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Last week we began a new series for the season of Lent on the Lord’s Prayer.
We’ve entered a sort of University of Prayer as we study this short passage.
So as we start this morning, I’d like to ask you to read the passage with me.
Let’s pray:
[Prayer]
“How old is your faith?”
Some of us can remember the exact circumstances of when we said, “Yes, Lord, I want to follow you.”
We have our conversion date marked on a calendar.
For others, their lives have been more like a dimmer switch that was slowly being dialed brighter and brighter until one day they realized they’d had a faith for some time, not really knowing the day it began.
And still for others, they’re in process - not sure if their faith is real, or what they believe.
Perhaps a better question is,
“How mature is your faith?”
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in his first letter:
This is an easy to understand illustration.
Infants begin with milk, not solid food.
As they grow, gradually their parents introduce them to solid food.
As they mature they even begin feeding themselves.
I can’t say that I’ve experienced the parental side of having children, but I do know two very common words among little one’s.
“No!” Which is sort of funny that a child can master this word and as adults so many have such a difficult time with saying it.
The other word I often hear from little children is, “Mine.”
You may remember the seagulls in Finding Nemo, “Mine, mine, mine, mine...”
Our key verse today flies in the face of that attitude:
The focus is still upon God the Father - we have not come to anything focused upon ourselves yet.
In fact throughout this prayer we will not find I, me, my, mine, taking precedence or first place - God always will be taking the first spot.
We’re going to first look at this verse one part at a time:
In its historical context, Israel looked for God to send the Messiah to rule the earth.
We now, looking back, see that Jesus was the Messiah (the disciples at this point in the story were still figuring that out).
He inaugurated the kingdom of heaven and his disciples here in our passage are being taught to anticipate the completion of that process!
This idea of the Kingdom of God is evident throughout Scripture as observed by N.T. Wright summarizing Isaiah’s vision:
there will be a highway in the wilderness; the valleys and mountains will be flattened out; the glory of YHWH shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
He concludes:
Isaiah’s message holds together the majesty and gentleness of this god who comes in power and who comes to feed his flock like a shepherd, carrying the lambs, and gently leading the mother sheep.
This is the prophetic vision that Jesus knew well.
He does not teach us to pray for “I”, “Me”, “My”, or “Mine”; but for “You”, “Yours”, “Thy” and “Thine”.
The focus of the prayer is not about me or us, it is about God - God is foremost, first.
The entire prayer focuses upon God first and ourselves second.
Dangerous Prayer
This is a dangerous prayer - it’s not asking for what I want, but is explicitly asking for what God wants.
How do I know what God wants?
What if God doesn’t want what I want?
What if I don’t get my way?
Jesus teaches us to pray:
Not I, me, my, or mine, it’s all you, yours, thy and thine.
If there was ever a difficult way to pray it’s got to be, “I want what you want.”
Or as Jesus prayed in the garden,
Yes, it is a dangerous prayer, because it call us to the denial of ourselves and the putting on of Christ.
The cross is a symbol of death.
In reformed circles we have a cross with Jesus missing as a symbol of the resurrection.
I understand that, but we forget that death is a part of following Jesus.
Paul wrote to the Galatians:
Faith - not in myself, it is in the Son of God.
It is a trust that is in what is not of myself but of God alone.
The final phrase is an interesting one:
This is still speaking of God’s Kingdom come.
N.T. Wright gives us some clarity:
Think of the vision at the end of Revelation.
It isn’t about humans being snatched up from earth to heaven.
The holy city, new Jerusalem, comes down from heaven to earth.
God’s space and ours are finally married, integrated at last.
Regardless, its about God’s rule - not ours.
It’s God’s Kingdom, not ours.
Its God’s will, not ours.
It was Jim Elliott the now famous missionary who died trying to share the Gospel with a tribe in South America who wrote:
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Our call as Christians, as Christ followers is not to be about the things of this world.
It is truly to be focused on eternity.
Years ago, I came across this from a Rwandan man who lost his life because he refused to deny Christ:
I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes.
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