Resurrection Community Church
Kings and Priests
“You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” (I Peter 2:9) We are united with God in his one world purpose, which is to bring His precious creation, man, back into the pure harmony of the Garden of Eden glory. He subjected us unto vanity (Romans 8:20) hoping to train us in what isn’t the truth, to then deliver us from this vanity through the Cross of Christ, and now cause us to know our deliverance and glorious liberation. So we, as co-saviors and co-creators, have the same heart that God has, which is always and eternally for others. I think that most of us Christians have grossly missed what it means to be a minister of the Lord. Suffering, not prosperity, is the true hall mark of a minister, for “if we suffer with Christ, we will reign with him” (II Tim. 2:12). II Corthinians 6:4-10 brings us clarity on the credentials of a true minister of God. We are approved as ministers of God “in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” In all these things, we are more than conquerors, while He always causes us to triumph in Christ. Glory comes out of the suffering the same way that the light comes out of darkness, II Corinthians 4:6. That is why as sons, not children, we are not delivered from trials and temptation (James 1:3) but delivered unto them. For by doing so we can take on the sufferings of others as co-saviours and co-creators with God. Peter calls us “royal priests” in 1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”. We are called “royal” because as Kings we reign with Christ far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, for the devil and all his evil forces are already under the feet of Jesus, even though we don’t see it yet (Heb.2:8b). We know for ourselves the “power of his resurrection” and have the “keys of the kingdom.” With this knowing, we dare break the bondage that chains our brothers and sisters to lies and false identities. We do this by speaking “the word.” Jesus said, “Say unto that mountain be thou removed and cast into the sea, for you shall have whatsoever you say. Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:23). We are also called “priests” because we present our bodies as living sacrifices, and doing so is our reasonable service. That simply means that we give ourselves to our negative crosses, instead of fighting them. Our bodies don’t belong to us, they belong to Christ. “You are bought with a price.” There is a rest that comes when you finally accept your situation as from the Lord and as “the Father’s cup.” For by doing this we enter into what God’s eternal purposes are for others.
We cannot experience suffering without its positive counterpart, glory. “Always causing us to triumph” (2:14); “Suffering cannot be compared with the glory” (Rom. 8:18); “Our light afflictions worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:18). Suffering and glory are different forms of the same thing, like a pencil has a point on one end and an eraser on the other. They are opposite ends of the same thing. So the life of Christ manifests Himself in opposite but unified forms: a sacrificial lamb, a conquering lion, and they both rest together as harmonious friends. The prophetic scripture is fulfilled, “The lion will lie down with the lamb.”
We all have one ministry and that is “the ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:18). None of us can fully rest until the whole body of Christ comes into “the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:13 & 16). The battle is already won in Christ. The Ephesian (6:14) warriors battle cry is to simply stand by faith and in the truth of who we really are. Jesus in us doesn’t have to fight evil, he has already defeated Satan. When we know the secret of Christ suffering as us, we see all suffering as, “a light affliction which is for a moment, working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. For we look not at the things which are seen, but at things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” We Christians spend all our time trying to get outer deliverances and miss the true spiritual deliverances for our loved ones that comes by the privilege of laying down our lives for others. I want to end this chapter with this powerful letter that was written by Margo Sanders, my good friend: “We are kings and priests (Rev 1:6). “And (He) hath made us kings and priests unto God” We have been given the POWER to COMMAND’ (Isa 45:11)! “Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” So we do not blandly, fatalistically say “‘Well, God’s will.’” Of course God’s will shall be done but we are to be involved with God’s will. Remember how Moses changed God’s mind (Ex 32:9)? “And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, ‘LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swore by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’ (Ex 32:14) ‘And the LORD repented (changed his mind) of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”
Do you remember Jacob wrestling with God? (Gen 32:24) “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, ‘‘Let me go, for the day breaketh.’’ And he said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’’ And he said unto him, ‘‘What is thy name?’’ And he said, ‘‘Jacob.’’ And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Gen 32:28).
When we burn with God’s desire, we speak the word and it is finished. We may not see the outer manifestation, we may suffer for and with those we have prayed for, but we rest in faith even as our flesh carries the agonies of the person God has given us. The sufferings that we willingly take upon ourselves are a part of our royal priesthood. We intercede, we carry people, we suffer with them, we die with them, and we resurrect with them. We are not called to be observing, detached bystanders. We are active, faithful participants, in God’s will, counting ourselves as sheep for the slaughter, just as Christ was a Lamb for slaughter. Death works in us so that we may call forth Life for others (2 Cor 4:12). The final death in us is that we have died to our own independent-self and been resurrected in Christ and newness of life. Are we willing to die again, and again and again and again . . . for others, so that they may know what we have been privileged to know? Will we give ourselves over to bondage once again in order to set another free? We must go into their hell in order to rescue them. The cost is tremendous, but so is the final victory! We hold the keys to the kingdom. We can bind people up (when they need to be bound) and we can set them free. Rom 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ (Rom 8:19). ‘For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”
And so I spoke: “Come forth.” And I paid a price. Now it is your time to call forth life out of death and victory out of defeat!