Follow Jesus In All Things

We're going to jump into the Word today. Make sure you download the Refuge app if you've not done so already. The notes are always there for you, as they are this morning, if you're joining us maybe for the first time or you're watching online for the first time. We're in a series entitled Mature Audiences Only. We really Believe.

I feel so stirred that the Lord is calling us deeper in our relationship with him. And it's time, it's such an important time that we are not content to just be Christians. But we have to long to be true disciples of Jesus. We have to long to be those who go deeper in our relationship with him. And we're talking about what that looks like, and we're talking about what that really means.

We're looking today in Matthew, chapter 7, verse 24 through 27. If you have your device or Bible there, would you stand to honor the word of God? And as you do, I just. I want to welcome all of our brothers and sisters that are watching via the Pando app today. We're so glad to have you joining us as well.

Jesus says these words in Matthew, chapter 7, verse 24. Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. Like a person who builds a house on a rock. Though the rain comes and torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish.

Like a person who builds a house on sand when the rains come. Not if, but when the rains come and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Come on, church, make some declarations with me this morning before you're seated. Everybody together. You ready?

Go. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This word is life to my body and health to my bones. I will be a doer of the Word.

And I am confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in me will complete it. In Jesus name. Amen. You can be seated. So, as I mentioned, we're in this series, and we're basing this largely off of a document that our pastors created back in 2020 to define spiritual maturity, to define what true disciples look like.

And there's five things on that, and we're going to eventually get to all five of them. But we're still on point number one, which says that mature believers are. Are those who die to self and death to self. Is indicated by certain things. Death to self is indicated by those who obey the love commands of Jesus.

Specifically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Those who die to self are ones who build bridges with unbelievers. We find ways to connect with them. We've talked about that.

Those who died itself are those who live the blessed life according to the Sermon on the Mount. And that's where we've been for the last few weeks. We talked about the Beatitudes. Last week we walked together through chapter five of Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount. Today we're going to walk through chapter six, just an exegetical look at Matthew chapter six.

And we're going to have to hustle to get through these entire chapter, just like we did last week. I love what Oswald Chambers says about the Sermon on the Mount. He says this. I'll put it in your notes. The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal.

It is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like his own. Basically, what that means to me is that we cannot do this on our own outside of closeness and intimacy with him. But as Paul said, it's Christ in me, the hope of glory, Christ in me. The closer we get to him, the more his disposition takes over our lives and allows us to live out the righteous life described by Jesus in Matthew chapter five, Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter seven. And we said last week, Matthew, chapter five is all about relationships.

Matthew chapter six. What we're looking at today is about responsibility. What is our responsibility to the poor? What's our responsibility in prayer? What's our responsibility in forgiving other people?

And then Matthew chapter seven really deals with our response to what Jesus has said. And that's what we're going to tackle next week. So we're looking at Matthew, chapter six, beginning in verse one through four, Jesus says, watch out. Don't do your deeds publicly to be admired by others, for you'll lose your reward from your Father in heaven when you give to someone in need and notice. And I'll point this out a couple more times, Jesus didn't say, if you give to somebody in need, he's speaking to disciples.

He's speaking to those who were believers at that time. And it was an assumption on the part of Jesus that true disciples, they were going to take care of the poor. It wasn't going to be optional for them. So that's why he says, when you give to someone in need, don't do it as the hypocrites do, blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity. I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward that they will ever get.

But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father who sees every everything will reward you. Here are the takeaways from those verses of Scripture. You ready? Number one.

A right response done with wrong motives results in lost rewards. Let me say it again. A right response done with wrong motives results in lost rewards. Listen to me, Church. Motives matter.

Motives matter. Say that with me. Motives matter. Number two. We have the responsibility to help those that are in need to meet the needs.

Jesus said, when you give to somebody in need. Number three, we choose the reward that we will receive. Let me explain. If we do acts of kindness and if we meet the needs of those who are poor in order to draw attention to ourselves, Jesus makes it clear you get your reward, but you're choosing a reward here on the earth. In other words, the reward is that you'll receive the applause of men.

And your reward is very temporary and your reward is very superficial. But if you do acts of kindness to please the Father, we receive the affirmation of heaven. I don't know what you would rather have. Temporary applause of men. Recognition from those.

And that's what the Pharisees were seeking. That's why they would do these acts of kindness and really draw attention to themselves. Because it felt good in the moment. Like somebody clicking, like on your Instagram post or on your TikTok post. Like it feels good in the moment.

But Jesus says there's a reward that far exceeds that. It's not temporary, it's not superficial. It's the applause of heaven. You gain the notice of heaven if you do things with the right motive. Here's number four.

God keeps good records. Come on, somebody say Amen. He sees everything that we do. We don't have to draw attention to ourselves. He will reward us with treasures that cannot be destroyed.

According to Matthew, chapter 6, verse 20. Like, if you do things with the right motive, you don't have to make sure that other people know about it. And you don't have to make sure God knows about it, because he's keeping a great record of everything you do in his name.

And the Bible says when you do that, you're storing up treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy. Wow.

Let's jump on to verse five, Jesus says, when you pray, not if you pray. He just assumed disciples were going to have a prayer relationship, a prayer life. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everybody can see them. I tell you the truth, that's all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, he says, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you and pray to your father in private.

And then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Verse 7. When you pray again, he says, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him.

Now that's not a license for you to not bring it to the Lord. No. He clearly says in Scripture we're to bring our petitions to him. Some people would say, well, I don't need to do that. He already knows what I need.

But there's this release of our faith when we take our petitions to the Lord. It's important that you do that. And I'll talk about persistence in a moment. But then Jesus says this to the disciples as he's talking about prayer. He says, pray like this.

And we all are familiar with this, even heathens in the earth, probably we're on some pee wee football team that said this. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Now listen to me. We as mature believers, we as those who are going deeper in our relationship with, with him, have a responsibility to establish a prayer life and to be people of prayer. But again, just like when it comes to meeting the needs of the poor, motives matter. We don't pray to draw attention to ourselves.

We pray to draw close to him. And Scripture's clear. There are rewards attached to prayer. There are rewards. And Jesus lays out a model of prayer.

A model of prayer. And he starts by saying, our Father. Now, this was a bit of a shocker to those who were listening because a Jewish audience would never be that personal with God. In fact, when they would pray, they would pray to the Father in heaven. And Jesus kind of breaks that paradigm and introduces to them way that they can be More intimate by saying our Father.

He said, when you pray, pray like this, pray like this. He's not some far off cosmic being like you can have intimate closeness and relationship with him. So pray this way. Our Father is personal. And then he says, hallowed be your name.

May your name be kept holy. We start in prayer with adoration and with worship. May your name be holy. Let's talk about the names of God for a moment. Some of you may not be familiar with the different names of God, but I think it's important that we recognize the different aspects of who God is.

He's multifaceted. There's so many different dimensions to who God is. His name is to be kept holy on our lips and we're to recognize that he's Jehovah. Tsitke nu, that's in your notes. It means our righteousness.

He's the one who covers our sin. Somebody ought to say Amen. He's Jehovah Mekadesh, he's our sanctification. We receive him as our Savior. But thank God, he who has begun a good work in us, day after day after day, year after year after year, he completes that work of us, becoming more and more like him.

The process, the work, the beautiful work of sanctification. He's Jehovah Shalom, he's our peace. He's Jehovah Shammah, our ever present God, the one who never leaves us nor forsakes us. He's Jehovah Rophe, our healer. Somebody say Amen today.

He's Jehovah Jireh, our provider. He's Jehovah Nissi, our protector, our defender, our banner in the midst of evil. The blood covers us and protects us and the enemy cannot harm us in any way. He's Jehovah Rohi, he's our shepherd who leads us into green pastures, leads us beside still waters, restores our soul, leads us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to be afraid because you are with me.

You are Jehovah Rohi, the one who's ever present with me, dwelling with me. Jesus says, hallow his name, keep his name holy and understand who he is to you. He's all of these things and so much more. Come on, Church. I want you to see him for who he is.

I want you to be reminded today, here in the American Church where we can so take for granted who Jesus is. Oh, he died on the cross for me. His blood Covers my sins. I'm forgiven because of him. You never let us be casual about who he is.

Jesus says, as you pray, pray this. May your kingdom come. May your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. What's that mean for us? We come into alignment and agreement with him as king.

We come into agreement with his supernatural kingdom, and we bring that reality of the kingdom of heaven right here into our earthly realm and life and circumstances and relationships through prayer and with authority.

Oh, I want you to understand how powerful your prayers are. The effectual, fervent prayers of righteous men and women that availeth much. That when you pray, you pray with authority. When you pray, you pray in agreement with his supernatural kingdom. And you bring that into this realm for ourselves.

You bring that into this realm for your family, for your church, for. For our nation. Oh, what a time for us to pray with authority and say, oh, God, in the midst of what's happening around us, let us be like the sons of Issachar who understand the times and have a strategy of heaven, who put our foot down and say, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done here on earth. Let me tell you what his will is. His will that all people are saved, that nobody should perish.

Let me tell you what his will is. His will is for revival to come and to make wrong things right. His will is that his light would invade the darkness of our day. His will is that people would be healed. His will is that people would be set free from addiction.

His will is that people would set be set free from every type of depression and bondage. That's his will in heaven. And we need to bring that reality here in the earth.

I wish somebody would get excited about who Jesus is this morning.

We have an opportunity right now. I believe with all of my heart. I believe there's an opportunity for us to pray with an authority, to pray with a boldness and to see an unprecedented move of God in your families, in your business, in your life, in your children, in your schools, in our community, in our nation and all around the world.

And Jesus says, give us this day our daily bread. Give us today the food that we need. We have to believe for God's provision.

Second Peter, chapter one, verse three. By his divine power, God has given us everything. Say that word. Everything we need for living a godly life. Everything that we need, we believe, for God's provision.

We have to believe that it's his will that we prosper. That's the heart of our Father. And as I've said, hundreds Maybe thousands of times. He always blesses obedience and it's his will that you prosper. Listen.

Sheep never woke up with an anxiety attack wondering if their shepherd was going to lead them to green pastures. Never. No sheep just knew, today we're going to eat. The shepherd had the responsibility every day of seeking out places. If you've ever been to Israel, and we get the joy of taking some people from here in November to Israel, but if you've ever been there, it's not like if you drive out in the country here and you see all these beautiful pastures of grass.

Israel is barren, it's rocky. And you see this, just patches of grass. And the shepherd would seek out places for his sheep to eat for that day, and they would feed that day. And then the next day he would do the same thing. And Jesus is reminding them, I'm your shepherd, and you don't have to worry about tomorrow because I'm gonna make sure that you have what you need.

So he says, pray this way. Give us today the food that we need. The scriptures say, as your day is, so shall your strength be. Whatever you have need of today, he already knows about it and he's gonna take care of you. You have to believe that it's his will for you to prosper.

But here's another thing. You gotta be specific. Pray specifically, pray beyond. Lord, bless me today. What do you need?

Father, we don't know how we're going to pay rent this month. Lord, I need you to provide for us. God, I don't know how I'm going to pay the doctor bill that we have. Lord, we're trusting that you'll provide. Lord, things are really lean this week.

We need groceries. Lord, I need you to provide whatever it is wisdom for your business, decisions that you're making in relationships. Be specific in your prayer number four. Be persistent in prayer. Matthew, chapter seven, verse seven and eight.

Keep on asking and you'll receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you'll find. Keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receives, everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be open, opened.

We don't. We're not persistent in prayer because he's hesitant to bless us. We're not persistent in prayer because he withholds things from us and we have to coerce him and twist his arm and make him respond to our prayers. No, there's this building of our faith as we go to him and go to him and we don't see the answer. Yet.

And we keep going to him and saying, you're my source. You're my source. You're Jehovah Jireh to me. And even if you don't answer in the moment that I think you should, I'm still gonna trust you. I'm not gonna look in other places.

You are my fountain. You are my source. Lord. Then Jesus says and pray like this. Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Let me tell you two things that are key there. Number one, you've got to receive God's forgiveness for your own life. And I know a lot of people who struggle with that. I know a lot of people who have had great difficulty forgiving themselves of things that they've done in their past. And the Bible's clear.

Psalm 103, I believe it is as far as the east is from the west. So far has he removed your sin from you. He's cast it into a sea of forgetfulness. The Bible says he doesn't remember it anymore. And you need to forgive yourself and recognize the power of the blood of Jesus.

Romans, chapter 8, verse 1. There is now, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. In other words, the enemy's gonna keep coming after you and trying to remind you of all the mistakes that you've made. And every time he does, you've gotta remind him, I'm covered by the blood of Jesus. We just sang it a moment ago.

The old saying, when the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.

Secondly, you've got to release and forgive others. Uh, oh, yeah. Jesus said, this is key. This is important. Chapter 6, verse 14 and 15.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Strong words. Shows how important it is that you choose to forgive. Listen, in my years of ministry and years of life, I've been wounded many, many times.

And just like you, I've had to decide, will I allow resentment and bitterness to take root in my heart, or will I choose to forgive? And sometimes it wasn't a matter of me just one time saying, I forgive that person for being such a jerk. I forgive that person for being as mean as a snake. I forgive that person for what they did to me. And then I move on.

Now, let me tell you something. There have been wounds that have been so deep that have been caused by people in the body of Christ that I've had to say that I forgive so and so. And I would call their name. I forgive them for what they've done, and I would have to do that hundreds of times, over and over, over and over, until I got to the place that I wasn't thinking about how I could run them over with my truck.

Can we just be real? I had to get to the place that I wasn't constantly letting them live rent free in my head, where I knew I could see them in public and there would be no unforgiveness whatsoever in my heart. That's a way that Jesus wants all of us to live, to live in freedom, forgiving, allowing us to receive his forgiveness and then extending that to others. And then Jesus says, don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. And we know it's all there.

Nobody is exempt from temptation, but we don't have to give into it. The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians, or, pardon me, Ephesians, chapter six, that there's this armor that we can put on every day, the armor of God. And Jesus is reminding us that in order for us to stand in the face of temptation, to stand in the face of the enemy, we have to put the right clothes on in the morning. We have to equip ourselves with the armor that covers our head, covers our chest, covers our loins, covers our feet, that we have a shield that extinguishes the fiery darts of the enemy. We have a sword of the spirit, the only offensive weapon of the armor that's described, which is the word of God.

And just to remind you, there's no piece of armor that covers our back. Why? Because we're never meant to run from the enemy. We're meant to stand toe to toe, face to face with the enemy in the authority of Jesus, with the blood of Jesus, and to take him on. And we've been given what we need to be victorious.

So we put the full armor of God on daily. We run away. Not from the devil, we run away from temptation. Scripture tells us that. Flee youthful lust, run from temptation.

Don't think that you're strong enough. I'm powerful enough. I've served God long enough that it's not going to affect me. Why do you want to roll the dice with your holiness or with your righteousness? Why do you want to take that chance?

Just get out of there. Just run from temptation. Number three. Stay accountable to others. Y' all still with me?

We're getting there. Come on. Verse 16. Jesus says, and when you fast, when you fast not if I could preach a whole series on that, don't make it obvious as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I'll tell you the truth, that's the only reward that they will ever get.

But when you fast, comb your hair. Doesn't apply to me.

Wash your face. Then nobody will notice that you're fasting except your father, who knows what you do in private, and your father, who sees everything again, Jesus says, will reward you again. Jesus says, when you fast, not if you fast. This is one of the most neglected spiritual disciplines in the American church, but it's one of the most effective ways to crucify your flesh and to tap into a level of spiritual authority and clarity and anointing that I believe cannot be achieved in any other way. And that's why for 21 years we have woven the discipline of fasting into the fabric of the refuge.

Since day one, it's not real popular. It's a tough discipline. I have a love hate relationship with fasting, kind of like I do with exercise. I don't really like the process, I like the benefits. And fasting is the same way.

But I'm telling you, when you fast and it's a discipline that you can grow in. But when you fast, you tap into clarity, you tap into anointing, and you tap into authority that I don't believe you can achieve in any other way. Here's some things that fasting does. It's in your nose. Number one kills our flesh.

Fasting kills our flesh. The flesh always seeks to dominate. Always seeks to dominate. Your flesh wants to be in charge. Your flesh wants to be in control of your life.

And if you're ruled by your flesh, you cannot fulfill the desires of the spirit. You kill the flesh through fasting. Number two helps us to decrease so that he can increase. When you fast, you're creating more capacity for him and for the person of the Holy Spirit to come into your life and to take over so that your flesh doesn't dominate. Number three, fasting heightens our spiritual sensitivity.

When you fast in the natural, you'll notice that over time, depending on how long you fast, your eyesight becomes clearer, your sense of smell becomes much more keen, your taste buds become sharper. All of those things happen. Well, the same thing happens spiritually. When you fast, there's a heightened sensitivity to the things of the Spirit. Number four, it increases intimacy with Him.

Number five, it produces clarity. Number six, it unlocks authority.

Verse 19, verses 19 through 24 we're going to come back to in a few weeks. Jesus is talking all about giving and stewardship there. He's talking about money there and in our document. And we'll put the document back out to you. Maybe next week, if our team can make sure that's in the notes.

We'll just put that document back out. Because I want those of you who haven't been here maybe for some of the weeks of the series to see what I'm talking about. But in the document it says that true disciples, mature believers, are those who practice generosity with their finances, those who really steward what God has entrusted to them. So we're going to come back to that. We're going to take a couple of weeks to talk about that.

When we get to it in the document, skip on down to verse 25. Jesus says this that's why I tell you not to worry about every everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food in your body? More than clothing? Look at the birds.

They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Well, the answer to that is no. But they can take years off of your life.

If you're ridden with anxiety, Jesus says in verse 28 why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing. Yet Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he'll certainly care for you.

Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things, saying, what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers.

But your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. And then verse 33 my life verse since I was a boy but seek first his kingdom above all else and live righteously, and he will give you everything that you need. In other words, if you'll make him top priority in your life, top priority. You go after him with everything that you've got, more than anything else, more than you chase, more than accomplishment in the corporate world, if you'll go after him more than you chase wealth, go after him more than you chase followers on TikTok. If you go after him more than you chase some accomplishment or Some hobby.

If you go after him more than anything else, the promise of the word of God is he will make sure that you have everything that you need. Here's a couple of takeaways. And then we're gonna pray. Number one, worry and anxiety are rooted in fear. Number two, fear erodes and distorts our view of God.

That's why the enemy is always trying to instill fear into people. That's what he's tried to do this week, trying to instill fear in people so that they're racked with anxiety because it erodes their faith. They won't put their faith in God and say, God, you'll protect us, you'll use us. No evil's going to prevail over my life. Number three, God cares deeply for you, verse eight.

For your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask. And Jesus makes the point. If he cares for birds, can't you trust him that he's going to take care of you because you're more important than birds? And number four, make Jesus and his kingdom your top pursuit and focus and all of your needs will be met. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes?

Lord, thank you for the teaching of your word. Thank you God for the promises that are attached to your word. And Lord, today I pray there would be faith in the room. I pray God we would see you rightly. And if there's any person here, any person watching online and the enemy has been successful in distorting their view of God, if the enemy has been successful in sowing fear and anxiety into them, that's eroding their faith.

I pray God right now there would be a restoration of faith in their spirit. They would see you rightly. They would know that you're a good father. They would know that you're going to take care of them. They would know they don't have to live in fear.

They would know that you see their need even before they ask. Lord, I'm praying for those maybe who have unforgiveness in their heart. I'm praying for those who maybe have had trouble forgiving themselves. I ask today that that chain of bondage that the enemy has used to keep them from living the abundant life, that thing is broken today. In the name of Jesus.

Oh God, set people free right now in Jesus name. Let us respond to the deep calling to deep God. Let us go deeper with you, wherever we are, whatever our level of spiritual maturity might be today, I pray God we would take one more step towards you. We would say I'm coming closer today. God.

In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus, we pray. Thank you, God.