9-29-19 Sermon Notes
“The Lord’s Prayer – Part 4” Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4
Last week, we spent our time looking at the petition portion of the Lord’s Prayer. This week, well continue looking at the petition part of the prayer as well as the protection portion.
Introduction
A driver placed a note under the windshield wiper of his illegally parked car which read: “I’ve circled the block for 20 minutes. I’m late for an appointment, and if I don’t park here I’ll lose my job. ’Forgive us our trespasses’.”
When he came back he found a parking ticket and a note from a policeman: “I’ve circled the block for 20 years, and if I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. ’Lead us not into temptation’.”
Read Matthew 6:9-15
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
And now the verses from Luke 11
1 “One day Jesus praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Message
First, we are going to consider God’s forgiveness…and ours.
God’s Forgiveness
“Forgive us our sins.” Just as we have a need for daily food, we have a need for daily forgiveness.
A visiting minister looked at the church bulletin and noticed that they prayed the Lord’s Prayer. Not wanting to make a mistake, he asked a Deacon, “Are you, debtors or trespassers?” In Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer the word “debts” is used, while Luke uses the word “trespasses”. They are very similar words. When we hear the word ’trespass’ we think of going where we’re not supposed to be such as in “Trespassers will be prosecuted”. When we’re tempted to sin, we should say, “Let’s not go there!” Followers of Christ will want to live lawfully. The Greek word for “trespasses” means “to slip or fall”. There are times we fall into sin by violating God’s Law.
A Sunday School teacher asked her class, “What must you first do before you can be forgiven?” A child answered, “Sin.”
The word ’debt’ sometimes refers to a monetary debt, but more often it means a moral debt. We owe God obedience, and we can’t deliver; we’re spiritually bankrupt. On the cross Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe because we have a debt we can’t pay. We’re all sinners in need of forgiveness. The Bible says “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). The cross of Christ represents the cost of our forgiveness. The most essential and difficult thing God ever did was to provide forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness is our greatest human need. On the cross, our debt is stamped ’PAID IN FULL’. The charges against us have been dismissed.
We’ve heard it said, “To err is human, to forgive, divine”. We might like to believe that God is obligated to forgive everyone. He forgives those who confess their sin and ask to be forgiven. The problem is, many people do not think of themselves as sinners, and simply aren’t sorry for the things they’ve done. Some people are overwhelmed by unresolved guilt, while others with callused consciences could stand to experience guilt. How come some people struggle with guilt? It may be because they’re guilty! Fallen human nature often minimizes the need for forgiveness. The book of Psalms describes the typical unbeliever: “There is no fear of God before his eyes” (Psalm 36:1). They don’t worry about their sins; they don’t accept the fact that sin offends the holiness of God. The gravity of sin is diminished by denying moral absolutes as if there is no right and wrong, then anything is permissible and there is no need to be forgiven. Our culture is one that calls evil good and good evil. Someone observed, “Worldliness is what makes sin look normal in any age and righteousness seem odd.”
There is a popular way of apologizing today without admitting guilt: “If you feel I did something wrong, please excuse me.” Instead of confessing sin, people claim they made “a mistake”. In court, people plead “no contest”. When we come to God, we offer no excuses; we simply plead for mercy.
Sin has eternal consequences. The prophet Habakkuk exclaims, “God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil; He cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). All sin must be punished, and it was upon the cross. Forgiveness is the removal of our guilt. In Isaiah God declares, “I am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Our forgiveness
“for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”
We have an obligation to extend forgiveness to others. People who are unforgiving cannot understand or accept the forgiveness God offers. Anyone who is not willing to forgive another has not experienced God’s forgiveness. When we refuse to forgive others, we are asking God not to forgive us.
There are many people who refuse to forgive because they harbor resentments and hold grudges. Victims can become bitter, wishing only to get even. People often claim, “I forgive, but I’ll never forget!” When you hear this, do something unexpected. Urge that person not to forget by saying, “I want you to remember! Every time you remember the offense and feel the hurt, I want you to remember your forgiveness.” Amnesia isn’t the goal!
We’re able to forgive, not because we’re such nice people, not because we feel like forgiving, but because we’ve been set free. Forgiveness breaks the power of the past. When people say “I can’t forgive” what they really mean is “I won’t forgive.” A European author tells about a man who borrowed some money and took two years to pay it back. The angry lender said to the man, “No, keep the money because it’s not worth changing my opinion of you.” Forgiveness is not a feeling. Instead, it is a clear choice, an intentional, conscious decision.
The first person who gains from forgiveness is the person who does the forgiving. There is a benefit to offering forgiveness. When we hold a grudge, we’re often enslaved by our animosity towards others; forgiveness frees us and leads to emotional healing, even if there is no reconciliation. When we refuse to forgive, we become prisoners of those who have hurt us. By forgiving, we let go of our resentment. The Hebrew word to forgive (salach) means “to have hatred in one’s fist, and to release it.” The first thing we do in forgiving is to surrender our right to get even with the person who has wronged us. Forgiveness stops the ongoing cycle of repaying vengeance with vengeance.
If Jesus had insisted on His rights, and if He gave us what we all deserved, there would have been no cross. What if Jesus dealt with us the way we deal with others? It’s a risky business to pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Do we really want God to be as forgiving as us? How can we have the nerve to ask forgiveness if we’re unwilling to offer it to others? Being unwilling to forgive is like destroying a bridge we will need to cross ourselves.
God generously holds out forgiveness to us. The Apostle John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). This is our assurance of pardon.
Some people say “I can resist anything but temptation.” Some people don’t need to ask “Lead me not into temptation” because they can find it on their own!
It is important that we understand what the word “temptation” means. The Greek word, peirasmos, is a neutral word–it can mean, based on the context, either temptations, testings or trials.
Temptation
A temptation is an enticement to evil. So why would we need to ask God not to do something He would never do? God leads us in the “paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23); James says that God doesn’t tempt anyone (James 1:13). One explanation is that the phrase “lead us not into temptation” is a figure of speech, meaning, “lead us into righteousness.”
When we’re tempted, it’s easy to offer excuses: “It’s someone ease’s fault”…”I couldn’t help it”…”Everybody is doing it”…”I made a mistake”…”Nobody’s perfect”…”I didn’t know it was wrong”…”I was pressured into it”…or “The devil made me do it”.
The devil may tempt us, but we decide whether to yield to temptation. Our sin is no one’s fault but ours. We are responsible for our actions. When we sin, we need to admit and confess to God.
A mark of genuine faith is a changed outlook on sin. We all have areas we struggle with, and we may try to rationalize or justify certain things, but for the most part, we recognize sin for what it is as rebellion against a holy God. If we were repelled by sin it wouldn’t be so tempting. When we take on a Christian worldview, we regard wrong-doing differently. Our sinful desires aren’t eradicated, but they are aligned more with what is right.
Most temptations begin on the inside. We have inner urges which can lead to sinful choices. A Native American explained that he had two dogs inside him, a good dog and a bad dog. They were constantly fighting with each other. When asked which dog usually wins, he answered, “The one I feed the most.”
Testing
Perhaps a clearer translation regarding testing is: “Preserve us in testing.” In other words, “Help us while we’re facing the inevitable hardships and enticements of life.” A test is a challenge to prove the character of our convictions. Paul assures us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13). When we pray this prayer we’re asking God, “Please spare me this trial, but if I must endure it, strengthen me and protect me from any potential sin.” We can turn trials into temptations. God tests us so we can know how strong we are, and need to be. They also show the genuineness of our faith.
In the future, we may be faced with an ethical choice and torn between two options. This moral dilemma might be a temptation from Satan or a test from God. The difference is the intent. Satan wants us to yield and fall; God wants us to resist and triumph. In the Lord’s Prayer we’re not asking God to keep us from testing, but to help us pass the test. Job, the most tested man in history said, “When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can approach tests with confidence.
Trials
There are tests, temptations…and trials. A trial is adversity, suffering, affliction. It’s been said, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Trials build character; they transform common Christians into uncommon saints. Trials are part of God’s plan for us. They aren’t especially welcome, but they can and do increase our faith.
When facing adversity or ethical dilemmas, we might pray that God will lead us to people who can help us resist and overcome. Alcoholics Anonymous has a great plan that encourages people to seek God’s help, and they have a buddy-system. In AA, when a person is tempted to take a drink, they have names and numbers of people they can turn to for encouragement.
Three times Jesus interrupted His prayers to wake up His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus urged them, “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into trial.” Hours later, Peter’s faith was tested three times, and he miserably failed. He might not have betrayed Jesus had he remained awake in the garden. Then, after the resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” The point is that the ability to withstand a temptation, trial or testing is directly connected with prayer.
Temptations, tests, and trials are opportunities for us to mature in our faith. We can overcome by immersing ourselves in the study of God’s word, by spending serious time in prayer, by the support of Christian fellowship, and by adopting a Biblical worldview.
Mastery over temptation is possible. “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Jesus can liberate us from the urges within us. We can take on a lifestyle of turning: from sin to righteousness; from self to God; from death to life; from slavery to freedom; from despair to hope; from self-abuse to self-control. When we really mean business with God, we think to ask when tempted, “What would Jesus do?”
Concluding Remarks and Application
The Process of Forgiveness:
> Don’t deny feelings of hurt or anger – acknowledge these feelings and commit yourself to doing something about them.
> Make a conscious decision not to seek revenge or nurse a grudge and decide instead to forgive.
> Think differently about the offender.
> Accept the pain you’ve experienced without passing it onto others, including the offender.
> Think about how it feels to be released from a burden or grudge.
> Seek meaning in the suffering you’ve experienced.
> See the offender as a tool God is using to build character in you.
> Realize the paradox of forgiveness: as you let go and forgive the offender, you are experiencing release and healing.
In heaven, we will be free from the presence of sin. In the meantime, we struggle with pressures to violate our conscience and God’s Law. The big difference in the lives of Believers is that, while we used to be sinners running after sin, we are now sinners running from sin.