“Let It Be...” (2)

Matthew 6:9-13

The Kingdom of God is here with Jesus’ presence.

Yet we often hear that the Kingdom of God will come. The Kingdom of God is also the day when the Lord returns and will rule forever.

In Mark 13, the entire chapter speaks about waiting for the Kingdom of God. Be alert and watch out; there will be signs, but watch out.

- The disciples thought the Kingdom of God was going to appear very soon. In Luke 19, Jesus tells the parable of the ten Minas (or talents) because people thought “the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” (Luke 19:11) The disciples expected the end times to be very near and the judgment day to be very close. Yet in the parable of the ten Minas, Jesus wanted them to invest their talents and minas while on earth waiting for the King to arrive. He wanted to tell them not to sit and wait for the coming of the Kingdom with out doing anything.

So there this tension,

- Is the Kingdom here? Yes, it is here.

- Are we going to wait for the Day of the Lord? Yes, we are waiting for the day of the Lord.

- Are there any signs? Yes, there are signs, but He will come like a thief. No one knows the day or the time, only God the Father.

- How do we reconcile these two ideas?

THE KINGDOM OF GOD is “already-not yet.”

This is the way I understand. Jesus Christ is the King. When the King is present, the Kingdom is here. He came to this earth. The Kingdom is at hand; it is here; the kingdom is established.

But also the Kingdom of God is veiled. Jesus told the parable of mustard seed. The Kingdom of God is like mustard seed, very small. Maybe one can not see it, but it has a huge effect. The Kingdom of God veiled. Not everyone can see the Kingdom. We have this promise that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Now it is present, and we can see as much as God allows us to see. Unfortunately, some do not see at all, and they are not in the Kingdom.

I said before the Kingdom of God is veiled. I borrowed this expression from an author Darrell Johnson who wrote a book called, “Fifty-Seven Words that Change the World.”

He derived the idea of veil from the apocalypse. When we hear this word, we think of terrible things that will happen, the end times. The concept of Apocalypse is attractive to the market. There are movies, “Apocalypse now.” But the word simply means “unveil”. It means in the end times. In the second coming Christ will unveil the curtain to show what is already here. God will make visible what already God started with the coming of Jesus.

So what are we praying when we say “Let your kingdom come.”

“God, you are here. We know you are here, and you did establish your kingdom by your son Jesus Christ. We know also that one day your kingdom will appear to everyone. Meanwhile we are living between these two events. Lord, let your Kingdom be unveiled now within us. Bring your Kingdom into this fallen world. Lord, manifest your Kingdom.”

The second part is about Will of God. “Let it be your will” (Aramaic order). “Let you will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Let whatever God wants be done on this earth.

Let us learn from Jesus. He said many times that he came to do his Father’s will.

- “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish His work.” (John 4:31-34)

- Who is Jesus’ brother, mother and sister?

“Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50)

- Even in the garden of Gethsemane and while in pain Jesus said, “Yet, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39-42)

-Do you see how important it is to do God’s will, to obey God’s will.

-No wonder Jesus is teaching in this prayer: “Let Your Will be done.”

Sometimes we obey God’s will without pleasure, without willingness (unwilling obedience).

Let me tell you that the Greek word for will is Thelema. It means two words: purpose and pleasure.

Darrel Johnson explains thelema with these words: “Your will be done means ‘Your purpose and pleasure be done.’” (p56)

God is good. God’s will is good. God’s will is pleasure and has purpose.

Usually God’s will and our will do not coincide. Big problem!

Helmut Thielicke put it best:

In the last analysis we know very little about real needs, about what we lack and what we need. So we often pray for foolish things, when what we need is something totally different. We are naked, and instead of praying for clothing we pray for bonbons. We are imprisoned by certain passions… and instead of praying for freedom we pray for Persian rug for our cell. So often we pray senseless things that have no relation to our needs. And the reason is that we do not know the deepest wants and necessities of our life at all.

We don’t know what are we asking for. We think we know what we need. But we don’t. Therefore, we need God to understand about life, about relationships, about family, work, life death. We need God (Period). To need to ask to His will to be in our life. To allow our will to be under His will.

Let your will be done. Only God can do this. We are the recipients of His will.

How? What is the will of God?

The revealed will of God that is written in His Word.

The Word of God is written and given to us so that we see how God reveals Himself and His will to humanity.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:17-18, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is… be filled with the Spirit.”

God’s will gives pleasure and purpose to us. When we are in tune with God, doing His will becomes our pleasure. Paul says it best:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

God does His part, and we have our part in allowing our will to be ruled by His will. To be filled with the Spirit is not automatic when we do not spend time with God. How much time we give to read the word and meditate on it? Not only that, to learn and practice whatever we learned.

This is the revealed will of the Lord. There is also the individual direction from God to each of us individually. God’s will for me.

God has a special mission for Moses, for Joseph, for Peter, for Paul. God revealed His will day by day in their journey of life.

I will finish with the words of Jesus that summarize God’s will. I will read from John 6:38-40 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."”

Do you see why I stress Salvation through Jesus Christ? It is the ultimate will of God that no one will perish, so that all will have the chance to know Him.

What a joy to see that one more person will call God Abba, Daddy. One more person will come to Him.

The CACC has a role in doing God’s will. God does His part without asking our permission. But we have responsibility. If we are singing the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday, it means we are making an oath with God and asking Him to unveil His Kingdom so more people will see our Lord Jesus Christ, our King.

Do you know the King Jesus in your life?

Do you trust Him?

Do you surrender your will to His? Allow His will rule over your will.

Amen.