I'm so glad you're here!
And it is my prayer this morning, that as we conclude this sermon series
"The Lord's Prayer"
That you have been blessed with a new perspective, a deeper insight...
that you're life has been enriched by the Word of God!
But before we wrap this series up we have to understand that:
1. God is our Father – we can trust Him!
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:11
2. Our Father is in Heaven – that’s where are prayers are to be directed, and because He’s in heaven He has power over things in the earth.
3. His name is to be hallowed – you don’t need to know all the names of God, you just need to know that when you pray, He’s everything you need.
4. Our first request should be that His kingdom come and His will be done in earth as it is in heaven – this is where we surrender our will to His.
5. Our Father is our provider – He has the power and ability to supply all our needs, we just have to ask. We have not because we ask not.
6. Forgiveness must be a part of our prayer – if we don’t forgive we can’t be forgiven. Forgiveness is the only things Jesus came back and addressed.
7. We’re to ask for divine protection in a fallen world – we’re to pray for strength to hold up under any burden.
Jesus taught that as we finish praying we’re to close with praise and worship by praying – “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, fore ever, Amen”.
Notice, this praise is different than ordinary praise!
This kind of praise is the kind that erupts when the game is tied and a basketball player sinks the winning shot with one-tenth of a second left on the clock.
Those points don’t count any more than any of the other points, but they’re different from all those other points.
David broke out in this kind of praise at the offering given for the building of the temple. As he began to reflect on the glory and greatness of God He said:
"Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:
“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all."
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all."
And there is something wrong with us if we try to hold it in and keep praise under wraps all the time!
Every now and then we need to LET IT OUT when the glory and greatness of God overwhelms us!
"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people have gathered together,
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."
And how can you not love the way Paul let it out in Romans 11:33-36?
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
I’m not suggesting that we loose control and go crazy, but when the glory of God erupts in our souls we ought to let it out in spontaneous, exuberant praise.
The number 1 theme that ought to dominate our prayer is PRAISE – Our prayers ought to begin and end with it, EVERY TIME!
Here, Jesus gives us four glorious concepts by which we’re to express our praise!
We ought to praise Him for His KINGDOM!
He’s the SOURCE of the Kingdom and the power and the glory!
Source – the place of origin; a spring from which a stream arises.
In Matthew 4:8 the devil offered Jesus all the “kingdoms” of this world. Jesus refused because they already belonged to Him!
2. Thine Is The Power…
We ought to praise Him for His POWER!
He’s the POSSESSOR of the kingdom and the power and the glory!
"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." Romans 13:8
The devil has no power of his own – the only power he has is the power given to Him!
Jesus said, “All power in heaven and earth belongs to me”!
It’s not the nature of God to empower the devil and not sufficiently empower us!
We need to understand our empowerment!
One day everything and everyone will bow to His power!
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:9-11
Until then He still has power over sickness, disease, cancer, sugar diabetes, sin, doubt, failure!
The devil says, “You can’t have it”, but you’ve stepped into the house of God one more time and God is saying, “Yes, You Can”!
"Praise the Lord!
3.Thine Is The Glory…
We ought to praise Him for His GLORY!He’s the RECIPIENT of the kingdom and the power and the glory!
Glory – to be weighty or heavy.
Allow me to put it this way. You will not find anyone quite as glorious as the Lord!
1. “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set thy glory above the heavens” - Psalms 8:1
2. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” - Psalms 19:1
In
heaven, we’re going to fall down before the throne and sign,
“Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, wisdom, strength,
honor, and GLORY and blessing” - Revelation 5:12
4. Forever...
We ought to praise Him for His eternality! Because His kingdom, power, and glory is FOREVER!
Because He had no beginning and no ending, His kingdom isn’t going away!
We need to understand WHAT we’re a part of!
This "KINGDOM" of which WE are a part, is going to last FOREVER!
1. “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations” Psalms 145:13
4. Forever...
We ought to praise Him for His eternality! Because His kingdom, power, and glory is FOREVER!
Because He had no beginning and no ending, His kingdom isn’t going away!
We need to understand WHAT we’re a part of!
This "KINGDOM" of which WE are a part, is going to last FOREVER!
1. “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations” Psalms 145:13
2. “The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations, Praise ye the Lord” Psalms 146:10
3. “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” Isaiah 9:7
4. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him”
Daniel 7:27
5. “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” Luke 1:32-33
6. “Wherefore we’ve received a kingdom which cannot be moved” Hebrews 12:28
7. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” Revelation 11:15
5. Amen…
Don’t dismiss this last word as just another nice way to wrap up a prayer!
Jesus wasn’t shopping for words to close it out!
Amen – So be it; let it be Lord; I agree with you; it is and shall be done!
When He said, “Amen”, He sealed the deal!
This is where OUR FAITH comes into play and we involve ourselves in what we’ve just prayed about!
You’re saying, “I believe that the things I’ve prayed for WILL come to pass”!
Faith in God and His desire to answer prayer ought to cause us to break forth in praise!3. “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” Isaiah 9:7
4. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him”
Daniel 7:27
5. “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” Luke 1:32-33
6. “Wherefore we’ve received a kingdom which cannot be moved” Hebrews 12:28
7. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” Revelation 11:15
5. Amen…
Don’t dismiss this last word as just another nice way to wrap up a prayer!
Jesus wasn’t shopping for words to close it out!
Amen – So be it; let it be Lord; I agree with you; it is and shall be done!
When He said, “Amen”, He sealed the deal!
This is where OUR FAITH comes into play and we involve ourselves in what we’ve just prayed about!
You’re saying, “I believe that the things I’ve prayed for WILL come to pass”!
If we really pray in faith then there ought to be some praise with it!
In closing…
We’ve covered a lot of ground and discussed a lot of important ideas.
It’s hard to adequately sum up a prayer like The Lord's Prayer in a few words, but let me try...
Let's see if I can paraphrase what we’re saying to God when we pray as Jesus taught us to pray:
Lord, I acknowledge and bow before you, recognizing that you are my Father and the Father of all who believe. I know you live in heaven and I want to give you the honor you’re due by hallowing Your name in everything I think, say, and do.
And because You’re my heavenly Father I’ll restructure my priorities so that I live for your kingdom program and not my own agenda. Let me get out my calendar and redo my schedule so I can do your will and not mine.
And Father, because I know who you are and where you live and how important your kingdom program is, and because I’ve committed myself to live totally for you and your glory, I have several request to ask.
First, Lord, please give me the daily nutrients I need to have the energy to hallow your name, serve your kingdom, and do your will.
And as I seek to hallow your name, serve Your kingdom, and do your will, forgive me for anything I’ve done to offend or fail you, even as you see that I have forgiven others who have done anything against me. Lord, I know that if I don’t forgive others you won’t forgive me, and my fellowship with you will be broken and you won’t accept my praise and service.
Also, Father, as I go out to serve you today don’t let me get into something I can’t handle. Don’t give me a trial I can’t deal with because if I get into something I can’t deal with I’m going to embarrass your name and your kingdom.
And Lord, as I come to the end of my prayer, I want you to know that I understand this is not about me. I want you to know that I’m so excited about worshiping you, serving your kingdom, and accomplishing your will on earth that I just can’t contain my praise any longer.
I praise you for your Kingdom which rules over all! I praise you for your marvelous, incomparable power! I praise you for your transcendent glory, which far outshines the sun! And I praise you that you shall reign forever! Let it be so Lord, even as you have spoken!
When we learn to pray like that and mean it we’ll begin to experience the power and glory of God like never before.
The disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray”, and He did. Now it’s our privilege and life-long challenge to learn to pray as Jesus taught us to pray.
Let our prayer also be, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
And then, let us all pray!
Brian Monzon Ministries