God does not call us kings and priests for no reason. He wants us to claim our kingship and let no man take our crown. Revelation 3:11 says: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
King Cyrus of Persia, also known as Cyrus the Great and King of the Four Corners of the Earth is mentioned 23 times in the Bible and alluded to several other times. He was mentioned by name in the Bible 150 years before he came to the throne.
He was a Gentile king and worshipped other gods. He was not of Jewish descent and yet God spoke very highly concerning him. God says in Isaiah 44:28: ‘That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”
We also read in Isaiah 45:1-4: “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in under the bars of iron:
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by name, am the God of Israel.
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”
The reason I mention Cyrus is that he was an extremely benevolent king who was loved by all his subjects. He constantly looked for opportunities to show favor to people, especially his soldiers. Even the countries he conquered loved him and he encouraged all his subjects to be generous and give gifts to people who excelled in any good thing. Some theologians regard him as a prototype of Jesus Christ.
He was trained in school as a child for “justice and righteousness” as well as to be generous. His leaders believed that “Ingratitude is the ring leader and chief instigator to every kind of baseness.” But this was also part of his own benevolent nature.
God, our Father wants us to be royal lovers and royal givers. Someone has said: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”
There are countless ways we can reward and bless others. We should always be lavish with genuine words that encourage others. We should always greet people with genuine smiles. We should always be hospitable to everyone.
We should try to out-do one another in benevolence. Hebrews 10:25 (TLB) says: “LET US OUTDO each other in being helpful and kind to each other.” The NLT says: “Think of ways to ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER to outbursts of love and good deeds.”
We should seek to be creative in scheming up ideas and ways to bless others. Isaiah 32:8 says: “But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.”
We should wake up each new day asking God to show us who He wants us to bless. Without a doubt, this is the type of kingship God wants us to demonstrate every day of our lives.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell