[Rick Beam] In January of 1975, Interstate 20 between Birmingham, AL, and Atlanta, GA, wasn’t finished. There was a section on the Alabama/Georgia border that had to be completed, and all traffic coming from either state had to exit and take a real rough stretch of road for several miles. Angela and I were on our way back to Texas. We were returning from our honeymoon, and we stopped off in Atlanta to load up a lot of her things along with our wedding gifts, and the car was packed. I mean, it was full and it was riding low. And as we say, “the bumper was dragging the ground”.

In the evening twilight, I was having to thread my way very carefully over the rough road; dodging the potholes as best as I could, and it had plenty of them. As I came to the foot of a hill and started up it, an Alabama state trooper pulled in behind me. There was a climbing lane, but I didn’t move over because it was even rougher than the main lane. The speed limit on the hill was 35 miles per hour. I made sure that I stayed right on it. I didn’t drop below it. I didn’t go above it. At the top of the hill, the blue lights came on, and I pulled over. I knew there was no valid reason for stopping me. I wasn’t breaking any law, but I knew too, Texas tag, loaded to the gills, bumper dragging the ground: “I believe I’ve caught me a bootlegger!”

He was certainly going to check me out, that’s for sure. And as I was pulling out my driver’s license because I knew what was coming, I looked back and I saw him walking up and I thought, “Oh no, it’s Barney Fife.” He was built just like Barney! He was about 5’9”, about 140 something pounds. The resemblance was too uncanny. As he walked up to the window, he peered real closely into the car, especially the packed full back seat. “May I see your driver’s license?” “Yes, sir.” “Where are you headed?” “Well, we’re on our way back to Texas. We just got married, and we’re returning from our honeymoon.” “Well, you were weaving back there.” He had to have a bonafide reason for pulling me over – just to see what we were hauling was not good enough.
“Well, sir, I was trying to miss the potholes.” which he knew was all too true. “Well, you failed to pull over into that climbing lane when I came up behind you.” “Well sir, I was doing the speed limit, and I wasn’t blocking the road, there was nobody else in that lane, and the climbing lane is really rough, and I’m loaded.” That he also knew was true. He stood there and he kind of shifted from one foot to the other. He looked off to his left, and he looked off to his right, and he had his thumbs in his belt, and he hitched his pants, and he looked at me -I do have a witness, that’s my wife, who was my new bride- he looked at me and he said, “Now Ricky, do you really think you’re going to make it to Texas? Now do you, Ricky?” And I said, “Yes, sir, I am.” He hitched his pants again and said, “The next 15 miles is my highway. You can get killed on someone else’s highway, but you can’t get killed on mine.” He handed me my driver’s license, turned on his heel, and walked away.

These are the kind of things that happen in the movies. You just don’t expect it to happen in real life. I didn’t embellish it; that’s the way it was. Most troopers that I have dealt with, (and you can guess I’ve had quite a bit of experience with troopers over the years!), are truly class acts. I mean, they are high caliber, high quality, top-notch individuals. They don’t take just anybody. I don’t know what it’s like today necessarily, but they don’t take just anybody. But like in any profession, some are not. For too many people, especially men, it seems, power is a magnet that draws them. Give them a gun and a badge, and look out. For too many. But in a general sense, in a much broader way, power is a magnet that draws too many.

I remember when our daughter just started crawling, my wife would turn on the vacuum cleaner, and she would go the other way. When we had our first son and he was crawling, she would turn on the vacuum cleaner, and he would climb toward it and climb on it. He wanted to ride. It’s almost like it’s genetic with the male in particular. Power may come in different ways, different forms, different types, different measures, different formats, but again, males just, in general, seem to take to it. And power positions act as a magnet and often draw those who are attracted to the power itself for itself and what it can afford them. And when it comes to power positions, if I may paraphrase a phrase we’re familiar with, “If you build them, they will want them.”
You know, there is a truism about politicians in congress: the first goal is to get there; the second goal is to stay there, and we see that. 2014 is another big watershed year. All 535 seats of the House of Representatives are up for grabs and 1/3 of the Senate seats, as well as some of the governorship and state legislatures. And all across the land, we have been hearing, we will hear, we will continue to hear it, we have heard it in the past, we will hear it in the future, in man’s age, the sentiment echoed over and over, “If I had the power. Trust me with the power. If I had the power, that’s what I would do, or this is what I would do…”

If you want to title this, I may have it posted over there: “If I had the power…”, because that’s the beginning of the thought. “If I had the power…” And again, we’re hearing that now very much, and we’ve heard it many times of the years. Society and human nature aggrandize position and power. The world has always been fascinated with the rich and the powerful, the rich and the famous. Power is important. It’s envied. It’s sought after. People often see power as making them important, making them great. The need to be important drives a lot of vanity. People feel that power will allow them to get or have their way. It’s kind of somewhat like the 600 pound gorilla. If somebody asks you the question ‘where does a 600 pound gorilla sleep?’ ‘Anywhere it wants!’

So power and position is attractive to the carnal mind for self-serving reasons. Now, here are a few of them. We’ll say, a big point: for self-aggrandizement, to be seen as important, to have validation, to have identity, for deserved recognition of personal value. The bottom line: magnification of the person. Another big point: for the ability to extend what’s called the empirical self, more able to do what he wants, more opportunity to carry out his own will, to be more the boss of his own affairs. Again, bottom line: self-serving. And too often in this world, people want power and position for what they can do with it or how it can serve them, and for them, true service for the benefit of others, that’s not the goal.

Let me ask you a question. I’ll give you a choice. Which of these two would you choose if you have the choice: 1) to be a big fish in a tiny little pond, or 2) to be a little fish swimming with a whole school of fish in a nice big unlimited lake? In this world, there are those who want to be the king fish, even if it has to be in a mud hole. And of course, a king fish in a mud hole has to be careful not to splash too big or they splash all the mud and water out of the hole –it goes dry on them. But there are simply those who thrive on power, on running everything and controlling everybody. Obviously they generally feel above the law. They’re the exception. They don’t live by the rules because they make the rules.

And also, obviously, with power held in the kind of view, you know what comes with it: abuse. The historical record is replete with the Hitlers, the Stalins, the Idi Amins, the Saddam Husseins, the Pol Pots, the Ghengis Khans, the Kim Jong-ils -who will be known as Kim Jong-well in the Last Great Day, he’ll have to become Kim Jong-well, he won’t just automatically be there in that Eighth Day, but anyway on and on ad infinitum. Now these are just some of the classic cases that reflect the problem to the extreme, but even at much lesser levels in one sense, the self-serving attitude is reflected.

If you turn with me to Luke 22:24-26, a very familiar segment of scripture, very familiar subject that’s dealt with, Luke 22:24-26. Notice Christ addressing this very issue I’m talking about right here.
Luke 22:24 – And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
‘James you’re just not thinking right. I’m the greatest, you’re not. Me, Peter, or Thomas...’ You could pick any one of them. This was something that didn’t just happen once with them. This was something that went on over a period of time, and had more than one occasion of it.

Luke 22:25 – And He [Christ] said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.

Luke 22:26 – But you shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

A totally different concept on power than they had been used to, and it’s use. Benefactors: those who do benefits, supposed to do benefits, for others. Those who render good. I cannot help but recall about 3 or 3.5 years ago or so, whatever it’s been, when congress froze social security benefits. Remember, those of you that are on social security?, froze social security benefits for two years. Do you know why? No inflation. They obviously don’t shop for themselves. But at the same time, they voted themselves a pay raise. Not to take place immediately, they voted it to automatically kick in when maybe some of the heat was off of them so many months later. When people become too concerned about rank, they become rank.

John 11:47-48. Notice something significant here. John 11 is the chapter in which Lazarus was resurrected. Undeniable proof that Christ was of God; undeniable proof of the power of God being exercised. The religious leaders couldn’t deny it. Some of the religious leaders, knowing all of that, trying to figure out how to destroy Christ, if you read the chapter carefully, you’ll find it, also trying to figure out, ‘how do we get rid of the evidence? How do we get rid of Lazarus?’ That was also part of the thought, he was protected from that obviously, but I want you to notice something in John 11:47-48:

John 11:47 – Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? For this man does many miracles.

John 11:48 – If we leave him alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both –what did they say?- our place (our position, our power) and nation.

They weren’t just concerned about the nation. They were concerned about their power and their position. Satan thrives on power. He loves power, and he thinks he can manipulate people through the love of power, and I did say the love of power. He tried it on Christ. You don’t have to turn there with me, but I want to read the segment from Luke 4, just how it’s worded, Luke 4: 5-7. In Luke 4, in that battle of the minds in the wilderness, beginning in verse 5:

Luke 4:5 – And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Luke 4:6 – And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give you, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it.

Luke 4:7 – If you therefore will worship me –fall down before me-, all shall be yours.

Now, obviously, he has always underestimated God and God’s nature. And he stimulates and magnifies that desire in anybody who gives him half the chance. And we all know he’s had a certain measure of success, even with the Disciples of Christ there for a while. Think about it, they were already Christ’s twelve leading men, and that wasn’t good enough. They had to figure out among the twelve of them, which one of them was the greatest.
Mothers are sweet. I had a mother. Mothers are wonderful, but you know, sometimes they can be blind to their own kids, or at least blind to a certain degree. Here comes mother Zebedee to get in the mix. You find it in Matthew 20:20-21.

Matthew 20:20 – Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children –James and John, of course. Notice Zebizee’s children- with her sons –so they are there present in audience, as she makes this request-, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

Matthew 20:21 – And he said to her, what will you? –what do you desire? And she said to him, grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand and the other on the left, in the kingdom of God.

She knew he was going to have a kingdom of power. She wanted James to sit on one hand, and she wanted John to sit on the other. It’s interesting sometimes, I mean, women get involved in it too, it’s just that it shows up more in men, and in a different way, but in so many regards, the love of –that’s what I’m emphasizing- the love of power and position is one of the devil’s major playgrounds.

And why have so many over the years claimed to be, or wanted to be, the two witnesses. Now, if a person comes to you and says, “I am the two witnesses”, that’s a dead giveaway right there. Think about it, of course we’ve had some real nut jobs come along, and they’re usually pretty easy to recognize. But why? It’s for the power. It’s for the position. They read what Revelation 11 says about those two individuals, and they’re drawn to that power, to that position, and what they think it gives them.

And all along through the history of the church, there have been those like Diotrephes [3 John 1:9], he was a real man, he was an actual minister, maybe a true minister of God at one time that apostatized, we don’t know, but he definitely became a false minister. The reason he’s mentioned 1) he was a real man, 2) he typified a lot of what was going on towards the end of that first century. But there have always been those like Diotrephes then, throughout the history of the church and current times and all. John spoke of him and said, ‘loving to have the preeminence.’ He spoke of Diotrephes as loving, loving to have the preeminence. Diotrephes was in love with power. He was in love with position, and God never gives power or position or responsibility or opportunity for self-aggrandizement. He never gives it for glorifying self.

Power is for the purpose of doing good, of seeing that it is exercised, that it is carried out. Power is for the purpose of getting things done, for accomplishing the things of God. Remember what Jesus Christ told his disciples toward the end of Matthew, in Matthew 28:18. This statement is made, in Matthew 28:18 he says:

Matthew 28:18 – And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Why? It’s very simple: for carrying out God’s will, His plans and purposes. Christ is free to use any and all, whatever measure of power he chooses and decides is necessary to carry out God’s will, His plans and purposes.

If I had the power, what would I do with it? How would I use it? How would I view it? How would it affect me? The most crucial thing with power is the motivation that’s behind it, pushing it. The motivation behind it determines the operational behavior. What good is power if it is not backed by the right motive? Without the right motive it only causes and increases damages. When one falls in love with power, when one falls in love with position, that’s when the abuse begins.

Some of you studied geopolitics. There was a famous statement made long ago in regards to world politics, and you’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it one time or another: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” History bears that out over and over again and again. Whoever gains the power abuses it. There have been very few down through the ages who have tried not to abuse the power and have been fairly successful at it. There have been some, we could say, true benefactors in that sense. But there’s a spiritual challenge for us, of learning not to do it.

So, if I had the power… That’s not a hypothetical question. Read with me Revelation 5:10. We read it the other night, opening night. Revelation 5:10. When it says, regarding us, and there are other scriptures we could put with it but that’s not necessary at this point. If I had the power is not hypothetical. It’s an issue and a matter of time.

Revelation 5:10 – And has made us unto our God kings and priests –kings: administrators, priests: educators. We’re going to be administrators, rulers, and educators-: and we shall reign on the earth.
Power is being offered. Power is being promised. But that if in the title is a conditional word. There are some conditions that have to be met. There are some realizations and understandings that have to be first in place, and it starts with our motivation for wanting that power.

We live -and we’ve been hearing even more about this that we’re already familiar with, but we’re having it reinforced- the reality that we live in a world of hurts, of hurting. A world of hurts. A hurting world that’s only going to get worse before it gets better. We see pain and suffering and sin all around us. And we see the breakage just continue to increase and escalate. There is not a whole lot we can do about it to really change the situation around us. But how badly do we want to see that change? How badly do we want a hand, our hands, in changing that? Do we feel and identify with the pain of mankind? Power will be given to those who have truly felt the pain because such power will be used to diminish pain, not increase it.

To me, a very important scripture is Ezekiel 9:4.

Ezekiel 9:4 – And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Ezekiel, go through the midst, and notate those who are vexed, who are frustrated, who are pained, who are hurting because of what they see going on around them. The men that sigh and that cry.

I want to read something to you. This was given to me by a member in my pastorate a number of years ago. He had written this quite a few years ago. I told him I would like to use it sometime in a sermon, and he said feel free to use it however you want to. He’s one of those that God notated and put a mark on him, so to speak, who sighed and cried over the condition around him. This is something from him. He titled it, “What I would change in the world and why.” Listen carefully:

First, I would change myself into the richest, most powerful human being in this world and see what it feels like to look down on others and condemn them for not being as intelligent as I, as powerful as I, as great as I. To see what it feels like to exercise power and authority over others. And have all the phony people bow down to me hoping I might pitch them a crumb. Then I would know why most people react the way they do when they get just a little authority over others.

Then, I would change myself into the aborted baby, and feel the pain and agony that it feels as it’s pulled from its life support system and left to die while people, especially it’s mother, watch and are relieved to be rid of it.

Then, I would change myself into a retarded child so I could feel the pain and the agony it feels depending on ruthless people for its daily needs. So I could feel how it feels being laughed at, hit with fists by groups of children having fun at my expense.

Then, I would change myself into a dying mother with young children so I could feel the pain and agony and frustration she feels, wondering what will happen to her family after she is gone. Will they be adopted by heartless people? Will they be abused? Will their lives be ruined because of watching me die? What are they thinking of me? Am I dying with dignity? I wonder, will they make it in this world without me?

Then, I would change myself into a prisoner, a criminal in our justice system, so I can know what it is like to be caged like an animal. Knowing I’m here to keep me from hurting others, but knowing I’m here because others hurt me when I needed someone, no one cared. Then I can understand how their mind became warped beyond reason and control. I could understand the loneliness, the hopelessness they feel, knowing no one cares that they’re destined to live in a cage all their life.

Then, I would change myself into a homeless mother, living in junk cars with small children and a husband put out of work by a failing economy. I would watch my children die from diseases caused by malnutrition. I would watch my husband, with his mind whipped from rejection after rejection and begging for jobs of any kind, and begging for food from welfare. I would watch him sink lower and lower, as he was called worthless trash and lazy, and wonder how much longer he could stand to look us in the face, thinking we looked at him the same way. I would watch the love in our lives diminish as we all became closer to death mentally and physically, knowing we were society’s outcasts. I would know what it feels like to eventually give up completely and consider suicide.

I would change myself into every evil and bad situation this society offers. I would live through it sometimes to death, other times to insanity. I would try to see every situation in this world the way others see it, especially the downtrodden. I would understand their pain, their agony, their mental anguish, their hatred, their trials. I would change myself to walk a mile in their shoes. Then I would understand and feel all the pain and agony and frustration of this world. I would know what it really feels like, without guessing, for a mother to caress and hold her baby and cry watching it draw its last breath. Then I would be all knowing about the terrible things of this world.

Then, I would change into a god under authority of God the Father and Jesus Christ, and change all these mentally warped minds, all these crippled, starving, tortured people into happy situations. I would make the world a happy, healthy place to live: beautiful, luscious fruits and vegetables, pristine waters, beautiful homes and landscapes. There would be no ‘rich man, poor man’. No poverty, no homeless, no sick, no illness of any kind. I would change myself into a godlike person following God’s laws and ways, and would lead others, the whole world, God’s way.

So, if I could change anything in the world I wanted, I would change myself first. And why? So I could change others.

Gene Buck, June 16 this year, this summer, Gene Buck died. He’s waiting, not to the point ‘If he has the power’, he’s waiting for that 7th trumping when he will be given the power to do what he desperately looks forward to having a hand in.

If I had the power, oh how wonderful it would be, wouldn’t it? To help eliminate all wars, sickness, disease, all poverty, starvation, torture, misery. To help produce a world of peace and safety and health and happiness. And God the Father and Jesus Christ were offering that to Gene, it’s waiting for him. He’s offering it to you. He’s offering it to me. But there are concerns that go with it that have to be answered ahead of time.

Preparing for rulership then starts with rulership now, in a very special way. I want to read Proverbs 16:32. It starts with ruling over ourselves first. Proverbs 16:32.  As one man said one time, ruling over self precedes ruling over others. 

Proverbs 16:32 – He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit –rules his mind, his spirit- than he that takes a city.

Self-rule precedes ruling over the nations. Exercising power with ourselves precedes being given power over the nations. You know, there’s not even one instance, not even one instance, nor ever has been or ever will be, of Jesus Christ abusing or misusing His power. All of God’s power, 100% of it, is for good. Always outgoing concern, and He’s only going to share His power eternally with like minds and like hearts. So, God has to know ahead of time how we will use that power. He’s got to have some kind of idea, once we’re given that power in the kingdom, in one sense, it’d be too late, wouldn’t it? So, how does God find out what He needs to know? By watching you and me now with the power we have and seeing what we do with it and how we use it. It’s in a way that many of us may not even stop to think about.

If you go with me to Luke 16:10, He sees how we use what we have. He sees what we do with it. He sees how it affects us and others. Luke 16:10, this is a measuring stick for God.

Luke 16:10 – He that is faithful –in other words, doing it God’s way, in a way that pleases God- in that which is least is faithful also in much -the principle here-: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

That’s a measuring stick for God. The powers that we have now, are the absolute least compared to what we will have in the kingdom. So what about those powers? When you understand what power really is: the amounts, the measures, the types, the formats, the degrees, then you realize, we realize, we do have some. We all have some measure.

Power in its most basic definition, I want to give you one of my definitions of power, it’s just a very basic definition. Simply, “the ability to affect or influence”. Think about that for a minute. The ability to affect something or to influence something. And in light of that definition, here’s a list, for example, some of these are common ones we think of. Some might not be what we would commonly think of. Authority, we think of that, position, we think of that, responsibility, yes. We might not tend to think of time, and energy, and opportunity, but that’s power. We might not tend to think of example, and knowledge, and intelligence, but that’s power. Of course, we think of money as power, and maybe think of health as power, but those are all issues of power. These all and more represent types of measures of power. How are they used?

I’m just going to give a couple simple examples. Let’s take time and energy. If a person only needs four hours of sleep a night, I mean, that’s all their body requires, so they only have to go down for four hours in order to be fully recharged, and there are some people that are like that, and that’s great. That gives them twenty hours to be up and doing and producing. And twenty hours, you can get more done than in sixteen. A person fully charged after four, having twenty, can get more done than the person who has to have eight hours of sleep and only has sixteen, I mean, as a general rule, just making a point. That is a great asset, if you only had to have four hours, and that’s all you need, that’s a great asset. That is a type of power. But if the people around him, let’s say it’s a father, and all he needs is four hours of sleep, but his wife and his kids all need eight hours, if he keeps them up until midnight, and then rousts them out at 4 in the morning, that is an abuse of power. Simple example, but it’s abuse. He has a natural power that he is not using in an outgoing, loving way.

Take knowledge and intelligence. It has been said that knowledge is power, and it is, and the intelligence to pick it up very quickly and retain it, that is power. But if it is used to look down upon people and belittle them, or if it’s used to take advantage of them and manipulate them, then that’s abuse of power. So, when we really stop and look at ourselves accurately and objectively, we really do begin to see and realize that we all do have some measure or type or degree of power to exercise, especially in regards to others, and God is monitoring that.
If I had the power… yes, I realize I have a certain amount of power now, and you do too, but what’s going to safeguard that tremendous power that we’ll be given? What’s going to keep it safe? What are the eternal safeguards?

Philippians 2:5 is a scripture that we have gone to an awful lot over the years, and here’s what going to safeguard it.

Philippians 2:5 – Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Because when we’re loaded with all that power we’re going to be loaded with, if the mind of Jesus Christ is in us, that power is going to be controlled and properly used. It’s going to be safeguarded.

So let’s take it a step further. The mind of Christ in us, what is that mind? How could you define the mind of Christ? It is a mind of humility that exercises outgoing concern. So the safeguards on power are humility and love. Humility and love. Humility and outgoing concern for the benefits of others. And again, that goes back to the motivational area that pushes that power. You know, in the kingdom of God, power is never going to be measured out beyond humility and love. It’s never going to be put into anybody’s hands except the hands of humility. And those under that power will be safe. The love and the humility form a motivation to truly help others, verses using or harming them.

When mother Zebedee said, ‘Can James sit on hand and John sit on the other?’, they weren’t ready for that power. They didn’t have the mind of Christ. Remember when they were going through the land and this little town of the Samaritans that didn’t want to receive Christ at that time, and James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down? [Luke 9:54]’, just burn them out, and He said, ‘you don’t know what spirit you’re of.’ [Luke 9:55]

Can you imagine in the Kingdom of God, fast forward to the kingdom, and He’s put James and John, given them their cities, their tribes of Israel, and there’s this conversation going on and Christ says to John, ‘How are things going? I noticed several columns of smoke rising over into your area this past week…’ And John says, ‘Well, not too bad, I still have half of my cities left.’

But John and James did learn. They did take on a mind of Christ. The safeguards are in place, and the tribe of Israel that James is over and the tribe of Israel that John will be over, they will be safe in their hands. They will be safe, they will be nurtured because the power will rest in the hands of love and humility. And by the way, all these self-promoting individuals that want to lay claim to being the two witnesses because of the power they see there, they overlook one big crucial thing. Well, they overlook more than one big crucial thing, but I’ll just draw attention to one. The two witnesses are clothed in sackcloth. That is simply the prophetic way of saying they are clothed in humility. God will not give the measure of power that you see in Revelation 11 to two men who are not totally, totally, totally humble.

That power will not go to their heads. That power will not corrupt them. The safeguards will be in place. Man says, ‘Being king, that’s where it’s at, but serving is nothing.’ Christ the King says, ‘Serving is where it’s at. Being a king without a servant’s attitude is dangerous and harmful. It puts others at risk.’

It became plain to me as one individual, just a simple individual like you, it became plain to me long ago that if I’m not a servant, if I’m not an instrument, I am nothing. It’s not about me. It’s about Christ and what He wants under the authority of the Father. The kingdom belongs to God the Father and Jesus Christ, and they’re going to share that kingdom.

I won’t ask you to turn to this verse, but I’d ask you to write it down: Revelation 19:12. It says in this verse, there’s a phrase in this, and I’ll read it, I’ll just break into the thought, the context:

Revelation 19:12 – His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns –many crowns, it doesn’t mean, per say, that he wears many hats, although he does, but part of the inference there is that he has many crowns, he’s going to share these crowns. It’s a shared rulership, power will be shared, and that’s what’s being emphasized, and all under the safeguard of the right motivation, all under the safeguard of the mind of Christ in us, all under the safeguard of love and humility.; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

There’s an interesting scripture also, in Revelation 4:10-11, and this is how it reads:

Revelation 4:10 – The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that lives for ever and ever, and cast –picture them taking their crown off, picture them taking their crown, reaching their hand, taking the crown and throwing it down at his feet, not as an act of disrespect-, their crowns before the throne, saying,

Revelation 4:11 – Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Why cast them? What they are saying is three things: 1) there is joy in their submission 2) the recognition of where their power came from, and 3) their acknowledgement of looking to God of how to use it.

There’s a great peace that comes when you accept that God knows where to best place you. And God will place you where you best fit. I have come to a time in my life where I am no longer concerned where God places me in His kingdom. The level of power and responsibility no longer matters. I no longer concern myself with that. It’s not an issue. I no longer focus or am concerned with ‘How much power will God give me?’ or ‘What will my position be?’. He’s God. He’s wise. He’s loving beyond my imagination. He knows where I will best fit. I rest in that. I will have a wonderful part. I have come to learn the value of serving, and sharing, and relating, of being involved with loved ones, of being involved with God and His plans, and to be involved with loved ones eternally in the family and kingdom of God with the Father and the Son leading us. That’s where it’s at. And that’s a continual feast of peace and joy forever and ever and ever. And in reality, properly preparing now means, it’s not ‘If I have the power’, it’s ‘When I have the power at that seventh trump.’