King & Provider
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m one of the pastor’s here at the church, it’s great to be with you this morning. Last week we started a new series on prayer called The Father’s Arms, and it’s all about changing HOW we pray because of WHO we’re praying to. It’s about changing HOW we pray because of WHO we’re praying to. It’s a 4 wk series on a prayer that Pastor Jesus taught us called The Lord’s Prayer, and our focus is on what Jesus is teaching us to pray, and who the God is that we’re praying to. Whenever Jesus teaches us what to pray, he’s also teaching us something about who God is, and so our focus is on what Jesus is teaching us to pray, who the God is that we’re praying to, and how knowing those things should change how we pray.
Now sometimes life doesn’t go the way you want...Sometimes life doesn’t go the way you want...I mean some of you sitting here today didn’t get in the school you wanted, didn’t make the team, didn’t get the job or career your wanted. Some of you didn’t expect to be single this long, didn’t expect marriage to be so hard, didn’t expect parenting to be so hard, didn’t expect for it take this long to have kids. Sometimes life doesn’t go the way you want...What do you when that happens?..What do you do when life doesn’t go the way you want?..What do you do when your education, career, singleness, marriage, family, ministry, life doesn’t go the way you want? We’ve all experienced this before, we’ve all experienced times when our life doesn’t go the way we want, it might even be happening to some of you right now. So what do you do when that happens, when life doesn’t go the way you want? Today Jesus is gonna teach us something in The Lord’s Prayer that’s very helpful in situations like that. It’s something that’s very helpful, very stabilizing when life doesn’t go the way you want, so let’s turn our bible’s to Matthew 6:9-11 and get into it. The title of today’s message is “King and Provider.”
Context:
Here’s your context. So last week I told you The Lord’s Prayer is recorded in two places, it’s recorded in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Matthew’s record is more detailed than Luke’s, but what’s interesting about Luke’s record is he tells us Jesus is teaching this prayer in response to a disciple asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. So the implication is that prayer is something that needs to be taught. If Jesus had to teach them how to pray, the implication is that prayer is something you need to learn, it’s something you need to discipline yourself to grow in, even beyond this 4 week series that we’re doing. As Christians we should become students of prayer, we should become like the disciple who asks Jesus to teach them how to pray, and today Pastor Jesus is gonna teach us 3 things about prayer. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Matthew 6:9-11 states, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” We covered this last week and what we learned is our God’s an approachable, loving, holy Father. He’s approachable and loving, which means we can go to the Father about anything and everything, but He’s also holy which means His decisions for our lives, His response to our prayers will always be holy, they’ll always be for our good. God being an approachable, loving, holy Father is so important to our prayer life, because it means we can always go to the Father about anything and everything, and we can always trust His response to our prayers will be for our good. I know some of you might have a hard time relating with God as a Father because you never had a loving Father or maybe you didn’t know your Father. But if you’re a Christian, Jesus is teaching us we have an approachable, loving, holy Father in heaven, who we can always approach about anything and everything, and His decisions will always be holy and for our good.
Again vs. 9, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come...’” Jesus says “Your kingdom come,” and what this teaches us about God is that He’s a King. Jesus says our Father has a kingdom, which means our Father’s a King. He’s a King whose authority and power is greater than any other king, kingdom, president, politician, or nation and in the end, it’ll be His kingdom that’s the last kingdom standing. Not yours or anyone else’s, it’ll be the Father’s kingdom that’s the last one standing. Our Father’s an approachable, loving, holy, King, and when Jesus came he started the process of the Father’s kingdom coming, he started the process of making the Father’s kingdom visible on earth as it is in heaven. He healed the sick, fed the poor, forgave sin, unified racial, gender, economic, societal divides, all things you and I want for our lives and city. The Father, the God of Christianity wants those things too, and when Jesus came he started the process of making those things visible, of making the Father’s kingdom visible on earth as it is in heaven. Then in Matthew 28 he commands us to continue the process by making and sending disciples of all nations. Here he teaches us to pray for the Father’s kingdom to be made visible, but in Matthew 28 he commands us to participate in making the Father’s kingdom visible. The primary way the Father makes His kingdom visible is through you and I, it’s through the church. We’re commanded to make the Father’s kingdom visible in our city, and every time we help the sick, the poor, forgive sin, unify our societal divides, love others as Jesus loved us we’re helping to make the Father’s kingdom visible.
Look this is exactly why we can’t be nominal, we can’t be lazy about our faith. Some people are like “I’m a Christian, I love the Father,” but their nominal lifestyle outside the church and nominal participation inside the church tells our city a different story. It’s like doing a 30 day case study on a husband who says he loves his wife, but during the 30 days he rarely comes home, rarely helps her, rarely supports her financially, rarely participates in doing life with her. At the end of the case study you’d be like “Dude doesn’t love his wife. He says he does, but his lifestyles telling a different story.” It’s the same with Christians. If we say we love the Father but live nominal lifestyles and nominally participate in the church we’re telling our city a different story. We’re not helping make the Father’s kingdom visible, we’re making it invisible because our lives aren’t much different than the world. R.C. Sproul states, “John Calvin once said it’s the task of the church to make the invisible kingdom visible. We do that by living in such a way that we bear witness to the reality of the kingship of Christ in our jobs, our families, our schools, and even our checkbooks, because God in Christ is King over every one of these spheres of life. The only way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes, is if we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King.” City Awakening do you love the Father?..Do you love the Father?..Do the people closest to you see the Father’s kingdom being made visible through you?..If you truly love the Father, then make the Father’s kingdom visible by your lifestyle outside the church, and by your participation inside the church consistently coming, serving, giving, praying for the Father’s kingdom to be made visible. Our city can’t see the Father’s kingdom being made visible through you, if you live a nominal life that keeps it hidden within you. Jesus tells us to pray for the Father’s kingdom to come, but he also commands us to participate in making the Father’s kingdom visible on earth as it is in heaven.
Again vs. 10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Okay so here’s what Jesus is basically teaching us about prayer in vs. 10. He’s teaching us to:
#1 Pray For Our Father’s Will = We need to pray for our Father’s will. Jesus says, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” He teaches us our Father’s a King, He has a kingdom, and we need to pray for our Father’s kingdom to be made visible, we need to pray for our Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. He’s not saying we need to pray for what’s called the Father’s sovereign, decretive will, which is where the Father decrees or promises something will happen, because when the Father decrees or promises something will happen, it’s going to happen. In fact if you want the Father to say “yes” to every single one of your prayers, then pray the Father’s decrees, pray the promises He gives us in scripture because He’ll always make sure those things are accomplish. But that’s not what Jesus is telling us to pray for here, instead he’s telling us to pray for what’s called the Father’s preceptive, revealed will, which is where the Father gives us certain moral precepts, laws, and commands to keep His creation behaviorally in order. It’s things like love one another, or don’t murder, don’t slander, don’t gossip, things people sinfully break every day. In heaven the Father’s preceptive, revealed will is being lived out, but it’s not being lived out on earth which is exactly why we need to pray for it. We need to pray for it to be done “on earth as it is in heaven,” and seek to live it out so we can make the Father’s kingdom visible on earth as it is in heaven. We should pray for our marriages, our families, our churches, our lives to radiate with the Father’s will in our city, so our city can experience the joys of the Father’s kingdom coming. We need to pray for our Father’s will.
Again vs. 10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread...” Jesus says to pray “give us this day our daily bread,” which is a shift in The Lord’s Prayer. The entire first part of The Lord’s Prayer is all about the Father and His will, not us and our desired wills. Jesus has been teaching us that the Father and His will is primary over us and our desired wills. But now he’s shifting the focus, he’s inviting us to pray for our wants, our needs, our desired wills. It’s the 2nd thing he teaches us about prayer. He teaches:
#2 Pray Your Desired Will, But Trust In The Father’s Provision and Decision = Pray your desired will, but trust in the Father’s provision and decision. When Jesus tells us to pray “give us this day our daily bread,” he’s teaching us that our Father’s a Provider. He’s a King, but He’s also a Provider. In fact the Greek word for “daily” isn’t used anywhere else in the bible except in The Lord’s Prayer. It’s used in the context of praying for the Father to give us our “daily bread.” Most scholars agree the reason Jesus uses the word “daily” here is because he’s strongly emphasizing our need to rely on the Father’s provision. He’s saying the Father’s our Provider, and we need to rely on the Father’s provision daily. Scholars also agree that Jesus is teaching us it’s okay to go to the Father daily about our needs. They agree he’s not limiting our prayers to only praying for “bread,” instead He’s inviting us to go to the Father about anything we need. He’s inviting us to go to the Father with our requests, our wants, our needs, our desired wills, and to trust in the Father’s holy, perfect, provisions and decisions in response to those prayers. The Father’s a holy, perfect, provider, which means His provisions for our life will always be holy, perfect, provisions. He’ll always provide us with not necessarily what we want, but with exactly what we need, and sometimes we’ll struggle with that. Sometimes life won’t go the way we want, sometimes the Father will say “no” to our prayers, sometimes we’ll struggle with the Father saying “no” to our desired wills. So let’s turn to Matthew 26:36-39, because I want you to see that Jesus struggled with this too. I want you to see that Jesus struggled with the Father saying “no” to his desired will, just before he was crucified. Let’s see how he handled it.
Matthew 26:36-39 states this, “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’ 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’” Notice the text says Jesus was “sorrowful,” he was “troubled,” his soul was “very sorrowful.” Jesus sees the horrific sight of his crucifixion on the horizon, and he’s physically, emotionally, spiritually, literally carrying the weight of the world’s burdens on his shoulders, carrying the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders. In fact he’s under such distress that in Luke’s gospel we learn he actually starts to sweat drops of blood. It’s a very rare medical condition called hematidrosis, and it’s where your body’s under such distress, that you literally start to sweat blood. It’s an extremely rare medical condition that only happens under extreme distress. You think you have stress? Jesus had so much stress over having to die for our sins, over seeing the crucifixion on the horizon, that he literally starts to sweat blood. His soul is very sorrowful, and what’s he do?
Vs. 39, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed...” He prayed. Jesus is
extremely sorrowful, he’s extremely troubled, and what’s he do? He prays. He “falls on his face and prays..” What do you do in those moments?..What do you do in those moments when you’ve finally reached your limit and your soul’s sorrowful, troubled, stressed, scared, worried?..Do you go to your friends for help, do you pop a few pills, do you hit the bottle, do you eat your worries away?..Jesus prayed...Jesus fell on his face and prayed...In his darkest, most stressful, sorrowful hour, Jesus is teaching us not to pretend but to pray. He doesn’t pretend like everything’s okay, he doesn’t mask his problems by self-medicating, instead he tells his friends Peter and the two sons of Zebedee he's sorrowful, but then he prays to the Father about his sorrow. He’s not pretending, he’s praying. In moments like this, in moments where you’re sorrowful, troubled, stressed, scared, worried, hurting don’t pretend like everything’s okay, instead go to the Father telling Him you’re not doing okay. Don’t pretend, pray. Jesus isn’t pretending like everything’s okay, he’s not even distrusting, denying, or disregarding the Father, instead he’s running to the Father in prayer. He falls on his face, and starts conversing with the Father in prayer.
Again vs. 39, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” Jesus prays to the Father saying, “Not as I will, but as you will.” It’s not a long fancy prayer, it’s a short, honest, painful prayer and he prays it 2 more times. He prays it in vs. 42 and vs. 44. He prays 3 times for the Father to “let this cup pass,” meaning the cup of suffering, the crucifixion cup of pain he’s about to drink for our sins, and what’s the Father’s response? “No” The Father’s response was “No”...You know how painful that must have been for the Father? I mean if this was my son, if I knew how much pain he’s about to go through on the cross, I’d be like “Yes! The answer to your prayer is Yes! Don’t drink the cup, don’t die for their sins because they don’t deserve it! You’re innocent, not them! They’re the ones who deserve to die, not you! You don’t deserve the pains you’re about to go through on the cross! So my answer is yes! Don’t drink the cup!”...But the Father said “no”...The Father said “No. You must drink the cup, you must die for their sins”...In fact Luke’s gospel tells us the Father sends an angel to strengthen Jesus, but Jesus ends up becoming filled with more anguish and starts praying more earnestly. Why? Because he received the Father’s answer to his prayer, and it was “No.” This is exactly when Jesus starts sweating blood. He starts sweating blood because he knows the pains of the crucifixion are no longer on the horizon, they’re right in front of him. The pains of the crucifixion are right in front of him, and Jesus responds to the Father’s “no,” with a “yes” to the Father’s will. He says “yes” to the Father’s will, and goes to the cross for us. Jesus would rather suffer death by crucifixion, than be outside the Father’s will, teaching us one more thing about prayer. He teaches us:
#3 Pray For Your Desired Will, But Submit To The Father’s Will = It’s okay to pray for your desired will, but submit to the Father’s will. It’s okay to go to the Father praying, “I’m single and want to get married.” “I’m childless and want a child.” “I’m in a Gethsemane moment and want out.” It’s okay to go to the Father in your Gethsemane moments, but also pray “Father your will be done, not my own.” Jesus prayed his desired will 3 times, but in the end he submitted his desired will to the Father’s will. Jesus wanted the Father’s will over his own. He prayed, “Not my will, but your will be done,” the Father’s will be done. It’s okay to pray for your desired will, but in the end, be willing to submit your desired will to the Father’s will like Jesus. I love how truthful the bible is about life. It teaches us life’s not always gonna go the way you want. Sometimes you’ll get sick, hurt, face struggles and have Gethsemane moments like Jesus. Sometimes you’ll pray like Jesus asking the Father to take you around the valley, but instead He allows you to go through the valley. Sometimes the Father says “no” to your prayers, like he said no to Jesus’ prayer, and in those moments don’t pretend or mistrust the Father, instead pray to the Father, trust the Father, and submit your desired will to the holy, perfect will of the Father like Jesus. We may not start there when we first pray, but if we keep praying to the Father in our Gethsemane, He’ll take our hearts there. He’ll take our hearts to the place where we can say, “Not my will, but your will be done.” Not my will, but your will be done.”
R.C. Sproul put it like this, “Jesus came to the garden with the fear that He would have to drink the cup. Once He knew it was indeed God’s will that He drink it, He had a new fear that He would not be able to do it. In other words, Jesus now was in agony that He not come short of complete and perfect obedience to the will of God. But he did! He drank the cup to the last drop! And in that moment, Jesus didn’t give us words to show us how to pray; He gave us His life as an example of praying, that the will of God would be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Our Father’s a King and Provider...Our Father’s a King and Provider...That’s who Jesus teaches the Father is, and knowing this should change how we pray. It should cause us to pray for His will to be done through us so His kingdom can be made visible in our city, and it should cause us to pray our wants, needs, desired wills, while trusting and desiring His will above our own. It should cause us to pray to the Father in our darkest hours, but walk away confident that everything’s gonna be okay in the end. It’ll all be okay in the end, because our Father’s a sovereign King who’s will is gonna be done for our good, and He’s a perfect Provider who will provide us with exactly what we need to make it through our darkest hours. The unchanging character of God can always give us hope and stability, in our times of hopelessness and instability. Our Father’s a King and Provider.
Look even if you’re not a Christian you should hope all this is true about God, because if God’s not King and Provider, it means there’s no hope for you when life doesn’t go the way you want...If God’s not King and Provider over heaven and earth, it means there’s absolutely no hope for you, no guarantee it’s all gonna be okay when you’re in your darkest valley...But Jesus tells us there’s a hope, there’s a guarantee in the God of Christianity because the Father’s a King and Provider. Jesus came to live, die, and rise again for our sins so we can have a relationship with the Father, and anyone who repents of their sins and believes Jesus died for their sins can have that relationship. It’s a relationship where we don’t have to freak out or lose hope when things don’t go the way we want or when we’re in our darkest valleys, instead we can go to the Father, pray to the Father, and trust it’ll all turn out okay in the end. In the end it turned out okay for Jesus when he rose from the dead, and it’ll turn out okay for us when we rise from the dead, because our Father’s King and Provider over our lives and our Gethsemanes. The Father loved you enough to send you His son, He’ll love you enough to see you through your troubles, to see you through your Gethsemanes. So let’s trust the Father like Jesus, and let’s pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done...until it’s finally being done on earth as it is in heaven, and there’s no more Gethsemanes. Let’s pray this prayer together, and then we’ll worship.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”