His Kingdom And His Will Series

HIS KINGDOM AND HIS WILL

9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matt 6:9-10

1. Jesus set us an example

Heb 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

· He had a goal - His eyes were fixed at the JOY set before Him...

o The joy of completing the work of redemption, the work of reconciling man to God

o The work He has come to perform - for our eternal benefit and for God’s glory

o The joy of seeing every lost soul having a chance to return to the Father’s home

o His joy was the joy of seeing the Father’s purposes fulfilled

· It was "for the sake of " this - He is going to make some sacrifices

o He was determined to endure the cross, to suffer the shame...

o He was ’dead determined’ to do ALL He can, so that God’s will be done

2. Therefore the verse before this tells us - let us do the same...

Heb 12:1 "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

· There is a race already marked out for us.

· We have a given AGENDA - it is a God-given agenda

· Not our own agenda... Are you surprised? Whose agenda are you following today?

· This world tells us to LIVE your own life and DO your own thing.

· But the Bible revealed to us a HIGHER CALLING...

3. We need to ALIGN ourselves back into God’s AGENDA

· That is why in the Lord’s Prayer - Jesus draws our attention back to God...

· After saying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name..." (Matt 6:9)

· The next line - v.10 "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

· God’s agenda is top on the list of my life’s agenda!

YOUR KINGDOM COME

For our Lord the Kingdom of God was “the” priority. His message was primarily about the kingdom (Matt 4:17, 23, Acts 1:7). Over eighty times in the gospels Jesus refers to the Kingdom. It is not surprising then that Jesus taught us that the first order of business in our prayers, after entering into God’s presence through praise (hallowing his name) was to affirm the priority of God’s rule being established in our lives.

When you say, "Your kingdom come," you’re inviting Him to walk into your world.

· We are acknowledging His right to rule in our lives - not just this world.

· Therefore if we are making no attempts to make Him Lord of our lives, we cannot pray these words with integrity.

· And when He steps in - in what manner do you think He’s stepping in?

· When we talk about Kingdom, we must be thinking of the KING. He is going to step into your world as LORD and KING.

· We are to invite Him in - be the Lord of this land. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family. Be the Shepherd of my heart.

· This is no feeble request. It’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.

· Are you prepared for this? Jesus showed us when He prayed in the Garden – “Not my will, but Yours be done.” - a recognition that God’s will is supreme in His life.

· Are you prepared for this? Are there areas of your life that you wish He would not touch?

· It means SUBMISSION - "Lord, I’m happy to take on Your agenda."

· What does that make us? His subjects, of course. His ambassadors.

· God intends for you to add value to this world, not just take from it. We are to DO His work and complete it. Every child of God is a minister.

GIVE A THOUGHT

· If we can get a glimpse of heaven, we probably see ANGELS standing ready to do His bidding. All of them respond to His will.

· In the Universe, the stars and planets move according to His design. The star showed the wise men where Jesus was.

· In Creation, we see animals obeying Him - donkey speaking to Balaam, whale swallowing up Jonah, raven feeding Elijah... waves obeys Jesus.

Currently only mankind do not obey Him...

· Before the King of kings, we still have our needs. It’s just that what seemed so urgent seems less significant before God.