The Lord's Prayer (pt. 3): Thy Will Be Done (Audio Only)

Preached by Rev. William Min
On January 29th, 2019

Genesis 28:10-19

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Matthew 6:9-13

9 “Pray then in this way:
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 this day our daily bread.
12     And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13   And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.

---

It is said that one person dies of hunger every 10 seconds.  This is about 8500 people who die every single day.  Many of us have lived through wars and seen acts of senseless violence.  Even in the last couple of years there seems to have been one terrible event after another.  When we look closer to home we see sickness and conflict.  Broken families and the passing of people for no apparent reason at all.  All of this makes no sense and we conclude that life is not fair.  In the midst of these kinds of suffering, who has not asked God “Where has You been?”  Which of us have not asked God;  Why do you allow certain things to happen?

However there is alway a time for us to be reminded that as the children of God, we are to be strong. and bold. When we have no answers to some of life’s most difficult questions, we just learn to boldly and faithfully look at what Scripture tells us about life here on earth.  We do this so that we can be reminded of how God has been faithful in the lives of those in scripture and those who have gone before us. We must remember the ways in which God has also been faithful to us in our lives. 

We must be reminded of these things: because in the face of dire circumstance, we will often forget.  We may be wrongfully putting the blame on God. 

“Why have you forsaken me?”

Scripture reveals to us that God’s will for this world has never been pain, violence or suffering.  It has been; from the very beginning, love and peace.  We know this to be true because we see it in God’s will for Jesus and His ministry.  We see how God was more than willing to give up His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross to bear the shame of all humanity so that He could put an end to suffering.  We could be reconciled to Him as His children, as it was meant to be. Christ hung on that Cross and gave up His last breath to put an end to violence. To put an end to oppression, to injustice and to suffering. 

He died on the Cross to ultimately bring us peace. 

THIS is God’s will. 

Humanity has many times perverted God’s will for its own bigoted and selfish needs. God’s will was (and is!) for the salvation of us all.  God has been doing this work since the beginning of time.  We are the witnesses to this. 

To pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is an expanding of the heart behind “thy kingdom come”.  To pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven calls us to do more than just be the hands and feet of Christ in building His kingdom.  In fact it calls us to do more than bring healing and reconciliation, to feed the hungry, clothe the needy or to care for the orphans and widows.  To pray “Thy will be done” calls us to have faith.  It calls us to have the faith, and the eyes of faith, to see how God has been and continue to work in the world today. 

In other words, it pushes us beyond simply being good people doing good deeds.  It calls us to shed our cynicism and hopelessness. It asks of us to surrender our exasperations, frustrations and pessimisms. 

It calls us to remember and to believe, that this very same God:

Who brought the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised land

Who has time and time again restored, saved and redeemed His people.  

Who had been proven in scripture to be faithful to His promises 

Is the very same God we worship today. 

In Genesis 28 we see the story of Jacob fleeing from all that he knows and holds dear.  Although he is carrying with him this amazing blessing from his father, he also carries the shame, guilt and fear of having cheated his elder brother Esau out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. His life has been plagued with shameful acts which result in him fleeing for his life.  His circumstances were less then great… they were terrible!  Here we find him alone laying his head down on a stone which was the only thing that could give him comfort.  

But God shows him a dream in which the angels of the Lord are marching up and down on a staircase from heaven to earth. And he hears the voice of God say:

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Gen 28. vv13-15)

This is an amazing thing because God is re-iterating a promise a covenant He made to his grandfather Abraham.  God tells Jacob that it is HE who will become Israel.  It is by him that God would make His people. 

Now to Jacob, this made no sense.  He was a cheater and a liar who stole from his brother and tricked his father.  He was a carrier of a blessing that he received on dishonest terms.  How could it be that God would uphold His promise through Him?

Yet God takes this Jacob just as he is; shameful, terrified. And set him up to become the father of God’s people. 

Jacob wakes and exclaims: ““Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!”

Jacob’s epiphany here is that God and His angels were at work and were present not only in Bethel where he set the stone as a pillar, but always and everywhere!  In other words, God was showing Jacob (and is showing us) that even when we are absolutely oblivious to what God is doing… Even when our circumstances absolutely suck… That God and all the heavenly hosts are doing His work!  Though there are many times when we may sit in silence and frustration because God seems to be absent… God and His angels are at work, even now!

We are in many ways more like Jacob than we would think.  We who believe carry the blessing and presence of the Spirit of God within us and yet we often live life like we are running for our lives.  We live like our lives are out of control.  We live like we are alone.  When God is reminding us “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; … Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

What an incredible reminder! That God’s will for us is that we know that He is with us, and that He will keep us, and never leave us, until He has made good on His promise to us!

When we pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we are being called not only to know what God’s will is for the earth, but also to bear witness to it!  It is a call for us to have faith in His promise to us and to live like it!

Not only are we to be the hands and feet of God in the building of His kingdom, but we are also to be a people who’s faith proclaims the gospel truth of Jesus Christ in every facet of our lives.  We are praying that the entirety of our lives, in all we do and say and are, proclaim that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are here AND at work, even today! It is a call and vocation that calls us to have the hope and faith in a God who was, and is, and is to come!

If we are the witnesses to this truth… Then just as Jacob set up a pillar to show this to the world, so ought we to set up pillars in our lives in how we live to proclaim to the world that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God is good. Yesterday. Today. And forever. 

Amen. 

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The Lord's Prayer (pt. 1) : "Our Father..."

Preached by Rev. William Min

Isaiah 40: 12-17 & 21-26

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
    or as his counselor has instructed him?
14 Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
    and who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted as dust on the scales;
    see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
    nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

21 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
    Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
    and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23 who brings princes to naught,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
    and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me,
    or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
    calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
    mighty in power,
    not one is missing.

•  •  •

Matthew 6:5-13

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever 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.

7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “Pray then in this way:
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 this day our daily bread.
12     And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13     And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.

*Some manuscripts add “For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.”

---

The beginning of a New Year always brings about a hope for a kind of fresh start.  Yet we often struggle with things like New Years Resolution because they do not always stick!  Even though I have never been able to follow through on any of my resolutions, I still wanted to begin this year meaningfully.  Last year my wife Tori and I had read through the Bible (I think my wife read through it twice in fact!). I wanted to do this again and have committed to reading 5 chapters of the Bible a day (this way you would finish the Bible in roughly 6 months.)  On top of that I felt that I was being invited to fast from social media (which can be quite challenging for a millennial!) and spend more time in devotion and in prayer. I would invite you to think about how you could start this year meaningfully as well… It is never too late!

One of my hopes for this year is that we rethink about what it is to pray, how it is we pray, and why it is we pray. 

In the passage from Matthew, Jesus warns us to take care of how we pray.  Instead of simply doing it out of some form of religious obligation, or as a way to prove to others (and even ourselves) how “holy” we truly are… Jesus invites us to take prayer seriously.  He says “…whenever 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.” (v.6)  I believe what He’s trying to say is that we ought to value prayer as much as we value our deepest passions, for what we care about most we do in secret. (Perhaps you can remember the last time you wrote a love letter in secret?)

Jesus then says “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (vv.7-8)  This is a challenging one for me because I know exactly what I should be saying when I pray but often pray words that I do not really think about!  Jesus wants us to take care with the words we choose when praying to Him.  Rather than praying the same prayer everyday (though they are not said in vain!) Jesus’ invitation to us is to be more intentional and present when we pray. 

One of the greatest gifts that Christ gave us is what we know as the “Lord’s Prayer”.  It is something that Christians have recited a billion times week after week, but not often really thinking about what it is saying.  The power and significance of the Lord’s Prayer is that essentially covers all the bases for what it is we ought to (and need to) be praying about. 

Simon Weil, in his book “Waiting For God” says that the Lord’s Prayer can be broken down into six petitions as follows: 

1. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be they name

2. Thy kingdom come

3. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

4. Give us this day our daily bread

5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

6. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil 

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Over the next 7 weeks we will be looking at each of these petitions… with the seventh week looking at the line “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.”

The first line “Our Father, who art in heaven” is significant because it reminds us that all things, even our prayers, begin with God.  This prayer begins with adoration and worship.  It is what sets the tone for our prayers, our faith, and for all of life and creation.  It is the embodiment of the first of Jesus’ greatest commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy should and with all thy mind and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30).  

Prayer is powerful not only because it is how we speak with the living God, but because it allows works to open up our hearts and live to what God is doing.  Prayer, as much as it is “lifted up” to God plays a significant role on the ground: in our lives.  When we pray the words “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name” we are doing MORE than simply stating the obvious.  We are being REMINDED of this truth. 

These words are calling us to think upon the character of God and what He has done.  It is an invitation to contemplate on the Lord of all creation who resides in heaven and who’s name is Holy.  In other words, as we pray and as we live… PAY ATTENTION to God.  Just as you would pay attention to every detail and hang on to every word on someone you adored… so we are to ponder and think and look at God.

Prayer is meant to shift our focus from the trials and distractions and busyness of this world so that we can not only turn but be intentionally, thoughtfully and wholly engaged with God.  To look upon him and be present and attentive.  To bask in who He is.  To adore Him. In other words… Prayer begins not with you.  It begins with Him. 

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says this…

“Understand what you’re talking about when you’re talking about God, this is serious, this is the most wonderful and frightening reality that we could imagine, more wonderful and frightening than we can imagine.”

Jesus understood this.  As we pay attention to how the Lord’s Prayer begins, we are reminded that in so little words that we ought to take seriously who we are speaking with. 

To utter the words “hallowed be your name” is to remind ourselves and to those around us that indeed God is Holy, Holy, Holy.  That the Lord is far beyond. He is the beginning of all things.  We get a glimpse of the greatness of God in the passage from Isaiah that begins with “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (v. 12)  Who indeed?

Pay attention to who you’re talking to! Take prayer seriously!

Prayer begins with God.  This is the right attitude and mindset we ought to bring every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and every other prayer we say.  Get it straight in your heart, mind, soul and spirit!  You have the ability, freedom and great honour to be able to talk to the God.  That’s a pretty big deal. 

Though we continue to have confidence that God hears and answers all of our prayers according to His will and time… Though we are reminded that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans too deep for words and that we are never left to our own devices… Though we know that the grace of God is sufficient to cover us in all our needs, whether we pray for them or not…  Jesus says to His disciples “Pray then in this way…” for a reason. 

As you pray through this year, may you continue to grow in your knowledge of God’s amazing grace, in the peace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit… That you would allow your prayers to not only be worshipfully given to God but give you eyes to see, engage and participate in all that God is doing in you and those around you.  And that your prayers would continue to open and shape your heart and get them in sync with God’s. 

I know that this year I have to pray more… 

As we pray together, may we begin with our loving, heavenly and holy Father. 

Amen.

On Your Lips, In Your Hearts (Audio Only)

Preached by Rev. William Min
On November 18th, 2018

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

Responsive Reading: Psalm 91:1-2 ,9-16

1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
    my God, in whom I trust.”

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
    the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
    no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
    I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
    I will be with them in trouble,
    I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them,
    and show them my salvation.

Romans 10:5-13

5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say?

“The word is near you,
 on your lips and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”