Following Jesus in Prayer - Part Two: Thy Kingdom Come

by James Lincoln on January 15, 2006

Last Sunday we began to take a close look at the Lord's Prayer. One of our goals as a church is to be a praying church which, again, is only to say that we want to be more like Jesus. And we know that Jesus lived a life of prayer as well as taught a life of prayer. If we are sincere about our faith at all, it will show up in a God-exalting and God-magnifying prayer life. In fact in Isa.62:6 God says of the people in the New Covenant,

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,"
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth."

Our Father (Review)

So, we want to learn from Jesus how to pray. Last Sunday we started with the first petition of Jesus' prayer where Jesus said to pray in this way. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Thy name." (6:9).

Let me review a few things. The very first word of His prayer is a surprise. You would think a thing as private and as personal as prayer would begin with, "My Father..." not "Our Father..." Yet, from the outset Jesus loves us too much to let me and my feeble little concerns or you and your concerns be the focus of our prayers. He reminds us that we have been folded into a rich heritage of people who have known God and prayed to God long before we ever came on the scene. The fountain of God's faithfulness runs long, wide and deep. Yes, we can pray like Jabez. However, we will also pray like Job or like Jeremiah. To say Our Father immediately places us in an historical and worldwide community of faith. So, when we are asking God for our next plasma flat screen television we're reminded that there are others in the faith that are praying for food or for wives and children who have been kidnapped by government sponsored terrorism. To pray Our Father means that our prayers can't be our personal pursuit of our own blessing disconnected from a long record of God's faithful response to His people or from a present awareness that if one part of the body suffers so does the rest. Jesus says, pray in this way. Say...OUR Father in heaven.

Second, the word, Father, conveyed a number of things to Jesus' disciples. First, being chosen as God's first born son was Israel's unique distinction among the nations of the world. I won't take the time to develop this again this morning. Let me just summarize that by saying that God sent Jesus to be the son that Israel never was and to call a new people to be Israel through faith in Him. Jesus is the son that Israel never was. He's also the obedient son that none of us has ever been. And yet, through faith in Jesus and receiving the gift of His life and His death we too can become God's children and walk in all the blessings of that gift. Paul says, "Not all of Israel is Israel" and that the true sons of Abraham are those who put their trust in Jesus.

Third, to call God our Father meant unconditional and irrevocable obedience. In first century culture a son was apprenticed to his father, which meant that he was to obey his father unconditionally. But the word Father also communicated a compassionate and tender mercy side of God that was unequaled. David said, "As a father has compassion on his children so God has compassion on those who fear Him." (Ps. 103) For an illustration of God's tender mercies and compassion read Hosea 4:14.

Last Sunday, Debby reminded me that in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, that when the son came home that he was covered with the muck and mire of the pig pen and yet the Father didn't say, "O my first go take a bath!" Instead He ran to hug him and covered his filthiness and mess with a beautiful robe. How many of you would put a new cashmere sweater on someone who had been splattered with the muck and mire of a pig pen? We wouldn't...but God does. In Christ, He's done it for each of us.

When the father saw his son he felt compassion for him, ran to him threw his arms around him kissed him and ...the first words the father said were to the servants, "Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him..." He puts the best robe on to cover up his shame as fast as possible. He was saying, "I don't want one moment go by without covering up this boy's guilt, mess and shame." When we trust Jesus as our savior that's what God does for us as well. He runs to us with open arms, hugs and kisses us and covers our mess without delay. No one can love you like God the Father or be as compassionate towards you as God is.

Finally, to hallow God's name means to set God's name apart. It means to take the Name of God: Lord, Holy Father and God Almighty in your heart. It means to cherish it in your heart, love it and to treasure it. It means to find it breathtakingly beautiful, to find it the most worthy thing of your life and attention, to honor it, to prize it, and to rest in it and enjoy it. To pray as we should means to hallow God's name. Do you do this? How determined are you - when you pray - to hallow God's name, to magnify His name or to exalt and elevate His name in your prayers? Are you determined at all? If not your prayers are going to default to your shopping list with your plans, ambitions, goals, and concerns at the center. And then, in time, you will get depressed. Why? because your concerns are just not worthy of that much attention. But God's name and only God's name and purposes are.

YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ...

This morning we come to the second petition of Jesus' prayer. Jesus said pray this way. He adds... "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Now, the idea of the Kingdom of God is huge and way beyond the scope of what we can do here this morning. So, today I want say a few things about the Kingdom of God to fill in what Jesus might have in mind when we pray this way. Many have said that if there was one theme of Jesus' preaching that theme would be the Kingdom of God. After reviewing His teachings...I agree.

The first thing I think is worth saying is that the message of the kingdom and the message of the gospel are the same message.

When I was much younger I was taught that the kingdom of God had little or nothing to do with us or the gospel. I was taught that the kingdom of God was a way of talking about end times and something that had to do with national Israel and not Christians. I was even taught that the Sermon on the Mount was not for Christians but for Jews at the end of time. Then I started reading the Bible and discovered that if you left out Jesus' lessons on the Kingdom of God there was very little left of His teachings.

For example I notice that Luke tells us that when Paul was preaching in Rome (not Judea) that he was, "...preaching the Kingdom of God." (Acts. 28:30). When Philip preached the gospel in Samaria Luke says that he was preaching, "the things concerning the Kingdom of God." (Acts 8:12). In Acts 17:6-7, Paul came to Corinth disputed and persuaded the people about things, "concerning the Kingdom of God." In Mk.1:14-15 we're told, "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." or Matt 4:23, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom".

Jesus told Nicodemus that he couldn't even see the kingdom of God unless he was born again. Paul, said that through the gospel the Father "delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col.1:13ff.) My point here is that the Kingdom of God and the gospel are inherently bound together. To call Jesus Lord is to call him the Son of David, the Messiah which, of course, means to call Him the God's anointed King, thus acknowledging Jesus as King.

Now the Kingdom of God doesn't come in its fullness until Jesus' second coming. The "mystery of the kingdom" is the surprising fact that the kingdom comes in two stages. The first stage is like a mustard seed and not a military take over (Mtt.13:31 & Lk. 17:20). In the first stage, the King comes first on a donkey, with a branch of peace and amnesty. Later, he will come on a great white horse with a sword of judgment. Now, these two stages overlap. The age to come has in a sense already begun. Heb.6:5 says that we've already "tasted the powers of the age to come." So it's important when we pray, "Your Kingdom come," we know that his Kingdom is something that is both now and something that is not yet.

The Kingdom: Now & Not Yet

Christ has already purchased our healing (1Pe. 2:24; Mtt.8:17) but we still groan with sickness (Rom.8:23; 2Co..4:16). We've already passed from life to death (1Jn.3:14) but we still die. We already have the Spirit as a down payment of our holy inheritance (Eph.1:14) but the war between the flesh and the Spirit goes on every day (Gal.5:16-18). We've already been acquitted of all sin in Christ and we are no longer slaves to sin (Rom.5:1), but must go on every day praying 'forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" (Mtt.6:12). We already have our citizenship in the kingdom of God (Phil.3:20), but for now, we must still submit in measure to the rulers of this world (Rom.13:1).

In a word, every blessing of the age to come is already ours in Christ (Eph.1:3), but God wills for us to come into our inheritance patiently. Jesus said that, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom" (Acts. 14:22; Mtt.7:14). Its God's way to make us "fit for the kingdom" (2Thess.1:5) even though we're already in it. So, there's a now and a not yet of the Kingdom of God. Therefore we pray for God's Kingdom to come now and in the future. We are praying that we lay hold in a fuller measure the rule and reign of God through the gospel in our hearts and in our world today as well as in the future.

Now, Jesus and His contemporaries had very different ideas about what the kingdom of God was all about and how you got in it. So a great deal of Jesus' teaching was aimed at redefining their ideas and expectations about the kingdom. Let me address some of these.

First, In Christ, the Kingdom has come to overcome the evil behind the evil in the world -- not to conquer the world's wicked rulers or systems. At lest not at His first coming.

Jesus announced that the kingdom of God was indeed coming to birth, but not in the way Israel imagined. Jesus was bringing it about but, not in the way Israel supposed. In fact, Israel's way of advancing the kingdom was thoroughly counter productive and Jesus said would result in a great national disaster (and it eventually did in 70 AD.) Jesus was calling His followers to be Israel in a new way, a way they hadn't imagined.

So, here's the deal. Jesus' battle was not primarily with Rome, Herod, the Pharisees or the Priesthood. He had a different enemy in mind. He directed his arsenal primarily against the powers of darkness or the evil behind the evil in the world. Jesus came to do battle with the devil or Satan.

Israel's story was being told in terms of four great empires or oppressors. The Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and then Rome (Dan.2:31). Daniel's vision was a well known and popular prophecy in the days of Christ. And when the last oppressor was destroyed God would finally bring in his kingdom. And in first century Judaism Rome was that final oppressor. Messianic expectations were high. There was a national expectation for the defeat of Rome. Most thought that another Judas Maccabeus would liberate the nation and defeat Rome for good.

When Jesus announced the kingdom of God they assumed he meant the announcement of a holy war against Rome. We would have assumed the same thing. Instead, Jesus radically redefined the battle that had to be fought. There was an ultimate battle and an ultimate enemy. But it wasn't Rome... it was the powers of darkness. It was a spiritual battle and it had to do with Satan. Jesus' first coming was to fight the ultimate battle with the ultimate evil that stood behind all other evil. Israel wanted a freedom fighter but Jesus said to Israel, "If only you had recognized the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." (Lk.19:42). Are they hidden from our eyes? Israel didn't recognize what really makes for peace. She needed to repent of her nationalism and hopes of bringing in the kingdom of God through a political or a holy war. So, Jesus redefined the enemy and - in the gospel - He waged that war successfully.

When Jesus cast out demons, He not only released tormented souls; He was also announcing that He had bound up Satan by showing that Satan's demons had no power over Him. When He cast out demons people were asking, "Can this be the Son of David" i.e. the King who will put all things to rights?" When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil, Jesus asked them, "How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his good, unless he first binds the strong man?" That's what His exorcisms demonstrated so clearly. In Luk.10:18 He said, "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven."

When did Jesus bind the strong man? Right at the beginning of his ministry after his baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to fight that battle. Satan tried everything he could to get Jesus to save the world through the advancement of his autonomous personal power and not the cross. But, Jesus remained true to His Father's word and dealt the devil a fatal blow right at the onset of His ministry.

In the whole Old Testament nowhere does any priest or king cast out any demon. But as soon as Jesus is on the scene he's in conflict with Satan in the wilderness and his ministry was marked by casting out demons (Mk.1:34). So it's clear that something unprecedented is happening here. The spiritual conflict that's hidden behind idolatry, injustice, oppression, bigotry, greed, and every other kind of wickedness on the earth is brought out into the open and in the wilderness and especially at the cross, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent and rendered him impotent against those who believe in Him.

When we pray, "Your kingdom come." we understand that Jesus first came to take care of the evil and the wickedness that stand behind all the evil and wickedness in the world. And He was successful! After the cross James says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." I wonder if we've made this more complicated than it is? The word Satan means the accuser. OK, let Him accuse all he wants because it will only remind us that we are all trophies to His grace.

When we pray, "Your Kingdom come." We're asking God for the grace to lay hold of the reality of Jesus' victory over the evil behind the evil...that His victory will take over us here and now and forever.

In C.S. Lewis' famous story, when Aslan comes to cold Narnia to set Edmond free, He first deals with the witch and destroys her hold on Narnia by giving up His life on Edmond's behalf. This is what Jesus has come and done for us, His people. Satan is the enemy not Rome, not the democrats nor the republicans. Our fundamental problems aren't physical, financial, psychological they're spiritual. And when we pray, "Your Kingdom come," we're asking God to let us lay hold of that King that overcame the enemy of our souls and to walk free of his influence in the world.

2. The kingdom is a kingdom of grace that overcomes condemnation and brings forgiveness. (This has to do with how you get into the kingdom.)

The great obstacle to salvation is that we are guilty of sin and under the just condemnation of God. Why then -- when Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God -- did tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom before the chief priests and the elders (Mtt.21:31)? Why is it that the kingdom of God is like a householder who at the end of the day hires people for one hour's work and yet gives them pay for a full day's work (Mtt.20:1-16)? And why does Jesus say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit (the ones who have nothing to commend themselves before God), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Mtt.:3)? The answer is given in Matt. 18:23ff. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who called his debtors to account, and when one of them pleads for mercy concerning a million dollar debt, the king has pity and forgives him everything he owes. The kingdom of God overcomes condemnation and brings forgiveness. And we know from this side of the cross how He did it. You don't get into it on the basis of pedigree, wealth, religion or any merit of your own. You get into it by God's grace and being born again. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again if you want to see the kingdom of God and enter it.' And when you are He casts your sins as far as the east is from the west to be remembered no more. He casts them into the deepest sea and covers you with the beautiful cashmere robe of His forgiveness in Christ.

3. The kingdom of God comes with the power and conquers our rebellion and brings conversion in one heart at a time.

Jesus said, "Unless you be converted and become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." What power brings about this conversion from rebellious, proud independence to submission humble, childlike, dependence on God? The answer is the power of the kingdom of God. (Mtt.13:24 & 38), Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish." The kingdom is the power that gathers fish in a net. Fish don't jump into nets. Instead they try to get out (cf. Col.1:13). But the kingdom of God is powerful to gather up the fish. Jesus said of this power, "I will lose none that the Father has given to me."

When the rich young ruler turned away from Jesus, Jesus said, "It will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." The disciples amazed said, 'Who then can be saved?' To this Jesus said, "With men this is impossible (to enter the kingdom and be saved), but with God all things are possible." (Mtt. 19:23-26). In other words, being converted and entering the kingdom of God is not within the capacities of men. With men Jesus said, "it is impossible to enter the kingdom and be saved." But with God it is possible.

In His Kingdom, God converts people and brings them into the kingdom. The kingdom itself conquers our rebellion and converts our hearts. Jesus said that the kingdom is not here or there but that it's within you. It's about a radical change in your heart that moves you to love God, treasure Him and prize His will above ours. It's not about saying that you are a Christian or that you are born again...it's about actually being converted and discovering the rule and reign of Jesus in your life everyday. His contemporaries wanted the system converted and overthrown...Jesus called first for us to be converted and for wickedness and darkness to first be overthrown in us. A time will come for the other. Jesus said, that the kingdom of God is not food or drink but righteousness. Justice and righteousness start with us.

Also, the Kingdom of God conquers physical misery and brings healing as well.

Jesus told his disciples in Luke 10:8-9, "Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near you." Jesus preached and healed over and over. This is how the kingdom of God shows up in our world too. Jesus healed bodies as He healed souls. Do we? When we pray, "Your Kingdom come." this is what we are asking for. We are asking for God to use us in the same way.

Finally, The Kingdom of God overcomes sadness and brings great Joy!

It's obvious that if the Kingdom conquers Satan, sin, death, and guilt and transfers us from darkness and into the kingdom of His beloved Son that it would also bring great joy. Paul makes the point explicit in Ro. 14:17 when he says, "The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit." Jesus said, "Blessed or happy or glad are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mtt.5:10) The kingdom overcomes sadness and brings great joy - even in the midst of suffering.

One of the great privileges of pastoring is to watch true believers face agonizing trials and then to see in the presence of their grief gladness in their eyes and to see them smile at their future because there is a river that runs deep under the city of God that makes us glad!

Jesus' disciples and contemporaries had a different idea about the kingdom of God. Sometimes we do to. Jesus said when you pray... pray this way, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He's teaching us to desire these things not simply in the, sweet bye and bye, but for them to grow in an ever increasing way in each of us here and now.

When you pray, don't let the focus of your prayers be your concerns, your, dreams, ambitions, wants and needs or your wishes. Instead, turn your focus onto God's rule and reign, first in your own heart and then someday pray and look for that glory of the Lord to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. It will! "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."