Pray for Reign

Pray for Reign: The Lord's Prayer

Sermon notes from teaching series 

by Senior Teaching Minster Rick Atchley

The Hills Church August 2017

"Teach us to Pray"

•  Don't pray to impress others or improve our own situation. 
• Lord, teach me to pray. Jesus is an expert on how to talk to God.

"Our Father Who art in heaven"

• Our God is a really good Father. In this prayer, Jesus teaches us to come to God as our Father, to approach God as His child. He CHOSE to adopt you. 
• The CEO of heaven and earth, through Whom all things are possible, who has all perspective and all power is accessible to me...but God answers prayers for His reign not ours.

"Hallowed be Thy name"

• Holy is your name - honor God in your petition. The first thing you pray for is for God to be honored.
• Pray about the things that are important to God. "God here is my life, I want to honor you."

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven"

• Prayer is not for the enhancement of my kingdom. My reign is over. 
• Prayer is not a way of bending the will of God but should be used to discern the will of God.
• Prayer wants what God wants. "Thy Kingdom Come". Tell me what I should want. "God isn't answering my prayers=God is not giving me what I want"
• Prayer is not to advance MY kingdom. 
• YOUR kingdom come....a declaration of war...we need more heaven on earth
• Pray with an expectation of victory, for the enemy to be displaced and pushed back.
• Surrender to Him as King. 
• Don't use God - ask Him to use me to help bring His Kingdom.
• Obediently enlist, don't give Him your wish list.

"Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"

• Through prayer we are able to get through each day. 
• Worry weighs a person down - give them to God.
• 3 challenges we face every day: 

1. Our daily bread: literally & metaphorically. Be through with worrying about basic needs. God is not our butler. Provide what I need to be a kingdom person. Replace worry with gratitude and generosity. Contentment and stewardship. 
2. Forgiveness. Be done with regret. Jesus has taken my overdrawn account of everything I owe. Be debt free and feel debt free. I depend on His grace. God wants us to stay out of "debt" as much as possible. 
3. Resentment. Following Jesus isn't a promise that you won't be hurt by others. A debt collecting heart is not a heart where God reigns. Forgive debts as a response of gratitude to my Father. The best way to love is to forgive. Dispense mercy. Refusing to forgive is a declaration that you are on the thrown. Choosing to forgive is living in Gods kingdom. What God pours on me I will pour on others. 

"Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"

• Living under the reign of God means you will come under attack. 
• Reign through me before the storm comes to me. 
• Deliver us from the evil one. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
• Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers. We need the prayers of others. Pronouns in this prayer are plural (our, we, us) - we are not only children, we are part of a big family. The enemy pounces on the isolated Christian. 
• Trust in the delivering power of God. You can not fight the battle in our own strength. 
• Would Jesus teach us to ask for something that wasn't available? No, Jesus knows that God can deliver. 
• God takes away sins power over you through victory on the cross. The evil one has to back off. Submit yourselves to God and the devil will flee as you resist him. 
• Jesus faced the devil as a man for forty days with 2 weapons: the word of God and prayer. 
• In the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is our God:

                And though this world, with devils filled,
                Should threaten to undo us,
                We will not fear, for God hath willed
                His truth to triumph through us:
                The Prince of Darkness grim,
                We tremble not for him;
                His rage we can endure,
                For lo! his doom is sure,
                One little word shall fell him.

                That "little word" is Jesus. 

"For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever. Amen."

• Gods kingdom is coming! Deliverance is sure. Restoration is promised. 

Lord, reign in me. Reign in me as a witness that You reign in all. 

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of Angel armies 

Is always by my side

Reckless Love of God

I've been struggling. Its embarrassing to admit it even though I know we all do it. I hate it when I am weak, when I am so weary that the lies of the evil one begin to sound like truth. Thanks be to God for placing friends in my life that are not afraid to speak words of truth over me and pray for me. Thanks be to the Holy Spirit that leads me gently into His presence when I just want to curl up in my bed and cry or run away from home.

If you ever been rejected or deserted by someone you love, you may be able to relate to how I've been feeling. Just as you begin to feel like you've healed, something happens that irritates the wound. And that's when the evil one sees a chance to pounce.  The accuser wants me to believe that I will be forever alone, that I am unloved and unlovable, undesirable, damaged goods, too much trouble, worthless and unworthy of pursuit. These are all lies, deep down I know it, but in the silence of loneliness, these lies can be very loud.

Instead of running into the arms of the One who promises that He will never leave me or forsake me, I've wrestled with Him questioning His love. Thanks be to God that He is forever faithful and will not let me go no matter how hard I fight Him. He will not let me go.

Over the last several weeks I've had to make myself go to church. All this wrestling has left me drained and grouchy. I've been on the outs with God and really haven't wanted to spend time with Him, but the Spirit wouldn't leave me alone and I had to go. Arms crossed, heels dug in...I will be here, but I will not be moved. Uh, wrong.  I listened to the words of this song as the congregation sang and tears streamed down my face.

Before I spoke a word

You were singing over me

You have been so, so

Good to me

Before I took a breath

You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh the overwhelming,

Never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down,

Fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming,

Never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was Your foe,

Still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so

Good to me

When I felt no worth

You paid it all for me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh the overwhelming,

Never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down,

Fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming,

Never-ending, reckless love of God

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

No lie You won't tear down 

Coming after me

He not only loves me with an unconditional, everlasting love but He PURSUES a relationship with me. The King of all creation desires a relationship with me. There is nothing that will stand in His way...He is crazy about me just the way I am. And the way He loves me is perfect, its exactly what I need. 

The first time I heard this song was four weeks ago. It has been sung at every Sunday service since. I laughed this morning as it began again ... Ok, Lord, I get it. I hear You. Thank you for being so in love with me. Thank You for Your relentless love that will not break my heart, won't give up, won't walk out on me.  What can I say, what can I do, but offer my heart, oh God, completely to You. 

Break Every Chain

There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.

The words to the song we sang during worship service this morning resonated in my ears all day: there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. Every chain. 

Chains are used to bind, confine, restrain, restrict; chains withhold freedom. What are the chains that can bind a heart and mind? 

Addiction is a chain that entraps in many forms - substance, stimuli, approval, performance. Chains also bind through anxiety, depression, fear, low self-esteem, past failures, betrayal, unforgiveness, bitterness. 

So I raise the question to myself: what chains are weighing me down, cutting into my wrists, restraining me from freedom and fulfillment? What chains am I willfully holding onto because they give me a warped sense of security? What does it take to loosen the chains and step into freedom? 

There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. 

Scripture is full of instances where powerful things happened when they were spoken and done in the name of Jesus. The Lord Himself encourages us to pray in His name and the Psalms & Proverbs are full of promises that His name is a strong tower and those that run to it will be safe. 

In the name of Jesus, let the chains that are holding me back be severed. Lord, shake loose the things that hinder me from being the woman you want me to be. Let the rusty chains of my perceptions about myself, my past, my pain, be eroded away by the Living Water of Your love. And instead, let Your grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. 

Take A Stand

I had dinner with a dear friend this week in an effort to be an encouragement and moral support to her during a difficult situation at work. She had an employee undermine her authority, slander her and make false claims and accusations. She was charged with the task of having to call him and clear up the situation. It is really difficult to be professional and civil when you want to punch somebody in the face. My counsel to her was to mostly listen and be slow to speak. Irate people love to stir others up. I've found that being calm under fire gives the agressor less fuel. As we talked before her phone conversation, we concurred that she needed to have a "stance statement", a phrase of truth that she could stick to if he became unreasonable. I was very proud of how she stuck to her guns, didn't retaliate, and repeatedly spoke the truth.

As I spent time with the Lord this week, He took her situation and used it to remind me of something that had gotten a little dusty in my memory. 

When the major storms of my life started to churn a few years back, I cried out in desperation to the Lord asking "why". He spoke this promise to my spirit: "This is for your good and for My glory". That is my "stance statement". The accuser has been after me lately, feeding me lies and making me feel defeated. He is a real jerk. BUT I know the truth. I know God's promises and He does not lie. His stance doesn't change and neither does His love for me. Everything that life throws at me, my Savior, the Redeemer of my story, PROMISES that He will use it for my good and for His glory. 

I choose to listen to truth. I choose not to be swayed by the lies of the accuser. I choose to take God at His word. Thank you Lord, for reminding me that You are my safe place, my defender, and that Your promises stand firm.