Do It In Secret

Good morning, guys. Thank you to Todd and David for such a fun edition of our Sunday announcements today.

! We're going to continue on in the Sermon on the Mount this morning as we read and open up with chapter 6.

Our text is Matthew 6, 1-6.

And then we're skipping the Lord's Prayer altogether because that most certainly deserves its own sermon.

And then we'll read verses 16-18.

I think you'll see soon why we grouped this text like this.

I was discussing the sermon with our very own Steve Miller,

who mentioned that this is the perfect text for me to preach on as I start full-time ministry.

And I couldn't agree more.

This text has been a mirror to me, revealing my pride, my self-righteousness,

but also the kindness of my Heavenly Father.

So let's pray now that the Spirit of God will show us both of those things this morning.

Heavenly Father,

Father, you are in heaven, high and holy,

but you're also our Father.

And you meet us where we are,

meek and lowly.

We are in awe of you.

That when we fall short of your standards,

of your teachings,

that your heart towards us isn't to reject us,

isn't to fold your arms,

to say,

try again next time.

But you love us.

You welcome us in as

a good, good Father does.

And we need to be reminded of that fatherly love this morning.

Our hearts are sick,

craving for affirmation and approval,

and we look for it in so many of the wrong places.

But I pray, Lord,

won't you open our eyes to see that your heart,

your disposition towards us,

is one of love and compassion and kindness,

so that we would be able to

not fear man,

and not seek the approval of man,

but to seek your approval and your reward.

Help us, Father, to that end.

We need your spirit to convict us

and to help us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand, if you are able,

for the reading of God's word.

We're in Matthew 6,

starting in verse 1.

Beware of practicing your righteousness

before other people

in order to be seen by them,

for then you will have no reward

from your Father who is in heaven.

Thus, when you give to the needy,

sound no trumpet before you,

as the hypocrites do

in the synagogues and in the streets,

that they may be praised by others.

Truly, I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you give to the needy,

do not let your left hand know

what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

And when you pray,

you must not be like the hypocrites,

for they love to stand

and pray in the synagogues

and at the street corners,

that they may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you pray,

go into your room

and shut the door

and pray to your Father

who is in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

And when you fast,

do not look gloomy

like the hypocrites,

for they disfigure their faces,

that their fasting

may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you,

they have received their reward.

But when you fast,

anoint your head

and wash your face,

that your fasting

may not be seen by others,

but by your heavenly Father,

but by your Father

who is in secret.

And your Father

who sees in secret

will reward you.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

Back in the early 2000s,

there was this era

of youth-oriented,

high-production,

culturally relevant

megachurches like Hillsong.

And there was an up-and-coming church

that challenged Hillsong

with over 21,000 members,

multi-campus,

taking over Australia,

and it was called

Planet Shakers Church.

It gained massive

international attention,

and at its helm

was this young,

charismatic,

energetic speaker

named Michael Guglielmucci,

who filled stadiums

and he wrote

chart-topping music.

People loved Mike

for his authenticity,

his approachableness,

his passion for the Lord.

All was going great

for Planet Shakers

and for Mike

until he dropped

this bomb on them.

He had cancer.

Not just any kind of cancer,

but a rare form

of blood cancer

that left him

with years,

maybe even months,

to live.

But amazingly,

he didn't let that

stop him.

He continued

to go around churches,

preaching like a dying man,

exhorting the younger generation

to never stop trusting

in the Lord.

even when he needed

a cane to walk,

even when all his hair

fell out

because of the chemo,

and when he needed

to be hooked up

even to oxygen

on the stage.

He never stopped preaching.

He led worship

and he performed

his hit song,

Healer,

which lyrics go,

you hold my every moment,

you calm my raging seas,

you walk with me

through fire

and heal all my disease.

I trust in you.

In every way,

Mike was a model example

of someone

who holds on to faith

in such a hard situation.

Or so it seemed.

It turned out

that Mike was lying

the entire time

about his cancer diagnosis.

Not just to the public,

not just to his church,

but to his own family,

his own wife.

He would have them

drop him off

at the hospital,

but never let them

come in with him.

And it turns out

that he shaved

his own head,

he faked his oxygen tube

on stage,

and he acted a limp

into his walk.

to make matters worse.

He confessed

that he was using

this cancer diagnosis

to hide a secret sin,

a decades-long addiction

to adult videos.

Michael Guglielmucci

was a hypocrite,

a double life fraud.

In our passage this morning,

Jesus warns us

of this hypocrisy.

Verse 1 says,

Beware of practicing

your righteousness

before other people

in order to be seen by them,

for then you will have

no reward from your Father

who is in heaven.

This is a sobering verse

this morning

that acts like

the thesis statement

for the rest of our passage.

Jesus is saying

that the motive

by which you practice

your righteousness

before others

is not a light matter.

There sadly have been

way too many men,

like the scribes

and the Pharisees

that we're going to read about,

that have acted

like all they want

is to please the Lord,

but in reality,

they don't have an ounce

of genuine desire.

Their only motivation

is self-glory.

Jesus warns

that those who have won

the praise

of the entire world

by their hypocrisy,

like Mike Guglielmucci,

will not receive

an ounce of reward

from their heavenly father.

unless they repent.

So instead,

in our passage,

Jesus teaches us

a better way.

Other than in verse 1,

our passage is split

into three congruent passages,

and it doesn't take long

to see a pattern

between all three sections.

First,

Jesus rebukes

the hypocrites

for practicing

acts of righteousness

to be seen by men.

And in all three sections,

he has the same judgment.

Truly,

I say to you,

they have received

their reward.

And then comes

the contrast.

But you,

you should do

all that the hypocrite

is doing,

but in secret.

And then,

this is the identical line again.

He says,

your father,

who sees in secret,

will reward you.

The main idea

of this passage

isn't hard to identify.

Jesus makes it clear

that we should practice

our righteousness

in secret

to be seen

and rewarded

by God,

not man.

And in turn,

we're going to look

at how Jesus speaks

about how we are

to give,

not grandstand.

We're to pray,

not play act.

We're to fast,

and not feign.

Let's jump into

the first of his examples

now,

which is all about

giving to the poor.

Back then,

giving to the poor

was an essential part

of society

because unlike us today,

the poor didn't have

government welfare systems

to rely on.

Instead,

they had to depend

entirely on the donations

of the public

run through a system

by the Jewish synagogues.

And in that system,

significant donations,

big donations,

were likely broadcasted,

publicized

to the entire society.

So you can just imagine

how ripe

the circumstances were

for these hypocrites,

these scribes

and Pharisees

that Jesus most likely

is referring to here,

to practice

their righteousness

to win

the praise of man.

The word hypocrite

originally referred

to a theatrical actor,

which I think

is such a fitting description.

of what these men

are doing.

It really seems like

they know and love God

by their acts

of righteousness,

but in actuality,

they're only convincing

method actors.

They toot their trumpets

in a musical performance.

They perform

their long prayer monologues.

They even costume up.

They wear makeup,

as we'll see later.

Here Jesus exposes

their hypocrisy

as they give to the poor

only to hear

that trumpet played

and only to hear

the people ooh and ah

at their generosity

and their holiness.

Mind you,

this man is not

pretending to give.

He's not lying about it.

He's actually giving.

So he's doing

an act of kindness.

Anyone with two eyes

can see that.

But yet,

Jesus isn't impressed.

For Jesus,

it's not enough

for us to just

throw money

at the poor

and expect that

to please him.

If that were the case,

mega YouTube

star,

Mr. Beast,

if you guys know him,

Jimmy Donaldson,

he would be the most

righteous of us

with his long list

of philanthropic

achievements.

And these YouTube videos

that you guys

likely have seen,

they're insane.

He donates

a year's salary

to every family

in a village

in Uganda

or he pays

for a thousand

deaf people

and their surgeries

so that they can hear

for the first time.

On first glance,

it seems that Jesus

would be impressed

by such acts

of generosity

and kindness.

But here,

out of Donaldson's

own mouth,

the rationale,

the motive

by which he gives.

Near the beginning

of Donaldson's success,

he posted this video

in which he gives

to his mom

$100,000

in cold,

hard cash.

Can you imagine?

And at first,

she refuses,

but he insists,

says,

if I don't give this

to you,

I don't have

a viral video.

You're using me

for views,

she asks.

And he's honest.

He says,

yes,

but you get money too.

So we're both happy.

This philanthropic content

has been a key part

to Donaldson's

explosive growth

to fame.

These videos rack up

hundreds of millions

of views.

Even I want to watch

a thousand deaf people

to regain their hearing again.

But this is nothing new.

The scribes

and the Pharisees

were long onto

this strategy

long before Mr. Beast.

In fact,

they were the original

Mr. Beast

who flaunted

their generous giving.

It's not actually giving

because in actuality,

they're buying.

They're just using

their money

to buy the respect

and clout

of society.

And Jesus himself

knows that this

strategy works.

He acknowledges

that there is a reward

to this kind of behavior

when he says

three times in our passage,

truly I say to you,

they have received

their reward.

But what's the problem

with this kind of reward?

A lot of things,

but let me just highlight

two aspects.

Number one,

this praise,

this clout,

it's

caffeine.

caffeine.

It's

high fructose

corn syrup.

It's an addictive

stimulant.

It's ephemeral,

temporary,

burns hot for a second

and leaves you

crashing the next.

Like the high of a drug,

it never satisfies,

but it hooks you.

It addicts you

to the next hit,

to the next achievement,

to the next affirming

person,

the next compliment.

Then you're only as good

as your next achievement.

But more importantly,

the reward of man,

it forfeits

the true reward

of God

because we cannot

serve both God

and man.

It's binary.

It's one or the other.

So Jesus seriously

warns us

to be careful

because if this is all

that you're working towards,

if this is all

that you're striving for,

then you might just get it.

But that's all

you're going to get.

So friends,

we should not expect

to please Jesus

if we're not even

aiming to do so.

So instead of this hypocrisy,

what should we do?

We should give in total secret.

That's what Jesus says.

Here,

Jesus isn't directly

commanding us

to give to the needy,

but he's assuming

that we're doing so.

We can't give in secret

unless we're not giving at all.

So this is a time

to just quickly evaluate.

Am I matching?

Is the way that I use my money

match Jesus' assumption

about me?

My budget,

my spending habits?

But this passage

isn't about

the amount of money

that we give,

but it's more about

the motivation

with which we give.

for Jesus commands us

while the right hands

of the hypocrites

are tooting their horns

and they're blasting

their socials

to tell the entire world

of how good of a person

they are

and all that they're doing,

your right hand

shouldn't even tell the left

what it's doing.

That's how secretive

you are to be.

Why?

Because when you give

in secret,

your father

who sees in secret

will reward you.

This is a fascinating comment

from Jesus.

Do you notice

that he doesn't say

you should give in secret

because this is

the right thing to do?

You know,

sometimes we think

that the true Christian thing

is to completely

divorce ourselves

from any

self-interested desire.

We think we should

only be outward focused

and do the right thing only

because it's the right thing.

Because we love others

and we love God

so we shouldn't be

in it for ourselves.

And there is a way

that this certainly

does become selfish

but amazingly,

Jesus doesn't think

that it is

automatically,

inherently selfish

for us to be motivated

by future reward.

instead he's intentionally

holding out to us

a greater,

a better reward.

And so what he's

ultimately rebuking

the scribes

and the Pharisees for

is not that they are

self-interested

but it's that they're not

self-interested

in the right way.

Like a little boy

who stuffs himself

with candy

before dinner,

these scribes

and their Pharisees,

these Pharisees,

they're too easily

stuffing themselves

with the praise of man,

the lesser things

which then disqualifies

them from a better,

heartier meal,

a future reward

that's going to be

far better

than anything man

can give.

In other words,

they're too nearsighted

to be able to see

far ahead

and long for

something better.

I don't know

if you guys

know this about me,

some of you guys do,

but I'm terribly

nearsighted.

My eyes are really,

really bad, right?

Like I can basically

only see clearly

three to four inches

in front of me.

My wife has joked

that probably

it's not a joke,

but that I would

be utterly useless

when I have to

defend her in a fight

because all you have

to do is just

knock the glasses off

and just going to

be throwing

punches blindly.

But just like

the best solution

for nearsightedness

is not to put

out our eyes

and go blind,

thank God,

but it's to

correct our vision

with glasses,

with contacts.

We shouldn't

blind ourselves

from reward,

but instead

correct our vision,

have a better

long-term view

of heavenly rewards.

seeking God's reward

as Jesus encourages,

it's not mercenary,

it's not impure,

but it honors God

because it's our

acknowledgement

that only he has

what can truly

satisfy.

He brings us

the greatest joy

and deepest happiness.

That's what I want.

That's what you say.

Do we immediately

consider a man

selfish

when he marries

a woman

because he anticipates

a lifetime of happiness

with her?

It's not immediately

selfish,

but it's honoring

to her.

In the same way,

if we

resolve to not

please man,

but to please God

for this future reward

for millions

of lifetimes

of happiness

with him,

that's not selfish,

but that's honoring

to him.

God is glorified

in us

when we live

with the conviction,

with the desire

that our greatest

satisfaction

and our reward

is found in him

and him alone.

We have to hit pause

and just say

the fact alone

though

that God would

reward me,

me,

is utterly astounding.

For who am I

but only an unworthy

servant

that should just do

whatever he tells me

to do whenever

he tells me

to do it?

Should the master

thank his servant

if he just does

what he's commanded

of?

And while that is

true,

that our relationships

with God is like that,

of master and servant,

Jesus doesn't frame

our relationship

with him

like this

in our passage today.

I don't know

if you've noticed

but the word

that is most

frequently repeated

in our passage

is not

righteousness,

it's not

hypocrite,

but it's the word

father.

In fact,

Matthew 6

has the word

father

the most amount

of times

in this one chapter

compared to all

the rest of the book

of Matthew.

And by this

super concentration

of this title,

Jesus is highlighting

the intimate

relationship

that we now have

as God being

our heavenly father

and we his children.

That he is not

a stingy,

hard to please

master.

He's not a stern,

aloof judge.

but that he is

a good,

good father

that loves us

and is desiring

to give us

good gifts.

This is,

this is a massive

idea

that we need

to internalize

more and more

because without

believing this,

we will never

be able to give

in secret.

We'll never be able

to practice

our righteousness

in secret

because if we

don't truly believe

that God sees us

and delights

to reward us,

then we're going

to seek

the affirmation

that we so crave

in other places.

But if he's a father

that jumps

at the chance

of blessing you,

of rewarding you,

you can now

give in secret

knowing that there

is going to be

a great heavenly

reward for you.

So give,

give in secret.

Even when

the world

is scheming

their way

to popularity

and to the top,

when everyone

is praising

that guy

who seems

to be getting

so much attention

for his acts

of righteousness,

we can be last,

be overlooked,

be invisible

because knowing,

we know that

our future,

our heavenly reward

will be so satisfying.

And in that

pursuit of rewards,

we not just

give in secret,

but we pray

in secret,

which brings me

to my second point.

In verses 5-6,

Jesus rebukes

the hypocrisy

of the scribes

and Pharisees

for the way

that they pray.

And just like

they gave

to the needy,

these actors

are merely

continuing

to play the part

as they lift up

these long,

lofty prayer monologues

in the synagogues

and the street corners.

And because they

love the stage

and they love

the limelight,

you can just

imagine them

scheming,

today,

where should I pray?

Should I

pray in that corner

next to the synagogue

by the market?

Gets a lot of

foot traffic.

But

it's kind of loud,

market's kind of loud,

I don't know if people

are going to be able

to hear me

when I hit my climax,

so let me pray

on the other corner.

You see,

there's a marked

difference

between someone

who egregiously

abuses religion

for his own gain

and operates like

there is no God

versus someone

like you and me

who struggles

honestly with

fear of man.

But while we

might not scheme

as intensely,

we can relate

to this hypocrite,

can't we?

I for sure can.

Why do our

palms get sweaty

and our hearts

beat just a little

bit faster

when it comes

to our turn

to pray

at prayer meetings?

Why do we feel

the need

to throw in

theological jargon

and Christianese

so that we sound

better when we pray?

Is it because we know

who we're praying to?

Do we know

that we're praying

to the Ancient of Days,

to El Elyon,

the God Most High,

to El Shaddai,

the God Almighty?

or is it because

we know that

Bobby is sitting

in the corner

over there

and we want

to impress

little old Bobby?

Pastor Derek

Prime captures

this phenomenon

well when he says,

we find ourselves

aware of the stars

only

when we cannot

see the sun.

We are preoccupied

with men

only when our minds

are turned away

from God.

God.

So may we

never forget

that the central

purpose of prayer

is to actually

pray to God.

I know,

groundbreaking theology,

but there are times

that I've done this

way too many times

that we pray

with a motive

primarily not

to communicate

to God,

but to communicate

to the people

around us.

It could be

for good reasons.

We want to

communicate

good truths.

We want to

remind somebody

of this thing

so we pray

for it

out loud.

Or,

for instance,

in front of our kids

we try to be

a healthy example

for them to emulate

so we pray.

Those are all

great benefits

of praying

and I continue

to pray in public

and with others,

but when prayer

in your heart

primarily becomes

about communicating

to the people

around you

horizontally,

instead of praying

vertically to God,

slowly but surely,

prayer is no longer

prayer,

but it's play acting.

But prayer

is one of the

greatest privileges

that we ought to

never take for granted

or abuse.

To approach

the throne of glory.

can you imagine

communicating to this

God just like

the prophet Isaiah

did in his vision

of the Lord

seated on the throne

high and lifted up

with the train

of his robe

filling the temples

with the seraphim

around him

proclaiming,

holy,

holy is the

Lord of hosts.

Can you imagine

that we get to pray

to that God

and he hears us

on the regular,

on the daily,

not only that,

but prayer

is one of the

most intimate

things that we

get to share

with God.

I've heard one

of my seminary

professors,

when asked about

his private

prayer life,

commented that

he doesn't like

to talk about

his prayer life

because for him

it feels like

he's talking about

his private

love life.

That's how

intimate it

feels to him

and his relationship

is with God.

God.

So then how

twisted is it

then to use

the privilege

of prayer,

the intimacy

of prayer

and use it

for our own

selfish gain?

I once heard

a story of a

pastor who was

well known

for just having

a remarkable,

deep,

fervent love

for his wife.

He simply

absolutely adored

her,

the ways that

his eyes would

sparkle looking

at her.

The way that

he would speak

about her,

the way he

would wait

on her hand

and foot.

Everyone just

knew,

even 40 years

into his

marriage,

that he was

head over heels

in love with

his wife.

Tragically,

when he lost

her,

he spoke

at our

funeral.

And when he

did,

everyone was

expecting this

grand display

of his

amazing love

for her.

And if anyone

could do it,

it was him.

But when he

got up there,

it was a

plain speech.

Basic facts

about his

wife,

the ministry

she carried

out,

and how she

was faithful

to the end.

He didn't

speak about

the thousands

of times

that they

prayed together,

the daily

walks that

they shared,

the inside

jokes that

brought out

the smile

that he so

dearly missed.

at the end,

people came

up to ask

him,

we know,

we know

that you

have loved

your wife.

Why didn't

you speak

more passionately

about your

love for her?

And to

which he

replied,

this funeral

is to honor

my wife

and the life

that she

lived.

It's not an

opportunity

for me to

show off

my love

for her.

This is not

about me.

In the same

way,

prayer is

not an

opportunity

for us

to show

off our

love for

God.

It's not

about us.

But how

many of us

struggle to

pray with

this kind

of self-forgetful

humility?

Whether we

arrogantly

think that we

can impress

others,

or we're

anxious,

and we worry

about embarrassing

ourselves,

we still make

prayer about

us.

We forget

who we're

praying to.

Not just

in prayer,

but we live

with that

kind of

self-attention,

that self-focus

often,

often in a

lot of what

we do.

So we don't

live in fear

of God,

but we live

in fear

of man.

But if we

were instead

to walk in

fear of the

Lord,

we'd be able

to live out

what Tim

Keller has

said.

True gospel

humility means

that I stop

connecting every

experience,

every conversation,

and I add

every prayer

with myself.

In fact,

I stop

thinking about

myself.

Oh,

how amazing

would that be

to stop

thinking about

yourself?

How liberating

would it be

to forget

yourself and

to pray openly

and honestly

before others

and to God?

How joyful

would it be

to stop

your performing

and stop

our play

acting

to impress

people,

but to be

who we are

and to pray

as we are?

I'm not

preaching anything

new.

Most of us

know that

we shouldn't

fear man

and we should

fear God

alone.

But honestly,

and I feel

this,

that feels

like something

that's so

hard to do.

It feels

like there's

such a large

gap between

what we know

in our heads

and what is

in our hearts.

It feels

like there's

such a large

gap between

what we want

to live like

and what we

are today.

So how do

we realistically

get from here

to there?

To that end,

Jesus recommends

that we ought

to pray in secret

in the privacy

of our rooms

because our

heavenly father

sees,

not just sees

in secret,

but he is

in secret.

If the Lord

is in secret

and invisible

to the human

eye,

then one

of the ways

we should

draw near

to him

should match

that,

to meet

him invisibly

from the rest

of the human

eyes.

Of course,

I don't think

that Jesus

is literally

commanding us

to never

pray with

others.

Of course,

that would

go against

many other

examples in

scripture,

even Jesus'

own example

in the book

of John.

In the book

of Acts,

there are

multiple

examples in

the church

gathering together

to pray

with great

power.

And I've

just tasted

and seen

a part of

that,

praying with

you guys.

I've been

built up

and encouraged

when I hear

you guys

pray.

But there

is something

to this

practice

of secret

prayer,

of going

into a

prayer closet.

You know,

practically in

a TikTok,

Netflix,

Twitter-infested

world,

it's hard

enough to

pray five

minutes without

internal

distraction.

We don't

need to

be bombarded

with external

distraction.

It would

be wise of

us to

find a

spot in

our homes,

in our

rooms,

if possible,

that is

device-less,

distraction-less,

where it could

just be you

and God.

And if you

don't have

those spots

in our

home,

we're going

to have

a spot

at the

church

office,

a little

nook

that's

hidden away

that you

can come

and pray

in secret.

And plan,

plan into

your schedule

those times

of prayer

in those

closets.

Of course,

have spontaneous

times of

prayer,

but don't

neglect the

planned times

either.

Just as my

marriage needs

both the

planned date

night and

the spontaneous

fun,

our

relationships

with God

need both

too.

But there

is something

more to

this practice

of praying

in secret,

for it is

in that

place where

the Spirit

of God

does His

work.

He builds

that bridge

between

head and

heart.

At first,

when we

begin doing

this,

our temptation

will be

to pray

like the

Pharisee

in Luke

18.

We say,

Lord,

thank you

that I'm

not like

the others

who don't

pray as

much as

me,

that don't

have a

prayer closet

like I

do.

But when

we are

still before

God long

enough,

the deep,

the ugly

stuff that

we all

carry,

the stuff

that we're

often too

busy to

identify and

to recognize

and acknowledge,

a desperate

longing for

people's

approval,

a lingering

guilt from

past mistakes,

unspoken

fears about

the future,

a deep

insecurity,

envy over

a friend's

success,

all that

stuff begins

to rise to

the surface.

And we see

that the only

prayer worth

praying in

that prayer

closet is

that of the

tax collector.

Lord,

have mercy

on me,

a sinner,

as we beat

our chests.

And then the

spirit of God

begins to

move.

begins to

do a work

on us

and gradually

but surely

constructs that

bridge between

head and

heart.

We can now

internalize the

truths of the

gospel.

He draws us

close to

himself and

reminds us of

all the lies

that we're

believing and

the truths that

we're forgetting.

Reminds us that

God loves us

based on what

Jesus has done

for us on

the cross,

not based on

our performance,

not based on

what man thinks

of us.

And he

empowers us

in that

secret place

to live out

the gospel,

to live as if

we actually

believe it.

And there in

the secret

place,

our fear of

man is

transformed

into the

fear of

the Lord.

And we

learn there

how to pray

with a

self-forgetful

humility.

Then when we

pray self-forgetfully,

either in

private or in

public,

when we pray

to get more

of God and

not to get

more of

man,

he will

reward us

in heaven

with a

love that

our hearts

are so

desperately

yearning for.

That love

that we've

only tasted

a part here

but will be

fuller,

richer in

that last

day.

So friend,

recently,

have you

known,

have you

tasted the

sweetness of

the Lord where

it's just you

and him?

have you

felt the

good Father

work on

your heart

in your

prayer closet?

Have you

sensed his

gentle guidance

speaking directly

to your soul

in those

moments?

If we

have,

then God

will help

us to

practice

our

righteousness,

not to

seek the

attention of

man,

even as

we fast,

which brings

me to my

last point.

In verses

16 to 18,

Jesus again

contrasts,

showy hypocrisy

and secret

righteousness.

This time

with fasting.

Fasting is

the prayer of

voluntarily

abstaining from

food for a

specific amount

of time so

that we draw

close to him

in prayer.

It's a way

to express

both in

soul and

body that

more than

food,

we need

God more.

It's a way

to sharpen

our hunger

for God

alone.

In a

quintessential

John Piper

way to

say this,

he says,

the greatest

enemy of

hunger for

God is

not poison,

but apple

pie.

It's not

the banquet

of the wicked

that dulls

our appetite

for heaven,

but endless

nibbling at

the table

of the world.

Once again,

Jesus assumes

that his

disciples are

fasting.

It doesn't

say if you

fast,

but when you

fast.

fast,

especially

given the

start of

prayer and

fasting week,

I want to

challenge you

and encourage

you.

Fasting is

one of the

least practiced

spiritual

disciplines in

the American

church today.

If you

haven't ever

fasted before,

take some

time to try

to fast.

Start off

small.

Fast just

one meal,

but use that

time to

express your

desperation for

the Lord and

for the Lord

alone.

That more

than food,

I need God

and God

alone.

And as you

make this a

regular habit,

you're going to

see that just

as he said,

Jesus has

food to eat

that the

world doesn't

know about.

But given

that true

fasting is the

expression of

desperation for

God,

what these

hypocrites are

doing is not

fasting, but

just going

hungry, going

on a diet.

like his

theatrical

giving or

his ornate

prayers, this

hypocritical

actor continued

the act by

skipping meals

and on top

of that,

costuming up,

putting on

makeup by

disfiguring his

face, likely

putting ashes or

dirt on his

head and face

to make it

readily apparent

that he is

on a fast.

The word

disfigure in

the Greek

literally means

to hide,

and I

think it

highlights this

rich, self

defeating irony

that this man

is hiding his

face behind a

mask in order

to be seen

by others.

Once again,

Jesus, though

he spoke 2,000

years ago, speaks

directly to our

lives.

It's relevant

now.

Because I

think at the

heart of this

passage, Jesus

is addressing,

tapping into

something innate

in every single

one of us

here in this

room.

Every single

one of us

craves to

be adored,

approved of,

accepted, and

loved.

There's not a

single person

on this earth

that is not

desperately and

intensely yearning

for that kind

of acceptance.

So when we

put on these

masks of

religiosity and

show off our

works of

righteousness to

be able to

win that kind

of approval

that our

hearts are so

desperately