01.30.2011 The Sermon on the Mount 5 - The Lord's Prayer

01.30.2011 Grace Summit Sermon - The Sermon on the Mount 5 - The Lord's Prayer from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Thank you to all of you who have supported our Honduras mission. We met with the team last Sunday – and they have been going down for several years – Grace Point pays for the house ($4500) and we will be able to bring $500 cash down – last year, there was a need that a child needed a surgery and they were able to pay for that. Let’s pray – and then jump into it.
Thank You, God, for the grace that has been poured out on our church – for those who are being reached for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank You for all that is happening in Honduras – we are unworthy of this opportunity but we ask that you would bless it. Touch our hearts, speak to us – thank You for the worship time – and those who led it – and those who work the sound and PowerPoint – that we might come and speak to God and hear from God. Help our hearts to be attentive to You now.
Today, I am going to be talking about what is known as The Lord’s Prayer.
Here in this service, many of us come from the tradition – where it is repeated regularly maybe possibly without much thought to what is being said. For some of us, it has caused an awkward feeling – and it is easy to shy away from this. I say this, because that has been my experience. Some say it and don’t live like that. But I’d like to give us a balance. What is interesting – it is right at the heart of the sermon on the Mount. I believe the Sermon on the Mount is built around The Lord’s Prayer. Some call it The Disciples’ Prayer. The standard is this –
Matt. 6:9 – This, then, is how you should pray.
This is a pattern for prayer. Matthew is not denying that this prayer can be said. But in Luke, it is different – coming, not on the heels of the Sermon on the Mount – but ‘When you pray, say…”
For Luke, Jesus gives the disciples a prayer that they might pray. There are two purposes in this prayer.
As we look at The Lord’s Prayer, it is important to realize that these aren’t magical words – like, do this, and you’re okay. The Bible is not a magic book. But the words ARE Biblical words – inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The rub comes on in verse 7:
7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
In Jewish prayer, there was a tendency for the leaders to pray these big elegant prayers to be seen by men. He warned them against being seen by people. And then He warns them against Gentile prayer. NIV 2011 – Babbling like pagans. NASB – Meaningless repetition. Vain repetition in KJV. What that does – it can put the focus on the wrong thing. The word babbling is really an excellent translation.
The focus is on the meaninglessness of the words – a contra mantra – or they would continually say the names of their gods – thinking if they piled on the words that they would be heard.
We need to make sure that we don’t engage our mouth without engaging our hearts and minds. That can be the problem with something like The Lord’s Prayer.
NOW – on the other side – I, often – and as I look through my 35 years of Christianity – I pray the Scriptures. The Psalms – many of those are prayers. If I have an obstacle in my life – I often go to Psalm 121. I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? Ps. 123 – to Thee I lift up my eyes…until He shall be gracious to us.
I often pray the prayers of Paul. He who began a good work will be able to complete it. I think we need to be able to pray the Scriptures in our prayer lives. It will change the way you pray. I encourage you to pray the words of Paul and The Psalms. I also say, if we pray the Scriptures, what is wrong with the best prayer in Scripture that the Lord gave us.
As a result of the emotionally healthy spirituality – and in preparation for this message – I have been praying the Lord’s Prayer with a focus on a different phrase each day. I’d like to look at this – to look at the first half of it – we did the forgiveness part back in October.
I want to look at the first half – This then is how you should pray.
'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
When you are praying – you are praying to a father. Someone who wants to have a close intimate love relationship with you. You are not praying to a genie in a bottle – but someone who knows your needs and wants to be close to you – to have a relationship with you. You are praying to your father! But your father may have been absent or abusive or may have neglected you – so the concept of praying to your father may have been a difficult thing for you. IF this is the case, think of the father you wish you had and think of your heavenly father like that! Your heavenly father is beyond the father you wished you had, but the perfect father – and that is whom we are praying to. When you see a good dad with his kids – the dad loving the child – God is so much more of a father to you when you are in need. Come to your father who loves you, knows your every need and cares for you.
In heaven.
First there is the closeness of God – but in heaven we have the almighty transcendent God – whom we come to with deep reverence and respect. He is not the Father who is abusive – but is also not the great Santa Claus in the sky! In prayer – even though He is an intimate father, there also needs to be reverence.
We can’t in our prayer – be so personal and warm that God’s sovereignty and transcendence disappear.
Hallowed be Thy name.
Name is important. The name of God was very important – his honor, character, being, integrity – a name was everything. It meant so much more than all we could understand. Hallowed – all of the major translations use the word Hallowed – But it is not a word we use too often – literally – to sanctify – make holy – give honor to – people don’t want to say – may Your name be made holy and honored. What this part of the prayer is telling us – God is to be seen as holy and to be treated as holy in every way by every person. We are to act and speak in such a way as demonstrates this type of attitude toward God.
If you speak this way, you should be LIVING this way – that was the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. My life should be lived in such way so as not to bring shame to the name of God. Your life can either bring honor or shame to God. Are you exhibiting a life that brings honor to the name of Christ?
Remember the people who stood on the corner praying to bring honor to themselves? This is in contrast to that.
The next phrase –
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
These are imperatives – forceful requests that are almost like commands – but not – they are respectful. Sometimes when we pray, we wish. Wishing and hoping – I think that is how we go to prayer sometimes. But this is saying – YOUR KINGDOM COME! O GOD, MAKE THIS HAPPEN! DO IT! YOU THE GOD! Kinda thing. Obviously, it is respectful and not demanding and done with reverence.
When we pray – we need to come in boldness and confidence asking God to do the things He wants to do and intends to do.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done. Does God want His will to be done? Of course He does!
When you know something is God’s will – something He intends to do anyway – when His word instructs and promises – we can go to God with confidence, courageously requesting.
What we see – the first half is about God – and in our prayer lives – we need to make sure we start with God – there are times when you are sinking like Peter and all you can say is, God, save me! Sometimes that is all we can muster. But in general, in our prayer life – when we set time to pray – start with God. Start with praise – worship – honoring His name. Then, like the Lord’s Prayer – then moving to your needs. If you spend time in praise – it builds confidence in your prayer.
Kingdom – Complete reign of God. How often do we do this? O, God, come quickly! We should be praying and hoping for another world, not this one. We need to live for the next world – to expect and hope for it. It is okay to hope in this life as well – there are some big things – this is exciting – but our big hope should be in the next life.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
He has explained His will in the rest of the sermon – He has given us a detailed account – radical love and righteousness. To live out on earth what we will live out in heaven. When we are in His presence, what will we be like? Begin to live that way now. Yes, it is just the beginning, but that is what this cry is about.
Prayer can be a really scary thing – Do I really want this? Do I really want His will done on earth? For us, that means loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, giving to everyone who asks of us, rejoicing when we are persecuted – and the list goes on and on. If we pray that, we need to live that. We need to carry out what we are praying.
The other thing with this – we have to be careful not to tie this Kingdom coming with some kind of moralism – political or otherwise – we need to tie it to the cross. What did Jesus say in the garden? Not My will, but Thine be done. His will being done on earth, it will mean a cross for us too. For Jesus it meant a cross –the giving up of Himself that people may be brought into relationship with Him. It MUST MEAN giving up our lives so that other people may come into a relationship with a heavenly father. Sacrificing our wants – sacrificing our personality at times, our needs, preferences, etc., that we might be able to proclaim this message in such a way that they may see our good works. It is living the Sermon on the Mount on the inside – and then living it on the outside.
11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
He puts the personal pronouns in the plural – even though prayer should be done in private – it should also be done in community – and it is hard to make this a habit of life. I urge you to pray for one another. In your small groups- pray. Try to end your smallgroup with prayer. It is pretty simple. It is true for most churches – the prayer meeting is the least attended meeting! We fall short on this – but it ought to be part of our culture. We acknowledge that this needs to pick up. Let’s pray.
Lord, thank You again – we want to learn to be a house of prayer – thank You for Gigi’s card idea – it is a small thing but should remind us to pray for one another. Help us in our small groups – fellowship times – that we would close and open before You. We should pray for one another’s’ needs – that Your will would be done here as it is in heaven.