1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Well, we're in the middle of our study of the Lord's Prayer. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,200 And this is, Jesus has given us a model of prayer, 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:09,360 and we have said in the past, 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,880 it's a pattern, not a performance. 5 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:14,480 It's a pattern, not a performance, 6 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,240 but we wanna learn this pattern 7 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:19,600 so that as we go to places of prayer, 8 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,640 as we go to times when we approach God, 9 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,880 that we have the right attitude and focus before Him. 10 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,640 And so we're gonna go ahead and say together 11 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,280 the Lord's Prayer out of the CSB. 12 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:31,600 It's gonna be up here on the screen 13 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,960 for us to say in unison together. 14 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:35,080 Join me. 15 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:40,080 Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 16 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,640 Your kingdom come, your will be done 17 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,440 on earth as it is in heaven. 18 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,480 Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts 19 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:57,480 as we also have forgiven our debtors. 20 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,400 And do not bring us into temptation, 21 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,000 but deliver us from the evil one. 22 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,640 There was a little delay there on each chain, sorry guys. 23 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:08,240 Just enough time for a breath. 24 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,120 And the opening address that we've looked at 25 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:14,960 the last few weeks, 26 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:17,080 along with the first three petitions, 27 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,480 or three requests of the Lord's Prayer, 28 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,920 were designed to help us calibrate our reality 29 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:27,280 around God, who He is, His nature, 30 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,800 and our relationship to Him. 31 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:31,760 And that was the beginning of prayer. 32 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,440 Prayer begins with calibrating or recalibrating 33 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,280 our reality around the reality of who God is 34 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,760 and what He is doing or what He has done 35 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:43,760 and our relationship to Him. 36 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,720 And it began with our Father in heaven. 37 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,720 And in God's fatherhood, we are His children. 38 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:52,120 We are His children. 39 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,400 All of us at one point in time were children. 40 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,960 Some of us have children and we know 41 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,720 what it's like to have that relationship 42 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,880 between a parent and a child. 43 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,440 And in His fatherhood, we are His children 44 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,920 and that underscores our humility before Him. 45 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,560 And this communal nature of prayer, our Father, 46 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,120 not just my Father, but our Father, 47 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,280 there's a communal and usness to prayer 48 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:21,120 that we have to bring. 49 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,840 And that also changes the way we pray 50 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,880 because it's not just a me-centric prayers anymore. 51 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,120 We're praying an usness to our prayers. 52 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:32,920 It's not me against anyone else. 53 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:36,040 It's us and we and our. 54 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,640 And in light of His heavenly authority, 55 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,640 we're reminded of our limited understanding 56 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:47,640 and the smallness of us before Him. 57 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,640 Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 58 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:53,880 His name is great and it reflects the character, 59 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,120 the attributes of who God is, His infinite wisdom, 60 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,240 His unmatched power, His perfect love 61 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,160 and how awesome in judgment He is and His mercy. 62 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,160 And they embody who He is and we say, 63 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:07,560 we want Your name. 64 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:12,560 Our first petition is, God, Your name be honored as holy. 65 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,240 This is what we want. 66 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,240 And again, this reshapes and recalibrates our prayers. 67 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,720 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth 68 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:26,080 as it is in heaven. 69 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,840 Whose kingdom and whose will are we seeking? 70 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,080 Do we want our will done or His will done? 71 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,600 Do we want our kingdom to be built and revealed, 72 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,080 or do we want His kingdom to be built and revealed? 73 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,080 And so the Lord's, the opening address 74 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:45,720 in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer 75 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,280 help us to calibrate our reality around God. 76 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,240 They reveal something about God as well. 77 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,320 They reveal that God is holy 78 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,720 and completely independent of us. 79 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,320 He is our heavenly Father. 80 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:06,320 He has ultimate authority, His will, His kingdom, 81 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,320 reign over all other will, His will be done on earth. 82 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,320 He is holy and independent of us and not dependent. 83 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,320 And so now when we turn in the Lord's Prayer 84 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,320 to this next phrase, this next part of it, 85 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,160 we see the reverse, that we are holy 86 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,160 and completely dependent on Him. 87 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:28,680 independence, a culture of independence. 88 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,720 Give us today our daily bread. 89 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,220 we're given allowances or 90 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,280 We live in a society that prizes independence 91 00:04:30,220 --> 00:04:34,220 ×— 92 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,040 in self-sufficiency. 93 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,080 If you are taking notes, the first thing I'll have you 94 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,200 And from a very young age, we're taught to stand 95 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,960 write down the heading is that we live in a culture 96 00:04:34,220 --> 00:04:36,340 to thrive in the kingdom of the Lord. 97 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,520 We resent God, we resent God, we demonstrate 98 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:46,360 His ́„±itas, we criticize God. 99 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,680 But we CCBZ are His changes for you. 100 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,920 At every young age, we're taught to stand on our own, 101 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,840 to rely on ourselves, and to make our own way. 102 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,160 Independence is heralded as a strength, 103 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,740 a sign of maturity and success. 104 00:05:05,260 --> 00:05:07,960 And it's so ingrained in us that we oftentimes don't realize 105 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:12,000 how it shapes our values, our choices, our self-worth, 106 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,120 or even how we approach God. 107 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,960 We are trained to believe that the ultimate success 108 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,120 is reaching a place where we don't need anyone else. 109 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,040 And this ideal of independence shows up 110 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:28,400 in various forms in our life. 111 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,960 It'd be financially, we might strive to be self-sufficient 112 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,560 and aim to accumulate enough wealth to protect ourselves 113 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,800 against the uncertainties of the future. 114 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:45,080 Don't you guys know we use wealth and money as a shield 115 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,500 against whatever the future might hold, the scary future? 116 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:51,620 If I could just build up enough wealth, 117 00:05:51,620 --> 00:05:54,880 if I could, my bank account could be padded enough, 118 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,640 I'll be okay, I'll be good. 119 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,320 I remember as a young family, 120 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,840 we had three young kids at the time, 121 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,400 and hey, you got a child tax credit, right? 122 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,200 And this came back in the form of a check every year. 123 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,480 And man, talk about being hungry 124 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,320 and being really, really terrible 125 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,640 with our finances at the time. 126 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,400 But our years were marked by when that check would come in. 127 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,880 Like, that was when we finally felt secure, 128 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,080 finally felt like we were gonna make it, 129 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,040 life was gonna be okay, and as soon as it hit the bank, 130 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,120 we'd go, well now let's go out to eat. 131 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,720 Let's hit that restaurant we haven't gone to. 132 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,840 Let's buy that one thing we've always wanted. 133 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:40,880 And then a couple weeks later, 134 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,960 you'd wake up and go, where did it go? 135 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,360 Where did it go? 136 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,640 It's like putting sand in a pocket that has holes, 137 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,020 it's gone as quickly as it's put in there. 138 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,940 In our careers, we work to prove ourselves capable, 139 00:06:57,940 --> 00:07:00,980 that we're indispensable, that we're in control. 140 00:07:00,980 --> 00:07:03,760 Even in our relationships, sometimes we hesitate 141 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,040 to lean too much on others. 142 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,420 And some of it may be, hey, I don't wanna bother them, 143 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:12,080 but some of it, for some of us, 144 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,120 is revealing a weakness in us, 145 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:15,800 and we don't wanna reveal that weakness 146 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,160 that somehow we're dependent on someone else. 147 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,820 Because our world and our culture says, 148 00:07:21,820 --> 00:07:23,840 independence is the prize. 149 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:26,600 But here's the irony that, 150 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,620 while independence promises us freedom, 151 00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:33,440 it actually leads often to something quite different. 152 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,920 Instead of peace, it breeds anxiety, 153 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,500 instead of connection, it fosters isolation, 154 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:44,480 it contributes to this loneliness epidemic 155 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:49,000 that we see in the West, especially among young people 156 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,920 who say on a daily basis, something like 30, 35% 157 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,540 of young people say on a daily basis, they feel lonely. 158 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,560 And instead of true freedom, 159 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,060 independence often brings a new kind of bondage, 160 00:08:04,060 --> 00:08:07,640 this nagging worry that everything depends on us, 161 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,840 and that if we slip up, everything we have built 162 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,400 will come crashing down. 163 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,280 The pursuit of independent security 164 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,300 can paradoxically result in insecurity. 165 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:24,980 We're told that if we work hard and we save enough 166 00:08:24,980 --> 00:08:27,160 and we stay vigilant, we'll be safe, 167 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,640 but we're never truly in control of everything. 168 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,460 And there are aspects of life 169 00:08:33,460 --> 00:08:36,980 that no amount of planning can shield us from. 170 00:08:36,980 --> 00:08:40,020 And so we're pushing back against the culture 171 00:08:40,020 --> 00:08:42,460 of independence. 172 00:08:42,460 --> 00:08:44,580 The second thing I'll have you write down is 173 00:08:44,580 --> 00:08:46,860 a prayer of dependence. 174 00:08:46,860 --> 00:08:49,420 Here in the text, we find in verse 11, 175 00:08:49,420 --> 00:08:51,580 a prayer of dependence. 176 00:08:53,380 --> 00:08:55,060 When Jesus taught us to pray here, 177 00:08:55,060 --> 00:08:59,580 he says, give us today our daily bread. 178 00:09:00,980 --> 00:09:03,300 It's kind of an interesting wording here, 179 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:05,860 because the word daily is a Greek word 180 00:09:05,860 --> 00:09:10,860 in the original text that is not found anywhere else. 181 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:14,700 In any other writings, they've not found this Greek word. 182 00:09:14,700 --> 00:09:17,660 And it was presumed by some of the early church fathers, 183 00:09:17,660 --> 00:09:20,620 early church fathers would be those who kind of led 184 00:09:20,620 --> 00:09:22,340 the church in the first few centuries 185 00:09:22,340 --> 00:09:27,100 or first few generations after the apostles and Jesus. 186 00:09:27,100 --> 00:09:29,260 Some of the early church fathers even thought 187 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:33,540 that Matthew made the word up to describe something, 188 00:09:33,540 --> 00:09:36,780 and some of them even attributed it to the act of communion, 189 00:09:36,780 --> 00:09:39,700 that this was a special word that was invented 190 00:09:39,700 --> 00:09:42,060 to mean communion, even though it's not referenced 191 00:09:42,060 --> 00:09:43,220 anywhere else. 192 00:09:44,380 --> 00:09:47,980 That was at least until the last 40 or 50 years 193 00:09:47,980 --> 00:09:52,140 when they came across, in Greek, 194 00:09:52,140 --> 00:09:55,820 a scroll or a tablet of some sort, 195 00:09:55,820 --> 00:10:00,580 and it was a receipt for a trade. 196 00:10:00,580 --> 00:10:04,100 Basically, it was grain trading, right? 197 00:10:04,100 --> 00:10:08,260 And they found a receipt that listed grain 198 00:10:08,260 --> 00:10:13,260 and different items for food and sustenance, 199 00:10:13,300 --> 00:10:16,340 and they found on this receipt that word, 200 00:10:16,340 --> 00:10:19,420 the only other place, and what they found 201 00:10:19,420 --> 00:10:23,860 is it related something to do with rationed bread, 202 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:26,980 the rationing, right? 203 00:10:26,980 --> 00:10:29,980 Just enough for sustenance, just enough to be said 204 00:10:29,980 --> 00:10:33,060 aside to keep the population alive. 205 00:10:34,220 --> 00:10:36,180 Just enough, give me just enough, 206 00:10:36,180 --> 00:10:39,060 whatever it is that I need, just enough, 207 00:10:39,060 --> 00:10:42,780 the rationed bread or the necessary bread. 208 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:46,820 Give us today our necessary bread. 209 00:10:47,820 --> 00:10:51,300 To pray that is to admit that we're not in control. 210 00:10:52,140 --> 00:10:55,740 It's to buck against the culture of independence 211 00:10:55,740 --> 00:10:58,140 with a prayer of dependence, and this prayer 212 00:10:58,140 --> 00:11:01,580 brings us to God daily, not with a list of accomplishments 213 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:04,820 or a stockpile of resources, but with open hands 214 00:11:04,820 --> 00:11:07,980 that say, God, I am not enough on my own. 215 00:11:08,980 --> 00:11:12,100 I need you to provide what I cannot. 216 00:11:13,820 --> 00:11:17,620 See, some of us, we have grown accustomed, 217 00:11:18,540 --> 00:11:22,660 we have the habit of going to God as if he is a genie 218 00:11:22,660 --> 00:11:23,900 and not a father. 219 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:26,500 God as a genie, and so I sat and thought, 220 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:30,500 what is God as a genie versus God as a father? 221 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:34,740 Well, a genie, I go to him when I want results. 222 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:37,540 I want results. 223 00:11:38,220 --> 00:11:42,180 I want a specific outcome to happen. 224 00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:47,740 But a father, a father is a relational term. 225 00:11:47,740 --> 00:11:50,180 It's how I relate to someone. 226 00:11:50,180 --> 00:11:52,820 A father is about relationship. 227 00:11:52,820 --> 00:11:56,980 It's about love, it's about trust, it's about having faith. 228 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:04,260 With results-based, no or wait is devastating. 229 00:12:05,340 --> 00:12:09,220 No or wait goes right against the results that I want. 230 00:12:09,220 --> 00:12:13,140 If I'm told no, no, not now, or wait, I can't handle that, 231 00:12:13,140 --> 00:12:16,300 and that creates anxiety and anger in me. 232 00:12:18,060 --> 00:12:20,740 And so it's very likely or possible that when we go to God 233 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,660 and we have our prayer and our requests that we lay 234 00:12:23,660 --> 00:12:26,780 before him and he doesn't deliver in the time that we have, 235 00:12:26,780 --> 00:12:31,780 we want, or we're told to wait, if we find that there's anger 236 00:12:31,780 --> 00:12:33,580 and anxiety that's resulting in it, 237 00:12:33,580 --> 00:12:37,860 then we've probably gone to him in the wrong relationship 238 00:12:37,860 --> 00:12:41,620 as a genie who is to give me results versus a father 239 00:12:41,620 --> 00:12:45,020 that I'm to love and trust, and that the relationship 240 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:51,020 is more important than the results. 241 00:12:51,020 --> 00:12:54,980 A genie I want at my beck and call, I want him ready to serve. 242 00:12:56,780 --> 00:13:00,740 A genie, I have to bring the right requests to a genie. 243 00:13:02,020 --> 00:13:04,820 I have to know, do you guys remember the movie Aladdin? 244 00:13:05,980 --> 00:13:08,260 Right, and he has these wishes, right? 245 00:13:08,260 --> 00:13:09,780 But there's actually some deliberation, 246 00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:11,820 like what do I wish for, oh my goodness, 247 00:13:11,820 --> 00:13:14,020 I've gotta figure this out, I've gotta game the system, 248 00:13:14,020 --> 00:13:15,740 I've gotta ask for the right things 249 00:13:15,740 --> 00:13:17,340 because I only get three of them. 250 00:13:18,260 --> 00:13:19,620 And if I ask for the wrong things, 251 00:13:19,620 --> 00:13:21,380 then I'm gonna miss out on something. 252 00:13:21,380 --> 00:13:23,140 I have to have the right answers, 253 00:13:23,140 --> 00:13:25,260 I have to make the right requests, 254 00:13:25,260 --> 00:13:29,180 and I have the stress of having to know what to ask for 255 00:13:30,620 --> 00:13:33,340 in order to get the things that I want. 256 00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:38,940 One of the things that my wife was sharing with me, 257 00:13:38,940 --> 00:13:40,580 something that Timothy Keller was sharing, 258 00:13:40,580 --> 00:13:42,620 and I really resonated with me, 259 00:13:42,620 --> 00:13:44,980 he was talking about a father, 260 00:13:44,980 --> 00:13:47,580 and how as a father versus a genie 261 00:13:47,580 --> 00:13:49,500 who I have to go to with the right request 262 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:51,020 and he's gonna give me exactly what I said 263 00:13:51,020 --> 00:13:53,340 and I have to word it just right, right? 264 00:13:53,340 --> 00:13:56,420 If you word the request to the genie just wrong, 265 00:13:56,420 --> 00:13:59,180 you're gonna get exactly what you asked for, 266 00:13:59,180 --> 00:14:00,940 and nothing more, nothing less. 267 00:14:02,060 --> 00:14:07,060 With a father, a father actually interprets my needs 268 00:14:08,380 --> 00:14:09,740 from my request. 269 00:14:09,740 --> 00:14:13,740 So there's a, it's just inevitable that when you have kids, 270 00:14:13,740 --> 00:14:16,420 they become illustrations for every sermon, 271 00:14:16,420 --> 00:14:17,740 but sorry boys. 272 00:14:19,740 --> 00:14:22,580 But there's a phenomenon that has happened in our family 273 00:14:22,580 --> 00:14:25,660 when we had two cars and we come to the same location, 274 00:14:25,660 --> 00:14:27,820 and that is the ride phenomenon. 275 00:14:27,820 --> 00:14:29,540 Who's going with who, right? 276 00:14:30,740 --> 00:14:33,420 And there are times where, 277 00:14:33,420 --> 00:14:35,500 well, I'm gonna go with the right person, 278 00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:37,380 and I'm gonna go with the wrong person, 279 00:14:37,380 --> 00:14:41,340 and there are times where we'll have one of the boys 280 00:14:41,340 --> 00:14:45,220 who will assert their dominance and leadership 281 00:14:45,220 --> 00:14:47,700 and tell the other boys where they're going. 282 00:14:48,820 --> 00:14:51,140 This is usually one of the kids. 283 00:14:51,140 --> 00:14:52,300 I won't name names. 284 00:14:54,140 --> 00:14:59,140 It's the hair sticking up above the monitor back there. 285 00:15:04,180 --> 00:15:05,660 And in asserting the dominance, 286 00:15:05,660 --> 00:15:08,500 he'll say to the other boys, you're going with mom. 287 00:15:09,860 --> 00:15:12,220 Well, no, I think, nope, you're going with mom. 288 00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:14,020 She's got a perfectly good seat there. 289 00:15:14,020 --> 00:15:15,340 Go with mom, right? 290 00:15:15,340 --> 00:15:16,220 Go with mom. 291 00:15:16,220 --> 00:15:17,580 And then it'll become a fight, 292 00:15:17,580 --> 00:15:20,580 and then pretty soon the parents need to intercede, right? 293 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:23,340 And I could look at that and go, 294 00:15:23,340 --> 00:15:26,140 okay, this is just a mere request or demand, actually, 295 00:15:26,140 --> 00:15:26,980 from him. 296 00:15:28,740 --> 00:15:31,620 But something that we've learned in this process 297 00:15:31,620 --> 00:15:32,900 is to interpret the need. 298 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:34,780 What is the need here? 299 00:15:34,780 --> 00:15:36,340 And it's not only him. 300 00:15:36,340 --> 00:15:39,220 The other boys have done it in the past, too. 301 00:15:39,220 --> 00:15:40,620 And it almost inevitably means 302 00:15:40,620 --> 00:15:43,780 that there's a need to spend time with dad alone. 303 00:15:44,900 --> 00:15:47,500 And the need underneath all of the hubbub 304 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,220 and all of the chaos is I wanna spend time alone with dad. 305 00:15:52,420 --> 00:15:55,140 And as a father, I could just take the request 306 00:15:55,140 --> 00:15:57,060 or the demand, or I could tell them, 307 00:15:57,060 --> 00:15:58,540 be quiet and I'll go with mom, 308 00:15:58,540 --> 00:15:59,980 because I need my quiet. 309 00:15:59,980 --> 00:16:01,380 I have done that before, too. 310 00:16:01,380 --> 00:16:06,380 But as a father, I get the privilege and honor 311 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:11,020 of interpreting the requests of my kids 312 00:16:11,020 --> 00:16:13,980 to see what is the need underneath 313 00:16:13,980 --> 00:16:16,300 the need that they think they have. 314 00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:20,180 And you can think of a thousand ways that a parent does this. 315 00:16:20,180 --> 00:16:21,820 But when we approach God as a genie, 316 00:16:21,820 --> 00:16:23,460 it's like I've gotta have the right request. 317 00:16:23,460 --> 00:16:25,020 I've gotta phrase it right. 318 00:16:25,020 --> 00:16:27,740 As a father, I just get to come 319 00:16:27,740 --> 00:16:31,220 and put it in the words that I know how to put it, 320 00:16:31,220 --> 00:16:35,020 and then pray and trust that God will interpret 321 00:16:35,020 --> 00:16:36,620 the need underneath the need. 322 00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:45,060 Another thing that Keller says 323 00:16:45,060 --> 00:16:47,140 is that the things that we want, 324 00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:50,460 this is just the reality of being in a broken world, 325 00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:53,660 the things that we want are in need of healing. 326 00:16:55,220 --> 00:16:57,100 The things that we want are in need of healing. 327 00:16:57,100 --> 00:17:00,740 And so we oftentimes bring our wants to God, 328 00:17:00,740 --> 00:17:02,180 thinking they're right, 329 00:17:02,180 --> 00:17:04,260 oftentimes thinking we're justified in bringing them, 330 00:17:04,260 --> 00:17:06,180 and they're actually good and right, 331 00:17:06,180 --> 00:17:08,220 and God should honor them. 332 00:17:09,100 --> 00:17:10,220 But in a broken world, 333 00:17:10,220 --> 00:17:13,940 our wants are oftentimes or most often in need of healing. 334 00:17:13,940 --> 00:17:15,900 And so we bring them to a father 335 00:17:15,900 --> 00:17:18,420 who can provide healing for our needs. 336 00:17:18,420 --> 00:17:21,580 And what that means is he interprets our needs 337 00:17:21,580 --> 00:17:24,460 to the need that's under that, under the need, 338 00:17:24,460 --> 00:17:28,420 in order to give us what we truly need for flourishing. 339 00:17:28,420 --> 00:17:30,700 There was a lot of needs there, sorry. 340 00:17:34,540 --> 00:17:35,740 Another thing about the father 341 00:17:35,740 --> 00:17:38,620 is that he's most concerned with the inside, 342 00:17:38,620 --> 00:17:43,380 the person that I am, not what I adorn myself with, 343 00:17:43,380 --> 00:17:45,740 be it the clothes or the kind of food 344 00:17:45,740 --> 00:17:46,860 or the house that I live in 345 00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:49,820 or the status that I can build for myself. 346 00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:53,300 He's most concerned about what you are becoming. 347 00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:56,180 Jesus illustrates the point of misplaced security 348 00:17:56,180 --> 00:18:00,700 in a parable that he tells in Luke chapter 12. 349 00:18:01,660 --> 00:18:04,260 In Luke 12, beginning in verse 13, he said, 350 00:18:04,260 --> 00:18:05,900 someone from the crowd, so he's teaching, 351 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:07,660 and someone from the crowd yells out and says, 352 00:18:07,660 --> 00:18:11,500 teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 353 00:18:13,020 --> 00:18:14,620 And Jesus says, friend, 354 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:18,820 who appointed me a judge or arbiter over you? 355 00:18:18,820 --> 00:18:20,700 He then told them, watch out, 356 00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:24,020 and be on guard against all greed, 357 00:18:24,020 --> 00:18:28,380 because one's life is not in the abundance of his possessions. 358 00:18:29,420 --> 00:18:30,740 And then he tells this parable. 359 00:18:30,740 --> 00:18:33,580 A rich man's land was very productive, 360 00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:36,620 and he thought to himself, what should I do? 361 00:18:36,620 --> 00:18:39,860 Since I don't have anywhere to store my crops, 362 00:18:39,860 --> 00:18:41,780 I will do this, he said. 363 00:18:41,780 --> 00:18:44,780 I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones 364 00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:47,940 and store all my grain and goods there. 365 00:18:47,940 --> 00:18:51,020 And then I'll say to myself, you have many goods 366 00:18:51,020 --> 00:18:53,740 stored up for many years, take it easy, 367 00:18:53,740 --> 00:18:57,140 eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. 368 00:18:57,140 --> 00:19:00,940 But God said to him, you fool, 369 00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:04,460 this very night your life is demanded of you, 370 00:19:04,460 --> 00:19:07,980 and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? 371 00:19:09,380 --> 00:19:12,860 That's how it is with the one who stores up treasure 372 00:19:12,860 --> 00:19:15,900 for himself and is not rich. 373 00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:16,740 Toward God. 374 00:19:19,180 --> 00:19:20,740 So the rich man's pleased with himself, 375 00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:22,540 and he's confident in all the provisions 376 00:19:22,540 --> 00:19:24,420 that he's stored away. 377 00:19:24,420 --> 00:19:26,660 But what he's missed is the very thing we often miss, 378 00:19:26,660 --> 00:19:30,460 which is that our lives are not as stable as we imagine. 379 00:19:30,460 --> 00:19:32,860 We're not in ultimate control, 380 00:19:32,860 --> 00:19:37,860 and wealth or possessions cannot secure our future. 381 00:19:38,140 --> 00:19:39,580 The rich man in that story 382 00:19:39,580 --> 00:19:42,900 found his confidence in the wrong place. 383 00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:45,780 Instead, he found his confidence in the wrong place. 384 00:19:45,780 --> 00:19:49,100 Instead of seeing his resources as a means to bless others 385 00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:51,740 and to live dependently upon God, 386 00:19:51,740 --> 00:19:54,620 he hoards them for himself and for his own security 387 00:19:54,620 --> 00:19:56,060 and his own comfort. 388 00:19:56,060 --> 00:19:59,220 And his fatal mistake was believing that he could control 389 00:19:59,220 --> 00:20:02,100 his own destiny through wealth. 390 00:20:05,340 --> 00:20:07,100 In Jesus' words in verse 15, 391 00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:10,420 one's life is not in the abundance of his possessions. 392 00:20:10,420 --> 00:20:11,780 Man, they cut through. 393 00:20:13,580 --> 00:20:15,460 When we store up treasures for ourselves, 394 00:20:15,460 --> 00:20:19,900 we risk losing sight of what truly matters. 395 00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:23,820 The rich man's barns were full, but his soul was empty. 396 00:20:25,380 --> 00:20:26,900 Empty of dependence on God. 397 00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:31,060 It was empty of gratitude and empty of a relationship 398 00:20:31,060 --> 00:20:34,340 with the one who gave every good thing. 399 00:20:36,620 --> 00:20:39,780 Augustine once said that God is always trying 400 00:20:39,780 --> 00:20:41,620 to give good things to us, 401 00:20:41,620 --> 00:20:45,620 but our hands are too full to receive them. 402 00:20:45,620 --> 00:20:50,500 Give us our daily bread is a cry for dependence upon God. 403 00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:53,540 It's a cry to empty ourselves and empty our hands 404 00:20:53,540 --> 00:20:56,340 so that we can receive the things he wants to give us. 405 00:20:56,340 --> 00:21:00,820 The father who looks at our needs and looks at our wants 406 00:21:00,820 --> 00:21:03,140 and even our requests and looks underneath 407 00:21:03,140 --> 00:21:04,900 to the thing we actually need. 408 00:21:04,900 --> 00:21:07,580 We really need to be built up and to flourish 409 00:21:07,580 --> 00:21:11,900 and to give us that. 410 00:21:14,620 --> 00:21:18,140 This prayer invites us to rely on God, 411 00:21:18,140 --> 00:21:21,540 not only as just a theoretical provider, 412 00:21:22,460 --> 00:21:26,020 but as a practical daily sustainer of our life. 413 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:30,860 The last point I'll have you write down is 414 00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:35,260 that there is freedom in dependence. 415 00:21:35,260 --> 00:21:38,340 Freedom in dependence. 416 00:21:40,540 --> 00:21:42,780 There is an incredible freedom that comes 417 00:21:42,780 --> 00:21:45,220 when we embrace dependence on God. 418 00:21:46,660 --> 00:21:48,860 It's a freedom that's actually rooted 419 00:21:48,860 --> 00:21:52,740 in the very heart of the gospel of Jesus. 420 00:21:54,340 --> 00:21:58,100 It's in our culture, dependence often feels like weakness. 421 00:21:58,100 --> 00:21:59,660 We're told to be self-sufficient, 422 00:21:59,660 --> 00:22:02,580 to take control of our lives, to build our own security, 423 00:22:02,580 --> 00:22:05,900 but the gospel tells us a completely different story. 424 00:22:06,860 --> 00:22:10,380 One where true freedom isn't found in our strength 425 00:22:10,380 --> 00:22:11,780 but in our surrender. 426 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,460 The gospel reminds us that our ultimate security 427 00:22:16,460 --> 00:22:19,060 isn't found in what we can do for ourselves, 428 00:22:19,060 --> 00:22:23,500 it's found in what Christ has already done for us. 429 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:26,540 On the cross, Jesus took on himself the whole weight 430 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:29,180 of sin, the whole weight of our failures, 431 00:22:29,180 --> 00:22:31,500 and our need to prove our worth. 432 00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:34,420 And he paid the price we could never pay, 433 00:22:34,420 --> 00:22:37,700 and in doing so, he secured for us a future 434 00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:39,140 we could never earn. 435 00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:43,140 And this is the good news that in Christ, 436 00:22:43,140 --> 00:22:47,740 we are fully known, fully loved, fully provided for, 437 00:22:47,740 --> 00:22:51,740 not because of our efforts, but because of his grace. 438 00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:56,180 In Luke chapter 12, the tragedy of the rich fool 439 00:22:56,180 --> 00:22:58,980 isn't just that he had misplaced priorities, 440 00:22:58,980 --> 00:23:02,540 it's that he failed to recognize his need for God. 441 00:23:03,820 --> 00:23:06,700 He trusted in his riches instead of trusting 442 00:23:06,700 --> 00:23:09,100 in the one who gives life itself. 443 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:14,180 And Jesus' point is clear, that true security and peace 444 00:23:14,180 --> 00:23:16,940 can never come from our own resources, 445 00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:20,420 but only from a relationship with God. 446 00:23:22,260 --> 00:23:24,820 When we understand the gospel, we see that dependence 447 00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:28,700 on God isn't a limitation, but it's actually the truth. 448 00:23:28,700 --> 00:23:30,260 It's actually liberation. 449 00:23:30,260 --> 00:23:31,780 It is our freedom. 450 00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:35,460 It's the freedom to let go of our striving, 451 00:23:35,460 --> 00:23:38,900 to stop trying to earn what God has freely given us 452 00:23:38,900 --> 00:23:39,740 in Christ. 453 00:23:41,340 --> 00:23:44,020 We're invited to rest in the assurance that God 454 00:23:44,020 --> 00:23:47,140 is our provider, our protector, and our sustainer. 455 00:23:47,140 --> 00:23:50,860 God gets great joy when we depend on him. 456 00:23:52,580 --> 00:23:56,620 And that great joy is given to us, 457 00:23:56,620 --> 00:24:00,140 and we lay our life upon him, depend upon him 458 00:24:00,140 --> 00:24:01,380 for everything. 459 00:24:04,940 --> 00:24:07,580 In C.S. Lewis's book, The Weight of Glory, 460 00:24:07,580 --> 00:24:12,580 he said, he who has God and everything else 461 00:24:12,980 --> 00:24:16,740 has no more than he who has God only. 462 00:24:18,620 --> 00:24:23,260 He who has God and everything else has no more 463 00:24:23,260 --> 00:24:25,420 than he who has God only. 464 00:24:25,420 --> 00:24:27,020 Do we believe that? 465 00:24:29,260 --> 00:24:33,940 And does that belief work itself out in faith, in action? 466 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:38,740 Is that how we look at our life and our security? 467 00:24:40,140 --> 00:24:43,140 I lived most of my life paycheck to paycheck. 468 00:24:44,340 --> 00:24:46,660 Everything was about when the money would hit. 469 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:51,420 And I recognize this about myself that at that time, 470 00:24:51,420 --> 00:24:55,420 living in that way, I got this sense of security 471 00:24:55,420 --> 00:24:59,820 and this breath of fresh air on payday. 472 00:25:01,220 --> 00:25:05,460 Like the world was my oyster and anything was possible. 473 00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:10,420 And then as the days went on away from payday 474 00:25:10,420 --> 00:25:11,700 and got closer to the next one, 475 00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:14,820 the days right before was stress and anxiety. 476 00:25:15,740 --> 00:25:17,820 Dark, the world was a lot darker. 477 00:25:19,180 --> 00:25:21,020 There was no opportunity whatsoever 478 00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:21,980 because there was no money. 479 00:25:21,980 --> 00:25:24,980 Sometimes there was a negative in front of the bank account. 480 00:25:26,420 --> 00:25:30,020 And it was, I've gotta wait till the next check hits. 481 00:25:32,060 --> 00:25:35,700 He who has God and everything else has no more 482 00:25:36,540 --> 00:25:38,260 than he who has God only. 483 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:45,100 Give us today our daily bread as a reminder, 484 00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:46,820 grounded in the gospel. 485 00:25:46,820 --> 00:25:49,420 It acknowledges that the same God who met 486 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:53,940 our deepest need in Christ will also meet our daily needs. 487 00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:58,380 If he has given us this great salvation, 488 00:25:59,260 --> 00:26:03,340 if he has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness 489 00:26:03,340 --> 00:26:06,700 to the kingdom of light, if he has bestowed upon us 490 00:26:06,700 --> 00:26:11,700 sonship, if we are called sons and daughters of the king, 491 00:26:11,780 --> 00:26:14,460 how much more will he provide what we need? 492 00:26:14,460 --> 00:26:18,140 In fact, that's the very place that in Luke chapter 12 493 00:26:18,140 --> 00:26:18,980 it goes to. 494 00:26:19,980 --> 00:26:22,420 Luke chapter 12, Jesus told that parable, 495 00:26:22,420 --> 00:26:24,420 you know what the very next part is? 496 00:26:26,220 --> 00:26:29,020 The very next part after telling the parable 497 00:26:29,020 --> 00:26:31,140 of the rich man or the rich fool, 498 00:26:32,380 --> 00:26:34,180 he says, then he said to his disciples, 499 00:26:34,180 --> 00:26:36,060 he tells the parables, he turns to his disciples 500 00:26:36,060 --> 00:26:40,100 and he says, therefore, in light of that, I tell you, 501 00:26:40,100 --> 00:26:42,420 don't worry about your life. 502 00:26:42,420 --> 00:26:45,500 What you will eat or about the body, what you will wear, 503 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:50,500 for life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 504 00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:53,460 Consider the ravens, they don't sow or reap, 505 00:26:53,460 --> 00:26:57,460 they don't have a store room or a barn, yet God feeds them. 506 00:26:57,460 --> 00:27:00,820 Aren't you worth much more than the birds? 507 00:27:00,820 --> 00:27:05,820 Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying? 508 00:27:06,140 --> 00:27:08,900 If then you're not able to do even a little thing, 509 00:27:08,900 --> 00:27:10,940 why worry about the rest? 510 00:27:10,940 --> 00:27:13,100 Why worry about the rest? 511 00:27:14,100 --> 00:27:16,220 Consider how the wildflowers grow, 512 00:27:16,220 --> 00:27:20,020 they don't labor or spend thread, yet I tell you, 513 00:27:20,020 --> 00:27:22,740 not even Solomon in all his splendor 514 00:27:22,740 --> 00:27:25,020 was adorned like one of these. 515 00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:27,460 If that's how God closed the grass, 516 00:27:27,460 --> 00:27:29,260 which is in the field today 517 00:27:29,260 --> 00:27:31,300 and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, 518 00:27:31,300 --> 00:27:36,180 how much more will he do for you, you of little faith? 519 00:27:36,180 --> 00:27:39,260 Don't strive for what you should eat 520 00:27:39,260 --> 00:27:41,260 and what you should drink and don't be anxious 521 00:27:41,260 --> 00:27:44,380 for the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things 522 00:27:44,380 --> 00:27:47,300 and your father knows what you need. 523 00:27:48,420 --> 00:27:50,820 But seek first his kingdom 524 00:27:50,820 --> 00:27:53,460 and these things will be provided for you. 525 00:27:54,540 --> 00:27:56,260 Don't be afraid, little flock, 526 00:27:56,260 --> 00:27:59,620 because your father delights to give you the kingdom. 527 00:27:59,620 --> 00:28:02,300 Sell your possessions and give to the poor, 528 00:28:02,300 --> 00:28:05,900 make money bags for yourselves that won't grow old 529 00:28:05,900 --> 00:28:08,220 in inexhaustible treasure in heaven 530 00:28:08,220 --> 00:28:12,100 where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 531 00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:17,100 For where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also. 532 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:23,660 This life of dependence is not just, 533 00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:27,340 God, I'm gonna depend on you to give me stuff. 534 00:28:27,340 --> 00:28:30,060 It's, God, all that you have given, 535 00:28:30,060 --> 00:28:33,380 it has been given to me from your hand freely 536 00:28:33,380 --> 00:28:35,460 and it actually liberates not only us 537 00:28:35,460 --> 00:28:37,620 from the bondage of striving after stuff, 538 00:28:37,620 --> 00:28:40,940 but it liberates us to generosity, to bless others, 539 00:28:40,940 --> 00:28:43,180 to give, to sell everything that we have 540 00:28:43,180 --> 00:28:45,540 because won't my father take care of me? 541 00:28:46,740 --> 00:28:48,860 Won't he give me all that I need? 542 00:28:52,900 --> 00:28:57,900 We live with a open hand before our God, 543 00:28:58,540 --> 00:29:01,100 both in receiving and giving. 544 00:29:03,340 --> 00:29:05,580 And that's the freedom of dependence. 545 00:29:05,580 --> 00:29:08,180 My kids experienced it when they were younger. 546 00:29:08,660 --> 00:29:10,220 They didn't pay for a thing. 547 00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:16,460 Yet they ate, they were clothed, they had good times. 548 00:29:16,460 --> 00:29:18,340 We went on trips, we went places. 549 00:29:18,340 --> 00:29:20,540 I knew their need, I provided it. 550 00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:25,740 Imperfectly oftentimes, but I provided, I tried. 551 00:29:25,740 --> 00:29:29,660 Sometimes I was late, sometimes I was wrong. 552 00:29:29,660 --> 00:29:32,660 How much more your heavenly father 553 00:29:32,660 --> 00:29:34,060 your heavenly father, 554 00:29:36,660 --> 00:29:39,180 there's great freedom in dependence. 555 00:29:39,180 --> 00:29:41,580 I'm gonna invite the worship team to come on up 556 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:46,220 and invite us to live with an open hand 557 00:29:46,220 --> 00:29:47,620 and a peaceful heart. 558 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:51,860 That we would trust in God's provision for today, 559 00:29:52,900 --> 00:29:55,260 that we would trust in God's provision for tomorrow 560 00:29:55,260 --> 00:29:56,860 when tomorrow comes. 561 00:29:56,860 --> 00:30:01,540 In Christ, you have all you need. 562 00:30:01,540 --> 00:30:29,540 And that is the greatest freedom you could ever know.