Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
We are moving through the Sermon on the Mount and last week we entered into what is a familiar prayer in Scripture - The Lord’s Prayer. Over the last several weeks, I’ve challenged you to strengthen your prayer life. I believe the greatest weapon we have in our lives and the most potent power available to us is also the most neglected. I can say that for myself as a pastor, I face an onslaught of warfare spiritually daily, and if I could do one thing to overcome these forces better, it would be to pray more.
Last week I shared with you some principles on the opening lines of the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father who is in heaven, Hollowed be Your name.” And within these ten words are some of the most glorious mysteries for us to behold about the Almighty God. We could spend weeks unpacking the depth of these words, the character of God, and the holiness of His name.
The other week during Wednesday Bible Study, I share a story with our group about “The Sparkle Creed.” It is a modification of the Apostle’s Creed to accommodate wokism and liberalism in the apostate church. Their changing of the character of God created for them a false god that is nothing like the god of the Bible. It is blasphemy.
So it is essential for us to realize not only how to pray, but also who it is we are praying to in the first place. When a man begins to create or change God in our own image, we quickly and easily shift to idolatry. And the more we understand the character and nature of God, the better we can know Him. That truly is part of the key purpose of prayer is to have fellowship with God.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian, it is more than knowing the right information and the right theology; it is about having the right relationship. We can master information about God and fail to know Him. We can be so busy studying God’s word that we fail to hear His voice. Likewise, we can make prayer into a discipline—a personal “quiet time.” If we need quiet time to have a good day, we miss the point. We pray to meet God. So with that, we need to know who we are praying to: Our Father in Heaven.
Today we are going to look at verse 10 of the Lord’s prayer, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” Let us stand together and read these words together:
“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]” (Matthew 6:9–13)
Now you will notice the little brackets on the last phrase in verse 13. That is because some (not all) of the early texts did not include it. For example, the Didache is a Christian text written in the first century AD (around the year 90AD) shortly after the Bible itself was completed. It has the long ending of the Lord’s Prayer in it. So we know that this line was used in worship from the earliest times. (https://pastortimlecroy.com/2012/09/06/long-ending-lords-prayer)
People will ask me what the Lord’s prayer is about. That’s a good question because we meet the significance of the blessing if we merely recite this prayer without contemplating its meaning. At its core, the Lord’s Prayer (or the Disciple’s Prayer, as some like to call it) is all about making sure our priorities align with God’s.
New York Stockbroker had just purchased a brand-new porsche. He parked it in front of his office to show it off to his colleagues. As he’s getting out of the car, an SUV comes speeding along too close to the curb and takes off the door before driving off. The man gets very upset. He grabs his cell phone and calls the police. It takes them five minutes to show up.
Before the office has a chance to ask any questions, the man starts screaming hysterically, “My Porsche, my beautiful silver Porsche is ruined. No matter how long it’s at the body shop, it’ll never be the same again!
When the man finishes his rant, the policeman shakes his head in disgust. “I can’t believe how materialistic you are,” He says, “You are so focused on your possessions that you don’t notice anything else in your life.”
“How can you say such a thing at a time like this,” sobbed the Porsche owner.
The policeman replied. “Didn’t you realize your right arm went with the door?”
The stockbroker looked down in horror and screamed, “My Rolex!” (J.D. Tutell, Sermon Central)
There are so many who are like a stockbroker, and their priorities are all wrong. We are focused on the things of this earth and care nothing about our eternity. The Lord’s prayer reorients our priorities back to God. So when we pray “Your Kingdom come, you will be done...” We are saying to God that His Lordship and His Kingdom take precedence over our own. We want Christ’s rule in our lives to become more and more evident.
1. Your Kingdom Come is a Yielding Prayer
The Greek word for kingdom (basileia) occurs 162 times in the New Testament, so clearly, this is an essential biblical term. Although the Lord’s Prayer uses the word kingdom as a stand-alone term, it references God’s kingdom. Any correct understanding of the kingdom in the New Testament must emphasize that it is the kingdom of God. (Kevin DeYoung)
“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matthew 12:28 LSB)
Jesus and John the Baptist preached, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand.’ So in one sense, it is something that is yet to come, and in another reason, it is something that is here now.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, (1 Peter 5:6)
Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Colossians 1:13)
The first step in salvation is yielding the will over to God. Forgiveness is found in our humility before God. Praying for God’s Kingdom to Come is saying to God. Lord, my life is in your hands. This world is not my home, but I am your child, and as your child, I submit myself to you.
In doing so, the battles we face are no longer ours alone. Our battles over sin, temptation, and the attacks of the enemy are fought from a position of victory. "We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." Oswald Chambers
Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
When the Bible says that God will fight our battles, it means we do not have to anguish, be anxious, or be discouraged over anything in our lives. When a situation seems hopeless or the matter at hand is too overwhelming, we may be tempted to doubt God. We may be tempted to take the problems into our own hands. But Christians must remember that no problem is beyond the scope of God’s care for His children. He has promised to take care of us (Philippians 4:19), make good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and love us beyond measure (Romans 8:37–39). (Credit: God Questions).
“Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. (Job 22:21)
Even Jesus here on Earth submitted his will to the Father. When it came time to face the cross, the agony before seemed overwhelming. Instead of doing what he wanted, he too, submitted to God.
Saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me, yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
You see, we cannot contend with God’s name to be Hallowed without also desiring for the coming of His Kingdom, and if we truly desire for his Kingdom to come into our lives, then we expect to submit to His will instead of our own.
2. Your Kingdom Come is an Evangelistic Prayer
However, ‘Your Kingdom comes” is more than a personal petition for God’s will to be done in our lives. ‘Your Kingdom Come’ is a prayer that desires God’s will to be accomplished in the lives of those around us.
I think one of the more significant shifts in the Church today, is a loss of the devotion of God’s Word. We have concealed and muted the truth of God’s word because its message is offensive to the world around us. So rather than speaking the truth about marriage and sexuality, idolatry, or any other topic that our culture has deemed the Bible to be intolerant, we just ignore it.
As Christians, we recognize the precedence of Scripture in our lives, with Jesus being the Living Word. The understanding of Scripture begins with the knowledge that God has chosen to communicate with us. Without this revelation, we could not know God at all. Now if we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then we need to uphold it - all of it - to that authority. If we want to see the lost come to the same saving truth, then they need to know that truth in us.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, (Hebrews 1:1–2)
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
We must understand that the Kingdom of God is not immaterial, nor is it limited to the human heart. His kingdom isn’t indifferent to how Christians treat their fellow human beings. His kingdom is different from the power-grabbing, violence-driven kingdoms and policies of this world. Jesus’ kingdom is a kingdom of peace and justice that enters the world first as an offer of grace and mercy. But the complete fulfillment of the advent of that kingdom is yet to come.
When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we ask God to shine His light into the world so that others may respond to Him with awe and reverence, knowing that the days are short and is arrival is imminent
But He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to THE END OF THE EARTH.” (Acts 1:7–8)
"Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Consider your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!" Andrew Murray
3. Your Kingdom Come is a Prophetic Prayer
To pray ‘Your Kingdom Come’ is to look forward expectantly for Jesus’ Second Coming. Very soon, the Church will be Raptured for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb and the Bema Seat of Christ. After the Church is taken away, the world will endure seven years of Tribulation, God’s wrath, the rule of the Antichrist. At the end of those 7 Years, Christ will return to the earth triumphantly with the Church behind him and defeat Satan and the Antichrist. Upon which, he will fully establish God’s Kingdom on the earth by removing all evil, wickedness, and lawlessness. God’s will and purpose for earth will be fully realized.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:3)
‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He can even subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20–21)
There is no doubt that the last few years were a watershed time prophetically. When we pray, ‘Your kingdom come,’ it is like praying, ‘Maranatha!’ we desire to see the fulfillment of God’s prophetic word.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, (2 Peter 3:10–14)
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25)
As believers in Jesus, we acknowledge God as our King. Praying, “Your Kingdom come,” means we desire for His sovereign rule over our lives here on earth, as we submit to His authority and yield to His control in every aspect of our existence. Likewise, praying, “Thy Kingdom come,” means we earnestly yearn for God’s reign to be established throughout the whole earth and over every human being. We pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” so that God’s sovereign rule will come now and in the future in its fullness and permanence.
Some will echo a popular but unbiblical reference to what is known as “Kingdom Now Theology.” It is the belief that the Kingdom of God has already been fully established here on earth, and Jesus is just waiting for it to be perfected so that he can return and take his throne. If that is the case, we’re doing a pretty lousy job.
Kingdom Now’s denial of the Rapture is unbiblical. The explanation that the rapture is nothing more than the people of God being caught up in ecstatic feelings merges with the “feeling and emotions” that tend to permeate churches today.
When we are praying, “your Kingdom Come,” we are keeping our eyes and our hearts focused on God’s plans to be fulfilled in our own lives and the fulfillment of prophecy to complete His plans.
The Bible says that unbelief quenches the Spirit and that the Spirit responds in proportion to our faith, specifically regarding prophecy (Piper)
Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophecies, (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20)
Likewise, Jesus repeatedly urged us to be watchful and expect his return:
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying earnestly that you may have the strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)
“See to it, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. (Mark 13:33)
praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:18)
Conclusion
We can learn a lot about our faith by looking at our prayer life. What are the priorities in your prayers? Does it begin with God? The first half of the Lord’s Prayer is so God-centered that it prompts us to scrutinize our prayers. What do we pray for? Do we praise or thank God for a moment, and then move to a string of petitions? Do we ask, again and again, for health, peace, and prosperity for one person after another? Let us not miss the point of prayer. Let us pray above all that the person of our Lord be blessed
