The Christian and the Kingdom of God: Do You Have a Kingdom Calendar?

Text: Luke 9:11 “And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.”

Theme: The kingdom of God is the reign of God in the universe and by extension, the reign of God in the believer’s heart.

This evening we come to the end of the series The Christian and the Kingdom of God. In this series we’ve looked at some soul-searching topics:

1. Do You Have a Kingdom Identity? The central question was: Do you have a relationship with Christ and is he your first priority?

2. Do You Have Kingdom Character? The central question was: Is obedience to Christ’s kingly rule evident in your conduct and lifestyle?

3. Do You Have Kingdom Priority? The central question was: Do you live for the sake of the King and His Kingdom?

4. Do You Have a Kingdom Perspective? The central question for this topic was: Are you willing to set aside lesser goals for the sake of God’s greater kingdom goals?

5. Do You Have a Kingdom Family? The central question was: Are you living in fellowship with other Kingdom citicens?

This evening I want to consider the last theme: Do You Have a Kingdom Calendar? The question is: Is God and are the things of God regularly included on your calendar and on you ‘to-do’ list?

I. DO YOU HAVE A KINGDOM CALENDAR?

1. I think I’d be on safe ground when I assert the virtually all of us live by the calendar and to-do lists

a. we keep track of time and schedule events by using calendars

b. calendars provide us opportunities to observe, commemorate, and celebrate important events or occasions

c. this is also true of the Church

2. since the earliest days of the Christian Church, believers have used liturgical calendars to guide their worship and celebration their faith

a. the Christian liturgical calendar is often referred to as sacred time — and is seen as a roadmap for worship

b. the liturgical year — also simply called the Christian Year — proceeds from the conviction that God is Creator of all that is, including time ... of which we need to be good stewards

1) as Christians we acknowledge this by, shall we say, “penciling-in” time for God

2) Sunday is the oldest element of the Christian calendar, and is central to both the weekly and yearly cycles

3) in fact, historically, the Sunday celebration is so important that, in the early church, both kneeling and fasting were forbidden on the Lord’s Day, as they were thought incompatible with its joyful character as a foretaste of the kingdom of God

3. over time the Christian Calendar began to focus on the great events of redemption history

a. today the Church Calendar is organized around two calendar periods — Sacred Time and Ordinary Time

1) sacred time includes the central events of Christ’s redemptive ministry

a) Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, concluding at Pentecost

2) ordinary time includes the rest of the year and is used by the church to focus on various aspects of the faith

a) these include missions, evangelism, Christian education as well as doctrine and theology

ILLUS. Even Southern Baptists have a “Church Calendar” and I used to religiously follow it. (Show example)

4. following the church calendar is more than just a way of marking time, it is an opportunity for the congregation to tell the story of God’s redemptive work in the world

a. why the history lesson on the liturgical calendar?

1) do you live life by your date book and To-do list or by Gods’?

b. the Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians at Ephesus, said that believers are to live life carefully in wisdom and not as fools who are unaware of God’s agenda for this world (Eph. 5:15)

c. we are to redeem the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16)

d. as we go about our daily living, we must keep foremost in our minds what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17)

5. the focus of our life must be living our life in light of God’s cosmic calendar of events

a. as you fill in your date book and make your To-do list, does your calendar and do your priorities include the things of God?

b. do you have Kingdom events penciled in on your Kingdom calendar?

II. CHRISTIANS WITH A KINGDOM CALENDAR WILL PENCIL IN ‘CHRISTIAN SERVICE’ ON THEIR ‘TO DO’ LIST

1. work hard at all you do for the lord's sake

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-24, NIV)

2. no matter what you are doing as a career choice, you’re serving the Lord

a. it may appear that you are working for a government agency, or a paint company, or an accounting firm, or a home builder, or an insurance company, or a software company, or a retail store, or a school district, or a hospital — but you don't

3. if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, and you work for him

a. that place you go to every day is just the specific location where you work for Him

b. it is the place where you perform Christian service for the sake of others

c. it is your place of ministry

A. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SLOTH IN THE BELIEVER’S LIFE

1. the Apostle James uses the example of the farmer who has sown his fields and now waits for the harvest

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.” (James 5:7, NIV)

2. we need to patiently wait for the Lord’s return

3. but while we patiently wait we need to be actively engaged in the Lord’s work while we wait

a. I’ve pastored rural churches for all of my ministry

1) in every one of those churches there have been farmers — sometimes a significant number of them

b. in that time I’ve learned two basic rules about farming ...

1) I don’t want to do it for a living

2) a farmer’s work is never done

a) farmers do not plant their crops and then sit back and do nothing until harvest season

b) he works at other things while he patiently waits for his crop to mature

4. in the same way, a Christian’s service continues until the Lord comes

a. Christian service will find your niche of ministry within the life of the local church

5. Christians with a kingdom calendar will pencil in ‘Christian service’ on their ‘to do’ list

III. CHRISTIANS WITH A KINGDOM CALENDAR WILL PENCIL IN ‘LIVE FOR JESUS’ ON THEIR ‘TO DO’ LIST

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." (Corinthians 16:13, NASB95)

1. living for Jesus means Christians must stand firm in the faith

2. what does that mean?

a. 1st, stand firm in what you believe

1) base your faith on the Bible and stand on it’s precious truths and promises

ILLUS. All around us churches, and entire denominations are abandoning the authority of the Scriptures for the authority of men. God forbid that it ever happens to our church or our convention.

2) the Bible really is our only source for faith and practice

b. 2nd, stand firm in how you are living

1) your lifestyle does matter — live for Jesus unashamedly

ILLUS. In the first chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul asserts, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation ... “ (Romans 1:16).

2) you have got to keep Jesus close folks

ILLUS. Too often our lives are like the guy painting highway stripes. In the days before it was automated, a man was hired by a local highway department to paint the yellow strips down the county roads. His first day on the job was a great success. He painted five miles of stripe. His boss was greatly impressed. The next day he didn't do quite as well, nevertheless his supervisor was satisfied. By Friday the man was down to painting about a quarter of a mile of stripe. Very concerned, the painter's boss approached him and queried the man as to why he began so well, but ended the week so poorly. The painter replied, "Each day I get farther away from my paint can!"

a) what’s the point? the further we get away from Jesus the longer it takes to get back to him

c. 3rd, stand firm against anti-Christian opposition

1) Jesus told his disciples that the world would hate us because it hated Him first

2) I believe that — even in my lifetime — we may well see serious persecution of Christians right here in America

3) I do not doubt that there are Christian children and maybe even some teenagers in our church who will die for the faith in a country that was founded as a Christian nation

3. living for Jesus means Christians must stand firm in the faith

4. Christians with a kingdom calendar will pencil in ‘Live for Jesus’ on their ‘to do’ list

IV. CHRISTIANS WITH A KINGDOM CALENDAR WILL PENCIL IN ‘PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WORSHIP’ ON THEIR ‘TO DO’ LIST

1. one of my favorite hymns is “O Worship the King”

a. the opening line says “O Worship the King all-glorious above”

2. God the Son is worthy of all of our worship and adoration and praise and exaltation

a. He is worthy of all that because He is our King

ILLUS. When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, Are you a king? Jesus responded in the affirmative: To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. What’s the truth He came to bear witness of? That our Lord, Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. That makes Him worthy of our worship.

3. in its simplest definition, worship means to assign worth to someone or something

a. the term derives from an Old English word Worth-ship

b. the idea implied in that ancient word is that God is indeed worthy of our praise and adoration

ILLUS. Charles H. Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the 19th century, wrote about worship. He said, “Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace.”

4. why should we worship our Heavenly Father?

a. Robert Grant sums it up very well in the final phrase of his hymn, O Worship the King:

1) He is our Maker ...

2) He is our Defender ...

3) He's our Redeemer ...

4) He's our Friend

ILLUS. In his book Readings in St. John's Gospel, William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 to 1944, attempted to define worship. He wrote, ". . . worship is the submission of all our nature to God ... It is the quickening of [our] conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of [our] mind with His truth, the purifying of [our] imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of [our] will to His purpose — and all this gathered up in adoration."

5. all of our earthly accomplishments, rewards, awards or prizes are as nothing when compared to our great God whose robe is the light, whose canopy space, and whose chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form.

a. therefore we must do three things according to this hymn:

1) We must worship the King

2) We must tell of His might

3) We must sing of His grace

6. Christians with a kingdom calendar will pencil in ‘Public and private worship’ on their ‘to do’ list

V. CHRISTIANS WITH A KINGDOM CALENDAR WILL PENCIL IN ‘BIBLE STUDY’ ON THEIR ‘TO DO’ LIST

1. the bible is the infallible Word of God and will not lead you astray

a. in writing to a young minister named Timothy, the Apostle Paul reminded him of how the Bible changed his life

“and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, NIV)

2. what do I mean by the word infallible?

a. it means that the Scriptures will do what they are designed to do — lead men and women, boys and girls — into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ

ILLUS. When we say that the Bible is infallible, we are maintaining that it is without error since it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote of the Bible: “The Bible is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without paleness; a glory without dimness. O Bible! it cannot be said of any other book that it is perfect and pure; but of thee we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in thee, without particle of folly.”

3. the Bible tells us everything we need to know about the One in whom are deepest trust should be placed

a. in its passages and through its pages, you will meet the living Lord

“Search the scriptures; for ... they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39, KJV)

b. when the apostle John writes, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12), you can know without a shadow-of-a-doubt that what he says is true

4. Christians with a kingdom calendar will pencil in ‘Bible study’ on their ‘to do’ list

VI. CHRISTIANS WITH A KINGDOM CALENDAR WILL PENCIL IN ‘FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS’ ON THEIR ‘TO DO’ LIST

1. every Sunday we celebrate what the Bible calls koinonia

a. it is a Greek word which we have come to translate as fellowship

1) it is a word which means more than a close acquaintance

2) it is a word that means more than just a companionship

3) it's a word that means more than friendship

2. it refers to a bonding of people that have something in common

a. that something is Jesus Christ

3. love of the brethren is one of the primary ways of knowing if someone is truly a Christian or not

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8, NASB95)

a. can I be perfectly honest with you this evening?

1) there are members of this church who are fooling themselves when it come to their salvation

b. they will absolutely insist that they are a Christian even though they’ve not been to church —any church — in 5, 10 or even 20 years

c. I would maintain that their profession is false and that they really don’t love God

1) how do I know? – Because they don’t love the brethren

2) what proof do I have? – They don’t want to spend time with the brethren

4. Christians with a kingdom calendar will pencil in ‘Fellowship with other believers’ on their ‘to do’ list

A day is a span of time no one is wealthy enough to waste. If you are a Christian, let me urge you to be about your Father's business. There will always be plenty of other people occupied with the affairs of the world. Do not walk through time without leaving worthy evidence of your passage.