Lessons on Faith from the Lord’s Model Prayer
Trusting Faith
Matthew 6:13
November 16, 2003
Intro:
A. [Mother’s Unanswered Prayer for Self-Improvement, Citation: Kevin A. Miller, Wheaton, Illinois]
We all know what it’s like to still have growing to do.
Jeanne Olsen, a mother of five from Illinois, took her daughter Kirsten, age 9, out for a mother-daughter breakfast. During their meal, Jeanne courageously asked her daughter, "How do you think I could be a better mom?"
Kirsten thought for a moment. "Well, you do yell a lot. I know you’ve been praying about that, but it isn’t really working yet."
B. Today we come to the final sermon in our series on Faith from the Lord’s Model Prayer.
1. “…for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
2. Now if you’re reading the NIV, you’ll have to look in the footnote to find it.
3. Why is it not in the main text, but only in the footnote?
4. Because the earliest manuscripts they have of this text do not include this portion of the verse.
5. The majority of the texts do have it however, and that is why it is in the main text in the KJV.
C. Now, listen to this verse from the Lord’s Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He went to the cross…
1. Luke 22:42 (NIV), "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
2. I believe that is the essence of this last portion of the Lord’s Model Prayer.
3. I believe that when Christ taught the disciples to pray, “…for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” I believe He was teaching them (and us) to pray that His will be done.”
4. Even though we have prayed to the best of our ability the way you have taught us, we submit ourselves to your will.
5. So think through the three phrases of this with me…
I. Yours is the Kingdom: all rule belongs to God!
Acts 1:6-7 (NIV), So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
A. What is the Kingdom of God?
1. There have been two thousand years of debate about that question.
2. I believe that there are actually several answers.
3. I believe that heaven is the Kingdom of God.
4. I believe that when Christ sets up His 1000-year reign here on earth, that will be the Kingdom of God.
5. And I believe that His Kingdom is already here.
B. This event happened on the day that Christ returned to heaven.
1. It was 40 days after His resurrection from the dead.
2. Christ stayed on earth 40 days after He spent three days in the tomb.
3. And at the end of those 40 days, the apostles got together and asked Him if it was time for Him to set up His kingdom.
4. They knew what the OT predicted as well as what Christ predicted.
5. They didn’t understand the predictions, but they knew that Christ was supposed to set up a Kingdom here on earth.
6. And they thought this would be a great time to do that.
7. They thought He was going to do it before He died and they were greatly confused when Christ died on the cross.
8. They could not understand how in the world He could die when He hadn’t set up His Kingdom yet.
9. Then He surprised them by coming back to life.
10. So they thought even though they had misunderstood about Him having to die first, they thought that now that He had risen from the dead, this would be a good time to set up His Kingdom.
11. They had no idea that in just a few moments He was going to go back to heaven.
12. They were obviously still confused.
13. Just as they didn’t understand that He must first die, be buried, and then rise from the dead, they also didn’t understand that He must also return to heaven before He set up His political Kingdom.
14. Jesus just told them that it wasn’t for them to know the times of when His Kingdom would come.
B. But then listen to what He said next…
Acts 1:8 (NIV), But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
1. Now think through this with me…
2. I told you that I believe Christ’s Kingdom is three-fold…
3. I believe that the Kingdom of God is heaven, it is the 1000-year reign here on earth and it is the also here, now.
4. I believe that Christ was telling them…"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority about heaven or His 1000-year reign.
5. But then in verse eight, I believe Christ was saying that His Kingdom was going to come to them in about 10 days as is recorded in chapter 2.
6. Acts 1:7-8 (NIV), He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
7. It wasn’t time for the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom on earth, but it was time for the Kingdom to come to the hearts and souls of those who would accept it.
8. It wasn’t time for the political reign, but it was time for the Spiritual reign.
9. It wasn’t time for the Kingdom to come for them, but it was time for the Kingdom to be spread through them.
10.It wasn’t time for the political Kingdom, but it was time for the HS to come and spread the Kingdom through them.
C. Christ’s Kingdom is in the hearts of those who love Him.
1. Christ’s Kingdom has already come to the hearts of those who have submitted themselves to Him.
2. Now do not misunderstand: His Kingdom is not complete; it is not what it will be, but it has come.
3. Those who have submitted themselves to His Lordship are part of the Kingdom already!
D. Have you submitted yourself to His Kingdom and Lordship?
1. If your answer is yes, then what do you do when your prayers are not answered the way you want?
2. What do you do when your present your request to God in faith and God doesn’t heal?
3. What do you do when God does something that doesn’t fit your understanding of the Scriptures?
4. IS it His Kingdom or yours?
5. IF it is His Kingdom, then all rule belongs to Him!
6. WHATEVER He decides is right and you will submit to it.
II. Yours is the power: all mightiness flows from God!
A. Listen to these passages about the power (dunamis) of God!
Matthew 24:30 (NIV), "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
Romans 1:20 (NIV), For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
1 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV), By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
1 Corinthians 15:24 (NIV), Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
Revelation 15:8 (NIV), And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple…
B. The power is Gods; all mightiness flows from God…however, what about when He chooses not to use His mightiness?
1. Some folks think that you can have WHATEVER you ask for as long as you ask it in faith.
2. Well I wonder how much faith the apostle Paul had…did he have faith when he asked God three times to remove his thorn in the flesh?
3. Now we don’t know what his thorn in the flesh was, but we do know that Paul did have great faith and even though Paul asked three times… 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV), But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
4. God certainly had the power and Paul certainly had the faith and God said no!
5. Paul said that he learned that God’s power was greatest when he was not healed. (repeat)
6. Do we still trust God when He says, “No?”
7. Do we question His power when things don’t turn out the way we think they should?
8. Do we confine God to our own little box of understand of Him that we have?
9. Or do we trust God no matter what He says?
10. Do we trust God even when He doesn’t lift a finger to answer our prayers the way we think He should?
11. Do we really mean the power IS His; that all mightiness flows from God?
12. There’s no question that we should pray for healing and deliverance!
13. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.”
14. “Yet, not my will but Thine be done.”
15. Is His grace sufficient when He doesn’t do what you ask?
III. Yours is the glory: all praise rises to God!
A. Listen to these excerpts from what I call the Lord’s Prayer…
John 17:4 (NIV), I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
John 17:5 (NIV), And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
John 17:10 (NIV), All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
John 17:22 (NIV), I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
John 17:24 (NIV), "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
B. The word translated “glory” is the Greek word “doxa”
1. “Doxa” means: dignity, honor, praise, worship.
2. It is the world from which we get the name “Doxology.”
3. [Pastor sing “The Doxology”]
4. That is what the word glory means: all praise and dignity goes to Him.
5. The glory is His; all praise flows to Him.
C. The apostles had to learn this lesson.
1. Matthew 20:20-24 (NIV), Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." 22 "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
2. Two of them wanted more praise and recognition than the other ten.
3. Then when the other ten heard what the two had asked, they got upset.
4. Why did the two ask the question?
5. Why did the other ten get upset about it?
D. Do we get our shorts in a bundle when people don’t recognize us for our efforts?
1. Do we get our feathers ruffled when we are not asked to do a particular thing?
2. Do we sit at home and pout because no one calls us to help do something?
3. When we work very hard on something and someone else gets the credit, do we get offended?
4. Are we comfortable with serving God from the balcony where no one can see what we do?
5. Is it still His Kingdom and His power when we are overlooked?
6. Do we do our good deeds to be seen of men or so that they may glorify our Father in heaven?
7. Christ is the only One who deserves praise!
8. Christ is the only One who deserves glory!
9. Yours is the glory: all praise rises to God!
Conclusion:
A. [Healed from Anger, Citation: Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today #212]
In Preaching Today, author and speaker Tony Campolo tells this story:
I was in a church in Oregon not too long ago, and I prayed for a man who had cancer. In the middle of the week, I got a telephone call from his wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." I said, "Had?" Whoa, I thought, it’s happened.
She said, "He died." I felt terrible.
She continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence. After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.
And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed."
B. Luke 22:42 (NIV), "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
1. I believe that is the essence of this last portion of the Lord’s Model Prayer.
2. I believe that when Christ taught the disciples to pray, “…for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” I believe He was teaching them (and us) to pray that His will be done.”
3. Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
4. I don’t believe this is just climactic or poetic.
5. I believe it is a surrender to the Lordship of our heavenly Father.
6. I believe it is to teach us to trust Him to do what is best—whether we understand it at the moment or not.
