The Kingdom Manifesto - 15

The Kingdom Manifesto – 15

Live with a Surrendered Heart

Matthew 6:10

Introduction

When I was first hired here, the new lobby and KidLife area were under construction. This facility had already been designed and decided upon. Even though I was not a part of all of those conversations, I still knew exactly what this building was going to look like. In fact, I knew everything down to the smallest detail. How? I was given a copy of the blueprints.

Before you build you have to get perspective from above. To see how things fit together, where things go and how they all affect one another. When you see that perspective from above, you realize that some things you may have thought would work, just won’t work. And you’ll see that things you thought could never work, actually is the better idea.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites us to look at the ‘blueprints’ of life - to get the perspective from above.

Matthew 6:10 - May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

So far in the Lord’s Prayer we have learned that prayer is not about the words we say, but about our hearts that drive those words. With ‘Our Father’ we must have a childlike heart. With ‘may your name be kept holy’ we must have a reverent heart. When we pray ‘May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven’ we must have a surrendered heart.

When we pray this, we are acknowledging that God’s purposes and plans are better than my own. His are perfect. We looked at these verses last week:

Isaiah 55:8-9 - “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Therefore, it is natural for me to surrender. Why wouldn’t I want to see God’s will accomplished?

Let’s look at the phrases Jesus uses in this prayer:

“May your kingdom come.”

Where is God’s kingdom? Wherever he reigns! When we pray this, we are asking God to extend his kingdom. Not my kingdom. And I think that is where a lot of people get prayer messed up. They end up praying for God to extend their kingdom. More money, better job, bigger house, more influence. Now, none of those things are inherently wrong, just that they are only right when they are part of God’s kingdom.

“May your will be done.”

This is the how-to of God’s kingdom coming. How does God’s kingdom show up in someone’s life? By his will being done. By living according to the King’s rule.

William Barclay - “To be in the Kingdom is to obey the will of God. Immediately we see that the Kingdom is not something which primarily has to do with nations and peoples and countries. It is something which has to do with each one of us. The Kingdom is in fact the most personal thing in the world. The Kingdom demands the submission of my will, my heart, my life. It is only when each one of us makes his personal decision and submission that the Kingdom comes.”

“On earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus reminds us why we should want to surrender to God’s will and kingdom rule. Heaven is the ultimate expression of God’s kingdom and will. If you read Revelation 21-22, in that great description of what eternity will be like for those who have placed their trust in Jesus, you see what it looks like when God’s will is done and his kingdom has come.

TS - Jesus is after a surrendered heart from us. And before we dive into what that looks like for us to live out, let’s be reminded that these are not idle words for Jesus. These words carry a very personal cost for him.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took a couple of his followers into the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus spent some time praying. He would be hanging on the cross in a matter of hours. Here was part of what he prayed that night:

Mark 14:35-36 - He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Understand that this prayer, “May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a dangerous prayer. God, I want your rule in my life, I want your will to be done in my life...I surrender to you. That is not an easy thing.

TS - so what does a surrendered heart look like? What does a surrendered heart do?

1. LEARN GOD’S WILL

In order to surrender I need to know what I am surrendering to. I must have a heart that is hungry to know God’s will. There is much confusion about knowing God’s will. We want God to provide us with a clear map of exactly what to do and where to go. Biblically, God’s will doesn’t necessarily work that way. Here are a few ways to know God’s will:

-Through the Word of God

The bible is clear about what God wants from us. It shows us exactly what he expects. The bible is the revelation of God and his ways. Couple of examples:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 - God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:15 - It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.

The bible is very clear. There are a number of places where is explicitly says, “this is God’s will.” But we can even go further than that. Just by a simple reading of the bible, we can see God’s clear will...because the whole thing is his will.

-We know it is God’s will for our marriages to be honoring to him by husbands and wives submitting to one another.

-We know it is God’s will to work with integrity in the workplace, as if we were working for him.

-We know it is God’s will that we share our faith with those around us who do not know Jesus.

We know those things because they are clearly taught in the bible. Most situations we encounter today are specifically dealt with in the bible, at least in principle. Our problem with that is it is too hard. We want God to speak audibly to us in each and every circumstance to tell us exactly what to do, what to say or where to go. God doesn’t promise a map, he gives a lamp.

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

It lights up one step at a time, eventually lighting the whole path.

TS - so what do we do with those rare occurrences that the bible seems to be silent on?

-Through the People of God

Wisdom and direction are to be found in God’s people.

Proverbs 15:22 - Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.

Proverbs 19:20 - Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

If you are having trouble discerning God’s will in some scenario, ask someone who would know it. And be sure not to go to some pagan friend of yours who does not walk with the Lord. They don’t know God’s will. Ask of faithful believer.

Proverbs 12:5 - The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

You can go to church leaders. The elders of a church are to be those who are closely walking with God and can help shepherd (guide) you. Get a godly friend who can help you with this.

Everyone needs to have someone you trust. Someone who knows God, knows you, who can challenge you and hold you accountable. Perhaps someone who has been through this before.

-Through a Walk with God

Max Lucado in Great House of God - “If you were to take a name at random out of the phone book and ask me, “Max, how does Chester Whomever feel about adultery?” I couldn’t answer. I don’t know Chester Whomever. But if you were to ask me, “Max, how does Denalyn Lucado feel about adultery?” I wouldn’t even have to call her. I know. She’s my wife. We have walked together long enough that I know what she thinks. The same is true with God. Walk with him long enough and you come to know his heart.”

Sometimes we don’t know God’s will because we don’t know God. Spending time with God helps us to know what he’s about, where he is leading.

At my house, if I walk into a room that has just been cleaned, I can tell you who cleaned it. I can tell you if it was Jodie, or if it was one of the kids, I can tell you which one. Because I know how they do things. For example: if the floor is clean but it is clean because it is all shoved under the bed, it was Nathan. I know how he does things.

Those walking with God know how he does things. They can see his fingerprints all over things in their lives. So, when opportunities come or decisions have to be made, they know what God wants them to do. They already see him in it. They don’t know how they know; they just know.

Isaiah 30:21 - Your own ears will hear him.

Right behind you a voice will say,

“This is the way you should go,”

whether to the right or to the left.

2. DO GOD’S WILL

Learning God’s will is not an academic exercise. The point of learning God’s will is to do it.

That is what makes this such a dangerous prayer. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When you pray that, you commit yourself to doing his will, to seeking after his kingdom. This is a prayer of action.

How do we do God’s will:

-Act on what you know.

Whatever you know God’s will to be, do it.

James 1:22 - But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

James 4:17 - Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

-Act on what bothers you.

One author calls this ‘Holy Discontent.’ What causes you to lose sleep? What issue in the world causes your soul to churn? For some it is a global issue like poverty, human trafficking, etc... Others it is more local...education of kids, friend struggling with addiction.

In fact, if you want to volunteer here at Broadway, one of the first questions we will ask you is, what are you passionate about? Chances are the issue that bothers you is contrary to God’s will and kingdom. So, go get it done. Do his will, expand his kingdom.

Conclusion

May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Only a surrendered heart can pray that.

INVITATION – first step is place trust in Christ // BELIEVE/REPENT/CONFESS/BAPTIZE

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