The Village Church
Your Kingdom Come - Audio
We do thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have blessed us with everything that we have down to the shoes on our feet and the clothes on our body, without your provision, without you providing we will have nothing. So Lord we thank you for those blessings. We thank you for even the things you don't give us because you don't give them to us for a reason and that too is a blessing. And so Father we also pray for preaching of your Word that your Spirit Father will move. It is not about Alex, it's not about me but it's about Jesus, it's about our King, it's about our Redeemer, our Father, our Sustainer. And He must receive all the glory for everything. And so I pray that you will be glorified in this time for Christ to my pray. Amen. Well you guys doing alright? See we haven't got any rain yet so I guess it's on the way. Hopefully so. If you have your babbles this morning, turn with me to Matthew 6. Beginning with verse 9. This is Jesus speaking. He says pray then like this our Father in heaven. How low to be your name, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. If you were here last week you know that I said we have a habit of reading different passages of the Bible, reading our favorite Bible verses without really understanding what has been said. We can read, we can quote the Lord's Prayer, we can quote Psalm 23, verse 9, verse 16. All those Bible verses but do we understand what is being said? Sometimes I think we don't. Especially when it comes to the Lord's Prayer. And last week we talked about the first verse of the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven. How low be your name? Our Father in heaven. How low be your name? We said that prayer is always dependent upon who God is. If we're going to pray this prayer meaning if we're going to have it in rich prayer life we first got to know who God is. That's what we talked about last week. Who is he? He is like us because he's a father. He's personal. And yet he's unlike us because he has no limits. He's perfect. He's holy and we're not. That's who he is. We're co-dependent. He's not. So that's a small recap of what we said last week. And this week we're going to look at the second and third petition of the Lord's Prayer. It says what? Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When you pray that we all pray that many times in church and our private prayer life. Do we do we know what we're asking when we say those words? Or is it just something we do? Or is it something we do because we Christian we need to pray that prayer. We need to memorize that prayer. Do we know what it's been said? Think about this. Everyone in our country, a lot of people in our country, we make petitions every day. We make petitions every day. You can make it a petition to four calls for a particular issue. And here's the thing. You only make a petition about things you care about. Things that you are passionate about. If I'm not passionate about something then I'm not going to go down to the city council, make any petition about anything we go in our city. If I'm not passionate about it, there has no impact on me. This is the reality of it. For all of us. If we're passionate about the issue, then you're going to fight for that issue. You're going to talk about that issue. You're going to dialogue about that issue. Last week I saw in the news there was a group of residents and the caterer that's right over the interstate here who live in apartment complex. They were making a petition to their landlord. Why? Because he hasn't did any updates on the apartments. It ran down. They made a petition because they like us want a nice place to live. And so they petition their landlord. Hey, you need to do something about this. This is not right. They're passionate about it. Employees. We make petitions to their boss. Kids. Sometimes make petitions to their parents to do certain things. We go to Disney World or play football, play basketball. We make petitions to those who have authority over us. We do it with government officials for any issue. The list goes on. But the point is this. If you have no zeal, and if you have no passion, then the action that you do won't last. The action that you put forth will fade away quickly. If you have no zeal, no passion for a cause that you petition for. And in the same way in this Lord's prayer, if you have no zeal for God's kingdom, no passion for his will to be done, then you ain't we're not going to pray for it and mean it. We're not going to live for it and mean it. It has to be here in my heart, in my soul. I have to be passionate about saying, God, I want your kingdom to come. I want your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and mean it. Of course, if you don't mean it, it's just words. It's just words. So do you really want it? Do you really want it to come? Do you really want it to be done? Or is it just lip service? Far removed from my hearts. Far removed from our lives. It's his kingdom. And it's his will. You see, the phrase kingdom of God, you know, it sounds cool. You know, I can't go God. Yes. Sounds great. But what is it? You know, I did a lot of studying this week. And a lot of times I felt like I was standing at the video racket blockbuster, you know, because there's so much to read, so much to study, so much have been said. And so as I read, you know, I came across different things. What people would say, this is the kingdom of God. This is what the kingdom of God mean. And so I scratched my head. I was like, which one is right? Which one is right? And so I said to myself, well, how do I choose which one is right? Should I do the any mini mini mode method of choosing any mini mode? I guess I go with that one. There's three things I've saw when I said this issue of the kingdom of God. Some people said the kingdom of God is the church. It's us. We are the kingdom. We are the kingdom. Some people said the kingdom of God is in us. And that it's always present. It's a present reality. Another said it's in the future. It's the common Jesus comes back. So which one is it? Which one is it? A B CRD. So the next thing I did, since I was confused by that, I said, let me go to the dictionary and just look up kingdom in the dictionary and see what that says. See what I can get some input from the dictionary. And the dictionary says, kingdom is a country or state ruled by a king. So kingdom implies that there is a ruler, someone who's in charge, a boss, an authority figure. And so look at all the countries in the world, our country. You will see that they are ruled by a person or a group of persons, but their power is limited. Their authority is limited. And what I mean by that? President Obama is not the president of Mexico. Governor Riley is not the governor of the great state of Georgia. He's the governor of Alabama. Limited power, limited authority. But what about the kingdom of God? Is it limited to a particular place? Is it the church? Is it present? Is it in the future? To put it simply, the kingdom of God means this. It is God's clean, cleanly rule of all things. That's the kingdom of God. His rules over all things. He's the boss. He's not bound by lemons. One Christian says that the kingdom does not point to any situation or event, but it points to God's control. God is going to have his way. That's what he's pointing to. He's going to do things his way. Psalm 103, 19 says, the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. The Lord has established his kingdom his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. And then I found this verse, this prayer of David in 1st Chronicles 29. I love this. I love this. Listen to this. It says, Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, the majesty. All that is in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord. You are exalted above all. Both riches and honor come from you. You rule over all in your hand of power and might. In your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. What is David praying there? God, you are the one. God, your kingdom points to your rule. For all that is in heaven. All that is in earth is yours. You are head above all things. And so when you pray your kingdom come and your will be done on earth, you are petitioning God to bring his rule to this earth. Bring your authority to this place. That's what you're asking for. And if you're not passionate about that, if that is not your passion, if that's not your motivation, then those words mean nothing to you when you pray him. Do you want to see God manifest his rule here on earth? Or do you want to manifest your own one or the other? You see there is a connection between the coming of his kingdom and his will be done on earth. You see one I read from my author George Ladd. He says, God's will is done on earth. A God's will is done in heaven. And his kingdom brings it to earth. God's will is done in heaven. But his kingdom brings it to earth. What does he mean by that? The kingdom is the outworking of God's will. It's an act of God. His rule. And what is his will? It is to overcome evil. It's to deliver men from its power and to bring them in the blessings of his rule. That's what God's will is. And his kingdom accomplishes that. Salvation basically. Redemption, redeeming. Bringing lost people into a saving relationship with him. So what does that mean for me and for you as believers? It first means that the church, the people of God, you're not the kingdom. We are subjects of the kingdom, members of the kingdom, community of the kingdom. We're agents of the kingdom, but we're never the kingdom itself. Why? Because we're not the ruler. We're not the boss. We're not in charge. God's rule is never subject to us. We are the people of God who enter into his kingdom. And so the question for us, have you entered into the kingdom? Are you living in the kingdom? Are you living under the kingdom? Are you being governed by the kingdom? Who's the boss in your life? Who's the boss of your stuff? Your toys? Your money? Your time? Or whatever? Who's wearing the pants in the relationship between you and Jesus? Who's wearing the pants? The big boy pants? Is it you or is it Jesus? Only one can do that. I have to tell you, Jesus ain't wearing the shorts. He wants to wear the pants. You see, in our country, we have a system in which we, the people, we have the power to vote into office and out of office, those who are grabbing over us. Democracy, the power of the people. That's what we have. If you don't like someone, we vote them out. If you like someone, we vote them in. We have the power to do that. And so every two to four years, you have candidates coming up, campaigning, telling you all these great things they're going to do for you. They're going to do for your country and promise you so they can win your vote. Don't confuse that with God. God does not campaign for our vote. He's not going to come and put a campaign thing in your yard. He's not going to give you a t-shirt that says vote for God because I love you. No. He's a merciful God. He's a mighty God. He's a loving God. But He is not going to be subject to us. Never. Ever. God is all powerful without us. He's all God without us. He's all mighty without us. He is holy without us. He's merciful without us. He just chooses to use us. And so what that means is that the kingdom is not the Baptist church. The kingdom is not the Presbyterian church. The kingdom is not the AME church. The kingdom is not the first missionary Baptist church. The kingdom is not the dark, non-denominational church. It's not the Methodist church. It's God's kingdom. Do you believe that? Do you see that? He has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all that is in the universe in every area of your life. That's his kingdom. That's his rule. You see, when Jesus came to earth and when he began his ministry, what did he say? He says, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's how he begun his ministry. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then Matthew goes on to say, "And Jesus went out through all Galilee teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and affliction, affliction among the people. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand." And in Luke 17, 21, he told the unbelieving Pharisees this, "The kingdom of God is in your midst." The kingdom of God is in your midst. What does that mean? It means when Jesus came, he brought the kingdom of God with him into our time, into our history. When he came to earth, he made the kingdom of God present. And through Jesus, God was going to conquer evil, conquer sin, save sinful people from their sin and misery, and bring them into a blessed state of grace to live under his kingdom rule. For Jesus is the kingdom, and his kingdom. And we enter into that kingdom through Jesus. And to pray his kingdom come and his will done on earth, first means it has to come to your own life. It has to come to your family. Jesus says in Matthew 6, 33, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all will be added to you as well." It means what? Putting God first in your life, giving God top priority in your life. That's what it means to live for the kingdom. Making him number one, even when life is hard, what happened to Jesus the night before he was betrayed? In the garden, what happened to him? What was he going through? The night before the cross? The ruler says Jesus was sorrowful. He was troubled. He told his disciples that his soul was very sorrowful, even to death. And Jesus fell on his face, and what did he pray to the Father? What did he say to the Father? "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Then we say that prayer. In our darkest hours, when we are in a pixel sorrow, can we say not my will be done, Lord, but your will? That's what it means to be lived for the kingdom. Morning God's will to be done in your life, despite your circumstances, despite how hard it gets. Being able to say that prayer means it, because when you pray your kingdom come and your will be done, that is what you're asking for. For his will to be done in your life, in the hardest times of your life. Now, when life is just easy, when the valleys have been able to say your will, O Lord, be done, not mine. When sickness comes, disappointment comes, death comes, plans fail, life is frustrated. Your will be done, O Lord, not mine. That's what it means to submit to the will of God, to submit to the kingdom. You see, on the one hand, God, He is the King. We know this. The Bible is clear about that. Then on the other hand, He still manifests Himself as King, to us and through us as the people of God. You see, when Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in Luke 9, He sent them out to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and to heal. They went through all the villages preaching the gospel and healing those who are sick. Then when you read through the book of Acts, I noticed this this week when I was studying. All the ones who went out, Paul, Philip, they said, they preached the kingdom. They talked about the kingdom. It says, "Three months while Paul was an Ephesus, he spoke boldly about the kingdom of God." That's what it says and acts. He spent two years in Rome, doing what? For claiming the kingdom of God and teaching them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Read the book of Acts. Read it. It's clearly there. So we, as those who are supposed to live under God's kingdom, we're supposed to do the same thing, preach kingdom, the agents of the kingdom, agents of healing in the here and now. God has chosen us as His people to manifest His kingdom here on earth, to bring people to it, to preach about it, to share about it. That's what He chose us to do. And that flows out of our relationship with Him. So are we, as a church, are you, as believers, going to be about God's kingdom, or will you try to build your own kingdom? And when I take a look at a lot of churches here in this country, and sometimes I see it even in myself, you know, we love to talk about the kingdom. We love to hear messages about the kingdom, but when it comes down to it, in the places where we really live, we don't manifest God's kingdom. We manifest our own kingdom, our own agenda. We're about the other churches that you came from. When you look, when you think about those churches, the church that you came from, the church that you're part of, who's kingdom are they about? When you look at what they do, when you look at what they spend their money on, when you look at their resources, who's kingdom are they about? Who's kingdom are they really building? Sometimes, is their own little mini-empower. And if we, as a new church plant, don't become serious about the kingdom of God, we too would be the same thing. Try to build our own little brain people to be part of the village church, to be disciples of the village church. No. You're not disciples of the village church. You're disciples of God's kingdom. This is not the kingdom. We're not the kingdom. You see, I heard two things last week that really had me thinking a lot when it comes to the kingdom of God. One thing says is that the church has cease of being fishers of men and pretty much have come guardians of the Aquarium. We don't fish anymore. We just guard the Aquarium and we look. And then I heard a sermon by a passionate Mark Drizzle from a church in Seattle. And he says that, you know, Christian movements unfortunately become museums. What does it mean by that? They start out great. They start out engaging the community, providing stuff for those who don't have it. And soon they get organized. Soon they get structure and soon they become a museum. What happens in the museum? It preserves history. It preserves traditions, preserves the old way of doing things. And a lot of our churches are in self-preservation mode. They preserve the old way of doing things. And so when you do that, you cease to be about the kingdom. You have to come about your own kingdom. I don't want to be a church that's here to preserve our old way of doing things. I want to be about the kingdom. I want us to be about the kingdom as individuals. Not trying to be self-preserving this. All this is going to burn. This church is just a building. It is just a building. And what would keep us from becoming a museum and aquarium is us being about the kingdom of God. Not just praying about it, but living it. Realizing. And this is how I asked myself this question. How do I know if I'm a kingdom pastor? I said if I'm happy if people never join my church, but join the church down the street, then I know I have a kingdom perspective. If I'm only here to grow this church, to make this church big, that's not kingdom perspective. That's Alex perspective. That's my kingdom perspective. Kingdom focus that stands beyond these walls, because the goal is to bring people under God's rule. Not here to grow our numbers. That's what it means. The people that remain in this community, if they don't come to this church, we should still be happy and love them, because they're still in God's kingdom and send them and bless them for being a part of some church. That's kingdom minded. Now that's a hard way of doing things, because we won't result in the church to grow. But that's kingdom minded. Think about the kingdom more than it's trying to grow a church. That's where I want us to be. That's where I want to be. Because that's what we're doing. Building God's kingdom, not our own. And one of my favorite books is "Return of King." There's a scene in the book where the white riser Gandalf, he hears a bit of an old legend of Gondor. If you read the book, you know what I'm talking about. Basically, you have this early woman telling him about this old prophecy. And she said, "Will there were kings in Gondor if there once was upon a time?" They said, "The hands of the king are the hands of a healer." So that the rightful king could ever be known. The hands of the king are hands of the healer. That's our God. He is King. He is mighty. He is glorious. He is holy. He is perfect. He is unlike us. He is all those things. But he is your healer as well. He's both and. And we as as people, as we manifest this kingdom, we are to be agents of healing in our communities, in our families, in our neighborhoods, for His glory alone and not ours. Let us pray. Father God, when you say you want to live for pray your kingdom come and your will be died, mean something. It means we're not living just for ourselves. We don't live just to increase membership in our church. We have a bigger, big picture, Father, vision of what we're doing. And that is, and that's bigger than our little congregation. And so I pray for myself as pastor here. I pray for the members here and the future members that will come that we will be kingdom-minded all the time. Realizing Lord, we're bringing people to your kingdom and not our own kingdom. I pray that Spirit, you will give us the humility to submit to God's rule in our life. When it comes to our stuff, when it comes to our resources, when it comes to our time, because if we're not submitting to you Lord, we can't expect those who don't know you to do that. If we who are called by your name refuse to surrender. So Spirit help us to happily surrender our lives to our King who is also our healer. And Christ in my pray. Amen.