Amen! (7.24.16) 1

Sermon Title: Amen!

First Reading, Revelation 3:14-20

14“To the angel of the church in Laodiceawrite:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,the ruler of God’s creation.15I know your deeds,that you are neither cold nor hot.I wish you were either one or the other!16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire,so you can become rich; and white clothesto wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.So be earnest and repent.20Here I am! I stand at the doorand knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,I will come inand eat with that person, and they with me.

Second Reading, Matthew 6:9-13

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Fatherin heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdomcome,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

  1. My dad practiced law as a profession. He often says that he has stopped telling people lawyer jokes because lawyers do not think they are funny and other people do not think they are jokes!
  2. At their best, however, lawyers are very good at helping people understand what they are committing themselves to from a legal stand point. They are able to interpret the legal-iese of the fine print for us so we can go into an agreement with both eyes open, so to speak. This is the purpose of the final phrase of 'The Lord's Prayer.' This morning we are completing our series on The Lord's Prayer with this phrase. Let's recite it together, "Yours is the kingdom, power, and glory forever, Amen."
  3. Who here knows that our Catholic friends do not say this phrase when praying The Lord's Prayer? Well I did not! Brittany grew up Catholic and I was visiting her parents I think for the first time. We were at the church they worshiped at and I was trying to make a good impression. The service was very foreign to me so I did not quite know what to do. We began to pray The Lord's Prayer and I thought 'This is great something familiar!'I am praying with them, loud and proud, they finish with 'deliver us from evil' but I do not. My lone voice echoes saying "For thine is the kingdom to pow...." fail! Also, You will notice that this phrase does not appear in most of our bibles. This is because it was likely a later addition.
  4. But it is an addition that we say because in this phrase, we are summarizing and making a commitment to the contents of the prayer we have just said. In fact, the word 'amen' means 'so be it' or 'let this be true.' In this final phrase, we are affirming, and committing to the eternal kingdom, power, and glory of God. So what does it mean to commit ourselves to God's kingdom, power, and glory forever? How can we make this commitment with our eyes open? We are going to answer those questions by considering how this phrase answers three other ones. First, who are we praying to? Second, what are we praying for? Finally, why are we praying?
  5. Who are we praying to? When we say Yours is the kingdom, we affirming that we are praying to our Loving Father and Cosmic King.
  6. We are confirming what we said in the binging of the prayer. That we are speaking to our Father who is enthroned in Heaven! Acknowledging who we are praying to changes both the way we pray and the way we listen for a response. First, it influences how we pray because we recognize that the God to whom we are praying loves us and desires a relationship with us. From political parties, to social media, to advertisements, to our social circles we are encouraged to give our loyalty and identity to many different causes and groups.
  7. Advertisers say, 'you're not good enough, unless buy our product.' Political parties, 'you are not a good person unless you are loyal to me no matter what and demonize my opponent.' Through Christ, we are sons and daughters of the King of the universe. In saying 'yours is the Kingdom' we are committing to our primary identity being children of the one true king. Matthew West wrote a song called 'Hello My Name Is.' The chorus goes like this "Hello, my name is child of the one true King, I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free 'Amazing Grace' is the song I sing, Hello, my name is child of the one true King."What our Father wants from us, as children of the one true King, is not fancy religious sounding words. Instead, what He desires is authenticity, earnestness, and an open heart to His life transforming love.
  8. Speaking to our Loving Father and Cosmic King also changes how we wait on a response from Him.Too often, prayer is almost seen as a magical incantation. If we say the right words, then God will do what we want. Here, however, we are saying 'Yours is the kingdom,' 'it is your kingdom, and your kingship, we yearn and look for in our lives.' Who we are praying to needs to be kept in mind as we discern how those prayers are being answered.
  9. The eternal kingdom belongs to our Loving Father and Cosmic King, amen?! So what are we praying to Him for?We are praying for His eternal power to be at work in our lives.
  10. From well meaning people we sometimes here phrases like 'God won't give you more than you can handle,' and 'God helps those who help themselves.' These statements are simply not true! Often times, particularly if we are being obedient to God, we will find ourselves well beyond what we can handle, this is by design. It is when we are beyond our own abilities that we learn to depend on Him and His power in our lives. That's why we pray to Him for our daily bread, we are dependent on Him for every breath we take!
  11. Often I wonder, and I think I'm not alone, how can I feel God's power in my life? Does anyone else wonder that? The answer is that we must go beyond our comfort zone, beyond our own store of power so we must lean on Him. Sometimes we are forced to walk into that, and sometimes we are called into it. Either way, He will lead and empower us to walk in His will. Anne Johnston Flint was a hymn writer in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Early in her life she was so afflicted with arthritis that she was unable to walk. In fact, she was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Yet she looked to God's power in Her life and wrote this:
  12. "He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.When we have exhausted our store of endurance,When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,When we reach the end of our hoarded resources. Our Father’s full giving is only begun.Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,Our God ever yearns His resources to share;Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,His power no boundary known unto men;For out of His infinite riches in JesusHe giveth, and giveth, and giveth again." In saying "Amen," it is true, to relying on His power He will lift us up and empower us to move into His glory!
  13. When saying 'Amen' we are committing to its truth. The truth that who we are praying to is our Loving Father and Cosmic King. The truth that we need to lean on His power to walk in His grace. The truth that the reason why we pray is for His glory to be know in our lives!
  14. What is it that you and I glory in? What is it that we strive for, sacrifice for, run hard after? Do we sometimes glory in our own abilities, and the adulation it brings us? Guilty. Do we sometimes glory in pleasure, ease, and the finer things of life? Guilty. Do we sometimes glory in seeing us win and others lose? Guilty. We find our glory in so many things that are not eternal, that are not ultimate, and will all ultimately disappoint! This was the great sin of the church in Laodicea. They gloried in the wealth and prosperity of their great city saying, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." They were unaware of the one thing they did need. None of those things were eternal, it was selfish glory that would fade. Which is why Jesus calls them "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
  15. But the good news is for them, and us, is that Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts waiting for us to make a commitment to Him. Every time we say Amen to giving God glory we are recommitting ourselves to turn our eyes to Jesus. As that hymn says, "Turn your eyes toward Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." When we turn our eyes toward Jesus we will see the eternal glory of the kingdom of heaven right here on earth. You see it at VBS when a child learns and experiences the love of Christ in his or her life. You see it at Love OPS and the community breakfast where people receive more than just the basic necessities to live but the love of the One who has given them life. With God's help, we will see it this Thursday. We will see His kingdom at Kingdom Sports Camp when children and families that have been marginalized, pushed aside, and forgotten will delight in each other and in Him!
  16. C.S. Lewis paints a picture of what it might look like to chase after God's glory instead of our own. He wrote this, "God wants to bring a person to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it, than he would be if it had been done by another." Wouldn't it be amazing to live for something so important, so powerful, so glorious, and eternal that we pour our blood sweat and tears into it and not care at all if we get the credit? We only care if His glory is made known through it?
  17. In saying this prayer that our Lord taught us, and saying 'Amen' to finish it we are agreeing to this kind of life. We are agreeing in such simple terms we don't even need a lawyer to translate for us. We are agreeing that who we are praying to is our Loving Father and Cosmic King. We are agreeing that what we need is His power in our lives. We are agreeing that the reason why we pray is so that His glory may be known through us. So, with the confidence of children of the king, let us commit ourselves, once again, to His power and glory in our lives by praying, if you could join me:
  18. Our Father, which art in heaven,Hallowed be thy Name.Thy Kingdom come.Thy will be done in earth,As it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our trespasses,As we forgive them that trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation,But deliver us from evil.For thine is the kingdom,The power, and the glory,For ever and ever.Amen.
  19. Receive this blessing and benediction: Let us go forth recommitted to our Heavenly Father's power in our lives, so His glorious and eternal kingdom can come to us and through us!