AM Jan 9th Matt 6

January 9^th Treasures and the heart

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.

Evil eye

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!

The kingdom of God first

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. 25: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27: Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28: And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30: Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32: (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The next thing that Christ addresses is the question of riches. The Jews were notorious for amassing riches and many of them were very wealthy. Yet they lived alongside great poverty. Christ says, invest your treasure in heaven. Because where your treasure is invested that is where your heart is set. Christ says we cannot have an eye on God and an eye on devotion to self. Christ encourages the Jews to commit themselves to the Lord in seeking to enter the Kingdom of God and keeping the law and all the blessings promised in the law will be added to them. He reminds them to trust in Gods provision and that God cares for all his creatures. The focus of Christ’s teaching is to be to put God first and everything else will follow. Christ says stop being anxious, trust in God for your daily needs.

• What does Christ say about riches?
• What is the principle that Christ describes that enables the righteous to enter the kingdom?
• What else does Christ say to these Jews about living for God under the Law?