Lord, Teach Us to Pray 02

Your Kingdom Come

The only kingdom that amounts to anything is not of human origin. All earthly kingdoms will pass away and be forgotten.

Only God’s Kingdom is eternal in nature, from everlasting to everlasting.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17 ESV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Law

Luke 16:17 ESV

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Matthew 24:35 ESV

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

How do you ensure people go down the right path and not down a rabbit hole.

Negative and positive re-enforcement.

A push and a pull.

A fence and a gate.

The wide and narrow path

The eye of the needle

Repent turn around (because we have hit the fence we can’t get past the fence)

Believe (head for the gate)

What is the Kingdom of like?

A great starting point is God

How does the God Head function together?

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Mutual respect

Grace Filled ie the law never has the last word.

Purpose Filled: Love is creative and not self consuming.

Each member of the God Head know their place and are totally at peace with this. They are 100% congruent with their roles.

They find both great strength and peace in this.

A secular reaction to the God Head

The Feminist Movement

Postive contribution

Equality in the best sense. Not two classes of people as though one is inferior to the other but one.

Negative contribution

Feminist Movement tries to kill feminism.

Feminist Movement is anti masculine.

But what does this achieve?

It kills its own identity, itself, and everyone else.

The result is flatline death in non-self.

And the secular outcome has been…

The LGBT movement has been the secular outcome.

A Kingdom-less outcome if you like.

One that denies our identity under God and actually distances itself and us from the very God in whose image we are made.

Genetically this is simply impossible

The Kingdom of God does the opposite

It is the epitome of feminism

It is the epitome of masculinity

The two go together in a perfect marriage.

Cradled in the wonderful design of our creator who made us male and female in his image.

United into God’s Kingdom

We become more of what God created us to be, male and female he created them in the image of God, he created them.

When God’s Kingdom comes it’s not just some abstract impersonal thing, it is highly personal and highly relational. It is healing balm for the soul and nourishing sustenance for the body.

If the Kingdom of God has come…

For in Jesus Christ the Kingdom has come

You can now assume a few things…

The Old has passed away the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:14–19 ESV

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

We no longer life for ourselves, we live for Christ.

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

We no longer life for ourselves, we live for Christ.

We no longer life for ourselves, we live for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20–21 ESV

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Our justification comes through Christ alone.

Our justification comes through Christ alone.

Galatians 2:16 ESV

16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Our Goods works are evidence of the faith we have.

16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Our Goods works are evidence of the faith we have.

Where do we go if we feel we have no good works?

Do we make our appeal through the law?

Or

Do we make our appeal through Christ and the Holy Spirit?

Galatians 3:2 ESV

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

This is our appeal if we feel we have no good works.

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Galatians 3:5–6 ESV

5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

This is our appeal if we feel we have no good works.

We again entrust ourselves to the one who saves.

5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

We again entrust ourselves to the one who saves.

We again entrust ourselves to the one who is willing, able and desires to make us whole again.

We ask God again and again to fill us again and again with God’s Holy Spirit.

And as we pray we make our appeal in faith confident that he who hears our prayers will never, not ever, turn us away.

We say...

Lord teach us to pray,

Our Father in Heaven,

Your Kingdom Come...

...into our lives,

into the lives of our families,

in the lives our friends

into our broken and hurting communities,

into our country, and indeed the whole world.

Teach us to forgive as we are forgiven.

To trust in your Heavenly provision,

To honour Your name.

That through God’s identity come to us we will become ever more of what God intends us to be.

Ever more wholesome and whole.

Lord, Your Kingdom Come.

We pray.

Amen.