Your Kingdom Come: The Pilgrim's Prayer If you’re new to Lifpoint | Worthington, take 30 seconds to fill out our Welcome Card! Have a question about today's message? Ask it here. Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV) 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Introduction: The Pilgrim Identity Our identity determines what we expect prayer to accomplish. We are not at a comfortable resort; we are standing at the edge of the wilderness. To be a Christian is to be a pilgrim on a pilgrimage. On this journey, safety and comfort are not promised or expected. The Lord’s Prayer is given to us as survival gear for a difficult trail. The Signpost The phrase “Your kingdom come” acts as a trail marker to reorient us. We naturally tend to pray for our own kingdom and our own will to be done. Following Jesus requires a radical release of our control. We are asked to submit to God's agenda rather than our own. Counterfeit Identities The Tourist The tourist views the church as a destination and God as a concierge. They want God to execute their itinerary for a comfortable, stress-free life. When the trail gets difficult, the tourist leaves to find better amenities. The Soldier The soldier assumes God's kingdom maps perfectly onto their own cultural or political camp. A genuine desire to honor God twists into a demand for earthly power. This identity produces a rigid and hostile opposition to those who disagree. Have a question or pushback on this? Ask it here. The Survival Gear The Lord's Prayer functions as a compass in the wilderness. It establishes God's True North and exposes the exact direction our heart is facing. We must make daily micro-adjustments because a one-degree drift will leave us lost. Often, God's True North points directly into a valley that costs us our pride or comfort. Have a question or pushback on this? Ask it here. When we realize we are off course, our fear tempts us to practice bending the map. We ignore the compass rather than admit we have lost control. The Gospel and Repentance Jesus faced the ultimate hostile environment in the Garden of Gethsemane. He abandoned comfort so that tourists like us can be forgiven. He yielded His power so that soldiers like us can be forgiven. Repentance is not a religious feeling; it simply means to turn around. We choose daily to declare His kingdom over ours. As always, if you'd like to talk more with me about anything we discussed, you can sign up for meeting time. If you have any questions from the message today, send them here and I'll follow up!