Sermon: Introduction. Luke 11; Matthew 6:9-15 Thy Kingdom come; THY WILL BE DONE

Transcription

1 This is modern man s worst nightmare. This is any politician s worst nightmare. Sermon: Introduction Luke 11; Matthew 6:9-15 Thy Kingdom come; THY WILL BE DONE We are convinced that we know it all, that we can do it all, have it all, control it all. We are intent on establishing OUR kingdom, and imposing OUR will. (True of humans and alien invaders as well most movies, etc. ) To a large degree, this has been the default mode of mankind since the Fall. It showed itself in the Garden of Eden, at the Tower of Babel, and has continued to do so throughout human history. The human tendency is to consolidate power in a central place or person, to advance some sort of kingdom and impose someone s will. It can take the form of a collectivist secular irreligious State or it can happen in the context of a collectivist state run by a religion be it a version of Christianity or Islam or just about any other religious expression. Jesus disciples had this in mind when they inquired about when He was going to set up his kingdom, and could they sit at his right hand and his left hand. The COTTON PATCH VERSION puts it this way: We gotta get organized Jesus, you ve got to hush up all this lynchin nonsense We ve got your take over all figured out. Matt here is going to organize us into a non profit corporation, And Andy has got an old high school friend who has made the big time out in Hollywood, so we re going to get them to do a TV special on you. And Tadd has already started organizing your followers to vote for politicians who will support your policies for world peace once they re in office. The disciples were intent on making their version of God s kingdom come on earth. Don t we all get sucked down that hole? John 6:15 the people come to take Him by force and make Him King Jesus knows their intentions and He disappears to go and pray. He didn t come to be co-opted by a political or social movement; He came to be the Bread of life and to live the live we should have lived and die the death we should have died. In doing so he modeled what he taught his disciples to pray THY Kingdom COME, THEY WILL BE DONE. As we consider this petition we ll start with the JESUS CARD. In case you re visiting I don t want to hear this message and then think, So to be saved, I have to go out and obey perfectly. (yes, but it s too late) Let s all be honest up front WE CAN T DO THAT we need a Savior, not an example. That s why Jesus came and why he had to die. Jesus is the only one who has ever longed for the kingdom perfectly, and he is the only one who has ever done the will of the father on earth as it is done in Heaven. John 4 Jesus told his disciples that His food was to do the will of the Father. He came from Heaven to earth for the purpose of bringing the kingdom and accomplishing the will of the Father Kingdom Come, Will be Done Lord s Prayer wk#4 Luke 11/ Matt 6

2 So how did he teach his disciples to pray? LORD S PRAYER.. Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:1-4 ESV) REVIEW: Lead with affection for God - What we believe about God will shape our prayer life. Addressing God as father must have caught these Jewish disciples by surprise. That was not a typical way of speaking of God. Jesus changes the paradigm so that we go to God as a child would approach a loving father. Acknowledge His worth in reverent adoration - The father we are approaching is also the eternal almighty God He is both present and powerful. The rest of the prayer is built on those two qualities of God. Align your heart with God s agenda there are 3 God centered petitions that lead us to align our hearts with God s agenda: HALLOWED be They name; THY kingdom come, THY will be done In the 2 nd and 3 rd of these God centered petitions we see THE opposite of the Genie view of God, i.e. we rub the lantern and the Genie pops out to do our will. He is there to accomplish our will. This petition is the opposite of that This is a Genie story where the genie pops out and says, Now I have three wishes and YOU must fulfill them, but they are for our own good. This is modern man s worst nightmare because it s all about HIS Kingdom, and NOT OURS. Don t confuse the two- His kingdom is not the same as ours, and ours is not the same as His. This section of the Prayer reveals more clearly than anywhere the purpose of prayer; i.e. not to make God do my will (which is practicing magic), but to bring my will into line with his (which is what it means to practice true religion). PACKER. Bending our Agenda (kingdom) and will to His is at the core of repentance and faith. It is necessary for a life of supernatural peace, joy, and contentment. EX: Harvey Halman at his funeral on Oct 17 th we heard testimony from his children about how Harvey really began to learn this when he faced a serious medical crisis, and it changed his life because it changed his relationship with God. He was broken by seeing his need to give all control up to God. As I was considering these petitions and reading what Packer wrote I was reminded of what Phil 4:11 says about learning contentment. Until we give ourselves to God s kingdom and glad obedience to His will, contentment will be elusive. RARE JEWEL OF Christian CONTENTMENT Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to and delights in God s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. A lack of contentment simply means that we are not seeking His kingdom and His will, but our own. ROMANS 14:17 Kingdom NOT IN eating and drinking, BUT IN righteousness, peace and joy of Holy Spirit Kingdom Come, Will be Done Lord s Prayer wk#4 Luke 11/ Matt 6

3 Matt 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. There is a direct connection between His kingdom and His righteousness. That is why as we pray Thy kingdom come we must also pray Thy will be done. There is no reality of His kingdom coming, if there is no doing of His Will. When you live in a kingdom with an absolute monarch you are inclined to do his or her will. A perk of being king is that people will obey you. The motto for the subjects might be Your wish is my command. EX: like Chick fil a workers, My pleasure. While we may like it when we re king or queen, we don t care for it too much when we aren t. The biblical concept is that God s kingdom is not so much a place, but a state of being in a certain relationship with God and His righteousness. PACKER So God s kingdom is not a place, but rather a relationship. It exists wherever people enthrone Jesus as Lord of their lives. Luther But what is the kingdom of God? Answer: Nothing else than what we learned in the Creed - that God sent His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness for which end He has also bestowed His Holy Ghost, who is to bring these things home to us by His holy Word, and to illumine and strengthen us in the faith by His power. 2 Thess 1:11ff To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV) Therefore, we pray here in the first place that this may become effective with us, and that His name be so praised through the holy Word of God and a Christian life that both, we who know Christ may grow, and those who are non-believers would be brought to faith. Luther For the coming of God's Kingdom to us occurs in two ways; first, here in time through the Word and faith; and secondly, in eternity forever through revelation M. Luther It is common in theology to read of the now and not yet aspects of the kingdom. We are in the kingdom now, because Christ, the King, has come. But there is a not yet aspect because the fullness of the kingdom has not yet been revealed. That won t happen until Jesus returns. While Jesus is already seated at the right hand of the Father Almighty, we wait for Him to come again to judge the living and the dead. Thy kingdom come is what we might call general intercession in that it s not specific. But don t avoid it because Jesus commands that we pray for it. Luther paraphrase Before we start praying for daily bread we should pray for this eternal treasure and everything that God Himself possesses; this would not be on anyone s radar had Christ Himself not commanded us to pray for it. When we pray thy kingdom come we should be ready to add, and let it begin with me i.e. thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven = make ME a joyfully obedient servant for YOUR Kingdom Kingdom Come, Will be Done Lord s Prayer wk#4 Luke 11/ Matt 6

4 WHEN TO PRAY IT?? In the midst of the struggle. (Sink ROOTS into God, Branches and Fruit will follow) For God s will to be done in our lives on earth in the way that it is done among the angels will involve us in quite a struggle. Take courage because Jesus went before us in the struggle. He has already defeated our ultimate enemies Satan, sin, and death. PACKER The incarnate Lord was in the grip of mind-blowing horror, evoked not just by the expectation of physical pain and outward disgrace, but by the prospect of being made sin and forsaken by his Father on the cross. Never man feared death like this man, said Luther, and this was why. His whole being shrank from it; yet his prayer remained, not as I will, but as thou wilt (vv. 39, 42). We will never know what it cost him to pray that way, but we know He did it for us. It s just as well that we don t know in advance what it may cost us to accept God s will either, but when you are in the moment of struggle, that is the time for the movement of faith and to lean into the Heavenly Father. God loves us and is bound up with us, but he pushes us to deepen our character. Prior to thy will is Father. Realize who you are. A child. If everything your father did to you made sense, that wouldn t make sense. Especially when things are going poorly, pray thy will If you try to bend mettle without heating it you ll break it or it will break you. If you don t learn to pray thy will you ll just be bitter and angry. A SUMMARY OF THE TWO PETITIONS: glad surrender and unconditional obedience (J. Edwards) THOSE are the traits of one who has a biblical understanding of the Glory of God. Eric Liddle (Chariots of Fire ) was a missionary in China. When things got difficult for missionaries, many left, but he remained, and he was put in a prison camp. There he lead men to faith and used discipleship questions among believers while in prison camp Are you ready to obey God even if it means loss of face? Will you follow God even if it means personal financial loss, or being laughed at or some other hardship? Will all this sacrifice be glad joyful sacrifice? Are you willing to obey whatever the Bible clearly teaches whether you like it or not? Are you willing to trust God in whatever He sends into your life, whether you understand it or not? If you grasp the glory of God then you ll obey no matter what, no matter how it feels. Thy will be done means that we seek God, not things. Give God your heart first, not your needs. Until we see that, there is no freedom. If I only get you lord, that s enough. The way to do it is to put your heart in the furnace. Recognize that someone else wrestled with God. Jesus in garden dealt with God over His will. He saw something coming that was worse than any destruction the world has ever known: Jesus prayed and submitted. He won through losing, then won over sin and death. VoV p. 91 Christian Calling Kingdom Come, Will be Done Lord s Prayer wk#4 Luke 11/ Matt 6

5 Grant that I may be salted with suffering, With every exactment tempered to my soul, Every rod excellently fitted to my back, To chastise, humble, break me. Let me not overlook the hand that holds the rod, As thou didst not let me forget the rod that fell On Christ, And drew me to Him. If you re having conversations with friends who are wound and asking questions, or you are here and don t know how yourwounds could ever be redeemed, then you must understand that the first step is to come to know the forgiveness, freedom, and power that Jesus brings, then please consider the ABC s of coming to faith A - Admit that you re weak and need grace and strength That means there is GOOD NEWS FOR YOU Our weakness is caused by sin and it affects all of us. But there is a remedy, but you must admit that you can t save yourself. B- Believe that Jesus is the only savior who can heal your heart. He is presented in the Bible as the one who took our place. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died. C- confess to God that you want to trust Jesus as your savior and Lord CLOSE WITH LORD S PRAYER Our Father, which 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 debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen Kingdom Come, Will be Done Lord s Prayer wk#4 Luke 11/ Matt 6