Kingdom Authority

In January, I discussed the kingdom mindset we must have to understand our identity as sons and daughters of God. A kingdom mindset is how God thinks. Our mindset is on heaven’s values, and we manifest the life of Christ. In February, I discussed kingdom abundance and how the poverty spirit attacks our thinking about our identity, for example, I’m not good enough, worthy, qualified, etc. We must live from our identity as sons and daughters of the King, not orphans.

Today, we will discuss the authority we have in God’s kingdom.

Rulership and ownership are at the heart of God’s kingdom. Jesus is the King, and God rules over all. God’s power, sovereignty, and authority are evident everywhere, whether in heaven or on earth.

Jesus has given us the keys to the kingdom, representing the authority to use them in His name!

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 AMPC

A key opens and shuts doors to permit or forbid. We experience God’s sovereignty by using His authority and power. When we are under Christ’s rule, we are part of a new kingdom, sharing in Christ’s throne and the authority it represents. We exercise jurisdiction over the powers of the air and the conditions they have brought on the earth. As God’s agents, we represent His kingdom’s rule from heaven as we partner with Him to enforce His will here on earth (Ephesians 1:21-23; 2:6).

The keys of the kingdom are primarily used with our mouths. The kingdom of God operates by faith and is voice-activated!

The name of Jesus is the master key! When exercising kingdom authority, as we pray or minister in the name of Jesus, we are not exercising authority in our name but in the name above every other name.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth. Philippians 2:9-10

We can also apply the blood of Jesus to any situation for deliverance and protection. Here’s how. The enemy attacks us in many ways (e.g., through our families, children, marriage, finances, or health). But when we belong to the Lord Jesus, he has no legal right to do so unless we give him the authority. We have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13). The blood of Jesus reversed every part of the curse (e.g., sickness and disease, poverty and lack, addiction, and bondage). These things no longer have any legal right to be there because of what Jesus did on the cross. His blood overcame the enemy.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11

Pleading the blood may sound like begging, but it isn’t. It refers to a legal term, such as a lawyer presenting their case before a judge with evidence and facts to support it. We trust the blood covenant the Father made with His Son, Jesus. When we plead the blood of Jesus, we apply the power and authority He has given us over our families and situations in our lives. There is protection, deliverance, healing, forgiveness, etc., in His blood, whatever we need and as often as we need it.

We have authority in our homes over what comes into them and what we allow in. When people come into our house, we have authority in our kingdom! We don’t have to battle, but we can enforce God’s kingdom!

We can use the keys of the kingdom to permit or forbid, to open doors of opportunity through acts of obedience (Acts 8:26), to set the captives free (Acts 16:18-19), to heal the sick (Acts 3:6; 4:29-30), in our prayers (Acts 12), and in praise and worship (Acts 16:25-26).

We use Jesus’ authority as His representative to bring Heaven’s answers to earth. We are His disciples as we surrender to Christ’s Lordship in obedience to His rule of love.

Every believer needs to know their authority and how to wield it! What is authority? Authority is the legal right to use power delegated to us.

What is power? It is the ability to do something or influence behavior. It is what is needed to get the job done!

Jesus came with God’s authority.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” John 14:10

Jesus spoke the words of God the Father and worked the works of God. Jesus did nothing of Himself but only what He heard and saw the Father say and do. The reason He came was to expand the kingdom of God.

The authority of Jesus is over all the enemy’s power, e.g., sickness and disease, death, poverty and lack, famine and drought, disasters, evil, bondage, etc. (Matthew 8:17; Galatians 3:13; 1 John 2:8b).

Jesus transferred His authority to us, the believers, and His body, the church.

“Behold, I give you the authority (exousia) to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19

“And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:17-18

We received this authority when we were born again through grace by faith because the kingdom of God works by faith (Hebrews 11:6). Believing is the key to everything in the kingdom of God and is the way we tap into God’s power (Mark 11:22-24).

We have been given God-given authority over the devil and his demonic forces through Jesus Christ because Jesus defeated him for us (1 John 3:8). We also have authority over what we have been delivered from or healed from as we pray or minister to others.

However, Satan tries to trick us into giving him authority over our lives, our families, our cities, and our nations. Our purpose is to destroy the devil’s works as an extension of Christ’s mission.

We have Christ’s authority because we are in Christ – we were raised with Him and seated with Him at the Father’s right hand in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:17-23; 2:6). Therefore, our authority’s source is in our position in Christ as sons and daughters of God’s kingdom.

Jesus stripped Satan of all his authority, but he still has some power. We have the authority to use power supplied by the Holy Spirit that gives us authority over the enemy. God has equipped us to face the power of the enemy with greater power to defeat him. Satan is not more powerful than the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us and gives us His power (1 John 4:4). This is the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11).

We must not treat the enemy like an equal opponent, agree with his lies, or give him attention. The more we war against his attacks and position ourselves against them, the more it leads to aligning or agreeing with the enemy.

We share our authority with whatever we agree with. We can see this from the very beginning when Satan attacked Eve in the Garden of Eden and asked her, “Did God really say?” You can read the rest of the story in Genesis 3 and see what happens when you listen to the enemy’s perspective. The enemy is after our authority because God has given us dominion over the earth.

Deliverance, in its simplest form, is coming out of agreement with darkness and into agreement with God. The moment you disagree with God and start believing the perspective of the enemy is the moment that you become in danger of a demonic attack.

Even from childhood, the enemy has been trying to change our perspective about who we are: Did God really say? Are you truly important, truly loved? Is this really your family? Are you truly accepted? He can cause you to see things from the lens he’s presenting, weaken you, and take your authority. The enemy is not just after your life to kill you, but he needs your authority because that is the only way he can function on the earth since he isn’t human and doesn’t have a body.

Authority is rooted in God’s love and begins with our family. Family is where we work everything out. We must build trust so that people can hear us and see our vulnerability, sharing with them based on our relationship, level of trust, and sensitivity at the right time. We learn in our family.

We could have many conversations, but the wisdom lies in knowing when and whether to have them. We need to love our family and not try to change them. Even with love, we need to build a bridge and love our family where they are because even if they may not be serving the Lord, they need to know we care. After all, we are in covenant with them even if we disagree.

When discussing something with others that we disagree with or believe is unrighteous, we need to wait for the right moment to get to the core (the hurt) that led them to believe what they are defending because we won’t be able to change their perspective with our argument against it.

We need to extend mercy to those who are not extending it to us. Don’t let any misunderstanding diminish your authority. That may mean not addressing the political spirit dividing families and nations. Our calling is to walk with people and lead them to righteousness. People may build theology around their wounds; therefore, we can’t deal with this directly. We need to touch their hearts and align with God’s values.

So, how do we walk with people we disagree with? We don’t make it all about what we disagree about. We love them and don’t label them. We don’t have to agree with someone to love them!

We are to live from a place of rest and govern from a place of victory. We need to shift our focus from spiritual warfare to rulership. We must stop reacting, fighting, and fearing and start ruling, speaking, and enforcing. Rather than constantly battling the enemy, our role is to:

Release Heaven’s divine strategies
Speak what Heaven has established, not what we see in the natural
Call things that are not as though they are, like God does (Romans 4:17)
Enforce the victory Christ has already won (Christ’s finished work on the cross)

It is about kingdom rule as sons and daughters walking in dominion. As I prepared this message, the Lord reminded me that we operate in the kingdom through the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ and our identity as sons and daughters of God, which includes our authority.

Our authority flows from our identity as sons and daughters of God. Understanding our redeemed identity is crucial for walking in authority. When we align with our true identity in Christ, we naturally walk in greater authority.

Growing in authority comes through:

Breaking agreements with lies that limit our authority. Remember, we can choose not to agree with the enemy’s lies.
- We ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and ask Him what wrong mindsets we believe (fear, doubt, unbelief, offense, rejection, guilt, shame, etc.). We repent for believing the lies in order to come out of agreement with them. We may need to forgive others and/or ourselves.
- We need to make room for the truth

Next, growing in authority comes through:

Renewing our minds with God’s truth (Romans 12:2)
Walking in alignment with heaven’s reality
Speaking and acting from a place of victory – what we do in between what we have spoken with authority by faith before we see it manifest is important.
- We speak life, rejoice, and continue to partner with Him and what He has already done. Our words form our world.
  - Rather than speak our own words or on our behalf, we speak, decree, and declare the Word of God (Scripture, prophecy, etc.), and then our words have authority.
- Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
- Therefore, choose God’s Words because they activate the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (John 6:63).
- We focus on Him. He is always faithful, no matter what we may see in the natural.
- Stay confident and be bold in hope.

We gain authority by being under authority, and this principle applies to every area of our lives. We submit to Christ and one another in our families, churches, workplaces, governments, and so on.

We must partner with Christ to dismantle the places where the enemy has established his kingdom and replace them with the kingdom of God. We use our authority to enforce the victory of Jesus and bring God’s kingdom to the earth to accomplish His purpose.

We need to exercise discernment and follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership in establishing His authority and defeating the enemy. I used to invoke God’s authority without consulting the Holy Spirit, binding and rebuking the devil. But the Holy Spirit has shown me that it is essential to ask Him what I need to do in a situation to defeat the enemy and then exercise God’s authority. When we take on the enemy when the Holy Spirit hasn’t led us, we can unnecessarily unleash attacks from the enemy upon our families and ourselves.

We may need inner healing and deliverance to remove the legal right we have given the enemy to afflict us or be in our lives through unforgiveness, pride, bitterness, resentment, and other soul wounds. Satan had nothing in Jesus (John 14:30). We need to break any covenant with the enemy, so he has nothing in us!

We decree and declare heaven’s words (Scripture, prophecy, word of wisdom, etc.) to enforce God’s kingdom. We don’t just decree but also release heaven’s solutions, pulling the unseen into manifestation!

In 2014, after multiple debilitating back injuries over several years, I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal what I needed to do to bring healing to my back and into my life.

He led me to Psalm 18:29 initially to decree this Rhema word over my life,

For by You I can run against a troop, By my God, I can leap over a wall.

I did this for a while, and then the Holy Spirit told me to start walking and then jog. I was building my faith:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Next, He shared Psalm 18:31-34, about teaching my hands to war, setting me upon a rock, and finally, Psalm 18:36-40, to not give up but pursue the enemy until overtaken. I obeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading until I defeated the enemy, manifesting healing in my back.

I am sharing with you how I received increasing revelation as I listened for the Holy Spirit’s voice and direction; then, I decreed the Word given to me during each stage of walking out my healing and deliverance from a spirit of infirmity and the spirit of pride. The Holy Spirit revealed that I had opened the door to the spirit of infirmity through pride.

The Holy Spirit breathes on the Word and shows us how to apply it as we follow His leading and obey Him.

When facing challenges, instead of engaging in spiritual warfare, we can:

Ask Jesus what He is praying over the situation, and align with Heaven’s perspective
Release life, light, love, and truth because these will dispel the darkness
Speak from a place of victory – not fighting for a breakthrough but releasing it
Prophesy heaven’s reality – call forth what is not seen in the natural but is already a reality in heaven

In closing, I invite you to join me in praying to repent of and renounce anything that stands in the way of taking our place of authority and releasing God’s will into the earth.

Prayer: (pray out loud)

Heavenly Father,

I repent for believing the enemy’s lies about myself or You and Your kingdom and come out of agreement with them. I forgive those who spoke negatively against me and myself for agreeing with and speaking these lies instead of believing and speaking Your truth.

I renounce partnering with an orphan spirit, the spirit of poverty, fear, doubt, unbelief, offense, rejection, guilt, shame, anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness.

I ask you, Holy Spirit, to show me Your truth in the Word of God so that I can renew my mind, decree, and declare this over my life and family to demolish any wrong mindsets.

I ask you, Holy Spirit, to show me how and where I need to exercise Christ’s rule and authority over situations in my life, family, and situations I encounter.

I choose to walk in alignment with heaven’s reality and speak and act from a place of victory seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for the victory You have won for me!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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