Living Like A King

Bunbury

Sun pm

17/07/2011

“Living like a king”

Intro: Living like a king has b/co a euphemism that we are all familiar w/ - it has come to mean that we are living a life of luxury.

I’ve often heard people say when visit foreign lands say how they could live like a king in this place.

And to tell you the truth I’ve had tastes of it myself when I have visited some places.

*** In India a few years ago we had lunch one day at a luxury hotel built back in the British colonial days. It looked every bit like a palace w/ its grand marble floors & ornate structures. The meal was certainly fit for a king, I can vouch for that!

But the thought of living like a king certainly takes on a whole new meaning when we turn out attention to the text spoken by a king.

The king speaking these words? None other than King Jesus H/s – his subject? “Living like a king”.

But rather than this being an encouragement to a lifestyle of indulgence / self gratification His exhortation is for you & I to live the way He – king Jesus lives.

We find His discourse on “Living like a king” in two of the synoptic gospels – Matthew 5-7 & Luke 6.

This was a message so impt that God saw fit to have it laid down in his word at least twice.

The sermon on the mount as someone has said is not a single sermon but the summary of all Jesus’ consistent teaching to His disciples.

It has been called “The manifesto of the King” & “The magna charta of the Kingdom”.

So let’s give our minds for a few moments tonight on ‘Living like a king’.

Text: Matthew 5:1-12 ( NKJV ) 1And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

# 1. U/s the way a king lives.

A. How would you expect a king to live?

a. When we think about the life of a king we generally conjure up images of or extreme wealth & a life beyond imagination.

i. And there’s certainly no doubt about the fact that the great kings of history have lived lives of relevant wealth / opulence.

ii. Even today the facts are evident – the royalty / kings of the world live in the luxury of great riches.

*** QEII although not being wealthy enough to make it into the Forbes Billionaire list a personal wealth of $420 million. Bearing in mind that the crown jewels belong to the British state & not the queen as does Buckingham palace.

Amongst her assets however are Balmoral Estate in Scotland w/ its 50,000 acres of woodlands, Sandringham w/ its 60 acres of gardens & its 20,000 acres of forest.

She also owns a private collection of art / furniture / jewels / horses that are worth a further $110 million.

QEII however pales into insignificance financially in light of her Dutch counterpart, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix is valued by Forbes at a respectable $3.2 billion largely due to her shares in Royal Dutch Shell.

b. The Biblical image of a kings concurs w/ this concept too.

i. In speaking about Solomon we are left w/ the idea that he lived his life in extreme grandeur.

ii. He was once visited by another monarch – the queen of Sheba.

iii. It seems she came to visit largely due to the fact that there had been some rumours going around about the grandeur in which Solomon lived.

1 Kings 10:6-7 ( NKJV ) 6Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.