WEBVTT 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:08.220 So one of my earliest memories, and it's one 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:11.099 of those stories where, is it a memory or you've 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:13.539 just heard the story so many times that you think 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:15.679 you remember it because you've heard the story. 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:18.600 But I was probably two or three years old, and 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:22.100 the family was in Indiana. We were visiting my 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:26.000 grandparents on a picnic, and I was fishing. 00:00:26.339 --> 00:00:28.739 I remember that. I think I remember the fishing 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:35.990 part. totally remember is that when that bobber 00:00:35.990 --> 00:00:39.109 was pulled down under the water, what are you 00:00:39.109 --> 00:00:42.009 supposed to do? You're supposed to pull it back 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:44.310 up a little bit, give it a little jerk. Where 00:00:44.310 --> 00:00:46.850 in my two - or three -year -old excitement of 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:50.310 seeing that bobber go down under, I pulled it 00:00:50.310 --> 00:00:52.909 so hard that they say that little fish, that 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:56.170 little bluegill, was spinning around like a helicopter, 00:00:56.429 --> 00:01:00.090 and I was waving that tiny little fish around. 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:04.530 But I was fishing. I was two or three years old. 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:07.230 And you can fast forward a little bit, and I 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:10.650 was probably nine or ten. And I remember another 00:01:10.650 --> 00:01:13.269 time when I was with my aunt and uncle, George 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:15.189 and Judy. They were actually married in this 00:01:15.189 --> 00:01:19.109 church back in the 70s. And me and my brother 00:01:19.109 --> 00:01:21.609 had gone on a trip with them. And I think we 00:01:21.609 --> 00:01:24.489 went up to Michigan where some other friends 00:01:24.489 --> 00:01:28.450 were. And we were fishing, except we were doing 00:01:28.450 --> 00:01:30.969 it a little bit different. This time we were 00:01:30.969 --> 00:01:33.549 in a boat, and there were four or five or six 00:01:33.549 --> 00:01:36.709 different rods hanging off the side of the boat, 00:01:36.769 --> 00:01:39.750 and we were driving real slow. We were trolling 00:01:39.750 --> 00:01:41.989 with a different kind of lure this time, not 00:01:41.989 --> 00:01:44.950 a worm and a bobber, but with a little silver 00:01:44.950 --> 00:01:48.090 shiny spoon that was getting pulled slowly behind 00:01:48.090 --> 00:01:50.829 the boat. And when one of those rods would get 00:01:50.829 --> 00:01:54.209 bent over, well, you'd stop the boat, and somebody 00:01:54.209 --> 00:01:56.930 would have a fish. And I remember reeling in. 00:01:57.469 --> 00:02:00.609 a trout or whatever it was out of this particular 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:07.209 lake. And I remember a few years later, just 00:02:07.209 --> 00:02:10.330 a few years ago, I should say, I took on another 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:12.750 little challenge and I got something I'd never 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:14.949 had before, a different kind of fishing rod, 00:02:15.069 --> 00:02:17.849 a fly rod. And so it uses a different kind of 00:02:17.849 --> 00:02:20.770 lure. This time it's really lightweight, maybe 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:24.460 made out of... feathers or string, and instead 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:27.000 of just throwing it out there, you kind of wave 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.680 it back and forth and hope it goes in the right 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.979 place, and sometimes it would, or sometimes it'd 00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:36.099 get in the tree or whatever it was, but I could 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:39.560 catch a little fish that way, and I was fishing. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.539 It was a different way of doing it, but each 00:02:42.539 --> 00:02:47.159 time I was fishing. Then I remember several years 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:50.250 ago when my kids were little, I took them And 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:52.729 we went to Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach State Park. 00:02:52.949 --> 00:02:56.729 And I remember taking them out on the pier, and 00:02:56.729 --> 00:03:00.129 we had a fishing rod or a net that we let down. 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:03.289 And you can almost see my son there. He's got 00:03:03.289 --> 00:03:05.550 a little shark, and he was very excited about 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:10.009 catching that little shark. As they were doing 00:03:10.009 --> 00:03:13.469 something different, but they were fishing. And 00:03:13.469 --> 00:03:15.409 we were able to sit on the pier, and whether 00:03:15.409 --> 00:03:17.870 it was eating ice cream or with a string in the 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:21.180 line, we... We were doing something a little 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:25.199 bit different, and yet it was the same. We were 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.599 doing the same thing, but at a different level. 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:33.300 But each time, it was fishing that was going 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:36.639 on. And in life, there's many different times 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:39.759 where we are perhaps learning something new, 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:43.039 and we're growing in our skills in a particular 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.300 area, but that doesn't mean we're not engaged 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:48.939 in that. activity. Like you see a little child 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:51.860 and they take their first step and we say they 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:55.719 walked today. That's walking, but it's a little 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.379 bit different than they're going to do a couple 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:00.520 years later. It's a little bit different than 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.419 they're going to do 50 years later, but it's 00:04:02.419 --> 00:04:07.039 still walking that's going on. Imagine you had 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:10.479 the opportunity to learn from the best ever, 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:13.979 whether it's learning how to shoot a free throw 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:18.329 from Michael Jordan and watching his technique 00:04:18.329 --> 00:04:21.209 and how he holds the ball and how he releases 00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:24.949 the ball. Or, learning how to cook from Paula Deen 00:04:24.949 --> 00:04:27.310 or something. You would watch how much butter 00:04:27.310 --> 00:04:29.649 she puts in there and you would watch the different 00:04:29.649 --> 00:04:33.709 spices and how hot she makes everything and you 00:04:33.709 --> 00:04:35.589 would take notes and you would want to learn 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:39.689 from the very best. Well, we have the opportunity 00:04:39.689 --> 00:04:44.019 to learn from the very best. Now as we look at 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:46.279 our world, as we watch headlines and whatever, 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:50.259 it seems like our world is going crazy. You watch 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:54.199 of wars and rumors of wars and death of religious 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.920 leaders and funerals and selections happening, 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:01.740 and it seems as if almost every day you can read 00:05:01.740 --> 00:05:04.439 some story and you can say, well, this sure seems 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:08.040 like some Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.569 This sure seems like... Things are going rapidly 00:05:12.569 --> 00:05:16.209 and things are happening. The stock market goes 00:05:16.209 --> 00:05:18.850 up. The stock market goes down. There's earthquakes. 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:22.870 There's all these different things. And one thing 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:26.709 we know for certain is that every day we go on 00:05:26.709 --> 00:05:32.269 in life, that we are one day closer to when Jesus 00:05:32.269 --> 00:05:34.910 comes again. We don't know exactly when it's 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:38.490 going to be, but we know at each day we are one 00:05:38.490 --> 00:05:42.610 day closer. And I want to turn to Luke chapter 00:05:42.610 --> 00:05:45.310 21, because there's about three different places 00:05:45.310 --> 00:05:50.470 where Jesus talks about signs of the times and 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:53.730 things that would happen before he comes. And 00:05:53.730 --> 00:05:56.310 maybe the one we go to the most often is Matthew 00:05:56.310 --> 00:06:01.470 24. But in Luke chapter 21, Jesus is talking 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:03.569 about all these different things that were going 00:06:03.569 --> 00:06:07.910 to happen before he comes. In Luke 21 and verse 00:06:07.910 --> 00:06:12.920 28. Notice what it says, Luke chapter 21 and 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:17.100 verse 28. It says, now when these things begin 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:22.500 to happen, look up and lift up your heads because 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:27.240 your redemption draws near. Each time we go past, 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.879 we know that we're one day closer and we can 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:34.600 keep our heads lifted up and recognize that Jesus 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:39.240 is coming soon. So in this same context, of Jesus 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:42.819 talking about this soon return of his kingdom, 00:06:42.980 --> 00:06:46.920 notice what it says in verse 36. Jesus says, 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:52.300 Watch therefore and pray always that you may 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:55.399 be counted worthy to escape all these things 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:59.180 that will come to pass and to stand before the 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:02.879 Son of Man. So as we are seeing all of this happen, 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:06.480 as we are approaching the soon return of Jesus, 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.839 we are reminded to keep our eyes open, to watch, 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:15.939 and then it says to pray always. Now, what does 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:18.339 that mean? Because we're getting closer each 00:07:18.339 --> 00:07:22.800 and every day. What does it mean to pray always? 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:27.360 I think we can be sure that the disciples begun 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.600 to understand this. They began to understand 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.839 what Jesus meant when he said to pray always. 00:07:34.649 --> 00:07:36.889 Because everywhere Jesus went, he went preaching 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:40.529 and teaching and healing. But in order to be 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:43.910 ready for that work of ministry among the people, 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:47.509 Jesus also did something else. He spent time 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:52.610 away from everybody. He spent time by himself. 00:07:52.810 --> 00:07:58.329 He spent time in prayer. And as we are talking, 00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:01.389 looking ahead to when Jesus comes again, as we 00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:05.259 talk about what we can do, have been instructed 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:09.519 to do is to pray and to pray always and to make 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:13.399 it a part of who we are every day. Can we make 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.639 prayer something in our life so that it will 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.480 be a lasting impression on the people around 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:24.620 us? The disciples knew what Jesus was talking 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:27.620 about because they had observed Jesus in prayer. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.120 In fact, if you stay in Luke and go back to Luke 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.480 chapter 11, we see our scripture reading for 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:38.480 the day. Luke chapter 11, and starting in verse 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:43.299 1. Luke 11 and verse 1. It says, now it came 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:47.240 to pass as he was praying in a certain place. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:51.639 The Bible says this often, that Jesus went early 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.580 before dawn, that he went to a certain place, 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.059 that he went and spent time in prayer. As he 00:08:58.059 --> 00:09:00.740 was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.519 that one of his disciples said to him, Lord, 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:10.320 teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:15.299 So they saw Jesus in prayer, and apparently it 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:18.460 made such a great impression on them that they 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:21.519 said, I want that. I want to be able to pray 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:26.039 like Jesus. I want something that he has. I want 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.519 to learn how to pray like Jesus. And they said, 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:33.480 teach us to pray. Do you think the disciples 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:36.980 had prayed before? I'm pretty certain they probably 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.580 had. They'd grown up in the Jewish faith. They'd 00:09:39.580 --> 00:09:41.899 probably memorized large portions of Scripture, 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:45.299 and they had prayed. In fact, it says, teach 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:48.179 us to pray just as John had taught his disciples. 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:50.919 And at least some of them had been disciples 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.340 of John before they were disciples of Jesus. 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:58.970 But they had this first impression. of the way 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:01.870 Jesus prayed. And if you look at the following 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:05.789 verses, as Jesus is teaching them to pray, he 00:10:05.789 --> 00:10:08.809 shares something that we refer to most often 00:10:08.809 --> 00:10:12.450 as the Lord's Prayer. That's what Jesus uses 00:10:12.450 --> 00:10:16.529 to teach them how to pray. So they had seen that, 00:10:16.590 --> 00:10:19.549 but they apparently had also seen what it meant 00:10:19.549 --> 00:10:22.990 to pray in a wrong way. And so we're going to 00:10:22.990 --> 00:10:25.250 go back to the other place where it talks about 00:10:25.250 --> 00:10:27.610 the Lord's Prayer. And that's in Matthew chapter 00:10:27.610 --> 00:10:32.370 6, which is the Sermon on the Mount. And so Jesus 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:36.690 was teaching this crowd of people, Matthew 5, 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:39.669 6, and 7, it's known as the Sermon on the Mount. 00:10:39.850 --> 00:10:42.210 And in the midst of that Sermon on the Mount, 00:10:42.309 --> 00:10:45.490 Jesus shares the Lord's Prayer, what we refer 00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:48.190 to as the Lord's Prayer. But before he shares 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:51.330 the Lord's Prayer, he tells them some things 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:55.840 not to do in prayer. Apparently, that was something 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.019 that was happening in society. That was something 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:01.759 the disciples had seen, maybe that the disciples 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.820 had even done. So let's look at Matthew 6 and 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:08.340 verse 5. Notice what it says. Jesus says, when 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:13.799 you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:17.360 So here's what not to do. You're praying, but 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.720 here's what not to do. Don't be like the hypocrites. 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:23.539 And that word hypocrites is actually where we 00:11:23.539 --> 00:11:27.940 get It's from the Greek word where they talk 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:31.360 about like an actor on a stage, on a play. So 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:34.580 someone who's pretending to be something else. 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.139 An actor is taking on a role pretending to be 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:40.799 somebody else. And Jesus is saying, don't be 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.720 someone who's pretending to be something else. 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:46.639 Don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.159 pray, standing in the synagogues and on the corners 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.919 of the streets. They want to pray where everybody 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:57.240 can see them, that they may be seen by men. Jesus 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.460 says, assuredly, I say to you, they have their 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:03.899 reward. So they are praying not to have a connection 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:06.860 with God, not to have a connection with the Holy 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:09.480 Creator, but they're having a prayer so that 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.120 people will see them, will see how holy and pious 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.840 they are, and people can walk by the street corner 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:19.139 and say, wow. Those people are impressive. They're 00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:22.759 important. They pray, and everybody can hear 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:25.259 them. The very next verse, which I don't have 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:29.779 on the screen, it says, verse 6, When you pray, 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:34.899 go into your room. And when you have shut the 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:38.600 door, pray to your Father who is in the secret 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:42.919 place, and your Father who sees in secret will 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:47.090 reward you openly. So Jesus doesn't say not to 00:12:47.090 --> 00:12:50.029 pray. He says you do need to pray. But when you 00:12:50.029 --> 00:12:53.129 pray, don't just do it so people can see you, 00:12:53.169 --> 00:12:55.950 but go into your house, not just your house, 00:12:56.009 --> 00:12:59.950 but go into your inner room, your closet, and 00:12:59.950 --> 00:13:02.789 close the door so that you're there by yourself, 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:06.629 so that you can spend this time in prayer. And 00:13:06.629 --> 00:13:10.330 even if you're by yourself, guess what? God can 00:13:10.330 --> 00:13:13.230 hear you. God will hear you, and God will answer 00:13:13.230 --> 00:13:16.879 that prayer, If nobody knows you're praying, 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:21.240 God knows and God will hear you. Do you have 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:25.879 a place of prayer? Maybe it's not a closet in 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.740 your house, but maybe it's a certain chair that 00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:31.899 you sit in. And that's your chair that when you 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:34.620 sit there, you know that's a place that you can 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:37.299 pray. You're going to put down your other distractions 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:39.259 and you're going to spend at least a few moments 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:42.539 in prayer. It could be when you're driving your 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:44.720 car to work in the morning. What an awesome opportunity 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:47.840 to pray. Even if you're stuck in traffic, maybe 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.919 a greater need of prayer. Even in that place 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:54.860 by yourself. There was a faith -based movie a 00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:58.559 couple years ago called War Room. And it was 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:02.059 about a person who was learning the power of 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:06.159 prayer. And this lady was taught by another lady 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.299 of the importance of having a place. of prayer, 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:12.679 her war room. And she actually had a closet with 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.360 Bible verses on the wall and her Bible in the 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.080 corner and a notebook to write down answers and 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:23.360 needs and concerns. Do you have a place where 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.860 you can be certain that you are praying to God? 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.419 It's not about making a show. It's not about 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:34.179 letting other people know I'm praying, but it's 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:37.299 about spending time with God. And then verse 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:40.629 7, there's another do not do this. Verse 7, and 00:14:40.629 --> 00:14:46.289 when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as 00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:49.289 the heathen do. Those who aren't followers of 00:14:49.289 --> 00:14:52.110 God. These are the heathens. They're not followers 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:55.669 of God. Do not use vain repetitions, for they 00:14:55.669 --> 00:14:58.090 think that they will be heard for their many 00:14:58.090 --> 00:15:00.629 words. I'm just going to say lots of things. 00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:03.809 I'm going to say all that I can. And if I use 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:06.990 enough words, if I use the babbling, if I use 00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:10.250 the vain repetition, if I say it over and over, 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:13.909 Jesus says, don't do that. That's not what we're 00:15:13.909 --> 00:15:17.470 supposed to do. Verse 8, do not be like them, 00:15:17.490 --> 00:15:19.850 for your Father knows the things you have need 00:15:19.850 --> 00:15:24.809 of before you even ask Him. God knows. And so 00:15:24.809 --> 00:15:27.389 we could say, well, why even pray? Well, because 00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:30.690 Jesus invites us to pray. but he says don't do 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:33.929 it for the vain repetition don't do it for that 00:15:33.929 --> 00:15:36.850 reason but notice the very next verse still in 00:15:36.850 --> 00:15:40.710 in matthew 6 verse 9 jesus says in this manner 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:46.789 therefore pray don't do this don't do this but 00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:52.029 in this manner pray and we know the lord's prayer 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:54.710 we've learned it if you've learned any bible 00:15:54.710 --> 00:15:57.629 verse you have likely learned the Lord's Prayer. 00:15:57.769 --> 00:16:01.029 And maybe we recite it in our families or recite 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:04.129 it in church. And we're going to before we close 00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:07.929 today. But it's not just about learning words. 00:16:08.509 --> 00:16:10.629 You know, maybe in school at some point you had 00:16:10.629 --> 00:16:13.590 to memorize a speech or something. Maybe you 00:16:13.590 --> 00:16:16.889 memorized the Gettysburg Address. My wife does a 00:16:16.889 --> 00:16:20.129 mean Gettysburg Address. So you can ask her about 00:16:20.129 --> 00:16:22.830 that later. She's shaking her head. Don't do 00:16:22.830 --> 00:16:26.129 that. But it's not just about reciting something. 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:31.519 just to memorize it. But it's about, those are 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.539 powerful words, but could it be even more than 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:38.779 that? Could it be a pattern that we can incorporate 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:42.100 and make this prayer a personal prayer as we 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.700 explore the words of Jesus where he says, in 00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:49.539 this manner, pray. Could we incorporate that 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:53.360 into our prayer life? And there's several ways 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:57.200 to look at the Lord's Prayer. Several different, 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.679 you know, you can outline it in different ways, 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.840 but the first couple verses here say, Our Father 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:07.160 in heaven, hallowed holy be your name. Your kingdom 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:10.599 come, your will be done on earth as it is in 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:13.119 heaven. Notice these first couple verses are 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:17.880 all about Jesus. It says you and your. It's all 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:21.299 about who Jesus is, about what Jesus is doing. 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:24.710 And then, There's a change in the focus. The 00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:27.150 next couple of verses, starting in verse 11, 00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:31.430 give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:35.390 our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not 00:17:35.390 --> 00:17:38.190 lead us into temptation, but deliver us from 00:17:38.190 --> 00:17:40.849 evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power 00:17:40.849 --> 00:17:45.089 and the glory forever. The first verses are three 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:48.470 times looking up, looking to God. And then there's 00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:51.869 this change of focus where it's about us. four 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:56.890 times. It's are, three times. But it never ever 00:17:56.890 --> 00:18:04.609 uses the words me or my or I. And so there's 00:18:04.609 --> 00:18:08.269 something about praying with a group, praying 00:18:08.269 --> 00:18:12.430 together. And so we can know this Lord's Prayer. 00:18:12.529 --> 00:18:15.430 We have memorized it, but we see there's God 00:18:15.430 --> 00:18:19.730 first, and then there's us. Then there's... our 00:18:19.730 --> 00:18:22.690 needs. We can recognize that this prayer begins 00:18:22.690 --> 00:18:27.730 and ends with praise. The first and the last, 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:31.210 it ends with praise, and those praise elements 00:18:31.210 --> 00:18:34.789 bookend five or six, depending on how you want 00:18:34.789 --> 00:18:37.410 to count it, five or six different petitions, 00:18:37.509 --> 00:18:41.730 five or six different elements which form this 00:18:41.730 --> 00:18:44.829 pattern of prayer. And if we know the Lord's 00:18:44.829 --> 00:18:48.069 prayer, then guess what? We know that pattern, 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:51.910 and we can personalize it. We can make it our 00:18:51.910 --> 00:18:56.549 own. We can incorporate that into our own prayer 00:18:56.549 --> 00:18:58.930 life. So we're going to look at this kind of 00:18:58.930 --> 00:19:02.089 bit by bit as we go through. So it opens with 00:19:02.089 --> 00:19:08.529 praise as it says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed 00:19:08.529 --> 00:19:13.130 be your name. Our Father. We can recognize that 00:19:13.130 --> 00:19:18.599 God is personal. That God wants to have a relationship 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:22.200 with us, but it says our Father in heaven, so 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.059 we can also recognize that God is the creator 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:27.839 of the universe. And if we think about that the 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:31.319 creator of the universe wants to have a personal 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:34.799 relationship with you, then that's incredible. 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:37.619 That's an incredible thought to recognize that 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:41.079 as grand and holy and as incredible as God is, 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:45.859 the creator loves his creation. And we can call 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:50.839 him by that personal name, our father. But we've 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:55.599 got to pause on that just a second because I'm 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.220 a father. I have a father. I know lots of fathers. 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.640 And I also know that fathers are not perfect. 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.660 And mothers are not perfect. And spouses are 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.559 not perfect. And children are not perfect. And 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:13.119 siblings are not perfect. And single people are 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:19.440 not perfect. We are an imperfect people. We have 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:23.220 made mistakes. We have fallen short of the glory 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:26.700 of God. And so when we consider God as our Father, 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:29.619 it's something different. Because there's people 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:33.420 in this society that when they think of their 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:36.920 Father, they may have a very, very negative attitude. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.880 And it may make them angry or upset because of 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:44.900 a broken relationship that they have. And so 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:48.420 what this phrase is referring to is not an imperfect 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:52.740 relationship, but a perfect father with a perfect 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:55.720 love, the way that fathers are supposed to be. 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:59.240 And so we see this personal connection with the 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.019 incredible creator of the universe. And it begins 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:08.410 with praise. Our Father who art in heaven. hallowed 00:21:08.410 --> 00:21:14.289 or holy be your name that's a perfect start to 00:21:14.289 --> 00:21:17.910 a prayer to praise god as we begin a prayer to 00:21:17.910 --> 00:21:22.109 lift start in praise lift up time in praise but 00:21:22.109 --> 00:21:27.049 what about when you're having a bad day sometimes 00:21:27.049 --> 00:21:30.730 maybe it's harder to to praise if something's 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:34.029 not going your way it's harder to praise when 00:21:34.029 --> 00:21:36.970 you're sick or something happened at work, or 00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:39.670 a challenge happened in your family. It's harder 00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:43.509 to praise. How can we do that if we're upset 00:21:43.509 --> 00:21:47.750 at someone? They once asked George Mueller. He 00:21:47.750 --> 00:21:50.890 was a famous pastor from many, many years ago 00:21:50.890 --> 00:21:53.769 who's kind of famous for starting orphanages 00:21:53.769 --> 00:21:57.250 in Britain for thousands and thousands of children. 00:21:57.470 --> 00:22:00.730 And he was known for hours and hours in prayer. 00:22:00.950 --> 00:22:03.789 And they asked him, how long? Do you need to 00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:07.230 spend praising God in prayer? And this was his 00:22:07.230 --> 00:22:10.250 answer. He said, I praise God until my heart 00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:15.069 is glad. It may not be glad when I start, but 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:18.250 I'm going to keep praising God as long as I can, 00:22:18.329 --> 00:22:21.910 as long as I need to, until my heart is glad. 00:22:22.329 --> 00:22:26.490 I think that's a good thing for us. We can say 00:22:26.490 --> 00:22:29.109 words of praise, even though maybe we don't feel 00:22:29.109 --> 00:22:31.990 them at the moment. But if we're connecting with 00:22:31.990 --> 00:22:35.589 God, then... soon those thoughts of dissent will 00:22:35.589 --> 00:22:38.789 begin to be thoughts of praise. And then it says, 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:42.849 our Father in heaven, holy or hallowed be your 00:22:42.849 --> 00:22:46.930 name. And this is not a request. We're not saying, 00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:50.849 please, God, may your name be holy. It's not 00:22:50.849 --> 00:22:55.269 a request. That's a statement of fact. Your name, 00:22:55.329 --> 00:22:59.289 God, your name is holy. And in the Bible, there 00:22:59.289 --> 00:23:03.440 are many, many names of God. What are some names 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:05.619 of God that you can think of? Somebody say one 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:11.440 out to me. Yahweh, Jehovah, El Shaddai, Emmanuel, 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:17.160 Elohim. There's lots and lots of names of God. 00:23:17.609 --> 00:23:21.470 At our Wednesday Bible study, I think it was 00:23:21.470 --> 00:23:24.470 two weeks ago, we took the time to look at the 00:23:24.470 --> 00:23:27.990 alphabet, 26 letters, and we came up with a different 00:23:27.990 --> 00:23:30.789 name of God, a different characteristic of God 00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:33.529 that we could praise God for, for every single 00:23:33.529 --> 00:23:37.609 letter of the alphabet. But we used like excellent 00:23:37.609 --> 00:23:41.029 for X, so I'm not sure if that was cheating a 00:23:41.029 --> 00:23:44.150 little bit, but every single letter of the alphabet, 00:23:44.210 --> 00:23:47.579 there was some name of God. And so if you're 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:50.220 not sure what to praise God for, just think of 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:53.799 some of those names of God. Which is your favorite? 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:57.339 Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince 00:23:57.339 --> 00:23:59.519 of Peace. And you can think of some of those 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:01.720 names of God and say, God, thank you for being 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:05.579 a Prince of Peace, for bringing peace to my life. 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:09.160 Thank you for being a Savior, for saving me from 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:13.220 my sins. Thank you for being a King of Glory. 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.960 Because you're my ruler and you bring glory into 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:19.740 my life. Thank you for being full of wisdom because 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:22.859 I am not a wise person. And we can praise God 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:26.920 for who he is. We can praise him. Holy is his 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:29.240 name. We're not asking for it. We're stating 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:32.500 the fact that God's name is holy. And then there's 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:36.940 another statement that comes. It says, your kingdom 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:40.910 come. Your kingdom come. And as Seventh-day 00:24:40.910 --> 00:24:43.890 Adventists, we long for that day of the second 00:24:43.890 --> 00:24:46.690 Advent. And we sing songs about it. You can pull 00:24:46.690 --> 00:24:49.309 out the hymnal and you can say, we have this 00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:53.170 hope, hope in the coming of the Lord, hope that 00:24:53.170 --> 00:24:56.589 burns within my heart. We can sing, lift up the 00:24:56.589 --> 00:25:00.549 trumpet and loud let it ring. Jesus is coming 00:25:00.549 --> 00:25:03.549 again. We can sing, brother and sister, we are 00:25:03.549 --> 00:25:06.670 marching to Zion, heavenly, heavenly Zion, that 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:10.170 beautiful. city of God. And we long for that 00:25:10.170 --> 00:25:15.589 day when Jesus's eternal kingdom will come. But 00:25:15.589 --> 00:25:18.549 you know what else Jesus said? Your kingdom come. 00:25:18.970 --> 00:25:22.670 Jesus over and over said the kingdom of heaven 00:25:22.670 --> 00:25:27.349 is at hand. Jesus said the kingdom of God was 00:25:27.349 --> 00:25:31.210 there even as Jesus was in their midst. In fact, 00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:34.029 if you turn back just one chapter to the beginning 00:25:34.029 --> 00:25:37.779 of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 5 and verse 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:41.660 3, it says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:46.299 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:49.920 of heaven is there. The kingdom of heaven is 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:52.619 coming for all eternity, but we can live out 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:55.440 our life in the spirit of the kingdom of heaven 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:59.119 even now. And the Sermon on the Mount is the 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:02.220 best way to do that. Blessed are the poor in 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.910 spirit. Verse 13, you are the salt of the earth. 00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:10.009 Verse 14, you are the light of the world. Over 00:26:10.009 --> 00:26:13.029 and over, it tells us how we can live out our 00:26:13.029 --> 00:26:16.829 life for the kingdom. Love your enemies over 00:26:16.829 --> 00:26:20.029 and over. We are told that we can begin to live 00:26:20.029 --> 00:26:24.490 God's kingdom life right now. Even as we sing, 00:26:24.529 --> 00:26:27.769 we're marching to Zion. Even as we sing, lift 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:31.359 up the trumpet and loud let it ring. is coming 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:34.740 again. And so we can pray, your kingdom come. 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:37.859 And we can pray in our prayer life, looking forward 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:40.440 to what's coming, but also pray that we can live 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:43.160 out a kingdom life in our world even now. Your 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:47.900 kingdom come. And then it says, your will be 00:26:47.900 --> 00:26:54.279 done on earth as it is in heaven. So this second 00:26:54.279 --> 00:26:58.019 petition, this second element is that God's will 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.359 will happen. It will be done. And we recognize 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.640 that God's will is going to be done in heaven. 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:06.039 That's not a question. It is going to be done 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:09.380 in heaven. And so the prayer is that God's will 00:27:09.380 --> 00:27:14.319 will be done on the earth, on earth as it is 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:18.900 in heaven. And we can say, God, I want, I hope 00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:23.380 that your will will be done in my life. And believe 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:26.000 it or not, that's the same prayer that Jesus 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.869 prayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane. Just hours 00:27:29.869 --> 00:27:33.910 before he went to the cross. He was in the garden. 00:27:34.470 --> 00:27:37.430 He left his disciples to the side and he went 00:27:37.430 --> 00:27:40.210 and prayed by himself as he often did. And he 00:27:40.210 --> 00:27:44.150 said, Lord, if it's possible, take this cup away 00:27:44.150 --> 00:27:47.769 from me. Take this cup from me. But Lord, not 00:27:47.769 --> 00:27:53.509 my will be done, but your will be done. And so 00:27:53.509 --> 00:27:57.140 Jesus... surrendered, submitted himself to go 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:00.460 to the cross because of the prophecies of scripture, 00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:03.779 because that was the way for salvation to be 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:06.759 poured out, for salvation to be granted. And 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:10.019 so we can ask ourselves, am I praying? Am I allowing 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:14.599 God's will to be done in my life each and every 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:19.019 day? God, may your will be done. And this reminds 00:28:19.019 --> 00:28:23.039 us that God cares for us personally. He wants 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:27.309 our life, to reflect his will each and every 00:28:27.309 --> 00:28:31.529 day. Your kingdom come, your will be done on 00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:33.809 earth as it is in heaven. And then the next element, 00:28:33.910 --> 00:28:38.089 the next petition says, give us, give us this 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:40.910 day our daily bread. And so after we have spent 00:28:40.910 --> 00:28:45.390 time praising God, after we have spent time surrendering 00:28:45.390 --> 00:28:48.549 ourselves to his will, we recognize that we have 00:28:48.549 --> 00:28:52.069 needs and challenges in our own life and we can 00:28:52.069 --> 00:28:55.960 shift to that time of, personal petition but 00:28:55.960 --> 00:29:00.700 as we said earlier it still uses us give us this 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:05.779 day and it's mentioning give us what we what 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:10.460 we need not necessarily what we what we want 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:14.880 it's not about money it's not about fame and 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:18.140 fortune if you follow that type of thing you 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:21.160 may have seen some headlines that The end of 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:24.119 this week, there was an NFL draft going on and 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.359 the teams would pick the players that would be 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:29.539 on their teams next year and the better players 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:32.339 get picked sooner. Just like in grade school 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:34.259 when you're getting picked for dodgeball or whatever. 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:37.319 And the ones that got picked sooner, well, guess 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:40.420 what? They're going to make more money. And the 00:29:40.420 --> 00:29:42.000 ones that get picked a little lower down, they're 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.599 still going to make a lot of money, too much 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:47.559 money, but not as much. But this says, give us 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:52.829 this day not fame, Not fortune, not money, but 00:29:52.829 --> 00:29:57.150 give us this day our daily bread. Give us something 00:29:57.150 --> 00:29:59.930 simple. Give us something that's going to keep 00:29:59.930 --> 00:30:04.109 us alive. Our daily bread. And you can think 00:30:04.109 --> 00:30:06.599 to the children of Israel. way back in about 00:30:06.599 --> 00:30:09.619 Exodus 16, where they're coming out of Egypt, 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:11.519 where they're making their way to the promised 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:14.259 land. And they say, God, we're hungry. And God 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:17.279 provides them with food, something that would 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.720 come out like frost or dew on the ground. What 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:22.460 was that called? Manna. And they would go out 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:24.420 there and they would collect that manna. And 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:27.539 that word really just means, what is it? They 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:29.920 weren't sure what this is, but they could collect 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:34.779 manna enough for that day. And if they got... 00:30:34.910 --> 00:30:37.710 Too much. What would happen to it? It would spoil. 00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:40.809 It would rot. It would stink. And so they had 00:30:40.809 --> 00:30:43.130 to get just enough for that day. And then the 00:30:43.130 --> 00:30:47.670 next day they'd go out, except for one day, Friday. 00:30:48.089 --> 00:30:50.849 They were told not only could they, but they 00:30:50.849 --> 00:30:54.089 better get enough for two days because on that 00:30:54.089 --> 00:30:57.289 seventh day on Sabbath, there wasn't any manna 00:30:57.289 --> 00:30:59.230 that came out. And so they better get enough. 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:02.680 for two days to remind them that they are dependent 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:05.900 upon God each and every day. And that is the 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:09.059 prayer, give us this day our daily bread. And 00:31:09.059 --> 00:31:11.859 we can lift up our petitions and our needs to 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:14.359 God. And over and over in scripture, it tells 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:17.599 us that God will answer those prayers as we lift 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.819 them up in Jesus' name. And then verse 12, it 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:25.220 says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:29.759 debtors. So give us our needs, forgive us. our 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.440 debts. And of course, the Bible says if we confess 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.960 our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:41.000 us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:44.440 And we're promised this salvation because Jesus 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:49.099 died for our sins. And we remember that. But 00:31:49.099 --> 00:31:53.440 sometimes we forget the verse that comes right 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:56.900 after the Lord's Prayer. Oh, we know the Lord's 00:31:56.900 --> 00:31:59.619 Prayer. We've got that memorized. But if you 00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:03.539 go to verse 14, we sometimes forget what comes 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:07.019 right after that. It says, if you forgive men 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:10.359 their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:12.799 forgive you. Praise the Lord. We're going to 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:17.440 be forgiven. But if you do not forgive men their 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:21.359 trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:25.440 your trespasses. We sometimes forget that. That 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:28.240 as we have received grace from God, we're supposed 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:31.779 to extend that to somebody else. God expects 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:35.160 us to share the grace, to share the forgiveness 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:38.440 that we need. And so part of asking for forgiveness 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:41.640 is to say, God, is there somebody else that I 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:45.259 need to forgive? Forgive us our debts as we forgive 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:49.240 our debtors. Forgive us in the same way that 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:53.119 we forgive somebody else. And then a final petition 00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:56.380 here. As it goes on, it says, Do not lead us 00:32:56.380 --> 00:33:00.480 into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:03.559 yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:08.460 Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us. 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:12.799 If we are following God, He's not going to lead 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:15.880 us to something that we can't handle. He's not 00:33:15.880 --> 00:33:18.519 going to lead us to a place where the temptation 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:22.869 is too great for us to stand for God. We talked 00:33:22.869 --> 00:33:26.130 about a sheep and a shepherd during our children's 00:33:26.130 --> 00:33:30.190 story. And that reminds us of Psalm 23, that 00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:34.730 great psalm of Jesus being the good shepherd 00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:39.470 for us. Psalm 23, it says, The Lord is my shepherd. 00:33:39.769 --> 00:33:43.730 I shall not be in want. I shall not want. He 00:33:43.730 --> 00:33:47.349 makes me to lie down in the green pastures. He 00:33:47.349 --> 00:33:50.799 leads me beside the still waters. He restores 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:53.880 my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness 00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:57.859 for his namesake. If we're following Jesus, he's 00:33:57.859 --> 00:33:59.960 going to take us where we want to go, take us 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:02.440 where we need to go. And then in verse four, 00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:04.519 it says, yea, though I walk through the valley 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:10.880 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:14.619 you are with me. We know. that Jesus is going 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:18.360 to lead us to a place of safety, to a place of 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:21.440 protection, even as we are maybe going through 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:25.260 the valley of the shadow of death. Notice Psalm 00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:29.340 50 in verse 15. It says, Call upon me in the 00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:33.820 day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you 00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:37.320 shall glorify me. When we find ourselves somewhere 00:34:37.320 --> 00:34:40.030 where it seems too much, where the temptation 00:34:40.030 --> 00:34:44.070 seems strong, we can call upon God. And He has 00:34:44.070 --> 00:34:47.389 promised to deliver us. He has promised to take 00:34:47.389 --> 00:34:51.050 us away from those addictions, from those temptations, 00:34:51.050 --> 00:34:53.449 from those things that have brought us down in 00:34:53.449 --> 00:34:56.730 the past. He is going to protect us and keep 00:34:56.730 --> 00:35:00.250 us safe. And then in Galatians, it talks about 00:35:00.250 --> 00:35:04.429 the armor of God. And it says, take up the shield 00:35:04.429 --> 00:35:08.780 of faith with which you can extinguish all of 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:12.340 the flaming darts of the evil one. So even as 00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:16.659 Satan is attacking us, shooting temptations our 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:19.619 way, shooting evil things at us, that shield 00:35:19.619 --> 00:35:22.579 of faith and what Jesus has done and what he 00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:26.440 is doing, God has promised to protect us. And 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:29.980 so the power of God forgives our past and gives 00:35:29.980 --> 00:35:33.860 us power to live for him each day. Do not lead 00:35:33.860 --> 00:35:37.320 us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:41.980 And then this great Lord's Prayer ends with praise. 00:35:42.579 --> 00:35:45.239 Now we have to talk about this for just a second, 00:35:45.320 --> 00:35:48.559 because if you were reading the story in Luke 00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:51.460 11, where we started, where the disciples said, 00:35:51.500 --> 00:35:55.159 Lord, teach us to pray, the last line is not 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:59.300 there. And just to be clear, some of the manuscripts 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:02.500 of the early manuscripts don't have that line 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.320 there. That's why some versions of the Bible... 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:07.280 Leave that out. They're not trying to trick you 00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:09.599 or deceive you. It's just the manuscript they're 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.219 using to translate. It doesn't have it there. 00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:17.400 But this concept of praise is found throughout 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:20.800 Scripture. The Lord's Prayer starts with praise, 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:25.940 and it ends here. For yours is the kingdom and 00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:30.699 the power and the glory forever. Amen. And that 00:36:30.699 --> 00:36:34.360 sentiment of praise is found throughout the prayers 00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:37.639 in the Bible, throughout the book of Psalms, 00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:41.380 that 150 prayers gathered together. It reminds 00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:45.059 us of God's power. It reminds us of God's personal 00:36:45.059 --> 00:36:50.039 care in our lives. And when those disciples saw 00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:54.179 Jesus praying, it made a first impression on 00:36:54.179 --> 00:36:56.539 them. And they said, Lord, teach us to pray. 00:36:56.969 --> 00:36:59.210 And as Jesus taught them to pray, as he gave 00:36:59.210 --> 00:37:02.550 them the Lord's Prayer, as he gave them example 00:37:02.550 --> 00:37:06.449 of spending hours in prayer, it not only made 00:37:06.449 --> 00:37:10.690 a first impression, but it made a lasting impression. 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:14.869 And so when you turn over to Acts chapter 1 and 00:37:14.869 --> 00:37:18.590 Acts chapter 2, you see the disciples, even after 00:37:18.590 --> 00:37:21.650 Jesus has ascended to heaven, you see these disciples, 00:37:21.789 --> 00:37:25.719 these apostles, spending time in prayer. And 00:37:25.719 --> 00:37:28.260 even after Jesus went into the clouds of glory, 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:30.900 they're spending 10 days in prayer in the upper 00:37:30.900 --> 00:37:33.980 room until the Holy Spirit is poured out on the 00:37:33.980 --> 00:37:36.619 day of Pentecost. And they begin to preach with 00:37:36.619 --> 00:37:39.860 power and 3 ,000 people are baptized. And as 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:43.000 you continue through the book of Acts, even their 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:46.639 opponents, it says they could tell that these 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:50.420 men had been with Jesus. And even their opponents 00:37:50.420 --> 00:37:54.800 said these men had turned the world upside down. 00:37:55.130 --> 00:37:57.309 Because they're preaching with the power of the 00:37:57.309 --> 00:38:00.630 Holy Spirit. And as you read through their writings 00:38:00.630 --> 00:38:03.610 of the New Testament, the letters of Paul, the 00:38:03.610 --> 00:38:06.510 letters of Peter, over and over you can find 00:38:06.510 --> 00:38:11.110 powerful prayers that are written down. And even 00:38:11.110 --> 00:38:12.769 if you don't know what to pray that day, you 00:38:12.769 --> 00:38:15.369 can find one of those prayers and you can read 00:38:15.369 --> 00:38:18.309 it and you can personalize it and you can make 00:38:18.309 --> 00:38:21.750 it your own and you can learn. And you can remember 00:38:21.750 --> 00:38:25.570 that the God of power cares for you, personally 00:38:25.570 --> 00:38:29.610 and we can remember that we have a pattern to 00:38:29.610 --> 00:38:32.650 help us pray even when we may find ourselves 00:38:32.650 --> 00:38:37.130 in a spiritual drought so here's here's how i 00:38:37.130 --> 00:38:39.170 want to end today we've been talking about the 00:38:39.170 --> 00:38:43.070 lord's prayer we're going to stand up as a church 00:38:43.070 --> 00:38:46.710 family and we are going to recite this lord's 00:38:46.710 --> 00:38:49.250 prayer together for our our closing prayer so 00:38:49.250 --> 00:38:52.440 i invite you right now if you want to continue 00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:55.460 in a prayer life, if you want to begin a prayer 00:38:55.460 --> 00:38:58.159 life, if you want to begin with praise and begin 00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:01.059 to offer up some petitions, then we are just 00:39:01.059 --> 00:39:04.420 going to bow our heads together and pray this 00:39:04.420 --> 00:39:07.639 Lord's Prayer together. Let's bow our heads. 00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:12.420 Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy 00:39:12.420 --> 00:39:17.760 name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth 00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:21.880 as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:25.940 bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive 00:39:25.940 --> 00:39:29.400 our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, 00:39:29.679 --> 00:39:34.019 but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom 00:39:34.019 --> 00:39:38.099 and the power and the glory forever. Amen.