More than Just an Amen!
Matthew 6:13b
Chenoa Baptist Church
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
04-07-19
Stand Up
If you have ever attended Handel’s Messiah, you know what happens when the Hallelujah Chorus begins. As one, the audience rises to their feet. Legend has it that a king was so moved by the work that he stood and royal protocol stated that when the king stands, everyone stands. It’s way of showing honor and respect the musicians and ultimately to the Messiah Himself, Jesus.
Full Circle
The disciples were so stunned by Jesus’ intimacy with the Father that they asked Him to “teach them to pray.” He gave them a model prayer, just 57 words in the Greek and it takes 20 seconds to pray. But for the last two thousand years, believers on every continent have prayed these words.
Many weeks ago, we began this series by concentrating on God’s Name being hallowed. The Lord’s Prayer begins with praise and, as we come to the last words of the prayer today, we will see that it ends with praise as well. Between these two bookends of praise, are requests for His kingdom to come, His will be done, our daily bread be provided, that we would forgive in the same way we are forgiven, and that God will protect us from temptation and the Evil One.
This morning we will look at the last words of the prayer. Let’s start by taking the pew Bibles and placing our fingers on this verse so we can get our bearings.
Where is it?
As you may have figured out, it’s not there. This verse is not in the NIV or ESV. It is in the NKJ but is put into brackets in the NASB. What is going on here?
We do not have any of the original documents of the books of the Bible. We have copies, many of them very early copies. This verse is not found in the Latin versions of the early manuscripts but it is found in the early Greek manuscripts. This is one of reasons that Catholics are often surprised when they attend a Protestant Church and hear us in the prayer with, “Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, Amen.”
Some commentators believe that a scribe or translator added these words later. But we know that a Jewish teacher would not end a prayer with our attention on the “evil one.” They would end it with a doxology.
What is a Doxology?
One commentator defines a doxology as “an ascription of praise that is at the same time a plea to be heard and answered.”
The Bible is full of doxologies. The Old Testament is full of doxologies:
Daniel wrote:
“How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.” (Dan 4:3)
Paul often breaks out into praise in the middle of his letters:
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (I Tim 1:17)
“To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21)
Peter cannot contain himself when writing about the grace of Jesus:
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)
John was given front row seats to the doxology of heaven:
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:13)
But the doxology that I think that Jesus had in mind when He gave this ending is David’s words in I Chronicles 29. David had asked God if he could build a temple for him but God says that it would be his son Solomon that would ultimately build the temple. David asked the people to help his son by giving an offering and he was so overwhelmed by the generosity of the people that he breaks out into worship.
“Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” (I Chron 29:10-13)
Jesus and his disciples very well knew these words well and it would have been fitting to end such an incredible prayer with words of worship.
Let’s just walk through the verse together word by word and see what the Lord wants to teach us today.
Prayer
Please hear my Prayer!
For Yours…
The verse begins with the word “for” which actually means “because.” In other words, here’s why you should hear my prayer. Because You are a gracious King who has all power and all glory. You have the ability and the resources to answer these pleas.
Matthew Henry wrote that it is “our duty to plead with God in prayer.” This pleading is not begging but based on our deep confidence in God’s goodness and love. It isn’t to change God but to deepen our faith and increase our zeal and trust.
We present our requests before Him knowing that He will also work on behalf of His Kingdom and that He will move based on his power and glory.
The word “Yours” is in the possessive form. This means to You alone belong the kingdom, power and glory.
The Kingdom
There are three things which we praise God for at the end of this prayer – His Kingdom, His Power, and His Glory.
Notice that in the second request we ask God for his kingdom to come. We learned about the already/not yet quality of the kingdom of God. But in this verse, we affirm that the Kingdom is His. It’s not my kingdom or yours. It’s God’s sovereign rule and reign that makes all the difference.
“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose, What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.” (Isaiah 46:10-11)
Throughout Scripture, Jesus is described as a king. In Daniel, He’s the ‘king of heaven” (Dan 4:37). In Matthew, the “king of the Jews.” (Matt 2:2). In John, He’s the king of Israel (John 1:49). In I Timothy, He’s the “king of the ages” (I Tim 1:17) and the “king of kings.” (I Tim 6:15) In the Psalms, He’s the “king of glory.” (Psalm 24:7)
We ask for His kingdom to come knowing that He inaugurated His kingdom at the first coming and will consummate it at His return.
When Napoleon had been exiled for the final time he wrote these words:
“I die before my time and my body be given back to the earth to be devoured by worms. What an abysmal gulf between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ. I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself, Alexander, and Caesar should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant, Jesus, should be able to reach His hands across the centuries and control the destiny of men and nature.”
At the name of Jesus, every tongue shall confess and every knee shall bow. (Phil 2)
Here’s the very simple question for you today? What do you do before a king? You bow and submit yourself to His rule and reign in your life. Is He your king?
Dynamite
Next, Jesus says “Yours is the power.” This Greek word is dunamis. It’s where we get our word dynamite.
Paul wrote about this power to the church at Colosse:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Col 1:15-18)
God is all-powerful. The theological word is omnipotent. Jeremiah knew this:
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jer 32:17)
The specific context of this power is the power to answer prayer. In the middle of a prayer for the Ephesian Christians, Paul breaks into doxology concerning God’s power to answer prayer:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Do you believe God answers prayers? Does He answer your prayers? Does He have the power to do whatever He needs to do in your life? Can he provide, pardon, and protect you?
On November 9th, 1989, I was sitting in the waiting room at National Tire Wholesale waiting for my tires to be rotated. The waiting room was full but no one said a word. We were all glued to the small tv in the top corner of the room.
On the screen was a sight that many of us simply could not explain. Germans, from East and West, were standing, dancing on top of the Berlin Wall. For over 40 years, that wall had stood as a symbol of oppression and communism’s hold over the Eastern Europe. And now, as we watched live, people were taking pick axes to the wall.
In June of 1987, Ronald Reagan had famous stood before this same wall and famously said:
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
After the wall fell, it was Reagan who credited the prayers of millions of people throughout the world and said the wall came down because of the power of God.
God still brings down walls. He is powerful enough to destroy the dividing line of race that still plagues our country. He is powerful enough to tear down the wall between a marriage that is struggling. He is powerful enough to tear down the wall between a parent and an angry child. He is powerful enough to tear down the wall between sinners and Himself through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
The last of the three words is “glory.” The Greek word is “kabod.” It literally means “weighty or heavy.” It means to assign weight to God’s character.
David writes in Psalm 29:
“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” (Psalm 29:1-2)
The Greek word for glory is “doxa,” from which we get the word doxology.
God is a God of glory, majesty, splendor, beauty, and brilliance:
“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” (I Tim 6:15-16)
When people experienced God’s glory they ended up on their faces trembling and fearing for their lives.
God glory can be seen most clearly in the Person of Jesus Christ:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6)
Bach signed all of his musical compositions with the initials “S.D.G.” which means glory to God alone. He probably had in mind Romans 11:36:
“For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
How do we glorify God? By worshipping Him, individually and corporately. By trusting His promises. By confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. By telling others the good news of the Gospel. And by hallowing His Name in all the earth.
Jude ends his letter with this burst of praise:
“…to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 25)
I am praying that we would see God’s glory manifested in this place as we gather to worship Him. When Solomon had finished building the Temple, they stopped to worship and something glorious happened:
“The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres.
They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
“He is good; his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.” (I Chron 5:11-14)
That’s my prayer. I pray that we will be so overwhelmed by his glory that we would not be able to stand. After attending a worship conference, I sat in my hotel room and wrote these words in my journal:
Not Enough
Words – reaching, straining, pulling
not enough not enough
My lips move, my tongue wags
not enough, not enough
Palms out-turned, knees bruised
not enough, not enough
Fluid motion, flux-filled emotion
not enough, not enough
Mind-bending mystery
Soul-stretching intrigue
Kneeling, Dancing
Wistful Whispers, Subtle Shouts
not enough, not enough
Glory, Glory, Glory!
Holy, Holy, Holy!
Ruined! Woe to me.
Restoration, Reclamation
Incarnation – Jesus Christ
The lion and the lamb
Good, Good, Good
Enough!
My words – reaching, straining, pulling
not enough, not enough.
Forever
Many people struggle with the concept of eternity. How long is forever? Well, forever. Our view of the future profound affects our state of mind in the present.
Imagine you are working a job you don’t like. But I come to you and say that at the end of the your time at that job, I’ll give you a $100 bonus. So what? That wouldn’t motivate anyone to work harder or care more. But what if you knew at the end of the job you will be given 15 billion dollars? I think that might change everything. It would probably cause you not to worry about so much of the small stuff and concentrate on what is to come:
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)
His Kingdom will last forever. His power will protect us forever. His glory will be manifested forever. This is such good news.
David wrote, “But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:27)
And the writer of Hebrews assures us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)?
We will all live forever, either in a place the Bible calls heaven with Jesus or a place that the Bible calls hell, separated from Jesus forever.
Jesus opened the door to heaven for us. All you have to do is trust His sacrificial death on the cross to pay your sin debt and commit your life to Him.
The Amen!
There is one more word in this verse we need to look at. It is the small Hebrew word, “Amen.” This word can mean “firmness or truth, truly, or so be it.”
In this culture, we use the word all the time, often times to show that we agree with someone. We often tack this on to the end of a prayer without really understanding the power of the word.
We are literally saying, “Yes Lord, this is our prayer and we mean in with all our heart!”
Jesus is called “The Amen” in Revelation and it is in His name we pray this prayer.
So What?
Ray Pritchard points us to three things that this verse teaches us:
1. It points us back to God as the source for all our blessings. The prayer begins with God and ends with God. And everything else in between is a gift from God.
2. It teaches us to keep the faith in times of trouble. In the dark valleys we need to remind ourselves that God is in charge and He loves us and is building his kingdom. When we are tempted to lose hope, we need to remind ourselves that God is all-powerful and has promised to support and provide and protect His children.
3. It teaches us to praise God always. When things are going well, we will praise Him. When things are not going well, we will praise Him. Every day as we pray this prayer, we end it with a doxology of praise and worship to the God who has all authority, all power, and is glorious beyond description. That prayer centers us and focuses us on the only One worthy of such praise.
When Louis the XIV, called the Sun King, died, people prepared for a royal funeral. Some wondered what would be said in the eulogy since Louis was an immoral man who had mistresses and many illegitimate children. When the priest stood to start the service, the room grew silent. After a pause, the priest started the service by saying, “Only God is great!”
The Lord’s Prayer
Communion
