Personal and Authentic Relationship with God
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[Introduction]
I was thinking about authenticity this weekend. Something that looks the same as something else but isn’t authentic, has no value. Counterfeit money can get you nothing. Now of course it can be hard to detect because it looks about the same, people can be deceived by the look, but the fact that it’s not authentic, it has no purpose. Have you ever watched the show pawn stars? People come in all the time to this famous pawn shop with rare items, or at least they appear to be identical to one, but if the item cannot be verified to be authentic, the owner of that item usually will get nothing.
Authenticity is something that isn’t always in relationships either. A friend is someone who will stick with you and work with you through life’s battles, giving advice, encouraging you, and they’ll enjoy spending time with you regardless of your social status. We know that probably doesn’t always happen though. There are a lot of broken relationships because of money or status.
The poor are despised even by their neighbors,
while the rich have many “friends.”
Definitely not saying wealthy people can’t have authentic relationships, but authentic or not, the reality is people will tend to want to be friends of someone with status or money. There are millions of people that would just love to be friends with a certain celebrity. And I fall into this trap too at times, just being in awe of someone just because of their status or money.
Let’s open up in prayer.
[Prayer]
[Body]
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
From this text it may be easy to think, ah I gotta be careful if I’m ever given the opportunity to help someone, I need to make sure it’s done in private. But the point is the authenticity of giving, not whether or not someone sees you doing it. Middle of verse one again says “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others”.
Actually Matthew 5:16, where Jesus is talking about being the salt and light of the world, says:
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
We generously give and generously help others out of the goodness and desire that God has put into our hearts, regardless of whether or not someone sees us doing it. In fact, giving as a way to glorify ourselves results in us receiving nothing. End of verse 1 reads: “for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven” and end of verse 2: “I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.” For the hypocrites, their actions are phony, they’re worthless in terms of what they’ll receive. When you give because you want to receive something, you actually receive nothing. But if you give not to receive anything but to ultimately glorify God, you receive eternal rewards and blessings. Nothing in this world, status, wealth, reputation, means anything in the end.
And apart from God we can do nothing.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
We cannot produce any good fruit or exalt Christ without Him working through us.
Paul says in Romans 7:18
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.
Authenticity in our actions is required to truly exalt Christ. And we need that authentic relationship with Christ to do that. Authenticity is all we need, It’s not the amount we give.
In Luke, while Jesus is in the Temple warning his disciples about the actions of the Pharisees who do things for their own good and status, Luke 21:1-4 reads:
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Now to clarify, we were talking about giving to the needy in chapter 6, and now in Luke 21 this is talking more about giving for offering in the Temple. But the concept is the same, whether we’re giving to someone in need or giving to the Church, we give whatever the amount the Lord has put in our heart. In our world typically bigger is always better, it’s about the numbers. In the eyes of God though, our actions, in this case giving, driven by authentic Faith in God is all that matters. The woman didn’t give very much compared to the others, but she gave all she had. She’s living by faith.
Jesus continues on from talking about giving into praying.
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Different topic, but very much the same tone.
“Don’t be like the hypocrites” - People who Pray or give in public to glorify themselves, are the hypocrites
For the hypocrite - “The attention they receive is all they’ll ever get” - Which as we know in the end is nothing.
Doing so in private or with authenticity, verse 6 again: “Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Just like the amount of money doesn’t matter in giving, neither does the length of the prayer, in verse 7 -8 again: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
Now, this isn’t to say that a longer prayer or praying for something multiple days in a row is a bad thing. We know the apostles prayed a lot and Jesus, the Son of God, prayed a lot! It’s the faith behind the prayer that matters.
Don’t pray in vain. The length of your prayer and location of where you pray doesn’t matter. It’s the faith in the God to which you are praying to. It’s an act of worship, and just as Jesus told the woman at the well, God is Spirit so you must worship in Spirit and in Truth. That’s all that matters. Genuine faith.
I want to read this next section in Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus keeps hammering in the same four points around different topics. Here he moves on to fasting.
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Same message, different topic.
Hypocrites glorify themselves
Hypocrites receive No reward from God
When done with authenticity in private God will reward you
No time length for it to be holy, just that it’s authentic
I remember the first time I tried to fast. It was many years ago, but I was terrible. It was done with a group of guys at the College I was attending at the time and we did it for spiritual building, but let me tell you, I failed. I didn’t comb my hair and wash my face, I was a stinky complaining fool. Pretty sure all my friends knew that I was “fasting” and that I was very hungry, because I complained about it. I really don’t think I was admired by it either because of how I acted. I look back at it now and I’m like wow I was an idiot. I really should have learned more about fasting and gone through this passage before doing it. Every time I hear fasting, I think of that time years ago. God looks for the pure heart, doing things for His Glory.
We must remain in communion with Him, it’s so easy to get off on the wrong track. We don’t get the full armor of God just from attending Church. It’s the faith in God, which can be grown more and more as we spend time with Him through the week. We can worship him through our spending time in his Word, giving, praying, and fasting. In Spirit and in Truth. God loves the private time that we spend with him. It can be easy to think if I’m not evangelizing in some way, am I really doing much? Evangelizing is great, but to do work for God in that area you need to take care of your relationship with him. Communion with Him isn’t just meant for when you’re with the body of Christ as a group as we are now. He wants that quiet time alone with you. I like what Jesus says about prayer in verse 6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you”, not just by yourself, away from everything, shut the door behind you. Which spending this quiet time with God should be so easy but can be so challenging.
I’m a sports fan and I like to watch football. I’ll watch my favorite college football team and favorite professional football team every week. They always play at different times and football games are usually 3-4 hours long. So one thing that challenges me is I’m willing to spend 6-8 hours over two days cheering and praising some guys on a football field that I’ll probably never meet, but will I spend that much time in an entire week, praising the God who created everything and wants to have a real relationship with me. Now that’s something that convicts me, but we all have different things we enjoy spending time on, and I’m not saying they’re bad things, we just have to keep them in perspective of our time with God.
He wants and is deserving of that undivided authentic praise. And all we have is to gain from the time spent with Him.