"For thine is the Kingdom..."

       At the conclusion of His sample outline for prayer, Christ said we should acknowledge the absolute supremacy of God in earth and in heaven. The beginning of this acknowledgement is the admission that the government of the whole universe is securely in God's hands.

        When we have reached the point of recapitulation in our prayers; we have prayed for forgiveness, we have forgiven others, we have made known our most urgent heartfelt needs—especially the needs of others first—we then begin saying, in effect, "Father, I know you can do this; I know you will do it, because you are in control. You have the absolute authority; you are the Ruler over all!" We acknowledge God is on His throne, that He is the Omnipotent God, that He is able to answer our prayers.

        As we saw in chapter five, the Kingdom of God is very real; it is to be established on this earth at the second coming of Christ to rule for 1,000 years. We saw that God's Kingdom consists of Christ as King; subjects, both human and spirit; territory, meaning this earth and the whole universe; and laws by which His Kingdom governs.

        Why then, does Christ say we should begin the conclusion of our prayer with the seemingly repetitious statement, "For thine is the Kingdom?" Is this merely "spiritual salt and pepper," some spiritual-sounding flavor to prayer? Far from it. As startling as it may sound, one of the great purposes in Christ's sojourn on this earth in human flesh was to qualify as future World Ruler; to overcome the power of Satan who is the present evil ruler of this earth—now disqualified, but not yet removed!

        You may not have realized that Christ's encounter with Satan in the wilderness was, in fact, a struggle for rulership of the world!

        Let's notice what the Bible says: "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' But He answered and said, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'

        "Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, 'If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.' Jesus said unto him, 'It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Eternal thy God.' "Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shewed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, 'All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.' Then saith Jesus unto him, 'Get thee hence, Satan;’ for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Eternal thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him" (Matthew 4:1-11).

        All of us have engaged in tests of physical strength at least a few times in our lives; perhaps athletic contests, lifting weights, arm wrestling, or some other test. Have you ever worked as a ditch-digger for eight straight hours? Ever been so physically exhausted you threw yourself into bed and slept for about nine hours without turning over? Long, arduous hours of hard labor can be exhausting. But mental struggles can be even more enervating! A battle of the will can leave you as physically weak as a test of physical strength! In Christ's great struggle of mind and will power, He was pitted against the most subtle, wily, seductive spirit on earth. And this when Christ was at His weakest, near starvation.

        This was a clash of wills. Christ could never have overcome Satan's temptations without having fortified Himself with many hours of fervent prayer! By fasting coupled with prayer, Christ was extremely close to God; imbued with God's Spirit. Yet, when He met Satan in this great contest for mastery of the earth, He did so with His spiritual reserves only; God did not Personally intervene; no angels came to force Satan to leave. Now, notice the variety of temptations, and notice Satan's boast that he is presently in charge of the governments of this world. Satan first tried to probe into Christ's mind, to see if the slightest bit of ego or vanity was there. He said, "IF You be the Son of God..." disdainfully, contemptuously. Have you ever had someone scorn you, ridicule you, attempt to "put you down"? Ever had someone act as if you are beneath contempt, completely unimportant? It rankles, doesn't it?

        What would be the response of most of us, especially if we occupied an important position? I am reminded of the story of the young recruit who had barely received his haircut and dungarees at the U.S. Naval Training Station in San Diego when he was put to work mopping and waxing the hallway in the Administration Building. The Commanding Officer of the Station, an Admiral, came down the hall, and the boot said, "Hey, buddy, gotta match?" The Admiral smiled, took out his lighter, and lit the recruit's cigarette. Just then, a Lieutenant who had been hurrying down the hallway, and who had seen what had happened, shouted, " 'TenSHUN!" at which command the boot snapped to attention. "Why you stupid meathead!" raged the Lieutenant, "Don't you realize this is the Commanding Officer? How dare you speak to an officer like that!" and proceeded to make exceedingly uncharitable references to the boy's probable genealogy. The Admiral watched with a bemused smile, and as the boot stammered out a thoroughly frightened apology, said, "That's all right son, just make sure you don't ever do that to an Ensign!"

        If you have traveled abroad very much, you may have run into the kind of pompous vanity that seems common among some men in uniform, such as customs officials, or military personnel of some third world countries. When you see their chests full of medals, especially if they are in a tiny country which has never been involved in a major war; when you see the large bands of gilt leaves on their caps, the gleaming epaulettes, doesn't it make you wonder? What major campaigns, what great battles, what personal acts of heroism do all those medals represent? The "Battle of Ougadoogou Swamp?"

        How well I remember a rumpled official in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, many years ago, who, to show his contempt for Americans, sent my Spanish professor and me to the back of a long line of those waiting to pass through customs control after we had arrived at the customs window first. His swaggering authority was hugely impressive—to him. It seems axiomatic that the less the authority, the more those carrying such authority tend to be impressed by it.

        Make no mistake. Satan knows human nature pretty thoroughly. He is fully aware of the generous amount of ego and self importance that beats within many human hearts. The slightest lack of proper respect toward authority can bring surprising rebuke in many cases.

        But one who possesses real authority does not find it necessary to continually prove it. Nor does he (or she) find it necessary to explain it or defend it. A strongly authoritarian person is usually filled with feelings of inferiority. True authority comes from within, comes from strength of character, from a cool assessment of ones own abilities. A person with large responsibilities, and therefore authority, does not need to continually display it.

        Satan was attempting to bring about an angry, petulant retort when he said, "IF thou be the Son of God..." The carnal reaction would be "What do you mean, IF?" No doubt followed by a rebuke and an immediate reassertion of position, of authority. But Jesus Christ was utterly devoid of vanity and pride. He recognized Satan's ploy instantly. He was not for an instant led away by the temptation to put this sly upstart "in his place," as most might have been. No, instead, He quoted Scripture to him.

        A word about Satan's attempts to quote Scripture: At first blush, it almost appears that this is the classic "religious argument," with two individuals each attempting to get the better of the other by quoting Scripture. One recites a text to prove a point; the other comes back with a different text which seems to knock out the first one. But is the Bible really capable of just any interpretation? Can we quote one scripture to destroy the meaning of another? No, far from it. The Bible is the most perfectly cohesive book that has ever been written; in it's original languages, it is absolutely flawless.

        When Satan quoted a section of one of the Psalms, trying to tempt Christ to throw Himself down, he deliberately twisted the meaning of the scripture promising God's protection. Christ knew the devil was perverting the verse; for God will not protect anyone who deliberately casts himself down from an height. The verse is a promise to protect God's own people from accidental falls, not to prevent them from deliberately tempting God!

        Then came the moment when Satan told Christ he, the devil, was the master of all the kingdoms of this earth. Notice that Christ did not rebuke Satan for his statement, nor contest it. By His silence, we can see He took no issue with Satan's claim that Satan had the power to give the governments of this world into another's hands.

        Satan is called "The god of this world" (II Corinthians 4:4), and is described as a serpent who "deceiveth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9).

        It was after this final test that Jesus issued a command! Previously, He had met the devil "on his own turf" so to speak. He was so hungry He must have been near death. Most of us would have had neither the physical stamina nor the mental and spiritual tranquillity necessary to endure forty days of fasting. But now, Christ issued an order, and the devil had no choice but to slink away in surly obedience.

        Satan had no recourse. He clearly understood the magnificent display of character; of spiritual power Christ had illustrated. He was defeated, and he knew it! Christ had won this great struggle through the power of God's Holy Spirit. The whole point of Christ's fasting was to move all human, physical strength aside, to overcome Satan's greatest temptations by the power of God's Spirit, and not by any human feats of strength!

        There are many interesting points to notice. First, the number forty is always used of a period of testing in the Bible. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the promised land which was a symbol of our life on this earth—a lifetime of tests and trials—prior to entering God's Kingdom. There are details gleaned by carefully comparing Luke's account of this event with that of Matthew which prove there were not necessarily only three temptations. Nor are we to assume these temptations took place over a period of brief moments—about the length of time it takes us to read the account in the Bible. This clash of wills may have lasted for many hours, or several days.

        Notice that when the agonizing trial was over, "Angels came and ministered to Him." Christ was exhausted. He needed water, food. Now that He had successfully passed every test, won the greatest battle of His life, did God actually perform for Him the very miracle Satan had so slyly suggested? We cannot know, of course, but when the Bible says angels ministered unto Him, it means they accomplished more than simply patting Him on the back! He needed water, and food. No doubt, they supplied it! Even as God miraculously sent manna from heaven to feed His infant nation Israel, so it may be that Christ ate " angel's food!" But during the trial, God the Father did not personally intervene. No angelic help was given until after Christ had won the victory. Christ had fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights! His spiritual strength was equal to the tremendous task before Him. When the test came, He had to face it with the spiritual reserves He had acquired through fasting and prayer! On one occasion, when His disciples could not cast the demon out of a child who was thrown violently to the ground, they asked Him why, and He retorted, "This kind cometh not out but by fasting and prayer.

        Perhaps it is time we saw Christ as more of a Hero, the Victor of great battles, the Overcomer of superhuman tests of strength, and not as a very nearly effeminate, soft, philosophical individual who seemingly walked through life with profound statements always on His lips, but who never got His hands dirty; never experienced the sweat, toil, exhaustion and near despair that is common to man. Many find it difficult to relate to the Christ Who is portrayed to them in the pictures commonly found in Bible book stores, or in the pages of illustrated Bibles. And no wonder—if they have not known of the real Jesus Christ, the One who is the Savior of all mankind.

        It is easy to see how Sunday-school teachers can keep the attention of their little charges by graphic accounts of David versus Goliath, the stripling overcoming the giant with a slingshot; tales of Sampson's prodigious strength; of Daniel, standing coolly courageous in the lion's den; of Noah, building his ark, and collecting all the animals. But Jesus? Most little children are not particularly impressed by Jesus as He is typically portrayed. About the time they learn He tells them to "turn the other cheek," and they think about the neighborhood bully, they begin to wonder about this "Jesus" of whom they are told.

        But the real Jesus of Scripture was a Person of fabulous accomplishment; the bravest man who ever lived! This struggle against Satan was far tougher, of much greater duration, and carried consequences far beyond those of David's battle with Goliath. Had Christ failed, He would have sinned, by giving in to Satan. He would have lost His spiritual destiny; to return to the right hand of God. He would have lost His crown as future King of the universe! We would have had no Savior! Victory for the allies in World War II meant the physical salvation for countless millions. It meant freedom for most of Europe, for Britain and the United States. Had we lost the war, we would have been enslaved. Millions died to save many millions more. The dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified by Truman by determining that it shortened the war by several months, and, therefore, saved perhaps a million or more lives But if Christ had failed His battle with Satan, it would have meant the loss of all mankind. Christ was struggling not only for reward; for the supremacy—He was fighting for survival!

        Do we realize what terrible hunger can accomplish in we humans? Have you read about the Donner party? About the crew of the whaler, Essex, smashed and sunk by the frenzied charge of a great blue whale several hundred miles off the coast of Chile? Have you read about what some frenzied inmates of concentration camps did to their own fellows in order to survive? There have been many horrendous, gruesome cases of people resorting to cannibalism down through history. Extreme hunger is not some easily conquered appetite. It can literally turn a cultured person into an animal.

        A vivid account of a family's survival aboard a small boat in the South Pacific was written some years ago. The sailing vessel in which they were making a lengthy cruise caught fire, and they were forced to abandon ship. They drifted for weeks, living on what meager supplies they had quickly salvaged, and, finally, on a chance sea turtle or fish they caught now and then. They were nearing starvation. They related how they would spend hours discussing favorite restaurants; going into the most intricate details of food preparation, talking of the meals they would enjoy when they were finally rescued. They watched each other rapidly lose weight, become emaciated, nearing starvation. This particular story had a happy ending, for they were ultimately rescued after being adrift for several weeks, and so far as I know, the family did exactly as they had so longingly discussed—survived to enjoy those meals they had so yearned for. Have you ever been excruciatingly hungry? Ever fasted for three or four days at a time?

        When Satan began describing bread to Christ, he no doubt gave glowing descriptions of food, not necessarily only a loaf of bread, but probably went into great detail, portraying in vivid, colorful words the tempting sight and smell of delicious foods of various kinds. Remember our discussion of appetites? Judging from the enormous number of us who are carrying entirely too much weight around for the good of our hearts, appetite can be quite a problem. The Bible says Christ was tempted in every point just like we are! Paul wrote, "For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18). The suggestion to merely command stones to become bread was a deliberate, clever and powerful one; Satan tried to attack Christ in His most vulnerable areas.

        But Jesus Christ immediately thought of how the life we live is much more than "meat," more than continually imbibing the physical, chemical elements of matter in order to keep our bodies functioning. He knew the life of us all is centered in the spiritual portion of our human minds; that there is a spirit in man, and that the careful protection of that spiritual essence, nurturing it toward spiritual perfection, guarding it against pollutants of any kind, is far more important than maintaining and prolonging this physical life. He instantly quoted Scripture to Satan, saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God! "

        As bread—food—gives us our physical life, so God's Holy Word gives us true life! Life everlasting; life for all eternity! Christ plainly said so, yet His disciples and His persecutors all were puzzled, and some of His disciples left Him because of the seeming impossibility of what He said.

        Christ portrayed Himself as the Living Word which must be ingested, imbibed. He said, "I am that bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:48-51).

        This saying was so puzzling, so difficult for them to understand, that many of His own disciples forsook Him right then and there! It was not until the Last Supper, Christ's final Passover, that they came to understand. Christ is the "Living Word," meaning, metaphorically, that when we drink in of God's living witness, the Bible, we are drinking in of the nature of Christ. Spiritual food sustains our spiritual growth, and is vastly more important than the temporary perpetuation of this physical life. Christ knew this, and it sustained Him. He was not susceptible to thoughts which would result in depravity, as some have been when resorting to ghastly acts in order to survive. Spiritual survival was more important to Christ!

        Next time you pray, why not do so with an open Bible before you, referring to the words of the "Lord's Prayer" as an outline for your prayer. As you progress through this rich outline; covering thoroughly each point, calling to mind what you have learned in preceding chapters, you will finally come to the concluding words. When you acknowledge, "For thine is the Kingdom... " think about what you are admitting! First; to Whom are you praying? Why, to God, the Father! Yet, it was Christ who conquered Satan; who qualified to receive the Kingdom of God on this earth, wasn't it?

        Notice the answer: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,. afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:22-26). Yes, Christ qualified to become the future World Ruler. He disqualified Satan. But Christ is not yet on this earth, and Satan is not yet removed. Christ conquered through the power of God's Spirit; He did so in fullest partnership with His Father; He did so to deliver the Kingdom to His Father in heaven. He wants us to acknowledge that the Kingdom of God is securely in the hands of the Father in heaven.

        As a powerful article of faith, we acknowledge that God has the strength, the ability, the authority, to answer our prayers! We are saying, in effect, "Father, I know you are going to hear and answer this prayer, for you are the One in complete control; you are in charge; you are the Great Ruler; you sit on your throne over all governments, powers, authorities—the Kingdom is YOURS!

        Suppose you had a loved one who had been wrongfully thrown into jail. Suppose you finally, after months of trying; writing to congressmen, senators, contacting attorneys, talking to the news media, writing letters to the warden, and writing to the White House, received a telephone call from the President of the United States. Suppose he said, "I have reviewed the entire situation, and I have called the governor of your state, who will call the warden. Your loved one will be released immediately! Would you have faith it would be done? Yes, we can have faith in human powers and authorities. If you receive a government check if you have overpaid your income tax, do you doubt for one instant it will be good when you deposit it in your checking account?"

        Faith is the evidence of things not seen. What is a government check? It is merely a piece of paper. It is a written promise. It has no intrinsic value. It is not silver, or gold, or even paper money. Yet, when you take it to the bank, you have perfect faith it is good; that it will be cashed, and you can purchase goods with the money. The Bible is like that. It is a written promissory note. You can depend on it! Paul wrote, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11: 1).

        God answers our prayers when we pray in faith. Bu faith is nothing more than believing God is perfectly able to do what He promises, believing He is in charge! He will answer your prayers because He is in charge; He has the authority to do so!

        Harry Emerson Fosdick said, "It is cynicism and fear that freeze life; it is faith that thaws it out, releases it, sets it free." It is faith that releases your prayer, sets it free, sends it loud and clear to God. When you conclude your prayers with your acknowledgement that God is in control, then let go of your prayer. Don't pick it apart, rethink it, or keep tagging on unessentials. Let it go. Give your concern to God. Have faith and He will answer!