To see a picture of the Kingdom mind in action, we must look to God’s Word. In John 4, we see Jesus revealing Himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (v. 25 & 26).
When the disciples catch up to Him shortly afterwards, they urge Him to get something to eat because they hadn’t seen Him eat for some time. "But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.""(John 4:34 NLT). Jesus went on to tell the disciples that the harvest is ripe right now (v.35), meaning that souls are waiting and ready for God’s salvation. His words ring ever true even today! Jesus looked at doing God's Kingdom work as His source of life.
Now, why was food used as a metaphor for doing Kingdom work? We must remember that our God is a God of purpose, and nothing mentioned in the Bible is done so by coincidence (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The comparison between doing the will of God and eating food has great significance. Let's look at the various roles that food plays in our lives to understand this metaphor. Firstly, food brings us joy and pleasure. Who doesn’t love a good meal? We enjoy food when we get around our families and friends to celebrate an occasion or holiday.
Food unites people. At dinner time all across the world, families gather together to share a meal. It brings us comfort, which is why we give it to people in times of bereavement as a love gift. The comforting spirit of food is also why some people develop emotional attachments to it. Lastly, food brings us satisfaction and nourishment, as well as life to our bodies. We must eat it in order to stay alive; thus, food sustains us. It’s our fuel.
If we look closely at the Bible, we’ll see examples of when doing the will of God fueled Jesus just as food would a natural man. Doing God's will literally kept Jesus going. Look again at the aforementioned example of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman. Jesus tells the woman that He is living water, and that whoever drinks the water that He gives, will be filled with “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 NIV). After this disclosure, Jesus gives her a word of knowledge about her life revealing that she had been married five times, and is currently living with a man who isn’t her husband (v.18).
Instead of condemning her in the next sentence, Jesus starts explaining to her the meaning of true worship, and reveals Himself as the Messiah. Jesus unveils before this woman the way to eternal life: Himself! This revelation changes this woman’s life forever! The Spirit of truth, which is Christ Himself, sets her free from religious bondage (John 8:32). In Jesus’ mind, the freedom that this inquisitive woman received brought Him as much satisfaction as a well-done steak and potatoes would to a hungry man.
Jesus came to set the captives free, and seeing them freed brought Him great elation (Isaiah 61:1)! This is why when the disciples asked Him if He was hungry after He revealed truth to the Samaritan woman, He said that performing God’s will had been His food. When the disciples caught up to Him, He was already full on purpose. He’d fulfilled His purpose at that moment in time, to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). There’s no greater satisfaction than to fulfill the purpose for which you were created. This fulfillment is the definition of true success by God’s standards, and will satisfy your hunger like nothing else. Stay tuned for part 2 of this study, and we'll continue talking about how we can develop the mind of Christ and live on earth as it is in heaven.
Click here to read Part 2: http://www.kailacafe.com/2017/12/receiving-your-kingdom-mind-part-2.html
In His Service,
Kaila
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