When we pray what is called “The Lord’s Prayer,” we are asking Jesus Christ to be the Supreme King of our lives, as He is in heaven today, and as He will soon be over all the earth.
- While Jesus was not giving His disciples the actual words to pray, He was giving them an outline of the context, and the content of their prayers.
- Verse 9 – “Our Father,” – our surrender unto God as His child.
- Verse 10-13 – “Thy Kingdom come,” – our willingness to allow Jesus Christ to rule and reign in our hearts as He will soon rule over all the earth.
- Verse 13 – “Thine is the Kingdom, power, and glory,” – we recognize His right to rule and to reign because all power in heaven and in earth was given unto Him by God the Father.
- Each time we pray this model prayer, we are asking for God’s will to be done in our lives, and for His Kingdom authority to be revealed through our lives, so that others would see Christ in us, and be drawn to Him.
In this series of sermons, we have outlined the major prophetic events that precede the millennial reign of Christ on the earth.
- The Rapture of the Church – 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 – this is the next event on God’s prophetic calendar.
- Believers stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ – 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 – every believer will give account of their works of righteousness during their lives on earth.
- Unbelievers endure the Tribulation – Matthew 24:21 – this seven-year event is also referred to as “Jacob’s Trouble,” “Daniel’s 70th Week,” “The wrath of God,” – the antichrist will rule the world during this time.
- Believers attend the Marriage of the Lamb – Ephesians 5:25-27, Isaiah 54:5, Hosea 2:16-19, 2 Corinthians 11:2 – those whom the Lord ransomed and redeemed will be united with Him in an eternal relationship like that of a marriage.
- Believers return to earth with Christ to establish His Kingdom beginning with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb – Revelation 19:6-9 – this celebration will include all the saints from all of the ages, as well as those who were saved during the Tribulation.
- Jesus will inaugurate His reign over the earth for 1,000 years, during which time He will:
- Put down all rebellion of man and restore the earth to its former peace.
- Vindicate and avenge Himself as well as all those who believed in Him.
- Exalt the saints of all the ages to serve as priests and kings.
- Judge the nations according to their righteousness.
- Restore a righteous and eternal government over all the earth.
- To restore all things as they were before sin entered into the world and God condemned it with a curse.
- Daniel 2:44 – “The God of heaven will set up a new kingdom, which shall not be destroyed.”
- Matthew 19:8 – Jesus referred to this as a “regeneration,” – a time of new birth and new life.
- Acts 3:19 – Luke referred to this as “times of refreshing,” when the earth will be flooded with God’s righteousness.
- Ephesians 1:10 – Paul referred to this as “a time of fullness.”
- Philippians 1:10 – Paul referred to this as “The Day of Christ.”
- Theologians of old referred to this as “Paradise Regained,” as everything will return to the way it was when God first created the heavens and the earth.
- The Inauguration – How the Kingdom of God will begin
- The Kingdom will not be brought about by preaching the gospel.
- Contrary to the Dominionists, the Kingdom Now proponents, and those involved in the Apostolic Reformation, the Kingdom of God will not be ushered in by world-wide evangelism.
- Neither has God given us the spiritual authority to vanquish all evil before Christ returns.
- The Kingdom will not be brought about by organized religion.
- Evangelicalism, whether in the form of liturgical-ism or Laodicean-ism, is moving toward apostasy, not revival.
- Under the banner of ecumenical unity, organized religion has abandoned the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, and is supportive of the one-world religion of the New World Order.
- The Kingdom will not be brought about by any government agency or humanitarian effort.
- World peace will not be the result of good thoughts, good works, or a military conquest.
- The Millennial Kingdom will be inaugurated by:
- Revelation – Acts 1:9-11 – the Lord will return to this earth.
- Transformation – Romans 8:18-24 – Jesus will remove the curse of sin upon the earth. Isaiah 35:1, Amos 9:13-15, Isaiah 11:6, Isaiah 65:20, Isaiah 2:4
- An Incarceration – Revelation 20:1ff – Satan will be bound in chains and cast into the bottomless pit.
- The resurrected saints will rule and reign with Christ during the millennium.
- The Apostles will rule over the 12-tribes of Israel.
- The rest of the saints will be assigned to serve as priests and kings in different parts of the earth.
- The Administration – How the Kingdom will operate – Revelation 20:4-6 – “And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1,000 Years.”
- Jesus Christ will rule and reign on this earth for 1,000 years, as He is now ruling and reigning in Heaven, and we will reign with Him as priests and kings over a specified territory of the earth.
- Jesus described how the basis of our service will be decided in the parable of the Nobleman in Luke 19:12-27.
- On the day we all want to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant; you were faithful in little (while on earth) you now have authority over ten cities.”
- What we are allowing the Lord to do through us today counts for eternity.
- The Consummation – How the Kingdom will conclude
- Revelation 20:3 – Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, and then be released just before the end of the Millennium.
- The millennial kingdom is an “earthly” kingdom which will be populated by earthly people as well as glorified saints.
- The earthly people will reproduce after their kind, and after 1,000 years, there will be a lot of earthly people, most of whom will be unbelievers.
- To reveal their true nature, Satan will be released to attract unbelievers unto himself, and the Bible says the number of them will be as great as the sand of the sea.
- Understand this: The Millennium will be a “Christian Culture!”
- Jesus will be on His throne in Jerusalem – He will be able to be seen, heard, and observed.
- However, a perfect environment cannot create a perfect heart.
- Jesus said, unless one is “born again,” they cannot see, or comprehend, or understand the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Revelation 20:10 says those who are deceived by Satan will be devoured by fire from heaven, and then the one who deceived them will be cast into the lake of fire, along with the beast and the false prophet, and they will be tormented day and night forever.
- Revelation 21:10 says Jesus will give “of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.”
The true believer longs for the day when Christ returns to this earth to establish His Kingdom.
- Without the second-coming of Christ there would be no real purpose for His first coming.
- Christ’s second-coming is the culmination of His life and His work.
- Christ’s second-coming is where He finally receives the justification, and the glorification, and the exaltation for all the humiliation He received when He came to earth 2000 years ago.
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:8
