Description

Episode Summary:  Never before in history have human beings trying to focus on a task in front of them that needs doing faced distractions as powerful as the beep or flash of our cell phones intruding into our consciousness. In the face of such constant distractions (often by good things), Christians all seem to be struggling to save any time or energy to devote to the most important goal of our lives—honoring Christ through the spiritual fruitfulness of our lives. We know that Jesus said, “By this is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples,” and that God is honored when we accomplish the mission Christ has assigned to us. But we are also sobered by the truth that “bearing much fruit” does not happen accidentally, or randomly. This episode examines the question, “What will it take to be as fruitful as possible for Christ in the months ahead as life returns to the fall routine?”

For Further Prayerful Thought 

1. Why is it that accomplishing nearly everything in life requires us to shape a plan, organize our efforts, make strategic decisions, and stay focused on the goal, but for some reason, we don’t do that when it comes to pleasing Christ?
2. What would you say to someone who said, “Planning your spiritual growth is showing that you are depending on yourself. We are supposed to depend upon Christ?”
3. What do you see as the parallel between budgeting your money so as to make kingdom investment a priority and budgeting your time to make kingdom advancement your priority. Is it fair to say that one of Satan’s strategies is to get us spend time carelessly leaving little for advancing Christ’s kingdom through prayer, or careful thought about building a deeper relationship with your neighbor. 

References for the different uses of the term kingdom of God by Jesus

Matthew, being one of the twelve, had also heard Jesus use the term, kingdom of God, in many seemingly different ways. The kingdom of God is a community in which the king exercises dominion with his followers on his left and right (Mt 20:21), in which the righteous shine and from which the wicked are cast out (Mt 13:43). It is a place where there is a certain perspective (Lk 9:62; Mk 12:34). The kingdom is also a gift from the Heavenly Father (Lk 12:32), which is being prepared by God for his people (Mt 20:23; 25:34). It is a condition of peace and happiness in which kingdom members will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Mt 8:11), and feast (Mt 26:29; Lk 14:15). In addition, the kingdom of God is a moral good to be pursued (Mt 6:33) and prayed for (Mt 6:10). 

Past Series Highlight:  Becoming More Like Jesus: (Beatitudes 1-6)

• The Foundational Requirement for Kingdom Living S1 E #8 12/29/19
• Cultivating a Heart Like Jesus Had S1 E #9 1/5/20
• A Widely Misunderstood Requirement of Christians S1 E #10 1/12/20
• The Right Kind of Ambition S1 E #11 1/19/20 
• Show the World Jesus by Exhibiting Mercy S 2 E #3 11/22/20
• Heart Transformed Living—The Pure in Heart S2 E #4 11/20/20

For the printed version of this message click here.

For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.

For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.