TEACH US TO PRAY
Part 5 – Praying for God’s Forgiveness.
TEXT: Matthew 6:9-13
Introduction
Verse 9:
9 After this manner therefore [in this way, and following after this example]…
Pray ye: Jesus said - And then He begins by simply praying this:
Our Father / which art in Heaven, / Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Please take careful note - The Lord’s Prayer begins with but one focus,
As Christ seeks to simply Reverence God.
In this example of prayer, Christ’s entire focus, at least initially…
Was solely on the Lord as opposed to being on Himself.
He starts by Reverencing the God
And then He Focuses on God’s Kingdom
And then He after Seeks God’s will.
And no matter how you look at it,
This prayer begins by acknowledging God and the things of God.
However, Christ’s Prayer of course continues
And we begin to see a subtle shift in focus,
And a change in how Jesus is prays.
Whereas the first two verses were all about who God is
And what God desires for us,
Now Jesus begins to address who we are…
And outlines some of the things we in turn need from Him.
Lets sum the next three verses up real quick – verse 11:
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Jesus Prays first: “Lord FEED US”.
Verse 12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
The next thing Jesus prays is: “Lord FORGIVE US”
And then on into verse 13 He says:
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
In other word’s Jesus prays: Lord stand with us, Lord protect us...
Or perhaps another way to put this is “FIGHT WITH US”.
Remember, the Scriptures teach that we are all involved in a Spiritual struggle
In fact, there is a spiritual battle going on right now around us
And it’s one we can never hope to win on our own in the Flesh.
We need the Lord’s help, we need God’s deliverance
And we need Him to fight with us…
And we’re going to study this in more detail through the weeks to come
Review & Recap
Our whole focus last week was on verse 11.
Jesus prayed: Give us this day our daily bread.
“Lord Feed Us.” – That’s what Jesus prayed.
And there are two parts to this prayer.
Firstly, there is a physical aspect to what Christ is praying,
As He requests of the Father daily provision for the sustenance our bodies require.
You see, physically speaking, our bodies need...
A consistent intake of food in order to survive.
Give us this day our daily bread – Jesus prayed
And do you know something?
God does provide for us in this way– and He always has.
Remember, last week we found ourselves back in Genesis
Where we saw very clearly how God created the herbs and crops of the field
Along with all the animals and fruit trees…
Which He in turn gave to mankind for our food.
And I love the words of the Psalmist found in Psalms 37:25:
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.
This does not mean that we as Children of God will not struggle,
Or face physical problems and hardships in our lives.
No – this verse merely attests to the fact
That God has always provided for what His people need physically.
And Jesus teaches that we ought to pray for God’s provision in this regard,
Saying, Give us this day our daily bread - Amen to that.
Of course, there is more to God’s provision in our daily lives…
Than just what He provides for our physical survival.
In fact, in Luke Chapter 4 Jesus acknowledges
How God not only provides for us physically…
But how He also provides for us spiritually as well.
In fact, as He was being tempted of the Devil in the wilderness He said:
Man shall not live by Bread alone – but by every Word of God
Here Jesus reminds us all that there is so much more necessary…
To our daily life and living than mere physical sustenance.
In fact, Jesus says we need His spiritual sustenance in our lives too.
And spiritually speaking – this is to be our “daily bread” (The Bible).
The Word of God is what feeds us spiritually.
In humble recognition of our humanity…
This is the first thing Jesus teaches us,
It’s that we would all simply learn to pray that God would provide for us everyday…
The things we need both physically and spiritually in our lives.
In verse 11, Jesus says: Lord Feed Us…
And then in verse 12 He says: Lord Forgive Us
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
FORGIVE US
Now it’s important to first recognise
That there are actually two distinct parts to this verse.
There are two separate aspects and spiritual principles
To the kind of “Forgiveness” Jesus is actually talking about here.
Firstly, there is God’s forgiveness of us,
And this is where we are going to spend the majority of our time this evening.
However secondly, Jesus also highlights our need to also forgive others.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
There is an interesting truth and principle taught here.
Mainly – God expects us to be actively forgiving others…
For the wrongs they have done to us.
This is not a principle that comes naturally.
We tend to hold more to an eye for an eye mentality.
You wrong me – I’ll wrong you...
You hurt me – I’ll hurt you...
You cross me – and I will not forgive you.
These are the feelings that come most naturally to us in the flesh.
Although the witness and testimony we are left from Christ is quite different.
Jesus shows us that we ought to actively forgive others...
In the same way God is actively sought to forgive us.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors …
But remember I said - there two parts to this verse.
There is a Part A… and there is a Part B
There is the part where we ask God to forgive us…
And then there is the part where we learn to forgive others.
I wish we could cover all this today – but we simply can’t,
So Let’s look at just the first part.
Because as Jesus addresses our Heavenly Father
He simply shows us that we ought to pray for Him to: Forgive us our debts
Now quite simply a “Dept” is something that is owed.
In the Greek this word Debt speaks of an “obligation that is strictly due”.
And more specifically, it carries with it the idea of a debt incurred
Because an “offence” or “sin” committed against another.
Now if I was to hazard a guess, I would say that most of us
Probably really only think of our debts in terms of dollars and cents.
But do you know what - the greatest debt we owe
Is actually not one that can be paid in monetary terms at all.
Because it is actually a debt due to the Lord...
For our sinful transgressions against Him.
Here Jesus reveals to us - one of the most fundamental things
Every Child of God ought to be praying for...
And that is for the Heavenly Father to - Forgive us of our debts
You see we all owe something to God,
And so much so – that we are greatly indebted to Him.
Let me put this another way.
God has left for us all His Word.
And this stands as His perfect law for life and living.
Now whenever break God’s law there are consequences,
A “dept” is incurred for the offence committed…
And there is a penalty that needs to be paid for that dept.
What’s more - is that the Bible tells us,
That whenever we sin – we’re actually breaking God’s Law.
1st John 3:4 teaches us this declaring:
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law.
If you have sinned, you have broken God’s Law – it’s that simple!
A Penalty has been incurred and a dept is owed.
James 2:10 provides further clarification around this fact saying:
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
So there is no distinction between a small transgression
Or a great transgression when it comes to God’s Holy Law.
Gods Law only remains perfect - if all of its aspects are upheld.
Therefore even if we only sin once…
The ramifications are we will be found guilty of breaking all aspects
Because God’s Law will no longer remain perfect in our lives.
And that breach incurs a sizeable dept on our part.
In fact, the Bible tells us exactly what we owe God for our transgressions saying:
For the wages of sin is death…(Rom 6:23)
Guys - sin in our lives brings with it a death penalty
And according to God’s perfect Law
Death is exactly the judgement we deserve for all our wrong doing.
That is the “debt” mankind currently owes God.
And to be honest – it’s a price none of us can afford to pay.
But thankfully we don’t have too pay that Dept
Because Jesus has already paid it for us:
God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).
Jesus laid down His life and shed His blood
So that our sins could be forgiven.
He paid the price and “debt” of our sins in full.
Jesus was God’s plan for our redemption right from the very start.
Matthew 1:21 made this promise concerning His coming:
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS:
for He shall save His people from their sins.
The book of Colossians 1:14 adds to this further by talking about Jesus saying:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Now bearing all of this is mind...
Take careful note of the example Jesus provides for us to follow in prayer,
He says - Forgive us of our depts
“Lord pardon us from all of our wrong doings,
And forgive us of our sins.”
Now that’s a truly amazing prayer…
Especially coming from one, who we know, was in fact sinless.
1 John 3:5 speaks of Christ saying:
And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.
And not only did Jesus live the sinless life…
But He fulfilled all aspects of God’s Holy Law
Which we have continually failed to uphold in our own lives.
Jesus said this in Matthew 5:17
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
It’s because Jesus Lived the perfect life
And fulfilled all aspects to God’s Holy Law…
That He was able to become the perfect sacrifice,
(That would to do away with the need for any other sacrifice)
And secure our salvation and redemption from our sin.
Only Jesus could do that - and He did that by talking our debt upon Himself,
And by shedding His blood and laying down His life on our behalf.
Eternal Vs Daily Forgiveness
Now when we get saved - the eternal penalty for our sins,
That is to say our spiritual dept and eternal consequence of our sin is lifted.
The dept we once owed God for transgressing His law is paid - thanks to Jesus,
The penalty of our sins is pardoned…
And the slate is effectively wiped clean.
Our promised home in heaven awaits us all one day – Amen!
And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. – 1 John 2:25
However, right now we still all remain and reside on this earth
And even though we might have a perfect Spirit,
We very much continue to live with this sinful flesh.
In other words – we will all still have a tendency to sin.
Now what’s interesting is that in this demonstration of Prayer
Jesus tells His disciples – who were already saved,
Those who already accepted Christ and were committed to following Him,
To pray by asking for God’s Forgiveness.
Now it’s important to note that there is a profound difference...
In receiving God’s Eternal Forgiveness and seeking His Daily Forgiveness
A lot of people and Religions do not understand this.
Seeking Eternal Forgiveness is all about accepting Christ as your personal Saviour,
And letting Him stand as the atonement for eternal consequence of our sins.
This is asked for once at the point of Salvation,
And according to God’s promise and by God’s grace...
Secures for us a home in Heaven forever.
That’s a one time action – because once you are saved – you are always saved.
Now Jesus wasn’t saying this - because the disciples needed to get saved,
Or because He was somehow advocating that they could lose their salvation…
And therefore needed to be saved again.
No – Once saved – always saved! God’s Eternal Forgiveness guarantee’s that.
In fact, this is exactly what the Scriptures teach.
Take note for example of what John 10:28-30 say:
Jesus said - 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Jesus says – I won’t let anyone or anything rob you of your salvation…
Once you receive my eternal forgiveness!
When you accept me as your Savior - I take you firmly in my hand!
Then Jesus continues to say in verse 29:
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
So here we are given this wonderful assurance and security regarding the Lord’s salvation.
Jesus says – I have you in one hand – and nothing will ever break my grip,
And then He says, The Father has you in His hand also - and nothing will ever break His grip.
Why did Jesus say this?
It’s because He wants you to know that the Promise of eternal life is sure,
And that once you receive His eternal forgiveness you are saved – and will always be saved.
But still we are not done – because then Jesus says in verse 30:
30 I and my Father are one. – And He says this reminding us of God’s Triune Nature,
God the Father has you in one hand securing your salvation
God the Son has you in the other hand securing your salvation,
And then Paul talks about... the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. - Ephesians 4:30
So every facet of God’s very being is committed to securing our salvation.
Because of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit...the great three in one,
Once we are saved – we are always saved.
That is the Eternal Forgiveness of God that is offered.
This is the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ...
And that promise only needs to be received once.
However, when Jesus is leading out in prayer here,
God’s eternal forgiveness & the promise of salvation is not what is being referred to.
Jesus was simply recognising the disciples humanity here
And demonstrating to them that there was going to be an
Ongoing need to seek God’s forgiveness in their lives.
Not because they needed to be saved over and over again
And not because it was going to impact on their Salvation,
But because their sinful tendencies in the flesh...
Were going to impact their Spiritual walk
And their daily relationship with the Lord.
One saved - always saved...but our sinful tendencies in the flesh remain.
SIN CONTINUES TO AFFECTS US
Let’s see some examples in the Scriptures
Of how our sins when left unchecked
Can impact our relationship with the Lord. Isaiah 59:2
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.
God says your iniquities are what is separating me and you,
And your sins are what is stopping us from communing together face to face.
The Psalmist David explains this differently in Psalms 38:3-4
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
The Psalmist simply says my sin became an enormous burden for me.
It kindled the Anger of the Lord…
It stifled my Rest…
It robed me of my Peace…
And became a weight far to heavy for me to carry.
And then there is this somewhat sobering verse in Jeremiah 5:25
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
Now isn’t that a sad indictment…
I mean God just wants to bless out lives
And to share all His goodness with us,
But sadly our sins sometimes stand in the way.
Now we put all this together and its easy to see that
In a nut shell – our sins are bad…but God’s forgiveness is good.
Jesus instructed the Disciples to Pray for God’s forgiveness
Because He understood that
Continuing to experience God’s forgiveness in their lives…
Was going to be of the utmost importance.
Through God’s forgiveness not only are our wrongs are made right…
But we are able to remain close fellowship with God
And receive His best in our lives.
Now let me show you all just how great God’s forgiveness can be.
Turn with me to Micah 7
1) OUT OF SIGHT
Lets pick up our reading together in verse 18:
18 Who is a God like unto thee,
Who can we compare God too?
That pardoneth iniquity [or forgives sin], and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of His heritage?
Notice that God is prepared to “pass by”
The transgressions of His Covenant people.
And I don’t know if you can appreciate this or not,
But in order to pass by something…
You have to be prepared to not only turn your back on it,
But to also to leave it behind.
And if something is behind us – its not right in front of us
If we pass by something - We can no longer see it.
When the Lord forgives our sin – He leaves it behind.
Notice the last part of 18:
He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.
Unlike us, God doesn’t hold a grudge against all the wrongs we do,
Because He delights in sharing His love with us. Verse 19:
19 He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue [restrain or tread under foot] our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
What a neat picture the Prophet Micah paints for us here
Of the Lord’s forgiveness in our lives.
He tells us first, that God is prepared to “pass by”…
And to completely leave behind our sins,
Because He doesn’t hold a grudge.
Then he goes onto say
That God is prepared to subdue our iniquities
Which literally means to “tread our sins under His feet”.
And then – we are told that He will throw them away.
You see, once genuine forgiveness is sought from God
The Lord no longer wants those sins to be a burden
Or mill stone around our neck.
In fact, His desire is to take those sins
And to “cast them into the midst of the sea”.
Never to be seen or heard from again.
You know, the sea is a pretty vast place
And even with all of today’s modern technologies
There are still places around the world
Where they still haven’t found the bottom yet.
I’m talking about places on the ocean floor that are completely out of sight.
Have you ever been out at sea and lost something overboard?
I have – and it’s a rather unfortunate experience
Because all you can really do
Is sit there and watch as your cherished possessions
Disappear into the depths.
They’re effectively lost forever because you will never be able to find them again.
And this is essentially the picture Micah is giving us here.
God wants to take all of our sins…
Those things that are weighing us down
And burdening our lives,
Affecting our walk and relationship with Him,
And He wants to throw them into the deepest parts of the sea.
Once Jesus forgives us of our sins,
He promises to Remove them from His sight.
2) OUT OF MIND
Turn with me to Hebrews 8:12
Because God not only Promises to remove our Sins from His Sight
But to also remove them from His Mind
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Here we find the Apostle Paul teaching on God’s forgiveness
And He says that when God forgives…
He forgives – so as to remember our sins no more.
In other words, our sins are both forgiven and forgotten.
And that’s quite a truth to come to terms with - isn’t it.
Our mentality so much of the time
Is that we will forgive others…
But we will never forget what they have done to us.
But that’s not what we see here - is it.
Once God has forgiven - we are forgiven indeed
Because from that point on,
All of our misdeeds are forgotten by Him.
He no longer dwells on them…
He no longer sees the need to dredge up the past…
He simply promises that when He forgives
Those sins will not be remembered again by Him.
I guess the real question then is
If Jesus is prepared to forget all our sins - why can’t we?
I mean isn’t it true sometimes,
That even though we know God’s forgiveness is there,
Sometimes We still can’t forgive ourselves.
In fact, sometimes we insist on punishing ourselves
For past mistakes – don’t we
And tell me, where is the grace of God’s forgiveness in that?
Brethren it’s impossible for us to experience genuine forgiveness,
At least the way God has intended,
If we can’t forgive ourselves.
And I need you to understand this…
Once you have had a change of heart, repented of sin
And humbly approached the throne of grace asking for God’s forgiveness,
That issue is done away with.
That particular trespass should not remain standing in the way
Of your relationship with the Lord anymore.
Because the Lord will not bear it to mind again.
He will not recall it to memory…
Or even be mindful of the fact that you have sinned in that way.
Because with the Lord, once forgiven – those sins are forgotten.
And your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Heb 10:17)
We are not to live under the burden of past sins...
No when God promises to forgive us of them.
3) OUT OF REACH
So how does God forgive Sin?
He removes our sins so that
Firstly, they are Out of God’s Sight …
And Secondly, so that they are Out of His Mind
However, there is one last thing He promises to do
And that is He promises to also put them Out of Reach.
Turn with me to Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
The Hebrew word for east used here
Actually means: “To shine” or to “flash forth”.
And what’s interesting of course is that,
Across the world over, the east is generally the point recognized
As being where the sun rises from.
On the other hand then, the west is the place of sunsets.
Now the thing about the east and the west,
Is that they are complete and total opposites.
The two could not be any further away from one another.
Sure we have what we call “Eastern” and “Western countries”,
But the real truth is, that it is scientifically impossible
To ever really reach “true East” or the “true West”.
You can pick any point on the globe
And travel continuously in either direction,
And you still would not be any closer…
To where the sun rises or to where the sun sets.
It’s like chasing a rainbow and that mythical pot of Gold
Which you just never seem to reach.
And this is actually a real important point
Because as far from the East is to the West…
That is precisely how far God has promised
To remove our transgressions from us.
When He forgives - He promises to put them completely out of reach.
Notice there that word Transgressions.
In the Hebrew it literally means to “Rebel”
And in the flesh – we are all just a bunch of rebels - aren’t we.
Interestingly it also means “to Trespass”…Or to cross the line.
You see that’s what our sins does,
It gets us to cross over the line
And to break down the boundaries God has put in place for us.
Our sin takes us places where we ought not to go.
And yet in His love God promises that no matter how far we transgress
And how far we wonder off track…
There is always a way back through His forgiveness: 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That word confess there means: “to openly admit ones guilt”.
You see, whenever we cross the line
And overstep the boundaries of God’s Word in our lives,
All we need to do is humbly pray to the Lord
With a sincere and repentant heart… Recognizing our wrong doing,
He promises to do all the rest.
He promises to remove all of our transgressions,
So that they will no longer stand as an issue between us.
Because as far as the East is from the West…
That’s how far God is prepared to distance those sins from between us.
CONCLUSION
Jesus Prayed - Forgive us of our Depts
And although It’s true that thanks to Jesus
There is no more eternal condemnation hanging over us because of our sins,
Given that that dept was paid for in full at the Cross.
There still remains however an impact and consequence
To our daily lives when we continue to sin,
Especially when it comes to our relationship with God.
As we have seen our sins create distance between us and the Lord,
They burden us down…
And it actually stop us from experiencing God’s Best.
But thankfully God makes a number of promises to us
Regarding the way in which He wants to deal with our sins
Whenever we repent, turn away from those actions
And genuinely ask for His forgiveness.
He makes three promises in fact saying:
1) He will Remove our sins out of Sight
2) He will Set them out of Mind
3) And He will place them completely out of Reach
And the Lord promises to do this – for no other reason...
Than because He wants to have a personal relationship with you.
In the Gospel of Luke one of the Disciples said to Jesus: Lord teach us to Pray
And then here in Matthew 6 Jesus shows us how saying:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our Daily Bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
