How Kingdom Citizens Pray: Our Desire

Hopson Boutot

Poquoson Baptist Church

Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Matthew 6:10

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Love Come Down

WELCOME

Good morning family.

Hear the Word of the Lord from...

Psalm 145:9-12—“The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless You! They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and tell of Your power, to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.”

Everyone (even those who reject God) receives countless mercies from the hand of a kind and compassionate King

But God invites you to submit to His Kingly rule now

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in Matthew 6.

You can find it on PAGE 964 in the black Bibles.

Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 4 quick announcements:

1) A word about PBC. We are Missionaries.

We want to reach our neighbors and the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ

One way to do that is to create opportunities where we can meet our neighbors and tell them the Good News of Jesus

The holiday we call Easter is one of the few remaining events in the calendar when many people are a bit more open to listen

2) Easter at PBC

Easter Egg Hunt Outreach, April 9 from 10-12

Good Friday service, April 15 at 6:30 PM

Joint Sunday School & Breakfast, Easter Sunday at 9 AM

Easter Sunday, 10:30 (No TableTalk)

Flyers at the blue flag

3) TableTalk at 5:30—Prayer Meeting!

We’ve been talking a lot about prayer over the past few weeks.

Join us to put into practice what God is teaching you.

4) Women’s Event, April 13 at 6PM

A devotional on the importance of spiritual refreshment and several craft workshops

Visit the blue flag for more information or to sign up.

Now look in your Bibles at Matthew 6:9 as Bethany Harris comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Matthew 6:9-13)

Prayer of Praise (God is incomprehensible), Bethany Harris

Your Mercy

My Jesus, I Love Thee

Prayer of Confession (Complaining), Al Koth

His Mercy Is More

PBC Catechism #14

Apart from Christ, what is our standing before God?

We believe all people are sinful and in need of salvation

Pastoral Prayer (John Rogers)

SERMON

Last Sunday afternoon Holly and I had the opportunity to provide childcare for our PBC Kids volunteers while they attended training. I don’t usually get a lot of opportunities to work in children’s ministry, so I was excited to spend some time with the kids.

We sat down at a table together, made it through an icebreaker question about our favorite candy, and then I started to read them a children’s book from the bookstall about how God makes each of us unique.

And then one of our moms dropped off one of our really little ones, and the baby began to cry. Now I’m in the middle of a story and up to this point the eleven children have done surprisingly well paying attention, and I didn’t want to lose momentum. So I stopped the story and suggested we pray that the baby would stop crying.

One of the things I’m trying to work on in my own prayer life is talking to God more regularly. Often I treat prayer as a last resort, so I’m striving to grow in asking God regularly. So we stopped and we prayed for the baby to stop crying.

In less than thirty seconds after we said “amen,” the baby stopped crying and the children around the table were all smiles.

I pointed out that God had answered our prayer, and one of the kids reminded me “God answers all our prayers, but sometimes the answer is ‘no’ or ‘wait.’”

Thanks church kids!

Then, another child said with a smile on his face, “I’m going to ask God to make it rain candy!!!”

As I thought about that exchange, I was reminded of the two main pitfalls when it comes to prayer.

On the one hand, like me, we are prone to not ask. We’re used to doing things by ourselves. We tell ourselves things will eventually work out if we just let them be. We tell ourselves that God doesn’t care about all these little things that we could ask about.

On the other hand, like a child wanting it to rain candy, we are prone to ask selfishly. We want things for our own selfish purposes.

These two pitfalls are clearly explained by Jesus’ half-brother James...

James 4:2-3—“...You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Some of us are prone to not asking

Others are prone to asking selfishly

Last week I shared my prayer that God would use His Word to grow in us a desire to pray.

As God answers that prayer, what can happen in our hearts is the pendulum can swing from not asking to asking selfishly.

Perhaps you’ve gone from not asking God for much of anything to asking Him to make it rain candy, metaphorically speaking.

Or maybe, you don’t want to ask selfishly, so you just figure it’s better not to ask at all.

What we need are some guardrails that will protect us from swinging from one extreme to the other. And that’s exactly what we have in our text for today.

Turn to Matthew 6:10

Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray

Remember, this is a prayer for Christians, for those who have been adopted into the family of God by repenting of their sins and trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross

After telling us how to approach God (as Father)...

...and what request should be foundational for everything we ask (that God’s name would be recognized as holy)...

...Jesus says this...

Matthew 6:10—“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

In these two prayer requests, we see TWO GUARDRAILS that protect us from the pitfalls of not asking and asking selfishly.

Ask for His KINGDOM to Come

The reason we’re sometimes tempted to ask selfishly is because we’re focused on the wrong kingdom.

We pray for my comfort, my happiness, my pleasure, my possessions, my schedule, my relationships, my health, etc.

Now don’t mishear me. I’m not saying it’s necessarily wrong to pray for any of those things.

The question is not so much, “what are my prayer requests,” but “whose kingdom am I most concerned about? My little kingdom, or the kingdom of Christ?”

Jesus says to pray to our Father, “Your kingdom come”

What is the kingdom of God?

In his book, Gospel and Kingdom, Graeme Goldsworthy points out that a kingdom always has “a king who rules, a people who are ruled, and a sphere where this rule is recognized as taking place.” [1]

The Kingdom of God = “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.” (Graeme Goldsworthy) [2]

We first see a picture of this kingdom in Genesis. God’s people (Adam and Eve) are in God’s place (the Garden of Eden) living under God’s rule.

But an angel rebels against God’s rule, then appears to Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent and tempts them to rebel too.

As a result, a rival kingdom is established. The kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of man, the kingdom of self.

This is the kingdom that every single one of us is born into.

It’s also the kingdom we choose every time we sin against God.

But God doesn’t give up on His creation. He promises Abraham that His descendants (God’s people) will live in a new land (God’s place) under God’s rule.

And yet, the people of Israel continue to rebel against God’s rule, over and over and over again.

But God continues to promise that His Kingdom will come, and that’s exactly what happens when Jesus arrives on the scene...

Matthew 4:17—From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

If the kingdom has come in the person of Jesus, why then are we praying for God’s kingdom to come?

Two essential truths about the kingdom of God...

The Kingdom has Come

Luke 17:20-21—Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

The kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. It’s different. But it is here!

Colossians 1:13—“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son”

When you became a Christian your citizenship was transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. You are now a citizen of that kingdom!

But there’s another sense in which you’re not yet fully there. You’re a part of the kingdom, but you’re not yet experiencing it’s fullness.

The Kingdom is Coming

Matthew 13:41-43—“The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus has not yet put an end to sin and lawbreaking. The saints have not yet entered the Father’s presence. This is a future promise of the coming kingdom

How do we put these two truths together? The kingdom has already been inaugurated, but it has not yet been consummated.

In a sense, the kingdom of God is like the sun on a cloudy day. The sun is there providing some measure of warmth, but then over time the clouds break and the sun is shining in full force. What happened? It’s the same sun that was already present in the sky, but it was not yet fully visible until the clouds lifted and you experienced it’s warmth and light.

So too with the kingdom of God. It has broken into human history at the coming of Jesus, but it’s full warmth and light will not be experienced until Jesus returns to consummate the Kingdom.

How should this affect how we pray?

1) We should pray for the work of the church to advance

The Kingdom of God = “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.” [2]

If God’s people are Christians and God’s rule is His Word, what place do God’s people have?

The disciples were confused about this when they approached Jesus before He ascended into heaven...

Acts 1:6-8—So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus says the kingdom of God isn’t going to be limited to Israel. It’s going to spread to the ends of the earth!

Does the kingdom of God show up in any specific place then? Yes!!! In the gatherings of local churches all across the world!

The local church is like an embassy or an outpost of the Kingdom of God

We pray for our church to be healthy

A healthy church isn’t necessarily about how many people show up on a Sunday morning. Are we being faithful? Are we loving one another? Are we structured according to Scripture?

We pray for other churches to be healthy

Last week we prayed for Fox Hill Road Baptist as they voted on installing elders. Last Sunday night they did in two landslide votes! We rejoice in another church taking another step towards aligning themselves to what God reveals in His Word

We don’t merely pray for it, we work to evangelize the lost and make disciples

Your most fervent prayer request might be that God would deliver you from some pain that you’re going through. But what if God intends to use that pain to shape you in such a way that you will be a more useful vessel to make disciples? What if your suffering allows you to speak into someone’s life who otherwise wouldn’t listen? All of a sudden, even though you may still pray for God to deliver you, you’re okay if He chooses to allow your suffering to continue if it means God will advance His Kingdom through your pain.

2) We should pray for Jesus to return

Years ago Holly and I were at a music venue in Memphis, Tennessee waiting for one of my favorite bands to show up on stage. As we were waiting we overhead a group of teenagers in front of us who were equally excited about the concert. In fact, one of them said something that many Christians might have thought, but most of us would’ve been too afraid to say . . . “Dude, wouldn’t it be horrible if Jesus came back right now?!?”

It’s not wrong to like music… or football… or movies… or food...

The problem is when any of those things become first things, when any of those things become more important to us than the coming Kingdom of Christ

Matthew 6:33—“...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

We’ll guard ourselves against asking selfishly when we learn to value God’s Kingdom above and beyond all the pretty things in this world.

But how do we guard ourselves against not asking at all?

Ask for His WILL to Be Done

The reason we’re sometimes tempted to not ask at all is because we've misunderstood the relationship between our asking and God’s doing.

Especially true among those who lean Calvinistic in their thinking. If, like me, you look at the Scriptures and see a BIG, BIG God who is sovereign over worms, whales, wind, and the will of humanity you might be tempted to think of the world fatalistically.

“God is going to do whatever He wants anyways, so why does it matter if I pray?”

Jesus says to pray to our Father, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Why does Jesus say to pray that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven”?

How is God’s will done by the angels in heaven? Perfectly. Joyfully.

How is God’s will done on earth? It depends.

The Bible talks about "God's Will" in two ways...

God’s Will of Decree

Ephesians 1:11—In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Isaiah 46:9-10—“…I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’”

Psalm 115:3—“Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

These are just a handful out of dozens of Scriptures that clearly teach that God is sovereign over everything!!!

In a sense, God’s will is whatever happens!

But if this is the only way we think about God’s will we’ll have little motivation to pray and ask for anything because God’s going to do whatever He wants anyways.

We’ll be like the Calvinist who fell down the stairs and said, “Well, . . . I’m glad that’s over with!”

But there’s another way that the Bible talks about God’s will...

God’s Will of Desire

Sometimes called God’s revealed will, or His will of command

2 Peter 3:9—“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

What is God’s will for you, unbeliever? That you be saved! He wants you to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus!

But not every unbeliever does repent and believe. It’s God’s will of desire, even if it’s not His will of decree.

1 Thessalonians 4:3—“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;”

What is God’s will for you, Christian? That you live a pure life, growing in holiness and honoring the Lord with your mind and body. This is what He wants for you, even if you don’t always live this way.

We can see both wills together in...

Deuteronomy 29:29—“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Secret things = God’s will of decree

God doesn’t tell us all the details about what He’s doing in the world. That’s His business.

Revealed things = God’s will of desire

God does tell us in His Word how He desires us to live. That’s what we’re responsible to know and obey.

If we’re honest, many of us spend far too much time trying to find out God’s will of decree and nowhere near enough time studying His will of desire

When Jesus tells us to pray, “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” which one of these wills is He talking about?

God’s will of decree is done just as perfectly on earth as it is in heaven.

“Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

But God’s will of desire is often ignored and disobeyed on earth. So Jesus challenges us to pray that God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

How should this affect how we pray?

We boldly ask for anything that is consistent with God’s revealed Word

You can boldly ask God to take away your husband’s desire to lust, because you know that’s consistent with His will.

You can boldly ask God to help you to forgive because you know He wants you to forgive.

You can boldly ask God to help you fall asleep earlier on a Saturday night so it’s easier for you to be on time or engaged in the gathering on Sunday morning.

You can boldly ask God to soften the heart of a divisive brother so that God’s people can live in unity.

You can boldly ask God to grant you a raise so you can pay off your debt and devote more time and money to giving and serving.

You can boldly ask God to save a loved one who doesn’t believe the Gospel.

You can boldly ask God to heal your spouse, so you can continue to serve the Lord together.

You can even boldly ask God to help a baby to stop crying so you can teach God’s Word to a group of antsy, easily distracted children.

But as you ask boldly, you also come humbly, knowing that you do not always know exactly what will best help you to accomplish God’s will of desire.

I know of no better example of humbly, boldly, coming to God in prayer than Jesus Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus is about to be betrayed and handed over to Pilate for His crucifixion

Jesus knows what’s going to happen. Several times He’s already predicted that He’s going to die and then be raised from the dead

But now it’s about to happen! So Jesus stops to pray. And what does He pray? How does He pray?

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The cup Jesus is referring to is the wrath of God He’ll endure in our place on the cross.

But why does Jesus ask for it to be removed? Surely He knows it’s not possible. If there was any other way, the Trinity would have already planned it. But this has been planned before the foundation of the world. Why even ask?!?

Because this is what Jesus feels in His human nature in that moment. So He asks. He doesn’t censor Himself and go to the Father. He brings His real self with His real desires to the Father. But He also submits His will to the Father’s will. He says, “not my will but yours be done.”

Not a Christian: this is what Jesus endured for you. Would you trust Him?

Christian: Jesus’ example is what you and I must follow.

Avoid the pitfall of not asking. Don’t censor yourself before you come to the Father. Bring your real self with your real desires to Him. And don’t wait until you’ve cleaned yourself up. Let Him do that. But when it’s all said and done, ask Him to do what He wills and trust the results to Him.

And avoid the pitfall of asking selfishly. Don’t ask to spend it on your own desires. Ask for His kingdom to come, His name to be hallowed, His glory to be seen and savored.

For the Cause

Benediction (1 Timothy 1:17)

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