Participants: Roland Nwosu
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000012
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00:01 Please stay with us,
00:08 3ABN Presents 00:16 this a closed captioned program. FAITH CHAPEL 00:24 Praise God! My name is Roland Nwosu, 00:33 Pastor at the Salt Lake City Seventh Day Adventist Church 00:36 Salt Lake City in the state of Utah. 00:39 Today, I want to share with you a selection 00:46 from the Lord's Prayer... 00:49 "Our Father Which Art in Heaven" 00:51 Let us pray. 00:54 Our Father which art in Heaven 00:57 Hallowed be Your Name 01:01 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth 01:07 as it is in Heaven. 01:11 Bless us today, as we study your Word, 01:17 as we hear Your Word, may we be refreshed by it 01:24 through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. 01:27 Amen. 01:31 The disciples had been gone for 01:34 a short time and they came back, 01:36 found their Master Jesus praying. 01:40 It touched them. 01:44 They reminded themselves that this Man, 01:47 who spent so much time in prayer, 01:50 did so many miracles, 01:52 there must be something that had to do between His prayer life, 01:58 and the miracles that He worked, 02:01 between His work and His prayer. 02:04 So one of His disciples said, 02:05 "Master teach us to pray" 02:10 And Jesus, the Bible tells us 02:14 in Matthew 6:9-13, 02:19 taught them to pray in this manner. 02:58 This is a great lesson in prayer. 03:01 A model prayer that shows us how to pray and not what to pray, 03:06 and at the beginning of that prayer 03:09 Jesus begins with the phrase, "Our Father. " 03:13 And the word 'Father' presupposes 03:16 a natural paternal relationship. 03:21 For some the word 'father' might invoke some positive 03:25 or some negative impressions or feelings, 03:30 and for those who had a good relationship with their father, 03:35 the word father may suggest a heart to heart relationship, 03:39 a paternal relationship, a kinship 03:42 between father and son or daughter, 03:45 in which the father feels 03:51 very comfortable with his child. 03:54 It can be a relationship in which the son or the daughter 03:58 feels and knows the father's likes and dislikes, 04:02 the father's wishes and desires, 04:04 the father's disposition, or the father's concerns. 04:07 So God is our Father, 04:11 and my Father as well. 04:12 By creation, He is our Father 04:16 because He created us, 04:18 he is our Father by adoption, because 04:21 He adopted us through Jesus Christ, 04:24 and He is our Father, also, by begetting us 04:31 through the Word of God, which is through the gospel. 04:35 So the Bible tells us and shows us that 04:38 the Father predestined us to adoption as sons, 04:42 through Jesus Christ to Himself, 04:45 according to the pleasures of His will, 04:48 before the foundation of this world. 04:50 Although we are God's children, by creation, we are sold to sin 04:55 through Adam's sin. 04:58 We became separated from God our Father, 05:01 but thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord, 05:03 through whom we have redemption. 05:05 So, the Father-son relationship 05:12 is not a right, it is a privilege, 05:19 it is an honor 05:20 to mortal beings like us. 05:24 You see, it is grace, unmerited favor, 05:28 that God has bestowed upon us, but 05:32 as children of God we are then special, and 05:36 we cannot settle for mediocrity, and 05:38 we cannot settle for anything less than good, 05:40 or lovely and beautiful. 05:44 As the Apostle Paul said, 05:46 "We did not receive the Spirit of bondage" 05:48 again to fear but we received 05:50 "the Spirit of adoption and sons 05:53 through whom we cry Abba, Father. " 05:58 The fatherhood of God isn't like the fatherhood of this earth. 06:03 You see, I love my father very dearly, 06:06 he loved me and provided for me all kinds of things, 06:09 good education, all things as far as this world knows. 06:13 But you know what, he wanted in fact 06:17 to give his life for me at one point, 06:20 but is fatherhood to me is nothing to be compared 06:24 to the Fatherhood of God to us. 06:26 You see, God Himself cannot be compared 06:29 to any father here on earth, 06:30 no matter how our fathers have been good to us. 06:36 No matter how good they've been to us. 06:38 He is our Father. God our Creator is our Father, 06:42 and He listens, He communicates with us, 06:44 He negotiates with us, our Father God 06:47 keeps His part of the agreement, 06:50 His covenant with us, 06:51 this is the kind of Father we have. 06:53 When we mess up, and sell ourselves to sin, 06:56 and iniquity or evil, He searches for us, 07:00 forgives us, redeems us, and 07:05 calls us back again into the fold, 07:07 and when the storms of life are raging against us, 07:11 our Father is kind and merciful, and He brings us back, 07:15 He pulls us back to Himself again, 07:19 and He is the Father of our refuge, 07:23 so that when the storms of this life are raging 07:28 against us He, becomes our shelter and our refuge. 07:30 When people betray us, 07:32 and there is none to trust, 07:34 our Father's faithfulness is new and fresh every morning, 07:39 so when people hurt us, 07:43 our Father says, "Vengeance is mine, 07:47 I will repay. " 07:48 Our Father is the Father of all creation, 07:52 as well, as all believers. 07:54 We became orphans languishing in the starvation 07:58 and thirsty alleys of this worlds slums. 08:02 We became spiritually hopeless, 08:04 helpless, and homeless on the streets of this world's ghettos, 08:10 daily searching and looking for a better country. 08:14 In spite of here we've been 08:17 our Father has been merciful, and sent His Son Jesus Christ, 08:22 His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ 08:24 to seek for us, and 08:25 He found us, and lifted us up 08:27 from this miry clay of sin, cleansed us up 08:29 and He forgave us and gave us a new change of clothes, 08:34 took us in and sat us around the table, 08:36 filled with abundant, delicious and warm foods 08:42 succulent fruits, sumptuous desserts, and He gave us 08:46 us warm cozy beds to sleep on. 08:50 Yes! that's the kind of Father you and I have, 08:52 and we became His children, 08:54 and He became our Father. 08:56 If we pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven" 09:02 we recognize that we are His children, 09:04 therefore as children, we accept Him, 09:07 not just as Father, but we accept His plans 09:10 for our lives, and we obey Him, and 09:12 we do what He says we must do as our Father. 09:17 Then, we being His children, have to uphold His character, 09:26 our highest goal and interest 09:28 will be to uphold our Father's honor, 09:31 it will be to uphold our Father's character, 09:33 and remain in the Father's family, 09:35 to do His will, to do His work, 09:39 and to be faithful according to His will. 09:40 When we are sons and daughters of God, 09:43 then we are heirs of the kingdom, 09:47 and if heirs, we are heirs with Jesus Christ, and if 09:49 heirs with Christ, then we will reign with Him for eternity, 09:53 and if we reign with Him for eternity, 09:55 then we will be with our Savior. 09:56 You see, because Jesus is our brother 10:01 with us, and God is our Father. 10:05 When we pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven, " 10:09 we recognize that God in heaven has a family here on earth. 10:15 You see, we recognize that everyone, 10:19 created in God's image, 10:21 is our brother or our sister, 10:23 regardless of our differences, 10:25 regardless of our gender, 10:27 regardless of our ethnicity, 10:29 language, or even religion, 10:30 we recognize that we are part of one great family of God. 10:35 We also recognize that some of God's children 10:40 have become servants of sin and Satan, 10:43 either through their choices, or by ignorance, 10:47 therefore when we pray, we do not limit our petitions 10:53 to ourselves, or to our immediate family. 10:56 We recognize that God, 10:57 as their Father also is interested in them. 11:02 When we pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven ", 11:08 we recognize that our Father in heaven is our real Father, 11:13 He is our Provider, 11:16 He is our Supporter, 11:17 He is our Protector, He's our Guardian, 11:20 as a true Father, He will not let us suffer loss, 11:25 He will provide for our needs. So when 11:28 we are afraid, our Father provides peace and security, 11:33 and so, even though we walk 11:36 through the valley of the shadow of death, 11:40 we will not fear any evil. 11:42 In times of anger, our Father provides 11:45 that counsel and comfort 11:47 that we need, that peace within; 11:50 in times of frustration, He provides comfort and strength; 11:54 in times of rebellion and pride, our Father provides humility, 11:59 humbles us, and demands that we 12:00 have this mind which was in Christ Jesus, 12:03 who even though he was God, 12:08 did not count equality with God something to be grasped. 12:16 In times of suffering God, our Father, provides us fortitude, 12:22 in times of discouragement, He sends us courage and strength, 12:25 asking us to hold on, and be of good courage. 12:28 In times of depression, He sends His Spirit 12:30 to cheer us, and to console us, and lift us up. 12:34 In times of trouble, He becomes our Refuge, 12:38 our strength, and our present help. 12:40 In times of need, He becomes our Shepherd, 12:42 and fills our hungry soul with goodness. 12:47 In times of temptation, brothers and sisters, 12:50 our Father provides us an escape. 12:53 In times of patience, He says to us, "Wait on the Lord 12:58 and He shall strengthen your heart." 13:00 In times of sickness, He provides healing. 13:06 And He says, "Call on the elders of the church to pray", 13:10 and when the elders pray, 13:12 the prayer of faithful will make the sick whole. 13:18 In times of sadness, our Father comforts us, 13:24 He cheers us up, 13:26 in times of guilt, He provides release and forgiveness. 13:31 Child of God, in times of bereavement, 13:36 our Father provides comfort, 13:38 and this Father of ours, 13:42 your Father and my Father, 13:45 is a merciful Father, 13:47 let us trust Him. 13:50 When we pray, "Our Father which art in Heaven " 13:53 there is something else we say, 13:55 "Hallowed be Your Name. " 13:58 And you know what? 13:59 This was the first request Jesus taught His disciples 14:03 to make when they pray. 14:05 Does that tell us something? 14:07 Many of us think paryer means asking for things, 14:11 and asking for things, and we have a 14:13 whole laundry list of things to ask God for, 14:16 but the very first request Jesus made 14:20 when He taught His disciples to pray was, 14:25 "Father, hallowed be Your Name. " 14:28 What does it mean to hallow God's name? 14:30 The word hallow comes from the Greek word hagiazo, which means 14:37 to treat or regard as holy, 14:40 it means to sanctify, to set apart, 14:42 something from a common use to a holy purpose, 14:47 so when we say, "Lord, hallowed be Your name" 14:51 we are saying, "Let God's name be reverenced, 14:54 let God's name be revered. " 14:57 What we means is that when we speak the name 15:02 of the Almighty God, it should be and must be expressed 15:07 with reverence, respect and awe, even the angels themselves, 15:10 veil their faces in His presence. 15:16 There is something else we also mean when we pray, 15:19 "Hallowed be Your name", 15:21 it means and it requires that we do not use God's name 15:28 to convince someone to believe in our lives. 15:32 You see, when we pray, the third one, when we pray 15:36 "Hallowed be Your name" 15:37 we pray that God's name be hallowed, be sanctified, 15:42 be made holy, not just in this world 15:45 but also in us, in our character. 15:50 It means we pray, "Lord, we do not want to dishonor your name " 15:55 in anything that we do, in the way that we talk, 15:58 in the way that we act, in the way we do things, 16:01 or in the way we do our businesses. 16:04 We also mean, that if we cannot then hallow God's name 16:08 when we pray, we cannot then represent Him 16:13 as his children, and if we are not God's children 16:16 we are whose children? Hmmm. 16:24 The name of God is Holy, 16:26 it stands for at least three things. 16:29 The name of God stands for His character, 16:33 His character, His majestic being, 16:37 His relationship and His attitude 16:39 toward us as His children. 16:41 You see, "What is in a name?" as someone has said, 16:44 God's name stands for His character, 16:50 since God's character is reflected in His law 16:58 then God Himself is holy, 17:03 because the apostle Paul says that God's law is holy, 17:07 and the commandment holy and just and good, 17:12 and if God's law reflects God's character 17:16 and God's law is holy, just and good 17:20 then God Himself is good, He's just, He's holy, 17:23 and only a holy God gives a holy and just law. 17:30 You see, another aspect is that, God's name reveals His nature, 17:36 His attitude toward us. 17:39 Moses, one day wanted to see God's glory, 17:43 he asked for it, and God gave it to him. 17:47 In Exodus chapter 34, reading from verse 6-7, 18:20 When we pray, "Our Father which art in Heaven" 18:23 we recognize that heaven is our Father's home. 18:26 You see, Heaven is our Father's home, 18:29 His official residence, 18:32 that is where His throne is located, 18:35 and there are some who believe that Heaven is not real, but 18:38 you know what?, if Heaven is not real 18:40 then the throne of God is not real, 18:42 and if the throne of God is not real 18:43 then God Himself is not real, 18:46 and if God is not real, then we are doomed to oblivion, because 18:49 we don't have faith, it's useless, 18:54 but you know if Heaven is not real, 18:58 our faith is pointless, 19:00 so Heaven is real. 19:02 "Our Father which art in Heaven," when we pray, 19:06 "Our Father which art in Heaven" 19:07 we are in essence, sharing our desire, our longing 19:15 to be with our Father. 19:17 I'd like to visit my Father someday wouldn't you? 19:20 Let me give you a little bit of a taste of Heaven, 19:25 ok, the "eye has not seen, the ear has not heard," 19:28 it doesn't even enter into the mind of man 19:33 what Heaven is like, a little taste 19:36 of what the Bible tells us about Heaven. 19:38 In Revelation, chapter 21 verse 4, the Bible tells us 19:58 In Heaven, we will have eternal 20:00 salvation, and remain with Jesus, 20:02 in Heaven we'll be like Christ, in heaven 20:05 we'll be eternally present with Christ all the time! 20:10 In Heaven we will reign with Christ, 20:11 in Heaven we will be judges with Him, 20:14 in Heaven we will see God, 20:16 in Heaven we will experience the eternal weight of glory. 20:19 Child of God, in Heaven we will experience 20:23 that perfect knowledge, and 20:24 we will have fullness of glory and joy. 20:27 Yes, in heaven my friends 20:28 in my Father's home we will have no more sickness, 20:34 no more cancer, no more ailments, no more old age 20:39 no more knocking knees, no more heart attacks. 20:40 In Heaven there'll be no more hunger or thirst, 20:44 there'll be no more hunger or starvation. 20:50 In Heaven the redeemed will eat of the Tree of Life, 20:56 yes, in Heaven we will drink of the water of life, 20:59 we will be praising God with the angels. 21:03 All through eternity in Heaven there will be sinlessness, 21:09 a sinless perfect environment! 21:12 In Heaven we will have true rest, 21:16 true retirement, compensations abounding 21:19 fringe benefits and topped off with eternal life. 21:23 Children of God, in Heaven there'll be peace. 21:26 No more wars in Heaven. 21:29 You and I will be with our Father. 21:33 You see, Revelation 7:15-17 has something I would like 21:42 to share with you... 22:34 There is a misconception about God, 22:37 that God our Father is such 22:38 a distant God, not caring, 22:41 who is no longer in existence or 22:43 who just left the world out there or who, 22:46 even among some Christians believe 22:48 their Father is such a stern, firm, mean Father. 22:54 But the Bible tells us that God is the One 23:02 who will wipe away every tear from our eyes. 23:06 Humm, it takes a kind person, it takes a Holy God. 23:12 God tells us about Himself, He is gracious, merciful, 23:24 long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth. 23:29 Giving mercy to all those throughout their generations 23:37 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin 23:40 "For God so loved the world 23:42 that He sent His only begotten Son 23:45 that whosoever believes in Him 23:48 will not perish but have everlasting life." 23:52 Our Father does not change, 23:56 He is the same yesterday, today and forever. 24:03 And He says, "I am God, I am the Lord, I change not. " 24:08 I really wish, I really do wish 24:15 to meet with you in Heaven. 24:18 You see, there is only one way 24:21 that we can do that, 24:23 you and I, by the special mercies of God, 24:27 if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, 24:31 we'll be able to do that. 24:35 Accept Him as your personal Savior. 24:38 His free gift accept and He will give you the power 24:41 to live a life, to live that life 24:44 that is pleasing to Him. 24:47 Accept Him now. 24:51 Confess your sins and repent of your sins 24:56 and the Lord will give you refreshment of your spirit. 24:59 to strengthen, to support, to encourage you 25:04 to give you that power to walk in newness of life. 25:07 And it is my prayer that after hearing today's message 25:13 that you can find God 25:16 a loving Father, a holy God who lives in another realm 25:22 in Heaven and we here on Earth. 25:25 That relationship, that Father, son or daughter relationship 25:31 is not hindered by distance, 25:34 is not restricted by our sinfulness and His holiness, 25:39 He is holy because there is no sin in Him. 25:41 He is holy and that's why he pulls us to Himself, 25:45 that's why He has provided a bridge to us 25:49 through Jesus Christ our Savior. 25:52 Jesus is the bridge between us and our Father, 25:57 "He is the Way, the Truth, The Life. 26:00 And no one comes to the Father except through Him." 26:04 Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ today? 26:08 Because He is the One who has overcome, 26:14 He is the one who came and died, 26:16 the One who died and has resurrected, 26:19 the One who lives forevermore. 26:21 It is He who lives and is seated at the right hand of God. 26:27 He's ministering for you and me, 26:30 in the presence of God He is pleading our case, 26:32 yes, He intercedes for us. 26:39 Are you willing to accept Him today? 26:41 Let us pray, Father, 26:44 that man, that woman, that child who is willing 26:50 to accept you right now, Father, we pray 26:52 please accept them. 26:53 Show them your glory, show them your peace, 26:55 give them that assurance that their sins have been forgiven. 26:59 Oh Lord, and we ask that You give them the Holy Spirit, 27:02 to give them the strength to live a new life. 27:05 We ask also, Father, that You give them that assurance that 27:09 there is peace in their hearts right now because 27:16 they've accepted You. 27:17 We ask it, do it in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 27:21 Amen. 27:24 Thank you for listening today, 27:28 and we are hoping the Lord will bless you, 27:34 and may the Lord keep you and give you peace. 27:38 May His countenance shine mightily 27:42 and precious upon your face and those of your children 27:46 and those of your relatives in your family. 27:48 May the Lord bless you and keep you, 27:50 and may He continue to guide you and give you the strength 27:53 to live a new life in Jesus. 27:56 Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17