#BibleLesson. Timeless Truths. Calling Home 1: Where do I start?



The next several weeks focus on the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' description of the way we all need to "call home" to our Father. 

 The key verse this week is highlighted in the passage below.

Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think 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 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘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,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:5-14
Your image of God will determine how anxious you are to interact with Him.

 The Lord's prayer is 66 words long in the King James Version.
"Our Father in heaven..."

  • Father is used for God only seven times in the Old Testament. 
  • Jesus uses Father TWO HUNDRED TIMES in the Gospels.

Kingdom Questions

  1. Are you drawn to or driven to pray?
  2. Is prayer your first instinct or your last resort?

START BY UNDERSTANDING
1. Our Relationship

  • Calling God "Abba" was a revolutionary idea to the Jews.
  • Jesus begins all recorded prayers but one by calling on His "Father."

God said, "How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me 'Father' and not turn away from following me.
Jeremiah 3: 19
"Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? 
Malachi 2:10 

 Two Kinds of Relationships

  1. Horizontal - with others
  2. Vertical - With God

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" 
Luke 11: 13 (NASB)

 2. His Responsibilities

  • When we choose to be adopted into God's family, we depend on His strength.

Psalm 23 is a shortlist of God's responsibilities is found (NASB).
A.   PROVISION
The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
B.  INSTRUCTION
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
C.   DIRECTION
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters…
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
D.   RESTORATION
He restores my soul;
E.   PROTECTION
Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
F.    PREPARATION
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
G.   dDESTINATION

Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.

 3. My Reliance
6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” … 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?...11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
John 14: 6-7, 9, 11 (NASB)
God gives everything we need when we choose to accept Him.

 Ultimately, you have two choices.

  1. SELF reliance
  2. GOD reliance

Going back and forth between SELF reliance and GOD reliance is frustrating, ineffective, and dangerous.
Unless you commit to number #2, you've made #1 your choice, because #1 is the default choice of free-will. 

Don't wait. Commit to God's reliance now.





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