(October 14, 2025) Dr Richard Winter sincerely and deeply challenges…

Question: Why don’t people like coming to church?

a) Implication
Some of the reasons may be—

• I once came to church and was hurt by the church.
• They only want my money.
• I don’t like organised religion; too many rules.

But the big answer to this question seems to be— There are too many hypocrites in church.

Just a side note before we delve deeper… Hypocrites are mentioned 12 times in Matthew. Jesus spoke about them to His disciples, so if this was important to Jesus it has to be important to us!

Matthew 6:1-18 addresses three important pillars of Jesus’ teaching to His disciples…

1) Giving (v1-4)
2) Prayer (v5-15)
3) Fasting (v16-18)

1. Giving
The heart of understanding these teachings is to know that Jesus is teaching about personal motives: Why do we do what we do? What moves us to act and behave as we do? Is it the visible recognition by others?

Jesus has already criticised the Pharisees for this— but is it what’s in our hearts too? Once again He reminds us that ‘The heart of the matter is the heart of the matter.’ So—

• How do we handle the needs of others?
• How do we do giving in God’s way?
• How do we become the disciples that Jesus wants us to be?

Well firstly understand that this article is about a Discipleship Manual of Jesus!

In my career I’ve had to learn the contents of many work and training manuals… I’m sure you have too regarding what to do about operations… what you need to know… as well help you gain a  job or achieve a higher position.

Now apply this principle to Jesus’ teaching in what to know and what to learn  because we need to know: The ‘What, When, Where, Why and How’ to do His will in a world that rejects most of what He says and wants us to do likewise.

(i) Caution
Jesus clearly explains how our interactions with others are to operate… and essentially done secretly— ‘Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven’ (v1,5,16).

Regarding giving to the needy, we all know there are always needy people. In Jesus’s time it was common to celebrate giving to the poor by doing it publicly as in ‘Come to the synagogue and we will give you food.’ And ‘Come to the city centre: get clothing and food.’

And while this was being done it simply said: ‘See how good we are, how righteous, how wonderful we are.’ As strange as this would be to the disciples Jesus turns public displays of generosity into a private, personal joy of obedience. Do note His wishes and clear directions of Matthew 6:2-4—

‘So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’

(ii) Carefulness
‘Be careful.’ KJV reads ‘Take heed’… this is the Greek word proseho meaning to pay attention to, be careful, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere.

Message Bible reads ‘Be especially careful.’ Jesus is directing His disciples that to give to the needy and poor should not be done with a show of noise! And He is believing that they will ‘get it.’

The motive is clear: Disciples do not pat themselves on the back or applaud their own goodness for being godly. The reward for giving comes from God… you are obeying God in giving and He will reward you.

(iii) Camouflage
But… before we move on can we define a hypocrite (hupokrite)?

• Originally a hypocrite was a play actor in Greek or Roman theatre.
• These are actors pretending to be someone else.
• They did not wear makeup— they wore masks pretending to be someone but were really another.

The message from Jesus is: Don’t wear a mask when it comes to your faith: Be the real thing… no play acting, pretending, fooling other people.

And when it comes to giving to help others remember there is a grace to giving. Apostle Paul wriote two chapters about it in 2Corinthians 8-9 where we are told to give sacrificially, joyfully, liberally and thankfully.

Take chapter 8:3- 5 for example: ‘I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.’ 

When you give, this is where your heart is guiding your hands so that the left one doesn’t know what the right is doing but in your doing you are serving God and not the crowd—

• You become generous just like God is generous with us.
• The Holy Spirit at that moment inspires you to give not your budget.
• God can replace whatever you give with more.

2. Prayer
Then Jesus highlighted non-hypocritical prayer: ‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you’ (Matthew 6:5-6).

(i) Definition

• You are expected to pray— but not for public praise!
• This is expected to be regular personal praying, not just church prayer meetings!
• And it’s to be done in secret!

Jesus is helping us understand who we are in private is who we really are.

Some years ago in London when my wife Wendy had some important activities to complete I went along with her. The office she had her appointment in was right next to the home of  John Wesley the founder of the Methodist Church. Wendy went to the office… I went to the home.

There were all the personal memorabilia of Wesley… his clothing, Bibles, books, publications. But what impressed me most was his prayer desk… a small kneeling stool in front of a small stand that held a huge Bible.

John Wesley started a movement that changed the world and it started with prayer. He had been a failed American missionary largely due to his difficult relationship with the colonists and his failed love affair with a young woman.

(ii) Discovery
When he returned from America to London he was walking by a small church and heard the preaching of Paul on Romans and God touched his heart… essentially the book of New Testament doctrine.

Prayer and Bible reading led to Wesley dealing with how to reach people who are lost in sin, bound by addictions and habits. Thus persuaded  he wrote small books explain his methods of dealing with scripture and the actions of men. That’s how they became known as Methodists… they followed his methods of training men and women for the cause of Christ.

When Jesus prayed He could have used the liturgical prayers of the religious— but His prayers were not recorded as being prayers from memory, they were often instantaneous and  spontaneous… an expression of His deep communion with His Father.

(iii) Direction
So how should you pray?

A true disciple prays for approval from heaven while a hypocrite’s desires the approval of a human audience. Many words do not equal prayer so disciples don’t babble! God is not an idol nor is He deaf and  saying the same thing to Him is not a guarantee of His action.

God knows our needs before we ask! ‘Before they call I will answer’(Isaiah 65:24). How should we talk to God? It’s simple—

• Talk like you talk to a loving Father.
• Remember God is your heavenly Father.
• He is always listening.
• He is always ready to bless.
• God is always able to answer according to His will!

3. Fasting
Jesus then places one more spiritual discipline before His disciples. This is normally fasting from food to concentrate on prayer… but you can fast from other activities— no internet prayer, cell phone prayer and TV prayer.

(i) Requirement
The Old Testament required the nation to fast on the Day of Atonement. Churches are often called to pray when they have a major problem or they wish to know how to move into the future or make a major decision that will affect the church. Consequently fasting can be corporate or a group activity.

We should fast and pray for souls to be saved… for those that are sick, church finances, mission outreach activities of the church. Our attitude should be ‘God we are in a position to hear you! We have stopped the normal to hear the spiritual.’

Obviously Jesus was saying don’t look miserable when you are fasting: Hunger can make a noticeable bad face… don’t draw attention to yourself.

(ii) Reward
‘When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you‘ (v16-18).

For the third time Jesus is comparing and contrasting His true disciples with those that are playing a part. The activities of Giving, Praying and Fasting are not options… Jesus expects His disciples to be doing these things.

(iii) Redemption
We are not in God’s family to act for the approval of other men and women— we are here in the family of faith to worship God. Our motives are to guide our actions… this was the way of Jesus and His motive was to redeem all humanity from the penalty of sin.

The practice of spiritual discipline should not be played out before the audience of many… it should be before the audience of one, our heavenly Father who sees every action and knows every motivation! He and only He is the one we should concern ourselves with.

I started with one question but will finish with three:

• How is your prayer life?
• Are you fasting?
• Are you giving?

Which actually leads to other questions (also relative to many churches!). Our church calls itself The Connection Church but—

• Will we give time to pray and fast for souls to be saved?
• Will we give and financially support that mission.
• Are we being hypocritical in calling ourselves Christians.
• Are we wearing a mask so that others think we are Christians.
• Or have we decided to unmask and be Christians like the ones who Jesus was giving an employment manual to.

b) Implementation
A discipleship, instruction manual can be held in the hand, placed on a shelf or it can be read and implemented. Personally I’m for its total implementation… and so should be all Christians as followers of Jesus and His teachings.

A closing prayer: God—

• Reveal our hearts, unmask our actions.
• Involve us in constant secret doing.
• Impel us to cry out for more of you and less of us.
• Give our hearts a burden for souls to be saved.
• Increase our generosity to fund your purposes.

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Dr Richard Winter pastors The Connection Church, Huntington Beach, California. Link: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com  
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