Sermon on Mount Part 2

Day 6

Matthew 6

Jesus had lots to say to the people when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount.  It is amazing how the apostles remembered so many details, so I think there must have been someone taking notes.  Do you like to take notes.  Whenever I am in a service of any kind, I like to have my pen and paper ready because I don't want to miss a gold nugget of truth that the Lord really stirs in my heart during a sermon, teaching, etc.  So I hope when you sit down and read the Word, you too will have a pen and paper beside you so that when the Holy Spirit illuminates a word to you, you too can write it down, meditate, apply it to your life and pass it on to others. 

One of the first things Jesus talks about in Matthew 6 is giving to the needy.  Truly in being a born again Christian one of the greatest proofs of our changed hearts is a generous spirit.  One of the things we learn in this scripture here is that when we give to others without announcing it to everyone, our heavenly Father will reward us.  If we go around bragging about what we give to others, then the praise of others will be our reward.  I know our Heavenly Father's reward is much greater than a pat on the back, or a word of acknowledgement from someone else, so I pray that I can walk in this truth in a greater capacity.

When Jesus talks about praying and fasting, He is expressing the importance again of not doing our acts of kindness proudly, but humbly.  All we have comes from Him anyway, so anything we give comes from His hand, one way or another.  If you notice in all three instances (giving, praying, and fasting), Jesus expresses the importance of doing it in secret.  I have seen God do amazing things when I have prayed and fasted about certain situations without the person even knowing about it.  And one of God's rewards He gave me was JOY.  JOY in seeing a life-changing prayer answered.  I could give many examples, but then I would be going against what the Word is telling me to do here.

If we become so focused on the temporary, taking care of things on earth, we can lose focus on the permanent, the things in heaven.  This is a real challenge in our day and time.  With so much to do and so little time to do it in, we can become inundated with the cares of this life.  The Parable of the Sower in Matthew13:22 tells us even if we are hearing the Word and we are so pressed down with this life's troubles, we will not produce fruit from the Word we hear.

Matthew 13:2 (NIV)
The one who received the seed that fell among thorns is the man who hears the Word, but the worries of this lie and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

So we must guard our hearts.  We must trust ALL our life to His provision, direction, and care.  If we try to do it all on our own, the cares of this life will pull us down into a pool of hopelessness which once there, it is hard to bring ourselves out.  I believe there is a place of no return without the power and presence of God in our lives, that is deadly.  It is better to cry out to God for help before we find ourselves in that place.

One of the most astounding verses in this passage is Matthew 6:22-23.

Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)
The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light withing you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

When I read this scripture, it makes me think of another scripture in 1 John 1:5-7.

1 John 1:5-7 (NIV)
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

If a person has been given or understood something the wrong way, receiving that as truth, then the light they think they have is one of the darkest.  When a person gets to that place, they generally don't know they are there.  Now that is scary! Deception is deadly.  A person who is deceived doesn't know they are deceived and that is why those with the Truth, the Word of God, with correct understanding are responsible to pull others that have fallen into that pit of darkness out into the Truth.  Jesus said that He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.  HE IS THE TRUE LIGHT, and if we are true born again believers, that TRUE LIGHT is WITHIN us, and we need to let HIM SHINE BRIGHTLY to others.

So don't worry about what you are going to eat or wear or how you are going to deal with the problems of tomorrow.  Tomorrow never comes, so let us cast our cares on Jesus today so that our JOY might be FULL.  He said if we have need of anything, we are to ask that our JOY might be FULL.  So ASK<BELIEVE<RECEIVE!

John 16:23-24 (NIV)
In that day you will no longer ask me anything.  I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your JOY will be complete.
(King James Version says, Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask and ye shall receive, that your JOY may be FULL.