Luke 11:1-4 - First Things First

In our journey through the Gospel of Luke,

we've slowed down for Jesus to teach us to pray

using the beautiful words of the Lord's Prayer

that James just sang.

I recall that last week as Jesus started that,

He did so by telling us to pray to our Father.

That our miraculous, incredible relationship

that we have with the person to whom we are praying

is really what's at the heart of a life of prayer.

God has adopted us into His family.

He invites us therefore always, anytime, into His presence.

He loves us.

He's interested in our hearts, not merely our words.

And we're gonna see that again this morning.

As we run and jump in our Father's lap

to talk with Him and listen to Him,

Jesus now begins directing us

in what should be on our hearts to ask Him

as we talk to Him.

Let's read again this portion of God's inerrant Word.

Luke 11 at verse 1.

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.

Let's pray.

Father, we do pray these things.

We've said them already.

We've sung them.

We've heard them sung.

Would You make them not just words

that often are on our lips,

but Father, as You work by Your Spirit

among us this morning,

make them true in our hearts

that these would be the things

that we treasure,

that we value,

that we long for.

And then may we pray them more.

Teach us, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.

If your prayers are anything like mine,

often are,

they could probably be compared

to Christmas shopping lists.

You've made them before.

I need help.

I need to get some healing for them,

wisdom for him,

patience for her,

provision for them.

The list goes on and on.

All of the things that we need to get.

The natural tendency of our hearts

in prayer is for our prayers

to be about things that we need, right?

And I think our Heavenly Father

is not frustrated by that at all.

That we're bringing the needs

of our hearts to Him.

He loves that.

He wants to hear them.

So He doesn't want to drive us away

in those moments,

but rather what He wants

is to help us see even deeper needs,

things that we truly, truly need

that we may not even know to ask for.

We know that in general,

out of the overflow of the heart,

the mouth speaks.

And that's true in prayer too,

that what's in our heart

is what comes out when we pray.

Prayer is not merely words

coming out of our mouths,

but actually longings

coming out of our hearts.

We pray for things

that we deeply desire, right?

That's why we're praying.

And so we get this morning

to what are called

the petitions of the Lord's Prayer.

The things that we ask for

when Jesus teaches us to pray.

And we find out that Jesus is shaping

not merely our prayers,

not just trying to put some words

on our lips,

but really our priorities.

The passions of our hearts,

Jesus wants to shape with these.

God our Father desires to give us

the desires of our hearts.

And He wants our hearts shaped

to delight in the things

that delight Him

that are also what's good for us.

Isn't that amazing?

That He's that gracious and glorious,

that the things that we're most

supposed to long for

are the things that delight Him

also are the things we really need.

This morning we're gonna look

at the first two petitions.

Hallowed be your name

and your kingdom come.

Where does Jesus start

as we bring our needs to our Father?

As He says,

pray like this.

What is it we're supposed to pray for?

What's most on the heart of Jesus?

Maybe not the things

that make most of our Christmas lists.

He starts with the glory of God's name

and the coming of God's kingdom.

kingdom.

Both God-focused requests, right?

Your name.

Your kingdom.

We know that these things

are to be priorities for us.

That's not new information

here in the Lord's Prayer.

All the way back to Psalm 115.

Not to us, O Lord.

Not to us,

but to your name give glory

for your steadfast love

and your faithfulness.

In fact, Matthew 6, verse 33,

Matthew 6:33

Jesus says,

Seek first the kingdom of God

and His righteousness

and all these things

will be added to you.

We're supposed to be,

as Ron has led us already,

about the glory of God,

the kingdom of God.

That's what it's about.

These are to be our priorities.

And so if those things

are our priorities,

it will change what we ask for

in prayer.

And also, in many cases,

we'll still bring the same

particular needs to God

and find it will just change

how we pray

for the things

that we're already praying for.

A loved one has cancer

and you pray for healing, right?

Anything else?

Your marriage is struggling

and you pray for restoration.

Anything else?

Kids, you may have this other kid

at school,

maybe someone in your class

who's just being unkind to you

over and over

and it's really starting to bother you

and you pray that you will grow up

to be bigger and stronger

so you can beat him up.

Anything else you would pray?

I hope so.

Well, we have needs.

We bring them to our Father

but these priorities

are going to shape

the way we pray

for everything.

We're gonna come back

to all three of those situations

and think practically

about how we pray

the way Jesus teaches us.

But first, let's look at

each of the two petitions briefly.

What priorities is Jesus

teaching us to have

as we pray?

The first one

is God's name.

Hallowed be your name.

Father,

hallowed be your name.

Some of you have great names.

Others of us

regularly get mail

addressed to Mr. Stink.

It's not funny.

You shouldn't laugh

at people who go through this.

It's really discouraging

actually, right?

Now, nine out of ten of them

it's junk mail.

Because if you don't care enough

to know my name

or at least know

that it's not Stink,

then probably we don't have

a deep personal relationship.

It's probably an indication

the way you think about my name

whether or not you're caring

for me personally.

If you don't know my name

you're not really concerned

about me usually, right?

Because what's our name?

It represents something

more than that, doesn't it?

It's our person.

It's our character.

Our reputation perhaps.

And we're very concerned

about protecting our good name,

aren't we?

Especially if you have one.

About having a good reputation

with people.

All the way back

to the Tower of Babel

people have been seeking

to make a name for themselves,

to bring glory to themselves,

to be great and mighty.

We're pretty passionate

about our names.

I'm not sure many of us

are equally passionate

about the name of God,

about His glory.

We may know the Reformation mantra,

soli Deo gloria.

You may even know

what those Latin words mean.

To God alone, the glory.

But we often live with our glory

at the front of our minds,

don't we?

Our reputations need to be protected.

Our honor needs to be defended.

But Jesus says,

pray, Father,

hallowed be Your name.

Not what will people think of me,

but what do people say of Yahweh,

the God and King of all?

Hallowed is one of those words

that we don't use a lot these days.

At least I don't.

Maybe you do.

I remember when I was a kid,

first of all,

I thought it was hollow.

And I didn't really understand

what it meant for a name

to be hollow.

And then for many years,

I thought it was connected

to Halloween.

And so Halloween

and the Lord's Prayer

were really connected in my mind.

Kids, I suspect some of you

may have made that same connection.

And you may not know

what it means to pray,

hallowed be Your name.

So if it connects to Halloween for you,

let me see if I can help a little bit

so you can remember.

What's Halloween about?

You know.

Candy.

You getting candy.

Okay?

Hallowed is different.

Hallowed is not about

you getting candy.

It's about God getting glory.

Not candy.

God doesn't need candy.

Glory.

God getting glory.

In other words,

it's saying that God is special

and worthy of all of our praise.

That He is absolutely unique.

For God's name to be hallowed

means He's honored as holy

and worthy and glorious

beyond anyone else.

Completely set apart.

And you may be thinking,

but isn't God already holy

and worthy in all of those things?

Yes.

He is.

And what we're praying for

when we say this

is that more and more

He would be honored as such.

Recognized as such.

More and more in this world.

Puritan Thomas Watson

goes through a list

of those who dishonor

the name of God.

The God who's uniquely holy

and the only true God.

And Watson writes a paragraph

about Muslims.

He writes a paragraph

about Jews.

He writes a paragraph

about Catholics.

And then He writes multiple pages

about Protestants.

His own people.

And how we dishonor

the name of God.

Fail to hallow His name.

And we do it with our lips,

He says,

in speaking God's name

carelessly or irreverently.

I mean, after all,

doesn't everyone these days?

We can even do it

in Facebook shorthand.

We can,

there's a lot of ways

that we can throw

God's name around,

but we'd never stand

for someone to treat

our names carelessly

and disparagingly.

More often though,

that's not the deepest issue.

The issue is even more serious

in our lives.

Because remember,

it's not just a name, right?

It's not just the letters

and the word that they spell.

It's the person

that that name represents.

Our Father.

God Himself.

Because God's name

is about His entire person,

Watson says,

we fail to hallow it

when we fail to acknowledge God

before others.

When we fail in our lives

to trust Him

to provide for us

as a good father would,

we're not hallowing His name.

When we fail to praise Him

for good gifts

that He's given us,

all of these ways

where we fail to acknowledge

God's unique greatness,

we fail to hallow His name.

So when we pray

for God's name to be hallowed,

we pray that in our hearts

and in our lives,

God's glory would be

our first priority.

In the second petition,

Jesus teaches us

another priority.

Again, it's focused on God.

Your kingdom come.

And in the same way,

just as God's name

is already holy

but it's not honored as such

all the time,

so God is the king.

There's no question about it.

God is the king

but His reign is not evident

everywhere, is it?

Think back to the book of Judges

all the way back

in the Old Testament.

Time after time,

it says there was no king

in Israel

and what happened

as a result of that?

Everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

Sadly, what was right

in their own eyes

led to all sorts

of horrific acts.

The same is true today

when God's not honored

as king.

Where the reign

of the true king

is not evident,

where we and those

around us

like the Israelites

deny God's authority

and reject His rule.

Ron said earlier

as he was leading us

in confession,

we saw this happening

in the awful,

heartbreaking events

in Charlottesville

this weekend.

Listen,

there is but one king.

There is one God

who has the supremacy,

Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

He alone has supremacy,

not white people.

And when He is seated

on His throne,

when that king

is on the throne,

people from every race,

every tribe and tongue

and people and nation

gather together

to worship Him.

Amen?

That's the good news

of the gospel.

Any other group

claiming supremacy,

setting themselves up

above others,

is in rebellion

against the true king.

And any individual,

me,

or you,

who is

pursuing his own desires

and his own plans

instead of God's laws

and decrees,

is in rebellion

against the true king.

Luke has shown us

repeatedly

that the kingdom comes

in the person

of Jesus.

In word

and in deed.

Over and over again,

we've read it, right?

We've seen it happen

as Jesus shows up.

When faith in Him

displaces unbelief,

when the light

of His presence

drives out darkness

and demons,

when His salvation

is proclaimed

and His power

is displayed,

Jesus and His disciples

say,

the kingdom of God

has come upon you.

The kingdom of God

is at hand.

In Matthew's gospel,

we get further explanation

of this petition

for God's kingdom

to come.

Jesus adds,

Your will be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

Jesus taught

often on prayer

so it shouldn't

surprise us

that these passages

in Matthew and Luke

look a little different.

They're clearly

from different times

in Jesus' ministry.

There's slight differences there.

Matthew usually

includes a little bit more

in His account

here in the Lord's Prayer.

But that helpful

explanation

of

Thy kingdom come

meaning Thy will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven

helps us understand

that God's

kingdom coming

involves

His rule

being more

and more evident

as we follow

His will

more and more

faithfully

here on earth.

That's what it means

for His kingdom

to come.

Warren Wiersbe

says this

really helpfully

I think.

the purpose of prayer

is not to get

man's will

done in heaven

as we often

think it is

right?

But to get

God's will

done

on earth.

In other words

not to get

God on our agenda

here's the things

you need to be doing

God

but to get us

on God's agenda

to have our hearts

redirected

toward God's

priorities

toward a kingdom

of justice

and righteousness

and peace

that He's the

King of

where every person

flourishes the way

God created them

to and fills

the earth with

His glory

the way He

always designed.

When we pray

for God's kingdom

to come

in the words

of our catechism

we pray for

Satan's kingdom

to be destroyed

and the kingdom

of grace

to be advanced.

That prayer

is a declaration

of war.

A declaration

of war

on Satan

and his kingdom.

As Pastor Eugene

Peterson says

it's a subversive

activity

that involves

a more or less

open act of

defiance

against any claim

by the current

regime.

Prayer's not

passive

is it?

You can feel

that way

sometimes

it's not

true at all.

It's actually

featured in the

armor of God

passage

about our

spiritual warfare.

Prayer is how

we fight.

So Samuel

Chadwick

says the devil

laughs at our

toil when we

work hard.

He mocks at our

wisdom when we

think we can

out think him.

but he trembles

when we pray.

Do you believe

that?

Does getting

down on your

knees feel

like taking

out your

sword?

You tapping

into something

powerful?

Are you fighting

for the kingdom

when you pray?

Let me just

speak my heart

to you for

just a minute.

I hope

Lord willing

to be here

with you all

for a long

time.

And it's not

just because I

enjoy hanging

out with you.

It's not just

because I want

the years to

pass and us

to make

memories together

and build

big houses

and all of

that.

Although I do

love making

memories.

It's a lot

of fun.

Listen,

here's why I

want to be

here.

I want to

storm the

gates of hell

with you.

I want to be

about something

bigger than

just me and

seeing if I

can make it

through for a

little while and

if we can be a

little happier

than we were

yesterday.

I want to see

the gates of

hell stormed.

Souls who are

facing certain

death brought

back to

everlasting life.

To see broken

and hurting

people in

these pews

and in those

streets to

experience the

healing and

the peace of

God.

To see our

city transformed

one relationship,

one system and

situation,

at a time,

to be a

place where

justice and

righteousness

rule and are

evident everywhere.

I want to see

our kids grow up

in a community

of brothers and

sisters and

friends and

neighbors that

are teaching

them, pointing

them to Jesus,

teaching them to

pour their lives

out for each

other, not just

to live for

themselves.

I want to see

this sanctuary

full of rich

and poor and

black and white

and young and

old because all

of those things

are a taste of

God's eternal

kingdom.

I want to have

that with y'all.

And I'm more and

more convinced that

there's one thing

more than anything

else that we need

to be doing if

that's our passion

and if that's what

we want to

experience.

If we're going to

advance the kingdom

of God, our vision

tells us that's what

we're here for, we

must fervently pray.

And that may seem

strange to some of

you.

Of all the things

that we could be

doing, we must pray

individually and

corporately.

Day and night, in

the prayer room, in

the hallways, with

our neighbors, with

our coworkers, we

must pray because of

this because God is

the one who advances

his kingdom.

Wow, that was

profound.

Like you didn't know

that, right?

Who's the king?

Who's the one that

moves the kingdom

forward?

He is.

Francis Schaeffer

used to always say,

we don't advance

God's kingdom.

God is building his

kingdom and we are

praying for the

privilege of being

involved.

And he delights to

use us in that, to

allow us to be

a part of it.

He's building his

kingdom.

So the first thing we

can do is to pray and

to plead to see it

happen.

It's why we say in our

core commitments as a

church that we don't

just pray for the work

of the church, prayer is

the work of the church

because it's weak people

prevailing upon the one

strong person we have,

our strong father, to do

mighty things in us and

through us and in spite of

us because he's at work.

See, the church of Jesus

Christ is the beachhead of

the kingdom.

It's where it begins and

from which it does all of

its work moving forward.

It's the place where the

king is trusted, where his

grace and his power are to

be demonstrated and where

all other kingdoms,

including my personal one

where I'd like to build my

own things and Satan's

competing one, all of

those other kingdoms are

demolished.

So if you want to storm the

gates of hell, if you want

to be about something as

exciting and as big as

that, you're in the right

place.

Connect to the church.

Support the church.

Remember, because of the

might of her king, let's be

really clear where the

strength comes from.

Because of the greatness of

Jesus, the gates of hell

will not prevail against

whom?

The church.

We will storm the gates of

hell and so to do so, we

take out our swords and we

kneel down and pray,

Thy kingdom come.

And Satan trembles.

And God moves and he conquers

our hearts and our city and

our world and you don't

recognize any of us or any of

it when he gets through.

That seems like a lot to pray

for.

It is.

I need to remind you who we're

praying to.

Our father, the one we started

this prayer with last week, is

the king over all kings.

He is the king of kings.

Thou art coming to a king.

Large petitions with thee

bring.

For his grace and power are such

none can ever ask too much.

That's John Newton.

Amazing grace.

See, God-centered priorities

change what we pray about.

They lift our eyes beyond our

petty preferences and our

personal gripes to long for

his glory and desire his

kingdom.

To pray for faith to come in

our most hated enemies.

To pray for healing in the most

hopeless cases.

To pray for justice in the most

evil situations.

That's why this prayer guide we've

started printing and emailing to

you every week.

It always starts on the first

page with prayers that are for

the advancement of God's kingdom

in our church and around the

world with our ministry partners.

To help us remember the priority

of praying big picture and for

kingdom movement everywhere.

Everywhere.

We don't want to miss the

priority of those prayers.

It changes what we pray for.

But what's even more exciting to

me, what God's been teaching me so

much in the last few months, is

that this priority changes how we

pray for the things we're already

praying for.

Let's go back to those examples we

had earlier.

If you look on the second page of

this where we put some of our

specific needs, I know you're not

holding it right now, but if you

look on it sometime, you'll see

particular things like pray for

Mike Stanfield as he undergoes

stem cell treatment this week for

his cancer.

Pray for Mike.

Sure, sure, I'll pray for Mike.

Pray what for Mike?

This is shorthand.

Pray for Mike Stanfield.

If our priorities are God and his

glory and his kingdom, what do we

pray for Mike?

I talked with Mike this week before

he went in for his treatment, and it

won't surprise those of you who know

him to know that he's praying for

healing.

He wants healing from this cancer.

But what he asked me particularly to

pray for was that he would learn more

of who God is in the midst of this

situation and God's daily fatherly

care for him.

And then he said, pray that others

would be impacted for Christ and for

his kingdom as I undergo this treatment.

Do you see how God-centered priorities

make a difference in how we pray for

those things?

Mike is asking for the name of God,

for the kingdom of God to be promoted

even through this difficulty he didn't

ask for.

Hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come in my cancer,

in my struggling marriage.

How about that?

How do you pray for that one?

Do you just pray God fix him or fix her

or fix us because this is miserable?

And I want us to stay together?

Or could we pray, Father, how are you

teaching me to trust you more in this

difficult relationship?

Father, please give us forgiveness for

each other.

Not just so our life is better.

Not just so our kids can be happy.

But because it's about your glory.

So your glory is on display as we forgive

and love the way you designed us to in

marriage.

That's what our marriage was about.

I remember back in those days.

It's about your glory.

It's about showing your love.

God, would you help us do that?

How about that classmate being unkind to you?

What do you think, kids?

Is it wrong to pray that God would make

that mean kid start being nice

so that you can enjoy school more?

No, that's a good prayer.

God loves to hear that prayer.

What else could you pray for?

What about praying that God would teach you

more about how Jesus suffered for us?

The pain and the difficulty he went through.

What if you prayed that God would teach you

patience and teach you to trust him

in a really hard situation like that?

What if you even prayed that God would help you

show his love to that kid?

That that kid would actually know the love of King Jesus

because he experienced some of it from you.

That'd be a kingdom prayer, wouldn't it?

That King Jesus would be seen in your life.

It's easy to say those things.

It's hard for that to be what we actually want,

isn't it, kids?

When what we really want is to be able to beat him up.

Seems quicker and easier.

But this is part of how God's shaping our hearts.

It's what Jesus is doing as he teaches us to pray.

Shaping our hearts to seek first his kingdom

and live for his glory.

He's teaching us what to love,

what to long for,

what to hold as highest priority.

And isn't that the way Jesus not only prays

but also lives?

Think about it.

Think about the life of Jesus.

For all those times we fail

to seek first God's kingdom,

we need to remember Jesus' faithfulness to do so.

From his temptation,

when Satan offered him his own kingdom

instead of trusting his father's way.

A chance to make his own name great

instead of exalting God's name.

And Jesus trusts God.

Jesus hallows God's name.

All the way to the Garden of Gethsemane

where his passion for the father's will to be done

surpasses all his other desires.

including avoiding excruciating pain and suffering.

He wants God's will to be done.

Then all the way to the cross

where he even lays down his very life

to see the kingdom of God built up

and you and me brought in to be a part of it.

That's how passionately he lived for God's kingdom.

His success where we failed

is what welcomes us to this table.

We celebrate at this table this morning

a Savior who prayed and lived,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

And so we come to rest in him,

to feast on and find life in him,

and to be strengthened by the body and blood

he gave for us

to make his priorities our priorities too.

As we prepare our hearts to come to this table,

we're going to practice praying again

as Jesus is teaching us.

Here are three questions again

to guide our hearts as we pray.

Three questions, they're printed there in your bulletin

if you want to be able to take them home.

What things fight for priority over God's glory

in your heart and life?

We often call these idols.

Secondly, where do you groan

against evil and injustice in the world?

Do you see wickedness in your own heart?

Do you think of human trafficking, poverty?

Do you think of Charlottesville?

Do you think of things closer to home

and your heart longs for something different?

Finally, how do you long to see

the gospel and the church advance?

Where do you want it individually?

In each of us and in others?

What about in us as a body together?

How are you praying for God

to move his kingdom forward through us?

Take a minute, just contemplate

contemplate these words that are coming up

on the screen now for just a moment.

We're gonna pray them together

as we prepare to come to this table.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Join me as we pray

and I'll give you three chances

to stop and pray silently as well.

Let's pray.

Holy Father, there is no other God besides you

who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glory, working wonders.

You alone are worthy of our praise.

May your glory fill the whole earth,

every people and every heart.

Father, the affections of our hearts

are pulled after so many other things.

And we confess these to you now.

Join me again.

Father, the sinfulness of our hearts

and the brokenness of this world are evil.

We cry out to you for these things now.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Join with me.

Father, may your rule and reign come powerfully in the hearts of those we love, in the church

and community we love.

Join me.

At this table, may we see you as holy, our sin as heinous, your kingdom as gracious and

glorious.

Amen.

Amen.

Our Lord Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, took bread.

He broke it and gave it to his disciples as I ministering in his name, give this bread

to you.

And he said, take, eat.

This is my body broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

And after supper, he took the cup.

He said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which was shed for many for the remission

of sins.

Drink from it, all of you.

This is the Lord's table.

We come, not just those who are members of this church, Southwood Presbyterian, but we

come, all those of us trusting the Lord to his table.

Those of us clinging to King Jesus as our only hope, committing to make his kingdom and his

name the focus of our lives.

We come here to feast and to be strengthened to that end.

If you know him, come and celebrate with us.

If you don't know him, don't come to this table, but we'd love to tell you more about King

Jesus so that you could come and know him.

Our host team will usher you to tables forward and back.

We will celebrate together the love of our King for us, that he gave his life in our place.

Let's do that now.