What Kingdom Do You Serve? Day 5

Chapter 5

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned.”17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mat 4:16-17 (NKJV)

Ministry of Deliverance

The Lord Jesus Christ began His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit after fasting for forty days and having overcome the devil’s temptations. He brought His Light to shine into a world that has been shrouded in darkness and proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He declared in Jn10:10 that, “The thief cometh to steal, kill and destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

John, in his first epistle, summarized The Lord Jesus’ mission. He stated in 1 Jn 3:8b, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” These works of the devil are significant enough to require the Son of God to come personally to deal with them. It was indeed a clash of two kingdoms, light vs darkness; and the Kingdom of God vs the Kingdom of Satan.

When He finished His mission on earth, He handed the baton to His soldiers and gave them the same mandate before He ascended to heaven. He provided clear directions, having equipped them with His spiritual armour and weapons.

The Lord Jesus knew that the assignment would be a cosmic battle, raging daily, that will not end as long as we are in this physical body. The battle has rules of engagement, weapons, prisoners of war, battle, wounds and boundaries that every spiritual warrior needs to understand.

Mk 16:15-18

And he said unto them, Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

The Kingdom of God Revealed

After having begun His ministry in Galilee, Jesus came to Nazareth and went to the synagogue where He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. Read the next Scripture passage that further elaborates on His mission on earth.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 Then He closed the book gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:18-21 NKJV)

The Kingdom of God is good news, healing the broken hearts, setting the captives free, giving sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free, and proclaiming the acceptable day of the Lord.

We see the power of the Kingdom of Heaven being manifested when the Lord Jesus sent His disciples to share this message. They came back to Jesus in great joy and excitement saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”(Lk 10:17 ESV) They were rejoicing at their newfound authority over demons. It was an exhilarating experience. They felt alive…it was a power that they had never tasted before. This is what their master was doing and now they could too.

Can you understand their excitement? Up to that time, they were powerless and intimidated by all that the devil had thrown against them. I could almost hear them shouting to another….”THOSE DEMONS ARE NOT AS BIG AND BAD AS THE LED US TO BELIEVE. NO MORE FOOLISHNESS. POWER HAS CHANGED HANDS TODAY”

Jesus Delegated His Authority

Then The Lord Jesus proclaimed, “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”(Lk 10:19-20)

In the subsequent verses, we see the great Lord Jesus Christ rejoicing and thanking His Father. What was this about? Jesus knew about His authority and the work He came to do. Man was now getting an understanding that they do not have to be subject to the works of the devil.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son reveal Him”(Lk10:21-22).

It was one thing for Jesus to come and exercise authority over demons but another thing to delegate His authority to man. Demons knew the Lord Jesus Christ and His position of authority as Lord of All Things. But why would He give man authority over spirits and also…all of the power of the devil? Why would He open their eyes to understand these mysteries? Do you see fear in the camp of the wicked? Do you see them scrambling in fear?

The Kingdom of Darkness Disarmed

While His disciples were out binding demons and casting them out, reversing the works of darkness, in the spiritual realm, the Lord Jesus was witnessing the kingdom of Satan in turmoil. Jesus told them, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” ( Lk 10:18).

The kingdom of darkness was being unravelled. Principalities were being dethroned. Rulers were scrambling as these mere men were binding and casting out demons.

What does this mean to me? It was as though, the Lord was saying, “Behold, I (The Lord Jesus Christ who has authority over all things) give you authority!”

Over what? OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMIES THAT FIGHT AGAINST YOU IN THE SPIRIT WORD.

If you cannot believe this, then do not read any further. Go back to the gospels and read about The Lord Jesus’ dealings in breaking the power of darkness and opening a platform for the caused cities to shake at the sound of their footsteps.

The Place of Authority

As I said earlier, this war has rules of engagement. Here is where knowledge plays a significant role. Satan knows very well that man has authority over all creation. And the saints of God have been given authority over all powers of darkness by the Lord Jesus before His ascension. Therefore, Satan uses deception to trick man into not standing in that authority, thereby giving them free reign to continue their illegal control.

How does satan establish legal ground or legal authority over you?  By getting man to covenant with him: to taste the fruits of sin, to enjoy that secret sin, hold on to the devil’s goods, or to violate the standards of God.  You will then become his slave. As a slave, you not only have to obey your master, but you also relinquish everything that is in your authority to that master.

God gave Adam the authority over creation. But when Jesus was tempted, He never refuted the devil when he told Him, “All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”(Lk 4:6-7 NKJV).

Where did Satan get this authority? God did not give it to him. Man had this mandate from God as his tool to rule over the creation. But Adam lost it when he obeyed Satan and ate the forbidden fruit. So Satan took it simply by manipulating man to submit to him.

Rom 6:16 NKJV

6 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

The Place of Choice

Here is another mystery. Man was given the free will to choose whom to serve. He has to make the choice. The Lord Jesus constantly referred to us as sheep. Why? Well, sheep is just about the only animal we know that cannot survive without a shepherd. Man was never given the option to direct his own steps. He must submit to an authority. And no man can serve two masters.

Jer 10:23

O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

God has laid out His path. Those who follow Him must abide by His rules. His path leads to life, but He warns that the gate is narrow, the way is difficult and few find it. Satan knows those rules and has also laid out his path. Anything that violates God’s rules is acceptable in the kingdom of darkness. The path has a wide gate and broad road but is sure to lead to destruction.

Mat 7:13-14 NKJV

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few find it.

Payment for sin

Sin is guaranteed payment, and it pays handsomely. I know many times it seems like we walk in a little sin and repent quickly, or we got away with it. I want to assure you, in the spirit world, you got paid. Those payments materialize as walls that harden our hearts towards God; as hooks that prevent us from returning to God or as contamination that defiles us, thereby denying us the presence of God.

That man or woman of God who no longer fears God and is willing to challenge the Word did not just start like that. Their hearts became hardened over time; one compromise after another. Soon they will stand to minister knowingly using the power of sorcery or witchcraft but see nothing wrong with it. Calls for repentance do not reach them because the hardened heart no longer responds to the Holy Spirit.

Believers sometimes carry deep bitterness or unforgiveness towards others who were evil to them in the past. Those evil acts are the barbed arrows aimed at the heart. These people love God and want to serve Him but every time they want to run after God, they get a quick reminder about the pain of the past and they yield to unforgiveness. That is the work of the hooks. They open doors for darkness to have free access and are given demonic control.

The other area of defilement is wicked evil. The Lord will come to abide in a place that has been prepared for Him. Some acts, especially sexual immorality, taint us spiritually to such and extent that we are no longer comfortable approaching the presence of God.

Which Kingdom do you belong to?

It is possible to have deliverance from a kingdom if you are submitted to it. If you are not walking the path of righteousness, then deliverance from the powers of darkness is not available to you. This is the acceptable year of the Lord for you.

If you walk in the Light as He is the Light, then darkness will have no place in you.

2 Cor 4:6

6 For it is the God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if you decide to serve the Lord with your whole heart; to surrender fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and commit to fearfully walk with Him, then we have good news for you. This is the acceptable year of the Lord for you. Your time for deliverance has come.

So that closes day 5 and chapter 5 of the book “Freedom from Bondages in My Father’s House. What did we learn in this chapter and what is the Lord saying to us?

#1 Jesus has delegated his authority to us. We have been given authority over all powers of darkness.

#2 How does satan establish legal ground or legal authority over you? It is through sin. Sin gives satan authority over your life.

#3 Satan has no authority besides the one that we give him. When we violate God’s standards and hold onto a secret sin then we become his slave and relinquish all our authority to him.

#4 A lack of fear of the Lord gives satan demonic control over your life. For us Christians unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, anger, jealousy, envy avarice all of these things give satan demonic control over our lives.

Satan always seeks to defile us whether it’s our hearts, our minds, or our bodies with impurity where there is defilement, there is darkness, and where there is darkness his authority has power over us. Lord help us to be clean of heart, mind body, and soul.

Is there any area of your life that is in bondage to the kingdom of darkness? Who are you a slave to and what kingdom do you serve?

Take some time and think about these things. Until the next message family God bless you.