Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Prayer and Fasting Minus All the Pizzazz │ Msg 814

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Prayer and Fasting Minus All the Pizzazz │ Msg 814 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: We do not have to have lived in Jesus' day
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Speaker 1: in order to understand his concerns. Our times include vivid
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Speaker 1: illustrations of many of the very things that troubled our Lord.
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Speaker 1: Religious performance, theatrical displays, showmanship, competition, hypocrisy, piety on stage.
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Speaker 1: For the purpose of making a good impression, You know,
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Speaker 1: the whole nine yards. How timely are the master's words.
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Speaker 1: What an indictment of the 21st century. As we dig
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Speaker 1: deeper into his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' words turn
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Speaker 1: our attention from all the circus-like pizzazz of performance to
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Speaker 1: the simplicity of prayer and fasting. Two disciplines all too
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Speaker 1: rarely done, his way for his glory. However, we need
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Speaker 1: to employ these disciplines in order to enhance our devotion
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Speaker 1: and ground us in the rhythms of God's work in
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Speaker 1: the world. These two disciplines, when practiced regularly, correctly, and faithfully,
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Speaker 1: will help us shine with the light of His glory
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Speaker 1: in our day-to-day interactions with others. Our scripture for this
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Speaker 1: message on prayer and fasting is found in Matthew chapter
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Speaker 1: 6 verses 9 through 18. You will notice I began
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Speaker 1: to read these verses from the New Living Translation that
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Speaker 1: Jesus is teaching the disciples how to pray. Matthew 6
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Speaker 1: verse 9 begins, Pray like this, Our Father in heaven,
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Speaker 1: may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon.
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Speaker 1: May your will be done on earth as it is
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Speaker 1: in heaven. Give us today the food we need and
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Speaker 1: forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who
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Speaker 1: sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation,
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Speaker 1: but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive
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Speaker 1: those who sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you.
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Speaker 1: But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will
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Speaker 1: not forgive your sins. And when you fast, don't make
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Speaker 1: it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to
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Speaker 1: look miserable and disheveled, so people will admire them for
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Speaker 1: their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the
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Speaker 1: only reward they will ever get. But when you fast,
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Speaker 1: comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one
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Speaker 1: will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who
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Speaker 1: knows what you do in private. And your Father, who
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Speaker 1: sees everything, will reward you. The longer I live, the
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Speaker 1: more I appreciate balance. And yet, the more I see
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Speaker 1: of extremes. Let's take evangelism, just plain old witnessing for Christ,
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Speaker 1: for example. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all just
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Speaker 1: developed a lifestyle of witness? The way we did our work,
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Speaker 1: the way we conducted ourselves in our neighborhood, the way
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Speaker 1: we treated our families, the way we spent our time
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Speaker 1: in social gatherings. Wouldn't it be great if just as
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Speaker 1: a regular part of life, Christ just kind of flowed
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Speaker 1: through and opened doors and We spoke in appropriate moments
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Speaker 1: and we waited for the right time and on other
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Speaker 1: occasions we said nothing until it was obvious that it
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Speaker 1: was the right time and then we spoke. But we
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Speaker 1: don't do that. Christians, I notice, either do not talk
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Speaker 1: at all about Christ, until Sunday of course, or that's
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Speaker 1: all we talk about. I mean, it just, our work
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Speaker 1: gets in our way because we're there to talk about Christ.
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Speaker 1: Or our fun times need to be filled with discussions
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Speaker 1: about Christ and the issues of Christianity. Extremism. It doesn't
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Speaker 1: get the job done. Furthermore, I find that that kind
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Speaker 1: of extreme offends. It isn't a witness. Or take Bible study.
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Speaker 1: As much as we love the Bible, wouldn't it be
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Speaker 1: great to just realize on a regular basis the importance
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Speaker 1: of spending time in this book for its counsel and
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Speaker 1: our devotional life and and let it speak to us,
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Speaker 1: and we really obey it as it talks principles that work,
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Speaker 1: and we carry them out in our lives, but no.
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Speaker 1: Unless I miss my guess, many, I'm trying not to
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Speaker 1: say most Christians, hardly touch their Bibles until Sunday. Haven't
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Speaker 1: you lost your Bible and wondered where it was Sunday morning,
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Speaker 1: and you went all through the house trying to find it,
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Speaker 1: and my, we've not even thought of it. Or we've
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Speaker 1: met people who do nothing but Bible study. Bible classes
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Speaker 1: several nights a week, Bible talk, Bible memory, Bible teaching,
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Speaker 1: Bible conferences, Bible, Bible, Bible. So that we are preoccupied
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Speaker 1: with nothing but that. Few people, it seems, can get
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Speaker 1: more preoccupied with their thing than Christians. I think back
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Speaker 1: to the most, I think the most preoccupied person I
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Speaker 1: was ever around was one of my theology teachers years ago.
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Speaker 1: He was one of my professors in seminary. His study
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Speaker 1: and expertise was in one of the original languages, but
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Speaker 1: he was a theologian. I mean, that was his focus.
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Speaker 1: I don't think he knew at times who the president was.
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Speaker 1: I imagine we'd have been at war several weeks before
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Speaker 1: it would have dawned on him, we're at war. I
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Speaker 1: heard a great story on him the other day, and
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Speaker 1: I need to ask him someday if it's true. I
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Speaker 1: would imagine it is. He had been ministering in Baltimore,
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Speaker 1: and he caught the flight back to Philadelphia to come home,
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Speaker 1: and he waited out front at the airport for his wife,
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Speaker 1: and she never showed up, never showed up. And he
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Speaker 1: went to the phone booth and thankfully remembered his home
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Speaker 1: phone and dialed the number, and she answered. He said,
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Speaker 1: where are you? I thought you were going to meet
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Speaker 1: me at the airport. She said, well, honey, you drove
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Speaker 1: to Baltimore. So we had to get on a plane,
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Speaker 1: go back, get his car, and drive back to Philadelphia.
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Speaker 1: That is preoccupation. It is easy for us in our
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Speaker 1: attempt to make righteousness a lifestyle to go to seed
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Speaker 1: with it. To have our house filled with little mottos.
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Speaker 1: Piety gone to seed. rather than to live a normal, beautiful,
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Speaker 1: balanced life, connected to heaven, but very much on planet Earth.
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Speaker 1: Jesus did not talk about preoccupation in the sixth chapter
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Speaker 1: of Matthew, in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount.
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Speaker 1: He talked about the opposite problem, ostentation. which Webster defines
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Speaker 1: as excessive display. I agree with Martin Lloyd-Jones. The Christian
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Speaker 1: is to live in such a way that men looking
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Speaker 1: at him and seeing the quality of his life will
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Speaker 1: glorify God. He must always remember that he is not
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Speaker 1: to do things in order that he may attract attention
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Speaker 1: to himself. He must not desire to be seen of men.
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Speaker 1: He is never to be self-conscious. But clearly, this balance
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Speaker 1: is a fine and delicate one. So often, we tend
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Speaker 1: to go to one extreme or the other. Christian people
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Speaker 1: tend either to be guilty of great ostentation or else
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Speaker 1: to become monks and hermits. As you look at the
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Speaker 1: long story of the Christian church, you will find this
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Speaker 1: great conflict has been going on. They have either been
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Speaker 1: ostentatious or else. They have been so afraid of self
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Speaker 1: and self-glorification that they have segregated themselves from the world,
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Speaker 1: we are called to avoid both extremes. Unfortunately, the only
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Speaker 1: people that appreciate an introduction like this are those who
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Speaker 1: are balanced. If you are given to an extreme, it
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Speaker 1: sounds like an extreme introduction. But look at what Jesus said.
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Speaker 1: Beware of practicing your righteousness. It doesn't stop there. He
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Speaker 1: wants us to practice our righteousness. In fact, that is
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Speaker 1: what is rewarded. The practice of righteousness 24 hours a day,
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Speaker 1: every waking moment. The practice of righteousness when we worship
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Speaker 1: just as much as when we work. The practice of
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Speaker 1: righteousness in the paying of our taxes just as much
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Speaker 1: as in the plans for our savings. The practice of
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Speaker 1: righteousness in working with our family as much as dealing
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Speaker 1: with the public. He's not attacking the practice of righteousness,
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Speaker 1: but beware. of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed.
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Speaker 1: That's the motive. Beware of practicing your righteousness to be
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Speaker 1: noticed by others. Otherwise, you have no reward with your
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Speaker 1: Father who is in heaven. I think he's saying you
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Speaker 1: will live an empty life. You won't discover along the
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Speaker 1: way a sense of satisfaction and deep-seated pleasure that come
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Speaker 1: as rewards from your Heavenly Father. Why not practice my
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Speaker 1: righteousness to impress people? Well, because I get the credit
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Speaker 1: He deserves. And furthermore, I miss the reward He has reserved.
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Speaker 1: Not willing to leave it just a general rule, Jesus
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Speaker 1: gets specific. You may remember from our previous time together.
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Speaker 1: Verse 2, when therefore you give alms, don't be ostentatious.
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Speaker 1: Verse 5, and when you pray, don't put on a show.
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Speaker 1: Verse 16, when you fast, whenever you fast, Don't look
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Speaker 1: like you're fasting. Don't look holy. Some of the hardest
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Speaker 1: people to be around are those who look holy. That is,
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Speaker 1: they have kind of a medieval idea of holiness. I'll
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Speaker 1: get on that a little bit more later on. When
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Speaker 1: you give, verse 2, don't sound a trumpet. $ 5. 00. Don't
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Speaker 1: do that. Don't do that. In fact, he goes so
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Speaker 1: far as to say, don't even let your left hand
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Speaker 1: know what your right hand is doing. Verse three. I
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Speaker 1: thought about that for a while and I have an idea.
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Speaker 1: I wonder if he means don't even put it in
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Speaker 1: your journal. Now we have to keep records obviously, but
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Speaker 1: when you keep a personal journal, Not tax records, but
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Speaker 1: when you keep a personal journal, don't add how much
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Speaker 1: you gave to that particular project. Don't make a record
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Speaker 1: of it. There's no reason to feel smug and sophisticated
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Speaker 1: because you have done some great deed. Just do it
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Speaker 1: and forget about it. Do it for the right motive.
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Speaker 1: Do it sacrificially and generously, and then get out of it.
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Speaker 1: Get on with life until there's another need, and do
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Speaker 1: it again. And he adds... When you pray, verse 5,
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Speaker 1: don't be as the hypocrites. They love to stand and
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Speaker 1: pray and put on a show and use words that
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Speaker 1: make other people feel impressed with them. He says, don't
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Speaker 1: do that. I say to you, the end of verse 5,
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Speaker 1: they have their reward. They get it at the moment
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Speaker 1: somebody else sucks in his breath. Wow, that's the reward.
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Speaker 1: Enjoy it. You're not getting anything more than that. But
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Speaker 1: when you pray, verse 6. Now, look at what he does.
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Speaker 1: He talks about where you pray, verse 6. To whom
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Speaker 1: you pray, end of verse 6. And how you pray,
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Speaker 1: 7 through 15. First, where to pray. Verse 6. Go
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Speaker 1: into your inner room. We've looked at that before. It
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Speaker 1: means a place of secrecy. Maybe your car. Maybe your
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Speaker 1: living room when you're all alone early in the morning.
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Speaker 1: Maybe your bedroom. Maybe a bathroom. Maybe a bathroom. It
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Speaker 1: may be a prayer closet that you have built into
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Speaker 1: your place or some place. It doesn't matter the exact spot.
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Speaker 1: The point is it is a place where you can
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Speaker 1: shut the door and not put on a show. To
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Speaker 1: whom do you pray? Pray to your father. Notice immediately
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Speaker 1: he's in secret. If you're going to meet with God,
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Speaker 1: you'll have to meet with him in secret. You have
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Speaker 1: a secret place, don't you? You do develop secrets. Your
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Speaker 1: righteousness in secret, don't you? I've missed my guess on
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Speaker 1: some folks, but usually it doesn't take more than five
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Speaker 1: or ten minutes, does it, for any of us to
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Speaker 1: spot a person who knows the secret place. Depth doesn't
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Speaker 1: have to be talked about. You can spot a life
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Speaker 1: that's deeper. My father used to say to me years ago, son,
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Speaker 1: always have more behind the counter than you display for
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Speaker 1: people to see. It's great counsel. Always have more stock
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Speaker 1: in the shelves than you put out front for people
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Speaker 1: to see. It's in the secret place you stock the shelves.
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Speaker 1: Your father who is in secret will honor you with
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Speaker 1: secret rewards because you met with him in the secret place. Now,
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Speaker 1: how do I do it? Verse 7. First, how not
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Speaker 1: to do it. When you're praying, do not use meaningless
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Speaker 1: repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they
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Speaker 1: will be heard for their many words. So first, do
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Speaker 1: not use meaningless repetition. This doesn't mean we don't pray
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Speaker 1: for the same thing several times. Someone was troubled about
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Speaker 1: that the last time I spoke on it, and she
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Speaker 1: asked me, she said, you mean I shouldn't ask for
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Speaker 1: the same thing more than once? No, he's talking about
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Speaker 1: meaningless repetition. As a matter of fact, just recently I
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Speaker 1: found in Matthew 26, turn, will you? Matthew 26, verse 44,
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Speaker 1: that Jesus himself prayed the very same thing on more
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Speaker 1: than one occasion. When he was in the garden of Gethsemane,
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Speaker 1: just before being arrested, pushed through a kangaroo court of
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Speaker 1: trial and then crucified, he was alone with his men
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Speaker 1: in the garden, 2644. He left them again, went away,
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Speaker 1: and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.
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Speaker 1: I put in the margin of my mind that Paul
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Speaker 1: does this in 2 Corinthians 12 when he prays for
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Speaker 1: the thorn in the flesh. Three times I asked the
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Speaker 1: Lord to take it from me. Three times he said
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Speaker 1: my grace is sufficient. So we have a certain example
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Speaker 1: there of at least three times our Lord prayed for
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Speaker 1: three separate times the same thing, and you may wish
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Speaker 1: to stop at three or you may wish to go on.
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Speaker 1: It's not a reference to that kind of repetition. This
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Speaker 1: is meaningless repetition of the same words till they almost
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Speaker 1: become a chant. Let me show you an example. Acts
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Speaker 1: chapter 19. You were looking at Matthew 26. An illustration
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Speaker 1: from the New Testament would be Acts 19.34. The context
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Speaker 1: is the Apostle Paul on a missionary journey. There's a
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Speaker 1: riot that breaks out in the city of Ephesus. And
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Speaker 1: in the process of time, this occurs, 1934. But when
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Speaker 1: they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry
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Speaker 1: arose from all as they shouted for about two hours,
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Speaker 1: great is Artemis of the Ephesians. Two hours. Can you imagine?
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Speaker 1: A writer named Bruce writes, the pagans thought that by
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Speaker 1: endless repetitions and many words, they would inform their gods
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Speaker 1: as to their needs and weary them into granting their requests. Oh,
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Speaker 1: that was interesting. Weary them into granting their requests. And
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Speaker 1: I immediately thought of a preschooler at the checkout counter
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Speaker 1: at the grocery store. Because I have raised for, and
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Speaker 1: because I still see children doing the same thing. I
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Speaker 1: don't know whether they disciple one another in it or what,
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Speaker 1: but they all know to do it. Mom wants the
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Speaker 1: Tic Tacs. Mom wants the Tic Tacs. Mom wants the
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Speaker 1: Tic Tacs. Mom wants the Tic Tacs. Can I have
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Speaker 1: some Tic Tacs? Mom, can I have some Tic Tacs? No, son. Mom,
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Speaker 1: can I have some Tic Tacs? Can I have some
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Speaker 1: Tic Tacs? Can I have some Tic Tacs? I wanted
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Speaker 1: to dump the truck of Tic Tacs on the kid yesterday. Finally,
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Speaker 1: wearied from his consternation, she grabs a handful of them
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Speaker 1: and slams them down and the gal checks them out. Beep, beep, beep, beep.
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Speaker 1: And the kid got exactly what he wanted. It works
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Speaker 1: among pagans and among parents. But it doesn't work with God. Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord.
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Speaker 1: No way does that get his attention and it never
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Speaker 1: informs him So stop it if you've gotten into that
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Speaker 1: kind of prayer life. Stop that kind of nonsense because
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Speaker 1: it breaks exactly with what Christ teaches. Our God knows
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Speaker 1: all that we need before we ever ask. Verse 8,
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Speaker 1: Matthew 6. Your Father knows what you need before you
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Speaker 1: ask Him. So ask Him right. Haven't you had to
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Speaker 1: work with your children on a whiny tone or an
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Speaker 1: attitude or say please? You know what that talk is?
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Speaker 1: That's family talk. It's interesting our Lord never refers to
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Speaker 1: the Lord God as friend or sovereign. It's always father
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Speaker 1: in this passage. It's a family relationship. What father who
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Speaker 1: is really in touch like our God is with his
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Speaker 1: children doesn't know the needs of his children? And what
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Speaker 1: a delight it is to a father's heart to have
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Speaker 1: a child who is truly in need ask the dad
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Speaker 1: for help. Just to come with the right motive and
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Speaker 1: quietly or gratefully ask, could you help me? What father
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Speaker 1: is there, as our Lord teaches elsewhere, will give his
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Speaker 1: boy a stone or a snake instead of what he
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Speaker 1: asks for? We have somehow turned prayer time into show time.
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Speaker 1: We have made prayer almost a hypnotic thing and calling
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Speaker 1: it the moving of the Spirit of God upon us.
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Speaker 1: Our Lord says, don't use meaningless repetition. Just ask the
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Speaker 1: Father and wait. After this, he turns to the way
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Speaker 1: to carry it out. Having told us how not to
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Speaker 1: do it, he says, pray then this way. By the way,
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Speaker 1: have you noticed that there aren't many times that our
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Speaker 1: Bible gives us an exact pattern to follow in any
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Speaker 1: of the disciplines of piety? I've never seen anywhere else
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Speaker 1: a pattern to follow in fasting. I've not seen four
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Speaker 1: steps to take in gaining self-control. I've looked, but I
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Speaker 1: haven't found them. I've only found this and a few
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Speaker 1: other places where we're given not a formula. I don't
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Speaker 1: like that word. It conveys a wooden literalism. Not a formula,
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Speaker 1: but a pattern. Pray this way. Like your son may
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Speaker 1: ask you, how do you change a tire? You change
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Speaker 1: it this way. You show him a way to do it.
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Speaker 1: or your daughter may want to know how to wear
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Speaker 1: a certain outfit, you wear it this way. It doesn't
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Speaker 1: have to be the exact way, but that's the idea,
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Speaker 1: and that's what this is. Pray then this way. First,
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Speaker 1: look at the whole prayer. I notice the first part
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Speaker 1: of the prayer turns full focus on God, and the
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Speaker 1: last part of the prayer turns attention to humanity. Sort
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Speaker 1: of a vertical-horizontal combination. Pray then this way. Notice God
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Speaker 1: is referred to in His person as our Father. We're
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Speaker 1: told of His name, verse 9. His kingdom is mentioned
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Speaker 1: in verse 10, and His will as well. God's person,
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Speaker 1: God's name, God's kingdom, God's will. Isn't that a reproof
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Speaker 1: to you and me who tend to go directly to
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Speaker 1: prayer and start with the give me this and I
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Speaker 1: need that and take care, rather than do it this way, Father,
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Speaker 1: in heaven. How consecrated and sacred and holy, hallowed is
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Speaker 1: your name. It's your kingdom that I have in focus
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Speaker 1: and it's your will that That is most important. Let
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Speaker 1: it happen on earth just as it continually happens in
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Speaker 1: the swarms of angels in heaven. Focusing on God. I'll
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Speaker 1: tell you, it'll revolutionize your prayer life. Now the second
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Speaker 1: part of the prayer turns attention to us and our needs.
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Speaker 1: Notice the reference to give us, verse 11. Forgive us,
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Speaker 1: verse 12. and deliver us, 13. Give us bread, forgive
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Speaker 1: us debts, a reference to sin, and deliver us from
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Speaker 1: the evil one. I only have time for a few comments, unfortunately,
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Speaker 1: but I hope you will pay close attention. This is
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Speaker 1: one of those sacred paths we walk. Every time I
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Speaker 1: deal with a prayer, or a psalm, I feel a
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Speaker 1: sense of sacredness that I shouldn't mess with it much.
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Speaker 1: I should let it speak for itself. God doesn't need
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Speaker 1: anyone's help in making his truth known. Much of it
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Speaker 1: is self-explanatory. Let me just show you what I see here.
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Speaker 1: I'll be brief. Note how he would have us address him,
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Speaker 1: our fathers. We're living in a day, in fact, the
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Speaker 1: last decade it seems to have become more popular for
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Speaker 1: people to pray to Jesus. I don't remember finding places
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Speaker 1: in the scriptures where people prayed to the Son of God.
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Speaker 1: And when he taught his followers to pray, it was
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Speaker 1: always to the Father. So if you wish to be
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Speaker 1: absolutely biblical about it, pray to the Father and call
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Speaker 1: him that. It will help you in praying to see
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Speaker 1: him as Father more than friend. though there's nothing wrong
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Speaker 1: with that. Or more than just a distant deity, though
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Speaker 1: there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but Father says it best.
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Speaker 1: If you had a poor relationship with your dad, try
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Speaker 1: your best to understand that has nothing to do with
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Speaker 1: your Heavenly Father. I've heard people go on and on
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Speaker 1: about how they just can't trust God because they couldn't
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Speaker 1: trust their dad. And I feel sorry for people like that.
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Speaker 1: I don't know of anyone I could trust like my
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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father. And as much as you, your, and my
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Speaker 1: dad let us down has nothing to do with casting
26:05
Speaker 1: shadows on our God. He's our father. He knows how
26:09
Speaker 1: to handle his family. But there's respect in the word
26:15
Speaker 1: as well as freedom. When there's a healthy relationship between
26:19
Speaker 1: father and child, there's freedom. There's an openness. You can relax,
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Speaker 1: and yet you respect him. The older I get, the
26:27
Speaker 1: more I respect my father and my elders. the more
26:32
Speaker 1: I realized my granddad had going for him. I think
26:38
Speaker 1: that comes with age. And the longer I spend in
26:42
Speaker 1: the Father's presence, the more respect I have for him,
26:46
Speaker 1: and the less I want to tell him to do,
26:49
Speaker 1: the more I want to just linger in his presence.
26:56
Speaker 1: Notice how he would have us envision him, who art
27:00
Speaker 1: in the heavens. The Greek uses the plural, heavens. This
27:05
Speaker 1: speaks of the transcendence, the eminence, I-M-M-A-N-E-N-C-E, the eminence of God.
27:11
Speaker 1: He is in the breath that surrounds me. He is
27:14
Speaker 1: in the galaxies, thousands of galaxies removed from me. He
27:20
Speaker 1: surrounds my heavens. He isn't contained in the letters G-O-D.
27:27
Speaker 1: He is everywhere and yet as close as my own breath.
27:33
Speaker 1: Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed. Archaic word. We don't use
27:41
Speaker 1: it these days, I'm sorry to say. It is a
27:45
Speaker 1: word that refers to consecrated, holy, dedicated. Perhaps the only
27:51
Speaker 1: time it flows freely from English lips would be in
27:54
Speaker 1: the repetition of Lincoln's grand Gettysburg Address, where he came
27:59
Speaker 1: to that moving part looking out over the fields that
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Speaker 1: had been littered with the remains of war, and said,
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Speaker 1: we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.
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Speaker 1: The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have
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Speaker 1: consecrated it. You cannot hallow God, but you can acknowledge
28:27
Speaker 1: that he is holy. So it is a statement of
28:34
Speaker 1: fact rather than a request. I acknowledge by uttering your name, Father,
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Speaker 1: that your name is hallowed, separate from sin. By merely
28:53
Speaker 1: reviewing the first few lines of the Lord's Prayer, we've
28:57
Speaker 1: come away with a renewed respect. And you know, men
29:01
Speaker 1: and women, this takes time. We are so hurried. Everything
29:12
Speaker 1: is so instant. I really have to tell you, just
29:23
Speaker 1: to be totally honest with you, I wonder how many
29:26
Speaker 1: of you really will pray about what you should give.
29:30
Speaker 1: regarding our future. I really wonder that. I want you
29:35
Speaker 1: to so badly because I want God in this. I
29:43
Speaker 1: want you to do that more than anything. If we
29:50
Speaker 1: are going to run a spiritual ministry, we need to
29:53
Speaker 1: do it on spiritual terms. The future of this place
29:58
Speaker 1: doesn't rest with my salesmanship. I refuse to use my
30:04
Speaker 1: image and clout for that purpose. I want God to
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Speaker 1: do it. I want him to meet with you in
30:13
Speaker 1: the secret place and lead you to what you should do.
30:17
Speaker 1: And I know he will, but not in a hurry.
30:21
Speaker 1: It will take at least a week to hammer that out.
30:28
Speaker 1: Take time. Slow your pace. Give His hallowed name the
30:38
Speaker 1: respect that it deserves. Wait on God. And when that
30:51
Speaker 1: perspective comes toward the end of verse 10... On earth
30:56
Speaker 1: as it is in heaven. When that will begins to
30:58
Speaker 1: unfold itself to us, there is a sense of invincibility.
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Speaker 1: God has led me. That's how the great leaders of
31:07
Speaker 1: God or of the church in the past have led
31:10
Speaker 1: the church. God is in this and we die for
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Speaker 1: this because we have heard his voice and we're moving
31:19
Speaker 1: in his direction. That's invincible. There isn't a power on
31:23
Speaker 1: earth that can stand against that. But it's become showtime
31:28
Speaker 1: for so long in the church, we hardly see that anymore.
31:35
Speaker 1: Let your will be done. Let your kingdom come. I
31:39
Speaker 1: think it may have in mind the idea of Jesus'
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Speaker 1: rulership over life. Let it come to pass. And as
31:47
Speaker 1: it grows, may it consummate into that grand kingdom you
31:51
Speaker 1: promised for this earth. May it be that kind of
31:54
Speaker 1: kingdom where you rule over all. In the meantime, may
31:57
Speaker 1: your will be done on earth as it is always
32:00
Speaker 1: done among the adoring angels about you. There's a subtle,
32:10
Speaker 1: between the lines, submission of one's life to the will
32:13
Speaker 1: of God. Let your will be done in me. You
32:18
Speaker 1: want me to rearrange my agenda today Oh God, in
32:22
Speaker 1: the secret place I meet to have it rearranged. You
32:26
Speaker 1: need to rebuke me. Do surgery. I'm an open book.
32:32
Speaker 1: That kind of thing. Let your will be done on
32:35
Speaker 1: earth as it is in heaven. After focusing on his person,
32:42
Speaker 1: his name, his rule, his will, there's an appropriate shift
32:47
Speaker 1: to needs, isn't there? Give us this day Our daily bread.
32:56
Speaker 1: Isn't that good? It doesn't ask, give us this day
32:59
Speaker 1: our daily cake, our daily pie, our daily feast. Feasts
33:06
Speaker 1: don't come every day. All I need to live is bread.
33:09
Speaker 1: I just need basic sustenance. Just enough clothing to keep
33:16
Speaker 1: me warm. Lord, just give that. Anything above that is grace.
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Speaker 1: I'll settle for bread. I need it on a daily basis.
33:28
Speaker 1: It's a symbol for everything necessary for the preservation of life.
33:33
Speaker 1: And while you're giving, there's something I need just as
33:35
Speaker 1: much for my inner man, and that's forgiveness. What bread
33:39
Speaker 1: is to the outer person, forgiveness is to the soul.
33:44
Speaker 1: Sin is like a debt. It's like a debt. And
33:48
Speaker 1: if it isn't paid, it must be punished. And that's
33:52
Speaker 1: the cry here that our Lord leaves with us. Forgive
33:55
Speaker 1: us our debts. We can't cover them ourselves. Our blood
34:01
Speaker 1: is just blood, but Lord, we come in the name
34:05
Speaker 1: of the Lord Jesus and the blood of Christ that
34:08
Speaker 1: cleanses us and washes our sins away. Forgive us our debts.
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Speaker 1: And what's the comparison? As we have forgiven our debtors. Wow.
34:20
Speaker 1: Is that a reproof? Are you pleased God forgives you
34:25
Speaker 1: like you forgive others? Or are you afraid he might?
34:32
Speaker 1: How can anyone pray, Lord, forgive me? Who has anyone
34:38
Speaker 1: he's not forgiven? If the prayer means what it says,
34:43
Speaker 1: and of course it does. He says so much about
34:47
Speaker 1: it and feels so strongly he even adds to it
34:49
Speaker 1: toward the end. of this passage 14 and 15 he
34:52
Speaker 1: says if you forgive others their transgressions he'll forgive you
34:55
Speaker 1: and if you don't he won't forgive you let those
34:58
Speaker 1: words sink in I've lived a segment of my life
35:02
Speaker 1: on occasion where I wasn't forgiving and I'll tell you
35:05
Speaker 1: I lived under a horrendous pile of guilt and rightly
35:09
Speaker 1: so my sins weren't cleared they stacked till I came
35:16
Speaker 1: to terms with that fellow or that gal that I
35:19
Speaker 1: hadn't forgiven Now the part that troubles most people in
35:26
Speaker 1: the Lord's Prayer is this 13th verse, do not lead
35:28
Speaker 1: us into temptation. How could he? He is hallowed. If
35:40
Speaker 1: temptation means the solicitation to evil, sensual temptation, sexual temptation,
35:48
Speaker 1: lustful temptation, Greed temptation, those kind of solicitations to evil.
35:55
Speaker 1: How could he do that? James says, let no man
35:58
Speaker 1: say when he is tempted, I'm tempted by God. For
36:01
Speaker 1: God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither tempts he any man.
36:04
Speaker 1: But every man is tempted when he is drawn away
36:06
Speaker 1: of his own lust and enticed. James 1, 13 to 14.
36:11
Speaker 1: God cannot tempt us. Well, then some have said it
36:16
Speaker 1: means testing. Do not lead us into a test. But
36:22
Speaker 1: why wouldn't he? The tests provide us with endurance, and
36:28
Speaker 1: through endurance, character. In fact, James says don't stop the
36:32
Speaker 1: process in the first couple or three verses of his letter,
36:37
Speaker 1: because when endurance runs its course, you become people of character.
36:42
Speaker 1: Let the test happen. So the Lord does grant testing.
36:51
Speaker 1: Most likely, the verb is a permissive imperative. And perhaps
36:55
Speaker 1: it could be rendered, do not allow us to be
37:00
Speaker 1: led into temptation. Or better, do not allow us to
37:04
Speaker 1: be overwhelmed by temptation. That's why he prays, but deliver
37:11
Speaker 1: us from the evil one. I think that is a
37:17
Speaker 1: reference to the enemy himself, Satan, and his host of demons.
37:21
Speaker 1: Rescue us. I wonder if there's a veiled reference to
37:28
Speaker 1: the Trinity here. It's the Lord, our Father, who is
37:33
Speaker 1: the sustainer giving daily bread. It is the Son and
37:38
Speaker 1: our Savior who makes the forgiveness of debts possible through
37:43
Speaker 1: his blood. And it's the Spirit of God who indwells
37:48
Speaker 1: us and rescues us from the evil one. Just a thought.
37:57
Speaker 1: You want to know what the enemy hates about you
38:01
Speaker 1: and me the most? He hates the pleasure we enjoy
38:05
Speaker 1: in our Father's presence. He once enjoyed it. But through
38:10
Speaker 1: a series of prideful acts, he was cast out. And
38:15
Speaker 1: he looks back with envy. Despicable envy on all who
38:20
Speaker 1: enjoy the presence he once had. Thomas Watson, the 17th
38:24
Speaker 1: century Puritan, put it very well. Satan envies man's happiness
38:31
Speaker 1: to see a clot of dust so near to God,
38:35
Speaker 1: and himself, once a glorious angel cast out of heavenly paradise,
38:40
Speaker 1: makes him pursue mankind with inveterate hatred. He comes to
38:54
Speaker 1: this subject of forgiveness once again. By the way, the
38:58
Speaker 1: bracketed section for thine is the kingdom and the power
39:01
Speaker 1: and the glory forever. Amen. Makes such great music. Probably
39:06
Speaker 1: is not in the best manuscripts, the oldest or earliest manuscripts,
39:14
Speaker 1: but has been added out of tradition. Some later manuscripts
39:18
Speaker 1: included it. But back to forgiveness and transgression. All right.
39:24
Speaker 1: I was reading recently and came across a wonderful illustration
39:27
Speaker 1: of what I think is represented in this thought of
39:31
Speaker 1: forgiving someone else and standing upon the bedrock of Christ's
39:36
Speaker 1: death as our forgiveness. It's the Golden Gate Bridge. Its
39:44
Speaker 1: great south pier rests directly upon the fault zone of
39:48
Speaker 1: the San Andreas Fault. That bridge is an amazing structure
39:52
Speaker 1: of both flexibility and strength. It is built to sway
39:57
Speaker 1: some 20 feet at the center of it, of its
40:01
Speaker 1: one-mile suspension span. Did you know that, that the bridge
40:05
Speaker 1: sways some 20 feet? That ought to give you encouragement
40:08
Speaker 1: when you drive across it the next time. The secret, however,
40:12
Speaker 1: the secret to its durability is its flexibility. that enables
40:20
Speaker 1: this sway, but that is not all. By design, every
40:26
Speaker 1: part of the bridge, its concrete roadway, its steel railings,
40:32
Speaker 1: its cross beams, is inevitably related from one welded joint
40:38
Speaker 1: to the other up through the vast cable system to
40:41
Speaker 1: two great towers that bear most of the weight And
40:49
Speaker 1: they are deeply embedded into the rock foundation beneath the sea.
40:56
Speaker 1: In other words, the bridge is totally preoccupied with its foundation.
41:02
Speaker 1: This is its secret. Flexibility and foundation. That's the Christian.
41:14
Speaker 1: Our weight, our hope rests on the foundational foundation. Towers
41:20
Speaker 1: of the death and the resurrection of Christ. And that's
41:24
Speaker 1: what gives us the flexibility in dealing with people. That's
41:30
Speaker 1: why I can forgive my brother and flex. That's why
41:34
Speaker 1: I have flex and understanding with my sister who fails
41:37
Speaker 1: me and needs to be forgiven. Because the weight of
41:41
Speaker 1: all of that is on the twin towers of the
41:45
Speaker 1: Savior's death and resurrection. That's why he says in verse 15,
41:52
Speaker 1: if you don't forgive men, women, then your father will
41:58
Speaker 1: not forgive your transgressions. And whenever you fast. We're back
42:07
Speaker 1: again to balance. The best thing about fasting is no
42:13
Speaker 1: one knows you're doing it. The worst thing you can
42:17
Speaker 1: possibly do is have someone say, oh, you look like
42:20
Speaker 1: you've been fasting lately. Then you missed it. See verse 16?
42:27
Speaker 1: Whenever you fast, I love this counsel. I just absolutely
42:31
Speaker 1: love it. Do not put on a gloomy face. Isn't
42:35
Speaker 1: that great? You ever been around people that really wanted
42:39
Speaker 1: to look spiritual? Not one of them was smiling. It's gloom.
42:45
Speaker 1: That's the unwritten code of ethics down through the centuries
42:50
Speaker 1: of Christianity. Look grim, sad, burdened. It's very popular, especially
43:01
Speaker 1: for missionaries, to talk about the burden of the mission
43:04
Speaker 1: field or pastors, the burden of the pastor. It isn't
43:07
Speaker 1: a burden. That's his burden. What am I doing bearing
43:13
Speaker 1: his burden and getting all grim about it? I ought
43:16
Speaker 1: to be grim if I'm carrying what God's supposed to carry.
43:22
Speaker 1: And look at this next one. For they neglect their
43:24
Speaker 1: appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Do
43:27
Speaker 1: you know in Jesus' day some people painted their faces
43:30
Speaker 1: a little whiter so they would look pale? Kind of
43:35
Speaker 1: like an old saint might look that's in a marble statue.
43:40
Speaker 1: One of my favorite guys in life is a mentor
43:43
Speaker 1: of mine. He used to say, you can be a fundamentalist,
43:45
Speaker 1: just don't look like it. You know, just don't look
43:48
Speaker 1: like it. Some people get so spiritual they look like
43:52
Speaker 1: an unmade bed walking down the street. Just hair is
43:55
Speaker 1: deliberately unkempt. No more deodorant. No more pressing of pants.
44:01
Speaker 1: And no more stylish clothes. After all, you're supposed to
44:04
Speaker 1: be a citizen of heaven. Well, what do you do
44:07
Speaker 1: in the 70 years we've got to look at you?
44:14
Speaker 1: Fasting is good for one's health. Fasting helps bring perspective
44:18
Speaker 1: and break bad habits. Fasting is good for self-control. It
44:23
Speaker 1: causes and helps encourage self-discipline. It simplifies life. It brings
44:28
Speaker 1: us back to basics. That's why we fast. That's why
44:31
Speaker 1: it's good for us. But that's why we never are
44:35
Speaker 1: to promote it. Shouldn't be a conference on fasting. You know.
44:41
Speaker 1: where everybody goes out and does it for two hours
44:44
Speaker 1: and has a big supper that night. It was never
44:50
Speaker 1: meant to keep us from being whole people who enjoyed
44:54
Speaker 1: all the benefits God brings His children. Oh, I'd love to,
44:59
Speaker 1: with a magic wand, wave it over those dear saints
45:02
Speaker 1: who stopped enjoying the things of God. One of the
45:07
Speaker 1: best rabbinic sayings I've ever come across, I came across
45:10
Speaker 1: this week. Quote, a man will have to give an
45:14
Speaker 1: account on the judgment day for every good thing which
45:17
Speaker 1: he might have enjoyed and did not. Isn't that great?
45:23
Speaker 1: You don't look like you believe it right now. Let
45:25
Speaker 1: me read it again to you. Now, the basis of
45:28
Speaker 1: it is 1 Timothy 6, 17. God richly supplies us
45:33
Speaker 1: with all things to enjoy. Enjoy all things to enjoy.
45:41
Speaker 1: A family to enjoy. Belongings to enjoy. Money to enjoy.
45:48
Speaker 1: To give, to release, to keep, to save, to use,
45:53
Speaker 1: to invest, to enjoy. A life to enjoy. Songs to enjoy.
46:00
Speaker 1: Worship to enjoy. That's it. Jesus himself spoke against a
46:07
Speaker 1: gloomy face and an unkempt look and parading one's spirituality,
46:14
Speaker 1: which isn't spirituality at all. It is the worst kind
46:18
Speaker 1: of carnality because it's done in the name of the
46:21
Speaker 1: living God. And young Christians take their cues from it
46:25
Speaker 1: and think, ooh, that's the way I'm supposed to start looking.
46:34
Speaker 1: How do we make this kind of thing happen? I mean,
46:36
Speaker 1: Jesus has touched on things that are so down to
46:39
Speaker 1: earth and so practical you'd think they were written You'd
46:41
Speaker 1: think the ink was still wet. You'd think they were
46:44
Speaker 1: written this very morning. In a sense, they were. That's
46:50
Speaker 1: the way it is in God's Word. It's alive and
46:53
Speaker 1: active and sharp and touches on life. Let me give
46:56
Speaker 1: you a couple of thoughts. But you better watch out.
46:59
Speaker 1: You really believe them and do them, they're going to
47:01
Speaker 1: revolutionize your life. Number one, make the Heavenly Father your
47:07
Speaker 1: main focus, not people. Our Father who art in heaven,
47:15
Speaker 1: not all of the people who watch me. Our Father,
47:19
Speaker 1: hallowed be thy name, not all the people, none of
47:24
Speaker 1: whose names are hallowed. Father, thy will be done, thy
47:29
Speaker 1: kingdom come, not people's will. Are you under the thumb
47:34
Speaker 1: of people's will? No wonder you fight with insecurity. No
47:38
Speaker 1: wonder you don't enjoy ministry. You're taking your cues from
47:43
Speaker 1: those who frown back at you. What do they know
47:48
Speaker 1: about what God's doing in your life? The older I get,
47:52
Speaker 1: the less I care about what people think. The more
47:56
Speaker 1: I care about what God thinks. When I get his
48:00
Speaker 1: green light, I'll tell you, he and I have the
48:02
Speaker 1: time of our lives. But invariably, there are some people
48:04
Speaker 1: who don't understand. Sorry.
48:06
Speaker 2: Sorry.
48:09
Speaker 1: My desire is to focus on Him. I told you
48:14
Speaker 1: it'd change your life. It'll change your life. You'll no
48:17
Speaker 1: longer be under the thumb of the legalist. You'll stop
48:21
Speaker 1: listening to petty gossip. You'll talk to the Lord about them.
48:29
Speaker 1: Make the Heavenly Father your main focus, not people. Second,
48:32
Speaker 1: make the secret place your primary platform, not the public place.
48:39
Speaker 1: You want a place to wear out with your presence,
48:41
Speaker 1: make it the secret place. Wear that place out. Not
48:49
Speaker 1: the public platform. As I said earlier, when a person
48:53
Speaker 1: is familiar with the secret place, everybody knows it. There
48:58
Speaker 1: is a sense of depth and invincibility and courage that
49:01
Speaker 1: is just contagious. I'd like us to bow together. Just
49:09
Speaker 1: bow our heads. For a few moments quietly sit before
49:20
Speaker 1: the Lord your God I sometimes say to folks who
49:26
Speaker 1: are bowing in prayer just build an altar right there
49:28
Speaker 1: on your lap have you told him in recent days
49:38
Speaker 1: how much you want his rulership Have you told him
49:43
Speaker 1: again that you consider his name hallowed and his will
49:51
Speaker 1: your only desire? You've been asking for cake and pie
49:58
Speaker 1: rather than daily bread, a feast instead of just enough
50:04
Speaker 1: sustenance to make it. Your prayer is based on needs
50:10
Speaker 1: or greeds. It's hard to tell the difference in our
50:15
Speaker 1: affluent era. You've forgiven someone else so that the Lord
50:23
Speaker 1: has the green light to carry out his promise to
50:26
Speaker 1: forgive you. There's some ugly anchor you're dragging from your
50:31
Speaker 1: boat that's making your trip across this lake of life
50:37
Speaker 1: a miserable existence. Pull in that anchor. Forgive. How about
50:50
Speaker 1: the secret place? You promise to be there sometime each
50:56
Speaker 1: day for the next several days to do business with God.
51:05
Speaker 2: Good.
51:08
Speaker 1: Do you even know the Lord God? You ever come
51:11
Speaker 1: to the cross alone? Like a little child. Covered in
51:18
Speaker 1: sin and guilt. And just let his blood wash away
51:22
Speaker 1: your sins. If you've never, I don't care what your
51:26
Speaker 1: age is. I don't care if you ever listen to
51:31
Speaker 1: me again. Just between you and me right now. Why
51:34
Speaker 1: don't you come and let the Lord Jesus take over
51:38
Speaker 1: your life. Our Father in the heavens, how worthy and
51:49
Speaker 1: holy is your name. We bow as subjects of your
51:56
Speaker 1: kingdom and we acknowledge your will as best and the
52:00
Speaker 1: only thing we want. Give our bodies sustenance just enough
52:07
Speaker 1: to live. Anything more we will just be so grateful for.
52:13
Speaker 1: Give our souls forgiveness. Anything less. And we live as
52:20
Speaker 1: though we are perishing. And Lord, when those temptations come,
52:27
Speaker 1: may we not be overwhelmed by the evil one and
52:31
Speaker 1: live as though we lack power. Come to our rescue.
52:41
Speaker 1: We humbly bow. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
52:53
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Prayer and Fasting, Minus All the Pizazz,
52:58
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 1988 and the sound recording was copyrighted
53:01
Speaker 2: in 2014 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are
53:06
Speaker 2: reserved worldwide.