Having a heart for the coming kingdom

Do I want what God wants, or do I just want God to do what I want? This was a question that I found myself asking a few years ago when our family was facing some serious and life changing decisions. You see, for those of us who grew up around the Church, we know how to use spiritual language and how to put on a spiritual show. And if we aren’t careful we can fall into making our prayers sound spiritual, while we are really just trying to manipulate God into doing what we want Him to do. Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t bring our heart to the Lord. But what I want us to understand today is that prayer is more of us coming with hearts ready to be molded to God’s will and not us coming to try and make God accomplish our personal agendas.

So, as we go through our series on the kingdom and get close to wrapping it up, I want us to ask ourselves whether we have a heart for the kingdom of God, or if our hearts are only focused on trying to use God to build our own kingdoms. Well, as we look in Matthew 6:9-10, we find that the Disciples have looked at the life of Jesus and are amazed by His prayer life and so they want Him to teach them how to pray. And so, as Jesus opens His prayer, the first things He teaches them to pray is this:

Matthew 6:9–10 NKJV

9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

As American’s the term, “Kingdom” isn’t a word we really use a lot here. But it’s definitely a term that you will see all throughout your Bible. As a matter of fact, the Kingdom of God is the thread that runs throughout all the Scriptures. For instance, in the Garden we see the Kingdom of God reigning in glory as Adam and Eve are submitted to God’s will and then, the Kingdom of Darkness invades and Adam, who serves as a king, falls and the world goes with him. But God promises that there would be a man who would crush the head of the serpent, the ruler of darkness. All throughout the Old Testament we learn more about this serpent crusher. From Abraham, we learn that he would come from the nation, or kingdom, of Israel and from David we learn that Jesus would come from a Kingly lineage and that He would rule on the throne. Psalm 2:6-8 says,

Psalm 2:6–8 NKJV

6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

Now, this isn’t even a fraction of all the references to the kingdom in the Old Testament, but I think you already see that this is a theme that is present. Well, when Jesus comes, He frequently says that, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Which means that the Kingdom of God is here, because Jesus is right here. Jesus is the Kingdom of God because He is the King. Now with this said, what does it mean then for us to live with a heart for the kingdom of God?

It means:

That we see God as a Heavenly Father personally.

One of my favorite things in the world is being a Dad. I love when I come home, walk in the door, and have Ella wrapped around my leg and Silas smiling at me in his little bouncer. What I really love about our relationship is that I don’t have to remind them that we are a family. Ella can bring her doodles, or game ideas, or jokes to me and we can laugh and enjoy each other without her being afraid because she knows that I am her Dad.

Well, as we look at verse 9, we see that Jesus uses the phrase, “Our Father in Heaven.” What we learn as we look at this is that we are invited to come to God as our loving Father. But not only is He a loving Father, but He greater than everything that takes place in our day to day life, because He is seated in Heaven.

This means that the greatest of enemies cannot touch Him and that He is aware of the smallest of problems that you and I are facing. So, are you stressed out? Are you burdened? Are you fearful or afraid? As a child of God, you have a heavenly Father. He is in control, He is infinitely great, and He loves us as His own children.

If we are going to walk through this life with a heart for the kingdom, we must have our hearts stirred by the fact that the God who created everything we see, is the same God who loves His people with an everlasting love. Perhaps you feel hopeless tonight and you’re wondering if this is really true even for you? Well, Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Whenever the darkness of this life causes you to doubt the love of God, look no further than the cross where all of your sins were paid for. And because this is true for us, and because it floods our hearts with love. We live with a heart for the kingdom which means:

That we long to see God work powerfully.

“Patrick Johnston tells a story about his wife, Jill. For a long time she was burdened to help children pray big prayers for world evangelization. She began to write a book to this end in 1990. She lived at the headquarters of the Dorothea Mission in London. As Jill completed each chapter, a group of praying children used the information to intercede for each country. Albania was one of the first countries in her project. It was a communist hermit state, which proudly claimed to be the first atheistic country in the world. All religious expression was illegal. The Gospel was banned and there were no known believers in the entire country. The children began praying for the needs of the children in Albania. They prayed for religious freedom to come to that land. A few months later, the communist government fell, and freedom for worship and witness came. Jill had to rewrite the Albania chapter in her book. When these children heard this, they were delighted. One of them shouted, ‘We have changed Albania!’ Today there is a Gospel witness in virtually every Albanian town and city” (Parrish, Ligonier, Thy Kingdom Come).

As we look at our own hearts, our own minds, and our own prayer lives, would we find something like that among the things we regularly think or pray about? Well, as we look at verse 10, we find that Jesus wants us to pray for God’s name to be hallowed, for His kingdom to come, and for His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Now, what does it mean for His kingdom to come? When we pray for the Kingdom to come, we are praying for God to extend His reign over all the Earth. Yes, the Lord Jesus is seated in Heaven and rules over everything, but we are praying for that to be seen here and now. Psalm 110:1 says,

Psalm 110:1 NKJV

1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

So, when we pray to see God’s Kingdom come, we are praying for Him to save souls! In the mid-1700’s God used normal preachers like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield to spark massive revival throughout Europe known as the great awakening. Are you praying for God to move powerfully like that today or are we afraid that God is out of the big prayer answering business? In Jeremiah 33:3 God invites us to deliver up big prayers as He says,

Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Would you commit yourself to praying for God to work in your family and in the youth group? To work at your school or work? To work in Burlington, in Alamance, in North Carolina?

Archie Parrish continued in his article and said, “Evaluate your prayer life by answering the following questions. More than 40 percent of the earth’s surface is in a state of drought—are you praying for rain? Like Hezekiah, are you praying for deliverance from terrorists throughout the world? Have you thanked the Lord for His intercession for you? Like our Lord, are you praying “ ‘not as I will, but as You will,’ ” even if it costs your life? Are your prayers “kingdom-focused”? Are your prayers big enough to honor God? Are you praying for enemies of the cross to be converted? If they will not be converted, are you asking God to restrain them so they cannot disturb the growth of His church? Like the children who prayed for Albania, do you pray for God to change the world? Are your big prayers becoming bigger prayers?”

That we seek to submit to God practically.

Finally, living with a heart for the coming Kingdom means we seek to submit to God practically. Now, when Jesus teaches us to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, He doesn’t mean like the Sun, moon, and stars, but that we are to pray that people all over the world would come to fully and wholly obey the will of God just like the Saints and Angels in Heaven do. Now, we will never obey perfectly, so this is a future hope for when Christ returns, but we are to desire to see ourselves brought to submission to God’s will for us personally in our lives here and now.

This looks like us evaluating our plans, our desires, our relationships and asking, “Is any of this leading me away from God and into sin?” And if they are, it’s making the decision to remove yourself from those situations. It’s waking up in the morning and owning your identity as a kingdom citizen and living on mission for God’s glory. It’s facing temptation and fighting back because you are committed to the glory of God.

These are just a few things that flow from a heart that is set on the kingdom of God. So, as you go through your week, I want to challenge you to do these three things:

Meditate on the gospel of Jesus Christ and let His grace work in and through you.

Pray big prayers for the glory of God and the good of others.

Seek to make everyday a God-glorifying one.