In part 4 of this Bible study, we will study the second of the three groups that make up the Seven Priorities of Life, which is the list the Lord gave me in the early years of my ministry in the Philippines. In part 3 of this Bible study, we examined Group One: Relationship with God. Now we look at Group Two: Education.  There are three of the Seven Priorities of Life in this group:  They are:

4. Confession. 5. Meditation. 6. Study & Reading.  

These three priorities refer to our life-long pursuit to acquire and apply knowledge, as presented in the Bible. Hosea 4:6 tells us that God’s people perish for a lack of knowledge. Worldwide, the devil controls most people because their ignorance gives him permission to steal, kill and destroy

(John 10:10). Because they lack knowledge, they lack the spiritual understanding needed to change their situation (Colossians 1:9). Therefore, their total defeat in life, along with eternal damnation after death - is guaranteed. Born-again believers at least have the assurance of eternal life in Christ, but most of them still live in confusion and daily defeat just like all the unsaved people – and that should never be the case. Sadly however, in most cases it is. Without doubt, Satan takes advantage of what believers don’t know! This is the number one problem to address inside the body of Christ, and the number one priority to fix.

Once we make Group One top priority in life, we then must turn to the necessity of educating ourselves to be “useful for the Master"

(2 Timothy 2:21). Group Three is priority of life number seven - sharing, but we can’t share what we don’t know. That’s why sharing the gospel with others is the last of the seven priorities of life, not the first. Christians who don’t have a deep relationship with God (Group One), and who don’t know who they are in Christ (Group Two) are worthless to God, in the sense of being used to obey the Great Commission of Mark 16:15-18. God loves them of course, and they’re definitely on their way to heaven, but their Biblical ignorance disqualifies them from being used by God to win souls now in this life. This is why confession, meditation, study and reading becomes so critical and necessary. 

The priorities of Group Two will develop and educate our minds, and our spirits. Why is this important? Because we can’t just know God, because He is not all there is out there. We also have to know our enemies if we’re to be victorious over them as we’re command to. We take care of Group Two priorities so that we have a real and working understanding of how God works on earth, how the enemy works against us, and how we use our authority to enforce his defeat. Notice that all three of the priorities in Group Two have to do with the Word of God. Group One priorities center around the three Persons of the Trinity – becoming intimate with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Group Two priorities center around the feeding of our spirits with God’s Word, because it, and it alone, is spiritual food for our spirit

(1 Peter 2:2/Hebrews 5:12-14).

First of all, when it comes to the issue of Biblical education, we need to know and remember that Satan is already a defeated foe. He tries to convince people that like it or not, he still has power over them, but he doesn’t. Now, after Calvary, 1 Peter 5:8 says he walks around as a roaring lion, but he isn’t a lion at all. Jesus is! (Revelation 5:5). The Bible says our Lord made a “show” of the devil openly, triumphing over him through His work on the cross (Colossians 2:15). Jesus now has the keys of hell, death and the grave, not the devil (Revelation 1:18). Keys represent authority. Well then, someone might ask, if all authority was given to Jesus because of His work on the cross, why do we still have such issues with the devil? That’s where the knowledge acquired from these three Priorities of Life becomes so important. When Jesus rose from the dead, all authority in heaven and earth was in fact given to Him (Matthew 28:18-20), but He then turned and gave it to us as His official Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), doing His “business” until He returns (Luke 19:13). The book of Ephesians gives more insight into these truths.  

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of Glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:17-23.

When God raised Jesus from the dead, He was seated in heaven at God’s right hand, but that’s not all that happened. When Jesus sat down, God put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body. That’s us! We’re individual members of the body of Christ – all of whom make up the church. Spiritually speaking, we were “in Christ” when He died, rose from the dead, and sat down on His throne in heaven (Ephesians 2:4-6).

So, because everything and every name is now under Jesus’ feet, everything and every name is now under us as far as God is concerned! If Jesus is far above all principality, power, might and dominion - and every name that is named, so are we because we’re in Him! Even if you’re just a “little toe” in the body of Christ so-to-speak, you’re still far above the devil and any of his works designed to defeat and destroy us. We need to confess, meditate and study this out until we talk and act like it’s the truth, because it is.   

Understand this truth: The Bible is a book of words about words. It shows us that we can have what we say (Mark 11:23-24). That’s Biblical confession. Confession isn’t some Catholic concept, where we go to a priest to “confess” our sins and get his “absolution”. I was raised as a devoted Catholic, and that’s what we were taught, but that isn’t what the Bible says. First John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins to God, not to some man. But scriptural confession is much more about the declaration of what we believe, based upon the study of the Word of God, and meditation in the promises of God that apply to us personally (2 Peter 1:3-4). Once we study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), and consistently meditate on what we learn (Joshua 1:8), we should then confess what we believe. Don’t just think it – speak it out from your heart (spirit). Words are containers. They carry spiritual force, for good or for bad, depending on what we’re saying. Romans 10:9-10 gives us the template to follow for salvation – and for anything else we face in life.  

…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10.

Let the words of my mouth, and the mediation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14

When it comes to the Word of God, we read, study, meditate and then confess what we have learned and believe. We believe Biblical truth in our heart, which is our spirit, and we speak it out of our mouth. That’s when the force of faith, contained in God’s Word, is released and put to work on our behalf. That’s the process for everything, not just salvation, but also for healing, prosperity, victory over temptation and sin, and so on. 

In part 5 of this Bible Study, we’ll examine Group Three. For an exhaustive study on this all-important subject, I recommend getting the first book I ever wrote: BE STRONG! STAY STRONG! Order hard copies through our website www.mkmi.org, or if you prefer, on EBOOK format through Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), iTunes (iBook) or KOBO. 

Never forget this truth: Consistency of our Actions is a choice. Every day, we make the choices that make us strong and keep us strong for God. It’s always up to us!