The Kingdom Manifesto - 14

The Kingdom Manifesto – 14

Live with a Reverent Heart

Matthew 6:9b

Introduction

It has become a trend in pop culture to treat God with a bit of irreverence.

- Pic 1 – The First Temptation of Christ – Netflix show (Dec. 2019, portraying Jesus as gay man who brings his lover home to meet his family when he turns 30.

- Pic 2 – Jesus is my homeboy phenomenon with multiple celebrities donning this gear

- Pic 3/4 – cameos on famous shows designed to mock – South Park and Family Guy

It is easy to talk and act a bit flippantly about God. We do that with people we are familiar with. That familiarity can breed flippancy.

Last week Jesus invited us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray with a certain amount of familiarity with God. “Our Father.” Telling us that we are not talking about just the Almighty Creator, but our dad. That prayer is not a business transaction, but a family affair. But that sense of familiarity, as good as it is, can breed flippancy. The next phrase of the Lord’s Prayer corrects that.

Matthew 6:9 - Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

While you can address God as “Our Father,” he is unlike any father we have ever known. He is unmatched.

Matthew 7:9-11 - “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Hebrews 12:10 - For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.

The bible presents this reality that God is our Father, but he isn’t like our earthly fathers. He is higher, better, perfect. And that is what this statement in the Lord’s Prayer does for us. It acknowledges the ‘otherness’ of our Father. ‘May your name be kept holy.’

Holy - other, different, set apart. What this prayer is asking is that God, make your name (personhood) unlike any other. God, be who you are. Continue to be God.

TS - what is Jesus saying here? Remember, prayer is not about the words we say, but about the heart that determines those words. Jesus is teaching us to have a Reverent Heart. A heart that respects who God is. So, if we have reverent hearts, when we pray, what should be on our minds and hearts?

1. GOD’S POSITION

Notice how the prayer begins: “Our Father...in heaven.” God is above us, beyond us.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 - As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

So, this is a reminder when we pray to our Father...don’t forget where your Father is. And then it continues...don’t forget who your Father is. ‘May your name be kept holy.’ God - continue to be God. This is a declaration that I want you to be God, because I don’t want to be God. I make a terrible god. I mess things up, I am sinful. I don’t have what it takes to run my own life, much less the lives of others.

So, when we are praying, we are praying to someone who is different, other than us. Who is higher and better. Someone who sees the big picture and knows all things.

Isaiah 55:8-9 - “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Intuitively we know that we should show a level of respect for those in higher positions. In the workplace, you show a certain amount of deference and honor toward your boss, and especially to those even higher up the food chain. Those in political office, or even royalty for that matter...we get it that they should be shown respect. Those of you in the military get this very well...if someone outranks you there is a certain way to treat them that shows respect.

How much infinitely more so ought this be true when we address God! Our prayers should find their foundation in respect for God’s position as God.

2. GOD’S POWER

Acknowledging that God is higher and other than us, we are acknowledging his power as God. When the bible talks about God as God, it is very clear on how powerful he is. Let’s take a quick look at the world around us and then see what the bible says about it...

- Scientists have come up with an estimated size to our universe: 20 billion light years across. For those who are a little fuzzy on your science, let me clear it up for you. A light year is the distance light can travel in a year—5.88 trillion miles. So, in order to get across the universe, you have to travel at 5.88 trillion miles per year for 20 billion years.

-To give your more of a practical aspect of a light year, consider this—if you were traveling between Chicago and LA at the speed of light, you could make 48 round trips per second!

-Within this universe, there are an uncountable number of stars. The best estimate we have though is just a guess. That guess is there are 10^21 stars in the universe. Here is what that looks like: SLIDE (1, plus 21 0’s)

While the numbers may get a little smaller, they are no less impressive when we simply talk about our own galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy is nearly 100,000 light years across.

-The closest star is actually our sun, which is 93 million miles away—or a mere 8 “light minutes” away. The next closest star is Alpha Centuari, which is 4.27 light years away (25 trillion miles).

-And of course, there are the other galaxies in the universe. The closes of which to us is 2 million light years away. But then again, we’re moving at a very fast speed. Our galaxy moves at 190 miles per second. So, with the rotation of the earth, the revolving of the earth around the sun, and the movement of our galaxy, the spot you sat in 1 second ago is now 330 miles away.

TS—Now I know that’s hard to wrap our brains around. Let’s make it a little more personal. Let’s talk about you for a minute.

Your body is packed with all kinds of things: Enough:

Iron to make a 3 inch nail,

Sulfur to kill all the fleas on a dog,

Carbon to make 900 pencils,

Potassium to fire a toy canon,

Fat to make 7 bars of soap,

Phosphorous to make 2200 match heads,

Water to fill a 10 gallon tank.

An adult’s blood vessels, if taken from the body and stretched out, would top 100,000 miles.

-45 miles of nerves. Over 30 total feet of intestines.

-What’s even more impressive is the consistency with which your body works. It is always at work:

-By age 70, heart beats 2.5 billion times. Beating with so much force is takes an individual blood cell only 60 seconds to go thru your entire body. In the hour you sit here today, your heart will produce enough energy to lift 2000 lbs. off the ground 3 feet.

TS—These stats are mind-blowing. And here is what the bible says about all of that...it was CREATED! Obviously by an even more awe-inspiring God.

Romans 1:20—For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Isaiah 40:12-14 - Who else has held the oceans in his hand?

Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?

Who else knows the weight of the earth

or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?

Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?

Does he need instruction about what is good?

Did someone teach him what is right

or show him the path of justice?

Let’s break down some of the word pictures given here about God:

-Held the oceans in his hand

369 quintillion gallons

SLIDE (369 plus 18 zeros)

-Measured off the heavens with his fingers

20 billion light years

-Weighed mountains on a scale

Weight of earth—5.978 sextillion metric tons.

SLIDE (5978 plus 21 zeros)

Remember the number of stars from earlier? 10^21 (SLIDE - 1, plus 21 0’s)

Isaiah 40:26 - Look up into the heavens.

Who created all the stars?

He brings them out like an army, one after another,

calling each by its name.

Because of his great power and incomparable strength,

not a single one is missing.

TS—No wonder God speaks through Isaiah and says...

Isaiah 55:8-9 - “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

I say all of that to say this...when we pray, we are praying to our Father, our God who has unimaginable power. And that is both terrifying and comforting.

Terrifying because we can’t control him. We cannot manipulate him with our prayers. We don’t get to wheel any deals. We can’t impress him. He can do whatever he wants.

That is comforting to know because he can do whatever he wants. We don’t pray to someone who can’t change anything. We pray to one who has the power to change anything that needs changing, fix anything that needs fixing.

3. GOD’S PURITY

When we pray ‘May your name be kept holy, ‘we have to realize that the word ‘holy‘ has a moral dimension to it. When we say that God is unlike us, we mean it. He doesn’t lie, manipulate, yell. He doesn’t have impure thoughts. He has no hint of maliciousness in him. His motives are perfect.

After speaking about the lure and deception of temptation, James says this...

James 1:16-17 - So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

God doesn’t say one thing and do another. No shifting. No changing.

This is why the bible speaks so strongly about sin. Why we should flee from it and pursue holiness...because God is pure and holy, and he desires us to be like him.

God is pure and holy in all things. And we need that assurance when we pray. When God answers prayer, whether it is what we asked for or not, we can trust his motives are pure. He is our father, who is holy and pure. We can trust his answers. They are always right and good.

Matthew 7:9-11 - “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

He always gives the bread and the fish, regardless of what we ask for.

Conclusion

Interestingly, this first part of the prayer, this first request to ‘make your name be kept holy’ is the only eternal request in the prayer. All of the other requests are temporary. So, when we pray this we are declaring, “God I want you to be God, and have me in this reverent posture before you...forever.”

INVITATION – BELIEVE/REPENT/CONFESS/BAPTIZE

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