Since God Sees Us Every Moment... Series

Since God Sees Us Every Moment...

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 6:1-8

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 8, 2013

(Revised February 13, 2021)

MESSAGE:

*Tonight, in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount we are in Matthew 6:1-8. Here, Jesus teaches us some important lessons about giving, praying, and relying on God. But the essential truth that ties these lessons together is that Almighty God sees us. Every moment of every day, God sees us.

*Many Scriptures confirm this truth. After God appeared to Hagar, in Genesis 16:13 she "called the name of the LORD who spoke to her "El-ro'-i," which means 'You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees.'"

*God sees us, and not just on the outside. God sees into the deepest parts of our hearts. A thousand years after Hagar lived, the Lord wanted a new king for Israel, and He chose David to be the king.

*At first, the prophet Samuel only knew that the new king was going to be one of Jesse's 8 sons, and Samuel invited them to a sacrifice. But the prophet did not know that young David was off taking care of the sheep. Samuel assumed that one of the sons at the sacrifice would be the new king, and he started with Eliab, the oldest.

*1 Samuel 16:6-7 tells us, "So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, 'Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him.' But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'''

*God looks at our hearts, and He sees us all. Psalm 33:13-15 says: "The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works."

*God sees into our hearts. King David knew this, and in Psalm 69:5-6 David prayed, "O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You. Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel."

*Please focus on this truth tonight: God sees me. He sees us all, all the time. He even sees the secret places of our souls. But what does this mean for us in tonight's Scripture?

1. FIRST, IT MEANS THAT WE SHOULD BE GENEROUS GIVERS.

*Jesus Christ surely wants us to be generous givers. He wants us to help people less fortunate than we are. That's why in vs. 1-3 Jesus assumed that His followers would be doing charitable deeds.

*Here the Lord said:

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.

2. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, 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.

3. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

*In vs. 2-3, Jesus did not say, "IF you do charitable deeds." He said, "WHEN you do charitable deeds." -- Not "IF" but "WHEN."

*God certainly wants us to give to help other people. And King Duncan said, "Our giving is a spiritual matter simply because there are some things in this world that only money can do. Think about it. Money can help send medical missionaries to places where they are desperately needed. Money can help feed the hungry. It can also help provide clean drinking water to the 844 million people in the world who don't have it."

*Money can also help organizations like The Gideons International keep spreading God's Word around the world. By God's grace and His people's generosity, the Gideons have already been able to distribute over 2 billion Bibles and New Testaments!

*And King Duncan noted, "You probably have enough money in your wallet right now to feed a hungry child for several days. Think of the power that gives you." (1)

*God wants us to be generous givers, because HE is a generous giver. He wants us to generously give our time, our talents, our tithes and our offerings. In short, God wants us to give our lives and our love to help other people every way we can. They will be blessed, and so will we.

*Sometimes even a small gift can make a giant difference. In 1992, a teacher named Jeff Leeland and his wife Kristi found themselves in a desperate situation. Their 9-month-old son, Michael needed a bone marrow transplant to save his life. But the health insurance at Jeff's new job did not cover the cost of $200,000.