The Lord's Prayer - Part I

Last Sunday I gave the sermon at the Roseville Church of Christ on the Lord's Prayer. The first part of the prayer is about God: who He is, where He is, the honor we owe his name, His kingdom and His His intent for us here on earth. The following are my notes from that lesson. The other sections of the prayer will be in not-too-distant future posts.

SERMON

Roseville Church

October 27, 2019

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

INTRO

• You know it. Let’s say it together. 
• Some churches use it regularly, we don’t. We value our independence and our autonomy.
• But it is worth taking a look at. Jesus said in v.9 “Pray like this…”

 OUR FATHER

• The address. He could have addressed it to any of the many names used for God in the Bible:
• King of Kings; Lord of Lords.
• God is, after all, the creator of all things. He is to be honored, worshiped, feared even.
• He is great and powerful and mighty.
• But Jesus didn’t encourage us to use any of those terms to address the prayer.
• He said “Our Father.” Note: Our Father. That’s Jesus’ Father and ours.
• He used the most comfortable (and comforting) term to describe God, but not one often associated with Him at that time.
• Jesus called Him “Father”, but the rest of the people at that time didn’t think of him that way so much. The OT uses the words “God” and “Father” in the same verse 200 times, but it is always speaking to people about the God of your father(s). John 8:41 does quote some of the Jews as referring to God as their father, but that does not seem to be common.
• By addressing God as our Father, Jesus invoked an image of a protector & defender. And of a trainer. Someone who teaches us what is right and what is wrong.
• And someone who loves us very much.
• Maybe we should think of God in those terms, without losing our respect.

IN HEAVEN 

•  Jesus wanted to establish God’s whereabouts and He said “God is in Heaven.”
• But that does not take away from the fact that God is here. He is everywhere.
• Putting God in His heaven establishes His grandeur.
• You can think of God at this point as being on His throne, somewhere way off. The Bible does speak of His throne being in Heaven. (e.g. Psalm 11:4). But it also says Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool. (Isaiah 66:11)
• And I don’t have time this morning to fully explain what I have concluded about Heaven, but we know that God is everywhere (omnipresent) and that He is timeless.
• God is present right now, when you were born, when you were baptized, when you were married, at your most recent sinful act or omission. He is there on 9/11/2001 and on 10/27/2051.
• God was here before time started and will be here after time has ended. You may need to think about that. He was here, and will be here when there is no such thing as time. Does that mean that we, too, will see all of time at the same time? What great historians and philosophers we will be!
• And He is here this morning in Roseville and everywhere else around the world that His people are meeting (Mt 18:20).   
• And He is there at the G7 Summit, and in Britain’s Parliament as they consider withdrawing from the European Union, and in the White House and at the impeachment hearings.
• He is everywhere.
• So, my thought about God’s whereabouts is not that He is in one place on a throne somewhere. That was a metaphor to show that He is in charge, He is in control. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
• But God is always right here. Always has been. Always will be. Just a whisper or a thought away from us.
• That’s comforting.

MAY YOUR NAME BE KEPT HOLY

•  Then Jesus turns away from addressing the prayer to God and makes his 1st request.
•  In the old English of the King James version it says “Hallowed be thy name.” In some of the more modern versions it says something like “May your name be kept holy.”
• Jesus is speaking here to the way the people in the world see God, and particularly to the respect we owe Him. He is asking that people speak of God with reverence.
• That may seem a little strange that Jesus would have us ask God to control how people see him and speak of Him.
• What I think is going on here is that by us requesting God that his name be kept holy, we will keep his name holy ourselves. And that this prayer will serve as a constant reminder to speak of God in reverence. It is a reminder not to use His name flippantly, like “OMG” as an expression of delight or surprise.
• He is our protective father and we owe Him our respect.

LET YOUR KINGDOM COME

• When I am praying this prayer and I get to this part, I always express a little confusion. Many Christians have said that we should leave this part out.
• What they say about that is that Jesus taught this prayer before the church was established and since the church is now here, this part is meaningless.
• But, because it is here, as a part of the prayer Jesus suggested as a model, I would feel awkward omitting it.
• The way I think about it is this: The kingdom is here, but its influence is not what it could be. It is not everywhere.
• I think about the parts of the world, and even of my life, where the church could have more influence.
• What about “Thy Kingdom come into the new Karen refugee population next door to us here.”
• Or, “Thy Kingdom come into the condo or apartment or neighborhood where we live.”
• Or, “Thy Kingdom come into the halls of congress, or the White House.”
• Or even, “Thy Kingdom come more strongly into our church.”
• You get the idea. Think about the places or groups of people where God’s Kingdom is needed to be stronger.

LET YOUR PLEASURE BE DONE, AS IN HEAVEN, SO ON EARTH

• Who are we to ask God to have His will done here on earth? Certainly, He can do that if it is His will.
• I really have come to believe that this part of the prayer – this request and “Thy Kingdom come” and “Hallowed by Thy name” are all more for our own benefit. Jesus taught us to pray this way to emphasize for us the importance of keeping God’s name holy, of increasing the influence of His kingdom, and of doing His will here on earth.
• If we are praying for His will to be done, we are likely to attend to that ourselves. If we are praying this prayer every day, then in everything we do, we are likely to ask, “What is God’s will in this?”
• And it may remind us of Jesus’ teaching on the will of God:

o   Treat others the way you want to be treated (Mt 7:12)

o   Let your light shine before men so they can see your good works and give glory to God (Mt 5:16)

o   Don’t be angry with your brother (Mt 5:22-24)

o   Love your enemies (Mt 5:44)

o   Give to the poor (Mt 6:3)

o   Don’t be concerned about what you will eat or drink or wear (Mt 6:25)

o   Don’t be judgmental (Mt 7:1-2)