[0:00] Well, if we could this evening, we're going to look at the Lord's Prayer and if we just look at the Lord's Prayer as we find it in Matthew 6 and verse 9. We'll read Matthew 6 and verse 9.
[0:14] After this manor, therefore pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[0:38] Amen. But as you said, particularly we're looking at the words in verse 10, thy kingdom come, thy kingdom come.
[0:51] Now when it comes to reciting the Lord's Prayer, as you know, they're words that are very familiar to us. In fact, they're so familiar that many of us are able to recite the Lord's Prayer without even thinking about them because they're words that we learn from a very young age. They're words that we learn to recite as we were taught to pray them every day or that we were taught to pray them at home or in school or even in Sunday school. But as we said before, there's always the danger of our familiarity with the Lord's Prayer becoming a formality that we lose sight of the fullness of the Lord's Prayer. And I say that because when we learned to pray the Lord's Prayer, we either learned it in English as it's written here in the authorised version or for many people in our island, they learned to pray the Lord's Prayer as it's written in the Gallic Bible. And you know, I'm so thankful that the teachers in our local school here in Barbas, they still begin each school day with the Lord's Prayer either in English or in Gallic. And even since beginning this study on the Lord's Prayer, people have been telling me that the children in Chobh's
[2:04] School and in Laxdale School and other schools, they continue to recite the Lord's Prayer each morning either in Gallic or in English. And of course, those who wish to up doubt, they can and they do so. But you know, I was told the other day that there are two boys in Chobh's School and they're part of the Karlaway congregation and they can pray the Lord's Prayer in both English and in Gallic. And they heard me say in the Lord's Prayer last week in the service last Lord's Day and they heard me say in the Lord's Prayer in English.
[2:40] But then they wondered, well, can the minister say the Lord's Prayer in Gallic like they can? Now, as you know, to my shame, I don't have Gallic, but what's helpful in our home is that David and Finley often pray the Lord's Prayer in Gallic at family worship. And they also pray it every Sunday in Sunday school. And that's been the great thing about lockdown that I've been able to attend Sunday school on Zoom every Sunday and learn with the children and hear them praying the Lord's Prayer in English and then in Gallic. Now, there was a request from these gentlemen in Karlaway for me to say the Lord's Prayer in Gallic.
[3:22] And I thought I would try. In fact, I've been practicing all week, but I have to say I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. But I promise that I will keep practicing so that I can pray the Lord's Prayer in Gallic. But you know, whether we pray the Lord's Prayer in English or in Gallic, whether it's according to the authorized version or another version of the Bible, you know, it's good for us to know it. It's good for us to know the Lord's Prayer and it's good for us to pray the Lord's Prayer. Yes, there's always the danger of familiarity and a formality. But that's why it's helpful for us to study the Lord's Prayer together.
[4:04] But you know, it's also good for our children and our grandchildren to learn to pray the Lord's Prayer because out of all the things that we want for our children and our grandchildren, the thing we should want most for the next generation is for them to know the Word of God and to have the Word of God upon their lips and in their hearts. That's what we want for the next generation. We want them to be Kingdom kids. We want them to enter the Kingdom of God in their youth and we want them to give the best years of their life to serving King Jesus in order that his name may be glorified and that his Kingdom may be advanced. And you know, in many ways, that's what we're praying for in the second petition of the Lord's Prayer. Because when we pray, Thy Kingdom, come. We're praying for the Kingdom of Hell to be abolished. We're praying for the Kingdom of heaven to advance and we're praying for the Kingdom of holiness to appear. When we pray Thy Kingdom, come. We're praying for the Kingdom of Hell to be abolished, the Kingdom of heaven to advance and the Kingdom of holiness to appear. And there are our headings this evening. The kingdom of hell, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of holiness. The kingdom of hell, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of holiness. So first of all, the kingdom of hell. The kingdom of hell. As we said, when we pray, thy kingdom come. This is the second petition in the Lord's
[5:43] Prayer. And as we've discovered so far in our study of the Lord's Prayer, the opening words, our Father which art in heaven, they are the preface to the Lord's Prayer. They teach us that we're to come to God like little children and we're to pray to God the Father through God the Son by the enabling of God the Holy Spirit. But then following the preface to the Lord's Prayer, there are six petitions in the Lord's Prayer. And the first three petitions focus upon God's glory. And the last three petitions focus upon God's grace.
[6:21] Which means that as a whole, the Lord's Prayer is all about God's glory and God's grace. The Lord's Prayer is about God's glory and God's grace. And as we saw last week, the first petition of the Lord's Prayer is hallowed be thy name. And it teaches us that when we pray, we're to glorify God's nature and we're to glorify God's name. But in the second petition of the Lord's Prayer, which we're considering this evening, we're to pray thy kingdom come. And by encouraging us to use this as a petition in prayer, Jesus is teaching us that when we pray, when we pray, we're not only to address God as our Father, and we're not only to acknowledge that his name is holy and ascribe glory to his name, but we're also to admit, we're to admit that he is King. We're to admit that he's sovereign.
[7:16] We're to admit that he's the one who rules over and over rules in all things. We're to admit that he's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He's enthroned on high and his throne is from everlasting to everlasting. And his throne is a throne of holiness, righteousness and judgment. And we're also to admit that heaven is his throne and the earth is his foodstone. Therefore, as our royal King and as our sovereign, we're not only to approach God as a family member coming to a father, we're also to approach God as subjects coming to their sovereign. We're to come before God, not arrogantly or with attitude, but respectfully and reverently. Because, you know, we would never be so big headed that we would barge into the presence of the Queen, would we? No, we would come respectfully and reverently bowing in her presence. And you know, that's actually true for the other members of the royal family, even though they don't have to curtsy or bow to one another as members of the royal family, they still have to approach the Queen respectfully and reverently because she is their sovereign. And you know, it was R.C. Sproul who said, the two most important things you need to remember when you're praying to God are whom you are speaking and who is speaking. Because he says, when we come before God in prayer, we're speaking to our sovereign.
[8:58] Therefore, it's not a conversation between peers. It's not a fireside chat among equals. It's the creature calling upon the Creator. I know this is something we always need to remember as we approach God in prayer. Yes, he's our father. But we must always remember that we're speaking as subjects to their sovereign. Therefore, we're to pray with reverence and we're to pray with respect to God. But as we said, when we pray, thy kingdom come.
[9:32] We're praying that the kingdom of hell will be abolished. We're praying that our sovereign will destroy Satan. We're praying that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords will overrule and overthrow the powers of darkness in this world. And you know, it's it's this is something we often forget in our day to day lives, that this world, this is the kingdom of hell. This is the kingdom of Satan. This is the kingdom of sin. This is the kingdom of sickness and suffering and sorrow. But even though this is the kingdom of hell, Satan is not sovereign.
[10:16] Satan is not sovereign. He's not king. The Bible says he's only a prince. He's the prince of the power of the air. He's Beelzebub. He's the prince of demons, which means that he's not omnipotent. He's not all powerful. But as prince, he does have an element of power.
[10:39] And his power, well, we know it quite well, don't we? His power is the power of darkness and his rule is a rule of darkness and his domain is this world. He's the ruler of this world and his passion and his purpose in this world is to be anti Christ. Because as the Bible describes, he's our adversary. He's the tempter. He's the one who comes to us as an angel of light. He's the deceiver. He's the father of lies. He's been a liar and a murderer from the very beginning. He's described in the Bible as the devil, the diabolos, the deceiver and the divider. He's the accuser of the brethren. He's the one who goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But you know, my friend, what frightens me most about Satan is that he's the God of this world. He's the God of this world. And as the God of this world, Paul tells us that he's so powerful that he has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel. And we see the blindness of unbelievers all around us, don't we? Because we see that they're just taken up with all their pleasures and passions and pursuits in life. And they live every day with no thought of Christ or of eternity or of God or of the Bible. Satan has blinded their minds to think that they have plenty of time and that they can just live for tomorrow. You know, I've told you before about the illustration that C.S. Lewis once gave when he described a conversation between three demon apprentices who were being trained by Satan on how they might be able to populate hell. And one demon sent to Satan, well, we can tell people that there's no God.
[12:43] And Satan said, no, that won't work. People know better. They know that there's a God. The creation proves that there's a God. So the next demon said, we can tell them that there's no hell. And again, Satan said, no, that won't work. They know better. They know that their sin deserves justice and judgment in hell. So the last apprentice said to Satan, I know we can tell him there's no hurry. Tell him there's no hurry. And Satan said, that's it exactly. Tell him that there's no hurry. And my friend, we see it all the time, don't we? We've seen that that is Satan's ploy since the beginning of time. Tell him that there's no hurry. Tell him that there's plenty of time. Tell him that there's always tomorrow. Tell him that there's no urgency. Tell him that you have plenty of time. Tell him that you can spend time with God tomorrow. Tell him you can read your Bible tomorrow. Tell him that you can pray tomorrow. Tell him that you can come to Christ tomorrow. But you're my friend, that's why we need to pray thy kingdom come. We need to pray thy kingdom come so that the kingdom of hell will be abolished. That Satan will not have the power he has to blind the minds of unbelievers in our home and in our family and in our workplace and in our community. My friend, we are to pray thy kingdom come so that the kingdom of hell will be abolished and that the kingdom of heaven will advance. That the kingdom of heaven will advance. And that's what I want us to see secondly. The kingdom of heaven. So we've looked at the kingdom of hell, but secondly, the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven.
[14:41] And you know, when we consider the story of the Bible from Genesis right through to Revelation, we see that the story of the Bible is all about Satan and the seed. The story of the Bible is all about Satan and the seed. We're right at the beginning of the story in the early chapters of Genesis, Satan the serpent, we're told that he tempts, tricks and trips the first man and woman to fall into sin. But the story doesn't end with the kingdom of hell being promoted. No, the story only really begins when the kingdom of heaven is promised with us where Satan the serpent, he is told that the seed of the woman will come and crush his head. It's in Genesis three 15, the first gospel proclamation that was preached to Satan the serpent where it reads, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between you offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. And my friend, the story of the Bible is all about Satan and the seed. It's about the kingdom of hell being invaded by the kingdom of heaven because the kingdom of heaven was established in the person of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven is extended by the proclamation of Jesus Christ. I'll say that again, the kingdom of heaven was established in the person of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven will be extended by the proclamation of Jesus Christ. And that's why we're to pray. Thy kingdom come because we're praying for the kingdom of hell to be abolished, but we're praying for the kingdom of heaven to advance. But you know, the kingdom of heaven or the theme of the kingdom, it's something which can be found in both the old and the new testaments. In fact, the theme of the kingdom is something which ties the old and new testaments together.
[16:49] Because when the Israelites, when the Israelites first entered the promised land, God was their king and Israel was his kingdom. God was the monarch in Israel and he ruled as a theocracy.
[17:04] But during the period of the judges, rebellion set in to the point that the Israelites claim that God wasn't their king and that there was no king in Israel. And because there was no king in the kingdom of Israel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. That's what we're told at the end of the book of Judges. There is no king in Israel. Everyone did what is right in their own eyes. But Israel wanted a king. They wanted a king for their kingdom. And so they chose Saul, which was a wrong and rash decision. Because they should have waited for David. They should have waited for the man after God's own heart. But the history of the kingdom of Israel was not only a history of dominion. It was also a history of division. Because after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel divided into two kingdoms. There was the northern kingdom of Israel and there was also the southern kingdom of Judah. And as time progressed, both kingdoms progressed in a downward spiral further and further away from the Lord. That was until the Christ came. Because the Christ or the Messiah, he was the promised anointed one. He was to be God's king in God's world.
[18:21] But many of the Israelites, they anticipated that the Christ would be an earthly king with an earthly kingdom. And that the Christ would overrule and overthrow and overturn the oppression and the opposition of the Romans. And he would do it by ruling and reining upon the throne of King David in Jerusalem. And again, the Israelites, they were still so short-sighted because the promise and the purpose of the Messiah was to establish and extend the kingdom of heaven, not the kingdom of Israel. But the kingdom of heaven, it wasn't a place. It wasn't a power. It wasn't a position. No, the kingdom of heaven was a people. My friend, the kingdom of heaven is a people who have committed and submitted their heart and life to the sovereignty, kingship, and lordship of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is a people who have submitted and committed their heart and life to the sovereignty, kingship, and lordship of Jesus
[19:29] Christ. The kingdom of heaven is where Jesus Christ rules and reigns in the heart and lives of God's people. That's why when John the Baptist began his preaching ministry as the forerunner of the Christ, he called people to repent and he called them to repent. Why?
[19:51] Because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And when Jesus began his public ministry, the first words that are recorded in scripture to have come from his lips, they were the same words as John the Baptist, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And as the Gospels tell us, Jesus went throughout the regions teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of what? The gospel of the kingdom. And he revealed the gospel of the kingdom by healing every disease and every sickness among the people. But you know what's really interesting is that Matthew's gospel, the gospel we're looking at this evening, Matthew's gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. Because more than any other gospel, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is the messianic king and that the kingdom of heaven has arrived in the Persian of Jesus Christ. In fact, you could say that Matthew, it's Matthew who explains to us that the story of Satan and the seed, it reaches its climax and culmination with the arrival of the messianic king and the kingdom of heaven. Because when Jesus proclaims the message to repent and know that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Matthew is telling us that the kingdom of heaven is now invading the kingdom of hell. Matthew is telling us that the kingdom of salvation is being established in the kingdom of Satan and that the king in the kingdom of heaven is not going to rule and reign in one place, but he's going to rule and reign in people's hearts. But more than that, as the gospel of the kingdom, we see that Matthew, he records many of Jesus's parables and he describes these parables as kingdom parables and he uses all these parables to explain to us what the kingdom of heaven is like. In fact, when Matthew introduces us to the parables of the kingdom in chapter 13, he introduces it with the parable of the sower and he says that the parable of the sower is all about differentiating between those who have entered the kingdom of heaven and those who have not. And by recording all these parables of the kingdom, Matthew is emphasizing to us that you need to enter the kingdom of heaven. You need to come into the kingdom. You need to enter the kingdom because being close to the kingdom is not close enough.
[22:40] You need to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And with that, Matthew uses all these parables to describe what the kingdom of heaven will be like. And Matthew does that by repeatedly using the same phrase to introduce each parable. He says the kingdom of heaven is like. The kingdom of heaven is like. The kingdom of heaven is like. And Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in a field. It's like a pearl of great price. It's like a large net that brings in so many different kinds of fish. But more than that, Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven is like wheat, wheat growing among tears. It's like a tiny grain of mustard seed that germinates and grows rapidly. It's like leaven inside the lump, a lump of dough that rises almost out of nothing. And in many ways, that's the emphasis of Matthew's gospel. Matthew is giving to us the gospel of the kingdom because Matthew wants us to understand that the kingdom of heaven is going to expand and extend throughout the whole earth. And he says that when King Jesus comes to rule and reign in the hearts and lives of God's people, this kingdom is going to grow. It's going to grow and it's going to grow rapidly. And you know, my friend, far better for you to be in the kingdom than to be left outside. Far better for you to be in Christ than to be out of Him. Far better for you to enter the kingdom today than to be shut out tomorrow. Make sure you are in the kingdom. But you know, my friend, what we've been taught here in the Lord's Prayer is that the reign and rule of the kingdom of heaven, we're praying for the reign and rule of the kingdom of heaven to be on earth as it is in heaven. We're praying that the reign and rule of the kingdom of heaven will be on earth as it is in heaven because in heaven tonight, there's no resistance, there's no rebellion, there's no revolt against King
[25:04] Jesus. Instead in heaven, there is only submission and singing and service. There's submission and singing and service from the angels and the archangels and all the souls of believers who have passed into glory. And as we know only too well, the way it is in heaven is not the way it is on earth because on earth, there is individuality. On earth, there is independence. On earth, there is indifference to the King of the kingdom of heaven. There's resistance, rebellion and revolt against King Jesus, which is why we must pray. We must pray that the kingdom of heaven will not only be established in the portion of Jesus Christ, but we must also pray that the kingdom of heaven will be extended through the proclamation of Jesus Christ. And you know, that's actually what the Great Commission is all about at the end of Matthew's Gospel of the kingdom. Because by the time we reach Matthew 28, the kingdom has been established in the portion of Jesus Christ. But with the Great Commission, the kingdom of heaven must then be extended through the proclamation of Jesus Christ.
[26:22] And as King in the kingdom of heaven, when Jesus issues the Great Commission, he says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go there for, go into the world.
[26:34] Go there for and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them all that I've commanded you and low I am with you always, even to the end of the world. So my friend, when we pray thy kingdom come, we're actually praying that that tiny grain of mustard seed, which began with only a few fishermen and a few followers of Jesus, we are praying that that will germinate and grow to a global scale where people the world over will bow the knee to King Jesus and submit to him and sing about him and serve him as their Lord and King. That's what we're praying for in the Lord's prayer when we say, thy kingdom come, we're to pray that King Jesus will rule and reign in the hearts and lives of people in our congregation, in our community and also in all the countries of this world. We're praying, my friend, that the kingdom of hell will be abolished and that the kingdom of heaven will advance and that then the kingdom of holiness will appear. The kingdom of holiness will appear and that's what I want us to consider lastly and briefly. The kingdom of holiness, the kingdom of holiness, as we said when we pray thy kingdom come, we're not only praying that the kingdom of hell will be abolished and the kingdom of heaven will be advanced, we're also praying that the kingdom of holiness will appear. We're praying that the king in the kingdom of heaven will return and that he will rule and reign over the kingdom of hell. And as the gospel of the kingdom, Matthew draws attention to this using more parables of the kingdom and he uses these parables of the kingdom to stress the urgency that there is to enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew repeatedly emphasizes our need to come into the kingdom of heaven because Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven, it's like a wedding feast. But he says you can't enter the wedding feast and receive a wedding garment except by admission of the king. Therefore, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven any other way except by your submission and your singing and your service to King Jesus. He must rule and reign in your heart. You need to abdicate the throne of your heart and make sure that Jesus is sitting enthroned on your heart.
[29:31] But more than that, Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven is like labourers in a vineyard and he's urgent with this because he says it doesn't matter whether you come in the first hour of the day or even the eleventh hour of the day. What matters, he says, is that you enter the kingdom of heaven before the master returns at the end of the day.
[29:54] You need to enter the kingdom of heaven before the master returns. And you know, that's why Matthew goes on in his gospel when you come to chapter 24. Matthew says that the kingdom of heaven is like 10 virgins. That's actually Matthew 25. And he says that these virgins, they all took their lamps and they're waiting for the bridegroom. But Matthew tells us five of these virgins were wise and five were foolish because the wise virgins, they were ready to meet the bridegroom when he came suddenly. But the foolish virgins were caught out and shut out. And the emphasis that Matthew is giving to us is that we need to be ready.
[30:36] We need to be ready for when the bridegroom comes. And Matthew, he goes on in chapter 25 to explain that when the king of the kingdom of holiness, when he comes and finally appears, he will have all of his holy angels with him. And he will destroy the kingdom of hell. He will do as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, he will put all his enemies under his feet.
[31:03] And like a shepherd, he will gather before him all the nations and he will divide them as a shepherd divides sheep from the goats. And he says he will place the sheep on his right hand and say to them, come, you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared from before the foundation of the earth. And then he will say to the goats on his left hand, depart from me, you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. So he separates the sheep from the goats when he comes. And you know, my friend, and with this I'll close, you know, we should be certain that King Jesus will come and that the kingdom of holiness will appear. We should be certain of that. And you know, we should be certain of it. Because from a young age, whether we send it in English or in Gaelic, that's what we've been praying for. We've been praying for the king to come.
[32:12] We've been praying for the kingdom of holiness to appear. We've been praying for Jesus Christ to return and for him to judge the world in righteousness. We've been praying for the day. That day when all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account.
[32:34] That's what we've been praying for all our life. Thy kingdom come. We've been praying for the day when we will see Christ again in all His glory. Therefore, my friend, we must be ready. We must be ready. Are you ready? Are you ready tonight? The only way you can be ready tonight is by being in the kingdom. The only way you can be ready tonight is by having the king enthroned on your heart and ruling and reigning in your life. Are you ready? Because as Jesus said, at an hour when you think not, the Son of Man will come and He will come, my friend, because we're praying for Him to come. He will come. So when we pray in the Lord's prayer, when we pray, Thy kingdom come, we're praying for the kingdom of hell to be abolished. We're praying for the kingdom of heaven to advance, but we're also praying for the kingdom of holiness to appear. And He will appear. And when He appears, my friend, we must be ready. Thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom come. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to thee this evening for that reminder that the Lord our God who is enthroned on high, the one who is a throne that is from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and Lord, we thank thee and we praise thee, that thou hast given to us that prayer to pray, to pray that the kingdom of hell will be abolished, to pray that the kingdom of heaven will advance, but also to pray that the kingdom of holiness will appear. O Lord, that Thy kingdom would come and that Thy will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, we pray that thou willest bless us. Remember especially those who are still not submitting to the King, that even this evening they would be brought to bow their knee, that they would confess their sin, that they would acknowledge Jesus as Lord and King over their life. O Father, we thank thee. We thank thee for the gospel, the gospel of a kingdom, a kingdom that is not of this world, but a kingdom of heaven. And Lord, help us then, we pray, to look towards that day and to long and to hasten the day when Christ will come and he will reign and rule and he will take his people to be with himself, which is far better. O do us good then we pray, bless us in the week that lies ahead, that whatever is before us, help us always to remember that the Word One who is sovereign, that everything is working together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Go before us and we pray, do us good for Jesus' sake. Amen.
[36:03] While we bring our service to a conclusion this evening, we are going to sing together in Psalm 145. Psalm 145, it's in the second version of the Psalm and it's in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 145 and we're singing verses 1 to 3 and then verses 7 and 8. And Psalm 145, it's a Psalm that emphasizes and reminds us that our God is King and his kingdom reigns forever. And you know I love these words, the opening words of Psalm 145 because they teach us that we are to acknowledge every morning that we wake up that God is sovereign, that he is King, that he is in control. Despite the chaos that's going on in our lives and in this world, he is in control. He is ruling and reigning in this world. And you know that's how we should wake up every day, remembering that he is King, he is sovereign. O Lord thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise, I will thee bless and gladly sing unto thy holy name always. Each day I rise, I will thee bless and praise thy name time without end. Much to be praised and great God is, his greatness none can comprehend.
[37:26] We'll sing Psalm 145 to God's praise. O Lord thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise, I will thee bless and gladly sing unto thy holy name always. Each day I rise, I will thee bless and praise thy name time without end. Much to be praised and great God is, his greatness none can comprehend.
[38:41] They out there shout, how wonderfully, for every all thy goodness graves. And shouting In prison, tearfully, was made my righteousness reliant.
[39:18] The Lord, like all His nations, compassionate, ethyl so, нет, reduced, without fear.