Come Up Here And See

• Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Derek Prince’s “Secrets of a Prayer Warrior” book reveals that the two highest roles God gave to mankind are kings and priests to God the Father. This was made possible through the forgiveness of our sins and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

 As a kingdom of priests, we know our responsibility (the state or fact of being accountable) is to rule the world for God by our prayers. We earnestly meet the conditions by approaching God in reverent submission, faith and other requirements. We study the Word as guided by the Holy Spirit and discern that good government is God’s will. When we pray for good government, we know that God hears us.

However, when we fail to believe that our prayers change the outcome. We take on the attitude that what happens is beyond our control and that there is nothing that can be done about our government. We criticize, shrug our shoulders, and complain about our society and government. We ask ourselves instead of asking the Lord, what is the use in praying for the moral decline in our society, leadership, and nationwide culture? 

There is a remedy for this situation. Derek Prince says that as Christians we need to face up to the full extent of our responsibility to have a divine influence or rule our society. Jesus gave guidelines for us in the Sermon on the Mount with three metaphors.

• A metaphor is described by Merriam-Webster  as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money) – broadly: figurative language
• Matthew 5:13-14 TLV “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt should lose its flavor, how shall it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

First, we Christians are a city set on a hill. The meaning of this word is “conspicuous”. We can always be seen from all angles. From the moment we let people know that we believe in Jesus Christ, we are committed followers of Him, they are always watching us. They analyze our lives, marriages, conduct, behaviour and how we should act. What they are thinking is: Is this real or is it just religious that he is acting? Believe me, the world knows how we as Christ’s followers should be acting.  Jesus says that collectively we are just as visible as a city on a hill when we proclaim to be Christians. WOW, that can be exciting or scary. 

• James 1:22 ESV But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

 Second, Jesus said we are the light of the world. Remember there is no substitute for light. Nothing else can take its place. That is true about us as followers of Christ, there is no substitute for us, and no one else can do our jobs. Remember Light is the only answer to darkness. When light comes there is no problem with darkness.

• John 8:12 ESV Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Third, Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. Two main functions of salt are to give flavour and to hold back corruption. Our responsibility is to bring flavour. Who are we bringing flavour for? We are bringing flavour to God. Our presence should make the earth acceptable to God. Our presence should make all the difference as to how He views the earth. As salt, we also hold back corruption. Remember before refrigeration, people preserved meat by salting it. So as Christians, our responsibility is to hold back the forces of moral, social and political decay. This is our job as a kingdom of priests for God Almighty.  

• Colossians 4:5-6 NKJV  Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

All of us have to ask ourselves these four questions:

1. Have I understood how these metaphors from Matthew 5:13-14 affect my prayer life?
2. Have I taken the word “conspicuous” seriously or has that irritated me?
3. Have I understood that as we draw closer to the Lord’s return it is not supposed to get darker but brighter because I am the light of the world because of Jesus? Jesus is the light and I am in Christ. 
4. Have I been giving flavour and holding back corruption?

Derek Prince says that God in His mercy has provided an amazing remedy for us to change the situation on the earth. This is found in one verse in the Word. This verse has become my favourite when I am praying for my nation. 

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV  IF My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We are Christians because the name of Jesus Christ has called us. God requires four things of us. If we obey these four things, then God will do three things. This is called a conditional promise prayer.

Three things God will do for us are:

• God would hear from heaven,
• God would forgive our sins,
• God would heal our land.

God is abundantly clear that He is talking about the sins of His people. Did you realize that our sins stand between us and God’s intervention? We must always remember this is a conditional promise and those promises sound wonderful, but we must do our part first.

The four things that God requires us to do, which are basic requirements to having our prayers answered are: 

• First, we must come humbly to God.

1 Peter 5:5b NKJV “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 

• Second, we must pray. Spend time in His presence but if we are praying with pride in our hearts or arrogance, God does not hear us.

 Jeremiah 29:12 NKJV Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 

• Third, we must seek God’s face. Seeking God’s face means that we do not give up praying until we have met Him and know that the answer is on the way.

 Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

• Fourth, we must turn from our wicked ways. The truth is that our wickedness has caused problems for our land. God put the responsibility on us.

 Hebrews 1:9 NKJV You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Spirit of the Living God, I thank You that You continually give amazing promises of hearing us when we seek You, healing our land and forgiving our sins. Father, we are grateful. Holy Spirit continue to show us how we are to bring flavour to this world for You. Help us to rely on You for a speech that is seasoned with salt. Continue to show us how to be a doer of the Word and that our families and the world want to see You portrayed as You truly are. Lord show us clearly that to humble ourselves is a command and that we need to obey. Father, I pray that we would clearly present ourselves as a living sacrifice to You and realize that we belong to You and that is the best place for us to be, in Jesus’ name, amen. 

Lord, I continue to thank You for the men and women of God who have spent time in Your presence, learning and in turn teaching us how to pray. I am grateful. 

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Photo Credit to Bonnie Kittle