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Devotional For the Week 7th February 2005 Sermon
Title: The Lord’s Prayer (Part 3) This statement in the Lord’s Prayer is simple, yet profound in providing us with the most basic formula for leading an abundant life. 1ST SEGMENT: GIVE US We are instructed to ask. So, go ahead, pray, ask from God.James 4:2: You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.But then you say, “I did ask but God did not give me what I want.” James 4:3: You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 1. What then can we ask for? Read Proverbs 30:7–9. The Bible teaches us to ask for only two things: food and clothing, our most basic needs. Here is the formula for a blessed life, based on 1 Timothy 6:6–8: “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.” Godliness + Contentment = Great Gain But we have changed it to: Godliness + Great Gain = Contentment. Verse 7 continues: “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” Let’s review our life pursuits and ambitions once more. 2. Who is this God that we ask from? Rev Edmund Chan said once, God is the God of the “How Much More”. Matthew 7:7–11: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” God gives so much more than we imagine! 3. How do we ask? One thing we must not do: Do not use meaningless repetition. One thing we must do, though: We must pray with faith, and unwavering. James 1:6,7: But let him ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.
Do not be anxious for tomorrow. God wants us to trust Him more. Why did our Lord Jesus teach us to pray “This day” and not “tomorrow” or “this year”? Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Instead, we are encouraged to “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Do you know that God cares for you?
Do not be self-centred. Look beyond ourselves to the needs of others. 1. Physical needs are as important as Spiritual needs Bread. In a literal sense, bread refers to the basic staple food. In a broader sense, bread includes the concept of nourishment and the necessities of life. The message is the same: We need God. Actually, the greatest and most basic need throughout all eternity is man’s need for God. 2. Our daily bread The two words “Our” and “Daily” challenge our self-centeredness and urge us to look beyond ourselves to the needs of others.
Friends, we must acknowledge that all we have comes from God. We are always dependent on Him. Without Him we are nothing and have nothing. Let us pray according to the Lord’s prayer: Give
us – We are invited to pray to Him |
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