Mt 6:9-13 Pray like this(Exposition of the Lord’s prayer 2)
Mt 6:9-13 Pray like this(Exposition of the Lord’s prayer 2)
6:9-13, 9."This, then, is how you should pray: "`Our Father in heavens, hallowed be your name, 10.your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11.Give us today our daily bread. 12.Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' Lk. 11:1-4, 1.One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2.He said to them, "When you pray, say: "`Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3.Give us each day our daily bread. 4.Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Amen.
<Sermon>
Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
1) He told them to call him “Our Father in heavens,” and then He said three prayers for God.
2) “hallowed be Your name” 3) “Your kingdom come.” 4) “Your will be done on earth.”
Today, we hear three petitions for God. 1) “I want Your holy name to be hallowed through me. 2) Father, rule over my heart, my family, my church, and the world.
3) I want Your will, not my will, to be done.
1. “Hallowed be Your name.” I want my Father's holy name to be sanctified through me.
A name is a person and a being. There are many names for God the Father in the Bible. 1) El or Elohim: Almighty Creator God. Jacob, a deceiver and fraud, met this God and was transformed(Gn.43:14).
2) ‘Jehovah’: ‘I am who I am’, Ex.3:14, 80-year-old Moses met this God and was transformed. He is the Lord of history, the eternal One who transcends time and space. ① Jehovah Jireh: God who prepares everything (Gn.22:18). Abraham met Jehovah who prepared the lamb. ② Jehovah Rapa (Ex.15:26): The Israelites in the wilderness met God who healed diseases. ③ Jehovah Nissi (Ex.17:15, banner of victory): The people who fought against Amalek experienced God who gave them victory. ④ Jehovah Shalom (Judge 6:24): They experienced God who gave them peace by winning the battle of 450:1. ⑤ Jehovah Roi (Ps.23:1): We meet the good shepherd God who guides our path. ⑥ Jehovah Shammah (Ez.48:35). We meet the God who is even in the desperate captivity. He does not leave them alone in a hut or a palace, in the wilderness or in the city. He is always by our side, holding us, helping us, and saving us. How great is God?
3) ‘Adonai’, the name of the Lord. We are the servants of the Lord. The name of Jesus gives us amazing power. 1) Jn.14:13, ‘If you pray in the name of Jesus, it will be done’. 2) Acts4:12, Salvation is only found in the name of Jesus. 3) Demons are cast out in the name of Jesus. 4) Even the sick rise in the name of Jesus. Acts3:6, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." A man who had been lame for 40 years stood up. 2) “Hallowed be Your name” means that he wants to receive the glory due to that name. It means that God is distinguished from other beings. *Alexander the Great’s command to a soldier named Alexander: “I command you two things. Change your name. Or, if you will not change it, change your life! So that you do not dishonor that name.” 3) How can we hallow the Father’s name? ① Be thankful in all things (1Thes.5:18). 1Cor.15:10. ② Fear only God. Heb.11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Trust in God alone. Ps.20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” ③ Give glory to God alone. Ps.115:1, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Mt.5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
2. “Your kingdom come.”
May God the Father rule over my heart, my family, my church, and the world. There is truly an ideal kingdom. It is the kingdom of God where God rules. In Jn.18, Pilate, the governor, interrogates Jesus. “Are you really the king of the Jews?” Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not of this world.” That’s right. The kingdom of the Lord that we must pray for is not a kingdom of this world. It is a kingdom ruled and governed by God. We must focus on “your coming.” Jesus did not say, “Pray that we may enter the kingdom of God.” He said, “Pray that the kingdom of God may come among us.” Do not think only about heaven after our death. The kingdom of God is realized in reality.
1) The kingdom of the Lord is a kingdom ruled by the Holy Spirit. Rom.14:17, “the kingdom of God is ..., but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” It is a kingdom where there is a right relationship with God, his peace, and joy. So Mt.6:33 says, ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ This kingdom is established in our hearts. Lk.17:20-21, “nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." Mt.5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who possesses the kingdom of heaven? It is the poor in spirit. It is the one who confesses, ‘I am a sinner who is lacking before God.’ We cannot show you the headquarters of heaven. But we can show you the branch point of heaven, the kingdom of the heart.” Amen! Yes. Hymn #438, “Once Heaven seemed a faroff place, Till Jesus showed His smiling face; Now it's begun within my soul, 'Twill last endless while ages roll/What matters where on earth we dwell? On mountain top or in the dell, In cottage or a mansion fair, Where Jesus is 'tis Heaven there/O hallelujah, yes, 'tis heaven, 'Tis heaven to know my sins forgiven;...Where Jesus is, 'tis Heaven there.” May our hearts be filled with the kingdom of the Lord, righteousness, peace, and joy.
2) Then what should we do? ① First, we must preach the gospel of the Lord. The kingdom of the Lord will come only when we believe in the Lord and the gospel. The greatest way we must do for the kingdom of God to come to us and our neighbors is to preach about Jesus. ② Pray, “Let the kingdom of the Lord come.” “Ask. Seek. Knock.” The kingdom of the Lord is eternal. There is no distinction between rich and poor, high and low, male and female, old and young. Let us pray the prayer that the Lord taught us every day. “Your kingdom come.” ③ Live with the awareness that we are citizens of the kingdom of the Lord. Phil.3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Yes, we are citizens of the kingdom of God. Shouldn’t we live as citizens of the kingdom of God even when we live in this world? There is an amazing truth in the Book of Esther. Esther was a captive in Persia. However, through God’s amazing providence, she became the queen of King Ahasuerus. At that time, God’s glory and power were revealed to the captive Israelites. Many Gentiles volunteered to become Jews. This is because God’s glory rested on the Jews, who were citizens of the kingdom of God. Yes, we are citizens of the kingdom of God, emitting the fragrance of God. Each and every one of us is the face of Jesus. When we live with faces as bright as the full moon, we become people who emit the fragrance of Jesus. I hope that the people around us will see us, citizens of the kingdom of God, and come to church and return to the Lord. “When I see you, I want to believe in Jesus too. I want to go to church. I want to resemble the joy, peace, and beauty of Jesus that is revealed in your words and actions.” I hope that the people of the world will have this longing after seeing us and be blessed to believe in Jesus.
3. “Father, your will be done on earth.”
A young man opened his Bible every day & thought that the first word he picked up with his finger was God’s will for him that day. One day, he opened the Bible &pressed his finger. Mt.27:5, “So Judas... Then he went away &hung himself.” He was very surprised. Thinking that God had made a mistake, he tried again. Lk.10:37, “...Jesus told him, “Go &do likewise.” Now he was in big trouble. However, he pulled himself together & did the ‘three times’. With great expectations, he opened the Bible &pressed his finger. It was Jn.13:27,“...Jesus told him, "Go &do likewise..." Eventually, while trying to find God's will, he was told to "quickly commit suicide," &his heart was broken, so he never looked at the Bible again. What is the way to fulfill the Lord's will?
1) Know the Lord's will. Pray that the Lord's will, His thoughts, plans, and desires, will be fulfilled. The Lord's will is in the Bible, which records His will. Read the Bible diligently, listen to it, learn it, meditate on it, and apply it. Rom.12:1-2, “... offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Ephe.5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” There was a pastor named Billy Sunday. When he was young, he obeyed the pastor’s words. “Listen to the word of God for 15 minutes every day (read the Bible). Talk to God for 15 minutes every day (pray). Talk about God for 15 minutes every day (evangelism). Show sacrificial love for 15 minutes every day (practice love). Then you will be a great servant of God.” He practiced these words all his life. A life of devotion for 60 minutes every day! How wonderful. My desires, my will, and my wishes are important, but I hope I can devote the rest of my life to the precious will of God that He is accomplishing through my life. 2) Practice the will of God that Jesus did. Jesus is our example of life. Jesus lived only in obedience to the will of God the Father. Jn.4:34, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Jn.6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” The prayer in which Jesus decisively sought the will of the Father was the Gethsemane Prayer. Lk.22:42, “...Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Jesus carried out the will of the Father even to the point of throwing himself on the cross. Phil.2:8, Jesus obeyed the will of the Father until his death. Jesus' concern was always to do the will of the Father, not his own. Our concern should also always be to do the will of the Father.
There are three important wills that Jesus had. "For this purpose I came into the world." ①To preach. Mk.1:38, “.. "Let us go somewhere else...so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." ②To serve. Mk10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ③The work of testifying to the truth. Jn 18:37, “...and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 3) Now let us live obediently according to the will of our Father God. “God, use me as your instrument according to your will. I offer my life, my life, to you, so please accept it.” Daniel’s three friends went into the fiery furnace because they only obeyed the will of God and did not worship idols, but God saved them and honored them (Dan.3). *A. Pollard was greatly moved by Jer.18:3,4. “God, you are the potter, and I am the clay, and I insisted on being made like this. God, I repent, so please forgive me.” He picked up his pen and wrote a poem. This poem was born as a hymn. Hymn #425, “My Lord, do as you will.” He successfully completed the mission to Africa. “The greatest thing in the world is God’s will. In that will, nothing is small. Outside that will, nothing is great.”
The Lord wants us to pray. That is why He gave us a model of prayer. “Our Father in heaven.” We pray to our Father God who is everywhere, with us. Lord, who knows all our circumstances & situations, we are one family in one Father God. “Hallowed be Your name.” God’s name speaks of God’s character, power, and nature. God is omnipotent, self-existent, & the One who saved us from sin & death. He wants His name to be distinct from the world &from man. “Your kingdom come.” The kingdom of the Lord means that the Lord rules and reigns. I pray that the Lord rules the world, the family, & ourselves. I pray that the family, the church, and our hearts become small heavens that always serve the Lord as king. Shouldn't we live for the will of God, who is the best? We should live in accordance with the will of the Lord. I bless you all to become blessed saints who pray & live for the will of the Lord to be fulfilled through us. Amen.
