Why Do You Serve?

Introduction

[begin recording]

Sermon on the Mount Breakdown

We have finally done it! We finished the first section of the Sermon on the Mount last week when we finished chapter 5. Very briefly, before we get into the next section that begins at chapter 6, I want to go over a review of the the things we covered in chapter 5. You can always go back and watch these sermons on Facebook or listen to them by going to our website gnbc.church.

The Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5

The Setting - (v. 1-3) - On a mountain side, surrounded by a multitude, sitting (position of authority), directing his words to his disciples.

The Beatitudes (v. 3-12) - These describe the Christian as he is. These are character traits that every Christian has, not of his own doing, but by the work of the Holy Spirit within him.

The Christian’s Effect on the World (v. 13-16) - The is the section of being salt and light. The Christian that lives these character traits out will have a profound effect on his community.

Jesus’ Relation to the Law (v. 17-18) - Jesus confirms here that he is not trying to replace or destroy the law, but to fulfill it. He fulfilled the law in various manners: 1) fulfilled ceremonial law by embodying the symbolism contained in the Jewish ceremonies, 2) he lived out the moral law by never committing sin, 3) he fulfilled the penalty of the law (though he didn’t have to) by dying and taking God’s wrath upon himself, thus satisfying the blood-debt for all those that will believe in him and accept him.

The Christian and the Law of God (19-20) - We are taught in this section that our relationship to the law must be very different than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. Our righteousness must exceed theirs if there is any hope to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Letter of the Law vs. The Spirit of the Law (v. 21-48) - This final section of Chapter 5 instructs us on the supremacy of the spirit of the law over the letter of the law. Jesus concludes this section by saying, “Be ye perfect (complete, mature) in this area as your Father in heaven is perfect.” We are also reminded that in keeping the spirit of the law and not only the letter of the law, we become reflections of our heavenly Father.

As we come to the next section, you might be breathing a sigh of relief because, honestly, chapter 5 contained some hard truths. Did anyone besides me think that some of these things were difficult? Did anyone besides me fall under conviction about certain things we were doing wrong or certain attitudes we had adopted that were not pleasing to God?

If your in that group of people with me, you might be thinking to yourself, “Phew! I am glad that is over!”

But I will remind you of something I said in the beginning of this sermon series back in January— These three chapters may be the most uncomfortable to study because as we study them, they bring a mirror right to our face, and we cannot escape what we see. Martin Lloyd-Jones stated this about chapter 6:

“There is no chapter which is more calculated to promote self-humbling and humiliation that this [chapter 6]. But thank God for it. The Christian should always be anxious to know himself.”

And this chapter brings us face-to-face with ourselves. So if you were thinking that God confronting us through His word was going to let up a little, I’m letting you know that there are some more uncomfortable truths coming.

Pre-sermon invitation

So today, I am going to do the same thing I did at the beginning of this series. In just a bit, we are going to have a time to talk to God. I am letting you know, just like I did at the beginning of chapter 5, that there are things that will come up as we study chapter 6 that God is going to speak to you about. So I am going to ask a question, and before anyone raises their hand, I want you to hear the full question and what the implications are and think carefully about the decision that you will be making. And today, you will make a decision. If you abstain from making a decision today, that in and of itself is a decision. So listen carefully, and just to be clear, I’m not asking for anyone to raise their hand right now.

How many of you would be willing to say to God, “God, if throughout the study of Matthew 6 you show me something that needs to change in my life - some area in which I am lacking, some practice I need to begin or stop, some attitude that needs to be adjusted to your point of view- whatever it is, if you point it out, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it is, I will submit to your will in that area.”

And before you jump to saying ‘yes!’, I want you to think about what that means. If you tell God this, this is a commitment to Him. If you make this decision public, which I honestly think everyone should, it becomes a commitment to your church and to the members of this body with you. This is a serious thing. We are commanded to keep our promises to the Lord. Making a decision like this does not mean you will be perfect, but it means that you will be open to God pointing out the things in your life that need to change to be more conformed to the image of Jesus. It means that when you mess up, you will repent, and you will turn back to Him.

It means that you are inviting those that you share this decision with to enter into your personal space to encourage you in your decision, but also to lovingly point out when you have gone against your decision.

So consider those things carefully for a moment. I will now ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. I will ask that for the next few moments nobody be talking or looking around. Here is the question again.

How many of you would be willing to say to God, “God, if throughout the study of Matthew 6 you show me something that needs to change in my life - some area in which I am lacking, some practice I need to begin or stop, some attitude that needs to be adjusted to your point of view- whatever it is, if you point it out, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it is, I will submit to your will in that area.”

If this is your true desire, I’ll ask that you raise your hand and hold up for a little while.

Very well, you can put your hands down. At this time, I would like to give you just a short moment to commit that decision to God. Take a moment to pray and tell God exactly that: that if He points anything out to you throughout this study, you will a submit to his will inn whatever thing he points out.”

If you raised your hand and spoke with God and told him that, right now, only God and I know what this decision is. But perhaps you would like to experience church as it is meant to be experienced, and by that I mean, living in encouragement and accountability to fellow members of this church.

Those that raised your hands a while ago, and only those that have made that decision, if you are willing to make this decision and join in the support of your brothers and sisters in Christ, would you at this time just raise your eyes and look around. Look around at those that made this decision with you. These are the people that you need to add to your prayer lists. These are the people that you can count on to be there for you, and these are the people that will count on you being there for them in this discipleship journey we are on.

I will ask everyone now to open their eyes and look up now, and we can begin our study through Matthew chapter 6.

The Righteous Life

Here we come to a section that encompasses all of this new chapter, and it is about righteous living. It deals with the Christian living his life in this world in the presence of God, actively submitting himself to God, and being totally reliant on Him.

In this sixth chapter we find references to God the Father reoccurring. As Christians and disciples, followers, of Jesus, we have learned the characteristics that we possess: we are poor in spirit; we wrestle with sin and are saddened over it; we are meek and humble - this means we are teachable, not defensive nor aggressive toward others; we hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and what He says is right in our lives; we are merciful, knowing that God has first shown us mercy and understanding that it was completely undeserved; we are pure in heart, meaning we are pure in our thinking, in our emotions, and in the exercise of our will; we are also peacemakers, wiling to mediate and reconcile two parties that are at odds, but also willing to spread the good news of salvation to a world that needs to be reconciled with God. And lastly, we are sufferers. We suffer for the cause of Christ and for his name’s sake. All these things may not seem like they would do it, but these character traits bring us great happiness. And this is how we can tell if we are living this life in our own strength or in the power of the Holy Spirit. In our own strength, all these things would seem terribly defeating and frustrating, yet through the Holy Spirit, they bring immense happiness.

We have also learned how we are to live in society, and we have been reminded what it is that God expects and demands from us. Now in this new chapter we see a picture of the Christian living in the world, and the thing most emphasized in this section is that it is all done in the presence of God the Father.

Martin Lloyd-Jones gives the description of this chapter in this way:

“This section presents a picture of the children in relationship to their Father as they wend their way on this pilgrimage called life.” - D. Martin Lloyd-Jones

This chapter reviews our life as a whole considering two primary aspects. The first aspect we might call our religious life. This is the part of life that concerns itself with our direct relationship to God. As we look at this aspect of our lives, we are reminded that Christians are not of this world. We are children of God, citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. We are simply pilgrims and strangers in this world. We do not belong here as other people do. As we travel through this world, we walk with God. However, as we walk through this world, this world is continually doing things to us, and in many senses, though we are not of this world anymore, we are subject to many things in the world (temptation, weakness, hunger, thirst, etc.)

The second aspect of life we might call the ‘mundane life,’ or life in general. Even though we are not citizens of this world, we have a relationship to the secular world, that is to say, the aspects of this life that are not necessarily religious in nature. We live in a life that has certain concerns — work, food, clothing, shelter, family, and so forth. These are what the Bible refers to as “the cares of this world.” And though we are not to get wrapped up in them, they are things we must face and face them in the right way.

In chapter 6 both of these aspects, our religious life and mundane life, are taken up by Jesus and dealt with in detail. We need to be absolutely clear about both of these matters, and as disciples of Jesus, we need instruction in both of these areas. The aspect dealt with in the first part of Matthew 6 is the aspect of our religious life, so that will be our focus for now.

It is a great lie that is too often believed, and taught, that the moment we become Christians, our problems are solved, and our difficulties disappear. The truth is that the Christian life is full of difficulties, traps, and attacks. This is why we need the Scriptures. John Bunyan, author of A Pilgrim’s Progress, and many other Christian writers have pointed out very well that life is ‘beset by problems.’ Read Christian biographies. Read about such people as Hudson Taylor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. People that suffered for the cause of Christ as they lived out their relationship with God in their pilgrimage through this life, but somehow they did it joyously.

You can also read of men and women that lived their religious lives badly and found themselves losing their joy and happiness in Christ.

So let us begin. Matthew 6:1 Acts as the introduction to verses 2-18, and though today we will only cover four verses here, let’s go ahead and take a look at what it says.

“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.”

Here in this verse, Jesus lays down the fundamental principle that should govern the religious life of the Christian. “Do not do your almsgiving before men.” This motif is repeated twice more as Jesus talks about, not only giving alms, but also about prayer and fasting. It has said that these three spiritual practices encompass all the religious life of a Christian.

Alms-giving - the giving of our material possessions for the benefit of others

Prayer - my communication with God, to include my expressions of praise to Him

Fasting - the steps which I take to mortify the flesh

And since Jesus is about to deal with the righteous living of his disciples in the next 17 verses as he deals with the nature of our giving, our prayer life, and our fasting, while using the same principle that is used in verse 1, we could properly state this verse this way:

“Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”

Let’s take a look at this whole passage that we will begin studying in more detail next week.

Matthew 6:1–18 (skip 9-15, the Lord’s Prayer)

1 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.

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.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

So we find here that Jesus is covering the 3 main aspects of our religious life: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting. And He emphasizes that we are to be doing these things for the Lord. Again, what we see here that we saw in chapter 5 is that the heart matters. Our heart, the intentions behind our actions, matters more to God than anything.

The Heart Matters

Mark 7:6 (KJV 1900)

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

It matters to God what my intentions and what my heart is when I do something.

So now we come to the confusing issue. We read already toward the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount that we are supposed to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify the Father which is in heaven, but now it says, don’t do your righteousness before men.

So what am I supposed to do? Do I do what is right so that everyone can see, or do I hide in my house all day and not come out so that people can’t see me. Which one is it? You might think that Chapter 5 is for the extroverts and Chapter 6 is for the introverts, but that is not the case.

The answer is that we are all called to live in such a way that when men look at the quality of life we possess, they will then glorify our Father in heaven. We do not do things to attract attention to ourselves, we do things to point to God. If we just take these two phrases in Matthew 5 and Matthew 6 without considering what is said about the heart, then we will likely fall into one of two opposing camps: 1) living ostentatiously with a desire to be seen of all, or 2) living like a hermit without contact with anyone else. Those two are both sinful extremes.

What is important to realize is that we are called to do both things at once. We are to be seen, and many time will be seen, but not for our glorification, but so that God can be glorified in the eyes of those that observe us. So it does not mean that when we do things for the Lord, others will not notice us, but it means that we have not set out to do those things so that others will notice us, but to truly serve the Lord.

There is a clear way to know if I am doing something for the Lord or to be seen of others. If I am doing it for the Lord, and nobody notices, it’s ok. But it I am doing it for myself and nobody notices, it bothers me.

Does that mean that we are not to honor those that serve the Lord? Absolutely not. The Bible tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. It is good and necessary to show our appreciation to those that serve the church and others for the Lord’s sake. This is why we have a worker’s appreciation Sunday every year. But what it means is that when I don’t get recognized, I don’t get offended, I don’t quit, I don’t give up.

So when you don’t get the recognition that you think you deserve, you are ok with that, because in the end you did not do it for the recognition, but you did it for the Lord, who will one day reward his faithful servants openly.

This brings us to the most contested battleground of our life. The battlegrounds of choice. The choices that we make ultimately come down to this question: “Do I please myself or do I please God?” In pleasing myself, I gain my reward immediately, and lose it just as quickly.

However, what I should be concerning myself with is the reward in heaven. This reward, we will see later, is incorruptible, unloose-able, and un-steal-able.

Jesus starts out Verse 1 with the phrase “Take heed.” “Make sure.” Make sure that you are not doing your righteousness, your giving, your praying, and your fasting for the purpose of others noticing you. There are no eternal rewards for that. There are only eternal rewards when we fully do our righteous living for the Lord.

Jesus teaches us that when we do things for the reward of men, or even just to be noticed of them, then we get no reward from the Father. When we concern ourselves about what others will think of us when we do ministry, when we pray, when we teach or preach, when we serve in the nursery or on the worship team, whatever the people think of me is my reward. So how should I do things? I should do them without a thought for myself. I should not announce it, not even to myself.

Matthew 6:2–4 (KJV 1900)

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. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Don’t tell anyone, don’t keep records of it, just don’t do it. Do things, such as giving, praying, and fasting as you are moved of God by the Holy Spirit. We must have such a love for God that we cannot think of ourselves. Our only hope is that we be so consumed with love for God that we have no time to think about ourselves. And Jesus is our example here. As we seek to do this in our own lives, we must not loose sight of Jesus on the cross. He endured the pain, the torture, the scorn, the Father’s wrath, and death as he thought about us. He endured and he suffered for the glory of the Father and for the love he possesses for us.

How Do You Serve?

We have a pretty large percentage of people serving in different ministries here at Good News, and that is a good thing. I am going to try to mention all of the different ministries and ministry programs that we have going on here.

Sunday AM and Wednesday PM services

GNKids

Catalyst - Good News Teens

Worship teams

Audio/visual

Good News Cares - caring for our elderly and shut-ins

Hope CDA - providing food approx. once a month for the men of Hope CDA

Deacons Fund - helps take care of those in need

Men’s bible studies - Wednesday mornings w/ Paul Pestel

Women’s Bible study that happens for a few months out of the year

Nursery

Why do you serve? Is it so that you can get a gift in June? I tell you what… If you’re serving just for a cookie and a notebook and pen or a pair of socks, you might be disappointed when you open that gift bag...

But really. Why do you serve? Is it because it is fulfilling to you, rewarding? Don’t get me wrong, when you do things for the Lord, he makes it very rewarding within your soul, but we shouldn’t serve for the reward, or to satisfy our own likes and passions.

We should serve for these two reason: Because we love God and His work and because we love others and want to show that love.

For others, this is the question: Why don’t you serve, why don’t you participate in a ministry?

“Oh, its just not what I’m passionate about. I just don’t like doing that. I feel weird. I just don’t think I am capable of serving. I don’t feel comfortable. I had a bad experience before.” I hear a whole lot of “I”s when I ask this question. Very rarely do I hear a reasoning that God has not led them to serve in that area. And listen, God wants his people to serve.

We are fixin’ to start 2 new ministries in our church. One is a food pantry, the other is a young adults fellowship. There will be plenty of reasons why you “couldn’t possibly” help with these ministries. But wold you be willing to pray and ask God how you can serve your church?

I’ll finish up with this. We are a church. A body that is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The church has often been compared to a battleship, but too often it gets treated like a party boat, or at best, a cruise ship.

Too often, we participate in only what pleases us. Like on a cruise ship that might be scheduled to dock at a certain port for a certain amount of hours, we consider the “options” of getting off and doing the things that are available for our entertainment; or maybe we just stay in the cabin and rest. We eat until we’re stuffed, we complain when things aren’t comfortable or to our standards, and we believe we have that right because we paid for an experience.

But the church is not a cruise ship or a party boat. Nobody here paid for an experience. I hope that that is not what you think the tithes and offerings are for...

This is a battleship. If you’re a member, you are part of the crew. You are expected to work. It is not expected that all work will align with your passions or that it will always be enjoyable. Sometimes you may go trough periods of zero rest because it is has been a time of “all hands on deck.” The work will be stressful. The hours long sometimes. Sometimes, like a sailor at the end of his normal shift, you may think you are about to get some rest when all of a sudden, the alarms start sounding that are calling all personnel to their battle stations, regardless of how tired they are.

Sometimes there is smooth sailing, but a battleship is meant for war. It is meant to fight. It is meant to be built like a Timex and ‘take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. It is manned by personnel that are not deluded by the thought that it might be a cruise ship. No. Everyone knows what the mission is., and in this church, everyone should know what the mission is.

We have one mission statement that encompasses two primary things.

Good News Baptist Church exists to make disciples that impact the world with the Gospel of Christ.

We exist to make disciples. Disciples make disciples, so discipleship must happen here before it happens outside. Those that call themselves disciples follow Jesus regardless of what the discomfort may be. Thousands followed Jesus for food, thousands followed Jesus for a miracle, thousands followed Jesus out of curiosity, but when he started to preach things that made them uncomfortable, thousands left Him.

But there were some that stayed. Those stayed in the boat and fought a storm for hours, completely exhausted instead of giving up and turning back. Those same ones boldly proclaimed Jesus death and resurrection even when facing torture and death. The apostle Paul went through prisons, stonings, beatings shipwrecks, and finally death as a faithful servant of the Lord.

He didn’t complain. He stayed faithful, and then encouraged those that were going through fewer issues to stay faithful too. He understood that the Christian life is a fight. Fights are uncomfortable. If you prioritize comfort in a fight, you die.

We exist to make disciples that impact the world with the Gospel. Our mission from Jesus Christ is to go and make disciples, preaching the gospel to every creature.

Listen. We are a battleship and we are on mission. We can keep the same letters and rename our church to Good News Battleship Church, taking the fight to the gates of hell for forty-something years.

What are you doing for this church and its mission?

Why are you doing what you do for this church and the mission Christ has given us?

Invitation

Life Groups

Was there anything that stuck out to you?

During the study of Matthew 5, were there any specific teachings that convicted you to change something in your life? How did you respond to that conviction?

How has the study of the Sermon on the Mount acted as a mirror in your life, revealing areas that need change or growth?

As we move into Matthew 6, how do you plan to approach the uncomfortable truths that might be revealed? What steps will you take to remain open to God's correction?

What does it mean to live a righteous life in the presence of God?

How do you balance the "religious life" and the "mundane life" as described in the sermon?

Jesus emphasizes doing acts of righteousness without seeking attention. How do you check your motivations when serving, giving, or worshiping?

What do these two quotes mean to you?

My worth to God in public is what I am in private.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

Men fall in private long before they fall in public.

John Charles Ryle (Bishop of Liverpool)

How do you react when you do not receive recognition for your service or good deeds?

How does Jesus' example of selflessness, especially on the cross, challenge you in your own service and sacrifices?

Reflecting on Matthew 6:2-4, how can you serve in ways that prioritize God's glory over personal recognition? What changes might you need to make in your approach to service?