Giving and In Prayer by Brother Duke Hansen

         This morning we will be reading from the book of Matthew chapter 6. We will start at the 1st verse. Jesus is still giving the Sermon on the Mount in this passage and is speaking about giving. Giving of one's time or money or to others in need is unnatural to man's flesh.

        Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

        When Jesus speaks of reward in this verse, it isn't what most people think of when you mention the name of reward. Usually most people think of a large sum of money from winning the jackpot of the lottery. A principle that you need to remember this morning is Don't take God's patience with you as acceptance of you and your life. 

        2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

        God's righteousness and our self righteousness are two different things. Sometimes we are blind to things, faults, sin in our life because of our own self righteousness. 

        3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

        4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

        In these first four verses Jesus is laying out the structure to giving correctly, and then beginning in verse 5 he begins to move towards prayer.

        5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

        6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.

        There is always a bit of confusion in talking about prayer. Some people don't know how to go about it. Then you have people who do know, but, they don't have a discernment in the spirit. When you are praying about something or someone, and then you get a confirmation from either in a sermon or in a word, you really need to open your ears and pay attention.

        7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

        Touching upon vain repetitions for a second. If you say the same type of prayer every time enough times you will quit praying. Quoting scripture over and over is vain repetition. Prayer isn't some old chant nor is it an incantation, prayer is a conversation. 

        8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father know what things ye have need of, before you ask him.

        There are many things which the Bible categorizes and in the subject of prayer there are three things you pray about. 1) What you want 2) What you need and 3) What you care about. It is very important to know when you go to God in prayer you keep these separate. If you confuse say a want as a need before God, your prayer falls on deaf ears. Now we will move into the heart of the message this morning with verse 9.

        9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

        Any prayer before God you give, the first thing in that should be reverence. God is worthy and we are not. You should begin in worship before him in your prayer closet and many of us don't know how to. Some think worship at home is silly or ridiculous. Others may think it's unnatural to show your emotions. In fact, so many think that visible emotions are a sign of weakness that the only emotion they feel comfortable in showing is anger. They can hide or mask any trace of other emotion. God inhabits the praise of his people. We understand that worship is a natural and carnal thing in a spiritual bind. We are recognizing the power and lifting up God's name is powerful.

        Now, here's something I know many of you will find offense to this morning. Your anger is usually tied to your selfish nature. It is easier to pray for others than to subject your own flesh under the word. Self control is torture for the flesh, and it is beneficial for the spirit.

        10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

        When you are trying to figure out the will of God on your own, that may tie you in knots. Many are on an unending quest trying to figure out the will of God in their life because they are only operating with their wits and knowledge. If you want to really want to know the will of God in your life, the solution is simple. You need to read the Bible daily. Here's another statement which may bother you this morning. The will of God is for you to be a steward over what is given to you. To manage that to the best of your ability. It isn't obtaining wealth nor status among men. Live in equity. Daniel had a prophecy about how God will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. It will break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms. Chapter 2 and verse 44 of Daniel. This was fulfilled at the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God was broken into pieces and given to the people. If you turn and read Acts chapter 10, you will see the account of Cornelius the centurion. The scripture is filled with revelations and reveals from the Old Testament to New. 

        So when you are saying thy kingdom come as in verse 10, you are asking the Holy Spirit to come, to move on situations here in your life. 

        11 Give us this day our daily bread.

        Most of us don't live day to day in our life. Many of us have known that life. Many of us also live week to week.

        12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

        Here's another statement to make your flesh bristle. You are not without fault. You have done people wrong in life maybe more than than people doing wrong in your life. If you are still carrying around the weight of that hurt, the burden on your back, you are not going to let God be close to you. Your selfish nature is still in charge and not Him. God wants you to lay it down before him and walk away. When the analogy of a refiners fire being used on gold in scripture, it is removing the impurities on the gold to be removed. The impurities in our life come out of our mouth and many times we don't think that we are doing any wrong.

        13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us form evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever, Amen.

        To this day Jesus has never tempted anyone nor anything. Jesus will place obstacles in front of you to determine where you stand in your walk. Temptation is a lure off your path and into sin. Go over to the book of James chapter 1. James is particularly hard book which Christians have difficulty with. All things that are good come from God.

        14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you:

        15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

        Of all the things we have brought up in this sermon which is hurtful and inflicts pain to our flesh, these last two verses are maybe the hardest to sit with. Forgiveness of not only others but really ourself is something some people never can fully get through in their life. Forgiveness has nothing to do about what is fair or right and wrong. If you have been faulted or wronged, even egregiously so, Go to God and forgive him.

        Look at the moment Jesus was in the Garden shortly before his death and the Romans came up with Judas to arrest Jesus. Peter struck out and in anger at the soldiers and in frustration because Jesus was going to be taken away. Peter cut off the high priest's servant Malchus ear off and yet he wasn't arrested by the soldiers. You can go to both the book of Luke and John for that story. Men like those soldiers follow orders every day. God wants us to follow him instead of our selfish nature. 

        We have no problem in transposing our toxic thoughts, bitterness, and hate on to others. It doesn't matter if its a co-worker, spouse, family member. We do this unconsciously. We have difficulty transposing burdens to God. It's instructed to lay the burdens at God's feet, but even this morning despite several of you agreeing to that statement, you're still hesitant to leave them with God. The reason for this is because if you give it to God, you have to be willing to submit to him and take him wherever you go. When all else fails, you move back to praise and begin again.

        How do you release things in your flesh? Many do it by yelling and screaming. That hardly ever works though because the pain is still there. Ask yourself why are you designed to cry? On your knees and surrender to God. How can we be just fine standing in the midst of hell and seeking to hear from God?

        When God sees faith rise in you, when your raising up in worship giving him the glory, he moves for you. This pleases him to the point he will move mountains for you, to heal your broken spirit. Transposing your bitterness on others is quite easy for your carnal man. Laying that hate and releasing it to God is difficult when you are ignorant of the word.