Studying
gospel of Matthew –
Broad
stroke –with our brush – Overview
Every now and then we pause
to take a more focused look at a subject
But most of the time we are trying
to cover more ground and capture the heart of
what is being said – more than all the details.
For a more in depth study in
one of the gospels – go to our online and see any studies in Mark or
especially
Luke and John
Right
now we are in the middle of a section called the sermon on the
We are trying to move thru
it
Tonight at the focal pt of
what we are looking at has to do with our
motivations for what we do. Who
are we doing it for? Who are we trying
to impress
For
the religious leaders in Jesus day the Motivation was to be seen by men – that
was part of their problem that Jesus addresses in the passage before us tonight
4
Statements that all begin in the same way:
When
you give / when you serve / when you pray / when you fast
The
very wording – implies that the Lord expects us to be doing all of those things
– those things should be a normal part of every
Christian’s life.
But
what Jesus shares here reveals that God the father is more interested in the
heart behind what we do than even the actual outcome.
RD V.1-18
Outright attack on the
Pharisees – their problem they want to be seen by men – they are more concerned
about how they appear to pp than how they appear to God
A)Problem was they weren’t being honest – they played the game – they appeared
to be godly – from the outside – but their hearts were far from God
B)Jesus called them white washed tombs – { coffin – pretty box – full of dead mens bones.
1)There is a dead guy in there. – Made to look great
Sometimes
better than they did – but not them.
C)Outwardly they looked great – giving serving praying
fasting – they did it all to be seen by others
1)Jesus said that is their reward – the esteem of men is their reward
D)They have traded the esteem of men for the rejection of God – that is
always a bad trade.
1)Charlemene: What profit a man gain…
lose his soul!”
Jesus
advocates the opposite – don’t give to be seen by others{
Ok to do those things before pp – but
don’t make it your motive to be seen by them
A) don’t
let your left hand Know what your right hand is doing
B)Don’t pray to be seen by men – Find a secret place to pray – private – you
and God
C)Don’t draw attention to yourself when fasting by changing your appearance –
1)they would shave – they would have bed head – whore same clothes for
several days
D)Those things are in style today – might say – don’t shower – shave – change
clothes
The
real idea was they were putting on airs – looking somber – serious – unkempt –
to draw attention
A)People would ask what is wrong? – “ nothing –I am just
fasting this week for the spiritual condition of the nation.”
my heart is so heavy I couldn’t even shave today – my heart
is heavy for the condition of the nation because God’s heart is heavy – GAG!!!!!
Jesus
says no don’t do that – don’t draw attention to yourself !
A)V.7 Jesus also has this to say about prayer – don’t let them be vain repitions – LORD –
50 TIMES
B) Careful – rather pp
pray this way than not pray at all
1)But sometimes pp – because they don’t like silence
Lord
I pray that … Lord …. And Lord
C)Denise
you want to go gets some ice cream and Denise what kind do you want Denise /
Denise should we take the car / or truck Denise – Denise DD or Single
D)We don’t talk to each other that way – why do we talk to God that way?
Wordy
– or routine –
V.9
Jesus gives this model prayer – This is not meant to be vain or repitious but it conveys the heart that God is looking for
in prayer
A)It also reveals to us the kind of things that are appropriate to ask God
for.
Begins Our father – Key word
in the Chapter – used 15
times – FATHER!
A)Father talk to God as a Father – not Creator – not the King –
B)Story of little boy – ran out to dad – stop by soldier – You can’t go out
there little boy – that is the Emperor
“He
might be an Emperor to you but a Father to me!”
C)There is respect fear admiration that one has for an emperor – we are to
have all of that for the Lord –
1)That is Why he qualifies his prayer in this way – Our father who is in
heaven
This
isn’t pops – daddio – Dude – the big guy up stairs – No this is ruling sovereign God who abides in heaven –
A)But He also desires that our relationship with Him go one step further –
it would include include the intimacy of a Father
with His Children
B)He is in heaven but because He is Omniscient – He is as close as a Father
can be.
1)GOOD FATHERS BRING SECURITY – My kids in the middle of the night
C)
So we are to start by addressing Him as our father who is in heaven.
1st
request Hallowed by your name!
A)Now I have read many commentators who have suggested that the pt here is
telling us –
PRAYER IS TO START WITH WORSHIP
B)
There is truth to that – before we start asking God for things – good to be
cognizant of His greatness
1)We need to see our problems in light of His greatness
C)But this Phrase means a lot more than that!
This
is the first thing that Jesus tells us to ask God to do.
A)The head of the list. Above all others. Most central. Most supreme.
B)What does that mean?
– Put it simply
we are asking God to make His name great!
C)That is why this is the heartbeat of all true prayer – it is not about me –
it is about God!
D)What does hallowed mean? Root word Hagios
It means literally sanctified.
1)It means to be set apart!
It
means that we are praying that His name be set apart in people’s hearts and
minds.
A)That His name would be revered and honored and valued in the hearts and
minds of pp.
B)Literally praying: Lord make your name Great – in my life!
1)Make your name great in my family –
2)May the name of God and the name of Jesus Christ be made great – glorified
in CCV -
V.10
Follows that same focus Your kingdom come your will be
done …..in heaven.
A) Let your kingdom expand
in my life / my surroundings.
B)There are only two kinds of
people:
those who are in harmony with God’s purpose, saying, “Your will be done,” and
those who live for themselves, saying,
“My will be
done.”
C)When
are hearts are all about His name being made great – we long for His kingdom to
be established in our lives
D)Effective prayer is about having our hearts in alignment with God’s heart –
1))That
is why Jesus wants us to start our prayers in that way.
From there we move to look
at our needs – Ok to pray for our needs. Give us ….. daily
bread
A)V.11 Daily provision – bring my needs before you – make your name great in all those
situations and provide
V.12
Forgiveness as we forgive
A)“What
is found in Christianity which is not found in any other religion?”
B)This was the question asked at a seminar featuring several prominent
Christian theologians.
C.
S. Lewis, the brilliant thinker and gifted author, was caught in traffic while
the rest of the panel puzzled over this question.
C)After about an hour, Lewis arrived, and the question was posed to him.
“That’s simple,” he replied.
“The forgiveness of sin.”
Because of what JC did on the cross – our sins which are
many, can be forgiven!
A)Our past is buried in the
B)He does not remember our sin
anymore. And that is what makes Christianity absolutely unique.
C)Asking forgiveness implies confession. Need to be confessed to be forgiven.
1)Feet that are not presented to Christ cannot be washed by Him.
D)Sin that is not confessed cannot be forgiven. That is the condition John
makes plain: ” (1 John 1:9). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
E)To confess means basically to agree with, and when we confess our sins we
agree with God about them
1)that they are wicked, evil, defiling, and have no part in those who belong
to Him.
F)BEING REAL WITH GOD!
When
we are real – confess – He forgives us but there is Prerequisite
A)Jesus gives the prerequisite for receiving forgiveness in the words, as
we also have forgiven our debtors. {
B)Jesus reiterates this in v.14-15
C)The principle is
simple but sobering: if we have forgiven, we will be forgiven; if we have not
forgiven, we will not be forgiven.
D)Now this is not a Prerequisite for salvation – but really of living in
constant – blessing
John MAC “Forgiveness is the mark of a
truly regenerate heart.”
E) mark that we are
truly saved We are to forgive because we have been so forgiven
We
are also to be motivated to forgive because of Christ’s example. “Be kind to one another,” Paul says, “tender-hearted,
forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph.
4:32).
John
tells us, “The one who says he abides in Him
ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John
2:6).
Because
it reflects God’s own gracious forgiveness, the forgiving of another person’s
sin expresses the highest virtue of man. “A
man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a
transgression” (Prov. 19:11).
When
I have a hard time forgiving someone I simply remember all that Christ has
forgiven me – becomes a lot easier I can’t then hold a grudge
The
Holy Spirit cannot work freely among those who carry grudges and harbor
resentment
Matt.
5:23–24;
Nothing
in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness- God’s forgiveness of
us AND our forgiveness of others and
V.13
Lead us not into temptation /
A)The word “temptation” does not
mean a drawing into sin, but into testing.
James 1:13 says that God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man with evil. God does not
tempt you.
B)What, then, is Jesus teaching us
to pray here? “Lead us not into testing.”
Wait a minute! Doesn’t the Word declare that testing
is good? Doesn’t James say to count it all joy when you fall into
various tests and trials, knowing that testing produces patience?
And Doesn’t Peter say that tests purify us as gold
purified in the fire? Why would we pray, “Lead us
not into testing”?
Courson:
The answer is
humility. Which of us would stand up today and say, “Lord, test me!
I’m ready!
Go ahead and send testing my way, and watch me flex my
spiritual muscles.”
Foolish is the person who would say such a thing!
Thus, it’s in humility that we constantly pray,
“Lead us not into testing.”
But if I have prayed, “Lord lead us not into
temptation,” then should God take me through testing, I can embrace it joyfully,
knowing He will not test me above what I am able (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Deliver us from the evil one
–
Lord helps us to be
victorious in the battle
Satan is real, and we need God’s protection.
I
read a story about George Adam Smith, a wonderful preacher and author, who was
on a mountain-climbing tour of the
On
one particularly high peak, he ran to the very precipice and looked out over
Suddenly,
a strong gust of wind came up that threatened to blow him over the edge.
From
several feet away, his guide called to him, “Mr. Smith! On your knees, sir! The
only way you’re safe up here is on your knees!”
It has been rightly said that Satan trembles when he sees
the weakest saint upon his knees.
Praying Lord help us to be
victorious in the battle
V.13 We
want your kingdom to expand – Your Kingdom is what it is all about!
Close:
By going back to a statement Jesus made 3 times here. V.4, v.6, V. 18
A)The Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
B)The Father watches – He has His eye on you!
1)Sees in Secret – He sees what no one else does
C)God is a Proud papa – Watch Amy / Amanda in sports – or a play or drama
Locked in on my kids
1)Video camera zoomed in – I see what most others miss
D)God is the same way: He is zeroed in on you! –
He sees in what
you do in secret – Sees the heart that isn’t looking for accolades – to be seen
by men
A)He will reward you openly
B)What mean? How? - Could be here
1)
BIBLE STUDY!
Also Later in Heaven:
All stand before God:
Unsaved what do with my son!
Saved: Bema Seat – seat of
reward:
What no one else saw – God
saw and He is going to make it public record in heaven
Some of the pp with the
biggest crowns – pp who did things no one else saw!
Pray / Gave / Served –
behind the scenes
God saw and will reward!
He is a Father – Into you