July 21, 2014
Matthew 6:9-13
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
In this third blog on The Lord’s Prayer, I again reproduce Matthew 6:9-13:
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed 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 forgive
our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the
evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever.
Amen.
Let’s look at the fourth statement of The Lord’s prayer:
• Verse 10 – “Your kingdom come.” Several blogs ago, I started a study on What Will The Millennium Be Like? And for six blogs we looked at the Millennial Kingdom. We may get back to that study in the future because there is a lot more in the Bible that reveals What Will The Millennium Be Like? Briefly, here are a couple of things that apply to the statement, “Your kingdom come.”
First – Jesus Himself will reign from Jerusalem over all the kingdoms of the earth (see Isaiah 9:6 and 7; Luke 1:31 through 33; Revelation 11:15).
Second – It will be a godly rule of the King of kings, and all people will voluntarily submit to His authority (see Isaiah 11:9 and 10; Jeremiah 31:33 and 34; Habakkuk 2:14; Hebrews 8:10 through 12).
Third – It will be a time of peace, both among the peoples of the earth and even among all the rest of creation (see Isaiah 9:7; 11:1 through 11; Romans 8:19 through 23).
Fourth – Satan will be bound, and his sinful influence will be banished from the earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3).
Perhaps we should emphasize the fact that God will rule the world both in its inter- and intra-national relations, and among and within individuals. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:15, “…let the peace of God rule in your hearts….” What will be true worldwide in the Kingdom should now be true in the hearts and lives of Christians!
So when you pray, “Your kingdom come…,” you are asking God to help you realize the Lord Jesus Christ’s rule in your own life. Furthermore, you are asking Him to help you to live so that your life will influence others to submit to His rule! Yes, we are pleading with God to hasten His kingdom upon earth – when all people submit to Him. But when we pray “Your kingdom come…,” we are asking God to help us manifest Kingdom principles here and now!
By the way, it says in Romans 11:25 and 26:
…I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest
you should be wise in your own opinion; that hardening in part has happened
to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will
be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will
turn away ungodliness from Jacob….”
This refers to God dealing with the Jews during the last seven years of this age – also called the Tribulation. Notice Paul writes that this will not happen “…until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.” In other words, the Rapture of the Church (see I Thessalonians 4:13-17, Revelation 4:1) will not take place until the last soul is saved during the Age of Grace also known as the Church Age. The Kingdom immediately follows the Tribulation!
So what are you doing to hasten the kingdom? Are you sharing the gospel with others so they can be saved? Are you helping to disciple young Christians into mature believers who will also share the good news of Jesus Christ with others? If you dare pray, “Your kingdom come…,” are you doing what you can to bring about its arrival? If not, perhaps you had better not be so ready to pray, “Your kingdom come…”!