Judge Wisely: There are consequences.

Matthew 7:1-2 "...Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you..."

Luke 6:37 "...Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;..."

Who was Jesus addressing, and why?

- The Pharisees.

- They were judging incorrectly.

Why did they judge incorrectly?

- they wanted what they wanted.

- Jesus wasn't working within their system.

When do we tend toward being judgmental?

- when we want what we want.

- when we want life within our system.

How will we be judged?

James 2:13 "...For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment..."

- we will judged just as we judge.

- we will reap what we sow.

 

Matthew 7:3-5 "...Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye..."

Do other people have flaws and problems?

Do we have flaws and problems?

What can happen when we are quick to judge, or quick to try to correct others flaws or problems?

- our unresolved issues can cause great damage, even as we think we're doing good.

Is Jesus saying we should never judge?

John 7:24 "...Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment...”

- He says "judge not" because He is against fault-finding and condemnation.

- He proceeds, though, to say that we can assist others if we get fixed first.

- He is all about reconciliation and good health.

What is the difference in attitude that Jesus was teaching?

- humility and servanthood instead of self-righteous judgment.

- in bowing down to God we also bow down to our brothers.

- we commit ourselves not to judge them but to serve them.

Matthew 7:6 "...Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you..."

How does this verse fit with the previous verses about judgment?

- will the most humble intentions of a servant always work?

- how did it work out for Jesus?

What were dogs like in the Middle East?

- wild, fierce, and dangerous.

- they fed on carrion and garbage.

What were pigs like in Israel?

- ceremonially unclean.

- taboo.

What do you think the verse means in it's context?

- it is unwise to correct those who will not listen.

- it is appropriate to interact with those who want what one offers.

- is this the way God acts?

No Anxiety: The three therefores.

Matthew 6:25 "...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. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?..."

Luke 12:22-23 "...And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing..."

What is the therefore there for?

- it joins the previous text to the current text.

- anxiety is related to improper treasures and incorrect masters.

- when our heart is on heavenly things, anxiety is not necessary.

What should we not be anxious about?

- our earthly life.

- food, drink, clothing.

Matthew 6:26-30 "...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, O you of little faith?..."

Luke 12:24-28 "...Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!..."

Why should we not be anxious?

- God has built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for.

- people of faith know this to be true.

What don't birds do? What do birds do?

- they don't sow, reap, or store up in barns.

- they diligently work at finding what they need each day.

- Jesus approves of bird watching.

What don't lilies do? What do lilies do?

- they don't toil, spin, or worry about what to wear.

- they do daily what they were created to do.

- Jesus expects us to see and appreciate flowers.

Matthew 6:31-33 "...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..."

Luke 12:29-30 "...And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them...."

What is the therefore there for?

- it joins the previous text to the current text.

- we don't need to be anxious because we're confident that the creator is also the supplier of what is needed when we do what we were created to do.

Why don't we need to anxiously strive like the world that doesn't know God?

- God knows what we need.

Matthew 6:33 "...But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you..."

Luke 12:31 "...Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you..."

What should our number one priority be?

- seeking the kingdom of God.

What is the result?

- our needs are met by God.

Matthew 6:34 "...Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble..."

What is the therefore there for?

- it joins the previous text to the current text.

- anxiety about tomorrow isn't necessary when God is adding all that we need to our lives today.

Summary:

- store up heavenly treasures by serving God, not Money.

- therefore we won't be anxious about our life.

- the Creator supplies His creation with what is needed.

- therefore we won't be anxious about what we eat, drink, or wear.

- if we seek first the kingdom of God, all the necessary things are provided.

- therefore we won't be anxious about what tomorrow will bring.

Philippians 4:6 "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God..."

Do people need something for which to live? Something to give meaning to their existence? Something to seek? What are the options?

- God's intentions.

- the devil's alternatives (selfish secular ambitions)

Is Jesus saying people don't need to work for a living?

Genesis 2:15 "...The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it..."

Is Jesus saying we shouldn't think or plan for the future?

- Jesus is saying there is no need for anxious thought.

Is Jesus saying believers won't need to face trouble?

- being free of anxiety can't be equated to being free of trouble.

- "...sufficient for the day is its own trouble..."

Why is worry a waste of time, thought, and energy?

Fasting: To be seen by your Father

Matthew 6:16-18 "...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..."

Review:

Jesus talked about how to give to the needy. Do you believe in giving to the needy? Do you give to the needy?

Jesus talked about how to pray. Do you believe in prayer? Do you pray?

Now Jesus is talking about fasting. Do you believe in fasting? Do you fast?

- If you eat a meal in the morning, what is it called? Why?

- Is this the fast that Jesus is talking about?

What is the hypocritical way to fast? Why is it done? What is the reward?

- obvious and gloomy.

- to be seen by others.

- whatever response others give.

What is the appropriate way to fast? Why is it done? What is the reward?

- in secret.

- to be seen by God.

- whatever response God gives.

What value do you see in the discipline and self-denial of fasting?

- normally equated with humbling oneself before God.

Isaiah 58:5 "...Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?..."

What type of discipline and self-denial is God looking for?

- sacrificing oneself for others.

Isaiah 58:6-9 "...Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,..."

What is the reward? the Lord will protect you and "...the Lord will answer..."

Treasures:

Matthew 6:19-21 "...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 destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also..."

Luke 12:33-34 "...Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also..."

Context:

- Matt. 6:1-18 deals with our private life, with that which should be done in secret.

- Matt. 6:19-34 deals with our public life, with our interaction with this world.

- they aren't totally separate issues, since our private life affects our public life, and vice versa.

- our life is to be different from the hypocrisy of religion, and different from the materialism of our culture.

Why do people lay up treasures?

What types of things do people consider treasures?

Is Jesus against possessions?

Is Jesus against 'saving for a rainy day'?

Is Jesus against enjoying things on earth?

What is Jesus speaking against?

- having a heart devoted to earthly treasures.

How do earthly and heavenly treasures differ?

- earthly treasures don't last and aren't secure.

- heavenly treasures don't decay and can't be stolen from you.

Jesus didn't identify any earthly or heavenly treasures. Can you?

- earthly: prestige, bank accounts, property, automobiles, furnishings, clothes, etc.

- heavenly: knowledge of Christ, people, godly character.

Matthew 6:22-23 "...The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, 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 in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!..."

Luke 11:34-36 "...Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light...”

How does this passage describe the problem of earthly treasures?

- if you can't see correctly, you don't know what is and what isn't important.

- focusing on what the world calls success leads to blindness in matters of greater importance.

How dark (Matthew) can it get for people whose ambition (eyes and hearts) is set on earthly treasures?

- total darkness is total blindness, which means vision is gone.

- a person can become not only intolerant, but extremely ruthless, as they strive for what they can not secure.

How bright (Luke) can it get for people whose ambition (eyes and hearts) is set on heavenly treasures?

- wholly bright allows for clear vision.

- a person becomes generous (conformed to the image of Christ) when they see the reality of heavenly treasures.

Genesis 19:11 "...And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door..."

- the simplest of tasks, like finding a door, becomes impossible when people are blinded by their sin.

Matthew 6:24 "...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..."

Context:

- two treasures (earthly and heavenly).

- two ways of seeing (great darkness or wholly bright).

- now two masters (money or God).

Does Jesus think you sit on the fence, serving both God and the idols of this world?

- God and worldly idols compete for our allegiance.

- our values and actions will be shaped by a commitment to one or to the other.

Think of a time when you tried to serve both. How did it work out?

What are ways that people attempt to serve both?

- God on Sunday. Money during the week.

- God with their lips. Money with their heart.

Why does trying to serve both always default to serving money?

- There's only one way to serve God - all in.

- Deuteronomy 6:5 "...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might..."

The Lord's Prayer: Pray like this.

Matthew 6:9-13 "...Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and

forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."

Luke 11:2-4 "...And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread, and

forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation...”

In Review:

How is a Christian's righteousness to differ from both religious and secular people?

- it is greater because it is not external, but internal.

How is a Christian's love to differ from both religious and secular people?

- it is broader because it is reaches out even to enemies.

How is a Christian's prayer to differ from both religious and secular people?

- it is deeper because it isn't selfish or repetitive.

What is the difference between "pray this" and "pray like this"?

- Matthew's account seems to indicate the prayer is a model of good prayer.

- Luke's account seems to validate the saying the prayer as it was given.

Why is it important at the beginning of prayer to recall who God is?

- He's personal. He's holy.

- There's value in remembering He reigns in absolute sovereignty.

Why pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done?

- Our natural tendency is to live in our culture and want our will to be done.

- Our need is for His kingdom to replace the corrupt kingdom's of this world.

- Our goal should be to see His will being done here and now.

What is the significance of asking for daily bread?

- "Give us" acknowledges our need for His supply.

- "daily" acknowledges the ongoing repeated need for Him.

- "bread" signifies the necessary, not the luxurious.

Why is forgiveness important?

- Heaven is not a place of wrongdoing.

- Reconciliation is necessary for the kingdom and will of God to come to earth.

Matthew 6:14-15 "...For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses..."

Does God lead people into temptation?

James 1:13 "...Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one..."

Matthew 4:1 "...Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil..."

What is the difference between these two passages?

- God doesn't tempt people with evil.

- the devil tempts people with evil.

- Jesus showed us how to resist temptation.

Does God deliver us from evil?

1 Corinthians 10:13 "...No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it..."

What is missing in the ESV Lord's Prayer?

"...For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen..."

- This KJV phrase is not found in the early manuscripts.

How shall we pray?

- Recognize who God is.

- Recognize our need.

- Speak and live reconciliation.

- Recognize temptation and expect deliverance from evil.

Hypocrisy within Institutional Religion:

What is hypocrisy?

- hypocrisy is pretending to be what one is not, or to believe what one does not.

- a hypocrite professes to be what he is not.

How does hypocrisy creep into institutional religion?

- there is a tendency to miss the inner reality of the kingdom in the outward trappings of religion.

Can institutional religion avoid hypocrisy? Can we avoid hypocrisy?

In the next section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exposes ways in which kingdom righteousness can be, and had been, turned into religious acts of hypocrisy.

Giving to the Needy: Choose your reward.

Matthew 6:1-4 "...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 is "practicing righteousness"?

- putting into practice, into real living, that which is right.

What two formats does Jesus say are available for practicing righteousness?

- live it out to be seen by other people.

- live it out to be seen by God.

What reward is available for practicing righteousness?

- applause from people.

- reward from God.

What righteous act does Jesus refer to in this passage?

- giving to the needy.

What does it mean to "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"?

- no fanfare, no highlighting the action, readily forgetting that it was even done.

How can giving to the needy be hypocrisy?

- giving to receive praise from men is not the same as giving to meet need.

How can we be guilty of this type of hypocrisy?

- are we enjoying back pats for our ministries or quietly fulfilling kingdom ministry?

Praying: Choose your audience.

Matthew 6:5-8 "...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 reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and 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..."

What does the phrase "when you pray" imply?

- that you will pray.

How and why do hypocrites pray?

- in public, with empty phrases and many words.

- to be seen by others.

- to be considered pious.

What reward is received when praying to be seen?

- the respect and praise of men.

How and why did Jesus say a person should pray?

- in secret.

- God doesn't need elaborate explanations, and prayer is not uttered to inform him, but to put ourselves in such communion with him as to make us fit to receive.

What reward is received when praying to your Father in secret?

- that which is really needed.

How are the instructions on prayer similar to the "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"?

- no fanfare, no highlighting the action, just getting it done.

Is Jesus against public prayer, prayer meetings, and corporate prayer?

Matthew 18:19-20 "...Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them...”

Acts 1:14 "...All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers..."

- properly focused corporate prayer is a powerful connection to the Almighty.

What is the ever present danger with corporate prayer?

- the focus so easily shifts away from healthy interaction with God our Father.

- people have a difficult time avoiding self-consciousness.

- people have a tendency to enjoy attention and complements from others.