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Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / The Sermon On The Mount

Raising The Bar With Prayer (Part 3) 12/30/07

Message: ‘Raising the Bar with Prayer’ pt.3

Text: Matthew 6:10

Introduction:

ILL: A husband and wife were attending a county fair where, for five dollars per person, a man was giving rides on an old biplane. The couple wanted to go up but they thought the price was too steep. Consequently, they tried to negotiate a lower price. "We'll pay you five dollars for both of us," they said to the pilot. "After all, we'll both have to squeeze into that tiny cockpit that was built for only one person."

The pilot refused to lower his price, but he made a counter-offer. He said to the couple, "Pay me the full price of ten dollars and I'll take you up. And if you don't say one word during the flight, I'll give you all your money back." The couple agreed and got into the plane.

Up they went and the pilot proceeded to perform every trick he knew, looping and whirling and flying upside down and lots more. Finally, when the plane had landed, the pilot said to the husband, "Congratulations! Here's your ten dollars; you didn't say a single word."

To which the man replied, "Nope, but I almost did when my wife fell out." (J. David Hoke)

Explanation: Obviously this man had a set of priorities and his wife wasn’t very high on that list. But the truth is, we all have a list of life priorities that we follow.

Think about this for a moment. What’s on your list of life priorities? Take note to the position of those things on your list of life priorities…what do you place at the top and what finds it way at the bottom?

ILL: It’s said that you can determine someone’s life priorities by looking at their checkbook.

Perhaps there’s truth in that statement. What you give yourself to:

· your time,

· your energy,

· your money,

· your talents and abilities,

is what’s important to you and what’s high on your list of priorities.

As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we must take time, on a regular basis, to evaluate our real priorities.

What is first, second, third, fourth…? As you examine your priorities, by taking a look at how you live your life, and spend your time and money, you may be surprised to find that some things you thought were high on your list really aren’t.

Background

In teaching his disciples, then and now, how to pray, Jesus also taught us the single most important priority in life… the kingdom of God.

If you read through the Gospels, you’ll find that Jesus spoke and taught about the Kingdom of God/Heaven, more than any other topic….over 80 times!

Read: Matthew 4:23 ‘Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.’

That’s what Jesus did…what was his message?

Read: Matthew 4:17 ‘From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”’

The Kingdom of God was the priority for Jesus and therefore, it’s importance can’t be minimized by his followers.

Transition: Jesus taught us that the first priority, the first order of business in our prayer, after entering God’s presence with praise and giving him honor, is to affirm the priority of God’s rule being established on earth…and as we will see, in our lives.

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6:10 (pg. 741 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) It is here we’ll find that we raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives by prayer.

I. Your Kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven.

Read: Matthew 6:10

Background: There are a couple of items I need to discuss before we begin.

First, you will notice on your Sermon Notes that I have added ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ to ‘Your Kingdom come’ That’s because ‘Your Kingdom come’ and ‘Your will be done’ are parallel statements in the Greek and are both completed by the phrase ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’

Second, Jesus spoke of the ‘Kingdom of God’ in three ways: Past, Present and Future.

· It is ‘Past’ in that it involved Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

· It is ‘Present’ in Jesus’ earthly ministry in that He was the true King living in the midst of His people.

· It is ‘Future’ in that the fullness of what the Kingdom of God is…is yet to come.

The central aspect in the study of the Kingdom of God is what theologians call the ‘Already, but not yet.’ We’ll examine what it means that the Kingdom of God is ‘already here’ and ‘still yet to come.’ We’ll also look at our involvement in the Kingdom as Christ’s disciples.

The ‘Already’

To explain it simply,

· the Kingdom is where the King is.

If you don’t remember anything else from today’s message remember that

· the Kingdom is where the King is.

In the Gospels, Jesus announced ‘The Kingdom of God is near you.’ (Lk. 10:9) The kingdom was near because Jesus, the King, was near. BUT, even though the Kingdom was near, it was not a geographical location…not a place. How?

Following Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, he sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper…one just like Jesus. Where does the Holy Spirit reside?

That’s why the Gospels speak of the Kingdom of God being ‘within us.’ Because that’s where the King intends to dwell…to reign, through the Holy Spirit. Remember,

· the Kingdom is where the King is.

A final aspect of the Kingdom of God being an already reality is God is ruler of the universe. He created it, He controls it, and He sustains or holds it together.

Read: Colossians 1:17 ‘He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’

Listen to this powerful statement by author and scholar James Orr.

ILL: ‘There is therefore recognized in Scripture…a natural and universal kingdom or dominion of God embracing all objects, persona and events, all doings of individuals and nations, all operations and changes of nature and history, absolutely without exception.’ (cited by Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom)

God’s Word is as clear as Orrs statement!

Read: Psalm 103:19 ‘The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.’

Read: Psalm 145:13a ‘Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.’

Summary:

· The Kingdom of God is ‘already’ in that God rules and reigns in the lives of his followers through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit…the kingdom is where the king is.

· The Kingdom of God is ‘already’ or a ‘present reality’ in that God rules and reigns sovereignly on his throne in heaven.

Transition: That’s the ‘already’ part…Let’s look at the ‘not yet?’

The ‘Not Yet’

Read: John 18:36 ‘Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

A few years ago someone wrote that we now live in a post-Christian America. America has one destiny: to go the way of every other great nation before it…it will fall as the result of sin.

BUT, while all nations rise and fall, we have the assurance from God’s Word that the gates of Hell will never prevail against God’s Kingdom. One day, Jesus will return to establish his rule and reign in the Kingdom of God, here on earth. What a day that will be!

The holy purpose of God is to exalt Jesus Christ in the consummation of history when he will rule and reign in God’s Kingdom. The Jewish Talmud is correct when it says ‘The prayer that does not mention the Kingdom of God is not a pray at all.’ (Berakoth 21a)

· The Greek word translated ‘kingdom’ is ‘basileia’ and it does not refer primarily to a geographical location but to ‘sovereignty’ and ‘dominion.’

So when we pray ‘Your Kingdom come’ we are praying for God’s rule and reign on the earth to begin as Christ assumes his rightful place as ruler of the earth.

· The Greek word ‘Come’ is best translated a ‘sudden, instantaneous coming’ This refers to the coming of his millennial kingdom.

According to Revelation 20:1-3 when Jesus comes, Satan will be bound and confined to the abyss for a thousand years.

According to Revelation 20:4 and 19:15 during this 1000 years Jesus will rule on the earth.

At that time, on that glorious, our prayer ‘Thy Kingdom come’ will be answered in it’s fullness.

Until then we should all pray as John prayed in Revelation 22:20 ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’

Transition: So…what is Jesus asking us to do when we pray ‘Your Kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven?’ What’s our involvement in the ‘already but not yet’ aspects of the Kingdom of God?

Our Involvement

The Kingdom we are praying for is unique in that it’s not part of any earthy nation; it belongs to ‘Our Father in Heaven.’ Since as Christians we are no longer part of this world our primary interest, our highest priority then should be the Kingdom of God.

So, before we go running into God’s presence asking for all the things we think would make our lives better and easier… we need to stop, to consider God’s cause, God’s desire and God’s kingdom.

How do we further God’s cause, build God’s Kingdom on earth, while we await Jesus’ return?

1. We pray for and work towards the salvation of unbelievers.

· In a present, limited, but miraculous way, God’s kingdom is coming to earth each time a new soul is brought into the family of God…his Kingdom. ‘Your Kingdom come’ then, is an evangelistic prayer. Let me explain.

· If the Kingdom of God exists presently, now, in the hearts of those who believe, (because the kingdom is where the king is) then we ought to be praying more fervently for the salvation of souls all over the world to be saved so that Jesus would dwell in them and the kingdom would be where the king is.

· And we should be willing instruments God can use to usher people into his kingdom by sharing Jesus with those around us and by supporting those who go where we can’t…missionaries. That’s why we call them Kingdom Builders. Get it?

2. We pray for and work towards a fuller commitment by believers.

· The desire of those already saved, part of God’s family, should be to allow the Lord to rule in their lives…now. Since Jesus IS Lord, we must submit to his Lordship.

· This means we raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives, we live above spiritual mediocrity, we seek more than just the minimum daily requirement as Christians, it means a realignment of our priorities to match God’s agenda.

· Our prayer can go like this ‘Father, let your kingdom come, rule in my life, be my king. Get the victory over my anxious thoughts, make my will submit to yours,

put under your authority my desire to sin and re-order my priorities so that they are in line with yours.’

Conclusion

ILL: Andy Stanley has written a great, little book entitled, Choosing to Cheat. He writes: “It sounds bad but it’s true, we all must choose to cheat. It’s simple, the problem is not a lack of discipline or time management, it is simply lack of time. With only 24 hours in each day, we cannot do everything. We think we can give 100% to our family, 100% to our job, 100% to our hobbies, 100% to our leisure, but that’s 400%! It can’t be done. Any time we set a priority we have said that something else in that moment is less important. Anytime we say ‘yes’ to something we’ve also said ‘No’ to something. It’s a fact of life, we have to choose to cheat. The key is learning when and where to cheat.” It’s true isn’t it? We are faced with choices all the time that put one thing over another. Oh, many of us would say our priorities are God, family, work and leisure, but how many really live that out? (Tim Smith)

So…what are your cheating to make what you really want your top priorities? What are your life priorities?

Do they line up with the Word and will of God? Are they priorities that help to enlarge the present aspect of the Kingdom of God?

When you pray, do you consider the Kingdom of God? Are you longing for the time Jesus will return to rule and reign? Are you praying for God’s rule and reign to be more evident in your life?

We raise the bar of spiritual expectation and actions in our lives with prayer.