Sunday Service

I love that song, Sweet hour prayer and I just love the words to that song. I mean, it's funny cuz I thought about that song. It's like you're saying about your prayer and yet. in a way, it really defines everything that we want to do in our relationship with God. We want to trust him, trust his word, trust his grace. And as I've been trying to think about my own life and everything in my life. I know that I need to grow in prayer. I'm not very good at praying, you know, a lot of people tell me, you know, I'm a night. I don't pray. I don't think about praying and, and I'm the same way. And so I want to learn more about prayer and so this morning, I'm going to dive into Matthew chapter 6, where Jesus teaches us about prayer. Jesus is the owner. He's the, the master teacher. He's the creator of prayer, and if we're going to go to anyone about prayer to learn about prayer, we need to go to Jesus like the disciples did. And this isn't the parallel passage from Matthew, where the Lord's Prayer is in Luke Chapter 11. The disciples come to Jesus and they say Lord teach us to pray is John taught his disciples. Now the disciples in the Bible. Say a lot of dumb things. They do a lot of dumb things. Just like all of us, right? But that's not one of them. It's very wise to go to Jesus and say, Lord, teach us to pray. Why is to come to the owner and the master prayer to learn about it at its very simplest. Prayer is just talking to God. Sometimes we overthink things, but Jesus teaches us how to talk to God, how to approach to God. How to approach. God now we call it the Lord's Prayer, some call it, the disciples prayer, either way. It's the Lord's gift to you. And I'm going to be looking at different parts of the Lord's Prayer. It's been called seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer. How everyone, how everyone and divide it mainly because I want to grow in my own prayer and I figure, I can't go wrong. Learning from the master teacher, a prayer and sharing that with you as well. The Lord's Prayer is just right in the middle of this, teaching of Jesus, called The Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew, chapter, five, six and seven, right? And what's crazy about The Sermon on the Mount is that it's filled with a, just this impossible, moral standard, for human beings, and Jesus summarizes. This whole thing, nicely in Matthew 5:48. How about this verse you? Therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Have you ever sat and thought about this verse? Yeah, Jesus. What are you thinking there? Any who are you talkin to make? Jesus is calling from Leviticus here. You must be perfect in that. Greek word means thoroughly complete in mature and everything that you are how you know, it's at the find. You doesn't Define me. So thoroughly complete. Perfect and everything that you do and heart soul and mind. Jesus refers to the Ten Commandments throughout the Sermon on the Mount and specifically this idea of God's holiness. It's so different than in the righteousness that us human beings have. And what we think is righteousness. I've said it before, but Jesus is much more holy than we think he is. And we are much more simple than we think we are. And that's the heartbeat of The Sermon, on the Mount, he that the theme is that human beings. Had this messed up view of what righteousness is this distorted you? And Jesus says, here's the reality. Jesus says, you have heard it said over and over and over in the Matthew, in the in The Sermon, on the Mount there. You heard it said, but I tell you, you have misunderstood, you have refused to hear God, but Jesus reveals it in a way that. Yes, it's even harder to take. You've heard it said this but I tell you this and we're all thinking, there's no way that's not happening. Jesus is contrasting, God's holiness and his righteousness his Perfection, right? You must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. He's contrasting God's Perfection with ours and we don't have any compared to God, right? You must have complete mature Holiness righteousness. Just as God has, that Jesus gives the example. After example, in The Sermon, on the Mount, that we don't have God's righteousness. So the point is, we need a helper. We need some help to have this kind of righteousness. And of course, that's the story of the Bible. Jesus came to die on a cross to be our substitute righteousness for us so that we could have the righteousness of God. We need an advocate. We need someone to lead us, and guide us, and save us. We need a father in Write a father in Heaven who is all of these things and so much more. We need someone that we can pray to and ask for help. So in this context, Jesus teaches us to pray. And that's the disciple said, Lord, teach us to pray. That's a good thing. But before Jesus teaches how to pray in the Lord's Prayer itself. You first teaching is two ways. We should not pray this kind of leading up to the Lord's Prayer in Matthew. Chapter 6 verse about Jesus has don't pray like the Hypocrites, Jesus pics on the religious leaders, the Pharisees and scribes was those people who were who were very knowledgeable about the law of God, but their hearts were far from God's holiness. Now, he's picking on them as examples of who we all are. But these, these guys, they just had a special ability to kind of kind of a pier righteous, but not really be right. It's right, and Matthew's gospel. Jesus used the word Hippocrates. 13 x to describe the Pharisees in the teachers of the law. Now are English. Word, hypocrite comes directly from that Greek word, which was used of stage actors in a play. They would wear a mask in ancient Greek. Dramas. They wear masks to play a different part. A hypocrite, is a pretender, someone who is playing a part right now, maybe a modern word in. Hopefully, this makes sense to you. Maybe a modern word that represents what Jesus is saying, is a poser. So, you're just a poser. Now. I read this. That person on the internet who made this little definition of what a poser. Is someone who tries to fit into a profile that they aren't. That's a pretty good definition. So, in this context, these religious leaders are trying to fit into the profile of perfectly holy and righteous like God, but they don't fit into the profile, right? Remember when Jesus uses word hypocrite, he specifically referring to the religious practices of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. These guys were the elite of Jewish culture, know it's hard, but we don't really have any direct correspondence to that, but maybe the best, we could get would be religious leaders in our culture, meant the closest not perfect, but they were the leaders to teachers. They were the judges, what was right, they were revered and honored for their piety. This is very important to them. Right? Most people would have seen them as religious rock stars. But Jesus said that they were false and like this little person quipped on the internet is kind of like the guys who hang out with skateboarders, who can't skate even though they have skateboard. All right, there posers are posing as righteous and holy posing as holy men, but their hearts Are far from God? We read in the Bible that they didn't practice what they preach, but it's even worse than that. And I hope that you hear this is even worse than not practicing what they preach in reality, call them at Jesus called them Hypocrites. Because they replaced true, love and service for God with a false love and false service to God through. Jesus talks about three things in Matthew chapter 6. He talks about acts of righteousness. He talks about fasting, and he talks about prayer, and he puts them all together for the Hypocrites. Adjust mirror, Showmanship. This is Matthew 6 verse 1. These talking first of all about righteous actions that we're practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them for. Then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. That's when you give to the needy, sound no-trump it, before you as the Hypocrites, do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be praised by others. Truly. I say to you, they have received their reward, but when you get to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So they are giving maybe in secret and your father who sees a secret will reward you. So your acts of righteousness. It's not for you to trumpet, the front of other people. I'm going to skip ahead to verse 16, and Matthew 6. He's talking about fasting. Now, same idea, when you fast do not look, gloomy like the Hypocrites. I love this. For they disfigure, their faces that they are fasting. May be seen by others. Truly. I say to you, they have received their reward, but when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that you're fasting. May not be seen by others, but by your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. So two things their fasting and active rights. This and then we'll come back to verse 5 here, where Jesus talks about prayer. And when you pray, you must not be like the Hypocrites where they love the stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly. I say to you, they have received their reward, but when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father, who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you and I hopefully you heard over and over and over again. They're the emphasis that Jesus has the hypocrite or the Pharisee is all about the public appearance. Say, trumpet, their righteous Works. They have gloomy faces when they're fasting. Oh, look how much I'm suffering in. And they, they love the stand and pray in the synagogues and the street corners. It's all about putting on a show, right? That it's not about God. It's about doing this for other people as opposed to doing it for God. Do your acts of service before. God and others do your fasting before God not others. If your religious stuff is to show people how religious and Pious you are. Well, you're not doing it for. Right. No, I want you to notice that Jesus says that the father will give out rewards to those who give and fast and pray in secret. I love this. Well, my question is Jesus. What is that reward? I'm into rewards. How about you write? I want to know what the reward is. He says it three times. It says, I talk about Tax Service talk about fasting talks about prayer that your father will reward you. What's the reward? Well, Disgust inside out. He doesn't say it all in and maybe he doesn't say it because it's a secret. Ever thought about this. Maybe there are rewards and benefit and peace and helping Joy Like Larry talked about earlier. Maybe all of these things happened to us. They're God's gift to us when we pray, maybe prayer is a huge benefit to you and we don't even realize it. What's the reward? I don't know. Maybe it's the reward that God gives you. When you pray. I was thinking Revelation is just one of these fascinating versus Revelation, chapter two or three. I forget which one it is, but that the one who is righteous receives? A, a new name, a secret name known only to you. Like God gives secret rewards to you because he's a good father and he's a good Giver of gifts. It's just amazing to me. So when Jesus says secret here, I think that means hidden from Human view in this isn't Banning or preventing us or suggesting. We shouldn't pray in public in the Bible talks about praying in public and places and we should do that. This is talking about what we do and how we approach got right. Hidden from Human view is the opposite of for all to see the Hypocrites. They want to trumpet their Good Deed, that they may be praised for others. They look gloomy and they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. They stand and pray in the synagogues and street corners that they may be seen by others. Look at me, that person says look how Pious and holy I am look at my righteousness. You hear that look, look at look at me. Look at me. And what are we not saying? We're not saying look at God, right? We're saying look at me, not look at God's no focus on God. Now it might be easy to say. Wow. That's just kind of a first-century Jewish Pharisee thing, but this is very relevant to right now, right? This is everywhere. I mean, this is everywhere, people do this. And the reason why people do this just because they get a reward. Jesus says it, they get praise, they get attention. People are impressed. Jesus says, truly I say to you, they have received their reward. Have you ever done something religious and other religious? People kind of pay attention to that and you know, kind of get that pat on the back and you say, oh wow. Yeah, that kind of feels good. I like that. All of us are addicted to human approval Army. We are we want human approval. Larry never talked about, you know, in school, getting up in front of everybody and having to do a book report right on man. You know, what is it really going to think about me? I'm going to die.

We want people's approval and so here's be worn. I've done. This is been a part of my life. When religious people say. Wow. Look at what the holy righteous do that guy is Tell you what, that really struck Sego definite and we like that. And then what Jesus is saying here is, yeah, you're going to get paid. You're going to get a reward, you're going to get from a human perspective. I really really sweet ajak. The praise and adulation of other people. But I want you to think about that in comparison to the reward from the father. That Jesus doesn't defined here. What is reward? I don't know. Okay, we have on one hand. We have praise from people, and on the other hand. We had this reward that we don't know what it is. We can't even imagine what it is one from people want from God which one you going to take?

You know, the difference between the two is really the wealth of the of the of the bestower, right? Who do you want the the reward from? Do you want from the reward from the person and can't rub two nickels together? You want the reward for the person that was everything, create everything. I mean, the difference is the wealth of the store. We think that's the reward we have right now that we can see and taste and touch and feel, we think that's better. Because we don't know and love and trust God. And that's our problem. We want the Lesser things of life, and we think they are greater. CS Lewis. Put it this way. He said we are half-hearted creatures. Fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infant Joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child, he wants to go on. Making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

About you ice me. I'm far too easily pleased. I would love to have adulation of men and completely forget about the praise and the joy. The reward that comes from God, friends. We are really, really, really messed up. If we think that a temporary reward is greater. Then God's gifts. If human rewards are more viable than Gods rewards. The simple matter is we don't know, God. We don't trust him. You don't love him. Now, this praying and secret again at it says earlier. It doesn't ban public prayers, but it calls us to what prayer is all about, which is trusting. God is trusting, you got it is and not trusting in myself. I talked before about the definition of faith. I think it's very relevant here. Faith is not a just a feeling or wishful thinking, but faith is directional. Trust. I point my trust at Jesus, who is proven himself and he's claimed to be God. He has proven itself to be faithful. He's proved himself to be to be my savior, my deliveries proven some, some anyways, so I point my trust that Jesus Will prayer is expressing trust in God, through conversation through words. That's that's really what it is. If directing your trust. Through prayer through words. And, and the point is that those words are forgot. They're not for someone else right there. Not to just get everybody impressed about what kind of person you are. As I work through the Lord's Prayer here, I I'm going to teach that Jesus prayer is really fundamentally about how you approach God. And it's about who got is, it's not really about my needs. A tall is about who God is, you submit yourself to the father. Who is your Holy One. He is your king and your Sovereign, the one who knows everything, right, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. He is your provider. He's your savior. He's your leader. He's your deliver. All of these names. Our God's identity. That's who got, is an all these names. Tell me, God Is So Much Greater, and I need him that song we sang earlier, I love that song. I need you, Lord, I need you every hour. You're my one defense. You're my righteousness? Lord. I need you. I need all of these things that you are in my life. And so this is a relationship prayer. You're my father, and you're all these things to me. That's what we can talk about. As we talked through the Lord's Prayer. I trust him to be those things for me. Jesus says, don't pray like the Hypocrites. These Pious Pharisees. He's posers because they're trying to be God to other people there, trying to be this, these name, these things, the other people, but they're not, it's not going to work. Jesus, also tells us another way not to pray. In Matthew chapter 6. We are also not the prey like the Gentiles. It says, in in like the Gentiles and that basically means Idol worshippers in that context, the word Gentiles basically means everybody except for the Jewish people in that for Century contacts, right? Gentiles were Idol worshippers. Oh, Jesus says and when you pray do not Heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do for they think they'll be heard for their many words. And that phrase, keep up, empty phrases. It's probably best translated. Like the NIV does, I was reading the ESV there and it and I thought that way the NIV does it. When you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans and that's the Greek word. It just means to say nonsense words, to say the name of the god over and over and over again. Just trying to get their attention. It was an it was a thing in the ancient world that you would just Babylon and bother the idle as much as you could until it would kind of say, okay. I'm annoyed with you, here is what you want. That was the idea. Right? And you might remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in First 1st, Kings chapter 18 member, the story. Elijah challenge, the prophets of Baal this big Showdown. Put a bowl on the Altar and the god Answers by fire is the god of Israel. And, of course, Elijah prayed that God would answer still the Israel would know that he is God and of course he did. Now the prophets of Baal. They however did a lot of work and a lot of effort to no avail. As 1st Kings 18 26, they took the bull that was given them and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, oh bail and thrusts. But there was no voice and no one answered and they limped around altar that they had made. And they kept Trucking on all through the rest of the afternoon, keep calling out to Vail and I love that. I just love that story where Elijah is taunting them. He says, Hey, where's your god? What you doing? Young vacations. Did he go to the bathroom? He literally says that. So, he's taunting them and, and they are getting very, very, very worked up. It says that they're cutting themselves. They're drawing blood. And they go all day, all day, calling out to bail, trying to get bail to answer. Will, why was there no answer? It's pretty simple. And Jesus really said it this way. He said it, they think they will be heard for their many words. They think they will be heard, the more fervor that I get, the more emotional stuff, the more blood spread. The more words said, The more than I give to my God, the more that I perform, the more effort that I put into it. Then the idle answer. Jesus says, they think they will be heard for their for their many words, but it just doesn't work because there's no one to listen. No one here. It's it's a false. God. It's interesting that Jesus talks about don't pray like the Hypocrites. Don't pray. Like the Gentiles are really two sides of the same coin. They're not praying. They're both not praying to the true. Got there, praying to a false god. They're praying to an idol of some kind. Jesus teaches that prayer is about, who got is God's identity and how guy's identity interacts with your life. I thought it was interesting earlier during our prayer request. Someone said, who is that? I was talking about when the prayer requests. And how is that? How was that question answered? It was answered in relationship to who's somebody knows, right? Who was that person? When I was a long track. I couldn't follow it. There was nothing. That was a different person in the connected to that person, and their grandma, and their dog and cousin and whatever I got lost. But, you know, it is like you asked a question. Who is someone you answer it in terms of relationship, right? So who is god? Well, God Is Our Father who is our, Holy One or King? A sovereign are our provider, Our Savior, our leader and deliver. We've been talking the last few weeks from John chapter 6. About Jesus identity from from John chapter, 6. Jesus feeds, the 5000 ride and and then the people are kind of questioning all this. They want more signs. They don't trust. Jesus identity. Is key relationship. Is that he and the father are one. They they don't they don't buy that they don't want Jesus to be the Holy One, the king of Father, the provider, the Savior, the leader the deliver, they don't want that because they didn't trust that. Jesus was one with his father. So, we make this prayer. We pray Our Father in heaven. We're weird asking. God. We are calling to God in the sense of relationship to him and who he is not about. It's not about me at all in. And this is the point of what Jesus is saying, you know, in the ancient world, everyone was religious and lot of times people say, well, there's people that aren't religious at all. I don't buy that at all. I think everyone is religious in some way. I think that religion has changed a lot for sure. Cuz oh my goodness. There's a lots, a really complex than and crazy sophisticated Idols in our world now, right? I don't think the world people's Natures any different than it was insane. Troll people are religious and they're always looking for something to put their trust in, that's Transcendence. That's beyond themselves, whether they say it's gone or not. Sometimes I say, it's the universe. Sometimes they say it's the Stars. Sometimes I say it's sex, drugs and rock and roll or whatever it is. There's always Idols to worship. Jesus says, don't be like the people who are Pious and in church, he and in trying to fit into their holy profile with God. Because that's not who we are, human beings. We're desperately lost. We need a out of father who is a Holy One, a king, a star, and a provider of Save Your Leader. We need to deliver.

Jesus says, that we shouldn't be like, either one of these guys. And he tells us why this is why we shouldn't be like in either. One of this is verse 8 now. Jesus says, do not be like them for your father, knows what you need before you ask him. Have you ever just soaked in that verse?

Do not be like them. Here is the reason why you shouldn't be like them because your father knows what you need before you asked. And I've read this verse before I thought. Oh, okay. That's why I don't need to pray because my father knows what I need before I ask him. I don't need to pray. I thought that before I know that's really dumb, but I have thought that as I study the Bible more and as I studied the Lord's Prayer, I am stunned to realize that Jesus says, this is the very reason we should pray about. This is the jumping off point to the Lord's Prayer, right? The very next verse is this is how you should pray. So, the reason why we should we should pray and the reason why we shouldn't pray like these other guys is because your father knows what you need before you ask him.

I don't need to tell God anything. I don't need to inform him inform him of anything. He doesn't need anything from me. Nothing. There's not a single thing that I can add to God's life. Not one thing. I don't need to tell him if somebody is sick. He he already knows hospital room. They're in he knows everything that there is to know. That's one of the most foundational things about God. He is all-knowing. He is Sovereign, he rules over all things. He is. All-knowing. Omniscient. He's, he's, he's, he's, I can't even describe that because we can't even explain it, right. No, the idolater doesn't really want that. They don't really want that kind of knowledge. The poser doesn't really want that. They really just want the praise of people. They don't want God, they want God stuff. They want got stuff. They don't want a Holy One. A king. An omniscient, one knows, everything solving a provider. He doesn't want to save your leader and deliver. And if you know that you're needy. And I pray right here today. I pray that you know that you're needy. I pray that, you know, that you need everything that God is that you need a. Holy one, that came a sovereign, a provider, the Savior, a leader that deliver. And if you know, you need that. Here's my thought. Why would I pray to someone or something that couldn't bring me that? Right? Why would I pray to someone who didn't already know what I really need it. Don't follow the example, the Pharisees and Idol, worshippers. They're not getting anywhere with their prayers because no one is listening. Maybe a crowd of people think they're cool. They think they will be her because of religious piety or babbling words, but your father The one who loves you and cares for you. The one who sent his son to die on the cross for you. The one who saved you, when you were enemies, God, he knows what you need before, you ask him.

Prayer isn't to instruct God about anything about our needs or to tell him anything prayer. Is using words to direct your trust. Trusting God using words. He already knows and he knows it better than you do. After that. I am very thankful and it gives me even more reason for a because he does know. And since God is all that he claims to be since Jesus is all he claims to be since he is all-knowing and all-powerful and all-loving. He can be trusted.

That amazing. You can pray the Lord's Prayer and you can trust that he is what the prayer claims in to be. Now this morning before we receive the Lord's Supper. I want us to say the Lord's Prayer and I do this a Sunday here while we are focusing on the Lord's Prayer and this is something that we It's the model prayer. You don't have to use these words, but these words are beautiful. Okay, and let's pray the Lord's Prayer together. Before we received the Lord's Supper. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil for dies the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

and so, with the Lord's Prayer, Trusting that God is our Holy One. Our King. Our sovereign. Our provider. Our savior. Our leader. Our deliverer. Let's receive from him is good gifts.

For I received from the Lord, what? I also deliver to you that the Lord Jesus on the night, when he's betrayed took bread. And we need to given, thanks. He broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance to me.

In the same way. Also, he took the cup after supper saying. This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this. As often as you drink it in remembrance of me?

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim, the Lord's death until he comes.