Thy Kingdom Come
I am convinced that many of us don’t comprehend the power of prayer. If you don’t get anything else from this message, get this: much prayer, much power. Little prayer, little power. No prayer, no power. There is power in prayer and that is no more true than in the part of the Lord’s Prayer we’re talking about today: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Today, we’re talking about the power of praying for two things: God’s kingdom and God’s will. But what is God’s kingdom? When Jesus first started his ministry, he announced the kingdom of God was at hand. When we use the word “kingdom” we think of a place or an area with geographic and political boundaries. But the Greek word for "kingdom" in the Bible puts the emphasis on the rule or reign of the king rather on the place that king exercises that reign. In fact, some Bible translations translate the Greek phrase "kingdom of God" as the "reign of God" or the "rule of God" to bring out this idea. If Jesus announced the kingdom or reign of God, why do we see so much evil in the world? Clearly, the kingdom of God has not reached fruition. So we live in a time of tension between the establishment of God’s kingdom and its consummation. Some Bible scholars call this a tension between the "already" aspects of God’s reign and the "not yet" aspects" of God’s reign. The powers of evil and darkness have been defeated by Jesus through his death and resurrection, yet because of the "not yet" there’s still evil and darkness in our world. So when we pray, "your kingdom come" we’re not asking for the "already" part, but we’re looking forward to the "not yet" part when God’s will shall always be followed.
God’s kingdom and God’s will are really two sides of the same coin. Think of God’s kingdom as the big picture perspective, like a telescope looking at the galaxies. God’s kingdom is His saving reign over all of creation. So the phrase God’s kingdom looks at the whole picture, the entire galaxies, from the perspective of Christ’s work being applied and God’s plan of salvation being completely fulfilled. Think of God’s will as looking at the same thing from a smaller perspective, like through a microscope. God’s will is His saving reign in a particular circumstance, like in a relationship, or an issue, or a problem you’re facing. So essentially the phrases "God’s kingdom" and "God’s will" refer to the same reality, God’s saving reign, but from a slightly different perspective.
When you pray for God’s kingdom, what image of the kingdom do you have in mind? Why is that important? If you don’t have an idea about the kingdom of God, then you’re just praying empty words. Even more, what you think about God’s coming kingdom shapes your behavior and life in the present one. If I believe God’s kingdom is one of justice then I am going to engage in activities that promote justice. If I believe that God’s coming kingdom is about caring for the poor, then I am going to be about caring for the poor. Praying for God’s kingdom is praying for God’s law, God’s heart, God’s will and God’s values to be established among us. What does that look like? I think Dr. Martin Luther King began to paint a picture of the kingdom of God here on earth when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, “I have a dream…” and he. (Show Video)
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day….the state of Mississippi….will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama….little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with.”
He was imaging the coming kingdom of God and dreaming what it would like in the present day. “Thy kingdom come on earth as it has already been done in heaven.” When you have an image of the kingdom and begin to pray this prayer earnestly, you not only ask for the kingdom of God to come to pass, you begin to seek the kingdom of God. Our prayers begin to be part of the arsenal of God for change but it’s also through those prauers that God begins to move us to assist in building the kingdom of God. And we begin to echo the words of the prophet Amos to “let justice roll down like a river and righteousness a never failing stream.”
There’s two things we do when we pray for God’s kingdom or reign to come. First, we are inviting God to rule over our lives and our world. Alexander the Great became prince of a small province in northern Greece and in just ten years he became king over most of the known world. As great as his army was, Alexander’s army fought through less than 5% of his territory. What he did was simple. He’d march into a province and give the rulers a choice. They could join him, give him troops and pay tribute, and in return join an economic powerhouse that would enrich their coffers, and their social and intellectual lives. Membership in the kingdom meant protection, trade, knowledge culture. And, it meant power. The same is true in our lives and world when we pray for God’s kingdom or rule, we receive His laws to guide and direct us, His financial, spiritual and relational blessings comes upon us, His way of life becomes our way of life, His protection covers us and His power is available to us.
Second, when we pray for God’s kingdom and reign to come, we are affirming our confidence in the future culmination of God’s plan. This prayer is a statement of faith that God’s plan of salvation cannot be undermined, derailed or defeated. When you look around the world, it can seem like God’s kingdom is anything but being established and built. A loved one is taken from us by a drunk driver. Cancer rears its ugly head in your life. A child dies in a drive by shooting. A marriage breaks apart. A Christian friend betrays us. And doubt and uncertainty can arise in us. In those times, to pray "your kingdom come,” we affirm we’re confident that God’s plan will be completed in spite of the evil in the world we see and experience. We affirm that God’s kingdom will come to fruition. Living in the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" and praying for God’s kingdom, we affirm our confidence that the culmination of God’s plan will come to pass.
“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Praying for God’s will provides the very foundation for our prayers. We are asking that God’s will be done in our lives and in the world surrounding us. I suspect that we often get it in reverse, and pray as if we expect God to do our will. Elmer Towns in His book, “Praying The Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough” writes there are 3 things we do when we pray “Thy will be done.” The first is to know God’s will. Before we can do God’s will, we need to know God’s will. To pray “thy will be done” is a commitment to seeking to know God’s will. Naturally it follows, that if we are going to know the will of God in our everyday affairs, we are going to have to read the book in which his will has been laid out. But the second key to knowing God’s will is not just talking to God in our prayers but to spend the majority of our time in prayer listening for God’s will.
Second, we are submitting our will to God. The fact is most of us are interested in our kingdom and not God’s kingdom. We want our way and not God’s way, our dreams and desires and not God’s dreams and desires for our life. And the reason is that God’s kingdom requires a sacrifice of our kingdom. And that’s part of what this Lenten journey is all about. It is learning to submit to the will of God. Submission is serious business. Even Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Jesus knew that if the Father’s will was ever to come to pass then he would have to submit to the will of God. We must learn to trust God and submit to His will for our life. Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” When you pray “Thy will be done”, you’re asking for God’s will to be done at the sacrifice of your own will. Too often, we love God from a distance because to love God up close and personal means that God may actually ask me to give up some stuff, to deal with some areas of my life I’m really not ready to deal with or to do something I might not have chosen to do myself. Amelia Brown tells the story of loving God tells from a distance in her life. (video) http://daughtersbygrace.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/amena-brown-your-words/ To pray, Thy will be done means you can’t love God from a distance. It means every aspect of your life belongs to God. It means there’s nothing about you that’s off limits to God. So when we pray Thy will be done, we’re submitting ourselves to God, His work and His will to be done.
Third is to seek to accomplish God’s plan. When I pray “Thy will be done,” it makes me want to see God’s will be done. I want to see the world made whole. I want to see justice for the oppressed. I want to see mercy for the hurting and grieving. And wanting is the first step toward doing. When ultimately I want God’s kingdom – when I want his will to advance, I am in a place where God can use me to do just that and I begin to serve him and make the sacrifices to do His will. The Good News is that when you submit to the will and purpose of God for our lives, God will give you everything you need to accomplish His will as long as you are in the center of God’s will for your life. Jesus is building a church and a kingdom and he’s using us and he says to us, Whatever you need, ask and I will provide. More than anything else, in prayer we are praying for God’s will to be done. When you pray that, you say God, I am ready to commit to you and to surrender everything in my life to you and to begin working for you in all times and all places.
One African Pastor had these words tacked on his wall. “I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16)
Thy will be done. In his book, The Great Divorce C.S. Lewis says this: “In the end, there are only two kinds of people. There are those who will say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom, in the end, God must say, ‘OK, your will be done.’” Are you willing to submit your will for His? Are you willing to sacrifice your kingdom for His? Are you willing stop loving God from afar? Are you willing to give over every aspect of your being to God so that which has already been perfected in heaven can become a reality on earth?
