your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 5. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. One of the most frightening things that can happen to you is to be chased. I don't know if you've ever been chased before, but it is terrifying. Whether it's a dog or a person, I mean, people literally, one of the most common nightmares that people have is the nightmare of being chased. And in that case, they don't even necessarily know what is chasing them. It's an unknown, unseen thing, but just the fear of knowing something's behind you and on your tails and your desire to escape it can be overwhelming. And yet, as frightening as being chased is, we also know that there's a comfort that if you reach a place or a person, the chase will stop. Imagine, if you will, that you are being chased by these dangerous men, violent criminals. They have one goal, and that is to harm you. Then you spot a police station filled with righteous police. And you make a bolt for the door. I mean, you're running as fast as you can. You run inside, close the door behind you, reach the counter, and you sigh. But then you hear the door open behind you. They followed you in here. They're not afraid of the officers. They're still behind you. The danger has not departed. The need for safety is still Now that can be more alarming than being chased itself. The place you thought you would go to find safety is actually the place where your pursuer has come. Jesus said, and when you pray. And I don't know about you, but there are some terrifying implications in those four words. That is a very frightening statement. Last time we looked at our actions, beware of practicing your righteousness before others. When you give to the needy, don't sound the trumpet. Don't try to get attention for yourself. And looking at our actions before others, we could see how that could be tainted by self and pride. the desire for our own works to be praised, to be thought well of by others, to even adjust our behavior because certain people are present, we get the fact that that's a constant temptation. But when that does happen to you, when that temptation rises up in you, when you begin to put on the mask because the audience is present, what should you do? What must we do when we're being chased by the vile, evil mob of self and pride? We must run to God himself, right? Run to the throne of grace, there we may receive help in a time of need. Run to the hill of the Lord where our help comes from. Look to the King who rescues us from our pride and our selfishness, and so you do. You run right into the palace of the Prince of Peace, and there you are before the throne, and then you hear the throne room door open behind you, as Jesus says these four words, and when you pray. You see what this means? It means that even as we run to the throne of God, our selfish pride runs right behind us. Our temptation towards idolatry follows us even into the very throne room of God himself. I mean, that's horrible. How sinful must we be that even in the presence of God, there are warnings for us? And warnings against what? What does he say? And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. Hypocrisy. Even in prayer, this means that you can be a hypocrite even in the presence of God before the living God, kneeling before the face of God. You and I can be like a hypocrite even when we pray. As we remember, Jesus is giving us more than a lesson about money and praying and fasting here. As if that's all that we need in the Christian life is to know how to pray and how to give and how to fast. Like there's nothing else that this includes. We know that He is giving us foundational realities and eternal principles to apply to every area of our life. How to deal with others, illustrated by giving to the needy. How we interact with God Himself, illustrated using the example of prayer and how we deal with our own hearts illustrated using the example of fasting. So why does he use prayer? Well, think with me. What is prayer? Dependence on God. Communion with God. Reliance on God. Intimacy with God. Affection for God. seeking after God, hungering and thirsting for God, drawing near to the very heart of God. This is prayer. This is the heart of prayer, the essence of prayer. And what better summarizes all of our intimacy with our king than prayer itself? What better sums up all of our interaction with him, with our heart and our mind, our relationship than prayer? Prayer is literally the infinite one and you together. This is worship. This is seeking after Him with all of our heart, our mind, and our strength. And Jesus says, when you pray, as pure as prayer is, as holy as being close to God is, as glorious as intimacy with the King of all kings is, Even in the midst of the cleanest hospital, disease can rise. Even in the richest palace, as the proverb says, the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in king's palaces. What a thing. And when you pray, this is not a new thing. This danger, this caution, it's not new. Think back with me. We talked about it a bit very briefly in the Sunday school. Before the fall of Adam, something else happened. The first sin was not committed by man. But who? The angels. Amen. The angels of God, led by Satan himself. And where was the devil when he sent? In heaven. Think of that. What did Jesus say? I saw Satan fall like lightning. Where? From heaven. Sin was found in heaven itself, in the heart of Lucifer. Ezekiel says, you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till unrighteousness was found in you. Think of all of heaven, the cherubim, the seraphim, the glory, the majesty, the beauty, the worship, the perfection, the splendor of it all. And God, all is God, all is worshiping him. He is before all and seen by all. And there, even there, in the midst of all that glory and all that holiness, sin springs up in the heart of Lucifer. Let me tell you something. Sin does not respect your prayers. Self will not give you privacy as you talk to your father. Pride and lust won't stop chasing you when you get to the king of glory. Brothers and sisters, temptation toward hypocrisy remains even as you enter into the very presence of almighty God. Santa's crouching at the door. even in prayer. So how does the hypocrite pray? And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. We say, well, what was the problem with the hypocrite? Maybe their problem was they just didn't pray enough. It was a lack of prayer. That's bad. Not praying as we should, not praying as often as we should. That's definitely a problem. Maybe they were praying to the wrong God. Clearly, that's a problem. But it's interesting that that's not what Jesus points to. He says, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners. They love to stand and pray. That sounds good. Is there anything wrong with standing and praying? Well, no. It's a very common thing in our Bibles. Jesus said, and whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone. Jesus has no problem with praying and standing up while you pray. That's not the problem. They love to pray. They love to stand and pray. Not only that, but they love to pray in the synagogues and at the street corners. Not a shame to be seen praying. Not a shame to be heard praying. Not a shame to be looked at as one of God's people. It's not a bad thing to pray in the synagogue. It's not a bad thing to pray in the street. It's not a bad thing to stand praying. It's not a bad thing to pray out loud. That's not the issue. Daniel opened his window right before he was thrown into the lion's den as he would pray three times a day. It's not a bad thing that people see you praying. Jesus said these words as he was praying. Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." Standing isn't the problem. Where they were at wasn't the issue either. So what was the issue with the hypocrite's prayer? What is the hypocritical way to pray? That they may be seen by others. Why do they love to pray? Because they love God? Because they depend on Him? Because they need Him? Because they want to be with Him and learn about Him? Because they trust Him and they enjoy Him and they desire Him? Is that why they love to pray? No, they love to pray because prayer brings them attention from other people. These hypocrites love to read their Bibles. They love to listen to sermons. They love to sing to Him and worship Him and meditate and memorize verses and all of that and much more. Why? Because every verse they read brings them closer to knowing the love of their soul. Every verse they memorize stores in their heart the words so that they may not sin against the God that they love. Is it because when they sing songs, their heart is just so full to bursting and these words give an opportunity to express what is going on inside of them? No. It's not why they read. It's not why they sing. It's not why they memorize or do anything else. Their goal is to be seen by others. And we look at that and we say, those foolish hypocrites, those wicked, ugly, disgusting hypocrites. Who would dare worship God in such a way? We would never do such a thing. We know better than that. Y'all know what the straw man fallacy is? Straw man fallacy is, you know, straw man, right? You build a man out of straw. He looks like a man. And sometimes in wars, Armies would do this if they didn't have enough soldiers, they would put clothing on straw to make it look like they had far more men than they did. They'd put them in the tower where the archers would be and people would say, oh no, they have archers. So they would stand at a distance. But the truth of the matter is a straw man is easy to knock down. It's not a real man. We can create straw men caution. easily avoidable. No warning for me. I don't stand outside to pray to get attention. I don't pray loud with bells and robes. I'm not like them. I don't even pray at the prayer meetings. So check, check, check, right? This isn't a warning for me, but beware. We may be doing this far more than we think. How does this show itself in our lives? Where's the warning? Subtlety. That they may be seen by others. This carries the idea that you're not in an intimate one-on-one communion with the Lord, but this is for other people. What are some prayers that may show itself like this? Have you ever prayed rebuking prayers? You know, that is you're praying, but actually what you're doing is you're rebuking someone else in the room. Because maybe someone didn't pray like you thought they should have. And so you're going to take your opportunity to pray, to point out what they didn't do right by praying the right way. And so you're rebuking them, or maybe someone upset you. And so rather than going to them to talk about the offense, You're going to cover with the guise of prayer. You're going to be calling out all the things that they do in a very general way. Who is that for? Who is that to? Who are you actually talking to when you do that? You're not talking to God, are you? We're talking to someone else. What about preaching prayers? Have you ever done that? You begin preaching a sermon in your prayer. Maybe it's because the church won't let you preach, maybe because You're a woman and you're not supposed to be in the pulpit or maybe you're unqualified, but they can't stop you from praying. And so you use your opportunity to pray, to do your three point sermon. Whatever you're going through and you use it to talk, but you're really not talking to God, you're preaching to the room again. Who is that to? Who is that for? Is that prayer? What about news report prayers? Have you ever done this? Giving the testimony of what happened to you? Father, you know, I was driving down the road and then this car came up behind me and it almost hit me, but I barely escaped. I just want to thank you for making sure that I didn't get hit. And you're really not talking to God. You're letting the room know what happened to you that day. Now, again, to say the events of the day or the week may very well be genuine prayer, but You can see the danger of this. It's a news report. We're not talking to God. We're updating the room about what happened to us. Is it really a deep, grateful cry of thanksgiving to the God who rescued you or brought you out? And you're just, thank you, Lord, for what you did today. And no one else really even knows the details of it. And it's not necessarily important to you that they know the details because you're not talking to them. Who are we saying these things for? What's the hypocritical way to pray? That they may be seen by others. Maybe we wanna show ourselves to be spiritual in our prayers. So we try to flex our theological muscles by using certain terminology or talk about the books that we've been reading or the things we've been listening to or scriptures that we've been memorizing. And really what it is, it's an opportunity to flex and to floss and to show off what we are and what we've learned and what we've been in. But the question again arises, who is this for? Who are you really talking to? Sometimes we can be so aware of what's going on in the prayer meetings, even while we're praying. And sometimes we even do this with our children. Again, I get it where we're training and we have to keep our eyes on our little ones. But sometimes we know that our children have their eyes open when they're praying and we have to say, well, how did I know that? Again, the idea is we have to ask ourselves these questions because even at the throne room, Even at the throne, in the presence of Almighty God, we're not safe from selfishness and idolatry and pride creeping up behind us and latching on. Do you want to be seen by others? As you go after the Lord, as you draw nigh to him, what is motivating what you say and what you do? Is this really for him? Imagine this. A man takes his wife out to spend some time with her. He tells her, it's just going to be me and you. I want you all to myself. I want to spend time with you and enjoy your company. So he plans to take her to a nice restaurant. And while they're in the car on the way there, she's on her phone. And she's telling all her friends everything that they're going to do, taking pictures along the route, sending updates of the whole trip. They get to the restaurant. They get to their table. She says, hey, will you pose for a picture with me? And he's like, oh, she wants to remember this time. Wonderful. And as soon as they take the picture, she starts cropping and filtering. And then she posts it. She takes pictures of the food, of the waiter, of the conversations. And then she spends her time responding to all the comments that are coming from the things that she posted. And after this, they go on a walk. She turns on the voice recorder, not to capture the conversation in order to remember it, but to play it for others. And what will we say about such a thing? What will we say about that wife's heart towards her husband? Or what is the true problem? in this behavior. She's not really there with him, is she? She's with him physically, but her true interest, her heart, her mind, her true desire is all that will come to her from journaling and detailing this very special and very intimate outing. The church is the bride of Christ. for children of the father, is this how you treat him? Are you with him in prayer? Are you talking to him or are you talking to your friends? You're praying, but really you're talking to your children, you're talking to your spouse, you're talking to this person or that person. Who is it all for? We can say, that's how the hypocrites pray, and they pray like that, and I never pray like that. But as we start to examine the way we pray, we may find that our motivation is to be seen by others as well. That's what they are after. That's their whole point. That's their reward. He says, truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. Now certainly the reward may be the applause, right? The wow, the admiration. But sometimes the reward is not just to be seen, but how they're seen. They want to be seen a certain way. A man proposing, to his bride-to-be. He may do it in a room full of people, a stadium, movie theater, but it doesn't really matter who else is in the room because his focus is there. But have you ever seen the proposals where you can clearly see this man is doing this for show? He's trying to impress others because He wants to be seen as a romantic man. This is really not for his bride. Yes, he's doing this for her, but his goal is to be seen as a romantic. He wants everyone to know that he's romantic. And so he does all these things and she benefits to some degree, but really has nothing to do with her. Really, it's all about him because he desires to be seen a certain way. And it's a sad thing. when a precious moment between people that's supposed to be intimate is tarnished with the desire to be seen by the crowd. Well, we would say that's sad, but how much more when it comes to the king? What reward are you after? May I ask a challenging question? Do you want to be known as a man of prayer? Why? There's a reward in that. Do you want to be known as a man of the word? Do you want people to know that you're a praying woman, a worshiping? Oh, she's a worshiper. Is that something that you want? Singing songs of adoration to the king. But really, this is all about your voice. You're singing to him, but really, He's the last thing on your mind. Again, is this law? Is this an absolute? But you can see the danger, right? The temptation of wanting to be seen a certain way is that we will begin to do things in order to keep the reputation. I want people to see me as a man of prayer. So I'm going to make sure that I do whatever I need to do so that they keep thinking and keep seeing and keep admiring me as a man of prayer. And I will intentionally put myself in position in situations where maybe someone might walk in on me. Oh, that's a man of prayer. But it stops being about me and him, and it starts being about you. Because there's a reward in being seen a certain way. There's a reward in being admired by others. There's a reward in people thinking something about you. We have to ask ourselves the question, why? I want to be known as a man of the word. Why? I want to be known as a praying person. Why? Do you want closeness to him? Is that the goal? Is that the motive? Or that men would look at you, write about you and talk about you? That's a praying man right there. She's a walking Bible. Oh, what a worshiper he is. Beware. Because it can lose all meaning, all reality. It can be nothing more than the man proposing to his wife, trying to be seen as the romantic. It's no longer for God or to God. It's to keep the engine running, to keep the hands clapping, to keep the admiration growing. That's how the hypocrite prays. That's what they're after. Some people like to journal. Journaling is a wonderful habit. It's kind of like a diary where you kind of record your interaction with God and what he's doing in your life. And this is you and him. And you're recording this wonderful relationship. And yet some people choose the journal, choose the pen, choose the penmanship, because the hope is that someone will one day find this and they will read of my great conquests and my great wonderful conversations with God, and it stops being about God. Who is this for? If that is how we pray, if that is how we worship, if that is how we sing, no reward at all except the one man will give us. You know, in the temple, there was oil. This special concoction of oil that was only to be used in the worship of God. And what a wicked thing it would be to take this precious oil that is for God and God alone and use it as air freshener in our homes. Do you see how subtle this can be, brothers and sisters? John MacArthur said this, do you want to be rewarded by God or by men? Do you really want men to hear your prayer or do you want God to hear? Because if you want men to hear your prayer, God doesn't hear it. People say, I've been praying so long and I pray and it seems that the Lord doesn't answer. Well, maybe you're praying for display and maybe you're praying to show how prayerful you are so that others will think you're righteous rather than really talking to God. Because if you're praying for men, you have your reward, but it won't come from God. This is how the hypocrite prays. reads, studies, sings, journals, meditates. May God keep us from this hypocrisy. So what is the right way? This is the wrong way. What is the right way? But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. But we must be careful not to build a straw man on the other side of the road either. The hypocrite prays publicly to be seen while the genuine believer prays privately. Well, that sounds good on the surface. What could be wrong with that? The words support that. Sounds like what Jesus meant by what he said. But that can lead us into thinking that the safety is found in isolation. And I must confess, I thought that the whole problem was solved if you would just pray by yourself where no one can see. Just be alone and everything is all right. But is the location the problem? Christendom said this, Yes, they pray in secret, but they pray so loud that everyone down the hall hears them praying in secret. I mean, that's one thing that could happen. But there are other dangers of praying in your closet and hearing yourself pray. So here you are alone. You're not in the corporate setting. No one can be impressed by what you say. But as you pray, you begin to say things like, wow, that was pretty good. I'm getting better at this. This is going really well. I'm praying earnestly here. I'm being humble now. I'm praying for my enemies. That's holy of me. Did you know that you can become impressed with your own prayers? With how you say things? Martin Lloyd Jones said this, my prayer is always going to be the secret prayer. This is the thought. Yes, but it is possible for a man to pray in secret in such a way that everybody knows he is praying in secret because he gives the impression by spending so much time there that he's a great man of prayer. When you are in the secret closet, what thoughts come to you? Thoughts about other people who know you are there and what you are doing and so forth. We could go to our closet. to our room, to our special prayer place, and make sure everybody knows we're going there. I'm going to have my quiet time now. I'm going to be praying. I'll be there for two hours or three hours or all day. You know I pray all day, don't you? Yes, I go in my closet by myself, just me and God. I sure do. It's almost time to go now. You stay here and watch TV. I'm going to go pray. And then you get down before the king of all kings. And these thoughts begin to creep into your mind. All those people out there know I'm praying. They know I'm in here. They must think very well of me by now. I've been in here so long. And then you come out with the tears dry and the snot running and people see, oh, that person's been praying. Why? Why would we do such a thing? What is motivating? You see, the safety isn't the location. You can be all by yourself and be just as self-centered and just as selfish and just as prideful. You can be doing it still to get the attention and to get the accolades and still to be seen as a man of prayer or a woman of prayer, a woman of worship or sing or whatever else. The issue isn't the location. And like I told you, so many, myself included, focused on the location. thinking that that's the issue that Jesus is only dealing with here. Some people will go out into the wilderness, climb mountains, but everyone knows that they're out there and why they're there and what they're doing. And then they come down from the mountaintop. What a holy person. Wow. He went to a desolate place to go pray and be alone, but everyone knew what you were doing. Some say, but Jesus went to desolate places. Again, there's nothing wrong with praying in the mountains or the woods or any of that. But listen, this is Mark 1 and rising very early in the morning while it was still dark. Very early in the morning, still dark. Most people are what? Asleep. He departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, which means they didn't know where he was. He didn't go tell everybody, hey, I'm about to go to a desolate place to go pray intimately with my father. When they found him, they said to him, everyone is looking for you. And he said to them, let us go to the next town that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. Did you notice he didn't say, oh, I was in prayer. Oh yeah, yeah, I went over to a desolate place by myself and I've been there all morning. Do you notice he didn't broadcast that. He woke up when everyone was asleep He went by himself. They were searching for him. And when they found him, he didn't talk about what he was doing. Mark 6 45 says, is it after he fed the thousand? Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. He dismisses his disciples. He dismisses the crowd. Once he's alone. Now he goes to be with his father. You see. Why did he do it this way? Because it wasn't about the crowd, it wasn't about the applause, it wasn't about the admiration, it wasn't about him being seen or known as a man of prayer. He wasn't trying to be known as a man of prayer. He wasn't trying to be known at all. No fame for him, no glory for him, all for his father. Everything he did was trying to draw attention to his father. He didn't glorify himself. He wasn't pointing to himself. He was constantly pointing to God. He was not trying to draw attention to himself. On the contrary, how often did he say to others, don't tell anybody what I did? Just go and show yourself to the don't tell anybody what I did. His business was trying to make known his father. And when it was time for him to pray, it was about intimacy with his father because he genuinely loved his father and he wanted to be with him. Do we? Is that us? But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you certainly. He is calling us to times of privacy with Him. Times when we are alone with Him, literally. Times when we are enjoying all that He is without others. Every Christian must have this in their life. You must have your own private time away from everyone else with Him. in the word and prayer and song and however else you seek to draw nigh to him, that must be done away from others. If it's only done publicly, it says a lot. Something is very telling about the one who only prays during the prayer meeting, reads only during the service and sings only in family worship. So yes, he is calling us to the private chamber but much more than this. This is a matter of the heart, not just the body. If we're doing all of this for the ears of others, the eyes of others, the thoughts of others, then the problem is the same, whether we're in the public prayer meeting or in the private closet. Who are we unconcerned with when we do these things? Who is being neglect did, and frankly, who is being used. There's a term in our culture of the trophy wife. Y'all have heard this term before? It's the idea of a guy having a pretty woman on his arm. He really doesn't care anything about her, but she is to impress others because when they see, wow, you can get a girl like that, then here come the accolades. Here comes all the applause and pats on the back. And this is a horrible thing because that man cares nothing for that woman. He is only using her that others may admire him. Is this what we are doing to our God? Using prayer, using scripture, using all of this intimacy and worship only so that people might admire us. God is not to be treated like a trophy wife. This must be repented of. So what is this idea of shutting the door? It may be the literal closet. It's shutting out everyone else of the inner chamber of your heart, where it's just you and him. And this may be in the prayer meeting, because when we're in the prayer meeting, you need to shut the door where it's just you and him. It may be in your bedroom where you shut the door and the heart is just you and him. You're not praying to be heard. You're not praying to be seen. It may be at the dinner table or maybe as you're walking along in the field, wherever you pray, whenever you pray. This is how we must pray. This is how we must worship. This is how we must approach God. Again, I like how John MacArthur says this, pray in secret. Maybe that means going into your room. Maybe that means being in your closet. But it sure means more than that. It means that. It means that if you're even in a public place, praying in the community of believers in the assembly of the church or while you're driving your car at the office or walking down the hall or the corridor of the street, that whatever communion you have with God shouldn't be a display. It should be the quiet, secret communion between you and him. that knows nothing of an audience, even though the biggest audience in the world should be there. This is you and Him. This is God and you. Intimacy with the King who made you, with the Christ who saved you. So once we shut out everyone else, and it's just us, Then what? When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who sees in secret. It is absolutely essential that you realize who he is. This isn't about anyone else's eyes or ears or admiration. This is about you and Him. And yes, the public prayer meeting is a corporate idea, but still you are praying and you are going on behalf of all of these people to Him. Not talking to them. It's still shutting them out and bringing the needs of all to the Father. But you pray to your Father. That's essential that when we go to him, you see him as father. You come to him as child. The father loves you. He is parental towards you, answering prayers according to his glory and your eternal good. But do you see him as an ogre? Who hates you? Some cruel dictator that wants to keep good things from you. Do you have this idea that you have to try to twist his arm to give you what you need? He's so unwilling to give you what you need and you have to twist his arm in order for him to be kind to you. Is that how you see him or do you see him as father? He is your father, Christian. And if you ask for something and he does not give it to you, it is not because he is unkind or cruel towards you. It is because as a father, he knows what is best for you. And his love moves him to glorify himself and to do you the most good. Some of you know Casey, the Schwartzels. He came to our house the other day and he was showing me and my family about firearms. We don't know that much about them. And so he brought them and the rounds and showing us all about firearms. And he's teaching us the rules and the mechanics of them. Well, if one of my children after that lesson said, Daddy, I want a gun. That was so cool. I want a gun. Will you give me one, Daddy? What does love say? in time, son, as you learn, daughter, but not now. That's not unkind of me. That's not cruel of me. That's not somehow this wicked notion. No, this is love that motivates that answer. And likewise, children of the father, as we go to him and ask for things, if he says no, it's love that motivates that answer. And He's the Father who sees in secret. Because He sees in secret, there's no pretending because He sees. I talked earlier about running to the throne and hypocrisy right on your heels. And how do you escape such a thing? Oh, no, the self is coming with me into the throne. Where is the safe place? It's knowing that he sees in secret. He knows your heart. He knows the thoughts. He knows your mind. He knows it all. And when that's the case, you can be real. But what if you're praying and your thoughts betray you? Self or pride begins to impress upon you and creeps in. Well, then you bring that to the father who sees in secret. Father, I don't know if I'm saying this because I'm hoping somebody will walk in on me while I'm saying it, or if I'm genuinely meaning this to you. I don't know where my heart's at right now, but I'm bringing this to you because I know that's a wicked thing and I don't want that. You see, it's even that you can bring to him. the hypocrisy that comes, the selfishness that comes, bring it to him, bring it all and tell him, tell him the thoughts. Lord, I'm having a blasphemous thought about you. I'm thinking about you like you're cruel because I've been asking you for this for a long time and you haven't given it to me. And I know you're my father. I know you see in secret, but I'm being tempted with these evil thoughts. That's real. And if somebody walks in on you and hears that, they may not think very well of you, but it doesn't matter because you're talking to him, right? Your father sees in secret. This will kill the villain of hypocrisy. He's the God of all creation and he's spending time with you. If you're thinking about just you and him and he is your father and he sees in secret, he sees your mind, he sees your ideas, he sees your desires, he knows it all. What would that relationship be like? to be real. This is what we apply to every area of our interaction with our God. And then lastly, what does he do? He is the father who sees in secret and he rewards those who pray like this. He does not reward those who pray like the hypocrite. He rewards those who pray like this. He has true and eternal rewards to give. Does that mean that He won't answer your prayer if you pray like the hypocrite? I'm not saying that. God in His kindness may give you what you're asking, even if you've been praying for the ears of others. That's a very real possibility. God is kind and He will do His will. But there are other rewards to be gained beside getting your prayer answered. And He's telling us, go after them. There is nothing selfish about going after rewards when the father says there are rewards, come get them. I mean, what would it mean if we leave rewards untaken, unearned, ungotten when he says you can get them? The Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So go after him. And you will find that his right hand pleasures forevermore. And Christ is at his right hand. And all the promises of God have their yes and amen in Christ himself. He gives rewards. He lavishes them upon us if we go after them. The hypocrite does not get these kinds of rewards. And if you want the praise of men, you'll get it. But not these. So what are these rewards? Well, the greatest reward It's himself. And that may sound cliche, but listen, there is no greater reward that he could give. You say, but I'm a Christian, I already have him. There are greater depths of love. There's closer steps of intimacy. There is more. to gain in your relationship with Him than where you are right now. It doesn't matter how close you are to Him, there's closer. Moses says, I want to see your face. I want to see your glory. And he's on the mountain receiving the very commandments of God as he's speaking to Him face to face. And he said, there's more, and I want it. And God says, I can only give you so much. There is much, much, much more, much deeper, There are experiences that God will give to you in closeness with Him. There are manifestations of His glory in His presence. He will wrap His arms around you while you pray, bring you to your knees, cause tears to flow. D.L. Moody said there was a time when he had to tell God, stop. People have been so overwhelmed with the closeness and the joy and the glory and the splendor of it all that they dare not even write detailed about it. There's so much more that you can have in your relationship with God that maybe you haven't even thought was possible. But it's not for those who pray like the hypocrites. It's not for those who read the words just so they can have something clever to say to people. It's not for those who listen to sermons so that they can talk about how many sermons they listen to. It's for those who go after him with a pure heart, genuinely calling forth everything in them that is impure and saying, Lord, search me, know me. I want to be close to you. I want to love you. I hunger and thirst after you. Everyone does not have the same passion for God's glory. Do they? Some people are far more concerned with God being glorified than others. And you, dear brother and sister, can be far more, far more concerned with God's glory than you are right now. And the only reason I'm not closer to him is not because he has withdrawn himself from being approached. It's because I have not pursued him greater. Some are far more content in Christ than others are. And you, you can go through the greatest trials and the greatest suffering, the greatest sorrow, and have joy in the midst of it because God rewards those who diligently seek Him. And one of His rewards is greater contentment in Him. What a joy that you could face anything in this world, anything that comes, any conflict or disappointment and still have joy, that's a reward for those who diligently seek Him. More love. What about the reward of being able to hear the cries of Calvary clearly? when temptation and sin approach you, you say, I could never do such a thing because Christ died for me and I can still hear his cries as it were. He can give you that. He can give you eyes to open up the Bible and see things that others don't. He can give you joy and prayer that others are praying for. He could give you a sense when you sing that you are in the very throne room of God and the angels are surrounding you. Brothers and sisters, I'm telling you, there are rewards, there are jewels, there are treasures. Go after them. Let love be your motive. May God be your goal. and all that you do to worship him. Shut the door. Block out others. Remember the intimacy that you see in the song of Solomon. He cries out to his beloved. Come away with me. Come away with me. He cries to you, Saint. Come away with me. I wanna speak to you through my word. Come away with me. I wanna wrap my arms around you in prayer. Come away with me and tell me what I mean to you in song. Come away with me. Forget them, forget their thoughts, forget their admiration, forget their opinion of you and come away with me. He calls to us all, brothers and sisters, let us go to him. Father, forgive us for our hypocrisy and any sign of it that we have done to be seen by others. Forgive us for how we have tarnished prayer, how we have brought self even into your very presence. Lord, help us. Help us to pursue you and to draw nigh to you as you draw near to us. In Jesus' name, amen. You're dismissed.