Part 8 - BLESSING

"Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever."

Everyone loves a good ending. And there's nothing more disappointing than a bad one.

1. What do the words kingdom, power and glory refer to?

• KINGDOM: domain, authority, power, control leadership; living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; not just fancy talk but living by God's power.

• POWER: might, strength; also absolute authority, sovereignty, control; ability to exercise His will however and whenever and wherever He has planned to; capability and sufficiency to deal with us and our lives

• GLORY: credit, praise, recognition; also presence, influence, involvement; gives us a glimpse of the dreadful awesomeness of Almighty God; One who is completely separate, unique, distinct and above all others

2. When we acknowledge these things, what are we really saying?

It's a different emphasis for everyone… what is it for you? Hopefully we can all say:

• The kingdom, power and glory—and everything else along with them—belong to You, not to me.

• I see You as the one and only God, who is holy, awesome and worthy of praise.

• I acknowledge that You and only You have the ability to handle all that I will experience in life, and that my ability to do so comes from You.

• I surrender the leadership, authority and control of my life to You, in increasing quantities.

• I see that as we embrace the ending of this part of the journey, I want to be willing to move forward to what You have for me.

3. In what areas do we struggle with this?

The areas we are all likely prone to struggle are found in the themes of the Lord's Prayer:

• CONNECTION: Many people’s connection with God isn’t what it could be.

• RECOGNITION: We seem to be invariably trapped in a perpetual state of self-absorption.

• SURRENDER: We tend to be “control freaks”

• DEPENDENCE: What worry warts we can be; how little it takes to “freak us out” and throw us for a spin

• CLEANSING: Passed over by many, because of pride or self-righteousness or lack of self-worth

• RELEASE: We’ve developed quite a talent for holding on to things

• PROTECTION: When temptation knocks, we not only open the door, we ask it to stay for dinner!

As you utilize the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern for prayer and life, allow God to continually develop these realities in you—you’ll see what a change it will bring and where it will lead to.

4. What do these things have to do with the theme of blessing?

When you connect with God, recognize Him, surrender to Him, depend on Him, receive His cleansing, release others in forgiveness, and live in His protection from temptation, YOU WILL BE LIVING IN THE BLESSING OF GOD.

Jesus is speaking futuristically:

• God’s kingdom will come in fullness

• God’s power will be revealed in the last days

• God’s glory will fill all the earth

The theme of blessing is commonly associated with an ending. Look up these benedictions in the New Testament to see what they say to the theme of blessing:

Rom. 16:27; 2 Cor. 13:13; Eph. 3:20-21; Eph. 6:23; Phil. 4:20; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:16; Philemon 1:25; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:14; 2 Peter 3:18; Jude 1:24-25

Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen! Our God is worthy of praise! He is sufficient! He is able! He rules and reigns! The glory belongs to Him! He is the Most High!