Pray then like this

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.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

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.

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.

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

John 17:11

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.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.