Word of Salvation – Vol. 36 No. 37 – October 1991

 

Praying For The Coming Of God’s Kingdom

 

Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord’s Day 48

Reading: Matthew 4:17, 23-25

 

Beloved congregation in the Lord Jesus Christ,

The disciples of the Lord Jesus once asked Him to teach them how to pray.  And He did teach them the Lord’s Prayer.  We too may pray the Lord’s Prayer.

But this prayer is not only given for Christians to use literally.  It is also a model for our own personal prayers.

Each statement in the Lord’s Prayer contains profound but simple scriptural truths.  And since our prayers will only be heard if they echo God’s will, Christians should get to know the meaning as well as the order of the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord Jesus, for example, did not straightaway storm into God’s throne-room saying: Give me this, give me that!   No, He first said, ‘Our Father in heaven.’

The Lord wants us to approach our heavenly Father with the attitude of children who humbly depend on Him for everything, yet because they are children they need not be afraid to come to Him.

Only after such a respectful approach may the various requests come.  But the Lord taught us to put God first and ourselves second.

For if our needs for daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil are to be received from God, His name must first be respected by all men.  He rules as king and His will must be done.

We should know from the lessons history has taught us that when God is not honoured and His reign and will resisted and rejected, then the needs of people are not being met, forgiveness is replaced by vengeance and oppression and evil become widespread.  So the Lord is right in teaching us to put God first and people second.

It’s when people are put first that life becomes godless.  We call that humanism!

So we first pray: ‘Hallowed be your name.’  And we mean by that, that all we do, say or think must be to the honour and glory of God’s holy name.  And not just by Christians but by everyone, and not only by people but all of nature too.  People’s lives, their works, industry, politics, entertainment, the environment – all must glorify God.

But the very fact that we need to pray for this to happen is an indication that it’s not happening everywhere.  There are many things in the world and in our own lives that dishonour God.

Straightaway, therefore, the question arises: Why is that?  The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful and almighty.  So why doesn’t everyone honour God by putting Him first?  Why is there so much man-centeredness?  Why do things go wrong?  Why is there evil?  Why does the ruthless oppressor turn his army against his own people time and again?  Why Budapest, why Prague, why Soweto, why Beijing?  Yes, why has there always been oppression and corruption in history?

And why do things go wrong in our own lives, in our families and in the church?  Why do we pray today and scream in anger tomorrow?  Why abortion, why incest, why AIDS, why divorce?

And why environmental pollution?  Why the rape of nature?  Why hunger when the world can grow enough food for everyone?  Why the boat people, and why refugees?  Why incurable diseases, why the physically and mentally ill?  Why wheelchairs, why old age, why death?

We pray that God’s name be honoured everywhere but it’s not happening.  Is God not almighty to bring about a wonderful renewal?  Oh, there are times when our faith in God is sorely tried.

The answer is that there are other powers beside God.  To be sure, no power is His equal.  God is sovereign; He is supreme.  But there is also the power of evil men, recently demonstrated to us in China.  There is also the power of false religion, as we presently see in Islam.  There is the power of corrupt politics, of godless ideologies and philosophies.  There is the power of the occult and the power of worthless films and books.  And behind all these influences and forces, there is the power of Satan.

There is not only the sovereign might of God but there is also the realm of Satan.  Oh yes, it’s a secondary power.  There is only one Lord of lords and one King of kings, but all these lesser lords and kings have some power too.  There is light but also darkness.  There is good but also evil.

Our desire as Christians is that all things should glorify God.  We aim for wholeness, goodness, kindness, justice, mercy and truth but from the moment we try to put those virtues into place, we realise there is this opposition.

We run into these opposing forces of brokenness, evil, revenge and hatred.  These powers are at work in our own human natures.  We can’t seem to maintain self-control, nor manage our desires in ways that glorify God.

In fact, we have become aware that our struggle is deep and that there are other evil forces that seem to influence us and others.  Indeed, the apostle Paul reminds us that ‘…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ (Ephesians 6:12)

And so, for that reason, we have also to pray to God: ‘Your kingdom come.’  We know that God’s holy name is not everywhere honoured, not in our own lives and not around us, and therefore we must pray: ‘Lord, will you so establish your rule that your kingdom may more and more be perfected in us and around us.  Make it come in all its glorious fullness and power.’

You can see, then, that after you have prayed for the honouring of God’s holy name, you also need to pray for the coming of His kingdom.

But when are we expecting this kingdom to come?  Is it something only for the future?  We have to pray for the coming of Christ and that will take place at the end of time.  Is the kingdom of God the same thing, then, as the renewal of all things at Jesus’ coming?’

Well, we can’t really believe that God’s kingdom is only future bliss.  For that would mean that we cannot speak of God now being ruler and king.  But the fact is that He is reigning now.  The Bible makes that claim repeatedly:
            ‘The Lord…  will rule in the midst of your enemies.’ (Ps.110:2)
            ‘The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.’ (Ps.102:19)
            ‘The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble.’ (Ps.99:1)
            ‘The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad.’ (Ps.97:1)

But the Bible also says this:
            ‘Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’ (1Peter 5:8)

And the apostle John who was given those awesome visions recorded in the book of Revelation shows that Christ is king and reigning from heaven.  John who saw all that was also inspired to write in one of his letters: ‘…the whole world is under the control of the evil one.’ (1John 5:19)

Now that is a remarkable statement to make for an apostle who, together with his fellow apostles, had heard Jesus say just before He ascended to His throne-room in heaven:
            ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’ (Matthew 28:16)

‘All authority… on earth.’

It couldn’t be any clearer!

The Word of God is not contradicting itself when on the one hand it speaks of the whole world being under the control of the evil one, and on the other hand that all authority, also on earth, has been given to Christ.  What it does do is to make us aware of this tension that we have at the moment.

We can say with confidence that the battle against Satan and evil has been won because of Christ’s victory on the cross and His rising again from the dead.  That clinched the victory.  But now God is busy gathering all His elect.  They are also to be called and saved.  When that is done, then Christ will say to the Father: Mission completed, I now hand over to you the kingdom for all your chosen ones have been brought to salvation.  And then ‘the Father will reunite heaven and earth and all things will be made new.’

But for the time being we are not there yet.  We’re still in the battle.  Satan is still waging war and opposing God and His people.

Therefore, now is a tension-filled time.

You can see that in the book of Acts.

For a while I neglected the book of Acts.

Certain sections of the Christian church went to Acts and turned the experience of the early Christian church into all-time models for every other generation.

But the church should not do that, because some of those experiences were unique and necessary for that time only… and therefore not to be repeated.

The church today must turn for models to Jesus’ teaching and the teaching found in the letters of the apostles.

So one began to emphasize the teaching in the New Testament and the book of Acts was neglected a little.

But we need the whole Word of God, of course.  And going through Acts can be a most blessed experience because it shows us the coming of the kingdom.

The Lord Jesus said that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18).  The book of Acts shows us precisely that.

Jesus is building His church.  Thousands of converts are made to enter by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But there is tremendous opposition.

Persecution breaks out and it is bloody.

Apostles are imprisoned and killed.

There are beatings, riots, yes, terrible things are happening.  Not only from the outside.  But the church is also attacked from within, from its own ranks, through false practices and false teaching.  Satan is really busy.  He puts Christians up against one another.

And yet, the gates of hell do not overcome!

The Lord reigns from heaven and He continues to build His church.

So the kingdom is not just future.  It’s already here because Jesus is king now.  But because of Satan’s activity, it makes a lot of sense to pray, ‘Lord, your kingdom come.’

And the meaning of that short but profound statement, taught to us by Christ, is beautifully expressed by our Catechism, which itself is a prayer:
            ‘Rule us by your Word and Spirit
                        in such a way that more and more we submit to you.
            Keep your church strong, and add to it.
            Destroy the devil’s work;
                        destroy every force which revolts against you
                        and every conspiracy against your Word.
            Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect
                        that in it you are all in all.’

It’s beautiful to see how personal the Catechism’s prayer is.

When we pray like that, you cannot go on doing wrong.

And if you do, you are a hypocrite.

Just think what would happen if each day you prayed: ‘Rule me and other Christians by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you.

And notice how the Word and Spirit are tied together.  Regarding this, someone made this helpful comment: ‘Christ rules over us from His throne and He uses two tools: His Word (the Bible) and His Spirit.

He uses both.

Those who rely only on the whisperings of the Spirit tend to get puffed up.

Those who, like scribes, do nothing but go through the pages and the words tend to get dried up.

But those who depend on the Word and the Spirit get built up.’

Actually, with the emphasis on the personal submission to Christ’s rule, as well as on the work of God to increase His church and destroy the devil and his works, the Catechism shows that this is what missions and evangelism is all about.

When we pray: ‘Your kingdom come,’ then we are asking God to bless missionary and evangelistic activity.  And there will be progress when we in our personal lives submit increasingly to God’s rule, and God destroys Satan’s works.

Are we willing to submit to Christ’s kingship?

Do we want the church to grow outwardly and inwardly, extensively and intensively?  Do we want Christian education to succeed?

Do we want society to love God and neighbour?

If we are serious about this then we, the members of the church, will come to worship God faithfully.

Then we will all support the cause of Christian education.

Then we will all set Christian examples in our society.

We will want to do all of these things, and many more besides, if we are serious when we pray: Your kingdom come!

The Lord will destroy Satan; we don’t have to worry about it.  But will we submit more and more to Christ’s rule?  Progress in missions and evangelism will largely depend on our submission to Christ.

We can keep telling each other these things but we need something more than that.  So, let us look to Christ and let Him be our motivation.

The kingdom of God was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.  The Psalms, for example, show a remarkably clear understanding of how all of life, religion, culture, politics, was to submit to God’s rule.

The reign of King David, who wrote many of the psalms, was a glorious foretaste of Christ’s rule.

But it was also imperfect and David remained a sinner.

But with Christ’s coming the kingdom became a blessed reality.

Jesus went about preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven.

And those who repented and believed Christ to be the Saviour from sin, had their lives changed dramatically.  But not only did Jesus change people’s lives from within, He also healed many from every kind of disease.

The demon-possessed, the epileptics, the paralytic were healed (Matthew 4:23,24).

It didn’t stop there.

Jesus, also did miracles in nature.  Storms were stilled, the dead were raised, thousands of people were fed from a mere handful of bread and fishes, water changed into wine, and the Lord and Peter walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee.

In all this it was unmistakably clear that the rule of God had come on earth.  The realm of darkness was being dramatically forced back.

Even after Christ had gone to heaven and returned to His Father, the Lord continued to show that the kingdom had come to stay.

Prison doors were mysteriously opened for Peter, the youth Eutychus was raised back to life by Paul after he had preached him to sleep with an all-night sermon and the poor guy fell out of the window.

And when the church in Rome got all fired up about minor things to do with eating and drinking, and the holding of special days, then Paul told them that the kingdom of God is not a matter of certain customs and traditions but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

So, what a joy to see Jesus the king bringing in His kingdom! 

When we see that wholesomeness of the kingdom, then we are filled with hope and faith receives a boost.

Yes, we need to have hope and faith because the realm of darkness is still here.

We still have imperfection and crookedness and God is still busy putting all His enemies under His feet.  So we must live by faith in the conquering king.

What we must not do is to force God’s timetable into our scheme of things.  We must submit more and more to Christ’s rule and that means obeying God’s will for daily life.

Divisions, quarrelling, marital breakdown, messing up the family, hating, saying wrong things, yes, all these are hindering the reign of Christ.

We can and must stop all such behaviour.  It is not kingdom-like.  But there are other things that we have to leave to God.

Not all diseases are healed and not every trial and difficulty is taken away.  No, not yet.

Paul had to leave behind his fellow worker Trophimus, because he was sick.

Not all the dead were raised in the days of Jesus and the apostles.

Neither were all the life-threatening storms stilled.  John the Baptist was beheaded, Stephen stoned to death, James killed with the sword, and Paul had to learn to live with his thorn in the flesh.

So those kingdom realities, so beautifully visible in the days of Jesus and the apostles, were not everywhere present, and neither did they keep on recurring as frequently since then.

But that should not worry us.

The fact is that we now know from the Word of God how wonderfully real the kingdom of God is.  We rejoice when God in His all-wise plan performs a miracle today.

But we don’t give up or despair when trouble or hardship are our lot, for we remember that we are still in the battle zone.  We trust that the Lord knows what He is doing.  We will fight sin on all fronts, in us and around us, but we will let God be God and we won’t tell Him when to heal or not to heal, when to kill or when to keep death away.

In faith we keep looking forward to the final consummation of the kingdom.

We look forward to the time when the kingdom of the Lord will be all in all and He reigns for ever and ever.

We look forward to the day when Christ’s rule will be complete and perfect and all God’s enemies, Satan included, will be fully overcome.

Then the original creation will be restored and heaven will come on earth again.  The present order of things will then have been fully liberated from its bondage to decay and death, and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  And all believers will receive new and glorified bodies, fit for perfect and eternal living with God upon the new earth.

In this life, we still grapple with the forces of evil but we remember the paradise that once was.

We know the reality of the kingdom came with Jesus and we love to read the gospels and the book of Acts, for these keep our hopes alive.

And thus we can look with full confidence to the paradise to come.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away.

Therefore, comfort one another with that vision of the kingdom, so complete and so perfect, and keep on praying ‘Your kingdom come.”

AMEN