Turn with me to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew's gospel in chapter 6 verses 9 through 13. We are, in these last few weeks of 2018, finishing our series as we walk through the Heidelberg Catechism. And, as we've mentioned before, the Catechism follows three things throughout the course of the year. The Apostles' Creed, walking through each of these elements of the doctrines of the Church. The Ten Commandments, as well as the Lord's Prayer. And so we will spend a couple of nights together looking at this great model prayer. Matthew chapter 6, verse 9. Hear now the word of Christ. In this manner, therefore, pray. 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you in prayer because we are commanded to pray. You have given us a model whereby we may bring our adoration and thanksgiving and confession and petitions to you. You also bless the prayers of your saints to the nourishment of their souls. And so as we look at the means of grace prayer, and look at your model prayer, we ask that you would encourage our hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. As with all passages of Scripture, context is often key. We looked at that last week when we looked at that startling passage in the Sermon on the Mount, and tonight, in a different section, we're also in the Sermon on the Mount. And in this part of Jesus' great sermon, there is a context which helps us to understand what's going on when Jesus says, this is how you ought to pray. Now many have called this the Lord's Prayer, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but really, it's a model prayer. It's not the only prayer that we are to pray, it is a model that Jesus gives us. But before he gives instructions in verse 9, where he says, in this manner therefore pray, there's a context. Chapter 6 verses 1-18 really speaks to doing things so that God is your focus, that God is the one that you are praying to, that you want to be seen by, versus other individuals. For instance, look at the beginning. verses 1 through 4. Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may be noticed or that they may have glory from men. But even in verse 5, Jesus says, when you pray, do not pray like the hypocrites. So already twice in the chapter, there's hypocrisy. How are the hypocrites praying? Clearly in verses one through four, they're doing deeds to be noticed. But now look at what we see in verse five. Do not pray like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets. Why? That they may be seen by men. But you, verse six, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. This is not Jesus prohibiting public prayers. In other parts of the scripture, he clearly calls the church, particularly when it's gathered, to pray in public. But in the context, he's saying, when you pray, don't do it so that you might be noticed. When you do other deeds, don't do it that you might be noticed. But then, look what he says in verse 7. When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do. for they think that they will be heard for their many words." We don't have time to get into all of the context there. This is not necessarily Jesus prohibiting or outlawing lengthy prayers. Jesus is not saying make every prayer quick, although sometimes we would do better to do that. But rather, in Jesus' day, the heathens, the pagans, would often repeat certain things, almost like mantras, and just keep praying and mumbling and saying the same things over and over and over and over again, thinking that it was the actual rhythm of their prayers by which they might be heard. And Jesus is saying, hey, don't do something for men, don't pray for men, and don't pray in the strength of men. All of this comes before verse 8. Therefore, do not be like them. For your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him." There's the warrant, if you will, for our prayers. God knows. So it is to God that we go to. It is to God whose attention we should desire. It's to God that our focus should be given. And it's in this context then that Jesus says, verse nine of Matthew six, in this manner, therefore pray. In this manner, therefore, pray." This instruction then is on how to pray and not necessarily all of the content of what you're going to pray. So let's look at at least half of this model prayer tonight and see three simple things. If God is to be the one that we're focused on, if it is God whose attention that we desire, then how is it that we're focused on God One God, existing eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How is it that we are then to pray with God as our focus? Number one, we are to pray to God as Father. God as Father. Look what he says, Our Father in Heaven. hallowed be your name." We're to pray, number one, to God as Father. Jesus says, when you pray, pray our Father. Fatherhood, the fatherhood of God, was not as much of a dominant theme, really, until the time of Jesus. It's there, But Jesus is instructing all who will hear him down through the ages to come to God relationally as Father. In Jewish circles, it was very frequently the pattern to use multiple titles for God. Here, we simply come to God as Father. But these four words are chock full of truth. We've covered this before. We've done a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. One of our other elders, not too long ago, did a series on prayer and I would commend it to you. And we walked through this prayer. But these four words, just by way of reminder, are full of meaning. Our Father, relationally close. We are connected to this One. He is the One that we can come to He is imminent. He's close. And yet, we say to him, our Father, who is in heaven. We have the intimacy of a father while recognizing God's transcendence. Boys and girls, I know Pastor Ryan's using big words, imminence and transcendence. I'm gonna try to make them more simple. Closeness and over-everythingness. Okay? Eminence and transcendence. Now what Jesus is saying in these four words and teaching us how to pray is philosophically altogether unique. Because there were, in Jesus's time, many philosophies that would say God is near, but God is not transcendent. There might be many gods. The god of war, who is near to us in war. The god of the harvest, who is near to us in the harvest. The god of healing, who is near to us in healing. But these were not transcendent gods. Gods who ruled and reigned over all things. And then there were other philosophies, which would say, God is not near, but he is over all things. In fact, we probably shouldn't even call him he because he's not personal. Think the God of Aristotle. The God who is not relational. In fact, there might be even schools of thought today like deism that would say that God is out there and sort of is over all things but is not involved in them. Or some may say the God of pantheism. All things are God. God is close because we are God. And on and on and on it goes. When Jesus says, pray, our Father in heaven, he is saying, God is not the God of Pantheism, God is not the God of Deism, God is not the God of Gnosticism, God is not the God of the Mormons, God is not the God of Aristotle, God is not the God of Plato, God is Yahweh, transcendent and imminent. Four simple words. Our Father in heaven. He is intimately close to us and yet far above us over all things. This should also remind us that while we pray to God as father, he is not simply a friend in another room. He's not simply our buddy and he's not just dad. God is gloriously close to us and yet He transcends all things. This God is not impacted by His own creation. This God is not bound by time. This God is not in any way henned up, bound by anything. This God doesn't lack for any knowledge, this God will not learn anything, this God cannot get more powerful, this God cannot change, and on and on it goes. We cannot, being bound ourselves, even imagine the transcendence of the God to whom we pray. And with four simple words, Jesus teaches us rich theology. Christianity's God is not the God of every other philosophy and every other religion. Our Father in Heaven. So, number one then, we pray to God as Father. But number two, we pray to God as glorious. Look at the next phrase. Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Now we've talked about this many times. It's interesting though, this phrase, hallowed be your name, it's not often translated this way in English, in whatever translation you have. But it's technically a verb. We are actually praying, Lord, make your name holy. That's what the actual original form and construction of this is. We translate it as a statement. Hallowed be your name. But it's actually, Lord, make your name holy. The only other occurrence of the word in Matthew is translated to make sacred. Hallowed. Make it holy. Now, this does not in any way mean that God becomes something through our prayers. That would be another philosophy to which we do not hold. When we say, God, Father, make your name holy, we're not praying, become holy because you're not. We're praying, be recognized to us for what you are. Be recognized by us as holy. Our Father, close in heaven, transcending all things, not bound by anything. Make your name hallowed. Make it holy. And of course, we've spoken of this before. The name in scripture is a reflection of who God is, his character, his nature. In fact, when God reveals his very name to Moses, what does he say? I am. You and I have existence, but we are not existence itself. So when we pray to God as Father and we pray to God as glorious, He becomes in our hearts the focus. Now notice, we haven't asked God for anything yet other than one thing. We're two lines into the prayer and all we've asked God to do is to make His name more special to us. To make it more recognized as holy, as set apart. I don't know if you often think about it that way or begin your prayers, but do you pray to God sometimes and ask Him, Lord, would you hallow your name? Very rarely in Scripture do we command God to do anything. But here, we're commanded to pray that God would do something to hallow His name, to be recognized for who He is. Isaiah 26.8, In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you. Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. Some translations render it this way, In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you. Your fame and renown are the desire of our souls. It's as if the writers of the Bible got together over a period of 2,000 to 3,000 years and said, hey, let's agree that God's name should be famous among us all. And over and over and over, the theme of God's name being set apart and being special and being seen as holy is what the writers of the Scriptures have. And so when Jesus is giving a command here, He's really just echoing the prophets of old. So we are then to pray as God is Father. Pray to God as glorious, for His glory is really the first command of our prayers. Our Father in Heaven, first request. Do something. What is it? God, do this. What is it? Make your name hallowed. And this shouldn't surprise us, really. Ephesians 4 says God predestined people for His glory. Isaiah 43 says God created people for His glory. Psalm 100 says God rescued Israel from Egypt for His glory. Ezekiel 20 says God spared His people in the wilderness for His glory. Ezekiel 36 says God brought back Israel from exile for His glory. 1 Peter 2 tells us that our good works are so that God gets glory. Isaiah 43 says God forgives sins for His own glory. Romans 9 says God's wrath at sin is for His own glory. On and on it goes. When we pray then, hallowed be your name. We're praying. What your scripture says, God, that's what we want. Get glory. So then with God as our focus, not praying in our own strength as the pagans do, not doing deeds as the hypocrites do, not praying to be recognized as the hypocrites do, but praying to God so that God would be our focus. We're to pray to Him as Father and to pray to Him as glorious. But then lastly, as we work our way through this prayer, we're to pray to God as sovereign. Go to the next request. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come. God's plans and God's purposes are in view then in how we pray. I've said this before, but I like what D.A. Carson, New Testament Bible scholar, says on this phrase, your kingdom come. Listen, he says, to pray, quote, your kingdom come is therefore simultaneously to ask that God's saving royal rule be extended now as people bow in submission to him and already taste the eschatological, what is to come. The eschatological blessing of salvation, and to cry for the consummation of the kingdom. Now that was a lot, and there were big words there. The eschatological blessing. Boys and girls, you may be thinking, I don't know what Pastor Ryan just said. Do you believe that there's gonna come a day, boys and girls, where Jesus is gonna come back? And when he comes back, is everything gonna be changed? And when He comes back, are those who know Him and are saved by Him going to be with Him forever? That's eschatological blessing. Now I use that word because he uses it, but that's what it means. Something is coming. We're all looking for it to come. So even in our prayers, we're praying as if we're slightly dissatisfied. Not in a discontent way, but we're wrestling for something more. There's something coming. Lord, Your Kingdom, come! God's plans and purposes then are in view. The very last page of the scripture, Revelation 22, 20, we see this. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. That's probably one of the prayers that we as Christians pray the least that we find in the Bible. We might pray the prayer that we heard this morning, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. We might even pray similar prayers to the Lord's prayer, the model prayer. But how often do we pray, Lord, Maranatha, come, come. And sometimes we pray that because we're so excited about what he's doing and what he's done. Lord, come. But sometimes we pray that. Your kingdom come. Because we are so dissatisfied with how things temporarily are. The only thing that will help this situation, this trauma, this trial, this war, this battle of sin, is for Jesus to come. But it's not just the coming of Jesus, although that's in view. It's God's ways, God's plans as focused in Jesus, coming on to the earth. That's what we're praying. As a little boy, I grew up praying this prayer. I'd memorized it. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. But there is so much here. It's almost as if in teaching us to pray, Jesus is summarizing the whole Bible. Your kingdom come. The cry of the prophets. The cry of the apostles. The cry of the martyrs in Revelation. It's all, Lord, bring your will, your way, your glory to pass now. My prayers are puny compared to this kind of praying. Your kingdom come. But secondly, your will be done. You see that there. Will, the word could mean God's righteous demands. could mean God's sovereign determination to accomplish events. And God does not need our prayers to be sovereign, does He? Rather, our prayers continually recognize Him as sovereign. Lord, Your kingdom come, because that's what's best. Lord, Your will be done, because that's what's best. And if the Son of God, as a man in the garden, had to pray, not my will but Yours be done, how much more? Will we, by the deathbed of a loved one, when the doctor comes with the dreaded diagnosis, when the police come to our door to say that there's been an accident, when the child is born in a way that we didn't expect, when wars happen, when certain officials aren't elected that we wanted, when the job doesn't happen, when we don't have what we think to be strong faith, how much more will we need to pray, Lord, your will be done? But notice there's a qualification here, isn't there? Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, what is heaven? What is it? I mean, we often think of heaven as sort of this place where we go when we die. This place far, far away, this place that we have a lot of misconceptions about. But really, When Jesus is telling us to pray on earth as it is in heaven, he's saying, Lord, here and now, in space and time where we are, make it to be in accordance with where you are. When we pray on earth as it is in heaven, we're saying, Lord, here, just like it is where you are. But we know that God is everywhere. There's no place where God is not. And so it is not as though we're asking God to fill a vacuum. Oh Lord, here you haven't come yet. You've never been to this location, so travel here. No, no, no, no. It's not that. It's Lord, here in space and time where we finite creatures are, would you bring your presence to bear in a way that we recognize it? That your will is done here. Think about this. We'll begin to look at this as we, Lord willing, start next week with our series in Leviticus. God's presence was known in a very special way without hindrance in the garden, wasn't it? Eden. Things were done there on earth exactly the way God wanted. But then rebellion came, didn't it? And human beings were cast away to the east from God's presence. And then God had a people who he safely delivered in an ark. And Noah was a priest, if you will, of his tribe. And he was preserved. And God's will was done in a way there on that ark that it wasn't anywhere else. And then, shortly after Abraham, God gives his people a tabernacle. And God, who was everywhere, was specially known in one particular location, behind a veil. And then in the temple, God's presence was known everywhere, but specifically in the Holy of Holies. And now that Jesus has come, and now that he's done what he has done, he is our temple, and he is brought to bear the very presence of God in a knowable way, just like Eden. You see, when we pray on earth as it is in heaven, we're not saying, God, you're way up there. You're so transcendent that there's no way you're going to get it down here, so could you journey to us? No. We've already said our Father, who's in heaven. When we pray on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking the sovereign God of the universe to make His presence, His will known to us intimately in a situation or set of circumstances. We are saying, Lord, just like the Holy of Holies, just like the Tabernacle, just like Eden, just like it will be soon when Christ returns, would You bring Your presence to bear in the life of this loved one, this cancer patient, this baby, this funeral, this lack of job. Lord, here, now, all over this globe, may Your will be done. in such a way that it's just like we are with you. So how do we pray with God as a focus and not with hypocritical voices, seeking to get the attention of others? We pray to God as Father. For to the Christian, that is exactly who God is. We pray to God as glorious. as marvelous, as beautiful, as wonderful. And we pray to God as sovereign, as in control, the one whose will is best for all situations and all places, including this little piece of earth where we stand right now. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Let's pray. Almighty God, Jesus teaches us theology. Jesus unfolds the Scriptures to us as He gives us a model by which we can pray. And in the means of grace of prayer, You strengthen and increase our faith as we come to You as Father. As we're reminded every time we open our lips to pray that you have made us your own, that you are glorious and that you are in control and that your will is the best thing for every situation and every circumstance. So, Lord, we ask that through prayer you would strengthen and increase our faith. Help us, O Lord, to know with increasing ability the glories of our Father. We pray this tonight in Jesus' name. Amen.