Embracing a Kingdom Mindset
By Jim Wies
A fundamental premise is that, for there to be a kingdom, there must be a king. The historic fact is that 2,000 years ago a King was born. But Scriptures tell us it had been planned from the foundation of the world. Quite amazingly, history reveals to us this King’s entrance into humanity was predicted and prophesied many times. With amazing detail, the event had been prophesied throughout the sacred Scriptures. The prophet Isaiah saw it and spoke of His arrival: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
This King’s kingdom is also spoken of in Isaiah chapter 2 to show the eventual, total dominion of the Kingdom of God over all other kingdoms and dominions at the end of the age. "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." Isa 2:2-3
Daniel saw this kingdom as well. "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” Dan 2:44-45
Daniel went on to describe it again like this: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Dan 7:13-14
(These are just a few of the numerous prophetic Scriptures on the subject)
Embracing a Kingdom Mindset means embracing a victorious eschatology
The Kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom and of its increase there shall be no end! God has declared He WILL have a glorious end-time Church in the earth. God WILL have a latter “house” that will be more glorious than the former. God WILL cause His glory to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. God WILL raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and cause the ends of the earth to come to the glory of its rising. Great boldness, faith and optimism should arise in the hearts of believers when we realize we are part of an unstoppable Kingdom and have inherited a grand prophetic mission in our generation, according to the Scriptures and in accordance with God's inexorable purposes.
Sure there are those who are quick to proclaim doom and gloom, but the fact is, we are living in a most incredible season of spiritual history. World wide church growth statistics show that the global Christian Church is witnessing a harvest of souls of historic proportion. Not only is the earth’s population larger than it has ever been, but the percentage of that population that are Christians is larger than it has ever been. Consequently, due to population growth as well as the current increase of Christianity world wide, there are actually more Christians alive today in the earth than in the cumulative total of the previous 2,000 years. We are living in a season of great harvest.
Unfortunately, many Christians in the western world aren't even aware of it. But the Scriptures indicate an unprecedented global revival will proceed the second coming of Christ. "And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 'After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things' Known to God from eternity are all His works." Acts 15:13-18.
Since God is the one who knows the end from the beginning, it is easy to understand how He could speak to his prophets about what would happen at the end of time. And if God said it, we can count on it. Scripture says it this way: “I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,' Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.” Isa 46:9-11
The Power of a “Faith-filled” Future Focus
Examining such Scriptures should provoke us to look to the future with a faith-filled future focus and a confident expectation. And how we view the future has a powerful affect on what we do today. We all have three blocks of time in our lives; yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Those blocks of time are there for every one of us to use as we see fit. What sets some apart from the others is how we choose to focus on those three blocks of time.
Most people begin with the present, but spend their time comparing it to the past. (Then there are some who are so fixated on the past that they are not even "present" in the present.) Unfortunately, to many people live in the present but long for the past, and fear the future, and live a life of cynicism and skepticism.
On the other hand, those who have a faith-filled future focus will also look at the present, but view it in light of the future. Those who are focused on the future, may appreciate the past, and may actually feel like they are enduring the present, while anticipating the future.
The faith-filled believer says “I will believe what God says about my future”. And God is saying things such as Jeremiah 29:11-14 "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. "I will be found by you,' declares the LORD,
That is why I say, like the apostle Paul: “All that was good in my past and all that was bad in my past, I chose to leave in my past. I consider it trash anyway, in comparison to the awesome opportunity to know Christ Jesus in a deeper and deeper way. And more than anything else, I want to know Him and experience His resurrection power. I am forgetting all those things that are behind me and I am eagerly looking forward to the future, as I press toward the prize of God’s intended future for me, making it my goal.” (Author's paraphrase of Philippians 3:7-14)
Embracing a Kingdom Mindset means embracing an often ignored aspect of Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ, -- "He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; … To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen." 1 Tim:6:14-16
The Lordship of Jesus Christ is apparently one of the most neglected or least understood aspects of who Jesus is. As incredible as that statement sounds, the lack of understanding of His Lordship is clearly evident in the lives of many who claim to be Christians, as evidenced by the general lack of response to it in the lives of those who claim Him as their Savior.
We find Jesus introduced as Lord and referred to as Lord close to 3,000 times in the New Testament. Jesus demonstrated his Lordship - His rulership over creation - by turning water to wine; through bread and fish multiplied; even through His authority over the elements. He commanded the wind and waves; He exerted authority over demons and the domain of darkness; sickness and disease, etc.
David caught a glimpse of Jesus as Lord and wrote of Him in Psalm 2. "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us."..."Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion." "I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession....Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." Ps 2:1-3,6-8,10-12
Daniel saw him in a night vision. "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." Dan 7:13-14
At His ascension Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" Matt. 28:18 The implications of that are staggering. His supreme rule extends over all. He rules over space. He rules over time and eternity. He rules over nature. And, although there are pockets of rebellion currently remaining in the hearts of men, His rule shall eventually and inevitably extend to every individual, for Scripture states in Phil. 2:10-11 "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, ..., and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Romans 10:9 states "... if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
This final dimension of His Lordship is clearly stated in Acts 2:36: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." and... Phil 2:5-11: "...Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name...," THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, THE LORD!
This final clarification of Jesus as Lord by the Father - even over the hearts of every man, - gives the conclusion of the matter. He is Lord of all. We are all destined to acknowledge it by the confession of our tongue and the bending of our knee.
Acknowledging Him as Lord implies putting faith in His saving power while giving him right to rule over our lives. It is a gospel that includes BOTH - repentance AND faith. The fact is, everyone WILL acknowledge Him as Lord. Every individual may do so willingly now, for which there is great benefit; or with great regret at the final judgment, in which case there will be great remorse. Nevertheless, He is Lord!
Embracing a Kingdom Mindset means proclaiming the full Gospel
(The “Gospel of the Kingdom” vs. the “Gospel of salvation”)
The message that Jesus preached was the gospel of the kingdom of God.
"Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." Matt 9:35
"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" Luke 9:1-2
Not only did Jesus preach the kingdom of God, but His disciples were instructed to preach the kingdom. In fact, Jesus connected the accomplishment of the church's mission to the full declaration of the gospel of the Kingdom to all the nations as a witness before the end would come (Matt.24:14).
The acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord is directly connected to His saving grace, but many people don't fully understand the significance of the statement that Jesus is Lord.
For example, in the religious "Bible belt" region of this country (USA), polls state that a phenomenal 83% of the population believe in a literal physical return of Jesus to the earth. Yet, the most casual observer can easily conclude there is a vast difference between a right knowledge about Jesus and a faith in Him that produces changed lives.
At the same time, Scripture points to the fact that a belief about Jesus as Savior is not the same as a surrender to Jesus as Lord. In fact, one very grave problem within western Christianity has become an "easy believism" that is void of repentance and Lordship. That is, "faith" without repentance; "salvation" without sanctification; "mental assent" without life changing surrender. He is not a Savior whom we have the option of establishing as Lord of our lives; rather He must be acknowledged as Lord, then He will save us.
In our zeal to be theologically "proper" regarding the grand theme of grace, modern Christianity has often been guilty of presenting a "gospel" of faith without Lordship, a cheap "grace" that's not really grace but licentiousness.*
(*licentiousness = absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness - note Jude 1:4 "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.")
This "grace" is justification of sin without repentance on the part of the sinner. It is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. It is Church membership without Church discipline; communion without confession, faith without action. It is wanting Jesus as Savior but not as Lord - wanting Him to save us but not to rule over our lives. Costly "grace" recognizes the call to discipleship that Jesus expects in light of our redemption.
Christ gave all for us and expects nothing less in return. Our relationship with Him is the "treasure in a field" for which a man sells all he has to purchase; or the costly pearl a man gives all to acquire. It is the call of Jesus for which a disciple leaves his nets, forsakes all and follows. Such Gospel demands total surrender. It says "If you receive me as Lord, I will save you". It is costly because it costs us our life, but is redemption because in exchange we gain that which is true life, that which is eternal.
Suggested Resource: Learning To Live Kingdom
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jim is a lover of God, and has served as a pastor, author, teacher and itinerant speaker who has spoken at revival meetings, seminars, conferences and churches throughout the USA and Canada, providing training and mentoring on a number of topics including personal prophecy, revelatory gifts, healing seminars, and ministry training. More of Jim's writing can be found on his regular column at:
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