR HEARTS TO PRAY
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Matthew 6:1-21
Matthew 6:1-21
Preparation of 40 days of prayer and fasting for the welfare of the city.
I have asked you to be praying 2 prayers leading up to those 40 days.
Lord, what would you have be fast?
Lord, how do you want me to specifically seek the welfare of my city?
Our prayer focus is not simply a focus on prayer. Its the power, the engine behind our actions. We are not praying for the welfare of the city so that someone else would come along and help the city. But so that God would give us His direction, His power, His fruit, so that His Kingdom would come and that He would be glorified through the actions of this church and through His people.
That is why we are fasting and praying, So, that we would be the agents of change in our city. To seek the welfare of the city.
So, in preparation of this prayer and action focus as a church, this morning, the Lord has asked us to check our motives.
Why are we going to pray? Why are we going to seek the welfare of our city?
All throughout scripture is warnings about the motives of our hearts and why we do something being more important than what we do.
Proverbs 16:2 (NLT)
All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So, before we launch this time of prayer and seeking the welfare of the city the Lord is asking us to check our motives. I believe He is asking us to check out motives to why we are even here this morning.
So, let’s pray before we begin.
Pray Psalms 139:23-24
Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Let’s read where Jesus specifically taught about this in the sermon on the mount.
Read Matthew 6:1-24
Let’s look at verse 19-21 first because it describes the previous verses.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
According to Jesus’warning, there are two different types of rewards. Earthly and heavenly.
The good things that we do here on Earth will reap rewards. I mean that pretty cool! That should excite us!
But its clear in passage that earthly rewards are temporary and will be destroyed. While the heavenly rewards are eternal.
Verse 21 tells us that which one we strive to treasure, which treasure we are pursuing is where our hearts will be. Your heart is the motivation center that makes you tick.
And out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
But in chapter 6, Jesus runs through some specifics about how to practically seek which treasure.
Jesus starts off with a warning of practicing righteousness.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Beware of doing the right thing so that you can be seen doing the right thing. He says doing the right thing for the wrong reason will remove the heavenly rewards that you could earn.
The repeated phrase is that others will see you and that will be your reward.
Your reward will be others recognizing you. And let me tell you, that is short lived. Your rewards will be destroyed by rust and moths. Those rewards will not last.
He continues in verse 2.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
When you strive to meet the needs of others. When you help those who need help. Don’t make a big deal about it!
Don’t post it on your socials. Because your likes will be your rewards. That temporary burst of dopamine and acceptance will make you feel good for a second but will fade away.
But when we help those in need in our community, we should not advertise our name but His name. He desires us to help in secret because our Father rewards in secret.
Jesus says, in verse 5-8, don’t pray to be seen. Do not pray using empty words and phrases. Don’t pray trying to sound super spiritual or extra smart.
To do that is to seek the approval and admiration of man. When prayer should be about seeking God’s approval and giving Him admiration. To pray like that is to steal the admiration and praise that is due to Him.
This passage is not saying not to pray in public or in front of others. For we see that all throughout scripture and Jesus’ life. But I believe the point is to not pray in public or in front of others until you have prayed in private.
Let your public prayers be a reflection of your private prayers seeking God’s heavenly rewards and not earthly temporary rewards of others praise and admiration.
Jesus also talks about fasting in verses 16-18.
When we go into this 40 days of fasting, my suggestion is for you to not share with many people what the Lord has asked you to fast. Don’t broadcast it. Don’t post on Facebook that your fasting Facebook…
My suggestion is to tell those close to you. Your spouse. Your connect group. Those who are going to be praying for you and helping keep you accountable.
We are going to talk more about fasting in a few weeks. But the point this morning is to not seeking the approval or cause others to have pity on your struggle of what the Lord has asked you to fast.
Before we move onto proper motives, we can’t ignore verse 14 and 15.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
In all of these examples, it talks about seeking the heavenly rewards and not the earthly rewards.
However, it seems the other way around when it comes to forgiveness. With forgiveness, we must seek earthly forgiveness before we will receive heavenly forgiveness.
That should give us pause and consideration. This illustrates the importance and emphasis placed on forgiveness.
These verses should give us pause and cause us to pray and ask the Lord to search us and see if there is any grievous ways within us.
1 Corinthians warns us that our motives will be tested and judged when Judgement Day comes.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
The rewards of this earth, the treasures of this earth will be burnt up, destroyed and stolen.
But our heavenly Father rewards with rewards that are eternal.
My prayer is that you take some time to analyze and ask the Lord to seek your motives. Why do you do the good things that you do? The “why” is more important than the “what”
So, how should we pray and seek the welfare of the city?
Jesus said it throughout Matthew 6.
Practice righteousness, or do the right things because you love Jesus!
Jesus said in John, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Do the right thing not because you want others to see but because the love of Jesus compels you to!
When you help those in need, like we are going to in February, don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.
Now, we are going to have to go to them and let them know what we are doing. But the food that we serve on February 22nd is not what we are offering the people in our community. We are offering the solution to their greatest need, the need of a Savior. The meal is to begin building relationship with them. Not so that they will attend our church but so that they will attend the marriage super of the Lamb! We want to see them in eternity. That is why we help. That is why we serve.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
The Word tells us to do NOTHING from selfish ambition. Benefiting yourself should not be our motivation to do good, to serve others.
When it comes to investing in the welfare of the city, I as your pastor and you as the church can not be motivated by your own benefit. We should not help others because we might get something out of it! Isn’t it obvious to you when someone does that for you?
We should look at individuals and even other churches in our community as more significant that ourselves or even our church. Their needs should overtake ours. We should feed others before we eat. We should pray for others before we pray for ourselves. We should seek the welfare of the city before we seek our welfare.
The life of Jesus and the disciples are lives marked by sacrifice and servanthood to others.
It is this kind of lifestyle and this kind of church that reaches the lost for Jesus. It is counter cultural. It is even counter “church culture”.
Serve others, love others, give to others, even if they never serve you back. Even if they never love you back. Even if you gain nothing.
We should be a people marked by radical hospitality and giving of ourselves.
Philippians tells us that was the mind of Christ and it should be the same mind with us.
James warns us as a church how we treat people that come into the church.
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
The community church should be a reflect of the people in the community.
The community church should be reflection of the diversity of our community.
It should be a reflection of every social or economic differences in our community.
May we never be a church that shows partiality to any one group or another.
May we be a people that always considers other to be more significant than ourselves. You can’t do that and not be welcoming to everyone we come in contact with.
I will close with this scripture.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We often throw that phrase out. We close our prayers with it.
“in Jesus’ name”
We say it but we don’t often think about what it means.
JD Greer put its like this.
When we pray in the name of Jesus or do everything in the name of Jesus, we are saying “in accordance to Jesus’ will, for His glory and by His power.”
So, this verse is telling us, everything that we do should be in accordance to Jesus’ will, for His glory and by His power.
When we pray, it should be according to Jesus’ will, for His glory and by His power.
When we seek the welfare of our city, it should be according to Jesus’ will, for His glory and by His power.
Amen, church.
So, the challenge for us this morning, before we enter into the season of fasting and praying for the welfare of our city, is to check our motives.
Would you join me church in praying the Psalm 139 prayer?
Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
According to Your will, for Your glory and by Your power.
Amen.
Lord, prepare our hearts to pray for the welfare of our city.