Who gets the glory in the giving?

Open: Family night at VBS was a great time. We had lots of fun after the service as we ate together, watched the children play and had some Kona Ice. Our oldest granddaughter, Hallie, did not get a Kona Ice because she lied to her mother. Meredith gave her the chance to tell the truth and told her that if she lied she wouldn't get a Kona ice - she lied anyway and had to go without.

Transition: Meredith wanted to reward Hallie with a Kona Ice. The other 3 received the reward so she warned Hallie that she could lose out. Now in the scope of Eternity, missing out on a Kona Ice at VBS is not a big thing, Losing out on Eternal Rewards from Jesus, however, is serious business and we would do well to heed His warning.

Read the Text: Matt 6:1-4.

KC’s have the potential to receive rewards from the King Himself. (Matt 6:1)

Explanation: In this next section of the Sermon Jesus lays out governing principles of behavior for KC’s in three major areas. The first deals with how we are to interact with others through giving, the second deals with our behavior towards God through prayer, and the third deals with our self control through the principle of fasting.

Jesus begins His teaching on the topic of giving with a warning. His warning focuses on the loss of eternal rewards as a result of improperly handling this area of Kingdom life. The emphasis on the front end of His teaching is designed to get our attention. His teaching is geared toward encouraging us to live in such a way so that He CAN reward us for our obedience in this area.

Illustrate: When we warn our grandchildren about their behavior, we don’t give the warning in hopes that they won’t listen just so we can avoid giving them an ice cream sandwich. We WANT to be able to give the reward. It gives us pleasure to give to them when they do the right thing.

Argument: God is a Good and gracious God. In addition to to giving us grace that we do not deserve, He will reward us for serving Him. What an amazing bonus! He is for us and He is encouraging us (Heb 6:10; Mark 9:41)

Application: Understand that heavenly rewards are those things that we can return to the Giver in the realms of glory. One day in Eternity we are going to have the privilege of joining in around the throne and casting our crowns before Him in an act of worship (cf Rev. 4:10) Let us live this life so that we have something to offer.

KC’s are EXPECTED to help out those who are less fortunate (Matt 6:2a)

Explanation: Notice that Jesus says ‘when” you give; He doesn’t say “if you give. We who are IN Christ are expected to be giving and generous. The expectation is directed to those who are needy. No qualification is given - just that they are in need of material assistance. When we give we are not to make a distinction between believers and unbelievers - we are to give indiscriminately, as long as a genuine need exists.

Examples: give to a fellow church member who has lost a job or is experiencing financial hardship; help restore a home through disaster relief.

Argument: KC’s are to give back. Our giving is NOT, however, to be on the same level as the world like a “pay it forward thing. Our giving is to be in the Name of Jesus and it is to serve as a witness.

Our motive for giving is Crucial (Matt 6:2b-4)

Explain: Jesus makes is very clear that our motivation for giving is incredibly important. Yes, KC’s are expected to be giving people, but the manner in which we give is just as important as the fact that we give. The reason we give is the standard which determines if we will also receive a heavenly reward from the King or just a passing nod and a plaque from fellow travellers on the way.

Just as He has in the previous section of the sermon, Jesus contrasts the unrighteousness of the Pharisees with the righteous behavior of His Kingdom Citizens. Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their pride: they gave to the poor, but they gave so that they would be recognized for their ‘generosity.’ Their giving was showy and designed to draw a crowd. Jesus declares this type of giving gets no eternal recognition. The reward for hypocrites is simply the momentary and rapidly fading applause given by other people that is for the most part, quickly forgotten.

Argument: Jesus tells us the right way to perform charitable deeds is to not let your left hand know what the right hand is doing. This is simply a way of saying that your giving is to be discreet. The correct way is to serve in the shadows - then our motive is to help because God has blessed us and we know that He expects us to help others. We give and do the right thing without the expectation of public recognition.

This is important because we are so driven by the need to be recognized - we WANT someone to know how great and selfless we are!

Illustrate: Pastor in revival at Oakbrook telling the story of how he stopped to assist a motorist who ran out of fuel. He went to the nearest station, got some gas, and returned to put it in the tank. He told us as he was standing on the side of the road in his suit doing his good deed, he caught himself watching the passing cars in hopes that one of his church members would notice that their pastor was such a humble servant!

Argument: It also bears mentioning that this command to do charitable deeds in secret (Matt 6:3) has been seen to be in conflict with Jesus’ words in Matt 5:16 where He tells us to “let your light shine before others.” Properly understood, there is no conflict as Jesus is referring to two different situations. A quote from John Stott’s commentary on the SOTM may be helpful:

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (A Christian’s Religion: Not Hypocritical but Real (Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18))

It is our human cowardice which made him say ‘Let your light shine before men’, and our human vanity which made him tell us to beware of practising our piety before men. A. B. Bruce sums it up well when he writes that we are to ‘show when tempted to hide’ and ‘hide when tempted to show’. Our good works must be public so that our light shines; our religious devotions must be secret lest we boast about them

Application: We are to take a public stand for the things of Christ when called on, even when we are concerned about the personal consequences. That is letting our light shine. This section and its warning is a check on our ego - we do not need to have a plaque with our name on for every single swing on the church playground (West Edgecombe Baptist Church SS members!)