Mission 66 (English podcast)
Matthew 06 A Different Spirituality
The world tries to impress people by boasting about their spiritual virtue. We are called to a different kind of spirituality that is done for God and not for show. Welcome to Mission 66, a daily dive into God's living word. I'm Rob Dempsey. Today, we continue our focus on the Gospels. Mission 66 originates from the Ministry of Bible Teacher and Pastor Dr. Louise Seow, and is produced and heard in multiple languages around the world in partnership with Transworld Radio. Let me remind you to download your free study guide of the Gospels. You'll be able to go deeper into God's word and follow along with each day's program. It's a great companion resource of the audio teaching of John Matthews and Esther Susullo. To get your free study guide of the Gospels, visit mission66.org. That's mission66.org. Get ready for some serious discussion as John Matthews and his co-host Esther Susullo take us through today's study. Hello once again. We are in the Gospel of Matthew where last time we began looking at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, covering chapters 5 through 7, and is one of the most important passages in the New Testament. We started with chapter 5 and today we will look at chapter 6. Our teacher John Matthews is with us today and his theme is a different spirituality. Yes, I'm good. Thank you. And great to be with you and a very warm welcome as well to you listening. Wherever you are listening to us today, it's so good to be with you here on Mission 66. You may remember previously we went through the Beatitudes on Mission 66. They were listed actually in chapter 5, Matthew chapter 5. Now these Beatitudes, they were the first part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and Beatitudes effectively refer to blessings. And Jesus was saying that God's blessings and favor come to those who follow the virtues that are listed here. And there were eight of them. He then goes on to speak about other virtues which make up the ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven. And so we entitled that episode a surprising spirituality. Because what God considers a virtue is often surprising compared to our cultural view when we compare it with what goes on in this very mixed up world. For example, God values humility so much more than pride. In fact, God sees pride as one of the biggest downfalls of humanity. But God valuing humility in this way goes against the logic of today that says look out for yourself and to be more self-promoting. Well today here it's chapter 6 and we're going to see what we're calling a different spirituality. So before we have this surprising spirituality and today it's a different spirituality. You're going to see how Jesus' instructions are different from the normal practices of today. And in Matthew 6 in the very opening verse Jesus says this, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. Thus when you give to the needy sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you." What's Jesus talking about here? Well he's talking about charity isn't he? Giving to the church, giving to the poor, doing things to benefit other people. Rewards will be given for virtue but for us well that may come later. Jesus assumes that most of his followers will do these things on their own and so we should. But he also leaves this real caution and I think this revolves Esther around the posture, the state of our hearts and he says why do we do what we do? What is our motivation? Some people some wealthy people will give plenty of money out of their piles of wealth through humanitarian causes only because the government will give them a tax break perhaps. They may like to have buildings and roads named after them. But the hypocrites in Jesus' time made it a grand production of giving. Some were actually blowing trumpets as if to say attention please, I the great benefactor. I'm now going to give an offering to this poor person so on the basis of that I'd like some respect please. Quite extreme, John. But I mean let's face it, it's tempting to have selfish motives when we give, right? We like to be recognised publicly, we like to be thanked, it's kind of within us. Yeah, it's so right. We do, don't we? We really do and the point is, you know, do we do such things to truly please God? Or are we doing such things in front of others for earthly recognitions for people to say, oh, she's a lovely lady, isn't she? He's a decent bloke, isn't he? Look at him. So what's the truth, you know, that's us receiving praise effectively. What's the true motivation behind our giving? This kind of different spirituality means to let our giving be done in secret and not feel that we need any recognition or congratulation from man. And we don't need man kind to lavish praise upon us because we're kind or we do things for others. You know, much that is done for God in this world will never receive any recognition until the final rewards are handed out in heaven. You know, God will reward things done for his glory, boy will he, whether mankind notices or not. But Jesus then continues along this same line of thought, examining our motivations in verse 5 when he says this, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others." Truly I say to you, they have received their award, but when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. And that should be encouraging, shouldn't it, Esther? It definitely is encouraging, John, you know, and I guess the same thought here is don't practice your spirituality simply to be noticed by people. I mean, God sees what we do, he hears what we pray, and God never misses anything. I think he will reward us in the right time. Yeah, that is so right. God hears us the first time, and he knows what we need before he hears us the first time. He's not deaf and he knows absolutely everything. You see, Jesus was not giving us a mantra to repeat. There's nothing magical about the Lord's Prayer, for example. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and Jesus said basically, you learn how to pray by praying. And when he says not to use vain repetition, the problem is not repetition itself. The problem is when the repetition is mindless, so we mustn't disengage our minds when we pray. We've got to think about what we're saying, we've got to think about what we're praying. I think that's a very important thing to take note of. Now, John, I'm especially looking forward to what's next. Let's examine the Lord's Prayer piece by piece. Yeah, let's do that. So Jesus says, "Pray like this, our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. Our Father is the one who listens to us and answers us." So this is a personal relationship with God here. He is the one involved with our community of faith, and therefore he is not only the Father, but our Father. He is in heaven. And the desire of those who pray with their hearts is that his name be hallowed. That means his name be made holy, or even more straightforwardly, his name be held in special high regard, and that his kingdom will come, because true joy will only exist when the will of God is done in both heaven and earth. So his will is done in heaven, but our desire is that it be done on earth as well so that we may have peace and joy. And then he says to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread, not bread for the entire month, not some sort of security that humans seek." No, maintain us each day, day by day, provide for us each and every individual day. Then he goes on to say, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." You know, those who don't forgive others do not know forgiveness and are far from the kingdom of God. Then he says, "Lead us not into temptation." Now, God does not tempt anyone. We see that in the book of James, don't we? But we are tempted by our own lusts. And this is indeed a big problem that we have, and it's sinning against God. And this is why Jesus teaches us to ask, but deliver us from evil. So in the Lord's Prayer, he's giving the disciples, it's a model, really, or a guide for what sort of things to include in our prayer, such as honor the Father's name, praise his name for all that he's done. Ask that his will be done on earth, that we could pray for ours on that topic alone, but we should pray for daily sustenance, realizing that nobody gets to eat unless God provides. In fact, nobody gets anything unless it's given to us from heaven. And if we slip up, we make mistakes, we do things wrong, then we should seek and give forgiveness. And we need to ask his divine help against the devil and against the temptations that he puts in front of us each day. And another thing, we don't have to say the prayer word for word. You know, God gives us a mind. We can use our own words when we pray. And we should think about, you know, what we're praying and not speak the same things over and over in a kind of parrot fashion. So if you want or need something from God, we just need to ask him. He wants to hear from us. Jesus wants us to pray because Jesus wants us to speak to him. He's listening. His ear is waiting because he longs for us to interact with him. And he longs to interact with us too. Yeah, you know, John, I think I'm realizing that I think Jesus may be teaching us to not only ask for deliverance from temptation and the forgiveness of our own sin, but to us to be delivered from satanic and demonic attacks that sometimes do come. Yeah, it's true, Esther. You know, the enemy of our souls make no mistake. It's awake and active today. There's another place where it says how the devil wanders around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. That's quite a picture, isn't it, when you see a lion just prowling around on the lookout? So may God defend us from this devil who is the constant enemy of God and the constant enemy as well of those who walk in truth. And as well, we should be sure of one point that Jesus is making that was really important here, and that's forgiveness. You know, those of us who pray to be forgiven for our sins must likewise forgive others. It's not an option. And you know, this is a really serious point because Jesus is saying that those who do not forgive are not forgiven by the Heavenly Father. Some people think that the bad sins are, I don't know, stealing, prostitution, shooting people, doing drugs. These are bad sins, they say. Well, what Jesus is going to show us here is that the worst sin is denying forgiveness. You hear me right, denying forgiveness. Look, any other sin can be forgiven by God, but unforgiveness is the one thing that cannot be forgiven. Forgiving others is a requirement. It's a distinctive Christian virtue. And it's one of the things that makes us stand out from the rest of the world. Most people like to think about taking vengeance on those who do wrong against them. But God commands us to forgive those who do wrong against us, not for their benefit, but for ours. You know, we benefit. We benefit when we forgive. I would agree with that. I've experienced that in my life as well, at least sometimes the challenges of not forgiving. And I guess that if we hold grudges against people, it can be really hazardous to our health. Yeah, absolutely. You know, someone wisely said that not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die. You know, science confirms this as well. It tells us that long term unforgiveness, Esther, well, it makes us grouchy. It can affect our heart, our internal organs. You know, it leads to illness and bitterness. But more than that, think about the many times that we have sinned against God. You know, and if he is willing to forgive us, should we not be willing to pass that forgiveness on to others? And Jesus, you know, he considers this such a serious thing, so serious that he said that God will withhold forgiveness from us if we are not willing to forgive others. And he tells a parable, which we'll get to in one of these episodes where this guy, he owes the king a huge amount of money and is just simply unable to pay. So he begs, he pleads with the king that the king would have mercy and give him more time to repay this money, even though he knows full well he's never ever going to be able to raise this amount of money. Well, the king is actually so heartbroken by this poor chap pleading with him desperately that the king decides to actually cancel all his debts. So he forgives all. Then later on, this man comes up upon one of his friends who owes him a tiny amount of money and he grabs him by the throne and says, pay up. And the king gets to hear about this and has him arrested and brought back into the throne room and says to him, I forgave you that enormous debt just because you asked me to. You know, I saw how authentic you were and how much you wanted it. And here you are, strangling a guy who owes you a few coins. Take this guy to jail and leave him there until he pays every penny, says the king. And then Jesus says, this is how the heavenly father will treat you if you do not forgive others. Wow. So if we're holding on, if you are holding on to something against another person, you have got to let it go. Remember our theme? A different spirituality. Sometimes easier said than done, but one good way, one powerful way to be different today is to show that you are willing to forgive people who've done you wrong. Not easy, but it's required of us. And as we move on, Jesus continues then by teaching about fasting. Fasting is a common religious practice. And this is what Jesus says in verse 16. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. My dear listeners, we do not fast unto people. We fast unto God. The world tries to impress people by boasting about their spiritual virtues. And we are called to a different kind of spirituality that is done for God and not for sure. This is Mission 66, and I'm Esther. And my dear friend, we are going through a very sobering study of the Book of Matthew, Chapter 6, with our teacher, John Matthews. So if I hear you correctly, John, it seems most of what Jesus is saying in His sermon on the Mount is that God is interested not only in what we do, but in our motives. You know, that is what is behind what we do. Yeah, it's absolutely right, Esther. You know, what makes this spirituality different is that it's not obvious. It's not done out in the open, but it's done in the secret places of our heart, those secret places where only God can see. And much of what is done in church, let's use that as an example. That may look good on the outside, but God and God alone sees the heart. He sees the posture of our heart. So, you know, with everything that we're learning right now, I'm realizing that a lot of what we need to do is very practical, as referenced in this particular chapter. But as we continue here with Matthew, Chapter 6, we'll see that another test of spirituality is measured by how we deal with our finances and material things. Yeah, let's look at verse 19, this is what Jesus says here, Esther, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." You know, I think most people would wonder, what is the proper balance between laying up treasures in heaven, but still providing for ourselves and our families here on earth? I mean, how do we strike that balance? Yeah, it can, can't it? It really can. And, you know, remember there is a difference between worrying and living responsibly. As we know, living responsibly, it requires care, doesn't it? And four thought, "Yes, we have to be careful in our spending and provide for our families. Yes, we have to go shopping for clothing and for food, and we should be laying aside money if we can for emergencies." You know, that's a good thing. And we are allowed to prepare ahead of time for later years if God spares us. But what Jesus is saying here is, "Don't live every moment shaking in fear and anxiety and worry because God is trustworthy." Trust God. Lean upon Him one day at a time. Give appropriately if you can. Help someone in need. And if you need something, you can always ask God. Learn to pray. We may not get everything that we want, but the Lord does provide exactly what we need because He knows more than we or anyone else know exactly what we need. And when life on earth is over, what then? Well, we'll want treasure in heaven, won't we? We'll be in heaven much longer than we're going to be here on earth. That's a bit of an understatement. Eternity, compared to the way life is sometimes described as but a breath, but such an important breath. So how do we best prepare for forever more? How do we get treasure in heaven? By giving it away here on earth, Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." You know, John, as you mentioned this, I recall once I had a job where I had two bosses. They were brothers. And neither one of them knew what the other was thinking. So there I was. I was stuck in the middle. I was trying to please these two very different people. One would tell me to do something and the other would tell me not to do that. So I really didn't know who to obey or which one I should say yes to. And I can tell you that was extremely, extremely uncomfortable and very difficult to have to deal with. Yeah, it's a really good example, Esther. And it's, you know, it's the same way with God and money. If God is your master and he tells you to do something yet you do it, even if it costs you, but if money is your real master, you'll do what will bring in the most profit, even if it means disobeying God. True. We have to know which of these two bosses is going to have the final say, don't we? And Jesus then continues on in verse 25 by saying, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on." Now those of you who are so worried, so anxious and scared about what will happen, slow down. Don't get anxious. It's not worth it and it won't solve anything. Jesus says, "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you of little faith? You know, again, we're called to a different spirituality. The world fears that it will run out of money. It gets desperate, even anxious. It even drives some into illegal activity, violent crime, addiction, just to gain more money. But the one who really trusts God to provide what we need can relax, actually, and not be desperate because God has promised to meet all of our needs, our deepest needs. So what good does it do to worry? You know, we can't control what happens in the world, but God can. He made the universe and, well, he runs it pretty well without our help. Slow down. Relax, says Jesus. In verse 31, therefore, do not be anxious saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. So instead of putting these things at the center of your life, instead of making them your priority, boy, do we need to listen to the brilliant advice of Jesus here at the end of chapter 6 when he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow. For tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Yeah, I mean, quite honestly, it's easy to say. It's hard to do sometimes. You know, even for people who say that they trust God. Yeah, it is. It's really hard to do sometimes, and sometimes worry does overcome us, and God understands that. We just think of, you know, his situation there in the Garden of Gethsemane, and so he understands those deepest concerns and anxieties. And he comforts us in that as well. You know, I guess a question we can ask ourselves, which would help us to get to the right, perhaps frame of mind, which is just back into communion with God, is do we actually really believe that God is our source? If he is provided for us up to now, is he going to abandon us in this situation or when we are old? I guess what Jesus is trying to remind us here is that the treasures of this world will soon be destroyed. These things that are soon to be destroyed then often dominate and control our life and our heart here on earth a lot more than they should. Oh, these are some good thoughts. Very sobering, very challenging, but by God's grace we can do it. John, can we summarize the main points in Matthew chapter 6 today? Yeah, this chapter is part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, isn't it, where he was suggesting this different spirituality and he challenges his believers to not only examine what we do for God, but also to examine why we do what we do. Are there selfish motivations behind what we give, how we worship, how we behave, even how we pray? And if we're only doing these things because we expect earthly rewards, then we're running the risk of forfeiting the reward that God may have for us. If we do what Jesus says, we'll be different from the rest of the crowd, but it's the way of blessings. Others may chase after blessings in this life only, but as for me, I want to be blessed eternally, don't you? I want to be blessed on the last day, and if I have to be poor at all, let me be poor here on earth, because I don't want to be poor when I get to heaven. Such a great way to close off today's episode, that is our speaker, John Matthews, and I'm Esther and friend, we will continue and finish our series on the Sermon on the Mount in our next episode. So please do plan to join us then, same time, same place right here on Mission 66. Has God used today's program in your life, then you'll want to receive the free study guide of the Gospels that we've prepared. You can get it right away by downloading it at mission66.org. Review what you've heard on our series in the Gospels and have the guide handy for the next program. Visit mission66.org and download your free study guide of the Gospels. At mission66.org, you can also leave a comment or make a donation to help this listener-supported ministry. Thank you for helping Mission 66 continue here and around the world. Pick up your study guide of the Gospels at mission66.org. Mission 66 is a Ministry of Transworld Radio. I'm Rob Dempsey. [MUSIC]