First, we need to understand that the way God defines success is different from the way the world defines success.
Yes, God desires to bless us with wealth and things associated with it, but He cares more that we make it to eternity by obeying His command than all material gain.
Matthew 7:33 (NKJV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
In this Scripture, Jesus says the sure path to good success is to seek His Kingdom and righteousness first, and then other things will be added unto us. Good success is obedience to God, empowered by the Spirit of God, motivated by love for God, and directed toward the advancement of God’s Kingdom. To put it concisely, good success is accomplishment approved by God. Success that breaks God’s law in any form is bad success.
- Develop a Kingdom mindset.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
”And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”.
At times our minds fill with thoughts of worry, fear, and regret, keeping us awake at night and stealing our peace. Mostly, this happens as a result of what we have been meditating of feeding our spirit man with.
God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but youshall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”.
Your first response to living a Kingdom Life on earth is to change your thinking and begin to think with Kingdom concepts instead of religious contexts.
Rather than seeing God as a religious deity, we need to begin to see Him as the Lord of the Kingdom in which we belong. We need to begin to relate with the Bible as the Constitution of God’s Kingdom that defines the scope of our operation on earth. We need to begin to demand our rights in prayers instead of begging God and trying to appease him like religious people do.
One of the most effective ways to renew our mind is to meditate on scriptures that build our faith and remind us of God’s faithfulness and power to overcome our circumstances and fear.
Some other Scriptures to meditate on includes.
- For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 – ESV)
- You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3 – ESV) - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 – ESV)
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 – ESV)
You see ladies and gentlemen; the Kingdom of God is not just a place we go when we die. It’s a reality we can experience here on earth. When we have a Kingdom mindset, we see the world through God’s eyes and live in a way that honors Him in line with His Kingdom constitution.
Proverbs 23: 7 (KJV)
“7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee”.
- Understand your ambassadorial assignment
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NKJV)
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God”.
As Kingdom citizens, we need to understand that we were not voted into position but were accepted and appointed by the King to represent His kingdom on the earth the day we received Jesus Christ as our personal savior.
An earthly ambassador may live in another country, but that does not make him a citizen of that country. He or she is there to represent the country in which he or she was born. It is the same with God’s Kingdom. We are here on the earth to represent the Kingdom of God to which we belong. Our goal should be to influence the Kingdom of this world with our Heavenly culture.
This should be our primary assignment on the earth, and we should be proud of it. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not on the earth to compete with every other denomination but to work towards representing God’s Kingdom. Unfortunately, many ministries are serving God for the wrong reasons. Some for-business agendas, some for religions financial gains and others to be heard or seen by man.
- Obey the earthly Kingdom rules as long as they don’t compromise your character
Matthew 22:17-22 (NKJV)
“Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Rendertherefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way”.
From the above Scripture we just read, when Jesus was asked if taxes were to be paid or not, He said, “Rendertherefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. (Matthew 22:21).
This shows that although we are citizens of Heaven, we must satisfy the demands of the government of nation in which we live as long as it does not conflict with God’s Kingdom government’s demands.
What makes or spoils a character has to do with what we allow in our hearts.
According to God’s Kingdom, a good or bad character is determined strictly by what you allow in your heart. When one get saved, his or her character is designed to start changing from the inside to reflect the character of God. It may take a while to transform the heart and mind to a new way of thinking, but it will eventually happen. That is why we study the Word of God (the Kingdom constitution) so that our thinking can be renewed.
Mark 7:14-16 (KJV)
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear”.
Matthew 15:11 (KJV)
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
You see, your boss can make demands of your time and your labor while you are on the job but cannot make demands on your character. You may go to work or even perform well at your job just to please your boss to get a promotion, but whatever you are doing is not being done from your heart. On the other hand, if you serve willingly from your heart, you will not get exhausted or weary. As a matter of fact, you will enjoy what you do. Why, because God is in it and helping you do it better.
Your boss may own an office and equipment you are using, but he does not own your character.
While you continue to obey the laws of the earthly government, your allegiance must be declared to God when there is a conflict of demands. Allegiance to God will help you develop right positioning with the earthly Kingdom.
For example, when you stop at the red traffic light, you’re in righteousness with the country’s government. Moving when the traffic light says to stop is unrighteousness and therefore removes you from right standing with the earthly government which comes with its consequences.
- Understand and learn how to access the Kingdom resources
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,”
Righteousness is the key to abundance Kingdom living and righteousness simply means you are in alignment with Kingdom authority. Righteous living is what gives us access to the resources of Heaven.
Righteousness is maintained through holiness.
To remain in right positioning with the Kingdom government, you need to obey the laws of the government as contained in the constitution. If the Bible says to forgive, then you forgive. Obeying maintains your right position with the Government. Once you remain in obedience (righteousness), you secure
- governmental obligation to you
- governmental protection to you
- governmental support to you
- governmental provision to you
- governmental commitment to you and
- the government becomes 100% responsible for you.
These are the “other things” added when the Kingdom and righteousness are sought.
- Gain knowledge of your government constitution to understand your rights and privileges in your Kingdom.
Proverbs 4:4-7 (NKJV)
“He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. 5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding”.
You can only know what your country’s Government wants by reading and understanding the Constitution of the country which you represent. It is the same in God’s Kingdom. It is your duty as God’s Kingdom citizen to know the Kingdom constitution. (The Bible)
Not knowing your constitution puts you at a loss in two areas: firstly, you do not know the laws and so you violate them resulting in legal penalty and loss of alignment with the government. Secondly, if you do not know your constitution you will be ignorant of your rights and privileges as a citizen and you cannot claim them.
Understanding your God’s Kingdom constitution also helps us to maximizing our relationship with God. To live a successful lifestyle in God’s Kingdom here on the earth, you have to understand your rights and privileges which is written in the constitution.
If you don’t stand in your rightful place as a citizen, you will miss out on a whole lot that God is offering in this life on the earth.
