Our Father In Heaven

Our Father In Heaven

Mattthew 6.9-13

“‘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 today our daily bread.
12
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil.
For Thine is Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen

On this Father’s Day let’s take a look at the prayer Jesus taught us to pray addressed to His Father and ours.
In  this model prayer, Jesus is showing the relationship that His followers have with His Father/ Our Father
This prayer reveals the character of God the Father to us.

Ab
First word in the Hebrew Dictionary/ Jesus, when asked by His Disciples to teach them to pray the first words He gave them was “Our Father, which art in Heaven”

He is a Father to the fatherless. Psalm 68.5
My girls in Haiti, those of us who lost their fathers by death or even desertion.
Those who never knew their fathers.

1. Father of an individual

2. of God as Father of His people

3. head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan

4. ancestor
    1. grandfather, forefathers — of person

    2. of people


Pater, Father in the Greek Lexicon


Ephesians 3
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Matthew 6


generator or male ancestor

        1. either the nearest ancestor: father of the corporeal nature, natural fathers, both parents

        2. a more remote ancestor, the founder of a family or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather: so Abraham is called, Jacob and David
            1. fathers i.e. ancestors, forefathers, founders of a nation

        3. one advanced in years, a senior


Jesus in  Mark 14.36 “Abba Pater”
 36 “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
Urdo “Baba”
English “Papa”
Italian  “Padre” Dad “Papa”
Poppa


We get to know God through prayer. This prayer shows us Who the Father is.


1. Our Father In Heaven.

He is in Heaven. Beyond the clouds, the planets there is a place called Heaven. The Apostle Paul calls it “the third heaven.”
(II Corinthians 12.2-4)

He is above all.

He is watching over us and concerned about our needs
Matthew 6.26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Psalm 103.13-14 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
14
for He knows how we are formed,
    He remembers that we are dust.

He is on His Throne.

He is in control.
Psalm 115.3 Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

More about our Father in Heaven...
2. He is Holy.
Hallowed is His Name.
Isaiah 6.1-3
Revelation 4.8
So thankful for a Dad who sought to live a holy life. Never saw him drink, smoke, use bad language or talk degradingly about women.
Jan Jenkins speaking about her father, who ordained me, this past week.
Like our President I never smoked a cigarette. My Dad was my example.
Many other things as well... many.

Jesus spoke a lot  about the Kingdom of God...
3. His Kingdom is Coming.

It is among us.
Luke 17.20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. 21Nor will people say,‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see,the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

It is invisible for now.
Seen by those who have faith.
Hebrews 11.1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

It is forever.
Psalm 145.13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all He promises and loving to all He has made.

Our interaction with heaven is invisible. There are visbile results.

Our Father in Heaven wants what is best for us, not what is comfortable. We must go through many hardships in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven... we pray for
4. His Will
Good, pleasing and perfect will in us. Romans 12.3

The will of God is best. Jesus taught us to pray it.
He prayed it, in the Garden, to His Father in Heaven... not what I will but What You will.
Our Father knows what is best. The best... we are not doubting that God wants the best for us. What we are wondering is how painful the best is going to be. C.S. Lewis

Earthly fathers’ will can be strong. If he loves he LORD he wants what is best for us. He disciplined us for our good.


5. He Feeds Us.
Our Daily Bread

I believe this is in the LORD’s prayer to establish firmly that relationship of dependence our Father in Heaven wants with us.
The bread winner, the one who brings home the bacon.

He feeds us.

6. He Leads Us
Not into temptation
Deliverance from evil
In righteous paths, in step with the Spirit.
Psalm 48.14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    He will be our guide even to the end.


7. He Protects Us Spiritually.
We can only understand the heart of the Father in the Cross of His Son Jesus Christ.
John 17. Prayer for protection

He forgives us.
Exodus 34.6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin...


He will get us to heaven! Where He is. We will bow at His throne.