Matthew 6:16-24, NKJV, The Sermon on the Mount - Cont.

The Heart Behind the Matter: Genuine Worship vs. False Piety

Bible Passage: Matthew 6:16–24

Summary: In this passage, Jesus addresses the importance of authenticity in worship and how internal motives determine the value of our religious practices. He contrasts the behavior of those seeking public approval with those who worship in secret, emphasizing that true treasure lies in heavenly, not earthly, rewards. This passage highlights the necessity of sincerity in spiritual practices. It warns against the dangers of hypocrisy and materialism while championing a private devotion that treasures spiritual riches over earthly gains, urging believers to focus on what truly matters in their faith journey.

Big Idea: True worship is marked by authenticity and seeks the approval of God over the praises of men, leading to eternal rewards rather than temporary recognition.

1. Sincere Fasting: Seek God's Approval

Matthew 6:16–18 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

“Do not limit the benefit of fasting merely to abstinence from food, for a true fast means refraining from evil. Do not let your fasting lead to wrangling and strife. You do not eat meat, but you devour your brother; you abstain from wine, but not from insults. So all the labor of your fast is useless.”

Ambrose of Milan

FASTING. Fasting in the Bible generally means going without all food and drink for a period (e.g. Est. 4:16), and not merely refraining from certain foods. Thats starkly different than what we have been taught over the past years in this country, a lot of people believe that fasting could be depriving ourselves of something we like or need; for example some people will fast from smoking, drinking alcohol, snack cakes, or their favorite daily food or drink items like coffee and soda. All of this sounds noble but it does not reach the level of biblical fasting. Biblical fasting means not eating or drinking anything for a period of time, in the ancient near east the longest general fast was three days, which is also the generally excepted amount time that doctors say we can go without water before we die, or suffer irreparable bodily damage. The point of fasting was to deprive yourself of the very essence of life outside of God, that we focus on God and rely on Him to sustain us. Fasting should be done in a manner that causes one to reflect on God and not on man. What I mean is just like Jesus tells us in this scripture, when we fast we arent to make it known to others, we don’t seek accolades from man but from God. When we fast we carry on as normal and seek God. A very good piece of advice when fasting is this, when the thirst hits hardest and the hunger pangs are at their worst, you stop what your doing and focus on God, meditate on God and pray, read scripture and pray, knell down and pray and by doing this we better focus on God and give Him glory and praise. And when we do that God in His secret place will reward you openly, you will be blessed.

Fasting is meant by God to draw us closer to Him, and to strengthen our reliance upon Him for all things. The act of giving up the very things that promote life, in order to seek God is worship and praise to God. Jesus modeled this for us in the desert when the devil tempted him to turn the stone into bread, Jesus responded by rebuking the devil with scripture: “man shall not live by bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4)

So the next time you are considering a fast, evaluate your motives for the fast, if getting close to God is not the motivating factor, then don’t expect God to reward you for it. If your goal is to lose weight, you might lose some weight, but then gain it all back, but if you your goal is to get closer to God, well thats something you will never lose.

2. Secure Treasures: Heart's Anchor

Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Investment is important, storing up a nest egg for retirement is a smart thing to do. Its not an evil enterprise by any means. Most people will see the value of putting up a small portion of their wages each payday in order to grow that money into an amount that will help sustain them through their retirement years. Thats not what Jesus is talking about here.

Jesus is talking about the excess that God gives us. We have to make a decision of how we are going to use the excess, are we going to buy gold and silver, diamonds and jewels to store up here on earth and to amass wealth for the benefit of ourselves? Or are we going to use the excess God has given us to store up treasures in heaven?

What does that even mean, to store up treasures in heaven? Is there a vault in heaven that we can deposit our earthly wealth into? What’s the interest rate? Is it safe and secure? LOL! How do we deposit into it, or withdraw from it? The treasure Jesus is talking about isn’t money or valuables, its the good works we do on earth that benefit the kingdom of God, which may or may not cost money. Things like supporting widows and orphans, giving to missions trips, helping during disasters, evangelizing, serving the poor, doing the things we have historically understood as works that Jesus would do and works that honor Jesus.

The earthly treasures we store up here on earth are fleeting and perishable. They will rust, corrode, or burn up in the fire that will one day consume the earth, the paper and the textiles will be moth eaten and rotted as time passes, nothing will remain for very long in the grand scheme of eternity. Nothing except the blessings and rewards from God, all that He promises us is everlasting, never fading, eternal. When we store up treasures on earth knowing they are perishable we are showing God where our heart lies, its focused on the temporal, ourselves, and not the eternal and God. We do the things our heart desires, if we work and store up only earthly treasures we only truly value the here and now, and we do not trust in God. But if we store up our treasures in Heaven then what we are showing God is that our heart is with Him and His will for the Kingdom and our rewards will be eternally fulfilled in Christ. What better return on investment could there ever be…none!

3. Single-Minded Devotion: Light of Heart

Matthew 6:22–24 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

As we look at verses 22 and 23 we might think they are out of place, that they deviate from the previous texts attitude toward material or temporal wealth, but they're not. Jesus is continuing to use a metaphor to explain to us that even a small part of the body a small eye can lead the body into darkness, as the heart before declares our treasure so our eyes the lamp of our body declare our disposition toward goodness and evil.

Jesus says that the eyes are the lamp of the body and if the eyes are evil, then you are evil. If you look upon the world with desire and carnality then you desire the carnal world, the darkness. But if you look upon the world with goodness and light focused on God’s will for the kingdom then you are good and righteous.

Spiritual blindness results from divided loyalties between God and worldly wealth. Imagine if you will, an old prospector. He toils day and night with little rest always digging and sifting, washing and panning just to find that shining little speck of Gold. He becomes consumed with getting more and more gold until he becomes obsessed with it and the earthly pleasures of his wealth. He stops going home and moves into the mine. He stops going to town for fear that someone might steal his gold. He stops going to church because he has to mine day and night to get more and more of the precious metal. The more he gets the more his net worth, his heart is set on finding the gold, and nothing else matters. The odds are he will never find the kingdom of heaven, because his eyes are looking for earthly gold, he is consumed with it, everything he does is done to help him find more gold, he can only see the gold. Thats a sad story, because if he had a family he likely abandoned them long ago, if had a church family he probably deserted them long ago, and if had any faith at all in Christ he probably only prays to find more gold. His eyes are full of darkness, just like his soul.

But imagine this, the prospector goes out one day and finds the motherlode. He rejoices and praises God. He gathers the gold and shares it with his family and friends, the church, he gives to the poor and supports the widows and orphans. Through it all he praise God and spreads the truth of the gospel along with the wealth of the gold. This man has light in his eyes, warmth in his heart, and a love for his God, who through this man has blessed many. The power of God is on full display in this man’s life, he may have earthly wealth, but he is storing heavenly treasures with the excess God has given him. He has made his choice, to serve God and not himself. That leads us to our final verse.

Verse 24. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The first prospector served his own heart which desired earthly wealth and pleasures, and he likely will pay for that for eternity. While the second prospector served God, and will be blessed for all eternity. You see Jesus tells us plainly we cannot serve two masters, you will love one and hate the other. If we serve ourselves and the sinful desires we have here on earth like seeking wealth and power, we cant serve faithfully our God for if we love the world, we will hate God. But if we love God, we will hate the world. The problem really arise for us if we have no faith in God because we can see and touch the world and the wealth it has, but God and the eternal are harder for us to see and touch. Thats why we must have Faith in Jesus, faith that He is who He says he is. Faith that He will do what He says he will do. Faith that if we place our trust in Christ, follow His commands and abide in Him we will have eternal life in heaven in the very presence of God. And guess what, the streets are paved with gold, the walls are alabaster and pearl, the whole of heaven is made up of the very precious things we valued here on earth, but there they are common and beautiful and without value, because the very presence of Christ is illuminating the heavens and there will be no wanting, no sadness, no pain, only joy and rejoicing for all of eternity.

Applications:

When you fast, fast for the right reason, to be closer to God, seeking His will for your life. Don’t let your fasting be known to others because it is between you and God. And when you fast, know that God will hear you and reward you openly.

Store up you treasures in heaven and not on earth. Be the hands and feet, the salt and light of the world by using what God has given you to serve His kingdom and lay up your treasures in heaven. God will know your heart and bless you for eternity for your good works and generosity to others.

Look upon the kingdom of God and be good, let the lamp of your eyes shine brightly for Christ. Avoid the carnality of the world and live in the light of the Almighty God. Serve only one master — Christ, and hate the evil of the world, but do so in a manner of love as Christ did.