November 27, 2024 • 39 mins
Did you know that you can give, pray, and fast regularly, and yet still fail to please God? It’s entirely possible to do the right things for the wrong reason. In this message from Matthew 6:1–18, David Platt highlights Jesus’ warning about living for the praise and recognition of others. God himself is our reward, and it is enough to know that he sees us.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
If you have a Bible and I hope that you or somebody
around you does that you canlook on with or you can pull one
out from around your seat, I'mgoing to invite you to open with
me to Matthew, chapter 6.
Feel free to use the table ofcontents if you need to Matthew
6.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to Matthew
6.
And, as your attorney, I wantto welcome those of you in other
locations of our church familyacross metro DC, as well as
(00:31):
others online, who arephysically unable to be with us
today.
If you're visiting with usespecially, my name is David
Platt, I'm one of the pastorshere and whether you're a
follower of Jesus from anotherchurch or you're maybe visiting
with a friend or family member,or maybe just exploring Jesus on
your own, we want you to knowyou are always welcome here and
(00:53):
I am loving this journey thatyou're able to join in today as
we're walking as a church familythrough Jesus's Sermon on the
Mount.
So last week we looked at theLord's Prayer and Mike's sermon
on.
That was a fire on so manylevels, as he walked us through
just four reminders from theLord's Prayer.
(01:13):
So if you didn't get to listento that.
I would encourage you to goback to listen to it, especially
in the week after the election,and he mentioned that this week
we'd be looking at the broadercontext that surrounds the
Lord's Prayer, which is Matthew,chapter 6, verses 1 through 18.
So that's what we're about todo, and this passage is so
(01:34):
important for our lives becauseit reveals so listen to this.
This passage reveals what ismost important in our lives.
That's what we're about to talkabout in the next few minutes
the most important part of ourlives.
So here's how I want us tostart, with a question I want
(01:55):
you to think about, but notanswer out loud, so I'll put it
here on the screen Is itpossible for you to do good
things in ways that are bad foryou?
So is it possible for you or meto do things that are good and
(02:18):
seem good to us, but for thosethings to actually be bad for us
?
But for those things toactually be bad for us.
I want to show you that Jesus'answer to that question is clear
.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Listen to his first words in Matthew, chapter 6.
Jesus says Beware of practicingyour righteousness before other
people in order to be seen bythem, for then you will have no
(02:54):
reward from your Father, who isin heaven.
So look at this.
Jesus' first word is beware.
He's warning us about somethingthat is bad for us.
And look at what he's warningus about Practicing your
righteousness.
That's doing good or rightthings.
Jesus just spent the entirechapter before this encouraging
(03:19):
us to practice righteousness, todo good things in ways that
will be good for us.
So Jesus is not telling us notto do good things, not to do
acts of righteousness, to dogood things in ways that will be
good for us.
So Jesus is not telling us notto do good things, not to do
acts of righteousness.
He just spent the whole chapterbefore this saying we should
live with the righteousness thatexceeded even the religious
leaders of that day.
And he said in Matthew, chapter5, verse 16, let your light
(03:41):
shine before others so that theymay see your, what your good
works, and give glory to God inheaven.
But now, in chapter 6, jesus istelling us all right, there was
a way, there's a way to do goodworks that bring glory to God
and are good for you, butthere's also a way to do good
(04:03):
works that are bad for you andthat are not glorifying to God.
And Jesus is not just speakingin generalities here.
After this initial warning,jesus mentions three specific
good things we can do and waysthat are bad for us.
And from Matthew 6, verses 2 to4, jesus talks about when you
give to the needy.
(04:23):
From verses 5 through 15, ohsorry, jesus talks about when
you pray.
That's where we see the Lord'sPrayer that we looked at last
week.
And then from verses 16 through18, jesus talks about when you
fast.
So the picture is there.
There's a way to give and prayand fast.
That is not good, and this isnot just here.
(04:47):
In Matthew chapter six, ifyou're following along with the
church's Bible reading plan, inthe book of Amos we're reading
about people, the people of God,who worshiped in ways that were
bad for them and not glorifyingto God.
That's possible.
It's possible for us to comeinto this gathering today to
sing songs, to pray prayers, forme to preach and you to listen
(05:10):
to a sermon, and all of this bebad for us.
And so what does it mean to dogood things in ways that are
good for us and glorifying toGod.
Notice, that's what Jesus istalking about when he says no
reward.
He wants reward for us.
Jesus wants you and I toexperience reward in these good
(05:34):
things, and he's warning usagainst acts of righteousness
that miss out on that reward.
So let's pay attention closehere.
If you're taking notes, I wouldencourage you to write down
these truths.
Here's the first one we areconstantly tempted to do good
things in order to be seen andrewarded by others.
(05:58):
So this is the motive behindgood things that makes them bad
for us.
It's not that it's bad to dogood things, or even that it's
bad when others see those goodthings, but it is bad to do
those things in order to be seenand thought well of by others.
(06:21):
The language Jesus uses here isincredible.
In the next verse Matthew,chapter 6, verse 2, when Jesus
starts talking about giving, hesays thus when you give to the
needy, sound no trumpet beforeyou, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets,that they may be praised by
others.
So this is likely exaggeratedlanguage.
Don't pull out the trumpet andblow it and be like I'm about to
(06:45):
give, like the hypocrites do,and the word there for
hypocrites refers to an actor oran actress performing on a
stage for an audience of otherpeople.
So Jesus is using extravagantlanguage to expose this tendency
in our hearts that exists inall of us, and we may think that
(07:09):
it's not a temptation for us,that we're above this temptation
, but just think with me abouthow much of what we do is subtly
affected by informed by whatothers think, affected by
informed by what others think.
(07:30):
Have you ever dropped a smallpiece of garbage and thought to
yourself it's not really a bigdeal.
You start to move on until younotice someone else saw you do
that.
So you stop real quick, pick itup and act like that's what you
were going to do anyway.
Have you ever been speaking tosomeone in a certain way or a
certain tone until someone elseshows up and all of a sudden
(07:54):
your language or your tonechanges?
We may not even consciouslyrealize it, but we are
constantly calculating howothers perceive our actions.
And Jesus is saying here you'retempted to do this in the best
of actions, in your giving tothe needy.
(08:18):
Now you start to think abouthow much fundraising in this
world actually appeals to thistemptation in us Give, and
you'll have this building namedafter you, or maybe this brick
or tile with your name on it, orthis plaque will be posted or
sign placed in your honor.
There's so much giving, notjust in the world but in the
(08:40):
church.
Appeals to this temptation inus To want to be seen, to want
someone else to know how we'vegiven.
And Jesus is saying no, givingso that you will receive
recognition from others ishypocrisy.
Then Jesus moves on to what mayseem like the most holy thing we
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can possibly do to pray.
In verse 5,.
When you pray, you must not belike the hypocrites, for they
love to stand and pray in thesynagogues and at the street
corners that they may be seen byothers.
And now you might read this andthink well, I'm not tempted to
stand up and broadcast that I'mpraying like this and you might
(09:24):
not be.
But that doesn't mean you'reimmune to this temptation,
because it comes in many forms.
The Bible all over the placeclearly encourages public
praying in many ways, at manytimes with others, for you and I
can be tempted to pray withothers, sometimes in ways that
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don't represent how we prayalone.
We may be tempted to pray beforemeals, just kind of expected,
when the reality is we don'tpray in the morning when nobody
else is looking.
Or this temptation can risewhenever you might be praying
before others, whether it'ssomething as simple as a meal or
(10:10):
maybe with your church group ormaybe in a larger setting, and
it can be tempting to pray.
And as you pray you canactually be thinking about what
others are thinking about youand your prayer, what others are
thinking about you and yourprayer.
Or think about another form ofthis temptation.
Some of you might be temptednot to pray with others around
(10:36):
others because you're afraid ofwhat they might think about you,
that you're not spiritualenough, that you're not a good
prayer.
Do you see how we could betempted from so many angles to
approach prayer in light of whatothers think about us?
And Jesus says the same thingcan happen with fasting, verse
(11:01):
16,.
And when you fast, do not lookgloomy like the hypocrites, for
they disfigure their faces thattheir fasting may be seen by
others as a reminder.
Fasting is setting aside food,a meal, substituting that time
with prayer and God's word.
And Jesus is talking about thetemptation to fast so that other
(11:21):
people will see and notice'refasting and think you're
spiritual.
So can I just pause here andmake a personal confession?
I am guilty of giving in to allof these temptations.
I've shared before about aparticular time in my life as a
pastor of a church years ago,when everything on the outside
(11:44):
looked like things were goinggreat spiritually.
The church I pastored wasgrowing.
I'd written a book that a lotof people were reading.
I was getting invited to preachin all kinds of different
places.
I was giving in ways I'd nevergiven before.
On the outside it looked likeeverything was going great
spiritually, like everything wasgoing great spiritually.
(12:08):
Yet for a long period of time,my time alone with God in prayer
, his word was inconsistent atbest and the reality is
non-existent.
Many days, sure, I would studythe Bible in order to preach a
sermon, but I wouldn't study theBible just to know God and I
could turn on a public prayer inan instant, anytime, anywhere,
(12:35):
but I was not spending time in aroom alone with God just
seeking Him for who he is.
But that frightens me howquote-unquote spiritually
successful I could be in others'eyes, in my own eyes, but to do
it totally apart from actualintimacy with God, I was missing
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the whole point and I wassuffering for it.
Sure, I looked successful onthe outside, but my soul was
withering away, and I share that.
Not to say so, I struggled withthat in the past and I'm over
it now.
But to say that while, by God'sgrace, I'm not at that point
(13:19):
anymore, I do want to say I'mstill tempted by wanting to be
seen a certain way by you orothers, in such a way that it
actually hurts when others don'tsee me a certain way.
And I don't think that's justme.
This temptation is so subtle inall of us.
We're all constantly tempted todo all kinds of good things in
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order to be seen by others andto find reward in others seeing
or recognizing or commending usfor what we've done.
And to be clear, it's not thatit's bad to be affirmed or
encouraged by others.
There's actually a good placefor that, for us to build one
another up in those ways.
But Jesus is saying here veryclearly to beware letting that
(14:11):
drive you.
This is so important.
Like students, young adults,there is so much temptation to
want to look or appear or beseen a certain way by others.
So much of social media justfuels this all day long, feeding
(14:32):
this temptation in you toproject a certain image before
others in ways that lead torecognition through likes or
comments.
Like you will be rewarded onsocial media, the more of those
you get, and it's not juststudents and young adults, it's
all of us.
So much in this world, thiswater we swim in, revolves
(14:54):
around projecting a certainimage, building a certain
reputation, being seen byfriends, classmates, co-workers,
employers, employees or crowdsor any number of other people.
A certain way and at the core.
Now watch this.
All of this is not actuallyabout others.
(15:18):
It's ultimately about ourselves.
Martin Lloyd-Jones, a greatpreacher from the past, said
Ultimately, our only reason forpleasing people around us is
that we may please ourselves.
Write this down we'reconstantly tempted to do good
things in order to be seen andrewarded by others because we
(15:40):
are constantly tempted to dogood things in order to be seen
and rewarded by ourselves, andthis also cuts different ways.
So, on one hand, our desire tobe seen by others is actually a
desire to feel good aboutourselves, and if we think
(16:01):
others think well of us, then wethink good about ourselves.
If we think others don't thinkwell of us, then we don't think
good about ourselves.
If we think others don't thinkwell of us, then we don't think
good about ourselves.
Our mood, our demeanor can bedriven by what we think others
think about us.
Or, on the other hand, some ofus might disregard others
altogether.
Just say I'm going to live formyself.
(16:23):
We've talked about this before.
It's the mantra of our day.
Put aside others' thoughts,expectations for your life, live
your truth, live for yourself.
But Jesus says we need to beaware of that.
Beware of that too.
Look at how he talks aboutgiving, from the very beginning
of Matthew 6.
Back in verse 3, jesus says butwhen you give to the needy, do
(16:44):
not let your left hand know whatyour right hand is doing, so
that your giving may be insecret.
What is that about?
So that your left hand doesn'tknow what your right hand is
doing?
How is that even possible?
I think I don't even know.
Yeah, so you don't even knowwhat you're doing, so your
(17:05):
giving is in secret.
How do you keep a secret fromyourself?
Just try that for a minute.
You couldn't do it.
So obviously it's fairlyimpossible for you.
I mean to give in a way that wedon't know what we're doing,
how we're giving.
But the point Jesus is making isthat we don't just need to be
(17:26):
aware of seeking others'recognition.
We also need to be aware ofself-congratulation.
We need to beware thetemptation to think highly of
ourselves because of the goodthings we're doing.
Do you see how deep and subtlethis sin can be?
(17:47):
We're doing.
Do you see how deep and subtlethis sin can be?
Ken Hughes said we are sosubtly sinful that we will
refrain from an outward show ingiving and then pat ourselves on
the back for our profoundhumility.
Don't think that just becauseno one else sees what we're
doing, think that just becauseno one else sees what we're
doing, that we're then free fromtemptation.
(18:09):
Think about Jesus's mostintense moments of temptation in
his life in the wilderness andin the garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus's most intense moments oftemptation came when he was
completely alone with God.
(18:30):
Jesus is telling us here bewareof doing good things so that
others see you a certain way orso that you see yourself a
certain way, because when thatis your motive watch this, jesus
says you will get what you want.
This is fascinating.
(18:50):
Go back to verse two.
Jesus says when you give to theneedy, sound no trumpet before
you, as the hypocrites do in thesynagogues, on the streets,
that they may be praised byothers.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward.
You will get praise from others.
You'll get your recognition.
That will be your reward.
Verse 5, jesus says when youpray, don't be like the
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hypocrites.
They love to stand and pray inthe synagogues and the street
corners.
They're seen by others.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward.
They will see you in thesynagogues, all the street
corners.
You will get what you want.
Your reward will be theirseeing you pray.
Then verse 16, when you fast,don't look gloomy, like
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hypocrites, for they disfiguretheir faces that their fasting
may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward, you'll
get it.
Jesus says They'll think whatgloomy, disfigured faces they
have.
They must be super spiritual.
Gloomy, disfigured faces theyhave.
They must be super spiritual.
Congratulations, you havereceived your reward.
(20:00):
Gloomy, disfigured face personLike you, live for what others
think of you and you may getthem to think something about
you but mark it down, it willnot last.
Because the crowds are fickleOne minute they will love you,
the next minute they will curseyou.
It's the way this world works.
(20:20):
Others will see that gift orhear that prayer, they'll see
that post or recognize that feat, and then they'll forget.
And you'll have to keep tryingand trying and trying to get
their applause.
And you may get it for a time,but it won't last and you know
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what?
The same will be true foryourself.
The more you live forself-congratulation, the more
you will see parts of your lifewhere you don't measure up,
parts of your life that youstill need to improve.
(21:05):
More work you have to do, morefrustration when you look in the
mirror, more areas where youfall short.
It's a recipe for endlessdiscontentment and
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disappointment.
And Jesus is saying all of thistrying to live to please others
and yourself is an exhausting,ultimately empty way to live.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And I am calling you to a better way to live, a
better way.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
What we've been seeing from the beginning of
this sermon.
Write this down True life,jesus is saying, is found in
doing good things, in thegladness of being seen and
rewarded by God alone.
True life, like the blessedlife that's the language we've
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seen from the very beginning ofthe sermon.
The happy life is, yes, doingall kinds of good things.
So don't stop doing good things, including giving, praying and
fasting, but do them in thegladness that comes with knowing
God.
God, god sees you and Godrewards you.
(22:39):
That's the emphasis in allthese verses, starting with
giving, verse 3, when you givein needy, don't let your left
hand know what your right handis doing, so your giving may be
in secret and your Father fatherwho sees in secret will reward
you.
Don't miss what jesus is sayinghere god sees you and life is
found in realizing that hissight is the only sight that
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ultimately matters.
How our lives would change ifwe realized this, if we really
believed this, like I think manyof us would ascend to this like
, yeah, I'm supposed to live forGod alone.
But what if we live inconscious recognition of the
fact that God sees everything inus, our every thought, our
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every, our every thought, ourevery desire, our every word,
our every step, our every action, like if the recognition that
another person sees us droppinga little piece of garbage or
another person is the room whenwe're talking.
If that would change ouractions, how much more should
the recognition that God himselfsees us, hears us at every
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moment, and not just what's onthe outside, but everything
that's on the inside.
If we truly realize this, itwould revolutionize the way we
think and desire and speak andlive.
If we lived with our eyes fixednot on what others see or think
, or even what we see or think,but based on what God sees and
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thinks.
That's a totally different wayto live in this world.
And Jesus is saying it leads toreward.
Reward, now, you might think atthis point Okay, so does this
mean I'm just trying to performfor God?
Then, that I'm living forpayment from God for the good
(24:32):
stuff I do?
Is that what Christianity isabout?
I do good things, so God willpay me?
And the answer is absolutelynot, and I can't wait to show
you how.
That's not what Jesus is saying.
Look at this First.
The word Jesus uses here forreward is deliberately different
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than the word he uses when hetalks about reward.
We receive from others' praise.
So the word Jesus uses herecarries the idea of fulfillment.
Jesus is calling us to livelife to the full in the reward
that is found in God alone.
(25:16):
So that then leads me to bringin CS Lewis.
So, talking about this picture,cs Lewis wrote we must not be
troubled by unbelievers whenthey say that this promise of
reward makes the Christian lifea mercenary affair, in other
words, when people would say, oh, we're just mercenaries doing
(25:36):
good things in order to getstuff from God.
Lewis went on to say there aredifferent kinds of reward.
There is the reward which hasno natural connection with the
things you do to earn it andit's quite foreign to the
desires that ought to accompanythose things.
Here's an example.
He says if a man marries awoman for the sake of her money,
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then yes, that man is amercenary.
He's just marrying her to getmoney from her.
Why?
Because Lewis says marriage isthe proper reward for a real
lover and he's not a mercenaryfor desiring it.
In other words, if you marrysomeone you love simply because
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you love them and you delight inthem and you find reward in
being united with them, thenyou're not a mercenary, you're
just happy.
And that's when CS Lewisconcludes the proper rewards are
not simply tacked on to theactivity for which they're given
, but they are the activityitself in.
So, to make this personal, I didnot marry Heather for her money
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.
If that was my motive inmarriage, then with all due
respect to my wife and herfamily, I did not choose wisely
when I married this kindergartenschool teacher.
I married her because I delightin her and while no marriage in
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this world is perfect, I cantell you that as of one month
from now, it will have been 25years of reward.
Reward, like marriage, is thereward, and that's what Jesus is
(27:42):
saying.
Think about the reward Jesus ispromising here.
It's the reward that's found ingiving to someone in need, like
meeting someone's need out ofthe overflow of God's grace in
your own heart, doing this inrelationship with the God who
sees you and smiles over you ashis child, as you're working
with him to make his love knownin the world.
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Yes, that's reward.
Don't trade that for a plaque,the passing praise of a couple
people.
No, don't do it.
Jesus says Live for the rewardthat comes in relationship with
God alone.
The same goes with prayer.
When you pray, go in your room,shut the door.
Pray to your fathers in secret.
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Your father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Yes, you want to live for realreward.
Go, get in a room alone withGod as your father.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Just think about it you and God.
You have an audience alone withGod.
You're talking to God, god'slistening to you.
God's speaking to you, godacting in response to what you
say to him, and it's all thisworld is throwing at you Even
(28:58):
what this world might be sayingabout you.
You get to pour out your heart,your burdens, the heavy things
in your life before God, and Godcomforts you, god lifts your
head, god strengthens you, godpours out supernatural peace in
your heart and everlasting hopein your mind, and God reminds
you of his promises.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
And God personally says I love you.
Why would you trade that foranything else in this world?
You're made for reward, alonewith God.
And then fasting Verse 17.
When you fast, anoint your head, wash your face.
That your fasting may not beseen by others but by your
Father, who is in secret.
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And your Father sees in secret,will reward you.
You will, it's guaranteed.
I remember a moment when theseverses convicted me so deeply.
I was doing an extended fast.
I found myself fighting in away I didn't even see coming,
with a desire just for a coupleof other people to know what I
(29:59):
was doing.
I read these words from JohnPiper in a great book he wrote
on fasting which I would highlyrecommend.
It's called A Hunger for God,but he's talking about these
words from Jesus.
And Piper said what Jesus isdoing with these words in
Matthew 6 is testing our heartsto see if God himself really is
our treasure.
How do we feel when nobody elseknows what we're doing?
(30:23):
How is it when no one is sayinghow goes the fast?
How is it when no one is sayinghow goes the fast.
Are we content in God when noone but God knows what we have
done?
Jesus is calling for a radicalorientation on God himself.
He's pushing us to have a real,utterly authentic personal
(30:44):
relationship with God.
If God is not real to uspersonally, vitally real to us,
it will be miserable to enduresomething difficult with God
alone, as the only one who knows.
I was so convicted when I readthat because I was miserable
physically and I wasn'tsatisfied with God alone.
(31:06):
Satisfied with God alone.
And then I read Piper's nextwords.
He said God sees us fasting, sothis is his design.
He sees that we have a deeplonging that's pulling us away
from the ordinary good uses ofthe world in order to fast.
He sees that our hearts are notseeking the common pleasures of
human admiration and applause.
(31:28):
He sees that we're acting notout of strength, to impress
others with our discipline, oreven have a desire to influence
others, to imitate our devotion,but we have come to God out of
weakness, to express to him ourneed and our great longing that
he would manifest himself morefully in our lives for the joy
(31:49):
of our soul and the glory of hisname.
That's the reward that God isafter for you, the joy of your
soul and the glory of his name.
It's what your soul was madefor, not the applause of others
in this world, not even theapplause of ourselves, but the
gladness of being seen andrewarded by God alone.
(32:12):
So do you realize what thismeans?
I mentioned at the beginningthat we're talking about the
most important part of your life, so I would encourage you to
write this down, either on paperor a device, or, at the very
least, on your heart.
The most important part of yourlife is the part that no one
(32:34):
else but God sees, no one elsebut God Alone before Him, in
giving and praying and fasting.
And I should mention, Jesusbegins each of these sections by
saying when you give and whenyou pray and when you fast.
(32:57):
So it's a clear allusion to howall of these good things should
be a part of every one of ourlives as followers of Jesus
giving and praying and fasting.
So if any of these good thingsare not a part of your life, I
want to encourage you, based onthe words of Jesus, to build
these good things into your lifeGive and pray and fast.
(33:22):
And again, Jesus is not sayingwe only do these things alone.
The Bible gives us pictures ofgiving together, praying
together, even fasting togetherat different points.
So it's not wrong to give withothers.
It's not wrong to pray inpublic with others or others.
It's not wrong to fast togetherfor a particular reason, in
(33:43):
which case others will obviouslyknow that you're fasting.
But Jesus is clearly sayingdon't do any of these things for
the purpose of being seen andrewarded by others or yourself,
which actually points to thereality of this truth.
Most important part of yourlife is the part no one else but
(34:04):
God sees, but God sees, andnobody else but God can see our
hearts.
So even when you're giving withothers or praying with others
or fasting with others, makesure your heart is focused on
God alone and not theirrecognition or your own.
(34:31):
Congratulation, which leads tothe last truth I'll put here on
the screen, where I want to tieit all together with what we've
already seen in the throne ofthe mount.
So we read this earlier, westudied it a few weeks ago.
Matthew 5, 16, Jesus saying letyour light shine before others
so that they may see your goodworks and give glory to your
fathers in heaven.
They'll see your good works andgive glory to God, so don't
(34:55):
miss it.
True life is found in doinggood things and the gladness of
being seen and rewarded by Godalone, and true life is found in
doing good things and thegladness of bringing glory to
God alone.
And so it all comes full circle.
We do good things all kinds ofgood things, including giving,
(35:18):
praying and fasting and we'renot only seen and rewarded by
God alone.
But when we do good things thisway, we bring glory to God
alone and this is full circlelife, receiving reward from God
as we bring glory to God.
(35:41):
This, ultimately, is the gospel,so follow this.
God has made all of us forreward that is found in
relationship with him.
The problem for all of us isthat we've turned aside from God
to this world and our ways,looking for reward.
(36:06):
We've sinned against God andour sin separates us from the
reward in God that we are madefor, and if we die in our sin,
we'll spend eternity in judgment.
Do our sin, missing out on theeternal reward he wants for us.
But the good news of the Bible,the greatest news in the world,
(36:28):
is that God loves us so muchthat he came to us in the person
of Jesus.
His son, who followed this,lived a perfectly righteous life
, a perfectly good life, turningaside from every temptation to
sin, all the way to the end, ina garden garden, saying to God
(36:49):
the Father, not my will, butyours be done.
And what happened after that?
He was falsely accused andsentenced to death by other
people.
He was betrayed and denied byhis closest friends.
He was mocked by the crowds ashe hung alone on a cross.
(37:10):
And what did he pray rightbefore he went into all this
John 12, 28,.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Father, glorify your name, his eyes fixed on the
glory of the Father.
He died alone on that cross.
And what happened Three dayslater?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
the Father raised him from the dead, ascended him to
heaven, where he now sits at theFather's right hand in eternal
glory, and for all who trust inJesus as Savior and Lord of your
life, then he shares hisheavenly reward with you.
This is the gospel.
(37:49):
It's the good news, greatestnews in the world, that the
everlasting heavenly reward ofGod is available to you through
Jesus, not through your works.
You are free from living forwhat others think about you,
(38:10):
from living for what othersthink about you.
You are free from living forwhat you think about you.
God has spoken.
He loves you, god delights inyou.
For all who trust in his lovefor you, in Jesus, god says you
are forgiven of all your sins.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
You are adopted into my family as a son, as a
daughter.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
You are my child and I desire a reward for you in
relationship with me that comesin doing all kinds of good
things, awesome things, livingthat life to the full, including
sort of giving and praying andfasting in the gladness of being
(38:58):
seen and rewarded by Godhimself, in relationship with
him, in ways that bring glory toGod in the world around you.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
This is the better life.
Don't settle for anything lessthan this.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
So I want to leave you with a question to
prayerfully consider over justthe next couple moments and in
the days to come, as this justkind of soak this in.
How is God specifically callingyou to stop living for the
recognition of others or evencongratulation from yourself,
(39:38):
and start living for the rewardthat comes from God alone?
Speaker 1 (39:44):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
Radical with David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
If you have a Bible and I hope that you or somebody
around you does that you canlook on with or you can pull one
out from around your seat, I'mgoing to invite you to open with
me to Matthew, chapter 6.
Feel free to use the table ofcontents if you need to Matthew
6.
Feel free to use table ofcontents if you need to Matthew
6.
And, as your attorney, I wantto welcome those of you in other
locations of our church familyacross metro DC, as well as
(00:31):
others online, who arephysically unable to be with us
today.
If you're visiting with usespecially, my name is David
Platt, I'm one of the pastorshere and whether you're a
follower of Jesus from anotherchurch or you're maybe visiting
with a friend or family member,or maybe just exploring Jesus on
your own, we want you to knowyou are always welcome here and
(00:53):
I am loving this journey thatyou're able to join in today as
we're walking as a church familythrough Jesus's Sermon on the
Mount.
So last week we looked at theLord's Prayer and Mike's sermon
on.
That was a fire on so manylevels, as he walked us through
just four reminders from theLord's Prayer.
(01:13):
So if you didn't get to listento that.
I would encourage you to goback to listen to it, especially
in the week after the election,and he mentioned that this week
we'd be looking at the broadercontext that surrounds the
Lord's Prayer, which is Matthew,chapter 6, verses 1 through 18.
So that's what we're about todo, and this passage is so
(01:34):
important for our lives becauseit reveals so listen to this.
This passage reveals what ismost important in our lives.
That's what we're about to talkabout in the next few minutes
the most important part of ourlives.
So here's how I want us tostart, with a question I want
(01:55):
you to think about, but notanswer out loud, so I'll put it
here on the screen Is itpossible for you to do good
things in ways that are bad foryou?
So is it possible for you or meto do things that are good and
(02:18):
seem good to us, but for thosethings to actually be bad for us
?
But for those things toactually be bad for us.
I want to show you that Jesus'answer to that question is clear
.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Listen to his first words in Matthew, chapter 6.
Jesus says Beware of practicingyour righteousness before other
people in order to be seen bythem, for then you will have no
(02:54):
reward from your Father, who isin heaven.
So look at this.
Jesus' first word is beware.
He's warning us about somethingthat is bad for us.
And look at what he's warningus about Practicing your
righteousness.
That's doing good or rightthings.
Jesus just spent the entirechapter before this encouraging
(03:19):
us to practice righteousness, todo good things in ways that
will be good for us.
So Jesus is not telling us notto do good things, not to do
acts of righteousness, to dogood things in ways that will be
good for us.
So Jesus is not telling us notto do good things, not to do
acts of righteousness.
He just spent the whole chapterbefore this saying we should
live with the righteousness thatexceeded even the religious
leaders of that day.
And he said in Matthew, chapter5, verse 16, let your light
(03:41):
shine before others so that theymay see your, what your good
works, and give glory to God inheaven.
But now, in chapter 6, jesus istelling us all right, there was
a way, there's a way to do goodworks that bring glory to God
and are good for you, butthere's also a way to do good
(04:03):
works that are bad for you andthat are not glorifying to God.
And Jesus is not just speakingin generalities here.
After this initial warning,jesus mentions three specific
good things we can do and waysthat are bad for us.
And from Matthew 6, verses 2 to4, jesus talks about when you
give to the needy.
(04:23):
From verses 5 through 15, ohsorry, jesus talks about when
you pray.
That's where we see the Lord'sPrayer that we looked at last
week.
And then from verses 16 through18, jesus talks about when you
fast.
So the picture is there.
There's a way to give and prayand fast.
That is not good, and this isnot just here.
(04:47):
In Matthew chapter six, ifyou're following along with the
church's Bible reading plan, inthe book of Amos we're reading
about people, the people of God,who worshiped in ways that were
bad for them and not glorifyingto God.
That's possible.
It's possible for us to comeinto this gathering today to
sing songs, to pray prayers, forme to preach and you to listen
(05:10):
to a sermon, and all of this bebad for us.
And so what does it mean to dogood things in ways that are
good for us and glorifying toGod.
Notice, that's what Jesus istalking about when he says no
reward.
He wants reward for us.
Jesus wants you and I toexperience reward in these good
(05:34):
things, and he's warning usagainst acts of righteousness
that miss out on that reward.
So let's pay attention closehere.
If you're taking notes, I wouldencourage you to write down
these truths.
Here's the first one we areconstantly tempted to do good
things in order to be seen andrewarded by others.
(05:58):
So this is the motive behindgood things that makes them bad
for us.
It's not that it's bad to dogood things, or even that it's
bad when others see those goodthings, but it is bad to do
those things in order to be seenand thought well of by others.
(06:21):
The language Jesus uses here isincredible.
In the next verse Matthew,chapter 6, verse 2, when Jesus
starts talking about giving, hesays thus when you give to the
needy, sound no trumpet beforeyou, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets,that they may be praised by
others.
So this is likely exaggeratedlanguage.
Don't pull out the trumpet andblow it and be like I'm about to
(06:45):
give, like the hypocrites do,and the word there for
hypocrites refers to an actor oran actress performing on a
stage for an audience of otherpeople.
So Jesus is using extravagantlanguage to expose this tendency
in our hearts that exists inall of us, and we may think that
(07:09):
it's not a temptation for us,that we're above this temptation
, but just think with me abouthow much of what we do is subtly
affected by informed by whatothers think, affected by
informed by what others think.
(07:30):
Have you ever dropped a smallpiece of garbage and thought to
yourself it's not really a bigdeal.
You start to move on until younotice someone else saw you do
that.
So you stop real quick, pick itup and act like that's what you
were going to do anyway.
Have you ever been speaking tosomeone in a certain way or a
certain tone until someone elseshows up and all of a sudden
(07:54):
your language or your tonechanges?
We may not even consciouslyrealize it, but we are
constantly calculating howothers perceive our actions.
And Jesus is saying here you'retempted to do this in the best
of actions, in your giving tothe needy.
(08:18):
Now you start to think abouthow much fundraising in this
world actually appeals to thistemptation in us Give, and
you'll have this building namedafter you, or maybe this brick
or tile with your name on it, orthis plaque will be posted or
sign placed in your honor.
There's so much giving, notjust in the world but in the
(08:40):
church.
Appeals to this temptation inus To want to be seen, to want
someone else to know how we'vegiven.
And Jesus is saying no, givingso that you will receive
recognition from others ishypocrisy.
Then Jesus moves on to what mayseem like the most holy thing we
(09:04):
can possibly do to pray.
In verse 5,.
When you pray, you must not belike the hypocrites, for they
love to stand and pray in thesynagogues and at the street
corners that they may be seen byothers.
And now you might read this andthink well, I'm not tempted to
stand up and broadcast that I'mpraying like this and you might
(09:24):
not be.
But that doesn't mean you'reimmune to this temptation,
because it comes in many forms.
The Bible all over the placeclearly encourages public
praying in many ways, at manytimes with others, for you and I
can be tempted to pray withothers, sometimes in ways that
(09:49):
don't represent how we prayalone.
We may be tempted to pray beforemeals, just kind of expected,
when the reality is we don'tpray in the morning when nobody
else is looking.
Or this temptation can risewhenever you might be praying
before others, whether it'ssomething as simple as a meal or
(10:10):
maybe with your church group ormaybe in a larger setting, and
it can be tempting to pray.
And as you pray you canactually be thinking about what
others are thinking about youand your prayer, what others are
thinking about you and yourprayer.
Or think about another form ofthis temptation.
Some of you might be temptednot to pray with others around
(10:36):
others because you're afraid ofwhat they might think about you,
that you're not spiritualenough, that you're not a good
prayer.
Do you see how we could betempted from so many angles to
approach prayer in light of whatothers think about us?
And Jesus says the same thingcan happen with fasting, verse
(11:01):
16,.
And when you fast, do not lookgloomy like the hypocrites, for
they disfigure their faces thattheir fasting may be seen by
others as a reminder.
Fasting is setting aside food,a meal, substituting that time
with prayer and God's word.
And Jesus is talking about thetemptation to fast so that other
(11:21):
people will see and notice'refasting and think you're
spiritual.
So can I just pause here andmake a personal confession?
I am guilty of giving in to allof these temptations.
I've shared before about aparticular time in my life as a
pastor of a church years ago,when everything on the outside
(11:44):
looked like things were goinggreat spiritually.
The church I pastored wasgrowing.
I'd written a book that a lotof people were reading.
I was getting invited to preachin all kinds of different
places.
I was giving in ways I'd nevergiven before.
On the outside it looked likeeverything was going great
spiritually, like everything wasgoing great spiritually.
(12:08):
Yet for a long period of time,my time alone with God in prayer
, his word was inconsistent atbest and the reality is
non-existent.
Many days, sure, I would studythe Bible in order to preach a
sermon, but I wouldn't study theBible just to know God and I
could turn on a public prayer inan instant, anytime, anywhere,
(12:35):
but I was not spending time in aroom alone with God just
seeking Him for who he is.
But that frightens me howquote-unquote spiritually
successful I could be in others'eyes, in my own eyes, but to do
it totally apart from actualintimacy with God, I was missing
(12:56):
the whole point and I wassuffering for it.
Sure, I looked successful onthe outside, but my soul was
withering away, and I share that.
Not to say so, I struggled withthat in the past and I'm over
it now.
But to say that while, by God'sgrace, I'm not at that point
(13:19):
anymore, I do want to say I'mstill tempted by wanting to be
seen a certain way by you orothers, in such a way that it
actually hurts when others don'tsee me a certain way.
And I don't think that's justme.
This temptation is so subtle inall of us.
We're all constantly tempted todo all kinds of good things in
(13:44):
order to be seen by others andto find reward in others seeing
or recognizing or commending usfor what we've done.
And to be clear, it's not thatit's bad to be affirmed or
encouraged by others.
There's actually a good placefor that, for us to build one
another up in those ways.
But Jesus is saying here veryclearly to beware letting that
(14:11):
drive you.
This is so important.
Like students, young adults,there is so much temptation to
want to look or appear or beseen a certain way by others.
So much of social media justfuels this all day long, feeding
(14:32):
this temptation in you toproject a certain image before
others in ways that lead torecognition through likes or
comments.
Like you will be rewarded onsocial media, the more of those
you get, and it's not juststudents and young adults, it's
all of us.
So much in this world, thiswater we swim in, revolves
(14:54):
around projecting a certainimage, building a certain
reputation, being seen byfriends, classmates, co-workers,
employers, employees or crowdsor any number of other people.
A certain way and at the core.
Now watch this.
All of this is not actuallyabout others.
(15:18):
It's ultimately about ourselves.
Martin Lloyd-Jones, a greatpreacher from the past, said
Ultimately, our only reason forpleasing people around us is
that we may please ourselves.
Write this down we'reconstantly tempted to do good
things in order to be seen andrewarded by others because we
(15:40):
are constantly tempted to dogood things in order to be seen
and rewarded by ourselves, andthis also cuts different ways.
So, on one hand, our desire tobe seen by others is actually a
desire to feel good aboutourselves, and if we think
(16:01):
others think well of us, then wethink good about ourselves.
If we think others don't thinkwell of us, then we don't think
good about ourselves.
If we think others don't thinkwell of us, then we don't think
good about ourselves.
Our mood, our demeanor can bedriven by what we think others
think about us.
Or, on the other hand, some ofus might disregard others
altogether.
Just say I'm going to live formyself.
(16:23):
We've talked about this before.
It's the mantra of our day.
Put aside others' thoughts,expectations for your life, live
your truth, live for yourself.
But Jesus says we need to beaware of that.
Beware of that too.
Look at how he talks aboutgiving, from the very beginning
of Matthew 6.
Back in verse 3, jesus says butwhen you give to the needy, do
(16:44):
not let your left hand know whatyour right hand is doing, so
that your giving may be insecret.
What is that about?
So that your left hand doesn'tknow what your right hand is
doing?
How is that even possible?
I think I don't even know.
Yeah, so you don't even knowwhat you're doing, so your
(17:05):
giving is in secret.
How do you keep a secret fromyourself?
Just try that for a minute.
You couldn't do it.
So obviously it's fairlyimpossible for you.
I mean to give in a way that wedon't know what we're doing,
how we're giving.
But the point Jesus is making isthat we don't just need to be
(17:26):
aware of seeking others'recognition.
We also need to be aware ofself-congratulation.
We need to beware thetemptation to think highly of
ourselves because of the goodthings we're doing.
Do you see how deep and subtlethis sin can be?
(17:47):
We're doing.
Do you see how deep and subtlethis sin can be?
Ken Hughes said we are sosubtly sinful that we will
refrain from an outward show ingiving and then pat ourselves on
the back for our profoundhumility.
Don't think that just becauseno one else sees what we're
doing, think that just becauseno one else sees what we're
doing, that we're then free fromtemptation.
(18:09):
Think about Jesus's mostintense moments of temptation in
his life in the wilderness andin the garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus's most intense moments oftemptation came when he was
completely alone with God.
(18:30):
Jesus is telling us here bewareof doing good things so that
others see you a certain way orso that you see yourself a
certain way, because when thatis your motive watch this, jesus
says you will get what you want.
This is fascinating.
(18:50):
Go back to verse two.
Jesus says when you give to theneedy, sound no trumpet before
you, as the hypocrites do in thesynagogues, on the streets,
that they may be praised byothers.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward.
You will get praise from others.
You'll get your recognition.
That will be your reward.
Verse 5, jesus says when youpray, don't be like the
(19:12):
hypocrites.
They love to stand and pray inthe synagogues and the street
corners.
They're seen by others.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward.
They will see you in thesynagogues, all the street
corners.
You will get what you want.
Your reward will be theirseeing you pray.
Then verse 16, when you fast,don't look gloomy, like
(19:34):
hypocrites, for they disfiguretheir faces that their fasting
may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you they havereceived their reward, you'll
get it.
Jesus says They'll think whatgloomy, disfigured faces they
have.
They must be super spiritual.
Gloomy, disfigured faces theyhave.
They must be super spiritual.
Congratulations, you havereceived your reward.
(20:00):
Gloomy, disfigured face personLike you, live for what others
think of you and you may getthem to think something about
you but mark it down, it willnot last.
Because the crowds are fickleOne minute they will love you,
the next minute they will curseyou.
It's the way this world works.
(20:20):
Others will see that gift orhear that prayer, they'll see
that post or recognize that feat, and then they'll forget.
And you'll have to keep tryingand trying and trying to get
their applause.
And you may get it for a time,but it won't last and you know
(20:44):
what?
The same will be true foryourself.
The more you live forself-congratulation, the more
you will see parts of your lifewhere you don't measure up,
parts of your life that youstill need to improve.
(21:05):
More work you have to do, morefrustration when you look in the
mirror, more areas where youfall short.
It's a recipe for endlessdiscontentment and
(21:29):
disappointment.
And Jesus is saying all of thistrying to live to please others
and yourself is an exhausting,ultimately empty way to live.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And I am calling you to a better way to live, a
better way.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
What we've been seeing from the beginning of
this sermon.
Write this down True life,jesus is saying, is found in
doing good things, in thegladness of being seen and
rewarded by God alone.
True life, like the blessedlife that's the language we've
(22:12):
seen from the very beginning ofthe sermon.
The happy life is, yes, doingall kinds of good things.
So don't stop doing good things, including giving, praying and
fasting, but do them in thegladness that comes with knowing
God.
God, god sees you and Godrewards you.
(22:39):
That's the emphasis in allthese verses, starting with
giving, verse 3, when you givein needy, don't let your left
hand know what your right handis doing, so your giving may be
in secret and your Father fatherwho sees in secret will reward
you.
Don't miss what jesus is sayinghere god sees you and life is
found in realizing that hissight is the only sight that
(23:02):
ultimately matters.
How our lives would change ifwe realized this, if we really
believed this, like I think manyof us would ascend to this like
, yeah, I'm supposed to live forGod alone.
But what if we live inconscious recognition of the
fact that God sees everything inus, our every thought, our
(23:25):
every, our every thought, ourevery desire, our every word,
our every step, our every action, like if the recognition that
another person sees us droppinga little piece of garbage or
another person is the room whenwe're talking.
If that would change ouractions, how much more should
the recognition that God himselfsees us, hears us at every
(23:46):
moment, and not just what's onthe outside, but everything
that's on the inside.
If we truly realize this, itwould revolutionize the way we
think and desire and speak andlive.
If we lived with our eyes fixednot on what others see or think
, or even what we see or think,but based on what God sees and
(24:09):
thinks.
That's a totally different wayto live in this world.
And Jesus is saying it leads toreward.
Reward, now, you might think atthis point Okay, so does this
mean I'm just trying to performfor God?
Then, that I'm living forpayment from God for the good
(24:32):
stuff I do?
Is that what Christianity isabout?
I do good things, so God willpay me?
And the answer is absolutelynot, and I can't wait to show
you how.
That's not what Jesus is saying.
Look at this First.
The word Jesus uses here forreward is deliberately different
(24:53):
than the word he uses when hetalks about reward.
We receive from others' praise.
So the word Jesus uses herecarries the idea of fulfillment.
Jesus is calling us to livelife to the full in the reward
that is found in God alone.
(25:16):
So that then leads me to bringin CS Lewis.
So, talking about this picture,cs Lewis wrote we must not be
troubled by unbelievers whenthey say that this promise of
reward makes the Christian lifea mercenary affair, in other
words, when people would say, oh, we're just mercenaries doing
(25:36):
good things in order to getstuff from God.
Lewis went on to say there aredifferent kinds of reward.
There is the reward which hasno natural connection with the
things you do to earn it andit's quite foreign to the
desires that ought to accompanythose things.
Here's an example.
He says if a man marries awoman for the sake of her money,
(25:58):
then yes, that man is amercenary.
He's just marrying her to getmoney from her.
Why?
Because Lewis says marriage isthe proper reward for a real
lover and he's not a mercenaryfor desiring it.
In other words, if you marrysomeone you love simply because
(26:24):
you love them and you delight inthem and you find reward in
being united with them, thenyou're not a mercenary, you're
just happy.
And that's when CS Lewisconcludes the proper rewards are
not simply tacked on to theactivity for which they're given
, but they are the activityitself in.
So, to make this personal, I didnot marry Heather for her money
(26:52):
.
If that was my motive inmarriage, then with all due
respect to my wife and herfamily, I did not choose wisely
when I married this kindergartenschool teacher.
I married her because I delightin her and while no marriage in
(27:21):
this world is perfect, I cantell you that as of one month
from now, it will have been 25years of reward.
Reward, like marriage, is thereward, and that's what Jesus is
(27:42):
saying.
Think about the reward Jesus ispromising here.
It's the reward that's found ingiving to someone in need, like
meeting someone's need out ofthe overflow of God's grace in
your own heart, doing this inrelationship with the God who
sees you and smiles over you ashis child, as you're working
with him to make his love knownin the world.
(28:02):
Yes, that's reward.
Don't trade that for a plaque,the passing praise of a couple
people.
No, don't do it.
Jesus says Live for the rewardthat comes in relationship with
God alone.
The same goes with prayer.
When you pray, go in your room,shut the door.
Pray to your fathers in secret.
(28:23):
Your father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Yes, you want to live for realreward.
Go, get in a room alone withGod as your father.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Just think about it you and God.
You have an audience alone withGod.
You're talking to God, god'slistening to you.
God's speaking to you, godacting in response to what you
say to him, and it's all thisworld is throwing at you Even
(28:58):
what this world might be sayingabout you.
You get to pour out your heart,your burdens, the heavy things
in your life before God, and Godcomforts you, god lifts your
head, god strengthens you, godpours out supernatural peace in
your heart and everlasting hopein your mind, and God reminds
you of his promises.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
And God personally says I love you.
Why would you trade that foranything else in this world?
You're made for reward, alonewith God.
And then fasting Verse 17.
When you fast, anoint your head, wash your face.
That your fasting may not beseen by others but by your
Father, who is in secret.
(29:39):
And your Father sees in secret,will reward you.
You will, it's guaranteed.
I remember a moment when theseverses convicted me so deeply.
I was doing an extended fast.
I found myself fighting in away I didn't even see coming,
with a desire just for a coupleof other people to know what I
(29:59):
was doing.
I read these words from JohnPiper in a great book he wrote
on fasting which I would highlyrecommend.
It's called A Hunger for God,but he's talking about these
words from Jesus.
And Piper said what Jesus isdoing with these words in
Matthew 6 is testing our heartsto see if God himself really is
our treasure.
How do we feel when nobody elseknows what we're doing?
(30:23):
How is it when no one is sayinghow goes the fast?
How is it when no one is sayinghow goes the fast.
Are we content in God when noone but God knows what we have
done?
Jesus is calling for a radicalorientation on God himself.
He's pushing us to have a real,utterly authentic personal
(30:44):
relationship with God.
If God is not real to uspersonally, vitally real to us,
it will be miserable to enduresomething difficult with God
alone, as the only one who knows.
I was so convicted when I readthat because I was miserable
physically and I wasn'tsatisfied with God alone.
(31:06):
Satisfied with God alone.
And then I read Piper's nextwords.
He said God sees us fasting, sothis is his design.
He sees that we have a deeplonging that's pulling us away
from the ordinary good uses ofthe world in order to fast.
He sees that our hearts are notseeking the common pleasures of
human admiration and applause.
(31:28):
He sees that we're acting notout of strength, to impress
others with our discipline, oreven have a desire to influence
others, to imitate our devotion,but we have come to God out of
weakness, to express to him ourneed and our great longing that
he would manifest himself morefully in our lives for the joy
(31:49):
of our soul and the glory of hisname.
That's the reward that God isafter for you, the joy of your
soul and the glory of his name.
It's what your soul was madefor, not the applause of others
in this world, not even theapplause of ourselves, but the
gladness of being seen andrewarded by God alone.
(32:12):
So do you realize what thismeans?
I mentioned at the beginningthat we're talking about the
most important part of your life, so I would encourage you to
write this down, either on paperor a device, or, at the very
least, on your heart.
The most important part of yourlife is the part that no one
(32:34):
else but God sees, no one elsebut God Alone before Him, in
giving and praying and fasting.
And I should mention, Jesusbegins each of these sections by
saying when you give and whenyou pray and when you fast.
(32:57):
So it's a clear allusion to howall of these good things should
be a part of every one of ourlives as followers of Jesus
giving and praying and fasting.
So if any of these good thingsare not a part of your life, I
want to encourage you, based onthe words of Jesus, to build
these good things into your lifeGive and pray and fast.
(33:22):
And again, Jesus is not sayingwe only do these things alone.
The Bible gives us pictures ofgiving together, praying
together, even fasting togetherat different points.
So it's not wrong to give withothers.
It's not wrong to pray inpublic with others or others.
It's not wrong to fast togetherfor a particular reason, in
(33:43):
which case others will obviouslyknow that you're fasting.
But Jesus is clearly sayingdon't do any of these things for
the purpose of being seen andrewarded by others or yourself,
which actually points to thereality of this truth.
Most important part of yourlife is the part no one else but
(34:04):
God sees, but God sees, andnobody else but God can see our
hearts.
So even when you're giving withothers or praying with others
or fasting with others, makesure your heart is focused on
God alone and not theirrecognition or your own.
(34:31):
Congratulation, which leads tothe last truth I'll put here on
the screen, where I want to tieit all together with what we've
already seen in the throne ofthe mount.
So we read this earlier, westudied it a few weeks ago.
Matthew 5, 16, Jesus saying letyour light shine before others
so that they may see your goodworks and give glory to your
fathers in heaven.
They'll see your good works andgive glory to God, so don't
(34:55):
miss it.
True life is found in doinggood things and the gladness of
being seen and rewarded by Godalone, and true life is found in
doing good things and thegladness of bringing glory to
God alone.
And so it all comes full circle.
We do good things all kinds ofgood things, including giving,
(35:18):
praying and fasting and we'renot only seen and rewarded by
God alone.
But when we do good things thisway, we bring glory to God
alone and this is full circlelife, receiving reward from God
as we bring glory to God.
(35:41):
This, ultimately, is the gospel,so follow this.
God has made all of us forreward that is found in
relationship with him.
The problem for all of us isthat we've turned aside from God
to this world and our ways,looking for reward.
(36:06):
We've sinned against God andour sin separates us from the
reward in God that we are madefor, and if we die in our sin,
we'll spend eternity in judgment.
Do our sin, missing out on theeternal reward he wants for us.
But the good news of the Bible,the greatest news in the world,
(36:28):
is that God loves us so muchthat he came to us in the person
of Jesus.
His son, who followed this,lived a perfectly righteous life
, a perfectly good life, turningaside from every temptation to
sin, all the way to the end, ina garden garden, saying to God
(36:49):
the Father, not my will, butyours be done.
And what happened after that?
He was falsely accused andsentenced to death by other
people.
He was betrayed and denied byhis closest friends.
He was mocked by the crowds ashe hung alone on a cross.
(37:10):
And what did he pray rightbefore he went into all this
John 12, 28,.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Father, glorify your name, his eyes fixed on the
glory of the Father.
He died alone on that cross.
And what happened Three dayslater?
Speaker 2 (37:28):
the Father raised him from the dead, ascended him to
heaven, where he now sits at theFather's right hand in eternal
glory, and for all who trust inJesus as Savior and Lord of your
life, then he shares hisheavenly reward with you.
This is the gospel.
(37:49):
It's the good news, greatestnews in the world, that the
everlasting heavenly reward ofGod is available to you through
Jesus, not through your works.
You are free from living forwhat others think about you,
(38:10):
from living for what othersthink about you.
You are free from living forwhat you think about you.
God has spoken.
He loves you, god delights inyou.
For all who trust in his lovefor you, in Jesus, god says you
are forgiven of all your sins.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
You are adopted into my family as a son, as a
daughter.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
You are my child and I desire a reward for you in
relationship with me that comesin doing all kinds of good
things, awesome things, livingthat life to the full, including
sort of giving and praying andfasting in the gladness of being
(38:58):
seen and rewarded by Godhimself, in relationship with
him, in ways that bring glory toGod in the world around you.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
This is the better life.
Don't settle for anything lessthan this.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
So I want to leave you with a question to
prayerfully consider over justthe next couple moments and in
the days to come, as this justkind of soak this in.
How is God specifically callingyou to stop living for the
recognition of others or evencongratulation from yourself,
(39:38):
and start living for the rewardthat comes from God alone?
Speaker 1 (39:44):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
Radical with David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
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