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“Prayer Lessons from Jesus,” Part Seven

You have probably noticed that we have recently moved into yet another election season. For me, part of the fun of these election seasons, is in watching for those unexpected moments of drama.

One of those moments that stands out in my memory occurred during the 2002 mid-term election season. Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone had been tragically killed in a plane crash just 11 days before the election. Former Vice-President Walter Mondale was tapped to be Wellstone’s replacement in the Minnesota senatorial race.

In the only debate between Mondale and his Republican counterpart Norm Coleman, Mondale came out swinging and he didn’t slow down a bit when the debate turned to the issue of abortion. He passionately asserted his pro-choice position and Coleman countered with a vigorous defense of his pro-life views. And then Mondale made a fateful mistake. He said, “Norm, this just points to one of the fundamental differences between you and me. You stand with the right to life crowd. And you’re on the wrong side of this issue. Norm, you are an arbitrary right to lifer and I am not.”

Coleman’s demeanor changed in an instant. Clearly speaking from the heart, he responded, “Mr. Vice-President, I take exception to your description of my position as arbitrary. My wife and I have had two babies die very early into their lives. One was a son, the other a daughter. Mr. Vice-President, I have a deep and profound respect for the value of human life. There is nothing arbitrary about my position.”

Mondale was thunderstruck. He stuttered and stammered his way through a very weak response, but he never recovered. He knew it and so did everyone else. Such is the power of real life, first hand, personal testimony.

As we come, this morning, to the seventh stage of our summertime journey through The Lord’s Prayer, we’re going to see the power of personal testimony vividly displayed in the closing statement of the prayer. Let’s begin by reading the prayer from the King James Version. (Matthew 6:9-13)

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Now, let’s read the prayer once again, but this time, let’s read from the NIV, the New International Version.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Did you notice anything different? I’m guessing that you did. In addition to the fact that the NIV uses language that sounds more familiar to our ears, you probably noticed that one entire phrase is missing from the New International Version of The Lord’s Prayer. The phrase, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever,” is not in the NIV. It’s also missing from the Revised Standard Version and from the New Revised Standard Version. In fact, it’s either missing completely or accompanied by an asterisk in virtually all of the modern translations because contemporary biblical scholars are virtually unanimous in the view that the oldest and best manuscripts do not include this phrase. In fact, this phrase does not appear in any manuscript until several hundreds of years after Jesus’ death. Which leads us to this question: “How did it get there and where did it come from?” The answers to that question tend to fall into one of two schools of thought.

Some say that Jesus actually ended the prayer with this phrase but it was inadvertently left out of some of the earliest manuscripts. They also point out that it’s possible that we might yet discover an even earlier manuscript that includes this phrase. And that’s certainly possible.

I side with the vast majority of contemporary biblical scholars in believing that the more likely answer is that at some point in the decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection the early Christians, as they used The Lord’s Prayer in their worship services, began to add this phrase as a fitting and powerful conclusion to Jesus’ prayer and, at some point, the later manuscripts began to reflect their worship practice. Now, does that conclusion threaten my confidence in the reliability of the scriptures? Not in the least. In fact, I am mightily encouraged and inspired as I reflect upon the significance of this phrase coming as a personal testimony from those dear Christian saints who came before us. And I think you will be, too, when you consider the context from which their testimony grows.

A context that begins deep in the Old Testament. The 29th chapter of 1 Chronicles tells the story of King David passing the throne of the nation of Israel to his son Solomon, who would assume the monumental task of building a magnificent temple to stand as a testimony to the majesty and greatness of God. To help raise the funds necessary for this monumental project, King David contributed enormous amounts of his own wealth. David’s sacrificial giving then inspired his leaders to follow his example and their sacrificial giving inspired the entire nation to follow suit. It was an amazing time of deep and shared sacrifice in service to God.

Yet, interestingly, as David reflects upon the significance of that experience…as he considers the importance of that moment in his life and in the life of God’s people…he doesn’t focus on the enormous sacrifice that he and the rest of the people have made. Instead, all David can think about, is the enormous blessing that God has given to them by allowing them to participate in such a holy endeavor. David is overwhelmed at the goodness of God for allowing them to have a part in something as precious as the ongoing work of establishing God’s Kingdom. And his gratitude to God moves him to write, in 1 Chronicles 29:14, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

David had walked with God and talked with God and followed God and through it all he had experienced, first hand God’s bountiful provision and faithfulness. And now, as he reflects upon this latest demonstration of God’s grace in allowing his people to participate in building a temple to reflect the glory of God, he simply could not contain his joy. So we’re told in 1 Chronicles 29:10-11, that David gathered all of the people together, stood before them and offered this testimony, “Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom...”

Did you catch that? Overwhelmed by the goodness and graciousness of God, David stands before the people and leads them in this joyful testimony, preserved for us in God’s word—“Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; Yours, O Lord, is the power; Yours, O Lord, is the glory…from everlasting to everlasting.”

And 1000 years later, when those early Christian brothers and sisters gathered together and searched for words that would adequately express what they had discovered as they walked with and served the Lord, I believe they looked to God’s word and the legacy of a king named David, who’d had a similar experience. And, this morning, their testimony to us is this, “We have walked with the Lord and this is what we’ve discovered—IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD!

The only kingdom that matters is the Kingdom of God. Don’t waste your time building lesser kingdoms. Join God in the work that He is doing to build His Kingdom.

And if you think you’re inadequate for such a grand project as this, good, because you are. You don’t have what it takes for project of this size. But let us tell you what we’ve discovered--God does. He’s never short of whatever power is necessary to accomplish His Kingdom building purposes.

And since it’s His Kingdom built by His power all of the glory belongs to Him as well. It belongs to Him now and it will belong to Him forever.

“O, Lord, Yours, the Kingdom; Yours the power; Yours the glory, forever.”
I’m so grateful for the testimony of those early brothers and sisters. My hope and my prayer is that we will leave the very same testimony for the brothers and sisters who come after us because it’s a powerful testimony.

The power of this testimony grows even stronger as we trace its roots also into the New Testament. In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul writes beautifully about the inclusiveness and the sufficiency of God’s grace. He explains how the gift of salvation is available to everyone and yet it cannot be earned by anyone. Salvation is, from top to bottom, a gift from God to everyone who claims Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

And no one has ever been more grateful for the gift of salvation than Paul. What a change the grace of God brought about in Paul’s life. And as he reflected upon all that the grace of God had accomplished in his life he simply could not contain either his joy or his gratitude, so in Romans 11 beginning at verse 33, he bursts forth with this testimony of praise to God, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

In other words, “IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD!
From Him…the KINGDOM! Through Him…the POWER! To Him…the GLORY! Now and FOREVER.”

And when those early Christian brothers and sisters gathered together searching for words that would adequately express their gratitude to God for all that His grace had accomplished in their lives, I believe they looked to God’s word and the legacy of a faithful apostle named Paul with a similar experience. And, this morning, their testimony to us is this, “We have walked with the Lord and this is what we’ve discovered: It’s all about God. In His kingdom we have discovered the purpose for our lives. Yet apart from His power we would never have gotten into the kingdom. All the glory belongs to God. Now and forever.”

I’m so grateful for the testimony of those early brothers and sisters. My hope and my prayer is that we will leave the very same testimony for the brothers and sisters who come after us because it’s a powerful testimony.

Finally, I want to tell you that this testimony also inspires me because those early Christians who remained faithful to Christ were frequently faced with persecution that you and I cannot even begin to imagine. In the decades following the resurrection of our Lord a tremendous wave of persecution against all Christians spread throughout the Roman world. Those who claimed the name of Christ lived with the constant threat of being beaten, imprisoned, tortured and even martyred for their faith. In fact, many of those closest to Jesus, the 12 disciples, were victims of the cruelest forms of persecution. Our best information indicates:

--that Andrew was crucified in Greece on an “X” shaped cross.
--that Philip was crucified and stoned to death in Phryrgia.
--that Nathanael was flayed to death by whip in Armenia.
--And Matthew was martyred by sword in Ethiopia.

It was a dangerous time to be a member of God’s Kingdom. For them, kingdom living often involved sacrifice, struggle, pain and even death. That was the price of following Jesus.

And so, within that very real and very dangerous context our earliest Christian brothers and sisters gathered together searching for words that would adequately express their experience as followers of Jesus. And what is their testimony?

--That following Jesus is just too hard?
--That following Jesus is not worth the price?
--That following Jesus demands too many sacrifices?

No. Their testimony to us is this, “We have walked with the Lord and this is what we’ve discovered: It’s all about God. It’s not about us. It’s all about God. Whatever sacrifices we’ve had to make were nothing compared to the privilege of participating in God’s kingdom. And while the journey has not always been easy, the power of God has always been sufficient to supply our every need. And since the power came from Him, all the glory goes to Him. Now and forever.”

I hope and pray that we leave the very same testimony for the brothers and sisters who will come after us.