Introduction:
Watch Out... (Matthew 6:1–4)
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Because your MOTIVES MATTER. (Matt 6:1a)
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Wrong Motive – TO GLORIFY YOURSELF.
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Right Motive – TO GLORIFY GOD.
Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
1 Corinthians 10:31 – So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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Because your REWARD IS AT RISK. (Matt 6:1b–4)
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Worldly Reward – THE RECOGNITION OF OTHERS.
James 1:27 – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…
James 2:15–16 – If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
2 Corinthians 9:6–7 – The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart...
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Eternal Reward – THE RECOGNITION OF GOD.
Matthew 25:23 – “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
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Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 6:1-4
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why do your motives matter so much to the Lord?
In what ways do you see yourself struggling with self-glorification? How can you fight against this sinful trend?
Why isn’t the worldly reward of human praise worth pursuing after?
Why does the Lord want you to be motivated by eternal rewards? Explain why this motivation isn’t legalistic or self-centered.
Breakout
Pray for one another.
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Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6 verses 1 through 4. Matthew chapter 6
verses 1 through 4. You know 12 years ago my friends and I took a road trip down
to the middle of nowhere Tennessee. My one friend promised us a free stay in a
spacious cabin that his dad built right next to a scenic lake. Only one of those
guarantees end up being true. This day was free but it was free for a reason. It
was not a spacious cabin it was a glorified shack. It turns out we weren't
even allowed to sleep in the beds we had to sleep on the floor because his dad
didn't want us to mess up the beds. We were also not right next to the lake it
was a mile walk through hilly woods and once you got to the beach this is the
site that greeted you. Warning dangerous water because nothing says come on in the
water is fine like a do not swim here sign in the foreground and a nuclear
power plant in the background. You can't really see it but there was a fenced off
area where dozens and dozens of people were swimming and splish plashing
around without a care in the world. I kept thinking to myself what are you
people doing don't you see the sign I mean can you even miss this sign is that
even possible? It is unmissable. I guess people saw this sign but they just
didn't care. They thought it was a harmless joke and not a serious warning.
You know how you respond to warnings says a lot about who you are as a person.
The waitress brings you your food and says hey be careful the plate is hot. What
do you do in that moment? Do you believe your nice waitress or do you touch it to
see if she's telling the truth? I don't know what's in it for her to lie to you
about the hot plate or you pass by a wet paint sign and you think to yourself is
this actually wet? You decide to touch it right? Or here's a new one I learned
this week. Did you know in bold letters on the Q-tip box it says do not insert
into ear canal. I was blown away. I've been doing it wrong for all these years.
Now that you know are you gonna keep exploring your ear like it's a cave or
are you gonna stop doing it? Or you come to a red light at the top of the red
light says no turn on red. But you look both ways and there's no one coming so
you go anyway. Let's move beyond these somewhat funny examples of something
much more important. God's Word is filled with hundreds and hundreds of
warnings that you can either ignore or take very seriously. This is the first
week in a new section of our study of the Sermon on the Mount, the heart of
religion. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus gives a three-part warning of how you
should and should not approach the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying,
and fasting. According to Jesus these disciplines are not just external things
that you can check off your to-do list. They are internal indicators of who you
really are and who you are really worshiping. Because Jesus cares how you
give. Jesus cares how you pray. Jesus cares how you fast. The how of these
disciplines reveal if you are a religious phony or a religious follower of
Christ who is faithful from the heart. This morning we're gonna dig into
Matthew chapter 6 verses 1 through 4 and focus on the warning of our Lord when
it comes to giving of our time, talents, and treasures. Before we get started I
want to plead with you to not ignore this warning from Christ. Take it very
seriously. Be on guard. Watch out for what he is cautioning you against. Do not
close your eyes to your own sin. Do not think you have it all figured out
because Jesus has a not-so-secret secret to share with you this morning that you
often lose sight of. The secret to giving is giving in secret. So before we
continue any further let's go to the Lord and ask for His help. Please pray for me
and I will pray for you.
Father we come to once again a very challenging and convicting passage in
your word. We're once again we are being exposed not just on the outside but on
the inside. I pray for every single person in this room including myself Lord may
we truly listen to what your word has to say and take this warning with the utmost
seriousness. We thank you in advance what you are going to do and we ask all
these things in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen. Alright so watch out
number one because your motives matter. Watch out because your motives matter.
Let's read the first half of chapter 6 verse 1. Jesus says beware watch out of
practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.
It's important to note that Jesus doesn't say it's bad for other people to
notice you practicing your righteousness or doing the right thing in public. What
does he say? Watch out for practicing your righteousness and doing the right
thing in public in order to be seen by others. In the original Greek that phrase
in order to be seen it comes from the word for theater. You're putting on a
show. You're pretending to be someone that you are not. You are putting on an
insincere performance. So once again Jesus zeros in on the on the internal. He
focuses on your heart's greatest desire. It's all about your motive. So let's check
out the wrong motive first. So what is the wrong motive? To glorify yourself. To
glorify yourself. I'm not proud of this but in the past I've done chores around
the house in the hopes that my wife will notice my hard work. Is anyone else
guilty of this kind of behavior? Jonathan Trent thank you so much. I am so
appreciative. It's just you and me buddy. To be fair all the guys should have their
hands raised as high as humanly possible whenever asked that kind of question.
This is so lame to admit but I've done the dishes. Taken out the garbage. Lay
down mulch. Cut the grass. Done long past due house projects hoping that my
wife will see it and award me husband points. And husband points are a form
of currency in marriage that aren't worth as much as you would hope and go as
bad as quickly as unrefrigerated fish. All the husbands in the room know
exactly what I'm talking about. In those moments my motive was not to honor my
wife but to glorify myself. To show off how great of a husband I am. And when
Kate didn't notice what I had done I began to pout and feel disappointed.
I only felt that way because I had a bad motive. I wouldn't have felt that way if
I had the right motive which is to be a loving husband who took
responsibility for his own home. And this proves an important principle.
Self-interest and self-glory always lead to self-deception and self-defeat. Without
fail the most miserable person in every room is the most selfish person in that
room. The more you make life about you the more unhappy you will find yourself.
Maybe that is why you feel so depressed this morning. Maybe that's why you feel
so empty right now. You want to be the son at the center of your solar system
but the problem is nobody else cares about your desired position. No one wants
to orbit around your preferences. And you may be wondering how can I tell if I am
this kind of self-glorifying person or not. Well first of all you are this kind
of person to some degree and so am I. This problem does exist within your heart
at some level. You have to figure out how serious and far-reaching the problem
actually is. Here are some things to be on watch for. Do you check out what other
people share about their problems? Do you have a hard time being happy for someone
else when they achieve a goal that you've always wanted to accomplish? When they
receive a blessing that you've always wanted? Do you always try to one up
people and have a better story than someone else? Do you always bring the
topic of conversation back to you? What you've done in the past? What you're doing
right now? And what you plan to do in the future? Do you get annoyed and even
sulky when you don't get your way? Do you push away opportunities to serve and
help if you don't see what's in it for you? Even though there are tell-tale
signs it can be extremely difficult to spot your own narcissism because you are
often blind to it. But other people around you are not. It would be a good
exercise to check in with your family and your friends after church today to ask
if they see any of these tendencies and how you speak and how you talk and how
you act. And if you ask that question please shut your mouth and open your
ears. Stop inserting your opinion. Stop justifying yourself. You will not grow if
you are more interested in defending yourself than dying to yourself. Start
dealing with your problem because I guarantee you that you do have a problem.
Stop glorifying yourself because you are not worthy of this act of self-worship.
So that's the wrong motive. To glorify yourself. What's the right motive? To
glorify God. To glorify God. So Jesus provides the right motive for doing the
right thing earlier in the Sermon on the Mount. Listen to what he has to say in
Matthew 5.16. "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Compare that to chapter 6 verse
1. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by
them." Do you see the difference? Instead of shining the spotlight onto yourself
you shine on to the only one who is actually worthy of it, the Lord and Him
alone. Because this is the reason for which you were created. You exist to
honor God and show a watching world how awesome He truly is. This must be the goal
of your marriage. This must be the goal of your parenting. This must be the goal of
your job. This must be the goal of everything that you do. In 1 Corinthians
1031 Paul says this, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the
glory of God. Because any worldly glory that you collect for yourself will be
snuffed out when you pass on from this life. But the glory of God is an unending
fire that can never ever be put out." In 100 to 200 years from now you're gonna be
long forgotten. No one is gonna be thinking about you. But the name of Jesus
Christ will stand the test of time. His name will be forever high and lifted up.
I'm not a betting man but I can guarantee you with a hundred percent
certainty that you will be rewarded for throwing your chips in with the victory
of God's name and reputation. That is the only motivation that will truly fuel
you. That is the only motivation that will get you across the finish line of
life. So watch out because your motives matter. Secondly, watch out because your
reward is at risk. Because your reward is at risk.
Jesus lays out the consequence for doing the right thing for the wrong reason
at the end of 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." If you were dominated by the desire to rob God of
his glory as you do good deeds, you will receive a loud and clear message from
God. It is the same message that Willy Wonka gave the Charlie and his grandpa at
the end of the Chocolate Factory tour. You get nothing. You lose. Good day, sir.
That may seem extreme, but that's what the text says. That may seem harsh, but it's
even better than what you deserve. With that in mind, Jesus continues on with his
warning in verse 2, "By revealing the emptiness of the worldly reward that you
often settle for. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may be praised
by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. The worldly reward
that is most tempting to seek after is the recognition of others. The
recognition of others. And notice that Jesus doesn't say, "If you give to the
needy," he says, "when you give the needy." And he says that again in verse 3,
"which means that you are expected to help those in need with your time, with
your talents, and your treasures. You are expected by God to care for the orphan
and the widow." James 1.27, "A religion that is pure and undefiled before God is
this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. You are expected by God
to not ignore the poor, especially those within the body of Christ." Once again,
let's read what James has to say. James 2.15 through 16, "If a brother or sister
is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in
peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body,
what good is that? It is worthless.'" You're expected by God to be generous with
the money in your account, and not hoard it for yourself. 2nd Corinthians 9 verses 6
through 7, the point is this, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has
decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver." Harvest, you are expected to make these kinds of sacrifices. But as
you make these expected sacrifices, you are also expected to not sound a trumpet
before you, like the scribes and Pharisees did 2,000 years ago. Now, they
didn't literally sound a physical trumpet. They didn't pull a Miles Davis and
blast a physical trumpet whenever they did a nice thing or made a donation.
Jesus is using an over-the-top and funny illustration to prove a simple point. Do
not be an obnoxious jerk who draws attention to himself or herself whenever
you do the right thing. You know, while you were doing whatever you were doing
over the past week, I was racking my brain to think of a modern-day example of
sounding a trumpet before you. And I came up short. So I'm going to ask you guys to
silently brainstorm, because I actually have something I need to do in the meantime,
okay? So just be using your brains to think about an example.
Alright, don't mind me guys.
[laughter]
You know what? I don't want to interrupt your brainstorming time, but you know what?
This sermon is going really well. And you guys are all just laughing at my
stories. I guess really tell that you're dialed into my spot on teaching. I really
think Facebook needs to know about this. Oh, by the way, have you guys had any luck
with your brainstorming? Wait a minute. Maybe I did stumble upon the 21st century
version of sounding a trumpet before you. What do you guys think? Alright, I guess
I'll put this away then. You know, seeking after the affirmation and praise of
others is the heartbeat of the virtual world. People put on a manufactured
version of themselves. They put their best foot forward. You can post about your
best day to accumulate the affirmation and adulation of others. Maybe you post a
status on Facebook, a picture on Instagram or real on the TikToks as Pastor Jeff
calls it, that highlights a mission strip, a service project or a charitable
event that you took part in. Now, you can certainly do this in a godly way with
godly intentions, but you can also do it in an ungodly way with ungodly
intentions. You just bask in the glory of the likes and the comments and the heart
emojis as human praise begins to pour in. You make a sizable contribution to a
GoFundMe page. And instead of remaining anonymous, you put your name right next
to the amount that you donated. And you don't do that to show support. You do it
to show off. You want others to be amazed by your big hearted generosity. Some of
you are feeling pretty safe and sound right now because you don't leave much
of a digital footprint. You don't post anything anywhere. Well, let's move
beyond the bounds of social media because I don't want to leave you out of all the
fun. Maybe you can seal a prideful remark of something kind you did as a praise
at a prayer service or at small group. Maybe you accidentally slip in or
reference something nice you did while in conversation with someone else. And
you inwardly hope that they'll take the bait. They'll ask a follow-up question so
you can get the at a boy or at a girl that you are so desperate for. Maybe you
like to brag about your family's accomplishments in the yearly Christmas
letter. That's right. I went there. Because some of you may do that. You say that you
want to keep everyone informed about your life, but you actually want to keep
everyone impressed with your life. All of these examples are sounding a trumpet,
pulling out the selfie stick so that everyone will notice you because you
want to be the recipient of admiration. You know, whenever I was a full-time
youth pastor for eight years, I went to a countless number of musicals, track
meets, games, graduation ceremonies, graduation parties, and before, during, or
after the event, I would track down my student and their parents to let them
know that I was there. Because how could I bless them with my presence if they
were totally unaware of my presence? It's kind of weird to admit, but if I
didn't make myself known or receive credit, it didn't really seem to count.
Does that make sense? Does that seem reasonable? But you often feel a very
similar way when it comes to your acts of good works. To your acts of service. If
others don't recognize what you did, it doesn't really seem to count, right? It
may even seem like a complete waste of time if you do not receive immediate
praise. Jesus says you can blow that trumpet, you can pull out that selfie
stick if you want to, knock yourself out. If you do, you will receive the reward of
human praise, but that's all you'll get and nothing more. You will get nothing
from your Father in heaven because you know what? You don't really care about
what He has to give you. What other mere human beings have to offer seems much
more appealing. But that is so short-sighted because compliments, thank-yous, and awards
feel good for about 15 minutes. And then you're just jones in for the next dose,
right? Praise leaves almost as quickly as it arrives. And you so quickly forget
how little it satisfies you the next time you desire it. In verses 3 through 4,
Jesus warns you to long for that which truly lasts. He cautions you to walk the
path of delayed gratification so that you can receive the eternal reward of the
recognition of God Himself. So that is the eternal reward, the recognition of God.
Let's read verses 3 through 4. "But when you give to the needy," there it is again,
"not if, when, when you give to the needy, 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 you in secret will reward you." As I said earlier, the secret to giving
is giving in secret. Jesus says, "not even let your left hand know what your right
hand is doing." I just want to give a warning up front. I don't want to offend
all the left-handed people in the room with this explanation of the
illustration. I love all of you just as much as the normal people in the room.
Okay, so don't be offended.
Moving on, about 90% of Americans are right-handed, not left-handed. Again, don't
hate me, it's just the facts, which means that the majority of people use their
right hand way more than their left hand. So just go with this over-the-top funny
illustration from Jesus. Imagine that your hands can actually speak to each
other. In that scenario, your right hand shouldn't constantly brag about all the
things that it was used to do over the course of the day to the left hand.
Instead, it should be quiet. It should be satisfied that it was used instead of
broadcasting how it was used. Jesus is calling us to a very serious type of
self-denial here. He is saying, "serve me, serve others, and then do your best to
forget all about it." Don't keep track. Don't keep score. Don't manage your own
personal scoreboard. Don't comb through your mental file of successes and think,
"Yeah, I'm doing pretty good compared to most people at church, compared to most
people in my small group." That is a complete waste of time and energy. It is
not your job to keep score because you cannot accurately evaluate yourself.
Only God can do that. But this kind of self-forgetfulness is so counterintuitive
to us because we all live in a culture that tries to ram self-worth down our
throats every single chance that it gets. Oh, your self-esteem matters more than
anything else. If you don't put yourself first, other people will put you last.
Don't forget to love yourself. Give yourself pep talks and tell yourself
how awesome you are. Is any of that biblical? Why do we often fall for it? The
Bible doesn't teach you to have high self-esteem. The Bible also doesn't
teach you to have low self-esteem either. The Bible says to have no
esteem, which means that you're not focused on your self-image. You're not
obsessed with what other people think and say about you. Instead, you focus on
what God thinks and says about you because his authoritative opinion matters
the most. Listen, it does not matter if other people recognize and acknowledge
your faithfulness. Let me say that again because I really need to hear it. It does
not matter if other people recognize and acknowledge your faithfulness. What
matters is you hear these words from the Lord when you stand before Him one day.
Well done, good, and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master. That is
the reward you should long and live for. Jesus says that if you give in secret,
your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Jesus isn't saying that you
can earn right standing before God or work your way to heaven. That's not
possible. Salvation is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ and
nowhere else. Forgiveness of sin and eternal life are gifts to be received
by faith, not earned by works. Scripture is so clear on that. But scripture is
equally clear that rewards in heaven are diligently earned, not automatically
received. If you honor God in this life, He will honor you in eternity. If you
reject temporary rewards that you cannot take out of this world, you will be given
eternal rewards that can never be stolen away from you in heaven. What a promise.
That is a heavenly check that will never bounce and it will clear every single
time. So let God keep score because He will reward you. What are these heavenly
rewards? I wish I could tell you but the Bible doesn't give us specific
details. But I can tell you this, God has never given you a lame gift in the past
and He will not give you a lame gift in the future. If God promises it,
trust me, you want it and you will love it. Right now you may be thinking, okay,
what do I do when someone else does praise me? This is going to happen at some
point. Do you just shut them down and say, whoa, whoa, I didn't do this to be
praised by you. You're going to make me lose my eternal reward. Is that what you
should do? That'd be super weird and awkward for the other person. So please
don't do that. You should humbly accept this person's compliment and then
redirect their praise to the source and supply of your good works. The love of
Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Point the complimenter to God Himself.
And this kind of redirect will not lead to a forfeiture of heavenly reward. If
anything, it will lead to even greater reward because you have rightly handled
praise and you have put it in the place where it truly belongs, which is the
hands of Almighty God. You know, compared to some of the weighty topics we've
covered during the Sermon on the Mount, this passage may seem kind of light and
inconsequential to you. But I can assure you that it's not because you're giving
and serving in public speaks volumes of who you are in private. This is serious
business. You have received a personal warning from Jesus Himself. He has warned
you to watch out for the motive of glorifying yourself. To watch out for
the worldly desire to receive worldly rewards. And there are only two responses
to this kind of warning. Indifference or humility. Maybe you don't see any problem
with your motives right now. You don't see any issue for the reward you're living
for. So you just want to move on with your day. Well, you're free to make that
choice if you want to, but it is the wrong choice. Because until the day you die
and are in the presence of Christ, your motives will always be tinged with
selfishness. Even as I stand before you to preach this sermon, there is selfishness
in my heart. Your motives will never be 100% pure. And you will desire the wrong
reward. So please do not choose ignorance because too much is at stake. And maybe you
do see major problems with your motives and the reward you are living for. You
know that you have to make a change, but you don't know how to make that change.
Well, I have good news and bad news for you. Let's start with the bad news. You
cannot change your motives and desires. Are you ready for the good news? God can
change your motives and desires, but this will only happen if you humble
yourself before Him. Admit that you need His help. Submit to the master motivator
and the richest rewarder in the entire universe. Go to the Lord in prayer and do
that right now. Spend some time in prayer.
Father, we come to you to lay our motives before you. To lay down the worldly
rewards that we are living for. What help us to remember the only thing that will
truly last is your glory and your name. What help us to live for these rewards
that last forever and not these worldly rewards that fade away so quickly. And
Lord, there's anyone in this room who is not a follower of you and is just stuck
in this cycle of glorifying themselves and living for themselves. May they for
the first time submit to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That they can
fulfill the purpose for which you've given them, which is to make much of you.
And for the rest of us Lord, help us to remember that biblical goal. To remember
who we are living for. To remember why we exist. And we ask all these things in
Jesus' name. Amen.
