Kingdom Living

All right, well, if you like a title to our messages, the title for our afternoon main sermon study is, Kingdom Living. Kingdom Living. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to open them up, and we're going to turn to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11, the Gospel of Luke. We are going to continue in our study series in the Gospel of Luke, and specifically the portion of Scripture here that deals with Christ's giving instruction on how to pray. So this is an important topic. Let's see what he says. We've been through the first half, but let's get to our focus here. Luke 11. We'll begin reading verse 1 and 2. Here it is. Luke records that it came to pass that he, that's Jesus, himself was praying in a certain place when he ceased, when he stopped. Well, it is that one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. So verse 2, he said to them, when you pray, say, our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And we went over that last study. And here's the focus for our study today. Christ continues, pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Stop there. So again, we come to this portion of Christ's instructions here regarding his instruction on the topic of prayer. And again, I just want to simply title this message, Kingdom Living. And maybe the most striking thing when you come to a phrase like this is to wonder why. Why pray this phrase? Your kingdom come, you know, speaking to the Father, your Father, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So your kingdom, your will. And we could ask, why? Why pray your kingdom come?

You know, is there any other kingdom that can come into our lives? You know, that's a good question. Well, the simple answer to that is yes, absolutely.

When we open the pages of the Bible, what we do discover is actually that the Bible is a story, the story of essentially a tale of two kingdoms. Augustine, who was an early religious writer and philosopher, he was one of the early philosophers to express this understanding. In his philosophy in the history and the study of the Bible, he explained that there were two cities, and he titled them, one city was the city of man, and the other city was the city of God, and that they were growing together simultaneously, he said. And he defined the city of man very clearly, and he defined it, I believe, very helpfully. He said that the city of man is a city of man, by man, and for man. In other words, man is the creator of this city. Therefore, man establishes its values. Augustine said it is that this city, its whole purpose, is the glory of man and women, and it's been established, it's been erected for the express purpose that men and women would be glorified in it, essentially deified by it. They would be the god of this city, you see. This is man's kingdom. And while Augustine didn't have a fullness of understanding, of course, his expressions and his observations on this were actually quite accurate because you do find, in fact, the city of man in Scripture. We won't turn there, but for your notes, Genesis 11, a very well-known story of the people there building a tower, a tower of Babel, and the men and women gathered there and they said, come, let us build ourselves a city that we might make a name for ourselves, they said. A city of man, a city by man, a city for man. And, you know, we won't turn there, but you see this city being built in the endeavors of Nebuchadnezzar. For your notes, Daniel 4. What do we have the recording? King Nebuchadnezzar, I picture him pushing open the doors out on a balcony, looking as far as I could see, and he says, and he asked this question in all of his pride, is this not the great Babylon that I have built by my power for the glory of my majesty, he said. So he was building a city of man for himself. He was the man. And in the unfolding pattern of humanity, we find men and women continuing this exaltation, continuing this deification, determined to build for themselves a kingdom, wanting to create a place in which they can make their own rules. And ironically, what we see, making a place that they can break their own rules as they see fit. And they're able to do it. It's their kingdom. They're able to do exactly what they please. But at the same time, the Bible also makes clear the truth that there is a city of God, as Augustine expressed it. And it's in absolute contrast to the city of man. Man's kingdom, absolute in contrast to God's kingdom, couldn't be more evident.

God's kingdom, established by God, differs from man's kingdom in its standards, its purposes, and ultimately its destiny. Again, we won't turn there. But for your notes, we see the city of God spoken about in Hebrews 11.10. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 10. There we have the Hebrew writer recording that Abraham was waiting for the city, the city whose foundations, which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. So Abraham was waiting for the city of God.

Fast forward into Revelation. Of course, what do we have in Revelation 21? John writes of a future, and he says, I saw a holy city, a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Two cities. We could say two kingdoms in direct opposition to one another.

What's interesting is the Bible says that we, in fact, are by nature part of the city of man, and that we are born in such a way where our preoccupations are with that city, born in such a way where our preoccupations are with ourselves, born in such a way where our preoccupations are what we might become, how we might be exultated, elevated. And we will continue to reside and be citizens of 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 be part of the city of God, and therefore part of a whole new kingdom. At that point, everything changes. We are ruled by a different kingdom, and it takes over everything. It takes over everything we do, everything we say, everything we think.

And unless ultimately that transfer occurs in our lives, we will not ultimately see the kingdom of God. We know the ultimate fulfillment is when Christ returns to usher in His Father's kingdom. We are converted from physical to spiritual. No man will see the kingdom of God unless that ultimate fulfillment happens. That is true, but it is for some that we are being called to bring that kingdom living into reality today. And for those, Christ speaks to them then. He speaks to His disciples, you and I, today. And He says, pray that God's kingdom, the Father's kingdom, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are to pray that, He says.

But I can tell you that until you and I are truly transferred from the kingdom of man to the kingdom of God, we will not be able to truly pray this part of the prayer, of the model prayer here. And I don't want us to miss the fact that reading and saying these words, praying these words to the Father, it is a remarkable thing. In fact, to even utter a couple of these phrases from our lips, it's something. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Can you truly pray this? Can I truly pray this? Can we pray these words today? Before you answer, let's think about what we're asking for here. Father, we talked about this earlier, too. Even that shows that we are in an intimate relationship with God, that we can even call Him Father. Father, today, living amongst and within the city of man, I am acknowledging my devotion to your kingdom. I am submitting myself not to my own kingdom. I am placing my full allegiance to you and to your son the king. And with that, I am leaving behind my will, my will that attaches naturally to the city of man. But rather than submit to it, I am submitting myself to your heavenly will, committing myself, all of myself, to your kingdom. In other words, because, Father, You have redeemed me by Your son the king, I now pledge my life to heavenly kingdom living. And so while I ultimately wait for Your son the king to return to fully usher into it, I pledge my allegiance now to raise my eyes from this earth, put my eyes upon You and Your heavenly kingdom to be under its rule and authority. All of me.

So I wonder if you can pray this today. I hope we can. We must pray this prayer. And if there's anything I don't want to fail to get across to you today, is the fact that you today are a citizen of this new kingdom. This is your identity. This is your identity. You are part of the city of God, His kingdom. Please know that fact. You are part of the kingdom kids today.

So important. Before you ever get to any before you get to anything to make a change in you, before you get to any behavior change, before you get to any new activity, you have to really acknowledge and believe and claim, however you want to say it, that this is who you are today. And all throughout Scripture, what you will find is the reoccurring theme is, be who you are. This is who I have said you are. I've placed my love upon you in this way. I've covered you with my son's sacrifice. So from this day forward, be who you are. And I'm telling you today, you are all children of the heavenly kingdom that is going to come someday soon. So grab on to that fact there.

Before you ever... And that acknowledgement of who you are today will then be the source by which you can change your behavior and change your activity, which we're going to get to in just a moment. But what you find, this whole idea of who you are and then the impact it should make, you see this all throughout Scripture. And I wanted to go to one part of Scripture, which is really one of the most direct conversations with regards to this understanding. And it comes in a moment in which Paul is writing to God's people in Colossae. So if you'd like to turn with me, we're going to turn to Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. Again, here we find Paul addressing this whole notion of living beyond, lifting your eyes, this understanding that what our new identity is, and it doesn't exist here on earth, ultimately. So we're going to turn our eyes up toward from earth to heaven. And that's what Paul is going to educate God's people here. And ultimately, it's going to lead them with that new identity to a radical new way of living. Let's see this, though. Let's see Paul establish the identity here. This is your identity as well. Colossians 3, let's read verses 1 through 4. And I'm going to interject a little bit here as we go through. Colossians 3 verse 1, he asks, If then you... so this is speaking to you today here. If then you were raised with Christ... so if that's true, if you have been transferred to this new kingdom, if you've been raised with Christ, then seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Verse 2, set your mind on the things above, not on the things on the earth. Verse 3, for you have died, 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 stop there. So verse 3, he's reminding them, you're no longer part of the city of man. You're no longer part of the city of man. While you dwell in it, you've died to that man. You've died to that woman. And you now are to lift your eyes, lift your heart, lift your priorities to those things above. So if this is true of you, if that is true, then seek, middle of verse 1, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, that's our king. Verse 2, set your mind on the things above, not on things on this earth. So you've been raised with the king, we could say.

And you're going to be fully devoted. You're going to be fully ruled now by the city of God. So while living here on earth, you now live as a citizen, as a representative of the kingdom of God. So that, like we said, verse 4, ultimately when the fulfillment comes, you're going to be ushered into and brought up by our king as he ushers in the kingdom of God. So this is your new kingdom, this is your new identity, you are citizens of the kingdom of heaven today. So seek the things which are above, he says. Your new citizenship, your new identity. So when you and I are preparing to look at this part of the model prayer in a fresh way, preparing to pray these words, Your kingdom come, Your will on earth be done as it is in heaven, the first thing to consider is in heaven, the first thing to consider is this whole issue of identity and to know that you're grounded in the King Jesus today. He's our new king and therefore he rules everything. You are the new kids of the kingdom. I did this this morning, I almost said new kids on the block. That's dreadful 90s band. Which, you know, I wouldn't admit to my friends that I actually liked more than they thought I did.

Don't always have to say everything that hit your mind.

We'll edit that out, don't worry about it. But we are the new kids of the kingdom. That's your identity. Claim who you are. And so, with that understanding, pray that that hits your heart deeply and that you truly believe that. And then you'll be prepared to then start making those identity changes, if you will. So, that changes your life with this new identity. And it will move you to then becoming who you are. Be who you are. If you are a kid of the kingdom, this is who you are. And that's logically where Paul continues this letter here. And he now moves from their identity to their activity. So now, with rulership in this new kingdom, everything changes. And that's where Paul moves in verses 5 through 11 here. So, verse 4, the king's coming. Verse 5, therefore, he says, okay, kids of the kingdom, therefore, put to death, he says, verse 5, your members, which are on the earth, which are part of that old city.

What are some of the qualities of the city of man? Well, here it is. Fornication, uncleanness, passion. If you look up the translation there, it's impure passion, evil passion, evil desire, covetousness, idolatry. No, covetousness which is idolatry? Verse 6, because these things of the, we could add, I'm adding this part, of the city of man, these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. We could say, when you lived in the city of man, this is how you walked. Well, not anymore.

And he's not done. Verse 8, here's more, but now you, kids of the kingdom, I'll add that part, but you yourselves put off all these. And here's some more. And he's really getting even deeper into our thoughts and our motives. And he says, put off all these things as well. Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, that old city man, and have put on the new man, who is renewed in the knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Where there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or sethean, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. So let's stop there. So you see the concept here, the truth. These things are of the earth. You're no longer, these things are of the city of man, we could say. Fornication, uncleanness, evil passion, evil desire, covetousness. Put off these things, he says there in verse 8. And he continues with these things, which are of the city of man. Start living in a way now, put off these things. Start living in a way which expresses that you're part of this new kingdom. Behave in a manner which confirms your new identity. And in that, we'll be introducing the city of man to the coming king. You know, they're going to see the qualities of the king through us. And they're going to see the qualities of the coming kingdom through us in this way. So we must come out of man's kingdom. Why? Well, verse 6, wrath, because of these things, the wrath, verse 6, of God is coming upon the sons of the city of man, the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in there. So wrath is going to be poured out upon these things. You know, I talked to some that say they don't like the idea of God pouring out his wrath, pouring out his wrath on anything. It's just a concept that they struggle with. But, you know, if you think about it, if you had a surgeon working on a spreading disease, wouldn't you want that surgeon to approach that spreading disease with wrath? Would you want him approaching it in any other way? No, we want him to go in and to root out, root it all out. And in a way, and mercifully, and we pray that he would do it mercifully, we want him to root out all these things out of our lives, to help us do so, and to approach it in that way. We have to approach these things that are part of the city of man with seriousness, to the highest level. We understand God's mercy, but we must approach these things very deliberately and very concisely. And we must approach them in a way where we're angry against these things that take away from who we are, who we truly are. Root out these things. And as we begin to live to God's kingdom living, we will be then distinguishing ourselves. So there in verse 11, it mentions these distinctions of nationalities, our earthly freedom, slavery, and those different things. Those are the city of man distinctions. Once you become a citizen of the city of God, there's new distinctions. What are our new distinctions? Well, it's our behavior. It's our character. It's the way we live. So those things which were distinctions in the city of man, now those no longer are our distinctions. Our distinctions are by us displaying the fact that we are part of this new kingdom and how we live. So put off those things. Put off those things. And we know that's not enough. We must, at the same time, put on the things of the city of God.

And that comes now in verses 12 through 17. Here's the clothing, if you will. If you want to think about it in imagery, we've taken off the clothing, that old clothing that we wore in the city of man. Put it in a trash can over here. And now we're going to put on this new clothing.

What is this new clothing? Well, here it is, verses 12 through 17. Put on, he's going to say. So verse 12, therefore as the elect of God, I'll add, as a kid of the kingdom, as the elect of God, holy, you know, God has made us holy by and beloved. He's placed his love on us. So because of this new identity, put on. And here's the list. Here's the clothing that we wear. Tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another.

If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Verse 14, but of all things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule. So this new kingdom rule, let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which you also were called into one body, and be thankful. We can say be thankful you're now transferred here. Verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another, in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

This is all where we're singing in this new kingdom of God, this new city of God. And then this great summary statement, verse 17. 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.

Let's stop there. So city of God dwellers, God has put his love upon you, you're beloved, therefore holy. So be who you are. He's saying, you are now citizens of the kingdom. In everything that you do, I hope this pricks your heart a little bit. Verse 17, now that you've been in, you're placed in this new kingdom, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus, so our King, we could say there, whatever you do, whatever you do, that is so comprehensive, you know, now that we've been brought under this new rulership.

And we could ask, how has this all worked out? Well, it is displaying these new garments. You know, again, if you think about the fact that you have taken off these dirty, we could say smelly, old clothes, and we placed them in the garbage pile. And I just want you to picture maybe the image of God laying out these new garments, and they're white, and perhaps love is the belt, you know, love is the bond, as it says, and that cinches all these new clothing on us, and they're pure, just the widest you could think of.

And can you ever imagine, then, taking these clothes off and putting on some of those old clothes back on? You know, when I participate in City of Man activity, which we just read just a minute ago, it is just so incongruent with who I am. It's so inconsistent. It's so inappropriate. It's so inappropriate that I would take these garments off and put those garbage pile garments on. And if you're like me, when you participate in some of those activities that we just read about, you feel so bad.

And it's just, you feel so bad, none other than just the fact that it's just not who you are, and it's not representing the king. And I know you have too, you pray, and it's like, Father, this is not who I want to be. I don't want to participate in this activity anymore. I'm so tired of it. It's exhausting. Help me. And then what you'll find is God's right there, and the white clothing is still there for us to put back on. He forgives us, and He allows us that forgiveness.

And then we know it's just, it's not enough to put off those things, but we need to put on these things here. And by the way, this is a great list as we're preparing for Passover in the next upcoming months.

Go through this list and think about how am I putting off some of these things. Don't be overwhelmed. Pick one or two. Concentrate on putting off those things. And I want you to look at this list and think, what are a couple of the garments I want to put on in a more deliberate way, in a greater way. It's a great list in preparation for Passover here.

Really put yourself in that imagery. The Bible does speak about white garments. One of the areas it speaks about, we won't turn there, but Revelation 3.5. Revelation 3.5. I love that. It says, he who overcomes. Revelation 3.5. He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments. So don't get too down on yourself when you stumble. Don't get too down on yourself as you're rummaging around in the trash pail. Just don't give up. Persevere. Overcome. Ask for forgiveness. Change. Change your clothing.

It reminds me, I don't know if you've ever, as a kid, rummaged around in your parents' clothing. Have you ever done that? And looked at some of the old clothing that they have. For my dad, I remember it was a particular sweater. Everything back then, I think the period of clothing that he still had was all orange and brown. I guess it was the 70s. Most horrible clothing you could think of. My point was, would we ever go back to those styles? But now I can see my point has holes in it because they actually have gone back to those styles. I'm convinced that some of the kids these days are wearing my dad's clothing. I just know it, but they're paying a lot more money for it these days. I could have made a fortune if I would have kept those. But even though fashion goes back to those clothing, today, of course, the principle is we do not need to go back to that old wardrobe. Again, it's just we want to honor this king. We're representing him on this earth. We're so grateful and, as we mentioned, we're so thankful for having the opportunity to be transferred into this new city. That thankfulness, that gratitude drives us to represent him, to honor him. Because he's made us who we are, that's the driving force. That's the driving force. I hope gratitude moves you to put off and to put on.

If you look at this list, it's one thing to put off. It's another thing to put on. Some of these new clothes here, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering. It's very action.

This is action clothing, I guess we could say.

Again, if you find it difficult to put some of these on, it's because of what I stated earlier. By nature, we are born into the city of man. So it's not going to be natural. That's why you pray your will be done. Because it's not about feelings. You will not feel like putting on some of these garments. If someone offends you, it's very, very difficult to put on the garment of mercy. Very difficult. Much less tender mercies. Are you kidding me? They just offended me. You want me to give them tender mercies? You know. And it is a challenge. If you are living in the city of man and someone offends you, just cut them off. Don't call them. Put them out of your life.

If you're living in the city of God, you cannot do that. In fact, you have to apply not only mercies, but tender mercies. And not only that, I love this. Paul is so real. About verse 14, this additional garment of bearing with one another.

He's so real. We do have to bear with one another. Sometimes we're unbearable. We can be unbearable. Others can be unbearable. But did you know that part of the clothing that we put on in the kingdom of God is to bear with one another?

Bear with one another. Hang in there. Push through it.

I'm going to like you if it kills me. I'm going to go to coffee with you. I'm going to be wearing this clothing. Very important. And what you will find is all these things are going to give you far more than you ever give out. And God is so merciful in that way. He gives back us so much more than we could ever give. Bear with one another. These are major themes of the upcoming Passover. If you do a little research in who he was writing to, God's people in Colossae, God's people there were threatened, slandered, persecuted, and rejected. And their natural incentive, if they were going to live to be part of the city of man, they would have just had vengeance on them. Ah, but Paul is saying, ah, you're part of the city of God now. You can't wear that clothing. You now have to put on the garment of forgiveness. Forgiveness. Bear with them. Forgive them. And I love this little zinger. Paul just has a way of kind of poking us in the side a little bit. Verse 13 again, verse 13, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, here's the here's a little poke. Even as Christ forgave you, you also must do. Let me just remind you, you know, I'm sure there in Colossae, they were like, forgive them, you know, how? And he says, let me remind you who you are. What's your identity? How are you even transferred into this new city? He says, let me just remind you, Christ forgave you. So you also must do. What kingdom, you have a choice, what kingdom do you want to live in? What city do you want to live in? Do you want to live in the city of man or do you want to live in the city of God? Well, if you want to live in the city of God, you must forgive. And I just think, man, when I resist, when I don't want to put on that garment of forgiveness, you know, and you're staring at it there on the bed and you just don't want to put it on. You know, I know at that moment that I'm resisting it, I am consciously or unconsciously reducing my need of forgiveness, my need of forgiveness, and I'm elevating the other person's need of forgiveness. Right? So I'm reducing my own need of forgiveness in that moment, and I'm elevating the other person's need of forgiveness. You know? And Christ says, you can't do that, you know, to who much has been given. Much is expected here. And this is what we're dealing with here. This is hard work. This is hard work. And some of these garments are difficult to put on. But I'm speaking to you, and who are you? You're the kingdom kids, and so we must wear these garments so we can show the watching world who the king is. And in verse 15, let the peace of God rule your hearts. Let it rule your hearts. We are called into one body. And there it is. Our motivation is Thanksgiving. Be thankful there in verse 15. Gratitude. You know, if you're having trouble with some of these, just stop and start to think about what a thing it is to have an opportunity to be called in this lifetime, to have an opportunity to be transferred within these cities. And it'll move you in such a way where you're just so thankful to God that you will put forth the effort. And put forth the activity needed as you represent this coming kingdom. Well, as Paul concludes here, we will begin to conclude. He concludes his thought here in verses 16 and 17. You know, verse 16 here.

Let this word, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Remind yourself of your identity here, in all wisdom, teaching, admonishing one another. You will burst forth in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. That's what we have been doing here today. Verse 17, and whatever you do, remember kids of the kingdom, whatever you do in word or deed, do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Thanksgiving will drive all that we do. So as we conclude, I'd like to ask from each of you to renew your commitment to the new city which is coming. You have now been made part of a new kingdom. We are to bring kingdom living into our physical lives today. Be devoted to this new king, this new kingdom and his king, leaving behind our will for the Father's will. And made today, in a greater way, pray to God your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.