Thine is the Kingdom

Even when you don’t use the actual words of the Lord’s Prayer, this model is a good one to keep in mind for how you talk to God…which was Jesus’ intent when he gave us these words.

But this morning…we come to words that Jesus probably didn’t give.

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For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

If you look in the New International Version of the Bible, which is the version we use here in our worship services, you won’t find this line in either Matthew’s gospel or Luke’s gospel.

Why is that?

The answer is simple: it’s not in the original Greek manuscripts.

Most scholars agree it’s a later addition to the text, most likely coming from the ancient Jewish tradition of adding a doxology to prayers…doxology meaning a liturgical expression of praise to God.

The earliest example we have of a doxology like this being added to the Lord’s Prayer comes from an ancient document called the Didache, which was written as a book of instruction for living a Christian life.

So a question naturally arises…why do we use this when we recite the Lord’s Prayer?

If it wasn’t in the original prayer Jesus taught, why do we say “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever?”

Well, first of all, I think it’s worth noting that even though the words probably aren’t from Jesus…they are still biblical.

Take, for example, this verse from 1 Chronicles:

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“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”—1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, uses similar language in a brief prayer from chapter 1:

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”—1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV)

This kind of language isn’t uncommon, and it’s certainly appropriate.

So when we pray it at the end of the Lord’s Prayer, we are really using biblical language to bring a worshipful end to our prayer…a worshipful end which I think is important.

It’s important because it re-orients us as the prayer comes to an end.

After coming to God with our requests, and as we prepare to finish our prayer and return to whatever we were doing…this final line reminds us who we are and what it is we’re seeking in our lives as Christians.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, there’s a real danger in Christianity these days that we become what some call “consumer Christians.”

Consumer Christians see the goal of their faith to simply be the bettering of their own lives.

Believe me when I say…it’s rampant in the States.

Consumer Christianity has invaded so many congregations…it’s scary.

I personally feel it’s kind of a holdover from the self-actualization culture of the 70s and the "Me Decade" of the 80s.

Did that understanding of the ‘80s extend to the UK?

In America we call it the “Me” decade because so much of it was about…well, me.

And the way it invaded Christianity is that suddenly churches started teaching that God's greatest goal is to make me a happy, successful person.

The idea is probably best captured by the title of an extremely popular Christian book in the States for the past 20 years… “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps for Living at Your Full Potential.”

Now don’t get me wrong…I do think God desires the best for us.

Jesus himself said that he came that our lives might be abundant and full.

But how do we define “abundant” and “full?”

It’s not measured by happiness, or wealth, or success…

…the abundant life Jesus points to is rooted in a much higher ideal, an ideal that this doxology in the Lord’s Prayer points us toward.

Our lives were designed to be all about God’s kingdom…God’s power…and God’s glory.

When those rise to the top…when those become our goal and our focus…then we find ourselves entering into a life that is more abundant…more fulfilling than we can possibly imagine.

So for this morning let’s take a look at each of these and discover a bit of what we’re praying for in this doxology.

For thine is…

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The Kingdom

Now we’ve already encountered this language in the Lord’s Prayer, haven’t we?

We encountered it when we prayed…Thy kingdom come.

When I preached on that petition, I said that the kingdom of God was ultimately about God’s in-breaking shalom…God’s purposes and priorities coming alive in the world today.

I said that when God’s kingdom is experienced here on earth:

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Lost people are found.

Broken people are healed.

Oppressed people are set free.

Hungry people are fed.

The hurting find comfort.

The despairing find hope.

The wronged find justice.

Friends…this is the Kingdom right here.

The problem…the problem is that we as human beings often become very obsessed with other kingdoms.

And I’m not talking about Westeros or Middle Earth…as awesome as those can be.

What I’m talking about is our human tendency to become way too narrow in our thinking.

I don’t want to harp too much on my homeland, but a perfect example of this is what’s going to happen in America this coming week.

On Tuesday millions of Americans will go to the polls for our midterm elections, which I believe are perhaps the most important elections of my lifetime.

I personally believe that the future of American democracy is on the ballot.

And one of the threats to that democracy is the narrow-minded view of so many Christians who believe God’s kingdom is all about getting the right people into office.

“If we just elect the right people,” they say, “then America will be a Christian nation again.”

Never mind the fact that America was never really a Christian nation.

But the reason this scares me is that God doesn’t tell us to focus on human governments and kingdoms.

In fact, Jesus himself rejects them.

When he’s being tempted in the desert, Jesus is shown all the kingdoms of earth and is offered them…if he will only bow down and worship satan.

And how does he respond?

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“It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”—Luke 4:8 (NIV)

Jesus rejects the offer of earthly kingdoms, because…as he will say later on…his kingdom is not of this world.

Not of this world.

We need to be reminded of that.

Because the question is…who are we trusting in the midst of the many crises our world is facing right now?

Whose kingdom are we focusing on?

Don’t misunderstand me—I believe Christians should vote, and I believe our faith should impact how we vote.

But let us never forget that Scripture teaches our ultimate citizenship…is not an earthly one.

Our eyes…our minds…our hearts…and our churches need to be centered on God’s kingdom priorities.

And this phrase in our prayer doxology reminds us of that.

YOURS is the kingdom.

It re-orients us.

Thine is the Kingdom.

And also…

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Thine is the power.

Again…I could go on a huge tangent here about elections and political power, but I don’t want to sound like a broken record.

There are lot of things we could talk about when it comes to God’s power.

Part of what we’re doing here is simply declaring the greatness of God, similar to the way we do when we pray, “Hallowed be thy name.”

Declaring God’s greatness is a central part of worship.

You might have noticed we’ve been doing it all morning.

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“Holy, Holy, Holy…Lord God Almighty.”

“How Great is our God…sing with me How Great is our God.”

“Who is there like You…all of creation looks to You.”

We’ve been speaking to the greatness and power of God since this service began.

But I want to remind you of another song lyric we sang about God’s power earlier:

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“For Your power at work in me is changing me.”

See…it’s one thing to declare that God is powerful.

But it’s another thing entirely to experience it.

And I think we need to be reminded these days that God’s power is not some theoretical, external thing.

Just a few moments ago I said we needed to trust God in the midst of all the crises our world is facing right now.

But what are we trusting God to do?

Pat us on the head and say, “Everything will be alright?”

Or are we trusting that the God who created the universe…the God who raised Jesus from the dead…is still active today and able to show his power in the midst of whatever we’re facing?

I think of the Apostle Paul, who shared these words in his prayer for the Ephesian church:

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“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”—Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV)

Paul prays that we as Christians would know the hope that God gives, the inheritance that we’ve received…and he also prays that we would know the power of God.

Not just believe in the power of God…but know that power in our lives and in our churches.

When we declare, “Thine is the power,” we are not just saying, “Yeah, God…you’re great and you’re powerful and we think that’s awesome.”

We are saying, “Lord we believe you are able to demonstrate that power in our lives and in the world today.”

Paul says that incomparably great power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

And in Romans he says that same power…dwells in us.

Friends…that is mind-blowing!

And it’s directly linked to our understanding of the kingdom.

Because when we look at those things that Scripture says define the kingdom of God:

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Lost people are found.

Broken people are healed.

Oppressed people are set free.

Hungry people are fed.

The hurting find comfort.

The despairing find hope.

The wronged find justice.

It’s easy to look at that list and feel completely overwhelmed.

The needs in our world are staggering.

But as great as those needs are…the witness of Scripture is that God’s power is even greater.

And the witness of Scripture is that God’s power is active.

It’s available to followers of Jesus…it’s available to his church.

And when I think of all the challenges we face right now…in my mind I think of the Hebrew people gathered by the shores of the Red Sea.

Pharoah’s army is advancing fast…and all they see before them is water.

And they feel trapped.

But what did God do?

He demonstrated…his power. He parted the waters and provided a way through on dry land.

The text we heard from Exodus 15 was a song of praise sung in response to that event.

It’s a song that asks this question:

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“Who among the gods is like you, Lord?

Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”—Exodus 15:11 (NIV)

The answer, of course, is no-one.

Who is there like you? No-one.

But the follow-up question for you and me is this: do we believe God is still able to work wonders?

If we don’t…we might as well pack it up and go home.

Friends…when we pray, “Thine is the power,” we are making a declaration.

We are saying that the great God who flings galaxies into space with a word…that same God is active in the world today.

First and foremost through his people, as he empowers them by his Spirit.

Our role…is simply to trust and yield.

Thine is the power.

And then finally…

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Thine is the glory.

Glory…that’s a tricky word to understand sometimes.

What are we talking about when we speak of God’s glory?

Earlier we heard a majestic and mysterious text from the book of Revelation.

It paints a picture of a heavenly gathering centered…on a scroll.

The scroll represents nothing less than the fulfilment of God’s purposes for creation.

But the scroll is sealed. The promise of God’s creation is unfulfilled, and will remain so until the scroll is opened.

But there’s a problem—a question: who is worthy to break the seal and open the scroll?

John, the one receiving this vision, notes that he weeps out of fear that no one will be found worthy to open it and see God’s purposes accomplished.

But then…something wonderful happens.

A Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, John says…a lamb appears and takes the scroll.

When he does, the heavenly audience cries out, “You are worthy! Because you were slain you are worthy to break the seal and open the scroll!”

What John is seeing here is a vision of Christ’s sacrifice and what it accomplishes.

It’s a poetic image of the truth that in Christ’s death and resurrection God’s plans and purposes for creation find their fulfilment.

It’s a reminder that one day all will be put right.

In John’s vision, when the Lamb takes up the scroll, all of creation breaks out in worship:

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“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power,

for ever and ever!’”—Revelation 5:13 (NIV)

This vision…is an image of God’s glory.

It’s acknowledging that in a world where so many claim to be important, where so many claim to have power, where so many claim to have answers…

…there is only one who is worthy of praise and honor.

And you can think of God’s glory…as kind of a manifestation of that worthiness.

In a lot of Scripture passages it’s described as a kind of light.

But it’s more than light…it’s majesty and splendor and magnificence…

It’s God’s perfection..again, as we sang earlier, perfect in power, love and purity…

…God’s glory is that perfection on display.

And again, only one is worthy of it.

I’m going to finish this sermon in an unusual way…by playing you a song.

(TRANSITION TO “IS HE WORTHY”)

Kingdom…Power…Glory

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