Jesus teaches us how to pray....See Matt 6:5-6

Jesus is teaching here on the subject of prayer, explaining to His disciples what not to do when praying, and what to do, so as to experience God's intentions and blessings in our lives.

First of all.......We are told what not to be like when we pray. We are not to be like the hypocrites, ( pretenders, doing it for show and applause so to speak ) The pretenders, love to pray in a public way if you will. Making themselves very visible in the synagogue, and or literally out on a street corner, drawing attention to themselves.

What they were after was not the Lord, but rather that men would see them praying, and admire them etc. Jesus says here, "They have their reward" That is, on contrast to what they could have had, which is the blessing of God in their lives. So, don't pray for show, don't pray so that other people will see you and think how great and spiritual you are. No, that's not the way to pray. 

By the way, the person who prays for show and the acclaim of others, is going to lose out on the reward they could have had in prayer. 

Secondly, Jesus explains how to pray. 

1. Go into your room, or somewhere private where others can't see you or hear you. Get into the room, and shut the door. It's a private place between you and God. So, get alone with Him. It's a secret place if you will. Just for you and your Father in heaven. 

2. Then go ahead and pray to your Father. Or go ahead and begin talking to Him ( and listening to Him ) Notice that Jesus says, "your Father who is in secret ) Or hidden, concealed. He is there with you as it were in your room, with the door closed where no one can hear you, or see you. It's you and Him. 

3. Next, we are told that our Father who sees us in secret, will reward us openly. Wow. What an encouragement that is God sees us and will reward us in our prayers. 

Later in this chapter, Jesus will give more detail as to what to pray about. But, what He has said so far is indeed a blessing. 

Nothing is said here about time in prayer, body posture in prayer, how loud or quiet to be in prayer etc. None of that. The emphasis has been on private intimacy with God. Not praying for show. Putting aside that human prideful desire, and to get alone with just you and God. 

This is God's own prescription and invitation to us if you will. He is inviting us to pray, and He also is promising us that there is a reward, or a blessing that comes from this private encounter with Him. The other blessing if you want to call it that, is "people see how spiritual I am" Yikes. That is not a blessing. That is an empty moment. 

Well, we will continue our study about prayer, and praying in the days ahead. 

But, I sure hope that God is leading you and blessing you as you think about prayer, and then go ahead and pray. 

One final thought. That private room, can be within your own heart and mind, even when you are out in public, it can be in your car, sitting at a stoplight, sitting in a chair waiting at a doctor's office etc. But, wherever it is, God sees, and God promises to reward you.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

"And when you pray"

See Matt 6:5-15 for the complete teaching on prayer by Jesus in what is called The Sermon on the Mount.


This sermon by Jesus was given to His disciples, See Matt 5:1-2
It includes many areas of life, but one of them is the area of prayer. Jesus says a lot about prayer. Over the next week or two, I'd like to look closely at what He said, in hopes that His teaching will help us in our own prayer lives.
In our own talking to God. 


So, what did Jesus say about prayer here in Matthew 6? Let's look at the very first thing He said. 


"And when you pray" See 6:5 


1. Jesus spoke as if He anticipated or expected that His followers would pray. 
 "When you pray"


2. In saying this, He is saying that it's possible to pray.


3. Jesus used a common word for prayer. Pray, means just that, to pray, to offer prayers, to make prayers, to talk to the Lord.


4. The you here, is anyone who follows Jesus. His followers can pray, they can talk to God.


In summary then. There is an expectation, or anticipation that God's people would pray. We know that it's possible to pray, or to talk to God. 


That's pretty simple and plain. We can talk to God, and God expects that we would pray.  


If you pause a moment to look at this statement in it's context in the sermon on the mount, especially in chapter 6, you can see that it's part of other things that God's people do, such as being generous and caring, fasting, etc. Prayer is part of the normal christian life, or ought to be. 


If we also pause to think about prayer in the larger context of the entire book of Matthew, we see that Jesus Himself prayed. He did what He was teaching the disciples to do. He prayed.


And, if we look in an even broader way at the NT and the OT, the new testament and the old testament, we find many, many, many people who prayed. It's all through the Bible. 


So, talking to God is normal if you will, in the sense that God's people prayed. 
In fact, if we were to really look closely, we would find that God's people prayed in many different times, and for different reasons, etc, etc. Many prayers, about many things are recorded for us in the Bible. 


But, this morning, here in Matt 6:5 we are just looking at this one simple thought. The Lord spoke with the expectation that we would pray. He anticipated that we would pray. 


That's very encouraging to me. Because, we know that God hears prayer. He both expects that we would pray, and hears us when we do pray.


Here's a scripture to finish up with today.

Jer 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Tomorrow, we will look at the next thing Jesus said in Matt 6 about prayer. In fact, it has to do with what not to do when we pray. 


My prayer today...........


Lord, thank You for teaching us about prayer. And thank You for the promise You made through Jeremiah that for those who call upon You, that you would listen to them. 


I'd like to call upon You today Lord, and throughout the day, and I know that You will listen. Again, thank you.


Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"God's plan for the future......A Gathering together"

See Ephesians 1:10

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him."


God started time, and God implemented His good pleasure, or His will in what we call time here on earth.

God has been working towards the accomplishment of His plan's and purposes, and is doing that this very day, and will continue to do that up until the end of this world's existence as we know it according to the Book of Revelation. See the last 3 chapters in particular.

But, here in Ephesians 1:10, Paul tells us that in the management of the fullness of times, or the completion of time as we know it, that God intends to bring about a gathering.

The gathering together as it's called here, will gather "all things in Christ" and, Paul goes on to say, "which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him."

I'm not sure what the all things refers to, but, whatever they are, they are "in Christ"

But it is clear that there will be a gathering together of the things that are in heaven, and the things that are on earth.

God is going to bring all of this together.

I certainly means of course, that all the people who have come to faith, will be gathered together.

The Lord is going to bring all of His redeemed ones together in one.

What a large group that will be.

Each and every person who has been saved from the start of time, till the end of time will finally be together.

Jesus Christ is the center of this gathering if you will.

Being in Christ means a person will be in this gathering.

So, the future includes God's plan to bring everything in Christ together in one.

The Bible takes us right to the end of this world, and the creation of a new one. That's where the Bible ends in terms of telling us what will happen. See Revelation 22.

We are living in this world today, but we are headed for the accomplishment of God's great plan, and plans for us, and for eternity.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

God has made known to us the mystery of His will

See Eph 1:9

Having made know to us the mystery of His will, according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

This is something that God has done for us, and is doing for us, and will do for us.

It has to do with His revealing that which otherwise could not be known.

God's mysteries, must be explained and revealed by God, or we could not know them.

He has done this for us, and as mentioned is doing it, and will continue to do it.

What is it?

Well, it has to do with His will, and it's His good pleasure to do so.

One of the great and simple things about the Bible ( no pun intended when talking about mystery ) is that the Bible is the best commentary for explaining and applying what it teaches. In other words, the Bible will tell us what it is teaching.

And such is the case with what's said in Ephesians 1:9, by going to Ephesians 3:3-6, we see that Paul calls it the mystery of Christ, and tells us that in other or past ages it was not made known, but it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.

Specifically, that Gentiles, or non Jews should become fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.

When God chose the nation of Israel, no one then knew that God would also save non Jews. In fact, in the Book of Acts, the mystery of the Gentiles being saved, slowly unfolded to the believers and the apostles etc.

God has chosen to make both Jew and Gentile one in Jesus Christ.

The mystery on a personal level, means that anyone can be saved, by placing their faith in Jesus Christ.

In fact, the letter to the Ephesians, is a letter to Greeks, and in the letter speaks of them being saved, chosen, forgiven, accepted etc, etc.

A few applicational thoughts........

1. We can thank God for showing us His love and His will for our lives.
2. We can tell others that God can save them also.
3. We are actually called by God to share His love, truth, mercy and grace.
4. The Gospel is the best news in the whole world.
5. The soul of man is the most valuable thing in all the world.
6. God sent Jesus to save men's souls from judgment.
7. God gives us understanding about His will.
8. Let's be available to Him today, to be used by Him.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

He has made "you accepted in the Beloved"

Wow............See Ephesians 1:6

This is how it reads in the Amplified version. Eph 1:6  [So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 


And, in the NKJV.......Eph 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the beloved. 


The word accepted, means, to be highly favored, make accepted, to make graceful, to be charming, lovely, agreeable, to compass with favor, to honor with blessings. 

This is our current position and will always be our position before our God. Accepted in the Beloved.

Jesus is God's only begotten son, Jesus is God's beloved son also, and He has made us accepted in the beloved, in Christ. 

Being in Christ, is the doorway to all the blessings of God. Eternal life, forgiveness, mercy, love, grace, inheritance, power, etc, etc, etc. These blessings come to us through Christ.. 

Thus, as we look to Jesus Christ day by day, we are looking to the one in whom, and through whom these blessings come to us. 

But, this one, "accepted" simply speaks of our position. We are highly favored with His grace and His mercy, and He has through these, to make us accepted.

You in Christ, are as accepted by God as is any of His other children There is no difference. We are joint heirs with Christ 

Blessings to you today.

Pastor Bob Grenier 

Count your blessings......here are two more...

Good morning. So far, we have looked at a number of blessings that are our's in Christ, as listed by Paul in Ephesians Chapter 1. Here's a quick re-cap.....

1. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.
2. We are holy and without blame before Him in love.
3. He predestined us to be adopted as sons by Jesus Christ.
4. We are now accepted in the Beloved.

Here is the next blessing Paul lists in Ephesians 1:7

It's called "redemption" And, we have this redemption through His blood.

What does it mean? The word is also translated "deliverance" and it means, releasing effected by payment of ransom. Or to be liberated by payment of a ransom.

Peter speaks of it this way. in 1st Peter 1:18 "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,"

Thus, as we consider this blessing, we understand it to mean, that God has liberated us from what we were once held in. Paul will explain this a little more in the 2nd Chapter of Ephesians. But, overall, redemption means, that we were born in sin, in death, and in darkness, held there under the power of the devil, who is the god of this world.

Christ is the payment that has freed us from this terrible position we were once in. We are now in God's kingdom of life and light. We have been redeemed. God payed the price for our freedom, by having Christ die for our sin, paying the full price for our sins. We are now no longer guilty, and no longer facing eternal judgment and punishment for our sins.

Paul also says very clearly, that "we have redemption through His blood". In other words, we currently have this liberation through the blood of Christ. It's not something that is coming, but, rather it has come to us, we have it at this moment. We have been liberated.

The next blessing is also listed in Ephesians 1:7 and, it's called forgiveness of sins.
Forgiveness, means, remission, liberty, and release from bondage. It means pardon of sins. Letting them go as if they had never been committed. Our sins have been dismissed. They have been sent away, and are now gone.


In summary then, we have been liberated from what we were once held in. And, we have had our sins, forgiven. They are gone from us. We are free and no longer guilty. This is the position we have with God, before God, because of God, and from God. God has done all of these things for us through Christ.

Thoughts for reflection, explanation and application.

1. These blessings are who we are in Christ.
2. These blessings are how to understand our lives.
3. These blessings are for every christian.
4. These blessings indeed bless our souls, our minds, our hearts.
5. These blessings are worth thinking deeply about, and enjoying them.


May God continue to bless you, encourage you, give you strength, power, grace, peace, mercy and love.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

An another blessing from God. "He has adopted us as sons"

See Ephesians 1:5-6

1:5 Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

In this first chapter of Ephesians, long before Paul calls us to any action, or activities, or response, what he does is to explain in wonderful detail the many, many blessings of God given to us in Christ Jesus. You may even want to read through the first chapter and try to count them up. There are many.

Today, I wanted to deal with one of them, and that is, His having "adopted" us as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself.


First of all, Paul says, "having predestined us to adoption as sons etc. The word predestined, speaks of God's planning things out in advance, according to His own perfect will. The word "predestined" or determine beforehand, or ordain, means to predetermine, or decide beforehand, or of God making a decree from eternity past, and to appoint beforehand.

This is thrilling to me. Before the world was created, long ago, ( and of course, I did not exist then nor did anyone, or anything ) but, long ago, God determined, that He was going to make me His child. He was going to adopt me into His family. 

He adopted me as a son, and did this by Jesus Christ. We can see how important Jesus Christ is in all of these blessings. For it's through Him, and by Him, and in Him that all these blessings come to us. So, through or by Christ, God adopted me as His son. 

Also, we see that this adoption was "according to the good pleasure of His will" In other words, God has a will, or that which pleases Him, that which He does, or wants to do if you will. Paul says, "the good pleasure of His will". He planned in love to do this. He has revealed His plan to us through Jesus Christ. All of this was in accordance with the purpose of His will, ( because it pleased Him and was His kind intent ) 

He wanted us to be to the praise of His glory and His mercy. Which by the way, He has so freely bestowed on us in Christ. 

Some thoughts in reflection, for further explanation and application.

1. God did this for us.

2. God did this for us when we did not even exist.

3. God did this for us because it pleased Him to do so.

4. God did this through His Son Jesus Christ.

5. God has made us His own children.

6. God has joined us to His family. 

7. God's only begotten son, now has brothers and sisters in us as christians.

8. God's will and pleasure are one and the same thing.

9. God wanted to do this, He wanted to adopt you as His child.

More thoughts for reflection, application and explanation. 

1. We now wind up praising God for what He has done for us. 

2. We praise God's glory.

3. We praise God's grace ( His unmerited favor and blessing to us )

4. We are now accepted in Jesus Christ. 

5. Accepted means, be highly favored, to honor with blessings. 

6. This blessing, is not the end of the line, Paul will mention more also.

7. We can call Him Father, and do so with confidence. 

8. We have been brought into His family. 

9. All Christians have this blessing as theirs. 

10. This blessing is a reason to be very happy today.

11. God's children, also have an inheritance.

12. We will one day be given our full inheritance.

13. When we get to heaven, we will see and understand our inheritance. 

14. Our God has been so good to us. 

15. We love you Lord. 

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia