Building in SecretMatthew 6:1-8
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 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. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Key Points: 1) If you do things in public for the reason of being noticed, then that's all you get! 2) If you do things in secret, God will notice and it will be rewarded. 3) Jesus expects his followers to build in secret. 4) What you build in secret will be manifest in public or what you treasure in your heart, what you prioritise in your internal world, will be what people see, hear and experience. Prov 23:7 As a man thinks in his heart, so he is. Matt 12:35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. The challenge for followers of Jesus today is to make time where we are building in secret. It needs to be a priority because our world needs to see and experience the supernatural touch of God and we are called to manifest Him to them. We need to be building in secret our relationship with God so we know him, are aware of his presence and we can manifest Him. Psalm 23:1-3 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Key Points: 1) God has everything we need to live our lives as He designed us - we lack nothing. 2) He wants refresh, renew, restore, revive, lead and feed us. How aware are we of God's absolute provision for our every need? What would it feel like to be led in peace and provision? If we build in secret this kind of awareness of God, then we will live out of that and bring the supernatural touch to the world that results in true, God-honouring impact and influence. Comments are closed.
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July 2016
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