Can You Take That (Religious) Mask Off!

SERMON OUTLINE:

(A). Three Negative Truths:

• Negative Truth #1: Don't be hypocritical (vs 5).

• Negative Truth #2: Don't be limit your praying to public places (vs 6).

• Negative Truth #3: Don't use meaningless repetition (vs 7).

(B). Three Positive Truths:

• Positive Truth #1: We are told where to pray (vs 6).

• Positive Truth #2: We are told to whom to pray (vs 6).

• Positive Truth #3: We are told how to pray (vs 7-8).

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• As a family we have often gone on holiday to Turkey,

• Our favourite place is a town called Kalkan.

• If you head into the town centre, and go right to the sea front,

• You will come across a Jewellers shop,

• In the window of that shop is a great big sign that says, ‘We sell genuine Fakes’.

• Their watches may look like a Rolex or a Versace on the outside.

• But if you removed the cover on the back.

• You would find cheap parts and probably the words made in China.

• TRANSITION: Jesus is warning his disciples not to be fakes like the Pharisees,

• But rather to be the real deal, genuine in their acts of worship.

Ill:

• The word "hypocrite" means "two-faced"

• We get the word from the Greek theatre where the ancient actors,

• Would use different face masks to play different characters.

• The actor true face was always hidden,

• Because they wore a variety of different face masks,

• These masks enabled them to portray different characters and pretend to be someone else

• Hypocrisy is when we are two faced,

• When we pretend to be one thing in public and we are something else in private.

• In previous studies of this chapter

• You would have noted that Jesus warned against this,

• In fact, he gave a general principle (vs 1).

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven

Ill:

• Arlo my son plays the trumpet,

• When he was part of Fareham & Gosport Youth Orchestra,

• He would perform with them on a regular basis.

• The biggest events he played were with other orchestras at Fareham Hall (700 capacity),

• Of course, after he performed (occasionally a solo),

• Everyone clapped, but you could see him looking around unimpressed,

• He was looking for his parents, he wanted their approval and no-one else’s!

• TRANSITION: Jesus reminds his listeners,

• That they too are playing for an audience of one!

• Their acts of righteousness should first and foremost be done for God’s approval.

Now having given us a general principle in verse 1:

• Jesus goes on to give three examples of how hypocrisy can reveal itself.

• Verses 2-4: He talks about good works.

• Verses 5-15: He talks about prayer.

• Verses 16-18: He talks about fasting.

So, Jesus gave three examples (good works, prayer & fasting):

• The point of his teaching of Jesus is simple,

• Don’t do the right things the wrong way!

• Instead of looking for God and his approval on their religious activities,

• They were more concerned with the approval of other people.

NOW OUR FOCUS THIS SESSION IS ON PRAYER:

Ill:

• My favourite prayer story.

• Is the lady who looked in a mirror and saw her wrinkled aged skin,

• She sighed and said in her prayer, “O Lord please give me the skin of a teenager”

• The next morning, she woke up covered in acne!

• (so be careful what you pray for).

• TRANSITION: Jesus teaches six truths about prayer,

• Three are negative and to be avoided,

• And three are positive and to be copied.

(a). Three negative Truths:

Negative Truth #1: Don't be hypocritical (vs 5).

“‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

At the time of Jesus day, religious Jews were not embarrassed to pray in public:

• The Pharisees prayed for 3 hours every day

• They prayed at 9 am, midday, and 3 pm.

• They prayed standing, with hands stretched out,

• Their palms upwards, and with heads bowed.

• And no matter where they were, they stopped to pray at these times.

• It still happens today, I have been in Israel and seen both Jews and Muslims,

• Praying in cafes, on street corners or along the side of the road at prayer times.