1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,620 As the choir comes down, if you would find your place in the scriptures of 2 00:00:05,620 --> 00:00:15,000 Matthew chapter 6. The last time we were in Matthew is really at the beginning of 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:22,400 December. So it's been a while, but we're going to pick up where we left off as 4 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:27,800 we're making our way through this great book. We're going to be looking at verses 9 5 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:38,580 and 10 in particularly. Now we're going to read verses 9 through 13. Now most of 6 00:00:38,580 --> 00:00:41,840 us, if we learn the Lord's Prayer as I have, we learned it from the King James 7 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,320 Version, which I love. But this I'm going to be reading from the New King James. In 8 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:52,520 this manner therefore pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your 9 00:00:52,520 --> 00:01:00,320 kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our 10 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,160 daily bread and forgive us our debts. That's the word. We use trespasses. The 11 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:10,520 word is debts actually. As we forgive our debtors and do not lead us in 12 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:19,080 temptation, but deliver us from evil want or evil. For yours is a kingdom and the 13 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:30,560 power and the glory forever. Amen. Would you ask God to help us? Father in the 14 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:40,360 quietness of this moment, Lord let us have ears to hear and hearts to believe what 15 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:46,840 your spirit says to your people, your church. Father teach us. Let us behold 16 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:52,760 wonderful things out of your law. God I pray Lord for anointing for the help of 17 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:59,960 the Almighty. Or as I preach, may I do so Lord with fear and trembling, realizing I 18 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:05,200 will give an account for how I speak this morning. I would ask Lord God that 19 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,880 you'd keep me and refrain my lips from speaking anything that would be 20 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,760 unproductive or would not be helpful. And Lord if there's anything that needs to 21 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,680 be said by your spirit, would you bring that to remembrance this morning? I 22 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:26,280 pray in Jesus name. Amen. So we are in the final Sunday of January of 2025, which 23 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,680 is hard to believe. Of course last week we weren't able to meet. This is the 24 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,320 first Sunday we've had actually a normal Sunday since the New Year began. And of 25 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,960 course when we enter into a new year that always brings a new beginning, a 26 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,700 fresh start. We like that. So many people look forward to New Year's. They like the 27 00:02:43,700 --> 00:02:48,520 idea of leaving the old year behind and seeing what is in store for the new. I 28 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:53,540 don't know about you. Maybe you made resolutions. Maybe you didn't. So many did 29 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:58,160 and if you did make resolutions the vast majority of our resolutions are focused 30 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,720 on health. How can I lose weight? How can I get in shape? How can I be a better 31 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:07,280 version of me? Nothing wrong with those. And there are many Christians who also 32 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:13,200 made some spiritual resolutions as well. Most of those and focus on Bible reading. 33 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,520 I want to be more consistent or I want to read the Bible more. Many will start 34 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,240 out and I don't know some of you may be doing that this year. They plan on 35 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,920 reading the Bible through in a year and you follow a guide. I used to do that 36 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,640 every year for a while and I think that's very helpful. Those are great 37 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:33,600 resolutions and they really are worth the effort that it takes to accomplish 38 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,600 them. But there is one area that I believe all Christians struggle in. I 39 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:43,120 don't think it's unique to any individual and it really would behoove 40 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:49,640 us to make some resolutions in this area and that is the area of prayer. The most 41 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,960 difficult aspect of the Christian life for most people, I can't say all people, 42 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:59,920 but for most people is prayer. In my tenure here as pastor I don't think I've 43 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:04,480 ever met, that I can recall, anyone who ever came to me and said they were 44 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:09,640 completely satisfied with their prayer life. Now I've had people come to me and 45 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,120 confess, pastor I really I don't really know how to pray. I mean what do you do? 46 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,600 How do you really pray? Or sometimes people say I just find myself going 47 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,440 through the motions or it seems as though I'm saying the same thing every 48 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:26,760 day, day in day out, I'm just saying the same words. How do I pray? Well let me 49 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:32,320 confess this to you all. I personally find it easier to read the Bible. I find 50 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,920 it easier to study the Bible, study for a sermon. I find it easier to give 51 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:44,920 financially than I do to pray. But why is that? I mean why is prayer so difficult 52 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:52,280 for so many? And the answer is because prayer is warfare. When we pray we enter 53 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:56,880 into spiritual battle. Paul clearly said this in Ephesians 6 verse 12 he said, 54 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,200 for we do not wrestle, go to the next slide guys, for we do not wrestle against 55 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:06,480 flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the 56 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,280 rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the 57 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,840 heavenly places. I'm sorry I just want to make sure the slides are off a little 58 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:17,000 bit. Guys go that next slide if you would and I'll let them go from this point 59 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:23,400 forward. It's okay don't even worry about it if we're not there. So notice what 60 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,880 in Ephesians 6 verse 12, we're not wrestling against flesh and blood. That's what 61 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,280 the Paul's of Paul clearly said. Our battle friends is not against humanity. It 62 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:36,400 has never been against that. Our battle is not against people. Remember that, let 63 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,880 me just say that, remember that now that we're into a new political cycle. Your 64 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:44,800 battle is not against those who hold differing political views than your own. 65 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,840 Now we ought to hold some views that are very very dear and sacred. There are 66 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,720 some things worth fighting for but there's a lot of things, there are many 67 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,280 things not worth fighting for. Hold that, realize your battle as a Christian is 68 00:05:56,280 --> 00:06:02,240 not primarily directed horizontally. Rather our battle as Christians, we are 69 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:07,640 at war with demonic forces, principalities in high places against the 70 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:12,280 kingdom of darkness. When we go to prayer we go into that arena of war 71 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:17,440 against demonic hosts and we don't think like that. That sounds kind of 72 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:22,200 otherworldly if you will. But let me just say this, Satan and his demonic forces 73 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:28,040 are not afraid of us but they are terrified of the one who lives in us. 74 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:33,000 When we're praying what we're doing we're asking for strength from the 75 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:38,040 one who came and crushed them. He's the one's who will give us strength and this is 76 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:44,400 why prayer is so difficult. It's a battle against unseen enemies but it's also an 77 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:49,080 attack on our own flesh, our own pride. When we're praying what are we doing? 78 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:56,400 You're admitting weakness, you're admitting struggle, and doubt, fear, 79 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:02,840 failure because you're confessing your sins. Lord I failed you again. We come 80 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:07,560 into prayers beggars and as we do we send their saying we desperately need 81 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:14,760 the grace and mercy from the Almighty and because prayer is so important the 82 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:20,640 enemy will always ensure that there are many obstacles to praying. Distractions. 83 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,880 You ever sat down to pray and there's just distractions or maybe your mind 84 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:30,320 won't stop? What about poor time management? Time just gets away from you. 85 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,160 What about doubts? You find yourself plagued with doubts and so you don't 86 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:41,920 want to pray because it feels almost sacrilegious. Some people don't pray 87 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,920 because they're more focused on how to pray rather than being focused on the 88 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:53,040 one to whom we pray. It's not primarily the form, it's the person and I think in 89 00:07:53,040 --> 00:08:00,320 our culture most of us live our lives in a hurry. Friends you cannot pray in a 90 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:05,080 hurry. You can read the Bible hurriedly, it's not great that you do so, but you 91 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:12,720 can read hurriedly. But you can't really pray hurriedly. You can and a lot of us 92 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,080 have to-do lists don't we? Either in our mind or on a piece of paper and it's 93 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,760 much more satisfying to check one thing off our to-do list and cross them off 94 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,200 than it is then to just spend time in prayer because we think well what's the 95 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:29,800 there's it's not doing anything and yet it is. Prayer is absolutely vital to our 96 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,800 spiritual life so it's not surprising then see our Lord taking the time to 97 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,560 teach on this most important topic. Now we've not been in Matthew 6 for about a 98 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:42,920 month now. Keep in mind the context, the background information. In Matthew 6 the 99 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,240 Lord Jesus has been warning those listening to him, his disciples, of 100 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:51,320 hypocrisy. That's the background and particularly the hypocrisy of the 101 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,960 religious leading religious officials, scribes and Pharisees. These men looked 102 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:03,060 apart. They didn't look like phonies. Outwardly they appeared pious. All they 103 00:09:03,060 --> 00:09:07,920 would give and they would pray and feign to help people but the Lord said they 104 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:13,360 were dead inside, full of dead men's bones. They were charlatans. They wanted 105 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,680 to impress others with their false piety so all they really wanted to do is I 106 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:22,240 want to look good in the eyes of others. They craved a glory that was reserved 107 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:27,760 for God alone. It was like a drug to them. They couldn't get enough of it because 108 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:32,520 people respected them. So when they were praying or when they were giving their 109 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:38,800 offerings they wanted to be seen by others because they wanted to impress 110 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:43,440 them. So it's not what they were giving to God but rather what was important to 111 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:49,040 them is what they were receiving from man. This is hypocrisy. They went out of 112 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,480 their way to make sure that others would see them. Why? 113 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:59,520 Because they're loving this glory. They were in a glory war. When praying they 114 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:04,400 would pray prayers that were intentionally designed to be long. Why? 115 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:10,600 Because those eavesdropping or looking at them would be impressed. How spiritual 116 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:16,400 that man must be. Look at all the time he's spending in prayer. And Jesus, seeing 117 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:21,120 all this, knowing full well what was taking place, was sickened by it and he 118 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,600 was warning those who would follow him not to be impressed by these men. They 119 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,720 were hypocrites. And what he was going to do, he's going to use this opportunity to 120 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:35,120 teach his disciples how to properly pray. And prayer is important because it 121 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:40,120 really does work. First of all, do you believe that prayer works? James 5 16 122 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:45,040 tells us the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much means it 123 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:52,640 accomplishes much. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth or 124 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:59,680 accomplishes much. First of all, prayer does something in us. It changes us. Our 125 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:06,280 perspective, our motives, and it shows us our dependence on God for everything in 126 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:12,280 life. I love what Martin Lloyd-Jones said. He said, man is at his greatest and 127 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:19,160 highest. When upon his knees he comes face to face with God. In our text today 128 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,400 you're going to see the Lord teaching his disciples how to pray. This is the 129 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:27,040 model prayer. It's what we typically call the Lord's Prayer. Probably should be 130 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,920 called the disciples prayer because he's teaching his disciples to pray. And it 131 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,560 starts off, and first of all there's six petitions. Three are focused on God, three 132 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:40,400 are focused on man. The three that are focused on God come first. And then as 133 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,720 the prayer continues it'll go to man and his needs. So we have a focus on God has 134 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:49,480 three parts. A focus on man has three parts. On God you have hallowed be your 135 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:56,280 name, your kingdom come, your will be done. Then as they go to the man's part, 136 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:03,520 give us as they are daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, our debts, and deliver 137 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:10,840 us from evil. How? By not leading us into temptation. Now I want you to notice how 138 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:17,280 the prayer begins. Our Father who is in heaven. Jesus begins this prayer with our 139 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:22,040 Father. I want you to notice something. Look at the possessive adjective. It is 140 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:29,880 not my Father, it's our Father. Why? Our Father because we are members of the same 141 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,040 family. At the very beginning we start to see church, this is so important to get, 142 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:39,760 you and I are members of one another. And we are in fellowship with one another. 143 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,360 And when we go to God in prayer, we dress him as our Father, what we're doing, we're 144 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:49,680 praying for and with our brothers and sisters in Christ and not primarily for 145 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:56,320 ourselves and for our needs only. We're reminded Christianity is a covenant 146 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:03,260 family. It is a communal family. It is made up of those who have been called by 147 00:13:03,260 --> 00:13:09,800 God out of this world and brought into the kingdom of God. What that means from 148 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,440 the very beginning, you see Christianity is not some private religious enterprise. 149 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:19,440 It's not just Jesus and me. It is communal and it is covenant and Eastern 150 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:24,520 religion or Eastern Israel would have certainly known that. Today, highly 151 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:29,640 privatized individualistic America has forgotten that. We tend to think of a 152 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:34,040 relationship only about me, Jesus and me. And yes there is that element but that's 153 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:41,280 not primary. But we go on and notice we call God Father but who can call God 154 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:47,800 Father? That's the most important question to ask in all your life. This is 155 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,600 this. If you if there's no other question that you will ever ask in your 156 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:58,160 spiritual life, it is this. Who can call God Father? Of course God is creator of 157 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:06,280 all mankind but he's not the father of all mankind. He is father only to those 158 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:12,440 who have been regenerated and adopted into his family. This is a work of God. 159 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:19,320 Who can regenerate? The Holy Spirit alone. Who can adopt one into the family of God? 160 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:23,840 The Holy Spirit alone. Friends, we can't regenerate ourselves. We can't make 161 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:32,520 ourselves alive. We can't force our own adoption. Something only God does. But 162 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:38,480 you can know that you have been regenerated if you are united to Christ 163 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:44,840 by faith. You can know that you are a child of God if you have received Christ 164 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:53,640 as Savior and Lord. John 1 12. But as many as received him speaking of Christ. 165 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:59,400 To them he gave the right, exousia is the Greek word, authority. To them he gave the 166 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:06,920 authority to become children of God even to them who believe in his name. Galatians 167 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:15,040 3 26. For you are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 1 John 168 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:24,360 4 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in 169 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:29,880 God. So the only ones who can legitimately call God Father are those 170 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:36,600 who have come to faith in Christ the Son and confess him as their Lord. Now since 171 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:42,360 God is our Father, friends he's going to have mercy upon us. He's going to pity us 172 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:48,680 in our weakness. I am an exceedingly imperfect father and I can admit that. 173 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:54,720 But I care deeply about my children and what is going on in their lives. I take 174 00:15:54,720 --> 00:16:00,960 pleasure in helping my children and being present in their young lives. 175 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:06,640 Brother or sister, now listen to this, this is amazing. You have the incredible 176 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:15,560 privilege of calling the Almighty God, the perfect one, your Father. Your Father. 177 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,360 The Greek word there is pater. You can see we get the word paternity from that. 178 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,240 Pater. It's a common everyday term. It wasn't a fancy term. It's not theological 179 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:29,280 term. This would be used, the ordinary word in Greek used for dad, father. It is 180 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:35,320 equivalent to the Aramaic term that most are familiar with, Abba. Abba, father. So 181 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:41,440 literally, and I'm not trying to be sacrilegious here, when we use this term 182 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:48,200 pater or Abba, it literally means dad, father, even daddy to those who are in 183 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:53,240 Christ. He wants us to understand it's a term of endearment and it's a term of 184 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:59,120 relationship. J.I. Packer said this, he said if you want to judge how well a 185 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:04,240 person understands Christianity or find out how much he makes of the thought of 186 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:09,640 being God's child and having God as his father, if this is not the thought that 187 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,480 prompts and controls his worship and prayers and this whole outlook on life, 188 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:19,440 it means he does not understand Christianity very well at all. Amen. This 189 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:26,400 is what controls us. This is the fuel for worship. My daughter Gabby, unconverted 190 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,400 still, three-year-old, showed up somewhere and said we're getting ready for church. She said, 191 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,800 again? She said, why do we have to go again? I said, because we worship Gabby. We 192 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,480 worship on the Lord's Day. She's like, oh. You can tell she doesn't understand it 193 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:45,080 obviously. But so many believers, supposed believers, have that same attitude. Why do 194 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:51,080 we have to go and gather in a symbol? We worship. We worship the Almighty as 195 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:58,160 father. It's for him. It's not primarily for what you get out of it. Michael Reeve 196 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:03,880 said, indeed when a person deliberately and confidently calls the Almighty Father, 197 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:08,840 it shows he has grasped something beautiful and fundamental about who God 198 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:14,360 is and to what he has been saved and how that wins our hearts back to him. Amen. 199 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:19,360 For the fact that God the Father is happy and even delights to share his love 200 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:25,160 for his son and thus be known as our Father, it reveals just how unfathomably 201 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:31,520 gracious and kind he is. He is far more kind than you and I can even imagine. 202 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:36,720 Since he's your father, he's not going to deny anything that is good for you. 203 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:43,000 Nothing. You are his beloved child and he's going to take care of you. We're 204 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:49,160 into a new year. We have no idea what will happen. But keep your eyes fixed upon 205 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:56,080 God your Father, your Pater, who will give you what is good for you. Our prayer 206 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,280 for each other ought to be may we grow in the trust of the Father's care and 207 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:06,520 provision in this new year. May we learn to trust God as Father even as your 208 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:11,320 children have learned to trust you. My children just intrinsically trust me. 209 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,720 They believe that I have their best interests at heart. And we start to see 210 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:21,040 God as that way. Since he's our Father, we can go to him in boldness and 211 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,200 confidence because he's not our judge who's going to exact justice and 212 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:30,920 revenge upon us. God is not angry with you. He is not angry with his kids, his 213 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:36,760 children. Why? His justice was satisfied by Christ at the cross and now all you 214 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:44,400 and I know is mercy and grace. Hebrews 4 16 says, let us therefore go boldly, 215 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:51,840 confidently, expectantly to the throne of grace. Why? That we may receive mercy and 216 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:58,120 grace and find help in our time of need. God showers his children with his help 217 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:03,040 when they're in trouble. He doesn't turn a deaf ear or a blind eye. Let me say 218 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:07,400 this, the more needy you are, the more grace he has to give. You don't wear him 219 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:14,600 out. You can never tire him. Your needs will never drain the well of God's mercy. 220 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,840 You don't have to go sparingly thinking, well there's only so much so I 221 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,360 better be careful not to take this need because I don't want to save it for the 222 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:30,280 big needs. God has an unending supply of mercy for you. Psalm 23, David's most 223 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:36,000 famous Psalm without a doubt. Verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. 224 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:42,520 Verse 6, surely because of that, I'm skipping a lot here, because verse 1 is 225 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,240 true, the word is my shepherd. I'm not going to want anything. I won't have 226 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:52,800 lack. Verse 6, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. 227 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:58,480 The Hebrew word goodness there means beautiful or pleasant. The point is that 228 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:05,520 God only has what is pleasant or good for his beloved sheep. God's plans are 229 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:11,960 always for our good. The word mercy there, it's that my favorite word in Hebrew, 230 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:17,960 chesed. Chesed is God's covenantal unconditional love that he has for his 231 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:24,640 own. He's our shepherd, our shepherd, and he has an unconditional love for his 232 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:29,840 sheep and notice that goodness and mercy are chasing us but that's the wrong word 233 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:35,800 or following us. It literally means they are actively pursuing us. Mercy and grace 234 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,360 or mercy and goodness are running down God's sheep and they're kind of like two 235 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:45,800 sheep dogs that are ever running the sheep closer to the shepherd. So you and 236 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,720 I are sheep wondering and here comes mercy and here comes goodness to hem us 237 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,720 in and bring us back to the shepherd. They're always there running us down, 238 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:59,000 going to overtake us. So God is our father who loves us and he's our great 239 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:04,240 shepherd who leads us. It doesn't mean that his sheep will never see dark days. 240 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:08,040 He says when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 241 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,880 evil for thou art with me. We're going to see some difficult days. We will walk 242 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:17,280 through the valley of suffering but it is a guarantee when you do so you don't 243 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:22,880 pass through those dark days alone. You've got to know that regardless of 244 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:27,720 what 2025 brings, regardless of what you will face, your father will be there 245 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:34,600 pursuing you with his goodness and his mercy. Friends, because of what Christ has 246 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:42,320 done, his children only see the smile and acceptance of God. His face is shining 247 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,000 upon you. When the benediction that I normally do at the end of the service 248 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,840 about he may he lift up his countenance upon you, it is lifted up upon you in 249 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:54,960 Christ. Once more let me quote Martyn Lloyd-Jones because he says it better 250 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:59,440 than I. Remember that you are approaching the Almighty, eternal, ever 251 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:05,440 blessed holy God. But remember also that that God in Christ has become your 252 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,560 father who not only knows all about you in the sense that he's omniscient but he 253 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,440 knows all about you in the sense that a father knows all about his child. He 254 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:19,520 knows you. He knows what is good for the child. Put these two things together, God 255 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:24,120 and his all-mightiness is looking at you with a holy love and he knows your every 256 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:29,200 need. He hears your every sigh and he loves you with an everlasting love. 257 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,240 He desires nothing so much as your blessing, your happiness, your joy, and 258 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:39,320 your prosperity. Then remember that he is able to do exceeding abundantly above 259 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,760 all that we ask or think. As your father which is in heaven he is much more 260 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:49,080 anxious to bless you than you are to be blessed. There is also no limit to his 261 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:54,320 almighty power. He can bless you with all the blessings of heaven. He has put them 262 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:59,480 all in Christ and put you in Christ so your life can be enriched with all the 263 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:05,920 glory and riches of the grace of God himself. Amen. Friends we're just 264 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:12,520 beginning the prayer. This is our father. Jesus continues, our father who is in 265 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:17,720 heaven. Why in heaven? This has shown his transcendence, it's shown his power, it's 266 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,320 showing his sovereignty. But let me ask you this, what does it mean that God is 267 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:27,640 in heaven? 1 Kings 8 27 says, behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot 268 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:35,760 contain you. So if they can't contain him then how is God in heaven? Well we know 269 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:39,720 that God is omnipresent. That means God is present everywhere at all times 270 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:45,000 without exception or limitation. God is everywhere present. We also know 271 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,280 according to the scriptures that all of creation can't contain him so how in the 272 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:55,080 world can we say that heaven is the place where God is? Heaven is the place 273 00:24:55,080 --> 00:25:01,740 where God manifests his full glory. Heaven is the place of God's throne. Psalm 274 00:25:01,740 --> 00:25:08,020 103 verse 19, the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom 275 00:25:08,020 --> 00:25:13,440 rules over all. Heaven is a way to speak of God's rule and his power not 276 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:20,280 primarily his address. It's not what confines him. Isaiah 66, thus says the 277 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:24,720 Lord, heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. So when we're talking about 278 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:31,040 heaven we're talking about the place of God's rule, God's reign, God's justice. 279 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:38,560 The throne of God is there and yes it is a place of judgment but for all those in 280 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:45,320 Christ the throne of judgment has become a throne of grace. You and I we begin 281 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:54,760 this prayer by recognizing the amazing sovereign God is our father inviting us 282 00:25:54,760 --> 00:26:01,360 into his presence and then we start with the petitions. The very first petition 283 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:07,040 number one, hallowed be your name. We talked about the hallowed halls of 284 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:12,600 academia. We sometimes speak of things being hallowed. The word is haigatso, 285 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:18,800 means to be venerated, to make something holy. The way it's used most often 286 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,960 scriptures is something to be sanctified. So we're praying for God's name to be 287 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:28,480 hallowed. We're praying that God's people keep God's name sacred in what we say, in 288 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:35,120 what we think, and in what we do. God's people are to be a holy people who honor 289 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:40,480 in their lives his holy name. So the first petition it's of the utmost 290 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,760 important before anything else is mentioned, before any of our needs are 291 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:48,120 mentioned, Jesus said first of all pray that his father's name be hallowed, that 292 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:55,120 that name be revered, that that name be set aside in your life, that that name be 293 00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:01,880 kept special and sanctified. Why? Because God's glory is represented by his name 294 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:06,600 and since we're talking about God's glory it needs to be set apart. Before you 295 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:10,360 and I ever bring a petition to him we recognize that his name is to be 296 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:15,800 glorified, his name is to be sanctified in the world, not ourselves. This is not 297 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,560 about us. But when we're talking about his name it's more than just a 298 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:24,720 designation, it represents all that he is in his character, all that he is in his 299 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:29,340 essence. In the Hebrew culture when you mention someone's name it showed their 300 00:27:29,340 --> 00:27:34,520 nature, the character, the personality of the person. Well look at how the Bible, 301 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:41,760 biblical writers wrote about God's name. Psalm 910, those who know your name put 302 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:48,200 their trust in you. His name is Yahweh, Jehovah. Psalm 27, some trust in 303 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:53,600 chariots, some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 304 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:59,920 Proverbs 18, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it 305 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:05,600 and are safe. So we clearly see in these verses his name is synonymous with this 306 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:11,080 person who he is. So when God's people got in trouble they didn't simply recall 307 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,960 that God's name is Yahweh. That's not what it means. Rather they recalled what 308 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:20,680 God is like and they're recalling what God is like. They once again renewed 309 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:26,920 their trust in him. When you hallow his name you revere him and you revere all 310 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:31,960 that is represented by his name. And friends this also shapes our worship. 311 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,800 This means we should never think or speak of God without the greatest 312 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:41,040 veneration and honor. Too many people have such a low view of God. They use 313 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,800 it not just as a cuss word, I'm talking to Christians here, but the way 314 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:49,260 people worship it's such a low view of God. How can you tell? Look at the way 315 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:54,480 they don't honor the name. Worship is trite, worship is hurried. 316 00:28:54,480 --> 00:29:00,280 Worship is all about man. Friends worship is about him. The very first 317 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:04,880 petition here. So we are hallowing his name when we're reflecting to the world 318 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:09,200 what he is like. This is why Paul said whether you eat or drink or whatever you 319 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,560 do, do all to the glory of God. Because you're an image bearer, you're 320 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,960 reflecting this name. So even in the trivial and mundane things like eating 321 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:22,640 and drinking, we ought to be hallowing his name through our good works, the way 322 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,400 we live our lives. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your 323 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:31,440 good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. So we're hallowing his 324 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:37,040 name when we realize that you and I were created for his glory and he was not 325 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:42,560 created for our glory. We were created for him. In Luther's cataclysm the 326 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:47,160 question is posed, how is God's name howled among us when our life and doctrine 327 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:54,360 are truly Christian? Praying that God will be known, glorified in the world. But 328 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,120 there's a second petition, your kingdom come. Now notice man has not been 329 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,320 mentioned yet. There's no focus on man or what he's bringing. Again there's this 330 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,960 very God-centered. We have not brought anything to him. We're praying for the 331 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,520 hallowing of his name and secondly we're praying for his kingdom to come. 332 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:14,760 So the question is what is the kingdom? The kingdom of God, here's a short way of 333 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:20,560 saying this, God's people in God's place under God's rule. That's the kingdom. 334 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:25,960 Right now currently in seed form if you will, the kingdom of God is a church 335 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:30,360 because Christ is ruling in the church over his people from heaven through word 336 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:36,280 and sacrament, through word and ordinance. But we're reminded that the kingdom in 337 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:40,880 its fullness, in its fruition will actually be ushered in when Christ 338 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:49,920 returns. So the kingdom is present, it's already here, but not yet in its fullness. 339 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:55,480 By praying for the kingdom to come, in essence we are praying for Christ to 340 00:30:55,480 --> 00:31:01,360 return. Even so come Lord Jesus. Why? Because when the word comes he 341 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:05,200 will bring the fullness of the kingdom with him. We're praying that God's 342 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,440 rule would be established on earth. We're praying for the promise of a day when 343 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:14,120 God's love and his justice and his beauty and his peace and his righteousness 344 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:20,440 flourish and cover the earth. In other words, we're praying for 345 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,320 shalom. If you go to Israel one of the things they'll greet you when you say 346 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:32,080 when they say hello, shalom. Shalom is harmony. It's the word peace, Jerusalem, 347 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:37,120 Jerusalem, city of peace. But it's more than that, it's harmony. It's when all 348 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:41,560 things work perfectly under God's rule just as it did before sin entered the 349 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:47,200 world. Before Genesis 3, before Adam sinned, there was shalom. So now we're 350 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:53,280 praying for a return to that, a return to paradise. God we see things are broken. 351 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:58,200 We see that the kingdoms of the world are in rebellion and we're praying for 352 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:04,160 the kingdom that is above all kingdoms to come and fall under his rule. That's 353 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,240 what we want. That the nations have become obedient to him. We're praying 354 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:15,400 then for his priorities, his agenda, his plan on earth. It's a commitment to him 355 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:21,920 and his ways. And we pray like this, we also realize there's only one king to 356 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:28,760 whom we must give ultimate and final allegiance, King Jesus. Church, regardless 357 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,040 of who's in that White House, there is no earthly authority to which we owe 358 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:38,520 absolute obedience. We do not owe anyone absolute obedience except it be the 359 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:42,480 Almighty God. Do you know, you realize what got early Christians into the most 360 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:48,640 trouble was that they simply confessed Jesus as Lord and Caesar as not. That's 361 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:53,240 what got them thrown to the lions. They gladly confessed Jesus is King, Caesar's 362 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:58,440 not, Jesus is the true master. And because you and I love this King, we long for the 363 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:03,360 kingdom to come in its fullness. We want people to see, we want the world to see 364 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:08,120 Christ reigning and receiving the glory that he rightly deserves as the divine 365 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:14,440 one. And the third petition, which is all we're going to cover today, your will be 366 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:22,120 done on earth as it is in heaven. How is this will done in heaven? Absolutely. In 367 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,440 heaven there's no sin, there's no disobedience, there's not even a hint of 368 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:31,040 rebellion. And we're to pray that the affairs of this world become like heaven. 369 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:37,400 Now we know that his desire is not always done. It's not. So we pray that 370 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:42,160 what God desires on the earth will be done just like what God desires is done 371 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,720 in heaven. Let me give an example. Take the Decalogue. We have the Ten 372 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:52,000 Commandments there in Exodus 20. That's a list of God's desires. Thou shalt not 373 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:59,040 murder or to kill. So God desires that no one murders. Yet we know that many times 374 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:04,400 murder takes place. Thou shalt not commit adultery. God desires that a man and a 375 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,240 wife stay faithful to one another. Yet we know there are many cases of adultery. 376 00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:15,160 God's desire is not always done. In Luke chapter 13, Jesus speaking to Jerusalem, 377 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:19,600 he says, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and stones those 378 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:24,880 were sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen 379 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:29,320 gathers her brood under wings. But he weren't willing. Christ's desire was that 380 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:35,080 his people would. He wanted his people to receive him. Now you may be asking if he 381 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:40,760 is sovereign, the one in heaven, then how is his will not completely, perfectly 382 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:48,160 accomplished? Because in his sovereignty, God has decreed for man to make choices, 383 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:54,040 some being in line with desire and others which are not. See friends, we have 384 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:59,600 to distinguish between God's desire and God's decree. God's desire is what he 385 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:05,960 would like to happen. God wants man not to sin. God wants man to recognize and 386 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:12,320 submit to his son. Those things don't always happen, but yet there is a decree 387 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:17,160 of God and it does refer to his predetermined plan that will happen, which 388 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:21,240 includes things that are not perfectly aligned or necessarily aligned with his 389 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,640 desires. Now let me give you a perfect example of this because some of you all 390 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:29,760 are scratching your head. I just quoted the decalogue, thou shall not murder, 391 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,120 right? Thou shall not kill. God clearly, I think we all understand, does not desire 392 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:42,440 murder, but he decreed the murder of his own son. Listen carefully. Acts 4, he did 393 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:48,440 not, did not make them do it. He simply decreed that it would happen. Acts 4, 394 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:55,960 verse 27, for truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both 395 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:02,480 Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, so 396 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:06,000 you got Jews and Gentiles here, were gathered together, now listen to verse 397 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:14,960 28, to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. 398 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:22,560 These wicked men wanted of their own volition to murder the Lord Jesus and 399 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:29,560 God allowed and decreed their desire to be done. It was decreed to accomplish a 400 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:35,960 greater purpose, the salvation of God's people. So his desire is his heart 401 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:42,040 's wish, his decree is a sovereign plan that will come to pass. So maybe instead 402 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,920 of talking about desire and decree, you might talk about God's revealed will and 403 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:50,160 his sovereign will. His sovereign will is his sovereign plan that always comes to 404 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:55,720 pass. Nothing's going to thwart it. His revealed will is what he commands, which 405 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:58,820 does not always come to pass. Again, think of all the commands. Don't bear 406 00:36:58,820 --> 00:37:05,680 false witness, don't lie, don't steal, but his sovereign will always comes to pass. 407 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:13,040 Well does that mean man is not free? No. In Acts 4, those people were free moral 408 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:17,920 agents doing exactly what they wanted to happen. If man were not free in the sense 409 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,440 that he wanted to do, did what he wanted to do, God's punishment would be cruel 410 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:27,600 because he's just doing what God made him to do. That's called fatalism folks. We 411 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:34,800 reject fatalism. God is sovereign. Man is responsible for his own actions. You're 412 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,760 saying isn't it man free? Well he is free. Now listen carefully because this gets 413 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:43,200 people tripped up so much. He is free in that he is the ability to make choices 414 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:48,760 in accordance to what he most desires. In other words, let's go ahead onto this, you 415 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:54,840 get to do what you most want to do, that's free. You get to do what you most 416 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,760 want to do, that is moral freedom. But there's a gigantic problem right here. 417 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:08,480 The problem is what lost mankind, what fallen man most desires, and what he 418 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:17,360 wants to do is sin, which is why condemnation is just. John 3 19, you know 419 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:22,880 John 3 16, look down three verses later, and this is the condemnation that light, 420 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,280 that's Jesus, has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the light 421 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:32,600 because their deeds were evil. This explains why man on his own rejects 422 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:38,880 Jesus as light. He loves darkness. He prefers darkness. Man will use, fallen man 423 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:44,560 will use his freedom to sin, which is what he wants to do. Therefore, as the 424 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,800 people of God who've been rescued from this bondage, we pray for God's will to 425 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:53,760 be done on the earth as it is in heaven. So when we're praying like that, we're 426 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:59,120 praying for God to thwart the desire of man and that man's will would be aligned 427 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:04,200 to God's will. In other words, we're praying for man's rebellion to stop and 428 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:09,280 that God would not continue to allow man to continue in his sin. We're praying for 429 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:13,480 the complete surrender of man to God. That's what we're praying and this is 430 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:18,520 before we've ever brought any petition to him. We're praying that God would stop 431 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:23,800 man in his rebellion. That God would change the heart of man and align man's 432 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:31,040 desires to God's desires. Amy Carmichael, many of you have read after her, she said 433 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:36,360 this, and shall I pray to change thy will my father and till it according to mine? 434 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:43,680 But no Lord, no that shall never be. Rather I pray thee blend my human will 435 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:49,360 with thine. That's the scene. See when we go to prayer, we're not asking God to do 436 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:54,320 what we want him to do. Ultimately we're praying God make my desires and my will 437 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:59,520 in line with yours. He's the one that doesn't make mistakes. He's the one that 438 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:04,200 sees the beginning from the end. We are praying friends in this prayer for 439 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:09,080 mankind to become obedient to God and for God's plan to be completely and 440 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:17,040 quickly done. We're praying in faith. Do you know why we pray in faith friends? 441 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:24,640 Because by faith I believe and I'm convinced that his will is always better 442 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:33,080 than mine. It does not mean that I necessarily understand. It doesn't mean 443 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:40,440 that I always feel that. But by faith I know that his will is better than mine. 444 00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,840 Think of Ralph and Rose. They have to believe. They have a daughter they love 445 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,560 serving on a foreign field. They've got to believe Lord I would rather my desire 446 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:52,520 be her sitting right here in Kits, Ohio with us. But I believe by faith it is 447 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:58,560 better, your will is better than mine even though it hurts. This is what it means 448 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:04,120 to pray in faith friends for our will to be aligned with his. I close with this 449 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:09,760 quote by Eric Raymond. He said Lord we pray this. Lord your kingdom come and 450 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:15,520 your will be done. Conquer hearts by your Holy Spirit to set up the 451 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:21,680 administration of grace in their hearts. I love this last phrase. This is what we 452 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:27,160 ought to pray for the lost friends. Let them see the beauty and worth of your 453 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:33,760 glory. That's what we're praying. Do you see something of God's glory in Jesus? 454 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:40,520 That's the work of the Holy Spirit. When you can see in him in Jesus the glory of 455 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:43,960 God you can know the Holy Spirit has done a work in your heart because that's 456 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:49,320 not natural to you. We're going to pray a prayer for the table but I thought 457 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:53,680 before we do most of you know would you stand and let's pray the Lord's Prayer 458 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,440 together using the King James Version if you would. That's what most of us know. Let 459 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:04,040 us stand. Stand with me if you would. Let's bow our head and close and let's 460 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:10,200 pray. We'll close it this way. Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. 461 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:17,800 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 462 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:24,120 day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who 463 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:31,240 trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for 464 00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:37,440 thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Let us prepare 465 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:48,160 for the table. You may be seated Deacons if you would come.