The Church of Eleven22 Podcast: “In the Secret - Mountain to Mountain - Matthew S2E4”

Date: March 2, 2026
Series: Mountain to Mountain (Matthew)
Host/Preacher: Pastor Joby Martin

Overview

This episode unpacks Jesus’ teaching on spiritual disciplines—giving, praying, and fasting—from Matthew Chapter 6, within the ongoing “Mountain to Mountain” journey (the Sermon on the Mount). Pastor Joby Martin emphasizes the heart motivations behind these disciplines, challenging the Church to honestly assess why they do what they do. The main theme: pursuing intimacy with God (“getting Him”) through humility, secrecy, and authenticity—not religious performance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Significance of “One Weekend” & Seed Metaphor

• Pastor Joby reflects on a recent gathering of 3,100 students and leaders and the unknown generational impact of such events.
• He tells a personal story (08:43) of his own calling into ministry that began as a response to God during a youth event, underscoring:

  "You have no idea what hangs in the balance on weekends like One Weekend—that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about." (08:50)

2. Recap of the Sermon on the Mount’s Heart Posture

• Summary of the Beatitudes and Jesus’ radical call: acknowledging our spiritual bankruptcy, mourning brokenness, surrendering control, and enduring persecution for living God’s way (14:00).
• Key insight: Discipleship is internal, not just external conformity.

3. True Righteousness—Beyond the Pharisees

• Jesus demands a righteousness that “exceeds that of the Pharisees”—not stricter rule-keeping but a transformed heart (17:30).
• Notable quote:

  "Everybody believes we should repent of our wretchedness… In this text, Jesus says we’ve got to repent even of our righteous deeds, if it's just religious righteousness." (18:00)

4. Spiritual Disciplines: Giving, Praying, Fasting (Matthew 6:1–18)

• Motivation Check: The “why” matters; authenticity before God, not performative acts for people.
• Lent Context: Lent is about preparing hearts for Resurrection Sunday by detaching from worldly claims via these disciplines.

a. Giving: Three Biblical Categories (27:00)

• Tithe: “First and best” 10% to God, demonstrating His lordship.
• Offerings: Additional gifts, e.g., missionaries, compassion ministries.
• Alms/Gifts: Spirit-led generosity to individuals in need.
• Pastor Joby’s practical challenge (40:20):

  "Keep a little folding money in your pocket... and pray, ‘God, I want you to lead me to give this away this month.’”

b. Warning Against Performative Religion (29:00, 36:00)

• Jesus: don’t “sound the trumpet” when giving; don’t use good deeds to gain human praise.
• Memorable illustration (36:00):

  "If you slide money in the giving box hoping God will ‘hook you up’ this week, you can’t put God in your debt."

• Reward: God “sees in secret” (Matt. 6:4)—intimacy and approval from the Father, not applause from others.

c. Prayer: Heart-to-Heart, Not Just Words (44:30)

• Not for show—don’t “pray-preach” in group settings to impress.
• Explanation of “closet” prayer—internal focus using the prayer shawl (46:00).
• Rebuke against rote repetition and empty phrases:

  "Stop being a parrot and be a prayer. We pray the dumbest stuff..." (50:30)

• Motive: To commune with God and “get Him” as the reward (52:00).

d. The Lord’s Prayer: A Model (Matthew 6:9–13)

• Importance of addressing God as Father—our relationship with Him underpins true prayer (57:30).
• Notable observation:

  "If you miss the first two words [‘Our Father’], the rest of your prayer will be worthless. The way you see God will determine how you interact with God." (58:00)

• The prayer progresses from God’s glory and kingdom to our needs, daily dependence, and a serious call to forgive as we are forgiven.

e. Fasting: Saying ‘No’ to Self for a Greater ‘Yes’ to God (01:15:00)

• Fasting exposes the flesh. Its purpose: cultivating hunger for God.
• Warning: Don’t fast for recognition; keep it between you and God.
• “When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face… that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret.” (Matt. 6:17-18)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Motives:

  "The reason we give and pray and fast is not to give and pray and fast. The reason… is so that we can know Jesus better. The moment we say, ‘Look at how good I am at giving/praying/fasting,’ we mess the whole thing up." (34:00)

• On Social Comparison:

  "Let me tell you how corrupt our hearts are. When you see a group photo… you automatically find you and evaluate whether it’s a good picture only based on how you look in the picture." (34:40)

• Rebuke & Repentance on Prayerlessness (01:05:00):
  Pastor Joby shares his disappointment at low prayer meeting turnout, realizing:

  "They're exactly where you've led them to be. So I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I have not prioritized prayer in our church." (01:09:10)

• Urgent Invitation:

  "Prayer is the power source… We have unlimited access to the unlimited power source and we don’t pray… Jesus said this is called a house of prayer. That’s why I’m calling us—on Wednesdays, let’s show up strong, man. Not because he needs us, because we need him." (01:10:20)

Important Timestamps

• Intro & Context: 00:04–10:00
• Reflection on One Weekend/Youth Impact: 10:00–13:00
• Sermon on the Mount Recap: 13:00–19:00
• Heart-Level Righteousness: 19:00–25:00
• Giving: Categories, Motives, Rewards: 27:00–44:00
• Praying: Public vs. Private, Motives, Lord’s Prayer: 44:30–1:02:00
• Prayer in the Life of Jesus & the Early Church: 1:02:00–1:11:00
• Rebuke for Prayerlessness/Invitation to Prayer: 1:09:00–1:13:00
• Fasting: Heart, Practice, Reward: 1:15:00–1:18:00
• Conclusion, Response, Worship, Final Prayer: 1:18:00–end

Actionable Challenges & Calls to Response

• Practice spiritual disciplines with authenticity. Give, pray, and fast “in secret”—for closeness with God, not for others to see.
• Prioritize prayer as a church and individually. Join in corporate prayer times; don't wait for desperation.
• Generosity Challenge: Keep “folding money”/cash aside for spontaneous, Spirit-led generosity.
• Reflect on heart motives: Regularly check if any discipline has become a mere ritual.
• Repent for prayerlessness or empty religion—move toward honest, desperate prayer.

Conclusion: The Ultimate Reward

At the heart of giving, praying, and fasting is not the act itself, but the Person—God Himself.

“Do you realize the incredible invitation in our Bible?… The King of the universe just says, ‘Come here.’” (1:16:30)

When we practice these secret disciplines, we do not just find reward—we find Him.