Faith Imagined: Not King of Slaves

May 30, 2010

Not King of Slaves

Jesus is the King of Kings, not the King of Slaves. We are children of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8.17). We are called to be Kings of an inheritance created for us before the world began. Yet, many Christians live as slaves. We are slaves to the world, instead of free by His truth (John 8.32).

We each have a passion to lead, but our preconceived and corrupted beliefs prevent us from knowing the truth about who we are in Christ. We fill our mind with the lies of the world and the promises of God stay locked up in our unread Bibles and godless thoughts.

The only way to discover our royal heritage is to leave the yoke of slavery and head towards the promise land (Ephesians 1.11). However, many Christians fear the wilderness that they must pass through in order to reach freedom. We stay content in our honey-like pleasures and trapped in our mediocre mind sets. We are kings living as slaves by choice.

Why must we pass through the wilderness in order to reach the promise land? The wilderness teaches us how to be kings. The wilderness helps us to shed our chains and embrace the passion and purpose that God placed in each one of us. Most of all, however, the wilderness teaches us the true definition of kingship.

Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and He came to this earth to serve. The inheritance that God has for you -- the kingdom that He has created for you -- is your ultimate gift of service to this world. You were built to serve humankind in a specific area. The more you are able to serve, the bigger your kingdom will grow (Mark 9.35).

It is God-like to serve the needs of others. It is slave-like to be served. If you feel like your are not fulfilling your purpose in life, you may have not found your current niche in which you have power to serve. If you feel like your kingdom is not growing, you may not be fully embracing the privilege of serving others.

God has a plan for your life. When you find your gift of service, God will give your grace and power to multiply your efforts beyond what you can humanly manufacture. Our life is short and there are distractions around every corner. God has placed in your soul a desire for your life to have meaning and for you to live out a purpose. Seek His will. Discover your destiny. You will find passion that you didn't know was in you. You'll wake each day with a confidence that you can't explain and a fire that the world can't smother.

"They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers" (Revelation 17.14 NIV).

Labels: alisa wagner, faith imagined, God Promises, humility

26 Comments:

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...: What an awesome post! It is so easy to want to stay in our comfort zone, but God gives us the strength to do His will. :D Praying that I will be attentive to His leading and do it with His strength.; 6:38 AM
cheryl said...: I don't pay much attention to Christians debating whether or not we are saved by 'faith alone' or by 'faith and works'. As a Catholic, it doesn't seem to be my 'fight'. Isn't that the oddest thing? You would think that I'd have a vested interest in it precisely because I'm Catholic!
Anyways, as I read your post I couldn't help but think about the many Catholics who think 'faith alone' excludes discipleship. We can all do 'good works'. But faith-pure, blind, faith is one of the hardest things to maintain. To leave your comfort zone and journey out through that "wilderness", depending upon God for everything--that is a very radical way of life and one which I fail at every day.
Your post brought to mind something else too. An image of a king (who while already king), must journey with his army past his own border, toward the wilderness beyond to meet his enemy waiting there. Our army is our faith, grace, the saints, sacraments and all virtue, ect. Our enemy is everything the wilderness can bring: dispair, a desire to return to our former sinful way of life (which seems at times far better than this life of grace-in-the-wilderness) and countless other things. Now a king could be killed or captured by his enemy. In which case, he is no longer king, no longer deserving of the title, "his-grace". Or, he could be injured, still a king, but a king needing more reinforcements to combat the enemy that has injured him and wants to take him down. Or, he can triumph, not only saving his own kingdom, the faculties over which he rules, but his triumph may be such that he can overtake his enemies' territory, expanding his own kingdom, influencing for the good, those who once lived in the enemies' kingdom of sin, darkness, oppression and slavery.

(sorry for the run-on sentences).; 8:13 AM
Missie said...: Great post!; 8:53 AM
Michelle said...: Have a wonderful day!; 10:06 AM
Karen said...: Loved this, Alisa! Amen...He has overcome!

"We are kings living as slaves by choice."...it's always about our choices....; 10:17 AM
Karen Lange said...: Amen! He has a plan and purpose for each of us.; 1:05 PM
Susan J. Reinhardt said...: Hi Alisa -

Wow! That first line grabbed my attention and drew me into the devotional.

I haven't seen a comfort zone in so long that I've forgotten what they look like. :)

Blessings,
Susan; 7:44 PM
Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...: Blessings toyou for another great post. It's so true: we do find passion and purpose when we seek His will.; 2:51 AM
Randi Troxell said...: wonderful post.. as always...; 9:37 AM
Michelle said...: Such an inspiring and empowering post, Alisa! This reminds me of a sermon a pastor once preached on.

Glad to have you back! I hope you had a restful break from your blog.; 5:23 PM
JBR said...: I have lived too long in my comfort zone. There has been a stirring and a sense of moving on in my being since I have been on my journey of healing. Amen. Great post. Thank you for sharing Alisa.; 5:36 AM
Together We Save said...: Such an awesome post!! Thanks!; 10:07 AM
Deborah Ann said...: I just read that scripture today, that the first will be last and the last will be first. That just as Jesus came to serve, so should we. This really tied that whole thing together. Thanks!; 11:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Alisa-- That is so Good. I have been following you and other similar blogs for a while now, because you all know so much more than I do...and I am starting to learn so much. Yes, I have just now started to read the bible, and I have a feeling I will find many more love stories within it! I am so excited! Have a great week :); 2:25 PM
Unknown said...: Thanks for the reminder to be who we are created to be - daughters of the King!

I appreciate you enthusiasm and your posts!

Blessings to you,
Melanie; 8:46 PM
Warren Baldwin said...: Good thoughts. Always good to be reminded that we are related to Royalty! Good point about leadership, too, something I wrote about this am. wb; 10:46 PM
Traci Michele said...: Great post! Thank you!; 6:11 PM
~*Michelle*~ said...: This was the perfect "pep talk" that my soul needed to hear today.....

thank you!; 7:23 PM
Anonymous said...: I logos understood that I was daughter of the King, but it wasn't until it became Rama that it became alive in me - and when you are daughter of the king, you are required to have great compassion and generosity of spirit and call others into the family of God - no, we are not slaves. It's almost like opposite day (which my littlest guy likes to play with me) - the higher you are in the kingdom of God, the more you serve others.

Wonderful post with a message that just needs to be re-heard when we get to comfortable or wonderful why we are not so comfortable.; 10:25 PM
Unknown said...: Hey Alisa,

Just wanted you to know that I am praying for you today as you move ahead with your fiction book. What a fun opportunity.

You may want to check out Crossbooks - a division of Lifeway. They are a semi-self-publishing group.

Thanks for sharing about your project...

Keep me posted,
Blessings,
Melanie; 11:16 AM
Treats by Trish said...: Really wonderful post Alisa! I am still basking in the glow of finding my 'niche' - and I know exactly what it is to wake up with the fire to serve. :-); 10:27 PM
Crystal said...: Thanks Alisa! It's weird, no matter if I miss a few of your devotionals, when I get back to reading the next one, we are always on the same wave length. I was just talking to God in prayer about us being joint heirs with Christ and asking him to reveal all of the things can come with that. I want to move into those "greater things than these" that Jesus said we would do.; 11:01 PM
Michelle said...: As I re-read this it jumped out at me that `Jesus is the King of Kings`. I always saw this politically. But then I realized I am a king (royalty). What a great post. Thanks; 9:03 AM
Bernadine said...: "It is God-like to serve the needs of others. It is slave-like to be served."

I never looke at it this way...
Thanks for always making me think.; 10:56 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Alisa your words "The wilderness teaches us how to be kings" reminds me of an encounter i had with the lights in my shower room. One faithful morning, all wrapped up in my towel, i strolled elegantly into my shower room, switched on the lights, only to realise the florescent wasn't coming on. I thought to myself, i'll change the lights when i get back home from my busy day. While showering, the florescent came on 5 mins later. Two weeks after the same incident occurred and i thought to myself, the florescent has finally blown this time. While showering, the light came on 2 mins later. 5 days down the line, the same incident occurred, this time i said aloud - silly light, when you're ready you'll turn yourself on. And true to my words, the light came on one min later. And then the Holy spirit whispered to me,God makes you go through trials to build you up and become so strong that when storms come your way, by virtue of your previous experiences,you are sure that this too shall pass and you have more confidence and trust in him. Calvary experiences help shape us up for our destiny. Thereby bringing out the king in each and everyone of us

May the lord give us all the grace to overcome in Jesus name.; 9:44 AM

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May 30, 2010

Not King of Slaves

26 Comments: