RECOGNIZING YOUR KINGDOM CITIZENSHIP (2 OF 10)
Scripture: Philippians 1:3-11
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Recognizing Your Kingdom Citizenship (2 of 10)
Series: Philippians
Patrick Edwards
Philippians 1:3-11
Introduction
Of the many different storylines and characters in Tolkien's classic, The Lord of the Rings, perhaps the most interesting or compelling one I find is the arc concerning Aragorn, the true but reluctant heir to Gondor's throne. When we first meet Aragorn, he is known to us as Strider, a drifter-swordsman of sorts but we soon discover there to be more to the man. Fear of repeating the sins of his fathers, he has lived in exile from his kingdom and, yet, the discovery of the ring of power and the quest to destroy it forces him to come out of hiding and to confront who he really is and the responsibility that he has been running from. In the scene we just showed you, Aragorn is challenged by the elven king, Elron, to put aside the life he had been living and now become who he was born to be.
You see whether its fear of public reaction, fear of failure, still trying to keep a foot in the old life, not wanting to truly surrender all, or perhaps just laziness, whatever it is many of us struggle to embrace the calling we have in Christ. Some of it is no doubt due to the fact that this is how Christianity has often been presented to us. Become a Christian so that you can avoid the pits of hell, so that you can 'go to heaven', so that you can be a better person. We've significantly reduced the calling of following Jesus and in turn produced generations of Christians of whom very little is expected.
Naturally, then, some of us shrink back from being challenged with the full picture of following Jesus. We might think, 'This isn't what I signed up for,' or 'What's wrong with what we've been doing all these years.' Perhaps we've become complacent and just gotten used to Sunday-morning-only Christianity, or more likely once-a-month Christianity. Perhaps we've never considered there to be more than this. Or perhaps we're intimidated and unsure of wher ...
Series: Philippians
Patrick Edwards
Philippians 1:3-11
Introduction
Of the many different storylines and characters in Tolkien's classic, The Lord of the Rings, perhaps the most interesting or compelling one I find is the arc concerning Aragorn, the true but reluctant heir to Gondor's throne. When we first meet Aragorn, he is known to us as Strider, a drifter-swordsman of sorts but we soon discover there to be more to the man. Fear of repeating the sins of his fathers, he has lived in exile from his kingdom and, yet, the discovery of the ring of power and the quest to destroy it forces him to come out of hiding and to confront who he really is and the responsibility that he has been running from. In the scene we just showed you, Aragorn is challenged by the elven king, Elron, to put aside the life he had been living and now become who he was born to be.
You see whether its fear of public reaction, fear of failure, still trying to keep a foot in the old life, not wanting to truly surrender all, or perhaps just laziness, whatever it is many of us struggle to embrace the calling we have in Christ. Some of it is no doubt due to the fact that this is how Christianity has often been presented to us. Become a Christian so that you can avoid the pits of hell, so that you can 'go to heaven', so that you can be a better person. We've significantly reduced the calling of following Jesus and in turn produced generations of Christians of whom very little is expected.
Naturally, then, some of us shrink back from being challenged with the full picture of following Jesus. We might think, 'This isn't what I signed up for,' or 'What's wrong with what we've been doing all these years.' Perhaps we've become complacent and just gotten used to Sunday-morning-only Christianity, or more likely once-a-month Christianity. Perhaps we've never considered there to be more than this. Or perhaps we're intimidated and unsure of wher ...
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