Revelation 5:10 “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Today we look at a verse in the Word of God that reminds us of what the Lord has done for us, and IN us!
God has MADE us to be something great! I remember growing up, and even to this day, thinking of Christians as Super Heroes. Christians are not meant to live normal lives going about normal days like the rest of the world. No, Christians have not only been saved, but they’ve been given POWER as Jesus says, to not just be the sons and daughters of God, but to trample on the enemy (the devil, not people), and to perform greater miracles than even Jesus performed! That power lies not in ourselves as though we are anything alone. The power is from the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of God, which dwells in us!
I believe one of the greatest attacks the devil can use on a person, is not just to cause someone to doubt God’s Word, but to doubt what God has done in us and made us to be. Growing up I was always told things that I was not able to do this or that, and that if I tried to help anyone I’d just get in the way. I was always discouraged. This came from people as well as the enemy himself who would constantly cause me to think so low of myself. This greatly hindered me letting God use me to the extent He wanted. I remember I would always talk bad about myself also. Many of us tend to do that. We can be our own worst enemy at times, right? Until one day God gave me revelation in asking me “Would you say that about a brother or sister in Christ, another Child of mine?” I replied, “No way.” I brought up how He doesn’t want us to go beating down others like that, and brought up Matthew 25:40 which talks about what you do to the least of His, you do to Him. God then asked me if I thought He would agree with someone belittling me. I told Him no, the same scripture being brought to mind. That’s when He told me “What makes you think YOU have a right to belittle YOU, who are a child of Mine just the same?” He made me realize at that moment, that it’s not any more okay to belittle and beat ourselves up, calling ourselves worthless and so forth, any more than it would be for us to do to another Christian! So let’s hold on to that thought and realize the Truth of Matthew 25:40, even when the one we’re belittling is ourselves!
I honestly believe though that the only way the devil can beat us in battle, is when he can whisper in our ears and get us to sit down on the battlefield. We’re stronger than he is, so what other way to beat an unbeatable enemy, than to get him or her to stop pressing on or fighting or trying anymore?! And one of the greatest ways the devil does that, is to get us to believe we just “can’t.” We “Can’t” do what God wants us to do. We “can’t” be worthy enough to be blessed by God. We “can’t” bring forth the good fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We “can’t” live our lives wholly surrendered to Him. The list goes on and on. But you know what? We CAN! Rather, God can THROUGH us!
I honestly hate the saying “I’m just a sinner who got saved,” or something along those lines that we often hear. It definitely sounds humble and nice and all that but guess what? It’s a LIE! When we got saved, we cast off the old life of sin. We are no longer sinners, but we are actually called the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD! (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:19) And we know so many times in the Word how we are told we are no longer under the law, but under grace (though that isn’t an excuse to sin, we still obey the law, but we are not forced…being made new we LIVE the law willfully without needing to be told), and 1 Timothy 1:9 talks of how the Law is made for the sinner, not us who are RIGHTEOUS! Sure we make mistakes and sin. However, we are not sinners. Sinners have no choice but to sin; they are in bondage. We have been set free and made to be the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God! When we fall and stumble, we get right back up again (Proverbs 24:16). So don’t call yourself a sinner, or worthless, or even “just human.” The devil would absolutely LOVE for you to forget who God has made you and the power He has given you, to be free from sin, trample on the enemy, and follow the Word of God 100%!
Some might try to hinder us from truly getting revelation of such a powerful truth by saying such a thing makes us sound Haughty and Prideful or “holier than thou.” Far from it! We may realize what God has made us, but we also realize that it is GOD who has MADE us into these things, not we ourselves or anything we ourselves have done (2 Timothy 1:9). There’s no way we can lift ourselves to the positions and abilities God has made us to be. It’s all God. And we shouldn’t refuse such gifts from God either, not even thinking to be humble by doing so. I remember growing up, one point after giving in to temptation and sinning, I told God “God, I know you give me forgiveness, but I don’t deserve it! I’m not even going to ask for it this time.” And I heard His heart-broken reply, “Then, you refuse the gift I paid so much for to give you?”
It’s the same thing for the calling of God in our lives and the wonderful spiritual gifts He has given us. We don’t deserve them, far from it! However, if we deserved them, they wouldn’t be called gifts would they? We are called Salt and Light in the world. You know what salt does? It preserves, yes, and heals. However, think also of it: it gives flavor! We give FLAVOR to this world while we’re in it! WE are the ones who make life worth living on the earth. And to be completely honest, if there were no Christians left on this earth, the earth would go to hell faster than you could imagine! All these things are things God does and has made us to be…because we are Sons and Daughters of the Most High! I remember one minister said how he was talking to a sister of ours in Christ who said something along the lines of “Well he can kiss my butt for all I care.” I think he was ministering to her about her abusive husband. When she told him that, he laughed at her and told her “Sister, because of who you are in Christ, he ain’t even WORTHY to do THAT!” How true that is!
As today’s Scripture says, through the Sacrifice of Jesus our Lord and Saviour, we have been made Kings and Priests unto God! As said in:
1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
We are a HOLY PRIESTHOOD! And take note that we are called “lively stones.” Ever wonder what that means? “Live” stones and coals mean stones and coals that are red-hot, fiery from being on the altar (most notable in Isaiah 6:6). We are seen as fiery, hence the awesome phrase of “being on-fire for God.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”
We are a chosen generation, a ROYAL priesthood (not just Holy like in verse 5, but royal, as we see from today’s verse too), a peculiar people! We have not been called by God, to blend in with everyone else. We should be so different that when people look at us they raise their eyebrows wondering “what in the world?!” We should indeed be the lights we are, so that when people who are so used to darkness look at us they have to squint their eyes. However, we should never forget that JESUS was like all this . . . and just as He was, we are now, while in this world temporarily.
We are not made all these awesome things, and called to such a great and mighty calling, so that we can see ourselves as better than others. Through Christ Jesus we are indeed made these things. However, it’s not our calling to act as the Pharisees who THOUGHT they were all these things but were not. Christ Jesus is the King of kings! Yet that didn’t stop Him from reaching out to the lost, or showing great humility by even coming down to this earth to save us!
God tells us in His Word, all these wonderful things He has made us, and what wonderful of a calling He has called us to be and do in this world, not so that we can act high and mighty among the lost in this world. He doesn’t want us to turn to our Lost neighbor and say “You’re lucky to have me as a neighbor” and turn our nose at him or her. No.
He tells us these things, so that when the enemy, himself or by people, tries to get us to yield to him or temptation or doubt in any way, we can have the knowledge of who we are in Christ! If we realize we are in Christ stronger than the devil, stronger than our flesh and any temptation that comes our way; If we can realize we are not just capable to follow the Word of God but mighty in Him to obey and bring forth a light to the world like none other…If we can truly grab hold and REMEMBER just who God has made us (and presently, these promises are not for when we get to heaven, but as today’s verse says: IN THE WORLD), then the Body of Christ can move and work like never before, and the devil doesn’t stand a chance! We are truly a formidable foe to the devil. Let’s never let him make us doubt or forget that!
I pray that you have an amazing rest of the day today! I love you with brotherly love and pray for you! Please remember to pray for me as well, and May God continue to bless you abundantly and beyond anything the world can ever give!
Love always in Christ,
Your friend forever,
And brother,
Michael
+++++++++
Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”
#725