1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,000 We are going to be looking today at Matthew chapter 6, so we've 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,960 got a good stash of Bibles over here. 3 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,480 We've got some sermon question sheets as well you can use. 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,720 So basically if you want to turn up Matthew 6, Danny's going to 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,960 read the first bit of it to us. And again, during the session, 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,200 we've got that outside space. If you need some fresh air at 7 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,720 all or a bit of quiet, you can just head out that way through 8 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,840 those doors there and you can still probably hear us what's 9 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,880 happening on in the main room. But we're going to be looking at 10 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,080 Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 to 8 initially. 11 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,560 So quite a short bit. Danny's going to read that for 12 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:32,400 us. Put your hand if you want a 13 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,640 Bible. Put your hand if you want a 14 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,400 sheet for for following along questions as well. 15 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,120 Right, It's so Matthew chapter 6 starting at verse 5. 16 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,400 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they 17 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,040 love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street 18 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,120 corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have 19 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,640 received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your 20 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,280 room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. 21 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,200 Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward 22 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,800 you. And when you pray, do not keep 23 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,720 on babbling like pagans, but they think that they will be 24 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:12,480 heard because of their many words. 25 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,720 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need 26 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:16,760 before you ask Him. Thank. 27 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:19,600 You, Danny. So we're going to look at this 28 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,760 first subtle section before we get into the Lord's Prayer 29 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,000 itself proper. But yeah, I guess we just began 30 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,200 with that quote. I guess that definition of 31 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,120 prayer from CS Lewis, if we get the slides up, that thing, he 32 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:40,120 says true prayer is the real me speaking to the real God. 33 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,760 And again, Jesus reveals who God is to us. 34 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,480 And because of that, actually Jesus is the best teacher on 35 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,400 prayer we could ever wish for because we said, what's the best 36 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,040 things about prayer? There's lots of things we can 37 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,400 say, but there's plenty of things that are hard for us 38 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,200 about prayer. It's said if you want to humble 39 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,240 any Christian, ask them about their prayer life. 40 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:02,760 You might be feeling pretty good about a lot of things, but 41 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:04,760 going, how's the prayer life? How how often are you praying? 42 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,400 How regular are you praying? Most of us will feel, yeah, 43 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,840 probably not as much as I should do. 44 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,720 And we struggle to pray. We don't know what to say. 45 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,080 We struggle to concentrate long enough. 46 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,520 We maybe find prayer boring. If we're honest, God seems very 47 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,800 far away. And occasionally, if you're 48 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,240 feeling brave, you might read a book on prayer, maybe learn 49 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,760 about some great hero of the faith who prayed. 50 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,760 But often when you read about someone else's great prayer 51 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,480 life, you end up being a bit crushed, actually going, well, 52 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,880 that's not me and I don't think I'll ever be me. 53 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:35,560 So we don't quite know where to go. 54 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,680 Sometimes we want to learn how to pray. 55 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,720 But Matthew 6, we're going to see today very, very familiar 56 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,840 words. Jesus is the greatest prayer 57 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,720 coach we could ever wish for. As the Son of God, he knows 58 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,720 exactly what God is like. He knows exactly what we should 59 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,160 be praying for. But as the Son of Man, he 60 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,200 understands that we find it hard. 61 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,160 He understands that we struggle with temptation and doubt. 62 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,760 He's been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. 63 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,400 So where other prayer experts can often make us feel 64 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:15,200 inadequate, Jesus never does. I want to just begin by sort of 65 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,560 like just paraphrasing the word Jesus says in Matthew 11, verse 66 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:23,440 28, where he just says, come to me all you hear, weary and 67 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,040 burdened. Come to me all you who struggle 68 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,720 with prayer. Come to me all you who are 69 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,440 tempted to give up on prayer, and I will give you rest. 70 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,120 Learn from me for I'm gentle and humble in heart and you will 71 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,560 find rest for your souls. So want us to really just 72 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,760 preface everything that we're going to look at in Matthew 6, 73 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:45,600 remembering who it is is speaking. 74 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,600 He is good, He is gentle, He is humble with us and that is 75 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,200 amazing news. So we're going to be spending 76 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,560 this weekend looking at Matthew Chapter 6. 77 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,160 A little bit of it today and then the rest of it tomorrow. 78 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,200 I guess the context of Matthew 6, it's always important to get 79 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,520 an understanding of that. This is the Sermon on the Mount 80 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,280 often referred to. It's Jesus vision for life in 81 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:08,560 the Kingdom of heaven. He deals with lots of questions 82 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,160 in Matthews 5, Matthew chapters 5 to 7. 83 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,200 So what will follow to Jesus look like in this world? 84 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,399 What does it mean for us to live for Jesus? 85 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,000 What will we love? What will we hate? 86 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,600 What will we fight for, what we fight against? 87 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:26,640 And in Matthew 6, he kind of zeroes in on three key areas in 88 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:31,400 the Kingdom of heaven, giving to the needy, fasting and prayer. 89 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,640 And he introduces each one of those with a warning. 90 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,480 This is Matthew 6 verse 1. He says be careful not to 91 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,080 practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by 92 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,280 them. If you do, you'll have no reward 93 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,760 from your Father in heaven. It's according to Jesus. 94 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,600 It's possible to do lots of what seems spiritual things, but to 95 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,680 do them for the wrong reasons. And it's a challenge. 96 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,600 We're gathered together publicly thinking about praying together. 97 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,640 He's got some quite challenging things of of how not to pray 98 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,280 that he begins his teaching on prayer with. 99 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,600 So Danny, read out for us Matthew 6 verses 5 to 8. 100 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,160 What I'd love you to do is just in groups. 101 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,320 Maybe it could be just 2345. Just turn to the people near 102 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,800 you. Look again at Matthew 65 to 8 103 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,800 where Jesus is teaching us how not to pray and then just go 104 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,840 through those questions. What sort of praying does he 105 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,360 warn the disciples against? Why does he say those sorts of 106 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,520 prayers are not real prayer? Why are we tempted to pray this 107 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:32,960 way? Maybe you don't think you are, 108 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,120 but why? Why is this a warning we need to 109 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,480 hear? And what encouragement did Jesus 110 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,080 give his disciples about the God we pray to hear? 111 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,760 So this is how not to pray. What are the challenges? 112 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:44,920 But also what are the encouragement Jesus gives? 113 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,720 OK, yeah, so it's just, it's a set of warnings that are 114 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,040 preparing the ground, clearing the ground really for how we 115 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:53,560 pray. So again, there's warnings and 116 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,200 promises. So don't pray to impress other 117 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,800 people. Don't be like a hypocrite, Jesus 118 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,400 says. But the promise alongside that 119 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,000 is that you are seen by God. So again, my my line of work, 120 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,560 sometimes, you know, I've got to pray in public. 121 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:10,800 It's got to be impressive. You know, it's got to be 122 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,520 whatever. And actually so many times like 123 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:14,880 I've felt that in my own heart. Am I praying to impress other 124 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,120 people? Once I was at a summer school of 125 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,440 theology years ago because I'm really rock'n'roll my life. 126 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,480 And, and it was I was asked to give thanks for the food and 127 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,400 just suddenly my voice changed. I tried to do like an overview 128 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,640 of the Old and New Testaments. I was talking to every member of 129 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,880 the Trinity, but probably thanking the Father for dying on 130 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:34,480 the cross. And I don't know what. 131 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,080 And, and I just, I, I said when I got to Anne and I was 132 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,720 deflated. I think the food was cold and, 133 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,480 and it was just that that I wasn't praying to my father at 134 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:43,760 all. I was praying to impress other 135 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,160 people. And I dare to think I'm probably 136 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,440 not the only Christian who's fallen into that trap. 137 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,720 So, but the promise is that you're seen by God. 138 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,800 You don't have to impress him because he's your father. 139 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,800 And the challenge is we can't see the God we pray to, but 140 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:06,280 Jesus says he can see us. He sees us and he sees us as his 141 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:08,400 children. It's not just like a secret 142 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,160 police officers on under surveillance. 143 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,080 He sees what you're doing so we can catch you out. 144 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:14,920 You know, he's your father who delights in you. 145 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,800 The God who sees us is our Father who loves us, says Jesus. 146 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,600 So we don't have to impress him. Yeah, that's actually the second 147 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:25,400 one. We don't pray to impress God. 148 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:26,720 That's the pagans. They do that. 149 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,760 They go you we need to do all this stuff so that God the gods 150 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:34,120 will give us what we want. And again, how often we might 151 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,240 think if I can just pray long enough, hard enough, God will 152 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,280 give me what I want. If I can just use the right 153 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,040 language, God will give me what I want. 154 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,520 But verse 7 he says when you pray, don't keep on batting like 155 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:47,080 pagans. If they think they'll be heard 156 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,960 for their many words. Don't be like them for your 157 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:54,080 father knows what you need before you ask him. 158 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,160 And that's amazing because because God knows what you need. 159 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,600 But then verse 9, this then is how you should pray. 160 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,160 We kind of go and verse verse, it could be just like, therefore 161 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,600 we don't have to pray at all. You can say, well, father knows 162 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:07,880 what I need, so I don't need to pray at all. 163 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,600 But actually, because your father knows what you need, then 164 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,680 you can come to him and you can talk to him knowing that his 165 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,280 purposes for you are good that he he sees you at your worst. 166 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,920 He sees you the things that you're ashamed of. 167 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,960 He sees that, and yet he still invites you to come to him in 168 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:28,720 prayer through faith in his Son Jesus, with him as our heavenly 169 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,480 Father. So there's amazing promises here 170 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,760 that actually we are known by God and that is good news. 171 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,360 As Shao Jian said at the beginning, that is good news. 172 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,000 That sounds frightening. But because he's compassionate, 173 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,120 because he's gracious, He knows us. 174 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,440 Therefore we can just say, right, Lord, you don't need to 175 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:46,280 explain the situation. Just help. 176 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,120 Please just help. Help my heart, Help this other 177 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,720 person's heart and intervene. Please let your Kingdom come in 178 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,200 this situation. So Jesus begins with these 179 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,960 warnings how not to pray. And then we're going to look at 180 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:02,920 the first half of the Lord's Prayer this morning and then the 181 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,000 second-half tomorrow morning we're back at Ave. primary 182 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,560 school. So Jesus starts with saying how 183 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:11,480 not to pray. But then from verse 9, normally 184 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,160 he goes on to teach us how to pray and Jack is going to come 185 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,120 and read Jesus model prayer to us. 186 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:22,200 Jack. So verse 9 This then is how you 187 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,000 should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed 188 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,160 be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it 189 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,280 is in heaven. Give us today Our Daily Bread 190 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,760 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 191 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,240 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil 192 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,240 one. For if you forgive other people 193 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,120 when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also 194 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,480 forgive you. But if you do not forgive others 195 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,880 their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 196 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,120 It's actually when you listen to this model prayer, one thing 197 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,120 that always strikes me is just how short it is. 198 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,360 You always say don't keep on babbling like pagans. 199 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,680 And actually this prayer I think you can probably read out in 200 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:10,160 about 15 seconds. Maybe I have a memory of COVID 201 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,160 era. You're meant to wash your hands. 202 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,440 Was a happy birthday to you. Maybe was that once or twice, 203 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,400 maybe twice. And the Lord's Prayer, some, 204 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,400 some Christians come up with a great idea, which I, I find just 205 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:21,000 weird. Didn't do it. 206 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,160 But apparently you could, you could also time yourself by 207 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,440 saying the Lord's Prayer by washing hands for 30 seconds. 208 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:27,240 There's no, I think it was twice again. 209 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,800 Anyway, that's not in my notes. But yeah, but it's short. 210 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:32,600 That's a big thing. And actually there is something 211 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:34,320 liberating about that. That's not to say that all our 212 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,040 prayers have to be just these words. 213 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,720 And it's not to say that all our prayers should be 15 seconds and 214 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,000 no longer, but it is amazing that Jesus, when he wants to 215 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,640 teach us how to pray, he doesn't give us a massive big long 216 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,720 prayer. He gives us this prayer which is 217 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,840 short and simple, and yet it has so much to teach us about the 218 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,640 attitudes we should have when we pray and about who it is we're 219 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,840 praying to. So again, the big starting point 220 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,240 is that we are praying to our Father in heaven. 221 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,080 We are praying to God who is our Father and that makes all the 222 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,000 difference when we pray. I don't know about you when I 223 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,360 when I was when I was a child back into the playground. 224 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,920 You somebody argue your mates like whose dad was best like my 225 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,080 dad's bigger than your dad. My dad could beat your dad up. 226 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,080 If you annoy me, I'm going to get my dad on you. 227 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,400 You some of us did that, but actually what we are learning 228 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,800 when Jesus invites to pray is actually our dad really is the 229 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:30,240 greatest. Our Father really is stronger 230 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,920 than anything standing against us. 231 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:37,280 He really is able to protect us when perhaps no one else can. 232 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,320 He really does help us as we cry out to Him. 233 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,000 And the foundational truth for Jesus teaching on prayer is that 234 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,040 God is your Father and you are his child. 235 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:49,360 Again, this is a definition that I just have come back to the 236 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,960 last 10 years or so because I just love the simplicity of it. 237 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:57,040 Prayer so simply as a child asking their Father for help, 238 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,440 that's just fundamental. That's like at its simplest, 239 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,360 that's what we do we pray Father, I need your help. 240 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,440 It's as simple as that Prayer begins and ends with the 241 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,560 fatherhood of God and the theme of this weekend is is praying 242 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:13,600 together. And so want to see that actually 243 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,240 that that that the Lord's Prayer so reminds us that actually we 244 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:21,840 never pray alone. It's our Father in heaven and we 245 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:23,600 need to see that because actually remember the context, 246 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,400 Jesus saying Jesus is telling his disciples, go into your 247 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:30,560 room, verse 6, close the door, be alone with God. 248 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,360 You might think he's going to say just going to say, well then 249 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,720 my father or just father. Luke 11. 250 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,120 He just starts with father, but here he says our Father, even 251 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,320 when we're on our own, we're not on our own. 252 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:46,440 Our Father reminds us we are always praying with Jesus and 253 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,240 we're always praying alongside other believers. 254 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,280 We're always praying with Jesus. Actually remember Jesus is 255 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,640 saying this our Father, He's saying that's my father is now 256 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:57,440 your father. Disciples, remember he said that 257 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:59,040 to Mary Magdalene when he rose from the dead. 258 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,000 He says I'm going back to my God and your God, my father and your 259 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,560 father saying now God is your father. 260 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:08,080 Therefore talk to him like your Father. 261 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,800 Jesus relationship with God becomes our relationship with 262 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,280 God when we trust in him. Jesus intimacy with the Father 263 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,400 becomes our intimacy with the Father. 264 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,760 When we pray, our Father remembering we are praying with 265 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,400 Jesus, but we're also, we're praying with other believers. 266 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:29,360 Remember we're on our own in our room. 267 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,160 Jesus says, but we are always part of God's great community of 268 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,720 believers, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers in Christ. 269 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,240 And that's in a local church setting and that's the universal 270 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,560 church across the world. Our Father reminds us that God 271 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,120 isn't just my Father, He is the father of everyone who trusts in 272 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,760 him. That I don't follow Jesus on my 273 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,560 own. I'm part of the community of 274 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,760 God's people and therefore I don't pray to God on my own. 275 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,360 I pray as part of God's family of believers. 276 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,680 So that's kind of remembering that prayer is about praying 277 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:05,640 with Jesus and praying alongside other believers. 278 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,120 But we come into the body of the, of the Lord's Prayer itself 279 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,520 and it's kind of in a game of two halves. 280 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,280 People say there are about 6 requests here and you can sort 281 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,840 of split them in two in a sense. The first set of requests you're 282 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,160 going to look at today, we're praying for God's glory. 283 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,840 The second set of requests we are depending on God's grace. 284 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,120 So we'll look at that second bit a bit more tomorrow morning at 285 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:26,080 Ave. School. 286 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,280 But I think the order of those halves is significant. 287 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,480 Actually, if I was praying, I would go straight to give us 288 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,320 today Our Daily Bread. I basically all that I, I need 289 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,480 help, Lord, and I've just said prayer as a child asking your 290 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,720 Father help. That's not wrong, but it's 291 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:40,360 interesting. When Jesus teaches how to pray, 292 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:44,240 he starts with God. He wants us to not just make the 293 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,080 whole world revolve around us. He wants to go actually pray 294 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:50,360 this way. Jesus says, and remember that 295 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,240 you're not the center of the universe. 296 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,240 God is. And that's actually really good 297 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,520 news. It's good news because he's 298 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,120 still your Father and he loves you, but he's got other purposes 299 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,880 in life than just maybe what you can see right now. 300 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,680 And in the first half, the Lord's Prayer, we see that 301 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,680 prayer is how we get involved with God's saving purposes for 302 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,080 us and for our world. This is how we get involved with 303 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,680 what God is doing in the world. We're children asking our Father 304 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,080 for help, but our Father saying, you've not got a part to play in 305 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,880 the family business. You've got a part to play in 306 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,040 what I want to do in this world, across this world, through the 307 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,680 lives of people you know and people you don't even know. 308 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,560 And prayer is a massive part of how you play a part in God's 309 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,120 family business of rescuing people and bringing them into 310 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,320 his family. How we pray and the things we 311 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,960 pray for in Jesus name play a huge part in God's saving 312 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,400 purposes. And I always think that's just 313 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,880 an amazing statement that God would involve people like us in 314 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,000 what he's doing. So the first half of the Lord's 315 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,920 Prayer is about praying for God's glory, seeking God's 316 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,920 glory, living for God's glory in this world. 317 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,480 That begins with that opening phrase, Hallowed be your name. 318 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,680 Jesus encouraged us to include praise right at the beginning of 319 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:12,680 our prayers. Prayer is about praising your 320 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,720 Father in heaven. Again, hallowed be your name. 321 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,280 It's a weird phrase, sounds very alien to our to our ears. 322 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:23,400 To hallow something or someone is busy, to honour it, to set it 323 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,160 apart, to say this is special, holy. 324 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,640 And Jesus invites us to begin by praying to our Father and 325 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,120 heaven, saying your name is holy. 326 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,800 And we're not making God's name holy. 327 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,880 God's name is holy anyway, but we are recognizing that his name 328 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,560 is holy. And we're responding to that. 329 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:43,840 Basically, when when Jesus opens his prayer this way, he's 330 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,360 saying, ask your Father to show you who he is. 331 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:53,120 Ask your father to show just how different he is to us, how much 332 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,600 better, how more good, how more loving and compassionate he is 333 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,800 to what you imagine him to be. He is gloriously different to us 334 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:07,079 and that is really good news. So again, your name in the Bible 335 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:10,920 is very much your character. So it's who someone is, what 336 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,680 makes them tick. And God has many names in 337 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,880 scripture. He is names like father, king, 338 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:22,480 creator, refuge, rock, fortress, lover, sustainer, Redeemer, 339 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,560 judge. But again, hallowed be your 340 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,800 name, remembering who it is speaking here it is Jesus. 341 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,680 And it's through Jesus that we get to see God's character 342 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,720 perfectly. And when we see God's love for 343 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:42,920 us in Jesus, Jesus invites us. Hallow that hallow the name of 344 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,760 God. Say, Lord, thank you for who you 345 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,360 are. Thank you that you're different 346 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,800 to us. Thank you that you're more 347 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,000 forgiving than I think you are, that you're more just than I 348 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,680 think you are, that your purposes are me are better than 349 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,440 I think they are. Again, just think of like the 350 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,240 core values of our church from 20 years ago. 351 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,160 We want to be God centred, actually hallowed be your name 352 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,640 is about that. It's saying God, this is about 353 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,840 you. It's about your glory, not about 354 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,640 us. But amazingly, when we realize 355 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,800 it's about your glory and not about us, we get blessed by 356 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,240 discovering how we're meant to live with the God who made us 357 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,640 and the God who loves us. So that's why as a church, we 358 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,480 pray together, that's why we hear God's word together. 359 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,440 That's why we sing God's praises together, because we want to 360 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:34,240 hallow God's name, because that's what we're made for. 361 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,280 That's what we've been rescued to do. 362 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,000 Just a generation of Christians a long time ago, the 17th 363 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,280 century in the Westminster Confession, they began a whole 364 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,640 set of question and answers about what life should be all 365 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,480 about for a Christian. And the opening question was, 366 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,520 what is the chief end of man? But no, but this is it. 367 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,720 Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 368 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,240 And hallowed be your name actually is an invitation to 369 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,080 glorify God. But it's by glorifying God we 370 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,520 enjoy him, realizing who God is and how good he is, that we 371 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,280 delight in knowing him. And that's important because of 372 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,960 the second request Jesus teaches us. 373 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:17,200 He says pray this your Kingdom come prayer is about partnering 374 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:21,680 with your Father in heaven. Again, we we've seen this 375 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,800 already, but we each have a vital part to play in declaring 376 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,480 the goodness of God in this world. 377 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,440 More than that in the building of God's Kingdom here on earth. 378 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,120 And that's an amazing statement that Jesus invites his ordinary 379 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,720 weak, foolish disciples to play a part in building God's 380 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:42,720 Kingdom. And he does that right up to the 381 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,480 present day. So the Kingdom of heaven and 382 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,160 Matthew's gospel, if you flick back a couple of pages, we just 383 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,000 see this is about God beginning to establish his Kingdom on 384 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,920 earth. So Matthew chapter one, verse 385 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,360 21, we hear that this Jesus has come to save his people from 386 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:00,080 their sins. Matthew chapter 3, Jesus is 387 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,560 baptized and empowered for his mission by God the Father and 388 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,480 God the Holy Spirit. He's coming to build God's 389 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,280 Kingdom. Matthew chapter 4 Jesus fights 390 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,560 his first recorded battle against the devil, and Jesus 391 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,120 wins. Jesus bringing the Kingdom of 392 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:17,640 heaven, Matthew 4 verse 17. From that time on, Jesus began 393 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,800 to preach, repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near. 394 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,720 Jesus is God's king, He's come to build God's Kingdom. 395 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,320 But then in the middle part of Matthew 4, something amazing 396 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,920 happens. Jesus calls 4 ordinary fishermen 397 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,760 to follow him, Peter, Andrew, James and John. 398 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,640 And he says your job is to call others to follow me. 399 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:40,840 I'm going to make you fishers of people. 400 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:43,800 Jesus really early on, he's God's king. 401 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,840 He's the one who's going to win the battle for God. 402 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:50,520 But he straightaway involves ordinary followers in that task. 403 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,160 And in this prayer that Jesus taught his first disciples and 404 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,000 has taught all of his disciples throughout history ever since, 405 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,120 he says we have a part to play. We get to partner with our 406 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,520 Father in heaven by praying. Lord, would your Kingdom come? 407 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,720 That's a big part of how we build God's Kingdom by praying 408 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:11,840 so much. Christians have got that wrong. 409 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,960 We said it's about what we do. We just is all on us to build 410 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,360 God's Kingdom. It's not just on us to build 411 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:18,880 God's Kingdom. God's going to do it, but he 412 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,880 invites us to play a part and a big part saying your Kingdom 413 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:29,000 come, please let me show who you are through my actions, through 414 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,360 the way you're changing me. Again, we don't always get an 415 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,600 opportunity to speak for Jesus in this world, but we pray this 416 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,960 prayer, your Kingdom come in my life, and then through it to 417 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:40,280 others. We're saying, Lord, would you 418 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,600 just change me into somebody belongs to your Kingdom? 419 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,400 And then would others see who you are through that? 420 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,920 This is a prayer to say that we would work at our jobs as 421 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:54,680 working for Jesus. We would do our studies as 422 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,600 working for Jesus. We would help our friends as 423 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,160 working for Jesus. We would raise our kids as 424 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,440 working for Jesus. We'd spend our money as working 425 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,400 for Jesus. Your Kingdom come reminds us of 426 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,120 the mission Jesus has given us and to ask God to bless that 427 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,640 mission so other people will know Jesus as their king. 428 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,000 And your Kingdom come can be a bit of painful prayer to pray 429 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,160 sometimes it reminds us that God's Kingdom isn't here. 430 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:22,960 We see that on the news around us. 431 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,000 We see it in our own lives. God's Kingdom hasn't yet come. 432 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,680 But we do not despair because Jesus says, pray this prayer. 433 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,040 Your Kingdom come, remind yourself God's Kingdom is 434 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,240 coming. It will not always be like this 435 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,360 in this world. It will not be like this in our 436 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:39,640 hearts. God's Kingdom is coming. 437 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,800 And he invites us to pray that that would happen. 438 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:45,880 But actually then the last request we're going to look at 439 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,800 today kind of follows on nice that your Kingdom come. 440 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,120 The challenge with that prayer is again, it could just be all 441 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:55,000 about what we are doing. We want God to put things right 442 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:56,920 and we get really frantic. He wants to do that. 443 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,320 But actually Jesus also says your will be done. 444 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,800 Trust God's purposes and timing in everything. 445 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,480 Your Kingdom come as a prayer for God to put things right. 446 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,800 Your will be done is a prayer about submitting to our Father 447 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,280 in heaven. We said earlier on what some of 448 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:16,560 the hardest things about prayer. Some of the hard things are we 449 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,040 just don't seem to get the answers we'd like that God 450 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,920 doesn't seem to intervene the way we want him to and that can 451 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,080 be painful. Sometimes I think about my older 452 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,200 brother actually, if I was writing this time think it's 453 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,080 well over 30 years now. I've been praying for him to 454 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:37,520 come to faith in Jesus and at the minute there's no change and 455 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,680 it's easy to give up sometimes. But you go actually hallowed. 456 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,000 Be your name God, you're good, Your Kingdom come break into my 457 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,160 brother's life. Your will be done. 458 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:50,400 Keep me trusting in you as I don't see it happening just yet. 459 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,040 Your will be done is not a prayer of defeat or giving up, 460 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:59,240 but it's a prayer of trust in God's saving purposes even when 461 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,400 we don't understand them. And of course this is the 462 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,200 prayer. I just always loved that Jesus 463 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:05,600 when he tells us to pray this way. 464 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,240 It's not a prayer. He doesn't know all about you. 465 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,960 Think about the Garden of Gethsemane the night before the 466 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:12,800 cross. He goes. 467 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,480 Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me yet. 468 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,960 Not what I will, but what you will when we say your will be 469 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,280 done. We're following in the footsteps 470 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,360 of Jesus and He's able to help us trust Him and submit to our 471 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,520 Father. Because our Father is good and 472 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,240 he is loving and his ways are best. 473 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,280 So this is how Jesus begins his master class in prayer. 474 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:42,720 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, 475 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,200 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 476 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,480 Prayer is how we get involved with God's saving purposes for 477 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,000 us and for our world.