Sermon on the Mount : Lord's Prayer
Notes
Transcript
What does God want them to know? How to pray
Why? It connects us with God, communes us with our Father
What does God want us to do? Pray the Lord’s Prayer
Why? It connects us with God, communes us with our Father
ME/WE/INTRO
We are currently in the series the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is giving His first sermon, address to the public about what His kingdom is going to look like. It is like a 30 point address and where are now is the secret section of the Sermon on the Mount
What Jesus address is there THREE practices of our FAITH that are meant to be private not public....we address the first one before the 4th of July and it was on _____ (money/giving/tithing)
There are certain things that it is not for the WORLD to know but only that something you and your Father know
Often the religious people of the day, and we see this at times today, REVERSE what was supposed to be PRIVATE and to PUBIC, and what was to be PUBLIC into PRIVATE
We are going to move onto the next practice that religious people LOVE to make public, back then and now......and IT IS A PRACTICE THAT sometimes the church would respond did you HEAR how they did that in practice “they are so RIGHTEOUS, not in a good sense of righteous”....and you would have the non-believing friend say that was a performance.
It is also a religious practice that for many of us has mystery, confusion at times, and hardship attached to it...
Numerous pastors have said it is easier to preach for 30 minutes than to practice this spiritual practice for 30 minutes
John Newton, the great hymn writer, says that when he is trying to pray, just trying as hard as he can to concentrate and pray, he feels so weak he says sometimes “the buzzing of a fly in the room is an overmatch for [my strength].” It’s destroyed me
I say all of this to hopefully lessen the guilt or shame we all feel.
WHAT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OR DISCIPLINE AM I TALKING ABOUT?
PRAYER
JESUS WANT TO TALK ABOUT PRAYER,
- FIRST THAT PRAYER IS TO BE A MATTER OF THE HEART NOT PERFORMANCE, NOR IS CHRISTIAN PRAYER LIKE PAGAN PRAYER
- Then secondly He moves to show us how to pray in probably the most known section of scriptures of all time The Lord’s Prayer
Let’s read
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
What’s a hypocrite? ὑποκριτής, οῦ m: (derivative of ὑποκρίνομαι ‘to pretend,’ 88.227) one who pretends to be other than he really is—‘hypocrite, pretender, one who acts hypocritically.
Someone who pretends to be something they are not.
Who is Jesus going to call hypocrites? the Gentiles? the sinners? NO, IT’S THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, which you can image their blood starting to boil, nobody likes to be called a hypocrite....is this not what Jesus did a lot, called out the religious leaders
Let’s read Matt 6:5b
The religious leads of the day wanted all to see them…they made their prayer a performance....a proclaimation of their goodness
Oh Great God, High King of Heaven, Victorious One, Holy One, and me a righteous one too not like other people
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus is saying to us prayer is not a performance but a matter of the heart, between you and your Father.
To help guide us in this Jesus says
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Does this mean that all of our prayers should be in secret??? NO, the church is often praying together…Jesus is saying prayer is a matter of the heart and one of the ways we keep it a matter of the heart is to make our prayers in secret.
First, Jesus says prayer is not a performance
Maybe we should pray like the pagans do? Let’s model there pray life....no, no, no
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 6
repetition was used to pester the gods so they would grant someone’s request.
Intense repetition....give me this, give me that, I have to this, I have to have that…in a frantic state…anxious state…the Word many means anxious
If I say this enough, pester God enough, then God will have to give to me and stop my noise
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Jesus do not do that you are a child of God. He’s your Father, He knows what you need and what you don’t need…some of things you might be praying for are things you do not need....we often don’t think that way.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
THEN JESUS ANSWER THE QUESTION MANY OF US HAD AND THEY HAD…Jesus you told us how not to pray
- IT IS NOT TO BE PERFORMANCE NOR BABBLE
HOW DO WE PRAY?
Anybody wonder this?
JESUS GIVE US A MODEL…IT IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO PRAY…IT IS A MODEL WITH FIVE MOVEMENTS.
The first two movements are focused on God
The next three are focused on us, GIVE US our DAILY BREAD, FORGIVE US, DELIVER US.
BUT HOW DO WE OFTEN PRAY THIS WAY???
GIVE ME BREAD, FORGIVE ME, DELIVER ME.
THAT IS A WESTERN MINDSET
Everything is family, God deliver us, forgive us, provide for us
most of the YOUs in the Bible are plural not singular
You’all
What we are going to do next is walk through this FIVE movements and do something that Jesus often did is I am going to teach then we are to do.
in groups
individually
corportatly on the mic
Something new and some thing that our we are not always used to.
Praise
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Jesus says the first thing to do in prayer is to come praise His name
How do we praise His name?
Praise Him that He is our Father and we are His child
Praise Him for salvation
Praise Him for breathe
Praise Him that He works all things for God
Praise Him for His attributes such as Sovereign, Provider, Omnipresent
Praise Him for the gifts and the blessings you have received
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
2. YOUR WILL BE DONE
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
What does it mean for His will to be done?
Righteousness, justice, mercy to reign
Earthly leaders rule like God
Shalom/Peace to reign
People to come to know Jesus
Set at liberty the oppressed
The blind see, lame walk
Fruit of the Spirit to reign: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
3. PROVIDE FOR US
Give us this day our daily bread,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Ask God for things we need, food, money, relationship, good health
Ask others what they need?
4. FORGIVE US
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Confess is powerful
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
5. DELIVER US FROM EVIL
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Pray for us to not be lead into to temptation, Jesus knows what that is like…and deliver us from evil.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Some translations have this, some do not, because some of the early manuscripts don’t have it.
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever
One of the beautiful things God has given to us is the Lord’s Prayer where we can connect with our Father in Heaven, Praise Him and Pray to Him.
The reason this is availble to us is because of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.