Thy Kingdom Come Series

Thy Kingdom Come

Luke 11:1-4

Intro. – Astronaut James Erwin is one of but a few men to walk on the moon. As he stood upon the lunar landscape and looked up at the earth, he prayed for the first time in his life.

He thought about the strife among nations, poverty, hunger, and rampant evil; and he thought to himself, "What is more important than man walking on the moon is that God should walk on earth." This is the desire we express when we pray, "Thy Kingdom come."

Illustration: A little boy was playing with his french fries, dipping one end of a fry into the ketchup then waving it like a baton in front of an imaginary marching band. Mom was gone for the day and so he and his father were enjoying a special moment together at a nearby McDonald’s. The little boy seemed more interested in playing with his French fries than eating them.

"Eat your french fries…" the father coaxed, but the son just kept waving his french fry baton as the band played on. Now there was nothing planned for the afternoon, so the dad decided to just watch his son for a while. Then without even really thinking about it, the dad reached over and took one of the French fries out of its carton to munch on. Suddenly and to his utter astonishment, the little boy shouted "NO!" and slapped at his father’s hand.

With a combination of shock and disbelief, the father said, "that’s not nice; you shouldn’t treat people that way". Then as if he didn’t even hear it, the little boy went back to leading his make-believe band.

The thoughts going through this father’s mind ranged anywhere from anger to sadness. "Wait a minute" he thought, "I bought those fries and I can have one if I want too!" But the father just sat back pondering and wondering what the future held for he and his son.

We sometimes can be like this little boy when it comes to our Heavenly Father. How often has He reached over to take one of our french fries and we’ve slapped his hand and shouted "No!" only to go on and do that which is most important to us.

The question of the little boy and his father is a question about our Heavenly Father and us, His children, "Who owns the french fries?"

When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," as part of the Lord’s Prayer, we are relinquishing more than french fries, we are recognizing that God is the ruler of our lives. That He owns the french fries.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we first pray, "our Father who art in heaven." We’re recognizing that God is our Father who is close and intimate and who cares for us.

However, when we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we’re taking it a step further to a whole new level of relationship. We’re also recognizing that God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And as King, He has a plan for our life and desires to rule our life with His Kingdom’s principles for His purpose.

Without this understanding, we cannot rightly pray the Lord’s Prayer, because to correctly pray we need to understand several things concerning God’s kingdom:

I. God is Our Ruler-King

A. I know this is hard for those of us who live in a democratic society and vote in our elected leaders. In fact, the Constitution of the United States begins with "We the people." People in a democracy rule themselves.

1. The founding fathers established in the constitution that we are to have three branches of government:

a. The legislative branch of government, the Congress, which determines the rules we live by.

b. The judicial branch, the courts and judges, who interpret and apply the law to specific cases.

c. The executive branch, the president and his cabinet, who administers government.

2. As Christians, we also live under God, who is a King.

a. David said in Psalms 44:4, "Thou art my king, O God…"

3. Just as three branches of government rule our American democracy, God rules His kingdom.

a. He determines the rules on earth and heaven.

b. He judges those who break His rules and rewards those who keep them.

c. He is the Executive Administrator of His Kingdom.

B. When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are admitting two very important principles:

1. First, we are inviting God to rule in our hearts by His principles.

2. Secondly, we are acknowledging and submitting to the fact that we have chosen to live in the kingdom God rules.

II. God Rules The Kingdom In Which We Live As Christians

A. The rule of God on earth is called, "The Kingdom of God".