Your Kingdom Come
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Prayer
The Prayer
Jesus taught his disciples to pray:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“ ‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’ ”
Another time he added some embellishes and flourishes:
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
But they both include the same basic elements:
Our Father,
your kingdom come
Give us our daily bread
Forgive us as we forgive
Don’t lead us into temptation
Finally, we know that Jesus used this prayer in practice:
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Within 70 years, Christians were praying this prayer 3 times a day.
Clearly the words of this prayer matter. But what do they teach us? This month we are going to take each of the five parts in sequence and investigate what they teach us about our identity and our purpose.
Our Father in Heaven
Our Father in Heaven
What does it mean to say that God is our Father?
God is not everyone’s father. Only certain people are his children.
Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
In baptism, God ADOPTS us into his FAMILY. Exodus 4:22-23, Matthew 3:16-17, Galatians 4:4-6, Romans 8:15;
What does it say about you if you are God’s child?
Why “father” though? Jesus does not say that God can only be your father. However, he does say that only God can be your father.
And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
As our father, God PROTECTS and PROVIDES for us. Matt. 23:9; 6:25-33, 7:7-11;
How should God’s generosity change the way we live our everyday lives?
Why are we called God’s “sons?” Why not daughters?
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Sons had the right to inherit, so Paul is saying that even God’s daughters are his “sons.”
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
As God’s children, we have the PRIVILEGES … of heirs.
Family motos
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
As God’s children, we have the PRIVILEGES and RESPONSIBILITIES of heirs. Gal. 4:6-7, Rom. 8:16-17, Matt. 25:34, Ex. 20:7;
How has your life reflected on God’s family name?
Hallowed be your name
Hallowed be your name
“Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’
We have failed to LIVE UP to the FAMILY name. Ezekiel 36:17-20;
I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
“ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
We ask God to intervene to RESTORE us according to his PROMISE. Ezekiel 36:23-28;
When you ask God to make his name holy in your life, what are you asking for?
Questions to Ponder
Questions to Ponder
What does it say about you if you are God’s child?
How should God’s generosity change the way we live our everyday lives?
How has your life reflected on God’s family name?
When you ask God to make his name holy in your life, what are you asking for?
