We’re going to be in Matthew this morning, chapter 6. You’ll turn there if you have your Bibles. If not, it should be up on the screen.

To do and how not to do it. That is the issue.

Matthew 6, verses 16 through 24. Verse 16 through 24. What is done in secret will reward you.

So then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

So as we continue working through Matthew,

the Gospel according to Matthew, we’re now at the tail end of Jesus warning us to watch out for how we give service to God on a few different issues. He exhorts us to do them as He says, not as they do. So we’ve learned how to practice righteousness in giving alms, giving to the poor and the needy. And we’ve learned how to pray properly. And this morning, we’ll begin with Jesus teaching us the manner in which we ought fast.

Maybe you’re here this morning and you have no idea what fasting is or how to do it. And I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time specifically there, but I’ll give you what I think is the core principle. The core principle of fasting, and it is this. To fast is to discipline and humble your flesh for the benefit of your soul. Deny the body, feed the soul. As a supplement to prayer, the goal of it is to grow closer in communion with God. That’s fasting in a nutshell. Before we learn in what manner we should fast, we’re told, how not to. And so, my first point to you is don’t be the star cast member in your own play when you fast. If you remember Pastor Chad’s sermon from last week, we learned that a hypocrite was simply an actor. The terms literally borrowed from just secular language in the Greek to mean someone who is an actor on a stage. They, they are stage performers. So here you have supposedly religious people, okay, fasting. And remember, fasting is denying the flesh for the benefit of the soul. You have people doing that, but that’s not at all what they were doing. It was the exact opposite. Their fasting was showmanship, Shakespeare’s finest at work. They intentionally disfigured their faces, so that they would basically put on a costume and people would see not their fasting. They weren’t pointing people to fast. They weren’t pointing people to the goal and the substance of fasting. No, they were pointing people directly to themselves so that they would be seen. Think about it. People performing their religious duties. You know, good things. Good things. These are things that Jesus said, we ought to do, right? But just think about this. Like, one guy gets up in the morning and he’s been fasting for, you know, I don’t know, 24 hours. Okay? And he looks in the mirror and he’s like, man, I feel kind of hungry, but I don’t quite look it. I mean, I’m going to rub my eyes a little bit, make my eyes puffy, and rub some dirt on my face, make myself look a little more downtrodden. Nobody’s going to notice me like I am, even though I’ve been fasting for a day. That’s ridiculous, but that’s what was going on. And instead of humbling themselves at heart that God would be magnified in it, they puffed themselves up that they would be the object of praise. Walking around town, man, I’m so hungry. Hey, Mark, it’s going to be alright, man. Man, God’s going to reward you. I know, man, but man, it’s tough. It’s tough doing this stuff, you know. It’s ridiculous. But that’s what was going on. So, Christ’s words should ring loud in our ears this morning. And we need to see that these secret sins are sneaky. And they’ll destroy us if we don’t address them immediately. Heed the Savior’s words. Don’t be an actor. Don’t be a hypocrite. We have walked with the Lord for some time, or even people who, or new believers, need to search yourself. Be alert that these sins are real. And they’re prowling around looking to destroy your soul. If you’re like me, I struggle with sins that were very outward. Like, people, hey, that’s an heathen right there. Like, I’m walking around, you know, doing whatever heathens do. And I was proud of it. But then, after we come to Christ, we have to be aware of the sins that are inward that no one else can see. Because we can get by with those sins. Like, nobody knows about them. We can just go on living our lives and fool ourselves thinking that we’re following the Lord and we’re just deceiving ourselves and we’re lying to everybody else around us. It’s dangerous. You have to be alert. Every day, search yourself. Am I being a hypocrite? What am I here for this morning, this Sunday morning? Why am I making coffee? Why am I working in the nursery? Why am I singing? Why am I playing the guitar? Why am I preaching? Is it for you to look at me and say, wow? Or, is it for God? Is it for His glory? Is it for your good?

So, the context of this passage, fasting from food, is probably being specifically referred to. But the Greek verb there, it’s actually more general. It’s just a general call to cease from doing, doing something. So, whether you fast from food, you know, like maybe you have diabetes and you can’t necessarily fast from food for very long. So, you deny yourself something else that you are likely to depend on. I read a quote this past weekend and it hit me hard. It said, habit unaddressed will soon become necessity. If it’s left unchecked, your habits will become a necessity. And at that point, it’s a problem. So, in general, fasting, whether it be food or anything else in your life that you need to deny yourself of, watch out for the sneaky sin because it clothes itself in pseudo robes of righteousness and it prances around on stage before the eyes of the saints, playing the part of God’s minister and claiming to do the work of His hands, all while indulging like a glutton on the praises of men. I can’t get enough of it. It feels so good to be applauded for good works. It really does. And that’s why it’s so dangerous because it feels good. It’s enticing. It wants more. My flesh wants more of it. And so, I have to deny myself of it. I had great sermons this morning, Pastor. It’s not a bad thing to say and it’s not a bad thing to hear. But, as the pastor preaching a sermon, Is my goal to feed the sheep or is my goal to hear? Hey, great, great sermon this morning, Pastor. There’s a difference. You’re doing the same thing, but what are your motives? You don’t know what my motives are here, but God sees the heart and He knows. So know that God sees your heart and He knows what your motives are, whether they be pure or impure.

Hey, I really enjoyed the singing this morning, Rebecca. It was great. That’s not a bad thing to say or hear, but why is she up here singing? She knows she can address her own heart and be right before God on that.

Man, you work at the soup kitchen three nights a week? Wow, what a sacrifice. That’s a good thing. I hope you work and serve somewhere multiple nights a week, but why are you doing it? What is your motive? What is your motive? Go on and on and on and on with our religious service to God and how we bring our talents and our time and our money to Him. What are your motives in doing so? And in the time we live in with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all this technology, the Internet, it’s easy to be instantly seen by thousands of people for your good works. You could record a little bit of this. I don’t want to post it. I could post it and try to get as many likes as I can and get people, wow, what a great word. Oh, and it’s just feeding the monster in me.

You can post a video, a quote of yourself. You can post an account of some good deed that you and your church did this past week and be filled up to the brim with satisfaction, the satisfaction of men’s praise and applause. It’s a fleeting satisfaction. It’s not true satisfaction. It’s a lie. It’s pseudo. It’s clothed in something that it’s not. And it will destroy you.

I hesitate to even touch on this, but I will. Like looking around, especially in American culture, but I’m sure it’s true around the world. It was true in Jesus’ day because He addressed. You look at church movements that are going on, and with technology that we have and with these mass movements that we have, I can’t help but believe that a lot of what you see on TV, on the Internet, is exactly what Jesus is saying not to do here. I may be wrong in that I don’t know their hearts, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility because I know how prone my heart is, and I know how prone your heart is, the human heart in general is to be trapped by sin and love it.

It’s likely that that’s what’s going on. Pastors having their faces plastered all over. Music leaders performing in stadiums in front of thousands of people cheering. Who are they really cheering for? I hope it’s the truth that’s being sung about, and they’re praising God. But I think another thing is possible,

it’s excessive, and it’s temptation. I’m not saying you can’t be a pastor with your face plastered all over and be doing it for the glory of God. I’m not saying that’s not possible. But what I am saying is it’ll get you if you’re not careful. And so, no, we’re not a megachurch here at Prophets Fellowship, but we’re not exempt from this sin either. Again, why are you here this morning? Why are you here this morning? Why are you here this morning? Why are you working in the nursery or singing, playing the guitar? What is your motive?

Truly, those who seek man’s approval have their reward. And you will too if your religious efforts and your service to God are aimed at that.

That is their reward. You have it now. Enjoy it. You’ve worked so hard for it. Enjoy it.

Please don’t miss this. Earlier in chapter 6 and verse 1, Matthew 6, 1. Beware of doing this. Practicing righteousness. Beware of doing this in order to be seen by people. For, here it is, then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. None. None. You have your reward now. You don’t get both.

It’s not a reward worth receiving. But Jesus tells us how to be rewarded by the Father. A true reward. A lasting reward. When you fast, not if but when. So, you should fast. It is a supplement to your prayer. It will benefit your soul. It will benefit your world. It will make you walk with Christ. I’m not saying to do it every week. I’m not telling you how to do it or how often to do it. But make a point to make a rhythm in your life to fast. Maybe every other Friday you say, I’m not going to eat from the time I get up until dinner that night. You don’t have to go on some 48-hour week-long fast. Like, again, what are you trying to accomplish with it? Just deny yourself of something. Make yourself humble and dependent upon God. And it will benefit you. It will bring you closer to Him. It will make you more dependent. It will make you more dependent on Him.

Do it with modesty. Not with pomp. I don’t need to know about it. Nobody else needs to know about it. Maybe tell your spouse or your kids because you’re trying to teach them. But you don’t need to walk around and let everybody know at work. Hey, it’s Friday. I’m fasting, guys. I won’t be going to lunch with y’all. Deny myself for the Lord’s sake. It’s unnecessary. Just give a modest answer. No, I’m good. Y’all can go to lunch. I’m going to stay back.

The Lord sees your heart. He sees what is done in secret. So, again, are you content with Him seeing you and rewarding you? Or do you just have to have man’s reward? Because it’s now. It’s immediate. You can grab it faster. You know, you see?

Fasting will be for your benefit and for His glory. So, are you living for man’s approval or for God’s? I’ll just leave you with that one question on fasting. Or any other religious service that you do. Anything that you offer up to God. Why are you doing it?

Don’t lay up your treasure in vain. Just think about what it is to lay up treasure. The text isn’t cryptic. It’s pretty plain. It’s just to store up as much as you can of something that you deem valuable. As much as you can. It’s something that you put confidence in. You hope in it to a degree. And in what it can provide for you. Let’s say your treasure is, say they’re jewels. Precious metals. Okay, it’s something with high monetary value. You’ve gone out and you bought a lockable fireproof box. And you put them in there. And you have a special hiding place. Maybe you have this built-in secret room and stuff. Stuff in your house. All this crazy. Like that’s your treasure. Like nobody’s going to find this. Okay, maybe every now and then you’ll take them out. And you’ll look at it. You know, oh wow, this is beautiful. You take out your loop, you know. And you’re looking at them. And you twist them and you turn them. You know. You look at it from all kinds of different angles. To get every aspect of its beauty that you can. You just love it.

These VS1 diamonds are beautiful. They’re great investments. You know, one day I’m going to retire. I’m just going to pull these out, you know. Living large. It’s a little bit more than a hobby for you. It’s something that you can’t take or leave. It’s more like a lifestyle that you’ve made. And you’ve poured sweat into these treasures. So I ask you, what is it? What is it in your life that you hide away in a little box? And no one can see or touch them. No one can share in them with you. What is it that you value a bit too much? What is it that’s your treasure? Think of it right now. Search yourself this morning. What do you prop up in your life too much? Because there’s a word for it that the scripture uses. It’s called idolatry. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The Lord says.

You’ve worked hard to acquire it. Think about it. Whatever it is in your life, you’ve worked so hard to acquire it. You’ve spent time and money and energy. Love has been lavished on your precious treasures. And you’ve been diligent to store them up safely. Or so you think. Listen to what the scriptures say of earthly treasures. Proverbs 23.5. When you set your eyes on it, it’s gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings and like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

Then comes the moth to shred holes in your fine linens. It eats at the silk curtains that you’ve hung up to block the light of reality out of the inner chambers of your most intimate heart space. Then rust comes and it decays and it rots the structure of your sheltered, the thing that you’ve built that’s so safe and warm and cozy and secure, your hiding place, your fortress. The Lord is your fortress. You came into this world naked and that’s how you’re going to leave. The very moment that it dawns on you and me that all the work that we’ve put in has paid off and now it’s time to retire and enjoy the fruits of our labor, the thief kicks in your door. He binds you up and he pries from… from your fingers everything that you’ve trusted in.

What will you hope in now? Where does your hope come from? We ought to say, my hope comes from the Lord. And I know where we are. This is America. And I believe the Second Amendment is a God-given right too. But this isn’t the point when you’re talking about the thief kicking in your door. Because for what’s coming, for what’s coming against your earthly riches, you have no defense for. Again, hear what the Scripture says on it. Proverbs 11.4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath.

Zephaniah 1.18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. And all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy, for he will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one. Of all the inhabitants of the earth. James 5.1-3 Come now, you rich, weep. How? For your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their rust will be a witness against you, and they’ll consume your flesh like fire. It’s in the last days that you’ve stored up your treasure. Guns, gold, guitars, accolades, accomplishments, trophies, letters on the side of your name, bank accounts, 401ks, all of this stuff. Don’t trust in them. Don’t cherish them. I’m not saying it’s bad to have things. The Lord gives. You’re allowed to have a home. You’re allowed to have things. But do you love them? Are they too valuable in your life? Can you bear with parting with them? Like the rich young ruler, the one who had many possessions. He went away sad that day because his possessions were great.

If you’re called to give up everything you own, I hope that we’re in a place that it’s not sad to us because we know where our treasure truly lies.

Be careful what you show your children.

Don’t make your main goal in this life to build an estate for them to inherit. Again, I’m not saying don’t be wise with what God has given you. But also be willing to part with it if need be. Don’t teach your children that the main goal in this life is to build up the biggest, baddest retirement investment portfolio so that you’ll have something to kick back on when you’re old and then you’ll have something to do. And even some left to leave to them when you’re gone. Because you’re teaching them that’s what matters most. That’s where their hope is. That’s where their security is. You’re not going to leave your children anything? What if I don’t? Who is my provider? My dad is not my provider. The Lord is. Now if my dad leaves me something because he made wise investments and it’s just something that he had left over, fine. But I’m not hoping in it. I’m not sitting here fretting today about what I’m going to do when I’m 50, when my dad’s gone and he didn’t leave me anything.

Don’t teach your kids that that’s what matters the most. Show them how to build up their storehouse in the next life. Show them how to invest in their heavenly safety deposit box. Don’t store up earthly treasures. They don’t last. Don’t hope in them. They can’t deliver. Don’t trust in them. They’re fleeting. Don’t love them. They’re not worthy of your love.

Indeed, the one who hopes in earthly treasures will for a moment be satisfied, or so he thinks. But ultimately, he’ll receive the reward the wages due this worldly-minded sin. As it is written in Job, if I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence, if I have reduced or rejoiced because my wealth was abundant, or because my hand had found much, if I have looked at the sun when it shone or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I have been false to God above. You will have denied God above for the fleeting pleasures of earthly riches. Think about the prodigal son. He was a son, and he wanted it now. Hey, Father, Dad, it’s great hanging out here and all, but I’d really like myself now. I want to go live it up for a season. You know? This is great, but I just need my peace now. And we saw how that ended up. He was ultimately left rolling around with pigs, empty. So if that’s you this morning, if you found yourself loving the world too much, the lust of your flesh just gets you, please, the Father is running out to meet you. Come back. Repent. Find forgiveness. Be brought back into the very thing that you denied and left. What a gracious God. Store up your treasures in heaven where they’re sure, where they’re true, where they give life and joy, satisfaction. They give contentment. They give happiness. They give fulfillment. They give purpose. How do you store up treasures in heaven?

Fix your eyes. There. Don’t turn to the left or to the right. Fix your eyes on Christ who is in heaven.

Colossians 3.1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. What treasure? Fix your eyes on Christ who is in heaven. At the right hand of God.

Invest in a heavenly loop in which you can examine the Scripture. You can look at it closely and you can twist it and turn it. And you can look at it from all different angles and know that what’s here, you can know the substance of it, which is Christ that you might treasure that is in it. That’s what you can do. All that you do in this life, do it in Christ. Do it in the power of Christ. Do it in the Spirit of Christ. Do it with the mind of Christ. For it is Christ that you will receive as your reward. It is in Christ that you have your being. Your possessions are His. Your talents are His. Your time is His. Your love is His. Your zeal is His. Your children is His. Your goals are His. Your entire being is His. You have an inheritance in Him.

A far greater value and worth that is found in any inheritance that you can receive in this life or that you can build up in this life.

Ephesians 1.18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you’ll know what is the hope of His calling. What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints?

Colossians 3.24 Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. 1 Peter 1.4 And know that this inheritance is imperishable. It’s undefiled. It won’t fade away. It’s reserved in heaven for you.

Moth can’t touch it. Rust can’t destroy it. Thieves can’t take it from you. It’s there. So are you willing to be patient in this life and trust God’s promises? Can you endure 50, 60, 70, 80, 100 years on this earth knowing that everything of worth and value is in the next life? So much so that you will trample on it. You will trample and trot upon everything that this world has to offer. Fix your eyes on Christ. Every morning, remind yourself who is Christ? What has He done? What has He promised? Who am I in Him? Keep your eyes fixed there. Constantly search yourself to see if you’re gazing on something else.

Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be there. Make no mistake, it will be exactly where it wants to be. Within the walls of security that it built for itself. So know, it is inconsistent for the one who claims to be in Christ to roll around and frolic in the pleasures of life. If your treasure is truly in Christ, your heart and your soul and your mind will be found there. Admiring and glorying in that treasure. And you’ll know because out of this heart that you have or someone else has, their mouth will be speaking. Their hands will be doing. You’ll know that their treasure is Christ.

Don’t let your heart be found content in this earthly life. That heart has no part in the inheritance of Christ. No part in heavenly treasure. That heart has no part in the inheritance of Christ. That heart has no hope in the salvation that is so sure in Christ. It has nothing to do with the claim to be a redeemed and an adopted child of the living God. No. Those whose heart is with Christ will tread over everything that this world has to offer. So please again, examine yourself. Take an inventory of your heart. See where your desires really lie. Where do you spend most time researching? Where do you spend most time thinking? Investing your days? What do you love?

Don’t let that slippery, sneaky sin of coveting the world harden your heart and destroy you. Because if you leave it unchecked, it will. It will destroy you. If you be in Christ, seek the things that are found in Him and let your heart be found safely in Him. Your body has a lamp. The eye. It’s how you navigate and interpret the world around you. If your eyes are good, you’re letting light in and you’re processing. I won’t walk into that wall because I see that there’s been a door cut out for me. Right? But if your eyes are bad, the rest of your body is going to suffer. You’re going to stub your toe. You’re going to go a lot more often. You’re going to bust your forehead on things like you wouldn’t if your eye was good. So it is with your mind. If your mind is corrupted, your eyes, your mind, if what you interpret, the things that go deeper than what you can see, how you interpret truth, what is truth, where does it come from, how you interpret those things, if that is corrupted, the rest of your body is going to suffer greatly. Don’t let the applaud and the praises of man and the lust of things corrupt your mind. Don’t do that. Because the rest of your body is going to perish. It’s going to suffer. You won’t know what is truth. You won’t know how you ought to speak, how you ought to act, how you ought to give, how you ought to pray, how you ought to sing, how you ought to worship. Because you’re corrupted. You can’t navigate like that.

Constantly assess yourself. Come to the Scriptures. Plead with God to give you a clear mind that you can be truthful when you come to the text. You allow it to search you and to know you, to reveal all the impure things, all the things that corrupt you. And it will do away with you. And it will do away with those things. And then you can properly do and speak and act and think in this world.

A corrupted eye cannot rightly serve God. You’ll only be serving yourself. I think everybody’s heard the expression, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, right? So those things are mutually exclusive. If I have my cake, and I eat it, I no longer have it. You can’t have it and eat it, right? So you can’t serve God and wealth. You can’t serve God and self. You can’t have two masters. And literally the word is to be a slave of. You can’t be a slave of two masters. Who’s your master?

There’s a song that puts it like this. Either rebellion or righteousness. Both lead to the inescapable mark of eternal life or death. Bound to sin or bound to obey. Either way, we’re both slaves. One kills, one saves. Who is your master?

Please, get that answer right. Your life depends on it. And not just this life. Your eternal soul depends on you having the right answer. And the right answer is Christ. Submit yourself to Him. His burden is light. His yoke is easy. Come to Him. Obey Him. Love Him. Cherish Him above all things.

And you will find a master that loves you. He gave His life for you. And He’ll never lose you, forsake you, or forget you.

Please, get the answer to that question right. Choose today who you’re going to serve. Pray with me.

Father, forgive us for when we serve ourselves. Even after having been shown. The magnitude of your love in sending your Son, Jesus, would humble Himself, be born as a man, live as a man, yet without sin, take our sin and His body on the cross, drink the full cup of your wrath for our sake, be buried in a tomb, and by your power be raised up over death, over sin, never to die again. Forgive us when we set that knowledge, that grace aside to indulge in ourselves for the praises of man, for the pleasures of things.

Lord, please search us, reveal to us all that is not of you. Lord, I pray that as we go out, even today, that you, in the way that you do it, oftentimes gently, but if we need it harshly, Lord, rebuke us. Your Word says that those whom you rebuke, you love, and they’re sons. So correct us, Lord. Don’t let us deceive ourselves and live lives as hypocrites.

Lord, we just thank You for who You are. We thank You for condescending, revealing Yourself to us, even in our rebellion. Your Word says that we were children of wrath. You’ve made us children of Yourself. You’ve adopted us in, cleaned us up and given us robes of righteousness. We thank You for this, Lord. So we just… We ask that You would be with us, us this week, Lord, that Your Spirit would be on and in and around us, that You would guard us from the wiles of the devil, Lord, that You would guard us from the temptations of our own flesh, that You would not let sin have dominion in our hearts, but that You would rule and reign, properly so, Lord, over us, Your church. In Jesus’ name, amen.