Rights and Privileges

                                                                                                                               

Aloha Dearest Family,

 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) 

As children of the most high God we have been given certain rights and privileges to enjoy. It is important to know these rights and privileges so that we are able to take our rightful place in God's household and live with power and authority. If we don't know them we can be easily talked out of who we are and miss out on all of the blessings that are available to us.

Recently, I had the "brilliant" idea to list all of the rights and privileges given to us when we became born again. I soon became overwhelmed as my list became longer and longer and I began to see Ephesians 1:3 in a bigger way. Here is some of my list.

-Righteousness - Righteousness is being able to stand before God Almighty without any sense of fear, guilt or condemnation. God sees us this way. (Romans 10:4)

-Sanctification -To be made holy and set apart for the purpose that God chooses. (II Thessalonians (10:13)

-Redemption -To be brought back to God by the payment of a ransom. Jesus Christ paid this ransom with his own life. (Colossians 1:14)

-Justification -To be acquitted of all guilt as if you had never sinned and brought into right standing with God. (Romans 5:16)

-The Ministry of Reconciliation -The privilege of speaking God's Word and bringing people back to God. (Contrary to popular belief or TV Shows, this is not a job given to the angels. It has been given to us.) (II Corinthians 5:18)

-God has committed to us the Word of Reconciliation in order to carry out the Ministry of Reconciliation. We are now "stewards of the mysteries of God." (II Corinthians 5:19) -We have been given the right to use the name of Jesus Christ to bring the impossible to pass. (John 14:13)

-We have been sealed with God's gift of holy spirit which gives us the ability to walk as Christ walked. (Ephesians 1:13)

-We have the right to operate all nine manifestations of holy spirit in service to others. (Speaking in Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Prophecy, Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, Discerning of Spirits, Faith, Miracles, the Gifts of Healing) (I Corinthians 12:7-10)

-We have the right to stand before the throne of God and boldly ask for grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) -We have the right to put on whole the armor of God in order to withstand the attacks of the enemy and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:11-16)

-We are legally seated in the heavenlies with Jesus Christ giving us all authority and power. (Ephesians 2:5 and 6)

-We have been given direct access to God. (Ephesians 2:18)

-We have the privilege to claim the promises of God and expect prayers to be answered. (II Peter 1:4) (I John 5:14 and 15)

-We have the hope of the return of Jesus Christ. This is an absolute future reality that awaits us, for our names are written in the book of life. (Titus 2:13) (Philippians 4:3) (Hebrews 12:23)

When faced with the magnitude of all of the blessings that God has made available to us through Jesus Christ, all we can do is stand in awe of the grace of God and be truly thankful. 

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13:15)

Love Always, Ray