Do Not Your Alms Before Men — Don McClure

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the Secret Life of Faith

Matthew chapter 6 tonight, we're just flying through this sermon here, already in chapter 6. Take heed that you do not do your alms before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have your reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. And thy Father would see it in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Father we want to thank you again for this sermon.

Lord we just thank you how powerful it is, what a wonderful, practical, in-depth, Lord, message this is on living and walking before you. So many of the practical, real issues Lord that are before our lives day after day.

Areas Lord where we struggle and if we but learn your word and what it is that you have to say, the liberating experience it can be to us. So we just open our heart and we ask that your word would just set us free.

Even in areas of our life tonight that we didn't know why we struggle. The Lord may you minister to us in name. Amen. Well remember of course as we now going through here the Sermon of the Mouth that this is obviously all of his sermons of course are tremendously spiritual but the message here is a tremendous message of the Lord giving to us essentially to the soul.

The Soul’s Desire for Jesus Christ to Reign

The human soul that longs for a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. For somebody that wants a living, abiding, continuing relationship with Jesus Christ. For somebody that wants to see him enthroned within their life that is poor in spirit, mourns over their sin, mourns over their own self, their own arrogance, their own pride, their own self-sufficiency.

They vacated the throne, turned their life over to Jesus there in the Beatitudes as we went through them. Seen to it that he's being enthroned within our hearts through that and then the sermon goes on to tell us now once you give him the throne here's it's one thing to get the throne for the Lord to get it but it's another thing for him seemingly do to maintain it.

Now in chapter 5 it's really a section of the sermon unto itself in the sense that it's really a just a powerful message of course all by itself but it is one that is primarily in chapter 5 it is all about me and my relationship with God.

It's just the two of us essentially in the room you might say. It's just the Lord just wanting to talk to me about my heart, my life, my thoughts and in things there that under my own skin and my own human experience that once Jesus is really Lord I put him on the throne the things that can happen in in my own heart under my own skin that dethrone him where my flesh comes back and it takes the throne that's why after the Beatitudes and and my life is given to him a transference of authority essentially is happening in there but then he goes on he's another there's some things you have to look out for because if you don't under your own skin and your own heart your own thoughts it'll drive me right off the throne and you'll take it over again if you find there where you know if a man you have you've heard that have been said by them all time thou shall not kill but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother he said if you're under your own skin if you have the luxury of being angry at people if you think anytime you want you can just take off in your hostilities your anger he says you want to know me how to get me off the throne that'll do it.

Then he goes on and he says in another area you drive me off the throne of people's lives all day long he says you have heard that have been said by them all time thou shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looks at a woman with lust after in his heart has already committed it said you want to get me off the throne you're for you want to let your flesh take over.

There's where he'll do it. That's how you'll get right back on when you decide under your own skin in your own heart. And then you can you can take over and you can do you think what you want to. You can run your own heart run your own life.

You'll be amazingly lonely rather rapidly and wondering what went wrong. Then he went on. He talked about marriage. He talked about the commitments in life and maintaining a vow in a sense maintaining a heart that is pure towards the relationships we have he said you don't.

You don't keep those relationships pure and right. You'll find once again you're shoving me off. You're taking on on again. And Jesus such a gentleman he won't fight us for it. You want your own flesh over me.

You're gonna have it. But then you gotta live with the consequences of it to the loneliness of it the struggles of it the burdens of it the guilt of it till you find yourself running back to me getting it right.

If you make an oath then keep it. And there he says you you give somebody your word and you don't intend on keeping it in your own heart your own life. You're gonna have trouble. You'll find me once again being shoved aside inside.

Thus in chapter 5 as he goes he deals there with you know walking a second mile turning the other cheek. If you've got pride if you've got that ego that just has got to be in control. These are areas he says you've got to deal with these.

These are the great battlefields of the Christian life. These are the great areas that that the Spirit of God longs to rule and reign in. And when you see a Christian that is having victory in their life in these areas you're seeing somebody that God has done some rather you know awesome and wonderful things within and where.

There's also been quite a few battles in order to get there and but they've they fought them and they've longed for them and they prayed they've sought and said Lord I want you so much on the throne of my life.

I'm willing to give up anger and to keep you on the throne now stay here instead of letting my anger drive me away. I want you on the throne so much of my life instead of going off and coveting and living lustfully.

I want you now here set up your throne instead of being distracted. These are all under our skin. But now when he gets to chapter 6 he's now moving into a new area essentially another area of matters you might say and now areas you might see outside of our skin.

Living for God in Public Rather Than for Human Approval

I suppose you say public matters and he says a whole new area in a sense there are things to beware of that now when we are in society when we're living with other people in chapter 5 again it's just me and the Lord.

But now it's as if okay he says now I'm gonna take you out in public. Now I'm gonna you know try out some of these things in you and I'm gonna take you out and I want to see how you learn to live and see if you still want me on the throne that bad if you still want me to be Lord because here are some of the areas where you're gonna have some struggles you're gonna have some some some battles.

And here in a sense there there's some public you might say pitfalls that happen that now there are two that we've got to deal with if I want to stay in a wonderful communion with my Lord. And that's what it's really all about here in chapter 6 let me just run through a few of the verses to give you a general idea what we're gonna be seeing as we go through it.

But it's all about maintaining a relationship with God. Notice in verse 4 and I'm just gonna run through. You'll catch the drift of it. It's all about it with God. But in verse 4 that thine alms may be in secret and thy father would see it in secret.

In verse 6 he says and when thou prayest enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door pray unto thy father which is in secret and thy father would see it in secret will reward the openly. Verse 8 be not therefore like unto them for your father knoweth what things you have need of.

Verse 9 and after this manner therefore pray our father which aren't in heaven. Verse 14 if he forgive men their trespasses your heavenly father will forgive you. Verse 18 that thou appear not unto men to fast but unto thy father which is in secret.

Verse 26 behold the fowls of the air they sow not. Neither do they spin nor gather into barns yet your father feedeth them. And then verse 32 for after these things to the Gentiles seek. But your heavenly father knows that you have need of these things here Jesus over and over here in chapter 6 he's gonna look there and he says we're gonna deal with some issues in life but all behind it it's gonna be a clear choice between you and your father or you and another world do you want to maintain.

You really want that living relationship that you could have privately personally wonderfully under your skin with your father. Now do you want it in public. Now do you want it in the rest of the areas of your life and the first year.

And this is what he's talking about here because he lays it and then in opposition to a whole nother force there in verse 2 he says there he says therefore when thou doest thine alms do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory of men.

Verily I say unto you they have their reward. Verse 5 he says when thou prayest thou shall not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray standing in the synagogues in the corners of the street that they may be seen of men.

Verily I say unto you they have their reward. Moreover when ye fast be not as the hypocrites of sad countenance for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. And verily I say unto you they have their reward.

You see here Jesus in this chapter he's saying okay. In chapter 5 in your own heart your own life the battleground under your own skin in your own heart in your thoughts in dealing with anger and lay with lust and with your your word and with honesty and integrity and your pride and other matters.

As we looked at in that chapter there he says we deal with that. But now in chapter 6 is saying he's taking us out in public. Where now he says I want to know is it's to you and your father that's really important to you.

Or is it being seen of men. Is it how you look. You see Jesus knows as well as anything. And is it better than even we do ourselves. How much we love to be seen. How much we love recognition. We seem to love it as much as anything.

I suppose in all the world we just love recognition. We love to be seen of men there. One time years ago my boys were young and we were went off on a vacation somewhere together and where we happened to stay they had this little par -3 pitch and putt course and they were off doing something and so I had a couple clubs and I took my clubs out and early in the evening and no one was there.

I just started shooting around. I teed a ball up on about a hundred and twenty hundred and thirty yard hole and I took a shot and think man it went off wonderful just a beautiful shot went right up on the green rolled up on the green and then next year I know it disappeared in the cup and immediately I was immediately two things.

I was absolutely thrilled to death and absolutely frustrated at the same time I took a couple steps I was so excited and then I just stopped right there my hands literally dropped down. I'm holding on to the club and there is I'm just thinking about this thing.

And as this is happening off in the distance is a fella is over there and he actually saw me do the shot. And knowing exactly I could he could read my countenance he knew exactly was going on. And over there I hear there's a and he said I saw it.

I saw it. He knew exactly what I needed. I did something and nobody saw it. I mean there was nothing so pathetic in all your life when you're a hole-in-one and nobody saw it and you're in it. And as soon as he said it I lifted up the club and victory and yeah like yeah I just another hole you know or something as if you know you.

But on how we love that it's our nature and to have the opportunity to be seen. It's something that is so much a part of the of the Adamic nature of the fall of nature of our own self our own pride this whole thing that we spent an entire chapter wanting to see destroyed and obliterated.

We're tired of its anger. We're tired of its lust. We're tired of its inability to make and maintain a relationship or keep its vows. Or we were sick and tired of its pride and its ego and its lack of care or concern for anybody else.

And we spend an entire chapter wanting to be done with it. And now the Lord he wants to take us out in public realizing there he says now listen when we're out here I want to know what's important to you.

Is that your relationship with God your Heavenly Father who knows what's going on. Who sees in secret. Or is it being seen of men. Is it being noted. Is that what is important. And the great tendency is that this is what we have.

The fallen nature is pride this ego. There's something there that he'd give it a chance to come back and get on the throne give it any opportunity to take over. And that's that's its nature desperately wants to find a way once it's been driven out to get his ugly head back in and stick it up and say here I am.

And in chapter 5 again we saw the fundamentals of the living quietly before Jesus. And now in chapter 6 we see some of the fundamental ease fundamental ease some of the basic stuff about living quietly with Jesus in public about maintaining that quiet experience in that quiet life into where you know hopefully in chapter 5 it was just Jesus.

I just want you. I'm pleased anything to have you take over my life to have you being thrown. I'm tired of all this stuff and I can't stand it. I'm so exhausted. Please come and take over and rule and reign.

But here in chapter 6 now after all this is you know been been dealing with it through chapter 5. Now he says let's take a public you know check you some things. Let's go out here in public and see how you do now with all of these other egos and all this other vain and corrupt and selfish and conceited and and angry and lustful and lying or whatever else.

Let's take you out there in the midst of all of this other thing. And now let's see if what you chose in private you still want in public if you really want an end to self and an enthronement of me. That's essentially what's happening here in chapter 6.

Testing Quiet Faith in the Public World

Years ago we had a dog a Doberman. I said little things about the dog. But one of the things anybody ever takes a dog you want to train it. One of the first things you do you'll take it in the backyard.

You'll take it away from everybody else. And then you'll sit there and you'll go through. You know sit down you know roll over stay. You know when you put it through and give it so rewards and it's just you and the dog and just keep it there while it's simple.

And then you go through the fundamental of obedience just there but just doing it. And then you go over it and over it and over it until it's kind of got it. And then once you think it's got it the next thing you do is you do what you take it out in public.

And now you let the thing there with all the other you know things around now it's got the distraction. It's got other dogs and it's got kids and it's got noises and it's got all this other activity going on around it.

And then you you say tell it to sit when nobody else is sitting it to stay when nothing else is staying anywhere when you say you say it down when nothing else is down it's looking around it sees the kids and other dogs everything else and doing it.

Then you're up here trying to get attention here I am look at me. But you're the dogs looking at. Well what about nobody else is sitting. You know. And what's going on here. Everybody else gets to run and play.

I'd want to move. This isn't fair this isn't right. And this is what's happening here essentially and in a broad strokes of what Jesus is doing. It's kind of like you know here we come to church and we sit here in church and we're just quietly hopefully just before him his face and ours.

We're just looking up and it's so simple. It's so easy to be a Christian here in one sense isn't it. Maybe here we worship in our hearts drawn to him and and we pray and we open our heart we take communion we get this wonderful experience with him and and and our love is fresh and his touch is there and it's real and all Lord this is how it ought to be.

And it's so wonderful. You'd the love. We love him we love each other. You probably all look around here say can't you just feel the love. It's so wonderful. I love you a bushel and a peck. Bushel and a peck and hug around the neck or whatever you know and we get all we can in church.

It's so easy hi brother hi sister. And we can hug and do all these things. And then we get in our car and he says now let's try all this stuff out in the real world where instead of hugging you they have other gestures for you you know or something.

There's other noises. The song isn't the same the feeling everything is is different. And now you're sitting there and they says now sit down roll over or roll over heel sit what about attack you know kill.

You know you know we're looking there come on. I mean I I like that those words are fine in church. But then when we get out and in the rest of the world and this is what he when Jesus saying there's a world there do you want to live before me really and truly.

And when we realize these here in this chapter these are the pitfalls these are the things the life and do that we tend to live before men. And these three things that will be seen here in the next few weeks one of them is giving.

There is fasting. And these are broad strokes I think have much day deeper meaning than just the the obvious initial one there their whole areas of our life and of prayer. But it's something there that when essentially if I'm going to be living my life before men to be seen of men and there when I would go to give God has done something to me.

I become his child. He bought me paid for me died for me he took me through the Beatitudes he loved me redeem me he forgave me he wouldn't. And he comes into my heart in life he takes over the throne wants to make me salt in life he helps me get victory over anger and over lust and over all these other things.

And what's the response of the heart. You're going to want to give back to him. You're going to want to respond. There's going to be something that the hearts going to happen have happened within it. But then if I begin to respond to the Lord in a public way what I'm doing I do before men.

Giving Without Seeking Recognition

Jesus said here if what you do when you respond to me and then you're putting yourself where you're you can be immediately in trouble again. Now I may go do something but I and nobody sees it. Nobody responds nobody likes it or something.

All of a sudden I'm hurt my service my gift my labor my effort my ministry. And it wasn't appreciated and God I poured my heart into that thing. And the next thing you know I'm in trouble and I'm angry and I'm hurt and I'm wounded and I find myself there to where you know.

And then worst of all Jesus said not only you're that you're hypocritical too. That's what he says here some three times. Notice verse 2. He says therefore when thou doest thy norms do not sound the trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do there in in as he said in the synagogues in verse 5.

And he says and when thou prayest thou shalt be as the hypocrites do when they pray down in verse 16. Moreover when thou fast be not as the hypocrites Jesus said if you tell if you allow yourself to respond to me and my lordship and my life in you in a public way you do it before men to be seen to men not only you're going to get hurt not only you're gonna be frustrated not only you're gonna feel slighted and ignored or something.

You're also a hypocrite. You're allowing yourself to do it for the wrong reasons. It's like Jesus saying I thought it was me you loved. I thought it was me you were serving. I thought it was me who took you through the Beatitudes.

I thought it was me that was changing your heart under your skin. I thought it was me you wanted to respond to then respond to me. Don't do it for others and for the benefit and for the sake of others.

Otherwise it's hypocritical like most any other real precious relationship like a marriage. If I find you know that with Jean if Jean she she wants me to do things to her for her privately and I mean imagine that can't figure that out.

But she does I mean but if I'm only nice to her in public if I'm only warm and loving you know in public and caring towards her in public and then I ignore her in private she's got this nasty little way about her she'll get upset and she thinks I'm a hypocrite so I'm nasty to her everywhere.

So when you know I'm there but but but the thing is is in a relationship it's if I'm really the really if this whole business is me before God if it's really my life before God here Jesus said then let's keep it before God because one of the things that will sidetrack it is that when you find yourself doing something for another reason is another motive and you allow that to happen.

You see there's two sides I suppose in balance to things back in chapter 5 in verse 16 Jesus did say he said now you let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven now here in chapter 6 verse 1 he says take heed that you do not.

You do your alms before men to be seen of them. And now those can appear somewhat I think to be in conflict believe they are on one hand he said let your light so shine let him see let everybody know.

You know what's what's going on. But here and then in chapter 6 he says now don't do things before men. But essentially what I believe here Jesus say is that anything that Jesus has done for me let it shine.

That's what's happened that's far in the sermon them out when he said let your light to shine anything of his love and of his mercy and of his grace and of his goodness of his benefits towards me shout it out let it shine.

Let the whole world know who he is and what he's done for you. In chapter 6 though he says now however what you do in response to what he's done for you you keep that between you and him. You let that be something there in your own intimacy in your own love in your own affection.

Lord this is that which I want to do for you because of what you've done for me. I don't do it for them and then do it for them. I do it for you. And I think there's a number of reasons that it ought to be for him.

Everything We Give Comes From God

Number one it's all of him anyway you notice there in verse two and it says therefore when thou doest thine alms. That word thine is in italics. In other words it wasn't there in the original they stuck it in just alms.

We don't have any alms. We have nothing. What does a man have. Paul says that it hasn't received from God. And if he's received from God why do we boast as if we haven't. Everything that we ever have came from God in the first place.

And so anything I give back to him it's always less than he gave to me. You know you can't out give him can't give more than I've been I've received. You can only give up to. And then he never asked us even to come near to up to what we've received.

But he does say you can respond out of what you've received. And you can you'd serve and you can give but it isn't yours it's all his all of our life you know B belongs to him. And it's something there that when we realize there that God he's merely looking at us now wanting to take us out in public and let us live.

And for me to think I have done anything even when I give is foolish anyway. And Wednesday morning we have a staff meeting and this morning John was sharing with the staff a little story about how that when his son Peter John was young and he'd go out to mow the lawn and there that Peter John who could kind of almost at the time reach up to the the lawnmower handles but John would mow the lawn and Peter John would reach up and grab on and and John was doing it all but Peter John would hold on and kind of hang on and dragged around the yard but you know and but at the end Peter John helped mow.

So we thought. But in reality as John pointed out John mowed the lawn and dragged Peter with him you know or something they didn't say that but that's pretty any of us that have taught our kids that's how we all learn in it.

But that's exactly the way that God is anyway anything that he ever allows us to do that we may even think for a moment I mowed a lawn you know or something there to realize no the Lord did it and just kind of drug us with him and let us walk along with him while he was doing it and share fellowship.

That's honestly what the Christian life is all about the fact that that Christ so loves us not only loves to do things in our heart but he also loves then to say here while I'm mowing I'll let you hear if you can reach up and just hold on to the bar you know I'll drag you with me and in spite of you we'll get this thing mowed for the most part let me audience but but the tragic thing is if after it's mowed I go and call the neighbor hey come see the lawn.

I mowed then at that point as when I think the Lord says you know we need to have a little chat in the backyard you know and is sort of anything because we've got some things way out of order. And the worst part of this whole thing is is that we're putting our own flesh right back on the throne the very thing that we spend an entire chapter wanting to be rid of the thing that we ought to hate in all the world more than anything you know a lot of the world today we look at you know Saddam Hussein is some great error you know a great enemy great you know somebody we ought to hate and I or hate what he is or what he does or whatever you want to do with it.

And I I suppose there's a lot of feelings it could be directed that way but I don't think there should ever be any stronger hate or distaste that anybody should ever have in all the world than and for themselves whatever Saddam Hussein has ever done to my life I can tell you he has never messed it up as much as I've done it all by myself without even knowing the guy's name.

Isn't that true. Pick anybody. Pick anybody in the world that you could ever be unhappy with. And what person is ever messed with your heart and your soul more than you. And when we sit there and then decide I don't want to rule I don't want to reign.

And then Jesus said well now I want to take you out in public and I want to use your life to serve me. I want to use your life to represent me. I want to use I'm gonna give you capacity. It may be alms it may be ministry it may be service it may be one thing or another.

But for one moment if you think it has anything to do with you and if you allow that to be something then where you think you're somebody you're wrong. And it in the tragic thing is is that it is that Jesus he didn't he's not gonna compete for the throne.

If we want it he says you can have it. But if you really want me on it then when we go out in public then you got to want me to be on the throne there. And I think one of the great tragedies in the church today even in the church world and a lot of church teaching sometimes is that the very thing that that we're trying to destroy.

We actually enthroned many times in ministries sometimes you know you see churches you know where they got their thermometers out there who's gonna give so than such and such because the people that give the most are the most spiritual.

Obviously that's the way I mean if you say that you know and you know in who will give and who will do and they're just something about well I'll do something be. And we make the flesh a very motivator.

We almost motivate the flesh we almost tease it and say come on come on take over the throne pull out the big bucks and let everybody think you're spiritual in the very life that we've vowed when we came to Christ that we that we wanted to see destroyed oftentimes in the church it literally toddles it comforts it you know is sort of a thing you know I go to churches sometimes they'll be if you ever seen you in a church bulletin and the lovely flowers this morning on the altar were donated by sister Hilda you know in memory of her dog fluffy you know or whatever you know sort of a thing and something there wouldn't you like to donate next week in memory of your dead dog or whatever you know but something there that that people you know wow I want to give flowers all of a sudden and it appeals to somebody and we want to thank brother so-and-so who gave us the organ and his name is on a little plaque here in loving memory of his mother you know or somebody I don't you know but on on all these things in there they're designed for people that the very life that we ought to look there and say Lord I don't want to rule and otherwise you know we'll be right back and here Jesus simply saying when you give or we you love and when you serve and when you minister to people don't do it to be seen don't do it for recognition.

Recognition, Service, and the Flesh

How many times in our life how many times in our in our marriages how many times in our home how many times with other people do we do something and we don't get the recognition for it. Here you went and you got your wife that stone there and that ring and you took her out and you mean took it all your buddy's a hey look at this look at this look what I got Matilda you know or whatever.

And you're pulling your wife and her hand over there and you know and say what'd you get her. Well here here you got to get in the light turn over here just okay there see now you hear look see there there's a stone there you know or whatever.

Wow what a guy you know. And then you go do something and your wife says you know you got to give me a bigger pair of glasses to see it you know or something and all of a sudden you're crushed. You gave or you did something and you didn't get a response you wanted back you did something and you said something or you helped or you in some way something was motivated to come out of you.

And when it didn't get a response you're angry I'm hurt. And all of a sudden the very nature that we buried in the last chapter were well you know we're giving artificial respiration to in chapter 6 to revive inside.

I know you poor thing I don't know why you did it don't ever do that again. No sorry. They'll use you and abuse you and kick you out. That's what you get for loving them. And how many people that very thing happens sometimes it's interesting to me.

I mean it can happen in all sorts of service. I ministered in church one time there's a pastor and there was a fellow in the church who loved to sing. He loved to sing. And the problem was he loved to sing too long.

Every every service we'd this guy everybody would sing. And when the note stopped he always tacked. I don't know what you call it a beat or what you know it was it. You felt beaten when he did it anyway.

But there was another beat he always you know you could always hear his voice just a little every after every little thing there would be you know him you'd hear his voice carrying on. You know. And the people you know there were wanting to worship.