Opening Video: The Lords Prayer by Jackie Evancho
Sermon: Find joy in the journey through The Lord’s Prayer!
Scripture: Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Thesis: Jesus was filled with joy and this inner joy came from His relationship with God the Father through prayer. Prayer and inner joy are linked together because prayer opens a door to the presence and guidance of the Lord. Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer as a model or outline to use to pray his way!
Very important to note: The Lord’s prayer is not to be simply memorized and repeated without a heartfelt commitment and connection with God. If it becomes nothing more than a repeated mantra then it is only the hypocritical mumbling that Jesus had just condemned the religious leaders of the day for in the beginning of Matthew 6. This prayer was never meant to be mimicked and just repeated; it was to serve as an outline, or a personal guide to how to pray to God the Father. This famous prayer requires an honest love for God on the part of the one praying it or it means nothing. The Lord’s Prayer was given by Jesus when one of His followers asked Jesus to “Teach us how to pray!”
Main Point: This prayer is a model prayer of how to pray 1st and foremost – you can repeat as is but it is meant by Jesus to be a model to follow on how to pray.
Pass out handout by Dr. Larry Lea on The Lord’s Prayer (walk through it with church).
T.S. - Let’s take a closer look line by line of the Lord’s prayer and learn How to pray to God!
The following points and thoughts were gleamed from: https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/the-lords-prayer-bible-verses-and-study/#ixzz5zLITHxsk - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Prayer#Analysis, and from the Book of Common Prayer and https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lords-prayer_b_4697047
I. Line 1 of the Lord’s Prayer – comes off the heels of Jesus saying, “Pray like this!” (Matthew 6: 9a)
a. Jesus starts teaching us how to properly pray and who we are to be addressing with our prayers:
i. He states, “Our Father, which art in heaven” or “Our Father in Heaven” depending on your translation:
1. The subject of our prayers are to God the Father – We are not praying to some distant deity in the sky but to our family father – our “abba father” – He is not a disconnected deity or mythical god but He is our father and we need to address him as such.
a. We would not address our own father with religious words or religious gimmicks to get his attention would we?
i. We would just say, “Dad I have a problem!”
ii. “Dad can you help me!”
iii. “Dad I need some wisdom and your help!”
iv. “Dad can we talk?”
1. We don’t say, “Father – GOOOODDDD!!!!! Yeah! Mighty one and oh reverent one of the universe! God – Amen - yes my God! Our fathers would look at us like what is wrong with you? – do you get my point?
v. The word "Our" indicates that the prayer is from one of His children who call God their "Father".
1. The point here is we are connected – we are family!
2. One author worded it this way: “Our Father” — Not mine alone but ours, which makes me less self-centered and more conscious of those around me. As I walk alone, I understand this to extend to everything I see, hear and feel: the birds, the trees, the stones under my feet — we are all connected to “our Father.”
b. In heaven" indicates that the Father who is being addressed is distinct from human fathers on earth and he dwells in another realm.
i. This part of praying reminds us who we are praying too – the all powerful Creator of the Universe who gave us life – He is in a place waiting for our arrival one day – but He literally dwells in a place called Heaven.
2. It is also important to note we do not pray to men – to mythical Gods – to trees – to idols we pray to our father – He is the one we are to be addressing with our prayers.
a. By the way we do not pray to saints who have passed either – we pray to God the Father!
II. The Second line of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9b)
a. Jesus says pray like this to God the Father in Heaven, “Hallowed be thy Name” or “Hallowed be your name”
i. The idea Jesus is teaching us about how to pray is to make sure when we address God the Father we address him with respect, and reverence because He is Holy!
1. We don’t treat God the Father with disrespect – we do not use His name in vain – we don’t use his name thinking we can manipulate His will or trick Him in doing something outside His holy nature!
a. Wiki notes, “Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams explains this phrase as a petition that people may look upon God's name as holy, as something that inspires awe and reverence, and that they may not trivialize it by making God a tool for their purposes, to "put other people down, or as a sort of magic to make themselves feel safe".
2. God’s name is holy and indicative of who He is which is expressed by His character and actions – He is Holy!
a. See Dr. Larry Lea’s handout on the names of God from Could You Not Tarry book!
i. The five benefits expressed in the New Covenant by the names of God! Highlight!
1. These names and this line and phrase says to us: "Understand who you're talking too - this is serious business, this is the most wonderful, personal encounter with God we can have and the most frightening reality that we could imagine or experience on this earth,”
b. Key point - The phrase and teaching of Jesus on “How to Pray” warns us about using the name of the Lord God in vain and therefore breaking one of the Ten commandments. Do not address God with the wrong attitude or mindset!
III. Line three of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10)
a. Jesus moves from who we address to doing it with the right attitude and approach to now expressing how we should pray for God’s Kingdom to come in its fullness to the earth. Jesus says it this way, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” or “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”
i. See: Matthew 6:10
1. Wiki notes, "This petition has its parallel in the Jewish prayer, 'May he establish his Kingdom during your life and during your days.' In the gospels Jesus speaks frequently of God's kingdom, but never defines the concept: "He assumed this was a concept so familiar that it did not require definition." Concerning how Jesus' audience in the gospels would have understood him, G. E. Ladd turns to the concept's Hebrew Biblical background: "The Hebrew word malkuth refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule and only secondarily to the realm over which a reign is exercised. When malkuth is used of God, it almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King." This petition looks to the perfect establishment of God's rule in the world in the future, an act of God resulting in the eschatological order of the new age.”
ii. This teaching on “How to pray” by Jesus tells us when we pray - we should want God’s plan to be carried out in this earth like it is carried out in heaven by His direction.
1. As a part of the family of God we should approach prayer with our father as in connection with His will and plan for the expanse of His kingdom on this earth as it is Heaven.
2. It’s about praying in connection to His plans not our plans!
a. Is your prayers self-centered or God -centered or a Kingdom minded focus.
b. Baker notes “The servant of God looks for the rule of God to become actual in more and more lives” (Vol. 2, page 1350).
c. Wiki notes, “The request for God's kingdom to come is commonly interpreted at the most literal level: as a reference to the belief, common at the time, that a Messiah figure would bring about a kingdom of God. Traditionally, the coming of God's kingdom is seen as a divine gift to be prayed for, not a human achievement.”
d. Hilda C. Graef notes that “the operative Greek word, basileia, means both kingdom and kingship (i.e., reign, dominion, governing, etc.), but that the English word kingdom loses this double meaning. Kingship adds a psychological meaning to the petition: one is also praying for the condition of soul where one follows God's will.”
e. William Barclay, this phrase is a couplet with the same meaning as "Thy kingdom come." Barclay argues: "The kingdom is a state of things on earth in which God's will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven... To do the will of God and to be in the Kingdom of God are one and the same thing."
f. John Ortberg interprets this phrase as follows: "Many people think our job is to get my afterlife destination taken care of, then tread water till we all get ejected and God comes back and torches this place. But Jesus never told anybody—neither his disciples nor us—to pray, 'Get me out of here so I can go up there.' His prayer was, 'Make up there come down here.' Make things down here run the way they do up there." The request that "thy will be done" is God's invitation to "join him in making things down here the way they are up there."
g. Huff Post worded it this way: “This one had me puzzled for a while, but I finally understood the first line might suggest that “thy kingdom come” was pending. In other words, until, or in lieu of, the full realization of God’s kingdom, we must strive to emulate on earth how business is conducted in heaven. Meaning, purvey all that is right and true and good and kind.”
b. Point – we should approach God with kingdom centered prayers – not self-centered prayers which do not align with His Divine will and plan for the Kingdom of Heaven on this earth.
IV. Line 4 of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11)
a. Jesus said when we pray we should ask for the following from God the Father “Give us this day our daily bread”
i. Wiki notes, “Jerome translated "?p???s???" (epiousios) as "supersubstantialem" in the Gospel of Matthew, but chose "cotidianum" ("daily") in the Gospel of Luke…"Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of "this day," to confirm us in trust "without reservation." Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence. Taken literally (epi-ousios: "super-essential"), it refers directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the "medicine of immortality," without which we have no life within us."
ii. The message on how to pray – is it should be done daily – we should pray daily for God’s provision for the day – hints at praying in the morning asking for God’s provision throughout the day.
1. We should as believers living with a daily dependence on God’s provision – this connects with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
2. What are these things?
a. Your life’s needs:
i. Like food and drink
ii. Like your clothes
1. You can pray for these things daily – but it does not address praying for cars – new houses – more money – more stuff! We need a proper perspective on what we should be praying for daily!
2. Luxuries are not in the mix!
b. Jesus also said in this context in Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
i. Benny Hinn’s comment this week: Headline Christian Post: Benny Hinn admits his teachings on prosperity 'damaged a lot of people,' 'got out of hand'
1. Writer states, “Televangelist Benny Hinn has admitted his teachings on prosperity “got out of hand” and “damaged a lot of people” and said he wants the remaining years of his ministry to focus on evangelism and the Gospel — not the “health and wealth” theology that made him millions. Since the 1980s, Hinn has been one of the most notorious purveyors of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God rewards active faith and faithful payments of tithes and offerings with health and wealth.
2. In his first TV interview since publicly renouncing prosperity theology earlier in September, Hinn told Encounter TV host David Diga Hernandez that when he entered the ministry at 21, his goal was to share the Gospel. However, as he gained popularity in the '90s, Hinn admitted he became “distracted.” (to read more see https://www.christianpost.com/news/benny-hinn-admits-his-teachings-on-prosperity-damaged-a-lot-of-people-got-out-of-hand.html)
c. HuffPost notes this about our instruction from Jesus: “Give us this day — we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. Give thanks for what we have been given in this moment. “Our daily bread” doesn’t only pertain to physical nourishment. In my interpretation, it pertains to spiritual nourishment. In other words, please grant me all that I need on this day in order to fulfill the preceding commitment about doing it like it’s done in heaven.”
b. Point: We need to pray daily for our basic needs and God will supply them but I don’t see we are to pray for excess, materialism and the like just our basic need.
i. Story maybe this is why when we were in Grygla at Liberty Chapel the checks that came each month varied a little but always meet our exact expenses that month.
V. Line five of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12)
a. Jesus tells us when we pray we need to have our hearts and minds in the right frame of mind – a forgiveness mindset – not a unforgiving attitude and mindset. He states, “And forgive us our trespasses (Luke says sins) , as we forgive them that trespass against us” or “Forgive us our debts (Luke says sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors”
i. Wiki notes, “The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches tend to use the rendering "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists are more likely to say "trespasses… those who trespass against us". The "debts" form appears in the first English translation of the Bible, by John Wycliffe in 1395 (Wycliffe spelling "dettis"). The "trespasses" version appears in the 1526 translation by William Tyndale (Tyndale spelling "treaspases"). In 1549 the first Book of Common Prayer in English used a version of the prayer with "trespasses". This became the "official" version used in Anglican congregations. On the other hand, the 1611 King James Version, the version specifically authorized for the Church of England, has "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors".
ii. As part of the family God we have been forgiven of our sins by Jesus great sacrifice – therefore since we have received forgiveness for our sins as an act of grace – something we do not deserve then we should pass on to others this same grace and forgiveness.
1. We are instructed by Jesus to forgive others because we have been forgiven – un-forgiveness will impact how God the Father hears our prayers.
2. If we are unwilling to forgive others then we have not experienced the genuine forgiveness of God for our sins – we in turn have a problem with God and His command to forgive others – yes connections are impacted by the sin of unforgiveness! This will impact God’s response to our prayers!
a. Wiki notes, “The generally accepted interpretation is thus that the request is for forgiveness of sin... Asking for forgiveness from God was a staple of Jewish prayers. It was also considered proper for individuals to be forgiving of others, so the sentiment expressed in the prayer would have been a common one of the time…"As we forgive ...". Divergence between Matthew's "debts" and Luke's "sins" is relatively trivial compared to the impact of the second half of this statement. The verses immediately following the Lord's Prayer,[Matt. 6:14–15] show Jesus teaching that the forgiveness of our sin/debt (by God) is linked with how we forgive others, as in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant [Matt. 18:23–35], which Matthew gives later. R. T. France comments: "The point is not so much that forgiving is a prior condition of being forgiven, but that forgiving cannot be a one-way process. Like all God's gifts it brings responsibility; it must be passed on. To ask for forgiveness on any other basis is hypocrisy. There can be question, of course, of our forgiving being in proportion to what we are forgiven, as 18:23–35 makes clear."
b. Huff Post notes, “This is a tough one; its interpretation is as unique and individual as each individual is unique. Why? Because as human beings, we’re imperfect. Many of us would prefer not to illuminate the truth about our trespasses against others. If we did (or did so more often), we’d see clearly we need to strive harder to do it “on earth as it is in heaven.” Doing so requires that we confront the three most powerful words any of us can say about ourselves, “I was wrong.”
b. Point: We need to forgive others if we want God to forgive us – we must pass on grace to others for God to hear and answer our prayers – un-forgivness can hinder our prayers with God.
VI. Line 6 of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 13)
a. Jesus says when you pray make sure you ask God the Father to keep you away from sinful temptations, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil.” Or “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”
i. Jesus wants us praying that we not lead astray by Evil or the influence of the Evil one!
1. The truth is only God can deliver us from Evil and the Evil One – It’s by His power and a connection to His holy Spirit that we can defeat and overcome evil – we cannot do it on our power!
2. James 1:13 makes it clear that God does not tempt people with evil – we are tempted by our own personal lusts and unholy mindsets.
ii. Wiki notes, “Interpretations of the penultimate petition of the prayer—not to be led by God into peirasmos—vary considerably. The range of meanings of the Greek word "pe??asµ??" (peirasmos) is illustrated in New Testament Greek lexicons.[55] In different contexts it can mean temptation, testing, trial, experiment.”
1. Note: Wiki notes, “Although the traditional English translation uses the word "temptation" and Carl Jung saw God as actually leading people astray, Christians generally interpret the petition as not contradicting James 1:13–14: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God', for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." Some see the petition as an eschatological appeal against unfavourable Last Judgment, a theory supported by the use of the word "peirasmos" in this sense in Revelation 3:10. Others see it as a plea against hard tests described elsewhere in scripture, such as those of Job. It is also read as: "Do not let us be led (by ourselves, by others, by Satan) into temptations". Since it follows shortly after a plea for daily bread (i.e., material sustenance), it is also seen as referring to not being caught up in the material pleasures given. A similar phrase appears in Matthew 26:41 and Luke 22:40 in connection with the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane.”
2. Wiki adds: “Translations and scholars are divided over whether the final word here refers to "evil" in general or "the evil one" (the devil) in particular. In the original Greek, as well as in the Latin translation, the word could be either of neuter (evil in general) or masculine (the evil one) gender. Matthew's version of the prayer appears in the Sermon on the Mount, in earlier parts of which the term is used to refer to general evil. Later parts of Matthew refer to the devil when discussing similar issues. However, the devil is never referred to as the evil one in any known Aramaic sources. While John Calvin accepted the vagueness of the term's meaning, he considered that there is little real difference between the two interpretations, and that therefore the question is of no real consequence. Similar phrases are found in John 17:15 and 2 Thessalonians 3:3.
3. James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”
b. Point: Jesus wants us praying that we are delivered from sin – from temptation and that God surrounds us with his Holy Spirit to protect us from Evil and the Evil One – we defeat the evil in this world and the evil one with His presence and power!
Conclusion:
A comment on the Doxology to the Lord’s Prayer many of us learned – which is connected to the Lord’s Prayer but not found in scripture as Jesus modeled for us to pray:
“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.”
The doxology of the prayer is not contained in Luke's version, nor is it present in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, representative of the Alexandrian text, although it is present in the manuscripts representative of the later Byzantine text. Most scholars do not consider it part of the original text of Matthew. New translations generally omit it.
The first known use of the doxology, in a less lengthy form ("for yours is the power and the glory forever"), as a conclusion for the Lord's Prayer (in a version slightly different from that of Matthew) is in the Didache, 8:2. It has similarities with 1 Chronicles—"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all."
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: The Lord’s pray was given to us by Jesus to teach us how to pray – it’s an outline to follow on how to pray – it’s not given to us to repeat without any thought to what we are saying!
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: If we want to pray the way Jesus prayed then we need to use this prayer as an outline for all of our prayers.
What do we need to do in light of this sermon?
Answer: Pray like Jesus taught us to pray – use as an outline for your prayers!
If you do this you will find joy in the journey of life from your prayer life patterned after Jesus prayer life.
Closing: Hillsong the Lord’s Prayer
