Matthew 6:9-10 - Part 2

Last week, I purposed to preach verses 9 and 10 of Matthew 6.

! However, I only managed to cover the first two intended points which we saw in verse 9, which were pray like Jesus, our Father in heaven.

And secondly, pray like Jesus, hallowed be your name.

So, our text this morning again, once again, is Matthew chapter 6, verse 9 and verse 10, with an emphasis on verse 10.

Matthew 6:9

In order for us to gain the broader context of Jesus' teaching on prayer, we're going to read, though, a larger portion of Matthew 6.

I'll begin in verse 5 and read through verse 13.

Before I lead us in a reading, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Jesus said,

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.

Last week I posited many people pray.

Look at a moment of crisis in our community or our broader nation.

And so many run to prayer.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you as commonly said.

But we must understand that not all prayer is the same.

Many pray to gods that are not gods at all.

And it is very possible, even very plausible, to pray to the right God, but to pray wrongly.

I then showed you that the Scripture has much to say about prayers offered in vain.

In fact, I gave you 12 examples, which I don't think was exhaustive at all.

But here's a few of them, such as,

God does not answer the prayer of those who have personal and selfish motives.

James chapter 4 and verse 3, James writes,

James 4 · chapter mention

You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.

And God does not answer the prayer of those who remain in sin.

Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 2,

Isaiah 59 · chapter mention

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

So we must be concerned about praying to the right God,

but also praying to the right God rightly.

I would encourage you, if you weren't here last week,

to go and listen to those other things the Scripture has to say concerning wrong prayer.

So a careful consideration of how we ought to pray is of great importance for us.

In this text, Jesus is modeling a pattern for us to pray by.

Note that He does not say, pray this.

He says, pray then like this.

He's showing us.

He's informing us about how our prayers should be formed.

What should be motivating our praying.

And He begins, our first point last week,

was saying, pray this way.

Our Father in Heaven.

So we should pray like Jesus.

Our Father in Heaven.

Jesus tells us that our prayers should begin with the recognition that God is our Father.

And so this becomes the beginning point for God to hear our prayers and to answer our prayers

is that He is in fact our Father.

That you have been adopted into His family by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

That you have seen that there's no amount of labor on your part in keeping the laws.

Previously sung songs stated so well that could ever have earned us a place in God's family.

But rather because of the perfect Son.

The second Adam.

The one who came and lived a sinless life

and grants us that sinless life by faith in Him.

That we can call God our Father.

We want to cry out to God and ask things of Him.

Flee to Him in Christ.

When we call God our Father,

we are recognizing His boundless mercy and grace to us

in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

So having been found in Christ,

adopted into His family,

we begin our prayers recognizing this.

Starting with the confidence of saying,

this God of heaven and earth is my dad.

And so I can ask things of Him.

This is a profound title to utter to God in our prayers.

And it is the absolute basis for our confidence in approaching Him.

Jesus also teaches us that we are to pray not only our Father,

but our Father in heaven.

And I believe we're to do this lest we become too chummy

with the One who created heaven and earth and all that is in them.

We're meant to remember who this Father is.

Lest we forget that He is God and we are not.

We should be careful that we do not become overly casual in our prayer.

We ought to approach God with boldness as His children,

but also with reverence and awe.

I also pointed out that Jesus in teaching us how to pray

tells us that we should begin our prayers with our Father.

He uses a plural pronoun there.

And we could be very quick to say,

this is just an instruction for corporate prayer,

how we should pray then together.

And I do think it informs our corporate praying.

But just before that,

even in the text I read for us this morning,

Jesus has been talking about private prayer.

So I think He means for us in the opening of our praying

to recognize that God has saved a people.

He has a people.

And we collectively have a Father.

That we are a family.

Both local and global

and throughout all of redemptive history.

That we are a people for God's possession.

So we should pray like Jesus,

our Father in heaven.

The second point from last week was,

we should pray like Jesus,

hallowed be Your name.

So the first petition of Jesus' model prayer for us

is not for Himself.

It's not aimed at Him in any way whatsoever.

But that God's name would be hallowed.

This is not a word that we use in our day.

But to hallow something

is to honor it as holy.

It's to put it in its proper place as holy.

So Jesus asks,

first and foremost,

that God's glory would be known

in the world.

Beloved,

if only we would begin our prayers in this way,

I believe that we would pray much differently.

If our prayers began with,

how is God praised

in what I'm going to now ask of Him?

Our minds should go immediately

to the prayer of Jesus

in the Garden of Gethsemane,

anticipating the great physical suffering,

but more than that,

I believe the great spiritual suffering

that He was going to experience.

The text says for us

that He was sweating blood.

Any of us will ever be

in that depth of anguish

in our lives,

that we sweat blood.

And He said,

if there's any way,

God of Heaven,

my Father,

for this cup to pass from me,

let it pass from me.

Spare me from the suffering

I'm about to experience.

But yet,

not my will,

but Yours be done.

Jesus in one of His darkest moments

had this attitude

as He came to prayer.

How is it that God's name

will be best praised in the world?

I concluded last week

with an exercise,

which I want to repeat it.

I'm going to repeat it verbatim

from last week.

Because my time was running short

and notes were long,

I actually skipped to the bottom

of notes

to have you take a moment

to consider

how it is that you pray.

To just take a moment

with me to consider

your prayer life.

And I want us to do this

and then we'll get to

the second two points

from verse 10.

So,

think with me

for a moment

about the specific things

that you tend to pray for.

Maybe it's possible

that you can recall some

over the past week.

Maybe this morning

or even yesterday

you prayed.

If not,

think in generalities.

What types of things

do you tend to pray for?

If we could

take a summary

of your prayer life

and jot down

some basic notes,

summary statements

of what you tend

to pray for,

what would those

things tend

to be?

Now,

I hope you have

some semblance

in your head

of what that would look like.

So,

let me ask this.

if all of your prayers

were to be answered,

what would the outcome

be?

What would the outcome

be?

Would you be living

in greater ease?

Would you have

more money,

more success

at work,

more free time,

fewer relational

challenges,

better health?

None of these things

are bad things.

None of them

are things that we

couldn't ask God

for.

But would that

be the end result?

Would that be all

that would happen

if your prayers

were all answered?

Or,

would God be

more known

and worshipped

by you,

your family,

your neighbors,

your classmates,

and your coworkers?

Jesus aims

his prayer

at the glory

of God,

and so

should we.

You see,

beloved,

God has many

good purposes

in the world.

He desires

that your marriage

and your parenting

and your schooling

and your employment

go well with you

and for you.

He desires

that we

don't have to

battle with

sickness

and depression.

He cares

about the

health

of our

relationships

and the unity

of our

church.

These things

are important

to our

God.

He is our

Father and He

cares about

the very

minutia

of our

days.

He desires

that we would

walk well

in this world,

but this

is to

fulfill

a greater

purpose.

His purposes

are to

fulfill

a greater

purpose,

an overarching

purpose,

an all

encompassing

purpose.

purpose,

that His

name

would be

praised

amongst

all

peoples,

that His

glory

would be

known

and

shared

everywhere.

Psalm 67

Psalms 67:1–3

verses 1

through 3

say this,

May God

be gracious

to us

and bless

us and

make His

face to

shine upon

us.

Wonderful

prayer.

Why?

How

does Psalm

67

come up

underneath

what Jesus

is teaching

us to pray

here?

Here's this

prayer for

us.

May God

be gracious

to us

and bless

us and

make His

face to

shine upon

us.

Verse 2,

that your

way may

be known

on earth,

your saving

power amongst

all

nations.

Let the

peoples praise

you, O

God.

Let all

the peoples

praise you.

Hallowed

be

your name.

This should

be the

driving

force

of our

lives.

If we are

disciples of

Jesus Christ,

we must

see how

Jesus

walked.

We're to be

following in

His

way.

And He

placed the

glory of

God above

all else,

as should

we.

And Jesus'

next two

model petitions

are an

expansion of

this very

idea of

hallowed be

your name.

And so

third, we

see in the

beginning of

verse 10

that we

should pray

like Jesus,

your kingdom

come.

Pray like

Jesus,

your kingdom

come.

Jesus began

His earthly

ministry

preaching about

the arrival

of the

kingdom.

We can read

of Matthew

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse 17

before the

Sermon on

the Mount

is recorded

by Matthew.

From that

time,

Jesus began

to preach

saying,

this is the

beginning of

His ministry,

and here is

the theme

of His

sermons.

Repent

for the

kingdom of

heaven

is at

hand.

Repent

for the

kingdom of

heaven

is at

hand.

When we

speak of

the kingdom

of heaven

or the

kingdom

of God,

we are

speaking of

God's

good rule

and His

praise being

established

on the

earth.

And when we

talk about

this,

there is

both a

here and

a here-to-come

aspect of

God's

kingdom.

For

example,

Psalm 103

Psalms 103:19

verse 19

reads,

the Lord

has

established

His throne

in the

heavens

and His

kingdom

rules

over all.

And so,

God reigns.

God reigns.

He is

sovereign over

all things

that are

happening in

the world.

And yet,

He is

patiently

allowing

the rejection

of His

reign

as He

works His

mercy

and grace

toward

mankind.

He is

graciously

allowing all

of the

rebellion

that's

happening in

the world

about Him

as He's

patiently

awaiting the

bringing about

of His

praise.

2 Peter 3

9 speaks

of God's

patience in

bringing all

those that

would belong

to Him

to repentance.

God's

purpose is

that people

from every

tribe,

nation,

and tongue

be praisers

of His

glorious

grace

and mercy.

Jesus,

speaking to

His disciples

in some of

His last

days,

we can read

in Matthew

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24,

tells them

about things

that will

come.

And in

verse 14,

He says,

and this

gospel of

the kingdom,

this good

news of

grace and

mercy towards

mankind,

will be

proclaimed

throughout the

whole world

as a

testimony to

all nations

and then

the end

will come.

A gospel

proclamation

is aimed

at bringing

about the

consummation

of the

kingdom

of God,

a people

living

gratefully

under

His rule

and giving

Him all

the glory

that is due

Him.

This is

the very

reason

that God

called

a people.

And I

find too

often as

God's

church that

we are

just too

content

with the

state of

the world

in which

we live.

We would

have things

be a little

better for

our sake.

But we're

not nearly

as concerned

as we

ought to

be about

people coming

under the

good rule

of God,

Christ,

our Savior,

and our

King.

That we

are not

so concerned

as we

should be

about our

neighbor and

our co-worker

and the

person checking

us out at

the grocery

store.

We just

don't seem

to care

that our

God would

be known

amongst

all peoples.

We seem

just a little

too satisfied

to gather

together and

theorize

about this

God and

not then go

out and tell

our neighbor

about Him.

to not be

mobilized

for the

purpose,

this grand

purpose of

His name

being praised

amongst

all

peoples.

I want

to show

you how

aimed

God is

at His

own glory

because if

we as

people are

to be

concerned

about the

things that

He's

concerned

about,

this is

the thing.

The overarching,

the large

purpose,

which all

of the

purposes

serve.

And I

want to

show you

this from

the Old

Testament

book of

Isaiah.

So if

you'll turn

with me

please to

Isaiah and

we'll begin

in chapter

43.

While you're

doing that,

I'm going to

do something

off script.

get to

Isaiah 43.

In some

recent days

across the

past couple

of months,

a pastor

of a

large

megachurch

in our

area

has said

that in

order to

bring people

to faith

in Christ,

we should,

unhitch

Jesus

from the

Old

Testament.

And this

is a

deeply

concerning

thing

that he

is saying.

Now I

believe that

this man

is a

brother,

and I

believe that

we should

be in

prayer for

him,

and for

those under

his

leadership.

I also

believe we

should warn

those who

are under

his

leadership.

If you

don't know

who I'm

talking

about,

you can

ask me

later,

and I

will

tell you.

He has

said we

should

unhitch

the Old

Testament

from Jesus

because

people have

a problem

with the

God of

the Old

Testament,

or they

might see

some

inconsistencies

in the

Old

Testament,

and therefore

we shouldn't

be so

concerned

about that.

I think

the motivation

is good.

I think

what he's

saying is

let's be

concerned

primarily.

Let's

invest our

faith primarily

in the

fact that

Jesus was

a real

man.

He was

in fact

the Son

of God.

He did

die,

and he

was

raised.

I get

that,

and I

think

there's

some

good

intention

in that,

but

Romans

10-17,

faith

comes

by

hearing

and

hearing

from

the

word

of

Christ.

What is

the word

of

Christ

but the

scripture?

What was

the Bible

of Jesus'

day?

If we

want to

just look

to the

New

Testament,

or look

just to

the red

letters

as some

would say,

the words

of Jesus,

he was

constantly

using the

Bible

of his

day,

which we

call

our

Old

Testament.

He was

constantly

looking to

it.

When people

have a

problem

with the

Old

Testament,

the answer

is not

to disregard

the Old

Testament,

the answer

is to

explain

the Old

Testament,

to be a

student of

the Scripture

and to help

others come

to understand

the Scripture.

The greater

portion,

the first

two-thirds

of our

Bibles

are precious

to us.

And they

speak of

a God

who is

full of

grace and

mercy,

steadfast love

to his

people.

It's an

astounding

work and

should never

be disconnected

from the

personal work

of Jesus

Christ.

All that's

promised in

the Old

Testament

finds its

yes in

Jesus,

finds its

affirmation in

Jesus.

So should we

want to know

the promises

of God

that find

their yes

in Jesus?

And the

answer is

absolutely

we should.

What a

dangerous thing

to say

that we

could just

disregard,

disconnect,

unhitch it.

What a

dangerous,

dangerous place

to be.

So let's

look in the

book of

Isaiah

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

chapter 43.

I want to

show you

that God

called a

people and

is calling

a people.

We are

part of

that people

if we

are part

of the

church

for

his

glory.

This is

the purpose,

the overarching

purpose,

that his

name would

be hallowed,

that his

kingdom would

come,

that his

will would

be done.

Hear that

as I'm

talking about

God's

glory.

So Isaiah

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

chapter 43

beginning in

verse 1,

I'll read

through 7.

But now

thus says

the Lord,

he who

created you,

O Jacob,

he who

formed you,

O Israel,

fear not,

for I have

redeemed you.

I have

called you

by my

name.

You are

mine.

When you

pass through

the waters,

I will be

with you,

and through

the rivers,

they shall

not overwhelm

you.

When you

walk through

fire,

you shall

not be

burned,

and the

flames shall

not consume

you.

For I

am the

Lord,

your God,

the Holy

One of

Israel,

your Savior.

I give

Egypt as

your ransom,

Cush and

Saba in

exchange for

you.

Because you

are precious

in my eyes

and honored,

and I

love you,

I give

men in

return for

you,

peoples in

exchange for

your life.

Fear not,

for I am

with you.

I will bring

your offspring

from the east,

and from the

west I will

gather you.

I will say

to the north,

give up,

and to the south,

do not withhold.

Bring my

sons from

afar,

and my

daughters from

the end of

the earth.

That's the

nations,

everyone.

That's us,

right?

Being included

in spiritual

Israel.

Verse 7,

everyone who

is called by

my name,

whom I

created for

my glory,

whom I

formed

and made.

So you

see some of

the purposes,

all of the

goodness to

this people

being worked

out.

God will

be with

us.

God will

be our

protector.

He's going

to sustain

us.

But why?

His glory.

This great

purpose.

His glory.

Look on later

in Isaiah

Isaiah 43:20

chapter 43,

verse 20

and 21.

Here God

says,

the wild

beasts will

honor me,

the jackals

and the

ostriches.

For I

give water

in the

wilderness,

rivers in

the desert

to give

drink to

my chosen

people,

the people

whom I

formed for

myself,

that they

might declare

my praise.

Again,

a people

for the

praise of

God.

Turn a little

bit to Isaiah

Isaiah 44 · chapter mention

chapter 44

and verse

23.

Sing,

O heavens,

for the

Lord has

done it.

Shout,

O depths

of the

earth.

Break

forth into

singing,

O mountains,

O forest,

and every

tree in

it.

For the

Lord has

redeemed

Jacob and

will be

glorified in

Israel.

The Lord

will be

glorified

because He

has redeemed

a people

for His

possession.

And those

of us

who have

been saved

by grace

through faith

in Christ

are those

who are

meant to

sing the

praise of

His name.

And we

want that

to be,

we ought

to want

that to

be a

song that

gets louder

and louder

and louder

and take

places in

languages other

than English

and is sung

by people who

don't look

like us,

who don't

gather the

same way we

gather.

We should

desire this

because our

God is

worthy of

all praise.

One more

reference from

Isaiah.

Isaiah 48:9–11

Chapter 48

verses 9

through 11.

In verse 9

He talks about

deferring His

anger.

So this is

anger against

His people.

Wicked

people.

He says,

For my

name's sake

I defer

my anger.

For the

sake of

my praise

I restrain

it for you

that I may

not cut

you off.

Behold,

I have

refined

you but

not a

silver.

I have

tried you

in the

furnace of

affliction.

For my

own

sake,

for my

own sake

I do it.

for how

should my

name be

profaned.

My glory

I will

not give

to another.

Even the

suffering of

God's

people,

the working

of righteousness

in us

is aimed

at this

higher purpose.

You pick up

the gospel of

Jesus Christ

and begin to

apply it to

your own

living.

It is so

good that it

brings about

betterment

of us.

Walking in

the light

is so

much better

than walking

in the

dark.

Our

relationships

with

creation

and with

each other

being redeemed

is such

a good

thing.

It is so

good but

it is not

high enough.

Your pursuit

of holiness

is not

ultimately

about you,

it is

ultimately

about the

glory of

God.

So we are

to pray

like Jesus.

Your kingdom

come.

Your kingdom

come.

And I think

even sometimes

in our longing

for a better

place,

we don't

aim high

enough.

If you

could even

just dip

your toe

in the

water of

our modern

politics,

you will

find yourself

wherever you

are on the

political

spectrum so

incredibly

frustrated.

The state

of our

nation

right now,

the way

that those

who are

meant to

lead us

act like

children

in their

leadership

of us.

We should

want that

to improve

but if we

don't go

above that

then we

aim too

low.

We want

a kingdom,

a theocracy

ruled by

an almighty

God who

never fails

in the way

that he

leads.

We want

God's praise

and his

rule

everywhere

in the

world

and we

want to

see that

full

consummation

of the

kingdom

come.

So we

pray like

Jesus,

your kingdom

come.

Fourthly,

we pray like

Jesus,

your will

be done

on earth

as it

is in

heaven.

And this

is just

elaborating

once again

on this.

I think

the thing

of note

here is

that this

is an

ask of

obedience.

So that

we would

praise the

name of

God,

hallowed

be your

name,

your

kingdom

come,

and that

we would

be obedient

to God.

More

specifically,

that we

would be

arranging

ourselves

as God's

people

underneath

his

reign

for

his

glory.

Let me

show you

this from

1 Peter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Peter

writes,

but you,

you may be

familiar with

this text,

are a

chosen race.

A royal

priesthood,

a holy

nation,

a people

for his

own

possession.

It would

seem

that Peter

is very

familiar with

his Old

Testament.

He is

almost

directly

citing from

the book

of Hosea

here.

Almost

word for

word citing

from the

book of

Hosea.

We would

be this

people,

that what,

verse 9,

we may

proclaim

the excellencies

of him

who called

you out of

darkness

into his

marvelous

light.

God's

redeemed

people

praising

his name,

giving him

glory as

we should.

Verse 10,

once you

were not

a people,

but now

you are

God's

people.

Once you

had not

received

mercy,

but now

you have

received

mercy.

Again,

Hosea.

Verse 11,

beloved,

I urge

you as

sojourners

and exiles

living in a

place that's

not our

home.

Sojourners

and exiles

to abstain

from the

passions

of the

flesh

which wage

war

against

your soul.

So as

these people

called apart

for this

praise,

living as

strangers

in a

land,

Peter says,

abstain

from the

passions

of the

flesh

which wage

war

against

your

soul.

And then

he says,

why?

Keep your

conduct

among the

Gentiles.

Peter here is

writing to a

largely Jewish

population

church.

So those

outside of

that,

the Gentiles

honorable,

so that when

they speak

against you

as evildoers,

they may

see your

good deeds

and glorify

God on

the day

of

visitation.

That we

would be a

people set

apart in

language as

well as

in activity.

That God's

will being

done on

the earth

starts with

us,

his church,

submitting

ourselves to

his lordship

over our

lives,

recognizing

him as

our good

king,

our father

in

heaven.

A desire

for God's

name to

be honored

amongst

all people

should

drive

everything

that we

do.

It should

be the

undercurrent

that carries

everything

that we

do

along.

And I

think we

should ask

the question

of the

homes we

buy,

and the

people that

we marry,

and our

choices to

have children,

and where we

decide to

go to

school,

and what

we major

in,

and what

job we

take.

I think we

should ask

the question

of all

of these

things,

how does

this bring

God glory?

How am I

meant to

walk in

the simple

and the

seemingly

mundane

things of

my life

for the

sake of

his name?

Students,

how do you

go to

class to

the glory

of God?

Those in

the full-time

workforce,

how do you

get in there

and grind

day in

and day

out to

the glory

of God?

Stay at

home moms,

how do you

do it?

How do you

work day

in and day

out?

Raising

little ones,

those of

you who

homeschool,

trying to

train them

to the

glory of

God,

how do

we get

in every

single

thing?

How do

we take

vacations

to the

glory of

God?

And I

fear that

we do

far too

much

without

giving

any

thought

to the

glory of

God,

whatsoever.

And in

our

praying,

we rush

right to

the

God do

for me

part of

our

praying.

And we're

not at

all concerned

about how

those prayers

answered would

affect the

fame of

His

name.

This is

the purpose

of God

in the

world,

and it

should be

ours

too.

It should

inform

every

fiber

of our

being.

Every

part of

us

should

be

aimed

at the

glory

of God.

And so

we're to

pray like

Jesus,

our

Father in

heaven,

hallowed be

your name,

your kingdom

come,

your will be

done on

earth as

it is in

heaven.

Now,

beloved,

let's be

very clear.

God does

not need

your prayers.

God will

have

His glory.

He will

act.

He will

accomplish

His fame

spreading

across

the earth.

Acts 17,

24 and

25,

says,

The God

who made

the world

and everything

in it,

being Lord

of heaven

and earth,

does not

live in

temples

made by

man,

nor is

He served

by human

hands as

though He

needed

anything,

since He

Himself

gives to

all mankind

life and

breath

and

everything.

But here's

the incredible

thing that

God does.

God could

save the

world.

God could

have His

praise apart

from the

church.

But He

graciously

invites us

into His

work in

the world.

He draws

us into

His work

in the

world because

it's in

His working

in the

world that

we experience

life with

Him.