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Our Father in Heaven · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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  The last time we were together looking at this, we were looking at verse 5 to verse 8,
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  ! which speaks first of all, as the Lord is teaching on prayer, He's teaching first on how not to pray.
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  So it says, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. They love to be seen by others and heard by others.
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  And then He also said, when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases. So do not be babblers. Do not be just speaking
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  with many words to be heard. So He started with how not to pray. But this evening we're going to then go into
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  the Lord's prayer itself, as in verse 9. Pray then like this, our Father in heaven. I'm just thinking of these
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  words in particular, our Father in heaven. This section of Matthew's Gospel is where you find Jesus
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  giving the sermon on the mount. And you look through it from chapter 5 through to chapter 7,
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  and you see how He's giving a sermon on how we are dealing with other people, how we are dealing with
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  ourselves, and how we are dealing with Him. And a point of interest, if it means anything,
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  it's that the Lord's prayer is actually at the very centre of this sermon. Half of what comes before,
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  and then half, the other half comes after. But in the middle is the Lord's prayer. And when you look
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  at the kind of things that are either side, so many of them are practical things. Love your enemies,
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  giving to the needy. Do not be anxious, lay up treasures in heaven, judging others. There's a lot
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  of practical things around either side of the Lord's prayer. But as a reminder to us that in the centre
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  of this sermon, there is this instruction that our relationship with God is what is key in all of
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  these things. And that relationship is developed, it grows as we come to the Lord in prayer. And the
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  Gospel of Matthew as a whole was written primarily towards the Jewish community, those who had a
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  relationship with God, as you see through the Old Testament, but they couldn't see the fulfilment of
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  the Old Testament in the Lord Jesus, not seeing that this is a continuation, a fulfilment of God's
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  work. And so Jesus is teaching them, just as he is teaching us, of our dependence on God for all
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  things, and that this is through Christ. And this relationship develops, as we have here in prayer,
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  a dependence on God. So it's not a complete change for the people that Matthew was writing about here,
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  that Jesus was addressing in this sermon. It's not a complete change, it's just a reminder to keep that
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  relationship secure, to keep that relationship close. Prayer is a vital part of their lives, just as it is
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  for us. And for the Jewish people at that time and since, prayer has always been important, and it should
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  be to ourselves as well. There's a saying from the Jewish community that says, he who prays within his
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  house surrounds it with a wall that is stronger than iron. So you see that importance of prayer that is
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  there. But it's a devotion towards God. But as with them and as with ourselves, when it comes to prayer,
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  there are many faults that can creep in. As we looked at the last time, there were those who would
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  stand, they loved to be heard in prayer. They were called the hypocrites who loved to be heard. Or there
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  were those babblers who used empty phrases, many words, but empty phrases just to be heard by others as
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  well. But they're being reminded here, and we're being reminded here, that it's so easy for ourselves
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  to enter into that kind of prayer relationship with God. That isn't what it should be. We have our own
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  faults when it comes to prayer. We can just go through the motions. We maybe find ourselves, it just becomes
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  a routine for us, where we don't actually think about what we're saying. And the irony of it is, we're
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  looking at the Lord's Prayer, which is something that we repeat often. We say it every Lord's Day
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  at the morning service in Kennet Street. We repeat it together. But how often do we actually think,
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  what do these words mean? What are these words actually saying to us? They just become so formulaic
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  that we just repeat them, and we move on. But what do they actually mean? Do they just trip off our tongue?
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  And so the danger with prayer is that it becomes just so formal that we just go through the motions,
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  connected with a certain time or a certain place or a certain occasion. And that's very much what it was
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  becoming to the people in Jesus' day. And so he's teaching them here of the dangers of that, and how to
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  keep close to God in prayer. Do you find that yourself? As you pray to the Lord, you can find yourself,
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  it just becomes, there's a sameness to it. We just use the same phrases or the same words.
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  It just becomes a ritual. Staying fresh in prayer is difficult. It's difficult for me. I'm sure it's
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  difficult for you. But in order to stay fresh in prayer, we have to realize who we're coming to
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  and what he is doing for us, our Father in heaven, to realize who it is that we're coming to. And so as
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  we look at these words this evening, our Father in heaven, it's just this reminder to us of who we are
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  coming to in prayer and how we are to come in prayer. And the first thing is recognizing that word,
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  our, our Father. The Lord's Prayer as a whole, it's a short prayer. And it can be broken into two parts
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  with three petitions in each part. So you've got six parts to it. The first three, you notice,
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  are focused on God. Your is used. Your name, your kingdom, and your will. So it's focusing on God.
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  The second three are focused more on us. Our daily bread, our debts, and lead us not into temptation.
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  So you see there's an order to prayer there. God first, your name, your kingdom, your will. And
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  then our needs, our daily bread, our debts, and lead us not into temptation. But you notice how it
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  starts with our Father in heaven. You could almost say that they're both there. We begin with that word,
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  our. We recognize in there that we come to him, our Father. But we're recognizing too who it is that
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  we're coming to, the one who is over all and able in all, our Father in heaven. And so there's this
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  kind of combination there at the start that then leads into your name, your kingdom, your will,
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  and then our needs coming after that as well. And so as you look at that opening phrase, what he's
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  preaching here is that as those who have gathered around him to hear this sermon, they're dependent
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  on God. Our Father in heaven. There's a dependence on God. And there's to be a devotion to God.
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  Otherwise, it can just become that ritual as we've seen with empty words or just standing to be heard
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  by others and not a relationship with God. Our Father reminds us of this great need, but also this
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  great relationship. Romans 8, 15, Paul mentioned this verse in prayer.
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  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit
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  of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. It is that spirit that leads us into prayer,
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  that relationship. That relationship we're seeing, who it is, our Father in heaven, Abba, Father.
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  And so are you being led by spirit into prayer or are you being led by self into prayer? Because
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  that spirit leads us into a closer relationship with God, giving glory to him, whereas self-prayer just
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  leads us into almost making demands of the Father. It's like our relationships. When we have a close
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  relationship and our love with someone, that is what comes across. That's the kind of relationship that
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  Jesus is describing here, our Father in heaven. We love you. We know that you can do so much for us.
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  Whereas a relationship that's not right is, Father, just do this for me. Do that for me. Give me what I need.
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  Do as I'm saying. This relationship that's wrong. But it's to see who it is that we're praying to,
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  our Father. So we're led into that sense of coming before him in this way, our Father. And when you
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  use the word our too, we're being reminded here, there's a powerful statement here that believers are
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  one together before the Father. We are praying together to the Father. Even when we're playing by ourselves,
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  we're praying for our people, our brothers, our sisters, to our Father. There's that family
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  relationship that's so important. We read in John 17 for that purpose, that oneness in Christ that is
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  found through that relationship with Jesus, who was saying, Father, that they might be one as we
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  are one. It's all about that closeness, that relationship. And his prayer in John 17 is such
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  a wonderful prayer. It emphasizes that for us again and again. His relationship with his Father,
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  Jesus' relationship with his Father. And then as he's praying for the disciples in verse 11,
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  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we
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  are one. That they would be able to call on our Father. And then in John 17, 21, to all believers,
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  that all of them may be one, Father. Just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,
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  so that the world may believe that you have sent me. So we are praying our Father. It reminds us that
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  we have that communion together, but also that communion with the Lord Jesus, our Father, the
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  same Father that he had to pray for. It reminds us that we are one in Christ. It reminds us of the
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  benefits of belonging to the church, to the people of God. That we are not alone, but that we join in
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  with believers all around the world, asking for God's blessing in everything that we seek from him.
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  Our Father. Think back a week ago to when we had Derek Maxwell here with the Slavic Gospel Association.
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  We are reminded there of the oneness in prayer. And as both Carla and Paul were praying this evening,
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  that came across as well. It always does. The power of prayer, the oneness of prayer, as we pray to the
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  Father, not just for ourselves, but for God's people everywhere. Praying for Derek and for Carol,
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  as they have been with us. Praying for the ones that they mentioned. We heard names mentioned last
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  week. Peter, Thomas, Alexander, David, Alicia. We heard about these people. If you were there on Friday,
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  you saw these people that were on the screen in the hall, praying for them in Hungary, in Moldova,
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  in the Ukraine. That oneness. Our Father, the same Father for us as it is for them. So we can rejoice
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  in that prayer with God's people everywhere, just as we can pray for those in need anywhere as well.
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  And just think about it from your own perspective. Many of you, many of us, we've gone through different
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  things, different times in our lives, different experiences in our lives. But you know there's
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  been people praying. Our Father, look after that one who is grieved. Look after that one who is in
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  hospital. Look after that one who is going through a difficult time. And you know that there are people
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  praying. In the same way as you pray for others. And you know that God is listening because we are
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  calling on our Father in heaven. We are together in our petition before God, each one of us saying,
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  our Father. There is that relationship together and through Christ with our Father in heaven.
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  But then you see secondly that it is that Father that we are praying to, our Father in heaven.
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  And again, Father takes us back to John 17, how often we see Jesus use that. Father, he says again and again,
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  through that prayer, it shows Jesus himself dependent on his Father and of that relationship that they had.
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  And it reminds us of our relationship in that way, that we are dependent on the Father. But we can call on
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  our Father. Just think of how Jesus prayed himself at other points as well as John 17. For example,
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  in the Garden of Gethsemane, in Matthew 26, verse 39, and going a little further, he fell on his face and
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  prayed saying, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, not as I will,
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  but as you will. There is Jesus praying again, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
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  He is depending on the Father. And as a reminder to us as well, that the same is true for you and for me,
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  that we are dependent on this Father as well. Another verse that reminds us of this relationship is
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  John 3, verse 1. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the
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  children of God. And that is what we are. The children of God. And he is our Father.
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  That is our privilege as believers that we can come to God in this way and cry, Abba, Father,
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  our Father in heaven. We can call upon him. He is our Father in heaven. Again, we're just reminded of
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  relationships in this world. Relationships. We all have fathers. We've all had fathers. But we can still
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  become fatherless in that sense. But God is a Father who is always there. As we sang, he's the Father of the
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  Father of the Father. And Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 17 says there, For the Lord your God is God of
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  gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
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  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and he loves the alien and giving him food and clothing.
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  He is a loving, a caring, a gracious father. And it's in this way that we come to him in prayer.
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  And the people in Jesus' day, they had known this relationship, but it was a relationship that was
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  fading and failing in many different ways. And you see it even through the Old Testament. We sang about
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  the idols that people would make. And that is the way they lived. They were so easily taken away,
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  not looking to the Father in heaven, but instead looking to idols in the same way as you do, in the
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  same way as I do. We look to idols in this world for help, for protection, for all things. But when we do,
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  we lose that intimacy with God. When we turn away from our Father in heaven. Like the prodigal son,
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  we want to go away and live our own lives, do our own thing, but we lose the benefits that the Father
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  gives us. Sin does that to us. Sin robs us of that intimacy with God. And yet God is there,
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  graciously calling us to himself. Another Old Testament text is in Isaiah 64, verse 4 to 8.
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  And here it reminds us of how sin comes in, and yet God is still there for us. Since ancient times,
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  no one has heard, nor ear has perceived, nor eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of
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  those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.
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  But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have
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  become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. We all shrivel up like a
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  leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you,
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  for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. Yet, O Lord,
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  you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter. We are all the work of your hand. You see,
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  there's sin just coming in and destroying that intimacy. And yet it says, Yet, O Lord, you are
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  our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, the work of your hand. Have you lost that intimacy with
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  God? Where you're in prayer has become just a list of requests rather than a relationship being built
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  on that dependence and recognizing our Father in heaven.
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  But even now tonight, we can approach Him. We can come back to Him. We can call upon Him,
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  because as His children, He loves us, and He longs for us to come to Him in that way. Our Father in heaven.
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  The final thing we see here is these words in heaven. This last part reminds us of the power
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  of God. He is an intimate and a personal God that we can call our Father in heaven. So we have that
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  relationship, but we are also reminded of just who He is. Psalm 33, which we sang together in verse 13,
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  The Lord from heaven sees and beholds all sons of men full well. He views all from His dwelling place
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  that in the earth do dwell. He is the one who is above all. He is in heaven and beholds all sons of men
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  full well. He sees everyone. He sees everything. There is nothing that is hidden from Him.
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  And as you read through the scriptures, you realize just who it is. He created the heavens and the earth
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  and all that's in them. He upholds them. It is in Him that we live, move, and have our being.
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  He is the one who is able to turn wars into pieces. He's able to do so much. But do we recognize Him in that way?
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  It's too easy for us to just have that cozy kind of relationship where it's the Father who's going to
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  do everything that I want. But to forget that we are accountable before Him as a holy God who has made
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  all things. The creator of heaven and earth. The one who sent His Son to die for our sin. The one who
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  had the power that He would rise from the grave. The one who has promised that Jesus will come again.
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  We have to realize the enormity of who He is. So that we bow humbly before Him.
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  That we recognize our unworthiness. That apart from Him, we can do nothing.
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  Because He is our Father in heaven. We are so often guilty of those horizontal prayers where
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  our prayers are just focused on what's going on around us. Instead of our prayers being focused on
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  lifting up our eyes to Him. In John 17 where we read, that's the way it speaks of Jesus there praying.
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  In the beginning, when Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said,
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  He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father. He had that recognition of where God is.
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  He is above all things. He is in control of all things. We are coming to the one who is the maker
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  of heaven and earth. The one whom we could not stand before Him if He held our sins against us,
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  as Psalm 130 says. But the one who has power to forgive us our sins, that with Him there is plenteous
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  redemption. Everything is in the Father's hands because all things belong to Him. And yet this is
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  the one who we are able to cry out together and say, Our Father. He is the one in Him we have that
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  relationship. We are able to call Him Father. And He is the one who is over all things. There is nothing in
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  this world that is beyond Him. And so we are to come to Him. A young boy once went into a shop with his
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  mother. The shopkeeper behind the counter passed him a large jar of sweets and offered it to him to help
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  himself to a handful. And usually the boy was shy at that very moment. He wasn't normally. He would normally
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  be quite outgoing. But the boy just shied away and held his hand down by his side. And so what the
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  shopkeeper did was put his hand into the jar and pulled out a bundle of sweets and gave it to the boy.
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  And the boy then took them. And as he went out to the shop his mother said to the boy, Why did you
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  suddenly become so shy that you wouldn't take the sweets when they were offered to you? And the little
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  boy's reply was, Well because his hand is much bigger than mine. He knew what he was doing. He knew what he
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  was going to get if he left it to the shopkeeper. He wasn't daft. But are we? When we think what we can
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  get ourselves and what we can do ourselves, instead of giving it over to God, whose hands are much bigger
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  than ours, and who is able to do as Paul says in Ephesians 3, Now to Him who is able to do far more
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  abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us. He is able because
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  he is our Father in heaven. He is over all things. And whatever you are praying for this evening or in
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  these days, remember this, our Father in heaven. Because he is the one who is collectively
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  our Father. We have that relationship. And he is the one who is close, the one who cares, the one who
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  loves. He is our Father in heaven. But he's got power beyond anything else. Because the heaven belongs
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  to him. And so as we pray, as we go on praying, and the privilege it is, keep praying. Keep coming close to
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  him. Not just in that formal prayer where everything is just orderly and making our requests. But growing
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  in our relationship together and individually with our Father in heaven, who hears and is able. Well,
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  let us do that. Let us call on the Lord in prayer.
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  Lord, our gracious God, we do thank you for the very fact of being able to call upon you in this way.
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  that this is what Jesus taught us and taught your people from the very moment that he said these words
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  until today and even beyond today. But as your people, we can come, saying, our Father in heaven,
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  that relationship that we have together and with all of your people. For we are dependent on you.
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  That love and care that you have for us as our Father. The one who remembers us in all our needs. The
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  one who provides. The one who does abundantly more than all we ask or even think. And the power that you
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  have, Lord, help us to remember that. That you are the one who is in heaven high, in the city on the throne,
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  the one who is in heaven, ruling over all things. And we pray, Lord, that you would continue to hear our
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  prayers and draw us ever closer to yourself in our prayers. That we would have that realization of
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  our very dependence on you for all these things. So hear us and go before us, forgiving our sin in Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Amen.
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  We'll conclude by singing again to God's praise and salvation.