Now I have great, great fear. I trust it's a holy fear. And I have a great concern for
myself and for all of you in the areas that I'm going to deal
with in my message tonight. Now four things in introducing
the message. All of us are seeking the blessings
and benefits of God. Everybody here. We want the blessings
of God. We want the benefits of God.
We want that inheritance. We want that immortality. We
want that everlasting life. We want desperately to attain
unto the resurrection of the dead, don't we? I do. But we must not, we must not
become so taken up with these blessings and benefits that we
miss the spring and source of the benefits. Now this is a terrible,
terrible danger. I'll show you that in John chapter
2. Turn to the second chapter of
John. John 2 verse 23. John 2.23, the scripture says
now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast
day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles, which
he did. They had some kind of faith,
didn't they? They saw the miracles, they saw the healings, they saw
the feeding of the 5,000, they saw all these other, the raising
of the dead, And they had some kind of faith. But it says Jesus
did not commit himself unto them. He knew all men. He knew what
was missing. And this is what was missing.
Turn to John chapter 6. In John chapter 6, verse 25. John 6, 25. And when they found
him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi,
when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me. Now these other
people had some kind of faith and these people were seeking
Christ. You seek me. They followed him all around
the lake. And he said, you seek me not
because you saw the miracles, that's not what motivated you,
but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. I fed
you. You were satisfied and gratified
on material substance. Now I say unto you, labor not
for the meat which perisheth, miracles, materialistic things,
But labor for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life,
which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the
Father sealed. I don't want to become so taken
up with the benefits and blessings, the miracles and the loaves,
that I miss the spring and the source of all mercy and grace,
and that's Christ. Paul said in Ephesians 1, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. In Christ. And Brother Don Fortner preached
a few nights ago on 1 Corinthians 1.30, which says, Of God are
you in Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Most of us here are interested
in serving God, in serving our day, in serving
our generation. We want to know the truth. We want to preach the truth.
We want to publish the truth. We want to contend for the truth.
We want to serve our day. We want to serve our generation.
But we must not miss We must not become involved in religion,
in doctrine, even in truth, logically learned and presented, and miss
a personal, intimate, individual relationship with Christ. Now
that can be done. Matthew 7, I'll give you an illustration
of that, Matthew 7. Now listen to this. And I think
this is true of most religionists of our day. I think many of them
are sincere, they're serving God. They're active, they're
aggressive, they're involved. And they're serving their generation.
They're standing for moral principles and moral convictions. They're
standing for what they believe is the truth. Preaching and teaching
and helping others. And listen to what our Lord said
in Matthew 7, verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name, preached in your name? And in your name we've
cast out devils, and in your name done many wonderful works.
These are aggressive, active religious people who are telling
the truth. They carried out works of religion. They were energetic, sincere,
contending for what they believed to be the faith. And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you. Now it's not preaching
and works and devils and all. It's come down to two here, I
and you. That's where the, this is where
it all starts, I and you. It's not my generation and my
day and my people and these things, it's I and you. And that's what
I don't want to miss. I don't want to miss the I and
you. I never knew you and you never knew me. And he calls their works, listen,
depart from me ye that work iniquity. Even good works can become works
of iniquity. if they're not done for the glory
of Christ, if they're not Christ motivated. Don't you fear this? I'm just not going to take my
relationship with God and this business of worship and preaching
lightly. There's too much at stake. When a physician goes into an
operating room to perform surgery, I'd just
rather he wouldn't go in there flippantly, especially if it's
somebody close to me or if it's me. I want him in dead earnest,
dedicated. And that's the way I feel about
this matter of preaching, prayer, study, truth, relationship with
God. John 17 3 our Lord said this
listen. He said this is eternal life
That they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou has sent eternal life's not serving God. It's knowing
God Eternal life's not believing
there is a God Eternal life is not to have religion eternal
life is not to make a profession eternal life is not to believe
doctrine said no God It's to know Christ. And that's what
I'm concerned about in seeking to serve God and serve religion
and do our thing and do our part and become involved. But I think
everybody ought to be religious. They are. I think everybody ought to take
part in church. They do. But I think everybody ought to
know Christ. And then their activity will
be activity blessed of God and not works of iniquity. Paul cried
out this. He said, I've not arrived. I'm not already perfect. He said,
I want to lay hold upon that for which I've been laid hold
of. I want to win Christ and be found in him. I want to know
him and the power of his resurrection. I've often said, And I repeat
it because it's true. The easiest place to miss Christ
is in the temple, in the church, in the pulpit, and in the pew.
It's taking for granted. It's becoming so familiar with
spiritual matters that there's no longer the awe and the mystery
involved. And then thirdly, in seeking
to live our convictions. Now listen to me. And I hear people say, well,
he certainly lives his religion. Well, he ought to. But in seeking
to live our convictions, and if a man knows God, he does
have convictions. And in seeking to live our principles,
and everybody here has principles. The principles may vary. And
in seeking to contend for the truth, I must not miss the spirit and
grace of Christ, which is his love and his compassion and his
affection. There's nothing worse than people
who contend for the truth contentiously. There's nothing worse than a
man who stands for his convictions in a contentious manner. The
wrath of man does not work the works of God. I beg your pardon.
Boy, I've had to learn that the hard way. I hope I'm learning
it. But turn to 1 Corinthians 13. The wrath of man does not work
the works of God, does not accomplish the works of God or the righteousness
of God. 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians
13. Verse 1, I may speak with the
tongues of men and of angels. Suppose I have the gift of tongues.
I don't need it, but suppose I had it. And have not love,
I'm become as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. And I've
heard a lot of brass and a lot of cymbals, and you have too. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, the gift to preach, teach, knowledge, understand
all mysteries, I'm a theologian. I've dug deep. I know all the
theological terms and all the masters and I have all knowledge
and I have faith, all faith so that I can remove mountains and
have not pitiful, compassionate love, tenderness. Why nothing? I'm not anything. Theologians
are dime a dozen. The Yucatan's full of hard rocks,
but not many rivers and not many springs. And it's a hard land. There's no land so cruel as a
land full of rocks. And he says, though I bestow
my goods to feed the poor, I'm an ardent tither and giver. I'm
very zealous about all these things and even give my body
to be burned, I'm ready to die for what I believe. And I have not love, it won't
profit me anything, nothing at all. in seeking to live our convictions
and our principles and contend for what we've been taught, what
we believe to be the truth. Let's not miss the spirit and
grace of our Lord, which is His love. And then over
in Matthew 6, and here's what I want to come to for a little
while, Matthew 6. In my day-to-day living, day-to-day
life, and here's where we are. And our message is not worth
much if we don't come down to where we are. In my day-to-day
life, my church life, my fellowship
with other believers, in my home life, my wife and my children
and grandchildren, in my home life, in my social life, and all of us socialize with
somebody, And in my private life, it is certainly important what
I believe, is it not? It's important what I believe.
There's a truth. There's a truth. There's the
truth about Christ, the truth about God, the truth about salvation. It is important what I believe.
And it is important what I do. Don't ever let anybody tell you
it's not. It is important how I live, and
what I do. Very important. What I believe
and what I do. But more important, more important, is why I believe
what I believe. And why I do what I do. In other words, in no other area
of life is motive as important as in
spiritual matters. In no other area of life. Why
I do what I do? Why I believe what I believe? Why? Alright, let's look at Matthew
6, verse 1. And our Lord says this. He says,
our Lord is saying, take heed that you do not your alms before
men to be seen of them. To be seen of them. Why do we
do what we do? To be seen of men. to be seen
of them, otherwise you have no favor, no reward, and no acceptance
of the Heavenly Father. There's been nothing done that's
agreeable to God or acceptable to God, no matter what your works
are. Our Lord is saying whatever a
man does, great or small, in the area of righteousness, in
the area of good works, if the glory of God is not the chief
end and design and motive of his actions. So it's not what
he does so much as why he does it. It's not what he does so
much as why he does it. If the glory of God is not the
motive, is not the end of his actions, he has no favor with
God, no acceptance with God, no reward, and nothing will come
of it. That's how important this is. And then our Lord deals with
three vital areas in these next verses. You remember the scripture
I read a moment ago, you call it to mind. In this matter of
works, he deals with giving, or alms or good works, he deals
with praying, and he deals with fasting, which I shall refer
to as worship, communion with God. Giving, praying, and worship. And in every one of these, he
condemns one thing. He strongly condemns self-praise,
pretension, and affectation. Strongly condemns it. In good
deeds, in prayer, in worship, that which is necessary is sincerity. Sincerity of motive. simplicity and reality. In other words, as unto the Lord,
as unto the Lord, as unto the Lord, as before the Lord, for
the glory of the Lord. For God does not look on the
outward countenance, on the outward behavior. He's not nearly so
much concerned with the outward behavior as he is with the secret
intent of the heart. Just hold that place and turn
to Luke 16. And you've read this scripture many times, but it
fits so well right here where I'm on this point with which I'm
dealing. Luke 16, 15. And He said unto them, Luke 16,
15, You are they which justify yourselves before men, to be
seen of men. for the approval, applause, and
admiration and acceptance of men. You do these things before
men. But God knows your heart. God
knows your heart. God said, my son, give me your
heart. Keep your heart out of the issues of life. There's where
the issues of life are determined. And that which is highly esteemed
among men, that which is appreciated, admired, and applauded most by
men is an abomination to God. Oh, it's frightening, isn't it?
Frightening. The whole of our deeds, our prayers
and our worship is not with men, it's in Christ. Our business
is with Christ. Our business is with Christ and
Him alone. What men think of us, good or
bad, matters little. It is His judgment and His fellowship
that's all that counts. in this matter of spiritual things.
Therefore, play acting, men's admiration and applause really
are detrimental and destructive. That's the reason he says here
in our text in Matthew 6.1, take heed, take heed, take heed. God does not look on the outward
countenance, he looks on the heart. That which men approve,
and that which men admire, and that which men applaud, most
of the time is an abomination to God. Because men are not the criteria
of that which is good. God is. Our business is with
Him. Our business, it's His judgments
and His thoughts that matter. What men think good or bad of
us matters little. We're not to be judged before
the counsels of men. Take heed, he said, this is vital.
Take heed, whatever I do must not be done to be seen of men.
Don't do your good deeds before men to be seen of them. To be seen of them, to be heard
of them, to be admired of them, to be appreciated of them. What
they think good or bad means nothing. If I don't get out from
under this, the clutches of this thing, and be delivered from
it, I have no favor with God. None whatsoever. Now let's look
at these things. And look, let me show you this.
He said, take heed, give diligence, that you do not your arms in
whatever area, we're going to cover three areas, in whatever
area they are included, to be seen of men. Because this is
the way of the hypocrite. In verse 2, look at verse 2.
Therefore, when you do your alms, don't sound the trumpet before
you. Don't make a proclamation before
you, as the hypocrites do. That's what the hypocrites do.
In the synagogue, in the streets, that they may have the glory
of men. And when they have the glory of men, they have what
they're seeking, they have their reward, and that's it. They seek
the favor of men, they gain the favor of men, that's the end
of the matter. The heavens are closed. They do it to be seen
of men. Men see them. That's their reward. The heavens are closed. There's
no transaction with God. People may raise thousands of
dollars for some kind of special mission project or to feed the
hungry, all these things. You say, well, that's good. Sure,
it's good. Sure, it's good. But if they do it to be seen
of men and for the glory of men, the applause of men, When men
applaud, that's it. Heaven's got nothing to do with
it. Nothing at all. Look at verse 5. When you pray,
you shall not be as the hypocrites are. They love to pray standing
in the synagogues, in the corner of the street, that they may
be seen of men. They have their reward. When men see them, that's
it. That's it. That's what they were
seeking. That's what they got. Verse 16. When you fast, be not as the
hypocrite. This is the way of the hypocrite,
of a sad countenance. They disfigure their faces. They
let everybody know they're fasting. They tell everybody they're fasting.
They tell how long they fasted. They tell when they broke their
fast. They tell what they drank when they were in their fast.
They have their reward. Men are impressed. And they have
their reward. You see that? When the hypocrite
does a good deed, he wants others to know about it. And when they
know about it, when they praise him, that's his reward. When
he prays, he wants people to be impressed, and they are impressed,
and he has his reward. When he worships, or fasts, or
carries a burden, he wants everybody to know about it, to be impressed
with his spirituality, and when they're impressed with his spirituality,
he has his reward. Heaven has not even been in on
this thing. Hasn't even taken notice of it.
He has his reward. What a tragedy. I don't want
anything to do with that. But let's look at this thing
from the standpoint that our Lord is giving it here just briefly.
Now start with verse 2. Verse 2. Therefore, when you
do your alms, don't sound a trumpet. as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and the streets, that they may have the glory of men. Verily
I say unto you, they have their reward. But when you do your
alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand doeth,
that thine alms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly." Now let's be realistic, totally
realistic. If a man does a good deed, if he helps the church, send
a missionary. Now like we're raising money
for Milton Howard's truck. And we're trying to stay on television. We're trying to help different
missionaries. We're trying to send these books out in other
languages. And then some of you have helped each other financially.
Once in a while our folks get in a close tight place and some
of you run to their aid. And you do this. This is good
deeds. This is good work. This is alms. When someone can't
take care of a bill and you take care of it for them. When some
of our people are sick and you go to take care of them. When someone is in distress and
you bring them into your home. Let's be realistic. If a man
does a good deed in those areas, somebody is going to know about
it. Aren't they? Of course they are. The man for
whom you did it is going to know about it. His son is going to
know about it. His brother is going to know about it. Your
pastor is going to know about it. A lot of people are going
to know about it. Of course they are. Those who benefit by your
love and your generosity are going to know it. And those whom
they tell are going to know it. You can't hide good works. Our Lord said this, let your
light so shine before men. that they may see your what?
Your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. That's realistic. That's realistic. Also, there's the responsibility
of influence and example. I told you a few Sundays ago
that I call on you to give here. Well, I don't call on you to
do something I don't do. I make it very prominent, very open
that my gift goes in here just like yours. And somebody's going
to know about it? Well, of course they know about
it. There's a matter of example. There's a matter of influence.
A holy life has an influence on other people. Generosity has
an influence on other people. Paul said that people were encouraged
by his willingness to suffer. He said there are preachers who
preach better because I've suffered. Do you know what he said? They're
encouraged by my bonds. He let them know about his bonds.
He let them know about the scars in his body. He said, I shipwrecked,
and I stoned, and I was cast into prison. He didn't hide those
things. He said, I made tents to support the people that were
with me. Didn't he say that? That's example. You elders are
supposed to set an example. You daddies are supposed to set
an example. You men are supposed to set an
example. You ladies are supposed to set an example. to encourage others. Let your
children know what you're doing. Let them know what you're doing.
Our Lord doesn't condemn good works before men. What our Savior
is condemning is good works to be seen of men. Get it straight. See what I'm
saying, John? Watch this, now let's read it
right, verse 1. Take heed that you do not your alms before men. That's not the end of the sentence.
If you do it, you're going to have to do it before men and
women. But here's what the problem is, to be seen of them. See that
running? That's where it is. To be seen
of them. Doing good works before men is
not condemned. We're to set an example. We're
to let our light shine. We're to encourage others. We're
to influence others. We're to help one another. That's
expected. That's the Christian believer's
attitude and conduct, but not to be seen of men. See, it's
not to be seen of men. A man may do good works before
men, and yet not do it to be seen of men. And yet a man may
do good works in secret and desire to be seen of men,
and he's in worse shape. So see what I'm saying? It's
why I do it. You see what I'm saying? Why
I do it. Do your good works. Help one
another. Encourage one another. Influence one another. Set an
example for one another. Stand together. Keep doing them. Just make sure the motive's right.
It's not to be seen of men. It's because you love them. And
because you love Christ. And because you just love to
be a good steward of what God's given. You see that? Oh yes. Sometimes I ask you to, in these
matters of missions, I know where the missionary money needs to
go. I keep in touch with these men.
And for you to hand me a check and say, send that where it's
most needed. There's nothing wrong with that. Not a thing
wrong, that's good sense, is to take it to the person who
knows where it's most needed. So do your works before men.
But you see, back here when the whole thing was planned, and
when the whole thing came up in your heart, you're doing it
because you want to do it, because you love Christ, because you
love that person. And it doesn't matter who knows
about it then, as long as you're not doing this thing with me.
You see, every moral action has two parts. Every moral action
has two parts. The outward and the inward. You
and I only see the outward. God only cares about the inward. And that which may seem to be
good to us may not be good at all. because it may spring from
an unworthy motive. And the man that we're prone
to praise the most may deserve it the least. And the man or
woman that we overlook, God will praise him in due time. That's
right, cast your bread on the water, it'll return to you in
due time. If the motive is holy, the deed
is holy. Even if it be a small gesture,
just the tiniest gesture of all. If the moat is right, God will
honor it. It's a holy deed. Even if it's
the smallest gesture, but no matter how big a gesture it is,
if the moat is wrong, it's wasted. It's wasted. The whole deed is
worthless. Even if it's given everything
I have, the whole thing is worthless. Oh, what a monumental offering
they brought. But it was wasted. Wrong motive. To be seen of men. You see, I've
got to work on this. The true motive of giving, working,
laboring, loving, whatever I do, has got to be for the glory of
God. The Christian gives, lives, loves. out of a love to God and a love
to others. He seeks not the glory of men,
but the glory of God. And good deeds are only good
when they're done not for the sake of display, but for the
glory of God. You say, what does that mean,
that down here, let not your left hand know what your right
hand doeth? Everybody quotes that all the time. Let me tell
you what it means. Let me help you. Let not your left hand know
what your right hand doeth. This is a proverbial phrase.
expressing this, that the deed is unto the Lord and before the
Lord and not unto men or for their praise. We do what God
leads us to do and enables us to do without calling public
attention to it, or what's this, or even calling the attention,
calling it to the attention of our closest friend. Now here's
what he's saying. We must be careful that we don't
sound the trumpet, like the hypocrites do, but we must also be careful
that we do not share it privately for the same results. It doesn't
matter how many men praise you, one or ten thousand. See what
I'm saying? In other words, here's doing
a good deed. You say, well, I don't want to sound a trumpet. I don't
care what people think, but I want Joe to think well of me. So I'm
going to tell Joe, because I want his special same results. Same results. So that's what
he's talking about in this matter of let not your left hand to
avoid not only a public display, but also a private display to
accomplish the same result. Now, the matter of prayer. Verse
5. In the matter of prayer. When
you pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. Now, I've
divided this into two parts. Here are some characteristics
of vain prayers. Vain prayers. First of all, he
says the hypocrites, verse 5, they love to pray. They love
public prayer. They don't feel the burden of
it. I know some of you men here, Brother, I call on anybody that's
called on you. They feel the burden of prayer.
They'll tell you, and this may be strange, but they'll tell
you, I don't look forward to leading the congregation in prayer.
These Pharisees did. They loved it. They loved to
pray. They seek the opportunity to
pray. They loved the attention. That's the reason they love to
pray. They love to pray. They don't feel the weight of
it and the burden of it and the seriousness of it. This is the
one thing they see. It gives them an opportunity
to be seen and to be heard. That's the reason they love it.
And where do they love to pray? They love to pray standing in
the synagogue, in a prominent place, in a public place. Now,
the posture of standing, nothing wrong with that. And the place
in the synagogue, nothing's wrong with that. What our Lord is condemning
is the motive. They left a place standing in
the synagogues and where the streets come together to be seen
of men. Here's the third characteristic
of hypocritical prayer, verse 7. Use not vain repetitions. Oh, we have to fight this. That's
religious phrases. Something that sounds religious. Rehearsed words over and over
and over and over and over again. Vain repetitions. And then another characteristic
of the hypocritical prayer is they think, verse 7, they think
they shall be heard for their much speaking. Much speaking
is not much praying. I said this one time, made this
statement, you know most every prayer in the Bible can be prayed
in less than three minutes, four minutes? Can be. It can be. They're not long, difficult prayers. Here's the model prayers, very
short. And then the prayer of Elijah
on Mount Carmel was very short, 63 words. The prayer of the dedication
of the temple is about four or five minutes long. Actually,
to be honest, there's more prayer in the silent uplifting of the
heart to God than in the loudest, longest prayers ever prayed.
Hannah prayed and only her lips moved. The thief on the cross
prayed and uttered one sentence, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Well, what are some of the characteristics
of true prayer, real prayer? Well, let's look and see. Verse
6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet. Now the
Lord does not discourage public prayer. I can think of many instances
in the scripture where public prayer is encouraged. Our Lord
said, where two or three are met together in my name, I'll
be in their midst. Where two or three agree as touching
any one thing, it shall be done. And then the disciples, when
they met together in the upper room, they met there for prayer.
public prayer. And then in Corinthians, when Paul talks
about the conduct in the church, he said, when a man is praying,
the rest of you say amen to what he's praying. Remember that?
He leads them in public prayer. But what the Lord is encouraging
here, He's not discouraging public prayer, He's encouraging private
prayer. When you pray, in this matter
of getting hold of God, the horns of the altar, coming before God,
our Lord encourages private prayer, which is less likely to lead
to pride and vanity and more likely to lead to genuine communion
with God, wouldn't you say? Actually, if I had my way, if
I had to choose between the two, I'd rather do away with public
prayer and retain the private closet communion with God. If
I had my own desire fulfilled, I'd rather have a congregation
of people who spent much time in private prayer than a people
who spent much time in public prayer. I really believe that. I believe that's what our Lord
is saying. Enter your closet, and when you've shut the door,
pray to your Father in secret. I encourage myself, I encourage
you. And I'm not talking, I don't think you have to reserve an
hour for prayer. I don't think you have to reserve
that much time at all. I think, like I said, the prayers
in the Bible are not long, but the prayers in the Bible recorded
are genuine, they're heart motivated, they're sincere, they're desperate,
they're unto God They're for His glory. They get a hold of
God. And they're heard. And if we
could have just some of that. You know, it's like a son or
a daughter. You said, mother or dad, could
I have a word with you? Or like one of your pupils. Could
I have a word with you? It doesn't matter to you what
time it is. They want a word with you. And you grant them
that audience. But I'll tell you what appeals
to you if they'll make it sincere, simple, to the point, state their
case, and trust you. Isn't that right? I bet a 20-page letter wouldn't
impress you too much. Or a child of the Father, huh? So why not, like our Lord said,
enter your closet, in secret, before your Father. Someone said
prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed,
the motions of a hidden fire that tremble in the breast. Prayer
is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear, the upward
glancing of the eye when none but God is near. That's when
I wish we'd pray, when none but God is near. We don't expect
to be rewarded for prayer. That's not what we're seeking.
It's enough that God meets us in Christ and even allows us
to pray. It's enough that He allows us
to call Him Father. All right, what about fasting,
verse 16? All right, I'll wind her down
with this. But these things are so important. These things are
so important. If we could take what I'm trying
to deal with tonight and bring something out of it,
something of reality, and truth and a relationship with God,
I see you in glory. That's exactly what I see in
glory. Because this is where it is. God, play acting, pretension,
affectation, ostentation. God hates it. He hates it with
a passion. Well, you do too, don't you?
God hates it. Moreover, when you fast, don't
be like a hypocrite of a sad countenance. They disfigure their
faces that they may appear unto men to fast. They have their
reward. You see this in religion today? The Jews had particular
days set apart for fasting. They were Monday and Thursday. They wouldn't wash their faces.
They wouldn't comb their hair. They'd put ashes on their heads.
They'd rinse their clothes. They went about with a sad countenance.
Oh, you're fasting. God bless you. But everybody
knows there's fasting, you know. Well, fasting is not commanded
in the New Testament as a duty, but fasting is left to the individual
freedom and need. And the spirit of fasting is
in the heart and brought about by a special need, a special
burden, and a special communion with God. When our Lord was sitting
on that well and the disciples came back with food, they said,
Master, eat. He said, I have meat to eat that
you know not of. And if we can get a hold of the
meat to eat that they know not of, we'll know something about
fasting. Because everything else will
lose an appetite for it. Is that right, John? That's not
organized fasting. It wouldn't give you a nickel
for it. That's not Monday and Thursday fasting. That's not
fasting to be seen of men. That's driven to self-denial
because there's something better on our hearts, something more
needful. And when this had come about,
when you're in this particular position, when you're in this
position, be sure that you put on a cheerful countenance, and
wash your face, and appear not to men to fast. You know what
he's saying? Verse 17, Thou, when thou fastest, when you're
communing with God, When what you are and have and speak is
genuine, anoint your head and wash your face, and don't appear
unto men to fast, but unto your Father which is in secret, he'll
reward you openly." Somebody wrote this, let us keep our fast
within till God and we are quite alone. Then let the grief and
the need and the cry. before the mercy seat be known.
There's no humiliation when we show humiliation, and there's
no communion with God when we boast of it. For God takes notice
of the internal exercise of grace, and to have honor of God is infinitely
more than to have the praise of men. I want to give you one thing,
and I'll close. I wrote this down just before I came to church.
In conclusion, I have no trouble believing in
God, but I want, like Abraham, to
believe God. There's a difference. I have
no trouble believing in the fall. I have no trouble with that or
the depravity of men. But I want Paul's lamentation
in Romans 7 to be genuinely experienced in my heart, don't you?