Often, when I listen to myself pray I find that what is really important to me is.....me, mine, myself, and I.
The subjects of my prayers are my family, my needs, my health, my desires, my plans, my causes etc. This is because our human nature has an inborn tendency towards selfishness. We are raised in a culture that tells me to......determine my own destiny, chart my own course, be the master of my own fate, rule and reign over my own life, and build my own kingdom. So when it comes to prayer.....we follow the pattern that says hallowed be my name, my kingdom come, my will be done! Obviously this is all wrong!
How can we call ourselves Christians and testify that we are His children, How can we affirm that He is the Lord of our lives if we are not more concerned with His Kingdom than our own? The most important issues that we as believers should be concerned with are those that serve and advance the Kingdom of God.
It has been well said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in heaven, but God’s will done on earth. Prayer is not telling God what we want, but it is asking God to use us to accomplish what He wants so that His name is hallowed, His kingdom is extended and His will is done.
The Talmud, which is an ancient Jewish commentary on the Law said:
“That prayer in which there is no mention of the kingdom of God is not a prayer at all”.
Jesus Himself confirmed that when we pray, the kingdom of God ought to be our primary focus.
In response to a request by one of the disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus gives them a pattern, or model to follow. Hence we have before us the Disciples Prayer.
What we don’t want to miss is that in each of the phrases of the Disciples’ Prayer, Jesus establishes a clear principle that helps us to know how we are to pray. For Example we have already seen that prayer is.......
I. An Intimate Relationship With The Father - v.2a
The word Father in this prayer is the Aramaic word abba (papa, father dearest) which was a first century term of intimacy. Prayer then is the child of God crying out to the heavenly Father in intimate and constant communion.
II. A Reverent Response to The Character of God - v.2b
The word “hallowed” is from the Greek hagios which means, to set apart as holy, to treat differently, to treat as unique. The phrase “Your Name” points to who God is. His name represents His person, His attributes, and His character.
We hallow God’s name when we; think differently about Him; speak differently about Him and to Him; and act differently toward Him and toward others. To pray “hallowed be Your name” is to pray that the Father be given the unique reverence that His character and nature demands, in the world and in OUR lives!
The third thing Jesus’ teaches His disciples about prayer is that it is:
III. A Submissive Recognition of the Kingdom of God
Now in order to understand the meaning of this petition we need to ask two important questions. What is the Kingdom? And, how does the Kingdom Come?
What is the Kingdom?
The word “kingdom” is the Greek word basileia which has in its basic meaning to rule or reign. Usually when we think of a Kingdom today, we think in terms of land, castles, moats, knights, maidens and so on. Our focus is on all the trappings that we imagine that would be involved in a kingdom (area and people and materials). But, basileia refers to the ruling and reigning aspect of a kingdom (authority and subjection). In fact, everywhere you see the term kingdom of God in scripture you could just as well insert the words “reign” or “rule”.
The Kingdom of God is really about the rule and reign of God. God is the King of the whole universe. He made it, He maintains it, and He will bring about its consummation. He rules and reigns as the Universal King.
Psalms 145:13
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Thy dominion endures throughout all generations.
Psalms 103:19
19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens;
And His sovereignty rules over all.
1 Chronicles 29:11-12
11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O LORD, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.
1 Timothy 1:17
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Kingdom of God not only has reference to the rule and reign of God, but it also has two aspects to it. It is a present reality (spiritual aspect) and it is a future hope (physical aspect).
The Kingdom as a Present Reality
There is the sense in which the kingdom of God is here and working even now. When both John the Baptist and Jesus came, the came with the same message, “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17; Mark 1:14-15). An interesting fact: Someone has determined that the phrase “the Kingdom of God” is the most prominent phrase in the New Testament.
We could say that Jesus was the embodiment of the kingdom and He displayed it! In Luke 11:20 Jesus says: “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Later in His ministry the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, to which He answered that the “Kingdom of God was within their midst” (Luke 17:21). In other words, the kingdom of God was already a present reality in the world and Jesus demonstrated its existence through His life and ministry. (Although the Pharisees as well as many others missed it, which is ironic since they were supposedly looking for it!)
Jesus spent His entire ministry proclaiming and teaching about the kingdom of God, including the time after His resurrection. Acts 1:3 tells us that He spent time before His ascension “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” The point is that the kingdom of God was a priority subject for Jesus and He taught it as a present reality. It is spiritual in nature, but a present reality. The kingdom of God is here and even now God is ruling and reigning in the hearts and minds of His people.
The Kingdom as a Future Hope
There is coming a day when the Father will mediate His rule and reign through His Son on this earth. At that time there will be a literal, physical kingdom where Jesus Christ will be universally recognized as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and where He will actually rule and reign on the earth in a physical sense (Psalm 2; Matthew 25:31-32; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:6).
So the Kingdom of God is here and now in a spiritual sense as God is ruling and reigning in the hearts of His people through Christ Jesus. It is also coming in the future, literal sense when He will rule and reign through Jesus Christ in the Millennial kingdom.
How does the Kingdom Come?
Building on what we have just learned I think that there are three ways in which the kingdom comes.
(1) The Kingdom Comes Through Salvation
You can only enter the Kingdom of God when you come to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
That was the point of Jesus’ message and that is the essence of the Gospel. Mark says in his Gospel,
Mark 1:14-15
14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
The Kingdom comes when you repent and believe! It does not come to you automatically, you must respond, entering the Kingdom is an act of the will.
Luke 14:15-24
15 And when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" 16 But He said to him, "A certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited,' Come; for everything is ready now.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.' 19 "And another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.' 20 "And another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.' 21 "And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 "And the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 'For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.' "
Mark 12:28-34
28 And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher, You have truly stated that He is One; and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. " 34 And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
This scribe was almost there...he had the right head knowledge he simply lacked the will to commit himself to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. My friends, the Message of the Kingdom of God demands a response. You must take hold of it by faith.
Luke 16:14-16
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. 16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
The word “forcing” (biazetai – v.16) literally means to enter violently. When people in Jesus’ day understood the value of the kingdom, they were in a hurry to rush into it.
Matthew 13:44-46
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Why is it that people do not value the kingdom today?
Maybe because of the way it is presented? It seems to be presented today in a compromised, convoluted, calloused way. Jesus’ Kingdom message was always presented in a clear, compassionate, concise and uncompromising way.
Maybe because of the way its current citizens live?
1 Peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Matthew 5:13-16
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(2) The Kingdom Comes Through Daily Submission to the King
Even if Christ is already ruling and reigning in our lives, we must daily affirm our submission to His Lordship.
Luke 9:23
23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
How do we know if we are living in submission to His rule and reign in our lives?
Romans 14:17
“For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
If we are living in submission to the rule and reign of God in our lives then our lives will be characterized by righteousness. This is the imputed righteousness of Christ that is to be practiced with increasing faithfulness and proficiency. It is living in such a way that we hallow His name in our thoughts, words and deeds.
If we are living in submission to the rule and reign of God in our lives then our lives will be characterized by peace. Because the citizen of the Kingdom has been made at peace with God, because his conscience is now free of accusation, because the enmity has been removed between he and God, he is now freed to pursue real and meaningful peace with others.
If we are living in submission to the rule and reign of God in our lives then our lives will be characterized by joy. This speaks of delighting in the things of God. The kingdom citizen living in daily submission to the King takes delight in knowing and serving and worshipping Him. They are excited about being a member of the Kingdom no matter what their circumstances might bring. They can consistently rejoice in the fact that they are no longer slaves, but Sons, Sons of God and Joint heirs with Christ!
The phrase in the Holy Spirit, reminds us that the Kingdom comes when we yield to the fullness of the Spirit of God. Is your life truly characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy? If not, you need to learn to daily submit to the rule and reign of Christ in your hearts.
Or maybe you need to go back to step one!
(3) The Kingdom Comes at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
One day the heavens will split open and Jesus will descend to earth, plant His feet on the Mount of Olives and with His angels and saints establish His kingdom. At that moment He will take His rightful place on the throne of David, in the city of Jerusalem and be universally acknowledged as King.
When it comes to the Disciples’ Prayer there are three things we are doing when we pray, “Your Kingdom Come” when we submissively recognize the Kingdom of God.
(a) We are praying for the salvation of the Lost
More than anything else it is an evangelistic petition! It is a prayer for the conversion of lost souls, so that others may be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13). It is a request that Jesus Christ might “take up His reigning residence in the hearts and lives of those who are still in rebellion” and outside the kingdom of God (John MacArthur).
(b) We are praying for the submission of the saints
When praying “Your kingdom come” I am praying that I personally will be daily submitted to the reign of God in my life. I am praying that God will rule me and control me.....all of me....my thoughts, my words and my deeds!
I am also petitioning God that all of His children will be characterized by righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! We are asking that the fullness of God’s reign will be manifested in us as light to a sin darkened world.
(c) We are praying for the Second Coming of Christ
This prayer is a prayer of hastening. It is the same prayer that the Apostle John offered at the end of the Revelation, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” It is a request that He will hasten His return so that our redemption will be complete (Romans 8:18-23, 29-30). It is a request that He will hasten His return so that His present spiritual reign will be realized in a literal, physical sense (Revelation 20:6; Psalm 2). It is a request that He will hasten His return so that His divine plan for the world can be consummated and His eternal kingdom can be ushered in (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
The Disciples’ Prayer is a prayer of salvation, submission and the second coming (evangelism, exaltation, expectation).
Before we close, I want to say a few words about the next phrase that we find in the KJV and NKJV Your will be done, on earth as it is heaven. As I dealt with earlier in our study, this phrase is not included in most modern translations (NIV and NASB for example) because they are not found in the older manuscripts. They were probably added to some manuscripts of Luke to make it more closely resemble the version found in (Matthew 6:9-13). Certainly it was unnecessary because the context is entirely different (i.e. Jesus taught on prayer more than once).
Having said that, it makes perfect sense for us to pray “Your Kingdom come, “Your will be done, on earth as it is heaven.” For, how can we submit to His rule and reign in our lives unless we are willing to say “Your will be done, not mine” and “Your will be done here on earth right now in my life,” and, aren’t we right back where we started?
“The purpose of prayer is not to get mans’ will done in heaven, but God’s will done on earth!” This acknowledgement leads us to ask the question, what is God’s will?
There are two aspects to His will, His concealed will and His revealed will.
His concealed will has to do with that which He has planned in eternity past but, in His infinite wisdom He has chosen not to immediately reveal to us.
His revealed will is that which He has chosen to reveal to us here and now.
Right now, the length of my life is a part of His concealed will, however some day it will be revealed, because either I will be given a termination date by the doctor or you will find my lifeless body dead.
His revealed will however is mainly found in His word. If we are going to pray, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we need to know the Word by getting into it and studying it.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.
The biggest mistake we can make in our prayer life is to ask God for something that is not a part of His revealed will.
What is His revealed will?
· That Men and women enter into His kingdom – 2 Peter 3:9
· That His Kingdom citizens are filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 5:15- 18ff
· That His Kingdom citizens be characterized by sanctified holy lives – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
· That His Kingdom citizens live in submission to the rules of our society in which we live in – 1 Peter 2:13-20ff
· That His Kingdom citizens endure suffering for His sake – 1 Peter 4:12-19
· That His Kingdom citizens be thankful people – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Do you see how it all works?
If we pray Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.....then we will make His kingdom and His will a priority in our life.
Matthew 6:33
33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
To pray Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, is to pursue it above all else!
No comments:
Post a Comment