R457 What Else Can We Say to God?

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a study in the book of Matthew. Today we pick up where we left off yesterday in Matthew chapter 6 with this message's unique title, What else can we say to God? The joy is God's using this broadcast to let you know He loves you and He wants you to talk back. You'll discover in a few minutes just what Dr. Don is talking about in this understanding of the progression we have as continually being changed by Christ. It's not just something that happens in one fell swoop, but today we discover the ongoing process of becoming more like Jesus. If you'd like to have someone pray with you or for you, you can call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Wilton. Just think about the disciples for a moment. These men did a great deal with the Lord Jesus Christ. They were with Him when He fed the 5,000, if you remember. They were with Him when He walked up and down the highways and byways. They were with Him when He gave great public discourses.

They were with Him in private moments. They hadn't yet been with Him when He marched down the Via Doloroso to the cross. But I think that perhaps under the unction and power of the Spirit of God, they were being prepared in their hearts for the ultimate utterance of our Lord Jesus when He looked out from the cross and He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They heard the Lord Jesus Christ's dialogue with royalty, even though He was and is royalty Himself.

And perhaps one can understand a little somewhat of their consternation or perhaps somewhat of their desire to do that which was correct. And so they turned to the Lord Jesus and they said to Him, in essence, Lord Jesus, when we talk to our Heavenly Father, what can we say to Him? How can we touch Him? And it is at this point that we find in Matthew chapter 6 and right throughout the gospels that Jesus gave to them what I believe to be and what God knew to be the etiquette of royalty. I believe that what Jesus Christ was doing with the Lord's prayer was that He was saying to His disciples, I want you to know and understand God's initiative. I don't want you to go through life wondering what it is that you may or may not do when you want to come into the presence of His Royal Highness, the King of all kings. I want you to understand what it is that He gives you permission to say and to do. I want you to know the deep spiritual significance of what it means to touch the hem of His garment. And so it is here in Matthew chapter 6 that the Lord Jesus Christ with that marvelous compassion and that deep insight into the limitation of our own human being, that Jesus said, I want you to know something, this then is how you should pray. I want you to be able to pray along these lines.

Why? Because prayer is talking to God. It is communion with God.

It is touching the hem of His garment. It is your entrance into the court of His Royal Highness. And I want you to know if you follow His standards that you're never going to be driven from public office. I want you to know that when you meet God on God's terms, you're not going to find yourselves bound by ritualistic and meaningless expression, but rather you're going to be drawn into the mastermind of the most unbelievable reservoir of fresh water that has ever been given to replenish the thirst of mankind. And what Jesus was saying here at this juncture, this then is how you should pray. God has given us permission and I want to give to you perhaps just a little glimpse into the substance of the character of God. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us or prevent us from being led into temptation, but rather deliver us from the evil one. How is this possible, the disciples would say to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Why? Because we have been given permission by His Royal Highness because thine is the glory, thine is the power, thine is the majesty forever and forever and forever. And if you want to touch the heart of God, so let it be for thus it is written and thus it is said our Lord Jesus Christ shared with His disciples. And so what is it that we can say to Him? Where does that leave us? What is it, do you suppose, that God says we can do?

Young people, what is it? Anna, what does God say that you can say to Him? What do you say to the Lord? How do we talk to God?

How do we approach Him? He's God! He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! What can I say to God as one of His subjects?

Well, Jesus provided us with a marvelous insight into a never-ending wellspring of life. Number one, we must establish, we must affirm His paternity. We've got to come into His presence and say to Him, you are my Father.

Jesus established that when He gave us the Lord's Prayer. He said after these lines, but first and foremost don't forget who God is. When you talk to Him, He's Daddy. Don't forget, don't forget what Daddies do. Perhaps what Jesus was saying, if you understand who Abba Father is, if you are willing to establish His, affirm His paternity, you're going to understand that Daddies put an end to fear. They give hope, they settle our loneliness, they help us to overcome, they take care of all our needs and provide our resources. Do you know, I wonder whether the Lord Jesus, when He gave us the Lord's Prayer, might have had in mind a beer-babby letter, our Father, Dear Daddy, maybe we could just close the door right there.

What do you think? Just think about it, our Father, which art in heaven, and think of all the things that Daddy means. But you know the Lord Jesus dug so deep into this will. I think what He was saying to us is that when we talk to God, we must not only affirm His paternity, but we must establish His primacy.

Look again with me at verse 9. He didn't only leave it at our Father, which art in heaven, but He added this marvelous and most remarkable phrase that we've become so accustomed to, don't you think, perhaps. Hallowed be Thy name.

I remember in boarding school, we had all little cute phrases about how to interpret hallowed and what it meant, but I'm not going to get into those today. We could say this in all different kinds of ways, but what was it about the Lord Jesus Christ that when He gave to us an insight in how to talk to God, that He not only said we need to affirm His paternity, but we need to establish His primacy. You see what Jesus perhaps was saying to us is that God's name represents all that He is. Perhaps what the Lord Jesus Christ was saying is that when we say, Hallowed be Thy name, we are tapping into the character and to the plan and to the will of Almighty God. I think Moses understood this all the way back in Exodus chapter 34 and verses 5 through 7.

Remember what happened? Moses called upon the name of the Lord to which the Lord responded, The Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and in truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. Our Father, which art in heaven, there is no name like the name of our Lord God in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name. You see, when we talk about the name of God, we're boasting on His faithfulness. And when we talk to a God who is faithful, we tap into that resource, which is unchangeable in Psalm 20 and verse 7, Some boast in chariots and some boast in horses, but we will boast in the name of our Lord.

I love that, don't you? You know what the Psalmist was saying? He was saying you can have your chariots and you can have your horses and you can have your royalty and you can have your everything, but I want you to know that there is none other like Him.

Why? Because He alone is the King and the Lord of the universe. He is God. Do I hear an Amen here this morning? Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Yes, there it is. Affirm His paternity.

I've asked Britt to put them up there for me today. Establish His primacy, number three. Number three, endorse His program.

Endorse His program. We're going to talk to God, you want to know what to talk to God about? Jesus told us, endorse His program. Look at verse 10, your kingdom come. Now folks, I'm going to ask you a question, no hands need to go up. Rhetorical question, okay, no hands go up here. How many of you would say in your heart today when you pray Thy kingdom come, as we've all prayed, how many of us, and I'm putting myself in that boat, I want you to know, automatically you think we're praying about heaven one day.

That's what I think. When I've prayed that ritualistically or sincerely, I've always thought when you pray Thy kingdom come, what you're doing is you're actually praying for something that one day is going to be there and we know it's going to be there and that's heaven. But you know what? Jesus was saying something far more significant than that. You see friends, the King is inseparable from His kingdom.

You cannot divorce the one from the other. And our greatest desire, God says, is to see the kingdom of God come. And in the Greek text, when you begin to understand this, and in the syntactical dimensions of the Greek text, this word Thy kingdom come means Thy kingdom come now, immediately. Does it mean we want heaven now, immediately? Absolutely. Does it mean we want to be with Jesus right now, immediately? Absolutely. But folks, there are two ways that the Bible teaches us that the kingdom of God comes now. You may want to write these down.

They're important. What was Jesus saying when He said we need to pray Thy kingdom come? Two ways that it can come right now. Not one day when we get to heaven or one day when the book of Revelation comes to pass and Jesus Christ comes to reign upon us.

No. That is a very important part of what Jesus Christ was saying. But there are two ways in which the kingdom of God comes right now. The first is by conversion.

By conversion. Do you remember what happened to Nicodemus in John chapter 3? Nicodemus came to Jesus and he said to him, he said to him, Master, how can I enter into the kingdom of heaven? What did Jesus say to him? He said to him, Nicodemus, unless you are born again, you cannot enter, and that word there, enter, means you literally cannot appropriate now.

You cannot become a part of right now at this instant. You cannot be saved not only now but for all time and for all eternity. Your conversion marks your entrance into the kingdom of heaven. What does Jesus say? Jesus is saying, listen, when you pray, if you want to know what to talk to God about, you need to talk to him about conversion. Because it is the absolute primary step to gaining the kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven begins immediately, you give your life to Jesus Christ. You see, folks, I am not just saved time past, I'm not just saved time present, but I am continually being saved until I come into God's presence. All of it is the kingdom of heaven.

Isn't that wonderful? It is wonderful, and I know it's not wonderful to interrupt, but Dr. Wilton insists I remind you we're here. If questions come to mind, if you'd like to have someone pray with you or maybe dig a little deeper into some of these concepts, we're here at 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673, or online as well at www.tewonline.org. We've got a brand new website, we're working out the kinks at www.tewonline.org.

Come by and take a look. Now back to Dr. Wilton. You've given your heart to Jesus, God's kingdom has come in your heart. So the first appropriation of thy kingdom come is through conversion, but there's a second appropriation of that and that's called commitment. You see, that's why Jesus was saying this to his disciples. A disciple is someone who is committed to following Jesus Christ, someone who is committed to doing what Jesus Christ wants us to do. When he spoke about conversion, he said this in Matthew chapter 13, he said the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field or a pearl of great value and when that pearl is found or appropriated or that treasure is received which is convergent, immediately we move into second gear and the second gear of thy kingdom come is commitment.

Why so? Because this means that the converted are responding to the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. That's what it means to pray for thy kingdom come.

Now folks, listen. When we talk to the Lord, we need to affirm his paternity. We need to establish his primacy. We need to endorse his program. What is his program? His kingdom.

That's his program. If you'd be so kind as to give me another 15 weeks, I'll preach on his kingdom. We need to go back and we need to uncover everything about this king and his kingdom. What is it that God says to those who follow him related to the king and his kingdom? But number four, we need to apply his plan. If we're going to talk to God, one of the things we can talk to him about is the application of his plan. Now I want you to look with me at verse 10 and the second part of verse 10. The Bible says your kingdom come.

Alright, there's the endorsement of his program. Thy will be done on earth just the same as it is in heaven. Now we're talking to God about the application of his plan. Our willingness to apply his plan in the daily routine of our lives. Apparent contradiction perhaps because we struggle between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. We know that thy will is done on earth just as it is in heaven. I don't understand it.

I cannot explain it to you completely. But I am going to say to you, my beloved friends in Christ, you must never try to solve the dilemma between the sovereignty of God and the will of man. You need to understand that God who is sovereign not only allows to happen what happens because of his sovereign will, but he commands us to make choices about his sovereign will.

God gives us an option. You see folks, that's where we slip into this area of God's permissive will and God's divine will. If we don't follow what God is doing, there is God's permissive will. God allows us to do things that are not in keeping with him, but it's his permissive will. Our goal ought to be his divine will that we are always doing what God wants us to do. So don't try and solve this dilemma. Rather believe and act on God's truth.

That's why Jesus Christ was saying this. How do we respond to God? What do we say to him?

Here it is. We, listen, we've got to affirm his paternity, establish his primacy, endorse his program and apply his plan. So when we're talking to him, here's what we've got to do. Four ways to do this.

You ready? Number one, you need to pray aggressively. Pray aggressively.

You need to go for the gold. You need to move on the attack. You need to be on the offensive, not the defensive when it comes to the will of God. Thy will be done. Let me tell you folks, that is an affirmative statement that God is giving to us. Not only instructional, but it is affirmative.

It is absolutely positive. Pray aggressively in your heart for the will of God to be done. In other words, don't capitulate concerning the sovereignty of God.

Do you know why? There's nothing to capitulate about. God is sovereign. It's not open to discussion. People come up to me from time to time and they say to me, is God sovereign? I say, absolutely. They say, prove it. I say, I don't have to prove it. He is.

He just is. God is sovereign in every conceivable way. Number one, pray aggressively. Number two, pray expectantly. That is pray with faith.

Luke chapter 18 and verse 1, don't lose heart. Pray expectantly. Not only aggressively for the will of God, but pray expectantly. Number three, pray specifically. What a world spring God gives to us when we talk to Him. He says, pray specifically, not only aggressively. He says to us, not only expectantly, but you need to pray specifically.

I mean, name it right there. Like Mr. Dillard, you need to pray for Britt. We know that. We all pray for him too because we love him so much.

I apologize, Britt, if you're up there somewhere right now. Pray specifically. Call people by name. Tell the Lord about everything. Number four, pray submissively. Pray submissively.

That means that you're willing to acquiesce. You're willing to accept God's will. When you apply His plan, Jesus took this one step further. He said, when you talk to God, request His provision.

This is marvelous here, folks. Look at verse 11. He says, give us today our daily bread. Now, I'm going to confess to you this morning that I said to myself, I'm really going to do an analysis of what bread really is. You know, Jesus says, you know, pray for our daily bread. We need to do for this. Give us this day our daily bread, folks.

And it's all good. I've heard people say this is not luxuries. This is needs. And this is not my boat that I want so badly to go down to Lake Murray fishing with.

And this is not the new golf clubs that I need. This is bread. Well, I began to study and boop, out it popped. Martin Luther, great theologian, this is what he said. Listen. He said, everything necessary for the preservation of life is bread. Everything necessary for the preservation of life is bread. Guess what Jesus said? He said, when we talk to God, we've got permission from His Royal Highness to request His provision.

How do we talk to Him? We affirm His paternity. We establish His primacy.

We endorse His program. We apply His plan. We request His provision.

But folks, He takes it even further than that. We must plead for His pardon. That's what it means right there in verse 12. Forgive us our debts just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Plead for His pardon. God's Word tells us, beloved friends, that confession is a vital part of our prayer life. Jesus in His Lord's Prayer says very specifically we must plead with God for His pardon. And when we do so, He'll readily give us His pardon.

Why? Because we're sinners. Who is this that can forgive us? Jesus Christ. How often can we do this? Every day. We must do it every day. We must claim His promises every day.

Why can we do this? Because He's our Daddy and because of His character and His righteousness and His holiness. He's a loving God.

Just think about it. But you know, last but not least, Jesus said that we must claim His protection. He says in verse 13, deliver us from evil. That word there literally means please prevent me from being delivered into the hands of the evil one.

Please prevent me from being delivered into the hands of the evil one. When we talk to God, we need to pray for one another. We need to pray for the protection of our children. We need to pray for the protection and the godliness of our young people, of our college students on college campuses. Many of our young people grow up in our churches. They go to college campuses and they are devoured.

They are devoured. What have we got to do? God says, listen, pray to Him for His protection. Pray that God is going to give our young men and ladies enough resources and resilience to take a stand for Jesus Christ. Let God do the work. That's what He says. And when we come into the presence of the sovereign God and we walk into the throne room, Jesus says, listen, there's so much that you can say.

Talk to Him. Perhaps you're nodding saying, yes, I know. I need to talk to God. I need to spend more time in prayer.

Then do it. I pray that you would take what Dr. Don has said today and the challenge from God's word to move forward, not to stay, not to be content to stay where you are in your prayer life, in your Bible study life, in your life of just saying yes to Jesus. Before we get away, closing thoughts from our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton. 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. I just believe that some of you have been praying with Dr. Wilton just now, or maybe all throughout the program. God's been stirring your heart, and you know it's time to change. If you've given your life to Jesus Christ today or now you've rededicated your life, you're ready for a new beginning, let us walk with you in those next steps. Dr. Wilton has specific resources we want you to have absolutely free if you'll call us and ask about them.

866-899-WORD is the phone number, that's 866-899-9673, or online as well at TEWOnline.org. These resources can help change your life forever. Well, it's Jesus that changes your life forever, and we're doing this in partnership with many people that both prayerfully and financially support the ministry. We call those friends encouragers. We need your support. Will you join us in our endeavor to reach just one more? We would love for you to become a monthly supporter of The Encouraging Word. Call us at 866-899-WORD to request information on how you can help support the work of The Encouraging Word.

Call today, 866-899-9673. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Our time's gone for today, but oh, I hope you'll join us tomorrow. A wonderful message, three simple words from Dr. Wilton, Who am I? As we dive into God's Word together, we'll head to 1 Peter. I hope you'll join us and maybe bring a friend tomorrow on The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton.