Matthew 6 – Lesson 7
"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven." - Matt. 6:1. In chapter 6 Jesus continues His teaching with the Sermon on the Mount. He told us not to be like the hypocrites. A hypocrite is a pretender with a mask to hide his true identify. Jesus repeated several phrases in Matt. 6:1-18: "I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" and "Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." He instructed us to be careful when we do our acts of righteousness like giving to the needy, our prayers and our fasting to not do them for the praises of men like the hypocrites, but to do them without others knowing. If you do them in secret, then God will reward you in heaven. If you do them publicly for men to see then your reward will not be in heaven, but only here on earth. God knows what we do even in secret and He will reward us. If someone finds out about your good works, that's OK. You will still get your reward from God. It's all about your heart motive.
Matthew 6:1-4 – Giving to the Needy
Christians have responsibilities to give to the needy and to forgive others and God will forgive us. He rewards us for caring for others, when we pray and when we seek Him with a pure heart. Many people today use religious activities to gain approval of others. They brag about how many committees and boards they are on. They do volunteer activities out of a sense of obligation or duty. They give large offerings for the wrong reasons. They like to be noticed and appreciated. When they do this they get men's praises and earthly rewards, but are losing their heavenly reward and may miss out on God saying, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
Those who do acts in public so others will see how generous they are receive praise and honor from men. They will receive nothing from God. They have already received their reward and there is no reward in heaven for them. Jesus also called them hypocrites. In Matt. 6:2 Jesus said, "… they have received their reward in full". So to receive God's rewards you must do what God commands - love others and do your good deeds in secret not drawing attention to yourself.
Principle: God rewards those who do good works to please Him.
Matthew 6:5-18 – Prayer and Fasting
Jesus also instructed us how to pray. We are not to be like the hypocrites praying in public praying long prayers for others to see. We are not to babble like the pagans using many words. We are to pray in secret. He didn’t say we are not to pray in public. Public prayer is a normal part of Christian worship, but we are not to pray to impress others. God sees and hears us when we pray. He didn’t forbid us to repeat our prayers, but said there is no need to keep repeating ourselves.
Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer in Matt. 6:9-13 as an example of how we should 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 today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." This is meant only to be a pattern for us to follow as we pray.
Here He is showing us that we are to honor God as our Father and that He is holy: we want His will above our will to be done on earth and in heaven; request of Him to give us what we need both physically and spiritually; we want to be forgiving to others just as He is to us; we should ask Him for the ability to resist sin and that He will help us stand up against Satan's temptations.
Luke 18:1-8 tells us we need to be persistent when praying and to never give up. Remember prayers are answered in God's timing, not ours.
Why pray for God's will? Because when we do, we yield to God's authority. It's a humble admission that He knows what is best.
Why fast? When we pray, sometimes we get distracted. We fast because we want to be closer to God. When we fast, it helps us focus our attention to God.
If God knows what we want before we ask, why pray? To pray is not to get what we want, but to deepen our relationship with God. Prayer changes us rather than the situation sometimes. It gives us confidence in God that He is sufficient. Prayer invites God into our live. God wants a relationship with us. Prayer is simply talking with God as you would a friend. Prayer is seeking God and is a demonstration of our faith.
We learn specific lessons about prayer:
Do not pray like the
hypocrites to be seen by others.
We should glorify
God.
We are to seek His
will.
Pray for both our
physical and spiritual needs.
Seek forgiveness.
Pray for strength
against temptations.
Principle: Pray persistently and
never give up, because God answers prayers in His own timing.
Matthew 6:19-24 – Treasures in Heaven
People tend to collect earthly treasures such as money, new cars, big homes, powerful jobs, beautiful clothes, and many other possessions. These do not last forever and can be lost by fire, theft, job loss, failing economy, etc. They are here today and can be gone tomorrow. Jesus didn’t say we must not work for profit, increase our wealth, or work to provide for our future. Money is not bad; it is the love of money that is the root of evil. (1 Tim. 6:10). But the main purpose in life must not be to get rich, because it has no value after death. Jesus told us to store up treasures in heaven not on earth. Some treasures we can store in heaven are: offerings to God, love for others, actions that glorify God, words of praise and thanksgiving to God, true worship, and anything that makes us more like Jesus.
What is true treasure?
Psalm 119:72 – God’s words are
more precious than silver and gold.
Luke 12:15-21 - a man's life does
not consist of his possessions.
1 Cor. 2:9 - we can't conceive
what He's prepared for us in heaven.
2 Cor. 4:17-18 - what is unseen is
eternal.
Phil. 3:8 - nothing is worth
having except Christ
1 Peter 1:4-5 - our inheritance is
kept in heaven and will never perish, spoil, or fade.
Luke 11:34-36 and Matt. 6:22-24 Jesus told us that the eye is the lamp of the body and your body is full of light. If you have bad eyes, your whole body is then full of darkness. In other words - the eyes guide your body and if there is light you can see where you are going. You believe in Jesus and have a healthy spiritual life. But if you have bad eyes or double vision, you are in darkness and can't see where you are going. You want to go to heaven, but don't want to give up worldly things. You lack clear guidance so you are in darkness. Verse 24 says, "No one can serve two masters." You can’t serve money and God, because if you do you will hate one and love the other.
Where is your treasure?
Principle: Real treasure is stored in heaven.
Matthew 6:25-34 – Do Not Worry
Jesus told us not to worry. We should not worry about our life, what we eat or drink, or what we will wear. He gave us reasons for not worrying. The birds do not sow or reap, yet our heavenly Father feeds them. We cannot add a single hour to our life so why worry. He even takes care of the lilies of the field. He knows what you need. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matt. 6:33-34.
The truth in Matthew 6:33 is if God is the center and rules your life, there’s no need to worry. We can trust God for everything.
What do you worry about?
Principle: Christians need not worry.
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Matthew 7 – Lesson 8
Jesus continues with the "Sermon On The Mount" teaching respect of man's relation to others. He warns against judging others, teaches persistent praying, to watch out for false prophets and reminds us to be wise as we obey God's Word.
Matthew 7:1-6 – Judging Others
To judge means to form opinion without weighing the evidence. Jesus warns against judging other or we ourselves will be judged by the same standards. We are to be humble, gentle, and patient. "Love your neighbor as yourselves." - Gal. 5:14. Before judging others we need to examine ourselves and fix our own problems first. We are not to condemn or we will be condemned. We are to forgive and then we will be forgiven. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:38.
"Do not judge" doesn't mean that Christians can never express their opinions. Jesus wants us to discern between spiritual truth and falsehood. It means we should not condemn. Not all judging is wrong, only that which is hypocritical. "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." - John 7:24.
These verses teach what we can judge:
Matthew 18:15-17 - other believers
who sin against us. If we see a fault
with another, we are to first examine ourselves. If a brother has sinned against you, go speak
to him and if he doesn't listen then take another with you. If he still doesn't listen, take him to the
church. If he still doesn't listen, then
treat him as a pagan. When you do
something wrong, wouldn't you want someone to tell you? When we judge another believer, we are not to
be critical, but restoring. We need to
hold each other accountable, but always to it with love and humility.
Gal. 1:8 - tells us we can
judge people who do not preach the truth.
Gal. 6:1-5 - believers who are
caught in a sin, but to do it gently.
2 John 7-11 - people who do not
acknowledge Jesus.
Jesus referred to some unbelievers as dogs - those who mock the truth and are unwilling to listen to the pearls of God's truth. They reject God. Matt. 7:6 says if they don't value the truth and are unwilling to listen, we should not impose the truth on them even if we are right. We can't force them to believe. We are just wasting our time. The only thing we can do is to live a holy life as an example to the unbeliever and let them see Jesus in you. That is a better witness than harsh critical condemning words.
Principle: Believers are called to be discerning, but not condemning when relating to others.
What relationship are you approaching with a judgmental spirit?
Matthew 7:7-12 – Persistent Prayer
There are three stages of prayer: Ask, Seek, Knock.
Ask - This is dependence
on God. God wants a relationship with us
even though He already knows what we ask ever before we ask. He wants us to talk with Him.
Seek - This is a yearning
for God. When we seek God, we are
earnestly seeking Him and focusing on Him.
We look for Him expecting to find Him as well as answers to our prayers.
Knock - This is to be
persistent. Keep on praying and never
give up.
Do you persistently pray for something or have you given up? Remember God answers prayers in His timing, not ours.
Does God answer prayers of unbelievers? God is sovereign and can choose to answer any prayer He sees fit. But scripture clearly indicates that God does not listen to or answer prayer to those:
Who have personal and selfish motives – “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” – James 4:3.
Who regard iniquity in their hearts – “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” – Psalm 66:18
Who remain in sin - “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” – John 9:31. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; you sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” – Isa. 59:2
Who are proud of heart – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5, Prov. 3:34.
Who are the wicked – Prov. 21:31; Isa 1:15; Jer. 11:11-14
We know that God is all knowing so He hears all things, but hearing prayer doesn’t mean He will answer. The only prayer of the unbeliever He will hear and answer is the prayer of repentance. If you have received Christ as you Savior, you have the privilege to talk with Him. Believers can approach God boldly and with confidence that their prayers will be heard and answered according to God’s perfect will.
Like a parent, God already know what His children need and what is best for them. You don't give your children everything they ask for, because you know what they need and what is best. We don't get everything we ask for from God, because He knows what we need. Sometimes He gives us suffering and desperation to draw us closer to Him.
Jesus tells us in verses 12 to do everything to others as you want them to do to you. This is known as the "Golden Rule". This is hard to do sometimes. We can't do it without Jesus. Jesus said the greatest law is to love God. We can't show true love for Him unless we love others as ourselves.
Principle: God the Father gives wisdom, discernment, and love for others through persistent prayer.
Do you pray persistently?
Matthew 7:13-29 – Discerning Decisions
Jesus tells us "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many will enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matt. 7:14. Narrow is Jesus. He is the only way to heaven. To follow Him is hard, but leads to eternity. Jesus said, "I am the truth the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." - John 14:6.
Jesus warns us to watch out for false prophets. We can identify them as wolves in sheep's clothing and by their fruits (Matt. 7:14-20). We should not be fooled by their outward appearances. They distort the truth to gain disciples (Acts 20:29-30), they deny the Lord bringing destruction on themselves (2 Peter 2:1-2).
We are to test them to be sure if they are from God (1 John 4:1). We should pay attention to the way they live. Do they show righteousness and humility in the way they live? Is their teaching the true Word of God? Are people growing in their faith because of them or are they falling away?
These false prophets do not know Jesus (Matt. 7:23), they do not do what He says (Luke 6:46), they do not have the love of God in their hearts (John 5:40-43), they do not accept Jesus or believe in Him (John 6:29), and they reject God (Hosea 8:2-4). These deceive themselves by accepting praises from each other and were not doing God's will.
When judgment day comes, there will be those who Jesus will not recognize even though they called Him their Lord. Maybe they went to church and performed some religious duties. They spoke about Jesus, but really didn't mean what they said. They only lived it on Sundays. It isn't enough to believe in Jesus - even the devil believes. They never truly accepted nor obeyed Him. They never truly had salvation. Jesus made a great claim about His identity in Matt. 7:22-23 - He is Lord! He wants us to build our life upon Him, the sure foundation (Matt. 7:24-29, Luke 6:46-49). We are to believe in Jesus and obey His Word. We are to put His words into action.
We can be sure. Jesus wants you to be sure. In 1 John 5:13 - "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." If you are not sure, tell God, "I want to be sure and I can't do it without you. Jesus, save me from judgment. Help me not to doubt." Then believe and let Him change your life. It's that easy. "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." - John 6:37. Then thank God.
When storms come, the Christian will stand. Our foundation is Jesus. Build your foundation on Him before the storms come. These verses also talk about the true foundation:
Isa. 28:16 - Jesus is the
precious cornerstone.
1 Cor. 3:11 - Jesus is the sure
foundation.
1 Peter 2:4-8 - the true
foundation is Jesus.
What foundation is your life built on?
Principle: The more you obey what is right, the more you can recognize what is wrong.
People were amazed and astonished at Jesus' teaching, because He taught as one having authority (Matt. 7:28-29). When God's Word is presented truthfully, it has great power and is set apart from the mere opinions of men.
Jesus begins to establish His power as the Messianic King through miracles of healing and casting out demons. There are five miracles in this chapter: Jesus heals a leper, Jesus heals a centurion's servant, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law and others, Jesus calms the storm, and Jesus heals two demon -possessed men. These miracles show Jesus has power over all things and all people.
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Matthew 8 – Lesson 9
Matthew 8:1-17 – Authority Over Disease
The Leper
A man with leprosy came to Jesus for healing. Anyone with leprosy was not allowed to come into contact with people, because it was very contagious and deadly. This leper was very bold and didn't worry about what others thought. He was humble and didn't doubt that Jesus could heal him. "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." - Matt. 8:2. Jesus reached out His hand and touched him and said, "I am willing. Be clean." - Matt. 8:3. Jesus was filled with compassion and healed him. After healing him Jesus told him to go and not tell anyone, but to show himself to the priest. The priest would examine him and pronounce him clean so he could be restored to society.
Jesus knew the man could not keep quiet and had to tell everyone of this miracle in his life and that it would cause great hardship for Jesus in the future. Jesus does the same for us. He knows we mess up and don't always obey, but still he put His life on the line for us at the cross.
The leper acknowledged his need. He trusted Jesus. He worshipped Jesus. We are all lepers before God. Sin makes a person unclean. Our sin influences and contaminates others. We need God to cleanse our sin. Jesus accepts all those who seek Him and His cleansing. We may be good and moral, but before God we are filthy rags. God provides a remedy for sin. Like the leper you need to acknowledge you are unclean, believe Jesus has to power to cleanse you, have faith that He has justified you to be clean before Him, and then thank Him. Nothing you are or have done repulses Him.
Have you asked Jesus to cleanse you?
The Centurion
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Gentile centurion came to Jesus and told Him his servant was paralyzed and was suffering. He told Jesus to just say the word and the servant would be healed. The centurion had great faith and was not afraid to ask for help. He felt unworthy in Jesus' eyes. He cared about his servant which showed he was a compassionate leader. Jesus noticed his great faith and said, "… I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." - Matt. 8:10-12.
The centurion displayed extraordinary compassion and love for his servant as well as extraordinary faith in Jesus. His faith gave Jesus great joy and Jesus praised him publicly for it. Because of the centurion's great faith, he would enjoy a special meal in heaven with the Jewish patriarchs along with people from every corner of the world. He warned the Jews not to assume they would be welcomed simply because of their ethnic heritage. Faith is the only way to belong to God's kingdom.
What have you done lately to show your faith and trust in Jesus?
Jesus Heals Many Others
Jesus continued healing people. He went to Peter’s house and saw that Peter's mother-in-law was ill with a fever. He touched her and the fever left. Then she got up and began to serve Jesus. Her illness wasn’t as serious as the leper, but He took the time and healed her. This showed Jesus' love and compassion for even the smaller things.
Many people who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus. He drove out the spirits and healed all the sick fulfilling the Isaiah prophesy. "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." - Matt. 8:17, Isaiah 53:4.
Matthew 8:18-22 – Authority Over People
A teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." - Matt. 8:19. Jesus told him, "… the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." - Matt. 8:20. Another told Jesus that he wanted to go first and bury his father. This probably meant his father was still alive and he wanted to wait until his father had died. Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." - Matt. 8:22.
Jesus was saying that following Him will not be easy. It won’t be a perfect life, but Jesus comes first above everything else. Following Christ always brings changes to a person's life style. Anyone who chooses Christ will be an enemy of Satan and his demons. Many people today are like this man and want to wait until a more convenient time, but the time is now to follow Jesus. If you are not a child of God, don't put it off. You don't know what tomorrow will bring. Do it now!
Are you waiting for when the time is right to follow Jesus? The time is now!
Matthew 8:23-27 – Authority Over Nature
Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to escape the crowds and get some rest. While Jesus was sleeping, a furious storm came up without warning. The disciples were afraid for their lives and they called out for Jesus to save them. Jesus showed His humanity by realizing they were afraid and He calmed the storm. He showed compassion and love for them. They were amazed at His power. They lacked faith and trust in Jesus to protect them. If they had realized who Jesus really was, they would have not been so afraid.
What storm have you faced that God used to build your faith?
Matthew 8:28-34 – Authority Over Forces of Evil
After Jesus calmed the storm they arrived on the other side of the lake, two violent demon-possessed men came out from tombs. The men recognized Jesus as the Son of God and asked, "'What do you want with us, son of God?' they shouted. 'Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?'" - Matt. 8:29. The demons begged to be sent into a herd of pigs so Jesus drove them out into the pigs. The demons knew who Jesus was and were afraid of Him. They knew He would judge them someday, but that His time had not yet come. They knew their fate would be Hell.
We are in spiritual warfare. Satan and his demons are very real. Hell is real. Even the demons fear it. That is why they ask Jesus if He had come to torment them. They knew judgment awaited them. They would rather be cast into pig than be cast into Hell. All things, including Satan, his demons, and people who follow him were created by and are subject to Christ and await final judgment and the Lake of Fire.
We need to not remain ignorant. We need to know that Satan is not on our side. He is the enemy of Jesus which makes him our enemy. Without Jesus we don't stand a chance against him.
The townspeople did not thank Jesus nor did they consider the two men who were restored as of any value. Instead they pleaded for Jesus to leave their region. They were afraid of Jesus' power. They lost 2,000 pigs because of Him. This showed their greed and indifference to the saved men. Does this sound like some people today?
What do you fear?
Principle: Jesus has authority over all things.
Join me here next week as we continue our study of Matthew -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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