The Lord's Prayer: Our Father in Heaven

[00:00:01] Let's pray. [00:00:03] Our Father. [00:00:09] And it's to our Father that we commit our study in your word here this morning. [00:00:17] Our Father, we pray that you would use this time to speak to our hearts. [00:00:27] Give us, we pray, the ears to hear and a mind to believe and hearts to respond and to receive what you would have to say. [00:00:45] Thank you. We pray for the truth of your word. [00:00:49] In Jesus name, Amen. [00:00:55] Well, a little boy was asked the question, what's the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day? [00:01:03] And his answer was this. That Father's Day. Well, it's just like Mother's Day, only you don't spend as much. [00:01:15] Pretty true, men. Pretty true. Yeah, that's pretty true. Yeah. [00:01:20] Today we're going to talk about the fatherhood of God. [00:01:25] The fatherhood of God, the only perfect father that ever existed. But let's start by being honest. [00:01:36] Is there anything more wonderful and complex in the English language? I'm a father, I had a father. [00:01:48] It's complex, but there's also a wonder about what that word father can actually mean. [00:02:01] So this next six weeks, let's go on a journey together to discover this together as we look at the Lord's Prayer, of course, the world's most famous prayer, the prayer that's been prayed more often, sung more often, recited more often than any other prayer in all of history. [00:02:28] Unchurched people know this prayer. And although it's famous, it can get a little confusing, especially to children, where young men, where a young man particularly thought the words were our Father who does art in heaven. [00:02:45] Harold, is your name? [00:02:51] Typically, of course, it is called the Lord's Prayer. But probably more accurate, it's probably called the prayer the Lord taught the disciples. [00:03:01] So it's really the disciples prayer. Jesus himself did not label it the Lord's Prayer, in fact, in my translations, called the model prayer. [00:03:12] And so the real Lord's Prayer, if you think about it, was in the Garden of Gethsemane, recorded in John, chapter 17. [00:03:20] There are similarities, absolutely, about trust and about submission. [00:03:26] But Jesus did not, in fact, pray the Lord's Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. [00:03:33] And so the context of the Lord's Prayer, because every text has a context, right? [00:03:39] In Matthew, chapter 5, 6 and 7, Jesus is doing the greatest sermon that's ever been spoken. It's called the Sermon on the Mount. Also recorded in another gospel, according to Luke, Luke, chapter 11, is the Lord's Prayer. So the context is a Sermon on the Mount. The disciples ask Jesus. In fact, they say, teach us to pray. Let's be very clear before we go any further. They did not ask Jesus to teach us how to pray. That's completely different. [00:04:16] The disciples asked Jesus teach us to pray, not how to pray. They were Jewish. [00:04:24] They grew up memorizing prayers. [00:04:29] And so this is not so much in instruction for prayer rather than motivation to pray. [00:04:38] And so Jesus starts this by saying in the manner, therefore pray. Now, that can be translated as along these lines, pray or pray the following way. So this is a prayer not necessarily to be memorized, but more of a model in which we approached God. And so maybe if we could put it like this, the Lord's Prayer is designed for you and I to become a person, to become people of prayer. [00:05:19] That's the bottom line of this prayer, that Jesus uses the most relational language that he possibly can to describe prayer, summarized in three words, relationship. Relationship, relationship. [00:05:36] It's not just a functional transaction with a cosmic deity in a land far, far away, but it's a relationship is where we start with this Lord's Prayer, and it's a relationship with our Father. [00:05:56] And so today, we won't consider this entire prayer. We're going to simply have a look at the first four words. Our Father in heaven. There are six movements within this particular prayer, hence six weeks to come on this prayer. Six movements. And this is the first movement of the Lord's Prayer. Our Father in Heaven. Four words we're going to discuss today. That's them right there. [00:06:29] But there are another four words we're going to look at also today. And they're my first point where we start with relationship. [00:06:37] It starts with relationship, then we move onto lordship, then onto fellowship, and then onto guardianship. [00:06:45] But, but the first one is that of relationship, where we start with the word Father. Of those four words, let's start with the word Father immediately. What Jesus is teaching the disciples here is that he's revealing God's character to them. [00:07:05] It implies relationship immediately. [00:07:08] It implies family, that we don't pray to the force. [00:07:13] That was Star wars, right? We don't pray to the force. We pray Jesus saying to our Father, and let's be mindful here in the Lord's Prayer, it doesn't also start with requests when we pray. This is a model for prayer. We don't come straight away to God, demanding, commanding. [00:07:32] We come to God acknowledging that he is our Father, which implies relationship. It implies family. And of course, as we read this prayer now in 2026, this term may not necessarily be a happy term for some people. [00:07:55] It carries certain Baggage, maybe for our earthly father who presented to us disappointment, neglect or resentment. [00:08:04] And you might find it hard to relate to God, but father isn't necessarily a positive word for you. Now, I want to say to you this morning, before we move any further, if that is your experience, I want you to know that Jesus is certainly not projecting your earthly father onto God. He's in fact redefining Father through God. And so Father, Father is the term for God that Jesus used more than any other term for when he referred to God. In fact, you look through the Gospels, you'll see it over 160 times, this word, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father. That's who Jesus refers to when he's speaking to, to God. And it's interesting as you look back in history, that Moses referred to God as I am. [00:09:03] The Israelites referred to God as Jehovah, Yahweh. And because of Jesus, he refers, and we refer to him as Father, but back to Jesus 160 times he refers to God as Father, except for one time he refers to him as God, and that was on the cross. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why? He's quoting here Psalm chapter 22, which he then quickly reverts back to Father when he says, father, you, into your hands I commit my spirit. [00:09:54] And so let's get the context once again. [00:09:58] This first century Jewish rabbi comes along, and for us as we read this, to call God Father. It's not unusual. However, when Jesus was introducing this model of prayer to his disciples, this was revolutionary. [00:10:18] Absolutely had not been done up until this point. [00:10:22] You think about all the ancient religions of the time, you think about the Greek and the Roman and Judaism, they never addressed God as Father. Master, absolutely. [00:10:35] Ruler, you bet. And mighty. [00:10:39] They were the kind of words that they addressed God as, but never Father. [00:10:45] And so Jesus comes along. [00:10:49] The first Jewish rabbi to refer to God as Father is Jesus of Nazareth. In this manner, therefore pray. So we've got to understand before we move any further. This was a radical departure from Judaism. So radical was this sense of calling God the Father, that many wanted Jesus dead because he spoke so freely of God as Father, rather than somebody out in a land far, far away. John 5, 17, 18. But Jesus answered them. He said, my Father has been working until now and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him. [00:11:41] Why? [00:11:42] Because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father. [00:11:53] So Jesus comes along, shares the Lord's prayer, the disciples prayer, the model of prayer, and this is a radical change. So he's moving from that sense of restricted access to access all areas at all times, direct access to the Father through Jesus his son. [00:12:21] And sometimes, you know, when you're having relationship, when you're having conversations with people that you're in relationship with and you're talking about maybe things of faith, and it's a dead giveaway about that person's particular relationship is quite distant. When they start talking to the father, Father about the big guy or the man upstairs or the big fella, it kind of. [00:12:55] It's immediate giveaway about where this sense of relationship maybe isn't with our Father. [00:13:07] So firstly, it speaks of relationship. [00:13:10] Relationship, let's start there. [00:13:12] But secondly, it also speaks of lordship. [00:13:19] This is his rule in our lives to have God as father. [00:13:26] It implies that what, that we are his children. [00:13:31] And so it's not only relationship with God, but. But it's also respect for God as we are instructed to respect our parents here on earth. And so our Father deserves this level of reverence that goes beyond any kind of earthly father to a place of intimate reverence. You see, relationship leads to lordship. [00:14:03] And of course, the prayer goes on. I won't go there too much today. That is the word hallowed. The word hallowed. And this is the significance of God's name being treated as holy with respect and being honoured. [00:14:22] Hallowed. Hallowed be your name. It's that term that your kingdom come where we acknowledge that there is a ruler of a kingdom and this kingdom has a king. Your will be done. That God's children should be concerned about doing the will of the Father. And of course, there's two types of people, isn't there? [00:14:45] The first type is those who say, your will be done. The second type is my will be done. And let's be honest, if I was to write this prayer, I'd be saying my Father. I'd probably be saying my Father. But Jesus has come to bring about new community, that we do life together as his followers in community, when that's where he comes back to our Father. And so when God is your Father, yes, it implies relationship, but it also implies lordship, reverence, intimate reverence and respect to our Father in heaven. Heaven. The third thing it brings is fellowship. Fellowship. [00:15:28] Because as soon as you pray our Father, we are embracing others. [00:15:36] That you and I, we are not only not seen as an only child, that we have brothers and sisters, that we're a part of a family and we are connected in and we aren't isolated. And as you'll notice throughout this prayer, there's not a single personal pronoun in this entire prayer. There's no I, there's no me, there's no mine. Because Jesus came to take away a self focused life and replace those pronouns with our, with us, with we. Why? Because we're a part of a family. We're a part of his new community. And so in this prayer there's elimination. There is an elimination of self and also a recognition of others. Starting immediately by saying, our Father, give us, forgive us. [00:16:35] Just press pause on that for a moment. Because there's a particular phrase in the New testament that appears 87 times. [00:16:43] And it's the phrase one another, one another, one another, one another. And it's by the way, often in command form to love one another, to give preference to one another, to edify one another, to receive one another, to accept one another, to greet one another, to speak of one another, to comfort one another. You see, you can't necessarily practice this idea of one another by yourself. [00:17:15] Our Father. [00:17:17] Our Father, which of course implies relationship, it implies lordship, and it implies fellowship. And the fourth and the final one is guardianship. [00:17:30] Guardianship. [00:17:33] This is God's residence. [00:17:37] In this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father. Where is He? He is in. [00:17:43] In heaven. [00:17:46] In heaven. [00:17:50] In heaven. Where's heaven? [00:17:53] In a land far, far. No, it's not that. Star wars again. All right, get over that, get over that. And I'm not going to go into all of this. That's a whole message in itself. But heaven, it's in the way that we imagine. [00:18:10] It's in the way of imagining God's universal power and presence that is above all things, that he rules as king, yet he is as close as the air that we breathe. [00:18:28] It can become very confusing really quick if we're not careful. [00:18:35] And so yet because he is in heaven, he has all of heaven's resources because he's the Lord of Heaven. [00:18:52] He's the Lord of all. [00:18:54] And heaven is a place of power and authority. I'm going to touch base on that in a couple of weeks time. But it's a place of power and authority. We're talking about guardianship, guardianship here, where he is the guardian of the universe. He's the Creator of the universe, of course. And we think of this as maybe think of this as God's base of operation where he exercises all that power. [00:19:23] He exercises all authority and all of provision. Jehovah Jireh, our provider. So when we pray Our Father in heaven, it's to. This is so clever of Jesus. [00:19:38] It's to elevate our perspective because now we're dealing with the God who. That all things are possible, that all things are possible. [00:19:50] All power and all authority come from this place in heaven. I want to ask you. Just press pause. Let's bring it home. Just for a moment. Let's have a human touch here. Just for a moment, if we could. What are you dealing with person in your life right now that you need all power and all authority to come in to your life? And have you prayed for to our Father in heaven about those things for your life? [00:20:15] Have a think about that. Just for a moment in your heart of hearts. [00:20:24] All of heaven's resources are at his disposal. Why is this important? I think it's important for a few things because too often I don't know what it's like for you. Too often when it comes to prayer, that we come to God with our limitations and we kind of come to him and we kind of put that over onto God, as if God himself is weak, as if God himself is overwhelmed. [00:20:57] Isaiah, chapter six. Speaking of being overwhelmed. Isaiah, chapter six. The prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was also feeling quite overwhelmed by what was happening on earth. It was a dark time in history. At the particular time, the nation was facing a crisis. Spiritually, they were going. [00:21:19] Many had backslidden. And this broke the great prophet's heart at this particular time in history. Now, to top it off, the king, the king had resigned after 52 years. And this king brought about extraordinary stability and security at this particular time. And he was a godly ruler named Uzziah. You probably may have heard of him, but he had died. [00:21:44] He had died. [00:21:46] And so because of his passing, the throne of Israel had become vacant. And the prophet Isaiah is kind of stepping back, asking questions, what. What do we do now? And all of a sudden, this vision comes to this great prophet where it says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple. Why is that important? It's important because of this. Whilst Israel, Israel's throne had become vacant, God is tapping on the shadow of this prophet that I have not left the throne. I am still on the throne. [00:22:31] Let's bring it home just for a moment. [00:22:33] In your heart of hearts right now, what you are going through, what you are facing, what you are about to go through, do you realize what Isaiah had come to? [00:22:45] That God is still on the throne, he is still in heaven, he is still over it all he is still sovereign, meaning he reigns over it all. Is that where your trust is? Because we have a tendency, do we not, we have a tendency to forget where God is. Where is he? He is in heaven. He has the best seat in the house. [00:23:10] A couple of weeks ago, had the privilege before I started here, and we went and caught a bit of sunshine up on the Gold coast, which was really, we thought out after our winter, and we went and did a bit of whale watching, which was lovely, Alan. And then there was this air show happening on the Gold coast at the particular time. And so after a whale watching, we got tickets to Saturday with a friend of ours. But on Friday I was so keen because I'm a big air show enthusiast, aircraft enthusiast. [00:23:39] And we had this idea to go to the tallest building on the Gold coast. It's called Q1, if you're familiar with Q1. If not, Google it later. It's the tallest building on the Gold coast. And so we had to pay a bit of an entry fee and we thought, it's worth it, it's worth it. So we're up top, looking down, I kid you not, on all these planes because it's so tall, I don't know how many floors there are, but we were looking down on all these and we pulled up a seat in front of this window. It was just. I had never experienced anything quite like that. [00:24:17] We had the best seat in the house and all these people on the beach watching it, as we did on Saturday, but we had the best seat of the house. It was just amazing. Coming back to my point, God has the best seat in the house, as he observes, as he watches. [00:24:37] As we look at that, as we think about that, let's not forget that he's as close as the breath in which we breathe. As well. [00:24:48] You see, Isaiah needed to see that vision, did he not? He needed to see that vision at a time when all he could see. And maybe this is all you could see. You can see at the moment when all he could see was desperation. [00:25:03] All he could see was lack of leadership. All he could see. The list goes on. You see, this phrase in heaven balances out the first phrase of Our Father. [00:25:15] Think about this for a moment. Our Father emphasizes intimacy in heaven, emphasizes sovereignty. He reigns above it all. [00:25:29] So he is both father and ruler, which is important, but he's also intimate and he's also sovereign. [00:25:42] I loved in my reading and research, in this particular message, I came across this. Arthur W. Pink said this, that these two things should ever occupy our minds and Engage our hearts. The first without the second tends towards unholy familiarity. [00:26:01] The second without the first produces coldness and dread. [00:26:07] By combining them together, we are preserved from both evils. [00:26:13] And so let's just bring this plane into landing. If we could just for a moment, if we can just do that. [00:26:20] So this is what it means. [00:26:22] Because God is our Father. Guess what? [00:26:27] We don't have to fear. [00:26:30] We don't have to fear because God is our Father. We don't ever have to have that sense of being lonely. We may be alone, but we're not lonely because we're in communion. Because God is our Father in heaven. There is no limit to his power to those of us here on earth. But not only that, not only that, there's more. It also reminds us. The Lord's Prayer reminds us of where we are going, that our future destination. [00:27:05] As followers of Jesus, for those who put their trust in Jesus, we are heading to God's house. [00:27:16] We are getting to experience the glory of God, God in all of his fullness. And I don't know about you, we. We're never, ever going to get tired of the glory of God. [00:27:28] You see, when you start the Lord's Prayer. Our Father in Heaven. [00:27:33] Our Father in Heaven, you don't have to wonder if God is still on the throne. Jesus is teaching us to pray, that this is a declaration immediately and a reminder of who we are, whose we are, and where we belong. [00:27:57] And so maybe for some of us here this morning, as we gathered, as we reflect on our Father in Heaven, maybe the challenge for you, maybe the application for you is simply this is to come back to God in prayer. [00:28:17] To come back to God in prayer. [00:28:22] You know, as I started just a couple of weeks ago and coming into a new setting and having a new pastor and all that means and having conversations with people and connecting with Matt Guy, our chairperson. And we were talking, exchanging conversations and talking about what God's put on our heart. And like, where do I start with messages? And I was just checking, you know, what series and messages you've been spoken to about in recent times. And I've gone online and had a listen to a number of messages and so just discerning where and what to speak to you about and speaking with Matt and God speaking to Matt about prayer and God speaking to me about prayer. And it's just really cool to start in that way about speaking to us and opening God's word about prayer. And so maybe for you to come back to God in prayer, not impressive prayers. God's not impressed by all of that. Not perfect prayers, but once again, that relational, honest sense of prayer. Because the God that Jesus teaches us to pray to is not distant in a land far, far away. [00:29:35] For he is our Father in heaven. Let me pray for us. [00:29:44] Our Father in heaven. [00:29:49] How thankful we are this morning to say those four words that we have access to you all access. [00:29:59] And we thank you for Jesus because of that, that you aren't far off. But you hear our prayer and you hear our prayers. [00:30:11] We honour your holy name. You are sovereign, you reign. [00:30:17] And we long for your kingdom to come. [00:30:21] But until that time, your will be done. In this world, but also in our lives, we pray. [00:30:29] You know what we need today. You know about our daily meals, about provision in our lives and even our housing. [00:30:38] But we also pray that you would forgive us many times that we have fallen and that we've sinned against you and maybe others, that we would be quick to forgive those who sin against us. [00:30:53] Lead us, we pray, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [00:31:00] For yours is the kingdom you rule forever. [00:31:06] And yours is the power and yours is the glory. [00:31:10] And one day we will be bathed in it forever. [00:31:17] In Jesus mighty name, we pray. [00:31:19] Amen.