TRUTHS ABOUT REWARDS, GIVING AND PRAYER

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Matthew 6:1-8

Lesson #14
TRUTHS ABOUT REWARDS, GIVING AND PRAYER

• Memory verse: 1Timothy 2:8
• Review:
  • 6 ways to think like Christ:

Reference:	Example:	It’s not good enough to:	We must also:
Mat 5:21,22	Murder	Avoid killing	Avoid anger and hatred
Mat 5:23-26	Offerings	Offer regular gifts to God	Have right relationships with God and others
Mat 5:27-30	Adultery	Avoid adultery	Keep our hearts from lusting and be faithful
Mat 5:31-32	Divorce	Remain legally married	Live out our marriage commitments
Mat 5:33-37	Oaths	Make an oath	Avoid casual and irresponsible commitments to God and to others
Mat 38-47	Revenge	Seek justice for ourselves	Show mercy and love to others

• Read Mat 6:1-8 Rewards
  • Three times in Mat 6:1-18, Jesus refers to the reward for the Christian life. (4,6,18)
    • What should be one’s attitude toward rewards in the Christian life?
    • We should do the right thing for the sake of being good.
      • Virtue is its own reward.
      • We should do what’s right because of the reward we will receive.
  • Jesus’ attitude toward rewards was somewhere in the between these 2 viewpoints.
    • Rewards are often mentioned for living a noble Christian life. If we were not to consider them, God would not have placed them in the Bible.
    • However, obedience to God should be based on love and not based on expected rewards. (Joh 14:15)
  • Some obvious facts about rewards:
    • It is an obvious rule of life that any action which achieves nothing is futile and meaningless.
    • A Christian life with no goals and no joy in obtaining them is a meaningless life.
    • Paul talks a lot about running the race of the Christian life to obtain the goal.
    • God, therefore, rewards attitudes and actions that are important to Him so that we may understand His standards.
    • To ignore all rewards and punishments spoken of in the Bible denies our need for a savior.
    • If there are no rewards and no punishments, then it doesn’t matter how you live, and Christ came for nothing.
      • In fact, God does care how we live and sent Jesus so that we might obtain a better life.
      • Jesus’ perspective on rewards:
        • When Jesus spoke about rewards, he was not talking about material rewards.
        • Jesus taught that the highest reward never comes to the man who is seeking it.
        • Therefore, the motive should never be the reward but love.
  • Some Christian rewards:
    • Satisfaction (Mat 25:21)
    • More work to do (Mat 25:14-30)
    • Greater and greater responsibility is given to him who is faithful.
    • The vision of God
    • The faithful grow closer to God in nearness and in wisdom of God’s ways. God reveals his secrets to the faithful. (Amo 3:7)
    • Crowns at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (1Cor 9:25, 2Tm 4:8 Jam 1:12)
  • Acts worthy of reward:
    • Giving, prayer, and fasting
      • To the Jews these three areas of life were the basis of a good life.
      • Jesus does not say there is anything wrong with having these three things in your life. He is only concerned about your motives for including them in your life.
        • He says that to do them with the wrong motives produces a material reward immediately reaped.
        • Three times He says “truly I say to you, they have their reward.” (6:2,5,16)
        • In other words, they have been paid in full.
    • Giving to others: (1-4)
      • To the Jew, almsgiving was the most sacred of all religious duties, the highest form of good works.
      • They used the same Hebrew word, tzedakah, for righteousness and for almsgiving.
    • Giving with the wrong motive (the way of the hypocrites): The word hypocrite is used to describe people who do good actions for appearances only.
      • Giving to demonstrate your own generosity to impress people as to your goodness.
      • Giving to gain the admiration of others to impress people as to your wealth (prestige).
      • Giving to gain the world’s possessions or power to put people in bondage to pay you back in some way.
      • Giving out of a sense of duty with an attitude of resentment.
      • Giving material things to keep from giving of yourself.
    • The Jewish practice of giving: (2)
      • The wealthy priests would enter the temple area and have a trumpet sounded so that everyone would turn to see what was happening.
      • Then he would give to the poor.
    • Giving with the right motive:
      • Giving because your love is so great that you can’t help but give.
      • Anonymous giving is the best way to give. (4)
  • Prayer: (5-8)
    • The Jews had a higher ideal of prayer than other nations. Judaism ranked prayer higher than any other religion.
    • The Jewish problem with prayer:
      • Prayer became formalized
      • The “shema“, consisted of 3 short passages of scripture: (Deu 6:4-9; 11:13-21 Num 15:37-41). It had to be recited by every Jew every morning and every evening.
        • Vain repetition loses its meaning .
        • Prayers were specific formulas:

A specific prayer was designed for every event in life with the intention that everything that happened in life would be brought into the presence of God.

The thought is if you didn’t repeat the right prayer at the right time, God didn’t hear it.

• • • • • Prayer was offered at specific times of day:

All Jews were to prayer at 9 a.m. 12 noon and 3p.m. no matter where they were.

It was easy to arrange your schedule so that you would be in a conspicuous place when prayer time came.

• • • • • Prayer was connected to specific places:

They thought the synagogue and the temple were places where God especially heard prayers.

They thought God did not hear the prayers of Jews outside the Promised Land.

• • • • • Lengthy prayers were better than short ones: They thought that a long prayer meant greater devotion to God.
        • Prayer chants: The use of prayer chants became a form of self-hypnotism.

They consisted of prayer words and repetitions.

Eloquent words and titles for God were important to get God to listen so that one thought more of how he prayed than what he prayed.

• • • • • Prayer positions: They always prayed with hands stretched out, palms upwards, and head bowed.
    • Jesus view of prayer:
      • Jesus stated two rules for prayer:
        • =1= All true prayer must be offered to God.

Like the Jewish practice, prayer today is often offered to men and not to God.

This means that you must have a personal relationship to God, and that you desire God’s will regarding the matter.

• • • • • =2= The pray-er must remember that God is a God of love who is more willing to answer your prayers than you are to pray them.

It does not matter what words you use.

It does not matter when you pray.

It does not matter what physical position you use.

It does not matter where you are when you pray.

• • • • Prayer should be communication from your heart to the heart of God.

Homework

Matthew 6:9-15

• Application of Mat 6:1-8
  • Examine your motives for giving. Which motives and attitudes need changing?
    • What can you do this week to change your motives and attitudes in giving?
    • Examine your motives for praying. Which motives and attitudes need changing?
    • What can you do this week to change your motives and attitudes in your prayer life?
• Preparation for Mat 6:9-15 The model prayer
  • Read Mat 6:9-15. Jesus said this prayer to teach his disciples to pray.
    • What do you learn about prayer from the following sections of this model prayer?
      • Verses 9-10
      • Verses 11-13
    • On what condition is the forgiveness of your sins based?
• Memory verse: Psalms 5:2