When Thou Doest Thine Alms

Introduction to Matthew 6: The Christian's Life in God's Presence

0:02 Last week, in our introductory study of the sixth chapter, we said that the general theme of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which is perhaps about midpoint in this Sermon on the Mount, you have chapters 5, 6, and 7, could be called, as Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones calls it in his exposition of this sermon, a description of the Christian living his life in the world, in the presence of God, in active submission to God, and in entire

0:40 dependence upon Him. The chapter falls into two very natural divisions. Verse 1 is an introductory word to the first section, and the first section, verses 2 through 18, are what we could call the Christian and his religious life. It deals with those acts and expressions of devotion, giving, praying, fasting, and what is to be our motive, how we are to conduct ourselves in this area of what we might call more strictly our religious life. And then from verses 19 through to the end of the chapter, we have the Christian

1:21 in his practical life. What about the clothes upon my back? It's all right to talk about praying, fasting, giving to the poor, but can't you become so heavenly-minded you're no earthly good? I'm a father, I'm a breadwinner. What does God have to say about my bread

1:38 and the clothes and providing an education for my children? Well, the Lord has much to say about the practical life of His children, the matter of food and clothing, and the necessities of life. And so you have this two-fold division in chapter 6, the Christian and his religious life, verses 1 to 18, the Christian and his practical life, verses 19 to the end. Last week, we looked at verse 1, which is a general introduction to the first section, and then we saw two or three principles that are found in this first section, verses 2 to 18. May I review briefly, and then we'll actually study verses 2 to 4 this morning.

Core Principles of Righteousness: Assumption, Motive, and Method

2:21 We saw last week that the subject of this first section is what our Lord calls righteousness. Take heed that ye do not your alms, the King James says, but all the modern translations have better manuscript evidence for the word. Do not your righteousnesses before men. Those deeds by which devotion is expressed and by which devotion to Christ is sustained and

2:48 maintained. Giving, praying, fasting. That's the subject. The basic warning is, take heed

2:58 that ye do not these things to be seen of men. The warning is, take heed that ye do not these things to be seen of men. The warning is, take heed that ye do not these things to be seen of men. The warning is, take heed that ye do not these things to be seen of men. It's a matter of motivation. The subject,

3:07 deeds of devotion, the basic warning that we must take care that our motivation is pleasing to God. And in this whole section, you'll find three basic principles, reoccurring again and again. Principle number one is that our Lord assumes that a true Christian will engage in these three things, when ye give alms, when ye pray and when ye fast. There There is no such creature recognized in the Bible as a Christian who does not express his relationship to Christ in the practical way of responding to need, in prayer, and in the discipline of his body to spiritual ends.

3:49 These things do not gain him entrance to heaven. They do not give life, but they are the expression of life. Life comes as the gift of God to the repentant, believing sinner, but if life is present, life will be expressed. As clearly as I state that, someone will go out and say, Pastor Martin said you're saved by works.

4:12 But my conscience is clear. I've said no such thing. I do say, and the Bible affirms, if no works follow, there is no life. For James says, if a man say, I have faith and have not works, can that kind of faith save him?

4:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works. And I shall affirm from the rooftops those two glorious truths of the Scripture that a man is accepted before God without works on the basis of the merit of Christ, plus nothing. But I shall equally proclaim the truth of the Bible that if I'm accepted by grace through faith in Christ, works will follow. And if there are no works, there is no faith.

4:58 Both truths are taught, and blessed is the man, who embraces them, experiences them, and proclaims them. That's the first principle. Our Lord assumes that every real Christian will be involved in these things. Otherwise, all this instruction would be unnecessary.

5:18 If all true Christians aren't engaging in giving and praying and fasting, why take all this space to tell us how to do it? It's just a lot of extraneous, unnecessary talk. But it's not so. For a true Christian wants to know how to do these things because as a Christian he does do them.

5:35 Second principle is that our Lord asserts that in every case, motive is all-important. For every time he deals with a situation or a different aspect of this matter of our practical expression of spiritual life, he says, take heed that ye do not to be seen of men. Either pray, give, or fast. Motivation.

5:56 All-important. Not so much what you do, but why you do it. Remember my description of the two men? The two men in the front pew here last week?

6:04 Remember them? Both in the same place at the same time saying the same words. One man acceptable to God, the other man an abomination. Why?

6:13 Not because of what they do or do not do, but because of why. Why are you here this morning? Is it part of your seven-day ritual? Or is it because you've come to see his face and to hear his voice?

The Subject of Almsgiving: Mercy in Action

6:27 And then the third principle. In every case, our Lord teaches by a negative example, and then by positive instruction. All right, with those behind us now, those principles, let's dig into the first subject, beginning with verse 2. 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.

6:53 Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou doest alms, let not thy right hand know what thy...

7:02 not let thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. To think our way through the passage, three main divisions. First of all, the subject with which our Lord is dealing. Secondly, the command that our Lord gives.

7:25 And then thirdly, the promise that he leads us. So you have an introduction of the subject, the specific commands relative to that subject, and then you have a wonderful promise coming at the end. And so we can think our way through the passage this morning. All right then, first of all, what is the subject?

7:41 Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, the subject which our Lord is touching upon is this matter of giving alms. Now it's interesting that the word alms here is the same word in its root as the word mercy. So almsgiving is an expression of giving mercy to someone in need. In a limited sense, it means giving food or money to someone who has a material need.

8:13 In Acts 3 verse 2, you remember the lame man who sat at the gate of the temple asking alms? Here he was, unable to make a living, and the great society had not yet come into existence, and so he had to sit at the gate of the temple asking alms. And so there he was, looking for physical sustenance. And in its most limited sense, this is what the Lord is talking about.

8:39 And this is the very kindergarten of true almsgiving, as we'll see, but it's a basic part. And John forever makes clear that a Christian is a man or a woman who will be actively concerned about giving physically to physical and temporal need. For he says in 1 John 3 and verses 17 and 18, If a man see his brother have need, and shutteth up the bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him? The answer is obvious.

9:11 It doesn't dwell in him. If I have received God's greatest gift, the gift of His Son, to meet my greatest need, the sin problem, if that love has been revealed to me and received by me, then when I see a physical need and I have it in my power to meet that physical need, John says, how can the love of God in any measure dwell in me if I don't respond to this little need and yet at the same time I claim to have received God's response to my great need? John says it's unthinkable. A Christian is one who has a heart of mercy.

9:50 Remember we found him described in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the merciful. That's a character trait of a true child of God. It may be more developed in some than others.

10:01 It may be greater in its manifestation. But the heart of every true Christian is a heart of tenderness to human need. I may not have the power to do all I want to do in the midst of that need, but I cannot have a heart of stone when faced with human need if I've ever had my heart broken at the foot of Calvary. It's utterly impossible.

10:25 So our Lord assumes that a Christian will give alms. And in its limited sense, it's dealing with giving, physical needs for physical necessity. But I believe in its broadest sense it can be applied to many other things. Any act expressing mercy and concern for others is an act of giving alms.

10:49 Praying for someone.

10:52 Speaking the gospel to someone, whether as an individual or as a pastor or a preacher, giving testimony at the prison or on the street corner. My heart full of mercy longs to, to convey the only message that can help poor, hell-deserving, hell-bound sinners. And so every time I proclaim the gospel, in one sense, I'm giving alms. I'm showing mercy to men in a tangible, visible way.

11:19 It can be the matter of passing out a tract, whatever it is. And so in its limited sense, it's touching on the matter of money. In its broader sense, our Lord is dealing with all those things by which a Christian expresses mercy, to the world. Now, so much for the subject.

The Negative Command: Don't Be Like Hypocrites

11:37 What command does our Lord give in terms of this matter of showing mercy? We have, first of all, the negative of the command, and then we have the positive. Notice it, verse two. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not, here's the negative, don't be like this.

11:56 And he talks about the hypocrites. The negative example focuses upon the hypocrites. I'm personally convinced, in most of the commentators, that our Lord is referring here again to the scribes and the Pharisees. For he says in Matthew 23, 5, about the scribes and Pharisees, all their works they do to be seen of men.

12:17 All of their works. Their teaching, their preaching, their giving, all of this, the motivation is to be seen of men. And so our Lord is really elaborating on chapter five, verse 20. Take heed, he says, for except your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven.

12:35 Here are the hypocrites, and they're going to be the negative example. Now, what did they do? Well, our Lord says they would sound a trumpet before them in the synagogues and in the streets. Now, in trying to check this out, whether they actually had a man with a trumpet go before them and blow it, as we know a trumpet, it's hard to find if such a custom was in practice.

12:58 So whether our Lord is speaking figuratively or literally, I don't know. I've not been able to find any historical reference that could make me say, with confidence, that there was a man with a trumpet. That could make me say, with confidence, that there was a man with a trumpet. That could make me say, with confidence, that there was a man with a trumpet.

13:06 That could make me say, with confidence, that there was a man with a trumpet. But the principle is this. Our Lord says that, whether it's a literal trumpet or not, what they did was to arouse all around, either in the synagogue when they were putting money in the boxes there, or out in the street when there was a poor man and they were about to give to him, they somehow stirred up enough interest that they had a good audience when they did their deed of almsgiving. They were careful that their giving, that their expression of mercy, was always done with a good audience and in the sight of many witnesses.

13:42 Now, why did they do this? Our Lord tells us. It's right here, verse 2. 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.

13:55 What did they do? They attracted attention to all their expressions of alms. Why did they do it? In order to receive glory from men.

14:05 There was absolutely no need to be no genuine pity in their hearts, no desire to stoop and meet human need. They were willing to use human need as a stepping stone to parade themselves. What a cruel, vicious thing uncrucified self is, that it will even trample over human need in order to display its own ugliness before men. Now this is exactly what they did.

14:37 They did it, the Lord Jesus said, with one basic motivation, to have glory or praise of men. Now what was the result of their action? Notice what our Lord says. They got exactly what they wanted.

14:52 Verily I say unto you, the latter part of verse 2, they have right now their reward. The only reward they wanted in the expression of mercy as they gave their alms was to see the man before whom they sounded the trumpet, stand around and whisper one to another, aren't they wonderful? Look how they respond to human need. And when they would elect the citizen of the year in that community and Joe, whoever he was, got elected and he stood with feigned humility and said, I am unworthy of such an honor.

15:31 But I receive it with gratitude and everybody applauded. Jesus said they got exactly what they were fishing for, the glory of God. Glory and praise of men, they got it. Full measure, pressed down, running over, nothing left.

15:45 They got it. Now think this through. What they did? Sounded a trumpet so that everybody would see.

15:54 Why did they do it? With one motive, to get glory. What was the result? They got what they were fishing for.

16:01 Now may I apply this very briefly before we move on to the positive part of the command? You say, well, these were men pleasers, weren't they? No. No man is basically a man pleaser.

16:11 He's either a God pleaser or a self pleaser. For you see, the only reason they did this to attract attention from men was not to please men, but to please who? To please themselves. To please themselves.

16:26 They wanted to suck what they felt was the sweet nectar of self-complacency and self-worship and self-aggrandizement and self-glory. And so this was the thing that motivated all that they did. If they had to trample on human need, and if they even had to part with some of their goods and lower the balance in their bank account, they didn't care. They put a high price on this matter of having glory from men.

Application of Hypocrisy: Self-Pleasing, Not Man-Pleasing

16:57 Even if it meant a little less money in the pocketbook and in the bank, to them it was worth it if they could somehow drink in the heady wine of the praise of men. But of course, nobody ever does that today, do they? Why do I give? Why do I come to prayer meetings?

17:20 Why do I give out tracts? Why do I pledge five dollars a month for the purchase of George Bruin's car? Oh, you say, Pastor, don't bother me with why I'm doing it. Aren't you content?

17:32 I may be, but you're not going to answer to me. You're going to answer to him. And I can't judge your motive. But he will.

17:41 For I read in that day, the secrets of men's hearts shall be judged by Jesus Christ. And so I must be faithful in exhorting you to do what our Lord says. Take heed that ye do not your acts of alms to be seen of men. What's the motivation for all this deed of mercy, all these deeds of mercy?

18:01 Is it that you want your pastor to think you're spiritual? Is it that you want your friends to think you're spiritual? Is it that you've gained the reputation for being a spiritual Christian and you must cherish and protect that reputation? Oh, if it means you've got to pinch and scrape and up your missionary plates, that's all right.

18:24 You're willing to pay that price just so long as people will think you're spiritual. You see, this is not something that's just peculiar to the scribes and Pharisees. This is something bound up in the heart of every child of Adam. And only the cross with its sentence of death can kill it and keep it dead.

The Positive Command: Give in Secret to God

18:44 Now we hurry on to the positive instruction. The negative, don't be like those play actors. But now the positive instruction, verse 3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

19:03 Now what are we to do? Well, we're to respond to need when thou doest alms. Let's not be immature and say, well, since there's the possibility I can give from a wrong motive, I'll be safe and I won't give it all. I've heard so many people say, well, since you can pray and it's just mumbling words in a form, then I won't pray at all.

19:24 I don't want to be guilty of two sins. Well, you're guilty of two by ceasing to pray. It's your duty to pray. It's your duty to give.

19:31 And so what are we to do? We are not to refrain from giving alms for fear that we might give from a wrong motive. We are to give alms. We are to respond to human need.

19:41 We're told in Proverbs 3.27, withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, go and tomorrow I will give thee when thou hast it by thee. Wonderful word of instruction from the Old Testament.

19:57 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due. And where I see human need that can be met in terms of money, in terms of clothes, in terms of attract, in terms of a word of prayer, in terms of a word of witness, as a child of God, I'm to continually be expressing my devotion to Christ in deeds of almsgiving in the limited sense and in the broad sense. That's what we're to do. Now, how are we to do it?

20:24 When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. You see, I'm not to seek the praise of men, that's dealt with in the negative example, but I'm not even, listen carefully, I'm not even to seek my own praise. Our Lord condemns not only parading my alms before men, but He condemns even parading them before myself. He says, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand does.

20:57 Now, is this to be taken literally? I think not, for I read in my Bible that we're to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's with the income tax. Caesar claims so much, he allows me to claim so much deduction in giving to God. Well, I shouldn't be giving to Caesar more than is his.

21:20 I should give him all that's his, not cheat on my income tax, but I've got to keep some record to know how much I can claim so that I'll not be giving more to Caesar and robbing what belongs to the Lord. We've got to have some kind of records in our society. I've got to, the financial secretary of the church has got to keep a record so that when I fill out my income tax forms I know how much I've given. Is our Lord condemning that?

21:43 Some people might say yes and say, he said left hand, right hand, not to know, take it literally. Just forget it. Well, did the apostles think this way? Again, I see no such example, for I read in Acts 24, 17, where Paul said he went up to the temple, to give alms, and in the presence of his countrymen he was seen expressing his devotion to his own nation.

22:06 Apparently, this was no breach of the Lord's command. Then we read in 2 Corinthians 9, 2 where Paul says that the example of the giving of the churches in Macedonia has stirred up many of the Christians in other places. People knew about their giving. Well, if our Lord is not giving us a literal command, don't let your left hand know what your right hand gives, just reach in your pocket, close your eyes, and sort of like grab bag, pull out what comes out.

22:32 If it's a one dollar bill, give it. If it's a twenty, give it. And don't even know what you've given. Now, that would be ridiculous.

22:38 Terribly ridiculous. And the Lord never requires what's ridiculous. Well, what does our Lord mean? I think this is what He means.

22:44 And I think the key to it is found in the next verse. But thou, when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. That thy Father, stop right there, in secret, that thy Father. You see what our Lord is driving at?

23:06 It's the whole contrast between that expression of mercy which is done with the motivation to be seen of men, to receive the praise of men, and those expressions of mercy that are done with a consciousness of the eye of God in order to receive the approval of God. There's the contrast. Between the eye of men and the approval of men, the eye of God and the approval of God. You see it?

23:37 Notice the contrast. Verse 2. The hypocrites in the streets to be seen of men, they got what they wanted. They got their reward.

23:45 But thou, in secret, before thy Father, who shall recompense thee? The eye of men, the approbation of men, the eye of God, the reward of God. And so when our Lord says by way of a positive instruction, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doing, He's saying this. Let your giving be with such a single eye to the glory of God as you give to meet the needs of men that you won't even sit down and keep a mental ledger of what you've done so that you can commend yourself to God and to His people.

24:23 Let me illustrate this. I'm always suspicious of someone who comes and says, Would you know, Pastor, I've given some of the best hours of my time and the best days of my life to the church and no one's ever expressed their gratitude to me. But what you're saying is, I did these works to be seen and I haven't been seen and I'm going to pout. Isn't that it?

24:51 I had a woman tell me a couple of years ago. She had a particular need, spiritual need, and I was trying to zero in on her. She said she hated someone and I said, Listen, you be careful talking that way. I said, If you really mean that, listen to what God says and I turned this woman to 1 John 3.

25:08 He that hates his brother is a murderer. No murderer hath eternal life. I said, If you really have hate in your heart, you have no grounds to claim you're a Christian. You know what her answer was?

25:17 Well, I did this for this particular church and I've given this money and I've done, done. Yes. See what her whole motivation was? To be seen of men.

25:27 You ever hear of anybody? Nobody does that here in North Cole. Well, that doesn't happen in New Jersey. It just happens out in California, doesn't it?

25:33 No, it doesn't. When people pout because they're not recognized, they've done such a noble service to the Lord and nobody's congratulated them. Now, this is not to put a premium on lack of common decency. The Scripture says, Honor to whom honors do.

25:53 But whether I receive the honor that's due me or not, if I've done that service with an eye single to the Father, I'm willing to wait the Father's recompense. And if I get any of man's along the way, it won't puff me up if I get it and it won't discourage me if I don't because I've done it with an eye to the Father. See? That's what our Lord's driving at.

The Pastor's Motive: Eye to the Father

26:19 And how subtle is this attitude of giving our alms, of giving our tithes, of giving our missionary pledge, of giving a tract, of giving a sermon, of giving of our time for a Sunday school class, giving of our time and interest and sweat and blood to some work that is noble in itself. But oh, beloved, what's our motive? Are we doing it in the light of the Father who sees in secret with one longing that we may have His approbation, His approval, His recompense? Frankly, if I didn't believe this, I'd go into something far more lucrative, humanly speaking, than being a pastor.

27:04 Just to even talk that way is repulsive, but I'm trying to speak objectively. Any servant of God, a missionary, a pastor, if you're not motivated by the fact that the Father sees in secret, when your good is evil spoken of, when people over whom you've wept and for whom you've been willing to pour yourself out turn around and bite your hand as though you were their enemy, if you didn't do this with an eye to the Father who sees in secret, you'd do one of two things. You'd either quit or bite back. And neither one is the will of God.

27:46 So much, then, for the command of the negative. Don't be like those play actors. The positive, what we're to do, we're to respond to need, how we're to do it, we're to do it with no thought but the eye of God. Now, what's the promise?

28:00 This is the concluding part of the passage. Verse 4, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Now, does that mean that if we give alms, the Lord will save us? No.

28:20 Of course not. The father-son relationship has already been established. He says, you do these things in terms of your heavenly Father who sees in secret. This is the man who's the child of God by grace.

28:33 He's come to the Lord Jesus as a penitent sinner, thrown himself upon the mercy of God in Christ, has been given a new life as the gift of grace. Romans 4, verses 4 and 5, to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. You say, I'm too ungodly to be called a child of God. Listen, I've got news for you.

28:59 That's the only kind of people he justifies, the ungodly. As they are ungodly, coming to him as ungodly, he justifies us through faith in Christ. Well, then, what is this reward that he speaks of? It's the reward of a father to an obedient son.

29:13 And I frankly feel that in this whole matter of rewards, there is no reward for a father to an obedient son. In these rewards, there has been a lot of foolishness. These people that talk about the seven different crowns, the crown of this and the crown of that, how in the world would I get seven crowns on my head? Well, I'd look like a stack of pizza pies or something.

29:34 Frankly, I think it does no credit to the cause of Christ to talk about seven different crowns as though I was some seven-headed beast and would have a crown on every head. I believe, basically, what the Lord is talking about is that reward when a man stands in his presence and says those words. Beloved, if I could hear these words, I don't care what else I have to hear or don't hear. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

30:03 What greater reward could the child of God want than to have his father say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. And the promise is that if we do our alms, express mercy to men, we may have to do it so that other men see us. Those Christians down there in Macedonia, they were they gave out of their poverty and people saw it and heard of it and were challenged and stirred by their example but their motive was not to be seen. I may have to, I may be forced to do my deeds of mercy.

30:39 As I preach to you, I can't do this in secret. I get kind of bored talking to myself for an hour every Sunday morning and night. I've got to do this almsgiving in public. I've got to convey truth to you but in my heart there must be one motivation to be proud and preach the word with an eye to my Father, not to you except your good but no fault of your frown or your smile but my Father.

31:06 My Father his smile his frown his approval his discipline. That's all that matters. That's all that matters. Oh, you precious students going out to serve and never forget that's all that matters.

31:25 That's all that matters and if everybody frowns and he smiles smiles while he's smiling, you won't lean on their smiles because before too long they'll frown. So you won't get puffed up.

The Promise: Open Reward from the Father

31:39 Now you notice something in closing.

31:43 Turn please to Matthew 25, 31. I think this is a wonderful commentary on what it means to do things with an eye to the Father's glory. No thought itself.

31:58 Matthew chapter 25.

32:03 Here the Lord is giving this picture of the day of judgment in terms of the sheep and the goats. Verse 31. Matthew 25, 31. When the Son of Man shall come in His glory and His holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.

32:18 Before Him shall be gathered all nations. He'll separate them one from the others as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Set the sheep on one hand, the goats on the other. Verse 34.

32:29 Then shall the king say to them in his right hand, Come ye blessed of the Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

32:44 I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.

32:51 Now notice. Then shall the righteous answer Him saying, Lord, we're so glad you took note of this for we've been recounting all the wonderful things we did in your name and we just wondered when you were going to get around to reminding us that you took note of all this. No. Notice what they say.

33:10 Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed you? Or thirsty and gave you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in? In prison or sick and come unto you?

33:23 And the king shall answer and say to them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye've done it unto me. Ah, do you see a beautiful illustration?

33:36 Here was human need. These people with no thought, thought that they were doing some great and noble deed as those who had received mercy in Christ. They responded in mercy to need and now in the day of judgment when they stand before the king and he says, I commend you for the expression of that life that I imparted. They say, Lord, what are you talking about?

34:00 What do you mean, Lord? You see, they were not letting their left hand know what their right hand was doing. They poured out themselves in self-forgetting service to their Lord. And what did he do?

34:16 He openly recompensed them before all the nations of the earth. The Father rewarded them openly.

The Judgment Seat of Christ: Motives Revealed

34:30 And dear ones, that's the promise he's given to me and to you. The Father who seeth his secret himself shall recompense thee or openly reward thee. I wonder if this is not the key to the judgment seat of Christ. I've often wondered what Paul meant when he said, we shall all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ.

34:54 As a Christian worker, my work is to be tried, 1 Corinthians 3.10, for the day shall try, no, 3 must be around 11 or 12, shall try every man's work of what sort it is. I wonder if this isn't the key,

35:10 that the judgment seat of Christ will be basically the judgment seat of Christ. It will be basically, a judgment in terms of the motives which prompted my service.

35:22 And all that was done with an eye to man to gain the glory of man would hang stubble in the day when I stand before him. And all that was done with an eye single to the Father who seeth in secret and therefore done in the sweetness and anointing of the Spirit, gold, silver,

35:51 beloved, what do you want?

Consistency of Life: Sunday to Monday

35:54 Do you live your life with one basic motivation, the eye of your Father, that you may be well-pleasing to Him? If that's true, then I have no fears that you'll live any differently Monday than you live here from 11 to 12.15 Sunday morning. You'd have no fear that anyone visits you unannounced on Tuesday, that perhaps they find you quite different from what you were at 12.20

36:20 when you shook the priest's hand on Sunday. For if you come with an eye to the Father, to see Him, to hear His voice, to know His mind and His will in order to go out and to live to His praise,

36:36 then there's no contradiction of life between Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and Friday. But you see, if you've simply come in order to keep your reputation before men that you're a Christian and you've got to show up here at least once a week or people begin to wonder. If you've merely come because you're a member or someone who calls this your church, your home, and it's expected of you, dear one, if that's all you come for, remember, you've got your reward. You've got the reward of a hundred people who think all is well with you, but remember, you're not going to be judged by us.

37:09 You're going to be judged by Him. He knows that all is not well. How about you fellas and girls? What do you come for?

37:16 Mom and Dad grab you by the back of the neck and say, get, huh?

37:21 Or is it because you know that there's nothing more important in your relationship to the Lord Jesus than you come because you want to know His will?

37:30 See, I look down at you and I'm thrilled the way you fellas and girls behave yourself. No discipline problems. But oh, as your pastor, I want to know that down underneath it's because you want the Father's smile. See, that's what I want to know as your pastor.

Exhortation to Abound in God-Glorifying Almsgiving

37:45 Anything less than that won't satisfy me because it doesn't satisfy Him. So this is the Lord's word to us about almsgiving this morning. When thou doest thine alms, be not as the play actors, the hypocrites, who sound a trumpet before them in the street that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they've got what they fished for.

38:07 But when thou doest alms, and oh, that we might be a people abounding in almsgiving. How I'm thrilled the way the response of the Spirit of God from your hearts to this need of George's car. What it's done for me as a pastor. What it's done for them.

38:21 What it's done for us as a people. But God wants us to abound in expressions of mercy. But oh, may it always be with one motivation. That the Father who sees in secret Himself might reward us openly.

Call to Repentance for Unbelievers, Confession for Believers

38:39 If you're here this morning, you've never come to the Lord Jesus as a penitent believing sinner. God's word is not do alms. God's word to you is Acts 17.30.

38:51 God commandeth all men everywhere to repent, forsake your sins, and flee to Christ. And as the Spirit of God works in your life and heart, the alms will follow you. The expressions of mercy will flow out. But dear one, they can't flow out until they've flowed in.

39:09 And they flow in at a place called Calvary. And I plead with you, find the mercy of God at that place. For us as the children of God, perhaps there ought to be a secret place today that finds us alone with Him confessing that we've done so much. Not thinking of the Father's eye, but the eyes of our brethren.

39:33 Beloved, their eyes mean nothing. Amen.

39:37 May I as a pastor, may you as a people be those whose one passion is to do alms before Him that we might have His well done good and faithful servant. Shall we pray?

40:00 Blessed Lord, how we praise Thee that You've given to us this clear word of instruction and how well You know our hearts.

40:13 How often our holiest deeds are stained with purposes of self. O God, today we pray that Thou would help us afresh to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. May the Holy Spirit as the divine executioner take these fibrous areas of self-life and root them out and put them to death. That we shall be a people with eyes single to Thy glory in all that we do as an expression of mercy in our giving, in our preaching, in teaching, in witnessing, in concern for others.

40:56 Lord, may our motivation be such as will please Thee.

41:03 Then we welcome the frown or the smile of men as it pleases Thee to give one or take the other. But, O Lord, we must know Thy smile in the day when we stand in Your presence. To that end, seal the word to our hearts. We ask for Jesus' sake.