full

Heart Matters

Could simple obedience and humility reshape how you approach generosity, prayer, and fasting?

Pastor Alan asks you to look at your heart while you serve. He shares simple advice for being real, no matter if people are watching or not. You will find support to forgive, look for God nearby, and listen for His voice in daily life, even when things feel messy or go unnoticed.

Experience belonging and renewal by rooting your actions in gratitude, not applause.

Key Insights

  1. Serving God flows from identity, not a need for recognition.
  2. Humble obedience yields rewards that no amount of human praise could ever match.
  3. God values honest, hidden acts and hears even the quietest prayers.
  4. Forgiveness and generosity make space for new relationships and healing.
  5. Growth means letting God address even subtle motives and refine your heart.
  6. You are seen and loved by God, even in the stuff nobody else notices.
  7. True generosity and prayer start with listening to the Holy Spirit.

https://springhousemidweek.captivate.fm/episode/heart-matters

Subscribe & Follow the Podcast

Download our app

Our Website

Online Tithes & Offerings

Join our Livestream


Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
Speaker:

All right, here we go. There we are. We're on. I have enjoyed our

Speaker:

brothers. I love the different insights. How many

Speaker:

have gotten at least one new thing from somebody every

Speaker:

week? We've heard these stories. How

Speaker:

many times have we read the Beatitudes and read through the Sermon on

Speaker:

the Mount? But our brothers have brought out some amazing

Speaker:

insights. And I

Speaker:

wasn't able to be in the house when Keith shared. But I so

Speaker:

love Keith's style of teaching and

Speaker:

the way he. Man, anyway, just so many

Speaker:

good things. And so I'm gonna. We had a

Speaker:

comment and staff this past week. Mario had said,

Speaker:

man, I gotta follow Keith. And Barbie

Speaker:

told him, said, yeah, but somebody's sitting there going, I gotta follow Mario.

Speaker:

And I went, I know. Cause, man, Mario did such

Speaker:

an amazing job last week.

Speaker:

Quick question before we get onto the slides. How many are over the

Speaker:

age of. How many are 50 and over? Raise your hand in the room.

Speaker:

Wow. How many know that there's a legacy conference for

Speaker:

people 50 and over coming up in May?

Speaker:

It's designed just for us, and it's to help us understand

Speaker:

or better understand our place in the house when we're young and

Speaker:

going and blowing and we're serving in nursery and children's church and doing all these

Speaker:

things when we've got all that energy, that youthfulness about us.

Speaker:

But there is still a place for you in this house and in the kingdom

Speaker:

calls. Once you get past a certain age. Listen, joints ache.

Speaker:

I went to the doctor this morning, had a follow up on some stuff going

Speaker:

on, and everything came out great. It was wonderful. But I was

Speaker:

sitting there waiting to do blood work, and the little gal came and

Speaker:

she said, all right, Mr. Smith, you ready? I picked a

Speaker:

chair that didn't have a back on it. And so when I went to get

Speaker:

up, I went, oh, my back. And she looked at me, she

Speaker:

said, are you okay? I went, no, I think I've pinched something.

Speaker:

And she said, well, come on. And I thought, you're not gonna help me. I'm

Speaker:

hurt. You know, it's amazing. Once you get to a certain age, you can just

Speaker:

breathe wrong and things begin to hurt and

Speaker:

be painful. But I encourage you, if you're 50 and

Speaker:

over, if you're 46, 47, 48, and you're thinking about it, sign up and

Speaker:

come be with us. I'll just give you the speakers away. Pastor Ronnie's

Speaker:

opening on Friday night. That right there ought to get you to come Saturday.

Speaker:

Pastor Wayne is leading off in the morning. We're

Speaker:

praying about the three Hole speaker and then the cleanup. The one that's going to

Speaker:

take you home is Pastor Kevin to encourage us. So be a part of that.

Speaker:

And how many social media people are

Speaker:

you in the room now? Is this me now, Mary?

Speaker:

Okay, there's a thing called Babylon

Speaker:

Bee, and if you've heard of it, don't be mad at me because I enjoy

Speaker:

it. They pick on everybody. Everybody.

Speaker:

And I saw something this past week. Heaven

Speaker:

Unveiled special VIP lounge for people who went

Speaker:

to Wednesday night church. Just know that we got a place in heaven

Speaker:

because back in the day we called it Wednesday night prayer meeting. So

Speaker:

if you come on Wednesday or Thursday night, boy,

Speaker:

you're in there because you're trying to learn more. But I heard an

Speaker:

amen. Well, we're going

Speaker:

to look at Matthew 6:1 18. I thought Mario had

Speaker:

a hard set of verses last week. And then

Speaker:

I got looking at what I've got to do and went, good gracious.

Speaker:

So why do you do it? That's what I've titled this. And you don't

Speaker:

have to stand, but Jesus tells

Speaker:

the people, he said, be careful not to practice your righteousness in

Speaker:

front of others to be seen by them. If you do,

Speaker:

you'll have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you

Speaker:

give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the

Speaker:

hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored

Speaker:

by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received the reward in full.

Speaker:

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what

Speaker:

your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret.

Speaker:

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Speaker:

And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they

Speaker:

love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be

Speaker:

seen by others. Truly, I tell you,

Speaker:

they receive their reward in full. But when you

Speaker:

pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is

Speaker:

unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret

Speaker:

will reward you. When you pray, do not keep on

Speaker:

babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard

Speaker:

because of their many words. Anybody ever

Speaker:

show of hands? Anybody ever been on not a Wednesday night prayer meeting?

Speaker:

Anybody ever been in a small group or on a church service

Speaker:

sometimes and somebody gets up to pray and you know,

Speaker:

the typical posture is head bowed, eyes closed, and they get

Speaker:

going and all of a sudden you kind of go and you're

Speaker:

looking around at other people like, what is going on? Because you're

Speaker:

thinking, what is this person doing, man?

Speaker:

I've been in some of those. So because

Speaker:

of their many words, do not be like them. For your Father

Speaker:

knows, man. That's a line.

Speaker:

Your Father knows what you need before you

Speaker:

ask him. This, then, is how you should pray.

Speaker:

And we know this to be the disciples prayer. Our Father in heaven, hallowed

Speaker:

be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is

Speaker:

in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our

Speaker:

debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Speaker:

That's a past tense word there. Have forgiven,

Speaker:

have forgiven. Forgive us ours, because we have

Speaker:

forgiven our other ones, our debtors. Lead us not into

Speaker:

temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people

Speaker:

when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Speaker:

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your

Speaker:

sins. When you fast, do not look somber as the

Speaker:

hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are

Speaker:

fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Speaker:

But when you fast, put on oil on your head, wash

Speaker:

your face so that it will not be obvious to the others that

Speaker:

you are fasting, but only to your Father who is unseen.

Speaker:

And your Father, who sees what is done in secret,

Speaker:

will reward you. So what did Jesus mean

Speaker:

when he warned about giving and praying and

Speaker:

fasting in public? There's many

Speaker:

thoughts, but there can be at least two difficulties with this.

Speaker:

The first one, that many people will misuse or have

Speaker:

misused and abused this text.

Speaker:

They've actually missed the point that Jesus was trying to make.

Speaker:

The second is it may seem that what is said here is contradictory

Speaker:

to what Jesus just said. Listen, how many know there weren't

Speaker:

chapters and verses in Scripture.

Speaker:

That's us thing. We put that in there. But just earlier,

Speaker:

30 minutes ahead of his previous in his message or however,

Speaker:

two pages ago, in your Bible, Jesus just told

Speaker:

them, you're salt and light, as Eric was teaching. And he said

Speaker:

that let your good works, let your good works, the things that

Speaker:

you're doing, let it shine before others, that people

Speaker:

will see it and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Speaker:

So it almost seems like he's being contradictory here. Go. Whoa. Don't be telling

Speaker:

people what you give and don't be doing things so that you can get glory.

Speaker:

And don't be praying out loud, you know, to.

Speaker:

But why are we doing what we do?

Speaker:

Jesus is confronting a matter of the heart, and he

Speaker:

was mainly addressing the pharisees and the leaders through

Speaker:

this. But the common people were there to hear this. He was kind of preaching

Speaker:

to two different sects of people in the same sermon.

Speaker:

So what is it?

Speaker:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its

Speaker:

saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no

Speaker:

longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Speaker:

Man, Eric did a great message on this. So we're

Speaker:

not going to unpack it, because all you got to do is go back three

Speaker:

weeks and listen to him. You are the light of the world. A town built

Speaker:

on a hill cannot be hidden.

Speaker:

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put

Speaker:

it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house

Speaker:

in the same way, let your light shine.

Speaker:

Before there used to be a little song, this little light of mine

Speaker:

that they may see your good deeds and glorify your

Speaker:

Father in heaven. So if you actually picked

Speaker:

up a brochure or a paper, whatever they call them, here's your

Speaker:

first one. Who said it?

Speaker:

Pastor Kevin said it Sunday. And I love this. It might have flown by you

Speaker:

when he was talking about the goodness of the Father. And that God, he

Speaker:

doesn't hide the eggs

Speaker:

from you, he hides them for you or he places it. He

Speaker:

wants you to find the blessings and the good things. So I'm not trying

Speaker:

to hide answers. They're on there and they're on your sheet if you look down

Speaker:

at the bottom of it. But it says the Lord.

Speaker:

He's not going to deliberately contradict himself on

Speaker:

a topic, especially when he just talked about it a few minutes ago

Speaker:

in his message. Hebrews 13:8 says that the Lord

Speaker:

is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And then you got

:

17, just a couple of pages over to the right.

:

It says that there's no shadow of turning in Him.

:

God is not a wishy washy God sitting up there looking at things. And

:

he's not up there pulling strings and trying to.

:

He had a plan. He's got a plan and he's working it

:

out. We were talking about it at our Thursday morning Bible study this morning reading

:

Genesis 1. I don't know why we're reading Genesis 1 on

:

April 9th, but we are. And you know what? It meant something to the five

:

of us that are sitting there this morning. Cause we understood when we were reading

:

that thing, God had a divine plan. When he

:

laid out creation. He didn't just happenstance, there was an order to

:

the way he created things. And he did it on purpose. Cause each one built

:

on the one previous to it. He can't create man if there's not

:

a night and a day or a land and water. He did it in a

:

purposeful order. And he has a plan for us. He has a

:

plan, not just us as mankind. He has a plan for us

:

individually. Your life is not a mistake. It's not a

:

happenstance. Things go wrong, stuff comes at us. But

:

God has a divine plan where he has the ability to alter

:

the things in time and space to cause it to be

:

to his glory.

:

Point two, he literally just told him a few minutes before, in

:

the same way, let your light shine before others that you

:

may see your good works, they may see your good

:

works and give glory to your Father who's in heaven.

:

Four times in those 18 verses, he warns them

:

about prayers and giving and generosity

:

and their righteous living.

:

Verse 16.

:

That they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is

:

in heaven. I had a special

:

job when I first started helping Pastor Bruce on missions

:

trips. We were wanting to have

:

things captured on video or pictures

:

and stuff to let the church know what's going on, you know, what we've been

:

doing or how things are going on these trips. And I felt so awkward

:

doing that because of that scripture.

:

We're not supposed to be, you know, we ain't supposed to be

:

out here showing what we're doing. And, you know, this supposed to be

:

do this in private and let the Lord reveal it.

:

We talk about giving left hand, not knowing the right hand.

:

If I were to get up Sunday and tell during offering, bless

:

the Lord. God's been so good to me. I want y' all to know I

:

was able to bless Isaiah House this week with $5,000.

:

I just went up there and took him a check and blessed and said, whatever

:

you want to do with it, God bless it. I

:

think that's kind of what he's talking about because

:

I'm looking for your applause, I'm looking for your

:

affirmation. Oh, well, wow. Look at what Pastor I think

:

when he's talking about left hand, right hand, I think he's talking about those overtly

:

posture of the heart. Why are you doing those things, you know, like we said

:

at the top, but

:

doing things from a right heart posture

:

because of what he has done in your life already. Just like

:

what's been happening in your life the last three months, the things that you

:

were doing in your life, brother. To try to display

:

as an outward example of what God's been doing on the inside of you, those

:

righteous acts. You're doing that from a posture because you're grateful to

:

God and you're just trying to obey and serve him. When he tells you to

:

be obedient, you're not out there doing those things for

:

affirmation or to be seen. But when people see that,

:

they know where Josh came from. They know what his life used to be

:

and the life that he used to live in. And now they see the

:

transformation, and they're amazing. What is going on in

:

your life? Why are you so different? Why do you do the things you're doing?

:

And he's able to testify, listen, it ain't me. It is

:

nothing about me. But God came into my life and he

:

changed me and he made me to where I want to do these things

:

to honor him.

:

The danger Number three on your sheet. The

:

danger of our works being done to be seen by man

:

is the opportunity for a spirit of pride

:

and false identity to begin to take root.

:

4 the story Tower of Babel

:

says this. Come, let us count every time. Mark it down on your

:

sheet somewhere. Every time you hear a phrase

:

about me or us. Come, let us build

:

ourselves a city and a tower with its tops in the

:

heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves, lest

:

we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. Pride set in.

:

Because what they thought they could do, they lost their

:

identity of who God created them

:

to be. I counted and I got six. Did

:

you get six? Interesting that six is the number of man,

:

that there were six accounts there talking about themselves. They wanted to

:

do these things and they lost their identity. But you look at Genesis

:

1:26, and what does it say there?

:

And look how many. Look at the difference. Look how many words

:

are capitalized and what those words are.

:

This is the Lord speaking. He said, let us capital U

:

make man in our capital O image after our capital O

:

likeness. Our identity is in God.

:

We were created and fashioned to be in the likeness of

:

God Almighty, the triune being, body, soul and spirit.

:

And when we know who our identity is in,

:

we don't have to worry about pleasing man. We can

:

serve from a place of a heart posture of humility and

:

brokenness before people. We don't have to be seen

:

vacuuming the hallway of the church. We don't have to be seen straightening the

:

chairs up. We don't have to be recognized because we picked up paper in the

:

parking lot. We're doing it not because we're doing it for somebody.

:

We're Doing it for the somebody, for an audience of one. When you work

:

from that heart posture where it talks about the Father in

:

secret will reward. I

:

hope I'm doing stuff that none of you see because I want my

:

reward on the other side. Because what happens here frivolous. And

:

it's going to rot, it's going to decay. The applause of man gets

:

silent. But when I stand before him and the scripture says that

:

I put all my works on the fire and it gets

:

burned up, I don't want sticks.

:

I want pure gems and valuable

:

stones to be left remaining. Because then that gives me something to lay at his

:

feet.

:

Our righteousness.

:

Righteousness. Pastor Ronnie, I think, covered it a little bit.

:

And then he also talked about it in some sermons,

:

simply, right, standing with God. And do you know that

:

you can't do that? I can't do that.

:

I can't put myself in right standing with

:

God. God has to do that. He has to make me where I can

:

be in the right standing with him. When you get cross with somebody, when you

:

have issues with somebody, they offend you, they wound you in some way.

:

They can't make themselves right in

:

your presence. You're the one that has to release forgiveness.

:

You're the one who has to forget and allow them to be in

:

a right place with you for reconciliation. So we don't have that

:

power with God. Only he has that. Isaiah says this.

:

You meet him who joyfully works righteousness

:

and those who remember you and your ways. Then the

:

next verse says, we have all become like one who is unclean,

:

and all of our righteous deeds are like a

:

polluted garment. I'll let you do your own Bible study and see

:

what that actually translates to.

:

But it ain't pretty. It's not clean.

:

Number four says this.

:

We'll get there. Our righteousness is of no value

:

to the kingdom of God, nor to anyone that we extend it

:

to. All we are doing is trying to clean up with

:

dirty rags. Have you ever tried to clean a counter at the house?

:

Been in a hurry and you just grabbed a rag out of the sink

:

you thought was clean. And then you start wiping down the table or the

:

counter. You go, oh, my goodness, what a mess I've made.

:

That's what we try to do when we try to do things out of our

:

own works of righteousness. For my work, we have

:

to have the righteousness of Christ Jesus

:

in us.

:

Giving to be seen. So what's the

:

point to give if you can't be seen

:

giving from false pretenses is not generosity, but

:

a false sense of self worth. It also can cost

:

you more then you're able to pay.

:

2 Corinthians 9, 7, 8 says this. Each one must

:

give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly nor

:

under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God

:

is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having

:

all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may

:

abound in every good work. Last year I had the opportunity,

:

Renee and I, to go to an auction. Well, no, it wasn't an auction. I

:

didn't know it was gonna be an auction. We went to a fundraiser for Rocket

:

Town with Melanie and Mario Galeoni,

:

Pastor Mario, Elder Mario. And it was because we

:

had a relationship with the comedian that was gonna be the keynote guy

:

for the fundraiser. And so, one,

:

we wanted to see Aaron again and meet him and talk to him. He had

:

just had a baby, he and his wife. But two, I just. I wanted to,

:

you know, go to this fundraiser for Rocket Town. So

:

we get there and they're doing all these little silent auctions in the foyer.

:

And then they have this big auction in the middle of the room.

:

And it starts off like the first thing was some, you know,

:

here's a. Whatever that fancy grill. What's the Blackstone

:

Grill or whatever that people. $200. Oh, come on. That's a

:

499 value. Somebody paid 750. And I'm thinking, what

:

are you doing? Who? Why? Just so they go through a

:

multitude of things. They bring out this

:

gorgeous super modified golf cart, like

:

four. It's got four big, knobby, big road tires.

:

It can seat six. And it's all this thing. And he's like, we're going to

:

start the building at $1,000. Now, this thing's worth

:

11.99 or 11,999.

:

And I took my number 205 paddle and went, 1,000.

:

Cause I had little savings. And I thought, well, who knows? I might get lucky.

:

Somebody jumped it up to I got 1,000. Can I get two? I got

:

two. I got two, can I get three? I

:

went, mm, mm. Uh, I'm not doing that. So it

:

goes through. We're getting toward the end of the auction,

:

and they're giving away weekends at all kinds of places

:

that got a cruise. Renee and I are going to be 37 years this May.

:

And I thought, man, she's never been on a cruise. I haven't been on

:

one since I was 19 or 20. I've got some money in

:

Savings. I'm going to. I'm going to. I'm going to do this.

:

We're going to start the bidding at $2,500.

:

There goes 205. Now, I had already decided in

:

my head. 4,000, is it? Guess how much the cruise

:

was worth? 11,000 some odd dollars. And I'm

:

thinking, yeah, I'll go four. I'll go four. Keeps

:

going back and forth. Me and one other guy.

:

3,500. I got 35. Do I get four? I got four,

:

Maury. And I'm sitting at the table and I'm thinking, yeah, now. And every time

:

you do it, everybody cheers. It gets all exciting. I got four, can I

:

get five? I got five, can I get six? I wouldn't

:

go six. I go 55. So we got 55 a chair.

:

We're back. Fourth, this thing gets up to $8,000

:

and it's sitting on my shoulder. And I'm thinking, dear

:

Jesus. And Renee's sitting right there with that rubber chicken we had for dinner,

:

just looking me right in the eye like, you

:

fool, what? And I'm. And now I

:

sweat anyway. But you talking about sweating. My plate is

:

just. And I got that little 205 handle. And I laid that thing down

:

on the table and I'm just starting. Dear Jesus, please,

:

God, let somebody. Please let somebody do

:

none. God, please let somebody. I'm sorry,

:

God. Because I got wrapped up in that clapping. I got

:

excited about people. Hey, atta boy. Listen,

:

when you give from false pretenses, it ain't generosity. I was

:

looking. I was looking for the big round of

:

applause. Yeah, let's get that thing. And everybody clap for him. And it almost

:

cost me more than I was willing to pay.

:

The things we do in the name of generosity

:

better be from a broken and a contrite heart and being

:

obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit. When he says to give or

:

to do and to move on somebody's behalf.

:

Whole different thing today. This under.

:

It's my pocket. Is that what it is? I'm sorry.

:

I met the doctor today. And the gal comes

:

in, you know, you gotta be there 20 minutes early. You're feeling your face. We're

:

out. And I'm sitting there and listen,

:

I don't like going to the doctor anyway, but I don't like a lot of

:

sick people around me. I don't need you coughing and hacking and your

:

snotting and all that. Put a mask on. Sit away from me by two or

:

three seats, whatever. And I'm sitting Against

:

the cabinet. Three seats here, two seats there,

:

four seats there. And every person that came in,

:

one by one, starts getting closer and closer. Sat there,

:

sat here, sat there, sat here. And now there's this seat

:

right here beside me. And I'm just thinking, lord, please come

:

call me. Please let her come call me. Please, God,

:

don't let some other person come in here. This gal comes in,

:

she's probably in her 20s. And I mean, she's.

:

It's bad. No mask, and she's just

:

coughing, no covering. She's on the phone the whole time. She talks

:

on the phone while she's hit. The receptionist talks on the phone while she's doing

:

her paperwork. And I gotta hear her. Cause she is

:

sitting right there.

:

And I hear this girl crying. But I

:

can't pay that much. I'm at the doctor right now, and I barely got enough

:

to pay that. And if I can't, you can't. Please. I can't have

:

my phone cut off. I need my phone. Because she just starts going

:

through these things.

:

Now. I'm not telling you this. Right hand, left hand. But there's a

:

difference. I just felt like the Lord said,

:

you need to ask that girl how much she needs. And I thought, I

:

ain't doing it. I am not. She's going to think I'm eavesdropping. I

:

don't need to be in her business. And we'll let it go. Well, they called

:

her back before they called me. Called three or four

:

people. I finally get to go to the back. Everything's done. My

:

visit was quick. We just need to take blood from you. Go sit right here.

:

Guess who showed up to sit beside me one more time?

:

And I went, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord.

:

Put my hand on her knee. And I said, darling, I don't mean to be

:

nosy, but I heard your story in the foyer.

:

How much do you mean? So

:

$216. I said, can you pay for it

:

on the phone or how can you do that? She said, sir, I don't have

:

him. I said, it's okay. We got him. Because

:

the Lord had blessed me to a place where I could bless her. And I

:

said, I didn't speak up to you earlier. And the Lord's given me another

:

chance to let you know he has not

:

forsaken you. He sees you where you are. And

:

if you'll allow me to bless you to cover this, I want you to

:

know that God did this. God's watching you, baby girl.

:

And so we made phone calls and made the payment. So

:

that girl could have her phone for another month.

:

That's how we're supposed to be generous. We gotta hear that voice

:

of the Holy Spirit speak to us. And it ain't always in this

:

room. Listen. The tithe is holy to the Lord. That belongs to

:

him. We owe that to him. But generosity, when

:

he speaks and he tells you in that still small voice,

:

and it ain't always just blatantly obvious. But if you'll

:

listen and you'll hear it, he's gonna give you those

:

opportunities to pour into somebody and you make sure

:

that they know it's about him and not you.

:

Baby, it ain't cause I got money in my pocket. It's because the Lord told

:

me out there in the foyer. And then you explain it to her. And then

:

you get a chance to pray with them. That's about

:

generosity. Generosity's more about material. What am I

:

doing? Okay. Generosity is more

:

about material possessions and finances, folks. It's

:

about the peace of God

:

and the grace of God and the love of God that we can give

:

to people in situations.

:

Let us pray.

:

Matthew 6

:

says to some who were confident in their own righteousness and

:

looked down on everyone else, Jesus told his disciples, two

:

men went up to the temple to pray.

:

One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. And the

:

Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, God, well, do we

:

want to do it in a Pharisee voice? God, I thank you that I'm not

:

like other people. Those filthy robbers, those

:

evildoers, God, those nasty adulterers. Or

:

even like this tax collector. Well, how is that worse than the

:

others? Lord, I fast twice a week and I give

:

a tenth of all I get.

:

But the tax collector stood, looked at a distance.

:

He wouldn't even look up to heaven. But he beat his

:

breast and he said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

:

Jesus said, I tell you that this man rather than the other, went home

:

justified before God. For all who exalt themselves

:

will be humbled. And those who humble

:

themselves will be exalted. People were also bringing

:

babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them.

:

When the disciples saw this, they rebuked him. And then it goes into a whole

:

nother thing.

:

Pastor Kevin was talking about women, Mary being the

:

one. Then in the back end of this, you

:

know, you're talking about the different issues or

:

levels for people that are praying before God and the things that they possess

:

or where they find themselves in their lives. And then it goes on to talk

:

about these babies. And Jesus said, no, no, no. You bring them

:

babies to me too.

:

He warns us of putting empty platitudes

:

in our prayers.

:

John had this to say in John 12.

:

Nevertheless, many, even the authorities, believed in him.

:

But for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it,

:

so that they not be put out of the synagogue. For they love,

:

hear this line. They love the glory that comes from man

:

more than the glory that comes from God.

:

God, please forgive me. Forgive us. May the Holy

:

Spirit be quick to convict us when we find

:

ourselves seeking the glory of man versus your

:

glory, God. I had the opportunity,

:

you know, there's bankers hours and then there's this thing called

:

pastor's hours. And

:

sometimes you're blowing and going, and then sometimes you find some time.

:

And yesterday I had an opportunity and I went and saw the Great Awakening.

:

I highly recommend this movie. Angel Studios

:

and them did a great thing and it had a great.

:

It had a great historical context to it, but it also

:

had a beyond

:

spiritual context to it about the Great Awakening that happened in

:

the 1730s and 40s here in America with

:

Whitefield. God

:

used this young man in a mighty way. He was young when he got saved

:

at Oxford College. He was in a

:

consortium with the Wesley brothers. And at the time they were all about. It's

:

all about the works we do and all these. It was about the duties

:

of Christianity that made you who you were. And he had a

:

dramatic change of heart. God showed him that it's about being

:

born again. And only what God did is

:

why we're worthy to be in his presence. And so he preached in England, but

:

then he comes to America and he had a prayer

:

that he prayed because God used him in a mighty way. He

:

said, father, tear down the name of Whitefield if it means

:

that only your name will remain. May that always be our prayer

:

when we walk away from a pulpit or we walk away from a situation.

:

May they not remember us, but may they have the name of Jesus on their

:

lips. May they have his fragrance, not ours, in their

:

nostrils. May they have the sensation of the Holy Spirit have

:

visited them rather than us be in that place.

:

Listen, prayer is not a hard thing,

:

but we make it so difficult.

:

I talked to a young man Tuesday,

:

and he had saw me on Easter, and I said, well, let's

:

connect and let's talk. We talked Tuesday and he's like, I just don't know

:

how to pray. I don't know how

:

to hear from God. And I said, man, you're making this

:

thing way too hard. It's Just like what we're doing now, except

:

you're talking to God. Just talk to him. Just

:

tell him what you're thinking, what you're feeling. He already knows

:

Scripture, said he knows what we need. Before we ever asked. I said, brother, just

:

talk to him. And we prayed together. And I hope and

:

pray that he's making those changes in

:

his daily life. Number six.

:

Prayer is not a spiritual discipline to be

:

checked off your spiritual to do list each day. It is an

:

essential part of developing your intimate relationship

:

with your loving heavenly father. Listen,

:

some of us in this room, myself included, didn't have great

:

relationships with an earthly father. And so when you start talking about

:

a heavenly father that loves and cares

:

and all the qualities of the heavenly father,

:

it's hard to wrap your heart around that. It's hard to wrap your

:

mind around that. The scriptures that

:

I put there are important because

:

we can identify him in that way.

:

I never called my father

:

little until about 8 years old. I called him Daddy.

:

But from that point on, when we talked, it was always

:

Father or Lewis. The

:

relationship changed. But Matthew 6. 9 says,

:

Our Father. He's my father. He's your father. Our Father

:

who art in heaven. Galatians says this. Because you are a

:

son. God has sent forth the spirit of his son

:

into our heart, crying, abba, Father. That means

:

Daddy. God. You can call him Daddy. Father.

:

Daddy, I need you. I need help. I'm struggling. You can

:

be broken before him. And what's more important, Paul says this

:

in Romans, having not received a spirit of slavery

:

leading to fear. Listen, you may have feared your earthly father.

:

He may have been dangerous. He may have been hurtful. He may have said things

:

abusive. He may have physically been abusive and put fear

:

in your life. But we don't have to fear God. God is not up there

:

wiping your name out and putting it in chalk and wiping it out. He's not

:

up there looking to hit you with a hammer. God is up there trying to

:

love you, he said. But you've

:

received the spirit of adoption by which you can

:

cry, abba, Father. So

:

Jesus warns, don't be like them, for your father knows what you need.

:

Before you ask,

:

Why does fasting take so long? I thought

:

Barbie was going to preach it when she was sharing earlier in her series.

:

Why does it go so slow? It's fast. It should be called slow.

:

There's a myriad of thoughts regarding fasting. What to fast, how long

:

to fast, full fast, partial fast. Moses fasts,

:

Jesus fasts, Daniel fasts. Listen, here's the deal. I don't

:

care what you fast, I don't care how long, full part,

:

I don't care. In the words of Phil Knight, just do it. Just

:

do it. And in the words of Jesus,

:

take a bath and shave and put on some cologne.

:

Don't be walking around sad saying, well, I can't,

:

brother, I'm fasting, I'm. Listen,

:

nobody should know you're fasting. That's you and the Father, that's you and the

:

Holy Spirit. Don't be walking around old mealy mouth and sad faced about, well,

:

I can't listen number

:

seven. And then I'm going to tell on myself.

:

Fasting isn't just a physical action. It's a

:

spiritual means to produce spiritual results in a physical realm

:

when a physical action cannot produce the results. And then I

:

put the scripture where Jesus comes and he

:

delivers the demon possessed son. And

:

the disciples said, why couldn't we do it? And he said, only through prayer and

:

fasting. Listen, fasting is an often

:

overlooked part

:

of spiritual life.

:

You can fast about decisions about making a

:

house purchase or there's things

:

that you can fast about. But then

:

there's a warfare type of a fast too.

:

We were talking about in our discussion this

:

morning. We sat around that table and we were talking about our children

:

and grandchildren that weren't serving the Lord.

:

Now thank the Lord my children are and they're in a good place with God.

:

But I've got brothers who are concerned about the souls of

:

the children. And sometimes it's more

:

than just praying for them. Sometimes it's going without the

:

food so that you can do warfare in the kingdom. Some

:

only come out through prayer and fasting. Sometimes

:

it takes a sacrifice physically

:

to bring spiritual things into a physical realm.

:

And so fasting is not just third. It's

:

not least important because it was the last one. It's important

:

and we need to give weight, as Bruce would say to that.

:

We need to give credibility and heft to

:

that. Because when you fight things,

:

it's Emily's situation public.

:

There are things in our lives where it

:

takes more than just praying. We need to fast on

:

behalf of other people. We believe in intercessory prayer.

:

I've never seen it in scripture necessarily. Pastor Ronnie may have a better

:

understanding. What about intercessory fasting for people?

:

What about knowing somebody that's going through a struggle

:

with their relationship maritally or maybe there's a sickness, a

:

serious disease and you privilege to know that, then maybe you need

:

to fast and pray for that family

:

and do some warfare in the kingdom to break

:

bondages and let people be free.

:

So when he says, don't do these things for public

:

attention, he's talking about, where is your heart?

:

Where is your posture in this? If you

:

give just to be seen and known, then you're not giving.

:

That's donations. That's not generosity.

:

If you're praying just to be heard, you're not doing anything but

:

pushing there. And if you're fasting

:

for the attention, because woe is me, you

:

just want people's attention. Again, some things

:

do need to be hidden sometimes. We don't need to tell all our business,

:

but there is a scripture that says, if we'll confess our sins,

:

he's faithful and just to forgive us.

:

At six minutes,

:

two things.

:

I've got a couple of young men in the church

:

that I meet with once a month.

:

And then I've got a brother, young brother, halfway around the world

:

that we FaceTime or whatever you do.

:

When I was talking to the young brother

:

last Wednesday, a week ago,

:

y' all forgive me. My back's hurting still.

:

I just told the brother, I said, man, this discipleship thing

:

is not one way. This is not me pouring into you

:

every time we get together, and me telling you scriptures and me

:

doing this. I expect you to be praying and ask the Lord

:

for words for me. And when you see me step out of

:

line, and when you see me doing questionable things, call me on it, brother.

:

Discipleship is cyclical. It goes both ways.

:

And we were talking, I said, man, the Lord's just been convicting

:

me of some sins in my life. I said, not boulders.

:

When I recommitted my life back to the Lord in March of

:

1988, I've had sin in my life, believe me,

:

some pretty significant. But I feel like the

:

Lord and the Holy Spirit have gotten the boulders and

:

the rocks out of my life. I feel

:

like now, y' all know those little yin yang things that people have on their

:

desk, and it's just this little sand, and they got that little rake, and they

:

can do that.

:

What is it? Zen garden. I

:

told this brother, I feel like that's where God is in my life right now.

:

He's got the big things. Now he's taking that fine rake

:

and raking through those grains of sand to go, hey, there's

:

one. Hey, there's one.

:

And I wouldn't be surprised that in the process of getting those littler

:

grains out, that he goes, oh, there's one.

:

And it don't come out because we Gotta. Allen's

:

gotta start digging around that thing because it may be just the tip of another

:

boulder that I've not addressed in my life.

:

I say this to say

:

all you that raise your hands. 60 and older, 50 and older.

:

Some of y' all are in your 70s. Some of you're closer to 80.

:

I've told my kids I wouldn't talk like this,

:

but I am so ready to go home.

:

I love my family. I love you. But I am so ready to be out

:

of this world. And I don't. I'm not talking suicidal. I'm

:

talking. I know what's on the other side based on Scripture. And I'm.

:

I listen. There are beautiful

:

sights. God has allowed me to see some beautiful places

:

in this world through missions trips. But it does not

:

compare to what we're going to see in

:

eternity. And I'm so ready. I

:

wrote this young brother today, 3:19. I said,

:

the older I grow in my life and my faith,

:

I'm learning and discovering he's more real than the very breath I breathe.

:

I'm learning and I'm truly nothing without his divine providence

:

in my day to day living, moving and being in Him.

:

I need him every moment of every hour of every day.

:

Through the aches and the pains of my aging body, through the hurts and

:

wounds of brothers and sisters in faith.

:

I need his very presence in my every thought

:

and the prevailing actions from those thoughts.

:

His grace and mercy when I fail and sin against Him.

:

That's what I desire. He is our source and

:

sustainer. He is the glory and the lifter of my head.

:

We have to lean on him because he desires us to be

:

totally dependent upon him and his strength in our

:

weaknesses. Our righteousness is of no

:

worth when it's from our own volition, only. Only

:

when they are committed out of the obedience and a desire to please Him. Do

:

our righteous deeds have any value

:

or substance. I encourage this young

:

brother. Lean into him. Press in close so that the rhythms of your

:

heartbeat line up with the rhythm of his will for your life. Then be

:

quick to obey and carry out his charge to you for the kingdom's

:

sake. I said, but

:

son, after all of this, find your posture to be that of a humble

:

servant bowed in his presence in the awe and

:

wonder of how great and compassionate and

:

benevolent he has been in your life. If I don't

:

get anything else in this life, God has been more than good to me.

:

I never stand in a pulpit again. He's been more than good to me.

:

If I never get Another meal. He has been more than good

:

to me

:

and he's been more than good to you. Because we are no,

:

we're not worthy of what he has done for us. But yet he is so

:

gracious. This past weekend is not a one day

:

celebration and I have been so guilty of

:

that. He's risen. He's risen indeed.

:

And then the next week.

:

That should be a cry every day. He is risen.

:

He is risen indeed. And because of that I have the opportunity

:

to live and move and have my being in him.

:

I don't ever want to be accused of praying prayers

:

like he warned against. I don't ever want to be accused of

:

false generosity. I don't ever want to be accused of

:

fasting for the sake of being seen.

:

I want to have a heart posture of being broken

:

and contrite like David was. Because he said

:

that person I'll never cast away.

:

David cried in the midst of all that. Don't. He could have cried a

:

lot of things. He said, whatever you do, don't take your Holy Spirit from me.

:

How do we live this life without

:

the Holy Spirit in our lives? And if you've not encountered

:

Holy Spirit, I just pray that you would seek him. Cause

:

he's free. He's a gift. Jesus promised him to you.

:

He said, I go that I can seek. Send one,

:

ask for him. Let him fill your life up.

:

Father, I come to you in the name of Christ. I

:

thank you for my brothers and sister. I thank you that this house is not

:

a house like Matthew 6:1 18.

:

But the posture in the history of this house has been one

:

to be of a heart posture toward you,

:

to be a generous church. To be a church that does

:

pray and fast and seeks you. God.

:

Lord, our righteousness is filthy in and of ourselves. But God, the

:

righteousness of Christ covers a multitude of

:

sin and it cleanses us.

:

It makes us whole. God. So Lord, I pray for each

:

one in this room, wherever they are in their station of life,

:

Lord, that they would press in, that they would lean back against

:

your chest and get in rhythm with your heartbeat for their

:

loss, God. And then give them the boldness and courage to go

:

out and live it the way you've called them to live it. Go with us

:

from this place. Be with those that are sick among us. Be with those

:

that are broken among us. Be with the broken families, Lord. And let

:

your love fill those homes in love. In the

:

name of Christ, amen.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Springhouse Church Midweek
Springhouse Church Midweek

Listen for free