Covet God’s Approval
Matthew 6: 1 – 4

INTRODUCTION: A. I read about a person who went to a concert at a beautiful old art-deco theatre. At the end of the concert, this person noticed two ushers standing near his seat who were applauding harder than anybody else in the whole place.
The man said that he was thrilled with this particular concert because of the talent and skill of the musicians. It thrilled him even more to see these two ushers
standing there applauding more vigorously than all of the concert goers.
His experience was somewhat diminished when he heard one usher say to the other, “Keep clapping. If we can get them to do another encore, we get overtime!”
1. It appeared that these two ushers were serious music lovers
2. It turned out they were only applauding so long and so hard because it would mean a few more dollars in their pockets.
3. There are people who do good things for the wrong reasons
--It might seem at the outset that they’re trying to do what is right but it ends up that they only do it for their own benefit.

B. The title of this evening’s message is: “COVET GOD’S APPROVAL”
1. The word “covet” is not used much anymore
a. “Covet” was a term that became associated with evil intent
b. However, in the original languages of the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek terms
that generally get translated “to covet” were neutral
--The rightness or wrong-ness of the action involved in coveting is dependent
on the motivation behind the coveting
2. The word “covet” simply means “a deep and passionate desire”
--what we covet is what we deeply desire; the root motivations of our hearts

C. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus encouraged His disciples to play to an audience of One - to covet only the approval of the Heavenly Father.
1. He urged them not to be people pleasers seeking to impress others, because a few will cheer and a few will jeer.
2. If you get your self-worth from the approval of people, you’re mood is going to be frequently depressed and your performance often erratic.
3. But God is faithful.
a. He is always rooting for you.
b. He wants the best for you and, in the end, it’s only His favor that matters.
4. This is a passage that speaks to those of us who are tempted to be people-pleasers.
--Some of us have such a ravenous hunger for praise that you go to almost
any length to get it.
a. You have a hard time saying “no” to anyone, you want so much to be liked that
it’s almost impossible to overcome peer pressure.
b. You’re always wondering what people will say, what people will think, how
people will respond.
c. When people approve you, you’re up, when someone is upset with you you’re
devastated.
d. Your whole life is viewed as a stage performance seeking the applause and
avoiding the disapproval of the crowd.
e. Even when it comes to spiritual service, instead of seeking God’s approval, you’re
most concerned about what people think.
--We need to pay attention tonight as we study Jesus’ words from the Sermon on
the Mount that encourage us to seek only God’s approval?

I. JESUS GIVES A WARNING AGAINST SELF-PROMOTION
--Matthew 6:1 – “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
A. We all instinctively want to be liked.
1. From the time we’re born we want approval and attention.
a. Little children unashamedly say, “Watch me, Daddy!” “Look at me, Mommy!”
b. Teenagers want more than anything to be popular.
1). They are careful to dress, talk, and act in whatever fashion is acceptable among their peers.
2). Even nonconformity is a way of drawing attention to self.
--Body piercing, tattoos, green hair, and black lipstick are means of saying, “Look at me!”
c. As adults we worry, “What will the neighbors say if we don’t mow our grass?”

2. We care what people think of us and that’s not altogether bad.
a. The Bible says we ought to be sensitive to our witness to others.
b. The problem with people-pleasers is they become overly concerned with what other people think.
B. Jesus’ warning in this passage is not about doing evil but about doing good just to impress people.
1. On the surface this seems to contradict what Jesus said in Mt. 5:16 – “... let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
2. The difference is in motive.
--Are you doing the good deed to exalt Christ or to promote self?
3. It’s the self-centeredness of it all that Jesus warns against.
--Why do we do what we do?

4. Someone once said, “I know I’m supposed to be humble, but what if no one notices?”
a. We want people to notice our goodness.
5. “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself.”
C. If you’re tempted to be a people-pleaser let me share four good reasons to quit worrying so much about what people think of you.
1. People are fickle.
a. They can applaud you one minute and condemn you the next.
b. You can’t please people.
--They’re so inconsistent in both praise and condemnation
2. Most people don’t really care about you anyway.
a. Someone has stated : “If you worry too much about what people think of you, you’d probably be disappointed to discover how seldom they actually did think of you.”
--That’s the truth.
b. Why spend so much time worrying about someone else’s opinion when they really don’t notice?
3. The most popular people are those who don’t try to please others.
a. It’s kind of a paradox, the less self-conscious you are, the more likely you are to be liked.
b. The people who try too hard to please are rejected, while the people who don’t seem to care what others think are the most respected for their courage, uninhibited behavior, and self-confidence.
c. One of the things that made Jesus so attractive to his generations was that He wasn’t very concerned about the opinions of people.

--One of his detractors admitted this trait to Jesus in Mt. 22:16 – “We know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are”
4. In the end only God’s evaluation matters
a. Jn. 5:30 – Jesus says: “I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”
b. James 4:12 – There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.
c. Paul says in Gal. 1:10 – Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? ...If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

5. Serena Williams won the Wimbledon Tennis tournament for the first time in 2002. After her impressive victory, a reporter asked Serena if it bothered her that many of the English fans were rooting against her. She politely said, “No,” she understood – there had been people rooting against her all her life. But she still wanted to win for herself. Then she added, “Besides my dad was sitting
in those stands, and I knew he was rooting for me and I wanted to please him.”

II. JESUS GIVES AN EXAMPLE OF A HYPOCRITE WHO SOUGHT TO IMPRESS OTHERS WITH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
--Mt. 6:2-4a – “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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.”
A. Jesus calls those who do good things with selfish intentions hypocrites
1. That word comes into our language directly from the New Testament Greek language
2. It means “an actor who wears a mask”
--In the theatre of Jesus’ day, one actor could play several roles on stage. They designated the changing of the role onstage by wearing different masks.
3. A hypocrite in its simplest sense is someone who pretends to be something that in reality they are not.
-- I read a newspaper piece not long ago about a young dockworker who came into the local Western Union agent and tried to cash a check made out to Roadway Express, which is a trucking company based out of Dallas, TX. The manager figured something was up and slyly asked the young man for his ID. The 18-year-old produced a fairly well-made picture ID and under the name
it said, “Roadway V. Express”.
The manager told the young man to wait there while he went in the back to get the money. When the manager went into the back of the office, he called the police and they promptly arrested Mr. Express.
B. Evidently the Pharisees, who craved the praise of men, sometimes made a big show out of what they gave to the temple treasury.
1. In the Jewish system of worship, they didn’t pass the offering tray and people didn’t give anonymously or folded checks.
2. The treasury boxes were set outside the worship area and people gave their money as they came in
--Mk. 12:41 – “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.”
C. But Jesus uses a unique phrase that puzzles some people in our age: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
1. Notice Jesus assumes that if we’re subjects to the King of kings and want to live according to his expectations, we will be “givers”
--He doesn’t say “if you give” but “when you give”
a. Being generous in helping meet the needs of others was a mark of the early church
2. The phrase “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” was a reference to your best friends
--We still refer to someone as our “right-hand man”
3. You might remember a news story from September of 1997. Ted Turner announced that he was giving a billion dollars to the United Nations. Although he designated that the money be used to help the extremely poor with food, clothing, and shelter, he made sure his huge donation was seen by everybody.
Before he made the gift, he notified talk-show host Larry King so he could start circulating the news.
And then, Turner made his announcement in a New York ballroom filled with tuxedos, evening gowns, reporters and cameras.
a. He has his reward—the approval of men.

III. JESUS GIVES A MOTIVATION FOR SEEKING GOD’S APPROVAL
--Mt. 6:4b – “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
A. Some people downplay this truth, but there is a legitimate reward motive in the Christian life.
-- There’s a television ad during football games that features an athlete running up the steps of an empty stadium. No one is watching, but he’s really sweating and grinding it out in discipline.
--The ad points out that he’s going through all that hard work so that he can receive the reward of winning on the weekend.

1. God asks us to discipline our lives, to deny self and take up the cross so that we can win the victory of eternal life.
--He promises that, while we’re saved by grace and not works, we are going to be rewarded for our works.
a. My personal belief is that the real reward is spending eternity with God
b. Even though the Bible promises “stars” in our crowns in heaven, it also tells us that in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords we’ll cast our crowns into the glassy sea described in the book of Revelation.
c. There is no doubt that Jesus taught about rewards to come
--That concept can certainly change your attitude about what you are doing today.

Consider following scenario: Imagine two guys in a room who are given an assignment of folding papers for 12 hours straight.
The first guy quits after three hours. He says, “I can’t stand this.
This is driving me crazy!”
But the second guy is delighted. He keeps working saying, “This is the greatest
day of my life! This is a joy!” He folds paper for 12 hours straight.

What’s the difference? The first guy is working for minimum wage.
The second guy is promised a million dollars if he stays. A reward is a big motivator to attitude and faithfulness.
3. Listen to these verses that promise a reward proportionate with our faithfulness on Earth.
a. Mt. 16:27 – “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
b. Mt. 19:29-30 – “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

c. Eph. 6:8 - ...because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.
d. 1 Cor. 3:12-15 - If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
B. Understand that the reward the Heavenly Father promises is not just eternal, it’s immediate.
1. when you see lost people saved, children taught the Word of God, hurting people comforted, and homes united, there should be a sense of satisfaction within.
a. You ought to feel good that you’ve had a part in seeing people ministered to and God being honored.
b. You ought to say to yourself, “I’ve helped make that happen.”
--That in itself is a great reward.

CONCLUSION: several years ago, Bob Russel, told about his grandson Charlie who was going to be playing football. Charlie was eight years old and was a little chunkier and little slower than most of the boys his age.
On the way to the first football practice, Charlie’s dad told him,
“Now Charlie, the coach is probably going to want you to be a lineman.”
The truth is: no eight year old boy wants to be a lineman.
They all want to be a quarterback, running back or receiver – that’s where
the glory is. It’s not in being a lineman.
Charlie’s dad, Rusty, continued: “Now the linemen are really important because they
block for the other players. The lineman don’t get to carry the ball or throw passes, but if the lineman do their job, the guys carrying the ball can make touchdowns ... which otherwise they can’t.”

Sure enough, 30 minutes into the first practice, the coach started to place his team. He said, “Charlie, I want you to be lineman. You’ll be the right guard.” Charlie got down in a three point stance and looked over to his dad with a big smile and went [thumbs up!].
--He was thrilled!

1. Maybe your Heavenly Father designed you to play a role that doesn’t get much
applause.
2. If you have a behind-the-scenes assignment where you’re blocking for others and not getting much glory, can you still be content?
B. Along with watching out for being a people-pleaser, we also have to guard against being a self-pleaser.

3. Our motive must be to covet God’s approval.
--He’s the only one who matters in the end. Seek His approval today.