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/

Matthew  chapter 6: 1-21 (continued)

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.

Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. ‘Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.   In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

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.”

We ended last week with a challenge from the Lord to be more righteous than the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. These men were accused by Jesus of having an outward appearance of holiness but nothing on the inside to mimic their actions. What was really happening is this:  They had trained to behave religiously outwardly but without any inner change spiritually. A lot of that going around, it is nothing new. It has been the plague of “religion” since the fall of man.

Adam and Eve put on manmade clothes to appear modest to a Holy God, but their covering could not mask their shame and sin—since that was an internal matter. Only God can clean the inside, only God-made coverings would suffice, and so God made Adam and Eve coats of skin to wear. This established two principles. 1. Only God can cover sin and 2. Blood had to be shed for God to do that.

Let me ask you about your internal man/woman? How is being a Christian changing the way you think?  Most of us are worried about the way we act, but Jesus made it clear that if we let God change the way we think, the way we act will naturally follow—ultimately giving glory to God.  Men how are your thoughts towards the ladies you see at work?

Young teens how are your thoughts about the “outcasts” at your school are you helping them or a part of the problem? Pastors, do you view your church as a blessing or a burden? Are we closet Christians? (We don’t want anyone to know that we are saved; they might think we are weird.)  By the way, according to the standards of the world we are supposed to weird.

How do we feel about money? Is it our God? Does it serve us or do we serve it? These are the kinds of thoughts that God wants to change. What about your “arch rival” at work or the person that you just can’t stand? How are the principles of Christ and your surrender to the Holy Spirit helping you to see that person as a beloved potential child of God?

In this chapter of Matthew, Jesus is about to aggressively attack those who are outwardly religious, posing as such designed to get the attention of the people around you. The intent of these actions are never to bring God glory but to be thought of as “religious and/or pious,” thus b benefitting to oneself. God does not tolerate this kind of behavior as it flies in the face of the first commandment:

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”

You make yourself to be a god when you draw attention to you and not the Almighty. God frowns upon this kind of behavior.

Give and Pray Privately, Verses 1-7
We live in a world that loves accolades. We see money being given to charitable foundations every day. Men who give millions and even billions of dollars are lauded by the media,  government officials and the world in the form of prizes and awards. This kind of giving is expected from lost men and women who have nothing in heaven to gain, so their rewards are the accolades of the men and women around them.

But as Christians are not to seek the accolades of men. We are to give and to do so with the simply goals of serving others and pleasing God. This should be enough. The same goes for prayer. We should not seek to be seen as articulate or educated or pious by our prayers. Our goal is simply to relay our needs and glorify God.

One should not deduce from these verses that all public prayer is bad or forbidden by God.  Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact there are many instances where Jesus gave thanks to God in the midst of great crowds, read the account so the feeding of the 5000 and 4000.  But more often Jesus went off to pray by Himself, or He went a few yards away so that His prayers were private between him and His Father.

One can pray privately even in public. In Mark 12:41-44 we find that there is a poor widow who comes to give her offerings at the Temple. Jesus is observing her and while there are many rich people giving from their abundance, she discreetly, whether out of shame for the amount—or more probably out of sheer need as described by Jesus, gives her money.

No one noticed except God, and that was all that mattered. It is amazing for us to learn that     even in the act of giving it is the inner-man that counts not the size of the check. Why you give  is more important that what you give. God is not poor. He does not need your money to do His business. But we should give cheerfully as the Bible tells us to do, happy that God would allow us to have something to give.

Don’t give to get accolades from men and women. Simply give out of a deep gratitude that God would allow you to have money to give and the opportunity to do so. I read once that when one is blessed by God with more money, it should inspire us to give more rather than live better. Often God allows us both if we truly seek to honor Him.  Money is simply a tool; we can just as well give time, goods, food, companionship and array of other gifts that we can use to honor God for His goodness to us.

The Model Prayer, Verses 8-14
How we should pray, not what we should pray is the true goal of this “Model Prayer.” Jesus simply gives us the structure by which we are to pray. We address God as our Father and confess His holiness. There is no reason to come to God if He is not good. Only a good God will hear the prayers of His people. We pray for God’s will to be done and for His kingdom on earth to come. We are called in the Scriptures to look forward to the Lord’s appearing; in fact there is a crown for that:

2 Timothy 4:8 -“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

We can ask for all that we need or want on behalf of ourselves and others simply framed inside the “will of God.”  The idea is that God will answer according to what He knows is best and we will be satisfied. We thank God for supplying our daily needs and He does so as He promised He would.

Matthew 6:31-34 – “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Then we are to seek forgiveness as we forgive others. This is the most important part of the prayer for us, forgiveness. We all need it from God and others, but we are often slow to give it.  God hates a lack of forgiveness among His people; it is an insult and a mockery of His grace.  We ask for God’s deliverance from sin and temptation. We attest to God’s glory and we end.

This can be a short prayer and long prayer; it can be sung, said or written. It is to be sincere and with reverence to the Lord in heaven. It is not to be a mantra or some kind of ritual. There is nothing wrong with it being either spontaneous or scheduled.

Daniel scheduled prayers each day. Jesus seemed, as we see the Bible, to take an early morning approach, but in deep distress the late night approach worked for Him as well. The simple instruction is pray, pray often and pray right. God will hear and answer your prayers.

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

www.mississaugamissionarybc.com