Kings and Priests of the Lord Part 1

Let me ask you something. Do you know who you really are in the Family of God? We who call upon the Lord and claim Jesus as our Messiah, not only have we separated ourselves from the world (John 15:18-19) because of and for Jesus. We also have been appointed to be Kings and Priests as well (Revelation 1:6). These are very important and serious positions in which Jesus Christ has appointed unto us. Maybe you have never thought of yourselves as such, but we must accept this great privilege that Jesus has entrusted us with. We hear it said that we are to be like Christ, and if so then being kings and priests will come with the territory. Today I will be speaking just on the kingly half of Revelation 1:6. Jesus is the King of Kings. I myself had never thought that in the title King of Kings that kings might refer to us. If Jesus is our King and we are made kings by him then He is for a surety King of Kings.

I cannot stress the importance of this enough, nor what we need to know on this topic. I will cover the basics of what Jesus was trying to tell us by making us kings. What did kings do? What were their responsibilities? Jesus did not give us this title to help us with self-esteem. Just like in the parable of the Talents, he gave us them to do something with them.

Kings of old were given power, authority and dominion over things, as well as the responsibility to judge. 2 Samuel 12:1-25 and 1 Kings 3:16-28 both show judgments made by Kings. One was a judgment made against his self (David) and the other was a judgment made in deciding the fate of a child. I know most have been told and taught we are not to judge and in Matthew 7:1-6 especially, the world and Christians today try to use this to mean we cannot judge. This was a warning not against judging but how we judge. Jesus gives us an illustration of judging within the church in Matthew 18:15-17, and Paul tells us as well in 1Corinthians chapter 5 especially in verses 12 and 13 that we do judge those that are within but it is God that judges those that are without. There is much more that can be said on this part of the responsibility of kings (Matthew 18:18-20; 10:12-15), but let us move on to an even greater responsibility, that of authority and dominion.

If we have been given authority to cast out demons (Mark 16:17) then we in turn must have been given some form of dominion over them to do so. We should not forget this authority we have been given when times arise where we must confront the wicked forces of this world, and we need to keep from being part of this world so that we do not fall under their dominion. We are to be no part of the World (John 15:19; 17:14-16). Remember back in Genesis 1:26, mankind was given dominion over all the earth, but then lost it when he disobeyed God. Jesus in turn gave us back the authority and dominion as long as we separated ourselves from the world. Our struggle is more of a spiritual battle then that of the flesh (Ephesians 6:12). We must remember not to just put on, but to keep on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13). As a King would put on his armor before battle, so must we for we are always at war with spiritual wickedness.

Are you ready to take up your responsibilities as a king for the Lord?