Your Father is Listening

YOUR FATHER IS LISTENING – Matthew 6:5-18

Isn’t being in control great?! Just walk into Best Buy and there is a remote control for everything: Smart TVs, DVD or Blue Ray Players, cable boxes, stereos, satellite dishes, gaming systems, model airplanes, personal drones, ... even lawn mowers! Tired of having to move your body across the grass? No problemo! With a remote control, you can operate your lawn mower from 100 feet away!

Do you want to control over your water system, a pump, your front door, a light or an alarm from a distance? There is an app on your phone that can control all of that! Remote control even allows us to dial into our PC or Mac and act as if we were working at the terminal.

We love it. But this craziness for being in control of our entire environment raises a troubling issue: do we realize that we aren’t really in control?

Do we realize that there is someone greater than us that is running the show?

We have grown too accustomed to the idea of being in control and if we are not careful we can approach God as if we are in control. We might think that if we say the right words, the right amount of times, at the right frequency, then we can get control of God. We think that if we come to God with a wish list of who to heal and how we need blessed then God will grant our every whim.

I stand here today to proclaim to our control generation: If God answers every prayer just they way we pray it, He is no longer God. If we think we can just dial in, say what we want, and expect results, then we have lost the meaning of prayer.

Today, we are going to look at where Jesus warns us against praying to be in control. Last week we asked you:“Are you motivated by the approval of men or the applause of God?” In Matthew 6:1 (NIV) Jesus says, “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.” With this in mind, Jesus tackles prayer.

READ Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus begins by telling us:

PRAY TO BE HEARD BY ONE, NOT SEEN BY MANY!

Right off the bat, Jesus tells us to not show off when we pray. He says again, don’t be a hypocrite. A hypocrite is simply an actor. He is a person who can change characters and longs for the audience’s reaction. When Jesus tells us to not be like the hypocrites, He is saying, “Don’t put on show. Don’t pretend to be someone in public that you are not in private.”

Jesus isn’t saying that public prayer is wrong. Otherwise, we should ban all prayer in our Sunday morning services. He is saying that praying to be noticed by others is sinful.

It is easy to turn our spiritual life into a performance, but Jesus wants you to be real when you come to church. He wants the words that come out of your mouth to be directed towards God and no one else.

When we come to church, our words can become a script with no heart behind them.When we come to church, our clothes can become our costumes that are worn to make others know you are the man!When we come to church, our worship can become entertainment. If we don’t feel good coming out of church, then we think God did not show up. Jesus is saying that church, prayer, and fasting is not a show.

Jesus wants us to put an end to these performances.

So how do you make sure that your public prayers are heard by God and are not to be seen by an audience?

This is what I have been challenged with this week. Because Jesus gives us the answer in verse 6. He tells us that our public prayers need to be balanced by our prayers in a private place. We each need to have a prayer closet, a personal place of prayer.

For every minute you spend in public prayer, you need to be sure to spend more time in your prayer closet. Your closet will be the place where you can learn to really focus on God and to pray what God wants you to pray. You see, if you have been spending all week seeking God, then you can be ready to come to public prayer meetings with a heart full of God.

Jesus wants us to pray to be heard by God, not seen by an audience.

PRAY WITH YOUR MINDS, NOT MERELY YOUR MOUTHS! READ Matthew 6:7-8

Jesus again goes right to our heart when he says to not babble like the pagans. The pagans of Jesus’ time repeated themselves over and over to get their gods’ attention. They thought that the more noise they made, the more their god would answer their prayers. Today in the new age movement, we hear people say, “ohm!” in order to get the universe’s attention,

As Christians, we can do this too. When we slip into repetition instead of really praying, we are just babbling. When it does not come from your heart, then we are just like those who do not know God. Think about the next time you sing a familiar song - churches used to sing the Doxology – are you really praying these words as you sing, or are you babbling? We can do the same with a prayer too.

All of us have one routine prayer in our system; and once we get rid of it, then we can really start to pray!

I have to be careful when I pray from Psalm 119.

Jesus wants you to know that your Heavenly Father already knows your needs. He knows your desires. He knows your heart. Jesus, however, wants each of us to ask ourselves, “Do you know God’s heart?”

If you knew God’s heart, you would understand that YOU are at the center of His thoughts. That is why Jesus says that your Heavenly Father knows what you need even before you ask! Jesus does not want you to babble, because you already have God’s attention!

Imagine with me for a minute: How much does God have to take care of? He holds the cosmos in His hands and has to keep the planets in orbit. Yet, God cares intimately about your problems, needs, desires, and wants! We don’t have to repeat ourselves over and over again to get God’s attention.

God cares about your heart when you pray, and Jesus wants you to be real, to not put on a show, nor babble.

After telling us what we should not do in prayer and fasting, Jesus turns to the positive side of the coin and gives us a model of what we should do.

Jesus gives us an example to follow, a model to build our prayer and fasting after. He tell us how to pray. I really believe that Jesus was laying the ground work for the every day man, the average joe, to be able to pray. He was not giving a command, but was inviting everyone to share in the relationship He had with God the Father.

This is why that when we pray, we should:

REFLECT THE RELATIONSHIP, RATHER THAN JUST RECITATION

If you are a believer today, you should have this memorized.

Can you believe they used to say this at our schools? Right after the bell rang, THE VOICE came over the intercom. THE VOICE belongs to the school principal, who was known only by name and never by sight (except by the unfortunate rule-breakers). It is THE VOICE that begins the daily routine. First, you stood for the Pledge of Allegiance; hand over heart, facing the classroom flag. No sooner has "with liberty and justice for all" ceased its echo than you each bowed your head and recited in unison the Lord's Prayer. No one asks to leave the room; no one dares raise any objection; no one thinks twice about the appropriateness of this exercise.

In that earlier era, the Lord's Prayer, was for many just a recitation -- a memorized script mumbled forth on cue. No thought as to its meaning, no reflection on its implication for your life, just words to say. It may have become exactly what Jesus warned us against.

I grew up in a time that was completely different. We didn't have prayer in school, and there were plenty of other religions in my class. We wouldn’t dare say Jesus’ prayer. This would offend the Jews, Muslims, and atheists in my class. There wasn't even a moment of silence, let alone the Lord's Prayer.

When I discovered the Lord’s Prayer, it was fresh. That doesn't mean, however, that the Lord's Prayer didn't become just a recitation:

In worship, we stand up together and then just say the words of the prayer without really thinking about it.In Seminary, we study it to death. It becomes a text book, rather than a source of life.

Think about it: what prayer has been said more than what is found here?

And yet, Jesus meant for this prayer to help our relationship with God. It begins with “Our Father” and ends with “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.” It put our focus squarely on God. It is the one place in Scripture where Jesus was serious about people not quoting this mechanically in vain repetition. This is not a prayer to repeat. This is not a prayer that you just say. You should use it as a model outline that will help you go deeper with God.

If you just say the prayer, then you are reflecting your religion. You are using it as a formula to receive grace.

If you really connect to God through this prayer, then you’re reflecting your relationship with God. This is what Jesus intended.

While the Lord’s prayer is quite familiar to Christians, Jesus addresses something that is quite the opposite…. FASTING. READ Matthew 6:16-18

Jesus tells us that when we pray and fast, we should:

SEEK THE APPROVAL OF ONE, RATHER THAN THE PITY OF MANY!

Most Christians seem to just ignore that Jesus assumed you would fast. In fact, there are over 74 separate references to fasting in the Bible. We view fasting, however, much like we view getting up to change the channel. “That is what they did back then and its annoying, but it is not for today.”

Though we don’t know much about it, Jesus assumed that even today, we would fast. Fasting was never about weight loss, nor about getting brownie points with God.

Fasting is the practice of abstaining from something we like in order to grow spiritually. We say to God, “I love you and need you more than this thing I am giving up.” It is a sacrifice to God and a tool that when coupled with prayer is powerful.

Fasting through the centuries was a common practice, until probably after 1900. Then it slowly declined into practice. In fact, what is the first meal of the day called? We call it “BREAK FAST”, because this was the meal that broke your fast from the previous day.

The Jewish people were required to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement. In Jesus' day, the average Jew was fasting two days a week. Some of them were using this as a way to show off. They’d make their faces look pale and they’d put ashes on their head. People would say, “You don’t look well.” They would get attention and people would feel sorry for them.

Jesus just shakes his head and says, they’ve received their reward - they have gotten the attention they wanted.

Jesus reminds us that true fasting revolves around intimacy with God.

You see, Fasting grows our relationship with God by doing three things:

1. It humbles us before God.

Fasting allows us to be empty ourselves before God. This emptiness means that we can be filled up with what God wants. We place ourselves beneath God with open hands to receive from Him. When we fast, we recognize that we need His filling, His power, His answers.

The prophet Ezra built his people and nation back up by beginning by fasting. Ezra 8:21 says, “I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God.” Ezra called for others to fast so that they would be humble before God. Jesus does the same today in His powerful sermon.

2. It helps us focus on God.

Doing with out food for a period of prayer helps us put away distractions and turn to Jesus. Fasting can call us back to not just read about Him, not just list to others speak about Him, but allow us to come directly to Jesus and know Him deeply.

One preacher shared that his friend had fasted and did not receive an answer to prayer. The preacher asked him, “Did you receive the guidance you were seeking when you fasted?” The friend answered, “Probably not, but I do know the Guide better now.” Fasting helps us focus on God.

3. It gives us power to serve more faithfully.

Great men and women of God down through the ages have come to God in prayer and fasting and GREAT things have happened! There is a release of power when fasting and prayer are combined. Whole countries have been caught the winds of revival through fasting and prayer.

When we humble ourselves and we focus on God, God gives us true power to be strong witnesses for Him.

This is why Jesus assumes that His followers will fast. Jesus is calling each of us here today to begin to fast.

I know that some might find it ironic that a chubby man is talking about fasting! You have to understand though that fasting is important, whether I look like I fast or not. Jesus wants each of us to use this tool to grow in God.

Everyone can fast to some extent. Even if you have medical reasons such as diabetes where you can not fast from food, you can fast from TV or anything else that gives you pleasure so that you can work on your relationship with God.

The point Jesus is making is that you should fast in order to seek God. You should keep your fast one-on-one. You should keep it between God and you. See God, rather than the pity of many.

Jesus tells us, that when you pray and fast:

PRAY TO BE HEARD BY ONE, NOT SEEN BY MANY!PRAY WITH YOUR MINDS, NOT MERELY YOUR MOUTHS!REFLECT THE RELATIONSHIP, RATHER THAN THE RELIGIONSEEK THE APPROVAL OF ONE, RATHER THAN THE PITY OF MANY!

Are we giving, praying, and fasting, so that others will be happy with us. OR are we giving and praying and fasting because God is awesome? Jesus wants you to do the right things not to impress other people, but to express your love to him.

The bottom line: Who is in control? Imagine that there is a remote control that has power over your life? Who holds it?

Jesus wants you lay down your remote into the hands of God, so that you will receive a deep relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Jesus is calling each of us to give up control. To give up our control and give it to God. This is a dangerous request – how many family arguments have been started when a wife simply has asked for the TV remote?

Jesus, however, reminds us that giving up the remote is what the Christian life is all about. We say to God, “I will go where you want. I will be who you want. I will live the way you want.” Are you willing to give up your remote on your life?

Romans 10:9