Illus: Recently one mother, who had to do this with her first baby, explained that she began to cry as she wrapped that little eight-pound boy up in his warm blanket to get him ready for the day-care. She said that throughout the day she was constantly wondering what he was doing.
Jesus knows exactly how a mother feels. When He was getting ready to go back to heaven, He knew the danger His children were in. He tried to prepare them for this time.
-In Matthew 10:16, He said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
-In Luke 10:4, He said, “...behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”
-In Acts 20:29-30, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”
In our text we see that the Lord was preparing His disciples for such a time. He knew of the hypocrites of that time and He did not want His disciples to be like them.
This is why, in verse 8, He admonished them, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE THEM...” That is, BE NOT LIKE THEM IN THEIR:
(1) GIVING - verses 1-4.
(2) PRAYING - verses 5-13.
(3) FASTING - verses 14-18.
Notice, the first thing He wanted to talk to them about was GIVING. Many Christians make the mistake of thinking God is like “Uncle Sam,” in their thinking that God has plenty of money so why should he want the little bit that they have.
Listen, God requires us to GIVE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. But, the primary reason is because our giving reflects our love for Him.
One of the best ways for a politician’s rating to fall in the polls is for the news to get out that he has not paid his taxes. Immediately voters come to the conclusion that he is not fit for office because he does not care enough about his country to pay his taxes.
Giving of our MONEY is A BIG PART OF the Christian’s life. Jesus chose to deal with giving first. Listen, it is important that we give, but HOW WE GIVE IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT!
In this list of three things - the first thing Jesus emphasized was that Christians BE NOT LIKE THE HYPOCRITES IN THEIR GIVING. For us to not be like them, we have to consider HOW DID THEY GIVE?
I. THE MONEY.
Look at verse 1. We read, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, TO BE SEEN OF THEM: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
Did you know that people respond better in their GIVING, PRAYING and FASTING if there is someone to watch them. It is the nature of man that he likes to be SEEN!
Illus: Former television pastor, Rex Humbard, used to pastor the church in Akron, Ohio. Almost every Sunday the church was full, reaching as many as 5,000 a Sunday. When he was pastoring, he televised the Sunday morning services. During the services the television cameras were constantly scanning the audience as they prayed, gave, and worshipped the Lord. When he announced he was going to retire and the services were no longer televised, did you know that their attendance was cut in half immediately?
It is a statistical fact that if you can provide a forum for people to be seen, THEY WILL BE THERE TO BE SEEN!
In Matthew 6:1-4, the Lord is teaching that we should not GIVE to be SEEN. Does that mean Jesus was teaching that we should never give an offering in public collections?
Many good folks think that was exactly what He was teaching. If that was the only verse in the Bible that teaches how we are to give, I could understand why some folks would think that. However, throughout the Bible we see that God’s people PRACTICED PUBLIC GIVING. Why?
God has a purpose in having His people give in public. What is that purpose? The answer to that question is found in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
If ALL of our good works, which includes our giving, were done in secrecy, how would the lost world see that we love the Lord?
Illus: Maclaren said, “The thing to be taken heed of is not the doing it BEFORE MEN...THE DOING IT TO BE SEEN OF THEM.”
We can see the GIFT, but God sees the MOTIVE BEHIND THE GIFT. The Pharisees and scribes gave publicly. They gave TO BE SEEN OF MEN. So Jesus told the people, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE UNTO THEM...”
Illus: It was obvious that every religious thing they did in public was done out of the motive of their desire to be seen. They gave in public to be seen by man.
- They prayed in public to be seen by man.
- They fasted in public to be seen by man.
Jesus made it clear to them, and to us, that if OUR MOTIVE for doing any and all of these things is NOT RIGHT, then He is very displeased with us.
Illus: It is hard to believe that God would be displeased with anyone who would give, pray, or fast, but it is a fact that when anyone does all three of these things out of the wrong motive, He is very DISPLEASED WITH HIM!
God is not like mankind. We do not always place a great value on motives.
Illus: If someone gives us a thousand dollars, often we do not care what the motive for their giving is. To many the MONEY is more important than the MOTIVE.
God is not impressed by the money, no matter how large the amount may be. He is pleased when the MOTIVE IS RIGHT. The Bible example of this is in
Luke 21:1-4. We read, “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”
Notice, Jesus is in the temple and He is watching the rich and the poor cast their offerings in the public collection. I believe the Lord still does this. As He was watching, He saw the rich people cast in their large offerings. Then Jesus saw a poor widow cast in two small copper coins. Having seen this, and knowing their hearts, He concluded that she had given more than all those rich people put together. The rich had given a little out of their abundance. The poor widow had given all that she had.
God not only observed the gift, He knew the motive behind her giving.
Illus: Let me ask you something. Suppose at Valentines Day someone bought you a beautiful valentine. He had the money to spare so he bought you the most expensive valentine gift available. Then suppose a child who did not have any money came along and gave you a valentine that he had made out of piece of paper with his own little hands and wrote “I LOVE YOU” on it. Which of the two valentines would mean the most to you? The one that the child gave, or the one from the person who spent the most, but who had plenty left? I’m sure everyone here would agree that the one from the child, who had no money, meant the most because he gave all he had and it came from a heart of love.
God is very much concerned with WHY we pray, fast and give! Next, let’s look at...
II. THE MOTIVE.
Notice, when the Lord told us to give He told us not to give as the hypocrites. Look at verse 2, “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
People can have only one of two motives for giving to the Lord.
A. They can give for a wrong motive.
Jesus said that the hypocrites sounded trumpets before them to attract attention to their giving. Some theologians have a hard time believing anyone would do such a thing. They think this is no more than a metaphor.
Listen, I do not have a hard time believing that they actually did that. We all know that what some people will do to get attention is absolutely astounding Why do you suppose some people DO and WEAR some of the strange things they DO and WEAR? It is to DRAW ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES! For example:
-If people did not want to draw attention to themselves the car industry would go out of business. Many people put themselves thousands of dollars in debt just to be seen by others.
-If people did not want to draw attention to themselves you would not see any young boys wearing britches that sag so low they appear to be about to fall off.
-If people did not want to draw attention to themselves you would not see the EXCESSIVE amount of jewelry worn at one time that you see some young ladies wear.
-If people did not want to draw attention to themselves they would not wear purple and green coloring in their hair.
-If people did not want to draw attention to themselves they would not wear nose jewelry.
People do all kinds of OUTLANDISH things to draw attention to themselves. In the light of this fact, I do not have a hard time believing those hypocrites actually did blow trumpets to draw attention when they put their offerings in. Let us read what the Lord said again. I know we could shuffle the comma around and make this read differently, but let us read it the way it is written again. He said, “...DO NOT SOUND A TRUMPET BEFORE THEE, AS THE HYPOCRITES DO IN THE SYNAGOGUES AND IN THE STREETS...” According to God’s Word they actually did that. They WANTED TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES when they gave, prayed, and fasted. They had decided the best way to get attention was to use THE THINGS OF GOD to promote themselves.
If you think that kind of self-promotion ended with that statement, you are mistaken.
The Lord is displeased any time we use service to Him to draw attention to ourselves. God knows we have given out of a WRONG MOTIVE when we give of our TIME and our MONEY TO BE SEEN BY MEN. Then there is the other way people can give...
B. They can give for a right motive. Look at verse 3. We read, “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”
We are not to reach in one pocket and pull out the gift with one hand and at the same time raise the other hand up and point to that hand so everyone will notice what we are doing.
Illus: Many God-fearing pastors are very careful about this. In fact, many will tell you that they personally do not enjoy getting up in front of people. If they had their choice in the matter they would never be in a pulpit preaching. But God called them. Why would God choose men who preferred not to be in the spotlight? Because those men give God the glory for what is done!
Illus: A Christian lady loved the Lord very much. For years she has taken care of some elderly folks. She has done this in a very unostentatious manner. In fact, hardly anyone would guess she did it unless they could observe her daily comings and goings.
Illus: Another Christian lady died. Many knew that she loved the Lord, but not until she died did they find out how much of herself and her resources she had been giving to help others.
God is pleased when we GIVE out of a HEART OF LOVE FOR HIM and FOR OTHERS. When we do this, something very mysterious takes place in our lives. Look at...
III. THE MYSTICAL.
This is in the sense of the spiritual. Look at Matthew 6:4. We read, “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
Notice the mysterious things that take place as we give SECRETLY. He rewards us OPENLY. Of course the Bible teaches we are to give PUBLICLY and also PRIVATELY. Still, if you want God to REWARD YOU OPENLY there is a BIBLE SECRET. God’s OUTWARD BLESSINGS come to us as we GIVE, PRAY, and FAST as secretly as we can, not drawing attention to ourselves.
Illus: Matthew Henry commented, “When we take the LEAST NOTICE of our good deeds, God takes MOST NOTICE of them.”
The giving of the hypocrites was as if it were nothing at all. What were they doing? They were purchasing something.
Illus: Every time they placed money in the offering plate it was for the attention of man, so actually they were purchasing attention.
Illus: This reminds us of those who say, “See this trinket that I am wearing around my neck?” We answer, “Yes, where did you get it?” They answer, “I sent a fifty dollar offering to .............and he sent it to me.” The owner of the trinket thinks he gave an offering. That was not an offering. That was a sale. He bought a trinket for fifty dollars. He could have gone to a local jewelry store and bought the same thing for $10.00.
Jesus did not recognize the giving of the hypocrites. They were purchasing something. Again, WHAT DID THEY PURCHASE WITH THEIR MONEY? They purchased the PRAISE OF MAN. This is why Jesus said, verse 2, “...Verily I say unto you, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD.” The attention of man was their reward. They were PAID IN FULL. They spent that money FOR PRAISE OF MAN. That was their reward.
I am afraid a lot of people are going to be told they have no rewards when they stand before the Lord.
-Some will have had Sunday school pins they earned for attending Sunday school for twenty-five years. They will expect to receive a big reward, but none will be forthcoming because perhaps they were in Sunday school for the wrong purpose.
-Some will be expecting big rewards because every week they put tithes and offerings in the offering plate, but they will have no reward because every time they gave it was for a tax deduction, or out of duty instead of giving because they loved the Lord.
Conclusion/Summary: In Matthew 6, the Lord knew the hypocrites were putting up a pretense of service, but the motive was all wrong. God is teaching that in our GIVING, PRAYING and FASTING we should not be as the hypocrites. Jesus said that they had their rewards already. They got their rewards from man. “Be not ye therefore like unto them...” The question today is: “Do you have your reward already from man, or are you serving God out of a heart of love for Him?” If you are serving God out of the right kind of motive, HE HAS PROMISED TO REWARD YOU!
Conclusion/Summary:
I. THE MONEY
II. THE MOTIVE
III. THE MYSTICAL
