It’s exactly what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus introduces this new subject in Matthew 6:1. It includes whatever you hand out the window to a homeless person. Hymn Lists. Someone in my congregation wanted to give me a new suit of clothes. I know some of you cannot afford to do that. The reason it’s so important to guard our motives in giving is because the reason WHY we give will determine how it effects our lives. He and his wife, Julie, both graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary, were missionaries living in Serbia when civil war fractured the former Yugoslavia. So, first, how does this general principle apply to giving? Then she got a job as clerk of an elementary school. She blossomed. I said yes. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. She was unemployed and, in most respects, unemployable. Here, the idea is someone who is pretending to give because they care about the needs of people or because they want to give as an act of worshipping God, but their real motive5 is to be honored by their peers. And the father added, "And the sermon was not only too long. Here’s what I’d like for you to take home with you today: Be a secret friend. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink… ” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? Many get on food stamps and Section 8 housing, and that becomes the beginning of a lifetime of dependence. with conscious purpose for, for the purpose of, on behalf of, Chip Bell has been the pastor of Fellowship Bible Church Arapaho in Dallas, Texas since 1998. And here it is. And they’re within the range of any one of us here. The question is how do you know if the other person is really in need? Verses 2-4 – Here Jesus gives a specific example of one way he saw people in his day bringing attention to their own good deeds. It may not. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This phrase “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” essentially means “Don’t even tell your best friend.” Jesus says that the cure for ostentatious giving is to keep it a secret. If you really loved God, then you showed it by giving to the poor, by praying and by fasting. … [11] You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. To understand this, first we need to understand the deep sense of duty towards the poor that infused Judaism. Because whatever you give beyond that is money that is given not to meet your needs, but to meet the needs of others. It was boring." and 2) We wanted to protect the reward that you’re going to get from God. The word he uses here can mean “doing something kind for someone else”, but most often in the Bible, it is the word for money given to people in need. They provide scholarships for retreats. However, the word “openly” is not in the original text.) Even today in the Middle East, you see crippled people begging on the streets. 6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. It’d be like the kingdom of God on earth. Give alms to the poor. Parkhurst, Jr. They are giving, praying, and fasting. It’s hard to know if another person is truly in need. I don’t think this verse means that all giving MUST remain confidential. Of course, not all young women are like Barbara. Well, as you might guess by the title, that’s the thesis of the sermon this morning: The best expression of giving alms is anonymous giving, where the recipient never knows who it was who gave lent him a helping hand. Children’s Sermons He wants us to resolve our anger, to restrain any sexual desire that’s out-of-bounds, to refuse to divorce just because we’re tired of being married, to be truthful inside and out, to forgive those who wrong us, and finally to love even those who are not on our side. Now, let’s think about how this pertains to giving alms. Their little daughter in the back seat heard all this and it really made her think. He’s not saying it’s wrong if people are impressed by your gift. Then as people realized just what this man had done, the crowd began to roar. It includes supporting the kids who went to Mexico to build houses for people that could not afford them. She saw the offering go by, and watched her parents put something in the basket. The practice of letting others now how much we have given is still common today. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Some of what you put in the offering today is just paying for whatever you get out of this experience. Everyone, stand up and stay in front of your seat. If you can give like that, then I hope you are giving like that. a... More, Q. And we don’t want to be tempted to treat anybody dismissively because they don’t give the church a lot of money.6 And so we simply don’t know how much anybody gives. Members of the church rallied around her and helped her in various ways. Now he says there’s something else you need to watch: your motive. But I hope that that’s not all you’re giving. Wait a minute, Bob. Free lectionary based children's sermons and object lessons in English and Spanish. He’s reaching for his checkbook. 3 BAGD: ὅπως 2. as a conjunction, w. the subjunctive, 3. of the goal aimed at or striven toward, —a. That’s not what it’s about. Don’t worry about it. Keep it confidential and your motives won’t be in question. If you make a huge contribution to the poor so that people will praise you, then all you get is people’s praise. She said, “I didn’t believe a word she said, but I gave her the two dollars, anyway. Today we move on to chapter six, which begins with three fundamental spiritual disciplines common to all Jews in Jesus’ day: Almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Sometimes they do them also hoping that someone else—someone human—will notice what a great person they are. Q. Bob, you can sense the tension of this crowd as they await the outcome. Our lesson begins with Matthew chapter 6 following Jesus’ message concerning showing love for our enemies (see Matthew 5:43-47), and a call for His disciples to “be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (see Matthew 5:48). Truth to tell, Jesus didn’t know anything about Hope in Action or the Salvation Army or the Red Cross, or Save the Children, or any of the other charitable organizations. Those who belong to the kingdom are ambassadors of peace even though they are persecuted in this life. But here, it sounds like the opposite. And it would be easy information for me to discover even if Julie wasn’t our accountant. Now we can see the complete contrast between ostentatious giving and secret giving: God wants you to give to meet the needs of other people. Boy, that is strategy! Just what is this reward? Then, over the next few weeks, we’ll look at the other two examples, praying and fasting. Those who give to impress other people get what they want—in fact, they get precisely what they want and no more. I reluctantly went along and got a beautiful new suit out of it. It’s because God honors that kind of unselfish giving that goes beyond just paying for what you consume and meets the needs of other people. It’s really a question of motive. He said, “Give to him who asks you, “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”, “…for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. But first, in preface to all three disciplines, Jesus issues a word of warning: “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”(Matthew 6:1). Action: It is not public, but private. Some say their prayers. So Jesus says, let’s not just talk about what you do to show your devotion to God. What you won’t get are the blessings God has in store for you when you go about doing good deeds surreptitiously. All he would tell me was that the gift was to be anonymous. Whoa! (discuss: to please God, because it is right, to make others happy) Is it possible to do a good thing in a bad way? 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 others. That is giving that meets the needs of people in need. You don’t have to have a lot of money, and you don’t have to look far. The Study Hints for Thinking Further, which are also available on the Bible Lesson Forum, will aid Religious stuff looks good on a resume. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. In Matthew 1–2, you will have the opportunity to study about the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ. It’s confidential giving. But I was never able to thank the donor. No one knows for sure just what he’s going to do. When I went to pay, the man in front of me at the cash register said something to the cashier. So yes, we ought to help those who are down and out to get on their feet. We don’t want you to be tempted to give to the church so that people will think more highly of you. Used by permission. And he gives this promise in Philippians 4:18-19. The class book is suitable for teens and up. For … Jesus tells us to do our giving in private. The second seeks praise to myself. Sunday, February 28, 2021 Lesson Text: Acts 16:11-15, 40; I Corinthians 1:26-30 King James Version (KJV) I. Or what if we engraved bricks with the names of the people who pledged to build this building, along with the amounts they pledged? At first there was just this stunned silence. who desires to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42). One of the messages of these chapters, in keeping with Matthew’s theme of fulfillment of prophecy, is that the Savior’s birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. He had compassion for those less fortunate, and he taught his disciples to have compassion, as well. Listen to. Keep it confidential. We should do good things so that3 people will see them and give praise to God. Lesson 11. But with anonymous giving, it’s different. It’s always easier to understand a general principle when you have a good example. Before we look at the details of the message I would like for us to look at the form of the sermon that is given to us. Mar 13, 1994. Jesus urges us to give in secret, so that our motives will be completely pure. Some would slip back to the cabin after breakfast and make up their secret friend’s bed. It may be recognition. There’s nothing illegal about that. In time she was cleaning, painting, mowing and doing whatever needed to be done around the building and grounds. Compassion for others and gratitude to God are the best reasons to give alms to the poor, and the best way to go about it is to give anonymously: “…don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does…” (Matthew 6:3-4). We used to play a little game in Elementary Summer Camp called, “Secret Friends.”  On the first day of camp, the kids would draw a name out of hat, and that camper would be his/her secret friend for the week. The word Jesus uses here is a business term. But I don’t think this is talking about everything you give the church. We all encouraged her to look to God to give her the strength and direction she needed to put her life back together. He also wants us to change on the inside. Giving to the poor is compared to loaning money to God. Lesson - Matt 5:33-37; Matt 6:1-4, 16-18 Why do we do things that are good? Out of the blue, a sales rep from a clothing store in town called and asked if he could come take my measurements. I don’t think this happened at our church, but I heard a story about a little seven-year-old girl that came to church with her parents one Sunday morning. That’s a brief summary of what we’ve studied in Matthew, chapter 5. It also includes what you do and what you spend as individuals to help each other in need. The one who gives to the needy will be rewarded. Some give to the poor. And then a collective “ah” followed by whispers. You know what? and don’t turn away him It included beggars looking for a hand out. But there’s another reason we keep giving information confidential and that’s for you. If we charged people for all the services they received from our church, it could be pretty expensive—more than many people could afford. A hush falls over the crowd as the offering basket approaches. Introduction. People perform acts of worship for many reasons, but those who belong to the kingdom need to watch their motives. If you give to people in need with a pure motive, not for how it will look, but because you love God and want to honor him and obey him, then God will pay you back. Even if you gave away all that you have, you wouldn’t even the score. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful world to live in? It’s not because he needs your money. Once again, this is the word for an actor, someone who plays a role. It looks like he’s already written his check ahead of time. I, p. 50. But we need to be careful that in giving alms we not become enablers. First, let’s look at the general principle: “Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. Scriptures: Matthew 6. When you know who gave you the gift, you can say, “Thank you,” and that’s the end of it – the cycle is complete and the donor has his/her reward. So, rule out guilt and obligation from the start. It’s simply unbelievable! Jesus refers to “hypocrites”. She said the woman asking for money gave her a long story and asked for two dollars. Ushers are screaming. She watched her parents singing songs. I’m being very frank with you. He paid the tab and left without a word. You know, everyone of us gets something out of this church. Notice the key elements in this type of giving: By contrast, Jesus tells us in verse 3 how we should give to people in need: [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. It’s a kingdom of justice and mercy at the same time. Jesus doesn’t promise a specific reward or mention a specific time, but he does say that we will be rewarded. Over 1,500 sermons from which to choose. Don’t advertise how much you’re giving. You cannot serve God and money.’ Let’s play a quick game of Simon says. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. What if we were all as intentional about doing nice things for others secretly, not because they deserve it or expect it in any way, but because we’re grateful for what God has done for us, and we want to share God’s goodness with others? They let people see the good in their lives so that others, too, will come to know God. The kind of giving that Jesus is talking about here includes a lot of different things. All you have to have is a heart for sharing the blessings you’ve received with others without calling attention to yourself. If you think back about what we’ve already studied in Matthew 5, Jesus was talking there about righteousness—that is the good behavior of those who want to follow him—those who belong to the kingdom. Bible Study Lesson Sheets-- These are lessons designed for either a class or personal study. Amen. It’s all about your motive. This is the fifth sermon in our series on the Sermon on the Mount. But if you unselfishly take care of people in need because you want to honor and obey God, then God will reward you. The audience that first heard the Sermon as a piece of the Gospel of Matthew clearly was a collection of religious folk who knew the importance of particular religious acts. Jesus began by describing the character of the kingdom. You may get the praise of others, but that’s all you’ll get. What’s your motivation? If you allow your almsgiving, prayer and fasting to put you in the spotlight, you’ve missed the point. John Piper Mar 13, 1994 828 Shares God is most glorified in us When you do good things—“acts of righteousness”—make sure that you’re doing it for God and not just to put on a show for the people around you. Each lesson has questions, fill in the blank; matching, true false; etc., on one chapter of the Bible. Since you don’t know who to thank, the gratitude goes on and on. In their place, put in a healthy dose of compassion and gratitude: Compassion, in that you care for those less fortunate and want them to have a better life; and gratitude, because you know that all that you are and all that you have is a gift of God. Today, we’re going to take the first example and talk about giving. Don’t do good things so that people will see you doing good and think that you’re a great person. And it was through giving. Matthew 6:24 says, ‘No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Jesus is not saying that you have done wrong if people know about your gift. But the reason I don’t know is because I don’t want to know. So partly, we have that practice for our own sake. JESUS’ TEACHING ON GIVING (Matthew 6:1 … There’s really no evidence that people in Jesus’ day actually blew trumpets to announce their gifts. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. All these things would be the giving that Jesus is talking about: giving to those in need. These two verses are really talking about two different ideas and the difference is very important. Yet, this is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about – living as children of God in a covenant relationship with each other. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything particularly immoral about it either. For people? If that is your motive, then your generosity means nothing to God.
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