The Gospel Series Part VIII
Our study on The Sermon On The Mount continues.
Matthew 6:1-4 NKJV — “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. “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. “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 this day and age we see all kinds of charity, but why do people do it? During the holiday season we see organizations set up food giveaways and hot meals for those who are in need. They receive recognition from the local news, city government and retailers, and we are led to believe it was done out of the kindness of their heart. Sometimes this is not always the case. Some give because they want the spotlight to shine clearly on them. Their motivation is for self-glorification and not to glorify God, who gave us the greatest gift of all.
Many times Jesus taught by stating a principle and would always give examples for His followers to understand clearly. God’s gift of His Son Jesus Christ and eternal life, through the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, is the foundation on which our righteous charitable deeds are based upon. The Word of God reminds us, our motivation for the charitable deeds we have done will be tested.
2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV — For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
In His sermon Jesus is saying to us, charitable acts should not be a spectacle for all to see. Any kind of giving which draws attention to the giver and draws the praise of men is the wrong kind of giving. We have witnessed these kinds of charitable acts before, even on national TV. One example is Oprah Winfrey. During the run of her syndicated TV talk show, she would occasionally give away cars to the studio audience. The media and others would praise her with adoration for being a great humanitarian, but in reality, her actions were motivated by the tax laws of the United States and the relief she would receive by committing such an act. If anyone has followed her career, they will find no other major acts of charity, unless done in private circles. Attention and strong competitive TV ratings were probably the main motivation and Jesus tells us of those who make a spectacle “…in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” (Matthew 6:2)
The right kind of giving should always be a matter of prayer and private between God and each individual.
Matthew 6:5-15 NKJV — “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. “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. “In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
All things should be a matter of prayer. When we pray, what exactly are we praying about or praying for? Many people think the purpose of prayer is to get what we want, to get “our way” and for God to approve and bless our selfish agendas. When we do this, we become like those who pray aloud so people can turn and hear them pray, marveling at the techniques they use to sound bold and sincere. The formulas they and we use to get God’s attention usually fall on deaf ears because we want everything to be about us. The true purpose of prayer is for God’s will to be done in whatever situation we are praying about.
1 John 5:14-15 NKJV — Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
It is important we find a quiet place, the “secret place” the Lord speaks about, so we will not be distracted from listening to God. We shut the door on the noise outside, and we shut ourselves in with God. We don’t have to pray with closed eyes, folded hands, or kneeling down. Prayer isn’t a position of the body. Some people pray better when they are walking around.
When we pray we’re coming into the presence of God. We should be conscious of His power to do anything we might ask. Faith is vital for effective prayer. We can make our requests to God boldly. We are His beloved children and He delights in giving to us. One of the keys to Abraham’s faith was he believed God could do what He had promised to do.
Romans 4:20-21 NKJV — He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Matthew 6: 9-13 is traditionally known as “The Lord’s Prayer” and is often recited in many events on many occasions. A closer look shows us, all the elements of true prayer are found in this prayer Jesus gave us to model our prayers on. Prayer has three forms:
(1) Adoration, worship, communion. – We can praise God for what He is and for what He has done. We can talk to Him anytime we need or want to even during our daily affairs.
(2) Petition. – We have to receive from God ourselves before we can give to others. He wants us to bring our needs to Him.
(3) Intercession. – We usually begin to pray for loved ones after ourselves and then move to people further from us. We can touch the world for God through prayer.
The essence of prayer is warfare. Intercessory prayer puts us on the offensive in spiritual battles. Our prayers become a spiritual force fighting the evil forces of Satan. Satan blinds men’s eyes and dulls their perception of spiritual things. The Holy Spirit can free people from their bondage to evil through prayer. Our prayers can travel any distance to do battle for God anywhere in the world. Prayer is often the deciding factor in spiritual battles. Sadly, we fail to realize, the enormous power available to us through prayer is so often wasted because we do not pray.
Our hearts are constantly tested. It is meant to keep our egos in check and to remind us to be humble and transparent when we enter the presence of God through prayer.
We shall continue our study on the “Sermon On The Mount” in our continuing series on the Gospel. Part IX will be available soon.
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