How the Kingdom Comes

Matthew 6:9-15

"Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Two things about this:

One, the kingdom of God comes when we do God’s will.  When we don’t do what God wants, we expand Satan’s kingdom.  We tend to think we have our own kingdom, but that’s a pipe dream.  As Bob Dylan said, you gotta serve somebody.  Do God’s will, and you usher in God’s kingdom another inch at a time.

Second,  JC emphasizes after giving us the Lord’s Prayer, that forgiving others is a huge piece of doing God’s will.  It’s the only line of the prayer He comments on, and it’s the most convicting one, when we really think about it.  When we think of obeying God, we tend to think about self-denial, and Lent-y kinds of things.  Don’t swear, be more reverent, more serious, don’t eat or drink too much.  

But a key piece of self-denial is how we treat others: admitting when we are wrong, and forgiving others for their offenses against us.  That is key to true spiritual self-denial.  It’s like Jonah waiting for God to punish Nineveh.  If you are demanding vindication and justice against your enemies, if you are indulging your anger or grievance, if you are obsessed with how others have offended you, instead of wishing them to change and be blessed by God, you are far from the kingdom of God.

This reminds us of our need to confess our sins.

3/21/22