Prayer is all about our relationship with God, not about getting what we want. Done for the right reason and right motives, they were godly acts. ? Matthew 26:39 (NIV), Yet this wasn’t the only time he prayed. Fake! How often do we show up just to “play the part”? In just a short while, he will be arrested, tried, and executed. For without You Lord, I can do nothing, not even the good things. God said, No. (quoted in the message “Why does God sometimes say “No” to my prayer?” by Marc Axelrod”). 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV), In this series of messages I’ve had a chance to share with you some of the discoveries I’ve made in scripture in answering the question, “Why God doesn’t answer prayer?” I’ve learned (and hopefully you have as well) that there are predominately three main reasons for unanswered prayer: (briefly expand on each point verbally as the Spirit leads), ? Illustrations used in this sermon: Giving in secret, Sacrificial giving, Image by: SXC.HU If this sermon was helpful to you, please consider leaving your feedback in the comments section at the bottom. The goal or object of one’s actions.” Every child of God must seriously weigh his motives in serving the Lord. That’s trying to use God as Aladdin’s Genie, to pull Him off the shelf when you need Him, rub Him the right way, and then put Him back until the next time. Simple. And when the pool was delivered, she charged the cost to her husband’s credit card, all the while proclaiming that God gave her the swimming pool! You may have poor motives and good service … Absolutely nothing was wrong with any of those three acts--unless they were performed for the wrong reason in wrong motives. So you don’t have to constantly say, “Is it Your will?” When you go to buy a new car: “God is it Your will that I buy a brown Chevy or a gold Mercedes?…God is it Your will that I order the steak or the pork chops?” No, you don’t have to ask god’s will on every little item like that. If you won’t do what I want, I won’t believe in you.” One individual I’ve counseled was convinced God was out to get him because it seemed like not only was God not answering his prayers but things were getting worse! WRONG REASONS FOR FOLLOWING A CHURCH OR FOLLOWING JESUS (1) FOLLOWING GOD FOR MATERIAL THINGS – (Luke 12:15 – And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”) She would often come with a “concern” because she claimed to have a spiritual gift of discernment. I pray that you reveal to me the things that are wrong and help me make them right. Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. Are you one of those who work hard only while the boss is watching? An actor playing a specific role and nothing more. The pastor’s parrot immediately began to say, “Praise the Lord! If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. God said, No. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Proverbs 21:13 (NIV). There is no hiding yourself from God. iii. We put up masks to hide our brokenness. There was a woman who had a different understanding of prayer. If our prayers are self-centered and hypocritical in nature they will accomplish nothing. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Let me state it very clearly and simply: motives matter to God. This passage gives us God s criteria for right motives. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. She was probably the most strict-living lady I knew, raised in a great church, tithed, attended regularly, read her bible, and prayed. Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV). I just don't have time to give to it like I had in the past. ... Wrong motives are harbored in the desire to spend what you get on YOUR PLEASURES. There are 18571 characters in the full content. The goal of prayer ought to be to enter into a deeper awareness of the presence of God. Posted on March 25, 2007 by Darren Ethier. More than likely it will be that your life will be enriched, that your house will be enhanced, that your barn can get bigger all for your own benefit. So in our text from James 4:3, James is writing that when we ask according to our own will, according to our own desires that are independent of God’s will and His desires our prayers won’t be answered. James 4:1-3: Ask and Have: ... it is most determinately fixed by Almighty God. The Value Of Your Altars. This is especially true in the giving of our money. The core issue here is that the focus was completely wrong. We put up masks to hide our true feelings and emotions. Jesus said that these hypocrites loved to pray and at first glance that sounds pretty good but as I’ve said before, when we read scriptures – context means everything! We may look at this and think automatically that this line could never describe us. 4 You adulteresses! We don t worship them as God, of course, and we certainly don t do what they say if they tell us to disobey God. In this account from John’s gospel, Lloyd-Jones demonstrates how the Greeks come with the wrong approach and challenges you to take the right approach in coming to Christ. HOW NOT TO GIVE. First, we are to respect those who are authorities in our lives as if we are respecting God because God has put them there. We pretend things aren’t hard at times. So the deacon asked the preacher if he could leave his parrot with the pastor to influence his parrot so that it wouldn’t say, “lets kiss…” Preaching Christ Out of Wrong Motives January 16, 2015 by Dan King In his letter to the Philippian church, Paul lamented the fact that certain ones of his fellows in the preaching ministry were engaged in spiritual work out of unseemly motivations. How eager are you to read the Bible? (“Answered Prayers” by Roger Thompson). Well as I started going over the list of character traits and the nature of God – did you think to yourself, “I’ve got to get this down, I’ve got to remember this, next time I pray I’m going to match up what I pray against this list, Is there anything I’m missing?” The reality is, for most of you, after you walk through these doors at the end of the service you won’t remember even one item from that list. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. There are many examples in Scripture of individuals who had wrong motives. The real issue is not “God, what is Your will regarding this specific circumstance?” The real issue is “Am I in God’s will as a person?” If my life is in harmony with God, then my desires are going to be in harmony with God!” I love this quote attributed to Saint Augustine. I asked God to spare me pain. (“Some reasons for unanswered prayer” by Freddy Fritz). I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. Heavenly Father, I surrender all motives of my heart before you. 15 And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. Listen, if you are a person who hoards and stores anything that you get. God said, No. You quarrel and fight. The truth is, that if we pray something that is not of God’s will – it won’t be answered. Now this is a pretty obvious conclusion to make although it’s not so readily practiced in our prayer lives. If the soft drink doesn’t drop out of the machine, you get ticked-off. But we must important this simple truth. In “The Power of Prayer” and “The Prayer of Power”, R.A. Torrey tells of one minister who was praying for revival so he would not lose his church. The issue here is not public versus private prayer. He didn’t want one, said they couldn’t afford one, that they didn’t need one. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Prayer is not like presenting our Christmas wish list to Santa Claus. An example of such motives is found in the scripture that was read at the beginning of the service this morning – I want to refresh our memory by reading once again verse 5 and 6: 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. And God’s word tells you God’s will. Genesis 13:1-5 Topic: Prayer I am preaching about, The Value of Your Altars. Location Events Give Stay Connected Home Sunday Service Upcoming Events ... Wrong Motives. Nov 9, 2020 - Explore Carolyn Mckinnon's board "Prayers From Wrong Motives", followed by 634 people on Pinterest. In between his last meal and his arrest, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. wrong motives. January 12, 2020. The whole transaction takes a few seconds. How wrong I was. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Prayer is all about our relationship with God. Many people think that God is always going to answer their prayers the way they want them answered and in the time that they want them answered. ii. By praying not chiefly so that God may be glorified and people saved, but that his church might begin to grow and other pastors might look up to him as an effective evangelist. Balak paid prophet Balaam to pronounce a curse upon Israel out of fear that Israel would invade and take over his land. Grace Chan. A hypocrite is a person who pretends to be something they are not. God said, No. In 3 John 9, 10 we read, I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to … ? 2. James 4:1-3 (NIV), Let’s focus on that last verse for a moment, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”. He told of another minister who was praying to be baptized with the Holy Spirit because he thought he would be paid more if he was. We offer 30,000+ outlines and 10,000+ free sermon illustrations from top Christian pastors and communicators. For, if you really love God with all Your heart, you’re not going to want to do what displeases God and indeed the desires of your heart will line up with the desires of His heart! Some people approach prayer like that! We show up at church to fulfill our role, whatever it may be. But then how do you know if you really want God’s will for your life? Find out how. Powered by churchthemes.com.churchthemes.com. Matthew 6:2–4 NIV “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. The same thing is true when we pray. Here’s the setting: Jesus had just finished the Last Supper with his disciples. What they are fake about – The love of prayer 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. This is a good time to talk about our motives for giving, because in the next two months, every charity that knows you’re alive will be making some kind of effort to reach out to you! I asked God to give me happiness. You can clearly see all things that is right and that is wrong in my heart. I shared this verse last week but it is worthwhile to refresh your memory here, 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. – no faith God said…Ahhh, finally you have the idea C. It is important that we discipline our giving. We are not to seek the approval, applause, and recognition of men. We pretend and we become less and less genuine. We may get ridiculed by our peers, but at the end of our stay on earth we can expect a reward from God. Skip to content. You put in your money, you make your selection, you punch the button, and you wait for your soft drink to drop out of the machine. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content. Grace Chan. It is not to get the attention of others but to enter the presence of God Almighty. Below are some of the WRONG reasons why people follow Jesus or go to church. According to the Bible, the purity of our message trumps every other consideration—even one as vital as our motives. You hit it, and if that doesn’t work, you write a nasty little note that says, “This machine took my money!” and you leave it on the machine. The key issue that Jesus is dealing with is “showboating” prayer. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; The pursuit of power, prestige, pleasure, position, and praise are all improper motives! All Rights Reserved. You do not receive because you ask with wrong MOTIVES You'll write powerful and fresh messages every week with our preparation tools on a number of sermon topics, including expository preaching. Prayer is not about swimming pools or new cars or houses or clothes or CD players or stuff. Right actions can result from wrong motives Php 1:15–18 See also 1 Sa 18:20–23 Right motives do not always produce right actions 1 Ki 8:17–19 See also Mt 1:18–20 Examples of wrong motives Malice and envy Ge 37:11 See also Ge 37:18–28; Es 3:1–9; Eze 25:15–16; Eze … It’s for one simple reason: my Mormon neighbors and friends have the wrong message. Do you remember what Jesus prayed? You do not have, because you do not ask God. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things. Preaching, for the wrong motives The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. Matthew 26:42 (NIV), So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. James warns believers that certain prayers will not be answered by God. You quarrel and fight. Looking in the Right Direction in the New Year, CCPA - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. My prayers been answered!” I asked God to take away my habit You do not pray to be with others, you pray to be with God. How eager are you to spend time in His presence in prayer, and worship? Absolutely not! I want to live in Your will.” Then you ask according to your desires. On the surface that seems like a license to the very thing James warns against. So the pastor kept the deacons parrot and it began to recite, “lets kiss, lets kiss.” Do you only care about pleasing people? Some of the wrong motives include pleasing men to earn their salvation. This is what the hypocrites did. They go around constantly saying, “God, is it Your will that I ask for this?” over every little item. But done for the wrong reasons and motives they were ungodly acts that resulted in God's rejection. Where they are fake about it – In worship and in public They have the ability to define you and to set you apart and pull you into spiritual greatness if you will just allow them to do so. Jesus is giving a clear warning about prayer here to the disciples and it begins with do not. Regardless of how eloquent the words that are used or how passionate the pleas may be, God has promised not to give what has been requested from Him. For a period of about 15 years, Jesse James and his gang committed 26 holdups where they made off with approximately $200,000 and killed at least 17 men (many by Jesse’s own hand). This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series When God doesn't answer Prayer. If you are a person that is stingy when it comes to helping those in need, the poor, the widows, orphans. I read this passage this morning: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Why they are fake about it – to be seen by men. Perhaps its divine timing, then, that we come to a passage in The Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus discusses the proper motives for giving to the needy. Aimless Praying: H. W. Beecher. What do you think is the motivation behind your prayers when you pray? The person giving the prayer and the focus on God is completely lost. This would be like __________ going over to the grocery store and just shouting out a bunch of prayers in the bakery department to be seen by other people. And when God doesn’t perform the way they think God ought to perform, they feel cheated. broken relationships See more ideas about prayers, pray, bible verses. The only way you can know the will of God is by reading and doing the Word of God. i. Sermons Resources Creative Connect. Scripture: I Corinthians 13:1-3This content is part of a series. It is a warning to not pray with a wrong motive as demonstrated by the “hypocrites” in Jesus’ example. This message speaks about the wrong methods of motivating people to serve God, the wrong motives in serving God, and how the Holy Spirit compels us with the right motives to serve God The Holy Spirit Compels Us Introduction: Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:9-15, Matthew 9:37, 38 Key thoughts: There is a tremendous need for people to come to Christ. 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