YOUR KINGDOM COME Page 1 of 7

THE DISCIPLES’ PRAYER

PART 4

YOUR KINGDOM COME

Matthew 6:10

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. NKJV

To pray Your kingdom come is to pray for the program of God to be fulfilled.

That is to say for Christ to come and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

(John MacArthur)

His program and His plan should be the preoccupation of our lives and of our prayers.

Faithful Jews had known of God as their Father in several ways.

They saw Him as Father of Israel, the nation He chose to be His special people.

Exodus 4:22

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.”’ NKJV

Deuteronomy 32:6

6 Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you? NKJV

THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

2 Samuel 7:14

14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. NKJV

Isaiah 63:16

16 Doubtless You are our Father. . . You, O Lord, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. NKJV

Isaiah 64:8

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand. NKJV

Jeremiah 31:9

9 . . .For I am a Father to Israel. . . NKJV

They also saw Him in an even more intimate and personal way as their spiritual Father and Savior.

Psalms 89:26-32

26 He shall cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.'

27 Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him.

29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

30 "If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,

31 If they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments,

32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. NKJV

We have seen over the past few weeks as I have preached on prayer that the purpose of prayer is to glorify God.

But how self-centered our prayers usually are, focused on our needs, our plans, our aspirations, our desires. We are often like little babies, who know no world but the world of their own feelings and wants. One of the greatest struggles of the Christian life is to fight the old sinful habits, with their constant and unrelenting focus on self.

The problems and issues we face can cloud our concern for God's kingdom.

It is our responsibility to pray for our families, pastors, friends, missionaries, national and other leaders, and for many other people and things.

1 Timothy 2:1-2

1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

2 for kings and all who are in authority. NKJV

But our prayers in every case should be that God's will be done in and through those people, that they would think, speak, and act in accordance with God's will. The best we can pray for any person or for any cause is that God's kingdom be advanced in that person or that cause.

(John MacArthur)

The holy purpose of the divine Father is to exalt Christ in the consummation of history when the Son rules and reigns in His kingdom.

“kingdom” basilei/ basileia Royalty, Rule, a Realm - royal power, kingship, dominion

ROYALTY

Hebrews 1:8

8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. NKJV

RULE

1 Corinthians 15:24-25

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. NKJV

REALM

John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

NKJV

Acts 1:6-8

6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV

This KINGDOM doesnot refer primarily to a geographical territory but to sovereignty and dominion. Therefore, when we pray Thy kingdom come, we are praying for God's rule through Christ's enthronement to come, His glorious reign on earth to begin.

Come translates the aorist active imperative.

What this is implying is a sudden, instantaneous coming.

It is the coming millennial kingdom of which the Lord is speaking, not an indirect effort to create a more godly society on earth through the progressive, human-oriented work of Christians.

Revelation 20:4-6

4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for athousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. NKJV

To pray Thy kingdom come is to pray for God's kingdom, the kingdom over which He, and He alone, is Lord of lords and King of kings.

Matthew 6:10

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

It will be a kingdom on earth, but it will not be a kingdom of this world — that is, of this present world system.

"My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus told Pilate

John 18:36-38

36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all." NKJV

Matthew 24:27

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. NKJV

The kingdom of God, or of heaven, was the heart of Jesus' message. He came to "preach the kingdom of God" There is no other gospel but the good news of the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Luke 4:43

43 But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."

Do you know what Jesus' message after the resurrection was? THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Acts 1:3

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. NIV

THE EXISTENCE OF THE KINGDOM

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

God's kingdom is PAST, in the sense that it embodied Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Matthew 8:11

11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. NKJV

It was PRESENT in the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, in the sense that the true divine King was present "in the midst of you."

Luke 17:21

21 nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." NKJV

But the particular focus of our praying is to be on the kingdom that is YET TO COME.

God now and always has ruled the kingdom of the universe. He created it, and He controls it, orders it, and holds it together.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM

James Orr

"There is therefore recognized in Scripture...a natural and universal kingdom or dominion of God embracing all objects, persons, and events, all doings of individuals and nations, all operations and changes of nature and history, absolutely without exception.”

Psalms 145:13

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. NKJV

Psalms 103:19

19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. NKJV

Psalms 29:10

10 The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits as King forever. NKJV

THE ENABLEMENT OF THE KINGDOM

Matthew 18:1-5

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. NKJV

Matthew 22:1-3

1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:

2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,

3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; NKJV

Mark 1:15

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." NKJV

Mark 12:28-34

"Which is the first commandment of all?"

29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.

31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.

33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

NKJV

The present existence of the kingdom on earth is internal, in the hearts and minds of those who belong to Jesus Christ, the King.

THE EXTREME VALUE OF THE KINGDOM

The kingdom for which we are to pray, and of which we now have a taste, is of extreme value.

Matthew 13:44-46

44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for 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 beautiful pearls,

46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. NKJV

CONCLUSION

1 Corinthians 15:24-26

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.

26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

INVICTUS by William Ernest Henley

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.

12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

13 "Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.” NKJV

It all depended on one thing. THE RESURRECTION

Matthew 6:10

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. NKJV