Speaker 1: Good morning.
Speaker 1: Good morning, what a great day to be in church.
Speaker 1: You glad to be here today.
Speaker 1: All right, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 1: Hey, kids, why don't you all head out to kids?
Speaker 1: Man, let's give it up for our kids Is they're rolling out today?
Speaker 1: Hope they're, hope their leaders are ready for what's heading down that hallway here in just a moment.
Speaker 1: So we are.
Speaker 1: We are jumping in today to a series called Seven Transformational Habits.
Speaker 1: Seven Transformational Habits, and the goal of this series is to talk about what it means to live a life of following after Christ.
Speaker 1: If we're saved by grace, through faith and the end goal of our faith is that our faith would be sited, we would see Jesus face to face.
Speaker 1: What happens in the meantime, in the distance between where we are and where we're going?
Speaker 1: Well, how do we cultivate a life with Christ?
Speaker 1: That's the question that we're asking this series to start and to kick us off today.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you a quick little story.
Speaker 1: So a couple of weeks ago, I needed to pick up some six foot tables from the gym at our downtown campus.
Speaker 1: It was a Friday afternoon, the boys were home from school, and what you need to know about that is that once my boys get home from school, they don't want to go anywhere, like anywhere else.
Speaker 1: Like when they're home, they're home and they don't want to leave.
Speaker 1: They want to play Legos and football in the backyard and dig stuff up and not go places.
Speaker 1: That's what they want to do.
Speaker 1: And so I'm like, hey guys, we got to go to the church to pick up some tables.
Speaker 1: And they're like we don't want to go, like you know, nice little compliant humans, right, like no, we're not going anywhere, we're staying right here.
Speaker 1: And I was like, no, we have to go get these tables, we need them, no.
Speaker 1: And so I was like, all right, we need to rethink this, or this isn't going to go well for anybody, so let's let's create a new strategy here.
Speaker 1: I was like, guys, this is Star Wars and we have a mission.
Speaker 1: We have a mission, and the mission is that there is an imperial base.
Speaker 1: Hindsight probably shouldn't have used imperial base for the church, but that's not the point today.
Speaker 1: There's an imperial base and we are part of the rebel alliance.
Speaker 1: We need to raid the imperial base.
Speaker 1: There is equipment in the base that is essential to our fight for survival is the rebel alliance We've got to go get it.
Speaker 1: We need the two six foot tables from the gym.
Speaker 1: But in their minds they're like, yes, we're in, we're in.
Speaker 1: So there, you know, the conversation starts.
Speaker 1: Okay, who are you?
Speaker 1: Who are you?
Speaker 1: We got our characters worked out.
Speaker 1: And you know, my four year old says dad, we need a map.
Speaker 1: So that's great, we do need a map.
Speaker 1: We need a map to get from one sector of the galaxy to another.
Speaker 1: Let's make a map.
Speaker 1: And so we did.
Speaker 1: And we started our map about a half a mile from here, ended in the far outskirts of the galaxy, 417 central Avenue, downtown church campus.
Speaker 1: And then my boys were like, okay, we're going to play dinosaurs for a few minutes.
Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, that's fine, we've got a map, we've got our costumes, we know who we are.
Speaker 1: Y'all go play dinosaurs, I'll get our shoes and then we'll go.
Speaker 1: So they play dinosaurs for like five minutes, come back together and know what happened Judah had lost the map.
Speaker 1: I'm like Judah, where's the map?
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Lost the map, my bud, what was it with your dinosaur?
Speaker 1: I don't know, lost the map.
Speaker 1: And so then Judah looks at me and he says dad, we can't complete our mission without the map and I was like, well, that that will preach right there, that is a good word in the mission to get the six foot tables from the imperial base.
Speaker 1: We can't complete the mission without the map, and that is the premise of this series, that that God has called us into his mission.
Speaker 1: Right, we're saved by grace through faith in Christ, and we're saved not just from our sin, not just from hell in the wrath of God.
Speaker 1: We're saved for something Visions to tense as we're saved for good works.
Speaker 1: There's a mission, a calling, a purpose that is on our lives.
Speaker 1: And for us to complete the mission that God has for us, we need a map, do we not?
Speaker 1: Aren't you grateful that God has given us a map, that we're not here trying to navigate this journey called life, this mission called following Jesus, on our own, but that we have a map.
Speaker 1: There's a way in which God has ordained and organized this world that we get to partner with him in this pursuit of Christ.
Speaker 1: And the map is what we'll call for this series spiritual formations.
Speaker 1: God has given us a set of habits that, by cultivating these habits in our lives, we're not just creating good habits Like it's one thing to create some good habits right, you want to eat better or get to the gym more, or be more patient or be more kind.
Speaker 1: Like those are some good habits that we can cultivate in our lives.
Speaker 1: This series is about so much more than just the cultivation of good habits.
Speaker 1: It's about building a rhythm of life by which we're able to walk with God, so that when you go into your meeting on Tuesday afternoon, you know that God is with you.
Speaker 1: You've been meeting with God, you've been hearing from God, you've been walking with God so that you know, when you're parenting your kids, that you're not parenting on your own Anybody grateful you don't have to parent in your own strength.
Speaker 1: When you're dealing with that relational tension, that conflict that you can't resolve, you're not in that by yourself.
Speaker 1: You're walking with God.
Speaker 1: You're cultivating this rhythm of life that is conducive to walking with God.
Speaker 1: Anybody feel like life is just hectic and hurried and busy and there's no time for anything.
Speaker 1: This series is about taking a moment to take a deep breath and reset and go.
Speaker 1: How do we, in the middle of everything that's going on in our world, build a life in the presence of Almighty God so that, as we go, our Monday, our Tuesday, our Wednesday, our Thursday, our Friday, our Saturday is all marked by the presence of God, not just the moments where we intentionally come to church and lift our hands in worship and pause to pray, but our everyday.
Speaker 1: How many of you want your Wednesday to be marked by the presence of God, your workplace to be marked by the presence of God, your family, your marriage, your relationships?
Speaker 1: Like wouldn't that be amazing?
Speaker 1: That's what this series is about.
Speaker 1: And today you may know you may not.
Speaker 1: Today's Super Bowl Sunday.
Speaker 1: Anybody aware of the Super Bowl happening tonight?
Speaker 1: Anybody got some appetizers and chicken wings ready to go Like I'm pumped about the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Couldn't care less about the game.
Speaker 1: Let's be honest, my team didn't make it Like I'm just excited about chicken wings and pizza bites, you know.
Speaker 1: But it's gonna be a great day.
Speaker 1: And here's what I've loved in the lead up to this game.
Speaker 1: I don't have a dog in the fight with the teams, but what I've loved is that the biggest stage in the football world is happening tonight and so much of the conversation, the press conferences coming out of Super Bowl week.
Speaker 1: We've had players like Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey and Pat Mahomes and MVS from the Chiefs talking about their faith.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you saw, there was a great interview with Brock Purdy the other day.
Speaker 1: They were asking him what his secret weapon is to the calmness that he exudes on the field, and I think he floored the reporters when he looked back and he said the answer to your question is I pray.
Speaker 1: And I think they were expecting, like, well, you know, we got the X's and the O's down and I got my coach in my ear telling me what the defense is doing and I know when the free safety rolls, here's the coverage that they're playing.
Speaker 1: No, brock Purdy says I pray, and he went on.
Speaker 1: He says I'm not praying for us to win.
Speaker 1: He said I'm praying that God, by his spirit, would allow me to represent him well as I play this game of football.
Speaker 1: And that was the last question, cause, what do you say to that Right?
Speaker 1: And so today we're going to talk about prayer, as we talk about these seven habits, seven habits that will transform our lives and help us cultivate this rhythm of life that is conducive to walking with God.
Speaker 1: Today we're going to talk about prayer, about prayer.
Speaker 1: So, with that in mind, let's go to Matthew, chapter six and we're going to read Jesus's words.
Speaker 1: I actually read this a few Sundays ago, but it's a great passage of scripture.
Speaker 1: You know it's okay to read the same passage twice in a month, isn't it?
Speaker 1: Y'all good with that today?
Speaker 1: It's where we're going, so let's go.
Speaker 1: Matthew six beginning in verse five, jesus is teaching a sermon called the Sermon on the Mount, and he's describing to his followers gathered together that day what it looks like to be part of the kingdom of God, to live life as a member of the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1: And he begins to talk about prayer and he says this when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.
Speaker 1: They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
Speaker 1: Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Speaker 1: 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, rewards you.
Speaker 1: And when you pray, don't heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they'll be heard for the many words.
Speaker 1: Don't be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him.
Speaker 1: Pray, then like this our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Speaker 1: Your will be done on the earth as it is in heaven.
Speaker 1: Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Speaker 1: Prayer.
Speaker 1: So I have to tell you, initially this message looked a lot different.
Speaker 1: There's like two versions of this thing for us this morning.
Speaker 1: The first time, I sat down and kind of outlined out some thoughts and I was talking about the different types of prayer that we see in the New Testament and a process for prayer and kind of a doctrine of prayer, if you will.
Speaker 1: And when I had finished the outline, I was looking back at it and I was like man, that's like some good content, helpful content, but it didn't feel like what God was leading us to this moment.
Speaker 1: And, to use a football metaphor, I felt like God kind of shifted the goalpost on me a little bit, because it's one thing to talk about types of prayer or a process for prayer, but what I feel like God wants to do in our lives today is he wants us to know why we pray.
Speaker 1: Because if we know why we pray, I'm convinced that God, by his spirit and through his word, he will teach us how to pray, but I don't know if it's.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm the only one, but do you ever feel like prayer sometimes can become too ritualistic?
Speaker 1: You feel like you're talking to God but you're like my prayers aren't getting past the ceiling, like God's distant.
Speaker 1: I don't know if he's hearing me and I feel like I'm just praying because I'm supposed to pray and I'm not even sure I know how to pray or what to pray.
Speaker 1: And prayer, it can feel stiff and ritualistic and it can feel difficult and challenging.
Speaker 1: Anybody ever been there?
Speaker 1: Yeah, and so like in those moments.
Speaker 1: I think this question why pray will help us press through the difficulty and really get to the heart of what prayer is about Jesus.
Speaker 1: In Matthew chapter six, he addresses what I would argue are two main issues that hinder our prayers.
Speaker 1: He begins in verse five.
Speaker 1: He says when you pray, so the expectation is you will pray.
Speaker 1: 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.
Speaker 1: Now you can draw a direct line from the hypocrites in Matthew chapter six to the Pharisees in Luke, chapter 18, the religious leaders, the people who were responsible for leading the people of God, the nation of God, in the worship of God.
Speaker 1: Jesus has some harsh words and a warning to us.
Speaker 1: When, looking at the lives of the Pharisees, he said they love to pray where other people see them.
Speaker 1: And now listen, you need to understand.
Speaker 1: God's not condemning public prayer.
Speaker 1: Jesus is not speaking against prayer that happens in a setting like this.
Speaker 1: In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Speaker 1: There's beauty when we pray collectively, together, is there not?
Speaker 1: When we all pause and pray and orient our heart towards the things of God, that's beautiful.
Speaker 1: What Jesus is saying in Matthew, chapter six, verse five, is that prayer is about the posture of our hearts.
Speaker 1: For the Pharisees, the hypocrites, their hearts were not postured towards God, they were more concerned about the opinions of others, and so when they prayed, they were not praying to connect with God, they were praying to impress other people.
Speaker 1: In fact, the word that Jesus uses for hypocrite here, in the original language it literally is translated as actors playing apart.
Speaker 1: So what Jesus says is when the Pharisees are offering their prayers, they're standing on the street corners and in the synagogues.
Speaker 1: Their hearts are not towards God.
Speaker 1: They're like actors playing apart.
Speaker 1: They're just trying to impress the people that are listening to their prayers.
Speaker 1: They could care less about what God thinks.
Speaker 1: They could only care about what the people think.
Speaker 1: And isn't that where we find ourselves sometimes when it comes to prayer Worried less about what God thinks and more about what the person sitting next to us thinks?
Speaker 1: I can't tell you how many times over the years I've talked to people who are like I just can't pray out loud because I don't know how to pray.
Speaker 1: Jesus says it's not about that.
Speaker 1: It's about communicating to God.
Speaker 1: It's not about impressing the people around us In prayer.
Speaker 1: What God is after is a heart that is longing for him.
Speaker 1: It's not about impressing others, the second group that Jesus addresses in Matthew, chapter 6, in verse 7, he says when you pray, don't heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do.
Speaker 1: So he's addressed the hypocrites, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the insiders, if you will.
Speaker 1: And now he says let's talk about the Gentiles, who were, in this day and time, the outsiders to the Jewish faith.
Speaker 1: He says don't pray like they pray either, because they think that they'll be heard for their many words.
Speaker 1: So some people, when they pray, they're primarily concerned about what other people think.
Speaker 1: When this group of people, the Gentiles, when they pray, they think that they can impress God with the right formula, the right language, the right wording of their prayers.
Speaker 1: In other words, it's the sophistication of their prayers that calls God to move on their behalf.
Speaker 1: And Jesus says that's not how it works either.
Speaker 1: It's not how it works either.
Speaker 1: It's not about a formula, it's not about hitting the right word at the right time or saying the right language, or formulating your prayer in the right way.
Speaker 1: That's not what captures God's attention Either.
Speaker 1: And then Jesus says this in verse eight don't be like then, for your father knows what you need before you ask him.
Speaker 1: And so now, at this point in time, he says hey, the insiders, the religious leaders, they're praying wrong.
Speaker 1: The outsiders, the Gentiles, they're praying wrong.
Speaker 1: And anyway, god knows what you need before you ask.
Speaker 1: So at this point in time, it's like everybody's praying wrong and God already knows what we need.
Speaker 1: So if you just read this passage of scripture, the question is like well then, why pray If everybody's doing it wrong anyway?
Speaker 1: And God already knows what we need before we even ask him why pray?
Speaker 1: Why pray?
Speaker 1: And I'm convinced that for all of us, we've felt that at some point in time.
Speaker 1: Have we not?
Speaker 1: Pretty sure I'm doing it wrong, pretty sure God's in control anyway, pretty sure his will is gonna be done because he's sovereign over it all.
Speaker 1: So why pray?
Speaker 1: There was a survey done a few years ago of pastors nationwide and the survey asked pastors to name the priorities of their ministry, and evangelism and preaching were the top two.
Speaker 1: Dead last on the list.
Speaker 1: Survey of pastors what's the priority of your ministry?
Speaker 1: Dead last on the list, it was prayer, and I saw that earlier this week and I was like we have a problem, I have a problem.
Speaker 1: I have a problem, do we not?
Speaker 1: Why pray?
Speaker 1: See, I'm convinced that for many of us, the solution to this problem is just don't pray.
Speaker 1: But that's not a solution.
Speaker 1: That's like disconnecting our lives from the only power source that actually has the power to change our life.
Speaker 1: You wanna talk about trying to complete the mission without a map.
Speaker 1: Like, let's just take the map completely at the table at that point in time.
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 1: Like without prayer, without the power of God moving in our lives, our mission is destined to go badly.
Speaker 1: So why pray?
Speaker 1: Well, there are a couple of things that we could talk about here.
Speaker 1: The first is this when you read through the gospels, jesus does a lot of amazing things right Miracles, healings, walks on water, raises dead people.
Speaker 1: He teaches a lot of incredible teachings, a lot of incredible moments in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Speaker 1: But you'll notice when you read the gospels, there's only one thing that the disciples clearly ask Jesus to teach them how to do.
Speaker 1: Now, because of our topic today, at this point in time, you're probably like I think I know what it is, but if I'm there, if you're there, like think about that for a second.
Speaker 1: Like what would you ask Jesus to teach you?
Speaker 1: Okay, that walking on water trick, it's pretty cool, man.
Speaker 1: Do you think you could like show me how to do that on an off day sometime?
Speaker 1: That was pretty neat when you know, when you open the blind guy's eyes with the mud and the spit, like that was next level, like that can you show me?
Speaker 1: No, the disciples.
Speaker 1: In Luke, chapter 11, jesus is off by himself praying and when he finishes, one of the disciples says to Jesus Lord, teach us to pray.
Speaker 1: It's the one clear thing in all the gospel stories that the disciples ask Jesus to teach them.
Speaker 1: Now here's what's interesting about this.
Speaker 1: These are Jewish men who grew up in Jewish tradition, jewish religion.
Speaker 1: They prayed all the time and there was something so compelling, so unique, so different and powerful and moving about the way that Jesus prayed.
Speaker 1: They're like that is what we need to know Now.
Speaker 1: Teach us to pray.
Speaker 1: And so Jesus begins to teach them how to pray, and it's the same prayer that we just read in Matthew, chapter six.
Speaker 1: It's the Lord's prayer.
Speaker 1: So why pray?
Speaker 1: Well, here's our statement for the day.
Speaker 1: This is why we pray, based on what Jesus says in Matthew six and in Luke 11, we pray because you have a heavenly father who loves you and who invites you into his work.
Speaker 1: See Jesus in response to the disciples question of teach us to pray, their request, teach us to pray like you pray.
Speaker 1: He starts with the phrase our father in heaven.
Speaker 1: Our father in heaven, which is a moment in time.
Speaker 1: If you're on the hillside in Northern Galilee listening to the Matthew six sermon, when Jesus says, pray like this and follows that up with our father, your Jewish mind would go because, because in Jewish tradition, jewish religion, they would not even speak or write the name of God.
Speaker 1: Exodus 34,.
Speaker 1: God says to Moses, yahweh, yahweh, god, merciful and gracious.
Speaker 1: He tells Moses his name and the Israelites, aware of their sinfulness, their brokenness and God's holiness and God's righteousness, wouldn't even speak or write down the name of God.
Speaker 1: They rightly recognized hey, there's a gap between who we are as sinful people and who God is in all of his holiness, and so their solution was okay, we're not gonna write or say his name.
Speaker 1: And then here comes Jesus in Matthew, chapter six teach us how to pray.
Speaker 1: We wanna pray like Jesus.
Speaker 1: Jesus says pray like this, our father, in other words, this God who is holy and righteous and just and almighty and sovereign and perfect in all that he does.
Speaker 1: He is your heavenly father.
Speaker 1: He's closer than you think that he is.
Speaker 1: You have a heavenly father.
Speaker 1: Why do we pray?
Speaker 1: Because God almighty is our heavenly father.
Speaker 1: Now I've got two boys, some of you in the room, your fathers.
Speaker 1: You know that the greatest thing in life is to hear from your kids.
Speaker 1: Like, what a gift it is when your child just wants to talk to you.
Speaker 1: Doesn't matter what about it, doesn't matter the topic of conversation.
Speaker 1: As a dad with the heart of a father for his children, like, you just wanna hear from your kids and my boys would tell you, noah's in the room right now.
Speaker 1: I am not a perfect father, but I love my sons.
Speaker 1: And Jesus says to us we have a heavenly father.
Speaker 1: We have a heavenly father.
Speaker 1: He's got a father's heart for his sons and his daughters.
Speaker 1: He wants to hear from us.
Speaker 1: He's not a cosmic blessing giver that has to be manipulated into doing what we want him to do.
Speaker 1: He's not a spiritual genie waiting on the right formation of words in order to give us our request.
Speaker 1: Nor is he a boss waiting on us to pass our performance review so that he'll do what we want him to do.
Speaker 1: No, he's our heavenly father.
Speaker 1: He's not impressed by our big words or our extensive knowledge or our theological formations, even of our prayers.
Speaker 1: He just wants to hear from us.
Speaker 1: You have a heavenly father.
Speaker 1: That's Jesus's point in Luke, chapter 11.
Speaker 1: He goes on and he says hey, if you, who are earthly fathers, you're imperfect, you're fallen, you're broken, your lives are marked by sinfulness and selfishness.
Speaker 1: If you, who are earthly fathers, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so?
Speaker 1: Well, your heavenly father, give you what you need.
Speaker 1: Why do we pray?
Speaker 1: Because prayer connects us to the heart of our heavenly father, and I love what one pastor said.
Speaker 1: He said that God is not just a reflection of our earthly father.
Speaker 1: He is the perfection of what it means to be a father.
Speaker 1: You have a heavenly father today.
Speaker 1: He wants to hear from you.
Speaker 1: He's not distant, he's not disconnected from the circumstances of your life.
Speaker 1: He sees you, he knows you, he knows what's going on in your life, and he wants to hear from you.
Speaker 1: Isn't that beautiful.
Speaker 1: You have a heavenly father.
Speaker 1: The second part of our statement is this who loves you?
Speaker 1: Who loves you?
Speaker 1: Your heavenly father loves you.
Speaker 1: I'm convinced that for some of us, we operate with this sense of.
Speaker 1: We know, on one hand, that God loves us, but we're also a little bit concerned, on the other hand, that we disappoint him quite often and we are convinced, somehow, that our disappointment of God outweighs his love for us.
Speaker 1: And I just want to tell you today God loves you.
Speaker 1: Remember, he's not a reflection of your earthly father.
Speaker 1: He's the perfect father, which means that there is absolutely nothing that you could say or do or think that will cause your heavenly father to love you any less.
Speaker 1: I love my boys and I love them as much when they get it right as I do when they get it wrong, and I love them as much when they get it wrong as I do when they get it right.
Speaker 1: Y'all this is why prayer to our heavenly father no-transcript.