Matthew chapter 6:21-34 (continued)

“For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also. ‘The eye is the lamp of the body.’ So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money.

‘Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?’

And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!

So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough ‘tsuris’ already!” [The Complete Jewish Bible]

We ended our last lesson with a question about who is your God. We see that Jesus is teaching us about the change from our hearts out to our bodies. This is the kind of change that is effected by the Holy Spirit living in us and us allowing Him to take charge and change us.This is called submission; a very hard thing for us humans to do. We don’t like to submit or rather we don’t like to think that we are submitting.

The devil allows us to think that we are ling free when in fact we are in submission to him and his ways. God’s way or the Devil’s way, those are the only choices available to people no matter what else appear to be offered. Two kingdoms, two kings, two destination and two lifestyles; Jesus warns us that we can only be loyal to one king at a time, either God or the devil but we cannot share allegiances. Our minds and God’s laws will not let this happen.

In the lesson today Jesus continues to teach on what true Godly living is all about. It is not about rituals and religious actions but rather a lifestyle that engulfs all that we are and do. In reference to the money and earthly treasures Jesus warns us to be weary of saving them up and depending on them.God’s desire in blessing us is that we bless others.

How Do You See Your riches?Verses 22-23

Are your riches yours to serve yourself or are they God’s given to you to serve others? How you view your possessions will determine who you are and who your God is. If you view your wealth and possessions as something to be hoarded and it is used as a standard of accomplishment as is the case in most of the world then it is very hard for us to share it and give it to others.

Wealth is a just reward for hard work and if one has worked hard and is doing very well it is easy to become resentful and hard hearted towards those that are less financially fortunate and we perceive to be lazy. The truth is that all wealth comes from God. There are many hard working people who do not get wealthy. Their effort is no less than any other; God simply does not allow them to become wealthy as that is His prerogative to do so.

There are some people who get rich by chance, the lottery or some discovery or invention that God allows. Here is a Biblical principle: Generous people always have enough and stingy people never have enough, no matter how rich they are. If God is in charge of you and your money then you will be generous, God is generous and if He controls your money then you will be as well.

If you view your money as some treasure to be hidden and counted often as a status symbol or as a measure of your worth then it will be your god and you will be selfish.And, even when you give it will be grudgingly. You will not view giving as a gracious act of thanksgiving but as a chore to keep up appearances.

The Cure for Anxiety, Verses 25-32

Trust God!!I should not have to say more.Somewhere along the line you have to make a decision; if God is able to provide then trust Him. If not then repent and trust Him. God is trustable; the issue then is with us and not Him.He has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that He is able and WILLING to provide for us.He provides for the unjust; how much morewill He provide for those who are justified in Jesus Christ.

I must make a confession; I can be a worrier at times.I can doubt the will of God to help me. I often worry that God will single me out and cheat me. He helps others and He offers them so much, but me, not me.God will look at my failures and faults and decide not to provide for me. This is the height of arrogance on my part and it is a false humility that challenges the character and power of God.

I think that my failures are more than God can forgive; they are more than the blood of Jesus can cover and that God will single me out of all His failing children to target.This is not the true nature and character of God. Matthew 5:45 tells us that God sends rain to the “just and the unjust” alike. You don’t see bumper crops at the Christian farmer’s fields and nothing at the lost farmer’s fields.This is not God’s nature or character.There is enough food in the world to feed all the people well. God has made sure of this. It is men who hoard it and/or use it for economic power that causes some to have and others to have little or none. God and His power are not the culprits, evil men are.

If you take an honest account of all that you have then you have enough and often more than enough. For those that are struggling in the area of needs, God has a plan for that. The New Testament church is to supply the basic needs of all that they can help as agents of God.We are God’s pantry and furniture stores and banks here on earth, and He has given to His Church the power, the ability and the mandate to help others physically.

Jesus set the example in His earthly ministry; He fed the hungry and befriended the lonely as much as He redeemed their lost souls.The religious leaders hated to be seen with the sinners and the outcast, but that is where Jesus spent most of His time.He simply loved the people.

Stop worrying, start serving! God will supply and provide.

Eyes and Hearts Right—Needs Are Provided, Verses 33-34

Put God first and promote Him to the head of all aspects of your life and all that you need will be provided. If you need anything good, ask God and He will give it to you. Keep asking and keep seeking and you will get what God determines is good for you. If you are truly subjected to God and He decided that a certain thing is NOT good for you, even though it is not a bad thing in and of itself, then you will be satisfied with His decisions and not suffer the perception of loss.

God will always give you what is good when He is in charge.When bad situations come our way it is often a lack of obedience and that ‘thing’ is of our own making.We do see in the Scripture where God allows bad things to happen to His people.The example of Job always comes to mind; God allowed some hard things to happen to Job even to the loss of his children and health.We see these things and it can cause us to fear.Job did put God first, he did seek God’s kingdom first.God Himself testified that Job was a righteous man, so why did He let these horrible things happen?

If you read the account of Job you will find that God took away what He had and then gave Him back double at the end.Sadly, most of us see the first chapters and fear; we almost read the last chapter without appreciation for what God did. Job 42: 12 tells us that God “Blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the earlier.”

You see, whatever Job had was nothing compared to what God wanted to give him.God knew where He was going and in submission to God, Job went along for the ride. Even in these situations God has our best interests at heart and wants to give us His best.We simply need to trust Him and trust His character.

“ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

www.mississaugamissionarybc.com

Matthew chapter 6: 16-21 (continued)

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they  have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you  do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Last time we began our talk about living out your Christian walk or life. Jesus taught that we are to live our lives simply to glorify God and honor Him.  We were not to seek the accolades of men and we were not to do our “good deeds” for others to see or simply for others to see. We live out our Christianity in service to God and Man. God alone needs to know what we are doing.

When we got to the end of our previous lesson, we touched on the subject of forgiveness. How are you doing with that? This is one of, if not the most important trait of a Christian. I can hear you talking to yourself and saying that “LOVE” is the most important trait of a Christian.

Forgiveness is the fruit of love. If you love someone you will forgive them. God loves the world so He is ready and willing to forgive. God loves us, His children, so He forgives our sins. In Psalm 19:12-13 we find three categories of sins, errors, a simply lapse in judgment, there was no intent to behave sinfully; it was a spur of the moment action.

Then there is sin that is sin as far as God is concerned called secret faults, but we let them slip from our conscience as we either forget to confess them or don’t know we need to confess them.  Then there is presumptuous sin, or premeditated sins. These are the sins that we know are sins and do them anyway. God forgives all of our sins when we ask and we are told by Jesus that forgiveness is a part of the Christian life. In Luke 17:3-4 we see this from the Lord:

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Forgiveness and love go hand in hand, if you truly love someone you will forgive them.  If you don’t you will not.  This is how resentment and division comes into churches; it comes from a lack of forgiveness. Once a lack of forgiveness takes root it leads to a lack of love and them resentment and division. We are called to forgive because we are forgiven. God forgives us so much that we cannot ever justify not forgiving those that wrong us.

Today we will continue our conversation about living out our Christian life solely for the glory of God and not seeking any accolades for ourselves.  This is very important for us to learn because the human spirit is easily deceived and led astray.

One can start out truly serving God, giving Him everything and a few well-meaning people will drop some compliments and the next thing you know we do what we do to get their attention and not solely to please God. This is idolatry. We crave that “good feeling inside” or we crave that “pat on the back.”

Pastors can fall into this trap very easily, we can begin to water down God’s messages to please the people in the pews and not preach the truth to please God.  Today we will look at fasting and storing treasure on earth.

Fast without People Knowing That You’re Fasting, Verses 16-18

There are many reasons to fast. One is to seek God’s answer about a certain matter. The other is the discipline of depraving oneself of food or an activity for the sake of bringing one’s body under control. Husbands and wives can fast for sexual activities (1 Corinthians 7: 1-7) and set the time aside for prayer. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights as we see in Matthew 4: 1-11.

There is a place for public fasting; we see that in the book of Jonah.  The entire city of Nineveh fasted seeking God’s forgiveness and hoping that their outward show of humility and sorrow would stave off the wrath of God that was coming.  In this case everyone knew that the other was fasting but there was no desire for man’s approval, this was all done to God.

In like manner a church can embark upon fasting as a group for a period of time when seeking an answer from God about a certain question or need.  Maybe they need a new Pastor or a new facility or more income.  Maybe they need protection from their enemies all this is good in the area of corporate fasting.

But then we come to issue of private fasting.  One needs an answer from God about a private manner or maybe you simply fast as an act of humility before God.  Maybe it is an act of obedience to God in the area of a certain thing; you fast from a certain food or a certain activity for the purpose of sacrifice before the Lord.  In the case we are examining in Matthew 6, it is fasting from food.

It would seem from Jesus’ explanation that it was common for the religious leaders of sects to fast.  But they would make sure that everyone knew that there were fasting by disfiguring their faces.  The Amplified Bible uses the terms “gloomy, sour and dreary’ as words for “disfigure.” The Complete Jewish Bible uses the word “miserable.”

The intent of this is to show that the sole purpose for fasting was to impress men with their piety and not seek God’s help or favor.  They did not need anything from God; they were not to bring their bodies into discipline as an act of humility before God.  The acknowledgement from men was their god and that is what they worshipped and that is all they got.  God in Heaven did not pay them any attention.

In contrast when we have a private matter between us and God for which we are seeking guidance or if we are in the process of bodily discipline for the purpose of honoring God we should do so secretly. Now obviously if I am fasting my wife and children may know since I am not eating at home.

But outside of that I am to make sure that the fasting is done between me and God. I am not to look sour and miserable, when hunger hits I am not to look down in the mouth. Only God and my family should know that I am fasting. This kind of sacrifice gets God’s attention and He will hear you and answer you.

Where Are Your Treasures? Verses 19-21

Money! It is a ruthless master and an unforgiving god. The Bible does not have a lot of good things to say about money. We need money, we need a place to live, a car to drive and there is nothing wrong with taking a vacation to a nice destination and enjoying the good times with your family.

I have known many Christians who are millionaires, I am sure that there are also some billionaires amongst our brothers and sister. The owners of Chic-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby in the USA are multi-millionaires no doubt. Solomon had more money than they and since no one was ever as rich as Solomon, he had more money that the men we see on TV. He had more money than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

The issue is not how much treasure you have it is how much of you does your treasure have? It  is easy for us to fall into the trap that earth riches equal God’s blessings. This is not necessarily the truth. For many men earthly riches become their god. It keeps them away from God and His work.  Jesus encountered this in His ministry in two ways, one was overt; we find this account in Mark 10: 17-22:

“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good’ No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’

And he said to Him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.’ Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”

This young man had a lot of wealth and the thought of selling it all and giving away the proceeds, even if it meant he would have eternal life, was simply too much to bear and he walked away from Jesus. The second kind of men we find with riches being their god are more covert; we find this in John 12: 42-43:

“Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

These men believed that Jesus was God and that He was all He said He was yet they feared what they had to lose in position and prestige more than what God thought.  These two examples are excellent in showing us the two sides of earthly treasure; one is tangible like money, the other more intrinsic like position.

Yet they can both become idols, and thus lead to us to placing God second in our lives. This is not at all allowed. Jesus encourages us to work in such a way as to store up treasures in heaven.  These are the kind of treasures that cannot be taken from us. The Bible tells us of 5 crowns we can earn from God for various endeavors.

Many are positions to be gained and kingdoms to rule in the ages to come. God is in the eternal reward business, and these are rewards you actually take with you. Who or what is you god? If God is your God then serve Him. Let Him worry about your treasures, He is not broke.

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

http://www.mississaugamissionarybc.com/