As most of you are aware, we are studying through the Sermon on the Mount, or what I like to call the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven. And we are here today looking at the subject of fasting, as part of the Lord Jesus’s message. I find it ironic that on the day when we have scheduled a brunch to follow the service, we would be dealing with the subject of fasting. I assure you that was not intentional, even though it may seem that I might be angling to have more French toast left over for myself. That’s purely coincidental, I promise.

Fasting has not been in vogue among Evangelicals for the most part for many years, perhaps due to a reaction against the wrong emphasis traditionally given to fasting by the Roman Catholic church. But the Lord obviously considers it a principle that needs correction as it was practiced in His day. And the fact that it was practiced by both the Old and New Testament saints should be obvious to anyone that has studied scripture in even a cursory way.

Jesus has been talking at this point in His sermon about public expressions of religion that are often done for personal advantage rather than solely for God. In vs.1 He says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” Then as an illustration of this principle, Jesus gives three examples of ways in which people practice righteousness to be seen of men. The first illustration is that of giving, the second is prayer, and the third is fasting.

Now in His discourse Jesus was primarily concerned with the negative aspect of fasting, that is it’s ostentatiousness, the tendency to do it to be noticed by men. But because it is something that is not understood today nor practiced today very often, and surely not often as it should be, then perhaps it is best if we start by considering what the Bible says we are to do in regards to fasting, and then what the Lord says we are not to do.

So then what is expected of us in regards to fasting according to the Bible? Is it a valid spiritual discipline or not? First of all, we should recognize that fasting is commanded in the Old Testament. The children of Israel were commanded to fast on the Day of Atonement, which of course was one day a year. But in addition to that, we see many instances in which the Israelites fasted for additional periods. In the New Testament, we see that the Pharisees fasted twice a week. However, they were not ever told to do so.

As concerning the Lord’s teaching regarding fasting, He did not expressly teach it, but He certainly taught it indirectly. First of all, in the passage before us today He said, “When you fast…” It is understood that they would fast. Furthermore, in chapter 9 of Matthew, He was asked about fasting. They said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” And so there Jesus implies that though fasting was not being practiced by His disciples, it was something that would be done when He was no longer with them. And so by extension, it’s something that we should do today.

And one final example of fasting is that which was done by the Lord Himself when He was tempted in the wilderness. On that occasion, He was led by the Holy Spirit, and He fasted for 40 days. By the way, I have heard of a number of documented cases of someone who fasted for 40 days and they died as a result of it. Perhaps not simply died from the lack of food, but from other illnesses that arose due to their immune system being depleted, or something like that. But I would discourage anyone from thinking that is something that we should strive for. However, the fact that Jesus fasted, certainly indicates that we should follow His example. There is nothing He did which was superfluous, or which was not the Father’s will. So the fact that He fasted should be an indication that we are to fast as well.

Furthermore we see illustrations of the early church and the apostles practicing fasting. For instance, when the church at Antioch sent out Paul and Barnabas they first spent a period of prayer and fasting. Paul remarks that he often fasted. And even in the more modern period of the church, we find that most of the great men of God such as the Wesley’s, George Whitfield, Calvin all fasted on regular occasions.

So since we have confirmed the historical and biblical precedents for fasting, then we must define it. What exactly is meant by fasting? What is accomplished by it? You will recall that last Sunday I spent some time talking about the fact that man is mind, body and spirit unified in some mystical way into one being. And so they each depend and interact with one another. I believe that you can affect the mind through the spirit, and the body through the mind. And so there can be some effect on the mind through the actions of the body and the spirit. I have often counseled people who were suffering from depression or anxiety that they should work on the body and the spirit in hopes of elevating the mind. You can exercise the body, but it is difficult to exercise the mind, especially when you are ill in your mind. But bodily exercise can have an effect on the mind. And certainly, through spiritual exercise we can control the mind. The Bible teaches that the body and mind are to be subject to the spirit. And also fasting, as it relates to the body can also have a bearing on the mind and the spirit.

Today, there is a great deal of interest in the subject of fasting from a strictly human perspective. I have practiced something called Intermittent Fasting, which is done for health reasons. But even secular fitness experts have noted that fasting causes an increase in mental health and a sense of well being. They claim it not only helps in lowering fat, but also lowering cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and that it gives clarity and focus to the mind as well as a sense of well being.

And as Intermittent Fasting has gained popularity, it has also raised awareness of more intensive fasting, such as 24 or 48 hour fasts. There are multiple physical benefits to fasting and people are becoming aware of them. So while all those things are good, and possibly even helpful on a mental or even a spiritual plane, that is not what the Bible indicates the purpose of fasting is for.

I believe the Bible shows us that fasting is always related to prayer. We never see fasting as a means in and of itself. I think the order in which Jesus addresses fasting and prayer shows that fasting is subservient to prayer. It follows His discourse on prayer. It’s not something which stands alone as a means of righteousness, or even as a means of spiritualness. As I just pointed out, there are a lot of benefits to fasting on a physical level that have nothing to do with the spiritual. So fasting as a Christian, for the purpose of drawing near to God, has to do with prayer and making my prayer life more effective.

If we fast purely for the sake of fasting, as some sort of ceremonial thing we do at certain times of the year, then I believe we are violating the biblical teaching in regards to fasting. If fasting is an end to itself, then it is of no effect spiritually. Anything we do as a matter of rote, as a matter of obligation to a certain schedule, is in violation of the spiritual principle. And what I mean by that is to fast with the goal of getting a certain direct or immediate result is to view fasting in a mechanical way, a quid pro quo with the Lord in which since you did this, you can expect that in return. We don’t fast to get the results we want. It’s not a means of getting God’s blessings.

This kind of attitude in Christianity is pervasive to all sorts of things, not just in fasting. I read an interview from the modern false prophet Joseph Prince on Fox News the other day, and he was promoting a new book in which he says if you take communion you can expect God to heal you. And he relates a story of his son who was injured, and they began daily communion with him in the hospital, and he recovered twice as fast as the doctors had said he would. And so he has this book outlining how you can administer communion to yourself every day and see tremendous blessings and healing. Nothing in the Bible even remotely implies that, but that doesn’t seem to faze him. It’s just another way for him to make millions off of a book making false claims. But the point is that he is teaching a quid pro quo style of religion, where if you do something in a mechanical way, then God will be obligated to respond as you want.

And in a like manner, fasting is not a means of gaining God’s blessings, or healing or anything like that. So while there are definitely some physical benefits to fasting, we must not mistake that for the spiritual benefit that we should be practicing it for. The goal of fasting is to make us more spiritually attuned to the Lord’s leading.

Our desire to enter into fasting should be because we are led by God to do so, when I am intent on drawing near to God, when I feel there is a need to be solely consumed by my devotion to God and my desire to be led by God. It is a means to put aside the pleasures of the flesh that I might devote all my energies to the pursuit of God in the spiritual realm.

The other thing that I think is taught about fasting when you consider the past examples in scripture, is that of an attitude of repentance. I think that fasting, and the things that went along with it such as sackcloth and ashes, were used to demonstrate repentance and humbleness before God. Sackcloth and ashes were used to make the person uncomfortable, as a sign of mourning. And in the Bible we often see the attitude of true repentance being accompanied with fasting.

For instance, in the story of Jonah and Ninevah, the prophet Jonah eventually preached to Ninevah the message God gave him to preach, and the king responded according to Jonah 3:7-10 And he caused [it] to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that [is] in their hands. Who can tell [if] God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not.”

And so God responded to their prayer, which was a prayer of repentance. To repent is to turn, and the king said, “let everyone turn from his evil way.” That’s repentance. And fasting can be a visible demonstration of the heart of repentance.

Listen, often the problem with our prayer life is that we have an impure heart. We can have impure motives. James said in James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend [it] on your pleasures.” And the problem with fasting as Jesus described it is simply that. You don’t have a pure heart. You’re not really fasting as a corollary to intense prayer and spiritual struggle. Your heart isn’t right. And that is exactly the problem of the scribes and the Pharisees. Their hearts were not right.

David said in Psalm 66:18 “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear me.” James “said the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.” So there is obviously a correlation between prayer and righteousness. And while fasting is not a means of righteousness, it is a means of showing repentance. And repentance is necessary to be right with God and that we might have effective prayers.

Another reason for fasting I believe can be found in the example of Jesus. He fasted for 40 days. And yet Jesus did not need to repent. He was without sin. So why did He fast? I used to think that it was a part of His trial, that He fasted to make Himself weak so that He would be tested more severely. But that’s not it at all. I believe the Lord Jesus fasted not to become weaker, but to become stronger. Fasting may weaken you physically, but it makes you stronger spiritually. Jesus said when He was tempted in the wilderness while fasting, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” There is a food that is spiritual that supersedes that which is physical. And I think that is the reason that we should fast, to receive spiritual sustenance which has a far greater value than food.

So even in our weakness from fasting, we gain spiritual strength. Paul said concerning weakness in 2Cor. 12:9-10 “And [the Lord] has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

So fasting is a means of drawing near to God, it can be a demonstration of a repentant heart, and it can be a source of spiritual strength. But what it is not to be is a demonstration externally for others to see so that they notice how spiritual you are. Jesus says in vs16, “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Now I hate to have to say this, but that’s one of the characteristics of the way a lot of churches practice Lent, which is supposed to be 40 days of fasting. They mark the forehead of the person fasting with charcoal in the shape of a cross, and then you are supposed to leave that on there and not wash it off. The whole point then seems to be they want to be noticed by men. And Jesus says that is the only reward they will receive, the temporary adulation of man.

But rather, Jesus says fasting as God would have us to fast, is something that takes place on the inside. It’s an attitude of the heart. It’s an attitude of repentance, of leaning not on your strength but on the Lord’s. And to that heart which God sees, God will reward accordingly. Jesus says in vs17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.”

Listen, the most important thing in our lives should be that we are right with God and concerned about pleasing Him. Our greatest desire should be to be in complete fellowship with Him. Then we can be certain that we are praying according to His will and that whatever we ask of Him we can be certain of receiving. We can be confident that we can do whatever He calls us to do by the strength which He supplies. And our reward is to be in fellowship with Him both now and forever. To be one with Him. And through prayer and fasting we can have fellowship with God in a way that supersedes the physical, and enables us to grow spiritually, so that we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

We see that this whole idea of fasting is really an illustration of the beatitudes which says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” And
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” That is the goal of our fasting, to be right with God, to be pure in heart, and to draw close to God that we may have unobstructed fellowship with Him.

Prayer is spiritual communication with God.  Your body is engaged, your mind is engaged, but most importantly, your spirit is engaged in fellowship with God through prayer.  Prayer is spiritual communication from my spirit to the Spirit of God. Jesus said “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. So I feel that before I can even talk about prayer this morning, I must address the more important matter of the necessity of being made spiritual beings.

I want to relay something this morning that I recently wrote to someone in our church last week.  It’s about the necessity of what the Bible calls the new birth, being born again, being made spiritual.  Because the Christian is not someone who is just religious, or who is moral, or even someone who prays to God.  A Christian is a new creation, a different kind of human, a person who has a new life.  And so before you can really pray, before you can exhibit the kind of life that is pleasing to God, you must be made into a new creation.  And I want to make sure that everyone here understands this before we move on this morning to talk about prayer. Because this is fundamental.  You can’t even really pray if you don’t have this new life in you, the life of the Spirit.

The Bible teaches that humans were made body, soul and spirit.  The spirit actually is the Spirit of God that was breathed into man at creation. Gen. 2:7 “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” The spirit is the essence of life that enlivens the soul and body and enables man to be like God.  But sin caused man’s spirit to die. “In the day you eat of the fruit of the tree you will die.” When Adam and Eve sinned, man’s spirit died.  We still have a soul (that is the mind, the will and emotions) and we have a body.  But there is something that’s missing, or dead,  which is the spirit.    

For most people who are not saved, there is a sense of a “hole in their heart”, something missing which they spend their life trying to fill.  Unfortunately, they usually try to fill it with material things, or carnal things, which never can fill it, because what’s missing is their spiritual essence of life. You may even try to fill that hole with religious things, because deep inside you might recognize that what is missing has to do with God, and yet you cannot by your efforts make your spirit alive again.

That’s why Jesus said to Nicodemus, “you must be born again.”  He went on to clarify that statement by saying that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.  Man without the spirit is spiritually dead.  The way to be born again spiritually is to believe in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, by whom all things were made, and that He died for us so that we might have life through Him.  By faith in Him and repentance of your sin, recognizing that you need to be made new, the Spirit of God will give you new spiritual life.  Then and only then  can you live a life which is satisfying, which is fulfilling, which has purpose and which produces joy. It’s a life that is immortal and will never die.

Life without the Lord is futile. You can reject the truth through unbelief and try to find the answers to life somewhere else, but there is nothing else that can fill that hole in your heart because we were made to be spiritual beings who can have a relationship with God. And only through regeneration can we be made alive spiritually and be able to commune with God. If that has not become a reality for you, then the rest of this sermon is not relevant to you.  The only prayer that God will consider in your case is “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.  Forgive me, and give me a new heart, a new spirit, that I might have everlasting life.”  Because until you have been born again spiritually, this teaching of Christ about how to pray as a means of communication with Him is irrelevant.

Now for those who are born again, who have spiritual life, Jesus teaches about prayer in two sections; the false way to pray and the right way to pray. Let’s look first at the false way.  The wrong way to pray is wrong in it’s approach; it’s focused on ourselves.  Jesus illustrated this in Luke 18:10 in  the parable about the Pharisee and the publican who went up to the temple to pray.  Jesus said the Pharisee prayed in the prominent place, and the publican stood afar off.

The error of the approach in this first illustration of Jesus is that the man wants to be seen, to be known as a man of prayer, as a religious man.  And so he positions himself as to be in a prominent place at the hour of prayer. How we approach God in prayer is of importance. The Pharisees were very zealous about their religion, they prayed 3 times a day, 9, 12, 3.  And in this sermon Jesus is saying  rather than going to a private place to pray, to humble themselves before God at the hour of prayer, they made a show of praying on the street, to be seen of men.

There is a danger as indicated in this teaching, that some people worry more about how their prayer sounds to others, rather than how it appears to God.  It’s possible to pray beautiful prayers for the sake of men, but which accomplish nothing with God.  Be careful you do not find yourself praying in such a way as to be heard by men.

Secondly, in regards to how not to pray, Jesus says in vs7,  “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”  There is another danger that is indicated here, and that is long prayers for the sake of being seen by men to be spiritual.  It’s sometimes the practice of preachers to reluctantly conclude their sermon, only to preach another one in their prayer.  God isn’t served by giving Him the plan of salvation.  Nor is He served by the wordiness of your prayers in which you go on and on about things that He obviously is already aware of, but for the sake of those hearing you feel obliged to sound out all the doctrine that you know.

But even more specifically, Jesus warns against vain repetition, which He relates to the practice of the Gentiles, in other words, the pagan practice of prayer.  I believe that type of praying includes things like praying the rosary. God doesn’t care if you say it 100 times or 1000 times.  It’s unbiblical through and through.  For one thing, it’s praying to Mary.  And we are expressly forbidden to pray to any one other than to God, and through no one other than Jesus Christ.  So that’s in error. And the other thing is it’s meaningless repetition.  Anything becomes meaningless repetition after you say it three times.  

And one other thing that’s indicated here is that the length of our prayers are not to be a means of appealing to God.  God isn’t concerned that you spend 3 hours in prayer simply as a method of an appeal to God.  It is a great thing to spend time with the Lord in prayer, but not just in a mechanical way, but in an intimate way.  

The bottom line is that Jesus says those that pray that way, in long, repetitious prayers, or ceremonial prayers, are done for man and not God. He said, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” He says that they have received their reward.  They wanted to be seen of men, and they were seen of men.  And that’s their reward.  God isn’t moved.

Now let’s look at what Jesus says is the right way to pray.  Again, the whole secret is the way we approach God. That’s the essence of the Lord’s teaching.  Vs6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.” And then in vs 8 “So do not be like them (those who use meaningless repetition); for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

The principle Jesus is teaching is this; we must realize when we pray that we approach a Holy God.  That’s what is important.  And then specifically Jesus gives us some details in how we are to approach God. First, He says, go to your closet and pray in secret.  Now this is not a prohibition against public prayer.  In 1 Corinthians and other places, such as James, we are told to engage in worship with prayer and supplications. But the principle is that you eliminate the distractions of the physical, you close your eyes to everyone around you, and you focus solely on the Lord.

However, I happen to believe that there is a great value in a special place that you go to pray.  Jesus went on the mountains to pray, especially at night when everyone else was sleeping.  Daniel went three times a day to an upper room which faced towards Jerusalem.  Paul tells us to pray at all times, in all places.  I like to pray when I go for a run or when I walk early in the morning.  I believe it’s an advantage to pray aloud, or at least audibly, if not loudly. Jesus says God knows what you need before you ask him.  David said in the Psalms that before there was a word on his lips God knew what he was going to say.  So God hears the prayer of our hearts.  Speaking audibly doesn’t help God, but it does help me to pray more effectively.  And I believe it discourages the devil. Because he is certainly around when we pray.  But regardless of where you pray, pray to God alone, to God exclusively, blocking out everything and everyone else.  

Secondly, we are to pray realizing that we are entering  into the presence of God. We pray to the God of creation, the Lord of all the earth.  I’m afraid that many of us enter into the throne room of God with more casualness than we would enter into the Oval Office to speak to the President of the United States.  We must realize who God is and come to Him in reverence.

And related to that, and almost contradictorily,  we must come to God as our Father in heaven. Jesus said to “pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  It’s an amazing privilege to consider the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Great Almighty, is also our Heavenly Father.  That the Lord of All is also our heavenly Father who loves us as His children.  He knows us intimately, even to the very numbers of the hairs on our head. He has said that nothing can separate us from His love.  It’s a very privileged relationship to have God as our heavenly Father.

And because He is our Father, Paul says in Ephesians 3 that “He is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think.” So we don’t just go through the motions in prayer.  We don’t just count the beads. But we have a confidence born out of our relationship to Him, that since He hears us, since we are His children, He will answer us.

Now we come to Christ’s example of prayer. I want to point out that He doesn’t instruct the disciples to pray this prayer, but to pray in this way.  In other words, it’s an example of proper prayer, not a prayer to be used by rote.  Listen, prayer is the highest expression of the spiritual man, the greatest activity of the human soul, to be engaged in conversation with your Maker.  And so it’s not something that is to be mechanical, or just reading what others have written, or recitation of learned prayers.  But it’s to be honest, sincere, humble communication from your heart to God.  When you are alone in communication with God it should be something that speaks from your heart, unhindered by pride and how you might appear towards others.  But a genuine expression of your heart to God.  It’s a spiritual communication that has no par on earth.

I believe it’s possible to miss out on a lot of the blessings of our Christianity because we don’t know how to pray.  And so Jesus has given us some general principles in regards to prayer, and now He gives us an example of prayer, that we might know how to pray as God would have us pray.  It’ interesting that it is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer.  But the Bible never calls it that, in fact, it would be better to call it the disciple’s prayer.  Because it is meant to be an example of how the disciples are to pray.  

As in much of what Jesus has covered in the Sermon on the Mount, the principles He teaches is of more significance than the particulars.  It’s an example and by that example we learn principles regarding how to pray.  It’s not intended to be a word for word kind of thing which we have to recite again and again.

Notice that the first principle seen in this prayer is regarding the right approach. The first principle is that you come to God on the basis of a relationship; His relationship to you as your Father in heaven. I am told that this is the first recorded case in the Bible of a prayer being addressed to God as Father.  Through Jesus Christ we are able to have an intimacy in relationship that surpasses that of the patriarchs and prophets of old. But only those who have by faith appropriated the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and have been born again by the Holy Spirit are truly the sons of God.  And so that is the basis by which we can call God our Father. 

It’s important to place that phrase “our Father,” with the ensuing phrase, “which art in heaven.”  It’s important because our idea of fatherhood has been greatly debased by our understanding in the physical realm of fatherhood.  Many people today do not have a very high regard for their earthly fathers.  For some, their earthly father has forever disparaged that title.  But Jesus gives us this complete title, to remind us that our heavenly Father is holy, He is perfect, He is good, and He loves us.  We have our life from Him. And so we can trust in Him to hear us, and to help us in time of need.

The second great principle in this example prayer is that the priority of our perspective as Christians should be the glory of God and the exaltation of His kingdom and purpose.  He prays, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  The priority of God’s agenda takes precedence before my agenda. Our needs don’t come first, but His kingdom is first. Our will is not paramount, but His will be done.  Only as His will is done, can my needs be met. Because we are made for Him and by Him, and for HIs purpose.

Jesus wants us to pray with the desire that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no rebellion to God’s will; on earth there is disobedience and rebellion against  His will. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will want to see His will done  on earth as it is in heaven because that is the way the kingdom of God will come into fruition in the world.  One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. And so we should be praying for  men and women renounce their rebellion, renounce their attempts at self rule, and bow to the authority of Jesus as King.

Fundamental to our prayers then is the desire that God’s will would be done. I would remind you that even Jesus prayed “your will be done” when He was in the Garden, being in such agony that He was sweating drops of blood, He was concerned that the will of the Father be done.  I would also remind you that often I have said there is no safe place outside of the will of God.  And that should serve to instruct our prayers for God’s will to be done.  We can ask that God do such and such, but our desire should be that God does what He thinks is best, because we cannot know the future, and we can’t always know what is the best.  But there is peace for the person that trusts in the perfect will of God, because he knows the character of God, and that God will do what is best and what is right.  Hallowed be your name reminds us that God is holy, and righteous, a pure, and all that ensues from Him is good and perfect.  And so on the basis of who He is, we can call for His kingdom to come to fruition, and His will to be done in the earth. 

So the first section of prayer has to do with adoration.  The second section has to do with petition. We need to recognize this divine order to our prayers, and model them after this example.  First God’s will, then our needs follow.

Someone has said that the petitions could be divided up into three components.  1,“Give us this day our daily bread. 2, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 3, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  Our whole life found in those three petitions.  In just three statements, Jesus has covered the whole life of the believer: our physical needs (the body), our mental needs (the soul), and the spiritual needs. And that addresses the whole man, body, soul and spirit.

The tragedy of the world we live in today, informed by evolution and science that there is no God, there is no spirit, leaves mankind without hope.  I would suggest this is the root of our social troubles in this world, it’s the root of depression, of drug use, of alcoholism, so many of our world’s ills are due to the fact that they refuse to recognize that man was designed to be spiritual as well as a body and soul.  But Jesus includes them all as needs that God alone can fulfill.

It’s interesting that Jesus starts with the body.  But when you think about it, you realize that without food, without water, the body would soon perish. And so there is a rightness in that petition for God to supply us with the food we need to survive. And then He goes on to deal with the cleanings from defilement sin and the guilt of sin, and then the need to be kept from the power of sin.  

So bread means real provisions for our physical body. We can pray for God to supply our physical needs and believe that He is concerned about that.  And then our debts are our sins, which we receive forgiveness for through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s important that we understand that prayer is an opportunity for confession and repentance.  David said, “if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  So the power of our prayers is in some measure due to our recognition and confession of where we have sinned and asking for forgiveness. That’s a vital part of our prayer.

James as well says, “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.” Many a prayer I believe falls flat because we have unconfessed sin in our life.  God sees all that we do, no matter how well we might have hidden it from others.  And if we hold onto that sin, then we lose that fellowship with God through which we can be certain that He helps us in our petitions.  

So confession is important and so also is our forgiveness of others. If we fail to forgive others as God has told us to do, and as God has shown Himself to do, then is that not sin?  Is it not regarding sin in your life if you fail to forgive your brother? This is such an important principle that Jesus repeats this teaching in vs 14  saying, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  So forgiveness is not just a quid pro quo, but it is a matter of unconfessed sin in your life that needs to be confessed and repented of. Our willingness to forgive others is proof of the fact that we have been forgiven, that we have a new spirit,  and that we have the nature and character of Christ.

 And temptations refers to that which is a test, and in that testing that we would have power over sin. Listen, Christ died on the cross not just to give us forgiveness of sins, but to give us power over sin.  Jesus said on another occasion to the disciples, “watch and pray, that you be not led into temptation.” There are situations which are dangerous for you as a Christian to be found in.  Watch and pray, be anticipatory, be on your guard, stay in a sense of prayer as you go through life, in reliance upon the power of God. 

Coupled with that is the phrase, “deliver us from evil.”  The power of the devil is deceit and the snare of deception.  He is a liar and the father of lies.  And so we pray for God to deliver us from evil.  Deliver us from the lie of Satan.  I pray all the time that God would deliver my kids from evil. Because the lie is flattering, the lie is deceitful, the lie of the devil sounds plausible, it looks good, it tastes good, and if God doesn’t keep them from falling for it then they will certainly fall into temptation, and then a snare, and then into captivity.  

That’s the way the devil has strategized to cause us to lose fellowship with God.  And if we are not in fellowship with God then we are ripe for destruction.  We are blind, we are helpless, we are wandering around in the darkness without constant communion with God.  But as we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with the Lord. 1John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and [yet] walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Walking in fellowship with Christ gives us  power over sin, and that’s victory for the Christian.

Finally, there is the postscript, of the conclusion of the prayer.  Some translations leave this part out in favor of other translations which they say are older.  I believe it should stay in.  I think it’s a fitting doxology. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”  That recaps succinctly I believe the primary points of the prayer, the sovereignty of God’s kingdom, the resources we have through His power, and the future glory that we shall share with Him for ever as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.  

I hope that God is your Father in heaven. What a wonderful treasure it is to know God, and know that He has called us His children, and given us of His life, that we might be with Him forever.  If you have not been born again by the Spirit of God, then on the basis of His gospel, I extend to you today the offer of salvation which has been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of His Holy Spirit, that you might have eternal life in His name.  

As we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount, or what I prefer to call the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus has been giving the characteristics of those who are citizens of the kingdom.  And in that context, Jesus said that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Now we all know that is a high standard, because the scribes and Pharisees were known for their fastidiousness in regards to the law.

Jesus then addresses the whole issue of the law and the difference between the teaching of the Pharisees in regards to certain laws, and God’s perspective of the law.  And He expounds on six laws as illustrations of the kind of righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.  And it is clear that Jesus correlates righteousness with obedience to the law.  Now the emphasis is not on keeping the law as a means of salvation, because He has made it clear that the natural man cannot be righteous enough to earn favor with God.  But rather Jesus is teaching that once you are born again, made into a new spiritual man by the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account, then according to your new nature you will live righteously.  Righteousness is emblematic of your new nature.  So the result is that Jesus said in vs 48 of the last chapter, “you shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If you’ve become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, you’re going to show the same kind of character as God according to the level of your spiritual maturity.  And God’s character is righteousness.

Now in this next section, Jesus talks about the motivation for our works of righteousness. As He indicated in the Beatitudes, God is concerned about our heart, which is where our motivation for good works comes from.  If we love God, if we have a new heart, new desires, then our love for God and to see Him glorified will be the motivation for serving Him. Our righteousness must be a righteousness that brings glory to God.  Not a righteousness that draws attention to ourselves, in which we get the glory.  That was what the Pharisees were guilty of.  They practiced their righteousness to be seen of men.  It isn’t that we are not supposed to practice righteousness.  We are.  But we don’t do it to draw attention to ourselves, to show how righteous we are before others so that they will notice us.  But we practice righteousness because our Father is righteous, and we want to be like Him, and be noticed by Him and to cause men to notice Him.  He is our Father, and so we act like our Father and work to bring glory to Him.

So in that regard Jesus says in vs1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” This is the general principle in regards to works of righteousness and  Jesus will go on to illustrate it in three ways in vs 2 through vs 18.  He gives three illustrations of practicing righteousness; almsgiving, praying and fasting.  Three expressions of righteousness.  Not that these three are the only ways in which we practice  righteousness, but they serve as examples of righteousness, that we might learn the spiritual principles applicable to all aspects of life.

You may remember that Jesus has said previously in this message that we are to “let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.” These two  statements are not contradictory, however, but complimentary.  The point is not to hide your good works, but to manifest good works in such a way as to bring glory to God and not for selfish purposes.  We don’t practice righteousness to be seen of men.  But rather our works should point people to God.  We live by the power of God in us and that results in people glorifying God for what we do.  This is a general principle that controls our motivation for righteousness.  And our motives are what Jesus is referring to here.

Whether or not our works are righteous or not comes down to the motivation of our heart.  Is the motivation for what we do to please God or to please men? If it is to please men, then perhaps the real motivation is to bring attention to yourself.  When we strive to please men we are really looking for their recognition, so that they may applaud our efforts.  It’s quite possible that what we try to make appear as selfless works of charity or benevolence, is actually quite selfish, if we were to honestly appraise our motives.  Our works of righteousness are done either to please God or to please ourselves.  And if our righteousness is going to be of any effect, then we need to analyze our motives to be sure that we are doing them to please God.

The Westminister Shorter Catechism states as it’s first question, “What is the chief end of man?”  And the answer is,  “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”  That statement speaks to our motivation, our primary purpose in life as the children of God.  Only as  our primary purpose in life is to glorify God can we have the joy and fulfillment that God promises us in this life. Unfortunately, many Christian’s perspective on this is skewed.  For many the purpose of the  Christian life is all about embellishing my life, making me happy, fulfilling my desires, and glorifying my life.  And so the purpose of my salvation is to glorify me. To make me happy. But true joy and fulfillment comes not in self realization but in living for God and to bring Him glory.

 Jesus should be our example for how we are to live. He lived His life for the glory of God.  He said that the words He spoke were of God and the works that He did were of God.  He lived His life entirely for the glory of God.  And as Peter said, we are to follow in HIs footsteps.  Only as we live for God can we find satisfaction in this life.  When we live for ourselves, we will only find frustration and futility. 

There is another principle that is inherent in this teaching.  And that is that we are always in the presence of God. We are always being seen by God.  Nothing we do escapes His notice.  He sees our every action, He hears our every word, and He even knows our every thought.   Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.” Why should we beware of that?  Because  “otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

In other words, God sees all that you do.  He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart.  He knows your motivation. You might be able to deceive men, but you cannot deceive God.  I think it speaks of the callousness of our heart that we make such a display out of our works in order to prompt the adulation of man, and yet ignore the truth that God sees our hearts.  Jesus said in Luke 16:15 “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”   We need to remind ourselves constantly that God sees us at all times and that He knows our hearts and the motivation behind our actions.

I think one of the best scriptures that speak to this that we can meditate on is Psalm 139. The psalmist says, “You have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.  You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. … Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?”  It’s a wonderful thing to recognize the presence of God with us, but it is also a humbling thing which we should remind ourselves of on a daily basis.  

The psalmist considers  that God sees him at all times, and he cries out to Him in a prayer that should be a model for us as well; “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” 

Jesus mentions another principle here in this passage which is that of rewards. Some people don’t like the idea of varying rewards in heaven. They like to think that when we get to heaven we’re just going to exist in some kind of mindless, remorseless bliss.  But Jesus indicates here that there are rewards which come from God for things that are pleasing to Him.  

Even Jesus Himself lived His life looking forward to reward in heaven.  Hebrews 12:2 says, “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  And in Hebrews 11, we are told of the saints of old that “they were seeking a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God,” and in particular Moses, who “considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”

So as Christians it is legitimate to look for a reward.  It is the outcome of our faith. Heb. 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Also Paul speaks of our reward for our works in 1Cor. 3:11-15 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is [to be] revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.  If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

But what Jesus teaches us here is that there will be no reward if in fact we did our works to be seen of men. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” If you have your reward from men, then you will have no reward from God. That is a sobering thought.  When I think of my preaching, for instance.  If I am concerned about how men will react to me, and whether or not they will like me, and I construct my preaching to be liked by men, then I will receive no other reward from God.  What a tragedy that would be.   And I would urge all of you to examine your spiritual life and consider whatever work you have done in light of this principle.  Is it to receive accolades or acknowledgment from men or from God?

Now then, we have examined thoroughly the principle, let us look then at the first illustration that Jesus uses; that of the giving of alms.  The giving of alms refers to giving to charity, donations, gifts and so forth which were given to the temple for the relief of the poor and the service of the temple.  Today it might be correlated to the giving of offerings to the church, or giving for charitable purposes.  

First of all, I would point out the obvious.  Jesus considers the giving of alms to be a work of righteousness of a citizen of heaven.  In the Old Testament they were required to tithe up to 27 percent of their yearly income.  In the New Testament, the requirement of the law is done away with because the temple service has been done away with.  But the principle of giving is still in effect in the church. 

Paul states the principle in regards to giving, comparing it to sowing seeds in a field which will bring forth fruit.  He says in 2Cor. 9:6-8 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one [must do] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” 

Now I am not going to belabor this point because that is not the intent of this message.  But I will say that if you are being disobedient against the command of God to give, you are going to miss the reward of God.  However,  here Jesus is assuming that Christians are going to give, but the motivation for their giving is what is under consideration.

First of all, He says the wrong way to give is to announce it. Vs.2, “Therefore, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Now in the temple there were these trumpet like receptacles which were mounted on the walls.  And people would line up to drop in their offerings.  And so rich people, or people desiring to be noticed, would make sure that they had an offering of very many coins that would make a loud clatter as it dropped down the trumpet. Of course, that was designed to draw attention to themselves. Jesus could have been referring to that practice.  Or it is possible that some people would actually have a trumpeter to go before them to draw attention to their giving.  But I think that regardless of what means they used to to draw attention to themselves, the point that Jesus is making is that you do not use giving alms as a means to be noticed by men.   In fact, if you do, Jesus says you will not receive a reward from God. Your reward is the reward of the accolades or applause you received from men.

We see that type of activity all the time in the secular world, don’t we?  Some ultra rich billionaire holds a press conference, or has his publicist send out press releases to the media to let everyone know that he is giving a couple of million dollars or so to such and such a charity. And everyone fawns over him for their magnanimity. Well, Jesus says that they have already received their reward.  They got their name on a building, or on a placard somewhere but in a hundred years from now no-one will even know who they were anymore. 

Later on in this sermon, speaking directly to this principle, Jesus says in vs 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  When we give for the glory of God, to be used by God, then our giving is in reality laying up treasure in heaven.  And in heaven we will be rewarded for our faithfulness in that regard. 

But again, Jesus is not dealing at this point with the worthiness of giving, that should be something that all Christians are in agreement about.  But rather the motivation and how we can give without negating our reward.  And so Jesus says how we are to give. He says in vs.3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.”

In other words, don’t announce the fact that you are giving.  But Jesus takes it even further than that.  He also is saying, do not even announce it to yourself.  Your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing. Now what does that mean?  I believe it means that you are not to keep track of your giving in such a way as to take credit for your giving.  I also think that it means not doing the math, so to speak.  Not being calculating in your giving.  

The Pharisees were known for giving of their tithe, even to the mint, even down to the mint and dill and cumin in their herb gardens.  They trimmed their herbs and brought in these little pieces of mint and dill as evidence of how scrupulous they were.  And yet their motivation was to be seen of men. Jesus uses a word there in vs 2, which is hypocrites.  He may have been obliquely referring to the Pharisees in using that word.  In another place He outright calls them  hypocrites to their face.  So it’s likely He was referring to the Pharisees because they did their works to be seen of men.

Hypocrite in the Greek is “hypokritēs”.  It means an actor on a stage.  It means doing something for the applause of men.  And unfortunately, I think it characterizes much of what is done in the church in the form of not just giving financially, but also in our time and talents.  I think much is done not for the glory of God, but for the appreciation of men. Much of what is done is calculated to be noticed and appreciated by men.

Furthermore,  I think that as Christians we can be calculating in our giving by either being very frugal or very scrupulous.  But God loves generosity.  He loves us generously.  He lavishes His love upon us.  He is not stingy in His grace.  And neither should we be.  

Remember what Paul said in 2Cor. 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”  An abundance for every good deed; that’s giving according to the grace that God has given to you.

I have my own theory about this phrase, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  I’ve never heard any other preacher say this, or theologian or commentator for that matter. So I’m on my own here.  But I hope I have been given some discernment.  In the Middle East, they had ancient calculators called an abacus. They were used by the Greeks and the Romans and the Egyptians before them.  They were capable of doing very sophisticated mathematical formulas on the abacus which were made like tables which had  rows of beads.  And in one archeological excavation many years ago they found a vase from this time period covered with drawings, and some of the drawings showed a man who is presumed to be a treasurer, moving beads on the counter with one hand while holding a writing tablet with the other.  So my opinion is that Jesus could have been referring to an ancient abacus, which was used to solve math problems. Therefore, according to my theory, He is referring to using this calculator with one hand and writing down the numbers with the other.

Whether I am right or not is not really the point, however.  The point that Jesus is making is that you are not to even let yourself know the amount or the total of your giving, as if to validate to yourself your degree of righteousness, but to let God do the accounting.  Let God keep track and you just be faithful to give as He has given to you.  And then God will reward you in kind.

And this principle is not just applicable in giving.  That is just one illustration of keeping accounts.  It’s possible to do good deeds and keep accounts.  It’s possible to build up resentment because for years you did this and that, and you feel you suffered so much, and you were not appreciated for it as you thought you should be.  And one day you find that resentment has turned to bitterness.  Perhaps you were looking for the wrong kind of reward.  You were looking for man’s appreciation.  And as such you lose your reward from God. That’s why the gospel tells us that we are to do all things, such as love, or serve, or work as unto the Lord, not because we hope to get reciprocation from man.

Listen, whatever work of righteousness which we do, if we do it for the Lord, then we will receive a reward. If we keep accounts, and we are stingy, or self serving, then God will not reward us.  The good news is that He rewards even the smallest of good deeds.  Paul said that God judges us according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.  So God isn’t concerned with the size of your gift, but the heart of the giver.  

Jesus said in Mark 9:41 “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”   God rewards us not on the same basis as men, who only appreciate the rich or the wealthy.  But God rewards us according to what we have, and how we used what we have for His glory.  Remember the widow’s mite; she gave more than everyone else, because she gave out of her poverty. And she gave in such a way as only the Lord knew what she had given and what resources she had to give.  

So let us remember that God’s presence is always with us.  His eyes are constantly upon us.  Therefore let us live in all respects for Him, to please Him, and to bring glory to Him. And let us draw comfort from the fact that God sees all, He knows our hearts, He sees every act, and He will give us HIs reward, which is far beyond any reward that we can get here on earth. He will give us a reward that will not fade away.  Let us lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven and do the works of God here on earth, in order that we may bring glory to God and enjoy Him forever.