Sing before the service: Scripture
hymn 16-1:1, 2 (15:1, 2)
Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Song of praise: Psalm 68:15
Prayer
Psalm 46:1, 3
Scripture
reading: Matthew 6:5–13; 1 Corinthians
15:20–28
Scripture
text:
Matthew 6:5 and 1 Corinthians 15:20; Catechism Lord’s Day 48
And when you pray, do not be like the
hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the
street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:5 AFR53)
But Christ has indeed been raised from
the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1
Corinthians 15:20 AFR53)
Your kingdom come. The Lord Jesus
Christ teaches us to continue praying for the fullness of God’s kingdom to
come.
- I, as well as the Church – the Church militant – must pray for this.
- As long as the Church is on earth it will fight and work towards the
coming of the kingdom of God.
- In heaven, when the Church has triumphed, this prayer will no longer
be prayed because the Church will then be in the new kingdom of God.
However, we are not in heaven yet.
We are still in the midst of sin and the battles on earth in which we have
to fight against the powers of evil uphold the honour of God.
What is the kingdom of God?
- It can be compared to a kingdom on earth.
- It has a king who rules over a specific area.
- In this kingdom he (He) rules over his subjects.
- The Lord is the King in his kingdom and we are the subjects.
- The Lord has been the King of the Church through all times.
Eventually the Church will be gathered around God in heaven.
- This is the fulfilment of the kingdom of God.
- The Scriptures say that the throne of the Lord is immovable.
Your throne, O God, will last for ever
and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your
kingdom. (Psalms 45:6 NIV)
But there’s much more to be said about the kingdom of the Lord.
- The territory of his kingdom covers far more than only the Church and
heaven.
- It includes everything – even the angels and the devils.
- Not even Satan can do anything without the Lord allowing him to do
it.
- The Lord rules over everything.
The psalmist sings the praises of the Lord’s kingship in Psalm 99:1,
2:
The Lord reigns, let the nations
tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
(Psalm 99:1, 2 NIV)
We are the subjects of God’s kingdom. When we pray Your kingdom come, we first have ourselves in
mind –
- I know that I will never be able to see the kingdom of God if I rely
on myself.
- There are too many evil things in me that have to be removed.
- However I pray this, knowing that the power of God can let this
kingdom come for me too.
Hence this petition means that I ask
the Lord to rule me by his Word and Spirit so that I will more and more
submit to Him.
There was no need for this petition at the beginning of the creation.
- Man was a perfect creation and his relationship with the Lord was
perfect.
- But the came the fall of man – man became estranged from God.
- With this we started in the wrong direction, following a road that is
not leading to the kingdom of God.
By nature we are inclined to sin and dead to any good. We are entirely
corrupt.
- Now we have to fight against sin all the days of our lives.
- With this sense of guilt and weakness we pray to God to let his
kingdom come.
The angels cannot pray for this.
- The angels are always with the Lord.
- The other angels who, together with Satan, became corrupt do not
receive forgiveness for having betrayed God because they knew better.
Hence we are so greatly privileged that we, as children of God, may
ask Him to rule us so that his kingdom will come within us and for
us.
- This is why we are taught to pray “Our Father”!
- We pray as believers.
- We pray as people who deeply desire that the kingdom of God would
come.
We want to experience it personally.
- Hence we also ask that we may be obedient and steadfast soldiers in
the kingdom of God.
- We wish to fight hand in hand with the Lord against everything that
is evil and wrong.
When we read the Heidelberg
Catechism commentary on this prayer it is significant that it accepts that
we are subjects of the kingdom of God – but very bad subjects whose duty it
is to improve.
- Therefore we ask the Lord to rule us that we will more and more
submit to Him.
- Because we realise that this is the only way we can turn away from
sin.
This prayer also requires accountability. God rules in our hearts. Out
of the heart comes everything we plan and do – says the Scriptures.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts,
murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony,
slander. (Matthew 15:19 NIV)
- Hence the way we live should reflect the fact that we are children of
God.
- t must be visible. We cannot be children of God in secret.
At work our colleagues should be able to see it from the way we
behave.
- Whatever your occupation, your conduct and work should reflect it.
- And also, what we say.
- Whatever kind of work we do, we should live up to it otherwise we are
false.
- Every inch of our entire life is required for the fulfilment of God’s
kingdom.
In all aspects of our lives it
should be clear that we live according to the Word of the Lord. We must
know God and confess that He is the King of all times, and of the world and
the entire creation.
The kingdom of God also comes through those who confess Him – through their
obedience as the people of God.
- Through what we testify and because we live up to it, the kingdom of
God is already present on earth.
- Our confession and our faith determine the strength we show in the
coming of the kingdom of the Lord.
When we look around it is undoubtedly clear that very little can be
seen of the kingdom van the Lord today.
- There is very little respect for the authority of the Lord.
- Hence it is imperative that we keep on praying for the kingdom of God
to come.
How many people really acknowledge God as the eternal King?
- How many of us – you and me too – who believe are people whose faith
and confession are only skin-deep?
- Very often it’s very weak and superficial – we talk a lot about
faith, but our actions shows nothing of it.
- We cannot even keep the Ten Commandments.
When I pray in weakness, but sincerely, for God’s kingdom to come in
me too, then I confess what is written in Philippians 2:13:
for it is God who works in you to will
and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13 NIV)
The Lord’s Prayer that the Lord Jesus taught us is not egocentric. It’s not
only about ourselves.
- The heart of the person who prays is broadened so that the entire
Church appears in his field of vision while he is praying.
- He sees all God’s children and prays for them too.
After all, we have no choice, because when we pray we say Our Father!
- God has many more children besides me.
- I have brothers and sisters – fellow believers.
- The Church is after all the assembly of these believers.
But the Church is also more than this.
- The Church is fighting army of the Lord.
- It is the Church that has to put on the full armour so that it can
take a stand against all the devil’s schemes.
Hence we pray to the Lord to preserve the Church, because the Church
is surrounded by danger and evil.
- Today in particular, because the present world situation is proof of
a battle between the Light and the dark world.
- The powers of hell are advancing towards the Church and every single
person who believes.
- These powers are taking the field under various banners.
- In some cases it teaches false gospels.
- And in other instances they come under the banner of politics.
In the midst of all these we must pray to the Lord to preserve the
Church.
- The Church must grow in width and in depth.
- Your kingdom come! – Lord, let your Church put on the full armour and
face the dangers for your Name’s sake.
- We pray that the Church will break down all barriers and eventually
reach the New Earth triumphantly.
This is not a meaningless prayer.
-
It can happen because Jesus Christ
has preserve, protected and maintained the Church since the beginning
of the world and will do so until the very last day.
- It is the will of the Lord Jesus Christ that we should pray this; in
fact, after Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16 the Lord Jesus Christ
said that He would build his church on “this rock”.
Every one of us knows reasonably well how powerful Satan and his
powers are.
- Hence we should pray for the kingdom of God to figure more and more
in this world.
- But we also know that the kingdom of the Lord will not come without
any difficulties – the battle of Armageddon is still to happen!
Next to the kingdom of the Lord is a false kingdom.
- The devil and his angels have a kingdom that works against the
kingdom of God.
- He tries to instigate revolution and rebellion and eventually war
against the kingdom of the Lord.
- Satan is a thief trying to steal God’s throne. The entire history
bears testimony of it.
- Just after the creation he tried to damage the kingdom of God by
tempting the people to turn away from the Lord.
- Many centuries later Israel, time and again, was in trouble
because they yield to Satan’s temptation to turn away from the Lord.
- And today it’s worse than ever!
The mercy of the Lord is that the Lord Jesus Christ has broken the
full power of this kingdom.
- He died on the cross in his fight against this kingdom.
- But He rose from the dead as the Conqueror because Satan’s power was
too limited to keep Jesus Christ in the realm of the dead.
However, this doesn’t mean that our battle in the kingdom of the Lord
is over because Satan still has freedom of movement. He is now like a
roaring lion looking to devour whomever he finds.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
Hence we pray for the coming of the kingdom because then Satan’s power in
the world will be destroyed finally. Then only God’s reign will
remain.
It is written:
When he has done this, then the Son
himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that
God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28 NIV)
While the person prays he yearns for this day because then the kingdom of
God will reach fulfilment.
- Then there will no longer be any power that can disgrace the Lord.
- Only God’s chosen people will be there to live in perfect harmony
with the Lord for eternity.
But certain people dread the day on which the kingdom finally
comes.
All the nations will be gathered before
him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats.(Matthew 25:32 NIV).
Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:46
NIV).
And the devil, who deceived them, was
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, (Revelation 20:10a NIV).
Then the fullness of God’s kingdom has come – a kingdom wherein God will be
all in all. Then the dwelling of the Lord will be with men and He will live
with them.
Then the old things have passed away as it is written in Revelation 21:3,
4:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their
God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death
or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 NIV)
Let’s read what the Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 48 says about
this:
123. Q. What is the second
petition?
A. Thy kingdom come. That is: So
rule us by Thy Word and Spirit that more and more we submit to Thee.[1]
Preserve and increase Thy church.[2] Destroy the works of the devil, every
power that raises itself against Thee, and every conspiracy against Thy
holy Word.[3] Do all this until the fulness of Thy kingdom comes, wherein
Thou shalt be all in all.[4]
[1] Ps. 119:5, 105; 143:10; Matt. 6:33.
[2] Ps. 51:18; 122:6-9; Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:42-47. [3] Rom.
16:20;
I John 3:8. [4] Rom. 8:22, 23; I Cor.
15:28; Rev. 22: 17, 20.
Amen.
Closing prayer
Closing hymn: Psalm 145:1, 8
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church
Bellville
Date: 25 February 2007
(evening)