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Before
we delve into the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Thy kingdom
come lets quickly review the truths that have already been
established about the Lord’s Prayer.
The
first truth is that God is
“Our Father.” God is not just
all knowing and all powerful God, but God is also personal and
loving.
The
second truth is that God is holy.
“Hallowed by Thy name”
is statement of praise as well as a commitment to honor God’s Holy
name.
This
morning we will focus on “Thy
Kingdom come.”
What
are you praying for when you say,
“Thy Kingdom come”
?
When
we pray, “Thy kingdom come”
we are asking God for a number of things. We are asking Him to rule
us. We are praying for the spread of the gospel. We are praying for
the salvation of non-believers.
We
are praying for God to use us to evangelize. We are praying for the
Muslim convert in Afghanistan who is being threatening to be killed
if he does not renounce Jesus. We are praying for missionaries
throughout the world to preach the gospel. We are praying for the
return of Jesus to establish his kingdom. In other words we are
praying for the 2nd coming of Christ.
When
we pray, “Thy kingdom come”
we are admitting that God’s kingdom is NOT here in its fullness. We
are admitting that people reject God. We have been doing this since
the creation. Adam and Eve rejected God by eating the apple. Adam
and Eve weren’t tempted by the attractiveness of the apple. They
were tempted by the attractiveness of “becoming like God.” The
Israelites rejected God as king when they expressed their desire to
have an earthly king like other nations had. (1 Sam 8) Every time
there is a court battle to remove the word God from the pledge
allegiance, or to remove the ten commandments from public buildings,
or ban the public display of the nativity we are repeating the sins
of Israel. We are rejecting God. We are expressing a desire to run
our nation through human strength as we want to run it.
I
am reminded of a book Diane and I once bought for Gregory when he
was about three years old. The title of the book was I Can Do It
Myself. Parents don’t buy this book for your kids unless you like
butting heads with your toddler. It seemed every time we went to
help Gregory do something he would protest, “I can do it myself.” I
can not tell you enough how I got to hate those five words. I
imagine just as much as God hates to hear us say it to him.
When
you pray "Thy kingdom come"
do you have any idea what you are asking God for? There is an old
saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” We should be careful what we
are praying for when we pray,
“Thy Kingdom come.”
This
prayer petition “Thy kingdom
come” should come with a
warning. Your life will never be the same when you pray this
petition from your heart. When you pray
“Thy Kingdom Come”
you are inviting God to rule in your heart. You are asking God not
to rule as you desire or to rule according to your principles or
your attitudes or your way. You are inviting God to rule in your
heart by His principles.
What
are God’s Kingdom principles?
There
are ten of them. They are called the ten commandments.
"I
am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land
of slavery.
I.
"You shall have no other gods before me.
II.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but
showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
III.
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD
will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
IV.
"Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
V.
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the
land the LORD your God is giving you.”
VI.
"You shall not murder.”
VII.
"You shall not commit adultery.
VII.
"You shall not steal.”
IX.
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
X.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey,
or anything that he owns.
You can’t
pray “Thy kingdom come”
and live as though these commandments are suggestions. When you pray
“Thy kingdom come”
you are asking God to teach you and to help you apply His principles
in your life
Residents of a kingdom must please the king. Thus Jesus said,
“Seek ye first
the kingdom of God…”
As
Carrie Underwood put it in our recent hit song, Jesus Take The
Wheel. If God is your co-pilot it is time to change seats. Seeking
first the kingdom of God means turning to God first for help. It
means filling your thoughts with His desires, taking His character
for your pattern, and serving and obeying Him in everything. This
isn’t easy, particularly when there are people, objects, goals, and
other desires all competing for priority. They can easily bump God
out of first place if you don’t actively choose to give Him first
place in every area of your life.
Where in your life do you need the kingdom of God? Where are you
hurting? Where are you finding discontent? Where are you struggling?
Ask God to bring His kingdom into those areas of your life.
God’s kingdom coming to earth or coming to you is in part a choice.
I totally
believe that God can and will bring His kingdom to earth without us.
However God has commanded us to pray
“Thy kingdom come.”
Why, because God allows us to
express our choice in the matter. God loves us so much that God
doesn’t want to be an unwelcome guest in anyone's heart, mind or
life. As a loving Father He is grieved by this, but God wants you to
express your choice and your choice is crucial.
When you choose to pray from your heart
"Thy kingdom come”
you are indicating that you have decided to live for God and to live
by His principles to glorify God and your well being.
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