Creating A Kingdom Culture

Over the last few weeks I have been sharing a series of messages about creating a Kingdom Culture. The necessity of this mentality cannot be emphasized enough. We are Kingdom People - as such we cannot be satisfied with the best worldly structures, worldly governments, or worldly mindsets. It's time for the people of God to regain His vision for the church.

Here's what I have shared so far:
To establish a Kingdom Culture, we must understand that it is a...
Culture of Covenant - We serve a covenant God and we must be a covenant people. We do more than just operate on the basis of relationships or membership. Those ideals may seem lofty but they do not necessitate operating outside of our emotions, our natural discernment, or our feelings of right and wrong. Covenant (look it up in the Hebrew) is all about walking through a bloody mess. When I live in covenant with the people around me, I am compelled to see past issues, see past personality quirks, and see past the natural man/woman standing in front of me. I base all of my relationships upon the covenant that God established with me through the Cross. He was willing to establish an eternal covenant with us in Christ. Therefore, we must understand the eternal nature of our relationships. We must also understand that we can walk through anything together.

A Kingdom Culture is a...
Culture of Love - The greatest goals that we can aspire to within the Body of Christ is to Love God, Love Others, and Serve Both. That's it!!! All other goals, all other purpose statements, and all other things that would fight for our attention are secondary. I don't think most people understand how the mentality of the world has crept into the church. It's easy for us to grab hold of the desire for success. And by success I mean what the world defines as successful: Big Buildings, Large Crowds, Nice Facilities, Countless Programs and Ministries, etc. What we fail to recognize is that Jesus stated very simply that the proof of our commitment to Him is found in our love for one another. Trust me when I say that when a church body is willing to walk in love toward God and one another that the people on the outside of that fellowship will take notice. Grace is the atmosphere created by love. It drives out fear, it keeps us from needing to be in control, and it allows us to live freely with one another.

A Kingdom Culture is a...
Culture of Honor - Honor recognizes the greatness that God has placed within every person. In honor we learn how to prefer others. We work hard to step out of the competitive mindsets that dominate worldly institutions. We learn how to relate to one another as fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Honor chooses to view people according to their identity in Christ regardless of whether an individual is having an identity crisis. When we live in honor we create a funnel where life flows into the Body. And we want to be a life giving culture.

A Kingdom Culture is also a...
Culture of Confrontation - Please understand that conflict is not the same as conflict or combat. Confrontation means that I am willing to go to someone who has been overtaken in a fault so that they can be restored. In the Kingdom of God, Confrontation is always about Restoration. We stand upon covenant, we walk in love, and we honor people through the process. The goal of confrontation is not that we have a confrontation. The goal is restoration. This is important because we cannot afford to look at an individual and be satisfied with confronting them. We should find our joy in seeing people restored, seeing them walk in their true identity, and thriving in their relationship with the Lord. I'm not really sure where we got the current model for restoration that we see in most churches. It's as if we want to ensure that people have displayed enough grief and sorrow over their shortcomings before we ever consider allowing God to use them in the Kingdom again. The problem with this model is that it doesn't take into account the unconditional love of God. It doesn't take into account the gifts and callings of God that are (according to Scripture) irrevocable. Rather than walking in a loving/honoring confrontation with someone much of the church has walked around in offense. This has to change.

The last message in this series (which I will share this Sunday) will emphasize the fact that a Kingdom Culture is a Culture of Power. We'll be talking about the necessity of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives and in our midst. We will define the Kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit. This is the way Paul describes it and I think his definition will suffice for us.

Why is a Kingdom Culture important?
Allow me to go back to my earlier statement. Kingdom People cannot be governed by the best worldly mindsets or worldly structures. As a Kingdom People we are to be governed by love, established in covenant, willing to do the "dirty work" of confrontation, and living in honor toward one another. The world is longing to see something different within the church. It should bother us that most of them simply see us as an organization, a business, or a charity. God has a much bigger view of the church than that. We are the Body of Christ in the earth. We re-present Him to the world. We are defining God for people through our words, our actions, and through our love.

May God establish His Kingdom within our hearts. And may we be the ones who fulfill the prayer of Jesus "Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven."