INVERSE FOCUS ADVENTIST RADIO
Matthew 6
1-4 Another warning the Lord has given us is not to show our alms before men, so they can see it. What is alms? My margin says "righteousness " and also looked up the word in the concordance and it is also donation, charity, or showing pity and mercy. We are doing it to receive glory of men. Jesus says not to do it this way because this is what the hypocrites do. But do it secretly and don’t make a big show out of it and the Father in heaven will reward you openly. We want God to get the glory not men. Don’t brag about good works. The Pharisees were chief for this, and wanting to receive glory of men because of their position and prestige. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:20 except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, they shall not enter the kingdom. The spirit of Pharisaism is the spirit of human nature MB 79.2 God is asking us to do service and don't make the reward the focus. The greatest reward is receiving Christ into the soul.
We are not to think of reward, but of service; yet kindness shown in this spirit will not fail of its recompense. "Thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." While it is true that God Himself is the great Reward, that embraces every other, the soul receives and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character. Only like can appreciate like. It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of humanity that He gives Himself to us. . MB 81.2
5-8 Jesus talks about prayer. It seems like people were praying to be seen, so that they can appear holy. But Christ called them hypocrites. He also said they have their reward, but it won’t be from the Father MB 80.1. They do it openly and what you do in secret, the Father will reward thee openly. We are not to make a big show of showing that we are holy. We will never be holy until Christ comes. We are nothing without Christ. Our prayers are to be personal and sincere towards God. Our prayers are not to be vain repetitions like the heathen. Fancy words or much speaking vocabulary does nothing for your prayers to be heard. Christ rebuke private prayer as public prayer. We are to maintain a connection with God. Go to God in a secret place for prayer and communion. We are to look to God Isaiah 45:22; Psalm 34:5; Hebrews 12:2
The soul that turns to God for its help, its support, its power, by daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a continual hungering and thirsting after righteousness. By maintaining a connection with God, we shall be enabled to diffuse to others, through our association with them, the light, the peace, the serenity, that rule in our hearts. The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with persevering effort in training the mind in thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares one for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances. . MB 85.2
We need to have a place designated for secret prayer and communion with God. This is what Jesus also did. When we pray we should not think that our prayers are giving us the right to be right with God or atone for any sins. This is self-expiation which is the foundation of all false religions, which is righteousness by works.
This idea of prayer is an outworking of the principle of self-expiation which lies at the foundation of all systems of false religion. The Pharisees had adopted this pagan idea of prayer, and it is by no means extinct in our day, even among those who profess to be Christians. The repetition of set, customary phrases, when the heart feels no need of God, is of the same character as the "vain repetitions" of the heathen. . MB 86.1
The most eloquent prayers are but idle words if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed, as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting it to be granted—this is the prayer of faith. MB 86.2
Prayer is really important and it is opening the heart to God. Jesus gives us an example of how to pray. This teaches us how to approach God in reverence and humility. Jesus spent hours in prayer and communion with the Father. Which shows us how much we need to pray being sinful beings. Jesus shares a method of prayer with the multitude on the sermon on the mount and also months later with the disciples, but they were the same.Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2. The very first step in approaching God is to know and believe the love that He has to us 1 John 4:16; for it is through the drawing of His love that we are led to come to Him MB 104.5. The perception of God’s Love works the renunciation of selfishness. If we call God our Father, we acknowledge ourselves as His children. We will accept His guidance, wisdom, and be obedient in all things knowing that His love is changeless.
9-10 The name of God should not be taken in vain Exodus 20:7. When we say or pray "Hallowed by thy name" we asking that it may be Hallowed in us, in the world and others. God name is Holy and reverend Psalm 111:9. Paul prayed and said that the whole family in heaven and earth is named after the Father Ephesians 3:14-15. The name of the Lord is described in Exodus 34:5-7 and we are called by the name as "The Lord our Righteousness " Jeremiah 33:16. As we profess Christ in our life, He works in our hearts to depart from all iniquity, from all transgressions, and from all sin. 2 Timothy 2:19; John 1:29
Matthew 6:9-13
•Our Father [that's relationship]
Hallowed be your name (that's worship]
• Thy kingdom come [that's Lordship]
• Thy will be done [that's surrender]
•On earth as it is in heaven [that's intercession]
Matthew 6:9-13
• Give us this day our dally bread that's supplication]
• Forgive us our debts [that's confession/forgiveness]
• Lead us not into temptation (that's divine guidance]
• Deliver us from evil [that's spiritual warfare]
•For thine is the kingdom, power, and glory (that's praise)
The right kind of prayer has a passion for God’s glory and agenda. His name, kingdom and will have the top priority. God’s name is Holy or Hallowed. When we pray, we are praying to a holy God and His name is in the fourth commandment which is the Sabbath. In Exodus 20:11 it says, "...the Lord blessed Sabbath day and hallowed it." When you recognize God, you will acknowledge Him as creator and redeemer. Jesus tells us the principles of the kingdom of heaven or to be a citizen of heaven and then ask us to pray that thy (God’s) kingdom will come. Now will it come while we are here on earth? Matthew 12:28 "...the kingdom of God is come unto you." Those that’s do His will on earth will enter the kingdom of God in heaven Matthew 7:21. So we can be living the principles of heaven here, it can be a present reality while we are here on earth. This is what John the Baptist was preaching Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand or near. Right now we are under the kingdom of grace, but soon we will be entering the kingdom of glory. This is why we pray thy kingdom come, we want both the kingdom of grace which is right now and be prepared to receive the kingdom of glory at the second coming. Jesus will receive a kingdom at the close of his mediator work Daniel 7:14 GC 479.3. Daniel 7:27 the kingdom will be given to the saints of the Most High.
We need to know God’s will. God wants us to pray that His will be done on earth as it is always done in heaven. There is no sin or disobedience in heaven, but on earth God has to deal with sin and disobedience to accomplish His will. What is his will? Psalm 40:8 (KJV) I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law [is] within my heart. God’s will is His law. Jesus says in John 4:34, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. The will of God is expressed in His law. The principles of this law is the principles of heaven. To do God’s will is the highest service that can engage their powers. When Satan rebelled against the law of God, the thought that there was a law came to the angels almost as an awakening to something unthought of. Love for God makes their service a joy. MB 109.2. When we pray thy will be done, we are asking that evil on this earth may be ended forever and the kingdom of righteousness be established.
11 After we seek God’s name, kingdom, and will, Jesus says that we should ask for our daily bread. If you have deny self and given yourself to Christ, everything is yours. The Father has made everything available to you. If ye are Christ, then everything is yours 1 Corinthians 3:23, 21. Even the enmity of the wicked will prove a blessing by disciplining you for heaven MB 110.2. God will freely give us all things Romans 8:32. This is not only physical, it’s also spiritual. So we receive the physical provision, and to study the word of God for spiritual provision. John 6:27 (KJV) "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed." When God provides, He is not only giving to us, He also provides for others. We should ask and provide for the hungry. Jesus is the bread of life and by looking to Him and receiving Him we feed on the bread of life. He will give us the Holy Spirit to open the word of God to our understanding and bring home the truth to our hearts. Pray for God’s Spirit to reveal to us the truth for the day.
12 As we continue to read the prayer, it says to ask God to forgives us our sins, which means seeking God for repentance (godly) and to also forgive those who have done us wrongs. The Lord forgive us as we forgive others. We should forgive those who hurt us even if they don’t ask for it. God is rich with mercy Ephesians 1:4 and with mercy also comes forgiveness Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18-19; Psalm 86:5. When we don’t forgive we cut off the only channel of mercy from God MB 113.3 we should have compassion on them because God has compassion on us and He abundantly pardons. When God forgives it is not only for sin but to reclaim (redeem) from sin. It is to transform the heart. 2 Corinthians 7:10; Psalm 51:10. Paul says I need Ephesians 4:32 to forgive each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you. As we experience the forgiving love of God, it will flow through us to others. Satan will try to discourage us, but we must believe and claim 1 John 1:7 the blood of Jesus cleanseth us or me from all sin and 1 Timothy 1:15 Christ came into the world to save sinners. Forgiveness is a gift and we should accept it straight from God and don’t excuse our sin. Read Micah 7:18, forgiveness brings us closer to God.
13-15 Temptation is enticement to sin. Temptation is something that we all deal with every second of every day. Temptation proceeds from Satan of from our own evil hearts James 1:14-15 MB 116.2. Satan is trying to claim us as his when we sin. Jesus said, we should pray lead us not into temptation. The Bible says in James 1:13 God tempteth no man. But in Genesis 22:1 it says God did tempt Abraham, so is the Bible contradicting itself, no. The word temptation also means a trial or test. But we should be praying and studying the word of God and in our prayer we should say Lord, lead us not into temptation GC530.2 Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 22:40 Pray that ye enter not into temptation. This is a promise. Because in 1 Corin10:13 God will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will make a way of escape that ye maybe able to bear it. Our only safeguard against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Don’t even contemplate the advantages by yielding to Satan’s suggestions. It is because selfishness exists in the heart that temptation has power over us. When we behold God’s love selfishness appears to us in its hideous and repulsive character and we desire to have it expelled from the soul. Christ will ever abandon the soul for whom He has died. We may leave Him and be overcome by temptation. We must k ow and believe the love that God has to us. This is a sure security because that love is a fortress and impregnable to all the delusions and assault of Satan.
Thine is the kingdom. Jesus has directed us to look above all th power and dominion of evil and look to then Lord, whose kingdom ruleth over all and who is theirs Father and everlasting friend. In the last days, a crisis will occur in the world as never before seen. Keeping in mind the one that ruleth in heavens will gives us assurance that God has not left us. The program of coming events is in the hands of our Maker. MB 120.2 The Lord has the destiny of nations in His own hands. He has the church in His own charge. The Bible clearly shows us that God is in control of nations Daniel 2:20-21; 7:12; Genesis 6:3; 19:12-13, 15. God is the one that gives success through divine power. We as humans are not left to carry the burdens of the work. God is continually at work for the purposes of His designs. Because thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. 1 Chronicles 29:11, 12. Because God is in control, just like we seek God to forgive our sins and He does, we are to forgive others as well. If not, God will not forgive our trespasses.
16-18 Jesus says when we fast, don’t make it seen by others. We should do it in secret. Fasting is not just refusing food or showing some kind of display to others that you are fasting, but a real sorrow for sin. The object of the fast which God calls upon us to keep is to aid in perceiving the grievous character of sin, in humbling the heart before God and receiving His pardoning grace. God says, Rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn uuto the Lord your God Joel 2:13 MB 87.2. Christ desires us to be true Christians in heart. This can only happen when He is dwelling in the heart by faith. There is nothing gloomy in the religion of Jesus. The Bible says in Psalm 40:8, I delight to do thy will... we should leave our burdens at the foot of the cross. Let the Holy Spirit work upon your heart and good works will be manifest. People don’t need to know the work going on in the soul between you and God.
19-23 Jesus talks about what our focus should be and by what we focus on, is what we will do. We should lay up treasures in heaven. Because there is no moth or rust in heaven. Neither can someone break in and steal. The love of money was the ruling passion in the Jewish age. So it is now MB 89.1. We know money in itself is not bad because we use it to buy and sell. How we use it determines whether we are laying up treasures in heaven or earth. The treasure is souls. We are to labor to win souls which is laying up treasures in heaven. This is the treasure for which Christ bids us labor. Character is the great harvest of life. And every word or deed that through the grace of Christ shall kindle in one soul an impulse that reaches heavenward, every effort that tends to the formation of a Christlike character, is laying up treasures in heaven MB 89.4 When we benefits others we benefit ourselves.
So Jesus transitions in to light and darkness, to explain what is in the heart. Because where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. If you focus on Christ and consecrate yourself to Him daily, your body will be full of light. This is what Jesus means by "eye be single " you are focused on Him. Our treasure is Jesus Christ, so our hearts should be where He is, which is in heaven. Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God... Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the gif he calling of in Christ Jesus." If you want the body to be full of light, your eye must behold the light of the world, which is Christ Jesus my Lord. Which means you have to be careful what you see. Don’t play with temptation. If we have not given ourselves fully to God then we are in darkness. Because all it takes is an inch and the devil will take a mile. He who abides in darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is shut in by a deeper than midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noon tide can bring no light MB 92.3. God never turns away from any soul, man turns from God. We should not resist the Spirit of God. The more we resist the worst it gets. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.) Psalms 95:7-8 (KJV) For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness:
24 It’s about your heart. If your heart os dark then you are serving mammon and of your heart has light, then you are serving God. Jesus says you cannot serve both or two masters. One side is self denying and the other side is self indulgent. There is no middle ground. If you consider being in the middle you are on the enemies ground. You have to give yourself wholly to God. Christ is to live His human agents and work through their faculties and act through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to His will, they must act with His Spirit. Then it is no more they that live, but Christ that’s lives in them MB 94.1. We must not love the world neither the the things that are in the world.
25-32 If you submit to God, then you will take no thought for your life. Meaning, you won’t be questioning God about what will I eat? Or what will I drink? Or what will I put on? God who created life knows how to provide for you. Is not the life more than meat? Jesus points us to nature and realize how the Father takes care of them, whether it’s a bird or a flower. We are to realize and learn the wisdom of God in the things of nature. If God has lavished all these things in nature for our happiness, because He was thinking of us, even though there is sin, God still allows tokens of beauty in His nature. We should not doubt that He will give us everything we need. We are of more value than the birds, flowers, and nature itself. May I recognize the message that God is trying to show me in His created works. This is why Sabbath is an important day.
33 During the days of Christ, the people were so focused on earthly kingdom that Jesus tried to open to them the heavenly kingdom. The earthly kingdom is what the world wants and pursue, like there is no God in heaven. But Jesus is showing God’s love and how He will take care of you. If you make God your first and last, and best He will provide for your needs. He still does it by providing the rain for the just and the unjust, but the just knows there is a God that cares and loves them. God knows you need food, drink, and clothes, but we should seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness and He will provide all our needs. A great example of this is Elijah, God instructed the birds to feed Elijah during the famine. He provided Israel with bread from heaven and water from a rock. He also provides for the birds, clothe the fields, He is the source of all life. Psalm 26:22; 146:7; 107:9; 37:19, 25; Proverbs 10:3; 28:25. Don’t let these things worry you. God is too kind to not provide your needs Isaiah 54:10.
34 We should not be anxious, God is a provider Philippians 4:19; Exodus 16:18-20; Deut 33:25; Hebrews 13:5-6. I have to trust myself with God completely because this is the only way I will have peace. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. We can’t handle life heavy burdens, this is why Jesus says take my yoke upon you for it is easy and light. Christ has given us no promise of help in bearing today the burdens of tomorrow. We should seek the Lord in prayer and make a choice to consent to wear the yoke of Christ which is the yoke of obedience and service. All murmurings will be stilled, all difficulties will be removed, and all perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved MB 101.3 I must have faith in God that He will do it and He can. May I not add tomorrow’s burden into today. Jesus has promised His aid, but not apart from our effort. The faithful discharge of today’s duties is the best preparation for tomorrow’s trials.