Prayer pt#1 - how NOT to pray
Matthew 6:5- 9 Lord teach us to Pray PT#1 What NOT to do Notice when you give, when you pray, when you fast. This was something that was expected from those who follow Jesus. In the sermon on the mount, our Lord gives us some fantastic insight into both how to pray, and how not to pray: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You remember the word Hypocrites . always wanting to be seen, always wanting the attention. This has been the point of what Jesus has been teaching us. Its not about you.. Its about God. It is that despicable fault that Jesus zeroes in on. And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites. Prayer that focuses on self is always hypocritical, because, by definition, the focus of every prayer should be on God. As mentioned in the last chapter, the term hypocrite originally referred to actors who used large masks to portray the roles they were playing. Hypocrites are actors, pretenders, persons who play a role. What they say and do does not represent what they themselves feel or believe but only the image they hope to create. The hypocritical scribes and Pharisees prayed for the same purpose they did everything else-to attract attention and bring honor to themselves. That was the essence of their “righteousness,” which Jesus said had no part in His kingdom (5:20). 1
Hypocrites -
1MacArthur,
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 1
! ὑποκριτής hupŏkritēs, hoop-ok-ree-tace´; from 5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage-player), i.e. (fig.) a dissembler (“hypocrite”):— hypocrite.2 This was a pretender. -----------------------------------THE PHARISEES DESIGNATED THE THIRD HOUR, THE SIXTH HOUR, AND THE NINTH HOUR AS TIMES OF PRAYER. IN OTHER WORDS, AT NINE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, AT NOON, AND AT THREE O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON, THEY WOULD FAITHFULLY GATHER IN THE SYNAGOGUES OR IN THE TEMPLE TO OFFER THEIR PRAYERS. WE ARE TOLD IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL THAT HE, A MAN OF GOD, OPENED HIS WINDOWS TOWARD JERUSALEM AND PRAYED THREE TIMES A DAY. BUT THE PHARISEES WERE NOT DOING IT TO SEEK THE LORD, BUT RATHER TO BE SEEN BY MEN. HOW DO WE KNOW THIS? ON THEIR WAY TO PRAYER MEETINGS, THE PHARISEES WOULD STOP ON THE CORNER OF THE STREET AND BEGIN TO OFFER LONG AND VERBOSE PRAYERS. IN SO DOING, THEY WERE SAYING, “WE ARE SO EAGER TO PRAY, WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET TO THE SYNAGOGUE.” And people would say, “Oh, wow! Look how righteous they are!” We still do that in our own subtle ways, don’t we? “Yes, as I was praying this morning at three o’clock, the Lord brought you to my heart.” And we subtly let people know we are in a place of continual prayer. Jesus said, “Don’t do it. That’s hypocrisy.” 3 A second act of piety Jesus addressed was prayer. Some people, especially the religious leaders, wanted the people to think they were very holy, and public prayer was one way to get attention. Jesus saw through their self-righteous acts. He called these men hypocrites for praying not to God but to an audience of people who revered them for their apparent holiness. Jesus assumed that his followers would pray (whenever you pray). Prayer in the synagogues was not unusual; however, those who prayed at the street corners certainly had motives other than piously observing the exact prayer time (although prayers in the streets were acceptable on fasting days). When people prayed in those locations, not to God but merely so that they may be seen by others, they were not i.e.
i.e. = that is
fig.
fig. = figurative, figuratively
2
Strong, J. (1997). The new Strong's dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 3Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 31). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 2
praying at all. Jesus taught that we find the essence of prayer not in public but in private communication with God. There is a place for public prayer, but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real intention is to please people, not God. For these hypocrites, people’s praise will be their only reward.6 ----------------------William Barclay, in a most helpful discussion of this passage in The Gospel of Matthew ([Philadelphia: Westminster, 1958], 1:191), points out that over the years a number of faults had crept into Jewish prayer life. For one thing, prayer had become ritualized. The wording and forms of prayers were set, and were then simply read or repeated from memory. Such prayers could be given with almost no attention being paid to what was said. They were a routine, semiconscious religious exercise. A faithful Jew would repeat the Shema early in the morning and again at night. That prayer, which began, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,” was a composite of selected phrases from Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–41. Often an abbreviated version (Deut. 6:4 only) was used. Another formalized prayer Barclay refers to was the Shemonēh ˓esray, (“The Eighteen”), which embodied eighteen prayers for various occasions. Faithful Jews prayed all eighteen each morning, afternoon, and evening. It, too, had an abbreviated version. Both the Shema and the Shemonēh ˓esray were to be said every day, regardless of where one might be or what one was doing. Wherever one was-whether at home, in the field, at work, on a journey, in the synagogue, or visiting friends-at the appointed time the devout Jew stopped what he was doing and offered the appropriate prayer. The most common times were at the third, sixth, and ninth hours (9:00 A.M., 12:00 noon, and 3:00 P.M., according to the Palestinian mode of time). The ritual prayers could be given with three basic attitudes: sincerity, indifference, or pride. Those Jews whose hearts were right used the times of prayer to worship and glorify God. They thought about the words and sincerely believed what they prayed. Others went through the words perfunctorily, mumbling the syllables as fast as possible in order to finish. Others, such as the scribes and Pharisees, recited the prayers meticulously, making sure to enunciate every word and syllable properly. Three times a day they had a readymade opportunity to parade their piosity. A second fault that had crept into Jewish prayer life was the development of prescribed prayers for every object and every occasion. There were prayers for light, darkness, fire, rain, the new moon, traveling, good news, bad news, and so on. No doubt the original intent was to bring every aspect of life into the presence of God; but by making the prayers prescribed and formalized that purpose was undermined.
6Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 112). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 3
A third fault, already mentioned, was the practice of limiting prayer to specific times and occasions. Prayer was offered when the given time came or situation arose, with no relation to genuine desire or need. As with prescribed wording, prescribed times did not prevent true prayer from being offered. Many faithful Jews like Daniel (Dan. 6:10) used those times as reminders to open their hearts to the Lord. Even in the early church, because most Christians were Jews and still worshiped at the Temple and in the synagogues, the traditional hours of prayer were often observed (see Acts 3:1; cf. 10:3, 30). A fourth fault was in esteeming long prayers, believing that a prayer’s sanctity and effectiveness were in direct proportion to its length. Jesus warned of the scribes who, “for appearance’s sake offer long prayers” (Mark 12:40). A long prayer, of course, is not necessarily an insincere prayer. But a long public prayer lends itself to pretense, repetition, rote, and many other such dangers. The fault is in praying “for appearance’s sake,” to impress others with our religiosity. Ancient rabbis maintained that the longer the prayer, the more likely it would be heard and heeded by God. Verbosity was confused with meaning, and length was confused with sincerity. A fifth fault, singled out by Jesus in Matthew 6:7, was that of meaningless repetitions, patterned after those of pagan religions. In their contest with Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the pagan prophets “called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, ‘O Baal, answer us,’ ” and they “raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:26, 29). Hour after hour they repeated the same phrase, trying by the very quantity of their words to make their god hear and respond. Through the centuries the Jews had been influenced by such pagan practices. They often added adjective after adjective before God’s name in their prayers, apparently trying to outdo one another in mentioning His divine attributes. By far the worst fault, however, was that of wanting to be seen and heard by other people, especially their fellow Jews. Most of the other faults were not necessarily wrong in themselves, but were carried to extremes and used in meaningless ways. But this fault was intrinsically evil, because it both came from and was intended to satisfy pride. Whatever form the prayer may have taken, the motive was sinful self-glory, the ultimate perversion of this sacred means of glorifying God (John 14:13). 7
cf. 10:3, 30). cf. confer (Lat.), compare 7MacArthur,
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is between you and God.. Now there is place of public prayer. This is not about the logistics of prayer, its the attitude , its the look at me.. There are times we are to pray in public. Gospels record Jesus at prayer both privately
Matthew 14:23 (NKJV) 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. and publicly
Matthew 14:18–19 (NKJV) 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. Later, his disciples carried on a tradition of corporate prayer from the earliest days of the church
Acts 1:14 (NKJV) 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. As he did with giving, Jesus drew attention to the motives behind actions. The point really wasn’t a choice between public and private prayer but between heartfelt and hypocritical prayer. We must learn to pray in private so that we might eventually lead others in effective prayer in public. When asked to pray in public, focus on addressing God, not on how you’re coming across to others. 9 Its all about drawing attention to yourself or praying for God to hear you..
9Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 112). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Don’t just click your mind off.. Remember you are talking to the God of the universe. ( office downtown, pray time- something changed and my words changed ) Repeating the same words over and over (babbling) like a magic incantation will not ensure that God hears these prayers. The pagans (or Gentiles) focused on how they delivered their prayers, repeating the right words in the right order. They often repeated the names of their gods as a way to get a blessing (as in Acts 19:34). Jesus was not condemning prayer any more than he was condemning giving in 6:1–4. In fact, Jesus encouraged persistent prayer (Luke 18:1–8) and soon would give a pattern for prayer (see 6:9–13). Instead, Jesus was condemning the shallow repetition of words by those who did not have a personal relationship with the Father. Jesus told his followers not to be like the pagans but to come to God as to their Father, bringing their needs. The believers did not pray to idols of wood or stone with incessant babbling. They prayed to the one living and true God who knew what they needed even before they asked! This does not excuse believers from prayer, but they needn’t spend a long time telling God their needs because he already knows. God doesn’t need our prayers; but he wants our prayers and knows that we need them. 10 Use meaningless repetition is one word (from battalogeō) in the Greek and refers to idle, thoughtless chatter. It was probably onomatopoetic, mimicking the sounds of meaningless jabber. Those who used repetitious prayers were not necessarily hypocrites, at least not of the ostentatious type. The scribes and Pharisees used a great deal of repetition in their public displays of piety; but many other Jews used it even in private prayers. Some may have used repetition because their leaders had taught them to use it. Others, however, resorted to repetition because it was easy and demanded little concentration. To such people, prayer was simply a matter of required religious ceremony, and they could be entirely indifferent to its content. As long as it was officially approved, one pattern was as good as another. Although this problem did not always involve hypocrisy, it always involved a wrong attitude, a wrong heart. The proud hypocrites tried to use God to glorify themselves, whereas those who used meaningless repetition were simply indifferent to real communion with God. 10Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 113). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 6
The Jews had picked up the practice from the Gentiles, who believed that the value of prayer was largely a matter of quantity. The longer the better. They suppose they will be heard for their many words, Jesus explained. Those who prayed to pagan gods thought their deities first had to be aroused, then cajoled, intimidated, and badgered into listening and answering-just as the prophets of Baal did on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:26– 29). In the New Testament we see a similar practice. Aroused against Paul and his companions by Demetrius and other silversmiths of Ephesus, a great crowd began chanting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and continued incessantly for two hours (Acts 19:24–34). Many Buddhists spin wheels containing written prayers, believing that each turn of the wheel sends that prayer to their god. Roman Catholics light prayer candles in the belief that their requests will continue to ascend repetitiously to God as long as the candle is lit. Rosaries are used to count off repeated prayers of Hail Mary and Our Father, the rosary itself coming to Catholicism from Buddhism by way of the Spanish Muslims during the Middle Ages. Certain charismatic groups in our own day repeat the same words or phrases over and over until the speaking degenerates to unintelligible confusion 11
----------------------------------------How do we control our thought when we are praying. . 1- notebook near by- when something comes up that just cant wait it can, write it down you will get it to later. This will help release you from it. 2- when you mind wonders , thats OK what did it just wonder on.. Pray for that , pray for that person. 3- pray in your closet , pray throughout your day. ( my relationship with my wife - call her in the day time etc. - same with Lord ) Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV) 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Colossians 1:3 (NKJV) 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Paul said , I am remembering you night and day in my prayers.
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(John A. Broadus, Matthew [Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson, 1886], p. 130).
7
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV) 17 pray without ceasing, How do we do this ?? We do this by keeping in a attitude of prayer. Not in vain repetitions but prayer without ceasing, keeping that channel open to commune with God. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------God does not have to be badgered and cajoled. Our Father knows what [we] need, before [we] ask Him. Martin Luther said, “By our praying … we are instructing ourselves more than we are him.” The purpose of prayer is not to inform or persuade God, but to come before Him sincerely, purposely, consciously, and devotedly (John Stott, Christian Counter-Culture: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1978], p. 145). Prayer is sharing the needs, burdens, and hunger of our hearts before our heavenly Father, who already knows what [we] need but who wants us to ask Him. He wants to hear us, He wants to commune with us, more than we could ever want to commune with Him-because His love for us is so much greater than our love for Him. Prayer is our giving God the opportunity to manifest His power, majesty, love, and providence (cf. John 14:13). To pray rightly is to pray with a devout heart and with pure motives. It is to pray with single attention to God rather than to other men. And it is to pray with sincere confidence that our heavenly Father both hears and answers every request made to Him in faith. He always repays our sincere devotion with gracious response. If our request is sincere but not according to His will, He will answer in a way better than we want or expect. But He will always answer. It is reported that D. L. Moody once felt so surfeited with God’s blessings that he prayed, “God, stop.” That is what God will do with every faithful believer who comes to Him as an expectant child to his father-smother him in more blessings than can be counted or named. 12
p. 145).
p. page
cf. John 14:13). compare 12MacArthur,
cf. confer (Lat.),
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 8
This does not mean that he does not want us to pray, to ask.. No it means HE KNOWS, come to him TALK TO Him.. Its OK to simply say .. HELP God knows us .. Psalm 139:1–5 (NKJV) 1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. God knows us, perfectly .. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 In this manner, therefore, pray: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That was not NOT TO PRAY.. NOT - HOW TO PRAY HE WILL give them this prayer two times, they were slow learners like we are at times. We when get to there Luke 11 , we will examine the differences. But here in the context of what NOT to do and what TO DO..
I remember years ago I hear a interview by billy graham, he was asked if he had any regrets. I don't remember the conversation but one thing stuck with me. He said he wished he had prayed more. It makes you think . What regrets will we have.
The prophet Samuel said it was a sin not to pray 1 Samuel 12:23 (NKJV) 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Contrary to much emphasis in the evangelical church today, true prayer, like true worship, centers on God’s glory, not on man’s needs. It is not simply to lay claim on God’s promises, much less make demands of Him, but to acknowledge His sovereignty, to see the display of His glory, and to obey His will.
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Because prayer is so absolutely important and because we often do not have the wisdom to pray as we ought or for what we ought, God has commissioned His own Holy Spirit to help us. “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). That is surely what Paul means when he urges believers to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18).15 As far as we know, the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to preach, to prophesy, or to cast out demons. There is no record of them asking how to worship or witness or how to build a ministry or lead their families. The one thing the disciples asked of Jesus directly was, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
This is a outline not one to pray with brain off and ramble it through 66 words – 22 seconds to say – yet if you pray it would take a hour.. Jesus asked his disciples could you not watch with me one hour.. yet how hard it can be to pray for a hour. This is how… Pray this slowly , meditate on what you are praying… word for word then when we got it , see how powerful this is for prayer. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our Father -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OUR 1473. ἐγώ egṓ; gen. emoú or mou, 1st person sing. personal pron. I. The monosyllabic forms mou, moi, me, are usually enclitic (receive no accent), but have an independent accent after a prep., except in prós me. Various forms include hēmín (2254), dat. pl . and ēmṓn (2257), gen . pl .16
15MacArthur, gen pl
(genitive)
(plural)
gen pl
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press.
(genitive)
(plural)
16
Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 10
ἐγώ egō; a prim. pron. of the first pers.; I (only expressed when emphatic):—have(2), mine(10), mine*(1), myself(11), number(1), ours(8), ourselves(4), part(2), say (1).21 ! ἐγώ egō; a prim. pron. of the first pers.; I (only expressed when emphatic):— have(2), mine(10), mine *(1), myself(11), number(1), ours(8), ourselves(4), part(2), say(1).22
Let's look at the first verse of the prayer. "Our Father." By what right do we call God our Father? The answer is found in scripture. Gal 4:6 (NIV) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out "Abba, Father". Luke 11:13 (KJV) "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Take a moment to thank your heavenly father that he loved you so much as to want to adopt you into his family. So this word can be translate OUR or MY it is not that specific here. Either way would be faithful to the greek word
prim.
primary, primitive
pron.
pronoun
pers.
person, personal
*
An asterisk (*) indicates that the key word represents two or more Greek words. Refer to the English concordance listing of the key word for the additional Greek word numbers. 21
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc. prim.
primary, primitive
pron.
pronoun
pers.
person, personal
*
An asterisk (*) indicates that the key word represents two or more Greek words. Refer to the English concordance listing of the key word for the additional Greek word numbers. 22
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc. 11
We are going to pray it both ways, a full understanding first of and foremost its OUR FATHER. We are all in this together. TURN TO
1 Corinthians 12:12-31 This chapter begins a topic of spiritual gifts. He begins with.. 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
These are thing we need to be understanding. Before he gets on these topic in-depth and he will, he makes sure we understand what we are talking about in our study. Namely we are all in this together.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
head of the body is JESUS…. Just as the Head of the church is JESUS.. HE DOES NOT NEED US, HE CHOOSES TO USE USSeveral places we read that Christ is the... Eph. 1:22-23 ...head over all things to the church, which is His body... Eph. 5:30 ...we are members of His body. Col. 1:24 ...His body (which is the church)... In Ephesians 4, it is written that
12
Eph. 4:15-16 ...the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. And in Colossians 2, Col. 2:19 ...holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------when we come to Jesus Christ we are born into the family of God… we are his… one baptism.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------what if my foot said I am tired of you getting all the attention .. I want to be the head… you come down here.. .. the other foot begins to say.. Free the Feet, Free the Feet.. head say I am the HEAD,, you are the FEET, I don’t need you so get out of here.. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13
SO YOUR NOT UP FRONT— YOUR MINISTRY IS IMPORTANT.
my arm, the outside of my arm, what about under my arm, special attention, Roll-on Raid.. it is not a honorable part of your body.. look at the outside.. the way we raise our hand.. I would love to see my pits leave.. I can not say I hate you smelly pits.. if you don’t give them special attention they will get worst.. someone walks into the church and says hey I am kind of a misfit, and you say hey we are trying to have a perfect church, we would like you to leave.. Many of the Corinthian believers were unhappy with their gifts. Envy is a sure sign of carnality, and it seems that everyone wanted a gift that someone else had. Paul’s analogy is graphic as he extends the illustration of the human body. The person with a foot thought he could not really be a part of the church body because he was not a hand. One with an ear thought he was left out because he was not an eye. It is almost certain that, had the gifts been changed to suit the complainers, their reactions would have been the same. Selfishness is never satisfied and envy is never content. Envy is also frequently petulant and pouting. If it cannot have its own way it takes its marbles and goes home, and will not play with the others. That is what some of the immature believers at Corinth were doing. In seeming humility, they said, “I don’t have a spiritual gift, so I am not really a part of the church,” or “My gift is second–rate and unimportant. I have nothing to offer, so why participate?” But that attitude does not reflect humility. It is self–centered, selfish, and an affront to God’s wisdom and love.31 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When we push and shove for our own way, I have to be seen, I have to have this or that in the body. It hurts the entire body. WE ARE ALL IMPORTANT !!!! You are all important. You all have a vital part to play in the body, a vital part to fill in the body. A ministry that the body might be whole and complete. And if you don't fill your 31MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983. 14
part, then the body is missing in that area. So each of you have been placed in the body of Christ to fulfill your area of ministry there within the body.
He is OUR FATHER. We understand that.. Be patience with each other , love each other, we help each other. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.. He is also..... HE IS MY FATHER This is what drew me to God, is that it was real, he is MY FATHER. The relationship I can have with a God that loves me so much ( Notice the personal pronouns ) this speaks a personal relationship John 10:11-16 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:27–30 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fatherʼs hand. 30 I and My Father are one.” We are his sheep and he is our father. Our shepherd. He is always there for us. He is our all in all.. One thing we will do is look at the names of God... 15
In the old testament - moses is at a burning bush. How is sending me . What is your name.. I AM THAT I AM. What AM WHAT ??
Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ʻI AM has sent me to you.ʼ ” Jesus fills in the blank
Seven "I AM" Statements of Jesus 1.
2.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
I AM the bread of life. ◦ John 6:35: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ◦ John 6:48: I am the bread of life. I AM the light of the world. ◦ John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ◦ John 9:5: While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” I AM the door. ◦ John 10:7: Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep." I AM the good shepherd. ◦ John 10:11-14: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...." I AM the resurrection and the life. ◦ John 11:25: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." I AM the way, the truth and the life. ◦ John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I AM the true vine.
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◦
John 15:1, 5: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Jesus is everything to us. Then we talk about our father.. HE IS MY FATHER.. -----------------------------------------FATHER - 3962.! πατήρ patēr, pat-ayr´; appar. a primary word; a “father” (lit. or fig. , near or more remote):— father, parent.32 Jesus used the word “Father” 10 times! Only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in that way in worship.33 When Jesus taught this prayer, He must have shocked those who were listening to Him when He said, “Our Father.” ---------------------------------------------------------------Sometimes its hard because we don’t have a good father figure .. who is our father.. he is love… We will be covering this in-depth on wend. Night but I want you to see this.. 1 Cor. 13 – there has been those times that we have been asked to put our names here….
appar. lit. fig.
appar. = apparent, apparently
lit. = literal, literally fig. = figurative, figuratively
32
Strong, J. (1997). The new Strong's dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 33
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Mt 6:5–15). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 17
I cant even get to the 7th verse.. what about you--- Tom is suffers long.. no stop there.. this seems so unattainable.. Look at verse 7 always—in the Greek is always.. It always hopes, endures, it never , ever , ever fails.. GOD I CANT DO THIS…
1 Jn 4- GOD IS LOVE When we go to prayer, remember our father LOVES YOU. You are his child, no matter where you go or how far you drift your father loves you. He is not mad at you.. come home if you have drifted. You are my father, I was born into this family and will be your child for all eternity. Father.. as a child lifts up his hands Daddy HOLD….. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------in heaven, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As my Father, I relate to Him. But because He’s in heaven, I reverence Him. Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. I like that! Solomon reminds us we don’t have to pray with lofty terminology or sanctimonious tones. Yes, we must be reverent because God is in Heaven. But we can be real because He’s our Father. 37 There is a song we sing that comes from this verse. You are God in heaven and here we are on earth. So I will let my words be few, Jesus I am so in love with you. And I stand in awe of you …
Let My Words Be Few You are God in heaven And here am I on earth 37Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 37). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 18
So I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You And I'll stand in awe of You Yes I'll stand in awe of You And I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You. The simplest of all love songs I want to bring to You So I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You. There should be a reverence to the one we are speaking to.. understand he is our father and at the same time He is almighty God.. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. There is a reverence for God.. Worship because he is our creator.. we love him. When you clap after a song its not for the team its for the God that created us.. this is never a performance. It’s a heart turned to God.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hallowed be Your name. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So we begin our prayer with , he is our father, he is MY father personal, he is in heaven reverence. 1st understanding who we are talking to 2nd - what that understanding, now we bow, we praise. “Hallowed” is a word that has been lost in our language because the concept has been lost from our lives. It means “to make holy, separated, transcendent.” “O Lord, hallowed, holy is Your Name. Everyone around me, everything that touches me, all that is within me has been tainted and eroded by sin. But You are holy. Hallowed is Your Name.” 38 38Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 37). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 19
37 ἁγιάζω, ἀνασῴζω [hagiazo /hag·ee·ad·zo/] v. From 40; TDNT 1:111; TDNTA 14; GK 39 and 420; 29 occurrences; AV translates as “sanctify” 26 times 1 to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow. 2 to separate from profane things and dedicate to God. 2A consecrate things to God. 2B dedicate people to God. 3 to purify. 3A to cleanse externally. 3B to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin. 3C to purify internally by renewing of the soul. 39 hal·lowed, hal·low·ing, hal·lows 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honor greatly; revere. Only one thing he holds above his name.. WORD Psalm 138:2 (NKJV) 2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. THY NAME. - THIS IS WHERE WE NEE DO CAMP OUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE.. The names of God..
In the Bible there are many different names given to the One True God. The most frequently used names are YHWH, usually rendered as Yahweh (ca. 6,800 times); Elohim (ca. 2,600 times); Adonai (ca. 439 times); and El (ca. 238 times). Most of the other names are combinations of these names like El Shaddai, El Eloah, and Yahweh Elohim. The most commonly used names for God in the Hebrew and Protestant Bibles are Ha-Shem (meaning "the name" which is used in the modern Jewish
v. From 40; TDNT 1:111; TDNTA 14; GK 39 and 420; 29 occurrences; AV translates as “sanctify” 26 times v v: verb 39Strong,
J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G37). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship. 20
Masoretic Text translations of the Tanach) and Jehovah (used in both Protestant and Jewish translations). Both are names for God that only date back to the Middle Ages and are not found in the ancient texts of Sacred Scripture.40
For Judaism there is 72 names for God, there is web sites that have 144 names of God just from the O.T. - we will not have time to hit them all, but we can hit the highlights. There are some good books that can help you with this in our book store. As we go through this study, one of the things we will learn is the reason there is so many names for God.. Each of the many names of God describes a different aspect of his character. Its like looking at a huge painting from 3 inches close , just when it comes into focus then you move. Someday we will see the painting from a distance and see the whole thing. Glorious day. Learn to pray thought the names of God. Foundational for next time. 1- Name means you have a Relationship. You know each other.. The seven sons of SCEVA Acts 19:13–16 (NKJV) 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
41
http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/The%20Many%20Names%20of%20God.htm
21
Remember Jesus said many will come in that day and .... Matthew 7:22–23 (NKJV) 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ʻLord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?ʼ 23 And then I will declare to them, ʻI never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!ʼ There is relationship. We can look up and say FATHER. There is relationship.. 2- there is authority LK 10:17 NIV The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Mark 16:17 NIV And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons We have authority in the Name of Jesus. It is ours to use subject to His Lordship. What’s in a name, when you say in the name of that person, in the authority , power of that person. “Dad says to Stop that Right NOW” 3- in the name we learn about GOD.. The names of God mean a lot. We learn about his charter, like the I AM statement In China, Coca-Cola is not a popular drink — because the sounds "coca cola" in Chinese mean "bite the wax tadpole." nonsensical or adverse meaning when strung together as a written phrase. (Written Chinese employs about 40,000 different characters, of which about 200 are pronounced with sounds that could be used in forming the name "ko-ka-ko-la.") While Coca-Cola was searching for a satisfactory combination of symbols to represent their name, Chinese shopkeepers created signs that combined characters whose pronunciations formed the string "ko22
ka-ko-la," but they did so with no regard for the meanings of the written phrases they formed in doing so. The character for wax, pronounced "la," was used in many of these signs, resulting in strings that sounded like "ko-ka-ko-la" when pronounced but conveyed nonsensical meanings such as "female horse fastened with wax," "wax-flattened mare," or "bite the wax tadpole" when read.42
'Bite the Wax Tadpole' and Other International Marketing Blunders When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was unaware that in Spanish 'no va' means 'it won't go.' The company later renamed the car to the Caribe in Spanish markets, and the naming snafu became a classic case study in college marketing textbooks. But as the following examples show, some students were either absent that day, or not paying attention:
42
•
The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means 'bite the wax tadpole' or 'female horse stuffed with wax,' depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, 'ko-kou-ko-le,' which can be loosely translated as 'happiness in the mouth.'
•
In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan 'Come alive with the Pepsi Generation' came out as 'Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.'
•
Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan 'finger-lickin' good' came out as 'eat your fingers off.'
•
The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, 'Salem - Feeling Free,' got translated in the Japanese market as 'When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty.'
•
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say 'It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.' However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word 'embarazar' meant embarrass, and the ads said 'It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant,' instead.
•
An American tee-shirt manufacturer in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. But instead of the desired 'I Saw the Pope' in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed 'I Saw the Potato.'
•
In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.
•
The Jolly Green Giant translated into Arabic means 'Intimidating Green Ogre.'
http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp
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(o·gre A giant or monster in legends and fairy tales that eats humans. ) . •
Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name 'Pavian' to suggest French chic . . . but 'Pavian' means 'baboon' in German.
•
Clairol introduced the 'Mist Stick,' a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that mist is slang for manure.
•
When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the USA -- jars with pictures of the cute little baby on the label. Only later did they learn that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label that describe what's inside, since most people can't read.
•
And, as America's favorite chicken magnate, Frank Perdue, was fond of saying, 'It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.' In Spanish, however, his words took on a whole new meaning: 'It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate.'
Is it any wonder the rest of the world finds Americans just a little bit strange?43 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Name of God in General There are a number of instances where no name of God is employed, but where simply the term “name” in reference to God is used as the point of focus: (1) Abraham called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:8; 13:4). (2) The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses (Ex. 33:19; 34:5). (3) Israel was warned against profaning the name of the Lord (Lev. 13:21; 22:2, 32). (4) The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11). (5) The priests of Israel were to minister in the name of the Lord (Deut. 18:5; 21:5). (6) The name of God is called “wonderful” in Judges 13:18. (7) To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God (Gen. 21:33; 26:25). Consequently, from this we can conclude that such phrases as “the name of the LORD” or “the name of God” refer to God’s whole character. It was a summary statement embodying the entire person of God. When we turn to the New Testament we find the same. The name Jesus is used in a similar way to the name of God in the Old Testament: (1) Salvation is through His name (John 1:12). (2) Believers are to gather in His name (Matt. 18:20). (3) Prayer is to be made in His name (John 14:13-14). (4) The servant of the Lord who bears the name of Christ will be hated (Matt. 10:22).
43
http://www.relojournal.com/sept96/tadpole.htm
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(5) The book of Acts makes frequent mention of worship, service, and suffering in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:18; 5:28, 41; 10:43; 19:17). (6) It is at the name of Jesus that every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). So, just as the name of God in the Old Testament spoke of the holy character of God the Father, so the name of Jesus in the New Testament speaks of the holy character of God the Son. -------------------------------------------------
G-d ! What's up?? We have been asked numerous times why is the "o" always missing when the words G-d or L-rd are written on our Sukkot on the Net website? Basically its because Jews do not write the name G-d or L-rd. It has to do with the commandment about taking G-d's name in vain. It is believed that if the name was written on a piece of paper and the paper was crumpled, discarded, or destroyed it would be considered a sin. When I first created the site I figured that most of our visitors would be Jewish and would already understand it. But over the years I have found that many visitors did not know the reason, so I thought it would be helpful to put something on the site explaining it. 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing the Name of God Jews do not casually write any Name of God. This practice does not come from the commandment not to take the Lord's Name in vain, as many suppose. In Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a prohibition against swearing by God's Name falsely or frivolously (the word normally translated as "in vain" literally means "for falsehood"). Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better. The commandment not to erase or deface the name of God comes from Deut. 12:3. In that passage, the people are commanded that when they take over the promised land, they should destroy all things related to the idolatrous religions of that region, and should utterly destroy the names of the local deities. Immediately afterwards, we are commanded
44
http://www.holidays.net/sukkot/g-d.htm
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not to do the same to our God. From this, the rabbis inferred that we are commanded not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase or deface a Name of God. It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names of God applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form, and recent rabbinical decisions have held that writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation to type God's Name into a computer and then backspace over it or cut and paste it, or copy and delete files with God's Name in them. However, once you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. That is why observant Jews avoid writing a Name of God on web sites like this one or in BBS messages: because there is a risk that someone else will print it out and deface it. Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables, for example, writing "G-d" instead of "God." In addition, the number 15, which would ordinarily be written in Hebrew as Yod-Heh (10-5), is normally written as Tet-Vav (9-6), because YodHeh is a Name. See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numerals.
Pronouncing the Name of God Nothing in the Torah prohibits a person from pronouncing the Name of God. Indeed, it is evident from scripture that God's Name was pronounced routinely. Many common Hebrew names contain "Yah" or "Yahu," part of God's four-letter Name. The Name was pronounced as part of daily services in the Temple. The Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition against pronouncing The Name in ancient times. In fact, the Mishnah recommends using God's Name as a routine greeting to a fellow Jew. Berakhot 9:5. However, by the time of the Talmud, it was the custom to use substitute Names for God. Some rabbis asserted that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) has no place in the World to Come, and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter Name, we usually substitute the Name "Adonai," or simply say "Ha-Shem" (lit. The Name). Although the prohibition on pronunciation applies only to the four-letter Name, Jews customarily do not pronounce any of God's many Names except in prayer or study. The usual practice is to substitute letters or syllables, so that Adonai becomes Adoshem or HaShem, Elohaynu and Elohim become Elokaynu and Elokim, etc. With the Temple destroyed and the prohibition on pronouncing The Name outside of the Temple, pronunciation of the Name fell into disuse. Scholars passed down knowledge of the correct pronunciation of YHVH for many generations, but eventually the correct pronunciation was lost, and we no longer know it with any certainty. We do not know what vowels were used, or even whether the Vav in the Name was a vowel or a consonant. See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about the difficulties in pronouncing Hebrew. Some religious scholars suggest that the Name was pronounced "Yahweh," but others do not find this pronunciation particularly persuasive.
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Some Christian scholars render the four-letter Name as "Jehovah," but this pronunciation is particularly unlikely. The word "Jehovah" comes from the fact that ancient Jewish texts used to put the vowels of the Name "Adonai" (the usual substitute for YHVH) under the consonants of YHVH to remind people not to pronounce YHVH as written. A sixteenth century German Christian scribe, while transliterating the Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai, and came up with the word JeHoVaH, and the name stuck. 45 ---------------------------------------------------------Some Jews spell God as G-d. This has its origin in the third commandment, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" (Exo. 20:7). Many Jews later became so cautious not to break this commandment that they quit pronouncing the name of God altogether, for fear that they might say it in vain. This is why we are not sure exactly what the vowels were for the divine name of God in the Old Testament (YHWH), known today as the tetragrammaton. "Yahweh" is the closest approximation we have (See, Is "Jehovah" the Name of God?). When a Jew would come across this name when reading the Old Testament, instead of saying God's name, he would say "Adonai," which means "Lord" or "Master." They would also use other words in place of the name of God, or even the title, "God." Notice that Matthew usually substitutes the phrase "kingdom of heaven" where the other gospels have "kingdom of God." We are told that before a Massoretic scribe would even write the name of God, he would first wash himself and then he would use a new pen. This is all done out of respect for the name of God and for fear of breaking the third commandment. What you see today with this hesitation even to write the title "God" is simply an outgrowth of this Jewish piety. --------------For accurateness the copyist would count each letter in the original and then in the copy , they would then find the center word .. to make sure for accurateness ----------------------------------HOW TO USE OUR BIBLES SEEING THE NAMES OF GOD.. YHWH LORD Lord ect
45
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/name.html
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Hypocrites -
1MacArthur,
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 1
! ὑποκριτής hupŏkritēs, hoop-ok-ree-tace´; from 5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage-player), i.e. (fig.) a dissembler (“hypocrite”):— hypocrite.2 This was a pretender. -----------------------------------THE PHARISEES DESIGNATED THE THIRD HOUR, THE SIXTH HOUR, AND THE NINTH HOUR AS TIMES OF PRAYER. IN OTHER WORDS, AT NINE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, AT NOON, AND AT THREE O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON, THEY WOULD FAITHFULLY GATHER IN THE SYNAGOGUES OR IN THE TEMPLE TO OFFER THEIR PRAYERS. WE ARE TOLD IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL THAT HE, A MAN OF GOD, OPENED HIS WINDOWS TOWARD JERUSALEM AND PRAYED THREE TIMES A DAY. BUT THE PHARISEES WERE NOT DOING IT TO SEEK THE LORD, BUT RATHER TO BE SEEN BY MEN. HOW DO WE KNOW THIS? ON THEIR WAY TO PRAYER MEETINGS, THE PHARISEES WOULD STOP ON THE CORNER OF THE STREET AND BEGIN TO OFFER LONG AND VERBOSE PRAYERS. IN SO DOING, THEY WERE SAYING, “WE ARE SO EAGER TO PRAY, WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET TO THE SYNAGOGUE.” And people would say, “Oh, wow! Look how righteous they are!” We still do that in our own subtle ways, don’t we? “Yes, as I was praying this morning at three o’clock, the Lord brought you to my heart.” And we subtly let people know we are in a place of continual prayer. Jesus said, “Don’t do it. That’s hypocrisy.” 3 A second act of piety Jesus addressed was prayer. Some people, especially the religious leaders, wanted the people to think they were very holy, and public prayer was one way to get attention. Jesus saw through their self-righteous acts. He called these men hypocrites for praying not to God but to an audience of people who revered them for their apparent holiness. Jesus assumed that his followers would pray (whenever you pray). Prayer in the synagogues was not unusual; however, those who prayed at the street corners certainly had motives other than piously observing the exact prayer time (although prayers in the streets were acceptable on fasting days). When people prayed in those locations, not to God but merely so that they may be seen by others, they were not i.e.
i.e. = that is
fig.
fig. = figurative, figuratively
2
Strong, J. (1997). The new Strong's dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 3Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 31). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 2
praying at all. Jesus taught that we find the essence of prayer not in public but in private communication with God. There is a place for public prayer, but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real intention is to please people, not God. For these hypocrites, people’s praise will be their only reward.6 ----------------------William Barclay, in a most helpful discussion of this passage in The Gospel of Matthew ([Philadelphia: Westminster, 1958], 1:191), points out that over the years a number of faults had crept into Jewish prayer life. For one thing, prayer had become ritualized. The wording and forms of prayers were set, and were then simply read or repeated from memory. Such prayers could be given with almost no attention being paid to what was said. They were a routine, semiconscious religious exercise. A faithful Jew would repeat the Shema early in the morning and again at night. That prayer, which began, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,” was a composite of selected phrases from Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–41. Often an abbreviated version (Deut. 6:4 only) was used. Another formalized prayer Barclay refers to was the Shemonēh ˓esray, (“The Eighteen”), which embodied eighteen prayers for various occasions. Faithful Jews prayed all eighteen each morning, afternoon, and evening. It, too, had an abbreviated version. Both the Shema and the Shemonēh ˓esray were to be said every day, regardless of where one might be or what one was doing. Wherever one was-whether at home, in the field, at work, on a journey, in the synagogue, or visiting friends-at the appointed time the devout Jew stopped what he was doing and offered the appropriate prayer. The most common times were at the third, sixth, and ninth hours (9:00 A.M., 12:00 noon, and 3:00 P.M., according to the Palestinian mode of time). The ritual prayers could be given with three basic attitudes: sincerity, indifference, or pride. Those Jews whose hearts were right used the times of prayer to worship and glorify God. They thought about the words and sincerely believed what they prayed. Others went through the words perfunctorily, mumbling the syllables as fast as possible in order to finish. Others, such as the scribes and Pharisees, recited the prayers meticulously, making sure to enunciate every word and syllable properly. Three times a day they had a readymade opportunity to parade their piosity. A second fault that had crept into Jewish prayer life was the development of prescribed prayers for every object and every occasion. There were prayers for light, darkness, fire, rain, the new moon, traveling, good news, bad news, and so on. No doubt the original intent was to bring every aspect of life into the presence of God; but by making the prayers prescribed and formalized that purpose was undermined.
6Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 112). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 3
A third fault, already mentioned, was the practice of limiting prayer to specific times and occasions. Prayer was offered when the given time came or situation arose, with no relation to genuine desire or need. As with prescribed wording, prescribed times did not prevent true prayer from being offered. Many faithful Jews like Daniel (Dan. 6:10) used those times as reminders to open their hearts to the Lord. Even in the early church, because most Christians were Jews and still worshiped at the Temple and in the synagogues, the traditional hours of prayer were often observed (see Acts 3:1; cf. 10:3, 30). A fourth fault was in esteeming long prayers, believing that a prayer’s sanctity and effectiveness were in direct proportion to its length. Jesus warned of the scribes who, “for appearance’s sake offer long prayers” (Mark 12:40). A long prayer, of course, is not necessarily an insincere prayer. But a long public prayer lends itself to pretense, repetition, rote, and many other such dangers. The fault is in praying “for appearance’s sake,” to impress others with our religiosity. Ancient rabbis maintained that the longer the prayer, the more likely it would be heard and heeded by God. Verbosity was confused with meaning, and length was confused with sincerity. A fifth fault, singled out by Jesus in Matthew 6:7, was that of meaningless repetitions, patterned after those of pagan religions. In their contest with Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the pagan prophets “called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, ‘O Baal, answer us,’ ” and they “raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:26, 29). Hour after hour they repeated the same phrase, trying by the very quantity of their words to make their god hear and respond. Through the centuries the Jews had been influenced by such pagan practices. They often added adjective after adjective before God’s name in their prayers, apparently trying to outdo one another in mentioning His divine attributes. By far the worst fault, however, was that of wanting to be seen and heard by other people, especially their fellow Jews. Most of the other faults were not necessarily wrong in themselves, but were carried to extremes and used in meaningless ways. But this fault was intrinsically evil, because it both came from and was intended to satisfy pride. Whatever form the prayer may have taken, the motive was sinful self-glory, the ultimate perversion of this sacred means of glorifying God (John 14:13). 7
cf. 10:3, 30). cf. confer (Lat.), compare 7MacArthur,
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is between you and God.. Now there is place of public prayer. This is not about the logistics of prayer, its the attitude , its the look at me.. There are times we are to pray in public. Gospels record Jesus at prayer both privately
Matthew 14:23 (NKJV) 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. and publicly
Matthew 14:18–19 (NKJV) 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. Later, his disciples carried on a tradition of corporate prayer from the earliest days of the church
Acts 1:14 (NKJV) 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. As he did with giving, Jesus drew attention to the motives behind actions. The point really wasn’t a choice between public and private prayer but between heartfelt and hypocritical prayer. We must learn to pray in private so that we might eventually lead others in effective prayer in public. When asked to pray in public, focus on addressing God, not on how you’re coming across to others. 9 Its all about drawing attention to yourself or praying for God to hear you..
9Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 112). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Don’t just click your mind off.. Remember you are talking to the God of the universe. ( office downtown, pray time- something changed and my words changed ) Repeating the same words over and over (babbling) like a magic incantation will not ensure that God hears these prayers. The pagans (or Gentiles) focused on how they delivered their prayers, repeating the right words in the right order. They often repeated the names of their gods as a way to get a blessing (as in Acts 19:34). Jesus was not condemning prayer any more than he was condemning giving in 6:1–4. In fact, Jesus encouraged persistent prayer (Luke 18:1–8) and soon would give a pattern for prayer (see 6:9–13). Instead, Jesus was condemning the shallow repetition of words by those who did not have a personal relationship with the Father. Jesus told his followers not to be like the pagans but to come to God as to their Father, bringing their needs. The believers did not pray to idols of wood or stone with incessant babbling. They prayed to the one living and true God who knew what they needed even before they asked! This does not excuse believers from prayer, but they needn’t spend a long time telling God their needs because he already knows. God doesn’t need our prayers; but he wants our prayers and knows that we need them. 10 Use meaningless repetition is one word (from battalogeō) in the Greek and refers to idle, thoughtless chatter. It was probably onomatopoetic, mimicking the sounds of meaningless jabber. Those who used repetitious prayers were not necessarily hypocrites, at least not of the ostentatious type. The scribes and Pharisees used a great deal of repetition in their public displays of piety; but many other Jews used it even in private prayers. Some may have used repetition because their leaders had taught them to use it. Others, however, resorted to repetition because it was easy and demanded little concentration. To such people, prayer was simply a matter of required religious ceremony, and they could be entirely indifferent to its content. As long as it was officially approved, one pattern was as good as another. Although this problem did not always involve hypocrisy, it always involved a wrong attitude, a wrong heart. The proud hypocrites tried to use God to glorify themselves, whereas those who used meaningless repetition were simply indifferent to real communion with God. 10Barton,
B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (Page 113). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. 6
The Jews had picked up the practice from the Gentiles, who believed that the value of prayer was largely a matter of quantity. The longer the better. They suppose they will be heard for their many words, Jesus explained. Those who prayed to pagan gods thought their deities first had to be aroused, then cajoled, intimidated, and badgered into listening and answering-just as the prophets of Baal did on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:26– 29). In the New Testament we see a similar practice. Aroused against Paul and his companions by Demetrius and other silversmiths of Ephesus, a great crowd began chanting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and continued incessantly for two hours (Acts 19:24–34). Many Buddhists spin wheels containing written prayers, believing that each turn of the wheel sends that prayer to their god. Roman Catholics light prayer candles in the belief that their requests will continue to ascend repetitiously to God as long as the candle is lit. Rosaries are used to count off repeated prayers of Hail Mary and Our Father, the rosary itself coming to Catholicism from Buddhism by way of the Spanish Muslims during the Middle Ages. Certain charismatic groups in our own day repeat the same words or phrases over and over until the speaking degenerates to unintelligible confusion 11
----------------------------------------How do we control our thought when we are praying. . 1- notebook near by- when something comes up that just cant wait it can, write it down you will get it to later. This will help release you from it. 2- when you mind wonders , thats OK what did it just wonder on.. Pray for that , pray for that person. 3- pray in your closet , pray throughout your day. ( my relationship with my wife - call her in the day time etc. - same with Lord ) Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV) 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Colossians 1:3 (NKJV) 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Paul said , I am remembering you night and day in my prayers.
11
(John A. Broadus, Matthew [Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson, 1886], p. 130).
7
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV) 17 pray without ceasing, How do we do this ?? We do this by keeping in a attitude of prayer. Not in vain repetitions but prayer without ceasing, keeping that channel open to commune with God. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------God does not have to be badgered and cajoled. Our Father knows what [we] need, before [we] ask Him. Martin Luther said, “By our praying … we are instructing ourselves more than we are him.” The purpose of prayer is not to inform or persuade God, but to come before Him sincerely, purposely, consciously, and devotedly (John Stott, Christian Counter-Culture: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1978], p. 145). Prayer is sharing the needs, burdens, and hunger of our hearts before our heavenly Father, who already knows what [we] need but who wants us to ask Him. He wants to hear us, He wants to commune with us, more than we could ever want to commune with Him-because His love for us is so much greater than our love for Him. Prayer is our giving God the opportunity to manifest His power, majesty, love, and providence (cf. John 14:13). To pray rightly is to pray with a devout heart and with pure motives. It is to pray with single attention to God rather than to other men. And it is to pray with sincere confidence that our heavenly Father both hears and answers every request made to Him in faith. He always repays our sincere devotion with gracious response. If our request is sincere but not according to His will, He will answer in a way better than we want or expect. But He will always answer. It is reported that D. L. Moody once felt so surfeited with God’s blessings that he prayed, “God, stop.” That is what God will do with every faithful believer who comes to Him as an expectant child to his father-smother him in more blessings than can be counted or named. 12
p. 145).
p. page
cf. John 14:13). compare 12MacArthur,
cf. confer (Lat.),
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press. 8
This does not mean that he does not want us to pray, to ask.. No it means HE KNOWS, come to him TALK TO Him.. Its OK to simply say .. HELP God knows us .. Psalm 139:1–5 (NKJV) 1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. God knows us, perfectly .. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 In this manner, therefore, pray: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That was not NOT TO PRAY.. NOT - HOW TO PRAY HE WILL give them this prayer two times, they were slow learners like we are at times. We when get to there Luke 11 , we will examine the differences. But here in the context of what NOT to do and what TO DO..
I remember years ago I hear a interview by billy graham, he was asked if he had any regrets. I don't remember the conversation but one thing stuck with me. He said he wished he had prayed more. It makes you think . What regrets will we have.
The prophet Samuel said it was a sin not to pray 1 Samuel 12:23 (NKJV) 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Contrary to much emphasis in the evangelical church today, true prayer, like true worship, centers on God’s glory, not on man’s needs. It is not simply to lay claim on God’s promises, much less make demands of Him, but to acknowledge His sovereignty, to see the display of His glory, and to obey His will.
9
Because prayer is so absolutely important and because we often do not have the wisdom to pray as we ought or for what we ought, God has commissioned His own Holy Spirit to help us. “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). That is surely what Paul means when he urges believers to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18).15 As far as we know, the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to preach, to prophesy, or to cast out demons. There is no record of them asking how to worship or witness or how to build a ministry or lead their families. The one thing the disciples asked of Jesus directly was, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
This is a outline not one to pray with brain off and ramble it through 66 words – 22 seconds to say – yet if you pray it would take a hour.. Jesus asked his disciples could you not watch with me one hour.. yet how hard it can be to pray for a hour. This is how… Pray this slowly , meditate on what you are praying… word for word then when we got it , see how powerful this is for prayer. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our Father -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OUR 1473. ἐγώ egṓ; gen. emoú or mou, 1st person sing. personal pron. I. The monosyllabic forms mou, moi, me, are usually enclitic (receive no accent), but have an independent accent after a prep., except in prós me. Various forms include hēmín (2254), dat. pl . and ēmṓn (2257), gen . pl .16
15MacArthur, gen pl
(genitive)
(plural)
gen pl
J. (1989). Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press.
(genitive)
(plural)
16
Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 10
ἐγώ egō; a prim. pron. of the first pers.; I (only expressed when emphatic):—have(2), mine(10), mine*(1), myself(11), number(1), ours(8), ourselves(4), part(2), say (1).21 ! ἐγώ egō; a prim. pron. of the first pers.; I (only expressed when emphatic):— have(2), mine(10), mine *(1), myself(11), number(1), ours(8), ourselves(4), part(2), say(1).22
Let's look at the first verse of the prayer. "Our Father." By what right do we call God our Father? The answer is found in scripture. Gal 4:6 (NIV) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out "Abba, Father". Luke 11:13 (KJV) "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Take a moment to thank your heavenly father that he loved you so much as to want to adopt you into his family. So this word can be translate OUR or MY it is not that specific here. Either way would be faithful to the greek word
prim.
primary, primitive
pron.
pronoun
pers.
person, personal
*
An asterisk (*) indicates that the key word represents two or more Greek words. Refer to the English concordance listing of the key word for the additional Greek word numbers. 21
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc. prim.
primary, primitive
pron.
pronoun
pers.
person, personal
*
An asterisk (*) indicates that the key word represents two or more Greek words. Refer to the English concordance listing of the key word for the additional Greek word numbers. 22
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc. 11
We are going to pray it both ways, a full understanding first of and foremost its OUR FATHER. We are all in this together. TURN TO
1 Corinthians 12:12-31 This chapter begins a topic of spiritual gifts. He begins with.. 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
These are thing we need to be understanding. Before he gets on these topic in-depth and he will, he makes sure we understand what we are talking about in our study. Namely we are all in this together.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
head of the body is JESUS…. Just as the Head of the church is JESUS.. HE DOES NOT NEED US, HE CHOOSES TO USE USSeveral places we read that Christ is the... Eph. 1:22-23 ...head over all things to the church, which is His body... Eph. 5:30 ...we are members of His body. Col. 1:24 ...His body (which is the church)... In Ephesians 4, it is written that
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Eph. 4:15-16 ...the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. And in Colossians 2, Col. 2:19 ...holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------when we come to Jesus Christ we are born into the family of God… we are his… one baptism.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------what if my foot said I am tired of you getting all the attention .. I want to be the head… you come down here.. .. the other foot begins to say.. Free the Feet, Free the Feet.. head say I am the HEAD,, you are the FEET, I don’t need you so get out of here.. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13
SO YOUR NOT UP FRONT— YOUR MINISTRY IS IMPORTANT.
my arm, the outside of my arm, what about under my arm, special attention, Roll-on Raid.. it is not a honorable part of your body.. look at the outside.. the way we raise our hand.. I would love to see my pits leave.. I can not say I hate you smelly pits.. if you don’t give them special attention they will get worst.. someone walks into the church and says hey I am kind of a misfit, and you say hey we are trying to have a perfect church, we would like you to leave.. Many of the Corinthian believers were unhappy with their gifts. Envy is a sure sign of carnality, and it seems that everyone wanted a gift that someone else had. Paul’s analogy is graphic as he extends the illustration of the human body. The person with a foot thought he could not really be a part of the church body because he was not a hand. One with an ear thought he was left out because he was not an eye. It is almost certain that, had the gifts been changed to suit the complainers, their reactions would have been the same. Selfishness is never satisfied and envy is never content. Envy is also frequently petulant and pouting. If it cannot have its own way it takes its marbles and goes home, and will not play with the others. That is what some of the immature believers at Corinth were doing. In seeming humility, they said, “I don’t have a spiritual gift, so I am not really a part of the church,” or “My gift is second–rate and unimportant. I have nothing to offer, so why participate?” But that attitude does not reflect humility. It is self–centered, selfish, and an affront to God’s wisdom and love.31 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When we push and shove for our own way, I have to be seen, I have to have this or that in the body. It hurts the entire body. WE ARE ALL IMPORTANT !!!! You are all important. You all have a vital part to play in the body, a vital part to fill in the body. A ministry that the body might be whole and complete. And if you don't fill your 31MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983. 14
part, then the body is missing in that area. So each of you have been placed in the body of Christ to fulfill your area of ministry there within the body.
He is OUR FATHER. We understand that.. Be patience with each other , love each other, we help each other. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.. He is also..... HE IS MY FATHER This is what drew me to God, is that it was real, he is MY FATHER. The relationship I can have with a God that loves me so much ( Notice the personal pronouns ) this speaks a personal relationship John 10:11-16 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:27–30 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fatherʼs hand. 30 I and My Father are one.” We are his sheep and he is our father. Our shepherd. He is always there for us. He is our all in all.. One thing we will do is look at the names of God... 15
In the old testament - moses is at a burning bush. How is sending me . What is your name.. I AM THAT I AM. What AM WHAT ??
Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ʻI AM has sent me to you.ʼ ” Jesus fills in the blank
Seven "I AM" Statements of Jesus 1.
2.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
I AM the bread of life. ◦ John 6:35: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ◦ John 6:48: I am the bread of life. I AM the light of the world. ◦ John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ◦ John 9:5: While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” I AM the door. ◦ John 10:7: Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep." I AM the good shepherd. ◦ John 10:11-14: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...." I AM the resurrection and the life. ◦ John 11:25: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." I AM the way, the truth and the life. ◦ John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I AM the true vine.
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◦
John 15:1, 5: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Jesus is everything to us. Then we talk about our father.. HE IS MY FATHER.. -----------------------------------------FATHER - 3962.! πατήρ patēr, pat-ayr´; appar. a primary word; a “father” (lit. or fig. , near or more remote):— father, parent.32 Jesus used the word “Father” 10 times! Only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in that way in worship.33 When Jesus taught this prayer, He must have shocked those who were listening to Him when He said, “Our Father.” ---------------------------------------------------------------Sometimes its hard because we don’t have a good father figure .. who is our father.. he is love… We will be covering this in-depth on wend. Night but I want you to see this.. 1 Cor. 13 – there has been those times that we have been asked to put our names here….
appar. lit. fig.
appar. = apparent, apparently
lit. = literal, literally fig. = figurative, figuratively
32
Strong, J. (1997). The new Strong's dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 33
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Mt 6:5–15). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 17
I cant even get to the 7th verse.. what about you--- Tom is suffers long.. no stop there.. this seems so unattainable.. Look at verse 7 always—in the Greek is always.. It always hopes, endures, it never , ever , ever fails.. GOD I CANT DO THIS…
1 Jn 4- GOD IS LOVE When we go to prayer, remember our father LOVES YOU. You are his child, no matter where you go or how far you drift your father loves you. He is not mad at you.. come home if you have drifted. You are my father, I was born into this family and will be your child for all eternity. Father.. as a child lifts up his hands Daddy HOLD….. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------in heaven, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As my Father, I relate to Him. But because He’s in heaven, I reverence Him. Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. I like that! Solomon reminds us we don’t have to pray with lofty terminology or sanctimonious tones. Yes, we must be reverent because God is in Heaven. But we can be real because He’s our Father. 37 There is a song we sing that comes from this verse. You are God in heaven and here we are on earth. So I will let my words be few, Jesus I am so in love with you. And I stand in awe of you …
Let My Words Be Few You are God in heaven And here am I on earth 37Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 37). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 18
So I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You And I'll stand in awe of You Yes I'll stand in awe of You And I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You. The simplest of all love songs I want to bring to You So I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You. There should be a reverence to the one we are speaking to.. understand he is our father and at the same time He is almighty God.. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. There is a reverence for God.. Worship because he is our creator.. we love him. When you clap after a song its not for the team its for the God that created us.. this is never a performance. It’s a heart turned to God.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hallowed be Your name. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So we begin our prayer with , he is our father, he is MY father personal, he is in heaven reverence. 1st understanding who we are talking to 2nd - what that understanding, now we bow, we praise. “Hallowed” is a word that has been lost in our language because the concept has been lost from our lives. It means “to make holy, separated, transcendent.” “O Lord, hallowed, holy is Your Name. Everyone around me, everything that touches me, all that is within me has been tainted and eroded by sin. But You are holy. Hallowed is Your Name.” 38 38Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 37). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 19
37 ἁγιάζω, ἀνασῴζω [hagiazo /hag·ee·ad·zo/] v. From 40; TDNT 1:111; TDNTA 14; GK 39 and 420; 29 occurrences; AV translates as “sanctify” 26 times 1 to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow. 2 to separate from profane things and dedicate to God. 2A consecrate things to God. 2B dedicate people to God. 3 to purify. 3A to cleanse externally. 3B to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin. 3C to purify internally by renewing of the soul. 39 hal·lowed, hal·low·ing, hal·lows 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honor greatly; revere. Only one thing he holds above his name.. WORD Psalm 138:2 (NKJV) 2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. THY NAME. - THIS IS WHERE WE NEE DO CAMP OUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE.. The names of God..
In the Bible there are many different names given to the One True God. The most frequently used names are YHWH, usually rendered as Yahweh (ca. 6,800 times); Elohim (ca. 2,600 times); Adonai (ca. 439 times); and El (ca. 238 times). Most of the other names are combinations of these names like El Shaddai, El Eloah, and Yahweh Elohim. The most commonly used names for God in the Hebrew and Protestant Bibles are Ha-Shem (meaning "the name" which is used in the modern Jewish
v. From 40; TDNT 1:111; TDNTA 14; GK 39 and 420; 29 occurrences; AV translates as “sanctify” 26 times v v: verb 39Strong,
J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G37). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship. 20
Masoretic Text translations of the Tanach) and Jehovah (used in both Protestant and Jewish translations). Both are names for God that only date back to the Middle Ages and are not found in the ancient texts of Sacred Scripture.40
For Judaism there is 72 names for God, there is web sites that have 144 names of God just from the O.T. - we will not have time to hit them all, but we can hit the highlights. There are some good books that can help you with this in our book store. As we go through this study, one of the things we will learn is the reason there is so many names for God.. Each of the many names of God describes a different aspect of his character. Its like looking at a huge painting from 3 inches close , just when it comes into focus then you move. Someday we will see the painting from a distance and see the whole thing. Glorious day. Learn to pray thought the names of God. Foundational for next time. 1- Name means you have a Relationship. You know each other.. The seven sons of SCEVA Acts 19:13–16 (NKJV) 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
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http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/The%20Many%20Names%20of%20God.htm
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Remember Jesus said many will come in that day and .... Matthew 7:22–23 (NKJV) 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ʻLord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?ʼ 23 And then I will declare to them, ʻI never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!ʼ There is relationship. We can look up and say FATHER. There is relationship.. 2- there is authority LK 10:17 NIV The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Mark 16:17 NIV And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons We have authority in the Name of Jesus. It is ours to use subject to His Lordship. What’s in a name, when you say in the name of that person, in the authority , power of that person. “Dad says to Stop that Right NOW” 3- in the name we learn about GOD.. The names of God mean a lot. We learn about his charter, like the I AM statement In China, Coca-Cola is not a popular drink — because the sounds "coca cola" in Chinese mean "bite the wax tadpole." nonsensical or adverse meaning when strung together as a written phrase. (Written Chinese employs about 40,000 different characters, of which about 200 are pronounced with sounds that could be used in forming the name "ko-ka-ko-la.") While Coca-Cola was searching for a satisfactory combination of symbols to represent their name, Chinese shopkeepers created signs that combined characters whose pronunciations formed the string "ko22
ka-ko-la," but they did so with no regard for the meanings of the written phrases they formed in doing so. The character for wax, pronounced "la," was used in many of these signs, resulting in strings that sounded like "ko-ka-ko-la" when pronounced but conveyed nonsensical meanings such as "female horse fastened with wax," "wax-flattened mare," or "bite the wax tadpole" when read.42
'Bite the Wax Tadpole' and Other International Marketing Blunders When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was unaware that in Spanish 'no va' means 'it won't go.' The company later renamed the car to the Caribe in Spanish markets, and the naming snafu became a classic case study in college marketing textbooks. But as the following examples show, some students were either absent that day, or not paying attention:
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•
The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means 'bite the wax tadpole' or 'female horse stuffed with wax,' depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, 'ko-kou-ko-le,' which can be loosely translated as 'happiness in the mouth.'
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In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan 'Come alive with the Pepsi Generation' came out as 'Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.'
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Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan 'finger-lickin' good' came out as 'eat your fingers off.'
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The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, 'Salem - Feeling Free,' got translated in the Japanese market as 'When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty.'
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When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say 'It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.' However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word 'embarazar' meant embarrass, and the ads said 'It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant,' instead.
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An American tee-shirt manufacturer in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. But instead of the desired 'I Saw the Pope' in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed 'I Saw the Potato.'
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In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.
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The Jolly Green Giant translated into Arabic means 'Intimidating Green Ogre.'
http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp
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(o·gre A giant or monster in legends and fairy tales that eats humans. ) . •
Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name 'Pavian' to suggest French chic . . . but 'Pavian' means 'baboon' in German.
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Clairol introduced the 'Mist Stick,' a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that mist is slang for manure.
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When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the USA -- jars with pictures of the cute little baby on the label. Only later did they learn that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label that describe what's inside, since most people can't read.
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And, as America's favorite chicken magnate, Frank Perdue, was fond of saying, 'It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.' In Spanish, however, his words took on a whole new meaning: 'It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate.'
Is it any wonder the rest of the world finds Americans just a little bit strange?43 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Name of God in General There are a number of instances where no name of God is employed, but where simply the term “name” in reference to God is used as the point of focus: (1) Abraham called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:8; 13:4). (2) The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses (Ex. 33:19; 34:5). (3) Israel was warned against profaning the name of the Lord (Lev. 13:21; 22:2, 32). (4) The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11). (5) The priests of Israel were to minister in the name of the Lord (Deut. 18:5; 21:5). (6) The name of God is called “wonderful” in Judges 13:18. (7) To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God (Gen. 21:33; 26:25). Consequently, from this we can conclude that such phrases as “the name of the LORD” or “the name of God” refer to God’s whole character. It was a summary statement embodying the entire person of God. When we turn to the New Testament we find the same. The name Jesus is used in a similar way to the name of God in the Old Testament: (1) Salvation is through His name (John 1:12). (2) Believers are to gather in His name (Matt. 18:20). (3) Prayer is to be made in His name (John 14:13-14). (4) The servant of the Lord who bears the name of Christ will be hated (Matt. 10:22).
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(5) The book of Acts makes frequent mention of worship, service, and suffering in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:18; 5:28, 41; 10:43; 19:17). (6) It is at the name of Jesus that every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). So, just as the name of God in the Old Testament spoke of the holy character of God the Father, so the name of Jesus in the New Testament speaks of the holy character of God the Son. -------------------------------------------------
G-d ! What's up?? We have been asked numerous times why is the "o" always missing when the words G-d or L-rd are written on our Sukkot on the Net website? Basically its because Jews do not write the name G-d or L-rd. It has to do with the commandment about taking G-d's name in vain. It is believed that if the name was written on a piece of paper and the paper was crumpled, discarded, or destroyed it would be considered a sin. When I first created the site I figured that most of our visitors would be Jewish and would already understand it. But over the years I have found that many visitors did not know the reason, so I thought it would be helpful to put something on the site explaining it. 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing the Name of God Jews do not casually write any Name of God. This practice does not come from the commandment not to take the Lord's Name in vain, as many suppose. In Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a prohibition against swearing by God's Name falsely or frivolously (the word normally translated as "in vain" literally means "for falsehood"). Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better. The commandment not to erase or deface the name of God comes from Deut. 12:3. In that passage, the people are commanded that when they take over the promised land, they should destroy all things related to the idolatrous religions of that region, and should utterly destroy the names of the local deities. Immediately afterwards, we are commanded
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not to do the same to our God. From this, the rabbis inferred that we are commanded not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase or deface a Name of God. It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names of God applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form, and recent rabbinical decisions have held that writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation to type God's Name into a computer and then backspace over it or cut and paste it, or copy and delete files with God's Name in them. However, once you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. That is why observant Jews avoid writing a Name of God on web sites like this one or in BBS messages: because there is a risk that someone else will print it out and deface it. Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables, for example, writing "G-d" instead of "God." In addition, the number 15, which would ordinarily be written in Hebrew as Yod-Heh (10-5), is normally written as Tet-Vav (9-6), because YodHeh is a Name. See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numerals.
Pronouncing the Name of God Nothing in the Torah prohibits a person from pronouncing the Name of God. Indeed, it is evident from scripture that God's Name was pronounced routinely. Many common Hebrew names contain "Yah" or "Yahu," part of God's four-letter Name. The Name was pronounced as part of daily services in the Temple. The Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition against pronouncing The Name in ancient times. In fact, the Mishnah recommends using God's Name as a routine greeting to a fellow Jew. Berakhot 9:5. However, by the time of the Talmud, it was the custom to use substitute Names for God. Some rabbis asserted that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) has no place in the World to Come, and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter Name, we usually substitute the Name "Adonai," or simply say "Ha-Shem" (lit. The Name). Although the prohibition on pronunciation applies only to the four-letter Name, Jews customarily do not pronounce any of God's many Names except in prayer or study. The usual practice is to substitute letters or syllables, so that Adonai becomes Adoshem or HaShem, Elohaynu and Elohim become Elokaynu and Elokim, etc. With the Temple destroyed and the prohibition on pronouncing The Name outside of the Temple, pronunciation of the Name fell into disuse. Scholars passed down knowledge of the correct pronunciation of YHVH for many generations, but eventually the correct pronunciation was lost, and we no longer know it with any certainty. We do not know what vowels were used, or even whether the Vav in the Name was a vowel or a consonant. See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about the difficulties in pronouncing Hebrew. Some religious scholars suggest that the Name was pronounced "Yahweh," but others do not find this pronunciation particularly persuasive.
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Some Christian scholars render the four-letter Name as "Jehovah," but this pronunciation is particularly unlikely. The word "Jehovah" comes from the fact that ancient Jewish texts used to put the vowels of the Name "Adonai" (the usual substitute for YHVH) under the consonants of YHVH to remind people not to pronounce YHVH as written. A sixteenth century German Christian scribe, while transliterating the Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai, and came up with the word JeHoVaH, and the name stuck. 45 ---------------------------------------------------------Some Jews spell God as G-d. This has its origin in the third commandment, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" (Exo. 20:7). Many Jews later became so cautious not to break this commandment that they quit pronouncing the name of God altogether, for fear that they might say it in vain. This is why we are not sure exactly what the vowels were for the divine name of God in the Old Testament (YHWH), known today as the tetragrammaton. "Yahweh" is the closest approximation we have (See, Is "Jehovah" the Name of God?). When a Jew would come across this name when reading the Old Testament, instead of saying God's name, he would say "Adonai," which means "Lord" or "Master." They would also use other words in place of the name of God, or even the title, "God." Notice that Matthew usually substitutes the phrase "kingdom of heaven" where the other gospels have "kingdom of God." We are told that before a Massoretic scribe would even write the name of God, he would first wash himself and then he would use a new pen. This is all done out of respect for the name of God and for fear of breaking the third commandment. What you see today with this hesitation even to write the title "God" is simply an outgrowth of this Jewish piety. --------------For accurateness the copyist would count each letter in the original and then in the copy , they would then find the center word .. to make sure for accurateness ----------------------------------HOW TO USE OUR BIBLES SEEING THE NAMES OF GOD.. YHWH LORD Lord ect
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