KINGS AND PRIESTS
 
What comes to mind when you think of a king? A crown? A scepter?
​
In the natural, we think of the monarchs, like Queen Elizabeth. Or the King of a country. I used to live in a country where they had a King rule. He had complete authority over the nation.
Maybe you think of the movies you have seen with princes and kings. The Prince and the Pauper, Everafter, etc.  How about a movie with this theme—the prince is born into royalty, but he isn’t sure this is what He wants. He isn’t crazy about an arranged marriage—like in Everafter. He escapes from the kingdom, in search of his own life, or love.
In the movie Jack and the Beanstalk, the princess does the same—she goes off in the night on her horse. She doesn’t want to marry the arranged marriage the King has for her. She is running away from the destiny the king has for her.
Of course, in those two examples, the destiny the natural King has in mind is not the ideal one. Maybe they should run away! And, when they do run, they find the true destiny.
But what about us?  Are we running away from our destiny? What is our destiny? We know we are also referred to as ‘kings’.

Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

And we belong to a royal priesthood:

 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Are we living like kings and priests?

Like in the movie “Everafter”.  A quote from that movie; “With great privilege comes great responsibility.” Are we afraid of the responsibility?  Do we trust the King, and His plans for us? Are we submitted to His kingdom rule? One thing is different from the natural king in the movies: Our King has good eyesight! He knows what the best plans are for us. Unlike the natural kings of the earth, they can be swayed by other voices, and arrange marriages by convenience. But our King will never do that. His motives are pure and He does nothing for selfish gain. In fact, His plans and destiny for us are the best.

We also have examples of good and bad kings in the Bible. It is shocking to see how many kings there were who didn’t pass the test in the Bible. Unfortunately, it was written of several of them: They “did evil in the sight of the Lord”.  I just found  42 references of this— referring to many of the kings of Israel. Some, like Joash and  Jehoash were two who did right in the sight of the Lord. So the majority of those kings failed the test.

But under the new covenant, we serve a King who did pass the test! He is called the King of kings.
 
 Revelation 17:4 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
 
Who are those kings that He is king over? I believe it is us. We are the kings. We are as it has been said, “in training for reigning”.
 
We serve the ultimate King, in the Kingdom not of this world. We are kings and priests of a royal kingdom, in which Jesus is King supreme! And, one day, we will rule and reign with Him.
 
Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 20:4 And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
 
So let us realize who we are—kings and priests— and may we step into God’s plans for us!
 
 
 

(I find that periodically we all need to examine our relationship with the Lord. Where do we stand? Are we as close as we were in times past? Or, do we have other things that have crept into our lives, and taken up our time?

One good test is to ask the question: “What do we spend our time doing?? What is on our mind most of the time?”

Do you remember when you first fell in love? You thought about that person all the time! You wrote them love letters. You couldn’t wait to be together. They were on your mind—a lot! 
Sometimes we can get complacent about our relationship with the Lord. Like an older married couple, we think, “I know he loves me, and sure I love my spouse”. But where is the flame? The love has waned. It used to be fervent, but now other things have caused the flame to dwindle.

Our command from the Lord is this: Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ And Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

How is your love life? This is a commandment—not a suggestion! Are we fervent in our love for the Lord? Do we think about Him? Do we truly love Him with our whole hearts, soul, mind and strength? If He commands us to do this, then it must be possible.
There is a familiar passage in Revelation 3:15-16  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Ouch! It makes me not want to be lukewarm or cold…what about you?

Here is our litmus test. We need to check our hearts! Are we having that wonderful time of intimacy with the Lord daily? Or, is our Bible collecting dust on the shelf? Are we distracted with other things? A TV show? Maybe a TV series? Time on Facebook, or other social media? Are people taking up our time?

We want to spend time with the Lord—but there is my job, my children, my spouse, my friend, etc. What about the everyday job we have like working, shopping cleaning (I had to add cleaning- I love doing that!)?

OK, so here are some things we can do.

1. First, do a check up! See where you are with the Lord. On a scale from 1-10, where would you put this relationship? Be honest. Maybe you are at a 2. There is room to grow!

2. Repent! Ask the Lord to forgive you for not putting Him first place in your life.

3. Ask Him to help you. Ask Him for the desire to love Him. He will. He will give you strength. He will give you His love. He is a giver! Ask Him for wisdom too. Make it a goal—a priority.

4. Carve out time for Him. No one is too busy; we all have 24 hours in a day. I know a person who would go to work at 6 in the morning, and get up at 4, just to have time with Him before work. That’s a fervent heart! We can all have that fervent heart, and be hot for the Lord. But, it takes time. Relationships happen over time. It doesn’t happen overnight.

5. Get back in the Word of God: Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” The Word of God is our food. Our lives are directed by His words, so the Word is vitally important in our lives!

6. Set up a schedule. Don’t just do it one day and then forget the rest of the week. Make it a priority.
​
7. Most of all, cultivate a relationship with the Lord. Speak to Him in prayer, but then listen to what He wants to say! Record that. Waiting on the Lord is so important. It is in these times of waiting that your relationship will grow—from a 2 to a 10!
 
Remember Revelation 3:20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
 
He is knocking! Will you let Him in?