God's Plan for Living: A Simple Roadmap for Your IDEAL Kingdom LifeSample

When God created the world and humanity, He didn’t just throw a bunch of mud, minerals, and gases up in the ether and hope for the best. He had a plan, a dream, and an ideal. I believe there was a picture in His mind of what this place, these people, and their experience could be like when empowered by a life-giving relationship with Him. We see that plan described by Jesus in John 10:10 when He told us He came that we might have abundant life. Unfortunately, that abundant life seems unachievable for most believers, leaving them saved but not satisfied, faithful but not fulfilled.

After mentoring thousands of believers over the years, I’ve come to believe there are five principles that embody the ideal God has for each one of His children. When combined, these five principles create a simple framework for living and thriving in God’s Kingdom that can be used by anyone, at any time, to start experiencing accelerated transformation in their life. I call it God’s IDEAL. And it is grounded in the understanding that as you establish your identity in Christ, your unique design is uncovered, and your Kingdom assignment is revealed. Then, as you faithfully walk with God, He will be faithful to align and refine your heart, enabling you to walk in the fullness of His love. A simple but powerful roadmap for Kingdom living.

Lasting transformation in the Kingdom happens from the inside out. The Apostle John knew this when he said in 3 John 2 KJV, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” He understood that prospering externally was the fruit of prospering internally. And that’s what God’s IDEAL is all about. Instead of just waiting for a breakthrough to happen, we can learn to cultivate an atmosphere of breakthrough and walk in continual breakthrough as our normal operating procedure. And when we do, we become a carrier of all the Kingdom’s blessings and benefits.

As we unpack each part of God’s IDEAL over the next few days, you’ll begin to understand how each principle works together, building on each other to create a beautiful, mature, and unique expression of the Kingdom of God in and through your life. These principles are like the 5 smooth stones of David. Five principles for Kingdom living that will enable you to slay the giants of fear, frustration, inadequacy, and doubt while empowering you to live in all the fullness God designed for you.

To help you understand this framework for living, I’ve created a simple acronym for the word IDEAL:

·Identity: Believe who God says you are

·Design: Know and celebrate your unique God-given design

·Expansion: Walk fearlessly into ALL God has called you to

·Alignment: How God positions you & how you respond

·Love: Be anchored in & motivated by God’s great Love

As we begin our journey together, I invite you to pray and ask the Lord to guide you.

Prayer

"Father, thank you for this opportunity to learn more about how to experience the abundant life Jesus promised. I ask you to reveal your heart for my life during these next few days. Teach me, Holy Spirit, how to cooperate with you so I can experience lasting transformation in my life. I pray this all in Jesus' mighty name, amen."