To Get or to Give

Luke 11:2-4

2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

3  Give us day by day our daily bread,

4  and forgive us our sins,

for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one”

Introduction

Let’s quickly unpack....

What We Have Seen So Far in the Lord’s Prayer

Yahweh is our loving Father

a. Not distant or unconcerned

b. But loving, caring, and intricately involved as “ABBA”

,

2. The Father is seated upon the throne of Heaven

a. Meaning HE IS HOLY

b. He is to be Hallowed by his children

2. The Father is seated upon the throne of Heaven

3. His name is HOLY

a. Meaning HE is HOLY

b. He is be be Hallowed by His children… us

4. There is a Cosmic Struggle taking place

a. Your Kingdom Come.....

1. We pray that it be established in the hearts of men through the spreading of the of the Gospel virus.

2. We pray that the Father will speed the prophesied culmination of the struggle by the arrival of the physical kingdom

b. Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven

1. May the kiss of heaven and earth be accomplished

2. May I surrender daily, and more deeply, to the Father’s will within my heart.

Transition:

And now we come to what appears to be the easiest portion of the pattern for prayer

that Jesus taught to his disciples.

Give us day by day our daily bread

But remember our theme… BECAUSE!

There is a reason why Jesus gave us this element of the pattern.

HINT: There is something deeper going on beneath the surface; something important that He wants us to learn....

And it has to do with Dependence and Trust....

Does anyone have dependence and trust issues?

So, here are some Practical Truths for helping us understand this phrase within the text.

#1 Dependence Produces Faith & Trust When the Object of the Dependence is Faithful and Trustworthy

Within the passage, who is the object of the DEPENDENCE and TRUST?

OUR FATHER… is absolutely and totally trustworthy

Therefore know that the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim), He is the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Deut. 7:9

O Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds you.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus is issuing a challenge to His disciples, down through all the ages.

The Challenge: To understand that we must live in dependence, even when it comes to the most basic element BREAD

HOW HUMBLING IS THAT?

We are not as omnipotent as we think we are!

Illustration: This connects us to the plight of the children of Israel in the desert wilderness. They had no food. What did they cry out for? The cried out for bread, daily bread. And god gave them MANNA, which became their daily bread. GOD WAS THE PROVIDER

#2 Dependence Produces Familiarity

The Deeper the dependence.....the Greater the Familiarity

1. In other words, dependence deepens of relationship with our Father, because it forces us to TRUST

2. A dependent faith reminds us of WHO HE IS

Familiarity Produces Imitation

The Deepening Relationship With Abba…transforms our character, our will, and our actions

WE BEGIN TO LOOK LIKE OUR FATHER.....WHO WAS FULLY EXPRESSED IN JESUS

Imitation is the Highest form of Compliment

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29

AND THEN

Imitation is the Highest form of Compliment

Can I say it this way?

IMITATION IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF HALLOWING..... Revering as HOLY

In a nutshell, the Lord knows that we easily forget that GOD is GOD and we are not.

Remembering that He is God and living like it will transform us into his IMAGERS

So, we pray this to remember that.....

#1 Our Father is a GIVER

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

In Essence

#2 We are praying to become GIVERS

Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name, and I hallow it above all else.

Your Kingdom Come in the hearts of men until you establish it in fullness on the earth.

Your will be done in my heart on this earth, just as it is in heaven.

I trust you for everything. My faith is in You. Make me like you.

Make me a giver

A giver of the same love

A giver of the same care

A giver of grace

A giver of mercy

A giver of truth

Let me be a piece of daily MANNA for those I come into contact with.

Make me look like YOU!

Conclusion

As we come around the Lord’s Table, can we make that our prayer?

In a moment I will ask the entire congregation to come around the table.

—We are going to pray that prayer together and for each other.

2. But first, I want to share what this good news is, so that everyone can fully participate in this communion.

(Share the steps of the Gospel and how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by trusting in the Lord Jesus.)

INVITATION TO COME

Confess anything that is keeping you from becoming fully dependent.

Repent of a lack of trust.

Repent of any notion that you are your own provider.

Pray to start looking like your Father in Heaven .... just like Jesus