Matthew Chapter 6

Summary of Last time: Verses 1-6 }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for key verses...

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” NASU READ VERSE Basically, Jesus is giving a heading to what He is going to say in verses 2-24 He is giving the basic warning, and then in verses 2-24 He is going to give individual examples And the key here is the motive behind what you do… Don’t do it to get noticed by other people! Do --- Do it for God only! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for next...

Matthew 6:2-4 2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. NASU READ VERSES   Now, Jesus is talking specifically about giving to the poor here, but I think the principal applies to any giving… To the church, or missions, or whatever Notice - “They have their reward IN FULL” ! Wow! Think how awful that really is! There’s no reward from God! - No “good job!”, or anything But the opposite is true, for those who do it secretly, God WILL reward them! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

Matthew 6:2-4 2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. NASU When He says here to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, in a literal sense, that is impossible So, what He is saying is be careful to do it as secretly as you can And… Just give as unto to God, and leave it at that! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for next...

Matthew 6:5 & 6 5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. NASU READ VERSES   “hypocrite” - Greek A word used to describe the stage actors who would go on stage with a mask on and pretend to be someone else So, the idea is a person who is pretending to be extremely spiritual and Godly and they are trying to impress those who might see them }}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

Matthew 6:5 & 6 5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. NASU “go into your inner room, close the door…” Now, if you took this absolutely literally, it would seem as Jesus was saying to never pray in public at all But remember, His point here is that some pray in public to be noticed by men And prayer is ONLY talking with God, not for men! We looked at verses that showed there will be times to pray in groups when we meet together in His name }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

Matthew 6:5 & 6 5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. NASU So, the warning is to NEVER pray to be seen by men… Because remember, prayer is talking to God ONLY! I have heard a principal that is a good practice: The rule of thumb in prayer is: “When in public, pray short. When in private, pray long.” >>>>>>>>> Click for new...

John 21:15-22 ****** This is the time after Jesus had risen from the dead, and had appeared to them briefly, some of the disciples decided to go out fishing one night They fished all night and caught nothing At daybreak, Jesus was on the shore with a fire and yelled to them and asked if they caught anything Nothing! “Cast the net on the right side of the boat” They couldn’t pull the net in because of so many fish John said to Peter; “It is the LORD!” Peter jumped in and went to Jesus on the shore }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

John 21:15-22 And when they all got ashore, Jesus fed them breakfast And that’s where we will step into the story… READ VERSES 15-22 Notice, Peter seemed to immediately change the subject, and focus the attention on someone else We humans have a tendency to do that… We have a hard time seeing ourselves objectively, but think we can see others clearly }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

John 21:15-22 And that sometimes is how we approach the Word of God: We often come to the Word of God, and think of people that it would apply to... ...instead of looking at ourselves, and letting it speak into our own life }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for Psalm 119...

Psalm 119:97-105 97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. 101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, ******** Listen to how PERSONALLY the Psalmist took God’s Word… READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

That I may keep Your word. 102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. NASU So, when I read God’s Word, I need to remember it is for me… Not anyone else! **** And just a note: When I use examples of things I have seen, my intention is to help bring the principal into every day life, not to point the finger at someone or some group… I try to never give indication of who I am talking about so I won’t bring attention to someone or some group, but so you can see how a Biblical principal applies to our lives today So, as we study God’s Word, let’s let it speak to us as individuals, and not point the finger at anyone else >>>>>>>>> Click for Matthew 6:7-24...

Chapter 6, verses 7-24 READ Chapter 6 verses 7-24 >>>>>>>>> Click for next...

Matthew 6:7 & 8 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. NASU READ VERSES   When Jesus says not to use meaningless repetition, He is not saying don’t repeat yourself or pray for the same thing over, and over… }}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for verses…

The Garden of Gethsemane Matthew 26:36-44 The Garden of Gethsemane 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Jesus prayed the same thing 3 times when He was in the Garden }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for next verses...

Luke 18:1-8 READ Luke 18:1-8 Jesus used this parable to teach us to keep praying and not lose heart And notice in the parable the woman’s request was the same }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to go back to Matthew...

Matthew 6:7 & 8 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. NASU So, Jesus is not saying that we should never repeat our prayers He is saying not to use “meaningless repetition” Some examples of “meaningless repetition”: In other words don’t just chant some chant over and over Like; “There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home” Or like they did in Jeremiah’s day… }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for verses...

Jeremiah 7:1-5 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 " Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house and proclaim there this word and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!'" 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, " READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 " Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ' This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD , the temple of the LORD .' NASU All throughout Deuteronomy, God told Moses that when the children of Israel got to the promised land, that He (God) would choose a place for His name to be, and He would dwell there (His Temple) , and that was the place that they were to go to for worship... When Solomon finished building the Temple, he gave a lengthy prayer (1 Kings 8, and 2 Chronicles 6), in which he said that if the Israelites rebelled and God sent them to other lands in exile, and if then they humbled themselves, and asked for forgiveness, and prayed toward the Temple in Jerusalem, that God would hear them and heal them and return them to the Land And so, centuries later, when Israel was about to be destroyed by the Babylonians, God warned them through Jeremiah about “meaningless repetition” concerning the Temple of the LORD }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

Matthew 6:7 & 8 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. NASU Or don’t just pray a memorized prayer over and over Some churches teach their members to memorize certain prayers and even have tricks to help you remember each section of the prayer Or, just this week, Lisa and I got an email forward and here is what it said; If you take 1 minute to read this prayer, imagine how many prayers are going up for our country. And the prayer was all about how gas prices, food prices, heating prices, etc. are too high, and would you please re-bless America! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

Matthew 6:7 & 8 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. NASU Or... A few years ago there was a book that came out: “The Prayer of Jabez” I think that is what Jesus is addressing here But what God wants is for you to just come to Him and talk to Him And if you see the need ask it again and again Just don’t make it a meaningless routine Like… When you sit down to a meal to pray, is it just a meaningless repetition, or are you truly thanking Him for the meal He has provided >>>>>>>>> Click for next...

Matthew 6:9-13 9 " Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10' Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11' Give us this day our daily bread. 12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'] NASU READ VERSES In the New American Standard bible they have put square brackets around the last part of verse 13 In your Bible are there square brackets or a note or something? Does anyone have a footnote explaining that section? I have an audio clip I want to play for you that will help explain this section and why the translators marked it out that way… }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for Scott Gilchrist...

Pastor Scott Gilchrist Scott Gilchrist has been Senior Pastor at Southwest Bible Church in Beaverton, Oregon since 1979 He teaches all over the world He teaches a weekly Bible study in Downtown Portland on Wednesdays called: “Downtown Bible Class” His messages are aired on KPDQ He was teaching in the book of Mark and in Chapter 16, verses 9-20 there is a large section that is marked by square brackets and he explains why }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

Pastor Scott Gilchrist His explanation is very simple and understandable ******* Audio length: *15 minutes Play audio }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to go back to Matthew...

Matthew 6:9-13 9 " Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10' Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11' Give us this day our daily bread. 12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'] NASU So, that’s why the section is in brackets And as Scott said, we should not build doctrine from it But, you will notice everything that is said there is Biblical So, let’s look at this prayer that Jesus gave… First of all it is often called; “The Lord’s Prayer”, but He didn’t pray it, He gave it as a way for us to pray So really it could be called; “The disciple’s prayer” }}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...