Secrets of the Lord's Prayer | Sermon by Mark Finley

our father which art in heaven reveals a god not only who is a loving heavenly father but he's there in heaven he's sovereign he's in control of this universe he guides what takes place in our lives he's the god of might the god of majesty the god of power we can approach the all-powerful all-knowing almighty god of the universe knowing that our loving heavenly father delights when we come to him in prayer not long ago i saw on the internet a three-year-old boy repeating the lord's prayer now that's the prayer that jesus taught his disciples you'll recall that christ's disciples came to him and they said to him lord teach us to pray in the new testament the lord's prayer is found really in two places it's found in luke the 11th chapter and it's also found in matthew the sixth chapter matthew 6 is a longer version of the lord's prayer than in luke chapter 11. the lord's prayer might actually be titled the disciples prayer because it was the prayer that jesus taught his disciples to pray we're going to be studying the longer version in matthew chapter 6 today so if you have your bible i invite you to take it and turn to matthew the sixth chapter so you're taking your bibles looking at matthew chapter six and we're going to look at the lord's prayer phrase by phrase because this prayer is not only a prayer to be said but it has to do with a life to be lived matthew the sixth chapter we're beginning there with verse 9 after this manner therefore pray you our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever now christ's instruction in the lord's prayer is so simple that it can be grasped by a little child but it's so profound that the brightest and greatest minds will never fully understand its depth now the lord's prayer is divided into two sections the first three petitions have to deal with the glory of god the last three petitions have to deal with the necessities of human beings that structure of the lord's prayer first dealing with the glory of god than the needs of humanity is placed there intentionally by christ here's why because when god is given his proper place everything else falls into place can you read that with me from the screen or say it when god is given his proper place all other things fall into place in other words when god is given his supreme place his glory and his honor when they consume our lives only then can we effectively present our needs to him so let's begin this prayer and take a look at it phrase by phrase our father which art in heaven here is the key thought we have a heavenly father who cares for us immensely he's anxious to hear our prayers he's both personal and sovereign notice what it says our father which art in heaven it combines two concepts first the fatherhood of god as a loving caring father and secondly the sovereignty of god god's love is always driven by god's power and god's power is always motivated by god's love now the idea of the fatherhood of god is a consistent theme throughout scripture let me give you some examples of this take your bible please turn to isaiah chapter 63. let's take a look at the fatherhood of god and its significance in our personal lives isaiah chapter 63 you're looking there at verse 16. here isaiah speaks and he says doubtless thou art our father without a doubt god you are our father you're the one that cares for us you're one that loves us the one that sustains us doubtless you are a father abraham may be ignorant of us he's using an illustration verse 16 isaiah 63 israel may acknowledge us not but thou o lord art our father our redeemer thy name is from everlasting isaiah says as we walk through life never forget that we have a loving caring heavenly father look at psalm 103 verse 13 and 14 this is a consistent theme through scripture psalm 103 verse 13 and 14 like as a father pity with his children so the lord pities them that fear him pity in the sense of looking down upon with care compassion why is it that this is true verse 14 he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust when the mountain is high when the journey is long god our loving heavenly father knows that we are weak and frail and he looks down upon us with compassion jesus teaches us to call his father our father god loves us as he loves his son that is one of the most profound thoughts in the universe that jesus invites us to call his father our father and god loves us as much as he loves his own son we're not orphans street children begging for food we are sons and daughters of god he is our loving heavenly father jesus is so eager to welcome us into the family of god that the very first words he teaches us to pray in the lord's prayer are our father in christ we are one family with a father who will guide us a father who will strengthen us a father who will sustain us a father who will empower us a father who will direct us a father who will protect us a father who provide a provide for us and that is incredibly good news there is a wonderfully encouraging statement in the book thoughts from the mount of blessings page 105. and you can notice it here thoughts from the mount of blessing 105. god hears every word that is spoken that's our heavenly father he's not too busy for us he listens to every word that is offered every prayer that's offered he tastes the sorrows and disappointments of every soul he regards the treatment that's given to father mother sister friend and neighbor in other words when we feel abused when we feel mistreated when we feel condemned we feel criticized our heavenly father knows all about that next sentence he cares for our necessities and his love and mercy and grace are continually flowing to satisfy our need from heaven's sanctuary above our loving heavenly father pours out grace he pours out mercy to satisfy every one of our needs now the concept that god is our heavenly father impacts our lives greatly this is not something that's simply theoretical it's not some intellectual insight but it impacts the way we live day by day in those grim discouraging dark moments we must constantly remind ourselves we've got a loving heavenly father that we matter to god in his infinite mercy we are of royal lineage children of the king of kings now the expression our father which art in heaven reveals a god not only who is a loving heavenly father but he's there in heaven he's sovereign he's in control of this universe he guides what takes place in our lives he's the god of might the god of majesty the god of power we can approach the all-powerful all-knowing almighty god of the universe knowing that our loving heavenly father delights when we come to him in prayer he waits in eager anticipation to answer our prayers and meet our deepest needs our father in heaven that idea places together these two profound concepts that i've mentioned the love of god and the power of god the power of god is always motivated by the love of god and the and the love of god is always backed by the power of god we need not fear our joy need not be strangled with worry our lives need not be filled with anxiety our days need not be filled with despair the one who loves us most has the power to change the most hopeless and discouraging circumstances there is a statement in the book prophets and kings page 260 that i've read often that has encouraged my life when the valleys have been dark when the mountain paths have been high when the devil's dark clouds of discouragement have flooded over me this statement in prophets and kings has reminded me of my loving heavenly father when in faith we take hold of his strength what do we do in faith everybody what do we do what do we do you're not so sure what do we do in faith take hold of what his strength he will change wonderfully change the most hopeless and discouraging outlook he will do this for the glory of his name when in faith we take hold of what his strength he will do what change how will he change it most wonderfully change what will he change the most hopeless and discouraging outlet why does he do that for the glory of his name when the valley is dark when the mountain path is high you have a loving heavenly father a father who is the sovereign god a father who is all-powerful a father who loves you with immense love and he will take you through that dark valley for the glory of his name our father which art in heaven what's the next phrase hallowed be your name now what does that mean hallowet be your name the me the word hallo is another word for holy or it we could translate it honor be to your name now in scripture a name stands for character so take your bible and turn to exodus chapter 34 a name stands for character exodus the 34th chapter we are looking there at verse 5 to 7. when we pray hallowed be your name we are saying god let me always honor your character exodus 34 verses 5 to 7. then the lord in the lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him there and proclaimed the name of the lord so when the lord proclaims his name what is that significant of we'll look here at verse six the lord passed by before him and proclaimed he's proclaiming his name the lord the lord god merciful gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin so to when when we pray lord i want to hallow your name the what we are really praying is in our inmost thoughts our conscious acts and our spoken words we want to reflect his loving character we plead with god that we'll always honor his name that will never soil his reputation that will never disappoint him by acting contrary to his will so this idea of hallowing the name of god is living a life which we honor god some time ago i read the story of a young man that was a freshman in college it was the first time that he was ever away from home his mother was a maid in a hotel and she worked making beds and cleaning toilets and cleaning bathrooms and she saved her money to send her son to college when he just got to college one of the first saturday nights that he was there he was invited to a party and as he went to the party he was enjoying it and a older student slipped up to him and said here's something take this you'll enjoy the party more it was illegal drugs and he looked at it and the older student said take it you are going to enjoy the party much more and the young man was hesitant he said i i i don't want to take those drugs and the older student pressed him he said you'll enter into a state of ecstasy you're going to feel so much better you can enter into another world and the student looked at him and he said this look my mother is a maid she worked in a hotel making making beds she cleaned toilets she saved and saved and saved for me to come to college i could not possibly put something in my mind that's going to destroy my educational experience and bring dishonor to my mother i could not dishonor my family's name by taking this the honor of my family means more to me than taking this substance god has acknowledged you and me before the heavenly angels we are children of the heavenly king we're part of the royal family of the universe and james says live worthy of the name for which you were called if that college student refused those drugs because he did not want to dishonor the name of his mother are the words of your mouth dishonoring the names of christ is what you watch on television if you watch it or the internet dishonoring christ does your life dishonor jesus when we say hallowed be thy name what we are really saying is i do always those things that what please him i never want to dishonor christ's name in the light of god's love we don't want to let him down by our poor choices in the light of christ's sacrifice we never want to disappoint him by our careless actions in the light of the holy spirit's pleading we never want to embarrass god by refusing to yield to the moving of the holy spirit i like the way one modern version of the bible puts it it's it's a version i wasn't really too acquainted with it's called the christian standard version of the bible but it it translates that first expression of the lord's prayer this way our father in heaven your name be honored as holy the idea is as we pray we admire we esteem we honor we reverence we treasure we value god's name above everything else one christian theologian john piper put it this way nothing is clearer and more unshakable to me then the purpose of the universe is for the howling of god's name his kingdom comes for that his will is done for that humans have bred sustained life for that sins are forgiven for that temptation is escaped from that here's what piper is saying and i think he's right what he's saying is this that you and i were born into existence in the universe in the context of the great controversy between good and evil in the context of the intergalactic struggle between christ and satan in the context of this great controversy we were born into the universe to honor god's name we're born into the universe to to keep god's reputation before the entire universe as christians as holy and as honored and as esteem so when we pray our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name we are praying that our lives will always honor god's name that will never ever disappoint you disappoint him the lord's prayer begins god we value you we vow your name is holy we acknowledge and value you as infinitely pure as undefiled as righteous you are the supreme and absolute treasure in all the universe and above the universe all the treasures are are are nothing beside you we could never honor god's name and never really pray that prayer unless our lives reflect our faith we cannot seriously pray hal be your name if we're dishonoring god in our lives the now what's the key to honoring his name it's to recognize that he is gracious he is loving caring all powerful and yielding to the to the moving of his holy spirit our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come when we pray thy kingdom come the idea is this that and you know the idea of christ's kingdom is a predominant theme through the new testament take your bible turn to john 18 36. we're going to explore this expression thy kingdom come john the 18th chapter 36 verse jesus in john 18 verse 36 puts it this way he says my kingdom is not what my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world my si then my servants would fight so when we pray let thy kingdom come in the lord's prayer we are praying that god would take our minds out of this world and focus them on the eternal kingdom look for example at matthew 25 34. we're looking at this concept of the kingdom in the new testament now jesus did say the kingdom of god is within you what did he mean by the kingdom of god is within us and we pray thy kingdom come the kingdom of god within us is the reign of christ in our hearts as king of kings and lord of lords that there is nothing else but jesus on the throne of our hearts we can never acknowledge his coming kingdom with meaning unless his kingdom first reigns in our hearts but this prayer thy kingdom come is a prayer of the longing of the heart that we long for another world matthew you're looking there at matthew the 25th chapter and no let your eyes drop down matthew 25 and we're looking at the 34th verse then shall the king say unto them on his right hand they remember matthew 24 is about the signs of christ coming matthew 25 are three parables about readiness for christ's coming and this is the last of those second and last of those parables verse 34 then the king shall say unto them on his right hand come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world so christ has a kingdom that he's prepared for us from the foundation of the world and when we pray thy kingdom come what we are saying is really this i pray god that your your glorious name will be honored as holy among all nations throughout the universe i long for the day when all the forces of evil and wickedness are banished to the regions of hell and destroyed forever i long for the day when revelation 21 verse 4 will be fulfilled that you'll wipe away all tears from our eyes that there'll be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain the kingdom of god is locked in a cosmic conflict with the transient fleeting kingdoms of this world and one of our great weapons of warfare is prayer and as we pray the lord's prayer we pray god i pray that your kingdom come i want your kingdom not mine i want your name to be honored not mine in this battle for the souls of men and women i ask you father deploy your troops send us out for the proclamation of the gospel to the ends of the earth so your kingdom come when we pray your kingdom come what are we praying we're praying that the interests of god's kingdom our our interest the upbuilding of his kingdom is our supreme desire the joys of his kingdom are our delights our heartfelt prayer is lord we're sick of this world with its injustice it's suffering it's sickness it's heartache it's famine it's death we're sick of a world where cancer takes its victims we're sick of a world where the young died too young we're sick of a world where bombs drop and innocent children are killed we're sick of a world of injustice we're sick of a worldly poverty lord your kingdom come we long for the coming of the kingdom we long for the fulfillment of revelations promise and if we pray that prayer it's not only a prayer to pray with our lips but to live with our lives are you living a life a kingdom life where your heart longs for the kingdom of god and your life shows that thy kingdom come we pray that prayer of revelation 11 verse 15. take your bible please turn to revelation 11 verse 15. our father a loving heavenly father that art in heaven the sovereign god hell be your name god i want to honor you in everything i do every word every action every thought let your kingdom come let revelation 11 verse 15 be fulfilled revelation 11 verse 15. here it is the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world and become the kingdoms of our lord and his christ and he shall reign forever and ever that is the kingdom that we are looking forward to that is the kingdom that we pray for the kingdoms of this world are transitory rulers come today and are gone tomorrow nations rule today and they're gone tomorrow but the kingdom of christ is the eternal everlasting kingdom jesus will reign forever and ever and ever but here's some incredibly good news in daniel chapter 7. you want good news turn to daniel the seventh chapter daniel chapter seven and you're going to look there at daniel chapter 7 verse 27 notice what scripture says in daniel 7 verse 27 last part let's read it from the screen together the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven is to be given to the people of the saints of the highest notice the kingdom and dominion the greatness of the kingdom jesus secured the kingdom with his death on the cross of calvary in the final judgment it will be revealed that he is worthy of honor and praise but at the end jesus will grant to you and to me a place in his eternal kingdom so when we pray thy kingdom come we are praying lord may i enter into that eternal kingdom where there is no sickness suffering heartache or death and lord may i live the kingdom life our prayers reflect the longing of our hearts they reflect our greatest desire they reveal our inmost thoughts our father which art in heaven how it be thy name thy kingdom come thy thy what thy what thy what thy will be done whose will my will my will not at all did you notice in the lord's prayer that three pronouns are never used and three pronouns are always used what pronouns are never used in the lord's prayer my eye and mine never used but the pronouns our us and we are used nine times your will be done on earth as it is in heaven the story is told of an old scottish woman she used to travel from home to home across the countryside selling thread and buttons and shoe strings now when she came to an unmarked crossroads it was kind of a fork in the road she had a stick and she'd throw that stick up in the air and when a stick fell if it came to the right oh i go to the road on the right through the stick up went to the road on the left i go to the road on the left one day a man passed her and she was standing at this crossroads between the right road and the left road threw the stick up came down pointed right through the stick up came down pointed right she kept throwing it up and the guy said well why you keep throwing that stick up and she said well the stick's not pointing the direction i want to go there are some people that pray like that they pray lord uh did i hear you right lord you want me to go left and i will go right lord lord i think i'll keep praying until you until i find out the way i want to go and you confirm my choice some people pray simply to confirm their own choice how do you know you are praying for god's will how do you know that you are not seeking your own will in your prayer and asking god to confirm your choice rather than asking him to reveal his choice here's one way you can know we will never really know god's will unless we're willing to give up the thing we want most see we are prone to come to god with our desires and we have something in our mind we say that's what god wants i know god wants this because i feel impressed but unless i'm willing honestly to give up the thing that i want most i will never know god's will when what god wants is more important than what i want uh then be able to discern his will do you remember jesus in the garden of eden the garden of gethsemane praying matthew 26 verse 39 you know it well the story matthew 26 verse 39 jesus was facing the cross he was facing the farce of the trial he was facing the mockery of roman soldiers jesus was facing the nails through his hands and the crown of thorns upon his head and the blood running down his face jesus was facing all that and in matthew chapter 26 we look there at verse 39 matthew 26 verse 39. jesus goes a little farther and fell on his face and prayed saying oh my father if it be possible let this cup pass from me what did he mean when he said let this cup pass from me what did he mean then what was the cup the cup was the cross let this trial let this difficulty let the cross pass from me because he knew that the agony of the cross would bring him into the depths of darkness bearing the guilt and shame of sin like he had never been before he would feel god abandoned because of sin he would feel god forsaken so he says let this god pass from me nevertheless not as i will but as you will now the key point here is this if you say if you look at matthew 6 and luke 11 and compare that with matthew 26 if you look at the phrase in the lord's prayer thy will be done and you compare it with matthew 26 it's essentially the same so what we are really praying is this that as long as we live we want to live the kingdom life here and now we want to live a life in which the will of god governs our lives so we walk in the light of his kingdom you remember what david prayed in psalm 40 verse 8 go back to psalm 40 verse 8 the kingdom life is a life not which we come to god trying to superimpose our will upon god's will but we come seeking his will we come delighting to do his will why because we know that god's will is far better than our will that god's plan for our lives is far better than our plan for our own lives psalm 40 you're looking there verse 8. reading it together with me please i delight to do thy will oh god now does the text say god i'm going to do your will if it kills me is that what it says to say i'm going to do your will even if i don't want to do it i delight to do thy will there comes a point in the christian life where all we want is what he wants that the spirit places within our hearts a desire to do god's will and we can say with the psalmist i delight to do thy will o god the prayer thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven is a prayer that the reign of evil on this earth will be ended that sin may be forever destroyed and that the kingdom of righteousness will be forever established the re but the reign of evil must end in our hearts before it can ever end in the universe jesus longs to establish the principles of his eternal kingdom in us so that we'll be fit to live in the eternal kingdom of heaven now here are the first three petitions what are they they start out with our father which art in heaven revealing to us a loving heavenly father whose power is behind his love then there are three petitions first hallow your name honor your name that's what i want to do lord second your kingdom come and lord i want to live a life of the kingdom life where i'm longing for the new kingdom and not get settled down in this world and third your will be done the first half of the prayer jesus teaches us to regard his name his kingdom and his will he teaches us that his name is to be honored his kingdom is to be established and his will is to be performed that's the first part of the prayer now when we place his glory above everything else we can ask in confidence in what what can we ask him in confidence that our needs may be supplied when honoring his name is our priority when longing for his kingdom is our greatest desire when doing his will is the goal of our lives we can claim his promise that the riches of heaven are ours by faith he is the god that will never let us down he'll meet each of our needs the first three petitions lead to the last three our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven what's the next phrase give us give us tomorrow give us next week lord i can't see very far in the future uh but lord i'm i want you to guide me next year what's what is that next one give us what what day what day this day our what daily bread now there's something significant really significant about this phrase that you can easily miss it's not a request for tomorrow it's a request for what today we believe that god's going to supply our needs today just as manna fell each day so god's blessings come one day at a time we don't have to fret about the challenges of tomorrow we don't need to worry over the problems the next day might bring or the stress over tomorrow's needs you know there's that him one day at a time you remember that hymn i would sing it for you but i'd empty the church one day at a time sweet jesus that's all i'm asking from you just give me the strength to do every day what i'll have to do yesterday's gone sweet jesus and tomorrow may never be mine help me today show me the way one day at a time give us this day what our daily bread the god who reigned manna down in the wilderness to meet israel's needs has not forgotten your needs the god has sent the ravens to feed elijah by the book of sheriff will not pass by one of his faithful self-sacrificing children the god who multiplied the oil and the meal to feed the widow of zara path and her son when when they were down to their last morsel facing starvation attempting to eke out a meagre existence and simply stay alive at a time with famine has not forgotten you now at times in our lives god allows us to come to a point of desperate need and he does that for a purpose so that we can learn lessons of deep trust now we live in a time of abundance today very few of us in this room are going to go home and not eat something or for sabbath lunch today but when we pray give us this day our daily bread we are praying that god will meet every one of our needs and that we can trust him implicitly if we fail to entrust him implicitly today when the crisis breaks tomorrow the prayer that we will have to pray in meaning give us this day our daily bread will be meaningless does the bible predict in the book of revelation that there's a time coming when no man can buy or sell does the bible predict that is that just uh a symbolic illusion or is that real is that really coming if that is really coming will there be a time that we pray with earnest give us this day our daily bread and will we trust god during that time to provide for us there's a marvelous passage often overlooked in isaiah 33. so if you have your bible take it and turn to isaiah 33 if not look at the screen isaiah 33 verse 14 to 17. describes the final conflict in the last days of verse history known as the time of trouble and it shares with us there the issues that god's people will face when in earnest they have to cry out give us this day our daily bread you're looking there at isaiah 33 we're starting with verse 14. the sinners in zion are afraid fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites in other words the false pretense has been stripped aside the true kingdom people are revealed at that point with christ living and reigning in their hearts then the question is asked who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire who is the devouring fire you remember in hebrews it says our lord is what a consuming or devouring fire so this is an allusion to the second coming of christ who shall dwell with the devouring fire who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings then it tells you verse 15 he that walketh righteously they're a kingdom person they've been longing for the coming of christ they've been praying the lord's prayer with meaning thy kingdom come he that walketh up righteously he that speaketh uprightly he that despises the gain of oppressions that shaketh his hands from holding a bribe in other words he's not a dishonest person that stops his ears from hearing the blood in other words they're not watching all this crime and violence on tv and their characters are being shaped to love violet shut us his eyes from seeing evil oh god shut our eyes from seeing evil now notice he shall dwell on high who is this that dwells on high it is the righteous believer whose kingdom the kingdom of god dwells in their hearts they're praying give us this day our daily bread his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks bread shall be given to him his water shall be sure thine eyes shall see the king and his beauty and they shall behold a land that is far off when we pray today give us this day our daily bread we are praying in faith for that time that we shall walk through the greatest crisis in the history of this world we're praying by faith and we're saying god i trust you god i believe that you can supply my needs when we have needs today when we're brought into a point of dependence on god today we are learning to trust him god gives us little lessons of trust so we can exercise the muscles of faith to learn greater trust the more we learn to trust today the more we'll be able to trust in the future when every earthly support is cut off one of the great lessons god is trying to teach us is absolute total dependence on him give us this day our daily what bread but there's another hidden meaning of that passage give us this day our daily bread you remember in john 6 27 jesus says this i am the living bread that came down from heaven see the hidden meaning and give us this day our daily bread is not simply for the physical needs but we are praying for the soul nourishment we're praying that the hunger of our soul will be filled by jesus christ the living bread just as our stomachs growl for food when we're hungry our souls growl or long for god until we are fulfilled this longing for god this soul hunger is only satisfied as we kneel in his presence with the word of god opened or we sit there in our favorite chair with the word of god open and let god speak to us as we meditate in quietness upon his word and as we pray as the song says bread of heaven feed me till i want no more so when we pray lord give us this day our daily bread we are praying that he will instill within us trust to meet our daily needs and we're praying that he himself will come as the bread of life and feed us our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors lord why'd you put that line in lord i wish i could leave that line out somebody says now notice jesus does not encourage us to pray forgive us our debts because we forgive our debtors it's not because he says forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors what's the difference between because and as as is an attitude if we have an unforgiving attitude that blocks us from receiving god's forgiveness ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 what is the basis of forgiving others forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors coming to christ on the cross knowing that we have failed him knowing that we have disappointed him knowing that we have let him down knowing that we are deserving of eternal death coming to christ on the cross we are forgiven and in the grace of his forgiveness we can forgive others ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 and be kind one to another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as god for christ's sake has forgiven you now notice the reason we can forgive is because we have been forgiven we forgive not because the other person is worthy of our forgiveness but because christ has forgiven us so we have the capacity to forgive we recognize don't miss this we recognize that our failure to forgive leaves a scar on our own souls bitterness resentment and a lack of forgiveness poisons the stream of our own lives we forgive not simply because the other person is worthy of it but because it's the right thing to do we forgive another when we release them from our condemnation because christ has released us from his condemnation we no longer accuse them because we are no longer accused by christ president abraham lincoln was one of the most large-hearted forgiving presidents in american history and he had a political rival by the name of edwin stanton now stanton and lincoln would often debate in the run-up of the presidency and uh stanton called lincoln the original gorilla he said you see that man over there he's the original guerrilla and he would really uh taunt lincoln try to get him into a argumentative debate when lincoln was elected president he chose stanton to be a secretary of war one of the top political officials in america when when lincoln was asked why did you do that he says the best man qualified for the job and so he's he's qualified for it so i'm not going to keep him from that when lincoln died stanton gave a speech and he said this there lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen we can be at peace knowing that we are forgiven and we are forgiving we can be at peace only you're never going to have peace if you don't know you're forgiven by god you're never going to be at peace if those accusing voices keep coming in your head you're never going to be at peace if you feel constantly condemned for something you've done but it's only as you kneel before god and ask for forgiveness that there is no condemnation that for those that are in right in christ jesus but also i'll tell you something else you're never going to be at peace even if you hold a little bit of resentment in your heart for somebody else because that is going to poison the springs of your life the only way to deal with that is say god you have forgiven me therefore i can forgive our father which art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth is it in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation now that last one's an interesting one isn't it is god going to lead you into temptation why would you pray lead us not into temptation the word temptation in the new testament is also used as testing now when we think of the word temptation we think of an enticement to evil but the word temptation use the new testament is testing because god's never going to entice you to evil james take your bible over to james we need to settle this one see this is more of a promise james 1 verse 13. james 1 verse 13. notice what scripture says in james the first chapter the 13th verse let no man say when he is tempted i am tempted of god for god cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man so does god lead us into temptation yes or no what does scripture say let no man say when he's tempted i am tempted of god for god cannot be tempted with evil now we get some help in understanding the biblical meaning of temptation when we go back to matthew chapter 4 verse 1. matthew 4 verse 1 we get some meaning of what god is talking about matthew 4 verse 1. notice what it says then was jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil do you think the holy spirit led jesus into the wilderness so he would be enticed to do evil not at all so a much better translation would be then was jesus lit up into the wilderness by the holy spirit to be tested to be tested see god longs to develop our characters i love what this statement says in the book thoughts to the mount of blessings page 117 and you can notice it here thoughts about a blessing page 117 god in his great love is seeking to develop in us the graces of his spirit what is god seeking to do in your life develop the graces of his spirit he permits us to encounter obstacles so what's god going to allow you to encounter this week what are you going to encounter this week obstacle don't you throw up your hand say oh god why are you doing this no he has a purpose persecution and hardship not as a curse so when the obstacles come the persecution comes the hardship comes not as a curse but as the greatest blessing of our lives wow that means that the obstacles i face the persecution i face the hardship i face isn't a curse but it can be the greatest blessing every temptation resisted every trial or test bravely born gives us a new experience and advances us in the work of character building so when we pray lord lead us not into testing or temptation what we're really praying is god you have promised that i would not be tested above what i'm able and i'm claiming that promise and through this experience that i am going through i know that you're going to strengthen my faith i know that as i commit myself to you that i have the assurance that you will not allow me to be tested above what i'm able i know that you're going to hold my hand and never let me go i believe that you love me and that in your incalculable love i am secure all the demons in hell cannot wrestle you out of the hand of jesus christ now consider these three requests carefully when we ask for bread to sustain our earthly lives we immediately think of god the father our creator the sustainer of all life when we ask god for forgiveness we immediately think of jesus god the son the savior the redeemer when we ask for strength to meet life's trials and tests we immediately think of the holy spirit the comforter the strengthener the illuminator the guide of the way notice how the prayer ends say the prayer with me our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen the lord's prayer ends with the glorious refrain yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever we are in a war in the universe there's a cosmic struggle between the force of good and evil this is the final battle and in this final battle for the throne satan desires to rule in god's kingdom he desires the power that only belongs to christ he desires the glory that only belongs to christ and the lord's prayer ends with the assurance the absolute confidence the rock solid promise that the kingdom in the power and the glory belong to christ in christ alone in one day the whole universe will sing worthy worthy worthy is the lamb to receive glory and riches in power and honor forever the lord's prayer is not simply a prayer to be said it is a life to be lived jesus encourages us to live a life with absolute confidence in god as our all-loving all-powerful heavenly father jesus encourages us to live a life in which we hallow his name that we honor his character that we never soil his reputation jesus encourages us to live a life focused on his kingdom to live a life as if we believe that the kingdom is coming and to have our daily activities focused on the kingdom jesus encourages us to live a life trusting daily that he'll supply our needs jesus encourages us to live a life of forgiveness for all those that have wronged us because we are forgiven we can be forgiving jesus encourages us to live a life believing his promise that he will strengthen us for every trial give us victory in every temptation jesus encourages us to live a life in which day by day and moment by moment we sing yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever when you pray the lord's prayer i invite you into the life of the living christ let us pray father in heaven you are a loving heavenly father who holds us in your hand you are sovereign your love is immense your power is supreme teach us to honor your name to never soil your reputation to never disappoint you teach us father to be in the center of your will to constantly live with the kingdom of christ reigning in our hearts because we long for you to reign in the universe teach us to trust you daily to meet our needs may we have the large-heartedness to forgive those who've wronged us help us never be poisoned by bitterness or resentment and lord help us trust you in the trials and temptations of life so that one day we can sing with all the universe glory and honor and praise to him when the controversy is over and the conflict is ended and one pulse of harmony and gladness beat through the universe god is love and we thank you for that in jesus name amen

Channel: HopeLives365

Views: 144,091

Rating: 4.8472805 out of 5

Keywords: the lords prayer, Seventh day Adventist, SDA, Adventist, Adventists, Mark Finley, HopeLives365, Hope Lives 365

Id: IHeEm4x3aDY

Length: 56min 22sec (3382 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 24 2021