0:01 So let's turn to Matthew's gospel and chapter six. We've been looking at nine wrong attitudes after having looked at the nine right attitudes. And just to revise, the first wrong 0:19 attitude we saw was anger. Let's remember these nine wrong attitudes Jesus spoke of. One is anger. The other is sexually sinful ways of thinking. Third is lying, telling lies. Fourth is taking revenge. And the fifth is hatred. 0:42 And the sixth which we were looking at last couple of weeks was seeking the honor of men in religious activities like in giving money to the poor letting people know what we do or whenever we give any money for God's 1:01 work or anything um making people aware of it that's a sin and most people don't realize that that's By the way, that's one reason we never pass an offering back here because people will see that you're putting something in even if they don't see how 1:18 much it is. There are very almost no church that practices that. In fact, if you look around at Christianity, almost everything in the sermon of the mount is disobeyed. However, that's not for us to judge them, but it's just for us to be careful 1:34 that we follow it strictly. And then the other thing is in the matter of prayer that we don't pray in order to impress people or tell people how much we pray. That also is very much disobeyed by most Christians. A lot of people tell others how much 1:52 they pray and a lot of people pray in order to impress others more than talking to the Lord. And one way to check that is uh supposing there was nobody here. How would you pray? That's a good way to that is the purpose of 2:07 closing our eyes is there's nobody here and it we won't get there in a day or so. It takes I found it took me years to come to the place where when there's a congregation there that I'm still praying to the Lord and you will never 2:23 get there if you don't work on it. Everything in our life which is a bad habit if we work on it we can get rid of it. If you don't work on it, 50 years later, you'll be in the same boat as you were when you started. And that's a sad 2:37 thing. And when the Lord has shown us something in his word, we must determine I must get there. I want to cooperate with the Holy Spirit working in my heart to get there. So, we looked at the Lord's prayer and the important verse 2:53 there is to forgive others otherwise God will not forgive us. That's another thing which is not emphasized enough. that if you keep a grudge against somebody, God does not forgive your sin. And if you die [clears throat] like 3:07 that, I don't know what your future is going to be because there's no forgiveness after the grave. So these are things which we preach strongly and uh [clears throat] I don't want anyone's blood on my hand in the final day that I didn't tell 3:24 people the truth. So we come to the next thing which is fasting. Matthew 6:16 when you fast. Now notice here the word is not if you fast but when you fast like when you give verse two when you 3:44 pray. So giving is not optional if you give but when you give we're all taught to give something that's secretly and when you pray the same way when you fast that's another thing which is not emphasized in 4:03 Christendom at all and the purpose of fasting I think is one purpose anyway is to deliver us from the love of food. 4:22 I was very interested to see once when I was reading Ezekiel and chapter I think it's 16. Ezekiel 16 it says in Ezekiel somewhere that the sin of Sodom 4:40 was abundance of food and that led them on you know to the terrible sin of homosexuality. So fasting doesn't does seem to have some benefit when we break free from the 4:58 bar of food over our bodies. You know we all love food. We all love sleep and we all love money. These are things that the Lord spoke against. Now you know in Hinduism and other religions also there's this sort of self-discipline. This is not what it's 5:16 not talking about that here. Here it's talking about you know being burdened to pray along with fasting. It's because it says here in ma Matthew 6:18 that your father who sees in secret 5:35 will reward you. So it's not for just disciplining my body but we read that Jesus fasted and um the old testament people fasted and it was one reason was when they had a burden 5:52 something like you know if you can think if your child is seriously sick in a hospital and the doctors have given up hope nobody will have to ask you to fast you'll just stay away from food because you'll be so burdened to pray and it's 6:05 that type of fasting And as a discipline for our body also it's a very very good habit to particularly young people to have a disciplined habit of fasting say maybe start with one meal a week and then go on to two meals a week and try 6:21 three meals a week. It's a very good habit. If you've never done it I would encourage you to do it. I did it regularly in my younger days and it did me a lot of good. I would encourage you to do it as your as you have ability and don't tell anybody 6:36 about it and ask God to [snorts] deliver you from love of food and give you a burden to pray. So that's all I'll say. Remember in all these places the Lord says your father who sees in secret verse four 6:55 giving praying verse six your father who sees in secret fasting verse 18 your father who sees in secret so that's the emphasis in all these three giving praying fasting your father who sees in secret so there's a great 7:14 emphasis in this first 18 verses on our hidden life the part of our life which nobody sees except God and that's the part we need to work on in our life the areas of our life which only God sees 7:31 to really be diligent disciplined there so I'll move on from there the next um wrong attitude is in the love of money which begins with verse 19 7:47 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in 8:05 or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, we need to understand this properly. He's not saying that we should not have a bank account because there are other passages in scripture that tell us very clearly 8:23 that we should save something for the future. For example, let me give you couple of verses so that we have a balanced understanding of this verse. We'll go to those verses first in 2 Corinthians in chapter 12. 2 Corinthians 12. 8:42 Now most parents probably don't need it. I know certainly Indian parents don't need this advice. But I found that a lot of parents in western countries need this advice. Says in 2 Corinthians 12:14 the last part children are not responsible to 9:01 save up for their parents but parents are responsible for saving up for their children. So it's a responsibility for parents to save up money for their children so that not to spoil them but to provide for 9:21 them when their children grow older. In other words, to feed them, educate them and give them a good foundation in life, a college education in this day. that that will not uh happen if you don't discipline yourself to save money to 9:36 help them. Now, as I said, most people don't need that exhortation way, but they do it because they do it. But here's another verse that speaks about the same thing here in 2 Corinthians 12 is speaking about children. 9:56 But in Proverbs chapter 6, it speaks for ourselves to have a savings account. Proverbs 6 and verse 6. [snorts] Go to the ant you lazy man. Observe her ways and be wise. 10:14 who has no chief, no overseer or ruler, but prepares its food in the summer and gathers its provision in harvest time. So, uh, the point is that I mean, I don't understand this, but I suppose the word of God is true. Their ant must be doing 10:34 that. These ants are so small, and why is it trying to save up some food in summertime? We I've seen ants in India carry one grain of rice all the way to some place where they hide it. Just one grain. That's about all they 10:52 can carry. And in when there's plenty available, it [snorts] saves it up somewhere. I don't know if it's saving it up for it children or for the future, whatever it is, but it has some sense that a time is coming in winter that will not be available. 11:11 So it's speaking about countries where it's very cold and there's no food available in winter and the ant knows that. So this is the time to save it and the Lord says you lazy man learn a lesson from the ant so that when the time of need comes the 11:29 ant has got a store from which it can provide for itself and its family. Now the lesson there is you should never be in a situation where you have to borrow money. That's the point of the whole thing. Why do I find so many Christians who 11:46 borrow money? This is for them. Go to the end. You should have thought about this years ago that maybe a time will come when you'll need more money and you should have saved up for that. That's the lesson here that you got to save up 11:59 for the future so that you don't end up borrowing. And uh if you've never borrowed in your money, that's a fantastic testimony. I don't think Jesus, not I don't think I'm absolutely sure Jesus never borrowed money once in his life from anyone at 12:14 any time. Even though he had a widowed mother and four younger brothers and two younger sisters to feed. He was disciplined. He was careful. I'm sure he didn't uh when he earned money in the carpentry shop, he didn't spend it all 12:27 the same day. But he saved up. spending the very fact that Judas's scariot had a bag where people made donations to Jesus and he told Judas to keep it in a bag. He didn't say spend it all today. What you got today, spend it today. Let's trust 12:43 God for tomorrow. That's a foolish attitude. He saved up in that bag. And there was such a lot of money in that bag. Like I've said before that when Judas was stealing putting his hand in stealing it from it none of the 12:57 disciples discovered it because there was so much money already in the bank which shows that Jesus had quite a bit of savings but he never loved it. So that's the balance we need to understand. It's proper to have a savings account and to save for the 13:10 future to provide for our children. But the point in Matthew 6:19 is don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth. The true Christian life is a life of self-denial where I'm not thinking of myself. I'm 13:29 thinking of the Lord and his work and my children and other poor people and not just myself. So because it says here if your treasure is here somewhere on earth your heart 13:49 will be there also and that's a good way to put it in reverse and find out where our treasure is. What is the thing I think about most of the time and it says your heart is somewhere that means you think about it all the time. It's like if a boy is in 14:03 love with a girl he'll be thinking about her all the time. is you can say his heart is there. In the same way, when your heart is in money, you'll be thinking about it all the time. Just like a boy thinking about a girl he's in 14:16 love with. So if you find that your mind is always on money, money, money, money to get more and how to make more all the time. I'm not talking about earning your own living or you lost your job, you need to find another one with a good 14:30 income. All that is okay. But when you have enough and you're still thinking of how to make more and more and more and more, you got to be careful where your heart is because Jesus said, "Your heart will be where your treasure 14:46 is." And the Lord wants us to have our heart above in heaven. And he goes on to say later on that you should not be like the Gentiles in verse 32. who eagerly seek after so many of these 15:04 things. So there should be a difference. Gentiles means the people in the world unbelievers. So what I see there is that my attitude to money he that unbeliever earns money I earn money but my attitude to money must be fundamentally different from 15:20 that person's that his mind is only on that but I've got a lot of other better things to think about. So if you find that your attitude to money is pretty much the same as then unbelievers or other people in your office or your relatives, 15:38 where is then the difference? I must couple this with the verse that Jesus said in Luke chapter 16 which is very very important in this connection. In fact, Luke 16, this is almost the fundamental passage on money 15:56 from verse 10 to verse 15. I believe this is a central passage on money that Jesus spoke about in Luke 16:10-15. You can see it here in this context because he's talking about money. Later 16:16 on he says there are two masters in verse 13 last Luke 16:13 there are two masters God and money now that's another thing I would say 99% of Christians don't know it [clears throat] you go to the average Christian anywhere 16:30 and ask him who are the two masters in the world almost everyone will say God and the devil but Jesus never said God and the devil because the devil is not a master of any child of God definitely not he's a master of many 16:45 other people in the world. But he was warning his disciples. He was talking to his disciples. It says in Luke 16:1, he was saying to his disciples, now what do you say to a disciple? There are two masters. And they are not God and the devil. 17:03 They're God and money. So remember Jesus said that to his disciples had already given up their jobs and forsaken everything to follow him. And he's telling them, you can have two masters in your life, God and money. And keeping that in mind, you see what 17:20 how Jesus describes money in verse 10. Money is a very little thing in the context. If you're faithful in a little thing, you'll be faithful in much. So he's describing the subject is money. Money is a very little thing. 17:37 Have you seen it like that? And if you're faithful in it, you'll be faithful in the much more important things in life. And if you've not been faithful, it's different. Okay. The second thing in verse 11 is money is called 17:53 unrighteous wealth. I don't know why Jesus keeps on calling mammon unrighteous, unrighteous, unrighteous. I probably it's not that [snorts] we are doing it in unrighteous. Uh it's unrighteous in itself, but probably because a lot of the money earned in the 18:07 world is earned in unrighteous ways. And we will be very careful. I suppose what the emphasis there I see for myself is that since a lot of there's a lot of unrighteousness in relation to money in the world which is very true almost all 18:23 unbelievers engage in unrighteousness in money matters and they don't no conscience about it. They tell lies to make more money. They cheat and do all types of things and therefore the whole system is so full of unrighteousness 18:37 that I live in that system and I need to be totally righteous. That's how I see it. That's why Jesus called it unrighteous wealth. There's no place where Jesus called it righteous wealth. And I believe that's the reason because 18:48 the 99.9% of the world are so unrighteous in this area that I have to be very careful that I have to be totally righteous in this area and every little thing down to the last scent. So that's the second description of money. Money is a very little thing. I 19:05 mustn't be occupied with so much. Second, it's unrighteous wealth. And u I got to be faithful with that if I want the true riches that is Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit and partaking of God's nature. And the third 19:21 description of money in verse 12, there are three descriptions. One, it is a very little thing. Verse 10, one, it second, it is basically unrighteous. And third, it belongs to somebody else. It is called that which is anothers. 19:37 That's the thing I need to ask myself. Do I recognize when I'm using money that this doesn't belong to me? It's like I'm a steward. So for example, you're appointed in a company as the finance manager and you know that all the money you're 19:55 using is belonging to the company. Supposing you're the treasurer in a society. You realize this is not my money. I have to be very careful with it. And that is the attitude all of us must have towards money recognize this 20:09 belongs to God. The Bible says that everything on the earth, the earth is the Lord's and it's everything in it. That's in one Corinthians 10. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Even in the Psalms it says that. So all the money on earth 20:27 belongs to the Lord. And if I recognize that then I see I'm a steward. And then he goes on to say that money can be a master in verse 13. And it's a very strong word in relation to money in verse 13. God and money are put as two opposites. 20:47 And it says here, if you want to love God, you got to hate money. Do you get that interpretation there? Verse 13. Very clear to me. love God, you got to hate money. Hate money in what way? Exactly like the Lord told us to hate father, mother, brother, 21:07 sister, wife, and children. And you know that that doesn't mean literally I got to hate them. It's a relative statement. Like I've often used the example of how the stars disappear when the sun comes in. It doesn't mean the stars don't cease to 21:21 exist, but the light of the stars becomes invisible when the light of the sun. And so the meaning there is that money must be like the stars. Yeah, it's light. We need to use it. We need see that light. But when think of Jesus 21:37 Christ sort of disappears. We keep it as a servant and not a master because it says here very clearly that uh money can be a master. Verse 13. And the way we know it is does it dict a master is one who dictates to a slave 21:57 what you must do this and do this and I obey. So there can be prompings in our spirit that where we find that money determines what I do in certain things I do and certain choices I make and I'm not seeking the will of God but only in 22:15 relation to money. Now this is a very personal thing and each of us need to examine ourselves and to have a a hatred to it to to despise it. It says here if I want to be devoted to God I must despise it. Now we need to understand these strong expressions that 22:35 Jesus uses because I find lots and lots of believers are really slaves to money. So many don't have a conscience about getting into debt. Now keep that in mind when we come back to Matthew chapter 6 and the wrong attitude love of money. 22:53 And then he goes on. Let's turn back to Matthew 6. I just took those other chapters because those other verses because it's relevant to this. This is a very very important subject. And Jesus emphasizes the same thing here in 23:07 Matthew 6:24. No servant can serve two masters and hate the one and love the other devoted to one and despise the other. Now I took that verse from Luke 16 because of the other verses there in the context. The other thing we need to bear in mind 23:22 in relation to God and money is what he said in verse 22. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is clear, your whole body full of light. Now remember this is in the context of money that he's talking about a clear vision. 23:39 Many people's vision of Christ is dimmed. The eye is not clear. They don't see Jesus clearly. And what is it that is blinding them? It's a love of money. Like you people have said, you know, you can take a single coin and put it close 23:58 enough to your eye and even blot out the light of the sun. That's right. So money is so close to you, you can blot out the light of Christ. So the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is clear that means you have a clear attitude to money your whole body 24:13 will be full of light. But if your eye is bad and it's bad means your eyes taken up with seeing money as the most important thing. Your body will be full of darkness and then the light that is in you is darkness. How great is the 24:32 darkness? So one way we can find out whether we have light or darkness is ask yourself when you read the Bible do you find God giving you revelation 24:48 on your life. I'm not talking about the ability to preach. That's a gift and God gives it to very very few people. But for yourself, the Bible is for every believer must read the Bible. But when you read the Bible, do you get some 25:05 light on it for yourself, for your life, then you know that you're getting revelation. Your eye is clear. So if your eye is not clear, it's like you know blind man or man whose vision is not clear trying to read the Bible 25:17 and he can't even read the words properly. So that's what happens when a person loves money. The context of it is that if your eye is not clear, the one proof of it is that you don't get revelation on scripture. You don't get light from the word in 25:37 your own life. These are little indications that because most of us would immediately say no, I don't love money. I'm free from it. I think all of us would say that. And so the Lord gives us little tests to find out whether it's 25:49 true or not. One test is when you read God's word, you get revelation. Not something you heard in the meeting. I'm not talking about being a teacher or explaining, but something personal for yourself in relation to maybe something 26:05 you're facing in your life. For example, you're facing a situation in your life and God's word gives you a revelation as to what you should do there. And if you go through life without getting such revelation at least once in a while, 26:19 you need to consider seriously whether something else is dimming your vision. It's not God's will that we should go through life without getting revelation on scripture. We must get revelation on scripture. As I said, not to teach but 26:35 for our own personal life. And then we can look at this promise finally that if you seek the Gentiles are worried about verse 31, what we eat, what we drink, what we wear, your heavenly father knows what you 26:53 need. It's a tremendous section there all the way from verse 19 all the way to the end of the chapter. is worth meditating on seriously in relation to the wrong attitude that we can have towards the love of money. I'll think more about it later. Let's 27:10 pray. [snorts] Heavenly Father, as we study your word, we pray that you will help us not just to understand in our mind, but the word will go to our heart 27:27 and we shall look and be honest with ourselves and see what it is that's hindering our vision of you and hindering us from getting revelation on your word. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
