We're turning in our Bibles again to Matthew chapter six. We're dealing with a subject of instruction for praying. And this is part of that section of scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount. And in particular, we're dealing with verses nine through verse fifteen. So let us read that section. However, this section on instructions for praying begins back in verse five, and we have already read that section two times on previous Lord's days. This morning we're in verse nine, and especially in verse ten. But verse nine, after this manner therefore pray ye our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed, be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Now may the Lord bless the reading of his words. Let us again look to him in prayer. Our Father, we thank you this morning that thou art in heaven, for thou art high above the earth. And if our words are not words of faith, and if our words are not the words of Scripture, they never get higher than the womb. How can we ever penetrate the heavens? And yet you taught us to pray our Father who art in heaven. And it is only by faith that we can penetrate to where thou art. And it's only by being in a humble position where we are in thy holy presence that we are heard. For thou hast declared unto us Thus saith the high and the lofty one, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and the holy place, but also with him that is contrite or crushed. These are the two places that you dwell. And we bow before you this morning and ask you to graciously minister to us in this hour. We would multiply words upon those that have been read from your sacred book. We pray that as we do so, that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart will indeed glorify you and bring honor to him who taught us to pray this prayer in his worthy name, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now the prayer that our Lord taught his disciples, the prayer which we read from Matthew chapter six, is very comprehensive. The prayer begins with a believer having respect to God's honor, for it begins with the words, Our Father, which art in heaven. It is a recognition of where he is, his holy throne, which is in the heavens. So we read in the hundred fifteenth psalms. The heaven of heavens is the Lord, the earth he has given unto the children of men. Now the second and the third partitions reveal the means whereby God is manifested on the earth. How do we honor him on earth? By hallowing his name. Hallowed be thy name. For the name of God is the revelation of his person, the perfections of his attributes. and everything about our God that is revealed in sacred scripture. And God has been pleased to reveal himself to us in his works, creations, in his words, the Holy Scriptures, and in his dear Son, who is the very express image of the person of God. As we read in Colossians one in verse fifteen, that Christ is the image of the invisible God. So therefore... We can say from the heart, hallowed be thy name. Thankfulness in our heart for the revelation he's given to us of himself. But now when we come to this third petition, thy kingdom come. And you see, this petition reveals how his glory is manifested on earth. His name, hallowed be thy name, and his kingdom. which rules over the children of men. So we look at this partition this morning. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is only one way that you can appreciate the kingdom of God. There is not two. It is only one. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, according to John chapter three, Nicodemus was a very religious man. He was a teacher in Israel, but he had never been born of God. He was still, while wealthy and no probability, a member of Israel's ruling body, the Sanhedrin. He was a teacher in Israel, but he was lost. He was without God, and our Lord said to him, accept a man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God. There is only one way that we can appreciate the kingdom of God. And when we say from the heart, Thy kingdom come, what we are really saying is, Lord, I want that kingdom rule to which I have been introduced by the new birth, to be manifested by me as I walk in shoe leather among the sons of men. That's what it means. thy kingdom come you and I walk in shoe leather now in order for this to be a reality we must have a new nature God gives us a new nature by giving us a new heart that's what he says in Ezekiel chapter thirty six a new heart also will I give you and it has reference to the new covenant that God is going to make with the nation of Israel and of course with his people worldwide. Now the thing is this, a new nature, to have a nature, it is determined by birth. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. It is birth that determines nature. And our Lord said to Nicodemus, now there's one thing you need. You need a new birth if you're going to possess a new nature. There is no other way to receive a nature. Why is a dog a dog? My favorite question. Every time I visit a friend of mine in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, they say to me, are you going to talk about the dog today? I always emphasize this. A dog is a dog because it was born a dog. It may wish to be a cat or a horse or something else. But it will never be anything but a dog because it was born that way. And the reason people are the way they are is because they were born that way. We are of the flesh, everyone by nature. Whether it's Nicodemus or whether it's Philip, by nature we are of the flesh. And that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And if I'm ever going to get a new nature, I must have a new birth. Birth determines nature. Now, nature determines appetite. Why does a horse eat like a horse? Why? Because it is a horse. That's why. And why does a bullfrog sit on a lily pad and stick out its tongue and snag a fly? Because it has a nature of a bullfrog. I don't do that. And you don't do that. Why not? Why, because you don't have that nature. Birth determines nature, and nature determines appetite. Now, friends, appetite determines character. You tell me what you eat. You tell me what you feed on, and I'll tell you what you are. And so it is in the kingdom of God. If you feast on heavenly things, I'll tell you what you're like. You're going to be a worshiper of God on a basis. That's what you're like, you see. And if you feast on the things of this world, I'll guarantee you you're going to be worldly in your outlook and worldly in your life. Appetite determines character. Now character determines vision. Character determines vision. And the text for that is in the twenty-eighth chapter of Job, where Job is speaking concerning himself and he And he says, there is a path, verse eight, that no foul knoweth and which the vulture's eye has not seen. Now you have to study that passage. The eye of the vulture is one of the greatest telescopes that's on earth that you've ever seen. Versailles. A vulture can be flying out of sight, and yet it can see a rabbit on the hillside and swoop down and get it. And yet its eye is so tiny. I can't even see the vulture way up there, but the vulture can see the rabbit on the hillside. What a telescope. But there are a lot of things the vulture misses. You see, in the twenty-eighth chapter of Job, there's a great contrast between the eye of the vulture and the eye of the miner. The miner who digs into the earth and he brings out the gold and the silver and the rubies and the diamonds, the gems. Now, the vulture never sees the gems. Why? Well, because he doesn't have an appetite for them. The miner has an appetite for precious things. And therefore, he goes after the precious things. The miner, he doesn't see the rabbit on the hillside. He has his mind on precious things. The vulture, on the other hand, has its mind on dead things. It sees that. What appetite? Our Lord said to Nicodemus, except the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And there's only one way into this kingdom that he's talking about. Thy kingdom come. And in order to pray this prayer, we must have an acquaintance with that kingdom now. In this life, it's so important. Thy kingdom come. Do you enjoy the rule of God? Would you enjoy the rule of God on earth as it is maintained in heaven for nothing that the phallus enters there? There's no one who says no to God in heaven. There's no one who is disobedient there. Thy will be done on earth. as it is in heaven, and only a person with a new heart, that new birth that produces a new divine nature that they like to do the will of God can pray this prayer. Oh, let me ask you in all sincerity this morning, do you have an acquaintance with the kingdom of God? Accept the man be born again. He cannot enter the kingdom. except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God now there's a verse here in Matthew six that's very important look down at verse thirty three for a moment and it says seek ye first now that's priority seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you verse thirty three did I say verse thirty one I meant to say verse thirty three notice what he says But seek ye first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness. It is the kingdom of God and his righteousness that is to be priority in our lives. Then all these things. And the things that he's talking about are what are we going to wear? What are we going to eat? Where are we going to live? These things take priority in many people's lives. Where they're going to live. Can't fellowship with the Lord's people. On the Lord's day, you know, I have to move my lawn. I can't have my home looking badly, you see. I have to move my lawn. Where we're going to live. What are we going to wear? What are we going to eat? All these things, God says, are something more important. Seek first. the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you now over the years there's a certain group of people that I will not mention because labels can be dangerous but there's a certain group taught that this has reference to the millennium the time when the Lord comes back and he reigns in his kingdom on the earth the whole thing is why pray thy kingdom come if it's here then You see, that does not really make sense. Furthermore, these same people teach that we're really not in the kingdom now, we're in the church. But I'd like you to turn for just a moment to the twenty-eighth chapter of Acts. The man whom the Lord used to bring out truth concerning the church more than anyone else is a man by the name of Paul. Paul the Apostle. He's the one who wrote the church epistles. And very importantly, we have these verses in Acts twenty-eight, the last two verses of the book of Acts. And it says in verse thirty, this takes us to the last years of Paul's life when Paul was a Roman prisoner. We read, and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence no man forbidding him in other words the preaching of the kingdom of God is the things or are the things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ so to preach Christ is to preach the kingdom of God and beloved you cannot be in the kingdom apart from the new verse. Now, when a person prays to the Lord in this prayer, thy kingdom comes. In making this petition, we acknowledge that we by nature are under the dominion of sin. We're in a kingdom. We're either in the kingdom of God or we're in the kingdom of evil. Romans chapter six. And verse fourteen says this concerning the people who have been born of God. Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. And sin delights to have dominion over the people of God. Sin reigns as a king, I read in Romans six and verse eighteen, and also in Romans chapter five and verse eighteen. Sin, Romans five says, sin hath reigned unto death. That means sin reigns as a king over the children of men. And the subtle thing about sin, sin whispers, you can indulge in it. You need to know and experience this in order that you really live. You are the master of your life and exert your personality, et cetera, et cetera. and sin has reigned. And once a person has indulged in sin, sin becomes the king. And instead of man reigning, sin reigns instead. Now this can be beautifully illustrated. You may not like the illustration, but it's one of the best that I know. You see, there are kingdoms. Mr. Hill gave me a tape once by a doctor in the Midwest. And what a message he had on the kingdom of God. But he pointed out the various kingdoms. There is the mineral kingdom. And above the mineral kingdom is a vegetable kingdom. Above the vegetable kingdom, there is the animal kingdom. Above the animal kingdom is the kingdom of man. Above the kingdom of man is the kingdom of God. Now, no one in any of the kingdom can ever, by their own activity, reach up into the nexus. It is always the one above that reaches down and brings the one that's down up. Now, this is very important. For the vegetable kingdom to come up, you see, the cow must eat the green grass. And that way the vegetable kingdom comes up into the animal kingdom. Or the kingdom of man reaches into his garden and he takes a turnip. Or maybe we can think of something else. A tomato. Or a pepper. A good hot pepper. You see. And he reaches into the vegetable kingdom and it becomes a part of what? The kingdom of man. Now the vegetable kingdom has to reach down into the mineral kingdom. The mineral kingdom doesn't reach up. It's the vegetable kingdom that reaches down. It's always reaching down. And man who is in the kingdom of man, he cannot enter the kingdom of God on his own. God has to reach down and bring him up. And this is the free and sovereign grace of God, whereby God reaches into the kingdom of men through the gospel, the message how that Christ died for our sins. He came down. The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. God came down in the person of Christ in order that he could take men up into the kingdom of God. And he said to Nicodemus, accept the man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God and he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Now my illustration. Man plants a weed on his farm. It's called tobacco. And after the tobacco grows, he takes the leaves and he dries them and then he makes them into small pieces, puts a piece of paper around it, and then he begins to smoke it. And it isn't long until who's ruling who. You see, once you start that you that gets a hold on you and I've talked to a lot of people who say I wish I could stop you see here is man up here in the in the kingdom of man he's being ruled by what a vegetable you see what I'm trying to say our Lord has come and he says to us sin shall not have dominion over you Sin has reigned as a king unto death. Sin has reigned unto death. I read in Romans five in verse twenty. It reigns as a king. You see, and I'm not preaching against smoking, by the way, nor against tobacco. I'm using it as an illustration of a principle. I've worked with men. I've been around people who, especially after they've eaten lunch, they just have to have it. They can't be without it. Why? Well, somebody's ruling somebody. Somebody's under dominion. And all, beloved, there's only one way where we can be delivered from the dominion of sin. And that is through the kingdom of God being brought into that kingdom by virtue of the new birth. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must have done again. And our Lord, in this comprehensive prayer, as he's teaching his children to pray, when we read Luke's account in chapter eleven, our Lord taught this prayer to them. They said, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said, when ye pray, say, and then he gives them this same prayer. It's a comprehensive prayer. Thy kingdom come. Oh, the blessed rule of God. The rule of God is so blessed and precious. For they who are in the kingdom of God know real freedom. Satan says, you get mixed up in that religious stuff. Boy, it's going to put a rope around your neck. You'll never have any freedom. That's what Satan says. On the other hand, he puts in, look at what you can do. Boy, you can be your own person. Stay away from that religious business. You just come and you can be your own person. Live in sin. Live it up. You only go around once. And it leads to bondage. Come to Christ and taking his yoke. As our Lord said in Luke chapter or Matthew chapter eleven. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your soul. That person finds real freedom who comes to Christ. For he finds deliverance from bondage. My friend, are you able to pray this morning? Thy kingdom come. There's a hymn that I was looking for in our hymn book. I would have loved to sing it in closing this morning. We love thy kingdom, Lord. It isn't in. We love thy kingdom, Lord, do you? Do you love the rule of God? You see, there are two things about the kingdom of God that the child of God longs for. When we pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What do we long for? Will we long to see the kingdom of grace extended through the salvation of poor sinners? Man by nature is long. And when a person comes to Christ and trusts him as Lord and Savior, we see the kingdom of grace extended. God has brought others into the kingdom, brought out of sin and death. and woe, and they're brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son. They're brought into the kingdom of God. So when we pray, Thy kingdom come, Lord, send the kingdom of grace, save for us. Oh, there's nothing sweeter than seeing a sinner come to Christ and acknowledge that, Lord, I'm lost. I need the kingdom of God, and I can't come up. But you have come down, and I come through Christ, who came down. and I trust him as my Lord and Savior. But not only do we long to see the kingdom of grace extended in the salvation of sinners, we long to see the kingdom of glory ushered in. And one of these days our Lord is going to return. He's coming. The Word of God says, in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. And when the Son of Man comes, He's going to usher in the kingdom of glory. So when we pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we desire, first of all, to know the will of God. We desire God's will to be known in order that we may do it. Thy will be done. I have to know his will to do it, and his will is revealed in his words. Not only do we want to know his will, but we have a desire that his will is wrought in us. There's no use me praying, Lord, I'd like to see brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so doing your will on earth as they do in heaven. How about you, Philip? Do you want it? You see, I'm the fellow. And I desire that the will of God be wrought in me. Furthermore... I desire that the will of God be performed by me, to do His will, my highest prize, since I have been redeemed. And where do we want to do it on earth as it is in heaven? How do we want to do it? Humbly, simply bowing to the commands of a holy God. We want to do it cheerfully. Do you ever meet anybody in the Lord's work? Oh my, let me go to a meeting again. Oh, go into the meeting of the Lord. Prayer meeting on Wednesday night. Is that how you feel about it? Oh, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Can you imagine any of the angels saying, Lord, I don't want to pray? Can you imagine any of the angels saying, Lord, I'm not going to sing? Now they all have better voices than I have. I know that. But to do it not only humbly, but to do it cheerfully. But to do it impartially. Lord, I'm doing it with a whole heart. I will be done. I'm wholehearted in this business. And to do it promptly. Well, I'll obey you next week, Lord. This is my week. No, to do it promptly. And finally, to do it constantly. To do the will of God from the heart continuously. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I'm going to stop there. I got over one sixth of what I planned on preaching today. You don't want the other five sixths today, do you? It'll take a long time. But listen. There's one thing you should want. The will of God. To be done in your life. As it is in heaven. That's what it means to be in the kingdom of God. And that's what the kingdom of God does. In the life of each children. I think we should sing a hymn in closing. Hymn number six. The first and last stances of this hymn. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy. Merciful and mighty. God and sweet person. Blessed Trinity. This is the God to whom we pray. It is the kingdom, his kingdom, into which we are brought. And we're brought there by divine grace. Are you in? Oh, if you're not in. If I can help you with an open Bible, it's so blessed to come in. It's the greatest thing in the world. I'd love to sit with you with an open Bible. Let's stand together and sing the first and last of the hymn number six.