Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- Looking at the Sermon on the Mount
- Last time looking at 3 areas of religious life
- Example
- The Jews thought they could get to heaven by establishing their own righteousness
- Jesus saw their hypocrisy and gave specific advice in these 3 areas of religious life
- Fasting, praying, alms giving
- Now looking at prayer – perhaps the hardest of these three activities
- Looking at Matt 6:8-15
- Do not be false. Be genuine
- Know that God knows all
- Jesus gives a framework to use in their prayers
- Prayer exposes yourself before God
- It shows you who you really are
- It reminds you of your sin and neglectfulness
- Have you asked God to teach you to pray?
- The religious person does not ask this
- We need to be taught to pray
- Jesus understands this and gives a model prayer
- The Lord’s Prayer
- Prayer starts with God – not our own needs
- To praise God
- Reminding ourselves of who God is
- The things of God
- Then to petition
- Our daily needs
- Struggling with forgiveness
- Asking for forgiveness of sins
- It ends with God
- Someone has broken into the following sections:
- The paternity of God
- The program of God
- The plan of God
- The provision of God
- The pardon of God
- The protection of God
- The pre-eminence of God
‘Our Father in Heaven’
- How many titles are there for God in heaven?
- Examples
- Jesus uses ‘our Father’
- We are in relationship with God – Father (v1, 4, 6, 8)
- We are in relationship with each other
- Do you pray in your mind or out loud?
- Jesus often prayed aloud – but in secret
- Jesus often used titles ‘Father’, ‘Holy Father’, ‘Righteous Father’
- Why did Jesus emphasise the title Father?
- Perhaps the Jews had forgotten/found difficulty
- They forbade speaking the term Jehovah
- Many learn this prayer
- God the Father over all creation – Mal 2:10, Acts 17:28
- God the Father of the saved
- Only some have been adopted into His family
- John 8:31ff – the Pharisees were under the bondage of sin
- The Bible speaks of 2 groups – the saved and the unsaved
- Our Father – addressing those who are born again / children of the living God
- Have you been born again?
- Do you have a relationship with God?
- Is He your Father?
‘Hallowed be your name’
- Delight and joy
- Jesus is teaching worship and praise
- To hallow and magnify God
- Come first into God’s presence with worship
- Do you hear people say ‘I have asked and asked and asked’?
- Have you come in the right way to God?
- It is not just about asking God for things
- It can be difficult to worship when you have pressing needs
- Example of Nehemiah
- It is not wrong to start prayers with needs – but even the Psalms do not ‘stay’ with needs
- Remember how good He is
- Focusing on Psalm 103
- It is an explosion of praise – it reminds us how good God is
- Example of Song – Praise my soul the King of Heaven
- Example of Song – Bless the Lord o my soul
- Forget not His benefits
- ‘all’ x4 in v1-4
- Forgives all sin
- Heals all disease – the diseases of our soul (not the body)
- Redemption from destruction – life after death
- Loving kindness and tender mercies
- Example of Moses who wanted to see the glory of God
- And so we could go on
- If you do not know the Father
- He who has seen Jesus has seen the Father
- To see the revelation of the Father see Jesus Christ
- Jesus is the bread of life who feeds the soul – Jehovah Jireh
- Jehovah Shalom – Jesus the Prince of Peace
- Jehovah Raah – Jesus our Good Shepherd
- Jehovah Tsidkneu – Jesus is our righteousness
- Jehovah Shammah – Jesus is God present in the flesh
- Not just to add "in Jesus name" to the end of prayers
- To truly come in Jesus name
- Are you going through times of tribulation – you have a Father who cares for you
- Be reminded He casts our sins far from us
- Use this prayer to help our praise