Generosity for the Audience of One

Good morning. My name is Billy Nye. I have the privilege to be on staff here at Christ the King Church,

and it's my joy to open the word with you this morning.

Well, if you didn't know already, let me tell you now, human beings are odd.

We're an odd bunch.

There are lots of things that make us odd.

I think the very fact that SpongeBob SquarePants is not only a product of human creativity but also a popular TV show,

that says something about how odd we are.

I'm sorry if you're a fan. I never was.

But here's another reason we're an odd group.

We do all sorts of good things, which on the outside appear to be virtuous and right and even God-pleasing,

but we do them for the wrong reasons.

And we start young, too.

I'm glad my daughter just left because I'm about to talk about her.

One of my children, I will not name names, is prone to doing this.

This is how she does it.

She will often sweetly, with a very sweet tone, share a toy with her brother.

Here, Zaya, you want this toy, don't you?

Would you like to have this toy?

And on the surface, it looks like she is doing the right thing.

But that sweet gesture is totally ruined when it becomes very apparent that she's sharing that toy

in order for him to drop the toy that she really wants so that she can get what she was after all along.

Right thing, right deed, wrong reason.

So today, brothers and sisters, Jesus has some strong words of warning for us.

Our master Jesus knows what is best for us.

He also knows us really well.

And he knows that a heart that has mixed motives is not what is best for us.

He is after something else, something far better for us.

So would you turn with me to Matthew 6?

We're going to read the first four verses of Matthew 6.

We actually will start up in the last verse of chapter 5.

As you turn there, let me just give you the context.

If you haven't been here recently, you may not know, but we're in the middle of a series on the Sermon on the Mount.

Pastor Mike has been leading us through several parts of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is bringing a hammer down again and again and again and again,

clarifying for us the heart behind God's holy law.

That it was revealed in the Old Testament.

And he shows us again and again and again that he is after our full, wholehearted obedience to God's perfect holiness,

not just our obedience to the surface.

So now, let's hear in Matthew 6 how Jesus is going to continue to call us into our Father's holy perfection,

but he's going to do it in a slightly different area of our lives.

So let's read.

I'll start in verse 48 of chapter 5.

Let's read from God's holy word.

Verse 49.

As we saw last week and for the past month or two,

Jesus has been calling us to a full-on imitation of his Father's infinite holiness.

Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

But now Jesus is turning a corner.

He's going to call us to that same imitation of God's perfect holiness,

but in another area of our lives that might surprise us.

In our acts of devotion and service to God.

That's right.

Our spiritual disciplines, our godly habits, our good deeds of righteous living,

these are all the right things that Christians are called to do.

But even these things, and perhaps especially these things,

are in danger.

They are in danger of being done for the wrong reason.

Because of the deceptiveness of our sinful hearts.

So in this passage, Jesus is telling his kingdom citizens

to perform their acts of devotion with only one holy aim,

to please their heavenly Father.

That's it.

No mixed motives.

So we are to do all of our acts of godliness,

whether giving, prayer, fasting, Bible reading, singing, songs of worship,

all of them with one holy aim,

and that is to please our heavenly Father, nothing else.

This is the principle that we see in verse 1.

I'll expound it in just a second.

We're also going to see that there's a practice of this principle

that's being spelled out,

particularly with regard to our acts of generosity.

So we've got a principle laid out.

We see the practice of it with generosity.

But then we're going to step back,

and we're going to see that there's a problem.

And then lastly, we're going to see a promise

that God is making to us as we step into obedience to this principle.

So four Ps, principle, practice, problem, promise.

First, let's unpack the principle.

Look with me at verse 1 again.

Prepositions, they're important.

Look with me at verse 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.

Let's get one thing straight from the get-go.

Jesus is not saying,

don't do acts of righteousness in front of other people.

This would be impossible

because we pray at the dinner table in front of our family.

We read our Bible in the school cafeteria.

We raise our hands in public worship.

We place a check in the offering plate as it goes by.

We read scripture out loud for a small group.

We serve at the Sunday morning breakfast.

We paint the 1962 edition on your day off.

Thank you all for all of you who are painting.

Our works of righteousness are inevitably public.

That's just life.

But it's not just life.

It's also God's design.

Look back with me to chapter 5, verse 16.

Jesus telling his disciples,

you're the light of the world.

You're the salt of the earth.

So because you're the light of the world,

in the same way,

let your light shine before others

so that they may see your good works.

They're supposed to be public.

But here's the reason.

So they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

So our righteousness is to be on public display

in such a way

that those who see our works of righteousness,

our works of devotion to the Father,

would be able to turn their eyes from us

and give glory to our Father

because it's reflecting His infinite holiness.

So yes, our right actions,

our good deeds are to be done

in front of others.

That's inevitable.

And it's God's design.

But Jesus is not talking about

just the surface level here.

He is going beneath.

And He is getting to the heart level.

The key of this principle is in the phrase,

in order to be seen by them.

Man, Jesus knows us, doesn't He?

He knows that in and of ourselves,

as soon as our desperately sick hearts

sense that we're doing something good,

we will start looking for an audience.

And then we will be doing the right things

for the wrong reason.

Have you ever sensed this in yourself?

Ever catch yourself thinking this

when you're praying out loud at a small group

thinking,

boy, that sounded pretty spiritual.

I hope they take notice of that.

We laugh because we know it's true, right?

Or have you ever had this wonder

through your mind

when you're lifting your hands in praise

and you're like,

I must look pretty devoted to God right now.

Or have you ever let drop a hint of your godliness

in a conversation?

Maybe you're really sincerely trying to help a brother

or sister by telling them something

to encourage you from God's Word that week,

but you're really kind of hoping at the same time

that they notice that you were reading God's Word that week.

That's why Jesus tells us to watch out.

In the words of one commentator,

as soon as Jesus gives the command,

be perfect,

he turns right around and tells us,

be careful.

He knows that as soon as we begin pursuing the perfection

of our Father's holiness,

we will be tempted to hijack that pursuit of holiness

and put it to use in the service of self,

not in the service of God.

Jesus is not naive.

He knows how easily we can deceive ourselves.

He knows that we can deceive ourselves

into thinking we're doing the right thing

out of devotion for God

when we're really doing it

at the same time

to build our own ego

and serve our reputation.

He knows how we like to hijack

the right things of the kingdom of God

and use them to build the kingdom of self.

Jesus knows how easily we do this

and he knows how bad it is for us.

Look at the last part of verse 1.

For then,

you will have no reward

from your Father who is in heaven.

And it is our Father's reward

that is to be our only motivation

as we practice our righteousness.

More on that reward a little bit later

when we get to the promise.

So, what's the principle?

All of our acts of devotion to God.

Giving generously,

praying faithfully,

reading scripture deeply,

singing with joy on a Sunday morning,

serving others with your gifts,

all of it is to be done

for one reason and one reason only,

to please your Heavenly Father.

That's the principle.

Now, let's look at the practice

of that principle

as it's applied to our acts of generosity.

Let's look at verses 2 through 4.

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.

But when you give to the needy,

do not let your left hand know

what your right hand is doing,

and so that your giving may be in secret

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you.

So, here's the practice

of that principle in a nutshell.

It is important to Jesus

that we give generously to the needy

and it is equally important

how and why we give generously

to the needy.

Back in Jesus' day,

as well as in our day,

generosity is a pillar

of a godly life.

The Bible has a lot to say

about our money and our resources.

I recently read 2 Corinthians 8

in my devotions

where Paul was encouraging the Corinthians

to consider the way

that Christ has acted generously toward them

as a motivation to give generously.

There was a collection going up

for the needy brothers and sisters

in Jerusalem

and he was appealing

to the Corinthians' experience

of God's grace on their behalf,

God dealing generously with them.

So, he says,

For you know the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that though he was rich,

yet for your sake,

he became poor

so that by his poverty

you might become rich.

That's the foundation

of Christian generosity.

Christ has been so generous to us.

And so,

it's natural

that we give generously

and cheerfully

to others who are in need

because our Father

has acted so generously toward us.

But Jesus knows

that as soon as he calls us

to imitate his generosity,

the deception of our hearts

will pervert

that right act of generosity

to give for the wrong reason.

So, in verse 2,

he's saying,

don't call attention to yourselves.

Don't try to get glory

for yourselves.

He tells his disciples

not to sound a trumpet

before them

when they're being generous.

That's what the hypocrites do.

There's no historical evidence

that any Jews

actually blew trumpets

as they sought to give

to the needy.

Jesus is using extreme language

to paint a picture

of how absurd it is

to call attention

to our good deeds.

It's like you're blowing

a trumpet in the streets,

blowing a trumpet

in the synagogue,

saying,

look at me,

tooting your horn.

And what's the reason

these hypocrites

are tooting their horn?

That they may be praised

by others.

The original language

is even more damning.

That they may be glorified

by others.

Yikes.

I thought Jesus made it

pretty clear

in verse 16 of chapter 5,

let your light so shine

before others

that they may see

your good works

and give glory to you.

Give glory to your Father

who is in heaven.

That glory belongs to God.

But in seeking

to call attention

to their generosity,

they're seeking

to get glory for themselves.

They're becoming

glory stealers.

Because deep

in their sinful hearts,

these hypocrites

desperately desire

the exaltation of self

above the exaltation

of God.

It's like the moon

refusing to acknowledge

that its light

is only a reflected glory

from the sun.

The moon was made

to reflect the sun's glory,

not steal it for itself.

We were made

to reflect God's glory

to others,

not steal it

for ourselves.

And so Jesus

at the end of verse 2

tells the glory stealers

that they will get

what they want.

That's all they'll get.

Truly I say to you,

they have received

their reward.

They are paid in full.

They want a few heads

to turn.

They'll probably get it.

If you want to

subtly establish

a reputation

as a godly person

by stealing God's glory

through your

public acts

of generosity,

then you might get that.

That's all you'll get.

That word hypocrites

comes from the Greek literature

for an actor

on a stage.

As one commentator

puts it,

all that actors get

is the applause

of a fickle crowd.

Nothing more.

So,

what do we do now?

How do we not

be like that?

Well,

Jesus turns

and gives his disciples

some advice

about how to be generous

in a way that is pleasing

to their Heavenly Father.

In verses 3 and 4,

he commands us

to give secretly

and sincerely

to please our Heavenly Father only.

So,

instead of tooting your horn

to call attention

to your generosity,

Jesus says,

don't even let

your left hand

know what your right hand

is doing.

In other words,

our King,

this is pretty crazy,

our King is telling us

to be so discreet

in our generosity

toward others

that we barely

take notice of it

ourselves.

Let alone

try to make others notice.

He's saying,

don't just not

announce it to others,

don't even announce

it to yourself.

Take enough notice

to do the deed

and then put it

out of your mind

so that spiritual pride

doesn't take root.

In the words

of John Stott,

Christian giving

is to be marked

by self-sacrifice

and self-forgetfulness,

not self-congratulation.

Congratulation.

Jesus follows us up

with a purpose

so that your giving

may be in secret.

And oh, by the way,

the Father who sees

in secret,

He will reward you.

So,

are Christians to give

generously of the resources?

Absolutely.

It's part of the way

we respond to God's

generous grace

toward us.

But Jesus calls it

to do it in such a way

that we only desire

the secret audience

of our Heavenly Father,

the only one

who sees in secret.

Jesus' followers

are commanded

to live their entire lives

in the presence

of their Father

who is in Heaven.

He sees us,

He knows us,

even down to the thoughts

and intentions

of our hearts.

That is generosity

for the audience

of one.

Now,

I wish I could say

Amen,

let's go home.

I wish I could say that.

Maybe you're wishing

that too.

I wish I could send

everybody off

with a healthy reminder

to give generously

for the audience

of one

and we're out of here.

But that would be cruel

because if you're

anything like me,

then you probably

just had Jesus

unearth a really big problem

because He's just

given you a clear command

to do the right thing

for the right reason.

So here's that third P,

problem.

What's the problem?

The problem is that

this is really hard

to do.

In fact,

if we're honest,

none of us

ever really do this

consistently.

Our motives

are seemingly

always

mixed.

And that makes us wonder,

can we do this?

Is this kind of holiness

possible?

Is this a bar

that I can reach?

Our hearts are so deceptive,

aren't they?

We can convince others

that we're doing

the right thing

because we love God

and we desire good

for others

and yet all the while

we're secretly hoping

something,

that someone will notice

how much we love God

and how much we love others.

maybe we even try

to give secretly.

Maybe we even

give an anonymous gift

to someone.

Maybe we make sure

to fold our checks

so they're not seen

and we put them

in the offering plate

so it's not seen

how much we give.

Maybe we give generously

with our time

and our energy

and an act of service

or ministry

and we don't do it

in a way that calls

attention to ourselves

and we really try hard

not to do that

but then what are we

tempted to do?

We hope that someone

traces that anonymous gift

back to us

so that we can be thought

of as someone

who's really godly,

who gives in secret.

We hope that someone

saw us fold that check

in half

and noticed our modesty.

We hope that someone

sees our humble

act of service

in the way we didn't

call attention to ourselves

and considers us

a truly generous

and humble person.

Or maybe it's even worse

maybe we simply

just boast about it

to ourselves.

Maybe we simply

congratulate ourselves

rewarding ourselves

with what people

would reward us with

if they knew

how generous

and humble we were.

Ah!

Are we that messed up?

Or is that just me?

Maybe it's just me.

I don't know.

That's a problem.

That's a very big problem.

Maybe we do

the right thing

but it's almost always

with some mixed motive,

with some divided heart.

And there's this cocktail

of wrong reasons

that just comes out

of the depths

of our hearts

that love to steal glory

from our creator.

We take the simplest command

of Jesus

to give generously

and we hijack it

to serve our reputation.

Is perfection

without pretense

possible?

Is holiness

without hypocrisy

possible?

Is it possible

to glorify God

without glorifying self?

Who can do that?

Who is sufficient

for these things?

Because we know ourselves.

Well in a word,

in a beautiful

and wonderful word,

Jesus is.

Jesus is sufficient

for these things.

Look back with me

to Matthew 5, 17.

Do not think

that I have come

to abolish the law

and the prophets.

I have not come

to abolish them

but to fulfill them.

Jesus gives us

a really high standard.

He hasn't come

to abolish the law

and bring it down.

In fact,

He raised the bar

because He pointed

to the level

of our hearts.

But notice what He says.

I came

to fulfill it.

Jesus came

to fulfill

God's holy law.

He came not only

to tell us

that God's law

must be obeyed fully

at the heart level,

He came to live it.

In all of Jesus'

acts of righteousness,

He always sought

the glory

of His heavenly Father.

In all of His generosity,

He did it completely

for the glory

of His Father

and for the good

of the person

He was helping.

His heart

was not divided.

His motives

were not mixed

between a desire

to please God

and a desire

to please self.

He always did

the right things

for the right reasons.

His heart

was fully intact,

pleasing His Father

perfectly at all times,

even when He was tired,

when He was stressed out,

or unpopular,

or hungry,

or lonely.

And then He obeyed

the Father

to the very end,

fulfilling all righteousness

by going under

the flood

of God's wrath

for sinners.

the perfect one

died for the pretentious.

The holy one

died for the hypocrites.

The one who always lived

for the audience of one

was now put to death

by those who craved

the glory of self.

And it's through this,

Jesus,

that you and I

receive a righteousness

we could never get

on our own

by faith.

It's through our trust

in Him

that we can die to self

and we can live

to please our Heavenly Father.

He's the one

who solves this problem.

If you're like me,

this particular sin

of loving the praise

of others

is a problem.

If you've ever

paid attention

to the motives

of your heart,

you know that that's

probably there

in some way.

But Paul gives us

a little hint

in Philippians 3

that through Jesus

we can aim

at the perfect holiness

of our Heavenly Father

and strive on

even when we fail.

This is what Paul says

in Philippians 3.

I am not already perfect,

but I press on

to make it my own

because Christ Jesus

has made me His own.

Forgetting what lies behind

and straining forward

to what lies ahead,

I press on

toward the goal

for the prize

of the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus.

Yes, this is a problem.

But as we set our sight

on Jesus

and press on,

we can repent

when we fail

and we can trust

and pray

for the grace we need

to grow

in our sincere devotion

to our Heavenly Father.

Principle, practice,

problem.

Now let's finish up

with a promise.

There's a promise

that God gives us

as we strive

to give generously

for the audience of one.

Did you catch

all those references

that Jesus made

to rewards

in these verses?

The hypocrites,

they only get the reward

that they're after.

That's because

the approval of others

and your own reputation,

it's temporary.

It's unsatisfying.

We weren't made

to be satisfied

with the applause

of a fickle crowd.

We were made

to be satisfied

in deep,

satisfying relationship

with the God

who made us.

The God

who sees us.

The God

before whom

we live

our entire lives.

And He's also

the God

who knows

how to reward

those who diligently

seek His approval

for His glory.

That's the promise.

The promise is

that God

is the one

that keeps the books.

we don't have

to be.

We don't have

to try to keep track

of how we're doing.

We don't have to

either before God

or others.

As we seek

to please

our Heavenly Father,

He's the one

that we can trust.

He's going to take

care

of the final outcome.

Now certainly,

the New Testament

does talk about

some heavenly

eternal rewards.

Paul talks about

the crown of righteousness

that awaits those

who love His appearing.

Jesus talks about

recompense

for His disciples

who have given up

the things of this world

to follow Him.

How Jesus is going

to supply

everything they need

both in this life

and the life to come.

There's reward

for those who follow Christ.

But I want to concentrate

just on the big

obvious reward

that's here

in this chapter.

The reward

of living

for the audience

of one

is our renewed

joy-producing

relationship

with our Father

who sees us

in secret.

When my kids

do the right thing

and I can tell

it's for the right reason,

the right reason

of wanting to please

me and do what's right

because it's right,

oh man,

that just makes my day.

And I love it

when they do this

because it doesn't

just make me happy,

it makes them happy.

Whenever Isaiah

or Karis,

Micah's too young,

but whenever they

do this,

do something

that they know

is right

and they know

they're doing it

for the right reason

and they see me,

see them do it

and they're like,

they're just

going to get giddy

and they kind of

come up next to me

and they want

to be with me.

Why?

It's because

our relationship

is okay,

there's nothing

between us

and that's a source

of joy for both of us

and that's God's

promise to us

when we give generously

of ourselves

for his pleasure only.

At the very least,

discounting any

further heavenly reward,

at the very least,

he promises us,

he promises us

a deeper awareness

of his presence,

a greater desire

to please him

and the satisfying

joy of knowing

that we are his people

and he is our God

and there's nothing

between us.

It's what we were

made for

and as our

relationship with God

grows,

it displaces

the joy-deadening

appetites

of seeking the glory

of self.

If you notice

when you're seeking

after your own

reputation

how unhappy

you are,

I know I know

that.

As Martin Lloyd-Jones

wrote,

we must have

such a love

for God,

listen to this,

imagine you

having this,

we must have

such a love

for God

that we have

no time

to think

about ourselves.

what a reward

would that be?

No anxious

looking around

to see if my

generosity was

noticed.

No concern

about my reputation

as a godly person

or how people

see me.

To be free

from the enslavement

of self-awareness

and self-promotion

and to be free

to know

and enjoy

God's love

for me

as his child

seeking only

his glory

in my acts

of righteousness.

What could be

better than

that kind

of reward?

So brothers

and sisters,

let's be generous

with our time,

our resources,

our money

because our God

is generous.

Let's look for

opportunities

to cheerfully

give out of

a genuine

concern for others

and to please

our Heavenly Father.

Let's also

be careful.

Let's ask

the Lord

to examine

our hearts.

Let's be careful

of the deception

that can come out

of our glory

stealing hearts

to seek

to rob

God's glory

from Him

and totally

dissatisfy us.

May the promise

of a joyful

and unbroken

and undivided

relationship

with our Father

beckon us

to a life

of integrity

and pure motives.

and when we fail,

brothers and

sisters,

let's quickly

repent.

Let's not dwell

there.

Let's repent

of our absurd

pride of tooting

our own horn.

Let's repent

of our hypocrisy.

Our God knows

our frame.

He knows

we're dust.

He forgives

generously.

And finally,

let's set our

eyes on Jesus.

He's the one

through whom

we please

our Father

with undivided

hearts.

It's by the power

of His Spirit

dwelling within us

that we are enabled

to do the right

thing for the right

reason

as we live lives

that are generous

to His glory.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father, we're aware

of Your eyes.

We know that in Christ

we don't have to be afraid.

We know that in Christ

we have only to repent

of our stupid pride,

to put it off,

to abandon the mixed motive

of stealing glory from You,

and to seek to be

in a living,

satisfying,

day by day,

moment by moment,

satisfying relationship

with You,

seeking to please You

all day long.

I pray for my brothers

and sisters

that You would enable them

to walk in this,

cause us to lift our eyes

to You now,

to see Your sparkling righteousness,

Lord Jesus.

and may that

take our eyes

off of ourselves

and get us on You.

Lead us in this

by the power of Your Spirit,

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.