Welcome to the in-dutch podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, August 23rd.

Do you understand the purpose for fasting?

Today's podcast helps you gain a fresh appreciation for the place of prayer and fasting and talking with God.

You'll turn to Matthew chapter 6 and I want us to read a push to this chapter.

The first verse, the fifth verse, and then beginning in verse 16 through 18, and the title of this message, prayer and fasting and primarily,

the fasting is what we want to deal with this morning and the series on prayer.

He begins to the semen on the mouth in chapter 6 by saying,

take heed that you do not your arms before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your father which is in heaven.

Then verse 5 says,

and when you pray thou shall not be as the hypocrites are, but they love to pray standing in the synagogues and the corners of the streets,

they may be seen of men, verily I say unto you they have their reward.

Then in verse 18 is 16 he says,

moreover, when you fast be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance, but they disfigure their faces that they may appear undemanded fast.

Verily I say unto you they have their reward.

But thou when thou fastest are not on head and washed thy face.

That you may appear not to mend the fast, but unto thy father which is in secret, and thy father which is in secret,

will reward thee openly.

Now what he is saying in the first 18 verses, he is talking about giving to the poor, arms giving,

secondly he is speaking about prayer and third he is talking about fasting.

And in all three of these things he says there are several things for us to watch out for.

Number one he says,

you do not do it to be seen of men.

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