Come, Lord Jesus! (Matthew 6:10; John 18:36; Rev. 22:20)!

Posted on by

Come, Lord Jesus! (Matthew 6:10; John 18:36; Rev. 22:20)!

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, July 2, 2023

It is the time of year that we celebrate our nations independence. We celebrate the commitment of our founding fathers separating from England. Our founding fathers were committed to the cause. One of them who was committed was John Adams. John Adams was so committed that he did not want to focus on the arts as that was a distraction. In a biography about him David McCullough writes:

The conflict between the appeal of the arts and the sense that they were the product of a luxury-loving (and thus corrupt) foreign society played heavily on his mind. Delightful as it was to stroll the gardens of Paris, enticing as were science and the arts, he, John Adams, had work to do, a public trust to uphold. The science of government was his duty; the art of negotiation must take precedence.

Then, in a prophetic paragraph that would be quoted for generations within the Adams family and beyond, he wrote:

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study paintings, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.[1]

America has changed a lot since that time, though I still believe we are the greatest country in the world. Two years ago on July 4, I spoke about God’s providence in our history. Last year, I talked about praying for our leaders. Today, I want to talk about seeking the Lord’s Kingdom.

I believe it is right to be patriotic. I really do. I think it is right to serve the country, I really do. I think we need to vote. I think we should care about our country. However, we must pray “thy Kingdom come…” and seek the Lord’s Kingdom above all else.

Today, my theme is:

Come, Lord Jesus!

  1. Whose Kingdom do you seek?
    1. As I said, I believe in being patriotic.
    2. I believe it is good to be patriotic.
    3. I have preached that, but ultimately, whose Kingdom do we seek?
    4. Do we seek the Lord’s Kingdom?
  2. Let’s look at John 18:36.
    1. John 18:36 (ESV) 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
    2. Notice that Jesus did not have them fighting Rome. That passage is Jesus before Pilate. Jesus could have taken down Rome, but He did not. His Kingdom is different. Jesus has a different way.
    3. Does that mean that we should not do anything and just wait for Jesus’s way?
    4. No, that is not what the early church did and that is not what we are to do.
    5. No, we are to continue to make this world a better place.
    6. We must remember that the ultimate Kingdom is Jesus’s Kingdom.
    7. But we still live in this kingdom (little k).
    8. One source writing about legislation and political involvement shares the following: “…for most of the Church’s history, Christians have agreed that civil laws should in some way reflect biblical morality. Neither Catholics, Orthodox, nor most Protestants believed that being apolitical was a good or godly thing. While there were occasions over the centuries when Christians shunned political involvement for a variety of reasons, often because they were prohibited from any involvement, it wasn’t until the Radical Reformation and movements like the Anabaptists in the 1500s that swearing off politics gained traction as a principle for following Christ. Even then, it was a minority opinion. On the contrary, for most Christians, being a civil magistrate has always been seen as a high and noble calling.   
    9. This, of course, makes a lot of sense since there is really no such thing as not legislating morality. No matter who writes the laws of a land, those laws always reflect someone’s moral beliefs. Protecting innocent lives from deadly violence, something that occurs in abortion and other forms of murder, is the central function of good government. God created government to serve that purpose. 
    10. …many theologians have noted over the years: that when Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world” in John 18:36, He did not mean “my kingdom has nothing to do with this world.” Rather, He meant that His kingdom is not from this world, does not use this world’s methods (such as violent revolution), and does not aim at the world’s ends.
    11. In A.D. 325, the Emperor Constantine ended the official persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Just decades later, in the year 380, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. As a matter of simple historical fact, Christians did take over Rome! 
    12. Early Christians showed intense interest in impacting governments in everything from the outlawing of infant exposure to ending persecution to the ending of the gladiatorial games. 
    13. The assault of the Church against the gates of Hell progresses, of course, through the preaching of the Gospel and the conversion of souls—what the Apostle Paul called “spiritual weapons.” But by advocating for good and just governments—especially when it comes to protecting innocent lives—Christians are loving their neighbors and fulfilling the other half of our calling in this world: to pray and obediently work so that God’s kingdom will come and His will be done “on earth as it is in Heaven.” 
    14. We are saved for a purpose. Along with evangelism and worship, we are to be good citizens and to love our neighbors. This will involve supporting righteous laws and opposing wicked ones.[2]
    15. Those are VERY important thoughts as we continue this message.
    16. But, again, whose kingdom do we seek?
    17. Jesus does say that His Kingdom is different. Jesus did not overthrow Rome through a battle, though He could have. He had a different way. He went to the cross to save us, and then His church organically, by the power of the Holy Spirit changed the world.
    18. So, when Peter was prepared to do battle, cutting off a servant’s ear (John 18:10-11), Jesus had a different way.
    19. We must seek His Kingdom.
    20. We must pray as He taught us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
    21. Again, I must emphasize, this does not mean we do not do anything. No, we should be the best citizens, the best servants, we should be Christians and that means that we love one another. That means that our love has arms and legs that serve. But in the end, we are seeking Jesus’s Kingdom. Jesus’s Kingdom calls us to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39).
    22. Now, let’s turn to the last prayer in the Bible.
  3. The last prayer in the Bible (Rev. 22:20).
    1. Revelation 22:20 (ESV)
    2. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Come, Lord Jesus!
    3. Here is John on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:2; 6:9; 12:17) . Here he is being persecuted.
    4. Jesus communicates with him this prophetic message.
    5. Jesus gives him these letters for the seven churches (Rev. 2-3).
    6. Jesus tells him things to take place and maybe some that are already taking place in the heavenly realm. They are being persecuted.
    7. They are in a nation that is allowing and even encouraging persecution of Christians.
    8. Yet, the Gospel is spreading.
    9. The Gospel will continue to spread. I already shared with you how Christianity later became the religion of Rome.
    10. How did that happen?
    11. It happened by the Holy Spirit leading Christians to be Christians.
    12. It happened because Christians did not try to tackle Rome, but kept living as Christians one day-at-a-time.
    13. It happened because they lived for Christ’s Kingdom in this kingdom.
    14. Then, after John sees this whole vision, how does he respond?
    15. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20).
    16. John is not the only one who prayed that. In 1 Cor. 16:21 Paul wrote, “Our Lord Come.”
    17. Do we seek the Lord’s coming?
    18. Do we recognize that His Kingdom is ultimate?
    19. Or, do we think His Kingdom is penultimate and the current kingdom is ultimate?
    20. No! His way is best. His Kingdom is ultimate.
  4. This is many prayers in one.
    1. I like how one writer said that this is many prayers in one.[3]
    2. Realize that when Jesus comes, there will be judgment (Rev. 19-20).
    3. Realize that when Jesus comes, He will dry our tears (Rev. 21:4). In this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33), but one day He will make it right.
    4. Rev. 21:4: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
    5. Realize that when Jesus comes, He will end our pain (Rev. 21:4).
    6. Realize when Jesus comes, He will put “death to death.”[4]
    7. Realize when Jesus come, he will get rid of sin. We will be like Him (1 John 3:2).
    8. Matthew 13:41-42: The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
    9. When Jesus comes, He will make all things new (Rev. 21:1).
    10. Come, Lord Jesus is many prayers in one.
    11. Come, Lord Jesus is a prayer for Him.
    12. Do we desire Him?
    13. He will bring about His ultimate Kingdom with the New Heaven and the new earth and it will be the ultimate Kingdom.
    14. I like what one writer shares: The burning heart of John’s three-word plea is not for what Jesus does, but for who he is. This is clear throughout the book of Revelation. The world to come is a world to want because Jesus lives there. John’s prayer, after all — “Come, Lord Jesus!” — is a response to Jesus promising three times in the previous verses, “Behold, I am coming soon. . . . Behold, I am coming soon. . . . Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20).[5]
    15. Randy Alcorn shares: Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that what we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii. What we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for, Heaven. Nothing less can satisfy us. . . . We may imagine we want a thousand different things, but God is the one we really long for. His presence brings satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God. (Heaven, 166, 171)
  5. Come, to Jesus.
    1. Look back at that passage in Rev. 22:20, but look up a few verses:
    2. Revelation 22:17 (ESV)
    3. 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
    4. This is an allusion to:
    5. Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)
    6. 55 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
    7. come to the waters;
    8. and he who has no money,
    9. come, buy and eat!
    10. Come, buy wine and milk
    11. without money and without price.
    12. When Jesus comes, He will make all things right. First, we will have the millennial reign, but when He comes and the New Heaven and the new earth come, all will be made right and He is calling for us to come.
    13. Jesus’s Kingdom will be awesome!
    14. Marshall Segal writing on Desiring God shares: When Jesus comes, we will eat and drink and enjoy without end. Hunger and thirst will become distant memories. If sorrows have robbed you of sleep, if pain has made even normal days hard, if death has taken ones you love, if life has sometimes seemed stacked against you, if you can’t shake a restless ache for more, then come and eat with him. This world may be the only world you’ve known, but a better world is coming — and there’s still room at the table.[6]

I began this sermon with the quote from John Adams. I find it an important quote. It does not only apply to the founding of our country. It applies to us as people. The diligence of our founding fathers must be appreciated. God used them to build up an amazing country. Of course, it would not have happened except by God.

So, we are to pray and seek His Kingdom. But this does NOT mean we bury our head in the sand and do not do anything now. I believe the United States is the greatest country in the world. I believe we should be patriotic. We are to pray for God’s Kingdom and while we pray and seek God’s Kingdom we should live as good citizens in our current kingdom.

However, in the end, we must seek God’s Kingdom. We must cry out, “Come, Lord, Jesus Come!” That will be when everything is made right.

Will you be there? Have you received Him as Lord and Savior? Are you treasuring Him as your Savior?

Prayer

[1] McCullough, David. John Adams (pp. 284-285). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.

[2] https://www.breakpoint.org/what-not-of-this-world-doesnt-mean-why-christians-are-called-to-politics/

[3] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-prayer-to-end-all-prayers?utm_campaign=Daily%20Email&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=207260996&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9i77U4mWhPBsbEE1hQ5E4uF7OMo0x-OWhDCfQh1MR4Wm-XhiY1f4n-G8fZTlkvYOxUqhvJeRRU2x-huH_Oa6p9oES36w&utm_content=207260996&utm_source=hs_email

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

Leave a comment