Authentic Righteousness | Security

Matthew 6:19 Thru 34.

PRACTICING AUTHENTIC RIGHTEOUSNESS:

Demonstrated By A Transformed Life.

We Have Talked About Worshiping The Right God The Wrong Way:

JESUS CAME AND SET A CORRECT STANDARD.

HE Explained To Them:

You Have Torn Down The DIVINE Standard.

You Have Reconstituted A HUMAN Standard.

Your Human Standard Is NOT Acceptable To God.

HE Says To Them:

I Am NOT Come To Destroy The Law And The Prophets.

I Am Come To: Reaffirm Them.

I Am Come To: Reassert True Righteousness.

I Am Come To: Re-Establish God's Established Standard.

SO: In Chapter 6: Jesus Tells Them:

They Have The Wrong Approach Towards The Things Of Life.

They Have The Wrong Approach To What Defiles You.

They Have The Wrong Approach To Theology.

They Have The Wrong Approach To Worship.

They Have The Wrong Approach To Prayer.

They Have The Wrong Approach To Fasting.

JESUS SUMS UP OUR RELIGIOUS RESPONSIBILITY:

OUR WORSHIP TOWARD GOD,

SHOULD BE COMING FROM THE DEPTHS OF A PURE HEART.

THE PREVIOUS 4 LESSONS HAVE FOCUSED ON AUTHENTICITY:

Jesus Is Warning Against

Doing Righteous Deeds So That Others Will See Them.

Which Is Hypocritical or Phony or Unauthentic.

Verses 19–34: 2 Underlying Questions Concerning Authenticity.

FIRST, WHAT IS YOUR TRUE MOTIVE ?

SECOND, WHY ARE YOU ANXIOUS ?

SO,

CONCERNING PRACTICING RIGHTEOUSNESS: JESUS DISCUSSES POSSESSIONS AND MOTIVES.

HIS POINT: Wealth Is Not Evil, Itself.

HIS CONCERN: Prioritizing Material Things Over Godliness.

HIS SOLUTION: Build Up "Treasures" In Heaven;

HIS MEANING: Make Right Choices From Sincere Devotion To God.

A PERSON WILL

INVEST THEIR TREASURE:

(INCLUDING TIME, MONEY, AND EMOTION)

IN WHAT IS THEY CONSIDER

A PRIORITY OF THEIR HEART.

(MATTHEW 6:19–21).

HIS MESSAGE: You Can't Serve Both GOD and POSSESSIONS.

YOU MUST CHOOSE.

God And Possessions Are Two Different Masters.

If You Try, You'll End Up Resenting One And Loving The Other. (Matthew 6:22–24).

THEN, JESUS SPEAKS TO THOSE WITH LITTLE OR NO MONEY.

Live NOT In Anxiety Over The Basic Needs Of Life,

Even If One Don't Know How They Will Pay For Food And Clothing.

God The Father Feeds The Birds And Clothes The Lilies.

And His People Are Far More Valuable Than That.

He Tells Them Not To Live In Anxiety Over The Basic Needs Of Life,

Even If They Don't Know How They Will Pay For Food And Clothing.

God The Father Feeds The Birds And Clothes The Lilies,

And His People Are Far More Valuable Than That.

THE POINT: Worry Accomplishes Nothing.

THE CONCERN: Not Trusting God To Provide For All Our Needs.

THE SOLUTION: Let Tomorrow Worry About Tomorrow.

THE MEANING: Trust God For Today's Troubles.

(Matthew 6:25–34).

THE POINT OF LIFE:

TO PURSUE GOD'S KINGDOM | HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

AUTHENTIC SECURITY:

Do We Put Our Faith In The Lord.

OR Do We Trust Our Wealth And Resources,

TODAY'S KEY TAKEAWAY:

Authentic Righteousness Demands Authentic Faith.

We Will Never Be Able To Seek God’s Righteousness:

If We Are More Concerned With How Others Perceive Us.

If We Are More Concerned With Earthly Possessions,

If We Try To Obtain Our Own Rewards.

OUTLINE:

I. PURE MOTIVES (19–24).

FIRST, IF I DO THE RIGHT ACTIONS,

DOES IT REALLY MATTER,

WHAT MY MOTIVES ARE?

II. ANXIETY (25–32).

SECOND, CAN I TRUST GOD,

TO TAKE CARE OF MY NEEDS,

IF I DON’T TAKE CARE OF THEM MYSELF?

THIS STUDY DEALS WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:

How We Worship Him With Our Possessions.

How We Use Our Treasure For His Glory.

How We Serve Him With Our Attitudes.

How We Serve Him As Our Master.

GENERAL CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 6:

The Contrast Between.

The False: External Righteousness.

The Genuine: Internal Righteousness (Imputed To The Believer).

AUTHENTIC FAITH:

I. PURE MOTIVES (19–24).

So, The Pharisees Were Very Rich.

They Taught That Riches Were A Sign Of God's Blessing.

And OF COURSE, They Were Rich.

Their Point Being God's Approves Of Their Teaching.

They Were Very Proud Of Their Wealth.

They Were Very Proud Of Their So-Called Spirituality.

Jesus Sets Out To Correct Their False Views Concerning Wealth.

Materialism Deals With The Problem Of Worldliness.

Worldliness Is An Attitude About Life.

IT IS ANY ATTITUDE THAT EXCLUDES THE PERSON OF CHRIST.

This Part Of Matthew:

Wealth, Possessions And Money Are Blessings From God.

POINT: OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THESE MATERIAL BLESSINGS.

WHAT THEN DOES GOD OPPOSE?

An Attitude That Excludes Christ From Our Material Possessions.

An Attitude Where Wealth Possesses And Obsesses Us.

Put No Trust In Extortion; Set No Vain Hopes On Robbery; If Riches Increase, Set Not Your Heart On Them. Psalm 62:10.

SO, YES IT DOES MATTER TO GOD ABOUT

ATTITUDES AND MOTIVES

TOWARD RECEIVING MATERIAL BLESSINGS.

A. POSSESSIONS SHOULD BE USED FOR GOD: 6:19,20.

LAY NOT Up For Yourselves Treasures Upon Earth,

Where Moth And Rust Destroy,

Where Thieves Break Through And Steal.

POINT:

ALL MATERIAL POSSESSIONS CAN PERISH OR BE STOLEN.

Earthly Wealth:

Something One Can Have Today And Lose Tomorrow.

Is Transitory And Passing.

Is Never Secure And Certain.

Earthly Wealth:

Should Be Used For Advancing God's Kingdom.

Should Be Used For The Glory Of God.

This is a positive command.

Christians are to be more concerned about spiritual and heavenly things than carnal and earthly things.

The great thrust of the Christian's life is to glorify God.

Christians are to employ their earthly treasures and money for spiritual ends.

Our material investments should be accumulating heavenly profits.

Money used for God down here on earth is actually put on deposit in heaven.

Every investment for Christ is eternally safe in the heavenly bank. I Timothy 6:17-19).

B. POSSESSIONS SHOULD BE:

A DEMONSTRATION OF COMMITMENT TO HIM: 6:21.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Lord gives an explanation of what He means by treasure.

It deals with what a person desires most in life.

Where the aim of his life is, there is his heart.

If his aims are earthly, that is where his heart is set;

if they are heavenly, that is where his heart is.

What a man does tells what a man is.

Martin Luther said, Whatever your heart clings to and relies on is your God.

C. POSSESSIONS CAN:

DISTORT YOUR SPIRITUAL GOALS: 6:22,23.

The Light Of The Body Is The Eye:

If Therefore Your Eye Be Single,

The Whole Body Shall Be Full Of Light.

But If Your Eye Be Evil,

The Whole Body Shall Be Full Of Darkness.

If Therefore The Light That Is In Thee Be Darkness,

How Great Is That Darkness!

Possessions Can Distort Our Vision.

Possessions Can Distort Our View Of Life.

We Depend On Healthy Eyes To View Life.

We Depend On Spiritual Vision To View Our Relationship To God.

Possessions Have The Potential Of Causing Spiritual Eye Disease.

Your Vision Becomes Clear If You Lay Up Heavenly Treasures.

D. POSSESSIONS CAN:

BECOME YOUR MASTER: 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.

You Cannot Serve God And Mammon.

There Must Be Exclusive Service.

The Two Masters In Context Are God And Mammon (riches).

These Two Masters Are So Different That You Cannot Love Both.

Both God And Possessions Make Demands Upon You.

Either One Demands All Your Service,

For You Are A Slave To Either;

And Each Has A Different Way Of Controlling Your Life.

You Cannot Serve God And Riches,

For What A Man Serves Is What He Really Loves.

A Choice To Put God First And Trust God For Whatever Material Blessings Come His Way,

Or Put Materialism First And God Will Be Left Out Of The Picture.

II. ANXIETY (25–32).

DO NOT BE ANXIOUS.

NOTE:

THIS PROMISE IS FOR THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM.

IT IS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BELONGING TO HIM.

IT IS SPECIFIC GRACE FOR HIS OWN.

REMEMBER:

SPECIFIC GRACE IS DIFFERENT FROM COMMON GRACE.

LOGICAL REASONS FOR NOT WORRYING:

THE LORD TOLD US NOT TO WORRY.

Worry About Material Things Is Sin, For God Has Promised To Meet The Needs Of His People (Phil. 4:19).

Worry Is Futile And Useless For It Never Solved Any Problem At All.

We Are To Take Their Concerns About Material Things To God And Leave Them There For God To Handle (Phil. 4:6, 7).

The Lord Is Not Condemning Foresight;

He Is Condemning A Worrying Foresight As Though It Were Our Responsibility To Provide And Not His.

THE LOGIC OF CREATION:

Since God Gave Us Life, Certainly He Can Provide Us With Food.

The Giver Of The Gift Of Life Will See To It.

THE LOGIC OF THE ANIMAL WORLD:

The Example Of The Animal World: In Particular The Bird World.

Birds Have No Way Of Storing Food But God Provides For Them.

He Sees To It That Their Life Is Sustained.

NOTE:

Do Not Think This Teaches That We Can Be Lazy.

Do Not Think This Teaches To Sit Around And Expect Bread To Fall.

Do We See Birds Perched Waiting For Food To Come To Them.

They Search For It Diligently.

Mankind Must Work, Trusting God To Provide For His Needs.

THE LOGIC OF MAN'S INABILITY TO EXTEND LIFE:

Life Is Planned And God Has An Appointed Hour For His Death.

God Will Provide For His Own Until That Moment Of Death.

THE LOGIC OF VEGETATION:

Consider The Lilies Of The Field, How They Grow;

They Toil Not, Neither Do They Spin:

God Is Interested In A Lone Flower

How Much More Will He Care For His Own Family.

THE LOGIC OF PRIORITY:

But Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God, And His Righteousness; And All These Things Shall Be Added Unto You.

IT IS PERFECTLY LOGICAL:

If The Christian Puts God First,

Then God Will Be Pleased,

And He Will Meet The Believer's Material Needs.

(II Chron. 16:9: Them That Honor Me I Will Honor.

THE LOGIC OF DAILY SUFFICIENCY:

Take Therefore No Thought For The Morrow:

For The Morrow Shall Take Thought For The Things Of Itself.

Sufficient Unto The Day Is The Evil Thereof.

The Final Argument Is That Of The Burden Of A Day.

In Itself A Day's Burden Is Heavy Enough.

WHY DOUBLE THE BURDEN BY WORRYING ABOUT TOMORROW?

Add Worry Of Tomorrow To Today Will Double The Burden.

NOTE:

There May Be Greater Sins Than Worry,

But Few Are More Disabling.

Worry Occupies The Mind

It Keeps From Being Useful In Areas That Should Be Occupied.

Worry Prevents Joy And Happiness.

It Is Useless And Accomplishes Nothing.

BE CAREFUL TO REMEMBER:

If You Have Experienced Saving Faith And STOP Growing:

A Person Is Going To Face Defeat By The Enemy.

A Person Will Be Prone To Worry.

If You Have Experienced Saving Faith And CONTINUE Growing:

The Lord Will Bless Anyone Who Chooses To WALK BY FAITH.

The Lord Will Bless Anyone Who Chooses To DO GOD'S WILL.

FAITH TRUST THE GOD WHO CONTROLS CIRCUMSTANCES.

That Is How One Can MASTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

NOT LET THE CIRCUMSTANCES MASTER YOU.

TRUST IN YOUR SOVEREIGN LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER

TO MEET YOUR NEEDS.