Good morning everyone!

Today we are looking at the next chunk of Jesus’ teaching, what I am titling “Right Thing, Wrong Heart.” We’re moving into Chapter 6 now of Matthew, if you want to turn or click there awhile. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there is a theme behind almost every section of the Sermon on the Mount that we’ve looked at, and it’s a pretty clear one: God is concerned about your heart. Sure, reading through this can seem like a lot of do’s and don’t dos, but what Jesus really wants to highlight with each of these subjects is that the heart that you have doing things is really what sets you apart.

Can you think of a time, any time, doesn’t have to be spiritual, where you were doing something, but you weren’t doing it for the reason you should have been? What was your motivation?

There’s a great illustration I found online, it said this:

A little boy told a salesclerk he was shopping for a birthday gift for his mother and asked to see some cookie jars. At a counter displaying a large selection of them, the youngster carefully lifted and replaced each lid. His face fell as he came to the last one. “Aren’t there any covers that don’t make any noise?” he asked.

Maybe you compliment a lot of people, but you do it in order to manipulate them into doing something for you. Maybe you take a dinner to a family in need because you feel like you have to or people will judge you for not helping. Maybe your best friend continues to ask you for help in some way, and truthfully you don’t have the time, but you’ll wear yourself thin out of fear of losing the friendship. Maybe you leave a big tip at a restaurant so that your group can see it.

This one may be all-to close to home: Do you ever buy presents for people at Christmas because you feel obligated and know they’ll probably get you one? Oh yes. All the time. Then that all falls apart when you give them the gift and they say, oh… I didn’t know we were exchanging. Yeah, you might have been doing that for the wrong reason. How many people have said sorry and not really meant it? Husbands, maybe you cleaned the house, not for a clean house or to simply make your wife happy, but… well, you get it.

We can do a lot of good things for the wrong reasons, and unfortunately, that can easily begin to happen in our spiritual lives as well.

In this next section, Jesus continues this theme as he talks about 3 different ‘religious activities.’ Each of these should be a normal practice for followers of God. Each of these should bring us life and draw us closer to God in some way. However, all that can change if you’re not doing them for the right reasons. Here’s what Jesus says:

6 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Jesus then gives some instruction on how to pray, which we will come back to and look at next week. Continuing on with the third practice, he says…

16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” NLT

When looking at this section of Scripture, we aren’t totally looking at HOW do I, but WHY do I. Today I don’t need to explain how to give, how to pray (because we will look at that next week), or how to fast. Jesus’ teaching here, with the exception of the Lord’s prayer in there, isn’t to teach us how, it’s to teach us why. So maybe some of you will leave here today with some application, maybe a new way to connect with God that you haven’t yet, but what I really want to make sure we walk away with is some evaluation of ourselves. I want us to really look at our motives, at our heart, because Jesus’ teaching in these verses aren’t about application, they’re about evaluation.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it?” You know, if you have huge muscles, wear tight shirts. If you have a nice car, drive it around for everyone to be jealous. If you’re beautiful, show yourself off. If you’re a great singer, brag about it and post videos. Surely you know people that do this.

If you’re a Christian, you may be able to see that this isn’t how Christ would want us to live. He wants us to be generous, love others, and give glory to God. Bragging about what we have is pretty prideful.

Yet, for some reason, we can overlook this phrase in the spiritual realm. How many of us know people or are guilty ourselves of bragging about Christian things? Like how much they give, how much they pray, how long they pray, how much they serve, who they serve, how much of the Bible they know, how hungry they are during their fast… the list can go on and on. Pride can sneak into our lives when we want to be recognized. We all want to be appreciated. We all want people to be impressed by us. Yet, Jesus is very clear here that we must seek to impress God alone. That’s why Jesus repeated this phrase in each of his topics: “[Do such and such] in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Here in His sermon on the mount, Jesus chose to talk about giving, praying, and fasting. But it’s a spiritual principle that we should integrate into everything we do. All that Jesus commands us to do isn’t in order to get a great crowd following you, isn’t for instagram likes, isn’t to get others to think of us as greater than others. It’s all done not for us, but for God. You remember the song we sing here, a classic, Not To Us? Not to us, but to Your Name, be the glory.

The world and it’s way of living tries to steal the attention, it tries to steal the glory. And because we are born in sin, because this is unfortunately so natural for us to do, we do it often with our spiritual practices. And our ability to share anything we want with the world through social media has only made this worse.

You know, you might not go out to Barnes and Noble and see someone shout of, I’m about to read the Bible, check me out! But I bet you can easily go onto instagram and see that someone posted a real ‘candid’ photo of their Bible study. There may be people you never see, but you still know that they’re fasting because they post things on FaceBook like… Hour 4 of 30 hour famine. #sohungry.

I’m not trying to stop you from posting about what God is doing in your life, or your favorite verses, or even posting a very meaningful picture of your devotional time. The problem isn’t in what we are sharing, it’s with the heart. Jesus told those listening to him to do these things in private. Why? Because He cares about the motive behind it, He cares about your heart.

And here’s why it’s such a big deal. Yes, you’re technically doing what God has asked us to do. Yes, you’re still giving, you’re still praying, you’re still fasting. I can just hear that one FRIENDS episode where Joey is eating Rachel’s nasty trifle. Giving, GOOD. Praying, GOOD, fasting, GOOOOOD. But not only does pride come and puff us up, making us feel like a ‘superior Christian,’ but Jesus also makes it very clear that the only reward we will get for those things is what we get from others here on earth. Period.

Again, in each of these topics, Jesus repeats a phrase:  “I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.”

The NIV Bible translates that phrase as: Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. It means the same thing, but the reason I want to show you this version is because they translated the Greek more word for word in this verse. And it’s important to see! I want us to understand what it means to receive the reward in full.

That Greek word that means ‘in full’ is the word apecho (ah – peckh – o). This word is a technical term for commercial transactions and it means to ‘receive a sum in full and give a receipt for it.’ When I go to Little Caesar’s to purchase a pizza, they give me a receipt. That receipt shows that I got what I paid for, right? It’s for the exact amount, I don’t get anything more. This is just as true, Jesus says, when I try to impress people instead of God, even in spiritual matters. What I get from other people, whether it be applause, a pat on the back, a kind word, or even praise, that’s all I’m ever going to get!

If my motive is to hear people ‘ooh and ah’ over my righteousness, that’s the reward I will get from it, in full. I may be giving 10, 20, 30% of my income, but if I’m doing it to promote myself in some way, God isn’t going to reward me for it. I may fast every other day, but If I’m doing it to bring attention to myself rather than God, that attention is all the reward I will get.

I want to be clear, as the mention of rewards can bring up some questions. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace alone, not by our works, so that we may not boast. We cannot earn our way into heaven, no matter how much we do, no matter what our heart is behind these things. We still fall short, we still need a Savior. It is clear throughout the Bible that God will reward us, but that doesn’t mean that that is how we get to heaven. We only get there by Jesus alone.

When we do get to heaven, 2 Corinthians 5:10 says,

“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” NLT

Thank you Jesus, we are not condemned as we should be. But we will still give an account of our life, what we’ve done. And God will reward us for living for Him. Jeremiah 17:10 says this:

“But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” NLT

So, it’s all about the heart. That’s why Jesus says to do these things in secret. That way, we aren’t tempted to do things for the approval of others. That way we are completely open before God, doing it for Him alone. This ensures that we are obeying Him out of love for Him, not for our own gain. Does that make sense?

Now of course, many good deeds that people do have to be out in the open, or should be in the open. For instance, the Bible tells us over and over again to pray together, to confess to one another, and to build each other up in love. We come and we worship in front of everyone each Sunday. We should be doing these things together, publicly. It isn’t wrong to be in public, remember, it’s the heart and the motive behind it.

As I said, today’s teaching isn’t so much HOW do I, but WHY do I. Paul challenges us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he says,

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves.” HCSB

So that’s what I’d like us to do this morning. We’ll read each section and topic once more, and then I want to give you some tests to really get you thinking about your motives.

Jesus starts Matthew 6 with giving to the poor. He says:

6 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

God commands us to give. He commands us to give back to God through the church, and to give to the poor and those in need. I believe that the temptation for giving hypocrites is to give for selfish gain. The hypocrites are the ones that are out making it a big deal when they give money to others. Jesus paints a picture of someone giving, then calling attention to themselves. Sure, they’re helping someone in need, but they don’t really care about them, they were using that situation to look good, and get something in return.

You may need to check your heart if…

  • You give to the church and call attention to it.
  • You make a big deal about the sacrifice it is to give whenever you do.
  • You can’t ever give anonymously – You need to make sure the people/organization you give to knows you were the giver.
    • (Yes, I know you won’t be able to show those gifts on your taxes. Will you still give?)
  • You have to be thanked for your donation.
  • You give only to get something in return.

Our giving, whether to the church, an organization, or a poor man or woman on the street should be done out of love for that person. It should be done out of a cheerful heart. We should be giving to help others out, get them ahead, and show them Christ’s love. Anytime you give for selfish gain, you may be doing the right thing, but you’re doing it with the wrong heart.

Jesus then moves to prayer. He says:

5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Why does God want you to have a prayer room, by yourself? To be open and honest before God, not trying to impress anyone. Prayer is such an important piece of our relationship with God. Therefore, we should be spending much of our time alone with Him, one on one, crying out to him. Again, God wants us to pray and worship with other believers, of course. But I believe that the biggest temptation for praying hypocrites is to impress others.

You may need to check your heart if, when praying in public,…

  • You are worried about thinking of ‘just the right phrase.’
    • Have you ever stood in a prayer circle frantic about what to say? Yeah, I feel ya. I try to think of something no one else has said. I try to figure out the best time to interject. And then when someone else says what I wanted to pray for? Now I have to scramble for something else! It’s certainly not wrong to think about what you want to say, but if you’re more focused on finding the thing no one else has said more than the prayer that is currently happening, stop yourself, and think about WHY you’re praying.
  • You feel like you have to say something.
  • You are thinking about who you’re praying with more than about God.
  • You critique your prayer afterwards.
    • I understand we have this pressure to speak well in front of ‘audiences.’ I catch myself critiquing my prayers often. But honestly that’s just my pride, wanting to impress others.
  • You pray more fervently than when you are alone with God.
  • You pray more frequently than when you are alone with God.

Is public prayer an overflow of your private prayer? It definitely should be. Our prayer should be focused on God and God alone. When we pray we are coming before the God of the Universe and speaking to Him, and I’m excited that next week we are going to look at Jesus’ example of prayer in Chapter 6 and learn how to better pray, not by better words, but by better focus. But if we are more concerned about impressing others around us when we pray, you may be doing the right thing, but you’re doing it with the wrong heart.

Lastly, Jesus talked about fasting:

16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Fasting may be a term you are unfamiliar with. In Scripture, fasting is typically a time of abstaining from food for the purpose of devoting one’s self and one’s time to the Lord. It’s not proving ourselves to God so we get what we want. We do it as a way to draw closer to God. By abstaining from food, we become dependent on God. Everytime you think of food, you should move your thoughts to God. It’s a GREAT way of drawing near to God. However, because of its nature, our pride can certainly twist it. I believe that the temptation for fasting hypocrites is an elevated piety, meaning they want to look super religious to others.

You may need to check your heart if…

  • You let everyone know how hungry you are throughout your fast.
  • You make a big deal to those around you that you aren’t eating, generally so they ask why.
  • You fast for the dual purpose of losing weight or purifying your system.
  • You try to look miserable and disheveled so that others will admire you.

Fasting is meant to purify our hearts, and focus on God. It’s denying the physical in order to grow the spiritual. But here’s the key thing: The length and frequency are optional. Jesus fasted 40 days, see if you can do that. Just kidding. You can do it for one week or one meal, if you’re using that time to draw closer to God. God isn’t interested in starving His children, He’s interested in BEING WITH His children. If you’re interested in looking more spiritual, if you’re interested in an elevated piety by fasting, you may be doing the right thing, but you’re doing it with the wrong heart.

Jesus wanted to make sure His followers knew that God isn’t as concerned about the act as He is the motive. The reason we give, the reason we pray, the reason we fast, should not be in order to be praised by man, because that’s all the reward we’ll ever get. We might be doing what God asks us to do. We might look super spiritual to those around us. But God is looking at our heart. If we are choosing to please people, then whatever enjoyment we get from their reactions will be all the reward there ever is.

Our check engine light just came on in our brand new used vehicle. Literally have only had it for a month. We are now looking at a HUGE bill, which is really upsetting and unfortunate. But what do you think will happen if I choose to ignore that check engine light? How much longer do you think I’ll be able to drive that car?

And when I take it to a mechanic, what’s one of the first questions they’re going to ask me?

How long has the light been on.

Guys, Jesus’ teaching here about our heart condition behind these spiritual matters can’t be ignored. Today we’ve tested the motives behind our spiritual disciplines. If your check engine light is on, please don’t ignore it! In each of these areas, I encourage you think about your heart condition. Each has a temptation we need to be cautious of:

The temptation of giving is selfish gain.

The temptation of prayer is to impress others.

The temptation of fasting is elevated piety.

If you’ve fallen into any of these temptations, Jesus gives a real simple answer to each of them. Do them alone. Do them without anyone else seeing you. Give without expecting anything in return, or maybe without ever being recognized for your gift. Let your public prayer be an overflow of your private prayer. Spend time with God by yourself daily, being completely open and transparent before Him. And fast without letting anyone else know. Spend your meal times alone with God, reflecting on Him and worshipping Him. When we’re alone, our pride cannot tempt us to do them for any other reason than out of loving obedience to God.