Focus On Jesus
Colossians 2:8-15
April 21, 2019

This morning we gather here on what is a wonderful Sunday for the church.
It is the day where we commit ourselves to remembering that
Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins,
But on the third day He rose from the dead
Thus proving Himself righteous and confirming the effectiveness of our salvation.

So this morning we are going to take a moment to reflect
Upon the realities of Christ and His salvation.

And the passage we are going to use to do that is found in Colossians 2.

Just a brief BACKGROUND will help us grasp the text even better.

From the letter we know that PAUL NEVER PERSONALLY MET the Colossians.
Colossians 2:1 “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,”

Instead, while Paul was imprisoned their pastor Epaphras had traveled to find Paul to gain insight from him regarding the struggles of that church and region.
Colossians 1:7-8 “just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.”

The church faced many dangerous heresies.
Perhaps the only difficulty for our understanding is that THOSE HERESIES ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY NAMED.

And in one sense the specifics of each heresy didn’t matter
• For they all had the same ultimate goal,
• Which was to pull your focus off of Christ and the sufficiency of His salvation
• And put the focus back on you the necessity of your works.

Paul saw this is as the most terrible theft of the ages.
So he wrote to remind the Colossians who their real treasure was,
And not to allow anyone to steal that treasure from them.

Colossians 2:1-2 “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,”

Paul wanted them to know the wealth of Christ.

Colossians 2:18 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,”

Paul wanted them to enjoy the prize of the sufficiency of Christ.
So basically what you have here is
• The apostle Paul writing a letter to a church he has never met
• To help them navigate through a culture filled with theological errors and problems.
• Reminding them that the key to overcoming all deception is to rightly know Christ and to focus on Him.

I think we can certainly find why this book would prick our curiosity.
This could be us…

And THIS MORNING I just want us to pick up in chapter 2 verse 8.

We pick up in 2:8 where we read:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

It’s an obvious warning to the Colossians
That there are dangerous belief systems all around them,
And such which they must continually be on guard against.

In fact, what Paul describes here are “SPIRITUAL PIRATES”

The Greek phrase “takes you captive”
Comes from a Greek word that many think Paul may have made up.

It’s only used here in the Bible, and it won’t show up in Greek literature
For some time after Paul’s life and ministry.

It’s a compound word that Paul just put together.
SULAGOGEO

SULE = “booty” or “plunder”
AGO = “to carry off”

Paul put the words together as “one who carries off plunder or booty, or even as one who kidnaps.”

We are talking about spiritual pirates.
And Paul says “See to it that no one takes you captive”

Make sure no one kidnaps you from the truth.
Make sure no one carries you away from what is true.

Paul just wants the church to be aware that around every corner
Is a deception that threatens to pull you away from the truth.

Don’t let the pirates steal you away.

And Paul even gives here one such threat.
It is “philosophy and empty deception”

“philosophy” is another compound Greek word,
It comes from PHILEO which means “to love” and SOPHIA which means “wisdom”.

Hence philosophy is the love of wisdom.
And in one sense everyone is a philosopher since everyone has an opinion,

But Paul here speaks of those who use philosophy
As an “empty deception”

Many a philosopher has tried to solve the problems of the universe
Simply by looking within himself for the answers.
He looks at his own logic and reason and seeks the answers for his existence.
It is ultimately futile and useless
Since we were created at the pleasure of another and for His purposes.

Paul explains this specific philosophy as that which is “according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world”

Everything that is being taught here is that which has been taught before.
It is passed down as true only because someone else first believed it.

Sort of like evolution in our day.
Never proven, not a fact, but passed down through tradition and so believed by many.

And Paul’s point is that at its very core it is elemental and worldly.

Now, we could discuss this a bit further but time would fail us.
The MAIN PROBLEM with this philosophy is seen at the end of the verse.

Namely that these pirates inundate you with philosophy
And empty deception and tradition and worldly principles
“rather than according to Christ”

And without all the nuances of the deceptions being permeated
The main problem is clear.
THROUGH THEIR DECEPTIONS THEY PULL YOU AWAY FROM CHRIST.

These pirates don’t take you from your ship or your parents or your job,
THEY SEEK TO PULL YOU AWAY FROM CHRIST.
• They seek to steal your focus off of Him.
• They seek to point your head to other things.

AND THIS IS FASCINATING
When Paul wrote a letter to a church he had never met
Facing an unknown number of deceptions
PAUL COMES IN WITH ONE MAIN ENCOURAGEMENT.

Don’t let anyone or anything or any doctrine or philosophy
Pull your focus off of Christ.

If anything or anyone or any teaching turns your head
Off of who Christ is and what He did…RUN!

That is the work of spiritual pirates.
“See to it that no one takes you captive…”

Don’t let anyone captivate you with anything other than Christ.
That’s really the message.
That’s really the point.

But to aid that point Paul then gives us
One of the most beautiful and profound statements on Christ
Found anywhere in the Bible.

The depth here is unsearchable…
There are more layers than we will ever get through…

But even on the surface with our simple understanding,
We can see here the beauty of who Christ is, what Christ did,
And why we should never let anything take our gaze off of Him.

And so this morning as Paul tells us to fix our focus on Jesus,
I just want us to walk through this passage
TO SEE WHO JESUS IS AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US.

There are 3 main points that Paul makes about Christ.

#1 HIS FULLNESS
Colossians 2:9

It is the most profound and concise statement
On the deity of Jesus in the entire Bible.

It is the verse which crushes every heresy which claims that Jesus is not God.
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

In short, Jesus has it all.
• There is no attribute of God…
• There is no ability of God…
• There is no aspect of God…
• Which Jesus does not possess.
• Should we talk about God’s grace…Jesus has it.
• Should we talk about God’s mercy…Jesus has it.
• Should we talk about God’s holiness…Jesus has it.
• Should we talk about God’s power…Jesus has it.
• Should we talk about God’s wisdom…Jesus has it.

Jesus has it all.

Colossians 1:15-20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Jesus has no limitation…
Jesus has no missing aspect…
He is God in human flesh.
All the deity is His.

“all the fullness” is a complete term.
All of everything.
Jesus is lacking nothing.

Can we see that?

Well what does that mean for us?
It means: IF YOU ARE IN HIM YOU ARE FULL

(10a) “and in Him you have been made complete,”

• “fullness” in verse 9 is PLEROMA
• “complete” in verse 10 is PLEROO

Jesus is full, and if you are in Him, then you are full.

In short, if you have Jesus, you have EVERYTHING.
There is nothing lacking.
He’s got it all, and if you’ve got Him, you’ve got it all.

Does that make sense?
John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”

2 Peter 1:2-3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

For believers who are in Christ, every possible need is met.
• Every shortcoming is satisfied.
• Every requirement is met.
• There is no more lack, there is no more inadequacy.

In Jesus, we have everything.

That is one of Paul’s main points to the Colossians.
Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

• Paul said that we are “complete in Christ”

Colossians 1:21-22 “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach”

• He reconciled us to make us “holy and blameless and beyond reproach”

Jesus has it all, and if you’ve got Jesus you’ve got it all.
In Him you have everything you need.

Not the least of which is the righteousness that He provides.
We read so many passages in Scripture
That remind us of the righteous expectation of God.

We are haunted by the phrase: “You shall be holy as I am holy”; “You shall be perfect as Your heavenly Father is perfect”

The Psalmist mocks us when he asks:
Psalms 15:1-2 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.”

We grieve when we read
Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

All those verses do is remind us that we, (in and of ourselves), ARE NOT ENOUGH.
• We do not have what God requires.
• We do not measure up to His expectations.
• We are lacking, we are void, we are disappointing.

UNLESS WE ARE IN JESUS.
But when we are in Jesus, we have everything,
Because Jesus has everything.

Now you understand why Paul would say,
Don’t let some philosophy pull you away from Jesus
JESUS IS EVERYTHING!

Just consider His fullness.

#2 HIS HEADSHIP
Colossians 2:10b

“and He is the head over all rule and authority;”

This is another way of saying: HE IS LORD
• He is God’s King.
• He is the ultimate authority and head over all things.

Now, this will prove especially significant later in the letter
When Paul reveals more of the problem facing the Colossians.

Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

There were men who were acting as “judges”.
• That is to say, they were putting themselves in authority over you and
demanding certain requirements of you.
• Things like what to eat and drink, what festival to attend, or what to do or not
do on a Sabbath day.
• And they acted as your authority.

Later Paul will also reveal:
Colossians 2:18 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,”

• Other men were claiming angelic visions and thus using celestial beings as
their supposed authority for making you do or not do certain things.

So what you had going on in Colossae was a group of men (pirates)
• Who came in with their traditions and philosophies and their angelic visions
• And were using those things as a way of telling you what to do.
• They were assuming authority and leading men away from Christ and after
themselves.

So Paul reminds the Colossians of something very important.

Christ “is the head over all rule and authority.”

What does that mean for you?
It means that: IN CHRIST YOU ARE FREE

You are free from the expectations of this world
And you are free to love and serve and obey Him.

When a pirate comes in telling you that
In order to be pleasing to God you have to abstain from this food,
Or attend this festival, or follow this angelic revelation…

Paul says, all they’re trying to do is pull you away from Christ.
• He is the Lord.
• He is the One you serve.
• You are free from all those other expectations.

AND YOU SEE THIS REALITY THROUGHOUT THE LETTER AS WELL.

Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

Listen to this next statement Paul makes and note all the times Paul gives you the motive for why you do what you do:

Colossians 3:17-4:1 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart. Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”

Did you catch all that?
• Why do husbands love their wives?
• Why do wives submit to their husbands?
• Why do children obey their parents?

It’s not because philosophy or tradition or some angel tells us to,
It’s because Christ tells us to.

WE ARE SERVING HIM!
WE HAVE NO OTHER WHOM WE STRIVE TO PLEASE, BUT HIM.

Christ is the One you strive to please.

It is seen in the answers of the apostles when they were told not to preach:
Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

What a liberating thought!
• That I am not to be taken captive by human reason or cultural expectations.
• That the majority has no effect on how I walk or live.
• I serve Christ and Christ alone – He is the head!

• Don’t fret men.
• Don’t worry about being a man pleaser.
• Be a Christ pleaser.
• Keep your focus on Him, don’t let someone steal your focus on Him and force you to put it on some other standard.

So Paul’s admonition to the Colossians is
Don’t let a Pirate steal you from devotion to Christ.

Focus on His Fullness and in Him you are full!
Focus on His Headship and in Him you are free!
#3 HIS SALVATION
Colossians 2:11-15

Now, I’ll be honest, there is more beauty and depth here than we can cover in our remaining time together but that doesn’t stop us from grasping the simple and yet profound meaning of what Paul has to say.

He wants you to focus on the salvation of Christ.

NOW LET ME SHOW YOU
Some of the human expectations
That were being thrown at the Colossians.

Here is some of what those earthly judges and angelic messengers were telling the Colossians they had to do in order to be pleasing to God.

Things like: Get circumcised!
• This was the message of the Judaizers who were fine with Gentiles being
saved so long as they converted to Judaism through circumcision.

Things like: Follow the dietary restrictions!
• This by the way is what Paul was talking about when he mentioned those
“elementary principles of the world” back in verse 8.

Colossians 2:20-21 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

Things like: You need to pay off your debt before God with suffering

Colossians 2:18a “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement…”

Colossians 2:23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

So let me just simplify here a little some of the nonsense
That the Colossians were being taught by these Pirates.

If you want to please God then:
• You need to get circumcised
• You need to pay off your debt through self-abasement and penance
• You need to follow these angelic visions and abstain from certain foods, etc.

Now that’s a simplification, but that’s it in a nutshell.
Get circumcised
Pay off your debt through suffering
Listen to the angels and do without certain foods and stuff

Now listen to Paul address that.

1) YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET CIRCUMCISED.
WHY?
(11-12) “and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

Circumcision was a Jewish ritual.
• It was commanded by God as a physical sign of a spiritual reality.
• By removing the foreskin it was symbolic of the necessity of removing the flesh or killing the flesh.

Now the important thing to note is that removing the foreskin of a boy was merely a symbol, it didn’t actually make him live holy.

They were actually supposed to circumcise their heart
And merely use physical circumcision as an outward symbol.

Similar to that of baptism today. We are called to die to self; to believe in Christ and so be identified with His death and burial and resurrection.

And the outward symbol of that is water baptism.

WATER BAPTISM DOESN’T WASH AWAY SINS.
• We don’t even use soap.
• It can’t even wash away dirt, let alone sins.

It is just an outward symbol of an inward reality.
And so is circumcision.

AND HERE IS PAUL’S POINT.
You’ve got all these people telling you that to be pleasing to God you need to get circumcised.

And Paul says, well if you are in Christ you already were.
• Only in Christ you were REALLY circumcised, not just symbolically circumcised.
• In Christ your flesh was ACTUALLY removed, not just symbolically removed.
• In Christ your flesh was ACTUALLY killed, not just symbolically killed.

“in Him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”

He did the real one, not the symbol.

You say, WHEN? HOW?
AND THE ANSWER IS: at the moment you BELIEVED in Christ by faith.
You were IDENTIFIED with Him before God.

And in that identification you were crucified with Christ,
Buried with Christ, and raised with Christ.
And when you died, your flesh died too.

Now I know this is a deep concept, but let me see if I can simplify it.

• We have spoken of being “in Christ”
• The means to being “in Christ” is faith.
• When we believe, we believe into Christ.
• That is, God begins to identify us with Christ, and Christ with us.

On the cross,
• God identified Christ with us, and therefore crushed Him for sin.
And at the same time
• God identified us with Christ and therefore raised us also from the dead.

That is what Paul is talking about in verse 12
“having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

By faith we are identified with Christ.
We are in Him.

• When God looks at Christ, He saw us.
• When God looks at us, He saw Christ.
• We died with Him, we were buried with Him, we were raised with Him.

In a simple sense it’s like being in an airplane.
If you are in an airplane and that airplane goes to New York, where are you going?

Well, when we believed and were united with Christ,
That means His death became our death,
And His resurrection became our resurrection.

And when a man dies, his flesh dies too.

So, Jesus didn’t just symbolically free us from the flesh,
He ACTUALLY did it through death and resurrection.

Romans 6:5-6 “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

AND SO THE SIMPLE POINT IS:
You don’t have to be circumcised, Christ already freed you from the flesh.

2) YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY OFF YOUR DEBT THROUGH SUFFERING
• A second thing these Colossians were told to do was perform self-abasement and the severe treatment of the body and thus pay off their debt before God through suffering.

But Paul says, NOT NECESSARY, Jesus already took care of your debt.

(13-14) “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

We are reminded here that we were “dead” in our “transgressions”
THAT IS SPIRITUAL DEATH.
• We did not know God.
• We did not comprehend God.
• We were enemies of God.

And yet, even when we were dead, He made us alive.

But if a person is dead because they have sinned against God,
You can’t just make them alive without dealing with the sin debt.

SO THAT IS WHAT JESUS DID.
He made us alive, “having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us”

That “certificate of debt” is God’s perfect holy Law,
Which accurately describes the expectation of God.

For sinners it is a record and witness of judgment.

Picture a chalkboard
• With list after list of infractions and grievances and transgressions and marks against us.

PAUL SAYS JESUS ERASED IT.

That’s what the word “canceled out” means.
EXALEIPHO – which means “to white out”
Or “to white wash” or “to wipe away”

In those days paper was often animal skins and ink didn’t have acid
So you could literally wipe it away or wash it out.

THAT IS WHAT JESUS DID.

And He did it “having nailed it to the cross”

• He took our sin upon Himself, and He was crucified.
• He bore God’s wrath against sin and there paid our debt.
• And once our debt was removed we were free to come to life.

AND SO PAUL’S SIMPLE POINT IS,
Why would you have to suffer in the flesh to satisfy God?
Jesus already paid our debt in full through His suffering.

You don’t need to be circumcised, Jesus already freed you from the flesh.
You don’t need to pay off your debt, Jesus already paid it off.
3) YOU DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO SOME ANGELIC MESSAGE ABOUT DIETARY RESTRICTIONS…

• You don’t have to do is listen to some angelic being (demon) that tells you “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch”

And by the way, that is a demonic message:
1 Timothy 4:1-3 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”

Paul calls it “doctrines of demons”

BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THEM
WHY?
Because those demons aren’t in charge.

(15) “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

Jesus disarmed the devil for those who are in Him.
• He’s like a dog with no teeth.
• He can bark and he can growl, but he can’t bite any more.

Christ alone is the One you must please.

So let me zoom out now
And give you just the simple sense of the passage.

THERE ARE PIRATES who will come in and try to take you captive
By getting you to follow their philosophies and traditions and will turn your head away from the sufficiency of Christ.

• They will tell you to follow them into things like circumcision and dietary restrictions and self-abasement and angelic visions.
• They will tell you of all you must do if you are to be made pleasing to God.
• They will turn your head from Christ and put it on them and will ultimately steal from you the very prize and joy of salvation.

Paul says – DON’T LET THEM!
You focus on Christ!

Because Christ is full – YOU ARE FULL
You have everything you need.

Because Christ is head – YOU ARE FREE
Pleasing Him is your only concern

Because Christ is Savior – YOU ARE FORGIVEN
You don’t have to be circumcised or severely treat your body or listen to some demonic angel telling you not to eat bacon.

Jesus already did all that is required to reconcile you to God.
He is all you need.

And this morning on Easter I simply want to remind you of that.

Our world is filled with philosophies and wisdoms and teachings
They are deceptions meant to pull you away from the sufficiency of Christ.
But to this church, which Paul had never met, his command was clear.

JUST FOCUS ON CHRIST
• HE MAKES YOU FULL – in Him you have everything you need.
• HE MAKES YOU FREE – He alone is the One you serve.
• HE MAKES YOU FORGIVEN – He suffered and satisfied God, so that you
don’t have to.

Church that is your prize!
It is Christ! Focus on Him!

And to those here this morning who are not in Jesus.
• You have never believed in Him.
• You have never been identified with His death, burial, and resurrection.

You are either still living for yourself
Or you are busy trying to fulfill some man-made list of expectations.

This morning I invite you to place your faith in Christ.
• Drop all your efforts at the door.
• Repent of your sin by which you have offended God.
• Quit trying to pay off that debt through some religious effort.

Place your faith in Christ
And find His fullness, His freedom, and His forgiveness.
It’s available to all who will believe in Him.

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

An Imprecatory Prayer For The Glory of God
Psalms 35
April 14, 2019

This morning as we talked about prayer as Jesus taught us to pray,
We looked into that somewhat confusing issue of the imprecatory Psalms.

We are talking about those Psalms where curses or judgment
Are prayed for against the enemies of God and His people.

As we noted, those Psalms have caused no small amount of confusion among God’s people as to many they seem to almost be Anti-Christian.

I even watched a short video clip this week from John Piper who spoke of a time in Germany as a graduate student when he went to a Q&A of sorts and one student asked the faculty about one of the imprecatory Psalms.

And the professor scolded back at the student, “That is a Pharisee Psalm!” Clearly implying, don’t ever quote that Psalm around us.

And sadly, that has been the mindset of far too many believers
And thus they ascribe to a very LIBERAL MENTALITY
Because they ultimately pass judgment on and overlook God’s word.

As we learned this morning,
By omitting those Psalms they even miss out greatly
On part of what our Lord taught us as He taught us to pray.

We don’t just read the imprecatory Psalms, we sing them, we pray them.
• They are part of God’s holy inspired word.
• They are His heart.
• They do not contradict.

And so what I tell you next should not surprise you.
JESUS PRAYS THEM!

Some would say,
“No, wait! Jesus would never pray something like that.”

To respond in that fashion would be to say that
Jesus didn’t write the Psalms and that the Psalms are not about Jesus.

And yet Jesus told us:
John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

What I’m going to tell you tonight is that Jesus prayed these Psalms.
I’m convinced Jesus still prays these Psalms as He intercedes for the saints before the throne of God.

And I’ll show you tonight that while Psalms 35 was first a prayer of David,
It’s is easy to see through spiritual eyes that it is also a prayer of Jesus.

But let’s first walk through this Psalm with David.

We can divide this Psalm into 3 main points.
#1 A CALL FOR GOD’S CONTENTION
Psalms 35:1-10

This is not one of those Psalms that is hard to understand.
The language is clear.

Verses 1-3 are clearly written in battle language.
Just look at the verbs:
• “Contend”
• “Fight”
• “Take hold of”
• “Rise up”
• “Draw”

We also notice that these are NOT UNWARRANTED requests.

David asks the LORD to “contend…with those who contend WITH ME”
And to “fight against those who fight AGAINST ME”
To “take…buckler and shield and rise up FOR MY HELP”
To “draw…the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who PURSUE ME.”

David is under attack.
He has been pursued.
He is being hunted.

And so David’s first request is that God would enter the battle.
That God would fight for him against this deadly foe.

And David is VERY ARTICULATE about his desire in this battle.
You see 6, all beginning with the word “let”

(4a) “Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life”
It is a request that his enemies be SHAMED

He wants them judged negatively in the court of human opinion.
What they are doing is not ok, it is not right, and he wants them to be exposed.

It is a great grievance to the afflicted when their persecutors
Can walk with their head held high regarding their atrocity.

DAVID WANTS THEM EXPOSED
For the things they’ve done in the darkness and for their murderous evils.

(4b) “Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.”
It is a request that his enemies be STOPPED

Not only do I want them to be shamed, but I also want them to stop.
I want their humiliation to turn them back.

Like a light to a thief,
I want it to cause them to run away for fear of being captured.

(5) “Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them on.”
It is a request that his enemies be SCATTERED

As they run in fear, let them be dispersed
And let their organization and unity be broken.
Stop their alliances and move them far from one another.

And may the LORD keep blowing on them
Until they are gone far from here and far from one another.

(6) “Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.”
It is a request that as his enemies flee that they will SLIP

In short, while you make them run, and while you scatter them,
DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE.

Leave no chance that they might later reorganize and return.
They need to fall.

AND THEN DAVID GIVES HIS FIRST EXPLANATION
AS TO WHY THIS PRAYER IS BEING OFFERED

(7) “For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.”

Not only do we see that someone laid a plan to catch him,
But we see also the fact that David says it was “without cause”

From reading the Scriptures we know that David is not a perfect man.
• He made his share of mistakes.

But we also know that David is not an arrogant man.
• When he sins, he owns up to it.
• He confesses it and he repents of it.

We have also seen David willingly submit to the consequences of his sin.
• Whether that was the death of the child of his affair with Bathsheba
• Or even the LORD’S plague after David numbered the people.

David is not one to deny his sin or complain about the consequences.

So when David says their hostility is “without cause”
We are inclined to believe him.

Whether this was Saul or Absalom or some other threat, we don’t know.
• We just know that David has found himself under undeserved attack
• And he wants the LORD to come and fight for him.

BACK TO HIS SPECIFIC REQUESTS.

(8a) “Let destruction come upon him unawares,”
It is a request that they be SHOCKED

It speaks of an enemy that is walking in full confidence and arrogance
That David will soon fall to him.

David wants God’s plan to be fully executed and executed stealthily.
At the moment he thinks he is winning,
Spring upon him and shock him in defeat.

(8b) “And let the net which he hid catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall.”
It is a request that they be SNARED

• Haman built the gallows, let him be hung on them.
• Pharaoh drowned the babies, let him be drowned.

They launched a plan of attack against the innocent,
Now let them fall by their own plan.

Now that is David’s request.
It is a call for God’s CONTENTION.

He is specifically asking for the Lord to intervene in this battle,
Win the battle, and deliver David.

And at this point we deal with those emotions that give us pause.
• What about the command to pray for our enemies?
• What about the requirements of forgiveness?
• ISN’T THIS PRAYER OF DAVID A DIRECT CONTRADICTION?

To that first let me say.
If you ever read 2 verses in the Bible that seem to contradict each other
There is a problem in your interpretation, not the Biblical message.

God inspired every word in this book, and God is not confused.
Every apparent contradiction only exists because of human interpretation,
Not because of divine revelation.

So no, this is not a contradiction
To those prayers for the forgiveness of enemies.

THEN WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?

Important to note throughout this Psalm
Is the FINAL EFFECT THAT DAVID DESIRES
As the consequence of God answering this prayer.

And that final effect or consequence is always THE GLORY OF GOD.

(9-10) “And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; It shall exult in His salvation. All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

Certainly that’s a promise of praise from David.
• I’ll praise You as Lord – “my soul shall rejoice in the LORD”
• I’ll praise You as Savior – “shall exult in His salvation”
• I’ll praise You as Unique – “All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You”
• I’ll praise You as Powerful – “delivers the needy from him who is too strong”
• I’ll praise You as Compassionate – “delivers…the needy from him who robs him”

So the first stanza of this Psalm can easily be summarized.
FIGHT FOR ME AGAINST THIS DEADLY FOE AND I WILL PRAISE YOU.

And here we find perhaps where the contradiction is resolved.
• This is NOT a prayer of personal vengeance on the part of David.
• This is NOT a prayer for personal comfort on the part of David.
• This is a prayer for the glory of God.

Certainly when we are attacked or persecuted we are commanded not to take our own revenge.
• We are commanded to pray for those who persecuted us.
• We are commanded to be forgiving.
• We are commanded to love our enemies.

And so we do.

But there is another element always at work here.
• We also cry out passionately for God to show Himself mighty.
• We contend against the enemies of God.

Charles Spurgeon put it like this:
“There is nothing malicious here, the slandered man simply craves for justice, and the petition is natural and justifiable. Guided by God’s good spirit the Psalmist foretells the everlasting confusion of all the haters of the righteous. Shameful disappointment shall be the portion of the enemies of the gospel, nor would the most tender-hearted Christian have it otherwise; viewing sinners as men, we love them and seek their good, but regarding them as enemies of God, we cannot think of them with anything but detestations, and a loyal desire for the confusion of their devices. No loyal subject can wish well to rebels. Squeamish sentimentality may object to the strong language here used, but in their hearts all good men wish confusion to mischief-makers.”
(Spurgeon, Charles [The Treasury of David – Volume 1, part 2, Psalms XXVII to LVII; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 141)

What is more Spurgeon would add that
• These requests are the very requests of our great intercessor before the throne of God on our behalf as He battles against the accuser of the brethren.

“Every saint of God shall have this privilege: the accuser of the brethren shall be met by the Advocate of the saints. “Fight against them that fight against me.” If my adversaries try force as well as fraud, be a match for them; oppose thy strength to their strength. Jesus does this for all his beloved – for them he is both intercessor and champion; whatever aid they need they shall receive from him, and in whatever manner they are assaulted they shall be effectually defended.”
(ibid; pg. 140)

I understand that (as Spurgeon put it) the sentimental of squeamish
Or tender-hearted may initially have issue with the words of David here.

But that is because they are reading this wrong.
We are not here just talking about David’s enemies,
We are talking about God’s enemies.

We are talking about evil men who attack God’s children.
We are talking about the devil who would seek to destroy God’s elect.
• He is relentless in his pursuit…
• He is unbound by mercy or compassion…
• He lies as easily as he breathes…
• And we are powerless to overcome him…

• All we can do is pray.
• All we can do is ask God to fight for us.
• All we can do is ask God to stop him.

We sang it this morning.
“For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing; dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.”

And we pray for this victory so that God is glorified
As Lord and Savior and Uniquely powerful and
And the compassionate defender of His own.

It is a tragedy that the church does not pray this prayer more often.
We should not sit idly by while the enemy attacks our brothers and sisters with lies and deceptions and temptations. We should war against him as David did.

Fight for me against this deadly foe and I will praise You!

Call for God’s Contention
#2 A CALL FOR GOD’S PERCEPTION
Psalms 35:11-21

I think the language here is also quite clear
Once you identify the imagery David is using.

It is a courtroom scene.

We see the INTERROGATION BY THE PROSECUTION
(11) “Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know”

It’s not that David is dumb or even ignorant,
It’s that the entire scope of the charges have been fabricated
And he could not possibly know what the answers are.

He is an innocent man caught in the false accusations of the wicked.
And here he is being grilled by the prosecuting attorney.

In response to his examination we see DAVID’S TESTIMONY
(12-14) “They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.”

Here is David announcing his innocence.
• He did no wrong to his accusers.
• And he does not deserve this attack.

There is no evidence of malice or cruelty on David’s part.
He is innocent here.

But you’ll notice that David’s defense is powerless against the accusations of the enemy.

For we see the BLOODTHIRSTY JURY
(15-16) “But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing. Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth.”

More like a lynch mob than a fair trial.
The prosecuting attorney is drumming up charges
And the jury is buying every aspect of it.

David’s testimony of righteousness and compassion,
Even though saturated with truth, is falling on deaf ears.

This is why David is asking God to see what is going on and intervene!

(17) “Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions.”

You can almost feel a frustration from David here
As he knows that God can see the truth about what is going on here.

David is under attack, he is powerless to stop it,
And God knows full well what the truth is.
So David is asking God to intervene.

And again we see why:
(18) “I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.”

• Again it is for the glory of God.
• Again it is so that the saints in the congregation may be encouraged that God
does in fact deliver His own.

And then David returns to the trial at hand.

Next we see the WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION

(19-21) “Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously. For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

• You see them winking to one another as they confirm their lies.
• You see them devising deceitful words.
• You see them agreeing with the lies of others “our eyes have seen it!”

It’s all a big mockery lie and deception.
There is nothing true here, it is all corruption.
It is a stacked court and David is powerless.

So, for the glory of God, David calls for God’s Perception.

Rescue me from these corrupt accusations and I will praise You!

Call for God’s Contention; Call for God’s Perception
#3 A CALL FOR GOD’S VINDICATION
Psalms 35:22-28

David knows that God knows the truth about the entire situation.
“You have seen it, O LORD”

David’s request now is that God will intervene and act as the judge.
It’s bad enough that I’ve fallen into the hands
• Of a wicked arresting officer
• A wicked prosecuting attorney
• A blood-thirsty jury,
• And lying witnesses.

But don’t throw me to the corruptions of a crooked judge.

“do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself and awake to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord, Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.”

It is a call for God to step in and render the verdict.
For God to step into the role as Judge
And put a stop to these malicious attackers.

It is what Paul had in mind when he wrote:
Romans 8:33 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;”

David was here counting on that.
(25-26) “Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!” Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.”

Do you see those arrogant mockers who just know that
They have won in their plans to condemn David?

David asks God to stop them.
• Don’t let them rejoice in a successful plan.
• Don’t let them brag about how they toppled me.
• Shame them, humiliate them, make them lose.

Turn their corruption on their head.
Defend Your child.

And again, the result of God’s intervention:
(27-28) “Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.” And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness And Your praise all day long.”

Not only will I rejoice and praise You,
But so will all the righteous who are keenly observing this trial.

Your other children are watching closely to see if You will deliver.
When You do, they will also rejoice in praise when they see You intervene.
I will praise You continually, and so will they.

And so I hope you can see that
What we have here is
An imprecatory prayer for the glory of God.

Paul taught us:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

Is David doing that?
Yes

We understand that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked and so neither do we.

However, we also do not take pleasure in the prosperity of the wicked.
• We also do not take pleasure in the successes of the wicked.
• We also do not take pleasure in the deceptive schemes of the wicked.

• We stand against them.
• We pray against them.
• We beseech God to intervene and show Himself mighty and holy and a justifier
of His people who are unjustly maligned.

WE PRAY FOR THAT
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”

But even more than that, I told you at the beginning that even more than our prayer or the prayer of David, THIS IS A PRAYER OF CHRIST.

No, it’s not recorded in the New Testament,
• Though we have no record of the words of His mouth at Gethsemane except that one brief prayer for God’s will to be done.
• We don’t know what He prayed as He was shifted from Annas to Caiaphas to Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate, though we are certain He was in constant prayer.

And so, I cannot give you the verse where Jesus prayed Psalms 35.

However, I can show you the very life of Jesus all through this Psalm.

In those first 10 verses, we called it A CALL FOR GOD’S CONTENTION.

Beside those first ten verses you can write:
THE BRUTAL ARREST OF JESUS

John 18:1-11 “When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Matthew 26:55 “At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.”

Luke 22:52-53 “Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

Certainly we find NOTHING from Jesus there that speaks of REVENGE.
We even find Him willfully submitting to the Father’s plan.
He wasn’t fighting back, He wasn’t making threats.

1 Peter 2:22-23 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

As Jesus was being treated exactly like those first 10 verses describe,
All He was doing was trusting God.

We then looked at verses 11-21 which we called A CALL FOR GOD’S PERCEPTION.
And there wan write THE CORRUPT TRIAL OF JESUS

After He was arrested
He endured the most corrupt trial in the history of the world.

• Despite His innocence and the fact that He only ever did good for those who were attacking Him, Jesus was lynched.

According to Rabbinical Law,
• A trial could not be held at night. Nor could it be held in secret, it was a public affair
• Furthermore a trial could not be held during a feast
• A man could only be condemned upon the testimony of two credible witnesses.
• Furthermore if a man was condemned, the first person to strike the blow to the condemned had to be the person who first bore witness against him.
• Furthermore the accused could not be forced to testify against Himself. Even a detailed confession was not viewed as adequate evidence to condemn a man.
• 23 votes were cast in order determine a person’s fate. It took 13 votes to condemn, but only 11 to acquit And if all 23 voted to condemn the man was automatically acquitted since it was viewed that mercy was lacking and the court was flawed.
• When the votes were cast they voted in order of youngest to oldest so that the vote of the older did not influence the vote of the younger
• If a man was condemned, the law required that he could not be sentenced until the morning of the third day.
• And even after sentencing as the man was going to his punishment, if on the way he or anyone else remembered evidence that might deliver him, immediately the execution was stayed and the trial was re-opened.
• And if a man was condemned his property could not be seized, it passed to his heirs, in order to keep a man from being condemned for his possessions.

Jesus’ trial was a farce!

We could read from David again about the interrogation of the Prosecuting Attorney.
• We remember the sneers of Annas
• We remember the interrogation of Caiaphas
• We remember them bringing in their false witnesses and trying to force Jesus to condemn Himself.

Matthew 26:57-68 “Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘ I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.'” The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Beyond that, we remember them dragging Jesus to Pilate and even when Pilate wanted to release Him, we remember the blood-thirsty mob.

Luke 23:13-23 “Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. “No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. “Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” [Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.] But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!” (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.”

It was a brutal arrest and it was a sham trial.
Jesus had fallen prey to the evil devices of wicked men.

And then we came to verses 22-28 which we called; A CALL FOR GOD’S VINDICATION
And there you can write: THE SENTENCING OF JESUS

And we are reminded of Pilate seeking to wash his hands,
But ultimately giving Jesus over to be crucified.

And we remember the mocking and the high fives at the foot of the cross.

Matthew 27:24-31, 39-44 “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ” Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him…And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”

You see there all the mocking and all the scorn that David described.

NOW – SOMEONE CAN SAY:
It’s true Jesus endured the same suffering that David described, but how can you say that Jesus prayed the same way that David prayed?

• We remember Jesus saying in John 12 that He would not pray to be saved
from this hour, but rather that God’s name would be glorified.
• We remember Jesus saying that He could call 10,000 angels, but He did not.
• We remember on the cross Jesus praying “Father forgive them…”

Those prayers are A FAR CRY FROM DAVID’S REQUEST
For God to contend, or to raise up His battle-axe and deliver.

And to that, we would have to agree.
JESUS DID NOT PRAY VINDICTIVELY ON BEHALF OF HIS OWN FATE.
He willingly submitted to the plan of the Father and endured the cross.

But can I read it again:
1 Peter 2:22-23 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Do you see those words?
“kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”

Is that not a reference to prayer and Jesus
Continually trusting His fate to the righteous Judge?

Can we not read Psalms 35:24 here?
“Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me”

Jesus wasn’t asking to skip the cross.
• He knew that to be the plan of God.
• But I have no problem understanding Jesus praying for final vindication.

VINDICATION WHICH GOD PROVIDED!
Acts 2:22-24, 32-36 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power…”This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

One thing I am sure of is that
God granted this very prayer to Jesus.

No, God did not spare Him from the cross,
But God did vindicate Him by raising Him from the dead.

And what a message that proved to be for all His attackers.
Through the Resurrection
• God Shamed them
• God Stopped them
• God Scattered them
• God Made them slip
• God Shocked them
• God Snared them

Can you see that?
God saw and intervened.
God vindicated His Son.

And here we find our prayers as well.

These imprecatory Psalms are not prayers we use
For our own personal vendettas or even our own personal comfort.

They are prayers
• For the glory of God and the final vindication of His children.
• For darkness to fail and light to flourish.
• For wicked men to be stopped and the elect to be preserved.
• Against the schemes of the devil and the for the furtherance of the gospel.

When we pray
We voice our displeasure with the methods of the enemy
And we pray for his swift defeat.

WE WAR WHEN WE PRAY.
Jesus did.
Jesus does.
And it is high time the church re-enter this fight.

Teach Us To Pray – Part 4
Luke 11:1-13 (4b)
April 14, 2019

As you know, we are currently listening to Jesus’ instruction
About prayer to His disciples.

They wanted Him to teach them to pray, and this was His answer.

We are in that first point which we called:
#1 A PATTERN TO FOLLOW
Luke 11:1-4

In that we have been looking at what we call
“The Model Prayer” or “The Disciples Prayer”

And in this we have identified 6 realities
That our Lord introduces as what it means to pray effectively.

1) THE FOUNDATION FOR PRAYER (2)
“Father”

2) THE CHIEF MOTIVE FOR PRAYER (2)
“hallowed be Your name”

3) THE FOCUS OF PRAYER (2)
“Your kingdom come”

4) THE DISCERNMENT OF PRAYER (3)
“Give us this day our daily bread”

And last time
5) THE HUMILITY OF PRAYER (4a)
“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

And I don’t want to go over and rehash those any more than that,
For we’ve been on those points now for the past 3 weeks.

This morning I want to give you the final reality that our Lord gave for us in this PATTERN to follow.

But before we jump into it, I want to call your attention
To some passages of Scripture
That perhaps have caused you difficulty in the past.

Verses like:
Psalms 5:10 “Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”

Psalms 10:15 “Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”

Psalms 17:13 “Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low; Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,”

Or even one which we will be studying tonight:
Psalms 35:1-3 “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

Psalms 58:6-8 “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.

Psalms 59:5 “You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.”

Psalms 69:22-28 “May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, And make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation on them, And may Your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents. For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.”

And we could go on with readings from:
Psalms 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140

They are simply referred to as THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS
To imprecate means “to call down evil” or “to pray down judgment”

That is clearly what is expressed in those Psalms when you read them.

• And honestly, you can’t even just over spiritualize them just to be a
reference to the devil and not evil men.
• If you’re going to be an honest reader of Scripture, you have to take them for
what they say.

They are passages that have caused
A great deal of interpretive trouble to many in the church.

For we are well aware of our LORD’S COMMAND:
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

We are aware of our LORD’S EXAMPLE:
Luke 23:33-34 “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”

We remember prayers like the one from Stephen:
Acts 7:59-60 “They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.”

Most Christians are pretty clear in their understanding that
Christianity does not advance through some sort of militant Jihad.

Even when James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans, Jesus was quick to rebuke them saying:
Luke 9:55-56 “But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

If it’s not obvious to you, it should be.
• We are not those who desire the death of the wicked.
• We, like our heavenly Father, take no pleasure in the realities of judgment.
• We forgive our enemies.
• We refrain from taking our own revenge.
• We don’t blow up abortion clinics
• We don’t picket military funerals
• We don’t kill infidels

Those things are clear to us, certainly when we read the New Testament.

And that is what makes these imprecatory Psalms
So confusing to us.

The Psalms are God’s hymn book.
The Psalms are God’s inspired songs for the church.
And yet some of them appear down right ruthless.

How are they to be interpreted?
What are we to do with them?

I’ve heard of many theologians who just choose to leave them out.
• They choose to ignore them as chapters that don’t fit in the Bible.
• They certainly could not imagine singing a song like that in church.

Psalms 58:10 “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”

Certainly we would admit that it’s hard to imagine
A Psalm like that being used in a greeting card.

And so what typically happens is that
• Christians read them,
• Sort of perk their heads back in shock,
• Make an internal judgment that we shouldn’t be like that,
• And then just move on.

The issue can become a little more muddled
When we read the book of the Revelation
And find imprecatory prayers being prayed in heaven.

Revelation 6:9-10 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Revelation 16:4-7 “Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Or even that infamous Hallelujah Chorus in Revelation 19
Revelation 19:1-4 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

We see that same attitude that is listed so frequently in the Psalms.

WE RECOGNIZE THE CONFUSION.
• Doesn’t it seem like a contradiction?
• Doesn’t it seem like Jesus would have struck all those Psalms from the Bible?

I mean in all honesty, what are we to do with those Psalms?
What are we supposed to do with prayers like that?

AND EVEN MORE HONESTLY,
Here we are in Luke 11 where Jesus taught us to pray,
And the question we want to deal with is does Jesus include that or not?

Is there any place in this model prayer that Jesus gave His disciples
That would find room for prayers like those uttered by the Psalmist?
And the answer is, “YES” there is.

We’ve actually already discussed one of them.
When Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come”

Now, PRIMARILY that is a request for the salvation of the wicked.
DON’T MISS THAT

BUT IN ITS FULLNESS it is still a request for the kingdom to come
Even in light of the fact that not all men will repent,
And those who do not will be judged by the coming of that kingdom.

Consider the imprecatory Psalm 7
Psalms 7:12-16 “If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts. Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.”

It is important that you understand this.
If you miss this, you’re going to misunderstand everything
In regard to the imprecatory Psalms.

The imprecatory Psalms are inspired by God.
They every bit as much the word of God as John 3:16 is.

That means they are not contrary to God’s nature,
But they are a perfect depiction of God’s nature.

They are who He is, just as surely as the love chapter is who He is.

And if you read those Psalms you will notice that even in those prayers of judgment there is also a prayer for the wicked to stop what they are doing.

• There is a prayer that they will repent…
• There is a prayer that they will relent…
• There is a prayer that they will stop being wicked…

Certainly that is our desire.
That is even what we mean when we pray about God’s kingdom coming.
We want sinners to repent.

However, even the heart of God is clear that
Unrepentant men are not simply overlooked, they are judged.

And a prayer for Christ’s kingdom to come
Is not just a prayer for the salvation of His people,
But also it is a prayer for the judgment of His enemies.

• We have read the book of Revelation.
• We are aware of what will happen to this world when Jesus returns.
• We have read the account of the battle of Armageddon.

And when you pray, “Come Lord Jesus” or “They kingdom come”
In one sense that is an imprecatory prayer.

Do we delight in the destruction of the wicked? NEVER

But we also do not delight in the blasphemy of God
And the dishonoring of His name.

So we pray first for sinners to repent,
But we still pray for that kingdom to come.

So yes, imprecations are included in what Jesus taught us to pray.

BUT THE REASON I BRING THIS UP NOW IS BECAUSE
I think it is also seen here in this last reality that our Lord introduces.

This morning I want to give you the last of those 6 realities.

The Foundation, The Chief Motive, The Focus, The Discernment, The Humility
6) THE SOBERNESS OF PRAYER (4b)

“And lead us not into temptation”

To help you better understand why I use the word “soberness”

I would begin by reading:
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

• Sticking your head in the sand…
• Being naïve to danger…
• IS NOT A WISE PRACTICE

There is a war; we have an enemy; you must be on the alert;
And part of that alertness has to do with your prayer life.

Now, let’s look at the statement.

“And lead us not into temptation.”

We are familiar that Matthew’s gospel adds, “but deliver us from the evil one”
And again, I think that is implied here in what Luke records.

“lead us not into temptation”

First let me just address some of the CONFUSION around that statement.
Some have seen a problem with this statement.

For we read:
James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

So someone can read James 1 and see that God does not tempt anyone.
That prompts then to ask:

“Why are we commanded to pray for God to not do what He already says He will never do?”

Obviously, in light of James 1, Jesus is NOT IMPLYING that God is going to tempt you to sin if you don’t specifically ask Him not to.

THAT IS NOT THE NATURE OF GOD.
HE IS NOT GOING TO DO THAT.

Now, please understand that God does test our faith.
Genesis 22:1-2 “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

Deuteronomy 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

James 1:2-3 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

God doesn’t tempt us, though He does test us.

But that isn’t even what Jesus is talking about.
• For it would also be strange to ask God not to test our faith when we know that
everything God does is for our good.
• James even said that the testing of our faith produces endurance, and that is a
good thing.

So certainly we aren’t even praying that God will refrain from testing us.

What is Jesus talking about then?

He is telling us to pray that
We will not be delivered into the devastating attacks of the enemy.

What we are talking about here is THE SOBERNESS OF PRAYER.
It is the requirement that you and I be aware that prayer is a serious endeavor.

We are in a constant spiritual war.

WE HAVE AN ENEMY.

He is referred to as A LION THAT SEEKS TO DEVOUR:
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Psalms 10:9-11 “He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net. He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

Psalms 17:12 “He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.”

He is referred to as A THIEF
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

He is referred to as SERPENT, A DEVIL, AND SATAN WHO DECEIVES.
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

He is referred to as an ACCUSER WHO SLANDERS THE REDEEMED.
Revelation 12:10 “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”

He is referred to as a SPIRITUAL FORCE OF WICKEDNESS.
Ephesians 6:11-13 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

He is referred to as a TEMPTER
1 Thessalonians 3:5 “For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”

Matthew 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

He is the ultimate enemy of God and of all the redeemed.
And we are in constant war with him.

HE IS OUT THERE TO deceive you, tempt you, trap you, corrupt you, kill you, accuse you, and see you condemned.

His objective is to deceive the lost that they might never turn to Chris.

Since He cannot steal the redeemed back, his objective is to lead them into sin and kill their testimony.
• His sole objective was to get Job to curse God.
• His objective was to get Peter to deny Jesus.
• His objective is to get you to fall into the same sin as the world and ruin your witness.

There is a constant war being waged.

And the call of Jesus is clear.
YOU MUST PRAY ABOUT THAT

“And lead us not into temptation.”

Pray to God that He will deliver you
From such a deceptive and dangerous foe.

We don’t fight the enemy with karate or wooden stakes or garlic or candles or whatever other superstitious tactic can be devised.
WE PRAY.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

We don’t fight with swords or fists or bombs.
We use different weapons.

And Jesus made this clear.
Matthew 26:39-41 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

• Do you want to overcome the enemy?
• Do you want to stand against his temptations?
• Do you want to escape his attacks?

Then you had better pray.
Call in God, your ally, to deliver your weak flesh from a battle it can’t win.

It is part of resisting the devil.
It is to pray that God would deliver you from his temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

That is certainly what we pray for.
• That the temptation not be too strong…
• That the way of escape is obvious…

And this is so obvious to us.
If you were about to go to war, and you knew that the enemy was hiding behind the bush wouldn’t you pray for God to deliver?

Beyond that, also notice the wording Jesus used:
“And lead US not into temptation.”

THIS IS ALSO AN INTERCESSORY PRAYER.
We pray this for ourselves and we pray this for one another.

And incidentally, this is why I bring up to you these imprecatory Psalms.

I used to be one of those who did not know what to do with these Psalms.
I would read them and they sounded so unlike Jesus to me
That I just passed them off.

How foolish and how arrogant.

This reality became clearer to me at a point when a friend and fellow believer of mine fell into sin.

I begin to pray for them. (and you know how it goes)
• Certainly you pray for repentance…
• Certainly you pray for people to make right decisions…
• Certainly you pray for God to open eyes…

And at times you see that loved one actually desiring to walk uprightly;
You see God begin to move and a life begin to change,

But just as soon as they would make headway, it was like the enemy would come at them even harder.
• He comes attacking…
• He comes relentlessly trying to draw your brother or sister back into the sin you have so longed for them to escape.

I saw it happen first hand.

And do you know what it did for me?
IT MADE ME ANGRY
Righteous indignation.

But look, I know I can’t take matters into my own hands.
I’ve read what Paul wrote:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

Beyond that, we desire even those the enemy uses to repent as well.

So when your brother is struggling you know the answer IS NOT to go attack the one who is dragging them into sin.

But at the same time, I’m not comfortable just sitting back while our children get bombarded by the enemy with his lies and temptations to just say, “Oh well, what are you gonna do?”

We don’t just enter every battle waiving a white flag to the enemy.

SO I WAS FRUSTRATED AND I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

I was really at my wits end regarding how to pray.

And then I read:
Psalms 10:12-15 “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.” You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”

On that day, while in such agony over a struggling brother,
I read that Psalm and it so testified with my spirit.

Now again don’t get me wrong.
• I am well aware that the Bible says that we do not war against flesh and blood.
• I am well aware that our enemy is the devil.

But I am also aware that the enemy uses wicked men
To carry out his schemes of deception and temptation and destruction.
And I am NOT OK WITH just sitting back and letting them do his work.

So did I pray for God to destroy this tempting influence? OF COURSE NOT!

I prayed for God to stop them, and my first prayer is always
• “stop them by leading them to repentance.”
• “stop them by opening their eyes”
• “stop them by saving their soul”

But, on that day, when I read Psalms 10, I also learned to pray
That if they won’t repent, I still want You to stop them.

Do not let them keep leading my brother into temptation.
STOP THEM

“Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer”

And I have to tell you that that is exactly what God did.

And for the first time I understood those imprecatory psalms
And I understood what Jesus was saying
When He taught us to pray “lead us not into temptation.”

• We do not delight in the judgment of the wicked…
• We so desperately long for their salvation…
• We pray that they be moved to repentance and turn from their sin…

But at the same time, that does not mean that
We are content to just let them do the enemy’s work unchecked.

We don’t fight them with worldly weapons.
We fight them in prayer.

In this sense, do you know what prayer is?

PRAYER REVEALS A HOLY DISASTISFACTION
WITH THE CORRUPTION AND BLASPHEMY OF THIS WORLD.

• Prayer is our means of warring against a culture that would insist upon
corrupting our children and leading our brothers and sisters into sin.

• Prayer is our means of warring against a culture that slaughters babies,
that promotes sexual immorality, that honors pride and arrogance; that calls
evil good and good evil.

We do not battle with sword or spear, we battle in prayer.

And this is ABSOLUTELY what Jesus is revealing to us
Here in this model prayer.

It is a command to battle against the defiling influence of the evil one.

TURN TO: Psalms 5

TURN TO: Psalms 10

TURN TO: Psalms 17

And in all of those you can hear the very prayer of Jesus.
“lead us not into temptation”

• God fight on our behalf!
• God silence the enemy!
• God knock out his teeth!
• God break his arm!
• God lop of his horns!
• God expose his nets!
• God silence his lies!

WE PRAY THIS FOR OURSELVES.
1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

WE ALSO PRAY THIS FOR ONE ANOTHER.
“lead US not into temptation”

But let me also say this.
WE ALSO PRAY THIS ON BEHALF OF THOSE THE ENEMY IS USING.

• On one hand, when they do the enemies work, we ask God to stop them.
• But at the same time we also ask God to free them from the enemy.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

This is part of how Jesus taught us to pray.

• THE FOUNDATION – you pray to your Father
• THE CHIEF MOTIVATION – is the glory of His name
• THE FOCUS – is for the coming of His kingdom
• THE DISCERNMENT – is according to His revealed will
• THE HUMILITY – seeking forgiveness and offering it
• THE SOLEMNESS – knowing that we are in a war that requires God in the battle.

This morning I would simply remind you that we are in a war,
AND IF WE ARE NOT USING YOUR PRAYER LIFE TO FIGHT THE BATTLE
We are doing a great disservice to ourselves,
To our brothers and sisters,
And even to the lost whom the enemy is using.

There is an enemy and we fight him with prayer.

Ephesians 6:18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

A Taste of Salvation
Psalms 34
April 7, 2019

You are likely familiar with the 8th verse of this Psalm.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good.”

We actually have it painted over the top of our kitchen bar back in the fellowship hall.

And certainly you realize that it has nothing to do with food,
And everything to do with salvation.

It’s not uncommon for salvation to be spoken of in this type of manner.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

That passage actually speaks of the tragedy of people who get a taste of the Lord and of His salvation and a taste of the word of God and the power of His coming, but who after a taste choose not to buy the platter.

And the end result is that after tasting and turning it down
They have rendered themselves impossible to save.

That is a tragedy, but you see there THE ANALOGY AGAIN OF TASTING the goodness of the Lord and allowing that to lead you to salvation.

Well, that is what we see taking place in this Psalm.
DAVID IS GIVING YOU A TASTE.

• David wants to give all those who have drawn near to him just a taste of the goodness that he has found with the Lord
• In hopes that they also will be moved not only to taste, but to take refuge in the Lord.

Now, this Psalm also comes to us with a context.

We read the subtitle which says:
“A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.”

• This is one of two Psalms that is inspired by that event.
• The other is Psalms 56 which we will read in a moment.

But in order to grab the context of the Psalm
TURN TO: 1 Samuel 21:7

• Just so you’ll know the story, David is not far off of his victory over Goliath which won him international fame.

• You remember the infamous “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten-thousands.”
• It embittered Saul, and Saul wanted to kill him.
• Jonathon arranged a secret meeting with David and told him, I’ll go out to shoot arrows and if I shoot it past the boy and tell him the arrow is beyond him, go further, that is my signal that you need to flee.
• Well that, happened and David fled.
• He fled initially to Nob where he met Ahimelech the priest who fed him.
• But while David was there one of Saul’s spies spotted him (Doeg the Edomite) and reported it to Saul (incidentally inspiring Psalms 52)

So David fled, and here’s what happened.
Read: 1 Samuel 21:7-10

So David now has taken Goliath’s sword and fled to Gath.

There is a fundamental problem with that decision.
1 Samuel 17:4 “Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”

• So David has taken this sword, which he himself said was one of kind and easily recognizable.
• And David took that sword and fled to Goliath’s hometown.
• Probably not the smartest move David ever made.

Read: 1 Samuel 21:11-12

So David is in fear.

Now, hold your finger there for a moment and:
TURN TO: PSALMS 56

That is David’s heart having been captured by the Philistines.

Now back to 1 Samuel
David’s solution is to pretend insanity.

Read: 1 Samuel 21:13 – 22:2

So there’s the story that inspires the Psalm we’re looking at.

• This Psalm was written after David departed.
• It was written as those 400 men arrived.
• This is the message David had for them.

David is now with 400 men hiding in a cave but the song he sings
Is that all these men should take refuge in the Lord.

He encourages them to taste and see how good the Lord is
That they might also partake in His salvation.

This Psalm then is a taste of salvation.
Don’t be like the apostates of Hebrews 6 who taste and refuse to eat.

We’ll break this Psalm down into 3 points tonight.
#1 A PICTURE OF SALVATION
Psalms 34:1-7

What you get here is a testimony of David’s deliverance
That he received by the Lord from the hand of Achish.

• It was certainly just a temporal deliverance.
• It was a one-time event when God delivered David from physical threat and danger.

But to David it is an event
That is illustrative of God’s salvation of the soul.

It is a temporal salvation that reminded David of God’s eternal salvation.

It begins with David gathering those 400 together and making an announcement.
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice.”

David begins boasting that he is going to continually praise God.
And the PRIMARY AUDIENCE that he wants to hear this boast
IS THE HUMBLE.

“I’m going to sing a song of praise to God,
And those who are humble are going to love it.”

• If you also are humble…
• If you also are at the end of yourself…
• If you also put no confidence in your own ability…
You’re going to love the song I’m about to sing.

And incidentally, that’s what the pretending insanity was a picture of.
IT WAS HUMILIATION.

• There is no doubt that of all the mighty things David did…
• Of all the times David portrayed might and power…
• He killed lions and bears and giants…
• Of all those slaying of ten-thousands that we hear about,
• THIS WAS THE LOW POINT.

How weak and foolish David must have looked.
How helpless he must have seemed.

David says, if you look just as foolish and helpless to the world
Then you’re going to love this song.

And so he asks the humble to come and join him in this song.
(3) “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

• We’re about to have a worship service.
• Gather around all you humble who have no strength of victory,
• I’ve got a song to sing you and we’ll all sing it together.

And it begins with this picture of salvation.
(4) “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.”

We already read Psalms 56 where David cried out to God.
• He was afraid of Achish.
• He was afraid of Saul.
• He had nowhere to go, and no power to deliver himself.
• He had to resort to the humiliating tactic of faking insanity.

But, when He sought God, God “delivered me from all my fears”
• God turned the heart of Achish…
• God had Achish send him away…
• And now David stood in safety.

AND DAVID ISN’T ALONE IN THAT.
This has been the testimony of so many saints throughout the ages.

David speaks about them in verse 5
(5) “They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.”

David there speaks of all the humble throughout the ages
Who also called on God,
And God brightened their faces and lifted their heads.

This isn’t just a one-time thing.
This is who God is all the time to His people.

And David says, “That’s exactly who He was to me!”

In fact (6) “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

What a great deliverance I received from God!
There I was…
• A refugee forced to flee from my own country…
• A man carrying the sword of a champion I had killed in his own hometown…
• I was exposed…
• I was interrogated…
• I was helpless to be delivered…
• All I could do was cry out to the LORD.
• And He saved me!

To which David sings:
(7) “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.”

Now this is a very important verse in this Psalm.
It is David’s first announcement of God’s salvation.

“The angel of the LORD” is what we call a Christophony.
It is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• We see Him speak to Joshua outside of Jericho.
• We see Him in the fiery furnace with those 3 Hebrew boys.

This is Jesus that David is talking about.

And notice the importance of the phrase “camps around”

That is to say that we find refuge “in Him”

He surrounds us, we are in Him.
Make sense?

And David says those who are surrounded by Him are rescued by Him.
And this blessing is for “those who fear Him”

Now here David ISN’T just talking about this recent deliverance
He received in Gath.

• David is talking about the salvation of God.
• David is talking about how the angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear Him
and rescues them from danger.

That is salvation.
And David says that is who God is.

HE IS A SAVIOR.
And He has PROVEN THAT AGAIN to me
With this latest incident of deliverance.

He camped around me
He delivered me
I took refuge in Him
He saved me

And my testimony of salvation is just another story
In the long list of stories of how God saves those who fear Him.

So it is A PICTURE OF SALVATION
What God just did for me, is but a brief testimony of the nature of God to save.

#2 A PETITION FOR SALVATION
Psalms 34:8-14

Now, after David revealed that story to the men,
He now calls them to taste this great salvation for themselves.

THIS IS EVANGELISTIC

(8) “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

That is David telling these men that God is a savior.
• He will surround those who fear Him.
• He will surround those who take “refuge in Him”

And that is precisely what David tells these 400 they need to do.

And so the command:
(9-10) “O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

THIS IS INTERESTING
We just saw that God saves those who take refuge in Him.
But David DOESN’T SAY, “So take refuge in Him!”

What does David say?
“O fear the LORD”

So here’s our first picture of understanding.

If you were to ask, HOW TO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM,
The answer David would give is that you should “fear the LORD”

If you do that, David says, “there is no want”

It hearkens back to that song of the shepherd:
Psalms 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

And this is naturally peculiar.
David says, “young lions do lack and suffer hunger”
• That is the strongest and most powerful creatures around us…even they suffer
want.

“But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

And if you noticed, the command just changed again.
• First it’s “take refuge”
• Then it’s “fear”
• And here it’s “seek the LORD”

To David those are interchangeable terms.
To him they all mean the same thing.

And this is worth looking just a moment.

Any time you talk about fearing the LORD, most people are familiar with the statement that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

But what does that mean?
Well let me show you how it is used.

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

• So obviously to fear the LORD there is to not despise instruction.
• It is to not be resistant to being told what to do.
• So fearing the LORD is closely associated with humility.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

• So fearing God is not only about humility and being able to receive instruction,
• But ultimately it is seeking knowledge of Him who is holy.

This is naturally difficult because God is holy meaning
What you learn there will not be immediately appealing to your flesh.
But fearing Him means hearing it anyway.

So fearing the LORD then is equated with humility,
And with desiring righteousness.

Job 28:28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'”

• There we see fearing the Lord to be equated with departing from evil.
• That is a spirit of repentance.

Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”

• There fearing the LORD is equated with doing His commandments.
• So it is the concept of obedience.

So take the issue of fearing the LORD
And we see that it has to do with humility, seeking righteousness,
Turning from sin, and submitting to obedience.

Now why do I want you to see that?

Let me read you one more passage.
Matthew 5:3-6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Do you see those same attitudes there?
“poor in spirit” – humility
“mourn” – repentance
“gentle” – submissive obedience
“hunger and thirst for righteousness”

Those are those same attitudes equated with fearing the LORD.
David also equates it with taking refuge in Him.

So what David is calling these men to do is
• To turn from their trust in self,
• To leave their arrogance behind,
• To embrace humility and submission,
• And run to God.

Quit trusting in your own strength, and your own intellect
And take refuge/fear the LORD.

No lion is strong enough to fully deliver himself, how much less are you.
You need the LORD

That’s David’s message.
And as you can see it is the consistent message of salvation.

And then he tells these men exactly HOW TO DO THIS.
(11-14) “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

Here he says it, “I will teach you the fear of the LORD”
That is, “I’ll show you what it means”

And for a little added motivation he asks,
• Do you want life?
• Do you want length of days?
• Do you want to see good?
Then you need to fear God.

And here it is:
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

So David says, “I’m going to teach you what it means to fear God.”
And then he gives them this list.

Now, ON ONE HAND, it already makes perfect sense.

We’ve read:
Psalms 15:1-2 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.”

We’ve read:
Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face — even Jacob. Selah.”

So David telling us to fear the LORD
And then telling us to be mindful of His holy expectations makes sense.

But remember, we aren’t just talking about being afraid of God.
• We are talking about taking refuge in Him.
• We are talking about seeking Him.

And David says to do that
“keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” (be honest)
“depart from evil and do good” (love righteousness)
“seek peace and pursue it” (that would be peace with God)

And we’ve seen that before too:
Matthew 5:8-9 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

SO LET ME JUST ZOOM OUT
AND MAKE SURE WE ALL SEE THE BIG PICTURE HERE.

To fear the Lord is the exact same mentality
That is expressed in those beatitudes.
And that is also what it means to take refuge in Him.

And this is what David is asking his men to do.
• You need to take refuge in the LORD
• You need to fear Him

And what this means is that you
• Humble yourself and repent of your sin
• Submit to His will and obey Him.
• Pursue righteousness with a pure heart
• And pursue peace with God.

This is the very path of salvation.
• Do this if you desire life.
• Taste and see how good God is.
• I feared God (took refuge in Him; sought Him) and it was worth it
• You do it!

David is evangelizing those men
And telling them to run to God for salvation.

There’s one more point here.

#3 THE PROMISE OF SALVATION
Psalms 34:15-18

Now first here we see a very striking contrast.
(15-16) “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.”

That is a serious contrast.
• God is for the righteous and He is against the wicked.
• He answers the cry of the righteous and He cuts off the wicked.

That is true.
(17) “The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.”

But here comes a very important distinction.
Because after all, we are all aware that WE ARE NOT RIGHTEOUS.

It does not bring comfort to the heart
To hear that God saves the righteous and cuts off the wicked.

BUT IT IS TRUE.
Good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell.
That’s true.

John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

Romans 2:5-11 “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”

What David says is true, but it is not comforting.

But let me remind you of the beginning.
David was very clear at the beginning about who was going to like this Psalm.

Remember?
(2) “My soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice.”

David didn’t say that the “righteous” will hear it and rejoice.
David said it was the humble who would love this truth.
That is why it is important to realize that
The thrust of this Psalm has not been about you being righteous.

This Psalm is about you fearing God and taking refuge in Him.
(humble, repentant, seeking righteousness)

THAT’S BEEN THE MAIN POINT.

And that is still where David is.
(18) “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

David introduces that not only does God save the righteous,
But He also saves those who are humble and crushed in spirit.

AND HERE’S WHY.

SUCH AN IMPORTANT PASSAGE:
(19-22) “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”

Now it is important that you know who this passage is about.
That question has actually been answered in the New Testament.

John 19:32-36 “So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.”

Who are these last 4 verses about?
Jesus

There in verse 19 where we see the word “him”,
You need to change that to a capitol “H”.

This is about Jesus.
• He is the righteous one that the LORD delivers.
• He is the righteous one with many afflictions.
• He is the righteous One whom God did not allow any of His bones to be broken.

And that is significant because
You had to bring an unblemished lamb to God for sacrifice.
You couldn’t bring one with a broken leg.

And all those who hate Him will be condemned as it says in verse 21.

So now, we know that when we are talking about the righteous
We are talking about Jesus.

• And God’s eyes are toward Him.
• And God’s ears are open to His cry.
• And God delivers Him out of all His troubles.
• He is afflicted by the world, but God delivers Him.
• And not one of His bones is broken.

That’s the righteous Jesus.

Who are we?
(22) “The LORD redeems the soul of HIS SERVANTS, and none of those WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM will be condemned.”

• We are those who fear the LORD.
• We are those who take refuge in Him.
• We are those who humble ourselves and seek His righteousness with a pure heart.
• We are those who repent of our sin and seek peace with God through Him.
• We are those who trust in Him.

• We are the poor man…
• We are the helpless man…
• We are the insane and the broken and the crippled…

And so we trust in Christ.
We take refuge in Christ.
We fear Christ and hold Him in awe.

And when we take refuge in Him, we are promised redemption.

Do we share in His afflictions? Yes

But we also share in His deliverance.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,”

• When we take refuge in Adam (that is in our flesh and abilities) we are
certainly condemned.

• But when we humble ourselves and forsake our abilities and take refuge in
Christ, we are Christ’s and we are raised with Him.

We share in His afflictions, and we share in His deliverance.

And David says that “none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

THAT IS THE PROMISE OF SALVATION.
And that is what David preached to these 400 men.

When David appeared in Gath and saw how much danger he was in, he had to throw himself on God’s mercy and David watched God deliver.

And David says, “That’s not the only time He has done that.”
That’s what God does for the humble one who fears Him every day.

And by sharing that story David gave his mean: A TASTE OF SALVATION

“O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Don’t lean upon your own goodness or abilities.
Humble yourself and run to Christ.

Teach Us To Pray – Part 3
Luke 11:1-13 (4)
April 7, 2019

As you know we have begun a lengthy section of Luke’s gospel
Where we will begin to learn something of the theology of Jesus.

Luke will record Jesus’ teaching on a variety of subjects,
And to begin, Luke includes Jesus’ teaching on prayer.

(1) “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

It is clear that the disciples saw something in the prayer life of Jesus
That must have been revolutionary to their understanding of prayer.

So in great humility they come to the Lord and simply ask Him,
“teach us to pray”

What they are really asking is that He would
Teach us to pray correctly or teach us to pray effectively.

And that is what we get.
We’ve spent the last two weeks on the first point of the passage.

#1 A PATTERN TO FOLLOW
Luke 11:1-4

Commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, but really the Model Prayer.
• And here, more than just a magical prayer to memorize and regurgitate
• We get from Jesus a wonderful piece of instruction that opens our eyes to the very basics of what effective prayer should be.

There are 6 basic issues at hand here in this pattern.
We’ve seen the first 4

1) THE FOUNDATION OF PRAYER (2a)

“When you pray, say: ‘Father’”

At the very foundation is the fact that we appeal to One who is our Father.
And it is the intimate term like we would say, “Daddy”

When you pray you are appealing to One
• Who formed you in the womb,
• Who is intimately acquainted with all your ways,
• Who knows your thoughts from afar,
• Who knows a word before you speak it,
• Who has ordained your days before you,
• Who has sovereignly willed that all things work for your good,
• Who knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

That is who you are praying to.

And that is good to remember because some of what we learn about prayer would be a little scary if we forget that.
• We are called to pray for His will and His glory, even if it means suffering
• We are called to pray only for daily bread, not a storehouse

But we are ok with those prayers because we know
We are entrusting ourselves to One who is our Father.

That’s the foundation, remember that.
2) THE CHIEF MOTIVATION OF PRAYER (2b)

“hallowed be Your name”

This is why we pray.
• This is ultimately our main goal in prayer, that God’s name be hallowed or set apart or sanctified or glorified.

Our goal in our prayers is not to request what satisfies the flesh,
But what glorifies our God.

3) THE FOCUS OF PRAYER (2c)

“Your kingdom come”

And you will remember that this isn’t so much a request for Jesus to return and reign (though we do desire that)
But it is more about the spreading and growth of His kingdom.

It is our desire to see the lost saved and the saved sanctified.
It is our desire that Christ would rule in hearts by faith.

In short, our focus in prayer is not about our kingdom,
But about His kingdom.

It is not all about what we can do for the betterment of our little world,
But ultimately for His kingdom.

When we pray we focus on that.
4) THE DISCERNMENT OF PRAYER (3)

“Give us each day our daily bread”

The reason we called this an issue of discernment
Is because it is against human nature to only pray for “daily bread”

We would prefer to be set for life.

The reason we pray for daily bread is because
This was the manner in which God revealed He would provide it
AND WE LEARN TO PRAY ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.

This spans far beyond the issue of bread.
We read His word and seek His will and pray accordingly in all things.

This encompasses things like:
• Praying for our enemies
• Praying for leaders and those in authority
• Praying for the lost
• Praying for missionaries and mission opportunities

We discern God’s will as revealed in Scripture
And then we pray according to His will.
That is discernment in prayer.

We don’t use prayer as some sort of mystical means of obtaining our will.
We pray according to God’s will in all things,
And as we do our hearts are moved into alignment with His.

But those are the first for aspects of prayer we see modeled here.
• The Foundation for Prayer
• The Chief Motivation for Prayer
• The Focus of Prayer
• The Discernment of Prayer

This morning we move forward.
5) THE HUMILITY OF PRAYER (4a)

“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

Clearly we learn here of humility in prayer.

There is in fact nothing that a person may do on a daily basis
That is more humbling than when they ask for forgiveness.

• It is to admit failure and admit wrong.
• It is to throw oneself at the mercy of another.
• It is to request removal of a debt at the expense another.

Asking for forgiveness is most humbling thing we do.
• When we recognize that we have fallen short of the divine expectation.
• When we realize that we have missed the mark.
• When we realize that we have not walked as we ought to have walked.

We come to God in humility and ask for His forgiveness.

And there is a reason we must.
GOD IS HOLY

This is where we see great balance in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Earlier in the prayer Jesus reveals God as our Father.
And He most certainly is.

• This speaks of His intimate love for us.
• It speaks of His unfailing care and compassion.
• He is our Father.

But you must also remember that He is a Holy Father.

John 17:11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”

John 17:25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;”

He is our Father, and He cares for us,
But that does not mean He does not have
A divine standard of expectation.

In fact, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God is a Father who is ever at work to produce righteousness in us.

Hebrews 12:7-11 “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

So we certainly see God there as a Father,
And as a Father who is passionate about righteousness.

And certainly this is consistent with how God is revealed in Scripture.

Consider the Psalmist as he contemplates the holy perfection and righteous standard of God.

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Psalms 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”

Righteousness has always been important to God.
And it would be absurd to seek to approach Him in arrogance.

In fact we also read that GOD REJECTS the prayer of the wicked.
Isaiah 1:15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”

Psalms 66:18 “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;”

This sentiment is echoed in the New Testament.
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It is a familiar parable, and it clearly makes the point that God is holy
And humility is expected if you are going to approach Him in prayer.

James makes the same observation.
James 4:6-10 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Because God responds to the humble we approach Him in humility.
• We come repenting of sin.
• We come mourning over iniquity
• We come bowing in submission

We humble ourselves before God and then He exalts us.

God is a Father who cares for you deeply.
But He is also a righteous Father; a Holy Father
Who also demands that we come before Him in humility.

I do think there is a prayer in Scripture
Where this is so BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED

TURN TO: DANIEL 9

While you turn to Daniel 9,
I want to read to you a passage out of the book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”

You’re likely familiar with at least part of that passage.
29:11 is often quoted, because it holds so much hope and reminds us of God’s good plans for us.

And in that passage Jeremiah revealed a couple of important truths.
• He spoke of the length of the exile, namely seventy years.
• He spoke of the outcome of the exile, namely that Israel would seek Him with
all their heart.

With that as a backdrop you approach Daniel 9.

You read those first 2 verses.
(1-2) “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

So obviously Daniel was reading that passage we just read
• And he observed the length of the exile which Jeremiah revealed.
• And he read about how the result God was looking for was that His people would seek Him.

Now the other interesting thing here I would tell you is that we find that this event occurred “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent”

• That was 539BC
• The exile began in 605BC
• Which means that Daniel is reading this in the 67th year of the exile.

So Daniel realizes that the end is close and that seeking God is the goal.

And we read: (3) “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”

That all makes perfect sense doesn’t.

But what I want you to see here in Daniel’s prayer is
One of the finest prayers of humility that you can find in Scripture.

This is the very epitome of what it means to approach God in humility.

Let me show you.
(and I’ll give you an outline of sorts as we work through it if you want to jot it down in your margins)

The first thing you get from Daniel is: AN ADMISSION OF GUILT (4-8)

Do you notice how humble and open he is about the sin of his people?

There is one word there that Daniel does not use.
He never says, “but”
• “we have sinned, but don’t You think 70 years was a little much?”
• “we have acted wickedly, but you know God it really wasn’t our fault”

There are no excuses offered here.
He owns it.

“We sinned, we didn’t listen,
And we broke every command there was to break.”

And not only that, Daniel also says that WE ALL were in this together.
You see that in verses 7-8 where Daniel reveals the scope of the problem.

(7) “to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them”

In verse 8 he lists “our kings, our princes, our fathers”

In short, we all sinned in every way possible.
We are guilty, no doubt about it.

Now that is how you admit guilt when you go before God.
You don’t go before Him making excuses.

• You don’t go before Him like Adam did: “I sinned God, but it was really because You gave me this woman”

• You don’t go before Him like our culture blaming it on parents or siblings or friends or circumstances.

Daniel here cuts a big ole piece of humble pie and eats it down.
We blew it, all of us, in every way possible.

That’s his admission of guilt and it drips with humility.

From there he moves into an even greater display of humility, it is
AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CONSEQUENCES (9-14)

He starts in vs 9 indicating that the Lord is compassionate and forgiving.
In short, “We aren’t in this mess because God is some sort of mean-spirited overbearing deity.”

The reason we are here is because we blew it.
We are getting exactly what we deserve.

In fact, he lists again in verse 10 that we didn’t listen,
And again in verse 11 that we transgressed God’s Law.

And then he says an important word, “so”
• Because we sinned and didn’t listen and transgressed “so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses”

In other words, it was spelled out clearly in the initial agreement that if we broke the covenant we would be exiled.

Well, we did break the covenant, and so we got exiled.
We deserved this.

That’s humility isn’t.
To go before God admitting your sin and acknowledging to Him that His discipline was perfectly fitting and right.

WELL DANIEL ISN’T FINISHED.
It’s not just that we deserve this punishment,
But Daniel also owns up to the fact that we deserve
THE DEGREE of the punishment we have received.

I mean think about it,
Being starved out by Babylon and ultimately watching your city and temple burned with fire is pretty severe.

It was, as Daniel puts it in verse 12, “great calamity”

And yet, Daniel said that this calamity
Was nothing more than God confirming His words.

He told us that if we broke His commands He would do this, and He did it.
He said it would be bad, and it was bad.
BUT WE EARNED IT.

So not only was God right to punish us,
But He was right to punish us to the degree that He punished us.

In other words, He was right to spank us, and He was right to spank us as hard as He spanked us.

And that’s still not all.
Daniel also agrees with the DURATION of the punishment.

How long did Jeremiah say it would last? 70 years!

OK, it’s one thing to be kicked out of the land.
It’s one thing to be severely punished.
But 70 years?

Surely at this point Daniel is going to say,
“But God enough is enough, let us come home.”

And yet in verses 13-14 Daniel admits that up to this point,
Despite the punishment, Israel still hasn’t learned their lesson.

Did you catch what he said?
(13b) “all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store”

What was the purpose for the 70 years?
To cause Israel to seek God with all their heart.

Daniel said, “We still aren’t seeking so You are right to keep on afflicting.”

That is humility isn’t it?
• We sinned
• We all sinned
• We deserve this punishment.
• We deserve the degree of punishment
• We deserve the duration of punishment

That’s called humbling yourself before God.
That’s that tax collector that won’t even lift his eyes to heaven
But just keeps beating his breast.

Well that is how Daniel comes.
AND THEN WE SEE DANIEL’S REQUEST.

And even that is interesting, because
HE DOESN’T just break right in to asking for forgiveness.

He FIRST hallows the name of God.
He first exalts God.

We HIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE SAVIOR (READ 15-16)

He exalts God as the perpetual Savior of Israel.
• You saved us from Egypt.
• But we blew it.

But we are asking now “in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away”

He is coming in humility and he is coming exalting God.

• He doesn’t claim to be unjustly punished.
• He doesn’t accuse God of being too cruel.
• He doesn’t grow bitter against God for being too hard to please.

He lifts high that God is righteous.

And then comes the request.
THE APPEAL FOR FORGIVENESS (READ 17-19)

And we read this a couple of weeks ago.
Now Lord, please forgive “For Your sake”

“O lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action!”

Now that is how you come before God in humility,
And I think that is A WORTHWHILE EXAMPLE to store in your mind
As we CONTEMPLATE THIS MODEL PRAYER that Jesus gave us.

When we go to God we need to realize that though He is a Father, He is a righteous and holy Father.

He is a Father who disciplines His children.
And we don’t go before Him in arrogance, we go before Him in humility.

NOW IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT
We are free to come before Him, even though we are unworthy.

Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

The writer of Hebrews said that even though He is holy and we are not,
We can still come before Him confidently.

What is this confidence?
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

BECAUSE HE IS A LOVING FATHER
Isn’t that good?
Isn’t that encouraging?

But the main point of course is that one of the aspects of prayer
Is that when we come, we come in humility.

We come seeking forgiveness of our sin.
We come humbly before Him because He is opposed to the proud.

We say, “And forgive us our sins”

And if you’ll notice, our Lord QUALIFIED THIS ONE a little.

We come in humility and we come seeking mercy.

But according to Jesus there is a LITMUS TEST
That will accurately indicate whether or not our humility is real.

There is an indicator by which it shows
Whether or not we are really humble like Daniel was.

WHAT IS THAT TEST?
Whether we are willing to forgive others.

“For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

A person who willingly forgives those who have sinned against him
Is a person who demonstrates a love for mercy.

That is a person who has realized
How badly they themselves need forgiveness.

It is a humbling thing to ask for forgiveness,
And it is a demonstration of humility to offer it.

And of course this one is easily illustrated by the Lord as well.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 18:21-35

Well, we all love the question of Peter there.
“how often..?” Peter says.

Surely sooner or later I can tell my brother to get lost
I’m not going to forgive him anymore.

Now someone might ask, “What’s the problem with that?”
• Surely some people just abuse the system.
• Surely some people just need to be written off.
• Surely some people have taken such advantage that we just need to move them aside.

Some people have certainly lost the privilege of forgiveness.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH THAT?

Here it is:
A person with this mindset is a person who has not yet reached the humility that God requires.

A person who can refuse forgiveness to another
Based on too many abuses
Is a person who has failed to actually see
How many abuses they have committed against God.

They are a person NOT LIKE DANIEL who can confess sin and say we deserve it.

And that is what Jesus illustrates here.
(READ 23-27)

And just so you know, “ten thousand talents”
Now my side margin says that “a talent was worth more than fifteen years wages”

So let’s be modest today and say
• A common laborer today can make $24,000 in a year.
• Multiply that by 15 and you get $360,000.
• That’s 1 talent.

Multiply that by 10,000 and you get: 3.6 billion dollars.

That’s an absurd debt to have racked up.
What is more, it is not reimbursable.

This man said, “Have patience with me and I will repay you everything”
But that was a lie. He couldn’t possibly do it.

It was an insurmountable debt.
We would call it a debt he couldn’t pay.

And yet the king felt compassion and forgave him.

And then the story moves forward.
(READ 28-30)

Now this man goes out and finds someone who owes him money.
Here the price is “a hundred denarii”

A denarii was a day’s wage.
• Now let’s say a man makes $100 a day.
• That would be a debt of $10,000

It’s not a small amount, but it certainly isn’t insurmountable.
People pay off debts that small all the time.
This man might actually be able to repay.

But the slave has no mercy, no compassion, and throws him in prison.

And then the point.
(READ 31-35)

Now, THE TEMPTATION IS TO SAY that
This man got thrown to the torturers
Because he wouldn’t forgive his brother.

But that is only partially true.

The REAL REASON he got thrown to the torturers
Is because he owed the king 3.6 billion dollars that he did not repay.

And yet people say, “But wait a minute, the king forgave him that debt.”

True, but the man’s forgiveness was contingent upon his humility,
But when the man went and choked his own slave
HE REVEALED THAT HIS HUMILITY WAS A SHAM
And so his debt was reinstated.

See verse 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.”

THE POINT OF THE STORY IS THAT
A lack of forgiveness indicates a lack of genuine humility.
And a lack of humility will bring no forgiveness
For God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.

And in this we learn something very important about prayer.

• You CAN confidently approach God as Your Father.
• You CAN run to Him as One who loves you and cares for you and is
intimately acquainted with all your ways.

BUT YOU DO NOT GO TO HIM IN ARROGANCE

• You go to Him in humility.
• You go to Him acknowledging that you do not deserve to be there.
• You go before Him as a sinful son into the presence of a Holy Father.

Can we go? Yes
Are we welcome? Yes
But don’t fail to remember exactly who it is you are approaching.

He is still the Holy God of the universe.

We come before Him and we come before Him humbly.
For even though we are welcome, we do not deserve to be there.

So:
• The Foundation of Prayer – God is Father
• The Chief Motive of Prayer – the glory of God
• The Focus of Prayer – the growth of His kingdom
• The Discernment of Prayer – for His revealed will
• The Humility of Prayer – seeking forgiveness

We’ll move forward next time.