Praying for the Kingdom

Let's read together the Lord's Prayer from Matthew's Gospel.

So that's found in Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 to 13.

Matthew 6:9–13

And Jesus teaches us to pray like this.

He says,

Pray then like this.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

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

Give us this day 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 evil.

This is God's holy word.

And it's good to see so many of you here tonight.

I'm really excited.

Keep your Bibles open on the Lord's Prayer.

Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

We are going through the Lord's Prayer still,

which is almost like a little series in another series.

You know, we're still in the Sermon on the Mount,

but Jesus is now teaching the people the Lord's Prayer.

Lewis was last week preaching on the beginning of the Lord's Prayer,

our Father in heaven,

and the comfort we find in that, that we are praying to our Father.

And this time we're looking at the next verse,

which is about the kingdom of God.

Martin Lloyd-Jones, the famous Welsh preacher in the city of London

in the 20th century,

he writes this about the Lord's Prayer.

Any man who attempts to preach on the Lord's Prayer

must surely find himself in great difficulties.

There is a sense in which it's almost presumptuous to preach on it at all.

One should simply repeat these phrases and meditate upon them

and consider them from the heart.

For they themselves say everything.

And the more I study this prayer,

the more I believe that if only one used these phrases

as our Lord intended them to be used,

there is really nothing more to be said.

But on the other hand, he says,

we're all frail and fallible.

We're all sinful creatures.

And the result is that we need to have these things analyzed and enforced.

So we'll try to do that a little bit today.

We try to analyze and then enforce,

apply to our hearts the words of the Lord's Prayer.

But Martin Lloyd-Jones is giving us the application,

the application in this series, right?

It's a prayer.

We have to pray the Lord's Prayer.

It's something we can preach from,

but if you don't pray it,

then it doesn't really have any value.

Verse 10, the kingdom of God.

It's a fairly short verse.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is on heaven.

This verse talks about the kingdom of God.

And the kingdom of God, I have to tell you,

is one of the biggest themes that we find in all of Scripture.

During the summer,

we had a sermon series called Kingdom Parables.

So today I will try a little bit

to explain what the kingdom of God is.

But if you still want more explanation,

you can go back on Spotify or on YouTube

and listen to this sermon series on the kingdom,

on parables about the kingdom.

Because Jesus gives us pictures

to explain what the kingdom of God is like

because it is not all that easy to say it in words.

My sermon today is two parts, okay?

We will try to figure out what the kingdom of God is,

and then we will try to figure out

why we should pray for the kingdom.

So let's start with the first.

What is the kingdom of God?

Sometimes it is helpful to look at words

and where they come from

because our English words and the biblical words,

they are not always the same principles.

So the word kingdom,

we all know the word kingdom

because if someone asks you,

where do you live?

You say, I live in Scotland

or I live in the United Kingdom.

So we associate the word kingdom with a place.

A kingdom is a place where a king rules.

In the biblical languages, however,

the word kingdom refers not only to a place,

but it also refers to an action.

The word kingdom stuck with us

from the King James Version

and before that from William Tyndale's

translations of the Bible.

But in the biblical languages,

it refers more to the activity of a king

reigning over his people.

So we could say it means,

the kingdom of God means,

it is, or the kingdom of God is

where God's will is done,

where God reigns.

And that is why right after

the first sentence in our verse,

your kingdom come,

we read, your will be done.

It is two sides of the same coin.

The kingdom of God is

where God's will is done.

And you see,

the world had become a place

where God's will hadn't been done.

It wasn't enforced.

Therefore,

Jesus is now announcing

that God's reign has come.

However,

kingdom,

this word kingdom,

still assumes a place

because if you say,

okay,

God's will is done,

God is sovereign,

God is ruling,

then it still assumes

that he's ruling over people

somewhere,

right?

But if we look at the second part

of this word kingdom,

dem,

you know,

the,

what do you say,

suffix,

prefix,

I don't know.

It's like boredom,

you know,

it's a state,

it's a condition,

the condition of being bored.

Now,

kingdom is the condition

of being kinged,

of being ruled,

of being reigned over.

It's quite simple,

the definition,

admittedly,

but maybe it's helpful

to think about it like that.

The second thing I want to say

is that the kingdom

is the gospel.

And what I mean by that

is that in the Bible,

we always talk about

the gospel

as the key message.

But one scholar says

that the kingdom of God

is the idea

that stitches

the whole Bible together.

And that's really helpful

because it's true.

From the first page

in the Bible,

Genesis 1,

to the last page

in the Bible,

in the book of Revelations,

we find this idea

of the kingdom of God.

From the garden

to the city,

from Eden

to New Jerusalem.

And Jesus himself

mentions the kingdom

80 times,

I think,

in the gospels.

Which makes you think,

okay,

I thought the gospels,

you know,

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

he lived,

he died,

he was raised again.

That is the main message.

So why do I say

the kingdom of God

is the main message?

Because it's one,

it's the same thing.

Even Jesus himself says,

he uses the phrase,

the gospel of the kingdom

of God.

If you were here

last Sunday morning,

maybe you heard

Corey preach

on the question,

what is the gospel?

And he said something like,

the gospel is good news.

It's an announcement.

It's like a newspaper article

announcing something,

giving you news.

The gospel is news

of the return of the king.

That finally,

in the midst of chaos,

there will be order.

In the midst of violence,

there will be peace.

And in the midst of darkness,

there will be light.

The good news,

the gospel is,

that the kingdom of God

has arrived.

Through the king,

who comes in the middle of history

to put things right again.

The kingdom is the gospel.

The whole Bible

is about God's kingdom.

Thirdly,

kingdom means dominion.

Dominion is not a word

we use often.

in our day-to-day colloquial language.

But it's throughout

the whole Bible.

Again,

it starts on the first page.

Genesis 1,

Genesis 1:26

verse 26.

We read about this word,

dominion.

Interestingly,

it's not about

God having dominion,

but it's about God

giving us dominion.

So what we learn

in that passage

is actually

that God

wanted us

to rule.

So we read,

God said,

let us make man

in our image

after our likeness

and let them have dominion

over the fish

over the sea

and over the birds

of the heavens

and over the livestock

and over all the earth

and over every creeping thing

that creeps on the earth.

So,

we see that

we have this dominion

language

right from the beginning

of the Bible

in the garden,

not for God himself

having dominion

over us,

but actually

for us

to rule

over creation,

intended in a very good way

with responsibilities.

Why?

Because we are

image bearers

of God.

We get this

royal task

of ruling,

of subduing

the creation

and caring for it.

We are all

cultivators.

We bring order

into chaos.

We are all

gardeners in a way.

We cultivate,

we develop,

we are supposed

to reign over creation.

We were given

dominion.

Now,

Richard Dawkins,

the popular

atheist,

in his book

The God Delusion,

he says

a lot of things

about God,

but one of the things

he says is that

God is an unforgiving

control freak.

But in Genesis 1,

we see

God giving

dominion over nature

and over animals

to human beings.

God makes

Adam and Eve

co-rulers

over his kingdom.

He gives them

the ability

to choose

between right

and wrong.

So,

is that a control freak?

Is that what

a control freak does?

I don't think so.

The problem is not

that God is

a control freak.

The problem is

that we as human

beings,

we want to set up

our own kingdom.

We didn't want

to share with God.

We wanted to be

God ourselves.

So,

we had to leave

the kingdom

to set up

our own kingdom.

And now,

the other part

of Dawkins'

claim,

he says,

God is unforgiving.

That is not true.

The rest of the Bible,

after the first

three chapters,

is the story

about how God

is trying to save us

from ourselves,

from our own kingdom

that has gone wrong

again,

and again,

and again,

culminating in

Jesus Christ,

the Son of God,

becoming human himself,

leaving his glory,

writing himself

into history,

and dying

for our sin,

dying for our rebellion,

dying for the fact

that we weren't satisfied

with ruling

alongside God.

God wants to say,

come back to the kingdom.

Now,

the problem is

we can't do that.

We have left

the kingdom.

We are sinful.

Sin is not permitting

us to come back

to him.

So what did he do?

He sent his own son.

He sent Jesus Christ.

And what did Jesus do?

He took all the sin

on himself.

He became

the sin

that was keeping us

from entering

the kingdom of God

so that we might enter.

He became

the outsider.

He became

the outcast.

He left the city

so that we

might enter

the kingdom

of God.

That is,

today is Palm Sunday.

A lot of churches

are celebrating

Palm Sunday.

What do we do?

What do we read about

in the Bible

on Palm Sunday?

Jesus entering

Jerusalem.

He's received

like a king.

And a few days later,

he's crucified

with a crown

of thorns.

Outside of the city,

he is left

at becoming the sin

so that we

might enter it.

fourthly,

the kingdom

is already

but not yet.

Maybe you've

heard this before

if you've been

to church

for a while.

If you grew up

in church,

you've heard people

talking about the

already but not

yet.

It's weird,

isn't it,

that we read

in the Gospels

that Jesus says

the kingdom of God

is at hand.

It has arrived,

but in the Lord's prayer,

he tells us

to pray for it.

How can that be?

And honestly,

that can be confusing,

but it just shows you

how the kingdom of God

is a very complex idea,

that it's multi-layered,

that there are

many aspects to it,

and one of those

aspects is time.

Because,

as I said,

we read that the kingdom

of God is here,

but also that there

is so much more

to come.

Theologians,

therefore,

speak about the kingdom

of God having

been inaugurated

already.

It's been established.

It is here,

through Jesus Christ.

However,

it is not yet

fully realized,

not yet fully consummated.

So,

we live in the present,

knowing that we can be

part of this kingdom

if we repent

and believe,

and also,

that there is something

more to come.

A reality

in which Christ

will sit

on the throne,

ruling

over new creation.

Some people have

compared it to

D-Day and

V-Day.

So,

in the Second World War,

you had D-Day,

which is when

the Allies said,

we will free Europe,

and they've sent

their soldiers,

and they landed

on the beaches

in France.

And then,

one year later,

you had V-Day,

when the actual

victory was

accomplished.

It was already

decided the war

was going to end,

but the actual

victory came

a year later.

So,

it's a bit like that.

We live in the

here and now.

We're cleansed

from our sin.

We're able to

choose the right

thing,

yet we still

live in a fallen

world,

and the battle

is still going

on around us,

so we still

fall into sin.

We live in the

understanding that

we have eternal

life in Jesus Christ,

yet we are still

surrounded by death.

We know that one

day all tears

will be wiped

away,

yet we mourn,

and we grieve,

and we shed tears

as this life brings

us suffering and

troubles.

Yet we have the

promise that one

day that will all

be done away with.

And that is

unbelievable and

difficult sometimes

to fully realize,

to wrap our

heads around.

It seems too

good to be true

almost, even so

good that a lot

of people have

struggled to see

it.

Friedrich Nietzsche,

I'm not the only

one who quotes

German thinkers

from this pulpit.

We've heard a lot

of Nietzsche and

other people

lately.

Nietzsche says

this,

the kingdom of

heaven is a

condition of the

heart.

Is that correct?

Would we agree?

I think to a

degree, yes.

The kingdom of

heaven is a

condition of the

heart.

If God rules in

your heart,

that's a good

thing.

Then the kingdom

of heaven is

within you.

And here he goes

wrong, because

what he says next

is, it is not

something that

comes above the

earth or after

death.

And that's where

Nietzsche is

wrong, because it

will be.

It is promised.

God has promised

that we will one

day see him face

to face.

It's the already

but not yet.

Karl Marx says,

religion is the

sigh of the

oppressed creature,

the heart of a

heartless world.

It's the opium of

the people.

Karl Marx said,

it's the opium of

the people.

Why?

Because he sees

that religion, it

helps people.

Somehow it gives

them strength to

keep on in this

cruel world.

For him, of course,

it's just a

distraction of his

cause of social

liberation.

But what he fails

to see is that

actually it's not

just opium.

It's the medicine

that gives you

healing.

It's a true hope.

It is something so

much bigger than

just a nice idea.

It is real.

Secondly, why

should we pray for

the kingdom to

come?

I've tried to

come up with a

list of ideas

and reasons why

we should pray for

the kingdom of

God to come.

And the first

reason is this,

because Jesus

tells us so.

Jesus tells us to

pray for it because

it is for our

good, ultimately.

That's the first

reason.

Second reason,

Sinclair Ferguson,

the great Scottish

theologian, he

says,

out of love for

him and our

concern for his

glory, we pray

that his kingdom

will come out of

love for God and

out of our own

concern for his

glory.

As I said, we

already live in the

kingdom, yet its

final flowing is

still awaited.

We therefore pray

that the kingdom

that has already

been established

will express its

presence more and

more throughout the

earth, he writes,

until the day

comes when the

kingdom of the

world has become

the kingdom of

our Lord and of

his Christ, and he

will reign forever

and ever.

It's about God's

glory, about God's

glory.

Thirdly, we should

pray for the

kingdom so that the

kingdom grows within

our own hearts and so

that we submit to

God's will.

Praying for the

kingdom will bring

the idea of the

kingdom into our

minds.

It will make us

kingdom-minded

people.

Praying for the

kingdom will make

you see the world

around you with

different eyes,

through a different

lens.

Why?

One of the main

purposes of prayer

is not to ask God

the Father to change

his will, but

actually to submit

to his will.

It's a warming up

to the promises he

has given us.

It's an act of

accepting and

submitting to God,

to the hard things

that we are walking

through, in the

knowledge that in

all things God

works for the good

of those who love

him.

Tim Keller writes

about this.

He says,

Jesus submitted to

the Father's will,

under circumstances

far more crushing

than any of us

will ever face.

Jesus admitted to

his Father's will

rather than

following his own

desires, and it

saved us.

That's why we

can trust him.

Jesus is not

asking us to do

anything for him

that he hasn't

already done for us.

Under conditions

of difficulty,

beyond our

comprehension.

You see, we

can trust Jesus

when he says,

pray for the

kingdom, submit

to his will.

Without this

trust, what

happens?

We will try to

take God's

place, and we

will pray, my

kingdom come, my

will be done, on

earth as it is in

my imagination.

You know?

But if you see,

if we pray for the

kingdom to come, we

are aware that if

God would have

given us what we

deserved, then none

of us would be part

of his kingdom.

We submit to his

will.

And actually, we

want to love his

will.

Submission is not

going far enough.

I know some of

you here submit to

his will and do

his will.

We all try to do

that as a Christian

family together, but

not all of us love

his will.

And that's

difficult.

It's difficult to

love God's will.

But that is the

idea of this

prayer, to warm up

to that.

Your will be

done.

Jesus praying in

the garden, kneeling

down.

If you can, let

this cup pass.

But if not, then

your will be

done.

Your will be

done.

Why else?

Why should we pray

for the kingdom

of God?

As an encouragement

for us, it reminds

us of our identity

in Christ, that we

are adopted, that we

are accepted, and

that we are loved.

It helps our

assurance.

It frees us from

our doubts.

If we pray this

prayer and preach

to ourself that the

kingdom will come,

that God's will be

done on earth as it

is in heaven.

C.S. Lewis says

that often we are

satisfied with playing

in mud puddles because

we can't imagine what

a holiday at the beach

would look like.

Sometimes this idea

of heaven to come,

the kingdom of God

seems too good to be

true.

But if we pray for the

kingdom to come, we

remind ourselves and

we preach to ourselves

the reality of God's

will to come even

more and even better

than what it is now.

In Lord of the Rings,

in the third book or

third movie, depending

on whether you read

or watch it, I mean

all of us have read or

watched it, I hope,

we get this illustration.

We get Aragorn and he

is the king of Gondor

and the book is giving

us him as an illustration

of what a just king

looks like, a humble

king, a kind king,

powerful, wise, worthy.

And all of that is just

a mere glimpse of what

the true king Jesus is

like.

Now the difference

between Aragorn and

Jesus is this.

Aragorn is fictional.

Jesus Christ isn't.

Jesus Christ is the

king who will return

and then the world

will see and know.

And when we pray for

the kingdom to come,

we are praying for

God's upside down

kingdom to come.

Remember, the kingdom

is good news.

It's the gospel.

I say upside down

kingdom because in

God's kingdom, the

king is the servant.

In God's kingdom,

tears are wiped away.

In God's kingdom,

the judge becomes the

one who is judged.

The sad will be happy.

The desperate will be

joyful.

Anger will become

kindness.

Sin will be done

away with.

Selfishness will not

exist and love will

rule.

And it's already here.

The prince of peace

will sit on his throne

of mercy and he will

wipe away our tears.

We should pray for the

kingdom of God, for our

own sanctification as

well.

We are promised in the

Bible that we will be

co-heirs with Christ.

We are, if we believe,

if we repent and believe

in Jesus Christ, we are

his brothers, which means

we are adopted.

We are part of God's

family.

We are sons and

daughters of the king.

When I was a child, my

mom used to read stories

to me before I go to bed.

And this is one story.

And I tried to translate

the title.

It's a bit wooden.

But it's something like

Not Like With Robbers.

Okay.

Now, it is a story about

two children, Tom and

Jenny.

And they live with

robbers in a den.

And it's dirty there.

It's not nice.

The robbers aren't really

nice to them.

They're just being brought

up there.

They don't really have

nice clothes.

When there is food, they

just have to get as much

as they can, stuff it in

their pockets, run into

the corn and eat it there

so nobody steals it away

from them.

And one day this man comes

and he goes to the robbers

and says, I want these

two children and I want

them to come with me to

my house.

I will care for them.

And the robbers say, ah,

they're not good for

anything.

But yeah, they take his

money and the children

go with him.

And the next day they

wake up and they are in

a palace.

And it turns out the king

came and bought them and

redeemed them.

And what happens?

Tom wakes up and he goes

into the kitchen.

There's a big table and

there are other children

sitting there and eating.

And he runs to the table

and it's full with good

food and he steals the

food and he runs away

into his corner and eats

it, kind of like trying to

make sure nobody steals

his food.

And nobody, nobody's even

trying to.

The kids, they come over to

him and they say, what are

you doing?

You can come sit at the

table with us.

It's okay.

And all of them are kind

and loving and Tom doesn't

understand why that is.

But the reason why that is

is because there's enough

food.

There's enough of

everything.

They live in a palace and

they're the children of the

king.

And that shows in how they

act and how they behave.

So what I'm saying is that

we are princes and

princesses in a way.

We are children of the

highest king.

Therefore, the Bible says

we should behave like that

as well.

God bought us with a

price.

He clothed us with the

robe of righteousness.

He sees you and he says,

my son died for you.

You are adopted.

It's a huge privilege.

Praying for the kingdom

should remind us that we

are co-heirs, co-heirs,

it's hard to say for me,

co-heirs with Christ.

We are his children.

Lastly, we should pray

because it will be

heaven on earth.

It's for our

consolation.

I know that many of us

are struggling with

difficult situations

in life, with the loss

of loved ones, with

sickness, with

suffering that is

unexpected, with a lot

of different things.

Listen to what John

writes in the book of

Revelation.

He says,

then I saw a new

heaven and a new

earth.

For the first heaven

and the first earth

had passed away and

there was no longer

any sea.

I saw the holy city,

the new Jerusalem,

coming down out of

heaven from God,

prepared as a bride

beautifully dressed for

her husband.

And I heard a loud

voice from the throne

saying, look,

God's dwelling place

is now among the

people and he will

dwell with them.

They will be his

people and God

himself will be with

them and be their

God.

He will wipe away

every tear from

their eyes.

there will be no

more death or

mourning or crying

or pain for the

old order of things

has passed away.

We should pray for

the kingdom of God.

We should look at

the king on the

cross with the

crown of thorns

on his head,

becoming the

outsider, the

outcast, so that

we may enter.

Have you been

struggling lately to

pray?

Have you been

struggling to think

about the kingdom

of God?

Have you been

struggling to pray

for the kingdom

of God?

I hope that I'm

able to help you a

little bit with

this, to be excited

for the kingdom of

God.

The only reason I

see not to be

excited about the

kingdom of God is

if you're not sure

if you're in it,

if you're not sure

if you can enter.

So my question to

you is tonight,

would you consider

what I've just

talked about?

Would you consider

the kingdom of God

not out of fear,

not because you

need some sort of

opium to distract

you from your

pain, but because

God is actually

offering you to

become part of his

family and part of

his kingdom?

Do you feel like

you're not in the

kingdom?

Then listen to the

king as he says,

come to me all you

who are weary and

heavy laden and I

will give you rest.

Do you feel bored?

Do you feel without

purpose?

Then look to Jesus

Christ who offers

you his hand so

you can help expand

his kingdom.

We are to pray for

the kingdom because

it's the gospel.

It's the good news

that things are

being made right

again by the

servant king who

in the middle of

history became a

human being just

like us to

fulfill what we

as image bearers

couldn't fulfill.

And he will reign

forever and ever.

We are praying for

the king to return.

That's the good

news today.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, it's

like Martin Lloyd

Jones says that we

are overwhelmed with

the truths and the

depth that we find

in scripture and

even in the Lord's

prayer, even in just

one verse.

So we ask, would

you with your Holy

Spirit move in our

hearts?

Would you help us to

understand what it

means to pray for you?

the kingdom?

Would you help us to

become kingdom-minded

people, to be

peacemakers and to

seek justice and to

love our neighbors

well, just like

Jesus did?

Would you help us to

become more like him

every day?

In Jesus' name we

ask.

Amen.

Amen.