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· Good morning, everyone!
o What an honor and a pleasure it is to be speaking with you all!
o It is always so great to be in the House of God on a Sunday morning with fellow believers.
o I want to thank Pastor Matt for sharing his pulpit with me and also thank all of you for having me.
o This morning we are going to be continuing on in the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest Sermon Ever Preached!
§ But before we do that, I would like to Pray...
· ((PRAY))
· INTRODUCTION
o The Title of today’s sermon is “Overflow!”
o And we are going to be reading and talking about Matthew 6:5-8...
o So, if you would like to follow along in your Bible, that is where we’ll be.
o While you’re finding that passage...
§ I wanted to share with you an observation that occurs to me from time to time when I am digging into scripture...
· Have you ever noticed how well written the scriptures really are?
o Not only is this the guidebook for life...
o The inerrant word of God...
o It is God breathed...
o But it also is just so well written!
§ The Bible has intrigue, and suspense...
§ It has poetry in it.
§ and blueprints in it.
§ It has songs in it.
§ And it is also full of stories that have heroes and villains in it!
o I feel like sometimes we make it out to be stiffer and more unapproachable than it is really...
§ And here is what I love about the sermon on the mount...
· In Matthew Chapter 6 we get introduced to a new Villain: THE HYPOCRITE.
· Who are these unnamed people that Jesus is so opposed to?
· The way Jesus talks about these people is supposed to almost create a disgust in our minds as we read!
o Hypocrites...
o You scoff.
o Hypocrite...
o Disgusting.
· With this new villain in our minds, let us read today’s Gospel.
· Matthew 6:5-8 says: “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. Truly I tell you, they have 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 Gentiles, 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.
o The reason I say that these Hypocrite Jesus talks about are a new villain, is because if you are reading your Bible cover to cover, Matthew Chapter 6 is first time you really come across this word.
§ I always had this assumption that the word Hypocrite is littered all the way through the Bible!
§ But really it is only used in the Gospels...
o So who are these mysterious Hypocrites and how do we avoid being like them?
o Last week, Pastor Matt told you about how this word Hypocrite really translates from the word “Actor” or “Play Actor.”
o Websters Dictionary defines the word like this:
· WEBSTER’S Dictionary defines the word like this:
· 1.) a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
· OR 2.) a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.
· So this more modern definition is the one we are probably most comfortable with...
o We all what a hypocrite is! We all probably know a bunch!
o But notice how primary or cultural understanding of what a hypocrite is mainly has to do with virtue and religion.
o It is either in the Church or in the Government that we would find our modern hypocrites...
§ Today’s reading from the Gospel is going to help us to avoid this charge...
§ Jesus is going to help us from becoming a hypocrite.
§ Jesus is going to help us avoid play acting through our faith.
§ Jesus is going to show us how to pray....
· The Gospel this morning is going to address three things:
o Private prayer
o Repetitive prayer
o And Corporate or public prayer.
· So Let’s get into it.
· Matthew Chapter 6, starting in verse 5:
o “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. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 6 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.”
· Ok! SO, what you are trying to tell us Jesus is that praying in in public is bad!
· And all the introverts say AMEN!
· Jesus seems to be telling us that when we pray, we should go somewhere private, shut the door, and just get on with it!
· This is where a lot of people get the idea of a “prayer closet”
· Have you ever heard of this concept?
o (explain)
o They actually made a movie about this several years ago…called “War Room.”
o The idea is this: that we should have a place in our homes or lives, that is a place that we can go to be able to practice what we read here in...
o We need a “secret place” so that we can pray to God:
o Honestly
o Privately
o Consistently
o You see Prayer is a conversation with God!
o But In every conversation there is more than one person, right?
o PRAYER IS NOT:
§ a telegram you send to God
§ It is not a voice mail you leave for God
§ It is not the Christmas list that we mail to Santa with this written out wishlist!
· WE cannot bribe God with Milk and Cookies...
o Prayer does not work like that because it is a conversation.
o And conversations require our attention...
o Have you ever been in one of those conversations?
o Where your doing all the talking and the other person is just so distracted?
o or they are on their phone?
o Or they are watching TV?
o Just totally distracted.
o That is no way to have a conversation!!!
o And so it is with prayer.
o And that is the purpose of praying in secret, in the secret room…
o To have a conversation with God that is private, undisturbed, and distraction free.
o We need privacy in our prayer lives because it is not God who is going to be the one playing on his phone while the conversation is happening.
o It’s going to be me, it’s going to be you that is distracted by the world.
o In Verse 6 we read about the reward of private prayer, it says “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’
o The Actors on the street corners got their reward.
o The Actors get to have fellowship with people, they get to receive the approval of people.
o The Actors get a material reward.
o But you, when YOU pray, your reward is so much greater.
o When you have your private time in prayer, you receive fellowship with GOD of this universe!
o Your reward is spiritual and eternal.
o So Private prayer is a good thing for us!
o Jesus is very direct when he tells us WHERE to pray...
o In our secret room, in our basement, in our prayer closet, in the cozy corner of our living room by the fireplace, maybe on a porch swing on the front porch, maybe in our bedrooms...
o ((NEED TRANSITIONAL)))
o But now JESUS is going to show us HOW to pray....
o Matthew 6: 7-8 says “When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, 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.”
o So whether we are in our prayer rooms, or at church, we get a stern warning from JESUS...
o Jesus says, “Don’t be like them!”
o Jesus says don’t be like the gentiles!
o But we have to ask ourselves, Don’t be like what exactly?
o What exactly are the Gentiles doing wrong?
o Well they babble on the text says!
o If you’ve been in church long enough you’ve probably heard a person, or a pastor, kind of pray in a way that just goes on and on and on…
o and your like: ok we get it!
o OR maybe you’ve heard the same prayer request over and over...
o and your like: God knows this request and it is up to him now!
o (things of this nature?)
o I don’t really think this is what Jesus is getting at here in verse 7-8...
o Yes, it is true that Prayer is not about the number of words, the eloquence of your grammar, or the power of your voice....
o Yes it is true that God knows what you need before you ask.
o What Jesus is really warning us about in verses 7 and 8 are about the Pagan and wordly practices of prayer!
o Here is how the pagans think prayer works.
o Pagan prayer is used as a tool
o Pagan prayer is a mechanism that is used to bend the Will of God to the will of man.
o It is a complete inversion of what Jesus tell us prayer is all about.
o Jesus tell us that the purpose of prayer is to align yourself with the will of God.
o …not the other way around.
o The gentile and pagan practice of prayer used repetition as a substitute for relationship.
o They babbled on, instead of believing.
o Let’s look at this gentile pagan prayer:
o This is from 1 Kings Chapter 18 when Elijah confronts the prophets of Ba’al
o 25 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.” 26 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. 27 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.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the obligation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
o This is what babbling on looks like!
o These guys were chanting “Baal, answers us!” for like 4-6 hours!
o They danced and marched… and chanted...
o They even cut at their arms in this blood letting ritual!
o Now this seems extreme to us today!
o But this pagan style of worship hasn’t really gone away...
o We see this repetitive prayer style being used to today in the form of...
o “positive affirmations”
o Mantra’s
o ((HEALING))
o Name it claim it!
o Even the prosperity gospel that is preached in many so called Christian churches....
o This is the kind of prayer that Jesus warns us about.
o (((RITUAL NOT A DISCINE))
o This is what Jesus means… these pagan people were doing everything they could do to get the attention of this so called “god” named baal.
o But this wasn’t loving, intimate relationship!
o This was a transactional relationship...
o The prophets of baal were using words and blood to get God to do what they wanted...
o This was form of praying was a quid pro quo.
o They were just babbling on about what they really wanted... It was never about God. It was never about the right reward.
o What the pagan world didn’t understand is that God is not a genie!
o He doesn’t live in the lamp!
o You don’t get to run the lamp and he appears to you and says:
§ What are your three wishes?
§ You wish is my command!
§ It is my pleasure to serve you!
o ((TRANSITION))
o Let’s look at how Elijah prays: Verse 36 says ““O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.
o Elijahs gets it!
o He knows that God is Holy
o HE knows that God sees the beginning from the end...
o HE knows that God is so much bigger than a genie in lamp...
o Elijah knows God is greater than some silly Canaanite fertility God!
o Elijahs prayer here is relational...
o it is submissive...
o it is based around God’s will and not his own...
o V8 of our Gospel reading this morning says “your father knows what you need before you ask him....”
o So, if that is true, why even bother asking?
o Because prayer is relational...
o It takes two or more people to have a relationship...
§ Because if God just give you what you need without any closeness...
§ Basically God is reduced to like a rich relative that spoils you on Christmas and your birthday... Who you barely even know....
o So repetitive prayer is not a bad thing from the right perspective.
o Prayers should be relational.
o And prayers should be looking forward to the will of GOD...
o Jesus himself prays repetitively in the gospels... let’s fast forward to Gethsemane...
o Matthew 26: 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And he came again and found them sleeping because they could not keep their eyes open. After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.
o Three times JESUS prays for something that he needs, that he wants...
o Three times JESUS prays for God to change the direction and the outcome of his circumstances.
o If this is OK for JESUS it is ok for you too!
§ But look at how JESUS does it.
§ JESUS gives it to GOD’s will to determine the outcome.
§ Jesus says “Your will be done Father. Your will be done Father. Your will be done Father.”
o So, if our prayers look like JESUS then we’re in a good place.
o The last thing that the gospel presents us with this morning is this:
o If the hypocrites are villains, how do we avoid being like them?
o Is Jesus condemning public Christianity?
§ Is praying in public, the criticism?
§ Is being a Christian publicly the kind of Acting that JESUS is warning us about?
§ Is Praying on the street corner or in the church wrong?
o We have to remember something about the Hypocrites.
o In this time, Actors didn’t wear stage Make-up, or any kind of elaborate costumes...
o But what they did wear were masks.
o These play actors would put these masks on that would covers their whole face.
o And this mask is what would signify to the audience which character the actor was playing.
§ And these masks were made out of linen or leather....
o Have you ever seen the symbol people use sometimes for acting or the arts?
§ It’s the two masks?
§ One smiling one frowning?
§ That is where we get image from, from the hypocrites!
o Jesus is warning us about a Christianity that is Phony.
o Jesus is warning us about a faith that resembles an actor wearing a mask.
o Your relationship with Christ is not a prop.
o It is not something that you can just take on and off!
o Like you can with a mask.
o Jesus is telling us that our Christianity is something that is inside of us.
o It is something that is built up, daily, weekly, yearly.
o When we spend praying privately, we can align ourselves more closely to the will of God through Christ Jesus.
o Our private prayers are what transform us and align us.
o It is those intimate moments with the God of the universe, that leads our sanctification.
o You do not have to wear the mask of Christianity if you know God and his Son.
o When you know the Son your faith will be written all over your face and on your heart.
o There will be no need to wear a mask.
o So, When YOU stand on the street corner or in the church, you DO not have to pray like the hypocrites do...
o Because your prayers are an overflow of who you already are...
o Your prayers represent who you already are in the closet...
o Your prayers represent who you already are in the secret place.
o Martin Luther said that “Prayer is sweat of the soul.”
o I love this quote because it implies that prayer is a visual outpouring of someone who is doing something!
o You sweat when you’re training.
o You sweat when you’re working hard.
o Prayer is this thing that flows out of you.
o So how do we apply this?
o We apply this principle like this:
§ If you want to pray publicly or corporately in the Church...
· Jesus isn’t against that.
§ But if you haven’t sought after God in your own private time, you might have to put a mask on to do that.
· If we don’t seek after God with discipline regularly, we might just be a Hypocrite, playing a part, reciting the script, wearing a mask.
o But if your prayers are an OVERFLOW of the God you know and the God you serve, pray away.
o IF you soul is sweating out prayers from the discipline of meeting with God, pray away.
o Just remember this: When you wear a mask when you pray, every around will already know you are just another Hypocrite, looking for applause...
o But when you take of your mask and pray: The people around you will see who you really are, what your face really looks like.
§ A sinner, saved by grace, who God loves.
§ So take off your mask, and pray!
o Amen?
o (CLOSE IN PRAYER)