Matthew 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'”

Kingdom thinking will lead us to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done here on earth as it already is in heaven, and not just praying for revival in the church. Yes, we want to see revival in the church, but that is not the end of the matter. We want the revival to result in seeing His kingdom come and His will being done.

A kingdom mind-set will focus on seeing the kingdom of God manifested here on earth. Yes, we want to see healing and deliverance of individuals. But, even going beyond that to see manifestation of the kingdom in our homes, communities, states and country that affect the quality of life in all areas: socially, politically as well as economically.

With a kingdom mind-set Isaiah 61:3-4 takes on a whole new focus: “…and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”

Again we look at the gifts the Lord has given to the church to bring about what He wants. The list below is not my own list, but it does seem to bring out what the Lord has given us so that His body might grow and become mature in the things of Christ.

Here is a mixture that we can look at:

Apostles: (GO) The apostolic ministry is a constant reminder to the body that our ministry extends to the ends of the world. Although we do not today have apostles in the sense of those “12” or “THE APOSTLE,” yet there is still the ‘spirit’ of the apostle; the missionary spirit. Those who embrace this spirit have a passion to “go.” It would also seem that along with this spirit is what I would call a ‘pioneer’ spirit. Paul expressed this when he wanted break new ground in preaching the gospel in the regions beyond.

Prophets: (Hear) Listening to God’s Word for a particular time and place marks the prophet’s ministry. A prophet’s ministry can take different forms, such as a Biblical exegete with a passion for the truth, or a person spontaneously inspired by the Spirit having a word for a local body of believers, or a nation’s leaders.

Evangelist: (Grow) Evangelist reminds the body that it is healthy to be growing just as it is natural for organisms to grow. Evangelists keep the body alive through a steady influx of new life entering into the church body.

Pastor/Teacher: (Care and Know) These are the ones who provide the care and concern for growth. The pastor/teacher might have the more relevant gift for equipping and strengthening than the others.

Also, along with these we have other support gifts:

Leader: Visionary and administrative. Vision leaders are the ones who recognize and anticipate what can be done. They are the ones who are transforming leaders. They know where they are going and how to take others with them. The administrative leader plots the course and guides the ship. Most usually he is the one who puts shape to the visionary goals of the ones who are the planners, strategists, and delegators in the body.

Exhorter: The exhorter is a motivator used by the Holy Spirit. He comes alongside and helps the person to realize his potential. He is an encourager giving out a challenge to rise above and beyond what we might think is our ability.

Wise: Another ingredient in a leader is wisdom. This is like a doctor who in examining the symptom and is able to make a wise diagnosis of the situation. We have each been amazed when all of a sudden there is a solution to a complex question or some difficult circumstance. People with wisdom seem to be able to penetrate to the heart of a matter and come up with a solution.

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinking will tend to exorcize the demonic out of social systems that are operating in one’s society and culture. Not only do we want to deal with individual sin, but also the power structure that is behind it. We see that Jesus came to redeem.

Colossians 1:20 “….and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

When we read Isaiah 61:1-4 and then the New Testament counterpart in Luke 4:18 where Jesus declared that this is why He came, we begin to understand something of what our task is in the Great Commission. We see the model that was set down in the early church as an example to follow.

First, we see in the early church whenever there was an emergency how Christians began to respond in the form of gifts, money, clothing, etc. to help those in need.

Secondly, micro-enterprise development was started where people could be taught how to ‘fish’ (to gain a living without handouts) instead of giving a ‘fish’ (a handout).

Thirdly, social justice was taught to where those who had could help those who did not have and more of equality came in not by political force (government), but through voluntary efforts.

Fourthly, structures of sin were identified: child prostitution, poppy growing (like they have in Afghanistan today), child labor, abortion clinics, etc.

Fifthly, pressure was built on government as well as by worldwide organizations to challenge the so-called power elites that maintain these ‘structures of sin.’

Kingdom thinking recognizes the fallenness of all human institutions and seeks renewal through value change. Value change begins with the church. It is now clear that church planting is an essential part of the transformation.

We also need to recognize that within the church there must be order. So we see from all of this that in the church body there are some who are called to provide oversight, rule, discipline, teaching and care. John Stott wrote: “All God’s people are priests, all are ministers or servants; but He gave some apostles, prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.”

To me a very important principle in all of this is what I call ‘releasing the ministry.’ Once we have trained a person we then hand the ministry over to them. We see this with Jesus. He called twelve men “designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14

He discipled, trained and gave them the ministry. He relinquished to these twelve Galileans, unlearned men the task of world evangelism. What a risk! One turned out to be a traitor, and the others, at a time of great trial for the Lord, forsook Him. There will be a risk also with relinquishing a ministry. Mistakes will be made; failures will come. This is often one of the reasons why in many cases we do not turn the ministry over. If those who are paid do all of the ministry because the are good at it, it will intimidate others into thinking that they cannot do it. And so they remain quiet in the pews and the church continues to become more irrelevant to them.

So often we have kept the ministry in the hands of the ‘professionals.’ This is what we pay them for anyway, isn’t it? Kingdom thinking will lead to a relinquishing ministry. We will find that in this relinquishing ministry those who have been discipled and mentored will move into places where ‘structures of sin’ are located to deal with those sinful structures.

An example of this is William Carey – missionary to India – who saw what was then practiced and called “sati,” become illegal. Sati is where the widow whose husband had just died would be thrown alive onto the fire consuming her dead husband ‘so that she could join him.’ God used William Carey to see this practice banned throughout India. (Although in some cases this practice is still going on, but sati is against the law.)

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Someone said: “All humankind still prefers peace to war, justice to oppression, harmony to discord, order to chaos. Social change is possible and we see it throughout the world. How can we do equal justice to the truths of the creation, the fall, redemption and the end? Paul perhaps expressed this well in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 and 10. “…to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.” The culmination of serving and waiting is striking, since the former is actively getting busy for Christ on earth, while the latter is passively looking for him to come from heaven. We must serve, but there are limits to what we can achieve. We must wait, but have no liberty to do so in idleness. Thus working and waiting go together.

We Evangelical Christians seem to have the swing of the pendulum in our theology. Some are social activists who are out to create utopia here on earth while there are others who think there is no hope for our culture and with a dug in mentality wait for the return of the Lord.

What we need is to strive for spiritual balance. Yes, we are waiting for the return of the Lord, but while we are waiting we are not idle, but busy in preaching, teaching, spreading the Word and discipleship. We are embracing our culture and society in order to redeem that which has been lost. Our last weekly letter spoke about redemption.

In the first reformation that took place about 500 years ago under Martin Luther the Word of God was put into the hands of God’s people instead of only the priests. The result was electrifying and brought in a reformation that affected Western culture.

We need another reformation that puts the work of God back into the hands of God’s people and when this happens we will see a change in our culture.

To get the work of God back into the hands of God’s people will require the working of the offices that have been outlined in Ephesians 4:11-12. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

Who are these people called by God to help equip saints for the work of the ministry? It is important to be able to identify them. In reading the New Testament one comes away with the idea that we have function before form and operation before organization. Just because someone is in an authoritative office does not mean that he has authority. The office is the result of the evidence of authority.

David Watson said, “The church should give official recognition to those in whom the Spirit is manifestly at work.” Authority is already seen in man/woman’s life. We see this coming out in Acts 6:1-6 where we have the calling out or picking out of seven men to help wait on tables. They were already recognized for their godly life and leadership ability. The same thing is seen in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas were chosen.

David Watson brings out another important truth. “In the early church the leaders were nearly always appointed from the area in which they served. They had the advantage of knowing the local scene intimately, and were therefore naturally placed for fulfilling an effective pastoral and preaching ministry according to the gifts given to them by God.”

Often we send young people off to seminary or Bible School for training. I am working with a church in the state of Nevada that has the right idea to have an intern program where young people come under the leadership of the local church for a period of time. During that time of training one is able to see the gifts that are being manifested and then able to steer that young person on further use in the extension of the Kingdom of God.

When I was the director of our OM ship Doulos we initiated a program called “Intensive Training Program” where young people would come for a period of very intensive training. In the process we would see who had leadership potential, etc., and once seen that individual could be advanced in a leadership role. As a matter of fact, in 2013 one of these young men will become executive director of Operation Mobilization – a mission with over 6,000 missionaries, coming from over 90 different countries and working in over 110 countries in the world.

This type of discipleship, mentoring, training can be carried on in the local level with the result of seeing our communities changed.

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinkers will speak out that Christ is head over every culture as well as King over every secular king. It engages the culture around us.

In some ways the future of society depends upon those with a kingdom mindset being involved. Kingdom thinking brings in the fact that God is working towards ‘redemption.’ Since we are His hands and feet and mouth, we too need to be working towards redemption.

However, to understand redemption we need to understand what was lost to begin with. In one sense it was “Paradise” that was lost, but what does that entail? To understand what was lost we must go back to the Word of God.

First, we see from Scripture that man lost his soul. Genesis 2:17 “….but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  Ezekiel 18:4 “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son — both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”

Paul said: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1) There is that part of man that is dead, an empty place within that nothing can fill. This is why we see people who have fame, money and all of the necessities we think are necessary for happiness committing suicide. Something is missing and only God can fill it.

Secondly, we see that man lost his body. Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Isaiah goes on to say very eloquently: “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8

No matter what we do with our bodies in trying to keep them in top condition – through exercise, face lifts etc., we are going to die and our body will go back to the dust from which it came.  It is like what Boniface said: “I know that I will die, and I will die on time. But I want to make the most between here and there.”

Thirdly, man lost the earth. We lost dominion. God put man in charge, but man fell and another took it over. God’s plan is still that man is to rule and reign, but now it takes a converted man – a new man. “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’ ” Genesis 3:17-19

If God is working towards redemption then we must work along with Him. Redemption must be our goal as well. There are three events in redemption.

First, we have conversion – the saving of the soul.  We are admonished to go into all the world and preach the gospel. We must keep in mind that everything starts from the internal to external. The heart of man must be changed and the Gospel is the only thing that can do that. Paul said the Gospel is the dynamite of God for change. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16

We must equip our congregations to be able to give an answer for the hope that is within us. God has given us the office of an Evangelist just for this purpose.

Secondly, we have the resurrection – redemption of the body. Paul lays this out very nicely of how the body is sown perishable, but raised imperishable; it is sown in weakness and dishonor, but raised in power and honor and it is sown a natural body, but raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-46)

Thirdly, we have the Second Coming of Christ and redemption of the earth. It is when Christ comes and chains Satan (puts him out of the way) that we can build unhindered. I do not hold, as some do, that we can build utopia here on earth ushering in Christ. However, this does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. No! We are to occupy; we are to be busy in taking back what Satan stole from us. We are to be the salt and light in every aspect of our culture. We will never reach the ultimate goal until Christ comes and through judgment sets things right, but we will reign with Christ and it starts now with a Kingdom mind-set.  

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinking will turn the world upside down. We read in Acts 17:7 “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here.” It was said that they turned the world upside down, but what it really was, was turning the world right side up. They were testifying to how the world should be and not how it is. They (the Apostles) had right thinking.

What could be said about these men/women? Matthew Henry said: “The mighty heroes of the world conquered nations for themselves and made them miserable. The apostles conquered them for Christ and made them happy.” This was true not only of the Apostles, but also those who followed in their footsteps. Part of that army were those who took in the babies that were going to be aborted or were abandoned, fed the poor, and did other acts of mercy. These acts were seen by the others and this led many to accept Christ.

Augustine after he was converted wrote over 5 million pages. Our view of God determines everything. If we had bad theology we will compromise and eventually our liberties will be taken away from us.

The one thing that you find with this army is their commitment to and sacrifice for the Gospel.

Run towards the roar! That is where the victory will be. Boniface said: “I know that I will die, and I will die on time. But I want to make the most between here and there.”

It was during this time unknown to most that this new army was beginning to change society and culture one person at a time. We can compare these two armies. First we have the pagan army that for 4000 years had accumulated all the wealth and had ruled with unprecedented power over these years. On the other hand there is a small band of people, who had no influence politically speaking, no wealth, but they went out and began to spread the Kingdom of God one person at a time until their influence permeated society.

They recognized that man is a paradox. Like someone said: “We human beings have both a unique dignity as creatures made in God’s image and a unique depravity as sinners under his judgment. We can behave like God in whose image we were made, only to descend to the level of the wicked. We are able to think, choose, create, love and worship, but also to refuse to think, to choose evil, to destroy, to hate, and to worship ourselves. We build churches and drop bombs. We develop intensive care units for the critically ill and use the same technology to torture political enemies who presume to disagree with us. Man a paradox, dust of earth and breadth of God, shame and glory. We are noble and ignoble, rational and irrational, loving and selfish, godlike and bestial.”

Two things come out in this paradox that we must understand – our sexuality and political process. It was the same for the apostles and the early church and it is the same for us today; different context, but same conflicts that we are faced with in order to see the extension of the Kingdom of God.

According to Genesis, God created them male and female in His image and likeness and told them to be fruitful and multiply. According to Scripture human sexuality, marriage, sexual intercourse and family are all part of the creative purpose of God and so we see that marriage is not a human institution which can be changed by culture, but divine and not affected by changing culture.

But then came the fall with sin distorting our sexuality with the result of unnatural deviations where love becomes selfish, cruel and exploitive. Kingdom thinking brings us back to the Scriptural norm.

We have the same battle in the political realm. Do human beings have any absolute value and to be respected for such or are they only valuable in regard to the community over all? When one looks at the abortions taking place, euthanasia and the killing of the aged who seem to have no value for their community, one begins to ask: Are we servants to the institution or is the institution the servant to the people?

Like someone said that at best a “political ideology and its programs are only an approximation to the will and purpose of God.” For example capitalism appeals because it encourages individual initiative, but also seems not to care for the weak that cannot compete with the competition.

Socialism on the other hand seems to care for the weak and powerless, but also stifles individual initiative that gets smothered by big government. One person said this about the two: “The difference between capitalism and socialism is that in capitalism man exploits man, while in Socialism it’s the other way around!”

It would seem that democracy is the best because it reflects the paradox of man. Like Reinhold Niebuhr said: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinking will compel us to embrace our secular communities and in so doing will bring the Kingdom of God to bear in those communities.

Two examples of this: A brother that I know is a contractor-building hotels, commercial buildings, etc. The company that he worked for was owned by Muslims from Pakistan. This brother was exhibiting the Kingdom of God in the work place. He would pray over his job and he let it be known to the Muslim owners who his God was and gave Him the credit for the wisdom given to get the job done.

What was this brother doing? He was embracing the secular world around him – his work place and demonstrating the principles of the Kingdom of God. He was not a preacher or a great orator, but he could build and he gave God the credit.

Satan has broken this world into little kingdoms and through the bars of acceptance and rejection he holds people prisoners in these kingdoms. The Kingdom of God must invade these kingdoms and set the prisoners free.

We read that “the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) When we enter the secular society around us we are bringing into the mix the Kingdom of God.

Another example is when I worked in India with the movement that I am in. When it was time to travel back to the States I went to Calcutta and there found an American commercial ship that was headed to the States. I was able to get a job on the ship and for the next six weeks I was in the midst of another kingdom – a kingdom of sailors.

It was quite an experience to be among these rough men. I decided that I would not preach, but go about my duties. I would get up in the morning and do what I have always been doing: have my quiet time. The only cool place on the ship was the dining room and so I would be there with a cup of coffee and have my time in the Word. These sailors would get up and come in and see me reading the Word. At the time they did not say anything, but later I noticed that there was a change. Some would begin to ridicule me, but others began to seek me out and this gave me a chance to share the Gospel with them that resulted in at least one making a public confession for Christ.

What happened? I was dropped into the midst of a very secular society of merchant seamen and because the Kingdom of God within me – truth and righteousness – was prevalent and invaded that kingdom of the world. However, this is not unique just with me, but is true of every believer. Everyone, young or old, in school or job in the midst of a secular society has the kingdom of God within.

Two things come out here. First, as believers with the kingdom of God within we need to make sure that we are seeking first the kingdom of God in our lives. Secondly, we need to be taught on how to give a response about the hope that is within us when people ask questions. This is where the equipping of the saints comes in.

We need to be training the members of our churches to not only embrace their communities with humility, but how to exhibit the kingdom of God in their midst.

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In one sense Kingdom thinking is bringing in or working towards a ‘new Christendom.’ What I mean by this is that we desire to interweave Biblical precepts into our culture, society and nation. Not only do we want to see people saved, but being the salt and light in the area where they are located, by bringing Biblical principles into their situation.

We mentioned in our last weekly letter: If we want to live straight, we have to think straight. If we want to think straight, we have to have renewed minds. We can add that if we want to see righteousness and truth being played out in our society then we will need people who are righteous through the sacrifice of Christ presenting truth (through an understanding of the Word of God) in the midst of all the fallacies and falsehoods.

Our society in the West as well as many others throughout the world is characterized by what Isaiah described in Isaiah 59:14,15 “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.” Is this what God wants? I do not think so. Kingdom thinking wants to see and bring a change.

God is the One who creates, judges, redeems and perfects, but we are admonished to go, preach and bring the Gospel to every people group in the world and to make disciples that will shine in their community and bring about the change the Lord wants – places where righteousness and truth prevail. It is not enough to just see people changed through the Gospel, but to see them mentored and equipped for the ministry.

Kingdom thinking is to know what the fear of the Lord is. Job 28:28 “And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'”

Kingdom thinking recognizes in human experience two major realities – good and evil. Though not being equal they do dominate life here on earth. To one God brings human fulfillment and the other, evil, human alienation and despair. Kingdom thinking recognizes both and has the right attitude and evidence of loving God and hating evil.

Secularism which has taken over most of the West today not only dethrones God, but it also destroys human beings. Secularism is a closed worldview which denies God and even glories in a spiritual vacuum it creates. TS Eliot was right to call it a wasteland.

The Christian mind is a humble mind. When Nebuchadnezzar was strutting around his palace like a peacock claiming for himself instead of God the kingdom, the power and glory, he went mad. It was only when he acknowledged the rule of God did his sanity come back. Pride and madness go together, so do humility and sanity.

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Kingdom thinking embraces a Biblical worldview that takes in all of life. There is no Agnostic Greek view of Scripture that regards only spiritual things as important.
Scripture clearly brings out that the earth is the Lord’s and not Satan’s. Satan might have usurped Adam, but God is the Creator. Psalms 24:1,2 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.”

We also read that the Word became flesh and because of that the material world is sacred as well. Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

In Romans 12 Paul states that we need the renewing of our mind. In this passage in Romans we have an alternative. One way, is to be conformed to this world or age – to its standards its values and its goals. Or, we can be renewed in our mind which will enable us to discern and accept God’s will. If we want to live straight, we have to think straight. If we want to think straight, we have to renew our minds with the truth in God’s Word. (Romans 12:1,2)

When we come to Christ it means we become a new creature for a total renewal. When Adam fell in sin it was total depravity that came into the world. It does not mean that every human being is as depraved as he could be, but it does mean that our humanness, including our minds, has become distorted by the fall. What Paul is referring to is not only a renewed mind, but the mind of Christ. “Your attitude (mind-set) should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

This type of mind is not necessarily concentrating only on ‘spiritual’ topics, but is able to think through the most secular topics within a Christian framework. Harry Blamires said: “A mind trained is informed and equipped to handle data of a secular controversy within the framework or reference which is constructed of Christian presuppositions.”

Dr. David, head of New College, Berkeley – in his book called, “The Opening of the Christian Mind,” brings out six characteristics of what a Christian mind is like:

1. “Theological — focused on God and his incarnate Word.
2. Historically informed by the past, responsibly alive in the present and thoughtful about the future.
3. Humanist — deeply concerned for persons.
4. Ethical — submissive to God’s moral standards.
5. Truthful — committed to God’s self-revelation in nature and in Scripture.
6. Aesthetic — appreciative of beauty as well as truth and goodness. In other words, the Christian mind is centered around God, history, persons, ethics, truth and beauty.”

This is why it’s important to have a full grasp of the Bible. Reading the Bible through every year would be very important.

The Bible divides human history in two different eras, which are marked out not by the rise and fall of empires, dynasties or civilizations, but by four major events — the creation, the fall, the redemption and the end. It is interesting because these four things, especially the first three, lay down the basis for a worldview; a biblical worldview. If a worldview cannot answer the first three questions that these different eras have mentioned then it is a worldview that does not meet the needs intellectually or in any other way.

What are these questions?

Where did we get our universe, and why is man different from the rest of creation?

Secondly why are we in such a mess?

Thirdly, what is the solution?

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinking also understands Romans 13 that civic leaders are also called ‘ministers’ and if God is calling them ministers then kingdom thinking understands that they can partner with political and community leaders to reach a common cause for the kingdom sake (cities, states and nations).

So often we have isolated people from us and kingdom teaching because they did not agree on core issues or values. By isolating ourselves from the world around us we have not been the salt and light that we should have been and today we are reaping the result of this.

In the 21^st century we are moving into a very complex world and with it come problems that are unprecedented, the problem of war and peace, the development of nuclear weaponry, micro-technology, the unraveling of the genetic code and in a new field of bioethics the possibilities of genetic engineering etc.

Dr. Hugh Whelchel director of a Christian think tank “Institute of Faith, Work and Economics,” in his book called  HOW THEN SHOULD WE WORK states the following: “As Christians fulfill their mission vocationally, we will find ourselves working together with non-Christians for the common political, economical or cultural causes. Joseph worked with the Egyptians to alleviate famine (Genesis 41). Daniel served faithfully in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (Daniel 2). We also see what Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:7).”

William Temple who was this past century the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “The church is both entitled and obliged to condemn the society characterized by these evils; but it is not entitled in its corporate capacity to advocate specific remedies.”

He went on to say: “The church lays down principles; the Christian citizen applies them; and to do this he utilizes the machinery of the state.” Kingdom thinking will inspire the church members (whatever capacity that they are in) to apply principles and not necessarily remedies. One of the reasons for this is that the church often lacks the necessary expertise, though some of her members may have it.

Working out Biblical principles is no easy matter either. Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple went on to say: “The age long problem such as war, economics and divorce, have always divided Christians. They have always been pacifists and non-pacifist, capitalist and socialist, lax and rigid attitudes to divorce. Our modern problems, are more complex, are also more divisive.”

When we look at some of these problems facing us it is easy to give up in despair and think there are no solutions, but we must keep in mind Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” The Word of God is capable of bringing light through the complexities of these problems that we are faced with.

Kingdom thinking will result in several things:

1. To pray together. Here in my area several different churches gather together the first Saturday of the month to pray for our country, state, community and the world to see some of these problems resolved.
2. Will result in us wanting to listen to one another’s position (no matter what it is) and to try and understand the deep concern that lies behind them.
3. Help each other to understand the cultural prejudices in our thinking and learn to be open to alternative viewpoints.

This kind of discipline is painful, but kingdom thinking demands it. We need to keep in mind that we dishonor God if we assert that there are no solutions or try and to offer slick solutions.

We need to develop a Christian mind or Kingdom mind-set. This is the type of mind that has grasped the basic ‘presuppositions of Scripture’ and is thoroughly saturated with Biblical Truth. “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” (1 Corinthians 14:20)

The proper use of our minds is very beneficial:

1. It glorifies God, because He has made us rational beings in His own image and has given us in Scripture a rational revelation which He intends us to study.
2. It enriches us, because every aspect of our Christian discipleship — worship, faith and obedience — depends for its maturing on our reflection, especially, upon God’s glory, faithfulness and will.
3. It strengthens our witness in the world, because like the apostles we are called not only to preach the gospel, but also to defend and argue it and so persuade people of its truth. Acts 17:2; 19:8; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Philippians 1:7

Like Paul says in Romans 12, we need the “renewing of our minds.”

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Kingdom thinking realizes that the offices mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12 have been given by the Lord to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and that this ministry involves the community in which they live.

Kingdom mind-set realizes that only a few in the congregation are called to one of these offices in order to equip the saints for the ministry. This ministry includes all aspects of one’s society – government, market place, media, entertainment, etc. There is room for all to be trained for the ministry.

Back in the forties and fifties if a young man came to a pastor and said that he wanted to be in full-time Christian work the pastor would have told him to become a lawyer, judge, politician, business man, pastor, evangelist or missionary. However, recently the advice the young man would get is narrowed down to just a few – pastor, evangelist or missionary.

Praise God that this is beginning to change and kingdom thinking is coming in and seeing that every aspect of man’s society needs the influence of kingdom minded people.

Paul tells us in Romans that: “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (1:21) The word “futile” in Greek brings out the idea of making something empty. I asked my Marathi translator in India what that word meant in his language and he told me it means ‘nothing,’ or ‘zero.’

Look at our culture today here in the Western world where we have basically abolished God from our schools, public places, etc. and we see decisions made where good is becoming evil and evil becoming good. So many of our laws are senseless; they mean nothing!

Kingdom minded leaders see the need to equip kingdom-minded believers for the work that is needed in the different segments of society. In the reformation that took place in Germany a little over 500 years ago, the Word of God was placed in the hands of the common people and it changed the Western world. We now need a second reformation where the work of God is placed into the hands of the common people.

Kingdom thinking sees that there is no difference between the spiritual and the secular. It is God who is in control of all creation and there is no ‘upper’ (spiritual) and ‘lower’ (secular) floor (as Francis Schaffer points out) when it comes to God’s creation. It is all of God’s creation and we need to be involved in every aspect of it.

We need to realize that a man who is called of God to work in a secular profession is just as important as the man who is called of God to preach. We need godly men in both. Our work matters to God.

There are several things that we must look at. First, we must see that the church (an integral part of the Kingdom of God), the Body of Christ is not an institution, not an organization, but rather an organism. It is not something that is inanimate, but alive. It is a living, breathing organism. This is the first thing that we must begin to realize. This is important for us to see.

By “organism” we mean: “Life-pulsating people who are animated by the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ.” This pulsating life needs to infiltrate every aspect of our culture.