The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Revelation 4:11read aloud at the start of worship to open the service
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
the main sermon passage, Sermon on the Mount, covering giving, prayer, fasting, treasure, the lamp of the body, and serving two masters
1 “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.
2 Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does,
4 so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.
9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
referenced as the prior week's passage containing the command to let your light shine before people so they glorify your Father
1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.
15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
23 “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’
34 but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.
37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.
41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
quoted at the close: take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart
1 When Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
6 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
7 As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
8 But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions
17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
20 Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent.
21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you.”
25 At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants.
26 Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.
27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was part of First B's ongoing Sermon on the Mount series, working through Matthew 6. Pastor Ray walked through what Jesus taught His disciples about giving, prayer, and fasting, and then connected those teachings to what Jesus said about treasure, the eye, and serving two masters. The thread running through all of it was the difference between doing right things with the right motivation and doing right things to be seen.
What was said
Jesus opens Matthew 6 by telling His disciples to take care not to practice their righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed. Pastor Ray pointed out that this sits right next to the earlier command for disciples to let their light shine before people. The tension is intentional. The light shining in chapter 5 is God's righteousness flowing through His people in a way that draws glory to God, not to the person doing the giving or praying. The moment the motivation shifts to being seen, something has gone wrong.
Jesus assumes His disciples will give to the poor. He does not say if. When they give, they are not to sound a trumpet the way the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, drawing attention to themselves so people will praise them. Pastor Ray noted that the person receiving the gift may not notice any difference, but the motivation matters. Those who give to be seen have already received their full reward in the response they got from people. There is nothing further coming.
The same logic applies to prayer. Jesus assumes His disciples will pray. Pastor Ray was honest about the pressure that comes with praying out loud in front of a room full of people, and said it takes real effort not to let that become a performance. The instruction is to go into a private room, close the door, and pray to the Father in secret. The Father who sees in secret will respond. Pastor Ray also addressed the warning against thoughtless repetition, the kind of praying that assumes God will be moved by volume or careful recitation of the right words. That is how the nations think prayer works. For a disciple, prayer is an acknowledgment that God already knows what is needed, and that He is the one who provides it.
Fasting follows the same pattern. Jesus assumes His disciples will fast. The instruction is not to make a gloomy face or to let it show, the way hypocrites make their fasting visible so people will notice their devotion. The purpose of fasting, as Pastor Ray described it, is to tune in to what God is wanting and asking, not to demonstrate seriousness to an audience. The Father who sees in secret notices, and He rewards.
From there, Jesus moves to where a person's treasure is stored. Pastor Ray worked through the connection between storing treasure in heaven rather than on earth and what follows immediately after it. Where your treasure is, your heart follows. It is not that your heart determines where you invest, but that where you invest pulls your heart along with it. If a disciple is investing in the kingdom of heaven, that is where the heart is being drawn.
The passage about the eye being the lamp of the body gave Pastor Ray some room to talk about lenses. If your sight is clear, your whole body is full of light. If your sight is bad, you think you are walking in light when you are actually walking in darkness, and that is the more dangerous condition because you cannot see it in yourself easily. He connected this directly to cultural lenses that can sit over a person's vision without them realizing it, making what is actually darkness look like light.
The section closes with the statement that no one can serve two masters. Pastor Ray made clear that master here means slave owner, not just employer. You can work two jobs, but a slave belongs entirely to one owner. The whole of Matthew 6 to this point has been building toward this: a disciple either gives God undivided loyalty or is not really serving God at all. Divided loyalty, Jesus says, is not partial discipleship. It is a deep commitment to idolatry dressed up as something else.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Pastor Ray pointed out that giving to the poor is presented as a 'when,' not an 'if,' meaning generosity is assumed of disciples. What does it look like in practice to give without letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing, and what makes that genuinely difficult?
Pastor Ray described praying in front of others as one of the things he is most humbled by, because it requires real effort not to do it to be seen by people. When have you noticed that temptation in yourself, and how did you handle it?
Speaker 3If you don't, you'll cry. Alright. Good morning, everybody. How are you? Good to see you.
Good to see you. How about, how about we kick this thing off in song and we worship together? Would you stand with me? And and here's a verse from Revelation four eleven to kick us off in worship. It says, you are worthy, oh Lord, our God, to receive glory and honor and power.
Amen to that? Would we agree with that? For you created all things and they exist because you created what you please. Let's start by singing glory to God.
Speaker 2Alright. Before the world was made. Before the world was made. Before you spoke it to me. You were the king of kings.
Yeah. You were. Yeah. You were. And now you're reigning still and thrown above all things.
Angels and saints cry, yeah. We join them as we sing glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever. We sing glory to God.
Glory to God. Glory to God forever. Creator God, you gave. Creator God, you gave me a breath so I could praise. You're great and matchless name on my days all my days to let my whole life be all blazing, all for me.
All I could shout, Satan sings, the greatness of our king. Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever. We sing glory to God.
Glory to God. Glory to God forever forever
Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Few announcements this morning. A couple of extras that I don't have slides for, but Monday nights at first b. What's happening, Carl?
Speaker 3We are on tomorrow. A meal, a music, and a message. It's comfort food, variety night from Sysco. We're gonna have macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets and vegetables, all the things you need and love. And that's just the
Speaker 2meal. Alright.
Speaker 3Then we get into the word. Yeah. And it's John 16, and Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. It's gonna be so good. You need to check it out.
Speaker 1How's that? Wow. Yeah. That's the that's emphatic, man. I love that.
I'll be there. Awana is happening at the same time in this room. So bring the kids. It's a big kids club. We start off in this room, and they spread all over the church.
Pour in scripture into their minds to reach their hearts. And to give them a foundation, you know, residual biblical knowledge is just not what it used to be. People don't just know the stories. Well, this is a place where we can tell those stories. Tell them over and over to the point where we actually know them and keep them hide them in our heart so that we can walk that path.
We've got a way for you to sign up for weekly emails. If you would, go to firstbjackson.org if you want to get those emails. You can sign up for them yourself. Nick handles all of that sort of stuff. That's Nick's Darren right there.
If you're having issues with the website or whatever, you can talk to him and he'll he'll coach you through it. Today, in between services, congregational meeting, it's normal business meeting for each year. We do it on the third Sunday each, January, and that's happening. All of that stuff is happening. Jim Reed is up for election as a member of the Board of Trustees and Financial Secretary.
Steve Landis is up for a three year term as an elder, and we have the financial review of last year and the budget approval for next year. That's the norm for the congregational meeting. If you'd like to, you're welcome to stick around. If you're a member, you like, you're welcome to vote. That's the way that goes.
Sisters saved by grace. This is a women's evening on Thursday evening Bible study. It win women's Bible study on Thursday evenings from six to eight. It's a light meal provided for that too. In the fellowship hall, that is a good little group of people.
It's really, really good. And that's a part of our women's ministry here. And right now, we are hopeful, to be kinda getting some ideas about women's ministry. What do we need to do? What's the direction we need to head?
So, next week, this is not on a slide but next week, between services, if you are interested in any way in women's ministry, would you please join with other interested ladies in the library downstairs, the library in the church basement from ten to whenever it lasts next week, brainstorming women's ministry. So Nancy, would you wave your hand back there? Nancy said this morning, she has she is the leading the Sisters Saved by Grace study. She said she said, I'm about as administrative as you are, Ray. I need help with this.
And I agree with her. If she's administrative as I am, she needs some people to kinda gather around and to help with that other part of women's ministry. So if you would gather next Sunday downstairs in the library at 10:00. Hey, look at this. This is not I I asked for this.
If you are wondering how to get your phone to notify you when First Bee is doing something, like if we're having a gospel conversation and we have it on YouTube, we moved from Facebook to YouTube, and a lot of people knew how to use it on Facebook, but they don't know how on YouTube. There's a little bell up in the corner. If you go to 1st B Jackson, you go up to that little bell and click that, it'll let you know when something's gonna be happening live here. Thank you, Nick. And he can explain that like I said.
I stand amazed. Would you all stand with me? Be amazed. How marvelous is God's love for us?
Speaker 3God, you say there is nothing that can separate us from your love. Thank you for that love. It's not that we loved you, but that you first loved us. Thank you. Thank you for your pursuit, God, of us.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 2I dare not trust the sweetest free, but only trust in Jesus' name. Rise the cornerstone.
Speaker 3Thank you, God. You, Jesus, are the cornerstone of our faith. God, if it if it weren't for your righteousness, there would be no righteousness for us at all. So, God, we boast in you. We boast in your righteousness, your rightness, God, that you you did what we couldn't do.
You lived a perfect life. You died a sacrificial death in our place for our sin so that we could be reconciled. God, thank you for this absolute wonder, this gift that you give us. We think of that, we meditate on it, we're thankful for it. In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2I searched the world. It couldn't fill me. Man's empty praise and treasures that fate. They're not enough. And then you came along I show you my weakness, my failures and flaws.
Lord, you've seen them all. You still call me friends. Because the nothing. Better than you, Lord. There's nothing.
Nothing is better than you. It's the turn. You turn moaning to dancing. You give beauty for our shoes. You turn shame into glory.
You're the only seas into our race. You're the only one new day. You're the only one new day. Oh, there's nothing
Speaker 3Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the ushers to come on forward, and here's a good word from Psalm 92 here. And we're gonna sing it too.
I'd like to be able to read the scripture and sing the scripture. It just matches so well together from Psalm 92. It's good to give thanks to the Lord to sing praises to the most high. It's good to proclaim his unfailing love in the morning and his faithfulness in the evening. So I'd love to sing that.
Oh, you know what? Ray Ray usually prays, and I just was like,
Speaker 2man, I'm so excited to sing this song. It
Speaker 1is good to praise you, oh Lord, and to sing to you night and day. I thank you, lord. Let everyone of us who has breath in our lungs, praise the Lord you say that, lord. I know right now that for the last eighteen, nineteen, twenty months, there have been a lot of us who have felt what it's like to not have breath in our lungs. I know we've got several down right now, lord.
I pray that you'd restore that air into their lungs, that it reached the deepest fiber they're being and what comes out of their mouth praises to you. In Jesus' name, Lord, I pray that we would be looking to you always, but we'd be thankful for the time that we have. We're thankful for the day that we have in front of us. Lord God, almighty. Thank you for the gift that is today.
I pray, Lord, that as we come to this time where we put some of our resources back into your hands, Lord, into your continuing body on earth. We want, Lord, so badly for your righteousness to be what drives everything that we do. And we also, Lord, want for your good and glorious word to go forward and accomplish what You set out for it to accomplish. May we be good stewards of these resources, Lord, but may we also just be looking for Your Kingdom of heaven in the now to extend to the very uttermost parts. Would you do your will among us this morning, Lord, in your way?
In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2Oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, or more. It is good to praise you, Lord, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high, to proclaim, to proclaim your love in the morning and your tonight. Oh, sing for joy. Oh, oh, I sing for joy.
At the sound of your
Speaker 1Amen. And it's time. Children's Church downstairs. I haven't heard any announcements this morning about anything different than normal. As far as children's church goes.
So, I think that's free reign for everybody. How are you this morning? How's everybody? Good. That's good to hear.
So, we are continuing in the Sermon on the Mount. I think this is the third, maybe the fourth sermon, third sermon I think that we've done from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and we're up to Matthew six one through 24 but I'm skipping the Lord's prayer for today, okay? I'm skipping it for today. We have heard the Lord's prayer a lot of different times. Would you agree?
For me, the time that every time I hear the Lord's prayer, I think of a basketball huddle where we all stood, we lean into a basketball huddle. Guys that knew Jesus, didn't know Jesus, and I'm not sure but we had to do that before the game. It was a normal course of events right before the game. And if we forgot it, before the game, it was a sum. Oh, we're losing because we forgot to say the Lord's prayer.
So, in between the first and the second quarter somewhere, we had stopped and we'd say, get back in the huddle and say it during a timeout. So, I'm skipping that for today and I I think I've got a reason to do that and I hope I hope I do but we'll come back to it. Steve, did you have something? Steve, did you have something? No.
Okay. Right. Just making sure. He was raising his hand back there. He's already amenning.
Sorry. Take care not. This is take care not to practice your righteousness. Wow. If you stop right there, that sounds terrible, doesn't it?
Take care not to practice your righteousness. I stopped right there because I wanna the the verb for to practice right there is the same one that I have mentioned many many times in we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, made in Christ Jesus. Poema. Poema. It's that word.
Take care not to work it, to do it, to make it, to make your righteousness. Take care not to be creating your righteousness in the sight of people. Now I stopped right there, and you just go, wait a second. I was here last Sunday and I heard him preach and it said this. It said, your light must shine before people in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your father who's in heaven.
That sounds like a contradiction, does it not? To say, your light must shine before people. Well, these people, that your light, these are his disciples and he's saying, this is God's plan a. God's plan a is for his people to act out of his righteousness, and they will do that in a way that people will recognize that it's God doing this, and they'll glorify God, not you. So if we keep going, I've already stopped you twice in a precarious position.
To keep going, we'll say, take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people. Why? There's a wooden translation here. I I like to do a wooden translation every once in a while. This is straight up, straight from the Greek in the order it was written, not kinda made to finesse in English.
Okay? The first word is beware. Look out. Beware now. Beware.
Be careful about this. The righteousness of you, your righteousness. Now Carl prayed a minute ago or said a minute ago, and I I have said a lot of times that our righteousness, if we are to actually have righteousness, is derived righteousness. It's something that is God's that he is practicing through us, that he is flowing through us. But beware now, the righteousness of you, your righteousness, not to do it before men.
Don't do it before men. And then it goes to what's even more emphatically stated, in order to be seen by them. That's the whole that's the motivation. If your motivation you can give the same exact gift with a different motivation and one of them is a good thing, one of them is really not necessarily a good thing. Now the the the person who receives the gift might not mean anything different to them because $100 is a $100.
Right? But if it's given with the right motivation, it makes a difference. So let's get back to it. Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people to be noticed by them. That's an improper motivation, but it is very much a worldly motivation.
There are plaques all over things, all over the world that people want to be remembered for having given a gift. There are huge statements of this person did this all the way back to, you know, Isomandias. Everybody. Everybody throughout the ages, it's a very worldly thing in every thing, in every culture. And I said last week, and I'll say again and again, that Christ's message is countercultural to every culture, every worldly culture.
And I had somebody text me during the week this week and said, even church culture, in a lot of cases, church culture is challenged especially by the Sermon on the Mount. He gets down to brass tacks, no doubt. Take care not to practice your righteousness or the righteousness of you in the sight of people to be noticed by them. That's an improper motivation. Otherwise, you have no reward with your father who's in heaven.
I'm not gonna get into rewards theology right now either. I think that the reward I think that the reward in heaven is to be with God, to be fully conscious of his goodness and to be glorified and to be able to understand him fully. I think that's absolutely a reward. Take care not to practice your righteousness inside of people to be noticed by them. Otherwise, you have no reward, your father who's in heaven.
So when you give to the poor this is also something I like. So when you give to the poor, it doesn't say if. It is presupposed that disciples, that's who he's speaking to, it's presupposed that disciples will be generous towards the poor. So when you give to the poor, do not sound trumpet before you, make a big deal about it, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues. That's the place of assembly.
That's church, basically, for them. As as don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites, those play actors are doing in the synagogues and on the streets, don't make a big deal about it like they do. Don't sound a trumpet. There are lots of folks who have tried to find a place where literally there was a trumpet sound whenever something was given, And there is some historical evidence for a trumpet sound blown when it's time to give alms, but I think that he's just saying don't make a big deal out of it. Don't don't ring a bell every time you do something good to draw attention to yourself So that they will be praised by people.
This is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets. They do it. Why? This is their motivation. So that they will be praised by the people.
And I I like this word too. So doxazo is to glorify. Doxazo. And this is the I'll do it again. Aorist, subjective, passive, third person plural.
So that is they, hypocrites, do this so that they might be glorified, praised. Actually, the word is to render or esteem as glorious, to be shown to be wonderful in a wide application, to be glorified, to be honored, to have glory bestowed upon, so that they might be praised. That is the improper motivation. But the gift still gets given. People perhaps still benefited, so that's I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's just a bad motivation.
So for disciples, he's saying, if you do it to be seen by men, you've already got the reward. You've already got the dopamine response you wanted from the applause or from the praise. Truly, I say to you though, they have their reward in full. There's nothing that goes forward from there. But when you give to the poor, again again, it is presupposed that disciples will be caring for the poor.
It's not something where it's an if or if it's your gift. If generosity is your gift, then you should give. No, it's when you are given, all of y'all. When you're given to the poor, you, disciples, when you are given to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your charitable giving will be in secret. I know the tax code goes against this.
Jesus is saying, Do it as a matter of course. Don't think too long about it. Go with the gut leading of the Holy Spirit. Give to the poor. If you have the resources to be able and you see a need and you can meet it, do that.
Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your charitable giving will be in secret. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. You know, there's a saying about character. Character is what you do when nobody's watching. Well, God's always watching, but character is what you do when nobody's watching, nobody, no people.
You're not gonna get a pat on the back, you're not gonna get any applause, and so your father who sees in secret will reward you. He'll do that. You have to trust that that's true. Sometimes it feels like, I've just been doing this for so long and nobody's ever noticed, but God only knows. Right?
God is the one who does know. And if we are doing it out of his righteousness, that's reward enough in itself. But he is watching and he will do the rewarding. And when you pray, again, the when there in English. It's presupposed that disciples will pray.
And when you pray, when you pray, you're not to be like the hypocrites. I talk to people and they say, what, you know, what's what's your beef with the church? What's the deal? It's all hypocrites. That's one of the first things.
Well, that was Jesus' beef too. Right? He preaches against it. We try to live a life that is free from hypocrisy, and it's not easy to do in the world. When you pray, you're not to be like the hypocrites, those play actors, for they love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people.
When we were down in Mexico, we had work teams come in to build a school for the deaf. That's what we were doing for seven years down there. And when we would have people come in, we had people from all walks of life. We had some people that were construction folks that that knew what they were doing. They're really helpful with the building.
We had some preachers. We had some desk jockey type people, office people that didn't really know what they're doing, but they just wanted to tie rebar, you know, that sort of thing. So we had all kinds of different types of people, but we also had all maturities of Christians. So we had some seasoned seasoned people, and we had other people that got saved last week, you know. They had walked the aisle in some little church somewhere.
And they they said, yeah, I'll go. And they get down there, and they just got a fresh reading in the New Testament. And then in the morning, when we're about to start the work day, I'd say, alright, who wants to pray for the kids? Who wants to pray for safety on the work site? Who wants to pray for this?
Who wants to pray for that? We have five things we pray for every morning. And people would raise their hands. People who've been in church, you know, had all raised their hands. And then we're doing that one morning and a guy raises his hand, and he says, why is it that we're doing this out here in front of everybody?
And I went, oh, that's a good way to start the day. We it's what we always do. And he goes, but didn't Jesus tell us to do this, like, in in quiet and in secret? Do do we have to do it? I was like, no.
You don't have to do it. And for me, the hardest no. Maybe it's not the hardest part of my job. But one of the things that I'm most humbled by is when it's time to pray. When Carl looks over at me like he almost skipped a day.
And he says, you pray in front of this whole room full of people because you have to you have to really work at not doing it to be seen by men. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Lord God, I hope that that's not why we have why we do it, to be recognized. Truly, I say to you that they have their reward in full. They've gotten what they wanted by being noticed by people.
That's the same exact phrase as truly I say to you, they have their reward in full about the people who are giving to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full and then there's a but. But as for you, disciples, you when you, disciples, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and and pray to your father who's in secret. And your father who sees what is done in secret, he'll reward you. There are some decisions that we have to make day to day to day to day to day that nobody will ever know we even were struggling with.
But God does know and he does answer. He does pay attention. He's listening all the time. As for you, when you pray, trust God. Trust I I I've heard this before.
So being on the mission field for a long time, there there are mailbox moments. Everybody talks about mailbox moments where you're destitute, you got a bill, you can't pay, and then all of a sudden in the mail shows up a check, and it's the same exact amount that you need. And I think most of us probably have experienced that at some point where God provided that through whatever. But it's a temptation when you're in that group prayer to say, Lord, if only we had a piano tuner. Oh, Lord, if we only had a piano tuner, we could get that piano tuned.
It'd be wonderful. It's about $445, Lord. That's the temptation when you're up and we don't need a piano tuner. I'm just I'm just using it as an example. To let go of it.
I I go to I go to fairly great lengths. I know what is given, and we're having a business meeting today. I know the amounts, but I don't know who gave what. I'm thankful for all of you for whatever you give. But I I try not to because it's a real worldly temptation to know where the money is coming from and who to lean towards.
Right? I'm I'm saying that all of us need to be leaning towards God who's leaning towards us. He's wanting to provide the needs. Do what you do quietly without ringing a bell and paying attention to him in a solitary moment, and he will reward you. He'll he will he listens and responds to prayers.
And when you're praying, oh, this is good too. I like the verb tense change there. So when you pray, it's presupposed that you will pray, but this is presupposed that you will be praying. Like, it's an active thing. It's an active thing, but it's a continual thing.
When you are praying, don't use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do. Dare I say, that's what we were doing with the Lord's Prayer and all those basketball games. Don't use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do. The Gentiles. Gentiles, whenever you see the word Gentiles, it's almost always some version of ethnos or ethnicoi.
Ethnicoi is a plural, but pagan, heathen, gentile. It's anybody that's not Jewish. It's all of the nations, everyone else, every other family on earth that is not descended from Abraham through Isaac. Gentile, heathen. It usually refers to non Israelites or a pagan, a non covenant person, someone who's standing outside of God's covenant salvation.
That's don't do it like the rest of the world. The rest of the world, this says, think that they're gonna be heard because of their many words. I've been a lot of different places and in in, you know, temples and other places where people are constantly standing and making some motion or spinning something and saying things over and over and over and over again to get to an enlightened state. Perhaps that's what they think they're doing, but they're also thinking that they're having some sway on the cosmos because of their many words, their devotion. That is righteousness of you.
That's something that's bound up in the heart of man, and it is not righteousness derived from God. I had a friend that said the best praying I ever did was when I fell in a well. God help me was this only prayer, and he did. He got out of the well. I think they'll be heard because there are many words.
We're thankful is a great blessing. We're thankful. Thank you, God, that you provided this meal. We're thankful. It doesn't have to be elaborate.
It does need to be sincere. It does need to be an acknowledgment. Actually, let me go forward. So do not be like them. Don't be like those pagan heathens, the nations, everybody else.
Don't be worldly in feeling like you can muster up some change in the universe in God because of the way you repeat things just right. Holding your posture just right, saying just the right things in just the right order, that is not a prayer. That is a spell. Don't be like them, for your father knows what you need. God, if he is your father, he knows what you need.
He knows what you need if he's not. For your father knows what you need, and it goes on. Actually, this is seven. I'm skipping the I'm skipping so right here, there's another part of that verse. I don't see it, Blake.
I don't know what happened to the slide. It got zapped. But for your father knows what you need before you ask, it says. And really prayer is an acknowledgment of God. It's an acknowledgment that he knows what you need, and it's an acknowledgment that you need, and he's the only one who can provide it.
It's alright. We'll skip right through it. So we skipped over the Lord's Prayer right there, and I'm doing it. I'll come back to it. I think it's beautiful, but I think it's a model prayer not to be copied exactly just because.
With the proper heart and proper motivation, I'm sure it's fine. But I had somebody one time this is funny too. I got a I got a car stuck pulling somebody out of a ditch. I'm not ringing a bell about it. I just did.
You know, I got stuck, and I was it was a mile and a half down a forest road. It was a long it's two days before Christmas a few years back. My wife couldn't get in touch with me because I was out of phone service, and I was stuck pretty bad. Ended up having to walk back to the highway, hitch a ride back with a guy who's a member of this church. It was ugly.
Called somebody else who had a tractor, somebody else who had a snowmobile. We all went back the next day. Carl Carl went back too, and we're pulling Tanya's Jeep, which is what I got stuck, and the other car, which was a rental car. Oh my goodness. And as we're pulling it out, we get hooked up to the tractor and a fellow who's been a member here his whole life, pretty much, he said, now that I've got both of my pastors here in kind of a compromised position, he had the chain hooked to the car but wasn't going to pull it out until I answered the question.
Why don't we say the Lord's prayer every Sunday all the time anymore? And I didn't really want to go into the theology of why not to. I said, we'll say it twice next Sunday. And he pulled us out and we made it. Everything's fine.
That's absolutely true story. Will get back to the Lord's Prayer. We'll come back to it. So whenever you fast oh, this is a good one too. Whenever it is that you fast.
It's a little different phraseology, but it is out there that this is something that disciples will do. Now he didn't go into exactly how to fast, but he says how not to. When you fast, don't make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do. Don't make a big deal about it. Have y'all and I'm not you might have done it out.
I don't know. You see people that are going off of social media and they let you know on every platform right before they do it? Don't make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do. Don't let it show. If you're fast and it's about something that you're really broken over and you want to be tuned in to what God is asking, what he's wanting, you want to listen.
And I don't know why that helps, but in several places it says it helps. So it's not for ascetic practice to starve yourself, but it is to get in tune with God. Do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do. Oh, Blake. We're all over the place.
Can you look and see what the what's going on? What are you looking for? I'm looking for the next verse or the same verse, actually. Six sixteen. Anybody got a Bible?
I'll just read it straight. Do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do. Okay. Cool. You got one right there.
You very much. I use big print on the screen because I can't see anything anymore.
Speaker 3All
Speaker 1right. He's got it? Thank you. Whenever you fast, don't put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly, I say to you that they have their reward in full.
Same exact statement as before. Don't make a big deal about it in front of other people when you are trying to discern what it is that God wants for you. When you're fasting, truly I say to you that they have the reward in full. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but it will be noticed by your father who's in secret. And your father who sees what's done in secret will reward you.
These are matters of the heart that I used to put up a lot, this little video of a little girl in her car seat, and it's just you worry about yourself. Right? You worry about yourself. You, in relationship to your heavenly father, have a direct relationship with him and try to have that be what is first and foremost. And then what people see, they see, but don't make a deal about being seen.
Right there, it goes into do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, and actually the the for yourself. Do not store up for yourself treasures in heaven. Every asset that a disciple has should be available for use at the direction of the Holy Spirit. And I I know a lot of y'all feel that way and I know a lot of you have told me that and I believe you. Do not store up for yourselves if God has given you earthly possessions.
They are to be used as you understand and see fit for the kingdom of God. I don't go into this very much at all. It's just stuff all over the place. Where's it going, Blake? Alright.
When you fast when you fast, here we are. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, thieves break in and steal. But otherwise, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So there's a there's a little difference there.
For where your heart is is a present tense. It's active and indicative. Present, active, indicative. Where your heart is right now. Where your heart is.
Where your sorry. Where your treasure is. Where your treasure is. Where you are investing. Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is going to be.
Does that make sense? If you are investing in the kingdom of heaven, then that's where your heart is going to be. It it one leads the other, I guess is the way to put it. The next verses right here is 22 up there, Blake? Alright.
The eye is the lamp of the body. This is one that's so esoteric and psychedelic that whenever I would read it, I'd go, I don't know what that means. The eye is the lamp of the body. Okay. I I don't think of an eye as being a lamp because it doesn't cast light that way.
But it's the opposite of that. It takes in light and through the lens that is your eye, and the word there is ophthalmos. Ophthalmos is where we get ophthalmic or ophthalmologist, all that. It means the eye or figuratively the mind's eye. You could say the lens.
If the lens is clear and good, then that's good. Actually, the eye literally or figuratively, by implication, your vision, your sight. It's used one time in the NSV as a, to mean envy or jealousy, where you're given the sad glance to something somebody else has. Right? So the eye is the lamp of the body.
So if your eye is clear, if your lenses or your sight, if what you're seeing is clear, then your whole body is gonna be full of light. That eye is gonna let in the light that truly exists. But this is just oh, boy. Here we go. I rely on that a whole lot, it turns out.
If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. I want you to think about that. If you're considering this to be figurative, and I think it's figurative, especially based on what comes before and after that. It right before it is lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, not on earth, because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also the eyes of the lamp of the body. That's what it says.
It's figurative. The eyes of the lamp of the body. If your eye is clear, whole body is full of light. If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if that light that is in you is actually darkness, how great is that darkness?
What if your lenses are more cultural than they are Christian? That is a bad kind of darkness because you have cast over the darkness, you think that it's light. And how dark is that? When you think you think that you are walking the light, but what you're really doing is walking in darkness. How great is that darkness?
That's terrible. That's a state of affairs I think all of us can recognize in other people, but we can't recognize it very easily in ourselves, and this is a you worry about yourself kind of passage. Be careful about the lenses. I've been saying, maybe this is a good illustration here. Like these lenses right now have have they've been used, you know.
They're not nearly as good as they used to be. I put these lenses on, it brings things into a sharper perspective. I really think that we should be asking like the songs say, give me your eyes. Give me your eyes, Lord. I wanna see exactly as you see.
I don't want for it to be tainted by my cultural background. I don't want to be tainted by my historical background. I don't want for it to be something that I keep on tripping over all the time. I wanna see things as they are. The the eye is the lamp of the body.
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, your eye is good. Your whole body will be full of light. If we're seeing things clearly, Lord, what we'll see is your light. But if our eye is bad, our whole body will be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that's in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters. That's the very next thing. And masters there is masters, like slave masters. No one can serve two slave owners' masters.
Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he'll be devoted to one and he'll despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth. So I know that a lot of times we try to take masters and we say, that's your boss. You know, there's masters. That's your boss these days.
We don't have slavery these days, so master means boss, and we kinda take a little bit of the emphasis or the the of the hit off of it. No one can serve two slave owners. You are going to be a slave to something, and you can't be a slave to both things because I'm gonna read something for you. I thought this was well put. And it's on a page, so maybe I'll be maybe I'll find it.
A man may work for two employers. That's true. A lot of us in this economy, a lot of people have two or three jobs. They have gig kind of work where they work for a little bit and then come off of it. They're not expected to be absolutely loyal to both places.
They're expected to be there while they're there, get paid by the hour, get paid by the job. You don't get paid just to be. You don't get fed or have your needs met just because. No one can serve two masters. A man may work for two employers, but single ownership and full time service is the very essence of slavery.
He cannot therefore serve two slave owners either. God is served with a single eyed devotion or he's not served at all. Attempts to do at divided loyalty only betray. It's not partial commitment to discipleship, but a deep seated commitment to idolatry. Did that make sense to y'all?
You can read it afterwards if I didn't make sense with it. You can't serve two masters, disciples, so decide which one is it that you're gonna serve. If God has given you wealth, then he means for you to use it as he directs you. I'm not saying to give to first b. Please don't hear it that way.
He is saying, I've given you this to be available for kingdom work, whatever that is. I don't know what's coming up on those slides. It's over. It's over. Thank you, Lord, that it's over.
God almighty, I thank you that you call us into direct relationship, a direct accounting relationship, that you don't have a hierarchy that's built around each and every one of your disciples. Christ Jesus is our head. By your spirit, you let us know. And Lord, we it is possible for us to walk in righteousness derived from you by your spirit, by your son's sacrificial death, and it is possible for us to walk forward, Lord, in harmony with you, practicing not our righteousness but your righteousness in such a way that people will glorify you, but not because we did it to be seen. Lord God, that is a fine, fine line.
It is a narrow path that you're asking for us to walk, and I thank, Lord, that you are the way that we can walk it. I I pray sincerely. God help me. Keep me on the path. In Jesus' name, amen.
Would you stand with us?
Speaker 2Of God. Yes. I am. Free at last he has ransomed me. His grace runs deep.
Well, how was our stealthy's Jesus died for? Yes, he died for me. I'm a child of God. Yes. Am.
I am chosen, not I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am.
Speaker 3Chosen, not forsaken.
Speaker 2I am who you say I am. I'm right for me not against me. I am who you say I am. I am who you say I am. Whom the sun sets free, always free indeed.
I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my father's house, my father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes.
I
Speaker 1Amen. In Matthew 11, Jesus says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I'm gentle and I'm humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Amen. Lord, may we do that.
Amen. Amen and there is a covenant ceremony. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2Maybe about a
Speaker 1Bible reading plan? I do have another announcement and we have a business meeting right after this. So, there's a Bible reading plan that is coming up. This is the way that we are hoping to go forward and get a congregation into God's word daily. So, we're hoping to have 20 people, 20 people, 20 of you that would write about one chapter and you'll know your assignment ahead of time.
You'll have a chance to study. You'll have a chance to think about it and pray about it in your prayer closet. You'll get a chance. If you would, it's gonna be kinda like this, an introduction. Hey, I'm so and so.
You may not know me yet. This is who I am. This is the chapter that we're gonna read. Here are a few thoughts about it and an application question down at the bottom. We're gonna try to do that in your inbox, in every weekday morning, but we'd like to have about 20 people that kinda cycle through.
So you have to write about once a month. Most of the elders have already said they would. So there are 10 of us. Most of us have already said that we would, and we have about 10 or 11 spots open. If you'd like to be a part of that, we would love to.
Brad, back there, would you wave your hand? So Brad Yates has volunteered to help do the administration part of that where if you'll send it to him, he'll put it in the same format and get it to the people. Okay? And we're looking for this to be kind of a rallying place where we can get in the word together, study it for ourselves. Carl always says, my favorite book of the Bible is the one I'm studying right now.
And if you all get on the same page literally, it really helps you get on the same page metaphorically. So, we would love that. Brad's back there in the back. You can talk to him. If you want to, you can talk to me.
Let the church office know. Let Nick know and that'd be good but that's it. The blessing is, God, thank you. In Jesus name, would you work in and through us this week as we go. Amen.
And if y'all want to stay for the business meeting, you're already in it. If you don't, skedaddle. You can head down the hall and get some muffins and coffee.
