Mt 6:9-13, Lk.11:1-4, Pray like this (Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer…

Mt 6:9-13, Lk.11:1-4,  Pray like this (Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer 1)

Mt 6:9-13, 9."This, then, is how you should pray: "`Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  10.your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  11.Give us today our daily bread.  12.Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  13.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' 
Lk. 11:1-4, 1.One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."  2.He said to them, "When you pray, say: "`Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.  3.Give us each day our daily bread.  4.Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'

<Sermon>
God gave us three examples for our faith life. He gave the Ten Commandments as a model for behavior, & the Lord's Prayer as a model for prayer, and added the Apostles' Creed as a model for confession of faith. Starting today, we will receive the words of the Lord's Prayer, a model of prayer, for three weeks. Let us pledge our devotion and determination by praying earnestly to God every day through Lord’s prayer, a living conversation with God.

1. What is the motive and purpose of teaching this prayer? Luke 11:1, At that time, people simply read the model prayer and prayed on babbling over(Mt.6:6-7). So Jesus taught them how to pray to God, who knows all their needs (8). His purpose was to give them a model of prayer (9) and to raise the level of prayer of the believers. *The criteria for judging the level of faith of a believer are 1) how to deal with a crisis or suffering, the required course of the saints, and 2) the contents of prayer. Let us pray with this prayer so that we may become more spiritually mature children of God.

2. Let’s pray with eight contents through the Lord’s Prayer. 1) We call the Father, the object of prayer, ‘Our Father who are in heaven!’ 2) - 4) are prayers for God. 2) ‘Hallowed be Your name’ (prayer for Your holy name), 3) ‘Your kingdom come’ (prayer for the kingdom of God), 4) Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ‘Let it be done’ (prayer for the realization of God’s will). 5) to 7) are prayers for us. 5) ‘Give us our daily bread today’ (prayer for daily bread), 6) ‘Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sin against us’ (prayer for forgiveness of our sins), 7) ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ (Prayer to overcome temptation) . And the last one is doxology(an expression of praise to God). 8) For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.‘

3. I pray that we all maturely pray these eight things in order every day and become blessed saints who enjoy the life of Jesus. Amen.

 Lord’s prayer begins with ‘Our Father who are in heaven!’ These are words that refer to the object of prayer. When we have something to ask our father or mother at home, don’t we call ‘father, mother’ first? Likewise, when we pray to God, we call on Him. It also contains a deep faith that confesses who our God, the object of prayer, is. There are three precious meanings here.

First, God is our ‘Abba Father.’
It is said that God, who created all things in the universe, becomes our Father. Is there anything more joyful and glorious than this? What could be better than this? What more could you ask for? The God who knows everything and the God who can do everything is our Father. We really don't need to worry about anything. Mt.7:11 says: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Jesus confirmed this to us. ‘Our Father in heaven gives us the best things we ask,’ He says. How gracious and thankful is this? We must firmly believe this at every moment. Our God is our Father. However, it is a little difficult for children who grow up with a father who has not loved them since childhood to believe in God the Father. A friend's father drank every day. He came home and beat and harassed his mother and brothers. It is said that because he grew up under that father, it was very difficult for him to believe in God as his father. It is said that it took him more than ten years to accept that God the Father loved him. *There are people like this among the saints. “How do I know that God loves me?” These people are people who did not receive love from their father. He calls me ‘God the Father’, but he doesn’t come across as my loving father. Are there people like this among us? Then, do you know mother’s love? If you have received your mother’s deep love, try expanding that love into God’s love. Is there anyone who doesn't know their parents' love when they are young? No matter what kind of person that person is, there is someone who wishes that person like that were my parent, right? Extend that love to God. Our Father God is a greater love than that. Think of the early church members. They suffered great persecution for believing in Jesus. Living was truly a great pain. Believing in Jesus meant risking one's life. They were arrested, tortured, imprisoned, and thrown into the lions' den. At this time, you might have thought of the prayer Jesus taught. When he cried out, ‘Our Father who art in heaven!’, he must have been thinking of his deep and inseparable relationship with God the Father. *How many difficulties did Apostle Paul experience during his missionary journey? However, in Gal.4:6, God is called ‘Abba Father.’ Even Jesus, in great pain, called, ‘Abba, Father’ (Mk.14:36). In fact, children in Israel call their father ‘Abba’. It's the same as the Korean pronunciation. God is our ‘Abba Father.’ When the early church members called ‘Abba, Father,’ they had all the rights and obligations as their father’s children. When we call ourselves ‘Abba,’ we can have everything that Abba has. God’s high and greatness, power, glory, and victory are ours. Also, when we call Him Father, we must fulfill our duty as children. We can fulfill our duties because Heavenly Father first gives us our rights. So this title of father is very important. Every time we call ‘Father,’ we cannot help but feel truly moved. You know the story of the prodigal son’s return, right? The prodigal son returns home really hungry. His father recognizes him first and runs to him. What was the first thing the prodigal son said to his father at that time? ‘Father!’ (Lk.15 :21). These words of the prodigal son are the same word as the word ‘father’ in today’s text. When he sees his father, is hugged by his father, and calls out, ‘Father!’, everything is restored. The relationship with the father is restored. If we can feel that emotion when we call God, ‘Father!’, our prayers change our lives. The prodigal son continued, “Father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” The prodigal son called his father three times: ‘father, father, father’. Then isn't it all over? Dear saints, I hope that you will live with abundant faith by praying to God the Father, who is a kind ‘Abba’ who knows and takes care of everything for us.

Second, God is ‘our’ Father.
That God the Father is not just my father, but our father. He didn't just say He was your father or my father. He calls Him ‘Our Father’. God is not the God of a specific nation, race, or class. He is the God of us all. So what are the last words Jesus gave us? Mt.28:19, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’ Acts 1:8 says, ‘Be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.’ Also, if you serve God as your father, all children under that father are equal. Everyone is brothers and sisters. We must share brotherly love with one another. Therefore, we are all children of God and people of God. As a part of us as God's creatures, we are one brother and one sister who serve one God as our Father. In this way, we bless, love, and serve one another. A certain man had four sons. The age difference between the oldest and youngest child was six years apart. When the children were young and just sitting around, the youngest tried to hog her dad's lap and her mom's lap. So, if someone was sitting, he had to push him away and sit down himself. Whenever that happened, his brothers always made concessions. But one day his youngest child pushed his older brother away and sat on his father's lap. At that time, his older brother said, hold on, hold on. “Hey, my dad is only your dad? He’s our dad, right?” This is such an important word. It is said that the youngest did not do that after that. His youngest child, like his older brothers, was born from the same father and bloodline. However, if we live with more emphasis and recognition of our father as only our father, there will be many problems later. Only when we call Him my Father and our Father can we share the rights and duties of brothers. Dear saints, we all believe in one Father, God. I hope you live a life as part of His blessed family, praying together to one Father.

Third, He is the Father ‘in heavens.’
God is in heaven. Here, ‘Heavens’ are plural, heavens. ‘Heavens’ is not the opposite of earth. The God in the ‘heavens’ is not simply the God above. The God in the ‘heavens’ is a God who is omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time), transcending time and space. He means the God who is not present anywhere on earth or in the whole universe. Persecution continued for a long time in the early church. They were executed in the amphitheater for their faith in Jesus. At that time, they called ‘Father’. It expressed trust as well as love for God. That God is our God, and we were able to know their relationship of trust. He is not someone who only exists outside the prison or execution site. It was God who was even in the execution room where hopeless death lurked. God is by my side even when I am being bitten by a lion and dying. At that time, while they were being persecuted together, they believed in ‘our God’ who was with us. Acts 7:49 says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Heaven is God's chair and the earth is God's footstool. In the Old Testament, the king sat on a high chair and had a separate footstool for his feet. Therefore, this means that there is no place where God is not. We pray, “Our Father who art in heaven.” In other words, it means believing in and confessing God who transcends the entire universe and is everywhere. It is about believing in God who is there no matter where we are or what situation we are in. In fact, we become afraid because we think that God is not there and that God does not know our difficult situation. Also, if we believe in God who is everywhere, we cannot forget God and do anything that goes against God anywhere. God is watching me everywhere.

 Ps.139:1-10, 22-23, “1.You, O LORD, have searched me; you know me. 2.You know when I sit and when I rise. You know my thoughts from afar. 3.All my ways and when I lie down. 4.You, O LORD, are not ignorant of the words of my tongue. 5.You have surrounded me before and behind me, and you have laid your hands on me. 6.This knowledge is so wonderful to me that I am not able to do it. 7.Where can I go from your Spirit, and where can I flee from your presence? 8.If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9.Even if I spread the wings of the morning and settle at the end of the sea, 10.Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will uphold me. 23.Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24.See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the path everlasting.” Amen.

Yes. God is our Father everywhere. There is no need to say that the earth is full. He is our Father who fills all heaven. There is no place in the world where God is not present, both in our hearts and in the world outside our minds. We do not need to set aside a special place, set a time, or visit God in order to call Him Father. Anywhere we can meet Him. Whenever we meet, we can call Him Father and pray. Dear saints! Every day we pray to God, ‘our Father in heaven.’ This is like the golden door of prayer. Anyone who wants to come before God must pass through this golden door. I hope we can go before God the Father, pour out our hearts, and have deep spiritual fellowship with the Lord. The Lord embraces the children who call Him Father and listens and responds to every word that falls from their mouths. The golden door must not be left closed. Please open this golden door wide and enter. Sit face to face with your Father every day. The Father is the great God, the Almighty God, the omnipresent God, and the God who wants to pour out endless love. As long as the Father is there, we will never be unhappy. As long as He becomes my Father and our Father, we will never fail in life. I hope you use this joy and blessing of calling God your Father every day. To do that, let us become people who pray like Jesus.

I pray in the name of the Lord that you become a person of blessed prayer who calls you Father and diligently visits His presence. Amen.