A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
Matthew 6
 
            Jesus begins by saying that you need to give your alms (gifts of food or money to the poor) in secret.  Do your good deeds in secret.  If you don't do them in secret, you will have gotten your reward already.  Hell-bound people are rewarded with hell when they die.  They never accepted Christ.
            God does not want his people to look for praise from other people when they do a good deed because God WANTS TO REWARD HIS PEOPLE PERSONALLY FOR ALL THE GOOD DEEDS THEY DO.  The best type of praise you can possibly receive comes from GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF!  For this reason, God wants you to do all your good deeds, gifts, and prayers in secret.
            Jesus tells us in 6:7 not to use vain repetitions (like saying the "Hail Mary" seven times in a row) like the heathens do.  Compare this to Ecclesiastes 5:2 - "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few."
            Jesus goes on to tell us in 6:8 that God already knows what you have need of before you ask of Him.  What a mighty God we serve!  God knows your needs better than you know your needs.  He is perfect and all-knowing!
            In 6:9-13 we have the most famous Lord's Prayer.  This is a prayer you need to say every day, as it is perfect and covers everything.  Pray it not just for yourself but for your family and friends.
            6:14 speaks of forgiveness, which is very important - you must forgive everybody that has committed a wrong against you - ever.  I have done this personally, but let me give you an example.  Back in 2003 and 2004 I worked for the family business.  My dad is the owner of a real estate company and 2003 and 2004 were BOOM years in real estate.  I mean we couldn't raise the prices of homes fast enough.  Everything was selling.  But not for me.  I was not a very good salesperson.  And one day I was sitting at the computer and my dad told me in a most hateful way, "You COST me money!"  I can still remember it to this day.  It is probably the meanest thing anybody has ever said to me, aside from some of the comments I get on my Youtube channel!  Things like that do damage to you.  And anytime anybody says or does something mean like that you need to dwell on what happened and release that hurt and say in your heart, "I forgive that person."  And that hurt will be lifted away and it will be like a weight lifted from your shoulders, almost like taking a heavy pack off your back.  When you have unforgiveness in your heart. you have a weight on your shoulders whether you realize it or not.  And, in order for you to move forward, you need to let that go.  Unforgiveness toward a person creates resentment and bitterness against that person and you will not be free until you let that go.
            Jesus says you need to forgive others of their trespasses toward you or He will not forgive you of your trespasses.  You need to dwell on it and release it and get rid of the unforgiveness.
            Jesus speaks about discretion when fasting, next.  He says to keep it a secret and not make it clear you are fasting when you do so.  Further, if you make it clear to others that you are fasting you have your reward already.  Remember, you want your reward for fasting to come from God Himself, and you don't want the reward of other people.  The best rewards come from God Himself and He will reward you openly.
            Jesus speaks of laying up treasure in Matthew 6:19-21.  Let me ask you a question - are you laying up treasure for yourself on earth or are you laying up treasure for yourself in heaven?  Are you slaving for the money to take care of your family or are you stockpiling money that you don't need?  Why are you after money?  Are you stockpiling money to get that new Corvette to show off to your neighbor?  (Is it just me or does everybody want more money?)  Let me tell you something the God of this world is money.  I see it every day in my own family.  I have a good friend - let's call him "D."  D used to make over 100,000 dollars a year in real estate, then real estate collapsed and now he had to take up a hard labor job at a lot less money.  D slaves 50 hours a week at hard labor to put clothes on his kids' backs, food on the table, and pay the mortgage.  D says, "he'll do that or die tryin'."  That is worthwhile.  Look at 1 Timothy 5:8 - "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
            Jesus says in 6:21, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  You see, most people have their heart set on earthly treasures.  (But, then again, most people are going to hell.)
            Jesus says in 6:22 that the light of the body is the eye.  What does this mean?  It’s hard to say, but I’d say the eyes, and, secondarily, your ears are conduits through which the world enters into you.  You make your decisions based on what you see and hear.  The only question is – are your eyes selfish or unselfish?  Do you approach life with the attitude of: 1.  Giving to others or 2.  Taking for yourself?  If you are unsaved and lacking the Spirit of God, your eye will be selfish and evil because the very essence of love and goodness is the Spirit of God.  A good example of what it means to have a good eye is the Church to be taken in the Rapture and especially the Bride of Christ.  These people have totally submitted themselves to the Lord.  (You can still be taken in the Rapture if you repent and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.)
            Matthew 6:23 says that when your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.  People with the selfish or the evil eye are what you may call a black hole, or bottomless pit.  A black hole is something that looks to take everything it can get and return nothing.  A black hole takes everything it can for itself.  It is like a high-powered vacume cleaner.  This is the way people with an evil eye are.  They look to take everything life has to offer.  They don’t serve others with a sincere heart.  They don’t give with a sincere heart, if they give at all.
            Jesus says in 6:23, also, that if your light is darkness, how great is that darkness!  This is exactly what a black hole is.  Why do you think they call it a “black” hole?  It returns no light!  It has so much mass that it literally sucks everything into it.  A black hole’s gravity is so intense that even light itself cannot escape from it.
            6:24 is a very profound verse.  Jesus says here that you cannot serve two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other or you will love the one and hate the other.  Now, to understand where you stand in this equation, you need to check your MOTIVES in your money-making ventures.  If your goal is money for the sake of "having money" – and that is why you do what you do – then it is safe to say that money is your God.  I know many people that think about money 24 hours a day.  And, you know what, they are never satisfied.  When John D. Rockefeller was asked (he was the world’s first billionaire) how much money it would  take to satisfy him, he said, “Just a little bit more.”  Proverbs 27:20 says that “the eyes of man are never satisfied.”  The Bible says in Proverbs 23:4, “Do not overwork to be rich.”
            Now, let’s check the other side of the equation.  Some people work to provide food, clothing, and shelter to their family.  That is something that is worthwhile and honorable in God’s eyes.  Some people like to work because they enjoy serving their fellow man and this is honorable.
            Do you tithe on your income?  If you don’t tithe, then money is too important to you and money is your God.  God gave you ALL the money you have.  The only question is – are you going to give God the ten percent He asks from you (Nehemiah 10:37-38)?  Some people tithe, however, expecting some payback from God in the future.  They say with their tithe, “God, what are You going to do for me now?”  This is insincere giving.
            But let’s get back to the main point.  Do you want more money or do you want more of the LORD?  Do you crave money or do you crave your Creator?  Would you rather have a new Porsche Turbo or a day one-on-one with Jesus?
            Let us look at 6:25-34.  Jesus mentions it is not good to take thought.  What does it mean to “take thought?”  What are you doing when you are thinking?  You are concerning yourself with some issue in your life.  And when you are really concerned and you are really thinking a lot about it – this is worry.  Will the gas stored in the garage blow up the garage?  Is this a safe spot for my checkbook?  Is someone going to steal my money?
            Jesus says it is not good to take thought about these things.  Too much thinking is worry and worry will eat you up.  It’s like a cancer.
            Jesus compares how God so beautifully clothes the lilies of the field with the raiment of Solomon in all of his glory.  If not even King Solomon’s clothes were as nice as the lilies of the field, WHOSE ARE?
            You know when you are going to have really nice clothes?  When you get to heaven.  The clothes will be perfectly comfortable and perfectly beautiful.  I’m sure there are fabrics in heaven that do not exist on earth.  So, this is why Jesus says not to worry about these things.  God will really take care of you when you get to heaven.  So don’t worry about ANYTHING down here on earth.  But, if you’re not saved and Jesus is not living in your heart – then you have a lot to worry about.  If you are hell-bound, then hell is something that you seriously need to worry about.  Hell is serious.  Do everything you can to repent and get right with God so you don’t have to go there.
            6:33 is important.  Put the kingdom of God first and HIS righteousness and God will add all these things unto you.  Colossians 3:2 says something very similar – “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”  When you put heaven first – and what it is going to take in order to go to heaven – everything else will naturally fall into place.  YOUR TOP PRIORITY needs to be heaven and what it is going to take to get there.  Your life on earth is very brief.  Your life after earth stretches on into infinity.  Where are you going to go when you die?  When heaven is your priority and living righteously is your priority, earthly things fall right into place.
            Jesus says in 6:34 to not take thought or worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough worries of its own.  Indeed, you do not even know if you will live to see tomorrow.  So, why should you worry about tomorrow, then?  Likewise, don't dwell on the past.
            There is a wonderful book by the name of The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson.  You can buy it for one cent plus $3.99 shipping at Amazon.com.  My friend told me about it about 3 years ago.  You can even get it as a free PDF on the internet.  The Precious Present.  I'm not going to read it but it is a wonderful book and it will really impact your life.
            Simply, the book is a parable about living in the PRESENT.  Not the past, not the future.  It is wise to learn from the mistakes and errors you have made in the past but it is not good to live in the past.  Just today I was saying how nice it would be to be ten years old again.  I wanted to be in the 1980s.
            Likewise, it is not good to live in the future.  It is wise to prepare for the future by getting some extra food and water.  But, don't say to yourself, "Gee, "I'll be happy when we have that big party this weekend," or "I'll be happy when I get my next paycheck."  REMEMBER, ANY TIME YOU HAVE ANXIETY OR WORRY YOU ANE NOT LIVING IN THE PRESENT AND YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY.  No, you need to be happy right now.  Don't live in the past and don't live in the future.  Jesus says this - live for today, not tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself.