DRAWING NEAR
March 18
Praying for Christ's Rule
"Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10).
When you pray, "Thy kingdom come," you are praying for Christ to
reign on earth as He already does in Heaven.
When we hear the word kingdom we tend to think of medieval castles,
kings, knights, and the like. But "kingdom" in Matthew 6:10
translates a Greek word that means "rule" or "reign." We could
translate the phrase, "Thy reign come." That gives a clearer sense of
what Christ meant. He prayed that God's rule would be as apparent on
earth as it is in heaven.
God's kingdom was the central issue in Christ's ministry. He
proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23) and instructed His
followers to make the kingdom a priority in their own lives (Matt.
6:33). He told parables about its character and value (Matt. 13) and
indicted the scribes and Pharisees for hindering those who sought to
enter it (Matt. 23:13). After His death and resurrection, He appeared
for forty days giving the disciples further instruction about the
kingdom (Acts 1:2-3).
When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are praying for Christ's
sovereign rule to be as established on earth as it is in heaven. In
one sense the kingdom is already here--in the hearts of believers. It
consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom.
14:17). But in another sense the kingdom is yet future. In Luke 17:21
Jesus says, "Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst" (cf. John
18:36). Their King was present but they rejected Him. Someday He will
return again to establish His kingdom on earth and personally reign
over it. That's the aspect of the kingdom we pray for in Matthew
6:10.
Sin and rebellion are now rampant, but when Christ's kingdom comes,
they will be done away with (Rev. 20:7-9). In the meantime, the work
of the kingdom continues and you have the privilege of promoting it
through your prayers and faithful ministry. Take every opportunity to
do so today and rejoice in the assurance that Christ will someday
reign in victory and will be glorified for all eternity.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Praise God for the glorious future that awaits you and all believers.
Pray with anticipation for the coming of Christ's eternal kingdom.
For Further Study:
Read Matthew 13:1-52. What parables did Jesus use to instruct His
disciples about the kingdom of heaven?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of
sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 23:13
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up
the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves,
nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Acts 1:2-3
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy
Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by
many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Romans 14:17
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
John 18:36
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were
of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be
delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."
Revelation 20:7-9
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released
from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp
of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out
of heaven and devoured them.
Matthew 13:1-52
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got
into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a
sower went out to sow.
4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds
came and devoured them.
5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth;
and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had
no root they withered away.
7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked
them.
8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them
in parables?"
11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has
not been given.
12 "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have
abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken
away from him.
13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do
not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will
see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are
hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should
see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should
understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'
16 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they
hear;
17 "for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, and did not hear it.
18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not
understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was
sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who
hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For
when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word,
immediately he stumbles.
22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the
word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of
heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat and went his way.
26 "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the
tares also appeared.
27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you
not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to
him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
29 "But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also
uproot the wheat with them.
30 'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares
and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my
barn."' "
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of
heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his
field,
32 "which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown
it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of
the air come and nest in its branches."
33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like
leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it
was all leavened."
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and
without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept
secret from the foundation of the world."
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And
His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the
tares of the field."
37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the
Son of Man.
38 "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the
kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of
the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so
it will be at the end of this age.
41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather
out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice
lawlessness,
42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking
beautiful pearls,
46 "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold
all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast
into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48 "which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down
and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
49 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth,
separate the wicked from among the just,
50 "and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing
and gnashing of teeth."
51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They
said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed
concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out
of his treasure things new and old."
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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