PRACTICING AUTHENTIC RIGHTEOUSNESS Is Our Focus.
Last Time We Talked About Authentic Giving: This Time Authentic Praying.
What Is Clear About The Most Religious Leaders In Israel At The Time Of Jesus?
THEIR ATTITUDE AND MOTIVES
TOWARD THEIR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY
WAS INADEQUATE.
JESUS REESTABLISHED GOD'S VIEW
ON BEING AUTHENTIC.
WHO WERE THE LEADERS JESUS WAS TALKING WITH IN MATTHEW 6 ?
SCRIBES AND PHARISEES AND SADUCEES.
THEY ASCRIBED TO THE RABBINIC TRADITIONAL JUDIASM:
APOSTATE JUDIASM:
Originally Worshiped The Right GOD The Right Way.
It Fell Away Into Apostasy:
It Became Works Based, Tradition Focused, Self-Righteous, False.
INTERNAL TRUE RELIGION: BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY:
Being Humble Toward God,
Repenting Of Sin According To The Moral Law Of God,
Turning Toward God For Forgiveness Of Sin,
Finding Salvation By Faith Alone In Him.
WE LEARNED LAST TIME:
YOU KNOW IT IS APOSTATE WHEN:
THE TRADITIONS AND INTUITIONS OF MEN
ARE MORE AUTHORITATIVE
THAN THE AUTHORITY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE.
WHEN IT IS NOT INTERNAL HEART CENTERED WORSHIP
OF THE ONE TRUE GOD THRU JESUS CHRIST THE SON.
Scripture Is Very Clear: There Is One God And Only One God,
There Is One Lord And Only One Lord,
God In Christ Has Been Revealed As Savior, Redeemer, And King.
There Is One And Only One Inspired Revelation, The BIBLE.
There Is Only One Accurate Correct Interpretation Of The BIBLE.
There Is ONLY ONE Plan Of Salvation In The BIBLE.
APOSTATE JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY ARE NOT COMPATABLE.
JESUS CAME AND SET A CORRECT STANDARD.
HE Explained To Them:
You Have Torn Down The DIVINE Standard.
You Have Reconstituted A HUMAN Standard.
Your Human Standard Is NOT Acceptable To God.
HE Says To Them:
I Am NOT Come To Destroy The Law And The Prophets.
I Am Come To: Reaffirm Them.
I Am Come To: Reassert True Righteousness.
I Am Come To: Re-Establish God's Established Standard.
SO: In Chapter 6: Jesus Tells Them:
They Have The Wrong Approach Towards The Things Of Life.
They Have The Wrong Approach To What Defiles You.
They Have The Wrong Approach To Theology.
They Have The Wrong Approach To Worship.
They Have The Wrong Approach To Giving.
They Have The Wrong Approach To PRAYER.
JESUS SUMS UP
THE WHOLE AREA OF RELIGIOUS RESPONSIBILITY:
OUR WORSHIP TOWARD GOD,
SHOULD BE COMING FROM THE DEPTHS OF A PURE HEART.
Your Giving: Phony,
Your Praying: Phony,
Your Fasting: Phony.
So, He Really Unmasks Hypocrisy.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
PRAYER IS A DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S WORTH.
PRAYER IS NOT A DEMONSTRATION OF OUR WORTH.
OUTLINE:
1. INAUTHENTIC PRAYING (6:5, 7).
A. PRAYING TO BE SEEN BY OTHERS.
B. PRAYING TO BE HEARD BY OTHERS.
2. AUTHENTIC PRAYING (6:6, 8).
A. PRAYING TO BE SEEN BY THE FATHER.
B. PRAYING TO BE HEARD BY THE FATHER.
6:5-8 When You Pray,
DO NOT Be Like The Hypocrites,
For They Are Fond Of Praying:
Standing In The Synagogues ,
And At The Corners Of The Streets,
So That They May Be Seen By People.
This Is The Truth I Tell You--They Are Paid In Full.
When You Pray,
Go Into Your Private Room,
And Shut The Door, And Pray To Your Father Who Is In Secret;
And Your Father Who Sees What Happens In Secret,
Will Give You Your Reward In Full.
When You Pray:
DO NOT Pile Up Meaningless Phrases, As The Gentiles Do,
For Their Idea Is That They Will Be Heard Because Of Long Prayers.
DO NOT Be Like Them,
For Your Father Knows The Things You Need Before You Ask Him.
1. INAUTHENTIC PRAYING (6:5, 7).
A. PRAYING TO BE SEEN BY OTHERS.
B. PRAYING TO BE HEARD BY OTHERS.
No Nation Ever Had A Higher Ideal Of Prayer Than Israel;
No Religion Ever Ranked Prayer As Top Priority Like Judaism.
The Rabbis Said: PRAYER IS GREATER THAN ALL GOOD WORKS.
But Certain Faults Had Entered Into The Jewish Habits Of Prayer.
These Faults Are NOT LIMITED TO Jewish Ideas Of Prayer;
These Faults Can Occur In A Community Where Prayer Is A Priority.
These Faults Are Not From Neglect.
These Faults Are From Misguided Devotion.
(I) PRAYER TENDED TO BECOME FORMALIZED.
There Were 2 DAILY PRESCRIBED PRAYERS For Every Jew.
"Hear, O Israel, The Lord Our God Is One Lord."
The Full Shema Had To Be Recited By Every Jew.
The Full Shema Had To Be Recited Every A.M. And Every P.M.
It Had To Be Said:
Morning: Before The Third Hour, 9 A.M. AND Evening: Before 9 P.M.
NO MATTER WHERE A PERSON FOUND THEMSELF: Home, The Street, Work, Synagogue, ONE Must Stop And RECITE IT.
Many Loved The Shema And Repeated It With Reverence, Love.
Many More Who RECITE IT OUT OF DUTY NOT HEART FELT INTENT.
The Shema Had A Chance Of Becoming A Vain Repetition,
It Might Be Mumbled Like Some Spell Or Incantation.
We Have No Room To CRITICIZE: How We Pray At Mealtime.
THE SECOND WAS THE SHEMONEH 'ESREH:
It Consisted Of Eighteen Prayers (And Later Grew To Be 19),
An Essential Part Of The Synagogue Service.
Most Of These Prayers Are Short,
All Of Them Are Very Lovely.
EXAMPLES:
The Twelfth Prayer:
Let Thy Mercy, O Lord, Be Showed Upon The Upright, The Humble, The Elders And Teachers Of Israel,
Be Favorable To The Pious Strangers Among Us, And To Us All.
Give Thou A Good Reward To Those Who Sincerely Trust In Thy Name,
That Our Lot May Be Cast Among Them In The World To Come,
That Our Hope Be Not Deceived.
Praised Be Thou, O Lord,
Who Art The Hope And Confidence Of The Faithful.
The Fifth Prayer:
Bring Us Back To Thy Law, O Our Father;
Bring Us Back, O King, To Thy Service;
Bring Us Back To Thee By True Repentance.
Praised Be Thou, O Lord Who Dost Accept Our Repentance,
The Jews Must Recite It 3x A Day: Morning, Afternoon, Evening.
Just Like The SHEMA:
The Devout Jew Prayed It With Loving Devotion;
There Were Many More Who RECITE IT OUT OF DUTY OR HABIT WITHOUT ANY HEART FELT INTENT.
It Had A Chance Of Becoming A Vain Repetition,
It Might Be Mumbled Like Some Spell Or Incantation.
Again, We Have No Room To CRITICIZE: How We Pray At Bedtime.
(II) THE JEWISH LITURGY SUPPLIED STATED PRAYERS FOR ALL OCCASIONS:
All Aspects Of Life Had Its Stated Formula Of Prayer.
There Was Prayer Before And After Each Meal;
There Were Prayers In Connection With The Light, The Fire, The Lightning, On Seeing The New Moon, Comets, Rain, Tempest, At The Sight Of The Sea, Lakes, Rivers, On Receiving Good News, On Using New Furniture, On Entering Or Leaving A City.
Everything Had Its Prayer.
Clearly There Is Something Infinitely Lovely Here.
It Was The Intention That Every Happening In Life Should Be Brought Into The Presence Of God.
BUT, Again, Prescribed And Stated Prayers Can Easily RECITED OUT OF DUTY OR HABIT WITHOUT ANY HEART FELT INTENT.
(III) THE DEVOUT JEW HAD SET TIMES FOR PRAYER:
The Hours To Pray Were Specific.
The Rule Was To Stop Whatever Your During And PRAY.
Clearly One Might Be Genuinely Remembering God,
Or One Might Be Carrying Out An Habitual Formality.
THE CUSTOM: Remember GOD 3x A Day Everyday:
POTENTIAL DANGER: Becoming Just An External Ritual.
(IV) THERE WAS A TENDENCY TO CONNECT PRAYER WITH CERTAIN PLACES, AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE SYNAGOGUE:
There Are Certain Places Where God Seems Very Near,
But There Were Certain Rabbis Who Taught Prayer Was Not Heard If It Was Offered In The Temple Or In The Synagogue.
THE CUSTOM: Go To The Temple At The Hours Of Prayer.
POTENTIAL DANGER: Was GOD Confined To Certain Holy Places?
REMEMBER: The Whole Earth Is The Temple Of God.
(V) THERE WAS A TENDENCY TOWARDS LONG PRAYERS:
A Tendency To Long Prayers Is NOT Confined To The Jews.
In 18th Century Worship In Scotland Length Meant Devotion.
Rabbi Levi Said: Whoever Is Long In Prayer Is Heard.
If A Person Banged Long Enough At God's Door, He Will Answer.
(VI) THERE WAS REPETITION THAT WAS USED AND OVERUSED:
Endless Repetition Of Scripted Prayer Was Used To HYPNOTIZE.
Some Jews Did That With The Shema.
It Is A Kind Of Substitution Of Self-Hypnotism For Prayer.
Another Way In Which Jewish Prayer Used Repetition.
Attempt To List Every Possible Title And Adjective In The Address Of A Prayer To God.
One Famous Prayer Begins:
Blessed, Praised, And Glorified, Exalted, Extolled And Honored,
Magnified And Lauded Be The Name Of The Holy One.
(VII) CERTAIN JEWS PRAYED TO BE SEEN OF MEN:
The Jewish System Of Prayer Made Display Very Easy.
The Jew Prayed Standing, With Hands Stretched Out, Palms Upwards, And With Head Bowed.
Make Sure To Be At A Busy Street Comer, Or In A Crowded City Square:
So That Others See With What Devotion One Prayed.
So That Others Might Admire One's Exceptional Piety.
HOW TO PRAY:
JESUS LAYS DOWN TWO GREAT RULES FOR PRAYER:
1. HE INSISTS TO KNOW:
ALL TRUE PRAYER MUST BE OFFERED TO GOD NOT FOR SHOW.
Jesus Had Criticism: They Were Praying To Men And Not To God.
Whether In Public Or In Private Prayer,
A Man Should Have,
No Thought In His Mind,
And No Desire In His Heart,
But God.
2. HE INSISTS TO REMEMBER:
THAT GOD IS A GOD OF LOVE AND RESPONSES IN LOVE.
Jesus Emphasized:
God Is Ready To Answer MORE Than We Are Ready To Pray.
His Gifts And His Grace Do Not Have To Be Coaxed For Response.
WE COME TO GOD WHOSE ONE WISH IS TO GIVE.
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