“The Lord’s prayer”
Matthew 6:9-13
Floating in the river:
About 6 or 7 years olds we lived in Washington State
Our family was playing in the cutout on the river,
apparently the river was taller than the barrier meant to keep people in and safe.
My tube floated right over the barrier and I was zoomed down the river.
I didn’t know I was headed towards the rapids:
Back then we didn’t think about life jackets
I was just sitting in the inner tube chilling out.
Floating towards the rapids
My dad yelled to me to “stay in the tube”
So I stayed in the tube enjoying the view of the trees
Of my dad running down the bank of the river
And my dad ran as fast as possible along the bank
to get ahead of me and keep me from drowning.
It wasn’t until later I learned the danger:
At the moment I had full confidence that my dad was in control of things
I wasn’t worried in the least
A few minutes later my dad plucked me out of the river.
I wasn’t scared, in fact I enjoyed the ride!!!
My dad didn’t have to prove he was trustworthy
I already trusted my dad
he had never failed me so I didn’t have any reason to think he would now.
Do we have that kind of TOTAL trust in God?
Where trouble lurks around every corner and
We trust God to protect and provide for us?
But do we know God well enough to trust Him?
Can we say with David:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
The message today is a message we all need to hear:
It is that God listens, God cares and God is our lifeline
Bob the Tomatoe has a message for all of us:
God is bigger than the boogie man.
He's bigger than Godzilla,
or the monsters on TV.
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man.
And He's watching out for you and me.
The Lord’s prayer teaches us to stay close to Jesus:
He is our life
He is our security
He is our mediator and Great high priest
Yet we often consider prayer a chore,
when it is really oxygen to our soul.
Prayer is the lifeline that connects us to the blessings of God
Keeps us on the right path
Prayer equips us, sustains us,
encourages and directs us
Pray is something a child can do, yet we adults often neglect
Jesus assumes that we will pray:
Matthew 6:5 says “when you pray”
Matthew 6:6 says “when you pray”
Matthew 6:7 says “when you pray”
Prayer is a privilege to be treasured, not an anchor to drag.
The Lord’s prayer is a model prayer:
It’s simple and sincere
Like the prayer of a child
It’s short in length, but deep in content
Listen as Jesus teaches us to pray:
It’s short and to the point
expressing full reliance on God from the heart
it asks for things and expects to get what it asks for
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Remember that God is control Matthew 6:9-10
God has brought Christians into His family
Human fathers have flaws and limitations
They get tired, run out of money, come short of wisdom
We make mistakes, have regrets, don’t always know what to do
Our heavenly Father is perfect and has no limitations
God is more than able to run and sustain this world:
Is higher than we can imagine
More powerful that we can fathom
He was before creation and will outlive this world.
The Lord is our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear?? Ps. 27:1
Praying: “ your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
We live on Earth, but we are submitting to God’s power in heaven.
We draw a line in the sand and stand on God’s side
Saying come Hell or high water I’m with you.
#1 Remember that God is in control
Trust God will provide for your needs Matthew 6:11
“Give us today our daily bread.”
When was the last time any of you missed a meal?
Not because you were too busy to eat, but bc there was no way to eat?
Not because you didn’t like what was available, but because nothing was available
God has blessed us:
What we lack is usually a want more than a need
God is faithful to our meet our needs
He takes good care of His children.
And we can trust God to provide for what we require.
This phrase always encourages me: “God hasn’t brought you this far to leave you now.”
The promise is for “daily bread”:
We provide the hungry, and God provides the meal
There are times when we’re hungry before dinner’s ready, so we learn patience
Often God only gives us what we need, and
only what we can handle
Remember in the Exodus:
God feed the entire nation daily
He provided quail and manna
They got sick of the same food everyday
But God provided for them.
They would gather what they needed for the day
But they were not allowed to stockpile any, or God would
“However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.” Exodus 16:20
God was teaching His people to depend on Him everyday:
Not to put confidence anywhere else.
People tend to worship what they have,
instead of praising the one who gave them what they have.
“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Psalm 37:25
Our greatest need is spiritual not physical:
Jesus took care of our greatest need on the cross of Calvary
He not only brought us a meal,
He is the bread of life
The blood of Jesus is available to all, for the forgiveness of sins.
#1 God is in control
#2 We can trust God to provide for our needs...
Forgive as God has forgiven you Matthew 6:12
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
All of us have:
Sinned and fall short of the Glory of God
Earned a one way ticket to Hell...
I’m reminded of the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:
A servant owed millions to the king
He could not pay
Threatened with jail, the servant begged for forgiveness
And FORGIVENESS of the Debt was given.
Later the servant ran across a man who owed him maybe $5:
He could not pay
Threatened with jail, the servant begged for forgiveness
And FORGIVENESS refused.
Had the man thrown into jail until he repaid the debt
The Master found out, as the Master always finds out:
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:32-35
What will we say if on judgement day God asks us the same question???
“Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” Matthew 18:33
Refusing to forgive others as Christ forgave you, puts your soul in danger.
#1 God is in control
#2 We can trust God to provide for our needs...
#3 Forgive as God has forgiven you
Depend on God’s protection Matthew 6:13
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Leroy Lawson writes on this section:
“But does God actually lead us to do wrong? No. In our idiom, this would sound more like, “And keep us out of trouble.” We acknowledge our bullheadedness, our impulsive jumps beyond good judgment, our adolescent curiosity to dally in dens of iniquity. Help us overcome these baser instincts.”
Temptation is tough:
Appealing to the flesh,
dangerous for the soul
In our weakness we ought to cry out in tears to the Lord
“Help me God, because without you I have no hope.
I don’t have the strength I need, but I know you can Deliver me from Evil!
Let’s review:
#1 God is in control
#2 We can trust God to provide for our needs...
#3Forgive as God has forgiven you
#4 Depend on God’s protection
The Lord’s prayer is simply a prayer of dependance on God:
Jesus is our only hope
It’s a declaration that we trust God
And that Without Jesus we are doomed:
The road without Jesus leads to Hell
We are dead in our sin
With not way to pay our debt
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” Hebrews 9:27
Our lives are described in the Bible as a “midst, or a breath:
It’s here and then it’s gone
Life is short and fleeting, eternity is coming
Everyday we are one day closer to judgment day
We have no excuse for our sin, and no way to earn our way into heaven
But you have BETTER option:
You can accept Jesus as your savior and be Baptized for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit
You can choose to follow Jesus, and to allow Him to be your mediator between you and God
You can allow Jesus to take your sin away, to pay for it with His blood….
You see Jesus doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell:
He came from heaven to die and gruesome death for YOU
The Devil would have you believe that God wants to send people to Hell,
But the truth is the exact opposite,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Why not make today the day you give your life to Christ?
