Book Review: The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton & Bill Johnson (Bethel Church)

I love reading a really great book that challenges my thinking, encourages my heart, and through its lessons and insights, helps me deepen my relationship with Jesus. There have been many (many) times that God has met me in between the pages and chapters of a good book and ministered directly to my heart. As a result, when a book does hit that certain spot for me, I enjoy dropping a quick book review here. But, this “book review” is very different. I feel much like a student in total awe of the wisdom and discernment of my teachers. The messages are so powerful and so deep that page after page, chapter after chapter, God was teaching me and challenging me through the authors words. I truly feel that the assumptions entangled with the title “book review” go beyond what I feel comfortable claiming in this case. I can only say this… these are my humble takeaways. And that is all. I HIGHLY encourage anyone growing in their spiritual identity to read this book. It will challenge you in all kinds of beautiful ways.

Now to jump in….

Although the term “royalty” has been used often to describe our identity in Jesus, Vallotton and Johnson dive much deeper into the context, specifically pointing out that we can (and do) have considerable spiritual inheritance, but we must challenge our thinking and move from a pauper mindset to a prince mindset.

Right off the bat, the authors describe some of the possible origins of the pauper mindset that the reader may find relatable… “The circumstances of my birth and my upbringing caused me to believe lies about myself that kept me from the reality of my identity in Christ.”

The message that we internalize is that we are nothing significant. We are of no importance. And while others are called to do great things in Jesus’ name, we are not. As a result, we live in a survival mode, taking up as little space as humanly possible. We pave our road with dreams, visions, and goals that are within the boundaries of our abilities and not God’s. And by filtering all of our beliefs through this meager or insufficient definition of who we are, we never fully embrace the inheritance and calling we have on our lives.

Even more disheartening, many spiritual leaders perpetuate this message of spiritual insufficiency. “Religion rubs our noses in the past to keep us humble… it requires us to keep something in our minds that isn’t in God’s.” Further, religion slaps a pride label on any measure of spiritual confidence that makes them uncomfortable and quickly reminds us that we are not worthy.

It goes back to the same basic principle described by the authors earlier on… we act according to what we believe about ourselves. If we believe that we are insignificant and worse, spiritually insufficient, then we will limit ourselves to a mediocre calling.

You see, the enemy knows full well what we are capable of when we embrace our royal identity, so he will do everything in his power to keep us locked in the pauper mindset. Can we still be close to God? Yes, absolutely! But, make no mistake, he (the enemy) has greatly limited our potential by making us believe that we must live within the boundaries of our “insignificance.” Set the bar really low so that we don’t let God (or ourselves) down, right? No way!

“Promises are like the rudder of a ship. Rudders determine the direction of that ship. And what I do with God’s promises determines the direction of my thought-life and eventually affects my reality. It is essential to understand what God thinks of me (and others) in order to step into my destiny.”

And that is the life-changing, total perspective-shifting lesson that this book so powerfully guides you through… Stepping into your royal identity, recognizing your spiritual inheritance, and learning that you have His greatness within you to rise to your incredible divine calling.

There are so many amazing insights and challenges presented in this book that invite us to understand, embrace, and walk in our true royal identity as we deepen our relationship with Jesus. I’d like to share some of my favorite excerpts…

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“God never reminds us of our smallness when He calls us to do something awesome.”

“When we feel small and powerless, we tend to dilute the word of God down to something we can accomplish in our own weak state, so we don’t feel convicted for not doing what’s required of us.”

“…. there are no little people in the Kingdom of God. There are only sons and daughters who are more than conquerors! Instead of saying God wants to use ‘little people like us’ to make the point that everyone is useful to God, we should remind people of their royal identity.”

“A man debates with his God on the basis of his friendship… We have overemphasized obedience and underemphasized friendship. This has resulted in our interactions with the Almighty becoming robotic and soldier-like… God wants friends, not slaves!”

“…it was an intense resolve to receive what his spiritual father had to give, and then a boldness to step out and use what he had received.”

“They’re all waiting to see what we will do with what we’ve been given. We’ve been given an inheritance of generations. We’ve been given an inheritance of hundreds of years of mystics, of revivalists, of those who broke into realms of the Spirit to leave something as an inheritance, and it needs to matter to someone.”

“This is a key to building a deeper relationship with the Father. We must want Him more than we want what He does.”

“Our first priority as a prophetic person is to find the treasure God has hidden in the life of each and every person He has created.”

“The point is that as long as we acknowledge where our greatness comes from, we’re not in danger of pride. We don’t glorify God by saying we’re not great, we glorify Him by acknowledging that He is the source of that greatness. Humility is not demeaning ourselves but exalting our God.”

“If we fail to see our greatness, we will fall short of our call.”

“His problem isn’t so much that the enemy is so big but that he feels so small.”

“We don’t just honor people because they are honorable; we honor people because we are honorable.”

“We think nothing of people being born from a night of ‘passion,’ only to be left at our alters with a prayer they don’t understand and a Bible they can’t read.”

“We have been anointed as kings and priests, we have been commanded to disciple nations, and we have been equipped with the wisdom, power, and authority of God Himself. Yet somehow, we find ourselves following some silly oxen around the farm, going back to our old habits and focusing on survival when we’ve been called to lead and influence people for the Kingdom.”

“Our greatest destiny lies on the other side of fear. Courage is the ability to advance in the face of adversity to obtain these treasures.”

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There are books that give you all the feel-good messages of “you are enough” and “Jesus loves you” (I love those books too!) and then there are the books that add, “darn right… now get out there and shake the world with your divine calling!” This book is definitely the latter. It will challenge you and it may even bring some temporary discomfort, but if you are willing to let Jesus radically redefine your perspectives, it could be a huge spiritually pivotal moment in your life! I know it was in mine! Blessings, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this book review. If it inspired you to pick up the book, The Supernatural Ways of Royalty, by Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson, you can find it on Amazon (click here).