WEBVTT 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.719 Matthew chapter 5 this morning. I'm sorry. Scratch 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.839 that. Matthew chapter 6 this morning. Matthew 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:31.730 chapter 6. If you are new here, we have been 00:00:31.730 --> 00:00:35.329 going through Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Last 00:00:35.329 --> 00:00:38.109 week we finished chapter five, and this week 00:00:38.109 --> 00:00:41.909 we start a new chapter, so you're here at a great 00:00:41.909 --> 00:00:49.929 time. Have you ever seen those videos where a 00:00:49.929 --> 00:00:53.350 person has a hidden cameraman sitting across 00:00:53.350 --> 00:00:56.090 the street and recording them? And I've seen 00:00:56.090 --> 00:00:59.229 a variety of them, but the ones that stick out 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:02.390 to me the most are the ones where a guy dresses 00:01:02.390 --> 00:01:05.909 up as a beggar. And maybe he then goes and sits 00:01:05.909 --> 00:01:08.530 on a street corner or in front of a store and 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:12.819 he has a sign that says, hungry. And then he 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:16.159 just waits. And he waits for someone to just 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.959 kind of show some kind of generosity to him besides 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:23.140 just dropping money in his cup. He's looking 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:25.319 for somebody that's going to take the time to 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:28.439 have a conversation with him or take the time 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:31.319 to maybe go get him a meal or bring him a blanket 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:35.159 or something along those ways. And as you're 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:38.640 watching it, you kind of feel like you're just 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:41.540 kind of eavesdropping on this really sweet moment. 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:45.140 The guy is miked up so you can hear how the conversation 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:49.060 is going. And then when the generous person least 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:53.959 expects it, the supposed beggar surprises them 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.739 with a really great, generous gift. Maybe a bunch 00:01:57.739 --> 00:02:01.420 of cash, maybe a new phone or a new laptop or 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.159 something like that. And then they post the video. 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:07.909 right? And then the comments come in on the video 00:02:07.909 --> 00:02:10.629 and talking about how awesome it was for that 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:14.330 pretend beggar to be so generous and how he is 00:02:14.330 --> 00:02:16.770 such a great man and we need more people like 00:02:16.770 --> 00:02:20.830 him in the world. In our passage this morning, 00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:24.810 Jesus is going to step into that and say, yeah, 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:29.129 don't do that. Don't do that stuff. Let's keep 00:02:29.129 --> 00:02:32.009 it on the down low. And so that's our text this 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:34.330 morning. I'm going to invite Grace up here this 00:02:34.330 --> 00:02:36.949 morning to read the first four verses of chapter 00:02:36.949 --> 00:02:40.189 6. If you are willing and able, we'd love for 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:42.810 you to stand and honor the Lord's Word as she 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:52.389 reads it. Beware of practicing your righteousness 00:02:52.389 --> 00:02:55.550 before other people in order to be seen by them, 00:02:55.669 --> 00:02:58.189 for then you will have no reward from your Father 00:02:58.189 --> 00:03:00.889 who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the 00:03:00.889 --> 00:03:04.310 needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:07.590 do in the synagogues and in the streets, that 00:03:07.590 --> 00:03:11.169 they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to 00:03:11.169 --> 00:03:14.210 you, they have received the reward. But when 00:03:14.210 --> 00:03:16.990 you give to the needy, do not let your left hand 00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:21.669 know what your right hand is doing, so that your 00:03:21.669 --> 00:03:24.699 giving may be in secret. and your Father, who 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:27.139 sees in secret, will reward you. Amen. Let's 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:30.360 pray. Father, thank you so much for grace and 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:32.780 just being my friend and how you're growing her 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:34.759 and developing her. And I pray, Father, that 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:36.439 you continue to lead her and guide her in all 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:38.639 that she does. I pray, Father, that as we look 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.400 at this text, we will see your heart in it and 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.259 we will be more like you. Thank you for Jesus. 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:52.620 In your name we pray. Amen. Good job, girl. Here 00:03:52.620 --> 00:03:57.400 in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has just shifted 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.789 gears, if you will. In chapter five, Jesus dealt 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:03.030 with the heart. He was dealing with our inner 00:04:03.030 --> 00:04:05.810 righteousness. Here in chapter six, He's going 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:08.389 to begin to address our outer righteousness. 00:04:08.830 --> 00:04:11.250 And I think we need to stop for a minute and 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:15.710 just recognize this change. Because if you don't 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:20.089 have the right inner righteousness, the outer 00:04:20.089 --> 00:04:22.329 righteousness is going to bring a whole lot of 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:25.110 confusion to your life. It's going to confuse 00:04:25.110 --> 00:04:27.810 you and it's going to confuse those around you. 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:31.339 John MacArthur tells a story of a time that he 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:35.079 was overseas when he came across this this quote 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.899 unquote holy man who was covered in ashes and 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:41.279 he covered himself in ashes every single day 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.079 as a sign of humility and then he would regularly 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.199 go sit on a prominent street corner in the middle 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.779 of the city and occasionally a tourist would 00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:55.259 come up to him and ask to take a picture with 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:57.839 him. now they're trying to experience culture 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.360 they they want to go back to their home country 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.540 or whatever and show that they help the poor 00:05:02.540 --> 00:05:06.480 or whatever reason and he would always agree 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.000 he would always agree to get his picture taken 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.620 but before he would do that he would he would 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:14.579 add some more ashes to his face he'd add some 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:17.600 more ashes to his clothes so that he could give 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:22.689 the best image of poverty and humility If we 00:05:22.689 --> 00:05:28.209 don't have the correct inner righteousness, if 00:05:28.209 --> 00:05:31.110 we don't have the correct heart when it comes 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:34.089 to our actions, then all that we're doing is 00:05:34.089 --> 00:05:39.970 rearranging our spiritual ashes to impress the 00:05:39.970 --> 00:05:42.529 world around us so that they will make us feel 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:46.449 good about ourselves. Inner righteousness has 00:05:46.449 --> 00:05:49.740 to come before outer righteousness. So for the 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:52.699 last chapter, Matthew chapter five, Jesus has 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.959 been addressing the difference between the heart 00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:00.279 of a religion and the heart of God. Now we turn 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.319 to chapter six, where Jesus, over the next several 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:06.120 weeks, is going to be addressing our outer righteousness. 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:10.160 The Jews were particularly focused on giving 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:13.769 to the knee. They were focused on prayer. They 00:06:13.769 --> 00:06:17.350 were focused on fasting. And here Jesus in this 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:20.410 chapter is going to address all of these religious 00:06:20.410 --> 00:06:24.050 acts by telling his listeners, by telling us 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:28.269 to focus on the inner motives, not the outward 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:32.870 methods. If I were to give you my thesis statement 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:36.029 for this sermon, so that if anybody asks you 00:06:36.029 --> 00:06:38.069 today, what was the sermon about or what did 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:40.550 you learn for in church, it would be this. that 00:06:40.550 --> 00:06:45.750 actions done in secret result in rewards. Actions 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:49.269 done in secret result in rewards. And hopefully 00:06:49.269 --> 00:06:51.730 we will all take that to heart when we leave 00:06:51.730 --> 00:06:53.990 this place here in a little while. So in verse 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:58.750 one, Jesus tells us to control our motives. He 00:06:58.750 --> 00:07:02.350 tells us to beware. He's saying to check your 00:07:02.350 --> 00:07:07.800 motives and be careful. What is the reason that 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.319 you do the things that you do. Is it to be seen 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:15.199 by men? Is it to receive compensation? Is it 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.399 so that other people will like you? This is a 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:23.120 warning from the Lord to remind us to make sure 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.879 that our hearts are in the right place. He then 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:30.319 mentions righteousness. This would refer to anything 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.629 that we do in Christ's name. Anything that we 00:07:33.629 --> 00:07:36.230 put Christ's name on, he's referring to as righteousness. 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:40.029 And then he uses the phrase to be seen. That 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:44.529 phrase comes from the word that we get our word 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:48.910 theater from. It's the idea of giving a spectacular 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:53.089 performance. But the reality is it's all just 00:07:53.089 --> 00:07:58.990 an act. Every morning, before Adélie gets into 00:07:58.990 --> 00:08:02.550 her car to go to school, I give her a hug and 00:08:02.550 --> 00:08:06.129 I tell her to be careful. Every morning we sit 00:08:06.129 --> 00:08:10.230 around our breakfast table, which is also our 00:08:10.230 --> 00:08:12.569 dinner table and lunch table, things you just 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:16.410 pile stuff on table, but breakfast table, and 00:08:16.410 --> 00:08:19.329 we sit around and I pray that the Lord will get 00:08:19.329 --> 00:08:23.069 us to where we need to be safely. That all of 00:08:23.069 --> 00:08:26.689 my kids will make it to school safely. I do that 00:08:26.689 --> 00:08:28.589 because I trust the Lord, but also because I've 00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:31.069 been to way too many funerals for children that 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:33.970 have died on their way to school. So I'm telling 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:37.049 her to be careful. Not because I think she's 00:08:37.049 --> 00:08:39.950 going to intentionally drive into a ditch. Not 00:08:39.950 --> 00:08:41.710 because I think she's intentionally going to 00:08:41.710 --> 00:08:46.590 run a stop sign. What I'm telling her is to keep 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:50.470 her mind on what she is doing. To not get distracted 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:53.830 by everything else around her. What Jesus is 00:08:53.830 --> 00:08:56.870 telling us here in verse one is that there is 00:08:56.870 --> 00:09:00.389 going to be a temptation to just go through the 00:09:00.389 --> 00:09:03.169 motions and become lazy. There's going to be 00:09:03.169 --> 00:09:08.289 a temptation to not keep our minds on our motives 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:12.679 and become distracted by the routine. to forget 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:16.559 why we serve, to forget why we give, why we do 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.159 the things we do for the Lord. There's a temptation 00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:22.200 that we need to be careful not to ignore. This 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.820 is a warning that when it comes to righteousness, 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:28.700 we need to have the right heart that we're trying 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:31.740 to honor the Lord and be careful that we're not 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:35.080 in it for ourselves, but that we are doing things 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:38.220 in such a way that bring honor and glory to him. 00:09:38.490 --> 00:09:42.129 If we get no praise for it, if we get no recognition 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:46.490 for it, we need to be okay with that because 00:09:46.490 --> 00:09:50.850 we understand that the Lord sees our heart as 00:09:50.850 --> 00:09:54.730 best we can. As best we can, we really need to 00:09:54.730 --> 00:09:57.509 get our reason for serving straightened down. 00:09:57.990 --> 00:10:02.250 It is the Lord God that we serve. We shouldn't 00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:06.049 serve to impress others or to try to gain favor 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:09.320 with the Lord. And if you struggle with this, 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:12.919 take some encouragement, because even the apostle 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.919 Paul struggled with this. In 1 Corinthians chapter 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.940 4, he writes, My conscience is clear, but that 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.799 does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:24.519 judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:27.299 appointed time. Wait till the Lord comes. He 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:29.559 will bring to light what is hidden in darkness 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:31.860 and will expose the motives of men's hearts. 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:35.879 At that time, each will receive his praise from 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.840 God. And so as we're talking about serving the 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:43.320 Lord and giving to the Lord, some of you might 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.360 probably be wondering because a few weeks ago 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:48.899 we were in Matthew 5 16 and Jesus tells us to 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:53.360 let our light shine before men. These seem to 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:56.259 contradict each other. The issue between those 00:10:56.259 --> 00:11:01.159 two verses is one of motive. It's great to let 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.759 your light shine in order to put the spotlight 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:08.100 on God. It's not good to let your light shine 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:12.179 so that the spotlight gets put on you. In Isaiah 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:15.519 42 verse 8, God declares that he will not share 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.460 his glory with anybody else. He writes, I am 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:21.919 the Lord. That is my name. I will not give my 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.299 glory to another or my praise to idols. It is 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:32.159 unbiblical to equate man's applause with God's 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:35.779 approval. John Ortberg. if you've ever read any 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:40.799 of his books, he jokingly says, I know I'm supposed 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:48.679 to be humble, but what if nobody notices? When 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:54.139 we care more about the applause and recognition 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.799 that we get from others more than we care about 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.600 the praise and applause we get from heaven, we 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:04.240 have a major problem. Eugene Peterson in his 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.179 paraphrase writes this in verse 1 in the message. 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:21.259 I love how he wrote it. He says, We need to remember 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:25.220 to control our motives when it comes to serving 00:12:25.220 --> 00:12:28.080 the Lord. Then we get to verse 2 where Jesus 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:32.200 reminds us to be real and not fake. Be real and 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.440 not fake. He says, thus, when you give to the 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:37.179 needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:39.440 do in the synagogues and in the streets, that 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:41.759 they may be praised by others. Truly I say to 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.899 you, they have received their reward. Now, giving 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:49.200 to the hurting, what was an important part of 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:52.600 ancient Judaism, where farmers were actually 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.179 told to leave some of their harvest behind so 00:12:56.179 --> 00:13:00.779 that the poor would have some food to eat. Now, 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:03.460 I wasn't able to find any verifiable sources 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:08.820 that stated that actual trumpets were blown when 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:11.899 people would give to the synagogue or whatever, 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:14.799 but I'm assuming that it's still possible. Rather, 00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:18.139 I think this is an idiom much like the ones that 00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:20.460 we use today, like he's tooting his own horn, 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.460 you know. I did find that an offering box where 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:26.879 the giving was done was shaped like a trumpet 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.320 and probably made quite a bit of noise when a 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.720 handful of coins was dropped into it. But when 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.480 speaking of the religious leaders, Jesus delivered 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:37.940 a pretty strong indictment in Matthew chapter 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:40.740 23. When he's condemning the religious leaders, 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:44.919 he says, everything they do is done for men to 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:49.399 see. Everything they do is done for men to see. 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:51.759 I mean, someone has said, I've heard this quote 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:53.220 so many times throughout my life, maybe you've 00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:56.840 heard it too. But someone has said, if you worry 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.379 too much about what people think of you, if you 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:04.639 spend so much time worrying about what people 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.740 think of you, you will be so disappointed to 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:14.740 discover how seldom they did. They're not looking 00:14:14.740 --> 00:14:19.639 at you. Nothing is more objectable. than advertised 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:24.220 charity. It is extremely humiliating to the one 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:27.620 who receives, and it's extremely hurtful to the 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:30.559 soul of the one who gives. When we're faking 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.559 our faith and just doing things to be honored 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:37.820 by others, it's as if God says to us, why would 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:42.500 I look at what you've done? Why should I notice 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:46.879 you? It wasn't done for me. It was done for yourself. 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:50.659 Hypocrites are performers and pretenders who 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:54.220 just want to be honored by people. The best definition 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:55.840 I've ever come across as a hypocrite, I came 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.200 across this years ago, is a hypocrite is a person 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:05.980 who isn't himself on Sundays. A hypocrite is 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:10.220 a person who isn't himself on Sundays. I read 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:12.919 about this story before Parents Weekend, one 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:14.639 year in Happy Valley, I don't know if there's 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:18.320 any Penn State fans here, but. on a parents' 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.700 weekend several years ago, a popular bar ran 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:25.120 an ad in the campus newspaper that says, bring 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.620 your parent for lunch on Saturday. We'll pretend 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:35.000 we don't know you. The ad was soon challenged 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.960 by the college chaplain who posted a revised 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.279 version of the campus of that article or that 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:44.740 advertisement. It read, bring your parents to 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:48.009 chapel Sunday. We'll pretend that we do know 00:15:48.009 --> 00:15:55.090 you That reminds me of Mark chapter 7 Jesus said 00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:56.970 Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you 00:15:56.970 --> 00:15:59.649 hypocrites as it is written these people honor 00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:02.509 me with their lips But their hearts are far from 00:16:02.509 --> 00:16:07.250 me. I Also want to point out that Jesus does 00:16:07.250 --> 00:16:10.870 not say if you give But he says when you give 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:17.549 it is the expectation of Jesus that we will give 00:16:17.549 --> 00:16:21.190 to those in need. It is a reminder to be generous. 00:16:21.509 --> 00:16:24.549 It's a reminder to be open -handed with all that 00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:28.409 God has given you. And the sole purpose of giving 00:16:28.409 --> 00:16:32.669 is because we want to honor the Lord with our 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:35.860 resources, not for any other purpose. When we 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:38.700 give, it shouldn't be for control. It shouldn't 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:41.279 be so that we can tell someone how that money 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:44.139 should be spent. It isn't because we want recognition. 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:46.860 Because remember, we have to go back to Matthew 00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:49.779 chapter 5. We should remember that Jesus is after 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:52.639 our hearts. And when we give with the right heart, 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.299 and we give with the right motives, our reward 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:58.500 will be waiting for us from the Lord. But if 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:01.000 we do it for any other reason, if we do it for 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.860 any sort of recognition, so people will like 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:06.660 us. He says your rewards already been given. 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:12.200 It's done. Let's not be fake Let's not be fake. 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.579 Let's let's store up rewards as many rewards 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:18.660 as we can while we're still living on this earth 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.720 Jesus continues in verse 3 and into 4 He says 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:23.920 but when you give to the needy do not let your 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.599 left hand know what your right hand is doing 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:31.519 So that your giving may be in secret Jesus is 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:36.779 saying act like a ninja That's the best I could 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:43.180 come up with. That basically means that when 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:45.980 you give, don't draw attention to your giving. 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:49.980 It might be helpful for you to say out loud, 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:55.259 God, this is for your eyes only. To not let our 00:17:55.259 --> 00:17:59.579 left hand know what our right hand is doing means 00:17:59.829 --> 00:18:03.849 that we are to hide our giving even from ourselves 00:18:03.849 --> 00:18:08.869 somehow. Even from ourselves. Not using one of 00:18:08.869 --> 00:18:13.089 our hands to pat ourselves on the back. One commentator 00:18:13.089 --> 00:18:16.750 adds, if the left hand doesn't know, the left 00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:20.769 hand can't get involved. It's very hard to clap 00:18:20.769 --> 00:18:25.869 with one hand to applaud yourself. The basic 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:29.049 principle here is do not gloat over your giving. 00:18:29.289 --> 00:18:33.410 Do not dwell on what a great person you are, 00:18:34.190 --> 00:18:37.450 that you've helped somebody else out. Our prayer 00:18:37.450 --> 00:18:39.750 should be something like this. God, as I give, 00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:43.150 deliver me from myself. Deliver me from myself. 00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:48.470 Help us not ever be a religious spectacle. Now, 00:18:48.490 --> 00:18:52.829 almost every week, someone will come to us in 00:18:52.829 --> 00:18:57.259 need. And we are able to write a check from our 00:18:57.259 --> 00:19:01.000 Deacon Fund in order to meet that need. And I 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:05.299 always get a thank you, as if I'm the one that's 00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:08.839 giving away the money. And if I'm not careful, 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:12.420 if I don't guard my heart, that can make me feel 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:16.380 pretty good about myself. But the reality is, 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.680 is that I'm just the one that writes the check. 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:22.539 I have to write the check. But the majority of 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:25.900 that money does not come from me. It comes from 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:29.339 you. When we take our Deacon offering each month. 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:32.400 And I was thinking about this because maybe you've 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:35.960 had that basket pass in front of you. And maybe 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:38.640 you were only able to contribute a dollar and 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:42.319 you felt some shame in that. I want to remind 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:46.559 you of Luke 21 where Jesus praises the widow 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:50.799 for giving what she could. not giving out of 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.839 her abundance. Jesus is after that type of heart 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:58.579 and not after the type of heart that only gives 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:02.000 when there's an excess. I want you to know that 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.460 there's no shame in that whatsoever. Your father 00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:09.640 sees your giving and your heart behind that has 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.680 been able to bless so many people each and every 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:16.240 month here. Your dollar might be insignificant 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:20.210 to you. But there's no limit to the good that 00:20:20.210 --> 00:20:23.069 we can do if we don't care who gets the credit. 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:26.309 If we don't care that we're ever seen by it. 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:28.289 Once again, I love Eugene Peterson's version 00:20:28.289 --> 00:20:30.609 of this text. It reads, when you help someone 00:20:30.609 --> 00:20:34.089 out, don't think about how it looks. Just do 00:20:34.089 --> 00:20:38.349 it quiet and unobtrusively. That should be our 00:20:38.349 --> 00:20:42.009 hearts when we give. And I'm very cautious when 00:20:42.009 --> 00:20:43.849 it comes to things like this and talking about 00:20:43.849 --> 00:20:46.569 things like this Because I don't want to ever 00:20:46.569 --> 00:20:51.170 steal the reward Of someone by giving them credit 00:20:51.170 --> 00:20:54.109 when their motives are pure and they just want 00:20:54.109 --> 00:20:57.769 to honor the Lord But there are so many of you 00:20:57.769 --> 00:21:01.769 that serve and give in ways that nobody else 00:21:01.769 --> 00:21:05.869 notices That nobody notices and I want you to 00:21:05.869 --> 00:21:11.700 know That I want to be more like you because 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:15.539 I see the heart of our Creator in you. Continue 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:17.960 to be careful, and I have no doubt that your 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:21.160 treasure, your reward in heaven will be immense. 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:24.480 It will be better than any applause that you 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.079 ever receive here on this earth. Which leads 00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:29.339 us to our final verse for this morning, the last 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:32.740 part of chapter, verse four. It says, and our 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:38.490 Father who sees in secret will reward you. Jesus 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:41.869 is saying your rewards will come later. Your 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:45.230 rewards will come later. And here's the deal. 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:52.730 When we give and forget, God remembers and rewards. 00:21:53.589 --> 00:21:57.269 When we give and forget, God remembers and rewards. 00:21:58.309 --> 00:22:02.069 How you and I do in the area of giving to those 00:22:02.069 --> 00:22:05.630 in need determines how we are going to be rewarded. 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:09.000 Now, we don't have time to fully develop this, 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.559 but let me be clear. Let me be real clear. We 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:20.779 are saved by grace alone and not by works. But 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:24.599 we'll be rewarded for our works once we are saved. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.740 We are saved by grace, not by works. But we will 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:32.279 be rewarded by our works after we are saved. 00:22:33.129 --> 00:22:38.369 God's rewards are worth waiting for. Some rewards 00:22:38.369 --> 00:22:41.410 are immediate, like the satisfaction of knowing 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:44.529 we are walking in His will, the joy of seeing 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:48.529 people saved, the encouragement of watching children 00:22:48.529 --> 00:22:51.640 being taught the Bible and coming to faith. And 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.019 we know that there are more rewards to come for 00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:56.519 the Christian who serves with good motives. Check 00:22:56.519 --> 00:22:58.400 out Paul's perspective in Second Timothy. He 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:00.779 says, now there is in store for me the crown 00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:03.099 of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:06.420 judge will award to me on that day and not only 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:09.799 to me, but also to the to to all who long for 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:15.559 his appearing. As you serve in secret, remember 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:18.279 that your father in heaven sees all that you're 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:22.380 doing. Now, I've learned this the hard way, but 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:25.900 probably the best part of serving the Lord, the 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:30.440 best part of my ministry are when I'm able to 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:34.940 do things that only he sees. It's the most rewarding 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:38.779 part. Mark 9 41 tells us that the supposedly 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:42.900 small things that we do are remembered and will 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:44.759 be rewarded. He says, I tell you the truth, anyone 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:47.890 who gives you a cup of water in my name. because 00:23:47.890 --> 00:23:50.250 you belong to Christ will certainly not lose 00:23:50.250 --> 00:23:55.369 his reward. When I was reading that text this 00:23:55.369 --> 00:24:00.450 week, I was thinking about you moms. You moms. 00:24:00.569 --> 00:24:03.250 That should give moms great encouragement because 00:24:03.250 --> 00:24:07.170 your days, your days are made up of a steady 00:24:07.170 --> 00:24:10.549 stream of simple acts of service and nobody probably 00:24:10.549 --> 00:24:15.960 notices it, at least in my household. That should 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:18.839 be a great amount of encouragement to those of 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:23.240 you who faithfully serve behind the scenes that 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:26.319 you have something to look forward to. Now did 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.839 you catch that word reward has been used three 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.680 times in four verses the first times in verse 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:34.039 one where we read that there will be no reward 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:36.960 if you're just doing things to be seen by others. 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:41.140 I want to be clear that word no literally means 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:46.180 absolutely not any. Absolutely not any. And then 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:48.460 verse 2, we're told that if we do nice things 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:51.599 just to be noticed, the only reward we will receive 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:55.559 will be some fleeting honor by people. And then 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:59.740 in verse 4, it says that that reward will be 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:03.440 remembered by our Father if we serve in secret 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.799 to others. Our rewards come from the person we 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:14.299 do it for. If we do them for people, then we're 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:15.660 going to get some recognition. Maybe you'll get 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:17.940 a nice plaque on the wall because you're employee 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:20.500 of the month or athlete of the year or whatever. 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:23.059 If you do it for people, that's going to be your 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:25.799 reward. But if we do it for God, we get so much 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:29.220 more. Hebrews chapter six says, God is not unjust. 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.400 He will not forget your work and the love you 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:34.279 have shown him as you have helped his people 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:38.039 and continue to help them. Years ago, I read 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:40.220 about a story of one of my favorite preachers, 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:44.650 Charles Spurgeon. He and his wife were called 00:25:44.650 --> 00:25:48.089 closed fisted, penny pinchers, tight wads, whatever 00:25:48.089 --> 00:25:50.549 phrase you want to use, because they sold all 00:25:50.549 --> 00:25:53.829 the eggs their chickens laid and wouldn't give 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:55.750 any away. They wouldn't just give you a dozen 00:25:55.750 --> 00:25:59.569 eggs just for fun. And because they always made 00:25:59.569 --> 00:26:03.490 a nice profit, rumors began to circulate that 00:26:03.490 --> 00:26:08.099 they were just greedy. They were selfish. The 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:10.880 Spurgeons, however, took the criticism graciously. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:14.400 The record showed that the, and the truth didn't 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.500 come out until Mrs. Spurgeon passed away, but 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:18.759 when they did, they realized that the record 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:21.460 showed that all of the profits that had ever 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:24.980 been made over those eggs were used to support 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:29.839 two needy elderly widows. Charles Spurgeon and 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:33.039 his wife had refused to defend themselves because 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:35.339 they didn't want to call attention to their giving 00:26:35.339 --> 00:26:38.319 and they knew that their reward was waiting for 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:43.319 them in heaven. Now here's a fun fact. I have 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:49.880 been cautioned by my wife to not paint anymore. 00:26:51.299 --> 00:26:54.319 I'm not very good at it. I really don't like 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.240 to take the time to make sure everything is covered 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:00.619 before I do it. I always like to think and I 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:02.099 always have it in my mind that I'm going to be 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:04.039 careful and I'm not going to get any paint on 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:05.880 the ground. I'll carry, you know, the paints, 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:07.759 you know, I'll have my hand over it in case any 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:12.599 drops and I fail every time. The last time I 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:15.839 actually remember painting without any sort of 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:19.039 supervision was before my son River was born. 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:22.980 Sina had been gone for a long weekend and I thought 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:24.920 I'm going to surprise my wife and I'm going to 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:27.339 paint what would have been or what would become 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:29.759 his nursery. So I went to the store, got what 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.400 I needed. I put tape on the walls because we're 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.839 going to do some vertical lines in different 00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:40.400 colors along the wall. So I got that done. But 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:42.779 that was about all the prep work I did. I got 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:45.119 the paint up there. I didn't tape any of the 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:46.660 edges around the wall. I didn't lay any drop 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:48.339 cloth down because I was going to be careful. 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:53.069 So I get all that done. The vertical lines are 00:27:53.069 --> 00:27:55.529 straight. The walls are covered. There's no former 00:27:55.529 --> 00:27:58.589 paint passing or seeping through. And I was so 00:27:58.589 --> 00:28:01.049 excited for when she got home so she could see 00:28:01.049 --> 00:28:03.910 the masterpiece that I just created. She's gonna 00:28:03.910 --> 00:28:06.549 be so proud of me. And when she got home, her 00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:09.529 eyes were drawn to the wall and she was happy. 00:28:11.089 --> 00:28:15.549 But then she started to look closer. There was 00:28:15.549 --> 00:28:19.029 a roller mark on the ceiling. There were paint 00:28:19.029 --> 00:28:21.529 drops all over the floor that I thought furniture 00:28:21.529 --> 00:28:27.690 would cover and didn't work. And she's never 00:28:27.690 --> 00:28:30.750 told me this, but I'm assuming that part of her 00:28:30.750 --> 00:28:32.950 was thinking, I wish you just would have waited 00:28:32.950 --> 00:28:36.690 till I got home. This mess wouldn't be here if 00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:39.990 you just waited till I got home. And that's what 00:28:39.990 --> 00:28:42.509 happens when we're not careful. That's what happens 00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:44.650 when we're not careful with our motivations and 00:28:44.650 --> 00:28:48.200 words. We might intend to paint something beautiful 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:52.319 like kindness or truth or love, but if our heart 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:56.319 doesn't take the time to be careful, if we're 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:59.759 driven by pride or haste instead of God, it makes 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:03.440 a mess. Proverbs 423 says, guard your heart. 00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:08.019 Guard your heart for everything you do flows 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:14.630 from it. Every word, every why. is like paint 00:29:14.630 --> 00:29:17.869 in your hands. As we close today, I want you 00:29:17.869 --> 00:29:23.630 to pause and feel the weight of this question. 00:29:25.869 --> 00:29:28.230 I want you to stop and just feel the weight of 00:29:28.230 --> 00:29:34.529 this question. What's driving you? What's driving 00:29:34.529 --> 00:29:38.289 you? Now, I don't want the polished answers that 00:29:38.289 --> 00:29:44.650 we give on Sunday mornings, but that raw, quiet 00:29:44.650 --> 00:29:48.269 truth that hums in your chest when it's just 00:29:48.269 --> 00:29:50.190 you and the Lord and you're not distracted by 00:29:50.190 --> 00:29:55.750 anything else. What is driving you? Is it love? 00:29:57.750 --> 00:30:05.329 Is it fear? Is it to hurt? Is it a hunger for 00:30:05.329 --> 00:30:08.670 more, more of God, more of His grace, more of 00:30:08.670 --> 00:30:12.960 His goodness, or is it something else? Is it 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:16.539 this nagging itch for approval, for control, 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:21.019 for making sure that your voice is heard, for 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:23.740 a crown that you can't even wear into eternity? 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:27.380 What is driving you? What's your motivation? 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:32.140 When I think about my motivations at times, I 00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.240 think of Jesus. And I just have this picture 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.680 in my head of him kneeling down in the garden, 00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:43.319 sweating. drops of blood to the earth, crying 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:49.680 out to his father, not my will, but yours. His 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:53.200 motivation wasn't glory, although that would 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:57.259 come eventually. It wasn't escape. He could have 00:30:57.259 --> 00:31:00.940 called legions of angels to come and rescue him. 00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:05.400 His motivation in that moment on his knees in 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:08.480 the garden, sweating drops of blood. His whole 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:12.980 motivation was us. It was you and it was me. 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:18.519 A love so fierce that it killed him. But yet 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:21.180 so pure that it changed our lives. And here we 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:24.640 are today, centuries later, removed from that 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:27.980 instance. And here we are still asking ourselves 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.839 and wrestling with what is our why. What's our 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:35.660 motivation? But here's the promise that stops 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:40.119 me cold. He sees my motives. He sees every single 00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:45.940 one of your motives, every tangled thread. And 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:48.279 he still doesn't turn away. He still doesn't 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:50.920 turn away. He takes that messy heart of ours 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:56.519 and says, hey, let me make that clean. Psalms 00:31:56.519 --> 00:32:01.819 51 whispers it. Create in me a clean heart, oh 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:08.920 God. Create in me a clean heart, oh God. I hope 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:14.019 that that is our prayer today. Not for perfection. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:20.420 but for a fire that burns for Him alone, a motivation 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:23.440 that doesn't flicker when we get applause and 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:25.819 then is extinguished when we haven't heard anything 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:29.220 for a while, but that we will burn with this 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:32.140 flame that burns steady because we have tasted 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:36.720 His mercy, because we understand who He is. So 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:40.039 as we close out our service this morning, don't 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:45.009 just carry that question, what drives me. But 00:32:45.009 --> 00:32:51.549 let it carry you dig deep Lay your wise At the 00:32:51.549 --> 00:32:55.430 altar and trust him with it. Let your prayer 00:32:55.430 --> 00:33:01.309 be God create in me a clean heart Help my motives 00:33:01.309 --> 00:33:08.650 be pure Let's pray Father I pray that as we close 00:33:08.650 --> 00:33:15.039 out our service That your Holy Spirit will move 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:22.859 powerfully in this place. That you will expose 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:33.000 what motivates us. So Father, I pray that you 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:35.960 will create in me a clean heart, a pure heart. 00:33:36.700 --> 00:33:40.819 Renew a right spirit within me. I pray the same 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:42.960 for each and every individual in this place. 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.640 That you will restore and you will renew and 00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:51.420 you will claim. God give us hearts that pursue 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:54.200 you and all that we do. Not to be seen by others, 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:57.200 not for applause, not for recognition, that you 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:02.839 will create in us a clean heart. Where all of 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:05.400 our motivations are pure. All of our motivations 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:09.679 honor you. Whether we ever get recognition or 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.800 not So I pray father that you'll move in this 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:15.840 place we ask all these things in Jesus name Amen 00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:18.599 Hey, my name is Daniel Reese and I get to serve 00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:21.079 here as lead pastor of cornerstone and Eldridge 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:23.380 and I want to personally invite you to one of 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:27.380 our worship services either at 815 or 1045 on 00:34:27.380 --> 00:34:29.820 Sunday mornings But we also want to get to know 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:32.760 you and your family better And so we hope that 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:34.960 you would join us for any of our Bible classes 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:38.369 from birth through high school or even our adult 00:34:38.369 --> 00:34:40.949 classes where we'll get into more practical ways 00:34:40.949 --> 00:34:44.050 of how to live out our Christian faith. We would 00:34:44.050 --> 00:34:46.250 love to meet you and hope you will join us on 00:34:46.250 --> 00:34:46.829 a Sunday morning.