Practicing Righteousness
Righteousness refers to a moral conduct that is considered justifiable. Christ has been sent forth to teach us all about God’s righteousness.
Matthew 6:1-34… “Take good care not to practice YOUR righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise YOU will have no reward with YOUR Father who is in the heavens. 2 Hence when you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to YOU, They are having their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.
Our good deeds are a part of our righteous acts, but these works will not be counted before God if we seek the praise of men. God sees all things; your gifts of mercy are viewed as a lending to God to be repaid by him. Proverbs 19:17
Stop Praying Like the Hypocrites
Christ continues to make the point about being reward by God or by man.
Matthew 6:5-8… “Also, when YOU pray, YOU must not be as the hypocrites, because they like to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the broad ways to be visible to men. Truly I say to YOU, They are having their reward in full. 6 You, however, when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you. 7 But when praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. 8 So, do not make yourselves like them, for God YOUR Father knows what things YOU are needing before ever YOU ask him.
What is a hypocrite? It is someone who says one thing but does the opposite. Christ points out that our prayers should be simple and to the point. Because God knows the things that we need before we ask him.
Our Father Prayer
Because of the examples of the Pharisees, scribes, and the Sadducees Christ felt compelled to teach us to focus on others besides what we think we need.
Matthew 6:9-13… “YOU must pray, then, this way: Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. 10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth. 11 Give us today our bread for this day; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation but deliver us from the wicked one.’ But
Righteous prayers are the ones where we put God first in our lives.
Forgiveness and Fasting
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is the ability to forget how we were wronged, hurt or offended and to not allow resentment or anger to take up residency in our heart. Unforgiveness can consume our lives and crowd out our love for God in the long run. Our own forgiveness is directly affected by our willingness to forgive all others.
Matthew 6:14-18… “For if YOU forgive men their trespasses, YOUR heavenly Father will also forgive YOU; 15 whereas if YOU do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will YOUR Father forgive YOUR trespasses. 16 “When YOU are fasting, stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to YOU, They are having their reward in full. 17 But you, when fasting, grease your head and wash your face, 18 that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father who is in secrecy; then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you.
What is the purpose of fasting you may ask? Fasting allows for us to draw closer to God, that is the point. Christ also calls out our intentions, he gets to the heart of the problem and that is our being self-centered with our own thinking.
Treasures of the Heart
The heart has been called the seed of all motivation coming forth from a man. It should be no surprise that Christ keeps focusing on our intentions, on the right heart condition.
Matthew 6:19-23… “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If then, your eye is simple, your whole body will be bright; 23 but if your eye is wicked, your whole body will be dark. If in reality the light that is in you is darkness, how great that darkness is!
God is a reader of our heart. He knows what our intentions are. Hebrews 4:12-16
It has been said that we can look into our eye and see what kind of person we are. Just by watching what we focus our attention on. Christ refers to this as the light that burns within us. If we are selfish then our light would be darkness. If we are a giving, caring, and a God-fearing person then our body will be bright with the light of God.
The Pursuit of Life
What are we trying to get out of life? What are we really pursuing?
Matthew 6:24-32… “No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. YOU cannot slave for God and for Riches. 25 “On this account I say to YOU: Stop being anxious about YOUR souls as to what YOU will eat or what YOU will drink, or about YOUR bodies as to what YOU will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing? 26 Observe intently the birds of heaven, because they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses; still YOUR heavenly Father feeds them. Are YOU not worth more than they are? 27 Who of YOU by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span? 28 Also, on the matter of clothing, why are YOU anxious? Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they are growing; they do not toil, nor do they spin; 29 but I say to YOU that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. 30 If now, God thus clothes the vegetation of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe YOU, YOU with little faith? 31 So never be anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ 32 For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For YOUR heavenly Father knows YOU need all these things.
Again, Christ makes the point that God knows the things that we need to survive. That we need focus on what God wants from us and for us. That we should stop pursuing selfish desires of this life.
Matthew 6:33-34… “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to YOU. 34 So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness.
Let us be resolved in our hearts to seek God first in all that we do. Right now, there is enough badness in the world, we need to practice God’s righteousness and let our light shine.
Reviewing What We Have Learned
Matthew 6:1-8… Practicing righteousness are a part of our good deeds but we don’t need to do them to be praised by men we do them to be praised by God.
Matthew 6:9-13… Our Father Prayer was given us by Christ to help us expand our ability to pray for other things such as the righteous will of God.
Matthew 6:14-18… Our forgiveness is based on our ability to forgive others. Fasting is meant to draw close to God, but again we are not to be viewed by man. What is really in our heart, are we being self-centered?
Matthew 6:19-23… Treasures of the heart are the things that we hold near and dear. The heart is the seed of motivation, again Christ calls for us to give attention to what is in our heart.
Matthew 6:24-32… The Pursuit of life are what many live for. They seek selfish things that please them. But Christ points out the fact that God knows what we need to survive he knows what’s good for us and he will provide.
Matthew 6:33-34… Life is full of problems we need to seek God’s righteousness and his kingdom in all that we do to be truly happy.
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