Christian Disciplines

 On his deathbed, an old miser called his doctor, lawyer, & pastor. "They say you can't take it with you. But I'm gonna' try. Here are 3 envelopes, $30k cash in each. Please take one. As they lower my casket, toss yours into the grave." At the grave, each tossed in an envelope. But as they left, pastor confessed. "My church needed $10k, so only I tossed in $20k." The doctor said, "I'm building a clinic & took $20k. So, I only tossed in $10k." The lawyer looked stern. "Men, I'm ashamed of you. I threw in a personal check for all $30k." Jesus has strong words for all 3 as He talks today about Christian disciplines that help us get closer to God. The 1st discipline? Righteous acts. Our works. In Mt 25:35-36, Jesus shows the principle. Love others in practical ways. That's how He'll judge us for rewards. His caution? Let's look at Mt 6:1-24. 1a"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. You'll get affirmation. What 1bif you do works for affirmation, theirs or ours, it'll be our only reward. 1cYou'll have no reward from your Father in heaven. By working for affirmation, & we forfeit our treasure in heaven. Work to please God. Not others. 2aWhen you give to the needy, don't announce it with trumpets. Same with giving to any charity, or to the church. 2bHypocrites trumpet big gifts in churches & in public, to be honored by men. Publicity. A plaque. The recognition wall for big givers, bigger givers, & biggest givers. If we do? 2cI tell you the truth, they've received their reward in full. Recognition by people is all we'll get. No treasure in heaven. How should we give? 3When you give to the needy, don't let your LH know what your RH is doing. For right-handed folks, our RH can usually see our LH. Jesus says 4aLet your giving be in secret. So secret, the LH can't see the RH. 4bThen your Father, who sees what's done in secret, will reward you. Do all good works for the Father. For His good pleasure alone. Trust Him to reward us with treasure that'll last. The 1st spiritual discipline is good works. Jesus says do them all for the Father. Only the Father. The next spiritual discipline? Prayer. 5aWhen you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. Like Pharisees in his day. 5bThey love to pray in church & in public, to be seen by men. We still have Pharisees. A Boston newspaper once reported on the prayer time in one church service. The article said it was "the finest prayer ever offered to a congregation!" We've heard those prayers. Elegant. All the right, flowery words. Dramatic pauses & voice inflections. Who is the prayer really to? Pray like that? If so, Jesus says 5cI tell you the truth, they've received their reward in full. People's affirmation is all they'll get. God isn't impressed. Worse, they'll forfeit treasure in heaven. Prayer is private conversation with God. This discipline, too, is for God alone. How should we pray? 6aWhen you pray, go into your room. An empty room. A closet, if we have to. 6bClose the door. Once we're alone, 6cPray to your unseen Father. Talk to Him. Don't just recite a prayer we've learned. 6dThen your Father, who sees what's done in secret, will reward you When we draw close to God, He draws close to us. That closeness is eternal treasure. 7aWhen you pray, don't keep on babbling like pagans. God isn't impressed. 7bThey think they'll be heard because of their many words. But God is repulsed. 8aDon't be like them. 8bYour Father knows what you need before you ask him. The reason for prayer isn't to get God to turn loose of a blessing. He's ready & wants to give us good gifts. Prayer fits us to receive His blessing. How? Prayer changes us, moves us into His will. In His will, we're ready to receive the blessings He has for us. 9a"This is how you should pray. How. Not what. This is a pattern for prayer. Not the prayer. 9b'Our Father in heaven... Start by talking to our Father. Not a remote God who doesn't care. Our Father who loves us. He made way for us to come boldly into His presence, as His children. But never forget who He is. All-knowing, all-powerful, & ever-present. Our holy Creator-God. So, pray 9cHallowed be your name. Keep His Name holy. Worship Him. Pray that we & others will do so. 10aYour kingdom come. Pray 1st for His KoG. His rule on earth. It grows with each new believer. So, pray for chances to witness. 10bYour will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In His Kingdome, it's His will. Pray His will 1st. Not ours. He knows what we need. We may not know His will. So, spend time asking Him. Keep asking till He shows us. Only then are we free to turn to our needs. 11Give us today our daily bread. Not a full fridge & pantry. Pray for what we need, today. Food, clothing, housing, & the jobs to provide them. Now, turn to sin. Jesus already paid our sin-debt. So, like disciples at the last supper, we're already clean. Only our "feet" need washing. Clearing the air of recent sins. So, pray 12Forgive us our debts, as we've forgiven our debtors. God forgave us our capital offenses. How can we not forgive the minor offenses others offer us? Once we do, we've covered the past. Turn to the future. Temptation will find us. 13aLead us not into temptation.' Lead us away from or out of it. And, whenever we fall, 13bdeliver us from the evil one. Prayer is crucial. One part is especially critical. Forgiveness. 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Forgiving others is for us. It releases us from bondage to bitterness. But, equally vital, 15If you don't forgive men their sins, your Father won't forgive your sins. It's that important. Jesus has now taught us these Christian disciplines: how to practice good works, giving, & praying. He now tells us how to fast. 16aWhen you fast (not if), don't look somber as hypocrites do. Keep it secret, just like our giving. 16bHypocrits disfigure their faces to show men they're fasting. Look how humble I'm being. 16cI tell you the truth, they've received their reward in full. They forfeit eternal reward for public affirmation. 17When you fast, put on your perfume or aftershave, & wash your face just as usual. No ashes or anything else to show that we're fasting. 18aThen it won't be obvious to men that you are fasting. Don't do it for them. 18bIt'll only be obvious to your Father, who is unseen. The only reason to fast? For God. It's a time to focus on Him. Not to reduce weight. Not for religious purposes. Fasting has a reward only if it's for God. 18bYour Father, who sees what's done in secret, will reward you. Eternal treasure. Speaking of treasure, Jesus wants us to earn it. But Jesus isn't OK with just any kind of treasure. 19a"Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth. We can't take it with us. 19bThere, moth & rust destroy. Clothes, precious metals, money, houses-none of it lasts forever. Even if it lasts a long time, 19thieves break in & steal it. There's only one way to earn treasure that lasts. 20aRather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Good character. Loving relationships. Closeness to God. A clear conscience. A free spirit. Joy. These, we can take with us. 20bIn heaven moth & rust don't destroy. Jesus keeps our treasure for us. 20cThere thieves don't break in & steal. In heaven, Jesus protects them. Why seek heavenly treasure? 21Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. How so? Our treasure has our focus. So, where's our focus? Wherever it is, there's our heart. Want the greatest treasure of all? The pearl beyond price? Focus on Jesus. Stay focused. He gives us His Spirit. The greatest treasure of all. The more we focus, on Jesus, the more He's ours. The problem is our sight. 22a"The eye is the body's lamp. How clearly does Christ's light reach us? 22bIf your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. Keep our eyes on Jesus, & that'll be true. And, if we keep our eyes focused anywhere else? 23aIf your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Jesus is the Light of the World. Want our body full of light? Focus on Him. Look away? 23bIf the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Ro 6:16 shows the main issue. Our eyes focus on our treasure. And, we're slaves to either righteousness or unrighteousness. One will be our master. 24a"No one can serve 2 masters. No middle ground. 24bEither he'll hate the one & love the other, or he'll be devoted to the one & despise the other. 24cYou can't serve both God & Money. Where will we focus our eyes? God? Or stuff? Choose. But choose wisely. Let's wrap it up. Russian author Turgenev once wrote, "I don't know what the heart of a bad man is like. I do know what the heart of a good man is like. It's terrible." In the SotM, Jesus reveals the condition of our hearts. I don't like what it shows about my heart. Maybe you feel the same. Jesus gave us these spiritual disciplines to build habits that purify our hearts. Let's ask the Holy Spirit which spiritual disciplines will help us press into God. As we press in, He'll change us more & more into His Son's likeness. The good news? God isn't finished with us. As Paul says in Php 1:6b, He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion. Let's pray... Christian Disciplines - Matthew 6:1-24 Page 1 of 1