WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.660 Heavenly Father and our God, you remind us that 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:09.160 all of our religious practices are not worth 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:13.460 anything if we use them for our own purposes, 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:18.000 not yours. Father, we come to you this morning 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:24.120 in humility, repentance and dependence, ready 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:28.359 to encounter you in love and to turn your way. 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:35.500 We pray this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Well, 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.179 good morning, everybody. Thanks for reading God's 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:46.880 word to us, Tony. And welcome to John, who was 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.600 talking just before. John, put your hand up, 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:55.820 John. John's an Anglican pastor from Tasmania 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:02.380 joining us this morning. So welcome. One of the 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:08.060 readings that Tony gave to us was the parable 00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:13.319 of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In this 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:17.700 parable, Jesus wants to teach people about the 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:22.319 importance of praying with the right attitude. 00:01:22.819 --> 00:01:28.120 Praying with the right attitude. And this parable 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:31.569 is not actually aimed at those who are obviously 00:01:31.569 --> 00:01:38.430 wicked. It's aimed at those who are religious. 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:46.129 It's aimed at those who are disciplined and morally 00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:52.109 serious. This parable is aimed at people who 00:01:52.109 --> 00:02:00.090 pray, people who fast, people who give. It's 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:08.009 aimed at people like me, people like us. Let's 00:02:08.009 --> 00:02:14.050 read these verses again, page 1595. No, it's 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:19.129 not up there. We'll read it again, yeah. Verse 00:02:19.129 --> 00:02:23.069 9, to some who were confident of their own righteousness 00:02:23.069 --> 00:02:26.590 and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told 00:02:26.590 --> 00:02:30.900 this parable to men. went up to the temple to 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:34.199 pray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a tax 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:37.400 collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:41.939 he prayed, God, I thank you that I am not like 00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:46.340 other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:51.159 or even like tax collectors. I fast twice a week 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:58.199 and I give a tenth of all I get. But the tax 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:00.759 collector stood at a distance, he would not even 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.039 look up to heaven, he beat his breast and he 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:09.060 said, God have mercy on me, a sinner. Jesus says, 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.620 I tell you that this man rather than the other 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:17.939 went home justified before God because all those 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:21.919 who exalt themselves will be humbled and those 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:29.349 who humble themselves will be exalted. In verse 00:03:29.349 --> 00:03:32.129 nine, we're told that Jesus' audience are those 00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:36.229 who were confident in their own righteousness 00:03:36.229 --> 00:03:42.669 and looked down on everyone else. And then he 00:03:42.669 --> 00:03:47.270 told them a parable. Pharisee, tax collector, 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:54.969 they both went up to pray. So Pharisees, well, 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.439 Typically, they were respected and they were 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:04.539 disciplined. They were outwardly righteous. Tax 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:08.740 collectors, hmm, not quite so. They were actually 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:13.219 hated in biblical times and they were regarded 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:17.220 as sinners. They were Jews who worked for the 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:24.000 Romans. So this kind of made them traitors. many 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.420 people resented paying taxes to the foreigners 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:32.139 who ruled over them. Tax collectors, they actually 00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:35.800 weren't paid any wages by the Romans. They were 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:38.560 expected to take a little bit of extra money 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:43.959 and keep some for themselves. Many tax collectors 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.459 were quite dishonest and they abused the system 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:52.959 by taking far too much. There's a contrast of 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:56.339 two different types of people. Let's look at 00:04:56.339 --> 00:05:00.920 the Pharisee's prayer. The Pharisee's prayer, 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:07.240 it was impressive, but it was empty. He stood 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:10.779 by himself and he prayed, God, I thank you that 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:14.439 I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:18.639 adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:24.019 I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:30.459 I get. Now at first, this kind of sounds like 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:35.579 gratitude, but when you listen closely, it's 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:39.259 self -congratulation and it's kind of dressed 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:44.860 up like prayer. The Pharisee prayed about himself. 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.000 telling God, as if God doesn't know, but he was 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.939 telling God of the wrong things that he had not 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:56.019 done. I'm not like other men, robbers, evildoers, 00:05:56.279 --> 00:06:00.759 adulterers. And then he went on to tell God more 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:04.879 about himself, about the religious practices 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:09.300 he observed, fasting twice a week and giving 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:15.420 tithes. The Pharisee's problem is not obviously 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:22.439 sinning, but it is spiritual pride. Spiritual 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:25.100 pride is really dangerous because it kind of 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:29.600 looks righteous, looks like righteousness. It 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:34.500 feels like obedience and it actually hides itself 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:38.339 in good behaviour. But the tricky thing about 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:42.899 spiritual pride is it doesn't always shout out. 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:51.079 Sometimes just whispers inside us. The Pharisee 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:54.019 thought he was praying but he was actually only 00:06:54.019 --> 00:07:00.040 praising himself. So the problem with the Pharisee's 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:04.819 prayer, his prayer is full of himself and it's 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:11.000 empty of God. He compares himself to others and 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.319 he measures his worth by contrasting himself 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:21.079 to others. And he keeps using I, the word I, 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.160 again and again and again. So it's like he's 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:27.560 not confessing his sin at all, he's giving God 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:33.439 his resume. Look at how good I am, God. Now let's 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:38.819 look at the tax collector's prayer. Tax collector 00:07:38.819 --> 00:07:46.360 prayed with humility. repentance and dependence. 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.879 He stood at a distance, would not even look up 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:53.220 to heaven, beat his breast and said, God have 00:07:53.220 --> 00:07:59.540 mercy on me, a sinner. He stood at a distance, 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:04.660 wouldn't even look up. He didn't have any list, 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:08.800 he didn't have any defence, didn't compare himself, 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:14.420 he was just He had raw honesty. He's not bargaining. 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:21.019 He's not throwing himself on God's grace. The 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:25.720 tax collector shows us the right posture. We're 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:30.300 not pretending. There's no polishing, no performance, 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:38.200 just honesty. So how would the original audience 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:43.389 have perceived what's going on here. They would 00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:48.830 have expected the Pharisee to be the hero, but 00:08:48.830 --> 00:08:56.049 Jesus flips the script. Jesus says, I tell you 00:08:56.049 --> 00:09:00.309 that this man, the tax collector, rather than 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:05.190 the other Pharisee, went home justified before 00:09:05.190 --> 00:09:07.830 God for all those who exalt themselves will be 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.419 humbled. and those who humble themselves will 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:14.960 be exalted. So that Jesus tells us the one who 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:18.399 went home justified before God was the messy 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:25.919 one, tax collector. The good man is not justified, 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:31.720 the bad man is. That must have been a bit shocking 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:37.679 for the audience. The word justified is is really 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:42.860 important to try and understand. It means declared 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:51.659 righteous before God. Being justified, declared 00:09:51.659 --> 00:09:57.879 righteous before God, is a gift from God. We 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:01.179 need to totally understand that we're not saved 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:05.799 by what we do, how we talk about what we've done 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:08.019 and what we haven't done. That's not going to 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:16.799 save us. We are saved by what God does. So the 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:23.779 tax collector, he didn't deserve God's grace, 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:30.480 God's justification, but he received it. The 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.019 other important thing is to remember who the 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:37.669 audience was. Jesus audience when he was telling 00:10:37.669 --> 00:10:41.870 this parable are those people who are confident 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:44.970 in their own righteousness and they look down 00:10:44.970 --> 00:10:50.549 on others. It was the Pharisees and people like 00:10:50.549 --> 00:10:59.230 them. I'm going to ask you two questions. Do 00:10:59.230 --> 00:11:03.490 you think that I am the audience that Jesus had 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:10.899 in mind? Are you the audience that Jesus had 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:16.500 in mind? Well, the answer to both could in fact 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:21.659 be yes. In this fallen world that we live in, 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:26.500 there are so, so many opportunities for us, for 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:30.179 me, to fall into the trap that the Pharisees 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:35.480 fell into. Here's a couple of real -life examples. 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.820 A man applied for a job. It was very competitive. 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:44.720 Lots of applicants. They were all highly qualified. 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:48.200 Candidates were asked to wait in a room, and 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.179 one by one, they were called in for the interview. 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:56.740 Some came out quietly confident, thinking, oh, 00:11:56.740 --> 00:12:01.480 I nailed that one. I impressed them. I think 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.529 I've got this. Others came out perhaps a little 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:11.389 unsure, perhaps discouraged. Finally, the hiring 00:12:11.389 --> 00:12:14.049 manager came out and said, hey, we've made our 00:12:14.049 --> 00:12:20.549 decision. The job goes to the person who admitted 00:12:20.549 --> 00:12:24.889 that they didn't know all the answers, but they 00:12:24.889 --> 00:12:28.230 were honest, showed that they were willing to 00:12:28.230 --> 00:12:34.720 learn. The person who was the most honest. Or 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:40.500 here's a church example. A man comes to church 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:44.220 every Sunday. He volunteers to help with lots 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:48.139 of different ministries. He tithes regularly. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:55.659 He avoids obvious sin. He's nice and he diligently 00:12:55.659 --> 00:13:00.559 serves the church. Perhaps he's even on a leadership 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:05.559 team. One day he hears about someone in a congregation 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:10.879 who is struggling, struggling with sin, or who 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:17.639 has an addiction, or is going through a divorce, 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:21.320 or who is making poor decisions, for example, 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:26.779 and quietly, in his heart, this man thinks to 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:30.240 himself, gee, I don't... I just don't understand 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.659 how people get themselves into a situation like 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:38.960 this. I'd never let my life fall apart like that. 00:13:40.539 --> 00:13:45.659 So outwardly he's saying nothing. But inwardly, 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:50.120 he's already stepped into the Pharisees' prayer. 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:56.100 Thank God that I'm not like them. Even a whole 00:13:56.100 --> 00:14:01.399 church. can drift into this. Oh, look at us. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:06.039 We're a solid church. And we've got really good 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:10.480 teaching. We're not like those other churches. 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:18.399 That's collective Pharisee thinking. Well, parents, 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.179 perhaps this one hits home. You raise your kids 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:25.639 well, with discipline and structure and values. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:30.200 and you see another family struggling. And the 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:36.059 thought creeps in, oh, if they had just done 00:14:36.059 --> 00:14:41.019 what we did, if only their kids behaved more 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:47.460 like our kids. Well, life is a whole lot more 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:51.659 complex than that. And the thought, as subtle 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:58.029 as it might be, drifts into pride. Pride instead 00:14:58.029 --> 00:15:08.149 of compassion. That's no good. In this fallen 00:15:08.149 --> 00:15:11.070 world we live in, there's also opportunities 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:16.409 for us to be like the tax collector and come 00:15:16.409 --> 00:15:19.570 to God in humility and repentance and dependence. 00:15:21.610 --> 00:15:24.250 Here's a couple of real -life examples of that. 00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:33.000 A person sits alone late at night. Their life 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:38.360 hasn't gone the way they'd hoped. Perhaps relationships 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:44.019 have broken down, or they carry guilt over past 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:48.500 decisions. Perhaps they feel like they've failed. 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:54.620 They don't have impressive words. They just... 00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:02.000 whispered, God, I have messed up. I need your 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:08.279 help. And that's it. There's no big speeches 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:13.259 or performance or pretense. This is the heart 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:17.759 of the tax collector. Or a man sits in his car 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:19.860 before he's going to work and he's overwhelmed 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:23.720 by the pressures. of stress or maybe he regrets 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:26.919 how he's been performing or how other people 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:32.519 have been treating him, for example. Instead 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:34.600 of when people ask him, say, hey, how are you 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.159 going, mate? And he says, yeah, I'm great, thanks. 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:41.820 Instead of pretending he's fine, he says to God, 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.580 God, I really don't have this all together. I 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:51.559 need you. It's all you got to do. There's no 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:55.639 audience. It's just honesty like the tax collector. 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:03.279 And here's a bit of a shocking truth. The good 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:11.819 person can be far from God. The broken person 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:16.519 can be right with God. And that's not because 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:22.680 God loves brokenness. But it's because God always 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:28.440 responds to humility, repentance and dependence. 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:36.420 Think about it like some recovery programs, perhaps 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:41.640 like AA. One of the first steps is admitting 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:46.700 that you are powerless. That's not a weakness. 00:17:47.109 --> 00:17:52.049 That's a strength. It's a doorway that you have 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:56.869 to open. And that's exactly what the tax collector 00:17:56.869 --> 00:18:01.430 showed us. Now here's an amazing and a beautiful 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:07.450 thing. God does not say, fix yourself and then 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:16.319 come to me. God says, come as you are. and I 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:23.779 will justify you. Let's make this a little uncomfortable 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.940 now in a good way. I'll ask you three questions, 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:32.380 give you a few seconds to personally reflect 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:40.720 on them. Do you sometimes feel quietly superior 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:50.740 to others? Do you sometimes compare yourself 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:59.180 to others? Do you ever quietly think to yourself, 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:09.259 oh, I'm glad I'm not like that? Well, perhaps 00:19:09.259 --> 00:19:14.720 if you're like me, the answer to some of those 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:21.829 questions might be Yes. So, guess where this 00:19:21.829 --> 00:19:28.849 parable is aimed today? It's aimed at us. To 00:19:28.849 --> 00:19:34.470 remind us that we need God's help. We need God's 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:43.430 mercy. We need God. Here's a closing illustration. 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:51.119 Two people walk into church. One looks successful, 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:57.859 confident, composed, respected. Everyone knows 00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:02.779 him. Everyone talks to him. The other one looks 00:20:02.779 --> 00:20:10.720 tired, worn down, a bit unsure. No one talks 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:18.339 to him. Now, at the end of the service, one of 00:20:18.339 --> 00:20:21.880 those two men leaves thinking, hey, I'm doing 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:26.200 really well. Everyone knows me. Had a great time 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:31.000 today. Thank you. The other one leaves thinking, 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:38.960 oh God, I need you. And guess what? Only one 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:46.899 walks out justified. You know which one. God 00:20:46.899 --> 00:20:50.960 is so, so not impressed by how put together we 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:56.819 look, how respected we are, what we outwardly 00:20:56.819 --> 00:21:03.559 do. He responds to how honest we are before Him. 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:11.539 So don't bring God your resume, bring Him your 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:20.619 truthful heart. I'll finish with a pictorial 00:21:20.619 --> 00:21:26.779 example. Imagine two men in a boat caught in 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:31.039 a vicious storm at sea. Both of them are in trouble. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:36.500 Boat's taking on water. The rescue boat arrives. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:42.539 First person shouts out, hey, I'm all right, 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:45.579 I'm fine. I've handled much worse than this. 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:51.470 Perhaps I just need a little bit of help. And 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:56.329 he plings to the boat, trying to prove that he's 00:21:56.329 --> 00:22:00.210 a man, he's still in control. The second person 00:22:00.210 --> 00:22:03.849 does something very different. He just lets go 00:22:03.849 --> 00:22:08.970 of everything. And he says, oh, I can't save 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:14.640 myself. Please, please help me. Now here's the 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:19.059 reality. This rescue is available to both of 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:25.099 those people, but only one person is actually 00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:29.339 saved. Not because the rescuer prefers that one 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:35.559 over the other, but because only one of those 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:39.960 two people is willing to admit that they need 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:45.009 to be saved. And that's the difference between 00:22:45.009 --> 00:22:50.410 the Pharisee and the tax collector. One says, 00:22:51.230 --> 00:22:53.650 hey God, I've mostly got this under control, 00:22:53.849 --> 00:22:58.309 I'm pretty right, thanks. The other one says, 00:22:58.750 --> 00:23:04.349 oh God, I need your help. I need your mercy. 00:23:06.529 --> 00:23:11.250 So this week, when you come before God, pray 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:19.160 this simple and powerful prayer. God, have mercy 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:23.839 on me. Show me where my pride is hiding in me. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:28.039 I don't have it together, but you do. Please 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:32.579 help me. And how about we pray that prayer all 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:39.950 together right now. God, have mercy on me. Show 00:23:39.950 --> 00:23:44.490 me where pride is hiding in me. I don't have 00:23:44.490 --> 00:23:50.230 it together, but you do. Please help me. Please 00:23:50.230 --> 00:23:57.049 help us, Father. I'll pray. Heavenly Father, 00:23:57.910 --> 00:24:02.869 thank you for your unending love and your patience 00:24:02.869 --> 00:24:09.440 with us. Father, we surrender our pride. and 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:14.519 our shortcomings to you. Please show us where 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:21.420 our pride is hiding. Father, we do not have it 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:27.500 together, but you do. We need your mercy. Please 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:33.299 help us. And all of God's people said, Amen.