WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:14.400 Have you ever noticed that we never get up in the morning and hear the news or read the news whichever way you choose to do it, expecting to hear that everything is just great and wonderful. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.359 We actually expect the opposite of that. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:19.280 We want to know what's wrong with the world. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.039 We want to know the T, if you will. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:22.559 We we expect war. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:24.719 We expect political division. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:29.039 We expect crime to hear about, you know, what happened on the streets last night. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:30.960 We expect another tragedy. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:37.359 Somewhere along the way, we've become accustomed to living in a broken world. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.840 Jesus doesn't tell us to ignore those things. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:49.600 He doesn't tell us to forget about or overlook the brokenness, nor simply to complain about it. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:56.960 But he does teach us to pray about it, which is what we pray for when we pray, Your kingdom come. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.840 In other words, Lord, come and make things right. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.120 Make right what sin has made wrong. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:11.120 As we continue looking at the Lord's Prayer, we come to the second petition, Your Kingdom Come. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:13.920 The first petition was, Hallowed be your name. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.560 That's a prayer that God would be honored. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:24.400 The second is your kingdom come, which is a prayer that God's rule would be embraced. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:27.760 We don't simply want people to acknowledge his name. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.799 We want them to gladly submit to his name or submit to his reign. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:40.959 Not only do we ask that people would magnify God as God, but that they would also submit to God as God. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:49.439 The kingdom of God can sometimes be misunderstood because we're tempted to think of it as merely heaven. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:56.159 Some people assume that praying, your kingdom come, simply means praying for heaven to come. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.640 And that's understandable because heaven is understood to be the place of God's abode. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:02.480 It's where he rules and reigns. 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:07.920 Now, and there is indeed some overlap between heaven and the kingdom of God, as we will see. 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:16.000 In fact, sometimes in the scriptures, it is referred to as the kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom of God is more than heaven alone. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:18.000 So, what is the kingdom of God? 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:22.719 What exactly are we praying for to come when we pray your kingdom come? 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.159 Well, first, it is a petition, it is not a declaration. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.319 We are not just declaring something. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.639 We are asking for something to happen. 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.919 We are asking for his kingdom to come. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.159 Let me give you this helpful definition. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:48.000 The kingdom of God is God's saving reign inaugurated through Jesus Christ, already at work in the world, but not yet fully realized. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:49.120 Let me read that again. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:03:00.719 The kingdom of God is God's saving reign inaugurated through Jesus Christ, already at work in the world, but not yet fully realized. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.080 There are two things that this definition is answering. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:08.000 What is the kingdom and when is the kingdom? 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:14.719 What it is, is God's rule and his reign established through Jesus Christ. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:22.719 When it is, is both present and future, or as some people like to say, already and not yet. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:30.960 Now, someone, maybe you, might question, well, hasn't God always been ruling and reigning? 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.520 If he is sovereign, doesn't he already rule and control all things? 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:38.319 Why are we praying for that to come? 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.439 Well, it is true, Psalm 115. 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:55.199 It is true that he rules, but the kingdom of God is not only what's true, it is also what is realized or what is established. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:57.520 For example, let me give you an example. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:00.639 Let's say you were left an inheritance. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:10.400 Maybe some rich uncle or maybe some rich friend left you some money, and let's say that money is there sitting in a bank somewhere with your name on it. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.919 And let's also say the news hasn't gotten to you yet. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:17.600 You don't know about this money that is in your name. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.240 You have yet to realize this truth. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:26.639 Now, the fact that it's there and yet you don't know about it doesn't make it any less true. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:28.160 The money is really there. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.360 You have yet just yet to realize it yet. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:39.839 And even when you do realize that it's there, it means nothing until you take hold of it, until you you have it in your bank account. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:44.399 In the same way, the kingdom of God has always been true. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:52.560 It is true that God has always been ruling and he's always been reigning, and that he's always been directing all things according to his own glory. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:58.160 But when we pray, your kingdom come, we are praying for that to be realized. 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:04.879 We are praying for that to be taken hold of, not only by us, but by all of the nations. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:14.319 We pray for it to be known in the hearts and in the minds of men, and furthermore, for that to be known through Jesus Christ. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:22.480 This is the reason the kingdom of God is referred to more in the New Testament than the Old Testament. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:29.600 Because it is God's rule and reign, yes it is, but it is his rule and reign through Jesus Christ. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:39.600 In Matthew 28, Jesus is accused by the Pharisees of using the power of Belzebub, the prince of demons, to cast out demons. 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:44.160 And this is what his reply was in Matthew 28, verse 28. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:53.199 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:06.079 Jesus is saying, if I'm casting out these demons by God's Spirit, if it is God truly doing this, not Belzebub, then this means that the kingdom of God has come upon you. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:09.839 Notice the elements of the kingdom of God in this one small verse. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:10.959 There is Jesus. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.439 He is the one who is casting out demons. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.240 There is the power and the authority of God. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.199 That is seen in God's power over Satan. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:32.480 And then there is also this present and visible realization of this manifestation that is being witnessed and being seen by the people who are around and seeing Jesus cast out these demons. 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:36.720 So why does Jesus tell us to pray for all of this? 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:40.480 What does it mean to pray your kingdom come? 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:45.360 Well, that's what we're going to be spending our remaining time answering this morning. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:47.920 And I want to answer it in these three ways. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:55.279 To pray your kingdom come, number one, is to pray that his kingdom would rule our hearts. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:00.319 Number two, that his kingdom would advance in the world. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:08.160 And number three, that his kingdom or his future kingdom or his coming kingdom, however you want to put that, would arrive. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.680 That his coming kingdom would arrive. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:13.199 Let's look at that first one. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.959 That his kingdom would rule our hearts. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.959 In Luke chapter 17, verse 20, we read this. 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:38.160 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, Look, here it is, or there, for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:46.000 You remember the Jews in Jesus' day believed that the kingdom of God would come politically. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:56.959 They believed that the kingdom of God would be a political kingdom, one where God would set up an earthly kingdom with an earthly king or Messiah to reign and rule on their behalf. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.079 So Jesus had to correct their thinking. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.759 As he says, the kingdom of God would not come in ways to be observed. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:15.839 Meaning, you're not going to recognize it by or through an army coming to overthrow your oppressors or to overthrow Rome, nor will you recognize it by earthly peace and prosperity. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:17.279 This is what they expected. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:19.360 The Jews were expecting God to come and do. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:24.240 They expected the kingdom of God to look like him coming to overthrow their enemies. 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:31.600 They believe God will restore Israel to national independence and back to the glory days of David and Solomon. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:37.600 But Jesus said to them, he told them, the kingdom of God is not going to look like that. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:40.559 Instead, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:43.279 In other words, your king is here. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:52.879 Rather than waiting for an earthly king to come and rule your land, God has sent you a heavenly king to come and rule your hearts. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:58.639 The kingdom that you're seeking, Israel, is too small in scope. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:03.600 Because you're seeking, you're seeking, and you're looking for an earthly kingdom that can be destroyed. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:08.240 But God is inaugurating this heavenly kingdom that will reign forever. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.360 And Jesus is saying, that kingdom is here. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.000 It is among you, it is in your midst. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:20.320 Will you believe in me and will you allow me to bring you into this wonderful kingdom? 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:36.000 Colossians 1, Colossians 1 13 says, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.879 Everyone belongs to one of two kingdoms. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:45.440 You either belong to the kingdom of darkness or you belong to the kingdom of Christ. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.519 And some might say, Well, I choose neither. 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:48.639 Well, you don't have a choice. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:50.960 You have to reside somewhere. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:56.240 And if you don't reside in God's kingdom, then you remain in the kingdom of darkness. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:02.320 You remain in a kingdom where sin rules your heart, where Satan oppresses your life. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:11.440 And God, in his goodness, might restrain the devil for a while or for a time, but in that kingdom, you are not promised any security. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:17.200 Security and safety only come by residing in the kingdom of God. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:19.840 And how do you reside in this kingdom? 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.360 How do you get into this kingdom? 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:22.240 Well, we just read. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:24.799 The text says you must be delivered. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:29.039 You must be delivered from one kingdom, and you must be transferred to another kingdom. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:35.039 In other words, God through Jesus Christ must rescue you from the domain of darkness. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.279 And he must bring you into his own kingdom, this kingdom of light. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.879 And he does this through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:50.639 By believing and receiving his work on the cross, you are delivered and transferred into a new kingdom, the kingdom of God. 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.519 So if you're a Christian, that is you. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:58.080 You are now a citizen of the kingdom of God. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.600 Your allegiance no longer belongs to the world. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.080 Neither does your allegiance belong to yourself. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:11.840 You have died to sin and you now live to Christ, which means that your allegiance now belongs to Christ. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.360 He is the king of your new kingdom, which you belong to. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.840 Which further means you must submit to him. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:19.600 You must submit to his rule. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:21.440 You must submit to his lordship. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.639 He must have authority, complete authority over your life. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:32.240 So if this is already true, why do we pray for it to come? 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:42.080 If the kingdom of God is already in our midst, and if we if we're Christians, if we have believed and received Jesus, why do we need to continue to pray that it come? 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.240 Hasn't it already come when we said a prayer, when we got baptized? 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.519 Why do we need to pray for it? 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.879 Well, the answer to those questions are yes, the kingdom of God has come. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.320 Yes, the kingdom of God is already in your midst. 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:03.759 Yes, if you're a Christian, you are living and breathing in the kingdom of God today. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.080 Now here's a question for you. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:09.519 Does your life reflect this? 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:15.440 The answer again to all those questions is yes, you're there. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:22.159 Yes, you're a citizen, yes, you Jesus is your Lord and your master. 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:30.720 But the question for you is can you examine your life and say, my life reflects this? 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:36.000 Can you say that you are a good citizen in the kingdom of God? 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:40.799 Can you say that Christ truly rules your heart? 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.039 Do you submit to his lordship? 00:12:43.200 --> 00:13:06.559 Not just on Sundays or when you pray and have morning devotions, but can you honestly say that Christ, that Jesus, rules every area of your life from morning to evening, not just today, but also tomorrow, not only when things are good, but also when things are bad, not only in health, but also in sickness, not only in prosperity, but also in poverty, or vice versa. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:11.919 Now you see why we need to pray for his kingdom to come. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:25.360 This is a prayer for him to work in our lives so much so that our lives would begin to reflect us living under his rule or under his lordship. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.519 Because if we're honest, our lives don't always show that. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:40.559 Instead, our lives often show us living for ourselves and being mastered by sin and giving allegiance to our passions and submitting to the world. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:49.600 This is why we must pray, Your kingdom come, Lord, let your kingdom come and rule my heart every single day. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.639 Now, what does that look like as we live our lives? 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:57.840 What is some tangible evidence of this? 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:12.480 Well, in Romans 14, 17, we read this for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:23.840 So Paul here points out three things that mark the kingdom of God, which means these three things also must mark the citizens of the kingdom of God. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.840 The first is righteousness. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:46.159 To pray your kingdom come is to pray that God would grant us the righteousness of Christ, that he would enable us and empower us to walk in his ways, that we seek not a righteousness of our own, but we seek a righteousness that comes by faith, and that we live our lives accordingly. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:57.600 That we be obedient to the Father, just like Jesus was, that we resist sin and the devil just like he did, that we serve one another and love one another, just like he showed. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:06.399 The kingdom of darkness is not equal or is not the equal opposite of the kingdom of God. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:25.759 In other words, sometimes we're tempted to think that that this kingdom that we live in has such a stronghold on our life that that it's it's actually sometimes even stronger or pulling us stronger to its kingdom than the kingdom of God is. 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:32.320 But no, if we are truly citizens in the kingdom of God, then that kingdom has priority. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:42.399 And that is the kingdom that we walk in, and that is why we pray, Lord, let me live this life of righteousness, this righteousness that you have given me. 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:51.279 A second thing, according to Paul's message here, is that we pray that we live in peace. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:16:04.559 Righteousness, not only righteousness, but also in peace, that that we remain in peace, which is, as we know, not always easy in a chaotic world where the devil is working against our peace. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:18.240 Through Christ's death and his resurrection, we have to understand that this kingdom of darkness that is always working against us. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:20.639 It's it has already been crushed. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.320 We are just waiting for that final consummation of it. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:28.720 In other words, we're just waiting for God's kingdom to come in its fullness and sweep up the mess. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:36.720 I say that to say that this world, again, is not as powerful as the devil deceives us into thinking it is. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:45.279 His deception will be to us that righteousness is not ours, that peace is not ours, and that those things are out of our reach. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:54.720 He will show you that that your circumstances and your failures and your hardships prove that righteousness and peace is impossible. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.480 But that is not the truth. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.799 These things belong to the believer. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:04.640 Peace belongs to the believer because the believer belongs to the kingdom of peace. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:06.000 So we pray for it. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:10.960 We pray for it to come, we pray for it to be realized and established in our lives. 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:17.839 To pray your kingdom come is to pray for God's peace to come into your life and rule your heart. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.960 And thirdly, as Paul says, it is a kingdom of joy. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:30.000 You know, sometimes places or cities or areas start to develop these reputations, right? 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:35.039 The South, some people will say is known as a place of southern hospitality. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:39.599 Like South is known where people or people are known in the South to be hospitable. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:45.920 You might say, not the people I know in the South, but that is the that is some the saying anyway. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:50.400 In the Midwest, there's a thing, and I just found this out recently, as Midwest nice. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.000 There's people that are nice in the Midwest. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.319 In Philly, they're known for being rude. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:18:00.640 I remember being a cowboy fan years ago in the Philadelphia Eagles, booed Michael Irvin when he ended his career. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.880 The point is, people and places build reputations. 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:11.680 And you can sometimes tell where people are from by their demeanor, by their attitude. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.319 Well, the kingdom of God likewise has a reputation. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:21.279 The citizens of the kingdom of God should be joyful people. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:29.440 Christians of all people should have the most joyous hearts on the planet because we know what we have been rescued from. 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:32.319 We've experienced the love of God for ourselves. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:37.440 And as the text says, we've been enabled to walk in joy through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:42.400 Only the Holy Spirit could empower us to find joy like we have. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.200 Joy in the midst of storms, in the midst of trials. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.039 This is why we pray for it. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:48.799 This is why we seek it. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:50.720 This is why we ask for it to come. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.559 What does it look like for King Jesus to rule someone's heart? 00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:01.119 It looks like someone or a person who is walking in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.400 And as we know, we can't get there through our own efforts. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.559 We can't get there by trying hard enough. 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.359 So we pray for it, Lord, let your kingdom come. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.079 Let it come now and rule my heart. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:17.359 Let me, Lord, submit to your rule, to your authority, and to your reign. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.200 Next. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.400 It is also a prayer that his kingdom would advance in the world. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:28.160 In Matthew 24, 14, we read this. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:37.519 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:49.039 Praying your kingdom come is not only a prayer that his kingdom be established in our hearts, but that his kingdom be established and advanced in the world. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:52.240 And this will happen through proclamation of the gospel. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:56.799 Jesus calls it the gospel here in Matthew, the gospel of the kingdom. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:59.440 The good news of the kingdom. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:04.319 There is good news of the kingdom that must be proclaimed throughout the earth. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:11.359 So that the kingdom would be advanced and that the kingdom would break into this world. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.480 This is what Jesus is telling us to pray for. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:19.359 This is a petition for transformation. 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:26.480 It's not just a prayer that more people decide to follow Jesus or that more people be baptized, although we pray for those things. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:29.119 Though it's not less than that, it is more than that. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.519 We don't just want to see inward conversions. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:33.680 What we want to see is outward conversions. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:35.599 We want to see transformation. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.440 We want to see things change. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:41.920 We want to see the forces of the devil being pushed back in our world. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:48.240 Because what we see in our world every single day looks a lot like the devil's kingdom. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:53.039 We see his hand of oppression everywhere we look. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:54.799 We see it in our youth. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:56.400 We see it in our marriages. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:59.680 We see it every time we hear or read the news. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.000 You know, and sometimes, maybe you've been here before. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:11.839 Things get so bad in our world or in our lives, we might pray, Lord, go ahead and just take me away from all of this. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.279 Lord, I don't want to live here anymore. 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.880 I don't want to live in this sad world anywhere more. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:25.119 But notice the prayer is not, let me go to your kingdom. 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.240 The prayer is let your kingdom come. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:33.359 We want God's kingdom to be realized in this world. 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:35.119 We want it to come. 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.559 And we want it to overthrow every other kingdom. 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.640 We want it to overthrow the kingdom of darkness. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:42.720 We don't want to retreat from the world. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.720 We want to advance on the world. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.759 God's kingdom is not shrieking back, it is pushing forward. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.599 And we pray that it does so more and more every single day. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:59.680 Daniel chapter 7, verse 27 says, And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the heart. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:09.599 Heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him. 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:25.200 This is what we're asking for, that God's kingdom would come and overthrow every other kingdom, and that mankind would submit themselves to a new rule, not Satan, not themselves, not their own sinful passions, but to our God through Jesus Christ. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:26.240 J.C. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:43.119 Ross says this is a prayer that our desire that the power of Satan may be speedily be cast down, and that all mankind may acknowledge God as their lawful king, and that the kingdom of this world may become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:51.279 And when we think about it like that, this prayer is going to direct many of our other prayers. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:23:04.400 Because if we want to see his kingdom come and the kingdom of God advanced in our world, then we need to pray for things that are going to advance the kingdom in this world. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:09.279 Which means we're going to need to pray for things like more missionaries to be sent out into the world. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.039 We're going to need to pray for more evangelists to be raised up. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:17.359 We pray for churches to be planted, for the body of Christ to be strengthened. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.799 We pray that the truth might be proclaimed from our pulpits. 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:27.119 We pray that false doctrine be silenced, that the church be united in the truth. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:32.559 Because these are the things and these are the means by which the gospel goes forth. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.119 And when the gospel goes forth, then the kingdom of God advances. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:44.640 You know, it's very popular in our day to believe that we can Christianize the world through political means. 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:58.400 So what we have is half the church investing half or more of their time working and seeking and thinking about how we can strengthen the political arm that will advance the Christian cause. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.759 In many ways, we want what the Jews did in their day. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:08.480 We want to see an earthly king establish an earthly kingdom who will come and crush our enemies. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:11.599 We want to see, look, here it is, and there it is. 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:14.559 We want to see a kingdom of eating and drinking. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:19.440 Who cares about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit as long as we win? 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:29.039 Don't get me wrong, politics are important, and we should care about things like justice and the rule of law and keeping our freedoms as a way of advancing the gospel. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:36.480 Those things have their place, but too many Christians care more about advancing their country than they do the kingdom of God. 00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:41.279 Or even worse, they conflate the two, as if their country is the kingdom of God. 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.039 But remember, Christ's kingdom is not of this world. 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:51.039 His kingdom is spiritual and it will be advanced through spiritual means. 00:24:51.200 --> 00:25:00.640 It will be advanced through prayer and through the proclamation of the gospel and through discipleship and through the ordinances and through your service and love for one another. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.880 Never think that those things are insignificant. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:22.480 The track you handed out, that encouraging text that you sent, that service that you did for your neighbor, the offering that you gave to your church, that prayer that you prayed for your friend or family member, these things slowly advance the kingdom of God. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:35.599 Now they might not make headlines, and no one but you might ever know about it, but they are slowly but surely planting seeds into the growth of the kingdom of God. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:45.119 Mark 430 says, And he said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:51.680 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when sown on the ground is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 00:25:51.839 --> 00:26:02.559 Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:14.960 God is doing things in your families, in your neighborhoods, in your cities, and throughout the world that we can't see with our eyes at the moment. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:23.039 He is growing his kingdom every single day, and he is using people like you to do it. 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:25.680 This is what the parable in Mark is saying. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:32.160 Jesus started proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom with just a few, with just a handful, with just twelve. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.400 And when he went to the cross, he didn't even have those twelve. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:47.119 But there in Jerusalem, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the gospel started to be proclaimed with just a few, with just a handful. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:53.359 And in the book of Acts, we see that it started to spread from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. 00:26:53.440 --> 00:27:04.000 And today, today we have people all across this globe serving and worshiping the one true God through Jesus Christ in their own language. 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:19.599 What started out as small as a mustard seed in a small region of Galilee has grown into this large garden that is seen throughout the world and it continues to grow today. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:22.160 And how does he how does he grow it? 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:23.599 What is his seed? 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:26.480 What is he using to grow this garden? 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.759 He's using the saints. 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.039 He's using you and your prayers for your kingdom to come. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:38.160 He's using your your love for your neighbor. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:40.960 He's using your your evangelism. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:46.640 He's using the time that you pray for one another to advance the kingdom of God. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:55.119 When we pray, your kingdom come, we pray that his kingdom will continue to grow and spread and advance throughout the world. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:04.880 Next and lastly, a prayer for his kingdom to come is to pray that his coming kingdom would arrive. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:07.680 Look at Matthew 25, verse 31. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:39.920 Matthew 25, 31, we read, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne, before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left, and the king will say to those on the right, Come, you who are blessed by the Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:50.400 So even though the kingdom of God was inaugurated at the first coming of Christ, it will be consummated at his second coming. 00:28:50.799 --> 00:29:00.160 When we read the New Testament, the New Testament seems to speak of the kingdom of God as both something that is here already and something that is yet to come. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:16.960 From the time of Christ there has been a progressive advancement of the kingdom of God, and it will keep advancing and keep growing until it's fully realized and fully consummated at the second coming of Christ, when the powers of Satan are fully and finally eliminated. 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:29.440 Daniel Chapter 2, verse 44 says, And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:37.519 It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:52.799 Theologian Hermann Ritterboss puts it this way The kingdom's final manifestation belongs to the Perusa, meaning Christ's second coming, when all the powers hostile to God shall be destroyed. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.559 This is what we're waiting for. 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:59.920 We're waiting for Jesus to come and to destroy the powers of darkness. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:14.480 The second coming of Christ is rarely talked about anymore in our days or in our churches, but the church throughout history has always looked forward and have always hoped for this great day when Jesus will come again. 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:19.119 That day when he will come back and he will make things new. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:23.839 Not necessarily the day when we go to him, but that day when he comes to us. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:45.519 You know, when we read the Bible, and there's a lot of people who are interested in Revelation and the apocalyptic literature of scriptures, and Christians are tempted to read these passages that speak of Christ's return strictly as warnings for the loss, as judgment for the loss and warnings and threatenings. 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:51.119 But remember, the scriptures were primarily written to believers. 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.799 They were written to Christians. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:56.720 When John was on the island of Patmos, he was writing to other Christians. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:04.319 While there certainly are warnings for the loss, that judgment will come, that judgment is coming for those who reject him. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:09.200 The purpose of these passages is to bring hope to the Christian. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:16.720 The consequence of only focusing, when we read those scriptures, of only focusing on the fear is missing out on the hope. 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:25.759 Revelation was written to Christians who were being thrown into prison and to Christians who were being beheaded and who were being persecuted for their faith. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:32.640 There were real forces of evil who were oppressing them in their day and who were threatening them and their families. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:37.200 So they longed for Jesus to come and end their suffering. 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:50.160 So when we read these apocalyptic literatures and scriptures of the earth being destroyed and stars falling and powers being overthrown, we should read them as Jesus coming to our rescue. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:53.519 What we're doing is we're reading the good guy winning. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.160 The persecuted church understood this. 00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:02.160 The reason we might not read the scriptures the same way is because we're possibly too comfortable to. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:09.119 We need to refind what they had, a little uneasiness of living in this world. 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:16.079 The longing to see our Lord come and crush our enemies. 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:21.599 For Jesus to come and overthrow evil, for him to come and make everything that's wrong in this world right again. 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:34.160 We need to find that hunger to return to him, for him to return to us, for us to get back to the garden, to return to paradise where we were once in this great fellowship with our Maker. 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:43.839 The Christian lives with this tension of being thankful for every good and perfect gift that God has bestowed on us here in this life. 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:53.839 It is right to enjoy the things that God has given us, the good things like family and food and leisure and the arts and the beauty of creation and so forth. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.000 But we also know how good those things are. 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:00.400 There's something better. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:02.960 That this is not our home. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:07.200 That we are citizens of another kingdom. 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:09.920 And we long for that kingdom. 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:15.839 You know, we're given constant reminders of that, all the time. 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:18.480 Reminders that we don't belong here. 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:24.960 We may not see it like the early church did with intense persecution. 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:29.440 But we do see it with the effects of sin in our lives. 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:41.119 We see it when we see what sin does to marriages, and we see what sin does to our families and our health and our relationships. 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:49.200 We see it when we see how sin makes us harm one another and hurt one another, how it's responsible for death. 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:58.400 Sin and its consequences belong to this kingdom, and they're everywhere, and it's prevalent in this kingdom. 00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:04.640 But sin and its consequences will not be found in the kingdom of God. 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:08.000 None of the effects of sin will be there. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:10.559 First Corinthians 15, 24. 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:21.039 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom of God, the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:24.719 For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:30.719 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:39.360 But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is expected, it is plain that he is expected who put all things in subjected under him. 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:50.880 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjected under Him, that God may be all in all. 00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:06.480 Every power, every authority will be subjected to the great King. 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:12.960 And if you had if we had some time this morning, you can probably name all of your enemies. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:22.400 Sickness, pain, hurt, depression, failure, loss, worry, doubt. 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:32.960 And there are times in the dark of night when you have no idea how you're gonna get the better of that enemy. 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.079 You have no idea how you're gonna defeat this enemy. 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:39.280 In fact, you believe that this enemy is gonna defeat you. 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:47.519 The power over you, the enemy's power over you, seems too difficult to defeat. 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:51.920 But believer, hear the promise of Christ. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:36:00.639 There will come a day when his kingdom comes and destroys every authority and power. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:07.679 Those things that you feel subjected to will finally be subjected to him. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:17.280 And if we believe this, if we honestly believe this, shouldn't we be asking for it to come quickly? 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:23.760 Shouldn't we ask for his kingdom to come today, not tomorrow? 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:27.519 Shouldn't we long for the day when Jesus returns? 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:31.920 What a wonderful day it will be for the believer. 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:34.239 It will be a glorious day. 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:40.239 Not for the unbeliever, which should draw out our urgency to share the gospel with those whom we love. 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:52.960 It should make us and quicken our hearts to make a phone call or send a text to let people know that, hey, by the way, I'm praying for something. 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:55.840 That's good news for me, but it's not good news for you yet. 00:36:56.159 --> 00:36:57.679 It could be good news for you. 00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:02.000 But when the kingdom of God comes, it's gonna be bad news for the unbeliever. 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:10.000 It will be a day of judgment, it will be a horrible day for those who submit, who don't submit to God and Jesus Christ as their Lord. 00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:12.000 They're gonna be one of his enemies. 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:14.800 And as we read, they will fall like his enemies. 00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:21.119 But if you're a quick, if you're a Christian, as we close, I want you to ask yourself this question. 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:24.320 Do you pray for his kingdom to come? 00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:31.760 That is, do you pray that God would rule your heart through Jesus Christ? 00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:41.199 That he will lead you and empower you more and more every day to submit to his will, to his authority, to his word. 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:46.159 That he will lead you in all these things. 00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:51.519 Because if we're honest, there are other authorities in our lives. 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:54.880 And these authorities try to rule our day. 00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:59.519 Our flesh will try to rule us every day. 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:08.079 Our anger will try to rule us, our jealousy will try to rule us, our envy, our lust, our fears, our worries, our doubts. 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:15.840 And when we submit to those things, what happens is we become their servants. 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:26.960 But as Paul says in Romans 8.2, the law of the Spirit has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 00:38:27.679 --> 00:38:29.360 We all know what a law is. 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:31.679 A law is something that we obey. 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:35.280 If you're a Christian, you are free from that law. 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:40.159 You are free from obeying the laws of this kingdom. 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:41.599 You don't have to obey them. 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:46.719 You no longer need to submit to them because you don't reside in this kingdom anymore. 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:50.000 You have a new king and you belong to a new kingdom. 00:38:50.239 --> 00:38:58.559 And this king that is king of your new kingdom says to you that his burden is light. 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:03.119 This king is not a cruel taskmaster that the devil is. 00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:06.000 He's not an oppressor, he's a liberator. 00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:09.360 He doesn't seek to harm you, he seeks to do you good. 00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:11.119 He doesn't hope for your failure. 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:13.039 He wants to help you succeed. 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:19.440 Pray, Christian, for that to be realized every single day in your heart. 00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:24.480 But also pray that his kingdom would be advanced in this world. 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:31.199