SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

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“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives even when faced with death.”

Revelation 12:11

It is vital that every believer learn to use their God-given authority to confront the evil powers in order for the Kingdom of God to be established in every city and nation of the world. This is clearly expressed in the Book of Revelation. The only way to defeat the enemy is by applying the power of the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus annuls like a laser beam, binds and neutralizes demonic powers in the air. This is what crushes the dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan or whatever he might be called. When the blood of Jesus is correctly applied, we give freedom to Michael, the Prince of the Angelic Hosts, to rebuke the evil power from the air around us. Complete deliverance takes place according to the teaching found in Revelations 12:7-10.

Once we have received the understanding of His Word, we will use the principle mentioned in verse 11. It is unnecessary for us to physically confront the demonic power. Instead, we must apply the blood of the Lamb, just as the Israelites did in Moses’ times to celebrate Passover. They used a branch of hyssop to apply the blood of the sacrificial lambs to the door-posts and lintels of their houses to stop the Angel of Death from coming in. Death would pass over the houses where the blood was applied. This is a prototype of our confession. If we confess what the blood of Jesus has accomplished for us, the evil power will be removed from every individual and every family upon which His blood is applied.

The Lord Jesus said, “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house” (Matthew 12:29). Disobedience to the Word of God was the door that man opened to the adversary, and as a consequence the enemy took control of man´s life. Jesus also said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). Once the adversary has gained control over a life, someone stronger is required to bind him before looting his house. This person is Jesus. This work was accomplished by Him, since all the demonic powers were disarmed at the Cross at Calvary. For this reason, His Word says, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

Now it is not necessary for us to physically fight because He already did it for us. Just as David fought against Goliath the giant, and defeated him by throwing a stone with his slingshot and cutting his head off with the giant’s own sword. In the same way, by the blood of Jesus shed on His Cross, Satan was defeated with his favorite weapon, death. Jesus deactivated all the power that the enemy exercised over mankind when He died on the Cross. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). The angelic hosts, led by Michael will use the blood of Jesus to remove all the adverse powers that might come against us.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“It was when I attended an Encounter, a weekend retreat, that God gave me the promise that He would restore my family as well as my parent´s relationship. My mother met my father when he was a married man. She was his lover for a long time, and she finally decided to leave him. I was 7 years old by that time. This situation caused my mother to be full of hate, resentment and bitterness for more than 20 years.

While praying one day, God said to me specifically, ‘I will restore the years your mother lost.’ In reality, I did not know how it could happen; but I believed God. The only thing I knew was that my father had become a widow some time ago and that he was living in Mexico. I had the chance to go to Venezuela to see my mother and I was absolutely surprised upon my arrival to her house. She was confined to a wheelchair and surrounded by great misery and poverty. She told me, ‘I can die now that I have seen you.’ In spite of this, I was sure that my prayer for my parents´ restoration had touched God´s heart, and I kept believing His promise. I hoped for a miracle to take place.

“I took care of her and showed her love. While I was giving her a bath, she said she wanted to see my father. Knowing that hate and resentment had filled her heart for 20 years, I ran to the phone to call him. My father could hardly believe that she wanted to see him. The next day they met at my brother´s house. My family said it was a crazy thing to expose our mother to this, as she had not wanted to see him for so long. However, I kept believing God´s promise.

“I took them into a private room so that they could talk. My father´s words were, ‘Gisela, I want to come back to you. Forgive me for all the grief I caused you, I want to restore the years we lost.’ She was crying, and he added, ‘I want you to marry me.’ It was a season of profound restoration for the whole family.

“I decided not go back to Mexico until they got married. Wedding plans were made in a couple of days. My prayer was that God would take my mother out of that miserable and poor environment she was in. I told my husband that she was in a wheelchair, marked by old age, poverty and the grief of many years. When we got to the house where she was now living with my father, a woman walking on her feet came to us. I thought she was my younger aunt, but she was my mother! She was rejuvenated, strong, and whole. She got rid of the wheelchair and was blessed to be surrounded by love and abundance. There is power in the blood of Jesus to lift the fallen and restore the brokenhearted.” (Betsa Tager)

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“The blood of Jesus was shed over my life and family, now the enemy cannot touch us.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Four.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

    • Old Testament: Jeremiah 5-6; Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
    • New Testament: John 1:29-34; James 1:19-27

SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY