Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew?
Matthew 4.
We read from Matthew 4:12-17.
But having heard that John was delivered up,
He departed into Galilee;
and having left Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali:
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
The people that sat in darkness saw a great light,
And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up.
From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say,
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Please notice especially the word nigh, or near.
Matthew 11:12.
But from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.
Please notice the word now.
Matthew 24, beginning with verse 37.
But as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left:
two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
Please notice the word then in verse 40.
Dear Heavenly Father, under the blood of Thy beloved Son, we dare to approach Thy throne of grace. We do praise and thank Thee that, because of what He has done, the way is open for us to come into Thy very presence.
We believe that we are now in Thy presence. Lord, what Thou hast to say to us, we are listening—Thy servants.
We pray that Thy word may be living and operative in each of our lives, that through Thy word we may come to know Thee more and more. We want Thee to be glorified. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
We have been sharing together on the life of our Lord Jesus. Last time, when we were together, we shared on the walk of our Lord Jesus—that is, the life of our Lord on earth.
Now, this morning, we would like to share together on this matter of the teaching of our Lord Jesus, that we may know our Lord through His teaching.
You know, we have four Gospels recording the life and work of our Lord Jesus, and every Gospel has its emphasis. The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the teaching of our Lord; the Gospel of Mark, the work of our Lord; the Gospel of Luke, the life or walk of our Lord; and the Gospel of John, the heart of our Lord.
Although in every Gospel you find teaching, work, life, and heart of our Lord Jesus, this morning, as we are thinking of the teaching of our Lord Jesus, we will pay special attention to the Gospel according to Matthew.
When our Lord was on earth, He talked a lot. He taught as never people had ever taught, because He taught us things that the world had never known. He taught with authority.
You remember our Lord Jesus said, “What I have heard My Father saying, I speak these things.” Even more, the Lord said, “It is not I who speak; it is the Father who speaks in Me.”
His words are life and spirit. So, brothers and sisters, as we approach the teaching of our Lord Jesus, we need to remember that these words of our Lord are life and spirit. We need to pay special attention to His teaching, because His teaching is life or death to those who hear.
Our Lord Jesus talked a lot. He touched upon many things. But, brothers and sisters, of all the things that He taught, if you try to sum them up, you will find that they are all centered upon one thing, and that theme is the kingdom.
The teaching of our Lord Jesus is focused on this matter of the kingdom of God—the kingdom of heaven.
Now, strangely, we have heard a lot about His teaching, and yet this matter of the kingdom is something that is very much missing when we teach the teaching of our Lord Jesus. Yet you will find that it is the very focus of His teaching.
This is a big subject. We are not able to cover it within an hour, but we will give a broad outline.
For the sake of helping us to remember, we would like to share this teaching on the kingdom in three aspects:
In other words, you find in the book of Matthew that the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh. It is approaching. It is near.
As you go on, you find the Lord saying that the kingdom of the heavens is now here, and you need to take it by force—to enter into it and to seize upon it.
Then, later on, you find that one day the kingdom will come. Two will be grinding at the mill in the morning, and one is taken and one is left. Two will be working in the field at noontime; one will be taken and one will be left. According to Luke 17, two will be sleeping in bed, and one is taken and one is left. Then, that is to say, the kingdom will arrive in the future.
To help us remember: when you think of the kingdom near, remember one word—repentance. Repentance is related to the kingdom near.
When you think of the kingdom now, remember the word holiness, because the very nature of the kingdom is holy.
When you think of the kingdom then—that is, in the future—think of the word glory, because this is the time when glory shall fill the earth.
For four hundred years, heaven was silent to His own chosen people, the Jews. A remnant of them had returned from Babylonian captivity. They had rebuilt the temple, and they had restarted the temple service.
Yet the last voice in the Old Testament, Malachi, shows that God had a controversy with His people. They argued with God. They were hard, hardened, stiff-necked.
Because of this, for four hundred years God was silent to His people. How godly they were—a religious people. The temple service was going on day after day. The priests were serving in the temple. The people would come, worship the Lord three times a year, and offer sacrifices and offerings.
They were a very religious people, and yet God could not speak to them because they were religious, but not spiritual.
But that does not mean that God had given up His people. As a matter of fact, the less they loved God, the more God loved them.
So, after four hundred years, suddenly a voice came out of the wilderness. It was a voice from God—the voice of John the Baptist—saying, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
Brothers and sisters, after four hundred years of silence, God was offering the best gift to that stiff-necked people: the kingdom.
As a matter of fact, you will find that the kingdom was in God’s mind even before He created this world. Or, to put it another way, when He created this world, when He created man, He had the kingdom in view.
Unfortunately, our concept of the kingdom—even the children of Israel’s concept of the kingdom—is so different from God’s concept of the kingdom.
The word kingdom in the Bible has a very different emphasis from the kingdom that we have in our minds. When we think of a kingdom, we think mainly of a territory, a domain, a sphere. That is, we think in geopolitical terms.
Now, it is true that a kingdom does have a territory. There is a boundary, and there is a domain. But in God’s concept, kingdom is much more.
The word kingdom in the Bible is best translated “sovereign rule,” or, as Brother Sparks would put it, “kingship.”
When we think of the kingdom, we need to think of the King first. The emphasis is on the King—His kingship.
The kingdom of God is that in which God’s character is being impressed, incorporated, and constituted in the people of that kingdom. It is the King’s rule. It is His character characterizing the whole kingdom. That is the concept of the kingdom in Scripture.
So here you find John the Baptist saying, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
Following John the Baptist, even our Lord Jesus came and preached the same message: “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
The children of Israel, at that time, had lost their kingdom. Even though they had come back to the land, they were under the rule of the Gentiles. At the time of Christ, they were under the rule of the Roman Empire.
They were looking forward to having that kingdom restored. But in their concept, the kingdom they were looking forward to was still an earthly one.
They hoped that when Messiah came, He would restore them to be the first of the nations instead of the last of the nations. That was what they were looking forward to.
But the message that God delivered to them was, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
When the Messiah came, when Christ came, He was offering them something much more than an earthly kingdom. He was offering them the kingdom of the heavens.
That is the reason why the kingdom of the heavens is called the glad tidings—the good news. God had good news for His people: to give them a heavenly kingdom, a real kingdom, a kingdom that God had in mind all these centuries and was now offering to His people.
But unfortunately, the children of Israel did not understand.
They expected the Messiah to come as the Lion of Judah. But He came as the Lamb of God. They were looking for the Lion of Judah, but God said, “No, this is not yet the time for My Son to come as the Lion of Judah.”
Before there can be any physical manifestation, there must be a spiritual reality. That is the way God always works.
Men always try to get something physical, because that is all they want, all they can see and desire. But, brothers and sisters, we know that that which is merely physical and material is only temporal, because it soon passes away.
What God does, and what God gives, is always eternal. That is the reason why, so far as the kingdom is concerned, God wants a kingdom that lasts forever. So it has to have a spiritual reality first; then what is physical can follow. Otherwise, it will soon pass away.
So you find that when Christ Jesus came, He did not come in the beginning as the Lion of Judah to establish an earthly kingdom above all earthly kingdoms. That will come. But when He first came, He came as the Lamb.
Because He did not restore Israel at His coming as the first nation of the world, the Jews were disappointed. They rejected Him, and they even had Him crucified.
But, brothers and sisters, the wonder of it is that, as the Lamb of God, He took away the sin of the world.
Our Lord Jesus came as the King of the Jews. He was born King. He came to bring God’s kingdom upon this earth, but He came as the Lamb of God. That is the way to bring God’s kingdom upon the earth.
He came to take away the sin of the world. More than that, He came to demonstrate to the world the very nature of His kingdom. His kingdom’s nature is a lamb’s nature.
His kingdom’s nature is love and sacrifice. His kingdom’s nature is to serve and not to be served, and to give His life a ransom for all. So our Lord Jesus, the King, set before the world what the kingdom of God really is.
For that kingdom, there is one condition, and that is repentance: “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”
Now, we know that the word repentance is a very strong word. It is not merely improvement, repair, or changing a little bit. It is a very drastic word. It means a change of mind—a total change about things.
To put it another way, it says that you are going in the wrong direction. You need to turn around and go in the right direction, which is the opposite direction.
The Jews at that time thought that they were walking in the right direction. They thought they were walking toward the kingdom.
You remember the story of Nicodemus. He came to the Lord at night, and before he asked the question that was really in his heart, the Lord said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
In other words, Nicodemus, the rabbi of Israel, representing the best of Israel, thought that he was very near to the kingdom of God. Probably all he needed was some more instruction, a little bit more. Yet the Lord said, “You are far from the kingdom of heaven. You cannot even see it, because you are walking in the wrong direction.”
The children of Israel thought that they were religious. They were not perfect, but they were religious. They thought all they needed was a little improvement, and they would be in the kingdom of God.
But the word to them was this: to be fit for the kingdom of heaven, there needs to be one hundred percent repentance.
In other words, you need to repent of yourself. Repent of your evil, as well as repent of your good. Repent of your irreligious and immoral deeds, as well as your religiousness. You have to repent of everything—repent of yourself totally.
It is best symbolized by baptism. Baptism is not just a few sprinklings or a washing of hands. Baptism is immersion.
In other words, your whole being is immersed under the water. It speaks of getting your whole self—that whole man, the old man, good and evil in you, everything, religion or whatever—to go down, to go down to death, and to be buried out of sight.
Then you come up in a new and living way. That is baptism. That is repentance.
Brothers and sisters, repentance is not just a little change of direction. Repentance is a complete change of direction. It is a stripping off of everything so that you are able to enter in through the needle’s eye.
At that time, only those sinners and publicans knew that there was nothing good in them. They repented. They came and received the baptism of repentance.
But the scribes and Pharisees thought they were so much better. They did not need to repent. They needed to improve, yes, but not to repent. So they would not accept John and his baptism. They were too good.
My brothers and sisters, our Lord was there. He was offering to them His own kingdom, and yet they rejected Him. They would not repent.
Why did John say, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh”? It was approaching. It was near. Why? Because the King was already in their midst, and they did not know Him.
When our Lord Jesus came, He preached the same message: “Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” He was already there. The King was already there. The kingdom of the heavens had come in a Person—in the Person of our Lord Jesus.
He was already there, but He still said the kingdom was near. Why? Because He needed a people—people who would listen to Him, who would repent, and thus become His kingdom.
So far as we are concerned, brothers and sisters, historically—not prophetically, but historically—the kingdom of the heavens is now here.
But spiritually, to many of God’s people, the kingdom of the heavens is only near, not now. Can you explain it?
To experience the kingdom now, you need to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus.
If you are not discipled to Christ, so far as you are concerned, you are no different from the children of Israel at the time of our Lord Jesus. The kingdom to you is near, but not now.
If we still live our own lives, if we still live according to the flesh, if we do not accept the discipline of the Lord, if we have not been buried out of sight—then, though we have been baptized, are we in the good of baptism?
Is it true that we see that in us, that is, in our flesh, there is no good? Have we seen that? Are we rejecting not only our bad flesh, but also our good flesh? Are we today living according to our own mind—our carnal mind?
Now, if this is still our condition, so far as we are concerned, the kingdom is only near, but not now. It is offered to you, but you have not yet entered into it.
You need to repent. It is only through repentance that you can enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
So, spiritually speaking, brothers and sisters, we need to be before the Lord to see whether today we are living in the kingdom, or whether today, to us, the kingdom is only near but not now.
To make the kingdom now, we need continuous repentance. Repentance is not just once and forever. We need to be in a continuous spirit of repentance, and only in that spirit will we experience the kingdom today.
Our Lord Jesus came. He preached the kingdom of the heavens, and thank God, there were people who listened to Him and repented. Those who believed in Him became disciples.
The Lord began to surround Himself with disciples. When He had these disciples around Him, that was the time He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.”
He said these words with His disciples around Him. The kingdom is now here. How are you going to seize it? How are you going to live in it? He says that you need to be violent about it and seize upon it.
You know, in the early days, all those believers in the Lord Jesus were called disciples. You read the Gospels, and you find that they were called disciples.
Today, we have come to divide believers from disciples. In other words, you can be a believer, but you may not be a disciple of the Lord Jesus.
But in the early days, you find that all those who believed in the Lord Jesus were disciples of the Lord Jesus. You cannot believe in Him and not be discipled to Him. You cannot just receive Him as your Savior and not surrender your life to Him as your Lord. These two things go together.
Only those disciples of the Lord Jesus were later called Christians in the book of Acts.
What is the meaning of Christian? A Christian is a Christ-man. When the world looked at these disciples of the Lord Jesus, what did they discover? They found that all these disciples of the Lord Jesus were like their Lord Jesus. So they said, “These are Christians. These are Christ-men.”
The character of Christ had characterized these disciples. That is the finished work of discipleship: conformity to the image of Christ.
Disciples are apprentices, not merely students in the modern sense. They are apprentices.
You are an apprentice to a master. You leave your home, you stay with your master, and you serve your master. You not only learn his skill and his trade, but you learn his life, his living, and his behavior.
You are under your master completely. You learn of him, and one day you not only have learned his skill, but you have learned his way of life.
That is a disciple. Discipleship is to partake of all his nature.
What is the nature of God? What is the nature of the kingdom of the heavens? What is the nature of our King? In one word: holiness.
In Isaiah 6, you find the seraphim crying out:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:
the whole earth is full of His glory.
In Revelation 4, you find the four living creatures before the throne crying out:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty,
who was and who is and who is to come.
In other words, you find that the very nature of God is holy. The very nature of the kingdom of God is holy.
In Leviticus 20:26, He says:
And ye shall be holy unto Me:
for I the Lord am holy,
and have set you apart from the peoples,
that ye should be Mine.
In other words, the Lord says, “I am holy; therefore, you shall be holy.” Holiness is the law of the house of God.
Now, what is holy? The word holy means uncommon, separated, set apart for God.
In Matthew 5:47, there is one word: extraordinary. If you greet only your brethren, what extraordinary thing do you? Do not even the Gentiles the same?
What is holy? Holy is something extraordinary—out of the ordinary.
Then in Matthew 5:48, He says, “Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Holiness is perfection.
Our God is holy. Everything about Him is extraordinary. Everything about Him is holy. It is perfect, different, unique, uncommon, special—the only One of His kind. That is our God.
You cannot compare Him with anything else. He is holy.
Look at the life of our Lord Jesus. In one sense, He was no different from us. He lived a normal life, just as we do. But in another sense, you find that He was altogether different.
His love is extraordinary. We love those who belong to us, but He said, “Love your enemies.” His love is different.
His grace is different. We give grace to those who are worthy, but He gave grace to those who were undeserving.
He is light; the world is dark. He is pure; the world is polluted. You find that everything about our Lord Jesus is holy—extraordinary and perfect.
This is the nature of the kingdom. That is the reason why He says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Brothers and sisters, why is it that we need to be disciples of Christ? That we may be partakers of His holiness more and more.
He has redeemed us. He has given us a life. Brothers and sisters, that life which He has given us is a holy life.
If we live by that life, we are not only holy, but we are happy.
You know, that is the strange thing about Christians. You read Matthew 5: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.”
Notice: “Theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.” It does not say, “Theirs shall be the kingdom of heaven.” So it is a thing now.
To whom is the kingdom now? “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” If you are poor in spirit, to you the kingdom is now.
The word blessed in the original is happy. Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
Brothers and sisters, we have the kingdom life in us. We have the holy life in us. When you allow this life to live out, you are happy.
But if you do not let this life live out from you, are you happy? You are not. Christians are strange beings.
When people treat you badly and you pay them back, you may be happy if you are not a Christian. But if you are a Christian, and when people treat you badly you treat them badly in return, are you happy? You are not.
If you forgive them, if you love them, you are happy. Why? It is not you; it is the holy life.
We are a peculiar people. Do you know that? We are a peculiar treasure to the Lord, as Malachi says.
But unfortunately, brothers and sisters, today Christians have lost their extraordinariness. Our peculiarness is gone. We want to be like the rest of the world.
If we live as the rest of the world, no wonder we are not happy. If you want to be happy, live by the life of Christ. Then you become partakers of His holiness, and you are happy.
But unfortunately, things are not as simple. If there were only that new life in us, then it would be very simple: just let it live. But unfortunately, that old life lingers on.
That is the reason why the Lord said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.”
We do not like the word violence. It sounds like a bad word. But actually, that word is neutral; it just depends upon the connotation.
Some translations avoid the word violence because it is too hard, and they use the word force: “The kingdom is taken by force.”
Whether you use the word force or violence, it does not matter. It means the same thing. If you want to seize upon the kingdom, you have to be violent. You have to use force.
But it is not to be violent toward other people. It is to be violent toward yourself.
This is the very meaning of denying yourself. The Lord says, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Me.”
Who wants to deny himself? We want to gratify ourselves. We want to please ourselves. We love ourselves.
But the Lord says, “No, you have to deny yourself. Tell yourself, ‘I do not know you. I have nothing to do with you. I put you to death. I deny you.’”
“I ignore your feelings. I let you be hurt. Do violence to yourself. Put yourself under. Beat it under you.”
In doing that, that holy life in you is given the opportunity to live.
The cross has to work in our lives to take away that which hinders that holy life in us.
Brothers and sisters, during the time of discipline, of chastening, of bearing the cross, you will feel sorrowful for the time being. But afterward, it will be happiness and joyfulness. Why? Because you are now living in the kingdom of the heavens.
You know, some ask, “Is the kingdom now?” As a matter of fact, when you talk about spiritual things, there is no time factor there. Wherever there is a reality, it is there.
So if you live in the kingdom, the nature of that kingdom is in you, and you are in the kingdom. That is Matthew 5, 6, and so on.
This is Christian living. This is the way that Christ lived, and this is the way that He expects us to live.
But this is not all about the kingdom. The kingdom has drawn nigh. The kingdom is now here. But the Bible says that one day the kingdom shall be manifested publicly upon this earth.
Do you know that when Christ came into this world, He was the first invasion of heaven upon earth?
Having invaded the earth in the Person of our Lord Jesus, He came to establish a foundation for the coming of His kingdom.
In His own life, He defeated the king of this world—the ruler of this world. In His death on the cross, He despoiled the principalities and powers and made a public show of them by His cross for our sake.
After He left and returned to heaven, He was not altogether gone. He left upon this earth some people.
After He finished the work on Calvary, and ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Father, He waited for the time when He would come and claim His kingdom on this earth.
But while He was there in heaven, He left upon this earth His church—His people. There in Jerusalem was a heavenly colony.
He was gone, but He left a people on earth. Those one hundred and twenty people formed a heavenly colony. They were in enemy territory.
That heavenly colony was composed of one hundred and twenty people, and on the day of Pentecost it increased to three thousand one hundred and twenty.
Now, what is a colony? In the old days, in the Roman Empire, that was the way they ruled the world.
After they conquered an area, they left colonies all over their conquered territory. They would send retired soldiers, veterans, with their families, to settle in a city, and there they formed a colony.
Through these colonies, they ruled the world. In those colonies, they were little Romes.
In those colonies, all the people were dressed as Romans. Roman law ruled the colonies. They were Roman citizens. They stood for Rome. They lived for Rome. Everything was Roman.
Whether it was in Asia, Europe, or wherever it might be, it was Roman. They were not ruled by local laws or local government; they were ruled by Roman law.
Now, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus left a colony on earth—people ruled by heaven, not by earth.
They live for heaven, not for earth. They are there to witness to the kingdom of God in the midst of the kingdom of darkness.
This colony began to spread. You find colonies not only in the cities of Judea, but even in Samaria, and from Samaria even to the end of the world. Now you are in Richmond.
You find the Lord Jesus’ strategy. He has His heavenly colonies all over the world, even through the twentieth century.
These colonies are to stand for the kingdom of heaven, to witness to the kingdom of heaven. The spiritual power released by these colonies is destroying the very kingdom of darkness and one day will bring the King back upon this earth.
That is what the church is.
You know, Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 contain the Olivet Discourse. Roughly speaking, Matthew 24:4-31 is for the Jews; Matthew 24:32 through Matthew 25:30 is for the church; and Matthew 25:31-46 is for the Gentiles.
So you find that the world is divided into three groups: the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church. Roughly, you may take it that way.
One day the Lord will come as the Lion of Judah. He will come to judge. But judgment must begin with the house of God, and then the Jews, and then the nations.
At His coming, two will be grinding. You do not grind at noon, but in the morning, preparing food for the day. Two are working in the field—that is daytime, noontime. Two are sleeping in bed—that is at night.
Suddenly, one is taken and one is left, because the kingdom of the heavens is coming.
So far as the church is concerned, when the Lord comes, this is what will happen. Two is the number of witness. These two represent Christians who are living at the coming of the Lord.
In the parable of the ten virgins, you have ten. The ten represent Christians who have already fallen asleep through the ages. So you add them together: it is a perfect number.
But anyway, you find that the two represent Christians who are living at the coming of the Lord—and, brothers and sisters, we are at that time.
How quietly you find everything going on as usual—as in the days of Noah, as in the days of Lot. Everything goes on as usual.
Even with these two, if you are grinding, you are grinding. If you are working, you are working. If you are sleeping, you are sleeping. Do not be afraid to go to sleep. Do not give up grinding or working because the Lord is coming.
Go on and do your duty, and rest. But the Lord knows the heart.
Of the two, representing all living Christians, there will be two kinds. One is watching and waiting, ready for Him.
The other says, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” and beats his fellow servants, buries the talent, and is a lazy, wicked servant.
The Lord knows. Outwardly, nobody knows. Do not try to figure out your brother or sister; you will never be able to do so.
It will be a great surprise at the coming of the Lord. Those whom you think will be taken may be left, and those you think will be left may be taken. The Lord knows. The Lord knows the heart.
Brothers and sisters, if today we really endure with Him, at His coming we will reign with Him.
Those who are ready will be taken. Those who are unready will be left.
One day, we will all be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. Some, by the grace of God, will reign with Christ in glory.
Brothers and sisters, Christ is coming. He will come in glory. He will reign over the whole earth. His kingdom shall reign upon this earth. Righteousness shall reign upon this earth. There will be peace throughout the world because the Prince of Peace has come.
This is the day that we are looking forward to.
But, brothers and sisters, when His kingdom shall come, we will share His glory. He wants to share His glory with you.
But today, if you are not willing to suffer for His sake, for His kingdom’s sake, it is not that He does not want you to share His glory—you disqualify yourself.
So may the Lord really encourage us. Brothers and sisters, as long as there is still time—the time is short, but there is still time—let us repent, let us pursue holiness, and let us watch and pray, for He is coming.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost always desire to give the best to Thy people. Thou hast offered a kingdom, even Thy kingdom, to us.
Thou hast made us worthy, and Thou art the only One who is able to make us worthy of it. Lord, we can only say, have mercy upon us.
We do desire Thy kingdom because we desire Thee, our King. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.