Kingdom Centered

Today we continue to work our way through our church family covenant. Last week looked at Principle #1

“I will strive to live in unity as much as the Gospel commands by pursuing patience, kindness, thankfulness, humility, gentleness, joy, forgiveness, and truth. I will bear one another burdens. I will strive to forgive and to be forgiven.

I will think of the well-being of others first. I will only use my words to build up and strengthen those in our gathering.”

Today we look at Principles 2 & 3

#2 I will seek to proclaim the kingdom of God both in word and deed. I will pray for His will to be done.

#3 I will strive to live a lifestyle that exemplifies and proclaims the holiness and character of God. I will hate sin and love righteousness. I will strive for purity both inwardly and outwardly.

I don’t know of anything more powerful to change our hearts and focus than intentional prayer. In the model prayer we see the elements of Kingdom of living. We see elements in which we too should pray so that we may live according to them.

Matthew 6:9–13 CSB

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

I will seek to proclaim the kingdom of God both in word and deed.

Matthew 6:10 (CSB)

Your kingdom come...

What is the Kingdom and why must it be a central theme of our existence?

If we regard the kingdom of God as the rule and the reign of God, the kingdom was here when our Lord was here in person. It is present now wherever the Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged as Lord. But it is to come with a greater fullness when everybody and everything will have to acknowledge His lordship. So we can say that the kingdom has come, the kingdom is among us, and the kingdom is yet to come. What, then, is the relationship of the Church to the kingdom? Surely it is this: the Church is an expression of the kingdom but is not to be equated with it.

Great Doctrines of the Bible (3), 4

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

So in essence the kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God over all creation.

It is hear that the kingdom, through those who submit to his reign through Jesus Christ and is coming int0 complete fullness. There is coming a day when every single molecule of creation will bow to the will of God.

This is the central theme of all earthly history. The coming Kingdom of God is the culmination of history.

So then why must we pray for it?

1. We pray for what we desire and we desire what we pray for.

2. It is God’s desire that all men everywhere submit to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

If this is our prayer and our desire and this desire aligns with God’s desire, then it only makes sense that would proclaim his kingdom.

We must proclaim that His Kingdom is here through the blood of Jesus Christ all those who repent and believe enter into His kingdom. So we proclaim that his Kingdom is both here and is coming. At the end of the age it will come into it’s fulness and the enemy of sin and death will be no more.

The more we align ourselves with God’s heart the more we will find ourselves praying for his will to be done. The more we pray for His will to be done, the more we oursleves will find our selves doing his will. We will ourselves make it a priority.

How often do you pray that God’s will be done?

I am not talking praying for something specific in your life like whether it is God’s will for you to accept a new job or purchase a new car. Should we pray for those things, absolutely . But those things are generally limited in their scope.

What I mean is how often do you pray that the rule and reign of Jesus Christ would spread to all four corners of the globe? How often do we pray your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So often we only pray for what is in front of us. Those things for which we have wisdom now. Could it be that this is a symptom of focusing on my own kingdom?

Before we can pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’, we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go’.

Alan Redpath

If we can assume that all of us in here want to please God and put his kingdom first, and I believe that about you, Then it only makes sense that we would live also by His Kingdom values.

this brings us to the next declaration in our church family covenant.

I will strive to live a lifestyle that exemplifies and proclaims the holiness and character of God. I will hate sin and love righteousness. I will strive for purity both inwardly and outwardly.

Matthew 6:9 CSB

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

What does is mean to honor his name as holy? Exodus gives us this clue.

Exodus 20:7 CSB

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.

The name of God represents God Himself. His name is associated with His character and reputation.

So in Exodus 20 when God says not to take his name in vain. It is a warning much like a wife who would take the name of her husband in marriage but with no real intention of being faithful.

This is why God will still punish those who are not serious about claiming him as their God.

So when Jesus tell us to pray that God’s name be honored as holy this isn’t just lip service. This isn’t just saying nice things about God in our worship songs and church services. This is about a commitment to live a life that honors the name we have taken.

When did holiness become optional for the believer? When did this become acceptable to live, watch, and talk just like the lost world?

When did we lose our sense that God cares deeply about every action and intent of our hearts?

If you think that I am overstating the idea of holiness and purity. I want to remind you that the O.T. law showed us that God is concerned with how we live. He is concerned with the details of our lives.

The age of grace does not mean that God no longer hates sin or that he simply tolerates it.

1 Peter 1:16 CSB

for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

IF we are going to strive to live a life of holiness it means that we must hold ourselves to the standard by which God holds us too in everything, holiness.

Romans 6:1–2 CSB

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

What is sin?

Sin is affront to God’s holiness. When we sin we do not represent His character or His nature.

So my question to you is this. Is there any area of your life in which you have given yourself a pass?

Is there any area of your life that you have justified due to culture or comparison to others worse sins?

To honor Him as holy means that we deny sin in all of its forms so that we represent God well.

But

Then when we fail, and we will, there should be a brokenness about us. It should bother us. It should bother those who have taken His name that we have not imaged Him well. It should bother us that before we sinned we did not take into account Jesus sacrifice on the cross for us.

One of the evidences of a person who has been redeemed is that he no longer lives in unrepentant sin. Notice I did not say not longer struggles with sin. We will all fight sin and also fall prey to it at times but the difference is we are not content to live in sin.

When we sin we want to confess it to God, and seek his strength to not sin again. We turn from it and strive to for holiness.

However, we remember this promise.

1 John 2:1–3 CSB

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.

Notice the familial address, “my little children”. This passage is given as comfort for those who are bothered and broken over their sin. It is meant to give security to those who wonder has God given up one me because of my sin? The answer is of course “no, hasn’t”. In Christ you are forgiven and set free.

This is a passage of comfort not a passage to give the unrepentant an excuse to keep in sinning. In fact, this passage comes with a warning.

1 John 2:3 CSB

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.

If in striving to follow Jesus you fall prey to sin, you are forgiven. Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection to life has paid your price, But the forgiven will go on to keep His commands.

Jesus said the same thing.

John 14:15 CSB

“If you love me, you will keep my commands.

You see church family. Holiness is nothing to sneeze at. You are not being legalistic by striving for purity and holiness in every area of your life. You are allowing God to sanctify you. The pursuit of holiness is part of the path of being conformed to His image.

The reason why so many in the church today seem uninterested in the pursuit of holiness can be summed up by the following verse.

Romans 12:2 CSB

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Those who are conformed to this age are unable to discern what is good, pleasing, and the perfect will of God because their minds have not been renewed.

But for those who want to please God. Keep pressing on. Keep fighting for holiness and purity in your life and then rest in the grace of God when you fail.

I I will seek to proclaim the kingdom of God both in word and deed. I will pray for His will to be done.

I will strive to live a lifestyle that exemplifies and proclaims the holiness and character of God. I will hate sin and love righteousness. I will strive for purity both inwardly and outwardly.

Let’s pray.