The Sermon on the Mount: God's Kingdom and God's Will

Introduction

Read Matthew 6:9-15

Matthew 6:9–15 (ESV)

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Praying for God’s Kingdom to Come

We will be looking at the next two things Jesus teaches us to pray for. The next one being for God’s kingdom to come.

What do we mean when we talk about God’s kingdom?

God’s Kingdom Represents His Sovereign Rule

First, when we talk about God’s kingdom, we are talking about His Sovereign rule. Jesus instructs us to pray for God’s Sovereign rule to come upon this earth.

Christ is King Over All

Now we might ask, doesn’t God rule over all right now?

The answer is yes, Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

King Nebuchadnezzar came to recognize God’s rule over his own life on numerous occasions.

After the King had a dream he couldn’t understand, Daniel was brought in to serve the king. After God used Daniel to reveal the mystery of the king’s dream, Nebuchadnezzar declared:

Daniel 2:47 (ESV)

The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

And after his humiliation of living as a wild beast, came to recognize God’s Sovereign rule, even over him and his kingdom.

Daniel 4:34–35 (ESV)

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

and he does according to his will among the host of heaven

and among the inhabitants of the earth;

and none can stay his hand

or say to him, “What have you done?”

Nebuchadnezzar had tried to rule his kingdom in his own way, but he finally recognized that God was King over him whether he acknowledged it or not.

This should give us great hope that even as men go their own way, God still rules over all.

Christ is King Wherever His People Are Found

However, there is a sense in which God’s Kingdom and Sovereign rule is only fully realized where His people are found.

How do we know which kingdom or nation controls a particular area? You can see the signs of the kingdom based upon the images that are placed.

You can identify which country you are in based upon the flags and banners that are placed. You might even see posters of the king or leader of that nation. Even we have images of our forefathers right on our money to identify which nation we belong to.

If we go back to the beginning of the Bible, we see as God was finishing up His work of creation, God identified His creation as a part of His kingdom when He placed His image.

Genesis 1:26–27 (ESV)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Within the garden of Eden, He created man and woman in His image and as His people, Adam and Eve became representatives of God to the creation they were called to exercise dominion over. Creation experienced God’s Kingdom as Adam and Eve stewarded God’s authority over creation.

Sin Marred the Image of God in Humanity

Adam and Eve exercised God’s authority over creation as they lived in faith and obedience to His will. However, when they chose to rebel against Him and ate from the tree they were commanded not to eat, the image of God they were created in became marred and distorted. We are all still very much created in the image of God. But now, because of sin, it’s like someone has vandalized God’s image.

In our natural state, we are under the domain of sin and death.

And now, instead of living under God’s authority and dominion, we are now living under the domain of sin and death.

Paul describes this world as being under the authority of Satan.

Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There is a temporary kingdom that is working against the Kingdom of God and we have all been born into this opposing kingdom.

Christ came to defeat sin and death and to restore the image of God within His people

However, God had a plan to bring us back into His kingdom. He began to create a new kingdom of people when He chose Abraham to be a blessing to all peoples. Through Him, one would come who would be the blessing to everyone.

That one would be Jesus, who would come to inaugurate a new kingdom of people. This would not be a geographical kingdom, but a spiritual Kingdom.

Jesus established this new kingdom, not from a royal throne within a palace, but from the cross, not with a crown of gold, but with a crown of thorns, not with a bejeweled scepter, but with a spear thrust into His side.

This new kingdom was purchased by His blood upon Calvary and was secured with His physical death and resurrection. And now He is reigning as He sits on the right hand of the Father.

And now He is making a new people within whom He is renewing and restoring the image of God.

Christ Has Brought His Kingdom to Earth and is Furthered as Individuals Submit Themselves to Him in Faith

This new kingdom includes all those who have entered by God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Christ upon the cross. And the kingdom is furthered as more people come to Christ and submit their lives to Him in faith and repentance.

Pray for Others to Submit to God’s Rule Through Us

So as we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are praying for more people to come and submit themselves to Christ in faith.

Which, how is that going to happen? Through our testimonies and witness to the truth of Christ and His Word.

When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are in essence praying that God would use us to speak to others and to invite them into this new kingdom. It is a prayer for us to be obedient to the call to share the Gospel and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded us.

Let us pray that God would help us be obedient to the call of the Great Commission and that He would lead others to faith in Christ as He speaks through us.

Praying for God’s Will to Be Done

Before we pray for what we need or want, we are called to pray for God’s will to be done. In fact, the way to safeguard how we pray for the things we need in a way for God to be honored is to first focus on His Will to be accomplished in and through us.

Then as we pray for what we need, we will pray with the heart that seeks God’s will as He meets our needs. Our hearts will be willing to accept whatever answer God gives knowing that it will be for our best and according to His will.

Our Will Vs. God’s Will

Of course this means first recognizing that our wills do not always conform with God’s will.

This also means that we have to acknowledge that God’s will is perfect while our wills, so long as they do not conform to God’s will, are imperfect.

2 Samuel 22:31 (ESV)

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 18:30 (ESV)

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

God’s Will is perfect and anything that is opposed to His will leads to trouble.

Adam and Eve got themselves into trouble when they placed their will and desires above the will of God.

The serpent got them to believe that God was trying to hold them back and that they could be like God knowing good and evil. They believed the lie that they could follow their own will and desires and flourish. But all their own will does is lead to death.

Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

So Jesus wants us to reorient our wills to God’s will before we even get to asking for what we want and need, trusting that God’s will is better and we can trust the way He answers our prayers.

Pray for God to Reveal His Will

In order to pray for God’s will to be done, we first need to pray that God would make His will known to us.

First, this is a prayer that God would open up His Word to our hearts.

We can only know God’s will as it is revealed to us through His Word.

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

You see, we need God’s Word to transform and renew our minds so we can know what God’s will is.

We live in a time in which we are told to live our truth, to follow our hearts, to believe in ourselves. Sometimes we even put a religious spin on it by saying things like “I feel like God wants me to...”

Can God direct our feelings? Absolutely. But we need to be sure it is being informed by God’s Word.

Second, seek God’s Will through Prayer

We first want to pray that God would open His Word to our hearts so that we can know His perfect will according to His Word.

But what about His will in the day to day decisions that His Word does not specifically address? This is where prayer continues to come in. We pray that God would give us wisdom and direction.

James 1:5 (ESV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Do you need wisdom in a direction? Go to God in prayer.

Or Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I know there are students here this morning who are quickly looking towards graduation next May and they are already speaking to employers about possible job opportunities when they finish school. The common question here is which job should I take? Maybe some here are asking, whom should I marry?

Ask God to reveal to you His will. It might be that there is not one right answer, but that rather His will is that whichever path you choose, you would seek to honor and glorify Him in the direction you go. Or it might be that He will reveal to you exactly where He wants you to go because He has a plan for you in a very specific location. It might be that God will reveal His will to you later in life and will change the plans you have made. I have heard stories of men who were called into ministry after 10 or 20 years of working in the secular market, only to begin their education and ministry in their 40s and 50s.

Continue daily to pray to know God’s will.

Pray to Desire and Obey His Will

But praying to know God’s will is not enough. We are called to pray for God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

There is no sin and rebellion in heaven. All the angels perfectly obey and worship God Almighty.

What Jesus tells us to pray for here is that we would first know what God’s will is, which is no less than honoring and glorifying God.

But then, as it is revealed to us, we should pray that God would enable us to honor Him by living in complete trust and obedience to His will.

This means praying for the Spirit to help us grow in holiness and to put our sinful desires to death. To help us to pick up our crosses daily to die to self and to live for Christ.

It means, whatever Christ calls us to, we are praying that He would give us the heart to obey His calling and direction for our lives.

Too often we hear what God’s will is and God even makes it clear to us, but sometimes we don’t like what He has to say, so we pretend that its not really for us and we continue to go on living the way we choose to live.

We fail to submit our lives to Him because somehow we are making our decisions of what to do more on what will make us happy or give us pleasure and satisfaction rather than what will honor and glorify God.

The Irony:

The irony of this way of thinking is that we actually make ourselves miserable this way. Proverbs 14:12

Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

First, we need to understand that God’s main purpose is not to make us happy, but rather to make us holy because we were created to reflect His glory among creation.

However, as He makes us holy and as we submit our lives to Him in love and obedience, we will actually find a greater joy in God than we find in living life according to our own wills and desires.

It is learning that what God wants for us really does lead to life and what we typically want, when its not conformed to God’s will, leads to death and destruction.

Conclusion

Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done.

As we pray for these things, how does God want to work in you to answer this prayer?

Maybe there is someone at work or school or in your neighborhood that God is calling you to share the good news of Christ with. God is using each of us to further His kingdom by inviting others to enter His kingdom by faith in Christ.

Perhaps God is calling you to even reconsider your finances and your giving to better support the work of the kingdom both here in Socorro and throughout the world so that more people might have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel call.

Perhaps God is calling you to put to death some sin in your life. Maybe you need to find a trusted man or woman you can invite to help you fight against a particular sin you have been holding onto that is keeping you from living out God’s will.

Or maybe, God is calling you to something new, a new job or a new direction in life that requires a sacrifice and trust in Him in order to follow. Whatever it might be, God is wanting to work through us to answer these prayers Jesus is calling us to pray.