Thy Kingdom Come

 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

There are a lot of verses in scripture referencing God’s kingdom. The most common of all is in the Lord’s prayer where we were taught to pray, “thy kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

Why do we pray for God’s kingdom and for His will to be done here?  When will it happen and what does it mean?

In this lifetime we are not yet experiencing God’s kingdom on earth. When Christ died, rose again and ascended into heaven, He said He would return. When He returns, Christ will reign over His kingdom here on earth. When we pray the Lord’s prayer we are asking for His kingdom to come soon. We want Him to return soon.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36

There was a lot of confusion in Christ’s time because of the prophecies that spoke of Him as a reigning King. Many expected that He would overthrow the government and usher in His kingdom right then. They didn’t understand that His death on the cross was for our sins and was the final blood sacrifice under the law of Moses. His sacrifice has to be accomplished to bridge the gap between us and God.

He told His disciples what would happen, but they just couldn’t wrap their heads around it having been taught the scriptures about His kingdom all their lives. But we know the truth.We have a kingdom to look forward to.

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20-21

But what does this mean for us now? How is waiting for Christ’s kingdom something we need to think about and what about when we die? The scripture from Luke says that when the kingdom of God comes to earth, people will not know. When someone says to us, “look, there it is,” we know that is not true.

When Christ said the kingdom of God is in the midst of you, he was talking Himself  right then – He was the kingdom and He was with them, but He had to die and return to heaven so that we could be saved.

We must be wise in our looking for the kingdom of God.

But that is not all. The kingdom of God is also ours when we leave this earth. We can look forward to being in the kingdom when we die. It is our desire to enter the kingdom of the Lord and to do that we must live our lives for Him, not only in lip service but in truth of heart. We are all sinners but as believers in Christ we are forgiven of our sins and cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

When we pray the Lord’s prayer, saying thy kingdom come, we are also rededicating ourselves to Him and affirming that we are ready to enter His kingdom. The world does not understand. They are no longer looking for a king as in the days of Christ, nor do they have hope in the kingdom of heaven. They are blind and will die in their sins unless we tell them about the kingdom.

And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Matthew 13:11

There is so much that is impossible for us to understand. The kingdom that will be when Christ returns and the kingdom that exists now in heaven, and being born again so that we might enter into His kingdom.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

All we need to remember is that Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies about His kingdom and that it is not here yet, but we can enter it when we die if we live for Him and believe. One day, He will rule over all. He will come again as He promised. His kingdom will come, and His will shall be done on earth as it is now in heaven.

We need to be ready. We need to be watchful. We need to live as Christ lived and show the world His kingdom within us so that they too may enter the kingdom and have eternal life with Christ.

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. Zechariah 14:9

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19


Prayer: Lord, let thy kingdom come soon to this world we pray. The world is getting eviler every day and we want you to come. While we are here, let us show your kingdom to those around us and make known your great salvation that is available to us all. If our days on earth end before you come Lord, we look forward to living eternally with you in your kingdom in heaven.  Thank you for providing this great salvation for us. Amen





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