Last week in Matthew we dealt with what is commonly known as “The Lord’s prayer.” That passage, found in Matthew 6:8-15 gives us a pattern for prayer. We found that Jesus started out by showing us that our Heavenly Father knows our hearts and needs, and desires to hear from us and answer our prayer.
Then we saw how that our prayer should start with honoring God in His holiness, and then seeking to understand God’s will personally and pursuing it purposefully. In this pursuit of God’s will for our life, He promises to supply our daily needs as we follow in the steps of Christ. In Christ’s pattern for prayer, He helps us to understand that God’s forgiveness of our sin makes a pathway for us to bring others to Him by showing that same mercy and grace – and forgiveness – to others. Finally, Christ shows us that overcoming temptation comes not at the time of temptation, but ahead of time, in our prayer life. Surely, in this quest to honor God and follow His will for our lives, temptation will come – we will be tempted to dishonor the Lord; to depend upon others instead of Him for our needs; to live in bitterness instead of forgiveness. But, “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world,” and so when we live a life that starts and continues in prayer with the right heart and for the right reasons, He will help us through temptation. He will provide our needs, and enable us to live lives that please God and bring others to eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus.
That right heart and right purpose ties right into the next passage of this “Sermon on the Mount,” where Christ applies the same principles to fasting and our treasure. Let’s read the next passage, which is Matthew 6:16-24:
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (17) But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (18) That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (22) The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (23) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
I. The Wrong Purpose
By means of contrast, let’s consider the wrong purpose as described in these negative commands of Christ concerning fasting. This passage starts out by saying not to be like the hypocrites. I don’t know what you think of when you think of the word “hypocrite,” but it is certainly an interesting word study. According to Merriam Webster, the word comes from Greek and literally means “an actor” or “a stage player.” Perhaps thinking of a Hollywood actor would be helpful. When you watch a movie, you have to know that those actors are portraying a person on the screen – who is not really that actor. Growing up, we used to watch “Little House on the Prairie,” and then we read all of the little house books, and I was disappointed to learn that Pa wasn’t really Michael Landon. There was a portrait of the real Charles Ingalls in the front of one the books, and he looked nothing like Michael Landon.
The thing is – in real life, the actors who play various roles are often nothing like the roles that they play in the movie. It is with that thought that the term “hypocrite” comes about – someone who, in reality, is nothing like the character that he or she portrays publicly. Jesus describes the actions of these hypocrites in verse sixteen of Matthew 6, “of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.”
They twist up their faces into a sad expression, as if to say, “Well bless my heart. I am so humble and hungry.”
Jesus finishes out the verse by saying, “Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” These hypocrites had the wrong purpose the whole time – to get a response from others. To get the pity and respect of their peers. Christ instructs us otherwise in the following verses. He tells us that when we fast with the right heart and the right purpose, we won’t want anyone else to know that we are fasting, because it is between us and God. The purpose of fasting is simply to deprive ourselves of something physical and needful – food – for a time, so that we can be stronger spiritually to overcome some sin or to discern the will of God concerning a matter in our lives.
We should take a shower, wash our face, and comb our hair, knowing that this is about being better equipped to serve God. We should present ourselves to others in a confident manner, knowing that God, through this fasting, is doing a work within us. Otherwise, the whole point is vain, and the results will be as shallow as those around us who are impressed with our acting.
Verse 18 tells us that when fasting is done secretly – between us and God alone – that the rewards will be public and open. This does not mean that we should expect much praise and fanfare for fasting – that was the hypocrite’s reward. Our reward is when God does a work in our lives that explodes outwardly. When we fix the inside in our private time with God, we will visibly affected outwardly. When the purpose is to be able to overcome the flesh to discern the will of God, that seed will blossom and produce an outwardly visible change that is the power of God on our lives.
Consider what happened at Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2 – the power of God was visibly on display through the lives of those members of that first church in Jerusalem. The reward of their non-hypocritical, private walk with God was a very visible display of the power of God, which led thousands to eternal life. I can think of no better earthly reward for a child of God than the obvious, powerful hand of God on his life.
II. The Right Purpose
Having learned what to avoid from the hypocritical scribes and pharisees, let’s move on to replacing that wrong, vain way of doing things, with the right purpose.
In verses 19-20, we have another contrast along the same lines, but applied to a different part of life. It says, in verse nineteen, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”
Just like the shallow and temporary results that are delivered to the hypocrite, there are shallow and temporary results for the man whose purpose in life is to lay up earthly treasure. It does not last. If you build it, termites will eat it. If you store it, it will break down through rust or some other means. If it fails to deteriorate in some other way, the government will tax it until there is nothing left.
Last year, we moved onto a farm. On the farm is a field called “the junk yard.” We have hauled off several tons of stuff that someone put there at one time and said, “I might need that some day.” The life and work of a man who has since passed away was represented in the broken and rusty pieces of things that were once good and wonderful but are now beyond repair.
So it is when we attempt to live life for the purpose of accumulating things that “we might need some day.” It will fall apart. It will go away. The purpose for the Christian is not found in worldly things, but rather in eternal things. Jesus said it this way in verse 20 of our text, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
The God of eternity gives us the opportunity to store wealth in His eternity. That wealth is not found in money and stuff. The money and stuff, rather, should have an eternal purpose. God loves to bless us on earth, but that blessing has a purpose.
Consider Job, who was perhaps the wealthiest man who lived during his time. His wealth was not found in his possessions, but rather in his walk with God. He used things that he had to bring his family to the Lord. Then, when he had nothing, his eternal value was found in bringing his three friends to the Lord.
Consider Abraham, who lived perhaps about the same time, but in a different location. Abraham, the friend of God, was also very wealthy. But that wealth had an eternal purpose. He, with God’s blessing, established the nation and lineage that would bring the Messiah, Jesus Christ, into the world. We could talk about David and Solomon and other OId Testament people who had the material blessing of God, but let’s move to the New Testament. In the book of Acts, we find a number of people, including Barnabas, who owned buildings and property, and used them for the eternal purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission to get the Gospel around the world! We should be personally thankful to them, because without their sacrifices for eternity, we would not know the name of Christ.
III. The Right Heart
Earlier in the message, we saw that spiritual things done with the right purpose will produce visible evidences of the power of God on one’s life. Then we saw that Earthly things, when used with the same right purpose, can be used greatly for eternal value. What both of these have in common is the Right Heart. Without the right heart, we will fall short of accomplishing anything for the glory of God.
Jesus continues his sermon in Matthew 6:21 by saying, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The heart controls the spirit and direction and motivation of the man. Doing things with the right goal and purpose, but without your heart being in it, will not produce lasting change and results. Much is said in scripture about the right heart.
How do I get where I need to go with my purpose in life? It starts with a heart that seeks after God. It starts with the inward man walking with God.
Matthew 6:22-23 goes on to say, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (23) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
In sports, have you heard the expression, “Keep your eye on the ball”? When I was learning to drive, my mom was constantly telling me, “Keep your eye on the road.” She was right, if I turned to talk to her while I was driving, I would veer off to the right, towards my mom.
So it is in life – where our focus is, the rest follows. Where our heart is, the rest follows. If I’m simply checking off a list of religious deeds to make up for the wickedness of my heart, I will fall short of pleasing God. Why? Because my life is consumed by a wicked heart.
Instead, if my life is consumed with walking with God, and that is the focus of my life, my life will come to be filled with eternal purpose and eternal rewards.
Jesus concludes this passage by saying, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Without a heart dedicated to God, and a life focusing on serving God, we will eventually grow to hate the things of God. There may be some religious deeds here and there, but nothing lasting.
It all starts with knowing the Lord. Has there ever been a time where you passed from death unto life, and received Christ’s free gift of salvation? He died in your place to pay the penalty of your sins and mine, so that you can have everlasting life and the abiding presence of Christ in your life.
All who will may receive him today, and begin that life that has eternal value and an eternal home in Heaven. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
If you have never received Christ as your Saviour, let today be that day. Simply call out to Him, trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection alone for your salvation, and He will save you today – permanently. Then walk with Him day by day, and He will give you the wisdom to live a life with the right purpose and heart.