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We're going to jump back into the Sermon on the Mount today. I thought that it would be appropriate to continue where we left off last week. Of course, next week's going to be a special week, as you already heard. It's Father's Day. So, you know, just wanted to unpack as much as we cur could of the Sermon on the Mount before that day lands arrives. But we really do want to honor fathers as was quickly mentioned here, because our culture can so downplay the role of men, the role of fathers, but you're so important men. And as was said, if your father doesn't come here, reach out to him, first of all. I hope you have a good relationship with your father. And if not, you know, if he is in the area, just encourage him to come out and to hear a good word about honoring the men that God has created us to be. Amen. Well, today I want to talk to you out of Matthew chapter six. Surprise, surprise. We kind of got through Matthew chapter five last week. And Matthew chapter six, there's tons in here. And, you know, the obviously there's a whole other chapter after that, chapter seven, that I don't imagine we will get to today. I do not intend to get to today. And all the people of God say, Amen, right? Um, but we're gonna be looking at chapter six, but I want us to keep at the front of our mind. You know, I really feel like last week we touched on a nerve. We touched on something significant out of the Sermon on the Mount that it's more about that Jesus simply setting the record straight on a couple of points, right? On what how should we deal with anger? How shall we deal with lust? What's the real deal about divorce? You know, these different issues that he does bring up, he's really directing us to himself as our Lord and making us realize that everything changes when we recognize his lordship. When we don't simply say, Lord, Lord, but we draw close to him and we say, What do you have to say, God, about my life? I've heard a lot of opinions. You have heard it said, but this is what Jesus says. Amen. So Matthew 6 takes up, it shifts just a little bit, but it's picking up on that same idea. What does it look like to follow Jesus? What does it mean for him to be the Lord of our life? But he's gonna focus especially in the first half of the chapter on what practicing righteousness looks like. That's not an exciting title. I thought about putting that title on my message today: practicing righteousness. But you know what? Jesus talked about this. How many of you know that our life with God is supposed to have practical applications and implications? Following Jesus is not just about having nice thoughts, good thoughts, warm feelings. You know, we often focus, you know, spiritual things, dare I say, religious things are all about what goes on on the inside of us when we're worshiping. But Jesus says there are practical things that we are supposed to do as Christians. Again, just like Matthew 5 was not an exhaustive list of what Jesus has to say about everything. Matthew 6 is not an exhaustive list of what it means to practice righteousness. Okay? Are you following me? And he starts off at the beginning of our chapter 6 by saying, beware. That's a strong word, isn't it? Like you go up to somebody's house, red sign, white letters, beware of dog. Like there's some danger ahead if you aren't cautious, right? Beware, roads out, beware, you know. It this is to get our attention that we can easily get ourselves in trouble if we don't take these words and put them into action. Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have your reward from you will not have your reward, sorry, from your father who is in heaven. How many of you know that there are rewards to be had in God? That's a good thing, by the way. I mean, some people they get so, I don't know, ultra-spiritual or something like that. It's like, I don't want any rewards. I don't want any rewards, I just want Jesus. And then you turn to Jesus and He's like, There are rewards to be had. Right? So don't get me wrong. He is the first and the foremost thing, our relationship with him. But at the same time, he says that we can live in a way, we can pursue God in a way that he most certainly will reward us. But we can definitely live in a way where we will miss out on rewards. And for the record, as a reminder, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 says that it is of first importance that we believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Come on. Like the chapter of the heroes of the faith is all about people who set their eyes on a prize and they oriented their life towards those goals, those things that God values, that God rewards. There are rewards to be had. You want a reward? Come on, it's okay. And one of the things that we'll see all the way through this first part of the chapter is that you can get your life so focused on the here and now and how this pans out in our relationships, how this pans out, you know, in our just dealings with other people, that we can cash in on lesser rewards now and miss out on greater rewards later. Are you following me? We all know this. I'm pretty sure we all know this. This is dead rock stuff, the Sermon on the Mount, right? What does he address right from the beginning, right from the very start? He says, Do not do these things to be seen by other people. Now I have a question for you. Does that mean that we don't do things where they can be seen by other people? We can get a little confused on this point, right? We can get a little wrapped up on, well, I don't want anything to be seen by other people, so I am just gonna, again, kind of retreat inward, do all of my God stuff in private. You know, there are things to be done in private, but there are things in God that we must do out in the open. You know, we back up into chapter five, it talks about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We're supposed to be practicing righteousness. We read in chapter six, and it says that your light, you are the light of the world, and a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp to put it under a basket, right? Fire hazard to say the least. Put it on a stand and it gives light to all the house in the same way. Let your light shine before others. That doesn't sound like invisible righteousness. That sounds like being out there, being seen, doing things, saying things, being in influence, having a voice for God that is undeniable. It says, in the same way, let your light shine before others so they may see your good works. Why am I pointing this out to you? Because Jesus is warning us, don't do it to be seen. But we can't forget that just a few paragraphs back, he said, do it so the whole world sees. So the question isn't whether it is seen or not, it's that we don't get our eyes on the reward that comes from what people see. That we keep our eyes on a reward that is in God, that no matter what people think or say, as they see my life, and they should be able to see something in my life and recognize that I am a follower of Jesus, that Jesus is my Lord, that there is something that sets me apart, that makes me different from other people. Amen. So the question isn't whether or not we're seen, we should be seen. But we're not doing it to make a scene of ourselves, to get our reward from other people. We're doing it out of love for God and love of others. Amen. Everything hangs on that, Jesus says. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind, with all. And the next best thing, the next most important thing is just like it, love your neighbor like you love yourself. And Jesus is simply saying a couple of things here to make us understand how we can keep our inner life, but not just our inner life, our whole life, pursuing righteousness. And he touches on three things specifically, not the only three things that you must do, but there are three different areas that he touches on. He talks about how you handle your money. Can you say money? Your money and your faith are very connected. Because money pulls on our heart strings. Money is that thing that expresses value, right? Money is so important to us. So Jesus talks a lot about it, and he talks about one thing here in verse two. It says, When you give to the needy, so this is giving, we could call them alms, we could call them offerings. You know, here is a church we give to missions and work that's being done around the world. Things come up that we we sow our seed into the ground where people have an absolute need. It says, When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets. Can you imagine what it would look like to literally do this? Literally tooting your own horn. You ever heard that expression? Here I come, savior, come to save the day, right? Look how amazing I am. And you know, Jesus talked to parables about this, or not parables, but things he observed in the temple, that some people came in and they're making a show of all the money that they're pouring into the temple offering. But Jesus pointed out it wasn't about that, it was about the heart behind it, right? They were giving out of their abundance, he said, but then he points to a widow who gives out of the one thing that could sustain her. In other words, her trust was completely in God. She was looking for a reward from God, and what were those other people looking for? Recognition, a reward from the people. But you know, and Jesus touches on different things all through this first part of the chapter that I find it fascinating because how many of you know that Jesus is attracting crowds by this point? We we don't get to hear much about his ministry yet, but we know that people from all over the place they they know he's a healer, that they know that he casts out demons and set people free. So they're beginning to be drawn together and he he does hone in on the scribes and the Pharisees, right? Remember, we're talking about practicing righteousness. Also in chapter five, he said, You must have a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. So he he does touch on things that the scribes and the Pharisees could be guilty of, but he's also touching on things that the Gentiles who are being attracted to him might be guilty of. So, yes, we see these Pharisees, these scribes going to temples, going to synagogue, and making a big show of the money they give. But I was looking into the background here a little bit, and it turns out that in the Roman world, so the pagan world, they weren't really big on helping the poor out. Why does that not surprise me? You know, they're the oppressor, they're the ones that are all about power, about prestige, about wealth, and all of these things. But what the Romans and and you know, kind of the Greco-Roman culture of the day is that people would love to give big public donations towards projects so they could slap their name on something to elevate their status. And again, is there anything wrong with recognizing donors or something like that? I'm not here to point fingers today. Again, what is the point? It's that we don't do these things to be seen, right? Let's continue reading. When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they have received your reward. They have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. You ever struggled with that one? How many of you know that Jesus used figures of speech? It's like, number one, I don't know if my hands really know anything that's going on. My brain tells them what to do. I don't know if they're really keeping check on what each other are doing. Hello, what are you doing? You know? Wow, look at all that money you gave. No, I you know, we can get so funny and wrapped up in these things sometimes. It's like it's got to be my right hand when I'm giving the offering. You know? Left hand, hide that left hand, he can't know. I'm just thinking of that comedian guy who is in. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. He always walks around like this. I don't know. He's got a Christian background, maybe that's where he got that from. Some of you know what I'm talking about. And the next point he gets into is on prayer. And isn't it amazing that the most powerful, intimate, you know, just direct connection that we have to God, prayer, can be used in a way that is for display only, it's for reward only, it's to be seen by men and not by God. So Jesus touches on this and he says, When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For those who don't know or don't remember hypocrites, as a kid, I always heard the definition of hypocrite is somebody who says one thing and does another. I mean, there's an element of truth to that, but the actual meaning of the word hypocrite is an actor. Somebody who steps on stage, dons a mask, puts on a persona, and acts out a part. That's what hypocrite means. So do not be like a hypocrite, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. There's rewards to be had for prayer. And I'll say this I know our eyes aren't supposed to be simply on what happens in this life and how things are all working out. We're supposed to have convictions that are deeper and stronger than that, right? That maybe things are rocky right now, maybe things aren't working out just the way you want to, but we are supposed to be people who continue to pray despite what we see going on around us. Amen. Amen. And at the same time, when things aren't going right or things are starting to go astray, maybe it's time to recognize that I need to get alone with God again. Because we tend to go through those ups and down, those waves in our relationship with God, right? When everything's good, we tend to get lazy, don't we? This happens in the natural, it happens in the spiritual, right? There's lots of money, there's lots of good things, so I can put up my feet and rest until you start to see the bills are coming up and my bank account's getting low. It's like I better hustle and make some money, right? Now, in the spirit, too, if we start to see every doors are closing everywhere and stuff doesn't seem to be working out, maybe I need to get alone with God again. Maybe the outward appearance of religiosity, Christianity, you know, maybe people look at me and say, I'm a good Christian, but if you're just finding like nothing is making sense anymore, that life isn't moving forward, look for the one who gives the rewards. Amen. Amen. And when you pray, don't keep up empty phrases like the Gentiles do. This can be another little tricky thing for us, especially in a church like ours that likes to repeat things. Can I say that? Bailey kind of touched on that this morning, didn't you, Bailey? You know how we said it, we said it again. Okay, we get it. Good bridge. The bridge has gotta take us somewhere though. I'm not knocking the worship, okay? Is it about whether or not you repeat yourself in prayer? I would say that this is a similar little thing like we saw before, whether or not it's about doing things visibly. Yes, we still do things visibly, but not to be seen. In the same way, we don't repeat ourselves for the sake of repeating ourselves. We don't repeat ourselves, you know, we're seeking through the repeating the deepening revelation of God. Amen. And let me just help you out. Like this is my mentality when the song is repeating itself, or when I'm in a place in prayer and I don't know what else to pray. I mean, often I'll just pray in the spirit. Thank God for praying in tongues, amen. That in our weakness we don't know what to pray, but the Holy Spirit can make you know utterances to God that are inexpressible. It's it's amazing. But at the same time, sometimes I'll just key in on a word, a phrase, I'll declare a passage of scripture over and over and over again. But I'm not trying to just hammer down the gates of heaven. I'm trying to enter into his presence. And at every repetition, I'm trying to see him a little more clearly. Because when we sing holy, Holy, holy, the first time I have this much revelation about the holiness, the grandeur, the beauty, the majesty, the power of God. When I say holy, holy, holy again, I'm just stepping in closer and I'm trying to truly comprehend this God that I see, that I want to see more. How many of you want to know God? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Amen. Come on. But it's interesting, he says specifically, don't be like the Gentiles in this. Okay? So, what were the Gentiles like in Jesus' day in the time of the New Testament? Let me just find this for you. I've dug this out of a commentary for you. That the Greeks would pile up as many titles of the deity that they were addressing as possible. Again, any knock on, you know, sometimes we'll do that even as a church in prayer, like you are El Shaddai, you are Jehovah Jirah, you are all of these things. Well, the Gentiles would do that, but again, not out of a motive to remember and to think of who this great God that we serve is. They would do it like I've got to nail down this God. So I am gonna pull every name out of the book I know. It's like, yes, I'm talking to you. Pay attention. That's how the Gentiles prayed, the pagans prayed. For them, prayer was business. Don't get me wrong, we can do some business with God. But God is always the sovereign. God is always the one whose will we defer to, he is the one we yield to. We do not just make demands. He is the king, he is the Lord. Amen. Greek prayers piled up as many titles of the deity addressed as possible, hoping to secure his or her attention. The pagan prayers typically reminded the deity. Look at this. This is a typical Gentile prayer. They would remind the deity of all the favors that they had done and the sacrifices that they had offered. Like, yes, you God, yeah, the God of the rain, the God of the this, the God of the that. Yeah, that one, I'm talking to that one. Of course, they had to clarify because they had a God for everything, right? Sorry, picked up the wrong line. Zeus, pass it over to Apollo, you know, like. But then they would be like, uh, Apollo, did you not notice that I went to your temple and I offered a cow and I offered a this and I offered a that, so it's time to see the payback, right? So they were attempting to get a response from the God they served on contractual grounds. Jesus is addressing this. Don't pray like the Gentiles do. Come before him with humility, come before him, loving him, come before him, seeking him. Amen. Come before him as we've talked about last week, as Lord of lords and king of kings. When you pray, don't heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words. And I love the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel as a perfect illustration of this, right? They're dancing around, they're calling out to their gods, they're doing their rituals, which even involved cutting themselves. How do they get people to sign up for this stuff? I don't know. They're doing all their stuff, and Elijah's like, you should be a little louder. Maybe he can't hear you. I love that story because you would think that the prophets of Baal would look scowl and look back at Elijah, like, no, our God hears her. They're actually like, good idea. I'm gonna take your advice, and they up the volume. Right? And then Elijah, he simply bows before the Lord. And he prays and he prays and he prays until the rain comes and the fire falls. Amen. Well, actually, to make the fire fall, it was a simple prayer. God is more than able to meet you and answer with fire, and answer and change your circumstance. Do not be like them. For your father in heaven knows what you need before you ask him. Pray like this. This is the prayer that we all know so well. I hope we know this well. Who knows the Lord's prayer out there? Okay. Brave souls raising your hands. Where's the microphone?

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SPEAKER_00 27:33

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I love that. The first and the foremost thing in prayer is coming to God, recognizing who He is, dwelling on the fact that He is holy, He is different, He is special, He is powerful, He is the only one worthy of honor and praise and glory. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. You think about the Gentiles, they're trying to pull every name out of the book. Hey, hey, I'm talking to you. And the Jesus followers here are being taught that God's name is holy. God's name, in other words, is not to be taken lightly. God knows when his people turn to him and call on him. You know, isn't it amazing that the Bible even makes a command about how we address God, how we use his name. We are not to take the name of the Lord our God in vain. Oh, I could preach you a whole sermon on that one day. Recognizing his holiness, not demanding things of him, but coming humbly before him. And if, like we talked about last week, we're allowing Jesus to be the Lord of our emotions, the Lord of our desires, the Lord of our thoughts, the Lord of our words, then what do you come to God with if it's not all about my thoughts, my desires, my, you know, all of the things that my human life is screaming out for? He says, your will be done, your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Don't get me wrong. God will, he's not offended by you bringing your needs before him. We must do that. We need to do that. But at the same time, the focus of prayer is coming to God, recognizing who he is, and partnering with his will on the earth. Why do you think we come here Thursday after Thursday after Thursday? And again, it's not that we can't talk and place those things before him that we need. Of course, that's what we're reading here. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. You know, just a little while later, Jesus makes a little explanation about that, and he says in verse 14, he says, For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. I wish it ended there. How about you? We like the positive side of the equation, don't we? We're so used to just the positive side of the equation in our preaching and teaching, and you know how we present Christianity in the 21st century in North America. But he does say this, and this is the word of God, the word of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He says, But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your father forgive you your trespasses. I don't know about you. I kind of don't like that verse. I kind of wish it wasn't in my Bible, but I am glad that Jesus told us the truth. We love the fact that God is a God of forgiveness. We don't like so much that we actually have to allow that forgiveness to change our heart towards other people. Isn't it amazing that we can come before God with tears in our eyes, grateful, heartbroken, you know, and just feel the love of God and your forgiveness is so great. But then we can turn around and we're trying to hold on to something somebody has done to us. Again, Jesus teaches whole parables about this, right? That there was a servant who owed his master a whole pile of money, more money than most of us, you know, relative to that economy, to this, than most of us will see in a lifetime, right? Like the equivalent of millions of dollars worth of debt forgiven in a moment by a good master. That's God our Father, amen. That no matter how great our sin is, no matter how great our debt is, no matter what our trespasses are, there is no sin that God will not forgive, amen. But we have a whole long list of the sins that we won't forgive. The debts we won't write off. The I I don't know why. But it's here. And again, is this because God is a legalistic God, a tit for tat, you know, I'm keeping records and you've got to live up to this or that, and it's just your righteousness that's gonna make you line up good enough to get into heaven? No, but if you close your heart to that spirit of Christ that is crying out forgiveness to your brother and sister, then how can you receive forgiveness from the same spirit of God for yourself? You're closing the door to the Spirit of God, to the forgiveness of God. All right. Last of the three points that Jesus talks about here at the beginning of chapter six. Thank you, Jesus, for laying out a three-point sermon for those of us who struggle. And fasting. Everybody's favorite word, right? All the different activities in church. Isn't it amazing? We do worship, we do prayer, and then everything else is food, right? Like, seriously, is there anything that we do like outside of Sunday morning service and Thursday evening prayer that doesn't involve food? Food. We love it. Am I the only one? I am not this thin because I have amazing self-control. Thank God for genetics. Why are you nodding like we went to our doctor the one day? I'll just tell you this. It's a little funny story, okay? We went to the doctor one day and we had to get our uh updates on trap travel shots and stuff like this, the kids and us. And so we're all in this little doctor's office together. And our doctor, he's a great guy, South African guy, and you know, very you feel like you're visiting, you know, a buddy, a cousin when you go in there to see the doctor. And uh, you know, so we're getting our shots, we're doing our thing. And then uh, I can't even remember how the topic came up. I think he was bugging me about, you know, typical guy. I hardly ever go to the doctor, right? Haven't seen this guy in a while, you know, should you know, do I don't even want to say the word physical, like I haven't even gone there yet. I don't know what that's about. I'm getting to the age that you're supposed to start doing these things, right? Like, how is it, guys? Like, how many guys go in for regular physicals, whether they're sick or not? I see about three, four hands. God bless you, brave gentlemen. Pray for those of us who oh come on, oh I'm gonna leave that. Okay. But anyway, we're in the doctor's office and he's by, and then he turns to my beautiful wife, and he's just like, guys, look, you know, I think he was commenting, hadn't seen me in a while, and I haven't changed. He's like, talks to her like I'm not even in the room. It's like people like Adam bug me. It's just like they're annoying. Because, you know, he's he's got a few extra pounds on and all that, and but I am not as thin as I am by any design of my own. I love food. We were talking about fasting, right? Uh isn't that the way it is, though? It's like we're we're supposed to be focusing on this God thing, and then it's just like, what's the shiny thing that I really love over here? The exact opposite, right? So he says, when you fast, and I didn't emphasize that before. You've heard it before, I'm sure. He says, when you give generously to the poor, when you pray. Now he's saying, when you fast. In other words, these are not optional if the spirit leads you sorts of activities. If you, you know, whatever. This is part of practicing righteousness. You, if you ask yourself, am I really living a righteous life? Then ask yourself, am I generous with my money to the poor, to the church, to the things of the kingdom of God? Am I a person of prayer? And am I a person that makes fasting part of my life? Because these are all three things that left to our own selves, we will not naturally do. For the most part, right? Because when I receive money, the first thing I'm thinking about is how I get my needs met, how I get the next thing that I've been wanting, right? You know, we all have wish lists, you know, on Amazon and here and there. Like, we don't make wish lists for Santa anymore. We make wish lists to Jeff Bezos. Right? Like, and we don't even have to make the wish list, we just need to talk for a while and it's on your phone. Like, here's the next thing to buy. You know, it's we are all being listened to. Right? So when it comes to money, we're always thinking about ourselves first. When it comes to prayer, there's always something else to do. When it comes to fasting, there is never, never, never a good time to fast. Sometimes Thursday night prayer, I think with these lofty, beautiful spiritual thoughts about how wonderful it would be to start a fast. Then I wake up in the morning and I want toast, eggs, and coffee. Like, I'll be real, you know, like uh, well, I'll just fast in my spirit. Okay. It's like, I'll just make a point to read my Bible more, pray more, but I'm still eating. Why am I saying this? Because these are things that left to our own natural inclination, it will not happen. We need to practice these things. Like we are the disciples of a Lord that has commanded us to do these things because he knows what is best for us. And you know, something that I noticed many years ago, and some of you have heard this, is that these three things hit on really the relationships, the most important relationships that we have with ourselves. And they are three things that will help to keep our hearts right to different sorts of people in our lives. Now, it's not an exhaustive list of this is how you treat your wife, this is how you treat this or that, but just think about it for a moment. If we are practicing these things, if we practice generosity to others, in other words, we turn our eyes outside of our own desires and towards the needs of others, then this is a practicing, a practical righteousness that helps you to keep your relationship with other people correct. Love your neighbor as yourself. Now, not every neighbor's down and out, you know, somebody on the street corner asking for money. But I again, I think it goes so far beyond just when the poor ask you for money. It's getting you outside of yourself with eyes that are scanning for how I can be a blessing to others, how can I use what I have been given to move the kingdom forward? And isn't it interesting that later on Jesus actually talks to us when he's talking about laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth? He talks to us about having a good eye. And again, this is stuff that I'm like, eyes and light and this and that, what's going on? But when you study into it, in the Jewish culture of the day, they would speak about having a bad eye. It would be to be stingy towards other people. That's what many people understood having a bad eye meant. You don't have eyes to see beyond yourself. Everything comes in, it's all mine, everybody else. I turned a blind eye, a deaf ear. If you have a good eye, then you're seeing the needs of others, and all of a sudden you're saying, I can help, I can be a blessing, I can go over there and do these things. And you know, some of that will take faith, but your faith will be rewarded, people. Because did we not just start this message by saying that God, we must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We could say it this way: He is a rewarder of those who practice righteousness. Come on. And notice I keep bouncing off of fasting like it's the plague. So generosity helps us to keep our heart right to other people. Prayer, which is the central thing, it keeps our heart right towards God. Amen. Because if we lose our prayer life, then all the rest of it goes out the window. It's the heart of the matter. It will not happen out of thin air. It will happen when you say, I need to pray, shut the TV off, put the phone away. What does he say? He says, Go into your room. How many of you know that in Jesus' day, most people he's talking to do not live in homes like we live in? You know what the average Jewish home looked like in Jesus' day? A door to the street, you walk in, one room, it all happens there. So he's probably actually talking about basically what we would call a pantry. Like this is the one place in the house where not everyone. Everybody else is. And you just have to get in there, you know, like this is, it's appropriate that we call it our prayer closet, right? You know, you go in and you shut everything else out and you get on your knees. I mean, you don't have to be on your knees, but you get seeking God. So finally, fasting, if generosity and having an eye turned out to others is about a relationship with our neighbor and other people, and a prayer, of course, is about keeping our relationship right with the Father, then what sort of relationship is fasting keeping in the right place? I look at it this way: it's about keeping my relationship with my own self in check. My own flesh in check. Because again, nothing screams louder than our desire for the basic necessities of life, right? Food, pleasure, these things. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites do, the actors, right? You know, put on the sad face. You ever see those theater signs, the smiley face, the sad face? It's like flip it over. It's the sad face now, the gloomy face. It's like I want everybody to know that I'm fasting today. Aren't I a hero? Aren't I a spiritual warrior? Pray for me, brother. I am in a season of seeking the Lord and praying and fasting. Really, you know, you're sneaking snacks, you're doing this, you know, you find your hand in the fishy cracker bowl. You never, oh how amazing do those fishy crackers taste? When you you're supposed to be fasting. Like of all things, it's like this dry little salty, nothing snack that we probably shouldn't even give our kids. It's just like all of a sudden, uh, this is the most amazing thing. Why? Why fasting? Why fasting? Because the Bible calls us to a life of sacrifice. And we are not going to sacrifice our lives if we can't sacrifice our lunch. We're not gonna sacrifice and lay our lives down for other people if we can't even deny ourselves the simple pleasures of life. And while I'm not preaching a whole message on fasting today, I mean, us as North Americans, half of the food we eat is just because we're bored. It's not even because you're really hungry. My kids, oh my kids, I love them. If we could cut out the eating out of boredom, my bud should be in a different place. It's just we just ate a meal 20 minutes ago, and it's just like, I'm hungry. You're not hungry, you're bored. You just need something to keep your little hands, your little mouth busy. Go do something. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for when they disfigure their faces that they're fasting, it is so they can be seen by others. So we're not supposed to be generous and have an outward attitude and you know, giving to others to be seen. We're not supposed to make a show out of our prayer life. That doesn't mean you're afraid to grab the mic. That doesn't mean you won't give in a public situation, but you're doing it to honor God, to love him and love other people. You're doing it because your heart is after him. You don't fast so that other people can think you're a spiritual giant. You fast, you anoint your head, you wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. He will reward you. Bailey, you want to come up? There's a lot more I wanted to share today. And sometimes it's important to just get back to the basics of our faith. Amen. Are we practicing righteousness? It's easy to say yes, easy to say I'm a believer, and ultimately we can kind of excuse ourselves because, well, it's not about my righteousness, it's about that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, thank you, Jesus, that we are not saved by our own works and by our own righteousness, but that does not excuse us from doing what Jesus commands us to do. Amen. Because we're called to be disciples and not just converts, we're called to follow after the example of Jesus. And just a verse as we're closing here, and first John chapter 2, verse 29 says it this way. If you know, if that's a big word, by the way, two letters carry a lot of weight. Do yourself a favor and circle those ifs in your Bible and really pay attention. That means you could miss this. If it's conditional, if you know that he is righteous, thank God for the righteousness of Jesus, amen. He who knew no sin, he knew no sin, though he was tempted in all ways just as we are, and he was a sacrifice for us. But if we know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. There's so much packed right there, people. Do we really know his righteousness? Amen. That I want to be like he is. Those who came to him out of need. Jesus, though he was the Son of God, he didn't walk around, you know, just parading his spiritual status. He went out into the wilderness alone and he sought the face of his father. Jesus fasted, he sought the father through intense times, and he was even tempted in the wilderness in those times of fasting and prayer. So I would just say to you, church, we are not exempt. Let's practice these things. Can we stand to our feet today? Thank you, Jesus. Jesus, we thank you. We thank you, Lord God. We don't want to have a religion, a faith that is just about thoughts and feelings. We want to practice righteousness. We want to practice, Lord God, those things that you laid before us because we know that you are righteous, Jesus. And we know that we have been forgiven, and that means that we are born as the children of the Father, that we carry your essence, your DNA, your Lord God, family's name. So, God, as you are righteous, help us walk in righteousness by practicing these things. Because God, we want to see rewards. You are our God, and you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you. God, let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that we're diligently seeking when we're really just casually observing and spectating, or we just casually walk into church, or we just casually go about our week and forget about you, forget about your word. Then no, Lord God, we would diligently seek the one from whom our reward comes. Oh, we look to you, we look to you, God, we look to you, we want to bear your image, be like you, be righteous as you are righteous. All around this room today, Lord God, I ask that you would give strength to those convictions, that you would bring action, Lord God, the will, the desire, the ability to really practice the things we say we believe, to live them out, to be lights, to be salts. Lord God, let the whole world see. But I look to you for my reward. Jesus, all around this room, there are rewards waiting that we have shortchanged ourselves of. We've accepted a cheap imitation, we've accepted praise, we've accepted, Lord God, the the words of man, we've accepted other people's opinions when we really want to, we should desire to please you, to impress heaven, Lord God. Let's seek him today, amen. Let's seek him in prayer. Let's seek him, believing that he will reward our pursuit. If you want to come to the altar, we'll seek him here together.