The Lord's Prayer (pt 2)

Pray.

We are in week two of a series on the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew chapter six. Let’s read it together.

Matthew 6

Matthew 6:9–13 CSB

9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Prayer is one of our core values here at FBC Laredo. Prayer is the power is in our lives. There is a story told of a young boy who called the pastor of a local church to ask the pastor to come by to pray for his mother who had been very ill with the flu.

The pastor knew the family and was aware they had been attending another church down the road. So the pastor asked, "Shouldn't you be asking Brother Simon down the road to come by to pray with your mom since that’s the church you have been attending?"

The young boy replied, "Yeah, but we didn't want to take the chance that he might catch whatever this is that Mom has."

Don’t worry. If you call me to pray for you, I will pray for you. I might just do it over the phone. In any case, last week we looked at the first petition in the Lord’s model prayer. “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.” God is exclusive. He is our Father. God is personal because he is Father to us. God is transcendent. He is not subject to nature or nature’s laws. God is holy. God is absolutely unique.

This morning, we are going to look at verse ten which contains the second and third petitions in the model prayer.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The coming of the kingdom of God is a theme that runs throughout the Scriptures. The Jewish people had an understanding that the Messiah would appear and establish a physical kingdom of God on earth. One day soon, God will establish a physical kingdom on earth. One day the sky above the Mount of Olives will split open and the Son of God will appear in the clouds. He will descend from heaven with the shout of the archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will be raised and those who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet in him the clouds. One day he will establish his rightful rule over the entire earth.

What the Jewish people didn’t understand is something would take place before the second coming of the Messiah. The Messiah would first come to establish his spiritual kingdom on earth. The Messiah would come to save his people from their sins so that they could forever be with God. The petition “your kingdom come” has a physical and spiritual component to it. When we pray, we pray for God’s kingdom to come, meaning, we desire for God to rule and reign in the hearts of all people and for him to return to set up his physical kingdom bringing about the restoration of the world and removal of the curse. It is the work of God, not the work of men, to establish his kingdom on earth.

Throughout time, Jews and Christians have made a mistake in thinking it is the work of man to establish God’s kingdom on earth. The Jewish people thought Jesus, and others, would overthrow their oppressors to establish God’s kingdom. When that didn’t happen, they rejected the Messiah. Christians thought they could go to war to establish God’s kingdom on earth. Much of the Crusades revolved around this way of thinking. They had to “save” the holy land from the Muslim invaders so that God could establish his kingdom on earth.

Here is something we need to realize. God doesn’t need us to accomplish his will. He is in sovereign control of all things. He can do as he desires to do. Here is the beautiful thing. God wants us to partner with him in accomplishing his will. He generously and graciously allows us to take part in his work. What this calls for is a pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God.

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

1. Pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God. (Your kingdom come)

To pledge allegiance is to express your commitment and devotion in the strongest possible way. To pledge allegiance to someone or something is to renounce all other allegiances and loyalties. A pledge of allegiance binds you to the entity or person to whom you are pledging fealty.

I have had the honor and privilege to give the invocation at several naturalization ceremonies. If you have ever witnessed a naturalization ceremony or been naturalized yourself, you know what happens. One of the things every new citizen of the United States must do is renounce all foreign allegiances and loyalties. Each person must swear an oath of new allegiance to the flag of the United States of American and to the Republic for which it stands.

Married couples, when you stood before God and pledged allegiance to your spouse, you renounced all others in favor of your spouse. This didn’t mean that suddenly other people would not be attractive to you. This meant you rejected all other possible mates in favor of your spouse. No longer would you seek to find completeness in anyone or anything other than your spouse.

I don’t know if we fully grasp this, but it is important to recognize. When you come to faith in Jesus, the expectation is that you pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God renouncing all other allegiances. Everything else becomes a lower priority for you. God becomes number one in your life and you are to have no other gods before him. You are fully committed to God’s kingdom agenda. God’s concerns are given priority in your life. You have pledged allegiance to the kingdom of God.

2.

2. Humble

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

As believers, we are to pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God and humble ourselves.

2. Humble yourself before God. (Your will)

Notice what Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray. He was teaching them to uphold God’s will. We are praying for God’s will to be done. This is a call to humility in the heart of the believer.

I don’t know about you, but I have things that I want. I have things that I want to do. I have things I want to accomplish. I don’t think it is wrong to have ambitions, dreams, and aspirations. I think God puts those things in our hearts; however, all those things must be secondary to the will of God. We must humble ourselves before God.

James 4:10 CSB

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6 CSB

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,

1 Peter

In our culture, humility can be viewed as a sign of weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Humility isn’t weakness. Humility is showing strength. Humility is trusting in God abilities and character. Do you want what you can do, or do you want what God can do?

Our example of humility is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:8 CSB

8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.

Jesus prayed three times for the cup of sorrow to pass from him, but he humbled himself and he prayed “Not my will, but yours be done.” God’s will was done and the way of salvation is provided. Then, what happened?

Philippians 2:9–11 CSB

9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Humility is a key characteristic of a true believer. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God. Humble yourself before God. Fully submit to the will of God.

3. Fully submit to the will of God. (Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven)

How is God’s will done in heaven? It is done completely. God gives orders to his angels and they carry out his desires completely and fully. They do exactly what he wants when he wants. They do it immediately. There is no delay in their obedience because delayed obedience is disobedience. They do it cheerfully. It is not a burden for them to do God’s will. They do it happily and readily. They count it an honor to be called on to do God’s will.

God’s will

The model prayer is for God’s will to be carried out on earth just like it is in heaven. Brothers and sisters, we are God’s ambassadors and agents here on earth. It is our job to carry out God’s will completely, heartily, cheerfully, and immediately. God has told us what he wants in his word. Our job is to fully submit to do the will of God. To know God’s will is not enough. We must also do it.

I truly believe so many Christians today know God’s will, but simply aren’t doing it. They have other priorities and agendas. They have other goals and desires. They are distracted by the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. They are giving lip service to God, but their hearts are far from him. Don’t let this be true of you. Know God’s will and do God’s will.

In the first petition in the model prayer, we learned to appeal to God through his nature and character. In this second and third petition, we learn to put God first in every area of our life.

Don’t let this be true of you. Know God’s will and do God’s will.

Put God first in every area of your life.

I am going to make a statement I think is true. There is nothing harder than putting God first in every area of your life. It is a call to constant evaluation. It is a call to constant surrender. It is the first of the 10 commandments.

Exodus 20:3 CSB

3 Do not have other gods besides me.

Exodus 20:2–3 CSB

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me.

I think this one is first because it is so hard. Is God’s kingdom and doing God’s will your number one priority in life? There are so many things which want to take God’s place in our lives. Some days it feels as everything wants to take God’s place in our lives. The crazy thing is literally everything could potentially displace God as first in our lives. For you, it could be your job. For others, it could be sports. Some others, it could be video games. Others, it could be politics. It could be money. It could be fame. The list of potential replacements for God goes on and on.

Is there something or someone in your life that is occupying God’s place? This is not original to me, but perhaps you will find it helpful.

(https://pastorrick.com/what-does-it-mean-to-put-god-first-in-your-life/)

How do you know if God is first in your life? How do you know if your priorities are right? What does it mean to put God first in your life?

What does it mean to put God first in your life? I made up a little acrostic, FIRST, to give you five things you need to put God first in.

Here is a little acrostic to help you, FIRST, to give you five things you need to put God first in.

Put God FIRST in your

Finances.

If you want God to bless your finances, even during difficult seasons, you must tithe. There’s no other alternative.

Interests.

Put him first in your hobbies, your career, and your recreation. Give God first consideration in every decision.

Relationships.

Put him first in your family, your marriage, and your friendships.

Schedule.

Give him the first part of every day. Get up and sit on the side of your bed every morning and say, “God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I just want to love you a little bit more and know you a little bit better.”

Troubles.

You need to turn to God first when you have a problem. Prayer should never be your last resort. It should be your first choice.

Put God first in every area of your life.

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Pray.

Father God, may your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that you would start in this congregation. Show us the things or even people who are occupying your place in our lives. Give us the courage to reorder our priorities so that you are in your rightful place as first in our lives. We recognize there are so many things that pull at us and distract us from giving you the place you rightfully deserve in our lives, but I pray, today, through your Holy Spirit, you would reveal to us if something or someone is in your place. Thank you for revealing yourself and your will to us. Renew our heart by giving us a passion for obedience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

With your heads bowed and eyes closed, and please, no one looking around during this time of reflection,

As Christians continue to pray, perhaps you are here today and if you are really honest, you can’t say with integrity that you are the Lord’s servant. You can’t say it because it is not true. Jesus is not first in your life. You know about Jesus, but you haven’t given Jesus control of your life. Jesus is not your Lord and Savior.

Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and he was born without sin. He is the Son of God. He was the only person who could be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He died for you and he was raised from the dead. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved and forgiven.

There are those of you here today who need to surrender to Jesus. You do not need to clean up your life first. You don’t need to get better and stop doing bad things. You come to Jesus just as you are. When you come to him, he will change you from the inside out. He will forgive every sin you have ever done and will make you brand new.

There are those of you who recognize that you are not serving Jesus. You are serving yourself, but today, you will say, “I am turning away from my sin and giving my life to Jesus.”

If that is you, will you pray this prayer with me, “Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins, make me new. I ask Jesus to be my Savior and to be the Lord of my life, first in every way. My life is not my own, I give it to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, would you raise your hand?

Pray.

Pastor Felipe and I will be down front in just a moment. Our deacons are ready to come forward to pray with you and for you. If you prayed to receive Jesus, please come and let us pray with you and celebrate your new life in Christ. If God is dealing in your heart and life right now, don’t let this moment pass.

As you stand and we sing together.