Category: Sermons

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Don’t Pray Like Hypocrites

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Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He said, “And 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. Truly, I say to you, they have received their award” (Matthew 6:5 ESV). Instead, Jesus encouraged them to pray in their room, in private. He assured them, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (vs. 6).

This is in a bigger context of also giving and fasting without seeking recognition. People often want to have some kind of recognition for their kind deeds. But Jesus’ point is that God listens to people whose hearts are right. It doesn’t matter whether people applaud us for doing kind things or for praying. Consistency in prayer and giving is far superior to being an “influencer.”

This is an important message for today when we live in the age of social media influencers. These people genuinely do great works but at the end of the day, they are being rewarded for their work by means of publicity and financial compensation. Jesus was telling his followers to pray for the sake of praying, not for recognition. Then he taught them to pray the Lord’s prayer without “heaping empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words” (vs. 7).

We should pray like the Lord–consistently, in private, and to the point. God will certainly reward our prayers!

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Great Is the Lord!

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Steve Harvey has a classic “rags to riches” story. He is the epitome of overcoming every obstacle in life and climbing his way to success. Mr. Harvey talks a lot about his faith and the people who helped him along the way. In one motivational speech that he gave, Mr. Harvey said “there is no elevator to the top; you have to take the stairs, climbing step-by-step.” It’s excruciatingly painful. And he would know. He spent the better part of three years homeless, living in his car. He would shave, shower, and brush his teeth at public pools. He says that the greatest key to success is gratitude–giving God thanks every day for the blessings we have in life.

And that’s exactly what makes the saints successful. We need to take it step-by-step, giving thanks to God for everything he’s given us. Psalm 145 is a song of praise. David writes, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3 ESV). He continues, “All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!” (vs. 10).

These people, giving thanks and blessing God, “make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom” (vs. 12). God returns blessings because he cares for his children. This is our prayer of praise. We should begin each day with gratitude, proclaiming the greatness of God!

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Love Life and Pray

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Peter wrote his first letter to Christians who were suffering. He was reminding them that their first importance was to live every day as if it were their last, living to please the Lord. His reminder to not repay evil for evil led into his plea to suffer for righteousness’ sake. If we should suffer, he argued, don’t suffer because you deserve it. Rather, suffer for the sake of being righteous.

Then Peter quotes from Psalm 34, saying, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:10-12 ESV).

Loving life and prayer. According to Peter, these are the bedrock of staying pure and maintaining righteousness. Peter is clear: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed” (vs. 14). This sets an example for the unrighteous, and they will notice the goodness. That’s also why Peter says to always be prepared to give an answer for the reason for the hope that we have. Loving life and praying are essential ingredients for the successful propulsion of Christianity in this world!

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Hannah Was a Praying Woman

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Hannah is one of my favorite Bible characters. Her faith in God was unwavering, even when she was mistreated and was barren. Hannah never gave up believing that God would do something incredible in her life. This is extremely challenging to do when our world is being torn apart. When things (and especially when people) are against us, it shifts our world view and makes us feel like the whole world is against us. This is where people can begin to lose hope, believing that nothing will ever change and that their destiny is to have mayhem in their lives.

This would have been an easy conclusion for Hannah to come to, but she remained faithful. One day she was at the temple, deeply distressed and weeping bitterly to the Lord. Hannah made a vow that day: “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head” (1 Samuel 1:11 ESV).

Hannah became pregnant and named her son Samuel, which means “God has heard.” She was true to her promise and dedicated Samuel to the Lord, dropping him off at the temple after he was weaned. Samuel was trained by Eli the priest and became one of the greatest leaders of Israel. It was only because of Hannah’s prayers that all of this happened this way. She had the faith that God would hear, and God was faithful in answering.

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Being Faithful To the End

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This past week we’ve been at Christian camp and one of the stories I taught was the story of Stephen. I don’t think I’ve ever preached on Stephen because it’s not really a story that gets nearly enough attention. It’s really incredible, though, that Stephen was chosen in the distribution of food because he was full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. His tenure did not last long at all. It turns out that Stephen could not keep silent about his God. He wanted everyone to know how amazing God is and he was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

It didn’t take long for false witnesses to arise and accuse Stephen of some very ungodly things. Stephen was arrested and he used this opportunity to preach about Jesus Christ. When Stephen accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit, they had had enough. The crowd ground their teeth at him. Stephen looked up to heaven and said, “Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56 ESV). At this, they stopped their ears, rushed him, and began stoning Stephen, laying their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

When Stephen fell to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (vs. 60). After he said this, Stephen fell asleep and died. Stephen’s faithfulness to the end and his plea for God to forgive these men of murder had to have had a major impact on Saul (later named Paul). It may not have moved Saul in the moment, but later when Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, he most likely would have been haunted by Stephen’s last words. This story shows us the importance of being faithful to the end and treating people with mercy. This one act of grace that Stephen had for Paul and the others would be a catalyst that sparked one of the most influential evangelists in the history of Christianity. We’ll rarely know what influence we’ll have on others by being faithful to God.

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Remember Lot’s Wife

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Jesus told his followers that the kingdom is coming, but not in ways that can be observed. In other words, only God knows when it’s coming and we shouldn’t be focused on the proper time. Instead, knowing that the kingdom is coming for sure, we should be focused on how we are living right now. When Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God would come, he said, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20, 21).

Similar to the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus was warning people not to look back. When you are gone is too late to repent. Focusing on the past won’t move you into the future. Plowing and looking back will lead to disaster. You get the point! Jesus was clear that when the time comes, the time comes. It is unstoppable. There is nothing anyone can do to change it. He mentioned the day of Noah. People were eating and drinking. Life went on as usual. Then, unbeknownst to them, the flood waters turned on and didn’t stop until they were gone. Similarly, Sodom and Gomorrah had the same fate. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. Then on the day Lot went out of the city, fire and sulfur rained down, destroying them all. Jesus said, “So it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (vs. 30).

Then he said 3 chilling words, “Remember Lot’s wife” (vs. 32). His point was that on that day whoever is saved will be taken and whoever is not will be left behind. Don’t look back. On that day is too late to save others. There is a critical sense of urgency that Jesus is giving his followers to act now. Live life as if the kingdom is here now. Remember Lot’s wife.

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The Value of Consistency

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Consistency is incredibly important. We depend on consistency, and consistent people are dependable. Without consistency we have chaos. Consistency often feels boring and mundane. Often we like to feel accomplished, so we thrive when times are good and deflate when times lack movement. Many people leave churches that are routine and migrate to churches that are full of life and energy. But is this the wisest move?

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, he addresses multiple sources of all kinds of divisions in the church. The church was on the brink of extinction because of all the division, and there was not much that was appealing about Christianity in Corinth.

Towards the end of the letter, Paul urges the saints to focus on their eternal destination. He wrote, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50 ESV). He points out that death is swallowed up in victory for the Christian. He concludes: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (vs. 58).

Amen and amen! Paul warned the Corinthians about following the “super apostles.” It’s not about getting caught up in the emotions of these powerful speakers, but about being consistent in living out their faith and serving others.