#12 Jesus Warns His Disciples About Inherent Danger in Religious Acts

Matthew 6:1-18

1. Matthew 6:1 says, ““Be careful not to practice your righteousness for others to see. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

a. The Greek word for “Be careful” is prosecho. Prosecho consists of two words, which are pros andecho. Echo means to have or to hold. Pros means before. The point in Greek is, “make sure you always hold this danger in front of you when you are serving God.)

1) The word prosecho means to “be on guard against” an enemy. The enemy is the combined forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

2) So, always remember when you are doing any act of righteousness, focus on this warning. When you serve God, serve God. He is your priority. Serve Him while knowing that He wants you to also serve people.

3) God will reward you in Heaven, but He will not reward you if your main thrust is serving others instead of serving God.

4) In practice, you will find that your mind switches between serving God and serving other people. This is normal if you do not exclude God from your thinking.

5) Pray that your service will be acceptable to God.

b. “If you perform your service to God to get other people to think you are some great thing, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.”

1) The Greek word translated “reward” is misthon.

a) God uses it in Matthew 5:12 as follows:

b) “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

c) So, persecution for unjust suffering yields great reward in Heaven. It is enough reward to rejoice and be extremely glad that someone persecuted you. You had enough faith to give a good testimony in the face of persecution.

d) God uses misthon in Matthew 5:46 as a reward for loving your enemies. This, you do by faith, realizing that God wants you to do good to your enemies. So, rewards are for faith. And great rewards are for extraordinarily strong faith.

e) It is a great comfort to a Christian that God gives rewards in Heaven for whatever we do by faith on earth. And even on this earth, God rewards us with growth as Christians if we trust Him.

f) John 10:12 says, “The “hired hand” is not the shepherd, and the hired shepherd does not own the sheep.” The words “hired hand’ translate the word misthotos. The misthotos shepherd does not care for the sheep. He is the same one as the public display person in Matthew 6 verse 1.

g) Jesus says, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. 41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42).

h) So, God rewards us as if we were prophets, if we simply receive a prophet in the name of Christ.” We receive God’s people by faith, and God rewards our faith.

i) The last part of Matthew 6:2 says, “Truly I tell you; they already have their full reward.” We must not crave the reward that men give or that we give to ourselves. If we do, our Lord certifies to us that we have already received our reward. Who would you rather reward you in Heaven, the world or God? The world will not even be there.

c. There are three specific areas in which, we, when we do them, must be on our guard. They are:

1) Watch out for danger when you give alms or give to the poor (Matthew 6:2-4).

2) Watch out for danger when you pray (Matthew 6:5-15).

3) Watch out for danger when you fast (Matthew 6:16-18).

d. In Matthew 6:1 our Lord uses the words, “before men.” Jesus exposes Pharisee righteousness as unrighteousness.

1) Pharisee virtue was theatrical. Their great motivation for doing good things was in the phrase “to be seen.” The Greek word for “to be seen” is theathenai, which is the word from which we derive the English word “theater.”

2) Whatever Pharisees did was for the admiration of others.

3) Display was the leading feature of a Pharisee’s life.

4) But Christians should be examples. Part of what we do is to let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:16).

5) So, we must know when to show our good works and when not to.

TABULAR VIEW OF WHEN TO SHOW OUR GOOD WORKS AND WHEN NOT TO SHOW

The general rule	Show your good works when Satan tempts you to hide them. Hide your good works when Satan tempts you to show them.
Show your good works	Show your good works when you are not pretending (Mark 12:39-40).
	Show when you are not satisfying your personal desires (Luke 20:46-47).
	When showing your good works is not an excuse for sinning. (John 15:22).
Show your good works when it is	Show your good works when it is obedience to God (Acts 4:20)
	Show your good works when it is an extreme circumstance, like when Paul’s opponents drive him to boasting (displaying) (2 Corinthians 12:1)
	Show your good works for God’s glory when your opponents drive you to boasting (displaying) (1 Corinthians 10:31).

2. Matthew 6:2-4 says, “So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

a. When you do alms, avoid the pattern of the hypocrites (Matthew 6:2).

1) Hypocrites are religious actors. The word “hypocrite” comes from a Greek word that means to speak from under a mask, like in ancient Greek theaters.

2) Trumpets [announce a great matter.]

3) People often gave charities at the temple, in synagogues, and in the streets, giving them openly.

4) Rewards of the Apostles and Disciples:

a) God rewards houses 100-1 (Matthew 19:28-29).

b) God gives rewards of high positions (Matthew 19:28; Luke 19:17-19).

c) God rewards with greatness in the Kingdom (Matthew 5:19; 20:21-26), simply for doing and teaching His commandments (Matthew 5:19).

d) God rewards with greatness in the Kingdom, simply for humility and service (Matthew 20:21-24; 23:12). Do not think that you must be a star to get great rewards.

b. Give your alms in secret (Matthew 6:3-4).

1) Jesus personifies your hands. Do not let either hand know what the other is doing.

2) Give with simplicity

a) Free from guile (innocent giving).

b) Free from vanity (modest giving).

c) Free from display (aware that God knows and that is all you need. Give for God’s glory.

d) Free from complication (simple giving).

c. The one who gives the reward is:

1) “Your Father,” who is the author of salvation and rewards.

2) He is the One who shows you paternal affection. He loves you.

3) He is the one who sees in secret. He knows you.

4) Psalm 139:1-4 says, “O LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. 3You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways. 4Even before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, O LORD.”

d. God our Father rewards us openly. He will show what He knows about us. He knows our motives as well as our actions.

e. Principles and applications:

1) Giving requires the power of God as does every act of service to God.

2) The power of God functions as we function on God’s viewpoint in faith.

3) A religious actor denies the omniscience of God.

4) The key to proper motives is to cultivate a sense of the all- knowing God.

3. Matthew 6:5-8 says, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 6But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

7And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

a. When you pray (Matthew 6:5).

1) Do not be like the hypocrites (actors).

2) They love to pray; they do it with pleasure if they can do it in public.

a) Standing in Synagogues

b) Standing at corners of broad streets, where men gather for talk and for business.

3) Other loves of religious people: Matthew 23:6-7 says, “They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, 7the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.” They have an insatiable desire for prominence.

4) This is the reward of religion.

b. Jesus warns us to take drastic measures to focus on God (Matthew 6:6).

1) The distraction originates in our own desires.

2) One measure we must take is secrecy from everyone but God.

a) Go into your inner room where no one can see you but God.

b) Close your door so you are alone with God.

c) Speak to your Heavenly Father and speak to no one else.

3) Another measure we must take is to remember that our Father sees us and hears us though we pray in secret. This is the prayer of faith. We trust Him that He sees and hears us when we pray to Him. If we pray while trusting Him, we know He will reward us with answered prayer if we pray in His will.

4) If we pretend that God answered our prayer when He did not answer it, we use the name of Yahweh in vain.

c. Jesus warns us to avoid the pattern of the pagans (Matthew 6:7-8). Not only are Pharisee prayers sinful, but also pagan prayers are sinful. We must avoid both.

1) Do not babble on like the pagans who think that God will hear them. “For they think that by their many words they will be heard.”

2) If you have faith, you know that God hears you. You do not have to yell. But it helps to cry out to God. He wants to see your fervency.

3) An example of how not to pray is 1 Kings 18:26, which says, “And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” These prophets of Baal were shouting to the false god for 3 hours, trying to wake him up or get him to come back from the outhouse. But our God hears our prayers. The prayer of faith is the prayer of the one who believes that God hears, cares, can answer, and wants to help us.

4) Another example of useless repetitions is in Acts 19:24, “But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’” This was like a group of people chanting in a riot. God is not impressed. He wants faith and wants us to show that we have it.

d. What true prayer takes for granted is in Matthew 6:8 which says, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

1) He is your Father. He knows and He cares.

2) He knows what you need before you ask Him. God is near us. He sees us. He can read our minds. He knows what is best for us. He knows what His will is for us.

a) Someone may ask, “Why is this not a deterrent to prayer?” ‘Why should I pray if God knows what I am going to say anyway?

b) The answer is that Scripture (God’s Word,) teaches that God foreordains our prayers, and He foreordains His answers to them. But we are not God. It is not our place to dictate to God. The Bible also teaches the efficacy of prayer.

c) It is not our place to tell God that we are not going to pray because He has foreordained our prayer and the answer. We are not on God’s level. We do not tell Him how to run creation. He tells us what to do. You simply must know your place.

d) Suppose you train your dog to beg for food. And then the dog refuses and tells you that you are going to feed him anyway. Will you get rid of the dog because it is rebellious? Maybe.

e) The point is that the question in a) above, is a rebellious question. And you can see that, if you put yourself in the place of an owner of a rebellious dog.

f) Any subordinate needs to apply for assistance and guidance.

g) If God were to predict that you would live another 50 years, would you quit eating to prove to Him that He was incorrect? It is foolish to play games with God like that. God evaluates us, but we are not allowed to evaluate God.

h) God has personal concern for all nature and governs all His creatures.

e. Other teachings on prayer:

1) God loves humankind and is concerned for us.

2) The conditions of acceptable prayer are:

a) We must be sincere (Matthew 6:6-7). We cannot treat God like He is a force or a vending machine. He is our Father. That means He is a Person. He knows He exists. He knows what He ought to do. He does what He ought to do. He cares for you. It is vitally important to treat God as your Heavenly Father. You must be sincere with Him.

b) We must be reverent toward God. Read the Book of Psalms. It is not only a book of songs; it is also a book of prayers. Psalms never forgets who God is.

c) Notice how Paul respects God. Ephesians 1:17 says, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.”

d) We must pray with importunity. Importunity means to press or urge with troublesome persistence.

e) While we do not pray with dizzying repetitions like pagans, God does expect us to keep knocking at His door, often with the same request. Since He wants us to keep asking, we understand His purpose in this to be:

• That we repeat our request, which helps us to appreciate the value of the thing for which we ask.

• That we develop a godly desire. Requests made over time help us to pray more sanctified prayers.

• That we show our faith and patience. One of God’s purposes in delaying His answer to our prayers, is to train us to be submissive.

• Jesus says to pray like a man who keeps knocking at his neighbor’s door in an emergency (Luke 11:8).

f) Jesus in Gethsemane gives us a good example of submissive prayer.

• His first prayer “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) Some people pray as if there is no will of God at all, only theirs.

• His second prayer “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42). Now He does not request the removal of the cup. He is more resigned to God’s will for Him to die on the cross, with His Father cursing Him for our sins. Prayer is a learning experience. He asks first, “May this cup pass from me?” Then He prays, “if it is not possible … may your will be done”

• His third prayer “So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.” (Matthew 26:44)

• So, our Lord learned to submit to God’s will for Him to die on the cross for our sins. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Son, though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered” NIV

• First, He asked, “if possible, let this cup pass from me but may your will be done. Second, He prayed, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may your will be done. Third, He repeated the second prayer of submission. As He taught persistent prayer, thus He prayed. Now He, having already won the battle in prayer, is ready for the cross.

• Can you pray like that? May God help us all to do it.

g) Moses prays with God’s glory in mind. Deuteronomy 9:26-28 says, “O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people and the wickedness of their sin. 28Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’”

h) The model prayer - Matthew 6:9-13 says, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.10Your kingdom come.

Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread.12And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13And do not lead

us into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” NKJV

1) The address is “Our Father in Heaven.”

a) The form is quite simple. Our prayers should be simple prayers, not like the Pharisees.

b) Contrast to pagan prayer:

Pagan prayer needed much speaking and pestering to get the ear of their gods. Their gods were indifferent, capricious, unrighteous, unloving deities. 1 Corinthians 10:20 says, “No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God.” It is the same with their prayers.

2) Other addresses to God in the Bible:

a) Lord save us (Matthew 8:25; 14:30).

b) Lord of the Harvest (Matthew 9:38)

c) Father Abraham (Luke 16:30) Note that an unsaved man incorrectly prayed to a saint.

d) Jesus, master (Luke 17:13)

e) Sovereign Lord (Acts 4:24)

f) Who are you, Lord (Acts 9:5)?

g) Father, Lord of Heaven, and earth (Matthew 11:25)

h) O, my Father (Matthew 26:42).

i) My God, My God (Matthew 27:46).

j) Father forgive them (Luke 23:34).

k) Father into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46).

l) Father glorify your name (John 12:27-28).

m) Father (John 17:1)

3) Proper address for normal prayer

a) To the Father (John 16:23) with or without stating His attributes. Ephesians 2:18 says, “For through Him [Christ Jesus], we both have access to the Father [God the Father] by one Spirit [The Holy Spirit.”]

b) In the name of the Son – in His authority. (“through Him, through the Lord Jesus Christ)

c) By the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). The Trinity is in Ephesians 2:18.

TABULAR VIEW OF THE SIX PETITIONS IN THE MODEL PRAYER

First three petitions	Second three petitions
Prayer for the interests of God	Prayer for the personal needs of man
Petition #1, #2, and #3	Petition #4, #5, and #6
#1 May your name be hallowed	#4 Give us this day our daily bread.
#2 May your kingdom come	#5 Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. .
#3 May your will be done on earth as in Heaven	#6 Lead us not into testing but deliver us from the evil one.

• This prayer is truly short.

• It gives top priority and equal time to God. The first three requests are something for God.

• Note: This guarantees that the personal requests are in His will.

• It is a systematic prayer. It shows meditation.

d) Petition #1 “Hallowed be your Name.” God’s name refers to His authority, character, rank, majesty, power, and excellence.

• Luke 1:49 says, “for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”

• John 12:28 says, “Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”

• John 17:6 says, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

• Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.”

e) Matthew 6:9 says, Hallowed be your Name.” “Hallowed” is the Greek hagiazo, which means “holy,” or “Sanctify.” So, the meaning is: May people treat your name as holy. Hagiazo (holy) means, to honor Him in His authority, character, rank, majesty, power, and excellence. Honor Him for all of this.

f) Petition #2 – May your kingdom come.

• For God’s kingdom see Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 11:12; 20:21; 26:29.

•  The Rabbis said – There is no prayer in which there is no mention of the kingdom.

• The Kingdom includes the King (Jesus Christ) and whatever or whoever His gifts, energies, and graces dominate.

•  The coming of that kingdom is its advancement into the old creation.

• It is Christ Jesus claiming portions of Adam’s race as His own. It is a prayer to the “Lord of the harvest” to claim His own. When we pray this, we pray for evangelism and the salvation of souls.

g) Petition #3 – Your will be done on earth as in Heaven.

• Prayer appeals to God to do His will with no hindrance from sinful man.

• “Let be done” is the imperative of ginomai. It is an appeal to God to bring about His will in the world.

• There are phases of the will of God:

• God’s will of purpose (His secret will) is in (Psalm 135:6; Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:27-28; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:28-30; Romans 9:15-18; Ephesians 1:11).

• Psalm 106:15 says, ‘So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.” This is the permissive will of God which you do not want. Be careful to pray for what God wants you to have.

• God’s revealed will, which is what He tells us in His Word. (Romans 12:1).

• God uses prayer to bring about His will. God helps men to obey Him (Ephesians 2:10).

• The standard is: “On earth as in Heaven.” Think of Heaven in eternity past. Then think of God planning to create heavens and earth. Then think of God telling Adam and Eve that His will is that they must not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, after Adam sinned, God banished them from the Garden of Eden. All these are facets in His multifaceted will.

TABULAR VIEW OF THE MULTIFACETED WILL OF GOD

Before Creation	God plans to create Heaven and Earth	This is His Secret Will. He predestines the universe’s existence.
After Creation	God tells Adam & Eve that His will for them is not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.	This is His Revealed Will. It is what He reveals to us that we must do.
After they sin	God banishes Adam & Eve from the Garden of Eden.	This is His punitive will.
We ask for sinful things	God gives us the desire of our hearts but sends leanness to our soul. (Psalm 106:15).	This is His permissive will, which no one wants after receiving it.

h) Petition #4 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

• Bread is food in general, or the necessary food of life to sustain man.

• Daily bread is literally “our ongoing bread.” It is bread that suffices us for today and takes us into the next day. But it is not prayer for tomorrow’s bread.

• The principle is that all our food comes from God. God uses our prayers to supply our needs. Today we do not need tomorrow’s bread, just today’s bread. We know that God, will supply all our need for tomorrow.

i) Petition #5 is “Forgive us our debts.” The Greek word for debts is opheile It means “what is owed.” Luke 11:4 uses the word “sins,”[1] for which the Greek is hamartias.

•  The Greek word for “forgive” is the aorist active imperative form of aphiemi, which means “to send away” or to cancel a debt. See this usage in Matthew 18:27.

• The condition in Matthew 6:12, 14, 15 is, if we forgive others.

• Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.”

• Matthew 18:27 says, “His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.” If someone cancels your debt, it costs him the amount of the debt. When God forgives us our sins, it costs Him death, which is the wages of sin. He paid it all in the person of His only begotten Son.

• But we must also forgive others. Matthew 18:32-34 says, “Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.”

j) Petition #6 – Deliver us from temptation. Matthew 6:13 says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

• The Greek word for temptation is peirasmon. It means testing. Deliver us from testing. Scripture uses it for either a solicitation to good, or a solicitation to evil.

• Solicitation to good. James 1:2 translates it “trials.” It says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter “trials” of many kinds,” God always desires that we respond to trials properly.

• Solicitation to evil. The Bible translates peirasmos as “temptation” in Luke 4:13, which says, “When the devil had finished every “temptation,” he left Him until an opportune time. Satan always desires that we sin during trials. He solicits us to evil, which is another way of saying, he tempts us.

• So, when God is the one who is trying us, He is assessing us to prove that we are His children.

• But when the devil is testing us, his goal is to prove that we are evil like he is.

k) The controller of the trial is God. That is why we pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” God sovereignly deals out the trials.

• That is why we pray to Him to “Lead us not into trials.”

• God always limits our trials and tribulations. The devil tries to amplify them.

• God always provides the way out. We must believe in miracles.

l) The source of all trials is the evil one, the devil. When we ask God to deliver us from evil, we are asking Him to deliver us from the evil one, Satan.

m) There are three stages of trials: before the trial, during the trial, and after the trial.

TABULAR VIEW OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THE THREE STAGES OF ALL TRIALS

Stage of Trial	Tactic of the Christian
Before the Trial	Pray for a hedge around us and deliverance from the evil one (Matthew 6:13).
	Recognize existing protection (Romans 8:26-27; Job 1:6-11).
	Remember that trials are not strange (1 Peter 4:12).
	Prepare for testing (1 Peter 3:15).[1]
During the trial	Diagnose God’s purpose in the trial, which is growth and glory (Romans 5:3-5; 8:28).
	Maintain good attitudes (1 Peter 3:9-11).
	Hold up under the trial (1 Corinthians 10:13).
	Trust the One who opens doors (1 Corinthians 10:13).
	Count it all joy (James 1:2).
	Give thanks and pray (Philippians 4:6).
	Focus on your hope, your inheritance, and your power (Ephesians 1:18-19).
After the trial	Rejoice in the maturity that the trial brought to you (2 Corinthians 11:30).[2]
	Praise God that the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are His forever. (Matthew 6:13) NKJV No testing is greater than His power.

4. Matthew 6:16-18 says, “When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

a. When you fast do not be like the hypocrites.

1) The hypocrites fasted with a sad countenance. They looked gloomy and had sad eyes.

2) A religious actor tries to appear melancholy to call attention to himself.

3) They disfigure their faces. The Greek word for disfigure is aphanizo, which means “to disappear,” or to make something unsightly.

4) The example is putting ashes on one’s face on Ash Wednesday, as a sign of mourning and spirituality.

5) The motive is usually that men may see them fasting. They want people to think of them as pious.

b. Anoint your head and wash your face (Matthew 6:17)

c. Watch your motives (Matthew 6:18).

d. Cater to your Father, who is the one who knows, and the one who rewards.

e. Learn principles from this":

1) When we fast, we must treat God as a real Person, more important than anyone. Cater to what He sees, not what man sees.

2) When all you have is a system, artificial gloom is inevitable.

3) It is valid to avoid inner sin by using outer precautions.

4) The fact that God is “Father” demands sincerity from us.

5. Other facts about fasting

a. God considers breaking the chains of legalism more important than ceremonial fasting. Isaiah 58:6 says, “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?”

b. God told Isaiah to tell the Israelites that He was disgusted with their fasting. They were doing ceremonial fasting. God told them that He chose the best fasting for the Jews, which was no longer oppressing the Jewish people through legalism.

c. Fasting is a form of self-denial. David fasts, sleeps on the ground, does not change his clothes, hoping God will have mercy on him due to his misery over his son’s sickness (2 Samuel 12:16-20)

d. So, fasting is a form of seeking God’s compassion to avert a calamity (1 Kings 21:27-29).[1] Moses fasted (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9). Daniel fasted (Daniel 9:3, 20). Fasting originates due to spiritual needs that only God can satisfy.

e. Jesus teaches us to deny ourselves, accept our cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). The true kind of fasting is to do without things to bring people to repentance for the glory of God.

f. Isaiah 58:7 says, “Is it (fasting) not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

1) The greatest form of fasting is to be part of the great missionary endeavor.

2) The best kind of bread to provide for people is spiritual bread, namely, Christ.

3) Pharisees elevated the minor things of the law above the major things, such as judgment, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23).

NOTES

[1] Delayed answer to prayer is a form of suffering, by which we grow as Christians. Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

[2] Luke 11:8 says, “I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

[3] Matthew 11:12 says, “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” NLT

[9] Luke 11:4 says, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

[10] 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,”

[11] 2 Corinthians 11:30 says, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Paul believed that when he was weak, he was then strong.

[12] 1 Kings 21:27-29 says, “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly. “28Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 29“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity during his days, but I will bring it upon his house in the days of his son”