Sermon Notes November 21, 2004

Crossroads Bible Church, Bellevue, Washington
Dr. Jerry Mitchell
"Praying Jesus's Way"
Matthew 6:5-15

5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 Pray, then, in this
way:

'Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do
not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Hand written notes taken during sermon:

• Hypocrites are those who pray to impress
• We are not to make a spectacle of our prayer (this does not mean public prayer is never appropriate)
• Looking down on others creates spiritual pride (not a positive attribute)
• God does not need for us to repeat our "spiritual resume" for him
• God is not impressed with what we do, but why we do it
• The Pharisee (Luke 18:10-12) was praying to himself
• When we compare our righteousness with another's we become the worst sinner; we should not compare ourselves to anything but God's standards
• God HATES pride
• There was something different about Jesus's prayers - they were intimate and powerful
• Of all the things Jesus's disciples could have requested to be taught they asked to be taught HOW to pray
• When we speak to God in prayer we should speak to him as our Father. He delights the most in his role as Abba, Father.
• God is the perfect administer
• People who are forgiven forgive others
• If you want God to be merciful with you be merciful to others
• God's sovereignty - he has EVERYTHING at his disposal
• He knows your strengths & your weaknesses; he know where his advisary has set traps for you to stumble
• APPLICATION: Find a quiet room to spend time with God and pray - it will remind you of who God is and it will remind you who you are.

Referenced passages:

• Luke 18:9-14
• Isaiah 64:6
• Matthew 7:2