The Lord's Prayer: Forever and Ever

[0:00] Good morning and welcome to our online service for Sunday, July 19th, 2020. My name is Kent Dixon and I'm the lead pastor of Braemar Baptist Church here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

[0:14] Welcome this morning to people from our church who are tuning in, as always. And welcome to those of you who are watching live right now on Facebook or are watching later on some other source, YouTube or the church website or listening to the audio only version.

[0:32] So welcome to everyone. So please check out the summary information below this video and I encourage you if you tune in on Sunday mornings and have not yet liked the Facebook Braemar Baptist Church Facebook page, please do that.

[0:48] We encourage you to like the page, to follow us on Facebook and it helps us to build our audience as well so that people hear more about the Word of God and more about what we're doing as a church.

[1:03] So I encourage you to do that. Just a few quick pastoral announcements. My family and I will be on vacation from July 24th to August 15th and we'll be doing quite a bit of traveling, a lot of driving.

[1:16] So we'd appreciate prayers, your prayers for safety and for rest as we get away for some family time for the four of us visiting extended family in southern Alberta as well.

[1:29] And lots of people might be thinking, well, hasn't Pastor Kent had a non-stop vacation since the end of March? Well, I'll tell you what, behind the scenes, pastors are doing a lot of different things during COVID.

[1:42] So it is steep learning curves in some areas. And so while I haven't necessarily been in the church in a traditional sort of way, we're doing lots of other things as pastors and as staff.

[1:58] And so a time of rest and a time of recharging the batteries is certainly something that we're looking forward to as a family. So next week and the week after, that's Sunday, July 29th and Sunday, August 2nd, my friend and former seminary professor, Dr. Jerry Shepard will be preaching to us at Bramard.

[2:19] And so these sermons will be going live on Facebook as mine have been at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings as usual. And they'll be available afterwards on all the other places as well.

[2:30] The church website, bramardbaptist.com, our YouTube channel and lots of other places. So Jerry will be preaching on his first sermon is titled An Awesome God.

[2:44] And he'll be looking in the book of Isaiah and doing some exploration there. So I encourage you to tune in for that. And then as well on August 2nd, he will be digging into the Psalms.

[2:59] So please do tune in because for those of you who experienced some of Jerry's sermons last summer when I was on vacation, he is a great friend.

[3:09] He is a good mentor. And he is a very wise and godly man. So I encourage you to tune in for that. He is a professor of Old Testament and of hermeneutics, which is the study of the Bible in very fine detail.

[3:27] He's a Greek scholar. He knows his Hebrew very well as well. And he's just a lot of fun. So please tune in for that. You'll enjoy hearing from Jerry.

[3:39] Then on August 9th, Pastor Luwam, our associate pastor at Bremar, will be preaching on Facebook at 11 a.m. and he will be focusing a little bit on talking about COVID, a little bit about, and then a little bit about how that relates to our lives as Christians.

[3:58] And so I encourage you to tune in for Luwam's sermon as well on August 9th. Again, at 11 a.m. It'll be live on Facebook. I'll be back with you on Sunday, August 16th.

[4:09] And our plan then on August 16th is to have our first in-person service at the church again that Sunday. So stay tuned for that as you'll receive updates about that by email and phone if you're connected with our church.

[4:27] So if you have any questions about where Bremar is, when we're opening again, you can visit the website at braemarbaptist.com or phone the church. The information for phoning is on the website or email us at info at braemarbaptist.com and we'll be sure to get back to you with details.

[4:47] So don't, folks, don't feel pressured to be at the church when we gather again in person. I want to encourage you to do that if you feel comfortable, but also if you're not feeling ready, if you're concerned about your health, our online presence will continue in some form.

[5:04] So we will continue to have a Sunday morning online option for you. So while we'll be in the church building beginning on the 16th of August again, we will have an online presence as well.

[5:17] So don't feel pressured. Don't feel like, oh, if I don't go in person, I'll miss out. Well, you won't. We'll make sure of that. And as we gather together in person in the building, we'll be taking physical distancing and sanitizing precautions.

[5:32] So we have a plan in place to protect everyone's health. We'll be using masks. So we encourage people to wear a mask if you have it to church or we'll have them available at the door.

[5:45] We'll also have hand sanitizer available at the door and then we'll be cleaning the building thoroughly and sanitizing it after every service. So it'll be a very safe environment and we're taking steps to protect everyone's health.

[6:01] So this is a new set of circumstances for all of us. So as we seek God and seek to be wise to move forward together as a family, we're doing that together. So let's, we'll take care of each other.

[6:14] We'll encourage one another and we'll protect each other's health as we do this. So let's open in prayer this morning. Father God, we are seeking your will.

[6:25] We're seeking your will in our lives. We ask for your encouragement during this time of COVID. We ask for you to comfort people who are hurting, comfort people who are feeling lonely and anxious.

[6:39] Prompt people to connect with one another in however that looks, whether it be an email or a text message or a phone call or a physically distanced visit, Lord. I pray that you would encourage each of us to speak into one another's lives.

[6:54] Father, that you would fill us with your spirit, fill us with peace and encouragement. And Father, we ask for your protection for our health as well. And Lord, not just in COVID, but so many people are facing physical challenges and health issues in our church.

[7:10] People who are connected to our church in different ways, family members and so on. And so Lord, you know all the needs. Financial provision and worries about employment.

[7:22] And Lord, you know those as well. And so we put all of those things at your feet. And we ask you to provide where provision is needed, to bring health and healing where that's needed. And Lord, we ask you to act as we know that you will.

[7:35] And we love you. And we thank you that you love us. And you first loved us. And we pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Now let's join together in worship singing this morning as we sing, Come Thou Fount, which we've sung before, and The Wondrous Cross.

[7:54] You'll be able to follow the lyrics on the screen. If you've tuned in with us before, you know what that looks like. So you'll hear the music. You'll be led by a worship leader. And the lyrics will appear on the screen.

[8:04] So I encourage you to engage in singing at your home as you're in front of your computer this morning, or even as you're listening later on. So let's join together.

[8:15] Let's join our voices in praise to our awesome God this morning. Let's join our voices in praise.

[8:49] Let's join our voices in praise.

[9:19] Let's join our voices in praise.

[9:49] Let's join our voices in praise.

[10:19] Let'so glory. Let's praise you to sing and listen to our covenant. Let насumen ‑‑ Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.

[10:32] Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it.

[10:47] Seal it for thy courts above. The Lord, take and seal it.

[11:19] When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died My richest gain I count but loss Am poor contempt on all my pride Forbid it, Lord, that I should bow

[12:28] Save in the death of Christ my God All the vain things that charm me most I sacrifice them to His blood See from His head His hands, His feet See from His head His hands, His feet

[13:29] Sorrow and love flow mingle down Did a such love and sorrow meet?

[13:49] Or thorns compose so rich a crown Were the whole realm of nature Mine?

[14:19] Were the whole realm of nature Mine? Were the whole realm of nature Mine? That were an offering far too small That were an offering far too small Love so amazing So amazing So divine Demands my soul My life My life My all My all My all My all It's wonderful to worship our God through singing I love singing I love music I love singing And so that's really the way for me at least That the Spirit really speaks to me That God and I really connect

[15:21] So I love singing This morning we'll be concluding our series on the Lord's Prayer that we began two weeks ago As we explore the Lord's Prayer together This morning and in previous weeks We've learned that it's not a word for word guide that we're to replicate But a guide that we're to use as a source of encouragement To give us an idea of and direction for how we can pray How we can form our own prayers So let's dive right in this morning Let's begin this morning by praying the Lord's Prayer And as we did last week I'll be reading the prayer from the NIV translation of Matthew 6 verse 9 And we'll be adding that customary ending to the prayer that's not included in the Bible But as we've recognized is a very fitting ending Let's pray these words together Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

[16:25] Give us today our daily bread Forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from the evil one For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory Forever and ever Amen Last week we talked about the fact that the Lord's Prayer is composed of petitions Which are actually best defined as prayers made to God Prayers of supplication And we've recognized that these prayers of supplication Are essentially humble requests that we make to God And as we explored the second section of the Lord's Prayer last week We recognize that Jesus made it clear that asking God to meet our personal needs It's so correct for us to do that And before we transition into the final section of the prayer this morning I want to talk a bit more about forgiveness

[17:27] I don't think we can talk enough about forgiveness We recognized last week that we are called to receive God's forgiveness for selfish and sinful choices that we've made And we're also called to forgive people who have hurt or harmed us With the same forgiveness that we've received from God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross And I believe that we can never say enough about how God forgives us And how we are called then to forgive others I have a question for you this morning Are you someone who forgives?

[18:09] Or are you secretly proud of your collection of grudges? Are you quick to lean into God's forgiveness for what you have done?

[18:21] But somewhat slow or reluctant to forgive others when they hurt you? As I've said before and maybe you've heard this from others The phrase forgive and forget that we hear Really isn't that helpful, is it?

[18:39] And it's really, I'm going to say, not that realistic Because thankfully we're not called to forget the pain that others have caused us But we are called to forgive them I want us to also recognize that just as God's forgiveness of us is conditional Our forgiveness of others is intended to be the same So let me clarify that, that might sound confusing As you may remember from last week Right after the Lord's Prayer Jesus says that if we don't forgive others Do you remember?

[19:20] God will not forgive us So while our forgiveness is freely given We are expected to forgive others And share forgiveness freely of others In response to the forgiveness God has freely given us So I want us to recognize that In yourself, do you have a tendency to wait?

[19:50] Perhaps forever if necessary? Do you wait in a situation where you've been hurt or offended Or someone has caused you harm? Do you wait to receive an apology from someone who has hurt you?

[20:04] Do you wait for a, I'm sorry? Before you're even remotely willing to consider forgiving them? Is that you? So while your own forgiveness came at a very great price God's forgiveness comes to us freely And so the forgiveness that we give to others must also be free Free of cost, free of conditions, and so on Sure, we'd all likely want to receive an apology from someone who has hurt us That's human nature And that's in some ways a sense of justice or fairness You hurt me, you apologize I will forgive you and we can move on It's a logical transaction And that's our personal perspective on right and wrong But we can't grudgingly somehow hold or withhold something

[21:09] That we are given for free Does that make sense to you this morning? If you're living your life with bitterness Towards someone else for a grudge that you're holding Or for pain that they have caused you Pain that has a grip on you I encourage you, especially this morning To let go Forgive And live in the freedom and peace that God wants for you That God has waiting for you If you will forgive So as we continue in the Lord's Prayer this morning We come to a phrase that I believe can be confusing Or even disturbing for some people Lead us, we pray Lead us not into temptation And I have to confess That personally I've probably glossed over that phrase A bit more than I should have until recently But have you ever wrestled with that part?

[22:12] Can you recognize that it's caught your attention? That it's been a sticking point for you? Have you ever thought Okay, hold on a minute Did I hear that correctly? Why are we asking God not to lead us into temptation?

[22:26] Isn't it God who would protect us from temptation? Help us resist temptation? Deliver us from temptation? Well we may get a sense here that Jesus is telling us To ask God not to tempt us Wasn't Jesus himself tempted?

[22:46] Wasn't the Son of God himself tempted? During a course I took In biblical exegesis in seminary Where you learn to understand and study and interpret passages of Scripture I actually studied the account of the temptation of Jesus by Satan And it's a biblical narrative that's included in more detail in the Gospels of Matthew Chapter 4 verses 1 to 11 And Luke chapter 4 verses 1 to 13 And then more briefly in the Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 12 and 13 But it's interesting to note that if you go looking for it in the book of John In the Gospel of John You won't find it there So the circumstances of Jesus' temptation are that after being baptized by John the Baptist Jesus is tempted by Satan in the Judean desert Over a period of 40 days and 40 nights

[23:47] And so I encourage you to read the account of Jesus' temptation by yourself in the Gospels But during the period of temptation We recognize that Satan comes to Jesus again and again Satan confronts Jesus with human challenges And encourages him to take matters into his own hands And use his divine power to change his own circumstances But it's important to note that each time Satan encourages him to do that Jesus refuses So we know from these Gospel accounts that Jesus himself While he was here on earth and in human form And in human form Was tested in very real Very significant ways And yet he resisted And so you might be thinking Well of course, Pastor Kent Don't be silly Sure, Jesus could resist temptation He was the Son of God He is the Son of God

[24:50] But remember that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem He took on human form That was the point Jesus, the Son of God Became just a man in many ways A man who was potentially vulnerable To human weakness To human challenges To human failure And yet, he resisted While he was being tempted by Satan Scripture doesn't suggest in any way That Jesus thought God, his Father His Father Was somehow leading him into this temptation Putting him through the grinder And so I don't know about you But when I'm being tempted to do something Act in a way Make a choice That is sinful That's not what God's best choice for me would be For sure I don't know about you But I always find there's a moment Sometimes even just a split second

[25:53] Where you have an opportunity Does that happen to you? Can you recognize that in your own life? I believe that opportunity That moment, no matter how short it is Is a moment of free will And I believe that it comes When we have a choice presented to us To either give in to temptation Or to choose to walk away And I believe that's what Jesus is getting at When he taught us to ask God Not to lead us into temptation It's not as if God is setting us up somehow Or devising tailor-made plans for us To be tempted and fail But I do believe that God Allows circumstances to come together In which we may be tested So I want to note that the word From the original text That's translated into temptation

[26:56] Is the Greek word Parasmos Which has two different meanings This is interesting One meaning is test And the other is temptation And these, I think you'd agree Are two very different things As theologian Daryl Johnson says in his book A test is something meant To prove a person's character And in the process, improve it A temptation Is meant to entice a person to sin To bring a person down To bring a person down in some way So a parasmos then A temptation, as it's translated there Is a difficult or challenging situation in your life Which can either be a test That proves and improves your character potentially Or a temptation Which might entice you towards sin And so whether it's a test Whether it's a test

[27:57] Johnson says Whether it's a test or a temptation This is fascinating Depends on who's behind it And how we respond Do you see that?

[28:10] So a temptation by Satan towards Jesus Is very different From a parasmos test by God To improve our character And help us grow So this is not A test in the traditional sense That we might think Of pass or fail But an opportunity to be challenged To seek God's wisdom and strength And to grow To seek God To ask for help and guidance And grow So when we ask God to deliver us from evil Does that seem like a realistic request?

[28:50] When evil is all around us When evil is all around us And Satan has influence in our world That we see day by day Is it realistic to ask God to shield us from all evil?

[29:05] Well God certainly, my friends, not surprisingly I think you'd think I was crazy if I said otherwise God is certainly more than capable of shielding us From all kinds of evil in any form But there's more at work here Have you noticed that as I've read the NIV translation of the Lord's Prayer How this translation differs from the common ways that you've heard the prayer before Sure there's the differences of the thy, the thines, the thou, and so on But the language of the NIV is different And in the NIV translation We hear the words, as you've heard me say them week by week Deliver us from the evil one And we need to recognize that that's actually a more correct interpretation Of the original language that was used in scripture Jesus isn't talking about a general kind of evil here Deliver us from evil, from bad things

[30:08] But the originator of evil So with that in mind, what we're actually asking here Is that God would deliver us from Satan himself From the devil himself And we're praying for that kind of protection And that makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

[30:26] So when we say, when we pray Lead us not into temptation But deliver us from the evil one In effect, we're asking God To keep Satan from turning a test A growth opportunity An opportunity to improve our character Into a temptation to sin Does that make sense?

[30:50] There are situations and circumstances in our lives That God intends to use as tests To prove and improve our character But then Satan seeks to turn those tests Into temptations He seeks to make us Make bad choices To become selfish To become self-centered To be distracted from focusing on God So I hope we'd all agree That true happiness and peace in life Comes from completely trusting God Is that fair to say?

[31:27] That most of us would agree on that True happiness and peace in life Comes from completely trusting God God tests us He tests us He tests us Each of us In ways that will help us Draw closer to Him Help us to trust Him more And not lean so much On our own wisdom And our own actions And I love how Johnson really expands the idea In this way Father, you lead us to the test All of life is a test As you seek to prove and improve our faith Do not let the test become a temptation A seduction to sin But deliver us from the subtle wiles of the deceiver Against whom we are no match Father, rescue us from the evil one I love that One of the most important prayers That should be on our lips every single day Make it the first thing that you pray

[32:30] When you wake up in the morning Is that God protects you God protects us From the forces of evil that surround us So we've come to the point in our survey of the Lord's Prayer Where we could in theory Wrap it up That's it, we're covered We've reached the end of the prayer As it's written in scripture, right?

[32:53] We've talked about this But as many of us Myself included Have learned That familiar closing doxology That we know from the Lord's Prayer It closes the prayer It ties it together so perfectly So, remember the X format Of the prayer that I've talked about over the weeks Having come from an eternal perspective God's perspective Starting with the recognition of who God is Our Father And where He is In Heaven A desire that His name is to be hallowed His kingdom and will Are our starting point Then we're directed by Jesus To focus on our real human needs For provision For protection For forgiveness So I want you to recognize That now as we come to this closing doxology We expand backwards out again We expand out to the eternal once again

[33:56] We focus back on God as the beginning And the end Our focus becomes God again At the end of the prayer Which is where it needs to be For yours is the kingdom The power And the glory We recognize God again as sovereign Ruling over all things An entire kingdom Where He alone Is king We return to recognizing His great power And the glory of who God is What God has done And we gladly Take a knee in humble adoration And we recognize that Forever and ever God will remain God will rule God is acting God's story for all creation Will prevail Forever and ever

[34:58] Amen Amen Amen The Lord's Prayer closes with That single word We say Amen all the time We say Amen when we close our prayers For meals At bedtime At church Anytime we pray We generally close with Amen And as the well-known theologian and pastor R.C. Sproul says Amen It's a word That's so familiar to us The word we use to close our prayers But hardly ever consider Amen It's an Old Testament word And it's derived from an Aramaic word That means Truly Or So be it Having prayed the words that Jesus taught us We close with a beautiful doxology That glorifies God

[36:01] And then we ask With one word May it come to be Just as we have said Just as we have asked My friends we've journeyed through the Lord's Prayer together over a short series And we've likely taken a closer look at these familiar words than you may have ever done in your life I hope that it's helped you I hope that you've gained an insight into how Jesus intended it Not merely as a script to be memorized and recited But as an intimate guide that can lead us into a deeper life of prayer and relationship with God As we close this morning I'm going to read a really great interpretation of the Lord's Prayer that Daryl Johnson Biblical scholar and theologian has written Listen to these words and hear the Lord's Prayer in a fresh way

[37:04] Our Father Very close at hand On the throne of the universe Be hallowed Your name On earth as it is in heaven Remember how we talked about the sense of commands here?

[37:21] Be hallowed Come Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven Be done Your will on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day all we need to be your people Cancel our debts As we have cancelled the debts of our debtors And as you lead us to the test Do not let the test become a temptation But rescue us from the twisting wiles of the evil one Because Satan wants you to think that you're not as good as Jesus says you are All this and more you can do All this and more you can do For yours is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever So be it

[38:22] As we closed our sermon last week I mentioned the beautiful song called Baba Yetu And I had intended to include it in the service with a lyric video So you could understand it and listen and appreciate the song in a more personal way And I goofed So I didn't have that ready And so I encouraged you in kind of an awkward way to look it up online Well, I'm going to fix that now Rather than just having you look it up on your own I'm going to include the song now for you to enjoy And I want this to be our benediction An encouragement to you And my blessing over you May it be May it be That is

[39:40] Because everything Me Beautiful Usually Let's go That uncle Remember a Thank you.

[40:32] Thank you.

[41:02] Thank you.

[41:32] Thank you.

[42:02] Thank you.

[42:32] Thank you.