"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-8 ESV
Saturday my meditation as I went to our outreach meeting was on how the believer senses God as an invisible participant in every event and situation and how the soul winner is a person that not only senses all the participants but wants everyone to be introduced and recognized... both visible and invisible. This person introduces principles and ideas but they never stand by themselves. They are presented in way of introduction. A minister of reconciliation reveals the invisible person and by doing that the visible people are recognized and a way is made to reconcile the visible participants to one another.
Then yesterday I built on this thought by shuffling pecking orders in my mind.
If there are three people (one invisible) then who is first, second and third? Is there an order? If there is a social order are we aware of it or in denial of it?
Are there rotations of order? If the same three people are present does the order change circumstantially?
"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus," - Philippians 2:1-5 ESV
"And behold, a man came up to him, saying, 'Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?'
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And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.'
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He said to him, 'Which ones?'
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And Jesus said, 'You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " - Matthew 19:16-19 ESV
This post may not be satisfying to some because I'm not going to say this is the order in this situation and that is the order in another situation.
There is a moral order and then there is a spiritual one. The moral order functions by principles and the spiritual one is discerned in God consciousness.
"But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, 'Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.'
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And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.
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But God said to Abraham, 'Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.' " - Genesis 21:9-13 ESV
I am sprinkling verses into this post that mean something to me on this subject. Abraham needed to weigh the words of his wife in a different way in that situation. God weighted the scale and those words become heavy. He could not ignore them or discount them without discounting God. God communicated grace to Abraham and gave him promises to confirm that he wasn't being subjective in his thinking.
Grace does that. Grace often reveals a different and unusual order.
Naaman the commander of the Syrian army listened to a servant girl (see 2 Kings 5) and it resulted in him being healed of leprosy.
Shimei walked parallel to David throwing whatever he could find on the found at him while cursing (see 2 Samuel 16) and David let Shimei continue listening for the voice of God in the situation.
I never want the atmosphere of the room to set the pecking order. Many people fall right into an order they do not consciously recognize like cattle. Others resist just because they don't want to conform and that is equally predictable.
I want God to set the order.
Today I want to see God in each situation and be His linen clothed minister functioning in a mercy and grace provision.
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