The Lord's Prayer - part 2

Sermon notes by Howard Taylor

Thy Kingdom come.

King come, God comes.

James Erwin was one of the first few men to reach the moon.
I heard him interviewed on TV
He said that on the moon he prayed for the first time in his life.
(Expensive way to get converted!)
He looked up to the earth with all its beauty.
He thought of his wife - somewhere on the earth.
He thought he must return and put right a quarrel he had had with her
He thought of all the wars and hunger on the planet he was looking at.
Then he said: "What is more important than man walking on the moon is that God should walk on earth."

Often it is Our kingdom tha matters to us - Are we power hungry loving to  boss others around?

God's kingdom does come.
Try to compare 1st and 2nd Coming of Christ.

• His victory over evil powers in his work of driving out demons. 

  • Finally all evil will be cast out.
• His compassion and forgiveness to the sinner.
  • On the last day "All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
• His terrible judgement of pride and selfrighteousness is seen in his confrontation with the religious leaders.
  • Of the last day we read:

    • Matt 7:21-23
    21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
    22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
    23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'   (NIV)
• His victory over decay, disease and death in his healing miracles,
  • Of the last day we read that there will be: 

    • no more pain. (Rev 21:4)
• a foretaste of the new creation in his mastery over the forces of nature.
  • On the last day all of nature will be healed. St. Paul tells us:

    • Rom 8:21
    21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (NIV)
  • At Christ's first coming His teaching explained  the meaning of the kingdom of God and his whole life gave us a knowledge of God and ourselves. 
    • In His New Creation we are told:

      • Isa 11:9
      the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (NIV)
    Now He does not force us  - persuasion. 
    Then it will come with power and no resisting.
    In this life we choose whether to belong to that Kingdom or not.
    =========================================

    Thy Will be done.

    Often we are concerned about our will -wanting our own way.

    The will of God implies He has a purpose for His creation.
    Famous atheist scientists such as Ricahrd Dawkins and Peter Atkins love to tell us there is no purpose.
    Of course their statements cannot be demontrated from any science. Unfortuanaely many of their hearers believe they are speaking as scientists.
    (See  a summary of my essay `Why the Universe Must have purpose' or go to the full essay)
     

    First use of `purpose' in NT:

    Luke 7:30
    30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptised by John.)   (NIV)
    Possible to reject God's Purpose.


    Second Use:

    Acts 2:23
    23 Christ was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.   (NIV)
    God's purpose was that Christ would die - bearing our sins.
    Third Use:
    Rom 8:28-29
    28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
    29 For those God foreknew he also predestined (purposed) to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, … (NIV)
    God's purpose is that we be like Christ - bearing the very image of God.
    As Nicky Gumbel, in the Alpha course  asks us:
    Do we want our report on the last day to read:
    Excellent performance but he  missed the whole point?

    Submit to that will.
    It will be perfect freedom - will of the Father not the boss or dictator.

    We may feel inadequate.
    Not enough will power.

    There is another to be with us to give us the will.

    Jesus: 
    Not my will but Thine be done.

    This Prayer is not just our own lives but an expectation for all creation.
     
     

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