As Right As Reign.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. – Matthew 6:10 ESV

What do you want more than anything in the world? What is it you dream about, worry about, obsess about, or think you just can't live without? A good way to tell what is it we really want and desire is to take inventory of our prayers. You can tell a lot about a person by examining the kinds of things they ask God for or by simply figuring out what it is that motivates them to pray in the first place. Sometimes it is a tragedy or some kind of trouble that gets us on our knees. We find ourselves in a place of difficulty and suddenly we find the time and the motivation to take our problem to God. What we want is peace. We want deliverance from our trouble. We want God to do something to get things back to "normal," whatever that is. There are other times when our desires are even more transparent. We come to God asking for good health, protection for our children, peace in the world, direction for life, healing for a friend, a promotion, a better marriage, or even the motivation to grow spiritually. But in Jesus' model prayer, He would have us remember that there is something far more important than all of these things. In fact, it is essential to understanding where everything else fits in on the priority scale of life. Remember, Jesus said, "Pray then like this…" He wants us to use His prayer as an outline for making our requests made known to God, and one of the first things He encourages us to do is to ask for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done – "on earth as it is in heaven." So before we begin making our will made known to God, we should desire that His will be done – in the world and in our lives.

The kingdom of God. The will of God. These two things have to do with rule and reign, power and authority, sovereignty and dominion. As the people of God, we should desire these things. We should want them more than anything else. Why? Because His kingdom is righteous, good, loving, just, and holy. In the same way, His will is perfect, good, righteous, holy and just. We should want what God wants. We should desire that God rule and reign in us and over us. Paul tells us, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 ESV). Life in this world has polluted our minds, causing us to desire those things that, in the end, lead us away from God, not to Him. We need our minds renewed, our desires refocused – on God and His will. Later on in this same chapter in Matthew, Jesus tells His disciples, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV). In other words, we are not to get wrapped up in and obsessed with the things of this world. Instead, we are to have a kingdom mindset. We are to see our lives as part of the greater kingdom of God. And when we find ourselves too wrapped up in the things of this world, worrying about what we're going to eat or wear, Jesus gives us the antidote: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33 ESV). We are to make the rule and reign of God our highest priority. We are to desire His righteousness, His will, His dominion over all things – including our very lives. Paul reminds us, "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17 ESV). In his letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he told them to "live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12 NLT).

When we come to God in prayer, we should do so with a desire to see His righteous reign lived out in us. We should want His will more than anything else. Our will takes a backseat to His, our kingdom is annexed by His, His rule reigns supreme – on this earth just like it does in heaven. Wanting the will of God is a game-changer. It impacts everything else. It should change the way we pray. It should alter our expectations and dramatically influence our petitions. When we want His rule and reign to be supreme, we will be able to focus on seeking His righteousness rather than worrying about all the stuff that sidetracks us and distracts us from what really matters. God's will is always good and acceptable and perfect. Why would we ever want anything else?

Faithfulness to God.

2 Samuel 3-4, 1 Corinthians 4

Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. – 1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV

One of the primary things that set David apart from Saul and just about every other Israelite of his day was his heart for God. It wasn't just an internal thing that difficult to see, but it showed up in how he lived his life and how he interacted with others. David had a healthy love for and fear of God. In spite of all that he had been through over the years and the injustices he had suffered, he refused to compartmentalize his life and live with a secular-sacred split. But the temptation for all followers of God is to view life as a kind of dichotomy that includes the spiritual as well as the secular dimensions. In other words, we can easily see church and Bible study as one part of life and work and recreation as another. We can end up acting one way on Sunday and another way the rest of the week. But for David, there was only one set of behaviors that were appropriate: those that honored God. So when two men showed up at his door with the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, they were expecting to receive a reward from David. “And they said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring’” (2 Samuel 4:8 ESV). But instead of a reward, they lost their lives. David remained faithful to God. He did not place himself as judge over Ish-bosheth any more than he had over Saul. David's response was not what these two men were expecting. “But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, ‘As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, “Behold, Saul is dead,” and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?’” (2 Samuel 4:9-11 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

God desires our faithfulness. He wants His followers to view life from His perspective, not their own. It would have been easy for David to have seen the actions of these men as beneficial to his kingdom cause, but he knew that, ultimately, his kingdom was up to God, not himself. It was not his job to act as judge over Ish-bosheth or any other descendant of Saul. David seemed to know inherently what Paul would write centuries later: “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV). David knew that God wanted him to remain faithful – not to his own kingdom, but to God Himself. This was not about David's kingdom, but God's. The whole reason Saul's reign had ended poorly was because he had lost sight of his role as nothing more than a servant of God. Saul had neglected to see himself as nothing more than a steward of God's kingdom. When he saw that David was to be his likely successor, rather than rejoice in God's choosing of him, he attempted to kill him – all in an attempt to prolong and protect his own kingdom. But the Israelites were God's people, not his. The throne was God's, not his. The kingdom was God's, not his.

What does this passage reveal about man?

One of the things we men struggle with most is the biblical concept of servanthood. We have been conditioned to make everything about ourselves. We have been trained to put ourselves at the center of our world. We have developed a highly myopic outlook on life that focuses all our attention on ourselves. But as believers, we must always remember that God is to be the focus of our attention. We exist for His glory, not our own. David was not seeking glory, but instead, he was seeking to remain faithful to God. That's why he did not rejoice in the death of Saul or Jonathan. He wasn't grateful to the young man who claimed to have killed Saul. He wasn't happy when Joab killed Abner, the commander of Saul's armies. He didn't reward the two men who took the life of Ish-bosheth. Because David wasn't focused on his kingdom. He was focused on God's. When we focus all our attention on us, we can become cocky and proud. Paul saw this attitude in the Corinthians believers. “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” (1 Corinthians 4:8 ESV). But like David, Paul had a different perspective. “We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:10-13 ESV). For Paul, faithfulness was more important than popularity or significance. Honoring God with his life was more important than receiving the honor of men.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

David may not have looked like a king, but he acted life one. His actions reflected the heart of a man who had a heart for God. When David mourned the death of Abner, rather than celebrate it, the people of Israel noticed. “And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people” (2 Samuel 3:36 ESV). His actions were pleasing to men because David was attempting to please God. His focus was on remaining faithful to God. When I get that reversed and attempt to please men rather than God, it never goes well. If I attempt please me, it ends up even worse. My life is to be lived out with God as the focus and my faithfulness to Him as the objective. Paul would remind me, “So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due” (1 Corinthians 4:5 NLT). I am to live my life with an eye on pleasing God, both now and in the future, when I stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. I am to live with a future perspective, not a temporal one. My rewards are coming later, not now. If I seek the praise of men now, that will be my reward. But if my actions today are motivated by the future praise of God, they will exhibit my faithfulness to Him and protect me from making self-centered decisions and seeking the praise of men.

Father, I want to be faithful servant. I want my life to be an example of what it means to live with Your kingdom s the focus, not my own. Thank You for this timely reminder from the life of David and the pen of Paul. Amen

The Reign of God.

1 Samuel 7-8, Romans 6

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.. – Romans 6:22-23 ESV

At this point in the story of the people of God recorded in 1 Samuel, we find them demanding that Samuel, their judge, appoint for them a human king. It wasn't necessarily wrong that the people were asking for a king. God had long ago told them that this day would come. But he had also told them the kind of king they should look for. “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me, you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:14-15 ESV). God had made provision for a king to reign and rule over Israel. But at this point in time, the demand of the people for a king really revealed their rejection of God as their true King. “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7 ESV). For years they had been rejecting God's reign over their lives by continually disobeying His commands. Without knowing it, they were living under the rule and reign of their own sinful habits and behaviors. They were motivated by their lusts, driven by their passions, and controlled by their evil desires. And now they wanted “a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5 ESV). In their minds, the answer to all their problems was an earthly king, not a heavenly one.

What does this passage reveal about God?

It is amazing how God had always made provision for these moments. He had predicted it would happen and it did. He knew this day would come because He is sovereign and omniscient. He knows all. He even knew the motivation of their hearts and what was really behind their demand for a king. So God warned them exactly what would happen if they got what they were asking for. He told them their king would conscript their sons into his army. He would amass for himself horses and chariots, in violation of God's commands (Deuteronomy 17:16). He would force their daughters to work for him as perfumers, cooks and bakers. He would tax them beyond belief, taking the best of their fields, vineyards, orchards and flocks. He would even forcibly take their slaves and servants and put them to work for himself. In essence, the people of Israel would become slaves of their king. And yet, in spite of this warning, the people said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:19-20 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

They were expecting from a mere man what they should have known was the responsibility of God. They wanted an earthly king to judge them and do battle for them. But that was God's job, and He had done it quite effectively for many years. But they were dissatisfied with God's reign over their lives. They had a better idea. They had a better solution to their problem.

In chapter six of Romans, Paul talks about the reign of God in the life of the believer. We were once slaves to sin, but have been set free by God and are now slaves to righteousness. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18 ESV). At one time, our lives were marked by slavery to sin. We couldn't help but sin. But because of Christ's death on the cross, He was able to pay the penalty due because of our sin, and replaced our sinfulness with His own righteousness. He made us right with God. As a result, Paul encourages us, “just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (Romans 6:19 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I am to live as a slave to righteousness, doing what it demands, not what my old sinful nature demands. It am to obey righteousness, not wickedness. Paul puts it this way, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22 ESV). Ultimately, I am to live as a slave to God, willingly obeying His commands, and faithfully following the life of righteousness His own Son modeled. God is my King. He is my Judge. He is the Captain of the army of heaven. He is the one who is to lead me into battle. He is the one who is to direct my path and determine my destiny. And any time I try to place a new king over my life, I am essentially rejecting the one true King. Any time I turn to anyone or anything other than God to fight my battles or judge my life, I am rejecting the rule and reign of God in my life.

Father, You are my God and King. But I confess that I often reject Your rule and reign over my life by doing things my own way. Too often I appoint myself king of my life or I turn to someone or something else and allow them to direct my life. In doing so, I reject You. I even allow myself to become enslaved to sin at times, falling back under its spell and living as if I was under its control again. But Your Son died so that I might be free from the rule of sin and that I might live in obedience to the reign of righteousness in my life. Help me live my life so it reflects my submission to Your rightful reign as the King of my life. Amen