The One Prayer God Always Answers

3:05 I titled today's message, The One Prayer God Always Answers. my friend and bible scholar r.t kendall tells about a time that he was nine years old and he was staying one night with his grandmother and the next day he had a test at school that he wasn't prepared for so when he awakened the next morning he told his grandmother that he wasn't feeling well and didn't feel like going to school she said okay we'll go back to bed and he protested and said well i would like breakfast first she said if you have an appetite that means there isn't much wrong with you so you go get dressed for school and i'll prepare breakfast we know jesus is saying the same thing blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied your appetite is a pretty good indication of your spiritual health. If you're a Christian and you have a hunger, you have a thirst for being more obedient to God, then you're in pretty good spiritual shape. You may not feel like it, but you're on the road to spiritual health. In fact, you are only seven words away from a right relationship with God. And today we're going to discover what those seven words are in a familiar parable. Turn to your Bibles into Luke chapter 18, beginning with verse 9, as we look at the one prayer God always promises to answer. Luke chapter 18. Now this is one of those parables Jesus told that's very easy to interpret because Luke gives us the right interpretation at the beginning of the parable. He tells us the reason Jesus told it. Look at verse 9. And Jesus also told them this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with

5:16 contempt. This parable is directed toward a group of people, specifically the Pharisees, who trusted in themselves. Literally in the Greek text, it says, who based on themselves thought they were righteous. They thought God looked on them with favor, that they had a judicial righteousness. They were not guilty before God. They also were ethically righteous. They did all the right things, but their reason they believed that was a standard that was based on themselves. You know, today there's a lot of talk about having self-esteem and that people suffer from a bad self-image. But the truth is the problem with most of us is not that we think too little of ourselves, but that we think too much of ourselves. Dr. David Myers is a psychologist who has written a lot about what he calls the inflated self-syndrome in America. He reports that when the college board surveyed high school seniors, they found that amazingly,

6:26 zero percent of high school seniors thought that they were below average compared to other students. Sixty percent believed they were in the top 10 percent in their ability to get along with others. And he concluded that the most common error in people's self-image is not unrealistically low self-esteem, but rather self-serving pride. It was not an inferiority complex, but a superiority complex. That was the group that Jesus was talking to, those who thought they were righteous. And notice the second phrase he uses, and they viewed others with contempt. I mean, that's the byproduct of feeling superior. What's the good of being superior if you can't look down on other people, right? And there are actually some people who are proud of their own humility. Whenever I read this parable that Jesus told about the Pharisees, I'm reminded of the third grade Sunday school teacher who, after teaching this lesson to the children, said, now, children, let's bow our heads in prayer and thank God that we're not like the Pharisees.

7:38 Or people who feel that way. The purpose of this parable that Jesus told is very clear in verse nine. This parable is not a parable that teaches us how to pray. It's not a parable that answers the question why God answers some prayers and doesn't answer other prayers. This parable is about how to be righteous, how to be in a right standing with God. And in this parable, we find two very different approaches to God, one that is based on our goodness, our own works, and one that is based on God's grace. Now, let's look at the two characters, the two players in this parable. Verse 10, Jesus said, two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Now, a good Jew would walk up the southern steps of the temple, just as many of us have done before, to go to the Temple Mount area in order to pray. They prayed twice a day, 9 a.m.

8:41 and 3 p.m. So on this particular day, two people went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. Jesus could not have selected two people at more opposite ends of the socio-religious spectrum than these two characters. If Jesus were telling the story today, he might say two people went into the church to pray, a preacher and a prostitute. That's the contrast Jesus is trying to give us here. The Pharisee, let's look at him first of all. They were highly revered, respected men. They knew the Old Testament backwards and forwards. And not only that, they were thought to be truly godly people. They had a desire to be godly. Their problem was they had the wrong idea of godliness. They thought that godliness was based on themselves and not the grace of God. Now, notice his prayer. The Bible says, Jesus said, this Pharisee, when he went to pray, he stood to pray. Now, a lot of people make a big deal out of that. Oh, look how proud he is. He stood. There's nothing wrong with standing to pray. In fact, a good Jew would stand to pray. Today, if you go to the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, people stand there and pray and pour out their hearts to God. The problem with this man's prayer was not his posture, it was his attitude. And you see that in the second phrase, he stood and he prayed to himself. Isn't that a funny phrase? He prayed to himself. Now, he probably didn't think he was praying to himself, but you look at the prayer here. It was a prayer of self-congratulations about all he had done. Look at verses 11 and 12. The Pharisee stood praying this to himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector over here standing next to me. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all that I get.

10:52 this Pharisee's problem was he had an eye problem. Eye, eye, eye, eye. He was focused on himself. Have you ever noticed people today who try to give a testimony, but they can't help but make themselves the hero of the story? Their testimonies are what one friend of mine call bragamonies. It's about me, me, me, me, me. We see that sometimes in our worship music. Some of the worship music, not in our church, but in other churches, you see, it's about me and my struggles and my doubts and my unhappiness and my blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, instead of focused on God. True worship is always focused on God, not on me. But that Pharisee didn't understand that he had a distorted sense of his own righteousness. Notice what he says that he did.

11:49 He said, I fast twice a week. Now, the Jews were only required to fast once a year. Pharisees only fasted once a week, but this Pharisee fasted twice a week. He said, I pay tithes of all of I get. He gave 10%, not just on his income, but even on passive income and assets. He gives a tithe of everything. We might say today he tithed on the gross and not the net. He was good about his giving. And not only that, he said, I'm not like everybody else. I'm not a swindler, an adulterer, and certainly not like this tax gatherer. Now, that was a fair evaluation. He was telling the truth about himself. What he missed was that God is as interested, if not more interested, in our heart than he is in the actions that flow out of our heart. The Pharisee's problem is he was more interested in style rather than substance.

12:52 I remember reading about Joseph Kennedy, the head of the Kennedy clan. He used to tell his boys, what you are is not nearly as important as what you appear to be. That's the motto the Kennedys lived by. It's not what you are, it's what you appear to be. That was the Pharisee. As long as he appeared to be righteous, that's all that mattered. Commentator J.C. Ryle says, even a child recognizes what was missing in this Pharisee's prayer. There's no confession of sin, no expression of need for God, no supplication for God's mercy. Contrast him to the other character in this story, the tax collector. The tax collector.

13:44 At the other end of the socio-religious spectrum in Jewish life was the tax collector. He was down on the bottom rung, right down there with used chariot salesman and televangelist. That's what people thought of tax collectors. They were absolute scum. And the reason people looked down on tax collectors, really two reasons. Most tax collectors were Jews, but they worked for the Roman government. They had purchased a franchise from the Roman government that gave them the right to collect taxes. And there was a base amount that the Roman government required from people, but the tax collector could add whatever surcharges he wanted onto that base amount. And he would mail off the required tax of an individual to Rome and keep the difference for himself. And so the Jewish people hated tax collectors for two reasons. First of all, they were helping fund the oppressive Roman government that was occupying their land. But not only that, they were cheating people, taking more than they were supposed to take. And so this tax collector went up to pray as well. Don't miss the point that this tax collector was just as much under God's judgment as the Pharisee was. They both went to the temple to pray. But notice his prayer in contrast to the Pharisees. The tax collector standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but instead was beating his breast saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. This is one of the shortest prayers in the Bible.

15:32 Seven words in the English language, six words in the Greek text. And yet this prayer reveals the two essentials for righteousness, for a right standing with God, for God's salvation. First of all, he expresses sorrow for his sin. You hear that in the prayer. Be merciful to me, the sinner, is what it actually says in Greek. It's articular. There's an article before the word sinner. It's not be merciful to me, a sinner, just like everybody else in the world. No, be merciful to me, the sinner. I am the chief sinner of all. What led him to say that? perhaps he went up to the temple after committing a heinous sin that even he himself thought he was incapable of committing. He went out of desperation. Or maybe his life had slowly unraveled over a period of time, and he was at the end of the rope. Whatever it was, he expressed his need for God's forgiveness. By the way, notice his position. He stood some distance away. Away from what?

16:47 Well, probably away from the altar of sacrifice, representing the presence of God. But he even stood away from the Pharisee. Oh, I can't be near a holy man. I can't be near to him, and I certainly can't stand near to God. But here's the paradox. By standing far away from God, he was closer to God than the Pharisee. Here's one thing you understand. The more you understand the true holiness of God, the more you understand how sinful you and I really are. A real encounter with the genuine God leads you to understand your own unholiness. Isaiah's expressed that. Remember in Isaiah 6 when he had the vision of God on his throne and the angels flying around the throne, what was Isaiah's response? He fell down and he said, woe to me for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. Or remember when the apostle Peter saw the glorified Lord in Luke 5, 8, he said, depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Or remember the apostle John in the book of Revelation? There on the island of Patmos when he saw the vision of the glorified Christ in the state he'll be when he returns one day, what did he do? The Bible says he fell down as a dead man.

18:13 That's what happens to any sinner who confronts a holy God. You're aware of your need. But an expression of sorrow for your sin isn't enough to be forgiven. It's not enough for salvation, there's a second ingredient you see in this brief prayer, and that is he requested God's mercy to cover his sin. He requested God's mercy to cover his sin. He said, God be merciful to me, the sinner. You see that even in the way he prayed. James Montgomery Boyce points out the simple sentence structure of this prayer. It's a prayer that starts with God and ends with the sinner, but has mercy in the middle. It is God's mercy. It is God's grace that connects sinful man to a holy God. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Two men with two very different ways to approach God, one who tries to approach God based on his own righteousness, and one who approaches God based on God's grace. Now, if Jesus had stopped right here with the prayer and said, now I'm going to give you a pop quiz audience. You've heard the story, which man walked away from the mountain justified in a right relationship with God, the audience without a doubt would have said, why?

19:50 The Pharisee, of course. The Pharisee is the one who ended up righteous. I mean, look at all of the things he's done. He's tithed. He's fasted. He's not like these adulterers and murderers. He's righteous. Why would that tax collector think a little seven-word prayer suddenly makes everything all right with God. Haven't you heard that before? How can people think that praying a prayer of salvation erases all of the bad that they've ever done before? They would have picked the Pharisee for sure. And that's why Jesus turns their expectations upside down in verse 14. He says, no, I tell you, this man, the tax collector, went to his house justified rather than the other. You know what's interesting to me? I'm sure when the Pharisee finished his self-congratulatory prayer, I'm sure he felt great. I'm sure he left the temple mouth that day saying, you know, nothing like some good quality prayer time with the Lord. And I imagine that the tax collector probably left just as miserable as he went, feeling bad and terrible about his sin. But guess what? Your relationship with God isn't based on how you feel about your relationship with God. It's how God views you, how he sees you, how he feels about you. And Jesus said, I'm telling you, regardless of this tax collector's feelings, he left the mountain that day justified.

21:34 declared not guilty because his prayer wasn't based on his righteousness. It was based on my mercy. And then Jesus adds this word, these familiar words, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. The person who refuses to bow before God and admit his need for forgiveness will one day be humbled. One day he will be shocked to hear from the Lord he thought he served utter these words, depart from me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you. On the other hand, the person who bows before God and says, God, I am a sinner, I am the sinner, and I have no hope except Jesus Christ.

22:35 The person who humbles himself will one day be exalted and will be welcomed into God's kingdom. As A.W. Tozer said, in ourselves, nothing. in Christ everything blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied Can you imagine knowing the truth and yet walking away from the offer God extends to us? At Pathway to Victory, it's our prayer that everyone who listens to this program will say yes to this invitation from Jesus. In doing so, you will be welcomed into God's kingdom. The gospel message is what drives our mission at Pathway to Victory and what drives me as your radio pastor and Bible teacher.

23:31 And today, I'm inviting you to join me in this all-out effort to share the good news of Jesus Christ here in North America and all around the world. When you give a generous gift to support this effort, I'm going to say thank you by sending you my book called Divine Invasions, Experience God's Miracles in Your Life Today. We wrapped up this seven-part series on miracles just yesterday, and the response was so overwhelming that we've decided to extend this special offer, so no one listening today would miss the chance to receive it. In my new book, I take you straight to the Scriptures to show you that God still breaks into our ordinary lives with His extraordinary power. He still provides. He still protects. He still heals. My book comes with my thanks for your generous gift, along with a set of eight Divine Invasions encouragement cards to keep these truths close and share them with someone who needs hope.

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