Matthew 6. Our Lord is teaching, this is
toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and He begins In this chapter,
by giving warning against that which all of us are susceptible,
the praise of men and recognition that flatters the flesh. I want
you to look with me at verses 1-4. Matthew 6, 1-4. 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. Therefore,
when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they
may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine
alms may be in secret, that thy Father, which seeth in secret
himself, shall reward thee openly." Now, he said, be careful, take
heed, put a watch on. when you do your alms. God's people are gracious people. God's people are gracious. They
are gracious, giving people. Every one of God's regenerated
sheep are gracious, giving people. As the Lord has given, God so
loved the world that He gave. God's people, that's a mark of
a believer. God's people are gracious. They support the cause of Christ,
the Lord who's prospered them. They give, they support. They
support the work here. God's people are gracious people. But He gives a warning when you
do it. Not if you do it. Take heed that
you do not your alms. It's a given that they do it. All of God's people For Christ's sake, for a new
heart, a gracious heart, they support. But he said, be real
careful of something. Don't do it to be seen of men. And I'll tell you, somebody said,
well, I would never do that. Yes, you would. Yes, you would. There's an old nature in us that
just wants to be patted on the back now. Otherwise, he said, you have
no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Verse 2 at the end of that, he's
talking about the hypocrites. They like to sound a trumpet,
get their name put on a building. Man, I'm telling you, there's
a senator that was here from West Virginia. I'm telling you,
he's named just about on every building and every road, every
hospital. You know why that is? You know
why anybody does that? To be seen of men. Scripture
says, latter part, they have their reward. Verse 4. When you give, don't let your
left hand, let me say it like this, don't let him that is on
your left hand know what your right hand is doing. God knows. He's the only one that matters. That thine arms, verse 4, may
be in secret, that thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly. Now, I got to thinking about
that this morning. about that reward. I was going
over my notes, and I got to reading that again. Our Lord mentioned
in those first four verses, He mentioned more than once, talking
about a reward. You know, they have their reward.
Take heed that you receive your reward. I thought, reward? And I got to thinking about that. And before I continue, and I'm
going to look at just the next few verses for just a few minutes,
but before I go, I want us to consider this thing of the reward
of a believer. And I'm not talking about that
reward in glory. I'm talking about right now. Reading that first verse, take
heed that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them,
otherwise you have no reward. Be careful. What is a believer's
reward right now? I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians
9. 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. And let's just read two verses
of Scripture. Verse 16 to 18. 1 Corinthians 9, 16 to 18. Paul says, 1 Corinthians 9, For
though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. For necessity
is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel,
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward. But if against
my will a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me,
what is my reward then? Verily that when I preach the
gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge. That
I abuse not my power in the gospel. Now let me tell you what a believer's
reward is. Right now. This is the reward. Here again, I know that Scripture
sets forth that our reward is eternal life in Christ, in glory. But right now, Paul was talking
about, he said, this is my reward. Right now. Having a heart to
preach the gospel. My reward, and I wrote this down,
I'm going to just read what I wrote so I don't mess it up. My reward,
according to the Scriptures, is the freedom and the liberty
to serve and honor Christ for His sake. It is great compensation
To be in love with Christ, having been given a new heart. To surrender
my life as a servant of Him. And to be burdened for His kingdom. That's a great reward. Paul says,
this is my reward. What a blessing! The Lord back
in Matthew said, be careful. Take heed that you do not your
alms, your righteousnesses, your freedoms, your graciousness.
Be careful. Don't do it to be seen of men. Because if you're doing it to
be seen of men, making sure that somebody, you know, if they didn't
at least know how much you put in the box, At least they saw
you put something in the box. I just want to make sure you
saw it. Be careful. Don't do it because there's no
joy of just doing it for the honor of Christ. Paul said, this
is my reward. That I have a heart for His honor,
His glory. and His praise to allow him alone
to know, I'm telling you, buddy, now that's a struggle. That's
a struggle. It takes God's grace, believe
me, to not have that attitude to
want to be seen to men. We all have it. Lord, help us. When you give, He said, Give
to the glorious God. If you help somebody, just do
it because Almighty God gave your heart to do it. And don't
tell anybody. Just let it be between you and
that person and the Lord. And then he said in verse 5,
5-8, And when thou prayest, Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are. They love to pray standing in
the synagogues, in the corners of the streets. Verily I say
unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray
to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. But when you pray, Use not vain
repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto
them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before
ye ask Him." When you pray, and believers
pray, Matthew Henry said this, you may as soon find a living
man that doesn't breathe. as a living Christian that doesn't
pray. We begin our services with the
reading of Scripture and with prayer. We end our services with
prayer. Thankful. Thankful. And I'm telling
you, that's a very trying thing. When you're praying in public
in an assembly like this, it's hard because people are listening.
And while you pray and you want to say things just right, and
you want to sound sanctimonious, and you want people to really
know how much you know, you want it to just really sound, you
know, real spiritual. And it's hard. It's very hard.
But I'll tell you this, we're assembled ourselves together,
and there is public prayer. where we're meeting together.
But here our Lord says, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites
that love to stand in synagogues and in the corners of the streets
out there in public. You know why when we get together
and we go out and get somebody to eat and stuff like this, you
know why we don't hold hands and pray Make a big show of it. You know why we don't? Because
our Lord said, these hypocrites, they love to be standing here
to be seen of men. You can thank the Lord for your
food and never let me know it. Be thankful. We don't make a
show. All that is, is to be seen of
men. Like I've said before, somebody be sitting in the service and
somebody say something, they look up. Put your hand down. That was
just for you. You got your reward. Everybody
saw you. When you pray, he said, just
go in your closet. Don't use vain repetitions. We
teach these little prayers. Same thing over and over and
over. Whenever you pray, go into your
closet. Just go somewhere together. I
mean, go somewhere by yourself, whether you're with others or
whether you're not. Just be by yourself with the
Lord. You can be in a crowd and be in your closet. Be riding
down the road in your closet. And talk to the Lord. Talk to
him. And he said in verse 9, and I
want to look at verses 9 to 13, we've been talking to him about
praying, and he said in verse 9, After this manner, therefore,
pray ye." Now, this is what we would refer to, a lot of times
we refer to this as the Lord's Prayer. This is not the Lord's
Prayer. The Lord's Prayer actually would
have been recorded in John 17, His High Priestly Prayer. This
is a model prayer, and a lot of times you'll hear people,
they'll pray this model prayer right here. But remember, the
Lord had just said, don't use vain repetition. that the heathen
does, he has set forth the spirit in which we pray. The spirit
in which we pray. He says, after this manner, therefore,
pray ye. Verse 9. Our Father, which art in heaven. He said, when you pray, pray
with the spirit of adoption, our Father. Pray as a son. Pray as that prodigal that Scripture
says, he went and he wasted all of his inheritance on riotous
living. And this is what he said, I will
arise and I'll go to my Father. And I will say unto Him, I sinned
against heaven and before thee." The Scriptures set forth concerning
God's people, regenerated people. Now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall
be like Him. The Lord is setting forth. When you pray, pray as
a son, speaking reverently to his Father. Respectfully. It was by the mercy and grace
of Almighty God that God chose to make you a son. Now we're
sons. Adopted. Pray to Him who is in
heaven and remember that we're earthy. When you pray, pray as
one That is respectful. Asking. And pray, asking the
Holy Spirit to keep and guide and direct your heart to speak
with Him with adoration. Our Father, which
art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Lord, You're holy. You're holy. That I am able to
even lift my heart before You is a miracle of Your grace. The
seraphim in Isaiah cried, the Scripture says, one another,
which was above the throne of God. And it said in Isaiah 6,
holy, holy, holy. And though we admit our frailty,
And we know we are. God's people do speak. They're
not flippant. They realize I'm a creature of
the dust. And He's God. And I have, by
the grace of God, I have the privilege and the heart to want
to speak to Him. And to speak to Him with adoration
Lord, I know what I am in myself, but I know this, Father, You're
holy. Precious Son, You're holy. And
Holy Spirit, You're holy. I know that holiness is Your
character. And when you pray, verse 10, pray seeking His will
as to the calling out of His sheep. Thy kingdom come. I will be done in earth as it
is in heaven. I know this. I know that the
Lord has a will. I know He has a kingdom. His
kingdom is His people. I know that. Pray on this wise,
Father, Holy Father, You who are in heaven, and I am upon
the earth, and Lord is Your Son, made so by Your grace, by Your
compassion, I pray, Thy kingdom, the kingdom that You've chosen
everlastingly, the kingdom that You gave to Your Son, my blessed
Lord, my Master, my Husband, my Priest, my King, Thy kingdom
come, Thy will be done. The Lord said in John 6.39, this
is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which He
has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. I desire that Almighty God have
mercy on sinners. Here's one right here. Lord, have mercy on me. I know
that He's coming back. The Spirit and the Bride say,
Come, concerning His coming. Lord, come. Lord, come. And whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely. I read an article that Brother
Milton Howard sent me the other day about a group over there
in central Louisiana. And they're just railing and
railing and railing over the preaching of the gospel of free
grace. And this is what they said. We are not as those who don't believe
and whosoever will. Oh, I beg your pardon. I beg
your pardon. The Scripture bears out whosoever
will. Let him take the water of life
freely. I pray that God Almighty give one a heart that is willing
I know, Lord, You're going to have to make them willing. If
there's a will there, the Lord gave it. I know He wasn't born
with it. Whosoever will, let him take
that which Almighty God has everlastingly supplied by faith. I know this. The Lord's going
to have to make Him so. But Lord, I pray, Your Kingdom
come. Lord, I pray You'd call out Your
sheep. I know He's going to call them
out under this message. Thy will be done in earth as it is in
heaven. His will done in heaven, everlastingly
done in heaven. Lord, manifest it here. Manifest it in this life. God's
people are not trying to exclude anybody. That's the most ridiculous
thing I've ever heard in my life. I know that Almighty God is going
to have to save a sinner. When thou prayest, pray as a
dependent beggar, continually standing at the door of God's
mercy. Verse 11, Give us this day our daily bread. Lord, I
need to eat today, but I need something more than just a piece
of physical bread. I need the bread of heaven. Lord,
give us this day the bread of life. Today, the Lord said of
Himself, whosoever eateth of Me, I am the bread that came
down from heaven. Whosoever eateth of Me shall
live forever. By faith. By faith. We need the Spirit
of God to teach us afresh, grant us faith. Today, as I've said
before, yesterday's faith is gone. I need faith right now. Right now. Now I need it right
now. Faith cometh. Lord, evermore give us this bread.
I need to be reminded today of the pardon of sin. Give us this
day, as we said, this day, our daily bread. And when thou prayest,
prayest not only as a dependent, but a sinful dependent. and forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors. Lord, as you've shown mercy to
me, Lord, oh, may I show mercy to others. Only you, Lord, can
forgive sin. And where sin has been forgiven,
grace reigns, a spirit of mercy and forgiveness for Christ's
sake does too. And when thou prayest, in closing,
pray as one that longs to persevere. Verse 13, Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Thine is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen. I know that those that
endure to the end are going to be saved. I know that if I am
left to myself, I know this, I know I'll wander. But listen,
I don't want to offend Him. And it grieves me when I do.
I know in my heart I do. I know outwardly I do. A truly
regenerated sinner desires to walk being led by God's Spirit. Pray with a desire for His honor.
His glory and praise. Thine is the kingdom. Lord, that's
Your kingdom. Lord, I know that You've given
us this gospel. This is the power of God and
salvation. But Lord, they're Your sheep.
Your sheep. Thy kingdom. Thine is the kingdom.
Thine is the power. I don't have any power. What
power do I have? He is all-powerful. He is omnipotent. All power is
given unto Me, He said in heaven and earth. What power do I have?
What power do you have? We don't have any. Thine is the
kingdom. Thine is the power. Thine is
the glory. What glory do I have? I'm a maggot. I'm just a maggot. But I'm His maggot. Thine is
the glory. How long? Forever. Forever. Lord, You have all dominion. Lord, You're God in creation,
in providence, in salvation. Lord, all honor is due unto You. Saul of Tarsus, a man who had
letters of authority to go take all that were of the way. He
was going after believers there in Damascus. And on the road
to Damascus, the Lord knocked him off his high horse, put him
in dirt. Best place in the world he ever
was. And the Lord spoke to him. Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee. He was a religious Pharisee. And I'm telling you, I don't
doubt one second. Man, he'd gone through his prayers
and he'd gone through his rituals and his little prayer books and
his catechisms and everything else. And here he was, he was
going to do God a favor. And God Almighty was going to
have mercy that day. It always had mercy on him, but
he was going to know it. Saul was going to know it that
day. He knocked him down and he said, Saul, why are you persecuting
me?" It was God's people that he was persecuting. The Lord
said, you're persecuting Me. You touch one of My people, you
touch Me. And Saul said, who are you, Lord? Here was a man
that was so religious, had a list of credentials along his arm,
He was somebody to himself. And the Lord told him, he said,
I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting. It's hard for you to kick against
bricks. And the Lord took and blinded him. And they took him
and they brought him to Damascus. And the Lord spoke to a man named
Ananias. And he said, Ananias, I want
you to go to one house over there, Simon the Tanner. And there's
one Saul of Tarsus over there. Why don't you go talk to him? You go preach to him. And then
I said, Lord, we've heard this man. You know, he said, he's
a vessel. Chosen vessel. Chosen by me. Behold, he prayeth. For the first
time. He prayed. Almighty God, give
this man a new heart when thou prayest. You pray this, our Father,
which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive
those who are debtors or who trespass against us. Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
power and the glory and the honor forever. Amen.