As the choir comes down, if you would open the scriptures to Matthew chapter 6.
Our text this morning will be found in the first four verses.
Matthew writing, Jesus speaking, says, take heed, beware, that you do not do your charitable
deeds before men to be seen by them, otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, and specifically it's talking about the giving
of offerings and alms, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets that they may have glory from men.
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand
is doing.
That your charitable deed may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will
himself reward you openly.
Let's pray.
Father, the text this morning is very clear.
Lord, we hear the words of our Lord.
Lord, you desire truth in the inner man.
Father, that what we do is not for the acclaim and praise of men, but Lord, for the smile
of our Father in heaven.
God, would you help us this morning, Lord, to understand ways that we have fallen short.
Lord, that we would even cast ourself upon your mercy.
And Lord, God, that we would live our lives worthy of the gospel to which we have been
called.
Lord, we need your help this morning.
We need your spirit.
And you have promised to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
And so, Father, that's what I'm doing this morning.
I ask for him.
I ask for aid.
I ask for help and for empowerment.
And I pray, God, that you would grant this request in Jesus' name.
Amen.
There's a story that appeared in Chaplain Magazine about Charles Spurgeon and his wife.
They raised chickens and then they would sell the eggs and refused to give any of the eggs
away.
Apparently, even close relatives came to them and they were told, well, you can have them,
but you have to purchase them.
And when this was found out, many people began to criticize and label the Spurgeons as greedy.
Yet neither Spurgeon nor his wife ever defended themselves.
But they did not feel compelled to offer any explanation either.
But the full story was not actually revealed until after Mrs. Spurgeon died.
And at that point, it was revealed the reason they sold the eggs is because all the prophets
went to support two elderly widows in their town.
But Spurgeon nor his wife, they never told anyone.
They never let anyone know about their charity because they were unwilling to let their left
hand know what their right hand was doing according to Matthew chapter 6 verse 3.
And so what happened?
They simply endured these attacks silently.
And I think that's really a great illustration of the point that our Lord is driving home
in our text this morning.
Now, we start a new chapter, Matthew 6, and here Jesus is going to focus on how we behave,
especially in regards to our religious life.
Now, his central thesis, his central point is not hard to pick up.
It's simply that this, you and I should practice our righteousness, our good deeds, so that
God sees us and not be concerned with anyone else.
So basically, he's warning his disciples about hypocrisy in religion.
Now, in Judaism, there were three main pillars on which the religious life was built.
The giving of alms, the offering of prayers, and fasting.
Almsgiving is the way we relate it to others.
It's our charity, if you will.
Prayer is the way we relate to God, particularly the Father, to whom our prayers are addressed.
And fasting is the way we relate to oneself in discipline.
And those are the three aspects of religious life that Christ is going to focus on.
And you're going to see this next week when we look at prayer, then the following, I don't
know if we'll do it the following week or not, but we'll look at fasting.
Now see, we have to understand our Lord was not against any of those things.
In fact, Jesus would consider all them good and even necessary.
His disciples should give.
The disciples of Christ should pray.
And the disciples of Christ should fast.
But what we are going to see in this text this morning, he is opposed to these good
things being done from an impure motive.
So what is our motive?
True piety is concerned with God and God alone.
So he's going to, once again, make a contrast.
There's the religious life of his disciples, and there's the religious life of the scribes
and Pharisees who were the leading religious officials.
And much of what these religious leaders did was simply to be seen by men rather than praised
by God.
They were looking for outwardly.
They were looking horizontally, if you will.
Their eyes were not on God at all, but on those who would be watching them.
Now some theologians, they see a contradiction between chapter 6 verse 1 where it says, take
heed, you don't do your charitable deeds before men, and chapter 5 verse 16 where it says,
let your light so shine before men that they, the good, the men might see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.
I mean, is this a contradiction?
No, there's no conflict at all because what our Lord is condemning in chapter 6 is ostentatious.
This ostentation, this ostentatious, this flamboyant seeking to bring attention to oneself.
That is what he is warning against.
Because listen, church, your life as a disciple of Christ is naturally and correctly public.
People ought to know that you are a disciple of Christ.
I mean, it shouldn't be like a surprise.
You mean John Doe, he's a Christian?
Wow, I never would have thought that.
Now we may not like the term religious.
None of us do.
It's used pejoratively in our culture.
However, I would say this.
Those who are lost ought to think of us, Christians, as religious, God-fearing people.
Yet that does not give us the right to seek to bring attention to ourselves in our religious
devotion and practice.
See, there's a great difference between living your life in a public way that is godly, which
is all of us are called to do, and seeking to make a name for ourselves based on how
godly we supposedly are.
Do you see?
We ought to be known as godly, but you ought not to be concerned that people know you as
godly if you would say it that way.
Now the Pharisees, here's what was the problem with them.
The Pharisees wanted to put on a show.
They wanted, they really hoped that others would notice how righteous they were.
They wanted the esteem of men.
They wanted to be exalted in the eyes of other people.
And Jesus saw clearly through this, he looks upon the heart, he saw the third motivation
was not to please God, but rather garner attention to themselves, and in fact they were in a
glory war.
Who's going to get the glory?
The Pharisees or God?
See, they wanted glory for themselves.
All that people would speak their name highly, that people would hold them in high esteem,
rather than having the single-minded devotion of seeking to bring glory to God alone.
Now in our text today, Jesus looks to his followers.
Now the religious leaders are there listening to him.
So this is really a secondary attack on them.
But he's talking to his followers and he says, now you take heed.
Now listen, when the son of God says beware of something, we ought to beware.
He says take heed, pay attention to yourself, be cautious about what I'm getting ready
to say.
So there's a warning about the way that we give, the way we give to the Lord, and the
way that we give to others in need.
Now let me just say this, it is assumed that the disciples of Christ will give.
It's assumed.
If because you will give to support the church, and you're also going to give to charity,
to help brothers and sisters in need.
In fact, if you don't give, it is a sign that you are in trouble spiritually.
Now I say that because you will always give to what is important to you.
Look at your money, and look at your time, and now you'll find your God.
Where you spend your money on and where you spend your time on, that's what you're serving.
Now people give much money, and they do it all the time.
We see people paying a lot of money for private music lessons, private sports lessons, traveling
for ball.
Why, it's a priority to them.
Spend a lot of money on those things.
The assumption then for God's people is that they're also going to give to support the
work of God and take care of God's people because it is important to them.
It is a priority.
So it is important to note though something.
Now look at the text again.
Our Lord never said you cannot give in front of men.
He didn't say that.
The warning is to take heed, be careful that you're not doing it in order to be seen by
men.
The focus is not on the act, it's on the motive.
Take heed that you don't do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them.
Desiring to be seen by men, the others are going to notice how pious you are.
Again, I think this is a person that just is itching for commendation.
Now that word to be seen is a really interesting word.
Theaomai in Greek.
Theaomai, if you can look at it, you can see the first three letters there.
This is the word from which we get our word theater, theaomai.
And it literally means to be seen, to be put on a stage.
So when you do any religious work, in this case giving, desiring, hoping to be seen by
others, your giving becomes a theatrical performance.
And that's exactly what the Pharisees and scribes were doing.
They were in essence putting on a play in front of other people so that others would
see them and applaud them for their devotion.
Do you see the rife hypocrisy?
They're not giving to please God.
Theirs was a performance designed to make an impression on the people who are watching
them.
That's what they wanted.
And this type of giving will never be approved by God.
In fact, Christ tells his disciples, you must be concerned and you must take peace in that
God knows and God sees.
You and I live with an eye towards God, not with an eye towards others.
Now I would say if you would have asked the scribes and Pharisees of that day, they would
have agreed with Jesus in theory.
Of course they would have said, you need to be concerned with what God thinks.
But they did not live accordingly.
And friends, you and I can do the same.
We can give lip service to this.
Of course all of us would agree it is more important that God sees what we are doing
rather than man sees what we are doing.
How many people still court public approval?
They want to receive the applause of men.
There are some people who will post their good deeds on social media hoping for likes
and comments.
I'm not saying everyone who does it, I don't know.
I'm just saying we have to, Jesus has taken key to yourself.
Why are you doing what you are doing?
That which is done to please men will never ever receive God's accommodation or reward.
Commendation let's say.
You have no reward from your Father in heaven.
It's a strong statement and it comes from the Son of God.
There is no reward for that.
Spurgeon says it well.
You cannot expect to be paid twice if therefore you take your reward in the applause of men
who give you a high character for generosity.
You cannot expect to have any reward from God.
We ought to have a single eye to God's accepting what we give and to have little or no thought
of what man may say concerning our charitable gifts.
Amen.
Be content.
God knows, God sees regardless if man ever does.
Because when we are wanting the commendation of men or wanting the recognition that comes
from man, church that reveals a heart that is full of pride.
The deadly sin of pride.
The cancerous sin of pride.
When you want others to notice how pious you are or whether you give or whether you pray
or whether you attend, all those things.
This is the man who is not satisfied that God knows.
He wants the rest of the world to know also.
And Jesus said to man take heed there.
You better be on guard.
And it's a real temptation.
So there is a hypocritical giving.
Look at verse 2.
Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, when you give your alms, don't sound a trumpet
before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets so that they may have glory
for men.
He said, assuredly, I'm telling you right now.
That's the reward.
Now he says don't be like the hypocrites.
We use the word hypocrite and we know what we mean.
But the word originally, it's hu-pock-rit-ace and it literally meant a stage actor.
The word, so it's an actor on a stage.
So hu-pock-rit-ace, it was used to describe one, because he's a stage actor, they would
often wear masks.
That's what the hypocrite was.
So later it became to be used as a pretender.
Someone who is metaphorically wearing a mask.
You're pretending to be something or someone that you are not.
A hypocrite is like a clean glove that's hiding a dirty hand.
It pretends to be good, but in fact it is evil.
One of the criticisms of the church, and you hear this a lot, and it's brained about all
the time, is that the church is full of hypocrites.
And let's be honest, the church has always had hypocrites in our midst and she always
will.
There will always be weed among tares, or tares among weed I should say.
We have the supreme hypocrite of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord with a kiss.
In the book of Acts, we have Ananias and Sapphira who sold some land and reportedly gave all
the proceeds to the church, but they lied.
They kept back some and it cost them their lives.
Throughout the Old Testament, you cannot go very far without reading there were hypocritical
worshipers of God.
The Old Testament hypocrites, they thought they were fine as long as they went through
religious motions and the religious rites, then somehow they are pleasing to God.
But God was weary of it.
He has never desired mere external compliance, but rather inward delight.
Amos 5, I hate, I despise your feast days.
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies, that's the gathering.
Though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor
will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
Take away from me the noise of your songs.
They're singing to you.
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments, but let justice run down like
water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
See the problem was the people, religious, they were not living righteously.
They were living unrighteously, yet they still went to the temple, they still offered their
sacrifices, they still sang the praises to Jehovah, and God says, I hate it all.
Stop it.
You weary me.
You make me tired.
Because any religious activity that is not accompanied by a righteous living, an inner
heart desire, is an abomination to God.
See God is not pleased.
In this case, religious exercise simply becomes a way that you can soothe your conscience.
Today there are many people who try to soothe their conscience in a hypocritical way.
Oh, they're not living righteously, but they'll write a check to the church.
Oh, they're not living righteously, but they will give to charity.
They're not living righteously, but they will attend the services.
And they assume somehow that that's going to pay God off or please God by their actions.
God says he hates it.
Isaiah chapter one, he says, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?
Says the Lord, I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats.
When you come to appear before me, who has required this from your hand to trample my
courts?
Bring no more feudal sacrifices.
Incense is an abomination to me.
The new moons and Sabbath and the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure iniquity in
the sacred meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates.
They're a trouble to me.
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands to pray, I will hide my eyes from you.
Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear what your hands are full of blood.
What's the answer?
Wash yourselves.
Make yourselves clean.
Let away the evil of your doings from before my eyes.
Cease to do evil.
And he's talking to religious people.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Rebuke the oppressor.
Defend the fatherless.
Plead for the widows.
Look out for the poor and marginalize.
Let justice fall.
And he knows he's speaking to a wicked people and he offers this gracious invitation.
Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Do you see what was taking place?
They were honoring God with their lips and their hearts were far from him.
And this is the same indictment that Jesus is making in Matthew 6 concerning the hypocrisy
of the scribes and Pharisees, the leading religious officials.
They were hypocrites.
The Puritan Thomas Watson, he writes about hypocrites.
He said, they desire not the way of righteousness, but they do desire the crown of righteousness.
He doesn't want to be made like Christ, but he wants to reign with Christ.
He wants heaven, but he also wants to keep his pride and covetousness.
As Arthur Pink says, hypocrites want a savior from hell, but they do not want a savior from
their sin.
Hypocrisy is subtle, church.
This is why Jesus talking to his followers says, take heed.
Beware.
It is very dangerous.
And the danger is because it allows something that appears to be good, charitable giving,
giving to the Lord to be used as an evil.
Again, I want you to notice friends, when you do a charitable deed, verse 2, it's when,
it's not if.
It's always expected the disciples of Christ, the followers of God will be generous charitable
people both to the Lord's work and to poor people.
Billy Graham says, God has given us two hands, one to receive with, the other to give with.
You and I are not cisterns made for hoarding.
We are channels made for sharing.
And our selfish generation needs to hear that.
And by the way, a younger demographic needs to hear that.
The most generous people are not the younger people who are in the prime of their careers.
It's all about themselves.
God help you.
That's hypocrisy, friends.
And I say that as lovingly as I can, this is going to fall under the scrutiny of God
Himself.
One of the ways we give to the Lord though, we do give, how?
We give tithes, we give offerings.
Secondly, we also give to those in need.
And let me say this, Christians ought to do both.
We give to fund the Lord's work and we also give to our brothers and sisters who need
help.
And who's our neighbor?
It's not just Lawrence County.
It's believers throughout the world in this kingdom.
John McCarthy had a good quote that helped me.
He said, never in the history of the church have Christians been so bombarded with appeals
to give money, many of them to legitimate and worthwhile causes.
Right now we're in Christmas season.
Your mailbox is going to be inundated if you've ever given to any religious charity.
They're all going to be asking for end of the year donations.
Knowing how and where to give is sometimes extremely difficult.
Christians are to give regularly and systematically to the work of their local church.
First Corinthians 16, 2.
Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store as God has
promised for him that there'll be no gatherings when it come.
That you and I are also called to give directly to those in need when we have the opportunity
to do so and the ability.
But the Old New Testament's make it clear that willing, generous giving has always characterized
the faithful people of God.
It's true.
Why?
Because that's how our God has been to us.
As God has been to us, so must we be to other people.
How was God to us?
You're like, what do you mean?
How has God been so generous?
Second Corinthians 8, 9.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake,
that's for us, he became poor.
You and I through his poverty might become rich.
Wow.
Jesus, you're talking about being rich?
I mean, we're talking about richness that no one knows, including Bill Gates or Jeff
Bezos.
He willingly impoverished himself so that you and I, the people of God, might be enriched.
That's the same spirit that was in Christ.
It's the same spirit that now lives in his people.
So this is what I do know, the people of God will be a generous people because God is a
generous God.
But he's also very concerned with the poor among us.
Very concerned.
We have to meet needs.
John asks a question.
He says, but whoever has this world's goods, 1 John 3, and sees his brother in need and
shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God invite him?
He said, my little children, we need to love not just in word or tongue, not just in what
you say, but in deed and in truth.
You meet the needs of the poor brothers.
And we have a responsibility to do that.
And we've got poor brothers in third world countries and developing countries that don't
have enough to eat.
So John and I, we need to meet those needs.
Now obviously you have to meet the needs of your family first.
But we have a responsibility.
We're a generous people.
God takes giving so seriously that he says, if you lend to the poor, now listen to this,
this is amazing.
He considers it almost like you're giving a loan to him.
You're like, how could you ever loan God?
It's not my word.
Look at Proverbs 19, 17.
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and that which he has given will the Lord
pay back.
I know I just messed that verse up.
I was quoting King James and you see the new King James there.
He whoever has pity on the Lord lends to the Lord and that which he's given, the Lord will
pay back.
During the time of Jesus, now understand how they did their giving.
You and I, we have one collection plate here.
Now before COVID, we used to pass the plate.
After COVID, we've not done it.
So it's been so long that many of us don't remember how it was done.
There used to be a box back in the foyer for a collection box.
And that's how it was done for a long time.
But at the time of Jesus in the temple, there were these large collection boxes that were
there in front of the temple and they were used to collect offerings.
That's why you remember the widow put her two mites in.
Jesus and his disciples could see it.
Now there were certain appointed temple officers who would go and they would collect the offering
from the boxes and later they would go amongst the poor of the town and distribute the money.
But the scribes and Pharisees, no, no, no, no, no.
They wanted the attention from others.
So in order to get other people to see how much they were giving, and by the way, the
scribes were a very rich class, they would not put their money in the boxes.
They would put their money at the door of the temple or the synagogue instead of in
the collection box.
Or they would just take their money personally.
They would never give it to the temple.
They would just go amongst the street distributing the money themselves as they were walking.
Well, who's getting the glory there?
Jesus said they're hypocrites.
He said, you're not concerned for the poor, but for the glory of man.
That's what they loved.
Just like remember Judas, he was a treasure and he says, hey, why was this flask broken
and not sold and given to the poor?
And the caption says not that he cared for the poor because he was a thief and already
had his hand in the money bag basically.
See, the hypocrisy.
And this is exactly what was taking place here.
So these men, very wealthy, giving to gain the admiration of others who would notice
how much they gave.
And what should have been a good deed has now become sin in their lives.
As I think about this, I think it is a test of our worship.
Are you okay if no one ever knows what you do, where you serve, or how much you give
except God?
Now again, I'm not saying that no one can ever know that you give or even how much.
The point the Lord is making is don't sound a trumpet like the hypocrites do.
And the sound of trumpet, some people say that was a little trumpet because there was
times the trumpets were blown for worship.
I think the Lord is speaking metaphorically.
It's kind of like we're saying don't toot your own horn.
Listen, don't call attention to yourself because there have been times, and I think this is
wonderful, in private conversations, I have church members from this blessed church come
up to me and say, hey, pastor, is there any missionary or any person that's in need of
this church we would like to give?
And they don't tell me how much, but could you help us direct it to where it would go
to a needy cause?
The Lord's not against that.
That's a great way.
Or, I'm going to say this, if you write a check to the church, the financial secretary,
not I, she's going to record it and deposit the check.
She's going to know how much you give.
If you do a charitable deduction giving statement on your taxes, the IRS is going to know how
much you give.
None of that is what our Lord is prohibiting.
He's not saying that.
But here's what he is prohibiting.
If you give so that, people know how much.
That's what he's warning against.
The rebuke is against an impure motive.
They want it to be seen by men.
Sometimes people will see you.
Just make it sure it's not your aim that they do.
Now look at the second part.
He said, their reward is the glory that man can give.
How sad.
You want man's praise?
Well, you have it, but you get nothing from God except his rebuke.
It's a fleeting, shallow glory.
So why do you and I give?
For the glory of God, not for any glory that can come from man.
So then how do you and I give?
Well, there's a righteous giving.
Look at the last two verses.
But when you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that
your giving may be in secret.
And your father who sees in secret will himself, I love that, will himself reward you openly.
When you give, whether to the church or to charity or to both, it ought to be done as
discreetly as possible.
And leave the recognition to God.
He says, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Again, he's speaking with intended exaggeration for effect.
He's speaking metaphorically here.
But I want you to notice the contrast.
What did the hypocrites do?
They blew a trumpet publicly.
It says, in the synagogues and in the streets, and our Lord says, no, no, no, no, no.
Here's what I want you to do.
Your giving, let it be so private that if it were even possible, you don't even let
yourself know.
And I know that sounds crazy, doesn't it?
It's a metaphor.
The true child of God gives with the goal of pleasing our Father and the satisfaction
knowing that he sees and that's enough.
Now look at the promise in verse four.
The Father sees your giving in secret.
He's going to reward you openly.
It's enough.
God knows, God sees.
If you give secretly and you say, well, no one knows it, let me assure you, there is
someone who knows it because God knows what is done in secret, always.
So why do you and I give?
Out of obedient, grateful hearts.
But Jesus would tell his people, leave the bookkeeping to God.
God will reward you openly.
Now I am not told and we are not told when that open reward will come nor what it will
be.
We are simply told it's going to come.
Now some say, well, listen, pastor, you should not seek to serve the Lord for any reward
in life.
That virtue itself is its own reward.
Well now that sounds good and that sounds pious, except it goes against what our Lord
says here.
He promises three times that his Father in heaven will see what you're doing secretly
and reward you openly.
Verse four, verse six, verse 18.
Verse four, giving, verse six, praying, verse 18, fasting.
The right type of giving, the right type of praying, the right type of fasting will come
with a reward from God.
And again, I don't know what the reward consists of and I don't know when God will give it,
but we can rest assured that God always, always, always keeps his promises.
But let me tell you what the reward is not.
This I do know.
The reward for fasting and praying and giving is not salvation nor entrance into the kingdom
of God.
It's not.
During the time of Christ, there was a lot of poor teaching and confusion concerning
charitable giving.
And this is where it really gone downhill quickly.
Many rabbis taught that almsgiving, giving to the poor, could atone for sin.
But there's an apocryphal book, the Wisdom of Sirach, this is not inspired, but people
read it.
It was used.
Wisdom of Sirach, chapter three, verse 30 says this, as water will quench a flaming
fire so charity will atone for sin.
Now that's heresy.
That's not true.
Some others taught that almsgiving will deliver from hell and can make one perfectly righteous.
So you know what began to happen in the Jewish culture?
They came to believe it would be easier for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven
because he had more to give to charity.
That's why they started to esteem.
They said, so when Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
for a rich man in their kingdom, they're like, well, who can be saved?
Why did they say that?
They're products of their culture.
If you give a lot, it was expected that you would certainly make it into heaven because
people began to see salvation as a financial transaction.
The more you give, the greater your chances of making it into the kingdom.
But here's the truth.
There is not any amount of money that can ever atone for sin.
There are not enough good deeds and not enough alms to be given that can ever atone for your
sin.
It's an impossibility.
You can't do enough.
You can't give enough.
You can't be good enough to rescue yourself from hell.
It's an impossibility.
Well, how can I ever be saved?
The good news is only by the precious blood of the spotless lamb of God.
It alone atones for sin.
First Peter 1, knowing, you need to know this church, you were not redeemed with corruptible
things like silver or gold.
Why is he saying that?
Because some people thought they were redeemed with silver and gold.
You are not redeemed with those corruptible things from your aimless conduct received
by traditions from your fathers.
Well, how were you redeemed then?
With the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
So what's the bottom line in all this?
The scribes and Pharisees, the ones who are supposed to be leading people to God, they
were in a war with God.
They wanted the glory, the esteem, and the accolades of the people.
They wanted to be seen as a somebody and held in high honor.
That's what they were driving at.
Their eyes were always horizontal, looking to their fellow man to make sure that man
noticed what they were doing.
And our Lord comes on the scene, the divine Son of God.
He's the true crown prince of heaven.
And he always had his eye vertical, looking to his father for his approval.
This is why our Lord never tries to make himself to be a somebody.
He never tries to make a name for himself.
Rather, he to whom all the glory in the cosmos is owed, he has all the glory that belongs
to him.
We read that he humbled himself and made himself of no reputation.
No name.
Philippians 2.
Jesus, who being in the form of God, he was God, did not consider robbery to be equal
with God.
He didn't hold on to his divine status.
But he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, that's a slave,
doulas, and coming in the likeness of man and being found in appearance as a man.
He took on our nature.
He was born in flesh.
God, Jesus, humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the
cross.
Praise be to God.
You and I are in the season of Advent, where we celebrate the greatest gift that God could
ever give to mankind.
It's the unspeakable gift of his Son.
This is incredible.
This is grace.
This is true glory.
We celebrate the riches of God's grace in that he sent us Christ, the one who would
offer his own body as a sacrifice that would redeem his sinful people.
Friends, this is what the scriptures tell us.
You and I have been redeemed by the rich king who impoverished himself.
He made himself poor so that we, his very, very poor people, might be enriched.
And after we have come to Christ, that same generous spirit now lives in us.
And we do it for an audience of one, for God himself.
I close with this quote from Spurgeon.
He says, let us hide away our charity.
That's what he and his wife did when they sold eggs.
Hide it, yes, hide it even from ourselves.
Give so often and so much as a matter of course that you no more take note that you have helped
the poor than you have eaten your regular meals.
He said, you probably don't even take notice of what you're eating.
You just do it.
That ought to be how often you're giving.
Do your alms without even whispering to yourself, how generous I am.
Do not thus attempt to reward yourself.
Leave the matter with God, who never fails to see, to record, and to reward.
Thus is the man who is busy and secret with his kindness.
Amen.
This is what our Lord was driving at in Matthew 6.
All friends, we have a great God.
He took notice of us in our pitiable condition.
When we are lost without God having no hope in the world, in the fullness of time, I send
the son.
And he sends a son who will redeem us at the high cost of his own life with the precious
blood that he would offer.
He rose again.
He ascended into heaven.
He is crowned as now the King of Heaven.
And you and I get to have fellowship with this King today as the Spirit of God lifts
us up with our Lord, because we are seated with him in the heavenly places, and we do
so at the meal that God has designed.
Let us commune with this King who is rich and made himself poor so that we, his poor
people, might be made rich.
What a glorious God.
Let us prepare our hearts for communion at this time.
Father, thank you for your word.
It is absolutely breathtaking, Lord, if we would stop to examine it.
And Father, we also, Lord.