From Rags to Royalty

All of us are on a journey in life, but most of us don't really know where we are going. Like the blind leading the blind, we collectively stumble through life, with no idea of where we are going except the vague idea that we want to be happy.

 

But God knows where we should be headed... He says

 

Jeremiah 29:11

 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

But what is this journey about, where are we headed, and where are we up to right now?

 

I was listening to a US Navy pilot called JT DeBolt talk about planning a flight. When pilots fly, they need to know 2 things... Where they are going, and their current position. In life, we need to know these 2 things also.

 

So let's take a look at the road to royalty, where you've been, where you are destined to be, and ask yourself  where you are right now!

 

1. SINNER

 

We all started here, as sinners. The Bible clearly states that, 

 

Romans 3:23

 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

Being a sinner is our default setting. You don't have to teach a child to be bad, do you. They seems to have a natural capacity to be selfish and sinful, but your job as a parent is to train them to be good.

 

Some of us, I hope most of us, want to move on from being a sinner. 

 

Some, sadly, are content to live in this part of the journey, because their love of their sin is greater than their love for God.  That's the only reason you would choose to stay there, right?

 

1 John 2:15-16

 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

 

Jesus came and paid the price for your sin, so you don't have to live in sin. Now we will always struggle with sin this side of Heaven, but there's a difference between struggling with sin and living in it.

 

So why would anyone want to live in sin? Because it is attractive, yet it is also deceptive.

 

Hebrews 11:24-25

 

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

 

Sin is pleasurable, otherwise the devil couldn't sell it! Of course there is pleasure in sin, but as that verse says, the pleasure is fleeting. That word in the Greek means temporal or transient, and while you might think sin feels good, have a look at the lasting effects of it.

 

Living with sin ultimately causes misery. This is contrary to what the world will tell you. Try our drugs, they will make you feel good... Have you seen a long term meth head? Go out and have sex with lots of people. That's exciting, pleasurable, but then you get children conceived, diseases you don't want and finish on welfare or paying child support.  Go out and run a crooked business, loads of cash comes your way until the ATO auditor shows up.

 

If you are someone grappling with sin, I want to give you a key, then a solution...

 

The key: Before you sin, STOP, STEP BACK AND IMAGINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS IN THE LONG TERM

 

For example, having an affair. Feels good and exciting short term, but long term you live in fear of being found out, lose your partner's respect, your children's respect, often your marriage, your home, many of your friends, your ministry and half of your income. Is it worth it?

 

The solution:

 

Coming to Christ is a fresh start.  Billy Graham said, "How many times in your life have you wished you could start all over again with a clean slate, with a new life? Resolve right now to allow God to wipe your slate clean by confessing your sins and letting Him give you a brand-new start."

 

So are we believers better than others? No, the Gospel is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. 

 

But I have proved it time and again, being a sinner is not a place you will want to stay. Because when you are there, you are a ...

 

2. SLAVE

 

Slavery is defined as "the condition in which one person is owned as property by another, and is under the owner's control."

 

Slavery is a horrible crime, and you might think is was not around today, but you'd be wrong! According to latest figures, over 35 million people live in slavery, including things like forced labour and prostitution. Slavery demeans individuals, robs them of their freedom and self worth and exploits them.

 

Slaves have no rights, no chance to appeal or argue and no freedom. They don't control what they do, someone else does.

 

The Bible says every one of us is a slave. So what or who are you a slave to?

 

Jesus said...

John 8:34

 

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

 

Bob Dylan once sand, "You've got to serve somebody." He was right, either sin or God, but you must serve somebody.

 

Paul has a long discussion about slavery in Romans 6

Romans 6:16

 

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

 

In the Message Bible, 

Romans 6:16

 

You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do.

 

People say they want to be free to live their lives to way they want, but these very people are slaves to something. So many are slaves to sin and they don't even know it! Maybe they're enslaved by chasing money, maybe by a relationship. Perhaps a substance is their master.

 

People say they don't want to come to Jesus because they don't want to give up their freedom... What a joke! There are rules in Christianity, sure, but these rules set you free.

 

How can that be? Let's consider road rules. You might say you want complete freedom, but when you get on the road, you can't just choose a side to drive on. You have to follow the traffic rules, and it's these rules that allow you freedom and safety as you travel.

 

What is it that controls your life? If you cannot truthfully answer "Jesus" then you have the wrong master... Welcome to the misery or slavery!

 

If you're sick of being a slave to a master who is out to destroy you, the. You need to move onto the next stage... Becoming a saint

 

 

3. SAINT

 

Warren Wiersbe says that no word is more misunderstood than the word "Saint". The dictionary defines it a 'person officially recognized for holiness of life.' Ancient Greeks used the term for Holy Men. 

 

Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, lifted the Greek word "hagios" to a new level of meaning: "to set apart or be separate." The same word is also translated holy and sanctification. 

 

While the Catholic Church says a saint is dead, God says a saint is alive. Being a saint is not a matter of achievement or performance; it is a matter of position. It's not based on what we have done, but who we are in Christ. It's not dependent upon our works, but upon His grace.

 

We can probably safely assume that saint was Paul's favorite term for the Christian since he used it some forty-two times in his epistles.

 

Ephesians 4:11-12

 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

 

Folks, you and I are the saints. It's our position, not a reward for a pious life.

 

So if you are sick of being a slave to sin, if your life is heading nowhere and you are controlled by forces outside of yourself, if you want to be truly free...

 

Become a saint. In fact, become a saint right now by asking Jesus Christ into your life. The greatest decision you could ever make is to decide you want to be set free from the control of sin. You can move from being a slave to sin that is out to destroy your life, to being a slave to master who loves you, paid the price for your sin and wants to prosper rather than harm you.

 

It's your choice...what'll it be?

 

4. SERVANT

 

When you ask the Lord into your life, you become a servant of Him. Servants serve. As Jesus said,

 

Matthew 20:26

 

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

 

When I last shared this, a certain gentleman challenged me, saying I was wrong and we should fight for our rights. I absolutely disagree! We should not fight for our rights, we should not fight for our reputations, we should not fight for our opinions. We should leave these things in the hands of God and be gracious and loving towards each other, serving God with humility and faithful obedience. Our actions should reflect a humble servant heart, not a fighter prepared to attack and hurt others to preserve their perceived rights and privileges.

 

This person said What about human rights, what about women's rights?

 

So let me make this clear. When Christ becomes your master, you choose to give up your rights and only have one right, which is to serve. The moment you elevate any right above that of serving Jesus, you compromise your relationship with Him. Any right, no matter how good, should be subject to Christ.

 

But the Bible says, 

Proverbs 31:8

 

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.

 

This doesn't mean fight for your rights, it means speak for the rights of others!  Being a servant does not mean you don't acknowledge the rights of others, but you voluntarily give up your rights, you give up grasping for the things you think you deserve.

 

So foregoing your rights and obeying God is what a true servant does.  God loves obedience, and here's the thing... When you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all these things are added to you (Matthew 6:33).

 

Servants don't argue back, they don't question what their master wants, they just serve. They serve their master, and they serve others as directed by their master. They are faithful. They are obedient. They are servants, without their own rights and agendas.

 

The Bible says what...

John 13:35

 

 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

 

Does it says everyone will know you are his disciples if you fight hard for your rights and reputation? If you argue well? If you write aggressive letters? No, the world knows we are His when we crucify our rights and serve Him, and He commands us to love each other!

 

And what about what Jesus said in Mark 8:34

 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

 

Deny yourself? Does that include your opinions, reputation, perceived rights? Yes it does. Deny yourself daily, take up your cross and serve!

 

TOZER says about self, "To allow this enemy to live is, in the end, to lose everything. To repudiate it and give up all for Christ’s sake is to lose nothing at last, but to preserve everything unto life eternal."

 

So vow today before God to give up self and become a true servant. 

 

But here's the thing... You don't just stay a servant. When you forsake fighting for your own selfish interests, suddenly God Himself moves you on beyond mere servanthood...

 

John 15:15

 

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

 

If you receive Christ, if you forsake being a slave to sin and instead become a faithful servant, then Jesus invite you into the inner sanctum... You become His friend.

 

But wait there's more... He doesn't stop there. You're a servant, you're a friend but here's the most amazing news... You're adopted into His holy family as a son or daughter!

 

5. SON OR DAUGHTER

 

If you are a son or daughter of the King, what does that make you? A prince, or a princess.

 

Romans 8:15-17

 

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

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, 

 

So when we decide we've had enough of being slaves to sin, we receive Christ and we are elevated from being servants to being friends, but then ultimately to being sons. We go from rags to royalty!

 

The Bible says we are actually adopted in. The Greek word is huiothesia literally means "son-placing." In their culture a child possessed nothing and had no rights, but during the teenage years there was a public ceremony declaring a child to be an official member of the family. After this " son-placing," he had full privileges and responsibilities. 

 

It was not a change of relationship with the father, it was a change of position. The child became a son, with full rights and honours.

 

This usually happened to a birth child, but it could happen also to a child born of another.

 

We didn't start off as God's children, but He adopted us. Romans understood this, because Octavian was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar, adopted as a son and eventually becoming Augustus Caesar, the ruler at the time of Christ.

 

An adopted person was in a true sense "a new person," legally and practically. He had all the rights of a son by birth and even any old debts were cancelled.

 

And we, you and I, if we have asked Jesus into our hearts, have been adopted by the King of Kings! Why don't we live like royalty? Why do we maintain a pauper's view of life?

 

Royalty has confidence. Not in themselves and their ability, but in their Dad. They walk into the room confident of their position. So should we. We should walk in confided knowing our Father holds the keys to our future. He owns all the resources.

 

Royalty has power over things around it. They know their power and command it. We don't live like royalty because we don't understand it.

 

Royalty is riches beyond measure. The Queen has a personal fortune of $500 million US, earns a mere $13 million a year and lives in a house worth $5 Billion. Our Father has way more than that, so we can trust Him with our finances, our reputation, our relationships and our provision.

 

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 wasn’t able to 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 (like many others) had to live on a government subsidy.

 

Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. 

 

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, 30 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. 

 

Yet, he’d been living on government relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it.

 

And that is our position as royalty. If we truly are servants, we become royalty. We're sitting on a fortune, and all we need to do is understand our position and live like it!  Let me finish with these verses...

 

Matthew 6:31-33

 

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

If you don't know Jesus as Lord and Saviour you're missing out on the riches of royalty. Don't concentrate on what you supposedly have to give up for Him. I don't give up my garbage, I throw it away. Don't live in rags today, come to Jesus.

 

If you have asked Him into your life, are you living as a servant? Are you living as royalty? Some of you here don't think you are worth anything. Some are face challenges this year, and you feel inadequate.  Listen... It's not about you, it's never been about you... It is about The King of Kings, so you need to start believing you are royalty, thinking like royalty and acting like royalty.