A look within - The LORD S Prayer? 1

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1 1 A look within - The LORD S Prayer? 1 Luke 11:1-4: It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.' " Matthew s rendering, found within Chapter 6 is as follows:.."pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. It has for some time seemed a shame to me that the thinking of much of the Christian world seems out of step with what Yeshua/Jesus was seeking to bring into the world. The above prayer was one that He gave to His disciples (followers} to use as a pattern, following a request for guidance. We of course can pray concerning many matters, but the very high priority set for the disciples (and therefore us,) is that they/we should pray that The Father would hallow, {see glory accorded to} His Name. And that His Kingdom would come; be established here on this earth as promised to such as King David and Daniel for example; and also within His people as individuals. That His will, His purposes, might be fully realised here within the physical realm, as well as within Heaven The Spiritual Realm. This is different from what is often sought in prayer An enabling to win the world for Christ or one sort of healing or another. It is indeed a privilege to lead others into an understanding of His love, purposes and healing; yet I do not find scripture announcing that when He returns, the world will be waiting in eagerness. In fact within Luke 18:8, Yeshua poses this question:.when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" [Will anyone still be Trusting?] The Feasts of the Lord reveal, that God will have Two harvests in line with Israel. This age is the time of the Firstfruits Harvest. Following His return His kingdom will be set up. He will Tabernacle Amongst Us (as discussed within Is God Moving House?) Then humankind starting with Israel, will come to know Him in Truth! Hence the requirement Your Kingdom Come. 1 This article produced by Mayim Chayim Messianic Fellowship, PO Box Eastbourne, East Sussex, U.K. - mayim_chayim@btinternet.com

2 It is moreover of the greatest significance, that A HEAVENLY FUTURE WAS NOT THEIR FOCUS. Nowhere have I found it written that Yeshua provides an expectation of Heaven, either for many or for a few. Rather, there are proclamations provided as far back as Deuteronomy, that the (ratified) New Covenant would provide restoration and Salvation for All of His Covenant people on this planet, as revealed within such as Romans 11, Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8. Within Romans 11:25-27 we read: For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob." Jacob means All of Israel, not the Jewish people alone. "This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." But that is just the initial phase of God s redemption of us all, as Isaiah 49: 6; 4: 2-6 and 2: 2-3 reveal: He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgement and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain. 2 Now it will come about that in the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. This ensuing salvation of much of the world, will not be accomplished through the preaching of the gospel alone, despite all our efforts; but rather by the glorious revealing of SALVATION/YESHUA Himself in Person. And, the coming of that Kingdom of which we are invited to pray and even prepare for. This then, is why we should be praying: 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done - On earth as it is in heaven. The very last question asked by the disciples of Yeshua of Him, was: "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel? " [Acts 1:6]

3 3 I don t wish to insult anyone s intelligence, But I beg you to take good note of the fact that after some 3 years of teaching and the best part of a 24/7 walk with Yeshua, His return and the establishment of His Kingdom rule, was what they were seeking. After all, they had but recently been made dramatically aware that the Blood of the New Covenant had just been shed. Now the promises made through Moshe all those centuries ago, could be fulfilled because of that ratification of the New Covenant presented in Yeshua. Heaven may be on people s minds today, but the teaching of Yeshua raises quite a different prospect to that of going to Heaven. "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. "Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him." {Luke 20:34-38} (And Paul/Sha ul refers 4 times to the matter of [only] being asleep in Him, being therefore still alive to God, within 1COR 15.} Might then one infer, that to be considered worthy, our thinking, indeed desire, should match that of the disciples of Yeshua. Oh! The things that we worry about strive for, in this life! Yet Yeshua is making it plain that the future age {when He will reign} will not just be populated by those born into it, but also by resurrected people the sons of the resurrection. This resurrection is granted to those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead I believe that these people are again referred to within the Book of Revelations The Account of the Apocalypse - Day of the LORD! I refer to Chapter 17: 14: "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." Wow! What a prospect - There will be some that will with Him, fight the evil powers of this present age. Given that prospect, it is no wonder that the disciples (we) are then instructed to pray: 'Give us each day our daily bread. This next verse [Matt 6: 33,] also fits within this parameter seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Many matters within scripture, have more than one application. For we can seek the rule of God both in its ultimate sense, that is world rule, and as pertaining to ourselves. Moreover, I put it to you that the latter, is what the Remainder of this prayer is about! John the Apostle wrote: See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. [1 John 3:1-3] If we wish to purify ourselves, then we need to know the totality of His Blueprint for Living, and how it can help and guide us. Promises concerning an Enabling that would come through God in Yeshua, are found within Deuteronomy, the basis of the Renewed Covenant and elsewhere, not just Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Nevertheless this enabling must be based on one having a right foundation for it -

4 A true understanding of the values and requirements of the Holy One! It is of course possible to come to/through Messiah without much knowledge of the Old Testament and God s Feasts; yet the Gospel being the Power of God for Salvation [Romans 1: 16] is a related matter, as its potential to produce within us is revealed within those Festivals! Moreover, a consistent application of His Feast Times throughout life will serve to remind us, perhaps in increasing measure, of both the enormity of that Holiness and our need of His Grace individually and collectively; causing us to come to Him in a way that we otherwise would not. It may seem strange initially to think this, but we are encouraged to pray: 'Give us each day our daily bread for good reason. Some other passages that reflect on this: "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." So they said to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.' " Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. [John 6:27-35] Here Yeshua gives us quite a challenge. It is not that we should become idle and unproductive; but rather that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness that is, get our lives brought into line with His will for us. Now that takes some doing, for there are many distractions, not the least the need to earn a coin or two. Additionally, our families have a legitimate call on our time and effort too. This being one reason why Paul / Sha ul illustrates that it may be wise not to marry, for the needful obligation to love and care, will, prevent you from serving the Lord in perfect freedom and in certain capacities. Nevertheless, that food which we are to seek of Him- 'Give us each day our daily bread is not obtained through physical activity, but rather by reception of that which is of Him. I Am the Bread of Life - He says! Therefore, He is the Bread for which we should pray daily, in accordance with that instruction He gave. There are echoes here too from the post-passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Israelites ate albeit through the symbolism of a lamb, and we have to eat of He who is without leaven/sin! He speaks of such things when He says: Abide in ME. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. [John 15:4] To the enemy, hasatan, Yeshua repeated those words from Deuteronomy 8:3:.man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. If, we therefore consider that request that we are advised to make - 'Give us each day our daily bread, what might it additionally mean? How about Give us each day what we Need for a life to be lived Before You! And as for what that would be, the list is almost endless, but it certainly includes His grace, His enabling and empowering and of course, His forgiveness, {which features next in the prayer.} All this is in fact is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness His will for us includes asking for what we Need for this. Another biggy that we need, is TRUST. 4

5 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. [Ephes. 2:8-10} Good works! Where does that fit in? Well, if we consider the Parable of the Sower, The Father sows seed that is His Word, within people s lives. Remember -.man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. The Good work is to live as if we believe that! That we walk in obedience to His Word even when life is hard, {as the parable illustrates it is.] Remembering too, that the EVERYTHING includes the foundation of Torah His commandments - HIS Festivals/Feasts. This is an important part of Seeking First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. And the way He produces Good Fruit in us, thereby making us Good Ground. We also, Become people who develop a desire to receive more of His Nature through the Spirit, as indicated by Hearts that say: ' forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us ' forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Yet, here, I would suggest, is where many find themselves under another delusion! I get the impression that God s forgiveness is seen as something to be had for the asking Regardless! It is Not! OR, that it can be had without Repentance It Cannot! I cannot but wonder when I perceive that people have no assurance of forgiveness, whether they themselves have either unrepentant or unforgiving hearts? Or remain inhibited by those things mentioned within the parable: the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. [Matthew 13:3-7] It may seem inconceivable that we should have to forgive people, sometimes constantly too, but if we truly could see our own sinfulness as God sees it, perhaps we would be more merciful to those who seek forgiveness of us. Yeshua illustrates the need for us to be like this, as follows: Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. [Like - Unlimited times] "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. "But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' "But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that 5

6 debt because you pleaded with me. 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. [Matthew 18:21-35] {Do you need to be told, who the torturers are?} "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." I wonder, how many of us fail to meet with our brothers and sisters in Messiah because someone within His flock has upset us? And who does our failure to forgive hurt most? Often ourselves, because we lose the sense of Father s forgiveness, and the enemy plays havoc with our lives and within our emotions. We need to keep this to heart. 6 [3] Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. From - Matthew 5:1-13: [5] "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. [7] "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. [9] "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. [13] "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. We must become forgiving people! Our future state depends on it! "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. [Matthew 7:18-21] The Seed of God is given that we might take it in and produce not only deeds, but fruit! Moreover, our hard hearts can be softened so that it penetrates fully. And the cares of the world can also be put in their right perspective too. All this Unaided? No! Which is why Yeshua told us to ask the Father for what we need within Matthew 7: 7-12, and also within The Lord s Prayer. Moreover, Paul reminded the believers at Philippi to:.... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. [Phil: 2:12-13]....He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in US, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.. Important considerations! There will be occasions when we will get angry. Yeshua Himself did! Such as when the Temple, His Father s House, was being used as a marketplace and for profit making. What we need to learn here, is that anger should not linger in our hearts. In those days, the day was reckoned to end at sunset, so Yeshua was stating that as the day ended, so should our anger. There is a song I remember which contains the expression that His mercies are new every morning [or evening.]. If we need those from Him, then we had best be like Him in demonstrating a forgiving nature. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

7 Now this may seem a tough one to comprehend, yet a key to understanding this lies within a correct appreciation of Torah. Adam and Eve were led into temptation because they failed to comprehend the import of what God had said to them. This was later true of Israel and may well be true of us too. Consider if you will, the following: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. "The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. "Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. "The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. "And you shall again obey the Lord, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. {Deut. 29:29-30:1-8} the blessing and the curse which I have set before you No! God doesn t tempt us, unless the very fact that we are given choices, is to be considered a temptation. Is that we are advised to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and become Overcomer s, a reason not to? A Temptation? It is His Purpose to deliver us from evil; but how is this to be achieved? What should we be seeking when we pray for the Kingdom of God? His delivering us from evil, is a good start! Certainly that is what the Jews of Yeshua s day were anticipating. But evil can be more than an army of occupation - Roman or otherwise. It can be a mountain of internal rubbish that blots our lives and blocks our sight. ' do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil We can see a dual application to this request, I want Father, that Your purpose is worked out on earth; that is, that Yeshua returns and brings healing and Deliverance to Your people and through them, the World in that Future Day. Yet also, that HE WOULD KEEP THE WILES OF THE ENEMY AWAY FROM ME/US NOW! And that can mean - Wrong Teaching! The psalmist said: With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. [Psa 119:10-11] It is right to pray this way and for ourselves too; nevertheless, let us not forget that we have some responsibility for the outcome. Sha ul said some words to Timothy that we would do well to take to heart also: from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. [2 Tim. 3:15-17] Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. [2 Tim. 2:15] 7

8 8 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us The Gospel of the Kingdom brings us into a state of comparative wholeness, even in This age. We read elsewhere, that the Word is the Sword of the Spirit - It has power to transform our lives, heal our bodies, throw off the shackles of the enemy and renew our minds. When Torah and the rest of scripture is acted on, we can expect changes to take place, for as Sha ul said: The Kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power. [1 Cor 4: 20] Of course, if our overall focus is on ourselves rather than Him and His Kingdom, then we cannot expect much blessing or help. As we read, where our treasure is, there is our heart. We have a blessed expectation have we not? So what is the focus of our lives? We have from Yeshua, a sombre warning. He said: Not everybody who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. What must be our response? Cleanse me, make me holy, Make me more like You. The writer acknowledges with thanks, His use of the NASB and the NIV translations of the Scriptures.