1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:06,200 As we continue our series on the Lord's Prayer, and I'll continue 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:12,040 to remind you all of where we are in this project, that is 3 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:17,800 important in order to be a mature Christian, to not only 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:22,720 know something about your Bible, to have biblical literacy, but 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,320 also it is necessary to have theological discernment, to know 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:32,920 what the Bible teaches about certain topics or doctrines. 7 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,160 It's also very important to not only be biblically literate and 8 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:41,520 doctrinally discerning, but to live a holy life. 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:47,200 And for this, the Bible gives us plenty of biblical practices by 10 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,080 which we can live like Jesus. These are this spiritual 11 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:57,040 disciplines and holy habits when we consider the basics of 12 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:58,880 Christianity. I've been showing you this 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,520 triangle, which is profoundly biblical, that the church has 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,680 been using three very important things to teach the basics of 15 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,640 Christianity for centuries. These are the Apostles Creed, 16 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,040 the 10 Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. 17 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,880 Or you may have a way of believing, a way of behaving, 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,000 and a way of communing. And in this series, as we 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,480 consider this most important prayer that our Lord taught his 20 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,480 disciples to pray, we are going slowly through the Lord's Prayer 21 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,680 to learn what it may deliver to us as a way of communing with 22 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:43,400 God not only as individuals but as a church family. 23 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,400 So far, we've talked about our Father in heaven. 24 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,960 This is the address to whom we are speaking. 25 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,840 And we talked about how important it is in that term, 26 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,720 Father, to understand that the Holy Trinity is implied. 27 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,960 For we pray to the Father in the name of the Son, who is the Lord 28 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,880 Jesus Christ by the means of the Holy Spirit. 29 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,720 So we talked about the Holy Trinity. 30 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,600 We've also talked about how that Father gives us an idea of 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,280 closeness. It's a familial term, a term of 32 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:18,640 intimacy, a term of tenderness. But this father is also not only 33 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:24,920 a close and tender father, he is also a great and mighty master, 34 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:29,160 the Lord of the universe who created everything that is seen 35 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:34,880 and unseen and talked about how CS Lewis's Aslan gives us sort 36 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,880 of a mingling of this both and that You have a lion that you 37 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,720 think you could kind of go up and hug. 38 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:47,120 He's kind of soft and gentle and approachable, and yet if you 39 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,840 look carefully, there's also teeth and claws, A blasting 40 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,400 roar, and a music that can create worlds. 41 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:00,560 And so we have this both and this this as we come into our 42 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,680 approach to God. We need both intimacy. 43 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,800 We pray to our Father, but also awe. 44 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,920 He is the holy, holy, holy God who has created everything. 45 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,600 So we talked about our posture of prayer in the address, and 46 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,200 then last week we took on the first of the petitions. 47 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,400 Lord's Prayer carries 6 petitions. 48 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,320 The first three are God centered and the last three are more 49 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,280 toward our own needs. The order matters because as we 50 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:35,320 think about God and his name, His Kingdom and His will, it 51 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,800 calibrates our priorities so that we're ready now to pray for 52 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,480 our needs and from a place of tranquility, knowing that His 53 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,160 sovereignty has everything in His hands. 54 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,400 Last week we took on this first of the petitions, Hallowed Be 55 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,160 your name God, make your name holy. 56 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,360 And we talked about how His name means His reputation for God's 57 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,240 name has been slandered by the devil and those he's dragged 58 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,000 into his Kingdom of darkness. We have a hard time believing 59 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,360 that God is truly good and wise, that He has our best interests 60 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,080 in mind, and we hear gossip and slander that needs to be 61 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,600 corrected. So we pray that God's honor 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,120 would be restored in the world, that his reputation would be 63 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,120 Christine in its highest place, and that we would have a 64 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,480 privileged part in making that happen. 65 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:27,880 So that's what we talked about last week. 66 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,840 So this week we're going to talk about his Kingdom. 67 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,960 The next petition, as you can say it see, is your Kingdom 68 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,240 come. Now, by way of caveat, you need 69 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:45,040 to understand that it's probably true that the Kingdom of God is 70 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:50,720 the main theme of the Bible and you do not have time to cover 71 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,320 the entire Bible in the few moments that we have together. 72 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,040 Probably I'm going to leave your favorite part out. 73 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:02,720 That's OK, You have your Bible. We're going to fly quickly over 74 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,200 the top of this and highlight some main things and, and really 75 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,920 hopefully cause all of our hearts to worship together as we 76 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,320 consider the regal nature of God and of his Son, the Lord Jesus 77 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,960 Christ, the King of kings. So the first thing that we want 78 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,320 to do is to ask, what does your Kingdom come mean? 79 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,520 What does it mean? Very important to consider that 80 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,000 as our Lord's name has been slandered, his Kingdom has been 81 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,720 attacked. Have you been reading your 82 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,760 Bibles? Have you noticed the story? 83 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:41,440 Not only did the snake attack the name of God, he actually 84 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,640 hatched a plan. He staged A coup. 85 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:51,480 He's an insurrectionist. So not only has the snake 86 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,400 slandered the reputation of God, we're going to see that the day 87 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,200 the devil staged this coup against God's rightful authority 88 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:06,400 against his Kingdom, but the Son, Jesus Christ, the Davidic 89 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:11,240 King, through his person and work, has ascended his rightful 90 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,880 throne and his ruling now. And when he returns, we'll 91 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,320 ultimately put down this rebellion and rule the nations, 92 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,600 first in the Millennium and then in the new heavens and the new 93 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,680 earth. CS Lewis has helped us again 94 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,640 with his Narnia series as he pictures the Narnian world as a 95 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:41,440 world where a usurper is reigning an illegitimate queen 96 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,360 who by her power and her magic and her evil has subjugated this 97 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,840 Kingdom and has made it a place where, say it with me, it is 98 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,720 always winter but never Christmas. 99 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:02,240 A sad place, a sad place indeed. But he also depicts in the Lion 100 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,600 in the Witch in the Wardrobe, This this lion, this returning 101 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:10,640 king who has a landed who will change everything through his 102 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:16,880 person and his work. Always winter, never spring. 103 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,320 What does this mean? The Kingdom of God. 104 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:22,960 And if you consider with me briefly in the Old Testament, 105 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,040 you can see how the Old Testament depicts the Kingdom of 106 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,800 God first in the Garden of Eden as a kind of Kingdom. 107 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,120 God the king has made this beautiful paradise and he has 108 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,920 created his image bearers, man and and woman, to be his vice 109 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:44,640 Regents, king and queen of the world, to rule for him in his 110 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,440 place, to have dominion over the world. 111 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,320 But that the snake comes in, he whispers lies, he gets them to 112 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,800 participate in his rebellion, and it falls, doesn't it? 113 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,280 And we find out as we read for chapters that it seems that 114 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:04,080 Satan and his Kingdom is indeed winning as humanity does this 115 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:09,080 downward spiral until ultimately the Lord decides to start over 116 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,320 with a worldwide flood. And we're wondering how in the 117 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,440 world are the good guys ever going to win to restore the 118 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,120 Kingdom of God to its rightful owner? 119 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,080 So God comes then to Abraham and makes all these blessed, these 120 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,400 amazing promises to Abraham. He's going to create a Kingdom, 121 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,120 He's going to create a nation. He's going to start with 122 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,240 Abraham, and from his descendants he's going to create 123 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,799 a Kingdom of priests that will mediate blessing not only for 124 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,520 themselves but to the whole world, thereby fulfilling God's 125 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:44,880 Kingdom on earth. We see this history progress, 126 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,880 his family grows, but then is enslaved and is redeemed by God, 127 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,440 and we come into the period of the law and the priesthood and 128 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,280 eventually into a monarchy. There is a Kingdom in Israel 129 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,720 with David now promised that he would always have a descendant 130 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:07,280 on the throne, that somebody descended from King David would 131 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:12,680 rule forever. The biblical history progresses 132 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:22,080 as a very sad story, doesn't it, as king after king fails to 133 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,640 bring redemption and Shalom to the world. 134 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:32,200 They're just a big string of losers until we're longing for 135 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:37,640 some, some better king that doesn't fall to idolatry, who 136 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:43,680 can restore Shalom to the world. And then the Bible says when you 137 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:47,360 get into the pages of the New Testament at just the right 138 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:54,560 time, at just the right time, Jesus the Messiah is born. 139 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,240 Now, there's some interesting things about this. 140 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,760 One is it kind of comes in secrecy. 141 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:06,400 It's kind of kind of quiet. We wonder about that. 142 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,760 And yet the gospel writers talk about him being the king, the 143 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,640 Son of Man, the Son of David. And there's all this sort of 144 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,880 hope that maybe indeed this will be the one. 145 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,600 And as he grows and teaches, his disciples are getting really 146 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,080 excited. They're going to have a front 147 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,960 row seat to kick and Rome out and re establishing the Kingdom 148 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:30,880 in Jerusalem and Jesus. We're going to reign with you, 149 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:32,040 aren't we? It's going to be awesome. 150 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,280 But they are mistaken where they haven't quite read the 151 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:44,760 prophecies correctly, for those of prophecies predict a Kingdom 152 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,160 of Shalom that will have no end with the Davidic king on his 153 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,200 throne. There's also sections in there 154 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:56,840 about a suffering servant who's going to come not on a White 155 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:03,520 Horse with a big sword, but with humility, kind of on the quiet, 156 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:09,680 with teaching miracles. And so the Jewish expectation is 157 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,000 not quite right. And what we get instead of a 158 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:17,760 conquering hero is this savior who gives his life, who dies on 159 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,880 a cross for our sins, who sheds his blood, has to make an 160 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,440 atonement for the sins of the world. 161 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:30,200 He is dead, He's buried, He's resurrected on the third day. 162 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,080 And now he's got another thing to teach his disciples because 163 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,040 they're like, OK, now is it now? Now is it we're going to, you 164 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,240 know, kick out the Romans. Now you're going to restore the 165 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:43,920 Kingdom to Israel. Jesus is like, watch this. 166 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,720 He has all these parables trying to teach them what it's like. 167 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,120 And this Kingdom is already started. 168 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:55,120 The Davidic king is here and he has now ascended and he is on 169 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,760 his throne in heaven. But this, this new movement, 170 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,360 this Kingdom of God on earth is going to be like a, a mustard 171 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,040 seed planted in the ground that becomes a, a spreading tree. 172 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,320 And it's going to be kind of something that's hidden and 173 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:10,280 subversive. Not a nation state with an army, 174 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:19,240 but a group of rebels, insurrectionists, little pockets 175 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:24,720 of resistance all throughout the world, who don't think in 176 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,280 worldly ways about power but instead preach the good news of 177 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,120 redemption, forgiveness of sins, who take care of bodies and try 178 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,480 to work as agents and of redemption. 179 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,280 But again, not it was a conquering army, but like yeast 180 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:46,920 and a door of bread, we're like wheat planted in a mixed field 181 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,520 of wheat and tares. And so we come on this dawning 182 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,240 that the that the Kingdom of God isn't quite like what we 183 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,000 thought. And yet it has a lot of 184 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,560 similarities. And this Jesus who has 185 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,720 inaugurated something as the Davidic king sitting on his 186 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:07,120 throne, he's very patient and waiting and will at some point 187 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:12,680 return bodily and then and only then establish true Shalom on 188 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:15,120 earth. And so we live in this in 189 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,640 betweenness from his first coming and his second coming, 190 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,960 trying to be agents of redemption, working in our local 191 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:26,560 churches as outposts of the Kingdom. 192 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,280 You can kind of think about us as like a bunch of little Boy 193 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:34,280 Scout troops scattered all throughout the world, Not a 194 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:39,040 nation with an address or the head of state, but a pocket of 195 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,560 resistance and outpost of the Kingdom of God. 196 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,800 We re identify ourselves as citizens who bow and submit to 197 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:51,280 this head of state, which is Jesus, the Son of God, the King 198 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:57,480 of David. So what does this mean for us? 199 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,960 You think about it. Peter finally gets it in this 200 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,280 passage that Phil read for us this morning. 201 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,960 He wants us to consider our place in the story in the story 202 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,520 as he then applies what he expects of us as Kingdom 203 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:15,800 citizens. If you have your Bibles with 204 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,520 you, we're in first Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 205 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,520 nine. First Peter chapter 2 beginning 206 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:32,720 in verse 9. But you it's plural there in the 207 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:41,000 South we would say y'all, but y'all, our chosen race, a royal 208 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:47,040 priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. 209 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:54,960 What do you and you have a purpose clause that you that you 210 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,400 may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of 211 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,880 darkness into his marvelous light. 212 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,800 And Peter's going to rehearse the gospel for us. 213 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:08,360 Remind us who we are as sons and daughters of the Father as 214 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:14,840 members of his church. Verse 10 Once you are not a 215 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,800 people, but now you're a God's people. 216 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,800 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 217 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,240 Keep on going. Once you are lost, but now you 218 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,480 are found. Once you are blind, but now you 219 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,360 see, we're rehearsing the gospel. 220 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,560 We're knowing who we are. Down in verse 11, he says this 221 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:37,280 so warmly. Beloved, I urge you, look 222 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:45,080 carefully as sojourners and exiles, people who belong to God 223 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,560 but are living in a place that is still under the dominion of 224 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,800 darkness. You live here, but you're not of 225 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,320 here. I urge you as sojourners and 226 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,560 exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which war 227 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,080 against your soul. Keep your conduct, conduct among 228 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,880 the Gentiles honorable, the people living around you, or 229 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:14,160 unbelievers, so that when they speak against you as evil doers, 230 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,360 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of 231 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,000 visitation. That is the day Jesus comes back 232 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:22,600 to judge the living and the dead. 233 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:30,160 Verse 13, he tells them now as this special holy nation, these 234 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,120 people who involved in this secret yet visible Kingdom of 235 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:38,080 God, how they're supposed to relate to the state around them. 236 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:42,600 Verse 13 be subject for the Lord's sake to every human 237 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,840 institution. Talk about the government, 238 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,040 whether it be the emperor as supreme or the governors as sent 239 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,480 by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do 240 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,120 good. For this is the will of God, 241 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,880 that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of 242 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:04,680 foolish people. Live as people who are free, not 243 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,319 using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants 244 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,160 of God. Honor everyone, love the 245 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:16,359 brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 246 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,680 And so Peter delivers to us this notion of kind of a dual 247 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,720 citizenship. You're in the world, but not of 248 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:25,680 the world. You are God's people, living 249 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:31,360 surrounded by nations that do not belong yet to him. 250 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,040 How are we supposed to live in this in between space? 251 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,160 This is tremendously practical for us, my friends, even as we 252 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:45,360 gather this morning in our little fortress here in Upland, 253 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,800 our secret conclave, our our meeting of the resistance on 254 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,440 Sunday mornings while we listen to the orders from the King and 255 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,760 remind ourselves of who we are so that we can go back out 256 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,880 infiltrating the world as salt and light. 257 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,400 Here we are. What does it all mean? 258 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:09,880 So once we kind of have ourselves hopefully well 259 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,560 situated, remembering our identity and where we are in 260 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,400 history, redemptive history, now we can begin then asking the 261 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,880 practical question. Pastor Dan, how do we pray this? 262 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:25,680 Now that we know what it means and where we are in the story, 263 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:27,880 how do we pray it? Thanks for asking. 264 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:33,160 I really appreciate it. Well, as I've been saying every 265 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,720 week, the first thing to remember and to not forget is 266 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,320 this is a Trinitarian prayer. So when you pray for the Kingdom 267 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,720 to come, when the for the Kingdom to be realized, you're 268 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,320 not only praying about to God the Father about the Kingdom of 269 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,440 the universe, but you're also praying in the name of God the 270 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:56,880 Son, who is called the Son of Man, the Davidic King, the King 271 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:02,680 of kings, and the Lord of Lords. So we haven't lost who we're 272 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:04,800 talking to and through whom we're talking to. 273 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,960 We're not only talking to God the Father in the name of Jesus, 274 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,040 but also by the Holy Spirit. Because friends, let's be 275 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:16,080 honest, we have a real problem with authority, don't we? 276 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,720 We want to live our lives our way. 277 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,440 We don't want to submit to anybody. 278 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:30,520 We don't want to take orders from the man, we want to live 279 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:35,440 our own way. So we need a miracle of divine 280 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,840 love to come in and turn that heart of stone that hates 281 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,520 authority into a heart of flesh that recognizes the goodness of 282 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,640 the King of Kings. So that we can bow down to him 283 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:52,720 and say, here I am. Then he may dub us his Knights 284 00:19:52,720 --> 00:20:02,000 and say arise, go and do so we pray in the name of the King 285 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,120 Jesus by the miracle of divine love by the Holy Spirit who is 286 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:06,720 allowing us to have submissive hearts. 287 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,000 And now we're ready to enter into the prayer and we're going 288 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,600 to begin praying and we're going to remember who we're praying to 289 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,920 our heavenly Father in the name of the Son by the Holy Spirit. 290 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,680 Now we're going to we're going to pray for God's priorities to 291 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,240 be first. First, his reputation will be 292 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,760 will be better in the world and he'll use me to do that. 293 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,360 But now I want to pray for his authority to be realized in the 294 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,200 world and God start with me as an individual. 295 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,040 I. I resist your authority, but I'm 296 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,160 praying for your lordship in my life. 297 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,440 Eric Roop is here and it's a few days ago, less than two weeks 298 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,360 ago, he had the privilege of speaking in Chapel. 299 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,440 Beautiful message. And he said, you know, it's 300 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:52,240 really, really easy in some ways to accept Jesus as our Savior. 301 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,520 Isn't it all that talk about heaven and hell? 302 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:59,080 Who wouldn't pick heaven over hell? 303 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:02,720 Jesus saved me from all that hell and damnation. 304 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,840 But you know what? Now that I'm good to go and I've 305 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,640 got my insurance, I'd like to kind of just live my life my own 306 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:09,880 way. So if you could just like just 307 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,920 endorse my decisions and let me go on my way, that would be 308 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:18,080 great. Way harder now in some ways to 309 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,120 submit to His lordship of our life. 310 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,560 But when you pray thy Kingdom come, you're praying for a 311 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,280 miracle. You're praying for the Holy 312 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,440 Spirit to give you a submission to the lordship, the kingship of 313 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,320 Christ in your life, over your will and over your actions. 314 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:38,760 But maybe you're not even there yet. 315 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:45,120 Maybe you're not even there yet because before we can pray that 316 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,440 we have to be in the Kingdom in the 1st place. 317 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,120 And the Bible says the only way that you can be in the Kingdom 318 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:53,440 is for you to be born again. Repent, for the Kingdom of 319 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,160 heaven is near. So friends, if you're here and 320 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,000 you've never given your life to Christ, the Bible says repent, 321 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:06,000 give yourself to the king, join up in his citizenship in the 322 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,680 Kingdom of heaven. And then we pray not only for 323 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,880 this saving activity, but for his lordship to be realized in 324 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:15,920 our life. Is he Lord? 325 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,880 Peter in this text says there's a war going on. 326 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,560 There's a war going on that the throne of our heart would have 327 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:31,000 Jesus on it. Instead of Dan Blosser, he says 328 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,960 in this text that he actually uses that warfare language. 329 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,960 I urge you, as sojourners in exile, to abstain from the 330 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,000 passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. 331 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,320 So when you pray, Lord, your Kingdom come, you're praying 332 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,600 spiritual warfare against your lustful passions. 333 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,760 Lord, I'm in bondage. Emancipate me. 334 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:02,840 May your kingly rule dominate over my lustful heart. 335 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,840 He goes on in this text to not only talk about the passions of 336 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:09,440 the flesh, He talks about our conduct. 337 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,200 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. 338 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,800 So we're praying that Lord your Kingdom come. 339 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:23,720 We're praying, Lord, as I go out into the world to do my work in 340 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:28,200 the arena where there are unbelievers watching me, Allow 341 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,560 me to have my conduct to be honorable, even if they don't 342 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,960 like it. Come, may your Kingdom come in 343 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,280 my conduct in the world. Awesome. 344 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:50,400 As we pray this prayer, your Kingdom come, we're also asking 345 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,720 the Lord to remind us about the prioritization of our dual 346 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,000 citizenship. Maybe you're proud to be an 347 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,320 American. Maybe you're proud to be a 348 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,320 Nigerian or a Kenyan or whatever nation it is that you're from. 349 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:03,840 You love your land. That's good. 350 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,720 You're supposed to love your land, but you're not supposed to 351 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,520 love your citizenship in earthly kingdoms more than you love your 352 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:13,800 citizenship in the Kingdom of heaven. 353 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,680 There is a prioritization that is so strong and so profound 354 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,960 that Peter wants us to consider our earthly citizenship as a 355 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:28,760 kind of immigration, so journeying, a type of exile. 356 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,320 So though you may be proud of your national identity, that 357 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,120 your your spiritual identity as a citizen of the Kingdom of 358 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:41,360 heaven is more important, your church identity is even more 359 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,800 important to you than your national identity. 360 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,360 Now, in that contrast or that priority system, I'm not asking 361 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,040 you to pour contempt on your land. 362 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,040 I'm not asking you to do that at all. 363 00:24:54,120 --> 00:25:00,360 Well, when the when the values of your king cause you to speak 364 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:05,000 to evils in your land, that's where the rub lies. 365 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:11,040 To whom are we most loyal? The king of heaven, or to the 366 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,640 rulers of our land? Again, it's not to pour contempt 367 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:16,640 on this. In fact, Peter is remarkably 368 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,080 warm. Be subject for the Lord's sake 369 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,360 to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as 370 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:27,680 supreme or to the governors as sent by him, to punish those who 371 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:29,320 do evil and praise those who do good. 372 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,120 Verse 17. Honor everyone, love the 373 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,440 brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 374 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,720 The church took this very seriously and changed the world 375 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,880 and is changing the world. Praying my Kingdom come. 376 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,520 Lord, give me the proper prioritization of my church's 377 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,360 values over the states. Help me to have discernment as a 378 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:59,760 sojourner and exile. We're also praying my Kingdom 379 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:04,600 comments for my job as I go out into the Kingdom as an agent of 380 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,480 in the as an agent of redemption in Word and deed that you have 381 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:14,640 been given holy work for God's will to advance his Kingdom 382 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,320 priorities wherever your job takes you. 383 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,280 It's a beautiful prayer, your Kingdom come. 384 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,080 Then we could go on with the last thing I'll mention here is 385 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:32,400 civil engagement, because this does not call us to isolate 386 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:37,320 ourselves from society, to huddle in our enclaves and never 387 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:42,800 talk to them. But with this leavening on us, 388 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,360 with this distinctive that we would go out and be salt and 389 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:49,720 light that we will be able to proclaim excellencies to a lost 390 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,920 and dying world. So we're asking, when we say 391 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,320 your Kingdom come, we're asking, Lord, make me a good citizen of 392 00:26:55,320 --> 00:27:02,200 the here and now. We've talked a little, hopefully 393 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,920 giving very practical ideas for how to pray it as an individual. 394 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,680 How can we pray it as a church family? 395 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,880 Remember, the prayer is our Father who art in heaven. 396 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:15,320 We pray as a church family. Now we're praying in a different 397 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:21,360 way, not just our own individual lives, but now maybe our local 398 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:25,440 churches, corporate life as a church family. 399 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,440 Lord, let your Kingdom come and use UCC right here in Grant 400 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:38,160 County, Indiana to be an outpost of your Kingdom here. 401 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,640 We're asking when we say our Kingdom come for our mission as 402 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:48,240 a church body to advance God's Kingdom in the world through our 403 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,000 missionary endeavors with evangelism and discipleship all 404 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,960 throughout the nations. Because we've read about the end 405 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,160 of the story. It says the nations will bow, 406 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,040 some of them in belief, some of them in unbelief. 407 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,760 But we have the privilege and the honor of going out on his 408 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,160 Kingdom mission to advance the gospel throughout the world and 409 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,520 as much as he allows us to. So when you pray now as a 410 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,400 church, our your Kingdom come, We're praying for the success of 411 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:21,720 our mission as UCC, as we make disciples here and all over the 412 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,040 world. And the last thing that I want 413 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:29,920 to mention before we close is this idea as a, we're praying 414 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:35,440 corporately as a church family that we're in a in betweenness. 415 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,600 On the one hand, we pray with hope, right? 416 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:47,360 Because King Jesus has come and he has established a foothold on 417 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,320 earth. So we pray with all this hope 418 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,520 and we and we listen with eager ears for how the church is 419 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,800 advancing in the world. The gates of hell will not 420 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:04,320 prevail, my friends. We pray with hope, and yet this 421 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:11,760 hope is not a naive optimism. This hope is tempered with the 422 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:17,600 truth that Shalom does not arrive until the 2nd advent of 423 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,240 our Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns bodily to establish 424 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,440 Shalom on earth. So this hope, this optimism, 425 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:28,440 this of what's happening already is tempered by the not yet. 426 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,280 He's not here yet. Calm down with all your 427 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:37,840 enthusiasm. Especially with non gospel means 428 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,720 to establish some sort of utopia on earth. 429 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:48,800 It won't work, only Jesus. And so a wise, mature Christian 430 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,080 is able to handle this tension so well. 431 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,640 They remain hopeful. They're looking for the way God 432 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,920 is working in the world. They are the kind of people you 433 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,360 want on their team because they're not, that'll never work 434 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,400 kind of people. They're like, let's go kind of 435 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:04,960 people. God is on our side. 436 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,000 We have the Holy Spirit. And yet you want them on your 437 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:14,120 team because they are not unrealistically optimistic. 438 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:19,760 They're able to look at the news and agree that that is awful and 439 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:25,400 lament and cry out and their cry out boils up and bubbles over 440 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,320 and to come quickly. Lord Jesus, guys, you watch the 441 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,640 news and you're just like, how can this be happening? 442 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:38,320 Look at those poor people. Look at what is happening, Lord 443 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,480 Jesus. So you pray our Kingdom come. 444 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,120 You're praying not only praise God for how you're working the 445 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,000 world, but you're praying come quickly Lord Jesus and stop the 446 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,800 madness today. Please, please your Kingdom 447 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:52,040 come. Those people are dying. 448 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:59,680 Do something Lord, and use our church to do it. 449 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:05,240 So we have this commingling attitude, praying our Kingdom 450 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,800 come, full of hope for how it's advancing in the world, but also 451 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,000 full of longing, knowing that it's so broken and it's so 452 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,600 messed up. And it will be until Jesus lands 453 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,600 a lot to hold in your mind. I told you, and I haven't even 454 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,760 scratched the surface of it. Dozens of occurrences. 455 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,080 Much more to learn about as we go into praying it. 456 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,960 We can pray our Kingdom come for ourselves as individuals, and we 457 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:36,360 can also pray as a church family full of hope and longing. 458 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:41,040 Come quickly, Lord Jesus. To conclude. 459 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:45,320 To conclude, remember, the devil has not only slandered God, but 460 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,440 he staged A coup against the Kingdom of God. 461 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,160 But the good news in the Gospel is that King Jesus is restoring 462 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:59,280 God's rightful rule, and he invites us to do the same as we 463 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:06,240 pray together, thy Kingdom come. In this series, my concluding 464 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,720 prayer has been to ask us as a church family to say aloud the 465 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,800 Lord's Prayer together. If you don't know the words, 466 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:17,120 that's OK, just listen. And when we get to the part when 467 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,120 we don't know what to say, forgive us our sins, our debts, 468 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:25,200 or our trespasses. We'll say trespasses because 469 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,120 that's how grandma taught Danny how to, how to pray it. 470 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,680 So will you join me as we conclude in prayer by saying the 471 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:37,080 Lord's Prayer together? Our Father, who art in heaven, 472 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:43,120 hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done 473 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:48,560 on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day Our Daily 474 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:53,560 Bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those 475 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:58,680 who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but 476 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,800 deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and 477 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,840 the power and the glory forever. Amen.