Praise the Lord, Grace and Peace great people of our “Great God” JESUS!

As I began to think about how blessed I am to have such a beautiful relationship with my Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST, I began to think of the word Privilege, which is defined as: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. I remember a song we would often sing when I was under the pastorate of my father in the gospel Papa Claude Allen Sr. The song lyrics went something like this:  “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grieves to bear, What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer;Oh what peace we often forfeit, of what needless pain we bear; All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer; Have we trials and temptations, is there trouble anywhere; If we have don’t be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer” This did something to me this morning while drinking coffee and eating my protein bar.

Hence for this Golden Nugget I would like to provoke the thought “My Privileges In Jesus Christ” My premise scriptures to provoke further gospel provocations are as follows:

 Luk 15:31-32 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.  (32)  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

We have here two things describing the word privilege: First, “Son, thou art ever with me” unbroken fellowship with thy Father is thy portion; Second, “All that I have is thine” all that God can bestow upon His children is theirs.

Jesus, the father states “Thou are ever with me;” I am always near you; and you can dwell every hour of your life in My presence, and all I have is for you. I am a father, with a loving father’s heart. I will withhold no good thing from you. In these promises, we have the rich privilege of God’s heritage. We have, in the first place, unbroken fellowship with Him. Any father in his right mind never sends his child away with the thought that he does not care about his child knowing that he loves him, even when he has to chastise  the child. The father longs to have his child believe that they have the light of their father’s countenance upon them all day, and knowing that, if he sends the child away to school, or anywhere that any necessity compels, it is with a sense that they know that sacrifices have been made i.e. financially, emotionally, and spiritually, etc.  Saints of God, if it be so with an earthly father, what do you think of our heavenly father, JESUS? Does He not want every child of His to know that they are constantly living in the light of His countenance? This is the meaning of that word, “Son, thou art ever with me.”

That was the privilege of God’s people in Old Testament times. We are told the following in Gen 5:24 that “Enoch walked with God.” Gen 28:15 God’s promise to Jacob was: “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” And God’s promise to Israel Exo. 33:14-16 through Moses, was: “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” And in Moses’ response to the promise, he says, “For wherein shall it be known that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not that Thou goest with us; so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” Saints, the presence of God with Israel was the mark and favor of their separation from other people. This is the truth taught in all the Old Testament; and if so, how much more may we look for it in the New Testament? Hence we find our Savior promising to those who love Him and who keep His word, that the Father also will love them, and will come and make his abode with them. GOLDEN NUGGET!

Let this permeate  into our hearts, that the child of God is called to this blessed privilege, to live every moment of our  lives in fellowship with God. We are called to enjoy the full light of His countenance. There are many Saints, I presume a majority of the Saints of God, who seem to confine the work of the Holy Spirit to conviction and conversion; and not so much that He came to dwell in our hearts, and reveal God to us. That’s right my brother and sisters, He came not just to dwell near us, but to dwell in us, that we might be totally filled with His indwelling. We are commanded to be “filled with the Spirit;” because the Holy Spirit makes God’s presence manifest to us. That is the whole teaching of the epistle to the Hebrews: that the veil was rent in twain; which is now the flesh of Jesus Christ, and now we have access into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can now by faith come into the very presence of God, so that we can live all the day with that presence resting in us and upon us. My brothers and sister His presence is with us wherever we go. Especially when all kinds of trouble arises, we have undisturbed repose and peace. Notice my brothers and sisters what it says “Son, thou art ever with me.” Glory be to God! Thank You Jesus!  As a Pastor,  I know that one has to experience this, to walk in this…..

There are some people who seem to think that God, by some unintelligible sovereignty, withdraws His face. But I know that God loves His people too much to withhold His fellowship from them for any such reason. The true reason of the absence of God from us is rather to be found in our sins and unbelief, than in any supposed sovereignty of His. If the child of God is walking in faith and obedience, God’s divine presence will be enjoyed in unbroken continuum.

Notice my brothers and sisters the next blessed privilege: “All that I have is thine.” Thank God, He has given us His own Son; and in giving Him, He has given us all things that are in Him, He has given us Jesus life, His love, His Spirit, and His glory. “All things are yours; and ye are Christ’s” All the riches of JESUS, our everlasting King, God bestows upon every one of His children. “Son, thou art ever with me; and all that I have is thine.” Is not that the meaning of all those wonderful promises given in connection with prayer as noted in Joh. 14:13-14And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.Yes, there it is. This is the life of the children of God, as He has pictured for us.

But isn’t it ironic that in contrast with all the high privileges we have, we emphasize the low experiences in our lives. If you notice in this chapter where our premises is derived, the younger son left, gave up on the promises and cashed in on secular and Socratic endeavors, but eventually came to his senses; therefore his father welcome him back with open arms, but the younger son lost out on some of the privileges afforded him…mean while the elder son remained living with his father and served him, but notice the statement he makes “these many years,” and he complains that his father never gave him a kid, while he gave his prodigal brother the fated calf. Why was this?  I truly believe my brothers and sisters it was simply because he did not ask for it. He did not believe that he would get it, and therefore never asked for it, and hence never enjoyed it. He continued therefore to live in constant murmuring and dissatisfaction.

Saints please observe the key note, of all the elders sons perceived wretched mindset, is furnished in what he said. His father gave him everything, yet he never enjoyed it; and he throws the whole blame on his loving and kind father. O my beloved brothers and sister is not this the life of many saints that you and I have come in contact with? Do not many speak and act in this way? Every Saint has the promise of unbroken fellowship with God, but they say, “I have not enjoyed it; I have tried hard and done my best, and I have prayed for the blessing, but I believe that God does not see fit to grant it.” But why not? One says, it is the sovereignty of God withholding the blessing. The father withheld not his gifts from the elder brother in sovereignty; neither does our Heavenly Father withhold any good thing from them that LOVEHim. He does not make any such variance between His children. “He is able to make all grace abound towards you” was the promise equally made to all in the Corinthian church even though they continued to walk in carnality and their own mindset, which perpetually caused fragmented fellowship with Christ.  GOLDEN NUGGET!

Some think these rich blessings are not for them, but for those who devote more time to the word of God and prayer; they know these rich blessings and privileges are for them! Our Bible speaks of a joy that is “unspeakable and full of glory” as the fruit of believing; of a “love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us.” Do we desire it, do we? Why not get it? Have we asked for it? We think we are not worthy of the blessing, we are not good enough; and therefore God has not given it. There are more among us than we know of, or are willing to admit, who throw the blame of their darkness, and of their wanderings on others and God! As a  pastor I say “Take care! Take care! Take care!”  Stop wasting precious time drowning in a Socratic mindset and embrace the fullness of your privileges in God! Can I please get a  GOLDEN NUGGET AMEN!

 So Saints, what about that other promise? The Father says, “All I have is thine.” Are you rejoicing in the treasures of Christ? Are you conscious of having an abundant supply for all your spiritual needs every day? God has all these for you in abundance. “Thou never gavest me a kid!” The answer is, “All that I have is thine. I gave it to thee in Christ.”

My brothers and sisters we have developed such erroneous thought patterns about God. What is God like? I know no imagery more beautiful and expressive than when the sun is shining and the sky is filled with a transparency of blue! The sun is never weary of shining; as it  pours out it’s beneficent rays upon both the good and the evil. You might close up the windows with blinds or bricks, yet the sun shines upon them all the same; though we may choose to sit in darkness or  utter darkness, the sun shines just the same. God’s sun shines on every leaf; on every flower; on every blade of grass; on everything that springs out of the ground. All receive this wealth of sunshine until they grow to perfection and bear fruit. Would He who made that sun be less willing to pour out His love and life into you and I? The sun, what beauty it creates! And my God, would He not delight more in creating beauty and fruitfulness in you and I?  Saints lets us strive to walk in our privileges so that we can continue to bear fruit. Note is following parable as it points to the privilege to serve:

Mat 25:14-30  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, therethou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What  then is the moral I have invited you to draw from my above train of thought? Simply this, communion with God is our ultimate privilege! How often have we displayed zeal in impressing others or institutions that we know God, while, perhaps, our own souls were barren and void of any personal communion with Jesus Christ himself. How often, too, like the two disciples who were on the road going to Emmaus, who walked and talked much about the things concerning  Christ, that, when He did join us and draw near, we would not know it was Him. That’s why it is such a privilege to enjoy Him in Communion Supper, prayer, ministry of the Word, and in Christian fellowship with our brothers and sisters.

Saints I reiterate, Let us continue to seek and realize the person of Christ Jesus. Let us continue to endeavor to enjoy Him, in prayer, in the breaking of bread, in the ministry of the Word, and in the fellowship of His suffering, as we encourage one another. Let us perpetually render offerings of prayer and praise. For if we embrace these privileges we will never mistake happiness in material things, for our happiness in God, because I never want to negate “ My Privileges In Jesus Christ” Please strive to have a “JESUS DAY”