5-11-2011 Vol. 4 Part 5 The Lord's Prayer (Hallowed Be Thy Name)

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The Lord’s Prayer

5-11-2011 Vol. 4 Part 5

Psalm 34:11-22 NKJV Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Father God you are an awesome God and words can’t describe you. Send your Spirit to teach us how to pray in a fashion that pleases you and gives you all the Glory. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!

Hallowed Be Thy Name

The word hallowed is maintained in most Bibles, due to its meaning of reverence. Webster has this to say:

HAL'LOW, v.t. [L. calleo, to be able.] 1. To make holy; to consecrate; to set apart for holy or religious use. Exodus 28:29; 1 Kings 8. 2. To devote to holy or religious exercises; to treat as sacred. Hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein. Jeremiah 17:22.  3. To reverence; to honor as sacred. Hallowed be thy name.

HAL'LOWED, pp. Consecrated to a sacred use, or to religious exercises; treated as sacred; reverenced.

In essence Jesus is teaching us to acknowledge and give praise to God for who He is before we go to Him with our requests. How many times do we start out with our prayers/request instead of praising and thanking God for all that he has done for us? I know I have been guilty of this. It is that old sin nature that gets in the way and we think about our self first and what we want. Could this type of habit get in the way of God answering our prayers???

When we go to church aren’t the services always started out with praise and worship hymns? Have you ever thought about this and that it models the Lord’s Prayer? It does, doesn’t it. But wait, what about this? Some churches have their choirs/musicians in the back, some in the front, and some on the side of the church. Some churches even have a highly raise platform/stage for the choir/musicians. Some churches applaud after each hymn and some don’t. We have to stop and think about why we are applauding. Is it the performers or is it because of the words of the hymn that has touched our spirit and we are applauding what Jesus has done for us? I pray and hope it is because the hymn has touched us and the applause is for what the lyrics stated, whether the lyrics are giving praise to God or because of what God or Jesus has done for us. So the next time you are in church and there is an applause after a hymn, stop and think why you are applauding. Is the applause for God or man? We want to give God all the glory not man.

When the Lord’s Prayer states “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, does that mean we are making God more holy than what He already is? No, we are only acknowledging who He is, how righteous, holy, exalted, glorious, merciful, loving, etc. We can’t raise God up any higher than He already is. He is above all. He is the creator of all things. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Revelation 1:8 NLT  "I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end," says the Lord God. "I am the One who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One." All of His names, from his personal name, Yahweh, to the names which describe His actions and character, reveal who He is. It is who God is that we hallow, when we hallow His name.

God has many names, in the Old Testament there are eight compound names that were used to call upon.

Jehovah Tsidkenu	The Lord Our Righteousness	For Sinners
Jehovah M’Kaddesh	The Lord Who Sanctifies	For Holiness
Jehovah Shalom	The Lord Who Is Our Peace	For Anxiety
Jehovah Shammah	The Lord Is There, He Never Leaves Us	For Loneliness
Jehovah Rophe	The Lord Who Heals	For Healing
Jehovah Jireh	The Lord Will Provide	For Needs
Jehovah Nissi	The Lord My Banner	For Heavenly Assurance
Jehovah Rohi	The Lord Who Is My Shepherd	For Life Guidance

Can our human minds comprehend who God is and how great he is? Just the Trinity alone is difficult to wrap our minds around. In the New Testament God revealed himself through Jesus Christ. How many names does Jesus have? Each name that was used represents something. Here is just a few; Bread of Life, Living Water, The Way, The Truth, The Life, Lamb of God, Rose of Sharon, The Door, etc. Each name gives a picture of who God is.

Jesus tells us we should Hallow God’s name, meaning reverence. When you hear someone say the Lord’s Prayer at church and then you bump into that same someone on the street and they use God’s name in a blasphemous way, you know they are only saying the Lord’s Prayer without meaning a single word of it. They are praying like the hypocrites in vain, just like Jesus warned us not to pray.

We Hallow God’s name by the way we act. If we act holy and upright on the weekend during church or church activities, but the rest of the week our actions are completely the opposite then who are we fooling. God know our heart and to hallow Him we need to relinquish our life to Him. We need to say to God my life is your life; let me live in such a way, let me walk in such a way, let me do my business dealings in such a way, let me conduct myself on my trips in such a way, let me interact with my family in such a way, let me be a good neighbor in such a way, etc. When people see you conduct your life in a fashion like this, they will say you are a person that reveres God.

We also revere God’s name by recognizing His presence in our lives. When we live our lives with God always in the fore front we bring glory to his name. David stated this in Psalm 16:8 NKJV  I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. If we include God in everything we do before hand, things go much smoother instead of trying to do them on our own.

Let me see if I can explain why worship to God is so important and the benefits that come as a result of heartfelt worship. Let’s take our relationship with our spouses for an example. What is your reaction to your spouse when everything between the two of you is going good and a lot of sharing both ways is happening? If he/she asks for something the other spouse is willing to honor the wish and vice-versa. If either tells how wonderful the other is and gives compliments, the recipient responds with answering the requests and with kindness. The same holds true in the work place. If a particular person you have to work with is always pleasant to be around and they ask you for help, you will probably be more than happy to help the person. What happens when you are around someone that is normally a grouch and they only think about themselves and don’t have anything good to say about anyone or anything? When they ask for help their co-worker may tell them to go take a hike.

Do you think honest sincere worship to God may result in more of our prayers answered? If we start our prayers out with them all being about me…me…me, do you think God listens as closely compared to if we started with praising Him? After all he did take on a human form, Jesus, and we know Jesus had feelings, compassion, sorry, anger, etc. God is suppose to be number one in our lives, so isn’t it fitting that when we go to God with prayer we should give Him praise, thanks, and all the glory before we get to our problems?

In thinking back over the years, I have to admit that since I’ve become one of his children I have had more prayers answered in recent times than before. In worshipping God more, my life has changed. When I include God in things I need to do around home, things get done much easier and with much less fatigue. When I include God with work tasks, the tasks go much easier and with less frustration and anxiety. When I worship God my fears are forgotten, I’m in his hands and have great peace knowing He is in control and will protect and provide. When I’m troubled at times and take it to the Lord and worship Him or pick up the Bible and do some reading the thing that was troubling me fades away. Worshipping God cleanses my spirit and refreshes me. Worship, Praise, and Hallowing Gods name, is a critical part if spiritual warfare, because Satan hates worship. Worship helps with putting on our armor daily in the battle with the world that belongs to Satan. Ephesians 6:11-13 NLT  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  12  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  13  Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Perhaps the greatest thing worship does is prepare us for eternity. When we’ve spent our life worshipping the Lord on earth, it is a simple transition to “hallow His name” forever in heaven.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,

Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."

http://jesus-christ-spiritual-food.blogspot.com/

Bill

Last Week’s Trivia: Do you think God can guide animals to do his will?

Answer:  1 Samuel 6:6-16 NLT  Don't be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.  7  "Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen.  8  Put the Ark of the LORD on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want.  9  If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the LORD who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don't, we will know it was not His hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance."  10  So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen.  11  Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.  12  And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.  13  The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed!  14  The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the LORD as a burnt offering.  15  Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors from the cart and placed them on the large rock. Many sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered to the LORD that day by the people of Beth-shemesh.  16  The five Philistine rulers watched all this and then returned to Ekron that same day.

This week’s Trivia: How did the death of Absalom actually happen? By neck or hair?

Reference:

Rick Meyer, e-Sword Version 9.8.2 (Copyright 2000-2011)

Dr. David Jeremiah, Prayer The Great Adventure (Copyright 1997)

5-25-2011 Vol. 4 Part 7 The Lord’s Prayer (Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread)

Note: To download/print the document, click on the above title and when the Google Document window opens click on the word "File" under the word Google.

The Lord’s Prayer

5-25-2011 Vol. 4 Part 7

Psalm 35:10-22 NKJV  All my bones shall say, "LORD, who is like You, Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?" Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. They reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions. I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful matters Against the quiet ones in the land. They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, "Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it." This You have seen, O LORD; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. Father God you are Holy, Hallowed be thy name, we praise you and give your thanks for all you do for us. We ask that you provide us with what we need each day while living here on earth. Give us manna from your Heavenly kingdom so that we will have the strength to do your will. Thank you Jesus! Amen!

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.

The Lord’s Prayer starts out and end all about God our Father. In the middle we have a chance to ask God to provide us our needs. It is like a valley with a hill top on either side. God is on the peaks overlooking the valley we are in. You’re thinking about now that God knows what we need and you are correct, but it goes much deeper than that. It isn’t just things like food, water, clothes, jobs, etc. These are tangible things, which most of us take for granted, although God does provide these things, we don’t. Just like the manna from Heaven that God provided to the Israelites so they could sustain life. The Psalmist describes these things like this; Psalm 104:10-21 NKJV  He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills.  11  They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst.  12  By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches.  13  He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.  14  He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,  15  And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man's heart.  16  The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,  17  Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees.  18  The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.  19  He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down.  20  You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.  21  The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. Meaning God provides the animals all they need, along with vegetation to sustain our life. If there was no vegetation, there would be no life. But I’m talking about our spiritual, emotional, love, hope, joy, peace, understanding, self control, type of things we cannot touch. Things only God can provide and give us for total comfort, security, assurance, etc. These things are also included in our daily needs/bread.

You ask, if God provides all things for us, then why is there famine in the world? This question goes far beyond the scope of this lesson, but in a nutshell it boils down to this. We live in a fallen world which starvation, disease, and death are a part of. Paul writes this in; Romans 8:19-24 NLT  For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.  20  Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope,  21  the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.  22  For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  23  And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.  24  We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it, 25  but if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) What Paul is referring to is; there will be catastrophes, like food shortages, war, tornadoes, and earthquakes that will afflict mankind until Jesus Christ returns and rids the world of sin and corruption. These natural disasters will intensify in end times (Matthew 24:6-8 NKJV  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.). Verse 19 is referring to those that are Born Again and have been adopted into God’s family.

Can we live on bread alone? It depends on your definition of life. Are you only concerned with living here on earth or eternal life? Matthew 4:4 NASB  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" John 6:35 NASB  Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. If we live on bread alone that gives nourishment to our bodies so we can sustain life, what good is that? If that is all we live for, where will we end up eternally? It won’t be in Heaven with our Creator. This is what Jesus is talking about in these two verses. When we ask God to give us our daily bread, we need to ask for spiritual food that will supply our spirit nutritionally, so that we can be born spiritually. If we are Born Again then it will be food for our spirit so we can ward off evil and temptation. So what is every word/food that proceeds out of the mouth of God, that word is the Bible which is Jesus Christ. John 1:1 NASB  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. What is the bread of life? Jesus is the bread of life, Jesus is the Word, the Word is the Bible and by eating of the bread of life/reading his Word, and above all believing in what Jesus did at the Cross our spirit will be satisfied.

I know what you might be thinking about now, and that is if we ask God to give us our daily bread each day could that be termed as vain repetition? No, because stop and think about who is giving the instruction for the prayer to the apostles. It is Jesus Christ and you can be assured that he won’t lead us astray. Why would Jesus tell us to pray every day for our needs? Would it be because we are human and we often forget to pray on a daily basis? After all the Israelites forgot about God pretty quick when Moses went up on the mountain for 40 days by making a golden calf. I think we are instructed to pray daily for our bread so we keep God in our thoughts daily more than anything. It goes hand in hand with Exodus 20:3 NASB  "You shall have no other gods before Me. By asking daily it humbles us by realizing we are nothing without God. Matthew 5:5 NKJV  Blessed are the meek (humble), For they shall inherit the earth. We can’t take in enough of God’s grace in one day to supply what we need for the week, although some people do this by going to church on Sunday thinking they have fulfilled their religious duty. Scripture states we have to put on our armor daily and by asking God to give us our daily bread/spiritual food daily is part of putting on the armor of God.

So what do we pray for? Money, fancy cars, big houses, boats, etc. No we are to pray for our daily needs. Everyone has different needs and some of the needs are to sustain life or tangible things like, a homeless person might pray for food or shelter. A childless couple might pray for God to bless them with a baby. An unsaved person should pray for God’s saving grace (salvation). On a spiritual sense we should pray for scripture understanding, a closer relationship with God, the fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Don’t forget about that two letter word “us”. It says to “give us this day our daily bread”. If we have the fruit of the Spirit within us, we will automatically pray for others and ask God to supply them their needs for the day. This is a very good thing, because by doing this, we as Christians will reflect the light of Jesus to others.

What it boils down to is this. If we are true Christians we will pray and ask God our Father to give us our daily bread in such a manner, that His will be done for us, in us, and through us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,

Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."

http://jesus-christ-spiritual-food.blogspot.com/

Bill

Last Week’s Trivia: What kind of rock killed Goliath?

Answer: I was asked this by a friend and here is what he told me. It was the faith that David had in God that knocked Goliath down. Jesus is often referred to as our rock, so Jesus was the rock that slew Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV  Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" 1 Samuel 17:45-46 NKJV  Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  46  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

This week’s Trivia: How many rivers flow from the land of Eden and what are their names?

Reference:

Rick Meyer, e-Sword Version 9.8.2 (Copyright 2000-2011)

Dr. David Jeremiah, Prayer The Great Adventure (Copyright 1997)

5-18-2011 Vol. 4 Part 6 The Lord's Prayer (Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven)

Note: To download/print the document, click on the above title and when the Google Document window opens click on the word "File" under the word Google.

The Lord’s Prayer

5-18-2011 Vol. 4 Part 6

Psalm 35:1-9 NKJV A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. Also draw out the spear, And stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation." Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor Who seek after my life; Let those be turned back and brought to confusion Who plot my hurt. Let them be like chaff before the wind, And let the angel of the LORD chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, And let the angel of the LORD pursue them. For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, Which they have dug without cause for my life. Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, And let his net that he has hidden catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation. Father God you are an awesome God and words can’t describe you. Send your Spirit to teach us how to pray in a fashion that pleases you and gives you all the Glory. Thank you Jesus! Amen!

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven.

What is this part of the Lord’s Prayer all about? There is a lot of thoughts and meanings contained in this statement. Basically it is all about our priorities in life. What we place first in our life, how we look at life and what we do, and aligning our will with God’s will. Here is a letter written to Ann Lander, in which Ann nailed the root of the problem this time.

Dear Ann Lander: I hesitate to write to you about this because the questions sound stupid, but I need advice.

I’m a 38-year-old man, happily married for eight years, and have two young daughters. I’ve been at my job since 1974, the year after I graduated from college. It’s not the biggest business of its kind, but it’s been good to me and I’ve become the proverbial big fish in a small pond.

The problem is this: Over the years I’ve run into several college buddies, and most of them have done much better financially and career-wise than I have. When I compare my accomplishment to theirs, I always come up short and wind up feeling inferior and depressed.

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been as aggressive as some of the guys I used to run around with. I should tell you that I’ve turned down a couple of job offers with better pay in order to stay in this city with my family, because we like it here. I also confess that I lack self-confidence.

I’ve never attended a college reunion because I feel like a failure around these guys. I haven’t spoken to the ones who were my closest friends in 15 years because I’m ashamed to tell them I’m still at my first job. To be perfectly honest, an 8-year-old car doesn’t quite cut the same swath as a new BMW or Ford Taurus.

How can I prove to my old college friends that I’m not a loser? What can I do to how them I’m OK, too?

Dear Class of ’73: Since when does having a new BMW or Ford Taurus and a sizable bank account make a man a big success? You need to sit back and take a good look at your priorities, mister.

It sounds as if that “small pond” suits you just fine, so stop looking longingly at the ocean where life might be much more hazardous and not nearly as rewarding. All that glitters is not gold. The guys you are envying may be envying you.

From time to time we all get down and start feeling our life isn’t what we think it should be. When this happens we need to take a time out and sit back and reflect on what is presently going on in our life, what our past has been, and where we need to be. In other words, what’s our present priorities in life? Is our will aligned with God’s will? How do we set our priorities? How do we know which priorities we can let slide? What Jesus taught the apostles in the Lord’s Prayer, also applies to us and how we are to pray God’s priorities that he has for each and every one of us. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Since I’ve started praying and living in a fashion of letting God’s will take control of my life, I’ve been blessed many times over with joy, contentment, peacefulness, etc. With God in control you have peace and comfort knowing that all things will work out, there is no need for worry. Proverbs 12:25 NKJV Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. Luke 12:22 NKJV Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  6  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Phillipians 4:6-7 NKJV  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  7  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

When you pray “Thy kingdom come”, what does that mean? It has a twofold meaning. First as a Christian you have the kingdom of God living in your heart. You are asking God to reign in your life with Heaven’s principles and purposes to be part of your daily living. Being a Born Again Christian you experience a touch of what Heaven will be like. How can this be you ask? It is because Jesus is in control of your life and you don’t have to worry about anything. The Holy Spirit is living within us, our body is a temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? When I lost my job in December of 2009, I had a calm peaceful reassuring feeling, knowing God would provide for me. This kind of experience is a small taste of Heaven and what it will be like.

The second thing this statement means is asking for Jesus to come and reign on earth, which he will some day. With current day events I don’t think that day is far off. Jesus second coming will be when he returns on a white horse with his saints and the battle of Armageddon takes place. Right after Jesus and his army of saints wipe out all the sinful people and locks Satan up, then the millennial reign begins. During this millennial reign, Jesus is the ruler.

Here is a couple scripture describing what it will be like during those 1,000 years. Isaiah 2:4 NKJV  He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 11:6-8 NKJV  "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.  7  The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  8  The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.

Not only are we praying for God’s kingdom, we are also praying for God’s will to be done. When we say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Do you think that pertains to you? Have you ever thought about what that really means? Praying for God’s will could be a frightening concept for some people. Some people might think they could end up in some mission field abroad. Here again it has two meanings, one being that God will rule here on earth, just like he is ruling in Heaven. We are praying for that to take place. It also means for God to rule you in your life. How can we ask God to come and rule over earth when we won’t give our heart to Jesus and allow the spirit of God to come and live inside us. If we are serious about this part of the prayer, shouldn’t it start with us by being Born Again and start walking in a Christ like manner? If God would answer the prayer today it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. God hates sin and since we all are born with the sin nature, there would be a lot of people wiped out. Would you be ready for something like that? If you’re Born Again you wouldn’t have to worry about that, so I have to ask you this. Are you Spiritually Born?

Just how is the will of God done in Heaven? Haven’t really thought about that have you? If God tells an angel to go do something, do you think the angel replies gee God can’t you get Gabriel or Michael to do that? They are a lot better than me, or do you think when God commands something to be done it is done without hesitation? I think they are done without any hesitation, questions asked, whining, and in a joyful manner. They do it because of the authority God has, after all they were just given a command by God almighty, creator of all things. God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (all present), and omnipotent (all powerful). He is the alpha and the omega, Revelation 1:8 NASB  "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

If we are praying that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, then shouldn’t we as Christians be modeling that kind of obedience at home, work, church, etc.? After all we will be doing things for God in Heaven, we won’t just be sitting around doing nothing. If we don’t respect authority here on earth, then we are disobeying God here on earth. Titus 3:1 NKJV  Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, Rom 13:1-7 NKJV  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  2  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.  3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.  4  For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  5  Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.  6  For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.  7  Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 1 Peter 2:13-17  If we are being disobedient to God by not respecting authority, aren’t we sinning? Will people living in sin go to Heaven? No, they won’t, and besides why would God want anyone in Heaven that won’t obey and respect authority? If you have issues with authority, it might be time to ask Jesus to come into your heart and allow his will to rule you. This is the only way to conquer sin and get to Heaven. John 3:17 NKJV  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,

Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."

http://jesus-christ-spiritual-food.blogspot.com/

Bill

Last Week’s Trivia: How did the death of Absalom actually happen? By neck or hair?

Answer: Read the verses below and decide for yourself. I personally think the massive head of hair that he had, got tangled in the thick boughs of the tree. Being a horseback rider and riding through thick timber I’ve had to duck under tree branches and sometimes I think I’m low enough, but still snag my hat or jacket. The head of hair that Absalom had, must have stuck up enough where it could have very easily gotten tangled in the branches. After all it does state in verse 9, thick boughs/branches. So what he was riding through was very dense. Two hundred shekels calculates out to be over 5 pounds.

2 Samuel 14:26 NKJV  And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king's standard.

2 Samuel 18:9 NKJV  Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

 Samuel 18:9 NLT  During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David's men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air.

This week’s Trivia: What kind of rock killed Goliath?

Reference:

Rick Meyer, e-Sword Version 9.8.2 (Copyright 2000-2011)

Dr. David Jeremiah, Prayer The Great Adventure (Copyright 1997)

5-4-2011 Vol. 4 Part 4 The Lord's Prayer (Our Father Who Art In Heaven)

Note: To download/print the document, click on the above title and when the Google Document window opens click on the word "File" under the word Google.

The Lord’s Prayer

5-4-2011 Vol. 4 Part 4

Psalm 34:1-10 NKJV A Psalm of David When He Pretended Madness Before Abimelech, Who Drove Him Away, and He Departed. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Father I pray that your grace falls on all and saturates those that seek you like a gentle rain. Bless them and their loved ones. Thank You Jesus!

Our Father Who Art In Heaven

The following points I will be covering for the first phrase of the Lord’s Prayer are these:

A.    The Fatherhood of God

a.    The Person of the Father

b.    The Place of the Father

B.    Implications of the Fatherhood of God

a.    We Have a New Relationship

b.    We Have a Whole New Reward

c.    We Have a New Resource

d.    We Have a New Responsibility

The Person of the Father: Have you ever looked at the difference in the Old and New Testament on how God was looked upon. In the Old Testament the term Father was rarely used in regards to God being a Father to the people. The people invariably referred to God as Lord or the God of Israel. There was very little intimacy with God. The Israelites showed great fear and reverence to God. They knew he was all powerful in how he dealt with them whenever they were disobedient. We know by the trivia questions God took the lives of some of the sons of leaders and opened up the earth to swallow up the disobedient people Numbers 16:30. We also know the Israelites would insist on Moses or Levite priests to intercede with God for them because they feared God. Those that had a relationship with God invariably referred to themselves as servants of God. Even those that didn’t have the close relationship with God like Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, etc. were called Gods servant or the servant of the Lord.

In the New Testament with Jesus being the son of God, and we being the brothers and sisters of Jesus, we refer to God as our Father. When we are Born Again we are adopted into God’s family and become his children. 1 John 3:1 NLT  See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know Him. In Matthew Chapter 6 God is referred to Father twelve times and in Chapter 5 seventeen times. Jesus refers to God as Father more than 70 times in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The key passage that tells us we are adopted is this;  Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  5  to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"  7  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. When God sent forth his Son Jesus, our relationship with God changed when Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead. The veil in the Temple was torn and the door to God was opened up to us to have a direct relationship with Him through Jesus Christ as our mediator. 1Timothy 2:5 NKJV  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.  

The Place of the Father: Gods residence, “Heaven” is a majestic royal place. Take the most royal exquisite place on earth you can think of, and then times it a 1,000 times and it still wouldn’t equal Heaven. Our Father is surrounded by angelic host and at His right hand is His son Jesus Christ.

As mere sinful human beings that we are, how do we relate to the love God has for us? He is the creator of all things, all powerful, all knowing, and all present. So how is it we can go to him with all things and be in his presence as his children? It is that Father child relationship He has with us and the best way to illustrate that is with this quote from Dr. David Jeremiah. “A magazine ran pictures of President John F. Kennedy working in the Oval Office in the White House with his two young children, John and Caroline, playing near his desk with their toys. The power of the place was counterbalanced by the personal access the children had to their father, the president. Neither your children nor my children would have been allowed into the Oval Office to play on the floor. But the children of the president of the United States were. It was his place, and he was their father, so they had access to him in the realm of his powerful position. Without the father-child relationship, that would not have been possible.”

Knowing our Father is always there for us at all times is what we should model for our own children as parents. When our children are young and with us at home shouldn’t we always be available for their every need? Even when they are grown we should still be a role model of our Father and always make our self available to help them.

I can’t help but think and wonder if we as parents, don’t make ourselves available to help our children, then how does our Heavenly Father treat us? Do you think our prayers fall on deaf ears if we aren’t good parents? We are to live our lives as Christ did. If we aren’t good parents and always make our self available, we will cause our children to sin by turning to someone that could cause them harm. By turning to someone else they might get involved in drugs, alcohol, disrespect other human beings, etc. So with what Jesus stated in this verse, who would be the first to get the millstone hung on their neck? Matthew 18:6 NKJV  "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

As a Christian, and God being our Father, what does that mean for us on a practical level? There are four things that happen to us when we give our heart to Jesus:

A New Relationship: When we are saved we start a new relationship with our Spiritual Father. It is a relationship where the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us instead of just being with us. John 14:17 NKJV  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. We are regenerated in a new life and we see the world with a new set of eyes. With this new relationship comes special prayers/protection. John 17:9 NKJV  "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

New Rewards: Paul tells the Galatians this. Galatians 3:29 NLT  And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. He also states in Romans we are joint heirs. Romans 8:17 NKJV  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. When we become a child of God we are placed in God’s will. The will was executed when Jesus died on the cross. When we die we will receive the inheritance in full, by eternal life with God our Creator in Heaven.

A New Resource: With the Holy Spirit living in us after we are saved we have spiritual guidance to walk, talk, and live as a child of God. This is what God meant when he said he would write his laws on our hearts and in our minds. Hebrews 8:10 KJV  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: The Holy Spirit is in us and puts great conviction on us when we sin and keeps us from sinning when our flesh has a desire to sin. Does the Holy Spirit always keep us from sinning? No, we will still sin, but a person that is truly saved will be convicted of their sin, go to God and ask for forgiveness, and repent by asking God for help so that you can overcome that sin. The only way we have of walking in a Christ like manner is having the Holy Spirit living within us. Our human nature is a sinful nature inherited from Adam that is incapable of living for God.

New Responsibility: The Lord’s Prayer starts with “Our Father” not my Father. This implies we are all part of one family when we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour. If we are squabbling with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ here on earth, then I ask you this. Are we living a Christ-like life? By squabbling over frivolous issues are we taking our walk with Christ seriously? If we are going to spend eternity together, live in Gods house together, then we need to get along with each other here on earth to model our life in Heaven. James 4:1 NLT  What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you?

When we pray “Our Father...” and we are in the midst of a quarrel with our fellow spiritual siblings, are our prayers heard? Before we go to prayer, to the Lord, do we need to do a spiritual reality check before asking God for blessings? We need to forgive others and ask God to forgive us of our conduct. After all, in the Lord’s Prayer it states, we must forgive others so God will forgive us. If we don’t keep the relationships we have with each other free of un-forgiveness, then it clouds our relationship with God.

God wants our fellowship to be constant, mature, and free of conflict with other human beings, especially those that are adopted into God’s family. If conflict is always being brought about, then this question comes up; who is spiritually born and who isn’t? If this happens to you, search scripture for the answer, and go to the Lord in prayer asking him to reveal to you who is at fault. If it is you, swallow your pride, apologize, ask forgiveness from the other party, and ask God to forgive you. If you aren’t at fault then pray for the other party and ask God to fight for you. Exodus 14:14 NKJV  The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

I can attest to this so far with my short walk with Christ; I can have an intense discussion with other Spirit Born Christians and walk away as friends. Discussions with individuals that are not born of the Spirit, I have to be still and walk away before it gets out of hand.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,

Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."

http://jesus-christ-spiritual-food.blogspot.com/

Bill

Last Week’s Trivia: Did the presence of the Ark of God ever destroy false gods?

Answer:  Here is the scripture that gives the answer; 1 Samuel Chapter 5. This leaves me with this thought. The Philistines could see the power of God and acknowledged this power through what was happening, why did they continue to hang on to their god? The Jews in Jesus time did the same thing, they couldn’t let go of their god of rules and regulations and believe in Jesus. Many religions of these days do the same thing and hang on to their god of rules, regulations, and handed down beliefs instead of Jesus and all that is in his word. If we are to be Jesus disciples, we must believe and not doubt.

This week’s Trivia: Do you think God can guide animals to do his will?

Reference:

Rick Meyer, e-Sword Version 9.8.2 (Copyright 2000-2011)

Dr. David Jeremiah, Prayer The Great Adventure (Copyright 1997)