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The Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity
The Lord's Prayer
September 30, 2007
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 6:5 " And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.
For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their
reward. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut
your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 "And when you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their
many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things
you have need of before you ask Him. 9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our
Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done
On 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. 13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen.
We recognize these familiar words of what we call the Lord’s prayer—this is part
of the much beloved Sermon on the Mount—when Jesus was teaching the Jews how to
properly interpret and live by the instructions of the Old Testament—there are
some who chastise us for memorizing and repeating the Lord’s Prayer each day,
even several times a day—I would answer those critics with these Words of
Scripture
NKJ Isaiah 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways
higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain
comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the
earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And
bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It
shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall
prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
How can repeating the words of our Lord be harmful in any way?—to declare God’s
Word to be anything less than God-pleasing is ridiculous—and so it is that we
consider the Word of God—in the form of the Lord’s Prayer—I chose to focus on a
few verses of the prayer today—verses that are sometimes misunderstood or
misrepresented—we begin with verse ten
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come.
We pray for God’s Kingdom in two ways
FIRST
During our temporary life here on earth—it comes to us through righteousness
obtained through His Word—by the Holy Spirit—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
redeemed us and conquered death and the devil for us on this earth—He governs
our hearts as the King of Righteousness—gives us salvation as a gift of
grace—when we pray for His kingdom on earth—we actually are praying that many on
this earth will find His Word—receive the gift of God’s grace—faith—and grow
into a Christian life on earth—with their citizenship actually being in heaven
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
SECOND
We pray for that day when we join God the Father—God the Son—God the Holy
Ghost—all the saints—and all the angels, in heaven for all eternity—when God
chooses that time for us there will be no more suffering—no more pain—we’ll be
HOME forever—we’ll have all things just as God promised—things beyond our
comprehension—Paul put it well in his letter to the Ephesians
NKJ Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 6:10 Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
And as we pray for God’s will to be done here on earth—we might consider John
chapter 6
NKJ John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up
at the last day."
We live in a world that is owned and operated by Satan and his band of liars and
thieves—we pray that the will of God prevail—we do not pray that the devil is
stronger than God—we pray because we are weak—and the devil despises us and all
Christians—he would like to destroy us and eradicate the Gospel—so we pray that
God’s will prevail—the devil sends out his liars and false prophets to distract
us from the truth of the Gospel—grief—pain—suffering—are all tools of the devil
and his angels—but we will endure all if it is the will of God—but we must keep
in mind that suffering and pain are sometimes part of God’s plan—our Lord Jesus
and our Old Testament brother Job are living examples for us to learn from
TEXT: NKJ Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation,
I was recently asked—“Why would the Lord’s Prayer ask “and lead us not into
temptation”?—does God lead us to temptation?—consider the Lord’s discussion with
Satan concerning our brother Job
NKJ Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant
Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one
who fears God and shuns evil?" 9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job
fear God for nothing? 10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his
household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work
of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 "But now,
stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to
Your face!" 12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your
power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the
presence of the LORD.
God subjected Job to temptation by the devil because God knew had the faith and
strength to resist the temptation—James presented an excellent discussion on
temptation
NKJ James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
James tells us that God doesn’t tempt us—but from the Book of Job we know that
God allows the devil to tempt us—now consider one more passage from James
NKJ James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with
no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by
the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly
brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as
a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with
a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful
appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. 12
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he
will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love
Him.
Peter adds that we should rejoice in our temptations
NKJ 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but
rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His
glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
If you study the original language—you will find that James is also telling us
that being tested by trials is something a Christian should be glad
about—Lenski, one of the commentators I rely on to help me understand the truth
of the Word, gives the example of owning a valuable gold coin—if you owned such
a coin—you would welcome testing of the coin to declare its authenticity—it is
no different with our faith—if our faith is genuine we should be glad that it is
tested by trials and temptation—just as our brother Job brought glory to God by
his steadfast faith—we bring glory to God when we sustain temptation and cling
to our faith—but what if we fail?—what if we cannot tolerate the pressure of the
temptation?—Paul answers those questions for us
NKJ 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common
to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you
may be able to bear it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak
as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break,
is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one
bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 18 Observe Israel
after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols
is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they
sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship
with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you
cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we
provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? 23 All things are lawful
for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not
all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's
well-being.
Paul was tested in many ways—and he had many opportunities to succumb to
temptation—but instead he maintains his focus on the work God gave him—he
advises Timothy to learn from his trials
NKJ 2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord
repay him according to his works. 15 You also must beware of him, for he has
greatly resisted our words. 16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all
forsook me. May it not be charged against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and
that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the
lion. 18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for
His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
Consider these things when you pray the Lord’s Prayer—don’t take the prayer
lightly—understand what you’re saying—and say it with sincerity