Gifts for a King

I would like to start off tonight with some opening statements to get us all on the same page thinking or viewing through the same lens on the subject we will discuss tonight.

1. The Bible is not about a religion…The greatest enemy of man today is religion…all of our problems today are motivated from religion…political issues, wars, unstable economy are a result of religious tension. The greatest weapon the enemy has right now is religion. the greatest opposition Jesus faced was religious people.

2.  The Bible is about a King, a Kingdom and His Kids…A Kingdom has a culture and the culture determines the lifestyle of the people in that Kingdom. If we are going to be faithful to the Kingdom of God, we are going to have to learn His culture.

The purpose of God from the beginning was to extend His Kingdom from Heaven to Earth. He also chose the concept of King and Kingdom to lay out, or to explain, His plan. Help me out. Jesus is called what? A King. 

To understand the Bible and get a clear perspective, you have to understand the concept God uses and become aware of the culture of a King and a Kingdom. We in the western world struggle with this concept since we have lived in a democracy and are independent of a king. All  we know is republics, presidents, prime ministers so we have no experience or understanding of a King or a Kingdom. Yet the Bible is about a King, a Kingdom and His kids.

So, we view the Bible through our culture and impose on the Bible in how we interpret it through the lens of our culture. This opens the door for us to come to wrong conclusions. Therefore, it is very important to study what a King is and what a Kingdom is, and how the citizens are to function within the kingdom to understand the Bible.

Adam was created to operate as a King over the earth. He was given Dominion to dominate. That’s what Kings do. They dominate a territory. He was set up to rule. 

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The king is the one responsible for dominating a territory.  To help us come to a clear understanding of Bible interpretation, it would be good for us to understand qualities and characteristics about a king and Kingdom.

So tonight I want to give you some thoughts to contemplate, to seek out, about a King’s honor when it comes to gifts and giving. The honor of a King demands a gift to be given.

Royal/Kingdom Principles

1. The Power of Kings is displayed in their wealth
2. The Purpose of a King’s wealth is to secure their reputation 

…..A king’s wealth is known as his glory( the word glory means full weight, true nature), Reputation, Excess. In the Kingdom, the wealth of the King determines his reputation among all the other Kings

3. The glory of a King is his power to out-give other Kings…When a King hears of another king, he will go and visit the other king and will take gifts that will make the other King ashamed. 

God gave Adam dominion but not ownership because God wants to show that He has more glory than man.

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.

4. Giving places a demand on the King’s wealth

Remember, a King shows he is a great king by his wealth or how wealthy he is. When a King comes into the presence of another King, he has to show he is greater or has more glory. So, you bring a gift. 

I have listened to Troy and Leanna talk about coming into the presence of an earthly King and they have said you never enter a King’s presence without bringing an exceptional gift. Not just an ordinary or average gift, but a glorious gift.

This is a known custom/practice in the Kingdom. Example: if you come to a King and give him $10, you are teasing his glory so he has to outdo your gift. He doesn’t give you $15 or even $20, but he multiplies it. He reaches into his excess/glory and gives you back a gift that speaks to His reputation.

Malachi 3 is dealing with an issue from a Kingdom perspective. It talks about robbing God by not bringing the gift of tithes and offerings to Him. Is that about God not getting money and wealth or is it more about robbing God of the opportunity of showing how great a King He really is? 

What if we read it like this: If you will give me, the King, the tithe and offering, see if I will open the windows of any government and I will pour – I’m not just going to give a gift or just pay you back, but pour…(say with me pour) pour you out a blessing that you do not have enough storage to hold it.

When you give to a king, you challenge his glory. You have triggered something that cannot be stopped.

Difference between religion and kingdom when it comes to giving: 

In religion, people give to God to get something. So God has become a Santa Claus, a lottery. He has been placed into the position of “let’s make a deal” (I’ll give you 50 now if you give me 250).

Could that be why a lot of people are not getting blessed because they misunderstand why God says to give to Him? 

When you understand Kingdom, you will never go before a king empty-handed. You understand the principle of a kingdom is when you go before a king, if you give him a gift, you have challenged his glory and he has to defend or show his glory. That means he will give me so much in return that i go home overwhelmed.

The heart of the king is that all the other kings tell the other kings about him.

Look at King David when he said in Psalms 24, “Open the gates and let the King of Glory in. Who is this king of glory?” David starts bragging about this other king. 

Psalm 24:8-10

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

David said, “I thought I had glory but he is more glorious. I thought I was strong and mighty but he is way stronger and mightier than I.”

A king wants you to brag on his glory.

5. Giving requires a response from a King

If you give a king nothing, he has nothing to prove. But when you give to a king, he has to prove he is a greater king. So, if you’re giving through the perspective of Kingdom and not religion, he has to multiply it back to you.

Revelation 1:6

and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10

And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth.”

So in Malachi 3 “Prove me now…” God is saying, “I want to prove that I am the greater king but you have to bring me a gift.” 

Learn this kingdom lesson. You might honestly have to repent…Change how you think about giving. I did. From today forward, I hope you never give to get. I hope you give because it’s the way kings live.

6. Giving to a King attracts his wealth to the giver

What if God is trying to get some of his wealth to you? He made it a law just to get the ball rolling. Giving is not a law. Tithing 10% – the bare minimum – is the law. Giving/offering is above that and that’s out of your heart. Tithing is law. It’s expected. It’s bare minimum.

You don’t pay your tithe and you wonder why it is so tough: Because the King can’t get it to you.

Read the story of the widow of Zarephath and the prophet Elijah. You can find it in 1 Kings 17. Elijah asked her for a drink and some food. The land was under great famine and the widow said, “I have a little flour and very little oil. I was going to prepare some bread eat then die.” 

Listen, God didn’t send the prophet to take her last meal. He sent the prophet to start a process.

There is a Kingdom principle in the Kingdom law of Seedtime and Harvest. 

Genesis 8:22 

“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
…Shall not cease.”

 He said, “You put in something first. I will multiply it back.” It’s a law of the kingdom. Many are eating the seed therefore they have no harvest. It’s a kingdom principle: When you give to a king you attack his wealth.

Giving can be frightening. That widow only had enough to feed her and her child. Both were starving. This doesn’t make sense but the King sent the prophet to her so he could give her some of his wealth. If she would have eaten the seed, she would have not gotten the harvest.

What if every time you have a great need, an emerging need, you increase the seed–the gift–because you’re now giving from the perspective of the Kingdom? You’re giving to the king. What if you can learn to highjack the need by sowing more seed? Let me bring this to a end by reading a passage of scripture out of Matthew.

Matthew 2:1-3 NIV 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Magi/Wise men who are these men. Theologians say they where kings from multiple colonies from the east. This group possibly could have had dozens of kings and as big as a few hundred people. So they heard that there was a king born and being kings themselves they felt compelled to come to see this king.

Matthew 2:10-11 NIV

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

These where smart kings. They understood the Kingdom culture of giving. They where putting pressure on Jesus. The minute they heard a king was born, they went to the bank and closed out the account of Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold. Why? Because they found a king they saw as the greatest king––The King of kings––and let’s see how great he is. They put pressure on Jesus. So it just wasn’t 3 gifts, it was 3 categories of gifts. It was a lot of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

One more thought…

Matthew 18:20

^“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

We are kings right, so when you come into the presence of a king, you are to bring a gift. And when two or more kings are gathered, The King is in the midst!