Binding and Loosing

Intercessors united:  3-27-24 

Greetings faithful intercessors.  Be encouraged in your assignment to advance the Kingdom of our God and King Jesus.

This morning as I meet with the Holy One, my "emotions" press me to inquire about many things I see in our world and how each factors into the battle I am called to fight. Perspective is one vitally important key to victory.  Jesus told Peter, "I will give you the keys OF the kingdom; Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."  Matthew 16:19-20

In doing this, Jesus was giving Peter the authority to bind and loose (prohibit and permit) the activities of His newly formed community of followers.  This was going to be a departure from what the Rabbis of that day required of Torah observant Jews that Jesus called "misunderstanding" of the spirit of the law (Torah) or worse, outright defiance or even manipulation of the known principles that Torah taught.

When we take claim to that verse, it's important to understand the fullness of what that meant to Peter and the Messianic Jews of that day.  Jesus was giving him and by extension, us, an understanding of our authority to permit or prohibit activities of the followers of Jesus and how we are to influence the world.  For Peter it was Jesus authorizing him to permit things the religious rulers had or were prohibiting, like the controversy of Levitical laws of circumcision as a necessary requirement for Gentiles to join the Messianic community.  Or to permit the activities on the Sabbath that had been and were prohibited like deliverance from the power of Satan or physical healing like the "works" of the Kingdom as Jesus Himself modelled. 

Points to Ponder:

1. Since our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the darkness and the governors OF the darkness in the world that touches our lives. (Ephesian 6:10) we can take our authority to permit and prohibit the "works of darkness" that we see.               I John 3:8b, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil." 
2.  How do we "destroy the works of the devil?  As we come against the devil's works and know that "the gates of hell will NOT prevail against us", by and through our powerful words and proclamations of God's truth (His power, His Sovereignty, His authority delegated to us), we pierce the darkness and set captives free.  In order to defeat the darkness we must declare the LIGHT!  We must never give up nor give in. Those who are victims of Satan's lies and cooperate with the evil agenda to enslave the whole world, can be brought into the Kingdom of light by our discerning declarations and worthy words of truth spoken over them, leading to a Divine encounter with God's only Son, our Savior, Jesus.
3. Always remember it is the SPOKEN word that is the true power. Our thoughts are the beginning but it's the spoken word in declarations and proclamations that move the Kingdom of Heaven forward and destroy all the illusions of the devil's power.  

Prayer for Today:

Abba Father, thank you for Your word and instructions to Your people. Thank You that Your Word is Your will for us and the "how-to" align with Your ways of co-governing the world that touches our personal and corporate lives.  It is no doubt that we have an enemy and that this "enemy" was permitted not to destroy us but to challenge us to become strong as Your imagers and well-trained in our future role to rule and reign with Jesus in the age to come. 

We humble ourselves before You, with thanksgiving that we are not the victims of evil but have, by Your design, the weapons to defeat all that comes against us.  Grant us, Abba, the wisdom and understanding to be victorious in the battles brought on by this enemy of Your Kingdom, and righteously apply the principles of binding and loosing, permitting and prohibiting that You have provided in Your Word.   We appeal to Your mercy for justice to become righteous again and people to be held accountable for sin unto their redemption not destruction. 

Scriptural references:

1. Matthew 16:19-20
2. Ephesians 6:10
3. 1 John 3:8b
4. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 

Declarations:

We declare:  2 Corinthians 10:4-5 "The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world, on the contrary, they have Divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We declare: this is the authority we have been given and we now speak against the lies and illusions of the enemy that have brought a blanket of confusion and chaos over our world at large, our nation, our states, our communities, our churches, our families and our own minds.  We declare: we, your people have the mind of Christ and His delegated authority that we purpose to use to bring Our Kingdom of Heaven's good will that offsets the evil of the kingdom of darkness. We declare: the power of evil acts done by the wicked leveled against the innocent and the weaker vessels in our society is broken and their power overruled .  We declare:  Those guilty of such abuses will be speedily brought to accountability: exposed and penalized according to the Vengeance that is our Sovereign Lord's right to exercise and we commit them into Your Hands, Adonai. We declare: freedom this day, for the captives caught behind enemy lines like Rahab back in the day of Joshua at Jericho, that they be brought into the camp of the saved.  All declared in Jesus Name and for His glory!   

Have an awesome day and lead up to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. Hallelujah Our God REIGNS!