6. Matthew chapter 6. Portion that is often referred to as the Lord's Prayer. So let's start with verse 9. 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. We're focusing this morning on verse 10, your kingdom come. Often remembered by the King James, thy kingdom come. The fact of the matter is God is King. Psalm 9, verse 7, the Bible says, but the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness. He judges the people with uprightness. He sits enthroned forever. Some kings, they live, they rule only for three years, and then they're overthrown by civil war or revolution. Some kings live to a ripe old age, and then they die. But our king, the king of all kings is enthroned forever. That means no one is removing him from his position. No one can defeat him in battle and take over his kingdom. He reigns forever and ever. He rules, he judges, he sits above all other thrones and all other kings. judgment seats. He doesn't just judge Israel. He doesn't just judge the twelve tribes, but he judges the world. The Lord, our God, is king. Psalm 11 for tells us the Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His I see his eyelids test the children of man. He doesn't have some temple in Jerusalem, some heaven on a mountain. His throne is in heaven. And even that is symbolic language, because even the heaven in the highest heavens cannot contain him. He sits above all other thrones, all other kings, all other castles, all other kingdoms. His throne is in heaven and his judgment. There's a reality that some people can lie to the king. You remember that Joseph was in prison with the cupbearer. Why? What was the purpose of the cupbearer? Because someone would get close to the king, try to poison the king, and the cupbearer would have to drink the wine before it was passed to the king. That was the job, meaning that a king could be deceived. But not this king. Our king, his eyelids see to the very heart and soul of all people. There's no deception. He is the king of all kings. The Bible says heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Again, this is symbolic language. God is not a big man who sits on a chair on clouds. The term throne is only meant to bring to our minds, what does a throne bring to your mind? Authority. Power, rulership. That is the idea there. Psalm 45, 6. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. He doesn't literally hold a scepter made of some precious metal in his hand. No, his scepter is the scepter of uprightness. He rules with righteousness and truth. This is our God. He is king and master, ruler of all. Psalm 47, 8, God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. So the Bible clearly tells us that God is king and that he rules and that he's enthroned and that he's in charge. And yet we're confronted with this reality that Jesus tells us to pray your kingdom come. Again, why are we praying for something that already is? His kingdom already is. He's already a king with the kingdom and he rules and reigns and has total authority and dominion. So why are we told by our Lord to pray for the kingdom to come? The literal wording is, come the kingdom of you. That's the way it's actually worded. in the original. What's the implication here? Yes, he's king. Yes, he's reigning. And the fact that this is something that we are to pray tells us that there is a way in which his kingdom has not yet come. Right. Otherwise, why are we praying? Why are we praying for this? So the question is, in what way? In what way has his kingdom not yet come and why? The word kingdom means kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule. So if we're saying for his kingdom to come, what is the implication? One, that there is another kingdom in this world. And two, this other kingdom is in rebellion to the kingdom of God. What is this other kingdom? Matthew 12, 25, Jesus says this, knowing their thoughts, he said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? His kingdom, whose kingdom? Satan's kingdom. Satan has a kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. And Jesus recognizes that Satan has a kingdom. Remember when our Lord, shortly before he's even preaching this sermon, was in the wilderness. What happened? Here comes the serpent. Here comes the devil. Here comes Satan himself. And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him, to you, I will give all this authority and their glory for it has been delivered to me. And I give it to whom I will. If you then will worship me, it will be all yours. But Adam rebelled against God listened to the serpent, the authority and dominion that had been given to man in a sense was transferred to a serpent. God created man in his own image, and that man was meant to rule this world. To have dominion and authority over all things, but his rebellion caused all things to come under the curse. Second Corinthians 4.4 says this, in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The God of this world, the kingdom of Satan. Ephesians 2 says that they are following the prince of the power of the air. the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. First John 519, we know that we are from God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. In Ephesians 6.12 that our brother was preaching from earlier, this great passage that deals with spiritual warfare and the armor of God, before he starts talking about the armor, we're told that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against spiritual forces in the heavenly places. There is another kingdom. There is a kingdom that is a rebellion against God and that is the kingdom of Satan, kingdom of darkness, kingdom of evil. So although God rules and reigns over all things, He has by his own will, by his own providence, for his own purposes, for the sake of his name, he has permitted limited authority to the devil over this world. The kingdom of Satan, where the prince of the power of the air holds men and women under his power, like we saw in 1 John, the whole world is held under the power of the evil one. This is why we need to pray for his kingdom to come. This is the kingdom that stands outside of the kingdom of God. This is the kingdom that stands in rebellion to the kingdom of God. And his kingdom, The kingdom of Satan is filled with the masses of humanity. To make it more personal, the majority of the people that you know, your family, coworkers, neighbors, friends, are in the kingdom of Satan. Under his cruel headship and dominion, and they follow his leadership, they submit to his commands, They follow his pursuits. What is the business of this kingdom? What is the what is the mission of this kingdom? What we already saw in second Corinthians four for the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. What is he about? He's about blinding the minds of unbelievers. For what purpose? To keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. What else is he about? Stealing the word of God from your heart so that you will not believe. We just had this children's moment over here. The word of God is going forth right now. And for some of you, the devil is right now seeking to snatch the word from your heart. That's not just my word. Jesus said this, Luke 8, 12. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved. You ask yourself, why are you not saved right now? It's because the devil has come when you heard and taken the word from your heart so that you will not believe. Why? Because that is the mission of his kingdom, to blind the mind so that you will not be saved, to steal the word so that you will not be saved. He is a liar. And so he rules with lies and deception. He's looking to devour men like a roaring lion. Isn't that what the Bible says? He's trying to sift men like wheat. Remember Peter? He's trying to cause men to curse God to His face. Remember Job? To rob God of the glory due to His name. He spreads doctrines of demons throughout His kingdom. And those doctrines take many forms, but they have the same message. They tell men that they can be good enough. They tell men, You can earn paradise by how hard you try. You can get to heaven if you're nice enough, if you're good enough, if you're obedient enough, if you come to church, if you read your Bible, that will make your sins go away, or you have no sin, or we're all children of God. He has many, many, many forms of these doctrines of demons, but they all end in the same way. Robbing God of glory, dismissing the way of salvation, and pointing to self. as savior. This kingdom is filled with clouds and fog to block the clear image of the face of Christ so that these poor souls cannot see the cross and the way of salvation. He lies about sin, as he did in the garden. He tells men that God's kingdom is one of slavery and misery, and his is one of freedom and pleasure. He says, go ahead and look at that. It'll be fine. Go ahead and say that. You have a right. Click that. Drink that. Watch that. Do that. Think that. Nothing bad will happen to you. You have the right to do these things. For he says of his kingdom, I give you freedom. The billboards spread all throughout his kingdom say this, you will not surely die. That's the message. He offers you the sweet, pleasurable treat. The Turkish delight in the Chronicles of Narnia. And so you eat this wonderful, sweet candy, not knowing that hidden inside is the most foul poison. Think of Snow White biting into the apple that looks so shiny, but on the inside it was covered and filled with the worst poison. The sweet smell of lust and revenge and money. He lures you into his lair. And by the time you hear the snap of the trap, it's too late. The Proverbs say this, with much seductive speech, she persuades him. With her smooth talk, she compels him. All at once he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter or stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver. As a bird rushes into a snare, he does not know that it will cost him his life. He lies to the citizens of his kingdom and he doesn't say the wages of sin is death. This is his kingdom. But Jesus told us, When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. And this kingdom of Satan remains to this very hour. Yet most, if you were to tell them you are a citizen of the kingdom of Satan, they would laugh at you and say, not me. You see a pentagram tattooed on my chest? Am I wearing all black? Am I sacrificing animals? You're talking about voodoo. You're talking about the occult. You're talking about Illuminati. Not me. I'm not part of the kingdom of Satan. I go to church. I pay my taxes. I kiss my kids. I help the lady across the street. I'm a good person. What do you mean I'm part of the kingdom of Satan? The trick is that they think that they're not in the kingdom of Satan. But here's the reality. There are only two kingdoms. The scripture says that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. Those are the only two kingdoms, the domain of darkness or the kingdom of his son. And if you're not in the kingdom of his son, guess where you are. There may be subsidiaries, there may be subcultures, but the main reality is everyone who is not under the kingdom of God is under the umbrella of the kingdom of Satan. The Bible refers to this as the world. As Christians, we're told that we are in the world, but not what? It tells us that all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life is not from the Father, but it's from the world. It doesn't mean the sticks and the stones and the soil and the trees. It's talking about this kingdom of this world, which is under the umbrella of the kingdom of Satan. Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world. He says again, for all the nations of the world seek after these things. John tells us He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. And the world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it that its works are evil. Lastly, Jesus said this, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. You get the picture. There's this world, this kingdom that's in opposition to Christ and his citizens, and they do things a certain way, and they think a certain way, and they pursue certain things, that are totally opposed to the kingdom of God and His Christ. This is the kingdom where government corruption is normal. Selfishness is rampant in this kingdom. This is the world's kingdom where men abuse women and women manipulate men. Where people fight against each other. Where parents despise their children. Have you ever heard that song that they play during Christmas where they say parents can't wait for school to begin again? Why do they say that? Because their parents hate their kids and they can't wait till they get out of their house. This is that kingdom. The kingdom where children hate their parents. Where they'd rather be with their friends than to spend an hour with mom and dad. This is the kingdom of this world where greed is everywhere. Lust and murder are the norm. This world will seek to give you peace, but it's false peace. It's not the gospel of peace that we heard about. Jesus said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. You see that? There's a peace, there's an imitation. It's false. It's a counterfeit peace that this kingdom has, and they'll give you pleasure, but it's counterfeit pleasure. They'll give you peace, but it's false peace. The kingdom of this world operates under the power of the evil one. And everywhere you look around, you see the reality of this kingdom and its ways and its laws. Why were over 400,000 people murdered last year. This is the way of this kingdom where Satan rules. God is neglected. Sin is rampant. God is unworshipped and ignored in this kingdom. This is the kingdom where children are molested. Women are raped. Men are lazy. A kingdom where fathers leave their children. Mothers murder their babies. Children abandon their parents in nursing homes. You know what it says in the Proverbs? When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. And look around, what do we see? Mourning. Why? Because this is the kingdom where Satan rules. There's weeping and mourning and misery. Everywhere you look, you turn on the news and you see misery. You look outside and you see misery. You look at history. Everywhere you look, you see sorrow and death and destruction and anguish. What is this? This is the kingdom of darkness. And it is an opposition to the kingdom of God. Suicide, depression, broken homes, broken families, broken people, homelessness, poverty, sickness, disease, sexual immorality. This is the kingdom of this world where Satan rules. The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience and saddest of all, is that within this kingdom and within the province of this world, there lies a room. a throne room, the throne room of self. The kingdom of self where each man and each woman and each child rules their own life. Frank Sinatra, I did it my way. That great so-called poem Invictus, I'm the master of my fate, the captain of my soul. People love the idea, self-made, self-starters, self-motivated, self-help, self-esteem, self-righteousness. In the neighborhoods where I grew up in, people wanted to gain a knowledge of self. And this is the kingdom where all of that is encouraged and supported. The flesh does what it wants. Men say what they want. They go where they want. They think what they want. If you want to yell at someone, you do it. If you want to think a thought, you think it. If you want to... whatever, it doesn't matter. You do what you like in this kingdom. It's the kingdom of self. It's autonomy. And it's rebellion against the Word of God. And do you know what the Bible calls rebellion? In 1 Samuel 15, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he also rejected you from being king. Rebellion is like witchcraft, and to rebel against the king of all kings is demonic. And every time you do what you want, and you're the king, and you're the queen, and you sit on the throne, And there is no authority but your way and your will. You are operating in the kingdom of Satan. And it begins right from the beginning of life, doesn't it? David said, I was shaping an iniquity and sin that my mother conceived me. You look at children as sweet as they are. So somebody wrote this, I think is brilliant. It's called the property laws of a toddler. Ready? If I like it, it's mine. If it's in my hand, it's mine. If I can take it from you, it's mine. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine. If it looks just like mine, it's mine. If I saw it first, it's mine. If you're playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine. But if it's broken, it's yours. That's the way of the child. And that's the way of us. That's this kingdom of self. It's all about me, what I want, what will help me, what will promote me, what will extend me, what will make me more wealthy and more comfortable, my dreams, my pleasure, me, me, me, I, I, I, self. This is the kingdom of self. This is the kingdom of the world. This is the kingdom of Satan. The Bible says they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. That's the issue. Seeking your own interests. And why would you seek your own interests? Because the most important person in this kingdom is self. It's all about self. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. The DNA of sin is selfishness. Why are people racist? because they love people who look like them, self. What is classism or sexism? A love for self. People who look and live like me. Prejudice and partiality. People who can benefit me. This is the kingdom of self. Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame. And this is opposed to the kingdom of God. This is why people mistreat one another. Because in this kingdom, if you're the most important person, then everybody exists for your pleasure and your comfort. You make the laws. You make the rules. And if someone doesn't obey those rules, then they get the punishment. Somebody once said, on the road of life, you're either a vehicle to your pleasure or an obstacle in your way. So in summary, John MacArthur said this, there are only really two kingdoms. There's the kingdom of God and there's the kingdom of Satan. There's the kingdom of darkness, as Paul called it, or the kingdom of God's dear son, just those two. And everybody is in one or the other. We are either the children of God in his kingdom or the children of the devil in his kingdom. We either serve God or we serve Satan. Jesus said, either you are for me or against me. There is no middle ground. So why are we praying for this? Because of the current rebellion. So what is it that we are praying for? The Old Testament prophesied about a kingdom that was coming. Exodus 15, 18, the Lord will reign forever and ever. Will reign, something that's coming. Daniel 7, 18, but the saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever. When he arrives, when he arrives, this kingdom is coming. Things are going to change. Things are going to be different. And right from when Jesus Christ came, what was his message? What was the first thing that he was preaching? Jesus began to preach saying, repent, but the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's told his disciples to preach this proclaim as you go, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Luke 17, 20, being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, lo, here it is or there for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. What is he saying? There's not going to be a parade. There's not going to be banners or trumpets. It's not going to be like a seven year war that overthrows this kingdom. And here comes another one. That's not how this kingdom comes. It's already upon you. It's already in your midst. The gospel message, the life, death and resurrection ushered in this kingdom with the arrival of Christ, this new covenant and his promises. This was what Jesus preached about. Think of how often you see this language. There is no other phrase that Jesus used more than the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. All his parables, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. He told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It filled his teaching. It was everything that he was about. It was his focus and he draws our focus to the same thing. So in one sense, the kingdom came when Christ came, but now he's teaching us to pray here, thy kingdom come. And it's amazing. I mean, our brother in the children's moment was showing us some of this, glimpses of the fulfillment of this kingdom. Because as we saw in the kingdom of Satan, what about sickness, poverty, affliction, misery, all of that. But in God's kingdom, God's kingdom is free from all misery. Matthew 4, 23 says, and he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. Why? Because in His kingdom, there is no affliction. When His kingdom finally comes, there will be no disease. So His preaching was accompanied with freedom from misery, freedom from death. There will be no sorrow. In His kingdom, blindness is no more. Leprosy is no more. The lame leap for joy, and the deaf hear Him gladly. In His kingdom, the dead are alive, and the truth of God is proclaimed. Jesus brings the new covenant where everyone will know God for themselves. No one will need to teach you anything in this kingdom. No priesthood, no temple, no more sacrifices, no more Ark of the Covenant. Jesus came and brought in the arrival of this kingdom. God with us, Emmanuel. There will be peace with God and man forever. There will be peace with men and men. There will be joy and truth, love and light in the kingdom of God. We pray this, thy kingdom come, because he saved us. And he took us from the domain of darkness and brought us into his marvelous light. We once had thrones in our heart where we sat on it. Where you did what you wanted, when you wanted, how you wanted, and nobody better dare question you. The only laws you submitted to were the ones that lined up to your own. But God saved you. God changed you. And now you don't run your own life. Like our brother said, no longer a slave to sin. Who is my master? The Lord Jesus Christ. But we know the reality that this is not everywhere. It's true in our hearts, but we look around and we see this kingdom of darkness where people do not worship God. They do not submit to him. And we want this to be reality in every heart, in every family, in every city, in every country, on every continent. We want the spirit of God to come and bring all to repentance, all to salvation, all to the place where they see God as he deserves to be seen. We pray for His kingdom to come when we are praying that all of these rebellious kingdoms come to an end. In Hebrews 2, it says, at present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. That's true. There is a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of Satan. As we were driving here, I was looking out the window and I saw people gathering together to eat, walking their dogs, you see places that are just dens of iniquity and you know this is evidence that all is not in subjection to him. These people continue in their rebellion and it does not sit well in my heart or in your heart that people continue in rebellion. It does not sit well for us. We are not satisfied that people continue to rebel against the king and his authority. And so we pray, Father, please let your kingdom come. Destroy these kingdoms. Destroy these thrones. Cast off these crowns of these false imposters and show yourself to be the ruler of all. May all knees bow before you. That's what we want. All these satanic mindsets and these selfish actions, all these hearts that hate our God, we want them to be crushed under the weight of conviction. Not just our children, but every human being, we want them to love our God, that they would repent. Why? Because he's worthy. He is worthy to be loved and obeyed and honored. Have you ever seen someone mistreated? You ever see a child being treated in a way they're being abused, a news story comes out, and the thought that runs through your mind is, they shouldn't be treated that way. You see a man, you know, talking just unkindly, disrespectfully to his woman or to some woman, and you say, he shouldn't treat her like that. Something rises up in us when we see injustice. Why? That's not right. People shouldn't be treated that way. And more so, we see our God being treated in a way that is not right. And it makes us angry. It makes us heartbroken. It makes us pray. Father, the kingdom come. Change this world. We want a church to be built in Austin, but we're not content with that. We want a church to be built in Temple and Killeen and San Marcos, but we're not content with that. Because Christ is king over more than just Texas. over more than just certain sections of the world. He is king over more than just certain people. He is king over more than Sunday morning. He is king over all, over every second of every second, over every square inch. And this world continues in rebellion against him. And we pray for all of that rebellion to end. We don't believe that people should just be able to live and let live. This is about His honor, and He deserves to be honored, and He's not. He deserves to be worshiped, and He's not. We're not praying for a religion to come. We're praying for His kingdom. We're not praying that there will be a Christian nation No, this is bigger than reclaiming America or Europe or Africa. This is about the kingdom of God. We're not trying to establish some political position, not some culture. Brethren, may I say this? This goes even beyond just the church being gathered. We are the bride of Christ. We are the called out ones with a born again people of God, a chosen race. but he is not just the king of Christians. His kingdom includes his rule over all people, all planets, solar systems, galaxies, over every molecule and cell, over all oceans, angels, demons, heaven and earth, and all that is in the earth and under the earth and in the sea. over time itself, every idea, every philosophy, all laws of nature, even death and hell itself. He is to rule over all. We are praying that all men and women repent and bow the knee to Christ as King and that all creation be under his feet. Romans 8 tells us that even right now creation is groaning with the pain of childbirth. Why? Because things are in chaos. Our God is a God of order. Amen. Is everything in order? No. You drive outside and what do you see? You see dead trees. You see vultures or roadkill on the side of the road. Is this how things were meant to be? Is this how things were intended from the beginning that there would be death and decay and rot and rust and destruction? No. This is the broken world and this is not how it's supposed to be. Brethren, I pray that we're not so desensitized that we're used to murder. and lies and death and decay, that when we look at this world, that we say, Father, please let your kingdom come, bring all things into order. This is what we sing, right? Crown him with many crowns, the lamb upon his throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake my soul and sing of him who died for thee and hail him as thy matchless king. through all eternity. We want that to be the song of all creation. But everything that has breath, what? Praise the Lord. But everything that has breath does not praise the Lord right now. And so we pray for that to be. Christ is the king. And on earth, what did they do? They mocked our Lord. They put a crown of thorns on his glorious head to ridicule him. But we pray that the day will come when all crowns will be cast at his feet. The soldiers put a wooden reed in his bloody hand to mock him, but we long to see his right hand holding the seven stars that we see in Revelation 1. They put a robe on his shredded and torn bloody back as the spit rolled down his cheeks. But we pray that his kingdom will come and the train of his road would fill the whole earth. And that his face would shine like the sun. How do we do this? We pray for his kingdom to come. We proclaim the gospel. We preach the good news that souls would be converted, that hearts would be humbled, that knees would bow, that people would be regenerated, that his spirit would bring revival. We want this to be done. And we want this to be done first and foremost in us. Because even though we've been born again, it's a struggle. Even though he did open-heart surgery and removed the hearts of stone from us, the fact of the matter is, we still struggle with this desire to run our own lives, to go our own way, to do our own thing. And so we pray first that God's kingdom would come in our own hearts, that we would totally submit to his kingship and his rule and his authority, that in our own hearts, we would see him as holy and regard him in that way. And that everything we do, every prayer, every action, every thought would bring forth his kingdom. And you know what happens? Every sin that you repent of brings forth His kingdom more and more. Every temptation that you resist brings forth His kingdom more and more. Every act of love, every prayer of faith, everything that you do for His namesake, with love, by His Spirit, whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. May we do all things walking by faith. by His Spirit, empowered for His name, for His love, for His glory. And the more you do that, the more you bring forth the kingdom in your own heart, as we pray for it to be everywhere else in this world. This is a prayer for God to be in utter control in our own hearts, in every aspect of this world. And finally, this is a prayer for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. How does 1 Corinthians 15 say it? Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. You see that? These other rules, these other authorities, these other kingdoms that are in opposition to him, there's coming a day, the end, when Christ will destroy All of them. All of these thrones, and all of these crowns, and all of these scepters, and all of these kingdoms will be brought to nothing. That day is coming. When the kingdom will be delivered by Christ to His Father. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. This is our greatest hope. We want this more than anything else. We long for his return. The kingdom he set out to bring to his father We want it to be ready. We want it to be done. We want it to be finished so that he can come back. I was standing next to Greg at the wedding. And all these other people were walking down the aisle, but there was one that he was waiting for. And I didn't talk to Bree, but she was in the back. And as each person was going, there was one moment she was waiting for. when she could finally enter, when the two could finally come together. That is the picture. We, the bride of Christ, who long for our bridegroom to come, when his kingdom will be without end, when all evil will be destroyed and all will be good and faith will be turned to sight. All will be prayer and praise. We will honor him. He will be finally given what he deserves. All enemies will be vanquished. Death will be no more. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. All unbelief will be shattered. All wrongs will be made right. He will destroy all his enemies. There will be no more sickness. No more demons, no more death. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. Don't you long for that? He will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. This is what we long for, where we will no longer have sin, and there will be no sin anymore. We will finally, finally be with him forever. And in that kingdom, there'll be no end to it. Joy will never cease. true pleasure forevermore. He will wipe every tear from the eye and when he wipes the tear will never return. The time is coming when God will never be mocked again. In this world, God is mocked. He's mocked on the television. He's mocked in pulpits. He's mocked in hearts. But the day is coming when he will never be mocked again. Christ will be honored. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Don't you long for that? Brethren, this is why we pray. Your kingdom come. Please, Christ, return. Maranatha, come, Lord, and come quickly. Establish your kingdom. Do away with your enemies. May your spirit fill all in all. No longer will there be anything accursed. but the throne of God and of the lamb will be in it. And his servants will worship him." Ah, that's so amazing. They will see his face. The cherubim cover their face with their wings. But brothers and sisters, if you're in Christ, the day is coming when you will see his face. Oh, what could be better? Some people are saying, I can't wait to see this movie. I can't wait to see this site. I can't wait to see. I can't wait to see. Oh, there are many things that are good to see, but there is one that is supreme above all. You will see his face. You will see him as he is and as he deserves to be seen. No more unbelief, no more mirror dark, no more fog, no more confusion. You will know him and be known by him. You will love him and be loved by him. You will see all and enjoy all. There'll be no interruption. Oh, don't you long for this. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. Every thought, we sang it, be thou my vision. Thou my best thought, my greatest thought. But you don't always have thoughts of Him. But in that place, His name will be on their foreheads. Does this mean they're going to have Christ carved in your forehead? No, this means that your thoughts will be of Him forever. What a thing. And the night will be no more. No more darkness. Children, I'm afraid of the dark. In this place, there will be no more darkness, no more shadows, no more dark corners, no more secrets. It will be light, light, oh, supreme and infinite, glorious light. There will be no more darkness. They will need no light of lamp or sun. It's not that there are going to be campfires and that the sun's going to be closer, no. The Lord God will be their light. God is light. And in Him is no darkness at all. And they will reign forever and ever. We want this. We pray for this. We long for this. We sing this. Hark those bursts of acclamation. Hark those loud triumphant chords. Jesus takes the highest station. Oh, what joy the sight affords. Crown Him, crown Him, King of kings and Lord of lords. But we gotta do a motive check. Why do we want this? Why do we want the kingdom come? Can I tell him myself? I have said many times, Lord, come quickly or Lord, take me out of this world so I can be with you. But you know why I said that? To my shame. To my utter shame, it's not because my heart was so enamored with love for him that I just couldn't wait to see him. It was because of my selfish. My selfish hatred of suffering. Because I didn't want to suffer anymore. Because I didn't like the trial I was going through. I didn't like the cross that my father gave to me. And so I just said, I want to be done with this. It wasn't a longing for him. It was a longing for comfort. And that's idolatry. That showed me that I was still thinking in the kingdom of self. Because if I long for him, then I would say, like Paul said, from a prison to live as Christ, to die as game. I have learned the secret. I can be without. I could be with much. None of that matters as long as I have him. Do we long for his return because we want to see him? A child who longs for their father to come pick him up or her up because they want to spend time with daddy versus daddy has a wallet full of money. Mommy's making me clean and daddy's going to take me to Disney World. Spurgeon said this, Christians often want to die when they have any trouble. Ask them why and they tell you, because we would be with the Lord. We fear it is not so much because they are longing to be with the Lord, it's because they desire to get rid of their troubles. Else, they would feel the same wish to die at other times when not under the pressure of trial. They wanna go home, not so much for the Savior's company as to be at rest. Now it is quite right to desire to depart if we can do it in the same spirit that Paul did, because to be with Christ is far better. But the wish to escape from trouble is a selfish one. Rather, let your care and wish be to glorify God by your life here as long as he pleases, even though it be in the midst of toil and conflict and suffering. and leave him to say when it is enough. Brethren, may we be those citizens who pray for the kingdom of God to come because we long to be with him, because we long to see him, not because we want to be free from suffering. May we pray for his kingdom to come because we're tired of his name being dishonored. May we pray for His kingdom to come because we're tired of the kingdom of Satan and we're tired of rebellion in our own hearts and in this world. We're tired of false religion and darkness. We're tired of this decay. We're tired of this brokenness. And we want Him to be seen and honored and worshiped and glorified by angels and men and all things. For everything to be put under His feet and for all to be prayer and praise. 2 Peter 3.11, since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. If we long for his coming, that's gonna affect how we pray. Because if I'm caught up in his kingdom, in his authority, in his rule, in his name, then am I going to be so concerned with stuff and how I'm treated? First John 3, 1, see what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes purifies himself as he is pure. We hope and long and expect His coming. like the father in the story of the prodigal son who kept his eye on the road for his son to return? Are we the bride who is waiting for our bridegroom to take us home and keeping ourself? Oh, the bridegroom waiting. the bride waiting and here come all this temptation saying, come away with me, come away with me. No, I am committed to him and I will wait for him because he's coming. I don't care what you say and I don't care what you offer. He's a good groom and he's coming to get me and his treasure and his love is better than riches and it's better than anything this world can offer. I will not go to the kingdom of darkness and Satan in this world for I am a citizen of the kingdom of God and he has promised me To be with Him, I will wait and purify myself as I long for His return. O God, may Your kingdom come and may we pray this way. Saints, may our hearts long and burn for Him and His return. May this be the reality of our hearts. Revelation 22, 7 says, Jesus says this, and behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the word of the prophecy of this book. Revelation 22, 12, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done. Revelation 22, 17, the spirit and the bride say, come, and let the one who hears say, come, and let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires Take the water of life without price. Christ is coming. And if you're not ready for his return, he says, come to him, because when he returns, the king is going to look. And if you're seated on a throne that's for him, you are a rebel. If you're wearing a crown that's supposed to be his. you're in rebellion, and he will deal with all rebels, he will deal with all those who hated his rule, all those who did not bow the knee to him, all those who would not have him rule over them. This is the time. The king offers you mercy, he offers you peace, he offers you pardon, he offers you acceptance into his kingdom, but the time is coming, and he says he's coming soon, and the church is praying, Christ, come, and he hears the voice of his bride, and he will come soon, and if you're not ready, woe unto you, but the day is now here. The day that you hear, harden not your heart. If you're not in the kingdom of God and you're in the kingdom of Satan, flee from that kingdom and run to the throne of grace and he will pardon you. The cross has been provided for you to have peace. Well, here's the last verse, Revelation 22, 20. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Father, you are in heaven. You are great and greatly to be praised. You are worthy of all honor and all praise. And we desire that your name would be seen and heard and honored and glorified and in every place in this world and in this universe and in all of existence where that is not true, we pray that you would come and bring your kingdom and may your son return to bring all things into order. Come back and bring us to you, Lord, for that is our deepest desire. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay.