Sermon Tone Analysis

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*Luke 18:9-14*
!
Introduction:
Years ago Sam Walter Foss wrote a poem expressing the unimportance of the posture of prayer.
He called it, /The Prayer of Cyrus Brown/:
"The proper way for a man to pray," \\ Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes \\ "And the only proper attitude \\ Is down upon his knees."
"No, I should say the way to pray," \\ Said Reverend Doctor Wise, \\ "Is standing straight with outstretched arms \\ And rapt and upturned eyes."
"Oh, no, no, no," \\ said Elder Slow, \\ Such posture is too proud.
\\ "A man should pray with eyes fast-closed \\ And head contritely bowed."
"It seems to me his hands should be \\ Austerely clasped in front \\ With both thumbs pointing toward the ground."
\\ Said Reverend Doctor Blunt.
"Last year I fell in Hidgekin's well \\ Headfirst," said Cyrus Brown, \\ "With both my heels a-stickin' up \\ And my head a-pointin' down.
And I made a prayer right then and there, \\ The best prayer I ever said, \\ The prayingest prayer I ever prayed, \\ A-standin' on my head."
!
1.  Prayer is not Self-Righteousness
!!! A. The Audience
Audience =     “some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else”
·         Righteousness the state of being in the right, or being vindicated
o       Righteous – Following the Law
o       “Upright Conduct”
!!! B.  The Pharisee
Prayed about (or “to”) himself
o       Fast 2x / week (OT doesn’t even require a weekly fast)
o       Tithes of everything – again above and beyond the Law
 
He is thanking God for his own virtue
Calvin: For this thanksgiving, which is presented exclusively in his own name, does not at all imply that he boasted of his own virtue, as if he had obtained righteousness from himself, or merited any thing by his own industry.
On the contrary, */he ascribes it to the grace of God that he is righteous/*.
Now though his thanksgiving to God implies an acknowledgment, that all the good works which he possessed were purely the gift of God, yet as he places reliance on works, and prefers himself to others, himself and his prayer are alike rejected.
Hence we infer that */men are not truly and properly humbled, though they are convinced that they can do nothing, unless they likewise distrust the merits of works, and learn to place their salvation in the undeserved goodness of God, so as to rest upon it all their confidence./*
!!! C.  Self-Righteousness in Us
How do I pray like the Pharisee?
·         */Praying for God to bless my efforts/*
o       “I’ll do my best, and let God do the rest”
ILL – Fund Raiser in Chicago
–         drove in Bill Hybles
–         Biggest fund raiser ever in this church’s history (3x annual budget)
–         Did you prep them with the vision?
·         No, we were kinda hoping you would do that
–         Do you have a lead gift strategy and timeline set
·         No, we were hoping to get it all tonight
(Imagining a microwave)
–         Have you been praying for this?
No, we were kinda hoping you would do that to.
(Imagining putting that pastor in the microwave)
 
·         */Praying about my shortcomings and failures/*
o       As if by my excessive humility and honesty I can earn God’s favor
ILL – Sign Isaiah 41:14    “Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”
 
·         */Use Prayer to broker relationships/*
o       To appear as a person of prayer
o       Constantly grabbing on the shoulder to pray for you
o       But then turning away as soon as the relationship doesn’t fit your agenda
 
·         */When we play comparisons/*
o       Help so and so, they /really /need you.
·         */When we are Proud of Anything that’s happened in my life/*
!!! D.  Self Righteousness is Death
Most of us hate Self Righteousness … but do you know why?
It’s not just mean-spirited & proud
Self-Righteousness is DEATH
 
\\ */1) It kills your soul/*
"All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”"
(Galatians 3:10-12, NIV)
*/ /*
*/2) It kills the Church’s Witness/*
            People outside the church expect us to be self righteous.
Ted Haggard –            living a homosexual lifestyle while lobbying in Washington DC against gay marriage.
We loose our ability to speak on issues if our agenda is based on how good we are and how bad they are.
BUT if we can approach the world like equally broken sinners, then people might suspect we have something worth listening to.
ILL – Gary Preston talking about Gay Marriage at Sprint
 
A.W. Tozer – We are just beggars telling other beggars where we found bread.
!
2.  The Goal of Payer = Justification
[TS] If our prayers are rooted in self-righteousness, we develop a massive prayer problem.
!!! Goal=to be justified
V.14 “this man, rather than the other, went home justified.”
Interesting, “justified” and “righteous” have the same Greek root word.
·         The Pharisee was confident that he was justified / righteous
·         The Tax Collector simply humbled himself.
!!! Definition
JI Packer =      Justification is a judicial act of God pardoning sinners, accepting them as just, and so putting permanently right their previously estranged relationship with himself.
This justifying sentence is God’s gift of righteousness , his bestowal of a status of acceptance for Jesus’ sake.
! 3.  The Way to Righteousness = The Cross
How are we Justified?
The Tax Collector’s Prayer
*“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”*
That’s a powerful little prayer.
Greek word translated “mercy” here is found in only one other place in the NT.
Hebrews 2:17
/"//For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."
(Hebrews 2:17, NIV) /
 
You’d think the word “mercy” is the same as “merciful”
Actually, its “make atonement”
 
*/LXX – Context/*
Exod 32:14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Lam 3:42           We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.
Ps 24:11           For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great
Ps 64:4             When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions
 
Deut 21:8          Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for \\ \\
So the tax collector is praying:
·         God, make atonement for me, a sinner
·         God, be propitiated to me, a sinner.
!!! Propitiation
God is Holy
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