Hi everyone, I'm Linda. For those who don't know me, I'm going to read from Matthew chapter 6 from verses 5 to 15.
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others.
Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Pray then like this.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
For if you do not know me, my name is Sam, and I am filling in for our regular preacher Dave Bott this morning.
As Adam mentioned, this is week two of our holiday series, Big Prayers for a New Year.
Last week, Bo took us through Psalm 90, in which Moses looks back on a life of challenge.
Today, we're going to be looking ahead, looking ahead to the new year and asking the question,
what is our most urgent need?
What do we need to attend to first in 2025?
So, we moved house toward the end of last year, and in almost every room, we have pictures on the wall,
things in their place, things put away, all except for two rooms.
The garage and the shed, and they have urgent need written all over them.
I was in our shed this morning, and there's barely any floor space left, so that's quite urgent.
As a family, we have a change of weekly routine this year,
which will need some practical wisdom and God's grace in our lives to be patient with each other,
to love each other, and to show each other grace.
As a church, we have needs too, don't we?
Staffing, relationships, care for one another,
ongoing mission to the community that was started with the carols night,
maintenance, car parking,
and I'm sure for ourselves and for our friends and our families,
we could think of lots of needs too.
So, lots of needs, lots of plans, but what's most urgent according to Jesus?
That's our main task.
That's our main task today.
And take it from me, the answer is a little surprising.
So, let's pray for God's help to hear that answer this morning.
Let's pray.
Our Father, we ask for help this morning.
We ask for help to hear this answer.
We ask for minds that are keen and hearts that are hungry to hear you speak to us.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So, in your bulletin, there's a quick map of where we're going.
And the prayer that Jesus teaches us consists of an address,
followed by six petitions or six requests.
The first three petitions are big, bold, eternal petitions for eternity,
and then the next three are petitions for each day.
So, you'll see there's point one.
Point one will be the address, our Father in heaven in verse nine.
Point two will be petitions for eternity.
And point three will be petitions for each day.
Most of our time is going to be spent in verse nine.
So, if we get to the end of verse nine and you're wondering,
am I going to get out of here by 3 p.m.?
Don't worry.
I'm about to hop down.
We're almost done.
So, we're going to spend most of our time in verse nine.
Before the prayer begins, Jesus gives an instruction that you'll see in verse eight.
Oh, sorry, beginning of verse nine.
He says to pray like this.
If I'm teaching Geordie some new skill to catch a ball or to ride a bike,
I might say to her, do it like this,
and then model what it is I'm teaching her after I've said that.
So, if I'm teaching her to catch a ball, I might say, do it like this,
and then say to her, hold out your hands in front of you,
watch the ball, and watch it into your hands.
So, Jesus is doing a similar sort of thing here.
He's modelling to us how to pray.
He's supplying a pattern from which our own prayers can be modelled.
So, he hasn't put things together randomly.
He's put things together deliberately.
The first things, then, are the things we need to ask for first,
the things we need before anything else.
We'll get to the first request, but before we get there is the address,
and Jesus chooses these words carefully too.
We're going to consider them, consider the address,
because it's the basis for all of the subsequent requests.
So, we'll spend half our time in the address,
the first point in your bulletin.
Who do we address when we pray?
Why this title, Father, and not another?
This question might seem too basic for us this morning,
but let's just pursue it for a moment and see what we can find.
Some titles for God use picture language,
and in Exodus 15, where we spent a bit of time last year,
Moses calls God a warrior, as in a fighter.
Does that mean God is a warrior?
No, it just means that during the Exodus, God was acting like a warrior.
It's a picture or metaphor that points us further back to something deeper
about who God is, that he leads, protects, and fights for his people.
So, when we address God as Father, we do so because he is one.
He's not merely acting like one.
He's not merely like one.
It's not just picture language.
We address God as Father because he is one.
And this wonderful truth that God is a father comes to us
not because we're clever enough to work it out,
but because the Son shows it to us.
John 1.18,
No one has ever seen God.
That's John speaking of the Father.
Pretty absolute.
But God, the one and only, who is at the Father's side,
that's John speaking of the Son,
has made him known.
The Son makes him known.
And the Son shows us there is a deeper,
more essential truth about God than this.
In John 17, skipping toward the end of the book of John,
17.24,
Jesus is praying alone to the Father before his crucifixion.
And in that moment, he prays for us on this basis.
Because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
For all eternity, there was a Father loving his Son.
This truth doesn't point us back to something else.
This is it.
Not all of us have had the best earthly examples of fatherhood.
I have, and I'm very grateful for that.
But if your idea of fatherhood is tainted
because of an abusive or distant earthly example,
realise your experience is not the template.
That's the template messed up.
That's the piece of music played badly.
Because God is Father.
He's the template to all earthly fathers.
The piece of music to be played.
Not the other way around.
All human fathers are supposed to reflect him.
And isn't it a wonderful thing
when our kids learn from their fathers
some aspect of what God is like?
Isn't that a great thing?
But wonderful news.
God is Father.
But he's not everybody.
He's not everyone's Father.
Matthew 11, 27 says,
No one knows the Father except the Son.
He's not everyone's Father.
He's the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just for a moment,
imagine you're taking a walk around your neighbourhood
in the cool of the evening,
walking the streets,
and you come across an amazing garden,
sprawling green lawns and massive shade trees.
It all looks very inviting.
And so you decide to trespass
and walk toward the house.
The house is beautiful.
It's well kept.
The lights are on.
It's winter.
Smoke's coming from the chimney.
And there's dinner smells wafting.
And you glance through the window
into this warm family home.
But that's it.
That's as far as you can go.
So that's us without Jesus.
Looking in from the outside,
seeing this home is like seeing God the Father.
But he's not ours by birth.
And we have no right at all to be in his home,
let alone in his garden.
At this point,
we're only looking in from the outside.
All right.
We're up to 1B.
So our Father in heaven.
So Jesus,
who is God's eternal,
beloved son,
tells his followers,
those who trust him and love him,
to address God as our Father.
Jesus may well have just said,
you and me,
we're brothers now.
My Father is your Father.
So you can call him our Father.
Galatians 4, 5 to 6 says,
when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his son,
born of a woman,
born under the law,
to redeem those who are under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
We pray our Father,
because we have received adoption as sons.
We now share in Jesus' life
that he has had with the Father for eternity.
When Jesus says,
our Father,
we're not just looking in from the outside now.
We're inside.
And so,
now to prayer.
As Adam alluded to,
the answer to our reluctance,
our coldness,
our struggle,
is not to first try harder,
although we do have to try.
The first thing
is to breathe in this gospel,
our Father,
and then breathe out prayer
to our Father in heaven.
Compare the address
with how we're not to pray
in verse 5 to 7.
Have a little skim read,
and what do you notice?
Lots of words
to impress and gain favour
of men and God.
How much does this contrast
with the address,
our Father in heaven?
We already have all the acceptance
and favour of the Father
that he has for his own eternal son,
because he's our Father.
We need not pray
to impress
or be accepted.
In verse 5 to 7,
when I read it first,
I thought,
those hypocrites
mentioned
they're miles off
where we are,
but I think
there's something
to take heed of too,
because that's something
we can fall into,
praying to him,
or praying or speaking
to impress
or gain favour.
But the answer
to that
is the same as well.
Breathe in
the good news,
our Father,
then breathe out prayer
in private
and in public.
While we're in the context,
check out
verse 8.
If you're following
the bulletin,
we're up to
the subheading
He Knows,
So Ask.
Verse 8
says,
Don't be like them,
the hypocrites,
for God knows
what you need
before you ask.
God knows
He's omniscient.
He knows everything.
How then
do you expect
verse 9 to begin?
God knows everything,
so you don't need
to pray.
God's got it covered,
so we can just
get back to
what we were doing.
Verse 9
begins,
Pray then.
God knows
what you need,
so ask Him.
God's sovereign,
so pray.
He knows,
so ask.
God's omniscience
is never an excuse
not to pray,
it's actually
an incentive here.
If you've come
hoping for an explanation
this morning,
I can't give you one,
but I've found
it helpful
this week,
thinking about this,
to remember
my identity
in Christ.
Listen to
Romans 8, 17.
And if children,
then heirs,
heirs of God
and fellow heirs
with Christ,
heirs of the world
to come
with Christ.
Colossians 3, 1.
If then
you have been
raised with Christ,
seek the things
that are above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right
hand.
Where's Christ?
Seated at the right
hand.
Where are we?
With Him.
Where He is.
Now I think
I've actually
given you two
things that I
can't explain.
But put them
together,
and they have
helped me a little
bit as I've
thought about
why I can
sometimes excuse
my lack of
prayer with the
fact that God
knows everything.
And I think
one of the
reasons I do
this is because
I forget the
privileged place
that I occupy
in God's
plans.
I'm not
always praying
from the
identity that
God has
given me.
God has
made us
His sons
and fellow
heirs.
We're with
Him who
is seated
at the right
hand of God.
In Jesus
we have a
telephone line,
if you will,
into the
throne room.
Our prayers
are a means
by which God
works out
His plans
here on
earth.
So grab
hold of who
we are in
Christ,
pray aright
as Jesus
tells us
and God
will graciously
work out
His purposes
in me
and through
our prayers.
He knows,
so ask.
The last
point about
the address
is He's
our Father
in heaven,
not far
away from
us,
but far
above us
in greatness.
have you
had an
experience
and a
frustrating
experience
on a
phone call
where
maybe to
a help
desk
and you've
spent five
minutes
explaining
your
situation
only to
find out
that they
didn't have
the authority,
the knowledge
to help
you?
Or the
opposite
experience
where you've
been pleasantly
surprised
because the
person has
had more
authority and
knowledge than
you're expecting
and they were
able to solve
what it is you
were calling
about.
Our Father
is in
heaven,
far above
us in
authority and
greatness,
ruling the
universe.
Are our
prayers big
enough?
Do we
ask enough?
Next
week,
if I think
the plan is
still the
same,
Adam will
take us
through a
passage in
which Paul
tells us to
intercede or
pray for
all people,
not just
the people
we know,
but for
all people.
Thankfully,
Jesus knows
we need
help and
so the
next three
requests or
petitions provide
a model for
big, bold
prayer that
Jesus is
calling us
to.
So prayers
for eternity
as a second
point on your
handout says.
So remember
Jesus is
modelling
prayer,
like teaching
a new
skill to
a child,
and the
first things
are what we
need to do
first.
So from
verse 9b,
hallowed be
your name.
What we
need most
is for
God's name
to be
hallowed.
Let's just
unpack it a
bit.
Hallow is
not a word
we use very
often.
I think the
only other
time we use
it is for
Halloween.
But hallow
means to
make holy
or consider
holy.
So we
could say
considered
holy be
your name.
The second
bit to tell
someone your
name is to
make yourself
known because
names have
meaning in
the Bible.
So putting
these two
things together
we might say
hallowed be
your name
means make
yourself known
so that you
are considered
holy.
Make yourself
known so that
you're considered
holy.
The first
petition, the
thing we need
most according
to Jesus is
that God would
make himself
known and
would be
considered
holy.
This has
surprised me
because I
mean in lots
of ways it's
not even about
me.
Does that
start to
surprise you?
Maybe invert
things a little
bit for you?
I think
that's
Jesus'
intention
here.
But
holiness,
what is
holiness?
What does
it mean to
consider that
God is
holy?
It can be a
hard concept
to put into
words like
what exactly
are we
revering about
God?
Or perhaps
if we're
honest and
not saying
this is a
blanket
thing,
perhaps
something
that's
maybe not
all that
attractive to
us and
therefore
something we
don't want
to ask
for,
something that
suggests
indifference,
maybe
distance and
aloofness,
or even
maybe
pettiness or
mean-spiritedness.
holiness.
So,
holiness.
There's a
decisive
moment where
God's holiness
is demonstrated
in the Old
Testament.
And we're
going to go
back to the
book of
Exodus.
It's fairly
recent for us.
And the
moment we're
going back to
is the
crossing of
the sea.
And remember
this whole
thing is
really a
one-sided
arm wrestle.
So,
like an
arm wrestle
between a
dad and
a young
son,
where the
dad is
just drawing
out the
arm wrestle,
that is until
the son grows
up and the
son gets
just as
big of
muscles as
dad.
It's a
one-sided
arm wrestle.
And God's
drawing out the
confrontation with
Pharaoh so
that God
will be
known.
The arm
wrestle ends
and all
Israel has
crossed the
sea.
And they've
reached dry
ground.
They get to
the other
side and
they look
back on the
Egyptian army
dead on
the seashore.
It's
finished.
Then Moses
and all
Israel
sang.
Pause for a
moment and
imagine,
put yourself
there.
Relief,
a lot of
shock,
and then as
the shock
subsides and
things sink
in, a
sense of
jaw-dropping
awe about
who this
God is
because of
what he's
done for
them.
In the
middle of
this song
they sing,
it goes,
who is like
you, O
Lord, among
the gods?
Who is like
you, majestic
in holiness,
awesome in
glorious deeds,
doing wonders?
Moses is
reaching for
words and
he really
can't get
higher than
this, majestic
in holiness.
So what has
Moses witnessed
that leads him
to this
conclusion,
majestic in
holiness?
Moses has
seen two
things, he's
seen judgment
but he's
seen rescue,
rescue through
that judgment.
And Moses
has just
witnessed this
awesome but
terrible judgment
through which
Israel was
rescued and
in it he
sees God's
holiness shining
brightly.
What does a
holy God do
with evil?
What would
a holy
father do
with persistent
rebellion that
seeks to take
his place and
replace his
fatherly care with
oppression,
abuse and
slavery?
Rule that can
just murder a
generation of
infants.
What does
a holy God do
would a
holy father
allow this to
continue indefinitely?
After much
patience on
God's part,
when it fell,
the judgment
on Pharaoh and
his army was
fierce.
Fierce because
while he
graciously delayed
when it fell,
it fell and
fell quickly.
It was pure
because God
in his
holiness could
not continue
to overlook
such evil.
God
Moses sees
God's
holiness in
judgment.
I think our
average person
today might
struggle to
sing with
Moses.
I think I
might struggle
because we
don't like a
God that
judges,
though we're
actually happy
to judge
ourselves.
Listen to
this quote,
God's
anger must
rise from
that love.
Thus his
anger is
holy, set
apart from
our temper
tantrums.
It's how he
in love
reacts to
evil.
Far from
aloofness,
mean-spiritedness,
God's holiness
in judgment
is good and
right.
But there's
more.
Moses'
conclusion,
majestic in
holiness,
was not just
because of
judgment.
God's holiness
shines in their
rescue too.
Remember what
initiated the
rescue?
God is
described as
hearing their
groaning and
then he
remembered the
covenant that
he had made
with them.
And all
that follows
is a picture
of what love
from a holy
father to
people he
has committed
himself to
looks like.
It's fierce
because he
protects,
leads and
even gets
in the fire
with them.
It's pure
because he
doesn't overlook
their suffering.
Ultimately
though,
Exodus is a
book that
points forward.
In the
death and
resurrection of
the Lord
Jesus,
here we
see completed
what the
Exodus only
promises.
In the
death and
resurrection of
the Lord
Jesus,
we see the
same two
things.
We see
judgment and
rescue.
In
judgment,
God as a
holy father
cannot overlook
sin.
As God,
the son,
bears the
sin of his
people on the
cross,
the father's
judgment is
fierce and
pure.
The cross
leaves us in
no doubt
that God
is holy.
Like Exodus,
this one act
was rescue as
well, in
which his
holiness shines.
Because rather
than pour out
his anger on
the guilty,
he turns it
inwards.
The son
willingly
takes our
place,
dies and is
raised by the
spirit.
All this is
what love
looks like
from a
holy God.
Fierce.
Jesus'
body was
bloodied for
us.
Pure.
He didn't
overlook sin.
And
complete.
He was
judged,
righteous by
the father
and his
body was
raised by
the spirit.
For us.
God's
holiness for
what it is.
With
nothing to
fear.
It's
good,
it's
right,
it's
just,
and it's
lovely.
Let me
read this
one more
quote.
There's
nothing
grubby
or abusive
about the
love of
this God.
God's
love of
God.
Thus he
is holy.
My love
is naturally
all perverse
and misdirected,
but his love
is set apart
from mine
in perfection.
Incidentally,
the holiness
of God's
love for
us is
what keeps
us till
the end.
John 17
verse 11,
if you'd
like to
look that
up this
afternoon.
So pray
then like
this.
Our most
urgent need
in 2025,
according to
Jesus,
is for God
to make
himself known
that we
would consider
him holy,
that we
would know
him as
our holy
father.
This is
also not
just our
most urgent
need this
year,
but it's
the boldest
prayer we
can pray,
because it's
not just a
request for
us,
it's a
request for
the whole
earth,
one way or
another,
to be filled
with this
knowledge of
God.
One of the
minor prophets,
Habakkuk,
gives a glimpse
of where
history is
headed.
So Habakkuk
2.14,
for the
earth will
be filled
with the
knowledge and
glory of
the Lord
as the
waters cover
the sea.
So to
pray this
prayer,
hallowed be
your name,
is to pray
with the
grain of
history.
That's where
history is
headed.
I'll cover
the rest
very quickly.
We've got to
the end of
verse 9.
That's about
all we're
going to do
today,
but I'm
going to
cover the
rest of
the Lord's
prayer,
that he
teaches us
quickly in
a prayer that
we can echo
in our own
minds if we
want.
But before we
do that,
I'd just like to
draw your
attention to
point 3,
prayers for
each day.
That is
requests for
bread,
forgiveness and
protection.
Things we need
each day.
Our Father is
in heaven,
so we pray
boldly,
but we also
keep our feet
on the ground
asking and
knowing that we
need these
basics each
day.
By way of
encouragement,
God uses
ordinary people
like us with
basic needs for
bread,
protection and
forgiveness to
pray these big,
bold,
eternal prayers of
verse 9 to 10
that will usher in
the world to
come.
So to
finish,
find prayer a
struggle,
breathe in the
good news.
Jesus teaches us
to pray our
Father.
In 2025,
let's keep our
feet on the
ground,
but pray big,
bold,
eternity-shaped
prayer to our
Father in
heaven.
Alright,
let's pray to
finish.
Our Father in
heaven,
your rule and
reign is
perfect and
good.
We ask then
that your
kingdom come.
We ask for
the Lord Jesus,
our King,
our Judge and
brother,
to return.
Today we see
opposition to
your kingdom in
the world and
struggle in us.
We ask that
soon your will
would be done
on earth as it
is in heaven.
with no
struggle in us
and no
opposition in
the world
against it.
In our
church, I
pray that you
would transform
us so that we
would know your
will and
delight in it.
Father, give us
what we need to
live for our
bodies and minds
to work.
We'll be wise
and put money
aside by trusting
you to supply
our needs each
day in 2025.
forgive us as
we forgive
others.
Like sheep,
we can't rely
on ourselves to
stay out of
situations that
will lead us to
sin and danger.
So guide us,
shepherd us,
and give us
good friends.
Lead us to
green pasture.
Amen.