The Kingdom

Notes from Sunday 29 September 2013..

Speaker: Pastor Don Woke

Key Passages:  1 Peter 2:9; Revelations 1:5-6; Revelations 5:10

The word “kingdom” means there is a king.

Are you ready to reign? Yes we should. The scriptures we have read point to the fact that God intends for us to reign in this life.

In Romans 5:12, we see Jesus’ first coming was that of a rescue mission. However, he will return to a glorious church.

From the beginning we find that God created man to be king, because he told Adam to have dominion (Genesis 1: 26). Psalms 8:4-9 says;

“What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honour.

 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth”

In this life, if the devil cannot deceive you, he cannot destroy you. Our greatest lost is the loss of dominion and of power (Luke 4:5-8). Jesus came to earth to recover what was lost or stolen.

God created man in His image and He gave him, authority to rule in His domain. John 14:30; John 16:11; John 12:31; Genesis 3:16; 1 Corinthians 11. God raised Jesus from the seed of a woman to destroy the authority of the devil. The seed of the woman will take away the authority the devil held (Hebrews 2:14-17). Jesus could only restore man in the form of man, not as God. That’s why Jesus came to earth. His most notable tittle was the “Son Of Man”, because he came as man to redeem man.

Authority on this earth can only be legitimately exercised by man. Psalms 115:16 says

“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
“But the earth He has given to the children of men”.

The earth is man’s domain and it will always remain man’s domain, that’s why Jesus had to be born to exercise legitimate authority. John 5:27 says “and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man”. The understanding that God has vested authority on you can change your Christian life.

You and I, as the redeemed sons and daughters of Christ have authority that we may not fully realise. The day you understand that God has given you the authority, no devil will be able to touch you. The Kingdom has to translate as authority and victory to you. In the mystery of the cross lies our authority and victory. When you have an understanding of the authority God has given you, things not planted by God will begin to give way in your life (Colossians 2:15 says “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (NIV). Jesus made the devil powerless over you.

One of the most important scriptures is “IT IS FINISHED” (John 19:30).

“Everything He did, He did for me, Everything He His, He is for me. “

If Jesus has all, then satan has none (Matthew 28:19-20). God systematically retrieved the authority that satan had usurped from man. John 1:12 says “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”. Satan may be the god of this world but note, satan has no authority over a child of God. If he has any authority in your life, family or around you, it is that which you conceded to him. We need to understand; primarily there are two kingdoms; the kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14; Acts26:18). If you are not in the kingdom of light, then you are in the kingdom of darkness. Once you step into the kingdom of Light, you are under the influence of God’s authority. You have a warrant of scriptures to stand against anything in your life that doesn’t reflect the beauty of The Kingdom. The devil may have been harassing some people of God but he has no right to do so. We have Authority. When you stand before satan, tell him “satan I have authority”.

We are not under satan’s domain. We have to go back home and take authority over anything that has exercised authority over you. While it is true that satan has been defeated, he hasn’t surrendered. It is not by might, it is not by power, but God’s authority is for everyone who can simply believe the word of God. Satan is still out there, but his dominion over us has come to an end. He hasn’t surrendered so we must continue to exercise authority (2 Corinthians 2: 11, 1 Corinthians 15: 57).

You and I have been redeemed to reign in life and we must commit ourselves to do so.

“You are born to win, everything He did, He did for you”