The Kingdom Mindset (Midweek Gathering)

The Kingdom Mindset

This past Sunday we talked about the Kingdom Mindset and quoted the late Dr. Myles Monroe who defined the Kingdom as “a governing influence of a king over his kingdom, impacting it with his will, purpose, and intent, producing a citizenry of its people who express his culture and reflect his nature.”

We also cited Dr. Tony Evans who says, “The Kingdom Agenda is the visible manifestation of the comprehensive rule of God over every area of life. He further states, “It’s purpose is to manifest on earth the operations of heaven.”

I believe we see this most clearly in the Lord’s prayer, Matt 6:9-10.

Matthew 6:9–10 NIV

9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

This is a challenge for most of us if we are honest for two reasons.

1. We don’t know God’s will. And we cannot do what we don’t know. But it is not impossible to know God’s will. In fact, the entire Bible is a conglomerate of writings that reveal through different personalities, but by divine inspiration, what God’s will is.

From Genesis to revelation, we see God’s will unfold through scripture. Since we don’t have time to turn every page of scripture tonight, let me tell you what God’s will is and always has been. God’s will is to reveal himself to mankind as a loving father does with his children, in order to coexist in his eternal kingdom, in perfect unity.

This message about the Kingdom of heaven is the first sermon we hear in the book of Matthew after the divine birth narrative, and the bulk of Jesus’s sermons hereafter. Matthew 3:1-2

Matthew 3:1–2 NIV

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Later, when John is arrested, and as his ministry comes to a close, Jesus picks up the baton in a way that says, even if you kill the messenger, you’ll never rid the land of the message. This fact would become more of a reality when Jesus is later crucified. But here, we find Jesus’s first public sermon in Mark 1:14-15

Mark 1:14–15 NIV

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The message here is two-fold. First, we are called to repent, or to change our ways of thinking. Second, we are ordered to believe. Why is that? It’s because the way we’ve been thinking has affected the way we act, and the way we’ve been acting is often contrary to the Kingdom of heaven.

In other words, we believe, therefore, we do.

Let’s go all the way back to a time when ancient Israel was experiencing great success under divine leadership. They did like many of us do, even in good times. They looked over and saw what the rest of the world was doing, how they handled their affairs, made decisions, and governed the land and people and changed their minds about God. Now let’s be honest, sometimes people change their minds about God because the people who are supposed to be representing God, do so poorly.

1 Sam 8

1 Samuel 8 NIV

1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”

This leads us to the second reason why we can’t do God’s will.

2. We don’t believe God’s word. Just like Israel, when after being warned by Samuel, what would happen if they instituted man’s rule in place of God’s, we too, shrug it off and demand new management because we don’t like our current situation.

For example, your current situation involves somebody gossiping about you. The king said, “Stand still. I’ll fight your battles.” But you took the advice of your friend instead who advised you to clap back. You don’t believe that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Your current situation involves someone borrowing money from you and not paying it back. The King said, “Let them have it. They clearly needed it. It’s not worth ruining a life-long relationship over.” But your homie said, “You just gonna let dude punk you like that and take your paper?” So you ready to kill a man over $200. You don’t believe it’s more a blessing to give than to receive.

So like John the Baptist, Jesus the Christ commands us to repent — to change the way we think. Because changing the way we think, changes the way we behave. And the benefit of changing the way we behave is that we get to be called sons and daughters of the most high God!

Eph 4:17-5:2

Ephesians 4:17–5:2 NIV

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ladies and gentlemen, the kingdom of God has come. We are either part of it, or enemies of it. And every day we choose which side we are going to stand on. That choice is made by 1. What we know and 2. What we believe about what we know.

At the end of your life, you will be judged by what you did with what you know. So let me tell you this. God loves you. He’s not angry with you. He’s not out to get you. He does not hate you.

In fact, he loves you so much that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him, does not have to die for their sins, but instead, would have eternal life. Yes, he let his only begotten son die. But he also raised him from the grave, in order that you and I might live through him.

As I said from the start, God’s will is to reveal himself to mankind as a loving father does with his children, in order to coexist in his eternal kingdom, in perfect unity. So the Kingdom is here now, but not yet.

Imagine a wedding, the bride is at the ceremony, walking down the aisle. There is no question that she is here, yet they sing, “here comes the bride.” After the vows are exchanged, they introduce her with her husband’s last name. They are married, but in a traditional, or should I say, in a Kingdom sense, the marriage is not consummated until they physically, and intimately unite as one.

Ladies and gentlemen, the church is the bride of Christ who are present for the wedding. Although the groom has come, and is even now with and within us, the consummation has not yet occurred, where we have been taken home to reign and rule. We are in the already, not yet of the Kingdom.

But thanks be to God, He keeps his promises. We are not forsaken, abandoned or forgotten. As we turn the pages of New Testament scripture, we find Jesus preaching the Kingdom of Heaven. I want to encourage you this week, to grab your Bible and start reading every passage that says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like” in order to get a better understanding of God’s will for your life. You can thank me Sunday when I see you at the in-person, gathering of champions.

I’ll see you at 10 as we continue our sermon series entitled, The ABCs of Biblical Leadership, where we will discuss what it means to be led by the spirit of God.