Our Father in Heaven ~ Matthew 6:5-13

February 22, 2015 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson

Intro: What comes into your mind when you first think of God. For some of us, there is a big ? Were not
really sure what to think. For others of us, there is a sense of anger at a god who has let something bad
happen to us, or who has not answered a prayer the way we wanted it answered. For others of us, there is a
sense of peace and blessing. But how would you define God if someone were to ask you what you believed?

The 1995 one hit band, Dishwalla, in a song called, Counting Blue Cars,: Must of been mid afternoon / As
I could tell by how far the childs shadow stretched out / And he walked with a purpose in his sneakers
down the street / He had many questions like children often do / He said, Tell me all your thoughts on
God, and tell me am I very far.

In their book, Soul Searching, the authors interviewed some 3,000 teenagers to find out all their thoughts on
God, and the authors labeled their belief as moralistic, therapeutic deism.

1.
2.
3.
4.

A god exist who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.

God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other.

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

God does not need to be particularly involved in ones life except when God is needed to resolve a
problem

5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

AW Tozer, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

There is a very real sense in which this is true b/c our view of God will also play itself out in our view of
ourselves, and the relation that exists or doesn't exist between God and ourselves.

During this Season of Lent, were going to spend some time hearing Jesus thoughts on God, particularly as
it relates to approaching God in prayer. What is God like? And how should we approach him?

So if you are new to Christianity, I want to invite you to listen in to how Jesus invites you to think about God
because he has a lot to say that will be of immense interest and benefit to you.

Perhaps you once believed the things of Jesus, but youve wondered away and youre wondering if youve
forfeited your chance of blessing. Youre not sure what Jesus would have to say to you, but youre here
and your looking for just one ray of hope. I think you will be encouraged.

And if youre here today as a follower of Jesus, he is going to invite you to go deeper into an enjoyment of
relationship with his God and Father.

Our Father in Heaven ~ Matthew 6:5-13 // See (1) a revolutionary invitation; (2) the radical implications

I.

Jesus way of prayer is a revolutionary invitation.

1. Jesus invites us to view God as our audience of One.

(1) The contrast that Jesus is making here is b/t a way of praying before others in order to impress
them, and a way of praying before God as a way of pursuing him.

(2) The hypocritical way of praying is to pray in order to be seen by others, and to receive their
approval. Can you imagine any more fleeting reward than the ooh-ing and ah-ing of mere
mortals.

Jesus invites us to something more substantial and rewardingan audience of One.

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2. Jesus invites us to view God as Our Father.

(1) Familiarity vs. unfamiliarity. If youve been exposed to Christianity or been in Christian circles, this
will be at once familiar and ordinary. If youve not, this is probably very interesting to you.

(2) To Jesus original audience, this would have been shocking, or explosive (K. Hughes).

OT: 39 books, God is referred to as Father 14x, always in reference to the nation of Israel.

NT: 4 Gospels record Jesus always addressing God as Father some 60x, with the sole
exception of his prayer on the cross when he quoted Ps. 22, My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me.

JI Packer, You sum up the whole of [the] New Testamentif you describe it as the knowledge of
God as ones holy Father. Father is the Christian name for God.

Have you learned what Jesus means when we calls us to address and experience God as Father?

3. Jesus invites us to view God as Our Father in heaven.

(1) Objection: The term Father is a painful term for me b/c of my earthly father.

(2) Answer: Our heavenly Father is the correction of our earthly fathers (if bad) and the perfection of
our earthly fathers (if good).

(3) Caution: Fathers, realize the incredible power you have in shaping your childrens view of God as
Father.

II. Jesus way of prayer has radical implications.

1. As our heavenly Father, God is always gracious.

(1) In the West, we have a view of life that says, Everyone is Gods children. But that is not the view
of Jesus, nor of the NT. Yes, there is a sense in which we are Gods ospring in the sense of being
a part of his creation (cf. Acts 17), but the notion of being a child of God and having God as our
Father is something that is given by way of the gift of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1, 3, And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walkedand
were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

John 1:12, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God.

(2) Jesus oers to all who will receive it the gift of having God as your heavenly Father. Jesus makes
His God and Father known to us as we follow him, and his work is to take people who have
previously lived for themselves and their own interests and brings them into a reconciled
relationship with God based solely on what he has done for them and on nothing they have done
themselves.

Addressing God as Father reminds us that all prayer is in the context of an unmerited relationship.
That means you dont have to try to earn a relationship with God. Its a free gift.

JI Packer, There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, base at
every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery can now disillusion
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him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination
to bless me.

2. As our heavenly Father, God is always personal.

(1) In much of our usage in the West, Father is a more formal term than Dad or Daddy or Pops.

(2) Many scholars believe that the actual word the Jesus audience would have heard was Abba
since the language of Galilee at this time was Aramaic. If true, then the word Abba was a term of
endearment along the lines of Dearest Father.

Gal. 4:4-7, But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption
as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
Abba! Father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Rom. 8:15-16, you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba!
Father! The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

1 John 3:1, See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the
children of God; and so we are.

Addressing God as Father reminds us that all prayer is in the context of a loving relationship.
Therefore you dont have to pretend to be something youre not. You can be yourself, and talk to him
about your real life and your real struggles.

Come as you are, as messy, as distracted, as weary, as angry, as not having it all together.
Wherever you are, come, but come as dearly loved children of the heavenly Father. By giving you
the privilege of calling him, Father, he is binding himself to you.

3. As our heavenly Father, God is always wise.

(1) Children ask their parents for all sorts of things they want and talk about all sorts of things that are
on their minds. God wants us to come to him as a Father and to make our requests known to
God (Phil. 4:6). [Jesus is going to teach us more on that as we work our way through this prayer.]

(2) This is a privilege that the children of God have with their heavenly Father. But being in relationship
with out heavenly Father means that we trust his wisdom even when we are presenting requests to
him.

The tricky thing is that as children of God, we sometimes treat him like were teenagers who
think they know more than their parents. But we need to relate to him as a Father in whom we
have complete trust that he really knows best. Some of us who are parents know that we dont
give our kids everything that ask for. And for good reason.

Keller, Prayer 229, You can come before God with the confidence that his is going to give you
what you would have asked for if you knew everything he does.

Addressing God as Father reminds us that all prayer is in the context of a caring relationship. You
may not always understand the wisdom of your heavenly Father, but you can rest in it as you trust
His heart.
God the Father is your ultimate reward. You can pray for good things, buy you already have the
best thing: a caring relationship with the all-wise Creator of the universe whom you get to call
Father.

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Conclusion:

JI Packer, Knowing God, 182, If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out
how much he makes of the thought of being Gods child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the
thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means he does
not understand Christianity very well at all.

Summary: Jesus invites us into a relationship with God that entails the privilege of

addressing and experiencing the Creator of the universe as Father.

NCC, may you make much of the thought of being Gods child, and having God as your Father. When you
pray, dont rush too quickly over the words, Our Father in heaven. Think about them and all that they
mean.

Put it into practice this week, and enjoy the access that Christ has given you to God as Father.

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