Matt 6:9-10 EMBRACING HIS KINGDOM & HIS WILL
9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
1. Jesus set us an example
Heb 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
· He had a goal - His eyes were fixed at the JOY set before Him...
o The joy of completing the work of redemption, the work of reconciling man to God
o The work He has come to perform - for our eternal benefit and for God’s glory
o The joy of seeing every lost soul having a chance to return to the Father’s home
o His joy was the joy of seeing the Father’s purposes fulfilled
· It was "for the sake of " this - He is going to make some sacrifices
o He was determined to endure the cross, to suffer the shame...
o He was ’dead determined’ to do ALL He can, so that God’s will be done
2. Therefore the verse before this tells us - let us do the same...
Heb 12:1 "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
· There is a race already marked out for us.
· We have a given AGENDA - it is a God-given agenda
· Not our own agenda... Are you surprised? Whose agenda are you following today?
· This world tells us to LIVE your own life and DO your own thing.
· But the Bible revealed to us a HIGHER CALLING...
3. Ours is a PURPOSE-DRIVEN life
· I believe the book The Purpose Driven Life was a hot seller because man is craving for meaning and purpose in life.
· God has so made us - and wired us - to know Him and do His will.
· If we are running on our own agenda, life will not be purposeful and fulfilling.
4. We need to ALIGN ourselves back into God’s AGENDA
· That is why in the Lord’s Prayer - Jesus draws our attention back to God...
· After saying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name..." (Matt 6:9)
· The next line - v.10 "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
· God’s agenda is top on the list of my life’s agenda!
5. YOUR KINGDOM COME
· When you say, "Your kingdom come," you’re inviting Him to walk into your world.
· We are acknowledging His right to rule in our lives - not just this world.
· Therefore if we are making no attempts to make Him Lord of our lives, we cannot pray these words with integrity.
· And when He steps in - in what manner do you think He’s stepping in?
· When we talk about Kingdom, we must be thinking of the KING. He is going to step into your world as LORD and KING.
· We are to invite Him in - be the Lord of this land. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family. Be the Shepherd of my heart.
· This is no feeble request. It’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.
· Are you prepared for this? Jesus showed us when He prayed in the Garden – “Not my will, but Yours be done.” - a recognition that God’s will is supreme in His life.
· Are you prepared for this? Are there areas of your life that you wish He would not touch?
· It means SUBMISSION - "Lord, I’m happy to take on Your agenda."
· What does that make us? His subjects, of course. His ambassadors.
The Purpose-Driven Life book - we are shaped for service.
· God intends for you to add value to this world, not just take from it. We are to DO His work and complete it. Every child of God is a minister (vision statement).
GIVE A THOUGHT
· If we can get a glimpse of heaven, we probably see ANGELS standing ready to do His bidding, like ancient emperors in China. All of them respond to His will.
· In the Universe, the stars and planets move according to His design. The star showed the wise men where Jesus was.
· In Creation, we see animals obeying Him - donkey speaking to Balaam, whale swallowing up Jonah, raven feeding Elijah... waves obeys Jesus.
Currently only mankind do not obey Him...
· Before the King of kings, we still have our needs. It’s just that what seemed so urgent seems less significant before God.
o The pay raise is still needed. I still need to pass my exams. The promotion is still desired. But it that where we start?
o Jesus says our heavenly Father knows our needs. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
6. YOUR WILL BE DONE... "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
· This is the PREMISE of our prayers - when I ask and plead, I am inviting Him to DO HIS WORK through my life - in His own way, own time, in the manner best fit His purposes.
· We’re not asking Him to change His plan to fit us.
o People pray to their gods to get their needs met, not to find His will.
o We pray because we want to CONFORM to His will. We are ALIGNING ourselves to His will.
· My life’s direction & priorities must be based on God’s will, nothing else!
PRIORITY
A lighthouse keeper on a rocky stretch of coastline received a new supply of oil once a month to keep the light burning. Being close to shore he had lots of guests. A woman from the village needed some oil to keep her family warm; a farmer requested some for his lamp; a man wanted some to lubricate a wheel. All the requests seemed legitimate, so the lighthouse keeper tried to please everybody.
Before the month was over, his oil was gone and the beacon went out. As a result several ships collided and lives were lost.
When the authorities investigated, the man was very repentant. But to his excuses and pleading their reply was, ’You were given oil for one purpose - to keep the light burning!’
Your life’s priorities should be based on God’s will, nothing else!
"Prayer for us is not the bending of God’s will to ours, not asking favors as if He were a child’s Santa Claus, but the opening of our spirits to God, so that we may understand His purposes. It is not asking God to change His world to suit our own selfish desires, not giving God his orders for the day.... Prayer is essentially relating and adjusting ourselves to God and His purposes."
... Wallace Fridy, Meditations for Adults.
· YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
I’m asking that God’s will be done in my life, my family, my career, and my relationships.
o Man wants to be master of their own fate, captain of their soul, rulers of their own destiny. This is foolishness.
o Do you want to see something good happen to your parents? Pray...
To your children... to your brothers, sisters...
You want to see God’s good will and plan fulfilled in your life? PRAY.
PRAY TO DO THE WILL OF GOD
In Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Ivan endures all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day he is praying with his eyes closed when a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won’t help you get out of here any faster."
Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison but to do the will of God."
Our Daily Bread, December 29, 1993
· This is our desire and attitude of prayer - "Lord, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
· Quote: "Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth."
Dwelling In God’s Will Is More Than Enough
When under great bodily affliction, Payson was asked if he could see any particular reason for it. "No," he replied, "but I am as well satisfied as if I could see ten thousand. God’s will is the very perfection of all reason."
· We adjust ourselves to Him, not the other way around.
· "The center of God’s will is our only safety." Betsie Ten Boom, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 10, no. 3.
Conclusion:
· This is WHY I really need to PRAY...
o I need to pray "Your Kingdom come..." - I need Him to rule over my life and guide my ways.
o I need to pray "Your will be done..." - to see that His purposes be fulfilled soon, in my life, my family, my work, my country, in this world.
· “Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.”
… Max Lucado, He Still Moves Stones.
