Kingdom Mindset

Kingdom Mindset: Ask and you shall receive...  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Introduction

Good morning!
Welcome the visitors
Thank everybody who came
This month our theme is KINGDOM MINDSET.
Have you ever heard about that phrase? Or came across about it in one of your readings?
And we’ll tie it up with our topic for this morning, which is, - Ask and you shall receive.
Let’s go straight to our study this morning.
Let me pray first....
Kingdom
The Persians
The Achaemenid Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 B.C.E., who went by the title of King of Kings (Shahanshah). Although the Persian Empire came to an inglorious end at the hands of Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.E., it had a lasting legacy on the subsequent development of world civilizations and future empires.
The Caliphate
The Arab Empire, also known as the Caliphate, was a political entity founded by the Muslim Prophet Muhammad that encompassed most of Arabia by the time of his death in 632 C.E. It is more reasonable to call this the Arab Empire rather than the Muslim Empire because while Islam originated and spread because of this empire, there were many subsequent empires that were legally Muslim or ruled by Muslims but were not Arab
The Mongolians - Founded by the Mongol warlord Temujin, who assumed the title of Genghis Khan in 1206 C.E.
And there are more succeeding empires, kingdoms....who have risen and at the end collapsed and have met their downfall.
The very distinct characteristic of a given kingdom is, we can see that there is a governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent, producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens.
In a Kingdom we can see that there is a governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent, producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens.
Logically, you can’t have a kingdom without a king and a domain, a territory. King’s send their citizens out to colonize the kingdom.
Like the Mongol Empire, they first grew by picking off parts of China, as many previous steppe tribes had done. How were the Mongols able to accomplish these feats?
Despite their small population, the Mongols were able to field large and mobile armies against their enemies because they carried their herds with them and could sustain themselves off of horse blood. In an era before refrigeration, it was logistically difficult for a Chinese rules to field a comparable army.
Now let’s shift gears and take this into perspective,
the term translated “kingdom” is the Greek word basileia, which means
“the realm in which a sovereign king rules.”
Throughout the New Testament, the word kingdom consistently refers to the rule of Christ in the hearts of believers, since, for the time being, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world ().
We are citizens of the kingdom of God and are called to establish:
1. God’s kingdom here on earth,
establish God’s kingdom here on earth,
2. God’s morals,
3. God’s purpose and intent,
4. God’s values
5 .and establish His kingdom culture here on earth.
What is His kingdom culture? Heaven! We are called to establish heaven here on earth.
(Greek) basilei’a is power, rule, reign, government: ba’sis, meaning to walk (live). It is a foundation of “power” that dwells within us that enables us to do what God has assigned us to do:
: "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth".
: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". (Vs 17-18) "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".
We have that power because the Kingdom is in us, in our hearts..
So, the Kingdom then is, we as a child of God
If we say we are God’s children...
1. He should be the ruler of our heart...
2. Our morals should be that of what Christ desires us to have
3. We should have a clear understanding of God’s purpose and intent for our lives.
In order for us to effectively partner with God in carrying out His Kingdom agenda we need to have a Kingdom mindset; we need to constantly live out the truth that He is the sole ruler of our heart, that our behavior, is governed by His perspective, our character is consistently in line with what He desires.
desires.
Just think for a moment, how will we ever be effective in carrying out His Kingdom Agenda if our minds are not aligned with His, or sad part is we don’t actually have His mind.
Paul says In..
1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT
For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16
Having the mind of Christ means:
1. We understand God’s plan in the world—to bring glory to Himself, restore creation to its original splendor, and provide salvation for sinners.
2. It means we identify with Christ’s purpose “to seek and to save what was lost” (). It means we share Jesus’ perspective of humility and obedience (), compassion (), and prayerful dependence on God ().
We have to dig deeper into the word of God daily, so that we really understand what’s in His mind.
We have to dig deeper into the word of God daily, so that we really understand what’s in His mind.
Case in point - when we talk about sin:
Matthew 4:17 NLT
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Repent – stop, turn around, go in opposite direction.
This was His first statement to the world telling us we need to repent and in Greek it means metanoe’o [change our minds or our thinking; think differently].
By the way, why do we always quote the Greek words here in church, the original language they used to write the New Testament:
Because the definition in English is limited, sometimes lacks the true essence of what the Bible is telling us.
Example
For example : Repent in the english dictionary says - feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin:
But go back in how the Greek word is used -
If you are travelling down the road and realize you’re headed the wrong way, you make a 180 degree turn to head in the right direction. That’s an action! Before the action of turning, you had to make the decision to turn around. This is not an easy change for many of us. Most of us as believers will have a problem making this change. This is not a “natural” mind set.
1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
I Corinthians
We’re used to looking at daily struggles with an attitude of despair believing our situation will never change or improve. We are too focused on our bills; looking at our empty wallets; wondering "how am I going to pay this?"; walking around worried; stressed on a daily basis trying to make ends meet. That is not “kingdom mentality”! Kingdom is a belief system, an attitude we should hold on to. : "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Here comes in the second half of that phrase - MINDSET
WEBSTER DEFINITION OF MINDSET: A particular way of thinking; a mental attitude or inclination; a fixed state of mind
Mindset - The “WAY” that we think shapes “WHAT” we think. It becomes the “LENS” you see your world through. Anything other than a Kingdom Mindset will always be inferior and lead to less than God’s best.
While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.
"Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly." He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.
The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, " You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.
It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia. It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard. But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.
To those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts as Lord and Savior, we should know our identity. And if we know our identity, the particular way of thinking we should have, is always to be inclined toward that of Christlikeness, the particular way of thinking is inclined toward WHO we are in Christ.
And Christlikeness encapsulates everything, from His character, to His very own lifestyle - do we really know Him?
Kim Sweeting in her blog - The Importance of Kingdom Mindset says:
tells us that as a man thinks, so is he. This means that our thoughts precede our behavior. So, if we are not for God and the things of God in our minds, if we are not submitted to Him in our minds, if we are not embracing the reality of His Kingdom and our heavenly citizenship in our minds, if we are not desirous of knowing and doing His will, purpose, principles and plans in our minds, if we are not yielded to His lordship in our minds, then we can not be effective in partnering with Him as His Kingdom representatives. “
There should always be an effort to conform to the standards of God. Because if not, there’s something wrong, if there’s not even a hint of change in the way we think, and a constant struggle to fight and come against the influence of the flesh, it’s either we go back and read the word of God or we don’t really have that relationship with Jesus Christ at all.
There should always be an effort to conform to the standards of God. Because if not, there’s something wrong, if there’s not even a hint of change in the way we think, and a constant struggle to fight and come against the influence of the flesh, it’s either we go back and read the word of God or we don’t really have that relationship with Jesus Christ at all.
Paul says in
Romans 12:2 NLT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We need to be transformed (changed) by the renewing of our minds (). Before you can transform the world, you’ve got to be transformed! Before you can change anyone else, you have to be changed! We must take on Christ’s mind.
We need to be transformed (changed) by the renewing of our minds (). Before you can transform the world, you’ve got to be transformed! Before you can change anyone else, you have to be changed! We must take on Christ’s mind.
Do we see ourselves now having a Kingdom Mindset? If not I hope we start going back to the word of God and study it more deeper.
Do we see ourselves now having a Kingdom Mindset? If not I hope we start going back to the word of God and study it more deeper.
Having a Kingdom Mindset is not sort of having a “wishful thinking”, you know, you’re thinking of having a desire or hope for something to happen. You are thinking that this stress will wear off, the problem with finances will suddenly cease. That all the fiery darts of the devil will just stop.
Nope!!! To be strong in the Lord and to come against the attacks of the Devil is not “wishful thinking”! You are not just thinking that the devil will be subdued, BY FAITH, YOU KNOW HE IS SUBDUED AND RENDERED POWERLESS!!!
So when we pray, is it “wishful thinking”?
NO!!! But sometimes it sound like it, right? Because doubt creeps in our mind and it destroys the very foundation of our faith in Christ. That’s where we have to change the way we think:
Let me ask you, Do you believe that our God is
Jehovah Jireh - the one who provides our every need?
Jehovah Rapha - our healer
Jehovah Shalom - one gives us peace
Jehovah Rohi - faithful shepherd leading me
Jehovah Makaddesh - The one who makes us clean
Jehovah Tsidkenu - Imparting righteousness
Jehovah Nissi - Victoriuos
Jehovah Shammah - always there for me
Our main verse today says -
Matthew 7:7 NLT
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
In understanding how prayer works, it includes a change of thinking, from that of having a “natural mindset” to that of having a kingdom mindset.
says . . .
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
When we accepted Christ, the moment we said “Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and saviour” we immediately we become His property, our life is not our own, we belong to Him, and we are made new, the old is gone and a new life begins!!
In the New American Standard Bible Version, the word “old life” is translated “old things” in Greek, the original translation of the new testament it is - “archaios”, meaning - of old time, this is where we get our english word archaic which then means - obsolete, out of date, old-fashioned, outmoded, behind the times, bygone!!
So when we accepted Christ we are changed, not just the outward man, the way people see us, but the inner man is totally changed, the way we conduct ourselves, the way we speak, the way we think, the old things, the old life is obsolete, out of date. And in an instant when we accepted Christ, the Old - archaios, is renewed, revived, regenerated into a new life. IN the NASB it says “new things have come” new things in Greek is Kainos and this word “New” is explained in two ways - as to form - like “this body” it means - recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn. It’s not just made to look like new, it is recently made, fresh, recent, unused.
And another one is - as respects to substance - meaning not only “this body”, or form but also our whole being - character, the whole of us, the way we think - the very substance that differentiates us from the other species of this planet, is changed!!!
You see, we have to understand these things and it’s relevance to our prayer life. And the reason why there are powerful prayers is because a person understands his role in God’s Kingdom, he knows his standing, his position in Christ.
Having a Kingdom Mindset is that you know where you stand, you know your foundation, you know that if we are in Him, the common enemy of prayer is doubt, and the underlying truth about why doubt sneaks in, is because it is anchored on the way we understand who we are in Christ.
Christian life is a journey. It’s not not an overnight excursion and you end up in the place you want to be. It’s a ride of a life time. To experience of having a powerful prayer life will not be encountered in a one time act. I much prefer to say “how’s your prayer life” as oppose to “how’s your prayer time”, though both is acceptable. But to say say “how’s your prayer life” I mean, it’s entirely relevant to progress, to development, to growth.
Go back to our main verse - “keep on asking and you will receive what you asked for” again in the Greek it’s aiteo ahee-teh’-o, it means - ask, beg, call for, desire.
When we pray, when we ask, we keep on deisiring for it, we don’t stop.
I believe there are stages in prayer. Please bear with me and I’ll end with this.
Peter Wagner, in his book Praying with Power, in chapter 1 Prayer can be Powerful, he said that prayer action of human beings relates to the Sovereignty of God and is a key issue in understanding the difference between prayer in general and effective fervent prayer.
He goes on in saying that God is sovereign and He can do anything He want to do. The Sovereign God, however apparently has chosen to order His creation in such a way that many of His actions are contingent on the prayers of His people.
He says Plan A if prayers are presented to God
Plan B if no prayers
and Plan A is better than Plan B
If the Believer’s attitude is - No prayer
God’s action - He still has a Plan B - because He is faithful and His love endures, you know, if we are faithless, He remains faithful
know, if we are faithless, He remains faithful
If the believer’s attitude is - Prayer but unconfessed sin in life
God’s action is - Plan A is cancelled. Meaning Plan A, the plan for us - to receive and enjoy the fruit of our prayer, it is then cancelled.
If the believer’s attitude is - Prayer after repentance
God’s action is - Plan A, whatever is in stored for us, will happen.
If the Believer’s attitude is - to have a dynamic and powerful Prayer Life (Elijah Level) - I will read about it in a little while.
God’s action - Miracles and Wonders
The prayer can make the difference. The prayer will not change God’s attitude but will influence His actions.
The prayer can make the difference. The prayer will nor change God’s attitude but will influence His actions.
Examples - Kiambu Church in Kenya, Resistencia in northern Argentina.
So all these things are hinged in the basic truth that we have a relationship with Jesus and not just here (point to the mind/brain) but most importantly here (point to the heart)
Without an indisputable relationship with Jesus Christ, there’s no way we will desire for a more deeper relationship with Him that will result in having a Kingdom Mindset and a deeper and powerful prayer life.
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