Bible Studies
Living Life In the Presence of God (Matt. 6:1, 2, 5, 16)
Series: Additional StudiesIntroduction:
1. One of the distinctive features of the disciples of Christ is that they recognize that each day is lived in the presence of their heavenly Father. 2. This truth is pointed out by Jesus in His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-6-7.a. In that sermon He contrasted the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees with the righteousness characterized by His disciples.
b. In 5:20 He said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
3. One of the contrasts that He makes begins in 6:1 where He said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” 4. He proceeded to give three illustrations: the first regarding giving, the second about praying and the last about fasting.a. Our giving should not involve public proclamation before men to be seen and rewarded by them, but it should be done quietly, even secretly in the presence of the Father alone.
b. Prayer too should not be done to be seen by men, but secretly before the Father only.
c. Likewise fasting should be done in a way unnoticeable to men, in the presence only of our Father who sees what is done in secret.
5. The disciples of Christ are not so concerned about what men think. They live their lives in the presence of God and this is reflected in every aspect of who they are.Discussion:
I. They live their lives as children of their Father as they wind their way through the pilgrimage of life (1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, etc.).A. People have different images of “fathers.”
1. One who was mistreated by their father (abused, neglected, abandoned, betrayed) certainly has a different image than that characterized by Jesus.
2. For Him, Father is a very pleasant image.
a. He sees His Father as sending rain on the righteous and unrighteous, causing His sun to rise on the evil and the good (5:45).
b. He sees His Father as gracious, giving bread to eat, forgiving sinners, providing for all our needs because He regards us as of very high value (6:12, 25ff). He summarizes His perception with the comparison of us as fathers giving good gifts to our children. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (7:11).
B. The disciples of Christ do not see their Father as a demanding ogre and they are therefore able to live their lives in entire dependence and active submission (i.e. faith) to Him because He cares for them. First Peter 5:7 says, “cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
C. Our Father has made it clear to us that we are on a pilgrimage. We are just passing through this life. This is quite clear from Heb. 11. Note verses 13-16. Faith in our heavenly Father is what gets us through. The force of Heb. 11 is that God takes us through the pilgrimage. Note 11:23ff the example of Moses, Israel and the others.
II. But what does a life lived in the presence of the Father really look like?A. Already seen what it looked like in the life of Abraham, Moses and Israel in Heb. 11. B. See something of what it looks like in areas such as giving, praying and fasting as illustrated by Jesus in Matt. 6.
1. Giving is done out of genuine concern for the poor, not for how I can be honored by others for having given. People are prone to express honor and respect to those who give. Plaques. Awards. Recognition ceremonies. The scribes and Pharisees became distracted by such (Matt. 23:5-7). Such was their righteousness (23:12).
2. Praying is to be done out of genuine desire to communicate with our Father. Not how we are perceived by other men.
3. Fasting, the same.
C. “But what will it look like in my life?”
1. If you really believe that God is concerned about you and taking care of you as you make the journey through life you will listen to what He says. Do you genuinely study the Scriptures looking for direction for your life? If I told you there was a $10 bill in one of the pew bibles would you look for it? How much more value has your heavenly Father placed in there for you? Living life in the presence of God involves searching the Scriptures.
2. If you really believe that God is concerned about you would you pray? For your children? For your parents? For one another? For yourself? Who cares who else may hear? Who cares how eloquent or simple the prayer? Who cares how long or how short it is?
3. If we live our lives in recognition of how others need the Lord it will affect our giving on the first day of the week. We will not be concerned with what others think about our giving, nor even how we honor ourselves, but about the lost being saved, the needy being cared for, the immature being taught.
4. Living our lives in the presence of God determines our mind set (Matt. 6:19-33).
a. Contrast the mind set on this life versus the mind set on the pilgrimage to the next in Matt. 6:19-33.
b. The mind set on this life contrasted with the mind set on the next in Col. 3:1ff.
c. In 1 Pet. 4:3-11.
III. When we live our lives in the presence of God our lives will attract attention to Him and not to ourselves (Matt. 5:14-16).A. It is clear from what Jesus says that we can live righteous lives in order to attract attention to ourselves. This characterized the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
1. They had their reward.
2. Sometimes we live righteous lives before ourselves in order to commend ourselves as righteous. It is hard to keep our good deeds secret from ourselves. Our commendation of ourselves is our reward.
3. Sometimes we may live righteous lives in order to get a reward from our Father. This too is self-centered.
B. The children of the Father live righteous lives and bring glory to their Father.
1. The reward received is a by-product of their dependence upon Him.
2. It is a by-product of their faith in Him.
3. Others are able to see the genuine goodness of your works and so they glorify your Father.
C. The life lived in the presence of God does not call attention to itself. It calls attention to our Father, because He is the object of our attention.
Conclusion:
1. You are living your life in His presence. 2. The question is do you realize it? 3. Are you humbled by His graciousness? Touched by His goodness? 4. Then let that eclipse your self so that His glory might shine through.
