In our study of Esther and the providence of God we are presently discussing the doctrine of promotion. God paved the way for Esther's promotion to queen in order to pre-position her to be in a place to preserve her people.
We have seen that all true promotion comes from the Lord. 2Cor 10:18; "For it is not he who promotes himself who is approved, but he whom the Lord promotes."
This promotion requires humility that is the result of the function the spiritual skills: the filling of the Holy Spirit; cognition of doctrine; and execution of the protocol plan of God. Humility is doctrine in the stream of consciousness. The function of the spiritual skills creates spiritual capacity for promotion.
We must come to the point where we never covet what God has not provided for us in grace. Arrogance becomes involved in the lust pattern of the sin nature and covets things that God has not provided.
This is the tenth commandment and part of Divine Establishment that extends into the mental attitude that is the ultimate source of all personal sinning. Rom 7:7;
Humility or grace orientation sets aside the lust pattern through perception of doctrine develops and a capacity for life, love, happiness, and grace blessing from God. As we develop capacity for promotion, God provides more blessing and greater promotion. James 4:6a
The decline that we see in the world today is due to the fact that fewer and fewer people are choosing to live in compliance with this system of grace that is compatible with the integrity of God. 2Tim 3:1-5;
No Church Age believer can be promoted without cognition of the protocol plan of God, cognition of the portfolio of invisible assets, cognition of the unique characteristics of the Church Age, understanding and using the problem solving devices of the protocol plan of God, and cognition of how God uses suffering for blessing to advance the believer.
Promotion in the protocol plan of God is based on momentum from metabolized doctrine and never comes from Christian service or good deeds. The most important factor in the performance of any kind of works is one's reason for doing them.
The question that must be answered is: "Are we doing good for self-promotion or because of our personal love for God?" We must have proper motivation before any of our good works are acceptable to God.
Christian service and Christian works are the result of the momentum that is developed in the protocol plan of God, but is never the means. We must never confuse means and result in the Christian way of life.
We must understand that God will honor His Word and His spiritual gifts even if the believer is improperly motivated by self-promotion. Phil 1:15-18; Rom 1:16;
We must understand that we cannot be promoted with a slave mentality. The slave mentality becomes evident when one's temporal security is more important than one's freedom.
Any person who is fearful or thinks that socialism or Marxism is the answer to the problems of life or who thinks that the world owes them something has a slave mentality and has no capacity for promotion from God.
In fact people with this attitude are arrogant and are the targets of divine discipline because God makes war against the arrogant. James 4:6b;
The principle is that if God does not promote you, you are not promoted. God promotes the humble believer who is classified as a grace oriented Christian but as we have seen, true humility is not self-effacement or you putting yourself down it is Doctrine in the stream of consciousness.
Grace orientation comes through doctrinal inculcation that results in cognition of Bible doctrine. Cognition is an act of process of learning or perception until something is understood to the point where not withdraw it under stress, pressure, or adversity.
Doctrinal inculcation comes through consistent post-salvation spiritual growth that involves the renovation of the thinking that is the result of the perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit. Rom 12:3;
Divine promotion in the protocol plan of God necessitates humility, authority orientation, objectivity, teachability, flexibility, and grace orientation. From this comes grace orientation. All of your thoughtfulness, tenderness, kindness, and love in life have to be based on correct motivation that is based in God's word. 1Cor 13:13;
In spiritual adulthood, believers have developed capacity for promotion from God. This means that the believer who is promoted will have developed spiritual self-esteem, with it's cognitive self-confidence, spiritual autonomy with it's cognitive independence and spiritual maturity, with it's cognitive invincibility.
When you have capacity for God to promote you and simultaneously maintain His perfect holiness when He promotes you God will be glorified. Promotion is always based upon the grace of God, and when God acts in grace, He is glorified. Divine promotion is therefore always fair because it is compatible with perfect justice.
The promoted believer becomes the invisible hero who has maximum historical impact toward people and angels during the Church Age. The Church Age believer's invisible impact in the angelic conflict is far greater than their visible impact with people in the devil's world. 2Cor 6:4-9;