Redemption Church – RedemptionPlano.com

Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am so glad to be with you.

 

The year was 1803 and Major General Arthur Wellesley had just won his first and perhaps his finest military battle in the Battle of Assaye. The British General who would later be known as the Duke of Wellington, was put in charge of negotiations following the battle.

Before the negotiation, an emissary of an Indian ruler, anxious to know what territories would be ceded to his master, tried in various ways to get the information. Finally, he offered Wellington a large sum of money to tell him.

The general asked the man “Can you keep a secret?”

“Yes, indeed,” the man said eagerly.

Arthur Wellesley then replied “So can I.”

 

Can You Keep a Secret?

We honor many abilities.

You might can name the fastest man in the world.
Italian runner, Lamont Jacobs is the current fastest man in the world.

You might can name boxing’s Heavy Weight Champion of the world?
Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.

It is expected that there will be a new NBA all-time scoring leader crowned this season. 

Lebron James is less than 500 points from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the distinction.

A quick google search will get you the names of…

• The fastest talker in the world
• The tallest man and woman in the world
• The strongest
• The oldest
• The richest
• The most successful game show contestant

The celebrated abilities of these people make them well known, but an often overlooked ability is the ability to keep a secret.

There are no awards for best secret keeper.

 

Today I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 6.

Chapter 6 is right in the middle of the most well known and greatest sermon ever preached. It is called the sermon on the mount and spans from Matthew 5 through 7.

 

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV) “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus is the one who sent his disciples into the world to proclaim the truth.
Jesus is the one who boldly stood up and declared the Word of God.
Jesus was never one to back down and to remain silent for fear of what others think.

…yet this Jesus values a good secret.

Perhaps today Jesus would ask us if we can keep a secret.

Can You Keep a Secret?

3 times in Matthew 6 Jesus asks us to keep a secret. Today we are looking at that first instance.  It is my hope today that we learn straight from Jesus today.

Matthew 6:1 (NIV) “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Jesus is not telling us to avoid practicing righteousness.
Jesus is not telling us to only practice righteousness when no one is looking.

Jesus is not teaching “IF you practice righteousness.”
Jesus is teaching “WHEN you are practicing righteousness.”

Redemption Church, Jesus still expects his followers to practice righteousness. Jesus expects to follow the righteous commands of scripture. When we do wrong Jesus expects us to repent and turn from sin.

Jesus teaches that WHEN we are practicing righteousness it should not be for the purpose of being seen by others.

This is a motives issue. This is a heart issue. This is a pride issue. This is a being concerned with how others see us and think about us.

Jesus tells us to be careful not to do righteous things to appear righteous.

If you do, what will happen?  Jesus tells us plainly.

If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Other places in scripture Jesus warns that being seen of people will be your only reward. The Father in Heaven will not give you any reward for the prideful motive of being seen.

Nearly 2,000 years ago Jesus taught this, and it is just as viable of a truth today.

We live in an age where the needs of others will not draw people nearly as much as a camera crew pulling up to film the needs of others.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

What is Jesus teaching here? Is Jesus teaching…

IF you give to the needy? No Jesus is teaching WHEN you give to the needy.

Jesus expects His followers to give to those in need.

There are so many ways to give – Money, time, service, care, a listening ear, your expertise and skill.

WHEN YOU GIVE. 

Jesus started one verse earlier taught “WHEN YOU PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS” and now He says “WHEN YOU GIVE.”  Has Jesus changed the subject or is Righteousness and giving to others the same subject?

Yet again Jesus addresses the motives of the heart in this area of giving.

“…Do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

Can you imagine carrying a horn section with you to announce your giving? Yet this appears to have been happening in the religious synagogue and on the streets.

 

Matthew 6:3-4 (NIV) 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus instructs us to give in such a way that our left hand is not aware of what our right hand is doing.

Jesus is not endorsing disorganization and sloppy book keeping. Jesus again is teaching us to give in a way that is secret.

Verse 4 says “so that your giving may be in secret.”

Can You Keep a Secret?

In the day where people video themselves giving… can you do it in secret?
In the day when people post to social media #soblessed to market themselves…

Can you give in a secret way?
Can you practice righteousness in a secret way?
Can you serve others in a secret way?

 

Not IF YOU GIVE, but WHEN YOU GIVE, do it in secret.

Matthew 6:4 (NIV) 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Then your Father who sees what is done in secret.

You have never been able to keep a secret from the Father.

Done in Secret, but seen by the Father

 

As our worship team comes to lead us in a time of worship and prayer, I want to spend these last moments of my message to encourage you.

This marathon of life gets very tiresome. There are times where we feel unappreciated, un-noticed, and unimportant. Far too often we say and think “What is the point?”

We work so hard, but does anyone really notice?
We try to improve, but our improvement is not celebrated.
We give, we serve, we are faithful, yet it is difficult to gauge our own worth.

Dad & Mom I am talking to you.
Young person in school or on the job, I am talking to you.
Volunteer at Redemption Church, I am talking to you.
Uncelebrated employee, I am talking to you.
New Years resolutionist who is working hard to change your life, I am talking to you.
Faithful person of prayer, I am talking to you.

 

Is it enough for God to see you?

 

“Then your Father, who sees…”

You have a Father in Heaven who sees your faithfulness.
He sees you in the struggle and He sees your perseverance.
God sees you.
 

Isn’t it enough for the Father to see you?

Be set free from the fruitless quest to be seen and celebrated by people. You are seen and celebrated by God.

Though done in secret, your Father sees, and He rewards.

 

Can you keep a secret today?  Can you do something only for the Lord today?