4SpiritualSecrets

“…those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

In the context of the Scripture quoted above the Apostle Paul is telling us about four kings. Each of these kings enters, abounds and reigns. The first is King Sin. (He sounds like a Chinese king.) When he enters our life he abounds until he reigns. The next is King Death. He is the consequence of sin and he enters, abounds and reigns right behind King Sin. Those two are the bad news but the next two are the good news. King Jesus enters our lives. He wants to abound in our lives until He reigns in us. The fourth king is King You and King Me. The ultimate good news is that we can reign in life through Jesus Christ!

At the beginning of this fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes the Good News that we have access by faith into grace that makes it possible for us to stand for Christ in this world and live a life that glorifies God. He then tells us that we should rejoice in our sufferings because they force us to access the grace God has made available to us by faith (vs. 3-5). In the verse above he writes that when we receive an abundance of this grace we will reign in life through Jesus Christ.

Do you understand this profound Good News Paul is sharing with us about these four kings? What sounds like a good hand at poker can give you and me the dynamic we need to stand for Christ, reign in life and live lives that glorify God and exalt Jesus Christ.

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked …
Stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law (Word) of the LORD,
And on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water…” (Psalm 1: 1-3)

The First Psalm establishes a pattern. The blessings of the blessed man are not a coincidence. They are a banquet of consequences. He is blessed because he is no mocker; he is a believer. This man is blessed because he loves the Word of God and he walks in the counsels of God he finds in the Word of God. This means he knows that the way to convert the Word of God into a power and a force in his life is to obey and apply the Word of God.

This is described metaphorically when we’re told he resembles a tree which has its roots in watery soil. The Scripture is described metaphorically as water and that helps us understand this metaphor. A blessed man has his view of life and his value system firmly planted in the Word of God. He is in the Word and the Word is in him and that explains his blessings.

Perhaps his greatest blessing is that he does not stand in the way of sinners. Over the last 60 plus years I have picked up the pieces with many sinners. That experience has confirmed the teaching of Scripture that the way of the sinner is the pits.

Would you like to be the blessed man or woman? Read, believe and meditate in the Word of God regularly applying to your life what you are reading.

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

The Apostle Paul had a “seminary” in Ephesus for two years. He apparently rented a school that was closed during the hottest hours of the day. There he trained people like Timothy who became the overseer of the church at Ephesus. He also mentored the man who became the pastor of the Church of the Colossians to whom he addressed his letter to that church. This seminary is described in the inspired history book of the Bible:

“He… withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 19: 9, 10)

In that context he was the vision caster for the men he taught there. He challenged them to be keepers of that vision. He charged Timothy to find other faithful men who in turn would find other faithful men who would be keepers of that vision. One size does not fit all. We must therefore disciple people in one-on-one relationships.

The strategy of Paul worked. It produced churches in Asia like the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation. In 1973 I visited the archaeological sites of all those churches in a month long seminar led by my college Bible professor.

Do you have a vision? Have you shared or are you sharing that vision with faithful people in such a way that they will be keepers of the vision God has given you and recruit other faithful people to be vision keepers?

“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one Spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…” (Philippians 1:27)

In these words we have the vision of the Apostle Paul for his best and favorite church, the Church at Philippi. This church was Paul’s sending church because they supported him while he planted the Church of Jesus Christ on the world map. Paul is in prison as he writes and he is not sure that he will ever be physically present with this church again. However, his vision for them is that they would be what he calls a “Fellowship of the Gospel.”

According to Paul a fellowship of the Gospel is a spiritual community in which every member is an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. Every member is Christ-like and all the members are Christ-like together in ways that convince the world of the truth of the Gospel. When the world observes these people who live and act as if they only have one mind between them because they stand fast in one Spirit, the world believes the Gospel.

In the words quoted above Paul is being the vision caster for the Church in Philippi. His vision for his favorite church should cast a vision for our churches today. Especially those of us who lead churches should aspire and pray to see the churches we lead become and continue to be a fellowship of the Gospel.

Love is not love until it is shared and a vision is not a vision until it is shared by a vision caster.