Mat 6:10; Desire for a Righteous Kingdom.

Tuesday August 13, 2024

Idea: We pray for the kingdom to come because we know it is the only kingdom for mankind.  

We will begin to see what effect this prayer will have on us and the world. It is a great effect if enough believers pray this with faith.

All the kingdoms of the world rise and fall. They all repeat the same cycle of rising, becoming prosperous, becoming weak, and then collapsing from within.

Joh 2:23-25

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

[After feeding the 5000]

Joh 6:15

So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. 

Then … walking on water to the other side of the Sea of Galilee [not a king of this world] He will the next day teach them about how He is the bread of life come from heaven.  

Mat 6:9-10. Greek eltheto - aor imperative – Come Your kingdom.

What kingdom are we praying to come? Kingdom of heaven (Mat 3:2; 4:17).

Dan 7:13-14 Son of Man, eternal kingdom. This is the kingdom we are praying for. 

It was offered to Israel by John the Baptist and the Son of Man. Its reception was based on repentance - believe in the King and not in the external religion of the Pharisees and scribes. 

Mat 5:20 - unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees. 

The kingdom of heaven is spiritual and physical. 

That generation’s response. The kingdom was rejected and postponed. (you get what you ask for - or, you have your reward in full). 

Mat 12 reveals to us much of the means of Israel’s rejection of the King and His kingdom and why. 

Begin by eating grain on the Sabbath - the way of the kingdom of heaven is not formalism, or external religion. 

“Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” - He is God. Dan 7:13-14. 

Mat 12:10 - “Is it lawful to heal of the Sabbath?” Heart of the law. It is always lawful to do good to another. But they then seek to kill Him. 

The rulers of the age hold on to power at all costs. How is this different in the kingdom of heaven? 

Mat 12:16 - the healed were not to tell who He was - kingdom of heaven does not advertise or seek fame and renown like the kingdoms of the earth. The kingdom of heaven is ultimate joy of mankind - it does not have to seek fame (hypocrites in Mat 6). 

Quote Isa 42:1-4. Servant song. The King is a servant. Not a lion but a lamb (and O how He suffered). 

At the height of Roman Empire, a human kingdom unrivaled in scope and power - the Son of Man is born in weakness and comes in weakness (beatitude #1). 

Psa 45:3-4, 10 (the bride). 

Mat 12:25 - a kingdom divided cannot stand. His kingdom is not divided. Earth’s kingdoms are lions / foxes / wolves. In His kingdom all three are unified (Isa 11:1-10; 65:24-25). 

Mat 12:28 - the kingdom of God has come upon you = He is the King. 

Mat 12:33 - you are what you honor or treasure or glorify. 

Mat 12:46-50 - people are born into earthly kingdoms (families) but one has to choose by faith to enter the kingdom of heaven (has to be born again). 

Mat 13 - Jesus switches to parables because they do not see nor hear - parables of the mystery kingdom. 

Mystery kingdom is the age of postponement, which includes the church age and the tribulation. 

The importance of knowing Israel’s rejection of the King and His kingdom. 

You will beware seeking externals, formalism, religious formalism over substance. 

You will beware seeking fulfillment and life in the kingdoms of the world. 

This does not mean that you reject them. 

The world needs the way, life, and the truth of the kingdom of heaven. The people of the world need to be saved (become members) and become disciples (live in the way of the kingdom of heaven). 

You will avoid the traps of lust for earthly things and things of the flesh. Fulfillment is not here. It is all with your Father in heaven - glorify Him!

You will seek the King as a person because you know there is a real kingdom to come. The kingdom flows and depends so much on the King that it is often seen as synonymous with Him. 

You will know that this life is temporary. 

Psa 73; 90; Rom 8:18f.