Luke 11:3-4 (3)

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-We’re going to be back in Luke 11 this morning.

As always, I would encourage you find it...

…and to follow along in your own Bibles.

-Now, we actually began our study of this section...

Two weeks ago now...

On the Sunday before Christmas Eve.

But we only made it through the first two verses, then.

And so, this morning, after we...

Read all four verses again

Pray and ask for the Lord’s help in understanding and applying them...

…We’ll spend a few minutes...

…reviewing (mostly) the content of Verse 2...

And then we’ll spend the rest of our time looking at...

…the the first two petitions of Verses 3-4 in detail...

…and making some appropriate applications...

Applications which, (in God’s providence)...

…are very relevant to the consideration of A New Year!

And then, Lord-Willing...

…we’ll come back and finish the prayer (proper)...

…next week.

Some important stuff in this.

-Alright, Luke 11, beginning in Verse 1

Please follow along as I read.

This is the infallible Word of God:

Luke 11:1–4 (ESV)

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

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Pray

-We began our study of this passage (a couple of weeks ago)...

…by recognizing the place of primacy...

…that was given to prayer...

…in the earthly life of our Savior.

We read this commentary toward the beginning:

The greatest argument for the priority of prayer is the fact that our Lord was a Man of prayer.

Thus far we have seen that He prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21), before He chose the Twelve (Luke 6:12), when the crowds increased (Luke 5:16), before He asked the Twelve for their confession of faith (Luke 9:18), and at His Transfiguration (Luke 9:29). — The Bible Exposition Commentary

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And my premise to you, was...

…that this was (most likely) the primary reason...

…for the request, that we saw being made...

…at the end of Verse 1...

(The request, in response to which...

…Jesus gave this “Model Prayer”)

Luke 11:1 (ESV)

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray . . . ”

-Now, I also pointed out something to you...

…in the way Jesus prefaced his response in Verse 2.

I pointed out to you, that...

…the practice of prayer...

…is something that was simply assumed...

…for anyone who was in relationship with God!

-Jesus had said, not “if,” but...

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

2 . . . “When you pray . . .”

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-Then we read the entire prayer again...

…and made a few summary observations, such as...

Its Clarity and Simplicity

Its lack of Repetition or Extravagance

How little it resembles many of the ...

…public and liturgical prayers that we see today.

-And, in that light...

…we went over to Matthew 6...

…and examined the longer preface to the similar prayer...

…that we see there in the S.O.M.

Matthew 6:5–9 (ESV)

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 Pray then like this...

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My premise:

NOT a liturgical prayer to be recited...

NOT a sacramental prayer to guarantee benefits...

But an example to model our prayers after.

-Then finally… after all that introduction...

…we looked at the elements of the prayer...

…that are contained in Verse 2.

There were three.

The form of address

The first two Godward petitions.

Look at the first:

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

2 . . . “When you pray, say: “Father, . . .

So, first of all...

…Jesus instructs his followers...

…to address God as their Father!

This is something that only Jesus could do...

…by nature of his own being.

He ALONE, is the Son of God!

He ALONE, is...

Co-Equal

Co-Eternal

Of the same substance...

…as God the Father.

But we read last week, how that...

In Christ

Through Faith in Christ...

…we have been adopted by the Father...

…and have been granted the privilege of sonship.

We read:

Galatians 4:4–7 (ESV)

4 ...when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

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

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son...

-Then, at the end of Verse 2...

…we looked at these two petitions:

Luke 11:2 (ESV)

2 ...hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

-On the first, we read Calvin saying this:

The substance of this petition is, that the glory of God may shine in the world, and may be duly acknowledged by men. — Calvin

-On the second, we read the JFB Commentary saying...

…that, in short, it is...

...the spontaneous and resistless longing of the renewed soul—put into words—to see the whole inhabited earth in entire conformity to the will of God — JFB Commentary

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-And my thesis to you was...

…that these two over-arching principles...

…ought to guide all that we do and say...

…and everything else that we pray.

Philip Ryken says this:

Once we have prayed for the holiness and the kingdom of our Father God, we are ready to pray for our own needs.

The order is important: God comes first, giving the vertical priority over the horizontal.

Yet there is still a place for our own concerns—a secondary place, but a place nonetheless. — Ryken

-Look at Verse 3.

The Third petition:

Luke 11:3 (ESV)

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

Let me emphasize a couple of simple things, here:

-First, notice what it tells us about...

God

Our Relationship to Him:

Luke 11:3 (ESV)

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

i.e., It comes from Him

He provides

He sustains

We are dependent on his goodness

-Secondly, notice...

Luke 11:3 (ESV)

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

It may surprise you to hear, that...

…the meaning of that word “daily”...

…is actually pretty debated.

It is a compound word in the original...

And depending on what root words form it...

It could be translated: (Show on screen)

1.) Necessary bread (What’s needed for sustenance)

2.) Daily bread (Needs of the present day)

3.) Bread for tomorrow (The provision for the future).

And since...

This word only used here, and in Matthew 6...

I’m dependent on people more learned than myself...

…to tell me about such things...

…I’m going to go with… YES!

-And what I mean by that, is, of course...

I don’t think that we have to know the precise etymology...

…to understand precisely what Jesus is saying here.

-I think it’s a really basic, universal principle...

…to which all three possibilities would apply.

We see it clearly, in:

Exodus 16:1–4 (ESV)

1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin...

2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

Only a day’s portion

Nothing for the future

Would have to depend on God

Exodus 16:5 (ESV)

5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Why?

The Sabbath

Would be a particularly hard test of faith.

Here was the rule/commandment:

Exodus 16:16 (ESV)

16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ”

Very exact

Very precise

EXACTLY what they needed for that day

Nothing more!

Now, watch this:

Exodus 16:19–31 (ESV)

19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.”

20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank...

21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

But...

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread...

24 ...they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.

25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

But Still...

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none...

The Explanation:

29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days....

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Do you see the point?

They were being forced...

…to rely entirely upon the Lord, for...

Their sustenance:

For Today

For Tomorrow

For Every OTHER Day of their lives

-This is the sentiment being echoed in Verse 3.

I think it’s summed up in this:

Matthew 6:31–34 (ESV)

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow...

-Alright, notice one final thing in Verse 3...

Luke 11:3 (ESV)

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

“Bread” in the Ancient Near Eastern World...

Meant Basic Sustenance

Ryken again explains:

In this petition Jesus is also teaching us that our true needs are few.

All we really need is bread, a basic necessity.

Jesus did not tell us to pray for a chocolate éclair. What he has taught us to pray for every day (and what he has promised to provide) is bread.

This implies that we should be content with what God provides—even if he provides only the bare necessities of life—and not crave what God has not promised to give — Philip Ryken

-This is the disciples’ heart...

…that the third petition assumes/pre-supposes:

Proverbs 30:8–9 (ESV)

8 ...give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Paul told Timothy, that...

1 Timothy 6:6–8 (ESV)

6 ...godliness with contentment is great gain,

7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

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-Now, in Verse 4 we see...

…another need that only God can supply...

…and one that is vastly more important...

…than even our physical survival:

-The Fourth Petition is...

Luke 11:4 (ESV)

4 “and forgive us our sins....”

Now, this is our greatest need.

This is the greatest shortcoming of our lives.

This is the area in which...

…we are most lacking...

…apart from the Sovereign and Kind...

…provision of God!

-And here too...

…we see in this petition...

…an implication of who God is...

…and who we are in relation to Him:

Matthew’s parallel account helps us to better understand it:

Matthew 6:12 (ESV)

12 and forgive us our debts...

This is a common biblical analogy.

i.e., Sin as analogous to debt.

Joel Beeke explains its meaning for us in simple terms:

Sin is a failure to fulfill our obligation to God, resulting in enormous debts to divine justice. — Joel Beeke

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You see, God’s nature… His Holy Perfections...

Demand and Command...

…by their very essence...

…a perfect conformity to them!

And when we fall short of that glory...

When we miss that mark...

We owe a debt to his divine righteousness (justice).

-And, the disciple of Christ...

(The genuine disciple of Christ)

…has been made aware of this shortcoming...

…by the Spirit of God...

…and approaches God in prayer...

…with this recognition.

The Apostle John said:

1 John 1:8–10 (ESV)

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How can this be?

How can a Holy God be “Just” . . .

…and still forgive our sins?

(Explain)

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Mike McKinley says it like this:

Jesus’ followers are acutely aware of their failures and shortcomings, and so they know that they must appeal to God for forgiveness.

It is perhaps a more subtle need, but we require this daily mercy from God every bit as much as we need him to give us our daily bread — Mike McKinley

Think about what Jesus said in...

John 6:27–35 (ESV)

27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you...

28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness...

32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

-This is the starting point of the Christian life:

Recognizing and Confessing...

Our sin

Our indebtedness to God

Our need of forgiveness...

And then looking to Christ ALONE...

To procure and provide that forgiveness.

That’s how the Christian’s prayer life begins...

And... that’s how the Christian’s prayer life continues...

…until the day our Lord returns.

Martin Luther famously said...

…something to the effect, that...

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance. — Luther

He was addressing something very particular...

But it is profoundly and universally true.

Repentance is not merely...

…something we did one time...

It is the ongoing disposition...

…of the regenerate heart!

-Philip Ryken puts it like this:

This is how we must always come to God: not confident of our own righteousness, but pleading for his mercy and grace.

The Lord’s Prayer is a sinner’s prayer, in which we acknowledge that we are unworthy sinners before a holy God. — Ryken

And I would add, simply, that...

…acknowledging that...

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...We ask “each day” for the True Bread (Christ)

The Bread for our relationship with God today

The Bread for our relationship with God Tomorrow.

The Bread of our Sustenance for all eternity.

Let’s Pray

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