THE LORD’S PRAYER
3 – THY KINGDOM COME
THIS MORNING, we continue our phrase-by-phrase look at THE LORD’S PRAYER
And by way of reminder, the reason that we’re talking about THE LORD’S PRAYER is because God is calling our church to prayer
Because, without question, there’s no problem that you, me, or this church faces, that can’t be handled by PRAYER
If we fail, it will not be a failure of…
--programs
--property (buildings)
--prosperity (money)
--people (numbers)
It will be a failure of PRAYER
Little prayer, little power – MUCH PRAYER, MUCH PRAYER
And so, I’ve been asking you to COME ON WITH ME, AND LET’S PUSH – PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS!
And, if God is calling our church to prayer (and He is), then how exactly do we pray?
Phil Yancey, in his book, “Prayer”, said…
“According to Gallup polls, more Americans will pray this week than will exercise, drive a car, or go to work. Nine out of ten pray regularly.”
But my question is this: IF SO MANY ARE PRAYING, THEN WHY SO LITTLE RESULTS?
Could it be that not all prayer is…
--right
--blessed
--heard by God
Well, that’s why we’re looking at THE LORD’S PRAYER, THE MODEL PRAYER
Because we’ve been learning the fact that this 65-word, 2-minute prayer, has in it all the SPIRITUAL DNA, that we need for…
--the problems we face
--the protections we need
--the provision we lack
--the promises we have
And so far, we’ve talked about…
--Our Father who is in heaven
--Hallowed Be His Name
But this morning, as we move along in the journey – THY KINGDOM COME
Next Sunday – YOUR WILL BE DONE
Let’s pray together (not just read, but pray with me…)
Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) 9…Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
INTRODUCTION
One of the things we learn from the Lord’s prayer is PERSPECTIVE
In other words, we get the proper PERSPECTIVE on who we are and who God is
And when we learn that, everything just falls into place
For example, we’re learning that…
--you’re the child, and God is the Father (our Father)
--you’re the worshipper, and He’s your God – Hallowed be thy Name
--you’re the servant, and He’s the Master – (thy will be done)
--you’re the insufficient one, and He’s the all sufficient one (give us this day our daily bread)
--you’re the sinner, He’s the savior (forgive us)
--He is the one who has a plan, and we are the ones needing direction (and lead us)
And in this particular phrase that we’re looking at this morning – we’re acknowledge that…
--He’s the king, we’re the subjects
--He’s the Lord, we’re the servants
You see, THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, because in our society today, we don’t really understand what the KINGDOM MENTALITY is all about
That’s because we live in a democracy
But in the Kingdom, it’s a whole different ball game
Because in a KINGDOM, it all belongs to the King
I remember what one preacher from Romania said one time that I’ll never forget…
“You talk about commitment [all the time] in America, but we talk about surrender in Romania." What is the difference? He said, "Well, you see, when you make a commitment to someone, you are in control; you decide what you are going to do, and then you do it. But when you surrender to another person you put the other person in control, and they decide what you're going to do, and you do it." Then he said, "You Americans need to get away from commitment and move toward surrender."
And that’s exactly right
Because the Prophet says…
Malachi 1:14 "But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen."
Notice the words: I AM A GREAT KING!
Because if we’re not careful, we’ll ABUSE the father-side of God
We’ll make Him someone who…
--just kind-of gives us suggestions
--just sort-of loves us but it’s kind-of okay if we mess up
--is like an old grandpa
But NO – HE IS A GREAT KING
Yes, He’s our father, but He’s also our KING
As our Father, we can jump in His lap, but as our King, we should snap to attention and say, “Yes sir.”
As our Father, we can throw our arms around Him, but as our King, we should fall prostrate before Him
As Adrian Rogers use to say, when it comes to our King, we’re not to TIP THE HAT but BEND THE KNEE
I was reading about Lord Nelson, the commander of the British navy, and a battle against the French. The British had defeated the French and the French admiral came on board Lord Nelson’s ship to surrender. He walked up in all of his regalia with a sword swinging by his side. When he put out his hand to the British commander, Lord Nelson impassively said, “Your sword first, sir.”
He is THE GREAT KING
Now, when we pray THY KINGDOM COME, there are three parts to this
We should pray, first of all…
1. THY KINGDOM COME: THEN
We’re literally praying for that…
…Blessed time that's coming....coming soon.....
It may be evening morning or at noon.....
The wedding of the bride.....united with the groom....
We shall see the King when He comes.....
We shall see the King.....we shall see the King.....
We shall see the King when He comes.....
O He is coming in power....we'll hail the blessed hour.....
We shall see the King when He comes.....
O my brother....are you ready for the call.....
To crown your Savior King and Lord of all....
The Kingdoms of this world....shall soon before Him fall....
We shall see the King when He comes.....
Won’t that be wonderful?
In a world filled with…
--terrorism
--sex slave trafficking
--disease
--death
Someone said that in a typical day in America
- 5,962 couples marry and 2,986 divorce
- drunk drivers do $18 million worth of damage
- 90 million cans of beer are consumed
- 2,740 teenagers get pregnant
- 63,288 cars crash killing 129 people
- 3,231 women have abortions
Shouldn’t we pray for…
--world peace
--the cure to all diseases
--His kingdom to come!
The scriptures tell us of a day when the lion shall lay down with the lamb
• Isaiah 2:4 ( KJV ) 4And…they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
• Isaiah 11:9 ( KJV ) 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Thy kingdom come!
In 1516, Thomas Moore wrote a book entitled, “Utopia.” And in that book he described an imaginary ideal society, free of poverty, suffering, pain, and sorrow. The word comes from a Greek word that literally means "no place." That is, there is no place like it.
We’re not in utopia now
The Golden Age is yet to come
They say…
--Queen Elizabeth I, it was the Golden Age
--King David and King Solomon, it was the Golden Age
But the Golden Age is yet to come
What’s this world coming to? It’s coming to Jesus!
Rev. 11:15 (KJV) 15The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
His Kingdome Come, not only THEN, but, secondly…
2. THY KINGDOM COME: NOW
We know that it is COMING, and we should pray for it
But there is a sense in which it is to be realized NOW
Your kingdom come – TODAY, RIGHT NOW…
--in my life (Luke 17:21 …behold, the kingdom of God is within you)
--on my job (on your job you should be advancing the Kingdom)
--in this church
Are we praying that His Kingdom Come in this church?
Listen to what Paul said…
2 Corinthians 4:15 ( NLT ) 15All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
We should be REACHING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE – that’s His Kingdom Coming right here in Nakina!
Every time we…
--invite a sinner to church
--cook to draw a crowd so they will hear the message
--cut the lights on
--strive to work together with unity
We’re saying COME, KINGDOM OF GOD, let it be manifest here
How about IN THIS COUNTRY?
When we vote, we ought to vote according to godly principle, and that’s part of HIS KINGDOM COME RIGHT NOW
Let the Kingdom of God come…
--then
--now
But here’s where it really hits…let it come, thirdly in…
3. THY KINGDOM COME: IN ME
His Kingdom come – THEN, and it will
His Kingdom come – NOW, and it can
But here’s where it all comes together – HIS KINGDOM COME IN ME, FIRST OF ALL!!
• Colossians 1:18 ( KJV ) 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
• Matthew 6:33 ( KJV ) 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
He ought to be KING over…
--your hobbies
--your finances
--your decisions
--your relationships
Because if there’s anything…
--wrong
--out of whack
--missing
In our lives, it can be traced back right here: WE DID NOT LET JESUS BE KING OVER SOME AREA OF OUR LIVES
Have you ever been a button off when buttoning your shirt? That’s what will happen to your life when the King is not on His throne in your heart
George Marshall said…We must stop setting our sights by the light of each passing ship; instead we must set our course by the stars.
And when we put God on His throne, and us bowing before His throne, that’s where…
--the power
--the kingdom authority
--the victory is
Let’s crown Him KING OF KINGS in our own lives
Every home…
--thy Kingdom Come
Every father and mother…
--thy Kingdom Come
My finances…
--thy Kingdom Come
A certain professor had his students in college, and he had a great big wide-mouthed jar. And in that jar he had some large rocks. And he asked his students this question because the rocks came all the way up to the top, "Is this jar filled?" Well, one or two students lifted their hands said, "Yes, the jar is filled."
He said, "No, the jar is not filled." And then he took some gravel and put gravel in top of that jar, and the gravel begin to fill in all the places around where those big rocks are, he shook it down good and smoothed it off. He said, "Now, is the jar filled?" They said, "Yes professor, now it's filled."
He said "No it's not." And he took some fine sand and begin to put it on top of the gravel and shake it down and it filled every little place there and he said, "Now, is the jar filled?" They were afraid to answer now. A few of them said, "Yes, now it is filled."
He said, "No, it's not filled yet." And then he took some water and poured the water in the fine sand and the water began to seep into every little crevice and so forth and floated on the top and he said, "Now, is the jar filled?" They said, "You tell us."
He said, "Yes, the jar is filled." He said, "What is the lesson?"
And they said, "Well, professor, the lesson is this: that there will come a time in your life when it will become so filled and so saturated that you can't put anything else in."
And he said, "No, that's not the lesson. Here's the lesson: If I had not put the big rocks in first, I would never be able to put them in. That's the lesson."
IN CLOSING
People say, “Well, I received Jesus as Savior, not as Lord”
20 plus times He’s called SAVIOR
600 plus times He’s called LORD
That’s like me going to the marriage altar as I did and saying, “I, Ricky, take you Darnell, to be my wife, Darnell, as my cook, house cleaner, and companion.”
I don't think she would have done that, do you?
Let's take Him as Savior and Lord!
He’s a great King, He's a gracious King
Come to Him today!
