Your Kingdom Come
Matthew 6:10
First Baptist Chenoa
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
2-23-19
Prince Mongo
As Americans, because of our history, we don’t have must trust in kings or queens. In the Revolutionary period, we threw off the shackles of the Sovereign of England and forged our own destiny – don’t tread on me!
But what’s interesting is that Americans are obsessed with royals. We don’t want them ruling over us but many people want to know what Kate had for breakfast.
Growing up in Memphis, I was used to royalty. We had a King living in Graceland. Most people know that. But what many people don’t know is that we also had a prince – Prince Mongo.
Prince Mongo, Robert Hodges, is 333 years old and is from the ruling family of the planet Zambodia. He ran for mayor my entire childhood, owned a great pizza place, drove his neighbors crazy with his yard art (junk), and actually lived in a Castle.
When I was about ten years old, he wrapped himself in saran wrap and climbed into a hot air balloon. He bid all of us a sweet farewell and headed back to his home planet. Thankfully, at the last minute he received a message from Zambodia that told him to stay in Memphis so he landed a few miles away.
It was easy to call Elvis the King or Mongo a prince because they didn’t really hold any power over us. They might have been “royal” but they weren’t sovereigns.
Review
We are currently in a series about prayer focusing on what is commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer” in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew.
The disciples asked Jesus to “teach them to pray” (Luke 11). Jesus responds by giving them a model prayer, just 57 words in the Greek and it takes 20 seconds to pray it. But for 2,000 years believers of every nation have prayed this prayer.
In this prayer, there is a preface and then six different petitions. Two weeks ago, we looked at the preface, “Our Father in Heaven.”
We learned that if we have placed our full faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we have the privilege of addressing God as Abba.
Abba means daddy or papa. It’s a term of endearment. In love, God chose to make us part of His family through adoption. Because we are God’s children, we can approach the throne of grace with “confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
The Lord’s Prayer begins with the word “our” to remind us that we are part of a huge family of believers all over the world.
And lest we are tempted to approach our Abba/Father without awe and reverence, Jesus reminds us that God is “in the heavens.” He is not the “the big man upstairs” but the majestic and mighty King.
Last week, we examined the phrase, “Hallowed be Your Name.” In this first petition, we are asking God to make His Name valued, treasured, revered, and exalted among all mankind. He can’t become more holy but humans can acknowledge Him as holy more and more.
This means at the very least, making sure that we who claim the name of Christ, honor Him with our words, thoughts, and deeds. But it also means taking seriously the call to be living billboards for the glory of God in our lives.
Kingdom Come
After leading the disciples to pray to their Abba that His Name would be exalted in all the earth, he utters three words that have the potential to completely revolutionize the world around us and in us!
Your kingdom come!
If you remember from the first sermon in this series, the verbs of the pray are in the imperative. That means we are commanding God to do something. But they are also in the imperfect mood. We are asking God to make His name hollowed. We are saying, “God, let Your kingdom come!”
This is a revolutionary prayer. This is a dangerous prayer!
Annie Dillard wrote:
“Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness for ladies to wear velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares and they should lash us to the pews!”
Define our terms
Before we dive deep into the concept of the Kingdom of God, it is important that we define our terms.
The word “kingdom” means royal power, kingship, to rule or to reign.
The word “come” implies “suddenly, quickly, insistently.”
The “kingdom of God” is not a place or an identified people. It is the rule of God. ?
Wait, hold on a minute. Are you confused yet? Didn’t Mark write,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand?” (Mark 1:15)
John the Baptist and Jesus Himself said that the kingdom of God “was at hand” or “among you.” (Matt 12:28)
Has the kingdom of God already come or are we still waiting for the kingdom of God to come? The answer is yes!
The Kingdom of God
The term “kingdom of God” is used 65 times in the New Testament and “kingdom of heaven” 30 times. Matthew used kingdom of heaven because his main audience were Jews and he didn’t want to offend them.
John the Baptist began his ministry by proclaiming,
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:1-2)
Jesus begins His ministry with the same words:
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
Earlier in the chapter we are studying in Matthew, Jesus said the kingdom should be our focus,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Upon arriving at Rome, Paul preached and taught about the kingdom,
“So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.” (Acts 28:23)
What’s interesting is that the “kingdom” is not defined very well in the New Testament. It seems that their hearers would have been familiar with this concept. But…the term “kingdom of God” is never used in the Old Testament!
A Hebrew view of History
Although the words “kingdom of God” are not used in the Old Testament, the concept of a kingdom is seen throughout its pages.
Hebrews had a very different view of time and history than other people groups. While many saw history as a series of random events or even a cycle of events, Jewish people believed that history was linear and was purposeful. Time was moving toward something. God was involved in history and He was working out His plan to gather a people to Himself.
The prophets longed for a day when God would finally impose His Kingdom rule all over the earth.
In Genesis 3:15, after the Fall, God gives this prophetic punishment to the snake,
“So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:14-15)
The word “seed” in that verse is singular – a seed, a particular person in time.
Throughout the Old Testament, prophets spoke about a coming King, or Messiah, that would set everything right again.
This would happen on what Scripture calls, “the Day of the Lord.” On that day, God will intervene in history in a radical way. He will completely transform this world, reverse the effects of the fall, judge the wicked and wipe out all evil. He will vindicate those who trusted in Him. There will be no more death, disease, sin, or tears. He will destroy the evil one.
It will usher in a brand new order, centered in God’s Messiah, and humans will be restored to God’s original design.
Isaiah described what the Messiah’s mission would be about,
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God…(Isaiah 61:1-3)
After waiting hundreds of years, a young Galilean rabbi open the scroll in His home synagogue and read these very words. After he finished, He simply said, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
The long awaited King had arrived on the scene. The Kingdom of God was at hand.
He did What?!
Jesus’ miracles validated His claim as King. When He gave sight to the blind, the kingdom was coming near. When He healed the deaf, the kingdom was coming near. When He healed the lame, the kingdom was coming near. When He hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners, the kingdom was coming near. When even the wind and waves obeyed Him, the kingdom was coming near. When He picked a Zealot and a tax collector to be on the same team, the kingdom was coming near. When He raised people from the dead, the kingdom was coming near.
But if the kingdom was at hand, why are we to pray that His Kingdom come?
Already/Not Yet
Jesus is King! Right now, right here. That is the truth. At the Incarnation, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom. When He comes back, He will consummate the kingdom. But we live in between these two events.
Mark 1:15 states,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.”
There are two Greek words for time – “kronos” which is “tick-tick” time measured by clocks and calendars. This is not the word in this verse. The word Mark used is “karios” which means “a time that cannot be measured, a unique moment in time determined by God for the fulfillment of his divine purposes.”
There is a sense of what theologians call the “already/not yet.” Jesus is reigning now but as Augustine wrote,
“Just as light is absent to those who refuse to open their eyes, so it is possible to refuse God’s rule.”
Peter Tork of The Monkeys this week. His death reminded me of a quote from fellow Monkey Micky Dolenz, who is an atheist,
“God is a verb, not a noun.”
Now, Jesus’ reign is only partially seen, it is veiled or hidden. But we long for a day when His kingdom will come in all its fullness.
Parables
In Matthew 13, Jesus gives multiple parables to try to help his disciples understand the kingdom.
Jesus likens the kingdom to a man sowing seeds, to wheat and weeds, to a mustard seed that grows from a tiny seed to a huge tree, to yeast that is mixed into a batch of dough, to a hidden treasure and to a pearl of great price.
The last parable is about something that His disciples would have been very familiar with – a net.
History is moving toward an ending of unimaginable joy for some and unending torment for others.
So What Does this Mean?
So when we pray, “Your Kingdom come,” what are we really asking?
It is a radical request for revolution!
We are asking God to bring it on! Reverse the effects of sin, restore broken humanity, and reign without rival in our lives. Extend Your royal power over every part of our lives. God, so fully rule in us that we want to obey You with all our hearts and with great joy.
Martin Luther described an outward and future dimension of this kingdom.
Now His reign is partially seen but the fullness will be unimaginable. There will be no more suffering, injustice, poverty, or death.
But we are also to yearn for the future life of justice and peace – “may your future kingdom be the end and consummation of the kingdom that you have begun in us!”
We are asking God to haste the day of restoration. We are boldly asking heaven to invade earth.
Sinclair Ferguson writes,
“We pray that the kingdom that has already been established will expand its presence more and more throughout the earth, until the day comes when “the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and Christ, and we will reign forever and ever. (Rev 11:15)
June 6, 1944, is known as D-Day. Over 150,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. Although the war continued, the decisive blow had been dealt. There were more battles and more deaths, but from that day on, the Axis were fighting a losing battle.
What is D-Day for the Christian? Good Friday! The decisive blow was dealt to the powers of evil on the cross as Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”
Paul told the Colossians,
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col 2:15)
But the ultimate victory celebration must await the final triumph of Christ as He gathers in the His Church and establishes the new heaven and new earth.
Until then, we cry out, “Come Lord Jesus, bring your Kingdom!”
Well, some do. I’m not sure that is a prayer that we pray very passionately in the West. But you know who does?
The persecuted church yearns for the kingdom of heaven. The poor, the sick, the hungry pray with tears, “Your Kingdom Come!” Those suffering under tyrannical rulers beg God to establish His kingdom of justice and peace.
In America, more Christians are crying out, “Come Spring Training, Come” than “Your Kingdom Come!”
In America, we rarely think this way. We’ve been trained to protect our little kingdom.
I recently read of a pastor who met with one of his church members. The church was growing and a lot of really amazing things were happening. She said to this pastor, “You have got to stop encouraging us to invite people. All these new people are ruining my church.”
Did you hear it? My church? My Kingdom. In order to say, “Your kingdom come” you must first say, “My kingdom go!”
David wrote,
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10)
In me
In just a minute, we will be focusing on praying about God’s Kingdom coming. But let’s look at how this plays out.
First we pray for the kingdom to come in me.
Max Lucado wrote these challenging words,
“When you say, ‘Your kingdom Come’ you are inviting the Messiah Himself to walk into your world – you can’t have the kingdom without the King. We are saying ‘Come my King!’ Take Your throne in our lives. Be present in my heart. Be present in my marriage, in my family, my fears, my doubts.”
J.I. Packer said,
“The Kingdom of God exists whenever men enthrone Jesus as Master of their lives.
God’s kingdom comes in us when we relinquish our kingdoms, give up trying to control our lives, and allow God to have full reign over us.
Another mega-pastor lost his ministry this past week. Over the last few years, I’ve been deeply grieved as spiritual heroes of mine have been either fired or had to resign because unethical or immoral behavior. I read their books, visited their churches, went to conferences where they spoke, and were encouraged by their “success.” Somewhere along the way, it started being about building their kingdom not the kingdom of God.
I don’t need to be famous. I want to make Jesus famous. My job is to remain faithful.
We pray that God would establish His sovereignty over us on earth and eventually upon the earth itself.
I have one simple question for you this morning. Is He Your King?
Do you why Jesus hasn’t come back yet?
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14)
He’s giving you more time. He’s waiting on you!
Through me
We are also asking God to bring His Kingdom through us.
David Jeremiah paraphrases these three little words this way,
“God you are King. You live in my heart. And I want your kingdom principles and purposes to be lived out in me, as you reign within me. I know that the manifest, visible kingdom isn’t here on earth yet, but I can be a little touch of heaven as I walk with You and talk with You and live for You each and every day.”
The Kingdom is always expanding outwards.
I visited someone in the hospital this week who told me this story. They were sitting in the ER waiting room when an older lady approached him. She asked what was wrong and then quietly said, “Can I pray for you?” He immediately said yes. She told him that some people get really angry at her when she asks.
She brought the kingdom near in the ER waiting room.
When we listen to those and pray with those who are struggling with grief, sadness, or sickness, we are bringing the kingdom near.
The kingdom of God is being brought near all over this community and beyond. We have agents behind enemy lines bringing a little touch of the kingdom to earth at the post office, a greenhouse, the school systems, the courthouse, at CAT, at State Farm, at the Dinky Diner, at Walgreens pharmacy, at SAP computers, at the grain elevators, at peace meals, at convenience stores, at the gym, at the VFW, and at Chenoa Motor Company.
I’ve hesitated sharing this story but it is a beautiful example of the kingdom of heaven invading the kingdom of earth.
In January, I had the opportunity to be a part of one of the most joyful things I’ve ever seen. A car was donated and then fixed up. We got to hand the car keys to someone who desperately needed a car for his job. We literally gave a car away! An entire group of people who want to remain anonymous made this happen!
Through the Church
We are to pray that the kingdom comes in me, through me, and then through the called out assembly known as God’s plan A for the world – the church.
Let me end with a story that I told the first or second time I preached here. I know a lot of you weren’t there so forgive me if you’ve heard this.
Nicky Green is the head cheerleader at a large church in Bloomington. Women trapped in the sex trades have broken her heart. She put together and team and brainstormed how they could reach out to these women.
They put together a Mother’s Day basket and took them to one of the strip clubs. They asked the manager if they could give the baskets to the dancers. He shrugged and said he didn’t care.
They went back stage and explained to them what they were doing. In the basket were all kind of goodies but the most important thing to Nicky was the sermon CDs and her card. She told the girls that if they ever needed anything, please call. (THROUGH ME)
A couple of weeks later she got a call from one of the dancers. She wanted to know if she could have more sermon CDs. She not only listen to the two in her basket, she went around and asked if she could have any others. Nicky took a deep breath and said, “Forget that, please come and hear it with me live. You can sit with me.”
This woman got quiet on the phone and finally said, “People like me aren’t welcome in church.” Nicky laughed and said, “Well you don’t know our church!”
Long story short, she did attend and then attended again and again. She committed her life to Christ and was baptized. What a lot of people didn’t know was that there were a whole of visitors that morning. A row of fellow strippers that had come to see her get baptized. And the manager. Who was this women’s boyfriend. And he committed his life to Christ! They got married.
The reason I know this story is because Maxine and I were present when the church commissioned this couple into their new ministry that will reach back into the strip clubs and help rescue others.
That’s the church being serious about bringing kingdom light into the darkness of this world.
That’s what we are called to do here and we will do anything short of sin to help people far from God find their way home.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer
Time of Prayer
Ending Prayer
Father, Your reign of light and joy and power and justice and wholeness is veiled. O God, unveil Your kingdom here on earth just as it is in heaven. King of Kings, break through the veil of hiddenness and manifest your royal splendor and might and holiness and goodness.
