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183. How To Pray When You Don’t Know How To Pray. The 2016 USA and Australian Elections

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

The contenders have taken their places. It seems to be a contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on one side of the Pacific and between Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten on the other side. Not everyone is content with the choices on either continent. It seems that people are even willing to not vote, or to vote informal or even to vote for the other party out of spite because they don’t like their own particular party leader.

I wish I knew the answer. But I did have some thoughts. God has sometimes used the most unlikely people to accomplish His purposes on earth. He is interested. He is more interested than we are. He can do more about the situation than we can. It’s worth getting onside with Him to see how we can make a difference.

Cyrus and the Jews

There was a time when the Israelites languished in exile in Babylon far away from their home in Jerusalem and Judah. It seemed they would never return to their homeland. But God had a purpose to bring them home. It involved a man who was the most unlikely to be used to achieve such a purpose. It was Cyrus the king of Persia. Isaiah predicted what would happen through this servant of Yahweh. Isaiah records that Yahweh called Cyrus “my shepherd” and that he would make possible the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, “He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” Isa 44:28.

Yahweh also called Cyrus, His anointed. In the Brenton translation of the Greek Septuagint, Isa 45:1 “Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed. 2 I will go before thee, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brazen doors, and burst iron bars.” Here the words for “my anointed” are (χριστῷ μου or Christo mou) the same word used for Christ as the anointed one. God had “anointed” Cyrus for a special task in bringing His people back to their land. That is further indicated in verse 13 where Yahweh says, Isa 45:13 “I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.” In other words He would work in Cyrus to motivate him to work for the good of His people.

Saul of Tarsus the Persecutor became Paul the Preacher

When we are first introduced to Saul of Tarsus we find a nasty piece of work indeed. He is seen as “holding the coats” of those who stoned the saintly Stephen to death. Then the chilling words in Acts 8:1 “And Saul approved of his execution. “ The church was scattered but Paul did not give up. More chilling words in Acts 8:3 “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

Would time lessen his anger against the believers? Apparently not! We come to chapter 9 and Luke records of Saul, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Not a very likely candidate to be a servant of the Lord.

But God has His purposes and sometimes He achieves them, as we have said above, through the most unlikely people. We read what happened as he travelled on the road to Damascus to arrest believers. Act 9:3 “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

He knew then that Jesus was alive and that He was what He had claimed to be. He realised he had been blind spiritually but now had been blinded physically. He was brought into Damascus “where for three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.” 9:9. He may have wondered what would happen to him having persecuted the church of God. But God had a purpose for Saul. He used a disciple named Ananias to go to Saul and lay his hands upon him so that he might regain his sight. Ananias could not believe that he was to do that for the persecutor Saul. But he did so when the Lord assured him that He had a purpose for Saul, Act 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Saul was healed and within a few days was proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues and proclaiming that He was the Son of God. By the grace of God the great persecutor of the church was to become the great preacher of the church. God knows what He is doing as He accomplishes His purposes.

God can make a difference!

How then can we pray so that He can make a difference in the elections in the USA and in Australia. Some people think the candidates on present indications could never be used by God if they were elected. However as we have seen above, God sees things differently to us. His vision is much broader and deeper. He knows what He wants to accomplish in the mightily blessed land of America. He knows what He wants to do in Australia the “Great Southland of the Holy Spirit.” We don’t know whether He wants to bless us abundantly so that we return to Him in adoration in praise and with grateful hearts. On the other hand we don’t know whether He is fed up with our sins and will use the elections to chastise us. Only He knows.

We may have in our minds what we would like Him to do. For most of us, we would like to have elected the people who love Him and who are open to be led by His Spirit to bring God’s blessings to our nations. That may not seem possible at the moment. However in the recent series I did on the Lord’s Prayer we saw it as a prayer that can change the world. It seems to me that we need to take that prayer seriously particularly in praying the section, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is asking Him to establish His kingdom on earth so that His will may be done on this earth.

Be part of God’s solution, not part of the problem

In praying this prayer we are submitting ourselves to be involved in His kingdom purposes. As we continue to pray the prayer it may be that God will show us what things we can do to make a difference in our local situations. We need to be led and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to be the people of God He wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do. In the words of Philippians 2 we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” 2:13-14. He gives us the willingness and the ability to do things that please Him. For example I believe that God is prompting me to write this article so that at least one other person in the USA or Australia who reads this may want to become part of God’s solution and not remain part of the problem through “opting out”.

We also need to pray for the candidates. We need to pray that God’s kingdom will come and that His will be done in their lives knowing that He did amazing things through Cyrus the Persian King and through Saul the persecutor. Or He may do it through changing the circumstances which are under His control. He may do it through other most unlikely people who are not even on the horizon as yet. He knows what He wants to do and through whom. Our praying this part of the Lord’s Prayer is our invitation to Him to do what He wants to do in our own hearts, in our cities, in our own nations as well as in the wider world.

We can make a difference as we pray regularly, “Lord may Your kingdom come and Your will be done in my life and in the lives of all these people whom I now bring before you.” (But don’t add, “Though I can’t see how You could ever possibly use Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten.” )

Blog No.183. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 9th May 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Healing, Prayer, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged Bible, Christ, empowerment, forgive, grace, healing, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Motivation, prayer, relationships, repentance, submission, transformation | 1 Comment

182. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Yours Is The Kingdom And The Power And The Glory, Forever And Ever. AMEN” Matthew 6:13. (Study 9 of 9)

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(NOTE:- This article may be downloaded in PDF format for individual or group study by clicking here. Study 9 of 9 on Lords Prayer

These are powerful words addressed to a powerful God. Though these words are not found in many of the earliest manuscripts they do fit in with the theme of the other words in the Lord’s Prayer. They are like a doxology focused on God expressing the fact that He is King of the universe, that He is the source of all dynamic power and that all glory resides in Him. We look at each phrase in this doxology.

1). “YOURS IS THE KINGDOM”

In an earlier article (number 175) we looked at many of the things involved in the word “kingdom.” We saw that it means “God’s rule over people. It means submitting to Him. Letting Him dictate how we should live personally, in family life and as a society. It means, by His grace, living by His laws, obeying the two great commands to love God with all we are and to love one another as ourselves.” So the words at the end of the Lord’s Prayer are a reminder to us that not only is He “King” but He must be acknowledged and worshipped as such. Praying “Yours is the kingdom” is a decision to place oneself under His kingly rule.

2). “YOURS IS … THE POWER” (Mat 6:13 in some versions)

Here the word for “power” is (dunamis) from which we get our English word “dynamite.” The word occurs more than 120 times in the New Testament. It is used generally in the New Testament in terms of strength and ability in addition to being used to describe the power of God. However it must be remembered that in the New Testament, God is seen as the Supreme One who controls all power whether it be according to His direct purposes or according to His permissive will.

Paul declared the same thing of the risen and exalted Jesus. He expressed it in Ephesians 1:19-22. However before we look into that you may need to have a bit of a break. Why? Because the next few sentences are so filled with power words that you will be exhausted by the time we finish looking at just these four verses! Chapters could be written on each one of the words. (Just in case you feel squeamish at the thought of numerous power encounters with numerous power words in the next paragraph, I will give you a quick summary. “God Is The One And Only Boss Of Everything And Everyone, For Ever!)

Power words in Ephesians 1:19-22. (For those who desire the power of God in their lives!) Now for the foolhardy, sorry I meant Bravehearts! Here the power words are shown with the transliterated Greek words following in the brackets. (And where applicable some English derivatives are shown as well.)

In Eph 1:19-22 Paul wrote that he prayed that his readers might know

“what is the immeasurable (Gk = huperballo) [English, think of hyperbole.]

greatness (Gk = megathos) [English think of megathon]

of his power (Gk – dunamis) toward us who believe, according to [English, think of dynamite]

the working (Gk =energia) of his great might (Note: It really is might Gk =kratos) of his strength (Gk = ischus) [English, think energy for “energia” and for “kratos” think of the “cracy” in theo-cracy and demo-cracy.

20 that he worked (Gk = energeo) in Christ

when he raised (Gk = egeiro) him from the dead

and seated (Gk = kathizo) him at his right hand in the heavenly places, [English, think of Cathedral where the bishop is seated with authority!]

21 far above all rule (Gk = arche) [English, think “monarchy” the rule of one person or “oligarchy” the rule of a few. Or the opposite which is “an-archy” meaning no rule]

and authority (Gk = exousia)

and power (Gk = dunamis)

and dominion (Gk = kuriotestos)

and above [Gk huperano = above in rank or power. Also in Eph 4:10, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.”]

every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

22 And he put (Gk = hupotasso= subjected) all things under his feet

and gave him as head (Gk = kephale) over all things to the church.” [English, think of “encephalitis”, from (en) “in” and (kephale) meaning “head.” He is the Lord, boss, master, ruler of the church.]

In Other Words, God Is The Only Supreme Ruler For Ever. He Has The Power To Do As He Wills.

3). “YOURS IS ….. THE GLORY”

The glory belongs to Him! But what is glory? It is the Greek word “doxa”. Seeing there are 274 occurrences of the word in the Greek LXX Septuagint version of the Old Testament and 168 occurrences in the Greek New Testament, we find many varieties in the meaning.

It helps us to understand that the root of the word is the verb (dokeo) meaning to think, consider, view, appear. The word (doxa) “glory” then can refer to opinions and to praise and honour. It can also refer to light and perfection. A contrast is made between the imperfections of the glory of man and the perfections of the glory of God. For example in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” Praise from fellow humans is not the same as praise from God. That is seen in John 12:42 “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

Jesus came from glory with His Father and would be returning to glory with Him. He prayed to His Heavenly Father, Joh 17:4 “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” He wanted His disciples to be with Him in glory, John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Believers can be transformed by the Spirit in this life as they focus on the Lord in praise and adoration, 2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” They may suffer in life because of their commitment to Christ but God is pleased to work within them to prepare them in this life for glory, 1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

The sense of appearance is seen in the glory to be associated with the second coming of Jesus. He is to appear in glory, Mat 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne (literally “on a throne of His glory”). He takes His people to be with Him in glory, 1Peter 5:4, “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” AND Col 3:4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Believers are being glorified in this life and will be glorified further when Jesus comes. At His first coming He came to die for sinners. At His second coming He will bring them with Him into glory, Heb 2:10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” They will abide with Him in glory.

The Lord’s Prayer. A Summary

When you put together all the different phrases in the Lord’s Prayer you can see why Jesus taught it to His disciples so that they might know how to pray. It forms a wonderful pattern for prayer.

It begins with a positive confident approach to a loving Heavenly Father. “Our Father in heaven”

It seeks to give God His rightful place in our lives. “Hallowed be Your name.”

It desires that God establish His rule in the hearts of everyone. “Your kingdom come.”

It expresses submission to do the will of God. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

It humbly asks for provisions from the One who has promised to provide. “Give us today our daily bread.”

It acknowledges that we can only come to God because of His saving grace. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”

It expresses a realisation that there are temptations galore around us and so we ask God to lead us so that we do not enter into situations He knows would be beyond our maturity to deal with. “Lead us not into temptation.”

It asks the Lord to deliver us from any hold that evil or the evil one might have over us. “Deliver us from evil.”

It concludes with praise to God for His love, mercy, glory and grace as we express our adoration and praise to God our Heavenly Father as we affirm, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. For ever and ever. AMEN”

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER by individuals and groups. (Added on Sun 3rd July 2016)

Question 1. What does it mean that God is king?How does that fact manifest in today’s world?

Question 2. In section 2 there are many descriptions of God’s power.Which descriptions mean more to you than the others?

Question 3. In 2 Cor 3:18 we read that we “… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” What do you think is our part in the transformation process?

Question 4. How could you describe “glory” in just one sentence?When Jesus returns what sort of glory you think that we will see at that time?

Blog No. 182. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 02 May 2016. (Revisited Sun 3rd July 2016).

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Prayer, Salvation, Temptations | Tagged 1 Peter 4 and 5, 2 Corinthians 3, Bible, Christ, deliverance, empowerment, Ephesians 1:19-22, Eternal life, forgive, grace, healing, Hebrews 2:10, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John 17, love of God, Matthew 6:13, prayer, submission, transformation | 1 Comment

181. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13. (Study 8 of 9)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(Note:-If you wish to download this article in PDF format, click here Study 8 of 9 on the Lords Prayer Based on Blog 181)

There are many believers throughout the world who believe we are seeing an unprecedented level of evil in our world today. It is obviously manifest in the rise of Islamic terrorism which many believe is demonically inspired. But there is also a diminishing level of respect for those who deserve respect. Because of the expanding and readily available forms of media there is a greater exposure to evil than ever before. Temptations in many forms are rife in our communities. Praying the Lord’s Prayer and especially this phrase “deliver us from evil” can be of supreme importance in trying to live a godly life in an ungodly world.

What does it mean to “deliver us from evil?” The word for “deliver” is from the Greek word “rhuomai”. We see it used in this verse in the Lord’s Prayer in Mat 6:13 ( αλλα = but, ρυσαι = deliver, ημας = us, απο = from, του =the, πονηρου= evil). The phrase is a prayer asking God to deliver us from evil. However the phrase has the definite article “the” before the word “evil”. It can mean that we are asking God to deliver us from evil in general and specifically to deliver us from the temptations of the evil one, meaning Satan or the Devil.

A). The first phrase. “DELIVER US …”

We see the use of “rescue” or “deliver” in the following ways in the New Testament.

To rescue the righteous and the godly from temptation and evil. Seen in the Lord’s Prayer in Mat 6.13 and in 2 Peter 2:7-9 “and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
It can mean to deliver or rescue people from those who would do them harm. For example:-
Rescue from enemies. eg., in the prophecy of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, Luke 1:74 “that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.” Rescue from evil men. Paul wrote in 2 Thess 3:2 “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.”
Rescue from unbelievers. Rom 15:31, “that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea.”
Rescue from persecution. 2 Timothy 3:10 “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.”
Rescue from the threat of death. 2 Timothy 4:17-18, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen”
“Rescue” is used mockingly of Jesus on the cross. Mat_27:43 “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
Rescue from a personal enemy. From the body of death. Rom 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Jesus was called “the Deliverer.” Rom 11:26 “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
Rescue from difficult situations. 2 Cor 1:10, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
Rescue from the domain of darkness. Col 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
Rescue from the wrath to come at the Second Coming of Jesus. 1Thess 1:10 “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

B). The second phrase “FROM EVIL”. As we noted above, “evil” is from the Greek word “πονηρός” [ponērós]. The expression [ton ponāron = “the evil” or “the evil one”] is used in the New Testament as follows.

Of Satan as the evil one [ton ponāron].

The evil one may tempt people to add to the truth so that it becomes a lie. Eg., in Matthew 5:37 “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Possibly Mat 6:13 “deliver us from the evil one” though it may also refer to evil in general. .
The evil one attempts to stop the word of God from taking root in human hearts. Mat 13:19, “the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart”.
Those belonging to the evil one may be found among the righteous. Mat 13:38, “the weeds are the sons of the evil one.”
Jesus prayed to His Father to protect His followers from the evil one. John 17:15, “that you should protect them from the evil one”.
The evil one as “diabolos” (the accuser) launches missiles of accusation against God’s people. Eph 6:16 “the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
St Paul affirmed that God will strengthen believers and guard them from evil. 2 Thess 3:3 “the Lord will protect you from the evil one.”
St John affirmed that the young men had learned to overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:13, 2:14 “you have overcome the evil one.”
St John recognised that Cain, who murdered his brother Abel, belonged to the evil one. 1 Jn 3:12 “Cain who belonged to the evil one.”
St John wrote that the evil one does not touch those who are born of God. 1 Jn 5:18, “He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him”.
St John recognised that the whole unbelieving world lay in the power of the evil one. 1 Jn 5:19 “the whole world is in the power of the evil one.”

2. Human beings were described by Jesus as being “evil” in the sense they have a human nature which has a bias towards evil.

God’s provision is poured out on the righteous (the good) and the unrighteous (the evil) in His sight. Mat 5:45, “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good.”
Humans with a bias towards evil can do things that appear to be good. Mat 7:11, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children”. But how much greater is the provision of the good Heavenly Father, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Evil outward expressions come from evil within humans. Mat 12:34-35. “How can you speak good when you are evil for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 the good man out of his good treasure brings forth good and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” AND Luke 6:45, the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil”.
Outward sins derive from a sin nature within. Mat 15:19-20, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person….”

3. Evil (in thought , word or deed)

Jesus knew when people had evil thoughts. Mat 9:4 “Jesus knowing their thoughts said ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts’?”
John the Baptist reproved Herod for committing evil. Luke 3:19, “for all the evil things Herod had done.”
St John described in Jn 3:19-20 how men loved darkness because of the evil in their lives, “men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
Jesus taught what would happen to evil people at the resurrection, John 5:29, “those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.”
Jesus taught that the world hated Him because he testified of it that “its works are evil.” Jn 7:7

4. Evil spirits

Jesus gave His disciples authority over evil spirits. Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Thus they would be enabled to have victory in the evil day, “Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Eph 6:13.

Summing up we can say this. To pray “deliver us from the evil one” is good preventative medicine because it invites God’s protection over us as the only One Who can enable us to recognise and overcome temptation in all its forms. As we pray the prayer we can become more aware of the evil around us and more sensitive to the Holy Spirit who allows us to discern what is evil in our situations.

Likewise it is good curative medicine to pray the prayer to God over ourselves and our loved ones so that they and we might indeed be set free from any evil influences to which we may have succumbed. God knows what those influences are. He also knows how to set people free from evil in all its forms.

Few people have any great understanding as to the horrific nature of evil and how repugnant it is in the sight of God. If they did they would be much more inclined to cry out to God for deliverance from evil. One person who did come to recognise the awfulness of sin was Leon Jaworski, the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremburg Nazi War Crimes Trials. He commented “As we cannot envision the heights we can reach by placing ourselves in the hands of God, neither can we imagine the depths to which we can sink without Him.” The evidence before him demanded such a description of the evil that humans do to each other when they do not depend on God. (Quoted by John White in ” Changing on the Inside” page 61).

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER by individuals or groups. (Added Sat 2nd July 2016)

Question 1. When we pray “deliver us from evil” we are admitting that evil does exist. What forms of evil do you think we can see in the world today?

Question 2. In Section A we see the words “deliver” or “rescue” used with regard to a whole range of personal human situations. Can you relate to some of them in your own personal walk in life? Would you be willing to share which ones they might be?

Question 3. Jesus obviously believed in the existence of the Devil or Satan. Why do you think some people today find it difficult to believe there is a Devil? How would you try to convince them otherwise?

Question 4. Some people rebel at the thought of being labelled as “sinners” when they see themselves as “nice people” who “try not to hurt others” If you were asked to do so, how would you try to explain to them how the words in Section B might apply to them?

Question 5. Do you think that Leon Jaworski, the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremburg Nazi War Crimes Trials (who is quoted at the end of the article above) went too far in describing the evil (as he saw it) in human hearts? Why or why not do you think so?

Blog No.181. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 25^th April 2016 (Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, a day when we remember especially those who laid down their lives in seeking to protect innocent people from the evils done (and attempting to be done) by war mongering individuals and nations). Revisited on Sat 2nd July 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged Bible, deliverance, empowerment, Eternal life, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus, love of God, prayer, transformation | 1 Comment

180. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” Matthew 6:13. (Study 7 of 9)

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(NOTE: A PDF file of this blog can be downloaded by clicking here. 180. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” Matthew 6_13

“Lead us not into temptation.” The wording is the same in the original Greek New Testament versions of both Matthew’s (6:13) and Luke’s (Lk 11:4) gospels, namely “not” (μη), “lead” (εισενεγκης), “us” ( ημας), “into” (εις), “temptation” (πειρασμον).

.However a recent translation such as the New Revised Standard Version has these words, “And do not bring us to the time of trial”. Other translations have “save us from the time of trial.” Though the words may differ the concept is very much the same in each translation. “Bring us not to” may mean the same as “save us from”. What then are we actually praying when we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer?

“Lead”. It may help us to look a little more closely at the actual words. “Lead” is from a Greek word (eisphero) which means to bring, bear or carry. (We get some idea of this in the name Christopher where it means “bearer of Christ.”) But there is no concept of God deliberately leading His people into temptation. Rather the prayer is a request to God that He work in such a way that His people do not walk into situations which He knows would be too tempting for them to deal with successfully.

“Temptation”. The other word in this short phrase is “temptation”. It can also be translated as “trials”. It is the Greek word (peirasmos) meaning both “trials” and “temptations” while the verb is translated as “tempt” or “test”. The different meaning depends on the origin of the trial or temptation. Simply put, Satan or the Devil or the Tempter is the one who tempts. God is the One who tests. We will see how this works out in the New Testament.

IT IS THE DEVIL WHO TEMPTS HUMANS

The devil tempted Jesus as a human. The temptation narrative is first described in a general sense. Mat 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (peirazō = to tempt) by the devil. It is interesting to note that the “led” (anagō) is a different word to that in the Lord’s Prayer. It means literally “to lead up.” The Spirit led or guided Him into the wilderness. In Mark’s account it is a much stronger word for the Spirit’s work. It is (ekballo) meaning to “throw” or “cast forth”. Mar 1:12 “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” Jesus was full of the Spirit as He began His ministry and the temptations were a God-permitted opportunity for Him to register His defeat over Satan’s temptations at the very beginning of that ministry. The Spirit motivated and empowered Jesus to defeat Satan on his own “home-turf” as it were.

After that general introduction to the temptations they now are described specifically.

1). The first temptation to Jesus was to satisfy a legitimate need (human hunger) in an illegitimate manner. Mat 4:2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter (Here it is the verb peirazō= the one tempting) came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” There was nothing wrong with Jesus satisfying His hunger by eating food. But the devil was tempting Jesus to use His power in an inappropriate way (to do a miracle at the behest of the Devil, and not acting according to the will of His Heavenly Father.)

Jesus’ answer showed that He recognised that the temptation was a temptation to act independently of God. He committed Himself to live by the revealed will of God in His word, Mat 4:4 ‘But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

The Devil acts on the same principle in tempting humans today. Every human has legitimate needs. Sometimes the needs are crying out to be met. However the needs must be met in legitimate ways, in God’s ways. We read that Jesus didn’t put Himself into a compromising situation. He was responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He relied on the Holy Spirit to enable him to recognise the source of temptation and the means by which He was to overcome it. Humans, where they find themselves in tempting situations, must ask themselves whether the Lord has led them into that situation or whether they have compromised their faith in some way or other. They have to be honest in recognising that sometimes they are the ones who have placed themselves in difficult circumstances. When the devil tempts, his ultimate aim is to destroy the person. When God allows trials, his ultimate aim is to strengthen the person.

2). The second temptation for Jesus was to test the faithfulness of God in caring for Him. If Jesus was going to live by the authority of the Word of God then the Devil would deceitfully quote that authority as part of his temptation. Mat 4:5 “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'”

Jesus recognised the strategy of the Devil in quoting scripture to Him. He saw it as a temptation to put God to the test. It was to force God’s hand. Jesus would not do that as He replied, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 4:7.

If Jesus had thrown himself down from the pinnacle it would have been an act of presumption on His part. God’s care is always there for those who are walking according to His way and in His will. The devil tempts humans today to act independently of God sometimes as a means of trying to force God’s hand. Sometimes the dividing line between assurance and arrogance is difficult to see. Arrogance leads us to attempt to do what we want to do rather than the will of God. Assurance means that we are looking to the Lord for His guidance, overruling and protection as we seek to obey His well and not our own.

3). The third temptation was to obtain power by submitting to the Devil and receiving power through him, Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” For Jesus to have done that would have been an act of idolatry. He indicated that in His reply, Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'” For Jesus commitment to God and to the will of God was central to His life.

Jesus had won the victory over Satan by living according to the will of God revealed in His word. The devil had met his match. Mat 4:11 “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

There are many people in our world who feel powerless or at least lacking in power to change their circumstances. Sometimes they seek power in attempting to have secret knowledge. They may seek this knowledge through delving into eastern religions or by dabbling in the occult. In these ways they may be led into deception. Others seek power through intimidation, harassment and bullying. It is a means of trying to build oneself up by knocking down or destroying other people. As such it is not of God.

There is a place for humans to seek for power. However it should be in submitting to God in every way so that He can empower them to be the people of God He wants to be and do the things He wants them to do. The powerful person then is the person who humbles himself or herself before the mighty hand of God. Only then can He exalt them to fulfil His purposes. As Peter wrote, 1Peter 5:5 “… Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”

The common factor in Jesus’ victory over these temptations was His dependence upon the word of God in Scripture. That is where the victory is to be found for every human in every generation, 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

QUESTIONS for consideration by individuals or groups. (Added Sat 2nd July 2016)

Question 1. Do you think it is a sign of a luke-warm faith on their part when people feel strong temptations? Why or why not?

Question 2. As you look at the account of the first temptation, can you see any way in which humans today are tempted in similar ways? What are some of the ways in which people are tempted in today’s world?

Question 3. In the second temptation Satan tried to tempt Jesus by misquoting the Scriptures by which He was living and obeying. Have you ever had any experiences in which the Devil or a fellow human tried to deceive you by misquoting some part of the Bible? How did you recognise it as deceit and how did you overcome it?

Question 4. We are often tempted to compromise ourselves or our ideals. In what ways do those various temptations to compromise come? How can we overcome the temptation to compromise?

Question 5. In what ways would you seek to help someone who felt helpless or powerless in their situation in life? What dangers would you need to avoid in doing so?

Blog No. 180. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday, 17 April 2016. (Revisited Sat 2nd July 2016)

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged Bible, Christ, empowerment, forgive, grace, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Luke 11:4, Mat 6:13, Motivation, repentance, submission, transformation | Leave a comment

179. Sermon on John Chapter 21. St Peter. Moving From Failure to Fruitfulness

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

The sermon is printed below and can be heard by clicking on the following link. (But you need to be warned that there is a uniqueness about the recording. It records an 80 year old voice competing with an 80 year old [trying to dominate] echo in a 188 year old convict built church on the east coast of Australia. Extremely rare if not unique!)

Can you remember how good it felt last Sunday morning at the end of Daylight Saving in New South Wales? You religiously got up at 3 am to put all your clocks back to 2 am. The hands of every analogue clock! Figuring out how to reset every digital watch! But it was so good to get an extra hour of sleep.

But have you ever thought how wonderful it would be, to be able to turn back the clock 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years? To be able to have a fresh start. To be able to make the right choices instead of the wrong choices. To be able to make the right friends instead of the wrong friends. To be able to plan your life instead of just drifting along?

Well let me tell you the good news and the bad news. The bad news is that you can’t turn back the clock like that. You and I have to live with the consequences of what we said and did over all those years. However the good news is that the Lord can deal with all the things in the past. He can turn our previous past failures into today’s and tomorrow’s successes and victories.

We can experience this as we allow the Lord to come into every area of our lives to deal with all the things in our past. To remove the junk and the gunk that has accumulated over the years. To heal the memories of all our hurts, pains and disappointments. To remove the guilt and shame stemming from our sins and failures

As we allow Him full access into our lives He can help us move from Failure to increasing Fruitfulness, From Defeat to Success. He can set us free from bondage to things and places and people so that we can experience true freedom for perhaps the first time in our lives.

We see that happening in the life of St Peter in John’s Gospel chapters 18 and 21. We can see how Peter would always remember the scenes of two different charcoal fires. One represented utter failure. The other represented new opportunities and resounding victory.

1). FIRST SCENE. Of Failure. Took Place Around A Charcoal Fire In The Court Of The High Priest. John 18:15-27

The Last Supper had taken place. Jesus had then taken His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus had prayed, “Father let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not my will but yours be done!” He was committing Himself to do the will of God. Soon after Judas came to betray Him. He was taken to be tried at the Court of the High Priest. Peter had been able to get into the court as well. We read what happened in John 18:17ff as he was warming himself around a charcoal fire standing with soldiers and servants.

i). The FIRST DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before a servant girl). The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” Jn 18:17. (It was a question expecting the answer ‘No’). Would he say, “Yes I am His disciple!” or would he deny Jesus as Jesus had warned him? It was only a servant girl. Someone with no authority at all. His reply rang out, “I am not.” His first denial came as he stood around a charcoal fire.

ii).The SECOND DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before a group of soldiers and servants.) 18:25ff. So they said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” (This was a question expecting the negative answer ‘No’). These people had authority. They could do him harm. His reply rang out once again, “I am not.” Twice he had been asked to affirm his loyalty to Jesus. Twice he failed as he stood around a charcoal fire.

But now came another challenge. From an eye-witness to what had happened in the Garden. We read what happened.

iii). The THIRD DENIAL around a charcoal fire. (Before an eye-witness.) John 18:26 “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” (This was a question expecting the answer ‘Yes’.) There was no escape for Peter. He had been seen with Jesus. What would he say? Would he affirm his love for Jesus or would he deny Him? Would he be loyal or disloyal? John records what happened, Joh 18:27 “Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.”(As Jesus had prophesied that Peter would.)

3 denials. 3 failures while standing around a charcoal fire. How could Peter ever be forgiven? Would he ever now lead the disciples when he had denied Jesus? Was his life as a disciple now over? Had he missed out on what could have been if he had only remained faithful to Jesus?

BUT the GOOD NEWS is this. God does something about losers and those who fail to live as He wanted them to live. He forgives them as they confess their failures. He restores them as they receive forgiveness in Jesus. He equips them by His Spirit to serve Him. He uses them in His purposes as they become available to Him.

2). SECOND SCENE. Took Place Around A Charcoal Fire On The Shore Of The Sea Of Tiberias. Meeting the Resurrected Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. Jn 21:1-17

Peter the Failure. Peter may have seen himself as a loser. He had failed Jesus. He had denied Him just as Jesus said He would. He was still a failure at the beginning of John 21.

What do losers do when they are confronted with their own weaknesses? They do something they know they are good at, in an attempt to gain some sense of self-worth; some sense of significance; so they don’t feel such failures as people.

What made Peter feel significant? He was a fisherman. So he told the other disciples, “I am going fishing.” That was something he could do well. They went with him. (They too had failed Jesus). But yet another failure. These professional fishermen fished all night and caught nothing. You can imagine how despondent they felt. No Jesus. Not even any fish. Failure. Failure. Failure. (A bit like our lives sometimes. Chaos. Failure all around us.)

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED that was to turn Peter’s life right around. Something he hadn’t really expected.

At dawn they heard a voice calling out from the shore, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (This question expected a ‘No’ for an answer. They answered him, “No.” John 21:5. The voice said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

It was John the beloved disciple who recognised the voice. He told Peter, “It is the Lord!” Impetuous Peter threw himself into the sea and the other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish. John 21:8.

Once on the shore they saw a charcoal fire with fish and bread laid out on it. When Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish they had caught, it was Peter who responded quickly. John records that he went aboard and hauled the net to shore. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” He gave the fish and the bread to them.

The Peter who had been humbled by his failures was now to be exalted. Jesus singled out Peter and asked him 3 questions.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Peter had once boasted that he would remain faithful even if everyone else failed Jesus. Now severely chastened by the events of the past few days he was not willing to boast about being more faithful or having more love than the other disciples. He replied simply, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus was recommissioning Peter.

But there followed another question by Jesus. Jesus said to Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Another statement of recommissioning.

The third question from Jesus “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” brought deep grief to Peter. Why grieved? 3 times around a charcoal fire Peter had denied Jesus before His crucifixion. Now 3 times around a charcoal fire the Risen Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him. Peter responded, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Peter had learned the lesson of humility. He was now fit to lead the disciples. He had thrice affirmed his love for Jesus. And thrice he had been recommissioned. Peter did become a leader of the church. He did strengthen his fellow disciples. He did go on to fulfil God’s will for Him as he served Christ

But how about you and me? Do we ever feel as though we have failed in life? Perhaps looking back we realise that we did not honour our parents as we should have done. We realise that in many ways we failed our spouse or a family or our friends. We failed to be the person we could have been. We failed to do the things we could have done.

The story of Peter reminds us that God takes the abject failures of life. Those who have never reached their full potential in life. Those who feel they have failed to make the contribution they would have liked to have made in life. Those who feel they have failed their families and friends. Those who feel they have failed the Lord by not loving Him or serving Him.

AND He can forgive them of all their failures and sins. And He can cleanse them of sin and guilt, And He can empower them to BE what He wants them to be. And He can empower them to DO what God wants them to do. As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12-13, we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” knowing this fact that as we make ourselves available to God, He is able to work within us making us willing and able to do what pleases Him. But it needs that total commitment to Him in love.

Jesus as the Risen One says to each and every one of us this morning in this service.

“Jim (or your name) do you love me more than these?” My reply (and your reply) should be “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “Fulfil My purpose for you.”
“Jim, do you love me?” My answer (and your answer) should be “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “Fulfil My purpose for you.”
“Jim, do you love me?” My reply (and your reply) should be, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus says to us, “”Fulfil My purpose for you.”

We can move from FAILURE to a greater FRUITFULNESS as we commit ourselves afresh to Jesus and allow Him to forgive us, to cleanse us and to empower us to live for Him.

Why not do that as we sing our next song which has the words

V1. The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You.

V2. The greatest thing in all my life is loving You.

V3. The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.

We can turn the song into a prayer as we sing these words in each verse

The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You.

I want to know You more. I want to know You more.

The greatest thing in all my life is loving You.

I want to love You more. I want to love You more.

The greatest thing in all my life is serving You.

I want to serve You more. I want to serve You more.

As we make these words our prayer this morning God will take our prayers seriously. He will begin the process of turning our lives around by healing what He knows needs to be healed in our lives and by guiding us by His Spirit and by empowering us to live for Him, to His glory and not ours!

Blog No.179. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 10^th April 2016

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, Healing, Prayer, Salvation, Sermons on John's Gospel | Tagged Bible, Christ, deliverance, empowerment, Eternal life, forgive, grace, healing, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John 18, John 21, love of God, Philippians 2:11-13, prayer, relationships, repentance, submission, transformation | 1 Comment

178. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive Us Our Sins.” Matthew 6:12. (Study 6 of 9)

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

“Why did they change the Lord’s Prayer?” That is a question often asked today. In past decades people learnt the prayer using these words from the Book of Common Prayer, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.” In later versions “trespasses” was changed to “sin” and “trespass” to “sin”. More recently they may have heard the prayer in words like these, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” The reason is that there are 2 versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible. One is in Matthew 6:12 (NIV), “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The other is in Luke 11:4 (NIV) “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” However it is good to realise that they have virtually the same meaning as we shall see.

It is obvious that everyone needs to ask forgiveness from God because no one apart from Jesus has perfectly obeyed the 2 Great Commandments Jesus gave His disciples, Mat 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” We have failed in our duty towards Him and towards one another in not loving as we should. No one has loved God with every fibre of their being for every moment of their lives. Nor has anyone put others above themselves for every moment of their lives either. We have all broken the two Great Commandments. We all need forgiveness.

The Meaning In Matthew’s Version. Mat 6:12. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The word used twice in this verse for “forgive” is (aphiēmi). It means to let go, pardon, loose and remit as well as forgive. In this prayer we are asking God to forgive us the debts we owe to Him. But we qualify that by adding “as we have forgiven our debtors.” This past tense of the verb (have forgiven) is found in some texts but in many other manuscripts the verb is in the present tense (forgive), that is, “as we also are forgiving”. Both imply that it is necessary to forgive others if we are going to ask God to forgive us.

The word “debt” is (opheilēma) which can mean something owed or an obligation. It can also refer to something done to another that requires repayment in some way. “Debtors” (opheiletēs) is from the same root, and refers to those who for some reason owe a debt to another person. When we sin in some way against another person it is as though we have taken something from them. [See NOTE 1 below]

What we are doing when we pray these words is asking God to forgive us or to set us free of the guilt of our words and actions against Him and against others. But Jesus seemed to indicate that we can only do so when we have already forgiven (or are willing to forgive) those who owe us by sinning against us.) If we ask for His mercy we must be willing to extend mercy to others.

The Meaning In Luke’s Version. Luke 11:4. In Luke the same word is used for “forgive” but a different word is used instead of “debts”. It is “hamartia” which can mean missing the mark or failing to obtain a perfect score. Luke 11:4 “and forgive us our sins (Greek. hamartia), for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted (Gk. opheilō) to us.” [See NOTE 2 below]

Forgiveness involves forgiving or cancelling the debts people owe us. This is seen in the Parable of the Unmerciful servant, Mat 18:27 “The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.”

In simple terms humans sin against one another in the sight of God and they need to confess it before Him and to ask for His forgiveness. Not only that but they also need to confess to God that they have forgiven those who sinned against them as well.

Some Questions And Answers Concerning Forgiveness. (Please note that questions for consideration by individuals and groups is found at the end of this article.)

First Question. Does it mean that if someone prays the Lord’s Prayer they are automatically forgiven?

Answer. Not necessarily. We need to remember a number of truths.

i). The prayer is the family prayer for all believers, all who have put their trust in Christ for salvation. We can only truly pray “Our Father” when we have come into His family as His adopted children through faith in Jesus. [See NOTE 3 below]

Salvation and acceptance into the family of God is to be found in Christ alone, Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

ii). The ground for God’s forgiveness is not based on the fact that we asked for forgiveness. It is based on the shed blood of Jesus who gave Himself to redeem people from sin. But that forgiveness is only to be found in Him and in Him alone, Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” and in Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” When we receive Him into our lives as Saviour and Lord we receive, in Him, forgiveness for all our sins. As Peter declared in Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

iii). Praying for God to forgive us our sins is not the ground of our forgiveness. Rather it is the means by which we appropriate the forgiveness God offers us in Christ and we receive in Him. That is why the preaching in the early church focussed on Jesus as the only One who could save from sin and the only One who could bring forgiveness through His death and resurrection. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost that his hearers should repent of their sins and become committed to Christ in order to receive forgiveness, Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He also preached later on that those who did believe in Jesus would receive forgiveness, Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Second Question. Well, how does a person make sure that they are forgiven?

Answer. By receiving forgiveness in the only place it is to be found, in Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3 that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms in Christ with every spiritual blessing in Him. And as verse 7 reminds us, it is in Him that we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Third Question. Does the believer then need to pray that part of the Lord’s Prayer if they already have forgiveness in Christ?

Answer. Yes, the prayer is meant to be prayed in full because it reminds us that we need to remain open to God so that we walk in true righteousness before Him. As we have seen above there is no one who can ever claim to have perfectly obeyed the 2 Great Commandments given by Jesus. It would be a deceived person who claimed that they no longer sin. It only takes a modicum of common sense to realise that everyone is guilty of breaches of love towards God or others. It is true as John wrote in 1John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” [See NOTE 4 below].

So every time we pray “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” we are coming before God allowing Him to show us how we have transgressed against Him and against other people, especially where we have not loved as we should have. We also allow Him to show us those people who have sinned against us so that we can recognise their sin and forgive them in His presence. Then we can confess all these things before Him to experience His forgiveness and His cleansing.

It can be seen then that these words “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” are not just throw-away lines in the midst of a nice prayer. Rather they are an opening of our hearts to God in a loving full and total commitment to Him so that we might not continue to sin in the ways He has shown us. It means that we are doing serious business with God, wanting to walk in the light and not wanting to be influenced by the deception that we can no longer sin. It means being a Christian living in reality and not in the unreality of self- righteousness.

POSTSCRIPT. A Concern

One of the things that concerns me in recent days is the number of younger preachers whom I have heard on the internet who have taken what I consider to be an extreme view of Romans 6:11 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” They say that they have died to sin and one of them even suggested that he had not had a sinful thought for a number of years. But they fail to read on to the following verses where Paul writes, Rom 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Paul was showing that humans have free-will and have to make choices. The reality is that sin still exists and believers have to choose to present themselves to God moment by moment to have victory over sin. The reality as Paul saw it was that believers could still present their bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but they had the choice of presenting themselves to God to be instruments of righteousness. (Dead people cannot make choices.)

Others say that they no longer have a sinful nature and now having God’s nature can live righteous lives all the time. However the 39 Articles of the Church of England and Anglican churches says this about our old nature in Article IX Of Original or Birth-Sin, “And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.” We may be partakers of the divine nature as St Peter affirms in 2 Peter 1:4 “… by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” but the Bible states that the old nature remains in those who are born again. Paul exhorted the believers in Ephesus “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24.) The old self still existed but the believers had to choose to put on the new nature.

That is why even very senior Christians can get it wrong sometimes. Peter who wrote those wonderful words in 2 Peter 1:4 failed to live as he should after many years as a believer and as a church leader. Paul described what happened in Galatians 2:11-13, “But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. “ Paul knew the gospel message was being compromised by Peter and the others so he took action, Galatians 2:14 “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” If even Peter was guilty of sin after many years of victorious Christian living and ministry, one would think that less mature believers would need to be careful of claiming to be without sin.

It may be that these younger preachers today are confusing what is theirs potentially and what is their actual situation. It may be true that if someone had a 100% understanding of the will of God and lived in 100% obedience to His will and was motivated by 100% pure agape love towards God and towards their fellow humans, they could potentially live 100% pure lives. But that is not realistic. The only way it can become realistic in a person’s mind is to justify their behaviour by thinking they are dead to sin and (even unconsciously) lessening the sinfulness of sin. The reality is that no one apart from Jesus has been or ever will be sinless all the time.

So praying “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” is as necessary for our young preachers today as it is for the rest of us.

………………………..………………………………………………………………………………….

[NOTE 1] Being in debt to others. We may have taken things from people such as some of their material possessions. Or we may have damaged (or taken from them) their good name or reputation through criticism of them. Or we may have taken from them some of the peace they were enjoying before we spoke or acted towards them in a negative way. Every sin has a consequence. Every sin does damage to the sinner and to the one sinned against. It has to be dealt with or else the damage remains. We are in debt to the ones against whom we have sinned in some way or other and we need their forgiveness. Similarly those who have sinned against us are indebted to us and need to ask for and receive God’s forgiveness and hopefully ours as well.

[NOTE 2] Luke 11:4. Note the present tense in both the verb “we ourselves forgive” (we are forgiving) and the participle “indebted” (being indebted to us). It speaks of an on-going attitude of forgiveness to be adopted towards those who sin against us.

[NOTE 3] Receiving Christ as Saviour. We can see in the following verses that believing in Jesus and receiving Him are equated. Many of His own people did not believe in Him, nor receive Him and as a result were not born into God’s family. John wrote in John 1:11-12, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

[NOTE 4] It is important to note that in 1 John 1:9 that the verb “to cleanse” is present tense. In other words we could translate it as “God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to keep on cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” Some have called it “keeping short accounts with God” in order to receive the experience of forgiveness for sins of which we recently have become aware and for ongoing cleansing.

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION BY INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS. (Added 30June 2016)

Question 1. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all He replied in Mat 22:36-40 giving two commandments that had to be obeyed. They were to love God with all one’s being and to love one’s neighbour as oneself. What is significant in the answer Jesus gave?

Question 2. How could you attempt to use these 2 Great Commandments to try to convince someone that they needed forgiveness?

Question 3. On what grounds can we ask God to forgive us? What is involved on His part and on our part?

Question 4. In the Postscript above, mention is made of St Peter being rebuked by St Paul in Galatia for behaving in a way that was contrary to the gospel message they were both preaching. Do you find that encouraging or discouraging as you seek to live for the Lord now? Why?

Question 5. In NOTE 1 above it is suggested that those who sin against us are indebted to us, or they owe us. Forgiveness involves cancelling those debts. Why do you think it is so difficult for people to forgive those who hurt them when they come to realise that they have to cancel all those debts?

Blog No.178. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 21^st March 2016. Revisited Thurs 30th June 2016

Posted in Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer" | Leave a comment

177. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “ Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. ” Matthew 6:11. (Study 5 of 9)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

“Jehovah-Jireh”. So begins one of the most popular Christian songs in recent years. The song continues with words like these, “Jehovah Jireh, My provider, His grace is sufficient For me, for me, for me.” Other parts of the song have these words, “My God shall supply all my needs, According to His riches in glory, He will give His angels Charge over me, Jehovah Jireh cares for me, for me, for me, Jehovah Jireh cares for me.”

Not only is it a lovely song to sing but the words express important truths about God. He is seen as “Jehovah-Jireh” meaning He is Yahweh, the God who Provides. The word for “provides” is “raah” which means to see, to watch over and to provide. It speaks of the care Yahweh has for those who are His. The most well-known example is found in Gen 22:12 where God provides the lamb for the sacrifice just as Abraham was to offer up his son in sacrifice and He says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” The story continues, Gen 22:1 “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” The response by Abraham was to decide to remember that place as Jehovah Jireh, “The LORD will provide”.

God is creator and king. He also supplies human needs. Eg., Psalm 145:8-9 remind us of His grace, mercy and love. “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (9) The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” But it also spells out the practical aspect of that love in His provision for His creatures, (15) “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. (16) You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

God provides. Jesus also encouraged us to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread.” That is a prayer based on the faithfulness of God. We are asking our Heavenly Father to supply our needs for the coming day.

1). GOD KNOWS WHAT OUR REAL NEEDS ARE

What did Jesus mean by “bread”? It meant of course, the food known as bread, such as a loaf of bread. Most of the 300 plus references in the ESV Bible to “bread”, refer to bread of that sort. God provides the basic necessities of life such as the materials to make bread.

It can also mean our material needs in general. When we pray “Give us each day our daily bread”, we’re inviting the Lord to meet all the needs He knows we have. Jesus was to say a little later, regarding our basic needs in life for food and drink and clothing, Luke 12:30-31 “For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

If we allow the Lord to be the King, the Ruler, the Master of our lives, and if we set our minds on knowing and doing God’s will, then He tells us that we don’t need to be anxious about our material needs. He promises He will provide them for us. As Jesus also said, “If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will Your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” Mat 7:11. (Lk 11:13 the Holy Spirit.) If human fathers (who are by no means perfect) provide for their children then how much more will the Perfect Father in heaven be motivated and be able to provide for His adopted children.

But “bread” in the Bible can also mean provision for our spiritual needs. Jesus said in John 6:32-33, “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” God once gave the manna to fall from heaven to provide for the physical needs of the Israelites as they journeyed in the wilderness. Then He gave His Son Jesus to come from heaven to bring satisfaction to our spiritual hunger and thirst. God wants to meet our needs, not necessarily our wants. There can be a difference! Only God truly knows what that difference is!

2). GOD PROVIDES SUFFICIENT TO MEET OUR NEED

Jesus didn’t encourage us to pray, “Give us right now, enough resources to last for the next 12 months.” Nor was it to be prayer asking that God might fill our lives with all the luxuries imaginable. It was prayer for daily needs. We see that pattern in the Old Testament in God’s provision of daily manna. Exodus 16:4, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions’.” He provided for the day. (The only change would be on the sixth day when they were to gather twice as much to cater for the seventh day when they were not to go out to collect the food, but to rest. Any extra gathered on that day in disobedience would go bad by the next day.

God provided. They had to exercise their faith to go out to receive His provision for their daily need. When they longed for meat, He provided for their need by having quails land in the camp each evening. Here was a loving God’s provision for the needs of His people. He is still a loving God. He still cares for the needs of His children.

3). GETTING OUR NEEDS INTO PERSPECTIVE

One problem we have in bringing our needs to God, is that we too easily make them the focus of our attention. In fact we can do that in our prayer life so that praying for our needs or for those of our family, gets right out of proportion. Instead of focussing on the love and mercy and greatness of God, and becoming more and more people of praise, we can major on asking Him to do things or to supply things for us. (We need to remember that God is not our “Bell-boy” to respond immediately to every wish or whim that we might have.)

The right focus is seen in Proverbs 30. The writer didn’t want to become too materialistic. His prayer to God was a simple one, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” The writer knew himself. He knew that too much or too little would cause a problem in his relationship with God. He explained it clearly, “I may have too much and disown You and say ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God”. He wanted only sufficient provision to enable him to live life every day in a good relationship to God, of whom he had already written in 30:5, “Every word of God is flawless, He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

Job also had the right perspective on life. Job 23:12, “I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” He was determined to live in obedience to God, to major on God’s commandments to him. He placed the importance in his life on knowing and fulfilling God’s words, treasuring them more than the food he needed every day.

4). WHAT IS OUR FOCUS? IS IT HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY?

Notice where the petition comes in the Lord’s Prayer. It follows after “Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come.” (“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”) Our focus is not to be on what God can provide for us, but on the Provider Himself. One of the disadvantages in living in a prosperous nation like Australia is that most of us know where our next meal is coming from. In fact we may have all the ingredients for all the meals for the whole of the coming week in our pantry and refrigerator already. It is so easy to take God’s provision for us for granted.

Gratitude to God was a lesson the Israelites needed to learn as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land. He warned them through Moses that when they eventually began to enjoy greater prosperity they were to remember that it was He who had been providing for them throughout their entire journey, Deuteronomy 8:11-16, “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, (12) lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, (13) and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, (14) then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,(15) who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,(16) who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.”

It is so easy to forget that God has been at work in our lives during the hard times as well as the good times. It is so easy to begin to think that we are self-made people and owe any successes we have to our own wisdom, effort or skill. Moses warned in the following verses, (8:17) “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ (18) You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.” Praying “Give us this day our daily bread” is a reminder to us that every blessing we have comes ultimately from the hand of God Himself. That should keep us humble and always dependent on Him!

5). NOTICE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLURAL “US” AND “OUR”

The Lord’s Prayer is the family prayer of all believers. It is not a “Gimme!” prayer. Rather we pray that the Lord would provide for all His children “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” Christian love demands that we think of the needs of others as we pray for our own needs to be met. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

As we next pray these words “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” our empty hands should be extended towards Him to receive His provision for our needs. They should also be uplifted in gratitude and praise to Him for His gracious provision to us. Then we will be motivated to extend our hands to others sharing with them what God (as Jehovah Jireh the Provider) has shared with us. After all He enriches us for a purpose. To be generous with what He gives to us. As St Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians 9:10 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” These words are simultaneously a request for His provision and also a declaration of faith in Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides for His people.

QUESTIONS for individuals or groups to consider. (Added on Wed 29th June 2016)

Question 1. In Luke 12:30 Jesus spoke of the need to “seek first His kingdom”.What do you think that means for us today? In what practical ways can we show we are “seeking first” His kingdom?

Question 2. If God promises to provide for our needs, not our wants, how can we tell the difference between our wants and our needs?

Question 3. In Proverbs 30, what important truth is the writer bringing out regarding God’s provision to us?

Question 4. What warnings does Moses give in Deuteronomy 8 about “forgetting” God. How can we make sure that we don’t “forget” Him?

Question 5. If you were asked to show the truth in the last paragraph beginning “As we …” by using hand actions how would you attempt to do it? What truths would you be trying to express in this way?

Blog No.177. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 14th March 2016. (Revisited on Wed 29th June 2016)

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Prayer | Tagged 1John 3:17, 2 Corinthians 9, Bible, Christ, Daily Bread, Deuteronomy 8, forgive, grace, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lord's Prayer, love of God, Matthew 6:11, prayer, relationships | 1 Comment

176. The Prayer That Can Change The World -The Lord’s Prayer- “Your Will Be Done” Matthew 6:10. (Study 4 of 9)

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

“Not as I will, but as You will.” These are among the most significant and powerful words ever uttered by human lips. The words were part of a prayer by Jesus to His Heavenly Father as He faced His last hours on earth. They were uttered in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was preparing Himself to go to the cross.

Jesus and the will of God. Luke 22:41-42

As Jesus faced that awful prospect He prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And a little later He repeated the words, “ (42) … “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Jesus as a human had the free will to choose to do God’s will or His own will. But His will was always to do His Father’s will. He expressly indicated that during His ministry in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Nevertheless the prospect of becoming sin for humans would have been repugnant for Him except He knew it was part of His Father’s eternal plan for Him. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews put it, Hebrews 12:2 “… For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Why should we pray “Your will be done?” Because we need to! We need to focus on what is the most important thing for us to do in life. That is, as creatures to obey our Creator and to do His will for us. Or to obey our loving Heavenly Father as grateful children who have been adopted into His family. .

1). What is the Father’s will?

The Bible Writers Have Told Us Much About His Will

i). God’s will meant that the Messiah had to suffer. (Isa 53:10 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand”. There is also a lot of foretold detail about the crucifixion scene, in Psalm 22.

ii). God’s will was fulfilled by Jesus as He came as the Messiah, Heb 10:9 “Behold, I have come to do your will.” By fulfilling God’s will through His sacrificial death, Jesus set believers apart to belong to God, Heb 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

iii). Believers are destined for adoption as God’s children as part of God’s will for His people. (Eph 1:5 “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

iv). His will is to distribute the Gifts of the Spirit as He wills, (Heb 2:4 “…God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to His will.”

v). Answers to prayer come when prayer is offered according to His will. (1 John 5:14 “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

vi). Suffering may be in accord with His will. (1 Pet 3:17 “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.” AND 1 Pet 4:19 “Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.”

2). God’s Will Can Be Known And Should Be Obeyed

i). God’s will means that His people should be set apart (sanctified) for His purposes, 1Thess 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality”.

ii). God’s will means giving thanks to Him always, 1 Thess 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (An Attitude Of Gratitude)

iii). God’s will means that we should do what is right throughout our lives. (1 Pet 2:15 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” AND (1 Pet 4:2 1Pet 4:1-2, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

iv). Transformation by the renewing of the mind is necessary to know the will of God. Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

v). It is expected that believers should come to know the will of God. Eph 5:17 “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

vi). We can pray that people are filled with the knowledge of God’s will, Col 1:9 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

vii). God’s will has to be done sincerely from the heart. (Eph 6:5-8, “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man. 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

viii). It needs endurance to do His will. (Heb 10:36 “For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

ix). God gives us grace to do His will. (Heb 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

3). The Blessings On Those Who Obey The Will Of God

i). The blessing of answered prayer. (John 9:31 “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.”

ii). The blessing of eternal life. (1 John 2:17 “And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.”

iii). The blessing of knowing the authority of Jesus’ words. (John 7:17 “Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.”

iv). The blessing of belonging to the family of God. (Mark 3:35 “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

v). Transformation by the renewing of the minds is necessary to discern the will of God. But it leads to the discovery that His will is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

4). The Danger Of Resisting The Will Of God

i). Humans can use their free-will to resist the will of God for them. We have these tragic words from the lips of Jesus as He approached Jerusalem. He knew what was going to happen to the city because of their rejection of Him as God’s Messiah. Mat 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

ii). He was offering them His blessing and protection but they refused Him. Calamity would follow. And it was just so unnecessary. All they had to do was to accept Him as their Messiah and follow Him but they refused. He wanted to gather them into His fold but they were not willing. They were accountable for their rejection of Him. They were accountable for their rejection of God’s purpose through Him for their salvation.

So What Are We Praying When We Pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

i). There is no resistance to God in heaven. His will is done all the time. What we are asking for in this prayer is that God would work in the hearts of every person so that His will, and only His will, is done on earth. We know of course that there are many people around the world and throughout history who have had and have no intention of doing only the will of God. They want to do their own will. So it is worthwhile praying when we know it’s not going to happen any time soon?

The answer is of course is “Yes!” When we pray the words “Your will be done” we are affirming before God that we want to do His will and His will alone. The words are part of the total commitment we are meant to make to God for every moment of every day. As we pray we are saying to the Lord, “I am yours and I want to be everything You want me to be. I want to do what You want me to do. I want to say what You want me to say. I want to pray what You want me to pray. I want to be where you want me to be. Please cleanse me, direct me and empower me to live for You today, for every moment of the day, so that I can do Your will to Your glory.”

ii). As we pray the prayer we are also crying out to God in utter sincerity that we want Him to work in our lives to enable all this to happen. God’s grace in terms of His unmerited favour was needed through Jesus’ death and resurrection to enable us to come into the family of God in the first place. His grace in terms of His enabling is also needed to enable us to live for Him throughout our lives in a way that will bring Him glory. We know that as we get closer to the centre of His will for us we will be wonderfully blessed. But the blessing is not the goal. The desire to please Him is the goal. The blessings which follow are the result of our giving ourselves totally to Him.

iii). AND of course as we pray “Your will be done” we are praying that the Lord would work in the hearts of all people so that they too desire to love and obey Him. We want Him to be honoured and loved. We want Him to be experienced and willingly obeyed. We want Him to be at the very centre of every person’s life. So as we pray “Your will be done” we are saying that we want Him to manifest His love and power in His world so that He may be glorified in all the world (and especially in our own hearts.)

Questions for individuals or groups to consider. (Added on Wednesday 25th May 2016)

Ques 1). Do you think that in the introduction to the notes the writer to the Hebrews minimized the sufferings of Jesus on the cross by saying “for the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross.” Why or why not?

Ques 2). In section 1 what did the will of God entail for Jesus? What does it entail for us?

Ques 3). In section 2 what is said explicitly to be the will of God? What implications should that have for our own lives?

Ques 4). In section 2 what does it say about believers and the will of God?

Ques 5). What are some of the conditions we see in section 3 that are necessary for experiencing God’s blessing?

Ques 6). What do you learn from section 4 about people’s decisions to choose NOT to do the will of God? Do you think that people today make the same sort of decisions?

Ques 7). As you look at the concluding section what sort of thoughts do you think should be in our minds as we pray the Lord’s Prayer? Why do you think that?

Blog No. 176. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 10^th March 2016. Revisited 25th May 2016

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Prayer, Salvation | Tagged Bible, Christ, empowerment, Eternal life, grace, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:10, Motivation, prayer, relationships, submission, transformation | Leave a comment

175. The Prayer That Can Change The World -The Lord’s Prayer. “Your Kingdom Come”. Mat 6:10.(Study 3 of 9)

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Why should we pray to God “Your kingdom come?” The answer is that it is essential that we do so. There are many who see that the present world is in a horrible mess and in a rapid moral downward spiral. Many of them pray this phrase with a great desire for God to intervene in this world before it is “too late”. One would have to admit for example that the world is in danger from radical extremism. In addition there are many atheists and agnostics who believe that Christians have become the most persecuted people in the world.

The prayer that Jesus taught us can make a difference when we pray it with the right motivation. Our motivation in praying for God’s kingdom to come should be to see His rule being established in the hearts of every individual and in the affairs of all the peoples of the world.

1). WHAT “THE KINGDOM OF GOD” MEANS. It means God’s rule over people. It means submitting to Him. Letting Him dictate how we should live personally, in family life and as a society. It means, by His grace, living by His laws, obeying the two great commands to love God with all we are and to love one another as ourselves. God always meant His people to live under His direction as their king. But when His people eventually cried out for a human leader like the leaders of the nations around Israel, He saw they were rejecting His rule over them and He allowed them to have a king. God promised in 2 Sam 7:12-16 that though He was allowing an earthly king over His people, He would eventually establish a throne, a kingdom that would never come to an end. It was later associated with the role of the Messiah, in Isaiah 9:7, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness.”

In a sense God was always in control even when He allowed His people to turn away from His rule and to seek an earthly type of king to rule over them, Psa 103:19 “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” But there would come a time when His kingdom would come more fully, when the Messiah would come, and He would ultimately bring in the fulfilment of the kingdom in which all the enemies of God would be completely overcome, e.g., Dan 6:26 “He is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.”

2). THE KINGDOM HAS COME IN JESUS

i). John the Baptist declared this truth in his preaching as he prepared the way for the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. Mat 3:1, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus was soon to begin His ministry and people were to get ready to respond to their coming Messiah. Many people including tax collectors recognised that they needed to repent. They responded to John’s message and were baptised by him, Luke 7:29, “When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” However many of the religious leaders set their hearts against Jesus as the Coming Messiah even before He began His ministry to bring in the kingdom.

ii). Jesus as He began his ministry, taught that the kingdom had come in Himself. Mat 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And in Mat 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” The good news of the kingdom was that Jesus had come to set people free from their sin. He had also come to heal the sick and people saw the power of God (Kingdom power) at work in the healings that took place through His ministry.

iii). It took a thief hanging on his own cross to recognise that the Jesus hanging in weakness on a cross near him, was a king. In one of the most faith-filled statements that were ever uttered from human lips he said, Luke 23:42 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Who looked less like a king than Jesus hanging in weakness on a cross, the object of spite and scorn and hatred? Many of the religious people, who should have recognised Jesus as King, rejected Him. Many sinners like the thief, accepted Him.

iv). Jesus demonstrated the power of the kingdom in His miracles, signs and wonders. He challenged the people as He ministered to them in the power of the Spirit, Mat 12:28 “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” Lk 11:20. He did drive out demons so it meant the kingdom of God had come. He was simultaneously preaching and exhibiting the kingdom in His healing and deliverance ministry.

v). He demonstrated the power of the kingdom in His death, resurrection, ascension, being seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and in sending the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, Luke described how Jesus, after His resurrection and before He ascended to heaven, appeared to His disciples for 40 days, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:6 ‘So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”’

He promised that they would soon receive a new power to live and to witness when they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. Some days later they received the Spirit of God into their lives and were transformed. Peter explained that this was the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise about the kingdom He had come to establish.

Paul indicated much the same as he shows in Eph 1:20-23 how Jesus ascended into heaven, and is seated at God’s right hand, as King of kings and Lord of lords, having established His kingdom. Whether people like it or not, the Bible indicates that Jesus Christ is Lord and King, and they need to submit to Him.

3). WE NEED TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS. Jesus taught that Satan had a kingdom. But it was a kingdom He had come to destroy. John wrote of the power that Satan had in an unbelieving world, 1Jn 5:19, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” When Jesus cast out demons He was accused of being an instrument of Satan. He pointed out the absurdity of such a suggestion, Mat 12:26 “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” And in Luke 11:18 “And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.” Jesus was exercising the power of the kingdom of God in delivering people from the power of Satan.

Paul reminded those from a Gentile background that they had been set free from one dominion when they believed and they had entered into another kingdom, Col 1:12 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” From darkness to light. From bondage to freedom. From being guilty before God, to be forgiven by Him, through faith in Him.

To be able to enter into the Kingdom of God is an evidence of God’s love and grace to us. Jesus said that people needed to be born again to enter it. He said to Nicodemus, John 3:3-5, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. … no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” How could that happen? By putting one’s faith in Jesus for salvation, Jn 3:14-15, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (on a cross for sinners) that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” As the Israelites looked in faith at God’s provision of a bronze serpent on a pole for their healing, so people have to look by faith at Jesus as the One crucified on a cross to take away sin, in order to be saved.

When one receives Jesus into their life as Saviour, they enter into the kingdom. It’s not on the basis of human goodness, but through faith in who Jesus is and in what He has done through His life, death and resurrection.. Entry into the kingdom is open to all those who are open to Him. That’s what Jesus said about the most unlikely people who were entering the kingdom, while a lot of religious people were missing out, (Mat 21:31 “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” Those who exercised their freewill in rejecting God’s purpose in sending Jesus were nevertheless accountable to God for their rejection.

4). WE NEED TO LET GOD ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM RULE IN OUR HEARTS. Jesus taught that His followers were to enter into the kingdom, and let the kingdom enter more and more into them. Instead of focussing on and worrying about the so-called necessities of life such as food, shelter and clothing, they needed to focus on the kingdom, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Mat 6:33.

i). It means relying on God for the very necessities of life rather than being absorbed in the search for those material things, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. Rom 14:17, 18. It is about a relationship with God and the blessings of peace and joy which follow.

ii). It means having a humble dependency on God like that of a young child, Mat 19:14 ‘Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”’ Mk 10:14. Faith is not childish but rather exhibits child -like dependence.

iii). It means giving oneself completely to God, and not turning back, Luke 9:62 “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Being, by God’s grace, a member of the kingdom of God brings the responsibility of gratefully rendering to Him one’s undivided loyalty and total commitment to Him as King.

iv). It means becoming the people of praise God meant us to be. It is part of obeying the first commandment given by Jesus, Mat 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” Peter reminded his readers about their identity in Christ, 1 Pet 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” As His people they had the privilege and the responsibility to declare His praises (or to declare His “excellencies” as the words could also be translated). An unrighteous king or ruler might demand acclamation and complete servitude but the King of heaven desires that His people praise and serve Him willingly and gratefully from their hearts, for the good it does THEM!

v). It means doing the works God had planned for us to do in kingdom living, Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” And in Titus 2:13-14. “(Jesus) gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself, a people of His own, zealous for good works“. God’s kingdom has come in Jesus but it still has to come fully in its entirety when He returns in glory. God’s kingdom may indeed be extended as we play our part as His willing subjects in being the people of God He wants us to be and in doing the things He has eternally planned for us to do.

There is an amazing statement in 2Pet 3:11-12 where Peter writes, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” The coming of the King as Jesus returns will bring completion to the kingdom and these words seem to indicate that believers can play a part in determining when that will be, by living holy and godly lives. Such godly living will “hasten the coming” of the day. “Hasten” is from the Greek (σπεύδω, speudō) which means to bring about more quickly. Vincent’s Word Studies explains it thus, “causing the day of the Lord to come more quickly by helping to fulfil those conditions without which it cannot come.” Only God knows when that will be but we are encouraged to live in such a way that it will come sooner (humanly speaking) as we live as we should. We can help bring back the King sooner! He told us in His word!

The king is on His throne in His kingdom. Kingdom power, resurrection power is now available to His people as Jesus is ruler of all. Paul prays that they will know the hope of the kingdom, the riches of the kingdom, and the power of the kingdom, Eph 1:18 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” He is the eternal, incomparable King of all kings.

PRAYING THE LORD’S PRAYER TODAY. There is great fear throughout the world because of the progress of terrorism and its associated violence and extreme senseless brutality. It seems that there is another ideology which wants everyone on earth to submit to it but it is entirely different to the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say here that God will brook no rival because of the love He has for His people. That’s why we need to pray earnestly, “Your kingdom come” so that God can work through our prayers to establish His kingdom rule in the hearts of those who don’t know Him and who may be, in their ignorance, seeking to set up another “kingdom” entirely at odds with His.

Paul knew the danger of false ideologies. He instructed the Corinthian church how to deal with them, 2 Cor 10:3-5, “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, (4) since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments (5) and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.” For our own protection we can take all our thoughts to the Lord so that He can enable us to discern what is of Him and what is not of Him in our thinking and to make the right choices in life.

But we can do something for the safety and protection of the wider world as well. We can pray for all those in leadership positions in the world (those legally elected and those unlawfully gained) and for all those under their influence that God would demolish strongholds in their minds which do not respect Christ as King and may in fact be demonic and opposed to His purposes for the world. We can pray that He would demolish all ideologies in the minds of people that do not give Christ His rightful place as King, Creator, Saviour, Lord and Judge.

Fear can paralyse us. Concern can motivate us to do something about situations over which we have no control. Trust in Jesus as King can enable us to pray to the One who can do something that only He can do in situations in answer to our prayers.

Perhaps as we next pray the first part of the Lord’s Prayer we might take a little more time to add something like this, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. O Lord may Your Kingdom come more fully in every area of my life including my thought life. I want to be the person You want me to be and to do the things You want me to do. I pray too that Your kingdom may come in the lives of every person in this world , to demolish the strongholds that exist in their minds and to destroy every ideology that seeks to bind people rather than releasing them into Your glorious truth and into the glorious liberty that we enjoy as Your children. Please put into my mind the people and the situations for which You want me to pray so that I can play my part in seeing the demolishing of strongholds in their lives and seeing captives being set free. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Saviour, Lord and King. AMEN.”

Some suggested questions for discussion

1). If God is King why is there so much evil in the world? Is His power limited? [See section 1 especially]

2). What does Luke 23:39 – 43 tell us about the difficulty in recognising Jesus as a king? [See section 2 (iii) especially]

3). How does one come into God’s kingdom and under God’s kingdom rule? [See section 3 especially]

4). What are the blessings that come to those who come into God’s kingdom? [See section 3 especially]

5). How can we in practical terms, “seek first” God’s kingdom? What changes would be needed in our priorities? [See section 4 especially]

Blog No.175. Jim Holbeck. Published on Tuesday 23^rd February 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Salvation, TOPICS | Tagged Bible, Christ, deliverance, Eternal life, forgive, grace, healing, holbeck, Holy Spirit, Lord's Prayer, love of God, Matthew 6:10, Motivation, prayer, relationships, repentance, submission, transformation | Leave a comment

174. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Hallowed Be Your Name.” Matthew 6:9. (Study 2 of 9)

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

It is true that when children have been asked to write down the words of the Lord’s Prayer, some have written “Harold be Your Name.” That is quite understandable for those youngsters who have heard the prayer but not seen it in written form. But “Harold” is not the name of the Lord. It is obvious that if this world is created by God the only way we could know His name is if He chose to reveal it. Fortunately for us He has done precisely that. We read about it for example in Exodus 3 where God appears to Moses.

1). WHAT IS THE NAME OF GOD?

Moses asked God what name he should use in describing God to the Israelites whom he was to lead, Exo 3:13, ‘Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” The answer is given by God, 14) “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” 15) God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” The people were to understand that the God who had appeared to Moses was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His name would remain the same through all generations for ever.

There is real significance in the name God gave to Moses. God revealed Himself as “I AM WHO I AM”. The word comes from the Hebrew verb “to be”, and is translated as “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” or simply “YHWH”. It could also mean, “I will be what I will be.” In the words of the Bible Believers Commentary on Exod 3:13-14, “The name proclaims God as self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, and sovereign. The fuller name I AM WHO I AM may mean I AM BECAUSE I AM or I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE.” Eternal. Infinite. Self-sufficient. Supremely majestic.

2). WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “NAME” OF GOD?

The “name” stands for all that the person is in character, as well as for all the person has done and is doing. There are many other names used to describe God. Many of them were revealed to humans by God Himself. For example, He told Abraham that His name was El Shaddai, the Lord “God Almighty”, Gen 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.” He later told Jacob the same thing, Gen 35:11. In the meantime Isaac told Jacob that “God Almighty” would bless him as he searched for a wife, Gen 28:3. Later Jacob (now Israel) desired that “God Almighty” bless his sons as they sought to bring Joseph and Benjamin back to him, Gen 43:14. Later still Jacob (Israel) told Joseph that it was “God Almighty” who had appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan and had promised to bless him, Gen 48:3. The word describes the almighty power of God who is able to intervene in human circumstances.

Another name is Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide) is found in Gen 22:14 “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” God did provide a lamb for sacrifice instead of Abraham offering up Isaac. There are other names which signify aspects of God’s character and His dealings with His people. (See Note 1 below).

In the New Testament we see fewer names for God. The main word for “God” throughout the New Testament is “theos” which is used of God (YHWH). [“Theos” is also used sparingly of false gods (see Note 2). He is described for example as “Saviour” (see Note 3)]. He is described as “Father”, as “the Lord”, the “Lord God”, the ‘living God”, the “Most High God”, the “God of glory”, the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, the “True God”, the “God of peace”, the “God of comfort” and a few other names in association with “theos”. However it should be noted that “kurios” (Lord) is often used of God the Father as a stand-alone title or in association with other titles. “Kurios” is also used of Jesus the Son as Lord. When Jesus gave His disciples the Lord’s Prayer as a model of prayer He still had to go to the cross to die for humankind. He still had to rise from the dead and be seen by many of His followers. He still had to ascend into heaven and be seated at the right hand of God. Paul reminds us in Phil 2 that God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to heaven. Not only that but He bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus all should bow in worship and submission to Him as Lord, Php 2:8-11, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (9) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

What that means in practice is that when we are praying the Lord’s Prayer we need to remember that in praying for God’s name to be hallowed, we need also to hallow the name that God Himself has hallowed by placing it above every other name, namely the name of Jesus. To fail to give Jesus His rightful place in our lives as Lord is to be guilty of not honouring or hallowing the name of God.

3). GOD’S NAME MAY BE “HALLOWED” OR IT MAY BE “PROFANED”

This is seen in many Old Testament passages. Eg., in Lev 22:32, “And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” The word for “profane” is (chalal) and can refers to profaning God’s name and to defilement such as sexual immorality or desecration of holy things. YHWH expressed through Moses and through the prophets His concern that His people would profane His name by their disregard for His law and commandments. For example in (Lev 22:2) “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD.”

YHWH would not allow His name to continue to be profaned. He warned through Ezekiel 36:23, “And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.”

It seems then that God’s people could “hallow” or “sanctify” His name by obedience to Him or they could profane His name by neglecting to follow Him and His laws. They were accountable. Their belief and their behaviour did matter to God. He wanted His people to show forth His character in the lives they lived in fellowship with Him and in obedience to Him.

4). HOW CAN WE HALLOW GOD’S NAME TODAY?

It means taking God seriously. Very seriously indeed! His name is not hallowed when it is used for swearing, curses and improper speech of any kind. Nor is it hallowed when those who belong to Him, who are called His name, live in such a way that His holiness is not displayed in and through their lives. How then can one “hallow God’s name” today?

i). We hallow His name by submitting every aspect of our lives to Him and to His word.

ii). We hallow His name by agreeing with His verdict on human sin in all its forms and recognising that only Jesus could redeem people from their sin.

iii). We hallow His name by agreeing with His verdict about Jesus that He is His Beloved Son. His voice from heaven expressed His love for His Son, at His baptism, Mar_1:11 “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” and at His Transfiguration, Mar_9:7 “And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

v). We hallow His name by allowing Him to fill us with His Spirit so that He can manifest His life in and through us, 2Cor 4:11 “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

vi). We hallow God’s name by reverencing (hallowing) Christ in our hearts as Lord, 1Pe 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.” (“revere” is from “hagaizo” meaning to sanctify or to “hallow” as in the Lord’s Prayer.)

SUMMING UP

Perhaps none of us will ever realise all that is involved in praying that short phrase, “Hallowed be Your name” in the Lord’s Prayer. What I have written above may be just a fragment of the total meaning. If I were to attempt to express all those meanings in a few short sentences in prayer, it may turn out something like this. “Heavenly Father I pray that in everything I say and do, I may bring glory to Your name. May Your name be honoured by every person on earth. Work in me and in them by the power of Your Holy Spirit that we may prove to be a holy people expressing Your life in us and Your love through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN”

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE ABOVE
1). God described Himself as “God Almighty”. Why do we find it difficult to think of Him as having all might?

2). Jesus is often described as “the Lord Jesus Christ”. In what ways should that truth motivate us to live godly lives today?

3). We are to “hallow” God’s name. What sorts of human behaviour do hallow His name and what sorts of behaviour do not?

NOTES.

Note 1. Other names for God include the following. “El” is used as a general name for God and for other so-called deities. “Elohim” the plural is used in a singular sense for God but is also used of false gods. Adonai (Lord, Master), El Elyon (The Most High God), El Olam (The Everlasting God), Elohim (God), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You), Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner), Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (The Lord Who Heals), Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts), Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There), Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace), Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness), Qanna (Jealous).

Note 2. “Theos” is used of false gods in in the singular in Acts 7:43 and 12:22 and as the plural “theoi” in Acts 7:40, 14:11, 19:26, 1 Cor 8:5, Gal 4:8.

Note 3. God as “Saviour” in found in Luk_1:47, 1Ti_1:1, 1Ti_2:3, 1Ti_4:10, Tit_1:3, Tit_2:10, Tit_3:4, Jud_1:25.

Blog No. 174. Jim Holbeck. Posted Thursday 18th February 2016

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Salvation, TOPICS | Tagged "Hallowed be Your Name", Bible, Christ, Eternal life, forgive, healing, holbeck, Holy Spirit, love of God, Luke 11:2, Mat 6:9, Matthew 6:9, prayer, repentance, submission, transformation | Leave a comment

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