A Greater Righteousness (12)

Greeting

Good morning! My name is Joel Cossins, and I’m the pastor here at Libby COTN. I’d like to welcome all of our guests here today, especially to those of you checking us out online. Hello! If you’ve not yet visited us in person, I look forward to the day we can welcome you to our fellowship. You should know when you visit, you will most likely be invited to stay after, as we have a potluck every Sunday after the service—unless otherwise noted. So, come hungry for an encounter with JESUS and bring your appetite for food, as well!

Announce text: Matthew 6:9-15

Key Text: Matthew 6:9-15

Review

insert BP review video if available

Whenever you hear the word Father, what images and memories immediately come to mind?

For some, those memories are warm and happy—filled with safety and affection. For others, they bring a deep sorrow for times lost or a relationship that never existed. Perhaps your father left when you were young, or maybe he was physically present but emotionally distant, always occupied with "more important things." Some of you might feel the specific pain of never knowing what a healthy, nurturing father-son or father-daughter relationship actually feels like.

I know my own story. My dad was always there. He was at every practice, every game, home and away. He would make time to play catch, pitch wiffle balls, and shoot 100 free throws a day with me until I hit a 93% percentage. We ran routes in the backyard, simulating Super Bowl matchups against the 49ers. I remember one day, he threw a pass so hard it knocked the wind right out of me—"the old bread basket," as he called it. I lay on the grass gasping for air, but he was sprinting toward me, half-apologetic and half-proud that I hung on. He taught me discipline, love, and presence.

But here is the truth: We all see God through the lens of our own experiences.

Whether your father was a hero who showed up or a figure who was cold, distant, or controlling, that image has shaped how you view the Father in Heaven.

If your dad was loving and nurturing, you likely picture God as loving and accessible.

If your dad was controlling, you might unconsciously view God as a manipulative puppet master, fearing that giving up control means you aren't safe.

If your dad was distant or "busy," you might feel that God is unapproachable, too occupied with cosmic affairs to care about your individual struggles.

This isn't a problem unique to a few "wounded souls" among us. It is a human condition.

Consider this story: Joseph Stowell, the former president of Moody Bible Institute, shared that his young son once refused to pray because he thought God was "probably busy reading the newspaper and drinking a Coke." It hit Stowell hard—he realized that was exactly what he did when he came home from work. When his son wanted attention, he was often too "busy" to give it. His son had simply mirrored his father's behavior onto God.

What kind of image-bearer are you? What picture of the Father have you witnessed or inherited?

These views about God—whether they stem from a loving dad or a broken one—are toxic to our wellbeing. They prevent us from thriving. They create a barrier between us and the very love we crave.

Fulfillment in life doesn't come from fixing our past or finding a perfect earthly father. It comes from knowing our Creator, experiencing His true love for us, and understanding His intention for us to flourish.

But before we can experience that, we have to admit: We are all struggling with what we believe about His character. We are all co-conspirators in this shared human struggle. We all need to see past the lens of the frailty in our earthly fathers to see the Father who is actually waiting for us.

Announce text again: Matthew 6:9-15

Scripture Reading

Matthew 6:5–8 NASB95

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Matthew 6:9–13 NASB95

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

Matthew 6:14–15 NASB95

14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Prayer for added blessing to the reading of the Word

Message

The title for today’s message is Our Father, Our Family: Living Out Our Identity.

In Matthew 6:6-9, Jesus teaches His followers that true prayer is deeply personal and sincere, contrasting the empty, ostentatious rituals of the religious elite with the intimate communication God desires with His children. He reminds believers that they have a direct relationship with the Father — one rooted in trust and authenticity — and assures them of their identity as His beloved children, encouraging them to approach Him with confidence. This passage reveals the profound truth that God is attentive to our genuine cries and already knows our needs before we ask, reflecting the depth of our relationship with Him as our Father.

Big Idea: Our identity as God's children assures us of His Presence and influence in our lives, empowering us to approach Him boldly in prayer and live in the confidence of His Love.

Today, we're going to discover that prayer is not merely a duty or religious formality, but an authentic dialogue with a personal Father who deeply desires to hear from you. Together, we'll contrast the hollow rituals that can so easily creep into our spiritual lives with the heartfelt communication God is truly inviting you into.

If you are a believer in Jesus this morning, this message is especially for you — particularly if you've been feeling disconnected, distant, or even unworthy of God's attention. This passage offers you real comfort and assurance: you are fully accepted into God's family. You are not an outsider looking in, but an heir in Christ and a sibling to Jesus Himself, with incredible access to the Father.

By the end of this message, my hope is that you walk away not only with a renewed understanding of who you are, but with the courage to live out that identity — both in your personal prayer life and in community with others. Because when we truly embrace our place in God's family, it changes the way we relate to Him and to one another. It fosters relationships that reflect His love and grace, and pushes back against the loneliness and isolation that so many of us quietly carry. More than anything, this message is an invitation to move away from obligation and toward something far better — an intimate, uncomplicated, and love-driven relationship with your Father.

Introduction

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents a large collection of teaching on religious practices. At the center of this collection, he addresses the subject of prayer, and within that section he offers his disciples a model prayer — brief, only a handful of lines, yet dense with a universe of ideas that orient the one praying toward the God of the universe. The first half of this prayer reads: “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

Each phrase of this prayer draws from deep roots in the Hebrew Bible and locates the one praying within the larger story of God's purposes in the world. In the next several messages in this series, we are going to follow a pattern similar to when we were studying the Shema. We’re going to look at some of the words and phrases contained in this prayer to explore what Jesus meant — and what his followers are doing — when they pray these words.

Just like last week, we’re going to go back a few verses in our passage. Some of this will be a bit of a review, but there’s something Jesus is really, really emphasizing in this text that is important for us to understand. For some of us, perhaps there is a shift in our thinking that needs to take place—a need to repent—to change the way we think about and approach prayer. For others of us, perhaps we have a head knowledge that needs to transition to the heart—the work of Holy Spirit. Whatever the case may be—these or anything else—let us pay attention to the words of the Master, meditate on them, and trust Him for what His Words will accomplish in us.

“Our Father”—A New Identity

Jesus begins the prayer with the intimate and powerful word Father. Throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus characteristically addresses and refers to God as my Father — it is the defining feature of his speech about God. What is significant about this prayer is that when he shares it with his disciples, he takes what would have been his own personal mode of address and opens it up to include them: my Father becomes our Father.

This language did not emerge from nowhere. While it is not the most dominant image for God in the Hebrew Bible, there are approximately a dozen passages in which God is either compared to a father or directly called one. In Deuteronomy 1:31, for example, Moses recounts the wilderness journey and says:

Deuteronomy 1:31 NASB95

31 ... the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’

This is one of several places where God's relationship to Israel is described through paternal metaphor.

A more direct usage appears in Isaiah 64:8, which comes at the culmination of a prayer of lament and confession on behalf of the community. The prayer surveys Israel's long history of unfaithfulness leading up to the exile, and then pivots with the words:

Isaiah 64:8 NASB95

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.

This is one of the few places in the Hebrew Bible where YHWH is explicitly addressed as our Father. Notably, the prophet could have said our potter and left it there — the fact that Father is chosen as the primary address is theologically significant.

So, this isn’t completely foreign to His disciples, but it certainly wasn’t a common form for addressing YHWH. In fact, in the verses preceding His model prayer for us, three times Jesus refers to God as Father—not just Father, but your Father. He is building momentum for this moment as He lays the foundation beginning in v.6, where He addresses the first problem in this section on prayer, and provides the first lesson on prayer.

So before Jesus ever tells us what to say in prayer, He tells us who we're talking to. And once you understand that you are approaching a Father — your Father — everything about how you pray begins to change. And if He is truly your Father, then He deserves more than a passing thought squeezed into the margins of your day. He's calling you somewhere. Jesus tells us where.

Secret Communion with the Father

Matthew 6:6 NASB95

6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

The first thing Jesus asks of His disciples is to change their approach to prayer. They need to find a secret place for prayer. You, O child of God, need to find a secret place for prayer. This secret place is a location that is solitary in nature—a place free from distraction where you can be alone with your Father in prayer. This is a place where we can engage in worshiping the Father. As long as we are preoccupied with our own thoughts and routines, we will not meet with the One Who is Spirit—who is the Truth.

John 4:24 NASB95

24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

True worship is a thing of the spirit and life, and our whole being must engage in worship with the Father. So, Jesus instructs us to get alone—withdraw from the world and all of our anxieties, our concerns—and rest in the Presence of our Father. It is God’s Father-Love, His infinite Fatherliness we experience, as He teaches us His heart for prayer—how and what to pray. And so, it is in the secret place where the Father is waiting for you and for me. Even when we feel weak or our prayer life feels cold, get yourself into the Presence of the Father where He can transform you and any situation.

Do not be thinking of how little you have to bring God, but of how much He wants to give you.

—Andrew Murray

He is a Father who rewards those who seek Him. It doesn’t matter how I feel—whether inspired and full of power, or weak and powerless with very little faith. Confess this to Him. Ask Him to change your heart, and He will do it! His Word promises that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 NASB95

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

This reward is because of the great love the Father has for you and me. It is to His great Love and power that we entrust all of our needs—emotional, physical, and spiritual. So, seek personal communion with the Father in the quiet spaces of your life. Christ teaches that true prayer is a private meeting that reinforces our identity as God's children who can intimately approach the Father. Prayer is about a personal, heartfelt interaction with the Father. When you grasp this understanding, it will propel you into a deeper relationship with the Father that fosters strength and assurance during trials by knowing you are loved and heard by your heavenly Father.

How did you do this week? Did you find and develop—put into practice—going to a secret place to pray? Maybe you already had a secret place of prayer. Did you use it?

Will you make this a habit? Return to—or for those who did not engage, find—your secret place of prayer this week where you can commune with your Father.

Is prayer, for you, a conversation with your Father — or is it still just a religious routine you perform? Because Jesus is saying the secret place isn't just about location. It's about relationship. And once you're in that secret place — once you've closed the door and it's just you and the Father — what do you actually say? How do you pray? Jesus addresses that next, and what He says might surprise you, because He begins by telling you what NOT to do.

Sincere Words in Prayer to the Father

Matthew 6:7 NASB95

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

You may remember from our previous message on this text, that Jesus is addressing the practice of the pagans who uttered really lengthy, elaborate prayers because they were trying to get the attention of their false gods. Jesus is instructing His disciples—you and I are included here—that you don’t have to go on and on in your prayer, thinking that God will listen to you because you have a lot you want to say. Instead, Jesus invites us to communicate with the Father in short, to-the-point prayer. We can verbally process when we pray—and that’s okay. The point is, we don’t have to try to persuade God to answer. It likely wouldn’t work, anyway.

Instead, focus on authentic communication rather than mindless rituals. This approach to prayer—seeking sincerity and depth—aligns your heart with the Father’s. He values heartfelt expressions over formulaic, disengaged practices, so we need to pray from a place of genuine need and trust in the Father. As we gain insight into this prayer, this truth will help to strengthen our faith that we do not need a multitude of urgent words to compel an unwilling God to hear us. No, we have a Father Who not only hears and responds, but a Father knows our needs greater than we do.

Beloved, when you go to your secret place to pray, do you come to God as a Father Who already loves you, or are you still trying to convince Him to care?

If God is a Father who loves you, and He isn’t moved by our volume of words—then what does move Him? Better yet, what assurance do we have that He's even listening at all? Well, Jesus answers that in the very next verse, and what He says should change the way you approach God every single day.

Secure Assurance in Prayer

Matthew 6:8 NASB95

8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

So, Jesus continues His emphasis here to further confirm our faith in the Father-Love of God. He provides us with the assurance that the Father knows our needs before we even ask. With this in mind, you and I ought to pray with the confidence of knowing our spiritual identity and heritage through Jesus, Who is the ultimate connector to God. By trusting in a Father who listens, you and I can abandon anxiety and embrace peace, assured that the Father knows our every need. When this revelation of truth is confirmed by Holy Spirit living within you, you will pray with certainty that your request is indeed something that, according to this Word—we have an assurance—when it is for God’s glory, we can have a wonderful confidence knowing the Father is already aware of it and made provision for it. Even when there is a delay in the timing we think it should be done in, we can persevere and hold on to the assurance the perfect answer is on the way.

Kerry scared; commanded fear to leave; prayed for favor & God to go before; prayed for a special friend

Through Christ, each prayer we pray is an opportunity to rest in the Father's Love, knowledge and care.

FATHER! THOU KNOWEST I need it. O the blessed liberty and simplicity of a child that Christ our Teacher would fain cultivate in us, as we draw near to God: let us look up to the Father until His Spirit works it in us. Let us sometimes in our prayers, when we are in danger of being so occupied with our fervent, urgent petitions, as to forget that the Father knows and hears, let us hold still and just quietly say: My Father sees, my Father hears, my Father knows; it will help our faith to take the answer, and to say: We know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him.

—Andrew Murray

So, pj … What’s the point?

Conclusion

As we close this morning, remember the words that opened our time together: Whenever you hear the word “Father,” what images and memories come to mind?

For many of us, that word carries the weight of what was missing or the beauty of what was given. But Jesus steps into every one of our stories and says, “Pray like this: Our Father.”

He does not leave us with the fractured image of our earthly fathers. Instead, He fulfills the longing woven throughout Scripture — the longing of a holy God to restore humanity to the family we were created for. Jesus, our elder brother, has made the way. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He brings us into the very heart of the Father’s house. In Christ we are no longer outsiders; we are beloved children with full access to the One who knows us best and loves us most.

To be alone in secret with the Father — this is your highest joy. To be assured that the Father will openly reward the secret prayer — this is your strength day by day. And to know that the Father knows what you need before you ask — this is your liberty—your freedom—to bring every need, in the assurance that your God will supply it according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Here is our next step this week:

Will you commit to finding (or returning to) your secret place — that quiet spot where it’s just you and the Father? Go there daily. Close the door. Pray the Shema and the Lord’s Prayer slowly and sincerely. Let it shape your heart. Speak to Him as your Father who already knows, who already cares, and who delights to answer.

Imagine what would happen if every one of us did this together.

Imagine a church family rising each day from secret communion with the Father — carrying His presence into our homes, our workplaces, and the streets of Libby. Husbands and wives praying with new tenderness. Parents teaching their children the joy of talking to their heavenly Dad. Friends carrying one another’s burdens instead of hiding behind polite smiles. A community marked by forgiveness, generosity, and bold confidence in the Father’s love.

That is the family Jesus is forming in us.

That is the family the world is longing to see.

Let’s pray these prayers together again right now:

First, The Shema.

Hear, O Libby! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Next, The Lord’s Prayer.

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 also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

Closing prayer & benediction

Let’s pray together:

Our Father in heaven, thank You that in Christ we are no longer strangers but sons and daughters. Teach us to come to You as children — boldly, honestly, and often. Draw us into the secret place with You. Shape our hearts by Your love. And as we meet with You in private, let Your presence overflow into every part of our lives — for Your glory and the good of our families, our church, and our town.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our elder brother and perfect Intercessor. Amen.

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95

The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

Scripture records the following words in v.27:

Numbers 6:27 GW

“So whenever they use my name to bless the Israelites, I will bless them.” 

So, receive and go with the blessings of YAHWEH!