From Greenville, South Carolina, we present Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of Faith Free Presbyterian Church, preaching Christ in all His fullness. Welcome to this broadcast of Let the Bible Speak. In just a few minutes, we'll hear from Dr. Alan Cairns, the Minister Emeritus of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, as he continues a series of messages on the subject of prayer, focusing especially on the Lord's Prayer as recorded in Matthew chapter 6. In the present message, Dr. Cairns is dealing with the second petition, Thy Kingdom Come. To understand the petition and what we ask when we pray these words, we must first know to what kingdom Christ was referring. As we've already seen, this is the kingdom of grace, that realm occupied only by true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, the emphasis of this kingdom is personal. It deals with souls as individuals, not as some indistinct group. The invitation to this kingdom is the old gospel call, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Dr. Cairns will continue the message in a few minutes, but first we invite your attention to encouraging words from Faith's Checkbook, a devotional collection from the pen of the great 19th century preacher C.H. Spurgeon. Our devotional for today is called, Like Palm and Cedar. The text is Psalm 92 and verse 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. These trees are not trained and pruned by man. Palms and cedars are trees of the Lord, and it is by His care that they flourish. Even so it is with the saints of the Lord. They are His own care. These trees are evergreen and are beautiful objects at all seasons of the year. Believers are not sometimes holy and sometimes ungodly. They stand in the beauty of the Lord under all weathers. Everywhere these trees are noteworthy. No one can gaze upon a landscape in which there are either palms or cedars without his attention being fixed upon these royal growths. The followers of Jesus are the observed of all observers. Like a city set on a hill, they cannot be hid. The child of God flourishes like a palm tree, which pushes all its strength upward in one erect column without a single branch. It is a pillar with a glorious capital. It has no growth to the right or to the left, but sends all its force heavenward and bears its fruit as near the sky as possible. Lord, fulfill this type in me. The cedar braves all storms and grows near the eternal snows, the Lord Himself filling it with a sap which keeps its heart warm and its bow strong. Lord, so let it be with me, I pray Thee. Amen. ♪ Spirit of God, descend upon my heart ♪ ♪ Spirit of heaven, through all its altars move ♪ ♪ True to thy kingdom, mighty and lowly ♪ And I die to love. Spirit of God, Spirit of God, Return the love of my heart. I have no dream, no problem, ecstasy, no silent penance. ♪ But take the dimness of my joy away ♪ ♪ Spirit of God ♪ ♪ Spirit of God ♪ ♪ Is to feel that thou art always mine ♪ ♪ Teach me the troubles of the soul to bear them ♪ ♪ Teach anger, writhing doubts ♪ ♪ The rebel's eyes ♪ ♪ Teach me the patience of unanswered prayers ♪ ♪ Teach me to love me ♪ Spirit of God, descend upon us. You're listening to Let the Bible Speak, the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. We're delighted that you've tuned in today, and we're especially grateful for those of you who make this program a regular part of your day. We'd like to encourage you to take advantage of some of the free literature we offer on the program. We're pleased to announce that the newest edition of Let the Bible Speak quarterly magazine is now available. The theme of the current issue is the subject of temptation. In five articles, various ministers of the Free Presbyterian Church discuss such issues as how to recognize the temptation to sin, the temptation of Christ, and overcoming temptation. Among other articles of interest in this issue, you'll find a focus on the land of Macedonia, as well as the inspiring testimony of a young man born with cerebral palsy who is a glowing witness for Christ. A copy is available simply for the asking, and we promise that there will be no follow-up letters soliciting funds. For your free copy, just write to us at Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. You may email us at ltbs at freeprez.org. That's ltbs at freeprez.org. Or you may telephone us toll free at 866-877-LTBS. That's 866-877-5827. Also, if you enjoy the broadcasts, you may like to visit us on our website, LetTheBibleSpeakRadio, or ltbsradio.com. Don't forget that word radio, ltbsradio.com. We hope to hear from you soon. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 There is a kingdom of Greece It starts now in the lives of those who are brought under the dominion of grace by personal relationship and saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It brings them together into a community that we call the church, that for all its failures is the kingdom of heaven on earth. And its next great stage, following the coming of the Lord Jesus, will be His personal glorious reign on the earth. But grace is never finished. In this age, or even in the millennial age, grace has not reached its great consummation. Therefore, when we turn to Scripture, we find the kingdom speaks not only of the kingdom of government and the kingdom of grace, but the fullness of grace in the kingdom of glory. And for this we also pray when we say, Thy kingdom come. When you read the experts in this subject, one thing that has come through to me again and again is they say, when we think of the word kingdom, we think of a territory. But that's not the meaning that the Bible has in mind. Now maybe I'm just very dense and dumb. I'll have to plead guilty when you're born that way. It's a good head start for the rest of your life. But I can't see that. I believe that's rubbish. I believe there are places where you cannot read what the Bible says without thinking God is speaking of a place, a literal place, that He calls the kingdom. For example, Jesus said in Matthew 8, verses 11 and 12, I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom. Is that a place? I think it is. Is that a literal location somewhere here in God's created universe? I think it is. He goes on to say, "...but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Is hell a real location? I think it surely is. Therefore, the kingdom is just as real a location, it is a place. When Paul looked forward to eternity, in 2 Timothy 4.18, he said, the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom. I think he's talking about a future time and a future place. We read in Matthew 25, verse 34, "...the king shall say unto them on his right hand, Come ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Does that not parallel with John chapter 14? Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in Me. I go to prepare what? A place for you. I think certainly the kingdom of glory is a description of heaven itself. Perhaps in another study we'll come back to that. in a more detailed fashion. So here then are the three basic views of the kingdom in the Word of God. Kingdom of government, we're not praying for that. That exists without prayer. The kingdom of grace, bringing people under the saving dominion of the grace of God in Christ, bringing them into the fellowship of the church, and right on to the eternal state of glory. in the kingdom in heaven itself. Now all these things have one thing in common. They all speak of a place, a realm, or a people who are under Christ's dominion either now or at some future time. We have read clearly in Matthew 13 that at this point in time that dominion is incomplete and imperfect because we are yet sinners. We are yet in our imperfect state, but at its full and final revelation and everlasting glory, the dominion of Christ over His people will be absolutely perfect. Now when you put all that together, I hope that you begin to get a little insight into what it is we're praying for when we pray, Thy Kingdom come. The Kingdom, first and foremost, is personal. What does it mean? It means entering into eternal life. That's what it means. In Matthew 19, for example, compare 16 and 17 with 23 and 24 in that 19th chapter of Matthew. We read of one, we call him the rich young ruler, who came and said unto Christ, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said, if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. And he went on to deal with them about his soul. So he's talking about what? Entering into life. But when Jesus explains this, and the tragedy of this young man going away unconverted, in verse 23 and 24, he says, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly, or with difficulty, Enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Again, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. What is entering into the Kingdom of Heaven? It is entering into life. That's what it is. This is personal. Entering into the Kingdom of Heaven is personally coming out of darkness into light from the power of Satan unto God, from death unto life eternal. And that's why Jesus started His ministry, Matthew 4, verse 17, by emphasizing that the kingdom is entered by personal repentance. From that time began Jesus to preach and say, Repent! Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand, or it's present. It's entered by repentance. That's how you enter this kingdom. You do not enter it by simply being in the visible church. We have noted there are tares, etc., in the visible church. These are baptized, confirmed, communicating church members. But they are rooted out, for they are not the children of the kingdom. They don't belong there. They have been inserted there illegitimately. But they don't belong there. Why? Because they have never come by faith and repentance to receive Jesus Christ. This kingdom you enter when you repent and believe the gospel, to use the words of Mark 1 15. Repent, believe the gospel, and you'll be in the kingdom. Let me tell you, my friend, today, if the kingdom, let me rephrase that, since the kingdom, is as I have described it now, When a person repents and believes the gospel, he is immediately brought into a saving union with Christ. He is under the dominion of God's grace in Christ, and he is certain of a place in heaven for all eternity. He is saved by the grace of God. That's how you enter the kingdom. No other way. Do you forget everything else I've said? I want you to remember this. This is a mixed gathering. Even a small number of people like this, this is a mixed gathering. I cannot personally penetrate the hearts of men and understand exactly how it is with every soul. But God can. God can. As you think of this mixed gathering, remember there are men and women, young people here, who by personal repenting and believing the gospel have entered the kingdom in reality. And others have not. They've been wintered out. to their eternal destruction. Which will it be? Which is it? Which is it for you at this very point in time? When you enter this kingdom, it is more than sacrament. It is more than show. It is more than external religion. Paul said in Romans 14, 17, the kingdom of God. is not meet and drink or eating and drinking. There are so many people like the people in Rome and they had their own little theories as to what a Christian could eat and what a Christian could drink according to their interpretation of their relation to Jewish ceremonial law or to the practices of the society round about them. Some felt they could eat anything. Others said, no, no, we can't do that. Others felt that they should have some other standard and they were dividing themselves. And Paul said, look, the kingdom of heaven is not eating and drinking. What is it? It is Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. In other words, there is an internal spiritual reality here. This is the Kingdom. And having a place in this Kingdom is absolutely vital. Every one of us has an invitation to enter. Jesus says in His parable, Come, for all things are now ready. And that, that is the invitation of the King in this parable. The King says, come, all things are now ready. You've been listening to Let the Bible Speak, the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. We hope that you've enjoyed and benefited from today's program. We are here as your servants for Christ's sake. If we can be of any further help to you in the things of God, we invite you to contact us. If you would like to receive our booklet, A New Beginning, a booklet that sets forth God's way of salvation in clear, concise, and biblical ways, you may have it free of charge simply for the asking. Our mailing address is Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's Let the Bible Speak. 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. If you wish, you may call us toll-free at 1-866-877-LTBS. That's 1-866-877-5827. You may email us at faithfpc at freepres.org. That's faithfpc at f-r-e-e-p-r-e-s dot o-r-g. Also, we invite you to visit our website at www.freepres.org. If you would be interested in considering the establishment of a free Presbyterian church in your area, by all means let us know. Once again, you may call us toll-free 1-866-877-5827. On behalf of Dr. Alan Cairns, this is Charles Kelsch saying thank you for listening and inviting you to join us once again as we let the Bible speak.