We all could use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today from the Bible itself, God's Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilson. The Encouraging Word We're headed to the book of Matthew. All week long we've been in Matthew chapter 6, and it's so exciting to see some passages that maybe we know.
Sometimes we've even memorized these and quoted these passages, but gaining new insight from the power of God's Spirit working through His servant, Dr. Don Wilson, our teacher. In these moments together, Dr. Don wants you to know that we're available for you. We love to pray with you, pray for you, connect with great resources. We can do that on the phone at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or on our website at www.tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word email.
That's www.tewonline.org. Now today's message with Dr. Don Wilson. The Encouraging Word I'm going to invite you to open your Bible to Matthew chapter 6. Now I want to say something to you that might at face value sound somewhat strange to say. God has been taking us to a new level of understanding, a depth that I think I know for myself I've never been to. I've asked the question, why the Lord's Prayer? All of us know the Lord's Prayer and most of us are able to recite the Lord's Prayer. It is a very special prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth just the same as it is in heaven. And then here it comes. Give us this day our daily bread. I have a confession to make. When I began to prepare at this particular point, there was a sense in my heart that I looked into the face of God and said to Him in my heart, Lord, what else is there to say about this?
I mean bread? How could anything be so basic? Why would you give us something to say that for many of us is so easily attainable? I can understand the significance of this for somebody in some other part of the world, someone perhaps a little more less fortunate than I am. He can find some people somewhere for whom this part of this prayer would have relevancy but surely not for me.
Give us this day our daily bread. And as I began to struggle with this, God began to speak to my heart. And there is a sense in which I felt in my heart as though the Lord sat me down and asked me a very disturbing question. Don, who do you really think you are? Who me, Lord? And deep down in my heart I knew about my own abilities. I live in America.
I know how to drive a motor car. If you're going to talk to me about bread, I'm quite capable, thank you, of taking care of my needs. So why the necessity of this? Why would Jesus say this? Was the Lord Jesus speaking with poor people in mind?
Perhaps less fortunate people in mind? Is this a mission verse? Is this something that Jesus said on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee that had relevance for one part of the congregation but not for another?
Why would He say this? And all of a sudden God began to speak to my heart in a very particularly unusual way. Because the Lord began to show me that this particular statement, this doctrinal emphasis here in the Lord's Prayer is simply about God and man. Jesus gives to us a directive. And in this directive, when He tells us when you pray, you need to continually on a daily basis need to be reminded of two major theological truths. Now these are two major theological truths. Number one, the total incapability of man. That's what Jesus was saying. I believe that's the first of the theological truths that are presented to us here in this particular passage in the Lord's Prayer. Give to me my daily bread. Come on, Lord.
Surely not me. I'm capable, I'm capable of doing everything that I need to provide for the preservation of my own life. And God looks down from heaven and says, no, you're not. In fact, it seems to me as I have studied this passage more and more that it's becoming manifestly evident in my own life that this is perhaps the major cause of man's problems today.
We think we're so capable. Man has become the center of his own universe. This is a doctrinal statement that flies in the face of modern day humanism. This is a doctrinal statement that ought to be laid out as the manifesto of every college and university in our beautiful nation. This is the doctrine and the manifesto that needs to be written across the heart and the hallway of every single church that calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Give to us this day our daily bread. And above all, the Lord looked into my own heart and I found myself beginning to be reminded of my own absolute total incapability. What am I incapable of doing? What are you incapable of doing?
He is totally incapable of forgiving himself. We cannot provide forgiveness for ourselves no matter how brilliant we are, no matter how many people we send to the moon, no matter how many inventions we invent, no matter how many miles we travel, no matter how many new iPhones we develop. My wife and I were in the store and there was this line of people waiting outside there. And I went into the store, an Apple computer store, and I said to the people, I said, what are all these people doing here?
Tells you what part of the universe I'm on. They said they've been sitting out here waiting for this iPhone. I said, you've got to be kidding me. I said, oh, yes, man, some of these people have been here for two days.
I said, you mean sitting on that slab of concrete? Yeah. I said, for what? For iPhone. Why? Well, because it's cutting edge and because it's the new thing.
It's the latest buzz and they want to be the first one. And our world in which we live today is so brilliant. I've got news for you iPhone believers, by the way. Next week, there'll be another one.
And the next week, there'll be another one. And when Jesus looked into the face of disciples, he was looking into the face of the brilliance of humankind. You and I, the ones whom he had created, he looked into the intricate brilliancy of those of us who by the hand of God have been fearfully and wonderfully made.
And he said, let me remind you about something. You are totally incapable of forgiving yourself. Man is totally incapable of changing himself. And man is totally incapable of sustaining himself. Sometimes we come up with quick fix orders and things that we can do that provide momentary satisfaction, but we have no control over tomorrow.
We've proved that. You would think in today's day and age with all the technology and all the means and the ability that we have that people would just get along, but we don't. There are wars and rumors of wars. There's selfishness and arrogance and pride.
People are falling over themselves. There's the corporate ladder of success. Mankind still tries to outdo himself. And when Jesus said, you need to pray, Father, today would you give to me my daily bread? He had in mind a major theological truth concerning the total incapability of man. The second major theological truth conversely is the total capability of God. Who is God? Well, the Bible tells us from the beginning.
Alpha and Omega beginning and end, first and last. The sovereign God, creator, redeemer, prince of peace. It is in him that we live and we move and we have our being. And what Jesus was saying is just simply this, my beloved friends, God is totally capable to the point at which he is the only one who can forgive us for our sin. He is the only one who can change us forever. And he is the only one who can sustain us, not only in this life, but in life after death.
Amazing, isn't it? Why do you suppose Jesus would say this to us? Was he just making a frivolous little statement, giving perhaps somebody like me something to pray about or perhaps something to recite when I run out of words to say? Here in the Lord's Prayer, I submit to you that Jesus establishes man's incapability while at the same time he establishes God's capability. And as such, this prayer is a pivotal doctrine that deals with the doctrine of man on the one hand and the doctrine of God on the other hand. One little statement, give us this day our daily bread. So what does it mean?
What does it mean? Well, my beloved friends, I believe that Jesus incorporated four principles, core principles in the statement that he gave to us. And I want to share these with you.
They are so important. Four core principles that juxtapose the relationship of man with God, that place both God and man in their right perspective. And when Jesus gathered his disciples overlooking the beauty of the magnificent Sea of Galilee, he was looking way beyond a loaf of bread. He was looking into the very depths of our hearts. He was looking into the heart of a Don Wilton recognizing the pride and seeing the arrogance, seeing a Don Wilton for whom the whole center of the universe revolves around. A Don Wilton who repeatedly rejects the capability of God and refuses to go before God.
A Don Wilton who literally repeatedly believes that he is capable of being able to preserve his own life. And Jesus looks into my heart and says, it's me or nothing. You cannot do it. Some of you today who are worshiping, you've been trying to follow your own dream.
You cannot do it. Some of you are looking to yourself. Some of you actually believe that because you're going to go to college that your life is going to be made or because you married the right person that your life is going to be made or because you have enough money or because you live in the right home, everything's going to come together. Jesus looks into our hearts and he says, let me remind you about who you are in the light of who God is. These things of which I speak are just blessings. Keep them in the right perspective.
Get educated, but don't ever get elevated in the opinion of yourself. And so he invokes four core principles here that are just two models. Principle number one, worship, worship. And by the way, when we talk about worship, I truly believe that what Jesus was speaking at the point of this core principle, he was talking about an attitude.
Isn't that right, Steve? For example, when we come into a worship service like this, it's not about your and my ability to actually sing the songs that we sing. What it's about is the attitude with which we sing those songs, right? It is possible for people like you and me to come here and to walk into a church or into an auditorium and sing when I survey the wondrous cross with the wrong attitude. And what Jesus was talking about, he was talking about an attitude when he said he was pointing to the heart of worship. The prime requirement, it is the prerequisite of the relationship between man and God.
It is the very intended purpose for which we have been created. Jesus said, excuse me, on a daily basis, you need to pray, give to me this day my daily bread. And when you do, you are worshiping me.
Please forgive the interruption. It's remarkable to think that sometimes actually when we're praying, we're also worshiping. It's a wonderful concept that Dr. Wilton's opening all of our eyes to as we study the Word together. And we'll be back with the rest of today's message, God and man, in just a moment. But we also want you to know that we're here for you, ready to connect online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org or at this phone number, 866-899-WORD.
That's 866-899-9673. Why? Because worship includes three mandates. Number one, worship looks up.
I love that, don't you? See, my human inclination is always to look down and look in. Worship causes me to look out, look up. That's what worship is. It's looking up into the face of God.
It's taking my thoughts and my attention away from the center of my own universe and turning it outward and upward into the face of the only one who's capable of preserving my life at its basic level. Number two, worship means to lift up. We not only look up, but we lift up. We lift high the name of Jesus.
But worship also leans on. If I was to take this pulpit area here today and lean on this pulpit and take a load off my feet, that's what Jesus was talking about. He was saying to us, when you pray, give us today our daily bread. When I look into the face of the Father and I say, Father, would you give to me today my daily bread? What am I doing? I'm looking up into the face of the one who gives to me everything that I need. Number two, I'm lifting him up.
I'm saying you alone are the capable one. But number three, I'm leaning on. May I say this sort of respectfully? I'm taking the load off my own legs. Anyone here today need a load taken off? Is that load heavy? Are you carrying a burden?
Doesn't matter what it is. What the Lord Jesus was saying as he says, you need to worship me. I'm speaking to you about an attitude. That's the first of the core principles is the principle of worship.
Give to me this day my daily bread. Worship me. The second core principle is the principle of submission. If worship is an attitude, submission is a posture.
It is a posture. And God demands that of all those who love Him. You see, one of the most difficult things for people to do as humankind is to submit to God, to submit to Him in everything. And submission, if submission is a posture, it means three things. It means number one, to yield to. Paul had somewhat of an idea about that in Romans chapter 12, verse one.
Watch what he said. He said, I beseech you therefore, brothers and sisters, believers. Jesus was talking to believers. I beseech you, I beg of you, that you yield your bodies. There's that word. And that word there literally means to give way.
It means to abdicate. Now watch this. When I go before my Father and I say, Father, would you give to me my daily bread? What am I doing? I'm submitting to His capability. I'm yielding to Him. I'm giving way to Him. And to submit not only means to yield, but it means to defer to.
Now watch this, folks. When you defer to someone, it means you not only give way to somebody, but you hand over to their ability. To defer to somebody means you literally hand over to them.
You not only give to them the right of way, but you accept the right of ability that comes from them. You defer to them. You ever had a conversation with somebody or you're in a group or a business meeting, you're sitting in the boardroom, somebody asks a question and whoever's in charge turns around and says, listen, I defer that to this person sitting on my right here. Why do you defer something to that person?
Because that person evidently may know a lot more about the subject and is far better positioned to be able to talk to you about it or to address the corporate meeting. And when you submit, when Jesus said, give to me this day, my daily bread, what He was doing, He was invoking the core principle, not only of worship, but of submission, yielding to God, deferring to God, who is the one who knows everything and who has everything. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine, but it also means to allow to.
Folks, this is a very clear and a very concise and a very difficult discrepancy. This issue of allowing to. Submission carries with it three ideas, yielding, deferring to and then allowing to.
You know, you can yield to somebody, you can even defer to them, but it's another thing entirely to allow yourself to become the recipient of what they give. My first missions course I took in the United States of America years ago, we had a missions professor and they just happened to be discussing Southern Africa. And the name they wrote up on the board, and my friends, the De Smits will understand it because that's where they live. It was the name of Putitswana.
They understand that, you don't. But Putitswana, I mean, it's a long name, that big. And that's how you pronounce it.
Well, the missions professor called it everything, Bofuthaswani and Bafunga. I mean, she just couldn't say this thing. Friends sitting next to me, nudged me, put up his hand, he said, Professor, this is Don Wilton, he's from there. Maybe he knows how to say it. So she looked up there and she said, Well, young man, how do you pronounce this? I said, Oh, that's Bofuthaswani.
She said, No, it isn't. That's not how you say it. Folks, I come from there. That's like I challenge any of you to say cowpens. Do you know how to say cowpens? I've been to cowpens. A lot of my good friends come from cowpens.
I can say cowpens, right? Now, folks, watch this. Jesus was invoking a principle here. That's very reflective of who we are.
It kind of just sounds like me. Lord, I'm going to worship you and Lord, I'm going to submit to you. I yield to you, I'm going to defer to you, but I'm not going to allow you to tell me because I'm not willing to receive from you. Give us this day our daily bread. Principle number one, worship. Principle number two, submission. Here's the third one. You ready? This is exciting now.
You ready? Conversation. The third core principle invoked by the Lord Jesus when He said, give us this day our daily bread was the principle of conversation. If worship is an attitude and posture, submission is a posture, conversation is an action. Conversation is an action.
Now, I want you to really listen to this. Why would Jesus say this? Because of the core principle of conversation. It has to do with speaking to God. That's what this has to do with because He's our Heavenly Father and there are three golden rules of conversation.
Just in case you might have missed them. Number one, open up. That's the first golden rule of conversation. Perhaps you're listening today. You're worshipping with us today. I will guarantee you there is at least one very, very fine man worshipping with us right now. I don't know who you are. I don't have anybody particularly in mind outside of myself.
But I will guarantee you there's at least one very, very fine man today. That is the absolute centre of the biggest problem you have in your marriage. You say, don't be silly.
That's just so ridiculous. Conversation. What? You never open up. You sit there like a big dummy and you know it.
You are one of those chunks of meat. Doesn't matter what you're doing. You never open up.
All your wife and family want to do is they just want to hear from you. I'm not going to ask you to stand up because that's the one we're talking about. But when Jesus invoked the principle of prayer, He was invoking a fundamental issue in our relationship with God. God wants us to watch this. Open up.
Does He know what's in our hearts? Absolutely. So the first golden rule of conversation is to open up.
Give us this day. It's not about whether or not I'm able to buy my own loaf of bread. I think that's the furthest thing from His mind. It's not about whether or not we are self-sufficient.
It is because we consider ourselves self-sufficient. Open up. Number two, speak up. That's the second golden rule of conversation. Speak up.
What was Jesus saying? Give us this day our daily bread, invoking a very important principle. Principle of conversation. Three golden rules. Number one, open up. Number two, speak up. Number three, look up. What do you do when you talk to people?
You look up. There is a sense in which Jesus here invoking this doctrinal mandate was causing us as people to open up, to speak up, and to look up into the face of our Heavenly Father. What a principle.
Indeed, what a principle. And what an opportunity to see our lives changed by this loving God, this loving Heavenly Father. You need to know that we believe certainly that the Lord has orchestrated the fact that you're listening while we're presenting this wonderful teaching from Dr. Wilton today and his great insight from Matthew.
But more than that, we believe God has an appointment for us to spend these moments together. And you've heard Dr. Don as our preacher, but as he comes into the studio next, I pray you'd open your heart to the very next question Dr. Don wants to ask you now. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.
This is exciting news. If you just prayed with Dr. Wilton, welcome to the family of God. Welcome back if you rededicated your life. Dr. Don has resources he wants you to have as you grow in the next steps of your faith. Call us at 866-899-WORD to receive your copies. 866-899-9673.
Not just now during the broadcast, but 24 hours a day. We'd love to spend time with you on the phone, pray with you, and connect you with great resources. Or meet us online as well at TEWOnline.org. The Encouraging Word
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-01-29 18:41:37 / 2024-01-29 18:51:39 / 10