3/22/2014
A Philosophy to Live By
Religious Observances
Matthew 6:1-18
The Sinful Nature Loves Self-Promotion
Matthew 6:1-4 Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Giving Should be a Private Act
Matthew 6:1-4 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Proverbs 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Public Prayer Must Have True Motive
Matthew 6:5-8 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. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Private Prayer is Powerful
Matthew 6:5-8 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, Who is unseen. Then your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
The Lord’s Prayer
Acknowledge
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Forgiveness Frees You
Matthew 6:14-15 If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Personal Religious Observance Is Between You & God
Matthew 6:16-18 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.