For many years men have struggled with their role within the church. They may be successful at home, in business and socially but when they walk through the doors of the church many often feel unsure of their place. Many feel that if they didn’t attend Bible school, they can’t become a valuable instrument in their church. For a long time, men have been sold a lie in the church that they are laity not royalty.
At the point of salvation, God has coronated every man to be a king. If you are a son of a king then you are also a king. This does not apply to approximately 2% of men who become a part of the priestly and are in the paid position of a pastor, missionary or para-church ministry leader. The rest of us are the royalty of Christ Jesus on the earth known as kings.
When you are a king and not laity, you will begin to think and behave differently throughout the rest of your entire life. When you are laity, you may feel that your life doesn’t matter and that if you sin here or there, it doesn’t really matter. Although this theology is far from correct, I can tell you that it is how a lot of men feel when they feel that they are second-class citizens in the kingdom.
You and I are kings and are following after Jesus’s order of the Melchizadek kingly priesthood (Heb. 7). In this passage it refers to Melchizadek as a king three times. Jesus was a kingly priest not a levitical or priestly priest. Jesus’ tribe of origin was Judah which was a ruler tribe, not a levitical tribe. His training for ministry was first the hard work of an employee in his family business. He then graduated after the death of his father Joseph as the new family business owner. He had to obtain materials, negotiate pricing, keep customers happy and yes, make money. This is the training of kingly ministers. He wasn’t sent to Bible school (like I was) but rather God chose the real marketplace to train His Son for ministry.
As kingly ministers like Jesus, it helps to remember some commands given to kings in the Old Testament to Israel when they would instill a king.
Kingly Command #1
The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." (Deuteronomy 17:16)
Horses, back in the day of the writing of this scripture, were symbols of power. As a kingly man of God we are to avoid giving our heart to symbols. A symbol becomes troublesome when you begin to get your identity from the symbol instead of the God of heaven and earth. It’s okay to have toys, but it is not okay to think that those toys make you special, more favored or more important than other people in the kingdom of God. Today’s symbols are more often big houses and expensive cars. As I said, it’s okay to have them as long as you don’t get your kingly identity from them.
Kingly Command #2
He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. (Deuteronomy 17:17a)
Lust toward women is probably the number one killer of the kingly today. As I speak at men’s conferences, fifty percent of the men attending admit to being sexually addicted and over 70% admit to struggling with lust. Some people read this and believe that they are married to one wife. Although this may be true, what about your sexual fantasy life? What about your use of pornography and the Internet? Most men reading this need additional accountability to make sure they can keep their kingly calling. Lust is the most effective way the enemy robs men of their spiritual authority (Revelation 2:1-26). As a Christian psychologist and a man who has been sexually free for more than thirty years, I know this to be true in reverse as well. The men I have counseled who have sleighed the dragon of lust, have received greater spiritual authority than they could ever have imagined before.
Kingly Command #3
He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (Deuteronomy 17:17b)
This command seems a bit odd to me as I know that a king needs to accumulate silver and gold to build streets, run governments and so on. I think the heart of this command is that the money he accumulates isn’t just for himself as a king but that his wealth serves a purpose and the purpose is for others. As American kingly ministers we are the wealthiest in the world. We can build churches and orphanages in some places in the world for $8,000-$15,000. We can decide the quality of life for villages in Africa by providing a well for water. It is amazing what our wealth can do when it has a purpose. By all means tithe, but beyond that what is the purpose of your wealth? I don’t believe that it is only for bigger and better toys but to advance the kingdom of God. A king who knows this is wise and trusted by God to do His bidding while present on the earth.
Kingly Command #4
…he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:18b-20)
As kings we need to be in the world. If we are not in the world, we lack the wisdom and guidance as kings and can make a mess of things and hurt people in our sphere of influence. The word of God holds kings accountable to the true King of Kings. The word keeps us from thinking too highly of ourselves. After all, the best of man is still just fancy dirt! We are not to think that we are better than other kings around us. Each has a sphere of influence where they are greater than others.
Being a kingly minister is what most of us are called to be. Ask yourself as a king how are you doing? In your family are you passing down blessings to your dynasty? In your city whom are you touching for Christ? In your world, has God given you an assignment to touch others for Christ around the globe?
As you now realize you are royalty not laity, God can give you life-changing assignments. Now that you know you are a king, be a blessing to the King of Kings with your life.