“Ignorance of our identity in Christ is one reason many Christians are not possessing their divine inheritance.”
This electrifying quote from Revelation of Royalty is a mere glimpse of the powerful message in the book. The Reverend Dr. Bill Winston is the founder and Senior Pastor of Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park, Illinois. He is also the founder and president of Bill Winston Ministries, a partnership-based global outreach ministry that shares the gospel through television, radio, and online.
Chicago Defender: What inspired you to write this book?
Reverend Dr. Winston: One of the things I see if you look at the body of Christ, the Christian community, is that it seems like we’re not living up to what is described in the scriptures, and I’m trying to find out why. In my search, I understood the first thing said in the book of Genesis is that He will make man in His image and after His likeness. That image has a lot to do with how we see ourselves, and many times we don’t see ourselves the way He sees us. As a result of this, we don’t act like we’re supposed to act. So, I said somebody needs to write about this because, according to scriptures, we are his sons and daughters. If that’s the case, we belong to a royal family.
Chicago Defender: What does the title “Revelation of Royalty” mean?
Reverend Dr. Winston: When I think of this title, I think about the story of the Prodigal Son. The father was very wealthy. The younger brother took his inheritance, went off, and squandered his wealth. While out in the world, he took a job feeding hogs and even considered eating the hog’s food. He then came to himself and decided to go home. As he started on his way home, his father saw him from a distance, hugged and kissed him, then said, my son, has come. He was lost, he’s found, he was dead, and now he’s alive. Get the best robe and put it on him. When the elder brother was asked to join the celebration, he refused. He went on to say that he’d served his father all these years and had never done anything wrong. He then pointed out his brother’s transgressions while he was gone. The father then says to the older brother, “Son, didn’t you know that everything I have was always yours?” And that’s the same thing about God. All of His promises were always ours, but there’s an attitude problem that comes from the wrong image of ourselves.
Being born again is one way to get out of having the wrong image. Once you’re born again, the Holy Spirit becomes your tutor. He begins to tell you what your giftings are. He tells you how to act, walk, what to eat, and how to live. Finally, he grooms you for a royal position in the kingdom.
Chicago Defender: In layman’s terms, how would you define royalty in Christ? What does this look like to the believer and non-believers?
Reverend Dr. Winston: Without wealth, your royalty will always be questioned because you won’t find a poor king. God sees Himself as a ruler, and that’s why Jesus, being the Son of God, is the ruler of everything. He was never underneath any circumstance. He was always on top of them. It’s often said that a king can do no wrong because he never sees himself as less than a ruler. He always sees himself as a person who makes the right decisions all the time. So, when you see yourself as God sees you, God can work through you to get what He wants done. It’s also understanding things from a spiritual point of view and not the natural. For example, when we looked into ownership, people said to me, “Pastor Winston, don’t try to buy that mall. They’re not going to let a black man have that.” They understood that from a natural point of view, I understood it from a spiritual point of view. I understood that I am a child of God under these covers, and I knew that He would back me. You have two things existing in the world. You have facts and the truth. Jesus said that you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. The truth is that you are royalty.
Chicago Defender: How does someone identify their royal place in God’s Kingdom?
Reverend Dr. Winston: God sees something in everyone, but you have to come to Him first. You have to let Him be the head of your life. Once this happens, He begins to guide you in your gifts. He has gifts for each of us, and your gifts begin to make room for you. If we can ever see how God sees us, we will leave the life we’ve been holding on to and go into another level of royalty.
Chicago Defender: How or why do you believe people lose or forget their royal identity?
Reverend Dr. Winston: I think environments and circumstances have a lot to do with maintaining who we are. We have to maintain our image in Christ. God had us to be born again in the middle of circumstances that are not heaven on earth. We have to have a way of sanitizing our minds every day. I have to get into devotion, and the Holy Spirit guides me through scriptures that reinforce who I am in the middle of a generation that may be in darkness so I can stay above it. I do maintenance on myself because almost everything around you is after your image. Daily, the forces of darkness are after your image because they know that everything comes out of it.
Chicago Defender: What advice would you offer believers to regain or sustain their royal identity?
Reverend Dr. Winston: The first thing believers must do to gain (royalty) is study the Word of Righteousness. That righteousness gives you the right image of how God sees you. God’s going to treat you like He sees you. The next thing to do is meditate on God’s Word. A lot of people read it, but they never meditate on it. People need to slow down, mutter it, ponder on it, and so forth. Doing this begins to reset your neuropathways, and it changes the way you see yourself. The last thing is to act on the things you’ve read. If you don’t use what you know, you’ll lose it. You must read it to know who you are, then meditate on it so you can take it from your head to your heart and then step out on it.
Chicago Defender: What’s the primary message you want readers to gain from your book?
Reverend Dr. Winston: I want readers to know that people are not your problem. We live in a blaming generation. We tend to place the blame on our bosses, the White House. The truth is that nobody can stop you from reaching your destiny. No one can stop you from reaching your destiny but you. If we can understand our image came from God first, then kingdom conduct will follow.
Salvation in Christ ensures that he will meet all of our needs, but we have to know and understand who we are in Him. That’s when our true journey in royalty begins. Pick up this book and delve into it for more gems of knowledge on walking in your royal identity.
Liz Lampkin is a Lifestyle, Love, and Relationships writer. Follow her on social media @Liz_Lampkin.
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