Lord's Prayer, Part 3

Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary

pure and holy, tried and true

and with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living

sanctuary, Lord for You

as we continue to pray, we are learning more of how to pray

Matthew 6:10 NASB95

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

Your kingdom come

What is in the kingdom of God?

What will you find when God’s kingdom comes?

Goodness, grace, mercy, truth, righteousness, power, healing, miracles, wisdom, direction, assurance, love, forgiveness

No wonder Jesus tells us to ask for God’s kingdom to come . . . but He also instructs us to ask for something else

Your will be done

What will you find when God’s will is done? . . . obedience

that was short . . . your will be done is talking about obedience

And the principle is this, “Your kingdom come and Your will be done” come as a package deal . . . . they are a team

When his kingdom comes, his will is done

When His will is done, His kingdom comes

when a king takes over, things are done his way

When Jesus takes the wheel, he will decided the route and the destination (he doesn’t listen to backseat drivers)

So we have the blessings and benefits of the kingdom AND the will and rule of the king . . . they come together

and this prayer gives us an example to look to: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

we can look at heaven as an example

Is anybody in heaven worried? Does anyone in heaven lack anything? . . . No

Is there joy, peace, and rest in heaven? . . . Yes

Is God’s power on full display . . . Yes

Is God’s will done completely and thoroughly in heaven? . . . yes

Is there any partial obedience, slow obedience . . . no

only one time it happened . . . it was taken care of quickly . . .satan was put out

Heaven is what his kingdom come and his will be done looks like . . . we ought to be excited about this part of the prayer . . . but we’re not

So what’s the problem?

We want the benefits of the kingdom without the responsibility of the kingdom

We want the kingdom to come, but are not excited about His will being done

Goodness, grace, mercy, truth, healing, miracles, wisdom, direction, assurance, love, and forgiveness sounds great . .

but obedience? And all that comes with obeying God’s will on earth: self denial, sacrifice, suffering, trials and waiting . . . doesn’t sound great

We think, “kingdom” . . . Hallelujah

We think, “obeying God” . . . Oh boy!

But I have some good news for you . . .

God’s kingdom and God’s will are BOTH good . . . both of them deserve a Hallelujah

Why are they good? (Two reasons)

First, Everything about God is good!

His kingdom is good, His will is good, wisdom, power, mercy, grace, lovingkindness, patience,faithfulness, plans, word

everything about God is good!

God’s kingdom is good and God’s will being done is good!

Second, His will being done is what leads to the kingdom

The kingdom is the destination

His will being done is the road to get there

anything that leads to God’s kingdom is good

Clarification: I didn’t say that they both feel good . . . I said they both are good

Example

paycheck feels good . . . doing the work doesn’t feel good

but they both are good

the work leads to the paycheck

the road leads to the destination

that’s why people will complain about work but yet still be the first to volunteer for overtime . . . .because though the work may not feel good, they know it is good, they know it is good to be employed

and they volunteer for a tougher road in order to reach a better destination

Don’t be afraid of God’s will

we are so afraid of what God is going to have us do, or what God will allow to happen to us

“Be careful if you ask God to use you!”

“Watch out when you say, ‘Lord have your way!’”

“you might not want to ask that!”

You should know those are serious prayers, but you don’t have to be afraid!

First, because God loves you, why be afraid of someone who loves you so much that he sacrificed his own son for you

Second, the rougher the road, the bigger the reward

the apostles understood this - In Acts 5, they rejoiced when suffered

in their trials they saw reward, opportunity, honor, God guiding them

Thirdly, He will give you the strength to endure - Paul said he had been through all kinds of things, but God kept giving him strenth

Fourthly, God knows what he is doing

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas sang praises when jailed

soon afterwards, saw a miracle

got a man and his whole family saved

got an apology from the authorities

When people say they want to start a business and become a millionaire . . . do we tell them to be afraid?

“oooh . . . . you might not want to be that!”

No, we might give them some sobering advice, but we encouraged them

Well I am here to encourage you to have faith

the road might get rough and the going might be tough, but you will be glad that you made Jesus your choice!

Have faith and invite for his will to be done . . . so that his kingdom might come

Let’s break down this, “If you follow God, you will have to go through something!”

guess what? If you don’t follow God, you will still have to go through something. At least if you go through it with God it will work out for your good

at least with God you have help

at least with God their is reward

at least with God you are not alone

God wants us to be patient, but people are scared of asking for patience . . . “you gonna go through”

Here’s the truth: you ARE going to go through

would you rather go through with patience

or go through without patience and make something bad even worse?

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done is our way of saying God I am with the program

I trust you, I have faith in you . . . it’s all Good

Let me do my part to bring your kingdom on the earth, and I will follow your will to do it . . . wherever it takes me

I do trust you with my life (more than I trust myself)

I am with the program, you can use me, I will be a living sacrifice for you

My Dad example

I lived in my dad’s kingdom for many years

benefits were incredible - bills being paid, food, shelter, toys for birthday and christmas, money for field trips, new clothes before the school year, protection . . . never once thought he might leave

but with the kingdom . . . came his will be done

I used to be jealous of the kids in my neighborhood, they seemed to have it so easy

they could stay out on summer nights as long as they wanted to

we would be having so much fun, but when the street lights came on, I would have to leave

through my window, I could see and hear them having so much fun

They could go to places I could not go to

dad would say, that’s too far away

dad would say, I don’t know enough about the people or the place

but the other kids, they could just hop in cars and go

My friends would talk about these great movies that I was not allowed to see

teachers would be quick to call my house, if I got out of line just a little bit . . . so I had to be extra good in school

On Sundays mornings, it seemed the whole street was enjoying their warm beds - as I trudged out to the car to head to church

And though I was jealous of the freedom of the other kids, later when we all grew up, many of those kids would say, “You had a great dad . . . you were blessed”

I was blessed, but I did not feel so blessed at the time, because I didn’t have an enough sense to know that his will was good too

his will protected me, taught me, corrected me, kept me, prepared me for life, brought rewards, blocked things that would have brought me down . . . the will of an imperfect father was good

certainly the will of a perfect, heavenly Father is good

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done . . . so lead me , teach me, show me, prepare me, guide me . . I want to be a living testimony for you

Psalm 19:7–8 NASB95

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The Great Invitation

Lot’s of kingdoms today with different degrees of authority, rules, cultures

World Kingdom - United Nations, World Court (let’s not fight)

Each country is a kingdom

America Kingdom - Democratic government, put individual above the group

Chinese kingdom - Communist government, people before the individual

State kingdoms like Texas - independent, guns, doing things big

Fort Worth Kingdom - try to be a good big city and a good small city

Neighborhood Kingdom - Southside has different rules and culture than other neighborhoods

Family Kingdom - families have their own stories and dynamics

But the one kingdom, you need to be most concerend with is Your Kingdom

For a kingdom to come, another kingdom needs to be removed to make way

For God’s kingdom to come into your life, yours needs to be removed

The method God uses? surrendering

yielding, bending the knee in submission

Lord, I want you to rule in the territory you have given me

authority and rule over me, my life, my walk, my talk, my plans, my goals

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9 - that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

If you want to give your life to Christ, join WMBC, or both, talk to Assistant Pastor Tony Camell or Sis. Teena Camell after service. This is their picture on the screen.