May 2, 2009

• "Thy Kingdom come" - praying for holiness

  
  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Matthew 6:9-10a, KJV.
  
  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:21, KJV.
  
  
  For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Deuteronomy 7:6-8.
  
  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. I Peter 2:9.
  
   Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness...30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:17-23, 30.
  
  But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. 20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. II Timothy 2:19-22.

  Holy Father,

  How often we pray those words, "Thy Kingdom come," but we forget that Your Kingdom has come to us and dwells within us, that Your Holy Spirit dwells within each of us who have received Jesus Christ by grace through faith. How often do we look out at the world and think about Your Kingdom coming there, but we disregard the Kingdom work You want to do in us: the work of making us holy as You are holy. It is Your desire that Christ present us to Himself and to You as a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle, that we might be holy and without blemish.

  Just as you have chosen and redeemed Israel out of bondage in Egypt to be a people holy to yourself, You have called us, Your Church, the ecclesia, out of bondage to self, sin and Satan to be a people holy to Yourself. You have called us to be a holy nation. You have chosen us in You before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blame without You in love all to the praise of Your glorious grace. You have set us free from sin so we might become slaves of righteousness and bear fruit to holiness.

  How often we forget Your will for us is sanctification. How often we forget You have called us to be holy as You are holy. How often we continue to live in blatant disregard of Your call to be holy. You have bought us with the precious blood of Christ. We are no longer to live to self but to You, to our Redeemer, who purchased us. How often do we live as if we are not Your people. How often do we live lives that are anything but holiness to You.

  How often we live as if Your Kingdom is not within us. How often we grieve Your Holy Spirit who dwells in us have given us to make us holy, to purify us, to cleanse us, to conform us to the image of Your Son, the perfect and spotless Lamb who was without blemish.

  How often we receive Your grace in vain and continue to live in sin. How often we live as people who are not holiness to You. How often we bring reproach on Your holy name as we live no differently than the world.

  We confess all these things to You, Holy Father.

  Holy Father,

  By Your Holy Spirit, show us how abominable and repulsive our sin is to You and how it grieves and hurts You. Help us to hate our sin and grieve over it.

  By Your Holy Spirit, give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness and holiness and an increasing love for holiness.

  By Your Holy Spirit, impart to us Your resurrection power to live lives of holiness to You.

  We confess we are powerless to live a holy life apart from Your Holy Spirit. Left to our own devices, we would continue to love and lust after the world and the things of this world. Jesus Christ is our sanctification. He is our Sanctifier. We thank You that You who dwell in us are greater than he who is in the world.

  We who have been united together in Christ's death have also been united in His resurrection so we might no longer be slaves to sin but be slaves to righteousness and holiness.

  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Baptize us with Your Holy Spirit. Your Holy Spirit birthed us into Your Kingdom and only by Your indwelling Holy Spirit can live as the holy people you have called us to be.

  By Your Holy Spirit's resurrection power working in us fuel in us a growing desire to will and to do of Your good pleasure, to be holy to You.

  By Your Holy Spirit and by Your grace strengthen us that we might . . .
  
  

  reckon ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God.

  no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies that we should obey its lusts,

  no longer walk in the flesh but in the Spirit,
  
  put off the old man and put on the new created according to You, in righteousness and true holiness,
  
  make no provision for the flesh but put on Christ,
  
  no longer walk in darkness but walk in light,
  
  no longer have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but expose them,

  no longer present ourselves as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present ourselves as instruments of righteousness to God,

  bear and grow fruit to God, fruit to holiness,
  
  hallow our Father's name as are increasingly conformed to the image of His Son.
  

  
  Amen.

  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14.
  
  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30.
  
  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Matthew 6:9-10a.
  
  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:21.

  As His Holy Spirit leads you,
  come before Him now and ask His Holy Spirit to examine You.

  Ask Him to show you how you have not been living a life holy to Him
  and how have been grieving His Holy Spirit.

  (You may wish to read Galatians 5:16-25; I John 2:28-3:23; Ephesians 4:17-5:14; Colossians 3:1-4:6)

  Come before Him in confession and ask Him to purify and cleanse you.
  (I John 1:5-2:2)

  Ask Him to give You a desire to be holy as He is holy.

  Claim His promise that His Holy Spirit who is in You
  will work in You to will and to do of His good pleasure.
  (Philippians 2:12-13)

  • 10:55 AM
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