I invite you to keep those Blue Salter hymnals open and please turn to the back to page 59 and also to the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 7. And I'd like to actually back up a little bit to chapter 6 and read it verse 5 and then we'll skip over to Matthew 7 at verse 9. Matthew 6, verse 5, And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you and when you pray do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do for they think they will be heard for their many words do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him now skipping over to verse 7 of chapter 7 ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks it will be opened or which one of you if his son asks him for bread will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him and now uh turning over to what we believe in the lord's prayer how we were taught to pray we begin tonight um this beginning petition as we approach the lord in prayer and address actually here in question 120 so i'll ask the question this is on page 59 lord's day 56 and please respond with the answers why did christ command us to call god our father at the very beginning of our prayer christ wants to kindle in us what is basic to our prayer the childlike awe and trust that god through christ has become our father our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life god our father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith why the words our father who art in heaven these words teach us not to think of God's heavenly majesty as something earthly and to expect everything for body and soul for His almighty power. I think it's providential tonight that we have the cadets and our young boys emphasized in front of us tonight where we think about fathers and sons. And of course, when we talk about that, we're also thinking of fathers and daughters. But it's important tonight to think of this and to think of the importance of prayer in this regard. Probably one of the greatest reasons that we struggle with prayer is the greatest reason we avoid this duty is because it often seems like our duties, our challenges, our prayers are never good enough for God to hear. I think we struggle with that a little bit, don't we? We struggle a little bit with whether our prayers are really heard by God. Do our prayers, are they really answered? Maybe we struggle with whether God really accepts them. Prayer seems intimidating at times. Maybe we heard all that Jesus said tonight about vain repetitions and those things. And we approach prayer with a little bit of fear, a little bit of intrepidation. I think this was behind the disciples' concern. You remember that passage in Luke 11. Now, it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased that one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. I've always found that an amazing moment in the Gospels because they had been listening to Jesus pray. Can you imagine that? Imagine sitting and listening to the prayers of Jesus. Imagine hearing John 17. And I think I would be a little intimidated to pray after that, wouldn't you? I think so. I think they were a little worried about that. It showed that they had this desire to want to know how to pray, but we're quite sure how to do it in a way that God would accept. How should we pray? This is important. What keeps us from prayer? Is it that kind of fear? Or maybe it's just laziness that we just don't do it. We'll address both of that tonight. But I believe the corrective is essentially the same. Our procrastination or propensity even at times to sluggishness, when it comes to this duty, I believe we have to develop a confidence in the Lord in the way that he taught us to pray and that the Lord loves to hear us pray this way. A confidence that, as our Heidelberg said tonight, he will hear us when we pray to him. See, Jesus didn't leave his disciples without instruction on prayer. And since Jesus went into so much detail about prayer, we must take the time to listen to his words and put it into practice. The Lord gave instruction. The Lord gave commands on prayer. I have to tell you, one of the greatest helps to me in prayer, because there are times, and you struggle with the same thing, we don't quite know what to say, is something that Martin Luther wrote years ago. And once I heard this, I have never been able to get it out of my head. I want to read what he said about the Lord's Prayer. After having denounced showy and meaningless prayers, Jesus introduced a splendid short prayer of his own. With it, he instructed us on how to pray and what we should pray for. He gave us a prayer that touches on a variety of needs by themselves. These needs should compel us to approach God daily with these few easily remembered words. No one, now listen, this is what always stuck with me. No one can excuse himself by saying he doesn't know how to pray or what to pray for. Praying the Lord's Prayer every day is certainly a worthwhile habit, especially for ordinary people and children. Boys and girls, are you hearing it? This is a good habit to begin with, with prayer. We can pray it in the morning. Listen to the simplicity of this. We can pray it in the morning, in the evening, at the dinner table, at any time for that matter. As we pray this together, we bring our needs before God, and he hears us. I love the simplicity with which Luther wrote about prayer and encouraged us. Every time you're struggling with prayer, or you make an excuse not to pray, think about what you're saying to the Lord. He gave you a prayer, and it's memorized by even the heathen. You have access. Pray it. Pray it. Now, that always helped me a lot. And what we're about to do now then is unpack this basic simple prayer that the Lord taught us to pray so that we have an understanding of exactly what we're saying. We're not doing it with a mindless repetition. We're not doing it thinking by just saying the form of prayer, we've accomplished something. There's meaning to this. There's understanding with this. Thus far, we've considered the necessity of prayer. Last time we introduced why we need to pray, why prayer is so important, the characteristics. And now tonight we begin with the content of prayer. And I love how it begins. Jesus told us to pray and begin prayer with our Father who art in heaven. I've always been so encouraged by that. What a wonderful blessing and benefit that Jesus would tell us to begin our prayers this way. It's important to say that the content and form of prayer is important to our Lord. The Lord's telling us how to prayer. Careless prayers, irreverent prayers can be sinful prayers. Before us, Jesus gives a beautiful form to it and beautiful content. In this manner, therefore, pray, said Jesus when they asked. How do you want us to pray? In this manner, therefore, pray. You could paraphrase real simply, pray like this. He's giving us a model for how prayer should be designed, how prayer should be performed, how prayer should be given. And the one phrase that we're beginning tonight to consider is our Father in heaven. Jesus says, when you pray, pray in this manner, our Father, which are in heaven. What a wonderful, wonderful blessing. First person of the Godhead, Father of Christ, and in Christ and on account of Christ, you'll notice there that Heidelberg says tonight that we, He is our Father. I want that to set in a little bit tonight. That's really my goal of this sermon, is to let that set in a little bit tonight. That the reason that you have the ability to call God your Father is because Jesus made that possible and made that a reality by dying on the cross so that you now, He is the Son of God, you are adopted sons brought into the family of God, brought into. it's a privilege now that you're given a special privilege because of christ's work that has now been made clear of the access that we have to come to the throne of grace that we now can come as sons sons and the way even that you are to pray is right through as we considered last time the spirit's intercession helps us with groanings that cannot be uttered we looked at but that the spirit also is helping us so that we would rightly understand how to pray abba father it's romans eight one pastor said thus the two words our father are enough to overwhelm us to this benefit there is nothing more meaningful and more telling than jesus calling us to address his father in prayer within this introduction Jesus reveals a special intimacy that had not been made clear in previous times in fact there was a dreadful fear of the Jews to even approach God in prayer that's an interesting comment interesting that in about 300 BC the Jews wouldn't even mention the name of God it was too holy for them it was too holy and maybe that's why it disturbs me so much today that we throw away and throw around God's name so loosely and so irreverently but there's this real tendency I think on our part to react and we can when we think about prayer distance ourselves so far from the Lord that we never really know are intended to receive the intimacy that has now been opened up to us through jesus's work that's what's on my mind tonight the intimacy that has now been opened up to us through jesus's work remember last time the father the lord god he's near to you he's near to you years ago a man said to me after worship service that in coming before God years ago it was always stated as they entered into worship God is in his holy tabernacle and we are on earth let all keep silence before him that was a common phrase that was always used entering into worship as Christians would gather into worship that is absolutely true there has to be a respect for whom we are approaching and we have to do that with reverence and with godly fear. But we should never do it without honesty. I stumbled on this statement by one pastor and I thought this kind of touches on last time the extremes in prayer, the dangers of prayer. When I hear someone address God as the eternal one, the most blessed one, who has heaven as his throne and earth as his footstool, who is always faithful and so on, such lofty language all the time, then I think, man, stop it. You're not at all sensing what you are saying and who you are talking to. I struggled. Is that true? He said, hence the address of Father is full of simplicity and yet the most exalted name by which we address God. The fact is, Jesus is telling us to use the most affectionate address that we know when approaching God. as our Heavenly Father, First Person of the Trinity, Abba, Father. There is nothing more intimate and nothing more special than to be able to come to your Father this way. Heidelberg recognizes tonight that we come to Him with childlike awe and trust. Our prayers should always approach God with this kind of confidence that we are His adopted children. I'm trying to encourage you tonight to think about the blessing of it, the joy of this wall of separation that's been torn down. Think about when Jesus was on the cross and he's facing the wrath that we sung about tonight. When he was in the garden and he said to his disciples, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death. Why? At that moment, think about what was happening as we believe the wrath of God was being poured out upon him in body and in soul. He had the right, of course, the whole time to be called God's beloved son. Remember that? The Father addressed him that way. What were his words on the cross? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? One pastor said he had denied himself the Father's favor in order that he might place the father's name on the lips on your lips and that he could now command us to address god us our father i thought that was such a important point of what jesus did on the cross when he addressed his father that way so that he would put on our lips an affectionate address never to think that he's pouring out his wrath on us never to think that way the father of course loved his son but jesus was teaching us something in that was teaching us something by putting on our lips the address father i love that it's absolutely beautiful jesus gave you that right jesus earned that for you he wants you to use it think about that think of how sad it is then if we neglect prayer even a basic use of the lord's prayer to forfeit calling god our father when that kind of sacrifice was made to give you the avenue to do it it's the greatest privilege the greatest privilege it's no wonder jesus commands us to pray our father in heaven is one of the greatest ways to begin prayer, greatest blessings for us, and we should make use of the way that he teaches us to pray, that we are taken into his family, and that we have become sons and heirs of all the promises in Jesus, and we've been given everything in the house. You have everything. I was thinking, as I was preparing this, what were the words of the prodigal son when he came to himself in the pigsty? Remember what he said? All of a sudden, he started to think about his father what his father was like he says i'm going to go back to my father you know what i'm going to say to him father father i've sinned i'm no longer worthy to be called your son and the father celebrates the father throws a robe around him the father loves him the father embraces him the father brings him into into the fold kills the fatted calf remember the prayer of the older son no address there was no address of father here's how he addressed his father lo these many years i've been serving you and i never transgressed your commandment at any time does that prove he didn't know him he didn't know him it was a slave master relationship he couldn't call him father he had no ability to call him father but the prodigal the young prodigal in the pigsty had that opened up to him and understood the father's mercy well let's talk a little bit about that thought for a minute you have this beautiful analogy tonight and thinking about all of this in our own relationships fathers and sons sons and daughters, and that relationship with fathers. The Heidelberg picks it up. Jesus picked it up. There's somewhat a respect that we have for our earthly fathers. We love them. We reverence them. We look to them. It's really amazing at how much you grow up, and it's wired into our sons and daughters to want to please their father, especially sons to want to be like their father. it's almost scary, isn't it? It's almost scary how much we really look to our fathers. That's why losing a father was so painful for me. He was such a positive encouragement to me. We want to be like our fathers. We follow our fathers. We respect our fathers. The reverence that a son has for his father and the love a father has for his son and daughter, it's so beautiful, isn't it? How do you describe that? How do you describe that tonight? I'm giving thought to why we're struggling then with prayer. If the relationship is to be like that, which Jesus draws the parallel in Scripture, why am I struggling with that in prayer, with Him? You see? Isn't that a fair question? I remember, maybe this is one reason. I remember my grandmother told me that her father never once in the course of her life told her that he loved her. He was an old German immigrant. This was a hard farmer. Never smiled. You just didn't do that in that generation. You never smiled. The kids were treated as servants out on the farm. I was just sitting with a pastor friend from Scotland. And he's taking a call to Canada. And he was telling me about all of his brothers who are all in the ministry. All of the sons went in the ministry. And I asked him, I said, you must have had an amazing father. And he goes, no. He said, I had an amazing mother, I'll tell you that. I said, what was, that's amazing. How did all of the sons go in the ministry? my father was a hard man my father was as distant from us as i i never remember him ever embracing us that stuck with me i could go on um why do women grow up struggling with god well looking at my own family my grandfather on my mother's side was a non-believing hard man heavy drinker was in the bars ended up in a big divorce in the family and four daughters my mom's one of four the effect that has had on her in the whole course of her life I've seen it. I remember when she was taking communion one time as a child. She was taking communion and I had no idea. I remember as she was holding the communion and she was going like this. She couldn't believe that God could love her. Why? Because that was the kind of father she had. If that's the relationship you've had with your earthly father, what son would ever feel like he's approachable, right? What daughter would ever feel like he's approachable? Would you ever come to such a man with questions? If your father's like that, would you ever come to him with questions about life and issues about life and care and all of these things? No, there's a separation there, and so the distance is there. I think that's common. I think that's common. So that so many people have been unable to look at God except as a hard master upon us. Always ready to pick us apart. Ready to judge us. Always ready to punish us. Always as the most holy God who sits on the throne who we can never have access to. Are you hearing Jesus? Prayer comes with a childlike trust. There's an intimacy now that He has won for you. There's a fellowship. You can come to a father and cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you. This is a challenge to earthly fathers, isn't it? You do affect how your children look at God. And I think that's one error. Then there's the other heir, isn't there? I don't think we are growing up in a generation now that has the problem of fathers being too strict, do you? No, no, they're not too strict about anything. It's all fun and games now. We've reacted against all the legalism and all the strict stuff, right? Everything's loose, everything's a game. There's no boundaries anymore. And if there are rules, what does leading look like now? If there's no direction, if there's no boundaries, then the fathers in this way may also be projecting a view upon God. And what does that produce? A lack of respect. You don't listen to someone you don't respect. That's proven. Why pray to someone you don't respect? why pray to someone you don't take seriously you see we like the other way because it's easy to say we're done with all the strict stuff but we also have to think of this this air don't we and what we can project upon god and then we don't approach him because I'm doing my own thing. Dad doesn't really care about me or Dad's all about fun and games. Dad's all about four-wheeling. Why take God seriously? Well, those are two extremes, I understand. And I'm guilty in both ways. I think tonight then that leads us to why we're praying our Father who art in heaven. I think that leads us to think a little bit about the importance of remembering who we are praying to. There's a balance here, isn't there? I know Dr. Clark this morning interacted with Christianity and liberalism. I've always found something that J. Gretchen Machen said, something to keep in mind about God, but that this is not, for the Christian, a scary thing. This is the greatest blessing, but to remember that this is true. The liberal conception of God differs even more fundamentally from the Christian view that in the different circle of ideas connected with the terminology of fatherhood. The truth is that liberalism has lost sight of the very center and core of the Christian teaching. In the Christian view of God as set forth in the Bible, there are many elements, but one attribute of God is absolutely fundamental in the Bible. One attribute is absolutely necessary to render intelligible all the rest. That attribute is the great transcendence of God. From beginning to end, the Bible is concerned to set forth the awful gulf that separates the creature from the creator. So, he is our father, but immediately Jesus said, remember, he's a father of whom you should pray to who is in heaven. Why did Jesus tell us to do that? Well, God is everywhere in his immensity. What Jesus is telling us to recognize that the father dwells in heaven because then our minds are framed right in who we are addressing. Think of question and answer 121. These words teach us not to think of God's heavenly majesty as something earthly. He is in heaven and we are on earth. And that means that He is indeed our Father and God. And He alone, He alone, when we address Him as our Father, is now cast in the most powerful of ways and lights to us. In other words, we are now adoring Him and reverencing Him in awe that He is able to help us because He's God. This is how James motivated prayer. Don't be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom there's no variation or shadow of turning. It's a comfort to view that God is not just one of us among the mix who's suffering with us, as open theists say, that God is in heaven and can deliver us. Our father cares for us and that he's sovereign. We sang that this morning. Oh, father, you are sovereign. His omnipotence extends everywhere. It's power. He sees every intimate detail of your life. Psalm 139, and He's not against you. I am there, as the Lord tells us, to deliver you, to help you, everything you need for body and soul. This is our Heavenly Father. Nothing's impossible for Him. Again, there's so much power. Think about that you're able to call upon the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, that you are able to call upon Him. And he says, I love you so much that you cast your burdens upon me because I care for you and I will help you from heaven. Here's the other thing that I love when we constantly address our Father as one who dwells in heaven. It teaches us to set our longings there, as Jesus said. This is where we're headed. This is where we're going. This is where we belong. We're a people that belong to another world. In our prayers, by constantly looking to Him as our Heavenly Father, we're setting all of our affections and desires there. There's so much more to say tonight, but we're going to stop here. And Jesus says, to think in closing, call upon your Father in heaven in prayer. Have you looked to Him with childlike awe and trust? This is how He wants you to come. You approached him understanding the privilege that you've been given in Christ to be able to call God your Father and to not say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And constantly, then, in the course of your weeks, it doesn't always have to be in this form, right? In the course of your weeks, acknowledge and pray to your Heavenly Father who knows best. Trust Him. He cares for you. Talk to Him. That's what prayer is, boys and girls. Talk, talk to your Father and know that He loves you and will care for you all the way through. That is what has been earned for you in Jesus and that's how He wants you to begin your prayers to Him. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, what a privileged Lord to be able to call You our Father because of Christ and His work. We praise You tonight that You care so much for us this way. And thank you that we should have you have taught us so carefully never to regard your heavenly majesty as something earthly, but to remember that you are exalted over all and yet are our father because of Christ. And that, Lord, makes us tremble as earthly fathers to want to teach our children a right perspective about you. Thank you for the love that you've shown to us. Thank you for the care that you've given to us. Thank You that You watch over even and number the hairs of our head so that not one falls to the ground apart from our Father's will. And all of this because Jesus one day said, My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? So that we might be able to call You our Father with understanding of Your marvelous love in Christ. Give us more of Your Spirit, we pray, that we might more and more cry out, Abba, Father. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.