Righteous Reign part 1
"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9-10). Jesus is the King of kings. Which makes us... kings. Because He doesn't just rule and reign over us... He rules and reigns IN us and THROUGH us and AS us. We are not just IN the Kingdom, we ARE the Kingdom. But here's where we seem to miss it: We're waiting for Jesus to do "stuff." We're waiting for a "move of God." The move of God was the cross! Jesus did it ALL so we could get it all. We don't need a move of God. We need a revelation of Jesus. We need to know what that move of God was, and what it means for us right now. Because make no mistake: We are equipped and empowered to reign... on the earth. Right now. Now someday... TODAY. Jesus HAST (past tense) redeemed us to God. He HAST (past tense) made us kings and priests. That's not what we're going to be. That's what we are. As He is, so are we in this world. And I really want to harp on this: It's not about Jesus ruling over us with an iron fist and we better do what He says or else. It's not about--I saw this shirt the other day and it really bothered me. It said, "Jesus is my boss." Jesus is not my boss. Jesus is my LIFE. Jesus is my true identity. What's true about Him is true about me. He doesn't give orders and then I try to follow them. I present my body as a living sacrifice and He does whatever He wants to do in and through and as me. He rules and reigns IN me, not OVER me. And we need to understand this too, the Kingdom is the realm where the King rules and reigns. That's why I say we ARE the Kingdom. And that's also why the Kingdom is ever expanding. You know how wherever you go, there you are? Well, Jesus lives in you--LOVE lives in you--so wherever you go, there HE is. Wherever you go the light shines and the darkness flees. But unless we understand who we are and what we're capable of, we'll continue to walk around with our hands out like beggars. We'll continue to wait for God to do something for us, when He did everything He was going to do when He took up abode IN us. Way back in the garden Adam was given dominion over the earth. The problem was that he didn't know what he had, and he squandered it. Then Jesus took it back, and gave it back to us... by giving HIMSELF to us. And now we can fulfill this prophecy in Isaiah 32:1, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment." We can execute the righteous judgment--of life--that was handed down on the cross and we can experience--and share--the gift of God which is that eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life!