The Paternity of Prayer

Welcome to this week's message from the church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

You may be seated and turn with me this morning in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

There's Ival.

All right.

Hey, where's Rosemary?

North Carolina.

Oh, so that beautiful flower I got this morning early was from North Carolina.

Oh, okay.

Well, we've got a lot of people this week that have had birthdays.

If you've had a birthday this week, raise your hand.

What?

Come on, keep your hands up now.

When is yours?

This coming Tuesday?

All right, if you're gonna have a birthday this week, raise your hand too.

Everybody's got had a birthday, gonna have a birthday this week.

Raise your hand.

Everybody.

All right.

Come on, Trent.

Okay.

Trent turned 40.

All right.

Let's give them all a hand this morning.

Amen.

Happy birthday to all of you.

All right.

Well, this morning we're gonna be looking at, again, as we started last week in Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

What a powerful passage of scripture on the theology of prayer.

66 small words, and it's powerful.

And I tell you what I want us to do this morning.

And it says in verse 9, Jesus is teaching the disciples.

We talked about how last week that Jesus was so excited about the opportunity to teach the disciples how to pray.

In fact, the disciples had never seen anyone pray like Jesus prayed.

They had always heard the formal prayers of people, especially of the scribes and the Pharisees, those guys basically that really had no idea of what it meant to have an intimate relationship with God.

So it was a very formal, non-relational type prayer.

And now all of a sudden they hear Jesus praying, and Jesus is praying.

Now, this is what gets me real excited.

Jesus is praying about things that really concern them.

He's talking about meeting their physical needs.

He's talking about healing.

He's talking about protection.

He's praying about all the stuff that they're going through.

And because of that, then they say, wow, now this makes sense.

In other words, instead of him trying to talk to this some far away God in some type of prayer language, he's talking, Jesus is praying to his Father, God the Father, like you and I are talking.

And they had never heard that before.

And that's when God gripped their heart and they immediately turned and said to Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray.

Teach us to pray like that.

Teach us how to have a communication.

Hey, to God like you're praying.

And so with that, the Lord's prayer was birth.

And we call it the Lord's Prayer, not because he memorized it and he recited it.

We call it the Lord's Prayer because He taught it.

Because we know it talks about the forgiveness of sins in this prayer, and we know that Jesus never sinned.

Amen?

So it can't be literally his prayer because he's sinless.

But it's his prayer because he taught it as a pattern, as a model, as an example to teach us how to pray.

It's really the disciples' prayer teaching them, giving them an example on how they should learn to pray, and teaching us on how we should learn to pray.

So, again, in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says, if I can find it, there we go.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Matthew 6, verse 9, after this manner, therefore pray ye.

Matthew 6:9

And now I want you with me that let's quote the Lord's Prayer.

Ready?

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Today we're going to be looking at verse 9 again.

And we're going to be looking after this manner.

Therefore, pray ye, our Father.

And the title of the message is The Paternity of Prayer.

You could have it, the relationship of prayer or the prayer of resting.

Because it's dealing with our Father.

And it's so awesome.

But there are two spiritual, and I believe this could probably be two of the most important things that you and I understand today in the area of our praying today.

There's two spiritual activities that go hand in hand in order to really teach us how to pray.

These two spiritual activities are to be an unceasing constant part of our life.

And we see it in Acts chapter 6, verse 4.

Acts 6:4

By the way, does everybody have a worship guide?

If you don't have a worship guide, raise your hand so up here.

Got one for him right here, Zach.

Okay.

Anyone else?

Anyone else?

Okay.

But we see right here that the study of the Word of God and prayer go hand in hand.

You can't have one without the other.

In Acts 6.4, as we bring it up on the monitor, it says, but we are to give ourselves, and this is in reference to the pastors and the leaders of the church, but the principle applies to all of us, but we are to give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of God's Word.

The apostles in Acts 6.4 acknowledged this when they said prayer and study in the Word are interchangeable, hey, between man and God.

In other words, you can't talk to God without the Word of God.

Hello.

Well, you can talk to God without the Word of God, but He can't talk back to you.

Does that make sense?

Jason, can we is Acts 6.4 up there?

I wanted them to see that verse.

Maybe not.

Acts 6.4, and then we'll go to general.

Yeah, there we go.

But we, now, in fact, let's read that together.

This is so powerful.

And the reason most people don't look at this as the importance of prayer is because they think this is just for the pastor, which it is given to the leaders of the church, but especially the pastor.

And it says, but we give ourselves, read it with me, ready?

But we give ourselves continually to what?

Now watch.

In other words, we can't give ourselves continually to prayer if we're not studying in the Word of God, in the ministry of the Word of God.

And here's why.

When you and I talk to God, if we learn how to pray, we learn to talk to God like we talk to each other, right?

Amen.

We just share our hearts with God.

We tell him what we're feeling.

We tell him what we're thinking.

And you say, oh my goodness, I better not tell him some of the things I'm thinking.

Why not?

He already knows it.

Hello, he knows your thoughts before you think them.

That scares me.

Amen.

So, so we're to share our hearts and just to talk to him just like we talk to each other, especially those that we love the most.

And then for God to talk back to us, guess what?

He uses the word of God.

We talk to him through prayer.

He talks to us through the word of God.

Amen.

You say, because he is the word.

Can I get an amen?

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God.

And what?

The word was God.

John 1.1.

So we see how they are interchangeable.

You can't have one without the other.

We are to be unceasingly involved in both.

In fact, look at Deuteronomy chapter 6.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

This is powerful.

For every home, if, hey, for every home, you ought to, this chapter 6 in Deuteronomy ought to be your model for your home.

And listen to what it says in verse 5.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God.

Now watch.

With all thy heart.

With all thy soul.

And with all thy might.

Now, what does that mean?

That means you are to love God with everything that you are.

Amen.

Everything that you are.

And then look at verse 6.

And these words which I command thee this day shall be in your heart.

Powerful, unbelievable, powerful, powerful.

And then look at verse 7.

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in the house, when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And then look at verse 8.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hands.

Ha! You wonder, I told you Jesus saw some bands biblical.

And thou shall upon thy hands, and they shall be as frontlets between thy eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the post of the house and on the gates.

Now watch this.

Powerful.

Five things I saw right here.

One, the word of God has to be in your heart.

Then two, you teach them diligently.

Three, you talk of them everywhere you go.

Four, you bind them.

That means, hey, they're with you everywhere you go.

And with our phones today, in fact, I almost brought my phone up.

I'm getting pretty good at using my phone now with my Bible.

I'm just scared.

I have this mental block when I saw when I saw Sylvester up here with his iPad and he hit something that went everywhere, and he didn't know where to go after that.

So I'm still sticking with my Bible right now, but I'm studying with my phone.

It's a lot quicker, to be honest with you.

It's pretty neat.

I'm coming into the technological world at 63, even how to use it, it's really pretty neat.

In fact, if I forget a verse, I just say, Siri, do you know where this verse is?

And I say a word, he pops it right up.

I said, man, that's pretty good.

But uh anyway, here's what he's saying.

When you bind it up, it literally means that when you bind the word of God up in your life and in your heart, it's really mainly all you think about.

Now, all of us can say, O me.

That's really what the word bind there means.

It is so bound up in you that it comes out of you even when you don't want it to.

Hello.

Hello.

I knew I got one amen on that.

That's convicting, isn't it?

Isn't that convicting?

And then write them.

In other words, have them everywhere.

Have the word of God all over your home.

Have it all over your car.

Have it everywhere.

Everywhere you go.

That's why I love the Jesus is awesome.

And then I have this ban I got years ago from Dan Moran.

It's the Romans Road.

So that's that's a witnessing band.

But but everywhere I go, Jesus is awesome.

I mean, I see that, and I'm constantly thinking about how awesome Jesus is in my life.

And you'll be amazed.

Yesterday we were coming home and I was driving uh driving David and Christy home.

We were coming home and I stopped and filled up the gas, went in and got had my Yeti cup, and I always I always use my left hand.

And I always turn it before I walk up to the counter just like that.

I put my cup there.

And I said, I would uh like to have a refill of coffee.

She said, coffee yeah.

She said, you don't owe me anything.

I said, well, thank you.

She smiled.

She said, Jesus is awesome.

Got me a free cup of coffee.

Amen.

I said, well, yeah, go, Jesus.

Go, Jesus.

Amen.

So, folks, God honors who He is.

Can I get an Amen?

So we see how important it is to always, hey, have the Word in front of us.

Have the Word in us.

Bind it up in us.

You ought to memorize Scripture, even if you can't memorize it but for a day and you forget it.

Memorize it for a day.

Amen.

I used to have a saying, a verse a day keeps the devil away.

Amen.

And it does.

When you constantly are thinking about, I memorize scripture every day.

I spend about an hour every day memorizing scripture.

Why?

Because I've got to keep my mind set on heavenly things and not on earthly things.

And I am ADD and I have a tendency to go anywhere and everywhere real quick.

Not as bad as you, though, buddy.

But uh, but uh, hey, hey, so I keep my mind concentrated on the word of God, and it helps me.

And not only that, when I start praying, I start thinking of the verses and the principles and the word, and it starts helping me now that God's talking to me.

God's talking to me, and now I'm ready to pray back to him.

And sometimes, guess what?

I just pray back the word of God.

And you say, well, why?

Hey, do you understand Jesus enjoys you talking back to him his word?

He loves that.

So, and then the second thing, we're to be continually engaged in prayer.

The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6.8, I meant 1 Thessalonians 5.17, pray without ceasing.

Pray without ceasing.

He said in Ephesians 6.18, pray always.

And then he said in Philippians 4.6, in everything by prayer with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

It's amazing when you know the word of God and it's bound up in you how you can pray.

Let me tell you, woo! That's it.

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Hey, let me tell you, let me tell you, let me tell you why it's so important that you have the word of God bound up in you.

Because when you have the word of God bound up in you, you know the word of God, you believe the word of God, you're being obedient to the word of God, you are walking within his will for your life.

And he says, when you pray unto me, you pray unto me as unto God's will.

And we're gonna see that in a moment.

Hearing God as he speaks in his word and speaking to God in our own prayers is so beautiful.

It really is.

Now, so the word is to be a matter of our thoughts and conversation continually, and we're to be continually engaged in prayer.

Those are the two major things that you can't, hey, you cannot separate those if we're really gonna become prayer warriors.

Can I get an amen?

And that's what Erica and I have been talking about.

Teaching our church to pray.

And the first Sunday night, I want to, the first Sunday night we had over 70, and this last time we had 30.

Don't forget, this first Sunday in May, Sunday night at 6 o'clock, uh, we'll meet right here, and all we do is pray.

It's beautiful.

We make a circle and we just start praying, different people pray.

You don't have to pray.

Outline if you don't want to, but it's powerful.

And we've seen God do so many things already in those prayer times because he loves for us to talk to him.

And if prayer is something we are to unceasingly listen, do, then we better know how to do it properly.

Can I get an amen?

And here's what the Lord teaches us to do.

Now, notice, first of all, what he doesn't teach us.

Notice what he does not teach us about prayer, number one.

He does not teach us about the posture of prayer.

He doesn't care if you're laying down, he doesn't care if you're kneeling, he doesn't care if you're hopping, if you're running, he doesn't care.

Driving?

No.

Why?

Because any posture will do.

In the Bible, people prayed in different positions.

I wrote a few down to me.

Hey, standing, lifting hands, sitting, kneeling, uplifted eyes, bowing down on their face.

Hey, head between their knees, facing the temple, smiting their breast.

I mean, they prayed everywhere in all situations.

So it's not about posture.

Number two, he doesn't teach us about the place of prayer.

Because we're to pray everywhere.

People prayed in different places.

Listen to this.

They prayed in battle.

I believe I'd be praying in battle too.

Amen.

They prayed in a cave, they prayed in a closet, they prayed in a garden, they prayed on a mountain, they prayed by a river.

They prayed.

Oh, I love praying by water.

Oh, yeah.

They prayed.

Jesus loved to go up on a mountain overlooking water when he'd get along with the Father and pray.

They prayed everywhere.

They prayed in bed, they prayed in home.

They prayed in a fish.

Hello.

They prayed on housetop.

They prayed in prison.

In fact, they prayed by the sea, in the street, in God's house, in Hades.

Hey, they prayed in solitude.

They prayed in the wilderness.

They prayed on the cross.

They prayed in heaven.

They prayed everywhere.

1 Timothy 2.8, I will lift up my hands.

I love that.

I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up, I like this, holy hands without wrath and doubting.

Got to have a clean heart.

Got to have, hey, right standing in between you and God if God's going to hear your prayers.

Because he says in Psalm 66, 18, if I regard sin in my life, God will not hear me.

Got to get your heart right.

That's why the Word of God is to be bound up in your heart.

Number three, he doesn't teach us about times of prayer.

In fact, hey, they prayed early in the morning.

They prayed three times a day, in the evening, before meals, after meals, ninth hour, bedtime, midnight, day and night, today.

Jesus, Luke 5.33, prayed often.

In, hey, during their youth they prayed.

In trouble they prayed.

Daily they prayed.

Always they prayed.

Men ought to always pray, Jesus said.

Always, and not to faint.

Luke 18.1.

And then number four, he doesn't teach us about the circumstances of prayer.

That was a good one.

I didn't realize that.

Because any circumstance will do.

Can I get an amen?

In the Bible, people prayed in all kinds of circumstances.

For example, they prayed wearing sackcloth.

They prayed sitting in ashes.

They prayed with shaves' head.

I can understand that.

Smiting the breast, crying, applying dust to the head, rendering garments, tearing the garments, fasting, sighing, groaning, loud crying, sweating blood, agony, broken heart, pouring out one's heart, rendering the heart, making an oath, making sacrifices.

And the key is Psalm 62, 8.

Here it is.

Here's how you really need to pray in all circumstances, regardless of what you're in.

He says, trust in the Lord at all times.

Can I get an amen?

And when you're, and how can you trust, let me relate that back to our foundation as we start it?

How can you trust in the Lord at all times?

When you're bound up by his word, and the word is constantly and continually in you, guess what?

Then you're trusting in his word, his principles, his promises.

What?

For your life.

And when you're doing that, hey, ye people, then what does he say?

All right, now watch.

He's talking to you at all times if you're in the word.

Amen.

He's talking to you every day, every minute that you're in the word, reading the word.

Quoting the word, memorizing the word.

He's talking to you.

And then pour out your heart before him.

Now you start crying out with the circumstances you're in.

Hey, sickness, you're crying out.

You lost your job, you're crying out.

You lost your your uh girlfriend or boyfriend, you're crying out.

I mean, you'll get over that quick, but uh you're crying out.

Why?

Why?

God is a refuge for us, he's our safe place, he's our place of protection, he's our, hey, place of peace.

He's our place of, hey, I call it rest.

Amen.

And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Isn't that good?

Isn't that good?

So that's why this praying is so powerful.

The posture, the place, the time, the circumstances is not the issue of prayer.

Prayer is to be a total way of life, an open communication with God, and and which goes on all the time.

And this is where we're missing it, folks.

We allow Satan to so bog us down in junk and stuff and the things of the world that our minds are set on worldly things instead of eternal things.

And that's why we wait to the last thing or last time, resort, that's a good word, the last resort to pray.

When it ought to be the first thing.

And it will be the first thing if you're continually, hey, in the word and you're talking to him and he's talking to you.

It gets back to how important we give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

And if prayer is a way of life, then we need to understand how to pray.

Now, this is precisely why Jesus teaches us this model prayer.

Now look at verse 9 again.

Does look at the phrase after this manner mean in the exact words?

No.

No.

It is a model, it doesn't mean the exact words.

Not at all.

The first phrase is hutas.

Hutas.

And it's really, it's the Greek noun literally means thus, therefore.

It is not an exact quote, but just as reference to the general content.

Therefore, Christ is saying, we are to pray along these lines.

We are to pray in this manner.

We are to pray like this, but not that that is to be a magical prayer.

A lot of people think it's a magical prayer when they recite it over and over.

And that's not what Jesus meant it to be.

He said, this is a pattern, this is an example that all your praying should have these elements in when you pray.

And so that's very important we understand that.

In our last week, and as we begin this study, if you remember, the major thrust of this prayer is that it focuses on what?

I want you to remember this.

I want you not, we're going to say it every week.

This prayer focuses on what?

The glory of God.

Say that with me.

The Lord's prayer focuses on the glory of God.

Say that with me.

The Lord's prayer focuses on the glory of God.

His majesty, his person.

It's all about him.

Amen?

And that is the main concept.

But let me prove this to you in John chapter 14, verses 13 and 14.

John 14:13

In other words, this prayer puts the majesty of God on display.

It really does.

Look at it.

He says in John 14, 13, Jesus is speaking.

He says, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name.

I like that, my name.

We'll hear more about that as we continue studying this prayer.

My name, that, hey, that will I do that the Father may be what?

Glorified.

Verse 14, if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it so that God the Father will be glorified.

So it's all about putting the glory and the majesty of God on display.

That's what it's all about.

That's why he tells us constantly throughout the scriptures that it, hey, when Jesus said, It's my meat to do the will of the Father which sent me.

In other words, I am here to put God's majesty and God's glory, God's power, all that he is, all the attributes of God should be displayed in our life for his glory.

Whether we eat or drink, you know it, whether we eat or drink, whatsoever we do, what do we do?

We do all to what?

The glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10, 31.

So that's what he's talking about.

Now, with that said, that's the foundation.

You can't separate, hey, if you're gonna be praying unto God, putting his majesty on display, you cannot separate praying from the word of God.

Prayer and the word of God go hand in hand.

Say that with me.

Prayer and the word of God, you can't separate them.

Not if you're gonna pray effectively, and not if you're gonna pray by the model of the Lord's prayer.

Now let's look at the prefaces to prayer.

In studying this prayers of the Old Testament, I was amazed to find that even in the deepest, severe, most troublesome time and circumstances, the worst situations, that when the Old Testament saints came into prayer, you I now I know what you're thinking.

If I'm in a tight situation, I'm in a bad situation, I'm just gonna start out crying out loud.

God help me, God save me, Lord.

I need this, I need this, boom, boom, boom.

But that's exactly what they didn't do in the Old Testament.

I was amazed, I was shocked.

And the greatest, one of the greatest examples, there's there's a multiplicity of examples, but one of the best examples is Jonah.

Now, Jonah is in the belly of the whale or the big fish, whatever you want to say.

And you and you say, I don't really believe that story.

Well, I don't care whether you believe it or not.

Hello.

It's in the Bible and it's real, and there's been, hey, there's been a proof of men being swallowed by big fish.

There's proof of that.

Hey, so just go look it up.

Google.

Has a fish ever swallowed a person?

I don't know if that'll bring it up or not.

I just thought about that.

But anyway, there's there's there's noted.

In fact, listen to Jonah in Jonah 2, 7 and 9.

He's in the fish and he says, I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving.

He's not saying, deliver me.

He's not saying I'm in trouble.

He's not saying I'm gonna drown.

Now, at the beginning of that chapter, he already says, Hey, I'm in, hey, I'm going about as low as you can go.

I'm tangled up in the seafood.

Y'all didn't catch that down.

I'm tangled up in the sea, I'm tangled up in the seaweed.

Some of y'all don't go to sleep on me.

You'll miss it.

Hey, hey, but he says, I'm in, I'm in major, I'm in a major problem here, but he but he never acknowledges the circumstances before he starts praising God.

And then Daniel, you look at Daniel.

Daniel chapter 9, verse 3 and 4, they're fixing to be captive, uh captured by the Babylonians, and he's in all kind of trouble.

Daniel 9:3

It looks bleak.

In fact, Daniel's whole career, he was a dynamic Christian in a heathenistic country.

He was always facing unbelievable, dangerous circumstances.

But you know what?

Every time, even in the when they told him you can't pray if you pray, hey, you go into the lion's den.

He just started praising God and praying anyway.

And then here he starts out and he just praises God.

Hey, he really just recites the majesty, the glory, the dignity, the holiness, the almighty power, the character of the sovereign God, knowing that they're fixing to go into major captivity.

And that he could be executed.

That didn't bother him.

All that he wanted was to display the glory of God in his life.

Can I get an amen?

Man, that's good.

And Jeremiah the same way.

Which brings me to the second thing: the perspective of prayer.

Here's the I want you to turn with me to Psalms 86, or it'll come up on the screen.

Prayers to give God the privilege.

It really is.

Prayers to give God now, watch this, the privilege.

The privilege of displaying his glory.

Now, when you start thinking that way, prayer starts bringing a whole new dimension to your life.

Did you hear what I said?

Praying is, hey, giving God the opportunity to display his majesty.

Wow.

Think about that.

Your circumstances take on a whole different perspective now that you're going to God in prayer with your situation, like with the Wilsons, the cancer, your personal, all that we got going on.

You know what?

I've been encouraged this week when I was really at one of the lowest parts of me this whole week with David, and I'm studying.

See, God knew what I needed.

I'm sitting here hurting and saying, let's get this thing going.

And God says, Hold on, you're okay.

You're okay.

Why?

Because this has given me an opportunity to display my glory, my majesty, my power.

Woo! Hallelujah! That's a whole different encouragement.

Can I get an amen?

And that is exactly what Jesus is teaching these disciples.

And you've got to see this in Psalms 86.

Listen to, oh, this is powerful.

Look at what it says.

Here we see David.

David's in the midst of trouble.

And here's what he's saying: His heart is burdened, and there is a tremendous anxiousness in his spirit.

Look at verse, well, let's just start.

Bow down thy ear, O Lord, hear me, for I'm poor and needy.

Woo! Amen.

There's not one of us in here that's not poor and needy this morning.

Can I get an amen?

I mean, see, he starts out.

He's humbling himself before God.

In other words, he's exalting God to the right place.

Amen.

He's exalting him, realizing he's nothing.

God's everything.

And then notice what he says: preserve my soul, for I am holy.

Hey, O thou my God, save thy servant.

Thou trustest in thee.

And basically, what David says right there, he says, Hey, hey, I'm following your will.

I'm following your will.

I have brought my life under submission of your will.

Folks, when you're under the submission of God's will and you're doing what God's told you, let me tell you something.

He's obligated to hear your prayers.

Did you hear me?

Obligated.

Not maybe, obligated.

Now you may not get the answer you want when you want it.

But he's obligated to answer it.

Can I get an amen?

And he will.

Because God can't lie.

Hebrews 6, 18.

God can't lie.

Titus 1.2.

Now watch.

Man, this is good.

Now, he goes to God.

Notice what he says next.

Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto thee.

Uh-oh.

What does it say?

I cry unto thee what?

All the day.

Come on.

All the day.

I cry unto thee all the day.

Daily.

There's that continuous praying.

Pray without ceasing.

Pray all the time.

Remember?

There it is.

Now notice what he says.

Thee daily, rejoice thy soul of thy servant, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

In other words, bring me joy in the midst of my bad circumstances.

Give me joy because Satan's trying to steal my joy, and Satan's trying to destroy me by discouraging me, by bringing dismay into my life, and discouragement into my life, so that he can steal the joy.

Because when he steals your joy, that's one of the major weapons you have is the joy of the Lord.

Whoo, I'm about to have a spell.

For the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10.

Nehemiah 8:10

Can I get an amen?

So, and then notice what he says.

For thou, Lord, art what?

Good.

And ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Now watch, here we go.

Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplication.

Now he he starts out just worshiping him, giving him all the glory for who he is.

He didn't run into his presence with a petition.

Not at all.

And then he said, In the day of my trouble, I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me.

Oh notice what he said.

When I have brought my, don't you miss this.

This is so important to all of us.

When you and I have brought our will under the submission to his will for our life, hey, he will answer our prayer.

If we're not having our prayers answered, maybe we need to check and see where our will is.

Is our will doing what we want, or is our will doing what God wants?

Big difference.

Big difference.

Now notice what else he says.

Among the gods, there is none like unto thee.

Oh Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works.

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name.

For thou art great and dost wondrous things.

Thou art God alone.

Woo! He just out, just out shining, hey, telling God how glorious God is.

There's no God like you.

You the only God.

There's one that can't, there's none to compare with you.

Hey, you you may, in fact, let me just say, God, we know those gods aren't even real gods.

In fact, those gods are false gods.

You're the God, and you even made, hey, you even made the people that are worshipping false gods.

You're the creator of everything.

Now that's praising him.

That's praising him.

And that's what he does.

Look, he says, and then, for thou art great and does wondrous things.

Thou art God alone.

Now that's a powerful statement when he said thou art alone.

Here's what that literally means.

It literally means, God, you are God.

You made everything, you are everything, and you can do anything you want to do.

Hello.

You can do anything you want to do.

Because you're God.

And then notice what he says.

And whatever you do, whoo, glory.

It doesn't matter.

I'm going to praise you anyway.

Look at verse 12.

That's what he said.

And I will praise thee, O Lord, my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify the name forevermore.

Man, that's good.

He begins with an affirmation of the majesty and the character of God.

And first of all, notice in verse 10, he acknowledged that God has the right to do whatever he wants.

Can I get an amen?

God can, hey, God has the right to do in your life, in your circumstances, whatever he wants to do.

And sometimes it may get worse before it gets better.

Because why?

He's all-knowing, he knows everything, he knows what's best, and he's gonna do what's best for you.

And a lot of times in these situations, he has to get you to a repentant place in your heart to get you back right with him, doing what you're supposed to be doing with him, so that he can answer his prayer for your life for what's best for you.

That hurt.

I don't like that.

You mean I'm at fault?

Yeah.

Sometimes.

And then sometimes it's just to get some of that dross off of you.

It's gotta refine, because see, he's got something better for you.

He's got something bigger for you.

He's gonna use you to do something greater, but he's gotta get you to another place in trust so that when he can trust you, and we, hey, he can't trust you till you trust him, and he doesn't know till you trust him till you prove yourself.

Woo! But when you prove yourself, when you're thrown in the furnace, when you're thrown in the lion's den, and when you come out, he promotes you.

Can I get an amen?

He promotes you.

He promotes you.

Secondly, he acknowledged the submission of God's will in his life.

Look at verse 11.

Teach me thy way, O Lord.

Uh-oh.

See what he did?

He brought his will under the submission of God's will.

Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth.

Unite my heart to fear thy name.

And then the third thing, and then thirdly, in verse 12, he acknowledges that no matter what happens, I'm gonna praise you.

Verse 12.

Isn't that good?

Now that's all the introduction.

Really is.

Had to set the table.

And let's, before we go now, to the one and only point today.

The paternity of God, the fatherhood of God, the rest of prayer from God.

What are two things that are interchangeable?

You can't, well, you can't have one without the other.

Prayer and the word.

Say that with me.

Prayer and the word.

And they are to be continuously all day long.

That's why when you're in your truck, you're in your car, or you got your today, everybody has their earphones on.

Hopefully, a large portion of what's going into your brain, your computer, is praising him.

I keep mine on the message.

That's just what I listen to most of the time.

Amen.

Now, every once in a while I get a little oldy-goady, but not a whole lot.

But but I'm constantly feeding my mind, and I have my memory program that's constantly reminding me to review this verse.

Oh, three and four and five times a day that I have to do, or it starts going beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

Okay.

Pull over.

Quote the verse.

Okay.

But I but that's why I do that.

Amen.

So with that said, let's look at God's fraternity.

Our Father, verse 9, who art in heaven.

Wow.

The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is a philosophy that really has been taught since the very beginning, which is a false teaching.

The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

See, right here we see the phrase, our father has a negative and a positive side.

Let's look at the negative side first.

The word our has reference to believing people, those who are saved.

We're a family.

We, hey, believing people, which is a tremendous death blow to the liberals.

See, here's what happened.

The liberals believe God made everybody.

And He's the father of everybody.

And that we're all brothers.

It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe, what color you are.

Nothing about what you believe, who you are, what you do, nothing.

We're all created by God.

God's all our father, and we're all brothers and sisters, and we're all going to the same place one day.

Okay, I'm going.

I'm getting there.

I'm wanting it to settle a little bit.

Liberals have taught for years that God is everybody's father and that we are all brothers.

Now, this is only true in one sense.

This is only true in one sense.

Here it is.

In the sense of creation, God did create every one of us.

Can I get an amen?

There is no doubt about that.

Malachi 2.10 says that God created all of us.

Acts 17, 24 says God created all of us.

Amen.

But now, in the sense of relationship, God is not the father of all men.

He's the creator of all men, but not the father of all men.

Can I get an amen?

He can only be your father if you are a son.

He can only be a father if you are a daughter.

Can I get an omen?

Amen.

Something.

But as many as received him, whoo! But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God.

John 1, 12.

Is that not good?

Is that not good?

And it's even more than that.

And we'll look at it in a minute.

In fact, let's look at it right now.

Jason, take us to 1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

Take us to 1 John chapter 3 and watch this.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

1 John chapter 3, verses 7 through 10.

1 John 3:7–10

Well, let's start at verse 6.

Woo, man, this is, oh, this is going to be so illuminating, folks.

This is one of the most powerful passages of scripture in relationship to somebody that's truly saved.

You want to know whether you truly are saved or not?

Hang on.

You can apply the test right here.

You ready?

Whosoever abideth in him, Jesus, sins not.

Now, the King James says, sins not.

The original language in the present tense means does not continually sin.

Doesn't mean that you're sinless.

It just means that you don't continue in sin all the time.

That's what it means.

Whosoever abideth in him sins not.

Whosoever sins hath not seen him, neither knows him.

Hello.

In other words, if all you're doing is going around and you're still living in sin, but you say you're, oh, I joined the church.

Well, that's all you did.

You joined the church because you didn't get saved if you're still living in sin.

Well, I got baptized.

Well, you're still living in sin.

All you did was get wet.

Hello.

That's it.

That's what the book says.

That's not what I said.

Now notice what he says in verse 7, little children.

Well, let no man deceive you.

In other words, just because they say they're saved, just because they've joined the church, just because they've been baptized, just because they claim to be a Christian.

He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Makes sense to me, does it?

An orange tree brings forth what?

Fruit.

Oranges.

A banana tree brings forth what?

Bananas?

Bananas.

A Christian ought to bring forth what?

Righteousness.

Duh! Hello.

Amen.

You ought to do right.

You know what righteousness means?

Do right.

You do right.

That's what he's talking about.

Now watch.

He that commits sin is of the devil.

Uh-oh.

Uh-oh.

Now wait a minute.

He that continues in sin is of the devil.

Now we all have our shortcomings and we sin, but we are convicted, we confess it, and we turn from it.

But if you're staying in that sin, you're not a Christian.

You may say you are, but you're not.

You're a child of the devil.

See, there's only two families, folks.

Let me go ahead and help you.

There's only two families.

The family of God and the family of the devil, and you're one of them.

You're either one of, hey, you're either the family of God or you're family of the devil.

There's no three families.

Well, maybe I got, maybe I'm half Christian and half-devil.

No.

That's not what it says.

He that commits, lives in a continual state of sin is of the devil.

Now watch.

For the devil sinned from the beginning.

For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Can I get an amen?

Hey, we got power over the devil.

Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

We have power not to sin.

Now watch, verse 9.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, does not continue in sin.

For now, watch, here's why.

For his seed remains in him.

In other words, the Holy Spirit's in here.

And he cannot sin because he is born of God.

You can't sin and get away with the Holy Spirit.

It's going to so whip you.

And by the way, if you continue as a Christian, if you continue as a Christian to make a mockery of God, if you really say, God will take you out of here.

1 Corinthians 11.

Now.

And he, then he says, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Verse 10, in this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil.

Whoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth, nor his brother.

Two families.

Family of God and family of the devil.

There it is.

Do you see that?

Say amen.

There it is, folks.

There it is.

Now I know that's not popular preaching, and you won't hear that preaching very often.

Because that's discouraging preaching, they say.

No, no.

My soul, it's not discouraging.

It's rescue preaching, it's enlightening preaching.

For many of you have never heard that truth.

Listening online or listening right here.

You've not heard that truth.

And it's so powerful.

So powerful.

And then, in fact, Ephesians 5.8 says, we're children of light, and hey, and if, and I love this.

And if we, here's what he says.

You were once in darkness, but now you're children of light, walk in the light.

As he is in the light.

So, the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

Now, let's look at the Old Testament Jewish understanding about God as the Father.

God's overall care for the nation Israel.

They understood God as being the father of the nation.

They really did.

In fact, I was, as I was doing all my research for this week, they believed in the begetting of God, that they saw the begetting of God as an act of the Father in 1 Chronicles 29:10.

1 Chronicles 29:10

They understood the nearness of God.

In fact, they they even made the statement that he was the father of the fatherless.

That is so true.

When your mother and father forsake you, the Lord will take you up.

That used to be one of my favorite verses because I was kicked out of my home when I was a teenager.

Actually, when I was 12 years old.

So, so the loving grace of God, they understood that, the guidance of God, and then the obedience to God.

They understood that.

But they still understood it more as a father figure instead of intimate relationship with God the Father.

But they did believe that God was their father.

Amen.

A father, daughter, son relationship.

They did.

But it was not that intimate relationship.

Now listen, this is good.

That's why Jesus had to come and die on the cross.

He had to bring that intimate relationship to his people.

That gets me to the second thing.

And it is, hey, the New Testament Jewish understanding of God the Father.

Let me just say this: they had no understanding.

The Jews had no understanding.

None whatsoever.

They looked at him not as a father, but as a king or a ruler.

That's the way they saw him.

They did not see him as an intimate father.

They saw him as a Lord, a ruler, or a king.

And as the Jews moved further away from true worship and they redefined the whole religious system.

In fact, they created 333 laws that you had to keep.

Can I tell you something?

You can't even keep the Ten Commandments.

How in the world are you going to keep 333?

So the more they created their religious system to be adapted to their sin, the further they got away from God.

Now watch this.

And because of that, Jesus, God the Father, said, I've got to send my son Jesus.

Why?

A new commandment.

See, it really wasn't a new commandment.

But what did Jesus say now?

This is so good.

A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I loved you, that you also love one another.

And by this shall all men know that you are my disciples by what?

Your love.

That intimate relationship.

That intimacy.

It wasn't a new commandment.

It was an old commandment being lived out in the reality of what God meant it to be.

Can I get an amen?

In other words, what when he said a new commandment, he's saying this is going to be a whole different relationship.

Is that not good?

A whole new relationship.

And now let me close with what that new relationship brings to me and you.

This is so powerful.

Brings me to the third thing, the Christian's understanding.

Our Father.

We saw what the Old Testament understanding was.

Yes, that he was a father, but he was the father of the whole nation, not me personally.

And then when we come to the New Testament, the Jewish belief system that, oh, he was just a Lord or he was a king, he was not personal at all.

He was just a person, a king, a ruler.

No.

He didn't have anything to do with me intimately, personally.

I've got my own rules and regulations.

I'm going to live according to my laws.

You wouldn't know anybody like that, would you?

I'm going to live according to Danny chapter 1, verse 2.

And if it's not in there, I'll make it up.

And then even make it a law.

Why?

Because we can vote it in.

Sounds like a Congress Senate?

No, don't go there.

Don't go there.

Don't go there.

Don't go there.

Isn't it amazing if we just lived by the word?

Our Father.

Whole new kind of intimacy.

Never had been understood before.

That's why Jesus came.

If you catch this, folks, now you're understanding why he had to come.

Does this make sense?

I know I'm giving you a lot of pretty deep theology here.

Are you tracking with me?

It really makes sense.

It fits.

This is why he had to come.

And look what he gave to us.

Two things, basically.

First of all, he gave us the intimacy, that intimate relationship with God is secure.

We no longer have to say, oh, Heavenly Father, way up in heaven somewhere.

We have a mediator named Jesus Christ.

There's one God, one mediator, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2.5, that we can go directly to the Father through Jesus the Son.

Can I get an amen?

We don't go through a priest, we don't go through the Pope.

We go directly through Jesus.

That's that intimate relationship that He provided for us on the cross.

Now watch, the term for father in the Greek, in the Greek language, is pate, pate.

And it means a father figure.

Okay?

No doubt about it.

But you know what I saw that was so amazing?

That's not the word that Jesus used.

Mark 14, 36.

Look at the word Jesus used.

I never really thought about this until I was doing a word study on Father.

And he said, Abba.

Jesus said, Abba, not Father, not a father figure.

He said, Daddy.

Father, hey.

And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee.

Take away this cup from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt.

In other words, he said, I'm taking it.

Remember?

Oh, Kim, would y'all just one time have a spell with me?

When you you're about to grasp some truth here, folks, it's gonna sh make you shout.

Now, how did that take place?

Watch.

He said, I'm a father.

Remember the Old Testament Jews saw what?

God as father, a father figure.

Right?

In the Old Testament.

Hey, there it is.

But he says, but I have come to bring a whole new relationship, a new commandment, a new intimacy, a new love, a love that is beyond just a father figure.

It is to the point that you can put your, you can run when you're in trouble into your daddy's lap, let him grab you, let him hug you, let him kiss on you, and let him tell you it's all gonna be okay.

That's the kind of comfort you have now.

I will not leave you comfortless.

My little girls, every time, every time they would really get hurt or something or they'd get in trouble, they'd come to Daddy and they'd say, Daddy, can you make it alright?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And they sure came to me when they wanted something.

They didn't go to mama.

And they'd say, Daddy, can you give me?

Yes.

I was I was a pushover.

They had me wrapped around my finger.

Their finger.

But see, do you see this?

If you see this, folks, your prayer life's fixing change.

I know mine's changing.

You are praying every morning to your daddy.

You're running into your daddy's lap.

You're running into your daddy's arm, and you're praising him.

First of all, you're praising him for who he is.

Oh, Daddy, you are great.

You're awesome.

You made everything.

You made me.

I'm fearfully, wonderfully made.

Woo! Marvelous are your work.

Daddy, you provide my job.

You provide my health.

Dad, that and you just go on and on and on.

Thanking him.

And then, Daddy, can you help me?

I don't know about you, but when my daughters came into my presence and loved on me, told me how much they love me, and Stephanie was the best at it.

I'm daddy's girl.

I'd give them anything I had.

I did give them everything I had.

Oh, you I don't think you're getting it.

Hold on.

I don't think you're getting it.

This is your daddy.

Ready to give you everything he's got.

If you'll listen.

If you'll just listen to him.

Just obey him.

Honor him.

Everything he is and all that he is is yours.

Is that not awesome?

Let me close this up.

I told you this is going to be rich.

The issues are settled.

When you have that kind of father, the issues are settled.

Here's the issues that you and I have.

One, ready?

Fear.

Fear's gone.

It's gone.

The Lord's not giving us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.

It's gone.

Can I get an amen?

The fear's gone.

Your daddy's in charge.

Your daddy, your Alba Father.

He's there.

The Lord is on my side.

I will not fear what man can do unto me.

Number two.

Hope.

There's a blessed hope.

Titus 1, 2.

There's a hope.

Behold, God is my salvation.

I will trust and not be afraid.

Oh, that's good.

Reminds me of the little girl on the raft.

They were out.

They were paddling in the ocean.

The tide started taking them out.

The dad knew he had to do something quick.

He said, honey, whatever you do, don't get out of this raft.

I'm going for help.

And he swam to shore.

The girls were going for the rail.

And said, honey, can we help you?

Can we take you here?

No.

No.

My daddy's coming back for me.

My daddy's coming for me.

Now that's the faith.

That's the belief.

That we have to have in our father.

Our daddy.

And he'll do what he says he's gonna do.

And sure enough, about that time.

Daddy pulled up in another boat.

Said, hey, darling.

And she turned, she said, I told you.

My daddy's coming.

There's hope.

Folks, I got news.

Daddy's coming.

Daddy's coming.

The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together within the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.

Daddy's coming.

Loneliness gone.

Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, can I get an amen?

Lo, I'm with you always, even until the end.

D, selfishness is gone.

The prayer, our Father, that eliminates all selfishness.

Ephesians 6.18, praying always for all saints.

We pray for our family.

Aren't you glad you got a church that does that for you?

We pray for each other.

We love each other.

We're family.

Look, not every man on his own things, but every man on things of others.

Whew! Can you see what this settles?

Fear's gone, hope's gone, loneliness gone, selfishness is gone.

And then E, we have resources.

We got the Father's resources.

Did you understand that?

Oh, listen to this verse.

This ought to be one of you you memorize.

And all, hey, all that heaven is, and all the means to be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

Can I Get an amen.

All that heaven is, we have access to through our Father.

And then obedience.

Obedience.

There used to be a such a commitment.

This is horrible, by the way, but it really does emphasize a point.

Barbaric, I understand.

But it wasn't that it was such a commitment on obeying the Father in the Old Testament.

By the way, one of the reasons, and here's what happened.

If a child, if a son dishonored their father in the Old Testament, I meant, brought mockery to him, I meant, went out and did hellish stuff and all.

The law was that they could be stoned.

Stoned to death.

That's how important it was being committed to obedience to the Father.

Okay?

You understand that?

I didn't say anything about that being right.

No, it's barbaric.

No.

But that was the commitment.

That's why, this will help you, the prodigal son, when he was coming home, one of the reasons the dad ran out to meet him, he was praying every day he'd come home.

And it was exciting.

He was running because it's, but he was running out there to make sure the people in the community didn't start stoning him.

Wow.

That's good, preacher.

But here is the commitment to being obedient.

When we have that kind of obedience, we can, if you abide in me, if you abide in me, my words abide in you, you shall ask what it will, and it shall be done.

Jesus said that, John 15, 7.

And then I'm through.

Wisdom.

If God is a father, then he is infinitely wiser than we are, and we're right back to being submissive to his will because he knows what is best.

Can I get an amen?

Is that not good?

Now let me sum it up and close it.

Here it is.

What happens when you and I know, hey, that God is our Father?

Here it is.

He removes fear, it provides hope, it ends loneliness, it does away with selfishness, it provides infinite heavenly resources, and it demands obedience and it declares God's wisdom.

For God gives wisdom.

Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

Is that not good, church?

Woo! There's a lot in that word, I father, isn't there?

And here's the exciting thing.

It is secured the moment you give your life to Jesus Christ.

It is secure.

All those, hey, all those attributes are secure for you.

And that's good, folks.

So let me ask you, do you know him this morning?

There's two types of people here this morning.

Those that are a family of God, those that are family of the devil.

Now, if you're a family of God, there's another group.

There's two groups in that family.

There's those that have submitted their will to God's will, and there's some that are still doing their will.

And you're wondering why God's not moving in your life.

Let me just remind you again.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, sin in my heart, continuously, God will not hear me.

Psalm 66, 18.

You won't do it.

You won't do it.

So you got to get right too.

If you're lost, you need to get saved.

Remember what I said last week?

There's only one prayer that God will hear from those that are part of the family of the devil, and that's the prayer of salvation.

God be merciful to me a sinner.

Amen.

So I'm going to give you that opportunity right now, right where you are.

Right where you are to give your life, your heart.