Praying the Lord's Prayer
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
Let’s turn together in our Bibles
to Matthew…chapter 6.
& we’re gonna read verses 9-15
Matthew 6:9-15
& when find that
in your Bible
pls stand for the reading
of God’s Word.
The title of today’s teaching is:
King Jesus Teaches Us What to Pray
In Matthew 6:9-15...
Jesus says to His disciples
Matthew 6:9–15 (MEV)
“Therefore pray in this manner: 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 forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
For if you forgive men for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men for their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
You may be seated.
What shld we pray abt?
What shld we
focus on in prayer?
Shld there be
any structure
to our prayers
or shld we just pray
whatever comes into
our minds?
What shld we be asking God
to give us?
The Lord Jesus
answers all those questions for us..
in today’s passage.
In what we commonly call
The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus teaches us
6 petitions
we shld all pray
to our Father daily.
PRAYER
Let’s pray
Holy Father...
Our good & gracious God...
We thank you for your Word.
Lord, open our eyes...
so that we may see wonderful things...
in Your Law.
& make us more than hearers...
of Your Word.
Empower us to also be doers...
as You continually fill us w/ Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
[Transition: The 1st petition...
We shld pray to our Father daily is…]
1. “Father SANCTIFY us.” (v.9)
1. “Father SANCTIFY us.” (v.9)
Notice in verse 9
Jesus teaches us
to start this prayer
w/ the phrase
Matthew 6:9 (MEV)
“Our Father who is in heaven...
Jesus does not teach us to pray
“My Father.”
But “Our Father.”
& by beginning the prayer this way...
Jesus immediately connects us...
w/ every other member...
of the body of Christ.
Every time we say this prayer...
It reminds us...
we’re a part of God’s family.
It’s absolutely vital....
to understand...
We’re not in this alone.
We cannot live as Christian’s alone.
& everyone who tries...
will soon or later...
be deceived by false doctrine...
& devoured by Satan.
Being a Christian means...
We’re a part of a larger community...
of Christ Followers.
We’re a part of the body of Christ.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer daily...
We’re praying for God’s ppl...
all over the world.
& God’s ppl all over the world...
are praying this same prayer for us...
to the same God & Father of us all.
Now, think abt the word:
Father.
Jesus tells us to address God...
as our Father.
This is a mind-blowing truth...
that we need to meditate on...
& ask God to help us really understand.
When we’re born again...
The Lord of all creation;
The God who spoke...
& the universe was formed.
The all powerful;
All knowing;
Always present;
The Good....
Merciful...
Kind...
Compassionate...
God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob;
That God;
Is our loving, caring...
heavenly Father.
When we approach God’s throne of grace...
in prayer...
we’re approaching the living God...
who is our loving Heavenly Father...
& who is always available to meet the needs...
of all His children.
& at the end of Matthew 6:9...
Jesus tells us what God’s children...
shld focus on first...
when we approach our Father in prayer.
He says...
Matthew 6:9 (MEV)
...hallowed be Your name.
The hallowed means
to honor something
as holy.
Our 1st priority in prayer...
shld always be
to honor God’s name
as holy.
God’s name
is His character.
Who God is.
When we pray for God’s name...
to be honored as holy...
we’re asking our Father...
to do something in us.
We’re asking Him.
to help His ppl...
live lives...
that bring honor to God.
As God’s ppl live holy lives...
God’s holy name...
is honored by us.
This is why the Scriptures say...
multiple times...
what Peter encourages in 1 Peter 1:15-16
1 Peter 1:15–16 (MEV)
But as He who has called you is holy, so be holy in all your conduct,
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
As Ken reminds us every week.
God is Holy.
& God commands those who serve Him...
to be like Him...
to be holy as He is holy.
We’re called to be holy...
In all our conduct.
Wherever we are...
or whatever we’re doing...
in all we think
say & do
God expects us...
to be Holy as He is holy.
& when God’s ppl live holy lives...
We show the world...
what our holy Father is like.
God’s ppl are supposed to be...
a radiant reflection...
of our heavenly Father’s holy character.
APPLICATION
Week after week...
I’ve been saying the same thing
to try to get us to expand our
understand of why the Son of God...
became a human being.
God’s Son became like us...
so that we cld become like Him.
So that humanity...
cld escape the corruption of the world...
share in the divine nature...
& thru God’s grace...
be transformed...
into saints.
Holy ones...
who reflect our Father’s holy character...
in all our conduct.
That’s what Jesus tells us to pray for daily
When we ask
“Father sanctify us.”
We’re asking God to empower us
“to honor His holy name...
thru our holy conduct.
But what does it mean to be holy?
What is holy conduct?
To be holy means...
to be separated...
to be set apart.
to be sanctified.
When we’re born again...
thru water & the Spirit...
We’re separated...
Frm Sin, Satan,
& the World.
& we’re set apart to God...
To live sanctified lives..
for His purposes.
Holy conduct...
is behavior that conforms...
to God’s standards of righteousness.
As we learn God’s Word...
& obey God’s Word...
We become more & more holy.
We separate further & further...
frm the wicked ways of the world;
We draw closer & closer to God...
& the HS...
transforms us ...
frm one degree of glory...
to another...
As we take on God’s holy character.
The more we obey Jesus...
the holier we become.
& that’s what we’re praying for...
when we ask our Father...
to hallow His name.
We’re asking Him...
To sanctify us...
to enable us to obey Jesus...
so that we can reflect God’s holy character...
in everything we think...
say & do.
So that’s the 1st petition...
We shld pray daily:
"Father sanctify us.”
[Transition: The 2nd petition...
we shld pray daily is…]
2. “Father RULE in us.” (v.10)
2. “Father RULE in us.” (v.10)
At the beginning of Matthew 6:10...
Jesus says we shld pray to the Father:
Matthew 6:10 (MEV)
Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
When we pray...
for our Father’s kingdom to come...
we’re asking God....
to rule our lives.
We’re surrendering our will...
to do God’s will.
Jesus taught His disciples...
To go & make disciples of all nations.
Bcs thru the commands of King Jesus...
God establishes His rule in us.
Thru the commands of King Jesus...
God’s will is done on earth...
as it is in heaven.
ILLUSTRATION:
I want you to imagine...
A place where...
Everyone does to others...
as we want others to do to us.
A place where...
Every individual is more concerned...
abt the greater good of the community...
than we are abt our own personal interests.
A place where....
Everyone is patient...
& kind.
No one is envious...
or self-seeking.
No one is boastful...
or arrogant.
No one is rude...
or irritable.
A place where...
Everyone bears w/...
the weaknesses of others.
Everyone believes the best...
abt others.
Everyone is quick to forgive.
& no one keeps a record...
of the wrongs of others.
A place where...
We bear one another’s burdens.
Build one another up.
Bless one another.
A place where...
Everyone loves God...
w/ all their heart, mind, soul, & strength.
& everyone loves their neighbor...
as themselves.
W/ the world the way it is now...
A place like that...
may be hard to imagine.
A place like that...
may seem out of our reach.
APPLICATION
But listen.
The place I just described...
is the kind of place the church....
is supposed to be.
The church shld be a thriving community...
that demonstrates what abundant life looks like...
when everyone obeys God’s Son.
The church shld be like heaven on earth.
& it wld be.
If we all allowed God...
to rule our lives.
If we give complete control...
of our lives to our heavenly Father.
When everyone of us learn to live...
not for our own will...
but in complete submission...
to the will of the Father.
When we all learn to live like Jesus...
the Church will be piece of heaven on earth.
Somewhere in John’s gospel...
Jesus said He did nothing on His own.
& He did not come to do His own will...
but the will of the Father who sent Him.
Jesus completely submitted His will....
to the will of the Father.
The famous prayer Jesus prayed...
in the Garden of Gethsemane...
is the theme of His life.
“Father, not my will...
but Your will be done.”
In all His words...
& all His actions...
Jesus only said ...
what His Father told Him to say.
Jesus only did...
what His Father told Him to do.
& Jesus expects all of His disciples...
To submit our will to the Father’s will –
Just like Jesus did.
To give our heavenly Father...
complete control...
of our lives.
& God will give us the grace to do that...
if we’ll submit ourselves to Him...
& pray daily...
“Father RULE in us.”
[Transition: The 3rd petition...
We shld pray daily is...]
3. “Father SUSTAIN us.” (v.11)
3. “Father SUSTAIN us.” (v.11)
In Matthew 6:11...
Jesus tells us to ask our father to:
Matthew 6:11 (MEV)
Give us this day our daily bread.
When we ask our heavenly Father...
To give us our daily bread...
we’re humbly asking Him...
to sustain us.
to supply us...
w/ whatever we need to live for today.
ILLUSTRATION
You may remember the story of the Exodus.
When the Lord brought His ppl...
out of slavery in Egypt.
Well, as a part of that deal...
the Lord promised His ppl...
He wld sustain them...
by supplying their daily bread frm Heaven.
Every day...
the Lord’s ppl had to rely on the Lord...
to make this bread appear...
on the ground.
When it did appear...
God’s ppl were only to gather enough...
for one day.
Except on Friday’s
when the Lord supplied two days’
worth of food
so His ppl cld rest on the Sabbath.
On every other day
If the Lord’s ppl gathered more than a day’s worth...
The bread wld grow worms
start to stink...
& be useless the nxt day.
So, Every day...
the Lord’s ppl
had to rely on the Lord
to sustain them.
& as it was w/ the Lord’s ppl
Back then
it’s the same w/ us now.
We must also rely on
our Heavenly Father...
to sustain us every day.
We cannot carry
yesterday’s bread...
over into today.
We’v gotta go to God
every morning
to get the bread
we need for the day.
& this is true...
not only of our physical food...
but much more
of our spiritual food.
Like our bodies...
need to be nourished...
w/ physical food daily.
Our spirits need to be nourished...
w/ spiritual food daily.
& to get this spiritual food...
we’ve gotta go to God...
& feed on His Word.
In Matthew 4:4...
Jesus says...
Matthew 4:4 (MEV)
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Just like we all spend time every day...
filling our stomachs w/ food...
to sustain us physically.
We need to spend time every day...
filling our spirits w/ the Word of God...
to sustain us spiritually.
Scripture reading...
Or Scripture listening...
Or somehow feeding our spirits...
w/ the bread of life in God’s Word...
needs to be one of our top priorities.
If we don’t have time...
to feed on the Scriptures daily...
Then we need to cut something else out...
of our lives.
Maybe cut out
one of our physical meals
& spend that time
feeding on
the Scriptures.
Bcs feeding on the Scriptures...
is one way God will sustain us spiritually.
So, as we pray daily...
“Father sustain us”...
Let’s also make sure...
we’re taking time every day...
to feed on God’s Word.
[Transition: The 4th petition...
We shld pray daily is…]
4. “Father FORGIVE us.” (vv.12, 14-15)
4. “Father FORGIVE us.” (vv.12, 14-15)
In Matthew 6:12:
Jesus tells us to ask our Father to...
Matthew 6:12 (MEV)
…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
This part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us...
that self-examination...
& confession of sin...
must be our daily practice.
The words “debts”
is another way
of saying sins.
This is made clear
by the parallel passage.
in Luke 11:4.
Jesus says...
Luke 11:4 (MEV)
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
So, when we sin against God
or other ppl
our sins put us
in debt to them.
& that’s a debt
none us
want to pay.
So, we need to pray daily...
for forgiveness of our sins.
But I need you to hear me say this...
That does not mean...
that we practice sin...
or live in sin as Christians.
The Scriptures say...
If we willfully keep on sinning.
If sinning is still our habit...
then we’ve never seen God...
or known Him.
The Scriptures also say...
The one who is born of God...
cannot continue in willful sin.
In other words...
living a sinful lifestyle...
is no longer an option for Christian’s.
So, if we don’t live in sin as Christian’s...
Then why
do we need to pray daily
for our sins
to be forgiven?
Think back to the 1st petition...
of the Lord’s Prayer.
Where we ask...
“Father sanctify us.”
Sanctification
becoming holy
as God is holy
is a process.
Christ followers
are in a process where
every part of our character...
is being molded to match...
the holy character of Christ.
Any area of our lives
that is not conformed
to Christ image
we’re missing the mark
We are sinning
& need that part
of our character
to be made holy.
This process is accomplished
as we learn God’s will
Thru God’s Word.
& learn to live out
God’s will
thru God’s grace.
& part of that process is...
Daily self-examination.
Daily laying our lives
open bfr God..
& asking Him to show us
where we’ve missed the mark
where we’ve not been like Jesus.
& then asking God
to forgive us..
To fix us..
& to form us...
into the image of Christ.
So, we pray daily...
“Father forgive us.”
But I want you to notice...
Jesus goes on in Matthew 6:14...
to tell us there’s a condition
to having our sins forgiven.
We talked abt his last week.
Jesus says
Matthew 6:14–15 (MEV)
For if you forgive men for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men for their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Notice that little
two letter word
“IF”.
Jesus says
if we forgive the sins of others...
our Father
will forgive our sins.
But if we do not
forgive others
Our Father will not
forgive us.
That’s some serious stuff.
James puts it
even more bluntly
in James 2:13
He say...
James 2:13 (NLT)
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
I’ve studied the Scriptures enough
To be able to assure you
None of us
Want God to judge us w/o mercy.
That’s gonna be a terrible
day for a lot of ppl.
Our God is a consuming fire.
& it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God.
So, as we pray daily...
“Father forgive us,”
Let’s also ask ourselves...
“Have I forgiven others...
who have sinned against me?”
If not
we need to
make that right.
If we want God to forgive us
we must forgive others.
& we do this every day
to avoid holding grudges.
& I know forgiving others
Can seem impossible.
But God does not give us
any command
w/o giving us the grace
to obey it.
If you’re struggling
to forgive someone
for some sin
they’ve comitted
against you
ask God to help you
w/ that.
Ask God to help you...
to be merciful to others...
as God is so merciful
to you.
[Transition: The 5th petition...
we shld pray daily is…]
5. “Father PROTECT us.” (v.13a)
5. “Father PROTECT us.” (v.13a)
At the beginning of Matthew 6:13...
Jesus tells us to pray...
Matthew 6:13 (MEV)
And lead us not into temptation...
Does God tempt anyone?
Does God bring
anyone into temptation?
God does bring us to
times of testing.
But according to James
God does not bring ppl
into temptation.
In James 1:13.
James says...
James 1:13 (MEV)
Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone.
God does not
tempt anyone.
He does NOT
bring us into temptation.
But if God does not bring us into temptation...
then why do we need...
to ask God daily...
not to bring us into temptation?
Why wld we
need to ask God
not to do something
He wld never do?
When we ask God
not to bring us
into temptation
We’re asking God
not to allow us
to be overcome
by our sinful selves...
Or to be overtaken...
by Satan.
We’re asking God
to protect us
& keep us frm being enticed
& led astray
by the things
that will cause us
to fall into sin.
We’re asking God
to protect us
frm being drawn into the sins
that so easily entangle us.
Whatever we’re tempted by most...
that’s what we need to ask God...
to protect us frm.
& we don’t only pray that for ourselves...
we pray the same for our brothers...
& sisters in Christ.
“Father PROTECT us.”
[Transition: & that brings us...
to the 6th & final petition...
we shld pray daily.]
6. Father DELIVER us. (v.13b)
6. Father DELIVER us. (v.13b)
At the end of Matthew 6:13...
Jesus tells us to pray daily...
Matthew 6:13 (MEV)
...deliver us from evil.
Every day
we step into
a spiritual warzone.
& the Scriptures say...
Satan...
The Evil One...
That old serpent the devil...
is our adversary
in this war.
He’s cunning;
He’s clever;
& he’s constantly on the prowl
looking for some stray soul
to devour.
As Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:8
1 Peter 5:8 (MEV)
Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Satan is NOT your friend.
Satan hates you.
He just absolutely cannot
stand you.
& he will kill you
& your entire family
if you give him the chance.
Jesus said Satan is a murderer.
& a liar.
& Satan’s goal is to
destroy us all
thru deception.
One way he accomplishes his goal...
is thru tempting us to sin
& lying to us abt
the consequences of sin.
Satan knows that the principle.
God taught Adam & Eve
abt the first sin
still applies today.
The Lord said:
“The day you eat frm that tree.
you will die.”
Ezekiel says
“The soul who sins...
will die.”
So, we need to constantly...
be sober-minded...
& alert...
so we can spot Satan’s schemes...
& resist him.
How do we resist Satan...
James tells us...
In James 4:6-8
James 4:6–8 (MEV)
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
We resist Satan
by humbling ourselves
under God’s mighty hand.
& by drawing near to Him
in prayer
& submitting ourselves
to do His will.
When we submit to God
& resist the devil.
The devil will
flee frm us.
When we try to
face Satan on our own...
we’ll lose every time.
But when we put God
btwn us...
& the Evil One...
Thru prayer
God will deliver us.
So, let’s stay alert
& stay sober
so we can pray daily:
“Father DELIVER us.”
CONCLUSION
Now, as we close,
I want to encourage you
to make the Lord’s Prayer
a daily part of your life
In at least two ways.
1st, pray the Lord’s Prayer
at least one time daily
word for word.
You can never go wrong
praying the words
of Jesus to the Father.
2nd,
Use the Lord’s Prayer as a model
to keep you focused
on the right things
when you pray.
Remember the 6 petitions
King Jesus teaches us to focus on...
in our times of prayer.
We need to petition our Father to...
Sanctify us.
Rule in us.
Sustain us.
Forgive us.
Protect us.
& Deliver us
If we’ll focus on those 6 things...
We can be sure our Father...
will answer our prayers.
Bcs we’ll be sure we’re praying...
according to God’s will.
PRAYER
Let’s all stand for prayer.
I cannot think of any better way
to close today
than by saying the Lord’s prayer together.
The Words shld be on the screen
We’ll pray the traditional version
of the prayer
that we pray
every Sunday morning.
Let’s all pray it together:
Our Father, who art in Heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen