As we reach this part of The Lord's Prayer we see a turning point in the text. A close look at the prayer reveals two aspects in the first and second halves to note: 1. In the first half we see the word "Your" - "Your name", "Your kingdom", "Your will". 2. In the second half of the prayer we see the word "us" - "Give us", "forgive us", "lead us". God And Your Problems In the second half of this prayer God is brought directly into the very tiniest details of our everyday lives. Why? Because the God of this universe cares about everything you are involved in. As we look at the second half of the prayer we learn that it contains three petitions: 1. "Our daily bread" 2. "Forgive us our debts" 3. "Lead us not into temptation" These three things cover provision, pardon, and protection. The Lord's Prayer is so much more than just a ritual prayer to recite or a model prayer to follow. If we understand it in it's breadth, everything we that we can legitimately pray about is contained either in the first half or the second half of this great prayer. Daily Bread For Daily Needs It means “for this very day,” or “for the day that is about to come Two conclusions from these two points: 1. The fact that Jesus mentions bread teaches us that material things do not lie outside the realm of prayer 2. Jesus is teaching us the importance of moment by moment, complete dependence upon God for the things that we need. What is daily bread dependence? There are 4 qualities that need to be present in our lives in order for this prayer request to become a reality. 1. Daily Bread Dependence is Gratitude (to God for all His blessings) We learn that everything we have comes from God. The clothes, the food, the friendships, the education, the mind we use, the words we speak, everything comes from God. Surely this must be the central teaching-that gratitude to God is to mark our lives and we’re to be grateful to God for all he’s done. - Deuteronomy 8:10 "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you." - 1 Chronicles 29:14 David says, "But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you and we have given you only what comes from your hand." Everything of value that you possess comes in one way or another from the hand of Almighty God. - Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom" 2. Daily Bread Dependence is Contentment (with what God has already provided) We should pray for our needs, not our greeds. We are to pray and ask God for what we really need, not for every wild desire that comes into our mind. 3. Daily Bread Dependence is Confidence (that God will meet my daily needs day by day) See Exodus 16 as God provided each day only what the children of Israel needed for that day. God wants us to learn that daily dependence and sometimes allows circumstances in our lives to remind us to do that. Uncertainties in life like illness, job loss, collapse of an empire you established. These things can happen so quickly. Sometimes a reason God can allow these things to happen is to move us away from self-sufficiency to God-sufficiency, from self-reliance to God-reliance, from trusting our own ability to trusting God alone. Do we then avoid planning ahead? Of course not! You should plan ahead. You should NOT worry ahead. Daily bread dependence means taking life one day at a time and being confident that God will take care of your needs day by day by day. 4. Daily Bread Dependence is Generosity (towards those around you) The use of the word "our" in "Give us this day OUR daily bread" indicates that we do not pray this prayer alone, but in concert with our fellow brothers and sisters. We all eat from the same table. What you have is loaned to you that you might give it to other people. To say "OUR Daily Bread" is to see a world of needy and hurting people. Gratitude. Contentment. Confidence. Generosity. That’s what Daily Bread dependence is all about. If you pray this prayer enough, that’s where you’ll end up. It’s not a bad place to be. The heart of gratitude comes from realizing that God alone is the source of all our blessings. Gracious Father, teach us to trust you more and more. When we are tempted to do it ourselves, bring us down to the place where we must cry out for your help. Forgive us for living as if we were God and you are not. We thank you for giving us exactly what we need, when we need it, not a moment too soon, and not moment too late. Having received so much from you, we ask one thing more. Give us grateful hearts. Amen.

As the story of God's people unfolds we come to the account of Moses in Exodus 2 and 3. We love this part of God's story. There's action, confrontation, intrigue, rescue, and so much packed into this account. But why do we need this part of God's Word? What does it all mean? 1. We see that God is a God who sees His people suffering in a world of sin. - God hates sin and the effects of sin in the suffering of this world. - Whatever you are suffering, whatever you are walking through in the midst of the suffering of this world, and whatever you will walk through in the future, God sees you, He hears your cries and knows your needs even better than you know them. - Throughout Scripture, especially in the Psalms and in the book of Lamentation, we see songs of lament. We see cries of longing for a hope in and beyond a world of sin and suffering. 2. We see that God is the God who saves. - Moses has his first encounter with God at the burning bush and asks two questions. 1.) "Who am I? Out of all the Israelites, and there's a lot of Israelites, why are YOU talking to me?" 2.) "Who are YOU? When people ask who sent me, what am I supposed to tell them?" This is where God reveals Himself to Moses and ultimately to all His people. Exodus 3:14-15 "God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." God also said to Moses, "Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.'" His Revelation: • I AM holy • I AM merciful • I AM ever-present • I AM all-powerful • I AM self-existent • I AM self-sufficient • I AM eternal • I AM unchanging (immutable) • I AM faithful • I AM sovereign • I AM just • I AM God In the midst of polytheism in Egyptian culture throughout the land, God is going to make very clear that He is God What, then, is our response to who God is? • Put your faith and hope in Him So, this is the invitation for every single person: confess Christ as Lord! This is how we’re saved! Confess Christ as Lord! As Yahweh who came, who stooped to save, who came to us, who took our sins upon Himself on a cross, rose from the grave in victory, and has ascended to the right hand of the Father. Christ is Lord! Then, when you confess that in your heart, your mouth, and you will be saved. Put your faith and hope in Him. • Find your rest and refuge in Him Do not focus on the circumstances, put your focus on the character of the one who has called you and know that He sees your affliction, and He hears your cries, and He knows your suffering. Trust in His character when you don’t know why this is happening in your life. This is what we see over and over again, God says, “I am the LORD,” I am the LORD,” “I am the LORD.” When you don’t know why this is happening, just come aside and trust He is Lord. • Give your adoration and affection to Him When you know God, routine religion is no longer tolerable. We don’t play games with Yahweh. Casual worship, no longer possible. When we know God truly, we will love Him passionately, and we will experience an exalting in our affections toward Him that conquers, supersedes everything else in this world. If our affections are gripped by other things, then let’s repent of that and give Him all of our affection, all of our adoration. May our hearts be tuned to Him and Him alone.

Question: What is the hardest prayer you will ever pray? Answer: The one that you don't want to happen. By praying, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." we are asking God to overturn our own will. What does it mean to pray, "Your will be done."? 1. Praying “Your will be done” means I must give up control A. God has a plan (or desire) for your life/family life B. But you also have a plan (or desire) for your life/family life C. When you pray “Your will be done,” your are asking that his will take precedence over your will. 2. Praying “Your will be done” means I must trust God even when my plan is not done - Does God Know My Name? Millions of people, including millions of apparently loyal churchgoers, secretly wonder, even though they believe there is a God, is there a God who cares for me? - He Bowed His Head And Died. And God said, “Do you still wonder if I love you?” Look to the cross. Gaze on the Son of God. Ponder the meaning of Golgotha. Who is that crucified on Calvary’s tree? His name is Jesus. Study his face. See the wounds in his hands, his feet, his side. Was it not for you that he died? Do you still doubt that God loves you? 3. Praying “Your will be done” means I must accept that personal pain and suffering may be part of God’s plan • Matthew 26:39, “Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” These are not the words of unbelief. They are words of faith. They are the words of a man who understands fully what it will cost to do the will of God. If it was difficult for Jesus to pray “Your will be done,” is it likely to be any easier for us? 4. Praying “Your will be done” means I must be an obedient participant Too many things that go on are obviously not God’s will. • Killing the unborn is not God’s will. • Homosexuality is not God’s will. • The rising tide of divorce is not God’s will. • Single moms raising children is not God’s will. • Pastors committing adultery is not God’s will. • Rampant pornography is not God’s will. • Nuclear warfare is not God’s will. • Ethnic cleansing is not God’s will. • Racial prejudice is not God’s will. • Serial killings are not God’s will. • Greed, graft and corruption are not God’s will. Sometimes it seems as if God has gone to sleep and Satan has taken over. God does not accept the status quo! “Your will be done” is an act of God-ordained rebellion. This is not a prayer for the weak or the timid. This is a prayer for troublemakers and rabblerousers. It is a prayer that leads necessarily on to action. If you see injustice being done, you cannot blithely pray “Your will be done,” and then walk away. If you really mean “Your will be done,” you’ve got to jump into the fray and help make it happen. Far to many of us go through life with a clenched fist, trying to control the uncontrollable, trying to mastermind all the circumstances, trying to make our plans work. So we hold tightly to the things we value-our career, our reputation, our temporarily happiness, our health, our children, our education, our wealth, our possessions, even our mates. We even hold tightly to life itself. But those things we hold so tightly never really belonged to us. They always belonged to God. He loaned them to us and when the time comes, he will take them back again. A Simple Prayer Here’s a simple prayer that may help you loosen your grip on the things with which you are struggling: Father, may your will be done in my life. Nothing more Nothing less Nothing else

The story of Joseph in Genesis 39 teaches us that we CAN be morally pure in a polluted world. Here are four principles to help us gain and maintain moral purity in this polluted world. 1. Awareness of sensitive situations • When you’re in different circumstances, where no one else will know • When you’re in a season of success "Today’s victories often lead on to tomorrow’s trials." • When you’re alone with an emotionally needy person • When you’re emotionally needy 2. Realize how temptation works For Joseph it started with a needy woman and a vulnerable man who was also a servant of God. Next there was flattery and surprise. She continued to be persistent in her pursuit of him Her last step was sudden ambush, where Joseph had to either give in or flee. 3. Commit to integrity and develop a strategy before the temptation hits. • Make a commitment to integrity in all of life • Make a commitment to inner purity "It’s easy to rationalize sin. With the same circumstances, you can construct arguments either in favor of obedience to God or against it. It all depends on your focus, on what you’re aiming for." • Focus on your responsibilities, not your needs "If he had focused on his needs, he could have built a case for yielding." • Intentionally live in the presence of God • Call sin “sin” "When you’re tempted, focus on the evil of the sin, not on its pleasure." • Avoid the opportunity to be tempted • When in doubt, get out 4. Realize you won’t always receive an award for doing right Conclusion 1) Don’t forget who you are 2) Don’t be surprised when temptation knocks at your door 3) Don’t be deceived by persuasive voices 4) Don’t be confused by the immediate results

What is the one thing that keeps you from growing deeper in prayer? Why do we pray? 1. To express our complete dependency on God • The reason we don’t pray is not because we’re too busy, but because we’re too confident. 2. To experience intimacy with God • The primary point of prayer is not to get something but to know Someone 3. To enjoy the experience of participating with God • Prayer is a means God has given us to participate with Him in what He is doing in the world. • The word Our reminds us that we do not pray alone but in fellowship with God’s people scattered around the world. • We pray to our Father who loved us and gave his Son for our salvation. • We affirm that Our Father is in heaven where he reigns supreme over the entire universe. • We ask that God’s name be honored by the way we live so that others will look at us and give glory to our Father in heaven. • We are praying both for the King and the Kingdom to come and while we wait, we pray for courage to be “Kingdom People” who reflect the values of the world to come. • We pray for God’s will to be done even if it means that our will is not done. • We pray for our daily bread because we depend completely on the Lord for what we need, and we share what we have with others because God has blessed us so richly. • We pray that our debts might be forgiven because we are sinners in thought, word and deed. • We forgive our debtors, knowing that we cannot have fellowship with the Father while we harbor bitterness in our hearts toward others. • We pray that God will not lead us into temptation because we realize our weakness and we know that without God’s help, we will lose the battle every time. • We put on the armor of God by faith, asking God to deliver us from the evil one. • Because we believe that Yours is the kingdom, we eagerly anticipate the day when the kingdoms of the earth will give way to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. • Because we believe that Yours is the power, we do not give up in the face of difficult trials but instead live in faith that the Lord has a purpose and will give us whatever we need to face the challenges of each day. • Because we believe that Yours is the glory, we have chosen to live for God instead of for the praise of men. • We confidently believe that these things are true forever. Therefore, we say Amen, so be it, Lord. What Difference Will It Make? Let’s start a “Lord’s Prayer” movement in the body of Longview Heights. How much richer we would be if God’s people would make this prayer central in their lives. How much stronger this church would be if all of us would pray this prayer every day. How much deeper our walk with God would be if we grasped what this prayer is saying to us. We would have more joy, more power, more strength, more wisdom, more of all the things we so desperately need.

Consider the present state of your commitment to Christ. Where are you stopping short? In Jacob's life he stopped short of when God told him to return to Bethel. Like Jacob, we often stop short of complete obedience to God. Lessons Learned: - Sin is Subtle Our adversary would have us believe that God is pleased as long as we are in the general vicinity of where He has called us to be. He tries to convince us that 95% is good enough and that our sin isn't a big deal. Religion is the biggest cover up for disobedience in our lives. Religion is the biggest cover up for stopping short. We run the dander of becoming content as followers of Jesus Christ, going almost all the way with our devotion to Him, and mask incomplete obedience with religious activity that makes things seem like they are alright. - Compromise is Costly Our adversary also convinces us that our sin will not affect the people around us. But when we compromise, and we fall short in our relationship with God, others are certainly affected. Jacob had no idea, and we have no idea, what is involved when we stop just short of what God is telling us to do. - Disobedience brings discipline but not departure Jacob said, “Let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” This is such good news. This is our hope. For all who trust in God, even when we stop short, even when we compromise with sin, the holy God of the universe answers us in the day of our distress. He is with us. He has been with us the whole time. - Come Clean - God is the Author of New Starts God says to Jacob, “Get up and leave this behind. Come and experience all I’ve designed for you.” God says to us, “You don’t have to live in your sin. You don’t have to stay 20 miles short or 200 miles short. I will lead you to experience that which is best for you.” Ladies and gentlemen, hear the God of the universe saying to you right now, “I am the Author of new starts. Let Me open your eyes to see sin in your heart and your life, then let Me lead you to experience the full abundant life I have created for you.” When you come to God, when you trust in His grace, when you put your faith in Jesus as the Savior of your sin and surrender your life to Him, God says, • You are no longer named Guilty; you are now named Righteous. • You are no longer called Slave to Sin; you are now called Free from Sin. • You are no longer headed toward an eternal death; you now have eternal life. • You are no longer called Condemned before God; you are now called Child of God. • You’re no longer named Sinner; you are now named a Son or Daughter of God Let’s do it. Let’s not stop short. Let’s ask God to open our eyes to blind spots in our lives. Let’s ask God to help us see sin that we don’t want to see.

The kingdom of God is not a matter of geography; it's a matter of the heart Living With a Kingdom Mindset: 1. The Kingdom of God was the central issue of Jesus' ministry • Matthew 4:17 “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” • Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee . . . preaching the good news of the kingdom.” • Luke 4:43 “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God . . . for that is why I was sent.” • Luke 17:21 “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” • John 18:36-37 “My kingdom is not of this world . . . my kingdom is from another place . . . You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Jesus came to establish a new society on earth. This society would be made up of men and women who are fully dedicated to doing the will of God. 2. The Kingdom of God is the only thing that will last forever If you decide to live by earthly values, you will receive an earthly reward. If you decide to live by kingdom values, you will receive a kingdom reward. The difference is this. Living by earthly values produces earthly rewards that pay off quicker and disappear faster; living by kingdom values produces kingdom rewards. They don’t usually come as quickly, but they last forever. 3. The Kingdom of God gives meaning to all of history Praying “Your kingdom comes” links us with the faithful of all ages who have surveyed the wreckage of a fallen world and concluded that there must be something better than this. “Your kingdom come” is the central petition of the Lord’s Prayer. You are praying that God’s whole program for human history might succeed and that Satan’s counter-kingdom might be destroyed. 4. The Kingdom of God gives purpose to earthly life If you ever decide to make the kingdom of God the first priority in your life, you may not become a missionary, but you will become fundamentally different from the world around you. Ways to pray, "Your Kingdom come." • For Your Life: You enter the kingdom by asking the Lord Jesus to become King in your life. So, we must ask a crucial question. Are you in the kingdom of God? The answer must always be yes or no. You enter the kingdom through simple faith in King Jesus. But-and note this carefully!-you enter individually and personally. No one else can enter for you. It requires a definite decision on your part. Without that definite decision, you will not even “see” the kingdom of God (John 3:5). So, we begin there. Are you in the kingdom of God? If the answer is yes, then you pray a prayer like this every day: “Lord Jesus, may your kingdom come in my life today. May your values predominate my thinking and my decision-making. May your cause in the world be advanced by the things I say and do. Help me to do your will all through this day.” There’s no magic in that prayer, but properly understood, it is a revolutionary way to pray. Make no mistake. If you mean those words, God will take you up on your offer to become a “kingdom person.” Don’t pray like this if you intend to stay the way you are. • For Your Family That means praying for your wife, your husband and your children that they too would become kingdom people. This includes praying for your extended family and even for the spouses that your children and grandchildren will one day marry. • For Your Church The church is to be a model of that “great society” God is building. Even the best church will fall far short of the ideal. But why not pray for your pastor, for the staff, for deacons, and for your community group, that they will be completely committed to kingdom values? Pray for the congregation, that men and women would set aside their own agendas. Differences of opinion are good and healthy, but sometimes we can get so fixated on our own ideas, that we destroy the unity of the Spirit in our desire to get our own plans implemented. Pray that your church will become an attractive community of kingdom people-an outpost of light in an ever-darkening world. • For Your World It’s true that the kingdom will never come until the King himself returns to the earth. Yet the kingdom of God “comes” in a spiritual sense as men and women surrender their lives to King Jesus. So we are praying “May your kingdom come in hearts and lives today and may the King himself quickly return.” While you are at it, pray for the kingdom to come in your community, your state, your nation, and finally throughout the world. Kingdom prayer: “Lord change the world. Begin, I pray, with me.”

When faced with a choice between the blessing and the blesser, what will you choose? In this week's mid-week Bible study, Pastor Whit takes a deep dive into Genesis 22 where God commanded Abraham to offer his son, his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. We see that Isaac represents Christ in 3 ways: 1. The Son 2. The Substitute 3. The Savior

Ask yourself, "What is the one thing that keeps me from growing deeper in prayer?" Most Christians recognize and accept, at least intellectually, the need for and the importance of prayer. We know we need to pray. We ask people to pray for us. We say we’ll pray for other people. But for many and maybe even most Christians, there’s not really what we would call a vibrant prayer life. As Pastor Whit begins this series on The Lord's Prayer we will look at Why we ray, How NOT to pray and How we SHOULD pray. This is Part 1 of the series, Living on A Prayer from Matthew 6:5-15. An Open Invitation Matthew 6:5-15 WHY DO WE PRAY? • To express our complete dependency on God • To experience intimacy with God o Primary point of prayer is not to get something but to know someone • To enjoy the experience of participating with God HOW NOT TO PRAY? • Do not pray like the Hypocrites • Do not pray to Impress HOW DO WE PRAY? • Praise – “Our Father in Heaven” o Worship God for who He is • Repent – “Forgive us our debts” o Confess your sin and acknowledge your need for Jesus • Ask – “Give Us This Day” o Intercede for specific needs in your life and others’ • Yield – “Lead Me” o Surrender your life to following Jesus wherever and however He leads you

Glorious Suffering Job 38-42 What we want in our suffering... > An explanation from God. What we receive in our suffering... >A revelation of God. Discoveries The Majesty of God (38:1ff, 42:1-5) The Inadequacy of Man (40:4, 42:5-6 Decisions Pout & Pound Repent & Rest Repent of Your pride, rest in His plan Repent of Your arrogance, rest in His authority Repent of Your view, rest in His victory Repent of Your self-loathing, rest in Savior satisfaction