Matthew
Sons of the Father are Rewarded
Jesus says give to the needy
But don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
Give to the needy, but do it in secret
God the Father sees this kind of action and He will reward
When you give as a normal part of life
Because your only purpose is to help others
You will not only get recognized by your Father in Heaven
Where treasures are stored, you will be a person of Godly character
Although people many not see your actions, your Godly character will shine
You will have a glory around you that will cause others to trust and appreciate you
The glory will be the Christ in you shining
People will see your life is not all about you, but about Christ and His Kingdom
Know the reason why you give and do your acts of righteousness
Don’t get the cart before the horse
Do all that you do for Him
And you and your business will be rewarded by your Heavenly Father
Sons of the Father are Rewarded
Chapters 3-7…
The Kingdom of Heaven is announced
Jesus, after being led by the Spirit into the wilderness
where He is tempted by the Devil
began to preach the Kingdom.
From that time on Jesus began to preach,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:17
Recognition you can’t get
anywhere in life without it.
If you want to become a successful
business owner, a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic,
a wife or husband you have to be recognized.
We have to sell ourselves in order
to be recognized above the average.
If I am looking for a tenant to rent a house,
I have to show potential renters
I am the type of person that will make
their dwelling “Home Sweet Home”.
To get people to make an effort
to check out a retail store…
I need to put my reputation and business out
in public through every source of media I can.
Name recognition, name branding
is so important to being successful.
We live in a world where popularity wins.
As a boy, I did not like to get my picture taken.
It is very common to find people
who did not like to get their picture taken.
Recently, my mother-in-law told me her dad
was offended with me because I had a nice camera
with several lens, and I never asked to take his picture.
It hurt me to hear those words.
As I thought about it, I realized I was very conscience
about not taking pictures of people unless asked do so.
I was free to take pictures of animals, nature and structures,
but in my mind were the people who would say…
“Please, don’t take my picture”
or sometimes not so politely,
“Don’t take my picture!”
How I wish I had lots of pictures of Sandy’s grandfather…
But I don’t because I thought I would offend him.
Today it is so different we take hundreds of selfies
and post them on social media.
I struggle with the recognition.
Partly, because there is a part of me that is introverted
and another part is scripture verses like…
Jesus says we should do our good works to be seen…
…let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Then a few verses later Jesus says…
Don’t do your acts of righteousness to be seen.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men,
to be seen by them.
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matthew 6:1
I wish I better understood Jesus’ words.
As a pastor, I was in my comfort zone
because everything I did as a pastor was
because of Christ and it was for Him.
But in the business world…
I struggled because Christ was always more
important than anything I could do.
Before I went full time into the ministry…
I worked at Jeep.
As I assembled the metal parts…
I realized someday those parts
would be rusting away in some junkyard.
Businesses I started,
I always did as something on the “Side”…
Almost like I was embarrassed.
So, I found myself struggling with how
I am seen by others and promoting myself.
If recognition is important…
How do we handle Jesus’ words?
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matthew 6:1
Jesus happens to give us some examples…
The first one has to do with giving to the needy.
You and I are to take care of the needy…
But it is not to be for the purpose of recognition.
Giving to the needy or to a cause
has become a tool for advertising.
If you have ever gone to a fund raiser…
You will always hear announced the major givers.
I have known people who go to church
for the purpose of networking their business.
Advertising sales people know that business
will spend a lot of money to be connected to a cause.
Jesus helps us understand the issues of recognition
by turning our attention to the goal.
So much of the good works in Jesus’ day
and in ours…
Was, and is, done to be recognized by people,
so people would reward us.
Your business will do better if you
have a reputation for doing good.
You donate $100 to a fund raiser to get
Hundreds of dollars in business,
this works.
But Jesus says…
“Be Careful”
Don’t do your acts of righteousness to get
the attention of people and receive their honor.
Jesus says if this is your reason…
Your reward stops with the blessing of this world.
Jesus is trying to get our attention on doing
what we do for the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Heaven is our heavenly Father
and He rewards right actions.
Our Heavenly Father rewards those who do what is right…
Because it is the right thing to do,
not because it promotes you or your business.
Jesus says give to the needy…
But don’t let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing.
Give to the needy but do it in secret.
God the Father sees this kind of action
and He will reward.
When you give as a normal part of life
because your only purpose is to help others…
You will not only get recognized by your Father in Heaven
where treasures are stored…
You will be a person of Godly character.
Although people many not see your actions…
Your Godly character will shine.
You will have a glory around you
that will cause others to trust and appreciate you.
The glory will be the Christ in you shining.
People will see your life is not all about you…
But about Christ and His Kingdom.
Know the reason why you give
and do your acts of righteousness.
Don’t get the cart before the horse.
Do all that you do for Him…
And you and your business will be rewarded
by your Heavenly Father.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 6:1-8 NIV
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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My team is the Tampa Bay Lightnings
They won 3 Stanley cups 2004, 2020, 2021
They worked hard to win 3 years in a role
but lost in a close battle with the Avalanche
I watched the Coach, Jon Cooper
He felt the sadness of his players, like a father
In an interview he said his players gave it all,
sacrificed, injuries, time away from family
Although he was sadden that his boys did not win
And for those who had not won a Stanley Cup Ring, he was proud of them
He said he has many memories of team he had coached
But the team that just lost the 2022 finals, He would remember the most
Coach Cooper always saw the best in his players even when they did not play well
His character as a coach is amazing, whether winning or losing
