Thy Kingdom Come Matthew April 14, 2013 Rev. D2

Transcription

1 Thy Kingdom Come Matthew April 14, 2013 Rev. D2 In my message this morning, we are focusing on the Lord s Prayer once again as it is found in Matthew But, this morning we will pick up where we left off last week and begin with verse 10 where it says: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I believe in the power of prayer. Whether you re a spiritual warrior or a spiritual infant. If there s going to be any significant, sustained spiritual growth in your life, then you re going to have to utilize the power of prayer. Prayer time is our time to confide in God and allow God to influence our attitude, our choices, our behavior and even our deepest longings. But, when we pray, we re not only to be asking, telling and claiming, but being open to receive from God and being willing to embrace that which we receive. A disciplined prayer life does not happen by accident. It takes an intentional effort on our part. If you don t get anything else out of worship today, please remember at least this: Much prayer, Much power; Little prayer, Little power; No prayer, No power! There is power in prayer! Prayer is our declaration of dependence on an almighty and merciful God. Prayer is not overcoming God s reluctance and forcing God to do our will. Prayer is seeking God s will with all of our heart. And when we discover this, we have completion in our lives. Sometimes we just don t understand prayer or what we understand about prayer is influenced by what we see on TV. So many of our prayers are like the drama that we had here last Sunday which become vain, mindless repetitions. Many of us are like the boy who said his prayers one night and got confused and said: Now, I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If he hollers, let him go; Inny miny mity mo. We get caught up in praying our prayers like the Lord s Prayer; And we lose sight of its power. And we lose sight of its purpose. And we lose sight of how God is trying to communicate with us through this prayer that Jesus taught us.

2 2 Today I want to focus on: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, my question to you this morning is this: What image of God s Kingdom do you have in mind when you pray these words? If you don t have an idea of the kingdom of God, then we are simply praying empty words. Thy Kingdom come is a prophetic prayer! You may not think of yourself as a prophet, but every time you utter the words: Thy Kingdom come; You are engaging in prophetic utterance. And as a prophet, my question to you is still: What image of God s Kingdom do you have in mind when you pray: Thy Kingdom come. Why is this important? It s important because what you think about God s coming Kingdom shapes your behavior in the present one. If I believe we serve a God of Justice then I am going to engage in activities that promote justice. If I believe that God s coming Kingdom is about caring for the poor, then I am going to participate in missions that care for the poor. I believe that the essence of salvation is holistic. I believe we serve a God who wants us to be whole. That means not just spiritually in terms of our spirits, But it also means emotionally in terms of our minds. Physically in terms of our strength. Financially in terms of our pocketbooks. This is the kind of God that we serve. That s what Martin King Jr. had in mind when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington. And as he spoke to the people who had gathered there, he was actually engaging in prophetic utterance; He was imaging the coming kingdom of God; And he was dreaming of what that coming kingdom of God would look like today. Let s take a look: (Show Video Clip on MLK, Jr.) Did you hear it? He was imaging the coming kingdom of God and dreaming what that would look like in the present context. Thy kingdom come on earth as it has already been done in heaven. As Christians we believe that Jesus is coming back.

3 3 No one knows the day nor the hour, but one thing we know for sure is that we serve a God who is in control of history. So, even when we pray, Thy kingdom come, it is much like the concluding words of the Bible in Revelations Come Lord Jesus! So, what does this mean for us in every day practical ministry terms? It means that you and I need to get busy with Kingdom business. We need to get busy with kingdom business! And guess what: Change begins on our knees in prayer. The Book of II Chronicles 7.14 says: If my people who are called by my name Humble themselves, Pray, Seek my face, And turn from their wicked ways, Then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. When we earnestly begin to pray this prayer with a prophetic view toward the future Thy Kingdom Come Then, I believe God is going to deposit something new into your life to do. Now, it may not be something that you asked for. It may not be something that you want to do. But, God has chosen you to bring this new thing to life. You see, God is calling us to be active participates in the coming kingdom. Someone here today may have been chosen to bring new life into our outreach ministry. Someone here today may have been chosen to bring new life into our youth ministry. And to speak to the absence of accountability. And to speak to the spirit of low expectations. Someone here today may have been chosen to bring new life into your homes. You may be in a position to speak to the one who ushers in death, not life. You have been called to bring new life into your family and home. You are here for a reason! So, when we really begin to pray this portion of the Lord s Prayer, Thy kingdom come; Yes, when we re serious about the kingdom of God, then our prayers become weapons in the arsenal of change. I believe we will receive the spiritual food we need. I truly believe that if we re serious when we pray this prayer, then we will have a positive impact on our community. I firmly believe that our witness to families and teens will meet a need and our outreach will expand. Then we will begin to echo the words of the prophet Amos who called for justice to roll down like a river and righteousness like a never ending stream. So, you ask me:

4 4 On what basis do I make these claims? On what basis do we act? We act on the promises of Jesus. When you turn to the Gospel of Matthew 24, Jesus begins His discourse on the coming kingdom. He begins to talk about signs of the coming age. Then in Matthew , Jesus says: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? And the king will answer them, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. When you minister in the ministries of our church, you are ministering to Jesus. That s Good News! So, when we pray: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done; We are literally standing on the promises of God. Because we believe that He is coming back! There shall be a coming kingdom. How many of you believe that the promises of God are true? Say Amen! I believe in the promises of God and if God promised it, then we can stand upon it. When our daughter Jessica was younger, she begged us constantly to get her a puppy. She d give us those sad puppy dog faces and I d think

5 5 Oh, that s so sweet, but then I d remember that children grow up and leave the house, but dogs grow up and stay there. I have to confess that Debbie and I finally gave in and got her a puppy, but when we promised her a dog, then she expected us to fulfill our promise. The same thing is true with God. Abba, Father, our heavenly Daddy; Our heavenly parent. When God makes a promise to us, then it shall come to pass. So, when we pray, Thy kingdom come; Then we can minister like it has already been done. We can act like it has already been done. We can believe that it s already done. As we do that, there is power in our ministries. Say Amen! What image of God s kingdom do you have in mind when you pray Thy kingdom come? I think it s interesting that after Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done. Thy will be done follows Thy kingdom come. Because if the true be told this morning, most of us are interested in our kingdom and not God s kingdom. But, God s kingdom requires a sacrifice of our kingdom. Part of praying this prayer is learning to submit ourselves to the will of God. Submission is serious business. Even Jesus prayed this in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed in Luke Father, if you are willing, remove this cup away from me, yet, not my will, but yours be done. Jesus was submissive to the will of God. Jesus knew the burden of unanswered prayer. In the school of Gethsemane we must learn to distrust our own ideas of what s best for us and relearn to submit to God s will for our lives. Even Jesus said in John 6.38: For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. The fact that we begin the Lord s Prayer with hallowing God s name and then asking for His kingdom to rule in our lives and then for his will to be accomplished shows that this is not a self-centered prayer. But, we are so prone to approach God with a self-serving attitude that says: God, my will! But, thankfully, God s answers are wiser than our prayers.

6 6 Thankfully, prayer isn t a tool for getting. Prayer is a tool for becoming what God has called us and intended for us to be. And if we aren t careful the ways of this world can cause us to be more culture-like than Christ-like. To be more politically driven, than prayerfully driven. To lean on our own understanding instead of leaning on the everlasting arms of God. When you pray: Thy will be done Do you understand that God has a will for your life; That God has a purpose for your life; That God has a plan for your life. This is not an easy phrase to pray. Thy will be done means that I am willing to submit every aspect of my being to you, O Lord. If we want to be real honest this morning, some of us are real good at doing the churchthing and the religious-thing, but God doesn t call us to a religion. God is calling us to a relationship! But, in order to engage in a relationship, relationships require intimacy. So, some of us love God from a distance. Because to love God up close and personal means that God might actually ask me to give up some stuff; It means that God might actually ask me to deal with some areas of my life that I m really not ready to deal with. So, yeh, I come to church, but God, I m loving you from a distance. Amena Brown, the spoken-word prophet from Atlanta, Georgia tells a bit of her story about loving God from a distance. Let s take a look: (Show video clip) See if you see yourself in her story. Loving God from a distance. To say: Thy will be done means that you can t love God from a distance. That means every aspect of your life belongs to God; That means that there s nothing about you that s off limits from God. So, when we pray: Thy will be done, we are literally submitting ourselves to the will of God. But, the great part of that, is when we surrender to God s will and purpose and God s plan for our lives, God will give you everything you need to make that will his will for your life a reality. Everything you need will be provided for you as long as it is in the center of God s will and God s desire for your life. In regards to our prayer life, Jesus is building a church, but is using us and He says to you: Whatever you need, just ask for and I will provide if it conforms to my will for your life.

7 7 Prayer is very practical. As I said last week, when we come to prayer and say: Our Father, our Daddy, we are joining fellow Christians from all around the world to pray for others as well as for ourselves. But, most of all, we are coming to bring glory to God. We are praying that God will accomplish God s work on earth through us. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we utter those words, what we re saying is that God, our life is wide open to you. And God I am willing and ready to make a complete and total commitment to you. These were the words of commitment that were tagged on the wall of a young African pastor in Zimbabwe. He got it. He understood what it meant to give his life totally over to God. He said: I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won t look back; Let up; Slow down; Back away or be still. My past is redeemed. My presence makes since. My future is secure. I am done with low living; Side-walking, Small-planning; Smooth knees; Colorless dreams; Tamed visions; Worldly talking; Cheap-giving; And dwarf-goals. I no longer need preeminence, Prosperity, Promotion, Position, Plodders, Popularity. I now live by faith. Lean on His presence.

8 8 Walk by patience. I m uplifted by prayer. And labor by power. I cannot be bought, Compromised, Detoured, Lured away, Turned back, Deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice; Hesitate in the presence of the adversary; Negotiate at the table of the enemy; Ponder at the pool of popularity; Or meander in the maze of mediocrity; I will not give up, Shut up, Let up, Until I ve stayed up, Stored up, Prayed up, Paid up, And preached up, For the cause of Jesus Christ. I am a Disciple of Jesus and I must go on until His Kingdom Comes. And when He comes back to receive me, He will have no problem recognizing me because my banner will be clear. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven! As we listen to the concluding words of Martin Luther King, Jr., you are going to hear in his famous I have a dream speech, him saying over and over again Let freedom ring. But, when you hear Let freedom ring, in your mind I want you to hear: Let Jesus Reign. Because when His Kingdom returns, He shall reign. And He shall reign victorious. And those who call themselves by His name shall reign victorious! And every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let Jesus Reign! Let s listen: (Video Clip of MLK, Jr.) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven! What image of God s Kingdom do you have in mind when you utter those words? Are you willing to submit your will to God s will? Are you willing to sacrifice your kingdom for God s Kingdom? Are you willing to give over to God every aspect of your being so that everything that has been perfected in heaven can become a reality here on earth? And let the people of God say: Amen! Let s pray:

9 9 Lord, we thank you for your Word and we thank you for your promise of your coming kingdom, but Lord, we also hear your challenge: That we are to be active participants in the hastening of that kingdom; That we are to be active participants in ministry; That we are to be active participants in mission; So that which is done in heaven can be done on earth. Lord, we confess to you those areas of our lives that we hold back. We confess to you those areas of our lives that we are reluctant to give over to you. And we pray Lord that in this moment that we would hear this prayer in a whole new way and that the next time we utter this prayer that we would utter this prayer with a new sense of commitment. A commitment that gives our all to you. And a commitment willing to do whatever it takes to make your vision for our lives and for our world a reality. So with high hopes and nagging fears, With shaky resolve and trembling love, we pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Make it so in our lives, Lord. We pray in the name of the resurrected One, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray by saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. When we pray Thy kingdom come, then you and I have a responsibility to become instruments of God s grace to bring about the kingdom. Prayer is not a tool for getting. It is a way of submitting ourselves to become what God wants us to become. Change begins on our knees. --Rev. Junius Dotson Our Father, who art in heaven, this week we are focusing on the words Thy kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. To us, the word kingdom sounds Quaint and old-fashioned. We don t say the kingdom of America, because we don t have a king! But that s why this phrase matters so much it tells us that spiritually we do have a king we worship and submit to, and that s you. The prayer then says that, for you to be our king, your will must be done on earth. Sometimes we wish that meant your will be done by someone else. But that won t do we are committing ourselves to do your will. So with high hopes and nagging fears, With shaky resolve and trembling love, we pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Make it so in our lives, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen