2005-12-11 Communion Dedication – Baldwin Christian Church 

People who don’t know God think that He hears them because they pray long prayers.  That’s not just my opinion; that is what Jesus said immediately before this passage we’re about to read.  He explained that our Father already knows what we need, even before it enters into our minds to ask Him for it.  This knowledge should change our whole approach to prayer, so Jesus says... 

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Jesus was raised a Jew, and it wasn’t normal for a Jew to call God “Father”.  Even to this day, Jews consider His name with great reverence, so that when they write the word “God”, they put a dash between the “G” and the “d”.  We could learn a lesson from their show of respect for His holy name, but their hope of salvation is based on being related by blood to Abraham, the man they do call “father”.  If you believe in Jesus, your relationship with the Father has changed.  The veil separating ordinary folks from the throne and the very presence of God was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:38).  Jesus is “the Way” (John 14:6).  Jesus made the way for us.  We don’t have to fear intimacy and communion with the Father because our relationship with Him is certain.  Our relationship with the Father is found in Jesus.  If our relationship with Him were based on genealogies and bloodlines, there would always be reason for doubt to creep in.  Even one little mistake in the family tree could put me outside of the covenant God made with Abraham. 

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

You see Jesus is the Father, but if the words of the prophet aren’t good enough, Jesus gave us another reason to be certain of our relationship with the Father.  When He rose from the grave, He told Mary Magdalene “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God (John 20:17).  He chose to reveal this wonderful truth and hope first to Mary Magdalene, a woman that had seven devils in her before she came to know Jesus. 

What’s holding you back from your relationship with the Father today?  He’s in heaven, He already knows what we need, even His name should hold a special place in our hearts, and yet He tells us in Hebrews 4:16, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Ever have doubts about what to ask?  Ever been afraid to ask?  Acknowledge the Father for who He is and where He is, reverence His name, come boldly before His throne and ask in faith, not in unbelief.  What a wonderful, loving Father we serve!  Let us remember Jesus, born in the flesh, but living to do the will of His Father.  Let us remember Him each and every day.  Let us continually thank Him for what He did, and let us revere His holy name in every thing we do.