LEARNING TO PRAY JESUS’ WAY—Part II
Luke 18:9-14
Just in case you were trying to squeeze in a final sum= mer vacation last Sunday—or you missed worship for some other reason, I n= eed to tell you we began a series of three messages last week on prayer: “Learning to Pray Jesus’ Way.”
We’re considering three stories from the life and ministry of Jesus that are found only in the Gospel of Luke—and each = of these stories gives us some important insight into prayer. And we need these insights as we “Pray for our Church,” which is our special emphasis throughout the month of August. I trust you’re being faithfu= l in praying.
Last week, we looked at the first eight verses of Luke=
chapter
18, Jesus’ “Parable of=
the
Persistent Widow,” which tells us to always pray and not give
up. Jesus encourages us to be patient and persistent in prayer,
trusting the Heavenly Father to respond to our need in the way that He know=
s is
best.
Today, we turn to a more familiar story, the one Jesus=
told
about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. This is simply “Part II̶=
1; of
what we began last week, but if I gave today’s message a title, it mi=
ght
be this: “Prayer Is a
Come-As-You-Are Party.”
Ever been to one of those? The idea is that however you’= ;re dressed when the invitation comes, that’s the way you go to the party. If you’re in work clothes, then you go in work clothes. If you’re in your PJ’s, that’s what you wear to the party.
I’m sure people cheat sometimes—and they w= ould need to at times, of course; but that’s the idea—just come as y= ou are. Prayer is supposed to be= this way too, as we learn from the passage before us today. It’s found in Luke 18, beginning with verse 9:
9 To som=
e who
were confident of their own righteousness
and looked do=
wn on
everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
10 "Two =
men went
up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 =
The
Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not
like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this=
tax
collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "But the tax collector =
stood
at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and
said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this
man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted."
Do you see what I mean about a “come as you are party?” The Pharisee ge= ts his invitation, looks in the mirror and doesn’t like what he sees; so he changes everything to the way he wants himself to look. Now, this will probably fool a lot= of people, but Jesus makes it clear that it doesn’t fool God.
The tax collector also looks in the mirror, and he doesn’t like what he sees either; but he doesn’t attempt to cov= er anything up or change reality. He goes before God in prayer just the way he is--and God likes this much bette= r.
Jesus commends him for it, and lets us see by the tax
collector’s example that this is how He wants us to pray—as we =
are.
Prayer is
a come-as-you=
-are
party.
The Pharisee, though, feels this isn’t good enou= gh, just “coming as
he is,” so he works hard at becoming a “ho= ly Joe” type—too religious, frankly, for his or anybody else’= ;s good. Of course, as a Pharise= e, he is seen already as a respectable member of the community—a leader, a model citizen!
The tax collector, on the other hand, is seen in a very negative light. He’s considered to be a scoundrel, a traitor, and a cheat. He’s a local boy who sold ou= t to the Romans in order to feather his own nest—and everybody hates him f= or it!
So, the Pharisee really isn’t the only one with a problem here. Lots of people are unwilling to just “come as they are”= it seems. They have this need to= make sure that they are dressed better than somebody—and when it comes= to spiritual matters, they are all quite sure that the tax collector is the wo= rst dressed of all!
Strange how this works: looking down on him somehow makes them feel better about themselves. And this still happens today.
Just imagine the shock they feel—and this is a r= each for us, being rather far removed from their world—but try to imagine their surprise when the tax collector turns out to be the good guy in Jesus’ story, and the Pharisee is condemned!
Jesus says the tax collector’s prayer gets throu= gh to God and is effective. The Pharisee’s prayer gets nowhere and is ineffective. Whether he realizes it or not, the= tax collector is the one who “prays Jesus’ way”—he comes before God as he is, and doesn’t attempt to be anything else!
So, what does it mean to “come as we are” =
before
God? It seems to me there is =
an UP
side to this kind of honesty…and there’s a DOWN side as well.
Genesis, the book of beginnings, tells us that God mad= e the fish and the birds and the other creatures that inhabit the earth. But then, as His crowning act of creation, God made man and woman (oh yes, woman came last—God finally= got it right!) and uniquely equipped them to enjoy fellowship with each other a= nd with their Creator!
Now, the Pharisee knows the Scriptures. I’m sure there is no doubt in his mind that HE is made in God’s
image. He just can’t se=
e the
image of God in the tax collector. <=
/span>
I wonder if we ever struggle with this—first, do= we have trouble realizing that God has placed His image in us; and then, is it hard for us to recognize God’s image in others?
We can pray, we have this high and holy privilege, bec= ause the Heavenly Father wants this kind of relationship with us. He made us with this connection to Himself. He made us in His image—all of us, which is something we need to realize about ourselve= s…and others.
How about another installment of “ZITS?”
“Hi, Jeremy.&nb= sp; Are you cleaning the garage?”= “Ummm…not yet,” he replies. “What ARE you doing?” = Dad asks. “Watching TV, lis= tening to music, and texting my friends.”&n= bsp;
Dad is plenty frustrated now and erupts, “Jeremy= , I SWEAR…” And then comes Jeremy’s classic response: “= Why is everything always my fault?”
Of course, the point of Jesus’ story is that we = are all at fault, we all share the blame. We are “made in God’s image”—yes—but we are “broken by sin”—all of us.
This is the other truth the Pharisee could not bring h= imself to see. He has no problem with brokenness in the tax collector’s life. HIS sin is obvious, and the Pharis= ee has no qualms about pointing it out! He just can’t recognize the presence of sin in his own life.
Changing clothes before the party—putting on this façade of goodness--doesn’t change him any, though. I suppose it makes him feel better= , or at least, it makes him feel better about himself in relation to others̵= 2;as in feeling morally superior to others.&nbs= p;
But Jesus says that this pride comes at a great price.= It makes the Pharisee’s pray= ers worthless and ineffective.
The Bible hits us pretty hard when it comes to feeling superior to others. Romans 3:= 23, for instance, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” Not much wiggle= room there!
And I John 1:8: “If we claim to be without sin, =
we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The
Pharisee is guilty of that kind of self-deception—the lie that convin=
ces
us that our lives are just fine, thank you, and there is nothing in us that
should be labeled “sin.”
The tax c=
ollector
comes before God as he is--a sinner in need of forgiveness. The Pharisee tries to change his c=
lothes. He does not realize that, even wit=
h all
his outward respectability and high position in society, underneath all that
neatness, there’s sin—and it’s just as real--and ugly--in=
HIS
life as it is in the tax collector’s, and ours.
That̵=
7;s the
only way to fix our problem. =
When
we pray, we need to know that sin separates us from God. Sin has to be dealt with in order =
to
re-open the lines of communication between us and God.
Jesus tea=
ches us
to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us.” Being forg=
iven
is what makes the relationship right, and that’s always an act of
God’s grace.
Grace is =
about
getting something from God that we don’t deserve-- and never will.
But did y=
ou
notice--there is no hint of dependency in the Pharisee’s prayer? He is guilty of the sin that is mo=
st
disturbing to God. It is the =
sin of
pride, the attitude of self-righteousness, and self-sufficiency, which
recognizes no real need for God and thus keeps Him at arms length from our
lives.
Sure, the
Pharisee makes an attempt at prayer, but to whom is he really speaking? He begins, “God, I thank you
…” but his gratitude, in reality, is directed toward himself=
212;not
God.
“Th=
ank you,
self, for being so much better than others and for being the kind of person
that God just couldn’t get along without.” That’s what we hear in this =
feeble
attempt at prayer.
And in re=
sponse
to the Pharisee’s self-righteousness, the Lord says in effect, “=
;You
will soon discover just how very well I can get along without you.”
Lo and
behold—it’s the tax collector—the scoundrel--who goes home
justified before God. Someone
defined justification as “just as if I had never sinned.” That’s how complete God̵=
7;s
forgiveness is!
The tax c=
ollector
leaves his prayer time FORGIVEN--because his prayer has the one essential
quality which the Pharisee’s lacks: a sense of dependency on God to do
for him what he cannot do for himself—which is where all of us have to
begin in our relationship with God.
This is n=
ot a
relationship between equals! =
God
doesn’t need us. He lov=
es us--but
he doesn’t need us. We,=
on
the other hand, desperately need God—for life and sustenance and
salvation—we NEED God!
The Phari=
see doesn’t
get that. He boasts of his OWN
goodness. The tax collector
confesses his lack of it--and prays, “God, have mercy on me, a
sinner.”
It is thi=
s humble
expression of need that gives God access to the tax collector’s life:=
and
God forgives him, cleanses him, and welcomes him to the family.
Jesus tel=
ls us to
come to the Heavenly Father as we are, without any pretense, without any
cover-ups, without any claims of being good enough or respectable enough or
deserving enough to ever come before a Holy God. Any kind of self-righteousness or =
self-reliance
will very effectively keep God out of our lives.
Listen to=
how Jesus
finishes the story: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,=
and
he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This is h=
ow Jesus
lived. He alone among all who=
have
ever walked upon this earth had reason to exalt himself. Instead, “He humbled himself=
, took
the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even death on a
cross.” (Philippians 2:=
7-8)
And becau=
se of
Jesus’ humble act of obedience, “God has exalted His Son and gi=
ven Him
a name that is above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall =
bow
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:9=
-11)
Will you =
confess
Jesus Christ as Lord of your life today?&n=
bsp;
You don’t have to try to change your life or clean it up before
you come to Him. If you’=
;re
sincere, He’ll take care of that for you.
Come as y=
ou
are. Pray to Him and ask Him =
into
your heart and life just as you are.
Whether as a first time decision for Christ, or a re-commitment of y=
our
life to Him, simply come as you are and He will accept you and forgive you =
and
love you forever!
“Ju=
st as I
am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me,
And that =
Thou
bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come!
I
come!” =
Hymn No. 307