Our Father

Let's turn in our Bibles today to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11 and reading the first 13 verses. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

And he said unto them, when you pray, say, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend? and shall go unto him at midnight and say unto him, friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine in his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer and say, trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed, I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asked a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?

As you read through the four gospel narratives, you see many times we are told the Lord Jesus Christ was praying. Sometimes He was praying alone. Sometimes He prayed through the night. Sometimes He prayed with only three of His disciples in His presence. But here we read of him praying in the presence of his disciples. And this made them aware of their infirmities, their weakness in this matter of praying.

The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 tells believers this wonderful promise. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities. And I don't know any place we feel our infirmities anymore than when we pray to our God. The Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.

But in this case, one of his disciples asked for help, asked for help that the Lord might teach them to pray, and our Lord gave what is called the model prayer. He had given this prayer before in the Sermon on the Mount. He had given this prayer, and this reminds us, first of all, the importance of repetition in teaching. Someone asked a teacher one time, what's the most important thing about teaching?

And they replied, repetition. What's the second thing? Repetition. What's the third thing? Repetition. Yes, we need to hear over and over again. One of the young children, maybe in the last two or three years in our church, one of the teachers told me this. She started the lesson. And we're talking about children 6, 7, 8, 9 years old. And one of the students said, I already know that. I already know that. I've heard that. And someone said, yes.

And God willing, you'll hear that same message over and over again. And this morning, I've entitled the message, Our Father. our father because that's the way this model prayer begins. But I have three things that I want to say and I pray and trust that everyone here will listen intently to what I'm going to say about this model prayer. Three very important matters. First of all, this is a family prayer. Now let that sink in. This is a family prayer. And I say this for two reasons. The first reason is the context in which it is given.

In reading the Bible, in reading the scriptures, one of the most important lessons that we learn is we should always mark to whom, who's speaking and to whom this is being spoken. One of the first, I think the first authorized Bible printed in English in 1600 and something, King Henry VIII allowed it to be printed. It was called the Matthew's Bible, but he gave about four or five rules in reading the scripture. And can you imagine, now we're talking about people who had never had the Bible in their own language, never had the Bible, period, but never had the Bible in their own language, and he gave these rules, and one of the rules was, of course, to pay attention to whom the word is spoken.

I call this a family prayer. Because in the context, it's very clear that our Lord gave this to his disciples. Notice that, beginning with verse one. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, the Lord Jesus Christ did not give this prayer in the temple in Jerusalem. He taught there, we read in the gospels many times, John chapter eight, you remember? He was teaching in the temple when they brought that woman taken in adultery and laid her down before him and said, master, What are we to do with her? The law says this. What say you?"

He didn't give this model prayer in the temple when there was many different people in his audience. He didn't give this model prayer when he was in Peter's ship a little ways from the shore and preaching to the multitudes on the shoreline. He didn't give this model prayer. He gave this model prayer.

I'm talking about the context. I'm saying this is a family prayer, and the first reason is because of the context in which he gave this prayer. The same is true in Matthew chapter 5, beginning the Sermon on the Mount. We won't turn there, but it reads like this, and seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain, and when he was set, now listen, his disciples, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, who are the them? His disciples.

So that's the first reason I say this is a family prayer. And the second reason is, this is the household of God. The household of God. That's what we read in the New Testament. That's the family of God. It's referred to as a household of God. You fathers here today who have children, you're household. You're the father and you have your wife and your children. That's your household. Well, God has a family.

It's called the household of God. Again, in Ephesians chapter 2, when Paul is writing to Gentile believers, people who had been saved out of paganism and everything else, he said, now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens. Now, when he calls believers fellow citizens, he's talking about the church as a kingdom. as the kingdom of God, but he didn't stop there, and of the household of God. The household of God. Our Lord spoke this prayer to his disciples, and I'm saying this is a family prayer that he gave to the family.

I want you to keep your places here, but if you would, turn over to Galatians chapter six. I want to read a verse here just to emphasize this point. In Galatians chapter 6, Paul is concluding the letter that he had written here to the Galatian believers, and the last part he gives some practical statements, but notice in verse 10. Now this is to believers. Galatians 6 and verse 10.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Do you see my point? There's two groups here. As believers, as children of God, we want to do good to all men, saved or lost, to all men, like our Lord. He's our pattern. But Paul said, but especially unto the household of faith, that is, unto believers. So we know this world is divided. All men are divided into two groups or two classes of people.

That is, all men and the household of faith. the family of God, those who are in a relationship to God, knowing Him as their Father by faith, the household of faith, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You look back there in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 26, For you are all the children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. Well, if a person does not have a living faith, if he's not in union with Christ by faith and by the Holy Spirit living in him, he's not of the household of faith. She's not of the household of faith.

Do you suppose, now listen, think with me, do you suppose that when our Lord was speaking to a group of men, this is in John chapter 8, you can look at it later if you want to, and he told them, you are of your father the devil. Do you think he would have told those people that he said their father was the devil to pray this prayer and begin with our Father which art in heaven.

Have I made my point? This is a family prayer. that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to his household, to his disciples, to pray. I know today people pray this prayer sometimes repeated indiscriminately everywhere. I realize that. But that's not the only thing that people get wrong about the scriptures. This is a family prayer. This is a model prayer for those who by faith are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And before I move to my second point, I want to ask myself, I want to ask you, I want to ask every, every, every person here at this time, can you, can I, can we truly bow our heads this morning and call God our Father? Can we? Do we know Him through Jesus Christ our Lord? There's no other way to know God except through His Son. He's the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes unto the Father but by Him.

That's a very important question. That's between you and God. I know most all of you here this morning, if I don't know everyone. And my prayer would be that we all, without exception, every one of us, know God as our Father. But you know your heart. You know your relationship to God. I don't. Are you able? Are you able to call God your Father today? And does your life show? Do you live? a life showing, testifying to those around you. My Father is the Heavenly Father.

Well, here's the second thing about this prayer. This prayer has two divisions. The prayer has two divisions, and each division has three petitions. The first division has three petitions regarding our Father. And this shows us right off the bat, as we would say, this shows us right off the bat that God's glory God's glory, God's honor, is the most important thing in this matter of us praying. More than our wants, and yes, even more than our needs, is the glory of God. The first petition is, Hallowed be thy name.

Now what does that mean? Well, let me try to remind us of what that actually means. The Greek word which is translated Hallowed here, it is used many times in the New Testament and most often it is translated by the word, the English word sanctify or sanctified or sanctified. Sanctify thy name.

And there are three different meanings in the scripture of this word. Three different meanings of the word sanctify in the scripture. The word that's translated hallowed. And one of those three meanings cannot apply to God. This word cannot be understood in one of these meanings because one of these meanings is to actually purify something and make it holy. That's one of the three meanings of that word, to actually purify something and make it holy.

And we know that God is holy. He's a thrice holy God. When Isaiah had the privilege of a vision of the Lord in heaven, you remember he heard the seraphims that continually cry there, holy. Holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. He's infinitely holy. Most writers believe that His holiness is His chief attribute. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He prayed in John chapter 17, He used this word and He said, for their sakes I sanctify myself. Well, he surely wasn't saying he was making himself holy because he is holy, has always been holy. He is a holy son of God. So that's not the meaning of the word sanctified when he used it concerning himself. But as I said, there are two other meanings of this word. And one of those is to set apart.

And I thought this morning I have a wonderful place to illustrate this. We're in a room full of books. There are probably a thousand books here, maybe, maybe more than that. And I could take this book and I could put it here, set it apart from all the books. It's set apart from every other book in this place. And the word also means not only to set apart, but it means to regard as holy.

This book, these other books, I could take them, I could throw them out the window, I could stomp on them. I could do what I wanted, set them on fire, wouldn't bother me at all, but not this book. This book's sanctified. You see what I'm saying? It's set apart. It's different from all other books.

Now we know that every child of God, if you're a child of God here today, you've been sanctified. God the Father sets you apart before the foundation of the world and sovereign election. He sets you apart. And God the Son incarnate, when he died upon the cross, he sets you apart by his blood. And God the Holy Spirit in time. And you've experienced this, if you're one of his, he's regenerated you. He's given you a new life, a new heart. You've been set apart. You've been attributed to be holy.

When we pray, hallowed be thy name. This is our desire. This is our request that our Father, our God that we love, who loved us, who loved us so much that he gave his darling son to redeem us, our desire is that he be set apart, that he be recognized, that he be held in awe and reverence because of who he is. He's God. Yes.

Some of the writers, they try to explain this matter of holiness by using the word whole. Instead of H-O-L-Y, they say, well, it means W-H-O-L-E, that he is whole. In other words, he's self-existent. He doesn't need anything. And that's true. That's true.

He doesn't need me. He doesn't need you. I've often said if I had a bullhorn and could speak to everyone in Houston, Texas, that's one thing I'd love to be able to preach. God doesn't need you. You need God. So many men have this turned around, don't they? God doesn't need anyone. He's the eternal one. He's whole. There's none that may be compared to Him. Hallowed be thy name.

And I tell you, In the Old Testament, it goes like this, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, that man might fear God. Not be afraid of Him. I'm not talking about that kind of fear that a person might have from some tyrant beating that person and cruelly using that person. No, I'm talking about a fear because we know that he's so high in holiness and we're so sinful by nature.

Holy, reverend, hallowed be thy name. That's the first petition. The second is thy kingdom come. The word kingdom, of course, means reign. And we're asking that his gospel, his gospel be proclaimed and preached around the world, believed everywhere. If you look in Luke chapter 17, turn over a few pages to what our Lord said about his kingdom. In Luke chapter 17 and verse 20, we read, and when he was demanded of the Pharisees, When the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation.

And that's what they expected. They expected the Messiah, the king, had been promised to come with observation, to come like King David would have come when he visited a place during his reign. No, the Lord didn't come like that. He came, he said, I'm meek and lowly in heart. They couldn't understand that. They were looking for a king that would come with all the pomp and the power and the physical martial power that leaders and kings usually have. He didn't come like that.

Neither shall they say, lo here, lo there, for behold, The kingdom of God is within you. Some say that means it's among you, and both are true. When the Lord saves an individual, then he sets up his throne in that person's heart. Brother Ralph Barnard used to say, don't tell me who your savior is, tell me who your Lord is. Who's your Lord? Who's your king? The kingdom of God. Thy kingdom come.

That's what we pray for. That's what we desire. That's the reason we send missionaries and we pray for missionaries and we give and we preach on the street like some of the men here and pass out tracts. Thy kingdom come. That's our desire. And the third petition is, thy will be done as in heaven, so in earth. You know, there's a two-letter word there that is all important, as. Thy will be done as in heaven, so in earth. God's will is done everywhere.

I'm not up here preaching something would-be God. That's not who I'm talking about. I'm talking about God who rules among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth and no one can stay his hand or say, ask him, what are you doing? Who gives you the right to do that? to save one and pass by another. Who gives you the right to do that? That's not the God of the Bible.

His will is accomplished everywhere. But notice that word as, as it is accomplished in heaven. How is it accomplished in heaven among the holy angels and the saved that are already there? Well, it's done cheerfully. Cheerfully, always, not most of the time, all the time, cheerfully, speedily, constantly, perfectly.

That's what we're asking. Well, the second division has three petitions regarding ourselves, those first three petitions. regard God. The third, the second part of the prayer, the three petitions that follow, number one, give us day by day our daily bread.

Now he's promised to meet our needs, and bread is one of the needs that we have as long as we are in this body. God willing, When we receive a new body, a resurrected body, and we are likened to the angels in heaven, we won't need bread. Yes, we'll be able to eat, I understand that, but we don't need bread to exist in heaven. But as long as we're in this world, in this body, we need bread.

And our Father has promised to meet our needs. And notice it's daily bread. Just like the Israelites when they were in the wilderness for 40 years, God didn't just dump a truckload of manna down to last them for 40 years. No, every day except the Sabbath they had to go out and gather the manna, cook the manna. But he supplied their bread all those years. Yes.

Many people are trying to lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust break through. Paul's words and my What a word this is. Godliness with contentment is great gain. The person said, well, the stock market has just shot up. I've gained so much money. That's not great gain. It may all be gone tomorrow. Silver makes itself wings and flies away, the scripture says. No, great gain. Paul said godliness is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world. Here we came into this world out of our mother's womb, naked as a jaybird, and that's the way we're going to leave. We didn't bring anything, and we're not going to take anything. And you've heard this many times before, but it still gets my attention. Someone said, I've never seen a U-Haul trailer hooked up to a coffin at a funeral. And you never will.

No. Having food and rain, let us therewith be content. Number two, forgive us our sins. Now this is a petition that God's children often ask because, as the Apostle James wrote in his letter, for in many things we offend all, or we all offend. We all offend. And if any say, John said, if any say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

But how many wonderful promises are we given concerning forgiveness? I'm talking about God's children. How many promises are we given in the Word of God? God's children are given. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He that covers his sins shall not prosper. But who so confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy. Let Israel hope in the Lord, spiritual Israel, let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him plenteous redemption. Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to us.

And our Lord gave a parable, didn't he, of a man who owed a man some, let's just, I'm going to just make this up. He owed $50 and the man said, pay me. He said, I don't have it. Well, I'll just forgive you that $50. And then he goes out and he meets somebody that owed him $25 and grabbed him by the neck, pay me everything.

Some people, and I've talked to some people who profess to be Christians, and they've told me, I just can't forgive that person. I just can't do it. I'll get along with him, but I'm not going to forgive him. That ain't Christian. Let me just say it like that.

No. After he's forgiven us all our debts, millions if we were to talk about it in money terms, all our sins. And we can't forgive somebody that did us, didn't speak to us. Maybe they didn't even see you. Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted unto us. And the third lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil or from the evil one.

You know the evil one is the devil, and he's your adversary. If you are a child of God, he's your adversary. And Peter says he goes like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Now the devil He cannot destroy, if you are a child of God, he cannot destroy your relationship with God. If you're one of his children today, you'll be one of his children tomorrow, you'll be one of his children throughout all eternity. But he can and he tries to destroy your testimony. He really does. He tries to destroy your testimony. He can't destroy your relationship with your father, but he can sift you. He did Peter. You know how they sifted wheat back in those days? They'd take some wheat and put it in a basket. Throw it up, throw it up, throw it up and the wind would catch the chaff and blow it away and the wheat would be separated.

Satan can take one of God's children if the Lord allows. He can't touch you unless God gives him permission. But he can sure throw you up and cause you to come down with a bang. Someone said it's not The speed, it's that sudden stop. He's an enemy. He's real.

And the last thing about this prayer, it has the greatest encouragements because our Lord compares God our Father with an earthly father. You notice he said, which of you? Let me find that back in our text here in Luke chapter 11. Verse 11. If a son shall ask bread of any of you, that is a father.

Now we've already established that the you here refers to his disciples, right? This alone should show the lie of that teaching of celibacy of a pastor, preacher, or they call them priest, being celibate. Our Lord's disciples were not celibates. Peter, we know, had a wife. That's just asking for problems and they've certainly had them. Now, the comparison here is between a disciple, a believer who loves his children Every man here today I know, every father, you would do anything you had to do to take care of your children. If there's anything that demanded it, you'd do it.

But you don't even begin to compare with our Heavenly Father. If you've been evil, and we all are by nature, we have an evil heart. desperately wicked, and deceitful above all things. We do. If we, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto our children, how much more, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things, or in this passage, the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? If your child asks for a piece of bread, would you give him a rock? If he asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? No. The greatest encouragement we have here, that our Heavenly Father, we just want everyone to know Him.

Everyone to know Him. Know how great he is, and how good he is. Isn't that our desire? Isn't that your desire? That everyone would know our father, who's only done good to me. And you say the same thing. Who's only done good to us all of our lives. Oh, that all men had a father like ours. Yes, I just pray the Lord would bless these words here. It's his father's day, but oh, what a father we have, our heavenly father.

If you know him, if you're part of the family of God, if you're trusting in Jesus Christ today, Well, we're going to sing a hymn before we're dismissed. And inadvertently, David let us in the last hymn a few minutes ago. So we're going to sing the first hymn.

Our Father

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Our Father

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