Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Transcription

1 OUR AUTHORITY AND DOMINION AS BELIEVERS 1 INTRODUCTION As we continue on our great adventure of building the Kingdom, one of the areas we will need to ask God to revive in our lives is an understanding of our authority as believers. This is key as one of the areas God has spoken to us about is the change in the atmosphere. This speaks of a change in the spiritual realm. Where the enemy seemed to have the upper hand in the spiritual realm, God has brought about change but for us to enforce this continued change, we will need to walk in the fullness of our authority in Christ. Two scriptures immediately jump to mind: Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. If we are going to build the Kingdom, we can t expect that the enemy will not resist and we are going to have to be ready to take the Kingdom by force! It also means that there is no time for ungodly lifestyles which result in a lack of authority: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Today I want to remind you of our restored authority in Christ. MESSAGE What do we mean when we speak of AUTHORITY in terms of the bible? Authority: Exousia - Strongs: power to act, authority, weight It is delegated power ("authorization"), operating in a designated jurisdiction. Take note of this in particular! In the NT, ("delegated power") refers to the authority God gives to His saints authorizing them to act to the extent they are guided by faith (His revealed word). GOD, SOURCE OF ALL AUTHORITY!

2 2 God is the creator of everything, heaven and earth all authority comes from Him there is no other source of authority. Even Jesus as He walked as a man, only walked in the authority that came from the Father. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. This is the first key we only have the authority that God gives us, the more we surrender to God and obey Him, the more authority we will have. All authority we have must be used to honour our heavenly Father. Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen o His name, His kingdom, His will, His power, His Glory! MANKIND S DELEGATED DOMINION AND AUTHORITY Genesis 1:26-28 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. 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. God created us in His image and His likeness. He breathed His breath into us. He even gave us creative authority think of technology we use God s creation to create all kinds of things! God then instructed man to subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing! MANKIND S LOST DOMINION AND AUTHORITY Through the fall, man lost his delegated dominion and authority Genesis 3:17-19 Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it : Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.

3 Because of man s disobedience to the terms of his delegated rule, man fell and lost his dominion and authority. As a result, everything under his delegated realm came under a curse because his relationship with the Creator, his source of delegated authority and dominion had been severed. Right there, man lost his life power which was essential for ruling in God s kingdom. MAN S LOSS, THE ENEMY S GAIN! Through man s disobedience, he didn t only lose his authority and dominion, he actually forfeited it to satan! Satan then became the administrator of the now-cursed realm. John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. How did the devil get to be the ruler of this world? He stole man s dominion and authority God is not the creator of sickness and disease and suffering and rebellion the devil is. All of this came about because stolen dominion and authority! And the whole world came under his sway 3 MAN S RESTORATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! Romans 5:19 For as by one man s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man s obedience many will be made righteous. What an amazing God we serve As the first Adam gave up his authority and dominion, so the second Adam, God Himself in the form of man came and restored that authority to man! Ephesians 2:2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. For all those who call on the name of the LORD will be saved! While the enemy still has authority an dominion in the world, those who call on the Creator, Father God and believe in Jesus Christ God s son, have their original authority restored in Christ and once again are called to rule and reign in their walk on this earth.

4 Col 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. The word delivered in Greek is rhoumai, meaning to rush and to draw out for oneself or to rescue, to snatch from danger that is severe and acute, to guard, protect, ward off and deliver. This is where we are right now in Christ snatched out of severe or acute harm s way and guarded over by God. THE BELIEVER S RESTORED DOMINION AND AUTHORITY 2 Cor 5:17 [AMP] Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! Being engrafted in Christ opens up a whole new world the Kingdom of God with its power to shatter worldly systems and ungodly values. Believers are equipped with executive powers to change their circumstances. We become managers in command of our circumstances. All opposing powers need to be considered inferior. The moment we were reborn and stepped into God s Kingdom rule, we won. o Rom 5:17 [AMP] Much more surely will those who receive [God s] overflowing grace (unmerited favour) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). As God s soldiers, we can operate with devastating precision against the devil in our new-found dominion and authority! The authority is backedup all the way by God. Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Matt 16:19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt 18:18 [AMP] Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. 4

5 When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, God gives us the keys of the kingdom of heaven! He restores our authority and once more when we speak, we find victory both in the natural and in the spiritual realm! It is God s Word that gives you the insight of what God has forbidden and through prayer we simply and verbally come into agreement with that. Ask the question, Would God forbid or permit this? What does the Word say about the situation? Once we have established God s will, we must get the assurance that He hears us and will bring it to pass. 1 John 5:14-15 [AMP] And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him. Being in agreement with God s Word and what it permits, sets us up for flowing in the realm of the miraculous. It is like a spiritual nuclear reaction in the face of the devil. Satan has no answers when God s power is released through us. When true intercessors work according to these guidelines, God will always back them up with power It s time to get prayer cells going everywhere! Prayer becomes a delight that releases overflowing joy and believers start living the abundant life that Jesus promised. 5 CONCLUSION There is a battle going on to delude Christians to believe we have no authority, no hope, no source of power, that we are weak. But, the word of God teaches us that we are so much more. Let s take hold of God s Promises. Let us walk in obedience to God s will. Let us become who we truly are through Jesus. Let s take back the territory the enemy has taken, loose the people that are in chains, cast out forces of darkness and walk in the light of God. In Christ we can do all things. He has all authority in Heaven and Earth, seen and unseen, now and forever. We can make a difference and we can build the kingdom of God!

6 6