WOFOYO SHORT: Kings And Priests Now!

A single verb tense can expose a whole mindset. When Revelation says Jesus “has made us” a kingdom of priests, that wording doesn’t leave room for spiritual striving, image management, or trying to earn what God already declared finished. We open with a story about a no-nonsense English teacher and use that same sentence-level attention to read Revelation 1:4–8 with fresh clarity, tracking “who is,” “who was,” and “who is to come.” 

From that close reading, we hit the nerve: if we’ve already been made kings and priests, why do we keep acting like we’re auditioning for the role? We talk identity in Christ, how revelation reshapes who you are, and what kingly authority and priestly authority actually look like in real life, from intercession to carrying the King’s will into your everyday “foreign country” moments. Along the way we challenge the subtle trap of trying to earn grace, approval, or salvation instead of living from what the cross already provided. 

We also address something many believers feel but rarely say out loud: seasons when you don’t “feel” God like you used to, yet the fruit is still there. We share why feelings don’t edit the Word, how you can become nose blind to God’s presence, and why faithful ministry sometimes looks like simply functioning in your assignment. If the Church has an identity crisis, the way forward starts with recovering spiritual perception and living from the truth of who we are “in Him.” 

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Transcript

Reading Revelation Through Verb Tenses

Made Kings And Priests Already

Identity Change Through Revelation

Authority And The Garden Mandate

Don’t Chase Feelings, Trust The Word

The Church’s Identity Crisis And Call

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Everybody, welcome to another WoeFo Yo short. This is Seat Up. Was playing a little game with Bones. We were on the phone because I happened to be reading this the other day and just kind of stood out. We had an English teacher in junior high, seventh and eighth grade, Meridian Junior High over in Mounds, Illinois. And let me tell you, this lady was tougher than the college English classes that I had. But because of her, uh lady named Helen Kiefer back in the day, she was Helen Moore, by far one of my top teachers I've ever had, hated her at the time because she set the bar so high. And if you failed, you failed. There was no good feelings about it, any of that stuff. So, but because of her and because of that toughness, when everybody else has trouble understanding a King James Bible, well, we were reading Chaucer, we were reading Canterbury Tales, we were reading excerpts from the King James Bible, we were reading Beowulf, we were reading Old English things, we were reading Shakespeare. All of a sudden, it's not that big of a stretch. One of the things she would do, though, is she would have us diagram sentences. This is English grammar, how to construct a sentence, how to dissect a sentence, how to break down a sentence and a paragraph so that it makes sense. Now, if you listen in our conversations when Bones and I talk, we don't necessarily use those in our normal conversations. Doesn't mean we're not able to. Because believe me, that lady drilled it, drilled it, and drilled it. Let's play a little Mrs. Keith offer game here. Go back to seventh and eighth grade English. Let's start talking about tenses here. Was having this discussion with Bones over the phone, and this is kind of what jumped out at me. We are going to start here. We are going to go in Revelation chapter 1, verses 4 through 8, and we're going to emphasize verse 6. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. And I'm reading out of the New King James. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. So let's play present tense, past tense, future tense here. Grace to you and peace from him who is. It's present tense. Who was, past tense, and who is to come, future tense. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne, present tense. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, which is a past experience, and ruler over the kings of the earth, present tense. To him who loved us, past tense, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Again, past tense. And has made us. So that's past tense. Has made us kings and priest to his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds. That's future tense. And every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, future tense. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. So be it. Future tense. Verse eight, I am the Alpha and Omega, present tense, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is, again, present tense, who was, past tense, and who is to come, the Almighty. Future tense and present tense. So that might have sounded boring, especially if you're listening on audio, especially if you don't understand how to break down sentences and how grammar works. And I'm not even trying to cached, but if you're not used to that, this is going to sound boring. But here's one of the things that I took out of that. In looking at the tenses here, especially in verse 6, says, right before that, it says, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. We know when that happens. That's at the cross. And has made us. That's a past tense, and it doesn't say that it is changed. So that's applicable here in the present as well as in the future. And has made us kings and priests to his God and Father. Here's the thing. If we've been made kings and priests, why are we trying to be kings and priests? Here's the thing. When Peter talks with, we've mentioned this recently, not that long ago, when Jesus asks, Who do men say that I am? Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say that you are Elijah the prophet, or one of the others come back from the dead. But who do you say that I am? And Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And immediately he changes Peter's name. Blessed are you, Simon Barjonas, Simon, son of John. Flesh and blood is not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven, and thou art Peter. Thou art Petros Caphas a stone. When you get the revelation, Jesus changes your identity. And so I'm I'm looking at this. John is saying, He has made us kings and priests. Now, some versions will read it differently. Still doesn't change the meaning. NASB, ESV, they will all say, has made us a kingdom of priest to his God and Father. Still, we're a kingdom of priest. We're kings, we operate in kingly authority and priestly authority. Priestly authority means intercession. Kingly authority means to exercise dominion, which was the original Adam mandate. Be fruitful, multiply, subdue, replenish. These are things that God has commanded. This is his intent. As Miles Monroe used to say, we're taking it back to the garden. I believe in the body of Christ, a lot of times, we're trying to earn grace that's been freely given. We're trying to get approval that's already been expressed. We're trying to earn a salvation that's already been provided because we don't have a proper understanding of who we are in Christ. One of the things I would encourage you to do as you get in the Word for yourself this week and here in the near future, start looking up in Him. In Him. In whom? In Him. And look at who you are in Jesus Christ. And I'll be the first to tell you, there's times where I'm not conscious of that. Matter of fact, there's a lot of times where I will start to feel like, Lord, you know, I should be experiencing more emotion. I should be experiencing the feeling of the anointing. And I find here's the weird thing about it, though. I'll keep doing what I'm doing, and then the fruit shows up that his favor, that his grace, that his anointing is on me, but it causes me to withdraw and I go, Lord, what's going on there? I remember thinking, and I'm praying, like, Lord, why don't I sense you like I used to? Even though the is still bearing fruit, Lord, we we good in the in after praying, he just told me, he said, I've called you to do certain things. Because I've called you to do certain things, you've walked in my presence to the point that you've become nose blind to it. And that was reassuring because I knew some things that when everybody else was falling out, he was telling me, uh, I've called you to stand in my presence. Back when falling out in the spirit was a big thing. And I'm not saying I never have, but he's admonished me, you need to function. The priests that were in the temple, the priests were in the tabernacle. Now, there were times where the cloud hit and they were on their face. But there are other times where the glory of the Lord is still there, but they are ministering. I shared that for this reason. You don't always have to feel it. How you feel isn't going to change how the word is written. The words aren't going to change just because you feel a certain way this week and you were feeling more empowered last week. It doesn't change the fact that we're a kingdom of priests. The priest ministers unto God first and foremost and then ministers unto the people. The priest intercedes. The king and the servants of the king, the officers of the king, the emissaries of the king, execute the king's will. Both in the realm of the king as well, if you're an emissary, you're bringing the will of the king into a foreign country. Whether they like it or not. Might be a price to pay, but you're bringing the will of the king, the command, the intent. You're part of his dominion, and you're bringing that wherever you go. But now that you know that we are kings and priests, now that you know that we are a kingdom of priests unto the Father, because of Jesus Christ, how should we be acting? I believe the church has an identity crisis. And part of God restoring what the Church of Jesus Christ ought to be doing and is positionally, that's where we are. We're just not acting like it. We we have a perception problem. When he gets us back to where we are properly perceiving who we are in him, Katie Bar the Door. Wofoyo. Everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to grow. You can always check us out at wofoyo.org or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible, or even check us out on YouTube. For Bones and Myself, this is C Dub, reminding you that if you're going to grow, you gotta Woe Foyo. Get in the work for yourself.