Kingdom Thinking

Intro:

Today is part 4 of our series Head and Heart. Where we are taking a deep dive into the renewed mind. What we have been discussing this month is that where the mind goes the man follows.

An anchor scripture for this series has been Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The renewed mind is of the utmost importance in kingdom living. My goal in this series is not to tell people what to think, but to teach people how to think. Please don’t take offense to that statement. I am not insinuating that anyone is dumb.

Ultimately, we must understand that the unrenewed mind is actually at war with God. So, if we through this series we can help somebody to learn how to think from God’s divine perspective then they will inevitably stumble onto some of the principles of the kingdom and those principles lived out will become treasure to us.

In our Church the goal of a weekly message is not to indoctrinate a person into a denomination but to teach how to think and live from a Kingdom Perspective. The mission God has given this church is to Encounter, Live For, and Advance the Kingdom. This will only happen when we renew our minds with the Word of God.

As we begin let give you a quick contrast of what I mean on kingdom perspective vs. mankind’s perspective.

God thinks the best way for you to receive and increase is by giving. Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.””

God thinks going low is how your exalted. James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

God thinks dying is how you live. Matthew 10:39 “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

We know that these are certainly not mankind's ways. Mankind in the broad sense is inherently selfish. Looking to gain by keeping what they have doing whatever it takes to get more many times at the expense of others. People constantly fight over position, title, or promotion and will do whatever it takes to take out the competition. The most foundational to mankind is that life is all about me.

Matthew 5-7 is a series of you say but I say statements from Jesus. Amounting to the revelation that mankind isn’t saying what He is saying.

So the goal of the renewed mind is to teach people how you think and approach life from divine perspective this will set people up to be learners on their own as well as learning through a message.

Becoming a learner places us on a journey where we are not just thinking the right thoughts but learning how to perceive in life with the wisdom of the Lord.

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Submit:

The concept of the renewed mind is that if the mind wasn’t valuable God wouldn’t want to renew it. If it didn’t have a place of high value and high priority He would spend no time rebuilding it.

This truth reveals that we need to pay attention to what we give residence to in the area of our thought life. Our responsibility then is to yield to His way of seeing.

Isaiah 55:6-11 “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

So when we think about yielding to His way of seeing its rooted in the understanding that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

Both Proverbs 14:12 and Romans 8:6 reinforce that truth.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

The Word death used here in both the original Hebrew and Greek language means: the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell.

So here are three observations I had from the scripture in Isaiah 55.

Our opportunity to seek God is limited.

It said to seek Him while he may be found. Call upon him while He is near. If you struggled with God submitting to God’s ways understand that life is short and our opportunity limited in the scope of eternity.

Isaiah 55 reinforces that the thought process of a man has huge implications for that persons life.

The wicked way is the result of mans unrighteous thoughts. While the opposite is true concerning those who keep Gods word. They are blessed.

Repentance positions us for God’s mercy and introduces us to the framework for right living.

Isaiah says that we are to recognize that God’s ways are higher than ours. As we do we need to repent and turn to Him and He will show us mercy and pardon our sins. This became a reality in Christ.

Repentance introduces us to the mind of Christ in a very practical way. Colossians 3:1-3

Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Repentance is more than saying I am sorry for what I have done it involves receiving wisdom from God for righteous living. As we turn from unrenewed thinking by studying God’s word we receive wisdom for our life.

____________________________________________________________________Apply:

God’s wisdom shows us what will derail us in life. Colossians 3:5-10

Colossians 3:5-10 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”

More than whats wrong in life He gives us what we need to do well. Colossians 3:12-25

Colossians 3:12–25 NKJV

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

When we obey God’s direction we live good and peaceable lives. When we are obedient to His word He blesses us. As we can see from the scripture in both Isaiah and Colossians the renewed mind is rooted in the wisdom of God and it stands in sharp contrast to the wisdom of men.

____________________________________________________________________Closing:

A final thought I want to share with you is that we need to be lead by the Spirit. John 16:13-15.

John 16:13-15 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

The renewed mind is not just pairing a situation that you experience in life with what Jesus said. Kingdom perspective is being able to understand in a moment through the revelation of the Holy Spirit how to respond to that situation.

The woman caught in the act of adultery could have been stoned to death, but Jesus filled with the Spirit was given wisdom on how to respond in a completely different way. That way brought about her redemption and simultaneously convicted others of their sin and need for forgiveness.

If we will learn to see God’s way through the scriptures the Holy Spirit will give us insight. He will then train us on how to reason and respond in any given situation.

That may seem foolish to the world, but as it says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

But if we walk in the renewed mind we can see God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and receive its benefit all at the same time.

Let’s Pray!

For Salvation: That we would no longer be at war with God.

For a heart that longs to learn.