Are You Thinking about Me?

People spend a significant portion of time thinking about others. Different psychologists created studies on this, finding out that 50% of the time we are thinking about someone else.

Sometimes we are thinking about what that person thinks about us. Some of us are more concerned about this than others. This is one of the reasons why people do not like public speaking or play an instrument in front of others, because we are concerned about what people think.

Which is tragic. That fear, prevents so many people from making an impact on others’ lives.

We want people to like us. We want people to look up at us and think well of us, and when they don’t, it’s hard.

but, this fear, mixed with this desire, sometimes makes us act different in public. Not just different, but makes us want to do good things in a way that people will notice, so that our reputation can increase.

As Jesus is teaching how a kingdom-follower lives, he spends some time talking about what our focus is to be on. Namely, on the kingdom, living knowing that God is watching, and not caring about everyone else.

Let’s read the passage:

Matthew 6:1–18 NIV

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

We are going to study the background to this passage, dive into the actual teaching of Jesus, and then give some application.

But, first, will you pray with me?

1. Background

Let’s talk about the background for this passage, so that we can understand it a little better. If lectures bore you, I am so sorry.

A. Definition

I think some definitions would be beneficial for us today.

First, Jesus discusses giving to the needy. Previously, this would be considered “giving of alms.” This is a general term for any money that is given to a poor person, whether directly to the needy person, or through a religious organization, such as a local synagogue. I think that definition is not shocking to anyone.

Second, Jesus discusses prayer. He is not speaking about rote, memorized sentences that are used to appease a god. He is speaking about petitions, requests, intercessions, words of thanksgiving, that are used in a conversation with God, as we just talk with him.

Third, Jesus discusses fasting. Fasting is getting popular these days as so many people are turning to intermittent fasting for weight loss. The fasting Jesus refers to is not for health benefits. But, it is when something is removed for a period of time in order to focus on something else. Usually, food is the means of fasting, and during the meal that you would have been eating, you spend the time focused on God through Bible reading and prayer. Other things could be used for fasting, such as technology, social media, entertainment, hobbies.

Technically, Lent is a form of fasting, though few people actually use lent as originally intended.

B. Cultural Considerations

Okay, let’s talk about Jesus’ day. Without a little bit of background, we may not fully understand what the big deal is, behind what Jesus is saying.

First, let’s talk about giving to the needy. The Roman government at this time did not care about the poor. They expected the local authorities to take care of the issue, if anything was to be done. In Israel, the poor were cared for through willing donations from the rich.

If the needy were to survive, the more affluent would have to share. There were two ways this would happen. First, throughout the cities, one would find beggars, people sitting on street corners and at the doorways of businesses and synagogues, asking for money. Those who were feeling generous would give money. Many times, the religious leaders would make a show of it. Jesus gives a hyperbole, talking about having someone sounds trumpets before them. That really didn’t happen.

But, what would happen was the one giving money would gather a crowd and yell out what he was doing. Not to put anyone down, its like what some organizations do when they get a huge check printed and call the newspaper, and you see the the representatives of the organization giving this huge check to the non-profit.

The religious leaders who toot their own horn.

Or, some people would give in the offering boxes at the synagogues and the temple. And sometimes, those boxes had amplifiers on them, and so when the coins would drop, the sound would be amplified, and the more coins you put in, the more sound. You can imagine the feeling when a huge amount of coins would fall into that box, and the sound would reverberate and everyone would look to see who was so generous.

Second, let’s talk about prayers.

We’ve talked about this a little bit a few weeks ago. The religious leaders acting a certain way so that people would think so highly of them, and that attitude passing down to others.

People would stand on the street corners, sometimes, but more often in the synagogues, and they would drone on and on, trying to sound more and more spiritual, not as a way of talking to God, but as a way of people noticing.

Third, let’s talk about fasting.

Again, The religious leaders acted in a certain way so that people would think highly of them. Dressing a certain way, putting ashes on their heads. They were not using fasting according to the purpose, but according to how it would benefit them in society.

That is the background to this passage.

2. Teaching

Let’s look at Jesus’ teaching.

He is building a case against man’s righteousness and for God’s righteousness. Saying: man has done it this way, and left to ourselves we will, but God wants this standard. He expects us as his followers to not have our focus on man, but on God.

A. Giving to the Needy

He begins by addressing giving to the needy.

Matthew 6:2–4 NIV

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus employs two rhetorical devices over and over in his teaching. We are familiar with his parables. Telling stories to illustrate a point.

He also uses hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Man’s righteousness is based upon getting our rewards from people’s praise. God’s righteousness is based upon doing something for God and no one else. He uses hyperbole, saying that we should be so secret that our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing. That is an exaggeration, and we know that. The point is, the kingdom-follower purposefully give to those in need when others are not around, kind of like when Jesus would heal someone, he would say: “don’t tell anyone.” Because the purpose is not to gain a following, but to glorify the Father.

B. Praying

Jesus moved from giving to the needy to praying.

Matthew 6:5–8 NIV

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

And then, he launches into what some people call the Lord’s Prayer. Technically, this is the Disciple’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is John 17.

My goal today is not to explain prayer. If you would like to study the prayer example that Jesus gave and all sorts of different aspects of Prayer, we can have a conversation. I have resources in my library.

My goal is to discuss how we pray, briefly.

Jesus said that there are two perspectives, we pray to be seen by others or we pray to be seen by God.

He gives the hyperbole of going into the closet and only praying there. We have no example in the Bible of a Christian only praying in there closet. Instead, we have so many examples of Christians praying together verbally. But, the focus is not on what others think, but on what God thinks.

He also says that there are focuses: fighting to be heard by God or resting in conversation with him. The pagans babbled, thinking that they could be heard because of their excess words. But, God doesn’t need us to pray at all. He knows what we are going to ask. He wants us to talk, because we have a relationship with him.

C. Fasting

Finally, Jesus discusses fasting.

Matthew 6:16–18 NIV

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Again, his focus is on fasting for the relationship with God, instead of for the praise of men.

He employs hyperbole again, talking about the hypocrites who disfigure their faces to show others. They don’t self-mutilate, but they make themselves ugly, so that people will wonder and ask, and the hypocrite can say: Oh, I’m fasting today.

Fasting, though, is based on communion with God. We want to draw near to him and we need him. And once we place our focus on another human, the reason for fasting has ended and we should change our focus or eat something.

3. Application

What does this teaching look like for kingdom-followers today?

A. Today, Giving to the Needy in a Godly Way

We are supposed to give in a way so that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

We are supposed to give so that our reward is in heaven and not on this earth.

I could talk about the amazing tax system of the US, when we are willing to disclose our giving we will receive a reward from the government. I’m not here to say that a tax break is a bad thing, but if we are giving just for the tax break, something is wrong.

I could talk about the fundraising efforts put on by some Christian organizations: If we come and give, they’ll give us a free meal, or a book, or a Bible study. Give in this month, and we’ll give you…

Is gifting donors a bad thing? No, but if the reason we give is so that we get something, something is wrong.

If we are able to ever give a huge gift to someone in the community, we are not going to be printing a large check, and putting our picture in the newspaper. Nothing against those who do it.

We are called, as God’s followers, to see the needs in the world around, and out of worship to God, we are to meet those needs in a way that points people back to him and glorify him.

B. Today, Praying in a Godly Way

Shall we tackle praying?

Again, if you want resources on that why, why, and how of prayer, let me know.

We have become a church that values prayer. We have seen God work in our body, in our community, as we have come together to pray for the needs around us.

Something special happened once we started meeting on Wednesday nights to pray. And if you want to join in on the engine that powers this church, come Wednesday nights for pie and prayer. The pie is for fellowship, the prayer is because we need it.

Prayer is about seeking God. We seek God individually, but we also seek him corporately, because we are one body, his body. And so, we as his body, should gather to pray.

This is challenging, because as we gather to pray, we do it verbally so that others can agree with our prayer and be ministered to through our prayer.

And Satan and his demons start whispering in our ears, and we start thinking, I wonder what so-and-so is thinking about my prayer. I’ve prayed some really weak prayers in my past because I tried to be powerful so that others might think good of me.

The best advice for focusing on God rather than on others: Don’t pray on and on. Pray simply. Make your request and stop. God heard. He won’t hear better when we keep going. I could make a great illustration toddler nagging a parent, but I won’t. Our goal is to commune with God, so make the request and then stop talking. When you are impressed to say something else, say it, and then stop talking.

We are to speak meaningful to the creator of the universe, the king of kings, the holy judge. And may we never take that lightly, but instead boldly approach him with our focus only on him.

C. Today, Fasting in a Godly Way

True, spiritual fasting doesn’t happen very often.

The Pharisees would fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Well the early church didn’t want to be like them hypocrites, so they fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. They kinda missed the point.

The point is realizing that we all go through time of spiritual need to be close to God and find an answer to a question. And in those times, we turn to this tool to dive into communion with God, but we do it in a way that focuses us on God.

I was part of a ministry that did a huge evangelization push every year. For the forty days leading up to the weekend, we would fast once a week. I had no idea which day my ministry partners fasted, and they didn’t know which day I fasted. And we pleaded with God for people’s souls doing that time.

I know some people here in Neligh that fast. I’ve invited them out to eat last minute and they agreed because they needed to talk about some spiritual issue that they were fasting about. I didn’t know they were fasting, until they ordered a salad. They choice to alter their fast, eating something they wouldn’t normally eat, to remind them what was going on, but still eating because didn’t want to be conspicuous and draw attention to what they were doing.

These next several years are years when we as the church of Jesus Christ will need to dive into these spiritual disciplines again, especially some that we have pushed to the side. We will need them because we are a needy people and God is worthy of being sought.

But, we need to learn to use them now in a way that is not self-glorifying, but screams that God is worthy alone. And we need him alone.