You Just ARE-Part III

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:16-18

Christ was a servant king, so don't get it twisted thinking that you just sit on a throne and someone will come and feed you grapes from Canaan. No sista!! You will have to get your hands dirty, at times. If Christ could wash corns and bunions, so can you. Take your big church lady hat off, file the acrylics down or soak them off and let's get down to kingdom business! A kingdom mindset is a matter of the heart, not where your fanny rests. God might tell you to sell all you have and move to Colombia in the midst of drug lords' territory to build a church. Yes, literally build a church. You know, go to their local Home Depot, "Pedro's Tooth n Nails" or whatever it's called and learn how to use a hammer and a paint brush and get busy for Jesus! But in the midst of the terror and the overwhelming culture shock and persecution, if you know that He sent you and you know who you ARE and that you are royalty, you will not bow to the pressure of feeling inadequate for the job. As a king's kid you will know that the reason why you have such honor in the kingdom is because you show your Daddy so much honor and obedience. And that as you put up your first wall and there may be threats against your life like Nehemiah, the whole kingdom and the whole hosts of heaven are backing you.

One of my favorite kind of managers that I like to work for, and I strive to be like, is one who gets in with the people and works. There attitudes seem to be what we call "Down to Earth." How can a person behave this way and not feel threatened to be at your level? They know who they ARE. There is a fair and wise balance between the leader and the servant within. There is a unique balance between delegation and supervision throughout. The manager is not trying to do your job because he thinks he can do it better than you, but he offers help every now and then because its just what he loves to do. There are tasks that others are very well capable of managing on their own but if need be, the leader doesn't mind humbly lending a hand. Most times leaders like this were servants once themselves doing the same job so they can relate to you. They may even be excellent at every facet of the job and therefore obtained the CEO position. They are your supervisor because they know the business very well, in addition to their excellent service in each department.

As the world has imitated the Word again without giving Him credit, all hierarchies know the time tested principle that it is best to recruit from within. Serving helps you to learn all the little minor details about the position God is taking you too, whether the current work is directly or indirectly related to your ultimate goal or not. Though there were no kings in the administration of the Way, in the new testament. However, there was the Five Fold ministry and before Timothy was given a pastorate, he served the Apostle Paul. And though he already had the call and the destiny within him that was nurtured by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5), he didn't just get saved, leave his home, and become an a pastor. He went through a process of following, submitting, and serving Paul. There were originally 72 disciples, but only 12 became apostles. Out of the 120 that were in the upper room on Pentecost, only a few were mentioned in the bible by name. Why is that? Multitudes flanked Jesus, but few were willing to submit to Him, obey Him, learn from Him and embrace the call on their lives in Him. Many are called but few are chosen. How well you submit yourself to your leadership and serve under the mighty hand of God will be evident in how high God exalts you in due time. (1 Peter 5:6) God has no problem recruiting from without if he has to. He did it with Melchizedek, Jesus, and Paul and he will replace you too if you want to act like a spoiled brat like the Pharisees and the Priests and the Jews. The same Gentile, Nobody, Outcast you choose not to serve can be the same one who will humble themselves and God will elevate above you. Then, YOU will have to serve THEM!

I have friends who have been assigned to pastor churches and guess what? It wasn't to take over T.D. Jakes' church either. They had to work AND pastor AND their jobs took care of many of the needs of the church as well as their growing family. The key is they know WHO and WHOSE they are. No church member can come in and buy them with their tithes and lavish gifts. No one can come up to them and debase them because they are living "below standard" according to society and they know that they can't just walk away from it all when times get rough. Why? Because they know who they ARE in the kingdom. They've spent time in prayer and getting to know the Father, learning that He knows best. In response to His love, they've sacrificed their own personal ambition and agenda for the call of being like Christ and the office that God preordained them to be in. And they know without a shadow of a doubt that since He has appointed them into that office, that their needs are supplied through that office. They are steadily planted by faith, knowing that if they are faithful with the small as heirs, God is surely going to bless them with the much as kings.

Unlike the world, being a king's kid doesn't exempt you from submission, hard work, and accountability. As representatives of a family who is always under the microscope, we must rep Christ well! All great things, like salvation come with a price, however, the rewards and the favor are far more greater. And unlike the world, the legacy, the splendor and the glory are for eternity!