WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.900 Well, good morning. Happy New Year to you all. It's good to see you. 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:15.560 This morning, we are going to return to our series in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:21.800 If you remember, if you were here in the fall, and if you're new, then we're glad you're here 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:27.560 and know that this has been our practice to preach through the Scriptures sequentially, 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:32.699 and so we have been preaching through a section in the Gospel of Matthew called the Sermon on the 00:00:32.699 --> 00:00:40.600 Mount, Matthew 5 through 7. And if you remember, this section overall is Jesus' first teaching 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:48.399 section in the Gospel where He teaches about what life in His kingdom would look like. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:54.539 And if you remember, we broke down. We had the Beatitudes at the beginning talking about the 00:00:54.539 --> 00:01:00.899 character, the heart qualities of those in God's kingdom. Then we had six different particular 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:06.379 topics where Jesus instructed, this is how we ought to live in God's kingdom that's distinct from the 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:12.219 world around us. And then when we got to chapter 6, we saw there was a series of spiritual disciplines, 00:01:12.340 --> 00:01:19.700 that is, practices that God gave us as gifts so that we might know how to cultivate the kind of hearts, 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:27.120 things that we can do to cultivate the kind of hearts that are the hearts of those who live in 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:33.980 God's kingdom. Those three disciplines are those of giving and of prayer and of fasting. 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:42.520 And so what we're going to do, and we promised this in November, we're going to go back to the Lord's 00:01:42.520 --> 00:01:47.780 prayer, which was a part of that section on prayer, and we're going to be walking through it 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:58.019 phrase by phrase. We're going to be looking at it carefully to see what it is that, as Jesus gave us 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:06.439 this model of prayer, what it is that Jesus has given us so that we might develop a rich and meaningful 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:13.460 prayer life and experience the life in the kingdom that Jesus is calling us to through this. 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:20.719 So that's where we're going. This is a big picture as we start back in the end of January. We're going 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:27.540 to be doing this, and then we'll continue to finish through the end of this section, the Sermon on the 00:02:27.540 --> 00:02:34.360 Mount, through to about the end of March leading up into Easter season. So if you're the kind of person 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:42.100 who wants to know where the schedule is, that's where we're going. A question that I want to begin 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:49.280 with this morning as we look at the Lord's prayer is this. Why do we struggle in our prayer lives? 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:54.219 Now, when I preached on this in November, I said, this is one of those really embarrassing questions. 00:02:54.299 --> 00:02:58.759 It's kind of like, how's your workout regimen going, or how's your diet? The things that we all feel guilty 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:04.819 about, because it's never good enough, right? It's never what we want it to be. But let's examine that 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:12.079 question for a minute. What is it that makes it hard? Sometimes we're just so busy. As soon as I get up, 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:17.939 there's a little face in my face going, daddy, daddy, daddy. And it just begins, it starts the whole 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:24.299 day. And by the end of the day, we think, I didn't have a moment of time to myself. We live very busy 00:03:24.299 --> 00:03:33.199 lives. Sometimes I think we live lives of distraction. When we do have times to slow down, 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:40.019 we have, I left my phone down there, but we have these things in our pockets that constantly distract us. 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:45.700 And we feel like we're always on. And we're so distracted that it's hard for us to sit 00:03:45.700 --> 00:03:53.640 and to be and to pray. Sometimes we may struggle with prayer because we sit down to pray and we 00:03:53.640 --> 00:04:01.160 think, I have no idea what I'm doing. And we just, out of lack of knowledge or instruction on how to do 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:08.439 we end up feeling frustrated and confused. And it's incredibly demotivating for us to pray. 00:04:11.079 --> 00:04:18.920 Sometimes, maybe, you've just felt the weird sense of, I just feel like I'm talking to myself. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:29.560 Well, as Jesus teaches us how to pray in the Sermon on the Mount, the beginning of the Lord's Prayer 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:36.500 reveals to us perhaps the greatest reason why we might struggle. 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:44.680 And that is not these external circumstances or the internal dynamics of our heart, 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:53.720 but it's because we don't actually see God clearly enough. We don't actually see Him as we ought to 00:04:53.720 --> 00:05:04.620 when we pray. And I believe that as Jesus launches this model prayer, He launches it with a phrase that 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:13.500 will, if we allow it, transform our prayer life and give us great joy and freedom in it. 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:20.160 So, with that, if you have your Bibles, you can turn with me. If not, it will be up on the screen. 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:27.360 I'm going to read Matthew 6, the whole section. I'm just going to read the context of it in 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:35.300 Jesus' teaching on prayer, starting at verse 5 through verse 13, and we will be focusing on verse 9. 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:45.079 So, let's read God's Word together, and then we will pray for and ask for God's help, and then dive in. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:46.860 Jesus says this, 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:48.860 And when you pray, 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:58.860 And when you pray, 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:00.860 And when you pray, 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:01.860 And when you pray, 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:02.860 And when you pray, 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:03.860 And when you pray, 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:05.860 And when you pray, 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:10.860 And when you pray, 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:11.860 And when you pray, 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:13.860 Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:17.860 For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:19.860 Do not be like them, 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:23.860 For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:26.860 Pray then like this, 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:28.860 Our Father in heaven, 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:30.860 Hallowed be your name. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:32.860 Your kingdom come, 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:33.860 Your will be done, 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:36.860 On earth as it is in heaven. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:38.860 Give us this day our daily bread, 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:40.860 And forgive us our debts, 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:43.860 As we also have forgiven our debtors. 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:46.860 And lead us not into temptation, 00:06:46.860 --> 00:06:50.860 But deliver us from evil. 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:52.860 Let's pray together. 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:53.860 Amen. 00:06:58.860 --> 00:06:59.860 O God, our Father, 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:02.860 We come to you this morning and ask for your help. 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:05.860 As we look at your word this morning, 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:09.860 I pray that you would be our help. 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:14.860 Lord, we long to know you rightly, 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:17.860 And we long to live a life, Lord, 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:20.860 Of joy and freedom in prayer, 00:07:20.860 --> 00:07:24.860 As well as service and devotion. 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:27.860 Lord, we need your help to do that. 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:30.860 Lord, I ask for your help this morning, 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.860 That you would help me to speak the words that I ought, 00:07:34.860 --> 00:07:37.860 That I would speak your word faithfully and truthfully. 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:39.860 And Lord, I pray for all of us, 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:42.860 That we would sit under your word this morning. 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:46.860 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:47.860 Amen. 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:55.860 In Jesus' kingdom, we have great freedom to pray to God, 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:58.860 As our Father in heaven. 00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:01.860 This is the great news. 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:06.860 This is the centerpiece of all that we're going to be talking about today. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:09.860 And I want to explore it in three sections. 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.860 So, if you're a note-taker, here's your outline. 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:13.860 We're going to explore first, 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:18.860 The roots of our struggle to know God as Father in heaven. 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:22.860 The second point we're going to look at is the transforming privilege, 00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:25.860 Of knowing God as our Father in heaven. 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:29.860 And third, the implications for our practice of prayer, 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.860 To God, our Father in heaven. 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:34.860 So, first, the roots. 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:35.860 The roots. 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:38.860 The roots of our struggle to know God as Father in heaven. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:41.860 You know, this passage doesn't exist. 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:45.860 Although the church picked up the Lord's Prayer and made it a creed, 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.860 Something that was repeated often in the practice, 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:50.860 It wasn't given in a vacuum. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:52.860 It was given in context. 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:56.860 And in Jesus' day, there were certain views of God 00:08:56.860 --> 00:09:00.860 And understandings of prayer that He was trying to counteract. 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:04.860 So, this is what we see in verses 5 through 8. 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:09.860 The first thing that Jesus tried to address was a more, 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.860 Well, there are two things. 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.860 There was a mechanical view and a hypocritical view. 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:19.860 And Jesus said, this is not how we are to come to God. 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:21.860 The first is the hypocrites. 00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:23.860 This is what we see in verses 5 and 6. 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:34.860 The hypocrites who come to pray, not to connect with God, but to make themselves look better. 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:41.860 Prayer becomes a means not to connect with God, but to exalt yourself, 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:44.860 So that others would see what you're doing. 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:49.860 And what does this say about the view of God of those who would do this? 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:52.860 God is not the end. 00:09:52.860 --> 00:09:57.860 God is not the goal of prayer in this context. 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:00.860 But in these hypocrites, we're seeing God as a tool. 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:08.860 God is something to be used in order to be seen by others as great. 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:13.860 And so, we would exalt ourselves in this hypocritical prayer practice. 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:18.860 And God diminishes and becomes small in our mind. 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:23.860 And Jesus says, this is not the way to pray. 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:31.860 And then secondly, in verses 7 and 8, you see the Gentiles, right? 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:39.860 If the first one were, was more the religious people who ended up exalting themselves in pride and making God look small. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:46.860 The second one are the Gentiles, that is those who didn't know God, the God of the Bible at least, and didn't pray to them. 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:52.860 They practiced a more mechanistic kind of prayer pattern. 00:10:52.860 --> 00:11:01.860 They would repeat, wrote empty phrases again and again so that they might be heard for their many words. 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:04.860 What is God in this view? 00:11:04.860 --> 00:11:10.860 Well, God is something to be manipulated by rite and ritual. 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:13.860 He is like a divine vending machine. 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:23.860 And if you put in the right coins, the right practices, the right things, then you unlock and you can hit E5 and get your Snickers bar, right? 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:32.860 This is what, this is the view of if we just do the things the right way, then God will hear, right? 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:41.860 This is a God who needs to be pleased, who needs to be somehow appeased in just the appropriate ways. 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:44.860 And of course, we know this is true in the first century. 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:49.860 We had to offer sacrifices and pray in certain ways. 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:56.860 Jesus says both of these practices of prayer are rooted in faulty views of God. 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:02.860 And friends, are we really that different today? 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:06.860 We can be so self-centered in our prayers. 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:10.860 Maybe today it takes a slightly different version. 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:18.860 I think many of us struggle with seeing God as the celestial benevolent grandfather. 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:25.860 You know, the one who always gives what we want, the one who always lets us have what we need. 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:30.860 We don't come to Him as a sovereign God of the universe. 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:37.860 We come to Him as someone that we can get things from and the things that we want from. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:39.860 And it's really about us. 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:43.860 And can we get what we want from Him or not? 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:49.860 And the reason why we see this is because then when God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want Him to, 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:56.860 or when we face unexpected trials or suffering, we think, where is God? 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:57.860 He's abandoned us. 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:09.860 Where is my grandfather who's going to make everything right and make everything easy and give me what I want? 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:17.860 It makes God someone who exists for us and for our good, not for Himself and for His glory. 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:43.860 Of course, we can also fall into a more mechanistic view where we think, if I just pray the right prayers, if I pray in just the right way, if I pray enough, hard enough, fervently enough, long enough, God's going to somehow hear me more than if I just said it simply and haltingly and stutteringly once. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:45.860 And God's going to answer me. 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:48.860 And God's going to answer me because I do all these things. 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:53.860 And I think in our world today, it's so easy for us to think. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:55.860 It's not just our prayer life, but our whole lives. 00:13:55.860 --> 00:14:00.860 Well, if I do enough good things, then God's going to answer my prayers. 00:14:00.860 --> 00:14:02.860 If I can go to church enough. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:03.860 If I can give enough. 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:05.860 If I can help the poor enough. 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:23.860 And look, all these things are good, but if we're doing them in order to feel like we're meeting God's requirements so that He will answer our prayer, then He becomes again like a vending machine. 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:24.860 Right? 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:26.860 Sometimes we even bargain with God. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:28.860 God, I've lived a terrible life. 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:33.860 But if you will do this now, I'm going to give you everything. 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:38.860 And look, God has used those turning points in people's lives. 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:41.860 But that's not a proper view of God either. 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:47.860 All of these, I think, are reasons why we struggle. 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:51.860 Because we actually deep in our hearts think that God is like this. 00:14:51.860 --> 00:15:04.860 And when we see God in these ways, our prayer life becomes filled with these warped practices. 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:12.860 But to all of these, Jesus says, when you pray, pray to God as our Father in heaven. 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:17.860 And this is the centerpiece of His teaching and the centerpiece of what we're going to look at today. 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:25.860 For in it we see that there is a transforming privilege that comes from knowing God as our Father. 00:15:25.860 --> 00:15:34.860 Now look, I need to start by saying this is because the church allowed, took this prayer and practiced it regularly. 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:35.860 Many of us know it. 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:38.860 Some of us grew up in church and we could recite this in our sleep. 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:44.860 We probably have King James versions, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:51.860 Right, we have King James language in our heads for those of us who are older because that's what was common back then. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:58.860 But maybe that familiarity means that we've lost our view of its potency. 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:09.860 Because what Jesus says about God in this very short phrase, our God, our Father in heaven, is a God who is beyond our imagination. 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:23.860 He takes two terms, our Father in heaven, and He puts them together in a way that if we see it afresh, it will transform our prayer life. 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:28.860 First, He says, God is our Father. 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:33.860 We know this is a familiar term, that of a father and children. 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:42.860 In the 21st century when we think of fathers, we usually think of a father as warm, kind, someone who provides. 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:51.860 In the 21st century, and maybe today, hopefully, it would also connote things like authority and provision and different things. 00:16:51.860 --> 00:17:12.860 The Bible pictures all of these things that God's Fatherhood is expressed by His love for His people, His provision for His people, His authority to rule and command His people, His protection of His people, and His kind and gracious heart for us, His children. 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:19.859 This is the idea of fatherhood that God wants us to get. 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:22.859 Now, some of us in this room may struggle. 00:17:22.859 --> 00:17:29.859 Because some of us in this room may not have had a father like that in our earthly fathers. 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:34.859 In fact, some have even said, well, there's no way we can know God that way. 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:38.859 We should stop calling Him Father if that's been your experience. 00:17:38.859 --> 00:17:41.859 But you know, I think that's a mistake. 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:47.859 J.I. Packer, I'm going to quote him a lot because he has a chapter in here called Sons of God. 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:50.859 This is one of those books, if you've never read it, it's called Knowing God. 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:54.859 It's a 20th century classic Christian life book. 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:57.859 And if you haven't read it, you should read it. 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:04.859 So, I'm going to be quoting him a bit today because he writes so potently of this. 00:18:04.859 --> 00:18:05.859 He says this, 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:28.859 Listen to this. 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:29.859 Listen to this. 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:37.859 Whether we come to it by saying, I had a wonderful father and I see that God is like that only more so. 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:43.859 Or by saying, my father disappointed me here and here and here. 00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:47.859 But God, praise His name, will be very different. 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:52.859 Or even, I have never known what it is to have a father on earth. 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:56.859 But thank God, I now have one in heaven. 00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:04.859 So friends, whatever your experience of your earthly father is, God can use that, 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:10.859 whether in still more, greater, or whether in contrast to those experiences. 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:23.859 To see and to let the Bible define what fatherhood should be and can be and is in God, our heavenly Father. 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:26.859 So that's the fatherhood of God. 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:30.859 But then, he is a father who is in heaven. 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:34.859 Literally, who is in the heavens. 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:36.859 And I spent time thinking about this. 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:39.859 Why does he call him our Father in heaven? 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:41.859 Couldn't he have just said our Father? 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:42.859 Wouldn't that be enough? 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:45.859 But I think it's because of this juxtaposition. 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:49.859 Jonathan Pennington, who is a guy I actually got to work with a little bit. 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:54.859 He's a professor at Southern Seminary, a New Testament scholar on Matthew, 00:19:54.859 --> 00:20:00.859 has spent a lot of time looking at the way that Matthew, the Gospel writer, 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:10.859 uses the heaven and earth imagery to clarify and to bring richness to our understanding of who God is and what He's doing. 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:14.859 And he would say that here, the use of Father in heaven, 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:19.859 which by the way is a phrase that Matthew uses like 13 times. 00:20:19.859 --> 00:20:23.859 And it's only used in one other place in the entire Scripture. 00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:26.859 So it's a Matthew theme that he wants us to get. 00:20:26.859 --> 00:20:33.859 That He is a Father in heaven because the place of His rule and reign is an invisible and divine realm 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:37.859 that overlays the earth but is distinct from it. 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:46.859 And that to be a Father in heaven means that His realm is distinct from the earthly realm that we live in. 00:20:46.859 --> 00:20:47.859 That is, it is different. 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:49.859 It is different morally. 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:51.859 It is different spiritually. 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:52.859 It is different. 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:56.859 And this is a part of a theme that we've seen in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:20:56.859 --> 00:21:00.859 that when God calls us to live in His kingdom, 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:04.859 He calls us to be distinct from the world around us. 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:05.859 Right? 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:10.859 He calls us to be different because we know God. 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:12.859 And that results in our character. 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:14.859 It results in our actions. 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:16.859 It results in our attitudes. 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:23.859 And the whole Sermon on the Mount is shaping us to help us understand what life in His kingdom is meant to be 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:29.859 in contrast to the ways that the world that doesn't know God would live. 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:38.859 And so, this is what He's saying is that our Father, this intimate picture of one who loves us and is with us, 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:48.859 is also a Father who rules over a kingdom that we are moving towards and out of the earthly kingdoms into the kingdom of His Son. 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:54.859 This means that He is both transcendent above the heavens and imminent close to us. 00:21:54.859 --> 00:21:55.859 He is near. 00:21:55.859 --> 00:21:57.859 He is personal and close. 00:21:57.859 --> 00:21:59.859 And yet, He is also high above the heavens. 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:01.859 He is intimate and kind. 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:02.859 Yet, He rules with authority. 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:04.859 He has warmth and power. 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:11.859 But He also judges and rules. 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:16.859 And our God is great enough to embrace all of these characteristics. 00:22:16.859 --> 00:22:19.859 He is richer than we can even imagine. 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:24.859 And this is what Jesus wants us to see. 00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:34.859 And as we look through the rest of the New Testament, we see this image developed even more. 00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:40.859 There are so many places I could go because it's in a lot of places, but I want to go to two places. 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:42.859 The first is in Luke 15. 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:44.859 You all know this. 00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:49.859 This is the series of parables that Jesus was teaching about the nature of the kingdom. 00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:51.859 It's about a lost sheep and a lost coin. 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:54.859 But the last one is about a lost son. 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:55.859 Right? 00:22:55.859 --> 00:22:58.859 And it's about this father who had two sons and one son. 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:00.859 The younger one came and said, 00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:01.859 Give me my inheritance now. 00:23:01.859 --> 00:23:04.859 And he took that inheritance and he went off and he squandered it. 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:06.859 And he spent it all. 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:08.859 And he found himself in dire need. 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:11.859 He was eating the pig slop, 00:23:11.859 --> 00:23:16.859 which was unthinkable for a good Jewish boy to be doing. 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:19.859 So far from his father. 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:20.859 And he thought, 00:23:20.859 --> 00:23:25.859 My father's house would receive me back. 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:27.859 I don't deserve that. 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:30.859 I've rejected all of my familiar relationships. 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:31.859 I've said to my father, 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:33.859 You're as good as dead to me. 00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:34.859 But, 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:40.859 but maybe my father would take me back at least as a servant in this household. 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:43.859 I don't deserve anything more than that. 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:44.859 Right? 00:23:44.859 --> 00:23:49.859 And then he had another son who lived at home and dutifully did everything that he was supposed to do. 00:23:49.859 --> 00:23:54.859 And then at the end of the parable, right? 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:56.859 As the younger son comes home, 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.859 the father sees him. 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:01.859 And he runs to him. 00:24:01.859 --> 00:24:03.859 And he braces him. 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:07.859 And he gives them all the symbols of being welcomed. 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:08.859 Not as a servant. 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:11.859 Not as a pariah who's returned. 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:13.859 But embraced as a son. 00:24:13.859 --> 00:24:16.859 He gives him a robe and a ring and sandals to say, 00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:19.859 You are fully welcomed back in. 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:22.859 And he throws a banquet to him, for him. 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:24.859 And the embrace is unbelievable. 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:28.859 And this is the nature of the father that we see here. 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:31.859 But it's not just to the younger son that he's a father, 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:33.859 but to the older son. 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:36.859 The older son who's been dutifully serving all this time. 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:38.859 And when his father throws his great banquet, 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:41.859 he stays outside because he's angry. 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:43.859 Because he's bitter. 00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:47.859 Because he says, God, I deserve, or Father, I deserve this. 00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:49.859 You should have done this for me. 00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:51.859 Because I've been so good. 00:24:51.859 --> 00:24:54.859 And I have earned this. 00:24:56.859 --> 00:24:59.859 And the father goes out to that son as well. 00:24:59.859 --> 00:25:02.859 And he says, haven't I always provided for you? 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:04.859 Haven't I always loved you? 00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:05.859 Come in. 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:07.859 Come in to the celebration. 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:10.859 And to the joy of being a part of my family. 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:16.859 Do you see the father's love for him? 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:22.859 The father's love for his children is never based on merit or desert. 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:27.859 Neither of the sons deserved his love and grace. 00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:30.859 Neither of them deserved the banquet. 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:37.859 But in his gracious, overflowing love, he did this. 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:42.859 And some of us are the dutiful child who thinks, 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:47.859 God, if I'm faithful enough, you're going to take care of me and do what I want. 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:50.859 And some of us have been the wayward child. 00:25:50.859 --> 00:25:54.859 And we know that there's no way. 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:56.859 There's no way we deserve anything from God. 00:25:56.859 --> 00:25:59.859 And we wonder, could he ever even accept me? 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:04.859 And the fatherhood of God says, come. 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:05.859 Come to me. 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:07.859 Come to me. 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:12.859 Your alienation because of your sin and rebellion, 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:16.859 whether it be self-righteousness or just plain unrighteousness. 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:25.859 The alienation that you experience because of that has been taken away because of Jesus. 00:26:25.859 --> 00:26:29.859 Because Jesus came and lived the faithful son role. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:35.859 And he offered himself for us so that we could be called back into his life. 00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:39.859 We could be reconciled with the father as our sin is taken away. 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:44.859 We would be embraced as his sons and daughters. 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:51.859 And this then leads us to the second great truth in the New Testament that is pointed out to us. 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:54.859 And we could see it in a couple of different places. 00:26:54.859 --> 00:27:10.859 In Galatians 4, Paul teaches us that we who are alienated because of sin have been adopted into his family. 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:15.859 This is a great doctrine of our salvation, that we have been adopted. 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:19.859 That is, we were outside of the family of God and because of our sin. 00:27:19.859 --> 00:27:28.859 And yet he, through Christ, invites us to come and by faith in Jesus, we are then brought back into the family of God. 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:31.859 And it gives us a new identity. 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:37.859 We are able to call our God, Abba, Father. 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:42.859 And this new identity, he refers to it in Ephesians chapter 3 where he says, 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:46.859 This is the father under whom every name in heaven and earth have been named. 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:54.859 This is a defining move that God does in us. 00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:08.859 God chooses us to become a part of his family and calls us child, son, daughter. 00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:14.859 And look, we need to make sure that we don't confuse this because certainly in the 20th century, 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:21.859 there has been talk in some theological circles about the fatherhood of God to all humanity. 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:30.859 And this is in some ways true if what we mean by that is God is a creator and there is nothing that has been created outside of his creative power. 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:35.859 So in that way, he is a creator overseeing all of humanity. 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:38.859 But what we're seeing here is something very distinct. 00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:45.859 This is the adoption of rebels by a loving and gracious God. 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:48.859 Again, Packer talks about this. 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:54.859 He says in the first century, adoption actually was done mostly by well-to-do families. 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:56.859 And it wasn't for infants. 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:59.859 They wouldn't be taking in infants typically. 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:10.859 They would take in young men primarily who had proven themselves worthy of carrying on their family name. 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:15.859 And that was the idea of adoption according to Packer in the first century. 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:19.859 He goes on and he says this. 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:24.859 In our case, however, God adopts us out of free love, 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:28.859 not because our character and record shows us worthy to bear his name, 00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:32.859 but despite the fact that they show the very opposite. 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:36.859 We are not fit for a place in God's family. 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:46.859 The idea of his loving and exalting us sinners as he loves and has exalted the Lord Jesus sounds ludicrous and wild. 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:52.859 Yet that and nothing less than that is what our adoption means. 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.859 The act of adoption is an act of grace. 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:07.859 We have a few families in our church who have taken on fostering, 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:10.859 and a few have moved towards adoption. 00:30:10.859 --> 00:30:15.859 And you know what grace it is because it's not a duty. 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:18.859 It's not something that you have to do. 00:30:18.859 --> 00:30:20.859 It is something you choose to do. 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:28.859 And when you do, you do it freely and wholeheartedly and willingly. 00:30:28.859 --> 00:30:32.859 And this is what God has done for us. 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:34.859 He didn't have to do this. 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:37.859 What we deserve is condemnation and judgment for our sin. 00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:42.859 What we deserve is eternal alienation from God. 00:30:42.859 --> 00:30:48.859 But what he gives us instead is this call. 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:52.859 This call to be a part of his family. 00:30:52.859 --> 00:31:05.859 And friends, if you have put your faith in Christ, remember this, that it's not just entering into the family that's a part of his love and grace for us. 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:09.859 But again, I'm going to read Packer because he says, 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:14.859 throughout our life in this world and to all eternity beyond, 00:31:14.859 --> 00:31:20.859 he will constantly be showing us in one way or another more and more of his love, 00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:24.859 thereby increasing our love to him continually. 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:34.859 The prospect before the adopted child of God is an eternity of love. 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:44.859 And friends, one of the reasons why we gather here every Sunday is because this adoption is not merely individual, but it is corporate. 00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:53.859 Did you notice that when he said, when the prayer started, it is not my father in heaven, but our father. 00:31:53.859 --> 00:31:58.859 Jesus invites us in with him to call God father. 00:31:58.859 --> 00:32:01.859 And he calls us into a community. 00:32:01.859 --> 00:32:05.859 This is what his church is, the family of God. 00:32:05.859 --> 00:32:14.859 Those who, because they've put their faith in Christ, are in that family, living this distinct calling, 00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:17.859 because we know who we are. 00:32:17.859 --> 00:32:21.859 Above all things, we are a child of God. 00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:35.859 Can you see how, when we see God this way, how it might transform our prayer lives? 00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:38.859 This is my third point. 00:32:38.859 --> 00:32:50.859 That practicing, that as we look at it, it will change the way we pray to God when we see God as our Father in heaven. 00:32:50.859 --> 00:32:56.859 We could spend a lot of time on this, but I'll give a few thoughts. 00:32:56.859 --> 00:33:05.859 It means that we can come to God with confidence that he loves us and he hears us. 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:15.859 Sometimes we wonder, as we pray quietly in our room, am I just talking to myself or does God actually hear me? 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:24.859 But Jesus has promised us, your Father who is in secret, hears you when you pray in secret. 00:33:24.859 --> 00:33:26.859 He does know. 00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:28.859 He does care. 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:36.859 And listen, his commitment to our good is greater than our own commitment to our good. 00:33:36.859 --> 00:33:43.859 His Fatherly care invites us to bring every care to him. 00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:51.859 His love means that we never have to fear rejection or condemnation or ridicule. 00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:57.859 There is nothing that God will laugh at when you pray to him about. 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:01.859 Because he loves you. 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:02.859 Because he loves you. 00:34:02.859 --> 00:34:05.859 Because he's a Father. 00:34:05.859 --> 00:34:13.859 And we should not only have this confidence that he loves us, but we should expect that he hears us, and that he delights to do so. 00:34:13.859 --> 00:34:18.859 And that he will do good in response to our prayers. 00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:25.860 Secondly, when we pray to God our Father, we will pray with humble patience. 00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:36.860 Because when we pray to God as our Father, we trust that his timing is as good as his heart is. 00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:40.860 This can be one of the hard parts of prayer, isn't it? 00:34:40.860 --> 00:34:50.860 But listen, if your father and your eight-year-old comes to you and says, Dad, I need an iPhone. 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:52.860 Right? 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:57.860 The answer may be, okay, son, daughter, I hear your desire. 00:34:57.860 --> 00:35:00.860 I hear your request. 00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:02.860 But maybe not now. 00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:06.860 Maybe we need to wait a little bit. 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:16.860 Maybe you need to be old enough to know what you're getting yourself into and showing the responsibility to handle it well. 00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:17.860 Why? 00:35:17.860 --> 00:35:27.860 Because that father knows better than their child what they really need and what is really good for them. 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:42.860 So we come to God with great confidence that he loves us, but we come humbly being willing to submit our request to him, trusting that his fatherly care for us means he does know our need. 00:35:42.860 --> 00:35:44.860 Did you see that in the passage? 00:35:44.860 --> 00:35:49.860 Our Heavenly Father knows every need that we have even before we ask him. 00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:58.860 And so we come to him with freedom knowing we're not telling him something he doesn't know, but we're coming in relationship to him and say, God, this is what's on my heart. 00:35:58.860 --> 00:36:00.860 This is what I'm longing for. 00:36:00.860 --> 00:36:02.860 This is what I'm struggling with. 00:36:02.860 --> 00:36:03.860 This is what I need. 00:36:03.860 --> 00:36:09.860 And knowing that he always responds. 00:36:09.860 --> 00:36:12.860 Though we need to say it clearly. 00:36:12.860 --> 00:36:18.860 Sometimes he responds with a yes and we see God provide in wonderful and amazing ways. 00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:23.860 Sometimes we say God saying, not yet, not now. 00:36:23.860 --> 00:36:27.860 And then we're called to wait with hope and expectation for these things. 00:36:27.860 --> 00:36:31.860 And sometimes God says, no, I have better things for you. 00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:32.860 I have other things for you. 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:35.860 But trust me that I know what is good for you. 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:40.860 And what I will give you is exactly what you actually need. 00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:45.860 This is the heart. 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:51.860 This is the heart of those who know God as their father. 00:36:51.860 --> 00:36:53.860 They trust him. 00:36:53.860 --> 00:36:56.860 They submit to him. 00:36:56.860 --> 00:36:58.860 We don't always understand. 00:36:58.860 --> 00:37:01.860 And it's hard sometimes. 00:37:01.860 --> 00:37:07.860 But friends, if you've ever been a parent, you know you've seen your child walk through something hard. 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:09.860 You know you've seen them suffer. 00:37:09.860 --> 00:37:13.860 And sometimes they say, dad, can't you just fix this and make it go away? 00:37:13.860 --> 00:37:15.860 And we don't. 00:37:15.860 --> 00:37:21.860 Because we know there's something better for them working through this. 00:37:21.860 --> 00:37:39.860 And if we who are totally imperfect parents, we who fail to understand everything, if we can do this, how much more will our loving Heavenly Father do so for us? 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:41.860 So we come with confidence. 00:37:41.860 --> 00:37:42.860 So we come with confidence. 00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:43.860 We come with patience. 00:37:43.860 --> 00:37:47.860 And finally, we come with freedom. 00:37:47.860 --> 00:37:50.860 Friends, prayer is a spiritual discipline. 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:53.860 It is something that we sometimes need to work at. 00:37:53.860 --> 00:37:57.860 But at the end of the day, prayer is not a duty. 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:03.860 Prayer is a call to delightful communion with God. 00:38:03.860 --> 00:38:14.860 It is an invitation to freely come to him and to see it as a privilege. 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:22.860 If you know people who believe in other religions, how many religions of the world that are actually theistic? 00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:27.860 Is God distant and far away and scary to approach? 00:38:27.860 --> 00:38:32.860 But we have a Father in heaven who says, come to us. 00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:36.860 And we can come to him because Jesus has made this way for us. 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:46.860 And as we come to him in this freedom, it means that we come in joy to celebrate, rejoice, and give thanks for all the good things. 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:53.860 It means we come to him in sorrow to weep and to grieve and to find comfort. 00:38:53.860 --> 00:39:01.860 It means we come to him in our times of need to express our desires and to ask for help. 00:39:01.860 --> 00:39:14.860 And our heavenly Father, who loves us so much, hears and delights in all of these prayers. 00:39:14.860 --> 00:39:21.860 And friends, this then, I believe, is what Jesus is teaching us in this first line of this prayer. 00:39:21.860 --> 00:39:33.860 Is that as we come to prayer, the greatest fuel, the greatest energy that we will find to actually have a good prayer life, 00:39:33.860 --> 00:39:45.860 is to meditate on and deepen our appropriation of God as our Father, that we are sons and daughters of the living God. 00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:53.860 And when we see him like that, why wouldn't we pray to him all the time? 00:39:53.860 --> 00:40:00.860 Why wouldn't we joyfully go to him, whether in the prayer closet or in the warp and woof of life? 00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:12.860 We can practice prayer all the time because it's a part of our communion and our relationship with God, our Father in heaven. 00:40:12.860 --> 00:40:14.860 Let's pray. 00:40:14.860 --> 00:40:25.860 Lord, we confess that we don't see you rightly as we ought. 00:40:25.860 --> 00:40:28.860 And Lord, we ask for your help this morning. 00:40:28.860 --> 00:40:38.860 Lord, may we see you more and more clearly as our Father in heaven. 00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:43.860 Lord, we pray that you would help us. 00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:51.860 Lord, help us in our prayer life. 00:40:51.860 --> 00:41:00.860 Lord, we repent of the things that we do to try to manipulate you or to try to make ourselves look better. 00:41:00.860 --> 00:41:13.860 Lord, we repent of our false views of you where we see you as a distant or a stingy, Lord, or a Father who is hard to please. 00:41:13.860 --> 00:41:21.860 Lord, we pray this morning that instead we would know your love and grace more fully. 00:41:21.860 --> 00:41:29.860 And in doing so, Lord, we would find a renewed joy and desire to be praying to you. 00:41:29.860 --> 00:41:34.860 We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus. 00:41:34.860 --> 00:41:35.860 Amen.