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Words of Jesus
Part 3
- Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do
not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have
no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
- 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as
the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward.
- 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand
doeth:
- 4 That thine alms
may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself
shall reward thee openly.
Alms is our giving. We are not to do
alms for the purpose of being seen in order to look good. It is one
thing to give in front of our children as an example. When we give
to show an example to influence others and our motives are to teach
others to give, that is one thing but if we give for the purpose of
making people think we are "somebody" special, then it is wrong. We
are not to do anything to be seen of men. In other words, God sees
our motive for giving. Our motive for giving should be because we
desire to help the one we give to.
- Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
- 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
- 7 But when ye pray, use
not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking.
- 8 Be not ye therefore like
unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye
have need of, before ye ask him.
If we stand and quote great prayers
written perfectly and publicly chant for a display, it doesn't do on
bit of good if our hearts are not right with God and we are doing it
for a religious show or because we've done it so long it becomes a
ritual. It is a waste of time. The prayer itself is not what God
looks at but the heart that is crying out to Him in prayer.
- Matthew 6:9 After this
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
- 10 Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
- 11 Give us this day
our daily bread.
- 12 And forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
- 13 And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
- 14 For if ye forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you:
- 15 But if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.
We don't have to say the actual words
of the Lord's prayer but follow the example:
- Recognize that God is to be
honored, worshiped and esteemed great.
- Trust Him to provide our daily
necessities and daily food for the soul.
- God will forgive our sins in the same
manner that we forgive others of their sins against us.
- Ask for deliverance from the
temptations that lead us to evil. Seek righteousness and not
evil. Seek God's ways instead of our own ways.
If we hold a grudge and do not forgive
others, God is under no obligation to forgive our sins even if we ask Him
to.
- Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye
fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Their reward is that they are receiving the
praise of men now so they will not get a reward from God.
- Matthew 6:17 But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
- 18 That thou appear not
unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and
thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
- 16 Moreover when ye fast,
be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
- 17 But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
- 18 That thou appear not
unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and
thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Again the Lord emphasizes that all
religious acts done to be seen of men, is in vain. Fasting is a
private thing where one sets apart himself to spend time with God in
prayer and does not bother about food for a season. It should never
be done for the sole purpose of showing off how long one can go
without food or how religious we are.
- Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
- 20 But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
- 21 For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also.
How preachers can preach the modern
prosperity doctrine when Jesus clearly points out the opposite is
beyond me. The only way to get a prosperity doctrine out of the
words of Jesus is the take them out of context. Our sole goal is to
lay up spiritual treasure. We are to seek God's spiritual blessings.
Some of us may be blessed financially and some of us may not be.
That does not mean that the rich are living where God wants them to
be and the poor are out of God's will. If that was the case, the
wicked rich in the world would be in the will of God. We are to have
no respect of persons but treat the rich and poor the same.
- Matthew 6:22 The light of the
body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light.
- 23 But if thine eye
be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!
This continues the though of laying up
the treasure in heaven. Our eyes should be on Jesus and eternal
things rather then on the material things of this life. The next
verses explain why:
- Matthew 6:24 No man can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- 25 Therefore I say unto
you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what
ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
- 26 Behold the fowls of the
air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they?
- 27 Which of you by taking
thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
- 28 And why take ye thought
for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:
- 29 And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.
- 30 Wherefore, if God so
clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith?
- 31 Therefore take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
- 32 (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
- 33 But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you.
Some take this last verse to mean that
we are to expect prosperity also. Verse 32 says that the Lord knows
we have need of those things; being food, water, and clothing. In
other words necessary things to survive are the things we are
promised by trusting in the Lord to provide for us. If we
seek first the kingdom of God and we seek God's righteousness, we
will have what we really need and in some cases there might be
prosperity but if not, we
will think we have plenty even if in the world's eyes we have
little. If you truly seek God first, you will not want the other
paltry things of this world. You may have little but still feel like
the richest person in the world. The prosperity doctrine is a false
doctrine. The true joy is spiritual blessings and trust God to take
care of the necessary material things. We are not to seek the riches
of this world. If we do become rich, we are to be careful how to
handle it. The more we have, the more responsibility we have to use
it wisely. Some of the other things that will
be added to us may be in this life but for sure it will be in life
eternal.
Remember the story of the rich man and
Lazarus.
I will add here that we share it
willingly. I'm not advocating socialism and the government taking
from one group and giving to another. That is not giving. Why take
from those that work hard and give to those that do not want to
work?
This doesn't mean that we are to be
happy go lucky and never mourn over sin. Jesus said, Blessed are
they that mourn. It means simply that material things are not to be
worried over. We are to trust God in these things. If we are walking
in the Spirit and will of God, He promises to care for us.
I've not yet arrived at this state of
mind completely. Sometimes I get concerned over these things but
happy are we if we do what Jesus says.
Words of Jesus
Part 4
Words of Jesus
Index
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