Lord, Teach Us to Pray - Part 3

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 6:9-13

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - October 1, 2017

(Revised March 17, 2021)

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight, we will finish our study of the Lord’s Prayer by focusing on the last part of vs. 13. Jesus gave us this prayer as a model to teach us how we should pray, so let's start with a quick review of the lessons we have already seen.

[1] First, Jesus said to pray, "OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN," and we all need to make sure that His Father is OUR Heavenly Father. We must make sure we are in the Father's family by believing in His Son Jesus Christ.

[2] "HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME. . ." Albert Barnes explained that this means "Let Your holy name be celebrated, worshiped and revered as holy everywhere. Let Your name receive proper honor from all people." And the lesson for us was to pour out our praise to God. (1)

[3] "YOUR KINGDOM COME. . ." Rodney Buchanan noted that when Jesus put God's Kingdom first, He was teaching us to be more concerned about eternal things than earthly things. And we shouldn't just care about our own needs, we should care about other people, especially their place in the Kingdom of God. That why James McCullen called this "an evangelistic prayer." (2)

*Also remember that in Luke 17:20-21 Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

*People will never have a place in the eternal Kingdom of God until God's Kingdom has a place in them. Christians: That is why we must pray, "Father, Your kingdom come."

[4] Then "YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. . ." This is one of the most holy, Christlike prayers we can ever pray, because it is the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the cross. God calls us to pray with this devoted, Christlike spirit. And we can pray this prayer with total confidence in God's will for our lives, even when it puts us on the hard roads in life.

[5] Next, Father, "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. . ." Christians: We can always talk to God in prayer. And this part of the Lord's Prayer teaches us to have daily, ongoing conversations with our Heavenly Father. Frequent conversations with God will help us get to know Him better and trust Him more every day. And this relationship in our prayer life is always more important than the results. If God gave us everything we could ever dream of asking, that could not compare with the blessing of knowing Him!

[6] Next, "FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS. . ." In other words, "Forgive our moral and spiritual debts to You, God. Forgive our faults, our offenses, our sins, as we forgive our debtors." John Gill said this means "we should forgive injuries from our enemies, as well as unkindness from our friends. We should forgive all sorts of snubs and offences." (3)

*The Bible clearly teaches us that forgiveness is not an option for Christians. If you have trusted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if you have received Him as your Lord and Savior, then all your sins have been forgiven by God. And now God wants you to be like Him. That's why Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."

*Our forgiveness is necessary because sooner or later, all of us are going to need it. But remember that forgiveness is not a feeling. It is both a command from God and a choice of our will. As Christians, we can forgive because we have been born-again with the nature of Jesus Christ and because we have the Holy Spirit of Christ living in us to help us.

*I ask people to picture God asking them if they are willing to forgive. And then to pray something like this, "Yes Father, since I know that you have commanded me to forgive, and since I know that I can because I am born again, and since your Holy Spirit is living in me to help me forgive, right now, I choose to forgive that person." I have had this conversation with probably five to ten people over the years, and all of them have told me that it helped them almost immediately. It has certainly been a help in my life too.

*Here are a couple of other important points: First, this is mostly a matter between you and God. It does not mean that you have to tell the person who offended you that you have forgiven them, though sometimes that might be helpful. But sometimes the person doesn't think they did anything wrong in the first place, or in the worst case, they may even laugh in your face.

*One lady I know needed to forgive her father who had abused her in the worst possible way. But he was dead. Her forgiveness wasn't for the dad's sake. It was for her sake, and it did help her.

*One other note is that this is not a one-time thing, in part, because people can offend us more than once. On top of that, a few days after we choose to forgive someone, that hurt may come to the surface again. When that happens, I just go through the process of talking to our Heavenly Father again, and in God's presence, choose to forgive that person again. It helps me every time. And the Lord's Prayer teaches us to focus on both the forgiveness we need and the forgiveness we need to give.

[7] Next, Heavenly Father, "DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION. . ." In other words: God, please lead us in the good and right direction. We all need to be led away from temptation, so Jesus teaches us to pray for God's leadership.

[8] And Heavenly Father, "DELIVER US FROM EVIL," or "DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE." This original word for "deliver" has the reassuring thought of God rushing to rescue us or drawing us close to rescue us from danger.

*John Gill explained that the "evil mentioned here could be evil people, evil accidents, and evil thoughts, but it certainly includes deliverance from Satan, the source of all evil. And to be delivered from him is to be rescued from his snares and delivered from his temptations." (4)

*"Deliver us from evil." This original word for "deliver" is the same word Paul used in Colossians 1:13-14. There, he tells Christians that God the Father "has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

*This is the ultimate deliverance that all people need, and it can only come through the Son of God, our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we are hopelessly trapped by Satan in spiritual darkness and death. But God the Father sent Jesus to deliver us! In Him "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."

MESSAGE:

*Now, let's look at the closing words of the Lord's Prayer. In vs. 13, we see the 3-fold praise of God where Jesus said: "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

*Roger Thomas made a great point when he said, "Prayer is only as good as the one we are talking to." That’s why these closing words of the Lord’s Prayer are so very important. They remind us how great our God truly is, "for (His) is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen!" (5)

1. SO PRAISE GOD FIRST FOR HIS KINGDOM.

*His Kingdom is the greatest Kingdom because it is ruled by the greatest King! And God wants us to know how important His Kingdom is. It was the first thing Jesus preached about. In Matthew 4:17, the Lord said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'' Matthew 4:23 tells us that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people."

*In Matthew 6:33, Jesus will tell us that the kingdom of God and His righteousness are the most important things we can ever seek in life. Then, in Matthew 24:14, Jesus will say, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." And in Revelation 11:15, we see that "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

*Glory be to God! His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. But if we have such a great King, and if His Kingdom will last forever, then why is there so much trouble in the world today? Why does the devil seem to be so strong today?

*Jesus explained it in one of His parables. Please listen to the Lord in Matthew 13:24-30:

24. . . "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25. but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

26. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

27. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'

28. He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'

29. But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

*The disciples did not understand this parable at first, so the Lord explained it to them in Matthew 13:37-43, and there Jesus said:

37. "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

41. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

*By the grace of God, we can look forward to that great day! But how can we get this righteousness? There is only one way: Our righteousness can only come from our righteous Savior Jesus Christ! In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul explained that God the Father made Jesus "who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." But we must trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross for us!

*In John 3:3-5, Jesus told Nicodemus, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'' Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'' Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

*Then, in John 3:16-18, Jesus told Nicodemus how to be born again: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

*Later, when Jesus was dying on the cross for our sins, one of the thieves crucified with the Lord was born again by believing in Jesus. Luke 23:39-43 tells us that:

39. . . One of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.''

40. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

41. And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.''

42. Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.''

43. And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.''

*Everyone needs to be like that saved thief. Change your mind about who you are and who Jesus is. You are a sinner who deserves to go to hell. He is the perfect Lord and only Savior of the world, who died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead. Call on the Lord to save you and He will. Then you will live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

2. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS KINGDOM! AND PRAISE HIM FOR HIS POWER.

*In vs. 13, Jesus said we should speak to our Heavenly Father and say, "Yours is the kingdom, and the power. . ."

*The word "power" here is sometimes translated in other ways, like "mighty works," "miracles," "might," or "strength." The original word is "dunamis." It is where we got our name for dynamite. And God has the greatest dynamite power of all!

*This word is used over a hundred times in the New Testament, and it shows up in Scriptures like Ephesians 3:20-21. There, Paul praised our God "who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

*Let's celebrate the fact that our God is able! He was able to create the universe and everything in it by simply speaking it into existence! In Genesis 7, He was able to flood the whole world to bring judgment on that generation. In Exodus 14, our God was able to part the Red Sea so that two or three million of His people could cross over to safety on dry land.

*And listen to what happened in Daniel 3. There King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made of himself. Church: It was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide!

*The king then ordered all of his leading officials to come and bow to the ground to worship the king's golden statue. Anyone who refused to worship it would be thrown into a fiery furnace. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego loved the Lord, and they refused to worship that false god.

*Daniel 3:13-18 tells us what happened next:

13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king.

14. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?

15. Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?''

16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

17. If that is the case, OUR GOD WHOM WE SERVE IS ABLE TO DELIVER US FROM THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.

18. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''

*Of course, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. And the fire was so hot that it killed the guards who threw them in. But starting in Daniel 3:24:

24. . . King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?'' They answered and said to the king, "True, O king.''

25. "Look!'' he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.''

*Nebuchadnezzar called those faith-filled men out of the fire, and in Daniel 3:28, Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!"

*Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego didn't get burned in the furnace. They didn't even have the smell of smoke on them! Why? Because our God is able!

*And best of all, God the Son Jesus Christ was able to die on the cross to take the guilt for all of our sin. Jesus was also able to rise again from the dead. Now, He is able and willing to forgive our sins and give us everlasting life.

3. GOD IS ABLE TO DO ALL GOOD THINGS, SO PRAISE HIM FOR HIS POWER! AND PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GLORY!

*Again in Matthew 6:13, Jesus said we should pray to our Heavenly Father: "Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

*God wants us to praise Him for His glory. And John Piper brought God’s glory into proper focus when he said, "From beginning to end nothing in the Bible is more ultimate in the mind and heart of God than the glory of God. At every point in God’s revealed action, wherever He makes plain the ultimate goal of that action, the goal is always the same: To uphold and display His glory."

*Isaiah 43:7 tells us that God created us for His glory. There, the Lord said, "Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.''

*Romans 15:9 tells us Jesus came into the world "that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."

*Jesus is also coming again, so that all the redeemed will marvel at his glory. We see this truth in 2 Thessalonians 1:10, where Jesus will come "to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."

*Since God cares so much about His glory, the mission of the church in Psalm 96:3 is to "declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all peoples." (6)

CONCLUSION:

*Jesus finished the Lord's Prayer with these words of great praise because God is always worthy of our praise. He also finished with praise because great prayers are nourished by great praise.

*Praise God like Nebuchadnezzar did when he saw the Son of God in the fire with three brave Jews! Praise God like the thief praised Him on that first day in Paradise! Praise God like we'll praise Him forever in Heaven! Praise God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

-Praise Him the morning.

-Praise Him at night.

-Praise Him at church.

-And praise Him at home.

*Praise Him alone.

-And praise Him in a crowd.

*Don't let anything or anyone keep you from praising Almighty God, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen!

(2) Sources:

-Rodney Buchanan online sermon "Jesus' Approach to Prayer" - Matthew 6:5-15 - 03132005

-Cross & Crown Sermons - "Looking at the Model Prayer - The Focus of the Prayer" by Dr. James McCullen - Matthew 6 9-13

(5) SermonCentral sermon "(The Lord's) Prayer Ends Where It Began" by Roger Thomas - Matthew 6:13

(6) John Piper - Together for the Gospel Conference - Louisville, Kentucky - Originally preached under the title "Why Expositional Preaching is Particularly Glorifying to God" - April 27, 2006