April 1, 2017

Privilege

Yesterday, duty; today, privilege—these two things are not opposites. 
The dictionary definition of privilege: “…a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor: prerogative; especially: such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office.”

Our duty to God is an extreme privilege—one reserved for those who enter into the New Covenant, the Jesus Covenant.  The Bible calls our privileges mysteries: knowledge, access, and peace unavailable until Jesus completed His mission on the earth.

Our privileges are many:

• Above all, the real and complete forgiveness of our sins,
• The active and thorough regeneration of the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence,
• The ready access to the Throne Room of God Most High through Jesus—the privilege of prayer,
• The amazing partnership we enjoy with God Almighty as we obey His will and our human efforts are sanctified in the natural world and amplified in the spiritual realm to advance God’s Kingdom which is coming and His will which is being done on this earth even as it is in heaven.
• The permeating prize of the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts, and
• The privilege of a hope beyond the reach of wrongdoers and above the temporary storms of circumstance.

Our Privileges in Christ
When we call upon Jesus in repentance and accept Him as Savior and King, the record of our sins is expunged from the heavenly books.  The spotless record of Jesus is inscribed next to our name and we stand before God as if we had never sinned.  This is privilege.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit in all His power would not just visit us when we need a special touch (Oh, He does do that!) but to abide with us constantly as a holy fire fueling our life in Christ.  This is privilege.

Jesus gave us a prayer.  He told us where and when and how to pray.  He based our prayers on the character of the Father who knows our needs and has already set up answers to our petitions and set them in motion before we started praying and while we keep on praying.  This is privilege.

The Lord has called each of us to worship, Word, and witness, and He has also called us to specific tasks.  Some of these are temporary assignments and others last a lifetime.  None of these assignments is meant to be done in our own strength.  We are privileged to be guided by the wisdom of God and empowered by the Spirit of God as we work.  Such anointing is privilege.

We are called to peace, not strife, not turmoil, not tension, not fear, not dread, not doom, and certainly not gloom.  The game of life we play has an umpire—the peace of Christ.  That is what Paul meant when he told us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts—let His peace be the umpire.  Let the close calls be determined by the truth, the peace, the presence of Christ.  This is privilege.

Life isn’t fair.
Even with the Peace of Christ as the umpire, events sometimes go against us.  Sometimes we fail to live up to our privileges.  In those times, too, we have hope.  The game isn’t over.  We will win in the end.  We will reap someday if we keep on sowing the good seed.  This hope, this guarantee of a harvest is a privilege.

So, we can do our duty today, knowing how privileged we are.  The mystery hidden from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and the kings, Isaiah, and all the prophets—“Christ in us the hope of glory”—is our amazing privilege of grace.

Scriptures

Colossians 1:24-27
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Ephesians 3:7-12
…this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
James 3:17-18
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You made me a person of privilege. Totally without reference to my own merit, You have invited me to know You, to hear Your voice, to feel Your touch, and to be ruled by Your peace. Such is too much for me to imagine and I wouldn’t even try except that I am so desperate for You. I need you, Lord, more today than yesterday, and tomorrow will find me needing You yet again, even more desperately. Yet, Your are here—living in my heart! Your Spirit abides with my Spirit. You bring the Father near. Lord Jesus, You made me a person of privilege. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Song:
I Need You More
Words and Music: Lindell Cooley

I need You more, More than yesterday
I need You Lord, More than words can say
I need You more, Than ever before
I need You Lord. I need You Lord.

More than the air I breathe,
More than the song I sing,
More than the next heartbeat,
More than anything.
And Lord as time goes by I’ll be by Your side
Cause I never want to go back To my old life

Right here in Your presence Is where I belong
This old broken heart Has finally found a home
And I’ll never be alone

I need You more, More than yesterday
I need You Lord, More than words can say
I need You more, Than ever before
I need You Lord. I need You Lord.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved