God is Working on Perfecting You, Will You Let Him?
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Eph 4:13)
The ministry gifts in the Church is for the edification of the Body so that the New Creation man, can mature into an overcomer, and become the “Rod of His Strength”.
This rod symbolizes the authority of God committed to human hands. By it the holder is made a co-ruler with his Lord, sharing His throne-power, and reigning with Him.
The overcoming saint is made a king and priest unto God that he may reign on the earth. He is given authority over the nations, cooperating with the risen Christ. He sits with the exalted Lord in the heavenly places, which is the center of the authority of the universe (Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 2:26, Eph 1:20).
The greatest need in this hour is for the people of God to know the Lord for themselves. Let all who treasure the beautiful hope of His appearing and of the manifestation of the sons of God, give ourselves to seeking God, walking with Him, hearing from and submitting to Him in all our ways. Only then will God the Father and the Son abide with us and reveal themselves to us.
Many today are submitted to men and to man’s programs but not to God. If you desire to follow the order and rank in God’s house of sons, you must remember that “Christ is the Son over His own house; whose house we are” (Heb. 3:6). He is the Head, He is the Great Shepherd, He is the Lord, He is the Firstborn among many brethren.
In this Family there is only one Lord. We all have one Father— God, one Lord— Jesus Christ the firstborn Son, and the rest of us are on our way to become matured sons of God like Him. He is the author and finisher of our course as sons. He is our destiny, and our destination. He is our Alpha(A) and Omega(Z), the beginning and the end.
Be assured of this, Dearly beloved, that to the degree you know Him in intimacy, fellowship and submission, is the degree you will know His authority and will reign with Him. It is not enough to know how God would have us think, act, and be as sons. We must know our position in Christ, live continually in total submission to God, be conscious the indwelling Holy Spirit and obeying His will as He reveals it to us.
Authority always comes from the one who has the authority over us. When we obey men our authority comes from men. When we obey God the authority we exercise comes from God. And when we submit to God and obey Him— we reign in Life as kings!
He Gave the Key of David to the Overcomers
“And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. The Son of Man who now reigns on mount Zion has the Keys of David” (Isa 22:22).
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev 1:18, 3:7).
If ever you hope to reign with Christ you must be submitted to the authority of God. Certainly we must walk in all love, respect, and humility with our brethren, “submitting ourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:21). But Kingdom submission is submission to the Father through the Headship and Lordship of Jesus Christ, for God has “put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). “And He is the Head of the body…who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things HE might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).
By the Blood, They Will Release the Prisoners
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18-19).
Our Master and Lord, the Firstborn of our Family possess the keys of death and hell. He has all powers in heaven and on earth.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mat 28:18).
Turning to His triumphant Church, He said,
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:19).
With this, the victorious Church, while laying siege against the kingdom of darkness, will open and break down the gates of hell and release the prisoners. They follow in the steps of their Master Jesus Christ, they will “break the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder”.
They will bulldoze the gates of hell, overpower the enemy’s army and “by the Blood of the covenant, they will send forth the prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water” (Zec 9:11). This is triumphant army of the Lord of hosts which He has been preparing for this manifestation, these are the saviors “on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S”
In the Old Testament times, the prophets had power to perform miracles and do exploits, but not one person had cast a demon out of anyone by means of a direct command. A new power had come into operation among men. The arrival of the King and the kingdom of God have brought kingdom dominion to the saints of God. After Jesus of Nazareth was baptized with water and with the Holy Ghost, He went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
The dominion associated with the new Kingdom began to be seen in operation among men. What was this new power that was operating among men? Our Lord Jesus, Himself, explained it this way. He said,
“If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come…” (Mat. 12:28).
This new authority which He was exercising over demons and over all things was the sign that the Kingdom of God had begun. When He first began to preach, He had said that the Kingdom of God was drawing near, but then, after He started to cast out demons by the power of His Word, He declared, “The Kingdom of God is come”. It was no longer future, but had become a present reality through Him. Indeed, as Daniel saw in the night vision, dominion over all things has been given to the Son of man. The Kingdom of God is here, and His dominion is now.
God’s intention is that the Church will step in, right now, and begin to give principalities and powers some object lessons on the many-sided wisdom of God.
“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: (Eph 3:9-11).
The saints of the Most High are the overcoming Church, raised to sit in the heavenlies. These are the ones that followed the Lamb everywhere He went and laid their lives down. They pressed toward the mark, even into their heritage in the heavenlies, and stand with Him on Mount Zion. Yet, because they are kings-priests, they walk in the midst of men ministering as intercessors and go-between for them before God.
It’s not going to be a cake walk, but their Commander, the Lord of hosts, has won and given them the dominion and they have ascended to the top of Mount Zion.
“And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S” (Oba 1:21).
Zion was a small mountain ridge in the southern part of Jerusalem with valleys below on the east and west, and therefore a natural fortress in itself, and in a strong defensible position. And so when David and his men came against the city in the early part of his reign, he was confronted with the scoffing of the Jebusites who had taken control of this area.
Jerusalem is believed to have been the “Salem” over which Melchizedek ruled as king-priest in the days of Abraham, many hundreds of years earlier. The word “Salem” means “peace,” but the land was occupied by the Jebusites. ‘Jebus’ means “trodden down”.
The City of Peace once ruled over by a king-priest under God, was “trodden down.” and in the hands of one of the abominable nations of Canaan which Israel failed to drive out. The Jebusites had been subdued, but not driven out. So the “subdued” built up the hill of Zion and eventually became dominant.