Thy Kingdom Come

Now let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 6. Our Scripture reading this morning will be the first fifteen verses of Chapter 6. I'll read the first, the odd-numbered verses, and we invite you to join together as you read the even-numbered, shall we stand for the reading of the Word. Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand doeth. And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. And after this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Let's pray.

Father in that prayer that we have just offered, we have prayed for the day when your kingdom will come. When your will will be done here on earth even as it is in heaven. And Lord as we look around at the world in which we live today, and we see Lord the suffering, we see the pain, we see the maladies that have afflicted our rebellious world.

Our hearts Lord do pray thy kingdom come. Thy will be done here Lord in the earth even as it is in heaven. In Jesus name.

Amen. You may be seated. It's interesting there are two men in the Bible of which it says that they were beloved of God.

One is Daniel. Oh man greatly beloved of God the angel said to him. The other is John of whom we read John the Beloved.

Interesting that both of these men were lovers of prophecy. Probably one of the greatest books of prophecy in the Old Testament is Daniel and surely in the book of Revelation in the New Testament written by John the Beloved. So if you want to be beloved of God, show an interest in what God has to say about the future.

And tonight we'll be studying the first couple of chapters of Daniel as we move into this book so accurate in the predictions that those men who are skeptics about the Bible, because they cannot explain with what accuracy Daniel prophesied and predicted future events, they invented a late dating for Daniel. They said it was written after the events took place by a man who called himself Daniel and basically because no one could speak with such accuracy of future events before they ever took place. Of course they don't believe in God and so they have to somehow pass off the fact that Daniel was inspired by God to the writings of the book of Daniel.

Of course it's also interesting that the book of Daniel does appear in the Septuagint Old Testament which was actually before Daniel was supposed to have written it. So interesting before it was supposed to have been written it was already written. But so much for the Bible critics.

Have you ever wondered what the future held for you? What is the future of the United States? Back in the early fifties, 1954, a song was popular called Que Sera Sera. When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what would I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? This is what she said to me. Que Sera Sera.

What will be, will be. But not only little girls are curious, but it seems like everyone is curious as what does the future hold? About 2,500 years ago one of the greatest powers, one of the greatest rulers who ever lived, who dominated the world, he was wondering also about the future. What does the future hold for me? What does the world? What's going to happen in days, weeks, and years to come? And so God responded to that ruler who had that question.

God gave to him a dream. And in the dream God showed to him the future of the world. And so when he awoke in the morning he was aware of the fact that the dream had great significance.

That it was an omen. However, he had a problem. He couldn't recall the dream.

Only the reaction that he had to it and knowing that it had a message for him. So he called his wise men, his counselors, his astrologers, and he asked them what his dream meant. And they said, well tell us your dream and we'll tell you what it means.

He said, I can't remember my dream. They said, how in the world then do you expect us to tell you what it means if you can't even remember what you dreamed? He said, I've had you on the payroll for many years to be wise counselors to me. And if you can't tell me the dream and its meaning then I'm cutting off your salary because I'll cut off your heads.

They said, you've got to be kidding. No one has ever demanded of their counselors such a thing as you're demanding of us. Only the gods in heaven could know what you dreamed.

And so the king ordered that the wise men and the counselors be put to death. Among the counselors were four young fellows from Israel who had been taken captive around 606 in the first captivity. And they were being trained and groomed to be counselors unto Nebuchadnezzar.

And so when Ariok came and told them of the decree of the king to execute the wise men and the counselors, Daniel said to Ariok, go back and tell the king to have patience, that I can tell him what his dream was and what the interpretation of it is. Daniel went to his three buddies and he said, fellows, we need a prayer meeting. We need to find out some information fast from the Lord.

And so as they were fasting and praying the Lord showed to Daniel the dream and the interpretation. And so they spent time praising the Lord and thanking the Lord for the wisdom that He had given to them. So Ariok brought Daniel in before Nebuchadnezzar.

And he said, I have found a man of Israel who is able to tell you your dream and the meaning of it. So Nebuchadnezzar said, are you able to tell me the dream and the meaning? And Daniel said, the dream which the king demanded to be told, the wise men and the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers cannot show it to the king. But there is a God in heaven that reveals secret and has made known to the king what will happen in the last days.

Daniel isn't about ready to take credit for wisdom or whatever. He is just attributing to God the fact that God has revealed to the king what is going to happen in the last days of man's rule upon the earth. Daniel reminded the king of just what provoked the dream to begin with.

He said, as for you, O king, as you were lying on your bed before you went to sleep, you were wondering what does the future hold. And He that reveals secrets has made known to you what is going to come to pass in the future. So Daniel described for him the dream He said, you saw a great awesome image.

It had a head of gold. It had arms of silver, a stomach of bronze, and legs of iron with feet of iron and clay with ten toes. You were watching this great image until you saw a stone that was not cut with hands.

It smote the image in its feet of iron and clay, broke them to pieces, and the whole image crumbled and was blown away. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain that filled the whole earth. Daniel said, this is the interpretation of your dream.

You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given to you a kingdom and power and strength and glory. He has made you ruler over all.

You are the head of gold. But after you another kingdom that is inferior to you will arise, the chest and the arms of silver. And that kingdom shall fall to the kingdom of brass.

The fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. So the iron will break all of these. And whereas you saw the feet and the toes, part of clay and part of iron, the kingdom will be divided, but there shall be in it the strength of iron forasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with the miry clay.

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly weak. And whereas you saw the iron mixed with the miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all of these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as you saw the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what is going to come to pass in the future, and the dream is certain and the interpretation is sure.

The purpose of the dream is very sure. It was to give to the king a preview of the future of the world, to show to him the empires that would rule over the world. And as Daniel said to him, your thoughts before going to sleep is what is going to come to pass in the future.

So God who reveals secrets have made you known what the future holds. So God showed to him the kingdoms that would rule over the earth, beginning with the Babylonian kingdom. Looking at history, we see the accuracy of the fulfillment of this dream as we look at history and see the kingdoms that developed world power, world governing empires, and the kingdoms that were empires.

The first of these, of course, was the Babylonian kingdom. But the Babylonian kingdom was then replaced by an inferior kingdom, the Medo-Persian empire, the chest and arms of silver. It is identified for us as the Persian empire there in chapter 5 verse 28.

But the bronze stomach, the Grecian empire, identified for us in chapter 8 verse 21, overcame and overpowered the Persian empire. The Grecian kingdom was crushed by the Roman empire, which crushed and bludgeoned the world into submission. The final kingdom of iron and clay was the Roman empire.

The Roman empire, in that it is part iron, but also mixed with clay that is more of a democracy rather than an iron autocratic rule. It would be a federation of nations that would be bound by treaty to each other, nations that were once a part of the Roman empire. Since the Roman empire, we realize there has not been a world governing empire.

Napoleon sought to attain it, as did the Kaiser of Germany, and later Hitler of Germany. But the dream of this federation of ten kings, iron and clay, was not fulfilled would, it seems, be forming now in what was first of all called the European Economic Community. Nations of Europe that bound themselves together in an economic treaty known as the Treaty of Rome.

Later on, they changed it to the Economic, or the European Community and then later still the European Union as it is called today. European nations joined together by treaties with the European Parliament, the European President, and of course the European currency now, the euro currency of Europe. And we see in this the formation of this final kingdom described by Daniel as a kingdom of iron and clay.

The interesting thing of course is that it is during the reign of this kingdom that Jesus Christ will come again, smite the image in its feet, world governments and man ruled governments will come to an end, and Jesus shall reign where'er the sun doth her successive journeys run. The kingdom of God will come to the earth, and our prayers, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven, will be answered in that day. Then shall the Son of the Seventh Angel of Revelation sound His trumpet, and there will be great voices in heaven that will declare, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.

Then, as Isaiah tells us, they shall no longer hurt nor destroy in all the holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Then shall the desert rejoice and blossom as a rose. Then the blind shall see, the deaf will hear.

Then the lame will leap as a deer. The tongue of the mute will sing, and in the wilderness springs will break out, streams in the desert, the parched ground will become a lake, and the thirsty land springs of water. And the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy will be upon their heads, and they will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and the little child shall lead them.

Then the cow and the bear will feed together. Their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox, and the little nursing child will play on the hole of an asp. Then many people will say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Then they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruninghooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Then every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make him afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has declared this. Then shall God wipe away all tears, for there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." You know when we say, Well, the end of the world is coming. People say, Oh, doom and gloom, profit.

No. Pick up your newspaper. Listen to the news reports.

That's doom and gloom. Looking at the world in which we live today. Looking how it is plagued with the AIDS epidemic.

Look at the social consequences of this AIDS epidemic, especially in Africa, where there are thousands upon thousands of orphan children now whose parents have died of AIDS. Look at terrorism. The problem it has created in the world.

The fear that is created as the result of these terroristic activities. And of course now they are threatening the United States again with terror that is even far worse than happened at 9-11. They are threatening Britain with further terrorist attacks.

In fact the Morning Register paper, the headlines on the front page, terrorism. And it's a thing where as Jesus said, Because of the problems of the day, men's hearts will be failing them for the fear of the things that are coming to pass upon the earth. Look at the problems that we have with drugs.

The problems that we have with drive-by shootings. The problems with just almost every segment in our society. That's to me doom and gloom.

What I read to you of what's going to happen when the Lord's kingdom comes is not doom and gloom. It's joy. It's blessing.

The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy. The end of wars. The end of terrorism.

The end of fear. The end of physical maladies or deformities. The glorious end.

The end new world that the Bible promises when Jesus comes to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. We're speaking of a glorious new world that the Scriptures have promised. A world where Jesus is King and the kingdom of God rules.

Who will live in that kingdom? All of those who have made Jesus the King of their life. Who will not be able to enjoy that world? Those who have not made Jesus King or Lord of their lives. Paul the Apostle said, If you will believe in your heart that God has raised Him.

If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is King or is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you'll be saved. The question is, have you made Jesus really Lord of your life? Or is your flesh the Lord of your life? Are you being ruled by the desires of your flesh? Does that control your life? Or is Jesus the Lord of your life? If Jesus is the Lord of your life then you are a part of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is where God reigns and where God rules.

And if God reigns and rules in your life then you are a part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of darkness is where God doesn't rule. Those lives that shut Him out do not allow Him to rule over them.

Tragic when Jesus was here so many people said, we will not have this man to rule over us. Tragic that so many people are saying that today. We will not have this man to rule over us.

And because of that we see the chaotic conditions of the world in which we live. Because it is a world that is rebelling against the rule of Jesus Christ. But that world will soon come to an end.

In the days in which these ten kings and just we say well there are more than that in the European Union. Yes. I don't know yet how God is going to solve that but I'm sure He will.

And there will be the ten toes to the image that will be the major portion perhaps of the European community as they are already speaking of that. The ten major nations of the European community. But God will solve that.

I'm not worried about that. All I know is that it's being formed before your very eyes today. And one day it will rise in power as a world dominating power.

And in those days the Lord will come in the second coming and establish the kingdom that shall never end. As Isaiah said, unto us all that are a child is born. Unto us a son is given.

And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and His peace there will be no end.

Upon the throne of David to order it and to establish it in righteousness and in judgment from henceforth even forever. For the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. This morning we read, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

Jesus said, pray that. This morning we heard it sung so beautifully, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. Oh let that be our prayer.

Lord Thy kingdom come. Tired of seeing this world in rebellion against God. Tired of seeing all of the pain and the suffering.

Longing for that day when God shall wipe away all tears and there will be no sorrow, no death, no pain, no suffering. We'll see the world as God wanted it to be and intended it to be and it would have been if it were not for sin. Sin is the great destroyer individually and corporately.

It is what has brought the destruction to the world today. But one day a world free from sin when His kingdom comes and His will is done here on earth even as it is in heaven. Father we thank you for the hope of the coming again of Jesus Christ and that kingdom that shall never fall.

Lord we've watched in history as one kingdom fell to another kingdom. We're watching now Lord the formation of the final kingdom. But we're thrilled Lord because we realize that it is during the reign of this kingdom that the eternal true kingdom of God will come.

Help us Lord that we might yield ourselves to Jesus Christ. Acknowledging Him as King of our lives. We crown Thee now.

Thine shall the glory be. Lord I pray for those today who are outside of the kingdom, who have not the hope that we have, who have to face this bleak world, hoping in an empty hope that somehow the United Nations is going to solve the problems. Lord we realize that only the coming again of Jesus Christ is going to solve the problems of the world in which we live.

Even so come quickly Lord Jesus is our prayer. Amen.