Your Kingdom Come (Part 2)
In part 1 of "Your Kingdom Come," we tapped into the reasons why we pray the words "Your Kingdom Come."
We saw that Jesus Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, having been exalted by God to the right hand of the throne to rule, because of his victory over sin and death on the cross. We saw that Jesus is the worthy King, and worthy of all authority because of his perfect obedience to God's will. Jesus is the Messiah King whom God has promised throughout all the Bible and now he is at work ruling and reigning over the universe.
In Part 2, we want to look at why we pray for the fulfillment of God's mission in Jesus Christ:
A major part of God's mission in Jesus Christ to "make royal subjects." These "royal subjects" are devoted disciples, born of the Holy Spirit, who seek to live and love like Christ as they proclaim the good news of the gospel.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:1-6 ESV)
The phrase "Born-Again Christian" carries a lot of baggage and connotations, but here Jesus is defining the term. He says, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (v. 3, 5)
What does it mean to be born of the Spirit?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 ESV)
To be born of the Spirit means you have received the Holy Spirit. You heard the word of truth, the word of Christ, which is the gospel of salvation, and you believed in Jesus. You have trusted that Jesus is God's Son and the Savior who brings you to relationship with God through the forgiveness of your sins, that he purchased with his blood by dying on the cross for your sins.
You have faith in Jesus Christ and you are justified by that faith. (Romans 3:28, 5:1)
People become subjects of the kingdom of Christ by hearing the word of God and believing in Jesus Christ.
The gospel is heard! The good news that Jesus Christ offers forgiveness for sins is accepted. By faith, people trust their lives to Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwelling in you changes your life, your passions and your desires. This renewed way of living shows that you have been "born-again." Your desires for fleshly things start to be conquered by the power of God dwelling inside you. You begin to live not for your own passions, but as a royal subject of God's kingdom!
The Bible offers many illustrations for this new life. You once were in darkness but now walk in the light. You have taken off your "old self," and put on the "new self." You once were an old creation, but now in Christ you are a new creation. Your life that was focused on works of the flesh now seeks to "keep in step with the Spirit." You once lived your life for yourself, and now you live your life to God. You were once living in the world, but now you have become a citizen of heaven.
The apostle Paul explains it this way:
In him [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV)
There are ways to tell that a person is born-again of the Spirit. Paul says,
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(Galatians 5:16-24 ESV)
A life that is characterized by lust, jealousy, anger, rivalry, envy, idolatry, etc. is a life that is merely born of the flesh. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul's writing agrees with Jesus' teaching, "you must be born-again."
A life that is characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control demonstrates that a person is "born-again of the Spirit."
Before I became a follower of Jesus, I spent a lot of time doing community service. To some, this sounds like the kind of thing you do after you come to faith in Jesus. And it most certainly is. A Christian life is marked by service to others.
As strange as it sounds, before I knew Jesus, I did community service for me. I loved to boast about it, to show everyone how good of a person I was. I was self-serving in my community service. I did it to "find myself." I was doing community service to make myself look and feel like a good person. I was living for worldly, fleshly motives. But then I heard the gospel and I came to faith in Jesus Christ. Now I can say, my motivations are to truly love and serve others when I do community service. My motivations are to bring glory to God and to love others the way I have been loved in Christ Jesus. My actions were self-seeking, but the gospel transformed my heart to be others-focused. This heart change is the kind of evidence of the Holy Spirit!
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5 ESV)
That which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of Spirit is spirit. Those born of the Spirit are in the kingdom of God. Are you born again?
Additionally, when we pray "your kingdom come," we are asking God to help us make more disciples of Christ - we want more people to put their faith in Jesus Christ because we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only means of salvation.
There is an idea in advertising of a type of person called a "brand-ambassador." This person can either be paid or unpaid. The unpaid brand ambassador is a person who has found a product they love, and they promote it by word-of-mouth, simply because they love it. Starbucks is a great example of a brand that grew primarily by word-of-mouth, unpaid, brand ambassadors. People found an amazing product and they just had to tell people about it! This is a fascinating thing! I know I've done this in my life with restaurants! I simply have to tell people about an amazing food experience I've had, or someone tells me an experience they've had and I have to check it out for myself.
How quickly we love to share in conversation when we've had a really good burger! I tell my friends all the time to visit The Nook in St. Paul. The gospel of Jesus Christ is way more valuable than knowing a good restaurant. The gospel is good news, amazing news, the best news!
God has made a way for your sins to be forgiven, and Jesus has already completed the dirty work! You simply have to put your faith in Jesus, and you are credited with his honor!
As Christians, we are consistently walking on a path of being more like Christ, and despite our weaknesses and flaws, we are ambassadors, heralding the gospel! We have found in Jesus Christ, the treasure our hearts have been seeking. Every person has a heart that wanders, that searches for something beyond themselves - the answer for that wandering is found in Jesus Christ alone.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV)
So we hold this treasure in jars of clay. God uses weak vessels, and through it reveals his power! Christians are not perfect, and in fact we should be open about our sin struggles and weaknesses. We are sinners in need of a Savior. Christians need Jesus Christ and the good news of the gospel every single day. We continuously seek renewal in our own lives while we seek to be ambassadors of the gospel.
It's an amazing plan really, to have a broken and needy people be saved by Jesus Christ, only to turn become brand ambassadors for Christ seeking to sacrificially love others into the kingdom! And for 2000 years, it's worked! The kingdom of God has advanced by people pouring out their lives in sacrificial love for their neighbor for the sake of the gospel. The rule and reign of Jesus Christ will continue to grow in sacrificial love.
Every worldly kingdom advances by force. Subjects are forced to walk according to the laws and live according to the rules of its ruler. The heavenly rule of Jesus Christ the King advances as people hear the good news of the gospel and see the sacrificial love of Christ working in the hearts of Christ's royal subjects.
When we pray, "your kingdom come," we are asking God to help us be better disciples of Christ so that we may be better brand ambassadors of the good news of the kingdom. We want God to use us for His glory! We want all people to see the beauty of our King!
Father, your kingdom come!
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