TEACH US TO PRAY: WEEK THREE
This week, Lyle Schut continued in the Lord's Prayer series teaching on "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 NIV).
Big Picture
We first have to look at this phrase with the "big picture" in mind. When we pray "Kingdom come", this is asking for Jesus' 2nd coming. In Revelation 19 we get the picture of Jesus riding on a white horse, coming back to rule and reign over the earth.
Imagine how the Jewish people and disciples felt when John the Baptist came. For 400 years before that, there was no voice (no prophet) in the land. But then John the Baptist comes speaking the Word and prophesying.
We need a revelation about the Kingdom coming. Are we ready for it? Or do we have plans to do so many things before it, thinking, "I want to get married, have kids, go to school, get that job, then I will be ready" The Kingdom is so much greater than we can ever imagine. All of those things will fade in the light of the Kingdom, so we need a revelation about it!
Already But Not Yet
We hear that phrase so often, but it is a true statement. We sometimes draw back from doing what Jesus said - to pray here and now. Sometimes we pray for healing, yet nothing happens, so we just stop praying. But God says that his will is that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), so we should be encouraged to continue praying!
In Luke 11, the disciples come to Jesus and ask him to teach them to pray. They saw Jesus performing miracles in so many different ways - with his voice, with his touch, with even his spit - then they ask to be taught to pray the way the Son prays to the Father. In Luke 11:20, Jesus says, "but if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you". The Kingdom on Heaven is near us when there is healing. The Kingdom reality has come.
Luke 17:20-21 - The Holy Spirit is in our midst. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us, which is the reality that the Kingdom is coming. The Holy Spirit is like our down payment of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14). Jesus sends us out as carriers of his Kingdom. Romans 8 says that the same Spirit that raise Christ from the dead is inside of us. Jesus tells us that all authority has been given to him, so he commands us to "Go" (Matthew 28). When we pray "Your Kingdom come, your will be done" we are praying to destroy the works of the devil.
Lyle simplified the concept with the phrase, "Whatever is going on up there, let it come down here. Whatever is going on down here that is not of God, let is stop." We long for the day that there is no more sickness, pain, death, lies, deception, etc. We pray that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done!
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