Matthew 6:22-24

[0:00] Good evening. Good evening. In the New Testament this evening,! In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6.

[0:13] ! What I thought was going to be a six-verse sermon! A lot has happened in the first few chapters of Matthew.

[0:34] Of course, we have chapter 1 begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. And, of course, we have what we would refer to as the Christmas account or the birth of Christ.

[0:48] Also, there at the end of chapter 1 and chapter 2, we have the visit from the wise men from the East. And then we kind of, after that, get into some of the ministries.

[1:03] Of course, after John announces Jesus Christ, John being the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist. There in chapter 3, then we get into the ministry of Jesus Christ, the preaching ministry of Christ.

[1:19] And then we get to the Sermon on the Mount, which begins in chapter 5. There's more condensed versions of the Sermon on the Mount and the other synoptic Gospel accounts.

[1:30] Matthew has the most comprehensive version of the Sermon on the Mount. It's three chapters long. But that begins in chapter 5. And, of course, we begin with the Beatitudes there.

[1:41] Then there's a lot of teachings thereafter about hypocrisy and Jesus kind of directing that at religious folks. And He teaches some on marriage and other things as well there.

[1:57] But we get to Matthew chapter 6. And this is where we have what's commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer. When He teaches the disciples to pray, then He gets into some more teaching.

[2:09] And He teaches that for the disciples forwarding to us to not lay up for ourselves treasures here on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where those things don't happen.

[2:33] Moth nor rust corrupt, nor do thieves break through and steal. But then Jesus says something very in-depth right after that when He says, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[2:49] And that's a lot deeper than what people really realize, even us Christians. That's a very profound statement that Jesus made there.

[3:01] That wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And that brings us to the three verses that with the Lord's help we'll be preaching tonight.

[3:12] So Matthew chapter 6, beginning at verse 22, says, The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

[3:25] But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore that light, that light, I'm sorry, if therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

[3:40] 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. You cannot serve God and mammon.

[3:52] Back to verse 22. The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thine whole body shall be full of light.

[4:03] The first line of Matthew 6 and 22 says, The light of the body is the eye. And I want you to know, and most of us probably, if not all of us, probably already know, that Jesus Christ is not giving a lesson here on human anatomy.

[4:22] Granted, the eye is the organ by which light enters in. There's all kinds of nerves and things that go back to the brain, and the light enters in, and this is how we see in the physical perspective.

[4:35] In the physical world, this is how it works. And the eye lets this light in. It goes back to the brain. The brain computes it.

[4:46] The brain does what it does. And this is how we guide our steps in our physical life. But folks, Jesus, again, is not giving a biology lesson in this.

[5:00] Jesus is speaking on a spiritual plane here. And He says, For the light of the body is the eye. The eye is the very lamp by which we perceive things.

[5:13] It's the very way that we understand things. The light of the body is the eye. And folks, if the light of the body is the eye, if the lamp of the body is the eye, and we understand it this way, then we must also understand that that lamp must remain clean.

[5:32] It must remain uncorrupt. It's got to be without cracks. It's got to be without issue in order for us to see clearly, to see the things in this light, the things in our spiritual lives.

[5:47] It must remain clear for us to see this way. It says, The light of the body is the eye. If therefore, then I be single. What is it to have a single eye?

[5:59] If the light of the body is the eye, and Christ follows that up with, If therefore, then I be single. What is it to have a single eye? We will never understand this passage here if we don't understand what a single eye is and what an evil eye is.

[6:16] A single eye is one that is focused on one thing and one thing only. I preached not long ago from Philippians chapter 3 about how Paul, in Philippians chapter 3, in verse 13, he says, This one thing I do.

[6:32] He doesn't say many things. He doesn't say ten things. He doesn't say a dozen things. He says, This one thing I do. And what was that one thing that he did?

[6:43] He said, Forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth to those things which are before, and reaching out for the prize that he has in Jesus Christ by the high calling of God.

[6:57] That was his one thing. That was his one consuming thought was the glory of God. Reaching forth to Jesus Christ. And if we have a single eye, I'm speaking to a house full of Christians tonight.

[7:11] If we truly have a single eye, our focus will be on the glory of Almighty God. Our focus will be on apprehending and clinging to Jesus Christ, our Savior.

[7:23] It shouldn't be out here in the world. Our lamp should not be fragmented. We shouldn't be looking this way and that way. We should be focused on one thing, and that is the glory of Almighty God, the Savior of your soul.

[7:38] This is what it is to have a single eye. That's exactly what it is to have a single eye. It's focusing on God. Focusing on His Word.

[7:48] Focusing on His will. Focusing on Him. Period. That's having a single eye. That is having single vision. And the verse continues. It says, If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of life.

[8:04] If we are focused on that one thing, if we are focused on Christ Jesus, if we are focused on the glory of Almighty God, our entire body shall be full of life.

[8:16] It will be full of life. But folks, that light does more than just guide us. That light does more than just help us in our steps. Folks, even the Word of God in Psalms 119 says, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

[8:31] If you want to have more of that single eye, you keep your nose in the Word of God. Seeking God in prayer. Looking for God. Looking for His will in your life.

[8:42] But that light does more than just guide us. That light exposes some things. It exposes some things. You think about Abraham. Think about Abraham when he took Isaac up on the mountain.

[8:54] When God commanded him to offer up Isaac. Abraham was a man that had a single eye. He was focused on the glory of God. He was focused on God Himself. He did not doubt.

[9:06] He did not hesitate. The very next morning, after that commandment was given, Abraham took his son Isaac, and they went out towards the mountain to do what? That Abraham could follow the will and the command of Almighty God.

[9:20] You consider Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah saw the Almighty God high and lifted up. And they not only showed him who God was, but they showed him his own sin and they showed him the calling that God had in his life.

[9:36] We've got to have a single eye though to see these types of things. We must have a single eye to see these types of things. To see what the will of God is in our life.

[9:47] So many times, so many times I've heard fellow Christians say, I've heard brothers and sisters both in Christ say, I don't know what the will of God is for my life. Do you have a single eye?

[9:58] Do you have a single vision? Do you have a single purpose? And that being to please and to glorify God. And how much time are you spending in His Word? His Word reveals His will.

[10:09] His Word reveals Him to us. Jesus Christ revealed God to us. And Jesus Christ's words are recorded in the Scripture for all of us to read, and for all of us to see, and for all of us to perceive.

[10:25] But, if our vision is fragmented, as I said before, if our lamp is dirty, what we see is going to be corrupt.

[10:37] What we see is going to be distorted. What we see is not going to fit exactly who God is. If our eye is single, if our vision is single, if our mind is single, our entire body will be full of light.

[10:57] And that light is not the physical light. Again, we are speaking on a spiritual plane here. Our entire body will be filled with God. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

[11:12] Our entire body will be filled with Him. I understand that once we're saved, I understand once we've been regenerated, that the Holy Ghost moves inside of us to take up His dwelling in every born-again child of God.

[11:26] I get that. But folks, our vision would be so much clearer if we keep our lenses cleaned. If we keep our globes cleaned on our lamps. If we paid attention to what's coming into these eyes.

[11:40] Because what comes into the mind goes straight to the brain. And many times, even in a Christian's life, what goes into the brain, if we are not on guard, and we are not careful, it will seep downward into our hearts.

[11:53] And that's when we get in trouble. That's when we get in trouble. So again, verse 22, the light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thine whole body shall be full of light.

[12:08] Keep single vision, folks. Keep single vision. And this is something that you must work on. I'm not saying to do this to be saved. This is something that saved people need to be doing.

[12:20] This is what we need to do. Don't be like the one that James describes when James is talking about the Word of God being like a mirror. And James talks about him looking into it. And he sees himself.

[12:32] And he sees his reflection. And then he walks on off like nothing's bothering him. Hey, when we read the Word of God, we need to use this as a mirror on ourselves.

[12:42] Are we doing what it says to do? Are we acting in the way that it says to? Are we doing the things that God prescribes His people to do? Don't compare yourselves with those around you.

[12:55] Don't compare yourselves with your neighbors. Don't compare yourselves with other church people. Don't compare yourselves with other churches. You compare yourself with God and His holiness and His righteousness.

[13:06] And see how far down the pole you really are. I have to do that. And every Christian needs to do that. When we compare ourselves with others, hey, we're all the same.

[13:16] We're all sinners that need the grace of Almighty God. But when we compare ourselves with God, there is no comparison. Compare yourselves with God by reading the Scripture.

[13:28] See His holiness. See how righteous He is. See how sinless He is. See how perfect He is. And then look at yourself. Then look at yourself.

[13:39] And see where you need improvement. I ain't saying we improve ourselves to be saved. I ain't saying we improve ourselves to stay saved. I'm saying this is the way God expects His people.

[13:50] He says, Come ye out from the world and be ye separate. I understand the Bible says that we are a peculiar people. God is who makes us peculiar. But God gives commandment to His people.

[14:03] We are to come out from the world. God saves our souls. But we are not to act as the world acts. That's what brings on verse 23. When that happens.

[14:14] Verse 23 in Matthew chapter 6. 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!

[14:29] Again, but if thine eye be evil. Just as we did in verse 22. We must here in verse 23 understand what an evil eye is. And it is not just looking at dirty pictures.

[14:42] It is not just looking and listening to filth on the TV. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about an eye that is constantly evil.

[14:52] We're talking about people like in the days of Noah. It said that every thought of man was evil continually. And folks, if we are not careful, if we are not careful, we will let so much of the world into our lives.

[15:09] We will let so much of the world into our minds and into our hearts that we will begin to act as the world acts. And we will have an evil eye. And an evil eye, it's distorted the vision of God.

[15:22] It has completely messed up the image of Almighty God that Scripture plainly gives us. People with an evil eye, they have a distorted view of God.

[15:33] They have a distorted worldview. These are the people that say, well, I believe this about God and I believe that about God and what they believe about God has nothing to do with what is written about God and thus saith the Word of God.

[15:48] And folks, those thoughts don't matter. Those thoughts don't matter. We must keep a single eye. To have an evil eye is to have an eye going every which way except towards God.

[16:03] Let me ask you, church, do you have a single eye? Or are your affections and your attention shared with a thousand lesser loves in this world?

[16:14] Is your vision single? Or is it evil? Is it single? Or is it distorted? Do you have light all throughout your body?

[16:27] Or do you have darkness all throughout your body? Folks, these are heavy weighty words that Christ is speaking here. He says, But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.

[16:40] Just as if your eye is single, your whole body shall be full of light. But if your eye is evil, if your vision is evil, if it is distorted, if it's blurry, if it's messed up, your entire body will be full of darkness.

[16:58] It won't have a little speck of darkness here and a little speck of darkness there. You won't have it tucked away in some crevice of your heart only to be known by you. Your entire life will be full of darkness is what Christ is getting at here.

[17:13] Just as when He said your entire body will be full of light with a single eye. Just as with that, if you have an evil eye, your entire body and your entire life will be filled with darkness.

[17:28] This is so weighty what Christ is saying here. And He says, If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness. Folks, this is the most disturbing line in this entire three verse passage that we read tonight.

[17:42] If, if therefore the light that is in thee be darkness. How is that possible? How can that be? That light be darkness.

[17:55] What Jesus Christ is saying in this statement here is what you think is right. What you think is holy. What you think is righteous. But is not found written in the Word of God.

[18:07] And is not an attribute of Almighty God. That is darkness. If what you perceive and what you've conceived in your own head that makes you righteous does not line up with the Word of God.

[18:24] That light, what you consider light, is darkness. I've prayed a prayer. I've come forward. I went to an altar. I sing the songs.

[18:34] I attend church. I do this. And I do that. And folks, that darkness may be the very darkness that damns you to hell for all of eternity.

[18:45] Because you're depending upon things that you do and that you have done instead of depending upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is what God looks upon.

[18:57] That is what God accepts. Not what we do. Don't have those thoughts. Don't think I prayed a prayer one time when I was four or five years old. And I'm good now.

[19:09] Knowing good and well that you lived 20, 30, 40 years of your life acting like they wouldn't know God. Acting like there would never be any judgment. Don't act like that little profession that you made in Bible school when you were four or five years old.

[19:26] Don't depend on that. I mean, folks, I ain't saying God won't save a four or five year old. But I will say most four or five year olds don't have a good understanding of what's right and what's wrong. And there's been too much and there is too much of preachers saying, who wants to be saved?

[19:45] Who wants to be saved? Come up here, make a profession of Jesus Christ, sign your name on a card so I can put it in some album to look at 20 years from now and say, I helped this one find the Lord.

[19:57] There's too much of that that goes on in the world instead of old fashioned conviction by the Holy Ghost of God showing people what filthy, rotten, mean, nasty sinners that they are and showing them their need for the glorious Savior they can have in Jesus Christ.

[20:14] That's when salvation happens and no other time. I'm convinced and I've said before, I'll say it again, I told Brother Mike again this morning, I'm convinced that every congregation, every church house has a person or some people in it that have not been truly regenerated.

[20:35] but they think that they are okay. That is the light here that is actually darkness that Jesus Christ is speaking of. This is the same light that the Pharisees had and that light was darkness.

[20:50] They thought that they were the gods of the blind but Jesus set them straight when he talked about the blind leading the blind and they shall both fall into the ditch. They thought that they had it all with religion.

[21:03] They thought that they had it all with their sacraments. They thought that they had it all with all the rules that they followed. But Jesus said, He searched the Scriptures thinking that in them you have eternal life but they are they which speak of Me.

[21:20] Talking about the Old Testament Scriptures and that's what the Pharisees were relying on but they refused to see the promised Messiah, the light of the world standing there before them.

[21:32] and their light was so dark that they sought to crucify the light of the world. God help us. God help us as Christians and God help the lost.

[21:46] God help. If therefore that light that is in thee be darkness. How great is that darkness? Folks, simply put, this is the darkness of self-deception.

[22:00] That is exactly what it is. And there is no deception stronger in this world than self-deception. We get deceived by a family member.

[22:11] Yes, that hurts. And yes, that's strong. But it is not as strong as self-deception. Eternally speaking, speaking on matters of eternity, the most dangerous man or the most dangerous woman that exists are the ones that are wrong but they think that they're right.

[22:34] Those are the most dangerous ones. And in light of eternity, they are the most dangerous. And they are the hardest to reach. They are the hardest to reach with the Gospel. You can preach the Gospel to them until you are blue in the face.

[22:48] And they are so deceived. And they are dependent so much upon their light that it is actually darkness that there is hardly any getting through to them. And we must depend on God to do that.

[23:01] We can preach the Gospel. And that's all we're required to do is go into the world and preach the Gospel to every living creature. It's up to God to do the convicting and it's up to God to do the saving.

[23:13] We must keep that in mind. Last verse. 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.

[23:26] You cannot serve God and mammon. Notice how Jesus phrases this. No man. Not most men. Not the weak men or women.

[23:42] No man can serve two masters. Christian, I will tell you now you are not strong enough to keep one foot in the world and keep your hand in God's.

[23:55] You are not strong enough it ain't biblical to even try to do such a thing. But I will tell you now if you are holding hands with both sides if you are holding hands with the world and holding hands with Almighty God the world will drag you away.

[24:11] The world will drag you down. They will drag you into the mud. They will drag you into every ditch that they can find. If you are even attempting to do that you or I neither one of us are strong enough.

[24:24] I'm not saying God is not strong enough to keep you. Don't hear me wrong. But I'm saying you will drag your name you will drag your testimony you will drag the church's name and you will drag the very name of Jehovah God through the mud if you are trying to hold hands with both sides or if you are straddling the fence or if you are spending more time on the dark side of the street than you are on the light side of the street.

[24:50] Why is that? Jesus tells Himself folks I preached it not too awful long ago out of John chapter 3 men love darkness rather than light. They love darkness rather than light.

[25:02] Why is that? Because they feel like in the darkness their sin is hid. God knows all about it though. God knows all about it. No man no man no man no woman no boy no girl whether old whether young no man can serve two masters.

[25:20] This word here in the original Greek that's used for serve is talking about slavery. It's not talking about it's not talking about like me I can have two or three employers if I want to and depending on which clock I'm punched in on at the time that's my master.

[25:35] I'm talking about in the physical world. That's who I'm master but folks once I clock out I'm no longer under them. I go on to another one. That's not what we're talking about here.

[25:47] This is the verb form of doulos which has no other meaning than slave. No man can be a slave to two masters.

[26:00] No man can. You will either be a slave to Satan and the world and evil and wickedness or you will be a slave to God and holiness and righteousness.

[26:11] There is no in between period. And yet we have preachers out there so called preachers that preach that people can do that very thing.

[26:23] It's okay. It's okay. You're under grace. You're not under the law. You're under the grace of God. The grace of God is stronger than all your sin. And folks the grace of God is stronger than all of our sin.

[26:35] And I praise God for that. But if they are truly redeemed they are made a new creature in Christ Jesus. And if we are a new creature in Christ Jesus we will have a new walk.

[26:47] We'll have a new talk. We'll have new desires. We'll have new everything. So those that desire to be out in the world folks I'm telling you now since I've been saved since I've been saved I haven't once desired to do the things I once did.

[27:05] To go to the places that I once went. I've never reflected back and said boy I miss that life. No. In fact I hear people say quite frequently and I'm sure you've heard people say and you've probably said it yourself boy I'd like to go back to when I was 20.

[27:21] I'd like to go back to when I was 25. Not me. If it goes beyond 33 which is when I got saved I got no desire to go back there. Because I didn't have Jesus then.

[27:34] I'd rather have Jesus than have any of it. I'd rather have Jesus than have all my old life a hundred times over. I thought I was having the time of my life.

[27:45] I thought I was. Then Christ saved my soul. Hallelujah. 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.

[27:58] Again folks there is no fence riding here. There is no playing both sides of the fence or both sides of the court. For either he will hate the one and love the other.

[28:12] You will either love God and hate the world or you will love the world and hate God. There is no in between. Every one of us before we were saved hated God.

[28:24] And that is not me. that is found in the scripture. We were children of wrath. We were children of wrath before we were born. I don't care if you was five years old, ten years old, or twelve years old or what, when you got saved, somewhere in you, you had a hatred for the things of God and for God himself.

[28:46] But God changes that. You had a love for the world and you had a hatred for God. For either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.

[28:59] Folks, this tells the tale. What are you holding to? What are you holding to? Is it Christ? Is it holiness?

[29:10] Is it righteousness? Is it God? Is it His Word? Is it His commandments? Is it His statutes? Or is it the world? What are you holding to?

[29:23] Again, he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. If you're holding on to God, you should be despising the world.

[29:35] I'm not saying hate your neighbor. That goes against Scripture. Jesus said Himself the two greatest commandments were to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy mind, and all thy strength, and to love thy neighbor as thyself.

[29:51] And He also said that if we keep those things, we fulfill the entire law and the prophets. And none of us keep it. None of us keep it.

[30:02] We might try, and we should. We should. But folks, are you holding to God? Or are you holding to the world? Are you holding to God and despising the world?

[30:13] Or are you holding to the world and despising God? God, no man can serve two masters. And He ends with that. You cannot serve God and mammon.

[30:24] It's not that it will be difficult for you to do. It is that you cannot do it. And yet, I'm convinced that there's many people that have actually been saved that try to do that.

[30:38] And there's a whole world of people out there that think that they know God, and they don't, and they're living it up in the world, claiming the name of Jesus Christ. And all they're doing is marching themselves straight into hell with that thought.

[30:52] And more often than not, they've got a preacher somewhere encouraging them to do so. God help. God help in that situation. There's a young man. In fact, if you flip over this few chapters, you don't have to right now.

[31:07] You can flip over to Matthew chapter 19. There's a young man who comes to Christ. He comes and he says, good master, what must I do to have eternal life?

[31:17] You can find it in Mark chapter 10 and Luke chapter 18 as well. The same accounts. What must I do to have eternal life? And Christ tells him, keep the commandments.

[31:30] And the young man says, which ones? And Christ tells him, he says, do no murder. Don't commit adultery. Don't bear false witness.

[31:41] Honor thy father and thy mother. Don't covet. Do these things. And the young man says, all these things have I done for my youth up.

[31:52] What lack I yet? And Christ tells him, go and sell your things. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. And I had something there at the very end of that account.

[32:06] He says, and follow me. And what does it say that young man did? He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

[32:18] That was someone that held to the world and despised God. Now in that account, in that account, every one of those commandments that Christ gave had to do with that young man and his neighbor.

[32:37] With how he treated his fellow men. How he treated his neighbors. How he treated mankind. Every commandment that he gave, he didn't even get through the first four. Which have all to do with how we treat and how we respect God.

[32:54] Christ never named any of those. You know what? That young man, very well may have kept those commandments. Very well may have. But it's obvious. It is obvious in that he went away sorrowful.

[33:06] Because he had great possessions. That he would rather hold to the world and despise God. That he would rather serve mammon.

[33:18] Which is more than just money. Most people consider that money and that is an aspect of it. But it is money, it is possessions, it is covetousness, it is envy, it is a whole lot of things.

[33:31] He would rather serve that as to serve God. Where are you tonight? Is the question. Where are you? Do you have light?

[33:44] Is your vision single? Folks, this last verse goes all the way back to what began in verse 22 with the eyes. If you have light, your body will be full of light and you will serve God.

[34:00] But if your eye be evil and your whole body is full of darkness, you will serve mammon. It goes directly back to the previous two verses.

[34:12] Where are you tonight? Where am I tonight? Where are all those tonight? Search inside yourselves. Search deep. Search hard. And search the Word of God.

[34:24] And God will give you your answer. God bless you all. That's the message for this evening. I appreciate you all's attention.