SERIES: The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed #9
TITLE: Kingdom Power and Glory
TEXT: Matthew 6:9-13
INTRO: In a small town in Oklahoma there were two churches and one distillery. Members of both churches complained that the distillery was giving the community a bad image. And to make matters worse the owner of the distillery was an out spoken atheist. He didn’t believe in God one bit. The church people had tried unsuccessfully for years to shut down the distillery. So finally they decided to hold a joint Saturday night prayer meeting. They were going to ask God to intervene and settle the matter.
The church folks gathered on Saturday night and there was a horrible thunderstorm raging outside and to the delight of the church members lightning hit the brewery and it burned to the ground. The next morning sermons were preached in both churches on the power of prayer. But the insurance adjusters notified the distillery owner that they were not going to pay for the damages because the fire was an act of God and that was an exclusion in the policy.
The distillery owner was furious and he sued both churches claiming that they had conspired with God to destroy his business. But the churches denied that they had anything to do with the cause of the fire. The presiding judge opened the trial with these words: “I find one thing in this cause most perplexing-we have a situation here where the plaintiff, an atheist is professing his belief in the power of prayer, and the defendants all faithful church members are denying the very same power”
A SAINT PRAYS:
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
forever. Amen.
“Do you know what would bring me glory?
What would really make me happy?”
No, but I’d like to know. I now want to please you. I can see what a mess I’ve made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers.”
“You just answered the question.”
I did?
“Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together.”
Lord, let’s see what we can make of me, okay?
“Yes, let’s see.”
In the Lord’s Prayer, we have made several requests:
1. That we would bring honor to God’s name,
2. That God would rule in our hearts,
3. That God’s will would be done in and through us,
4. That God would provide for us,
5. That God would forgive us and enable us to forgive others,
6. That God would protect us from temptation and the forces
of evil.
The prayer ends with a Doxology (v.13b)
“...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever.”
I. THE PROPRIETORSHIP: ( For thine is the kingdom.. )
A. God is the Owner of the Universe
1. He is before all things
2. He created all things
3. He upholds all things
4. He is above all things
5. He knows all things
6. He accomplishes all things
7. He rules over all things
8. He is in control of all things.
B. Do We Really Want God to Own Our Lives?
It’s easy to pray “For Thine is the Kingdom” but our hearts do not always match our words
(Mat.15:8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
C. Do We Really Want His Kingdom or Ours?
1. We want our time to be used the way we want to use it
2. We want our money to be used the way we want
to use it
3. We want our children to succeed in the way we want
them to succeed
4. We want our plans to be approved by God so we will
have what we want
5. We want our church to be comfortable, and not have to
be involved in its work.
D. We Cannot Demand Things from God
1. The kingdom is His
2. All we receive, we receive by grace
II. THE POWER: (...and the power )
A. We are Praying to an All-Powerful God.
B. We Try to Get by on Our Own
1. We face a problem and try to solve it ourselves
2. We try to serve Christ in our own strength
3. We try to build the church in our own strength
4. We try to witness in our own strength
5. We try to live the right way in our own strength
C. Our Very Breath is a Gift from Him
-And we must depend on His Power, not our own
(Mat. 6:33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
D. Jesus Demonstrated His Power While on Earth
(Mar. 4:39) And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
III. THE PRESTIGE: (...and the glory, for ever..)
A. All Glory Belongs to God
-We should ask God to grant our requests with the motive
of glorifying Him
B. Our Purpose is to Serve & Glorify God
1. Not to always be seeking personal advancement
2. There’s no room for human pride in His kingdom
C. Jesus Displayed this Attitude
-He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane:
(Luk.22:41-42) And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
CONCL: The Lord's Prayer closes with the word “Amen.”
1. Amen is the last word in the Bible.
2. Amen” is found 25 times in the Old Testament
3. Amen” is found 125 times in the New Testament.
4. It means “So Be It.”
Amen
