Wednesday, April 12, 2023 PM

Apparently, all right. Good evening, everyone. Glad to glad to be back. I got back from Chicago at about 1215 a .m. Tuesday morning. I spent Tuesday recovering and I'm glad to be with you guys tonight.

I did not join you for dinner because my dad and his wife Connie Came into town earlier this afternoon. So that was just really nice.

And.

He's watching. Hey dad. Tonight we are doing the second part of this this survey of model prayers that we have from Isaiah 37 and then Matthew 6. I didn't write those down last time. So I wanted to at least at least put them up.

Those are just some of the references. We'll be going over tonight. But let's Let's begin with a word of prayer and then we'll dump jump right into our study on prayer Lord God in heaven. Thank you so much for this day.

Thank you for family, thank you for My my side of the family being willing to drive up I -35 and traffic and heat and expense just to spend time with us and I'm thankful for our Our church family our brothers and sisters in Christ who gather together for meals and study and Prayer to encourage one another and learn more about you.

And it is in Christ's holy name we pray Amen, so last time we were in primarily in in Isaiah 37. We learned about the prayer of Hezekiah praying for deliverance. And we learned about God's answer. We learned about why?

So if you remember Hezekiah prays to the Lord and This is how he ends it. So now O Lord our God save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone Are God that's how Hezekiah ends his prayer calling upon God to vindicate his name.

He said his name on the people Israel. He said his name on Jerusalem and He said his temple and his presence there show yourself to be different so the Lord through Isaiah answers and he says in the midst of his answer about what's going to happen to Sennacherib what's going to happen to Jerusalem?

Or what's not gonna happen to Jerusalem as the case may be. He says have you not heard that I determined it from long ago? I planned it from days of old what I now bring to pass. That you should make four to five cities crash into heaps of ruins a talking to Sennacherib.

I planned this from long ago that you were going to do all these things. Sweep in from the north and show this great power this world power and just smash culture after culture and and and fake God after fake God.

But at the very end he also says this is a 26 to 29. I know. That's 28. I know you're sitting down I know you're going out and coming in and you're raging against me because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to My ears.

I will put my hook in your nose my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back from the place From which you came. God says Hezekiah has prayed and because you have prayed to me. This is what I'm going to do.

And by the way, I planned it from long ago. Why does the Lord do this? How did Hezekiah and his prayer for the sake of your own name do this? What does God do? God says by the way, he came and by the same He shall return and he shall not come to into this city declares the Lord verse 35.

For I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. That's why Hezekiah prays within the sovereignty of God and prays within the glory of God. God answers within his own sovereignty and he answers within his own glory.

That's why I call Hezekiah's prayer a model prayer and then we also learned that there's another model prayer if we could use that term. Jesus gives us that in Matthew 6 and on the surface It appears to be a very different character.

Let's go ahead and read it. Anyway in Matthew 6 and my thesis tonight is that Talking about the same things. Because they were written by the same person Jesus says What he's talking about. This is how you should pray.

He starts off with that. Don't be like this. Don't be like this. But be like this. Don't be like the hypocrites who stand on the street corners so that everybody sees them and They get their they get their reward.

They get attention and praise. Don't be like them. Pray in secret. Don't be like the Gentiles who? Multiply their words. We talked about the prayer wheels. That some cultures have where they go and they spin the wheel.

Prayer prayer prayer prayer prayer prayer prayer it just because it's written is the prayer wheels or you know. Prayers are written down. So you get a lot of prayers in there. It's actually very efficient.

Christ says. Don't be like them thinking that you're going to be heard because you have a lot of words or frilly words instead. Pray like this. And we learned it's not a formula but pray like this. And it's 9 through 13 Our Father in heaven.

Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and.

As.

One of our elders Reminded me just last night a Spirit. Our spirit of forgiveness towards others comes from the sense of forgiveness that we have. Because God has forgiven us for so much. It's easier to be merciful when you have a better understanding of God's mercy.

When you've experienced it yourself, and if you don't have a forgiving spirit or a merciful spirit, maybe you don't understand The mercy and forgiveness of God as well as you think. So that's an application and that's 14 through 15 now.

This is divinely inspired. It is something that we should memorize and it is something that we should repeat and that's good. Don't fall in the trap of Having this be your only prayer. Well, it's the.

It's the Lord's prayer. It's the Jesus prayer. I'm good with this one. You missed the point. It's talking to your father. That was not revolutionary. That was not something that was like Oh, let's this is a change.

Jesus is saying that we should teach God as our father. This was well-traveled ground. And where were we gonna go to for me to prove that? We're gonna go back to Isaiah that very thing so our father.

Now I've I have I would love to dive into thy kingdom come and what it means. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Talking about the will of God we could spend all night on either of those. But I'm just going to focus on our father for tonight.

Isaiah 24 5 This is an interesting verse in a sense. All people have God as their father. That is true. God is greater. He created all of us and all of us are in the image of God in a sense. We are all God's children in that we owe him our allegiance.

He is our judge. He is our king. He is our master whether you follow him or not, whether you believe in him or not. Isaiah 24 verse 5 the earth lies defiled under its inhabitants for they have transgressed the laws.

Violated statutes and broke the everlasting covenant. This is judgment on the whole earth. This isn't he isn't talking specifically to Jews here. He's talking to all the people of the earth all the people of the earth have broken the everlasting covenant.

All the people of the earth have transgressed the laws of God. Yes. Yes, they have Paul talks about this in Romans 2 that laws of conscience. Gentiles know. You know pagans know right and wrong. That's true because we're made in the image of God.

So in that sense, yes. There's a general sense in which God is the father of all but there's a particular sense in the book of Isaiah as well.

Jews.

Seeing God as father in a way. It's not like the rest of the nations around them. He had a special relationship which makes their betrayal all the more worse. To all people everywhere. Oh God allegiance.

Yes, because they're made in the image of God. Yes, that is true. The Jews at that time. Even more so because they had the oracles they had the law they had God's presence. Isaiah 63 16 says. For you are our father.

Though Abraham does not know us Israel does not acknowledge us. You Lord are our father. Our Redeemer from old is your name. They've fallen so far. It's like Abraham doesn't even recognize him anymore.

He doesn't even know his own children. They have fallen away, but they still address God as father. And in 64 8. But now Oh Lord, you are our father. We are the clay. You are the Potter. We are the work of your hand.

Be not so terribly angry. Oh Lord and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look. We are all your people. They're speaking to God as father in a way that the pagans around the ditches just didn't and couldn't understand.

There was a special relationship that the Jews had with the Lord. So when Jesus prayed prayed like this our father. Your father knows what you need. Before you ask it wasn't revolutionary. It was Isaiah in a sense.

They should have known better. Okay, so How does that affect us, I mean, we're not. We're not Jewish. Maybe some of you are maybe actually some of you have that genetic connection. I don't. My people are Irish and.

And they were crazy crazy Celts when they were clothed. I mean, you know, just it's just. People were wild. My dad's people were from the steppes of Russia, you know, we're not Jewish. We weren't civilized.

We were the barbarians. How does that affect us? Can we call God father?

Yes.

Where would we go? What are some what are some verses that pop pop to your mind that do we as Christians address God as father? I mean the one that pops to my mind first is that that. Romans 8 15. Let's in fact, let's just let's just read.

If anybody has another one call it out. It's always fun. It's more like a dialogue. Romans 8 15. This is to us. This is to this to the Romans. This is to a Gentile Church. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry.

Abba.

Father. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and of children then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Provided we suffer with him and or that we also be glorified with him.

It has teeth to it. You are children of God because you've been adopted. Oh Okay.

Well.

Good. All right. So we so we know that we're we're children of God. Where does that leave the Jews then? So Romans 9 next chapter over verse 7 verse verse 6 so, you know, they Israel has been destroyed essentially.

I mean.

Is it all to the gentiles now. And. And. And. Paul says well not exactly. It's not as though the word of god has failed. For not all who are descended from israel belong to israel. Not all who are the children of abraham because they are his offspring just because they were genetically connected to abraham.

They didn't automatically make them israel didn't automatically make them children of israel children of abraham. It's through isaac your offspring shall be named. It's not the children of flesh, but the children of the promise Who are counted as offspring.

It's always been this way. It's always been by promise not just Flesh. It's always been that way. Okay, right.

Okay.

Say it, please. First corinthians you said 2 12 the spirit of god. That we may know. Those things that are freely given of him. That's that's what we've been given. That's spirit of knowledge spirit of adoption.

Those jews who were of the promise were part of israel. Paul goes on. And he says in 9 26. Well, let's let's start actually let's start in uh in uh, 24 even us whom he has called us. Not from the jews only but also from the gentiles.

Us from the jews and from the gentiles. Really? Is this a revolutionary? No, he says it in hosea. Those who are not my people I will call my people. Her who is not beloved I will call beloved in this very place where it was said to them.

You are not my people they shall be called the sons of the living god. People who were not jewish. God says i'm going to call them and they're going to be the sons of the living god. That was the promise always.

The children of promise not just the children of Flesh can call god father. Verse 27. And isaiah again, isaiah Cries out concerning israel though. The number of the seas the number of the sons of israel be the sand of the sea.

Only a remnant is saved. That's out of chapter 10. The remnant of israel was going to be saved. That's who was going to come to faith. It was always those who were promised. And gentiles have joined in that promise.

Paul repeats some of this in galatians 3 this idea of sonship. How you call god father on what basis can we as dirty gentiles as barbarians. As the uncircumcised as they as as they would call it those who are outside that covenant, how could they 3 7 know then.

It is those who are of faith. Who are the sons of abraham? And the scripture foreseeing that god would justify the gentiles by faith preach the gospel beforehand to abraham saying. In you shall all the nations be blessed.

It's genesis 12. How were all the nations going to be blessed? Through christ. They were going to be blessed with sonship because of christ. So have we seen. That those who are of the faith of abraham of sons of abraham.

Have we seen that this is how all the nations of the world will be blessed. Can we see that this is the gospel that was preached to abraham? It started in genesis. It's been repeated in isaiah and and and again in hosea.

And when.

Jesus says Our father and he's speaking to the jewish people right there the immediate jewish vicinity. He means all of us. Not because it was just invented in in romans. Or in galatians. It was always this way Chris.

John 1 that was john.

1 starting in verse 11. So those who couldn't hear on the uh recording you know, that's. Who were the ones that he gave the right to become children of god? Those who Received him received who? Christ was always on the basis of Christ that you become sons of god.

It didn't matter your genetic connection. And as galatians tells us it's always by faith He called not only jews But gentiles. I'll finish with uh with one more verse out of um out of romans, um 10. Because it uh.

It references another old testament prophet one that we've we've dealt with before romans 10 12. For there is no distinction between jew and greek. For the same lord is lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

For.

Everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved. That's out of joel 232. So out of the law out of the pentateuch in genesis. We have the gentiles coming in out of isaiah. We have the gentiles coming in.

Out of romans out of Romans and galatians and of course the prophet joel and osea. We have the gentiles coming in.

When.

We pray our father. This applies to the faithful jew. And the faithful gentile. It's always by faith. So when you pray tonight and you pray our father, yes. This is the book of matthew. Yes. This is jesus the jew speaking to jewish people.

Yes. He's speaking to you. And it's always been that way. We have a tendency to see this model prayer and I and hezekiah. It's like Beat back sennacherib deliver us. And god says I will do it and I will do it for the sake of my own name and i'm going to put a hook in his nose And a bit in his mouth i'm going to turn him back and 185 000 of them are going to die.

The same god who said that said Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Same author. And when we see our father as.

The way.

The new testament describes it. It's the same it's the same author it's the same it it it was always supposed to be jew and gentile. That's nothing new so pray tonight. Uh pray and pray to your father.

Pray in the uh, the strength that the spirit gives you and I hope that this this little survey of how our father is Treated in isaiah and how our father is treated in the new testament is the exact same.

Because the same person wrote it through different human authors granted. But the same divine author. So go in confidence as you would approach your father. Ask him for what you need. So let's pray let's pray to our father lord god our father in heaven.

Thank you for this time. Thank you for our Thank you for our lesson. Thank you for the things that taught me. Thank you for the reminder that we call you father because of what christ has done. That our prayers are to be glorifying to you.

We pray in your sovereignty. And we can pray for things that we need but most importantly We know we can come to you boldly. We know we can come to you as a father who loves us listens to us and understands our infirmities.

One who has made every provision for us. All we have to do is ask. You are the god of all comfort. And you know what we need. Even before we ask. Because you are sovereign and you are king and you are lord and it is In the holy name of jesus christ, we pray.

Amen.