Sermon Tone Analysis

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.