In connection with our text, which is Matthew 6, verses 2 through 4, I would invite you to also turn to Matthew chapter 25 as we read the last portion, the story of the sheep and the goats. Matthew 26, beginning at verse 31 through the end of the chapter. This is the Word of God. When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on his left, then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. for i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat i was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink i was a stranger and you did not invite me in i needed clothes and you did not clothe me i was sick and in prison and you did not look after me they also will answer lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you he will reply i tell you the truth whatever you did not do for one of the least of these you did not do for Me, then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. We turn back again to Matthew 6. Verse 1 again says, Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. As we said last week, that verse is an introduction. It is a general theme for the three examples to follow with regard to giving, with regard to prayer, and with regard to fasting. And the theme, as we mentioned, we could say is the kingdom motive for righteousness. The motive for the acts of righteousness that come from God's people that characterize the Christian. And that motive, as we mentioned, includes drawing attention to God. Striving to please God. and recognizing the presence of God. And it's that motive then that our Lord would have us to keep in mind as we consider these three examples. This morning, the first example, verses 2-4. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul says in Acts 20, verse 35, In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. As children, we might have a hard time with that. It's more blessed to give than to receive because we enjoy receiving. And indeed, those who receive gifts, those who receive help from others, do receive a blessing in the form of that gift. But our Lord, Paul says, teaches that there is true blessing in giving. In giving that reflects the giving of God Himself. In giving that is evidence that the giver is a child of God. For that one, there is no greater reward than the reward that God gives. Yet the people of this world, and we must confess that at times we kind of fall into this a little bit too, but the people of this world seek and are satisfied with a blessing, A reward that comes in the form of the attention, the praise, the applause of men. A blessing that is not a true blessing. A blessing that is not lasting. A blessing that is really meaningless. Now once again, we ought to remember that Jesus is talking, speaking to kingdom citizens. He's talking to believers, contrasting them with those who thought that they were kingdom citizens. And here he is teaching about true kingdom generosity. True kingdom generosity versus hypocrites. Those who give a false impression. Those who try to give one impression on the outside like a coat of paint that is different from the true impression, the truth on the inside, the true heart motives. He's not talking here about unbelieving philanthropists. he's not talking about unbelievers who might be gracious and tend to give much themselves, who may give millions and receive praise from it and enjoy it. But he is talking about those who pretend to give out of love for God, yet really intend to receive attention and praise to themselves out of love for themselves. Now, the Pharisees we know posed as being faithful worshipers of God and as those who loved their fellow men. But really, they were self-righteous and they went after the applause of men for themselves. And Jesus teaches that this is not the Christian's motive for giving. He teaches that as He encourages true kingdom generosity that is characterized, first of all, by giving with diligence. Now, giving to the needy, you may recall we said last week, was one of the three fundamental acts of Jewish piety. And therefore, the Pharisees and the religious leaders, they stressed the importance of giving to the poor. And they did so with good reason, because it is a duty. It is a duty of God's people who have received generously from Him. A duty outlined throughout the Old Testament. Listen to what Moses says in Deuteronomy chapter 15. A few verses there. If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your poor brother. Rather, be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought. And this is the thought. The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near. Don't harbor that thought, he says, so that you do not show ill will toward your needed brother and give him nothing. In other words, don't think to yourself, oh, well, if I loan him now and it's going to take a long time to pay back, yet the year of cancellation is coming up, I'll wait until after that year and if he still has a need, then I'll give him something. It'll give him more time to pay back. Moses says don't do that. He may then appeal to the Lord against you and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart. Then because of this, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. There are many places we can go to. It's outlined all throughout the Old Testament. Moses, many places, and Exodus, and Leviticus. Don't harvest absolutely every last little bit. Leave some for the poor to glean, he says. The Psalms talk about it. Proverbs is full of this instruction for giving. Proverbs 25, 35 says, If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a stranger so he can continue to live among you. And then one more, Proverbs 19, 17, He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and He will reward him for what he has done. It is outlined throughout the Old Testament the duty for God's people to give generously. It's supported in the New Testament, clearly taught by Jesus Himself throughout the Gospel. And in James 1.27, we read, religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless, and He goes on to say it includes to look after orphans and widows in their distress. That's a part of a relationship with God. This is so important to God. The Christian faith is demonstrated at least in part in a life of giving. And here in our text with Jesus, giving with diligence is assumed. He says, so when you give, or also translated, whenever you give to the needy. Not saying, just in case you do. Jesus is not telling them to give. But He agreed with this religious duty as taught by Moses in the Old Testament. He assumed that kingdom citizens would, that those to whom much was given, they would give. And this is to be done by all. It's not just the duty of the wealthy believer. But all believers, as we have opportunity or ability or according to the means that God has given to us, even if it means that we might have to give up a few luxuries, True love of God in one's heart cannot help but to desire and to strive to help with giving that is varied. A variety of ways to give. Almsgiving means helping people. Giving a helping hand. Giving physical assistance if needed. Giving money or time or resources. Whatever kind of help that people truly need. And giving diligently. And also then in the second place, giving without declaration, without declaring it all over the place. Verse 2, So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. Jesus clearly points out the motive of the hypocrite, doesn't He? To be honored by men. Now Christ's illustration there is an illustration of how not to give. Do not give by calling for attention. He makes it clear that there are those who want to give to the poor and call their attention and the attention of anyone who may see to the giver, to the act of giving, and to the gift. Trumpets symbolize advertising, publicizing oneself. Hey, look at me! Watch me! I want you to see this. now jesus may very well be pointing to a a literal situation and literal trumpets it is said that if there were if an urgent need came up in the covenant community that the priest would blow the ram's horn and everybody knew what it was what it meant and the wealthy would close their shops or or simply stop whatever they were doing and they would run down the streets not the back alleys but run down the streets where they could be clearly seen and everybody knew what was going on because they heard the ram's horn and they could be seen as those who were responding in order to give he also may be referring to the 13 trumpet shaped collection boxes that were located in the temple they were narrow at the top apparently made of wood of wider at the bottom, maybe not looking like the trumpets of our day, but trumpet-shaped. And those 13 trumpet-shaped boxes all had different purposes, and everybody knew which box was for which purpose, and they could see if they happened to be in the temple when someone gave their offering, they could see who used what box. The first four boxes were for the temple tax, which was required by everybody, and then there were some boxes that were for the cost of turtle doves, for the offerings that needed to be offered, for the very, very poor people who could not afford a lamb or a goat, but could only afford a turtle dove, and they could give the cost of that turtle dove and put it in one of those boxes that were set aside for those particular offerings. And there were other boxes beyond the requirements that those who were rich could give to, well beyond what was required and even then as they put all their money in it would make a loud noise as it hit the bottom a little bit like if we had our offering bags just spread out here in the front and one color was for checks and another color was for a hundred dollar bills and another color for 50s all the way down to loose change and anybody could see which bag you used Jesus' point very simply is when you give don't announce it don't advertise it don't toot your own horn to claim to give help out of love for God yet to intentionally do so when you can be noticed and applauded is not a gift in the sight of God it is a purchase it is to purchase applause it is to purchase praise do not give in that way by seeking approval to be honored by men as one commentator says Jesus says that people who give in such a fashion whether in the street or in the synagogue whether in churches or toward charities whether as a company public relations gimmick or as a personal effort at self-promotion these people are hypocrites and the kind that actually are deceiving themselves thinking that they have the best intention of the needy in mind, but justifying giving with a trumpet blast in a sense because they're helping the needy as if the giving itself is more important than the motive behind the giving. But they are not helping the poor as much as they are using the poor to help themselves. To build their own reputation before men. They are less concerned about helping the poor and pleasing God than they are about earning a reputation for generosity and piety. Of course, the poor don't care. The poor are grateful for the help. They don't care about the motive, but God does. As Jesus speaks of the sad reward. To those whose motive is to be honored by men, I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. it's a successful public relations stunt and nothing else they get what they want and no more they get the praise of men and that lasts only so long until the attention of those praise givers is drawn somewhere else that reward lasts only as long as the breath to speak their praises if they want to be seen mission accomplished they have the reward they were seeking their purpose is fulfilled so what trumpets today might be for example press conferences or news publicity of charities established by the rich and famous who are praised for their activism on behalf of the planet or whales or the spotted owl or maybe even of those struggling in third world countries. Those who are highlighted in the national news for going to these countries and adopting one or two or three children in and of itself, nothing wrong with. A very wonderful thing. Or trumpets today may be hospitals or libraries or things of that nature named after major donors. Or on a smaller scale, donors who are recognized by charitable, or non-profit organizations by being called lifetime members or gold star members or listed on the President's Club or the Century Club or friends of something. All kinds of special recognition. And I'm not saying that all those who received that recognition were looking for it. Not at all. But there's all kinds of recognition to be had and it is so easy to willingly receive. But what good is it to have your name recorded in an annual donor's report or inscribed on a plaque or chiseled on a brick. Because those things will be thrown away. Eventually, they will rot. They will crumble. They are meaningless. People's memories fade. And sooner or later, someone else is going to come along who gives more than you do. Jesus teaches. True kingdom generosity is not concerned about seeing one's name recorded or receiving recognition, but true kingdom generosity gives with diligence and gives without declaration. And then in the third place, also gives with discretion, discreetly. Verses 3 and 4. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Now what a unique illustration. Hands. I mean, our hands often work together. We don't even have to think about it. The brain just tells them to work together and how hard it would be to cut a piece of meat or to tie your shoelaces or to drive a nail with a hammer or to thread a needle with only one hand. In a sense, our hands know everything about each other. It's hard to separate them. But I trust you see the meaning of Jesus is simple. do not only keep from announcing your gift to others, don't even announce it to yourself. With regard to the trumpet-shaped offering boxes, his point may have been, slip your gift in quietly with the right hand. Not with both, making a big show of it. With the right hand. Keep from applauding yourself, even silently, with pride. That still is no different than a Pharisee. Instead, forget about it. Don't forget about the one who receives, but forget about what you have done. And I believe we see that, in a sense, in Matthew chapter 25. The sheep say, when? When, Lord? That wasn't an arrogant when, filled with pride. It was so natural. It was so automatic. It was like breathing. It was just a part of life. They did not keep track. It's as if they were a little bit surprised and would say, well, why wouldn't I? What would you have expected? Jesus shows you just how quiet and just how private giving ought to be if possible. Giving with discretion, content with God's reward. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Beloved, be content. Be satisfied with God as the only witness. He doesn't need a huge production from you or me before men to see our giving. Of course, this does not mean that others will never literally see us in these things. They will. We said last week that we do live before the eyes of others all the time. But again, the point is heart motive, isn't it? you may very well be recognized if word gets out of your generosity, yet that word is not to be trumpeted by you or me about ourselves. Our desire is to be as anonymous as possible. And indeed, God may very well use one's generosity to motivate and encourage the generosity in others. Praise be to God. But as far as you and I are concerned, be content and satisfied with God as our only witness. He sees what no one else can. And to be content as David was in Psalm 139 that God was familiar with all of His ways. And He does notice. Again, Matthew chapter 25. He keeps track. You don't have to. I don't have to. God keeps track. Just as He keeps track as we read in Galatians chapter 5. He keeps track of the wicked's acts of unrighteousness. As Hebrews 6, verse 10 says, God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. And His reward indeed includes a godly satisfaction in this life. It's not wrong to feel good about giving. That is often God's blessing upon His people who give from a right motive. but He gives a godly satisfaction in Him. A godly satisfaction in His blessings and what He has given to us, enabling us to give. But the ultimate reward that Jesus points to is on that great day of judgment. As kingdom citizens will be presented before the eyes of all as those justified in Christ by the grace of God, those who by the work of the Holy Spirit gave evidence of being children of God by imitating the Father's generosity. Our desire is to be His approval alone because there's no greater reward than to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you. Yet, an inheritance not earned by us through our generosity, is it? But an inheritance earned for us by Christ Jesus through His generosity towards us. His generosity reflected ever so slightly by our giving to others. God gave to us freely and generously not because we could repay Him, but because of our great need. And again, He has forgotten every sin of His people that would keep us from inheriting that eternal life, as Galatians 5 reminds us. And instead, He remembers the evidence of faith for those who receive that inheritance which is earned by Jesus Christ. But also, as I said a moment ago, He remembers the sins of those who reject Him. And those sins will count against them on that day. But for those who turn away from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone, Those sins are thrown again to the depths of the sea. And He says, you are my child. I love you. You are saved. Yours is the inheritance. The piety that Jesus seeks is a piety that drives His people to give out of humble gratitude to God and because of the need of the person receiving. Why do you give? is it because of the irs tax deduction is it because it's good for your reputation young people why do you go to mexico giving up a week of work in the summertime to build houses and you have to pay to do it or why do you go to tijuana to work on the projects there or why do you why do you engage in service projects around town is it is it to make you feel good is it just to fulfill a requirement for school? Is it because it gets you away from home for a while? You see, there will never be a shortage, as Moses said. There will never be a shortage of opportunities to help the needy, especially now with the economy in our day as it is. There may be even some among us here who find themselves in that position. They don't want to be. But they have a need. And it's time for the rest of us to keep our eyes open and to be used of God to help that need in whatever way we might be able to. True kingdom generosity comes from a transformed heart, a heart that is humbled to know my great need and helplessness and that God Himself gave of Himself to satisfy my entire need. And kingdom citizens are motivated, beloved, to give out of a love for the Lord and what He has given. A love that grows deeper as we grow by the Holy Spirit to realize more and more the sacrifice of Jesus for us. We were spiritually penniless and destitute and homeless without even rags to cover our sin and shame. But He has taken us in. He has rescued us from the prison of sin. He has healed our diseases of depravity. He has clothed us with His perfect righteousness. He has fed us with Himself. We are His. And He is ours forever. And praise God that our impure and selfish motives that we still struggle with are forgiven for the sake of the blood of Jesus Christ. By the gracious cleansing of the Holy Spirit, beloved me, may our motives for giving more and more be love for God and the need of our neighbor. It is to Jesus Christ alone that I am to desire to point others, not to myself. It is from Him alone that I give to others from that which He has first given to me. The praise of men is but a breath. But the reward of God in Jesus Christ lives on forever. Amen. Let's pray together. Oh, Heavenly Father, we cannot help but to be reminded reminded very clearly, very vividly of Your giving, Your generosity, more than we could think or imagine to us. We are humbled by that, Father. More and more may we be humbled by that. And we pray too that You would increase in us a generous spirit for those who have physical needs in this life. That inasmuch as we are able to, that You would use us, Father, to help those who are in need. but not only with physical needs but to be ready and prepared to speak the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to address the eternal needs of mankind we pray that through that too Father you would be pleased to draw many to yourself oh Lord we love you for you are our Father you have been so generous with us we have deserved nothing from your hand but you have given to us everything for this life and the life to come and the joy that is ours you have given in Christ Jesus in his name we thank you for all of these things Amen