Todd's Road Grace Church would like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at 9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services. For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I'm reading from the sixth chapter of Matthew. It's part of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. And I would like to read this first verse.

And these are the words of the Lord Jesus to his disciples. And he says, take heed, beware. that you do not your owns before men, your deeds of kindness, your religious works, your acts of devotion to the Lord, your acts of self-denial toward yourself. That's what he's talking about. When he's talking about your alms, he's talking about our attitude toward these three persons. First, God. Second, self. And third, everybody else. That's who we have to deal with. God, self, and everybody else.

Take heed, beware, That you do not your alms, your religious deeds before men to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward of your father, which is in heaven. Now when I do what I do to be seen of men, it's because I really have no regard to what God sees. I'm being controlled by the lust of the eyes, being more concerned about what men see than what God sees. Trying to impress men. Now you see this as well as I do. I'm sure you see it in yourself and you see it in others. Men doing what they do to impress other men.

Take heed that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Now, he speaks of almsgiving, deeds of mercy towards others. He says, Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. And you can picture this in your mind, the Pharisee sounding a trumpet so everybody can know the good deeds of mercy he's doing toward men.

And then when the Lord talks about prayer, Acts of devotion toward God. He says, when you pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues or in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. I can't help but thinking about people praying in restaurants. Now, I hope perhaps somebody's sincere in doing this, but when, you know, the Lord says, when you pray, enter in your closet.

Not make a show. Somebody says, well, we're trying to show people that we're Christians. I heard one person say this. They'll know by the tip you leave them in a restaurant. I thought that was quite good. Not by your outward show of religion. Barely I say unto you, they have their reward.

And then he said with regard to fasting, that's our attitude towards self. Fasting represents self-denial. There's something you're denying. Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. They want everybody to know that they're fasting. Look at what I'm denying myself. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. And a miserable reward it is. I'm impressed with your fasting, but God is not. Now, I think it's very interesting also, he begins every one of these statements with regard to our acts toward men, toward God, and toward self with a when.

When you do your alms, not if, but when you do your alms. Verse five, when you pray, not if you pray. but when you pray. Moreover, when you fast, not if you fast, but when you fast. Now, I want, we're not going to look at all of these verses, but I want us to see the spirit and the attitude the Lord gives his children, his people, that they're to demonstrate in their attitude towards God, in their attitude toward self and their attitude toward others. Now, first I want us to consider the believer's attitude toward God. It's seen in the prayer, after this manner, therefore pray ye. with this attitude, with this spirit, this is the manner in which prayer is to be made, our Father, which art in heaven. Now, another thing that I would pick up before we get into that is there is a reward mentioned every time with regard to our almsgiving, our prayer, and our self-denial.

Verse four, that thine alms may be in secret. And thy father, which seeth in secret himself, shall reward thee openly. Now, if I'm doing what I do to be seen of men, that's my reward. They see me. But then if I do what I do as unto him, what he sees in secret, he rewards openly. He said with regard to prayer, those men who pray to be seen of men, he says, verily I say to you, they have their reward. And what a reward that is. But when we pray in secret, entering into our closet, our father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

The same thing is said of fasting. He talked about those who want to appear to men to fast, doing what they do to be seen of men, impressing men. You've got your reward. I'm impressed. Somebody says, I've fasted twice in the week, like the Pharisee. I'm impressed.

But a miserable reward of that is. God is not impressed, but when you fast in secret, so no man will know anything about it, thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Now, the reward is the reward of grace, not the reward of works. but the reward of grace, because you know it's only by His grace that you don't sound a trumpet before you if you don't. You know you would. It's in your flesh.

You know it's only by His grace that you pray in secret, because apart from His grace, you'd be letting everybody know about your devotional life and how holy and dedicated you are. It's only by His grace that we don't disfigure our faces to let everybody know about how we are denying ourselves.

Now, first, let's talk about our attitude towards God. Verse nine, after this manner, pray ye in this attitude with this spirit, our Father. Now, I have to say this. God is not father to everybody. He's only a father to his children, those who believe. Do you remember when the Lord said to the Pharisees, you're of your father, the devil. God's not your father. You're of your father, the devil. And the lusts of your father, you will do.

He's speaking to his disciples. He's speaking to that group that can say, our Father. Those who believe the gospel, those that God chose before time began. They're the ones who say, our Father. Now I wanna be one of these people, don't you? Our Father who art in heaven. Not the man upstairs. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Now that's the attitude of worship. Hallowed, reverend, holy is thy name. Now this comes from the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, the wise man tells us. You know, the third commandment, don't take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. His name is so holy, so reverent, so altogether other, so transcendent, so glorious that to even mention His name without the proper reverence and respect is a sin worthy of eternal hell. That's how holy his name is. And this is the attitude of worship. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Now, the name of the Lord represents the person behind the name. Now, if you know me personally, If you know my name is Todd Nybert, you will not be thinking about Todd Nybert. You will think about the person behind that name, his personality, his attributes, his character, what he's like. The name of the Lord is the person behind the name. Hallowed be thy name. hallowed be all of thy attributes and characteristics that are behind your name.

Now I wanna read a passage of scripture from Exodus chapter 34. In verse five, we read, and the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, Moses, as he's in the cleft of the rock and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the Lord, Jehovah, the self-existent one. the independent one who has no needs.

He's all powerful. He doesn't need you to do something before he can do something. He's independent. He doesn't have to wait to see what you do before he acts. He's altogether holy. He's omniscient. He knows all. He's omnipresent. He's not bound by space or time the way we are. He's everywhere at once. He's immutable. He's immense. He's infinite. Go on and on talking about the attributes of God. They're all comprehended in His name, Jehovah, which comes from I am that I am, the self-existent one, because He is utterly independent.

Self-existent with no needs. That means he does not need me. He does not need you to make him happy. He's totally self-existent. Because of the greatness of his grace, he's allowed himself to be known, but he has no needs. If a preacher ever presents him as needy, He's preaching not the God of the Bible. He has no needs. The only thing he has to be is himself. He can't be inconsistent with himself. He can't be contradictory to any of his glorious attributes.

The name of the Lord. The Lord proclaimed to Moses as he has him in the cleft of the rock, he said, no man can see my face and live. He showed Moses his back parts, and that represents his works, the things that he has done, the things behind him. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, God almighty, all powerful, merciful, and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Now, how can that be?

How can he forgive transgression and iniquity and sin, and yet by no means clear the guilty? That is only understood in the gospel. You see, when God saves a sinner, he justifies him. He puts away all of his sins. That's what the Lord did on Calvary's tree. He made the way for God to be just and justify the ungodly. And if I'm justified, that means I'm not guilty. He's not clearing the guilty because if I'm justified, God justified me and I'm not guilty.

Now this was the proclamation of his name. And look at Moses' response when he proclaimed his name. Remember, hallowed, reverend, holy is thy name. And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. Now that's the only response to the revelation of his name. He bowed his head to the earth and worshiped. Jehovah, Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner, the Lord our message. He is who we preach.

Jehovah Raha, the Lord is my shepherd. And because my shepherd is the Lord, I shall not want. Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick by his stripes. We are healed. Jehovah Shama. The Lord is there. The Lord is present. Thou art with me, I shall not want, I shall not be in fear.

Jehovah Tzadkinu, the Lord our righteousness. My righteousness is the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jehovah Megoshadishim, I am the Lord who sanctifies thee. I'm sanctified and it's because the Lord sanctified me. That's why I'm holy to him. He set me apart. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. All he requires, he provides. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts.

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed holy is thy name. To be revered is thy name. Now listen to this scripture, Romans chapter 10 verse 13. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Now that gives us some importance of understanding this attitude of worship before God. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. That's the name upon which we call, Lord save me. And when we say We call on his name. We're calling on all of his attributes to save us.

Save me as an act of your sovereign will. Will my salvation. I can't will my salvation. Oh Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Save me by your power. I'm so weak. Save me by your omnipotence. Save me by your righteousness. I have no righteousness. Make me righteous by what your son did. Save me by your grace. Save me by your wisdom. Save me by your justice. Save me by your independence when you simply don't need me to do something for you to save me.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. My dear friend, if you call on the name of the Lord, you shall be saved. What a blessed thing this is, the salvation that's in the Lord. Hallowed be thy name. Now, do I know anything about worship? Hallowed be thy name.

Not just an empty phrase, praying what people call the Lord's Prayer. As far as that goes, this is not the Lord's Prayer. That's in John 17. This is the disciple's prayer. This is how he taught us to pray. And here's how he taught us to pray. Hallowed be thy name. Now let me say this. The only persons who understand this are the people who look to Christ alone. They don't look to their works. They don't look to anybody else. They don't look to their experience. They look to Christ alone.

This is the fear of God. You fear God when you look to Christ alone. If you don't look to Christ alone, you have no fear of God. But may this be what you and I enter into this thing of worship. This is our attitude toward God. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Now, the next person we need to be aware of is self.

Now, how does he say to deal with self? Well, he talks about fasting. When you fast, you deny yourself food. Now, so much is said about fasting. It's even a way of dieting, losing weight today. People talk about, I can't remember what they're called, but temporary fast or 18-hour fast and fasting. And somebody says, well, how long should we fast? Should it be sun up to sun down? Should it be 24 hours? Should it be 40 days? What's involved in fasting?

Is it just food? Is it just one type of food? Is it food and water? Do you know the Bible does not answer those questions? The point behind fasting is self-denial. Now, I know this, if you do fast, it's not fasting if somebody finds out about it. Somebody says, well, I've been fasting. Well, I'm impressed. You've got your reward. You've got me impressed with you. What good is that going to do you? Nothing at all.

So if you fast, I don't care if you are withholding yourself from food, The Lord said, don't do it before men, like the Pharisees who disfigured their faces to appear before men to fast. Oh, we're far too modest to tell you we're fasting, but we want you to know about it. No, the Lord says, when you fast, wash your face, anoint your head, that you appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father, which is in secret, and thy father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Now, if I ever enter in to our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, I'm gonna learn something about myself.

Self-denial. I'm going to learn that self is the biggest problem I have. The biggest problem I have is me. It's not you, it's me. It's self. What an interesting word, self-ish. That describes every man by nature. And if you know who God is, you're gonna know that self is the biggest problem you have. And if that's not recognized, it's because I'm ignorant of the character of God.

Isaiah said, in the care of the king as I died, I saw also the Lord. Sitting on a throne, sitting, not pacing back and forth, sitting on a throne in absolute regal splendor, in absolute control, ruling over all high and lifted up. Now Isaiah says, when I saw the Lord, here's what I had to say about myself.

Woe is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Now, when you see him, You're going to see yourself as sinful. You're going to see what you're made of is being self-centered, self-righteous, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-seeking, self-pity, self-promoting, and I'm called upon to deny myself. I am the problem. That's my attitude towards self, to deny yourself.

Now let me tell you when you deny yourself, when you deny yourself in salvation and see that salvation is of the Lord, and you really believe that salvation is of the Lord, salvation is of the Father in eternal election, salvation is of the Son in redemption. I didn't have anything to do with it. Salvation is of God the Holy Spirit in regeneration. He's the one who gave me life.

I deny self, and self is the greatest problem I have. Lord, blot out self and cause me to look to you only. As I said, when we can say from our heart, hallowed be thy name, we see that our biggest problem is self. Those two sides go together, a side of who He is and a side of who I am. And I want to deny myself and look to Christ only.

And I want to follow Him. You know, I love what the Lord said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, the confession of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and the hatred that will bring from the world, and follow me. When you follow him, that doesn't mean you imitate him. I want to imitate him, but that's not what it means.

It means you look only to him. You keep your eyes on him. You don't look down at your feet to see how you're doing. You don't look to the side to see how your brother's doing. You don't look back behind you to see if you have any evidences that can make you think you must be saved because you did this or you experienced that. You look to him only. That is the denial of self. You look to him only. Self is obliterated in this thing of salvation.

And then our attitude towards others works of mercy and kindness. He said, therefore, when you do your alms, your acts of kindness, here's what my attitude toward everybody else is to be kindness and mercy toward my fellow sinners. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou doest thine alms, thy acts of mercy, you see, if God's been merciful to you, you will be merciful to others. Didn't the Lord say, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy? If God has shown you mercy and saved you by his grace, you will be merciful to others.

But when you do your alms, not if, when you do, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. Not trying to promote yourself. And thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. heed that you do not your alms before men.