Heaven Only Knows

Matt 6:1-6

For the last several weeks, many of you have come up to me privately to say that you really needed to hear this lesson or that lesson. Most of the time it was because it was an area in your life that you struggle with, well, as I studied for this lesson today, I found myself not just stepping on my toes, but mashing them into the ground.

I have the type of personality that likes to be recognized for what I do. It’s not so much for the accolades, but for the affirmation that what I do matters. However, what I have to learn is that it doesn’t matter what others think, it matters what God KNOWS.

That’s really what this passage is about. Worrying about What God knows rather than what man knows. When we can keep the right focus, it frees us to do incredible things for God that only God knows about.

PRAYER

I. Heaven Only Knows

A. It’s only natural to get a return for the work we do.

1. The American economy is based on a day’s wage for a day’s work.

2. We get a raise because we perform consistently, or do work that is noticed by our employers.

3. So we take that same concept into our spiritual lives.

a) If we invest ourselves into a spiritual discipline, we want people to know about it.

b) We like at least some degree of recognition.

c) We also struggle with wondering how will people know I am doing these spiritual things unless they see me doing them?

B. Jesus sets a different standard

1. As he has done so often in this sermon, he changes the standard of measurment.

2. Jesus says that life is best measured, not by accumulations of praise or wealth, but giving of ourselves quietly to others for the praise of God.

3. He says in vs 19-21 that what we hold dearest in worth is where our hearts is.

4. So stockpile our wealth in heaven, it lasts a lot longer.

C. Human praise isn’t bad

1. I think it’s important to remember that human praise isn’t inherently bad.

2. Paul praised people, Jesus praised people, Peter and John all praised people.

3. Jesus simply warns us to keep it in perspective.

a) Our lives aren’t about being praised, but praising God.

b) We should live only for the applause of others.

c) That’s where we start losing sight of what really matters and we end up falling into a self-serving trap.

II. What People Think - What God Knows

A. God wants us to develop character

1. He wants us to be more concerned with what he knows rather than what others think.

2. Now, that doesn’t mean we can live with an attitude of “I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

3. It means we don’t let what others think be the major reason for doing things.

B. Doing Right when right isn’t popular

1. Paul’s motto for reaching others was “I become all things to all people”

a) His thinking was that it’s important to fit in with the people you are trying to reach and minister to for Christ.

b) We live in an agricultural and blue collar community, so we need to know what is important to our community in thinking and living.

c) It wouldn’t be real effective if I had a PhD and used words and concepts that no one really understood here in Rochester.

d) We aren’t a highly educated people.

e) There is a preacher here in town who is very highly educated, but you would never guess it in conversing with him. He has learned to work with our community effectively.

f) That’s what Paul was striving to do.

2. Having said that, Paul also knew when to draw the line.

a) he worked with 2 young preachers and dealt with the issue of having them circumcised in 2 very different ways.

b) With one, he had him circumcised because that would help him be most effective in ministering to the people he was working with.

c) The other man, he refused to have circumcised, because the people of that church were trying to make circumcision a salvation issue.

d) Paul opposed them even when it wasn’t popular, but it was the right thing to do.

3. Larry Calvin tells the story of a small town preacher who went into a local bar to tell the town drunk that his wife had just passed away. Some of the good church folk saw him going into the bar and decided to fire him. Because pride got in the way, they wouldn’t listen to the reason of why the preacher did what he did and fired him anyway. The preacher was able to take consolation in knowing that God knows the reality of what happened regardless of what people think they know what happened.

4. Psa 139 talks about God knowing everything about us.

a) That can scare us to death if we are not trying to live as best as we can.

b) It can also give us comfort when the truth of a circumstance is known only to God.

c) In the end, we give an account of our lives to God, not those around us.

5. Preachers sometimes get criticized for making their family more important than church work.

a) It’s ironic that they also get criticized if their children turn out poorly.

b) After my relationship to God, the most important relationship is my family’s relationship to God.

c) Then those around me.

III. Heavenly Applause

A. Secret deed doers

1. After talking about not making a big deal about your spiritual endeavors, Jesus talks about heavenly and earthly treasures.

2. the heavenly treasures are good deeds and spiritual disciplines done in secret.

3. We are blessed with an abundance of people who are laying up treasures in heaven for themselves.

4. So many things happen around the church or for people that no one ever knows about.

5. I like to commend people for their efforts, but many of these people don’t want anyone to know they have done something.

6. That’s okay, God is acknowledging your work.

B. How to get heavenly applause

1. What are some things we can do, that don’t have to be for public consumption?

2. Let me share some way specific to our congregation

a) letters to guests, missing or sick members is a tremendous and much needed ministry.

b) Just popping in and trimming the hedges or fixing the building are great servant acts that don’t get a lot of notice.

c) A telephone call of encouragement to our older members, sick members, down members.

d) The great thing about behind the scene activities is that you don’t get too old to do them.

e) We reach an age where we can’t preach, teach, lead singing, or actively visit people, but anyone can send a card, give a quick call, or pray for someone

f) Those activities are as important as the one that get noticed.

C. Once our focus is on heavenly treasures we will become heaven-focused.

1. When it doesn’t matter if others see us doing good, or doing religious activities,

2. When it only matters that God knows what we are doing,

3. Then we are heaven-focused.

4. We live a life that is focused not on what we do, but who we are.

5. We are children of God seeking to spend eternity with him in heaven.

6. Where are your treasures?

7. Learn to build your treasures in Heaven rather than earth. You’ll be much more content in the end.