1. The Life of Christ – Lesson 7
October 10, 2018
Matthew Chapters 5-7
Luke 6:20-49
The Life of Christ – Lesson 7
The Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 6:1-24
Practicing your righteousness

2. Righteousness for the right reasons
Matthew 6:1-18 Fasting. (verses 16-18) “Whenever you fast.” On one hand, to be seen of men. On the other, disregard altogether.

3. Righteousness for the right reasons
Matthew 6:1-18
Fasting. (verses 16-18) Why fast?
Seek God – Ezra 8:23
Focus on humility in prayer – Nehemiah 1:4; Daniel 9:3; Psalms 35:13
Mourning sin – Nehemiah 9:1; Ezra 4:3
Preparation for spiritual missions – focus on the spirit rather than the flesh (Matthew 4:2; Acts 13:2-3; 14:23
Do it for the right reasons … for God and not man … Zechariah 7:5; verse 18, so that you “will not be noticed by men.”
Ezra 8:23 - So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.
Neh 1:4-5 - Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Neh 9:1-2 - the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dirt upon them. 2 And the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins
Ps 35:13 - I humbled my soul with fasting; And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
Zech 7:5 - When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?

4. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 When we practice righteousness to be seen of men, Jesus says we are … “Storing up for yourselves treasures on earth” “Store” – to “heap up, store up” (Thayer); place in a storehouse. Making deposits. What is our “reward” if we amass the things of this life? Luke 16:25, “… during your life you received your good things …” (Luke 6:24; “… you are receiving your comfort in full …”)

5. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 Indeed, the things of this life do not last! Proverbs 27:24; Ecclesiastes 5:13-16; James 5:1-3 The foolishness of seeking to “store up” the things of this life! Luke 12:13-21 “… You have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry! But God said to him, ‘you fool! … So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.”

6. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 “Moth and rust destroy” – “rust” meaning eaten up. “Destroy” meaning consume or disappear – “snatch out of sight” (Thayer) (James 4:14) “Thieves (kleptou; John 10:10) break in and steal” – from the Greek meaning “dig through” (Thayer) referring to penetrating mud or adobe structures. Matthew 24:43

7. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 Not this … but this … “… store up for yourselves in heaven …” How do we do this? Make daily investments! Invest yourself in the work of the Lord’s kingdom. 2 Corinthians 12:15, be glad to “spend and be expended (spent; ASV, ESV)” (“to exhaust by expending, to spend wholly” Thayer) for the cause of Christ and the souls of men. Two things we have to spend …

8. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 “… store up for yourselves in heaven …” “… where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal …” Our hope is unlike anything in this life! 1 Peter 1:4-5, “… imperishable, undefiled … (will) not fade away, reserved in heaven … protected by the power of God through faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:3; John 10:28-29; 2 Timothy 1:12)

9. Treasures on earth or in heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 “… where your treasure is, there your heart will be also …” Where you’ve made the greater investment will be your heart, passion and focus. Are we “rich toward God”? Luke 12:21 (verses 15-21) So, what are we seeking to “gain”? Matthew 16:24-26; Philippians 3:8 How hard is it? Mark 10:23-27

10. Contrasts of Matthew Chapter 6
Text
Kingdoms of men
Kingdom of Jesus Christ
6:1-18
Reward on earth – now
Reward in heaven – later
To be seen by men
To be seen by our heavenly Father
6:19-21
Treasures on earth
Treasures in heaven
6:22-23
Eye is bad – full of darkness
Eye is clear – full of light
6:24
Serving the master of wealth
Serving the Master – our heavenly Father
6:25-34
Worried and anxious
Trusting – seeking first His kingdom and righteousness

11. Good or bad lamp?
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body …” “… So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light …” “… But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness …” “… If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Verses – Two treasures, two eyes, two masters …

12. Good or bad lamp? Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body …”
What eye? Psalms 119:37; 123:1-2; 141:8; Proverbs 4:25; Matthew 7:3-5; Ephesians 1:18; Hebrews 12:2
Our vision dictates our life. How do we look at life? Does our vision focus on:
Recognition of men rather than our heavenly Father?
Temporal rewards or eternal?
Treasures on earth or in heaven?