"The King And His Kingdom"

“The King and His Kingdom”

January 15, 2012

Matthew 6:9-13:

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Later translators added: “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Jesus had a lot to say about prayer. He said a lot about how NOT to pray and give us very precise instructions on how to PREPARE ourselves for prayer – and even on WHAT to pray. Maybe we ought to do a study on that one of these days – but this morning I want to talk to you about a ‘kingdom’. Jesus taught us to pray for its coming every single day – “Thy Kingdom come. Every day we ought to be concerned about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven and where we fit in it all.

Maybe we better first define what a Kingdom in. Simply put, the word "kingdom" in the original language means "rule" or "reign". If I am a part of a particular kingdom - that means I am under the ruler of that kingdom’s reign. In other words, to be a subject in a kingdom means pretty much the same as having a citizenship in a country. Back in the old days, there were a lot of kingdoms and kings. Just look at the Old Testament. Every little town had a king – not a mayor – but a king. A king held rule and reign as long as he could control the subjects and defend his kingdom. But the bottom line is a kingdom is place where a particular king ruled.

Have you ever realized that you are, or at least have been, a king of a kingdom? Actually, we are subjects in a number of kingdoms – kind of like I live in the town of Weed that has a City Council that rules, and I live in Siskiyou County that has a board of Supervisors. I also live in California that has a governor and a legislature and then I am a citizen of the United States of America as well.

That’s quite a few kingdoms I belong to. Quite a few kings I have to answer to. Quite a few kingdoms I have to support with my taxes. Quite a few kings with laws I am requited to obey. Quite a few kings that want a piece of me!

Our kingdoms are kind of like pedals on a flower. They all over lap a little bit – but at the very center is the core or disc floret. That would be us. The very center of all our kingdoms is us. And ultimately, we are in control. The final word lies with us. No one can make us do anything. We are the ‘king’ of our personal kingdom. Those other kingdoms and kings have reign over us only so long as we are willing to submit to them. We can choose to not submit; not pay their taxes; not obey their laws. But you better understand - there is a consequence to our choices. Because each of these kingdoms has authority and each of these kingdoms has power to enforce their will on us. But if we are willing to pay the price for our choices – no one can force us to be subject in their kingdoms. It has to be a willing choice on our part – or at least by unconscious submission. Maybe most people are like mindless cattle in a herd, never thinking about where they are headed; never questioning their choices; never realizing they are headed to the slaughterhouse or being stampeded over a cliff.

But the fact of the matter is that they have been made kings of their own little kingdoms and their destiny is their own choice – whether they realize it or not. Whether they visualize it or not – they are sitting on the throne of their kingdom and calling the shots.

And at some point in life – the King of kings comes and invites us to relinquish the rule of our kingdom to Him. Running our kingdom is hard work! We have to think and make decisions and make hard choices. And sometimes the consequences are very painful. So Jesus, kind, gentle, loving Jesus - comes to us and says, “Can I help?” Would you like me to take over?”

Many of us gratefully say, “YES! Please take over. You take responsibility for my life and my eternal destiny. I’m not qualified! I’m not smart enough! I’m not strong enough! Yes, Jesus! Please take me into your kingdom. I give you my kingdom. I give you my kingship. I believe you will do a much better job for me that the job I am doing.