Matt 6:1-4 If a Tree Falls in the Woods

If a Tree Falls in the Woods, Does it Make a Sound?

Intro: If a tree falls in the forest, and there’s nobody around to hear, does it make a sound?

This is one of those philosophical questions that has been asked for some time. If no one is around to hear it, does it qualify as making a noise, or do you say, of course the breaking of the tree, the cracking of the bark and the resounding thud when it hits the ground makes a lot of noise.

The same can be said when doing God’s will. What if you do something and no one congratulates you? Would you still want to perform the good deed when there is no selfie or someone saying well done good and faithful servant almost immediately. We are social beings and so many people like to receive some kind of recognition. It is nice to hear people say thank you for helping or giving to someone less fortunate.

But is receiving some kind of accolade the reason you volunteer, or give away food and water, help the homeless, teach at church or give the little extra effort

Main Point: God’s approval and acknowledgement of our deeds is the only one we need.

I. Seen by God

“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.”

In the ancient world, there was no social security system to take care of people or 401Ks for people to invest in for their retirement. The people didn’t earn a lot any way so they probably could not have saved, so the widows, the poor, the orphans, the handicapped, or people with physical problems could not earn money other than families taking care of them or they had to rely on begging and receiving alms.

God instructs the Israelites in For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. And some people are to take care of the other people.” With this instruction, God answered Cain’s question when he asked, am I my brother’s keeper? God is saying yes you are and you will do it with generosity.

So let’s be clear her, because Jesus says it twice in four verses “When you give to the needy” both in verse 2 and verse 3. But what Jesus is saying is watch out how you conduct yourself when you are giving to the needy.

So Jesus in his sermon, has just discussed our inward motivation, our heart motivation and what makes us act a certain way. And so he continues on with piety or righteousness because in the next section, almsgiving, prayer and fasting are all outward expressions of how righteous or pious we think we are and as Jesus plainly states if we do it to please men or please God. Again it comes down to our heart and how and for whom it is displayed.

The challenge here to how society or the hypocrites thinks about giving to the poor and our motivations are. Are we blowing our own trumpet or tooting our own horn,saying look at me i just gave this guy a $100. So everyone can be impressed that you have that much money to possibly spare and also you just helped someone out.

When we do things like that, we have already received our award and reward.

And that is the rub. We are usually around people and we see them, we can feel the pat on the back to see the line of people wanting to shake your hand, invite you to a banquet to laud you as the volunteer of the year.

But when we act in a Christ like manner only to get praise from men, then we have already received our rewards

II. Cheered by God

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.

Jesus reiterates when you give.Agin it is a command but here he terms the giving and how we go about giving in a positive way. He says don’t let your right know what your left hand is doing. There is no comparison to the hypocrites or the world it has to do with what you do and the only person that it matters to. Jesus is telling you and me that we only need to be concerned with what God sees us doing. You will be rewarded

Giving is between you and God. Be a cheerful giver, take care of the needy. Don’t make a big deal about it. We do not need to be tempted to look around to see who is watching.

How many of you remember Candid Camera? Or any other shows that have hidden or discreet camera catching people in their natural element. Who takes care of whom? How do you act if someone is watching you? Do you walk by a homeless person on the corner? What would you see if you were on Candid Camera. Do you only give when people are around or would you be more apt to give when no one is around?

Why? Because God will give you a greater reward when you get to heaven than any award or reward that a person can give you.

Giving Today

The question is how do we, as a church, let people know what we are doing without getting accolades from other people. We are told to let our light shine before men, but then we are told, what sounds like don’t tell anybody.

So our motivation of what we are doing should show others The light of God. Not to show them us as individuals, but as the church, as a group of people who are like minded and demonstrating their discipleship to the One true God.

So we can tell people what we did or are doing, but that is to show people that Christians in particular and Baptists specifically are living out what we profess. and so it is not for accolades form them, but to shine that light toward them so they see God in us and not someone who is just bragging.

Be use you see, Jesus died on the cross for the glory of the father. In the garden Jesus prays in When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Conclusion

Jesus starts us off by reiterating another part of the law from Deuteronomy, andexlains how people have perverted the good act of giving to the poor, and made it about themselves. Taking the focus off the person in need to fulfill the person’s selfish greed.

And then he Encourages and reminds us to when we give, we should not seek to get the accolades from men,but we should do it out of love for our fellow man.

Giving is a command because God the father gave his son, God the Son gave his life.

So the question we started off with is does a tree make a sound when it falls even if no one is watching? The answer is would say is yes of course it does. Likewise, the question we may ask ourselves Does the homeless person get fed if I give them a sandwich or buy them a meal and and I don’t tell anyone or nobody is around to see me do it. The answer is of course yes. But our motivation is what is important to God. He sees our heart when we are doing this action for someone else when we sacrifice for someone for the least of these.

Giving is a command because God the father gave his son, God the Son gave his life for us. We can give to others and show the light of God. People will take notice because the light is shining. We don’t need to buy an oversize lightbulb because in the world of darkness, a small light can be seen for miles.

The Lord’s Supper

This prayer comes form Robert Hawker a puritan known as the Star of the West because of his excellent preaching skills

Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans A Communion Prayer

How good it is, Lord, to receive a broken Christ into a broken heart. We feed on your body broken, and your blood shed, as the sole, the only, the all-sufficient means of salvation by faith!

Lamb of God! Keep your table sacred from all leaven, both in the persons approaching it, and the offerings made upon it.

Do not allow the leaven of hypocrisy and wickedness here, but let all who meet around your table be of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

And Lord, please come into your house, to your table, to your people. Let each person hear and joyfully accept the invitation of the kind Master: Eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink abundantly, O beloved!

Then Lord, make us yours, altogether yours! Let our whole body, soul, and spirit be all yours, both by the conquests of your grace, as they are justly yours, and by the purchase of your blood.

Never, never more may we depart from you, but as did the church of old, may we exult in this blessed assurance, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” Amen.

How good it is, Lord, to receive a broken Christ into a broken heart. We feed on your body broken, and your blood shed, as the sole, the only, the all-sufficient means of salvation by faith!

Lamb of God! Keep your table sacred from all leaven, both in the persons approaching it, and the offerings made upon it.

Do not allow the leaven of hypocrisy and wickedness here, but let all who meet around your table be of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

And Lord, please come into your house, to your table, to your people. Let each person hear and joyfully accept the invitation of the kind Master: Eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink abundantly, O beloved!

Then Lord, make us yours, altogether yours! Let our whole body, soul, and spirit be all yours, both by the conquests of your grace, as they are justly yours, and by the purchase of your blood.

Never, never more may we depart from you, but as did the church of old, may we exult in this blessed assurance, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” Amen.

Robert Hawker, “A Communion Prayer,” in Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans, ed. Robert Elmer (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 144.