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Ask you to grab your Bibles. 
So we prepare to get to work 

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today. 
We'll be in Matthew chapter 6. 

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You may have noticed last week 
we did a little Skipper Roo. 

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So we're going to circle back 
now and look at six one through 

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4. 
And then we'll also look at 

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verses 16 and 18 together in 
this passage. 

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So we'll be in six verses, one 
through 4 and then 16 through 

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18. 
The reason we had to do that is 

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because the winter weather we 
had back in February, I think it

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was been a while, maybe it's 
January. 

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Anyway, we had to postpone a 
Sunday and so that got us 

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behind. 
And so we stuck with the 

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schedule preaching the Lord's 
Prayer on Easter, and now we're 

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circling back. 
So here we go. 

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All right, Matthew chapter 6, 
verses one through 4 and 16 

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through 18. 
I kind of set that up as you 

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turn there. 
We are still in the heart of the

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Sermon on the Mount. 
We'll be there through Chapter 

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7, and then we'll take a break 
for summer and preach some 

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Psalms, and then we'll hop back 
in the fall to Matthew chapter 

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8. 
But as we're here, what we're 

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learning is that Christ is 
teaching us what life in his 

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Kingdom looks like, right? 
What, what the people who are 

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part of his Kingdom, what their 
lives should look like more 

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specifically. 
So what we're seeing is that God

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is not content with mere outward
religion, right? 

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Just the, the doing the good 
things, the morality that we 

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often possess as religious 
people. 

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He's not content with merely 
that. 

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He's not content with just our 
appearance as Christians. 

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He, he is after our heart. 
God is concerned with the heart 

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of man. 
And so that's been very clear 

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from chapter 5 to now. 
Jesus has shown us in chapter 5 

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that true righteousness runs 
deeper than our external 

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obedience. 
Again, that it's not enough to 

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appear righteous before others 
while the heart remains far 

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right. 
You may remember in the 

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beatitudes. 
Blessed are the pure in heart 

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for they shall see God right. 
So he's after the hearts in 

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chapter 6, Jesus takes it from 
the acts of the hearts to he 

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begins to address acts of 
devotion, right? 

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He and in chapter 6, he's 
showing us that even good 

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practices like giving and 
fasting and praying can be 

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corrupted by a desire to be seen
by others and praised by men, 

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right? 
We, we might do those things, 

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those outward acts of devotion, 
we might only do those things to

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be seen by others and praised by
them. 

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So the issue that he's 
addressing is not whether we 

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practice righteousness. 
He he's really getting at the, 

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the why of it. 
Why do we practice 

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righteousness? 
And before who are we practicing

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that righteousness, right? 
What is the motivation of the 

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heart? 
So in this passage or in these 

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two passages together, Jesus is 
going to warn us not to turn 

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devotion into performance, 
right? 

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We don't want to make devotion 
about our performance. 

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Instead, He's calling us to 
live. 

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There's a Latin phrase that some
of you may be familiar with, but

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the Latin phrase is corum deo, 
and it's an important one. 

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It was one that many theologians
throughout the years have used, 

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the church has used throughout 
the years. 

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Corumdeo just means to live 
before the face of God or to 

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live in the presence of God. 
And that's the the reason they 

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coined this term is because of 
this kind of idea that 

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everything about our lives is 
always done, whether it's the 

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secret things of the heart or 
it's the outward acts that 

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everyone sees. 
All of those things are always 

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done before the face of God. 
Nothing is outside of his sight,

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right? 
And so we want to have a heart. 

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We want to have a life that is 
lived with this mindset that 

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everything I do is Cordea. 
It's before the face of God, 

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right? 
It's, it's before him. 

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It's in his presence. 
He's the one who sees in secret 

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when no one else can see or 
divulge the and often we can't 

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right see the the true iniquity 
and struggle of our heart. 

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God sees all of those things. 
Nothing is hidden from him. 

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And so that's what we're getting
at today is how do we learn to 

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live before the face of God 
always, right? 

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How do we learn to live in His 
presence always? 

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And so we're going to look at 
Matthew 6, one through 4 and 16 

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through 18. 
If you're able, would you please

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stand in honor of the reading of
God's Word? 

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When I'm finished reading, I'll 
say this is the word of the Lord

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and the congregation can 
respond. 

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Thanks be to God. 
All right, so Matthew 6 verses 

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one through 4 first, and then 
I'll skip down to 16 through 18.

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Jesus is speaking. 
Beware of practicing your 

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righteousness before other 
people in order to be seen by 

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them, for then you will have no 
reward from your Father who is 

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in heaven. 
Thus, when you give to the 

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needy, sound no trumpet before 
you, as the hypocrites do in the

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synagogues and in the streets, 
that they may be praised by 

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others. 
Truly, I say to you, they have 

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received their reward. 
But when you give to the needy, 

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do not let your left hand know 
what your right hand is doing, 

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so that you're giving maybe in 
secret. 

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And your Father who sees in 
secret will reward you. 

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I'll skip down to 16. 
And when you fast, do not look 

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gloomy like the hypocrites, for 
they just figure their faces 

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that their fasting may be seen 
by others. 

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Truly I say to you, they have 
received their reward. 

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But when you fast, anoint your 
head and wash your face that 

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your fasting may not be seen by 
others, but by your father who 

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is in secret. 
And your Father, who sees in 

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secret, will reward you. 
This is the word of the Lord and

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speak to God. 
Let's pray. 

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Heavenly Father, we thank you 
today for your word. 

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God, we thank you for what we 
know about you, what we come to 

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know about you through your 
word, and particularly this 

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truth here, that you are after 
the heart of man, right? 

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You have created us in your own 
image. 

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We are created in such a way 
that we can have fellowship with

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the Creator, we can relate to 
Him, we can speak, we can read 

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His word. 
Father, we have been created in 

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a way that we can commune with 
you. 

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And so, Lord, we ask now that 
you would sanctify us by God, 

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that you would develop a deep 
dependence in our hearts for 

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you. 
Oh, Lord, that you would help us

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not to think about the practice 
of our religion, whether it's 

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prayer or giving or fasting or 
singing in church or our 

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parenting or our marriages or 
any of those things. 

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Let us not think about the 
things that you've called us to 

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as ways to be praised by men. 
Rather, Father, would you help 

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us to think on all of those 
things as ways that we might 

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live our lives for you, that we 
might present ourselves a living

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sacrifice for you. 
And so, Father, would you use 

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your word today to transform us 
at our at the heart level, 

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transform our minds, renew us by
your spirit today. 

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And Lord, may we go out and live
lives that honor you. 

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Having heard your word preached 
and read this morning, It's in 

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the name of Christ, I pray, 
Amen. 

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Amen. 
So one of the most dangerous 

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sins. 
All right, there's a lot. 

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There's seven that are deadly, 
right? 

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But one of the most dangerous 
sins that we can think of is 

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that sin that can hide beneath 
religious activity, that the 

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kinds of sins that exist far 
below the kinds of things we do 

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in the secrecy of our own 
hearts, right? 

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We, we know often the motivation
for why we do something, but it 

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appears outwardly religious and 
good and right, and it receives 

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praise because it looks that 
way, right? 

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That that's a dangerous spot to 
live in. 

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Now, some sins are obvious, 
right? 

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They, they become painfully 
obvious. 

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They break out into the open. 
They're the kinds of sins that 

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are shouted from the rooftops, 
so to speak, right? 

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The kinds of sins that will 
scandalize a family or 

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scandalize a church or 
scandalize a community, All 

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right. 
They, they embarrass, they cause

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great remorse and difficulty. 
They cause a lot of suffering 

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and pain and hardship. 
Those kinds of things we know 

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about. 
But, but there are other sins 

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that dress themselves up in 
church clothes, right? 

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They they look outwardly 
religious. 

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They know how to speak the right
language, right? 

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They know the lingo, they know 
the jargon. 

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They do the right things. 
They appeared outwardly 

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faithful, and yet there's a 
heart underneath all of that 

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that's truly far from the Lord. 
And because of that, because 

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they appear outwardly righteous,
they're really hard to detect, 

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right? 
It's sometimes hard to discern 

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like pride in our own heart. 
I'm not just talking about like 

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you look into the lives of other
people. 

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Remember, as we come to the 
Lord's word, we always want to 

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be thinking first about what is 
this saying to me? 

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Right? 
What? 

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What is the text saying? 
What does it mean for its 

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audience? 
And and then what's it calling 

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me to do? 
So I invite you today with me to

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examine your own heart as we 
walk through this passage 

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because we understand that pride
in our own life can be difficult

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to detect. 
It can sneak up on us. 

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And that's especially true of 
the kinds of sins that Jesus is 

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confronting in this passage, 
which really just, if you bolt 

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it down to one sin, you might 
just call it hypocrisy, right? 

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Jesus uses the word hypocrites 
here. 

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So, So the sin of hypocrisy, 
right? 

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Now, it's possible to do the 
right thing for the wrong 

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reason, right? 
It's possible to do outward 

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religious acts like singing in 
church for the wrong reasons, 

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right? 
Or or giving to the needy, or 

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fasting or whatever, right? 
It's possible to give and do not

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truly love God. 
It's possible to to fast without

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truly seeking God. 
It's possible to practice 

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righteousness outwardly while 
inwardly craving the notice or 

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the approval or the applause of 
man, right. 

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And so if we're honest, and it's
hard to be, it's the difficulty 

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of this. 
If we're honest though, this 

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temptation is not really that 
far from any of us. 

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This is something that we all 
can wrestle with. 

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We all know what it is to want 
to be seen. 

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Well, right. 
We all know what it is to want 

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to have our peers notice us and 
respect us, or to have your 

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parents notice and respect you, 
or to have friends or Co workers

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or church members all. 
Right. 

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So we all know that it's easy to
get into this place where we 

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care too much about what other 
people think. 

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Like there is a way to care 
about what people think in the 

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right ways. 
Like this is my brother in 

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Christ, and if he has something 
to say to me, I should care what

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he thinks, all right? 
If he needs to speak the truth 

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and love to me at a moment, I 
need to be able to receive that 

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word well, right? 
So we should care to some extent

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what people think. 
This isn't like, you know, only 

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God can judge me type stuff of 
the world today. 

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But we shouldn't be so 
enthralled with what people 

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think that we begin to live our 
lives for their approval rather 

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than God's approval. 
That's where the rub comes in. 

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But that's where we must be 
careful because even in 

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spiritual things, our flesh 
craves an audience, right? 

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But Jesus praise God, loves his 
people too much to leave us 

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there. 
He loves his people too much to 

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leave us in that place. 
He and So what he does here is 

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he exposes false righteousness 
so that it's not just a wound to

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you, right? 
He exposes these things so that 

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he might lead us into a true 
devotion to God to help us see 

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where are we airing, right? 
Where do we have a false 

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religion at work in our lives? 
And so he calls us away from 

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living for the eyes of man and 
into this idea of coromdeo, 

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living before the face of our 
Father in heaven. 

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And so that's the burden of this
passage, all right? 

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It leads us to this main point 
that I think the text is 

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teaching today. 
Kingdom righteousness seeks the 

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Father's approval in secret 
rather than the praise of people

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in public. 
All right, so very simple, But 

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Kingdom righteousness seeks the 
Father's approval in secret 

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rather than the praise of people
in public. 

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Now we're going to see that in 
two ways today. 

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We'll see it in giving, right? 
So in giving we're going to say 

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seek the Father's pleasure 
rather than man's praise. 

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00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,600
And then in fasting we're going 
to say seek the Father with 

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sincere devotion. 
OK, so again, the main point, 

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00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,440
Kingdom righteousness seeks the 
Father's approval in secret 

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rather than the praise of people
in public. 

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00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:13,160
Now with that warning before us 
all that we've seen, let us 

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consider what Jesus teaches 
about giving. 

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00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,040
All right, so in giving, number 
one, seek the Father's pleasure 

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00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,320
rather than man's praise. 
Let me just read these 4 verses 

239
00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,080
again. 
Beware of practicing your 

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00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,360
righteousness before other 
people in order to be seen by 

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00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,640
them, for then you will have no 
reward from your Father who is 

242
00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,000
in heaven. 
Thus, when you give to the 

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00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,920
needy, sound no trumpet before 
you, as the hypocrites do in the

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00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,400
synagogues and in the streets, 
that they may be praised by 

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00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,920
others. 
Truly, I say to you, they have 

246
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,880
received their reward. 
But when you give to the needy, 

247
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,920
do not let your left hand know 
what your right hand is doing so

248
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,440
that you're giving maybe in 
secret, and your Father who sees

249
00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:59,760
in secret will reward you. 
All right, So Jesus begins in 

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00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:05,000
verse one with a warning that 
governs the entire section, 

251
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,520
right? 
We talked some about this last 

252
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,440
week as we looked at prayer, but
he says beware of practicing 

253
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:15,160
your righteousness before other 
people in order to be seen by 

254
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,200
them, right? 
That's the motivation, right? 

255
00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,600
With the word beware. 
Jesus is telling us to be on 

256
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,600
guard, right? 
To be, to, to watch yourself 

257
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:32,240
carefully, to, to recognize 
spiritual danger that may not be

258
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,680
obvious at the moment, right? 
It may not be first obvious to 

259
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:41,520
you, but what is the danger? 
Well, the danger is not the 

260
00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,760
righteousness itself, right? 
He's not saying beware of 

261
00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:50,320
practicing your righteousness. 
That wouldn't be right, right. 

262
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,800
Jesus is not warning you against
obedience, is what I'm trying to

263
00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,240
say. 
But he's encouraging obedience 

264
00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,440
in the right direction, right? 
So he's not saying that acts of 

265
00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,040
devotion are unimportant or that
acts of devotion are optional. 

266
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,880
He warns against practicing 
righteousness to be seen by 

267
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,760
others, right? 
So the motivation is what Jesus 

268
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:15,520
is warning about. 
Do not practice your 

269
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,200
righteousness. 
Beware of practicing your 

270
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,000
righteousness in a way that 
you're saying I want to be seen 

271
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,960
by others. 
I want them to notice me. 

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00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,200
Now, I think this is a 
particular, this sin is 

273
00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:41,200
particular for young Christians,
all right, young Christians who 

274
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:45,160
are seeking to make their way in
the faith, they're seeking to 

275
00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,800
kind of prove themselves to the 
more mature Christians around 

276
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,240
them, right? 
This becomes a sin that is 

277
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,800
particular for them. 
However, that does not mean that

278
00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,640
a mature Christian will not find
himself or herself wrestling 

279
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,960
with this either. 
How many times did we see, you 

280
00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:08,960
know, we, we preached, how did 
we preach through? 

281
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:11,720
It's bad when the preacher can't
remember, right? 

282
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,920
That happens. 
But we see pride throughout the 

283
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:21,280
Scriptures, right? 
And in particular, we see that 

284
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:26,880
men in the Old Testament were 
guilty of, you know, having some

285
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,520
success in serving God, living 
righteously for him and him 

286
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,480
blessing that and giving his 
approval to it and making it 

287
00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:40,440
fruitful and multiplying it. 
And then all of the sudden and, 

288
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,200
and just like the blink of an 
eye, it seems like in Scripture,

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00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,640
from one sentence to the next, 
it's like they grew proud in 

290
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,400
their own hearts. 
They begin to beat their own 

291
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,240
chest, so to speak and say, look
at what I've created by my own 

292
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,520
hands kind of thing. 
All right. 

293
00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,040
And that's a that's a terrible 
spot to be in. 

294
00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:02,520
So even when you've had some 
success, even when you've been 

295
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,600
walking with the Lord for some 
time, we need to beware of this 

296
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:13,000
showing up in our lives as well.
So he warns against practicing 

297
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,920
this righteousness to be seen by
others. 

298
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,600
The issue then is not the deed, 
right? 

299
00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,480
It's not giving or it's not 
fasting. 

300
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,000
It's not prayer. 
The issue is not the work of 

301
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,000
righteousness, it's the desire 
of the heart behind that work. 

302
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,520
Why do I pray? 
Why do I give? 

303
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,320
Why do I fast, right? 
And that's important because 

304
00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,480
earlier in the Sermon on the 
Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 

305
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:41,520
516, let your light shine before
others so that they might see 

306
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,920
your good works and give glory 
to your Father who is in heaven.

307
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:48,600
But if you read this the wrong 
way, you might think Christ is 

308
00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,720
just simply contradicting 
himself, right? 

309
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,240
So it cannot mean that every 
public act of obedience is 

310
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,080
sinful. 
We need people living as 

311
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,360
Christians in public. 
Amen. 

312
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,200
We need that. 
The difference is this. 

313
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:11,040
In Matthew 5 where Jesus says to
do this, the goal is the 

314
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:15,040
Father's glory, right? 
Let your light shine before men,

315
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,640
that they might see your good 
works and glorify your Father in

316
00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,200
heaven. 
And in Matthew 6 the goal 

317
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,320
becomes self praise. 
It's almost like let them see my

318
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,240
good works and glorify me who is
on earth all. 

319
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,200
Right. 
So 1 is humble obedience that 

320
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,600
points only to God. 
The other is religious theater 

321
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,000
that points to itself, right? 
So Jesus is not merely 

322
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:43,160
correcting bad behavior here, 
He's exposing a deep corruption 

323
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,000
of the heart. 
Even our righteous acts can be 

324
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:51,200
poisoned in the well of pride, 
right? 

325
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:56,240
Even our generosity can become a
platform for self exaltation. 

326
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,040
And then he says, for then you 
will have no reward from your 

327
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,600
Father who is in heaven. 
That's sobering, right? 

328
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,080
Beware of practicing your 
righteousness in this way, for 

329
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,400
then you will have no reward for
your Father who is in heaven, 

330
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,360
who is in heaven. 
So Jesus teaches us here that 

331
00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,440
it's possible to perform a 
religious act that appears 

332
00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,720
commendable to men, yet receive 
nothing from God. 

333
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,840
Why? 
Well, because God. 

334
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,240
Does not merely evaluate the 
external act. 

335
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,960
He he judges the motives of the 
heart right. 

336
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,680
That that's the deeper truth 
behind this warning. 

337
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:46,120
God sees more than what we do, 
which is about all man can see 

338
00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:51,480
in US. 
God sees why we do it, right? 

339
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,720
So man looks on the outward 
appearance, but the Lord looks 

340
00:20:54,720 --> 00:21:00,440
on the heart, as we see in first
Samuel 16, seven Proverbs 16 two

341
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,440
warns this. 
All the ways of man are pure in 

342
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:09,680
his own eyes, but the Lord 
weighs the Spirit, right? 

343
00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,240
That's exactly what Christ 
teaches here, right? 

344
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,640
The Father who is in heaven is 
not impressed by polished 

345
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,400
appearances, right? 
He searches the hearts. 

346
00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,320
So then in verse 2, Jesus comes 
to His first example of this. 

347
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:30,840
Thus, therefore, when you give 
to the needy, right? 

348
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,320
Notice that He says when and not
if, right. 

349
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:34,600
We saw that with prayer last 
week. 

350
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,480
When you pray, not if you pray. 
When you pray, right? 

351
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:42,080
Giving to those who are in need 
is assumed by our Lord here. 

352
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,120
Jesus expects His people to be 
marked by mercy and generosity. 

353
00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:53,520
So Kingdom citizens are not 
selfish, they're not stingy, 

354
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,960
they're not indifferent to the 
needs of others, that they're 

355
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,320
open handed because their father
is generous. 

356
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,320
All right? 
It's one of the things we talk 

357
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:06,120
about often here when we talk 
about practicing generosity just

358
00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:11,160
in giving, is that we recognize 
that all good gifts come from a 

359
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,320
good Father above who gives good
gifts to his children. 

360
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,800
And so we can't cling to those 
as if they're ours and we got 

361
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,880
them by the strength of our own 
hands and our own might. 

362
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,800
All right. 
Deuteronomy 8 warns us that even

363
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,560
the work we perform to gain 
wealth is a gift from God. 

364
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,880
He's given us able bodies to go 
and work, right? 

365
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,520
So we can't even claim that. 
Well, I worked 40 hours a week 

366
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:41,800
or 80 hours a week and I earned 
this. 

367
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,040
This is mine. 
It's like, no, you did that 

368
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,600
because the Lord blessed you 
with the ability to work. 

369
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,720
He blessed you with a job, 
right? 

370
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,160
We, we, we have no claim to 
anything that comes to us. 

371
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,200
It all belongs to God. 
It's all his. 

372
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,360
And so when we think that way, 
then when we see a person in 

373
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:02,320
need, one, we should live in a 
way we'll get to those kinds of 

374
00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:03,280
things. 
We should live in a way that 

375
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:08,080
when we see a person in need, we
can be generous, right? 

376
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,880
We can be helpful to them. 
We don't want to be stingy. 

377
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,240
We want to be generous because 
we have a generous Father in 

378
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,440
heaven. 
And so the Old Testament 

379
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,560
repeatedly called people to care
for the poor, to care for the 

380
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,800
widow, to care for the 
sojourner, to care for the 

381
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,800
needy, right? 
Proverbs 1917 Whoever is 

382
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,800
generous to the poor lends to 
the Lord, and he will repay him 

383
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,480
for his deed. 
In Deuteronomy 15, God's people 

384
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,120
were commanded not to harden 
their hearts or shut their hands

385
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:41,000
against a poor brother, but to 
open their hands freely. 

386
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,360
So the issue here is not whether
giving matters. 

387
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,120
That's not what Christ is doing.
Christ is assuming giving, 

388
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:50,320
right? 
Giving does matter. 

389
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:57,200
Mercy toward others is 1 fruits 
of genuine righteousness, right?

390
00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,840
But Jesus says here's what 
matters, right? 

391
00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,120
Jesus says sound no trumpet, as 
the hypocrites do in the 

392
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:08,440
synagogues and in the streets, 
that they may be praised by 

393
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,920
others. 
Now whether this was literal, 

394
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,640
right? 
And a guy walks up to a beggar 

395
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,880
in the street and he pulls out 
of his money bag some change and

396
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,280
he gives it to him. 
And then he pulls out of his 

397
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,640
satchel on his left side a 
trumpet and just starts blaring 

398
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,280
this thing, I have no idea, 
right? 

399
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,720
Doesn't seem likely, but we all 
know what it looks like. 

400
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,080
Maybe we're guilty of this to 
give in such a way that we want 

401
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:40,400
to make sure everyone knows we 
gave, all right. 

402
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,280
How many people throughout the 
world give all the time? 

403
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,880
And I don't mean just 
Christians, all right, but give 

404
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,560
all the time. 
We might just say especially 

405
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,360
unbelievers give large sums of 
money and they make sure it's 

406
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:57,600
known they gave large sums of 
money, all right. 

407
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:03,320
But it's, it's in all of us to 
like, want to broadcast the 

408
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,040
sacrifice we made because we 
want people to notice the 

409
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,800
sacrifice, right? 
And so we should be careful of 

410
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:16,120
sounding A literal or figurative
trumpet and our giving, right? 

411
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,360
We, we don't want to give in 
such a way that we're attention 

412
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,320
seeking in our generosity, 
right? 

413
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,480
Some people gave, this is what 
Christ saying. 

414
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,560
Some people gave to draw eyes to
themselves, right? 

415
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,480
They, they wanted their charity 
to become a stage that they 

416
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,280
wanted their generosity to be 
noticed. 

417
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,200
They wanted to be admired and 
talked about. 

418
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,720
Look how righteous that man is. 
Look how generous he was. 

419
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,520
And Jesus calls such people 
hypocrites. 

420
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,600
Now, that doesn't mean that 
people won't talk about a 

421
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,720
generous person, right? 
Many of you known generous 

422
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:55,680
people who don't broadcast their
generosity. 

423
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,840
But people know they're generous
because they've benefited from 

424
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,400
that person's generosity 
throughout their life. 

425
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,880
And then they'll say things like
that man or that woman loves the

426
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,440
Lord. 
They're so generous, all right? 

427
00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,480
You can see the praise becomes a
praise for God rather than the 

428
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,800
praise for the man or woman who 
gave. 

429
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,600
All right? 
So there's a way to give and 

430
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,760
which people will talk about it.
But that becomes that comes back

431
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,880
to Matthew 516, that you're 
doing it in such a way that it 

432
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,480
brings glory to your Father in 
heaven. 

433
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,920
All right, now this word 
hypocrites, we covered this last

434
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:31,000
week. 
But if you weren't here, here's 

435
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,200
what hypocrites is referring to.
It originally referred to as 

436
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,520
stage actor. 
So someone who's on a stage, 

437
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:43,080
someone who plays a part behind 
a mask, right? 

438
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,360
The mask is made to make them 
look like whatever part they're 

439
00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,600
playing, similar to how we would
use makeup today. 

440
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,760
And so that is precisely what 
hypocrisy is. 

441
00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,480
It's the performance of devotion
without the reality of it. 

442
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,400
It's looking devoted on the 
outside. 

443
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,320
But if you pull away the mask, 
there's no true devotion to God 

444
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,600
underneath, right? 
There's only a devotion to 

445
00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:13,920
oneself. 
So it's spiritual play acting. 

446
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,680
It's using the appearance of 
righteousness to gain a 

447
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,720
reputation for godliness. 
Now, John Calvin said this. 

448
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,600
He said the hypocrites are 
inflamed with no desire to 

449
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,200
please God, but only to gain 
applause among men. 

450
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,600
That's the issue we see. 
Like the hypocrite may give real

451
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:37,320
money to meet a real need. 
And I also think that God's 

452
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,640
probably pleased to use the 
hypocrites money to bless 

453
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:45,800
someone, but that doesn't mean 
the person giving is blessed of 

454
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,880
God for that. 
You see what I'm saying? 

455
00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:52,360
There's some common grace at 
work there, but his deepest 

456
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:54,880
desire, right, the deepest 
desire of the hypocrite is not 

457
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,480
the good of his neighbor or the 
glory of God. 

458
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,040
His deepest desire is his own 
praise. 

459
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,440
So Jesus says, truly, I say to 
you, they have received their 

460
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,880
reward. 
And in other words, human 

461
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,800
applause is all they're going to
receive. 

462
00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:14,960
They, the praise of men is their
entire reward. 

463
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:17,720
They wanted recognition and they
got it. 

464
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,200
They wanted to be admired. 
And so they were. 

465
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,840
But that's the end of it. 
Jesus says that there's no 

466
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,160
reward from the Father because 
the ACT was never truly for the 

467
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,960
Father. 
So that's a, that's a pretty 

468
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:36,040
piercing word, is it not? 
I mean that that's a, that's a 

469
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,360
terrifying thing to read. 
It reminds me of the parable of 

470
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,760
the sheep and goats, right? 
Those who will do these acts of 

471
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,800
devotion and think that they're 
living for God and doing all 

472
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,040
these things to please God. 
And yet in the last day they'll 

473
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:56,000
be told you're goats. 
You're not truly my sheep depart

474
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,040
from me. 
I never knew you. 

475
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,840
It's a piercing thing, right? 
It reminds us that there is 

476
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:10,600
reward that is tragically small.
There's a reward that's 

477
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,800
tragically small. 
To be admired by people for a 

478
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:18,960
moment, yet to miss the the 
smiling approval of God, well, 

479
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,320
that's a terrible bargain, 
brothers and sisters. 

480
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:25,080
All right. 
Martin Lloyd Jones observed 

481
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,040
this. 
He said if we are governed by 

482
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:31,120
the desire to please men, we 
have already received everything

483
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:38,080
we were after. 
So the reward of men is shallow,

484
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:42,280
it's fleeting, it's empty. 
Their their praise fades 

485
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,200
quickly, their attention moves 
on, their approval cannot 

486
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:51,160
satisfy the soul. 
And so by contrast, Jesus says 

487
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,200
in verses 3 through 4, but when 
you give to the needy, do not 

488
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,520
let your left hand know what 
your right hand is doing so that

489
00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:02,320
you're giving may be in secrets.
So Jesus is using some vivid 

490
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,520
language here. 
He's he's not forbidding all 

491
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,840
record keeping, right? 
He's not forbidding thoughtful 

492
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,800
planning. 
He's not forbidding some 

493
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,600
organized generosity. 
No, He's saying that our giving 

494
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:23,040
should be so free from self 
display that it is almost hidden

495
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,240
even from ourselves. 
That there should be no self 

496
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:32,360
congratulation, no Pats on your 
own back, no inward applause, no

497
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:37,680
cherishing of our own sacrifice 
as though we were impressive. 

498
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,560
The point is secrecy. 
The point is sincerity. 

499
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,720
The point is singleness of heart
before God. 

500
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,320
And then comes the comfort. 
Christ goes on to say, and your 

501
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:58,080
Father who sees in secrets will 
reward you. 

502
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:06,760
That's a precious statement. 
Jesus does not merely say that 

503
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:12,000
God sees. 
He says your Father sees, right?

504
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,520
The the one who watches the 
hidden life of his people is not

505
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,880
some distant observer. 
Rather, he's a loving father, 

506
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,800
right? 
He sees what others miss. 

507
00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:27,840
He sees the unnoticed gift. 
He sees the quiet act of mercy. 

508
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,600
He sees the sacrifice of time 
that no one praises. 

509
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,440
He sees the generosity that's 
only known to him. 

510
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,920
Nothing done for his scape, for 
his purpose. 

511
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:46,200
Sorry escapes his eye. 
I think that's a real comfort 

512
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,840
for believers. 
That ought to be. 

513
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,760
That'll be a real comfort for 
believers that the world may not

514
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:54,960
see it. 
So what? 

515
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,960
Other Christians may not know 
about it, So what? 

516
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,640
The recipient may never 
understand what it costs you to 

517
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,760
do that. 
So what? 

518
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:16,360
Your Father sees it and he 
approves, and what He gives in 

519
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:20,320
return is called a reward. 
Here Christ says He sees it in 

520
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,040
secret. 
He will reward you. 

521
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,720
Again, This is not performative 
righteousness. 

522
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:32,120
This is not works based 
righteousness, right? 

523
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,680
He doesn't reward you because we
earn His favor by our giving. 

524
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:42,400
He rewards because He, by His 
own grace, delights to honor 

525
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,000
what He Himself has worked into 
the heart of His children. 

526
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,040
This is not a doctrine of merit.
It's a doctrine of fatherly 

527
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:57,280
pleasure. 
The Lord delights in the good 

528
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:02,840
works of his people, but the 
same God who saves us by grace 

529
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,960
also delights in the fruit of 
grace in our lives. 

530
00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:11,680
Seems pretty natural to me. 
Spurgeon said in essence that 

531
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,040
God is so gracious that he 
crowns his own gifts in US. 

532
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,880
The Father rewards not because 
we have put him in our debts, 

533
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:26,120
right? 
The Scriptures tell us no man 

534
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:30,120
can give to God in a way that 
God would have to repay him. 

535
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,280
God has no lack. 
He has no need for anything. 

536
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,280
Right. 
So we can't put God in our 

537
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:45,480
debts, but the Father rewards 
because he is kind and He's 

538
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:50,400
pleased with sincere obedience 
produced in the heart of His 

539
00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:55,600
people by His own grace. 
So maybe a brief illustration 

540
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,840
illustration can help, right? 
There's a great difference 

541
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,800
between a child who does 
something kind to be praised in 

542
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,080
front of the whole room. 
All right? 

543
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,159
You might think of the little 
boy from Leave It to Beaver. 

544
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,639
It has all the manners and all 
the right things to say. 

545
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,679
Some of you are like, what is 
Leave It to Beaver, right? 

546
00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:18,440
I don't know. 
More modern example, right? 

547
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,120
We've always just thought of 
Wally. 

548
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:24,840
So it says all the right things,
does all the right things, so 

549
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,960
that everyone in the room thinks
that's a good boy. 

550
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:33,800
But there's a difference between
that and a child who quietly 

551
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,600
obeys his father simply because 
he loves his father and wants to

552
00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,719
please him. 
Right. 

553
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:47,400
Outwardly, to everyone in the 
room, the ACT looks similar, but

554
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,120
inwardly they're far apart, 
right? 

555
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:53,719
One is living for the crowd, the
other is living for his Father's

556
00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:57,360
smile. 
And that's the point that Christ

557
00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,160
is making here. 
Kingdom giving is not about 

558
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,240
being seen as generous. 
It's about living before the 

559
00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:06,640
Father with a sincere, merciful 
heart. 

560
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:11,600
So how should we apply this? 
Well, first we must examine not 

561
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,800
only whether we give, we should 
examine that. 

562
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:19,520
Do you give? 
All right, Well, we should also 

563
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,560
examine why do you give when you
give? 

564
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:28,520
Why it's possible to put money 
in the offering bag each week. 

565
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,960
It's possible to support a 
ministry that does good work. 

566
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,400
It's possible to help a family 
or to meet another need and 

567
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:40,280
still be driven by pride. 
We we may want to be seen as 

568
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:45,160
generous and sacrificial and 
compassionate and important, but

569
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,840
Jesus calls us to test our 
motives honestly before God. 

570
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:56,280
Secondly, we should cultivate 
hidden obedience, right In a 

571
00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:00,240
world that constantly urges us 
to display ourselves, Christ 

572
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,440
calls us to the freedom of 
secret faithfulness. 

573
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,080
Notice I said the freedom of 
secret faithfulness. 

574
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:15,280
It's a freeing thing to live 
Corumdeo before the face of God 

575
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,600
and not before the face of man, 
because then you're always 

576
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,320
trying to please everyone around
you. 

577
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,360
You're wondering all the time, 
what do they think about me? 

578
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:23,720
What are? 
Right. 

579
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:27,440
Now it's a very freeing thing to
just say. 

580
00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,680
Lord, may my life bring you 
praise. 

581
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:39,360
I'm going to glorify and enjoy 
you forever, and that's all I'm 

582
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,480
concerned with. 
And I know that you'll take care

583
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:46,040
of everything else in my life. 
And if people praise that, I 

584
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:51,280
want to say thanks be to God. 
I am what I am by His grace. 

585
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,400
By His grace, I'm not what I 
once was by His grace. 

586
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:58,080
I'm not yet what I will be, 
right? 

587
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:05,520
I am what I am because of Him. 
Not every act of obedience needs

588
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:07,560
an audience, brothers and 
sisters. 

589
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,280
Not. 
Not every sacrifice needs to be 

590
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:12,640
announced. 
That there's something deeply 

591
00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,200
healthy for the soul and doing 
good that only the Father can 

592
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:20,080
see. 
Third, we should remember that 

593
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,440
generosity is still expected, 
right? 

594
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:27,160
This passage is not an excuse to
stop giving while my heart's not

595
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:29,240
right. 
So I'll just quit giving until I

596
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,000
can get my heart right. 
That's not what Christ is 

597
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,360
saying. 
It says when you give, right? 

598
00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:41,600
So his point is not less mercy, 
His point is pure mercy, right? 

599
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:44,920
The Christian should be a giver,
but he should be the kind of 

600
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,560
giver who seeks the Father's 
pleasure rather than man's 

601
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,760
praise. 
And then finally, we should ask 

602
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:56,120
the Lord to make his content 
with his approval, right? 

603
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:57,960
That's the issue beneath the 
issue. 

604
00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,160
Why do we crave human praise so 
much? 

605
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,960
Well, because we're often not 
satisfied with the smile of God,

606
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,960
right? 
Human praise is enthralling 

607
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:10,520
because it happens right in 
front of us. 

608
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:15,000
We see it, we hear it, we feel 
the warm and fuzzies over it, 

609
00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,280
right? 
We feel kind of pride well up in

610
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,280
US. 
And pride's not attractive 

611
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,160
because it's ugly. 
Pride's attractive because it 

612
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:28,600
feels nice until it doesn't, 
until it causes a fall. 

613
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:32,080
And that's not so nice. 
All right, So. 

614
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:39,560
But we should think with eyes 
set on eternity, What does my 

615
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:44,560
Father approve? 
Let me be content with that, 

616
00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:48,440
right? 
But why do we crave human praise

617
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,200
so much? 
Because we're not satisfied with

618
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,440
God's smile, right? 
When the heart is captured by 

619
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,560
the Father's love, human 
applause begins to lose its grip

620
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:02,240
on you, right? 
So in our giving, Jesus calls us

621
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:05,640
away from performance and 
towards sincerity, away from 

622
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,160
display, towards secret 
devotion, away from the shallow 

623
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:13,400
reward of public praise, and 
toward the rich pleasure of the 

624
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:18,560
Father who sees in secrets. 
And that leads pretty naturally 

625
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,440
to the second example that Jesus
gives, which is really the third

626
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,680
example in the text. 
Not only our giving, but even 

627
00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:29,640
our self denial can be corrupted
by hypocrisy. 

628
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:34,000
So in fasting point #2 seek the 
Father with sincere devotion. 

629
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,120
New verse 16 through 18. 
And when you fast, do not look 

630
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:41,120
gloomy like the hypocrites, but 
they disfigure their faces, that

631
00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:43,400
their fasting may be seen by 
others. 

632
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:47,320
Truly I say to you, they have 
received their reward. 

633
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:51,760
But when you fast, anoint your 
head and wash your face, that 

634
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,320
your fasting may not be seen by 
others, but by your Father who 

635
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,880
is in secret. 
And your Father who sees in 

636
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:03,760
secret will reward you, right? 
So Jesus now turns from giving 

637
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:08,920
to fasting again. 
Notice that he says when, not 

638
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,000
if, right? 
Just as with giving, just as 

639
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,240
with praying. 
Jesus assumes that fasting is a 

640
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:20,360
real practice among his people. 
He does not mock. 

641
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:24,040
He does not dismiss it. 
He does not treat fasting as 

642
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:26,920
meaningless. 
He addresses simply the right 

643
00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,520
way to do it. 
I'm not going to ask for a show 

644
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,680
of hands, but if I were to ask 
for a show of hands, how many of

645
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,880
you have fasted in the last 
year? 

646
00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:42,280
What might that look like? 
If I would ask, have you ever 

647
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,680
fasted as a Christian, like a 
true fast? 

648
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:53,080
What might you say? 
I suspect that not many of us 

649
00:40:54,360 --> 00:41:00,960
think much about fasting. 
Not a lot, all right, But we 

650
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:03,560
should. 
We really should. 

651
00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,360
So this is worth pausing over 
because fasting is one of the 

652
00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:14,160
least understood and least 
practice disciplines among many 

653
00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,800
Christians today. 
We know something about prayer. 

654
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,560
We know some things about Bible 
reading and giving. 

655
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,960
But fasting often feels foreign 
to us. 

656
00:41:25,240 --> 00:41:30,080
Jesus speaks of it as a normal 
expression of devotion to God. 

657
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:34,920
When you fast, when you pray, 
when you give. 

658
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:38,960
At its simplest, here's what 
fasting is. 

659
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,920
Fasting is the voluntary 
abstaining from food for a 

660
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:47,320
spiritual purpose, right? 
It's not a hunger strike to 

661
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:52,000
force God's hand. 
It's, it's not a means to earn 

662
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,960
righteousness. 
It it's not a spiritual badge of

663
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:56,480
maturity. 
Well, I'm one of those 

664
00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:58,840
Christians who fast. 
You know, I must have reached a 

665
00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:02,760
new level. 
No, it's it's a humble act of 

666
00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:06,800
self denial that enables us to 
give ourselves more fully to 

667
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:14,720
prayer, to repentance, to 
dependence, to grief, grief over

668
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:19,400
sin, grief over suffering, or 
just an earnest seeking after 

669
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:26,080
God for a season. 
So in scripture, fasting often 

670
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:31,080
accompanies seasons of sorrow, 
seasons of repentance or 

671
00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,720
pleading or concentrated prayer.
Right? 

672
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:38,240
David fasted in grief and 
supplication in Second Samuel 

673
00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:41,600
1216. 
The people of Nineveh, after 

674
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:46,800
Jonah's amazing sermon, fasted 
in repentance in response to the

675
00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,200
word of judgement. 
That's a better joke. 

676
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:51,920
If you remember Jonah's less 
than amazing sermon there. 

677
00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:55,320
He was really angry about going 
to the novots. 

678
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,920
Ezra proclaimed a fast so God's 
people might humble themselves 

679
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:01,680
before the Lord and seek His 
help. 

680
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:06,600
In Ezra 821 and Acts 13, the 
church at Antioch worshipped and

681
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,240
fasted as they sought the Lord's
direction. 

682
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,320
In Matthew chapter 4, what we 
saw just several weeks ago, our 

683
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,400
Lord himself fasted in the 
wilderness before his 

684
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,720
temptation. 
So fasting is not some empty 

685
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:23,360
ritual. 
It's a way of saying with your 

686
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:30,520
body what we say with the soul. 
Lord, I need you more than I 

687
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:35,440
need my daily bread. 
Lord, this matter is weighty. 

688
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:39,680
Lord, I am grieved over my sin. 
Lord, I am seeking you 

689
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:42,600
earnestly. 
Lord, my hunger for you is 

690
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:47,560
greater than my hunger for food.
That's why fasting can be such a

691
00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:51,840
useful and meaningful practice 
in our Christian lives even 

692
00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:55,240
today. 
So a believer may fast to devote

693
00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:57,560
himself to prayer over a 
particular burden. 

694
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:01,720
He may fast to humble himself 
before God in repentance. 

695
00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:05,040
He may fast to seek wisdom in a 
serious decision. 

696
00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:09,840
He may fast to express spiritual
longing and a season of grief or

697
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:13,120
need. 
Fasting does not make prayer 

698
00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:18,320
more meritorious before the 
Lord, but it can make your 

699
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:22,480
prayers more focused, more 
urgent, and more deliberate. 

700
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:29,120
But as with giving, Jesus shows 
that even this really great 

701
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,840
thing can be corrupted by the 
pride of your own heart. 

702
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:36,400
Do not look gloomy like the 
hypocrites, he says. 

703
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:40,720
Apparently these hypocrites 
wanted their fasting to be 

704
00:44:40,720 --> 00:44:43,360
obvious, like they wanted their 
giving to be obvious. 

705
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:46,680
So rather than a trumpet, this 
time they walk around with 

706
00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:50,760
disfigured faces. 
You know, if you've gone without

707
00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:53,080
food for a while, your face 
might be disfigured. 

708
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:57,800
Also, they they neglected their 
appearance. 

709
00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,680
They wore their discomfort on 
their faces so that everyone 

710
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:03,080
could see, right. 
They cultivated a look of 

711
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:08,840
visible strain and sorrow. 
Probably became very serious. 

712
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:13,760
Why? 
Well, if you saw someone like 

713
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:15,800
that, what would your response 
be? 

714
00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:20,600
What's wrong? 
Are you OK? 

715
00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:24,280
What's going on in your life? 
Like, if you care about the 

716
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:25,920
person, that's probably what 
you're going to ask, right? 

717
00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:30,160
Well, then the answer, of 
course, would invite admiration.

718
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:39,200
Oh, nothing, I'm just fasting. 
Oh, so Jesus says they disfigure

719
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:42,320
their faces, that they're 
fasting may be seen by others, 

720
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:46,320
that the issue again, is not the
ACT itself, but the motive, 

721
00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:47,960
right. 
They're they're content. 

722
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:51,000
They're not content. 
Sorry to be known by God. 

723
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,000
They want to be noticed by the 
men around them. 

724
00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,800
They've turned self denial into 
self promotion. 

725
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,960
And as in .1, Jesus calls them 
hypocrites. 

726
00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:05,520
They're acting apart. 
They appear deeply spiritual. 

727
00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:10,400
But the audience they truly care
about is not God, it is other 

728
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:14,560
people. 
Their sorrow is merely staged. 

729
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:19,120
Their devotion is curated. 
Their fasting is not about 

730
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:22,240
seeking the Lord. 
It is about being seen as 

731
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:27,840
serious, sacrificial, and maybe 
holy. 

732
00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:30,400
Right? 
That there's something 

733
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:34,920
particularly subtle about this 
temptation, right? 

734
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,960
And giving, one might seek the 
praise for generosity, but in 

735
00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:44,320
fasting one may seek praise for 
your own seriousness. 

736
00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:47,040
One says, see how much I have 
given. 

737
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:49,440
The other says, see how devoted 
I am. 

738
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:52,760
Right. 
Yet both are forms of self 

739
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:56,800
exaltation. 
So pride. 

740
00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,280
The truth of this is, guys, that
pride can feed on religious 

741
00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:04,120
activity just as easily as on 
worldly success. 

742
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:14,520
I guess I should say that again,
pride can feed just as easily on

743
00:47:14,520 --> 00:47:18,320
religious activity as on worldly
success. 

744
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:23,800
So again, Jesus says truly, I 
say to you, they have received 

745
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:27,360
their reward. 
The the reward is human notice 

746
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:30,240
and admiration. 
It's reputation that, but that's

747
00:47:30,240 --> 00:47:34,160
it. 
Like when you die, if that's all

748
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:36,680
you have to bring to the Lord is
look how awesome people thought 

749
00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:41,440
I was. 
That's a really sad state to be 

750
00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:47,760
in. 
That reward is painfully small. 

751
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:54,600
I don't know exactly how to go, 
but I could imagine the Lord 

752
00:47:54,600 --> 00:48:02,320
saying, if only you've done 
these things for me, look how 

753
00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:04,160
great the reward could have 
been. 

754
00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,920
Right. 
It, it cannot, it cannot cleanse

755
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:14,800
the conscience. 
The fast in this way to receive 

756
00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:16,880
the praise of man doesn't 
cleanse your conscience. 

757
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:19,800
In fact, it's going to accuse 
you more and more because the 

758
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:22,920
more you crave man's applause, 
the more you'll seek man's 

759
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:26,760
applause, the more you'll do 
whatever you have to do to gain 

760
00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:31,080
the approval of man. 
So it can't satisfy the heart's 

761
00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:35,880
desire either, because you were 
made for your Creator, You. 

762
00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:37,800
You were not made for His 
creation. 

763
00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:42,400
You were made to worship Him, to
honor Him, to glorify Him, to 

764
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:49,400
live your life before his face. 
So it cannot man's, man's 

765
00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,040
approval. 
Applause cannot draw your soul 

766
00:48:52,240 --> 00:48:58,720
near to God either. 
So Jesus then gives this 

767
00:48:58,720 --> 00:49:01,040
positive instruction in verses 
17 and 18. 

768
00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:04,400
But when you fast, anoint your 
head, wash your face, that your 

769
00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:08,160
fasting may be seen by others. 
Not sorry that your fasting may 

770
00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:11,480
not be seen by others, but by 
your Father who is in secrets. 

771
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:15,760
So in other words, do not 
advertise your fasting. 

772
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:19,840
Do not put your spirituality on 
display. 

773
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:23,800
Do not make a your own devotion 
a public spectacle. 

774
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:30,360
Carry yourself normally. 
Ordinarily attend to your 

775
00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:33,200
appearance. 
Let your fasting be directed 

776
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:36,200
toward God rather than broadcast
to men. 

777
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:42,200
Now, it's important to note 
Jesus not forbidding all mention

778
00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:45,200
of fasting in every 
circumstance, right? 

779
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:47,920
Scripture provides examples of 
corporate fasting and public 

780
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:51,920
calls to fast. 
So the the point is not absolute

781
00:49:51,920 --> 00:49:56,000
concealment in every setting, 
but it's the refusal to use 

782
00:49:56,000 --> 00:50:00,280
fasting as a means to gain 
attention or reputation or image

783
00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:02,880
that the heart of the command is
clear. 

784
00:50:02,880 --> 00:50:07,200
Fasting is for the Father. 
So imagine this. 

785
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:12,560
Imagine I decided to go on a 
fast and Patricia makes a 

786
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:14,880
delicious dinner, something I 
love. 

787
00:50:15,560 --> 00:50:18,200
And I come home that night and I
have not told her that I'm 

788
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:20,920
fasting. 
And I take this command here so 

789
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,520
seriously that I will not tell 
her I'm fasting. 

790
00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:28,600
I just refuse to eat her food. 
That's not going to go well for 

791
00:50:28,600 --> 00:50:34,000
me, right? 
But I could invite her into that

792
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:40,360
and say, sweetheart, the Lord 
has placed on my heart of desire

793
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:43,280
to fast. 
And so I'm going to commit 

794
00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:46,800
myself to fasting. 
I'll sit at the table with you 

795
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:48,360
guys. 
We'll do family worship. 

796
00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:50,440
We'll continue to, I'll hear 
about your day. 

797
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:53,520
We'll talk through things, but 
but I won't eat during that 

798
00:50:53,520 --> 00:50:56,440
time. 
All right, see how easy that is?

799
00:50:56,440 --> 00:50:58,000
That's not disobeying the 
command. 

800
00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:03,080
So you can mention fasting in 
the right places, and sometimes 

801
00:51:03,080 --> 00:51:06,360
Scripture calls whole groups of 
people to fast together. 

802
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:11,760
But the repeated phrase that 
matters most here is that your 

803
00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:15,600
Father who sees in secret will 
reward you, right? 

804
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:18,560
Just as in giving, so in fast in
a Christian life has lived 

805
00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:22,400
before the face of God. 
Jesus does not merely say that 

806
00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:25,280
an all seeing judge observes you
all right. 

807
00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:27,640
The all seeing judge sees what 
you're doing. 

808
00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:31,960
That's true, right? 
No, but he says it more 

809
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:35,320
intimately than that. 
Your father sees you. 

810
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:40,120
The one who knows your hidden 
prayers, the one who knows your 

811
00:51:40,120 --> 00:51:44,360
secret burdens, your inward 
grief, the one who sees those 

812
00:51:44,360 --> 00:51:49,240
unseen acts of devotion. 
That one is neither cold nor 

813
00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:54,200
indifferent towards you. 
He is your father, right? 

814
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:55,920
And that changes the whole 
practice. 

815
00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:01,000
Fasting is not about impressing 
people with what we have denied 

816
00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:03,800
ourselves. 
It's about drawing near to the 

817
00:52:03,800 --> 00:52:07,920
Father with a sincere hearts. 
It's about setting aside lawful 

818
00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:13,200
comforts for a time to say, 
Lord, I want you and you alone. 

819
00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:17,920
Lord, I need your help in this 
matter. 

820
00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:23,000
Lord, I've got this great burden
that I need to bring to you. 

821
00:52:24,640 --> 00:52:30,120
Lord, my soul longs for you. 
If you want to see what the if 

822
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:35,880
you want to see a great prayer 
that you could use in fasting, 

823
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:41,840
you might look at Psalm 42. 
All right, John Calvin noted 

824
00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:45,880
that fasting has value only in 
so far as it is joined to 

825
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:49,280
humility and repentance and 
prayer. 

826
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:53,560
Fasting by itself is nothing. 
In fact, we live in a world 

827
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:58,120
today that promotes fasting for 
your health, right? 

828
00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:02,400
You could do a, a 72 hour water 
only fast. 

829
00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:05,320
And this is good for your body. 
It's a cleanse for you. 

830
00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,560
It's Yeah. 
But there's nothing spiritual 

831
00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:08,680
tied to it. 
They're not saying you should 

832
00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:10,880
devote yourself to prayer. 
And right. 

833
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:14,120
So there, there are physically 
good benefits, I assume for 

834
00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:15,920
this, otherwise the world 
wouldn't promote it. 

835
00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:18,600
But but again, we're after the 
heart of this. 

836
00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:20,520
We're not just saying I'm going 
to give these things up and just

837
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:22,080
go on about my life. 
We're saying I'm giving these 

838
00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:24,720
things up. 
I'm going into that time of self

839
00:53:24,720 --> 00:53:27,720
denial so that I can seek the 
Father above. 

840
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:37,240
So when fasting is united with 
genuine prayer, fasting can then

841
00:53:37,240 --> 00:53:40,880
be a fitting expression of a 
humble, dependent heart before 

842
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:44,440
God. 
So there's a warning for us here

843
00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:45,720
in our age. 
We live in a time that 

844
00:53:45,720 --> 00:53:48,280
constantly pushes us toward 
display. 

845
00:53:49,840 --> 00:53:52,600
When you think about what social
media has done to the world, and

846
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:54,800
I'm not like a social media 
hater, I don't think it's really

847
00:53:54,800 --> 00:53:57,960
that great for you, but I think 
it can have some benefits. 

848
00:53:58,680 --> 00:54:01,000
But we live in a time that 
pushes us toward display. 

849
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,960
Like you're, you're now being 
trained to like curate your own 

850
00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:07,320
image. 
You're being trained to present 

851
00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:13,440
yourself, to make yourself 
visible in a certain way, right?

852
00:54:13,440 --> 00:54:18,200
You can put a beautiful family 
photo up and everyone in your 

853
00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:21,160
family knows that that picture 
does not reflect what goes on in

854
00:54:21,160 --> 00:54:23,480
our home. 
It ain't beautiful, it ain't 

855
00:54:23,480 --> 00:54:26,440
pretty. 
But we smiled good on that day. 

856
00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:29,840
We did what we were told that 
day, you know what I'm saying? 

857
00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:32,480
Like this. 
And, and we'll be proud of 

858
00:54:32,480 --> 00:54:36,200
ourselves for putting out this 
beautiful family photo when the 

859
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:41,640
home is actually in turmoil. 
That's a problem, right? 

860
00:54:42,040 --> 00:54:44,240
Should be. 
And we shouldn't be OK with 

861
00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:46,680
that. 
But that's how the world trains 

862
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:48,600
us, right? 
It trains us to curate these 

863
00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:52,440
images of ourselves. 
But Jesus calls his disciples to

864
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:57,080
something radically different. 
He calls us to a secret piety, A

865
00:54:57,080 --> 00:55:01,640
sincere devotion, contentment 
with the Father's eyes alone. 

866
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:05,920
And that's what Jesus exposes 
here. 

867
00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:07,800
Fasting is not religious 
theater. 

868
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:13,240
It's not spiritual image making.
It's meant to be a quiet, 

869
00:55:13,600 --> 00:55:18,320
sincere, Godward expression of 
humility and hunger for the 

870
00:55:18,320 --> 00:55:22,720
Lord. 
So maybe you've arrived now to 

871
00:55:22,720 --> 00:55:25,920
this question. 
All right, Kyle, I agree. 

872
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:28,240
How do I apply this? 
What would you ask? 

873
00:55:28,240 --> 00:55:30,360
Thank you. 
I thought of that. 

874
00:55:30,360 --> 00:55:34,360
All right, First we need to 
recover a biblical understanding

875
00:55:34,360 --> 00:55:36,880
of fasting, right? 
Many Christians have simply 

876
00:55:36,880 --> 00:55:39,320
neglected it. 
Yet Jesus speaks as though it 

877
00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:43,160
belongs among the ordinary 
practices of devotion. 

878
00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:48,160
Now, that doesn't mean that we 
get to bind consciences where 

879
00:55:48,160 --> 00:55:50,200
Scripture does not bind us, 
right? 

880
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:54,200
The New Testament does not lay a
command for a fixed fasting 

881
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:58,760
schedule for all believers. 
You're going to fast on Tuesday 

882
00:55:58,760 --> 00:56:01,000
of every week for 24 hours, 
right? 

883
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:07,280
That's not in there, so it 
doesn't. 

884
00:56:07,480 --> 00:56:10,920
It also New Testament also 
doesn't leave us this room where

885
00:56:10,920 --> 00:56:14,080
we could ignore a practice that 
our Lord plainly assumes and 

886
00:56:14,080 --> 00:56:18,920
that the Scriptures repeatedly 
commend in the right context. 

887
00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:24,360
Secondly, we should view fasting
as a servant of prayer. 

888
00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:28,720
You might see there's one hand 
going in the other hand, right? 

889
00:56:28,720 --> 00:56:31,840
Fasting is not really the point.
Seeking God is the points. 

890
00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:34,960
The absence of food is not 
really the goal. 

891
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:40,040
Communion with God is the goal. 
So fasting can help us focus our

892
00:56:40,040 --> 00:56:41,440
prayers. 
It can help us humble our 

893
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:43,720
hearts. 
It can help us express our 

894
00:56:43,720 --> 00:56:48,240
earnest dependence on the Lord. 
3rd. 

895
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:51,680
We must guard against turning 
even our devotion into self 

896
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:56,680
display. 
We may not disfigure our faces 

897
00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,640
like the hypocrites of Jesus 
day, but that temptation 

898
00:56:59,640 --> 00:57:03,560
remains, all right. 
It's like someone who just did 

899
00:57:03,560 --> 00:57:05,720
leg day and their workout, 
they're going to make sure 

900
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:07,880
everyone that day knows they did
leg day. 

901
00:57:08,240 --> 00:57:11,360
You ever met anybody who didn't 
let you know they did leg day? 

902
00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:16,040
Of course you haven't. 
It's like trying to meet someone

903
00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:18,360
who's not going to let you know 
they're on the keto diet or 

904
00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:19,680
something, right? 
They're going to let everybody 

905
00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:23,280
know just what you do. 
So we don't want to do that with

906
00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:27,600
our righteousness, right? 
But we can't, we can't disfigure

907
00:57:27,600 --> 00:57:29,880
our face and we can't make sure 
everyone knows. 

908
00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:31,400
But you'll be tempted to do 
that. 

909
00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:33,600
And you need to understand that 
that temptation will come and 

910
00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:35,600
you need to guard against it, 
right? 

911
00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:40,320
We, we may still want others to 
see us as especially serious, as

912
00:57:40,320 --> 00:57:45,400
disciplined or spiritual, but 
Jesus calls us to sincerity. 

913
00:57:45,440 --> 00:57:49,200
Be sincere in the way that you 
seek the Lord. 

914
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:59,120
It's better to have a hidden 
hunger for God than a public 

915
00:57:59,120 --> 00:58:06,360
reputation for holiness. 
That's a better thing. 4th, we 

916
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:09,720
should consider whether fasting 
may be a fitting practice for 

917
00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:15,520
some of us in this season. 
I don't know everything going on

918
00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:20,280
in your life right now. 
There may be burdens in your 

919
00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:24,400
life, could be financial, could 
be your marriage, could be some 

920
00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:28,680
parenting trouble, could be 
sickness, could be all sorts of 

921
00:58:28,680 --> 00:58:33,520
things that there may be sins to
repent of. 

922
00:58:35,800 --> 00:58:38,800
There might be decisions to seek
wisdom for. 

923
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:43,560
I'm just not satisfied with my 
job currently. 

924
00:58:43,560 --> 00:58:46,280
I should seek a different job. 
That's not me making that 

925
00:58:46,280 --> 00:58:48,080
statement, all right? 
I love my job. 

926
00:58:48,240 --> 00:58:50,280
I'm just saying you might be in 
that place, right? 

927
00:58:54,280 --> 00:58:57,480
But there's decisions to seek 
God's wisdom for, right? 

928
00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:01,880
There may be griefs you're 
carrying some deep loss, some 

929
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:06,960
deep pain, some deep grief of 
some sort or another, right? 

930
00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:11,240
Have you fasted? 
Have you thought to seek the 

931
00:59:11,240 --> 00:59:15,240
Lord in that? 
Maybe prayers you just want to 

932
00:59:15,240 --> 00:59:17,320
deepen. 
It's like, man, my communion 

933
00:59:17,320 --> 00:59:19,240
with God is just way off right 
now. 

934
00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:24,080
I read my Bible, but it's like 
I'm just reading words on a 

935
00:59:24,080 --> 00:59:25,800
page. 
I say my prayers, but it's like 

936
00:59:25,800 --> 00:59:28,920
the ceiling, you know, my roof 
catches on and they fall back 

937
00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:31,600
down. 
Just don't feel like I've got 

938
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:33,200
much communion with God right 
now. 

939
00:59:33,640 --> 00:59:38,960
Have you considered fasting? 
You consider devoting some time 

940
00:59:38,960 --> 00:59:42,480
to the Lord, denying yourself, 
devoting sometimes to the Lord. 

941
00:59:44,520 --> 00:59:51,240
Now again, and it may be, let me
say this, it may be one meal, it

942
00:59:51,240 --> 00:59:57,360
might be one day, it might be a 
set time of fasting, but you 

943
00:59:57,360 --> 00:59:59,560
should join it to prayer. 
You should join it to scripture 

944
00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:01,120
reading. 
You should join it to devotion 

945
01:00:01,120 --> 01:00:05,520
with God, seeking him and, and, 
and when you do that, it's a 

946
01:00:05,520 --> 01:00:08,640
fitting way to seek the Father 
like they go hand in hand. 

947
01:00:09,320 --> 01:00:11,120
Now you're not trying to earn 
his favor. 

948
01:00:11,120 --> 01:00:12,920
I want to be very clear about 
that. 

949
01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:16,560
You're just simply a child 
expressing your need and your 

950
01:00:16,560 --> 01:00:21,880
dependence upon your father. 
Finally, we should remember that

951
01:00:21,880 --> 01:00:27,240
the heart of all true devotion 
is this, the Father who sees in 

952
01:00:27,240 --> 01:00:30,520
secret. 
But that's the heart behind 

953
01:00:30,520 --> 01:00:33,680
devotion to God. 
He sees the hidden prayer. 

954
01:00:33,680 --> 01:00:36,480
He sees the quiet hunger. 
He sees the unnoticed act of 

955
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:39,800
dependence. 
He sees what no one else sees. 

956
01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:43,520
And Jesus says, your Father, who
sees in secret will reward you. 

957
01:00:45,520 --> 01:00:48,920
Again, the reward is not wages 
earned by religious effort. 

958
01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:53,360
It's the gracious pleasure of a 
Father who delights in sincerity

959
01:00:53,760 --> 01:00:58,000
among his people. 
He honors what is done in faith.

960
01:00:58,640 --> 01:01:02,760
He meets those who seek him. 
He draws nearer to those who 

961
01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:07,640
humble themselves before him. 
So in fasting, as with giving, 

962
01:01:07,640 --> 01:01:10,160
Christ calls us away from 
performance and towards 

963
01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:15,640
sincerity, away from image 
curation and toward reality, 

964
01:01:16,720 --> 01:01:21,160
away from the fleeting praise of
men and toward the praise and 

965
01:01:21,160 --> 01:01:24,240
the presence of a Father who 
sees in secrets. 

966
01:01:26,160 --> 01:01:28,520
So as we come to the end of the 
passage, Jesus has shown us 

967
01:01:28,520 --> 01:01:33,440
something deeply searching, that
even our righteous acts can be 

968
01:01:33,440 --> 01:01:36,280
corrupted by the desire to be 
seen by others. 

969
01:01:37,360 --> 01:01:39,520
Even giving can become self 
exalting. 

970
01:01:39,520 --> 01:01:41,520
Even fasting can become 
performative. 

971
01:01:42,200 --> 01:01:47,160
And the problem is not merely 
what we do, but why we do it and

972
01:01:47,160 --> 01:01:52,760
before whom we offer it. 
And that is why this passage 

973
01:01:52,760 --> 01:01:56,240
presses on our hearts. 
You see, Jesus is not merely 

974
01:01:56,240 --> 01:01:59,920
calling us to a better set of 
religious habits. 

975
01:02:01,080 --> 01:02:05,120
He's calling us to live before 
the face of our Father Corumdeo.

976
01:02:05,240 --> 01:02:09,360
He's calling us away from the 
shallow reward of human praise 

977
01:02:09,360 --> 01:02:14,040
and into this deeper joy of 
pleasing the one who sees you in

978
01:02:14,040 --> 01:02:17,360
secret. 
So let us hear the warning 

979
01:02:17,360 --> 01:02:20,880
clearly this morning. 
Do not live for the approval of 

980
01:02:20,880 --> 01:02:22,720
men. 
Just don't. 

981
01:02:25,400 --> 01:02:28,080
Public applause is a poor 
reward. 

982
01:02:29,520 --> 01:02:34,600
It's thin. 
It's temporary and it's empty at

983
01:02:34,600 --> 01:02:38,680
the end of the day, but the 
Father's pleasure, on the other 

984
01:02:38,680 --> 01:02:45,120
hand, is rich. 
It's enduring, it's full of joy.

985
01:02:49,240 --> 01:02:52,200
And let us hear the invitation 
of Christ clearly this morning. 

986
01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:58,000
Seek your Father. 
Seek the one who sees in secret.

987
01:02:58,600 --> 01:03:00,920
Be devoted to him. 
Give before him, pray before 

988
01:03:00,920 --> 01:03:05,480
him, fast before him, obey 
before him, walk sincerely 

989
01:03:05,640 --> 01:03:08,600
before him. 
For the heart of true 

990
01:03:08,600 --> 01:03:11,840
righteousness is not performance
at all, it's devotion. 

991
01:03:15,640 --> 01:03:19,240
And for those of you who are 
like me, and you know that 

992
01:03:19,240 --> 01:03:23,600
you've failed. 
You've sought the praise of men 

993
01:03:23,680 --> 01:03:28,200
at times in your life. 
And truly, all of us have, in 

994
01:03:28,200 --> 01:03:33,720
some measure, right? 
The answer here is not to hide. 

995
01:03:36,680 --> 01:03:43,360
It's not to be like Adam and 
Eve, to see your nakedness and 

996
01:03:43,360 --> 01:03:46,960
to go and search for fig leaves 
and make yourself close and hide

997
01:03:47,480 --> 01:03:52,200
in the bushes. 
It's the first camouflage, by 

998
01:03:52,200 --> 01:04:01,240
the way. 
It's not to do that, right? 

999
01:04:01,240 --> 01:04:04,440
If you know you failed. 
We don't hide. 

1000
01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:09,120
We come to Christ. 
We flee to Christ. 

1001
01:04:11,720 --> 01:04:15,320
Why? 
Because He alone is the one who 

1002
01:04:15,320 --> 01:04:19,720
practiced a perfect 
righteousness with a perfectly 

1003
01:04:19,720 --> 01:04:24,360
pure heart. 
He, He never, never once, even 

1004
01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:28,560
one of His offered to Him, never
sought the praise of man above 

1005
01:04:28,560 --> 01:04:33,320
his Father's will. 
And then he went to the cross. 

1006
01:04:33,320 --> 01:04:39,240
And he didn't go to the cross 
merely for his own glory, 

1007
01:04:39,240 --> 01:04:42,200
although he receives a ton of 
glory for it. 

1008
01:04:42,200 --> 01:04:47,680
And he should, though He went to
the cross for for hypocrites. 

1009
01:04:49,840 --> 01:04:51,680
He went to the cross for proud 
people. 

1010
01:04:53,200 --> 01:04:55,880
He went to the cross for glory 
seekers like you and me. 

1011
01:04:57,640 --> 01:05:01,800
He died for our false 
righteousness, and He rose that 

1012
01:05:01,800 --> 01:05:05,080
we might take on His own 
righteousness, that we might 

1013
01:05:05,080 --> 01:05:11,040
have a new life in Him. 
So we don't run from Him at all.

1014
01:05:11,040 --> 01:05:14,560
We bring our divided heart 
straight to Him. 

1015
01:05:17,560 --> 01:05:22,720
We confess our pride to Him. 
We're honest about our own glory

1016
01:05:22,720 --> 01:05:27,800
seek, and we ask Him to teach us
to live before the Father's 

1017
01:05:27,800 --> 01:05:31,960
face. 
That's what believers do when 

1018
01:05:31,960 --> 01:05:35,040
they read a text like this. 
That's how we should respond. 

1019
01:05:36,720 --> 01:05:41,000
Now, unbelievers, this text 
merely calls you to understand 

1020
01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:46,520
that you are a glory seeker. 
But you're seeking the glory of 

1021
01:05:46,520 --> 01:05:48,400
the wrong one. 
You're seeking it for yourself. 

1022
01:05:48,400 --> 01:05:49,800
You're building your own 
Kingdom. 

1023
01:05:50,320 --> 01:05:55,640
You're concerned about your own 
will, concerned about the paving

1024
01:05:55,640 --> 01:06:00,880
your own way even. 
But I want you to know that 

1025
01:06:00,880 --> 01:06:06,080
Christ died for the ungodly. 
Christ died to save unbelievers 

1026
01:06:06,520 --> 01:06:08,080
like you. 
And there's a lot of believers 

1027
01:06:08,080 --> 01:06:12,320
around you can testify to that 
because they once were an 

1028
01:06:12,320 --> 01:06:16,880
unbeliever themselves, living in
their own way, doing their own 

1029
01:06:16,880 --> 01:06:22,320
thing. 
And so the call to you is to 

1030
01:06:22,320 --> 01:06:26,160
repent of your sins. 
It's to come to Christ today. 

1031
01:06:28,280 --> 01:06:33,040
It's to say with your mouth 
Jesus is Lord, and to believe in

1032
01:06:33,040 --> 01:06:37,440
your heart that God raised him 
from the dead and to devote 

1033
01:06:37,440 --> 01:06:40,240
yourself to following him all 
the days of your life. 

1034
01:06:44,200 --> 01:06:48,120
So, brothers and sisters, those 
Christians in the room, let us 

1035
01:06:48,120 --> 01:06:52,400
not be content with being 
outwardly godly or being thought

1036
01:06:52,400 --> 01:06:56,160
godly. 
Let let us desire truly in our 

1037
01:06:56,160 --> 01:07:00,520
inward being to be godly. 
Let let us not merely appear 

1038
01:07:00,520 --> 01:07:03,720
righteous before others. 
No, let us seek the Father's 

1039
01:07:03,720 --> 01:07:08,560
approval in secret. 
Let us trust that the Father who

1040
01:07:08,560 --> 01:07:11,760
sees in secret will surely 
reward his children. 

1041
01:07:13,080 --> 01:07:13,560
Amen. 
Amen. 

1042
01:07:15,320 --> 01:07:18,160
Let's pray. 
Heavenly Father, we thank you 

1043
01:07:19,800 --> 01:07:24,840
for your word today, tough as it
may be, convicting as it may be.

1044
01:07:25,600 --> 01:07:27,520
God, we thank You that, as I 
said in the beginning of the 

1045
01:07:27,520 --> 01:07:34,040
sermon, you love us too much to 
leave us in our sinful state. 

1046
01:07:37,280 --> 01:07:41,280
Father, because of your great 
love, you sent your Son to live 

1047
01:07:41,280 --> 01:07:45,640
a perfectly righteous life, to 
die the sin, to die the death 

1048
01:07:45,640 --> 01:07:49,760
that we deserve, to cover our 
sins on the cross, taking them 

1049
01:07:49,760 --> 01:07:53,880
on Himself, enduring your wrath 
in our place. 

1050
01:07:53,880 --> 01:07:56,160
You died. 
You sent him to die for the 

1051
01:07:56,160 --> 01:08:03,080
ungodly. 
And Lord, we know that you did 

1052
01:08:03,080 --> 01:08:06,400
not leave him in the grave, but 
he rose on the third day, 

1053
01:08:06,400 --> 01:08:12,800
defeating death and hell and sin
once for all time, and that now 

1054
01:08:12,800 --> 01:08:17,040
all who call upon his name 
receive new life, forgiveness of

1055
01:08:17,040 --> 01:08:20,720
sins, righteousness. 
It's not their own, it belongs 

1056
01:08:20,720 --> 01:08:24,359
to Christ. 
We can walk in that. 

1057
01:08:25,319 --> 01:08:29,040
We have new desires, a desire to
please our Father who sees in 

1058
01:08:29,040 --> 01:08:32,479
secrets. 
And so, Lord, I just ask, 

1059
01:08:32,479 --> 01:08:34,880
knowing all of that, knowing 
what Crisis said today, would 

1060
01:08:34,880 --> 01:08:40,439
you help us as Christians to 
live a life of true devotion to 

1061
01:08:40,439 --> 01:08:46,040
the Father who sees in secrets, 
to no longer fall to the 

1062
01:08:46,040 --> 01:08:49,040
temptation of practicing or 
righteousness before men? 

1063
01:08:50,960 --> 01:08:52,560
Not in a way that we would be 
seen. 

1064
01:08:55,359 --> 01:08:59,359
God help us to live our life for
the glory of God in every way. 

1065
01:09:01,439 --> 01:09:04,840
Father, I pray for any 
unbeliever in here that you 

1066
01:09:04,840 --> 01:09:08,319
would save them from their sins 
today, that you would draw them 

1067
01:09:08,319 --> 01:09:11,120
to yourself. 
Let nothing hinder them from 

1068
01:09:11,120 --> 01:09:14,319
coming. 
Would you grant them new life in

1069
01:09:14,319 --> 01:09:20,240
Christ this morning? 
I'm going to give you a moment 

1070
01:09:20,240 --> 01:09:24,920
now there in your seat to to 
pray and to seek the Lord. 

1071
01:09:25,800 --> 01:09:28,920
Maybe it's time of confession 
and repentance for you. 

1072
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:33,160
Maybe it's simply a time of 
adoration for what the Lord's 

1073
01:09:33,160 --> 01:09:36,000
doing in your life, what He has 
done, the places He's brought 

1074
01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:39,240
you to. 
Maybe there's a command here to 

1075
01:09:39,240 --> 01:09:40,880
believe. 
Maybe you haven't practiced 

1076
01:09:40,880 --> 01:09:46,080
fasting or even giving to the 
needy, and you recognize now 

1077
01:09:46,160 --> 01:09:50,200
that you should be obedient in 
those areas and ask the Spirit 

1078
01:09:50,200 --> 01:09:55,920
to help you. 
Maybe you're unsaved and you see

1079
01:09:55,920 --> 01:10:00,440
it now for the first time, that 
you're in rebellion to God and 

1080
01:10:00,440 --> 01:10:04,920
in need of a Saviour. 
Ask the Lord to save you this 

1081
01:10:04,920 --> 01:11:01,520
morning. 
Heavenly Father, we praise your 

1082
01:11:01,520 --> 01:11:05,400
great name. 
We thank you for your kindness 

1083
01:11:05,400 --> 01:11:08,120
toward us. 
We thank you for your love for 

1084
01:11:08,120 --> 01:11:09,680
us. 
We thank you for your help and 

1085
01:11:09,680 --> 01:11:13,280
our time of need. 
We thank you for the grace and 

1086
01:11:13,280 --> 01:11:15,880
mercy we find when we come to 
the throne of grace. 

1087
01:11:15,880 --> 01:11:21,480
Boldly we ask, Lord, that you 
would help us to be devoted men 

1088
01:11:21,480 --> 01:11:26,520
and women and boys and girls who
love Christ above all else, who 

1089
01:11:26,520 --> 01:11:29,840
live our lives before the face 
of you. 

1090
01:11:29,840 --> 01:11:35,520
Father, in every way, it's in 
the name of Christ to pray. 

1091
01:11:35,760 --> 01:11:36,160
Amen.