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| SERMON #111 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. MAT 6:10. To understand the Lord's prayer we must keep the petition, "Thy kingdom come," which is the second petition, encompassed in the preparatory language of the Lord's prayer. We must understand how the Lord from Matthew 5 through Matthew 7, or throughout the entire Sermon on the Mount, teaches us that we must understand the spirit of the law, not only the letter of the law. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Now we are speaking of the kingdom of Christ; when we enter the kingdom of heaven, it is Christ that should rule in our hearts. We are speaking of what the motive and preparation and posture of the heart should be when we come before the Lord to pray. Jesus says in MAT 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." We have already considered those first words in preceding messages. "Hallowed be thy name" is the first petition; we must understand how praying for the coming of God's kingdom must include a right understanding of Christ's teaching of the second table of the law. That is contained in "Our Father." That right understanding of the second table of the law means our heart's posture is right towards our neighbour. We must understand what Jesus taught by saying, "Our Father." God is His Father; He is also our Father and our neighbour's Father. This speaks of the intimate family relationship with our Creator which must be understood when we come before the Lord. God also has a family relationship with His church which was brought into the spiritual family of God through adoption. Now we come to the petition that His kingdom might come in our hearts, that the Father's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. Praying for the coming of God's kingdom must include a right understanding of Christ's teaching about Godliness, which is the first table of the law, "Hallowed be thy name." When we ask for the coming of His kingdom, we should know that we cannot enter that kingdom if we do not have a right attitude toward our neighbour. We cannot enter that kingdom if we do not have a right attitude toward Godliness. A right attitude toward righteousness is a right attitude toward our neighbour, but we must also have a right attitude toward Godliness, i.e., that we are not praying to be seen of men. We do not do acts of mercy for our fellow man in order to be seen of men; the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Hallowed be thy name," must come from a desire that God's name would be hallowed. When we ask that we might have the kingdom of Christ established in our hearts, the motivation must be the glorifying of God's name by our walking in the Spirit of Christ, that His will might be done on earth even as it is done in heaven for His glory. The motive, the central theme of every prayer, must be for the hallowing and glorification of the name of God. No person can ever enter the kingdom of heaven without sanctifying or hallowing God's holy name. So the first petition must be fully understood before we can ever enter into a true, heart-felt prayer of the second petition. How can we ask to come into the service of the Lord, to be true servants of the Lord, if we do not understand the holy reverencing of His name? In NUM 20:10-12 we read, "And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. [But see what the next verse says.] And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." Moses and Aaron, the servants of the Lord, the meekest of all men, were told they could not enter the promised land without sanctifying His name. Do you see how important that is? Moses was truly a servant of the Lord, but because he did not sanctify the name of the Lord at the waters of Meribah, he could not enter the promised land. How can we enter into God's service? How can we enter the kingdom? How can we say, "Thy kingdom come," if our hearts are not in the right posture? Our motive must be to sanctify the name of the Lord, that the Lord's name might be glorified. When Jesus came to be immersed under His Father's wrath upon sin, His primary concern was the hallowing of His Father's name. That is what we have to understand; that first petition must be the uppermost and foremost motive of our prayer. Watch what happens in JOH 12:27-28, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. [For what cause?] Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The Father's name was glorified in the first instance by the perfect obedience of His Son unto death, even the death of the cross. We read that in JOH 17:4, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." That is how He glorified the Father the first time. The Father said, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." How did God the Father glorify it again? He glorified His name again by giving His Son a kingdom. We read that in LUK 22:29, "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." God the Father has given Him the kingdom; now all men shall bow at the name of Jesus. This kingdom was the reward the Father gave His Son for His perfect obedience to His Father's will in answer to His prayer. JOH 17:4-5 says, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." We see how this kingdom was the Father's reward for such perfect submission to His will in PHI 2:8-9, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." That is the kingdom the Father gave Him as the reward; it was the reward for having fulfilled all that He had given His Son to do. For that humble obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, the Father gave His Son this kingdom that He should be highly exalted and have a name above every name. PHI 2:10-11 says, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." It is for that kingdom of heaven to be established upon the throne of our hearts that we pray when we say, "Thy kingdom come." That kingdom is such a glorious kingdom; that kingdom is a kingdom above every kingdom. FOR OUR FIRST POINT , let's consider how our prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is a confession that by nature of the fall, we are slaves under another kingdom.FOR OUR SECOND POINT , let's consider how our prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is a prayer to be able to "...serve the Lord Christ."Our first consideration is how, "Thy kingdom come," is a confession that, by nature of the fall, we are slaves under another kingdom. If we are praying for His kingdom to come, it is a confession that we are not in that kingdom! In EPH 2:2 we read, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." This is the kingdom under which we all serve by nature. By nature we are all under the kingdom of "the prince of the power of the air"; by nature we are all under the power of Satan. By nature we have a carnal mind; the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be, ROM 8:7. We are not in the kingdom of Christ by nature. We make this confession when we pray, "Thy kingdom come." We are asking to be delivered from the power of sin, to be brought into the service of the Lord. As the Holy Spirit works grace in our soul, we begin to realize the meaning of what Peter said in 1PE 4:1-4, "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you." In that Scripture we see a vivid picture of the kingdom we are in by nature. What are we going to do? If we are going to give up the servitude of the flesh (serving self and the things that please the flesh) we are going to suffer. We are going to suffer the crucifixion of that old man of sin; we will suffer the crucifixion of the flesh "for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin," i.e., has stopped serving the prince of the power of the air, entering into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, "That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are asking to be delivered from the power of sin. Why? We see how dishonoring sin is to the Lord; we have learned to mourn over the disgrace we have brought upon the Lord's name by our sin and conduct. When the power of sin is broken, we receive grace to bow unto the scepter of the Lord Jesus Christ; we must come to serve the Lord. We cannot walk in "lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries [and we are going to suffer]: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you." We are going to be put out. We are going to be despised by men; we will be mocked, scoffed, and scorned. We will suffer persecution. We will suffer the most persecution from those closest to us. The closer people are in the flesh, the more severe the persecution is apt to be. This same principle is taught in MIC 7:6, "For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house." Satan and his servants still promote sin with the same tactics Satan used in the Garden of Eden. They will still tell us Satan's same lie saying that God's restrictions are unkind. Isn't this what we see in today's society? Society cannot go along with the idea that a man should rule his house. Oh no, women have to rise up and be equal with men in this women's liberation movement. Now they say we have equality. What does it do? It destroys the very foundation upon which the Lord has built His church. The family is the foundation of submission upon which the Lord has built His church; it is the very symbol that He gives of the church in subjection to Him as Lord. Now they say these restrictions are unkind and unjust. They will boast of being gods. They will decide what is right or wrong. That was the promise old Satan made in paradise; that you shall be as God, deciding good and evil. You should decide what is right and what is wrong; Satan wants you to believe that the restrictions of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word of God are unkind. This self-exaltation which Jesus warns so much against was born in the Garden of Eden. In MAT 6:5 we read, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." The self-exaltation that was born in the Garden of Eden is such an abomination to the Lord, and it is what we have by nature. Satan strives to convince the sinner yet today, "Ye shall not surely die...Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," you can decide what is right or wrong! Satan strives to say, "Ye shall not surely die" to the heart of everyone that he wants to lure away from the service of the Lord. There is a move today toward democracy. Democracy is being promoted over the world; the first impression of the average heart would say, "What thing could be more tremendous?" Do you know that was all Satan was preaching in the Garden of Eden? Democracy. In Satan's kingdom we see him ruling by a majority in a democracy, and Satan uses the principles of a democracy to lure God's children away. He likes a majority, and if you are not with the majority, you are the odd one. You are the one whom Satan will call wrong because you come against the majority. In society today, Satan has the majority; the majority have set him as ruler on the throne of their hearts. Satan still strives to sit as king on the throne of our hearts. In EPH 6:12 we read, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." For natural man there is a continuous, on-going warfare, wrestling against flesh and blood, principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are asking the Lord to come and subdue that kingdom of Satan in our heart and overthrow all these principalities, i.e., governments. Who is going to rule? Who is going to have the throne? Who will have the top seat? Is Satan going to rule as king in our heart or is Christ? We must pray, "Thy kingdom come," for the purpose of overthrowing the rule of Satan. Satan strives to rule our lives by holding out such a promising world of wealth, entertainment, honour, and material happiness. Satan tempted Jesus with these things, but MAT 4:8-9 says, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Do you think we are above our Master? Do you think Satan will not tempt you and me, holding before us an empire that will promise us that we will become someone great? All we have to do is make little compromises to God's Word; we compromise a little here, a little there, and Satan will promise to take us to a land that is better than what we have. When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are asking the Lord to subdue the kingdom of Satan. We must follow Jesus' example as found in V:10, "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." As we begin to behold the kingdom of Christ, we learn to see how all these self-gratifying desires leave the soul wretched and naked and poor. Watch what we hear the Lord Jesus say in REV 3:17-20, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire [That is the precious faith that has been tried in the furnace of affliction], that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed [with the righteousness of Christ], and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see [our wretched condition and the blessedness of the glorious estate of being within the kingdom of serving Christ]. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." The Lord is saying that when He puts His chastening hand upon us, we must not resist it or pray for the Lord to remove the chastening hand. Repent! We are to turn from our evil ways and come to a change of attitude from serving the things of this world and come into the service of Christ's kingdom. When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are asking that we might become zealous and repent and turn from our evil ways. Verse 20 continues, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Behold what? Behold this naked condition we are in by nature; behold the poverty of serving Satan and sin; behold the nakedness, wretchedness, poverty, and blindness of walking in the ways of this world. If any man come to himself and beholds his wretched condition as the prodigal son and turns away from the husks of the swine, turn away from the servitude of Satan and sin, and say "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee," LUK 15:18b, He will hear that prayer. If we will do this; if we will hear His voice, He will open the door and come into our hearts to sup with us, and we will sup with Him. He is saying He will bring us into the kingdom, within the true service of the Lord. The Apostle Paul earnestly warns us in 2CO 2:9-11, "For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." Paul is pointing out our attitude toward the second table of the law. Can we forgive our fellow man? Can we come with the right spirit to our fellow man and with the right attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ? For as we forgive, so will He forgive. It is in the person of Christ that our forgiving heart must be bound lest Satan gain an advantage over us, for Satan is crafty, and he has many devices. Praying, "Thy kingdom come," is a prayer for a walk of obedience and submission to God's will. Then we confess we realize the truth of what we read in GAL 6:7-10, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. [If I seed barley in the soil, I will not harvest corn. If I seed wheat, I should harvest wheat, not barley. Now watch what it says.] For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption [We cannot mix diverse seeds; we cannot plant tares and wheat together and expect to harvest wheat. We cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve the flesh and the Lord. When we pray, `Thy kingdom come,' we are asking the Lord to deliver us from the servitude of the flesh; we will realize that we will harvest whatever we sow; we will not harvest the benefits of the kingdom of Christ by sowing the things of the flesh. Now watch what it says]; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." What does Christ teach us about the spirit of the law? That is what we read about all the way through the six contrasts at the end of Matthew 5. Each of these contrasts show the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is our attitude towards our fellow man and our attitude toward the Lord in the first table of the law, i.e., our motive is for the glory of God, not to glorify self. GAL 6:8b-10 goes on to say, "But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." It is so precious to see how our walking in the kingdom of Christ is measured by what we do unto all men. It is glorifying the Lord when we truly humble ourselves under the second table of the law of love. FOR OUR SECOND POINT , let's consider how our prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is a prayer to be able to serve the kingdom of Christ in this life, i.e., "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."In COL 3:23-25 we read, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." This is what Christ was teaching us in the preparatory language of the Lord's Prayer, i.e., that we don't stand praying to be seen of men, but we must go and pray privately that He may reward us openly. V:24 continues, "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." We are praying that the kingdom of Christ might come and rule in our hearts that we might serve the Lord Christ to receive the reward. Then V:25 says, "But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons." The Lord Jesus Christ is looking at our hearts, to our motive and attitude and purpose. Is it truly for the honor of God? That was the preparatory language in Matthew 6; we do not do these things to be seen of men, but we do it for the glory of God. That is the first petition of our prayer. When we pray, "Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come," we are asking that Christ might be glorified in our hearts while our tongues are confessing that He is Lord! It isn't only that our knees will bow at the name of Jesus, but our hearts shall bow while our tongues shall confess that He is Lord. This is what we see in PHI 2:9-11, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." On the Day of Judgment every knee shall bow; those who came into His kingdom and those who did not will all bow, but does our heart bow? That is the important thing. Does our tongue truly confess to the world? Do we dare to come forth and be numbered, to be counted, to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father? Have we entered into Christ's kingdom, or are we ashamed of Him in this generation? If we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us before His Father. We must confess with our tongues. Those who try to enter in without true repentance are compared to the guest who comes into the wedding supper without a wedding garment. The Lord Jesus Christ gave the parable of the wedding supper to illustrate coming before the Lord without having been cleansed, without true repentance. We read of this in MAT 22:10- 11, "So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment." That wedding garment is the cleansing, sanctifying work of grace; it is two-fold. The wedding garment is the robe of Christ's righteousness, i.e., the Father will look upon His elect in the righteousness of Christ, Who satisfied the law and took away the penalty of sin. He will also look upon him in that wedding garment which we read of in REV 19:8, "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." That fine linen is the work of repentance, Christ formed in us. It is the renewal of the heart by the work of grace in the soul coming into the service of the Lord and entering into the kingdom of Christ. The petition, "Thy kingdom come," pleads the Lord to give us a true spirit of repentance. When we confess with our tongues that Jesus is Lord, we must remember what Jesus said in MAT 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [Many people will confess that Jesus is Lord, but they don't do what He says.] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." If we are going to be likened unto the man who built his house upon the rock, we must not only hear but do the will of God as we read in LUK 6:47-49, "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock...But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Who is Jesus talking to? He is talking to those who did not do what He said, "Ye that work iniquity," are those who did not repent, those who did not have on that wedding garment, those who did not have that change of attitude and life, and those who did not have true remorse over sin. Those who have a true remorse over sin learn to hate sin. This kingdom of Christ becomes manifest by how its subjects use their talents. I want you to think about something. Every person has his talent. What does he do with it? Is it buried in the things of this world or is that talent used for the glory of God? How we use our talents reveals what kingdom we serve in; it reveals whether or not we are truly a part of the kingdom of Christ. We read in MAT 25:14-18, "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." The Lord will call each of us to an accounting of how we have used the talent. He has given us our respective talent. What have we done with it? The kingdom of heaven is compared to this man who was given a talent. Are we burying our talent in the earth? Are we using it for the things of this world? Let's look at an illustration to make the point. For example, you may have a talent for typing, working with people, organization, etc. Are you using that talent exclusively for the things of this earth or do you use it for God's glory? Some people have a talent here and another there. "The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country." Christ has given each person his talent. Later, they will be called for an accounting of what they did with their talents. The kingdom of Christ comes through the instrument of the cross. That kingdom is brought about, worked in the soul, through the cross: the crucifying of self, the crucifying of everything that promotes the flesh, and crucifying the old man of sin. The disciples were striving among themselves as to who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus gave them this illustration in MAT 18:3, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." You shall never enter until everything that exalts the flesh is crucified. Entering the kingdom is not to gratify the flesh, but to serve under Christ's kingly scepter of dominion by entering His service in the way of righteousness. It is very important to understand this. In ROM 14:17 we read, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Serving under this kingdom of righteousness is revealed by our attitude and what we do toward our fellow man under the second table of the law, and by godliness which is the first table of the law, i.e., peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, that we love Him above all, with all our heart, soul, and mind. When the kingdom of heaven comes unto us, the service of our Lord becomes our highest priority; everything else takes second, third, or fourth place. MAT 13:44 says, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field [it is the pearl of great price]; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." The kingdom of heaven is the choicest treasure; it holds the highest priority. We would sacrifice everything and anything for the purpose of serving the Lord in the way of obeying, "Thus saith the Lord." We do not put a price on obedience; it isn't a matter of compromise for this or that. It is a matter of delighting to obey because the Lord says so. We must be able to give up our honor, our property, our everything for the joy of serving the Lord. PSA 112:1 says, "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." The kingdom of heaven is progressive. We must understand that every person does not enter the kingdom of heaven as a mature father in grace. I have experienced the growth in grace and understanding in my own life over many years. The Lord will come with His work of grace; He will identify a sin in us, and we will learn to see that it is sin. Then the Lord will deal with that sin. It is a struggle until we become delivered from the power of that sin. Progressively He gives us to see something else in our heart that is sin. The further we mature in grace, the more we see the sinfulness of sin and desire to serve in Christ's kingdom. Let's look at the following Scriptures which bear this out. Jesus illustrates this progressive growth of the kingdom in MAT 13:31-33, "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds [It had a very small beginning]: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." The kingdom of heaven is progressive; it grows; it enlarges, and it becomes a place of shelter for your soul, like the tree where the birds come and lodge. It begins with the seeding of a very small seed of truth in the soul. As an invading army, the kingdom of Christ takes one post at a time until the whole heart has been subdued. Watch what we see in MAT 13:33, "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Isn't that beautiful to see how it multiplied and grew? When we first enter into the kingdom, when we first enter into serving the Lord, it is like leaven or yeast used in making bread; the yeast is put in the dough, and soon the whole loaf is leavened. The more we see the sinfulness of sin, the more we desire to do His will. The kingdom grows one post at a time. It is important to understand this point. When we see someone the Lord has just enlisted into His army and the kingdom of heaven, we may see a number of things in their life which they still do that we don't understand. How can they do such things if they are enlisted in Christ's kingdom? But you see, the Lord has not yet conquered that next post, that next station in their life. We must see that the Lord is working with them as leaven works in the loaf. The kingdom of heaven will grow. The subjects of Christ's kingdom serve in a voluntary army, not by constraint or compulsion. The Lord has no pleasure in us serving out of compulsion or constraint. I believe the Lord decreed that Adam would fall, but the Lord brought no compulsion upon Adam to fall. The Lord did remove the restraints; He allowed Satan to enter into Adam's heart, and He allowed Adam to fall. It was decreed that Judas would betray Christ because it is spoken of in the Book of Psalms and in prophecy. In JOH 17:12 Jesus says, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." The Lord had certainly decreed that Judas would betray Christ, but how did it happen? The Lord did not put any compulsion upon Judas to betray Christ, but He withdrew His restraining grace. Then, "And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly," JOH 13:27. Judas went out; he went to the chief priests and betrayed Him. The Lord withdrew His restraint and allowed Satan to enter, but Judas certainly acted on his own free will. When the Lord brings His army together, you and I are brought into the service of the Lord. The Lord will not accept your service if it is done grudgingly because you have to or because it is a duty. With such an attitude you are not serving the Lord. The Lord's pleasure is found only in a voluntary service based on the desire of the heart to serve Him. The heart is renewed when the heart's desire is to do the will of the Lord. Then it becomes such a privilege that you may serve the Lord. The renewal of the heart becomes the issue; that is entering the kingdom when it is our delight to do His will. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure," PHI 2:13. David said in PSA 119:175-176, "Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments." David saw that his heart had left the Lord, and David desired that the Lord would come and renew him. What did David mean when he said, "Let my soul live"? Read Psalm 119 and ponder it. What did David mean by living? The entire Psalm 119 goes on about David's pleasure in doing the will of his God, walking in the ways of the Lord. The greatest pleasure in David's life was living to the honor of God. When he had sinned he said, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments." Even in a wayward condition, his soul longed to be able to serve the Lord. No person will ever serve the Lord grudgingly as a member of the kingdom of heaven. If we have thoughts in our heart that it is a duty to do the Lord's service, then we are not in the right spirit before the Lord. David said in PSA 119:111-116, "Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. [That is serving the Lord!] I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope." When we do the will of God because it is a duty, we are in a sad condition. When we have become reconciled unto the Lord, we must do that which is pleasing to the Lord because it is our chief desire. The desire of a renewed heart looks to serving the Lord always, "even unto the end." David didn't serve God to earn heaven; he didn't do it for merit. He did it because he loved the Lord, and it was the joy and desire of his heart to do the service of his God. This is the heart's desire of those who are renewed by grace. The subjects of Christ's kingdom serve acceptably in a voluntary army; no one will serve by compulsion or by constraint. When evildoers came to entice David, trying to lead him astray, he cautioned them to depart. Then he turned his eye to the Lord asking to be upheld. What did David mean when he says, "that I may live"? The life of his soul and the life of his spirit was to do the will of God and come into the kingdom of Christ by doing that which is pleasing to the Lord. There isn't one thing written in the Word of God that we would do grudgingly if our joy is to do His will. Why? It's the Lord's will! The least of His commandments becomes of equal importance to us as the greatest. The prayer of our text, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," is a prayer to enter God's service. Then we will be able to say with David, "and let me not be ashamed of my hope." David did not want to be lead astray by evildoers; he wanted to be able to walk in the service of the Lord that His kingdom might come for the glory of God, and that all things might be to His glory. Amen. |
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