Since a very young age, I was taught The Lord's Prayer. I have particularly found memories of saying The Lord's Prayer when we would gather at my grandparents for a special meal - for holidays or special celebrations.
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 trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The other day I was meditating on the words of The Lord's Prayer, specifically on the phrase Thy Kingdom come.
John
the baptist had a single message that he repeated throughout his
ministry
- Matthew 3:2; Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
- Mark 1:15; The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!
Likewise,
Jesus had a single message that He repeated throughout His ministry
- Matthew 4:17; From that time on Jesus began to preach,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
- Luke 10:11; Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.
Jesus
even called His followers to bring this same message
- Matthew 10:7; As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
In
Matthew 5, Jesus begins His most famous teaching, “The Sermon on
the Mount”, and He begins by announcing various blessings to the
people listening to Him.
- The first blessing that Jesus announces relates to His Kingdom message
- Matthew 5:3; Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- The last blessing that Jesus announces also relates to His Kingdom message
The
way Jesus announces these blessings to the poor in spirit and he
persecuted is much different than the way He was preaching – and
teaching – to the masses.
- There is a distinct difference between the knowledge that “the Kingdom of heaven is near” and this “ownership” of the Kingdom that Jesus announces to the broken and the persecuted – “theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”.
I
could tell you that the Kingdom of heaven is near, and you may
believe me, but that won’t make a difference in your life.
John
3:3; Very
truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are
born again.
- We must SEE – recognize – the Kingdom of God by being born again
Mark
10:15; Truly
I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a
little child will never enter it.
- We must RECEIVE – acknowledge and accept – the Kingdom of God
- We must ENTER the Kingdom of God – but how?
John
3:5; Very
truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are
born of water and the Spirit.
- We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by being born of water and spirit – transformation
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 who is in
heaven.
- We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by doing the will of God, our Father
Acts
14:22; We
must go through many hardships to
enter the kingdom of God
- We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by going through hardships and persecution
Matthew
5:20; For
I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter
the kingdom of heaven.
- We must ENTER the Kingdom of God by accepting Christ’s righteousness as ours
1
Corinthians 6:9; Wrongdoers
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:Neither the
sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex
with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
- We will INHERIT the Kingdom of God when we become righteous through Christ
1
Corinthians 15:50; Flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable
inherit the imperishable.
- We cannot INHERIT the Kingdom of God unless we are fully transformed by God
The message for us, today, is simple; the Kingdom of heaven is near
- We must first SEE IT
- Then we are able to RECEIVE IT
- We must then ENTER IT
- So that we may INHERIT IT
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