991. Our Father Which Art In Heaven

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Our study series for the next several days will be in Matthew chapter 6 the Lord's prayer will hear from several BJ you seminary professors in this series today will be studying our father which art in heaven with seminary professor, Dr. Layton Talbert. He would turn to Matthew chapter 6 my assigned sermon title specifically is our father which art in heaven, my chosen sermon subtitle is no latch only springs I let you ponder that for a while. I have a favorite mental image of fatherhood to me.

They've heard me talk about this before it is shaped from a lot of personal experience and the images you're driving home from a daylong outing in the mountains around the country somewhere with your kids and sun is shining or not and you're contentedly fatigued. Your wife is in the seat beside you all your kids are piled in the back and you feel very very alone because you're the only one awake in the car you are in the single soul awake in a van full of snoring slobbering people and that includes your wife and us. That's not my family. What I wouldn't give for picture of my family asleep in my van, you could fit in my Ford Ranger, but when you're the one driving is a little risky to try to get that that you alone stand between your family and across to the guardrail and down the mountains literally and everything inside you wants to shut down and just take a little nap.

Just close your eyes for second all the all the regular breathing around you doesn't help at all. So you do whatever you need to stay awake and so you try to music perfectly something kind of punchy keep you awake going. I like soundtracks.

Once I was listening to finding Nemo and one track ended got real quiet in the car and the next track started with shark bait one half and I thought my wife would jump through the window. It was it was really gratifying and it didn't last long, so you try the things you bounce vigorously up and down in your seat you make weird faces at passing cars for your own amusement. Whatever it takes because their welfare.

Their lives are in your hands at your job. You're the debt that's what dads do. And that's part of the nature of fatherhood in the image of God. One of the songs of Ascent's those Psalms for Israelite families who travel to Jerusalem for the national holidays describes the Lord this way.

He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep now. You're very aware, even without looking at Matthew six in the text were to return to her that you have Artie turned to that when Jesus taught people to pray out of all the possible names or titles for God, but he could have would you have chosen. He selected he instructed us to address God by this title. Our father, and there are two really remarkable things about this passage and specifically about this text in the first is this. Did you know that this is the first time in the Bible that anyone ever teaches anyone else how to pray first time Moses never told anybody to pray is that he didn't pray but he didn't give instruction on how there's no instruction in the entire Pentagon how to pray. Now the kings of Israel and gives instruction on how to pray.

The psalmist, the prophets never say pray this way.

Or here's what you should say. Or here's what you should address God in prayer course are lots of great examples in the Old Testament of prayer, and they are very instructive by example. But never before has anyone actually given specific instruction to God's people on how to pray what to say how to approach God in prayer. The sun is the first one to specifically directly teach us what and how to pray not say that nobody else ever did.

Later the disciples are to say Lord, teach us to pray like John taught his disciples are clearly chart. John did teach his disciples to pray.

But in terms of actual instruction in the Bible of someone teaching someone else had a bright week. This is the first of the second remarkable thing about this context, see me about this text is the context and since this prayer is to be our focal point for the semester. Each of the messages going to take its title like mine has been taken from successive section. Some successive phrases of the prayer answers will all be delivering sermons on what is in fact a part of Jesus sermon and since this is the first one in the series.

It seems appropriate to spend a few minutes adding this part of Jesus sermon in the larger context of his whole sermon.

How does this prayer pattern fit into the context that Jesus himself constructed for it. The overarching theme of the sermon on the Mount.

No surprise you is the kingdom of God. In fact, just to show you that briefly turned by just remember the page or two to chapter 4 verse 23 and you read the statement that Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. That's the theme of his preaching ministry. The gospel of the kingdom. Well, what exactly did that sound like Matthew 537 is the first example of the content of that preaching of the gospel of the kingdom and look how the bit how that sermon begins chapter 5 in verse three Blessed are the poor and those in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven the end of the Beatitudes chapter of verse 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now turn over to the end of the sermon. Chapter 7 verse 21 and see how Jesus ends. Not everyone that says enemy Lord Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven and in fact one of the references in the kingdom is wedged right into this prayer in the form of the request. Thy kingdom come. So, that being the case, what title or titles for deity. Would you tend to expect to see in this sermon by Jesus on the kingdom King, I would. I would expect to see King one time shows up in this entire sermon Lord it's pretty kingdom oriented title Lord shows up five times God shows up six times the title by which Jesus identifies and preaches and teaches and applies the truth about God and his kingdom more than any other title. Is this what 17 times just in this sermon he refers to God as father, our father, your father, and in fact father is Jesus characteristic designation for God all through Matthew 44 times and that is distinctive of Matthew among the Synoptics, Mark and Marquise referred to as father five times in Luke, the longest of the gospel he still only has just as many references to God as father is her in just the sermon on the Mount in Matthew so Jesus we should be aware, we should become aware. For not is not introducing something novel here something new in the Old Testament. Not only is God to God said to be like a father like a father pities his children father, the fatherless is God and his holy habitation, but he is also called addressed as pray to as father Remi 32 is not your father your creator who formed you. Psalm 89. He shook Rodney referred to the Davidic air. The Davidic king, he should try to meet you are my father, my God the rock of my salvation.

Isaiah 63 Dallas, you are our father, you will Lord our father Isaiah 64. Now, Lord, you are our father. This is a person speaking to God, which is the typical definition for prayer calling God father so describing God as father, as our father thinking of God as our father and even directly addressing God as father is not new but it is never been so accentuated as it is by Jesus, particularly in Matthew, the question arises how how does Jesus get to this prayer instruction that is the focus of our attention.

This whole semester. How does he get to it in the course of his sermon phone little bit more closely at the context and specifically the progression of Jesus kind of an outline of Jesus sermon.

There is Jesus as more of an outline than I do. This morning I just kind of rambling and meandering take no official outlets are and breaking all the rules. But Jesus has a pretty clear outline chapter 5 he deals with public righteousness, anger, adultery, integrity, personal retaliation, compassion, how we behave in our relationships with other people. That's the focus of the first part of us are, but then he moves in the area of private religion is a private religion says both of those terms. He particularly preaches about the perversion of private religion into public performance. So Francis, he talks about public versus private deeds of charity and public versus private chair, prayer, and pagan versus pious prayer and I mean pious in the proper sense the legitimate since the positive sense of the term proper fasting. He talks about personal priorities are, they'll start with pages it works that way. And then he ends in chapter 7 with an extended note of personal response to his message. So at the heart of his sermon is Jesus instruction on prayer. Because what we pray and how we pray, is most revelatory of what we believe about God and what we think about ourselves with resume into this section on prayer we discover that Jesus just got to keep sharpening the focus overlook particular beginning in chapter 6, verse five, at his his successive teaching on prayer and how he keeps sharpening his focus on issues related to that.

So he starts with where where not to pray.

Where to pray and why verse five and six. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, your closet when you have shut the door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you in some debate about whether or not it's reward you openly.

But frankly that's consistent with what we have teaching that elsewhere in the New Testament the problem that Jesus is addressing here is not merely praying in public. Jesus is not condemning Dr. Bell for having open this up publicly in prayer, but the desire to be seen to pray they love to pray standing in the synagogues, standing on the street corners that they may be seen by men. The desire to be seen to pray is motivated by a self-promotion that is a symptom of hypocrisy, which is why Jesus stated that we don't pray, don't be like the hypocrites. When you break secret prayer is witnessed by the only one that matters and is referred to in the passage as your father.

So from there. Jesus moves on to how to pray and how not to versus seven, eight, pray thoughtfully, not mindlessly verse seven. When you pray, don't use vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they will be here for their many words are much speaking.

Therefore, don't be like them, for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask, he doesn't say don't use repetitions. Jesus did. Paul did, but not vain repetitions and they may be vain for different reasons.

They may be vain because the words themselves are just thoughtless phrases that we use by force of habit. We start our prayer is the same way every time.

And there's nothing wrong with that but you ought to mean what you're saying.

Every time you say it, even if you're saying the same thing hamlets unrepentant father or a famous quotation my words fly up my thoughts remain below words without thoughts never to heaven go, they may be vain because we assume that the more we say, the more likely we are to get God's attention and get God's response, and that actually seems to be the direction of the Lord takes this thought. He says don't data like ghetto is the Greek word here.

Don't battle a ghetto like the heathen, and versions have fun with this. Don't heap up empty phrases don't use meaningless repetition. Don't babble repetitions. We don't keep on babbling, just filling the space with talk because it's awkward if you leave a space when you're talking to God.

Why not awkward when you leave empty space when you're talking to someone else were we compelled to fill up empty space with words don't do that for he says they suppose that they will be heard on account of their poly like the other there piling up of words, why should we not pray this way because these ideas.

The ideas the idea that the repetition of words is required to get God's attention or that prayer is a form of manipulation, manipulative, magic, or that long prayers merit a favorable answer from God or the prayer needs to fully inform God about something that he does not know all of those are characteristic of paganism.

Paganism is totally wrong ideas about God.

Don't be like that.

Don't think about him like so pray like the heathen. In contrast, look at verse nine PC.

Therefore, in verse nine continuation. Therefore, Jesus gives a positive pattern of what to pray versus 913 don't be like the hypocrites don't pray for man's eyes, but for your father's eyes only. Don't be like the heathen do pray like the heathen don't pile up empty words.

Thinking that you have to inform or cajole God for an answer, your father already knows. Instead, pray like this after this manner. In this way the phrase means.

The last time I checked our library had over 50 books not on the sermon on the Mount just on this prayer versus 9 to 13/50 books books just on the Sprint. Another over a dozen volumes of sermons just on this prayer in Calvin's Institute of grid of the Christian religion. There is a 70 page section on prayer.

30% of that account. At pages 30% of it is just on this prayer, David Crump has a excellent book knocking on heavens door, a New Testament theology of petitionary prayer. He deals with petitioner prayer all through the New Testament 300 pages 60 pages of that three chapters of that is just on this. 20% of the book is just on this prayer so my point is way yonder lots has been said about this prayer, but it begins not with the title of stiff grandiosity and according Microsoft Word that's worded and underlined. It was quickly read thinks that the word some to stick with it. The start of a grandiose title for deity, but with a familial simplicity and an elegant familiarity our father in heaven is a title of address that mingles transcendence and have them all powerful above everything ruling overall. That's where our father is.

That's his realm. Side Revelation chapter 4.

John is taken up into heaven and the first thing he sees up in heaven is thrown. Someone is in charge of everything down below, but it mingles that transcendence of in heaven with stunning condescension. Our father familiar tender, caring, compassionate, aware, attentive, think about these titles, God, Lord, Master, King Savior, Redeemer, and 100 others over against and not pitting them but for the sake of contrast versus father father. What does that title that appellation that name and role convey that the others don't.

And why does Jesus choose this term as the shaping context.

The conditioning context for all of our interactions with him in this whole sermon and specifically in this instruction on how to pray. All these titles always all these titles dimension and others are entirely appropriate ways to address God in prayer. They'll have their proper place. They'll have the proper emphasis regarding our relationship to deity but but that there's something very fundamental and foundational about this. This one is unique, its implications of tenderness and care and provision and protection and closeness and familial warmth Islam you may know, has 99 names in the script of titles forgot look them up. Father is not one of them. Muslims don't have a father but Jesus taught repeatedly and emphatically you do remember how many times Jesus refers to God as father sermon the Mount 17 of those 17 and the sermon out 10 times out of those.

Jesus specifically describes him as your father in heaven, or your heavenly father. So it seems that whatever else Jesus teaches us about our heavenly father. In this sermon ought to condition our conception of him when he we address him that way in prayer. What what from Jesus teaching should inform our thinking as we address in that way, not just what images do we carry from our conception of fatherhood. What else does Jesus teach about father particular as our heavenly father in the sermon the should condition how we think of him when we come to him. We just briefly draw your attention to the select chapter 5 in verse 16 because he's been talking about being salt and light being the light of the world. Let your light so shine for 60 form and that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Your father is in heaven is to be glorified by your life factor that in. Think about that when you come to him in prayer and address and that way there's a particular claim on you, just as your laying claim to him as your father. There's a claim on you in connection with your relationship to him. In this regard. Look at chapter 5, verse 45 talking about blessing.

Those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he makes his sun to rise on the evil all good he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Be there for verse 48 perfect just like your father who is in heaven is perfect and he's talk about that in the context of this characteristic of God our father in heaven as gracious and magnanimous to everybody, even unbelievers.

Thankfully, because that's when it started for you when you were still an unbeliever and you're supposed to be like him. In that regard be like him. This is the way he is be like him. In that regard factor that in to how you pray for people when you call on him as father how you think about people.

When you pray for them as you call him is chapter 6 you got several the report he actually read chapter 6 and verse one verse 446 and the point is made that your father in heaven sees and rewards secret charity and secret praying and already knows what you need before you ever come to him.

So when you come to him and say our father relish that he sees you he is with you he hears you, he will reward you. He already knows everything you need to inform him about anything, relish, and rest in that when you pray to your father in secret. Verses 14 and 15 chapter 6 and this is a follow-up of Jesus instruction from something that he mentions in the prayer for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive you.

That's a sobering one under leave that for the person that has that section of the prayer to preach on, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

But remember that our father all I'll say this much about making a connection here. Our father means that he is just as much your brothers and sisters father as he is yours and your treatment of them, whether or not you are holding grudges or being unforgiving toward someone else in the family, particularly affect your relationship to your father dissident was a wood in your normal family and then 626 and 32 626 behold the thousand year for they sow not needed in the reading with a guy that got her in Barnes and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they verse 32. After all these things the Gentiles seek all the stuff of life for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things but seek first the kingdom.

Your heavenly father will never ever abandon you or cease caring for you, so don't be like the Gentiles, like the nations like the unbelievers in your surrounding culture who fret and obsess and worry about the staff of life. They don't have the father there or fence you have a father I can't think like no I would end with an illustration that will help explain my enigmatic subtitle must you're familiar with Charles Hodge, not personally but he was one of the educational and theological giants of Princeton's early days, brilliant intellect, very prolific author photo bring in history volume systematic just plop your write up your but that's just that's just what I mean.

He wrote hundreds and maybe thousands. I'm not sure, but hundreds and hundreds of articles very erudite articles on a wide variety of topics.

Brilliant guy in his biography of Hodge Andrew Huffaker mentions the revered seminary professors intense interest and attention to his children, and here's one way that he showed it had a study built as an addition onto his house and there was an exterior door on that study that open to the outside so that seminary students could access him without having to come through the house and disturbed the family that's that's been pretty accessible but being an exterior door that naturally had a latch and a lock so that there were times when seminary students may or may not have been able to access him for any number of reasons, but there is an interior door that connected the study to the rest of the house.

The interior door was different. Not only did not have a lock on it but Huffaker writes it had no latch only springs so that when it was closed. Not only was there no cloak of a lock. There is not even a click of a latch note doorknob the little child would have trouble turning just of door that the child could push open and he did that for a reason so that he writes even the smallest of his children always had easy access to their father doesn't take a lot of words and persuasive pleadings to unlock the door to God. If you're coming from the inside of the house if he's your father. There's no lock. Not even a latch doesn't take great faith or even great faithfulness to push your way into his presence.

If you're coming from the inside of the house. All it takes is enough faith to push open the screen door and say that I don't expect you to remember most of what I said but if you take nothing else away from this, I hope you'll try to fix in your mind and carry away a mental image of that door into Hodges from the inside of the house, a door with no latch only springs. That's what it's like to pray to our father in heaven you would listing to seminary professor, Dr. Layton Talbert which is part of the series on the Lord's prayer. We hope you'll join us next time. As we study God's word together on The Daily Platform