Thy Kingdom Come

Corey Sharpe

The Lord's Prayer • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Matthew 10:7

Matthew 6:10

Luke 17:20–21

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Community Sunday

Matthew 6:9 NIV

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Purpose of Community Sunday: A reminder that we are more than a people gathered. The benediction for me is a sending forth: we are the people of God. We are sent out into the world, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Last Year I was picking up a shampooer at Giant, and I told the woman what we were doing: I liked her response: That’s what the church is about. Today is a reminder of what it can mean to be the church. We’re not just a people gathered to receive, but we are sent out into the world to give.

There’s food on the table, you’ve been working hard, so today’s message will be very short, sweet, but hopefully substantive.

Series Review

We’re in the middle of a series on The Lord’s Prayer, that prayer we say together every Sunday. It must be of upmost importance if we’re going to include it in every service. Take it out and it will raise a few eyebrows. The purpose of the series is not just to analyze each part of the prayer so we can know what it means. Jesus gave us this prayer because he wanted to teach us how to pray. It’s a model for us to use. So when we are at work, at home, feeling spiritual or feeling distracted. Feeling happy or feeling depressed, we can pray, because Jesus shows us how. We can all pray.

We can all pray.

Review of Our Father, Holy is Your Name.

Sermon Purpose

Sermon Introduction

Matthew 6:10 NIV

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Purpose: Focus on the words “Thy Kingdom Come”.

Tie it in to how you can pray, and what you’ve just done. Yes, there is a direct connection between what you’ve just done and what the Bible says and what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God.

ex. of the most important beliefs: repeated the most (baptist, heaven or hell)

Jesus: Kingdom of God (1st sermon, the most repeated)

Frustrating: if you were to ask me to define “The Kingdom of God,” for you, I would say, “I can’t, Jesus never did that for us.” It’s not because I don’t read my Bible or you caught me off guard.

The Bible is full of so many words that we don’t use in our everyday language. (examples) Last week I said that we don’t use the word “holy,” except using it in slang or even profanity. Today the word is “Kingdom.” When we pray “Thy Kingdom Come” and Jesus teaches us to include this in our prayers somehow - what are we asking for?

Purpose of the sermon: when we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come” we know what it means, what we’re praying for. Also, how we might pray that to God. How we might word that prayer.

What is the Kingdom of God?

Matthew 10:7 NIV

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

When Jesus sent his disciples out on mission, he said.

Matthew 10:7 NIV

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

If we tried to apply that word today, we might have some trouble. You might think of We could say: The Kingdom of the USA. The Kingdom of Russia. The Kingdom of China. It’s the area that God rules. It’s the area where God is in control. Where God’s will is carried out. Where the world is the way God intended for it to be.

It was the most important message Jesus taught. He talked about the Kingdom of God more than he did everything else: but the weird part is that the Bible never defines the Kingdom of God for us. We might think the Kingdom of God is something in the afterlife: the Kingdom of Heaven. But Jesus corrects that:

Matthew 17:20–21 NIV

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Luke 17:20–21 NIV

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

What is the Kingdom of God. Well, for starters it’s something that’s already arrived, not something in the future. Not the afterlife, heaven. It’s something that’s here right now. Jesus announced it. He introduced it.

But what is he introducing?

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Kingdom

1 archaic: KINGSHIP

2: a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen

3 often capitalized

a: the eternal kingship of God

b: the realm in which God’s will is fulfilled

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Kingdom

2: a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen

3 often capitalized

Have you ever tried to share a joke, you laughed your way through telling the joke and the person gives you a blank stare? Well, I guess you had to be there. Have you ever been excited about a vacation, told someone and they didn’t seem that interested? Well, you had to see it. If you weren’t there to experience the joke in person, it’s beyond your experience so you can’t relate. If you aren’t overwhelmed at the beauty of someone else’s vacation, it’s because it’s beyond our experience and you can’t relate. I can’t explain it. You had to be there, you had to see it, experience it to understand.

But if someone tells me about their vacation, I can get experience enough of it that I want to go.

The Bible doesn’t give us a full definition of the Kingdom of God, but Jesus tells us it’s here, and then describes us for it.

Jesus doesn’t define the Kingdom of God, but he describes it for us. How do his parables usually begin? “The kingdom of God is like...” It’s so mysterious that he can’t describe it.

Here’s one verse that gives us a description:

Romans 14:17 NIV

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Righteousness, peace and joy.

You could describe the Kingdom of God this way: It is a world where everything is the way God intended for things to be.

Representatives of the Kingdom

Colossians 4:11 NIV

Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.

co-workers for the kingdom of God ()

2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors ()

Example of the movie preview. I can feel the excitement. I can see a part of it. I can experience a small part of it. But not all of it. The preview is exciting, but it’s not the full feature presentation. It makes me want to see it. We represent the Kingdom of God

(mission trip stories: woman whose husband left, local church supported her; Nicaragua: husband left with money; the ministry supported her; s xGod loves the alienated and abandoned; the ministry supported her;

Ask: Describe your service project.

Respond: By doing this, how did you represent the Kingdom? How did you provide a preview of the Kingdom?

Respond: Showing the overlooked that Jesus cares.By finding the need, without asking for anything in return, we show that Jesus cares.

2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

So when we pray

It is a request that God’s kingdom be experienced by everyone. That God’s kingdom be seen by everyone.

Beware: you might be the answer to that prayer; God, your world is perfect. Your will is perfect.

Some of the most painful, desperate prayers must be about the kingdom. God, I want that promotion so I can support my children (but thy will be done). God, heal my mom of cancer, but your will be done.

Looking at the TV, seeing senseless violence, stop and pray: make that situation right. When we read about opiod use in Calvert County, stop and pray, God, make that situation right.

May not happen the way we want it to, that’s why it’s important to include, “Thy will be done.”

Why doesn’t it happen? God is asking the same thing of us.

So when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, let’s remember that God is a father that eagerly listens. God is holy, pure and blameless. And let’s pray to this Holy God that we want to see his perfect Kingdom in this situation, but according to his perfect will. Remembering this, let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Why does it matters in prayer?

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.

When we pray, thy kingdom come, we are praying, God, we see glimpses of it, we want to see more of it. All of it. We want to see your will being carried out everywhere. Until that happens, remember that we are representatives of the Kingdom.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. .

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