Sermon -- Summer Sermon Series: Lord's Prayer, 2nd Petition (July 20, 2025)

LUKE 11:1-2

THY KINGDOM COME.

In the name + of Jesus.

     “After (Jesus) had suffered, he presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and told them things about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).  When we hear about God’s kingdom, we think of countries and palaces and armies.  That’s what a kingdom is to us.  Perhaps the apostles were also hanging on to this flawed understanding, too.  Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6)?  They had in mind a political entity—a great country, a luxurious palace, and a powerful army.  They were wrong.  We are, too.

     We have been taught to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” so I think we are stuck with the word “kingdom.”  Perhaps a better word would be reign or rule.  God’s kingdom is about how he governs the world and its events—both triumphs and tragedies.  It is about how God sustains life and all creation.  The kingdom of God is especially about how God deals with us through his word.  Martin Luther summarized the meaning of this petition in this way: “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven. (Luther’s Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, 2^nd Petition).   

     Many people think the petition, “Thy kingdom come,” is about the heavenly kingdom, and that our prayer is for God to bring us there.  It is partly about that.  But if that is all it is, that suggests that the kingdom of God is not here.  It also suggests that you are not in the kingdom of God right now.  But, of course, you are.  You live under God who lives and reigns over all things.  His word stands firm.  His kingdom endures.  No one and nothing can dethrone him, ever. 

     The Lord is King of heaven and earth, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t opposed.  The devil is the prince of this world because he took humanity captive back in the Garden of Eden.  God had given his word to Adam and Eve, but the devil convinced them that God’s word is not good and that God’s reign is evil.  He convinced them that rebelling against God would set them free from God.  In a sense, that was true.  By eating the fruit which God had forbidden them to eat, they asserted their own rule.  Now they were free—free from God’s mercy and God’s love; free from peace and gladness and life.  By their rebellious act, they became captives to the devil, to sin, and to death. 

     This is the sinful condition which has been passed down to all people.  And it does not have to be taught.  It is a rebellious spirit that can be seen in the youngest of people.  Tell a child, “Eat your vegetables,” and you will get a defiant, “No!”  Tell a child, “Clean your room,” and you will get an eyeroll and something muttered under his breath.  Tell a teenager, “Do your homework before you turn on the PlayStation,” and you may hear a slamming door or a sarcastic reply.  What parent responds glowingly, “I am so glad my children are free to express themselves that way?”  None.  We never outgrow this sinful rebellion, and we cannot escape it.  We are captive to it, and the devil wants you to believe that this is freedom. 

     What does the devil’s freedom look like?  St. Paul wrote that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” Galatians 5:22-23).  So, the fruits of the devil are the opposite of these.  Sin robs you of peace so that you continually wonder if God is pleased with you.  Your conscience will tell you that he is not.  Sin makes you impatient and unkind.  You are annoyed by people because they are in your way.  This impatience results in insults, threats, and even violence.  Sin perverts love.  Your sinful condition insists that love is about you—that you should always get praise and priority.  Love for others comes with conditions, and it is withdrawn when those conditions are not met.  Sin also teaches you to reject self-control.  Instead, you are to be swept away by drunkenness, anger, jealousy, promiscuity, and the like.  The devil claims: This is freedom!  He would have you believe that you are accountable to no one, and he stirs up your anger against anyone who would rein you in or rebuke you.  But sin produces death and judgment and hell.  If you are captive to sin, you are bound to death and hell.  Oh, did the devil forget to tell you that? 

     When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” our prayer is that God would set us free and keep us free from this captivity.  The kingdom of God was ushered into this world by Jesus.  In establishing this kingdom, Jesus did what the prophet Isaiah had foretold: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me … to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:1-2).  In order to release you from your captivity to sin, death, and the devil, Jesus enlisted himself in the great prisoner exchange.  Jesus exchanged himself for all mankind, the innocent one on behalf of the guilty, the Son of God on behalf of all mankind.  Jesus bound himself to your sin and guilt, taking on the curse that you deserve.  Jesus bound himself to your death, dying under the wrath of God that you have earned.  And when the devil had the chance to kill the Son of God, he seized his opportunity to do his worst. 

     Although the devil did his worst to Jesus, Jesus overcame death in his resurrection.  In exchanging himself for you, Jesus took your sins away.  You are free from your sin—its curse and its control.  In overcoming the grave, Jesus set you free from death.  The grave may hold you for a season, but Jesus will bring you back.  You are free from death.  And the devil may still try to convince you that he owns you.  He will tempt and taunt and try to deceive you.  But Jesus overrules anything the devil says.  Jesus has set you free from his grasp.  He has brought you into a kingdom that brings life and peace and hope and joy.

     The kingdom of God is not a political entity.  It is not limited to one country or people.  God’s kingdom is wherever his Gospel is preached and sacraments are given.  Where these are, the Holy Spirit bestows God’s grace and sets the captives free from sin and death.  Sadly, Satan still convinces many that God’s word is bad and that his reign is evil.  Many still live in rebellion.  They prefer their schemes, their sins, and their sentiments to the word of the Lord.  The Lord will treat them as they choose to be treated—as rebels who have no use or love for God’s word.  If they want nothing to do with Jesus now, Jesus will not make them spend eternity with him, either.  They will be allowed to go as they wish, forever free from God’s mercy and goodness.

     But the kingdom of our God will endure no matter how many are left outside of it.  That is why we pray, “Thy kingdom come.”  Our prayer is to be included in God’s kingdom.  In his explanation of this petition, Martin Luther wrote, “God’s kingdom certainly comes by itself even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us. (Luther’s Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, 2^nd Petition).   It is more than being delivered from hell.  It is more than being set apart for heaven.  It is a kingdom that is here and now and takes up its place in your heart and mind and body.  If you have been made God’s people, then you also desire to be godly people. 

     “Thy kingdom come.”  What does this mean?  “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven. (Luther’s Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, 2^nd Petition).  Our prayer is that we would grow in faith and that, more and more, we live godly lives.  This prayer is not for someday; it is for today.  It is as St. Paul wrote to the Colossians: “We keep asking that you would be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you might live in a way that is worthy of the Lord.  Our goal is that you please him by bearing fruit in every kind of good work and by growing in the knowledge of God, as you are being strengthened with all power because of his glorious might working in you.  Then you will have complete endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

     Our Lord has convinced us that his word is good and true and right.  Just as God’s command to Adam and Eve was for their good, so God’s commands to us are for our good.  We trust this because we know our Father in heaven is good and merciful.  Therefore, we pray our Father would continue to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us to guide us in godly living.  Our comfort is that God is pleased with our works because Jesus Christ has made us pleasing to him.  And our prayer is that we will be confirmed in godliness forever.  Although we are in God’s kingdom now, we are not yet in glory.  We long for that glory—to be with Jesus, to be perfected in body and in mind, and to be free from every struggle, every pain, every weakness, and every foe.  That is the freedom we long for, and that is the freedom which is found only in Jesus Christ.

     We pray, “Thy kingdom come.”  And that prayer extends beyond us.  We pray that God would add to his kingdom many more.  This is done as his word is preached and taught throughout the world.  Once again, this will be done even without our prayers.  The Church of God will endure despite all attacks, and God will advance his kingdom with or without us.

     Our Lord graciously includes us in this blessed work.  We provide the answer to our own prayer as we support the training and sending of more pastors into this world.  Granted, you will probably not go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel, but you can support those who do with prayers, offerings, and letters of encouragement.  So, you don’t go to Viet Nam, Saudi Arabia, or Nigeria.  That’s okay, but you can go to your family, friends, and neighbors to invite them to church.  You can encourage them to study God’s word with you.  You can tell them what Jesus has done to save sinners.  This is how God’s kingdom comes to them.  This is how God sends his Holy Spirit so that, by his grace, his word is believed, lives are changed, and people are saved.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.