Living with a Kingdom Mindset

February 13, 2022

Meera Short

My message today centers on living with a kingdom mindset. Living life that is truly representative of God in this world.

We will examine:

1- Our identity

2- Our heritage

3- Our purpose in life

4- Our potential

5- Our direction

From the very beginning God’s design, purpose, and motivation for us here on this earth was – and still is – for us to dominate this earth. For us to exercise dominion and for us to reign in this life as His personal representatives.

God took what is heavenly, what was invisible, and brought it here.

Hebrew 11:1-3 (JB Phillips NT) Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old. And it is after all only by faith that our minds accept as fact that the whole scheme of time and space was created by God’s command—that the world which we can see has come into being through principles which are invisible.

This very invisible form of creation is at the center and the core of who you and I are. God took His very image and from it, He created us. We are spirit. Without the shell that is called our body, we would have no physical, tangible form that could be seen by others. God also made each person with great purpose and destiny.

Gen 1: 26 (AMP) Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

Strongs 7287 Raw-daw – to rule, to reign against, to subjugate.

As children of God, we are called to reign in this life. It has been quite a challenge though. It has been a challenge because the first man, Adam, gave up what God freely gave to him. Adam gave up our inheritance as his offspring. He gave up walking in protection and the continuous presence of God. He gave up the dominion of the earth which yielded peaceably, but because of the curse, he would now toil with hard labor. But from the start, God has been working His plan to bring us back to where Adam left off. This plan is through Jesus Christ. God’s first response to Satan, when he was caught, was a curse, and a promise of restoration of what Adam abdicated over to him.

He said quite clearly in Gen 3:14-15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her [a]Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.

Father already made a way in the promise of Jesus. “For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

(Romans 5:17, AMP)

A kingdom mindset is a biblical mindset. It is a mindset that leads us to walking and living out sonship in this world. It is aligning our thinking with the Word of God. It is speaking His words into this world.

Isaiah 51:16 And I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may fix the [new] heavens as a tabernacle and lay the foundations of a [new] earth and say to Zion, You are My people.

Our greatest enemy is ignorance. What we don’t know is what’s killing us. Kingdom mindset is thinking that is in direct opposition to our natural, human way of thinking. It is the polar opposite of what we would do in any given situation.

For instance, when someone hurts me, I hurt them. When they curse me I curse them. If they skip me in line, I might stare them down. If they drive bullying me on the road, I might want to show them a finger or two.

God says: When someone curses you, bless them. If someone uses you, pray for them. When they speak evil against you, don’t retaliate. He says that if I want something, I have to give something away. His ways are not like our ways. He says to me: Love those who hate you. I find God so disagreeable to my way of thinking 🙂

Tim Keller says, “If your God never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.”

1. Our Identity – We have one

We are made in the image of Almighty God. We do not receive our confidence from the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the purses we carry, the shoes we wear, or even the people that are in our circles. We were made to bear His image on this earth.

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 (TPT)
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. 21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

Ephesians 2:10 (TPT)

We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!

You must believe that this is true to walk in a kingdom mindset. All wins that we have in this life center on our belief, by faith, that we are no longer identified by our past life, but we are in Christ! When God sees me, He sees Jesus. Thinking like this leads us into being fruitful in life!

2. Our Heritage – We have one

In life we inherit certain things from our families that form our belief system and our lifestyles. The families we are raised with can have a huge impact on how we live our future lives. We have certain traits that some might say, “You inherited that from your father,” or things like “You got that honest.” Alluding to parts of our makeup that may have come from our father, mother, grandparent and such, these things may not necessarily be negative. But then there are things from our lives before Jesus that we may have had passed down from one generation to the next, things that would seek to steal what God planned for us to walk in. Things like alcoholism, poverty mindset, abusive behaviors, anger, etc. These things rob us of kingdom living.

The dictionary defines heritage as: something that comes to or belongs to a person by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion; something reserved for someone; something that has been or may be inherited.

Ephesians 1:11-12 (AMPC)
11 In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will,12 So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!

We have received an inheritance from the Lord. Going back to the reason Jesus came: to restore that which was lost by Adam. We, through Adam’s sin, became slaves of this fallen world’s system.

Galatians 4:4-7 (MSG)

4-7 But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

Through the birth of Christ and our placing our faith in Him when we become born again, we have an inheritance in which we have access to all that He has access to.

Living with a kingdom mindset starts with us knowing who we are and where we come from – what is our inheritance.

3. Our purpose in life – We have one

God wants heaven established here on earth. When God made Adam, He commanded Adam to be fruitful and multiply and gave him authority over the earth. God’s plan for man is for man to walk in wisdom and discover his purpose.

Proverbs 3:21-23 (TPT)
21 My child, never drift off course from these two goals for your life:

to walk in wisdom and to discover your purpose. Don’t ever forget how they empower you. 22 For they strengthen you inside and out and inspire you to do what’s right; you will be energized and refreshed by the healing they bring. 23 They give you living hope to guide you, and not one of life’s tests will cause you to stumble.

Catch that: we will not stumble when tested in life. But to have this, we must walk in wisdom and we must know our purpose. Think of it like this: a car was created with purpose in mind. I didn’t have to get into my car before someone figured out that I needed seats and doors in it. It was made and sent to the dealership with the seat and doors. In fact it was so cleverly designed that it came with an owner’s manual. Most people have never read through an entire owner’s manual, ever. So we are all perhaps unaware of the full potential of many things we purchase. We often learn things from observing others use them. Like our smart phones and watches. I didn’t know my iPhone had a magnifying glass until I was sitting at a restaurant, and couldn’t read that size 8 font up close. Then someone who knew what their phone had the capability to do showed me a trick. They showed me how to magnify things on the phone.

Do we really think that God placed us into this world without having a purpose for us? If God didn’t have something specific in mind for us, I don’t think we would be here. Purpose exists before a product is ever produced! Every product ever made was made to fulfill a need. I was finished before I was ever started. A potter doesn’t just sit at his wheel and make something. He’s got an idea in his head before the creation process begins. So too with our Heavenly Father, He had a purpose that each of us were born to fulfill.

Jeremiah 1:5 (AMPC)

5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

This word “formed” here is the same word used in Gen 2:7 when God formed Adam. He was formed deep from the thoughts and heart of God.

The word “knew” indicates more than just a head knowledge; it is saying that God had a personal, intimate knowledge and knowing of Jeremiah.

Gal 1:15 (ESV)

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

Paul was saying that God set him apart before he was born.

God took what was invisible and placed it in us with great purpose. We must find what this purpose is and walk it out. Every person ever created was created with their end in God’s mind. In order to have the kingdom manifest here on earth, I must be willing to step up and step out.

When we know our identity, and embrace our heritage, we can begin the process of stepping into our purpose.

4. Our Potential – We have it

We are loaded with everything we need to reign in this life. I was finished before I was ever started! If we go back to the beginning, God made Adam, He put in Adam what was needed for Adam to work. God gave Adam authority to rule over every creature made. God told Adam to name them. God could have done it, but He gave Adam the responsibility to do this. Adam just went to work and knew exactly what to do.

You see, we have untapped potential. We are each like a production center on the inside. In fact an entire kingdom is placed in us when we become born again.

Luke 17:20-21 (TPT)
Jesus was once asked by the Jewish religious leaders, “When will God’s kingdom come?” Jesus responded, “God’s kingdom does not come simply by obeying principles or waiting for signs. 21 The kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you.”

We must enlarge our vision to see that we have the ability to bring something from the invisible realm into this earthly kingdom. To do this, we must change our perspective. We must look at this life, with the problems and challenges we face, from a spiritual perspective. To do this we have to know what God desires for us, what He desires to accomplish in this world, and be willing to take it by force.

Matthew 11:12 (AMPC)

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize–a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].

biastḗs (bee-as-tace’) – positive assertiveness; used of the believer living in faith (“God’s inworked persuasions”) guiding and empowering them to act forcefully – i.e. “fired up” by God to act by His revelation. It is used only in Mt 11:12.

Sonship is not just about making it into heaven and having a touch of Jesus here and there. Sonship is about ownership. Kingdom business is a family business. God has made us co-heirs with Christ. We have the ability to provide creative solutions and stability to our world. Sonship is about exercising our full potential.

5. Our Direction – We have to respond

There are three types of people in this world: those who watch things happen, those who don’t know what happened, and those who make things happen.

Every success in life is a result of someone making a decision to move towards something.

Jesus saw a need and headed in the direction of the need. He responded to the cry of Adam’s failure to possess what God created for him to reign over. He knew that Adam’s identity was misplaced, that Adam forfeited his inheritance. He knew that Adam lost sight of his purpose. He knew that Adam would never see his potential lived out, and that Adam moved in the wrong direction towards the voice of a stranger. Jesus saw all of this and He moved in the direction to redirect humanity to their highest call. Their call to sonship.

Jesus saw the disconnect between the Father and His children, and began the process of reconciliation. He was not a watcher.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (APMC)

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 18 But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. 19 It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but canceling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.

Paul is saying here that He’s moving in the same direction as Jesus did. He has the same purpose in mind.

God desires to fulfill the mandate He began in Adam. Jesus started the process. We must decide that we have been called to bring heaven here to earth. We are His hands and feet and must move as He did in His time here.

Putting it all together

Kingdom living is not walking in this world defeated. This world is desperately awaiting the sons and daughters of God to be made manifest. If sickness is present, we are here to be used as a conduit for healing. This begins by developing our relationship with Jesus.

If lack is here, we are kingdom people. We should not be looking for a miracle to pay our bills out each month. If this is the case, we are lacking wisdom. God is not out of resources in this world. If we are not resourced well, we do not understand what we have access to. We are here to show the lost that there is a better way.

Kingdom living is not walking in strife, bitterness, anxiety, depression and misery. It is living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.

It is knowing who I am and what God has given to me. It is knowing that I wake up everyday with a plan and a purpose. It is knowing that I have the potential to solve every problem simply because I exist and they come before me. It is moving in the direction that Jesus moved in.

Before me I must keep in mind that:

I want to know what Jesus did.

I want to know how He did it.

I want to know what He said.

I want to know how He said it.

We have the ability to bring something forth that has existed in heaven before we did.

Matthew 14:15-16 (TPT)

Later that afternoon the disciples came to Jesus and said, “It’s going to be dark soon and the people are hungry, but there’s nothing to eat here in this desolate place. You should send the crowds away to the nearby villages to buy themselves some food.” 16“They don’t need to leave,” Jesus responded. “You can give them something to eat.”

God’s original intent when He created Adam was to bless humanity. Fruitfulness means to bring forth. We want to live in such a way that we bring forth the blessings of God into our world. This is how we subdue and dominate the kingdom of darkness, this is how we restore. We want to live in a way that our efforts are multiplied, that we are making disciples and convincing folks that Jesus is the better way. We want to dominate the darkness and despair around us by living in such a way that the world sees God’s hand upon our lives. This is picking up where Adam left off. It is finishing what Jesus started. God the Father wants us to experience the blessed life here.

• Am I living in such a way that the Kingdom of God is evident in my life?
• How do I respond to the challenges in life? Do I believe that I have the answers already inside of me?
• Do I live life through the experiences of others or I am tapping into the potential that God has given me?

God says to us that He prepares a table before us. This is a supernatural feast, not a table filled with what we consider to be feast foods. Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. We learn how to live and get the answers we need straight from the precious word of God. His Words feed our potential. Stay in the Word!