This is not at all going to be anything in depth or profound...just something I've been thinking about. I was going over Jeremiah 1 with a brother whom I meet once per week to chat and share with one another and last Thursday we discussed these verses.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I, “ Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “ Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.
One of the things that amazes me is how quickly we seem to forget that when we are doing the work of God...it is always HIS work! We become afraid, we doubt our abilities to accomplish a task, we hesitate. Yet we are but a tool in God's hands! We are chosen out for the honor of partaking in the eternal works of our Lord! Why then should we hesitate? Why then doubt? Brothers and sisters, when we are about the work of the Lord, let us agree to face all dangers and all opposition with His strength and not our own. We may think ourselves pitiful tools...but in the hands of the Master craftsman, the result will be beautiful! So go out and witness...sally forth and do the work of an evangelist...take bold stands for the Truth...it is His work upon which we are embarked; what greater assurance do we need, then, to know it WILL be accomplished? :)
Monday, July 30, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Accountability
This was a short study that I originally presented at Trinity Baptist Church in Moscow, Idaho in our "Young Married's" class. Because our class lasted about an hour and a half, I instituted an accountability portion to our class...we would have prayer requests and praises and then spend about a half an hour or so going around the room and sharing what we'd been reading in the Word and we also challenged one another to memorize the Scriptures. Everybody agree to memorize certain portions of the Bible and then we'd share what we'd memorized. After this we would dive into our study and spend the next 45 minutes or so in that.
After a month or so I noticed that some people were no longer coming to class and some that were there started to say that I was being a legalist and that there was an oppressive atmosphere in our class. Needless to say I was very disappointed and hurt by this so I decided to address it in class. The following is therefore the outline of what I shared with the class on that day...which was probably about seven years ago or so.
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Question:
Allow me to say the following:
What do you think of those standards? Are they wrong?
Only when we submit completely to God's will can we bring Him full honor! Only when we let go of our own inhibitions can we be molded into the likeness of Christ!
After a month or so I noticed that some people were no longer coming to class and some that were there started to say that I was being a legalist and that there was an oppressive atmosphere in our class. Needless to say I was very disappointed and hurt by this so I decided to address it in class. The following is therefore the outline of what I shared with the class on that day...which was probably about seven years ago or so.
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Accountability: Why not?
Question:
What is the purpose of holding one another accountable and what are some objections people sometimes have to accountability programs?
The main complaint we have heard recently is that accountability makes Scripture reading and memorization an obligation rather than an act of devotion.
Allow me to say the following:
It is not what we think we should do, or what others say we should do, or even what we feel in our hearst that we should do that is important. Only that which the Word commands us to do matters...anything and everything else is foolishness!
So, does accountability frighten you?
Why?
Do you think that we should refrain from holding one another up to the highest standards?
Why?
Should we, as Believers and servants of Jesus Christ, be embarrassed to share with one another and to challenge one another?
Discuss Reformation v. Transformation
Who has heard of AWANA?
What is it?
What expectations does AWANA have of children? (memorization, reading of the Word)
What do you think of those standards? Are they wrong?
Brothers and sisters, if they are not wrong for our children, why are they wrong for adults?
Read Romans 1:16-17
Read Romans 1:16-17
What does Paul mean by this verse?
How do we act ashamed of the Gospel?
Is it dishonorable to God for us to spend time with Him?
To hold one another accountable?
Does it bring honor to God when we willingly, and ashamedly, admit our failure before our brothers and sisters in the Lord? YES!!!!!!!
How do we act ashamed of the Gospel?
Is it dishonorable to God for us to spend time with Him?
To hold one another accountable?
Does it bring honor to God when we willingly, and ashamedly, admit our failure before our brothers and sisters in the Lord? YES!!!!!!!
Only when we submit completely to God's will can we bring Him full honor! Only when we let go of our own inhibitions can we be molded into the likeness of Christ!
What will happen if we are ashamed of our faith?
Read Mark 8:34-38
The penalty is severe! How many of you take lightly the possibility that Jesus may be ashamed of you before the Father?
If we do, then we are unworthy of being His people!
Ask: How many of you were discipled when you first became Christians?
Ask: How many of you were discipled when you first became Christians?
What kind of commitment was demanded of you?
Do we still belong to groups such as that?
Why or why not?
Why or why not?
Are we not all brothers and sisters in the Lord and therefore more than able to continue to expect faithfulness from one another?
Ask: You are walking along at night in the park...you see me walking with a young lady, holding her hand...or you see me at work taking money from the register and putting it in my pocket...what would you do?
Approach me, I hope!
In doing so, what are you practicing?
Approach me, I hope!
In doing so, what are you practicing?
Accountability!
Thing about this, however: Would it not have been more effective to hold me accountable before the sin took place?
A Believer involved in the Word, whether to uphold a commitment or because of love for the Word itself (it takes time), cannot help but be transformed by the Word of God, which is the power of God!!
Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17
How many of you believer what I just read?
What does it mean?
The Word of God is our learning tool. God will shape us into His image through our knowledge of His Word!
Why, then, should it be wrong for us to exhort one another to read it?
John Charles Rye:
"Let us know, above all, that growth in grace is not only a thing possible, but a thing for which all believers are accountable. To tell an unconverted man, dead in sins, to grow in grace would doubtless be absurd. To tell a believer, who is quickened and alive to God, to grow, is only summoning him to a plain scriptural duty. He has a new principle within him, and it is a solemn duty not to quench it. Neglect of growth robs him of privileges, grieves the Spirit and makes the chariot wheels of his soul move heavily. Whose fault is it, I should like to know, if a believer does not grow in grace? The fault, I am sure, cannot be laid on God. He delights to give more grace; He 'hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servants' (James 4:6; Psalm 35:27). The fault, no doubt, is our own. We ourselves are to blame, and none else, if we do not grow."
Emphasize the following:
1. I DO NOT call anyone to legalism. Legalism is adding to the Word.
2. I DO ask for commitment.
3. I DO ask for faithfulness to the Word.
What does it mean?
The Word of God is our learning tool. God will shape us into His image through our knowledge of His Word!
Why, then, should it be wrong for us to exhort one another to read it?
John Charles Rye:
"Let us know, above all, that growth in grace is not only a thing possible, but a thing for which all believers are accountable. To tell an unconverted man, dead in sins, to grow in grace would doubtless be absurd. To tell a believer, who is quickened and alive to God, to grow, is only summoning him to a plain scriptural duty. He has a new principle within him, and it is a solemn duty not to quench it. Neglect of growth robs him of privileges, grieves the Spirit and makes the chariot wheels of his soul move heavily. Whose fault is it, I should like to know, if a believer does not grow in grace? The fault, I am sure, cannot be laid on God. He delights to give more grace; He 'hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servants' (James 4:6; Psalm 35:27). The fault, no doubt, is our own. We ourselves are to blame, and none else, if we do not grow."
Emphasize the following:
1. I DO NOT call anyone to legalism. Legalism is adding to the Word.
2. I DO ask for commitment.
3. I DO ask for faithfulness to the Word.
We serve a Mighty Lord, a Wonderful Master...His standards are high, and He calls us to reach towards them, through His grace!
Does it seem burdensome to spend time in the Word which the Lord has given us?
Are we uneasy with sharing with one another our struggles and our pains?
Are we uneasy with sharing with one another our struggles and our pains?
Brothers and sisters...there is only one person in this room that HAS to be here. Myself. As the teacher of this class I have comitted to coming to class every Sunday and preparing a Bible lesson for every Sunday.
I only ask that you come and join me in finding out how best to serve the Lord.
We have one thing in common, and that is Christ. This bond should mold us to one another like nothing else could ever do! So, please...if this class is not to your liking, there are many others you can choose from. I WANT you here, I will not lie that it hurts when people speak ill of me w/out approaching me instead. But if you choose to join me in this study, realize that we WILL hold each other accountable...but this can only be done when we agree to be open with one another and when we realize that there is absolutely nothing legalistic about doing so. Let us pray.
We have one thing in common, and that is Christ. This bond should mold us to one another like nothing else could ever do! So, please...if this class is not to your liking, there are many others you can choose from. I WANT you here, I will not lie that it hurts when people speak ill of me w/out approaching me instead. But if you choose to join me in this study, realize that we WILL hold each other accountable...but this can only be done when we agree to be open with one another and when we realize that there is absolutely nothing legalistic about doing so. Let us pray.
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The response I got to this lesson was mixed...some people started coming only very rarely, yet there were those who approached me afterwards and expressed excitement about the class. I will not lie...our class shrunk after this day, but we always had a core group of three or four couples that met regularly for study. I could have had a huge class by teaching touchy feely lessons..but I chose to obey God rather than man...and, please, I don't mean this in a proud manner...I say this as an expression of my trust in God alone, for when abandoned by people we always have God, and so long as we know we have been faithful to Him, what does the censure of men mattter? Amen?
AMEN!!!!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Matthew 6:5-13 (The Lord's Prayer)
This is a study I presented at a Wednesday night Bible study on March 22nd, 2006
Opening Statement:
While considering what I would speak to you about this evening…my wife and I were sitting and talking about many different things…one of which was the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6. The more we talked about it the more I realized I would love to teach on that passage…and so it is that this evening we will look at this passage in Scripture. I know that we have all more than likely read through this passage many times, and I hope that what the Lord has taught you is something you would be willing to share this evening if I don’t touch on it.
Before we read from the Word, remember that this passage flows directly from that lengthy teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has taught here on everything from the sanctity of marriage to the spirit of the law. Included in this teaching we find the wonderful promise in Matthew 5:6, which reads, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” It is with this in mind that I hope we are all here tonight…hungering and thirsting after His righteousness, desiring His teachings over and above all things. Let us therefore turn our hunger and thirst to this passage and be filled this evening.
Read Matthew 6:5-13
The first thing I want to do is link verse 5 to Matthew 6:1, which says “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them…” Likewise, in verse 5 the Lord Jesus warns us against being hypocrites. The word here is the Greek hupocrites, which means literally, “an actor under an assumed character.”
Isn’t that EXACTLY what the image is of a hypocrite? Someone pretending to be something they are not!
What exactly is our Lord is telling us here in verse 5?
To be sincere in our prayers. Not to be like those who pray standing up and praying loudly and most likely praying eloquently…whose prayers are not being lifted up for God…the hypocrite whom we are being warned against prays so that his audience pays attention to his piety…but again, his audience is not God but the people around him!
Indeed, look at Mark 12:38-40
Note verse 40 especially, “…for a pretense [they] make long prayers.”
Ask) Did you catch those damning words?
“For a pretense” That, brothers and sisters, is truly a hypocrite…that is what our Savior is telling us to avoid doing!
Share: For a long time I was embarrassed to pray in public. I too was worried about what those around me would think…that they might ridicule me. But you know what? The Lord brought conviction into my heart. I pray to Him and Him alone! Sometimes I may forget something, I might repeat myself, I might sound silly…but that’s okay, because unlike humanity, our Sovereign Lord will not judge me based on my poor use of grammar or my inability to use deep theological words…No, my Lord looks at the attitude of my heart! And I think we can all say Amen to that, right?
Note how verse 5 ends. “Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
Ask) What reward is the Lord referring to?
the reward of his fellow man’s awe
the reward of his fellow man’s respect
the reward of his social standing before the world
Ask) Would you settle for this reward in the here and now?
I pray the answer is a resounding NO!!
Read Matthew 16:24-26 [emphasize verse 26]
Clearly, the reward for which the hypocrite settles is in fact NO reward!
Verses 6-8)
Note what the Lord requires of us: pray in private, with the door shut, addressing Him alone. In other words, pride should find no home in our hearts when we address God. Jesus commands us to do the direct opposite of what the hypocrite would do!
Realize this also, Jesus is not saying we should NOT pray publicly at all. There is a place for public worship, which includes prayer. What Jesus is referring to is the habit of the hypocrite to address his private prayers in public!
Note the end of verse 8. “your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” What is this addressing?
God’s omniscience!
Read Isaiah 65:24
When speaking of the omniscience of God…or any aspect of the beautiful sovereignty of God…there are those who might be tempted to say…”why then should we pray if He knows what we will pray?.”
But know this: His foreknowledge, His omniscience does not excuse us from obedience to His Word…nor does it give us the liberty to take His attributes for granted.
There is a very good reason why we need to pray even if He knows what we need and what we will ask…and the reason is this…the Word calls on us to pray. Indeed as we shall see momentarily, the Lord modeled prayer for us, and God has chosen, because it pleases Him to do so, to work out His purposes through the work and prayer of His people!
Read Romans 12:9-13
Read Philippians 4:6
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Read James 5:13-18
Note again verse 18 from 1 Thessalonians. “it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Do you, as a Believer of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life…as one whose salvation was purchased by Christ through His sacrifice on the cross…as one who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise for all of eternity…do you need any other reason to pray than the fact that “it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”?
May God forbid that any of us should answer yes to this question.
Now then, Jesus has told us how we ought NOT to pray. Let us look now at how he says we SHOULD pray!
“In this manner, therefore, pray:”
Note first of all that this is not a command for us to pray this as a recitation. It is not a form letter type of prayer. What it is, is an example of what prayer should include and what our attitude should be when we engage in it.
At the same time, we should not infer from this that we should not pray these very words either, for they are the perfect prayer.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name.”
God is our Father in many ways…first by right of creation. In this aspect He is Father of all of humanity…NO exceptions.
But He is also our very special Father by right of adoption!
Read Romans 8:14-17 and Ephesians 1:5
We have been made a part of His eternal family and as such we have the wonderful privilege of coming to Him in prayer!
Note again the words “hallowed be Your name.” The word for hallowed is the Greek hagiazo, and it means “to make holy, to venerate.”
Do not misunderstand…we are not called upon to make Him holy in any real sense, for He is holy, whether we declare Him so or not! (look at Isaiah 6)
The idea being communicated is that we should treat His name with the utmost awe and reverence. That our utmost desire should be for His name to be glorified! We should want every tongue to confess this mighty truth! Indeed, we are called upon to acknowledge that He is holy…and brothers and sisters, we can do it now with pleasure or we can do it someday with our teeth gritted…for God has declared through the prophet Isaiah the following: Read Isaiah 45:23
Remember that the hypocrite’s main aim was to see his own name lifted up…his own name praised…Jesus therefore counters that the proper way to pray is to desire His name to be hallowed!
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is heaven.”
We should pray that His kingdom be established…meaning by this that His work of saving grace be accomplished. Whether this also refers to the coming times of trouble, I do not know but I suspect it does. I do know that in a sense His kingdom is already here with us through the church…and I know that if it indeed refers to the coming times then our prayer needs to be that it come about quickly! We should want the Second Coming to be RIGHT NOW!!!
In so far as His will being done…we should indeed pray that His holy Word be obeyed…that His revealed will might be the in every quarter of the earth sought out with passion.
In respects to this passage, Matthew Henry says the following:
“We make Christ but a titular Prince, if we call him King, and do not do his will: having prayed that he may rule us, we [must] pray that we may in every thing be ruled by him.”
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Without a doubt, this refers not only to that which meets the physical needs of our bodies but also to all of those necessities that sustain life. Of this verse John Gill says “not that we have a right unto it, much less [that we] deserve it” but that He might give it to us in order to enable us to do the works for which He has made us!
We see this clearly in Deuteronomy 8:3, where the Lord reminds Israel that the reason He allowed them to suffer hunger and then gave them manna to eat was so that they would “know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
In case this passage sounds real familiar to you, it very well should, for they are the very words with which our blessed Savior answered Satan in Matthew 4:4! Matthew Henry, referring to this verse writes: "The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread, [therefore], we pray, “Give it to us; not to me only, but to others in common with me.” This teaches us charity, and a compassionate concern for the poor and needy. It intimates also, that we ought to pray with our families; we and our households eat together, and therefore ought to pray together. (6.) We pray that God would give us this day; which teaches us to renew the desire of our souls toward God, as the wants of our bodies are renewed; as duly as the day comes, we must pray to our heavenly Father, and reckon we could as well go a day without meat, as without prayer."
I pray that this last thought will bury itself deep in your minds, “we could as well go a day without meat, as without prayer.”
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
The debts spoken of here refer to our sin…as we see clearly in the parallel account of Luke 11:4. which says, “forgive us our sins”
The use of the word “debt” in this passage is, possibly, for the purpose of making us realize that our sin places us in jeopardy…the debt of sin MUST be paid! But we are unable to pay it, are we not? So our debt, our sin, is forgiven…we do not have to pay off on this debt, this sin.
This does not mean, however, that God says, “Oh don’t worry about it…”
There is not any possibility of this happening, because sin is so terrible an offense against God’s holy nature that it must be punished where it is found! Our debt is forgiven, however, because Another paid it off! We all know Who that Other is, don’t we? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
As to us forgiving our debtors…it refers to our forgiving those who sin against us!
Finally, in case anyone misunderstands…this verse is NOT saying that God forgives us because we forgive our debtors! It does NOT say that in forgiving our debtors we have set an example before God of how He should act!
Finally, permit me, yet again, the privilege of quoting Matthew Henry…if you have never used his commentaries, you should…he has a way of looking at things that leads us to see the spiritual in everything!
Of this passage on forgiveness, he says, “This is connected with the former; and forgive, intimating, that unless our sins be pardoned, we can have no comfort in life, or the supports of it. Our daily bread does but feed us as lambs for the slaughter, if our sins be not pardoned. It intimates, likewise, that we must pray for daily pardon, as duly as we pray for daily bread.”
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
Obviously, God does not tempt man to do evil (James 1:13). So we must understand this verse in the light of Matthew 4:1, where the Word tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert so that He could be tempted, or tested, by Satan.
God does indeed has the ability to keep us from tribulations, if it be His will, so this prayer can be seen as a plea for protection from troubles similar to the prayer of our Lord in the garden, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39
Note how this last part of Jesus’ prayer coincided with verse 10 which we looked at earlier…our desire should be that God’s will be supreme! [possibly bring up Daniel 3:16-18]
Not only is it permissible for us to pray that we might be spared troubles and tribulations, but we pray also for the strength and the power to resist not only evil but the evil one, who is Satan.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot do this alone! If we think we can then we will indeed be snared by the workers of iniquity…we MUST rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to maintain the walk that God requires of us!
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Note the importance of this last verse. We have seen that we must pray that His kingdom come…in other words our desire should be to see all people’s subject to God.
This verse reminds us that the kingdom and the power, and the glory are His forever! In other words there is no end to it! And just so you are not too worried, we are reminded that He is indeed in control…if there are those who do not bend the knee to Him right now it does not mean He is NOT in control! Far from it…He permits this arrogance because it pleases Him to do so, but do not despair yourself into thinking that He is therefore anxiously awaiting the coming of His kingdom so that He can rule…Oh no…it is all His TODAY no less than it was yesterday and no less than it will be tomorrow!!
So then God has the ability to answer all of our prayers! There is nothing that God cannot do! There is no power before which God quakes in fear! All that we ask Him He can do…and because of this…because He is so amazing, we should be quick to give Him praise and honor and glory every day of our lives!
One final comment on this…also from Matthew Henry:
“we praise God, and give him glory, not because he needs it, but because he deserves it; and it is our duty to give him glory, in compliance with his design in revealing himself to us. Praise is the work and happiness of heaven; and all that would go to heaven hereafter, must begin their heaven now…It becomes us to be copious in praising God. A true saint never thinks he can speak honourably enough of God”
The last word of the passage we come to is “Amen.”
Ask) Does anyone know what this word means? It is the Greek “amen”
It means, “let it be so” “verily” “to affirm”
In other words, the entire substance of the prayer is wrapped up with the acknowledgment that He is God, the Almighty One…truly the One to whom all glory belongs…and so the prayer ends with an affirmation… “let it be so”
This is the last time I will use the word, but finally, i'll end with these thoughts from Spurgeon as he spoke on John 17:24
"O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus’ prevailing prayer-”Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” It is that which bears them on eagle’s wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ’s prayer. A good old divine remarks, “Many times Jesus and his people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say ‘Father, I will that thy saints be with me where I am’; Christ says, ‘Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.’“ Thus the disciple is at cross-purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from his throne, and say, “Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?” Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, “Jesus, not my will, but thine be done.” You would give up your prayer for your loved one’s life, if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite direction-”Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go."
Opening Statement:
While considering what I would speak to you about this evening…my wife and I were sitting and talking about many different things…one of which was the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6. The more we talked about it the more I realized I would love to teach on that passage…and so it is that this evening we will look at this passage in Scripture. I know that we have all more than likely read through this passage many times, and I hope that what the Lord has taught you is something you would be willing to share this evening if I don’t touch on it.
Before we read from the Word, remember that this passage flows directly from that lengthy teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has taught here on everything from the sanctity of marriage to the spirit of the law. Included in this teaching we find the wonderful promise in Matthew 5:6, which reads, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” It is with this in mind that I hope we are all here tonight…hungering and thirsting after His righteousness, desiring His teachings over and above all things. Let us therefore turn our hunger and thirst to this passage and be filled this evening.
Read Matthew 6:5-13
The first thing I want to do is link verse 5 to Matthew 6:1, which says “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them…” Likewise, in verse 5 the Lord Jesus warns us against being hypocrites. The word here is the Greek hupocrites, which means literally, “an actor under an assumed character.”
Isn’t that EXACTLY what the image is of a hypocrite? Someone pretending to be something they are not!
What exactly is our Lord is telling us here in verse 5?
To be sincere in our prayers. Not to be like those who pray standing up and praying loudly and most likely praying eloquently…whose prayers are not being lifted up for God…the hypocrite whom we are being warned against prays so that his audience pays attention to his piety…but again, his audience is not God but the people around him!
Indeed, look at Mark 12:38-40
Note verse 40 especially, “…for a pretense [they] make long prayers.”
Ask) Did you catch those damning words?
“For a pretense” That, brothers and sisters, is truly a hypocrite…that is what our Savior is telling us to avoid doing!
Share: For a long time I was embarrassed to pray in public. I too was worried about what those around me would think…that they might ridicule me. But you know what? The Lord brought conviction into my heart. I pray to Him and Him alone! Sometimes I may forget something, I might repeat myself, I might sound silly…but that’s okay, because unlike humanity, our Sovereign Lord will not judge me based on my poor use of grammar or my inability to use deep theological words…No, my Lord looks at the attitude of my heart! And I think we can all say Amen to that, right?
Note how verse 5 ends. “Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
Ask) What reward is the Lord referring to?
the reward of his fellow man’s awe
the reward of his fellow man’s respect
the reward of his social standing before the world
Ask) Would you settle for this reward in the here and now?
I pray the answer is a resounding NO!!
Read Matthew 16:24-26 [emphasize verse 26]
Clearly, the reward for which the hypocrite settles is in fact NO reward!
Verses 6-8)
Note what the Lord requires of us: pray in private, with the door shut, addressing Him alone. In other words, pride should find no home in our hearts when we address God. Jesus commands us to do the direct opposite of what the hypocrite would do!
Realize this also, Jesus is not saying we should NOT pray publicly at all. There is a place for public worship, which includes prayer. What Jesus is referring to is the habit of the hypocrite to address his private prayers in public!
Note the end of verse 8. “your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” What is this addressing?
God’s omniscience!
Read Isaiah 65:24
When speaking of the omniscience of God…or any aspect of the beautiful sovereignty of God…there are those who might be tempted to say…”why then should we pray if He knows what we will pray?.”
But know this: His foreknowledge, His omniscience does not excuse us from obedience to His Word…nor does it give us the liberty to take His attributes for granted.
There is a very good reason why we need to pray even if He knows what we need and what we will ask…and the reason is this…the Word calls on us to pray. Indeed as we shall see momentarily, the Lord modeled prayer for us, and God has chosen, because it pleases Him to do so, to work out His purposes through the work and prayer of His people!
Read Romans 12:9-13
Read Philippians 4:6
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Read James 5:13-18
Note again verse 18 from 1 Thessalonians. “it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Do you, as a Believer of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life…as one whose salvation was purchased by Christ through His sacrifice on the cross…as one who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise for all of eternity…do you need any other reason to pray than the fact that “it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”?
May God forbid that any of us should answer yes to this question.
Now then, Jesus has told us how we ought NOT to pray. Let us look now at how he says we SHOULD pray!
“In this manner, therefore, pray:”
Note first of all that this is not a command for us to pray this as a recitation. It is not a form letter type of prayer. What it is, is an example of what prayer should include and what our attitude should be when we engage in it.
At the same time, we should not infer from this that we should not pray these very words either, for they are the perfect prayer.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name.”
God is our Father in many ways…first by right of creation. In this aspect He is Father of all of humanity…NO exceptions.
But He is also our very special Father by right of adoption!
Read Romans 8:14-17 and Ephesians 1:5
We have been made a part of His eternal family and as such we have the wonderful privilege of coming to Him in prayer!
Note again the words “hallowed be Your name.” The word for hallowed is the Greek hagiazo, and it means “to make holy, to venerate.”
Do not misunderstand…we are not called upon to make Him holy in any real sense, for He is holy, whether we declare Him so or not! (look at Isaiah 6)
The idea being communicated is that we should treat His name with the utmost awe and reverence. That our utmost desire should be for His name to be glorified! We should want every tongue to confess this mighty truth! Indeed, we are called upon to acknowledge that He is holy…and brothers and sisters, we can do it now with pleasure or we can do it someday with our teeth gritted…for God has declared through the prophet Isaiah the following: Read Isaiah 45:23
Remember that the hypocrite’s main aim was to see his own name lifted up…his own name praised…Jesus therefore counters that the proper way to pray is to desire His name to be hallowed!
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is heaven.”
We should pray that His kingdom be established…meaning by this that His work of saving grace be accomplished. Whether this also refers to the coming times of trouble, I do not know but I suspect it does. I do know that in a sense His kingdom is already here with us through the church…and I know that if it indeed refers to the coming times then our prayer needs to be that it come about quickly! We should want the Second Coming to be RIGHT NOW!!!
In so far as His will being done…we should indeed pray that His holy Word be obeyed…that His revealed will might be the in every quarter of the earth sought out with passion.
In respects to this passage, Matthew Henry says the following:
“We make Christ but a titular Prince, if we call him King, and do not do his will: having prayed that he may rule us, we [must] pray that we may in every thing be ruled by him.”
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Without a doubt, this refers not only to that which meets the physical needs of our bodies but also to all of those necessities that sustain life. Of this verse John Gill says “not that we have a right unto it, much less [that we] deserve it” but that He might give it to us in order to enable us to do the works for which He has made us!
We see this clearly in Deuteronomy 8:3, where the Lord reminds Israel that the reason He allowed them to suffer hunger and then gave them manna to eat was so that they would “know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
In case this passage sounds real familiar to you, it very well should, for they are the very words with which our blessed Savior answered Satan in Matthew 4:4! Matthew Henry, referring to this verse writes: "The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread, [therefore], we pray, “Give it to us; not to me only, but to others in common with me.” This teaches us charity, and a compassionate concern for the poor and needy. It intimates also, that we ought to pray with our families; we and our households eat together, and therefore ought to pray together. (6.) We pray that God would give us this day; which teaches us to renew the desire of our souls toward God, as the wants of our bodies are renewed; as duly as the day comes, we must pray to our heavenly Father, and reckon we could as well go a day without meat, as without prayer."
I pray that this last thought will bury itself deep in your minds, “we could as well go a day without meat, as without prayer.”
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
The debts spoken of here refer to our sin…as we see clearly in the parallel account of Luke 11:4. which says, “forgive us our sins”
The use of the word “debt” in this passage is, possibly, for the purpose of making us realize that our sin places us in jeopardy…the debt of sin MUST be paid! But we are unable to pay it, are we not? So our debt, our sin, is forgiven…we do not have to pay off on this debt, this sin.
This does not mean, however, that God says, “Oh don’t worry about it…”
There is not any possibility of this happening, because sin is so terrible an offense against God’s holy nature that it must be punished where it is found! Our debt is forgiven, however, because Another paid it off! We all know Who that Other is, don’t we? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
As to us forgiving our debtors…it refers to our forgiving those who sin against us!
Finally, in case anyone misunderstands…this verse is NOT saying that God forgives us because we forgive our debtors! It does NOT say that in forgiving our debtors we have set an example before God of how He should act!
Finally, permit me, yet again, the privilege of quoting Matthew Henry…if you have never used his commentaries, you should…he has a way of looking at things that leads us to see the spiritual in everything!
Of this passage on forgiveness, he says, “This is connected with the former; and forgive, intimating, that unless our sins be pardoned, we can have no comfort in life, or the supports of it. Our daily bread does but feed us as lambs for the slaughter, if our sins be not pardoned. It intimates, likewise, that we must pray for daily pardon, as duly as we pray for daily bread.”
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
Obviously, God does not tempt man to do evil (James 1:13). So we must understand this verse in the light of Matthew 4:1, where the Word tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert so that He could be tempted, or tested, by Satan.
God does indeed has the ability to keep us from tribulations, if it be His will, so this prayer can be seen as a plea for protection from troubles similar to the prayer of our Lord in the garden, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39
Note how this last part of Jesus’ prayer coincided with verse 10 which we looked at earlier…our desire should be that God’s will be supreme! [possibly bring up Daniel 3:16-18]
Not only is it permissible for us to pray that we might be spared troubles and tribulations, but we pray also for the strength and the power to resist not only evil but the evil one, who is Satan.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot do this alone! If we think we can then we will indeed be snared by the workers of iniquity…we MUST rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to maintain the walk that God requires of us!
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Note the importance of this last verse. We have seen that we must pray that His kingdom come…in other words our desire should be to see all people’s subject to God.
This verse reminds us that the kingdom and the power, and the glory are His forever! In other words there is no end to it! And just so you are not too worried, we are reminded that He is indeed in control…if there are those who do not bend the knee to Him right now it does not mean He is NOT in control! Far from it…He permits this arrogance because it pleases Him to do so, but do not despair yourself into thinking that He is therefore anxiously awaiting the coming of His kingdom so that He can rule…Oh no…it is all His TODAY no less than it was yesterday and no less than it will be tomorrow!!
So then God has the ability to answer all of our prayers! There is nothing that God cannot do! There is no power before which God quakes in fear! All that we ask Him He can do…and because of this…because He is so amazing, we should be quick to give Him praise and honor and glory every day of our lives!
One final comment on this…also from Matthew Henry:
“we praise God, and give him glory, not because he needs it, but because he deserves it; and it is our duty to give him glory, in compliance with his design in revealing himself to us. Praise is the work and happiness of heaven; and all that would go to heaven hereafter, must begin their heaven now…It becomes us to be copious in praising God. A true saint never thinks he can speak honourably enough of God”
The last word of the passage we come to is “Amen.”
Ask) Does anyone know what this word means? It is the Greek “amen”
It means, “let it be so” “verily” “to affirm”
In other words, the entire substance of the prayer is wrapped up with the acknowledgment that He is God, the Almighty One…truly the One to whom all glory belongs…and so the prayer ends with an affirmation… “let it be so”
This is the last time I will use the word, but finally, i'll end with these thoughts from Spurgeon as he spoke on John 17:24
"O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus’ prevailing prayer-”Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” It is that which bears them on eagle’s wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ’s prayer. A good old divine remarks, “Many times Jesus and his people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say ‘Father, I will that thy saints be with me where I am’; Christ says, ‘Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.’“ Thus the disciple is at cross-purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from his throne, and say, “Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?” Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, “Jesus, not my will, but thine be done.” You would give up your prayer for your loved one’s life, if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite direction-”Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go."
Malachi 1:6-8 (Honoring Our God)
Hello everybody or anybody reading this blog! This post is the text of a study I prepared for the boffer group hosted at my house by our sons. If you are unfamilar with boffers, they are basically pvc pipes cushioned with foam and taped with various colors of duct tape to resemble swords and various other weaponry from the middle ages! The boys have been inviting various friends and the dads from our previous church and we have a great time beating on each other for a couple of hours! :)
Since we have now had some neighborhood children attend, I thought it would be a good idea to include a Bible lesson for the boys. So now when we meet we have about an hour of fighting, a 5-10 minute lesson, and then a half hour of more fighting before we stop for refreshments. It is a good time of fellowship for us dads and the moms as well as a time for the boys to enjoy themselves!
Anyhow, the following is the text of the first Bible lesson I gave to the boys on June 30, 2007:
Malachi 1:6-8
Honoring Our God
Background:
In verses 1-3, God has declared His love for Israel. He has loved them so much that He chose them as a people over and above Esau. He has poured out His blessing on them even though they have not deserved these blessings.
Understand that God loves us, His church…those who are Christians…in the same way. But while this passage might give us cause to rejoice in His love, it also reminds us that we are not always faithful to what we say we believe.
This passage we now turn to focuses on the thanklessness of man, or the ungratefulness of God’s people.
Read Malachi 1:6-8
As we examine these verses of Scripture, I want us to think about our lives as Christians...think about it while meditating on the fact that without His sacrifice we would have no hope, we would face eternity in hell...and then think about this: We deserve hell! And yet, despite this, He accomplished on the cross the salvation of His people!
Two things we see from these verses that apply even to us:
1) God is NOT being properly honored today
2) Worshipping carelessly is a curse and a sin
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master"
Malachi first takes us back to the commandments, the law! Which commandment is this? The fifth, in which we read from Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother…”
Ask) What are your thoughts when you see a young man or lady who treat their parents disrespectfully? (discuss)
It is only natural to expect that a child will honor his/her parents!
It is UNNATURAL for a child to be disrespectful towards his parents.
Likewise, the good servant/slave, honors his master through obedience. A disobedient servant is not a good servant, right?
So God , through His prophet...is establishing the fact that good sons and good servants honor and obey.
Note now the next part of verse 6:
"If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name."
In the first part we see that God points out that it is natural for a son or daughter to obey their parents. Here He follows that with the question..."why do you not honor Me?"
Read Hebrews 12:9-10
Note the powerful statement within this verse! Our parents, and we who are parents, give discipline to correct behavior...we do so as seems best to us...God, however, has perfect understanding and therefore any chastening He chooses to give out is ALWAYS for the best!
This is why the writer of Hebrews asks the question..."shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father...?"
Now then, this being the case...why does the Lord find it necessary to ask this question in verse 6?
God asks the question of us because it is clear that in some manner in our lives we are not treating Him the way we ought to! We have failed Him!
Ask) What does the Lord deserve?
We have a sacred obligation to honor Him, to respect Him, and to revere His name and His attributes! And to our shame, we have too often failed to meet these obligations!
Note that God says the priests "despise My name"
Ask) In what way do people despise the name of the Lord?
When we fail to honor Him, we despise Him!
Note carefully the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:22.
Read also 1 John 2:3-5
We can say we love the Lord all we want...but unless we show it by the way we live, we are liars.
"Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name'"
Note here how the priests reply. They are shocked! Surely God is mistaken! But can God be mistaken, or can He lie? Romans 3:4 says "Let God be true but every man a liar"
Furthermore, their response, judging by God's response to them, is not one of repentance, not one of desiring to know how they perhaps ignorantly offended the Lord. No, their response is one of pride. How could they, the priests, possibly have despised the name of God? Come on, they're the priests!
Ask) Is this how we are tempted to reply?
Do we, being on the receiving end of this question from God, choose to reply as if we are innocent?
If we do so we are arrogant! We dare to assume in our sin that we are doing everything perfectly the way God wants us to! If we choose to reply as these priests, then we are basically saying that we do not need the grace of God because of our own selves we are quite capable of keeping the entire law!
How does God answer this arrogant question?
"You offer defiled food on My altar, but say 'In what way have we defiled You?' By saying , 'The table of the Lord is contemptible [or to be despised].'"
Note what is happening here. God says they have offered up defiled food. Meaning that they had not offered up their very best! Then God presupposes their defense and says that they have made the table of the Lord a thing of contempt, something to be despised!
For them NOT to offer Him their best was the same as saying His altar, His table, was not worthy of true honor! Note His next angry words!
"And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?"
Again, the Lord is striking home the point that He deserves the best! Then...
"Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the Lord of Hosts"
Can you imagine!?! Were these people to take their second, their third best offerings to a human authority, he would be angry...why then would they risk offering these things to the Lord of Hosts!?
This shows that it was more important for them to be polite than reverent! Better to offend God rather than a man!
In a real sense, we likewise show contempt for God when we do not offer Him our very best!
Ask) In what way do we offer God our second best?
Think about when you spend time doing the things you like…hobbies, reading, playing, whatever it may be. How much time do you spend preparing for it?
Think about this: How much time do we spend in prayer, or in the reading of the Word of God?
How often would we rather not go to church because we’d prefer to sleep in
Ask: How do we offer up defiled food upon the altar?
Ask: Is our worship of Him careless? And I don't mean necessarily here on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, but in our daily worship of God through our private lives! (Discuss)
Allow me to say this:
If we claim to love the Lord, but we fail to meet with Him regularly, then we are deceiving ourselves!
If we say we honor God but give Him the second best parts of our lives, then we are deceiving ourselves!
If we say we revere His name, but we take it in vain, then we are deceiving ourselves!
Ask: How can we change this?
Read Psalm 1 (discuss)
Read Psalm 119:9-16 (discuss)
Finally...
Let us refrain from taking His name in vain
Let us refrain from engaging in things that are not honoring to Him
Let us commit to being in the Word daily
Let us commit to studying the Word daily
Let us live our lives for His glory!
Amen?
Since we have now had some neighborhood children attend, I thought it would be a good idea to include a Bible lesson for the boys. So now when we meet we have about an hour of fighting, a 5-10 minute lesson, and then a half hour of more fighting before we stop for refreshments. It is a good time of fellowship for us dads and the moms as well as a time for the boys to enjoy themselves!
Anyhow, the following is the text of the first Bible lesson I gave to the boys on June 30, 2007:
Malachi 1:6-8
Honoring Our God
Background:
In verses 1-3, God has declared His love for Israel. He has loved them so much that He chose them as a people over and above Esau. He has poured out His blessing on them even though they have not deserved these blessings.
Understand that God loves us, His church…those who are Christians…in the same way. But while this passage might give us cause to rejoice in His love, it also reminds us that we are not always faithful to what we say we believe.
This passage we now turn to focuses on the thanklessness of man, or the ungratefulness of God’s people.
Read Malachi 1:6-8
As we examine these verses of Scripture, I want us to think about our lives as Christians...think about it while meditating on the fact that without His sacrifice we would have no hope, we would face eternity in hell...and then think about this: We deserve hell! And yet, despite this, He accomplished on the cross the salvation of His people!
Two things we see from these verses that apply even to us:
1) God is NOT being properly honored today
2) Worshipping carelessly is a curse and a sin
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master"
Malachi first takes us back to the commandments, the law! Which commandment is this? The fifth, in which we read from Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother…”
Ask) What are your thoughts when you see a young man or lady who treat their parents disrespectfully? (discuss)
It is only natural to expect that a child will honor his/her parents!
It is UNNATURAL for a child to be disrespectful towards his parents.
Likewise, the good servant/slave, honors his master through obedience. A disobedient servant is not a good servant, right?
So God , through His prophet...is establishing the fact that good sons and good servants honor and obey.
Note now the next part of verse 6:
"If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name."
In the first part we see that God points out that it is natural for a son or daughter to obey their parents. Here He follows that with the question..."why do you not honor Me?"
Read Hebrews 12:9-10
Note the powerful statement within this verse! Our parents, and we who are parents, give discipline to correct behavior...we do so as seems best to us...God, however, has perfect understanding and therefore any chastening He chooses to give out is ALWAYS for the best!
This is why the writer of Hebrews asks the question..."shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father...?"
Now then, this being the case...why does the Lord find it necessary to ask this question in verse 6?
God asks the question of us because it is clear that in some manner in our lives we are not treating Him the way we ought to! We have failed Him!
Ask) What does the Lord deserve?
We have a sacred obligation to honor Him, to respect Him, and to revere His name and His attributes! And to our shame, we have too often failed to meet these obligations!
Note that God says the priests "despise My name"
Ask) In what way do people despise the name of the Lord?
When we fail to honor Him, we despise Him!
Note carefully the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:22.
Read also 1 John 2:3-5
We can say we love the Lord all we want...but unless we show it by the way we live, we are liars.
"Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name'"
Note here how the priests reply. They are shocked! Surely God is mistaken! But can God be mistaken, or can He lie? Romans 3:4 says "Let God be true but every man a liar"
Furthermore, their response, judging by God's response to them, is not one of repentance, not one of desiring to know how they perhaps ignorantly offended the Lord. No, their response is one of pride. How could they, the priests, possibly have despised the name of God? Come on, they're the priests!
Ask) Is this how we are tempted to reply?
Do we, being on the receiving end of this question from God, choose to reply as if we are innocent?
If we do so we are arrogant! We dare to assume in our sin that we are doing everything perfectly the way God wants us to! If we choose to reply as these priests, then we are basically saying that we do not need the grace of God because of our own selves we are quite capable of keeping the entire law!
How does God answer this arrogant question?
"You offer defiled food on My altar, but say 'In what way have we defiled You?' By saying , 'The table of the Lord is contemptible [or to be despised].'"
Note what is happening here. God says they have offered up defiled food. Meaning that they had not offered up their very best! Then God presupposes their defense and says that they have made the table of the Lord a thing of contempt, something to be despised!
For them NOT to offer Him their best was the same as saying His altar, His table, was not worthy of true honor! Note His next angry words!
"And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?"
Again, the Lord is striking home the point that He deserves the best! Then...
"Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the Lord of Hosts"
Can you imagine!?! Were these people to take their second, their third best offerings to a human authority, he would be angry...why then would they risk offering these things to the Lord of Hosts!?
This shows that it was more important for them to be polite than reverent! Better to offend God rather than a man!
In a real sense, we likewise show contempt for God when we do not offer Him our very best!
Ask) In what way do we offer God our second best?
Think about when you spend time doing the things you like…hobbies, reading, playing, whatever it may be. How much time do you spend preparing for it?
Think about this: How much time do we spend in prayer, or in the reading of the Word of God?
How often would we rather not go to church because we’d prefer to sleep in
Ask: How do we offer up defiled food upon the altar?
Ask: Is our worship of Him careless? And I don't mean necessarily here on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, but in our daily worship of God through our private lives! (Discuss)
Allow me to say this:
If we claim to love the Lord, but we fail to meet with Him regularly, then we are deceiving ourselves!
If we say we honor God but give Him the second best parts of our lives, then we are deceiving ourselves!
If we say we revere His name, but we take it in vain, then we are deceiving ourselves!
Ask: How can we change this?
Read Psalm 1 (discuss)
Read Psalm 119:9-16 (discuss)
Finally...
Let us refrain from taking His name in vain
Let us refrain from engaging in things that are not honoring to Him
Let us commit to being in the Word daily
Let us commit to studying the Word daily
Let us live our lives for His glory!
Amen?
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