The Lord's Prayer

It's so good to be here.

It's so good to be able to see you all, see the faces.

We've been going through a series on, well,

we unofficially called it the greatest hits of the Bible,

and we went on a greatest hits tour.

The reason why is we're here to get to know him more, right?

That's what we're here to do.

When we're trying to get to know him, we use this book.

But this book is a big book.

So what happens is we end up reducing it to some sound bites.

Things that we've heard before.

The Ten Commandments, something that we've heard before.

The Fruit of the Spirit, something we've heard before.

But sometimes when you just try and get to know someone using sound bites,

it's not really enough.

You don't really get to truly know them.

So we've been trying to go through this and go,

actually, why were those sound bites even sound bites?

Why are they so popular?

Why was the Ten Commandments so popular?

Why were the Beatitudes so popular?

Why was the whole armor of God so popular?

The idea was to look at that.

Let's zoom in and then let's zoom out and go,

actually, why was this passage important?

And what is it really trying to tell us about God?

And that's what we've been doing.

And what we've realized as we've gone through this whole series is,

man, life is bigger than us.

Life is so much bigger than us.

Jeremiah 29, for I know the plans I have for you,

was not really about us living happy, healthy lives.

That we were actually supposed to be in exile.

That we were saved from all of those things.

And so we see that life is just so much bigger than us.

But there was one that we actually have missed.

And this is the one that we're finishing off.

So we're doing a bit of a swivel here.

It's kind of the final one of the series.

But also it kickstarts us off into a new series.

And of course, it's the one that actually,

if there was a passage that really reminded us that life is bigger than us,

things are way bigger.

It's much more about us.

We're not the center of our universe, in case you didn't know that.

It's the one that actually probably is the most quoted passage in the whole of Scripture.

It's the one that actually,

even people who don't really go to church might actually know.

And of course, what is that one?

The Lord's Prayer.

The Lord's Prayer.

And what we're going to find out is,

actually, what is it about this Lord's Prayer that's so interesting?

Why do we all know it?

Why are there songs written about it?

And what's it actually trying to tell us?

So we're going to go through that.

And of course, my prayer is that as we look at this,

my family and I, we pray this prayer two times a day, three times a day.

And actually, you likely will actually know it.

I think Shum actually knows it in Cantonese, right,

as opposed to in English,

because it's just the way that you've been brought up with it.

What does that actually mean?

What's it actually trying to tell us?

So that's what we're going to do today.

We're going to unpack it.

There's two places where the Lord's Prayer really comes in.

Of course, it's actually almost incorrectly named the Lord's Prayer,

because it's not really the Lord's Prayer.

The Catholics call it Our Father.

Actually, I think that name is probably more appropriate.

It's the Our Father Prayer.

It's not really the Lord's Prayer,

because the Lord's Prayer is in John 17,

when actually Jesus prays himself to God.

This is the disciples' prayer.

This is Jesus teaching them how to pray.

And so we're going to go through that.

There's two places that it comes from.

I'm going to start with Luke 11,

and then I might jump into Matthew 6,

just for a little bit, just for different parts as well.

So, as always, can I invite you to stand for the word of the Lord?

Our Father, we stand as we listen to your word,

because we truly, truly understand how important this is,

that this truly does give us life.

And so we come before you and ask,

as we read this passage,

as we listen to this passage that we've heard so, so many times,

would you hit us around the head with it again in a fresh new way?

Would you take us deeper?

Would you take us deeper into your presence, Lord?

Luke 11.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place,

and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him,

Lord, teach us to pray,

as John taught his disciples.

And he said to them,

when you pray, say,

Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins.

For we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

So as you can see,

this one's a slightly shortened version.

The one in Matthew 6 on the Sermon on the Mount

is where he goes into a little bit more detail.

We'll kind of bounce around with a bit of both of them.

But what I wanted to start with,

which is the reason why I like this,

is it starts off because in the beginning of chapter 11,

his disciples go to him,

and they say,

Lord, teach us to pray.

That's interesting,

because the disciples didn't really ask that.

And there's some really interesting points

when it even came to that.

Lord, teach us to pray.

First thing.

Actually, they knew how to pray.

These were Jewish boys who had grown up in the system.

They knew how to pray.

Every day they would pray three times.

And they would know how to pray.

They would pray the Shema.

And they would pray out of duty,

out of discipline.

So actually, these boys knew how to pray.

They knew scripture.

And yet, they saw something in Jesus

where they were like,

this guy's doing something different.

So they weren't saying,

teach us how to pray,

because they actually knew how to pray.

What they were saying was,

teach us how to pray like you.

There's something different.

So that's the first observation.

Second observation is this.

Actually, they said,

teach us how to pray.

Actually, if you were hanging around Jesus,

would that be the thing that you ask him to teach?

They didn't ask him,

hey, Lord, teach us how to preach like you.

Man, you just killed it

with that sermon on the mount.

Took you three hours to get through the sermon,

but teach us how to preach.

Man, the way you healed that person.

They went from blind,

and now they can see.

Teach us how to heal.

Teach us how to cast out demons.

Teach us how to walk on water.

Teach us how to fly.

But they say, teach us how to pray.

Isn't that interesting?

There's something about that

that really piques my interest.

And maybe it's because,

actually, just a couple chapters before,

Luke 9,

Jesus takes a couple of them,

three of them, actually,

to go up to a mountain to pray.

And then his face starts glowing,

and then Elijah shows up,

and then Moses starts showing up.

So they're looking and going,

wow, I'm just used to praying

my three times a day prayer,

doing the usual stuff.

And it's kind of rote.

It's kind of like,

Thank you for this food.

Thank you for this.

Help us be good people.

Help us be healthy and happy.

Amen.

That's what we're praying.

But the way this guy prays,

Moses shows up.

His face starts glowing.

Or maybe it's in Luke 10,

just the chapter before,

where Jesus is saying,

Hey, the harvest is plentiful,

but the workers are few,

so pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest.

What does praying earnestly even mean?

I thought prayers are just reciting scripture.

So they go, teach us to pray.

Not to preach, not to heal,

not to cast out demons,

not to walk on water,

but teach us to pray.

And a final thought is this.

Actually, to even pray,

you have to learn to pray.

Those of you who have seen my family come back,

it's been nearly two months now

since you've seen them,

so you've seen Ruben kind of shoot up,

his voice drop.

These things are all happening,

and you see Micah fill out a little bit.

It's really cute.

If we were, so in England,

we were driving,

and actually anywhere outside of Hong Kong,

you drive for more than 30 minutes,

unless you're Hank and you live out in Saikong.

And so we were figuring out ways to entertain ourselves,

so we listened to this podcast called But Why?

And it's just questions that kids ask.

And one of the questions is,

why are babies so cute?

Or why is my baby so cute?

And the reason why they're so cute

is because they're biologically designed that way

to attract you in,

so that they can get your attention.

Why do they need your attention?

Why do they need your attention, Gabs?

So you would look after them,

protect them, provide for them.

Yes.

What else?

Why does a baby need your attention?

Why does a baby need our attention?

To copy you.

To imitate you.

To learn from you.

So currently, MJ's vocabulary is Angu.

Which is versatile.

It means a million things.

But eventually, he'll start developing new words.

Why?

Because he's copying from us.

And the whole point is that

when people who can speak

talk to a baby who cannot speak,

when they make a sound,

we're supposed to imitate them

to tell them that this is the sound that you're making

and this is how ridiculous you sound.

And then they start copying us.

Praying is really the same.

That we're actually supposed to learn how to pray.

If you're sat here going,

actually, I'm not really a prayer warrior.

There are some people who I know

who are true prayer warriors

who can pray for hours and pray for days.

I'm not one of those people.

I get bored after two minutes.

Well, we need to learn how to pray.

It's interesting because disciples say here,

they say,

hey, Jesus teaches us how to pray

as John taught his disciples.

So they looked and saw John the Baptist

and go, hey,

John was teaching them how to pray.

Can you teach us how to pray like you?

Because it's very clear to us

that you and John the Baptist

do something very different

to what we've grown up doing.

So can you show us how to do this?

Which brings me to another question

is actually who taught you to pray?

Have a think.

Was it your grandma?

Was it literally at the dinner table?

Tell the person next to you,

who taught you to pray?

Have a think.

I might ask a few of you.

I'm scouring.

Only a few more seconds.

Who taught you how to pray?

Oh, of course,

if you're here for the first time

and you don't pray at all,

that's completely fine too.

Right, okay.

Let's pick on some people.

Paul, let's go for you first.

Paul Roth,

who taught you how to pray?

I guess my parents,

but not in any.

Not formal way,

just listening to them

and so you hear them pray

and then so that's how

you've ended up kind of praying.

John C., what about you?

Who taught you to pray?

You're welcome.

Yep.

Often it's just the people

that we hear praying first, right?

And that's how we start

learning how to pray.

It's interesting

because one of my favorite people

in the world is Kenneth

and every time I pray with him,

he's kind of like,

oh, no, I don't want to pray.

It's just, I'm not good at this.

This is cool.

He's good at many other things,

but this isn't one of the things

he's confident with.

But then once he prays,

you're like, dude,

Gabs is the leader.

He's like, yes.

It's funny.

Mother Teresa was interviewed one time

and she was asked,

hey, when you pray,

what do you say to God?

And then she had the famous answer,

which was, I don't say anything.

And then the interviewer were like,

oh, okay, that's an interesting one.

And so then he, being very smart,

then just twisted it quickly

and just said, hey, well,

what does God say to you?

And she says, nothing.

And it's interesting

because prayer isn't really

just about presenting requests

and talking.

It's just about being together.

And it's interesting

because actually I think

who teaches us how to pray?

People growing up in this world,

in this city,

just the world,

just the culture.

What is praying is communicating.

And what we're seeing right now

is actually we see

a whole generation of people

being taught how to pray,

how to communicate

in a completely different way.

You've got young people

who are actually struggling

to actually have

face-to-face conversation

because the world is saying,

hey, you talk via technology.

And then, of course,

then you've got the young people

trying to teach old people

how to use technology.

We're all learning from somewhere,

but the problem with this world

is everything is so fast.

Everything is so distracting.

Everyone is so anxious.

Especially in a city like Hong Kong.

We've just spent a few weeks

in England

where things are just slow-paced.

Everything is slow.

Which actually makes it

much more conducive to prayer.

The moment I came back,

I started walking faster.

I started losing patience with people.

I started doing a million things.

And I was like,

man, it catches up with you.

The world is teaching me

how to pray,

but the world doesn't really

know how to pray.

But just before you go,

oh, well,

then what hope is there for us?

Actually,

there is comfort in this

because in chapter 11,

just before he starts to teach,

in chapter 10,

there's a fascinating interaction

where he's hanging out

with a few friends,

Mary and Martha.

And of course,

Mary is the one

who chooses to sit with Jesus.

Martha's the one

who's running around

doing a whole ton of things

and is getting a bit annoyed

at her sister.

And what then does Jesus say?

Jesus says,

Martha,

you are anxious

and you are troubled.

Mary has chosen the right thing,

the one thing.

And that's the important thing.

What is that important thing?

Being with me.

That,

brothers and sisters,

is prayer.

Just being with him.

You don't have to say anything.

And actually,

St. Teresa River Villa

is the one who said,

actually,

when it comes to prayer,

everyone is a beginner.

We're going to try

and learn that

in these next few weeks.

Actually,

this time last year,

we were just about

getting ready to move into it.

I had a picture pop up

on my phone.

It was a picture of me,

Trevor,

Francis,

and we were in

Kongfuk,

Far East Side,

dragging some chairs out.

We went down to the basement

and went around the side

like we were stealing stuff.

I guess we were

kind of stealing stuff.

And then,

it's been one year,

and I remember

when we started being here,

we went through

the series on Revelation

on the churches.

And one of the fears

that I have,

one of the biggest fears

I have when it comes

to church is this,

that it often feels

like a memorial service.

Do you remember me saying that?

It often feels like

we're all coming in here

to talk about a guy

who died 2,000 years ago.

He was a good guy,

and he was a nice guy,

so we're going to sing songs

about this guy.

But man,

it was sad because he died.

But we're all here

to remember him.

If you walk into

many church services

these days around the world,

that's how it feels sometimes.

I'm like, man,

that sucks.

Jesus died.

This is a memorial service.

But of course,

we said that's not true

because Jesus is alive,

and he's here right now,

and he's here with us.

That's what we actually believe.

So it's not a memorial service.

But then here's

the second problem.

We know he's alive,

so it's not a memorial service.

But imagine that actually

we're trying to be with him here,

but so often,

we forget that he's here.

Do you do that?

Do you turn up here

and go,

actually,

I'm here to meet with Jesus?

No, you don't.

You hear,

I'm here to hear Paul sing.

I'm here to hear someone speak.

And you forget.

Have you been to,

have you had a birthday party?

Have you ever gone

to a birthday party

where that person's birthday,

whose it is,

everyone forgets about them

and ignores them

and then just have a good time?

That's how,

sometimes that's what we do

with Jesus.

When we walk into church,

we're like,

yeah,

Jesus is alive.

But actually,

he's just going to hang out

in the corner

and none of us

are actually going to talk to him.

We're just going to spend

that time hanging out

with each other

and celebrating this guy,

but we're not actually

going to be talking to him.

That's a prayerless church.

That's a prayerless church.

That's my greatest fear,

that we walk in here,

that we actually can do

a whole church service

and completely ignore Jesus.

That's my greatest fear,

my greatest vision,

my greatest prayer,

is that we would come in here

and actually spend time with him,

that you don't come here

and just listen

to Paul's lovely voice

and that you don't come

and just have your ears

tickled by a sermon

that you find interesting

and insightful,

but you come here

and you meet the living God,

that you celebrate

the one who died

but is now alive.

So we're going to go

through this series on prayer

and just let me warn you.

There is no point

in me spending

the next few weeks

giving sermons about prayer

and then us just going,

cool story, bro.

We're going to go.

Can you see how stupid

that feels and sounds

when his children

gather together

and spend time

talking about him

and then leave

without ever talking to him?

Doesn't that just sound ridiculous?

So we're going to try.

I'm going to talk for a bit.

Today I'll talk for a bit longer

because we're going to go

to the Lord's Prayer

but for the coming weeks

we're going to go through

and actually have a look

at what prayer really means

and then we're actually

going to try it

because if we're going

to be a gathering,

a simple gathering

in a complex time,

we're going to try

and figure out

how to navigate this world.

We're going to try

and pray together

and it might be awkward

and you might be sat next

to someone who

is a little bit awkward

but we're going to do it anyway

because we're not here

for them necessarily.

We're here for him.

We're trying to go to him together

but of course,

we'll do a little bit

of the Lord's Prayer

first as well

but just recognize this.

This is important.

If you're just like,

oh, here we go,

a sermon on the Lord's Prayer,

I want to say,

this is so important.

Now, we still are struggling

for space here

but actually,

this is not the number

that interests me the most.

Do you know what number

interests me the most

when it comes to churches?

It's not how many people

attend on a Sunday

but it's how many people

turn up to a prayer meeting.

That's how you know

how healthy a church is.

Not by how many people

ram into a place

on a Sunday morning

but it's how many people

show up to a prayer meeting

on a Wednesday night

or on a Monday night

or on a Tuesday morning.

Only then

will you find out

who are the people

who actually really want

to spend time with him

and who are here

just to sing a few songs.

It's different.

So we're trying to figure

that out ourselves

and we're going to go through

the Lord's Prayer

and when it starts with this,

now Jesus was praying

in a certain place

and that's when the disciples

look at him and go,

man, he's doing it again.

Hey, go.

Go and ask him

what he's actually doing

and tell him to teach us.

He went to a certain place.

Made me think,

do you have a certain place

when you pray?

Does anyone have a certain place?

Do you have your spot

that you go to?

Do you have a thing

that you do when you pray?

John Mark Homer said

that actually when he prays,

he does this thing

where he faces east.

Not because of anything

other than he just tries

because that's where

the sun rises

and that's where,

prophetically,

that's where Jesus will return.

So he,

out of just using his body

to pray,

he faces east

because that just reminds him.

In university,

I used to pray.

I used to,

me in my room

and I would switch off

all the lights.

Regardless of what time it was,

it would be completely pitch black

and I would pray

completely in the dark

because I have such a busy mind.

I needed to completely

stop everything.

I remember Gabs told me

he used noise-canceling headphones

but he wouldn't even

have music in it.

He would just use it

just to cancel everything out

and he would have that time.

Do you have a certain place

when you pray?

If you're struggling with prayer,

maybe it's because

you don't have a certain place.

Maybe find a certain place.

Maybe there's a little nook

in your flat

that you can use.

Maybe it is

a place in your office.

Maybe it's that you come up here

and you find a corner here.

Have a certain place

because one of the things

that I've learned about prayer

is that you have to be consistent.

You have to be consistent

and each to their own.

Everyone can do it differently.

Christina and I,

we pray very differently.

There were many years

where actually I have to

completely shut off

all the lights,

draw the curtains

and completely be in a dark space

and only then

will I be able to pray.

Whereas Christina would be like,

oh, I pray all the time.

I pray when I'm walking,

I'm doing this,

I'm working.

It's different.

But do you have a certain place?

Do you have a certain thing?

And if you don't,

it's time to think about it.

And so he starts here

and they see him

and they go,

teach us how to pray.

And so then he says,

pray like this.

Now in the Matthew version,

he says, pray like this.

And in the Luke version,

he says, when you pray,

say this.

And it starts with this.

And the first thing it says

is our father.

Bear in mind here,

when Jesus is doing the prayer,

he's saying,

this is a template

on how to pray.

You don't have to pray

exactly like this.

You guys have grown up

praying three times a day,

reciting the Shema,

but this is how you can pray.

And it can be different.

It's a template.

It's a theological framework.

He's trying to show them

who God is.

Because when you know

who God is,

then you'll know

how to talk to him.

We all talk to different people

differently, right?

I was fascinated

how British people

are so good

at just talking.

We call it chin wagging.

You can just meet anyone,

anywhere,

mostly in queues,

because British people

like queuing.

And then you can just

strike up a conversation

with anyone in a queue

and you'll just talk

about anything and everything.

And afterwards,

you realize,

actually,

we haven't talked

about anything,

but we've just spent

half an hour

talking about whatever it is.

But there's a way.

There's a style.

They're so good at it.

That's what allows them

to stand in a pub

with a pint of beer

for hours doing it.

And of course,

you come to Hong Kong

in a cha chan teng,

you get spoken to

in a very different way

because you get told off

all the time.

But they love you.

But they'll tell you off.

You talk to different people

in different ways.

God talks to us

in different ways.

We have to find

our own way,

but it all starts with,

do you know

who God truly is?

Because who you think

God is

will reflect

how you pray to him.

Does that make sense?

Who you think God is

will reflect

how you pray to him.

And so Jesus says,

hey, when you pray,

if you want to learn from me,

you're going to pray like this.

Our Father.

Our Father.

Let's just go with

those two words first.

Our.

What is our?

You can copy me

if you want to.

Those great Chinese students.

Love it.

So you get our Father.

Our.

It means

when you learn to pray,

you do it together.

Who struggles

to pray on their own?

Can you just put a hand up?

And I'm putting my hand up

because I'm confessing this.

I find it hard

to pray on my own.

Does anyone else?

Put your hand up

if you struggle with this.

It's hard.

Because when you're praying

on your own,

you start going

into all these

different kinds of places

and suddenly your phone buzzes

because there are

multi-million dollar companies

giving people a lot of money,

the brightest minds

in the world,

to create apps

to get you addicted

to your phone

so you can always

keep looking at it

and stay on it.

And so I struggle

to pray on my own.

So I have to move

all the devices away.

But one of the best things

to do when we're learning

how to pray

is to do it together.

Our Father.

So when you pray,

you say,

Our Father.

There's a communal aspect

which is what we're going

to be trying to do

in here

in these next few weeks.

So if you are finding it hard

to pray on your own,

you're in good company

and we're here

to learn together.

And it says,

Our Father.

Of course,

if you've been around

church long enough,

you'll have been told,

hey, that word Father,

Abba Father,

is like Daddy.

It's like there's an intimacy

that comes with this.

And actually,

I would say that's half the story

because it's like

there's an intimacy.

It's kind of like you saying,

Daddy,

but it's a,

Daddy, I trust you.

Daddy, I obey you.

Our Father.

Now, this is where,

actually,

we have to pause for a second

because this is probably

the biggest hurdle

a lot of us have to jump through

because the way we perceive

our Father,

our earthly Father,

or even just any fatherly figure,

will affect how we relate

to our Heavenly Father.

So how,

what do you perceive

when you are talking to God?

Do you think,

do you see a king?

Do you see a king

who you're going,

approaching a throne

very sheepishly to?

Or do you see a tyrant

who you're just

absolutely petrified of

because you know

you've done some mistakes

and you don't want him

to find out

so you're being very sheepish?

Or do you treat him

like a genie?

Hey, I'm here to ask for things.

Our Father.

Unless we get to grips

of what that truly means,

it will affect our prayer life.

And so,

I'm not saying

that actually

we have to ignore

our own experiences

and our own perceptions

of a father.

We just have to be aware of them

and we have to recognize

who God is.

And recognizing this prayer

is trying to show us

who he is.

This whole book

is trying to show us

who he is.

And we have to be open

that it might be different

to our experience

of our earthly father.

Our Father in Heaven.

What's your relationship

like with Father?

Because how you know him

will affect

how you speak to him.

Does that make sense?

This is pretty simple stuff,

but I feel as though

unless we get to grips of that,

we won't be able

to truly pray properly.

And so he says,

Our Father in Heaven.

And the word heaven

jumps out to me

and it's already

just supernatural.

It's somewhere else.

It's in a far distance.

If anything,

that's a good thing

because it tells me

that actually,

I had a good friend

growing up who said,

Oh, actually,

Jesus is like my best friend.

And I just hang out with him.

And so when I pray,

it's kind of like me

just talking to a best friend.

We're waiting in line,

queuing up to buy a subway

and I'm just going to talk to him.

And there's good stuff with that.

There's an intimacy with that

that I just really loved.

But you know what

that really lacked?

Reverence.

That's like,

Oh, Jesus is your best friend.

Jesus is just hanging out with you.

He's just at your level.

He is not at your level.

He is not at our level.

There is a reverence

that we have to look at God

and just enlarge our view

of who God is

and like,

Man,

the fact that I'm even talking to you

is nuts.

I should not be allowed

to talk to you at all.

And yet here I am.

Our Father in heaven.

So one,

he's in a distance,

but actually the word there,

some commentators say

is actually our Father

in the heavens,

which was implying

back in those days

just the air itself,

just the atmosphere,

that he is closer to you

than you even realized.

Again,

this should fill you

with a different kind of reverence,

a different kind of awe.

And then,

Man,

I can't just say

the same thing to you

every time

because you are right here.

You are closer to me

than the air I even breathe.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Who's used the word hallow

in the last year?

I did actually

because my son has just started,

because when we were in England,

he found my collection

of Harry Potter books.

Yes, Aidan,

you know,

the Deathly Hallows

are split into two movies.

What does the word hallow even mean?

Juju,

you're good English.

What does the word hallowed mean?

I don't actually know.

You don't actually know.

Hallowed.

Does anyone know

what the word hallowed means?

Who's,

huh?

Yes,

holy.

What does holy mean?

Set apart.

It means different.

It's like,

our Father,

our Father

in heavens,

in the air,

in the atmosphere,

in the distance,

you're different.

Man,

you're so different.

In fact,

I can't truly understand

who you are.

You are nothing like this world

has ever seen.

Hallowed

be your name.

Can you see

the humility

that that should fill you with

from the beginning?

Does that impact your prayer?

Or do we,

or do we end up

just sliding into this

because kind of

casual,

our Father in heaven,

bless his food,

bless his time,

let us have healthy bodies.

in Jesus' name,

amen.

Our Father

in heaven,

hallowed be

your name.

And then it says,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

This is the part

that really starts

to hammer home

that life is much

bigger than us.

When you say,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

what you're saying

is this,

hey,

actually,

your kingdom is coming.

It's not quite here yet.

Theologians call that

the already,

but not yet.

You look around the world

and you see the brokenness

and you're like,

man,

God's will is not being done

fully right now.

Some of it is,

but some of it

is definitely not.

And what we're praying for is,

Lord,

your kingdom come

and your will be done.

Your will be done.

There's a humility

that you're filled with

right now.

There's a humility

because you're just like,

oh,

it's not my will.

This prayer is about

dying to self

is what Richard Foster says.

This prayer is about saying,

God,

it's not even my will.

I may want this job.

I may want this spouse.

I may want to move here.

I may want to do that.

But first and foremost,

I want your kingdom to come.

I want your will to be done.

And that's on a macro level,

the wars that are going on

in the whole world.

And it's on a micro level today.

Lord,

when I go to work,

when I deal with my boss,

I want your kingdom to come.

I want your will to be done.

And maybe at this point,

I want to share with you

a little story about

just our dear brother,

Aaron.

I know that some of you

know about this

and it only happened

a few days ago

and it happened very,

very quickly.

But I want to share this story

because it's such an inspiration.

I've had his permission

to share it.

And as a community,

I want us to pray for him

and with him

like the way that they're praying.

A couple of days,

just before we flew back,

we got news that Aaron,

our dear brother,

you may recognize him.

He's the tall,

white,

bold guy.

I guess it's the only way

if you don't know him.

He's here.

Of course,

him,

Rebecca,

Sam and Bella

have been dear,

dear friends

to us this last year.

They're on the mission

with us in Young Life.

And a few days ago,

Aaron found out,

well,

he's been having headaches,

like serious headaches

this last month or so.

So they went to the doctors

and finally they found out

that actually he had

a blood clot in his brain

that he still has right now.

He's in the hospital right now,

though Lord willing,

he will leave today.

They then found out

that actually he has something

called,

I'm going to try

and say this right,

doctors don't judge me,

polysynthemic vera.

Did I get that?

I'm just looking at Trevor

because I feel as though

he knows you represent

all doctors to me

in this world.

Polysynthemic vera,

which is a form

of chronic leukemia,

which is actually

a form of blood cancer.

And they found out

a few days ago about this,

which is basically

his body just creates

too many red blood cells,

which causes it

to be too thick.

And so actually

that's what's causing

the blood clots,

which actually,

when treated is okay.

If untreated,

it's dangerous,

I believe.

But with treatment,

he's actually okay.

He's still going to be able

to live a normal,

fruitful life

just with treatment.

And when we were talking

to him,

man,

I actually know what

the prayer that he had,

him and Rebecca,

they shared with us.

He's like,

you know what,

what we've been praying,

the prayer,

the only prayer

that we've been praying

is that God

would be glorified

in all of this.

That God would be glorified

in all of this.

And he's been reflecting

and he asked me

to share this with you guys

and he's been reflecting

on Psalm 139,

that he is fearfully

and wonderfully made,

that actually God knew

about this from the moment

he was born

and he's choosing

to let it happen till now,

so may God use it

for his purpose.

Man,

that's a your kingdom come,

your will be done prayer.

Because so often

when we have illnesses,

ours is just,

Lord,

can you just heal us

of our comfort?

Can I just get better

from this cold?

Like,

can I just test negative

on the COVID stick?

Just please,

that's all I want.

But the real prayer is,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

Jesus models this prayer

to us in the Garden

of Gethsemane

because he's like,

God,

what I'm about to suffer,

I don't really,

I'm not really a big fan of,

I'm not really that excited

and thrilled

about going on a cross

and being nailed

in my wrists

and being crucified.

So if you could take

this cup of suffering

away from me,

that'll be great.

great,

but your will be done.

He humbles himself.

That's the prayer.

But that's,

of course,

a very hard,

painful prayer to have.

But it's when you look

at this broken world

and you go,

God,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

When you hear the news

about Ukraine,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

When you hear about

the heartbreak

that you see in your life

and your loved ones,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

And so we're praying,

Lord,

would you heal this?

Would you restore

this world?

But ultimately,

we're asking that

actually your thoughts

are higher,

your ways are higher,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

And then it says this,

give us this day

our daily bread.

Give us this day

our daily bread.

Martin Luther calls this

the social dimension

of the kingdom of God.

You cannot pray this line,

give us this day

our daily bread

and not be a generous person.

You cannot.

You cannot go,

God,

give us this day

our daily bread

and then you're sat

next to someone

who actually is hungry.

You cannot do that.

It is impossible.

You can't,

well,

you can,

you can compartmentalize,

which guys are very good at,

but completely ignore

this issue.

But you cannot

with absolute conscience

pray this prayer

and not help those

who are in need.

Give us this day

our daily bread.

And of course,

what if this is an ode to?

This is an ode to Exodus.

When the Israelites

were wandering

in the wilderness

and they had no food

to eat in the desert

and then what does God do?

Gives them manna

every day.

What's that trying

to tell the Israelites?

I am the one

who provides.

I got you

and you need me

every day.

Not just once

and you're done,

which so often

many of us do

when we pray,

God,

can you help me with this?

Get me the job

that I need

because I need money

to pay rent

to live in this city

so I can keep enjoying

the life of the city

and then I get the job

and I'm done.

I'll see you next year

until I lose my job

and then we'll start

praying again.

Give us this day

our daily bread.

Give us.

That's the social dimension.

You know what

you're praying here?

You're praying

for justice.

What is justice?

It's for human society

to be flourishing

on all accounts.

You're praying

for an economy

to be good.

You're praying

for there to be

employment opportunities

for people.

You're praying

for people

to be able

to flourish

and for you

to have a role

in that.

Give us this day

our daily.

Every day we come

to you,

we recognize

that we only have

what we have

because of you.

Give us this day

our daily bread.

But we're in,

I mean,

I'm so glad we're back.

Why?

Because the food,

the food,

in England,

potatoes.

There's lots of potatoes.

We were with Ken

and Jess at a food court

the other day

and I was just like,

oh,

I nearly cried inside.

Oh,

pepper lunch,

I missed you so much.

Pepper lunch,

we came back

and we had

tam jai,

genki,

and pepper lunch.

We're a simple family,

don't judge.

But actually,

that makes it hard.

Why should we ask God

give us this day

our daily bread

when we can just

use Food Panda

and get whatever food

that we need?

Give us this day

our daily bread.

Reminds me of

Proverbs 30.

Lord,

don't give me poverty

and don't give me riches

lest I deny you

and forget you.

Just give me

just enough.

Give me just enough

because when I have

too much,

I've had this happen.

When you have too much,

you're not grateful

for anything.

Actually,

this happens all the time

in Hong Kong.

We have so much food,

we're like,

oh,

it's so hard to choose.

Do you know

how ridiculous that sounds?

Oh,

it's just so hard

to choose what food to eat.

All this good food.

Whereas in England,

you have Wetherspoons

And Nando's!

And Greg's,

which now cost

like five pounds

to eat.

Lord,

give us just enough

so that we would rely

on just you

and only you.

Give us this day

our daily bread.

And forgive us

our trespasses

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

We're not going to spend

enough time on this,

but can I just say

this is so,

so,

so important.

The version in Matthew,

Jesus comes back around

after teaching this prayer

and says,

hey,

you may have just got lost

in my sermon

teaching you how to pray,

but I just wanted

to highlight once again,

this is the moment

where,

you know,

the lecturer goes,

hey,

if you forget everything else,

remember this line.

Forgiveness.

Because if you have

any forgiveness

in your heart,

you won't be forgiven.

What does that mean?

Unforgiveness

is disconnection.

He's saying,

hey,

if you choose

to be disconnected

from someone else

because they wronged you

somehow,

some way,

and you're bitter

and you're resentful

and you don't want

to hang out with them,

whew,

you've just missed

the gospel

because actually,

you have sinned,

you have not done right

by God

and actually,

he forgave you.

He didn't turn his back

on you.

So by you turning

your back on them

actually disqualifies

you from connecting

with him.

This is,

the consequences

are dire

if we don't take heed

this line.

Forgive those

who trespass against us

and we've got to say

that from the bottom

of our hearts.

Is there any unforgiveness

that I don't have,

that I have?

Is there anyone

that I haven't forgiven yet?

Is there anyone

that I'm bitter

and resentful about

man,

I need to let that go

because unless you

let go of that bitterness,

you won't be able

to receive forgiveness.

Unless you let go

of that bitterness,

you won't be able

to receive forgiveness.

Let me say this

one more time

because I am certain

there are people in here

who still have bitterness

in their hearts.

If unless you let go

of that bitterness,

you won't be able

to receive forgiveness.

It is that important.

Forgive others

as you have forgiven us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

What's that saying?

That's saying,

God,

we are so weak.

We are so weak

against the powers

that we're facing.

Johnny preached

the whole armor of God, right?

What we're facing

in this world

is not just what we see.

It's what we don't see

and we are powerless

against it.

But we're saying,

God,

lead us away

from that temptation.

Save us from ourselves.

Jesus later

actually says this prayer

as he tells his disciples

to say this in the garden

and say,

hey,

you guys are falling asleep.

You're not understanding

the communication

that you need to have

with God

to have that connection.

Pray that he would

lead you from temptation

and deliver you from evil.

Again,

it's the humility here

that we're talking about.

Do we have that kind of humility

when we talk to God

or are we kind of like,

God,

okay,

so,

hey God,

sorry we haven't spoken

for a while

but I need a couple

of things from you.

I need this,

this,

and this

and I would love

for some sunshine

because we're about

to go on a boat trip

so sunshine will be great

for that please

and I'll see you soon

but don't come back to me

until you've done these things.

This prayer,

this theological framework,

this template

has none of that.

This prayer reminds us

it is so much bigger than us.

It is so much bigger

and we are so much weaker

than we ever realized.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us

from the evil one.

Some of you are like,

okay,

this prayer is too intense,

it's too real.

Here's the thing,

don't not pray

just because you feel

you're too weak.

Pray because you're weak

is what it's saying.

Pray because you're weak.

If you feel as though

you are too far from God,

you are perfectly qualified

to pray.

You're saying,

God,

lead me not into temptation,

deliver me from evil

because I cannot deliver myself.

I cannot lead myself

and the scripture

that Paul read for us

at the beginning,

Psalm 23,

the Lord is my shepherd.

The Lord is the one

who's going to guide me.

I am a stupid sheep

and I keep getting lost

in the thicket.

I keep losing my way

but Lord,

you are my shepherd.

I shall not want.

Can you lead me

to the green pastures

because I'm not in the green pastures

right now.

Would you restore my soul?

Would you lead me

on the path of righteousness?

Why?

Because actually,

you prepare a table for me

in the presence of my enemies

which is actually

those enemies,

those things,

those distractions,

those lies

that I have no power against,

you are not afraid of.

You actually invite me

to the table

with them all around us

and you're saying,

hey,

don't worry about those.

Come and sit with me.

Those things

that are trying to pull you down

have no power against you

when you're with me.

That's what it's trying to say here.

And can we pray that prayer

with humility?

And again,

Richard Foster said,

this prayer,

this prayer is the death

to self prayer.

This prayer is when we lay down

our lives and go,

actually,

your will be done.

Only you are different.

So give us this day

our daily bread.

That's all I need.

Nothing more,

nothing less.

I just need you.

Help me forgive those

that have wronged me.

Because I have wronged you

and you forgave me.

Can you see?

What Jesus is teaching them

is so different

to what they were praying

and what we pray

so often.

It must have blown their minds,

which is why

when they saw him praying,

they go,

man,

we want some of that.

We want some of that

kind of prayer.

My prayer is this,

that this would be

a house of prayer.

Jesus takes prayer

very seriously.

Now,

on the most part,

Jesus was a pretty friendly,

nice guy.

The children would flock to him

and he would have a good time

with them.

But there's one scene

in Luke 19 later

where he walks into a temple

and he just goes berserk

because people have turned

the temple

into just a marketplace.

And what does he say?

My father says,

my house will be

a house of prayer,

but you've turned it

into a den of thieves.

Now,

I don't think we've turned

this into a den of thieves

right now.

I think we're here

all with good intentions.

But I'm like,

my theory is sometimes

we turn up

to a memorial service.

Sometimes we turn up

to a birthday party,

but we've forgotten

whose birthday it is.

We're just here to hang out

and have fun.

We're here to meet friends.

We're here to meet spouses.

We're here to hang out

and do interest groups together

and drink wine

and wrestle.

Which are all okay things,

by the way.

But to pray.

But to pray.

Are we prepared

to pray this prayer

that causes us

to die to ourselves

and say,

God,

you are so much bigger.

It doesn't matter

how I feel about my job.

It doesn't matter

how I feel about my boss.

It doesn't matter

how I feel about

my personal circumstances.

I'm here to pray this prayer

because this is the prayer

that you prayed.

That you didn't care

about yourself either,

but you cared about us

and you said

your will be done.

Even as you were

sweating blood,

knowing what was about

to happen to you,

you prayed this prayer

so that we

would have life in you.

Are we willing

to pray that prayer?

And here's the thing.

When we are prepared

for that

and when we start

praying that,

yes,

we will die to ourselves

but then we will also

be raised to life

in him.

Romans 8 says this,

provided we are willing

to suffer with him,

we will be glorified

with him.

So only when you die

to yourself

will you have the life

to the full

is what it's saying.

That's the secret.

The moment you die

to yourself

is when you come to life.

That's what this prayer

is saying.

Of course,

we then have the final bit

which is the glory

and honor and praise

and then in Jesus' name.

Of course,

Jesus doesn't pray

that bit.

That's something

that maybe the early

church fathers added in

just to kind of

wrap up the prayer