ARE YOU PLAYING THE HYPOCRITE PART FIVE

 

Matt 6:1-18

 

The churches greatest desire and prayer should be to see God’s glory reign as the sovereign King throughout the heavens and the earth. “Our Father” provides the foundational truth, the starting point to whom we are praying to. This leads us to keep His name “Abba Father” as “hallowed” daily, minute by minute as we approach His heavenly throne. And it’s this truth that sets the stage for what comes next! (v10) “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

It’s this part that extends as the upward

urgency of our prayers.

 

In fact! The Hebrew thought here is that our prayers are structured that both “Your kingdom come” and “Your will be done” …are enlargements on “hallowed be Your name.” The emphasis here, is to hallow the Father’s great name, and for ultimately His will be done in His Kingdom and on His earth. To pray this portion in Matthew’s gospel is to pray His eternal Deity to be fulfilled. For Christ to return and reign over what is rightfully His. But there is an uphill battle that church is faced with. A disbelief that there is a God, who reigns over anything.

 

R C Sproul wrote, “We live in a secular world in which people are doing everything in their power to erase any idea whatsoever that the world in which we live comes from the hand of God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”

This is why David wrote, “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." David goes on to describe this person. “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:1-3

 

This is why Paul echoes the words of David in the letter to the Romans. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:21-25. This is the problem! The world is ignorantly blind to Him and His kingdom.

 

What does it mean when Jesus says?

“Your kingdom come”

 

Because there are some who argue that is referring to is a “future kingdom, not a present one”. There are some who argue that this prayer, is for the “second coming” of Christ and that is all. Others see this as a call to “social action” and nothing else, a mandate to bring in the Kingdom now through our good works. And some see this as referring to “spiritual fulfillment in the salvation of souls”. If you look at all of these interpretations you would see that the correct interpretation has a bit of each of these. 

There is coming a future Kingdom where there is no profane words or sinful soul residing there. In the Book of Revelation we read, “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” Rev 21:27. In John’s gospel we read "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." John 14:1-4. In Revelation 21:4 we read this beautiful promise of future things. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

 

There is the hope of a second coming because it brings in Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. In Matt 24:44 we read, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Rev 1:7 says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

 

There is a call to living a holy exemplified life to those who are outside of His divine grace. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20. In Ephesians 5:8 we read. “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

There is a promise that while we wait this future Kingdom that the gospel go forth to save the souls of lost sinners. The book end of Matthew’s gospel we read. “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matt 28:18-20. Paul said “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” 1 Cor 1:22

 

Understand! We cannot as Christians assume at the

same time that this world is all there is.

 

Because the radical teachings of Jesus, is a proclamation that He comes from the presence of our Father, who is heaven. Although He abides in heaven, He isn’t absent from the earth. So! What does it mean when Jesus says “Your kingdom come” The easiest answer to that question is to say “God is the Creator of all things and He reigns over all things, and the extent of His reign includes everything in Heaven, earth, and all of creation.” The “Kingdom” is not just referring to geographical territory but to God’s sovereignty and dominion. We are always to pray for God’s rule for Christ glorious reign on this earth. That is God’s Kingdom in a nutshell. He sovereignly rules over everything. God reigns everywhere the kingdom is, and since God is everywhere, He reigns “everywhere”. We know this is true! “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

 

Our greatest desire as we come before Him in prayer is to see

God’s kingdom reign over today and into eternity.

 

3. When You Are Praying Realize Its Always Been About His kingdom And Sovereign Reign.

 

“Your kingdom come”

 

What does it mean when Jesus says “Your kingdom come” 

A. Praying “Your Kingdom Come” Is To Recognize The Past. 

This refers to the fact that God has always been present and that He has always been the sovereign King who reigns. And He has been there from eternity past, to present, and into eternity. David confirms this according to the Scriptures. “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” Psalm 24:1-2

 

“the earth is the LORD’s” describes God’s sovereign rule over the whole universe, both land and water, and the air, and all that is within; the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, all plants and vegetables that spring out of the earth, all metals and minerals; all which are the riches of the earth, all of the stars, the moon, the galaxies and everything that has life…is all His.

 

He rules them all and He has always ruled them all from eternity past. “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.” Psalm 50:10-12

The psalmist wrote “The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2

 

What this reveals to us is…. that God has always been and His kingdom has always existed for His glory and power. Knowing this truth affirms what Jesus said about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were in the kingdom of God. They were all in the kingdom and the kingdom already existed.  So Jesus said the kingdom of God included all the Old Testament saints. We read in Matthews’s gospel. “When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” Matt 8:10-11. God is already King and His kingdom expands beyond the earth and entire universe.

 

B. Praying “Your Kingdom Come” Is For The Future.

 

The verb “come” refers to a decisive time in the future when this kingdom will come, once and for all. This will be an event that will happen once and we call this “Second Coming of Christ” The kingdom of His glory shall one day be set up and when Christ returns we will as the Hebrew writer said. “for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” Heb 8:11. An event when God, Jesus Christ, will judge the world and set up His earthly kingdom. This is a time when sin, and sorrow and Satan shall be cast out of the world. It’s a time when the Jews shall be converted and the fullness of the Gentiles shall come.

We pray that God would

rush in His kingdom

 

It is to usher in the glorious King and His kingdom. “He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Rev 22:20-21. What is the universal hope of the true church? Christ’s glorious Second coming where He comes and fulfills His promise that He made in ancient of days. Now we might have people in different camps when it comes to eschatology, but the underlining hope from the Amillennialist to the Pre-millennialist is the coming of Christ. The bottom line is, we all have one hope and Jesus is coming back again, but it will not be a kingdom of this world. “Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." John 18:36. This is the eternal hope we have, as we pray for His glorious return.

C. Praying “Your Kingdom Come” Is For The Present.

 

It’s for today! When Jesus came to this earth, He brought the kingdom of God in His own incarnation. What do I mean by that? We know this is true by what we read in Matthew 4:17 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” John the Baptist said the same thing. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" Matt 3:2-3. We can say that “Jesus is the kingdom”. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21

 

The Scriptures reveal to us that Jesus’ passion was the kingdom. The word “kingdom” occurs 49 times in Matthew, 16 times in Mark and 38 times in the gospel of Luke. Preaching the kingdom was the major theme that Jesus proclaimed. Preparing the present…. for His kingdom that is to come. This present kingdom we live in is to remind us of His grace which God sets into the hearts of His children through the Spirit and the Word. This maintains our heart as we live in this present kingdom. Jesus prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:15-17

 

What Jesus is telling His listeners is that we are never to let the present distract our praying for His kingdom. We are never to let problems and issues outside of ourselves to cloud our passion for God’s kingdom. See! The best way we can pray for any person: close or distant, friend or enemy is that God’s kingdom be advanced in that person. We put all our petitions before “Abba Father” the one who is set apart for His glory and kingdom to come. We leave all things and all people before His feet…without reservation or excuses…today! Understand! The greatest opposition to Christ’s kingdom and the great opposition to Christian living is the kingdom of this present world, which Satan rules.

 

We are to proclaim to this present kingdom the eternal

hope through the gospel.

 

This was Jesus’ present passion and ministry. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose." Luke 4:43

 

Why is this important for us to understand? 

What does your kingdom come mean for you and me?

 

It is the foundation of our active worship towards a holy God who was and is to come….today! It is our present and future hope as we rest in God’s grace; as we cry out to Him daily, for comfort and rest knowing He is over lives.

 

We pray for the success of the

gospel in the world.

 

Why? We know what the gospel has done by transformed our own lives; and we seek Him to do the same in this world. We plead for God’s kingdom to be extended to others as it has been extended to us. We also pray that we are tired of this world and we long for the Kingdom that is yet to come. We want to experience the fullness of the beatitudes and we long to live where God is completely recognized and adored. This is what it means to pray “Your kingdom come” As a child looks forward to the promise a parent gives about going to Wonderland. They are greatly excited and they know it’s going to happen, but they don’t know when.  So with anticipation they constantly do what? “When are we going? You promised!” This is what it’s like for us to pray “Your kingdom come” And as His children……We don’t know when, but we know it will come and we pray to that end for His glory.

 

We pray with the Psalmist “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:8-21

 

So! We continue to rest and trust in the King who reigns over the past, the future and the present.