Kingdom Alignment Part 1
At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Alignment,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.
As we begin this new series called Kingdom Alignment, Jesus invites us into something deeper than outward religion. He invites us into alignment with the heart of the Father. And the first thing Jesus wants to address is motive. Not just what we do, but why we do it.
Matthew 6:1 (NIV)
1 “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.
That phrase “to be seen” becomes the key to understanding this entire section. Jesus is exposing something that can quietly grow inside every human heart: the desire to be noticed, admired, affirmed, and applauded. The temptation to turn spiritual life into spiritual performance. Religion can easily become theater. You can pray publicly and still be distant from God. You can give generously and still crave recognition. You can serve faithfully and still secretly hope people notice how spiritual you are. Jesus says, “Be careful,” not because righteousness is bad, but because even good things can become distorted when they are driven by the need to be seen. This is why the question from Job matters so much:
Job 9:2 (NIV)
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
For generations people attempted to answer that question externally through sacrifices, rules, and visible acts of religion. But Jesus begins revealing that true righteousness is not merely external conformity. It is inward transformation. It begins in the heart. And this connects directly to what we learned at the end of Kingdom Influence: righteousness is not something we achieve; it is something we receive. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21:
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In other words, righteousness is first a gift of grace before it ever becomes a transformed way of life. Jesus is now helping us understand what it looks like to live from that righteousness rather than perform for it.
This also helps us understand the apparent tension between Matthew 5 and Matthew 6. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others.” Now in Matthew 6 He says, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness before others.” At first glance that sounds contradictory, but Jesus is clarifying something deeper. In Matthew 5, the goal is that people would see your life and glorify your Father in heaven. In Matthew 6, the danger is living in a way that draws attention to yourself. One points people toward God; the other points people toward self. That difference changes everything. Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom is not about image management or public spirituality. It is about becoming the kind of people whose hearts are fully aligned with the Father.
And this is where the phrase “the Father who sees in secret” becomes so powerful. The Father is not merely looking at outward behavior. He sees deeper. He sees motives, desires, hidden struggles, quiet faithfulness, and unseen obedience. That can feel uncomfortable, but it is also incredibly freeing. It means your spiritual life is not dependent on public recognition. You do not need applause to matter. You do not need visibility to be valuable. The Father already sees you. He sees the quiet prayer nobody heard, the integrity nobody applauded, the sacrifice nobody recognized, and the moments you chose faithfulness when nobody else would have known. And unlike human approval, the Father’s gaze is not shallow or manipulative. He sees you completely and still loves you fully. That is where Kingdom Alignment begins: learning to live before an audience of One.
This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.
Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.
