The Lord's Prayer (pt 4)

I don’t find it to be accidental we are in a series on prayer during a trying time in the history of our church, community, and nation. Many of us are struggling in various ways. Some are concerned about their health. Others are concerned about loved ones. Some are concerned about providing for their families. Most of us are trying to adjust to a new way of life with new routines. This is a tough time in many ways.

It was never my expectation to be your pastor during a pandemic. I must have missed the class in seminary on “what to do when your church can’t physically meet together.” However, I remember that we are the church. The church has always been about people, not about facilities. It feels bad when we can’t physically be together and it should feel bad.

We have taken much of our way of life for granted. My prayer is that this situation gets people’s attention. My prayer is that people take stock of their mortality. My prayer, along with prayers for healing, for a cure, and for a vaccine, is that this event in our culture turns people back to seeking God. Pray with me.

Father God, bless us as we open your word. Bless us as we seek your face. Give us wisdom and openness to confront the realities in our lives. May your Word change us as we conform to the image of Jesus, even in these difficult and confusing times. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

We are in part 3 of a series on the Lord’s prayer in . So far, we have 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.

We looked at the second petition in the Lord’s prayer. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God. We humble ourselves before God. We fully submit to the will of God. We put God first in every area of our lives.

Last week, Pastor Felipe spoke about “give us today our daily bread.” God provides everything we need. He is our source and our supply. He gives us what we need when we need it. We can boldly go to God asking him to provide what we need.

Today, we are going to look at verse 12.

Matthew 6:12 CSB

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

The first thing I notice about this petition is we need God’s forgiveness.

1. We need God’s forgiveness.

“Forgive us our debts because we have forgiven others.”

We have all failed. We have all fallen short of God’s standard of righteous. There are no exceptions. We owe God a debt. We have wronged God and are in need of his forgiveness constantly.

The word “debt” stresses a moral obligation. Something about us and our behavior is flawed.

Romans 3:10 CSB

10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The Bible says we are like sheep and we have gone astray. We are natural born rebels against doing what is right. How do I know this? Simple, you never had to teach your children to do wrong. Some of you discovered your child’s sin nature in a whole new way this last week. You were stuck at home with them and you didn’t think you were going to make it through. You found yourself saying things you never thought you would hear yourself saying.

Married couples, is anyone righteous? You may have thought she was perfect before you got married, but not so much now. You might have thought he was perfect, now you are trying to figure out how to live with him.

The point is something about us and our behavior is flawed. We are, by nature and by choice, sinners. We need God’s forgiveness. Perhaps you are listening to this message and you are in a place where your sin has caught up to you. You’re in the storm because of what you did. You have gotten yourself into massive trouble. Your sin is catching up with you. You may have even tried to change, but you can’t do it. You can’t be good on your own. It is in your very nature. Your nature causes you to rebel against God. Your sin separates you from God. The good news is that God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus into the world. Jesus, who is God, took on flesh and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus died for the forgiveness of your sins. On the third day, Jesus raised from the dead to prove that everything he claimed was true. The Bible says,

Romans 10:9–10 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

in a place where your sin has caught up to you. You’re in the storm because of what you did. You have gotten yourself into massive trouble. Your sin is catching up with you. You may have even tried to change, but you can’t do it. You can’t be good on your own. It is in your very nature. Your nature causes you to rebel against God. Your sin separates you from God. The good news is that God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus into the world. Jesus, who is God, took on flesh and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus died for the forgiveness of your sins. On the third day, Jesus raised from the dead to prove that everything he claimed was true. The Bible says,

CSB

I am going to give you an opportunity to respond in faith to the message of salvation by praying a prayer to God. When you call on Jesus, he will hear your prayer, forgive your sin, and make you clean. We need God’s forgiveness. God forgives the penitent. Freedom in Jesus begins with forgiveness.

Will you call on his name this morning and receive the forgiveness he offers?

Please bow your heads and close your eyes. Confess Jesus by praying this prayer with me,

When you call on the name of Jesus, he will hear your prayer, forgive you of your sin, and make you new. Will you call on his name this morning and receive the forgiveness he offers.

“Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins, make me clean. 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, please contact me. You can contact us through the live chat on the side or you can email me, but we want to help you grow and understand the decision you have made to follow Jesus.

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Matthew 6:12 CSB

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

2.

2. We have no right to seek God’s forgiveness if we are withholding forgiveness.

This is tough. This is really tough. I don’t know about you, but I have had people wrong me and hurt me deeply. I am sure, if you have lived long enough, you have too. We, whether we realize it or not, have probably hurt other people too.

The problem with an unforgiving heart revolves around your perspective. If you understand how great your sin is in the presence of a holy God and if you understand how much you have been forgiven, then you wouldn’t dare withhold forgiveness from someone else. No one deserves to be forgiven. You and I don’t deserve to be forgiven. When you forgive someone; it is not because they deserve it. It is because of mercy. God has shown us mercy. Therefore, you are to show others mercy by forgiving them.

There is a parable told in . The story is called “The unforgiving servant”. In the story, the man owed a significant debt to the king. Let’s say, he owed a million dollars to the king and only made about ten-thousand dollars a year. The king was ready to have all the man’s assets liquidated and his family sold into slavery to recover what was owed. The man begged the king for forgiveness. He told the king he would repay what was owed, but there was no way the man could ever pay what was owed. The king knew this, had compassion on him, and forgave his massive debt.

As soon as the man left the presence of the king, he was walking down the street and he encountered a guy who owed him like a hundred dollars. Look at what he did.

Matthew 18:28 CSB

28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

Matthew 18:

The man begged for patience and mercy, but his fellow servant would have none. He threw him into prison to work off the debt. Some others saw what happened and told the king about it. The king was greatly displeased.

Matthew 18:32–34 CSB

32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed.

Matthew 18:32-

Now, look at what Jesus says,

Matthew 18:35 CSB

35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”

Failure to forgive others closes the door on God’s forgiveness. We have no right to seek forgiveness if we are withholding forgiveness.

Matthew 6:14–15 CSB

14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Ray Pritchard summarized the consequences of an unforgiving spirit. I don’t think this is a complete list, but it is a start. “Our fellowship with the Father is blocked or disrupted. The Holy Spirit is grieved (). Our prayers will be hindered and will not be answered. () God leaves us alone to face the problems of life in our own power (, , ). The devil potentially gains a foothold through our unwillingness to forgive (). We lose the blessing of God on our life.”

How do you know you have truly forgiven someone?

1. Our fellowship with the Father is blocked or disrupted.

2. The Holy Spirit is grieved. (see -note, , -note)

When missionaries in northern Alaska were translating the Bible into the language of the Eskimos, they discovered there was no word in that language for forgiveness. After much patient listening, however, they discovered a word that means, “not being able to think about it anymore.” That word was used throughout the translation to represent forgiveness, because God’s promise to repentant sinners is, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” ().

We know we have forgiven when we don’t keep bringing it up. We know we have forgiven when we don’t talk about it to others. We know we have forgiven when we show mercy instead of judgment. We know we have forgiven when we choose not to dwell on it. We know we have forgiven when we pray for them and ask God to bless them. God has forgiven us and so we must forgive others.

3. Our prayers will be hindered and will not be answered. (-note)

In this petition, we pray to be forgiven and to have the strength to forgive others.

4. God leaves us alone to face the problems of life in our own power (and He may add a few more "problems"). (-note, , )

Pray to be forgiven by God and to have the strength to forgive others.

5. The devil potentially gains a foothold through our unwillingness to forgive (specifically as manifest by anger we refuse to relinquish). (-note)

There is a key in the verse which revolves around the word “as”. You might say it this way, the strength of your forgiveness is correlated to how the Father forgives you. We are to forgive as the Father forgives, completely, quickly, and without preconditions.

6. We force God to become our enemy.

As I was thinking about the subject of forgiveness, I couldn’t help but think about the current situation of our nation, the virus that is spreading, and the effects all of this is having on our economy. We know that God doesn’t cause evil and that he is not the source of evil; however, he does allow things to happen to get our attention and to cause his people to repentance. Brothers and sisters, from the national level, to our communities, and extending down the the individual, we have sinned. We need to be forgiven.

We have allowed things to be in God’s place as number one in our lives. We have neglected to worship God. We have allowed our lust and greed to drive our behavior. We have allowed politics to drive our morality. We have failed morally. We can’t pretend it is not about us or that it is not our fault, but we can be the solution.

7. We lose the blessing of God on our life.

have been a theme verse for me. Again, I know these promises were made to the nation of Israel and I am well versed in covenant theology. However, we worship the same God and Father. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What we are experiencing has happened before and, likely, it will happen again to some degree. God told his people it would happen. He said, there would be a day when his people rebelled against him and would need his forgiveness.

8. We waste time (and emotional energy) nursing a wounded spirit.

2 Chronicles 7:13–14 CSB

13 If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people, 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

9. We become enslaved to the people you hate. (The opposite of obeying - , )

If this happens, if a pestilence, a virus, descends on the people, then God will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land when God’s people, who bear his name, humble themselves, pray and seek his face, and turn from their evil ways. Brothers and sisters, it is up to us to change the trajectory, not by just practicing social distancing, but by using this time to humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. We need God’s forgiveness.

10. We become like those we refuse to forgive.

Join me in prayer.

Our Father, we know we need you and what we are going through right now makes this fact even more clear. We are being confronted with our own mortality. We have become arrogant and self-sufficient. We have denied you the place you deserve in our lives.

As we adjust to new realities in our lives and in our communities, we pray for those who serve us. Give them strength and immunity so they can help us. We pray for those who are working to find a cure. We know the cure will not come from our own ingenuity, but rather it will come from you. We ask you for wisdom and for breakthroughs.

Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our dependence upon you. This virus has reminded us of our frailty. We have subdued much of the earth with our innovation and creative acts, but we are reminded in this moment how frail and powerless we really are. So we repent of our self-sufficiency and hubris.

Lord, we lament the fallen nature of our world, which mars the beauty of your created order. COVID-19 comes to steal and destroy, to worm its way through human bodies and spread its vile sickness across communities and nations and the world. We, like your Son, weep and rage at sickness and death. And yet we know that it was Jesus whose death and resurrection defeated this final foe. We long for the day you resurrect our bodies and restore the world.

God Almighty, you are the Great Physician. You are our healer, our protection, and our shield. We ask you for protection and healing in our community. We ask you to destroy the power of this virus. You are also our Comforter. Provide us wit the comfort and peace we need.

As we endure this new normal in our lives, we pray earnestly for the heroic medical doctors, nurses, and health care professionals who are putting their lives on the line for their neighbors. May you give them strength and physical immunity during this time, so they can help push back against this ravaging virus.

We pray for the scientists, disease experts, and epidemiologists who are working feverishly on vaccines and testing mechanisms. Lord, we thank you for gifting them with knowledge and wisdom we don’t have. We pray for their endurance, for breakthroughs, and for resources. 

I pray for wisdom, strength, and discernment to be given to Judge Tano, Governor Abbot, and President Trump. Give them your Spirit. All these men have acknowledged you and we have submitted to their leadership as you have told us to do in your Word.

Lord, you are the Great Physician, so we pray for healing for the victims of COVID-19. Lord, you are the Creator, with power over the creation, so we pray for COVID-19 to be destroyed. Spirit of God, you are the Comforter, so please comfort our troubled souls.

This virus has humbled us. It has caused us, your people, to seek your face and turn from our wicked ways. I pray more people in our nation and world would humbly return to you in repentance and faith. Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. You are the Lord of Lords. You are the King of Kings. You are in control of all things. We praise and thank you for your goodness, your forgiveness, and mercy. We come before you in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Dear God, move in the hearts of our public officials. As you have instructed us in your Word, we earnestly beseech you on behalf of our president, Congress, governors, mayors, and local officials. We pray you guide them with wisdom and strength and discernment.

We also pray for the people in our nation and the nations of the world to be humbled and turn to you in repentance and faith. We know you are the Prince of peace, Lord of lords, the King of kings. We praise you for your goodness and your mercy. And we ask this all in the name of Jesus, our Lord. 

We also pray for the people in our nation and the nations of the world to be humbled and turn to you in repentance and faith. We know you are the Prince of peace, Lord of lords, the King of kings. We praise you for your goodness and your mercy. And we ask this all in the name of Jesus, our Lord. 

Amen.