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Introduction:
Relationships are fundamentally important. In fact, I would
suggest, the first things we ever learn are about relationships.
Who knows how much time I have already spent trying to teach
relationships to Trina. How many times have I pointed to myself
while holding her and said, “Daddy”? How many times have I
encouraged her to say, “I love Daddy”? I have pointed at
Marita and said, “Mommy.” I have pointed at the other children
and said, “Do you love Tessa? Do you love Ethan? Do you love
Ryan?” All of this has to do with relationships. While these
relationships are important, I hope I can exemplify and teach my
children to have the most important relationship ever: a
relationship with God. Recently, I had the privilege to peruse
some material by Ken Weliever, gospel preacher for the North
Boulevard church in Tampa, Fl, for new Christians. I wanted to
share with you some points he made to me about our relationship
with God demonstrated by Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew
6:9-13. The reality is, if we want to improve our
discipleship, our prayer lives and our service, we will need to
focus on these relationships with God, recognizing them and
improving them. Discussion: I.
“Our Father in heaven”—Father and child A.
There are many aspects of the Father/child relationship
that overlap with some of the other relationships we will note in
this prayer. We could talk about authority and submission. We
could talk about obedience and service. We could talk about
provision and dependence. But there are two aspects of this
relationship that stand out and make this relationship distinct
from the others we will note. Those two aspects are origin and
love. 1.
When we say God is our Father, we mean we are His
offspring. Without Him, there would be no us. This is more than
creator. God was not some mad scientist putting pieces together
and zapping them to life. As our procreation means there is some
of our parents in us, this means there is some of God in us. We
are made in His image (Genesis
1:26-27). I believe that has to do with the spiritual
aspects of our existence and our ability to be rulers over the
rest of the creation. But we must never take our own place in
creation for granted. We are only in that place because our Father
has granted us authority (cf. Psalm
8). 2.
When we say God is our Father, we see images of love and
tenderness. As a Father gently holds his newborn baby, smiling,
caressing, rocking, loving. Picture Dan Allen holding little Luke.
That is our heavenly Father. He loves us, is concerned for us, is
holding us up, protecting us. Though He is ruling the universe, He
has time for us. He cares for us. He listens to us because we are
His children (cf. I
Peter 5:7). We cannot pray to Him because He is our King,
our Master or our God. We should pray to Him because of those
relationships, but we can pray to Him because He is our Father. B.
We improve this relationship by acting the child. I do not
mean by acting childish. We must recognize who our Father is and
walk in His footsteps. Wasn’t this Jesus’ point in Matthew
5:44-45? The more we act like God, the more we demonstrate
He is our Father. The less we act like Him, the more we
demonstrate we have opted for a different father (cf. John
8:44). We build this relationship as we follow Jesus’
advice to the men asking about the poll tax in Matthew
22:21. The denarius was Caesar’s because it had
Caesar’s image. We are God’s because we bear our Father’s
image. We improve our relationship with Him by giving ourselves to
Him. II.
“Hallowed be your name”—God and worshipper A.
As we enter God’s presence in prayer, we must recognize
the amazing privilege we have. This is God, the sovereign ruler of
the universe. His very name is holy. He is worthy and we are not.
As we come into His presence, we bow before His greatness. We are
like the creatures and elders in Revelation
4:9-11. We cast down our golden crowns, that is we cast
down anything that we may feel gives us some claim to worthiness
in order to honor His absolute worthiness. He is God; we are the
worshippers. We are not God. We do not make the mistake of the
Pharisee in Luke
18:11-12, acting as if somehow God should be thankful that
He has such great servants as us. Rather, we humble ourselves
under His awesome and powerful hand (I
Peter 5:6). B.
God is seeking worshippers who will worship Him in spirit
and truth (John
4:23-24). If we want to improve our worship relationship
with Him, we have to pursue these two aspects. We must work on our
spirit. Honoring God is not a matter of what is on the lips, but
what is in the heart. Worship is not about going through the
motions, but about truly humbling ourselves before Him. As we
praise God, petition God, confess to God or in some other way
worship Him, we must do it with our whole being, loving Him with
all our heart, soul, mind and strength. But we must also follow
our God in truth. This reflects our own sincerity as we do not
worship God hypocritically but truly. It also reflects our desire
to worship Him His way, following His word, which He has
established as the truth (John
17:17). III.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done”—King and
subject A.
God is our king and we are the subjects. He is the master
and we are the servants. He is the ruler and we are the ruled.
This is tough for us as Americans. We fought a war that threw of
the kings. We want a government that is by the people, of the
people and for the people. We don’t like anyone doing anything
without the consent of the governed. That, however, is not our
relationship with God. He is our King. He is our Ruler. He is our
Master. He gets to make the rules without our consent. He does get
to tell us what to do, when to do it and where to do it.
Gratefully, this King is our Father; we are aware His rule is what
is best for us (cf. Matthew
7:7-11). However, we still sometimes struggle with being
told what to do. Yet, that is exactly what we agree to when we
come into Christ. It is His kingdom and we are the subjects. It is
His will that is to be done, not our own. B.
Improving this relationship is simple in concept but not
always easily accomplished. We improve this part of our
relationship with God by obeying Him. No matter what He has asked,
we obey and submit. This is made easier however, as we increase
our faith. When we increase our faith that God is our loving
Father King and not a capricious ruler whose rules are simply
subject to His own fancy and whim, we will be able to obey with
greater peace. Then we will be able to see God’s care for us.
The best way to start in this process of faith is to be in the
Word (Romans
10:17). Faith comes by hearing God’s word. The more we
read and study, the more we will see our loving Father King in
action, the more we will trust Him and take Him at His word. IV.
“Give us this day our daily bread”—Provider and
dependent A.
This is such an important part of our prayer lives. We must
constantly remind ourselves that apart from God’s grace we
accomplish nothing. He gives life and breath to all of us (Acts
17:25). We often think we are the ones getting all this
accomplished. “Look at this car I drive. Look at this house I
own. Look at these clothes I wear. Look at these gadgets I have.
Look at this prize I won. Look at this mountain I climbed. Look at
this obstacle I overcame. Look at this enemy I beat.” We have to
step back and recognize without our great provider, we could do
none of those things. What would happen if God decided to take
your oxygen away? What if He took away your muscle strength? What
if He let your body become wracked with pain? If not for Him, we
don’t get our daily bread. If not for Him, we get nothing, we do
nothing, we are nothing. Because of Him and through His grace, we
do eat, act, accomplish and overcome. B.
We can improve this relationship by making an inventory of
what we can really accomplish on our own and what we can only
accomplish through God. Be honest. It reminds me of the well-worn
story of the scientists who decided to compete with God about who
could make the best human out of the dust of the earth. When the
scientist reached down to grab a handful, God said, “Wait a
minute. Get your own dirt.” Consider Paul’s assessment in II
Corinthians 12:7-10. He was able to access the strength of
God because He honestly faced His own weakness. If we want to
improve this aspect of our relationship with God, we must assess
how truly weak, needy and dependent we really are. Then we must
remember how strong, mighty and powerful God is. Finally, we must
recognize the work God has accomplished through us (Ephesians
3:20). V.
“Forgive us our debts”—Creditor and debtor A.
We all know we are sinners. Romans
3:23 is our constant reminder that we have all sinned and
fallen short of God’s glory. However, this statement in the
model prayer explains something about our sin. Sin is not just a
transgression of the law as some translations put it. It is a
debt. Because we have sinned, we owe God. What do we owe Him? Our
lives. God told Adam and Eve in the very beginning if they sinned,
they would surely die (Genesis
2:17). Ezekiel
18:20 says the soul who sins shall die. Romans
6:23 explains the wages of sin is death. When we sin, we
owe God our lives. We must pay for our sins through our eternal
death—that is separation from God. However, He has paid our debt
through Jesus. II
Corinthians 5:14-15 says Jesus died and therefore we died
through Him. He died, so we wouldn’t have to. Jesus paid our
debt. B.
This relationship may seem a bit paradoxical. On the
surface, we might think we improve this relationship by increasing
our debt and showing what a wonderful benefactor and creditor our
God is. Paul, however, in Romans
6:1-3 said we do not continue in sin so God’s grace may
increase. On the contrary, we improve our relationship not by
increasing our debt, but by using the righteousness God has
credited to us to pursue more righteousness. Titus
2:11-14 explains God redeemed us, bought us back from our
sins, so we could pursue good deeds. Ephesians
2:10 makes this same point. We have been recreated in
Christ so we can walk in good works. If we want to improve our
relationship with God our great benefactor and creditor, we do it
by pursuing the good works He redeemed us to perform. VI.
“As we also have forgiven our debtors”—Example and
adherent A.
If we wish to be forgiven, we have to be willing to adhere
to the example of God in forgiving us. Jesus told the story of a
forgiving king who settles accounts with his servants (Matthew
18:23-35). One servant owed 10,000 talents, an impossible
sum to repay, but he begged for mercy and the king granted it. The
forgiven servant immediately went out and found another servant
who owed him 100 denarii. He began to choke the man, demanding
payment. He would not be merciful as the king had been with him.
When the fellow servants saw this, they reported it to the king.
The king removed his own mercy and the first servant was cast into
debtor’s prison. The servant should have followed the example of
his king. We are to follow the example of our God, especially
following the example our God established for us through God, the
Son, Jesus Christ. In John
13:15, Jesus explained that as He was a servant, we ought
to serve as well. We should adhere to His example. B.
Improving this aspect of our relationship is a no-brainer.
As we get to know the Father, Son and Spirit better through the
Word, we must follow God’s example. Would God forgive? We must
forgive. Would God serve? We must serve. Did God rebuke? We must
rebuke. Was God love? We must be love. Galatians
2:20 puts it in good perspective explaining that we are
putting ourselves on the cross and letting Jesus run our life. He
is the example and we are the adherents. VII.
“Lead us not into temptation”—Guide and follower A.
For the purpose of this lesson, don’t get bogged down
with this sentence wondering why God might ever lead us into
temptation. Instead, simply notice what this request says of God.
He is our leader. He is our guide. We are like men on a safari in
wilderness we do not know. We need someone who has been there
before us to lead the way. That is God. He will lead us away from
temptation and in paths of His righteousness if we will only
follow Him (Psalm
23:3). We are the sheep and He is the Shepherd. The
problem, of course, is sheep are dumb animals. Sheep rarely know
what is best for themselves and therefore get themselves messed up
in all kinds of problems. We, as sheep, must not lean on our own
understanding, but trust God’s shepherding (Proverbs
3:5). He is the guide and we are the followers. B.
If we wish to improve this relationship, we must learn to
trust God. Ethan is now in baseball. In order to help improve his
hitting game, I purchased a piece of equipment called the
“Hit-a-way”. It is a pole with a baseball attached by a cord.
The cord wraps around the pole and then unwraps allowing him to
hit the ball. Every time we get started, I show Ethan where the
ball can go on the cord. I show him that when I throw the ball
around the pole it can’t possibly hit him where he is standing.
However, every time I throw the ball, it looks like it is coming
right for him and he jumps. Ethan doesn’t trust the cord holding
the ball (or maybe he doesn’t trust me). That is sometimes how
we are with God. We have read the Word, studied the Word, we know
God’s promised blessings, but sometimes we are just convinced
God’s way isn’t the right way. He says when someone has
offended us we should go talk to them, do we do it? Or do we think
we are an exception and we don’t want to rock the boat? He says
if we seek first His kingdom and righteousness, He will provide
our needs? Do we do that or do we pursue our needs first and then
His righteousness if we have time left over? Do we really trust
God? Or do we think He is going to throw the baseball and smash us
square in the face? Trusting God is far more than just believing
in Him; it means accepting His word, believing His promises and
living accordingly. If we will improve our relationship with Him
as our guide, we will follow what He has said even when we don’t
understand it. VIII.
“But deliver us from evil”—Deliverer and captive A.
The heart of the prayer brings us to the great climax of
our spiritual lives. Evil wants to hold us captive. As God told
Cain near the beginning, “If you do not do well, sin is
crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule
over it” (Genesis
4:7, ESV). That is, sin wants to be the master over us,
but we must overcome. II
Timothy 2:24-26 explains that those who are sinning are
not simply evil people or perverts. They are folks being held
captive by the evil one in order to do his will. Yes, I recognize
our own choices and responsibility with our sins. However, this
passage and Romans
6:16 demonstrates sin will make us its slave. We have all
been held captive by sin and Satan. Our deliverer is God. He is
the one who will deliver us from evil and from the evil one. He is
the one who has broken the chains of our bondage. He is the one
who has set us free. He is the one who has released us from the
prison we have built for ourselves. B.
If we wish to improve this relationship, we need to follow
the teaching of Romans
8:2-11. We must set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
We must pursue the course of life outlined by the Spirit in His
Word. Christ has set us free, but we must not use that freedom as
an opportunity for the flesh (Galatians
5:13). As we do this, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians
5:22-23). We must sow to the Spirit so that we may reap
life and quit sowing to the flesh, which will only cause
destruction (Galatians
6:7-8). If we wish to improve our relationship with God as
deliverer, we must refrain from the works that put us in captivity
in the first place and pursue the work the Spirit has outlined for
us. Conclusion: What an amazing God we serve. The more I study the Bible and the more I learn about our relationship with God, the more I am convinced He is in heaven holding us in His hands the same way I hold Trina. He is constantly saying to us as He points to Himself, “Father, Father.” As we do with our own babies, He knows we don’t really get it. But we will. In time, we will understand more and more. He is patient with us as a Father with His child should be. Let us grow in these relationships, allowing them to affect our lives every day.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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