Good morning. My name is Billy Nye. I have the privilege to be on staff here at Christ the King Church,
and it's my joy to open the word with you this morning.
Well, if you didn't know already, let me tell you now, human beings are odd.
We're an odd bunch.
There are lots of things that make us odd.
I think the very fact that SpongeBob SquarePants is not only a product of human creativity but also a popular TV show,
that says something about how odd we are.
I'm sorry if you're a fan. I never was.
But here's another reason we're an odd group.
We do all sorts of good things, which on the outside appear to be virtuous and right and even God-pleasing,
but we do them for the wrong reasons.
And we start young, too.
I'm glad my daughter just left because I'm about to talk about her.
One of my children, I will not name names, is prone to doing this.
This is how she does it.
She will often sweetly, with a very sweet tone, share a toy with her brother.
Here, Zaya, you want this toy, don't you?
Would you like to have this toy?
And on the surface, it looks like she is doing the right thing.
But that sweet gesture is totally ruined when it becomes very apparent that she's sharing that toy
in order for him to drop the toy that she really wants so that she can get what she was after all along.
Right thing, right deed, wrong reason.
So today, brothers and sisters, Jesus has some strong words of warning for us.
Our master Jesus knows what is best for us.
He also knows us really well.
And he knows that a heart that has mixed motives is not what is best for us.
He is after something else, something far better for us.
So would you turn with me to Matthew 6?
We're going to read the first four verses of Matthew 6.
We actually will start up in the last verse of chapter 5.
As you turn there, let me just give you the context.
If you haven't been here recently, you may not know, but we're in the middle of a series on the Sermon on the Mount.
Pastor Mike has been leading us through several parts of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is bringing a hammer down again and again and again and again,
clarifying for us the heart behind God's holy law.
That it was revealed in the Old Testament.
And he shows us again and again and again that he is after our full, wholehearted obedience to God's perfect holiness,
not just our obedience to the surface.
So now, let's hear in Matthew 6 how Jesus is going to continue to call us into our Father's holy perfection,
but he's going to do it in a slightly different area of our lives.
So let's read.
I'll start in verse 48 of chapter 5.
Let's read from God's holy word.
Verse 49.
As we saw last week and for the past month or two,
Jesus has been calling us to a full-on imitation of his Father's infinite holiness.
Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
But now Jesus is turning a corner.
He's going to call us to that same imitation of God's perfect holiness,
but in another area of our lives that might surprise us.
In our acts of devotion and service to God.
That's right.
Our spiritual disciplines, our godly habits, our good deeds of righteous living,
these are all the right things that Christians are called to do.
But even these things, and perhaps especially these things,
are in danger.
They are in danger of being done for the wrong reason.
Because of the deceptiveness of our sinful hearts.
So in this passage, Jesus is telling his kingdom citizens
to perform their acts of devotion with only one holy aim,
to please their heavenly Father.
That's it.
No mixed motives.
So we are to do all of our acts of godliness,
whether giving, prayer, fasting, Bible reading, singing, songs of worship,
all of them with one holy aim,
and that is to please our heavenly Father, nothing else.
This is the principle that we see in verse 1.
I'll expound it in just a second.
We're also going to see that there's a practice of this principle
that's being spelled out,
particularly with regard to our acts of generosity.
So we've got a principle laid out.
We see the practice of it with generosity.
But then we're going to step back,
and we're going to see that there's a problem.
And then lastly, we're going to see a promise
that God is making to us as we step into obedience to this principle.
So four Ps, principle, practice, problem, promise.
First, let's unpack the principle.
Look with me at verse 1 again.
Prepositions, they're important.
Look with me at verse 1.
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people
in order to be seen by them,
for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Let's get one thing straight from the get-go.
Jesus is not saying,
don't do acts of righteousness in front of other people.
This would be impossible
because we pray at the dinner table in front of our family.
We read our Bible in the school cafeteria.
We raise our hands in public worship.
We place a check in the offering plate as it goes by.
We read scripture out loud for a small group.
We serve at the Sunday morning breakfast.
We paint the 1962 edition on your day off.
Thank you all for all of you who are painting.
Our works of righteousness are inevitably public.
That's just life.
But it's not just life.
It's also God's design.
Look back with me to chapter 5, verse 16.
Jesus telling his disciples,
you're the light of the world.
You're the salt of the earth.
So because you're the light of the world,
in the same way,
let your light shine before others
so that they may see your good works.
They're supposed to be public.
But here's the reason.
So they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
So our righteousness is to be on public display
in such a way
that those who see our works of righteousness,
our works of devotion to the Father,
would be able to turn their eyes from us
and give glory to our Father
because it's reflecting His infinite holiness.
So yes, our right actions,
our good deeds are to be done
in front of others.
That's inevitable.
And it's God's design.
But Jesus is not talking about
just the surface level here.
He is going beneath.
And He is getting to the heart level.
The key of this principle is in the phrase,
in order to be seen by them.
Man, Jesus knows us, doesn't He?
He knows that in and of ourselves,
as soon as our desperately sick hearts
sense that we're doing something good,
we will start looking for an audience.
And then we will be doing the right things
for the wrong reason.
Have you ever sensed this in yourself?
Ever catch yourself thinking this
when you're praying out loud at a small group
thinking,
boy, that sounded pretty spiritual.
I hope they take notice of that.
We laugh because we know it's true, right?
Or have you ever had this wonder
through your mind
when you're lifting your hands in praise
and you're like,
I must look pretty devoted to God right now.
Or have you ever let drop a hint of your godliness
in a conversation?
Maybe you're really sincerely trying to help a brother
or sister by telling them something
to encourage you from God's Word that week,
but you're really kind of hoping at the same time
that they notice that you were reading God's Word that week.
That's why Jesus tells us to watch out.
In the words of one commentator,
as soon as Jesus gives the command,
be perfect,
he turns right around and tells us,
be careful.
He knows that as soon as we begin pursuing the perfection
of our Father's holiness,
we will be tempted to hijack that pursuit of holiness
and put it to use in the service of self,
not in the service of God.
Jesus is not naive.
He knows how easily we can deceive ourselves.
He knows that we can deceive ourselves
into thinking we're doing the right thing
out of devotion for God
when we're really doing it
at the same time
to build our own ego
and serve our reputation.
He knows how we like to hijack
the right things of the kingdom of God
and use them to build the kingdom of self.
Jesus knows how easily we do this
and he knows how bad it is for us.
Look at the last part of verse 1.
For then,
you will have no reward
from your Father who is in heaven.
And it is our Father's reward
that is to be our only motivation
as we practice our righteousness.
More on that reward a little bit later
when we get to the promise.
So, what's the principle?
All of our acts of devotion to God.
Giving generously,
praying faithfully,
reading scripture deeply,
singing with joy on a Sunday morning,
serving others with your gifts,
all of it is to be done
for one reason and one reason only,
to please your Heavenly Father.
That's the principle.
Now, let's look at the practice
of that principle
as it's applied to our acts of generosity.
Let's look at verses 2 through 4.
Thus, when you give to the needy,
sound no trumpet before you
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets,
that they may be praised by others.
Truly, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give to the needy,
do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing,
and so that your giving may be in secret
and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.
So, here's the practice
of that principle in a nutshell.
It is important to Jesus
that we give generously to the needy
and it is equally important
how and why we give generously
to the needy.
Back in Jesus' day,
as well as in our day,
generosity is a pillar
of a godly life.
The Bible has a lot to say
about our money and our resources.
I recently read 2 Corinthians 8
in my devotions
where Paul was encouraging the Corinthians
to consider the way
that Christ has acted generously toward them
as a motivation to give generously.
There was a collection going up
for the needy brothers and sisters
in Jerusalem
and he was appealing
to the Corinthians' experience
of God's grace on their behalf,
God dealing generously with them.
So, he says,
For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ
that though he was rich,
yet for your sake,
he became poor
so that by his poverty
you might become rich.
That's the foundation
of Christian generosity.
Christ has been so generous to us.
And so,
it's natural
that we give generously
and cheerfully
to others who are in need
because our Father
has acted so generously toward us.
But Jesus knows
that as soon as he calls us
to imitate his generosity,
the deception of our hearts
will pervert
that right act of generosity
to give for the wrong reason.
So, in verse 2,
he's saying,
don't call attention to yourselves.
Don't try to get glory
for yourselves.
He tells his disciples
not to sound a trumpet
before them
when they're being generous.
That's what the hypocrites do.
There's no historical evidence
that any Jews
actually blew trumpets
as they sought to give
to the needy.
Jesus is using extreme language
to paint a picture
of how absurd it is
to call attention
to our good deeds.
It's like you're blowing
a trumpet in the streets,
blowing a trumpet
in the synagogue,
saying,
look at me,
tooting your horn.
And what's the reason
these hypocrites
are tooting their horn?
That they may be praised
by others.
The original language
is even more damning.
That they may be glorified
by others.
Yikes.
I thought Jesus made it
pretty clear
in verse 16 of chapter 5,
let your light so shine
before others
that they may see
your good works
and give glory to you.
Give glory to your Father
who is in heaven.
That glory belongs to God.
But in seeking
to call attention
to their generosity,
they're seeking
to get glory for themselves.
They're becoming
glory stealers.
Because deep
in their sinful hearts,
these hypocrites
desperately desire
the exaltation of self
above the exaltation
of God.
It's like the moon
refusing to acknowledge
that its light
is only a reflected glory
from the sun.
The moon was made
to reflect the sun's glory,
not steal it for itself.
We were made
to reflect God's glory
to others,
not steal it
for ourselves.
And so Jesus
at the end of verse 2
tells the glory stealers
that they will get
what they want.
That's all they'll get.
Truly I say to you,
they have received
their reward.
They are paid in full.
They want a few heads
to turn.
They'll probably get it.
If you want to
subtly establish
a reputation
as a godly person
by stealing God's glory
through your
public acts
of generosity,
then you might get that.
That's all you'll get.
That word hypocrites
comes from the Greek literature
for an actor
on a stage.
As one commentator
puts it,
all that actors get
is the applause
of a fickle crowd.
Nothing more.
So,
what do we do now?
How do we not
be like that?
Well,
Jesus turns
and gives his disciples
some advice
about how to be generous
in a way that is pleasing
to their Heavenly Father.
In verses 3 and 4,
he commands us
to give secretly
and sincerely
to please our Heavenly Father only.
So,
instead of tooting your horn
to call attention
to your generosity,
Jesus says,
don't even let
your left hand
know what your right hand
is doing.
In other words,
our King,
this is pretty crazy,
our King is telling us
to be so discreet
in our generosity
toward others
that we barely
take notice of it
ourselves.
Let alone
try to make others notice.
He's saying,
don't just not
announce it to others,
don't even announce
it to yourself.
Take enough notice
to do the deed
and then put it
out of your mind
so that spiritual pride
doesn't take root.
In the words
of John Stott,
Christian giving
is to be marked
by self-sacrifice
and self-forgetfulness,
not self-congratulation.
Congratulation.
Jesus follows us up
with a purpose
so that your giving
may be in secret.
And oh, by the way,
the Father who sees
in secret,
He will reward you.
So,
are Christians to give
generously of the resources?
Absolutely.
It's part of the way
we respond to God's
generous grace
toward us.
But Jesus calls it
to do it in such a way
that we only desire
the secret audience
of our Heavenly Father,
the only one
who sees in secret.
Jesus' followers
are commanded
to live their entire lives
in the presence
of their Father
who is in Heaven.
He sees us,
He knows us,
even down to the thoughts
and intentions
of our hearts.
That is generosity
for the audience
of one.
Now,
I wish I could say
Amen,
let's go home.
I wish I could say that.
Maybe you're wishing
that too.
I wish I could send
everybody off
with a healthy reminder
to give generously
for the audience
of one
and we're out of here.
But that would be cruel
because if you're
anything like me,
then you probably
just had Jesus
unearth a really big problem
because He's just
given you a clear command
to do the right thing
for the right reason.
So here's that third P,
problem.
What's the problem?
The problem is that
this is really hard
to do.
In fact,
if we're honest,
none of us
ever really do this
consistently.
Our motives
are seemingly
always
mixed.
And that makes us wonder,
can we do this?
Is this kind of holiness
possible?
Is this a bar
that I can reach?
Our hearts are so deceptive,
aren't they?
We can convince others
that we're doing
the right thing
because we love God
and we desire good
for others
and yet all the while
we're secretly hoping
something,
that someone will notice
how much we love God
and how much we love others.
maybe we even try
to give secretly.
Maybe we even
give an anonymous gift
to someone.
Maybe we make sure
to fold our checks
so they're not seen
and we put them
in the offering plate
so it's not seen
how much we give.
Maybe we give generously
with our time
and our energy
and an act of service
or ministry
and we don't do it
in a way that calls
attention to ourselves
and we really try hard
not to do that
but then what are we
tempted to do?
We hope that someone
traces that anonymous gift
back to us
so that we can be thought
of as someone
who's really godly,
who gives in secret.
We hope that someone
saw us fold that check
in half
and noticed our modesty.
We hope that someone
sees our humble
act of service
in the way we didn't
call attention to ourselves
and considers us
a truly generous
and humble person.
Or maybe it's even worse
maybe we simply
just boast about it
to ourselves.
Maybe we simply
congratulate ourselves
rewarding ourselves
with what people
would reward us with
if they knew
how generous
and humble we were.
Ah!
Are we that messed up?
Or is that just me?
Maybe it's just me.
I don't know.
That's a problem.
That's a very big problem.
Maybe we do
the right thing
but it's almost always
with some mixed motive,
with some divided heart.
And there's this cocktail
of wrong reasons
that just comes out
of the depths
of our hearts
that love to steal glory
from our creator.
We take the simplest command
of Jesus
to give generously
and we hijack it
to serve our reputation.
Is perfection
without pretense
possible?
Is holiness
without hypocrisy
possible?
Is it possible
to glorify God
without glorifying self?
Who can do that?
Who is sufficient
for these things?
Because we know ourselves.
Well in a word,
in a beautiful
and wonderful word,
Jesus is.
Jesus is sufficient
for these things.
Look back with me
to Matthew 5, 17.
Do not think
that I have come
to abolish the law
and the prophets.
I have not come
to abolish them
but to fulfill them.
Jesus gives us
a really high standard.
He hasn't come
to abolish the law
and bring it down.
In fact,
He raised the bar
because He pointed
to the level
of our hearts.
But notice what He says.
I came
to fulfill it.
Jesus came
to fulfill
God's holy law.
He came not only
to tell us
that God's law
must be obeyed fully
at the heart level,
He came to live it.
In all of Jesus'
acts of righteousness,
He always sought
the glory
of His heavenly Father.
In all of His generosity,
He did it completely
for the glory
of His Father
and for the good
of the person
He was helping.
His heart
was not divided.
His motives
were not mixed
between a desire
to please God
and a desire
to please self.
He always did
the right things
for the right reasons.
His heart
was fully intact,
pleasing His Father
perfectly at all times,
even when He was tired,
when He was stressed out,
or unpopular,
or hungry,
or lonely.
And then He obeyed
the Father
to the very end,
fulfilling all righteousness
by going under
the flood
of God's wrath
for sinners.
the perfect one
died for the pretentious.
The holy one
died for the hypocrites.
The one who always lived
for the audience of one
was now put to death
by those who craved
the glory of self.
And it's through this,
Jesus,
that you and I
receive a righteousness
we could never get
on our own
by faith.
It's through our trust
in Him
that we can die to self
and we can live
to please our Heavenly Father.
He's the one
who solves this problem.
If you're like me,
this particular sin
of loving the praise
of others
is a problem.
If you've ever
paid attention
to the motives
of your heart,
you know that that's
probably there
in some way.
But Paul gives us
a little hint
in Philippians 3
that through Jesus
we can aim
at the perfect holiness
of our Heavenly Father
and strive on
even when we fail.
This is what Paul says
in Philippians 3.
I am not already perfect,
but I press on
to make it my own
because Christ Jesus
has made me His own.
Forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize
of the upward call
of God in Christ Jesus.
Yes, this is a problem.
But as we set our sight
on Jesus
and press on,
we can repent
when we fail
and we can trust
and pray
for the grace we need
to grow
in our sincere devotion
to our Heavenly Father.
Principle, practice,
problem.
Now let's finish up
with a promise.
There's a promise
that God gives us
as we strive
to give generously
for the audience of one.
Did you catch
all those references
that Jesus made
to rewards
in these verses?
The hypocrites,
they only get the reward
that they're after.
That's because
the approval of others
and your own reputation,
it's temporary.
It's unsatisfying.
We weren't made
to be satisfied
with the applause
of a fickle crowd.
We were made
to be satisfied
in deep,
satisfying relationship
with the God
who made us.
The God
who sees us.
The God
before whom
we live
our entire lives.
And He's also
the God
who knows
how to reward
those who diligently
seek His approval
for His glory.
That's the promise.
The promise is
that God
is the one
that keeps the books.
we don't have
to be.
We don't have
to try to keep track
of how we're doing.
We don't have to
either before God
or others.
As we seek
to please
our Heavenly Father,
He's the one
that we can trust.
He's going to take
care
of the final outcome.
Now certainly,
the New Testament
does talk about
some heavenly
eternal rewards.
Paul talks about
the crown of righteousness
that awaits those
who love His appearing.
Jesus talks about
recompense
for His disciples
who have given up
the things of this world
to follow Him.
How Jesus is going
to supply
everything they need
both in this life
and the life to come.
There's reward
for those who follow Christ.
But I want to concentrate
just on the big
obvious reward
that's here
in this chapter.
The reward
of living
for the audience
of one
is our renewed
joy-producing
relationship
with our Father
who sees us
in secret.
When my kids
do the right thing
and I can tell
it's for the right reason,
the right reason
of wanting to please
me and do what's right
because it's right,
oh man,
that just makes my day.
And I love it
when they do this
because it doesn't
just make me happy,
it makes them happy.
Whenever Isaiah
or Karis,
Micah's too young,
but whenever they
do this,
do something
that they know
is right
and they know
they're doing it
for the right reason
and they see me,
see them do it
and they're like,
they're just
going to get giddy
and they kind of
come up next to me
and they want
to be with me.
Why?
It's because
our relationship
is okay,
there's nothing
between us
and that's a source
of joy for both of us
and that's God's
promise to us
when we give generously
of ourselves
for his pleasure only.
At the very least,
discounting any
further heavenly reward,
at the very least,
he promises us,
he promises us
a deeper awareness
of his presence,
a greater desire
to please him
and the satisfying
joy of knowing
that we are his people
and he is our God
and there's nothing
between us.
It's what we were
made for
and as our
relationship with God
grows,
it displaces
the joy-deadening
appetites
of seeking the glory
of self.
If you notice
when you're seeking
after your own
reputation
how unhappy
you are,
I know I know
that.
As Martin Lloyd-Jones
wrote,
we must have
such a love
for God,
listen to this,
imagine you
having this,
we must have
such a love
for God
that we have
no time
to think
about ourselves.
what a reward
would that be?
No anxious
looking around
to see if my
generosity was
noticed.
No concern
about my reputation
as a godly person
or how people
see me.
To be free
from the enslavement
of self-awareness
and self-promotion
and to be free
to know
and enjoy
God's love
for me
as his child
seeking only
his glory
in my acts
of righteousness.
What could be
better than
that kind
of reward?
So brothers
and sisters,
let's be generous
with our time,
our resources,
our money
because our God
is generous.
Let's look for
opportunities
to cheerfully
give out of
a genuine
concern for others
and to please
our Heavenly Father.
Let's also
be careful.
Let's ask
the Lord
to examine
our hearts.
Let's be careful
of the deception
that can come out
of our glory
stealing hearts
to seek
to rob
God's glory
from Him
and totally
dissatisfy us.
May the promise
of a joyful
and unbroken
and undivided
relationship
with our Father
beckon us
to a life
of integrity
and pure motives.
and when we fail,
brothers and
sisters,
let's quickly
repent.
Let's not dwell
there.
Let's repent
of our absurd
pride of tooting
our own horn.
Let's repent
of our hypocrisy.
Our God knows
our frame.
He knows
we're dust.
He forgives
generously.
And finally,
let's set our
eyes on Jesus.
He's the one
through whom
we please
our Father
with undivided
hearts.
It's by the power
of His Spirit
dwelling within us
that we are enabled
to do the right
thing for the right
reason
as we live lives
that are generous
to His glory.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Father, we're aware
of Your eyes.
We know that in Christ
we don't have to be afraid.
We know that in Christ
we have only to repent
of our stupid pride,
to put it off,
to abandon the mixed motive
of stealing glory from You,
and to seek to be
in a living,
satisfying,
day by day,
moment by moment,
satisfying relationship
with You,
seeking to please You
all day long.
I pray for my brothers
and sisters
that You would enable them
to walk in this,
cause us to lift our eyes
to You now,
to see Your sparkling righteousness,
Lord Jesus.
and may that
take our eyes
off of ourselves
and get us on You.
Lead us in this
by the power of Your Spirit,
we pray.
Amen.