Matthew 6C. Today we reach a passage in Matthew s Gospel that must be one of the best known scriptures in all the New Testament

Transcription

1 Tday we reach a passage in Matthew s Gspel that must be ne f the best knwn scriptures in all the New Testament In fact, it s my belief that thugh mst Christians memrize little r n scripture, almst everyne has memrized this passage It s a prayer we call there Lrd s Prayer And the fact that s many f us can recite this prayer by heart is particularly irnic given what Jesus teaches abut it But befre we get t the prayer, let s remember the cntext f Jesus teaching And yu prbably wn t find a passage in the New Testament where cntext is mre crucial t a prper interpretatin f the text Because we lack an appreciatin fr the cntext, many peple are ding the very ppsite f what Jesus cmmanded here S let s begin with the big picture Jesus is teaching n the side f a muntain near the Galilee He s in the middle f sermn t set the recrd straight n the kingdm and righteusness Chapter 5 taught us the prper biblical view f btaining the kingdm, that is being righteus enugh t enter Heaven And nw in Chapter 6 Jesus is explaining the crrect way t live as a kingdm-bund citizen while we await the Kingdm Jesus summarizes the theme f Chapter 6 neatly in v.1 Matt. 6:1 Beware f practicing yur righteusness befre men t be nticed by them; therwise yu have n reward with yur Father wh is in heaven. S Jesus cncern is that we live ut the righteusness we received by faith in the prper way s we may receive a full reward in the Kingdm We live ut righteusness as a testimny t a lst and dying wrld 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 14 But we must be careful nt t d s in the hpe f receiving the praises f that lst wrld Instead, we shuld practice righteusness t please the Lrd alne, And Jesus said He will take nte f ur gd wrks dne with the prper heart and reward us in the Kingdm In bth chapters Jesus gives examples f hw the Pharisees crrupted the prperly understanding f these things Here we re lking at fur examples that tuch n basic areas f spiritual life: giving, prayer, fasting and wealth These fur als happened t be practices the Pharisees had especially perverted fr selfish purpses Last week we lked at Jesus first example f giving t pr and the issue came dwn t the heart f the giver We learned that if we g abut ur giving s as t receive earthly gain in ne frm r anther, then Jesus says we are hypcrites And Gd des nt reward hypcrisy Instead Jesus said we shuld guard ur hearts frm pride and eg by keeping all ur giving secretive And if we give in that way, then we preserve ur pprtunity fr the Lrd t reward us in the Kingdm Once again, the issue fr Gd was the state ff ur heart as we gave, nt merely did we give That s the general cntext fr this entire chapter What is ur heart attitude as we cnduct urselves in these fur areas spiritual life We can g thrugh the mtins and fr appearances sake And perhaps we ll receive praise frm peple wh bserve us and think we re s pius and hly But Gd knws ur heart and will nt reward a false heart 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 14 S nw understanding that cntext, let s lk at Jesus secnd example n prayer Matt. 6:7 And when yu are praying, d nt use meaningless repetitin as the Gentiles d, fr they suppse that they will be heard fr their many wrds. Matt. 6:8 S d nt be like them; fr yur Father knws what yu need befre yu ask Him. Jesus says when we pray, there is a right way and a wrng way t d it But first take a mment t ntice the prepsitin Jesus uses in v.7 He desn t say if yu pray; He says when yu pray I culd preach fr a while n the necessity f regular prayer In fact, I culd preach fr weeks n this tpic But as I said last week n the tpic f giving, I m cnstrained by this text Jesus raises these issues t address a very specific pint And I m here t teach yu Jesus pint, nt t substitute my wn pint S in the matter f prayer, I m ging t fcus n what Jesus wants t say n the matter And His pint is n the heart f the ne praying Are we praying merely t impress ther peple, r are we praying t cmmunicate with ur Father in Heaven? One way is wrng and gains nthing frm Gd, while the ther way is crrect and gives pprtunity t hear frm Gd In v.7 Jesus says the wrng way t pray invariably invlves using meaningless repetitin f wrds Jesus says d nt engage in such ritualistic, meaningless repetitin D nt recite the same wrds ver and ver again Jesus says that is nt prayer at all It s mantra, a chat, The wrd in Greek translated as meaningless repetitin in ur Bibles actually is actually the wrd fr babble r stammering 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 14 It refers t the sund that a 18-mnth ld baby makes as it babbles S when we revert t mindless repetitin f wrds, that s hw Gd hears us: like a parent listening t a babbling infant It s meaningless and it s useless and it s nt prayer Jesus dismisses such tactics as praying the way Gentiles pray, which was a dergatry statement T understand what Jesus is saying, yu have t remember that Jesus was a Jew speaking t a Jewish crwd And this pint in histry nly the Jewish peple had received the revelatin f the true Gd, Jehvah The Gspel hadn t yet gne ut t the wrld, s nly the Jewish peple had a relatinship with Gd S t a Jew, the phrase t pray like a Gentile meant t pray as an unbeliever, as smene wh desn t knw the true Gd And that s what Jesus means Gd s children shuld nt apprach ur Father in Heaven in prayer as if we didn t knw Him Using meaningless repetitin and calling it prayer is appraching Gd the way the unsaved try t find Gd Buddhists chat, Cathlics recite the rsary, Jews recite daily prayers, and many unsaved in Prtestant churches recite liturgy And in all cases, the use f meaningless repetitin in place f true prayer is the mark f unbelief, Jesus says Understanding this cnnectin between a lack f saving faith and a reliance n mantra is key t understanding the true nature f prayer Prayer is by definitin a frm f cmmunicatin with Gd, a cnversatin that we initiate with the Creatr f the Universe It s a cnversatin that cmes frm ur heart, and like all cmmunicatin it has a sender, receiver and a message Obviusly, the believer is the sender and the message is the thughts f ur heart 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 14 It s persnal and specific, and it s directed t an audience we knw intimately But thse wh have never placed their faith in the finished wrk f Jesus Christ dn t have a relatinship with the Father Withut faith in Jesus they have n intercessr befre the Father, n High Priest Cnsequently, they are like the demns, James says, knwing abut Gd yet nt knwing Gd In fact, because they lack an intercessr, the Bible says Gd des nt even hear the prayers f unbelievers Spiritually speaking, unbelievers are grasping in the dark, perating withut wisdm r understanding, trying t find a Gd they dn t knw And therefre, they have n chice but t resrt t babbling, t mindless repetitin It s what babies d wh have nt yet learned t cmmunicate with the parents And it s what unbelievers d because they have nt been given a spiritual relatinship t cmmunicate with Gd At the end f v.7 Jesus explains what the unbeliever hpes t achieve frm this behavir They hpe t make up fr in quantity fr what they lack in quality By repeating wrds ver and ver, they expect t impress Gd with their persistence and devtin t the task They aren t speaking with Gd, they re speaking at Gd It s actually a frm f superstitius behavir They hpe Gd will reward them fr their persnal sacrifice f time and effrt It s like trying t pen a lcked dr by trying different keys until we find the ne that fits there lck But Jesus says Gd isn t impressed with their devtin t chanting a mantra 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 14 T Gd, their repetitin is merely the sund f a baby babbling Remember, the scriptures say that by the bld f Christ we may apprach Gd bldly with ur petitins This is a high hnr and an incredible privilege that Jesus died t make pssible S if we take that special pprtunity and tss it aside in exchange fr mindless chanting, we re trampling the grace f Gd And we re acting like unbelievers instead f like children f Gd This was the way Pharisees instructed Israel t practice prayer, but histrically, Judaism never relied n prepared, scripted memries prayer Frm the beginning, all Jewish prayer was suppsed t be extempraneus We can see examples f Old Testament characters like Mses r David r Nehemiah praying withut a script When these men prayed, they simply cried ut t Gd frm their hearts as Gd intended Yet by the time f Jesus, the unbelieving Pharisees had instituted repetitius prayer because that s all they knew f Gd They prescribed prayer bks that dictated every prayer a Jew culd give under every circumstance Jews had daily prayer bks, Sabbath prayer bks, prayer bks fr special hly days such as Ym Kippur r Rsh Hashanah, etc. Within a few centuries, the Pharisees had transfrmed Jewish prayer like t mimic the prayers f unbelieving Gentiles, as Jesus said Mindless repetitin tk the place f meaningful cnversatin S Jesus tells us nt t pray in this way because it s a hypcritical way t pray When we turn ff ur brain and revert t mindless repetitin, we re merely pretending t cmmunicate with Gd withut actually ding it We re ging thrugh the mtins, acting pius and gdly putting n a shw fr thers r fr urself 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 14 Yet in reality, we re checked ut f the prcess Because repeating a mantra desn t engage the heart r mind in a true cnversatin with Gd On the cntrary, it puts ur spirit t sleep and gives pprtunity fr the enemy t influence ur thughts Which is why chanting and similar frms f meditatin are s dangerus fr believers We dn t have t lk very hard tday t find true Christians making this mistake In many churches n Sunday, cngregatins are still taught t recite prepared prayers tgether each week And many Christian families recite the same meaningless prayer ver dinner each night And Christians parents teach their children t chant the same mantra every night befre bed A recent bk taught Christians that a prayer by an bscure Old Testament figure was the key t unlcking Gd s blessing The bk suggested that we nly needed t repeat that same prayer t get what we desire frm Gd It made Gd lk like a genie, and it was cmplete nnsense and a direct cntradictin f Jesus instructins here Prayer is suppsed t be a cnversatin with Gd, and mantra isn t the same as cnversatin If yu dubt me, then try this experiment at hme Every time yu want smething frm yur spuse, just repeat the same statement ver and ver again until yu get it Sme wives in the rm are prbably saying, I ve tried that Steve, and it didn t wrk. And sme f the parents in the rm are prbably thinking that s exactly what my kids try t d t me all the time Exactly! And when they d that t yu, hw des that make yu feel? 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 14 Des it feel like they are engaging in a cnversatin? Des it feel like they are building a relatinship with yu? Or des it feel like an annying attempt t manipulate yu? Nw if instead f trying t wear yu dwn with meaningless repetitin, what if yur child simply had a cnversatin with yu? They began by making a sincere, well-cnsidered request? Then depending n yur respnse, yur child engaged in a respectful exchange seeking a cmprmise Perhaps they suggest ther ptins r make ratinal appeals? Wuldn t yu be delighted? Or perhaps yu might say, Wh are yu and what did yu d with my child? Nw cnsider this in mst cases yu prbably knew what yur children wanted even befre they started their begging And yu prbably als knew what yur answer wuld be befre yu heard their request Nevertheless, yu still wuld have been pleased if the child had engaged yu in a meaningful cnversatin n the issue, right? In that situatin, the value f the exchange wasn t in deciding the issue, since yu already had a decisin in mind The value wuld have been in building a better relatinship with them, teaching them t appreciate yur wisdm in the matter That s exactly hw the Father uses prayer fr ur sake The purpse in prayer is fr us t engage in a meaningful cnversatin with ur Creatr The pint f that cnversatin is nt t wear Gd dwn withut ur mindless repetitin Gd already has all knwledge and wisdm and perfectin By cmparisn, we knw nthing, understand nthing and are imperfect in everything we d 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 14 Furthermre, Jesus says in v.8 that the Father already knws what yu need befre yu asked S bviusly, the mre time we spend in cmmunicatin with Gd, the better things will be fr us S we shuldn t waste the pprtunity by babbling like an infant Incessant repetitin des nthing t change Gd s mind we just miss pprtunity t learn frm Him S knwing hw nt t pray, Jesus then gives us the right way t apprach ur cnversatin with Gd Matt. 6:9 Pray, then, in this way: Our Father wh is in heaven, Hallwed be Yur name. Matt. 6:10 Yur kingdm cme. Yur will be dne, On earth as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:11 Give us this day ur daily bread. Matt. 6:12 And frgive us ur debts, as we als have frgiven ur debtrs. Matt. 6:13 And d nt lead us int temptatin, but deliver us frm evil. [Fr Yurs is the kingdm and the pwer and the glry frever. Amen. ] Befre we lk at the cntent f Jesus prayer, let s acknwledge that this prayer has led t perhaps the greatest irny in all the Bible An irny is a state f affairs that ges deliberately cntrary t what ne expects an And the irny here is that many Christians use this prayer in a way that is deliberately cntrary t what Jesus expected Jesus just finished teaching the Church nt t engage in repetitius prayer And yet, what prayer d Christians mindlessly repeat mre than perhaps any ther? The Our Father prayer Peple cmmnly chat verses 9-13 unisn even thugh Jesus said in v.7 dn t use repetitin Yu can t make this stuff up 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 14 S knwing that Jesus did nt want us t recite this prayer mindlessly, why did He give it t us? Because every gd cnversatin requires sensible structure and lgic S ur prayers aren t t be repetitive, but they are suppsed t be planned and thughtfully cnstructed Ntice in v.9 Jesus says pray in this way He didn t say pray this prayer which means He wasn t asking us t pray these wrds verbatim Nw because this mdel is Scripture, we can certainly read it verbatim and even pray it as we might pray any scripture like Psalms But when we engage in persnal prayer with the Father, we shuld nt recite these wrds assuming they have magical prperties Praying these wrds verbatim actually displays a lack f understanding f the cntext f Jesus wrds, nt an appreciatin fr them Instead, we are t pray accrding t this frmat S let s lk at the structure f this prayer Jesus example has six parts and each part shuld be present in ur prayers We dn t necessarily have t cver all six parts in every mment f prayer But in general, ur prayer life shuld tuch upn these areas at least peridically And the first part is the destinatin fr ur prayers, and Jesus says in v.9 that ur prayers shuld be directed t the Father Wh is in Heaven The Persn f Gd Wh receives prayer is the Father nt Jesus, nt the Hly Spirit but the Father Jesus and the Hly Spirit play rles in prayer, f curse 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 14! Jesus is ur High Priest Wh intercedes n ur behalf with the Father, and by His bld ur petitins may cme befre a hly Gd And the Hly Spirit is ur Teacher Wh guides us ur prayer life, instructing us n when and what t pray But the audience fr ur prayers is always the Father S if in the past yu ve prayed t Jesus r anyne r anything else then yu nw understand that was incrrect Direct yur prayers t the Father nly, and as yu d, take nte that Jesus says He is yur Father in Heaven By yur faith in Jesus, the Bible says yu have been adpted int the family f Gd, made a fellw heir with Christ and have peace with the Father S as yu pray recgnize yu are speaking t a Heavenly Father Wh cares fr yu, has adpted yu and wants the best fr yu Secndly, Jesus says at the end f v.9 that we shuld declare hallwed by yur name The wrd hallwed means sanctified, set apart fr hliness S we re saying Gd alne is hly, set apart frm the rest f Creatin Unique and unequalled in all time and space Nthing can cmpare t the Creatr Jesus pint is that ur prayer life shuld include time glrifying and praising the Father fr wh He is and what He has dne fr yu in Christ We have the pprtunity t apprach Him bldly, but we shuld never take that fr granted Devte sme f yur prayer time t simply acknwledging Gd fr Wh He is Ding s will set yur heart in the right place fr the rest f yur prayer Think f it as a private time f wrship 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 14 Thirdly, Jesus says in v.10 we shuld be kingdm minded in ur prayers Jesus gives us the example f praying fr the arrival f the Kingdm and the realizatin f Gd s will being dne n earth ne day This is such great insight fr yur prayer life, and I hpe yu will embrace it Jesus is saying we need t have eyes fr eternity in ur prayers Yers, ur lives n earth will give us ample material t pray abut But dn t frget this wrld and all its prblems are passing away And ne day Jesus will return and His kingdm will be set up n earth And when that happens, we will be in new eternal bdies that will never die, serving Christ withut sin r shame That is the true life we are prmised, and it s the ne that will last fr an eternity Meanwhile, fr a shrt time we endure this miserable, sinful wrld and ur brief life in it Dn t spend all yur time praying abut the fleeting things f this wrld Make sure yu spend sme time in prayer abut the eternal things t cme Pray fr a gd reward and the strength t earn it while it s available Pray fr a gd psitin in Christ s gvernment, which depends n a gd testimny Mst f all, pray in excitement and expectatin fr the chance t see a wrld ruled in perfectin and justice by ur King Jesus Furthly, Jesus says in v.11 t pray fr yur daily bread, which means t pray fr yur persnal needs Remember this is a mdel, nt a prescriptin, s we aren t all necessarily ging t pray fr bread literally Our daily needs vary and s will ur prayers 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 14 But Jesus pint is that prayer fr daily needs is bth expected and apprpriate fr the believer S whether that s a financial need, a health need, a relatinship need, r whatever, bring them befre the Lrd But ntice where this request falls in the pririty f Jesus example It cmes after praising Gd s gdness and svereignty And it cmes after turning yur attentin t Kingdm matters, t things eternal And that s a healthy way t apprach yur prayer life putting thse things abve yur persnal needs If yur prayer life is dminated by persnal cncerns, then it prbably means yur eyes are directed dwnward t much There will always be prblems in yur life f ne kind r anther, but we can t allw the needs f this life t bscure ur hpe fr what s cming We must reverse that perspective living with eyes fr eternity knwing that in this wrld we will have tribulatin but we ve vercme the wrld Fifthly, Jesus says make rm in yur prayer life fr frgiveness, bth fr yurself and fr thers Jesus cming back t this particular issue after He finishes His mdel f prayer in vs S rather than spend much time n this particular tpic nw, I m ging t put it ff until we cver it next week Fr nw, it s enugh t say that we shuld spend sme time cnfessing ur sins t the Lrd and seeking His frgiveness Likewise, we shuld spend time reslving ur resentment and anger tward thers wh have hurt us Ask the Lrd t help us cme t reslutin with thers ffenses against us s that we can truly let them g and find frgiveness fr thers As we ll learn next time, these tw things are clsely linked spiritually speaking 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 14 Finally, Jesus says ur prayers shuld include a request fr prtectin frm spiritual warfare Satan is real and s are the demnic angels that fllwed him in rebellin against the Father They are present in the wrld, perating cntinuusly and aware f wh their enemies are As brn again believers in Jesus Christ, we are enemies f the enemy and his frces And therefre, we are ging t experience their attacks frm time t time, even mre as we becme mre effective witnesses fr Jesus We need prayer cver t withstand their attacks We need t pray that the Lrd wuld prtect us frm falling fr the schemes f the enemy The wrding f v.13 is unfrtunate in the English translatin It makes it sund as if there is pssibility the Father may lead us t be tempted by Satan, which is never true But in the riginal Greek Jesus simply meant lead us away frm the enemy s temptatins S we shuld pray that as the enemy schemes t tempt ur flesh t d the wrng thing that the Lrd wuld rescue us frm urselves S in summary, we dn t want t practice ur prayer life in a hypcritical way, which is praying like thse wh dn t have a relatinship with Gd Instead, apprach the Father bldly by engaging Him in a meaningful cnversatin In that cnversatin, structure yur prayer t include the six majr areas Jesus gave us in His example But dn t recite the wrds Jesus gave Fill in the details with yur wn wrds, yur wn needs, yur wn desires, frm yur wn heart And as yu d, anticipate Gd s respnse because He will be speaking t yu t 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.