How To Give: Matthew 6:1-4

[Music] Jesus sat on a hillside on the northern slopes of the Sea of Galilee and as he sat down there was a multitude that stood around him and listened to him hanging on every word that he spoke and as you could hear the lapping of the Sea of Galilee in the quietness when Jesus might take a pause he delivered what's probably the most amazing sermon that's ever been preached now I don't think it's the only time he delivered it I believe that as Jesus traveled around the region of Galilee and spoke to people about the kingdom of God in the nature of that kingdom that he preached this message or at least themes from this message many times in the beginning he talks about the character of kingdom people of his true disciples that's a section we call the Beatitudes and then there's an extended section where Jesus is correcting misunderstandings about the law of God and so he talked about rightly understanding the law against murder rightly understand the law about divorce and on and on and Jesus explained all of those things but now starting in chapter 6 we come to a section where Jesus is going to speak about spiritual practices and how we should perform them and specifically he's gonna talk about giving praying and fasting and so over the next three weeks we're gonna take a look at each one of those sections where Jesus spoke about the right way to give the right way to pray and the right way to fast before him between now and then you can be fasting over the next three weeks just so that we are ready for that one in a few weeks that's a little job now I do want you to consider though that he begins in these first four verses and corrects some of the wrong ways that they had understood how a person should give that's where we come to verse 1 take heed 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 now notice what Jesus said there take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men the assumption is people would do charitable deeds now what does he mean by that word well the actual phrase charitable deeds is actually that's the word for righteousness righteousness as it's in the plural your righteous acts and what these are saying is don't do your righteousness before others to be seen of them you know when Jesus just came out of that first section of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 showing us God's righteous standard perhaps he anticipated the thought wouldn't everybody be very impressed if I lived like that so now Jesus addresses the danger of cultivating the image of righteousness without taking care to the reality of righteousness friends it is almost impossible to do spiritual things in front of other people without thinking about or worrying about what their opinion is of us as we do them let me give you an example every Sunday when I preach I pray before you I pray before the message or I pray in the course of the service when I pray I'm not really speaking to you I don't think that that's right to do when pastors pray from the platform you know sometimes they're adding on the points of their sermon and their prayer and they're really speaking the congregation I think if you're praying you should talk to God but I will say this it's almost impossible for me to pray in front of you even if I'm praying to God without having a small part of my mind and heart that wonders what are they thinking of me as I pray this now I suppose a small part of that is to be understood and maybe accepted but it better be a very small part because I shouldn't be concerned with this idea do I look spiritual enough as I prayed is prayer in front of them maybe if I used a better phrasing or something like that and the whole idea is suddenly I'm not concerned about actually what I'm doing before God speaking to him I'm concerned at what kind of image I have in front of you and ladies and gentleman that's what Jesus is going to speak to us about in giving as we take a look this week praying as we take a look next week and about fasting when we take a look at it in the week after that so often we want to do spiritual things just to cultivate an image instead of being concerned about the reality of our spiritual life we live in a society that is obsessed with image we live in a society that doesn't care anything about what's real only about what scene and because this is the air we breathe because if we were fish we would say this is the water we swim in it's so easy for us to adopt them the idea i don't really actually have to be a disciple of jesus as long as i look like it that's good enough Jesus says no so let me speak to you about the heart of these spiritual practices he says look at it there in verse 1 take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them now even though the literal word that we translate charitable deeds is the word righteousness it's actually a good translation what Jesus is talking about is giving giving money financial help this is what he's talking about in this regard and the reason why it's a good translation is because in the Jewish mind of that day but also very much in the present day it was understood that a righteous person gives that's just how it was understood matter of fact William Barclay the New Testament commentator said this quote to give alms and to be righteous were one and the same thing I remember hearing a story and it's not my story a pastor told it to me about a visit that he took to Israel and there I was in Jerusalem and he was in Jerusalem and there was a beggar on the street and the man was gonna pass by the beggar and you know just politely refused no I mean we know and Santa Barbara you know what it is two pipe lightly refused somebody who's asking you for money on the street he was gonna do that and walk by when he was stopped by a man who was obviously an Orthodox Jew he had the Hat he had the hair I mean he was an Orthodox Jew and the man who perhaps didn't speak any English the Jewish man the Israeli man he was very angry with the pastor friend by the way you know we sometimes think we blend in in places like we don't blend in at all everybody can see who we are he was very annoyed with this pastor friend and this is what he did without looking at the beggar at all he took out a wad of bills from a pocket and he stuffed it in the beggars hat or cup or whatever he had and he looked at the pastor all the time with like fire in his eyes and the message is very clear this is what a righteous man does of course he didn't really show any care of compassion for the the man the beggar but it was very much in that ethic this is what a righteous man does a righteous man gives and Jesus says well alright righteous people give but how they give is very important again I don't want to pass over that point Jesus assumed that his people would be givers he didn't tell them in this passage to give that was assumed know Jesus okay I'm assuming you're gonna give but let me tell you how you give because that is important to God listen giving is important before God because God Himself is a giving God Jesus is a giving Savior and God wants us to be like him and if Jesus is our master he expects us as his disciples to be like him and let me say something else along these points but it's just being assumed in the Bible that God's people will be givers and honestly speaking this is something that many people don't dan immediately when they begin following Jesus Christ many people when they begin to follow Jesus Christ they don't understand soon that really God wants them to be givers as well and I don't know exactly why this dynamic happens but it's commonly true that sometimes somebody's wallet or their checkbook is the last thing to come under the lordship of Jesus Christ but God wants them to have that mentality that it all belongs to him and that we should be a giving people now in the midst of all of that it's very important to understand that our giving should have the house of God as a priority let me give you my read it may not be completely accurate I don't basis any statistical data just my understanding I think that Santa barbarians are very generous people I really do I am impressed with the generosity of our community it's actually something very wonderful and you know people have all kinds of misconceptions about Santa Barbara don't people that you meet from the outside to learn them from sambhar they think that everybody who lives in Santa Barbara is fabulously wealthy they just kind of have that idea and so they just well you know I don't know you're just carrying around bags of money everywhere you go and this is the life you live and and we know that that's not true but but there are resources in our community and I think people are generous with them I think that's much to the credit of Santa Barbara how generous people are I will say this though then among followers of Jesus in Santa Barbara sometimes they don't put a priority on giving to God's house because their focus is taken away and put on so many other good and worthy causes ladies Jim there are a lot of good and worthy causes out there there are a lot of things to help the poor to reach out to the afflicted to do good works all over the world and those are good and those are worthy of attention however for the believer there should be a priority I'm not saying loosen focus but there should be a priority on giving to the house of God let me show you two passages from the New Testament that speak to that very thought the first one is in Romans chapter 15 verse 27 Paul wrote this for if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things their duty is also to minister to them in material things in other words if you receive spiritually or where you receive spiritually you have a duty before God there to return to it materially Paul says much the same thing in 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 11 he says if we have sown spiritual things for you it is is it a great thing if we reap your material things again it's just the same prince will express in different words by the way if you want a great section of scripture that teaches about giving go to 1st Corinthians chapter 9 but Paul's just laying out this general principle here that for those who minister unto you spiritually it's right for them to receive materially and that teaches a principle that is expounded upon in other places in the Word of God that simply tells us that the house of God should have a priority not an exclusive focus but a priority in the giving of Christians now I'll tell you how some people do it some people do it like this they say 10% of the tithe the tithe 10% that goes to the house of God whatever God leads me to give above that which sometimes they would call in offering making a distinction between a tie 10% and I mean 10% goes to the house of God whatever's above that I'll give to other causes that's how some people do it I will say this and I feel awkward saying this but I said at first service so I may as well say at second service um it it's been the practice of Engel ill and I all of our life together to give 10% and we do that to the house of God here I mean that's just what we do and it's been our practice to give 10% through all our married life and we do here not again I don't say that in any kind of boastful way I just want you to know that I mean that's how Ingle ill and I oppressed and we've seen the blessing of God upon it throughout our life now Jesus continues in verse 1 take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men otherwise you have no reward from your father in heaven the idea is simply this when we do our righteous deeds for the attention and the applause of men the attention and the applause is our reward it's much better to receive a reward from your father in heaven I know this mentality doesn't belong to everybody some people say this all that's important is the doing of the deed how I do it doesn't really matter so pastor if I write a check who really cares if I make a great big deal about it if I want to give a check to the church does it matter if I write it and just you know slip it into the offering bags that goes on or does it matter if I do it one of those great big publisher Clearinghouse things that's about you know five feet long and I bring it in and present it to you there on a Sunday morning does it matter if God would say yes it does matter because when you call attention to yourself in your giving that's your reward do people applaud you for your giving then great you've received your reward there is a reward waiting the faithful giver from your father in heaven if that's what you'll put your focus on but notice this God cares how we do our good works and with what motive we do them so look at the wrong kind of giving here verse two therefore when you do a charitable deed do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets that they may have glory for men assuredly I say to you they have their reward when you do your giving don't sound a trumpet can you see the scene you know silver trumpet ears you know here comes the gift and that would be an awesome tatius way of doing it now we don't have any record of people doing that in jesus's day maybe they did maybe Jesus is using humorous illustration maybe he's referring to the way people might give at feast time when there are a lot of people in Jerusalem and trumpets were being sounded because of the feasts we don't exactly know but the point is very clear the point is simply this if I'm just trying to project the image hey everybody look at how generous I am then I'm calling attention to my giving and that's my reward no instead we understand that when giving ostentatiously draws attention to itself it's the wrong kind of giving again I want to stress it's not just about the money it's about the heart even especially about the heart what does Jesus Paul people like that notice that they're in verse 2 it's pretty strong as the hypocrites do people like that are performers they're actors they're acting the part of pious holy people when they're not but by the way let me help you understand what a hypocrite is because Jesus will speak about it again in the Sermon on the Mount a hypocrite is not someone who has a standard that they don't live up to a hypocrite is someone who has a double standard a hypocrite is not somebody who says okay um lying is wrong and I lied so I'm sorry and I was wrong that's not a hypocrite that's just having a standard that that's above your ability to live up to at least all the time a hypocrite says this well my lie was okay but your lies wrong that's someone who truly has a double standard and that should be exposed Jesus says that when we put on the mask when we have that kind of double standard what is it assuredly I say to you they have their reward enjoy the applause because that's all you're gonna get give you a plaque and put it on your favorite squeaky bench and say for this particular gift you have this memorial plaque on this bench well enjoy it because that's your reward don't you want a higher reward don't you want a better reward than that and the better reward is simply to give the right way that's verses three and four take a look at it with me 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 done in secret and your father who sees you in secret will himself reward you openly what does Jesus say to do look at that phrase in verse three do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing if our giving is to be right before God if it were possible it should even be hidden from ourselves now I don't think that means that Jesus wants us to close our eyes when we write out the check but what Jesus is telling us is to not have this spirit of self-congratulation look at how holy I am as I write out the check in other words we can do it for the applause of other people but we can also do it for the applause we give ourselves as we do it no no we deny ourselves any sense of indulgent self-congratulation I like what Charles Spurgeon said about this he said this quote keep the things so secret that you yourself are hardly aware that you're doing anything at all praiseworthy let God be present and you will have enough of an audience now jesus said that that should be our heart and he said that your charitable deed may be in secret this has been a bother to some Christians I know I know won't known a few Christians throughout my years of a very sensitive conscience who will only give to the church and they'll only give cash that doesn't have any name connected to it because they don't want a giving record they don't want anybody to know how much they gave or who it was that gave that's not our normal practice our normal practice and again I'll just share what the guzik family does we write out checks the church keeps a record of our giving and at the end of the year we get a record of our giving and we use it to reduce our income taxes amen praise the Lord for that because jesus said render unto Caesar what you should render under-season but I think there's a text somewhere that says but not one penny more so there's nothing wrong with using legitimate you know ways that the law allows to reduce our tax burden and that so I personally want you to know I don't think that this violates that spirit I really don't because I could say that the giving we do it's not to be seen of people but nevertheless we want to use it for a tax advantage which may or may not last in this country but praise the Lord while it's here now the reason why I don't think Jesus meant that the only kind of giving that pleases God is giving that's done in absolute secrecy is do you remember the one time Jesus saw somebody gave and he praised her what was that situation the widow at the temple and what did she do she came up and she had two mites two tiny coins and in the most reckless act of generosity that's ever been recorded in the Bible she took her two tiny coins and put them in the temple treasury now the reason why I say it was the most reckless act of giving in generosity and giving in the scriptures is would any of us blamed her if she would have kept one and given the other one we I'd be preaching a sermon about how she gave half of everything that she had but that wasn't enough for her she gave it all and she put it now Jesus did not say I can't believe that lady gave that gift and I could see it Jesus didn't say that he could see the heart with which he gave and even though other people could see and knew what she was doing he knew that her motive and her heart was absolutely pure in the giving and Jesus praise the motive not only the gift and Friends isn't that what we come back to in this whole section does God care if you're a giver absolutely yes but God doesn't care only about the gift he cares about the motive behind it if we give for our own glory it doesn't matter if nobody finds out you're still gonna have no reward from God I'm sure there's been situations in the history of the church where people have been given with the motive of their own glory but for some reason nobody found out and they were very frustrated about it God still saw from heaven and said no no no I saw the motive of your heart you have your reward but if we give for God's glory it doesn't matter who finds out because your reward will remain because you gave for the right motive matter of fact look at the last phrase of verse 4 it's thrilling this is a promise from God he says our Father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly ladies and gentlemen that's a promise Jesus pointed out that if we give the right way especially with the right motive God promised that he will reward you openly number one notices God does see in secret I don't see the giving records of our congregation nor do I want to but I know that God sees them and God sees them and he will reward those openly and he sees every hidden act of generosity and he sees the motive behind it all this should be a spur to our generosity if I give and if I give with the right motive God will see and God will bless I don't know how he'll bless maybe he'll bless financially maybe he'll bless spiritually maybe he'll bless in some other areas that's up to him but I know God will answer and God will bless years ago I had a friend and he wasn't a wealthy man but he was an enterprising businessman and his business was doing pretty good and I don't think he had a lot of money but one day he came to visit goes David I'm in a competition with God I go what are you talking about it's a David I'm trying to see if I can out give God and he said I'm just trying to be remarkably generous and I'm gonna see if I can out give God and if I can give to the point where he wouldn't bless and return unto me so months later I asked him at that I said hey how's it going and he goes I still haven't won God still out given me and that's just the attitude to have this man wasn't afraid of giving too little he recognized that God saw it and God would reward Blaz men don't miss the strength of this promise our Father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly he won't even co-op the work out to an angel to do it he will himself reward you openly things done the right way before God will certainly be rewarded we can be sure of that even when it doesn't feel like it because just like with anything in the Christian life sometimes when you write out that check you go I can't believe I'm doing this but this is a lot of money I could do something else with this sometimes it doesn't feel like it God asks us to trust his promise once again and to say no I believe you God that when I give and especially when I give the right way what I do in secret you will see and you yourself will reward it openly all right let me finish with this just three quick takeaways going from the beginning of the message now here to the end number one the first takeaway and this might be the most important thing that I want to communicate to you here this morning the first takeaway is this is that the kingdom of God is about reality not image ladies GEMA can we please let that sink down into our hearts God cares about what we really are not just the image we project and are our culture as a whole may be perfectly fine if all we have is a thin Christian veneer over corruption of life but God says no I want it to be real I'm not concerned only with the image I want the reality behind it number two the kingdom of God is really about generosity God rules and reigns over a generous Kingdom and if we're really Jesus's disciples that generosity will be real in our life and then number three the kingdom of God is about God's glory not my own if I'm operating in the kingdom of God in a way that tries to draw a glory and attention to myself instead of to God I'm not getting it right because it's his kingdom I should have no interest in building the kingdom of David it should be the kingdom of God and His glory and his honor and his righteousness that's preeminent for me and for all of us I think if we remember those three things we're gonna learn a lot from what Jesus teaches us here that the kingdom of God is about reality not image the kingdom of God is about generosity and the kingdom of God is about God's glory and not my own let's pray right now that God takes those things and sinks them down very deep into our hearts that is our prayer Heavenly Father Lord I understand that we live it's such a materialistic age it surrounds us on every side Jesus I simply pray that you would do a deep work into the hearts of all of us Lord to free us from the bondage of materialism free us from bondage to greed free us from the the image focused life that surrounds us on every side and Lord work in us a deep work as your disciples and lord I pray for anybody here Lord they feel so distant from this honestly Lord they're not even willing to be generous before you Lord here's my simple prayer for those people just make them willing to be made willing and do a work among us Lord Father we need to be protected against the greed and materialism of our times use Lord giving the right way to accomplish that purpose thank you Lord for the certainty of your promise that you will reward us openly that is our peace and our rest we give you praise and honor in the matchless name of Jesus you [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: matthew, matthew 6, enduring word, david guzik, guzik, sermon on the mount, how to give, tithing, gospel of matthew, book of matthew

Id: DuhluqZDo6k

Length: 30min 0sec (1800 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 16 2019