Thy Kingdom Come - Part 3 in a series on the Lord's Prayer

It is a common plot for television and movies for a man to take a woman to a restaurant on a date and to make an idiot of himself.

It is a French restaurant, and the menu is printed in French.  The woman, fluent in the French language, orders something that only she and the waiter understand.

The man, not wanting to appear ignorant, does something truly ignorant.  He simply points to some mysterious words in the menu and says, "I'll have one of those."

    

Big mistake.

Much to the dismay of the man, when the meal is brought to the table, what the man has ordered is both alien and disgustingly similar to what he has tried to keep out of his garden.

Be careful what you order in restaurants.  If you don't know what you are asking for, you might very well regret it.

          The same can be said for prayer. Be careful what you pray for. You might get it, and regret it.

Take the Lord's Prayer, for example. 

Here is a prayer that looks and sounds safe. What could possibly be distressing about praying for our daily bread, or freedom from temptation?

But very early in the prayer, there is the phrase, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Praying for the kingdom to come on earth might be like asking for escargot in a French restaurant and ending up with a plate of snails. You'll get what you ask for, but it might not be what you

want.

What are we praying for with this line, and do we really want the kingdom of God to come on earth?

    

But what does it mean?

 R.T. France was a theologian and New Testament scholar who died just a few years ago (2012).  He made an interesting observation about the Kingdom of God.  He said it had an intuitive meaning to Christians, but he also said that there is hardly ANY agreement among theologians about its meaning in the New Testament (Divine Government: God’s Kingship in the Gospel of Mark by R.T. France, 10 March 2003, pages 1-3).  Some see the Kingdom as a lifestyle, some as a method of evangelization, some as the rediscovery of charismatic gifts, others relate it to no present or future situation but as a “world to come” that is beyond this plain of existence.

France says the phrase “Kingdom of God” is often interpreted in many ways to fit the theological agenda of those using it.

When we ask for the Kingdom of God to come, we are asking for something that we do not fully understand to come and to create a radical change in our society and a radical change within ourselves.  Who in their right mind would pray daily for something like that?  Only people who trust God completely can ask for this.

So, while we do not understand completely this phrase, what can we know about the Kingdom of God?

Luke 9:62

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

        The Kingdom of God is about the future.  It is something that is coming.  Jesus and others are often talking about “when the kingdom comes,” or how we are on a journey toward the kingdom.

        And yet, at the same time the kingdom is very much something of the present, the here and now.

Luke 17:21

nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

When we experience death of someone – or even our own pending death, to be at peace is to experience that Kingdom of God NOW.  The Kingdom is not just “out there” or “in the future” it is in our hearts and we can live and experience that kingdom anytime, or all the time.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we are asking God to provide us with a future Kingdom, as well as an internal, present Kingdom.

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

So the first two things we can say about the Kingdom of God are:

1.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS FUTURE

2.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS PRESENT

Another thing we can say is:

3.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS UPSIDE DOWN.

In Matthew 5, Jesus is preaching his sermon on the mount. 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

        Everything about the Kingdom of God is upside down compared to the Kingdom of this world. 

        In our society, the rich and greedy get ahead. 

        In the Kingdom of God, the poor and selfless win.

        So everything that we are asking for when we pray for the Kingdom of God to come is a radical change from what secular society teaches.

4.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS GIVING UP CONTROL AND YEILDING TO GOD’S RULE

Anytime we pray for something to happen that we do not fully understand, we are essentially giving up our control and allowing God to come into our lives to do wonderful things we can never expect, AND to do things that are difficult for us.

Galatians 5:18-21

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envy,  drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5

Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Matthew 5:19

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Being a part of the Kingdom of God means we give up control of our lives and hand that control over to God.  It means we have to give up the things of this world to embrace the things of God. 

That is not easy.  It is hard.

In the movie, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, Tom Hanks plays the manager of a women’s baseball team during World War II.  At one point one of the best players is giving up and going home.  As she is leaving with the bags in her hands Tom Hanks catches up with her and confronts her and at one point he says, “I thought you were a baseball player.”  The woman, a character named Dottie, says, “I guess you were wrong.” 

But Tom Hanks says he wasn’t wrong and talks about the joys of playing baseball.  “Baseball,” he says, “gets into you.  It lights up your life.  You can’t deny that.”  Dottie says, “It’s just too hard.” 

To which Tom Hanks has this great line:  “It’s supposed to be hard.  If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  The hard … is what makes it great.”

5.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS SOMETHING TO WORK FOR – IT IS HARD!

Matthew 19:24

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

In other words – the Kingdom is like baseball – hard. 

Mark 10:23

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

Matthew 6:33

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

That striving is an athletic term that conjures up the image of a runner striving to reach his foot across the finish line while others are right on his tail and also about to cross.  Striving when one is exhausted, out of breath, with muscles burning – still striving to get across the line.  Strive for the Kingdom.

Mark 9:47

And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,

The kingdom requires sacrifice. 

Matthew 21:43

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

It is not only hard, but demanding.  If we are to be part of the kingdom of God, we need to produce the fruit of the Kingdom.  We have to show results in our lives.  We have to show love and make a difference in the lives of those around us. 

6.   THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MULTI-CULTURAL AND INCLUSIVE AND EXCLUSIVE

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Matthew 21:31

Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

The Kingdom of God is not for everyone.  It is exclusive, and many people make that decision to exclude themselves from the Kingdom.

At the same time, it is inclusive – the Kingdom is for all who are willing to come.

7.   THE KINGDOM REQUIRES REPENTANCE AND REBIRTH

John 3:3

Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

Many times in the Bible we hear John the Baptist, Jesus and others say, “repent, the kingdom is near.”

Copyright 2015, Dr. Maynard Pittendreigh

All rights reserved.