Sunday, February 11, 2007
Matthew 6:13
Senior Pastor
This
morning we are going to examine the last two petitions of The Lord’s
Prayer. We have been using the shape
of the hexagon to give ourselves a visual reminder of these six petitions
in this model prayer, which Jesus taught us to use. You can see the hexagon at the top of your outline today. We started with The Father’s Character, then
moved on to The Father’s Kingdom. Last
week Lorenzo spoke about The Father’s Provision and The Father’s
Forgiveness. Today we are going to
explore The Father’s Guidance and The Father’s Protection.
We
notice a change in focus
in these last two petitions. The
previous two petitions were asking for God’s aid and action in a very personal
way. Although these last two also
request personal aid, it is in the context of going out into the world. Lead us not into temptation, that I know is
out there in the world; and deliver us from evil, that I will encounter also.
A
couple of people have sent me a story recently about a father and two sons. The teenagers asked their father if they
could go to the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had
seen. The father had not heard of the movie so he did some checking and
read some reviews about the movie. Then
he decided to deny their request.
"Aw dad, why not?" they
complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than
thirteen!" Dad replied:
"Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immoral relationships as
being normal and acceptable behavior.
But God wants more for you."
"But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That's what our friends who've seen it have
told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few
minutes of the total film! It's based
on a true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other
redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice.” Now they are laying it on thick.
"My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay
home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the videos we
have in our home collection. But I cannot in good conscience allow you to
go and watch that film.”
The two teenagers walked dejectedly
into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they
were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in
the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking
in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling
guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh
brownies. Maybe we can soften
him up when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that
movie after all."
And sure enough, before long here came dad with a plate of warm brownies,
which he offered to his kids. Eagerly, they each took one.
Then their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much." The teenagers smiled at each other with
knowing glances. Dad was softening.
"That
is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them from scratch. Most of
the ingredients are even organic. The
best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic sugar.
Premium vanilla and chocolate." The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become
a little impatient with their dad's long speech.
"But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient
I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from
our own back yard. But you need not worry, because I only added a
smidge. The amount of the portion is actually almost
insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you
think."
Out of the backyard, they are thinking.
"Uh, Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is
before we chow down?"
"Why? The portion I added was so small – just a teaspoonful. You probably won't even taste it."
"Come on, dad, just tell us what that ingredient is."
"Oh, don't worry, boys! It’s
organic, just like the other ingredients."
"Dad!"
"Well, OK, if you insist.
That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop."
Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began
inspecting their fingers with horror. "DAD! That’s so gross. Why did you do that? You've tortured us by making us smell
those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us that
you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!"
"Why not? The amount of dog poop is so small
compared to the rest of the stuff. It won't hurt you. It's been
cooked right along with the other ingredients. You probably won't
even notice it. It has the same consistency as the brownies.
Go ahead, try them!"
"No, Dad..NEVER!"
Their father paused for a moment and then said, "Fellas, that is the same
reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You won't tolerate a
little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little
immorality in your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation,
so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that will
imprint a destructive and sinful image in our minds that may well lead us into
temptation long after we first see it?”
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We pray that together on Sunday but do we
live it out on the other days of the week?
We pray the prayer Sunday morning, but do we walk the talk during the
week?
Cling to the Father is the title I have been using for this sermon series. That phrase comes from a song called Long Black Train, by Josh Turner. It has been quite popular on country radio. We sang the chorus of the song as part of our opening music this morning. “Oh there’s victory in the Lord I say, victory in the Lord! Cling to the Father and his holy name, and don’t go riding on that long black train.”
It is a song about temptation. The song tells us the long black train, the temptation, looks so beautiful when you first see it, that it turns your head. But it also gives us a warning: “Well I can hear the whistle from a mile away, it looks so good, but I must stay away. The train is a beauty, making everybody stare; but its only destination is the middle of nowhere.”
It says “There’s a long black train coming down the line; feeding off the souls that are lost and crying. Trails of sin, only evil remains, watch out brother for that long black train.”
In the video that goes with the song it shows the temptations of alcohol and drugs. It shows people struggling with illicit sexual relationships and contemplating suicide. It shows the train picking them up and taking them to the middle of nowhere. But then the chorus comes back, “There’s victory in the Lord I say, victory in the Lord. Cling to the Father and his holy name.”
Do you hear the Good News in that just like in this model prayer? God will guide you but you have to make a choice to cling to the father… lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Are you ready to follow the way that Jesus taught?
You’re saying “yes” in your head now, but what about during the week? I find during the week there are those times that I want to fudge a little… just a little sin might be all right, don’t you think? Oh, I can get away with it. And sometimes we do. I mean sometimes we don’t even hurt anybody else. But in some cases we do hurt others and diminish ourselves. And in some other cases it turns out to be the first step toward disaster.
Our song of parting today, says “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow, follow, follow.” Let’s practice that as our motto for this week whenever we face temptation: Cling to the Father and say “Follow, follow, follow!”
Amen and thanks be to God.
…the
shape of the hexagon… a ____________ reminder…
We
notice a change in __________
in these last two petitions.
…in
the context of going out into the __________.
…a story recently about a father and two ________.
…recognized the wonderful aroma of ________________ …
"Before you ______, I want to tell you something:
We
can't eat these ________________!"
Lead ____ not into temptation, but deliver ____ from evil.
Cling to the Father… Long Black Train, by Josh Turner.
“There’s victory in the Lord I say, victory in the
________.
Cling to the Father and his holy name.”
…motto for this week: Cling to the ____________ and
say “Follow, follow, follow!”
Kid’s Question: What shape reminds us of The Lord’s
Prayer?