Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
Matthew 6:1-4 1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. When we give to others we are not to boast of it or even speak of it. If we follow this commandment of Jehoshua then we will be rewarded on judgment day. If we do make it known then our reward is the pat on the back from men. The concept of Christian's giving to the church and then reporting it on their taxes is unbiblical and their reward is the tax break they get from the IRS. Matthew 6:5-6 5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. We are not to make a public display of praying. Our prayer time should be personal as intimate time with our Father in heaven. Of course, we can give thanks for meals as Jehoshua did when He fed the multitudes. Of course, in our fellowship gatherings we can do corporate prayer and pray for others within the assembly. Matthew 6:7-8 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Prayers are not more powerful because of their length but it is the faith of those prayers that is powerful. Short prayers can be very effective when accompanied by faith. Our faith should be rooted in the fact that our heavenly Father knows what we need and rewards those who diligently seek Him. Matthew 6;9--13 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.11Give us this day our daily bread.12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. This is the model prayer. In the Didache the followers of Messiah were instructed to pray this three times a day. The idea of the Kingdom of God is central to this prayer showing the centrality of the Kingdom in Christianity. We are to pray for the Father to bring His Kingdom to earth not only in the future consummation but also now in the present by His Spirit doing works through us. We are to ask forgiveness and forgive others. This is essential to be connected to God and His Son Jehoshua. Matthew 6 14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Forgiving others is the only way that we will ne forgiven by our heavenly Father Jehovah. Jehoshua is clear here and it is often forgotten by those who preach in the pulpit or those whi profess the faith. Matthew 6;16-19 16Moreover 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.17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;18That 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. Jehoshua continues with the theme of not doing things for show. When we fast we are fo do it secretly and make an effort not to show it visibly. Matthew 6:19-21 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This is one of the most ignored commandments of Jehoshua in that American Christians see no problem with building wealth and obtaining posessions. In fact, many of the Pastor's themselves live very rich off the gospel. Jehoshua gives us wisdom here in that material posessions eventually rust and decay or can be stolen. The Son of God instead tells us to build our treasures in heaven. These treasures are detailed in the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. There is no question about it, so called Christians who build wealth and obtain posessions are less fervant for the things of the Kingdom and oftentimes downright cold to the faith even though they will do their religious duty and go to church once a week and tithe. Their heart is attached to their possessions and not on the treasures in heaven which is why you see no urgency in them spreading the gospel of the Kingdom. Those who refuse to build wealth and obtain posessions have their hearts sold out for the Kingdom and thereby build the Kingdom up which results in them having treasures laid hp for them in heaven. To disobey Jehoshua in this is to lose salvation or it shows one never had it. Matthew 6:22-24 22 The lamp 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 the darkness!24No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Verse 22, the reference to the eye being single is having a single mindedness towards the Kingdom of God. If we are single minded about the Kingdom of God then our whole body will be full of light. Verse 23, if our eye is evil meaning not single minded about the Kingdom and instead focused on building treasures here on earth then we will be full of darkness. This is the context of this passage, whether we build treasures on earth or build them in heaven. To be focused on the Kingdom means to be a child of light and to be focused on material gain means to be a child of darkness. Verse 24, Jehoshua makes it crystal clear, you cannot serve God and money. If you serve money and material gain you gate God. If you serve God you will hate materialism and being about money. Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious 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 the food, and the body than the raiment?" Because we seek His Kingdom and do not serve money we should not worry at all where our next meal comes from or what we will wear and how how we will be clothed. This is the seal of true faith towards God in that do we believe Her will provide if we put His Kingdom first? Matthew 6:26-27 26Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they?27And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? Jehoshua is very practical here in that He says worrying cannot do anything to change our situation. If the birds of the air are taken care of by God then we should have faith that He will do the same for us. Matthew 6:28-30 28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:29yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30But if God doth 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? Here Jehoshua rebukes those who are anxious for what they will wear and how they will be clothed. This shows that one has very little faith when they worry about such things. Matthew 6:31-32 31Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. This is a stunning rebuke to mainstream Christendom as they are caught up in chasing the things of this world and striving for them even getting stressed about their finances and their wealth. Unfortunately, the Pastors of mainstream Christendom teach their congregants that it is okay to be consumed with such matters and to focus on building wealth. However, the Son of God says that we are not to be anxious even for the basic necessities of life let alone wealth, inheritance and luxury. Those who are anxious about even the basic necessities of life are like the Gentiles (unbelievers). In fact, one can say that those who constantly worry about such things show that they are not truly begotten from above and are still in their sin. The word "anxious" is rendered from the Greek word "merimnao" (strongs 3309) and means "to be anxious about, to be careful, take thought" So clearly Jehoshua does not want us to take thought in what we will eat, drink and be clothed with tomorrow as to do so would be to do as the unbelievers do which is to worry. Those who worry often show their lack of faith and the possibility that they may in truth be an unbeliever. The Israel of God does not take thought for such things as Jehoshua says in the next two verses how true believers act: Matthew 6:33-34 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. True believers seek the Kingdom of God first every single day of their lives. If we do this Jehoshua says that all things will be added to us. The false mainstream Church will say that these "all things" include the luxuries of life. Again, this is more false teaching and compromise from the false church system to give their congregants an "out" so that they don't have to pick up their cross and deny themselves. When Jehoshua says "all these things" He is obviously speaking of the very things He said we are not to worry about which is food, drink and clothing. Jehoshua wants us to focus on one day at a time (verse 34) as each day has enough of its own troubles.
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