Take Away - SOM Part 20

SOM - Part 20 found here.

Jesus says stuff that is open to a wide range of interpretations. Like in these verses, where He says to ask, seek and knock, and it will be given to you. Some could interpret this as saying God will give us whatever we ask, and they are forever looking for the formula to get God to do that. Good luck with that. Others could use these verses to show that the Bible is not true, because we don't get whatever we ask for. So what is the truth?

The truth can be found by looking at the context of the sermon. Jesus has already established in His model prayer that when we ask (pray), we ask for our daily bread, not our daily filet mignon. The whatever in this context is a prayer coming from someone who has faith in God. Someone who is asking not for themselves, but asking within the will of God. Someone who trusts God, and understands that God may have a different path than we would prefer.

Jesus makes reference to the way a father gives gifts. I am a dad. I love my children. Yet sometimes I do not give them what they ask for. Does that mean that I really do not love them? No. It means that I make decisions based on what I believe is best for each one and all of them, I make decisions based on the limits of my abilities. But if they ask for a hamburger, I certainly do not give them a bowl of mud. So while they may not get the desired outcome, ultimately their needs are provided for.

Take Away: I need to be careful and aware of how I approach the understanding of Scripture. I also need to be careful and aware of what I listen to and believe when others share what they believe about Scripture. That last part has gotten me into a few pickles over the years, but I stand by the importance of not taking anyone's word on a matter just because of who they are (see Acts 17:11). I think God expects this, and will hold us accountable (and them) for words that are not truth.

I also need to be aware of my motive and expectation when asking God for something. I think of the Garth Brooks song, Unanswered Prayers. In the song, he runs into his old high school flame while with his wife at a football game. He thought his flame was the one for life for him, and must have made that a prayer, for from his current perspective, he now realizes that the way things are are better than what they would have been. He thanks God for the unanswered prayer, saying that such unanswered prayers are among God's greatest gifts. Now I am not here to debate the theology of that song, I just want to make the point that we look at things from our perspective, and we cannot see into the future. God can, and does. And He is a good Father.

Take Away - SOM 14

I am still processing the Sermon on the Mount. I have gone through the 25 posts and edited them for clarity and to revisit them for myself. Now I want to look at the applications I should be making for myself.

SOM - Part 14

The Lord's Prayer. So often recited, and it is a great model for prayer, I don't think Jesus ever intended to make this a substitution for our own prayers. Not that reciting this prayer is wrong, it just needs to be done with the understanding of what Jesus was seeking to accomplish. How ironic, that throughout the Sermon on  the Mount Jesus is trying to direct us toward God and away from ritual obedience, and so many things He stated have become a standard of ritual obedience for many.

Take Away: How easy it is to twist things into what I feel comfortable with. To take what Jesus offered and intended to be a model and turn it in to ritual. Ritual is always easier, as it does not force me to come face to face with my own sinful motives. Just go to church, tithe, pray, don't say certain words, do go to certain movies, say grace before every meal, etc. But don't get to the heart of the matter. You can pray about forgiving others (ritual), but do you do it? You can give your tithe or even more (ritual), but do you really trust God to take care of your needs? You can go through your life never having committed a murder (ritual), but do you harbor unjust anger? They say prayer changes things. I agree, and the first thing prayer should change it me.

Sermon on the Mount - Part 20

Today I want to look at verses 7-11 of chapter 7, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message.

Matthew 7:7-11

(7)“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  (8)For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  (9)Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (10)Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  (11)If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

This is a tough one, as on the surface it sounds like if we ask, seek and knock, we will get what we want. Of course, that does not fly in the whole context of Scripture, but for some, that is not an issue. But what if we look at in context? If Jesus is trying to give us an understanding of how to restore a correct relationship with God, then how can this be understood?

One thought that comes to mind is His model prayer earlier. He prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread," and "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:12,13) Not, prayer for whatever you need. Hmmm. So maybe, when we are asking, seeking, knocking, it is with this type of mindset that we approach God. Look at the example that follows. No good father will give a son who is asking for bread a stone instead. It does not say anything about the son who requests a new car or gaming station. Hmmm. What kind of gifts does the father give? Good gift. Not any or every gift, but good ones. Maybe things like the necessities of life. Maybe even more that just necessities. Sometimes a good father knows when to say no.

A good father gives good gifts, but not every gift. A good son appreciates the good gifts that a good father gives. God is a good Father, are we good children?

Edited 2/12/2022

Sermon on the Mount - Part 14

 Today I want to look at verses 5-13 of chapter 6, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message. 

Matthew 6:5-13 

(5)“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. (6)But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
(7)“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. (8)Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (9)Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
(10)Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
(11)Give us this day our daily bread,
(12)and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(13)And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil."

In seeking to restore our relationship with God, it is only natural that Jesus would speak about prayer. I wonder how many in His audience identified with the hypocrites, those who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street corners. They have that prayerful voice, say just the right words, and do it to be noticed not by God, but by others. Just as with those who practice their righteousness to be seen by others, they have received their reward. Not a blessing from God, just the praise of men. Jesus tells us that prayer is more than flowery language spoken in public. It is more than the amount of words, in fact, if we look at His model, it is not very wordy at all.

A few comments on prayer as Jesus illustrates it here:

• We are encouraged to pray alone and in secret. Not that this is the only way to pray. We see Jesus giving thanks in some instances, but we also see Him withdrawing to a private place to pray to His Father. If the only time we pray is in public or before meals, that seems to be a problem. If we are not spending time in prayer alone, we are missing an important part of prayer.
• Jesus speaks this prayer in 5 verses. I think we would do well to give heed to the elements He includes: Praise, Humility, Request (but only for our needs, not a Christmas Wish List.), Forgiveness (but only as we forgive others), closing with a desire to not be tempted and delivered from evil. 
• This is not an endorsement of ONLY praying this prayer, or ONLY praying short prayers. A God who is limitless in ability and resources can listen to any and all prayer at any and all times. God is not too busy with larger world issues to deal with your thoughts and concerns. In fact, I believe He welcomes them.
• The forgiveness section haunts me. Do we realize that when we do recite this prayer, we are asking God to forgive us as we forgive others? That we are saying, "Lord, if there are those whom I can't forgive, then do not forgive me." 

I do not believe that Jesus was setting a formula for prayer, nor was He even necessarily giving us something to be memorized and recited. Not that we can't memorize and recite it, as this is always a good practice with Scripture when used correctly. I believe He was showing us that a prayer relationship with God is a matter of personal communication, and not something to be formulized or used to elevate our status with either God or other people.

Edited 2/7/2022

Mad Max - Part 2

One of the things that bothers me about Mad Max is the way that he uses Scripture. As I watched the video, I noticed that he uses a lot of Scripture, and a lot of different versions too. He go so far as to use The Message paraphrase when looking at Joshua 10. The message translates one of the verses to say that "God took orders from a human." Most of the versions say that God heeded or heard Joshua's request, but Lucado wants us to believe that Joshua was in charge? He also uses proof-texts that I do not believe are intended to support his views. He uses Isaiah 30:21, and calls it a "great promise." But when I look at it in context, it appears to be talking more about a great repentance. 

There is a lot of truth in what Max says, and just a little bit of leaven. But doesn't a little bit of leaven affect the whole batch? 

Tim Challies does a review of the 5 most ridiculous books ever to become Christian Best Sellers. In it, he criticizes at least one of them for taking a descriptive passage and making it a prescription on how we ought to pray. It would seem to me that Mad Max has done exactly that as well. As far as I can recall, there is only one prescriptive prayer in the Bible, and that is the Lord's Prayer. In that prayer, the message is that of approaching God with humility. We pray not for our wants, but our needs. We pray for forgiveness, but as we have forgiven others. We pray for God's will to be done, and not our own. Even if accomplishing our ends would glorify God. I believe this is how we approach God confidently, as stated in Hebrews, and it is not about approaching God boldly, seeking answers to our desires.

Jesus perhaps did pray boldly at times, like when He asked God that the cup of suffering pass from Him. We all know how that turned out. He also prayed boldly when He asked God to forgive those who were crucifying Him. Those are the only types of bold prayers that I think we ought to pray, and always with the thought that Jesus ended His request to have the cup of suffering taken from Him with, "nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

1 Thess 5:16-22

SCRIPTURE

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

COMMENT

Rejoice always. In order to rejoice always, that means in every circumstance. Like Paul and Silas when they sang praises to God while in prison. Don't stop praying. No, not the eyes closed, head bowed kind of prayer, but the constant communication and recognition that God is God, and is always in charge, and works for our ultimate good. Who knows, that kind of attitude could lead to rejoicing always. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. All. Every. Each. Remember, God is in charge. Don't quench the Spirit. Don't throw water on the Holy Ghost. Do not despise prophecies, but at the same time TEST EVERYTHING. Even what your preacher, my preacher, Joel Osteen (etc.) say. You are responsible for what you believe, not the people who speak through lying lips. Make sure you know God, and that the basis for that knowledge comes from what He has revealed about Himself through His word and not through someone's message or your opinion of how things ought to be. Hold fast to the good. Not what you want to be good, but that which is truth. Abstain from every form of evil. 'Nuff said.

I was Blind, But Now I See? (Romans 11:7-10)

SCRIPTURE

Romans 11:7-10
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”

COMMENT

I always struggle when I see that phrase, "The elect." Just being honest. I know that some say that God could not predestine us, because that would not be fair. But any way you look at it, it is not fair because not all have the same opportunities. ''

So Israel was seeking a relationship with God, but the failed, and failed, and failed again, and so on. The elect did obtain it. Who are the elect? Are they God's choice? People like David, Solomon, Abram, the 700 prophets who God set apart? What about today? How does it work?

I read about a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see, etc., and think of those who follow such teachers as Joel Osteen, Mart Batterson, Steven Furtick, and a litany of other prosperity preachers. Not just the ones on TV, but also the ones from local churches who are not focused on the gospel message, but on attendance or preservation or works. Scary stuff. So today, I just have a prayer. It is a prayer to be able to discern truth, to not be one of the blind or deaf. A prayer to be able to earnestly seek and find God and the salvation that He offers.

Prayer - Matthew 6:5-14

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:5-14

LANGUAGE

Vs 5 hypocrites - actor under an assumed character
Vs 6 secret - private, inwardly

COMMENTS

I find it interesting that when Jesus tells them how to pray, His first instruction is to not be like the hypocrites, using the same word He used in verse 2 when talking about doing your righteous deeds for show. Perhaps the same idea continues. Don't pray for show, thinking that God somehow owes you a response just because you pray to Him.

But when you do pray, don't do it to be seen (and praised) by others. Do it privately, because God will hear that prayer. Don't think your prayers have to be long to be effective. God knows what you need before you even ask. Now this brings up an interesting point. If God knows, why ask? My opinion? Look at the example prayer Jesus gives. It is not about a wish list of items, but rather is about the truth of who God is. It leads to worship. It leads to change our our part. How can you honestly say, "God forgive me as I forgive others," when you do not forgive?

What of that statement? Will God not forgive me if I don't forgive others? Sometimes forgiveness is hard. Sometimes it takes time. We are only human. I don't think this is a tit-for-tat statement, telling us that if we lack any forgiveness, God will not forgive us. I could be wrong. But rather, this is a statement causing us to check our hearts. If there is someone we have not forgiven, what are we doing to work on that? Do we feel the weight that unforgiveness is putting on us, on our relationship with others, on our relationship with God?

If God knows, why pray? Because it leads to worship. Worship God because of who he is, not what he gives or what you expect. This flies in the face of prosperity and most of what is preached and taught today.

V9 - Hallowed - Holy. Do we see God as Sovereign and holy first and foremost?
V10 - Do we pray for His will and His ways to be accomplished. If we bring a request, do we consider its place in the kingdom and His will?
V11 - Give us what we need. But if our eyes are fixed on heaven, even life itself is not a necessity.
V12 - Forgive us as we forgive others. Do we even realize what this means? That we are praying "God, don't forgive me if I don't forgive others?"Wow!
V13 - Lead us not into temptation (because we know we are weak), but deliver us from evil (because our souls are in your control)

I think I need to retool my prayer life.

To pray, or not to pray. That is the Calvinist's question.

“Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?”

Tchividjian, Tullian (2010-04-23). Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels (p. 99). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

Why do Calvinist's pray? So many mistakenly believe that Calvinism is fatalistic, that if God has already decided you fate, why try to do anything about it? Why not just live as you please, because God has already

sealed your fate.

Consider David here for a moment. God has already told him the child will die. David has no reason to doubt this. But he hopes. He hopes that God might be gracious in this one thing. Yet he accepts. He accepts that God may not.

So we pray. We work out our salvation "with fear and trembling." I believe one of the reasons we do this is because of all the people who can fool us, we are the one we need to be most wary of. We worship and trust. We don't take God for granted.

So what does David do when the child dies? He worships God. And those around him think he is crazy for doing it. But David knew what he was doing. After all, he was a man after God's own heart.