LEARNING DAILY

Matthew 6:9-10, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Pastor Ed Newton continued this week with the Lord’s Prayer. He reminded us that we must personalize this prayer not just memorize it (the target statement on the Listener Guide). We personalize the prayer by knowing God as Father – our Father – because our identity as a Believer in Jesus Christ is in Him; God know your name! He is faithful and He will always fight for His children! When that is realized, Satan cannot take our identity from us.

The message centered in verse 10, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. “Where there is a king, there is a kingdom” (Pastor Newton). We have heard that statement before. Jesus told His disciples to pray God’s kingdom would come. Pastor emphasized that God’s kingdom is coming! When? Only the Father knows that time; in His Word He has given clues to what the world would be like before His coming. Jesus said in different ways that Believers are to be watching and waiting for that time in order to be ready for it. Pastor Newton referenced that Believers are on earth to bring that Kingdom here.

This kingdom coming is God’s kingdom, “Your kingdom come”. “God rules He reigns, He is and has always been in control; He is sovereign” (Pastor Newton). It is the government of God – His laws, His principles, His rules that uphold truth, righteousness, counsels, and justice (from the Listener Guide). Pastor said, “To understand this it is necessary to know God is a good Father, who has no secret agenda, He is working for the good of His kingdom, His will, and His people. The reign of God is for His purpose and His plan to be fulfilled (L.G.). The Bible tells us that God wins! (Pastor Newton).

“Your will be done”. Did you know that God has a sovereign will. Nothing happens without his permission or His will; nothing can stop His sovereign will. It is His will that all be saved through His Son and to follow Him, to come to be like Him. But within that is God’s permissive will where He does not force Himself upon anyone. He wants to be chosen over everything in one’s life. There is also God’s general will where one chooses to follow and worship Him. “And this is eternal life that they might know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). When one becomes a Believer, God sets him apart (to walk on a narrow way in to eternity in God’s kingdom) and he becomes a work in progress, for God’s service and to do good works (Pastor Newton). It is during this walk on the narrow way that one begins to be like Christ (sanctification). God also has a specific will for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan for everyone’s life, a plan that is good and prosperous. It is a plan that believers walk in His forgiveness, forgiving others. It is a plan that includes God’s grace and His blessings – the Believer’s responsibility is to follow God’s will for their life. Following God’s will for your life means, “seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first” (Matthew 6:33), before everything else. It means “presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

“On earth as it is in heaven”. The question is: what is it like in heaven? If we are praying for God’s will to be on earth like it is in heaven, what are we asking for? We might be able to come with all sorts of answers. Here is what Pastor Newton said, “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 shall have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Sounds really great, right?! He also said, “Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21). Believers are to be God’s ambassadors while on earth. That means to walk in obedience to the one I represent – Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means each Believer is to walk the narrow way in order that God’s will in heaven comes down to earth, allowing the light of Jesus in them shine brightly for others to see, speaking the words of Jesus with His authority!