I really enjoyed the 2010 Poland camp – the general subject was the significance, preciousness, and enjoyment of the birthright in God’s economy. The birthright is the special portion of the firstborn, which, in the Old Testament, included: the priesthood, the kingship and the double portion of the land.
We also in the New Testament have the privilege to enjoy Christ as a type of land, the all-inclusive land. We have to exercise our priesthood, which gives us the right to enjoy God’s presence and we are then under His infusing, dispensing, transfusing and absorbing. And we are kings reigning on the earth for God.
In this message, we saw that Tamar in the Old Testament was desperate for the birthright and desperate to bring forth Christ. I really enjoyed that we should be as desperate as Tamar to keep our birthright; we should fight for it and not let anything get in the way. The birthright is now a reward; the enjoyment of the birthright fulfills God’s original intention in creating man. We see this in Genesis 1:26:
And God said, Let Us make MAN in Our IMAGE, according to Our likeness; and let them have DOMINION over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the EARTH and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
This verse reveals God’s eternal purpose, His desire and His heart’s pleasure. We have been given the portion of Christ as our land and eventually the Lord will give us the earth. Because we have Christ’s expression, we also have His dominion. The double portion of the land symbolizes the whole earth, given to us to inherit as a reward in the coming age. This is our incentive to run the race. “If by any means…” We are running to win!
To be a priest in today’s age, we need to have intimate contact with the Lord and we need a deep feeling for God’s people. We must put God’s people, purpose, desire and intention on our hearts, and we need to put God’s move on our shoulders, because this is OUR Lord’s Recovery!
The Kingdom is there only to be lost – may we be those who Gain Christ and Not Lose Our birthright – and the Lord needs a testimony here in Europe. There are 2 types of priests: Holy priests and a Royal priesthood. You cannot be a king unless you are a priest.
The priesthood produces and issues into the kingship. We have to spend adequate time in the Lord’s presence. Also, we have the reigning life in us which enables us to have all situations under our feet and not be bothered by them.
The Christ we enjoy in this age is what we are rewarded with in the coming age. What I really enjoyed regarding the kingship and the priesthood is that we are a high people. The world may hate us, what we do, and what we stand for – but they are not worthy of us! Just as with the apostles – this world is not worthy of us, the children of God! If we reign in this age, we are rewarded with reigning in the coming age.
[guest post: sharing by sister Grace].
If we live this birthright, we shall spontaneously be in the reality of the kingdom of God; then the reality which we are living out today will become our reward in the manifestation of the kingdom.