HOW TO GO TO CHURCH AND PRAY

LUKE 18:9-14 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Intro: We have been given a great privilege. We have the privilege of getting in our vehicles and driving down to the house of God to worship. I am afraid that the privilege of going to church is a privilege we take for granted. How much preparation do we put into going to church? How much time do we spend getting our heart ready for corporate worship? Do we pray for the services? Do we pray for the lost? Do we seek the Lord’s face and ask Him to move in power when we come together? Sometimes we just come to church without giving what we are doing a second thought. The Bible has something to say about how we are to go to church. In the passage before us today, Jesus allows us a glimpse into the Temple as some people gathered to worship. In this parable, we will see that one man came to church that day to worship himself. The other man came to church that day to worship the Lord. I want to take a few minutes to contrast these two men because they teach us some much needed lessons about how we should come to church and pray. I. TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

A. A Pharisee – One of the men who came to church that day was a Pharisee, v. 10. · He was a spiritual leader among the people. He was known and respected as a true man of God. · He knew the Scriptures. (Ill. He had many passages committed to memory, and he even wore leather boxes on his right wrist and forehead that contained certain special portions of the Law, Matt. 23:5.) · 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

He would have prayed at least three times every day. (Ill. The Pharisees made much of prayer. They loved to pray loud, long and public prayers, Matt. 6:5-8.) ·5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

He fasted twice every week. (Ill. The Jews fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, which also happened to be the same days the Jews sold and bought goods in the markets. The practice of the Pharisees was to make their fasting very public, Matt. 6:16-18. 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly

They would not comb their hair or wash their faces, and they wore the most wrinkled and worn out clothes they could find. They even put ashes on their faces to make themselves look as though they were pale from fasting.) (Ill. The Pharisees were noted for making a public show in their tithing, Matt. 6:1-4. ·1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 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. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

What we have here is a very religious man, considered to be holy by everyone who saw him. He loved the adoration that came his way from the common people around him, Matt. 23:5-7. · 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

This man is a picture of many in the churches today. Everyone who sees them thinks they are pure, holy and righteous. They have convinced everyone that they are the epitome of righteousness, holiness and virtue. They have even convinced themselves that they are right end everyone around them who is not exactly like them is wrong.

B. A Publican – The other man who came to pray that day was a publican, v. 10.

· He was a spiritual outcast. While he was welcome to come to the Temple to pray in the Court of the Jews, he would not have been allowed to attend the meetings at the synagogue. The other Jews hated him and looked down on him.

· He was a tax collector. He worked for Rome, the nation that dominated and ruled Israel at the time. · Rome collected three kinds of taxes from the people she conquered. They collected a land tax, a head tax and a custom tax. They were collected by a chief tax collector (I.e. Zachaeus.) who controlled the work of several tax collectors (i.e. Matthew). · The chief tax collector would pay Rome for a certain area or district which gave him the authority to collect the taxes there. He would in turn sub-lease that area to tax collectors. The chief tax collector could set his own rates and the men who worked for him could set their own rates. As a result, Rome received its taxes, by the chief tax collectors and the local tax collectors grew wealthy from extorting large sums of money from the common people. · As a tax collector, this man would have been known for his greed and his dishonesty. · He would have been viewed as a traitor to Israel and not even worthy of any compassion or concern from the Jews around him. · This man is a picture of the other element we find in the church. These are the people who do not act like we think they should. They might not dress like we think they should. They might not do things and say things just like we think they should. Like to publican, these folk are in the church, and like the publican, these folks are often looked down on by the other folk who think they are more spiritual.

II. TWO KINDS OF PRAYER

(Ill. Both of these men, the self-righteous Pharisee and the wicked Publican, went to the Temple to pray. When they open their mouths and begin to speak, the true character of their heart is put on display. As it turns out, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. The man everyone thought was righteous was really a hypocrite, while the Lord accepted the man everyone looked down on. Let’s examine the prayers of these two men today. Their words and their attitudes have something to teach us about how we should approach the Lord and how we should see others.)

A. Haughty Prayer – When the Pharisee begins to prayer, he is quick to tell the Lord how things really are. · He brags about his righteousness, by comparing himself to other men. He even sees the Publican praying nearby and talks about how much better he than that man. The Pharisee did not really go to pray; he went to inform God how good he was. · He brags about his religious works. · He brags about his giving. · He tells the Lord how great he is and how well he is doing. As he compares himself to others, he feels that he has arrived in the eyes of the Lord. · It was common for the Pharisees to stand when they prayed. They would spread their arms, lift their voices as loud as they could and they would launch into long, complicated, self-serving prayer. · He feels like he is talking to the Lord, in truth, he is only talking to himself, v. 11. His prayer got no higher than the roof of his mouth. · God help us to never be like this man!

B. Humble Prayer – The publican does not offer any swelling words of self-glorification. · He knows that he has nothing at all to offer the Lord. · He knows He is a wicked sinner. · When he prays, there is no pride, no pretense, no hint of self-righteousness and there are no attempts to justify himself or his lifestyle in the eyes of the Lord. · He just tells the truth, humbles himself before God, and asks for mercy. · He won’t even lift his eyes toward heaven. · He beats himself on the chest, knowing that his real problems are problems of the heart. The Pharisee, on the other hand is unaware that anything is wrong in his heart. · His prayer is short, simple and to the point. · We could learn a lot from this man and his style of prayer! ·

III. TWO KINDS OF REWARD.

(Ill. Both these men went to the house of prayer. Both of these men stood in the place where God promised He would hear His people when they prayed, 2 Chron. 714-15—- 14 If my people, —which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

Both of these men prayed, but the outcome was different for both these men. One man got everything; one man got nothing! What happened to them has much to teach us.)

A. One Man Was Received By God – The Lord heard that wicked, sinful, hated Publican. God heard his simple prayer and God received him. His sins were forgiven and he went to his house justified in the eyes of the Lord.

B. One Man Was Refused By God – The Pharisee, on the other hand, was ignored by the Lord. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, he was just praying to himself, v. 11. He went home feeling good about himself. He went home sure that he was right with the Lord, when he was actually lost in his sins.