Sunday Message: Lord's Prayer pt 4

I once had a co-worker who was a Jehovah's Witness.  He would occasionally ask me, "What do you think the Kingdom of God is?"  I generally blew him off- I didn't want to start a thing with him over his beliefs, and quite frankly, it was a battle I would have went into relatively unarmed.  Not that I didn't know what he was getting at- as I understand it, they believe that they (or some compounding of "they") are the 144,000 of Revelation, the Kingdom existent on earth.  And since there are way more than 144,000 of them, and several end time prophesies from that belief have come and gone, been rescheduled, and come and gone again, I feel safe in saying the lesson there is, don't let other people cherry pick your verses to believe.

Jesus taught the Disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come...", which tells us two things- it's GOD'S kingdom, and it ain't here yet.  Throughout Jesus's ministry, both He and John the Baptist said, "the Kingdom of God (or heaven, as Matthew) has drawn near...", never, "is here".  So what is this kingdom, and when is it's coming?

One commentator had an excellent concept to work from.  The Kingdom of God is His authority over the creation He made.  It is not a realm or a people, and is not DEPENDENT on a realm or a people.  Thus, every time the Apostles asked, "When will the kingdom be established in Israel?" Jesus basically blew them off, because they just didn't get it.

Jesus told several parables about it.  Among the things we can glean from them are:

- We don't build it ourselves.  The common idea in the middle ages- and one still believed now, by many- is that WE work to bring about the Kingdom on earth by evangelism, prayer, and good works, and when WE finish, God will come and take over.  Sorry, wrong answer:

Mar 4:26  And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 
Mar 4:27  He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 
Mar 4:28  The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 
Mar 4:29  But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." 

We might do some things, but...

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 

1Co 3:7  So then neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 

- It's a great thing to find, but does you good only when it is shared:

Mat 13:44  Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for the joy of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. 

Mat 13:45  Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; 

Mat 13:46  who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 

The treasure is a wonderful thing to have, but it only represents what you can DO with it.  Money unspent doesn't buy you anything.  Thus the rich man and the eye of the needle.

- It is not an "open for everybody" deal:

Mat 13:47  Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered some of every kind; 

Mat 13:48  which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 

Mat 13:49  So it shall be at the end of the world. The angels shall come out and separate the wicked from among the just, 

Mat 13:50  and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

- You NEED to prepare for it.  The Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 tells us that last minute appeals once you are face to face with Jesus will do no good.

- You can't BUY your way in, with money or works.  

- You must come trusting, believing, as little children do.

Okay, so that gives us a grasp of how to see it from our current perspective.  But two more questions need be asked- Whose kingdom IS it, and when will it come?

First off:  Well, it's God's, isn't it?

Sure, but here's the thing:  When Jesus was born on the earth, God gave authority in the Kingdom to Jesus.  He preached the Word, died for sin, resurrected to defeat death, arose back into heaven.  See how David explains it:

Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." 

Psa 110:2  The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 

The Father gives authority to the Son, until all enemies are defeated.  And then...

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 

1Co 15:23  But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 

1Co 15:24  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 

1Co 15:25  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 

1Co 15:26  The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

And that also gives us the answer to the second question.  The Kingdom isn't FULLY come until after Armageddon, after the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, after the last rebellion when the Devil himself is finally cast into the lake of fire.  Then Jesus hands all authority back to the Father, and the new heaven and new earth comes down.

You might say, "So why are we praying for something so far away?"  The answer is, you could phrase this line another way.  Jesus COULD have just taught us to pray, "Help us to understand and await the final goal."