The purpose of giving

If you have a bible open it up to Matthew 6. We have made it through chapter 5 after studying it for 4 months we land in chapter 6 where we will spend again some time in this chapter. I have titled the message this morning, “The purpose of giving.” Pray with me.

In the beginning of chapter 6. Jesus addresses three key things the Jewish people would know quite well, Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting and this comes after we have just learned about what the ideal character of a Christian looks like, and how they can be a witness in the world, and how their own righteousness is going to be manifested in the world, and then we get to this text, where again Jesus is challenging them and their way of thinking and there way of living.

And if I could have you walk away with one main point today it would be this.

A Christian should give with no-one else's glory in mind except for God.

Let me read you the text this morning and then I will break it down for you.

Matthew 6:1–4 ESV

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. 2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Few points to help us understand and apply the text along the way the first is this.

A righteous Christian seeks only God’s glory and his reward.

Verse one is interesting verse when you think about what we already learned back in chapter 5. When Jesus said Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 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.

this makes you remember that Jesus has already taught us we are to be this salt and this light in the world so how can we not be visible when we practice righteousness. Well Jesus is telling us in this text that we should not shout to the rooftops look at me, I am a good Christian, ill touch more on that in a moment.

But what Jesus want’s us to focus on is that we make our Christian life all about honoring God seeking his reward, not others.

If we live a Godly life in this fallin world people will notice it, but we should not have this look at me attitude. Look what I have done or how I act. Our service as Christians should not be so so and so knows I am a good Christian, so I will have a good reputation among men. We live out our Christians lives out faithfully because we have been changed by God, and we want to honor him with that change.

Our living for Christ should come from a place of gratitude that he died for our sins, and that gratitude is the driving force behind our very own walk. He loved us to the point of dying for us even dying on a cross, and for us its a worthy way to walk if we want to live for Christ, and seek his rewards.

But the greatest reward we can get cannot get from man. It comes from God. And It’s not wrong for us to seek heavenly rewards when the text drives us to seek them out. But the rewards are not like you hear from other faiths who came so say you may get your own planet, or have a carnal rewards in heaven, or an abundance of this or that. The greatest of all rewards that you can have is God himself.

And that alone should motivate you. But listen here God notices what you do whether in person or as we see in the text in secret.

That fact that goes sees this should extend into our everyday lives in every aspect. For me that comes down to my preaching, my preparing, my prayer life, my own giving, and what I do when no-one else is around, and no matter what you do as well you will be rewarded for how you act around others and in secret.

but why does he warn us then of doing our deeds so others might see?

Well next point is this.

A Christians giving should not be done for the praise of any thing other than God’s praise.

Jesus over and over again likes to address the problems of the day. One of those problems of the day is people were going around making a big deal of helping those who were in need.

and we have slightly touched on this already but Jesus wants us to do things for him and his kingdom without making a big deal about it.

he gives a few examples here. but notice what he calls them hypocrites really just actors. People who want to be seen for helping other people, but not helping others for the right reasons. There were alot of people like that during Jesus day and you could even argue in our day.

What is a hypocrite ? well I quite like the definition of what one man said. The word hypocrites originally referred to a play-actor who performed on the stage of the Greek or Roman theater. The verbal form of the word was frequently used in Jewish writings in the time between the writing of the OT and NT to speak of the act of "pretending."

Many ancient play-actors aspired to be celebrities adored by the masses. They lived for the thrill of standing ovations and the prizes and awards sometimes presented for excellent dramatic performances.

The hypocrites to whom Jesus referred were spiritual play-actors who pretended to have a pi-ety that they did not actually possess in order to inspire the applause of a human audience.

In Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus appealed to Isa. 29:13 to describe hypocrisy: "Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said: These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. They worship Me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men." This suggests that hypocrisy involves pretended devotion to God, empty worship, and the substitution of human authority for divine authority."

So Jesus is warning these people here.

Sound no trumpet dont make a deal about what you are doing In the synagogues or in the the streets. Proclaiming your great giving to those who are in need.

For us don’t tell people about your tithes your offerings what you do for the community all the time. Ever see those facebook posts or whatever look what I did I helped this kid in Africa or Asia or in a poor place in the USA get something , or better yet I help fed a homeless man or women. Those things are great and for ministry purposes you might talk about them some but what is your motive behind it? Jesus is serious about or motives. Listen to this Luke 11:40-42

Luke 11:40–42 ESV

40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Today if you are famous there is a good chance you have some sort of charity behind you and I don’t know the intentions of there hearts they may be good or bad, but why put your name on them if you don’t want to be known for doing something good and lifting your own name up. You see all the time people talk about this person gave this and this person gave that and you wonder if its for their glory or the glory of God. Again what is the motive? The people that Jesus is talking about have the wrong motives.

Jesus really goes to the heart of the matter here saying are you doing this for me or your own praises. Martyn Lloyd Jones says..Their is a principle is that the ultimate choice is always the choice between pleasing self and pleasing God. That may sound very elementary, and yet it seems necessary that we should emphasize it for this reason.

‘Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.’ ‘Surely, then,’ we may think, ‘the choice is between pleasing men and pleasing God.’

I suggest that is not the choice: the ultimate choice is the choice between pleasing self and pleasing God. Ultimately our only reason for pleasing men around us is that we may please ourselves.

Our real desire is not to please others as such; we want to please them because we know that, if we do, they will think better of us. In other words, we are pleasing ourselves and are merely concerned about self-gratification. That is where the insidious character of sin is seen. What appears to be so selfless may be just a very subtle form of selfishness. According to our Lord it comes to this: man by nature desires the praise of man more than the praise of God. In desiring the praise of man, what he is really concerned about is his good opinion of himself. In the last analysis it always comes to this, we are either pleasing ourselves or else we are pleasing God. It is a very solemnizing thought, but the moment we begin to analyse ourselves and see the motives of our conduct we shall agree that it comes to that.

That cuts to the heart so what he is saying is it may appear that we are just seeking the good of others, but are we guilty of just seeking to please ourselves. I have known people like that that seek to just do good so they can feel good about themselves….

who doesn’t feel good after they help someone its natural right, sometimes we do it with the right heart sometimes we dont, but Jesus always go a step further right that is why he gives us verse 3.

Matthew 6:3 ESV

3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

Most of us are right handed I think we have a few lefties in here Nathan, and Keith I know atleast but the Lord gives this example because most of us are right handed and he doesn’t even want us to let our other hand know when we give.

Essentially he is letting them know on the mountain top don’t even remember your own good deeds just do them. Don’t keep right of what you have done for the church, or others, because your job as Christian is do good honor the Lord be faithful and seek his reward and move on.

You see at OU or really any campus all these buildings named after people why? well this is not always the case, but I know sometimes its because they most likely gave something to get their name on it. Some seek it some don’t but the reality is that we do not need to give seeking our own praises or the praise of man? Why because our reward from God is greater than any plaque, any yearly giving receipt , and any name on some random building.

See money was such a big deal in that time and in our time, and Jesus was more interested in someone who gave in secret than someone who shouted it in the churches and the streets those who make a big deal about themselves when they give.

See God wants you to give for his glory. Knowing he is the one always watching, knowing he is the one who changed you most not anyone else.

See I believe this..

The natural result of being a righteous Christian is that giving becomes a way of life.

Which is my third point.

The natural result of being a righteous Christian is that giving becomes a way of life.

All of what I am about to reference is our website about being a good steward, but I got all this years ago when I read a book that I would recommend every Christian read titled, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian life, by Don Whitney.” one of the top 10 Christian books you can read just phenomenal, but I like to quote it when I can he says this and ill tie as best as I can to the text we are in today. But really there is 10 ways I believe giving becomes a way of life for a righteous Christian first is this.

1. God owns everything you own. ​ 1 Corinthians 10:26 ESV 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” ​ Haggai 2:8 ESV 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 2. Giving is an act of worship. ​ Philippians 4:18 ESV 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

When you give you are physically worshiping God. 3. Giving reflects faith in God’s Provision. ​ Mark 12:41–44 ESV 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

When we give we trust that God will provide. 4. Giving should be Sacrificial and Generous ​ 2 Corinthians 8:1–5 ESV 1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

When you give to the Lord don’t do it out of abundance give sacrificially, and Generous. Go beyond give more.

5. Giving reflects spiritual trustworthiness ​ Luke 16:10–13 ESV 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

For most of my adult life I have had the right belief that when I give I am trusting the Lord to do something with it. 6. Giving = Love not legalism ​ 2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Its not legalism to give to the Lord in fact its loving to give to him. 7. Give Willingly, Thankfully, and Cheerfully I would reference the verse above. 8. Giving an Appropriate response to real needs. ​ Acts 2:43–45 ESV 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ​ Acts 4:32–35 ESV 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. ​ Acts 11:27–30 ESV 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

This is what the people during Jesus day were suppose to do give to real needs. Sometimes in the church or in the world we live in we have real needs that come up if you can meet them do so.

9. Giving Should be Planned and Systematic ​ 1 Corinthians 16:1–2 ESV 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. Notice the time frame. each gets paid differently give accordingly. Notice each of you. We are all called to give.  Notice it says he may prosper. God has always taking care of us as we give to his bride and his causes. 10. Generous Giving Results in Bountiful Blessing. ​ Luke 6:38 ESV 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

This is not prosperity teaching its just honesty.

The natural result of being a righteous Christian is that giving becomes a way of life and those principles will become part of your life if you are a faithful giver, and we give because we have been given Christ who is by far the greatest treasure.

When you think about Christ he did not make a big deal of his own righteous he knew who was watching the Father he knew the reward of his faithfulness that he would have the name above all names and the scripture teaches us clearly that every knee will bow at the feet of Jesus Christ who blew no trumpet while he was here proclaiming of his greatness but the trumpet will sound when he returns. all he did over and over again was healed and he changed multitudes and he humbly went to the cross having you and I and every believers name in mind saying he or she is mine, and I am going to the cross to die to rise again so I go return to the father and that one day all those who believe in me can return to me in glory.

See we give because of what we have been given God himself who we will see later on in Matthew is worth far more than anything this life can offer so with that in mind that God is always watching and he died for you don’t you believe you can give only with God’s glory in mind, because you may give all you have or just a little but in the name of the Lord and for his glory its worth so much more than the applause of men.

Do you know the who gave himself today? If you repent turn away from your sins, and be saved by believing in the name that is above all names Christ, and if you have believed are you giving for the right reasons, and has given become a way of life for you. All important things you must ask yourself. Let us pray.