Teach us to Pray Powerfully (2)

Welcome: to the Grove, Special thanks to Jim for a great job last Sunday.

Review: Last time we were talking about prayer we studied Matthew 6 where the disciples asked Jesus to Teach them to pray. we only scratched the surface of what many call “The Lord’s Prayer” We discussed how the “hypocrites” tried to manufacture powerful prayers by praying in the streets so that all would see.

We concluded that powerful prayers happen because

Your father already knows what you are going to ask; He is the manufacturer of powerful prayer.

We also discussed the differences in rewards

Jesus mentioned two different Greek words for “reward” the one for the hypocrites meant a reward similar to what a paycheck is we earned it.

The other is an exchange, We give Jesus all of our sin, stress, anxieties and he exchanges them with His righteousness, goodness, and peace. The exchange is one sided and never equal in value.

Introduction

Today we will scratch a little more into the Lord’s Prayer and look at how our Posture before the Lord will result in powerful prayer but before I do I need us to recognize something

Opener

We live in a world where we trust a system that is very natural to us. The system centers on goods and services.

I provide a service you give me good things. I am compensated for the pre-established arrangement.

Examples

1. If I rent a house I expect that I will have a place that is maintained by the landlord to the agreed upon arrangements, The landlord expects payments in full, on time and that I don’t destroy their property.

If they don’t do not honor their part people become worked up (angry, anxious, worried).

2. If you agree to work for so many hours and for so much an hour, you expect that on Friday you can get your check and it will accurately reflect the agreed upon arrangements

If you check is short you get worked up

3. When you pay taxes but your streets are always in need of repair and your city isn’t running the way you want it

You get worked up

4. If you have ever had to make an insurance claim thinking that you have paid all those payments for a time such as this and then they give you the run around and refuse to pay what you expected

you get worked up

It is because we assume people will honor the goods and services understanding that people live by.

Illustration

When my we bought our house a few years ago. My neighbor came over without asking and was mowing my lawn while were hauling stuff in the house. I have never been able to understand why that troubled until I was building this sermon.

There is no neighbor contacts of goods and services and therefore I instinctively felt indebted to him. That debt left me in some way subjected to him.

In prison you don’t want to owe anyone a favor. Guys become real uncomfortable when someone wants to do something “just to be nice” because later its you owe me and if you don’t pay up Im going to get all kinds of worked up.

Text in their Town

During his lesson on prayer, Jesus emphasized the importance of where people place their expectations. Jesus wanted His disciples to know prayer was not meant to be “I live this way for you God, now give me what I have earned”

Text in our Town

The same is true for us today. If we want a powerful prayer life it happens when we understand that I have nothing to give God of worth, no value, goods or services that allowing me to demand anything.

But when we know that to be true, when we pray, Jesus says there is a reward for us.

Main Point

Powerful Prayer Starts with a Right Position

Matthew 6:5–9 (HCSB)

“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!

But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy.

Pray

Powerful Prayer Starts with a Right Position

Explanation

Idolaters/Gentiles/Pagans (all interchangeable). Meaning alien to the worship of the true God

Now, we tend to think of pagans as anti-religious. but Jesus is giving them credit for praying.

He’s not saying don’t be like the pagans, who don’t pray. He is trying to make a distinction between the way pagans pray and the way that Christ’s followers should pray.

There are only four places the Bible where the word is used. Every time it demonstrates that a Gentile/Pagan/Idolater works off the same goods and services mindset to receive a reward that just feels so natural to us.

Matthew 5:43–47 (HCSB)

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

Matthew 18:17 ESV

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Set up 1 kings. Gentile worship demonstrated...

1 Kings 18:25–28 ESV

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.

1 Kings 18:29 HCSB

All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Matthew 6:7 ESV

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

And if your praying hoping your works are building up for a reward that God is going to pay out, you will hear no sound, no answer, no reward

Illustration

When Gentiles don’t get what they expect they respond by being worked up. Then People demand what they don’t deserve.

“John Ortberg”

The bigger our sense of entitlement, the smaller our sense of gratitude …. [Our entitlement mindset] has led to a proliferation of lawsuits: when we don't get something we really want, we sue somebody.

For example,

1. The San Francisco Giants were once sued for passing out Father's Day gifts to men only.

2. A psychology professor sued for sexual harassment because of the presence of mistletoe at a Christmas

party.

3. A psychic was awarded $986,000 when a doctor's CAT scan impaired her psychic abilities.

You have to wonder about the last one: If she really was a psychic, shouldn't she have known not to go to that doctor in the first place?

Argumentation

Here’a a test

Are you a hypocritical prayer? Do you feel frustrated about prayer, but act like you are satisfied?

Are you a Gentile/Idolater/Pagan prayer?

If you can spend 15 minutes listing your wants and needs to God, but you can’t spend 15 minutes voicing praises to God, you’re praying like a Gentile/pagan/Idolater.

And there is a good chance that prayer is a point of contention with you. If you’ll allow yourself to admit it, deep down you resent the fact that you have done so much for God and you are not being treated fairly.

You are approaching prayer from a position of goods and services. That is the Wrong Position

Powerful Prayer Starts with a Right Position

Explanation

Jesus teaches them the right position with two phrases

Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy.

Matthew’s Gospel is a no hold barred letter written to defend that the Messiah is King. The King’s lineage is recorded in his book, he points to the fact that Jesus died the King of the Jews. Because Kings are powerful, and to be served.

The first thing Jesus teaches on prayer is to see God not as a king, but as a father. Not just a father, but “our” father.

Those who have received the reward of Jesus are not only seen by God, heard by Him and known in private by God they also get to call Him Father.

John 3:16 Says that Jesus is God’s only begotten son, but other verses say that we are adopted in as children of God

Ephesians 1:5 NLT

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Adoption is the key to powerful position in prayer

Gentiles view God like King.

“Your the King and I have served you, therefore keep me safe, keep me feed.” (goods and services)

Adoption doesn’t work that way.

Adoption is when one chooses, in advance to bring someone into their family too lavish on them a life they could not pay for, earn on their own ability.

Jesus could have said,

Our Creator who art in Heaven and He is

Our King who art in Heaven and He is

But he said Our Father

Listen, if we have a goods and services approach towards God, isn't it better to have a king than just a father?

Illustrations

Muslims will not call their God father. They view Allah as all-powerful, and above the family constructs of this world. So to them, illustrating Allah as only a father is beneath him.

Tim Keller I think said it the best

Who dares approach a King in Jesus day?

Who would dare interrupt a king during his speech to ask for help?

Who would ever consider waking up a King for a glass a water?

The King’s child would.

Because only a King will be so moved when He is operating in the love of a father.

Argumentation

The right position for powerful prayers is one of a child calling out to Our Father.

little kids never see their relationship to dad as “goods and services.”

they never imagine dad will only love them if they act a certain way.

they never think I don’t ever contribute to the bills around here maybe I shouldn't take a 45 min shower.

They know the relationship is one-sided where they contribute next nothing in exchange for everything.

That is the point. that is the meaning of the word “reward” Jesus said we would have if we pray “Our Father”

Our Father is better than Our creator, our King when it comes to petitioning God about our requests

Luke 11:5–9 HCSB

He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

The Pagan version would be “awake at once! I have money for Bread but no bread! Our law says you must wake at once and spare your fellow countryman the shame of having no bread for my guests.” I’ll pay double.

Pagans pray from the expectation of goods and services or a position of entitlement “I serve you, now give me what I deserve.”

Children of God, pray with a heart of thankfulness knowing we already have more than we can offer.

We pray from a position of gratitude. “You have given me what I don’t deserve, therefore I will serve.”

We say “Id never ask if you didn't love, but since you love my, Im going to ask.”

Application

The only goods God accepts is perfection. We are not perfect so we have no way of being in the family of God based on our works

The only service God accepts is the act of dying for our sins. If we die for our sins we no longer live and cannot be in the family of God

3. Jesus was both the perfect goods and only one who could die and come back to life so that could become children of God.

Reiteration (Band come up)

What position do you take when praying?

If your prayer life is non-existent or frustrating you are praying like a Pagan/Gentile/Idolater

If you are drawing near to God in deeply satisfying ways like a kid loves being around their dad then you know your praying like Christ.

Challenge

Cody Carnes wrote the song we are closing with called “Nothing Else” It talks about his desire to flea pagan prayer and return to a Child praying to His father

Oh, I'm not here for blessings Jesus, You don't owe me anything More than anything that You can do I just want You

I'm sorry when I've just gone through the motions I'm sorry when I just sang another song Take me back to where we started I open up my heart to You

Can you relate to that? If so, I want to have a time of confession and repentance. As the team closes with this song; If that is the desire of your heart, would you come forward and pour out your heart to God?