1/8/2023 - Father

(Opening Prayer)

Matthew 6:9b–13 (ESV)

9b ...“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

(Welcome)

Welcome to Central.

Let me begin by saying, “Welcome Home” to you!

As an expository church, we prioritize preaching and teaching that focuses on a Christ-centered, holistic, and sequential approach to Scripture.

We enjoy preaching through books of the Bible and tackling each passage with a high view of Jesus Christ and an intent to be led into worship and transformation by what we find therein.

(Sermon Introduction)

Today we continue our “Teach Us To Pray” Series, focusing on the Lord’s Prayer as recorded in Matthew 6.

We want to take an expository look at the most famous prayer ever recorded.

To begin today I have entitled the sermon, “Father.”

(Lord’s Prayer Context)

Matthew records what is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” here in Matthew 6.

Truthfully, this prayer should be called, “The Disciple’s Prayer” as it really flows from the disciples lips to the Lord.

We call it “The Lord’s Prayer” because the Lord Jesus gave it to them.

It is also important to note that this style of prayer was actually quite common in Jewish circles of the day.

What is unique however is the interpretation and teaching that Jesus shares with it.

Matthew 6 is not the only place we see this prayer recorded.

It is also recorded in Luke 11.

We understand that these times were most likely not the only times that Jesus taught these things to the people and to His disciples.

(Gospel of Matthew Context)

We know that the focus of Matthew’s gospel is the teachings of Jesus.

His focus was not on the chronological nature of Jesus’ ministry.

But having started with what we refer to as “The Beatitudes,” in Matthew 5, Jesus takes the people on a journey of discovering what a true disciple looks like.

At one point, Jesus’ Disciples asked Jesus, “Teach Us To Pray,” to which Jesus responds with a phrase: “Pray like this.”

Jesus then begins to recite what has become the most famous prayer ever spoken.

He begins with the phrase:

“...Our Father in heaven...” (Mt. 6:9b)

In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus used the word “Father” 10 times.

(Sermon Tension)

This statement fosters some questions:

Is God my Father?

How does God become my Father?

Does God hear me if He is not my Father?

Why does God being my Father matter?

Where is heaven?

Why does He reside in Heaven and not here?

What does any of this have to do with prayer?

Why does any of this matter?

We won’t be able to address all of these questions today but I believe we will address some of them.

Jesus said this:

Matthew 6:9a (ESV)

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven...”

Lexham Theological Wordbook (πατήρ)

πατήρ (patēr). n. masc. father, forefather.

Literally someone’s male parent.

It can also be used to refer to forefathers in the plural.

This word refers to someone’s immediate father in a family relationship (Matt 2:22).

In a few cases it may refer to both parents (e.g., Heb 11:23).

It can also refer to a common ancestor in the distant past.

For example, Paul identifies Abraham as the Jews’ “father (patēr) according to the flesh” (Rom 4:1).

The plural of patēr can also refer to ancestors in general (Matt 23:30; Luke 1:55; 1 Cor 10:1).

The problem is that in John 8, Jesus tells those listening that they are children of the devil and not children of God.

John 8:42–44 (ESV)

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The tension is that Jesus invites us to pray to God as "Our Father," but that involves us actually having the right to call Him that.

We need to step into relationship as a child before expressing the needs of a child.

Jesus establishes that those who practice evil and wickedness are NOT children of God but of the devil.

But there is a truth that also exists.

1. God Desires That All Would Call Him “Father”

First things first: Prayer without relationship is powerless.

No relationship with God, equals no power, like a charger not exhibiting a charge is a prayer from godless state.

The first powerful prayer we ever pray is to acknowledge our great need for God to be “Our Father.”

There must be an acknowledgement of surrender and trust.

The Bible is very clear:

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23a (ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death,...

Our eternal life will be spent now and forevermore with "Our Father.”

If satan, the devil, “the accuser,” “the father of lies” is our father then we will spend eternity with him.

But if God be “Our Father,” then we will spend eternity with Him!

God doesn’t send people to hell, He simply acknowledges who they have chosen to live with.

That is the cold hard truth.

You will either find yourself in God the Father’s house or not.

The judgment of God is that He identifies to Whom we belong and sorts us out accordingly.

However, we must remember that the heart of God is this:

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

John 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

2. Jesus Is the Only Way That We Can Call God, “ Our Father”

John 14:6 (ESV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus Christ is the gate and door by which we come into relationship with God “Our Father.”

We become His children by accepting what Jesus has done for us through the cross and the empty grave.

In fact, one of the first things Jesus said after rising from the dead had to do with our relationship with the Father because of what He had just done!

John 20:17 (ESV)

17 Jesus said to her (Mary), “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

The Apostle Paul said it this way:

Romans 8:12–17 (ESV)

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Galatians 4:6 (ESV)

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

The Apostle John said it this way:

John 1:12 (ESV)

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

1 John 3:1 (ESV)

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Clarity here is vital.

Jesus’ point is not that all men are God’s children by nature, but that his those who follow Him (disciples) have been adopted into God’s family by grace.

Prayer to God as Father is for followers of Jesus Christ only.

Praying the Lord’s Prayer (J. I. Packer)

This resolves a puzzle.

Elsewhere Jesus stressed that his disciples should pray in his name and through him—that is, looking to him as our way of access to the Father (see John 14:6, 13; 15:16; 16:23–26).

Why is there none of this in the model prayer?

In fact, the point is present here; it is implicit in “Father.”

Only those who look to Jesus as Mediator and sin-bearer, and go to God through him, have any right to call on God as his sons and daughters.

3. There Is No Father Like Our God

Matthew 6:9a (ESV)

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven,

Having a relationship with God the Father, opens the door to the blessings of being His child.

True prayer is not technique nor a performance, but a relationship.

The vitality of prayer lies largely in the vision of God that prompts it.

Drab thoughts of God make prayer dull.

“Our Father” speaks of the quality and depth of God’s love to Christ’s people—all the sustained care and concern that a perfect father could show.

“In heaven” sets before us the fact that our divine Father is great—eternal, infinite, almighty: thus that phrase makes us realize that God’s love is unchanging, unlimited, unconquerable in its purpose, and more than able to deal with all the needs we bring when we pray.

God is addressed as, "Our Father in heaven.”

Our Father...in heaven.

Praying the Lord’s Prayer (J. I. Packer)

Since God is spirit, “heaven” here cannot signify a place remote from us that he inhabits.

The Greek gods were thought of as spending most of their time far away from earth in the celestial equivalent of the Bahamas, but the God of the Bible is not like this.

Granted, the “heaven” where saints and angels dwell has to be thought of as a sort of locality, because saints and angels, as God’s creatures, exist in space and time; but when the Creator is said to be “in heaven,” the thought is that he exists on a different plane from us, rather than in a different place.

That God in heaven is always near to his children on earth is something that the Bible takes for granted throughout.

Prayer should be addressed to God the Father in acknowledgment of His sovereignty over the universe.

We tend to put more stock in what we say than Who He is.

We can get to the point that we talk too much when we come before God.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 (ESV)

2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

(Response)

(Invite Worship Team)

Worship is the essence of all prayer.

Prayer is a way that we connect with God Our Father.

Only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in that way in worship.

Knowledge of God’s greatness should both humble us, cut us down to size, and move us to worship!

This prayer is meant to train us to worship Him for all that He is and to rely on Him in every moment for all that we truly need.

Knowing that our Father God is in heaven, or (putting it the other way around) knowing that God in heaven is our Father, is meant to increase our wonder, joy, and sense of privilege of being His children and being given a way of communicating with Him.

For although He is the Lord God of every universe and every created thing, He always has time for us; His eye is on every moment, and we have His attention.

Think of His Fatherhood, and then remind yourself that He is “God in heaven” (a “heavenly” Father), which means that He is free from all the limitations, inadequacies, and flaws that are found in earthly fathers, and that is His fatherhood, like all His other relationships, is from every standpoint absolutely ideal, perfect, and glorious!

Dwell on the fact that there is no better father, no parent more deeply committed to His children’s welfare, or more wise and generous in promoting it, than God the Creator.

He truly is our Father—and He’s God in heaven; He’s God in heaven—and He’s my Father!

It is beyond belief and it is true!

(Closing Tension)

Our...He is the Father not just to me but to others.

This is an invitation of more to come.

Father...He is not just Creator and God, but Father.

This is a special relationship.

No other "gods" are seen this way.

In Heaven...Another invitation.

Father's were described by the land they owned.

There is no Father like Him.

He supersedes all other relationships, fathers, and gods.

(Response Card)

1. Would you like to become a believer in Jesus Christ? (Yes/No/Already Am)

2. Are you a child of God or a child of the devil? (Blank Lines)

3. How are you going to respond to God the Father, today? (Blank Lines)

4. What are you praying to God the Father about today? (Blank Lines)

(Closing)