When I repented and returned to Christ in 1980,
as soon as possible I got baptized. I wanted to show God
that I would obey Him. And this time,
it was not as a Mormon, to receive a patriarchal blessing.
It was as a believer, who trusted Jesus
and wanted to follow Him.
When I was in the yard one day I said to God,
"Jesus, I want to serve You."
I could see in my mind's eye a long line of people
waiting to be blessed by Jesus, who was under a pavilion,
parallel to the river of life. So I said something like this:
"Lord, make me Your water boy.
I'll gladly take a bucket and run to the river of life,
and bring the water back to You. Just please,
let me stand next to You."
I had no idea what He would do with that water.
But my point was clear: I want to be next to Jesus,
not in a line to see Him. And if that meant
that I'd run and do whatever He told me to do,
I'd do it, if He would let me stand next to Him.
I have been reading scripture and noticing a theme
that has been blowing me away: It goes against
all I've been hearing for decades. But the scripture shows it to be true.
Are you ready?
Not everyone will be a king in Christ's kingdom.
Want me to prove it?
Hi, I'm David Daniels from Chick Publications.
Please turn to Jesus' Parable of the Pounds.
Now don't confuse that with the similarly told,
but very different Parable of the Talents.
Turn to Luke 19, starting at verse 12.
I have already talked about this in detail in the vlog
"You Only Have One." So I'm not going to duplicate all that.
But let's just look a just a few verses.
Luke 19:12 "He [Jesus] said therefore,
A certain nobleman went into a far country
to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds,
and said unto them, Occupy till I come."
I tell my friends I'm a member of the Occupy Movement:
"Occupy till I come," Luke 19:13.
Look what happened to the first guy
whose pound gained the 10 pounds:
Luke 19:17 "And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant:
because thou hast been faithful in a very little,
have thou authority over ten cities."
Also in 18-19, the guy whose pound
gained 5 pounds, the nobleman said, "Be thou also over five cities."
But in 20-24, the guy who did nothing
with his pound, had it taken away
and given to the guy who had 10 pounds.
So in verse 26, that guy had no pounds
and no authority over any cities!
Please, don't confuse him with an unbeliever.
Because in verse 27, it says:
27 "But those mine enemies, which would not
that I should reign over them, bring hither,
and slay them before me."
So the servants did want Jesus
to reign over them. (the nobleman)
So by analogy, these are all saved people.
But two points:
1. The ones who served well were rewarded
in proportion to their service. 2. Those who did not serve
were not rewarded, and what they had was taken away.
So then the guy who gained 10 pounds
(currency, not weight) and the guy who gained 5 pounds
each became... rulers.
So what did former 1 pound guy, who was unfaithful
with what he was given, become? A servant.
It only makes sense, right? If everyone is a ruler,
no one is. Because a ruler is only a ruler
if he is being served by someone, if he is set over someone.
Look at these verses.
Proverbs 12:24 "The hand of the diligent
shall bear rule: but the slothful
shall be under tribute."
Proverbs 14:28 "In the multitude of people
is the king's honour: but in the want (or lack) of people
is the destruction of the prince."
If there are no people to rule, there are no rulers.
So some will be rulers, and some will be ruled.
Some will be servants to rulers when Jesus hands out rewards.
Want to see more?
Now in Revelation 5:10, the 24 elders
say that Christ made them "kings and priests."
And Revelation 1:6 also says Christ "...hath made us
kings and priests unto God and his Father..."
But what about the more direct role of kings over others?
Look at Revelation 2. I have always been told
(I don't know about you) that the "overcomers"
are all the saved. But there is a problem with that.
All the churches in Revelation 2-3 were saved people.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:19 "As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
So he loved those churches. But he has special blessings
for them that overcome. Don't think so?
Look at Revelation 2:26-27.
26 "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works
unto the end, to him will I give power
over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them
with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter
shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."
Now, some will say, "Sure, this is the Millennial Kingdom,
the 1,000 years that Jesus rules and reigns on earth."
Not so fast.
Turn to Revelation 21. After talking about
the 12,000 furlong (that's 1,500 miles wide,
long and high) new Jerusalem, it says this:
Revelation 21:24 "And the nations
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour
into it."
See what it said?
1. "The nations." Saved folk will be grouped
into nations. 2. "The kings of the earth."
There will be some who are kings over those nations.
3. Their glory and honour." Those whom God makes kings
will also have glory and honor that they will bring into the holy city,
for ever. Wow!
Water boy now, king tomorrow. I want to be a king!
Don't you?
You can sit on your blessed assurance,
saying "Jesus is mine," and never do anything for our Lord.
Or you can serve Him in this life, and be rewarded for ever
by the Lord Jesus Himself!
How about it? Now is the time to serve God.
After this is rewards (1 Corinthians 3).
Do you want to be a king, or a servant?
It's up to you.
God bless you, and have a wonderful day.