January 10, 2016 - Our Father

Praying every night for my family and Uncle Jim was always in my prayers. Because see Uncle Jim wasn't wasn't a Christian Uncle Jim wasn't following Christ. In fact, I really saw my Uncle Jim because he didn't want to be around my my Pentecostal grandparents because Grandma and Grandpa were always able to tell them. Hey, you need Jesus and he didn't want to hear that so he stayed away. Uncle Jim was he became an alcoholic. He was a drug addict. And he didn't want to hear anything about the Lord. In fact after my grandparents passed away. My dad took on the mantle of being a witness to Uncle Jim and Jim just he would get angry and yell at my dad. I don't want to hear anything about Jesus. I don't need Jesus.

But that doesn't stop anybody from praying for for him. So my dad and me and all my family we pray for Uncle Jim.

Sometimes you wonder if your prayers mean anything? My my parents went on a on a cruise and they came back from their cruising experience and they saw that there was a message on their answering machine and it was Uncle Jim and Uncle Jim asked my dad. Could you get a Bible for me? And bring it to me. When my dad was telling you my dad's a crier every time we we talk sometime during that hour and a half of him talking and me listening. He starts crying and it's usually crying over the Lost.

And so my dad is he was telling me this story. He was crying. Somehow someway, maybe God was answering prayer. Well sometime during this last year Uncle Jim was getting more and more weak and sick. He was in a nursing facility. And so my dad went to women talk with them. And my dad says, you know, I really sent something different about Jim. And when I asked him have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Jim said yeah. But it wasn't just what he said. It was just there was a countenance that was different. This past week. My parents went up to see Uncle Jim. We live just outside of San Francisco.

And and he couldn't talk anymore. But when my dad talked with him and prayed for him, he raised the thumbs up. Everything's going to be okay. Let me tell you something every one of us in this room have unsaved loved ones. Don't give up on them in prayer. You pray and you continue to pray God will minister to you. God will not only minister to you. But the people that you're praying for amazing things could happen keep my family in your prayers as as we as we we don't grieve as the world Grease. Tell you what one of these days not only am I going to see Jesus face-to-face then we see Uncle Jim. Hallelujah, it's never too late until you breathe your last to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. You know if we are serious at all about our Christian commitment.

We will want to learn and grow in prayer.

I don't want you to minimize that fart.

We will want to learn and grow in prayer. Let me tell you what this is not this is not. based on a selfish desire It's not about attempting to maximize our personal well-being.

It's not based upon a materialistic self-centered attitude. It's not about manipulating a sovereign. Holy God to do what we want him to do.

So what then is the heart and center of a believer's prayer and prayer life?

We should want to learn and grow in prayer because we know in our heart of hearts that we want the Living God in his purpose to be unhindered in our life. That's why we pray. We don't want to be a hindrance to what God is doing. We want to we want to be that open door to what God is doing.

See we want to know him. We want to love him. We want to be able to truly call him our father.

See see see this is what God wants he wants communion and he wants relationship and he wants fellowship and he wants friendship and not just on Sunday morning when we meet together for worship. 24/7 every moment of the day When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he gave them a template. He was helping them and helping us to to not only survive this world but to thrive in our personal relationship and walk with God.

So he gave us a prayer in Matthew chapter 6 beginning with verse number 9. Most of you probably memorize this prayer. Jesus said pray like this Our Father in heaven Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come your will be done. On Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But Deliver Us. Sunnyville most Christians are familiar with those words.

Most people are familiar.

With these words that have been quoted countless times. In the 2000 year history of the church.

But I want you to know these were never meant to be magical words. To be quoted like a mantra.

They were to you to be used as a guideline as a as like I said before a template to help us understand what prayer is all about.

So in a sense as we begin with this. I want you to understand the object of prayer. We began this series on December 27th with the attitude. A prayer which is humility and then last week Pastor John was so kind to to preach a message. I asked him to preach. On the power prayer in that is faith.

So today I want to talk about the object of Prayer. Which is God. Unless we look at this object of prayer, which is God. I want you to understand one of the challenges we have to face this morning is as I'm sharing this message with you. We're going to we're going to have a challenge in the fact that we know this prayer so much we have built deep ruts.

And sometimes it's hard for us to see this prayer differently, but I am hoping that this morning you will see the beginning of the sprayer differently than you've ever thought of before. And actually begin with this the first words of this prayer. I want you to sense. What is God actually saying your what is Jesus communicating here and communicating to his disciples.

Our Father in heaven

Actually, the first word of this prayer is not our in the Greek and Aramaic. The first word of this prayer is father.

father

see at first glance the opening words of this prayer appear to invoke a family healing Our Father. God as our loving Heavenly Father caring for his children. But what went through the mind of Jesus and what did the disciples does earn when those initial words were spoken in The Sermon on the Mount?

That's interesting. Remember that Jesus and his disciples. We're in a Jewish context. And we need to understand. What was the Jewish context when it came to that word father.

The first occurrence in the Old Testament concerning God as our father the idea that God is father comes from when Moses March's boldly to stand before pharaoh. in Exodus chapter 4 verses 22 and 23. We see these words bus say at the large Moses uttered before this great potentate of Egypt bust saying the Lord Israel is my first-born. I say to you let my son go that he may serve me. Peter and John and James and the other disciples Jesus telling them how they should pray Our Father Who Art in Heaven something came through their mind and I would imagine they were drawn to something that they were taught since they were very young and that is God is the father. of the people of Israel Israel to call Godfather then was to remember what happened in Exodus. Remember that this conjured up a fault of Hope of Liberty that the slaves were called to be Sons? They weren't nobody they weren't pieces of property, but they were called Sons and Daughters of God.

When Jesus tells his disciples to call god father, then those with ears to hear they would understand that God. Was wanting to get ready for a new Exodus. Got the people of Israel no longer bound in Egypt, but Bound in Rome and bound by all the rules at the regulations that the religious people have bestowed upon their next to hold them down in bondage and burden was wanting to bring a new Fresh Exodus AmeriLife. So Wednesday under those words Our Father in Heaven what they were declaring what they were professing by faith is gone bring about that new Exodus in my life in the life of my family in the life of my nation.

when they would honor those words Our Father the thought would come we are going to be free. We are going to be free at last. So long in bondage so long in that frustrating burden, but now we're going to be free. When those words were ordered our father it is it is a declaration of faith in the hope that we have in the coming of the Messiah.

The hope of the coming of the kingdom of God. and that this tyrants grip they would think of Rome but she Jesus was thinking bigger. He was thinking of the enemy of our soul Satan this tyrants grip is going to be broken once and for all and we shall be free. So when the words were declared Our Father, it was far more than just this family feeling it was a declaration that God was going to invade our circumstances and he was going to break the chains that bind us and he was going to set us free.

The word father than concentrates our attention. on the message and the mission of Jesus so when we say our father

There's also confect a confession. Of what Jesus intended to do what Jesus was going to do in his ministry in his work and even his act on the cross, although they could not see it at that point yet.

It is this bold confession of faith. It is at a decision to identify with God and his plan. Kids Kingdom Purpose, so when we invoke invoke don't that phrase Our Father in Heaven what we are saying is more than just some kind of of of salutation. We are making a confession lord. It's about you and your glory and your plan in my life and I declare by faith not only a confession of my mouth, but I believe in my heart that you and your will be perfected in my life and in the life of my community in the life of my nations in the life of my family. That is what we are saying by declaring Our Father Who Art in Heaven.

Yes, we do this. As we pray this prayer in this setting we begin to discover the true pattern of what it means to be Christian. When we call god father, we are called the stuff out as his children into a world of pain and darkness and there's a lot of pain and darkness in this world. To communicate and demonstrate and live out the gospel truth. I like what what Tom Wright says. He's he's an Englishman. He was the bishop of Durham in the Church of England at one of the four high Bishops of the Church of England. He's now a professor at one of their colleges and he is he is a lover of Jesus Christ and and he he does not water down the gospel at all. And this is what he has to say. He says our task is to grow up into the Our Father to dare to impersonate our older brother who is Jesus Christ to seek daily bread and daily forgiveness as we do we wear his clothes to walk and tissues to Feast at his table to weep with him in the garden to share in his sufferings and to know his victory. As our Savior Jesus Christ has commanded an artist by his life and death even more than by his words. We are both very bold even crazy some my pussay an utter those words Our Father Who Art in Heaven, there's more to it than just a simple salutation to this prayer friends.

secondly

We see here in the scripture. Not only God our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be your name. God is Holy. I think one of the big challenges that we Face sometimes is we we we Pentecostal sometimes feel like weeks. We will sort of in the front of the line when it comes to Worship in when we when it comes to understanding being in the presence of God, but I wonder If it is too easy to turn the presence of God into something that God did not intend it to be.

I think sometimes we have this feeling that we are so in this is going to be hard to communicate friends. This is so so I don't I don't know if I can communicate this properly. I'm hoping the holy spirit will help me in this. that we we still so close to God we become casual with him.

He's alright. He's our big bud in the sky.

He's he's on he's he's he Grandpa we can go to him. He can give us all we want cuz all the candy we want cuz that's what grandpas do. I want to let you know when Jesus out of those words Hollow it be your name. He was at monitoring us to recognize that God is Holy. He is Holy. His name is Holy. What he does is Holy that is sacred. When we go into the presence of God, when we invoke his name, we do not do it out of mere Ram or habit. We think it through very very carefully because we are in the presence of the one who spoke the world into existence in the very presence of the one who brought his son fourth as a baby in a Manger to bring to be the sacrifice for our sins. We need to recognize when we approach the very throne room of God.

We need to buy our heart before him. with genuine adoration genuine genuine respect we have become too casual. Oh, I know and I seen it. I don't seem even preachers would use the name of God as I just don't want a term I feel or not even really thinking about God.

Taking literally his name in vain.

Friends when we mention his name.

When we declare his lordship and is a three-week, we are declaring we are recognizing that he is God in his holy and he is to be worshipped and honor and praise and we'd ever approach. God was such casualness.

But sometimes we do.

Some of you have been invited to meet important people. the governor Or the president or some other important person. And I would imagine if you knew that that was going to happen. You thought about it long and hard what you were going to say. You you thought about not wanting to make a fool of yourself.

You thought about your gestures your mannerisms you you made certain that that you did everything you could do to ready yourself to be in the presence of that person. How have we become so casual with the King of Kings and the Lord of lords? Now don't get me wrong. I tell you God wants us in his presence all the time. Emily wants us to know him in and he wants us to be intimate with him and that personal relationship with him my friends. We can never forget that he is God most high he is God Almighty and he is to be worshipped and honored and exalted and glorified in every word. We say and every thought we have hit every action that we produced. We need to recognise being in his presence. We need to make certain that he is properly worship. And given his due.

Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be your name Your Kingdom, you are will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

It was very easy for me to say it. What does it mean your kingdom? come

what am I invoking when I trade those words that Jesus wanted me to pray as a follower of Jesus Christ. Sequin go back to his disciples. What did they thought think? What was there a thought? Jesus's contemporaries wait for God to become team. Israel no longer virgins by Roman emperors no longer over or under I should say the herodian dynasty, which state thought was a joke. It was time for the true God the true king the steps in the history to take power and the glory and claimed the kingdom for his own when I under those words your kingdom come.

I am reminding myself that it was the prophets of old Isaiah is Ezekiel. Malachi that declared over and over and over again the coming of God in his kingdom plan. God is never caught off guard. He is never surprised. He has a plan. Is organized.

For you raw Family Kids Camp people. God is blue. But he's also red and he's also yellow and he's also green but here's where his blue comes out. He is organized. Sometimes we we approach life. Just never have hazard. My dog has a plan and when we say Your Kingdom Come Lord, we are saying Lord. May your plan be realized in my life and the life of my family in the life of my community. May your will be done in perfected in me.

When we pray your kingdom come your will be done. We're making a confession. We're making a petition God. May your Redemptive plan and your Kingdom Purpose be embraced made the gospel message of Jesus Christ be received. So when I am. spring Kingdom a kingdom prayer. What does that look like? I think it means for the start that we we are too we are to recognized. that the Father in heaven

Who is homeboy who is true? It is have a certain perspective and we need to see his perspective. So when I say Your Kingdom Come what I am praying this morning help me see what you see. Let me see this world as you see it. Let me see your plan as as you have have have have demonstrated it to all understand. Help me see what you are doing. Tell me see it from your perspective see too often. What happens is we want to see things from our perspective.

But when we are involved in Kingdom praying what we are wanting to do is Lord help me see things from your perspective.

Another thing that we we need to do when we are engaged in Kingdom praying.

Is is that we need to we need to do what Jesus did when he prayed when he acted he did it for the Redemption of the world.

For the radical defeat in the uprooting of evil and for God to be all in all and if we pray this for we must course be prepared to live this way. So when we say Lord, may your kingdom come what we are safe Lord. May your Redemptive plan be unfolded may you redeem the people around my life. May you help me to align myself with what you are doing 10 reaching the lost for your good pleasure to communicate the message of Jesus Christ effectively and with boldness and send some of your spirit direction that I would communicate the message of Christ in such a way Lord God that your Redemptive plan is unfolding in my life. When we pray may your kingdom come we are asking the Lord Lord. Lord may your kingdom come through me. May your Redemptive power flow out of me then when we pray may your kingdom come when we're praying that Kingdom trick. We're praying for his church is church to be a community. I like this of healed Healers.

No longer the blind leading the blind we were the blind but now we could see and now in our side we are helping the blind see what we see. And then finally we are to pray for ourselves. A prayer of submission and commission. We are the Ernest Lee request for personal transformation and total and complete obedience to the Lord and then we are the passion we are to have a passionate plea before God to fulfill God's call to his kingdom work in our life. That's what we're called to do. Call me when you come.

Friends, I will tell you. That we're living in an amazing day that God has given to us.

And I am filled with anticipation of what God intends to do in our life in the life of this church. As we align ourselves with what God is doing Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, if we pray that with faith and we pray that in the end in light of of the ministry of Jesus Christ something amazing to happen. I'm believing washed will find Christ. I'm believing that those sick in their bodies will be healed. I'm running I'm done believing that those that are struggling to find peace will experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. I'm praying that friends because God is wanting to do something amazing in our lives let Stand Together.