Matthew chapter six, dealing still with the commandments of the Lord, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you, looking at the Sermon on the Mount, and we're to chapter six and verse one. Take heed that you do not your arms before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 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. Now, Jesus is not given to exaggeration. And we weren't around at this time. And I, studying this, I have snickered several times. Could you imagine that? Could you imagine going down the road to do something for somebody and having somebody walk in front of you blowing a trumpet? I mean, that's just a little overwrought, I would think, you know? You're gonna go down there and help somebody shovel some coal in their van. Walking down through there, you know, or you got your little bag of silver you're taking down to the poor. I just... That's what Jesus said they did. And he don't lie. And I believe they did it. And I believe, I've seen people that if they could have got away with it, would have probably done that. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. Now Jesus didn't say it wasn't a good thing. Did he? And if you see somebody that's in need and you want to give to help them, and then do like Dolly Parton and bring a press conference and tell everybody about it, they still needed it. But you have your reward. And if that's the only reward you want, that's fine. That's fine, and it's a good way to get recognized, but it still is what it is. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, Then that thine, oh shoot, not then, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And then it goes into other things, praying and fasting and some other issues that we will deal with. We see a list of things through verse number 16 that are done and should be done. such as praying and fasting, but for the right reasons and in the right way. There's nothing wrong with fasting. If you want to whine and cry about it, still a good thing to do. There's nothing wrong with praying and standing in the street corner and say, oh, you know, and get everybody's attention. If that's what you want to do, it's still good to pray, but probably not for the right reason. But if you feel like doing that, go ahead. It wouldn't hurt you none. Jesus didn't say that you shouldn't do things. It just said, you know, if you're going to do them, this is the way they ought to be done. But I see in this text the second easiest commandment. The first one is think not, and this one is do not. That you do not. Some people would probably want to grab onto this and hang onto it for the rest of their lives. It's a little hard to keep from thinking, but it's very easy to keep from doing. Here though in our text is an x-ray of the structure of this man. It's a peephole, if you will, a scope test through into the soul of this man to his heart. Now I want you to remember that the Bible says in chapter seven and verse number 24, chapter seven and verse number 24, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man that buildeth his house upon a rock, that reigneth and sendeth forth his game, that winds blow and beat upon his house, that felleth off for his fount upon a rock, and every one that heareth these sayings of mine, these, these last two chapters, "'And doeth them not, shall be like unto a foolish man "'which bid his house upon the sand. "'The rain of sin came, bid upon the house, "'and it fell, and great was the fall of it.'" Now, in chapter seven, or chapter six, in verse number one, he said, "'Take heed that you do not jerk off before men.'" If you have a church, or a home, or a life that is founded by trying to get glory, it will fall. It cannot sustain itself. It's built on pride. It's built on ego. It's built on things that are not proper for a Christian to have, and it'll fall. If every time a wife does something, she has to be praised, she ain't gonna do much. If every time I get out of bed, I get out of bed a lot of times before my wife gets out of bed, and that's fine. That's kind of the deal we got running. And you do yours how you want to. I don't care. But when I get up, she don't just get up and fall down on her knees and say, thank you, old husband, for going out to work this morning. If I gotta have that to get out of bed, you know, it ain't gonna work very good. You're not gonna have a family if everybody's gotta be praised. I don't say, please, child, would you take out the trash. No. Would you please pick up after yourself? No, I'm not gonna do that. If that's how you built your home, it'll fall apart. If you've got a kid that just does stuff so that they can be seen of mom and dad and try to weasel in on the wheel a little more, it's gonna cause problems among all the other family members. Amen. You can't build anything without this being considered in the life. So it's not what necessarily he is doing is wrong, but why is he doing it? The key phrase is don't do it to be seen. Now, there are many kinds of people. I want to speak about a couple kinds of people this morning, just a couple kinds, all right? It's not all of them. I don't seem to think it's all-exclusive. I heard Tony Hudson, I was listening to him preach this morning, and he said, I think it's amazing that we are living in a day when men that are 30 years old are quoting themselves in the pulpit and said, it hath been said, and then they're saying what they said. He said, you've got to be a moron to think you're worth quoting at 30 years old. There's those who won't do, would you agree to that? Number one, there's those who won't do and don't care who does. They don't care, they just say, I ain't gonna do it and I don't care who does it. There's those who don't do and ain't gonna do and won't do, never will do. And then there's those who won't do but will criticize everybody that does do. Yeah, I've met all of them, ain't you? So those are those who won't do, they ain't gonna do it. I remember saying one time to a young boy in a PE class that I was teaching here at the school, what would I have to say to you to get you mad enough to do that? He said, it probably ain't a thing you could say. Ain't gonna do, amen, ain't gonna do. And so those are that way. And then there's those who would do, but there's those who would do, but they need instruction or an invitation. I learned that pastoring. Sometimes there's people that aren't doing, but they would if you ask them to do it. There's those who would do if you just instruct them how to do it. Look, I need you to do this, and here's how I'd like for you to do it, all right? There's those who would do, but are shy and need encouragement to do it. You can do this. You can do this. I have had times in my life that if my wife hadn't said, I believe you can do that, I probably wouldn't have done it. Amen. And there's those who would do, but they want to be begged to soothe their ego before they get started doing it. And sometimes, sadly, in a church setting, you have to do that. You have to rub their ego and pat them on their pom-pom, tell them how great they are, so that they'll do something. If you don't think that's true, quit bragging about them, they'll quit doing it. So those are those groups, but I'm thankful that it gets done. Amen. So I'm thankful that it gets done. It is aggravating, but in church work, 99.9% of everything that's done is done voluntarily. Brother Caleb Barclay used to tell me sometimes I get a little aggravating. He'd say, Pastor, always remember free help is probably worth its price. Amen. But you ought to be willing to do something. Amen. I mean, you don't have to come up and wipe down all the tables after the campout cookout shootout, but you ought to wipe off one you ate at before you left. Amen. You ought to have wiped off yours before you left. Somebody had to wipe them down yesterday morning. I was there. Amen. You could have wiped yours down, and if everybody wiped theirs down, what about Shirley? Grown-up, grown, full-grown people knows this has to be wiped. Amen. And if I had a wife that got up from a table where I, as the husband, was and didn't wipe down the table, I would have a talking to her when I got her to the house. She probably ain't wiping too much stuff up at your house. It's probably dusty there, too. I'm just telling you, that's the way it is. Things need to be done, won't you do something about it, amen. So there's those who would do, but ought to be asked. There's those who do. Then there's the doers. These are the people that aren't doing anything. Then there's the doers. They do it to be seen. Some do it to be seen. That's fine, they do. You know, they walk around. I've seen people that are willing to sweep up every evening and they make sure you know, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. Oh, excuse me. Good Lord, I'm trying to have a conversation here. Would you just point, I've moved three times, point where you're done and I'll go stand over there, you know. And then there's those who do out of duty, and that's fine. There's some people that do it just out of duty. They just, well, this needs to be done, I'm gonna do it. And those are good people, especially if you got them working for you, amen, at a cheap rate. They're really nice. And then there's some that do because it's their nature. I've had people work for me that was that way. They're gonna be doing something. It may be the wrong thing, but they're doing something. You gotta reign those people back. Amen. Had a guy tell me down in Virginia, he said, your preaching reminds me of a second lieutenant I had underneath me in Vietnam. He said, I'd have to tell him, go so many clicks this way and stop. He said, if I did next thing you'd know you'd hear of him in Hanoi. He said, you're the place to stop, amen. Because doing is in their nature. Now you gotta be careful if doing is in your nature and doing is not in somebody else's nature, that doesn't make either one of them more spiritual. It doesn't. Just because you're a workaholic doesn't mean somebody that takes a break every now and again is a sinner. Amen, there is different kinds of people. So it's not wrong, but then there's those who do it just for God's glory. They say, you know, I don't really want to do this, maybe, or I'm not even, this is not my, you know, forte. There is the individual that does it just for God's glory, and that's the best reason, the best reason to do it. But that goes more than just at the church, it goes to your home as well. Amen. If a wife does things in her home and just does it so her husband doesn't gripe, that's not a good reason. That'll burn out over time. If a wife does it at home, but she just does it out of duty, boy, that'd get monotonous, wouldn't it? But if everybody in the home, husband and wife, will say, I'm gonna do what I'm doing for God's glory, whether anybody sees it or not, I'm gonna get up and do it, because it's right to do for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the right reason to do it. Amen. I heard a lost individual say something last week on a video, and I wouldn't give you his name because he's not an honorable man in all things that he says, but he is a bodybuilder and a famous hunter. And he said, somebody asked him, they said, what do you do to keep motivated? He's, I mean, just a brute of a man, shoots a 93 pound bow. And he looked at him and he said, motivated. Motivated won't get you to where I am. Discipline will. He said motivation runs out, little speeches and sayings goes away, but discipline will carry you all the rest of your life. Sometimes we motivate kids to do good in school, then you gotta motivate them again. Amen. But if they can ever become disciplined, you don't have to check their goal chart, they'll check it theirself. Amen. You got a guy on the job, you have to give him the miracle on ice speech every day when he comes into work. This is your moment, you can do it. Just so you can get eight hours out of him before he goes to the house. That guy, you gotta always watch what he's doing, but the individual that's disciplined will go on and do it. Because you can and would is not always a calling of God. Well, I can do this, I have the ability to do that. Well, that's true, maybe, maybe not. I remember he's dead and going on to his reward, but I remember one time when Brother Wayne Henderson was down at the camp and he was playing his saxophone and Brother, David Gibbs walked up to him and he said, do you always play that? He goes, well, normally before service. He said, well, I'll mark my time and get here after it starts. He said, brother, you need to practice that before you get in front of people. But when you, because you can does not mean necessarily God is calling you. And that's a conversation that is had by a lot of people. Well, there's a church that's in need, and they need a pastor, and you can preach. Well, okay, but there was a lot of places that needed preaching during the days of Jonah, but God only sent him to one place. Well, preacher, this needs to be done. I'm gonna jump in here. God may be calling somebody to do that, and you need to make sure that it's what God wants to be done. Amen? But if you can and would and it's needed, you should be considering it. Now, it's wrong for you to say, I can fulfill that need. I can fulfill that need. I have the ability to fulfill that need, but I'm not even gonna consider doing it. I'll just wait for somebody else. If you see a need, you should consider it prayerfully, Lord, should I, can I do this? So you see, take heed that you do not your arms before men to be seen of them. We see in our text a divine warning about doing things. Notice, take heed, watch out, watch out, be careful, pay close attention about when you're doing things. This text is not necessarily a text for us to gauge others by, but it is for sure a text for us to watch out what our motives are and what we do. Well, I've always taught the such and so class for VBS. Well, very good. Does God want you to do it this year? Well, I've always been the. Well, does God want you to do it this year? Amen, and I'm thankful for everybody that does and is faithful, and if there's nobody else that will do it, and you say, well, they're not gonna do it, so I'd be willing to do it. That's wonderful. Do it as unto the Lord. But do you prayerfully consider where God would have you to be? Amen. Paul said, I'm going over there, and the Holy Spirit said, no, you're not. No, you're not. Well, then I'll just take off and go over here, and the Holy Ghost said, no, you're not. He said, well, since I ain't got nothing to do for God, I'll take a nap. And he saw a vision in Macedonia, he said, come over here and help us. Amen. You need to be serving the Lord, but where you're serving the Lord is up to God and how you're serving the Lord. Now, nobody has an out. Amen. If you can wash your clothes, clean your house, cut your grass, pay your own bills, work in your garden, pick up your own groceries and drive yourself, Then by Jove, you ought to be able to do something at the house of God every now and again. Well, I'm just so tired, I reckon so. You've served yourself all week long. Amen. I remember one time somebody told Brother Gerald, I'm going home and taking a nap. Sunday's the day of rest. He said, for who? He said, I've worked six days this week and I'm going to work all day today. For who? Where did you get Sunday was a day of rest? You didn't get it out of your Bible? Sunday's a day of worship. Worship ain't necessarily rest. Now, you have a right, as a Christian, go home, take you a Baptist nap. But you don't have a verse of scripture say, I got the day off. I just kicked back here and rider in Georgia Overdrive down this hill today. and other people come in and they sing and they pray and they study and they worship and they sing and they testify and you sit on your blessed assurance and don't do nothing. You can't have a church that way. Won't last very long, will it pastor? It won't last long. Amen. But this text is for us to watch our motives. How many minutes I got? I got two minutes. There are three major issues with giving, praying, and fasting being mentioned. However, there are many other alms, with the word alms basically boils down to being righteous acts, that are commanded to be done. Praise, rejoice evermore. You ought to be rejoicing in the Lord. It ought to be noticed. It's better off if people notice you when you have a bad mood at the house of the Lord and you don't praise either that it just fits in and that's normally how you are. How about singing? Sing unto the Lord a new song. Speak in yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing, making melody in your heart to the Lord. These are commanded in the scriptures. You come to the house of God and you... If we had a whole church full of people like that, you couldn't have service. Amen. You want to sing in the choir? I don't sing in the choir. I enjoy the choir, but if you're going to sing in the choir, you ought to be here for practice. Get up in the choir, sing, do your best, practice, try. Amen. I told some people one time, I let them sing a couple of times at the church when I pastored, and then they got up there and said, don't listen to me, listen to the words. I said, just sit down. Just sit down. I don't wanna just listen to words. If I wanted to do that, I'd get up there and read them for myself. How would you do if the pastor got up and said, well, don't pay attention to my outline or anything else. I just opened my mouth, let God fill it, and just started off with a bunch of baloney. If you're gonna sing, practice. It may not be good, but at least you can practice. Amen. Praise the Lord. Practice in praising. Most praise thoughts start out with, I just wanna thank the Lord, and then they go off on a brag session and close up with, well, praise the Lord. Well, I just wanna thank God this bad happened, that bad happened, that bad happened, that bad happened, that bad happened, thank God, and sit down for what? Amen. Think about what you're trying to say. What if you were trying to sell a product or give an advertisement for a product with that method? Think about it. Here I am, ladies and gentlemen, across the world in TV and radio and internet land. I want to tell you about this product. It don't work. It didn't help. I still got dirt all over the floor. Thank goodness for Kirby. Buy one today. You got a lost person sitting in the house of God? I just want to thank the Lord I'm saved. My car's broke down, my ribs hurt, my back aches, stomach's sore, gave all my money to church, sat here five times a week, don't know why I come. Praise the Lord, sit down. Does that sound like something somebody would be interested in? I told a guy the other day, if I was lost I wouldn't get saved, I'd be afraid to be like you. I would be afraid I would be like you. Why would I want to be like you? Your home is a mess. Your children are a mess. You're always grumpy. And then on top of that, you gotta give away 10% of everything that you make and go to church for four hours a week. I'd pooey on that. Why would you want that? How about I get up and say, thank God for what he's been. He's been good to me. And if you don't have nothing that he's been good to you about, just sit down and think about it. Amen. If you just want to tell somebody your problems, see me after service, I'll listen to them. I promise and give a sympathetic. But don't waste time in church where there might be lost people that think that's the way God treats everybody. Amen. I'm not trying to be ugly, I'm trying to be honest. And young people sit there, I know I did as a young person, and said, what a bunch of foolishness is this? Amen. Amen. I love the Lord. I love this church. Well, why don't you be faithful? Amen. Now, God wants you to do, and I want you to do, and the church wants you to do, but you do for the right reason and in the right way, and it'll bring honor and glory to our Savior. But if it's just full of baloney, it's just full of baloney. And if that's all you can do, do the best you can, we'll get you a trumpet and sound it as you come and go, okay? But there's a better way and better reason to do it than just to be seen. Father, we thank you for the day. I pray that you'd help us today. Lead us, guide us, and direct us. Bless our pastor as he preaches and leads the church. Fill us with the spirit of God that we may have ears to listen, hearts to obey. In Jesus' name, amen.