This afternoon we are going to think about the last part of the Lord's Prayer from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6 verse 13. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Our study brings us to the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer. Describing these words merely as a conclusion, however, strikes me as quite an understatement. If we were to compare the Lord's Prayer to an orchestra, there are several parts which work together to create the beautiful harmony. There are the soft tones of the introduction, Our Father which art in heaven, There is the dramatic eloquence of the three petitions which relate to God and His glory. Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is the vigour and energy of the three petitions that relate to our personal needs. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Now we come to the crescendo. The drums roll. The cymbals clash. The strings increase their tempo. The brass and the woodwind pick up the pace and increase the volume. All parts of the mighty heavenly orchestra are in harmony. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Let me remind you that this prayer is the disciples prayer. This is not the prayer that the Lord Himself used personally. This is the model prayer He gives to us. This prayer in all of its parts teaches us how we should seek God. It reminds us of our relationship to God. When we are Christians, He is our Father. It instructs us to come into God's presence reverently, to come carefully, to give Him first place in our thoughts and ambitions. It teaches us to ask God for our practical necessities and for our spiritual necessities and that our spiritual necessities are more important. But ultimately this prayer teaches us that the glory of God is all important. It begins with God. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It ends with God. For thine is the kingdom, is the glory. There is so much here we learn about prayer from this great and magnificent conclusion. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. The first thing we learn is this, pleading in prayer. The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer is a plea, one final plea with God to respond to the petitions that have been presented. The Lord is teaching us to come before God reverently, carefully, urgently. and we are to present reasons why God should answer prayer. And what is the reason? What is the ultimate reason? Lord, the kingdom is yours. The church is your cause. The people of God are your people. You're the king, the master of a huge domain. You control this world. You created this world. Therefore step in, intervene for your cause. For thine is the glory. The reason why we should ask God to answer our prayers is not for us, but for the glory of God. It's not about our pride. It's not merely about our well-being. It's about the honour of God. In the Psalm 115 verses 1 to 3, the psalmist took up this theme, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathens say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. As the psalmist was deeply conscious that there is a God who controls all events, let us look at this world, let us pray for this world, let's pray for the people that are in the world, and let's ask, that God would glorify himself. And so there is the pleading in prayer, but there is also the praising through prayer. The climax of the Lord's Prayer reads like a doxology. A doxology is a song of pure praise to God. Praising God for what He is, for what He has done, for what He is doing, for what He yet will do. Putting the praise of God at the very heart of our worship. That's what a doxology is and it is quite clear the Lord is teaching us to praise in our prayer. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. This climax of the Lord's Prayer reminds me very much of the Psalms, particularly the Praise Psalms at the very end of the Book of Psalms. And whenever we look at the very end of the Book of Psalms we are struck with the way in which God is praised with such wholeheartedness. Psalm 145 verse 3, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 146 verse 2, While I live I will praise the Lord, I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Psalm 150. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. It is important that we should take time to praise God because we must understand that this world is in his hands and we are but his creatures, his per-finite creatures. Throughout the New Testament God is praised as well, Mary's Magnificat, as she had this awareness that she was carrying the Saviour within her womb. She praised God for what he did. We have Jeremiah's Benedictus as he understood and appreciated that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a very special son John the Baptist so he praised the Apostle Paul said in Romans 11 36 For of him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever amen and in Revelation 4 verse 11 We are told that the four and twenty elders representing the church in heaven, they sing, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. The God who is in control. We look at this world and there are many things that would cause us alarm. The outbreak of war, that can cause alarm. deadly diseases that can cause alarm, global warming, many are concerned. But God is in control and we must come to Him and pray about all of these things and we must praise God because nothing is out of His control and above all we must know that we know Him. Because we look at this world in all of its bleakness, this world that is suffering from the curse of God's judgment because of sin, we need to know His merciful kindness. And you know that grace of God that comes alone from the place of the cross, where God sent His Son to in order that we might be redeemed. Finally, let's think about the promise for prayer. The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray with faith, that God will answer prayer. God will answer our prayers because he is God, because the kingdom is his, because the power is his, because the glory is his. In Matthew 21, 22 Christ said, and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive. What is the most important prayer you can offer? If you don't know the Lord is your Saviour, then you need to come to God and you need to ask Him for forgiveness. And God will hear that prayer. If you come knowing that your sin is destroying you, knowing that your relationship with God must be corrected, knowing that only the precious blood of Christ can cover and blot out your sin, if you come to God in that way as a humble sinner, God will hear you and God will forgive you and God will do it now. And this is what you need. This is what you must have. And you must pray for this. Because thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. It all belongs to Him. Salvation is His gift to give you. But He never turns that gift away from one who is willing to receive. And will you be willing to receive this precious gift of salvation today? The Lord's Prayer ends with an Amen. We end our prayers with an Amen, don't we? What does it mean? To be firm, to be secure, to be true and faithful. Certainly, so be it. That's what Amen means. God is going to answer prayer. That's why we offer the Amen. And I want to tell you today, if you come to God and you pray, Lord forgive me a poor lost sinner. Amen. God will do that. Will you give your life to him today? For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Thank you so much for listening. I will continue looking at the Lord's Prayer next week.