Which Kingdom Comes?

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God, what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” and in it is the line: “Let your kingdom come, Let your will be done.” 2 weeks ago, the Pub Theologians (men’s group at The Journey, Atlanta) talked about idolatry- identifying the gods we serve in our lives, and how it breaks the first commandment of not having any other gods before the One True God. Last week we talked about identifying Jesus’ mission when he came to live among men as bringing and fulfilling “The Kingdom of God.” These two ideas, idolatry, and the kingdom are intrinsically linked. Idolatry is the false god we serve, the kingdom is the how we serve, and in what ways we serve that god, to bring about his glory.

I told you 2 weeks ago that my favorite team used to be my idol. I went to the University of Illinois and am a big college sports fan. So the most obvious claim to my passion and devotion was the sports teams from Illinois. The way I lived demonstrated that Illinois football was my functional savior who took me to sports fan heaven. Since the football team was my god, I was a member of and worked to bring about the football team’s kingdom. To that end I was on mission, witnessed and evangelized for the football team: I sought people out to discuss the football team, and if they disagreed with me, I sought to persuade them that my god was an awesome god. I supported the football team financially and worked for their glory by attending football team church (the game), worshiping their glory in song (every school has a fight song), raising my hands in worship of the team (or to throw a signal at the referees for hurting my god). I took communion at football team church (consumed sodas, hotdogs and some pretty bad nachos at the games), met in a community group online to study the team and praise their glory (online message board and game day chat), listened to sportstalk radio to be discipled and motivated, and to grow in my faith that my team did not suck but was actually awesome. Through several rough seasons, I really, really prayed that their kingdom would come, and that their will to win more than 2 games would be done. It was a lifestyle, demonstrating that my idol, my false god, was the Illinois football team, and that I was a member of, and working for, the Kingdom of Illinois football. No matter how much I hallowed its name, my god was not awesome.  Each week the Top 25  polls came out, there were many gods before it.

In all this, I was guilty of breaking the first commandment, and I was outside of the Kingdom of God because God was not my King, and I was not working for His kingdom. That lifestyle is what we’re talking about, last week and especially tonight: living the Kingdom of God. There are countless other gods, kings, kingdoms and wills to be done. There’s the kingdom of the company, where we work for the glory of our employer. There’s the kingdom of politics, where we work to bring about the kingdom of a politician who will fix everything the last god broke. There’s the kingdom of physical fitness and health, NASCAR, Harley Davidson, pro golf, social networking, Apple computers, and Animal Rights. Several eras in American history are defined in large part by the idolatry of the culture. In the 1960’s and 70’s the false god of self, and individual freedom was worshiped through fornication, drug abuse, and praised with worship songs written and inspired by these activities. In the 1980’s the god of money inspired incredible greed at the expense of everything and everyone else. Wherever there is idolatry, there is a false god, and so a false religion arises, and the devotees of that false religion are working to bring about the kingdom of that god. The Lord’s Prayer, and elsewhere, tells us that The Kingdom of God coming, and the Will of God being done, are linked. Which Kingdom do we work for on a daily basis? Because we all work for some kingdom to come.

If you get a chance today, look at some verses with Kingdom of God in them, and consider what other kingdoms are out there, and want us to work for them.  Look at your own life and see what kingdoms you might be working for, where God is not the King.

About

We are a new church plant on the west side of Atlanta in the Austell and Mableton area. At the Journey, we are trying to re-form the church around the teachings and example of Jesus Himself while building relational bridges to people in the current culture. Out with the self-righteous, judgmental attitudes and the useless religious traditionalism, and in with the fresh wind of the timeless teachings of love and forgiveness, acceptance and repentance. Come and find a home at The Journey.