Untitled Sermon

The essentials of building our Christian life consist of five basic elements. But, worship is the foundation on which we build. Until we learn to worship God for who He is in His Greater sense, and acknowledge His Superiority in all things, and His Holy, Faithful, Loving character, the elemental requirements in our worship relationship consist only of “submissive-humility”. Submissive-humility is found in having only the precursory understanding of whom we are being submissive to, and why. In this condition of recognition of His superiority and domination there can be a fear of God. The reason this condition in the relationship exists is for this dimension only, and resentment can quickly develop and separation can be perceived as the only solution if the anxious condition is not resolved. It is at this moment of time that God reveals Himself as the One True God and the ultimate lover of mankind in His expression of His love in the gift of grace. () ()

Worship has many depths of understanding. Worship is initiated by God Himself, through our understanding of ourselves in relation to God as sinners in need of salvation and rescue. It begins at the first level with the ‘sinners prayer’ where our knowledge and understanding may be minimal: “Where I first saw the Light” experience. Our relationship with God in Christ is by definition a grace gift () and we respond by faith, and this is a gift of God. God calls us we respond. () ()

As we mature we develop a greater platform of understanding and our worship increases to a level of exaltation – level where we see many a soul plateau. God is a God of Goodness and Mercy, who takes care of us in our time of need and is there at “our beck and call”. He has done great things for us and we know He will continue to love us and nurture us. But where the relation extends from there is a mystery to many. God is not here for us, we are here for Him!

To stall at a plateau of mere exaltation, we miss the fullness in the real call of God in Christ. Those who pursue a greater relationship find themselves drawn on by God to a more complete relationship of AGAPE” LOVE – the TWO Great Commandments. Some will by choice expand their relationship and understanding to the next level of Service if they are pursuing their relationship to a real and obedient spiritual affection for the God of the universe to a sacrificial spiritual service of worship. () Authentic worship is found only in moving to the next step. () () () ()

The only way we can resolve the conundrum of our worship relationship experience is to discover information about, and develop a relationship with, the personhood to whom we owe worship and humble submission – God. This comes by experiencing the workings of God in our life and the life of others. Recognizing that it is God in action in the experiences of the world is to be consciously aware of His Word and Prayer.

THE WORD

The Bible is the authoritative and only self-disclosed revelation of God. We are given evidences of His existence (), but to establish faith and hope, as well as our submission is to be grounded in the Word of God. In the Word we find written self-revelation of God, and the explanation of how to get to know Him. We find out the secrets hidden from ages past (), the treasure to hide in our hearts (), the power unto salvation (), and the way to a righteous () eternal () and abundant life ().

The Word will direct our paths (), light our paths (), guide our hearts mind and soul (), lead us into the paths of righteousness (), separate and reveal as a two-edge sword (), reveal Truth (), and bring us to Christ (Isaiah fulfilled). However, it also reveals strict conformity to His law is not His whole agenda; it reveals He is seeking from us a personal totally inclusive relationship with Him. ()

It is not until we are intimately familiar with His Word that we discover the comprehensiveness of the statement:

“IT IS ALL ABOUT GOD”.

READING< STUDYING<MEDITATING<MEMORIZING<ABIDING<PRACTICING

PRAYER

Prayer is the way we reach out to really know God and have a loving relationship with Him. Time spent with Him in prayer completes the relationship and with-in the love we will always find in Him, we find reason and motivation to conform to His will and fulfill His desires in our lives. (,) In prayer we learn what God has planned. ().

4335 proseuch, proseuche {pros-yoo-khay’} prayer addressed to God)

The austerity of prayer allows us to see a glimpse of the magnitude of God and begin to perceive the significance of having Him as our Lord; we begin to understand the opportunity that awaits us in our submission to Him as God. HE IS THE Creator, sustainer, provider, our guide, Ruler King, and He wants to have a conversation with us!

(1783 e;nteuxij enteuxis {ent'-yook-sis} a coming together, a conference or conversation)

Prayer is the way that we submit everything to the Lord. In pray, we invite God to come and work in the things that concern us putting those things under His control rather than our own. The open admission of our lesser condition before the Lord is always needed as we approach His throne. This is not only submission, but the very act of humbling ourselves (, ), acknowledging that God can take care of all that concerns us and that we cannot.

(1162 de,hsij deesis {deh'-ay-sis} intimate beseeching, need, indigence, entreating; )

In our Praises, Repentance, Adorations, Intercessions, Supplications, and Exaltations we can reaffirm our relationship and learn to rest in His peace. () () The intent of this tradition is to incorporate God into every moment of the day. () Our strength alone is deficient. Our sin separates us from God (), but our confessions give us strength and confidence of God’s presence in the workings of our life. With our Adorations, Confessions, Thanksgivings, we are Supplied. ()

4336 proseu,comai proseuchomai {pros-yoo'-khom-ahee} make prayer, pray for, to offer prayers, to pray

Prayer is a reason Christ died and rose again to life to make intercession on our behalf. () Our response to Christ must by necessity include regular prayer in our relationship. Our weakness in this area is significant to an unknown (beyond our scope of realization ()) level if we fail in it. () It is a condition imposed throughout the Bible that prayer is the way to seek after God, and He will respond. ()

TRANSPANENCY<OPENESS<CONSISTENCY<MALABILITY<HUMBLY

FELLOWSHIP

(2842 koinwni,a koinonia; intimacy communion )

(2266 rb;x' chabar {khaw-bar'} couple together, join together) (very uncommon in the OT)

The koinonea of believers is the opportunity to be accepted and found acceptable through the forgiveness offered to all sinners equally in Christ’s shed blood and the exchanged life. () It is the opportunity to be trustworthy encourager for another fellow believer in their quest to discover the fullness of life in Christ. () It offers the opportunity to be led into a greater intimacy with Christ by maturing believers, to achieve like-mindedness with Christ. ()

Fellowship is founded on the agape love seldom achieved but constantly in need of pursuing. The selfless charity to encourage, shore up, bear one another, and receive the same from others believers without fear of prejudice; an intimacy not found in the secular world () experienced only through the presence of the binding of Holy Spirit. ()

Jesus says continually in John that this life results from His indwelling presence through His indwelling Holy Spirit (; ; ; ; , ; ; ;). The normal Christian life is the life of the Lord Jesus lived within the life of the believer. He is our abundant life. () This is the shared koinonea experience.

HONESTLY<TRANSPARENTLY<RELIABLY<EDIFY<ENCOURAGINGLY<LOVINGLY<SINCERELY

EVANGELISM

This fellowship with God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, and fellow believers is the message of the Gospel. () There is a world full of darkness from sin, lost-ness seeking for the fellowship, hurting from the consequences of sin, looking for answers. The answer we carry as a message from GOD, the Good News of Christ resulting in a changed life. () Freed from the torment of the constant search for meaning, direction, and freedom; a sense of completion and fulfillment; an understanding that there is goodness available, love overflowing, and a joy that emanates from with-in, through the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ. ()

In He says that He is the door into the abundant life (7–9); His sheep belong to Him. He calls them “my own” (14,16). He says His sheep know Him just as He knows the Father (14–15, 27–30). He is one with the Father (30). His sheep are one (but on a different level since they are created beings) with Him. He gives His sheep “eternal life” (27–29). It is God’s life that Jesus has with the Father and shares with His sheep (; ).

We are of course first and foremost commanded to go into the world to make disciples () with a message that can’t be ignored, and we are responsible to share (). It is the one message we can carry to all people anywhere without concern for our acceptance (). For the anxiety it may produce in the listener is far better than the reality of not hearing the Good news at all (). Hold tight to our message for it is the only way to God. () We are to tell people the life they are chasing is the defiance of God, and their stumbling in the dark is the darkness of their lifestyle. () But there is a salvation for those who chose. ()

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

EMPATHICALLY<LOVINGLY<SERVINGLY<UNCOMPROMISINGLY<HONESTLY<HUMBLY

SERVICE (Agape’ love)

Service to others is the natural/spiritual outcome of a life guided by these four fundamentals. A complete life in Christ can never be realized until we have surrendered ourselves to service to God in Christ for others. It was of course Christ who showed us He came not to be served but to serve. () () He covered His glory for a time and assumed the humble role of a lowly servant (). His self-sacrifice inspires believers to experience the same victory through denying self and obeying the Father. Jesus described the mission of the “Son of Man” as serving others and giving His life as a ransom (). This theme verse of the Gospel of Mark presents the King of Glory, the One whom angels worship, honor, and serve, the One who came to the world with one goal—to serve, even to the point of laying down His life ().

Each believer has a spiritual gift (). Spiritual gifts are given ultimately to serve others, to edify the church, and to glorify the Lord (, ; ). Each believer receives at least one spiritual gift (). All spiritual gifts are to be used for Christian service, not for personal edification ().

Service for and to others is the consequential outcome of our relationship to Christ. () His example is without question – He came to serve (). We see that if we are saved by faith that the consequence is works in service for others. () And He calls us to serve even sacrificially; in fact, we will be compelled to love and serve if we are His. () ()

We are simply called to render service to others! ()

Within these five fundamentals of the Christian walk we will achieve the satisfaction of our calling in Christ and the completion of our search for fulfillment. Submission involves not seeking one’s own interests but rather assuming a willful commitment of service to others. ()

Thomas Nelson, Inc: Woman's Study Bible . Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995

FIVE BASIC ESSENTIALS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE SCRIPTURES

WORSHIP

NAS For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

NAS for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

NAS If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

NAS that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

NAS I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

NAS If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

NAS For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

NAS "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

NAS "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

NAS "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

NAS "And I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD. '"

NAS Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

WORD

NAS that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

NAS Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee.

NAS For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

NAS The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

NAS "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.

NAS "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

NAS So you will walk in the way of good men, And keep to the paths of the righteous.

NAS This is my comfort in my affliction, That Thy word has revived me.

NAS For Thou art my rock and my fortress; For Thy name's sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me.

NAS He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

NAS For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

NAS "But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. 16 "And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face

NAS For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

NAS For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

PRAYER

NAS "Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, 3 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'

NAS 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, ' plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

NAS Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

NAS With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

NAS When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him. 7 Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

NAS Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

NAS "Keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

NAS But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

NAS And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

NAS Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

NAS And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

NAS and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

NAS "… In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit;

FELLOWSHIP

NAS The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

NAS God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

NAS Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

NAS Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

EVANGELISM

NAS What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life-- 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

NAS being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

NAS For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

NAS Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. "

NAS The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." 42 And they were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 "Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." 52 The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53 Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

NAS Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

NAS Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? "

NAS "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas *said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. 7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." 8 Philip *said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus *said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. 12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. 13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

NAS "These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

NAS "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

NAS These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, 2 even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. 4 "I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. 5 "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. 6 "I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word. 7 "Now they have come to know that everything Thou hast given Me is from Thee; 8 for the words which Thou gavest Me I have given to them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from Thee, and they believed that Thou didst send Me. 9 "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine; 10 and all things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 "And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are. 12 "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 "But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 "I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 "I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. 18 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 "I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. 22 "And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.

NAS Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

NAS But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

NAS Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

NAS "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd.

NAS "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."

NAS "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;

NAS "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. "

NAS but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. "

NAS "For thus the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'"

NAS For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

NAS Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

NAS There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

NAS as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE. " 13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS"; 14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS"; 15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, 17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE HAVE THEY NOT KNOWN. " 18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

NAS For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

NAS Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

SERVICE

NAS just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. "

NAS Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

NAS who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

NAS "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

NAS As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

NAS But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

NAS And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

NAS "So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

NAS What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

NAS But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

NAS For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

NAS So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Where Worship Begins

Our wisdom is divided into two parts: knowledge of God and our knowledge of ourselves.

We cannot aspire to God in earnest until we are displeased with ourselves. Every man is likely to accept himself as the arbiter of his peace and pleasure, so long as he does not discover who he really is. But, if or when he becomes mindful of his shortcomings, his discontent urges him to seek rebalancing. What formerly delighted his naïve ego becomes exposed and he is then simply and irreparably deficient in himself and thus dissatisfied within himself. As long as he uses the variables of the social cultural plagues of earth to retain his soul balance, he can be incompletely satisfied by his ego hypocrisy. Since he is prone to hypocrisy, any semblance of righteousness becomes enough to satisfy his conscience short of righteousness itself, or he seeks out a solution to his deficiency

But God never desires for him to be left alone in that condition – a condition of self-deception and condemnation. But, until a man confronts the face of God, he never attains real knowledge and understanding of his incapacity. The whole of the premise of Romans Chapter 1 reveals his insignificance and challenges his self-deceived condition before the majesty of God.

The simple and primitive knowledge of God in the course of nature would reveal, and the general doctrine of scripture of Creator and later as Redeemer places us in the precarious condition where we cannot conceive of God without rendering some worship and awe of Him.

There is not now, nor has there ever been, any person, household, country or nation that does not possess an inherent understanding that there is a God. It is more difficult to obliterate this knowledge than to remove any other condition of man. What manner of man has not, when confronted by the greatest of terror, called out to God with an ambition of reverencing Him as a mitigating mediator? Those who most vehemently deny the existence of God are those who are most easily disturbed by the “stick falling from the sky”. This is an indication in itself of the reality of the God awareness within every person.

This insight lends itself to the self-reflective imbalance of wondering where does God begin to participate in the universal condition and where does God stop influencing the general conditions and circumstances of life. Until people resolve this conundrum by understanding they owe everything in life to the Creator and Sustainer of life, the author of all that is, and all that is yet to come, they can never submit to Him in voluntary obedience. Truth and sincerity in their hypocrisy and self-deceit are reduced to superstition and mistrust.

For far too many people their sense and definition of God comes from the basic sense of their conscience. Their perception of God is predicated on their introduction to moral sensibilities given to them in their development as children and earlier influences. These qualities of their inner god are often developed on the teachings of their parents or adult influences. They may or may not be profoundly strong or deeply flawed, or they could be nearly absent in the liberal allowances of the child to “grow up and experience life for himself” and thus draw his or her own conclusions about the rules of society. Influences such as advertisement, media presentations, school-peers etc, are powerful influences. As a result of these influences the created perception of God will have various nuances that are flagrantly flawed.

God may be learned to be a jolly outdated old grandfather, the grand old man, a simple small voice of choice that can be listened to or ignored, propagandized as a Santa Claus character, an over-exacting tyrant, a marginalized voice, dominating authority to be feared, or a clown of someone’s imagination, meek and mild, even just sentimental. A disrespected father, an over bearing tyrant, a menial mouse, an unpredictable, inconsistent personality, a loose liberal and really fearful parent, or nearly infinite other derivations of a father/parent all lend themselves to the image children can develop of God. As age advances, and adulthood succeeds, most adults have a God image redefined within them that is way too small and narrow, insufficient to succeed in the most trivial intrusions into life.

We must leave behind the “hangover” of childhood influences if we are to find a God big enough to be real and authentic. We must allow that God is eternal, vital, energetic, discerning, competent, invested, unimpaired, transcendent and… He is the great I AM. In context He is unlimited in all characteristics – Holy, Righteous, Merciful, Discerning Judge, Gracious, Loving…the list is infinite just as He is also.

Putting God in the box of our own limited capacity of design understanding is detrimental to others and ourselves in our influence. God is not a “good churchman”. He is not a respecter of traditions, preferences or denominations. He has a singular agenda the correct way to a relationship with Him is through Christ, who made it as simple as being on the cross and professing belief He, Jesus, is the sinless Son of God. () ()

Reverencing God is from the beginning of our self-discovery the end product of our pursuit. If we conceive of a god that is less than the ultimate perfection in power, omniscience, holy character, love, trustworthiness, and compassion, we are always stranded in apathetic pendulum of unrest. We will continually wander in the abyss of misdirection, mismanagement, and mistrust. Anxiety replaces fickle peace, and presumption replaces hope, and faith is replaced by fear.

The “protectionism” found in childhood is now challenged, and the adult is now looking for a god who provides according to a child’s attitude and failing discretion. Taking responsibility is necessary, exercising discernment is required, being resourceful and informed is mandatory; self-initiative is a mandate… God encourages these characteristics and will provide us the wisdom to be effective, the power to overcome obstacles, and guide us in our lost-ness. God has revealed Himself in Creation (not evolution), intervenes in and mediates in world affairs, and is the Christ – our Redeemer. While it can be stated with truth man is made in the image of God, God is not a glorified man. He requires us to acknowledge His preeminence as THE GOD – THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.

If this inherent knowledge that there is a God, and this undeniable condition of a man’s persona is present, and he does not apply with diligence his energy to assuage the emptiness left by its ignoring, he will fail to fulfill the natural law of his being; He will continue in active denial of a God who yearns that none should perish, and, until his last breath he will be in combat with his own being.

Genuine worship and assured faith result from the call of God on a person who responds in humility by affirming the nature and character of God, and the deficiency of self. Reverence results as confidence and inspiration with greater and greater sincerity in the bonds of worship, love and faithfulness bring us to sincerely worship God for who He truly is.

For your further reading enjoyment and growth –

“Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips

“Institutes of Christian Religion” by John Calvin

Where Worship Is Hindered

The progression beyond exaltation is frequently stalled by the misconception of the God of the universe being too big, or not large enough to be interested in the minutia of the elements of our moment-to-moment lives. For some with this conception, they are relieved by the absolution from choosing between guided or misguided choices; and for others this perspective can be a stimulus to the malaise of insignificance. Neither perspective is allowing for a God that is large enough to be and complete both at the same time; i.e. Controller of the Universal and loving every individual in a singular relationship.

This caricature issue usually results from our definition of God as an extension of our understanding of human responses in our own experiences. Modeling God on our own finite experiences limits His vast character to our own understanding. He is not just a commander and chief. Our interpretation of His persona is largely based on our recognition of His personal intervention, or interpretation of His lack of intervention – His providence and judgments. But the scope of our understanding is so minimally limited, the consignment of character to God is prejudice or biased at best by the limits of our own imagination. To see God at work we must become invested specifically to enlarging our awareness of His interest in, His workings in, and His affection for the world. ()

As this fictional caricature of God is developed, disappointment will abound, and in the effort to thwart these feelings a distancing begins to insulate the supplicant from the God they cannot reconcile to their own expectations. He fails to toe the line in their situational expectations. The problem is obvious in this scenario – you cannot worship a Disappointment.

At this point it becomes necessary to spare our self the ungracious discord of failure from the God we wish to worship, and we simply leave our relationship at a base level of exaltation only. No interaction beyond this can be trusted, and so application and pursuit of a real relationship is dynamically limited to praise in His magnificence, and not for relating to Him as a pursuing encourager and a loving dissuader. In essence no personal life-choice changing influence.

As we create a God image that mirrors our own sensibilities of justice, mercy, forgiveness and limited love, we cannot worship the True Unlimited God. When scripture speaks of us as being made in His image, in our own distortion, we tend to borrow the sinful quality of needing to be worshipped, derived from His deserving to be worshipped. Unless our image of God is not more than a greater, even if magnified, projection of our own limited qualities, ”our service and worship will be no more and no less than service and worship of ourselves.” Such a god may become a prop to our self-esteem, but will set up a gross disappointment in his inability to respond to our immediate morale, or moral needs, leaving us empty. () It has been sighted many times that we have a vacuum in our lives and we seek admiration as a poor substitute for acceptance. This substitution requires continual maintenance to be retained, so the struggle is forever present. As a result, we will always be looking for THE something to fulfill our need for worship until we find the ONE TRUE GOD to satisfy that emptiness in Christ Jesus.

If in our battles of life, we cannot be victorious, His claims on us are thusly defamed and impertinent, and irrelevant; we are left with a deficit in our life, and an isolation in our commitment. This god cannot lead to or arouse a true level of worship and service. Only by strenuous effort can even a low level loyalty be maintained to the very narrow caricature of such a god. Our emotions become the lead in our efforts to find a worshipful experience. We become dependant not on the True Character of God, but on our own ability to make the worship experience meaningful; we must by manipulation of our conditions and circumstances charge ourselves up to be able to withstand. This is planning for failure and loss, as it has no longevity.

We succeed only when we move beyond our pretense of projecting ourselves into our god, and condition our understanding of who God is, and to the actualizing in our life by choice to accept and believe Him for who HE SAYS HE IS. ()

What is Involved in Knowing the Word

As we turn our minds to God’s Word we might start with David’s lengthy but complete discussion of the Word in the . We see details of some of the attitudes as to why David was called the man after God’s own heart. ()

Foremost to knowing God’s Word is to read it. Just reading it with some regularity will stimulate your spirit to have initiative to study it. The only resources you need to complete a study in Scriptures are a heart and mind open to the Holy Spirit, a prayerful attitude, and a pencil and a Bible.

Bible study revolves around four basic steps: observation, interpretation, correlation, and application. Observation answers the question, “What does the text say?” Interpretation deals with, “What does the text mean?” — Not just what it means to you or me, but what it meant to its original readers. () Correlation asks, “What light do other Scripture passages shed on this text?” (A Thompson Chain Reference Bible guide can be a great tool.) Application, the goal of Bible study, poses the question, “How should my life change in response to the Holy Spirit’s teaching of this text?” (;)

Through Bible reading, we grow in our understanding of the Lord, His kingdom and our place in it, and those things essential. But we need more. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our study and our application of Bible truths. Jesus promised in .

NAS "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.

NAS "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."

26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

By itself, Bible reading can transform your life.

So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

But, it must be read with malleability. It will not give you power, peace, joy, comfort, hope, and the great number of other gifts God longs for us to enjoy without our unfettered openness to what God says in His Word. That is, we must approach our reading with the intention to be changed by His revelations. To just read God’s Word is not really to know His Word.

NAS "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 12 "For you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 "Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up; And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."

To just read God’s Word is not really to know His Word. To know His Word is to lovingly obey His commands; to know Christ’s commands requires both things — to study them and as well to do them. Explore God’s Word for living His way; the Holy Spirit will fill you with the joy, and the power God longs to give all His children. Be diligent, read on, stay open and submissive to Him. If we are having trouble, or stumbling in our Bible study we may need to reflect on:

NAS Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

KJV For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

To accidentally perform the elemental commands of Christ is not the same as an attitude of submissive obedience. It may accomplish the same results when observed by others, but others can do good works also. It is the attitude of the heart that is the real element of significance. Knowing God’s Word is not singularly raw obedience (although mandatory); knowing God’s Word requires a condition of the heart that has been changed by the Holy Spirit to desire to submit to God and the Lordship of Christ. ()

Moses and the prophets used the term circumcised as a symbol for purity of heart and readiness to hear and obey God. Through Moses the Lord challenged the Israelites to submit to “circumcision of the heart,” a reference to their need for repentance.

“If their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt,” God declared, “then I will remember My covenant”. ()

The radical change necessary in Judah’s inhabitants is illustrated by the call to circumcision of the heart, a radical change in the total inner being. ()()

Circumcision is used metaphorically to stress our need is to cut away any affections for the world attractions that would interrupt complete obedience in love for the Lord. Circumcision of the heart would not be an outward sign, but an inward attitude that will manifest itself outwardly in our actions. A circumcised heart is open, sensitive, and responsive to the commands of our Lord.[1] (“Have this attitude in you which is in Christ”) Our choice then,

NAS "Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.

An uncircumcised heart is one that is closed to God, lacking committed allegiance to His presence or Word. If we will allow Him to cut away by faith filled submission that which hinders our open allegiance to God, then our heart can and will become pliable to the direction of God. Without a circumcision of the heart, there can be no true reverence and love of God.[2] But notice the element present in God’s part,

NAS "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.

We must come to our Bible study with our ”fleshly” selves circumcised, peeled away.

NAS For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Real baptism corresponds to circumcision of the heart; just ritual baptism corresponds to circumcision with hands. Circumcision under the Old Covenant, and Baptism under the New Covenant, is the seal of the Abrahamic Covenant, associated with the Promise.

NAS For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Ray Stedman defines the flesh used in a morally negative sense as “the urge to self-centeredness within us, that distortion of human nature which makes us want to be our own god—that proud ego, that un-crucified self which is the seat of willful defiance and rebellion against authority.” A crucified self () denies our self (), a circumcised heart, and other phrases lead to the same thing Stedman is referring to

NAS I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Our mind is renewed by studying His word, to know the Word of God and study to show ourselves approved to handle rightly the Word of God (), to grow in our love and understanding of God and Christ, and serve others, we must place ourselves in the presence of God through Christ to leadership of Holy Spirit with a submissive and obedient heart and life, circumcised to the affections of the world.

NAS But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

NAS And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

READ < HOLY SPIRIT < MALIABLE < MOTIVATION < OBEY < CIRCUMCISION

Loving God by His definition, is to keep His commandments:

, , , , , , ,

, , , , ,

NAS Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4 And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you; 5 but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

NAS For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[1]Thomas Nelson, Inc: Woman's Study Bible . Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S.

[2] Spirit Filled Life Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1991

Living In His Word – Living out His Word

NAS "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 "My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12 "I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

NAS But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" ()

NAS Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.

NAS "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.

NAS Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. "

· Within we are commended to have a new perspective and new understanding of our life choices.

NAS Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

· In we are given a heart seeking after His Word and His Righteousness.

NAS Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

· We now live in a qualitatively new covenant fulfilling even the promises made to Jeremiah.

NAS "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, "declares the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

· But we are to participate in the sacrifice () and participate in the heart circumcision (). Knowing and understanding God’s Word requires dedication to the choice.

Hearing , (Listening to preaching; take notes and review;

repeat to others )

Examine (Reading; critically evaluate)

Analyze (Studying; parallel passages; word definitions)

Remember (Memorizing; understand it; personal meaning in it;

write down; review it)

Thinking (Meditating; ponder; ruminate; don’t let it go)

Applying (Living it)

· Our faith is expressed, and matured by our response to His commands, His word.

NAS "For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

· Therefore we can see having knowledge of the Word of God is simply the beginning of a process.

Knowledge – Belief – Acceptance – Submission – Obedience – Conformity

NAS For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

· This is a progression. Attempting to skip any element will result in failure – Failure in sin, testimony, teaching and spiritual growth. There is no replacement for knowing the Word if we are to be Disciples of Christ.

NAS Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

· God reveals His will through the Word but only to those who allow the Holy Spirit to lead them in truth. The Holy Spirit’s role is a fulfilled promise given by Jesus.

NAS "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.14 He will glorify me, because he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you.

NAS "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Prayer – ; ()

In the life of Jesus prayer was the work, and ministry was the prize. Jesus sweat great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane where He “offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death” () Why could He not approach this ordeal like His three sleeping friends? Was the prayer the big deal or the aftermath? Yet when it came to the events to follow it was not He who fell apart but His three sleeping friends who fell away. Luke particularly is interested in Jesus’ prayer life, clearly intimating in 22:39 that prayer was one of Jesus’ customs, along with Sabbath day worship ().

In we find the disciples asking Jesus to “teach us to pray as John (the Baptist) had also taught his disciples”. They did not ask for Him to teach them how to preach, or minister, or lead singing, or even how to evangelize, nor any other elements; just “teach us to pray”.

We have heard many times the title “The Lords Prayer” is a miss name, we instead point to the long prayer found in the Gethsemane account. But do we realize the primary reason? The Lord Himself would not pray this prayer because He could not have joined the petition to “Forgive us our” sins or debts or transgressions as He had none. He could not pray lead us not to temptation, as He was specifically tempted to show us victory over temptation is a possibility. He could not pray deliver us from evil, as that is exactly the ministry configuration of His mission.

In Luke, Jesus introduces the prayer by saying, “When you pray, say … ” (v. 2). In Matthew, He introduces it by saying, “In this manner … pray … ” (v. 9). This implies that Jesus intended it to be prayed both literally (Luke) and in principle (Matthew). We will be focusing on the principles.

The model prayer is an outline of prayer content for the believer, but it is a specific prayer. It has specific topics and an order built within its outline. The first three topics are about God: His Personhood, His Program, and His Purpose. The next three topics are about us: our Dependence -- His Provision, our Depravity – His Pardon, our Deviance – His Protection.

1. PERSON OF GOD –

“Our Father who art in heaven…”

New Testament prayer is based on understanding the nature of the Father and our relationship to Him. Jesus begins our prayer not just with a greeting of familiarity, Our Father, but a conversation about who God is. His name, which is His character (pregnant within our experiential formation), is addressed but then His character is exalted. The focus of the address is not to whom, but rather to what as a whom. He is The Sovereign Creator Sustainer God of the universe that we have in our relationship through Christ as a Father. Not everyone can call God Father. Only those who have come to grace in Christ can say with correctness “Father”. (NAS But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,)

God does not exist some austere place off yonder. He is a participant in all elemental aspects of existence. John, first chapter, as well as other multitudes of scriptures makes completely clear His direct participation in the sustenance of the world. His hand is clearly on every pulse of every heart in existence. He is not aloof or removed; heaven may be His address, but His abode is in us. . “In heaven” emphasizes His transcendence. NAS By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

“Hallowed be Thy Name”…

We sometimes fail to acknowledge the hallowedness of God’s name as we call Him Father. Holiness is a fleeting concept in the world and culture of our society. Sanctification or holiness is too frequently glibly cast aside, and our prayer address “Father” sometimes misses the mark in realizing the magnitude of the expanse between our existence as sinful people and the exalted perfect Holiness of God, and just as significantly His wants and expectations for our holiness. (; ) Inherent in the petition is an expression of committed worship, the petitioner making himself available to the Father through righteous living and availability to His service.

We must determine to let God be God of our whole life – all aspects – everything.

Because ours is an age of religious pluralism and syncretism (that is, a diluting of truth for the sake of unity), Christ’s lordship is deemed irrelevant by many religious groups that believe one religion is as good as the other. His preeminence is denied by others that place the Christian stamp upon a fusion of beliefs from several religions; More recently dilute the Word of God in an effort to tickle the ears by errant doctrine. () Usually hailed as an advance beyond apostolic Christianity, this blend promises self-fulfillment and freedom without surrender to Christ.

Paul’s use of the word “Lord” nine times in indicates that Christ’s supremacy impinges upon every aspect of their/our relationships and activities.

“Jesus is Lord” is the church’s earliest confession. It remains the abiding test of authentic Christianity. Neither the church nor the individual believer can afford to compromise Christ’s deity. In His sovereignty lies His sufficiency. He will be Lord of everything or not Lord at all. (Adapted from: HAYFORD’S BIBLE HANDBOOK)

NAS And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; For Thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.

The “awe” of God is diminished, even lost on many. The Old Testament prophets and people of God did not dare considered Father an option. The awe of God overshadowed any conception of the intimacy found in the Fatherhood of God. Yet, the New Testament uses the title hundreds of times. The intimacy of calling God our Father is only afforded to us by His gift of His grace and mercy and the faith He gives us.

NAS Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

When we get the correct perspective in our relationship with our created-existence to the Creator God and Father by grace and mercy, it leads us to be able to participate in the next phase in the prayer outline.

2. PROGRAM OF GOD –

“Thy Kingdom come”

We note that the next focus of the model prayer is an element not devoted, to the persons of prayer but rather the focus is on the program of God – “Thy Kingdom come”. It is founded in the hope in, and expectation of, the return of Christ to reign on earth, and the full manifestation of His rule. History past, present, and future is not just a set of cogs moving endlessly in rhythm with no beginning and no direction or end. Ralph Waldo Emerson dismissed history as “the biographies of a few great men”.

The Bible however is the story of God, and Jesus the Christ and his intervention in the workings of Holy Spirit. Your Kingdom come is the expression of hope and anticipation for the day when the groanings of the earth will cease, when sin is removed, and God’s perfection will reign, and Christ eternal kingdom will be established. The phrase however implores that our will shall be submissive to and subject to His will, and all our little kingdoms which matter so much to us shall be brought down. Too frequently, we express desire for His return, but with the caveat not immediately.

The consummation of His Kingdom is a foregone conclusion – He is GOD, but our acceptance and indeed our anticipation of that completion is a life changing evolution. In this is an implied request of the petitioner to live the kingdom ethics necessary to advance kingdom purposes. If we are too attached to this world to anticipate, almost anxiously, the consummation of His perfect earthly reign, we have a grievous gap in our spiritual understanding of the disparity of our sin filled world and the richness of God’s love and desire for our life.

“Unless I am sufficiently concerned about God’s sovereignty to make my life His throne, and make it my daily purpose to bring every individual whose life I touch into willing and glad submission to Him, I cannot pray these words with integrity. We dare not pray for His rule over others unless we honestly desire his rule over us.” (Haddon Robinson)

Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (; )

3. PURPOSE OF GOD –

“Thy will be done”…

Unlike many of our praying habits, next in the prayer’s outline is not a list of requested concessions or even confessions, but rather a contemplation of His agenda and parlance of what He is about. There is an acknowledgement of His supremacy and our submission to, and service to His will. There is an overt recognition that there is a difference between our agenda, motivations and directions and His purposes, but yet we profess to desire His purposes in preference to our own.

Our subordination (not just our submission) changes our parlance in our prayer thinking and directs the orientation of our focus in prayer and life.

The “essence of evangelism is that people everywhere will hallow God’s name by allowing God to be God in their lives”. (Haddon Robinson) This essence is the beginning of the principle of this element of the prayer outline: His will being done is the precept of all believers’ lives.

We frequently get our prayers topsy-turvy in so much as we have a list of requests we want God to do. The real focus of a mature prayer is the seeking and pursuing of God’s purpose and will in our life and in the world. Prayer is not asking God to fulfill my will; it is asking that God’s will be done in my life, and in my associates’ lives.

It is possible to pray for God’s will while resenting that God is God. Many people despise God because He has not made them master of their fate, captain of their soul, and rulers of their own destiny. But those who know God and have a relationship with Him can understand His love and grace and can take comfort in that all things work for the good. If we are fulfilling the request thy will be done we can rest by faith assured He will take care of us. Only when we possess that understanding and own it, i.e. make it our own, can we pray with sincerity thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so pray that His name will be hallowed, and He will be God to us, and His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven

But in this prayer, we are asking for a line of fire to be directed at us, it is enemy territory in which we are praying. Success in our own life is only possible through God’s provision.

4. PROVISION OF GOD –

“Give us this day our daily bread”…

Jesus is making several points within His petition to “gives us our daily bread”. The traditional explanation is the reference to the Israelites as they were traveling through the wilderness. The often parched dry barren land would have a difficult time providing for a population of people the size of St. Louis Metropolitan area traveling and trampling under foot the very ground necessary for food production. Recognizing our dependence on God for even the most rudimentary requirements for subsistence is just plain obvious.

Within our relationship with God is the promise to give us what we need for His service -- Jehova-Jira (the God who sees-after). Pastor Hayford comments that “the most important thing about this is not the discovery that we can ask for God’s help in the mundane matters of our personal lives. The most important thing is that we are told to [ask].… Back-to-back with prayer that the Almighty’s will be worked on earth, we should not overlook the simplest matters of life.” Paul encourages us in (NAS) And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

In the original text the word daily is used here singularly and nowhere else, including all other known texts and literatures, until recent archeology found a papyrus fragment of a “grocery list” of a housewife that contained the word “daily” – “enough for the coming day”.

1967 evpiou,sioj epiousios {ep-ee-oo'-see-os} • perhaps from the same as 1966; TDNT - 2:590,243; adj • AV - daily 2; 2 • 1) word found in the phrase 1a) the bread of our necessity 1b) the bread that suffices for each day

“Daily” as a word seems to be related to the word

1966 evpiou,sa epiousa {ep-ee-oo'-sah} • feminine singular participle of a comparative of 1909 and heimi (to go);; participle • AV - next day 2, following 2, next 1; 5 • 1) to come upon, approach 1a) of time, to come on, be at hand, next, following, on the following day

In essence the word concept here is on the verge of completion, or have completed, with no next in sight. It includes the idea of barely essential, scarcity but fulfilled. It really represents the principle of faith living and dependent believing and expected (not presumptuous) deliverance – Hebrew 11:1. This is an anxious experience for most people, especially here in the US where we need everything in excess; the bigger the pantry the better, “Better to have and not want than to want and not have.” In our culture we strive to eliminate the concern for having to be dependent on God, (after all “He is so unreliable, and unpredictable”) – and there is no excess in daily.

We need only go back one generation in time to realize how completely dependent even our great society is on God. The life of the Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end as we plunged deeply into the Great Depression. Although a substantial life segment of the population became lame with depletion, that generation effected also discovered the necessity of shared dependence.

Jesus’ phrase also includes “our”, plural indicating understanding that if God gives me two loaves, one is for sharing with the one who has a need. My excess is not for storing – it is for sharing.

NAS And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

5. PARDON OF GOD

Forgive us our debts/trespasses – our sins

Psychologist to Mr. Figby (cartoon strip fame) “Mr. Figby I think I can explain your feelings of guilt. You are guilty.”

In our culture, even within the church, we spend great resources trying to assuage our emotional imbalances by not accepting our guilt. Statistically, the primary cause of emotional instability is guilt, estimated at nearly 60 percent of emotional issues. We simply do not want, will not allow ourselves, to acknowledge our guilt before God. We are aware of our deficiency, but will not acknowledge it. Thus we are carrying, literally to our grave, a burden we need not endure.

Worth noting in Jesus model, asking for provision is before asking for pardon. God gives us all things. It is not a bargaining for trade, He simply is the proficient sufficient provider. In this He has provided an opportunity to relieve us of our sin guilt in the offering of His Son as a sin sacrifice.

When we earnestly ask for forgiveness we are reassessing the value of our real worth downward. Our self-esteem will be placed into perspective. We are evaluating ourselves and finding ourselves wanting. When I recognize the pollution in/of my own life, it will also produce less resistance for me to forgive another person in their struggles with offenses.

NAS (a) No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;

NAS for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,)

Those who live in the relief of God’s pardon, find it easier to forgive the offenses of others. Forgiving spirit is the evidence we have entered into the forgiveness of God’s pardon and redemption.

6. PROTECTION OF GOD

“lead us not into temptation…”

This phrase is called a litotes, which expresses something positive by negating its opposite. The logical understanding is “Keep me out of the way of tempting sin opportunities.” (”This is no small matter”, means it is a big thing.) This is also a difficult petition because of the ambiguity of a Greek word, peirasmos, translated here as “temptation.” Should it be rendered “temptation” or “testing”? Both are legitimate renderings of the Greek, yet both have their own difficulties because of other scriptures (; , ).

A circumstance may be neutral, except within our own interpretation and mental manipulation we allow ourselves to interpret the conditions as tempting. The presence of a stimulating circumstance is tempting because we apply it – temptation comes from within. We dwell when we should flee. Let’s be real — We seldom want to be delivered from temptation … otherwise it is not actually a temptation! If we did not feel the compulsion to comply, the impulse to participate, it is not temptation.

NAS No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;

and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

But temptation is not the problem – it’s our failure to runaway that is the problem; we don’t seek deliverance before the sinning. We have a colloquialism that is frequently sited “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.” We don’t need forgiveness if we rely on the promises of the scripture to deliver us from evil and provide us a way to escape, and then escape.

“but deliver us from evil…”

Of some significance is the word used by Jesus translated deliver (in both transcripts of the prayer, Luke and Matthew). It is not the more common word used for deliver.

3860 paradi,dwmi paradidomi {par-ad-id'-o-mee} • to give over into (one's) power or use; to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage; to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged, tormented, put to death

Rather Jesus used a word seldom used, and even considered obsolete in some dictionaries. But in context here, it is curious to note it is not “snatch out of harm” and set aside, it is “draw near to one’s self”. Jesus is asking in the prayer not that God just set us out of harm’s way, but that He, God, brings us to Himself, and we respond with drawing nearer.

4506 r`u,omai rhoumai {rhoo'-om-ahee} • to draw to one's self, to rescue, to the deliverer;

It has the image of a parent hugging the child after some dramatic rescue on the nightly news; Images of the return of the prodigal son.

When Jesus taught this prayer I believe He intended to reinforce the principle of the dire consequences of temptation and deliverance from it. Falling prey to the sin in temptation for a Christ follower is a need for rescue. It is not a deliverance of 3860 paradi,dwmi paradidomi for condemnation, it is 4506 r`u,omai rhoumai rescued and drawning closer to God.

We are surrounded by seductions to live a life apart from God, but God seeks us, and deliverers us. If temptation were repulsive or obvious we would not be beguiled – but it is not. Our mind set must be focused in the struggle on the Spirit’s leadership, the love of God, and the sacrifice of Christ to guard our hearts and life.

NAS There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

NAS But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

But, we must acknowledge the influence of Satan in our lives to be successful in overcoming.

“Evil one” is not a true translation.

4190 ponhro,j poneros {pon-ay-ros'} • translated as: evil 51, wicked 10, wicked one 6, evil things 2, misc 7; 76 • 1) full of labours, annoyances, hardships 1a) pressed and harassed by labours 1b) bringing toils, annoyances, perils; of a time full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness; causing pain and trouble 2) bad, of a bad nature or condition 2a) in a physical sense: diseased or blind 2b) in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad

This rendering of “evil” (hardships and toils — not a one) also relates to the understanding of the translation of the Greek word, peirasmos, translated here as “temptation” to be translated as “testing”. The “evil” is the hardships of the sanctified life, and basic challenges of living, testing us in our trust relationship with God.

The pretense in the addition of “one” in some translations is the seeming necessity to believe there is an ulterior responsible party for our bad choices, when we make them. But the emphasis in verbiage is the divine governess of God over the affairs and circumstances of life. In the prayer, the word is about hardships, perils, pains, and wickedness. These are the elements of life we want to avoid because they are onerous– difficult, often resulting from sin choices.

NKJV I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. (; ; ; ; )

In the case of this passage, the usage by Jesus is about sanctification, not hardships.

Satan is definitively a deceiver, crafty beyond all scope of our understanding, but desperately wicked is the phrase used to describe our heart

(KJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately (incurably) wicked (or sick): who can know it?”

Only God can know the hearts and the minds of men. And because He knows He sent a redeemer in Christ to deliver us, and save us from ourselves, and the wiles of Satan. Thanks, Praise, and Honor be to God our Father.

is the source of the last phrase frequently added to the public rendition of the model prayer. Oldest manuscripts do not have the phrase “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”. It is believed that scribes added the phrase to be used as a liturgical addendum in the public forum. (And it makes a really awesome ending to the song.)

On “HALLOWED BE THY NAME”

This statement is a protection against sentimentalism and abuse of claiming God as Father.

This is a petition not just a statement. It is the most difficult of the petitions to comprehend to be expressed meaningfully. The root of the Greek word translated hallowed, is “hagios”, the Greek word usually translated “holy”, but the basic meaning of the word is “different” or “separate”. So the petition means let God’s name be treated differently from all else; let God’s name be given a position which is absolutely unique.

Remember, in Hebrew the name of a person is not just a label, it is a descriptive of the nature and character of personality of the person involved.

NAS “And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; For Thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.”

This verse does not mean that those who know God’s nomenclature and His titles will trust Him. But those who know the quality of His nature and character will trust Him.

The petition “Hallowed be thy name,” therefore means enable us to give to God our Father the unique place that His name and character deserves and demands. (; ) To hallow God’s name begins in the heart. When we sanctify Christ in our hearts we also sanctify Him in our lives.

The best descriptive English word for giving to God the unique place He deserves is reverence. This petition is, that we should be enabled to reverence God as God deserves to be reverenced. There are four essentials elements in the meaning of reverence.

First, in order to reverence God we must believe He exists.

NAS And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

The Bible nowhere attempts to prove the existence of God. For the Bible God’s existance is an axiom, something which is a self-evident fact in intellectual pursuits: , thus the basis of all other proofs. Kant said “the moral law within us, and the starry heavens above us,” drive us to God.

Second, we must know the type of god, God is. We cannot revere a God we know little about. No one can reverence capricious, immoral, impure gods. But in Jehovah God we know Him for three great qualities: Holiness, Justice, and Love. We also sanctify Christ by having true knowledge of Him, His words, His character, His actions, and true doctrine of His teaching.

Third, reverence contains the quality of acknowledging with a constant awareness of His presence and essence – we never lose sight of or forget God. Most people are spasmodic in their awareness of God. But spasmodic thinking about God does not hallow His name. Reverence is the constant awareness of God. (; ; )

NAS I have set the LORD continually before me.

Fourth, reverence is the knowledge of God to the extent of changing our participation in life’s experiences, i.e. obedience and submission with our heart’s devotion. This means the definition of our intellectual convictions and our practical actions are in full submission to the will of God. To revere God is by definition to wholly believe God with unhindered acceptance unto obedience and submission.

NAS Teach me, O LORD, the way of Thy statutes, And I shall observe it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, And keep it with all my heart. 35 Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, For I delight in it. 36 Incline my heart to Thy testimonies, And not to dishonest gain. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Thy ways. 38 Establish Thy word to Thy servant, As that which produces reverence for Thee.

Let God be given the reverence His nature and character deserve. (; )

NAS “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;”

(J MacArthur)

Five Key Elements of this Request for Provision:

Substance

Bread not only food it is representative of all our physical needs. It is a affirmation that every good thing is from the gracious hand of God to meet our needs.

NAS For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

Source

It is God the Father, the creator and sustainer of the universe, God of all space, time, and eternity, infinitely holy, entirely self-sufficient, yet concerned enough about each of us individually to meet our need. All resources originate from God, and made available to man, even before He created man, and He continues to provide.

Supplication

Supplication is expressed in the word give. We ask in recognition of His past, present and trust in future provision.

NAS Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it…10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land, And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Worth notice are the conditions of the Psalm. God does not bind himself to meet the physical needs of everyone, but to those who “trust in the Lord” verse 3, “delight in the Lord” verse 4, and “commit [their] ways to Him” verse 7, “cease from anger” and “do not fret” verse 8. Verse 25, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread.”

The Seekers

The us in Jesus model prayer are those who belong to Him.

NAS Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

NAS And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life. "

God irrevocably commits Himself to meet the essential needs of His own. God has sometimes provided by miraculous means, but His primary method is through work (results of the Garden experience). Those who can work provide for those who are not able. But God is always the source.

The Schedule

The schedule of God is daily.

NAS "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? …31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

Ours is a question of stewardship. We are to be content in this day’s blessings and be responsible to recognize Him for His daily provision for ourselves, and others. We know not what tomorrow will hold, but our testimony is in our trust and contentment in His goodness and faithfulness.

NAS And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

PARDON OF GOD –

Forgive us our debts/trespasses – our sins

'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

NAS And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

Forgiveness is the central theme of verses 9-15, being mentioned six times in eight verses.

Psychologist to Mr. Figby (cartoon strip fame) “Mr. Figby I think I can explain your feelings of guilt. You are guilty.”

NAS If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We must have a sense of our sin. We are aware of our deficiency, but will not acknowledge it. Outward respectability before men, and inward sin before God often go hand in hand. Before a man can truly and honestly pray this petition of the prayer, he must realize he needs to pray it. Thus we are carrying, literally to our grave, a burden we need not endure.

Worth noting in Jesus model, asking for provision is before asking for pardon. God gives us all things, including the opportunity for daily forgiveness. It is not bargaining for trade. He simply is the gracious proficient sufficient provider. He recognized our limitations and propensity to sin. In His justice He could not leave us without a way out of our plight. Through His love He has provided an opportunity for us to be relieved of our sin guilt in the offering of His Son as a sin sacrifice. In His grace He has set us free from the binding of sin and the debilitating guilt. Asking forgiveness implies confession. Confession means we agree with God about our sin – they are wicked, evil and defiling, and have no part in those who belong to Him. It is the only way to the free and joy-filled life.

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

When we earnestly ask for forgiveness we are reassessing the value of our real worth downward. Our self-esteem will be placed into perspective. We are evaluating ourselves and finding ourselves wanting. We are humbling ourselves, and He then begins to listen

KJV If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

NAS for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

NAS But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

The New Testament translates five different Greek words for sin.

1. Hamartia {ham-ar-tee'-ah} <266> Is the more common word for sin, and carries the root idea of missing the mark or the standard of God/s righteousness.

used 174 times • to miss the mark, to err, be mistaken, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong, to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act by a single person or by many

NAS If we confess our sins <266>, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins <266> and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Paraptoma, rendered “trespass”, is the sin of slipping or falling, and results more from carelessness than intentional disobedience.

3. Parabasis refers to stepping across the line, going beyond the limits prescribed by God, and is often translated “transgression”; more intentional and flagrant than hermatia and paraptoma.

4. Anomia means lawlessness and is a more flagrant and intentional sin – it is open and direct rebellion against God and His ways.

<458> anomia {an-om-ee'-ah} • AV - transgression of the law, the condition of without law, because ignorant of it ,because of violating it, contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness

NAS Everyone who practices sin <266> also practices lawlessness<458>; and sin is lawlessness.

5. Opheilema <3783> sin: moral or spiritual debt that which is owed, that which is justly or legally due, a debt, metaphor offence, sin

<3781> opheiletes one held by some obligation, bound by some duty, one who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured: one who owes God penalty or whom God can demand punishment as something due, a sinner

KJV Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt <3783>

Sin is that which separates us from God (). It is the moral and spiritual disease for which man has no cure (). We need to recognize that this prayer was given to Christian Disciples, not non-believers. Immeasurably more important than our daily bread is our need for forgiveness of sin. As believers we have been convicted of sin, found guilty within ourselves. God cannot be our Father until we have been adopted into His family through Christ. Although God has declared there is no condemnation for us as believers. (), He is anxiously waiting to (‘daily’) forgive us our sins and as our Father, to share fellowship with us as His children.

NAS Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us;

We bare the responsibility to be ministers of reconciliation, which is founded in the truth without compromise. If we are to be a minister we must live circumspectly to maintain our testimony’s effectiveness. Just as sin separates us from God it also separates us from others, as we present a hypocritical/false image of our self to others; a mask we continually have to reshape to keep from being recognized. We must for our own protection keep a distance from others to prevent a revelation of our true character. It causes conflict, misunderstanding and friction by our need to be ever evolving. Inconsistencies and coolness in our relationship with others, which would otherwise not need to be there, results frequently in divisions that need reconciliation.

Human forgiveness and divine forgiveness are inextricably combined. Forgiveness is bi-lateral neither can exist without the other. Those who live in the relief of God’s pardon, find it easier to forgive the offenses of others. When I recognize the pollution in/of my own life, it will produce less resistance for me to relate to and forgive another person in their struggles with offenses. Having a forgiving spirit is an evidence we have entered into the forgiveness of God’s pardon and redemption.

NAS "If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

This may be a petition in a model prayer, but it is Christ speaking. He is telling us the requirements for forgiveness: to be forgiven, we must be forgiving.

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