1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:04,720 It's wonderful to be here with all of you today, and we just 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:06,800 have a wonderful crowd for which we're thankful. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,240 And as always is the case, I do consider it an honor to speak 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,640 concerning the Word of God. I hope that what we had to 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,800 consider for a little while today from the masterful sermon 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,360 the Lord preached a long time ago when He preached on the 7 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,760 Sermon on the Mount. I hope this portion today would 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,600 be edifying and encouraging to you in some way. 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,040 These are things that are so important to us because these 10 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:35,880 are very, very practical and they apply to every one of us as 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,000 we continue that great sermon that Jesus preached so long ago. 12 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,280 We're now to chapter 6 and Matthew chapter 5-6 and seven is 13 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,040 the Sermon on the Mount and we finish chapter 5. 14 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,320 You remember in chapter 5, at the latter part of chapter 5, 15 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:55,000 Jesus deals with enemies and he talks about two things about 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,040 enemies. One, your reaction to them when 17 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,680 he talked about going the second mile where he encouraged certain 18 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,160 restraints. And then he went into our 19 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:05,760 actions. What are we going to do about 20 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,520 our enemies? And Jesus says you got to love 21 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:08,720 them. And then he said, the way that 22 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,480 you do that is you do good to those that hate you. 23 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,520 But now we come to chapter 6. And what a masterful part of 24 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,360 this sermon as Jesus goes to chapter 6, because now he's 25 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,680 going to talk about the motive behind the ACT. 26 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,080 He's going to talk about the spirit of how we do things and 27 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,720 we do them for God and we don't do them for the praise of men. 28 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,520 In Matthew chapter 6 and verse one, Jesus says take heed that 29 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,400 you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by 30 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,520 them, otherwise you have no reward from your Father in 31 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:46,840 heaven. Now we know this. 32 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,360 I got to say something about works. 33 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,120 I know sometimes people that you talk to, they get kind of messed 34 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,600 up when you say works. It's because they misunderstand 35 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,800 the kind of works that we believe in and the kind of works 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,040 that the Bible clearly talks about. 37 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,200 You might remember 2 weeks ago when I talked on my last sermon, 38 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,919 we did mention the passage in James when James said that faith 39 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,640 without works is dead. In fact, James said show me your 40 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:17,840 faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my 41 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,520 works. So we've talked about works, 42 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,280 we're talking about obedient works, we're talking about works 43 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,160 of obedience. Those works are very important. 44 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:32,080 But let me say this too, works alone have absolutely no benefit 45 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,040 and no value at all. If the motive behind the ACT is 46 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:40,800 wrong, if the attitude behind the ACT is wrong or not what it 47 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,000 should be, it makes the work of none effect. 48 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,160 Attitude is everything. In fact, what Jesus is going to 49 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,800 talk about here is attitude is just as important as action. 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,120 You've heard me say this and say it again. 51 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,960 Attitude is the aroma of your heart. 52 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:04,400 I don't know. I don't know about you. 53 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,560 I don't like hanging out with people with bad attitudes. 54 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,440 I just don't. It's depressing. 55 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,120 Attitude is everything, but attitude is about perception. 56 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,880 It's like that story and it went viral and you probably heard it 57 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,680 and I know I probably said it, but that story a long time ago 58 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,880 where that young boy with Down syndrome accomplished some great 59 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,200 thing. I can't remember what it was 60 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,560 that he did, but he really over achieved, did a great thing. 61 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,440 He's being interviewed by this guy and the guy says do you 62 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:39,000 think Down syndrome was a handicap to you or a disability? 63 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:41,520 What a terrible thing to ask somebody. 64 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,520 I'm glad he did though, because you know what the answer was? 65 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,600 This little fella stood there on his own 2 feet and looked him in 66 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,000 the eye and he said the only disability in life is a bad 67 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,000 attitude. And that's true attitude. 68 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:00,800 Is everything OK when Jesus is speaking these words in Matthew 69 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,400 chapter 6 and verse one? The remote context really does 70 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,640 go back to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 20. 71 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:09,520 Don't turn there, just stay with me. 72 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,320 I'm going to mention some stuff. In Matthew chapter 5 and verse 73 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,920 20, Jesus says a very remarkable statement. 74 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,440 He said unless your righteousness exceeds the 75 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:24,800 righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise 76 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,200 enter into the Kingdom of heaven. 77 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,000 Why is that a remarkable statement? 78 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,680 You know why? Because the scribes and the 79 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,320 Pharisees were the most religious people in all the 80 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,480 world. And Jesus says unless your 81 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,640 righteousness exceeds their righteousness, you can't go to 82 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:41,960 heaven. What was the problem? 83 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,680 The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was summed up by 84 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:47,840 Jesus because he was saying this. 85 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:55,560 Everything they did was all about form and no substance, how 86 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,080 it looks on the outside. But that's not how they were on 87 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,480 the inside. You know, in Matthew chapter 23, 88 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:06,360 it was the last sermon the Lord ever preached. 89 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,120 And you want to talk about a scathing rebuke? 90 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,680 You know, people talk about Jesus love and yes He is. 91 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,080 But Jesus rebuked them and for a reason. 92 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,360 The first sermon he ever preached is this masterful 93 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,600 Sermon on the Mount, The last ones found in Matthew chapter 94 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,120 23. Remember what he says. 95 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,440 He said woe to you scribes and Pharisees, and he calls them 96 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,480 hypocrites. Why? 97 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,680 They were all about form and no substance, had no meaning. 98 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,920 You remember my sermon when Jesus talked about justice, 99 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,920 mercy and faith? He was talking about them. 100 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,080 He said, you know what you're doing, what you do is use 101 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,120 scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites. 102 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,960 You take the tithe requirement and God required in the Old 103 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,040 Testament that they would take a tenth of all the land produced 104 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,320 and give it back to God. What they did is they took it to 105 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,440 the NTH degree and they even took it to the point of they if 106 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,840 they regulated it even with their kitchen spices. 9 for me, 107 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,720 one for God, 9 for me, one for God, 9 for me, one for God. 108 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,120 Jesus says by doing that you're neglecting the weightier matters 109 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,120 of the law, and that is justice, mercy, and faith. 110 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,200 And everybody gets that all out of whack. 111 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,680 If you don't believe me, just Google it. 112 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:16,960 You get all kinds of interpretations on what that 113 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,320 means. Jesus was not saying that the 114 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,960 details don't matter. He was not saying obedience does 115 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,320 not matter. He was not saying that worship 116 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,800 it does not matter. He wasn't saying that at all. 117 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,840 What he was saying is by doing what you're doing and being 118 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:33,160 formed without Septus, you are doing this. 119 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,880 You are neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and 120 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:39,200 faith. And I'll just sum it up like 121 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,440 this. When you are doing that with 122 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,800 justice, mercy, and faith, it means this. 123 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,200 You're keeping the commands of God, which are the details, but 124 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,880 you're doing it with the right attitude, the right spirit, and 125 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:57,120 the right motive that is formed with substance. 126 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,560 In Matthew chapter 23, what else did Jesus talk about? 127 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,200 He talked about humble service, humility. 128 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,800 You know what? They were concerned with titles 129 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:11,040 like Rabbi and Master Raboni. They also wanted the chief seats 130 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,440 in the synagogue. What else they want? 131 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,240 They wanted the best seat of the feast. 132 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,040 But Jesus taught about humility. They were formed without 133 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:20,800 substance. They wanted the praise of men. 134 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,800 So here's the point though. Sadly, in seeking after the play 135 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,720 the fleeting accolades of men, the people that Jesus was 136 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,720 talking about had missed out on God's eternal reward. 137 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:36,080 So Matthew chapter 6 and verse one, Jesus says this. 138 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:40,520 As a result, take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds 139 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,600 before men, OK? Good works are not for show. 140 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:48,600 They're not. Religious leaders in the Lord's 141 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,160 Day were giving to the poor, and they were giving to God in the 142 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:57,200 treasury to be noticed publicly, to be seen by men. 143 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:01,800 I'm going to quote my dad in a minute again. 144 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:03,520 And you know, I quote my dad a lot. 145 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:05,480 Didn't think I was paying attention. 146 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,880 I was paying attention. Apparently my dad used to always 147 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:17,360 say, son, the mark of what you really are is really 148 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,920 proportionate to what you will do when nobody's watching and 149 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,800 you get no credit. So if you go do something, 150 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,559 great, So what he said, what if nobody gave you credit and 151 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:34,320 nobody saw it? Because that's the real you. 152 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,159 What Jesus is saying here is take heed that you do not do 153 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,480 your charitable deeds before men. 154 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,360 In other words, he's not condemning their works. 155 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:47,200 He's condemning their attitude or their motive behind it. 156 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,560 Because it's not wrong, by the way, to do things publicly. 157 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,880 In fact, when things are seen in public, the actual act or the 158 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,720 actual work is a good thing. Watch Matthew 516. 159 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,800 Jesus said this too. Let your light so shine before 160 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:06,400 men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, 161 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:11,200 which is in heaven. So sometimes you will do a good 162 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:17,480 deed and everybody sees it and God gets the glory and that's 163 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,080 wonderful. The point is you can't do it for 164 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,360 the reason that you want to be seen of men and receive the 165 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:24,800 accolades and the praise from them. 166 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,480 That's the point. But sometimes a good deed or a 167 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,880 good work that you do in public that everybody knows about is 168 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,720 wonderfully encouraging. In fact, the Lord used somebody. 169 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,840 He used an example. He used an example of a 170 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:42,000 precious, precious widow in the last days in the life of Jesus, 171 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:43,680 the last week in the life of Jesus. 172 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,720 Jesus is there. You know the story. 173 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,200 I'm not going to it. Mark chapter 12 And he's sitting 174 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,880 there by the temple treasury and he's watching all the rich 175 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,440 people come and they're putting all this money in. 176 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:59,440 And they had those 13 trumpet shaped coppers and each was a 177 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,280 reason they had words written over them for what this was and 178 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,440 for what this purpose was. And this purpose was and so 179 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,160 forth. Here come the rich people. 180 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:10,080 They're putting in the money. And then Jesus says there was 181 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:18,000 one widow and she does this. Then 1 poor widow came and threw 182 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,200 in two mites, which makes up a quadrants. 183 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,000 What's that? Well, some scholars say that 184 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,920 it's impossible to know for certain because the monetary 185 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,800 measures and monetary things change over time, right? 186 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:35,400 Well, I've deduced it like this. This is an approximation. 187 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:40,360 But a quadrant that she put in two mites, regardless of what 188 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,640 the large sums that other people put in, you know what that 189 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,800 actually adds up to in today's money? 190 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:51,200 That's about 1/4 of a penny, about 1/4 of a cent. 191 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,640 Now remember, Jesus is going to use her as an example. 192 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,600 So he called his disciples to himself and said assuredly, I 193 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,400 say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those 194 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,840 who have given to the treasury, all the ones combined. 195 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,760 She gave a quarter of a penny and it was more than all the 196 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:12,640 others combined. And he's going to say why in 197 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,200 just a moment. What's he doing though? 198 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:17,680 She didn't do it to be seen by anybody. 199 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,480 And you know what? I got to add a little side note 200 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,480 here. Nowhere in the Scriptures does 201 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:27,640 it say that anybody else recognized or realized or saw 202 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,840 what she did. All we know for sure is that the 203 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,640 Lord saw it. Isn't there a picture there? 204 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,480 You could do something privately and quietly, and nobody knows, 205 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:41,840 and maybe the only one that knows is the Lord. 206 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:48,920 And He gave Him credit for it. He said she gave more than all 207 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:50,720 the others combined, and This is why. 208 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,040 For they put it out of their abundance, but she out of her 209 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,600 poverty, put it all that she had, her whole livelihood. 210 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,600 Wonderful passage. And just remember this. 211 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,960 When we do give, remember one thing. 212 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,800 I'll say this as a reminder. Sometimes we think that when we 213 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,480 give, we're giving back. We're giving to God what's ours. 214 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,000 So we're giving a percentage of what's ours or part of what's 215 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:16,640 ours. Please understand, when you 216 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:21,840 give, understand this, you're not giving that which is yours. 217 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,840 You're giving back to God that which already is his. 218 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,360 Everything you have is from God, all of it. 219 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:36,280 So when we do give, like in the contribution, we're giving back 220 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,280 a portion of what God has already blessed us with. 221 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,480 And by the way, it's all His anyway. 222 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,520 Here's another example where somebody did something good for 223 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,640 the right reasons and they were used as encouragement for 224 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,240 somebody else. Paul used the Macedonian 225 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,200 churches as a public example to encourage those in Corinth in 226 00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:02,600 Second Corinthians chapter 8. Here's the point. 227 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,400 These examples were used not to receive the praise from from 228 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,760 men. They were used because they were 229 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:14,440 done properly to get the praise of God and encourage others to 230 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,760 be godly as well. OK, So what does this mean here? 231 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,160 Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before 232 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:24,640 men, and then it says to be seen by them. 233 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,000 You just said preacher, you just said that it's good when people 234 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:29,960 see your good deeds, so what's the point? 235 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:32,480 There's no contradiction here. What does this mean? 236 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:37,720 This phrase to be seen by them, by the way, is the same basic 237 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:42,200 meaning as our modern word theatrical. 238 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,440 In other words, don't be theatrical when you do it. 239 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,280 Robertson said it like this. Like actors on a stage, these 240 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,320 men Don masks of piety and parade their works. 241 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,480 They seem unaware that God looks not on the outward appearance, 242 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,720 but on the heart. Verse 10, verse 16, and verse 243 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,240 seven. Another scholar went on and said 244 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,440 something else about that. I'll get back to that later, but 245 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:13,640 let's just go back to chapter or verse 2, please. 246 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:17,760 Verse 2 Therefore, when you do your charitable deed, do not 247 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,680 sound a trumpet before you, OK, This phrase do not sound a 248 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,120 trumpet. If you look up different 249 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,360 commentators and you look up different scholars, OK, they 250 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,200 have all manner of interpretation. 251 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,200 Some take a very literal interpretation about sounding 252 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,520 the trumpet like JW Mcgarvey. And there's a reason that some 253 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,240 people take a literal interpretation of this, because 254 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,320 the custom of the rich back then was whenever somebody would go 255 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,320 and they would give, they would bring a trumpeteer and the 256 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,840 trumpeteer would be there and the trumpeteer would blast to 257 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,680 get everybody's attention that that person is giving. 258 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,800 So JW Mcgarvey says when Jesus says when you do your charitable 259 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,360 deed, don't sound the trumpet, and that's a literal 260 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,120 interpretation of that. OK. 261 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:07,800 Still others hold to the blowing of trumpets when they fasted and 262 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,840 when they had other religious things going on. 263 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,840 By the way, you know what Jesus says when you do your fasting, 264 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,520 implying that you will fast at some point? 265 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:22,560 He said, don't make your face look like you're sad or 266 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:27,880 miserable on your face. Do your fasting so that nobody 267 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,880 knows you're fasting and the only one that knows that you're 268 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,280 fasting is God. It's a form of humility. 269 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,000 You are humbling the Spirit when you pray and it's and it's very 270 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,160 important to do that from time to time. 271 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:46,040 OK, back then some blasted the trumpets when they fasted or on 272 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,840 other religious occasions. Some people think, according to 273 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,560 Vincent, that the illusion here is to the 13 trumpet shaped 274 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,800 coffers in the treasury. Still others think it's 275 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,480 hyperbole. Here's the point. 276 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,080 It really doesn't matter. This is whether literal or 277 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:01,760 figurative. Here's the point. 278 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:08,080 When you do something good, when you do something good, do it 279 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:14,400 quietly, do it quietly and don't try to draw attention to 280 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:18,960 yourself. Then he gives this example as 281 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:24,040 the hypocrites in the synagogues and the streets, as they do 282 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,000 that, they may have the glory for men. 283 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,640 You know, Jesus reserves the harshest criticism for religious 284 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:32,160 leaders, and I think that's very important. 285 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:39,080 When you are a leader, people follow you. 286 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,360 May I just say how important it is? 287 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,880 And I'm not talking about people that are considered leaders. 288 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,240 Sometimes we have in our mind what a leader is. 289 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,480 But have you ever stopped to consider that you are all 290 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:59,520 leaders of someone? There's somebody that is 291 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,480 following you. If you are a parent, for 292 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,599 example, you have a little one, that little one is following 293 00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:10,400 you. Like that old song, Walk a 294 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,400 little straighter, Daddy, walk a little straighter. 295 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,880 I used to preach on that a lot because somebody is following 296 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,119 you. Jesus reserves the harshest 297 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,160 criticism for religious leaders. You know why? 298 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,280 Because they were the ones that were about forming those 299 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:31,200 substances. They were the ones that were 300 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,680 really hypocritical. And what does the word hypocrite 301 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:36,040 mean? It denotes acting. 302 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,480 Robertson said This, it carries with it the idea of pretending, 303 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:43,600 feigning or wearing a mask. In other words, they were pious 304 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,280 pretenders. In addition to this, one scholar 305 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,600 further said, like actors on a stage, these Pharisees pose as 306 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,000 godly performers. Their show is spectacular. 307 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,720 But backstage, behind the curtain, their director is 308 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:04,200 Satan. Wow, Jesus says this. 309 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:09,840 When you do things just for the glory of men, you have your 310 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,840 reward. You know a better translation 311 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,200 really is this. It means you have your full 312 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,440 reward or you have in full your reward. 313 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,600 What does that mean? JW Mcgarvey says this, implying 314 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,920 that the praise of men is the only reward that they will ever 315 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,600 receive. So instead of seeking God's 316 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,920 approval, these religious leaders chose the fleeting and 317 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,080 fickle praise of men. And I thought of this the other 318 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,440 day, and I want to share it with you because I think it applies. 319 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,000 I think there's a parallel in our life. 320 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:45,040 And sometimes it's done innocently, but it does happen. 321 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,480 And how do I know what happens? Because it happened to me. 322 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,760 When you are young, really young, the only one that you 323 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,040 want praise from is your parents. 324 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,840 That's most important. You want the praise of your 325 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,040 father. You want the praise of your 326 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:09,240 mother. But something happens and you 327 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,760 start seeking after the fickle, fleeting praise of your friends. 328 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:17,600 All of a sudden you want your friends to be proud of you. 329 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,200 So sometimes you stop being who you really are just so that your 330 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,440 friends will praise you. That's what we do. 331 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,800 You might say. I didn't do that. 332 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,920 Well, good for you, I did. Good on you, I did. 333 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:43,560 But isn't that exactly what happens when we forget about who 334 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,960 we are? We forget about the praise of 335 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,040 our Heavenly Father. The praise of our Heavenly 336 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,720 Father all of a sudden doesn't, in practice, become as important 337 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:58,320 as our praise of our peers. And we can fall into the same 338 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,680 trap. You know what's funny though? 339 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:03,520 When you get older? Oh, you want the praise of your 340 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,680 parents again. You want the praise of your dad 341 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,360 again. Your mom again. 342 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:15,400 But somewhere in between. Sometimes we just want the 343 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:21,600 fleeting accolades and praise of our peers, and sometimes we even 344 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,360 put on a false veneer or facade in order to achieve it. 345 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:29,120 I think the same is true today. The word hypocrite is the most 346 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:30,600 overused word in the English language. 347 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,720 It really is. And I will say this to you, that 348 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,640 sometimes people that don't want to be religious and some people 349 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,880 that don't want to be Christians and they don't want to be a part 350 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,000 of any kind of organized religion, what they'll say is I 351 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,280 don't want to be a part of that because there's hypocrites in 352 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:45,920 the church. How many times you heard that? 353 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:47,880 Oh, there's hypocrites over there. 354 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,280 I don't want to do that. OK. 355 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,720 And while all that's being true, and it's true that somebody that 356 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,640 makes a mistake is not a hypocrite, even though they get 357 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,400 branded as one hypocrite's a play actor pretending to be 358 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,280 something they never intended to be, all that's true. 359 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:03,920 But I want to Fast forward to this statement here. 360 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:10,400 While all those things that I just said are 100% true, there's 361 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:15,560 something else that's true too. If somebody really is a 362 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,720 hypocrite, it doesn't take long for people to see through their 363 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:21,880 veneer. And you know what happens? 364 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,320 They don't even get the praise of men anymore either. 365 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,000 They lose the praise of God for being hypocrite, obviously, but 366 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,480 when people see through their veneer and see who they really 367 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,960 are and they're not really genuine, they lose the praise of 368 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,800 men too. I think that's the point. 369 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,360 Jesus is saying his statement may be intended to remove that 370 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:44,840 veneer, thus removing all reward. 371 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:50,920 OK then we go to the next verse. Jesus says, But when you do your 372 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,800 charitable deed, now this statement here is a statement 373 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:58,200 not of possibility. It's a statement of fact. 374 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:03,280 It's a statement of certainty. Jesus assumes that his followers 375 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,880 are going to be charitable people and they're going to 376 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:07,960 give. In fact, God has always been 377 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,200 always expected his children or his people to be benevolent, 378 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:13,080 going all the way back to the Old Testament. 379 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,320 In the Old Testament, it encouraged benevolence or giving 380 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,240 alms or giving gifts or helping others. 381 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,160 Not only did it encourage it, it also regulated it. 382 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,240 In the Old Testament, it's always been that way. 383 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,400 Sometimes we think that the rule is changed in the New Testament, 384 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:33,920 and now here's the way we have to be. 385 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:35,720 And in the Old Testament it didn't matter. 386 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,680 That's not true. God has always required His 387 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,600 people to be good to others and help others. 388 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,920 Give you 2 Old Testament passages in Leviticus 25 and 35. 389 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,080 If one of your brethren becomes poor and falls into poverty 390 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:54,200 among you, then you shall help him like a stranger or 391 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,600 sojourner, that he may live with you. 392 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,920 Another passage, Deuteronomy 15 and 11. 393 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:01,360 For the poor will never cease from the land. 394 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,000 Therefore I command you, saying, you shall open your hand. 395 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,480 Why? To your brother, to your poor 396 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,360 and your needy in your land. OK, what about New Testament 397 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:15,760 times? In New Testament times, the days 398 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:17,840 of the early church continue with the same spirit. 399 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:22,320 Bear with me, I got to set this up in Acts chapter 2. 400 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:25,880 It was the day that salvation came. 401 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:32,080 It was the day that the church was born, and it was a day when 402 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,680 there was a pattern for Christians helping Christians. 403 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,320 The very first gospel sermon was preached in Acts chapter 2 with 404 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,360 the opportunity to respond to it. 405 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,640 You know, scholars tell us there was over a million people 406 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,400 perhaps in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, Over a million 407 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:57,640 people on Pentecost day, 50 days following the Passover, this 408 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,880 religious Jewish day, a million people are there. 409 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,880 And Peter and the apostles, divinely inspired by the Holy 410 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,640 Spirit, began to preach the gospel. 411 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,920 And when the gospel was preached, you know what they 412 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,720 said? Finally, men and brethren, what 413 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,880 shall we do? We need an answer. 414 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,720 What do we do now? We're lost. 415 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,680 We rejected Jesus, God made him Lord in Christ, the one that we 416 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,360 crucified. What do we do now? 417 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,560 Verse 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, 418 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,440 everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 419 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,520 of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for 420 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,760 the promise is unto you and your children, and all that are afar 421 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,920 off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 422 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,200 What do we know so far? Salvation was had, and baptism 423 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,760 for the remission of sins. That's what a person is saved. 424 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,280 What else do we know? What we know of this too in Acts 425 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,360 242, what did they do? They immediately worshipped, 426 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,400 praising God and having favor with all the people, and the 427 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,400 Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved. 428 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:14,680 Verse 47 What did the church do? Verse 42, It continued 429 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,040 steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and 430 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,720 breaking of bread and in prayers. 431 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,640 Wonderful stuff. They were saved, they were 432 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,680 members of the church, they worshiped God. 433 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:32,040 And do you know what they did? Because of those 3000 that had 434 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:33,920 travelled from all over the world, Guess what? 435 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,720 They had to turn their back on their former life, their former 436 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,680 sense of values, maybe even their families. 437 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,840 Maybe they were alienated and ostracized because they gave up 438 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:44,960 Judaism for Jesus. And guess what? 439 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:47,240 They were poor and they had nothing. 440 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,800 You know what they did? They did this Acts 242 and sold 441 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,240 their possessions and goods and divided them all among them, as 442 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,880 anyone had me. This is not a command for today 443 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,560 that we sell everything we have and divide it among everybody. 444 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:03,480 This is an example of what they did. 445 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,880 My point is this, they were benevolent. 446 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,080 They took care of each other in First Corinthians 16-1 and two. 447 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,280 Now concerning the collection for the Saints, the needy Saints 448 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:18,200 in Jerusalem, as I've given order to the Church of 449 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,600 Delacious, so you must also do on the first day of the week. 450 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,320 Let each one of you lay something aside, storing up for 451 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,120 me, prosper that there be no collections when I come. 452 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,360 Another passage. Galatians 2 and 10. 453 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:34,800 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very 454 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,360 thing which I also was eager to do. 455 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:40,760 All right. Christians today need to be the 456 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,600 same kind of people, the same kind of mindset. 457 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,600 First John chapter 3 verse 1718 Whoever has this world's goods 458 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,320 and sees his brothers in need and shuts up his heart from him, 459 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,160 how does the love of God abide in Him? 460 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,280 My little children, let us not love in Word or in tongue, but 461 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:03,200 in deed and in truth. Perfect example of giving is 462 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,480 obviously John 316 the greatest gift of all. 463 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,920 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 464 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,000 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have 465 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,720 everlasting life. OK, I got to say, I must say 466 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:19,920 that I do believe that most Christians are good and most 467 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,800 Christians are are generous. I believe that they are. 468 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,200 We just need to be reminded sometimes. 469 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,600 But I'm going to make another very bold statement too. 470 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:36,680 I'm going to take it further. I believe that the world is also 471 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:43,840 filled with people that are good and people that are generous 472 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:48,720 too. And I've been the recipient of 473 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:53,760 such goodness and kindness in life, of people from every walk 474 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,800 of life. It frustrates me so much when 475 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,360 people are negative about other people all the time. 476 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,640 And it frustrates me when people say, oh, man, the world's on the 477 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:08,280 guy yesterday. Oh, the world's just rotten. 478 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:12,560 OK, there's some bad everywhere, but no, there's a lot of good in 479 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:16,840 the world too. There's a lot of wonderful, good 480 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:21,560 people in the world. And even if they're not 481 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,440 Christians, it just means they don't know Jesus yet. 482 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:27,120 Oh, but there's good in the world. 483 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:31,360 I'm going to tell you something. It frustrates me and then I I'll 484 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,760 say it and it annoys me when people are just negative all the 485 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,040 time. I just, I just hate it. 486 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,600 There are people that I know that are absolutely depressing 487 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:41,760 to talk to. I just avoid them. 488 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,040 Oh, I got to get out of here, man. 489 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:48,120 The eor Sky's falling and it makes terrible know when I said 490 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,000 that I quote my dad a lot. There's one thing I say that my 491 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,320 dad said all the time. Let's say it again. 492 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,320 But I'm going to tell you the circumstances behind why he said 493 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,960 it in just a minute. And may I just say this about 494 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:01,240 repeating what your parents say? I think my father, who passed 495 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,440 away 21 days after Tanner was born. 496 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:10,520 I think my father would be happy to know that I quote him. 497 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,480 I still was going to get back to this. 498 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,120 You know, it's easy to quote my father. 499 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,320 You know why? Because I remember what my 500 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,000 father said. Because my father believed that 501 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:20,560 you only retained 1/3 of what you hear. 502 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,120 So he told me everything three times. 503 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,520 Annoyed me to death. I think maybe I've become a 504 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,440 little annoying to my kids too, somewhat, and my family. 505 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,560 But it's annoying. But it's true. 506 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,040 But I remember everything he said and one of the things he 507 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,040 said and I quoted all the time, but now I'm going to give you 508 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,680 the circumstances behind the quote and then I'm going to tell 509 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,920 you what he said. Years ago, I was going into my 510 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,600 senior year in high school and I had a friend, his name was Billy 511 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,800 Cowgill. And Billy was a pretty negative 512 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:55,120 guy. And one day my dad picked up me 513 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:56,320 and Billy. And he said, you're going to go 514 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:57,640 with me, guys. We're going to spend all day. 515 00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,560 We got this thing we got to do. We got to pick up this big 516 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,640 trailer. And everything went wrong that 517 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:03,680 day. I mean, everything, the tires 518 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,120 were flat, the thing collapsed, all kinds of things. 519 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:07,360 This guy wouldn't let us in the gate. 520 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,520 He was, he was rude. It was just one thing after 521 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,960 another all day. But we persevered and we got the 522 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,760 task done and we got it done. And we're in the truck and we're 523 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:17,680 feeling pretty good about what we accomplished. 524 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,520 And of all the things to talk about, you can think, man, let's 525 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,000 talk about how we we made it through, right? 526 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,400 No, not Billy. Billy starts in. 527 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:28,360 What a lousy day. What a lousy time. 528 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:29,520 Look at all the things that happened. 529 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,520 That guy was rude. That guy was a jerk, this and 530 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,000 that and all went on and on and on. 531 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,080 And I went and I know my dad really well and I went, it's 532 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,880 coming. And I just thought I was going 533 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,080 to be quiet. And I was kind of smiling, 534 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,480 thinking, I I know it's coming. Bob's going to say something. 535 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,040 My dad says nothing. He just stares like this driving 536 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:47,000 down the road, looking straight ahead. 537 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,160 He lets a little time go by and it's dead silent. 538 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:56,680 And he just said, boy, you're a real downer. 539 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:03,440 Nobody likes that guy. Let's not be negative about 540 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,440 people. There's a lot of wonderful 541 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,080 people in the world. Going back to our passage in 542 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,160 verse 3, Jesus says don't let your left hand know what your 543 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,320 right hand is doing. This is the same style as verse 544 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,000 2. He's using exaggeration because 545 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:20,080 your hand cannot think and your hand cannot know. 546 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,160 Hands only act as the mind directs them. 547 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,920 So the words of Jesus obviously are figurative. 548 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:32,200 What he's saying is when you give alms or you give gifts, do 549 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,320 it in private. And I got to tell you, do you 550 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:36,520 know that phrase? Don't let the left hand know 551 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,080 what the right hand is doing. It is a common phrase. 552 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,480 I knew a guy and he was a professed atheist, and that's a 553 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:43,960 whole other story. I don't believe that because you 554 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,360 know what, if your loved one was dying and you knew I was a 555 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,920 Christian or a preacher, I think you'd want me to pray for him. 556 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,800 And if you do, you're not an atheist. 557 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,440 You're not. That's convenient talk. 558 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:57,840 But this guy was a professed atheist. 559 00:31:57,840 --> 00:31:59,120 And you know what I heard him say one time? 560 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,200 Don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. 561 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:07,560 Oh, you just quoted Jesus. That you don't believe in Jesus 562 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,600 is using exaggeration meaning this. 563 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,640 Don't let people know what you're doing for that purpose. 564 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,040 And you know, under certain circumstances, the receiver may 565 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,320 never even know who the donor is. 566 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:28,480 And I had that happen to me. I did when I had cancer. 567 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:37,360 People were so kind to me. And most people, I knew what 568 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:42,480 they did so I could thank them. But some of you may remember the 569 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:48,320 story. I was really sick and somebody 570 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:53,160 rang my doorbell and I opened the door and I could hear a car 571 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,280 going around the corner, but I couldn't see who it was. 572 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:00,800 I opened up an envelope that was sitting there at my feet with 573 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:05,800 $600 in it with a note that said here's just a little small 574 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,240 token. We hope that this will help you 575 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,800 a little bit and your family and your time of need. 576 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:19,600 I was diagnosed with cancer on at 2:30 PM on a hot July 577 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:25,000 afternoon on a Thursday. I had my last cancer treatment 578 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:33,200 at 9:00 AM, January 31st, 2011, and to this day I don't know who 579 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:40,160 that was, but I got to tell you, the Lord knows He saw it. 580 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,840 That's great gifts. So in summary, it's not wrong 581 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:50,880 for others to notice your giving, it just can't be our 582 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,880 motivation. And finally, he says this, that 583 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:58,880 your charitable deed may be in secret and your Father who is 584 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,160 seized in secret will reward you openly. 585 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,520 Jesus is making a contrast between the secret giving and 586 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,920 the open reward. Now, he's not saying that you're 587 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,679 going to be rewarded openly by people in the world patting you 588 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:15,080 on the back with praise. That's not what he's saying. 589 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,080 So what's the reward that Jesus has to be talking about? 590 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,159 He's got to be talking about an eternal reward of the only 591 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:27,040 reward that really matters. He's talking about heaven. 592 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:34,960 But folks, how can the reward be open? 593 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:43,320 The Judgement Day will be public and open. 594 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,960 When the child of God receives an eternal reward in heaven, 595 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:55,360 it's public and open. And I think that's what Jesus is 596 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,240 saying here. What, Gee, what God sees in 597 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:02,320 secret will reward you openly. Let me give you one final 598 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:03,920 passage to support what I'm saying. 599 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,000 Do you remember when Jesus gave the parable of the tares? 600 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,280 Remember that. Let it all grow together, and at 601 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,360 the end, what's going to happen? Then the righteous will shine 602 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:24,720 forth. Shine forth openly. 603 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:35,240 Wonderful stuff. Do your good deeds that others 604 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:40,800 may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in 605 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,400 heaven. And don't do it to be seen by 606 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,640 men because Jesus says you haven't fooled your reward. 607 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:52,240 And you know if you remove the veneer of falsity and hypocrisy, 608 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:54,840 people see through that to go and get the praise of many of 609 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:56,880 her. So do it for the right purpose 610 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,120 and the right motive and God will reward openly. 611 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:04,600 I'm finished. We never close a time when we 612 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:07,080 teach them the word of God without extending an invitation. 613 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,280 The steps to become a Christian are simple. 614 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:15,040 You got to hear the word of God in Romans 10/17. 615 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,600 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 616 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,240 After you hear the word of God, you have a choice to make. 617 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:28,720 Hebrews 11 and six says I have to believe with all my heart, 618 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,880 but without faith it's impossible to please him, for he 619 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,280 that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a 620 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,640 rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 621 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:43,200 What else is necessary? I got to repent of my sins. 622 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,800 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands 623 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,360 all men everywhere to repent. All that means is this. 624 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:51,400 I've been going in One Direction. 625 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:54,600 I'm a change. I'm a change today. 626 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,360 Not going to be perfect, going to make mistakes, but I'm a 627 00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,600 change now. I'm going to live for God. 628 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,040 I'm going to go toward God and stop the ways that I've been 629 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:03,320 living. That's what repentance means. 630 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,960 It just means to change You change your heart, which is your 631 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,160 mind. It changes your life, which 632 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:10,920 changes your relationship with the Lord. 633 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:12,880 Then what? Then you got to be willing to 634 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,040 make this confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 635 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,240 Acts 837 Then Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, 636 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:20,880 you made. And he answered and said, I 637 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,880 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 638 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:27,920 All these steps are prerequisites to go to the point 639 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,280 of salvation. But the point of salvation is 640 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,600 baptism for the remission of sins. 641 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,920 Mark 1616. He who believes and is baptized 642 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,720 will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. 643 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:45,840 And this word belief means this having the force to obey, not 644 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,480 just simply believing that Jesus is the Son of God, having the 645 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,880 force to obey the Lord. That's what that word belief 646 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,160 means. Maybe you've taken those steps. 647 00:37:57,520 --> 00:37:59,680 Maybe there are things in your life that aren't what they 648 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,680 should be or could be. Maybe you've been away from the 649 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,360 Lord. Bible talks about what to do. 650 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:10,360 James 5/19/20 Brethren, if any among you do wanders from the 651 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,800 truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who 652 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:16,120 turned the Sinner from the error of his way will save his soul 653 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,200 from death and cover a multitude of sins. 654 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,520 How do you do that? I love this passage. 655 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,120 First, John 1:00 and 9:00. If we confess our sins, he's 656 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:29,120 faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all 657 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:32,360 unrighteousness. That means it never happened. 658 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,280 That means it's gone. Confession means confession with 659 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:41,000 repentance and godly sorrow. It's gone forever. 660 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,960 What else? James 516. 661 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:52,720 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one 662 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:56,680 another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of 663 00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:01,320 a righteous man avails much there one. 664 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:06,040 If there's anyone here of either class, please come forward while 665 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:07,440 we stand and while we see.