Our Daily Bread

The Way, the Truth, and the Life: Studying Jesus Through the Gospels  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:00:13
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Introduction

Let's start off today by reading Matthew 6:9-13 where we find the Model Prayer, often referred to as the Lord's Prayer. Let's read it all together.
Matthew 6:9–13 (KJV 1900)
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Over the last 4 sessions, we have seen that as we approach God, we need to approach Him as a Father, understanding that He is a good Father. You may have had bad experiences with earthly fathers and father-figures, but God is 100% good 100% of the time. He has our best interest in mind, loves us unconditionally (and we will see some of how He manifests that love today), and He is involved in our lives.
But not only is He a good Father, He is our heavenly Father. This indicates that He has authority and power. Good intentions can only go so far if you do not have the ability to perform or sustain them, but God not only has plans and intentions that are good for us, He has the power to perform and sustain those intentions.
The next thing we saw was that it is essential that we praise God. This is good for several reasons, none the least is that God is worthy of all praise, and we are commanded to praise Him. We were created for His pleasure, something that will be important to remember throughout this session. We praise God for who He is, and we praise His name. This is what the phrase "hallowed be thy name" means. To hallow is to set aside for the purpose of praise.
We saw different names of God. Does anyone remember one?
Those names of God describe many of His characteristics and help us to praise Him specifically for those things. But we can also look at God's other character traits and praise Him for those as well, such as His mercy, love, grave, patience, goodness, and care.
Last session we studied the phrase "thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
We are representatives of God's kingdom here on earth. We studied that God's kingdom is characterized by 4 things. Does anyone remember any of those four things? If you need help, three of them are found in Romans 14:17 (“17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”) : righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, and power (1 Corinthians 4:20 “20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”).
So in asking God for His kingdom to come, we are asking these four things for our lives, the lives of those we pray for, and the situations we find ourselves in.
I ask for the power to live righteously throughout the day, not just in how I behave, but in my thoughts and attitudes as well.
If there is something that is threatening my peace, I ask for God to give me His peace as I give that situation over to His sovereign control.
When things or situations threaten to take my joy, I ask that God will draw me closer to Himself, knowing that He is the true and lasting source of joy. The book of 1 John, which deals closely with our walk with the Lord, was written for with the stated purpose “that our joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4). God is interested in our joy; He gave us the Holy Spirit so that this joy could be produced in us, and He made us part of His kingdom that is characterized by joy.
When asking for His kingdom to come, I am asking God to help me be a good representative, a good ambassador of His kingdom to a lost an dying world. This is the time that I pray for those people that I know that need to be saved.
Then, when I ask for God’s will to be done, we are acknowledging God's sovereignty. What that means is we are saying that God has all power and control over everything. This is the part of the prayer where we come to God with issues that are 1) out of our control, 2) decisions that are before us in which we have no clear direction from the Bible, 3) desires, goals, and dreams that we have as we surrender all of these things to God, asking Him to work His will because we know that it will always be better than our will.

Our Daily Bread

This leads us into today’s section of the Model Prayer: Matthew 6:11 “11 Give us this day our daily bread.”
This is where we ask God for our needs. Last session we talked to God about our wants and desires, this week we talk to God about our needs. Often times, the lines between those two can be blurred. There are certainly times where we are at a fork in the road, and we need to make a decision. One decision may be more desirable to us than the other, but the fact remains, the decision must be made. So it if you are like me, sometimes you don't know under which category to place the request, but you will see, hopefully, that we handle both desires and needs in prayer the same way.
Let me start this session by asking this question: Have any of you ever prayed for something that God did not answer?
In the book of James, we find one of the reasons why sometimes our prayers do not get answered in the way we would like.
James 4:3 (KJV 1900)
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
I remember praying to marry every girlfriend that I ever had. I had quite a few...
Thankfully those did not work out!
Asking amiss - badly, grievously, improperly, or with evil intent
i.e.: Asking for something, not knowing that it is not what is best for us or what is good for us
Asking for something that is solely to use on our selfish desires.
God will not give you something that will pull your attention away from Him. I often reference Exodus 34:5-7 as God's self-description.
Exodus 34:5–7 (KJV 1900)
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
After Moses hears this, after he hears God describe Himself, he bows down to worship God and God begins to tell Moses of how He is going to do miracles and show His power in and through Israel when they go back into the promised land after being in captivity for 400 years to Egypt, and how they will drive out the nations that are currently occupying that land.
The nations in that land are wicked nations who worship false gods, so God warns them not to go after those false gods.
Often, when we talk about the names of God (Jehovah-jireh, the God who provides; Jehovah-rohi, the Lord my shepherd; etc.), most of those names are names that people have used to name God after He revealed Himself in a certain way or certain situation.
E.g.: Jehovah-jireh, the Lord my provider, was what Abraham called God after God provided a substitute sacrifice for Abraham's son, Isaac. Jehovah-shalom, the Lord my peace, was what Gideon called God after God promised to bring peace and deliverance to the nation of Israel.
Sometimes, God gives Himself names. The most well known instance of this is when God is talking to Moses from the burning bush. Moses asks God, "What do I tell the people when they ask, 'Who sent you?'" God then says, "Tell them I AM THAT I AM has sent you." This is God's way of saying that He is self-existent, above and outside of all creation, the Creator of all things who sustains all things, the God who doesn't depend on anything or anyone for His existence.
So Moses and the people of Israel now know God as the I AM that I AM. The self existent one.
In the passage that we just read in Exodus 34, we just read how God describes His character to Moses, but now, He is about to give Moses another name for Himself, and this is a name we do not often hear as one of the names of God.
Look at Exodus 34:14...
Exodus 34:14 (KJV 1900)
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is what??? Jealous, is a jealous God:
There are three words in Hebrew that I found that are translated to the English language as "jealous." One is the feeling of jealousy; another is a jealousy mixed with anger; and the third is the word that God uses to describe Himself here. It means jealous but not in a human, sinful, corrupt way. It is a pure jealousy. This word is only ever used when describing God's jealousy toward His people.
Maybe the best way to describe this word is not to think of the jealousy that you experienced as a teen when someone else was talking to a person that you liked, or the feeling that you get when someone gets a promotion that you think you deserve more. The best way to think of this kind of jealousy would be the feeling that a loving spouse would have when his/her partner, despite all the love shown by the one spouse, leaves to go be with another person. That may be the best way to describe this jealousy, but remember, it is a jealousy that is untainted by sin.
All that to say this, God doesn't often give us what we ask when He knows that it will pull our attention from Him. Sometimes He does, and that is a dangerous spot to be in. But so many times He does not, because we are asking according to our will instead of His will. Or maybe, we are asking for things that we think we need, that God knows we do not.
So how does the fact that sometimes God says "no" to our prayers fit in with what the Bible says? The book of John records at least 5 times that Jesus says to His disciples, "What ever you ask in my name it shall be done," or, "the Father will give it to you."
I have prayed for so many things in Jesus' name that I have not gotten. So how can that be?
Well, like we read, we need to not ask amiss. We need to not ask according to our lusts, or selfish desires, but according to God's will.
But there are certain things we need to know about ASKING.

I. Ask the Right Way

Asking the right way involves three things: we must

A. Ask for the right thing

James 4:3 (KJV 1900)
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
1. Ask for things within God’s will. We saw this last week. We know God wants to develop in us the fruit of the Spirit. Start praying and asking God for those things in your life.
2. Ask for things that Jesus would approve.
John 14:13–14 (KJV 1900)
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
"In my name" does NOT mean that we say "In Jesus' name" at the end of the prayer. It means that we are saying, "God, your Son approves of this." Next time your speeding down the highway, don't think just because you add "In Jesus' name" to the end of your prayer to not get pulled over, God is automatically bound to jam every cops radar out there.
I want you to notice what Jesus says he will do are things that Glorify God the Father. (V.13)
So ASKING THE RIGHT WAY involves Asking for the Right Thing. It also involves

B. Ask in the right position

By this I mean our relationship with Christ. John 15:7
John 15:7 (KJV 1900)
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
There is a condition to this promise. If you abide in me and my words in you. This DOES NOT mean that if you read the Bible every day, you get whatever you pray for. This means that if you are walking with Christ and seeking Him in His word, He gives what you ask for. The problem is, we Christians don’t often abide with Jesus. They don’t dwell with Him. They hang out with Him when they need something, or they know Him as an acquaintance, but they are not intimate followers of Jesus. But they wonder still how their prayers are not answered.
Psalm 37:3–5 (KJV 1900)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
There are some pretty big things we need to note about these verses.
1. First, we need to TRUST God. That means, we allow Him to make the decisions. Some of us get real nervous when other people are driving. We can’t stand to be in the passenger seat. We have to be the one at the wheel, the one in control. God says, “You want to see your prayers answered and your heart’s desires fulfilled? Trust me to be in control.”
2. We need to do good. Do what is right. This should be coming naturally to those that walk intimately with the Lord.
3. We need to delight ourselves in the Lord. The same way I delight in my wife, the same way you delight in your friends, delight. This word has a connotation of melting into the one who brings you that delight.
4. We need to commit our ways to God if we expect him to answer our prayers. This talks about surrender. We talked about giving God veto power last week over our wants and desires - about going to God with our requests and holding them in open hands so He can do with them as He pleases.
Are you Delighted in Him, Committed to Him, and Trusting in Him?
Asking the right way means asking for the right thing and in the right position/relationship with God, but thirdly -

C. Ask for the right purpose

We read James 4:3 several times now, so we know that we need to ask not for OUR lusts to be fulfilled, but for God’s will to be done..
So we need to ask the right way.

II. Believe the Right Thing

There are those that teach that if you have enough faith, every prayer will be answered according to YOUR will. Well, we just saw last week that we are asking God’s will to be done here on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven.
When we approach God in prayer, we need to believe these two things:
A. God wants to perform His will.
B. God keeps His promises.
Hebrews 6:17-18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie.
Numbers 23:19 says
19 God is not a man, that he should lie; Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
There are over 3,500 promises in the Bible (not all of them apply to us, by the way), and God has not broke a single one of these, nor will He.
A. God wants to perform His will.
B. God keeps His promises.
C. God knows what is best for you.
Psalm 84:11 (KJV 1900)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
In 1 Samuel chapter 8, we see the children of Israel telling Samuel that they wanted a king, like every other nation had around them. It was not God's time for them to have a king yet, and had they listened, the dismal failure of having Saul as a king would never have occurred. The thing was, they viewed it as God withholding something good from them, when in reality, He was sparing them. God knows what is best for me and for you, and we must trust this as we go to Him in prayer.
When we Ask the right way and Believe the right thing, we can be confident that we will Receive the answer the right way.

III. Receive the Answer the Right Way

We must understand that God answers our prayers in different ways. Sometimes he says "yes," other times he says "no," and other times he says "wait." It is easy to get the yes answer. But what happens when we get a WAIT or a NO? How do we receive those answers?
Two things should characterize how we receive answers to our prayers.
We should receive the answer gladly. Even if it is a no? Yes, even if it is a no.
2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (KJV 1900)
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
We should receive the answer Thankfully. It is a command to give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - In everything give thanks.
We can be thankful and we can be glad in whatever answer God gives us because we know that He knows best. Don't ever fool yourself into thinking that you know what is best for you, or you know the best solution for the problems in your life.
Isaiah 55:8–9 (KJV 1900)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.
When we are thankful to the Lord and grateful for His answer (no matter what it may be), we can have peace.
Philippians 4:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We can have a peace that is so wondrous in effect that it surpasses all understanding. So much so that it will guard our emotional and mental well-being, no matter what answer we have received.
It is often very easy to confuse needs with wants, but the way we approach both of these things should be the same way: with open hands, asking God to have his will and His way.

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