Good morning. Perhaps Nick before you sit, could you pass me my Bible that's under my seat there? It's kind of the way my day is going today. So I just like no, no, I don't need the power to drink just the Bible.
You need the power not to drink. Thank you. Good morning everyone. It's good to be here with you this morning.
I probably shouldn't have said in the last service that I had spoken to my neighbor with COVID because I see everybody has socially distanced themselves from the platform and they're all way back there. So I will be hugging each of you on the way out the door unless you start filling up a couple of the seats up the front here because I Don't know who I'm preaching to. I can see you. That's it.
So All right, let's pray father. Thank you this morning. We can come together and we can Sing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Thank you for him for all that he is and that all he has done for us May we magnify him with our words this morning may our hearts turn to him and May we become more like him Lord is anybody here this morning who does not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior May this be the day that they will put their faith fully in him and him alone We ask it in Jesus name amen and Murduk says Amen So I was inspired by our last men's study and if you're able to come to our next men's study I'm sure you'll get inspiration as well, but I was going to preach on something else today totally different and I was at the men's study a week ago last Saturday and I thought This is very meaningful to me not just to me, but this is very meaningful to all believers and We often ignore it or we do the wrong thing with it for me an old brethren guy to stand up here and to preach on this message today is not something very common because we kind of like It's like it's like a pylon on the road You just drive around it and keep on going because The world is taking this for their own and they they have made it something that it shouldn't be But I look at it and think and it was in the passage that was read this morning This is a very powerful prayer.
This prayer is in my scriptures in red letters. Why would I ignore it? Why would I sidestep it? Why would I not take it as my own when my Savior has said pray in this manner?
This is a command from the Lord of heaven from Jesus Christ and it's repeated in two different circumstances in the gospels So anything that comes in red letters, I better pay attention Anything that is repeated is there because I'm probably going to forget the first time I see it and I better get it the second time My dad would say don't let me repeat myself that man This is really important and you better get it. So our father in heaven says I'm gonna repeat this because I am kinder than my dad was and You're going to you're going to get this It's interesting because I read this past week on there was an Angus read pulled on in Canada on prayer in the US about 57 58% of people claim that they pray every day in Canada It's much less than that in fact. I think it was like 43% said that they pray Prayed in the past year What what that's of all all faiths of all belief systems So it's heavily skewed by those who see prayer as a duty in their faith I'd say the rest are probably Christians who pray and some are those who do what often people will do and they're programmed to pray empty words Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep and all the rest of that stuff or Brother it was here a couple weeks ago said he went to confession he confessed to sins and the priest said okay I'm gonna punish you go and pray say five our fathers and three Hail Mary's Empty vain repetition. I used to pray as a child This was one of the things I used to pray when I laid in my bed didn't quite know But I thought I need to pray so I should pray this the only prayer I know and I would end up by saying please give me my mom and dad and my grandfather very very very long lives and I pray that you will save my soul someday because I knew as a little boy I needed that But it became just kind of a just before I close my eyes I would say these things I would say these things and I don't know if it had any meaning to me really to They probably did as a child but it kind of went away and some people pray out of guilt not out of love wrote a faith They pray out of guilt man.
I shouldn't have done that Lord. I'm sorry. I did that okay So now let's get on with life and some treat prayer like like a spare tire. It's an emergency I'll pull it up when I need it.
I'll pull the prayer out of the trunk and Installing in my life when I hit a crisis bad idea I mean it's good to have a spare tire in fact I was with somebody in this congregation one night and it was very very good We had a spare tire didn't have Aaron but it was a spare tire anyway, but it was also very good that he had A pump to pump up the spare tire so we were able to get on our way But prayer is not a spare tire Prayer is something that we should all enjoy deep wonderful and Part of our relationship with our God if we know him now what I'm going to speak on this morning is often called the Lord's prayer But it is actually not the Lord's prayer the Lord's prayer is found in John chapter 17 This is the model prayer that Jesus taught his disciples So you can call it the disciples prayer you can call it your prayer you can call it the our father prayer Whatever you want to call it, but it's a powerful prayer Every believer every believer really our desire is to have an effective deeper more intimate relationship with God Through our prayer. I have to say first of all Today actually is the second anniversary of the day that I last worked at my former job I went through almost two years two years less two weeks of a period of unemployment The first thing I want to say is to thank you to everybody here who prayed for me That kept me going the kind words that people gave me gifts gifts of money and people people just told me keep on going And people just said I'm praying for you Thank you so much But you know one of the first things I realized when when I first found myself in this state Where has my prayer life been while I was gainfully employed and when all was going well? I got to get that spare tire out and then I realized I'm treating the Lord as a spare tire No, I didn't think of it as a spare tire back then that's new inspiration for this message But that's the way I was treating it. Okay.
Now. I've got a crisis now. I go to the Lord and I found that I had to deal with a lot of spiritual issues in my life over the last two years Are they gone are they fixed? No, but they came to light and it came to light for me that God has given me two years of Maybe wilderness you might want to call it not bearing this but wilderness To discover some things about him and one of the things that I discovered is that there are many things about him That I didn't know and there are many things that we will see in this prayer as we go through it You see Jesus tells people Not to go with vain repetition when you pray Unfortunately, this fantastic prayer has been the model poster child for vain repetition go out and say 10 our fathers And your sins will be forgiven for now We went the sand probably doesn't remember this is all but we went to this big cathedral in Montreal We thought a lot of this looks fantastic look at the architecture and everything else and I said Yeah, whatever my brother want to get in with this camera take pictures We got in there and then they had it was bad enough It was just like repeated prayers I could tell it's the same thing over and over and over again playing with the PA system and people were mumbling along with it But the compound it it was in French and I don't speak French so it was really really strange for me But this is probably one of the things that just keep repeating over and over again I thought this is so meaningless that people don't even know what they're saying or what they're doing It has no meaning it's just mumbling whatever they're hearing from the from the PA system and sometimes a lot of times Unforce it this prayer has been treated that way and that's not what it is You see twice this prayer is repeated in the Bible and the part we're gonna look at today is when The Lord Jesus Christ is giving a sermon on the Mount But a time after that the disciples saw him off praying and he finished and he came over and they One of the disciples said to him Lord teaches to pray and this is what he did they didn't say Lord teaches to preach Lord teach us to prophesy Lord teach us to heal the sick or teach us to be really gifted help teach us how to build a ministry Teach us how to be good husbands.
It wasn't that Lord teaches to pray It's the core of the Christian faith. It is the core of what we need to do what we are They were convinced that prayer was the secret and the foundation of his ministry And the Lord Jesus himself did very little without prayer the greatest prayer in the Bible is John 17 Which is just before he went to the cross I used to think that this prayer was only an example or an outline of how prayer should be Shouldn't be repeated verbatim. I believe that but I think it's more than that I have found myself lost for words. I don't know what to say and sometimes if I take this prayer and pray it from my heart To the Lord, it's like Lord I you know those groanings that speaks of in Romans where you just you don't know what to say But you just sometimes this prayer is one that you can do it now I don't think there's anything wrong with repeating this prayer verbatim as it is one it's memorizing scripture It's that's always good for you too.
The word the key word in meaningless repetition is the word meaningless It's not repetition. It's meaningless repetition repetition is the problem repetition. There's nothing wrong with the repetition We do that every week we come up here we sing the same songs We read the same scriptures many times that the Lord's upper we say the same things in our prayers many times Is there anything wrong with that? No, if it's meaningless there is something wrong with it But it's meaningless repetition repetition.
We don't want and so no matter what I say if my heart isn't right and if my heart isn't in tune It profits me nothing. I really got to fly here because we sang to what five to twelve Yeah, okay There are two characteristics of this let me it was read so I'm just going to go to part of this Verse six I know it says Luke 11 at the top, but that was to remind me to mention the Luke 11 part of it But this is Matthew chapter six verse six But you when you pray go into your room and we have shut the door pray to your father who is in secret in the secret place and your father Who sees in secret will reward you openly and then it says in verse nine and in this manner therefore pray our father in heaven How it would 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 deaths as we forgive our debtors and do not lead us into temptation But deliver us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen For if you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly father will also forgive you But if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your father forgive your trespasses There are two parts of this prayer the first part in verses 9 10 and the first part or the last part of 13 Point us to God they're about God our father who art in heaven. How would be your name? And then there's a part about us give us this day our daily bread and so on So it points to God first and then to us later.
It's a very complete prayer It covers all of our needs it covers all of God's worthiness Everything about God that we need to know is covered in this prayer everything about our needs is covered in this prayer And it's a concise prayer. I like that sometimes we think that The strength of the prayer is in direct proportion to the length of the prayer not really get it out there Just say it don't you know There's a little book I like it. He made us like it the title the book's good sense a nonsensical prayer by by Lehman Strauss it's a little book actually, but sometimes we decide that we're just gonna ask the Lord to come in and Help our little church with all of these things, but we we have to I mean we've got to get lofty first I mean, let's let's test spend ten minutes saying the same thing about Spore so and so is sick and Lord I have to tell you Lord because you don't know he's in the hospital and Lord You probably don't know but he's in great pain today and Lord you probably don't know but his heart is for you But you know no we can we can skip some of that we can just get to the point Lord please pray or we pray that you please heal our brother It means a lot to us But we need to understand who we're praying to first and that's why this prayer is laid out this way Jesus prayers were complete But they were concise this one's only depends on the version you're looking at around 65 words, but it says so much There's an example back in numbers when Moses sister Miriam got leprosy and what does Moses say? He prays he'll her now O God I'd be siech thee That's it he'll learn now God.
I be siech thee very simple very concise But got to the point so six elements of this prayer. I have six points. I Won't make all of them as long as this introduction God's person God's purpose God's provision God's pardon God's protection and God's preeminence hashtag John McKim so When when you look at this prayer God's person in this manner therefore pray our father in heaven hallowed be your name first of all Jesus has blown us up big time He didn't say all should I he didn't say Yahweh What he said father you pray father you are supposed to pray father She was didn't call Jesus or didn't call God father at that time. This is blew them away.
They're like whoa What did he say? Abba father and even almost with a term of endearment like my dad pretty heavenly dad Wow You see our relationship with him has changed when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ The Bible is clear you don't believe and you don't know God and you have not entered into salvation You are of your father the devil scripture says But here it says in John chapter 1 verse 11 and 12 He came to his own in his own speaking of Jesus Christ his own did not receive him But as many as received him as many as received him he gave the right to become the children of God to those who believe in his name Through faith we are adopted into his family believers our children of God I have to admit over the past two years It was so important for me to understand that I am a child of God If I did not have that hope if I did not have that truth in my life I would have sunk I'm sure into some of the deepest depression and dark places that I would just read my heart going I Understand that he is my father. He is our father Baptist brethren Pentecostals despite what the speaker a couple weeks ago said Presbyterians all who believe on him all who believe on him. He is your father He is our father throughout the ages forever eternally my father and then the next thing He's my father in heaven that brings about a reverence.
I just don't walk up and say Have a father give me this way. Yeah, please. I mean I need it now. Come on You know, I don't treat him that way.
He is my father in heaven. He is hallowed be your name It's a it's a reverence for him. He's ecclesiastes. I just read through ecclesiastes at home Chapter 5 verse 2 do not be rash with your mouth and do not let your heart utter anything hastily before God for God is in heaven And you are on earth therefore let your words be few You know When I wanted to talk to my dad now just because of who my dad was I always made sure my words were few I Always made sure my words were few recognizing who he was and I think when I come to God It's a little different because I know he's a father who loves me who cares for me who ultimately wants my best But he is also the God in heaven.
He is the creator of all things He knows me. He knows what we the things that we don't know he has vantage point is from heaven He sees all all the time. He has all the resources he needs But we go to him first and the first part of this prayer is in this manner therefore pray our father in heaven How would be your name recognizing who he is? There's a prayer in Acts chapter 4 when persecution started coming on the church and I'm only gonna take a small snippet of it here I put it up.
Yes, Acts chapter 4 Versus 24 to 31 so they were going through this time of great persecution So what they did was they they went and they so when they heard it It says they raised their voice to God with one accord and said Lord you are God who made heaven and Heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them who by the mouth of your servant David have said why did the nations rage and the people Plot being things the king of the earth kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord against and against his Christ For truly against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together To do whatever whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done Okay, all of that all of that is to start their prayer We recognize who we're going to and the more I say about him the more I the more the further down on my knees I get when I recognize who I'm talking to and then they said in verse 29 now Lord look on their threats and grant your servants That with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal and that the signs and wonders may be done through Through the name of your holy servants servant Jesus Christ and when they had prayed the place where they were assembled together Was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness What a prayer meeting that was but you know what there are times our little prayer meeting in the back here Feels like the same I've come away felt almost like the building is shaken because God has answered prayer I started going through our prayer lists the other day and and just mentally looking and said I wonder how many prayers that we've prayed over the last while have been answered as I look down through names I won't be labor because time is drifting on me here, but so many so many so many times We have come and gone to the King of heaven with our needs and he has answered our prayers How would be your name? This is the God of heaven we come to his name is most awesome. He is holy. He is righteous.
He is worthy He is worthy of praise next this is purpose your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it isn't heaven his kingdom come man Over the last two years with all the stuff that's gone on in this world Have you prayed your kingdom come like I can't wait I can't wait like every time I hear a trumpet. I think is that the one Okay, I am so packed and ready You know so so your kingdom come we should be praying we should be praying that the Lord comes soon Mirrenatha even so come Lord Jesus. That's the last words of the Bible. That's the last plea in the Bible even so come Lord Jesus Says in Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 says the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ And he shall reign forever and ever amen to that we look so forward to that day when he reigns and rules upon this earth Ultimately has the rain now the other part of that is your kingdom come that's great Now you're talking about me your will be done on earth the whole earth which would include me your will be done Not my will be done your will be done.
Do you ever notice in our lives? We're like oh, this is what I want This is what I need. This is where this is where I want to go. Where do you want me to go Lord?
What do you want me to do? What are you doing in my life? Where is this road taking me? I don't know I'm driving at night and my headlights aren't working, but he's taking me there your will be done You know one of the illustrations I can give you is from again I don't mean to be labor this either but from this recent two years of unemployment There are so many times I had so many interviews I've spoken to so many people and have come that close my hand on the door not and I'm thinking is this your will Lord?
If it's not please close the door and you know what within an hour again email Sorry, but we decided that we're going to move this position somewhere else sorry We decided we put this on hold sorry, but I'm thinking thank you I don't I mean it's disappointing. There's no I live as I was in this point, but I was so relieved Because this is your will being done Do we look at the things that come across our paths that aren't pleasant as saying you know what? This is I feel pretty miserable today, but this is your will being done. Thank you That's the way we need to look at things in our lives Your will be done.
He is the authority in your life is he he should be he should be the theme of your life He should be the one that that you understand your kingdom has shift from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of heaven Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you It's a foolish thing for me to put my will ahead of the will of God It will land me in bad places Ruth Graham Bell said I'm glad I followed and tried to follow the will of God Otherwise, I would have married the wrong man 15 times over I would have weird but But she recognized that she fell into into a place where she had to just completely submit to the will of God Give us this day our daily bread. Jesus Christ is the bread of life. Do you remember manna? In the Old Testament children of Israel hungry starving perhaps as they're traveling through or we're gonna get food we're in the wilderness Every day God brought the manna every day he provided every day and on one day he gave you enough for two days So you didn't pick up like say well man.
There's so much of this stuff. I'm just gonna hoard it because the next day it was putrid He provided for a day God will provide and this is what I found God provides for today God doesn't provide for next month God provides for today give us this day our daily bread. This is the little book I put up the picture of I Read this book just after I lost my job Because I had been in the throes of a sin and the sin was that I thought I am self-sufficient I can Just I've got a job. I've got a good job.
I've got a paycheck coming in. I've got a position I've got all of this stuff. Look at me. If I need a spare tire Lord, I'll let you know All gone and you realize huh?
What's gonna happen tomorrow? Let me read a couple things from this book. Are you worried about your future? Are you worried about losing your job or your health care?
The health plan goes with the job to lose it. Are you worried about getting older? It was just before my 60th birthday How you'll make it financially if your retirement run you runs out Hmm if you have no retirement money put away or maybe you had retirement money put away and you lost it when the stock mark crashed a month Before I lost my job How in the world are you going to make it as you get older? Here's your answer and I'm I'm going through all of this Now he doesn't give a little snippet of good sage advice He goes to the place where you get the best advice Isaiah chapter 46 verse 34 or three and four Listen to me O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel who have been born by me from birth and have been carried from the womb Can I deny that no the Lord has looked after me from the womb?
I know that even in your old age I will be the same. I mean I fogged up and couldn't read the rest of my tears Even to your graying hairs. I will bear you. I have done it.
I will carry you. I will bury I will bear you and I will deliver you There are no greater words of comfort to the believer if you're wondering are you going to be provided for? He will provide for us. He is our provision He is one who will provide abundantly providentially purposefully Do you know how much do you know how much manna was dropped in the camp in the morning when they were not together enough?
Do you have any idea? It's well again. I marked it in here because he did the math for me So they were supposed to gather an omer. You know, I mean Esther said the other day past me an omer of flower would you?
So so what is what is an omer? It's not what the guys hit there do for them when they get up to the bat, you know in the ball game Ah, buddy. I saw Jimmy in no more. No an omer of six pints for those of you who can I don't even know what six pints are But Pints are something right so it's six pints.
It's just a couple of pints. I think it is in a gat in a quart, right? Which is a leader so okay, so there were two million people so God had to send 12 million pints 12 million pints of manna every morning that's nine million pounds whoa Ten trains of 30 cars with 15 tons in each car every morning on the ground That's how much he provided does our God provide abundantly. He sure does more than we even could ask her thing Are we thankful for that?
Are we thankful for our daily food our daily bread give us this day our daily bread give us what we need today Lord Now that I'm on point three. We'll go to four time. Okay, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors This is a whole sermon in of itself maybe later so one time There's a big seminar many prominent theologians were there and the question was asked to this panel that was sitting there What is found in Christianity? Which is not found in any other religion and they looked at each other and back and forth They got all their words out that theologians get out big ones and little ones and stuff that nobody understands And and they went back and forth.
Meanwhile one of the theologians see us Lewis was on his way to this meeting But he got stuck in traffic and he didn't know like how am I gonna get there? So he finally gets there a little over an hour late and he comes in he sits down he apologizes He's on this panel and they said we were just debating What is it that's found in Christianity that's not found in any other religion? We've been debating this for the last hour or so. Oh, so Simple the forgiveness of sins That's it.
He just says oh that's simple. The forgiveness of sins next question, please So really it is the greatest thing that we have forgiveness of sins Our past is buried in the sea of gods forgiveness and forgotten mica chapter 7 verses 8 and 9 18 and 19 who is a god like you pardoning in equity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and subdue our iniquities He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea He may read this this morning at the breaking of bread Bless the Lord. Oh my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases We pass this out on the streets Are you forgiven?
Are you forgiven? Your sins can be forgiven today all of them forgiven There's more to this verse than that. There's more to this verse than that Jesus links our forgiveness with our forgiveness of others Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. That's not like a one-for-one trade either That's an assumption that you have already forgiven those that you have offended that have offended you as you've already forgiven them As you've already forgiven them we now ask for forgiveness of ours I'll talk a little bit more about that as a close.
There's a vertical and horizontal forgiveness and their linked my forgiveness between me and God is Linked to my forgiveness on the horizontal plane with you It's worded to assume that we have forgiven others before we ask him to forgive us of our debts Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32 and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another just as God in Christ forgave you and Then there's God's protection and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one God doesn't tempt us to sin it says that in James chapter 1 verse 13, but he tests us who wants to be tested? I mean you don't really want to but it's a good thing it builds your character it drives you closer to God It sends you to him independence. I've been tested these last couple of years I have to say I've been tested in ways that I've not been tested before Do I look at it say oh man that was great awesome. No when you're in it, it's miserable But you hopefully are growing hopefully it drives you to God hopefully it drives you to Christ hopefully it drives you to your Bible Looking for answers hopefully it drives you to to times of deep prayer with him I remember one day just as an example being a walking and I'm thinking there are so many things scattered in my mind right now I don't know what to do so I just sat on a rock and talk don't loud pray he hears Deliver me from temptation don't lead me into temptation deliver me from the evil one evil one is sending all kinds of crazy thoughts through my head And you see sometimes we'll just blame it on the devil Remember if you're old like me remember flip Wilson the characters of the devil made me do it Geraldine something Anyway, you know what sometimes the devil didn't make me do it sometimes I made me do it I followed my flesh I followed my own desires and I found myself in the wrong place deliver me do not lead me into temptation Keep me from that place where I don't pray this as you're walking into the place that you shouldn't be going Don't pray this as your surfing the wrong place on the net Don't do that stuff and then pray Lord.
I'm not strong keep me from that. I don't want to be led into temptation deliver us from the evil one Deliver us from evil deliver us from the evil world deliver us from the evil sinful flesh deliver us from evil And we pray looking for the day when we will be delivered permanently from evil. I can't wait Finally last point for yours at the kingdom the power in the glory forever Amen now some Bibles don't have it some Bibles have it in brackets some Bibles just put it there I'm glad it's there. I'm glad it's there.
I look at it one writer says it's an explosion of praise It ends as it begins it comes right back to where we started our father in heaven and now vines the kingdom the power in the glory forever Amen, this is who you are you are the greatest you are the God of heaven you are the God of science You've made all of these things you thank you God for making me it might not be in some other translations But the way I look at it. I prefer to be there. I'm glad it's there in mind It doesn't contradict any major truth or doctrine of the Bible. It's a fitting into the prayer It's all his and it's all about him when we pray it begins and ends with him and it recognizes who he is and it recognizes his greatness When I consider his person his purpose his provision his pardon his protection and his preeminence It does two things in my life one.
I have to worship. I have to realize he is way greater Than I am he is way greater than anything I can imagine He is the God of heaven. He is the God who made all things he is my father His purpose is always right his provision is my daily bread the bread and he is the bread of life His pardon is that I am forgiven and I can forgive others and his protection from temptation and from the evil one It causes me to worship it causes me when I'm saying for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever My perspective changes from an earthly perspective to a heavenly perspective The second thing I must forgive I have to forgive. I have no choice You know, I didn't realize this verse I know I probably read it dozens of times But I probably scanned over now.
There's a funny story But it's too late about Sam forgiving his brother 490 times if you read the men study you heard it He was about three years old and took everything literally and heard you know 70 times 7 so Ben did something and said Sam will you forgive me goes? Oh, yeah sure Ben. I forgive you 490 times See you know the nice thing about 490 times forgiveness is if I start keeping track of how many times have I forgiven Kathy Draper? I'm thinking was that 315 or 360.
I can't remember huh? I better start again because all right. Okay. We'll start again fresh slate.
We'll get to 490 see it's such a big number We never remember where we are on the continuum. We just keep forgiving But this verse really really struck me and if he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times a day returns you saying I repent Write him off. Somebody says huh. No, it says you shall forgive him So if I come up to email here and slug him Seven times today and he's time so sorry about that.
Will you forgive me? What does he have to do? Forgive me all seven times. He doesn't say by the sixth time.
You know what you've done this six times, man I'm not gonna forgive you Because you keep saying I please forgive me I repent but this first tells me that when somebody comes and says I want to I want to make this right with you Even if it's the same stupid sin seven times over in a day I need to forgive them if you want to know how in all relationships you can make things work Most relationships most relationships friendships relationships with children and relationships in marriage Do you know why they fall apart because people do not forgive? That is why if you can't forgive Then it's not going to work It's a key to marriage. It's the key to family forgive Even if it's seven times for the same sin and the same offense I couldn't tell you how many times I've gone to Esther and Esther to forgive me for the same stupid things I've done over again and have not learned the lesson, but she does and if you have in your relationship with your children or your Relationship with your wife or your husband or whoever it may be your co-worker and you have not forgiven When they've asked you to forgive them it will not work you need to forgive The other thing is never give up Pursuing that forgiveness even if it takes years to restore a relationship never give up keep doing it keep asking keep trying and see When that debt will be forgiven the proof that we have been forgiven is that we are forgiving It is part of our testimony as part of who we are Finally, I'm gonna close with this verse The Bible says that all bitterness wrath anger clamor evil speaking put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another tender Hearted forgiving one another just as God in Christ forgive you I pray today that you all know the forgiveness of God that you have come to that point where you've accepted Jesus Christ's payment for your sins on the Cross and you are forgiven This is a fantastic prayer to be looked at this morning. It contains everything that I need for my life It tells me how to go to the Lord how to approach him.
It tells me what my needs are It tells me how to approach my needs the perspective to have for these needs It tells me the perspective I need to have of where I am and where God is May it be a blessing to you father. Thank you this morning Thank you for this prayer that is recorded for us Thank you for your words that have been written down that we may have hope and life in them Lord help us To grow in our prayer life help us to be real in our lives with prayer Thank you that you meet all of our needs Thank you You've met our greatest need in Jesus Christ, but the physical needs of our lives are daily bread you will meet those needs We just need to ask that you give us this day our daily bread Thank you for the forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ May we be forgiving of others I pray Lord if there's any here who are in relationships that may be strained because they have not forgiven that They will seek to forgive others and they will seek forgiveness for themselves We thank you in Jesus name amen