Matthew 6: 5-16. Don’t be a hypocrite part 2.

You don’t impress God, by your outward actions. Because God sees the heart and its motivations. Jesus continues his teaching, on prayer, and fasting. What it should not look like, and invitation to come to the father in the right way. (In vitiation to true life). Jesus our might ask who is your audience? Others. Or God?Matthew 6: 5-16. Don’t be a hypocrite part 2. You don’t impress God, by your outward actions. Because God sees the heart and its motivations. Jesus continues his teaching, on prayer, and fasting. What it should not look like, and invitation to come to the father in the right way. (In vitiation to true life). Jesus our might ask who is your audience? Others. Or God?

Verse 5. Don’t be a hypocrite… PPT x1 explaining what a hypocrite is. (Marius talked about it last time)

The problem with being a hypocrite: It is a quest for something other that God, to get praise from people instead of giving praise to God. To be seen, as righteous by people.

The hypocrite sometimes gets what he wants, the problem is: is nothing compared with what a real life with God is… (Do you find yourself there, the battel og wanting praise form people for what we do? Problems, it will people that save and dam you, in your eyes, if you don’t get praise you get mad or sad that your overlooked, if you do get praise you might get proud and arrogant, and thinking it is because of what you do that you are great.). The problem with the hypocrite is that living for our own praise leads to hell, it is a sign that they and we have misunderstood the gospel.

Verse 6. Jesus wants more for his followers instead he said: go in to your room at pray to your father, and the promise is that the father will see us as we pray. Not people but the God of the universe will see us, and we will be rewarded with his presents.

A note here this does not mean we can’t pray together in bible study or Church, or even in public with a friend, if we are seeking the father in prayer, and not our own praise, we can pray to God anywhere. And as one commentary pointed out the prayer said our and we… so the prayer is one we can pray together.

Verse 7. Jesus reminds us and his followers, that it is not the number of words or special fancy prayer words, voice, that makes God hear us. Don’t imitate how other people pray, be honest, reverent, bold as Hebrews say, seeking the father in prayer, it is not the words or way we say them, because God already knows our need. (At that time, it was special words and phrases, that might not even have meaning, incantations).

Verse 8. Then why pray at all if God knows all thing? But what happens to us as we bring our adoration, confessions, thanksgivings, supplications to God? We are reminded how great and awesome holy and much more God is. In Confessionhow much we need Jesus and how much God loved us in sending Jesus. Reminded of all we have to be thankful for every day. We bring our requests and people before God that has power over all things, and we rejoice and praise God when we see him move. I think most of you have experienced this.Prayer is not ultimate about getting God to do things, but to get to know God more.

A short note on prayer: Chronic bad continues of lack of prayer? – Start small, 2 min, 1 praying 1 listening, go from there… 11 x11x11 whatever helps you. Get communicating with God. You will be blessed with understanding and knowing God more, as you seek him in prayer, by the Holy Spirt, via Jesus’ work, - Knowing God more.

Verse 9. Jesus gives us a model prayer; (Not an incantation or the only prayer we should pray, what if you friend only said the same things over and over again… be honest… Ever prayed this prayer without listening or meaning any of the words but just because everyone did it? I think that is what Jesus is trying to avoid). Some of you know the model prayer Jesus teaches, (Adoration) first we uplift speak to God about who God is, he is our father in heaven, holy and worthy of praise. (Like we said before God knows, we remind our self of who God is). PPT Holy. Marias song.

Verse 10. For Gods kingdom to come that Gods will be done… here on earth as it is in heaven. (Reminding us about the plan of God). What is to come. (we might get so focused on our own life and problems or blessings we forget what God is doing). God kingdom to come fully and shalom restored.

Verse 11: For our daily provision, (We trust God for our physical needs – 1 day at a time.)

Verse 12: For forgiveness (from our failures, and sin, we are reminded of our need for Jesus, and the grace of God). The prayer even say it: forgive us as we also have forgiven our debtors. (More on forgiveness in verse 14-15).

Verse 13 For delivered from temptation and evil. (For God to help us in the everyday to lead us away from temptation (we can be tempted by many things). And deliver us evil, much evil can come our way we ask God to help us stay close to him and that evil will pas us by. (PPT 1. Cor 10.13-14)

Verses 14-15 Jesus explains the important of forgiveness. This is one of Jesus’s hard sayings, it seems to say that we save our self by forgiving others, but like much of what Jesus have said, lets think over it again. Jesus says if the almighty God has forgiven you from your failures/sin, then how can you withhold forgives? God has never done anything wrong, all Holy, but he forgave you, then if we understand that correctly, and in Jesus the good news. if we understand that, we will forgive, because we have been forgiven so much eternal punishment and septation from God. We have talked a lot about forgiveness, and why it is very important, forgiving is not saying what was done was okay, but it is saying I give up my right to judge, and had that over to God, the perfect judge. Then we are free, and not imprisoned by our unforgiveness. And we can rejoice in God that in Jesus we can be forgiven of eternal debt to God. (It is a disturbing sound in my ears when people say I will never forgive, because then they show that Jesus work is not enough, and that another curt I what they trust in…). It is easy, no, - when we don’t what to forgive we can and should think back on this verse, and recall how we were forgiven. When we extend forgives we are acting like Jesus, and that it is true life in Christ freedom and abundant life. (not prisoners of unforgiveness).

Verse16 PPT on fasting Jesus then explains like he just did with prayer, that fasting is about our relationship with God and to about impressing other people. Fasting is giving something up, to seek God. It is not for man, it is for God, so don’t make a show of it… (It is kind of ironic, when people fast from social media, they might post when the do it… He he… God knows what our motives are, and weather we do it for the praise of man or for God. We might just be fooling ourself. God knows and will reward us… with Himself. The contrast to be seen by people or our father who sees what we do in secret. Ever feel like your not seen? Know that God sees you all the time, yes there is much mystery here but what a great comfort. If your accused of wrong doing God knows what you were doing.

Why do you pray? Because you have to? What prayers do you pray? Only supplication asking for things? Or Adoration, confessing your sin, thanksgiving prayers, - Is prayer easy or hard? Why?

Jesus talked about the motive for prayer, and what kind of heart we should come with in prayer. It is not a time where we impress God or others.

Why do you fast if you do? To lose some waite? To feel the flow, or things that happen with the body to detox etc. Or to feast on God?

We can tank Jesus for his teaching, that expose us when we have mixed or selfish movies, then Jesus calls us back to seeking God instead of our self.

Do you love to be seen by others? Praised by others? – That they see you as righteous? (That is not the good news, the good news is that God can see us as righteous because of Jesus, -instead of pretending, it can be real in Christ).

To live in real relationship, not a pretend one… with God and others.

The father sees, the father knows, the father forgives, the father rewards. What difference does that make for you? In your everyday life?