So… right. We’ve gone through Chapters 1 and 2 of The Making of a Prince by Dr. Jonathan David – definitely drew out some good ideas, revelations and reminders.
Off the bat, without going through my notes, I’d like to go ahead and just try to recall what we’ve covered so far.
First off, being a prince (or a princess) does not only mean a change in status, but also a change in location.
In church (or at least in our congregation) we’ve made much emphasis on our being made new creations – this means that the old, sinful, fleshly being we were died with Christ, and as Christ was raised, so we also rose again – righteous unto eternal and everlasting life.
Here, as Dr. David mentioned, we’re out of the streets. Yes, while this means that we’re out of the gutter, he also points out that this also means that we aren’t cheering out to the royal limousine as it drives past us – no, we’re IN the diplomatic car.
With this in mind, being in the diplomatic car means (1) you didn’t buy or work your way in there, but you were chosen and favored… and, more importantly, (2) you’re WITH the Lord, the Ruler, the Authority in the car.
Second point to remember is that as princes (or princesses) with the Lord, whom we now call our Father, we shouldn’t be surprised if He gives us dreams – rather, revelations beyond what we could ever think of or perceive on our own.
While I was going through this I was reminded of how it all ties with our having the mind of Christ – and, I proposed that it isn’t as mystical or mysterious as we think… for, see, having the mind of Christ means that every thought we make is made with Him, and every thought He makes is made with us. In that sense, it ties with something I thought about these past days; that is, that revelations aren’t necessarily so overtly amazing and overwhelming; that, since we have the mind of Christ, EVERYTHING: stern reminders, painful lessons, pleasant realizations, the biggest, mountain moving ideas to the smallest, seemingly insignificant thoughts – Everything is revelation.
They’re for us to share, and we’d know if they were from the Holy Spirit if, at the end of the day, Christ is glorified – and, also, if others are also inspired and motivated to receive revelations, themselves.
I suppose all this is a good reminder for me, and therefore, a good revelation to spring off of… so let’s keep on going.
TL;DR A Prince is blessed through Christ, who is the Giver and the Gift. He is with us, and His presence is seen in and through us.
Chapter 3 has us thinking – Part of being a Prince is to be aware of His presence. Or, rather, that the world sees that we are in His favor, and in His presence.
Well, at least, that’s what I took from it. I’ll be going through the points I thought were notable.
If you have seen God and lived, you will not see your enemies and die.
I like this reminder – simply because the very same God who we say is the very best thing that ever happen to us, can very well be the worst that can ever happen to us.
But here’s the twist – He who can erase us from existence and memory, He who can send us to torment beyond belief and ultimate oblivion? Well, He chose to love us with His everlasting love, and He chose to save us by reconciling us to Him, that by Him we live forever.
Why, therefore, do we fear, when the One worthy of our fear has clearly and completely saved us?
And indeed – because He saved us, we shall only look at the punishment of the wicked, but it shall not come near us. Amen.
(i) Do Not Be Deceived To Think That When You Have The Gift You Have The Giver.
Let me save us some time here: The Giver IS the Gift. You can’t have the ‘Gift’ without the Giver, nor can you have the Giver without being bestowed with His gifts. As Christ is, so are we. We are alive only because Christ is alive. Favored, only because Christ is favored. Blessed and seated in the heavenly places, because Christ is blessed and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
If you are being led to focus on a ‘Gift’ without being reminded of Who gave it to you… well, that’s not from the Giver. Every good thing comes from the Lord, and He adds no sorrow to it – why? Because, sure as He gives it, He’s also WITH it.
Take some time to think about that, and the next time you’re being reminded to count your blessings, guess what – each and every blessing will point back to Christ.
(ii) We Must Know That The Purpose Of God’s Presence Is To Make The Man, Not Just To Use The Man.
Genesis 39:2-5 ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favour in his sight, and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. And it came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.’
What is the purpose of all God’s blessing? It is to form the man, shape the man and prepare the man for greater things.
I’ve often quoted a line by Dr. Andrew Farley: Discipline is not punishment for the past, but preparation for the future.
Here, I see another perspective to God’s presence, and to His blessings. But hear me out. Blessings are not rewards for our work – they’re gifts we receive as a result of Christ’s finished work.
BUT, more to the point, blessings are not rewards for our work, but also, as discipline – blessings are preparation for our future, as well.
Don’t be un-alert when you are successful and don’t be careless when you are successful because in the midst of all the success, the devil is just waiting to offer that which will destroy you forever.
The evidence of God’s presence is to shape the man, not just to give him success.
The atmosphere grows thinner, the higher we go – precisely why some athletes choose to train in higher altitudes, so they’re that much stronger in ‘richer’ air in the lowlands.
And just as we are more conscious of our Oxygen levels at the top of Mount Everest, so we’re more reliant on Christ, the higher we go.
Drivers aren’t necessarily scared whenever they operate a vehicle in higher speeds… but one thing is for sure, they are more focused on the road.
This is unlike them being, say, stuck in traffic, when they could (God forbid) check their phones, talk and laugh with their passengers, while singing along to the radio.
We, therefore, are focused on Christ who matters, the faster we go.
With great presence comes great power, and with great power comes great responsibility…
…all leading back to our reliance on the presence of greatness.
(iii) The Overflow of His Presence In Our Lives Will Impact The Life of Others Around Us.
Another sign of the presence of the Lord with us is not that we ‘feel’ it, more than it is other people seeing it.
When I was working in Manila, I had a friend of mine who was processing his resignation, and on the final hours of what was his final shift (before going on terminal leave) he asked if we could talk in the conference room, just me and him. Wasn’t really sure what was up, wasn’t aware of any issues we had, so I walked in there wary.
He had a simple question for me: ‘Why are you happy?‘ When asked to explain, he said that no matter what was going on at work, he noticed that, sure, while there would be times we would all be discouraged, I was more or less smiling all the time.
Long story short, I took it as an opportunity to testify about Christ, and I led him to receive Him in that same conference room.
(iv) The Presence of God Ensures Continual Blessing Even When Man Takes It Away From You.
Genesis 39:19-23 When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” that his anger burned. So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.
In the past that goes way further back, there were those comics by Jack Chick. Remember those? There was the Alberto series, and then there were the spinoff comics, all talking about what seemed to be the relevant issues of the church back in the 80’s all the way through the 90’s – Witchcraft was a big one back then.
Anyway, there was that one comic I’ll call their flagship which was their take on the entire Bible, and I’m only mentioning all this because there was one scene there which depicted the persecution of the Christians under the Roman Emperors. It was a top-down view of the Colosseum, and in the middle of the arena were what I’m assuming were Christians, crucified, with the crosses on fire.
Here’s the thing – in the foreground were folks from the audience, and while most of them were mocking these poor souls, at least one of them said, ‘Listen to them singing! I want what they got!‘… and right there, I thought – even in extreme pain and in imminent death, we’re singing of the goodness of God, and it does get to people.
As we have been impacted, so we impact others. And, clearly, in the small things, and even when everything is taken away from us – This presence shines in and through us.
(v) There Will Be Many Spin-offs (other blessings) That Accompany The Saturated Presence of God On Our Lives, But The Greatest Blessing is To Be Set On Course Towards Our Destiny.
I think we covered a little on the blessings that come from the Lord, earlier on.
First, the Lord does not add sorrow to what comes from Him.
Second, the Gift comes with the Giver, and the Giver comes with the Gifts.
And when you factor in that this is our God, our Father who is for us and not against us, well, then it all resonates well with what He has planned for us.
His blessings are good, His blessings come with Him, and, yes, they direct us towards what destiny we have in this finite world, and ultimately, beyond.
So, as mentioned before, and in conclusion, now: A Prince is blessed through Christ, who is the Giver and the Gift. He is with us, and His presence is seen in and through us.
There’s more to come and I’m reading on upcoming stuff like purity. Exciting.
Until the next post, may the Lord bless us all.
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