HomeARC ML 1903
THE KINGDOM PRAYER! DO 1903 1/85
--Names & Personalities of God, We Know the Author, Obedience
--Do It Now, Forgiveness, Sanctification.
1. (DAD SINGS, "'TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS," "SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER" & "HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION.") Who wrote that? (Fam: Martin Luther.)--The Lord! It comes from the Bible! Those are Scriptures!--Ha! I think it was Martin Luther who wrote the hymn, but the Lord really wrote the Words! We're singing for a purpose now, because someone's outside listening to see if we can be heard! And I'm talking real loud to see if he can hear me like I talk when I'm teachin'! Hallelujah! PTL! TYJ! Amen? I'm apt to get up to that volume when I get excited! So what about another song real quick. (Fam: "Be Ready"?) Okay, that's a good one! (Sings: "When Jesus comes.") Amen! Shall we pray? Who feels led to lead us this morning? (Sara prays) Amen! And all the people said amen, praise the Lord! Hallelujah! TYJ! Amen, amen, amen! Why don't we pray the Lord's Prayer together now? Okay? We're going to pray the Kingdom Prayer that the Lord Himself taught us to pray: (Prays the Kingdom Prayer) PTL!
2. I'VE ALWAYS THREATENED OR PROMISED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE SERMONETTE ON THAT LORD'S PRAYER SOMETIME, BUT I NEVER REMEMBER TO GET AROUND TO IT. Did I once upon a time? Is it in print? Well, let's just run through it & see what it says real quick, shall we? First, who are we praying to? (Fam: Our Father.) And of course we always pray in Jesus' name. He said, "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in My Name, I will give it you." (Jn.15:16) So we pray to the Father or we can pray straight to Jesus. It doesn't matter whatever way you like to pray, but just be sure you pray in Jesus' name or it won't do you a bit of good! I remember one woman who always kept saying "Father God," or the preachers say, "Almighty God"! Well, you don't know what God they're talking to unless they pray in Jesus' name! Since Jesus was actually teaching the prayer, He of course didn't have to even say "in Jesus' name." There are plenty of other places where He said so, & that was one of them. He Himself said, "Whatsoever ye ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it you." PTL?
3. "OUR FATHER"--& WHERE IS HE? (FAM: IN HEAVEN!) "Which art in Heaven. Hallowed be Thy name." What does hallowed mean? (Fam: Holy?) In a way, yes, but not exactly. What's the first part of that word? It reminds you of something we've had in our art a lot! (Fam: Halos!) Halo'd! Glory be to Thy Name, in other words! A halo is a form of glory, the glory of God! "Hallowed be"--halo'd be--"Thy Name!" That's what it means!--Holy & glorified & held in honour & holiness.
4. AND WHAT IS HIS NAME? I'm really going to shock some people here now today! You've been praying this prayer all your life & you still don't even know what some of it means! (Fam: Holy?) His Name is holy, but I'm talking about specifically. (Fam: I Am.) That's one of'm. He's got lots of'm. Some more? (Fam: The Alpha & Omega.) Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End. Actually Jesus Himself said that. (David: The Light.) Jesus is the Light. Can you think of some Old Testament names for God before they knew much about Jesus? (David: Jehovah.) And that's the same in Hebrew as we say whose Name in Greek? (Fam: Jesus.) We say the Greek form, Jesus, usually, & the Old Testament form is Jehovah, meaning exactly the same Person, the Anointed One, the Saviour. Yeshua ha Messiah is another one.
5. DID YOU KNOW THAT JOSHUA IS A FORM OF JESUS? It's the closest, actually, to our Greek form that we use when we say Jesus, which is actually anglicised. The Greek is more like the Latin or the Spanish, like Jesus or Iesous. Right? You can recognise the name of Jesus in almost any language. That's what the Swedes say too, Jesus (pronounced Yea'-sus). When my folks were talking together in Swedish I recognised a few words & that was one of them. So Joshua is one of the names of Jesus in the Old Testament. In fact in one place where it mentions Joshua in the Old Testament it's not talking about Joshua the Judge at all, it's talking about Jesus! (Zec.6:11-13) And one place in the New Testament where it says Joshua, again it means Jesus. I won't go into that now, though, we haven't got time. But Joshua is one of them, Jehovah is one of them.
6. ANYBODY ELSE REMEMBER ANY OF THE NAMES OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT? (Fam: Can we say one for Jesus?) Yes. (Fam: Emmanuel.) Very good. That's in the prophecy regarding the coming of Jesus. Another one? (Fam: Wonderful.) Well, that's good, you're right, but you're picking some of the hardest ones that I wouldn't have even thought of! I'm talking about some of the most common ones, the most commonly used throughout the Bible in the Old Testament. (Fam: The Holy One.) That's used sometimes too, the High & Holy One.
7. IT CALLS HIM GOD & THE LORD! You guys are trying to be too difficult! He uses that name throughout the Old Testament, but there are actually several different Hebrew words that are translated God. You guys insist on doing it the hard way! I think most of my life I've been trying to figure out easy ways to do things & easy ways for my students to learn things & easy ways to pass tests & easy ways for the guys to fix things around here. You guys just naturally think it's going to be something very difficult! Of course God is a translation, actually an English word which is translated from the original Hebrew, & where it calls Him God, it actually comes from several different Hebrew words. Adonai is one of them, which most Christian Hebrew scholars believe is actually one of the names of Jesus also, & which was later translated into Greek mythology as Adonis! Wasn't he the one who died & was resurrected every year?
8. YOU SEE HOW THIS MYTHOLOGY GOT ALL MIXED UP & ACTUALLY HAD SOME RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND? I've told you I always thought mythology had some background & some fact in some events of the past. But a lot of that stuff is passed on by word of mouth & it got so corrupted & so twisted it wound up Greek mythology. A god they called Zeus lived up on top of Mount Olympus in Greece. The Romans called him what? (Fam: Jupiter?)--Right! Don't be afraid to answer! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Better to have loved & lost than never to have loved at all! So try it! I'm not going to bawl you out for making a mistake! I'll compliment you if you hit it right! PTL!
9. WHAT ARE OTHER NAMES OF GOD? Well, you don't know the Hebrew but I'll tell you. I have mentioned this before that there is a plural name of God. (See ML #1305.) Jesus used it on the cross, only He used the singular form at that time. Elohim is the plural form, but Jesus, since He was Jesus & He was talking to His Father, what did He say on the cross? (Children: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?") "My God, my God, hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mt.27:46) The Jews have a hymn called "Eli, Eli," I used to play it on a record when I was a little boy. It's a famous old Jewish chant, "Eli, Eli." That's one of the names of God, but that's a singular form because Jesus was talking to His Father God. Some people call it "Ee'-lie, Ee'-lie, lama sabachthani," but actually in the Hebrew it's pronounced "Ay-lee Ay-lee."
10. HAD GOD FORSAKEN HIM?--FOR A MOMENT, YES. He had to turn His back on Jesus on the cross for a moment to let Him die & suffer like the sinner dies, without God, without Salvation. He had to take the punishment that the sinner suffers when he dies without God. God had to deliberately turn His back on His Own Son during His death, to let Him feel what you should have felt when you die. Some preachers try to twist that around & say, "Well, that didn't really mean that God had forsaken Him!" Actually the interpretation in the Bible in the New Testament says, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Which implies that He had really forsaken Him! I've heard preachers turn around & say, "My God, My God, & hast Thou forsaken Me?" In other words, "Have You also forsaken Me?"--Like it's just sort of a rhetorical question. But that's not so! God really had to turn His back on Him & forsake Him while He died on the cross! Think of that! That's how much the Lord loved you & how much Jesus loved you, to really suffer the death of a sinner on the cross!
11. BUT THEN FINALLY HE KNEW THAT GOD WAS NOT GOING TO FORSAKE HIM IN THE LONG RUN, SO WHAT DID HE SAY AS HE DIED? (Fam: "Father forgive them.") That's one thing He said. I've heard many many Good Friday sermons on the seven last words on the cross. Jesus said seven last things on the cross, & I'm not going to ask you for them now, but what did He say last? (Fam: "Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.") Right! "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit." (Luk.23:46) Are you trying to think of them all? Well, there are seven last things Jesus said on the cross & you can look it up some time.
12. BUT ELOHIM IS THE PLURAL FORM FOR GOD, SPELLED E-L-O-H-I-M, & I'VE GIVEN YOU THAT MANY TIMES BEFORE. Adonai, like Adonis, is literally the word for the Son of God as we interpret it today. Of course the Jews wouldn't confess that by any means, because they have a favourite saying, "Adonai, adonai, elohim, etc."--The actual literal translation of which from the Old Testament is, "The Lord our Gods are one God!" The Lord--Adonai. Who are we talking about usually when we say the Lord? (Fam: Jesus.) We're usually talking about Jesus when we're saying the Lord, & all the way through the New Testament it calls Him the Lord. So, Adonai is the Lord, meaning Jesus, really, & encompassing even more than that. "Our Gods are one God." Adonai Elohim--I've forgotten the last Hebrew word.
13. BUT ANYWAY, CONTRARY TO THE ACTUAL LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE HEBREW, THE JEWS VIOLATE THE INTERPRETATION & THEY CONSTANTLY QUOTE THAT. It's their favourite quotation in antagonism against Jesus! I've had Jews, I've had Rabbis just almost spit--I actually had one spit in my face once--but practically want to spit in your face or curse you to your face! They just hang onto it in desperation like they've got to remember that that's it & they mustn't let this Christian message get through to them: "The Lord our God is one God! The Lord my God is one God! The Lord our God is one God!" They go almost crazy on it! Because if they dare admit for a moment that it is the plural form--two plural forms are used in there--then they have to confess that the Old Testament, even their old Hebrew Scriptures, admit that God is a plural Personality. Even in our English translation of King James it is used in the first chapter of Genesis. And what does God say? Is He talking to Himself when He says, "Let Us make man in Our Own Image"? (Gen.1:26) But I didn't intend for this to be a lesson in Hebrew & on the Jews!
14. SO THE OTHER MOST COMMON NAME OF GOD USED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IS WHAT?--In English? If it doesn't say God, it usually says what? (Fam: The Lord.)--The Lord! You guys first picked the hardest ones! The usual are God & the Lord! And usually in the Old Testament if there is a representation of God in the flesh, such as God walking in the Garden with Adam. ...Who do you think was actually the One that was there walking with him? (Fam: Jesus!) Jesus! When the three men met Abraham out in the desert, on one occasion he called them all "my lords," but in another he said, "My Lord" (Gen.18:3), speaking to the chief One, & Who do you think it was? (Fam: Jesus!)--Our Lord, Jesus!
15. JESUS WAS CREATED IN THE VERY BEGINNING! "Oh, you mean Jesus was a creation?" Well, He was in a way part of God, but how do we know that? Where does it say that? (Fam: It says He was the first creation.) And where does it say that, anybody remember? It's in the Book we're studying, Revelation, in that first description of Jesus when He appeared to John. (Fam: "The beginning of the creation of God.") Exactly right! He was the beginning of the creation of God, & it's right in the first part of Revelation there. (Fam: Revelation 3:14.) There you are! Read it, Son, good for you! (Fam: "These things saith the Amen, the faithful & true witness, the beginning of the creation of God!") Revelation 3:14, how about that? Who was talking? (Davida: Jesus.)--Jesus! PTL? "The beginning of the creation of God!" Well, I didn't intend to get into a lesson on the names of God & the personalities of God, but there it is!
16. AND WHO ELSE WAS WITH GOD AT THE CREATION & EVEN BEFORE THE CREATION? (Davida: The Holy Spirit!) Very good, Honey. You didn't raise your hand, but nevertheless you had the right answer. It's usually customary & courtesy in class to raise your hand. But that's okay if you want to speak out. Most people have the habit of raising their hand & then I call on whoever I think needs to answer. Otherwise some people here would have all the answers & some people might never have an answer, I don't know! So the Holy Spirit, & what gender is She spoken of? Gender literally means sex. What sex is She spoken of in the Old Testament?--I already told you! (David: A girl.) Yes! She's spoken of as a woman or as female. Can anybody quote any of those verses about Her? What book are they found in mostly? (Fam: Proverbs.)--Where Her name is called what? (Fam: Wisdom.) "Wisdom" is the main name given to Her in Proverbs. The Holy Spirit above all is Love, but She's certainly Wisdom! And She's spoken of time & time again in the female gender of the words as "She", "Her", etc., so you ought to find at least one of those. The chapter that comes to me is the 8th Chapter of Proverbs.
17. (FAM: "THE LORD POSSESSED ME IN THE BEGINNING OF HIS WAY, BEFORE HIS WORKS OF OLD. I WAS SET UP FROM EVERLASTING, FROM THE BEGINNING, OR EVER THE EARTH WAS" [EDITED: "(Pro.8:22,23"].) Think of that! She was there before the creation of the World! There are other verses that say that Jesus was there before the creation of the World too, but He was the beginning of the creation of God. According to Catholic doctrine you think of Jesus as being part of God, & in that sense it's true that He has been forever, but it's hard for some people to understand in the literal sense of a personality of God having a body even before He was born. He had a body, He had a "theophany" as theologists call it, a God-body, in which God appeared to man in the form of His Son Jesus long before Jesus was ever born! He walked with Adam in the Garden. In fact, He was there at the creation of the World!
18. WHAT DOES JOHN SAY ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD, THE EARTH & ALL THAT SORT OF THING? (Fam: "In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God! The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, & without Him was not anything made that was made" [EDITED: "Jn.1:1-3"].) Who's that talking about? (David: Jesus!) Jesus, of course. So He was in the beginning, & He was the One God used to make the Worlds & the creation, think of that! And He Himself was the creation of God, at least His bodily form which was in existence even then & could walk in the Garden with Adam.
19. I'VE TALKED ABOUT GOD RECENTLY, THE FACT THAT GOD IS EVERYWHERE, IN EVERYTHING, ALL-POWERFUL. They use three great big theological words for Him: Omniscient, He knows everything; omnipresent, He's everywhere; & omnipotent, He's all-powerful!
20. ALL RIGHT, AT LEAST WE'VE GOTTEN THAT FAR--"OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME." THEN WHAT? (FAM: "THY KINGDOM COME!") And don't just stop there, you've got to put the whole sentence or phrase together or it doesn't really make sense: "Thy Kingdom come"--where? (Fam: On Earth.) On Earth! Boy, there's another one to prove that God's Kingdom is not going to be up somewhere in the far off wide blue yonder, but right here on Earth! And not only in the Millennium, but forever! "Thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is ..." (Fam: "In Heaven.") In other words, as it is now in Heaven, Thy Kingdom come on Earth. You could interpolate the word "now" there in parentheses if you wanted to, because that's what it means. "Thy Kingdom come on Earth"--in the future--"as it is (now) in Heaven."
21. AND HOW IS IT IN HEAVEN? WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE IT'S LIKE IN HEAVEN? Good night, do you mean to tell me we've been making all these Posters & teaching you all these things about Heaven & you guys don't even have the tiniest inkling of what it's like?--Or are you just afraid to open your big mouths? Where's Heaven? What's Heaven? Well, there are Seven Heavens, so you've got to be careful when you're talking about Heaven! The First Heaven is what? (Fam: The Earth's atmosphere.)--The Atmospheric Heavens! That's the one that's going to catch on fire & roll away with a great noise at the end of the Battle of what? (David: Gog & Magog.) That's the one Peter's talking about & that's the one Isaiah's talking about when it says they're going to roll back like a scroll & depart with a great noise! (Isa.34:4; 2Pet.3:10, Rev.6:14) Have you ever seen gas when it suddenly catches fire? It just rolls like a scroll! Have you ever seen a gasoline fire? You pour a strip of gasoline on the ground & you start one end & just whooooooo, like that, it rolls! The Heavens are going to depart like a scroll, roll up & fire away!
22. WHAT'S THE SECOND HEAVEN? (David: The stratosphere?)--Space, really, or you could say stratosphere maybe. From then on we're kind of indefinite. We know there's a Third Heaven, & how do we know that? (Fam: Paul said someone was caught up to the Third Heaven.) He really meant himself but he wasn't sure because it was a kind of a dream or a vision & he didn't want to be bragging. He had enough trouble with that, that's why he had a thorn in the flesh, so he wasn't even going to brag & say it was he! But we're pretty sure from what he's saying that that's what he meant, it was he that was caught up to the Third Heaven. And what did he see there? Didn't he see things that couldn't be spoken of at that time? You look it up sometime, that's what I recall. (2Cor.12:2-7)
23. WELL MY GOODNESS, IF THERE ARE SEVEN HEAVENS, WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE TO GO, SO AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE LAST FOUR, MAYBE EVEN THE THIRD ONE, MIGHT EVEN BE THE HEAVENLY CITY! I have an idea that's where Paul probably went. Where else would he go? If he went up to see the Lord, where else would he have gone but up to the Holy City? And if that's the Third Heaven, think how many more Heavens we've got to go that may yet be revealed to us in Eternity! (Fam: Maybe those are some of the New Worlds to Conquer!) Yes, exactly! So, praise the Lord! That's the beginning! Wait'll you see, folks! As the old hawkers in the sideshows used to say, "It's only the beginning, folks!--Only the beginning! What you're seeing out here is only the beginning, come on inside & see the rest!"
24. SO "THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." Well, that means certainly in the Heavenly City, right? And that's even a fair-sized Kingdom there, 1500 miles long & 1500 miles wide, that's almost as big as Europe & half as big as the United States. That's a pretty good-sized country if it wasn't anything but the City! Right? I figured that out for you one time, that it was 2-1/4 million square miles! Then you've got to count all the levels it could be & it could hold billions & billions of people in the City alone, not even to speak of all that outside Earth with no more seas! Of course, the sceptics don't believe it.
25. --LIKE THAT MOVIE I SAW OF HENRY FONDA ACTING THE PART OF CLARENCE DARROW, the famous anti-Bible, anti-Christ, anti-God atheist Jew who defended two Jewish boys who killed another of their playmates just for fun, Leopold & Loeb, sons of wealthy Jews in Chicago. He defended those boys! He defended all kinds of horrible causes. He was obviously virtually an out-&-out Communist & he was finally pretty well discredited. They don't tell you much about that, how he died in dishonour & disfavour & unpopular, & with most of the U.S. turned against him. All you ever hear about Clarence Darrow is the cases he won at the height of his glory.
26. AND WHAT'S HIS MOST FAMOUS CASE? (FAM: THE SCOPE'S MONKEY TRIAL.) The famous Scope's Monkey Trial. And who was he fighting? (Fam: William Jennings Bryan.)--William Jennings Bryan, a man of God who defended the Bible & God in that trial & who cursed Evolution! So Clarence Darrow was defending what? (Fam: The Devil!)--The Devil & Evolution! And Henry Fonda playing the part of Clarence Darrow began to rant & rave all these curses & things against the Bible & against God! Of course, this is quite famous, this one-part dramatisation where one actor does all the talking & pretends he's being So-&-so. The Jews have promoted it & made it quite famous. He blasts the Bible & says, "How could this be? How could that be?"--Using all the typical old atheist arguments about how could so-&-so be if that was so-&-so & blah blah, everything to undermine faith in the Word of God, the same old atheistic arguments that I've heard so much & that so many famous atheists use against the Bible.
27. WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO WASTE OUR TIME LISTENING TO THAT KIND OF GARBAGE BECAUSE WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS TRUE, AMEN? YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONVINCE US! How do we know the Bible's true? (Fam: It works!) That's one of the best proofs of all, but there's even a better proof than that. (David: So many prophecies have been fulfilled.) Lots of prophecies are fulfilled, but there's even a better one than that. (Fam: Stood the test of time.) There's a better one than that! "I thought that's all you gave us, Dad!" (Fam: It's the Word of God.) How do you know it's the Word of God? Peter said you'd better be ready at all times to give an answer & the reason for your faith when you're asked! (1Pet.3:15) Well, those are a lot of good reasons, but they're not the most important reason.
28. MY MOTHER USED TO TELL A STORY ABOUT THIS GIRL WHO WAS ASSIGNED SOME BOOK TO READ IN COLLEGE & she started & she thought it was kind of dry & uninteresting, so she threw it in the top of her closet & thought she'd read it later. Later on this man came to the college & lectured & she found out during the course of his lecture that he was the author of the book! And she so fell in love with him on his visit to the college that after hearing his lectures she immediately went home & dug the book out of the top of her closet & buried herself in the book to read it!--Why? How come the book was all of a sudden so interesting, whereas she thought it was dry & uninteresting before?--She knew the author! Have you got the answer?
29. WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON WHY YOU KNOW THE BIBLE IS TRUE? (FAM: WE KNOW THE AUTHOR!) You know the Author! That's something nobody can disprove! That's something that is the most convincing of all. You know the Bible is true because you know the Author & you know He wouldn't have written you any lies, you know what He says is right! Well, I'm sorry if I didn't bring out that point before, but that's one of the most important reasons you know the Bible's true, you know the Author! Before somebody introduced you to the Author, you probably didn't care much about the Bible & didn't know whether it was true or not, never read it & maybe didn't even believe it. But now since we've told you that it's Jesus & you've been introduced to Jesus & received Jesus in your hearts, all of a sudden you're interested in the Bible for the first time maybe in your life, because now you know the Author & you want to see what He had to say! Amen?
30. WELL, HOW FAR DID WE GET WITH THE LORD'S PRAYER SO FAR? (FAM: "THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.") How did the little boy say God's will was done in Heaven?--When somebody asked the little boy, "What does that mean, 'Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven'?" (David: Right now!)--Yes! What is it really to do the will of God? (Fam: Right now!) What is it to do the will of your parents & caretakers when they tell you to do something? (Fam: Right now!) If you don't do it right now then you're not obeying, even if you plan to do it later. Mama & Daddy want it done right now! Your teachers & nurses want it done now, not later, or you're apt to run off & play & forget about doing it later. What have I told the boys when we go around in maintenance & look at things that need to be done? What have I told you boys many times? (Fam: Do it now!) The best time to do it is to do it right now while we're thinking about it! Right now while we're standing here looking at it, we might as well do it right now! That's the best time to do it--now! Do it now! That's a good motto, do it now! Don't put it off.
31. AS WE'VE OFTEN SAID, WHEN YOU'RE WITNESSING & YOU'RE ASKING FOR A DECISION, YOU GET THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DECISIONS. You always get a decision, & of course the kind you want is what? (Fam: Yes.) You want "yes," but the kind you probably most often get is "no"! But very often somebody is like a King Agrippa, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!" (Acts 26:28) He was probably putting it off, but he apparently put it off too long because I think he died without the Lord, as I recall, according to history. Paul was witnessing to him, the famous dissertation before King Agrippa. My Grandfather used to dramatise that & it was quite dramatic & I used to just sit there enthralled! He was quite an actor, you know! He was an actor before he was a preacher.
32. BUT WHEN PEOPLE SAY, "NOT NOW, MAYBE LATER," THERE'S A BIG LONG WORD THAT WE USE FOR THAT, MEANING TO PUT THINGS OFF! (FAM: PROCRASTINATION!)--And actually that is just as good as a no. If they die before they decide to say yes, God accepts that as a no. (David: Like the guy who was driving the beer barrels.) (See ML #1203.)--Right! They put it off & say, "Later, maybe later!"--Well, as far as God's concerned, that's the same as a no. So dear children, to say "later" or delay or stall or put it off is just the same as saying no! And when Mama tells you to do something & you don't do it right away, that's just like saying no! If Grandpa tells you to do something & you say, "Oh, I will in a minute, Grandpa," that's as good as a no for right this minute, that's a no right now. So that's not good, is it? The best kind of obedience is right now! PTL!
33. WELL, WE'RE GETTING THROUGH THE LORD'S PRAYER ANYWAY! "ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."--SO HOW IS IT DONE IN HEAVEN? (FAM: RIGHT NOW!) And God wants it done that way on Earth too. Aren't we going to put that off to the Millennium? Where's the Kingdom of God right now?--Not only in Heaven, we are the Kingdom of God right now! The Kingdom of God is within you!--In other words, it's you! So if God's will is going to be done right now, who's going to do it? (Fam: Us!)--You! Right now! That's already supposed to be true with us! We're supposed to be doing it right now! PTL! All right! What comes next?
34. (FAM: "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.") That's something we all need, & of course He wants us to pray for it & ask for it so we can give Him the thanks for it when we get it. Our daily bread, that means all of your earthly needs. And what else?
35. (FAM: "AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.") To make it real simple, "Forgive us for our sins the same way we forgive people that sin against us." That's pretty plain, isn't it? He said right after that, "For if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive you your trespasses," if you don't forgive others. (Mat.6:15)--That is, of course, when they're repentant & they say they're sorry.
36. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FORGIVE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T SORRY, BELIEVE IT OR NOT! But if your brother comes to you 70 times seven times & asks you to forgive him, you've got to forgive him every time. (Mat.18:21-22)--If he's sorry. Of course, if he keeps that up for very long, pretty soon you're going to figure he doesn't mean it. If he keeps doing it over & over again, obviously he's not very sorry. Like Saul, he kept telling David he was sorry but he kept doing it again, & each time he did it worse.
37. SO WE'RE TO ASK THE LORD TO FORGIVE US THE SAME WAY WE FORGIVE OTHERS. And if you're unforgiving & you don't forgive others even when they're sorry, the Lord's not going to forgive you when you're sorry. That's a pretty strong Scripture! So you'd better be loving & kind & forgiving or God's not going to be loving & kind & forgiving with you! God's a just God as well as a merciful God. What's next?
38. (FAM: "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.") Well, that seems to contradict another Scripture that the Lord doesn't tempt us. Well, this one literally means a matter of testing, as He says, "more than you're able to bear." "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!" PTL! We want the Lord to deliver us from evil, don't we? That's pretty simple.
39. AND THEN WE GET BACK TO THE KINGDOM AGAIN: "FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM & THE POWER!" Do you know what power is?--Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow!--That's power! I always like to give an illustration the kids will appreciate! Even the grown-ups appreciate these childish little exhibitions of mine! "The power & the glory!" Praise God! How long? (Fam: "For ever & ever!")--Forever! In one Gospel it says "forever," another says "forever & ever." I think the Catholics usually just say "forever," Protestants say "forever & ever." It depends on which Gospel you're going by.
40. --AND THAT COMES IN HANDY TO KNOW THAT THAT PRAYER'S IN AT LEAST TWO GOSPELS THAT I KNOW OF! Dear Brother Brown who came out sometimes to help me build the church in Arizona, he was a Holiness fellow & he believed in absolute sanctification, "entire sanctification" they call it, real Holiness, that once you had that experience of genuine holiness, you couldn't sin any more!--The Holiness doctrine of sinless perfection. That was kind of a form of Eternal Security they had. That was a little bit better than some of these guys that knew they could sin & kept sinning & sinning & sinning & every few minutes they were saved or unsaved. At least these people believed that you could have what they call the "second work of grace," which actually we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit, & once you've got this entire sanctification you are absolutely washed completely, perfectly clean & you could never sin any more!--That's what some Holiness folks believe!
41. I TOLD YOU THE STORY ABOUT MY MOTHER WHEN HER GREAT AUNT SAID, "NINA VIRGINIA, I HAVE BEEN SAVED, SANCTIFIED, FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT & I CANNOT SIN ANY MORE!" My Mother thought that was marvellous to think what a holy Aunt she had, her rich old Great Aunt Amanda who owned some kind of a department store or something--until the day she threw the flat iron at Uncle John! I don't know whether you know what a flat iron is or not, but the original irons that you ironed clothes with were little kind of oval-shaped things with a point on each end & about that thick & about that big & you'd set'm on the old wood stove or the coal stove to get'm hot! While one was getting hot, you were ironing with the other one that was already hot, & when that one got too cool, you switched irons. They had a little handle that fit either iron, kind of a little wire handle, a coil wire so it didn't get too hot. You put one iron there & you picked up the other hot iron & kept on ironing the clothes. They didn't have steam irons or electric irons in those days! But one day dear Aunt Amanda got so mad at Uncle John she threw the flat-iron at him, & my Mother lost all faith in the Holiness doctrine of entire sanctification & sinless perfection!
42. SO BROTHER BROWN CLAIMED HE COULDN'T SIN! You know, two workmen working on construction do a lot of talking while they're working, you have time to talk. In fact, that's why they used to say that one teenager can do twice as much work as two teenagers, because they didn't have anybody to talk to! But on construction you do have time to talk & a lot of times we'd get to discussing religion & doctrine. He was a real good man, I'll tell you, about as saintly as you could get! If anybody was entirely sanctified, he was it!--Ha! His religion consisted almost entirely of don'ts! He didn't do this & he didn't do that & he didn't smoke & he didn't play cards & he didn't go to movies, he didn't dance, he didn't so-&-so & so-&-so! Of course, the trouble with most of those folks is they don't witness either, they don't win souls, they don't go to the mission field! Their whole religion consists of don'ts, what they don't do, & they don't do a lot of things!--Including a lot of things they ought to do!
43. WELL, WE WERE VERY GOOD FRIENDS & HE WAS A REAL SWEET MAN & ONE OF OUR BEST CHURCH MEMBERS, & when he wasn't working on some other job, he'd come over & help me on the church.--And he taught me a lot of things! He was an experienced builder. My first wife's father taught me a lot of things too, he also was an experienced builder. I had all the plans made out, but he checked them over & made some suggestions, etc. So I did have some help, but I had to do most of the work by myself most of the time.
44. BUT BROTHER BROWN SAID, "YOU KNOW, I'M WHOLLY SANCTIFIED, I'VE HAD THAT EXPERIENCE & I CAN'T SIN ANY MORE!" I said, "Oh, come on now, Brother Brown, don't you ever pray the Lord's Prayer?" "Oh yes, we pray it every day!" "Well, you know it says there about transgressions & transgressors, 'Forgive us our transgressions as we forgive others who transgress against us'." He said, "Oh, that doesn't mean sins, that's just mistakes!" (Maria: That's what they say, I grew up with it!) Here's a confirmation from a good old Holiness girl over here! (Maria: But I didn't understand how you could backslide all the time then if you'd gotten entirely sanctified!) Well, the trouble is, most of them haven't arrived there. Not too many are such saints in the Holiness churches who have really gotten completely, wholly sanctified. There were a lot of them on their way who were still falling frequently, what they call "falling from grace." (Family laughs) Well, don't be too proud of yourself, you fall too!--Only you don't fall from grace, thank the Lord!
45. YOU KNOW, THE METHODISTS BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN BE SAVED & LOST & SAVED & LOST & SAVED & LOST, YOU CAN LOSE YOUR SALVATION, & the old joke was that the Methodist was arguing with the Baptist who believed in Eternal Security. The Baptist said he couldn't be unsaved, but the Methodist said, "We definitely believe in backsliding & we practice it too!"--And that sure was the case of the Holiness people! They believed you could backslide, & in their terminology that meant to be lost. They believed in it & they practiced it too, that's for sure! We've had lots of people in the Family who believed in it & practiced it too!
46. BUT DEAR OLD BROTHER BROWN, I SAID, "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE OTHER VERSION IN THE OTHER GOSPEL WHERE THE LORD HIMSELF SAYS, 'FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US?' (Luk.11:4) Wasn't that the same prayer? Wasn't He talking to the same disciples? Isn't He talking to us?" He said, "That's, of course, every time you get saved, you ask the Lord to forgive you for your sins. That doesn't mean that once you're wholly sanctified that you can commit a sin. People who are wholly sanctified don't have to pray that like that!"--Ha! They're pretty hard-headed!
47. WELL, ANYHOW, PRAISE GOD! "FOREVER & EVER!" AT LEAST WE GOT TO THE LAST WORDS! It took me nearly an hour to talk about that lesson on the Lord's Prayer, but what's the use of you praying the Lord's Prayer all the time if you don't really know what it means? Now won't it mean a little bit more to you when you pray it? Okay, that was lesson number one this morning! It would be nice if you'd separate them & that way they won't accuse me of having such long lessons!--Ha! That wasn't a very long lesson, was it? PTL!--GBY!--Keep prayin' it!--And obeying it!--Amen?--In Jesus' name, amen!
Copyright (c) 1997 by The Family
