UNTIL WE PRAY-IV—Matthew 6:5-15
Attention:
We have discovered that our independence as a nation is tied to prayer. We have also found that our ministries as a church are bound to prayer as well.
Our VBS is worth celebrating when we embrace truth...
Our VBS is not worth celebrating when we shirk/release truth.
We cannot celebrate ministry efforts unless we celebrate independence from sin, self, & the world, thru a dependence upon God in Christ.
Need:
?Can America receive God’s blessings when she will not embrace the true & living God?
?Can our ministry efforts receive God’s blessings when we will not embrace the true & living God?
Jesus presented a model to guide His disciples praying.
God’s people have guidance to help them in prayer.
How are God’s people to direct/guide their prayers?
When are our prayers successful?
10 realities which must be embraced for successful prayer.
Until we Pray we are not free...
We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...
1. God’s MANNER(:9a)
2. God’s FATHERHOOD(:9b)
3. God’s REVERENCE(:9c)
4. God’s SOVEREIGNTY(:10a)
5. God’s DESIRE(:10b-c)
6— We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...
God’s PROVISION(:11)
Explanation:(:11)
:11—“Give us this day our daily bread.”
God’s people are to ask God to provide for their “daily” sustenance. This does not mean that I am to wait for God to prepare a meal with no input from me, from field to table. God’s people are instead to recognize the provision of their Father. They are also to desire & expect their Father’s “daily” provision from His hands. We are to ask for His provision. We are to keep His “daily” provision in heart & mind at all times so that it will animate our prayers.
“Bread” is also representative of all our needs. Therefore our prayers for provision tie together physical as well as spiritual needs. Without having our physical needs met, there is not need for spiritual ones.
Our very sustenance is a concern & provision of God.
Argumentation:
**2Cor. 9:10-11—“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, & bread for food, supply & multiply the seed you have sown & increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”
**Lk. 18:29-30—“So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, & in the age to come eternal life.””
**Acts 17:24-28—““God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”
Illustration:
A conservation area/Tate’s Hell State Forest--Apalachicola National Forest, etc./An environment is maintained from without for the support of native animals & plants/Given abundant freedom/God’s PROVISION
A godly family/A child may not realize that they are a product of that godly family/Within the realm of that family’s infrastructure, their needs are accommodated/God’s PROVISION
Application:
?Your Prayers embrace God’s PROVISION?
?Can we receive God’s blessings when we will not embrace God?
7— We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...
God’s FORGIVENESS(:12, 14-15)
Explanation:(:12, 14-15)
:12—“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.”
God’s people must also ask that God “forgive” their(individual & corporate) “debts.”
“As” says that our “forgiveness” of others—who are indebted to us—illustrates/speaks directly to the manner in which God “forgives” us(:14-15). Thereby our decision to “forgive” or not to “forgive” is a continual reminder of God’s willingness/decisiveness regarding our own capacity for “forgiveness” before Him. Thus our prayers must recall our indebtedness to God at all times.
“ “Trespasses” is a mistranslation made common by the Church of England Prayer Book. It is correct in verse 14 in Christ's argument about prayer, but it is not in the Model Prayer itself.”—RWP
Parallel:
Lk. 11:4—“And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.””
“Forgive”2X—afihmi—1) To send away; 2) To permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person; 3) To leave, go way from one. Strong—from apo[a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near)] & ihmi(To send; an intensive form of eimi, To go); To send forth, in various applications.
“Debts”—ofeilhma—1) That which is owed—1a) That which is justly or legally due, a debt; 2) metaph.--Offence, sin. Strong—Something owed, i.e. (figuratively--A due; morally--A fault. Used 2X.
“Debtors”—ofeilethv—1) One who owes another, a debtor—1a) One held by some obligation, bound by some duty, 1b) One who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured:—1b1) One who owes God penalty or whom God can demand punishment as something due, i.e. A sinner. Strong—1) One who owes another, a debtor—1a) One held by some obligation, bound by some duty, 1b) One who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured:—1b1) One who owes God penalty or whom God can demand punishment as something due, i.e. a sinner. Used 7X.
:14—““For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
:15—“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
If God’s people “forgive” others(“men”) for their transgressions(“trespasses” cf.—“debts”:12) against us, then God will forgive our transgressions against Him. It follows, therefore, that if we will not “forgive” those who have transgressed against us, then God will not “forgive” our transgressions either. If we cannot “forgive”, we are not Christians. Thus we are neither peacemakers nor gentle as was & is Jesus(Gal. 5:22-23; 1Tim. 6:11; Eph. 4:2).
Unwillingness & inability to forgive is a sign that I am unregenerate. thus forgiveness is more than an action undertaken or words spoken outwardly...It resides in the heart!
“The word "trespass" is literally "falling to one side," a lapse or deviation from truth or uprightness. The ancients sometimes used it of intentional falling or attack upon one's enemy, but "slip" or "fault" (Gal. 6:1) is the common New Testament idea. Parabasiv (Rom. 5:14) is a positive violation, a transgression, conscious stepping aside or across.”—RWP
?Where would you be without God’s forgiveness?
An ability to truly forgive is a sign of spiritual regeneration in Christ.
Loving as God loves frees us to forgive even our most evil of enemies.
English “forgive” means to ‘for-’(extremity of negative state—despite knowledge of worthiness or lack thereof) ‘give.’—To not ‘give as good as you’ve gotten/been given.’
“Forgive”2X—afihmi—1) To send away; 2) To permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person; 3) To leave, go way from one. Strong—from apo[a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near)] & ihmi(To send; an intensive form of eimi, To go); To send forth, in various applications.
“Trespasses”3X—paraptwma—1) To fall beside or near something; 2) A lapse or deviation from truth & uprightness—2a) A sin, misdeed. Paraptwma is used in different senses, sometimes in a milder sense, denoting an error, a mistake, a fault; & sometimes meaning a trespass, a willful sin. Strong—A side-slip(lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional)--Error or (willful) transgression. Used 23X.
From—parapiptw—To fall aside, i.e. figuratively--To apostatize.
Argumentation:
**Ps. 66:18—“If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”
**Lk. 6:37-38—““Judge not, & you shall not be judged. Condemn not, & you shall not be condemned. Forgive, & you will be forgiven. Give, & it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, & running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.””
Jn. 20:23—[As Jesus prepared His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit]““If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.””
Christians hold the power of judgment in Christ!
**Acts 13:38-39—““Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man[Jesus] is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; & by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
**Jer. 31:31-34—““Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel & with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, & write it on their hearts; & I will be their God, & they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, & every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, & their sin I will remember no more.””
Mk. 14:23-24—“Then He took the cup, & when He had given thanks He gave it to them, & they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
**Mat. 18:21-35—21 Then Peter came to Him[Jesus] & said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, & I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife & children & all that he had, & that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, & forgave him the debt. 28 “But that servant went out & found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; & he laid hands on him & took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet & begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went & threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, & came & told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, & delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Illustration:
Blocker’s General Store in Kibbee, GA/Kept a file box of records of items Gary had allowed people to have without their paying(a ‘tab’)/Certain people are indebted to him/But the owners did not fret about the loss of money/The record was maintained(in the event someone will pay the tab!) but the amount was largely ignored/God’s FORGIVENESS
Application:
?Your Prayers embrace God’s FORGIVENESS?
?Can we receive God’s blessings when we will not embrace God?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
VBS viability
Action:
We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...
6. God’s PROVISION(:11)
7. God’s FORGIVENESS(:12, 14-15)
1. God’s MANNER(:9a)
2. God’s FATHERHOOD(:9b)
3. God’s REVERENCE(:9c)
4. God’s SOVEREIGNTY(:10a)
5. God’s DESIRE(:10b-c)
Presented 07/20/2014pm to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
