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Secrets of the Kingdom Life  /  Chapter 4: Tapping into Gods Power  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
Using the farmer and Olympic athlete analogies, Bercot says God supplies what we cannot, but “God won’t plow,” “God won’t plant,” and “God does not run our race for us,” and then highlights Paul’s fear of being “disqualified”; what “plowing/planting/disciplining” work are you avoiding right now, and how should Paul’s stated fear reshape the way you think about assurance and finishing well?
Another way to ask: What “plowing, planting, or training” work in your spiritual life are you avoiding right now? How should Paul’s fear of being “disqualified” affect how you think about assurance and finishing well?

Direct Answer Bercot’s point is that God provides the power and resources, but we must do the hard, obedient work—like plowing, planting, and disciplined running—so passivity is not an option. Paul’s fear of being “disqualified” should push us to take finishing well seriously, holding assurance together with active endurance and self-discipline rather than complacency.

Support from Transcript:

  • Farmer analogy: God provides earth, water, sun, and seed sources—“without God, the farmer can do nothing.”
  • Yet Bercot repeatedly stresses what God will not do: “God won’t plow it for him… God won’t plant… [won’t] fight weeds and pests… [won’t] harvest.”
  • He summarizes: “God and the farmer are partners. It’s the same way in the Christian life.”
  • Race analogy: “let us… run with endurance,” and “Run in such a way that you may obtain it”—“it is we who run the race.”
  • He clarifies: God doesn’t run it, but we also can’t do it alone: “The power has to come from God.”
  • Paul’s warning note: “I discipline my body… lest… I myself should become disqualified,” followed by Bercot’s application: “If Paul was concerned… how much more so should we?”
Discussion Follow-ups What would “disciplining your body” mean in your actual week (not in theory)? How can you avoid two extremes the transcript warns against: self-powered effort and spiritual passivity?

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