Praying Postures

In this week’s message from Luke 18, we hear Jesus’ story of two men who come to pray—one proud, one broken—and only one goes home right with God. It’s a powerful reminder that real prayer begins with humility and ends with mercy.

Transcript

With me. And as we read from the Gospel of Luke, this is Luke chapter 18, and I'm going to begin at verse nine. It says to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. Jesus told this parable, Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and he prayed, God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all that I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven. But he beat his breast and.

And he said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Let us pray. Oh, Jesus, thank you for the word of God.

It is alive and it is active. And God, we come thirsty today. We need a fresh word from you. There are some here standing in this place who are heavy burdened, who have walked through things these past few weeks that they don't even want to talk about. And Jesus, they need you today.

I don't have the words, but Holy Spirit, would you come and settle in and have your way amongst your people today? We need you, Father. Amen. And you may be seated.

We have been journeying through Luke, and it has been so fun to see parable after parable after parable. Last week, Pastor Marshall preached on a parable that talked about prayer as well, about someone, a woman who was persistent. Remember the story? She was going before a judge who was wicked, a judge who was not just. And she presented her case and she kept coming over and over and over.

She was persistent. And Pastor Marshall, he said, why don't you go home and make a bother list? You remember him saying that? Would you write a bother list? And you may not have ever wrote a list, but I tell you, if you pray, there are some people on your list that every day you say, those same people, right?

Every day. Persistent in prayer. Would you pray for Harvest Point? Would you add Harvest Point to your bother list? Would you add Pastor Marshall and his family to your list?

Let's pray for each other. If we truly believe that God answers prayer, then our prayer life will reflect that. Amen. Let's be persistent. And at the end of that parable, Jesus says, nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes Will he find faith on earth?

What a question. At the end of time, when Jesus comes back, will he find us faithful? Will he find us persistent in prayer? That is our question today. So as we shift to the next parable that Jesus teaches, it's unique because Jesus starts off by saying, let me just tell you who this is for.

And that first sentence, though, did y' all catch that? Look back over verse nine, he says, let me just tell you who this is for. This is for those who think it's not for them. If you think, you don't need to hear this, it's for you. He tells us that.

And he says a couple of things. For those who trust in themselves, that's an issue. That they are righteous, that's an issue. And those who look down on other people, we've gathered, we're journeying with Jesus, and this is what he teaches us today. Number one, if you're confident in your own righteousness, that's a problem.

What does that mean, to be confident in your own righteousness? It means I'm putting my trust in the things that I have done. These are the things that I feel I am doing right. And I feel confident that I'm justified because of what I do, or I feel confident because there's things I don't do. I am going to be justified and I'm approved by God because I do these things and I feel proud of them.

That is someone who's put their trust in their own works. Can I tell you, this is a misplaced trust. Trust should be in Jesus Christ alone. If I'm putting my trust in what I do, it's always going to fall short. I don't need to help Jesus.

It's Jesus, period. Isaiah 64. 6 says, all of us have become like one who is unclean. All our righteous acts are, get this, like filthy rags. All of the things that Emily does that I think is righteous, it says, like filthy rags.

I love the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah, chapter 23. The Lord Himself is speaking, and he speaks about Jesus, who is to come. He calls him the righteous bread branch with a capital B. And he talks about the righteous branch, and he says, this is the name which he will be called.

You know what his name is? The Lord is our righteousness. That's his name, not our righteousness. But the Lord is our righteousness. Doesn't that make you feel better?

He is our righteousness. Period. I can't be confident in my own works. Ephesians, chapter two says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, so no one can boast.

Is my issue that I think I'm good enough? Or is my issue that I think so little of him?

Is my issue that I think I'm just good enough? I'll trust myself, or I just don't really trust you, God, I just don't know that you've done enough for me. So I'm going to do my own works. Think about it. Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, a theologian, he said the opposite of trust is not simple anxiety, it's wickedness.

The opposite of trust is not simple anxiety, but it is wickedness. And the reason he says that is. It's from Psalms 32:10. Write that down, look it up later. It says, many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

The opposite of the wicked was the one who lacks trust.

Scary. It is scary to think you can be in a place where you feel like you have it all together and. And you are believing a lie. That is scary. Who do you think is behind that?

The father of all lies? Satan himself? C.S. lewis says, wherever we find. Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we're good, that above all we're better than someone else, I think we may be sure that we are being acted on not by God, but by the devil.

If you've gotten to a point where you think, well, I'm good, I'm better than so and so that's not God.

And that leads me to that second part of who he said, it's for those who look down on everyone else. Your version may say, viewed others with contempt. It means you take no account of others or you just despise them altogether. It reminds me of the parable we studied a few weeks ago about the rich man and Lazarus. You remember, the rich man didn't even pay attention to Lazarus, didn't even see him, just looked down on him.

It's interesting. Luke uses this word in two other places when he's writing, and in both other places it's writing about how Jesus was mistreated. Jesus himself, Luke 23:11. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him, dressed him in an elegant robe and sent him back to Pilate. And then in Acts 4:11, Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, we which has become the cornerstone.

He's talking about the character of someone who looks down on others. And that's the same way that Jesus himself was Treated. So this parable is for those listening who have misplaced their trust, trusting in their own righteousness, their own good behavior, and those who take no account of others.

There's a whole message in that one sentence. And I would ask you, where is your trust today? Is your trust? Is your faith? Is your hope on anything besides Jesus Christ?

Even if what you're doing is good things, those good things atone for you. My good actions on my very best day aren't enough for me. If all your faith is put in what you can do for Jesus, then what happens when you physically can't do it anymore? Where does your faith sink on those days? It's dangerous when we are putting our faith in anything else but Jesus Christ.

And so he sets up the parable. Isn't Jesus the best teacher? He said, this is who it's for. And then he gets into the parable. He says, two men are going up to the temple.

We have gathered here at church today. He says, going up to the temple because the temple was at a higher elevation, so they would actually journey up. But the temple was a sacred place for the Jews. This was their place of worship. This was their place where heaven and earth met.

It was important to them. And they would go there to pray, specifically during the designated times of sacrifice. Now, you could pray anywhere, but if you were near the temple, it was customary that you would go toward the temple. And then you would set your face to towards the house where Jesus said he would hear you. And that is where you would pray.

And these two men are both going to pray, similarly going to talk to Jesus. So who are these two men? He said, one is a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. Now, we have been hearing a lot about Pharisees over the past few weeks, over and over again. And we know that these Pharisees held strictly to the Word and the rules and the traditions.

And they kept them very seriously. And we've seen in the Gospel of Luke how Jesus is trying to reveal their heart behind their actions. And he knows that they're Pharisees that are gathering around, that are listening. And we know that the Pharisees could be prideful and that they had a misplaced trust. But imagine if you were in the congregation.

Then, see, the Jews would highly esteem the Pharisees because they seemed to be doing everything right. If you were a Jew at this time, you might hope that your son grow up and be a Pharisee. Like, they've got it all together. They were respected. They would be the good guy in the story.

So Jesus is setting it up. He's got the Pharisee and the tax collector. Now, if you hear the word tax collector over and over in the Gospels, you'll hear that Jesus would do what he would be eating with tax collectors and sinners. Isn't it interesting that he puts those two together, tax collector and sinner? It gives you an idea that the Jews did not like the tax collectors.

And you may wonder why. What was so bad about the tax collectors? Well, it's because the tax collector was a Jew, but he was gathering money from the Jews to give to the Romans, who have now occupied Jerusalem. And these tax collectors very often would come and get your money and get a little extra for themselves. So they're taking advantage of Jews.

So the tax collectors were. Were not highly esteemed. You did not want your son to grow up and be a tax collector. The tax collector in the story would be the bad guy, the Pharisee and the tax collector. We've gathered in to hear the story, A tale of two prayers, if you will.

It starts with the Pharisee who stood and prayed. And this was his prayer. God, I thank you that I am not like other people. Now, can I tell you that the first four words were, great, God, I thank you. And it is good to start your prayer with gratitude.

But he is actually not thanking God for anything. He is actually thanking God for himself. I thank you, God, that I'm not like other people. And then he goes on to say, honestly, he says the word I four times in two sentences. I, I, I thank you, God, that I'm not like a robber who steals from people.

Thank you, God, that I'm not an evil doer. Thank you, God, that I'm not an adulterer. And finally, God, thank you that I am not like this tax collector. As they stand there, and I can imagine the Pharisees, the group, listening, and they're thinking, the Pharisees, the good guy. And they're nodding their head.

Yeah, that Pharisee, he's not like the robbers. He's not like the adulterers. Yeah, yeah. Can I tell you that this Pharisee is comparing himself to others, and that is not our standard. Comparing myself to others is not the standard.

So after he expresses his gratitude that he's not like other people, he begins to give his religious report card, if you will. He says, I fast twice a week.

I fast twice a week, and I tithe a tenth of all I get, meaning I'm not just tithing on what I've earned. But if I receive anything, I tithe on it too. Jesus. I'm extra is what he's saying. He's like, thank you, God.

And what he's really saying is, God, you should be thankful for me. See? Aren't you glad, God, that I'm on your team? Aren't you glad you see what I'm doing?

Jesus is telling the parable. The crowd is listening. Ooh, ah. That Pharisee ties on everything. Oh, I knew he was generous, the good guy.

The Pharisee is looking like a hero to the crowd. Tithe on everything he gets. Wow. Wow. But we can see from our viewpoint that it is full of pride.

Do you think it's a coincidence that Pharisee and pride both start with P? Do you think that's a coincidence? The Pharisee is so full of himself that he can't even see what he needs from Jesus. He's so full of himself. Can I tell you that pride makes it difficult to accept God's grace?

When we're so full of pride, it puts us in a place where we don't want to repent or we don't think we need to. We've got it going on as far as we can see. I don't need to admit where I've wronged. I'm doing okay. I'm better than him.

C.S. lewis says. And I keep reflecting back on C.S. lewis, but we've been studying that in our small group. He says, satan's okay if you're not doing all the big obvious sins.

Satan's okay if you're not doing the obvious. Robbing from people, stealing from people, getting drunk. He's okay with that as long as you've got that little thing called pride. He says, pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti God state of mind.

Can I tell you that we have a God who is other centered? He gives up himself on a cross. He pours himself out for others. It's all about everyone else. And pride is the complete anti God state of mind that is saying me is about me.

It's about me. And then the second prayer. This tax collector is standing at a distance. You can see him. Traditionally, they would look up their eyes to heaven when they prayed.

David in Psalms 1:23, he says, I lift up my eyes to you who sit enthroned in the heavens. Jesus in Mark, chapter six, when he has the five loaves and the two fish, he looks up to heaven and he prays. When he's at the tomb of Lazarus. He looks up and he prays, but this man will not lift his eyes. But he beats his chest and he says, God, have mercy on me.

A sinner can't lift his eyes. You see this in the Old Testament in the Book of Ezra. Ezra hears about the unfaithfulness of God's people and he tears his robe. He says he falls on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord. And he prayed, I'm too ashamed and disgraced my God to lift up my face to you.

Because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt and our has reached to the heavens. Have you ever been there, God? I can't even lift my face to you.

The tax collector is beating his chest as a physical expression of his remorse and his regret.

This tax collector isn't comparing himself to anyone else, but he sees God for who God is. He isn't comparing himself to others, but he sees God in God's holiness. And he's undone. Reminds me of Isaiah, chapter six when he sees God and he says, I am a man unclean. I am undone.

CS Lewis said, in God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. And unless you know God as that, you do not know God at all. It is not until we see God in his holiness that we really see who we are.

God, if you are the standard, then I see where I'm falling.

He says, God, have mercy on me. He doesn't say, well, God, I don't do this, or God, at least I haven't gone this far. He just says, I am ruined without you.

Powerful words, have mercy on me. He's saying, God, would you be merciful and would you make atonement for me? It might be easier to understand this word atonement if you see how it's used in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter two says, for this reason he had to be made like them, like us, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. Can I tell you today that you have a high priest who is merciful and he is faithful, he is compassionate, and he is trustworthy in every single way, so he could make atonement for us, for the sins of the people in the same way that the priests would try to offer sacrifices time and time again for the people.

Hebrews chapter seven says, therefore he, Jesus, is able to save, guess what? Completely. Now, I don't know about you, but for someone who has failed Jesus, I need someone who can save me completely. Not just a little bit, but completely. He says he saves completely those who come to God through him.

This is good news, brother and sister. You can be saved completely, it says, because he always lives to intercede for them. Jesus is saying, here, I'm here for you. I'm praying for you today. I know what you're going through.

Nobody else in this room knows. Jesus knows, and he is interceding right now. Hallelujah, you have Jesus in the throne room of heaven who knows your name and is praying for you. Such a high priest truly meets our needs. One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

Verse 27 of Hebrews says, unlike the other high priests, he doesn't need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. But he sacrificed for their sins, once for all. When he offered himself, he loves you so much, he gave himself. He said, I'll make atonement for you. And the tax collector is standing at the temple where the priests are making sacrifices.

And he knows, Jesus, I need atonement. Would you do for me like these priests are doing with these animals? I need you. I'm guilty. I'm a sinner.

In the climax of the story, Jesus says, I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. You can go home justified today. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled. And those who humble themselves, I need you, God, I'm a sinner, will be exalted. This man, the bad guy, the sinner, the cheat, the less than, the one that was despised rather than the other.

What, Jesus? Rather than the Pharisee who was so extra? Yes, he's pronounced innocent. The tax collector is pronounced free and declared righteous. There's not even a probationary period.

He said, you're going home justified. Today you're mine. In this parable, we have the prideful Pharisee and the broken tax collector. Can I tell you, brothers and sisters, that wholeness requires brokenness. If you want to be whole, you must first be broken.

If I had to label this message, it would be broken to be made whole. Back in the 90s, we had a worship song.

And as we sang that song, I could sing righteousness, Righteousness is what I long for. I could sing faithfulness is what I need. But when they said brokenness, brokenness is what I long for, it would give me pause because I would think, do I really want to be broke? Broken? Can I Tell you that if you want all that Jesus has for you, then you must be broken.

You must start from a place of brokenness. You remember when Mary took that expensive jar of perfume?

She broke it to pour out the perfume on the feet of Jesus. Can I tell you that she didn't find the value just in the jar. What was more important was the aroma and the perfume and the ointment that was within. You must first have to be broken for the fruit to come forward.

Don't cherish the vessel more than the ointment. We must humble ourselves. A seed must be buried and die and give up being a seed in order for the fruit to come. The question isn't, will God bring fruit forth in my life? The question is, will I die to self?

And after this parable, and you can go home and read the very next verses. In verse 15 to 17 is when the people are bringing their babies to Jesus. They're bringing these infants. They want Jesus to bless the babies. And the disciples are like, he's busy.

He's got a lot on his plate. We're going to Jerusalem. We don't really have time for this. And you remember Jesus said, no, no, no, let the little children come to me. Don't hinder them.

For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child won't enter it. Why do you think that is? Because babies are dependent to receive everything. They don't bring their own.

They just need babies. Just give me this, give me this, give me this. I do nothing to earn it. In the same way Jesus is saying, you don't come with all you have to offer him. You just come like a baby.

Come like a tax collector, saying, jesus, I have nothing to offer you myself. I'm empty. But I am dependent on, on you. I need you. And to this, brothers and sisters, God says, that is what I'm looking for.

I have everything for you. I will fill you. Receive me. Will you receive my grace? Will you receive my forgiveness?

Will you receive my love? Will you receive my presence? Will you receive my wisdom, my peace, my holiness? Just receive me.

He has everything we need. We just come in brokenness to him.

Will you stand with me as we close? Today we are going to close with a song. And some of you may need to just worship. But some of you may need to pray. Some of you may find yourself looking a little bit more like the Pharisee where we've been placing our hope and our faith in things that we are doing and we need to repent and say, you know what, Jesus, I put my faith in nothing else except for you and, and you alone.

I come empty. And some of you may be here today and say, you know what? I'm like the tax collector. I'm a cheat, I'm a liar. I need God's mercy.

And God is saying this one, that one that's just praying for mercy, I will meet him, I will meet her there. I have every everything you need. And you can go home justified today, Jesus, as we sing this time of worship, this time of reflection. Holy Spirit, will you come and minister to the man and woman in the room that needs to cry out for mercy? God, I pray you would speak to their heart.

These altars on either side are open if you want to kneel and pray.

Amen.