Study Guide: "Praying Like Jesus, Part Three"

Text: Matthew 6:10

OPEN:

We seldom notice that Jesus taught his disciples to seek God’s kingdom and will before making their petitions and requests.  “Thy kingdom come and thy will be done” precedes “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Jesus told his disciples to focus on God’s will rather than on their needs.  He said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (i.e. material needs) will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33).

Even more revealing, Jesus told his disciples to focus on God’s kingdom before they focused on God’s will.  Understanding God’s kingdom is the key to discerning God’s will.  Another way of saying this would be that kingdom concerns and demands come before personal desire and preference.  To seek God’s will without understanding his kingdom is like setting out on a journey without a map.  Once we glimpse the kingdom of God, finding our path becomes simpler.  The question becomes, “How may I work to establish the kingdom of God?”

Kingdom citizenship means kingdom building takes priority and that God’s will for us is inseparably connected to that task. Many of us have ignored our responsibility to be about the work of the kingdom.  We have assumed God’s kingdom will only come when Christ returns.  This is not what Jesus taught.  According to Jesus, the kingdom is within us, waiting to be expressed and experienced on earth as it is in heaven. 

I. God’s Kingdom is Different From the Kingdoms of this World.

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

He was reminding us that the kingdoms of this world are not identical with the kingdom of God.  

There are many competing kingdoms in this world: dictatorships and democracies, socialism and capitalism, corporations and religions.  Some have been more successful than others or at different times.

Often, Christianity, rather than standing in critique and opposition to these kingdoms, has imitated them.

II.  The Kingdom of God is usually the very opposite of what you  would expect.

Donald Kraybill, in his book, The Upside-Down Kingdom, suggests: “the kingdom of God points to an inverted, or upside-down way of life that contrasts with the prevailing social order.”

In this upside-down kingdom, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, the exalted will be humbled and the humbled will be exalted, sinners are forgiven and welcomed while the self-righteous are chastised, the poor are blessed and the rich condemned, the lost are found and the dead are made alive, the lion lays down with the lamb and spears are reshaped into pruning hooks.  This is the language of the kingdom (James Mulholland).

Indeed, the consistency with which the kingdom of God is the opposite of the kingdoms of this world should serve as a warning.  Conventional wisdom and common sense are not signs of the kingdom of God.

III.  Most importantly, God’s kingdom is most concerned with those who have been ignored, neglected, and even oppressed by the kingdoms of this world.

Jesus began his ministry with similar words; “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

Jesus seemed to think the kingdom of God would only appear as we work to eliminate poverty, free those who are prisoners (either of their own making or of others), give sight to the blind (especially those blind to their responsibility), and release the oppressed.

IV.  Our Role is to Remake Earth According to the Pattern in  Heaven.

In the context of the kingdom, seeking God’s will is always discerning our role in making earth as it is in heaven.

Establishing God’s kingdom is not about large financial donations, ministries that look more like corporations, or churches that resemble shopping malls.  It will appear in the most unexpected places, seem small and insignificant in contrast to the kingdoms of this world, and will be most obvious in those places where men and women are acting in ways counter to the kingdoms of this world.

The workers of the kingdom will be recognizable because they always seem odd.

They do the will of God even when it seems absurd.  This is because they seek God’s kingdom first and realize His will is for them to order their lives accordingly as kingdom citizens.

CLOSE:

The will of God has always been to see his kingdom established on earth as it is in heaven.

Unfortunately, we have not only resisted this call, we have explained it away.

This call to kingdom citizenship is a radical call to self-denial.

Most churches downplay the responsibilities of a relationship with God and emphasize the benefits.  No wonder many have rejected the church.  If the church is not committed to changing the world, it is irrelevant.

What would it mean if Christians saw themselves as kingdom citizens first, and committed themselves to the kingdom of God?

(Dr. Dane Fowlkes, pastor)