Royalty

SPEAKER: PASTOR DARIN BROWNE

We are doing a series asking, “Who are you?” When you look in the mirror, who do you see? I look in the mirror and think, “Who is that old man looking back at me?” You might see yourself as a sinner, or as a failure, but we want to understand who’s who in the zoo as far as right here, right now.

1 Peter 2:9-12
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

We saw previously (Who are You?) that many define themselves by their past, their failures, their status, their money, and their view of themselves can be tainted by the words of others. Today I want to go deep in royalty, because we are children of God, and because He is the King of Kings, we are royalty…

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, (KJV a peculiar people)

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ROYALTY?

God’s Word declares that we are royalty, that us our identity. Royalty is not merely about privilege – it is about purpose, responsibility, and representing the King. That’s our destiny, because ultimately, we will rule and reign with Him.

Revelation 5:9-10
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

How we live now is training for a future day when Jesus returns. What is being royalty?

1: ROYALTY BEGINS WITH RELATIONSHIP

John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

The word right is EXOUSIA, which means someone’s power, liberty, influence, and privilege. It is used by governments and kings to denote their power and influence. And in the case of royalty, it all stems from relationship. Usually, it is a bloodline. However, the people of Peter’s day, who were basically refugees spread throughout the Roman Empire, understood the concept of adoption. In the Roman world, if a king or leader adopted you, you got all the power and influence of that leader.

It had happened. In 44 BC, the dictator Julius Caesar, who had no heir, adopted his grand nephew Octavian as his heir. When he died, all his wealth, power and influence was transferred to Octavian, who became Caesar Augustus. When you have a relationship with Jesus Christ…

Ephesians 1:5
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

His plan all along was that we would become adopted sons and daughters of the King.

2: ROYALTY UNDERSTANDS ITS VALUE

Some of you here struggle to see yourself as having value. You’ve had parents, or exes, or kids who have put you down, insulted you and said you are hopeless, or worthless. I want to take you by the hand today and show you how valuable you are to Jesus.

You have intrinsic value. Your value is not determined by what you do, or say, or people’s opinions, your value is determined by what your dad thinks of you. God is your heavenly Father, and His is the only opinion that matters.

Isaiah 62:2-3
The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

As a child of the King, you have such amazing value. Someone here needs to hear this. He says, “You are precious, you are a royal diadem to Me.” You don’t need validation from the crowd; your worth comes from your Creator.

3: ROYALTY CARRIES AUTHORITY

Matthew 28:18-19
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Royalty carries with it authority. A prince needs to simply request something, and everybody jumps to meet that need. Royalty does not suggest, it commands, and has the authority to back what it wants done, as long as the King approves. And we are the same, as children of the King. Jesus said…

Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Our authority comes with our identity. When we pray, we should carry this authority. All we need to do is establish the will of our Father and pray accordingly. We can pray with absolute confidence, we can resist temptation with absolute surety, we can speak God’s promises over our lives. We can live with the full authority of our Father, the King of Kings!

4: ROYALTY LIVES DIFFERENTLY

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Royal people think differently and live differently. They do not do what the common man does, and they are required to love to a higher standard than everyone else. People expect a high standard. We must think differently as royalty, and behave better, because that is what brings our King and Kingdom honour.

Proverbs 28:15
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

5: ROYALTY HAS A MISSION

Ecclesiastes 5:8
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

Royalty is not about using your authority to get what you want. That’s bad leadership. You will always have someone higher than you watching you. We cannot and must not abuse our authority. Royalty has a mission, and that is to obey and glorify our King.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Our purpose, our mission as royalty, is to serve the King. Royalty thinks differently, speaks differently, acts differently, loves differently, serves differently. Our royal lifestyle should reflect our Kingdom citizenship.

Kings and priests influence their surroundings. Your purpose is to represent God’s Kingdom, and your life should point others to Christ. Let me ask you, does the atmosphere changes when you enter a room? Are you reflecting the King, or your own agenda?

DON’T BE STRIPPED OF YOUR TITLE

Prince Andrew was the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, second in line for the throne, Duke of York. His behaviour with Jeffrey Epstein has led to criminal charges, and the stripping of his royal title and all benefits. His behaviour was dishonouring to women, society and the throne, and was predatory and abysmal. He thought he was powerful enough to escape justice, but he was wrong, and so are you if you are arrogant.

If you are a Christian, I believe that your salvation is sure. Jesus promised…

John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

But if you persist in sin, if you keep disobeying God, you can have your royal authority stripped from you. In Ezekiel 16, God describes His people as beautiful and royal…

Ezekiel 16:13
you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.

But then it said…

Ezekiel 16:15
“But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.

The rest of the chapter is God describing the unfaithfulness of His people, how they worshipped other gods and how they lost all royal privileges. We need to understand our identity as royalty and be obedient, so we bring glory to our King and the Kingdom.

CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT DETERMINE ROYALTY

Royalty is determined by your position, your position in God’s family. That’s your identity. This position is reflected in your heart, in knowing who you know you are. It is not affected by circumstances, people’s opinions or the behaviour of others.

Joseph had a destiny as a child. God called him, and gave him dreams that, when he shared them with his brothers, didn’t work out so well. Sold into slavery, unjustly accused, imprisoned, overlooked, abused, neglected for years. Then, in Genesis 41, suddenly Joseph was elevated to second highest position in the Kingdom of Egypt. Your current season does not determine your Kingdom identity. But your decision does!

YOU ARE ANOINTED

The fact is that, when you come to Jesus, when you make Him Lord of your life, then you are adopted into His royal family.

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

You are a child of God, and that makes you royalty.

Psalms 45:13-15
All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-coloured robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.

You are royalty, you are princes and princesses. Stop putting yourself down, stop speaking negative to yourself, remember you are royalty, so act like it!

LET’S ACT LIKE ROYALTY

That’s my challenge to you…we ought to live like the royalty we are! Think about what that means.

A prince or princess always wants to represent the king well, not to pursue their own agenda. They answer to the king alone, not the opinions of those around them. Certain actions are beneath them. They always look composed, and they hold to certain standards of behaviour, speech and dress.

Royalty do not become entangled in the filth and dirt of this world, but they live a life of privilege, honour and power, respected not for what they do or achieve, but for who they are…because they are kids of the king! Their agenda is to do the king’s business. They live a life of power and privilege, but with great authority comes great responsibility.

IRA YATES

In West Texas during the Depression, Mr. Ira Yates was like many other ranchers and farmers. He had a lot of land, and a ton of debt. Mr. Yates couldn’t make enough on his ranching operation to pay his loans, and he was in danger of losing his ranch. He had little money for clothes or food. His family had to live on a government subsidy.

Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large.

In fact, thirty years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. A multimillionaire living in poverty because he didn’t comprehend the fortune he owned.

CONFIDENCE TO APPROACH

So today is the day that you and I want you to comprehend who you are and begin to live like royalty. We can be bold, we can be confident, we can act like we own the place, because our Dad does! As we serve and honour Him, we can ask whatever we want according to the will of the King and be confident that He hears us and cares for us.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

You can confidently approach God’s Throne, knowing you have an insider’s relationship with the King.

It’s time to stop acting like commoners and step into our God given destinies as sons and daughters of the King! Megan Markle is no longer acting in “Suits”, Grace Kelly stopped making movies when she became a princess, because common careers are laid aside as we serve the King, and Him alone!

ANOINTED AS ROYALTY

Today some of you, many of you, understand what I’ve been talking about in principle, but you are not living like royalty. Maybe you’re a slave to sin…the royals aren’t slaves! Maybe you are being kicked around by life…royals don’t get pushed around by the public. You have unfathomable spiritual riches, but perhaps you are living like a spiritual pauper.

Today all of us, every single one of us who have accepted Christ, today we will be reminded that we are royalty, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, a chosen race…sons and daughters of the King of Kings. Princes, princesses, adopted into royal lineage.

When a King was inaugurated in ancient times, they were anointed with oil. This is a sign to the people, and to any enemies, that they were the King.

I want us all to be anointed today as royalty, and from today we shall live as the princes and princesses we are, that we have been destined to be!