Kingdom Living

If you would like a title for our main message today, it is simply, Kingdom Living. Kingdom Living. And if you have your Bibles, let's open them again and let's turn to Luke 11. Luke 11. We're going to continue in our study series in the Gospel of Luke. We're going to begin here in verse 1 and 2, where we not only continue in the Gospel of Luke, but we continue in our specific study of what has been deemed and called the model prayer. The model prayer, where we have a disciple of Christ ask him, teach us to pray.

And so we've been going through his response to that question. And here it is. Luke records Luke 11, beginning in verse 1. Now it came to pass that he, Jesus, himself was praying in a certain place, and Jesus ceased. He stopped, and one of his disciples asked, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. Verse 2, here's the answer. When you pray, Jesus said, say, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. That was our focus last time. And here's our focus today. He instructs them next to pray. He says to say, Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Let's stop there. So as we come to Christ's instruction, continued instruction, on this topic of prayer, we do want to address this whole topic. And again, we're simply titling it, kingdom living. And perhaps one of the first questions to ask when you come to this section of the model prayer is, why pray this? Why pray, your kingdom come, Father, and your will be done. Your kingdom, your will. Perhaps we could ask, why pray this? Because is there any other kingdom that can come to our lives? Why is it your kingdom? Well, the simple answer to that is yes.

When we open the pages of the Bible, we discover that the Bible is essentially a story of two kingdoms. Augustine, who was an early religious philosopher, he was a student of the Bible. He expressed his own interpretations and understandings of his own philosophy. And in some of his writings, he exclaimed that there were two cities, and he titled them the City of God and the City of Man.

And in fact, he exclaimed that these two cities were growing simultaneously with one another. And he defined the City of Man clearly, and I think very helpfully. He stated that the City of Man, quote, is a city of man, by man, and for man. In other words, man was the creator of this city. Man therefore establishes its values. And Augustine went on to write that the City of Man, its whole purpose is essentially to glorify men and women. And it was established and erected for the purpose that men and women would be gratified in it, and essentially deified in it, we could say.

They would be the god of this city. This is the City of Man. This is man's kingdom, if you will, here on earth. And although Augustine, of course, didn't have a fullness of understanding, his expressions on this particular matter were quite accurate.

Because if you look into the pages of the Bible, you do discover, in fact, a city of man. We won't turn there, but for your notes, Genesis 11. Genesis 11, you have men and women building the Tower of Babel, and you have men and women coming together, and they said to one another, let's build ourselves a city, let's make a name for ourselves. It's going to be a city of man by man for man. Again, we won't turn there, but the endeavors of the City of Man and man's kingdom can also be found in Daniel 4, for example.

Maybe that you can write that down for your notes. Of course, the very familiar passage of Scripture where Nebuchadnezzar, I picture him walking out of his balcony, looking as far as I could see, and there exclaiming, and asking the question in all of his pride, is this not the great Babylon which I have built by my power for the glory of my majesty, he said. So he was building a city to himself, a city of man.

In the unfolding pattern of humanity, men and women continue to, we know, deify ourselves, exalt ourselves, build to ourselves our own kingdom. It is a city of man in which we make our own rules, and ironically, it's a city of man in which we break our own rules as we see constantly. You know, we can do exactly what we please in this city. Now, at the same time, the Bible makes clear of the truth that there is, in fact, a city of God, as Augustine expressed it, and it's in direct contrast to the city of man. There couldn't be any more contrast. This kingdom of God is, in fact, established by God, and of course it differs from the city of man in its standards, its purposes, and ultimately its destiny. We won't turn there, but for your notes, Hebrews 1110. Hebrews 1110. What do we find Abraham waiting for? He's waiting for the city, and it says he's waiting for the city in which its foundations, whose builder and maker is God. So, Abraham was waiting for the city of God, we could say. One more from the book of Revelation, Revelation 21. For your notes, John records what? He says, I saw a holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of and from God. From God. That's Revelation 21. We do, in fact, have two cities presented to us from Scripture, two kingdoms, if you will, again, in direct opposition to one another.

What's interesting is you will find that the Bible actually states that we are, in fact, by nature, part of the city of man. We are born in such a way where our preoccupations are with that city. We're born in such a way where our preoccupations are with ourselves. We're born in such a way where we're preoccupied with what we might become, how we might be elevated, if you will. And you and I will continue in that city unless and until we are transferred to a new city, transferred by the means of being redeemed by God's grace from the city of man to the city of God, being part of a new kingdom at that time. And from that moment, then, we dedicate ourselves to kingdom living and how we think. Everything we think is for that new kingdom. Everything we do is an allegiance to that new kingdom, a whole new way of living, ushered into that new kingdom. Now, we know that the ultimate fulfillment, of course, the ultimate ushering ourselves into that new kingdom will come at Christ's return. God willing, we are part of those first batch of kingdom kids, if you will, and we are transformed into, from physical into spiritual. Unless that occurs, we will not truly see the kingdom of God. We know that. That's the ultimate fulfillment. But it is for some. Today, we are called into the kingdom living reality. And to those Christ says, here's what you are to pray. Your kingdom come, Father. Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. We are even able to begin the prayer with the term Father, that intimate relationship, indicated above that intimate relationship, where we can pray these words now. But I'll tell you, until you and I are truly transferred from the kingdom of man, into the kingdom of God, we will not truly be able to pray this part of Christ's model prayer. Because I propose to you today, this is quite a remarkable part of this model prayer to pray. To even have these words be uttered from our lips, these words, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, can you truly pray this? Can I truly pray these words today? Now, don't answer too quickly, because we really need to understand what we're asking for when we pray this part of the prayer. Father, Father, today, living on this earth, living in the midst of this kingdom of man, this city of man, I am now acknowledging to you my devotion to your kingdom. I'm submitting to its rules, making an allegiance to its way. I'm no longer fulfilling my will, fulfilling the kingdom's will, your will, Father. I'm leaving behind my will, which is part of the natural kingdom in which I've been born into, and I'm submitting to your heavenly will. In other words, I believe and I acknowledge that I've been redeemed by your son, the king, and I now pledge my life to living as part of that heavenly kingdom today, as I ultimately wait for its ultimate fulfillment to come to this earth. My pledge is my allegiance not to this kingdom, this city, but to you. I am going to live my life raising my eyes up from earthly things and raising my heart and my eyes up to your kingdom and my king, your son.

So, I wonder if you will pray this today. We can pray this. Each one of us here today, if we can acknowledge that he is our Father and we've entered into that covenant relationship, we can pray this, and I hope we do pray this. It must be our prayer. Why? Well, as redeemed, as transferred over from this kingdom to God's kingdom, we are now part of his children, heirs of the city of God, his kingdom, and I just really want us to grab on to, first of all, that identity.

Before you begin to talk about the activity as being part of a kid of the kingdom today, before you get to activity, it's always important to really establish the foundation of your identity, who you are today. Because without knowing who you are, you'll never be able to then bend your will and to participate in all the new kingdom activities that God requires. You've got to know who you are today, and ultimately, I've said this phrase before, be who you are. That's so often the theme of the Bible. You are now the kingdom kids. Be who you are. Grab on to that identity. Live in that way from this point. It changes everything.

And when you begin to think about this conversation and be able to really couch this understanding between these two cities, you begin to look at scripture, and you do begin to discover that all throughout scripture, you will see this theme run throughout. And one of the most direct conversations we find with regards to this new way of thinking, with regards to lifting our eyes and living not of the things of this earth, but living in a new way, one of the most direct conversations, which you find is found in the writings of Paul to the people, God's people of Colossae. I'd like to now turn to that to direct conversation as we explore this further. Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. If you'd like to open your turn there now, Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. What we find is this very thing that Paul addresses this whole process of claiming and believing and understanding your identity, and therefore allowing that to then change your activity. So Paul is going to first address their identity here, these believers in Colossae, and he's going to begin to explain to them the whole new radical way of kingdom thinking and kingdom living. Let's see this. So Paul begins to educate God's people on this new identity and new activity that they're now supposed to be participating in. Colossians 3, let's read just verses 1 through 4.

Colossians 3 verse 1, Paul writes to them, and he writes to us today, If then you were raised with Christ, if this is true of you, if this is your new identity, if this is true, you've been raised with Christ, we could say our king, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Verse 3, For you have died, you know, you have a whole new identity now, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Let's just stop there. So again, if this is true of you, you have to answer that. Are you a kingdom kid today? Have you made that transfer through God's grace from the city of man to the city of God? If that's true, raise your eyes, he says. In the middle of verse 1, seek those things where your king is. That's Christ. Verse 2, set your mind on things above. Get your mind out of the concerns here in the city of man, we could say. From the point that your king has raised you up, everything, this is your new identity, you are now a representative of a new kingdom. So that, verse 4, ultimately, when Christ appears, verse 4, you will appear with him in glory and all the glory of that coming king. So again, while the fullness of that fulfillment is yet to come, today, today, God has made you a citizen of this new kingdom. That's your identity. This is who you are today.

So, as you and I are looking at this model prayer in a fresh way, and when we're preparing now to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, the first thing to consider when those words come out of your mouth is this issue of identity. You need to be grounded in the fact that you are a citizen because our king Jesus has made that possible. And in coming under his new rulership, it changes everything. If you can state today that you are a new kid of the kingdom, I almost said new kid on the block. That would have not been good. It's a dreadful boy band. If you're not familiar with new kids on the block, that's good. Don't google that when you get home. I don't think I had any of their CDs, but... But if you are a new kid of the kingdom, and that is your identity, and I want to propose to you today that you are, step up to it. Then it changes everything. It changes everything. And that's where Paul now moves in his letter to God's people then. If this is your identity, then this is your activity. This is what he begins, he moves on in the letter with verses 5 through 11.

You're under this new rulership, and let me tell you, he says, a little bit about the juxtaposition between the city that you were in and the city that you are now coming into, the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God. And like we said earlier, they're in complete contrast to one another. So he now addresses the coming out of the city of man in verses 5 through 11. So the king is coming, verse 4, verse 5, therefore, therefore, he says, put to death, verse 5, your members which are on the earth. So in other words, put to death, this is what you have to do, put to death everything of the city of man. This is one of the first things that we do. What are the qualities? What are the standards of living in the city of man? Well, here it is. This is what we need to put to death in changing our identity. Put to death fornication, uncleanness, passion. If you look at passion, it's an evil passion. It's an impure passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things of the city of man, I'll add that. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. So while we're still on this earth, we're no longer walking in this city. Verse 8, here's more. But now you, and I'll add, kids of the kingdom, but now you, you yourselves are to put off. Here's some more, all these. If the first list was a beginning, here's some more. And we really get to really some really nuanced city of man things that we need to put off. Anger, wrath, malice. These are very, these are deep things of the heart. Blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds. And I've put on a new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. So we have the knowledge that we're part of a new kingdom. Verse 11, so we're put on a new man, renewed in the knowledge according to the image of him who created him, where there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, or Cethian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Let's stop there. So again, these are all, this is the list of the city of man here on the earth. Remember, we've raised our eyes to a new kingdom. So you got to put off these things, fornication, uncleanness, passion. Prior to the service, someone exclaimed, you know, there's a lot of time between the end of the fall holy days and before we get to Passover. And perhaps that amount of time is so that we can take a look at these things and really go to work and pray now, Father, what parts of this city, the city of man, do I need to put off? Bring those to my awareness. Give me the strength to put these things off here. Start living in a new way. If you have this in a new identity, you're going to behave in a new way.

By doing this, we're going to be introducing the city of man to the coming king. They're going to see the coming king and the coming kingdom through us as we start to put off these things here.

And wrath is coming upon these things. Wrath is coming upon the city of man. That's what it says in verse 6. The wrath of God is coming upon these things, the things in which you once walked in.

Often people will say to me, I just don't like the concept of wrath coming upon these things from God, a wrathful God. And I don't know. I might ask, would we want a surgeon, for example, approaching a spreading disease in any other way than a wrathful way? We want that surgeon to approach that spreading disease in a way to root it out completely. That's the approach God is taking. He's very merciful, but what God is doing to his kingdom kids today is he's rooting out these things if you will allow him. And if you dedicate yourself to these things, he will help you through his spirit to root out these things. As you're putting off that old clothing, you know, you think about putting off and in a minute we're going to put on some new garments. Paul's going to talk about that. So you could be thinking about garments and kind of give you a visual, and that way we're putting off the old clothing as we enter into this new kingdom. You know, in verse 11, by us putting off these things, it really is what makes us distinct then while we're living here in the city of man. So for the new kingdom kids, the things of the city of man that used to identify us, verse 11, whether we were what nationalities, free or slave, those things. See, those are distinctions of the city of man, but when you move into the city of God, there's new distinctions. And it really, we're distinguishing ourselves not by these things, but now our distinctions are in how we live. That becomes our new distinctions. So they begin to view us, and they see how we live, and that's our new identity. So the things that used to distinguish us in the city of man, nationalities, all these different things, we have new distinctions. It's our behavior. It's our character. It's living in such a way.

So kingdom kids put off the things of the city of man. That's the first thing we do, but you can't stop there. We now must clothe ourselves with new clothing, and that's where Paul moves on to next. And he's going to now give us a series of things to put on. So as we're thinking about preparing for the Passover, think about it in these two areas. What do I need to put off? But also, what do I need to put on? So verses 12 through 17, here's the new kingdom clothing, if you will. This is how you live in the city of God. Verse 12 through 17. Therefore, verse 12, as the elect of God, holy, so Christ has made us holy, beloved, we're loved by God, he's placed his love upon us, put on, here it is, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, you also, kingdom kids, if your king forgave you, you must also do. Verse 14, above all, these things put on love, which is the bond of perfect perfection. You know, maybe love is the belt, you know, of this garment. Just it binds all this perfect clothing together. Verse 15, and let the peace of God rule. Rule. So what kingdom are we pledging our allegiance to? Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And then this great summary statement, verse 17, kingdom kids, we could add, verse 17, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Now stop there. So verse 12, you know, you were chosen. Verse 12, you were chosen, set apart. He placed his love upon us. He made this new city available to us. Now we're citizens of his new kingdom. So we express thanksgiving. And then speaking of this new identity and then the new behavior, it's all there in that summary statement of verse 17, whatever you do, so from the time you get up to the time you lay your head down on the pillow, whatever you do, this is your new identity. Do everything in your new king's name, our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father who sent him to us, you know. So whatever you do, that's a very comprehensive statement. But this is what we've been called to step up to. What city do you live in? Well, if you identify, if your identification is a kid of the kingdom, this is your new clothing here, new garments here.

So what garments are we to put on? Here's, you know, this is a good list to really begin to look at as we're preparing for Passover and then upcoming months. Put on there in verse 12, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering. You know, you can picture that this is after you put your old city of man garments in the garbage pail, you now, God has now laid out these new white garments on the bed there. And this belt of love, we could say to bind it all. White garments, you know, for your notes, Revelation, it's one of the areas, Revelation 3.5 speaks of being clothed in white garments. So I like to picture this as garments here. You're no longer wearing the clothes you used to. And so with this understanding and this new activity with your new identity, think of how incongruent, think about inconsistent, think about inappropriate it is to then take these white garments off, go over to the trash pail, and put on those old garments and start participating in that activity. Think of how inappropriate that is now that you are living in this new kingdom.

It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't line up with who you are. You can imagine you can imagine that doing that and going and I do it and I know you do it. We all do this. And I just think whenever I, at times in my life, put on those garments, that first list, participate in those things in the city of man, I just think my first prayer is forgive me. And I just think that's not who I am. It's not who I want to be. It's not who I am. I don't want to participate in that activity of the city of man. I'm no longer part of that city. Oh, God, Father, forgive me, you know, and he will. He'll help you put off those garments and he'll lay the clothes back out. So putting off and putting on. We don't want to put the old clothing back on. I don't know if you've ever, have any of you ever rooted around in your parents' dressers when you're a kid and put on some of their old clothing?

I'm thinking of, I guess I can remember some of the the 70s clothing, you know, boy, there was one of those hideous times of our society as far as style was concerned. Everything was orange and brown, you know, big collars. But, you know, you would go and put those on. You say, boy, dad, did you ever wear these, you know, and although, and you know, I'm talking about the idea of not going back and putting on those old clothes, although this is not a good analogy because I just know there's kids today on the streets wearing my dad's clothing, you know, I just know it. But I'm sure they paid a lot more money for it. I think it's moving on now. I think we're now on to the 80s, perhaps. So that's a bad example because they are putting on the old clothing, but bringing it back to the spiritual, we're not to go back and to put on that clothing that we put off. It's not who we are. And again, it's just, wow, you can look in the mirror and just think, this is so inappropriate of me to wear this clothing. You know, you're looking at the mirror and why am I participating in this activity? This is not the city I want to be in. It's not the city to whom I've been transferred to, you know, out of. But, you know, and it just don't stop there. We got to put on these new garments. This is love and action, really. This is really active. This is the activity. Tender mercies, the garments of tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering. By the way, I'll remind you again, this is not activity that's natural to us. It's not natural to us. But this is the activity we need to participate in. So, you will feel like putting on these garments. That's why we pray, your will be done. This is a matter of the wills. It's a matter of the wills. It doesn't matter how you feel. You have to wear these clothing. You know, it's one thing to put on the garment of mercy towards someone who has offended you. I don't want to put that garment on when someone's offended me, you know. And then, of all things, it's not only mercy, it's tender mercy.

If someone's offended you, it's the last garment you want to put on. It's tender mercies. But this is the city that we're to be participating in. We're lifting our eyes up. Again, it's not natural. So, you have to pray, bend my will to yours. First of all, Father, give me the desire to extend tender mercies. Because I don't want to, you know. Pray for the desire. Pray for his heart and his will to be done in our lives. And by the way, it's remarkable. Look at this garment in the city of God there in verse 13. Did you know that one of the garments is bearing with one another?

I find that remarkable. So, if you, as you're dwelling in the city of God, one of the garments you put on is to bear with one another. Bear with one another! All of us are unbearable at times, right? And all of us know people that are unbearable themselves at times, you know. But we're... what city are we living in? In the city of man, if someone is unbearable, what do you do? You cut them off. You cut them off. You move on. Put them out of your lives. In the city of God, you bear with them. You don't cut them off. You see? So, it all is how you deal with each other, depending on which city you live in. It's one of our garments.

And forgiveness. You know, the garment of forgiveness. The people of Colossae, if you take a look at to whom Paul was riding at this particular time, God's people, they were threatened, slandered, persecuted, rejected. Their natural incentive, living in the city of man, would have been vengeance. They would have... if they remained living in the city of man, they would have put on the old garment of vengeance. But living in the city of God, their garment they are to put on is forgiveness. Forgiveness. Major theme of the Passover coming up. So, bear with one another, and forgiving one another. If you're having trouble forgiving someone, just continue to read there in verse 13. Kind of will help you with leading yourself to the ability to forgive someone. Forgive one another if they have a complaint against you. Verse 13. And here it is. Here's the little poke in the rib. Even as Christ forgave you. So, you also must do. So, let me remind you what your identity is. Let me remind you how you're even dwelling in this city of God. It's because Christ forgave you. So, you as a kingdom kid, this is the garment you are to put on. You're representing me while living there on earth. And again, as I'm putting, as I'm resisting putting on this garment of forgiveness, I know by reading this verse, if I'm resisting that, I'm diminishing my own need of forgiveness, and I'm elevating the other person's need of forgiveness.

That's really the activity I'm doing when I'm resisting this, putting this garment on of forgiveness. I'm diminishing my own need, and I'm somehow elevating their need as being more significant. You know, I don't want to do that. What city am I living in?

And it's perhaps one of the—I will say this really is one of the toughest garments to live in, to put on the garment of forgiveness. And this is so true. I saw this quote by C.S. Lewis. Quote—this is so true. Quote, forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive. Unquote.

Man, I can counsel people left and right about the need for forgiveness. Oh, but when it hits my own heart, you know, whoo, that's a little bit tougher, you know. But with God, He will help you, you know, and it really comes to ultimately all these things. Verse 15, it's a matter of who you're allowing to rule you. Verse 15, we must let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called into one body and be thankful. We're called into this body. We're going to have to bear with one another. We're going to have to forgive one another. What helps us is that we're thankful. They were even called together. In all of our difficulties and blemishes and all of it all together, we've been called into this new kingdom with its new kingdom living. So as you think about the Passover, just really ultimately, after all of your study, after all your preparation, I want you to do as Paul commends here, just allow Thanksgiving just to fill you. All of our struggle, all of our troubles individually and with one another, just be thankful. As we heard in the special music, there's purpose in all of it. None of this occurs to us without flowing through God's hands first. We're now part of His kingdom, part of the city of God, and we're to show the world who the King is. It's by wearing all of these garments there.

Thankfulness. Paul finishes out his thought here, and we will too, here in Colossians 3, verses 16 and 17. Let this word, verse 16, of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms. This is what we're doing here today, in hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, in whatever you do in word or deed, do in the name of your Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, the Father through Him. Thanksgiving. Allow all this to flow through our gratitude for being part of and transferred over into this new city as we await for its ultimate fulfillment, God willing, soon. So as we conclude, I'd like to ask of each of you a renewed commitment, a renewed commitment to this new city. Be thankful you have been transferred over, redeemed by God's grace, to be a part of this new kingdom.

Acknowledge, receive, accept that new identity, and allow that truth to transform you into kingdom living and all of the activity. So think deeply about this part of the prayer and your devotion to the kingdom, our soon-coming King, and a new devotion to leave behind all the things that are part of this city of man. Commit ourselves today. As we may pray in a greater way, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.