Kingdom Influence Part 1
At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Influence,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.
Last week, we launched a brand-new series called Kingdom Influence and discussed our identity in Christ. If we want to influence the world for the Kingdom, we must first allow the King to influence us. Kingdom influence begins not with effort, but with formation.
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This passage urges us to offer our entire selves to God as an act of worship and then warns us not to conform to the pattern of this world. Instead, Paul calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That word “renewing” is key. It means something ongoing, continual, shaping us day by day so that we begin to see the world the way Jesus sees it.
As we step into Part 1 of this series, I want to start with a simple yet foundational truth: You cannot live the life Jesus calls you to if you do not see the world the way Jesus sees it.
Every one of us has a worldview, whether we have named it or not. It is the lens we use to interpret everything: God, ourselves, the people around us, what matters, what does not, how we define success, and what we believe the good life actually is.
But here is the challenge: Most Christians never intentionally form a worldview; they inherit one. We absorb it from culture, media, politics, pain, fear, and family, and only in part from Scripture. And if that is true, we should not be surprised when we feel spiritually disoriented or when our influence does not look like Jesus.
Think of it this way: If you try to drive at night wearing someone else’s prescription glasses, everything is blurry and distorted. You drift out of your lane because you cannot see clearly. That is what happens when we follow Jesus with a worldview shaped by culture rather than by Scripture. We react instead of respond. We live confused instead of confident. But when Jesus renews our minds, it is like putting on the right prescription. Things finally come into focus.
This is why Paul says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” Your worldview determines your direction. If God is not shaping it, something else is.
This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.
Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.
