Tag Archives: authority

The Harvest is Ready

Acts 5:42 (NIV)

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
What was the secret of church growth in the Early Church? Obviously the focus of the Church was on the Gospel. That was the “church program.” The Church was continuously proclaiming and teaching the Gospel message. This was done in the temple courts. But this was also carried out from “house to house.”

Today’s church in America seems to be contained within the four walls of the church building. If the church is growing “numerically” the building eventually has to be expanded. If “successful” the church becomes a mega church. That is to say that the church building becomes “supersized.”

How does this model of church fit the great commission?

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.  Mattew 28:18-20
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.   John 4:35

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. “Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’   Luke 10:1-9

Binding and Loosing

Matthew 18:18-19 (NASB)

“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”

As believers we have been given authority to bind and loose. Jesus sent His disciples out to evangelize in His name, but first He gave them power and authority.
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.   Matthew 10:1
As prayer walkers and intercessors we are called forth in the name of Jesus to do spiritual warfare. We must first pray for discernment. We must identify the powers and principalities over our cities and neighborhoods. And we must pray with the calling and authority of Jesus.

First, we must bind up these powers and principalities. We cannot expect to capture a territory for Christ without exercising His authority over that territory. Jesus has already won the victory through the cross. But we must carry forth the message of victory with faith and dedication. We must do battle.

But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.   Mark 3:27
We cannot do this on our own. We are like David fighting Goliath. David’s confidence was in God and not himself. He had exercised his faith in the path and had learned to trust in the power of God when the cause was just.

Binding the forces of evil is not enough, however. We must plunder the enemy’s stronghold. In other words, after defeating the power of the enemy in Jesus name, we must then prophecy new life over the city or neighborhood. This is the loosing part. We are to both bind and loose.

God told the prophet Ezekiel to prophecy over the dead bones which represented the whole house of Israel:
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O LORD, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’

“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’”   Ezekiel 37:1-6

After binding the strong man we are then called to prophesy God’s words over the territory so that the people may be loosed to receive His blessings. If we have God’s authority to bind then we have His authority to loose. As prayer warriors and prophets we need to be sure that we are hearing from God and that we do have His authority. So before we go out we must spend time with Jesus in the upper room of prayer.

God has called many of us to do this ministry. True revival is dependent upon it. Are we ready?