Talking With God
Established Series- Week 3:
August 8th, 2021
Scripture: Matthew Chapter 6:5-13
Entering our third week of a series called Established - how to be rooted and established in the love of God.
The first week we talked about knowing God.
Last week, we talked about how to hear God, and today I want to talk to you about talking with God.
That means prayer.
Prayer is an interesting topic in the church, because most people have the wrong idea about it, it’s considered to be an exercise as interesting as doing the dishes, and it’s also the thing the enemy will do anything he can to keep you from doing.
This truth may shock some people-
Satan would rather have you attend church without missing a single service or time to serve then he would have you develop a prayer life with God.
You might think that sounds insane- but think about it.
Over 80% of what most people do in church is relatively passive and led by someone else, whereas prayer is taking an active role in your spiritual life with God and developing a close intimacy with HIM.
Satan will move mountains to avoid that. There is NOTHING that frightens the legions of hell more than a praying person.
That is why the enemy will throw every temptation to be lazy, every sin to entice, and every condemnation he can think of to keep you off of your knees and living in defeat.
A prayerless person is a defeated person, and all of those things we love in life- hobbies, sports, hunting/fishing, TV/Movies, ect are just a spiritual anesthetic and sedative to dull the pain of what your spirit is crying out for- a close and intimate relationship with the God who made you.
There is a huge industry of self help in our culture trying to tell us what the meaning of life is.
Let me give it to you for free-The meaning of your life is to know and walk with God.
So why are we intimidated by prayer. Why?
Because we have a misunderstanding of what it is,
what God expects, and how it works.
So today we will review the principles of prayer.
Jesus gave us these principles in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 6:
Matt 6:5-135 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '
Prayer- God will lead us into a deeper life with HIM through prayer
The Sermon on the Mount is considered to be the most important sermon ever preached and sets the basic theology of New Testament belief and practice.
It’s so important to center our faith life right here, because the Sermon on the Mount takes us from the external obedience found in following the law to the inner transformation required to please God.
It should be read at least once or twice a month to keep us grounded in what God wants to see in our inner lives.
Back to our subject for this morning-Jesus gives very specific instruction about this thing we call prayer.
I want to give you three big thoughts about prayer, and we need to take these three points in their totality and not just things to check off a list.
Point number one.
When you pray, focus on being with the Father. Notice the word “with” again. It's about being with God.
When the Bible talks about prayer in the New Testament, it's not talking about a religious transaction or a religious duty.
It's being involved in a loving relationship.
If Jesus wanted just a religious transaction, HE would have said, “This is WHAT you should pray” He didn’t say that.
Jesus said, this is HOW you should prayer. In other words, the LORD’s Prayer is a model or template showing us the important parts of our prayer life, not the exact words to use.
Jesus says when you pray, focus on the Father. Put the phone in another room, tell the kids to leave you alone for a bit. Ask your spouse to give you whatever time you want to spend alone with God. You need to make this the most important time of your day.
We see that in Jesus’ next instruction when HE says we are to say to the Father- “Hallowed be Your name.”
That’s not common language. In modern English, it would be like saying, “You are the most important, most beautiful, and most awesome thing in existence, and in my life.” Not only that, but you are also the most personal thing, in that I can call you “My Father”.
It’s a good self-test for all of us- if calling God your Father, or thinking of HIM in a personal, loving way almost seems offensive to you, you may have a little too much of a religious spirit.
Why is that dangerous? Because the bible shows us true nature of a religious spirit. It is a spirit of murder.
Think about it- this was one of the main reasons that Jesus was hated by the Pharisees. He was crucified because of who he said he was.
He said, "I'm the son of God. I and the Father are one."
Jesus is telling his followers, "I'm a child of God. I'm the only begotten Son of God. I and the Father are one."
Jesus is saying here, "If you put your faith in me, you too can call God your Father and become His child."
This was so blasphemous to the religious crowd and their religious spirit.
To a first century Jewish person, you wouldn't even say God's name because it was too holy. The primary name for God in the Old Testament was Yahweh. When the scribes were writing the Old Testament, when they were supposed to write the name of God, they wouldn't because Yahweh was too holy to write.
In fact, in verbal speech they would not say God’s name, but substituted the Hebrew Word Adonai meaning Lord instead of God’s name.
This is the background of why the Pharisees reacted so strongly to Jesus claiming God was HIS Father.
Now all of a sudden, you have this son of a Jewish carpenter who is gaining prominence. A self-proclaimed rabbi.
And he calls God “father.” More than that, he says, "If you believe in me and trust in me, you too can become a child of God and you too can call the Almighty, Most Holy One, Father as well.”
This idea shocked the religious crowd then, and the religious crowd now.
But this is the central part of what Jesus was getting at - Prayer is not a religious transaction. It is a loving relationship between you and your heavenly Father.
Now, when most of us think about our relationship with God, we don't think about it correctly.
We don't think about it the way that Jesus taught. We don't understand what Jesus actually provided for us. In fact, most of the time, for most people, even if you come to church regularly, they have a misunderstanding of what it means to have a relationship with God.
Most of us think that a relationship with God is all about our performance and with that performance comes punishments and rewards. God is either going to punish me or He's going to reward me based on my scorecard for the week.
If you think that way, I want to point out to you that Jesus did not say, "This, then, is how you should pray. Master. Owner." Now, God is the master and owner, but He wants to have a loving relationship with you like father to HIS child.
Jesus says, "This, then, is how you should pray. Our...Father." When it comes to earthly fathers and sons, there is training. There is discipline.
But, it's not about punishment and reward (or shouldn’t be).
If you think about God on the basis of punishment and reward, you might be under the influence of a religious spirit.
It's about God wanting to have a loving relationship with HIS sons and daughters so that they’ll trust HIM and He can prepare us for the days ahead.
Now I know when Jesus says focus on the Father it brings up thoughts of your earthly father. For many of us, that’s not always a pleasant memory. You really have a hard time thinking of God being your father when earthly father was not that great. For many, maybe your earthly father was very performance oriented. It was punishment versus reward. Not a lot of love. For a few, maybe your father did some terrible things to you.
If you have a challenge in calling God Father, here's what I want to encourage you to do. Call it a mental exercise to help you get past what may have been in your past.
Call God what Jesus literally called him when he walked this earth.
Jesus called his Father Abba. Abba is an intimate term for father.
It means daddy. But you don't have to say father or daddy. You can say Abba because my guess is you never called your earthly dad Abba.
But when you think Abba, here's what you think.
Think about everything that you wish your earthly father would have been.
Your heavenly Abba loves you far beyond what you could ever ask or imagine. He cares for you and He wants this wondrous, loving exchange with you.
This is why Jesus died on the cross and rose again. It is not about punishment and reward for those who are followers of Jesus.
Why?
Because Jesus took care of the punishment and reward on the cross. Jesus absorbed all the punishment that you and I deserve on the cross. He covered all sin for all time.
Then, three days later, he rose again, conquering death, hell and the grave. When you said yes to Jesus, he took on himself all of your punishment that you deserved and he imparted to you all of his reward.
GRACE acronym
This is the good news of great joy for all people. What God wants with you—your heavenly Abba—is a personal relationship. Be a child of God. Walk in that assurance and prayer will be easy.
It's a loving exchange with your heavenly father, Your heavenly Abba.
Here’s point number two about prayer Be yourself.
What does that mean? It means be honest.
Don't try to fake it with God.
Please listen very closely- God cannot have a relationship with who you're pretending to be. (repeat)
Because that person doesn't exist.
You should just be yourself with God. Jesus taught that we're to become more like little children. That doesn’t mean childish, but childlike
This may be hard for some, but this is the truth- It is impossible for you to disappoint God as a follower of Jesus.
Let me explain- Disappointment is all about unmet expectations. Meaning when you're disappointed in somebody, you expected one thing and they did another.
God knows all of your sin.
What you have done, what you are doing, and what you don't know about yet.
God transcends time. The bible says God sees the beginning and the end. Jesus says HE is the Alpha and Omega and everything in between.
2000 years before you ever existed, God made a way for you through the person of Jesus.
Romans 5:8 says, “God proved His love for you in this. While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you.”
Which means God knew all of your sin for all time and STILL made a way for you in Jesus. You cannot disappoint a being that knows the future.
You might be thinking, “But Pastor, you have no idea how bad I have messed up, and keep messing up”
Let me respond to that l- Do you really think God is looking at you thinking "Are you kidding me? I can’t believe he or she did that! I'm shocked."
God knew that was coming.
Abba made a way for you in Jesus, and the Bible actually teaches this to you and I, as children of God.
In 1st Peter Chapter 5 verse 5, second part of the verse, it says, “Clothe yourselves, all of you with...humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
To be proud, to be dishonest, to not be authentic is to be in opposition to God because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Verse 6. “Humble yourselves, therefore…” The biblical definition of humility is honesty. Pride is about pretending. Humility is about reality. It means not faking it. Get real. “...therefore under the mighty hand of God so that, at the proper time, He may exalt you. Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
The only way to experience the real love of God is to be courageous enough to be the real you.
Be yourself when you talk to God. You can't play poker with God.
He knows what's in your hand. Don't fake it.
(Slowly) Again, God can't love who you're pretending to be. That person doesn't exist.
Talk to him about your thoughts.
Talk to him about your feelings.
Express your gratitude, your joys,
And even your frustrations.
He already knows. He can handle it.
For some, this might be your word for today. You need to have a Lieutenant Dan moment with God. (Forrest Gump’s platoon leader in Vietnam).
In the movie Forrest Gump, when Lt. Dan climbs up to the top of this shrimping boat and he's all mad at God because he lost his legs in the war, he has this moment in this storm.
This exchange is raw, filled with anger and emotion. It's relational. It’s him screaming at God- "God, are you kidding me? This was not my plan for my life."
If we peeled back our reality, and looked into the spiritual reality I'm sure in that exchange, God was replying, "Well, you're not in charge of your life, Dan, and I got bigger plans for you than you have for yourself.”
The next day, what does Forrest Gump see? Dan out swimming in the ocean. Forrest Gump says, "I think he made his peace with God.”
That is why in your prayer life, you need to be yourself.
God loves you. Not the fake you. Not you cleaned up and made pretty for church- YOU
Focus on your Abba and His love for you when you seek him in prayer.
Here’s point number three: Invite God into everything. If you're thinking, "Oh, there's some things in my life God doesn't need to be involved in," well, let me just let you in on this.
If there are things and situations in your life that you know are not pleasing to HIM- Remember- His is all powerful, all knowing, and all present- so he is already there when you are doing those things.
Invite Him into everything, even if it's something that He's not excited about.
Invite Him in there so He can redeem, convict, restore, help you repent, and heal you from it.
I know that thought may be challenging almost blasphemous to some- “Pastor are you saying when I know I am sinning, I invite God into that?”
Yes- he is already there. The bible says “Nothing is hidden from God’s sight”
Maybe God needs to be there so you can expose whatever cancerous sin is buried deep in your heart so he can bring healing to that area.
That’s the will of God for you
1 Thessalonians Chapter 5: 16-18 says, “Rejoice always. Pray without what ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Make prayer a part of your day, all day.
That doesn’t replace the need to get alone and focus in prayer. There are times for that but the idea here, in this passage of scripture, is you're just praying all the time.
Maybe you’re thinking, "Do I bow my head and close my eyes and fold my hands all the time?"
No. In prayer, the posture of your body is not nearly as important as the posture of your heart.
The idea here is you're involving God in everything. You're giving Him your attention. You've got Him on your mind at work, at home. When you go to school.
In whatever is happening in your life, you pray all day as you go on your way. You don't have to have your eyes closed. You don't have to be on your knees. There are moments for that, but you don't have to do that.
You can pray on a hike, for instance. You can pray in a hunting blind or fishing, and not just that a big buck or bass comes by.
If you still drive your kids to school – ask for prayer requests along the way, especially when they are young because they will tell you what is bothering them.
If you're the parents of teenagers, pray for your teenager whenever they let you. And when you pray for your teenager, put your hand on them. When you put your hand on somebody to pray for them biblically, that's a sign of blessing. Just put your hand on them and pray for them.
Finally, I want to make this point-
The goal of our church services is not entertainment.
The goal is to receive God's information from His word and practice it through application.
Biblical information in the presence of the Holy Spirit, with real life application always leads to transformation.
I want to see God’s transformation in you as you apply these principle in your life.
As you do this, the more you'll be rooted and established in His love.
Let’s pray.
communion
