Years ago, when we lived in Gulfport, MS, my job was such that I had to spend a lot of time away from home. For 8 years, I averaged 300 days a year on the road. That’s a lot of nights away. Some of those were in field conditions. Some of them were in military billeting. But most of them were in hotels. I don’t know how many times you’ve ever stayed in a hotel room, but there are some things I always do. When I first walk in the room, I turn the air down and open the curtains. Then I find the TV Guide. Then for some reason, I look at the room service menu. I don’t know why. Out of all the hotels I’ve ever stayed in, I can’t remember ever getting room service. I guess I just can’t stand the thought of a $15 hamburger. But there’s just something about the thought of room service that’s appealing. You just pick up the phone and tell someone what you want. And then before you know it, it’s there. Then if you want something else—call. And then, poof—it’s there at your door. You want coffee? It’s there. You want cheesecake? It’s there. If money was no object, you could just keep calling and they would bring you anything you want. What a power trip that would be. What a sense of control that would be. It would almost be like being one of the old time kings who could get anything they wanted just at the snap of their fingers. Wouldn’t that be fun? It might be fun for a little while. But in the end, we would discover exactly what King Solomon did. In Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, he wrote, “And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” That’s how Solomon felt when he had everything that he ever wanted in life. And that is exactly how we would feel if we had everything we ever asked for. That’s why God loves us enough not to be our personal genie. He loves us enough not to be our personal Santa Claus. But if that’s the case, why do we come to Him in prayer like He is Santa Claus? Why do we come to Him in prayer with only our “gimme, gimme” list. Lord, bless this. Lord bless that. Lord heal this. Lord provide for that. Does the Lord want us to come to Him with our petitions? Of course He does. But He is not a heavenly version of room service. He is not there to grant our every wish and desire. He meets our needs in order that we might bring Him glory and honor and praise. Not that we might have all the things we want or desire. As we continue tonight looking at the Lord’s Prayer, we’re going to look specifically at verse 10. And I want you to notice something profound. It took a lot of study to recognize this. Verse 10 comes before verse 11. And you know what? Verse 9 that we looked at last time comes before verse 11 too. Do you know why that’s significant? Because verse 11 is the first time Jesus tells us to break out our “gimme gimme” list. Verse 11 is the first time He tells us to ask for anything for ourselves. It’s pretty understandable why verse 9 comes before verse 11. Because, as we talked about last time, verse 9 is our greeting to God. It’s the opening line. It’s how we are addressing the One we’re talking to. That’s pretty easy to understand. But why does verse 10 come before verse 11? Why does Jesus tell us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” before He tells us to ask for anything for ourselves? Because, He knows that we have to constantly remind ourselves that the Lord is not our personal room service. He’s not our personal Santa Claus. He’s not our genie of the lamp. He is God and we’re not. By giving us verse 10 before verse 11, Jesus teaches us to pray recognizing and understanding who is in charge. The way you pray reminds you that Jesus rules and reigns His kingdom.
In America today, we have a hard time understanding the concept of a king and his kingdom. None of us in here have ever experienced what it is like to live in a dictatorship. And even if we had, earthly pictures of kings and kingdoms fall far short of what the Lord’s kingdom is. When Jesus tells us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” He’s not speaking of what our picture of a kingdom is. He’s reminding us of the kingdom that He reigns over. And the kingdom He reigns over is far bigger than anything we imagine with our pictures of earthly kingdoms. As a matter of fact, in Jesus’ kingdom, He rules and reigns over three areas. Three areas that we are to remember in prayer in order to keep our asking in perspective. The first part of the kingdom of Christ we are to remember in prayer is the kingdom that is yet before us. Before you ask, recognize the One who reigns by remembering the kingdom that is yet before you.
Most of us are fascinated with the future. Anytime you break out the end-times charts, people are captivated. Studies in the book of Daniel and Revelation are always at the top of many people’s lists. But every time I read through and study end-times prophesy, I’m left with one conclusion. There are a lot of things we just don’t know. There are a lot of things that we aren’t able to figure out. Scripture says that now we look through a glass dimly. That means we’re not going to be able to figure out a lot of the details. After the end time events happen, we’ll be able to look back and see how it all fit perfectly. But for now, we look through a glass dimly. But if nothing else is clear about end-times prophesy, one thing is. In virtually every verse of end-times prophesy, one thing is immanently clear—Jesus is King. From before the beginning of history to after the end of time as we know it—Jesus is King. Hebrews 1:8-12 says, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. From before the time He laid the foundations of the universe, Jesus is King. And after all we see before us is gone away, Jesus is King. His kingdom will manifest itself as an earthly kingdom in a future 1000 year period known as the millennium. It will be a time when all the Old Testament prophesies concerning national Israel will be fulfilled. The Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled. The Davidic covenant will be fulfilled. During that time, Satan will be bound… Jerusalem will be the focal point of the world… And Jesus Himself will sit on the throne. After that 1000 year period, Satan will be loosed to deceive people one more time. He will lead an uprising against King Jesus and will be permanently and finally defeated with the Word of His mouth. At that time, the heavenly New Jerusalem will descend. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth will pass away. Revelation 21:22-27 describes how John saw it: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, that is the kingdom that is yet before you. That is the kingdom we long for. As creator and king, Jesus laid the foundations of these heavens and this earth. And as creator and king, He will lay the foundations of the new heavens and the new earth. That’s the first part of the kingdom of Christ we are to remember. Before you ask for anything in prayer, recognize the One who reigns by remembering the kingdom that is yet before you. But you also need to remember the kingdom that is around you. The second part of the kingdom of Christ we are to remember in prayer is the kingdom that is around us. Before you ask, recognize the One who reigns by remembering the kingdom that is around you.
Sometimes this is the difficult part. When we see things like the hurricane in Texas. When we see things like war and strife and poverty and sickness. When we see sin and hurt and pain and abuse. When we see those things, it’s hard to see the Kingdom around us, isn’t it? If you are struggling with a particular besetting sin that you have worked on a prayed about and still struggle with. If you are fighting your way through a marriage that you’ve been praying about. If your heart is broken by a family member you’ve been praying about that is still lost or backslidden. If those things are going on in your life, it’s hard to see the kingdom around you, isn’t it? But it is. That’s why you have to remind yourself. That’s why Jesus tells us to constantly remind ourselves that He is in control. Even when it doesn’t seem like it. Hebrews 2:8 says, “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.” All things are in subjection under the feet of Christ. There is nothing that you are facing or will ever face that isn’t under the direct control of Jesus. He either causes it or allows it to happen. Whatever it is has passed through His hands. But what that verse says is that we can’t see it. “Now we see not yet all things put under him.” Why is that? Because we can’t see all things. Our eyes aren’t big enough to see all the things the king sees. Our brains aren’t big enough to understand all the things the king understands. One of the problems we’ve run into with the public’s perception of the Iraq war is from the reporters on the ground. When a reporter is on the ground, all they can see is the small battle right in front of them. They can’t see the big picture. But there are those who can see the big picture. And they can’t talk about it because of security concerns. But the point is, what we see in our little world isn’t the big-picture. Jesus has got the big-picture under control. That’s where faith comes in. And that’s where this part of the Lord’s Prayer comes in. When you are up against a struggle and darkness is closing in… you have to remind yourself in prayer that Jesus is King of all the things around you. You have to remind yourself that Jesus is, as Colossians 1:15-20 says, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” As king, by giving His life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross, Jesus has reconciled all things unto Himself. Whether you can see it or not. That’s why you have to claim it. That’s why you have to recognize it. Recognize it by recognizing the One who reigns. Claim it by remembering that His kingdom is around you. Remember the kingdom that is yet before you and remember the kingdom that is around you. Finally, remember the kingdom that is in you. The third part of the kingdom of Christ we are to remember in prayer is the kingdom that is in us. Before you ask, recognize the One who reigns by remembering the kingdom that is in you.
This is where it all comes to a point. Because unless you get this one right, the other ones will never be right. See, you will never have a stake in the kingdom that is before you unless Jesus’ kingdom is in you. You will have no part in the kingdom of the New Jerusalem and the new heavens and new earth unless Jesus is your king right now. You can’t say, “I’ve walked an aisle somewhere and that means I’m okay.” Because I don’t care how many aisles you’ve walked, if Jesus isn’t King of your life, aisle-walking won’t save you. So, if Jesus isn’t king in you, you will have no part of the kingdom that is before you. But not only will you not have a part of the kingdom that is before you… you won’t have a part of the kingdom that is around you. You will have no way to reconcile all the bad things that happen in the world. You will have no peace in difficult circumstances. You will have no one to turn to to ease your burdens. You will have no relief or explanation for the trials of life. You might be able to find temporary distractions from those things. But you will never find true peace and relief from them. Hebrews 12:28 says, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” Having the kingdom in you means that when difficulties come, you will not be moved. It means you will experience grace to enable you to persevere. It means that you will be able to serve the Lord with gladness, no matter what circumstances you might be going through. But how do you get there? How do you become a part of this kingdom that Jesus told us to pray about? Colossians 1:13-14 says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Entry into the kingdom has already been bought. It has already been provided. Access has been granted through the blood of the King Himself. By that blood, you can be translated into the kingdom of Jesus.
In your prayers, when you remember these three parts of the kingdom of Christ, it gives you a complete new perspective on the things you ask for. It reminds you of the One who reigns as King. The One who reigns as King of all creation. The One who reigns as Head of His church. And the One who reigns as Master of His children. Are you in His kingdom? Is Jesus your King tonight? The price has been paid. Have you bowed your knee in submission to Him tonight?
