The Fruit of Salvation

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

As the Messiah has said, and as it is written:

Matthew 7:15-23 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:15–23, NKJV)

A few months ago a brother wrote to me and asked a question. I will not restate the entire question verbatim because it runs many paragraphs in length. An excerpt portion of his question is as follows:
“Do you believe if a person truly accepts Christ as Lord and savior and confesses Him with their own tongue and is baptized as Jesus commanded, that this same person can damn their own soul to hell by sinning in any way other than knowing God and willingly turning from Him, walking away from Their faith?
I'm answering this question in an open letter as a blog, because I am certain that if this brother has had the question, then the odds are that other people have also had the same question.
In the interest of being fair and balanced, I must point out that the person who asked me this question and myself are at diametrically opposite ends of the theological spectrum. That is to say that this neighbor, while possibly being well-intentioned is ardently anti-Hebrew roots, and is passionately against Whole Testament theology. He strongly supports the traditional Babylonian Christianity which is so common throughout all of modern Christendom today. For example, he believes that the so-called Old Testament Laws of Almighty God were abolished at the cross, and therefore are no longer applicable to the Christian believer today. From all appearances, he believes that it is perfectly acceptable to mix traditional idolatrous and pagan worship traditions with the worship of Almighty God and honoring His Son Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). He believes that this is perfectly fine as long as you are ‘focusing on Jesus in your heart’ while you are honoring the pagan idolatrous traditions, as long as you do so, "In Jesus' name." He is an ardent defender of this particular point of view. I am equally ardent and passionate defender of the opposite point of view. So that is what led to this precious soul’s question
For the record, contrary to this person's point of view, I am a passionate believer and defender of Hebrew roots, Whole Testament, Biblical Christianity of the first century. Based on the Scripture, I believe that the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God's written Word, and it is profitable to teach us how to live in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable to Yahweh Almighty God (Romans 15:4). I believe that ALL of Scripture is God breathed and anointed by the Holy Spirit for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that the people of God will be furnished and thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). I believe that all of the Laws, Commandments, and Instructions of God from Genesis to Revelation are completely valid and binding on those who would be successful followers of Yahweh Almighty God and Yeshua the Messiah (Matthew 5:17-20). Those laws which we cannot rightly fulfill, we should still learn from and honor the principles behind them. Those Laws and Commandments which we can rightly fulfill, those we are still obligated to honor and practice as best we can, as a matter of discipleship AFTER salvation has truly occurred. We do not obey God's Commandments to gain salvation, but we do receive salvation as a free gift through Jesus Christ; so that we can be set free from breaking God's commandments (which is sin), so that we can successfully obey the Commandments after we become God's children. Obeying God's Commandments is not the cause of salvation, but it is the primary fruit and the evidence that salvation has in fact truly taken place (see Ezekiel: 36:25-27 cf. Philippians 2:13).
Moreover, based on the Scriptures, I passionately believe that it is a SIN to mix, to blend and to incorporate idolatrous, pagan and demonic worship traditions together with the worship of Yahweh Almighty God and honoring the Messiah. In other words, one cannot biblically bring in Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Wiccan or satanic traditions, prayers and practices, then tack on the words, "In Jesus Name" at the end, and have such prayers and practices and cause them to become acceptable to Yahweh Almighty God and the Messiah. Likewise, we must not bring in Babylonian, Greco-Roman and druid prayer and worship practices while we are trying to worship Almighty God and honor the Messiah. Both the first and second writings of the Whole Testament of Scripture expressly forbid operating in such a manner. Based on the clear writings of Scripture, it is sinful to do such things. These are the key differences in our belief system which has provoked the brother's question. Let's review a critical part of this brother's question:
“Do you believe if a person truly accepts Christ as Lord and savior and confesses Him with their own tongue and is baptized as Jesus commanded…?” The entire question hinges around what it means to, "Truly accept Christ," and how that functions in real-life terms from a biblical perspective. I underlined the two key components of the brother's question. Without realizing it, the brother answers his own question. According to his very own words, even this brother acknowledges that part of having TRULY accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, means that we must live and act according to what Jesus Commanded. Instinctively, whether he wants to fully acknowledge it or not, even this brother understands on some level that if you do not develop a lifestyle of living and acting according to what Jesus Christ commanded, then in such a case, a person would be showing that they have not truly accepted Christ, and Jesus is not being their Lord. That is the whole point. Just as it is written:

1 John 2:1–6 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:1–6, NKJV)

1. It’s God's desire that we do not sin, it's God's desire that we would not transgress or violate His Laws, which is what sin is (1 John 3:4). However, when we do sin and transgress God's Laws and Commandments, we have an advocate with the Father through Jesus Christ Who is the atonement for our sins.
2. BY THIS we know that we have come to know Him. What's the proof that I truly know Him? IF we keep His Commandments. Keeping the Commandments of God and Jesus Christ is the deciding factor between those who truly know God, those who truly know Jesus Christ, and those who in reality do not know Him.
3. The one who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His Commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. Now we know that Yeshua the Messiah, a.k.a. Jesus Christ, IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6). We just read that if we claim to know Him, but we do not keep His Commandments, then this would make us a liar, and in such a case, the truth (who is Yeshua), would not be living in us.
4. Now, according to the so-called New Testament, where do liars go? Exactly where will those who fail to overcome the sin of lying among other sins, end up spending eternity according to God's Word? (See Revelation 21:7-8). Folks, these are not just my own ideas. It's God's written Word. I just happen to believe and teach what it truly says. Beloved, it is not as much fun, it is not as comfortable or popular to teach that people MUST overcome, but it is the truth. And if you truly love Jesus, WHO IS THE TRUTH, then you cannot rightly deny it.
5. According to the Scriptures we have just read, the ultimate way we know that we are truly in Him, the way we truly Know that we are, "In Jesus Christ,” is that we walk before God just as Jesus walked. If we are not willing to progressively learn how to live and walk in the same manner that Jesus walked before God, then according to Scripture, we are proving by that choice that we are not truly IN HIM. It's that simple (John 8:31-32; John 15:1-11).
Question: Did Jesus Christ Yeshua the Messiah honor and keep the seventh day biblical Sabbath of Yahweh Almighty God, for example? Is that one of the ways that Jesus Christ walked before God when He was here? Obviously He did. It's the fourth Commandment. Obviously, Jesus did not break it. He was falsely accused of breaking it, but He never broke it, (Hebrews 4:15). If Jesus had violated the fourth Commandment of God, then by definition, He would Not have been the unblemished spotless Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world. Since one of the ways that Jesus Christ walked before God was to honor and keep the seventh day biblical Sabbath of Yahweh Almighty God, then according to 1 John 2:6, if I am truly abiding in Jesus Christ, then I should learn to walk in the exact same manner. That's why I'm committed to learning to keep the seventh day biblical Sabbath of Yahweh, for example; because that is how Jesus walked, and I need to learn to walk the same way, if I claim to abide in Him. The same principle holds true with any other instruction of Scripture.
Question: Did Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah teach people to obey the Commandments of Yahweh Almighty God the Father? You better believe it! (E.g. Matthew 5:17-20; Luke 18:18-27; John 8:50). Jesus Christ the Messiah taught people to regard and keep the Commandments of God, and since I am abiding in Jesus Christ according to 1 John 2:6, then I had better be teaching people the same thing, just like Jesus did (John 14:21; John 15:10; John 15:14).
Question: Did Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah teach people to turn away from human religious traditions of men, and did He instead teach that people should obey God's written Word, and not follow human traditions when it violates the Commandments of God? Beloved that is exactly what Jesus did and what Jesus taught (Matthew 5:17-20; Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:1-13), and if I'm claiming to abide in Jesus according to 1 John 2:6, then I had better learn to teach and to walk before God in the exact same manner.

Question: Did Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah carefully avoid mixing, blending and incorporating various idolatrous, pagan and demonic Babylonian Greco-Roman and Druid god prayers and worship traditions, and blending those things together with His worship of Yahweh Almighty God? Was Jesus careful to avoid doing such things? Yes, Jesus carefully avoided doing that, because the Commandments of His Father absolutely required Him to avoid doing such things (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:1-4,8,29-32; Jeremiah 10:1-2). Once again since Jesus Christ was extremely careful not to incorporate various idolatrous, pagan and demonic prayer and worship traditions into His worship of Yahweh Almighty God, then if I am truly abiding in Jesus, according to 1 John 2:6, then I must learn to walk in the exact same manner that Jesus walked before Almighty God. The so-called New Testament teaches the Christian to abstain from doing such things as well:
God said we are not to think like pagans (Romans 12:1-2; 8:5-8; cf. Isaiah 55:6-9).
Jesus said that we were not to pray in the same manner that the pagans pray (Matthew 6:7-15).
Jesus said we are not to worry or chase after or pursue the things that the pagans pursue (Matthew 6:25-33).
After Christ's resurrection, the apostles confirmed that we are not to join ourselves with or be friends with the Sinful world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

 

The Under-taught Aspect of the Prodigal Son Parable

Most of us absolutely love Messiah's teaching parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). If you have not reviewed in a while, it's worth a careful review periodically. We love this parable because in this parable Messiah paints a vivid word picture of God the Father's Love Forgiveness and Restoration toward His wayward disobedient children when they return home. We need the picture, because we often wonder off from obeying God our father, and we often choose to go our own way, only to realize later that we need help, healing and restoration. Speaking for myself, I am utterly grateful that Messiah's teaching and example is in Scripture, because I need it.
While we often concentrate on the loving and forgiving restoring character of the father in the parable, there is one aspect of the parable that we often neglect:

THE SON REPENTED!

1. He realized and acknowledged the dire and desperate situation in which he truly found himself. He realized that if his circumstances did not change he would starve and perish (Luke 15:14-17).
2. He made the willful decision to humble himself before his father and to repent (Luke 15:18-19).
3. He acted consistently with his decision to repent, and he persevered until he reached home, although his father met him along the way (Luke 15:20). The point is that the son was actively physically heading toward home, and made some distance in the father's direction before the father met up with him. So he acted consistently with his choice to repent.
Now, please use your Holy Spirit driven imagination for a moment. Imagine for a moment that the son had not taken the three critical steps of repentance, would he then have been restored?
Imagine for a moment that the son decided to come home, but instead of repenting as he did, he came home with an attitude such as, 'Father, I am starving and would like to come home. I would like you to feed me, house me, love and protect me, and at the same time I would like you to change all your rules and standards so that it will be easier for me to desire to stay, and I will be happier to stay and live under your roof, while you pay all of the bills since I'm now destitute. Moreover, I would like to redecorate my room in your house so that it matches the pigsty I just left. In addition, I would like to maintain the same self-indulgent attitudes, desires behaviors and lifestyle that I regularly practiced when I first left home.’
Beloved, I beseech you to please think biblically. Is there any part in the Testament of Scripture that realistically suggests that the father would have accepted life with his son under such conditions?

 

The Bottom Line

1. It is absolutely possible for us to claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and for Him not to claim us at the end. According to the teachings of the Messiah Himself, the surest way to guarantee that we will enter the kingdom of God. The surest way that Messiah will lead us as His own is to become DOERS of God's will (Matthew 7:21).
2. It is entirely possible to start out in God's household, but for us not to be allowed to remain there (John 15:1-8). By definition, sin is the transgression of God's Law (1 John 3:4; Daniel 9:11; Hosea 8:1). If we do not learn to overcome what causes us to transgress and violate God's Laws, if we remain in our sins then we are a slave to sin. According to Messiah Himself, if we do not repent and turn away from sin, then we are slaves to sin. If we remain in slavery to our sin, then according to Messiah, in such a case we do not have a permanent place in God's household. Folks, those are Messiah's own words, Not mine (John 8:34-35). So how do I know when I am truly free from the sin of coveting for example? Simple, I will know that I'm free from the sin of coveting, when I can freely obey God in that area and I no longer covet. I am truly set free from any given sin when I can readily turn away from it, and I can freely obey what God requires and desires instead.
3. The bottom line is that the ultimate proof, the ultimate evidence that I'm truly born-again and changed by God from the inside is that I will ever progressively and increasingly be able to desire to choose and to do what God says He desires and requires (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Philippians 2:13). Learning to overcome is not option, it's imperative. It's life and death (Revelation 21:7-8).
Brother R. Michel Lankford

Fasting God's Way

(Messiah's 20th Command)

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

Matthew 6:16-18 "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites Do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will Not be noticed by men, But by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18 NASB)

 
Messiah emphasizes three particular religious disciplines within His first sermon. I believe that He Emphasized these particular practices because He expected His followers to implement these things as a regular and frequent part of our own daily lives. The three spiritual disciplines that Yeshua Messiah especially emphasized were:
• Voluntarily contributing to meet the needs of others (Matthew 6:1-4)
• Personal Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13)
• Fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)
It is worth remembering that with each of the disciplines of giving to the needs of others, praying, and fasting, Messiah does not use the word 'if', but rather in each case, He specifically uses the word "when." That is significant, because it demonstrates that in the eyes of the Messiah, giving to the needs of others, praying, and fasting should become essential and normal disciplines for any true God follower. According to Messiah, it is never a question of whether or not we will engage in these disciplines, because He takes it for granted that any God follower would in fact fully engage in such essential practices. Since Messiah assumes that any true God follower would give, pray, and fast, the only issues that He addresses are those relating to how we should practice these disciplines in the most effective manner in order to achieve the best eternal results.
It is also essential to recall that according to Messiah, His specific commands regarding each of these practices is exactly the same. When we give, when we pray, or when we fast, we should not do it in such a way as to advertise or call unnecessary attention to what we are doing. These things are to be done so that God sees it and approves, and not in an effort to gain praise and approval of other human beings. If our motives and objectives in giving, praying, or fasting is set on gaining the approval, recognition and praise from human beings, we will then lose the praise and recognition of God in our sacrifice. In such a case, it would mean that we have given, prayed or fasted in vain, and we would render our sacrifice meaningless. So, in all our giving, praying, and fasting, our only motive and effort should be directed exclusively toward pleasing God. Only then will our offerings of giving, prayer and fasting be praiseworthy and achieve eternally worthwhile results.
It is also notable that Messiah gave these instructions not only because it is the most God honoring way to do things, but also as one way to counteract the leaven or the sin of the Pharisees.
The religious leaders of Messiah day had fallen into the snare of appearing outwardly righteous to others while they were privately indulging in all manner of wickedness. Yeshua was trying to arrest such spiritual cancer by eliminating the concept of practicing these behaviors for public viewing.

 

Understanding Fasting

Among the three disciplines that Messiah emphasized, I believe that fasting is the most under taught, underappreciated, and it is certainly the least practiced in modern-day American Christendom. I believe that part of the reason for this is that in our modern mindset, the ancient practice of fasting seems a bit outdated and mysterious, and so the importance and benefits of fasting get lost. Therefore this Bible study will attempt to unpack what fasting is, what the benefits and purposes of fasting are, and then discuss some practical ways of implementing fasting into our regular life experience.
In modern-day Christendom it's become popular to repackage and redesign fasting into a more appetizing prospect (please pardon the pun), by suggesting that people can "fast" from such things as electronics, recreational activities and so forth. While these things can certainly be beneficial, giving up these things is more accurately called a sacrificial gift. However, temporarily giving up electronics or other earthly pleasures cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered fasting before the LORD. In Scripture, all forms of fasting include giving up food in some fashion. In other words there is no real fasting without giving up some food in some manner.

 

The Real Purposes of Fasting

I believe that part of the reason that fasting is so under taught and underutilized in our modern-day is that we are losing understanding of the benefits and purposes of fasting. So I will try to use some easy illustrations to explain these things. First, we need to remember that the human being is made up of three essential portions:
The spirit: The spirit part of the human being is the portion of us that will live forever somewhere. We will either live in heaven with God, or in hell which is the place that was only intended for the devil and the demons who rebelled against God. Whenever a human being sins against God, the human spirit becomes defiled. Whenever a person receives Yeshua Messiah as Lord and Savior and becomes born-again, God fulfills the promise He made long ago and replaces our defiled human spirit, and puts the Holy Spirit within us in its place (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
The soul: The soul part of the human being consists of our mind; (our thinking and attitudes), our will; (the part of the human being where we make our determinations and choices about what actions we will choose to take), and our emotions; (this is where our feelings live and originally surface to inform our mind; emotions like happiness, sadness, compassion or anger etc. all originate here.
The body: This is the part of the human being with which we are all the most familiar. It consists of our physical brain and all of our organs and physical structures and our five physical senses.
Now, the three major parts of the human being; our spirit, soul and body intertwine and interact with one another. IF the ideal situation is working flawlessly inside the human being, then the Holy Spirit should be voluntarily given complete charge of the human being. In such a case, the Holy Spirit would fill us to overflowing and would overflow into our soul and would transform our mind, our will and our emotions to always completely agree and coincide with God, His Love, and His Righteousness. Once this has been thoroughly accomplished, of course we would make all our choices in total agreement with God and His Righteousness, which of course would overflow into how our physical bodies behave because we would direct all our actions to agree with God, His Love, and His Righteousness. So, there you have a brief snapshot; a glimpse into the ideal situation.
Unfortunately none of us live constantly in the ideal situation. Before we truly heard The gospel and submitted under the Lordship and salvation of Yeshua Messiah, our human spirit was decaying and dying, since it was separated from God, (the only source of all true life), because of sin; the transgression of God’s Law. As a result, the soul portion of our being became stronger and stronger in a vain effort to compensate for our dying human spirit which was rendered crippled by sin. Over the years of living in the sinful world we became quite adept at allowing our soul to rule the roost. Before coming to Messiah we became quite accustomed to allowing our own soul to be Lord and Master of our lives. We made all of our decisions and choices according to what seemed best to us in our own human intellect (Proverbs 14:12; Proverbs 16:25; Proverbs 26:12). The problem is that the vast majority of the time, human wisdom and intellect is hostile against God (Romans 8:5-8), it is driven by sinful selfish ambition (James 3:13-16). So while we think that doing things our own way is freedom, this actually leads to more sin against God, which in reality leads to slavery instead of freedom (John 8:31-38), and eventually this leads to spiritual death and desolation (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23). Before receiving Messiah we were driven by our own intellect and emotions, and what we perceived to be the needs of our own intellect, our own desires, and our own physical cravings. Our mind, our will and emotions and our physical cravings drove all of our decisions. Our soul and body ruled.
Unfortunately the deadly habit of allowing our mind will and emotions to rule our decisions and behaviors does not automatically go away when we become born-again and receive Messiah. When we are born again and love Yeshua, we desperately want the Holy Spirit that is working in us to have the control He should have, but our soul and body have grown so entirely accustomed to being in charge and directing our lives, so that our soul and body still have an incredibly difficult time relinquishing their long-held dominion over our lives, to the control of the Holy Spirit where such control truly belongs. That is why there is such a struggle inside the born-again believer. As it is written:

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Galatians 5:17 NKJV)

This is why the believers in Rome were specifically told NOT to think according to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind (Romans 12:1-2 cf. Romans 8:5-8; Romans12:3; Colossians 3:2; Philippians 2:5-8; Philippians 4:8; 1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7; Matthew 21:28-32 ).
Consider: If transformation in the soul of the believer happened automatically and instantaneously upon receiving Messiah, then all these instructions to direct our mind, our desires, and our willingness would not have been necessary.
 

The Benefits of Fasting

1. Personal Recalibration The ultimate purpose of fasting then is to recalibrate the human being. It is about subduing the soul and the body which was once so completely accustomed to being in charge, and instead forcibly putting the Spirit back in charge. It's about breaking the habit of allowing our soul and our physical bodies to rule our lives, and instead we forcibly submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit's authority.
Fasting is the voluntary choice of our will to purposely weaken our soul and body so that they will relinquish their vice grip over the control of our lives and return it to the Spirit where it rightly belongs. Fasting is about disciplining our soul and our body to settle down and allow the Spirit to rule in our being as God intended. Our mind will and emotions, and our physical bodies have grown too strong by being allowed to obtain too much control through being overindulged, so we must periodically refuse to indulge these things in order that the Spirit in us can exercise proper control in our lives. That is why fasting is said to discipline, humble or chastise the soul (Psalm 35:13; Psalm 69:10).
While the primary objective for fasting is to establish a closer more intimate communion with God on a personal level, Scripture also points out that there are other secondary, but still critical reasons for fasting. The secondary reasons are broken down into the following broad categories:
2. Submission to God (usually in the midst of His discipline or correction 1 Samuel 7:6; Joel 1:14-2:12)
3. Personal or National Repentance (Jonah chapter 3; Nehemiah 1:4-2:10)
4. Seeking God's Saving Deliverance from what would be otherwise an overwhelming force. This could be deliverance from physical calamity, a powerful physical enemy, or Seeking deliverance from evil demonic powers (2 Chronicles 20:1-25; Esther 4:1-17; Matthew 17:14-21).
5. Seeking wisdom direction and understanding from God (Daniel 9:3, 20-27)
6. Consecration for ministry and service to the Lord (Acts 13:1-5)
7. Overcoming Satan and temptation through self-denial (Matthew 4; Luke 4; Matthew 17:14-21)
 

Different Types of Fasts

While the New Testament does not prescribe precisely when and how believers should fast, the fulfillment Scriptures of the New Testament does tell us that the Hebrew Scriptures were written for our instruction, so that through them we can learn perseverance and maintain our hope (Romans 15:4). So what do the first writing of the Whole Testament us about the different types of fasting? Which type of fasting one uses and its duration depends on the specific purpose for each particular fast, as well as the particular conviction and direction of the Holy Spirit which the believer receives on any given occasion. Scripture does designate different types of common fasts, which are as follows:
1. The Total and Complete Fast: This is by far the most radical form of fasting. In a total fast, one will neither eat nor drink anything at all for a specified period of time. It's usually reserved for times of great need or dire distress. For example, Queen Esther and all the Israelites engaged in this type of fast when the Hebrew people were facing annihilation, and a way needed to be found to change the situation (Esther chapter 4). Although it may vary at the Lord's direction, typically a fast of this nature lasts only about three days. Sometimes this can be known as a day's fast which can be a 24-hour fast, or from sunrise to sunset in a single day.
2. The Standard Fast: The more typical fast is where one abstains from food but continues to take in liquid refreshment such as juice or water. Typically in Scripture this type of fast can last from a single week to as long as 40 days. Once again this depends on the Lord's direction.
3. The Partial Fast: This is the most common. This is the type of fast where one will only omit certain particular types of food, but still eat all other foods. For example one might abstain from eating desserts and sweets, but they would continue to eat other foods. Or one might continue to eat all foods except for bread, or meat. This type of fasting is the most wide-ranging because it can last anywhere from one day to a lifetime depending on the Lord's direction (Daniel 1:8-14; Samson in Judges 13:5-24).

 

How We Should Fast - The Practical Stuff

If there is one overall Biblical principle that I wish every Messiah follower would learn, it is this. It's not the knowing of God's word that transforms and sanctifies your life. It is loving, believing and doing God's word with persistence that changes our lives and gives us ultimate victory.
In God's economy, everything we do matters. Therefore, in every task we undertake, our motives, our choice of procedures, and our actions should be directed toward what God says pleases Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). One of the most Godly men and all of the Hebrew Scriptures was the prophet Daniel. It's extremely noteworthy the before Daniel abstained from a single food, he first made a determination to have a correct heart (Daniel 1:8). We need to remember that we were created for God's pleasure, not our own (Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 4:8-11; Colossians 3:23-24; Ecclesiastes 9:10). Therefore, seeking and doing what pleases God, and doing it with our best effort, should be our highest priority. It is in that spirit that Messiah specifically told us to make sure that our heart, motives and procedures were centered on pleasing God and receiving His attention not other people’s, so that our giving praying and fasting would have God's attention and His blessing.
When Messiah gave the instructions that we should make sure our heart, our objectives, our motives, our procedures and our actions are correct when we fast before God, He was not really saying anything new at all. He was merely ratifying what God had already spoken through the prophet Isaiah (in Isaiah 58). With this in mind, let's take a look at the specifics about how God wants us to fast
1. Determine to be especially God centered and God pleasing Not self-centered or self- pleasing during your fast (Daniel 1:8; Isaiah 58:1-6; Matthew 6:16-18).
2. Be deliberate and purposeful. There are some things you should decide and probably write down in your journal ahead of time:
(a) Determine and write down why you are feeling moved to fast: Which of the seven objectives or biblical purposes of fasting are you seeking to accomplish in this particular fast? (See above).
(b) Which type of fast do you believe that God is directing you to employ for this occasion? Is it a complete and total fast? Is it a standard fast, where you eat no food, but you will drink liquids? Is it a partial fast, where you will abstain from certain foods, but still eat other foods?
(c) Do you feel that God is leading you to enter a fast for a predetermined period of time? In other words do you know the duration your fast is supposed to take? All of these details should be written down in a prayer journal or somewhere close at hand.
(d) Prayerfully and purposely determine ahead of time what kind of support you need if any. Depending on your purpose in fasting, the type of fast and its duration, you may need some support. While fasting is never to be done for competition, for public display, or to receive praise from people, there are times when we fast together as a community of believers. The Hebrew Scriptures refer to these group fasting times as solemn assemblies. During group fasts or solemn assemblies, we are seeking God's help, advice or deliverance for church-wide or nationwide issues. For another example, if you are seeking for God to deliver someone from demonic oppression or possession, you will definitely need to seek two or three other brethren to fast and pray with you.
Also, please be wise. It you are frail of health or you are on some vital medication, you should most definitely seek the advice and assistance of your health professional before engaging in any change of diet, but especially if you're planning a prolonged or difficult fast.
3. Be deliberate about mixing prayer with your fasting. Fasting without prayer is nothing more than a glorified hunger strike. Please don't do that. It only really works when you mix it with prayer. So, when we are fasting we need to be deliberate about making sure that what would be our normal eating times now becomes time especially set aside to pray concerning the situation that brought us to the fast in the first place. Otherwise you're really wasting your effort.
4. Remember to work on reconciliation of relationships during your fast (Isaiah 58:3-6): As with the other disciplines that Messiah deals with in this chapter, proper relationship with other people is paramount. When we bring an offering to God, and we remember that There is a broken relationship between us and another person, we must leave the altar, do our very best to make peace and be reconciled with the person, and then we can bring our offering, and it will be accepted (Matthew 5:21-26). Again we are told that when we are praying we should forgive those who have sinned against us. If we do not forgive others who sinned against us God the Father will not forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25). So is it any wonder that the principle would be exactly the same when we are trying to bring a fast before the Lord that He will accept? Actually, this principle is even more important when we are fasting. Why is this? Well, because many times when we are fasting, we are doing so for the expressed purpose of receiving God's delivering power to overcome some form of oppression in our lives. Therefore, it is all the more critical that we would be diligent to, "Undo the heavy burdens," that we have placed on other people. There is a spiritual law that clearly says that we will harvest what we plant into other people's lives (Galatians 6:7-10; Matthew 18:23-35).
For example, are you holding people under condemnation because they have not lived up to your demands and standards? Are you absolutely sure that you are treating your workers or those over whom you have authority, in the very same manner that you yourself would want to be treated if the roles were reversed? Are you certain that you are not taking advantage of people? Are you certain that you are not making other people's life and work more difficult than necessary? If you are doing any of these types of things, you must repent, seek the forgiveness of these people, and turn away from such attitudes and deeds, because you cannot plant and nurture the seeds of oppression, while crying out to God for your deliverance. You cannot plant and nurture seeds of oppression into the lives of others and expect to reap a harvest of God's deliverance in your own circumstances. To harbor such a wicked attitude is to mock God, and that is extremely dangerous (Galatians 6:7-10). God save us and keep all such mocking far away from our being. Let us never be found in the seat of the mockers, but only in the congregation of the righteous; who love honor and obey the Lord. In Messiah, amen. While we are fasting we are also to concentrate on other important tasks, because it's the kind of fasting that the LORD has chosen (Isaiah 58:6):
• Repent from wickedness and deal with sin; Loose the bonds of wickedness (Isaiah 58:6; John 8:31-34; Romans 6:12-16).
• Share food with the hungry, find lodgings for the homeless and clothing for the naked; and do not abandon needy family members when you are in reality able to help them (Isaiah 58:7,10; Proverbs 19:17; Luke 3:11; 1 John 3:17).
• Refuse to point the finger of false accusation (Isaiah 58:9). This does not mean that we never point out sin, because that would violate the requirements of Isaiah 58:6 as well as John 8:31-36, since people can only be freed from the yoke of slavery to sin when they recognize sin as being sin, when they recognize that they are trapped in sin, and when they repent and walk toward God and away from their sin. If people do not see their sin, they will not see their need for a Savior, they will not repent, and they will remain enslaved in their sin. So what does Isaiah 58:9 refer to when it talks about not pointing the finger of accusation? Well, the last part of Isaiah 58:9 explains it:
Isaiah 58:9 "Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, (Isaiah 58:9 NASB)
When Isaiah 58:9 is talking about not pointing the finger of accusation and not speaking wickedness, it is NOT referring to pointing out truth about sin which in fact would set people free (John 8:31-32; 1 Corinthians 13:6; Isaiah 5:20-24), but it is talking about avoiding speaking wickedness which refers to avoiding accusations which are made falsely or maliciously. The cross reference in my ESV translation helped me to spot this as well. It led me to Proverbs 6:12-13 (I would also include verse 14). In any event, what Isaiah 58:9 is commanding us to avoid when He tells us not to point the finger of accusation, is do not make false or malicious accusations. What is also implied in that when you combine it with Proverbs 6:12-14 is that we should not purposely use people's weaknesses against them, meaning of course that we should NEVER secretly plot and scheme and devise plans for people to fall into sin, so that we could later point the finger of accusation against them.
• Satisfy the desires of the afflicted (Isaiah 58:10). In other words instead of being consumed by our own desires, we should spend our fasting time trying to meet the desires of those who are worse off than we are.

 

Remembering the Rewards

It is beneficial to remember that there are always huge payoffs and benefits to obeying God, and persisting in doing good:

Galatians 6:9-10 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10 (ESV)

• When we give to the needy in a manner that God desires, He sees it and will reward us (Matthew 6:1-4). In the day of trouble and famine, God will deliver those who have been generous to the poor (Psalm 33:19; Psalm 41:1). God promises that when we are generous, He will be generous with us, but if we are stingy, then God will be much less generous with us (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6).
• When we pray in a manner that God desires, He will hear us (Matthew 6:5-13; Psalm 34:15; Matthew 7:7-8). When we live in His Words, and allow His Words to live in us, we could even reach the point where we receive from God everything that we request (John 15:1-7).
The rewards for fasting correctly before the LORD are also virtually limitless:
"Then your light will break out like the dawn." Almost everyone in the world recognizes dawn and daylight, right? So what the first promise that is guaranteed for proper fasting basically says that almost anyone in the world would be able to recognize that God gave you breakthrough in your circumstances when you fast correctly. It's very similar to the precept that the sinful world will be able to recognize and believe that it is God who sent Yeshua Messiah when we walk in unity with God and other believers (John 17:23). The correct way to walk becomes more obvious and clear to others when believers do right.
"And your recovery will speedily spring forth" Remember that in our section on the purposes of fasting (see above), we discussed that one of the main purposes of fasting was to receive God's power and deliverance from sin (this sin that keeps beating us), also from different kinds of oppression, and deliverance from demonic forces? Well, when we fast correctly God promises to speed up our deliverance and our victory. Moreover, Isaiah 58:8 not only promises that God will speed up our deliverance and victory, but He also promises to be, "Our rearguard." This means that as we advance and make spiritual and circumstantial progress in our lives, God will maintain the victories that we gained in the past so that we are free to press forward into new victories. That's what a rearguard does (Isaiah 58:8).
God even promises to do more than that:
• When we pray God will answer (Isaiah 58:9).
• The Lord will continually guide us (Isaiah 58:11). So this will successfully fulfill another purpose in fasting because we will receive the guidance we were seeking when we started.
• The Lord will revive and refresh us (Isaiah 58:11).
• The Lord will revive and restore our society and also bless our efforts to restore it (Isaiah 58:12). The Lord will revive, restore and firmly reestablish what works in our lives, in our families and in our society, and He will bless our efforts to build and restore those things according to His righteous standards (Isaiah 58:12).

 

The Conclusion

Beloved brethren, I hope that you can see that there are profound benefits in learning to give and contribute God's way, in praying God's way, and in fasting God's way. I hope that you feel better informed and encouraged about the importance of fasting. I pray you will see the value in proper planning and being more deliberate when you fast. Most of all, I pray we will fast more often and more deliberately in a manner that God has chosen so that we will see God's salvation and deliverance in our lives, families, communities and our nation.
Almighty God, Lord Yeshua Messiah, Lord God Holy Spirit; blessed be Your name forever more. I love You, but I want to love You more and better, to trust you more and better, to obey You more and better, and to honor You more and better than I ever have up to this point. Please forgive me for falling so short of the standards that You desire and deserve to receive from me in all these areas. Please help me to be more deliberate and intentional about establishing good habits of giving, praying and fasting in ways that will truly please You, so that whenever I give, pray, or fast, they will achieve the best eternal results for myself, my family, my family of believers, my community, my country and beyond. Mercifully grant this for the sake of Your unfailing love and Your Son Yeshua Messiah, amen.
Brother R. Michel Lankford

Praying God’s Way

(Christ’s 19th Command)

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

Matthew 6:9-15 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you Do not forgive others, then your Father Will not forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:9-15 NASB)

 

Specific Commands in Today's Passage

#19 – “Pray, then, in this way.”

 

Use Messiah's Teaching Prayer as a Template

Upon having demonstrated and commanded that we should not pray as religious hypocrites or in order to be seen and approved of by other human beings, and also that we should not use ongoing repetitions, or in a larger sense, we must not incorporate any pagan practices and methods into our prayers (Matthew 6:5-8), Messiah then moves on to what I have labeled Messiah’s 19th public command in the New Testament, "Pray then in this way." Please notice what the command does not say. Christ does not say pray exactly this, but instead He says, "Pray like this." Other English translations similarly render it: "Pray then in this way." Or, "In this manner then you should pray." This is a very important distinction because it clearly indicates that the verses of Scripture which will immediately follow are intended as a guide or a template for creating our own successful prayers to Yahweh. They were not intended to be a prayer that we should repeat verbatim over and over and over again, as some have fallen into the habit of doing (and in so doing they violate Matthew 6:5-8, which will in turn make their prayers much less effective because it's not exactly obedient to His principles and commands).
Remember, Matthew 6:9-15, was not intended to become a prayer in and of itself. It was intended to become our guide, our model, our outline template, so that we could create our own conversational prayers with God which He would hear and respect. As we look at the Lord's prayer template more closely, we will notice something else that is very important. The template that Yeshua gives us to use in creating our prayers points to some strong indicators about God's heart, His desires, and His priorities for His people. If we are wise, these will also become our own priorities in our relationship with God, and with other people as well. So with this renewed focus in mind let's look more closely at the prayer template that Messiah is provided for us, so that we can create prayers which are truly agreeable with God's heart and His priorities. So that when we pray, God will be pleased to hear Them and to positively affect the circumstances that burden our heart.

 

 

The Usefulness of Messiah's Prayer Teaching Template

 
I like this prayer model for several reasons. First, it has a greater possibility of success since it was specifically given by the Messiah, who still retains the function of praying for God's people At the throne of God to this day (Hebrews 7:25). So obviously Yeshua knows something about effective prayer. The second reason I like this prayer model is its versatility. The principles of the template can be applied to any prayer you want to make, whether you're praying for your own needs or the needs of others, the outline still works just as well. Third, Christ's teaching model or template on prayer reveals something about God's heart and about His priorities and His desires for people. Fourth, if we learn to use this prayer outline effectively, it really does cover everything that we or those we pray for will ever need. In other words, when we use this as an outline to pray for ourselves and others, we will not accidentally leave out anything vital. This prayer outline is so perfect because it focuses both on our eternal needs, and our temporary earthly needs.
"Our Father Who Is in Heaven..."
Yahweh’s first priority is our own personal relationship with Him. God wants a living, loving thriving relationship with us. He wants to be our Father. He wants us to be as close to Him as beloved children are to their parents.
Contrary to what some false religions in our world today choose to teach, God does indeed have children. Job understood this (Job 1:6, 2:1; 38:7). God told Moses that He had children (Genesis 6:2, 4). The psalmist understood that Yahweh has children (Psalm 7:7-12). Jesus illustrated that it was possible for ordinary people to become children of God (and they would be called such by God), if they allow God to transform their character so that they would be people loving, peacemakers (Matthew 5:9; Matthew 5:43-45).
The apostles who witnessed the resurrected Messiah continued explaining the same truth. John the apostle testified that those who received and accepted Christ the Messiah and Son of God, would themselves have the power to become children of God (John 1:12). John was told that there would be believers and children of God scattered everywhere (John 11:52). John was also told by the Spirit of God and then testified that we could identify who is a child of God and which people were children of the devil. Children of God love God, they practice righteousness, and they love other believers. Whoever does not do these is not a child of God, period. People who do not love in this manner are actually children of the devil (1 John 3:10 cf 1 John 5:2; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 22:36-40). Paul the apostle who also later witnessed the resurrected Messiah would later testify and explain that it would become natural for people who have been born again and transformed by the Holy Spirit of God to cry out to Him as our Father (Romans 8:15-16).
The verses above are not the only passages that speak about Yahweh followers being children of God, but you certainly get the idea. The point is that according to the teaching outline on prayer that Messiah has provided, having and maintaining proper relationship with God as our Father is our first prayer priority. Having and maintaining a correct and thriving relationship with God is our first priority in prayer because it should be our first priority in life. Quite simply, nothing else functions as well as it could in our lives unless our relationship with God is correct and thriving first. Any challenges we face in life are made even more difficult than necessary, whenever our relationship with God is out of kilter in any way. So when you are praying, you should do a relationship checkup. Depending on where you are situated in your own journey of faith, you may need to pursue any or all of the following questions:
1. How is my relationship with God? Do I know Him (John 17:3)? Have I believed that Yeshuah of Nazareth is the Messiah and Christ of God (John 1:12). If I do believe this, have I committed my life to Jesus the Messiah as my own Lord and Savior? If I have not, then I certainly must do so.
2. Once I know that I have believed and received Yeshua the Messiah as my Lord and Savior and my relationship with God has truly begun, then I can consider moving on to issues of growth and maturing in my relationship with God and Messiah. For example, “Am I really growing as Your child, God? Are my beliefs, attitudes, desires and behaviors growing to become more and more consistent with the Love attributes described in the above paragraphs? Do I have a growing desire to learn and to practice obeying Your Commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 John 2:3-4, 1 John 3:22, 24; 1 John 5:2-3)? If not, that needs to be a major focus in my prayer. If you are seeing some growth that is consistent with the above Scripture references, then we need to recognize that in praise God for that growth.
3. Once I know that I have a relationship with God, and that it is growing, I can then move on to questions with regard to growing into deeper intimacy and closeness with God as my Heavenly Father. In what ways do I wish I was closer in intimacy and friendship with Him? In what ways do I sense that this is weaker than it should be? In what ways do I see my intimacy growing etc.? Anyway, hopefully you get the idea that there is a lot more to the first six little words of our prayer outline then originally meets the eye. Our first priority in prayer is praying about our relationship with God before anything else.
“Hallowed be Your Name”
What does it mean to hallow God's name? Well, The Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (a source I would recommend for any serious student), hagiazo (ἁγιάζω, 37), “to make holy” (from hagios, “holy”), signifies to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing the opposite of koinos, “common”; it is translated “Hallowed,” with reference to the name of God the Father in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2. See SANCTIFY.
What that means in terms of practical everyday Christian living is simply this. We need to make sure that we elevate God, and His Holy Name as the head and superior over everything else in our lives. It means that we set Almighty God above; bringing honor and glory to His Name above any other common concern of this life. When we reach the, Hallowed be Your Name portion of the Lord's praying template for us, it's a reminder to pay deliberate attention to our worship.
1. It's a reminder that we want to separate and elevate God and His Holy Name to the place of Premier honor, respect, and ultimate authority in our lives. You are basically asking that God will help you to have sincere reverence and honor for God and His Name.
2. When we reach The Hallowed Be Your Name portion of the outline, it should remind us that we need to ask God to convert us, to transform us and to refine us into a person that truly worships God in spirit and in Truth, because those are the kinds of people with whom God The Father seeks to Fellowship, and I want to become and remain one of those people (John 4:24).
3. When one reaches this part of Messiah’s prayer template, we should really be asking God to transform every fiber of our being so that we will bring glory to God and bring joyful delight to His heart. For example, "Lord God, you are perfect in love, in righteousness, and in power, so help me to always respect and honor You as such, because You deserve no less. Help me never to bring any disgrace and dishonor to Your name. Instead, please take my spirit and immortal being, my desires and cravings, my mind and thinking, take my feelings and emotions and transform Them completely until everything within me brings You true worship, honor, joy and delight. Mercifully grant that I will be one of the worshipers who worships You in spirit and in truth, such as you are seeking. Help me to submit to You in every respect until this is fully accomplished, and You are genuinely honored and glorified by this life which I am 'renting' from You."
4. At this point, the devout student might reasonably ask, "Why is the 'Hollowed Be Your Name' portion placed second in God's prayer outline? Why is it not His first?" That is actually a terrific question. I'm so glad you asked. The answer is actually threefold: a) The reality is that God desires for every single person to be born again (to be born a second time spiritually; John 3:3,7; Ezekiel 36:25-27; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17). He only wants worship from people who know Him, love Him, and who desire to obey Him. b) Praise and worship is only fitting when it comes from those who have first received God's salvation and experienced this internal and eternal spiritual rebirth. Praise is only becoming; only fitting on those that are made upright with God (Psalms 33:1), because only those who are reborn spiritually can worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). c) We must first be transformed and brought into right relationship with God first, because the sacrifices of the wicked are actually disgusting to God (Proverbs 15:8; Proverbs 21:27). So right relationship with God must always be first, only then can we rightly bring our praise, our worship and our sacrifices that God will accept.

Your Kingdom Come Your Will Be Done, on Earth As It Is in Heaven
When we are creating a prayer that God will honor and respect, the third priority on God's agenda for us is that we would seek God's kingdom and God's will in all our daily choices and actions. This is that particular part of our prayer outline that whenever we bring any situation to God in prayer, we want to ask God to help us to seek, to help us to recognize, and then to help us do His will in whatever particular situation we are currently bringing before Him in prayer.
Scripture clearly tells us that we need to be intentional about making sure that we honor and glorify God in every aspect of our everyday ordinary lives (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11). At the same time, there is more to living as a citizen of God's kingdom than the everyday aspects of eating or drinking, or simply living our daily lives to honor God. Although that is infinitely valuable, the kingdom of God goes beyond this. Scripture tells us that God's kingdom is made up of righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). So that naturally means that as I walk through my daily life, my every choice needs to be directed and agreeable with God's Righteousness, His Peace, His Joy, and His Holy Spirit. That is our aim and our goal as we seek to live like kingdom citizens while we go through this life.
When we say, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This is both an intensely personal statement as well as a prelude to praying for other people and situations. Remember that human beings originated by God from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). So we need to be aware and intentional about the fact that in effect, when we pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," we are really first asking, let Your Kingdom come in this piece of earth called Michel Lankford (in my case, you of course would use your own name)."Let Your Righteousness, Your Peace, Your Joy, and Your Holy Spirit (which is the kingdom of God), be firmly established in this piece of earth called Michel Lankford. Let all my desires and appetites, my thinking and decisions, my words, choices and my actions today come into agreement with Your Righteousness, Your Peace, Your Joy and the leading and direction of Your Holy Spirit.
At this point you might be thinking, well preacher, isn't this really the part of the prayer outline where we're supposed to remember to pray for our government and church leaders (1 Timothy 2:2)? Well good for you! Of course it is! At the same time, there is an age old godly principle that we cannot give away what we ourselves do not possess. God will not hear our intercessory prayers for other people until we make sure that we are submitted to God and making our choices according to His Character, His Word, and His Principles first. It is a very good thing to pray that the President, the legislatures, our judges, our media outlets, our schools and our churches would all be revived and restored into loving and obeying God so that the nation would do right, would be restored, and would be blessed. It's a very good thing, and I do pray for this. However, there is an unshakable principle in God's economy that those people who call themselves His followers must first pave the way.
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)
I can and I do pray for my leaders to develop a hunger and thirst for righteousness and to obey God and Jesus Christ so that they and our nation will be blessed. However, other than prayer I have no real control or authority to influence whether any other person obeys God or not. I do however have some measure of direct control and responsibility concerning whether I obey God or not. I cannot control or influence everything in my life, but what I do have authority and responsibility over, let me submit to and glorify God in these. Whenever I face a decision in the course of my daily life, let me make that decision according to His Righteousness, His Peace, His Joy, and the direction of His Holy Spirit. If I truly pray and seek after these things, then when I pray for others God will respect it.
 
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
This of course is that part of Christ's prayer template where we are encouraged to bring our needs and desires before God (cf. Philippians 4:6-7). The major difference between us and God with respect to our needs and wants is that in prayer, our laundry lists of needs and wants usually rises nearer to the top of our prayer list, but in reality it ranks fourth on God's list of priorities for our lives. If I am praying for another, and I happen to know the needs involved with the individual, then I bring them specifically to God at this point. If I don't know the needs that the person may have, I generally ask God to meet the person's needs according to His riches and glory in Jesus Christ. At this point is also a good idea to ask that if God would like to use us and our resources as part of meeting another's needs that we would be receptive and obedient to God in that opportunity as well.
 
Forgive Us our Sins as we Forgive Those Who Sin against Us.
It is a hard and fast rule that if we do not forgive those who have wounded us, then God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15). So it is imperative that we would forgive those who have sinned against us, because there is not a single one among us who can possibly do without God's forgiveness. So when we reach this part of the prayer outline template, it is beneficial to ask for the conviction of the Holy Spirit so that we might confess any sins we have committed and also that we would forgive anyone who wounded us in some way. When we are praying for others we may not know their sins. However, praying that they will receive the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that they will be able to confess their sins, that they will forgive anyone who sins against them, and that they will receive God's forgiveness in their lives cannot be far off the mark.
Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil.
Just like our Heavenly Father God knows every decision we will face in every need that we have, he also understands all our weaknesses better than we do. He knows what access points the enemy has and what weapons he will use to try to ensnare us into sin. So it is always a smart idea to ask God to protect you and your loved ones from any weakness that the enemy could exploit. If you are aware of a particular weakness for temptation with which you are currently struggling, this is the part of your prayer outline where you need to purposefully bring that before the Lord. Unfortunately, I have discovered that many people choose to ignore this part of the prayer outline (meaning we are not effectively dealing with their own weaknesses). Sometimes people ignore this part of the prayer because we are so consumed with daily living and survival that we don't take enough time to work through our junk in prayer. Other times we neglect this in prayer because it's too painful messy difficult or complicated. We don't know what to do, so we ignore it. Other times we neglect this part of our prayer outline because we are sincerely oblivious to the real weaknesses and character flaws that hinder our growth and progress in Christ.
In any case, this is the part of the prayer outline where we need to ask God to help us to spot and not to fall into any temptation, scheme, device, plan or weapon that the enemy sets against us. Instead, help us to fully submit to God and resist the devil at every turn until the evil one flees, and we are completely victorious in Messiah.
For yours is the kingdom, power and the glory forever.
At the end of our prayer we need to recognize that God is both willing and able to do the things we have requested and give God praise for it.
As I pray for you all and for those whom you serve this week, I plan to use this template as my guide. I encourage you to try it yourself as you pray for each other. God bless and have a terrific day in the Lord.

 

Summary Review: This Is How We Should Pray

1. Our Father in Heaven: Pray about your relationship with God before anything else. Praise God for what is working and growing in your relationship with God. Ask God to help you see and then to help you cooperate with Him in any area where your relationship intimacy and friendship can improve. Ask God to help you become the kind of child of God which would bring even more joy and delight to God's heart.
2. Hallowed be Your Name: Whether you are praying for yourself or others, pray that you would have a sincere heart that values and elevates God above anything else. Pray that you will become and remain a person that worships God in spirit and truth; one who always brings honor and credit to God's name.
3. Your Kingdom Come Your Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven: The kingdom of God is not about ritual, but is based on Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Bring to God any upcoming decisions that you or those for whom you are praying are facing. Pray that God will change your heart, your desires, your thinking, your attitudes to agree Him and His best desires. Pray that you will be willing and able to make your decisions according to what best reflects His righteousness, His peace, His joy, and the direction of His Holy Spirit. You can pray this for any church or ministry, for political and civic leaders, or for any individual, and you would certainly be praying correctly. This is also a time when we pray for the lost to come into the kingdom of God (see Acts 26:18).
4. Give Us Today Our Daily Bread: Bring your specific needs or the needs of your loved ones before the Lord. If you are praying for someone and you do not know what their needs are, I find that the best thing to do is to ask that God would meet their eternal, their spiritual, their emotional, their mental, their relational, their physical and their financial needs according to His riches and glory in Jesus Christ.
5. Forgive Us Our Sins, As We Forgive Those Who Sin against Us: Ask God to grant you grace to be receptive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to reveal to you any sin you need to confess. Ask God to give you the grace and boldness to sincerely confess and earnestly repent from your sins. Confess any sins that God reveals to you (1 John 1:9). Ask God to reveal to you anyone whom you still need to forgive. Make the willful decision to forgive that person, and ask God to help you completely forgive that person so that both of you may be set free from the harm that was done.
6. Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil: Bring to God any weakness or temptation which you can see in yourself. Ask God to help you not to give in to those weaknesses. Ask God to save and protect you from any weaknesses or temptations which you cannot see. Ask God to protect you and your loved ones from any scheme, plot or weapon of the evil one. Ask God to help you to overcome and to show you precisely how to submit to God in every given situation until the devil flees.
7. For Yours Is the Kingdom and Power and the Glory Forever: Give God any praise and thanksgiving to you feel from your heart. Thank Him for giving you the grace to pray the right things. Praise him for being so loving so generous so willing and able to provide the various things for which you have just prayed.
Beloved in Christ, I hope you have found this study helpful. I hope you will use this method in prayer often. I do and I find it very productive. May Yahweh Almighty God bless and preserve you in His righteousness, peace, and joy in His Holy Spirit.
Brother R. Michel Lankford

Pray for God’s Sake

(Christ’s 16th-18th Command)
By Brother R. Michel Lankford

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:5-8 NASB95)

 

Specific Commands in Today's Passage

#16 -"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full
#17 - But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
#18 - And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Prayer is one of the most significant of all spiritual disciplines. In order to understand this crucial practice more clearly, it is good to periodically remind ourselves of the object of our prayers. Think about it for a moment. With the right heart, a few phrases, and mere seconds of our time, we actually have the ear of the Almighty God who is love (1 John 4:8). In the blink of an eye we have the attention of the One whom in His awesome greatness made heaven and the earth by the word of His mouth. In a single breath we enter into communication with the Lord Almighty God who is all-powerful, omnipresent, just and merciful beyond all description. Prayer is the most important of all spiritual disciplines because it places us in direct contact and communication with the Creator. When we consider all the love, all the circumstance changing power, all of the forgiveness and healing that God offers to provide, I'm amazed that more people do not clamor to learn how to pray. At the same time, with the access to such power also comes great responsibility. We want our prayers to accomplish much and bring great results, so it is important to get it right.
The disciples in Messiah’s day caught on to the power and importance of prayer. The reason we know this is because it is the one discipline which the disciples specifically requested for the Lord to teach them (Luke 11:1). It's interesting to note that they did not say, teach us to preach. They did not say teach us to evangelize so that when we testify people will be saved and follow God. They did not ask teach us to build effective organized congregations that will have a powerful impact in the world. All of those can be wonderful things, but the Gospels do not record that they requested any of those, but they specifically requested, "Lord, teach us to pray."
I believe that the disciples did this because somewhere in their understanding they knew that all of those other good important human needs would be met by God, if they could simply learn to reach God in their prayers. After all, they had often seen Messiah's prayers have enormous life-changing impact.
The disciples had repeatedly seen that when Jesus (Yeshua) prayed, God listened and circumstances radically changed. They had seen Jesus (Yeshua) pray and God multiplied a simple lunch to feed thousands. When Jesus (Yeshua) prayed, sinners repented. When Jesus (Yeshua) prayed, demon possessed people were delivered, sinners were forgiven, the sick were healed, and the dead were raised. It was not hard for the disciples to see that Yeshua had a connection to God that there other spiritual leaders did not, because when Jesus (Yeshua) called on God the great and marvelous started becoming an everyday occurrence. Simply put, I believe that the disciples wanted to have that kind of connection with God which Jesus (Yeshua) had, and they wanted to learn how to pray so that God would answer their prayers much like God answered when Jesus (Yeshua) prayed. So it is no small wonder that they asked, "Lord teach us to pray."
Messiah begins His teaching on prayer by employing be interesting method of illustrating by contrasting opposites. Just as Christ taught us how to minister to the poor by first showing us what not to do (Matthew 6:1-2), then showing us how to do it properly (Matthew 6:3-4). Christ uses the same method of teaching by contrasting opposites when He teaches us how to pray. He starts out by teaching us the opposite of what we're trying to learn. He is going to teach us how to pray by first teaching us how not to pray.
"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
The first “do not” that Jesus (Yeshua) brings to the table is addressed to the religious and the righteous. The same command that he gave concerning giving to the needy, He repeats concerning prayer. When we give we should give so that we receive God's approval not human approval. The same admonition holds true in prayer when we pray we should avoid praying with the goal of being seen noticed and approved of by other people. God is to be our only audience. Yahweh Almighty God's approval should be our only aim. If our purpose in giving to the needy is to be noticed and approved of by other people, we lose God's approval and reward. Likewise, if we pray to be noticed by other people, we lose our audience and reward from God. In such a case prayer would become useless. I say that because normally when we pray we are praying inviting Yahweh Almighty God to intervene in a situation which human beings cannot solve. If men could solve it we would not need to pray to Yahweh, so we should take care not to lose our audience with God.
"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
One of the keys to proper prayer is to always keep in mind that God is our only audience. We are praying to strengthen our relationship, to deepen our intimacy, to increase communication and to receive assistance and instruction from Almighty God. That is why we pray. So he must be the only audience of concern to us. Keeping this in mind, that means that the majority of our praying must be private between us and the Lord. Most of the time we should be in a quiet secluded place where we are not likely to be interrupted.

 

 

Public Prayer is NOT outlawed

Was Messiah outlawing all public or community prayer? No He was not. There are times when even Jesus (Yeshua) prayed publicly. However, one must be careful and deliberate to make sure that our motives are correct, and that we are seeking God's approval not trying to impress other people with our prayers.
So, when is praying publicly acceptable? Well, once Yeshua prayed publicly to give thanks to God before feeding the multitudes (John 6:11). Another time Jesus prayed publicly to teach others how to pray (Matthew 6:9-15). Another time Jesus publicly in order to build up the faith of those listening (John 11:41-43). Another time Yeshua prayed publicly for the benefit of his disciples before he died to be raised again for our justification (John 17:1-26). Did you notice that in every instance where Messiah prayed publicly, He did so because it was of particular benefit to the person listening. He did it to provide a specific need the listeners had, to provide comfort, or to build faith which the listeners needed. It was never done for personal glorification. So unless we are praying to meet the specific needs of someone in earshot, or for public Thanksgiving, then we should certainly keep the majority of our prayers as private conversations between us and God.

 

The Importance of Listening in Prayer

True prayer at its best is meant to be a two-way communication with the Creator of the universe. There is a legitimate place for praise, for giving thanks, for petitioning, and for sharing your joys and sorrows with our Heavenly Father, but we most certainly should not be doing all of the talking. I believe that truly effective prayer has not been thoroughly accomplished until after we poured our heart we have then sat for a few moments, and given Yahweh Almighty God our Father, a genuine opportunity to speak to our hearts, while we bend our ears to listen to Him. True and effective prayer then also includes a willingness and readiness ear and act upon His Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. In keeping with this principle, I recently learned how overwhelmingly important for us to be open and receptive to God's Laws, Commandments, Instructions and Principles. In fact, according to Scripture, if we are not open and receptive to hearing God's Laws, then God Himself will reject our prayers as a detestable abomination to Him.

“One who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9, NKJV)

So a key principle in prayer is that if we desire for God to be attentive and to look favorably upon our prayers, then we must be willing and receptive to hear Yahweh's commands and instructions, both in written form through the Scriptures, and by way of the Holy Spirit who will remind us of what Scripture and Messiah says.
Yahweh Almighty God, have mercy upon us, and save us by your unfailing love, and through Yeshua. In your mercy LORD, teach us to pray. Help us to learn to pray in such a way that you will mercifully hear and favorably respond when we call upon You. Give us grace to pour our hearts sincerely but help us to be sincerely willing and eager to also hear Your Laws Commandments and Instructions, and grant us grace to obey what You say that we may be truly blessed. In Yeshua the Messiah's name, amen.
Brother R. Michel Lankford

Give for God’s Sake

(Christ’s 13 -15th Command)
By Brother R. Michel Lankford

““Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:1–4, NKJV)

 
Previous Command Reminders:
#10-Give to him who wants to borrow from you do not turn them away (Matthew 5:42.
#11 - But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:44) . Technically these commands are all lumped together, but to be precise they are actually four separate imperatives which define for us what actions we are to take towards our enemies, if in fact we love them. That's why you are cataloging Messiah's commands can be a little tricky because not everyone agrees on precisely where one can separate from another many of them overlap one another. The key point however is not the number that one assigns to a particular command of Messiah (says the numbers are really there to keep them in the right order on a computer hard disk.. The key objective is to make sure that all of Messiah's commands are well covered in some orderly fashion 30
#12-Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 NKJV)

 

 

Specific commands in today's passage

#13 - Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them (Matthew 6:1)
#14 - So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you... (Matthew 6:2)
#15 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing… (Matthew 6:3)
 
Messiah just finished uttering basically the first 12 commands that He gave in the New Testament before we ever reach this point of even talking about giving anything in Matthew 6. The commands and their explanations used a mere 50 verses of Scripture. Chiefly Matthew 4:17, Matthew 4:19 and the other 10 commands and explanations were found within the 48 verses of Matthew chapter 5.
Remember that in all those 50 verses Christ never really focused on any outward act of religious worship, service or ministry yet. Remember that Christ's first 12 commands in the New Testament were all about making sure that we really have, and then correctly maintain a right mindset, a right heart attitude, a genuinely right relationship with God, and then maintaining authentically right relationships with other people in our lives.
The reality is that God does not even accept our outward acts of worship unless our relationships with God and other people are in good order first. So, before we go to church, before we give an offering, before we contribute our time in service in ministry, before we offer our talents, time and treasure, we must always make sure that our relationships with God and others are first in good standing. Only after this is done, will our offerings and services be accepted by God.
Please make no mistake, this has always been and will always be God's primary concern. It is a principle as old as Genesis 4:1-8. Messiah reaffirmed it in Matthew 5:23-24 and spent the better part of the 50 surrounding verses just to make certain that we would not neglect this all-important point. Only after making sure that we are maintaining right relationships with God and others, can we then bring an offering acceptable to God, which Jesus begins discussing in today's focal passage.

 

The Guiding Principles behind These Commandments

After spending 50 verses making sure that our hearts, our mindsets and our relationships with God and others are in good order, Messiah continues in the same vein even when He finally does reach the point of speaking about bringing offerings and gifts before God. The first admonition about our giving, deals not so much with the gift itself, but rather with making sure that we maintain the right attitude, motives and frame of mind as we are bringing our gift before God.
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven (Matthew6:1).
Did you catch the word "beware" in Matthew 6:1? The word is an active imperative. That's an important six letter word, because it instantly turns our little verse into a command; an imperative from the Son of the Living God. The Greek word used in the New Testament is used 24 times and all basically with the same intent. The word basically means to give intentional special focus and attention to something.
Principle 1: "Beware" is our responsibility not God's
This is a critical principle, not only with this particular command, but also with a great many of the commandments that are found throughout the Word of God. The principle is this. A genuine relationship with God is exactly that, it's a relationship. Like all solid relationships there is a division of responsibilities, meaning that each person involved in the relationship has certain things they are responsible for doing or maintaining if the relationship is to continue thriving. For any successful relationship to work, each person involved must contribute and be personally engaged in providing something into the relationship. Otherwise the relationship or the unity of the two individuals will suffer some sort of lack.
In the case of our relationship with God, the Lord probably provides no less than 99.9% of whatever the relationship requires, but we still must contribute something to the unity of our relationship with the Lord. What do we contribute? We contribute our growing faith by trusting what God says. We contribute our growing love for God and His principles, and we contribute our obedience to what God commands. The great news is that God will even help us to do our part, but He will not do it all for us, because He wants us to have a share in the relationship with Him.
This is where many Christians miss the boat. That is to say that often times we fall into the trap of trying to help God do His part, all the while neglecting what is legitimately supposed to be our part in the relationship.
Here is a hint: God Almighty has never ever failed, but has always faithfully fulfilled every single promise He has ever made. At the same time, the vast majority of promises in the word of God usually have some condition attached that requires some kind of obedience on our part. This means that with almost every promise in God's word, there are things that we as believers must do to receive the promise with its desired benefits. This further means that if I am not experiencing some promise in God's word that I wish I was enjoying, it's my fault. That's because somewhere I have failed to meet the conditions that God has already set in order for me to receive or participate in the wonderful promise. I cannot do God's part for Him, and out of love for me and concern for my growth, God will help, but He will NOT do my part for me.
In the case of Matthew 6:1-4 the unstated yet all-important goal is to bring an offering, or to do a work of righteousness before God that God will accept and honor, is it not? In the case of our focal passage, what commands or conditions does Messiah declare must be fulfilled in order for our works of righteousness and our offerings to be accepted by God the Father? According to our focal passage we've just read, we must bring our offering with the motive of pleasing God and receiving His approval, not the approval and honors from other human beings, isn't that right? Here is a pop quiz. Are you ready? Here goes. In Matthew 6:1, what is the command?
According to God's word, whose responsibility is it to "beware;" to make sure to give intentional special focus and attention so that my motives and the way I bring my works and offerings to God will be accepted by God? Whose responsibility is that in our relationship with God? If for some reason my works of righteousness or my offerings of time talent and treasures end up not being accepted by God in heaven, then whose fault will that have been?
Principle 2: When you give to the Lord, everything counts.
Have you ever wondered why some ministry or outreach projects don't always seem to have the life changing or community changing impact that we wish they had? It's easy to blame Satan, or the fallen sinful condition of the world we live in, but in reality we as believers have more to do with how effective Christian ministry is in our world then does the sinful world. Some things in our relationship with God are God's responsibilities, other things fall squarely on our shoulders as responsibilities. That's what makes it relationship.
First, checking and maintaining our relationships is our job as believers. Is our relationship and unity with God and Jesus Christ truly in good order (Psalm 133; John 17:17-23)?
Second, are my fellowship and the unity with other believers truly in good order? Are my other human relationships in good standing? Have I done my best to maintain or repair those relationships that are not? People’s ability to believe Jesus Christ, and by extension their ability to be saved actually depends on Christians maintaining good relationships with God and each other (John 17:17-23)
Third, whenever I bring my gifts or ministries of time, talent or treasure am I doing it with motives and methods that will bring me the acceptance of God or the approval of other human beings?
If we do not learn to get these three things right in the church, then God will not accept our offerings, and our ministries in the world done in Christ's name will be much less effective.
When we give or do a service for the Lord the motives with which we give, the means and the methods that we use; they all matter. Every bit of it has a part to play in whether God will accept it, or He will not. Whether or not we are united with God, with Christ and with each other will play a major role in how effective our ministries and outreaches really are. When we give anything, let us give for God sake.

 

Practical Obedience

Here are some practical ways that we can obey this command from our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Before you bring an offering to God of ministry, of time, of talent or of your treasure, make sure that your friendship with God is really in good order first. Make sure that you confess any sins and they are covered under Christ's blood. Make sure that your love, your trust and your obedience to God and Jesus Christ are in good order before you bring your gift.
• Make sure that your relationships with others are in good standing. Are you on good terms with members of your household? Are you on good terms with other brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you on good terms with other long-standing relationships (i.e. folks at work and so forth?
• Check your motives. Checking our motives and making sure that we bring our gifts to God correctly is our responsibility Am I bringing this gift or doing this ministry to be noticed by other people? Am I really doing it with the motive and in such a way that it will really please God? I warn you again as I have before, that if our relationship with God and other people are not in good order, God does not even accept our offerings, and our ministries and outreaches will not achieve eternally effective results.
Closing Prayer
Almighty Yahweh EL SHADDAI; Lord Yeshua Messiah; Lord Holy Spirit, You are good in Your mercy endures forever. Have mercy upon me. Save me according to your unfailing love. In Your merciful goodness, You have always provided us Your best.
Every good and perfect gift comes from above. When we were lost and hopeless, so full of wickedness as to be considered Your enemies, even then in Your enormous goodness, You did not withhold Your very best from us. Instead You graciously provided Your best gift; Your Precious Blessed One and Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ Yeshua, Who in turn provided His very best; providing His very life death and resurrection to rescue and ransom me from sin, death and hell. Thank You for Your great mercy and sacrifice. Thank You for keeping me in Your saving Grace.
Father God, I am repeatedly embarrassed by how often I need Your forgiveness and mercy. As I look back at all of the offerings of the time, talent, treasure and ministries that You have provided for me to give back to You, I am embarrassed to say that I have not always successfully followed Your example. I have not always been as thoughtful, careful and deliberate as I should have been when bringing gifts to One so worthy. I was not always as careful to "beware." I was not always careful to make certain that my attitudes and my heart and my motives were right with You.
On some occasions I have cared too much about what others have thought, and not enough about living a life, and bringing gifts that would please and delight You. Other times I have not been careful enough to make sure that my relationships were in good order before doing a mission or bringing a gift before the Lord. Please forgive me completely. Mercifully wash my every motive, every desire, every thought, every word, every choice and my every action in the sacrificial blood of Your Son Yeshua the Messiah.
Help me to earnestly repent. From now on help me to keep Your priorities as my priorities. Help me to live a life that brings true joy and delight to Your heart. Before I bring any gift of ministry, of time, of talent, or treasure before You, help me do my part to always keep our relationship in good order first. Help me to remember to go do my best to maintain or restore the human relationships in my life, and that I will always present my best gift with motives and methods that will bring delight to Your heart, so that my offerings will always be pleasing and acceptable to You. Amen.
 
Brother R. Michel Lankford