What Jesus Thinks About Prayer #2

The way out of your mediocrity and prayer is not found in saying I gotta get up early I got for longer know no start. You purify your motives. Samoset my heart on seeking God in private, conscious of Jesus promised that the father will bless welcome to the truth pulpit with John Green, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio hello again I built right and were continuing our series. What Jesus thinks about prayer. Last time Don took us to Matthew chapter 6 to show us our Lord's instruction on how to come to the father in prayer and it has to do with the proper motive we learned we must purify our motives. How do you do that Don will answer that question today.

So let's join him right now in the truth. Pulpit when you go to prayer your thought should be thoroughly engaged with the fact that I'm I'm entering into something that God has promised to bless and I'm praying to one who is absolutely sovereign, overall, and he exercises his sovereignty on my behalf to bless me and to bless his church that changes everything.

We just have to go back to this. It seems to me we have to just go back to this again and again and remind ourselves because as we walk in this world that we see. We forget, and so we come back to the precious word of God would come back to the precious words of our Lord Jesus Christ and we see the wisdom of God fully on display by commending his revelation to us in writing where we can go back to it again and again as opposed to having to rely on subjective thoughts and impulses and dreams and visions that are the way the God communicates with us anyway. He communicates through his word. This is what he wants us to think this is the standard that we come back to again and again and so by way of general observation just for you to see that the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to his disciples motivate you to pray, not by setting down rules that are external and superficial. By pointing you to the character of the God of the Bible and in promising you what you couldn't know, except by revelation that God will bless and reward you for your faithfulness in a little thing, seemingly little thing getting away someplace solitary and pouring your heart out for God little thing in the eyes of the world. The eyes of God, faithful thing faithful thing that he says I want to bless that that is what should drive us to pray, so you can see if you think about these things to have a mechanical approach to prayer, insert week after week starts to be a pretty unsatisfactory for a pastor to approach the way he communicates about prayer to his flock.

So we want to improve ourselves in prayer. We want to do. We want to pray in the way that the Lord has taught us to pray to main points for today. How can we do that how do you move from where you're at in prayer. How do you move from where you're at two where the Lord would have you to be where and I trust that for many of you, if not most of you as were talking about these things.

There something welling up in your heart that says you know I want that I want to pray. That way I want.

I want that. I realize I'm not there, but I want that will look the reason the Lord put the reason the Lord taught that was was split so that you could it's convicting yes but he convicts us in order to change us to sanctify us to bless us to take us from one perhaps lower level of glory to a higher level of glory and the way that we live our lives in the way that we pray this is designed to bless us as Jesus teaches us.

So how do you go from where you're at two where the Lord would take you in prayer. First of all write this down first point is that you you purify your motives in prayer purify your motives in prayer we see this in the first two verses and basically will be two subpoints here purify your motives and parents main point first sub point do not pray to please men you have to purify your approach to prayer by understanding that you cannot pray in order to please men look at verse five. Jesus says when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corner so that is why they pray. Here's the purpose of all of their praying so that they may be seen by men.

Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. The Greek term for hypocrite originally referred to a stage actor who hid his identity behind a mask and performed for his audience. Jesus uses that word to refer to the Pharisees in their practice of praying they looked godly on the outside. People walk by on the street corner, so there's a rabbi, so it's always praying again while I look at the length of the tassels on his garment. Isn't he holy. He is a good praying man, Jesus uses that as a as an illustration. He says what they love to just stand and pray in the synagogues so they can be seen by man.

The Pharisees chose public settings to pray so that men would notice their devotion and Jesus condemns it out of hand.

They didn't care about actually praying they didn't care about actual true communication to God from the depths of their heart. They wanted to put on a show so that man would say all Europe prayer. They used what should be a holy act of devotion before God in order to get the applause of men that is sickening that is nauseating to think about that.

Imagine if you would imagine a man who made a big show of giving public displays of affection to his wife, but in private, beat her when men are around you. Looks like the model husband behind closed doors is because come out we would universally condemn that kind of hypocrisy. What are you doing what you do the reverse. Why don't you have the reality at home and then then kind of hide it in public, so that the reality behind closed doors is what's really important to you. We would be appalled at that kind of hypocrisy, and rightly so, what I want you to understand beloved is that men and women, young people who primarily aim their approach to religion at gaining a public reputation of godliness without the private reality. There are more reprehensible than the hypocritical husband that I was describing. Jesus condemns this. He says they have their reward in full. Listen to me when you go through and I'm talking to you. Now I'm not talking in general I mean this you to be second person singular everyone sitting in this room right now.

When you go through the motions of religious devotion of church attendance being in your Bible study or whatever when you are just going through the motions with an eye toward being noticed by men without a corresponding without a without a heart reality that says I want to glorify God. I want to be faithful in this little thing when you go through the motions like that in men.

Notice you have your reward. Jesus says when men notice they praise you.

EC says he says you got what you were after. There's no more to come. There's no reward for God on that kind of life. There's no providential blessing that's going to flow from that kind of hypocritical approach to Christian living.

He says recognize it now. That's as good as it's going to get when they turn their attention to something else. Five minutes later it's over. You really wasted your time when you approach your Christian life that way. Beloved look, I know this is very convicting to the extent that it convicts you and it convicts me that's a good thing. We need to be convicted on this because, particularly when you are in a large church like Grace Community Church and there's just thousands of people here on a Sunday morning is there's a particular ease of being able to live on the fringes of going through the motions. All yes I attend Grace Community Church you know that right right I attend Grace Community Church you know where John MacArthur is the pastor I attend there. You know that yeah I got get it. I get a okay you to embrace Community Church release use to 30 years ago. What are we doing what we doing why are you here that's what Jesus words prompting you to examine.

It wouldn't be one of those hypocrites. Would you putting on a show spiritual show so that others will think you're godly so and so when actually in your private life.

You are indifferent to Christ, you can't find your Bible could you haven't seen it for three weeks but I'm here on Sunday. Come on, you need to come back to fundamental principles don't be deceived, God is not mocked.

And when you are just going through the motions he sees that and your motions are not storing up any reward for you in heaven. Why would you want to live that way. What what is it that would make you think that there is any value in that. Isn't it irksome to you to have to go through it. Motions to please other people.

When the not your hearts not in it wouldn't be better when it be better to go back and meditate on the character of God, and think of his goodness and his grace and his power and and and kindle the affections of your heart so that your pursuing these things out of a heartfelt love and devotion to him would not be better than continuing in the hypocrisy that's going nowhere anyway. Jesus seem to think so and understand this even in the midst of the severe conviction that some of you may be feeling right now understand this. Come back to the gospel come back to the grace of God come back to the reality that Jesus Christ came into this world to seek and to save that which lot was lost became to be the Savior of the world, he came to to save us from our sins, and that if there's conviction, then then the time is right for you to pour out your heart and confession to him and trust him for his promise to forgive. If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Heartfelt confession and repentance can wipe the slate clean so that you can move forward and say okay to be different now. I you know, can we ever plumb the. The unsearchable depths of the grace of God, the depths of what Christ accomplished for us on Calvary that we would be such hypocrites for so long and then and then in a moment of conviction and come to Christ and say Lord I'm so sorry. My heart is broken because I see your word is convicted me of this and I confess that I want to repent and change in how the promise of God that when we come to him that way's, takes our sins ways for us. East is from the West from us. I love him, don't you. I love Christ, and when you love Christ from the depths of your heart you pray differently. That's the point, and so were not worried about what men think about us.

We need to purify our motives in prayer and so if it's not to please men. What is it then second subpoint, you pray to please God you pray to please God. Look at verse six. You pray differently when the right motives animate you.

Verse six but you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. This contrast with the hypocrite he saying here's what my disciples do.

Here's what the one that belongs to me. Does know what he does he get someplace where men can't see him. There's a certain genius and there's a certain divine genius about that if you consciously seek out privacy and solitude when you pray, you mortify your pride because if men can't see you, they can't praise you for it and therefore you can't be seeking their applause when you pray that way and you and you seek out that closet. Whatever it is closet and a meadow for all I care someplace for your alone for you young moms I know it's kind of a hard place to find here in this verse 9×9 times Jesus uses the singular, the second person singular.

You is bringing a focus on to what your personal heart conviction would be in as you seek privacy in prayer.

You're showing that you are seeking the approval of your father, not the approval of men when you pray privately with the promise at the end of verse six your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you when you go to private prayer. All of the things were talking about fresh in your mind animating your mind.

You should go with a sense of anticipation.

Wow. Well I'm going I'm going to enter into a particular way I'm going to enter into the presence of God.

I'm going to speak to him.

He's going to hear, hear me, and he's going to respond in and he's going to bless me.

As a result of this question is how much time can I spend doing this. How much time can I spend in the presence of God seeking his face, remembering his character conscious of his love for my soul conscious of the one crucified and resurrected for my sins but one who has has reserved a place in heaven for me and is inexorably leading my life to that place in glory how much time can I spend with him and your motivations are completely different than having the latest pastor browbeat you because you need to spend an hour in prayer a day or whatever. I don't care what a preacher says how many minutes I need to pray, that's not in the Scriptures like that. Listen, if you will just take care of the heart affections side of this. The other stuff takes care of itself and if you try to focus on the externals and meet time clocks and all of that without a corresponding heart reality you are wasting your time.

Go watch television go do something else. Don't insult the holiness of God by going through the motions in the presence of an omniscient God, don't waste your time, but better yet, take your heart affections around this flaming coal fire of the loving grace and goodness of God and warm your hands. There warm your heart affections around the character of God when you do that you're going to find you don't want to leave in the first place. When you do that prayer is no longer duty. It's a delight. It's what you want and when you pray out of that kind of heart. Jesus says your father will see you and reward you and bless you.

Don't you want that believer in Christ. Don't you want that the way out of your mediocrity in prayer is not found in saying I gotta get up earlier.

I got a pray longer know know you start you purify your motives and say I want to set my heart on seeking God in private, conscious of Jesus promised that the father will bless me will look the I'm halfway through my notes. I can either try to finish this into minutes or come back to it next time come in about with my majority of want to come back to this in the weeks to come, keep our hearts focused on that. Listen, you are precious people to me to be called the pastor of Grace life is the greatest honor that I have had in my life and I I am encouraged constantly in daily by your faithfulness to Christ in the way that you serve in the way that you manifest your love for Christ and a myriad of ways and places that is put you on and so this is all designed to help you further, that even more because this is where Christ leads us, he leads us to a place of grace and liberty in prayer of grace and liberty in walking with him and if prayer has been an irksome duty to you.

It's been a source of irritation. I've been there.

Look, this is the way forward out of that morass. We so often fall into will come back to this next week. Spend some time thinking about this in the week to come will come back next week and will wrap it up in and put it in a package that sets a course forced to go forward from okay let's pray together, Lord, the wonder of coming to you in prayer is unspeakable a privilege that is beyond all that we can asked just to come and speak without you turning us away because of sin. That in itself father is amazing.

The fact that you would hear us when we pray that our sentence Dane stammering's are mixed motives in prayer or history of failure in prayer and yet you would still receive us when we pray, you would hear us when we pray father. We see the depth of goodness of no line could measure. It's unfathomable how good and how gracious you are. Father, we thank you for that. But to go even further for Jesus to say that you will reward us when we pray to you in secret. When we pray from hearts of love you and trust you and seek your hand you will reward us us that were once rebels against you, us who so quickly go to a cold, indifferent heart even as believers, you would still reward us when we turn from our in different ways and seek you with all of our hearts father that the magnitude and the majesty and the monument of your grace is beyond anything that we can begin to imagine.

We can see it in your word.

We can't grasp the fullness of it that we can grasp it truly and we thank you for it. Father I pray for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that those who have been discouraged in their walks with you. I pray that you would meet them in this time meet them through these words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 and encourage them to come back and to seek you afresh once more to to to dig wells of spiritual searching for you that you would be pleased to bring water forth from that would refresh their souls father for those that are faithful those who feel affirmed by these words would you strengthen them all the more.

Ultimately father would you make us like Christ. Would you make us people would you shape our hearts father so that our lives would reflect the spirit of what Jesus has taught us here through his word were so grateful father. We love you we praise you. We adore you with unlimited and unreserved devotion, and as you have promised. Father now. We ask you that somehow in your wisdom and goodness that you would reward us for seeking you here today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Today on the truth.

Pulpit pastor Don Greene has shown us that to purify our motive in prayer we must not pray to please men.

Rather, we must please God. Next time, Don will address the practice of prayer, so tune in. Then as we continue our series. What Jesus thinks about prayer right now though, here's done with some exciting ministry news my friend today. I have an opportunity to offer you something for free that goes beyond what we've done on a radio broadcast, it's a 10 message CD album titled, the Bible and Roman Catholicism to series. I recently completed a truth community church taking Scripture and evaluating what Catholics teach and believe about the Pope about Mary about the mass and about the whole nature of salvation. It's a resource that you really need to have in your hands, either for yourself or for your friends and loved ones to know how to interact with them and it's available for free at the place bills going to point you to right now. Just visit us at the truth.

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