1. CONNECTION & TITLE
1.1. Gods nature is most revealed in his cosmological display of rulership so thsi is the best way to hallow his name
2. Introduction
2.1. Broad thoughts about what the hope of fruit from this series
2.1.1. We would be a praying people.
2.1.2. We would find the right priorities in our prayers
2.1.3. We would be anchored in the right goals of prayer so that we might mature from just "I got it" or "I did not get it" expectation of answers - our ability to recognize joy and glory rides on this
2.1.4. We might learn to persevere in prayer
2.1.4.1. ILL: Mueller quote
2.1.5. We would awaken as prayer becomes infused in our life and qualitis of life characterize our spiritual life
2.1.5.1. awareness - living people are aware and we become aware of God
2.1.5.2. hunger - living peopel get hungry and as we become hungry for the things of God shaped as we pray
2.2. INtro
2.2.1. The second petition is the most brief and yet the most comprehensive one contained in our Lord’s Prayer. Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 212-213). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2.2.2. Clear connectin between the first and th esecond
2.2.2.1. The first petition, "Hallowed be Thy name," concerns God’s glory itself, whereas the second and third have respect to the means whereby His glory is to be manifested and promoted on earth. God’s name is manifestatively glorified here only in the proportion in which His Kingdom comes to us and His will is done by us. Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 216-218). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2.2.3. If I ware
3. What might it look like if God started to answer this prayer?
3.1. Application - What would it look like if we prayed this and God answered? What would it look like to have the kingdom become more evident in our life, in our church, in our homes? I want to imagine with you. Rather than go do things, lets just ask it from the angle - what would the kingdom coming look like?
3.1.1. Christians would find the greatest expression loving God and others - fruit of his reign - to be relatinshisp with each ther
3.1.1.1. Meaning priority wuld be evident. Clear.
3.1.1.2. one anothers happenig
3.1.1.3. Gifts power an d excercise
3.1.2. We would see prayer grow
3.1.2.1. Why pray?
3.1.2.1.1. “I listen more than I talk.” That’s how a well-known pastor described his prayer life in a sermon I heard recently. It was the reason he gave that arrested my attention. “After all, it seems like God is going to do whatever he wants to do anyway.”
3.1.2.1.2. Soulds good, especially if you hold to a sovereign view of God's providence. But let me suggest to you that is too reductionistic and shallow and altegetoerh unbiblical
3.1.2.1.3. Matthew 6:8 says this very plainly: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
3.1.2.1.4. Psalm 139:1-3. O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
3.1.2.1.5. we pray to be near him, we pray to know him... but more than that...
3.1.2.2. The Kingdom advances one soul at a time. So you're asking the question, "Lord, what can I do in the way I live my life in the example that I set, in the focus and direction of my life, in the priorities of my life, in the message I speak, in the witness I give to bring souls into Your Kingdom?" That's how it advances, through evangelism. It is a prayer then for sinners to be converted. It's like the instruction that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy, "God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." And so, I want men in every place to pray, pray for the salvation of sinners.
3.1.3. We would see compulsion
3.1.3.1. Go out there like Matthew 22 says, in the highways and byways and find strangers and bring them in to the wonderful banquet that the Father is giving for His Son. Tell sinners that they have to repent to come in, repent, repent, Jesus said, so did John the Baptist, for the Kingdom is at hand. Turn from your way, turn from your will, turn from your sin, turn from your self-sovereignty and embrace the lordship of Jesus Christ and receive His salvation. This is what we do, this is why we live...for the advancement of the Kingdom, one soul at a time.
3.1.3.2. set up church by gates of hell quote
3.1.4. We would find priority in our lives
3.1.4.1. Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added."
3.1.5. Disciples made
3.1.5.1. Matthew 13:47–50: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish." The kingdom is the power that gathers fish. Fish don't jump into the net. They try to get out of it. (Cf. Colossians 1:13.)
3.1.5.2. Baptism
3.1.6. We can only pray this prayer for the church if we are prepared to mean: make us Kingdom-bearers! Make us a community of healed healers; make us a retuned orchestra to play the Kingdom-music until the world takes up the song. Make us, in turn, Servants of the Lord, the few with the message for the many. N. T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer (Kindle Locations 233-235). Kindle Edition.
3.1.7. we would find a inner growing zeal for inversion
3.1.7.1. No: this is the risky, crazy prayer of submission and commission, or, if you like, the prayer of subversion and conversion. N. T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer (Kindle Locations 238-239). Kindle Edition.
3.1.8. submission
3.1.8.1. However, when one comes to Christ, that perspective is once and for all shattered. It is destroyed. If anything is true at the point of salvation, it is that you no longer set the course for your life, you no longer determine or attempt to determine your own destiny. You are not in charge of your own future and you are not the one who determines the direction you will go. Self-centered living is forever gone. Selfishness has been replaced by submission. Because salvation is a self-denying reality, we keep going back to that definitive statement of Jesus in Luke 9:23, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, follow Me."
3.1.9. justice
3.1.9.1. This is, in fact, how some Latin American theologians are presenting the cross today. In his Christology at the Crossroads, for example, Professor Jon Sobrino of El Salvador develops a protest both against a purely academic theology which fails to take appropriate action and against the traditional, mournful ‘mystique’ of the cross which is too passive and individualistic. Instead, he seeks to relate the cross to the modern world and its social injustice. Was God himself, he asks, ‘untouched by the historical cross because he is essentially untouchable?’ (p.190). No, no. ‘God himself, the Father, was on the cross of Jesus.’ In addition, ‘God is to be found on the crosses of the oppressed’ (p.201). Provided that Professor Sobrino is not denying the fundamental, atoning purpose of the cross, I do not think we should resist what he is affirming. Here is his summary: ‘On the cross of Jesus God himself is crucified. The Father suffers the death of the Son and takes upon himself the pain and suffering of history.’ And in this ultimate solidarity with human beings God ‘reveals himself as the God of love’ (pp.224, 371). What, then, about the holocaust? ‘After Auschwitz’, said Richard Rubinstein, ‘it is impossible to believe in God.’ One Sunday afternoon, in a sub-camp of Buchenwald, a group of learned Jews decided to put God on trial for neglecting his chosen people. Witnesses were produced for both prosecution and defence, but the case for the prosecution was overwhelming. The judges were Rabbis. They found the accused guilty and solemnly condemned him.42 It is understandable. The sheer bestiality of the camps and the gas chambers, and the failure of God to intervene on behalf of his ancient people, in spite of their frequent and fervent prayers, have shaken many people’s faith. I have already said that I do not think the way to interpret Auschwitz and its aftermath is in terms of death and resurrection. Is there, then, another way? I think Elie (Eliezer) Wiesel can help us. Born a Hungarian Jew, he became an internationally acclaimed author, and he has given us in his book Night a deeply moving account of his boyhood experiences in the death camps of Auschwitz, Buna and Buchenwald. He was not quite fifteen when the Gestapo arrived to deport all Jews from Sighet in the spring of 1944. They travelled by train for three days, eighty in each cattle wagon. On arrival at Auschwitz, the men and women were segregated, and Elie never saw his mother or sister again. ‘Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke (sc. of the crematorium)....Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith for ever....Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul, and turned my dreams to dust ....’ (p.45). A bit later he wrote: ‘Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, of the sins of the Jewish people, and of their future deliverance. But I had ceased to pray. How I sympathised with Job! I did not deny God’s existence, but I doubted his absolute justice’ (p.57). Stott, John (2012-11-29). The Cross of Christ (pp. 333-335). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
3.1.10. As God's kingdom breaks in, we would find that those who are praying for it are less gripped by the offerings of this world.
3.1.10.1. Thomas Chalmers - There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world - either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one.
3.1.11. We woudl care for global missions
3.1.11.1. Revelation 5:9–10 John says that the 24 elders sang to Christ the Lamb, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom."
3.1.12. We would recognize that the the need for solutions is found in the kgindom.
3.1.12.1. Then verse 34 explains how the second group showed their solidarity with those who were being persecuted in prison: "For you had compassion on the prisoners and you joyfully accepted the plundering [or the confiscation] of your property." The first group had been put in jail for some reason. That may have meant in that culture that they would be given no food or that they would be beaten and left untended. So the rest of the believers faced a moral dilemma: "Shall we take a low profile in the present controversy and work through indirect channels, or shall we go to the prison and kindle the anger of the authorities and risk losing our possessions and maybe our lives?" They chose to take the risk of public, compassionate identification with the prisoners and the result was the confiscation of their property (v. 34). So it was a great risk to go to the prison to stand up for those who were suffering unjustly. It cost them their furniture and their homes it seems. Perhaps more. But it says they accepted this loss with joy: " . . . and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property." How could they do that? Where do they get the freedom and courage to risk losing everything for the sake of compassion? The answer is given in the last part of verse 34: " . . . since you knew that you had a better possession and an abiding one." Hebrews 12:28 says, "Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." What the writer means is that the Christians were so confident that they had received the kingdom and that the kingdom was so unshakable, and that it was so much more glorious than all earthly possessions, that it was no ultimate loss to lose earthly possessions on the Calvary road that leads to this kingdom. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . . Rejoice in that day and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:10).
3.1.12.2. In Acts 8:12 it says that Philip was preaching in Samaria and "they believed Philip as he preached GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD and the name of Jesus Christ."
3.1.12.3. Note that what we gain from this kingdom has little comparison to what we gain in the next
3.1.12.4. One of the clearest signs of being stuck in this kindgom is we hear things and we just say, oh well. It doesn't moeve us, Oh well. that's tough. So what do you want for lunch?
3.1.12.5. When God's kingdom comes itno our lives, we are mvoed for others
3.1.13. ... righetwouness and joy and peace will mark God's peoep
3.1.13.1. Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
3.1.14. Growing humility within us
3.1.14.1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theier s is the kingdom.
3.1.14.2. WhY? Because when yo take children to someoneelse s house you handle it with respect
3.1.14.3. Matt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3.1.15. We are his kingdom
3.1.15.1. Revelation 1:6. John says, "[Jesus] has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
3.1.15.2. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
3.1.16. Gratitude
3.1.16.1. Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, Hebrews 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.
3.1.17. We would see the church serious messengers with the message of the kigndom
3.1.17.1. Why do I say that? Because as you survey the books of acts, you'll recognize that what drove them was the kingdom
3.1.17.2. In Acts 8:12 it says that Philip was preaching in Samaria and "they believed Philip as he preached GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD and the name of Jesus Christ."
3.1.17.3. Acts 19:88 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
3.1.17.4. In Acts 20:25 when Paul sums up his own ministry in Ephesus among the elders, he says, "And now, behold, I know that all you among whom I have gone PREACHING THE KINGDOM will see my face no more." His ministry was a ministry of "preaching the kingdom."
3.1.17.5. Then at the very end of the book (Acts 28:30–31) and the end of Paul's life when he was under arrest in Rome, his preaching is summed up like this: "And he lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered."
3.1.17.6. In his letters Paul refers to the kingdom of God 14 times. For example in Colossians 4:11 he refers to his partners in ministry as "my fellow workers for THE KINGDOM OF GOD." He refers to his own ministry in 1 Corinthians 4:20 like this, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD does not consist in talk but in power." And in Romans 14:17 he says, "THE KINGDOM GOD is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
3.2. Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
3.2.1. Love being lvoed!
4. Transition
4.1. If I were to ask you what did Jesus speak most on, what would you say? What was it that dominated his message?
4.1.1. Forgivenss?
4.1.2. Lvoe?
4.1.3. grace?
4.1.4. sexual ethic?
4.1.5. revolution?
4.1.6. It was the kingdom - which encompasses all that!!
4.2. The kingdom is a massive topic and I refer you to the series we did on the kingdom of God. But most of us I woudl guess would have for
4.2.1. Matthew introduces Jesus public ministry by saying, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (Matt 4:23). If we were to ask what is central to His message, we could no better than to cite Matthew again: "From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt 4:17). Luke is even more pointed as to the purpose of Jesus mission: "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (Luke 4:43). The Sermon on the Mount relates to us that Jesus intends His followers to live in His kingdom according to a kingdom pattern, so that the chief goal of every believer is to "seek first his kingdom and His righteousness" (Matt 6:33). Luke informs us that during the forty-day period following the resurrection and ascension, Jesus "spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Luke further tells us that the early church engaged in something which he describes as preaching "the good news of the kingdom of God" (Acts 8:12). In Ephesus, Paul spent three months in the synagogue, "arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8), as he did later in Rome (Acts 28:23), adding that for two years "boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 28:31).
4.2.2. Matthew uses the expression "kingdom of heaven" (over thirty times) rather than "kingdom of God" partly because he was writing primarily to Jews who had certain misgivings about using the name of God in speech. The expression "kingdom of God" occurs sixty-five times in the New Testament, primarily in the first three Gospels and Acts. Though both John and Paul use the expression, it is not a favorite of theirs (John 3:3, 5; Gal 5:21; Col 4:11; 2 Thess 1:5).
4.3. It makes sense Jesus would ask us to pray this and prioiritize this becuse he will soon say in Mat 6 -- look
4.3.1. Seek you firs tht ekingd om of God
4.4. Just pryaing back the bible. Soaked in the bible
4.5. That means it is given in the form of a command. More than that, the verb is placed first for emphasis. You could rightfully translate it, “Come, Kingdom of God.” The same is true of the following petition, e.g. “Be Done, will of God.” When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” there is an atmosphere of calm, steady faith about those words, as if we mean to say, “I know your kingdom is coming someday and I pray that you will help me be patient until that day finally come.” And that sort of prayer is entirely biblical. We are called to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord. But when we pray, “Come, Kingdom of God,” there is a note of urgency about those words, as if we are praying, “Lord, let your kingdom right here, right now, today!” To pray this way means that we are not satisfied with the status quo. We are praying because we know things could be–and should be–better than they are.
5. INTRODUCTION
5.1. ILL: Let me start off this morning by setting the stage with a little bit from one of my favorite books, the Cross of Christ by John Stott
5.1.1. It is reckoned that one thousand million people today, because they lack the basic necessities of life, may rightly be described as ‘destitute’. Many of them eke out a pitiful existence in the slums and shanty towns of Africa and Asia, the barriadas of Spanish Latin America and the favelas of Brazil. The penury of the people, the overcrowding in their ramshackle shelters, the lack of elementary sanitation, the virtual nakedness of the children, the hunger, disease, unemployment and absence of education – all this adds up to a horrific tally of human need. It is not surprising that such slums are hotbeds of bitterness and resentment; the wonder is that the sheer inhumanity and injustice of it all does not breed an even more virulent anger. Rolf Italiaander imagines a poor man from one of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, who climbs laboriously up to the colossal statue of Christ, 2,310 feet high, which towers above Rio, ‘the Christ of Corcovado’. The poor man speaks to the statue: I have climbed up to you, Christ, from the filthy, confined quarters down there... to put before you, most respectfully, these considerations: there are 900,000 of us down there in the slums of that splendid city.... And you, Christ,...do you remain here at Corcovado surrounded by divine glory? Go down there into the favelas. Come with me into the favelas and live with us down there. Don’t stay away from us; live among us and give us new faith in you and in the Father. Amen.
5.1.2. I have climbed up to you, Christ, from the filthy, confined quarters down there... to put before you, most respectfully, these considerations: there are 900,000 of us down there in the slums of that splendid city.... And you, Christ,...do you remain here at Corcovado surrounded by divine glory? Go down there into the favelas. Come with me into the favelas and live with us down there. Don’t stay away from us; live among us and give us new faith in you and in the Father. Amen.
5.1.3. What would Christ say in response to such an entreaty? Would he not say ‘I did come down to live among you, and I live among you still’?
5.2. You know
5.3. And of course that sense still carries us now - Political - who will we vote for?
5.4. What a tremendous freedom we have but what if the US ceased to exist? That's the point of Dnaiel right?
5.4.1. 4 kingdoms.. huge and lasting so long!
5.4.2. Gone --- how speaks of the might of the babylonans but historians? Roman empire? Greeks - bankrupt
6. POINT 1 - What is it?
6.1. Definition
6.1.1. Well I think we know enough about a kingdom to understand that a kingdom is basically a structure in which one person rules everybody else...one elevated exalted person rules everyone else.
6.1.2. William Barclay offers this helpful definition: The kingdom of God is “a society upon earth in which God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven.”
6.2. So let's start off by asking the question, What is the kingdom of God?
6.2.1. Now I'm hoping that we have a good sense of this as we spent a good
6.3. The importance
6.3.1. On eo fthe best ways you can radically turn your bible reading upsidedown is to understand the kingdom for God
6.3.2. the phrase "Kingdom of God" is the most used phrase in the New Testament.
6.3.3. The Kingdom of God, same as the Kingdom of heaven. It is central to understanding the New Testament and even the Old Testament, it's the central factor in Jesus' preaching, the preaching of John, the preaching of the apostles
6.3.4. When Jesu spreached the gospel it was the gospel of the kgindom
6.3.4.1. Her ein Matt, kingdom fo God is central message of jesus
6.3.4.1.1. Matthew 4:17 “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee . . . preaching the good news of the kingdom.” Luke 4:43 “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God . . . for that is why I was sent.” Jesus came to establish a new society on the earth. Luke 17:21 “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” John 18:36-37 “My kingdom is not of this world . . . my kingdom is from another place . . . You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
6.4. THe kingdom was past and present and future
6.4.1. Past mat t*;11
6.4.2. Present - Luke 17:21
6.4.2.1. The scribes didn't see it, the Pharisees didn't see it, the rabbis didn't see it, the priests didn't see it, the Sadducees didn't see it. There it was, the Kingdom right in their midst and they didn't see it. They were looking for a political kingdom, a social kingdom, a military kingdom, an economic kingdom. And what they should have been looking for was a spiritual kingdom in which the living God was ruling over the hearts of those who were penitent and trusting in Him, a kingdom basically ruled over by Jesus Christ Himself. They were so unable to see the Kingdom that they killed the King Himself.
6.4.2.2. The kingdom didn't eixist because Jesus came and died... it already existed
6.4.2.2.1. "Are You a King?" And He said, "I am a King, but you don't get it because My Kingdom is not...what?...of this world." And then Jesus said to the Pharisees, "What are you doing? You're looking here, you're looking there for the Kingdom, the Kingdom's in your midst."
6.4.2.3. Why then did he die and resurrect?
6.4.2.3.1. To brig us into the kgindom
6.5. So teh kgindom is ever present, ever real because it is the sovereign reign of God
6.6. two aspects
6.6.1. Universal
6.6.1.1. 1 - thesovereign rule of God over all his creation
6.6.1.1.1. The bible is bookened with these images
6.6.1.1.2. Psalm 103:19, "The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all."
6.6.1.1.3. Psalm 145:13, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations."
6.6.1.2. Over all the earth
6.6.1.2.1. Zechariah 14:9 foretells, "And the Lord WILL BECOME KING over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one."
6.6.1.2.2. Isaiah 24:23, "Then the moon will be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts WILL REIGN on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his elders he will manifest his glory."
6.6.1.2.3. Jesus says, "The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel," he means that the time has come for God to break into this world as never before, to reveal his glory in a personal way, to comfort his people, and to defeat their enemies (Luke 1:71). This is called "gospel" because it is such good news for all who will repent and trust in God.
6.6.1.2.4. (Isaiah 52:10). Verse 7 says (listen for the connection between gospel and kingdom): "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings [gospel!], who publishes peace, who bring good tidings [gospel!] of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion [now the content of the gospel], 'Your God reigns.'"
6.6.1.2.5. First Chronicles 29:11 and 12, "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all and Thou reignest over all."
6.6.2. Redemptive
6.6.2.1. Enterance into the kgindom is what it means to be saved.
6.6.2.1.1. You see, we need to hear this .. so much about forgvieness ... and it is ... but it's about belonging.
6.6.2.1.2. We learned this is with the proclaimation - our father.
6.6.2.1.3. Sins so crucial - he came to die for us - why? Tor have our sins forgiven. But why? So we can belogn again to the kingdom.
6.7. So when we pray for the kingdom to come, we are praying that wha tis already would break in to what we know
6.8. 2 - covenantal view of God and his people
6.8.1. In OT, word kingdom is a bit unknown expect in a few places
6.8.1.1. (e.g. Pss 22:28; 103:22; 114:2; 145:13; Obad 22)
6.8.2. But in every page is the expectation of kingdom through covenant
6.8.2.1. Abraham
6.8.2.2. Mosiac
6.8.2.3. Davidic
6.8.2.4. Covenant - God , his people, living in subjectin to him
6.8.2.5. NOTE: The world would be blessed through this
6.8.3. Fullfiled in Acts
6.8.3.1. Acts 3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ Acts 3:26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
6.8.3.1.1. note: Jews first, but the blessing would be turnign away from wickeness and that would flow to the gentiles. One people!~
6.8.3.2. The church of the New Testament is the seed of Abraham: "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:29)
6.8.4. "The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel"
6.9. Kingdom is key to Acts
6.10. Key to evangelism in Acts
6.11. One way we express being saved is we get to be in his kingdom
6.11.1. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 233-234). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
6.11.2. Matt 26:29 - drink this fruit of the vine with us in the Father's Kingdom
6.11.3. "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ" (Rev. 11:15). Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 241-242). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
6.11.4. Luke 23:42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
6.12. Kingdom of God was about politics but so much more than politics
6.12.1. We make a mistake to say it was only about private and personal. Salvation was the establishment of a true kingdm
6.12.1.1. *** That's the point f Daniel. The main point of Daniel and the 4 kingdoms -- that man has these cycles and they can't maintain it, control it, last. They aren't the answer and when we think - that dynasty could never crumble (we see that ulitmately it will crumble) Why? Cause man was not made to govern self. Cause sin destroys any ability to bring good by the fruit of knowledge of Good and evil. Our hope is not the nation. Listen - our hope is not the natin. The hope in daniel .. for these jews exiled, gone... lost ... was what? YHWH. YHWH will reign. he will come. He will setup a kingdom in his creatin .. and eternity means you get to be i that kingdom. It's how life should be. And hell, hell is outside that kingdom!
6.12.1.2. But one thing you learn when you study history is that they rise and fall. Even studying biblical history. Egypt was once a mighty power and fell. Syria became a mighty power and fell. Babylon became a mighty power, of course, as you know, and fell. Medo-Persia was a mighty power and fell. Greece was a mighty power and fell. And Rome was a great power and disintegrated and collapsed and historians tell us there are probably 21 or 22 great world civilizations that have come and gone and disappeared into the ashes and into history. There was a time when Russia was a great world power. There was a time under Hitler when Germany was a great world power. There was a time when England was a great world power. Now the United States has been a great world power and might be questionable about how long we're going to last because we're rotting on the inside
6.12.1.3. MATT 24:7 - kingdom against kingdom .. and then verse 14 - the gospel fo tehkgindom will be proclaimed. . then end comes
6.12.1.4. God has determined the bounds of nations, Acts 17, God numbers the years of kingdoms.
6.12.1.5. I am only mildly concerned with what happens in America. It is purely a temporal concern. My concern is the advancement of the Kingdom of God, not the American Republic
6.12.2. But also personal - because salvation means yu get into this kingdm. Salviation means yu get to be ruled by Gd. Salvatin means you get to experience life as it was meant to be, experienced life with thers as it was meant to be
6.12.2.1. So death will be gone
6.12.2.2. Kindness
6.12.2.3. Suffering gone
6.12.2.4. Not because it's so different than this life, but because it's this life minus all that feels like hell in this life ...
6.12.2.5. ... and that's cause creation is restored to it's God
6.12.2.6. And in some sense - because creatin knows God's glory and name, and lives in the consumate experience of it!
6.12.2.7. Listen - if you
6.12.3. If Jesus is not the joy and prize of Christianity than heaven will feel like hell.
7. What are we praying for when we pray for his kingdom to come?
7.1. This is not about going to heaven
7.1.1. We are prayin gabout something coming, not us going.
7.1.2. Think of the vision at the end of Revelation. It isn't about humans being snatched up from earth to heaven. The holy city, new Jerusalem, comes down from heaven to earth. God's space and ours are finally married, integrated at last. That is what we pray for when we pray `thy Kingdom come'. N. T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer (Kindle Locations 177-179). Kindle Edition.
7.2. 3 - I. A prayer of destruction — Satan's kingdom would be destroyed.
7.2.1. Now we dont' talk enough about the devil, but we should. We are too immeninetnly practical, or too shy of charismatic fever that sees deomons under every rock and use language tht is so foreign to the bible (the demon of smoking) - you just don't find that ...
7.2.2. But the bible speaks much of his battle
7.2.2.1. Like Jesus battling Satan in the wilderness...
7.2.3. Atonement - is NOT... NOT ... a payment of ransom to the devil.
7.2.4. verses
7.2.4.1. 1 John 3:8: "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." Or, Colossians 2:15: "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."
7.2.4.2. From the moment He began His public ministry, His intension to defeat Satan is announced by the Spirits (yes, the Spirits) driving of Him into the wilderness to face Satan in three successive assaults.
7.2.4.3. John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
7.2.5. (Matt 12:28; Lk 11:20). The Strong Man is bound and the Christ is robbing his house (Matt 12:29).
7.2.6. Matthew chapter 16? That “the gates of hell will not prevail against the Rock.”
7.2.7. Luke 11:21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; Luke 11:22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Luke 11:23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
7.2.8. Satan's kingdom - Matt 12:26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
7.3. 4 - Coming of his coming
7.3.1. (Heb 1:2). We are those upon whom "the end of ages" has dawned (1 Pet 1:20; cf. Heb 9:26).
7.3.2. Matt 8:29
7.4. 5 - The inbreaking of God's rule inour lives
7.4.1. For example, in Matthew 6:33 Jesus says, "Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." I think this means, seek to live under the kingly protection and provision and guidance of God, and you won't need to be anxious about secondary matters like food and clothing. In this sense the kingdom of God is his present rule in your life—the exercise of his sovereign authority to save and protect and provide and guide.
7.4.2. So when you pray, "Thy kingdom come," you should mean, "Father, come, reign in my life. Banish all alien allegiances. Hold sway in my heart. Guide me into paths of righteousness for your name's sake." That's the personal dimension to the coming of God's kingdom. His kingly power is available now. We should seek it and pray for it: "Thy kingdom come!"
7.5. 6 - A prayer of construction the progress of the church and his kingdom
7.5.1. Psalm 2:8
7.5.2. psa 110:1
7.5.3. The reason this is important is plain from Matthew 24:14. Jesus said that "this gospel of the kingdom" will be preached until all the nations of the world have heard it as a testimony. This means that until all the unreached nations (=peoples, not countries) have a bona fide testimony called "the gospel of the kingdom," it is the duty of every generation of Christians to press on with proclaiming it to the world. That means us, because there are still today thousands of unreached nations (peoples). And if that is our task, we must know what the "gospel of the kingdom" is. So it is tremendously important for us to study this together.
7.5.4. The term "gospel of the kingdom" is used only two other times in the New Testament, namely, in two summary statements of Matthew about the ministry of Jesus, found in Matthew 4:23 and 9:35.
7.5.4.1. And he went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
7.5.4.2. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, and healing every disease and every infirmity. (Matthew 9:35)
7.5.4.3. So for Matthew the term "gospel of the kingdom" is a summary phrase of what Jesus preached as he did his ministry throughout the towns and villages of Palestine
7.5.4.4. Mark 1:14–15 he says, "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel.'"
7.6. A prayer for conversion
7.7. A prayer for the completion of God's Kingdom
7.7.1. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
7.7.2. If that is the case, then it's already here and why are we praying for it?
7.7.3. And yet, though he declares the kingdom is already now, he says When Jesus says in Luke 22:18, "From now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes,"
7.7.3.1. he means that the kingdom is not merely a present, personal experience but also a future, historical event.
7.7.3.2. et's read it with verse 15. "Jesus said to them, 'I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.'" What did Jesus mean that the passover would be fulfilled in the kingdom of God? "I shall not eat it until it (the passover) is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
7.7.3.3. Luke 22:16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. Luke 22:18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
7.7.4. Luke 19:11-2 -- As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return."
7.7.4.1. So note that hte kgindom does not come till he returns.
7.7.4.2. So while we pray for the kgindom to come and aspects of it comes into our lives, it does notfully come till Jesus Comes!
7.7.5. It is Christ's return with his angels to gather his elect from the four winds and establish his visible throne upon the earth. Jesus described the second coming like this: "The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:41–43).
7.7.6. Thy kingdom come" means "Wrap up history! Finish your purposes for the world! Complete your mission! Establish your kingdom!"
7.7.7. COME
7.7.7.1. the defeat of evil
7.7.7.1.1. Woven into that message, in Isaiah, we find four poems about a strange character, the Servant of the Lord, who will be God's agent in accomplishing this task. The prophecy as a whole (Isaiah 40-55) sets out the promise of the Kingship of God; the Servant-songs, within it, N. T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer (Kindle Locations 204-205). Kindle Edition.
7.7.7.2. The final prayer is this!!! -even so come!
7.7.7.2.1. “We are next taught to pray that God's kingdom may come — ‘Your kingdom come.’ — In so saying, we declare our desire that the usurped power of Satan may speedily be cast down, that all mankind may acknowledge God as their lawful King, and that the kingdoms of this world may become in fact as they are in promise the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. The final setting up of this kingdom has been long predicted even from the day of Adam's fall. The whole creation groans in expectation of it. The last prayer of the Bible points to it. The canon of Scripture almost closes with the words, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’”
7.7.7.3. Note in revealation - how long oh lord?
7.7.7.3.1. Break with Thine iron rod the tyrannies of sin." We understand that. "How long, O Lord, are You going to let this go on? Lord Jesus, come back. Stop the sinning in this world. Stop the mockery and the reproach on Your name. Stop the blasphemy. Take over."
7.7.7.4. And we will have the Kingdoms of this world becoming the Kingdoms of our God and of our Christ.
7.8. This prayer is a prayer for the accomplishment of all that God has done in redemption
7.8.1. Kingdom - in the garden
7.8.2. How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion `Your God reigns.' Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of YHWH to Zion. YHWH has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52.7-10) N. T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer (Kindle Locations 188-190). Kindle Edition.
7.8.3. ILL: Story in stott about the the play silence on the plain
7.9. Romans 8 - the groaning for the kingdom
8. Extra
8.1. Thoughts
8.1.1. This second petition is well summarized in The Westminster Shorter Catechism: In the second petition. . . we pray, that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the Kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the Kingdom of glory may be hastened. Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 281-284). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
8.2. verses
8.2.1. "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all" (1 Chron. 29:11). Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 230-231). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
8.2.2. Luke 11:20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
8.2.3. 1 Corinthians 6:9 it seems like a future realm: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?”
8.2.4. Luke 4:5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, Luke 4:6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. Luke 4:7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
8.3. ILL
8.3.1. When I was in seminary, I had one of Rembrandt's paintings of the face of Christ on the wall beside my desk. I was (and still am) captivated by this painting. If you covered one of Christ's eyes, his face had a sparkle of joy and hope. But if you covered his other eye, he looked like he was about to cry. And if you tried to look at both eyes, there were both emotions: first one, then the other, then mingled in a beautiful and tragic expression. That's the face of Jesus I see on Palm Sunday. In one eye we see the sparkle: "Yes, I am the king who comes in the name of the Lord. This is my city. These are my subjects." But in the other eye we see a tear: "No, there will be no reign in Jerusalem, no peace, no justice, no coronation day—at least not now. I have one week to live, and even that week will not be kingly."
8.3.2. When pornographer Larry Flynt was interviewed by Larry King, he said he believed we are like bottles on a conveyor belt. We pop up, ride the belt for a while, then something knocks us off the belt, and we disappear, and our place is taken by someone else. It would be hard to imagine a more hopeless view of human life.