A Pathway to Greatness

"Unto him (Christ) who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Revelation 1:6-7

I read this verse in conjunction with the very famous Lords prayer, “Our Father” – with a specific pause of the part that says, “thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”. If we carefully remind ourselves of how this prayer came about, Jesus was in an undisturbed moment of impartation with his disciples, and amongst other instructions he gave, he gave the instruction of a very simple but very impactful prayer, being the Lords prayer. Now of course we know that one of the gifts that God left us with when he sacrificed Jesus for the sake of our sins, was to being about the unmistakable reconciliation and righteousness with us, ultimately sharing in the inheritance of his son Jesus. As part of this inheritance was this kingship and priesthood as described in Revelations 1:6-7.

Simply put – we are kings and priests forming part of the kingdom of God. This is preordained, unmistakable fact whether we have fully understood it or embraced it (yet) it is there already.

It’s a rather huge thing when you think about it, like who am I that God is so mindful of me. A general prayer that features almost every day is that I walk in this authority and inheritance in a manner that is pleasing to God. It became clear that sometimes, I selfishly want the blessing/kingly anointing without having fully understood the sacrifice and behaviors that enables me to be a correct reflection of this kingship and priesthood. What exactly is the path to this kingship?

So, the best place for me to gain some insight is to trace the steps of Gods king making of the first king at least here on earth. I won’t for present purposes go into the politics of Saul’s reign save to say he was the first earthly king we were presented with. And the follow up king, the one we call the man after Gods own heart, King David. I think there are some jewels that can be taken from both men that can help us on the journey of recognizing and walking into our kingship anointing.

Saul became king due to the Israelites manifest rejection of God as the true leader and true king because they wanted to be like other nations. I have learnt that sometimes God will hand us over to our short sighted desires (the so called permissive will of God). Saul was not Gods true best for his people but because the people of Israel begged for a king because other nations had therefore they opted for a second rate substitute and forgot that they had the king of King’s in their midst!

No mention is here made of Saul having any wisdom or virtue. Oh but that he was a tall, proper, handsome man, that had a good face, a good shape, and a good presence, and well proportioned. Among all the children of Israel there was not a larger person than he.

Saul was problematic though. A read over 1 Samuel 13 gives an overview of his silliness, pride, and dare I say immaturity. There was no grace or glory in his reign, even the prophet Samuel eventually called him out – “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Sam 13:13 -14

This guy was hopeless. But if we shift to David, oh man! A humble servant! Progressive climb to prominence, but I think the biggest observation was his humility and continued humbling. We call him the man after Gods own heart and key in the lineage of Jesus. But my goodness this guy had to break, and continuity be broken in order for him to be that which God can use.

And therein is the secret, a humble servant and heart. When God chose a king after his own heart he pitched one that was not at all remarkable for such an office. But when He chose a king after the people's heart, who aimed at nothing so much as pomp and grandeur (or should I rather say, delusions of grandeur) He pitched this huge tall man, who, if he had no other good qualities, he would look great.

In trying to model characteristics of kingship, David would be the guy to observe. Though not without flaws, he was an incredible leader, and a very impressive man. This is a man that God took through a gruelling induction to prepare him to be king. Not just any king, but a king worthy of becoming a prefigure of Jesus Christ himself.

God had identified the throne as David’s destiny, but pulled him back in the opposite direction for years. Instead of banquets, gold and luxury, David was surviving out in the wilderness. Instead of honor and prestige, he was hunted like a dog. The Psalms give us an indication into the distress he endured, the great number of tears he shed, and the despair he felt. But it was during those times that he would learn the great faithfulness and mighty power of God. He would learn that he was greatly loved and treasured, and ultimately completely safe in the arms of his Heavenly Father. He learned these lessons well.

David was anointed a king at when he was 17 years, but only sat on the throne at the age of 30. That is a long gap. It was during those years that David learned how to handle a crisis, how to love his enemies, honor authority, do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with his God.

When we look at the life of David, there are many nuggets we can draw upon to sustain us in our own times of waiting, frustration and hardship. And also understand, truly, what it means to be a king in Gods kingdom. When we see the end result of God’s work, we see that not one tear was wasted. This is how it often seems to go with God – a long wait (often with hardship) and then a sudden turnaround. One day, David was finally made king. But from the moment of the promise to the moment of delivery is a tough training process. As Psalm 105:19 puts it, when talking about Joseph’s long wait for his promise to come true,

“Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”

The wait is an important refining, training and testing time, often in a way that may seem opposite to where you want to be. It was during the hard, wilderness years after having been anointed as king, yet seemingly a million miles away from the reality of that promise, that David learned the ropes of kingship.

Just as David’s time as a shepherd taught him how to fight beasts to prepare him for his epic battle with Goliath, his time leading a small team of toughed soldiers while trying to avoid death taught him how to fight his inner battles with his ego and lead well.

He learned how to truly rely on God in a supernatural way. And that is how God trained David to be such an extraordinary king.

The pathway to greatness (kingship) has no grandiosity, its painful process of humbling to ultimately become pliable enough to be trusted by God in order to bring his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

NK