Motives In His Kingdom.
Matthew 6:1-13NKJV
General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." To which Wesley responded, "Then Sir, I hope you never sin."
As Jesus speaks in Matthew 6, His entire message is about Believer’s and their motives.
And when our motive is right, or righteous, in return, we run parallel with our Master—Jesus Christ.
We stay in sync with Him—Jesus.
Matthew 6:1-13NKJV “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
In Matthew 6:1-8, Jesus speaks about motives, He’s speaking to people of the synagogue, temple and church attenders. Those who makeup His church, and to be His body.
The body of Christ. Matthew 16, Jesus proclaims that the gates of hell will not prevail.
In the near future Jesus is coming on the clouds in the air for His body.
Therefore, Jesus begins chapter 6, by teaching about giving.
Matthew 6:1-4TPT “Examine your motives to make sure you’re not showing off when you do your good deeds, only to be admired by others; otherwise, you will lose the reward of your heavenly Father. 2 So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it and make a show of it just to be seen by people, like the hypocrites in the streets and in the marketplace. They’ve already received their reward! 3 But when you demonstrate generosity, do it with pure motives and without drawing attention to yourself. 4 Give secretly and your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly.”
Jesus is saying, “Don’t blow your own horn.”
According to Jesus there are open-window -blessings (OWB), for those who give with the right motive, attitude and passion.
It’s not, “I got to give,’ it’s—‘I get to give!” P.H
Pastor Matthew Kratz gives a story about rearranging ashes:
An Eastern ascetic holy man who covered himself with ashes as a sign of humility and regularly sat on a prominent street corner of his city.
When tourists asked permission to take his picture, the mystic would rearrange his ashes to give the best image of destitution and humility.
Pastor Matthew states, “A great deal of religion amounts to nothing more than rearranging religious "ashes" to impress the world with one's supposed humility and devotion.”
Jesus goes on and say’s in, Matthew 6:5-8TPT “Whenever you pray, be sincere and not like the pretenders who love the attention they receive while praying before others in the meetings and on street corners. Believe me, they’ve already received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly. 7 When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like the Gentiles do, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. 8 There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.
Jesus is saying—Be sincere, Be authentic, Be humble, Be yourself.
Next on Jesus’ agenda—He gives His followers a great blessing by giving them a clear cut example on—How To Pray.
In these closing verses, I want to take them verse by verse from this evening’s text, we call it—The Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6:9TPT Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn.
The Lord’s prayer begins with “Our Father” because we are all children of God.
1 John 3:2NKJV Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
KJV—Hallowed be thy name. In simple terms, “hallowed be thy name” means we respect God and are loyal to Him.
This phrase is like our pledge of allegiance to God.
The prayer continues, verse 9, by Jesus telling believers to make their request to the heavens.
KJV, “which art in heaven.” In Old English, “art” means to be or to exist.
This is a reminder that we pray to a God that lives in Heaven. Moreover, we do not pray to objects on Earth.
Let me remind you that your salvation came from heaven, your blessings come from heaven, your wisdom and righteousness came from heaven—Heaven is your eternal home!
Paul writes in, Ephesians 1:3NKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Jesus also expresses for believers to pray that everything they do be the center of God’s will.
Verse 9, Pray—Let everything I do be the center of your will! Your will be done.
“Allow my life to revolve around my Father.” P.H
Matthew 6:10TPT Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.
Let me remind you that the mystery of God’s will has been revealed to the Gentiles.
That mystery spoken of by the Apostle Paul is that—Jesus Christ lives in and through them.
Colossians 1:27AMP God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.
What are some of the Hindrances—pride, self. Object—money, Bigger everything. People—someone you dislike, or that you’re unequally yoked. Maybe like me and Jenny, another stronghold that needs to come in order with heaven?
The Lord said, “Tell it, speak it, express it.”
a. Call their name—Come in line with heaven.
b. Habit—come in line with heaven.
c. You need a better job, or the occupation you’re presently at needs some help—Come in-line with heaven.
Paul states this about God’s Kingdom—Romans 14:17TPT For the kingdom of God is not a matter of rules about food and drink, but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy.
Listen, We must be born of the Spirit in order to enter into God’s kingdom realm. To have the Holy Spirit is to have the realities of God’s kingdom.
“Never minimize the Holy Spirit living in your life.” P.H
Jesus states in, Matthew 6:11TPT We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day.
Give us this day our daily bread—In Exodus 16:4, God tells Moses that each morning bread will rain down from heaven to feed the children of Israel who are hungry.
They are to only collect as much bread as they need for that day and keep none of it for the next day.
This is the daily bread Jesus is referring to.
He wants to feed you daily!
"I believe the real meaning of this verse is that we must always rely on God to provide for us.” P.H
Listen to, Genesis 22:14, when God provides a ram in the thicket in place of the sacrifice of Abraham’s son—Isaac.
Genesis 22:14NKJV And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
You might recognize Mount Moriah as Jerusalem today. It’s quite possibly one reason Jerusalem is so—protected and blessed today! P.H
Say, “Lord, I acknowledge You as my daily provider!”
Jesus goes on and say’s in, Matthew 6:12TPT Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
Acknowledge your humanity—Admit your wrongs, hurts within and without. Release forgiveness toward others, Acknowledge those you’ve offended.
Matthew 6:13TPT Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’
The word “deliver in the KJ” from this verse does not mean what it seems.
We are not asking God to deliver us like a pizza from point A to point B. God is not our Uber driver.
Instead, we are asking God to rescue us and set us free from sin and evil in our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:8-10NKJV But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
You are not appointed for wrath. You will be caught up on the clouds of the sky!
Matthew 6:13bNKJV For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Just to remind you—God’s Kingdom is a forever Kingdom.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
The final verse of the Lord’s Prayer is our acknowledgement of God’s power.
Thine means: Something that belongs to God.
Kingdom means: an area controlled by a king, heaven and earth.
Power means: ability to act
Glory means: to give respect or praise to our King—Jesus Christ!
By saying this line of the prayer we are telling God that we will not forget that everything belongs to Him. He is in control of Heaven and Earth, He has the power to have mercy on us or punish us, and He deserves all of the praise or recognition.
Benedition.
