1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,880 It's wonderful to be here with all of you today. 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,160 We have a wonderful crowd for which we're thankful. 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,320 And as has been mentioned, we have some visitors. 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,880 We have those from other congregations and perhaps those 5 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,720 from the community, and we appreciate your presence. 6 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,880 We're grateful that you're here and we say welcome as always as 7 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:20,680 the case. I do consider it an honor to 8 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,320 speak concerning the word of God, and we're continuing our 9 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,600 series on the Great Sermon on the Mount. 10 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,320 The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest masterpiece of our 11 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:30,800 Lord. It was the first sermon ever 12 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,640 preached. It's found in Matthew Chapter 5, 13 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,000 Matthew Chapter 6, and Matthew Chapter 7. 14 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:38,760 We've now made it through chapter five. 15 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,560 We began chapter six last time, when Jesus dealt with the 16 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:46,440 concept of doing good to please God. 17 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,920 And one of the great things that we learned from the master in 18 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,480 our last sermon and that being Jesus is we learned that the 19 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:55,800 motive behind the ACT really matters. 20 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,560 But so it does with prayer too. Today for a little while, as you 21 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,480 can see the title of our lesson from our hearts to God's throne, 22 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,000 Jesus going to teach us about the principles of proper prayer. 23 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,800 What a great blessing that it is, Prayer for the child of God. 24 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,280 Our text is found in Matthew chapter 6, beginning there in 25 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,280 verse 5. Jesus says, And when you pray, 26 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,480 you shall not be like the hypocrites, For they love to 27 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,160 pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the 28 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,920 streets, that they may be seen by men. 29 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,120 Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 30 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,720 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have 31 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,320 shut your door, pray to the Father who is in secret place, 32 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,120 and your Father who sees in secret, will reward you openly. 33 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,240 Verse 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the 34 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,600 heathen do, for they think that they will be heard for their 35 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,440 many words. Therefore do not be like them, 36 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,080 For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask 37 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,200 him in this manner. Therefore pray our Father in 38 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,479 heaven, hallowed be your name. Prayer is the divine 39 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:15,640 communication that emanates from the heart of the believer and 40 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:20,560 ascends to the throne of God. I realize the Bible tells us to 41 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,000 pray. We're actually commanded to 42 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:24,160 pray. It is a duty and a 43 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,800 responsibility to pray. But it's so much more than that. 44 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,920 I hope that we are people that are instant in prayer. 45 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,200 I hope that prayer is part of our daily life. 46 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,040 And I don't mean just every once in a while. 47 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,560 I mean I hope and pray. That prayer is that for us. 48 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:45,240 That prayer is something that we're ready to do and ready to 49 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,840 go to God in prayer. In fact, if you look at verse 5, 50 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:55,680 Jesus says when you pray, now remember he's going to compare 51 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,000 the prayer of hypocrites and we'll talk about what that 52 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,520 actually means, the prayer of hypocrisy and what not to do 53 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:03,840 when you pray. And then he's going to talk 54 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,320 about what to do when you pray and who's he talking about? 55 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,080 Jesus still living under the law of Moses? 56 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,640 He has a Jewish audience on the Great Sermon on the Mount, but 57 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,880 he's talking about principles that will exist in the Kingdom 58 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,680 or when the church would come. He's going to talk about things 59 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,760 that apply in the Christian age, and the first thing he says is 60 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:28,520 about prayer. When you pray, in other words, 61 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,160 Christians are going to pray. That's the assumption. 62 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,200 And not only that, Christians are going to pray often. 63 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:37,000 It's going to be part of our life. 64 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,120 Then he said this. When you do that, don't be like 65 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:47,200 the hypocrites. I know that it's easy to define 66 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:53,240 hypocrisy with actions, in other words, in manner of life. 67 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,200 And we know what a hypocrite is. It's a play actor pretending to 68 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:57,600 be something he never intended to be. 69 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,280 We know that. And last time Jesus dealt with 70 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,880 hypocrisy. When you talking about works and 71 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,680 deeds, if you do it for the wrong reasons, it's 72 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,200 hypocritical, right? But if you ever stop to consider 73 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,880 that it's entirely possible for us to pray in a hypocritical 74 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,519 manner, Jesus said there is a way to pray in a hypocritical 75 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:21,560 manner. He says don't do that. 76 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,960 Let me talk about prayer in the Jewish culture for just a 77 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,200 moment. Prayer in the Jewish culture was 78 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,160 very important. It was really part of their 79 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,360 life. In fact, they would stop all 80 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,840 activity, whatever they were doing, three times a day, nine 81 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,440 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Now, I got to tell you, it's a 82 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,080 good thing to block out time in your day. 83 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,040 I don't mean ritualistically at a specific time every day. 84 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,440 I'm just saying it is a good thing to block out time and stop 85 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,840 all activity. Go to your private place and go 86 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,160 to God and word of prayer. It's a great thing to do, right? 87 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,080 And it was a great thing to do back then when they would do it 88 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,000 in intervals. Here was the problem during the 89 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,840 personal ministry of Jesus that lasted about three years. 90 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:07,880 It got worse and worse and worse. 91 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:10,920 What the problem is they took something that was holy, 92 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,320 something that was special, something that was wonderful and 93 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,960 private, and they turned it into a public spectacle. 94 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,600 Jesus says don't be like that, don't turn it into a public 95 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,920 spectacle. Religious leaders were making 96 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:30,240 long public prayers and they were doing it for the wrong 97 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:31,880 reason. They were doing it for show. 98 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:34,640 They were doing it to be seen by men. 99 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,600 And it's the same thing, by the way, to do things, to be seen by 100 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,320 men. Whether you're praying or 101 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,560 whether you're doing works or deeds, it's the same thing. 102 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,160 Don't do it that way. Jesus says in a minute he's 103 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,600 going to say it about prayer. He said it last time about works 104 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,160 and deeds. They have their reward, meaning 105 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:51,440 they're getting nothing from God. 106 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,920 Whatever praise for men that they get, this is what Jesus 107 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,200 said that they were doing. They calls them hypocrites in 108 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,680 their prayer. This is what they did, for they 109 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,040 love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of 110 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,440 the streets that they may be seen by men. 111 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,560 Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 112 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,360 OK, first of all, I want to talk about prayer posture for just a 113 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,080 moment. The usual prayer posture or the 114 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,320 usual posture of a Jewish prayer was standing. 115 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,960 That was the usual one, in fact. That's why Jesus says they enjoy 116 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,320 standing in the synagogues and standing on the corners of the 117 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,280 street when they pray. But if you look in the Old 118 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:29,280 Testament, there were other things that they did. 119 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,000 For example, we have examples of when they knelt down to pray. 120 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,520 We have other examples when they laid prostate on the ground like 121 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,480 this face down in humility when they prayed. 122 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,080 We're also going to find that there were other times when they 123 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,360 lifted up their hands in prayer, Literally. 124 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:55,560 In the Old Testament, we have, by way of customs, traditions. 125 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:57,840 We have different ways that we pray too. 126 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,920 Sometimes we kneel down, sometimes we stand up, sometimes 127 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,800 we sit down. When I'm driving down the road 128 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,760 and I'm praying to God, I'm praying to God, sitting down in 129 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,280 my truck, driving When I pillow my head at night, I don't kneel 130 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,640 down by the side of my bed. I could if I wanted to and I'd 131 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:17,600 be fine. I don't do that. 132 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,560 I lay down and I pray to God before I go to sleep. 133 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,080 What's the point? The point is the prayer. 134 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:28,280 Posture doesn't matter. There is no specific prayer 135 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,240 posture that God accepts, and there is no specific prayer 136 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,320 posture that God rejects. And we need to be very careful 137 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,760 that we don't bind with the Lord is not bound and we don't want 138 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,960 to bind our practice on someone else when the Lord has not bound 139 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,960 that practice or reject the practice that the Lord has not 140 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:53,080 rejected. OK, the average prayer or the 141 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,640 most Jewish prayers was done standing. 142 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:57,920 Here's another custom that we have, by the way, closing our 143 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,480 eyes. Closing our eyes. 144 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:07,880 I I asked myself, why do I close my eyes when I pray? 145 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,600 I don't. If there's a passage in the 146 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,280 Bible about closing your eyes, I don't know where it is. 147 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,920 But I asked myself, why do I close my eyes? 148 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,600 The only thing I can think of is focus and concentration. 149 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,080 That's the only thing that I can think of. 150 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,880 So is it OK to close your eyes? Absolutely, if that helps you 151 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,960 focus and concentrate. Do you have to close your eyes 152 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:32,559 to focus and concentrate and pray? 153 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,400 A scriptural prayer? No, years ago, and maybe I've 154 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:37,880 mentioned this to you over the years. 155 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:39,640 From time to time. I don't know if I have or not, 156 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,799 but I was a little boy and I remember after services I got in 157 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:45,200 the car and I said, Dad guess what Brother so and so had his 158 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:46,520 eyes wide open during the prayer. 159 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,480 He said, how did you know his eyes were open? 160 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:55,720 Man? I walked right into that one. 161 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,920 Busted. And then he said something else 162 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:01,720 I will never forget. I was a little boy. 163 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:08,200 He said, Son, prayer is not from the eyes, it's from the heart. 164 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,680 It just doesn't matter. Prayer posture doesn't matter. 165 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:15,480 And by the way, I'm setting the stage. 166 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,360 I'm making these points because I'm going to make a point later. 167 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,000 The 1st place that they would pray though standing is in the 168 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,240 synagogues publicly at the place of worship at the House of 169 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,680 worship. And instead of praying for the 170 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,680 glory of God and the edification of others, they were doing it 171 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:36,080 for their own praise. They were praise seekers to 172 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,680 receive the patch on the back. And I got to ask you a question 173 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,000 because I've heard this all my life. 174 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,760 Is there a prayer that doesn't get higher than the ceiling? 175 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,120 Why do I ask it like that? Because I've heard that phrase 176 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,320 my whole life. Oh, that his prayer didn't get 177 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,560 any higher than the ceiling. Is there a prayer that does not 178 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,480 ascend to God? Well, this is what some people 179 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,160 would say. Well, in John Chapter 9, the 180 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,240 Bible says that God does not hear the prayer of a Sinner. 181 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,440 That's true. The context of the passage is 182 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,600 this. Jesus heals a man that was born 183 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,520 blind. The Pharisees grill him and they 184 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,920 said Jesus must be a Sinner because he performed a miracle 185 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,200 on the Sabbath day. The man says, and I love this. 186 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:24,200 He says, well, Sinner or no. All I know is this. 187 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,520 I was blind. Now I can see and then he says, 188 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,720 but we know God does not hear the prayer of a Sinner, but he 189 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,880 that is a worshipper of God and does his will him he hears. 190 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,320 OK, my best way to wrap my head around that is this. 191 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:43,920 God does not listen to those who don't listen to him. 192 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,240 That's the best way to put that. If a person chooses a life of 193 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,880 sin away from God, God is not listening to those that don't 194 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,880 listen to him. Some people say, well, wait a 195 00:10:55,880 --> 00:11:01,520 minute, A Sinner there in John Chapter 9 is anyone that is not 196 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,680 a baptized believer. Be careful with that. 197 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,040 Now please, I want you to listen closely to what I'm saying. 198 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,600 Be careful with that. I'm going to tell you why. 199 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:17,720 Acts chapter 10 here was a man that was a gentile. 200 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,360 He was a good man. His name was Cornelius. 201 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,200 He did many good things and alms and all of that for the people. 202 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,520 You know what the Bible says? He prayed to God always. 203 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,080 And the Scripture says God heard that prayer. 204 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:39,360 Did God save him in his condition? 205 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,440 No. Was he OK in his condition? 206 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:42,320 No. You know what God did? 207 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,400 He sent a messenger and the messenger said, hey, go down to 208 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,280 Joppa, send some guys down to Joppa, and you get old Peter and 209 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:50,920 you tell Peter to come and tell you what to do. 210 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:52,560 And Peter came and preached the gospel. 211 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,240 Guess what happened? Cornelius and his household were 212 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,120 baptized for the remission of sins and became Christians. 213 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,680 God does not listen to those that don't listen to him. 214 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,200 So here's my question. Is there a prayer? 215 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,120 Is there a prayer that does not ascend to heaven and only gets 216 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,680 as high as the ceiling? The answer is yes. 217 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,320 And it's this prayer right here. When you pray for the glory of 218 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:22,040 men, for the wrong motive to be seen of men, for the praise of 219 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,040 men. That's the prayer that God's not 220 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,760 listening to the second place, by the way that the Pharisees 221 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:31,720 abused. Prayer was on the street 222 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:33,760 corners. And really in historically 223 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,600 speaking in Jewish life and economy, it revolved around the 224 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:39,920 outdoor market. They would have these big main 225 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,240 thoroughfares, OK, all these people up and down walking up 226 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,840 and down the thoroughfares. And what they would do is they 227 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,360 would find these thoroughfares, They would stand on the corner 228 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,600 of the street so that everybody can hear. 229 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:56,880 And with long winded prayers to be seen by men, they would pray. 230 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,680 I'm going to tell you something though. 231 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:05,160 Jesus is not prohibiting public prayer. 232 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,680 In fact, there's sometimes public prayer is good, it's 233 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,800 warranted, it's merited and scriptural. 234 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,760 What does the Bible say in First Timothy chapter 2 and verse 235 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,680 eight? I desire therefore, that men 236 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:21,840 pray everywhere. Now I do know, and I do 237 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,080 understand that some commentators would mean that 238 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,360 everywhere means everywhere in the assembly, because the 239 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,560 context of the chapter is the assembly and all of that. 240 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:35,400 But I'm going to tell you, I disagree that it's exclusive to 241 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,200 the assembly. I think everywhere means what it 242 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:40,160 says. I think everywhere means 243 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,800 everywhere. There are times in the 244 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,240 scriptures when there's a distinction between the assembly 245 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,400 and not in the the assembly. For example, I'm gonna give you 246 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,800 one example like I can't spend time on this. 247 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,280 When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, remember what Paul 248 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,920 said? He talks about roles of men and 249 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,640 women and he says in the church he makes a distinction. 250 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,440 You know what that means in the assembly of the church. 251 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,400 So there's a distinction there. So I think that in this case, 252 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:14,440 everywhere means or includes the assembly, but it's not exclusive 253 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:15,920 to it. I think everywhere means 254 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,320 everywhere. OK. 255 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:26,960 Then he says this lifting up holy hands without wrath and 256 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:32,120 doubting what is holy hands mean in this passage. 257 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,920 Lifting up holy hands means hands of men who are living holy 258 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,720 or righteous lives. The lifting up of the hands is 259 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,240 merely an allusion to the ancient practice of presenting 260 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,360 the uplifted hands in respectful petitions to God. 261 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,680 And I'm going to give you 3 Old Testament passages in just a 262 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,840 moment. But let me just suffice it to 263 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:57,640 say, what Paul was doing here in this passage is he's referring 264 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,920 to an Old Testament literal practice to make a New Testament 265 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,920 figurative application. Here's the Old Testament 266 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,040 passages, Nehemiah 8 and verse 6. 267 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,800 And Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. 268 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,560 Then all the people answered Amen, Amen, while lifting up 269 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,040 their hands, and they bowed their heads and worship the Lord 270 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,640 with their faces to the ground. Passage #2. 271 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,840 Psalm 141 and two let my prayer be set before you as incense, 272 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,320 the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 273 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:37,160 And finally, #3 Lamentations 3 and 41 let us lift up our hearts 274 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:44,840 and hands to God in heaven. OK, Paul was not giving a 275 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:49,520 command for posture when he says lifting up holy hands. 276 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,760 Men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands. 277 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:57,040 He means holy lives. OK, is there anything wrong with 278 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,520 lifting up your hands literally when you pray? 279 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:08,160 Absolutely not. Prayer posture doesn't matter. 280 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:14,320 And remember, let's not bind what the Lord is not bound, and 281 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,720 let's not prohibit what the Lord has not prohibited. 282 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,440 It was an Old Testament practice to elevate your hands when you 283 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,240 prayed, literally. It's a New Testament principle 284 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,040 to elevate holy lives, not literal hands. 285 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:31,600 OK, but if somebody decided they wanted, when they prayed to lift 286 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:33,720 up their hands toward the heavens when they prayed, 287 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:36,080 there's nothing unscriptural or wrong about that. 288 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:44,160 Can I share something with you? I didn't mean to. 289 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:49,200 I didn't plan on it, but there was one time, about five years 290 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:54,280 ago, I was so distraught. I was in tears, and I went to 291 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:58,360 God in prayer. I fell down privately on my 292 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:04,880 knees, and I reached my hands up toward the heavens, reaching for 293 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:09,079 my God. Anything wrong with that? 294 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,640 How can that be wrong? Prayer posture doesn't matter. 295 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,000 You know why? It's the posture of the heart 296 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,400 that matters. It's the reverent posture of the 297 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,880 heart that matters. And whatever posture that a 298 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,680 person decides in order to achieve that is entirely up to 299 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,680 them. All right, So Jesus is not 300 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,360 condemning public prayer, he just contemning condemning the 301 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,680 improper attitudes or for the wrong reasons. 302 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,720 So before we pray in public, we need to examine our motives. 303 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:47,200 OK, Jesus says that the only reward that they're going to 304 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,560 receive is whatever praise that they get from men. 305 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:54,120 But I got to tell you, remember last time when I said that one 306 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:56,960 scholar actually said when Jesus says they have their reward, the 307 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:01,040 actual rendering of it from the original is they have in full 308 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,360 their reward. And the idea is this really, 309 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:06,800 there's a thin veneer of hypocrisy. 310 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,720 There's a thin veneer of whatever it is. 311 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,240 There's hypocrisy underneath, but there's a thin veneer of 312 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:12,720 piousness, or whatever you want to call it. 313 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,120 When people actually do see through the little veneer of 314 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:19,800 what we really are, you don't even get the praise of men 315 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,640 anymore because they see who we are. 316 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,480 And the same is true with prayer. 317 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,720 It's like that story I told you a few years ago. 318 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,520 I was traveling at 5:00 in the afternoon and a very busy St. 319 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,000 coming West of Bakersfield High School came to the that 320 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,160 intersection there and there was a guy standing there with a 321 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,080 microphone and a great big speaker. 322 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,960 It was so loud that I had my windows up, my AC blasted on my 323 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,760 and my my radio going and I could hear it. 324 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,960 He stopped the young lady and he asked her what was going on in 325 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:53,800 her life. You know what she did? 326 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,000 She shared some very personal things. 327 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,240 How do I know that? Because I heard. 328 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,400 I heard him shared some very personal things. 329 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,280 You know what he does? He starts praying for her 330 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,200 personal things, naming what they are out loud with a 331 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:10,120 microphone and a speaker. Why not take that young lady 332 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,920 privately and pray? Why do that? 333 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,920 There's only one answer to be heard and seen of men. 334 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,640 Why at 5:00? Why the microphone? 335 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,520 To be seen of men and the glory of men. 336 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,600 OK, Jesus says this in verse 6. But after he said all that, he 337 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,480 said. But when you pray, go into your 338 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,960 room and when you've shut the door, pray to your Father who is 339 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,240 in secret place. And your Father who sees in 340 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:44,360 secret will reward you openly. OK, this is the opposite of the 341 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,240 Pharisees prayer. By the way. 342 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,160 He shows that private prayer is to be private. 343 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,080 But let me just say, whether it's in the inner closet 344 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,520 privately or whether it's publicly, when you approach God 345 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,400 the Father with the right motive from your heart, the right 346 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:04,800 desires from your heart, God is present with you, and God is 347 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,360 listening. He's hearing and He's listening. 348 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:13,680 What he says is when you pray, this is a private prayer and God 349 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,800 will remove you, reward you openly, now in verse seven, He 350 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,520 continues. And when you pray, do not use 351 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,400 vain repetitions, all right? What is a vain repetition? 352 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,200 A vain repetition refers to stammering, thoughtless chatter, 353 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,160 or a meaningless repetition of sounds or phrases, according to 354 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:39,240 Mr. Robertson. Now then, he says this as the 355 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,600 heathen do, for they think that they will be heard for their 356 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,240 many words. Here's some examples, by the 357 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,240 way, of the heathen he was referring to. 358 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,240 It's the allusion to the Pagan religionist who practice 359 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,240 repeatedly calling on their deity's name in order to force 360 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,960 him into action. Here's an example. 361 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,520 The worshippers of Baal in the Old Testament did this on Mark 362 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,840 Mount Carmel as they crowd cried from morning till noon. 363 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,600 O Baal, hear us first Kings 18 and 26. 364 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,520 The Apostle Paul encountered a very similar problem as the 365 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,920 Ephesians cried out to Diana for two hours. 366 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,400 Here was the idea. The idea is that the value of 367 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:25,200 prayer is found in the quantity of words and not the quality of 368 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,600 words. And I'm going to tell you, you 369 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:32,880 don't have to pray a long prayer for your prayer to be good. 370 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,480 You don't have to wear people out with a long winded prayer. 371 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:49,760 You just don't. When you pray it privately pray 372 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:56,880 as long as you want, but you don't have to pray long for it 373 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,720 to be heard by God. That's the point. 374 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,440 The heathens that Jesus is talking about is people with 375 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,600 vain repetitions, repeatedly saying words that their idle God 376 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,560 has to be woke up or their idle God has to be alerted so that 377 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:13,240 they hear. That's not the God we serve. 378 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,680 And by the way, I think the greatest example of this, I 379 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,320 don't have time to go deep into this, but the greatest example 380 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,000 is the Pharisee and the tax collector. 381 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,400 It's beautiful. Remember, the Pharisee goes in. 382 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,840 He's praying all this stuff. God, you did a great job with 383 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:28,000 me. Congratulations. 384 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,080 Really. That's kind of what he was 385 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,200 saying. And I thank you that I'm not 386 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,000 like all the people in the world that are terrible. 387 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,680 And I thank you especially. I'm not like this poor tax 388 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,320 collector. You know what the Bible says 389 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,600 that the tax collector does, as he won't even look up toward the 390 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,760 heavens. But he bowed his head and he 391 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,640 smote his breast as an outward side of inward anguish. 392 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,440 And he said 7 words, God be merciful. 393 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,960 And in the original this is what it says to me. 394 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,240 The Sinner. That was it. 395 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,320 You know what Jesus said? That man went away justified. 396 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,400 That means to have acquitted, that means forgiven. 7 Words 397 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:10,120 doesn't have to be a long prayer, just has to be from the 398 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,800 heart. What's a vain repetition today? 399 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,800 Memorized words that are just recanted over and over and over 400 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,560 and over and over and over and over again. 401 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,560 That is a vain repetition. We don't need to do that. 402 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:31,160 God hears us in Isaiah 59 and one behold, the Lord's hand is 403 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,200 not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it 404 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,360 cannot hear. OK, so that being the case, 405 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,560 there's no reason to think that our many words will tell God 406 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:42,720 something he doesn't already know. 407 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:44,880 But I got to talk about repetition and prayer. 408 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:49,520 Is there anything wrong with being repetitious in prayer? 409 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,080 Absolutely not. And Jesus is also not saying 410 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,720 that our words from prayer to prayer need to be artificially 411 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,680 dissimilar to the previous prayer. 412 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,320 He's condemning vain repetitions. 413 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,080 What if you use the same words you remember when Jesus was in 414 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:10,280 the Garden of Gethsemane? Bible says he was in agony. 415 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,040 My soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death. 416 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,640 His sweat buzz as it were, great drops of blood falling to the 417 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,400 ground. He goes in the Garden of 418 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,920 Gethsemane and he prays to God. Notice what the Bible says in 419 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,800 Matthew chapter 26 and verse 39 and verse 44. 420 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,680 He went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, 421 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,400 saying, Oh my father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from 422 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,640 me nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 423 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,560 So we left them, went away again and prayed the third time. 424 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:49,760 Notice saying the same words. The words don't have to be 425 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,840 artificially dissimilar to the previous prayer. 426 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:57,000 It just has to be coming from the right place. 427 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,480 It's got to be coming from the right heart. 428 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,240 OK, let me talk about something that we do every day. 429 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,800 Hopefully we do this every day. Hopefully we do this every meal, 430 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:13,480 and that is offering thanks or asking God when we thank God for 431 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,560 our food. Why do we do that and do we have 432 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,480 to change the words? Well, first of all, in First 433 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,520 Timothy Chapter 4, This is why we do that for every creature of 434 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:27,320 God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with 435 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,120 Thanksgiving. In other words, the privilege of 436 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,760 eating all kinds of food is the condition of how it's received 437 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,960 Then in verse 5, for it is sanctified by the word of God in 438 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,480 prayer. What is sanctified means. 439 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,920 Sanctified means to be set apart or devoted for righteous use. 440 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,840 OK, under the old law, Moses, we understand this, right? 441 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,400 We know that there was food, that there was considered 442 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:52,840 unclean. There were animals that were 443 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,440 considered unclean. They couldn't eat. 444 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,400 If it didn't chew its cud, and it didn't have a cloven hoof, 445 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,240 they couldn't eat it. That's why they couldn't have 446 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,200 pigs. Now we can have man. 447 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,840 We can have bacon and sausage and ham and all kinds of stuff. 448 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,640 You know why? Because everything's OK. 449 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,120 Because it's sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 450 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,320 And nothing is to be refused if it's received with Thanksgiving. 451 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,320 That's the reason why we offer thanks for our food. 452 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:27,600 It's not a ritual. It's not a ritualistic activity. 453 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,240 It actually gives us the right to eat it. 454 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,400 Thanksgiving and prayer. What else? 455 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,880 Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 20. 456 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,760 Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the 457 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,960 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, meaning by His authority. 458 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,560 Another passage Colossians 317 And whatever you do in Word or 459 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:53,840 deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God 460 00:26:53,840 --> 00:27:01,400 the Father through him. OK, now that's the reason that 461 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,640 we pray for our food. But if we say the same words, 462 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:12,400 relatively speaking, is it wrong and does it make it a vain 463 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,480 repetition? Sometimes we think we got to 464 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,400 pray for everything under the sun just to make the prayer for 465 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,400 our food different so we're not saying the same thing. 466 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,800 A vain repetition is this. Do you remember when kids are 467 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,120 told this little, they call it saying grace, which, by the way 468 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,440 is not the Bible, but saying grace when kids are little. 469 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:35,560 You remember that little memorized thing. 470 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:37,200 God is great. God is good. 471 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,000 Let us thank him for our food. Amen. 472 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:48,400 Pain, repetition. Here's another one for which we 473 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,920 are back to receive. Let us be everything thankful. 474 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,760 Amen. There's no thought behind it. 475 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,800 There's no meaning behind it. That's not what a prayer is. 476 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,560 That's a vain repetition. So even when you use the same 477 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,800 words, if it's from the heart speaking to God, it's not a vain 478 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,040 repetition. Jesus said remember in the 479 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,880 Garden of Gethsemane three times saying the same words? 480 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,760 What else? How about persistence in prayer? 481 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,560 Persistence in prayer is commended by Jesus. 482 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,280 Jesus was all about persistence in prayer. 483 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,480 He gave 2 parables about it. Remember the friend at midnight? 484 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,840 Remember that one? How about the persistent widow? 485 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,320 You got a widow and she's persistent. 486 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,880 She goes to an unrighteous unruly judge who doesn't follow 487 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,240 God. He doesn't recognize God nor man 488 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,600 doesn't have any respect, right? She goes to him to get some sort 489 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:48,600 of justice because of her adversary or from her adversary. 490 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,480 The judge doesn't want to hear her. 491 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,920 Finally, as I paraphrase, he says something like this man, 492 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:59,760 this woman is wearing me out. She's driving me out of my mind. 493 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:02,920 And so he gives in. And notice what the Bible says. 494 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,920 Because of that, Jesus says, Shall not God avenge his own 495 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,400 elect to cry out day and night to him, though he bears long 496 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,240 with them. That's persistent in prayer. 497 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:21,760 OK, so when it comes to vain repetitions, Jesus says this. 498 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:26,600 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things 499 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,160 you have need of before you ask Him. 500 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:33,440 So when we petition God in sincere prayer, several things 501 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,800 happen. This is what happens a great 502 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:37,800 blessings. By the way, #1 we're 503 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:44,760 strengthened as we cast our cares on him. #2 We come to more 504 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:51,240 fully understand our dependence on Him. #3 We are reminded that 505 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,680 we are His children through the blood of Jesus Christ. 506 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,040 These are great blessings that come when we go to God in 507 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,840 sincere prayer. Martin Luther said it this way. 508 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:05,640 He said it's not about us telling God something He said by 509 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,560 our praying we are instructing ourselves more than we are 510 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:13,960 instructing God. OK then Jesus says this in verse 511 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,120 9. In this manner, therefore, pray 512 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,520 our Father in Heaven hallowed be your name. 513 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,120 So after instructing the disciples how to pray, Jesus 514 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:29,360 explains or how how not to pray. He then gives them the 515 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,240 principles of proper prayer by focusing on eight points. 516 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,440 OK, this is not a ritualistic prayer by the way. 517 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:36,960 That's to be memorized and recanted. 518 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:43,760 Please understand that he's giving an example to disciples 519 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:49,440 as a model on how to pray, not words that are to be memorized 520 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,840 and stated over and over again, because prayer needs to be 521 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,480 spontaneous and prayer needs to be thoughtful. 522 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,840 This is commonly called, by the way, the Lord's Prayer. 523 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,200 But if you want to know what the Lord's Prayer is, go look at the 524 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:09,640 prayer that the Lord prayed just a little bit ago, Darren prayed. 525 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:15,920 That was Darren's prayer. We listened and we agreed with 526 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,800 that prayer. If we agreed with that prayer, 527 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,680 and I'm sure we all did, we said Amen, right? 528 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,680 So it became our prayer too. For something to be a prayer by 529 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,120 a person, and it is their prayer, they have to be a prayer 530 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:32,760 that they prayed. If you want to know what the 531 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,080 Lord's prayer is, look in the Garden of Gethsemane. 532 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:41,000 That's the Lord's Prayer. This is more commonly known as a 533 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,800 model for the disciples prayer. There was another time when 534 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,240 Jesus dealt with this too. Do you remember in Luke Chapter 535 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:48,720 11? I don't have time to go there. 536 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,360 We won't go there. They came to Jesus and they said 537 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,720 Lord teach us how to pray as John did his disciples. 538 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,720 Jesus says this OK in like manner. 539 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,080 Pray this in this manner. Therefore pray. 540 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,760 Our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name and so on and so forth. 541 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:10,080 It was a model prayer, not something to be memorized and 542 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:15,640 spoken recanting the words. I want to spend a lot of time on 543 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:20,880 this because this is one of the greatest blessings that we have. 544 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:28,320 Please focus on this because I want to talk about the 545 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:32,520 relationship that we have with God when we pray. 546 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,640 It's not just words that we're speaking to some far away deity. 547 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:46,200 Jesus says pray our Father. What does that mean? 548 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:51,840 The word father here expresses God's fraternity, not only the 549 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:57,200 almighty creator, but get this, but also our Father. 550 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,120 Paul said it this way, we cry ABBA father. 551 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,880 By the way, it's probably they say is better, better 552 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:06,680 pronounced, Ababa don't talk like that. 553 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:15,000 So I'm going to say ABBA OK, we cry ABBA father, give you a 554 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,760 Bible passage. I think that that phrase, by the 555 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,040 way, is found I think three times in the New Testament. 556 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,920 One of them is in Galatians chapter 4. 557 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,160 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his 558 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,560 sons into your hearts crying ABBA Father. 559 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,560 What does that mean? Well, obviously it is Father 560 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,560 Father. But this phrase, ABBA is an 561 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,280 Aramaic term of endearment used by children to their own 562 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:43,360 personal father. Here's the example. 563 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,800 I have children. People would say Frank Brancato 564 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,680 is a father because I have children. 565 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,880 But to Taylor and Tanner, I am their dad. 566 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,240 When they were young, I was daddy. 567 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,720 Now I'm pops. Relationship. 568 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:12,600 Relationship. When you approach God the 569 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:16,280 Father, you're not just approaching him as the almighty 570 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:21,520 creator in heaven, you're also approaching him as your father. 571 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,480 Your dad. I'll never forget. 572 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,480 Galen Osberg stood right here one day and stood out. 573 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:31,480 He said he's your daddy. Never forget that. 574 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,040 Doesn't it just make you feel better about God? 575 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:43,040 That's a relationship. That's the God we serve. 576 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,600 Having that relationship with him, we talk further about a 577 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,000 relationship for just a moment. I think we spend a whole lot of 578 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,480 time and we have all of our life. 579 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,440 We spend a whole lot of time on what it means or what it looks 580 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,480 like to be a church member, but we don't spend enough time 581 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:08,640 talking about what it means to be a Christian. 582 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:15,880 What does it look like to us by way of relationship with God and 583 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:20,160 Jesus Christ? Because if we can take that to 584 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,360 the level of a personal relationship that we have with 585 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,480 God and Jesus, I'm going to tell you you'll serve him a whole lot 586 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,520 better. Everything falls into place 587 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:32,200 better. What is a Christian? 588 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:36,640 Very simply, do you remember in Acts chapter 2 when the gospels 589 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,240 preached for the first time with the opportunity to respond and 590 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:43,000 3000 souls were saved? They were baptized for the 591 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,720 remission of sins. Do you remember what they were 592 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:49,600 called all the way up until Acts Chapter 11? 593 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:55,920 They were called disciples. What is a disciple? 594 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,440 A disciple is a follower of Jesus. 595 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,600 OK, what happened in Acts Chapter 11 and verse 26? 596 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:07,240 They had assembled for a whole year and then the Bible says and 597 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,360 the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. 598 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,760 What's a Christian by definition? 599 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,360 It's the word Christianos. And the word Christian, by the 600 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:25,480 way, means true learner. It means follower, and it means 601 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:30,720 Christ. Like that's what it means to be 602 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:32,400 a Christian. Put it all together. 603 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:39,720 What's a Christian, a true learner of Jesus, following him 604 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:42,480 by the word of God that directs our steps every step of the way. 605 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:47,800 It's got to be the word of God, all in our great pursuit of 606 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,280 becoming Christ like or being more like Jesus. 607 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:56,840 That's the personal part of what it means to be a Christian and 608 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:01,200 have a relationship with God, Jesus says when you pray though, 609 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:06,360 remember that God is in heaven, so God is in a lofty position. 610 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:11,520 So because God is in a lofty position, we speak to him as 611 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:17,720 such with respect. And then we say this Hallowed be 612 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:21,440 your name, meaning we honor the name of God with reverence, 613 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:29,320 addressing him as Heavenly Father, Revelation 4 and eight. 614 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,280 We have a song about this too. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, God 615 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:44,860 Almighty. I hope when people understand 616 00:37:44,860 --> 00:37:49,980 what Paul said to the Colossians, he was talking to 617 00:37:49,980 --> 00:37:51,740 people that were already Christians. 618 00:37:51,740 --> 00:37:53,820 They were already baptized for their admission of sins, but 619 00:37:53,820 --> 00:37:57,640 they had some growing to do, he said. 620 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:01,960 I labor among you again as a as a woman labours in birth. 621 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:09,960 Until when? Until Christ is formed in you. 622 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:15,520 When Jesus Christ is formed in you, everything falls into 623 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:19,560 place. When Jesus Christ is formed in 624 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:21,720 you, you recognize your relationship that you have with 625 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:26,000 God and Jesus Christ. You recognize that it's not by 626 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,920 your own strength, it's by God's strength. 627 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,600 And that's OK. Isn't it OK to say I'm nothing 628 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,080 without God? I think God wants us to say that 629 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:44,200 I can't do this without you. Bible talks about being strong 630 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:49,640 and courageous, but the strength and the courage comes from God. 631 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:57,120 And when that happens, and you lean on God in every aspect of 632 00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:02,160 your life when you pray without ceasing, as the Bible says. 633 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,520 And that doesn't mean one long continuous prayer. 634 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,160 It means that's part of your life every day. 635 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:13,680 Remember that song we used to sing ere you left your room this 636 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:14,840 morning? Did you think to pray? 637 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,720 Oh, how praying rest the weary. Prayer will change the night 638 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:22,640 today. So when life seems dark and 639 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:28,560 dreary, don't forget to pray. Prayers. 640 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,920 Everything for us, folks. And I'm going to tell you, you 641 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,600 may be going through some things in your life. 642 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:37,480 I don't know, maybe it's true and you just sometimes don't 643 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:39,040 know where you can turn. I'm going to tell you there's a 644 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:43,120 place where you can turn. You could turn to God the 645 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:48,520 Father, but he's also your Father and you can reach out 646 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,000 with loving petitions to him and he's going to listen to you. 647 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,080 He's going to hear you. He's going to answer you. 648 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:57,880 Pray it with the proper way. So in closing, I'm finished. 649 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,600 In conclusion, what have we learned about the principles of 650 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:04,880 proper prayer from Jesus Christ today? 651 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:12,600 Never pray to be seen of men #2 Don't be ashamed though. 652 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,960 Don't be ashamed. Pray publicly, but always with 653 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:21,240 the right motive. #3 Do not use vain repetitions, which refers 654 00:40:21,240 --> 00:40:23,920 to a stammering, thoughtless chatter or a meaningless 655 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:30,720 repetition of sounds or phrases. And finally #4 address the 656 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,720 Father with reverence and make all petitions in Jesus name. 657 00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:40,280 Principles of proper Prayer and you know something. 658 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,680 It doesn't matter if it's 100 words, 7 words, 1000 words. 659 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:48,480 God hears us and He answers us. And sometimes I'll say this 660 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:53,760 finally and I'm finished. Sometimes the answer is no, and 661 00:40:53,760 --> 00:41:00,200 we don't like his answer. But remember in first John it 662 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:04,040 says if we pray anything according to his will, he hears 663 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:06,120 us. The word here there predisposes 664 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,200 a response. It's better translated. 665 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:13,840 He answers us. But sometimes the answer is no. 666 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:18,080 But when you have the proper relationship with God, and you 667 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,280 pray according to God's will, which means you're not bending 668 00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:23,800 God's will toward you, you're bending your will toward God, 669 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,040 and you're saying whatever you decide I'm going to be OK with. 670 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,560 When you have the proper relationship with God and trust 671 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,680 and faith in Him, you're OK with that response. 672 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:33,360 You're OK with doing it just that way. 673 00:41:40,310 --> 00:41:48,910 Remember, if you're a Christian, you are God's child and God is 674 00:41:48,910 --> 00:41:52,480 yours. Father, maybe you're here today 675 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:56,880 and you're not a Christian. We never close the time that we 676 00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:59,000 assemble without extending an invitation to somebody that 677 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:00,560 might be subject to the gospel call. 678 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,720 The steps to become a Christian are very simple. 679 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,560 You must hear the word of God. Romans 10/17 So then faith comes 680 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:09,640 by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 681 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,080 After hearing the word of God, you have a choice to make. 682 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,920 Hebrews 11 and six says we have to believe with all our heart. 683 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:20,680 Without faith it's impossible to please him. 684 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:24,080 For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he 685 00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:26,440 is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. 686 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:30,480 We must repent of our sins. Acts 17 and 30. 687 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,680 Truly these times of ignorance, God overlooked, but now commands 688 00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:38,480 all men everywhere to repent, and then to be able to make the 689 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:41,600 greatest statement you will ever make to confess Jesus Christ as 690 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,400 the Son of God. Acts 837 And Philip said, if you 691 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:45,600 believe with all your heart, you may. 692 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:50,000 And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 693 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,960 Son of God. Upon taking these steps, you're 694 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,200 now a fit candidate to go to the point of salvation, to contact 695 00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:00,720 the blood of Jesus, have your sins washed away, and that's at 696 00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:02,880 baptism for the remission of sins. 697 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:07,280 Mark 1616 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he 698 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:08,880 who does not believe will be condemned. 699 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,840 If you've never taken those steps of obedience, we would 700 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:14,400 love to assist you in that. We stand ready, willing and able 701 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,920 to do that. Maybe you have taken those steps 702 00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:18,640 of obedience. And maybe there's just something 703 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,000 on your heart now. Maybe there's something that you 704 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:22,960 request the prayers of the congregation. 705 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:26,040 If we can assist you in either way, come forward while we 706 00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:29,520 stand. And while we stand, we thank you 707 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,400 for. Listening to our podcast put on 708 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:36,440 by the Church of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in Bakersfield. 709 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:40,600 If you would like any additional information or you would like to 710 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:43,600 receive a free Bible correspondence course by mail, 711 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:49,640 please e-mail us at info@churchofchristbakersfield.com. 712 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:55,600 Our service times are Sundays at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and 713 00:43:55,600 --> 00:44:00,040 Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. Please make plans to join us. 714 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:02,680 We would love for you to be our honored guest.