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What to Do with the Gift of a Kingdom
Full Length Written Edition → https://christfocused.substack.com/p/what-to-do-with-the-gift-of-a-kingdom
🔊 Episode Description
Many young men were raised in the rubble of older empires. Maybe you grew up in a post industrial community, your history and identity etched in coal, cotton and steel, maybe the mill closed before you were born, maybe the entire network, infrastructure and city planning surrounding you was founded around something now dead. Maybe Dad’s career collapsed in 2008, maybe Mom’s church split in 2014, maybe your world shutdown during the pandemic 2020s, maybe the world you see today is not the playing field you were trained for, or promised. It can seem that every institution that once felt solid, now trends on scandal and destruction.
Into this void has seeped hustle culture: “No one is coming, build your own kingdom.” YouTube sells alpha-male blueprints, crypto, stoicism, right wing - left wing, extreme and devoid, Twitter shouts “Recession proof wealth!”, weight loss programs, weight gain programs, the latest style of gyms, side-hustle podcasts, and cage-fight pay-per-views promising a throne built on self-discipline and clenched fists. Culture has prepared men for a, no one is coming for you, survive, conquer, forcing yourself into and through class systems, and financial barometers. A ceaseless, restless, survival of the fittest, dog-eat-dog, cultural drum, against a wall and glass ceiling of pre-seated Kings and nobility classes, that have limited your abilities to scale from the start, with a hopeless reach towards the promised land.
Even amidst this noise, we know deep down that the board is rigged, the dealt hand seems off, even among the driving and cultural spasms to success, the encouragement for force, the praise for conquer, the glorification of violence, it will be for most, completely out of reach.
Yet the Carpenter from Nazareth walks up to us eye to eye, us empire-starved men, and offers a finished kingdom, free, completely offered, but one that is fatal to the ego.
“Die to yourself, follow Me; inherit what you could never conquer.”
This edition explores that collision:
Ruins vs. royalty, DIY hustle vs. divine gift, sword-swing reflex vs. the cross-carrying call.
Every generation crowns its conquering heroes. Rome paraded Caesar, Wall Street paraded the unicorn founder, Instagram applauds bloodied MMA champs breaking their competitors in slow-motion for all to see. We baptize hustle as virtue and weaponize talent for personal gain. Yet Jesus looks us straight in eye, and offers us, personally, eternally, more.
A kingdom you build will bury you, the kingdom Christ gives will raise you.
We’ll cover
* Ruins & Royalty - Why post-industrial collapse and scandal-ridden institutions birthed the DIY-throne gospel.
* Conquest Instinct - God-wired courage warped into domination; cardboard kingdoms vs. Christ’s finished one.
* Muscle of Meekness - Peter’s blade, Jesus’ “Put it back,” and why genuine strength is bridled strength.
* Christ’s Re-direction - From Caesar to modern influencers: same Babel code, new update; the cross breaks the loop.
* Economics of Surrender - Loss→gain, seed-death→harvest, downward mobility→exaltation in kingdom math.
* Enemy-Love Shockwave - How veterans, fighters, and founders praying for rivals can spark cultural tremors.
* Practising Kingdom First - Lifestyle caps, enemy-prayer drills, and the “public-to-private” pivot that keeps ego on the altar.
Reflection Questions
1. Which “kingdom” am I still constructing to prop up my identity?
2. Where have I used strength to dominate rather than serve?
3. Who is one rival or critic I can bless in prayer this week?
Full Length Written Edition → https://christfocused.substack.com/p/what-to-do-with-the-gift-of-a-kingdom
I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s run the race - Eyes Up, Chin Up!
Grace and peace,
Sam JohnstonFounder, Christ Focused[email protected]
Modern Epistles Book Link
Modern Epistles Audio Book Link
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christfocused.substack.com
View all episodes
By Christ Focused NetworkFull Length Written Edition → https://christfocused.substack.com/p/what-to-do-with-the-gift-of-a-kingdom
🔊 Episode Description
Many young men were raised in the rubble of older empires. Maybe you grew up in a post industrial community, your history and identity etched in coal, cotton and steel, maybe the mill closed before you were born, maybe the entire network, infrastructure and city planning surrounding you was founded around something now dead. Maybe Dad’s career collapsed in 2008, maybe Mom’s church split in 2014, maybe your world shutdown during the pandemic 2020s, maybe the world you see today is not the playing field you were trained for, or promised. It can seem that every institution that once felt solid, now trends on scandal and destruction.
Into this void has seeped hustle culture: “No one is coming, build your own kingdom.” YouTube sells alpha-male blueprints, crypto, stoicism, right wing - left wing, extreme and devoid, Twitter shouts “Recession proof wealth!”, weight loss programs, weight gain programs, the latest style of gyms, side-hustle podcasts, and cage-fight pay-per-views promising a throne built on self-discipline and clenched fists. Culture has prepared men for a, no one is coming for you, survive, conquer, forcing yourself into and through class systems, and financial barometers. A ceaseless, restless, survival of the fittest, dog-eat-dog, cultural drum, against a wall and glass ceiling of pre-seated Kings and nobility classes, that have limited your abilities to scale from the start, with a hopeless reach towards the promised land.
Even amidst this noise, we know deep down that the board is rigged, the dealt hand seems off, even among the driving and cultural spasms to success, the encouragement for force, the praise for conquer, the glorification of violence, it will be for most, completely out of reach.
Yet the Carpenter from Nazareth walks up to us eye to eye, us empire-starved men, and offers a finished kingdom, free, completely offered, but one that is fatal to the ego.
“Die to yourself, follow Me; inherit what you could never conquer.”
This edition explores that collision:
Ruins vs. royalty, DIY hustle vs. divine gift, sword-swing reflex vs. the cross-carrying call.
Every generation crowns its conquering heroes. Rome paraded Caesar, Wall Street paraded the unicorn founder, Instagram applauds bloodied MMA champs breaking their competitors in slow-motion for all to see. We baptize hustle as virtue and weaponize talent for personal gain. Yet Jesus looks us straight in eye, and offers us, personally, eternally, more.
A kingdom you build will bury you, the kingdom Christ gives will raise you.
We’ll cover
* Ruins & Royalty - Why post-industrial collapse and scandal-ridden institutions birthed the DIY-throne gospel.
* Conquest Instinct - God-wired courage warped into domination; cardboard kingdoms vs. Christ’s finished one.
* Muscle of Meekness - Peter’s blade, Jesus’ “Put it back,” and why genuine strength is bridled strength.
* Christ’s Re-direction - From Caesar to modern influencers: same Babel code, new update; the cross breaks the loop.
* Economics of Surrender - Loss→gain, seed-death→harvest, downward mobility→exaltation in kingdom math.
* Enemy-Love Shockwave - How veterans, fighters, and founders praying for rivals can spark cultural tremors.
* Practising Kingdom First - Lifestyle caps, enemy-prayer drills, and the “public-to-private” pivot that keeps ego on the altar.
Reflection Questions
1. Which “kingdom” am I still constructing to prop up my identity?
2. Where have I used strength to dominate rather than serve?
3. Who is one rival or critic I can bless in prayer this week?
Full Length Written Edition → https://christfocused.substack.com/p/what-to-do-with-the-gift-of-a-kingdom
I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s run the race - Eyes Up, Chin Up!
Grace and peace,
Sam JohnstonFounder, Christ Focused[email protected]
Modern Epistles Book Link
Modern Epistles Audio Book Link
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christfocused.substack.com